Network for forest by-products charcoal, resin, tar, potash (COST Action EU-PoTaRCh).

The COST EU-PoTaRCh Action establishes a network focused on the past, present, and future significance, production, and use of major forest by-products in Europe and beyond. The Action centers around forest by-products-primarily potash, tar, resin, and charcoal (PoTaRCh), along with plant extracts-which have been produced and utilized for over 100,000 years due to their unique chemical, biological, and therapeutic properties. The primary goal of the Action is to demonstrate the importance of these products for the socio-economic development of European countries and beyond, as well as their impact on biodiversity and the natural environment.

Understanding changes in holocellulose and lignin compounds in wooden structure of veneers: Molecular insights post hydrothermal treatment and aging.

Veneers obtained via hydrothermal treatment serve to enhance the aesthetic appeal of furniture and other wooden surfaces. However, the impact of this treatment on the chemical composition of holocellulose and lignin, coupled with their resistance to ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, remains a relatively unexplored area requiring further investigation. In the experiment, wood samples of three distinct species underwent hydrothermal treatment followed by exposure to UV aging.

Additive manufacturing of wet-spun chitosan/hyaluronic acid scaffolds for biomedical applications.

Additive manufacturing (AM) holds great potential for processing natural polymer hydrogels into 3D scaffolds exploitable for tissue engineering and in vitro tissue modelling. The aim of this research activity was to assess the suitability of computer-aided wet-spinning (CAWS) for AM of hyaluronic acid (HA)/chitosan (Cs) polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) hydrogels. A post-printing treatment based on HA chemical cross-linking via transesterification with poly(methyl vinyl ether-alt-maleic acid) (PMVEMA) was investigated to enhance the structural stability of the developed scaffolds in physiological conditions.

Violin Varnishes: Microstructure and Nanomechanical Analysis.

The aim of the current work is twofold: to demonstrate the application of in situ non-invasive imaging by portable atomic force microscopy (AFM) on the surfaces of a violin and to integrate compositional and mechanical analysis at the nano scale level on model samples of varnished wood. These samples were prepared according to traditional recipes by an Italian lute-maker family well practised in the art. Samples of oil and spirit-based varnishes on maple wood, naturally and accelerated light aged, were studied.

Gold Mine Wooden Artefacts: Multianalytical Investigations for the Selection of Appropriate Consolidation Treatments.

Environmental conditions present in mines generally are very favourable to decay; high temperature, high humidity, variable oxygen content, numerous metal-wood connections and the presence of a high content of inorganic compounds typical of mines have a significant impact on the biotic and abiotic degradation factors. The state of conservation of wooden artefacts from the Złoty Stok (Poland) gold mine was investigated using a multi-analytical approach. The aim was to select the conservation treatments that would stop decay and improve the conditions and dimensional stability of the wood.

Kumagawa and Soxhlet Solvent Fractionation of Lignin: The Impact on the Chemical Structure.

We investigated the effects of solvent fractionation on the chemical structures of two commercial technical lignins. We compared the effect of Soxhlet and Kumagawa extraction. The aim of this work was to compare the impact of the methods and of the solvents on lignin characteristics.

Hafting of Middle Paleolithic tools in Latium (central Italy): New data from Fossellone and Sant'Agostino caves.

Hafting of stone tools was an important advance in the technology of the Paleolithic. Evidence of hafting in the Middle Paleolithic is growing and is not limited to points hafted on spears for thrusting or throwing. This article describes the identification of adhesive used for hafting on a variety of stone tools from two Middle Paleolithic caves in Latium, Fossellone Cave and Sant'Agostino Cave.

From Neandertals to modern humans: New data on the Uluzzian.

Having thrived in Eurasia for 350,000 years Neandertals disappeared from the record around 40,000-37,000 years ago, after modern humans entered Europe. It was a complex process of population interactions that included cultural exchanges and admixture between Neandertals and dispersing groups of modern humans. In Europe Neandertals are always associated with the Mousterian while the Aurignacian is associated with modern humans only.

Long-lasting ergot lipids as new biomarkers for assessing the presence of cereals and cereal products in archaeological vessels.

Cereals were very important in ancient diets, however evidence from archaeological sites of the vessels used for processing or storing cereals is comparatively rare. Micro-organisms, as well as chemical-physical effects can easily degrade cereals during the burial period. This can lead to a complete cereal decay and to serious difficulties in estimating the intensity of use of the cereals by ancient populations.

Effects of low sulfur dioxide concentrations on bioactive compounds and antioxidant properties of Aglianico red wine.

This study analyzed the effect of low sulfur dioxide concentrations on the chromatic properties, phytochemical composition and antioxidant activity of Aglianico red wines with respect to wines produced from conventional winemaking. We determined the phytochemical composition by spectrophotometric methods and HPLC-DAD analysis and the in vitro antioxidant activity of different wine samples by the ORAC assay. The main important classes of fluorophore molecules in red wine were identified by Front-Face fluorescence spectroscopy, and the emission intensity trend was investigated at various sulfur dioxide concentrations.

Chemical characterisation of the whole plant cell wall of archaeological wood: an integrated approach.

Wood artefacts undergo complex alteration and degradation during ageing, and gaining information on the chemical composition of wood in archaeological artefacts is fundamental to plan conservation strategies. In this work, an integrated analytical approach based on innovative NMR spectroscopy procedures, gel permeation chromatography and analytical pyrolysis coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) was applied for the first time on archaeological wood from the Oseberg collection (Norway), in order to evaluate the chemical state of preservation of the wood components, without separating them. We adopted ionic liquids (ILs) as non-derivatising solvents, thus obtaining an efficient dissolution of the wood, allowing us to overcome the difficulty of dissolving wood in its native form in conventional molecular solvents.

