Quartzite complexities: Non-destructive analysis of bifacial points from Vasterbotten, Sweden

Northern Fennoscandia is a geologically complex region affected by both glacial and postglacial processes. Quartzite was a key material type utilized by hunter-gatherers in Northern Sweden around the period 4 000 - 2 000 BP, and is thus critical to the understanding of raw material procurement and material flow within the region. However, there is a severe lack of methodological development in the characterization of these materials, and provenance of locally available geological material is complex and fraught with uncertainty. 126 quartz/ quartzite points and preforms were sampled from 47 archaeological sites along the upper angstrom ngerman river valley in Va center dot sterbotten, Sweden. The material has been analysed non-destructively using three separate portable spectroscopic instrumentations (Near-infrared, Raman, X -Ray Fluorescence). Evaluation of the spectra and exploratory data analysis using Principal Component Analysis demonstrates detectable differences in the material that likely stem from diagenetic/paragenetic origin. The presence of graphite, muscovite and biotite could likewise provide information on the material's metamorphic grade. In addition to reaffirming the potential of field -based screening instrumentation, these results will benefit future surveys of geological sources in the region. They also indicate potential for the construction of a predictive model that could classify the quartzite based on its chemical characteristic. Such a model would prove useful in future spatial analysis and testing of models of raw material management

Solvent and Rotating Bed Reactor Extraction with One- and Two-Phase Solvents Applied to Bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus) for Isolating Valuable Antioxidants

Extraction of antioxidants from bilberries using solvent extraction and the novel rotating bed reactor (RBR) both with one-phase (ethanol and water) and two-phase (ethanol and water +salt) solvents was studied. Solids, ethanol, and temperature settings in an experimental design were monitored for 1 h. The measured responses were (1) polyphenol concentration, (2) visible-near infrared spectra, and (3) HPLC measurement. The (1) responses were used for making response surfaces in time and the spectra (2) could confirm these results. The HPLC results (3) confirmed the results of 1 and 2 but were found unsuitable for online monitoring. The RBR was better than traditional extraction and 16 min sufficed. The response surfaces showed an optimal concentration of ethanol, temperatures above 50 degrees C gave the best results, and high loads of solid were beneficial. Two-phase extraction was less efficient. The methodology could be transferred to larger scale extraction systems to improve yield and save on reagents/energy cost

Design av on-line transflektanscell för mätning av turbida material

En snabb och tillförlitlig teknik för att följa ändringar in en procesström är spektroskopi, i synnerhet nära infraröd (NIR). Online NIR-spektroskopi utförs med transmission (på homogena klara vätskor) eller med reflektion (på heterogena fasta material). För turbida vätskor behövs en prob som kan mäta integrerande över stora ytor och med olika inträngningsdjup i vätskan. Vi konstruerade en sådan prob och testade dess egenskaper med hjälp av statistisk försöksplanering och multivariat data analys. En jämförelse gjordes även med en kommersiell prob. Mejeriavfall som går till anaerob rötning är en typisk turbid vätska utan reproducerbara egenskaper. För att simulera mejeriavfallets turbiditet användes lösningar av reproducerbara mängder mjölkpulver. Som testfaktorer användes 1) olika mängder turbiditet (mjölkpulver koncentration), 2) temperatur och 3) mängden analyt. Jämförelsen av proberna visar att den konstruerade proben har nästan samma egenskaper som den kommersiella och att den går att använda för olika slags at-line och on-line process mätningar. Skillnaden är att den kommersiella proben är ämnad för immersion i vätskan medan den nya proben är till för mätning genom ett fönster i en vätska som blir pumpad. Försöksplaneringen ger en bra insyn i vilka faktorer som är viktiga för en stabil och reproducerbar mätning

