A Diachronic Analysis of Blue-Green Color in Maya Effigy Censers from Palenque, Chiapas

In materials production industries it has become increasingly evident that nondestructive techniques are required in order to monitor and control as many stages in the manufacturing process as possible. Ideally it would be desirable to have nondestructive measurement techniques which are capable of monitoring the production process; the material stability during transport, storage, and fabrication; and the rate of degradation of materials during their in-service life. Although, historically, nondestructive techniques have been used to detect flaws in a qualitative manner, in recent years increased attention has been given to the development of more sophisticated techniques for the quantitative nondestructive characterization of materials in order to assure that the devices and structures fabricated from these materials function properly and safely throughout their intended service life. Several such innovative nondestructive materials characterization techniques are described in the present paper. Finally, some comments will be made with regard to the role to be played by nondestructive materials characterization in the manufacture of advanced materials in the 21st century.

During the Roman age, the southern promontory of the gulf of Baia was the perfect location for the construction of villae maritimae for the Roman élite that decided to spend their summer residences by the sea.One of these residences is now located in the military fortress of the Castello Aragonese di Baia, built in 1495 CE during the Aragonese period (15th century). Here, during restoration works, the ruins of the residential sector of the villa, which historical sources ascribe to Caesar, were unearthed. The most representative evidence of this is the outstanding in situ remain of mosaics, decorated plasters and finely frescoed surfaces decorated according to the repertoire of the II style. This research aims to investigate the polychromy of a wall decoration representing a perspective depiction of architectural scenes en trompe l'oeil analysed by means of a multi-analytical, non-destructive approach performed in situ. The combined use of spectroscopic techniques (portable X-ray fluorescence, Raman and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) points out the use of a characteristic Roman palette, quantitatively assessed by colorimetric measurements. It consists of red and yellow ochre, calcite, hematite, organic black pigments, precious materials such as cinnabar and Egyptian blue, green copper compounds. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy also revealed the presence of synthetic resins, likely used for the conservation of mural paintings. These are, however, damaged by atmospheric humidity, as detected by Infrared Thermography. Gypsum has been identified as the main weathering product.

Applications of Raman spectroscopy in art and archaeology

: A qualitative evaluation of surface and bulk damage and a quantitative percent damage assessment were used to compare the integrity of several nondestructive characterization techniques. X-ray digital radiography and ultrasound C-scan imaging were compared for their ability to detect damage in aluminum-backed alumina test samples. Incremental damage was produced by two different methods, including high-mass, low-velocity drop tower testing for large crack and low mass generation, and highvelocity fragment-simulating projectile testing for hairline crack generation. Surface damage was analyzed by visual inspection as a baseline before utilizing digital radiography and C-scan imaging. While both nondestructive techniques were able to detect the full extent of surface damage, C-scan imaging was more effective at detecting internal damage in the alumina samples, finding a significant number of cracks that were not detected through digital radiography. A corresponding assessment of a quantitative damage percent revealed higher and more accurate values from the C-scan images as compared to the digital radiography images due to the increased detection of bulk damage.

Genome-inspired molecular identification in organic matter via Raman spectroscopy

Numerous studies have been conducted into the microstructural origin of the instability and unpredictability of various energetic materials. Some of these materials are RDX/HMX, Ammonium Perchlorate, Aluminum, etc. Many techniques both destructive and non-destructive have so far been utilized in an attempt to quatify the energetic properties of their composites. These composites may contain one or more energetic constituents in an elastomeric binder. Non-destructive X-ray characterization techniques have been successfully employed to measure several microstructural parameters. Previous studies have shown considerable differences among various production grade RDX. These studies reveal marked differences in the amounts of residual elastic strain and the distribution of dislocations (residual plastic strain) in the constituent RDX phase.The focus of this study is to develop a technique for quantitative constituent phase analysis of solid-propellant (fuel) composites using conventional diffractometry. The use of a Curved Position Sensitive Detector (CPSD) greatly enhances the technique and allows real time applications in production environments. Through the use of computer based Systems and "user friendly" software the required Operator, skill and training have been considerably reduced. The CPSD System has been successfully used to quantify constituent phases (peak heights) and the amounts of residual elastic strain (peak shifts) in these molecular crystal powder mixtures.It is envisioned that rapid, automated, non-destructive X-ray characterization techniques will greatly facilitate production based propellant quality control. A thorough understanding of the relationship between the energetics and microstructural parameters can also he obtained.

Photovoltaic (PV) module degradation in the field is a known issue; however, understanding the modes and mechanisms in which modules degrade is still a major undertaking for researchers. To understand the degradation modes and mechanisms, both nondestructive and destructive characterization techniques need to be employed. This paper presents the results and conclusions obtained based on a few major nondestructive techniques. In this paper nine, 18 years old modules exposed in a hot-dry climate were acquired and investigated in the laboratory to identify the degradation modes and to determine the degradation rate. The nondestructive techniques utilized in this work are: current-voltage measurements (I-V), visual inspection (VI), diode failure (DF), infrared (IR) imaging, electroluminescence (EL) imaging, dark current-voltage (D-I-V) nondestructive cell-module quantum efficiency (C-M-QE), and module level reflectance spectroscopy (M-RS).

