Multi-method Analysis of Avian Eggs as Grave Goods: Revealing Symbolism in Conversion Period Burials at Kukruse, NE Estonia

Eggshells are unusual finds in the Iron Age of eastern Europe (500 BC–1200 AD) deserving extra attention in terms of analysis as well as interpretation. This paper discusses two rare eggshell finds, discovered in female burials at the conversion period (12th–13th century AD) cemetery at Kukruse, NE Estonia. Our multianalytical study combining FT-IR, SEM(-EDS), microscopy and ZooMS provides an overview of methods applicable for identifying egg species, their predepositional history and curation. Based on the analytical results and the comparative analysis of the content and context of these two burials, we argue that different aims and connotations lay behind depositing eggs as burial goods, allowing well-supported interpretations of both pagan and Christian religious worldviews simultaneously

Extraction of phenolic compounds from pepper-rosmarin (lippia sidoides cham.) leaves by sequential extraction in fixed bed extractor using supercritical CO2, ethanol and water as solvents

Extraction of bioactive compounds requires frequent changes in the extraction techniques due to the quality requirements in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. The compounds of the polyphenolic family represent an important group of bioactive compounds in food, and are present in various types of plants, including Lippia sidoides Cham., also known as pepper-rosmarin, an aromatic plant with therapeutic properties. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the sequential extraction (in fixed bed and high pressure) of bioactive compounds from L. sidoides leaves, using supercritical carbon dioxide, ethanol, and water as solvents and, compare the global yield, total phenolics, total flavonoids, and antioxidant activity of extracts obtained from sequential extraction with the extracts obtained by one-step extraction in fixed bed (high pressure) and by conventional extraction. The results showed that the combination of extraction processes is an effective method to obtain extracts with different compositions and functionalities. Overall, the ethanolic extraction in fixed bed and the three-step sequential extraction showed the best results in terms of global yield, and content and yield of total phenolics and flavonoids. The ethanol extracts exhibited the best antioxidant activity, which may be related to the presence of phenolic compounds996875CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPSem informação2011/14309-

Solubility of oleic acid, triacylglycerol and their mixtures in supercritical carbon dioxide and thermodynamic modeling of phase equilibrium

To evaluate the selectivity of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO(2)) as a solvent to deacidify vegetable oils, the solubility of oleic acid and of a mixture of oleic acid and refined sunflower oil in scCO(2) was measured. Sunflower oil was adopted as a pseudo-pure component and the phase equilibrium of ternary and binary systems were thermodynamically modeled by the Peng-Robinson equation of state with classical mixing rule. The values of the estimated and/or adopted critical properties in modeling thermodynamics were shown to be of great influence on the quality of data correlation. Although correlating data from binary systems is possible, the modeling was incapable of satisfactorily predicting the behavior of the phase equilibrium of the ternary system. The large deviations observed may derive from the presence of specific intermolecular interactions between the components of these systems that were not considered in this type of modeling143275285COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP12392382015/05340-0; 2015/09644-

Subjects’ Perception in Quantifying Printed and Digital Photos of Food Portions

Although digital photos have the potential to improve the precision of reported portions in dietary assessment, there are few studies investigating its accuracy in comparison to printed photos. The aim of this study was to evaluate the perception of adults in quantifying food portion sizes using printed and digital photos, displayed on computer-screens and tablets. In total, 1165 evaluations were performed for 60 photos of portion sizes in Brazil. Each participant (n = 58) attended two sessions in the study center, with an interval of at least one week. In each session, twelve food portions were prepared and randomly evaluated by each participant in its printed and digital forms. The mean error (difference between the estimated and true portions) was not significantly different between the printed photos (2.1 g ± 47.2) and the digital ones (−6.4 g ± 53.7). The agreement on using the printed and digital photos was 91% and 90%, respectively. Furthermore, the use of the tablet was more prone to underestimation when compared to printed and computer-screen photos (p < 0.001). Overall, participants did not present major difficulties in perceiving the portion sizes using the printed and digital photos, but the use of tablets led to less accurate results, indicating that this needs to be further evaluated