Nondestructive determination of soluble solids and firmness in mix-cultivar melon using near-infrared CCD spectroscopy

Nondestructive evaluation of melon quality is in great need of comprehensive study.Soluble solids content(SSC)and firmness are the two indicators of melon internal quality that mostly a®ect consumer acceptance.To provide guidance for fruit classification,internal quality standards was preliminarily established through sensory test,as:Melon with SSC over 12
Brix,firmness 4–5.5 kgf·cm^(-2)2 were considered as satisfactory class sample;and SSC over 10
Brix,¯rmness 3.5–6.5 kgf·cm^(-2) as average class sample.The near infrared(NIR)nondestructive detection program was set as spectra collected from the stylar-end,Brix expressed by the average SSC of inner and outer mesocarp,each cultivar of melon was detected with its own optimum integration time,and the second derivative algorithm was used to equalize them.Using wavelength selected by genetic algorithms(GA),a robust SSC model of mix-cultivar melon was established,the root mean standard error of cross-validation(RMSECV)was 0.99 and the ratio performance deviation(RPD)nearly reached 3.0,which almost could meet the accuracy requirement of 1.5
Brix.Firmness model of mix-cultivar melon was acceptable but inferior.

Online quantitative analysis of soluble solids content in navel oranges using visible-nearinfrared spectroscopy and variable selection methods

Variable selection is applied widely for visible-near infrared(Vis-NIR)spectroscopy analysis of internal quality in fruits.Different spectral variable selection methods were compared for online quantitative analysis of soluble solids content(SSC)in navel oranges.Moving window partial least squares(MW-PLS),Monte Carlo uninformative variables elimination(MC-UVE)and wavelet transform(WT)combined with the MC-UVE method were used to select the spectral variables and develop the calibration models of online analysis of SSC in navel oranges.The performances of these methods were compared for modeling the Vis NIR data sets of navel orange samples.Results show that the WT-MC-UVE methods gave better calibration models with the higher correlation cofficient(r)of 0.89 and lower root mean square error of prediction(RMSEP)of 0.54 at 5 fruits per second.It concluded that Vis NIR spectroscopy coupled with WT-MC-UVE may be a fast and efective tool for online quantitative analysis of SSC in navel oranges.

Organic Manures Improved the Phenolic Content, Antioxidant Capacity and Soluble Solids in Pepper

The aim of this research was to determine the effect of three organic manures (vermicompost, simple compost, compost with gypsum) with four different levels, as sources of fertilization, and mixed with river sand, this was used as an inert material, on the phenolic content, antioxidant capacity and total soluble solids of bell peppers (Capsicum annuum L.). The 12 mixtures formulated, with eight replications, were distributed in a completely randomized design. Data were statistically analyzed by analysis of variance and means were compared by test Tukey5%. All variables were significantly affected (p ≤ 0.001). Fruits with highest phenolic content were developed in the mixtures M2, M5 and M6 with 538.76, 541.54 and 565.04 mg GAE·100 kg-1 DW, respectively. Antioxidant capacity of fruits was increased with mixtures M2, M5, M6 and M7 with values of 934.48, 942.04, 921.69 and 924.17 μM TEAC·g-1 DW, respectively. The soluble solids content was higher in mixtures M1 and M2 with values of 4.93 and 4.97 °Brix, respectively. It was concluded that the variables studied were favored when applying, as sources of fertilization, mixtures of these organic manures with river sand, which could represent a suitable alternative for food production with quality nutraceutical.

Achieving robustness to temperature change of a NIR model for apple soluble solids content

The temperature difference of fruit itself will affect its near infrared spectrum and the accuracy of its soluble solids content(SSC)prediction model.To eliminate the influence of apple temperature difference on the SSC model,a diffuse transmission dynamic online detection device was used to collect the spectral data of apples at different temperatures,and four methods were used to establish partial least squares correction models:global correction,orthogonal signal processing,generalized least squares weighting and external parameter orthogonal(EPO).The results show that the temperature has a strong influence on the diffuse transmission spectrum of apples.The 20ºC model can get a satisfactory prediction result when the temperature is constant,and there will be great errors when detecting samples at other temperatures.The effect of temperature must be corrected to establish a more general model.These methods all improve the accuracy of the model,with the EPO method giving the best results;the prediction set correlation coefficient is 0.947,the root mean square error of prediction is 0.489%,and the prediction bias is 0.009%.The research results are of great significance to the practical application of SSC prediction of fruits in sorting workshops or orchards.

