Sampling Methods and Countermeasures for Food Enterprises

In this paper,by combining sampling methods for food statistics with years of sample sampling experience,various sampling points and corresponding sampling methods are summarized.It hopes to discover food safety risks and improve the level of food safety.

A multi-criteria decision-making approach for comparing sample preservation and DNA extraction methods from swine feces

Molecular microbiological methods, such as competetive PCR, real-time PCR, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and large-scale parallel-pyrosequencing, require the extraction of sufficient quantity of high quality DNA from microbiologically and chemically complex matrices. Due to difficulties in the field to standardize/select the optimum DNA preservation-extraction methods in view of laboratories differences, this article attempts to present a straight-forward mathematical framework for comparing some of the most commonly used methods. To this end, as a case study, the problem of selecting an optimum sample preservation-DNA extraction strategy for obtaining total bacterial DNA from swine feces was considered. Two sample preservation methods (liquid nitrogen and RNAlater?) and seven extraction techniques were paired and compared under six quantitative DNA analysis criteria: yield of extraction, purity of extracted DNA (A260/280 and A 260/230 ratios), duration of extraction, degradation degree of DNA, and cost. From a practical point of view, it is unlikely that a single sample preservation-DNA extraction strategy can be optimum for all selected criteria. Hence, a systematic multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach was used to compare the methods. As a result, the ZR Fecal DNA MiniPrepTM DNA extraction kit for samples preserved either with liquid nitrogen or RNAlater? were identified as potential optimum solutions for obtaining total bacterial DNA from swine feces. Considering the need for practicality for in situ applications, we would recommend liquid nitrogen as sample preservation method, along with the ZR Fecal DNA MiniPrepTM kit. Total bacterial DNA obtained by this strategy can be suitable for downstream PCR-based DNA analyses of swine feces.

THE LINEAR SAMPLING METHOD FOR RECONSTRUCTING A PENETRABLE CAVITY WITH UNKNOWN EXTERNAL OBSTACLES

We consider the interior inverse scattering problem for recovering the shape of a penetrable partially coated cavity with external obstacles from the knowledge of measured scattered waves due to point sources.In the first part,we obtain the well-posedness of the direct scattering problem by the variational method.In the second part,we establish the mathematical basis of the linear sampling method to recover both the shape of the cavity,and the shape of the external obstacle,however the exterior transmission eigenvalue problem also plays a key role in the discussion of this paper.

The determination of 52 elements in marine geological samples by an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with a high-pressure closed digestion method

An improved analytical method to determine the content of 52 major, minor and trace elements in marine geological samples, using a HF-HCl-HNO_3 acid system with a high-pressure closed digestion method（HPCD）, is studied by an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry（ICP-OES） and an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry（ICP-MS）. The operating parameters of the instruments are optimized, and the optimal analytical parameters are determined. The influences of optical spectrum and mass spectrum interferences, digestion methods and acid systems on the analytical results are investigated. The optimal spectral lines and isotopes are chosen, and internal standard element of rhodium is selected to compensate for matrix effects and analytical signals drifting. Compared with the methods of an electric heating plate digestion and a microwave digestion, a high-pressure closed digestion method is optimized with less acid, complete digestion,less damage for digestion process. The marine geological samples are dissolved completely by a HF-HCl-HNO_3 system, the relative error（RE） for the analytical results are all less than 6.0%. The method detection limits are 2–40μg/g by the ICP-OES, and 6–80 ng/g by ICP-MS. The methods are used to determine the marine sediment reference materials（GBW07309, GBW07311, GBW07313）, rock reference materials（GBW07103, GBW07104,GBW07105）, and cobalt-rich crust reference materials（GBW07337, GBW07338, GBW07339）, the obtained analytical results are in agreement with the certified values, and both of the relative standard deviation（RSD） and the relative error（RE） are less than 6.0%. The analytical method meets the requirements for determining 52 elements contents of bulk marine geological samples.

