Inferred drought-induced plant allocation shifts and their impact on drought legacy at a tropical forest site.

While droughts predominantly induce immediate reductions in plant carbon uptake, they can also exert long-lasting effects on carbon fluxes through associated changes in leaf area, soil carbon, etc. Among other mechanisms, shifts in carbon allocation due to water stress can contribute to the legacy effects of drought on carbon fluxes. However, the magnitude and impact of these allocation shifts on carbon fluxes and pools remain poorly understood. Using data from a wet tropical flux tower site in French Guiana, we demonstrate that drought-induced carbon allocation shifts can be reliably inferred by assimilating Net Biosphere Exchange (NBE) and other observations within the CARbon DAta MOdel fraMework. This model-data fusion system allows inference of optimized carbon and water cycle parameters and states from multiple observational data streams. We then examined how these inferred shifts affected the duration and magnitude of drought's impact on NBE during and after the extreme event. Compared to a static allocation scheme analogous to those typically implemented in land surface models, dynamic allocation reduced average carbon uptake during drought recovery by a factor of 2.8. Additionally, the dynamic model extended the average recovery time by 5 months. The inferred allocation shifts influenced the post-drought period by altering foliage and fine root pools, which in turn modulated gross primary productivity and heterotrophic respiration for up to a decade. These changes can create a bust-boom cycle where carbon uptake is enhanced some years after a drought, compared to what would have occurred under drought-free conditions. Overall, allocation shifts accounted for 65% [45%-75%] of drought legacy effects in modeled NBE. In summary, drought-induced carbon allocation shifts can play a substantial role in the enduring influence of drought on cumulative land-atmosphere CO2 exchanges and should be accounted for in ecosystem models.

Comparison of hyperspectral imaging and spectrometers for prediction of cheeses composition.

Artisanal cheeses are part of the heritage and identity of different countries or regions. In this work, we investigated the spectral variability of a wide range of traditional Brazilian cheeses and compared the performance of different spectrometers to discriminate cheese types and predict compositional parameters. Spectra in the visible (vis) and near infrared (NIR) region were collected, using imaging (vis/NIR-HSI and NIR-HSI) and conventional (NIRS) spectrometers, and it was determined the chemical composition of seven types of cheeses produced in Brazil. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that spectral variability in the vis/NIR spectrum is related to differences in color (yellowness index) and fat content, while in NIR there is a greater influence of productive steps and fat content. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLSDA) models based on spectral information showed greater accuracy than the model based on chemical composition to discriminate types of traditional Brazilian cheeses. Partial least squares (PLS) regression models based on vis/NIR-HSI, NIRS, NIR-HSI data and HSI spectroscopic data fusion (vis/NIR + NIR) demonstrated excellent performance to predict moisture content (RPD > 2.5), good ability to predict fat content (2.0 < RPD < 2.5) and can be used to discriminate between high and low protein values (∼1.5 < RPD < 2.0). The results obtained for imaging and conventional equipment are comparable and sufficiently accurate, so that both can be adapted to predict the chemical composition of the Brazilian traditional cheeses used in this study according to the needs of the industry.

Multivariate curve resolution-based data fusion approaches applied in 1H NMR metabolomic analysis of healthy cohorts.

BACKGROUND: Metabolomics plays a critical role in deciphering metabolic alterations within individuals, demanding the use of sophisticated analytical methodologies to navigate its intricate complexity. While many studies focus on single biofluid types, simultaneous analysis of multiple matrices enhances understanding of complex biological mechanisms. Consequently, the development of data fusion methods enabling multiblock analysis becomes essential for comprehensive insights into metabolic dynamics. RESULTS: This study introduces a novel guideline for jointly analyzing diverse metabolomic datasets (serum, urine, metadata) with a focus on metabolic differences between groups within a healthy cohort. The guideline presents two fusion strategies, 'Low-Level data fusion' (LLDF) and 'Mid-Level data fusion' (MLDF), employing a sequential application of Multivariate Curve Resolution with Alternating Least Squares (MCR-ALS), linking the outcomes of successive analyses. MCR-ALS is a versatile method for analyzing mixed data, adaptable at various stages of data processing-encompassing resonance integration, data compression, and exploratory analysis. The LLDF and MLDF strategies were applied to 1H NMR spectral data extracted from urine and serum samples, coupled with biochemical metadata sourced from 145 healthy volunteers. SIGNIFICANCE: Both methodologies effectively integrated and analysed multiblock datasets, unveiling the inherent data structure and variables associated with discernible factors among healthy cohorts. While both approaches successfully detected sex-related differences, the MLDF strategy uniquely revealed components linked to age. By applying this analysis, we aim to enhance the interpretation of intricate biological mechanisms and uncover variations that may not be easily discernible through individual data analysis.

