The association between atopic dermatitis and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D in children: Influence of sun exposure, diet, and atopy features-A cross-sectional study.

Background: Previous studies have linked low serum vitamin D (VD) or 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels with increased severity of atopic dermatitis (AD) in children.

Objective: To investigate the association between serum VD (25(OH)D) levels and AD and AD severity, considering the influence of diet and sun exposure.

Methods: We performed a prospective cross-sectional study of healthy controls and children diagnosed with AD.

Body mass index and serum lipid profile: Association with atopic dermatitis in a paediatric population.

Background/objectives: The association between atopic dermatitis, body weight and serum lipid levels is not well known, and very few studies have examined this relationship in children.

Methods: Children (n = 239) under 14 years old participated in this prospective cross-sectional study. The following variables were recorded: age, gender, weight, height, atopic dermatitis severity, serum levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides.

Comparison between non-invasive methods used on paintings by Goya and his contemporaries: hyperspectral imaging vs. point-by-point spectroscopic analysis.

The development of non-invasive techniques for the characterization of pigments is crucial in order to preserve the integrity of the artwork. In this sense, the usefulness of hyperspectral imaging was demonstrated. It allows pigment characterization of the whole painting.

Microcharacterization of a natural blue pigment used in wall paintings during the Romanesque period in northern Spain.

In Romanesque wall paintings in Aragon (Spain), the pigment used for creating blue was a very characteristic mineral, aerinite, which came from local ores in the southern Pyrenees. Optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), with energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, X-ray diffraction, and reflectance spectroscopy were used to make a detailed microcharacterization of this rare blue pigment in order to improve the knowledge of its composition and possible variability, from samples of medieval paintings and some mineral ores. New analytical data on the chemical composition of the blue pigment are reported here, together with the characterization of its microstructure, and the heterogeneity of the natural pigment made by the features of the ore itself.

Chemical investigation on black pigments in the carved decoration of sixteenth century alabaster tombs from Zaragoza (Spain).

An analytical protocol based on optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation, energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analyses, analytical pyrolysis in the presence of hexamethyldisilazane followed by gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric analysis (Py-silylation-GC/MS) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) after alkaline hydrolysis, solvent extraction and trimethylsilylation was used to study the origin and nature of black pigments from the carved inscriptions of several panels of two alabaster tombs dated from the mid-sixteenth century. Optical microscopy and SEM observation showed the presence of an amorphous very dark-brown substance, from translucent to opaque. EDX analyses revealed that the samples were mainly made up of C and O, thus highlighting the organic nature of the material used in the inscriptions.