bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Phase II Study of Sorafenib in Patients With Metastatic or Recurrent Sarcomas
Authors: Maki Robert G. , D'Adamo David R. , Keohan Mary L. , Saulle Michael , Schuetze Scott M. , Undevia Samir D. , Livingston Michael B. , Cooney Matthew M. , Hensley Martee L. , Mita Monica M. , Takimoto Chris H. , Kraft Andrew S. , Elias Anthony D. , Brockstein Bruce , Blachère Nathalie E. , Edgar Mark A. , Schwartz Lawrence H. , Qin Li-Xuan , Antonescu Cristina R. , Schwartz Gary K.
Published: May 2009

Purpose

Since activity of sorafenib was observed in sarcoma patients in a phase I study, we performed a multicenter phase II study of daily oral sorafenib in patients with recurrent or metastatic sarcoma.

Patients and Methods

We employed a multiarm study design, each representing a sarcoma subtype with its own Simon optimal two-stage design. In each arm, 12 patients who received 0 to 1 prior lines of therapy were treated (0 to 3 for angiosarcoma and malignant peripheral-nerve sheath tumor). If at least one Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) was observed, 25 further patients with that sarcoma subtype were accrued.

Results

Between October 2005 and November 2007, 145 patients were treated; 144 were eligible for toxicity and 122 for response. Median age was 55 years; female-male ratio was 1.8:1. The median number of cycles was 3. Five of 37 patients with angiosarcoma had a partial response (response rate, 14%). This was the only arm to meet the RECIST response rate primary end point. Median progression-free survival was 3.2 months; median overall survival was 14.3 months. Adverse events (typically dermatological) necessitated dose reduction for 61% of patients. Statistical modeling in this limited patient cohort indicated sorafenib toxicity was correlated inversely to patient height. There was no correlation between phosphorylated extracellular signal regulated kinase expression and response in six patients with angiosarcoma with paired pre- and post-therapy biopsies.

Conclusion

As a single agent, sorafenib has activity against angiosarcoma and minimal activity against other sarcomas. Further evaluation of sorafenib in these and possibly other sarcoma subtypes appears warranted, presumably in combination with cytotoxic or kinase-specific agents.
Improved Overall Survival With Oxaliplatin, Fluorouracil, and Leucovorin As Adjuvant Treatment in Stage II or III Colon Cancer in the MOSAIC Trial
Authors: André Thierry , Boni Corrado , Navarro Matilde , Tabernero Josep , Hickish Tamas , Topham Clare , Bonetti Andrea , Clingan Philip , Bridgewater John , Rivera Fernando , de Gramont Aimery
Published: May 2009

Purpose

Three-year disease-free survival (DFS) was significantly improved in patients who had undergone resection with curative intent for stage II or III colon cancer who received bolus plus continuous-infusion fluorouracil plus leucovorin (LV5FU2) with the addition of oxaliplatin (FOLFOX4). Final results of the study, including 6-year overall survival (OS) and 5-year updated DFS, are reported.

Patients and Methods

A total of 2,246 patients were randomly assigned to receive LV5FU2 or FOLFOX4 for 6 months. The primary end point was DFS. Secondary end points were OS and safety.

Results

Five-year DFS rates were 73.3% and 67.4% in the FOLFOX4 and LV5FU2 groups, respectively (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.80; 95% CI, 0.68 to 0.93; P = .003). Six-year OS rates were 78.5% and 76.0% in the FOLFOX4 and LV5FU2 groups, respectively (HR = 0.84; 95% CI, 0.71 to 1.00; P = .046); corresponding 6-year OS rates for patients with stage III disease were 72.9% and 68.7%, respectively (HR = 0.80; 95% CI, 0.65 to 0.97; P = .023). No difference in OS was seen in the stage II population. The incidence of second noncolorectal cancers was 5.5% and 6.1% in the FOLFOX4 and LV5FU2 groups, respectively. Among patients receiving oxaliplatin, the frequency of grade 3 peripheral sensory neuropathy was 1.3% 12 months after treatment and 0.7% at 48 months.

Conclusion

Adding oxaliplatin to LV5FU2 significantly improved 5-year DFS and 6-year OS in the adjuvant treatment of stage II or III colon cancer and should be considered after surgery for patients with stage III disease.
Phase II Trial of Ixabepilone As Second-Line Treatment in Advanced Endometrial Cancer: Gynecologic Oncology Group Trial 129-P
Authors: Dizon Don S. , Blessing John A. , McMeekin D. Scott , Sharma Sudarshan K. , DiSilvestro Paul , Alvarez Ronald D.
Published: May 2009

Purpose

A phase II study was conducted to determine the response rate of ixabepilone (BMS-247550, National Cancer Institute (NCI)–supplied agent investigational new drug No. 59,699) in patients with persistent or recurrent endometrial cancer who have progressed despite standard therapy.

Patients and Methods

Eligible patients had recurrent or persistent endometrial cancer and measurable disease. One prior chemotherapeutic regimen, which could have included either paclitaxel or docetaxel, was allowed. Patients received ixabepilone 40 mg/m2 as a 3-hour infusion on day 1 of a 21-day cycle. Treatment was continued until disease progression or until unacceptable toxicity occurred.