Nondestructive determining the soluble solids content of citrus using near infrared transmittance technology combined with the variable selection algorithm

Nondestructive determination the internal quality of thick-skin fruits has always been a challenge.In order to investigate the prediction ability of full transmittance mode on the soluble solid content(SSC)in thick-skin fruits,the full transmittance spectra of citrus were collected using a visible/near infrared(Vis/NIR)portable spectrograph(550–1100 nm).Three obvious absorption peakswere found at 710,810 and 915 nmin the original spectra curve.Four spectral preprocessing methods including Smoothing,multiplicative scatter correction(MSC),standard normal variate(SNV)and first derivativewere employed to improve the quality of the original spectra.Subsequently,the effective wavelengths of SSC were selected from the original and pretreated spectra with the algorithms of successive projections algorithm(SPA),competitive adaptive reweighted sampling(CARS)and genetic algorithm(GA).Finally,the prediction models of SSC were established based on the full wavelengths and effectivewavelengths.Results showed that SPA performed the best performance on eliminating the useless information variable and optimizing the number of effective variables.The optimal predictionmodel was established based on 10 characteristic variables selected from the spectra pretreated by SNV with the algorithmof SPA,with the correlation coefficient,root mean square error,and residual predictive deviation for prediction set being 0.9165,0.5684°Brix and 2.5120,respectively.Overall,the full transmittance mode was feasible to predict the internal quality of thick-skin fruits,like citrus.Additionally,the combination of spectral preprocessing with a variable selection algorithmwas effective for developing the reliable predictionmodel.The conclusions of this study also provide an alternative method for fast and real-time detection of the internal quality of thick-skin fruits using Vis/NIR spectroscopy.

METASTABLE EXTENSION OF SOLID SOLUBILITY OF RARE-EARTH ELEMENTS IN Al

The splat folis of Al-RE(RE=Y,La,Ce,Pr,Nd,Sm,Eu,Gd,Tb,Dy,Er and Yb) binary alloys of 0.04—0.06 mm thickness were made by are-melting and hammer-anvil technique,the.cooling rate is in 10~6 K/s order of magnitude.The metastable extended solid solubilities of these RE elements have been evaluated by measurements of the lattice spacings of the rapidly solidified(RS)Al-RE alloys,they are 0.4,0.15,0.21,0.21,0.3, 0.5,0.1,0.6,0.65,0.7,0.75,0.2 at.-% for above individual RE clements,respectively.The secondary phase in RS Al-RE alloys were identified to be Al_4RE for alloys containing light RE and Eu elements and Al_3 RE for alloys containing heavy RE and Y elements. Some factors influencing the extension of solid solubility of Al-RE alloy were discussed.

Solid solubility and photoluminescence of Y_3Al_5O_(12):Ce^(3+)prepared by using(Y_(1-x)Ce_x)_2O_3 as precursor

Trivalent cerium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet （YAG：Ce3＋） phosphors are synthesized by solid-state reaction method through using （Yl-xCex）203 solid solutions as precursors. Solid solubility limits of Ce3＋ replacing y3＋ in Y203 and YAG are determined to be 40% and 7.5%, respectively, based on the relationship between the lattice param- eter and chemical composition. Using （Y1-xCex）203 as precursors we synthesize YAG：Ce3＋single phase at 1450 ~C and N2 atmosphere. However, under the same conditions using CeO2 there exists a second phase YA103 as impurity. The photoluminescence intensity of YAG：Ce3＋ increases monotonically with the increase of Ce concentration until it reaches a maximum at solid solubility limits of Ce3＋ in YAG.

