Near-Infrared (NIR) Spectrometry as a Fast and Reliable Tool for Fat and Moisture Analyses in Olives.

The evaluation of fat and moisture contents for olive fruits is crucial for both olive growers and olive oil processors. Reference methods, such as Soxhlet extraction, used for fat content determination in olive fruits are time- and solvent- consuming and labor intensive. Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is proposed as a solution toward rapid and nondestructive analyses of olive fruit fat and moisture contents.

Pesticide transport with runoff from turf: observations compared with TurfPQ model simulations.

Pesticides applied to turf grass have been detected in surface waters raising concerns of their effect on water quality and interest in their source, hydrological transport and use of models to predict transport. TurfPQ, a pesticide runoff model for turf grass, predicts pesticide transport but has not been rigorously validated for larger storms. The objective of this study was to determine TurfPQ's ability to accurately predict the transport of pesticides with runoff following more intense precipitation.

Digital filtering and model updating methods for improving the robustness of near-infrared multivariate calibrations.

Fourier transform near-infrared (NIR) transmission spectra are used for quantitative analysis of glucose for 17 sets of prediction data sampled as much as six months outside the timeframe of the corresponding calibration data. Aqueous samples containing physiological levels of glucose in a matrix of bovine serum albumin and triacetin are used to simulate clinical samples such as blood plasma. Background spectra of a single analyte-free matrix sample acquired during the instrumental warm-up period on the prediction day are used for calibration updating and for determining the optimal frequency response of a preprocessing infinite impulse response time-domain digital filter.

Blank augmentation protocol for improving the robustness of multivariate calibrations.

An updating procedure is described for improving the robustness of multivariate calibration models based on near-infrared spectroscopy. Employing a single blank sample containing no analyte, repeated spectra are acquired during the instrumental warm-up period. These spectra are used to capture the instrumental profile on the analysis day in a way that can be used to update a previously computed calibration model.

Detection and classification of gaseous sulfur compounds by solid electrolyte cyclic voltammetry of cermet sensor array.

Electrochemical sensors composed of a ceramic-metallic (cermet) solid electrolyte are used for the detection of gaseous sulfur compounds SO(2), H(2)S, and CS(2) in a study involving 11 toxic industrial chemical (TIC) compounds. The study examines a sensor array containing four cermet sensors varying in electrode-electrolyte composition, designed to offer selectivity for multiple compounds. The sensors are driven by cyclic voltammetry to produce a current-voltage profile for each analyte.