Biomedical subjects

Alan M Lefcourt

Publications and source records attributed to Alan M Lefcourt.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Fluorescence characteristics of wholesome and unwholesome chicken carcasses.

Each chicken carcass intended for U.S. consumers is mandated to be inspected by Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) inspectors for its wholesomeness at the processing plants. Fluorescence responses of wholesome and unwholesome chicken carcasses were characterized and further evaluated for potential on-line applications for detection and classification of wholesome and unwholesome chicken carcasses. For this study, unwholesome chicken carcasses included cadaver and those with disease conditions such as airsacculitis and septicemia. Fluorescence characteristics from the epidermal layers in the breast areas of chicken carcasses were dynamic in nature. Emission peaks and ridges (maxima) were observed at 386, 444, 472, 512, and 554 nm and valleys (minima) were observed at 410, 460, 484, and 538 nm. One of the major factors affecting the line shapes of fluorescence responses from chicken carcass skin layers was absorption by hemoglobin. With the use of the normalized ratio spectra (NRS) approach, oxyhemoglobin was shown to be a major constituent in chicken carcasses affecting the fluorescence emission line shapes. Subtle line shape changes in the NRS also provided a qualitative means by which to assess the minute differences in oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin compositions perturbed by poultry diseases such as septicemia and airsacculitis. With the use of simple fluorescence band ratios as a multivariate model, wholesome and unwholesome chicken carcasses were correctly classified with 97.1% and 94.8% accuracies, respectively. On-line implementation of fluorescence techniques for the assessment of chicken carcass wholesomeness appears promising.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Detection of fecal contamination on apples with nanosecond-scale time-resolved imaging of laser-induced fluorescence.

Detection of apples contaminated with feces is a public health concern. We found that time-resolved imaging of apples artificially contaminated with feces allowed optimization of timing parameters for detection. Dairy feces were applied to Red Delicious and Golden Delicious apples. Laser-induced fluorescence responses were imaged by use of a gated intensified camera. We developed algorithms to automatically detect contamination iteratively by using one half of the apples and validated them by applying the optimized algorithms to the remaining apples. Results show that consideration of the timing of fluorescence responses to pulsed-laser excitation can enhance detection of feces on apples.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2003

Multispectral laser-induced fluorescence imaging system for large biological samples.

A laser-induced fluorescence imaging system developed to capture multispectral fluorescence emission images simultaneously from a relatively large target object is described. With an expanded, 355-nm Nd:YAG laser as the excitation source, the system captures fluorescence emission images in the blue, green, red, and far-red regions of the spectrum centered at 450, 550, 678, and 730 nm, respectively, from a 30-cm-diameter target area in ambient light. Images of apples and of pork meat artificially contaminated with diluted animal feces have demonstrated the versatility of fluorescence imaging techniques for potential applications in food safety inspection. Regions of contamination, including sites that were not readily visible to the human eye, could easily be identified from the images.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Automated detection of fecal contamination of apples by multispectral laser-induced fluorescence imaging.

Animal feces are a suspected source of contamination of apples by disease-causing organisms such as Echerichia coli O157. Laser-induced fluorescence was used to detect different amounts of feces from dairy cows, deer, and a dairy pasture applied to Red Delicious apples. One day after application, detection for 1:2 and 1:20 dilutions was nearly 100%, and for 1:200 dilutions (<15 ng of dry matter) detection was >80%. Detection after apples had been washed and brushed was lowest for pasture feces; detection for 1:2, 1:20, and 1:200 dilutions of feces was 100%, 30%, and 0%, respectively. This technology may encourage development of commercial systems for detecting fecal contamination of apples.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Optimal fluorescence excitation and emission bands for detection of fecal contamination.

Fecal contamination of food products is a critical health issue. To test the feasibility of the use fluorescent techniques to detect fecal contamination, fluorescence excitation and emission characteristics of fecal matter from cows, deer, swine, chickens, and turkeys in the UV to far-red regions of the spectrum were evaluated. To allow the optimization of the detection of fecal contamination on animal carcasses and cut meats, emission-excitation spectra of the feces were compared with spectra for animal meats. The feedstuffs for the swine, chickens, and turkeys were also analyzed. Excitation at approximately 410 to 420 nm yielded the highest level of fluorescence for both feces and feedstuffs. Emission maxima were in the red region (at 632 nm for chicken feces and at 675 nm for the feces of the other species). The major constituent responsible for emission at 632 nm was tentatively identified as protoporphyrin IX; emission at 675 nm most likely emanates from chlorophyll a or its metabolites. Animal meats emitted strong fluorescence in the blue-green regions, but no emission peaks were observed in the red region for these meats. These results suggest that fluorescence emissions from naturally occurring chlorophyll a and its metabolites are good markers for fecal contamination and that with excitation at 410 to 420 nm, the responses of fecal matter can easily be differentiated from the responses of animal meats. We suggest that the detection of fecal contamination can be enhanced by requiring a minimum chlorophyll a content in the finishing diets of all farm animals.

Animal Feed↗