Experimental Determination of Solid Solubility of Ce、La、Nd、Sm in Fe or Ni

The solid solubility of Ce、La、Sm and Nd in Fe or N i at various temperature was determined by means of a diffusion-couple method with the aid of an electron probe microanalyzer.Two methods,namely area method and whole range method,were proposed for data processing in the present paper.The principle and re- lated problems in the experimental determination of the solid solubility of rare-earth elements in Fe or Ni by use of the above mentioned methods were also discussed.

FACTORS INFLUENCING SOLID SOLUBILITIES OFRARE-EARTHS IN Pd

A parameter describing the solid solubilities of mre-earths in Pd, Nf/aX(TR - rPd),was proposed, where N is the fshell filled electron nutnben △X the electronegativity dtherence between Palladium and rare-earths, rR the atotnic radii of rare-earth elementand rPd of Pd. The marimum solid solubilities are linear relation to this parnmeterexcept La, Nd and Ce.

Solid Solubility and Age Hardening of Rapidly Solidified Al-Er Alloys

The metastable extension of solid solubility and age hardening of rapidly solidified Al-Er alloy were inves- tigated.The splat foils(0.04～0.06 mm in thickness)and spun ribbons(0.02～0.04 mm in thickness)of Al-Er alloys were prepared by melt hammer-anvil and melt spinning techniques,respectively.The cooling rate was about 10~6～10~7 K/s.The metastable extended solid solubility of Er in Al evaluated by measurements of lat- tice parameters of rapidly solidified alloys was 0.75 at%.An age hardening response was observed in the quenched and aged specimen.The precipitate responsible for age hardening was identified to be Cu_3Au type cubic Al_3Er.

MICROSTRUCTURE AND EXTENDED SOLID SOLUBILITY OF Tb IN RAPIDLY SOLIDIFIED Ag-Tb ALLOY

The 0,05—0.08 mm thick splat foils of Ag-Tb alloy,containing Tb up to 10 at.-%,were made by the hammer-anvil technique.The cooling rate was in order of 10~6 K/s.The metastable extension of solid solubility of Tb in the alloy was measured to be up to 5 at.-% by lattice parameter method.The secondary phase in metastable eutectic structure was identi- fied as Ag_3Tb from diffraction pattern.The microstructure and micro-defect in as-quenched Ag-Tb splat foil were also observed.

Description and Prediction of the Solid Solubilities of Binary Alloys Based on the Actinide Metals

The solid solubilities of 207 binary alloys based on the three actinide metals (Th, U and Pu) at room tem- perature are studied with the two theoretical schemes suggested by one of the present authors (ZBW).The re- sults show that the soluble elements can be distinguished from the insoluble ones by a parabola y_1=a--bx^2 or an ellipse (x_2,-m)~2/c^2+(y_2-n)~2/d^2=l with the total reliabilities of 87.9% and 92.3% respectively for the 207 binary alloys. The contants a and b in the parabola equation, and c, d, m and n in the ellipse equation can be related to some appropriate parameters for each host metal respectively. The reasons are discussed. From the theories the soluble elements in these actinide host metals that have not been measured yet can be predicted in the accuracies of the schemes.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN METASTABLE EXTENSION OF SOLID SOLUBITY OF EUTECTIC SYSTEMS AND PHASE DIAGRAM

A criterion of the metastable extension of solid solubility was proposed.When the eutectic concentration arm ratio parameter of an alloy,J>10,the hypereutectic extension and the metastable solid solubility limit beyond eutectic concentration may be obtained.When J≤10, the hypoeutectic extension may be obtained.The extension parameter,C_(eq)~s/C_(cu),is directly proportional to the parameter J.Thus,it seems easy to predict the tendency of the solid solu- hility extension under rapid solidification on the basis of the eutectic phase diagram.