Results

Fifty-two patients were entered on the study, and 50 of these were eligible. The median age was 64 years (range, 40 to 83 years). Prior treatment included radiation in 21 patients (42%) and hormonal therapy in eight patients (16%). All patients had prior chemotherapy, and 47 (94%) received prior paclitaxel therapy. The overall response rate was 12%; one patient achieved a complete remission (2%), and five achieved partial remission (10%). Stable disease for at least 8 weeks was noted in 30 patients (60%). The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 2.9 months, and the 6-month PFS was 20%. Major grade 3 toxicities were neutropenia (52%), leukopenia (48%), gastrointestinal (24%), neurologic (18%), constitutional (20%), infection (16%), and anemia (14%).

Conclusion

In a cohort of women with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer who were previously treated with paclitaxel, ixabepilone showed modest activity of limited duration as a second-line agent.
Efficacy of Melphalan and Prednisone Plus Thalidomide in Patients Older Than 75 Years With Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma: IFM 01/01 Trial
Authors: Hulin Cyrille , Facon Thierry , Rodon Philippe , Pegourie Brigitte , Benboubker Lotfi , Doyen Chantal , Dib Mamoun , Guillerm Gaelle , Salles Bruno , Eschard Jean-Paul , Lenain Pascal , Casassus Philippe , Azaïs Isabelle , Decaux Olivier , Garderet Laurent , Mathiot Claire , Fontan Jean , Lafon Ingrid , Virion Jean Marc , Moreau Philippe
Published: May 2009

Purpose

Until recently, melphalan and prednisone were the standards of care in elderly patients with multiple myeloma. The addition of thalidomide to this combination demonstrated a survival benefit for patients age 65 to 75 years. This randomized, placebo-controlled, phase III trial investigated the efficacy of melphalan and prednisone plus thalidomide in patients older than 75 years with newly diagnosed myeloma.

Patients and Methods

Between April 2002 and December 2006, 232 previously untreated patients with myeloma, age 75 years or older, were enrolled and 229 were randomly assigned to treatment. All patients received melphalan (0.2 mg/kg/d) plus prednisone (2 mg/kg/d) for 12 courses (day 1 to 4) every 6 weeks. Patients were randomly assigned to receive 100 mg/d of oral thalidomide (n = 113) or placebo (n = 116), continuously for 72 weeks. The primary end point was overall survival.

Results

After a median follow-up of 47.5 months, overall survival was significantly longer in patients who received melphalan and prednisone plus thalidomide compared with those who received melphalan and prednisone plus placebo (median, 44.0 v 29.1 months; P = .028). Progression-free survival was significantly prolonged in the melphalan and prednisone plus thalidomide group (median, 24.1 v 18.5 months; P = .001). Two adverse events were significantly increased in the melphalan and prednisone plus thalidomide group: grade 2 to 4 peripheral neuropathy (20% v 5% in the melphalan and prednisone plus placebo group; P < .001) and grade 3 to 4 neutropenia (23% v 9%; P = .003).

Conclusion

This trial confirms the superiority of the combination melphalan and prednisone plus thalidomide over melphalan and prednisone alone for prolonging survival in very elderly patients with newly diagnosed myeloma. Toxicity was acceptable.
Randomized Phase III Trial Comparing Biweekly Infusional Fluorouracil/Leucovorin Alone or With Irinotecan in the Adjuvant Treatment of Stage III Colon Cancer: PETACC-3
Authors: Van Cutsem Eric , Labianca Roberto , Bodoky György , Barone Carlo , Aranda Enrique , Nordlinger Bernard , Topham Claire , Tabernero Josep , André Thierry , Sobrero Alberto F. , Mini Enrico , Greil Richard , Di Costanzo Francesco , Collette Laurence , Cisar Laura , Zhang Xiaoxi , Khayat David , Bokemeyer Carsten , Roth Arnaud D. , Cunningham David
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The primary objective of this randomized, multicenter, phase III trial was to investigate whether the addition of irinotecan to the de Gramont infusional fluorouracil (FU)/leucovorin (LV) adjuvant regimen (LV5FU2) would improve disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with stage III colon cancer.

Patients and Methods

After curatively intentioned surgery, patients with stage II and III colon cancer were randomly allocated surgery to receive LV5FU2 (LV 200 mg/m2as a 2-hour infusion, followed by FU; as a 400 mg/m2bolus and then a 600 mg/m2continuous infusion over 22 hours, days 1 and 2, every 2 weeks for 12 cycles: de Gramont regimen) with or without irinotecan (180 mg/m2as a 30- to 90-minute infusion, day 1, every 2 weeks). In total, 260 (7.9%) of 3,278 patients received an alternative high-dose infusional FU/LV regimen (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Internische Onkologie regimen) with or without irinotecan.

Results

The principal efficacy analysis was based on 2,094 treated patients with stage III disease, randomly allocated in the LV5FU2 strata. After a median follow-up of 66.3 months, the 5-year DFS rate was 56.7% with irinotecan/LV5FU2 and 54.3% with LV5FU2 alone (primary end point: log-rank P = .106). Combining irinotecan with LV5FU2 did not significantly improve overall survival in this patient group compared with LV5FU2 alone (5-year rate 73.6% v 71.3%, respectively; log-rank P = .094). The addition of irinotecan to LV5FU2 was associated with an increased incidence of grade 3 to 4 GI events and neutropenia.