Early detection of malignant melanoma is an important public health challenge. In the USA, dermatologists are seeing more melanomas at an early stage, before classic melanoma features have become apparent. Pink color is a feature of these early melanomas. If rapid and accurate automatic detection of pink color in these melanomas could be accomplished, there could be significant public health benefits. Detection of three shades of pink (light pink, dark pink, and orange pink) was accomplished using color analysis techniques in five color planes (red, green, blue, hue, and saturation). Color shade analysis was performed using a logistic regression model trained with an image set of 60 dermoscopic images of melanoma that contained pink areas. Detected pink shade areas were further analyzed with regard to the location within the lesion, average color parameters over the detected areas, and histogram texture features. Logistic regression analysis of a separate set of 128 melanomas and 128 benign images resulted in up to 87.9% accuracy in discriminating melanoma from benign lesions measured using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. The accuracy in this model decreased when parameters for individual shades, texture, or shade location within the lesion were omitted. Texture, color, and lesion location analysis applied to multiple shades of pink can assist in melanoma detection. When any of these three details: color location, shade analysis, or texture analysis were omitted from the model, accuracy in separating melanoma from benign lesions was lowered. Separation of colors into shades and further details that enhance the characterization of these color shades are needed for optimal discrimination of melanoma from benign lesions.

Interest in tattoos has grown significantly due to their cultural, artistic, historical, and anthropological value, representing personal and social expressions that reflect traditions and identities across different cultures. This study examined tattooed skin fragments preserved in the “Luigi Cattaneo” Anatomical Collection (Bologna), recently restored for the exhibition “TATTOO - Tales from the Mediterranean” at the MUDEC Museum in Milan. Non-destructive spectroscopic techniques were employed to characterize the chemical composition of pigments and organic materials, and to assess their preservation state. The results supported the conservation process and enriched the scientific and cultural significance of the collection. This research documents a nearly disappeared cultural practice, offering valuable insights into the moral, social, and religious dimensions of tattooing in 19th-century Italy. The work contributes to understanding tattooing’s evolution from a devotional and identity-based practice to a contemporary art form, illuminating a unique aspect of Italian cultural history.

Fat is one of the most important traits determining the quality of pork. The composition of the fat greatly influences the quality of pork and its processed products, and contribute to defining the overall carcass value. However, establishing an efficient method for assessing fat quality parameters such as fatty acid composition, solid fat content, oxidative stability, iodine value, and fat color, remains a challenge that must be addressed. Conventional methods such as visual inspection, mechanical methods, and chemical methods are used off the production line, which often results in an inaccurate representation of the process because the dynamics are lost due to the time required to perform the analysis. Consequently, rapid, and non-destructive alternative methods are needed. In this paper, the traditional fat quality assessment techniques are discussed with emphasis on spectroscopic techniques as an alternative. Potential spectroscopic techniques include infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance and Raman spectroscopy. Hyperspectral imaging as an emerging advanced spectroscopy-based technology is introduced and discussed for the recent development of assessment for fat quality attributes. All techniques are described in terms of their operating principles and the research advances involving their application for pork fat quality parameters. Future trends for the non-destructive spectroscopic techniques are also discussed.

Raman spectroscopy is a fast and nondestructive characterization technique, which has been widely used for the characterization of the composition and structure information of various materials. The symmetry-dependent Raman tensor allows the detection of crystallographic orientation of materials by using polarization information. In this Perspective, we discuss polarized Raman spectroscopy as a powerful tool for determination of the crystallographic orientation of various materials. First, we introduce the basic principles of polarized Raman spectroscopy and the corresponding experimental setups; the determination of crystallographic orientation of two-dimensional (2D) materials with in-plane isotropy and in-plane anisotropy using linearly polarized Raman scattering are then discussed. Furthermore, we discuss that using circularly polarized Raman spectroscopy, the azimuthal angle of materials in three dimensions (3D) can be characterized. In the final section, we show that the orientation distribution of nanomaterial assemblies can be measured using polarized Raman spectroscopy by introducing the orientation distribution function.

In recent years, meat authenticity awareness has increased and, in the fight to combat meat fraud, various analytical methods have been proposed and subsequently evaluated. Although these methods have shown the potential to detect low levels of adulteration with high reliability, they are destructive, time-consuming, labour-intensive, and expensive. Therefore, rendering them inappropriate for rapid analysis and early detection, particularly under the fast-paced production and processing environment of the meat industry. However, modern analytical methods could improve this process as the food industry moves towards methods that are non-destructive, non-invasive, simple, and on-line. This review investigates the feasibility of different non-destructive techniques used for processed meat authentication which could provide the meat industry with reliable and accurate real-time monitoring, in the near future.

Insights on ecological spectroscopic techniques recently adopted for pharmaceutical analysis: A comprehensive review from the perspective of greenness assessment metrics systems application

Applications of Raman spectroscopy in art and archaeology

Investigations of near IR photoluminescence properties in TiO2:Nd,Yb materials using hyperspectral imaging methods