TY - THES A1 - Kerst, Mario T1 - Validation and optimization of mathematical predictive models for the identification of microorganisms using Raman-spectroscopy N2 - The identification and classification of microorganisms remains a challenge in many areas, especially considering time and cost-efficiency. Fast, reliable and cheap methods are of great interest for research, industry and health care. Raman spectroscopy is a method that fulfills these criteria and, in this work, we aim to show its effectiveness to classify a selection of microorganisms. Using a standardized protocol, eighteen microorganisms were measured using Raman spectroscopy and classified with several types of mathematical classification models, including linear discriminant analysis, support vector machines and convolutional neural networks. To prepare the measured spectral data for classification several steps for the data evaluation and transformation were applied and their effectiveness for removing noise and other interferences evaluated. The resulting predictions outcomes were compared to select the most efficient model, showing that with an overall true positive prediction rate of 86.87 % the convolutional neural network performed the best. Further inspection of the results shows issues with the measurements of selected organisms, indicating that an improved measurement protocol is required to achieve proper predictions. Overall this work shows that Raman spectroscopy in combination with mathematical classification models is a viable and fast method for classification of microorganisms. KW - Raman spectroscopy KW - Microbiology KW - Linear discriminant analysis KW - Support vector machine KW - Convolutional neural network Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-14820 ER - TY - THES A1 - Yotov, Nikola Vladislavov T1 - Development of programmes to investigate the antimicrobial efficacy of domestic dishwashers N2 - Dishwashers have undergone a drastic change both in design and programme variation since their conception. Trends in water and energy conservation, as well as the public perception of topics such as environment protection, have pushed for a dishwashing service that delivers highly efficient cleaning while remaining ecologically friendly. Over the years, different methods have been used to assess the combined effects of different factors that play a role in the antimicrobial efficacy of domestic dishwashers. However, the extent of their individual capabilities remained unknown, as no factor could be tested separately with the commercially available settings. With the aid of a dishwasher with programmable parameters, a method was developed that would allow for the testing of the different factors in a way that separates their microbicidal activities from one another as much as possible. The work of cleaning agents was excluded from any trials, as they are expected to only benefit the microbial reduction. Furthermore, the methodology used in this thesis work presents an opportunity to investigate the energy consumption levels of different steps in traditional dishwashing processes and find potential targets for future reduction in water and energy usage. The study discovered that mechanical action, water quantity and the duration of the main cleaning cycle induce an equal reduction of around 4 logarithmic steps, when tested at room temperature. The main source of energy consumption during these experiments was found to be the spray arm pump with values 0.06 and 1.27 Wh per minute for the lowest and highest setting tested, respectively. The temperature increases caused the largest change in both logarithmic reduction and energy consumption. The highest achieved logarithmic reduction occurred during tests with a cleaning temperature of 75 ℃, with the value being roughly doubled to that of the tests at room temperature. The energy consumption values also drastically increase to a mean of 37 Wh during the heating part of the cycle. Overall, this method shows potential for discovering a combination of settings that can reduce the general energy consumption while retaining the antimicrobial efficacy of current programmes. KW - Microbiology KW - Domestic hygiene KW - Dishwasher KW - Mikrobiologie KW - Haushaltshygiene Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-13238 ER -