Conclusion

Irinotecan added to LV5FU2 as adjuvant therapy did not confer a statistically significant improvement in DFS or overall survival in patients with stage III colon cancer compared with LV5FU2 alone.
Probably Poe
Authors: Lee Maurice S.
Published: May 2009

Edgar Allan Poe's texts famously set reason against irrationality, usually formulated in terms of gothic horror, linguistic indeterminacy, psychosexual anxiety, racial fear, or some combination thereof. The disruptive power of chance is less noticed but nonetheless crucial to Poe's writings about the limits of reason, particularly his tales of ratiocination—“The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841), “The Mystery of Marie Roget” (1842–43), and “The Purloined Letter” (1844). Exploring emergent sciences of chance through his polymath investigator Dupin, Poe's use of probability theory matters in a number of registers. His tales of ratiocination confront the challenge of skepticism by working with, not against, scientific discourses of the time, suggesting that the relationship between science and romanticism is not as oppositional as it is sometimes taken to be. Concepts of chance also influence Poe's literary practice and theory, offering a framework for an aesthetic that turns out to be surprisingly realistic. Finally, as a writer attuned to popular culture, Poe both critiques and reflects everyday forms of probabilistic thinking, thus (as odd as it may sound) helping to define what it means to act rationally in mid-nineteenth-century America. By focusing on chance, we can understand Poe less as a proto-poststructuralist and more as a writer who anticipates the rise of pragmatism. It has long been recognized that Poe asks some of the hardest philosophical questions. His encounters with chance show that he has more answers than his critics have often supposed.
Whitman's Atom and the Crisis of Materiality in the Early Leaves of Grass
Authors: Noble Mark
Published: May 2009

Noble's essay examines Walt Whitman's investment in an often radical materialization of subjectivity, which both underlies his earliest claims to reinvent embodied experience and brings his poetic project to crisis. In the 1855 Leaves, Whitman's enthusiasm for the popular science of his era leads to the adoption of a progressive atomism that relocates the spiritual power of subjectivity within the material. “Song of Myself” thus develops a chemistry of embodied presence that makes it possible to demonstrate that “every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.” In 1856, “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” extends the reach of Whitman's materialist poetics by supplementing the perceptual mechanics of Lucretian physics (in which the sentient body is composed of and sustained by the flow of objects toward it) in order to produce a material subject capable, however ironically, of transcending material limitations. Many of Whitman's 1860 poems, however, also encounter a deathliness of matter (the speaker figured as a “trail of drift and debris,” for instance, in “As I Ebb'd with the Ocean of Life”). In his “Calamus” cluster especially, Whitman speaks as though from the margins of his own oeuvre, laboring to fashion a temporary space from which poems of democratic adhesion might be uttered. If in 1856 the atom enables the poet to transcend space and time, in 1860 he may convert matter into spirit, but he may not outlive it. Read in this light, Whitman's early editions of Leaves record an important ambivalence about the plenitudes secured by materialist thinking.
Marking Time in Native America: Haiku, Elegy, Survival
Authors: Ford Karen Jackson
Published: May 2009

Ford's essay investigates the post–World War II haiku boom in the United States with particular attention to how haiku has served different projects of national identity. These diverse projects share an inclination to respond in haiku to the United States' troubled history of colonization and conquest, associating Native America and Japan in a number of ways and generating poems that address the conquest of the Americas with surprising consistency. Japanese Americans writing from internment camps during World War II (Violet Matsuda de Cristoforo) associated their own removal and oppression with that of Native Americans. Anglo-American poets sometimes turned to haiku (after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the wars with Korea and Vietnam) to escape an identity they scorned: white, American, middle-class. Haiku's famed impersonality promised a release not merely from Western egocentrism but from Western identity—and the guilt associated with that identity. To these poets (Ordway Southard, Foster and Rhoda Jewell, Jack Kerouak, Diane Di Prima, Gary Snyder) haiku both thematized and formalized transience and was thus precisely the poetic form for explaining conquest and elegizing the Vanishing American, who, in the national imaginary, vanished into haiku's province: nature. And yet Native American poets (Gerald Vizenor, William Oandasan) have also written haiku for precisely the opposite reason: for resistance and survival. What we discover in the varied uses of haiku among Japanese, Anglo-, and Native Americans is its surprising utility as a form, supposed to suppress self-identification, for competing projects of American national identity.
Greening the Mediterranean: Europe's Environmental Policy toward Mediterranean Neighbors
Authors: Lesser Pamela
Published: May 2009

Twenty-one countries share the Mediterranean's coastline with no single country responsible for its environmental deterioration or its protection. They are collectively responsible for both. Over four decades, the environmental dimension of Europe's policy toward its Mediterranean neighbors has become increasingly prominent. The central place of environmental projects in the Union for the Mediterranean, launched in July 2008, is the clearest indication of the growing place of the environment in Mediterranean cooperation. Growing public and political awareness of environmental problems in the region argue for a more concerted approach, embracing United Nations, European Union, and national initiatives—and a more “singular” approach to shared challenges.
The Politics of Adjustment and Coordination at the Regional Level: The Basque Country
Authors: Royo Sebastián
Published: May 2009