Snapshots of lignin oxidation and depolymerization in archaeological wood: an EGA-MS study.

Evolved gas analysis-mass spectrometry (EGA-MS) was used for the first time to study archaeological wood, in order to investigate its chemical degradation. The archaeological wood was from an oak pile from a stilt house found in the Neolithic 'La Marmotta' village (Lake Bracciano, Rome, Italy). The sampling was performed from the external to the internal part of the pile, following the annual growth rings in groups of five.

The Still Bay and Howiesons Poort at Sibudu and Blombos: Understanding Middle Stone Age Technologies.

The classification of archaeological assemblages in the Middle Stone Age of South Africa in terms of diversity and temporal continuity has significant implications with respect to recent cultural evolutionary models which propose either gradual accumulation or discontinuous, episodic processes for the emergence and diffusion of cultural traits. We present the results of a systematic technological and typological analysis of the Still Bay assemblages from Sibudu and Blombos. A similar approach is used in the analysis of the Howiesons Poort (HP) assemblages from Sibudu seen in comparison with broadly contemporaneous assemblages from Rose Cottage and Klasies River Cave 1A.

A Milk and Ochre Paint Mixture Used 49,000 Years Ago at Sibudu, South Africa.

Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, proteomic and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) analyses of residue on a stone flake from a 49,000 year-old layer of Sibudu (South Africa) indicate a mixture of ochre and casein from milk, likely obtained by killing a lactating wild bovid. Ochre powder production and use are documented in Middle Stone Age South African sites but until now there has been no evidence of the use of milk as a binder. Our analyses show that this ochre-based mixture was neither a hafting adhesive nor a residue left after treating animal skins, but a liquid mixture consisting of a powdered pigment mixed with milk; in other words, a paint medium that could have been applied to a surface or to human skin.

Ingredients of a 2,000-y-old medicine revealed by chemical, mineralogical, and botanical investigations.

In archaeology, the discovery of ancient medicines is very rare, as is knowledge of their chemical composition. In this paper we present results combining chemical, mineralogical, and botanical investigations on the well-preserved contents of a tin pyxis discovered onboard the Pozzino shipwreck (second century B.C.

Analytical pyrolysis vs. classical wet chemical analysis to assess the decay of archaeological waterlogged wood.

The macromolecular complexity of wood limits the possibility of obtaining complete chemical information on its alteration in archaeological objects. This paper compares the results obtained in the characterisation of the components of archaeological wood by a classical wet chemical method and by an instrumental method based on pyrolysis in presence of hexamethyldisilazane coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, Py(HMDS)-GC/MS. We compare the results obtained with the two methods quantitatively.

Border Cave and the beginning of the Later Stone Age in South Africa.

The transition from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) to the Later Stone Age (LSA) in South Africa was not associated with the appearance of anatomically modern humans and the extinction of Neandertals, as in the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in Western Europe. It has therefore attracted less attention, yet it provides insights into patterns of technological evolution not associated with a new hominin. Data from Border Cave (KwaZulu-Natal) show a strong pattern of technological change at approximately 44-42 ka cal BP, marked by adoption of techniques and materials that were present but scarcely used in the previous MSA, and some novelties.

Early evidence of San material culture represented by organic artifacts from Border Cave, South Africa.

Recent archaeological discoveries have revealed that pigment use, beads, engravings, and sophisticated stone and bone tools were already present in southern Africa 75,000 y ago. Many of these artifacts disappeared by 60,000 y ago, suggesting that modern behavior appeared in the past and was subsequently lost before becoming firmly established. Most archaeologists think that San hunter-gatherer cultural adaptation emerged 20,000 y ago.

A multi-analytical approach for the characterization of powders from the Pompeii archaeological site.

Nine black powders found in Pompeii houses in three different types of bronze vessels (cylindrical theca atramentaria, unguentaries, and aryballoi) were characterized in order to assess a correspondence between the composition and the type of vessel and, possibly, to verify if these powders were inks or not. For the compositional characterization, a multi-analytical approach was adopted, which involved the use of scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray, Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy, Raman, X-ray diffraction, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS), and pyrolysis GC/MS. Powders contained in cylindrical theca atramentaria form a homogeneous group, and their organic and inorganic compositions suggest that they were writing inks, while powders contained in unguentaries and aryballoi could have had several different uses, including writing inks and cosmetics.

Characterisation of archaeological waterlogged wood by pyrolytic and mass spectrometric techniques.

Two techniques based on analytical pyrolysis and mass spectrometry, direct exposure-MS (DE-MS) and pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS), were used to characterise waterlogged archaeological wood and to study degradation patterns of wood in aqueous environments. The two techniques were applied to samples from the excavation of the Site of the Ancient Ships of Pisa San Rossore in Pisa (Italy), and data were compared to those relative to native sound wood of the same species (pine, elm, beech). Both the methods result valuable in the analysis of ancient wood artefacts, avoiding the long wet-chemical procedures that are commonly used in wood analysis, and allowing us to use a minimal sample size.

A multi-analytical study of degradation of lignin in archaeological waterlogged wood.

Historical or archaeological wooden objects are generally better conserved in wet environments than in other contexts. Nevertheless, anaerobic erosion bacteria can slowly degrade waterlogged wood, causing a loss of cellulose and hemicellulose and leading to the formation of water-filled cavities. During this process, lignin can also be altered.