Bestämning av antocyaniner, Brix och torrhalt i blåbär med NIR-spektroskopi

Bärindustrin är beroende av insamling av plockade bär. Bären används färska eller processade i t.ex. läskedrycker, kosmetika och i näringssupplement. Bären som används varierar i sammansättning under den relativt korta växtsäsongen. Detta betyder att utbytet av slutprodukter varierar stort. Bärens kvalité kan mätas noggrant med våtkemiska metoder på laboratorium men dessa metoder är långsamma och dyra. En enkel och snabb mätmetod vore därför önskvärd. I projektet jämför vi laboratoriets analysmetoder med nära infraröd spektroskopi (NIR). Denna teknik kan göras bärbar för bruk i fält och ger snabba resultat (ofta inom 2 minuter). En systematisk studie utfördes under några månader sommaren 2014. Bär samlades in i Sverige och Finland med regelbundna intervall. NIR mättes på bären innan de skickades till ett laboratorium för analys. NIR mättes på färska, hela, homogeniserade bär samt på tinade bär efter infrysning. Resultaten från studien visade att vissa blåbäregenskaper kan mätas direkt med NIR på färska bär. För homogeniserade färska bär är det möjligt att beräkna laboratoriets resultat från NIR spektra. Mätningar på lagrade frysta bär gav inga användbara resultat. Detta betyder att det borde gå att bygga en kalibreringsmodell för homogeniserade färska bär som möjliggör NIR mätning och beräkning av viktiga egenskaper i fält väldigt snabbt

Determining the end-date of long-ripening cheese maturation using NIR hyperspectral image modelling: A feasibility study

Near-infrared (874–1734 nm) hyperspectral (NIR-HS) imaging, coupled with chemometric tools, was used to explore the relationship between spectroscopic data and cheese maturation. A predictive tool to determine the end-date of cheese maturation (E-index, in days) was developed using a set of 425 NIR-HS images acquired during industrial-scale cheese production. The NIR-HS images were obtained by scanning the cheeses at 14, 16, 18 and 20 months of ripening, before a final sensorial assessment in which all cheeses were approved by 20 months. Regression modelling by partial least squares (PLS) was used to explore the relationship between average spectra and E-index. The best PLS model achieved 69.6% accuracy in the prediction of E-index when standard normal variate (SNV) correction and mean centring pre-processing were applied. Thus, NIR-HS image modelling can be useful as a complementary tool to optimise the logistics/efficiency of cheese ripening facilities by rapid and non-destructive prediction of the end-date of ripening for individual cheeses. However, the commercial application will require future improvements in the predictive capacity of the model, e.g. for larger datasets and repetitive scans of cheeses on random occasions

Use of near-infrared hyperspectral (NIR-HS) imaging to visualize and model the maturity of long-ripening hard cheeses

Spectroscopic measurements and imaging have great potential in rapid prediction of cheese maturity, replacing existing subjective evaluation techniques. In this study, 209 long-ripening hard cheeses were evaluated using a hyperspectral camera and also sensory evaluated by a tasting panel. A total of 425 NIR hyperspectral (NIR-HS) images were obtained during ripening at 14, 16, 18, and 20 months, until final sensorial approval of the cheese. The spectral data were interpreted as possible compositional changes between scanning occasions. Regression modelling by partial least squares (PLS) was used to explain the relationship between average spectra and cheese maturity. The PLS model was evaluated with whole cheeses (average spectrum), but also pixelwise, producing prediction images. Analysis of the images showed an increasing homogeneity of the cheese over the time of storage and ripening. It also suggested that maturation begins at the center and spreads to the outer periphery of the cheese

Pre-treatment and extraction techniques for recovery of added value compounds from wastes throughout the agri-food chain

The enormous quantity of food wastes discarded annually force to look for alternatives for this interesting feedstock. Thus, food bio-waste valorisation is one of the imperatives of the nowadays society. This review is the most comprehensive overview of currently existing technologies and processes in this field. It tackles classical and innovative physical, physico-chemical and chemical methods of food waste pre-treatment and extraction for recovery of added value compounds and detection by modern technologies and are an outcome of the COST Action EUBIS, TD1203 Food Waste Valorisation for Sustainable Chemicals, Materials and Fuels

MISAME

Recording of Paul Geladi's The Beauty and the Bourges. For electronics and manipulated sound, created using traditional electro-acoustic sound