Is globalization forcing economies that are not coordinated market economies, such as Spain's, to converge on a British-American model? This essay seeks to build on the hypotheses generated by the literature on varieties of capitalism to analyze the challenges of developing and sustaining coordination while adjusting for economic change. In particular, it seeks to explore ways in which subnational factors promote the ability of socioeconomic actors to develop public-private institutions. By focusing on a particular autonomous region of Spain, the Basque Country, this article explores the role of institutional arrangements at the regional level in determining national adjustment. In the Basque Country the relative power and the particular interests of the regional state have been central factors in promoting distinctive patterns of coordination. At the same time, actors' preferences and policy outcomes have been constrained by the differences in the quality and configuration of institutional frameworks, political deals, and the existing economic structure.
Casino Artemis: Gambling on More Than “Northern Cyprus”
Authors: Michael Despina
Published: May 2009

New hopes for a final settlement in Cyprus have recently been raised because of the high-powered talks between President Demetrios Christofias of the Republic of Cyprus and Turkish-Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat. This essay considers how a reunified Cyprus might deal with the nearly seventy casinos currently in “Northern Cyprus”, especially as both sides of Cyprus forbid gambling. The author argues that with Turkey and private investors pouring millions of investment dollars into “Northern Cyprus”, the changing economic reality of the occupied area is leading inevitably to a changed political reality.
Somalia: Prospects for a Lasting Peace
Authors: Dagne Ted
Published: May 2009

In June 2006, the forces of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) took control of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. During the six-month rule by the ICU, Mogadishu became relatively stable, but efforts to bring peace did not lead to a major breakthrough. On 28 December 2006, Ethiopian troops captured Mogadishu with little resistance from the ICU. The Ethiopian intervention has led to more chaos and instability in Somalia over the past two years. In November 2008, the Ethiopian government announced that its forces would pull out of Somalia by the end of 2008. In June 2008, the Transitional Federal Government and the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS), a group dominated by members of the ICU, signed an agreement in Djibouti mediated by United Nations special envoy Ahmedou Ould-Abdullah. The next phase of the Somali conflict is likely to occur between the ARS and al-Shabaab, a group determined to expand its influence and control beyond Mogadishu. Meanwhile, Somali pirates have intensified their attacks in the Gulf of Aden, carrying out attacks on more than ninety commercial ships and successfully hijacking more than thirty-five ships in 2008. The pirates have earned more than $50 million in ransom payments and have released a number of the ships and crew members. The United States, Russia, India, and several other countries have deployed warships to tackle piracy in the Horn of Africa region, although the problem still persists.
Russia, China, and the Energy-Security Politics of the Caspian Sea Region After the Cold War
Authors: Hall Gregory , Grant Tiara
Published: May 2009

Increasingly, Central Asia, and specifically the Caspian Sea Basin (CSB), is becoming a crowded place, as government officials and oil interests from European Union countries, the United States, Russia, China, Iran, Turkey, and elsewhere (including increasingly energy-thirsty India) vie for partnerships with the energy-rich former Soviet republics. Russia lays special claim to what it sees as its “near abroad” (notably, the Caucasus and Central Asia), and its leaders strive to limit US influence over the energy resources of the CSB. China, a global economic power still in ascension, not only works with Russia to counter US influence in the area but also seeks to develop and import more of the region's energy resources to fuel its economic expansion. Both China and Russia aim to curb rising Islamic influence in the region. This essay examines the interests and policies in the CSB of Russia and China, respectively, since the end of the Cold War and their bilateral relationship. While the two countries enjoy a strategic partnership that serves to counter the United States economically, politically, and militarily, lingering mistrust and divergent policy interests could work to limit the extent of this relationship between these two giants of the non-Western world.
Freedom, Slavery, and Homo Economicus
Authors: Stanley Amy Dru
Published: May 2009

In “Freedom, Slavery, and Homo Economicus,” Amy Dru Stanley explores two provocative claims advanced by Melvin Patrick Ely in Israel on the Appomattox—first, that the very existence of slavery allowed for the freedoms asserted by black persons who were not chattel and, second, that the worldview of Israel Hill's free blacks had much in common with that of other propertied persons in antebellum America. Focusing on the latter point, Stanley argues that Ely's work disrupts assumptions about the stark dualities of the Old South and the Yankee North. Accordingly, she suggests that questions raised regarding Northern white freeholders might fruitfully apply to Southern black freeholders: were the Israelites acquisitive, individualistic economic actors? At stake, Stanley writes, is ultimately the nature of sovereignty—the lived relations of personal dominion in Israel Hill. Invoking a recent debate between Douglas Egerton and Walter Johnson about the libratory power of money in the slave South, Stanley sketches the clashing worldviews that might have existed on Israel Hill—a possessive subjectivity animated by acquisitive individualism or a collective subjectivity rooted in racial kinship. Stanley claims that regardless of whether Israelites conceived of themselves as the “we” of the racial subject, the “I” of the bourgeois subject, or some fusion of the two, their market pursuits disrupted the Southern system of racial sovereignty and confused the relationship between bondage and freedom, rendering still more provocative Ely's argument that slavery itself enabled the freedom of black people not owned as chattel property.
Comment on Israel on the Appomattox
Authors: Perman Michael
Published: May 2009

