Pilot-scale demonstration of novel tandem coating process:Combining dispersion and extrusion coating with enhanced barrier properties

Increasing environmental and legislative demands have accelerated the development of new packaging materials and processes toward more sustainable alternatives. Furthermore, barrier properties of the packaging have become increasingly important, as food waste creates environmental problems. Nowadays, multilayer structures are typically used to create required barrier properties to the packages. The aim of the study was to combine dispersion and extrusion coating into consecutive tandem process to produce two-layer structure with enhanced barrier properties. By combining two processing steps into one, time and resources are saved. The study presents demonstration of the tandem coating in pilot-scale. The process was tested with several different materials and combinations and the processing conditions were optimized to produce optimal layer structure and properties. The properties of samples were analyzed with microscopy imaging, pinhole measurement and barrier measurements including oxygen, water vapor and grease permeation. Single layer of dispersion coatings could not produce continuous film, but the extrusion coatings filled the pinholes and enabled low permeation values. The permeabilities of the tandem coated structures were promising and generally lower than the sum of two individual layers. Moreover, the tandem coated structures produced with sustainable alternatives, performed better than traditional materials in oxygen and grease permeation measurements.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Light Dulls and Darkens Bird Eggs

Although egg color is generally consistent within individual birds and robust to environmental variation, recent evidence suggests a degree of susceptibility to environmental perturbation or modulation of egg color. Most of this variation manifests via the physiology of the laying female, but some direct impacts of the environment on laid eggs have also been discovered. Here we test whether light changes bird egg color and we quantify its effect, by subjecting variable blue-green eggs of Rüppell\u27s weaver (Ploceus galbula) to a broad-spectrum light source under laboratory conditions, and measuring egg reflectance every few hours. Eggshells gradually decreased in reflectance across the entire measured wavelength spectrum of 250–800 nm. Reflectance peaks were disproportionately affected, such that the height decreased of both the blue-green peak and the smaller UV peak typical of blue-green eggs. The reflectance of lighter eggs was affected slightly more than that of darker eggs. These changes are similar to previous results for changes over long periods of time in darkness, suggesting that light might hasten the same process of pigment degradation that proceeds even without light. Comparison between the experimental light source and both sunlight and typical artificial lighting situations raises the possibility that significant color change might occur during incubation in some birds, but indicates that eggshell illumination in museums for short periods of study is unlikely to affect their color to a detectable extent. Additional research should be performed on eggs of other species and in other light environments, with an eye to an eventual generalized model of the effect of light on eggshell color

Influence of Pinholes on Water Vapor and Oxygen Permeation of Packaging Foil and Films

Controlling of moisture and oxygen permeation through the packaging material is essential in most packaging applications. With multilayer structures of different barrier materials, there is possibility to create desired barrier properties to the package. The challenge is to plan appropriate barrier level, e.g. WVTR and OTR, theoretically to the package before producing the package. Furthermore, in specific packages there is a need to control the permeation e.g. respiration in vegetable packages. Typically foils and polymer films have high barrier properties, therefore, permeation can be controlled by producing artificial pinholes in these kinds of packages. Influence of artificial pinholes in aluminium foils and plastic films on water vapour and oxygen permeation was determined in this study. Results show clear correlation between the size and number of pinholes and gas permeation. Water vapour and oxygen permeation increase significantly when there are pinholes through the structure. It was observed that the greater the RH difference between inside and outside the sample in WVTR measurement, the greater the permeation was through the pinholes. Additionally, it was found that the effect of pinholes on the oxygen permeation on aluminium foil can almost be eliminated by using polyethylene coating on top of aluminium foil

Permeability of Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide Through Pinholes in Barrier Coatings

Abstract Packaging materials are typically made of multilayer structures combining polymers, metals and inorganic materials. Multilayer structures are selected in order to optimize the thickness and performance in packaging applications. Atomic layer deposited (ALD) aluminium oxide (Al2O3) layer provides good barrier properties against oxygen and carbon dioxide gases i.e. permeation of gases through ALD coated polymer films will reduce remarkably. The target was to study the effect of pinholes on the oxygen and carbon dioxide permeability of ALD coated extrusion-coated packaging paper. Pinholes were artificially generated by ultra violet (UV) laser drilling through the polymer layer prior to Al2O3 ALD coating. The results show, that even one pinhole through the structure can destroy the excellent barrier properties of the film material. It was found out that the size of a pinhole affects detrimentally the oxygen gas permeation through the material. According to the results, there is a linear correlation between permeation rate of oxygen gas and area of pinhole, thus, oxygen barrier level can be calculated and adjusted by the size of pinhole

Influence of Pinholes on Water Vapor and Oxygen Permeation of Packaging Foil and Films