Variations of suction and suction stress of unsaturated loess due to changes in lignin content and sample preparation method

Unsaturated loess in natural sites loses stability as the overburden load continuously increases.Traditional soil modifiers such as cement and fly ash affect the surrounding environment.A new type of material,i.e.,lignin,is environmentally friendly and able to increase the strength of loess.However,the engineering characteristics of the improved loess under unsaturated conditions are not yet clear.In this study,the soil-water characteristic curves(SWCCs)of lignin-improved loess samples were determined from 0 kPa to 700 kPa using a pressure plate instrument,and then,they were fitted using the van Genuchten(VG)model and the Fredlund and Xing(FX)model.In addition,the effects of the lignin content and sample preparation methods on the SWCCs were investigated to determine the optimal lignin content and a suitable sample preparation method for loess foundations.As the lignin content increases,the matric suction and residual water content of the improved loess increase.The suction stress increases with the increasing lignin contents of 1%–2%.At lignin contents of 3%–4%,the suction stress begins to decrease and the samples prepared using the slurry method has a lower suction stress than that prepared using the wet mixing method.The air entry value(AEV)increases with increasing lignin content.In addition,scanning electron microscopy(SEM)was used to investigate the microstructural variations.It was found that after the addition of lignin,the entrapment of the loess particles by the lignin fibers created some larger particles and smaller pore diameters,which in turn led to poor connectivity of the loess pores.These changes cause the matric suction of the modified loess to increase.

Variations of trace elements and rare earth elements(REEs)treated by two different methods for snow-pit samples on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and their implications

Although previous investigations of the trace elements in snow and ice from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau obtained interesting information about pollution from human activities on the plateau, most were based on traditional acidification methods.To emphasize the influence of the different sample-preparation methods on the records of trace elements and rare earth elements, snow samples were collected from glaciers on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in China and prepared using two methods: traditional acidification and total digestion. Concentrations of 18 trace elements(Al, Ti, Fe, Rb, Sr, Ba, V, Cr, Mn, Li,Cu, Co, Mo, Cs, Sb, Pb, Tl, and U), along with 14 rare earth elements(REEs: La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er,Tm, Yb, and Lu), Y, and Th in the snow samples, were measured using inductively coupled plasma-sector field mass spectrometry(ICP-SFMS). The results showed that the mass fraction of the trace elements(defined as ratio of concentration in the acid-leachable fraction to that in the digested sample) such as Mo, Ti, Al, Rb, and V, varied from 0.06 to 0.5. The mass fraction of other trace elements varied from about 0.6 to more than 0.9; those of the REEs, Y, and Th varied from 0.34 to0.75. Lower mass fractions will lead to an overestimated contribution of other sources, especially human activities, and the underestimated fluxes of these trace elements(especially REEs, Y, and Th, as well as dust) if the REEs are used as the proxy for the crust dust. The two sample-preparation methods exhibited different REE normalized distribution patterns,REE ratios, and provenance-tracing results. The REE normalized distribution patterns and proxies in the digested samples are more reliable and integrated than those found in traditional acidification method for dust-provenance tracing.

Improved response surface method based on sample point selection strategies

In the reliability analysis of complex structures,response surface method(RSM)has been suggested as an efficient technique to estimate the actual but implicit limit state function.A set of sample points are needed to fit to the implicit function.It has been noted that the accuracy of RSM depends highly on the so-called sample points.However,the technique for point selection has had little attention.In the present study,an improved response surface method(IRSM)based on two sample point selection techniques,named the direction cosines projected strategy(DCS)and the limit step length iteration strategy(LSS),is investigated.Since it uses the sampling points selected to be located in the region close to the original failure surface,and since it needs only one response surface,the IRSM should be accurate and simple in practical structural problems.Applications to several typical examples have helped to elucidate the successful working of the IRSM.

