An optimization strategy for waveband selection in FT-NIR quantitative analysis of corn protein

Quantitative Prediction of Protein Content in Corn Kernel Based on Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Rapid and accurate detection of protein content is essential for ensuring the quality of maize. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) technology faces limitations due to surface effects and sample homogeneity issues when measuring the protein content of whole maize grains. Focusing on maize grain powder can significantly improve the quality of data and the accuracy of model predictions. This study aims to explore a rapid detection method for protein content in maize grain powder based on near-infrared spectroscopy. A method for determining protein content in maize grain powder was established using near-infrared (NIR) reflectance spectra in the 940-1660 nm range. Various preprocessing techniques, including Savitzky-Golay (S-G), multiplicative scatter correction (MSC), standard normal variate (SNV), and the first derivative (1D), were employed to preprocess the raw spectral data. Near-infrared spectral data from different varieties of maize grain powder were collected, and quantitative analysis of protein content was conducted using Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) models. Feature wavelengths were selected to enhance model accuracy further using the Successive Projections Algorithm (SPA) and Uninformative Variable Elimination (UVE). Experimental results indicated that the PLSR model, preprocessed with 1D + MSC, yielded the best performance, achieving a root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 0.3 g/kg, a correlation coefficient (Rp) of 0.93, and a residual predictive deviation (RPD) of 3. The associated methods and theoretical foundation provide a scientific basis for the quality control and processing of maize.

Optimizing feature selection with gradient boosting machines in PLS regression for predicting moisture and protein in multi-country corn kernels via NIR spectroscopy

Differences in moisture and protein content impact both nutritional value and processing efficiency of corn kernels. Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy can be used to estimate kernel composition, but models trained on a few environments may underestimate error rates and bias. We assembled corn samples from diverse international environments and used NIR with chemometrics and partial least squares regression (PLSR) to determine moisture and protein. The potential of five feature selection methods to improve prediction accuracy was assessed by extracting sensitive wavelengths. Gradient boosting machines (GBMs), particularly CatBoost and LightGBM, were found to effectively select crucial wavelengths for moisture (1409, 1900, 1908, 1932, 1953, 2174 nm) and protein (887, 1212, 1705, 1891, 2097, 2456 nm). SHAP plots highlighted significant wavelength contributions to model prediction. These results illustrate GBMs' effectiveness in feature engineering for agricultural and food sector applications, including developing multi-country global calibration models for moisture and protein in corn kernels.

Integrating portable NIR spectrometry with deep learning for accurate Estimation of crude protein in corn feed

This study investigates the challenges encountered in utilizing portable near-infrared (NIR) spectrometers in agriculture, specifically in developing predictive models with high accuracy and robust generalization abilities despite limited spectral resolution and small sample sizes. The research concentrates on the near-infrared spectra of corn feed, utilizing spectral processing techniques and CNNs to precisely estimate crude protein content. Five preprocessing methods were implemented alongside two-dimensional (2D) correlation spectroscopy, resulting in the development of both one-dimensional (1D) and 2D regression models. A comparative analysis of these models in predicting crude protein content demonstrated that 1D-CNNs exhibited superior predictive performance within the 1D category. For the 2D models, CropNet and CropResNet were utilized, with CropResNet demonstrating more accurate and superior predictive capabilities. Overall, the integration of 2D correlation spectroscopy with suitable preprocessing techniques in deep learning models, particularly the 2D CropResNet, proved to be more precise in predicting the crude protein content in corn feed. This finding emphasis the potential of this approach in the portable spectrometer market.

