Characterization of foxing stains in early twentieth century photographic and paper materials.

The subject of this present work is a group of nine historical pictures shot in Palermo by the Sicilian photographer E. Interguglielmi in 1912. They are nine matte-collodion prints mounted on the original cardboard supports and all of them show foxing stains affecting the paper surface. In order to characterise the chemical composition of the supports and investigate foxing spots, non-destructive and micro-destructive analysis were carried out. X-rays fluorescence (XRF) analysis was used to characterise the elemental composition of all the mounting boards, allowing a comparison between the foxing spots and non-affected areas. Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy was used to investigate the presence of lower atomic number elements, not detectable by XRF, while SEM imaging allowed the investigation of surface appearance and nature of original paper samples from the cardboards.

EPR dosimetry intercomparison using smart phone touch screen glass.

This paper presents the results of an interlaboratory comparison of retrospective dosimetry using the electron paramagnetic resonance method. The test material used in this exercise was glass coming from the touch screens of smart phones that might be used as fortuitous dosimeters in a large-scale radiological incident. There were 13 participants to whom samples were dispatched, and 11 laboratories reported results. The participants received five calibration samples (0, 0.8, 2, 4, and 10 Gy) and four blindly irradiated samples (0, 0.9, 1.3, and 3.3 Gy). Participants were divided into two groups: for group A (formed by three participants), samples came from a homogeneous batch of glass and were stored in similar setting; for group B (formed by eight participants), samples came from different smart phones and stored in different settings of light and temperature. The calibration curves determined by the participants of group A had a small error and a critical level in the 0.37-0.40-Gy dose range, whereas the curves determined by the participants of group B were more scattered and led to a critical level in the 1.3-3.2-Gy dose range for six participants out of eight. Group A were able to assess the dose within 20 % for the lowest doses (<1.5 Gy) and within 5 % for the highest doses. For group B, only the highest blind dose could be evaluated in a reliable way because of the high critical values involved. The results from group A are encouraging, whereas the results from group B suggest that the influence of environmental conditions and the intervariability of samples coming from different smart phones need to be further investigated. An alongside conclusion is that the protocol was easily transferred to participants making a network of laboratories in case of a mass casualty event potentially feasible.

Discrimination of radiation quality through second harmonic out-of-phase cw-ESR detection.

The ability to discriminate the quality of ionizing radiation is important because the biological effects produced in tissue strongly depends on both absorbed dose and linear energy transfer (LET) of ionizing particles. Here we present an experimental electron spin resonance (ESR) analysis aimed at discriminating the effective LETs of various radiation beams (e.g., 19.3 MeV protons, (60)Co photons and thermal neutrons). The measurement of the intensities of the continuous wave spectrometer signal channel first harmonic in-phase and the second harmonic out-of-phase components are used to distinguish the radiation quality. A computational analysis, was carried out to evaluate the dependence of the first harmonic in-phase and second harmonic out-of-phase components on microwave power, modulation amplitude and relaxation times, and highlights that these components could be used to point out differences in the relaxation times. On the basis of this numerical analysis the experimental results are discussed. The methodology described in this study has the potential to provide information on radiation quality.

In-soil radon anomalies as precursors of earthquakes: a case study in the SE slope of Mt. Etna in a period of quite stable weather conditions.

In-soil radon concentrations as well as climatic parameters (temperature, atmospheric pressure and relative humidity) were collected in St. Venerina (Eastern Sicily - Italy) from March 19th to May 22nd 2009, close to an active fault system called Timpe Fault System (TFS), which is strictly linked to the geodynamics of Mt. Etna. During the monitoring period no drastic climatic variations were observed and, on the other hand, important seismic events were recorded close to the monitoring site. A seismic swarm composed of 5 earthquakes was observed in the Milo area on March 25th (M(max) = 2.7) at just 5.1 km from the site, and on May 13th an earthquake of 3.6 magnitude was recorded in the territory of St. Venerina, at just 3.2 km from the site; the earthquake was felt by the population and reported by all local and regional media. The in-soil radon concentrations have shown anomalous increases possibly linked to the earthquakes recorded, but certainly not attributable to local meteorology. To verify this assumption the average radon concentration and the standard deviation (σ) have been calculated and the regions of ±1.5σ and ±2σ deviation from the average concentration have been investigated. Moreover, to further minimise the contribution of the meteorological parameters on the in-soil radon fluctuations, a multiple regressions method has been used. To distinguish those earthquakes which could generate in-soil radon anomalies as precursors, the Dobrovolsky radius has been applied. The results obtained suggests that a clear correlation between earthquakes and in-soil radon increases exist, and that the detection of the in-soil radon anomalies becomes surely simpler in particular favourable conditions: weather stability, earthquakes within the Dobrovolsky radius and close to the monitoring area. Moreover, the absence of large variations of the climatic parameters, which could generate incoherent noise components to the radon signal, has made the radon fluctuations more evident and so more legible.

Analysis of the spatial distribution of free radicals in ammonium tartrate by pulse EPR techniques.