Human and Small Animal Detection Using Multiple Millimeter-Wave Radars and Data Fusion: Enabling Safe Applications.

Millimeter-wave (mmWave) radars attain high resolution without compromising privacy while being unaffected by environmental factors such as rain, dust, and fog. This study explores the challenges of using mmWave radars for the simultaneous detection of people and small animals, a critical concern in applications like indoor wireless energy transfer systems. This work proposes innovative methodologies for enhancing detection accuracy and overcoming the inherent difficulties posed by differences in target size and volume. In particular, we explore two distinct positioning scenarios that involve up to four mmWave radars in an indoor environment to detect and track both humans and small animals. We compare the outcomes achieved through the implementation of three distinct data-fusion methods. It was shown that using a single radar without the application of a tracking algorithm resulted in a sensitivity of 46.1%. However, this sensitivity significantly increased to 97.10% upon utilizing four radars using with the optimal fusion method and tracking. This improvement highlights the effectiveness of employing multiple radars together with data fusion techniques, significantly enhancing sensitivity and reliability in target detection.

High-speed countercurrent chromatography with offline detection by electrospray mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance detection as a tool to resolve complex mixtures: A practical approach using Coffea arabica leaf extract.

INTRODUCTION: Many secondary metabolites isolated from plants have been described in the literature owing to their important biological properties and possible pharmacological applications. However, the identification of compounds present in complex plant extracts has remained a great scientific challenge, is often laborious, and requires a long research time with high financial cost. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to develop a method that allows the identification of secondary metabolites in plant extracts with a high degree of confidence in a short period of time. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this study, an ethanolic extract of Coffea arabica leaves was used to validate the proposed method. Countercurrent chromatography was chosen as the initial step for extraction fractionation using gradient elution. Resulting fractions presented a variation of compounds concentrations, allowing for statistical total correlation spectroscopy (STOCSY) calculations between liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS/MS) and NMR across fractions. RESULTS: The proposed method allowed the identification of 57 compounds. Of the annotated compounds, 20 were previously described in the literature for the species and 37 were reported for the first time. Among the inedited compounds, we identified flavonoids, alkaloids, phenolic acids, coumarins, and terpenes. CONCLUSION: The proposed method presents itself as a valid alternative for the study of complex extracts in an effective, fast, and reliable way that can be reproduced in the study of other extracts.

Understanding the Seasonal Effect of Metabolite Production in Terminalia catappa L. Leaves through a Concatenated MS- and NMR-Based Metabolomics Approach.

Terminalia catappa L. (Combretaceae) is a medicinal plant that is part of the Brazilian biodiversity; this plant is popularly used for the treatment of a wide range of diseases. To better understand the chemical composition of T. catappa in different seasons, we conducted a thorough study using LC-MS and NMR data analysis techniques. The study helped obtain a chemical profile of the plant ethanolic extracts in different seasons of the year (spring, summer, autumn, and winter). The dereplication of LC-HRMS data allowed the annotation of 90 compounds in the extracts of T. catappa (hydrolyzable tannins, ellagic acid derivatives, and glycosylated flavonoids). Triterpenes and C-glycosyl flavones were the compounds that significantly contributed to differences observed between T. catappa plant samples harvested in autumn/winter and spring, respectively. The variations observed in the compound composition of the plant leaves may be related to processes induced by environmental stress and leaf development. Data fusion applied in the metabolomic profiling study allowed us to identify metabolites with greater confidence, and provided a better understanding regarding the production of specialized metabolites in T. catappa leaves under different environmental conditions, which may be useful to establish appropriate quality criteria for the standardization of this medicinal plant.

