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India and Belgium have jointly established two 4-meter class optical telescopes at Devasthal located in Nainital, India. After successful installation of the 3.6-m modern new technology Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT) in 2015, it was technically activated by premiers of both countries from Brussels on March 30, 2016. Since then, the 3.6-m DOT has been used for both optical and near-Infrared (NIR) observations for a number of research proposals. The best angular resolution achieved is 0″.4 indicating that the optics of the 3.6-m DOT is good and capable of providing images of celestial bodies with sub-arc-second resolution. The observations provide proof that the care taken in the construction of the telescope dome building has paid a rich dividend as their thermal mass is so low that it has not degraded the natural atmospheric seeing at Devasthal measured about two decades ago during 1997 to 1999 using differential image motion monitor. A few preliminary scientific results obtained from recent observations are presented along with performance and global potential of the 3.6-m DOT in the field of galactic astronomy. The 3.6-m DOT is capable of providing internationally competitive science once high resolution spectrograph and other planned modern back-end instruments become operational. Geographical location of the observatory has global importance for time domain and multi-wavelength astrophysical studies.

International audience; In this article, a set of 50 turbid liquid samples with different levels of absorption and scattering properties were prepared and measured at various orientations of polarizers and analyzers to obtain the 16 elements of the complete Muller matrix. Partial Least Square (PLS) was used to build calibration models in order to assess the potential of polarization spectroscopy through the elements of Muller matrix to predict chemical and physical parameters.

International audience; The combination of aerial images acquired in the visible and near infrared spectral ranges is particularly relevant for agricultural and environmental survey. In unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery, such a combination can be achieved using a set of several embedded cameras mounted close to each other, followed by an image registration step. However, due to the different nature of source images, usualregistration techniques based on feature point matching are limited when dealing with blended vegetation and bare soil patterns. Here, another approach is proposed based on i mage spatial frequency analysis. This approach, which relies on the Fourier-Mellin transform, has been adapted to homographic registration and distortion issues. It has been successfully tested on various aerial image sets, and has proved to be particularly robust and accurate, providing a registration error below 0.3 pixels in most cases.

International audience; In the dataset presented in this article, 36 sludge samples were characterized. Rheological parameters were determined and near infrared spectroscopy measurements were realized. In order to assess the potential of near infrared spectroscopy to predict rheological parameters of sludge, Partial Least Square algorithm was used to build calibration models.

International audience; Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a powerful non-destructive analytical method used to analyze major compounds in bulk materials and products and requiring no sample preparation. It is widely used in routine analysis and also in line in industries, in vivo with biomedical applications, or in field for agricultural and environmental applications. However, highly scattering samples subvert Beer-Lambert law's linear relationship between spectral absorbance and the concentration. Instead of spectral pre-processing, which is commonly used by NIR spectroscopists to mitigate the scattering effect, we put forward an optical method, i.e., coupling polarized light with NIR spectrometry, to free spectra from scattering effect. This should allow us to retrieve linear and steady conditions for spectral analysis. When tested in visible-NIR (Vis-NIR) range (400-800 nm) on model media, mixtures of scattering and absorbing particles, the setup provided significant improvements in absorber concentration estimation precision as well as in the quality and robustness of the calibration model.

Evaluation of uncertainty affecting predictions is a major trend in analytical chemistry and chemometrics. Several approximate expressions and resampling methods have been proposed for the estimation of prediction uncertainty when using multivariate calibration. This article proposes a new expression for the variance of prediction, adapted to near infrared spectroscopy specificities and particularly to the spectral error structure, induced by the high colinearity of the variables. The proposed analytical expression enables a detailed evaluation of the different contributions and components of uncertainty affecting the model. An application to real data of feedstuff near infrared spectra related to protein content has shown its advantages.