Underdetermined direction of arrival estimation with nonuniform linear motion sampling based on a small unmanned aerial vehicle platform

Uniform linear array(ULA)radars are widely used in the collision-avoidance radar systems of small unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs).In practice,a ULA's multi-target direction of arrival(DOA)estimation performance suffers from significant performance degradation owing to the limited number of physical elements.To improve the underdetermined DOA estimation performance of a ULA radar mounted on a small UAV platform,we propose a nonuniform linear motion sampling underdetermined DOA estimation method.Using the motion of the UAV platform,the echo signal is sampled at different positions.Then,according to the concept of difference co-array,a virtual ULA with multiple array elements and a large aperture is synthesized to increase the degrees of freedom(DOFs).Through position analysis of the original and motion arrays,we propose a nonuniform linear motion sampling method based on ULA for determining the optimal DOFs.Under the condition of no increase in the aperture of the physical array,the proposed method obtains a high DOF with fewer sampling runs and greatly improves the underdetermined DOA estimation performance of ULA.The results of numerical simulations conducted herein verify the superior performance of the proposed method.

A New Sample-Selection and Modeling Method Based on Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Its Industrial Application

Near-infrared( NIR) spectroscopy has been widely employed as a process analytical tool( PAT) in various fields; the most important reason for the use of this method is its ability to record spectra in real time to capture process properties. In quantitative online applications,the robustness of the established NIR model is often deteriorated by process condition variations,nonlinear of the properties or the high-dimensional of the NIR data set. To cope with such situation,a novel method based on principal component analysis( PCA) and artificial neural network( ANN) is proposed and a new sample-selection method is mentioned. The advantage of the presented approach is that it can select proper calibration samples and establish robust model effectively. The performance of the method was tested on a spectroscopic data set from a refinery process. Compared with traditional partial leastsquares( PLS),principal component regression( PCR) and several other modeling methods, the proposed approach was found to achieve good accuracy in the prediction of gasoline properties. An application of the proposed method is also reported.

A Comparison of Weighing Methods Prior to Fusion Preparing Iron Samples for XRF Analysis

Sample preparation by fusion for XRF analysis is all about knowing the exact weights of the sample and the flux (sample-to-flux ratio). The whole analytical chain, including the weighing step in sample preparation prior to fusion, is of crucial importance to get precise and accurate x-ray fluorescence (XRF) results. Consequently, the weighing method will affect the quality of the analytical results given by the spectrometer. In this study, the effects of different weighing methods on the precision (RSD) of the obtained XRF results are compared to determine the best weighing method for sample preparation by fusion in terms of comparable precisions in the XRF results.

A correlative classifiers approach based on particle filter and sample set for tracking occluded target

Target tracking is one of the most important issues in computer vision and has been applied in many fields of science, engineering and industry. Because of the occlusion during tracking, typical approaches with single classifier learn much of occluding background information which results in the decrease of tracking performance, and eventually lead to the failure of the tracking algorithm. This paper presents a new correlative classifiers approach to address the above problem. Our idea is to derive a group of correlative classifiers based on sample set method. Then we propose strategy to establish the classifiers and to query the suitable classifiers for the next frame tracking. In order to deal with nonlinear problem, particle filter is adopted and integrated with sample set method. For choosing the target from candidate particles, we define a similarity measurement between particles and sample set. The proposed sample set method includes the following steps. First, we cropped positive samples set around the target and negative samples set far away from the target. Second, we extracted average Haar-like feature from these samples and calculate their statistical characteristic which represents the target model. Third, we define the similarity measurement based on the statistical characteristic of these two sets to judge the similarity between candidate particles and target model. Finally, we choose the largest similarity score particle as the target in the new frame. A number of experiments show the robustness and efficiency of the proposed approach when compared with other state-of-the-art trackers.

Comparison of results analyzed by Chinese and European laboratories for FOREGS geochemical baselines mapping samples

Geochemical subsoil data obtained from China and European laboratories have been compared in this study. 787 C horizon subsoil samples from FOREGS （Forum of European Geological Surveys） geochemical baselines mapping project were sent to China＇s IGGE （Institute of Geophysical and Geochemical Exploration） laboratory and composited to 190 samples according to the 160 kin x 160 km GNT （Global Terrestrial Network） cells. In addition to the FOREGS elemental analysis package, Au, Pt, Pd, B, Ge, Br, CI, Se, N, Li and F were also analyzed by using the IGGE＇s 76 element analytical scheme. Geochemical data statistics, scatter plotting, and geochemical map compilation tech- niques have been employed to investigate differences between FOREGS and IGGE analytical results. The results of two datasets, the IGGE＇s analysis data for composited samples, and the FOREGS average data of samples in each GNT cell, agree extremely well lor about 23 elements, viz： SiO2, St, Al2O3, Zr, Ba, Fe2O3, Ti, Rb, Mn, Gd, CaO, Ga, MgO, P, Pb, Na2O, Y, Th, As, U Sc, Cr, and Co. There are slight differences between-laboratory biases shown as proportional errors between the datasets for Ni, K2O, Tb, Tl, Cu, S, Sin, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Eu, Ho, Er, Tin, Yb, Lu, Ta, Nb, HE and Dy. For Cd, Cs, Be, Sb, In, Mo, I, Sn, and Te, the correlation of the two datasets and the similarity of the geochemical maps are fairly good, but obvious biases exist between the two datasets at values near detection limits.