Controlling of moisture and oxygen permeation through the packaging material is essential in most packaging applications. With multilayer structures of different barrier materials, there is possibility to create desired barrier properties to the package. The challenge is to plan appropriate barrier level, e.g. WVTR and OTR, theoretically to the package before producing the package. Furthermore, in specific packages there is a need to control the permeation e.g. respiration in vegetable packages. Typically foils and polymer films have high barrier properties, therefore, permeation can be controlled by producing artificial pinholes in these kinds of packages. Influence of artificial pinholes in aluminium foils and plastic films on water vapour and oxygen permeation was determined in this study. Results show clear correlation between the size and number of pinholes and gas permeation. Water vapour and oxygen permeation increase significantly when there are pinholes through the structure. It was observed that the greater the RH difference between inside and outside the sample in WVTR measurement, the greater the permeation was through the pinholes. Additionally, it was found that the effect of pinholes on the oxygen permeation on aluminium foil can almost be eliminated by using polyethylene coating on top of aluminium foil.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Ehdotus kansalliseksi vieraslajistrategiaksi

Kansallisen vieraslajistrategian tavoitteena on rajoittaa haitallisten vieraslajien aiheuttamia haittoja ja riskejä Suomen luonnolle, luonnonvarojen kestävälle hyödyntämiselle sekä elinkeinoille. Tavoitteena on toimia mahdollisimman varhaisessa vaiheessa haitallisten vieraslajien torjumiseksi, sillä tällöin vieraslajien haittojen torjunta on tehokkainta sekä myös huomattavasti edullisempaa. Asiantuntija-arvioiden mukaan vuoden 2011 alussa on tunnistettu 157 Suomessa jo esiintyvää haitallista vieraslajia, jotka aiheuttavat selkeästi todennettavia välittömiä tai välillisiä haittavaikutuksia. Haitallisista vieraslajeista merkittävin osa, 108 lajia, on maa- ja metsätalouden vieraslajeja. Muista haitallisista vieraslajeista 5 lajia esiintyy Suomen aluevesillä Itämeressä, 5 sisävesistöissä, 6 lajia on maaselkärankaisia, 24 kuuluu vieraskasveihin ja 9 lajia sisätuholaisiin. Vuoden 2011 alussa Suomessa on lisäksi tunnistettu noin 128 tarkkailtavaa tai paikallisesti haitallista Suomen alkuperäislajistoon kuulumatonta lajia. Erityisen haitallisiksi vieraslajeiksi työryhmä määritteli vaarallisten kasvintuhoojien eli niin kutsuttujen karanteenilajien (37 kpl) lisäksi kurtturuusun, rapuruton, jättiputket, espanjansiruetanan sekä minkin. Haitallisten vieraslajien haittavaikutusten vähentämiseksi vaaditaan toimenpiteitä. Ehdotuksessa kansalliseksi vieraslajistrategiaksi on esitetty 16 erilaista toimenpidekokonaisuutta. Työryhmä esittää, että saatetaan vieraslajeja koskeva lainsäädäntö kattavaksi, perustetaan lautakunta huolehtimaan vieraslajeja koskevien toimien seurannasta ja edistämisestä, käynnistetään vieraslajeja koskeva viestintä ja koulutus, perustetaan vieraslajiportaali, sekä luodaan varhaisvaroitusjärjestelmä sekä vieraslajien seuranta. Työryhmä ehdottaa myös, että luodaan kansallinen vieraslajeja koskeva riskinarviointijärjestelmä, lisätään vieraslajitutkimusta sekä erityisesti riskinarviointia palvelevaa tutkimusta, varaudutaan estämään vieraslajien maahantulo ja käynnistämään maahan päässeiden vieraslajien nopeat torjuntatoimet sekä kannustetaan vapaaehtoisiin kansalaistoimiin haitallisten vieraslajien torjunnassa. Lisäksi esitetään, että vahvistetaan ja kehitetään rahoituksen lähteitä haitallisten vieraslajien torjumiseksi, sekä varmistetaan, ettei Suomen kautta leviä haitallisia vieraslajeja rajojen yli ja että Suomessa toimitaan myös kansainvälisesti vieraslajien torjumiseksi. Kohdennetut toimenpide-ehdotukset kohdistetaan Itämeren ja sisävesistöjen vieraslajien, vieraiden maaselkärankaisten sekä haitallisten vieraskasvien aiheuttamien haittojen torjuntaan. Strategia sisältää tavoitteen hävittää jättiputki kokonaan Suomesta seuraavan 10-20 vuoden aikana

Neurocognitive Functions in 3- to 15-Year-Old Children : An International Comparison