Non-Invasive Methods for Predicting the Quality of Processed Horticultural Food Products, with Emphasis on Dried Powders, Juices and Oils: A Review

This review covers recent developments in the field of non-invasive techniques for the quality assessment of processed horticultural products over the past decade. The concept of quality and various quality characteristics related to evaluating processed horticultural products are detailed. A brief overview of non-invasive methods, including spectroscopic techniques, nuclear magnetic resonance, and hyperspectral imaging techniques, is presented. This review highlights their application to predict quality attributes of different processed horticultural products (e.g., powders, juices, and oils). A concise summary of their potential commercial application for quality assessment, control, and monitoring of processed agricultural products is provided. Finally, we discuss their limitations and highlight other emerging non-invasive techniques applicable for monitoring and evaluating the quality attributes of processed horticultural products. Our findings suggest that infrared spectroscopy (both near and mid) has been the preferred choice for the non-invasive assessment of processed horticultural products, such as juices, oils, and powders, and can be adapted for on-line quality control. Raman spectroscopy has shown potential in the analysis of powdered products. However, imaging techniques, such as hyperspectral imaging and X-ray computed tomography, require improvement on data acquisition, processing times, and reduction in the cost and size of the devices so that they can be adopted for on-line measurements at processing facilities. Overall, this review suggests that non-invasive techniques have the potential for industrial application and can be used for quality assessment.

Determination of starch and amylose contents in various cereals using common model of near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy

Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to determine the total starch and amylose contents in various kinds of cereals namely wheat, waxy rice, non-waxy rice, millet, sorghum, waxy maize, buckwheat, barley, and hulless oat. The partial least-squares (PLS) analysis and principal component regression (PCR) were used to establish the calibration models. PLS model achieved a better effect than PCR at 1100 - 2500 nm, and the coefficient of determination (R2) of the calibration and prediction sets were both higher than 0.9 after the best pre-treatment method, first derivative plus Savitzky-Golay. Additionally, the root mean square error (RMSE) was lower than 2.50, and the root mean square error of cross-validation (RMSECV) was less than 3.50 for starch. By comparing PLS models at different waveband regions, the optimal determination results for starch and amylose were obtained at 1923 - 1961 and 1724 - 1818 nm, respectively. NIRS was found to be a successful method to determine of the starch and amylose contents in various cereals.

A Novel Genetic Algorithm-Based Optimization Framework for the Improvement of Near-Infrared Quantitative Calibration Models

The global fishmeal production is used for animal feed, and protein is the main component that provides nutrition to animals. In order to monitor and control the nutrition supply to animal husbandry, near-infrared (NIR) technology was utilized for rapid detection of protein contents in fishmeal samples. The aim of the NIR quantitative calibration is to enhance the model prediction ability, where the study of chemometric algorithms is inevitably on demand. In this work, a novel optimization framework of GSMW-LPC-GA was constructed for NIR calibration. In the framework, some informative NIR wavebands were selected by grid search moving window (GSMW) strategy, and then the variables/wavelengths in the waveband were transformed to latent principal components (LPCs) as the inputs for genetic algorithm (GA) optimization. GA operates in iterations as implementation for the secondary optimization of NIR wavebands. In steps of the variable's population evolution, the parametric scaling mode was investigated for the optimal determination of the crossover probability and the mutation operator. With the GSMW-LPC-GA framework, the NIR prediction effect on fishmeal protein was experimentally better than the effect by simply adopting the moving window calibration model. The results demonstrate that the proposed framework is suitable for NIR quantitative determination of fishmeal protein. GA was eventually regarded as an implementable method providing an efficient strategy for improving the performance of NIR calibration models. The framework is expected to provide an efficient strategy for analyzing some unknown changes and influence of various fertilizers.

Identification of heat damage in imported soybeans based on hyperspectral imaging technology

BACKGROUND

Imported soybeans are prone to heat damage due to high storage temperatures or poor ventilation during transportation. Heat damage directly degrades the quality of the produce and greatly reduces the edible value of soybeans. Rapid and nondestructive techniques for assessing the quality of imported soybeans are in demand. Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) technology was used to distinguish sound soybeans from heat-damaged soybeans.

RESULTS

For testing the effectiveness of preprocessing methods in enhancing model performance, five different preprocessing methods were implemented to original spectra. To solve problems related to accuracy, efficiency, and model interpretability caused by high-dimensional HSI data, three waveband selection algorithms - dependency measure (DM-NRS), mutual information (MI-NRS) and variable precision (VP-NRS) - based on neighborhood rough set (NRS) theory were proposed to identify the waveband subsets with optimal distinguishing ability. The effectiveness of preprocessing methods and waveband selection algorithms was validated by establishing two kinds of models: extreme learning machine (ELM) and random forest (RF) models. In addition to the classification accuracy, the robustness of the waveband selection algorithms was studied. The results demonstrated that the Savitzky-Golay (SG) smoothing preprocessing method combined with the MI-NRS waveband selection algorithm and the ELM classifier achieved the best classification and robustness results. Classification accuracy reached 99.98% when using only two optimal wavebands, and reached 100% when using more than four optimal wavebands.