Using pulse electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) on a series of l(+)-ammonium tartrate (AT) dosimeters exposed to radiations with different linear energy transfer (LET), we assessed the ability of pulse EPR spectroscopy to discriminate the quality of various radiation beams such as (60)Co gamma-ray photons, protons and thermal neutrons at various doses by analyzing the local radical distributions produced by the different beams. We performed two types of pulse EPR investigations: two-pulse electron spin echo decay obtained by varying the microwave power, and a double electron-electron resonance (DEER) study. Both methods provide information about the dipolar interactions among the free radicals and about their spatial distributions. The first method provided information on the instantaneous diffusion and hence the microscopic concentration of the radicals that is compared with the macroscopic one obtained by CW-EPR. The DEER spectra yielded the distributions of distances between pairs of radicals two to five crystal cells apart produced by the same radiation event, a result reported here for the first time. The inter-radical distributions given by the DEER results have been simulated by modeling the radical distributions according to the details of the matter-radiation interactions for the various beams. The results of both types of pulse experiments are strongly dependent on the radiation quality. This was also observed for samples giving indistinguishable CW-EPR spectral profiles. We conclude that the pulse EPR measurements can be valuable tools for distinguishing the LET of the radiation beams, an important parameter for radiobiological considerations.

The Effect of gadolinium on the ESR response of alanine and ammonium tartrate exposed to thermal neutrons.

Many efforts have been made to develop neutron capture therapy (NCT) for cancer treatment. Among the challenges in using NCT is the characterization of the features of the mixed radiation field and of its components. In this study, we examined the enhancement of the ESR response of pellets of alanine and ammonium tartrate with gadolinium oxide exposed to a thermal neutron beam. In particular, the ESR response of these dosimeters as a function of the gadolinium content inside the dosimeter was analyzed. We found that the addition of gadolinium improves the sensitivity of both alanine and ammonium tartrate. However, the use of gadolinium reduces or abolishes tissue equivalence because of its high atomic number (Z(Gd) = 64). Therefore, it is necessary to find the optimum compromise between the sensitivity to thermal neutrons and the reduction of tissue equivalence. Our analysis showed that a low concentration of gadolinium oxide (of the order of 5% of the total mass of the dosimeter) can enhance the thermal neutron sensitivity more than 13 times with an insignificant reduction of tissue equivalence.

Nuclear magnetic resonance for cultural heritage.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) portable devices are now being used for nondestructive in situ analysis of water content, pore space structure and protective treatment performance in porous media in the field of cultural heritage. It is a standard procedure to invert T(1) and T(2) relaxation data of fully water-saturated samples to get "pore size" distributions, but the use of T(2) requires great caution. It is well known that dephasing effects due to water molecule diffusion in a magnetic field gradient can affect transverse relaxation data, even if the smallest experimentally available half echo time tau is used in Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill experiments. When a portable single-sided NMR apparatus is used, large field gradients due to the instrument, at the scale of the sample, are thought to be the dominant dephasing cause. In this paper, T(1) and T(2) (at different tau values) distributions were measured in natural (Lecce stone) and artificial (brick samples coming from the Greek-Roman Theatre of Taormina) porous media of interest for cultural heritage by a standard laboratory instrument and a portable device. While T(1) distributions do not show any appreciable effect from inhomogeneous fields, T(2) distributions can show strong effects, and a procedure is presented based on the dependence of 1/T(2) on tau to separate pore-scale gradient effects from sample-scale gradient effects. Unexpectedly, the gradient at the pore scale can be, in some cases, strong enough to make negligible the effects of gradients at the sample scale of the single-sided device.

Power saturation of ESR signal in ammonium tartrate exposed to 60Co gamma-ray photons, electrons and protons.

In this paper we present an investigation of the electron spin resonance (ESR) line shape of ammonium tartrate (AT) dosimeters exposed to radiation with different linear energy transfer (LET). We exposed our dosimeters to gamma-ray photons ((60)Co), 7 MeV and 14 MeV initial energy electrons, and 19.3 MeV initial energy protons. The differences in the power saturation behavior of ESR spectra of AT irradiated with photons, electrons and protons could be correlated to the effective LET of the radiation beams. We analyzed the behavior of peak-to-peak amplitude as a function of microwave power, and we developed a fitting procedure that permits us to obtain the dependence of the homogeneity parameter of the line shape on the LET of the radiation using the Castner saturation theory. This simple procedure allows us to distinguish the LET of the radiation beam.

Preliminary 1H NMR study on archaeological waterlogged wood.

Magnetic Resonance Relaxation (MRR) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) are powerful tools to obtain detailed information on the pore space structure that one is unlikely to obtain in other ways. These techniques are particularly suitable for Cultural Heritage materials, because they use water 1H nuclei as a probe. Interaction with water is one of the main causes of deterioration of materials. Porous structure in wood, for example, favours the penetration of water, which can carry polluting substances and promote mould growth. A particular case is waterlogged wood from underwater discoveries and moist sites; in fact, these finds are very fragile because of chemical, physical and biological decay from the long contact with the water. When wood artefacts are brought to the surface and directly dried in air, there is the collapse of the cellular structures, and wood loses its original form and dimensions and cannot be used for study and museum exhibits. In this work we have undertaken the study of some wood finds coming from Ercolano's harbour by MRR and MRI under different conditions, and we have obtained a characterization of pore space in wood and images of the spatial distribution of the confined water in the wood.