Huit méthodes de transfert d'étalonnage basées sur l'élimination ses signaux orthogonaux ont été comparées dans l'objectif de transférer les modèles d'étalonnage de teneur en huile et en protéine de soja: Les méthodes sont: Dynamic orthogonal projection (DOP), transfer by orthogonal projection (TOP), error removal by orthogonal subtraction (EROS), orthogonal signal correction (OSC), orthogonal projection to latent structures (O-PLS) ainsi que des modifcations et extensions de ces méthodes . Toutes ont été comparées sur le transfert inter-marques ou intra-marques, à partir de spectres obtenus sur 2 Foss Infratecs et deux Bruins OmegAnalyzerGs. La méthode donnant les résultats les plus prometteurs est la méthode DOP modifiée par la matrice des différences, alors que les méthodes TOP et EROS modifiées n'ont pas apporté d'amélioration. / Eight calibration transfer methods based on the removal of orthogonal signal were compared for the standardization of whole soybean protein and oil models. Dynamic orthogonal projection (DOP), transfer by orthogonal projection (TOP), error removal by orthogonal subtraction (EROS), orthogonal signal correction (OSC), and orthogonal projections to latent structures (O-PLS) as well as the modification and extension of some of these methods were compared in the transfer of models in intra and inter-brand situations using two Foss Infratecs and two Bruins OmegAnalyzerGs. For each brand, a master was designated and its models transferred onto the second unit of its network and the two units of the second brand. Calibration models were transferable from brand to brand with similar or better precision than when each instrument was calibrated on its own calibration set (for Infratec 1229, the relative predictive determinant (RPD) increased in intra and inter-brand calibration transfer situations from 10.42 to 11.45 and 10.57, with DOP and EROS respectively). Performance of each method was different across parameters, instruments, and validation sets. DOP modifications on the determination of the difference matrix showed promising results while TOP and EROS extensions to include variability specifically present in certain crop years did not bring any beneficial effects.

* Methods based on near infrared spectroscopy used to assess wood properties are susceptible to variations in physical parameters (temperature, grain size, etc.). As wood is a hygroscopically sensitive material, we studied the effects of moisture on near infrared absorbance and calibration to accurately determine the application potential of this technique under routine. * A collection of Eucalyptus urophylla X E. grandis hybrid wood pieces were analysed to obtain reference calibration of polyphenol contents in wood extracts via NIR spectra acquired under constant moisture conditions. Other specimens from the same source were assessed to obtain spectra for eight moisture contents spanning a broad variation range. The effects of moisture on absorption and on estimates based on a reference model were analysed. * An increase in moisture content prompted a rise in near infrared absorption over the entire spectrum and for water O-H absorption bands. The polyphenol content estimates obtained by assessing specimens against the reference calibration at variable moisture contents revealed prediction bias. Five correction methods were then tested to enhance the robustness relative to moisture. * In-depth calibration and external parameter orthogonalization (EPO) were found to be the most efficient methods for offsetting this factor., * Les méthodes basées sur la spectroscopie proche infrarouge pour estimer les propriétés du bois sont sensibles aux variations des paramètres physiques (température, granulométrie...). Le bois étant un matériau hygroscopique sensible, l'influence de l'humidité sur l'absorbance et l'étalonnage proche infrarouge a été étudiée afin de mieux considérer les possibilités d'applications dans des conditions réelles. * Un étalonnage de référence de la quantité de polyphénols présents dans les extraits a été établi à partir de spectres d'une collection de bois d'hybrides d'Eucalyptus urophylla X E. grandis à humidité constante fixée. D'autres spectres ont été obtenus sur des échantillons de même provenance mais à 8 teneurs en eau couvrant une large plage de variation. L'influence de l'humidité sur l'absorbance proche infrarouge puis sur l'estimation par le modèle de référence a été analysée. * Une augmentation de l'humidité élève la ligne de base du spectre d'absorbance et également les régions d'absorbance caractéristiques de la liaison O-H de l'eau. Les estimations de la quantité de polyphénols à partir de l'étalonnage de référence sur les échantillons à humidité variable révèlent un biais sur les prédictions. * Parmi les cinq méthodes de correction testées pour rendre l'étalonnage robuste vis-à-vis de l'humidité, l'étalonnage exhaustif et l'EPO (External Parameter Orthogonalisation) s'avèrent être les plus efficaces et permettent de s'affranchir de ce facteur.