Rapid Quantification of Bone Collagen Content by ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy

Radiocarbon ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Lebon ◽  
I Reiche ◽  
X Gallet ◽  
L Bellot-Gurlet ◽  
A Zazzo

AbstractExpensive and time-consuming preparation procedures for radiocarbon and stable isotope analyses can be conducted on archaeological bone samples even if no collagen is preserved. Such unsuccessful preparation can lead to the partial destruction of valuable archaeological material. Establishing a rapid prescreening method for evaluating the amount of bone collagen while minimizing the impact of sampling constitutes a challenge for the preservation of archaeological collections. This study proposes and discusses a new methodology to detect and quantify collagen content in archaeological bone samples by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. A total of 42 Pleistocene to modern bone samples were selected according to their nitrogen content measured using an elemental analyzer. Comparison of collagen content estimation using ATR-FTIR and mass spectrometry reveals that some of the studied samples are contaminated by a nitrogen source coming from the burial environment. Two different FTIR calibration approaches were tested on the uncontaminated samples: peak-to-peak ratio and multivariate regression (PLS). The two approaches yield similar results with a good correlation of ATR-FTIR analyses and N wt% from 0.7 to 4wt% (R²=0.97–0.99; standard error of estimation ±0.22 to 0.25wt%). While collagen content remains difficult to detect in poorly preserved bones (less than ~3wt%), ATR-FTIR analysis can be a fast alternative for sample screening to optimize the sampling strategy and avoid partial destruction of valuable samples that do not contain enough collagen for further analysis.

2022 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Mirwald ◽  
Drilon Nura ◽  
Bernhard Hofko

AbstractThe application of chemical analysis on bituminous materials has increased drastically over the past decades. One of the most common spectroscopic methods used in the field of research is Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Since ATR-FTIR is a surface sensitive method, sample or specimen handling of a complex material like bitumen prior to its analysis needs to be considered, especially for people new to the field or analysis technique. This study looks at the impact of heating time and temperature as well as storage time and conditions on the oxidation of the bituminous specimen. Four binders from the same crude oil source but different specification classes (unmodified and styrene–butadiene–styrene polymer modified) and two binders from different crude oil sources were investigated. The results show that heating small quantities of bitumen at 180 °C for up to 30 min has little impact on the formation of oxidized species, when proper thermal monitoring is conducted. Special cases where oxidation does occur are reported in detail. Furthermore, strong oxidation is induced by day light, when bitumen is stored behind glass with no UV radiation present, which can reach short-term ageing level within 1 h. Thus, heating bitumen at 180 °C for 5–10 min followed by storage in the dark, climatized room and measured within one hour after preparation is recommended. These results should act as recommendation for future specimen handling prior to FTIR spectroscopic analysis to ensure unbiased and comparable measurements.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Stella Epifanio ◽  
Federica Andrei ◽  
Giacomo Mancini ◽  
Francesca Agostini ◽  
Marco Andrea Piombo ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 pandemic that has hit the world in the year 2020 has put a strain on our ability to cope with events and revolutionized our daily habits. On 9 March, Italy was forced to lockdown to prevent the spread of the infection, with measures including the mandatory closure of schools and nonessential activities, travel restrictions, and the obligation to spend entire weeks in the same physical space. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures on quality of life (QoL) in a large Italian sample, in order to investigate possible differences in QoL levels related to both demographic and pandemic-specific variables. A total of 2251 Italian adults (1665 women, mainly young and middle adults) were recruited via a snowball sampling strategy. Participants were requested to answer to an online survey, which included demographic and COVID-related information items, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life BREF questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF). The results showed statistically significant differences in QoL depending on a number of variables, including sex, area of residence in Italy, and being diagnosed with a medical/psychiatric condition. To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess QoL during COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, therefore the present findings can offer guidelines regarding which social groups are more vulnerable of a decline in QoL and would benefit of psychological interventions.


Author(s):  
Dharmastuti Cahya Fatmarahmi ◽  
Ratna Asmah Susidarti ◽  
Respati Tri Swasono ◽  
Abdul Rohman

The study aims to develop an effective, efficient, and reliable method using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy with Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) combined with chemometric for identifying the synthetic drug in Indonesian herbal medicine known as Jamu. Jamu powders, Metamizole, and the binary mixture of Jamu and Metamizole were measured using FTIR-ATR at the mid-infrared region (4000-650 cm-1). The obtained spectra profiles were further analyzed by Principal Component Analysis, Partial Least Square Regression, Principal Component Regression, and Discriminant Analysis. Jamu Pegel Linu (JPL), Jamu Encok (JE), Jamu Sakit Pinggang (JSP), Metamizole (M), and adulterated Jamu by Metamizole were discriminated well on PCA score plot. PLSR and PCR showed the accuracy and precision data to quantify JPL, JE, and JSP, and each adulterated by M with R2 value > 0,995 and low value of RMSEC and RMSEP. Discriminant Analysis (DA) was successfully grouping Jamu and Metamizole without any misclassification. A combination of FTIR spectroscopy and chemometrics offered useful tools for detecting Metamizole in traditional herbal medicine.