Effect of compound treatment of rotating magnetic field and Al-5Ti-1B refiner on microstructure and properties of Al-5Cu alloy

The Al-5Cu alloys were prepared by different treatment methods,including adding a refiner Al-5Ti-1B,exerting a rotating magnetic field(RMF),and compound treatment of both refiner and RMF.The effects of treatment methods on the microstructure,properties,and solid solubility of the Al-5Cu alloy were investigated.The optimal magnetic field parameters and addition amount of refiner were confirmed by experiment.Results show that either RMF or adding refiner Al-5Ti-1B alone can refine the grain size,and the refining effect can be further improved by a compound refining treatment with optimized magnetic field parameters(120 A current and 8 Hz frequency) and 1.0wt.% Al-5Ti-1B refiner(RMF*+Al-5Ti-1B*).The average grain size is decreased to 68.1 μm,which is 60.8%,21.1%,and 83.5% lower than that of the alloy treated by the optimized rotating magnetic field,the Al-5Ti-1B refiner,and the alloy without any treatment,respectively.The tensile strength and elongation of the alloy reach 232.5 MPa and 18.6%,respectively,which are obviously higher than those of the alloys treated by rotating magnetic field,Al-5Ti-1B refiner,and the alloy without any treatment,respectively.Additionally,the solid solubility of the alloy is also obviously improved compared to the alloys treated by other methods.

Improved microwave dielectric properties of MgAl_(2)O_(4)spinel ceramics through(Li_(1/3)Ti_(2/3))^(3+)doping

A series of nominal compositions MgAl_(2-x)(Li_(1/3)Ti_(2/3))_(x)O_(4)(x=0,0.04,0.08,0.12,0.16,and 0.20)ceramics were successfully prepared via the conventional solid-state reaction route.The phase compositions,microstructures,and microwave dielectric properties were investigated.The results of x-ray diffraction(XRD)and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)showed that a single phase of MgAl_(2-x)(Li_(1/3)Ti_(2/3))_(x)O_(4)ceramics with a spinel structure was obtained at x≤0.12,whereas the second phase of MgTi_(2)O_(5)appeared when x>0.12.The cell parameters were obtained by XRD refinement.As the x values increased,the unit cell volume kept expanding.This phenomenon could be attributed to the partial substitution of(Li_(1/3)Ti_(2/3))^(3+)for Al^(3+).Results showed that(Li_(1/3)Ti_(2/3))^(3+)doping into MgAl_(2)O_(4)spinel ceramics effectively reduced the sintering temperature and improved the quality factor(Q_f)values.Good microwave dielectric properties were achieved for a sample at x=0.20 sintering at 1500℃in air for 4 h:dielectric constantε_(r)=8.78,temperature coefficient of resonant frequencyτ_(f)=-85 ppm/℃,and Q_(f)=62300 GHz.The Q_(f)value of the x=0.20 sample was about 2 times higher than that of pure MgAl_(2)O_(4)ceramics(31600 GHz).Thus,MgAl_(2-x)(Li_(1/3)Ti_(2/3))_(x)O_(4)ceramics with excellent microwave dielectric properties can be applied to 5G communications.

Review on Effects of Nitrogen on the Internal Quality of Peach Fruit

On the basis of referring plenty of literatures, we summarized the research advance in effects of nitrogen on the internal quality of peach fruit. Most studies have shown that proper nitrogen application can improve internal quality of fruit, and excessive nitrogen application can reduce soluble solid and sugar contents of fruit, increase organic acid content, reduce fruit aroma, increase protein and amino acid contents, and increase or reduce vitamin C content. Relevant issues were discussed.

Review on Effects of Sunlight on the Internal Quality of Peach Fruit

On the basis of referring plenty of literatures, we summed up the research advance in effects of sun light on the internal quality of peach fruit. This paper discussed the effect of light on the internal quality of peach fruit under the conditions of open cultivation, protected cultivation, bagging and surface covering with reflective film, the mechanism of occurrence and the technical measures to improve the utilization rate of light and light energy, and prospected the future research work.