Objectives: Performance on neurocognitive tasks develops with age, but it is still unknown whether this performance differs between children from different cultures. We compared cross-sectionally the development of neurocognitive functions in 3- to 15-year-old children from three countries: Finland, Italy, and the United States (N=2745). Methods: Language, face memory, emotion recognition, theory of mind, and visuospatial processing subtests from the NEPSY-II standardizations in Finland, Italy, and the United States were used to evaluate if children and adolescents from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds differ in performance on these measures. Results: We found significant differences in performance on the tasks between the countries. Generally, the differences were more pronounced in the younger age groups. Some subtests showed greater country effects than others, performance on these subtests being higher, in general, in one country over the others, or showed different patterns of age associated changes in test performance. Conclusions: Significant differences in neurocognitive performance between children from Finland, Italy, and the United States were found. These findings may be due to cultural or educational differences that impact test performance, or due to factors associated with the adaptation of measures from one culture to another. The finding of performance differences across countries on similar tasks indicate that cross-cultural and background variables impact performance on neuropsychological measures. Therefore, clinicians need to consider a child’s cultural background when evaluating performance on neuropsychological assessments. The results also indicate that future cross-cultural studies are needed to further examine the underlying cultural factors that influence neurocognitive performance. (JINS, 2017, 23, 1–14)Objectives: Performance on neurocognitive tasks develops with age, but it is still unknown whether this performance differs between children from different cultures. We compared cross-sectionally the development of neurocognitive functions in 3- to 15-year-old children from three countries: Finland, Italy, and the United States (N = 2745). Methods: Language, face memory, emotion recognition, theory of mind, and visuospatial processing subtests from the NEPSY-II standardizations in Finland, Italy, and the United States were used to evaluate if children and adolescents from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds differ in performance on these measures. Results: We found significant differences in performance on the tasks between the countries. Generally, the differences were more pronounced in the younger age groups. Some subtests showed greater country effects than others, performance on these subtests being higher, in general, in one country over the others, or showed different patterns of age associated changes in test performance. Conclusions: Significant differences in neurocognitive performance between children from Finland, Italy, and the United States were found. These findings may be due to cultural or educational differences that impact test performance, or due to factors associated with the adaptation of measures from one culture to another. The finding of performance differences across countries on similar tasks indicate that cross-cultural and background variables impact performance on neuropsychological measures. Therefore, clinicians need to consider a child's cultural background when evaluating performance on neuropsychological assessments. The results also indicate that future cross-cultural studies are needed to further examine the underlying cultural factors that influence neurocognitive performance.Peer reviewe

Neurocognitive Functions in 3- to 15-Year-Old Children : An International Comparison

Objectives: Performance on neurocognitive tasks develops with age, but it is still unknown whether this performance differs between children from different cultures. We compared cross-sectionally the development of neurocognitive functions in 3- to 15-year-old children from three countries: Finland, Italy, and the United States (N=2745). Methods: Language, face memory, emotion recognition, theory of mind, and visuospatial processing subtests from the NEPSY-II standardizations in Finland, Italy, and the United States were used to evaluate if children and adolescents from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds differ in performance on these measures. Results: We found significant differences in performance on the tasks between the countries. Generally, the differences were more pronounced in the younger age groups. Some subtests showed greater country effects than others, performance on these subtests being higher, in general, in one country over the others, or showed different patterns of age associated changes in test performance. Conclusions: Significant differences in neurocognitive performance between children from Finland, Italy, and the United States were found. These findings may be due to cultural or educational differences that impact test performance, or due to factors associated with the adaptation of measures from one culture to another. The finding of performance differences across countries on similar tasks indicate that cross-cultural and background variables impact performance on neuropsychological measures. Therefore, clinicians need to consider a child’s cultural background when evaluating performance on neuropsychological assessments. The results also indicate that future cross-cultural studies are needed to further examine the underlying cultural factors that influence neurocognitive performance. (JINS, 2017, 23, 1–14)Objectives: Performance on neurocognitive tasks develops with age, but it is still unknown whether this performance differs between children from different cultures. We compared cross-sectionally the development of neurocognitive functions in 3- to 15-year-old children from three countries: Finland, Italy, and the United States (N = 2745). Methods: Language, face memory, emotion recognition, theory of mind, and visuospatial processing subtests from the NEPSY-II standardizations in Finland, Italy, and the United States were used to evaluate if children and adolescents from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds differ in performance on these measures. Results: We found significant differences in performance on the tasks between the countries. Generally, the differences were more pronounced in the younger age groups. Some subtests showed greater country effects than others, performance on these subtests being higher, in general, in one country over the others, or showed different patterns of age associated changes in test performance. Conclusions: Significant differences in neurocognitive performance between children from Finland, Italy, and the United States were found. These findings may be due to cultural or educational differences that impact test performance, or due to factors associated with the adaptation of measures from one culture to another. The finding of performance differences across countries on similar tasks indicate that cross-cultural and background variables impact performance on neuropsychological measures. Therefore, clinicians need to consider a child's cultural background when evaluating performance on neuropsychological assessments. The results also indicate that future cross-cultural studies are needed to further examine the underlying cultural factors that influence neurocognitive performance.Peer reviewe