Israel on the Appomattox is a wonderful account of a large and successful settlement of freed slaves in antebellum Virginia. As such, it makes a valuable contribution to the literature on the experience of former slaves as an anomalous social group in the slave South, but Michael Perman argues that it does not significantly alter current views about how the freed slaves fared and were treated, despite the claims of author Melvyn Ely and, to an even greater extent, the reviewers of the book.
Premature Anti-Communists?: American Anarchism, the Russian Revolution, and Left-Wing Libertarian Anti-Communism, 1917-1939
Authors: Zimmer Kenyon
Published: May 2009

Initially among the Bolshevik Revolution's most ardent supporters in the United States, anarchists rapidly became its most outspoken left-wing critics. This article focuses on the transnational exchanges of information, analyses, and individuals that caused this about-face and its repercussions. Hundreds of Russian-born anarchists returned from the United States in 1917 and participated in the revolutionary upheavals in Russia, only to subsequently face repression and disillusionment. Their experiences in turn provided the basis for their American comrades' understanding of Soviet Communism as a betrayal of the popular revolution originating “from below” and an inherently authoritarian system. Anarchists' new anti-Communist imperative decisively shaped their activities in 1920s and 1930s, while simultaneously leading to their increasing marginalization within the labor movement and the Left. Conflict between anarchists and Communists erupted within the Industrial Workers of the World and the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, to the detriment of all. It also spilled over into the anti-Fascist movement and, subsequently, into anarchist understandings of, and participation in, the Spanish Civil War. The Bolshevik consolidation of power, the advent of the Popular Front, and the fall of Spain simultaneously provided anarchists with important insights into the nature of Soviet Communism, cemented their antiauthoritarian beliefs, and rendered them ineffective by placing them outside of the emerging Cold War dichotomy of the Stalinist “Left” and anti-Stalinist “Right.”
Calibration in near Infrared Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy. A Comparative Study of Various Methods
Authors: Blanco M. , Coello J. , Iturriaga H. , Maspoch S. , de la Pezuela C.
Published: May 2009

The results obtained by implementing Principal Component Regression (PCR) according to three different criteria for choosing principal components (PCs), and those provided by Partial Least-Squares Regression (PSLR), in the determination of the active compound in a pharmaceutical preparation by near infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy are compared. The PCR-top down criterion used is commonly implemented in commercially available software: it selects consecutive PCs beginning with that possessing the largest eigenvalue. The other two criteria used do not assume the PCs with the largest eigenvalues to be the best predictors for the response variable; rather, the PCR-correlation criterion chooses only those PCs exhibiting the highest correlation with the response variable, and the PCR-best subset criterion selects those that provide the lowest predicted residual sum of squares ( PRESS) for an external prediction set. All the calibration methods tested exhibited a similar predictive ability (prediction errors ranged from 1.34% to 1.49%); however, the number of PCs used in the regression varied among them. The PLSR technique did not excel the methods based on selecting the best PCs for regression. Also, the PCR-correlation and PCR-best subset methods provided the same results and used fewer PCs than the PCR-top down method.
Kiwifruit Firmness by near Infrared Light Scattering
Authors: McGlone V.A. , Abe H. , Kawano S.
Published: May 2009

Kiwifruit firmness was estimated by scattering 864 nm laser light through the fruit to exiting angles at 20 to 55° around the circumference of the fruit from the incident beam. The intensity of scattered light emitted from the fruit increased with decreasing firmness, especially at larger angles. The intensity changes were modelled using an inverse power law relationship between the intensity and a distance factor D = sin(θ / 2), where θ is the exiting angle. With increasing firmness the proportionality constant S increases and the power coefficient of D, – n, decreases. The logarithm of S gave the best linear regression results against stiffness and rupture force; two standard measures of fruit firmness, with R2 values of 83% and 79%, respectively.
Kenyan Elephant Feed Preferences Explored by near Infrared Spectroscopy
Authors: Lister S.J. , Dhanoa M.S. , Omondi P.O.M. , Mueller-Harvey I.
Published: May 2009

Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy was used to examine leaf and bark samples from Mount Kenya Forest Reserve to investigate the feeding preferences of elephants. Systematic differences were observed in specific spectral regions between leaf material from preferred ( Lasianthus kilimandscharica) and non-preferred ( Bersama abyssinica) tree species, i.e. 1640–1750, 2000–2150, 2200–2250 and 2280–2400 nm. Differences between bark samples from preferred ( Eucalyptus saligna) and non-preferred ( Vitex keniensis) tree species were observed in the 1100–1200, 1300, 1640–1750 and 2250–2400 nm regions. Qualitative multivariate analysis of the spectral data using principal component and cluster analysis achieved complete separation of the preferred and non-preferred samples for both leaf and bark material. Interpretation of the spectral data was used as an aid to select which chemical analyses should be performed next. In addition to phenolic compounds, it is suggested that nitrogenous, carbohydrate and fibre fractions be examined.
Simultaneous Determination of the Main Constituents of Viscose Spinning Solutions by Visible near Infrared Spectroscopy
Authors: Sollinger S. , Voges M.
Published: May 2009