Effect of Sample Disturbance on Unconfined Compression Strength of Natural Marine Clays

Quantitatively correcting the unconfined compressive strength for sample disturbance is an important research project in the practice of ocean engineering and geotechnical engineering. In this study, the specimens of undisturbed natural marine clay obtained from the same depth at the same site were deliberately disturbed to different levels. Then, the specimens with different extents of sample disturbance were trimmed for both oedometer tests and unconfined compression tests. The degree of sample disturbance SD is obtained from the oedometer test data. The relationship between the unconfined compressive strength q u and SD is studied for investigating the effect of sample disturbance on q u. It is found that the value of q u decreases linearly with the increase in SD. Then, a simple method of correcting q u for sample disturbance is proposed. Its validity is also verified through analysis of the existing published data.

Distribution and Migration of Heavy Metals in Undisturbed Forest Soils:A High Resolution Sampling Method

The vertical distribution and migration of Cu,Zn,Pb,and Cd in two forest soil profiles near an industrial emission source were investigated using a high resolution sampling method together with reference element Ti.One-meter soil profile was sectioned horizontally at 2 cm intervals in the first 40 cm,5 cm intervals in the next 40 cm,and 10 cm intervals in the last 20 cm.The migration distance and rate of heavy metals in the soil profiles were calculated according to their relative concentrations in the profiles,as calibrated by the reference element Ti.The enrichment of heavy metals appeared in the uppermost layer of the forest soil,and the soil heavy metal concentrations decreased down the profile until reaching their background values.The calculated average migration rates of Cd,Cu,Pb,and Zn were 0.70,0.33,0.37,and 0.76 cm year-1,respectively,which were comparable to other methods.A simulation model was proposed,which could well describe the distribution of Cu,Zn,Pb,and Cd in natural forest soils.

Importance Sampling Method in V-Space

Based on the observation of importance sampling and second order information about the failure surface of a structure, an importance sampling region is defined in V-space which is obtained by rotating a U-space at the point of maximum likelihood. The sampling region is a hyper-ellipsoid that consists of the sampling ellipse on each plane of main curvature in V-space. Thus, the sampling probability density function can be constructed by the sampling region center and ellipsoid axes. Several examples have shown the efficiency and generality of this method.

Inductively Coupled Plasma(ICP) Mass Spectrometry(MS) Hyphenated with Atomic Emission Spectrometry(AES) for Simultaneous Determination of Major, Minor and Micro Amounts of Elements in Geochemical Samples

Introduction Geological resource survey demands for determining various constituents including major, minor, micro, trace and ultra-trace levels of elements for preparing the map of resource distribution of our country. As a powerful and popularly used technique for multi-element analysis, inductively coupled plasma（ICP） atomic emission spectrometry （AES） has been applied to this field for a period of time. However, ICP spectrometric determination of those micro, trace and ultratrace elements needs enrichment procedures for improving the detection limit, which is unacceptable in case a great mass of samples should be analyzed as that in the task of geological resource survey. On the other hand, although ICP mass spectrometry （MS） is considered the most powerful method for trace elements determination, it is difficult for ICP-MS to be used to determine the trace and major analytes simultaneously in a spectrum.