2016 ◽  
Vol 130 (6) ◽  
pp. 1647-1656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana R. Vassalo ◽  
Eugénia Cunha ◽  
Luís A. E. Batista de Carvalho ◽  
David Gonçalves

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 10117-10163 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. R. Colarco ◽  
R. A. Kahn ◽  
L. A. Remer ◽  
R. C. Levy

Abstract. We use the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite aerosol optical thickness (AOT) product to assess the impact of reduced swath width on global and regional AOT statistics and trends. Ten different sampling strategies are employed, in which the full MODIS dataset is sub-sampled with various narrow-swath (~400–800 km) and curtain-like (~10 km) along-track configurations. Although view-angle artifacts in the MODIS AOT retrieval confound direct comparisons between averages derived from different sub-samples, careful analysis shows that with many portions of the Earth essentially unobserved, the AOT statistics of these sub-samples exhibit significant regional and seasonal biases. These AOT spatial sampling artifacts comprise up to 60% of the full-swath AOT value under moderate aerosol loading, and can be as large as 0.1 in some regions under high aerosol loading. Compared to full-swath observations, narrower swaths exhibit a reduced ability to detect AOT trends with statistical significance, and for curtain-like sampling we do not find any statistically significant decadal-scale trends at all. An across-track sampling strategy obviates the MODIS view angle artifact, and its mean AOT converges to the full-swath mean values for sufficiently coarse spatial and temporal aggregation. Nevertheless, across-track sampling has significant seasonal-regional sampling artifacts, leading to biases comparable to the curtain-like along-track sampling, lacks sufficient coverage to assign statistical significance to aerosol trends, and is not achievable with an actual narrow-swath or curtain-like instrument. These results suggest that future aerosol satellite missions having significantly less than full-swath viewing are unlikely to sample the true AOT distribution well enough to determine decadal-scale trends or to obtain the statistics needed to reduce uncertainty in aerosol direct forcing of climate.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 18-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng-Yi Lee ◽  
Maa-Ling Chen ◽  
Peter Ditchfield ◽  
Li-Hung Lin ◽  
Pei-Ling Wang ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 1238-1246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Philippe Pezy ◽  
Aurore Raoux ◽  
Jean-Claude Dauvin

Abstract The French government is planning the construction of offshore wind farms (OWF) in the next decade (around 2900 MW). Following the European Environmental Impact Assessment Directive 85/337/EEC, several studies have been undertaken to identify the environmental conditions and ecosystem functioning at selected sites prior to OWF construction. However, these studies are generally focused on the conservation of some species and there is no holistic approach for analysing the effects arising from OWF construction and operation. The objective of this article is to promote a sampling strategy to collect data on the different ecosystem compartments of the future Dieppe-Le Tréport (DLT) wind farm site, adopting an ecosystem approach, which could be applied to other OWFs for the implementation of a trophic network analysis. For that purpose, an Ecopath model is used here to derive indices from Ecological Network Analysis (ENA) to investigate the ecosystem structure and functioning. The results show that the ecosystem is most likely detritus-based, associated with a biomass dominated by bivalves, which could act as a dead end for a classic trophic food web since their consumption by top predators is low in comparison to their biomass. The systemic approach developed for DLT OWF site should be applied for other French and European installations of Offshore Wind Farm.


Author(s):  
Damiano Menin ◽  
Marco Dondi

The study of the development of neonatal pain responses is of key importance, both for research and for clinical reasons, with particular regard to the population of preterm neonates, given the amount of painful procedures they are exposed to on a daily basis. The aim of this work was to systematize our knowledge about the development of pain responses in prematurely born neonates by focusing on some key methodological issues. Studies on the impact of age variables, namely gestational age (GA), postmenstrual age (PMA) and chronological age (CH), on pain responsivity in premature neonates were identified using Medline and Scopus. Studies (N = 42) were categorized based on terminological and methodological approaches towards age variables, and according to output variables considered (facial, nonfacial behavioral, physiological). Distinct multidimensional developmental patterns were found for each age-sampling strategy. Overall, each of the three age variables seems to affect pain responsivity, possibly differently across age windows. Targeted as well as integrated approaches, together with a renewed attention for methodological consistency, are needed to further our knowledge on this topic.


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