The production of cellulose fibres by wet fibres spinning requires a careful monitoring of the spinning bath and especially the spinning solution in terms of product control and for quality assurance purposes. The chemical composition as well as the ripening of the spinning solution are of major importance for maintaining a constant product quality. The conventional determination of the quality parameters of the viscose spinning solution are rather time- and labour-intensive due to the fact that several independent analytical procedures are involved which score low in time efficiency themselves. Briefly, the complete characterisation of the spinning solution requires an iodometric titration of the cellulose xanthogenate (γ-number), an acidimetric titration of the sodium hydroxide (NaOH) content, a UV-VIS spectroscopic determination of the trithiocarbonate (TTC) content and a time-consuming gravimetric cellulose content determination. Sometimes, also, a colloid chemical determination of the degree of ripening (Hottenroth number) is performed in the plant control laboratory. With this work, an approach will be demonstrated, which enables the substitution of these numerous analytical procedures by a single and time-efficient method—a VIS-NIR spectroscopic technique. Therefore, it is possible to determine the parameters: NaOH, TTC, cellulose xanthogenate content and the cellulose content of the viscose spinning solution simultaneously with a reasonable precision within a few minutes.
Characterisation of Barley Transformation into Malt by Three-Way Factor Analysis of near Infrared Spectra
Authors: Allosio N. , Boivin P. , Bertrand D. , Courcoux P.
Published: May 2009

Data collected for the spectral study of time series can be presented as a three-way array in which the three modes are the batches, time and wavelengths. The parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) model is relevant for the analysis of three-way data tables, while the malting process consists of the time transformation of barley into malt. Furthermore, samples were collected on each day of an industrial malting process and their near infrared spectra were recorded in diffuse reflectance mode from 1100 to 2500 nm. The time and the wavelength modes associated with the first component showed that the spectra intensities allowed the classification of samples according to time. A study of the other loading vectors weighted by their coefficients on the time-mode explain some phenomena taking place during malting [the appearance of soluble substances (1950 nm), β-glucan degradation (2240–2360 nm), moisture modification (1450 and 1950 nm)…]. PARAFAC allowed us to separate batches according to the malting process to which they were submitted. Batches were also differentiated according to the chemical modification rate that occurred as expressed by the biochemical analyses results of the final malts. This work shows that PARAFAC can be a useful tool in the study of time series.
Analysis of Forest Foliage Spectra Using a Multivariate Mixture Model
Authors: Hlavka Christine A. , Peterson David L. , Johnson Lee F. , Ganapol Barry
Published: May 2009

Wet chemical measurements and near infrared spectra of dry ground leaf samples were analysed to test a multivariate regression technique for estimating component spectra. The technique is based on a linear mixture model for log(1/ R) pseudoabsorbance derived from diffuse reflectance measurements. The resulting unmixed spectra for carbohydrates, lignin and protein resemble the spectra of extracted plant carbohydrates, lignin and protein. The unmixed protein spectrum has prominent absorption peaks at wavelengths that have been associated with nitrogen bonds. It therefore appears feasible to incorporate the linear mixture model in whole leaf models of photon absorption and scattering so that effects of varying nitrogen and carbon concentration on leaf reflectance may be simulated.
Simple Software for Easy Management of Reflectance Spectroscopy Data of Leaves
Authors: Méthy M.
Published: May 2009

The arrangement of data in the output file of some equipment needs to be modified to allow a further processing of the results. Taking as an example the spectrophotometric data of a near infrared system, simple software has been developed to convert the horizontal setting of the data into a vertical setting. The purpose of this software is also to provide a simultaneous graphical display of individual or mean optical properties of 1–40 leaves. Emphasis is laid on its interest, particularly when no suitable software environment is available.
Meat Speciation by near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy on Dry Extract
Authors: Thyholt Kari , Indahl Ulf Geir , Hildrum Kjell Ivar , Ellekjær Marit Risberg , Isaksson Tomas
Published: May 2009

Professionals and consumers want to control the origin of meat, while producers can profit by mixing minced meat from low cost species into high value meat. Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy on dry extracts was studied as a method for speciation of minced beef, pork, mutton and mechanically recovered poultry meat. This was divided into three levels: (1) classifying into “labelled species or not?”, (2) into one of four possible species or (3) predicting the degree of substitution of minced beef with other species in a model study. Minced meat from 68 carcasses from four animal species ranging from low to high fat contents were centrifuged. Extracted meat juices (0.5 mL) were dried on glass microfibre filters and the reflectance measured. Using the range 780–2500 nm and different methods of discriminant analysis by cross-validation, the 68 samples were classified 90–100% correctly according to speciation at levels 1) and 2). Level 3) included a Simplex design model study using 350 mixtures of the 68 centrifuged juices. Predicting the relative amounts from each species in samples containing 50–100% beef juice gave cross-validated prediction errors of 12% (w/w) for beef, 8% for pork and 7% for mutton and poultry. The results showed that NIR on dry extract might be used as a rapid screening method for classification and optimised to detect species adulteration.
Near Infrared Spectroscopy
Authors: Bokobza L.
Published: May 2009