Effect of Altitude and Maturity Stages on Quality Attributes of Mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco)

Mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) is a premier fruit crop which ranks in first position of the total fruit industry in Nepal. Studies were conducted to assess the maturity indices and quality parameters of mandarin at three altitudes i.e. 1300 m·asl, 1000 m·asl, and 700 m·asl with six maturity stages i.e. 11 Oct, 21 Oct, 31 Oct, 10 Nov, 20 Nov, and 30 Nov. The most important and reliable judging criteria of fruit maturity in mandarin i.e. fruit weight, external fruit colour, firmness, TSS, acidity, and TSS/Acid ratio, and vitamin C were experimented. The experiment results revealed that 1000 m·asl location was showed the highest fruit weight (104.9 g) and juice percentage (55.23) followed by 1300 m·asl altitude (99.5 g and 53.75% respectively) at 20th of November. The maturity advanced at lower altitude with 50 percent yellow orange rind colour, 10.98 TSS/acid ratio and 4 kg/cm2 firmness from 10th November at lower altitudes whereas it was appeared in 20th November at higher altitudes. The TSS/acid ratio was significantly higher (10.98) in the fruits of 700 m·asl as compared to 1300 m·asl (9.76) on 10th November, however, on 20th November 1300 m·asl showed the highest ratio (17.76). The fruit weight, juice content, TSS was found in increasing trends up to 20 November and then showed constant and decreasing trend. However, TA, firmness and vitamin C were showed in decreasing trends with time. The 1000 - 1300 m·asl was the best location for the mandarin production and 10-20 November was the best period for the mandarin harvesting for optimum maturity.

The Effect of High Day and Low Night Temperature on Pollen Production, Pollen Germination and Postharvest Quality of Tomatoes

Temperature integration where high day temperatures are compensated by lower night temperatures is one strategy that can be used to reduce energy consumption in greenhouses. Crop tolerance to temperature variation is a prerequisite for using such a strategy. Greenhouse experiments were conducted on tomatoes cvs, Capricia, Mecano and Cederico in order to investigate the effect of different day/night temperature regimes (24/17, 27/14 and 30/11℃) where the same mean temperature was maintained for the production and germination of pollen. In addition, fruit quality as determined by fruit firmness, dry matter content, soluble solids, titratable acids, and pH was examined at harvest and after seven and 14 days of storage. The 30/11℃ treatment significantly increased pollen production and germination compared to the 24/17℃ treatment, while the 27/14℃ treatment was generally in between the other two treatments. Fruits grown at the 27/14℃ treatment were significantly firmer, while fruits grown at 24/17℃ had higher dry matter content, soluble solids, and titratable acids compared to the other treatments. There were significant differences between cultivars with respect to firmness, dry matter, titratable acidity, and pH. The quality of the fruits changed during storage, but the storability of the tomatoes was not affected by preharvest temperature treatments. The overall conclusion was that the 27/14℃ treatment was superior to the other two temperature treatments with respect to the studied parameters.

Quality and Shelf Life of Lisboa Lemon within Polystyrene Containers in Refrigerated Chamber

The aim of this research was to knowing if it would improve the shelf life of the lemons that were stored in hermetically polystyrene containers closed, as same that were placed in a refrigerated chamber with temperature of 10°C inside, high relative humidity (85%) and renovation of the air by action of the compressor of the chamber. Lemons cv “Lisboa” were cut directly from the orchard and washed with chlorinated water at 150 mg⋅L−1 sodium hypochlorite. The study variables were the color of the epicarp (shell) and the endocarp (pulp), polar and equatorial diameter, firmness of the pulp and total soluble solids concentration (°Brix) in the endocarp. The tone and purity of the yellow color of the shell (epicarp) and pulp or endocarp of the oranges increased significantly within polystyrene containers and, consequently, its quality was preserved and its shelf life was extended to more than 100 days without that they have symptoms of deterioration, by losses polar and equatorial diameter or decrease in total soluble solids. Inside closed containers polystyrene the temperature decreased to 2.0°C in the refrigerated chamber, so that the principle of thermal insulation polystyrene reaffirmed, and its functionality for packaging products, such as fruits, resolve some of their physiological problems themselves, to prolong its shelf life and improve its presentation.