CONCLUSION

The results prove that the HSI technology is an accurate, effective, and nondestructive technique for classifying sound and heat-damaged soybeans. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Comparison of algorithms for wavelength variables selection from near-infrared (NIR) spectra for quantitative monitoring of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) cultivations

Rapid monitoring with near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cultivations was implemented to monitor yeast concentrations. The measurement of one spectrum by using of FT-NIR spectrometer can obtain 1557 wavelength variables. To distinguish which wavelength variables of the collected FT-NIR spectra carry important and relevant information regarding the yeast concentrations, there are three different variables selection approaches, namely genetic algorithm (GA), competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS), and variable combination population analysis (VCPA), were compared in this study. The selected wavelength variables from each method were evaluated using partial least squares (PLS) models to seek the most significant variable combinations for predicting the yeast concentrations. Experimental results showed that the VCPA-PLS model with the best predictive performance was found when using ten principal components (PCs) based on selected eleven characteristic wavelength variables by VCPA algorithm. And the predictive performance indicators of the model were as follows: the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) was 0.0680, the coefficient of determination (R_p²) was 0.9924, and the ratio performance deviation (RPD) was 11.8625 in the validation process. Based on the results, it is promising to develop a specific inexpensive NIR sensor for the yeast cultivation process using several light-emitting diodes.

Rapid Measurement of Soybean Seed Viability Using Kernel-Based Multispectral Image Analysis

Viability is an important quality factor influencing seed germination and crop yield. Current seed-viability testing methods rely on conventional manual inspections, which use destructive, labor-intensive and time-consuming measurements. The aim of this study is to distinguish between viable and nonviable soybean seeds, using a near-infrared (NIR) hyperspectral imaging (HSI) technique in a rapid and nondestructive manner. The data extracted from the NIR⁻HSI of viable and nonviable soybean seeds were analyzed using a partial least-squares discrimination analysis (PLS-DA) technique for classifying the viable and nonviable soybean seeds. Variable importance in projection (VIP) was used as a waveband selection method to develop a multispectral imaging model. Initially, the spectral profile of each pixel in the soybean seed images was subjected to PLS-DA analysis, which yielded a reasonable classification accuracy; however, the pixel-based classification method was not successful for high accuracy detection for nonviable seeds. Another viability detection method was then investigated: a kernel image threshold method with an optimum-detection-rate strategy. The kernel-based classification of seeds showed over 95% accuracy even when using only seven optimal wavebands selected through VIP. The results show that the proposed multispectral NIR imaging method is an effective and accurate nondestructive technique for the discrimination of soybean seed viability.

Fuji apple storage time rapid determination method using Vis/NIR spectroscopy

Fuji apple storage time rapid determination method using visible/near-infrared (Vis/NIR) spectroscopy was studied in this paper. Vis/NIR diffuse reflection spectroscopy responses to samples were measured for 6 days. Spectroscopy data were processed by stochastic resonance (SR). Principal component analysis (PCA) was utilized to analyze original spectroscopy data and SNR eigen value. Results demonstrated that PCA could not totally discriminate Fuji apples using original spectroscopy data. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) spectrum clearly classified all apple samples. PCA using SNR spectrum successfully discriminated apple samples. Therefore, Vis/NIR spectroscopy was effective for Fuji apple storage time rapid discrimination. The proposed method is also promising in condition safety control and management for food and environmental laboratories.

Investigation of sample partitioning in quantitative near-infrared analysis of soil organic carbon based on parametric LS-SVR modeling

A framework for sample partitioning is proposed to take into account the tunable ratio of numbers of calibration and prediction samples, in consideration with the randomness, stability and robustness of calibration models.