Some of the concepts that make a near infrared spectrum understandable are reviewed. The origin of vibrational anharmonicity which determines the occurrence and the spectral properties (frequency, intensity) is discussed. The importance of the effects of the resonances which increase with increasing excitation are mentioned. Some of the characteristics of high energy overtone/combination spectra are considered in relation to local mode effects. The location of some particular group frequencies is provided.
Non-Traditional Applications of near Infrared Spectroscopy Based on the Optical Characteristic Models for a Biological Material Having Cellular Structure
Authors: Tsuchikawa Satoru
Published: May 2009

Non-destructive measurements, based on near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, on biological material with a cellular structure like wood require a non-traditional approach. We have developed new concepts to model the optical properties of a sample having cellular structure, for the illumination conditions of the spectrometer available to us. A set of optical models, which consisted of the directional characteristics models, the light-path models and the equivalent surface roughness model was proposed to clarify the behaviour of light propagation in a wood sample. Furthermore, the mean optical path length, which was derived by incorporating the nth power cosine model of radiant intensity into the diffusion process model in consideration of the parallel beam component of incident light, was calculated. By introducing the concept of equivalent sample thickness, compatible with the mean optical path length, into the Kubelka–Munk theory, generalised input/output equations for radiation were constructed. In this non-traditional application of NIR spectroscopy, these optical concepts make it possible to analyse both the physical condition and chemical composition of a biological material with a cellular structure.
Optimised Scaling (OS-2) Regression Applied to near Infrared Diffuse Spectroscopy Data from Food Products
Authors: Isaksson Tomas , Wang Ziyi , Kowalski Bruce
Published: May 2009

A recently presented calibration method, called optimised scaling (OS-2) was tested and compared to multiplicative scatter correction (MSC) and principal component regression (PCR). The predictive ability of these regression methods was tested on eight data sets consisting of diffuse near infrared (NIR) reflectance and transmittance continuous spectra of meat, sausages, soya bean and designed sample sets. Calibration was performed for constituents such as fat, protein, water, carbohydrate, temperature, lactate and glucose. A total of 21 calibration models were validated and compared.

OS-2 gave good or promising prediction results for the major constituents with large variation, such as prediction of fat in two of the studied meat sample sets. OS-2 gave poorer prediction results of minor constituents compared to MSC or first derivatives of the data and PCR.
New Approach for Calibration Transfer from a Local Database to a Global Database
Authors: Dardenne Pierre , Welle Roland
Published: May 2009

The goal of the experiment is to transfer a local model to a global model for the prediction of a new parameter. Station de Haute Belgique (SHB) has developed an extensive spectral database to determine 10 parameters of whole plant maize silage samples. Pioneer has determined the Tilley and Terry digestibility (T&T) on a smaller set of samples. The analysis of the Mahalanobis distances between the two sets shows that Pioneer's set has a much smaller variation than SHB's set. Pioneer's set can be predicted by SHB's calibrations, but SHB's database cannot be predicted by Pioneer's calibration. The 10 parameters predicted on Pioneer's set are used to estimate the Tilley and Terry digestibility coefficient through a PLS model. The same model is then used to predict T&T on the large SHB set. The later predicted values are reported as references on SHB's set and a global T&T equation is developed after an adequate sample selection. The procedure shows that the new equation, applied on independent sets, is more accurate and more robust than the local one.
The Repeatability File—A Tool for Reducing the Sensitivity of near Infrared Spectroscopy Calibrations to Moisture Variation
Authors: Tillmann Peter , Paul Christian
Published: May 2009

The study presented here demonstrates the benefits of using a repeatability file for near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy calibration development. Calibrations were developed from rapeseed samples of a narrow moisture content (2.5–6.0%) and used on a validation set with an extended moisture content (3.6–13.0%). The elevated moisture content of the validation samples led to increased standard errors of prediction ( SEP) for the calibrations predicting oil, protein, GSL and C18:1 content. Two methods were investigated to reduce the moisture sensitivity of the NIR spectroscopy calibrations: (a) the exclusion of water bands in the NIR spectral region during calibration development and (b) the use of a repeatability file as proposed by Westerhaus (1990). The increased SEPs could be decreased by up to 66% by either the exclusion of the water bands or the use of a repeatability file containing spectra of moist and dry samples. The best results were obtained with a repeatability file using spectra from a single sample. A spectral interpretation is given.
Commodity Testing and Sub-Sample Homogeneity System for the Meatspec Analyser
Authors: Davies Anthony M.C. , Cowe Ian A. , Withey Robin P. , Eddison Colin G. , Fearn Tom
Published: May 2009

