Green mathematics: Benefits of including biological variation in your data analysis
Biological variation is omnipresent in nature. It contains useful information that is neglected by the usually applied statistical procedures. To extract this information special procedures have to be applied. Biological variation is seen in properties (e.g. size, colour, firmness), but the underlying issue is almost always to the variation in development or maturity in a batch of individuals generated by small scale environmental differences. The principles of assessing biological variation in batches of individuals are explained without putting emphasis on mathematical details. Obtained explained parts increase from about 60 to 80 % for the usual approach to 95 when the biological variation is taken into account. When technical variation or measuring error is small even 99 % can be achieved. The benefit of the presented technology is highlighted based on a number of already published studies covering the colour of apples during growth and storage and the firmness of cut tomatoes during storage.
Development of colour of broccoli heads as affected by controlled atmosphere storage and temperature
Colour is one of the most important quality attributes of broccoli. Yellowing due to senescence of broccoli florets is the main external quality problem. Controlled atmosphere (CA) storage is a very effective method to maintain broccoli quality. The aim of this paper is to characterise the colour behaviour (measured by RGB colour image analysis) of broccoli as affected by CA and temperature. Data on colour behaviour and gas exchange were gathered for broccoli heads stored in containers at three temperatures and subjected to four levels of O2 and three levels of CO2 concentrations. An integrated colour model is proposed that combines a colour model with a standard gas exchange model. The colour model is based on an existing colour model that describes the formation of (blue/green) chlorophyllide from the colourless precursor, the bidirectional conversion of chlorophyllide into (blue/green) chlorophyll and the decay of chlorophyllide. A multi-response approach was applied, accounting for 92% of the variance. Gas exchange parameters were estimated using the gas exchange model, the colour parameters were estimated using the colour model. Both models are linked via the reaction rate constant that describes the decay of chlorophyllide, as this reaction rate constant was found to be affected by the gas conditions. The integrated model might be applied to predict colour changes of MAP packaged broccoli as a low level of O2 and a high level of CO2 will only affect colour retention at higher temperatures.
Reference values for some haematological, haematochemical, and electrophoretic parameters in the Girgentana goat
The purpose of this study was to determine haematolog ical, haematochemical, and electrophoretic reference values for the Girgentana goat in order to form a basis for clinical interpretation. The study included 348 female Girgentana goats aged from 1 to 6 years. The animals were divided into 3 groups: goats aged 1-2 years (group A), goats aged 3-4 years (group B), and goats aged 5-6 years (group C). Blood samples were collected from each animal every morning at the same time (0800) by means of jugular venipuncture, and red blood cell (RBC), white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil (NEU), lymphocyte (LYM), monocyte (MONO), eosinophil (EOS), and basophil (BASO) counts, and haemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume percent (PCV), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and red cell distribution width (RDW) were recorded. Additionally, the concentration of some haematochemical parameters, including alanine-aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate-aminotransferase (AST), γ-glutamine-transferase (γ-GT), creatinine, β-hydroxybutyrate, urea, non- esterified fatty acids (NEFA), potassium, sodium, and chloride, and the electrophoretic profile (albumin, α1-globulins, α2-globulins, β-globulins, γ-globulins, total proteins and albumin:globulins ratio) were determined. Statistical analysis (one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)), followed by Bonferroni's test, showed that there were significant differences only in RBC, MCV, EOS, ALT, AST, creatinine, γ-GT, sodium, urea, NEFA, γ-globulins, and the albumin:globulins ratio (P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant). The values determined in the present study contribute to the knowledge of the reference ranges for the Girgentana goat and can be used for monitoring health and disease diagnosis.