Towards Decoding Hepatotoxicity of Approved Drugs through Navigation of Multiverse and Consensus Chemical Spaces.

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is the principal reason for failure in developing drug candidates. It is the most common reason to withdraw from the market after a drug has been approved for clinical use. In this context, data from animal models, liver function tests, and chemical properties could complement each other to understand DILI events better and prevent them. Since the chemical space concept improves decision-making drug design related to the prediction of structure-property relationships, side effects, and polypharmacology drug activity (uniquely mentioning the most recent advances), it is an attractive approach to combining different phenomena influencing DILI events (e.g., individual "chemical spaces") and exploring all events simultaneously in an integrated analysis of the DILI-relevant chemical space. However, currently, no systematic methods allow the fusion of a collection of different chemical spaces to collect different types of data on a unique chemical space representation, namely "consensus chemical space." This study is the first report that implements data fusion to consider different criteria simultaneously to facilitate the analysis of DILI-related events. In particular, the study highlights the importance of analyzing together in vitro and chemical data (e.g., topology, bond order, atom types, presence of rings, ring sizes, and aromaticity of compounds encoded on RDKit fingerprints). These properties could be aimed at improving the understanding of DILI events.

Fusión de datos multimodales de neurociencias generados en estudios EEG-fMRI, un análisis temático / Fusion of Multimodal Neuroscience Data Generated in EEG-fMRI Studies, a Thematic Analysis

La actividad cerebral tiene múltiples atributos, entre ellos los eléctricos, metabólicos, hemodinámicos y hormonales. Los métodos modernos para estudiar las funciones cerebrales como el PET (Tomografía por Emisión de Positrones), fMRI (Imagen de Resonancia Magnética Funcional) y MEG (Magnetoencefalograma) son ampliamente utilizados por los científicos. Sin embargo, el EEG es una herramienta utilizada para la investigación y diagnóstico debido a su bajo costo, simplicidad de uso, movilidad y la posibilidad de monitoreo a largo tiempo de adquisición. Para detectar e interpretar las características relevantes de estas señales, se describe cada proceso por su escala temporal (EEG) y espacial (fMRI). La presente investigación se enfoca en realizar una revisión bibliográfica sobre la integración de datos multimodales EEG-fMRI que propicie valorar su importancia para el desarrollo de algoritmos de fusión y su uso en el contexto cubano. Para ello se analizaron documentos con altos índices de citas en la literatura, donde se destacan autores precursores de los temas en análisis. Los estudios multimodales EEG-fMRI generan múltiples datos temporales y espaciales con alto valor para la medicina basada en evidencia. La integración de los mismos provee un valor agregado en la búsqueda de nuevos métodos diagnósticos, aplicando minería de datos, Deep learning y algoritmos de fusión. En este trabajo se pone de relieve la existencia de baja resolución temporal de fMRI y por otro lado la baja resolución espacial de EEG, por lo que la integración de ambos estudios aumentaría la calidad de su información(AU)

Brain activity has multiple attributes, including electrical, metabolic, hemodynamic, and hormonal. Modern methods for studying brain functions such as PET (Positron Emission Tomography), fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging), and MEG (Magnetoencephalogram) are widely used by scientists. However, the EEG is a tool used for research and diagnosis due to its low cost, simplicity of use, mobility and the possibility of long-term monitoring of acquisition. To detect and interpret the relevant characteristics of these signals, each process is described by its temporal (EEG) and spatial (fMRI) scale. The present research focuses on conducting a bibliographic review on the integration of multimodal EEG-fMRI data that favors assessing its importance for the development of fusion algorithms and their use in the Cuban context. For this, documents with high rates of citations in the literature were analyzed, where precursor authors of the topics under analysis stand out. Multimodal EEG-fMRI studies generate multiple temporal and spatial data with high value for evidence-based medicine. Their integration provides added value in the search for new diagnostic methods, applying data mining, Deep learning and fusion algorithms. This work highlights the existence of low temporal resolution of fMRI and, on the other hand, the low spatial resolution of EEG, so the integration of both studies would increase the quality of their information(AU)

Metabolomic Profiling of Phloem Sap from Different Pine Species and Implications on Black Capuchin.