Particle flow code simulation of intact and fissured granitic rock samples

This study presents a calibration process of three-dimensional particle flow code(PFC3D)simulation of intact and fissured granite samples.First,laboratory stressestrain response from triaxial testing of intact and fissured granite samples is recalled.Then,PFC3D is introduced,with focus on the bonded particle models(BPM).After that,we present previous studies where intact rock is simulated by means of flatjoint approaches,and how improved accuracy was gained with the help of parametric studies.Then,models of the pre-fissured rock specimens were generated,including modeled fissures in the form of“smooth joint”type contacts.Finally,triaxial testing simulations of 1 t 2 and 2 t 3 jointed rock specimens were performed.Results show that both elastic behavior and the peak strength levels are closely matched,without any additional fine tuning of micro-mechanical parameters.Concerning the postfailure behavior,models reproduce the trends of decreasing dilation with increasing confinement and plasticity.However,the dilation values simulated are larger than those observed in practice.This is attributed to the difficulty in modeling some phenomena of fissured rock behaviors,such as rock piece corner crushing with dust production and interactions between newly formed shear bands or axial splitting cracks with pre-existing joints.

Reliability Assessment for the Solenoid Valve of a High-Speed Train Braking System under Small Sample Size

Reliability assessment of the braking system in a high?speed train under small sample size and zero?failure data is veryimportant for safe operation. Traditional reliability assessment methods are only performed well under conditions of large sample size and complete failure data,which lead to large deviation under conditions of small sample size and zero?failure data. To improve this problem,a new Bayesian method is proposed. Based on the characteristics of the solenoid valve in the braking system of a high?speed train,the modified Weibull distribution is selected to describe the failure rate over the entire lifetime. Based on the assumption of a binomial distribution for the failure probability at censored time,a concave method is employed to obtain the relationships between accumulation failure prob?abilities. A numerical simulation is performed to compare the results of the proposed method with those obtained from maximum likelihood estimation,and to illustrate that the proposed Bayesian model exhibits a better accuracy for the expectation value when the sample size is less than 12. Finally,the robustness of the model is demonstrated by obtaining the reliability indicators for a numerical case involving the solenoid valve of the braking system,which shows that the change in the reliability and failure rate among the di erent hyperparameters is small. The method is provided to avoid misleading of subjective information and improve accuracy of reliability assessment under condi?tions of small sample size and zero?failure data.

Sampling Methods for Efficient Training of Graph Convolutional Networks:A Survey

Graph convolutional networks(GCNs)have received significant attention from various research fields due to the excellent performance in learning graph representations.Although GCN performs well compared with other methods,it still faces challenges.Training a GCN model for large-scale graphs in a conventional way requires high computation and storage costs.Therefore,motivated by an urgent need in terms of efficiency and scalability in training GCN,sampling methods have been proposed and achieved a significant effect.In this paper,we categorize sampling methods based on the sampling mechanisms and provide a comprehensive survey of sampling methods for efficient training of GCN.To highlight the characteristics and differences of sampling methods,we present a detailed comparison within each category and further give an overall comparative analysis for the sampling methods in all categories.Finally,we discuss some challenges and future research directions of the sampling methods.

A new sampling method in the Zagros forests using GIS(case study: Ilam forests of Iran)

One of the basic parameters in forest management planning is detailed knowledge of growing stock,information collected by forest inventory.Sampling methods must be accurate,inexpensive,and be easy to implement in the field.This study presents a new sampling method called branching transect for use in the Iranian Zagros forests and similar forests.Features of the new method include greater accuracy,easy implementation in nature,simplicity of statistical calculations,and low cost.In this method,transect is used,which includes some subtransects(side branches).The length of the main transect,side branches,number of trees measured in each side branch,and the number of sub-branches in this method are changeable based on homogeneity,heterogeneity,and density of a forest.In this study,based on the density and heterogeneity of the forest area studied,20-m transects with four and eight side branches were used.Sampling plots(Transects)in four inventory networks(100 m×100 m,100 m×150 m,150 m×150 m and 100 m×200 m)were implemented in the GIS environment.The results of this sampling method were compared to the results of total inventory(100%count)in terms of accuracy,precision(t-test),and inventory error percentage.Branching transect results were statistially similar to total inventory counts in all cases.The results show that this method of estimating density and canopy per hectare can be used in Zagros forests and similar forests.