The Oseberg collection includes the most complete ensemble of wooden remains from the Viking Age. However, since many of the wooden objects were treated with alum in the early 1900s, they now suffer from dramatic conservation issues. A multi-analytical approach was adopted to investigate both the organic and the inorganic components of some selected wood fragments, with the aim of fully characterising the materials and their decomposition products. A particular focus was taken on the differences between the surface and the core of the fragments analysed, and on the correlations between the results obtained by the different techniques, in order to disclose possible interactions between the materials during degradation. In addition to differences in alum concentration and wood alteration between the surface and the core, some decomposition/transformation products of alum, such as mercallite (KHSO4), were identified by FTIR and XRD. Contextual interpretation of the results obtained by ICP-OES elemental analysis of inorganic components and Py(HMDS)-GC/MS characterisation of degraded lignocellulosic materials supported some previous observations about potential relationships between specific metals (Al, Fe, Ca) and wood degradation and enabled new correlations to be highlighted. Although similar degradation patterns were revealed in the investigated objects–depletion of holocellulose, oxidation of lignin and some transformation of alum - a notable variability at the molecular level was highlighted. This is an important factor to be taken into account for the planning of re-treatment strategies of these extremely precious artefacts

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Measles is one of the most infectious airborne viruses worldwide. With a basic reproduction rate between 12-18, this virus is six times more infectious than the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant and similar to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. Even though a cheap and effective vaccine is available, measles is still common in developing countries. To date, sporadic outbreaks are also reported in developed countries, primarily due to non-vaccinated people. This work presents a point-of-care (POC) biosensing device capable of detecting measles virions (MV) in human saliva. The device is a surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) based lab-on-a-chip (LOC), smaller than a €1-cent coin, in which SAWs are used both for sensing and fluid recirculation. The biosensing detection performance of this system is tested and device sensitivity and selectivity are assessed. The SAW-LOC with MV loaded in healthy, whole human saliva is finally validated. The experimental results also highlight a crucial aspect of the biosensing process: the interactions between probing and target species during incubation with or without fluid mixing. The presented findings are promising for realizing a POC platform for measles diagnosis and may serve as a guideline for designing new microfluidics-based biosensing systems.

Samples of conserved archaeological wood of different ages, origins, and conservation histories were aged in a climate chamber for seven months, while the humidity alternated between 30% RH for 12 hours and 80% RH for 12 hours at a constant temperature of 30°C. Photographs were taken once every hour, which enabled the creation of a time-lapse movie. Some samples degraded visibly, whereas others were unaffected. Most of the samples were robust and would be able to survive well even in a very poor museum climate. Among the sensitive samples, three types of degradation were identified, namely disintegration, pyrite oxidation, and efflorescence of white crystals. Disintegration was ascribed to dimensional changes caused by the RH alternations in very fragile wood. The white efflorescence was interpreted as the recrystallization of an alum-associated substance, possibly mercallite (KHSO 4). The pyrite oxidation was observed as the efflorescence of a thick yellow, grey, and green powder. Characterization of selected samples was performed using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, X-ray diffraction spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasmaoptical emission spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ionic conductivityliquid chromatography, and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with in situ silylation using hexamethyldisilazane.

Measles Sensing Measles is one of the most infectious airborne viruses worldwide, and it is still common in developing countries. In article number 2201958, Marco Cecchini and co‐workers present a point‐of‐care biosensing lab‐on‐a‐chip based on surface‐acoustic‐waves for detecting measles virions in human saliva. The presented findings may serve as a guideline for designing new microfluidics‐based biosensing systems.