In most commercial pine farms in southern Brazil, black capuchin causes damage to wood and financial losses when it removes bark from some pine species to feed upon underlying vascular tissues. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the variability of the primary metabolites of phloem saps from 10 different species of pine by NMR spectroscopy, as well as the aroma compounds using SPME-GC-MS. Each technique provided a different set of metabolites that we can correlate to monkey predilection. The PCA showed monosaccharide (detected by NMR) and α-pinene (pine-like and resinous flavor descriptors) as attractive compounds for monkeys. On the other hand, the low content of monosaccharide and the high content of ß-phellandrene (citrus odor descriptor) was observed in less attacked pine species (P. patula). The data fusion on primary metabolites and aroma compounds corroborated the individual analyses, complementing the comprehension of the monkey predilection. Thus, P. elliottii was an avoided tree even with high content of sugars possibly due to its high content of ß-phellandrene (citrus odor). The results are useful for further behavioral studies to determine the role that each highlighted metabolite plays in chemically mediated animal-plant interactions.

Data Fusion in Agriculture: Resolving Ambiguities and Closing Data Gaps.

Acquiring useful data from agricultural areas has always been somewhat of a challenge, as these are often expansive, remote, and vulnerable to weather events. Despite these challenges, as technologies evolve and prices drop, a surge of new data are being collected. Although a wealth of data are being collected at different scales (i.e., proximal, aerial, satellite, ancillary data), this has been geographically unequal, causing certain areas to be virtually devoid of useful data to help face their specific challenges. However, even in areas with available resources and good infrastructure, data and knowledge gaps are still prevalent, because agricultural environments are mostly uncontrolled and there are vast numbers of factors that need to be taken into account and properly measured for a full characterization of a given area. As a result, data from a single sensor type are frequently unable to provide unambiguous answers, even with very effective algorithms, and even if the problem at hand is well defined and limited in scope. Fusing the information contained in different sensors and in data from different types is one possible solution that has been explored for some decades. The idea behind data fusion involves exploring complementarities and synergies of different kinds of data in order to extract more reliable and useful information about the areas being analyzed. While some success has been achieved, there are still many challenges that prevent a more widespread adoption of this type of approach. This is particularly true for the highly complex environments found in agricultural areas. In this article, we provide a comprehensive overview on the data fusion applied to agricultural problems; we present the main successes, highlight the main challenges that remain, and suggest possible directions for future research.

Exploring correlations between MS and NMR for compound identification using essential oils: A pilot study.

INTRODUCTION: In this era of 'omics' technology in natural products studies, the complementary aspects of mass spectrometry (MS)- and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based techniques must be taken into consideration. The advantages of using both analytical platforms are reflected in a higher confidence of results especially when using replicated samples where correlation approaches can be used to statistically link results from MS to NMR. OBJECTIVES: Demonstrate the use of Statistical Total Correlation (STOCSY) for linking results from MS and NMR data to reach higher confidence in compound identification. METHODOLOGY: Essential oil samples of Melaleuca alternifolia and M. rhaphiophylla (Myrtaceae) were used as test objects. Aliquots of 10 samples were collected for GC-MS and NMR data acquisition [proton (1 H)-NMR, and carbon-13 (13 C)-NMR as well as two-dimensional (2D) heteronuclear single quantum correlation (HSQC), heteronuclear multiple-bond correlation (HMBC), and HSQC-total correlated spectroscopy (TOCSY) NMR]. The processed data was imported to Matlab where STOCSY was applied. RESULTS: STOCSY calculations led to the confirmation of the four main constituents of the sample-set. The identification of each was accomplished using; MS spectra, retention time comparison, 13 C-NMR data, and scalar correlations of the 2D NMR spectra. CONCLUSION: This study provides a pipeline for high confidence in compound identification using a set of essential oils samples as test objects for demonstration.