A system based on the use of principal component analysis has been devised for testing the identity and the homogeneity of the sample being analysed by a Meatspec analyser. The system checks that the spectral characteristics of the sample are consistent with the calibration in use and rejects any sub-sample which shows a deviation from the mean of all sub-samples greater than a previously defined specification. The use of principal component distances enabled the design of a system that can accommodate the development of new calibrations for different commodities or different analytes with little additional effort by the calibration developer. Results of the application of the system when analysing for fat, moisture and protein in beef and pork samples are presented for normal beef or pork samples and test samples containing deliberately generated non-homogenous characteristics.
Use of Difference near Infrared Reflectance Spectra to Extract Relevant Information from the Spectra of Agro–Food Products
Authors: Garrido-Varo Ana , Carrete Ronald , Fernández-Cabanás Víctor
Published: May 2009

This paper compares the use of log 1/ R versus standard normal variate (SNV) and Detrending (DT) transformations calculated either of two forms, SNV followed by DT (SNV+DT) or DT then SNV (DT+SNV) for their abilities to enhance interpretation of spectra and to detect areas of maximum differences in composition of two agro–food products (sunflower seed and corn) and their corresponding by-products (sunflower meal and corn gluten feed). The results obtained show that the SNV+DT and the DT+SNV transformations of the raw data make the existing chemical differences between scattering agro–food products more easily interpretable.
The Performance of near Infrared Analysers Can Be Improved by Digital Filtering Techniques
Authors: Känsäkoski M. , Voutilainen O. , Seppänen T.
Published: May 2009

On-line near infrared (NIR) analysers are used widely for quantitative composition measurements in real-time process control systems. The accuracy and repeatability of the measurements are amongst the most important factors when evaluating the total performance of these analysers, but the lower detection limit is often limited by noise in the measurement signal. There are two major alternatives for reducing noise in an optical analyser: prevention of noise contamination and post-processing of the signal by filtering. In the second alternative, the measurement signal can be post-processed by digital filtering techniques, for example, to enhance the desired signal component. Although digital signal processing (DSP) technology offers many advantages for on-line process measurements, the behaviour of the signal must be understood thoroughly before a successful application of this technology can be developed. A digital filtering technique called matched filter was used in an experimental set-up. The performance of this filter was compared to an analog filtering of a pulse shaped signal. Experimental data were collected and filtered with a novel digital spectrometer which consists of a modulated light source, a spectrograph, a linear array detector and the analog and digital signal processing electronics needed to control and filter the signal. In this case the matched filter gave a clear improvement of 2.2–4.6 dB in the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) relative to an analog lock-in amplifier. Among the other advantages afforded by digital filters are that they are programmable, easy to design, test and implement on a PC and do not suffer from drift. Also digital filters are extremely stable with respect to both time and temperature and versatile in their ability to process signals in a variety of ways.
An Appreciation of the Contribution of NIR to Agriculture
Authors: Batten Graeme D.
Published: May 2009

As the 20th century ends the world population approaches 6 billion people and is expected to increase to 8 billion by the year 2020. It is the responsibility of agriculture to provide food and fibre for all these people. Application of existing technology and innovation of new technology will be essential if agricultural scientists are to achieve this enormous task. In the 40 years to the present NIR spectroscopy has made major contributions to food and fibre production, and to the assessment of food quality and potential end-uses of produce. As NIR scientists we must strive to make contributions which help agriculture meet the challenge to feed and clothe the people of the world. The major challenge for NIR scientists in agriculture is maintaining sustainable yields, whilst reducing wastage and damage to the natural resource base. To have the greatest impact NIR-based technologies must be made available in developing countries at affordable prices. These challenges will involve developing and promoting options that are acceptable politically, sociologically and economically. NIR technology will provide the greatest benefits to feeding and clothing the world's people if there is closer interaction with plant breeders, agronomists, environmentalists, food processors and marketers.
Detection of Insects inside Wheat Kernels by NIR Imaging
Authors: Ridgway Christopher , Chambers John
Published: May 2009

The research reported here forms the basis to extend the capabilities of a newly-developed grain contaminant inspection system to include detection of kernels infested internally with insects. It was found that wheat kernels infested internally with larvae of Sitophilus granarius (grain weevil) had markedly different appearances from uninfested kernels (controls) when imaged at certain wavelengths in the NIR. Imaging at the single wavelength 1202 nm highlighted consistent differences between all 10 infested kernels and all 10 controls in the sample. Infested kernels exhibited light patches which covered a large proportion of the surface. Uninfested kernels appeared uniformly dark. At this wavelength, possible interference from dark mould on the germ of the kernel (black point) was also removed. Imaging at two wavelengths with subtraction (1202 – 1300 nm) appeared to give further enhancement of differences between infested and control kernels. However, one infested kernel remained indistinguishable from the controls which may have been due to poor lighting or signal-to-noise. The findings are consistent with previous spectroscopic studies which indicated that similar wavelengths had potential to resolve the insect from the kernel. Although the infested kernels were seen by the naked eye to be slightly different to the control kernels, these visible differences were not obvious or consistent. It is unlikely that reliable classification of kernels by visual inspection would prove possible. This study suggests that imaging in the NIR region improves differences in appearance to a point where reliable and rapid classification is possible. The next step will be to test this approach on unknown samples and obtain accuracy in classification.