Novel Feature-Extraction Methods for the Estimation of Above-Ground Biomass in Rice Crops.

Traditional methods to measure spatio-temporal variations in above-ground biomass dynamics (AGBD) predominantly rely on the extraction of several vegetation-index features highly associated with AGBD variations through the phenological crop cycle. This work presents a comprehensive comparison between two different approaches for feature extraction for non-destructive biomass estimation using aerial multispectral imagery. The first method is called GFKuts, an approach that optimally labels the plot canopy based on a Gaussian mixture model, a Montecarlo-based K-means, and a guided image filtering for the extraction of canopy vegetation indices associated with biomass yield. The second method is based on a Graph-Based Data Fusion (GBF) approach that does not depend on calculating vegetation-index image reflectances. Both methods are experimentally tested and compared through rice growth stages: vegetative, reproductive, and ripening. Biomass estimation correlations are calculated and compared against an assembled ground-truth biomass measurements taken by destructive sampling. The proposed GBF-Sm-Bs approach outperformed competing methods by obtaining biomass estimation correlation of 0.995 with R2=0.991 and RMSE=45.358 g. This result increases the precision in the biomass estimation by around 62.43% compared to previous works.

3D Reconstruction of Non-Rigid Plants and Sensor Data Fusion for Agriculture Phenotyping.

Technology has been promoting a great transformation in farming. The introduction of robotics; the use of sensors in the field; and the advances in computer vision; allow new systems to be developed to assist processes, such as phenotyping, of crop's life cycle monitoring. This work presents, which we believe to be the first time, a system capable of generating 3D models of non-rigid corn plants, which can be used as a tool in the phenotyping process. The system is composed by two modules: an terrestrial acquisition module and a processing module. The terrestrial acquisition module is composed by a robot, equipped with an RGB-D camera and three sets of temperature, humidity, and luminosity sensors, that collects data in the field. The processing module conducts the non-rigid 3D plants reconstruction and merges the sensor data into these models. The work presented here also shows a novel technique for background removal in depth images, as well as efficient techniques for processing these images and the sensor data. Experiments have shown that from the models generated and the data collected, plant structural measurements can be performed accurately and the plant's environment can be mapped, allowing the plant's health to be evaluated and providing greater crop efficiency.

Sensor Fusion with NARX Neural Network to Predict the Mass Flow in a Sugarcane Harvester.

Measuring the mass flow of sugarcane in real-time is essential for harvester automation and crop monitoring. Data integration from multiple sensors should be an alternative to receive more reliable, accurate, and valuable predictions than data delivered by a single sensor. In this sense, the objective was to evaluate if the fusion of different sensors installed in a sugarcane harvester improves the mass flow prediction accuracy. A harvester was experimentally instrumented, and neural network models integrated sensor data along the harvester to perform the self-calibration of these sensors and estimate the mass flow. Nonlinear autoregressive networks with exogenous input (NARX) and multiple linear regression (MLR) models were compared to predict the mass flow. The prediction with the NARX showed a significant superiority over MLR. MLR decreases the estimated mass flow variability in the harvester. NARX with multi-sensor data has an RMSE of 0.3 kg s-1, representing a MAPE of 0.7%. The fusion of sensor signals improves prediction accuracy, with higher performance than studies with approaches that used a single sensor. The mass flow approach with multiple sensors is a potential approach to replace conventional yield monitors. The system generates accurate data with high sample density within sugarcane rows.

Pharmaceuticals, pesticides and metals/metalloids in Lake Guaíba in Southern Brazil: Spatial and temporal evaluation and a chemometrics approach.

Compiling and reporting data related to the presence of pharmaceuticals and pesticides are crucial means of assessing the risk those chemicals pose to human health and environment. Data sets from different sources were combined using a data fusion approach to produce a spatial and temporal variation of contaminants presents in water from Lake Guaíba (29°55'-30°24' S; 51°01'-51°20' W). Lake Guaíba is a 496 km2 water body situated in the geological depression of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil; that is fed by several rivers from the metropolitan area, the 5th largest metro area in Brazil, with approximately 5 million inhabitants. Analytical methodology to quantify pharmaceuticals and pesticides by LC-QTOF-MS and GC-MS/MS was validated for 41 pharmaceutical and 62 pesticides. Furthermore, 27 chemical elements were analyzed by ICP-MS, and physical chemical parameters were determined using established methodologies. All validation parameters were in accordance with the National Institute of Metrology, Standardization, and Industrial Quality. Thirty-five water samples were analyzed from January to August 2019, and 15 pharmaceuticals and 25 pesticides were present in concentrations ranging from 6.00 ng L-1 to 580.00 ng L-1. Twenty-seven elements were analyzed during the same period, and 18 were present in concentrations ranging from 0.2 µg L-1 to 7060 µg L-1. Samples were tagged according to the points and months of collection to identify temporal and spatial patterns. The main findings show that the compounds are distributed throughout the studied area without an apparent regular pattern, suggesting that events in a specific point affect the entire ecosystem. Conversely, temporal variations were well defined, as samples were grouped according to the climatic conditions of the months of collection. Considering the calculated quotient risks, atrazine, cyproconazole, diuron, and simazine showed the highest risk levels for algae; acetaminophen, diclofenac, and ibuprofen showed the highest risk levels for aquatics invertebrates.

Chemical inspection and elemental analysis of electronic waste using data fusion - Application of complementary spectroanalytical techniques.

This study is focused on the development of analytical methods for characterization of printed circuit boards (PCBs) from mobile phones by direct analysis using three complementary spectroanalytical techniques: laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), and micro X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (micro-XRF). These techniques were combined with principal component analysis (PCA) to investigate the chemical composition on the surface and depth profiling of PCB samples. The spatial distribution of important base metals (e.g. Al, Au, Ba, Cu, Fe, Mg, Ni, Zn), toxic elements (e.g. Cd, Cr, Pb) as well as the non-metallic fraction (e.g. P, S and Si) from conductive tracks, solder mask and integrated components were detected within the PCB samples. Univariate and multivariate approaches were also performed to obtain calibration models for Cu determination. The results were compared to reference concentrations obtained by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) after microwave-assisted acid leaching using aqua regia. To this end, two PCB samples (50 × 34 mm2) were cut into small parts of 40 subsamples (10 × 8.5 mm2) and analyzed by ICP-OES and the Cu concentrations ranged from 13 to 45% m m-1. Partial least squares (PLS) regression was used to data fusion of analytical information from LIBS and micro-XRF analysis. The proposed calibration methods for LIBS and micro-XRF were tested for the 40 PCB subsamples, in which the best results were obtained combining both data sources though a low-level data fusion. Root mean square error of cross validation (RMSEC) and recoveries were 3.23% m m-1 and 81-119% using leave-one-out cross validation.

Sensor Data Fusion for a Mobile Robot Using Neural Networks.

Mobile robots must be capable to obtain an accurate map of their surroundings to move within it. To detect different materials that might be undetectable to one sensor but not others it is necessary to construct at least a two-sensor fusion scheme. With this, it is possible to generate a 2D occupancy map in which glass obstacles are identified. An artificial neural network is used to fuse data from a tri-sensor (RealSense Stereo camera, 2D 360° LiDAR, and Ultrasonic Sensors) setup capable of detecting glass and other materials typically found in indoor environments that may or may not be visible to traditional 2D LiDAR sensors, hence the expression improved LiDAR. A preprocessing scheme is implemented to filter all the outliers, project a 3D pointcloud to a 2D plane and adjust distance data. With a Neural Network as a data fusion algorithm, we integrate all the information into a single, more accurate distance-to-obstacle reading to finally generate a 2D Occupancy Grid Map (OGM) that considers all sensors information. The Robotis Turtlebot3 Waffle Pi robot is used as the experimental platform to conduct experiments given the different fusion strategies. Test results show that with such a fusion algorithm, it is possible to detect glass and other obstacles with an estimated root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 3 cm with multiple fusion strategies.

Vibrational Spectroscopy Coupled to a Multivariate Analysis Tiered Approach for Argentinean Honey Provenance Confirmation.

In the present work, the provenance discrimination of Argentinian honeys was used as case study to compare the capabilities of three spectroscopic techniques as fast screening platforms for honey authentication purposes. Multifloral honeys were collected among three main honey-producing regions of Argentina over four harvesting seasons. Each sample was fingerprinted by FT-MIR, NIR and FT-Raman spectroscopy. The spectroscopic platforms were compared on the basis of the classification performance achieved under a supervised chemometric approach. Furthermore, low- mid- and high-level data fusion were attempted in order to enhance the classification results. Finally, the best-performing solution underwent to SIMCA modelling with the purpose of reproducing a food authentication scenario. All the developed classification models underwent to a "year-by-year" validation strategy, enabling a sound assessment of their long-term robustness and excluding any issue of model overfitting. Excellent classification scores were achieved by all the technologies and nearly perfect classification was provided by FT-MIR. All the data fusion strategies provided satisfying outcomes, with the mid- and high-level approaches outperforming the low-level data fusion. However, no significant advantage over the FT-MIR alone was obtained. SIMCA modelling of FT-MIR data produced highly sensitive and specific models and an overall prediction ability improvement was achieved when more harvesting seasons were used for the model calibration (86.7% sensitivity and 91.1% specificity). The results obtained in the present work suggested the major potential of FT-MIR for fingerprinting-based honey authentication and demonstrated that accuracy levels that may be commercially useful can be reached. On the other hand, the combination of multiple vibrational spectroscopic fingerprints represents a choice that should be carefully evaluated from a cost/benefit standpoint within the industrial context.

A Review of Technologies and Techniques for Indoor Navigation Systems for the Visually Impaired.

Technologies and techniques of location and navigation are advancing, allowing greater precision in locating people in complex and challenging conditions. These advances have attracted growing interest from the scientific community in using indoor positioning systems (IPSs) with a higher degree of precision and fast delivery time, for groups of people such as the visually impaired, to some extent improving their quality of life. Much research brings together various works that deal with the physical and logical approaches of IPSs to give the reader a more general view of the models. These surveys, however, need to be continuously revisited to update the literature on the features described. This paper presents an expansion of the range of technologies and methodologies for assisting the visually impaired in previous works, providing readers and researchers with a more recent version of what was done and the advantages and disadvantages of each approach to guide reviews and discussions about these topics. Finally, we discuss a series of considerations and future trends for the construction of indoor navigation and location systems for the visually impaired.

A Multisensor Data Fusion Approach for Predicting Consumer Acceptance of Food Products.

Sensory experiences play an important role in consumer response, purchase decision, and fidelity towards food products. Consumer studies when launching new food products must incorporate physiological response assessment to be more precise and, thus, increase their chances of success in the market. This paper introduces a novel sensory analysis system that incorporates facial emotion recognition (FER), galvanic skin response (GSR), and cardiac pulse to determine consumer acceptance of food samples. Taste and smell experiments were conducted with 120 participants recording facial images, biometric signals, and reported liking when trying a set of pleasant and unpleasant flavors and odors. Data fusion and analysis by machine learning models allow predicting the acceptance elicited by the samples. Results confirm that FER alone is not sufficient to determine consumers' acceptance. However, when combined with GSR and, to a lesser extent, with pulse signals, acceptance prediction can be improved. This research targets predicting consumer's acceptance without the continuous use of liking scores. In addition, the findings of this work may be used to explore the relationships between facial expressions and physiological reactions for non-rational decision-making when interacting with new food products.