Super-bandgap light stimulated reversible transformation and laser-driven mass transport at the surface of As2S3 chalcogenide nanolayers studied in situ.

The super-bandgap laser irradiation of the in situ prepared As-S chalcogenide films was found to cause drastic structural transformations and unexpected selective diffusion processes, leading to As enrichment on the nanolayer surface. Excitation energy dependent synchrotron radiation photoelectron spectroscopy showed complete reversibility of the molecular transformations and selective laser-driven mass transport during "laser irradiation"-"thermal annealing" cycles. Molecular modeling and density functional theory calculations performed on As-rich cage-like clusters built from basic structural units indicate that the underlying microscopic mechanism of laser induced transformations is connected with the realgar-pararealgar transition in the As-S structure. The detected changes in surface composition as well as the related local and molecular structural transformations are analyzed and a model is proposed and discussed in detail. It is suggested that the formation of a concentration gradient is a result of bond cleavage and molecular reorientation during transformations and anisotropic molecular diffusion.

Coherent Light Photo-modification, Mass Transport Effect, and Surface Relief Formation in AsxS100-x Nanolayers: Absorption Edge, XPS, and Raman Spectroscopy Combined with Profilometry Study.

As x S100-x (x = 40, 45, 50) thin films top surface nanolayers affected by green (532 nm) diode laser illumination have been studied by high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, optical spectroscopy, and surface profilometry. It is shown that the composition of obtained films depends not only on the composition of the source material but as well on the composition of the vapor during the evaporation process. Near-bandgap laser light decreases both As-As and S-S homopolar bonds in films, obtained from thermal evaporation of the As40S60 and As50S50 glasses. Although As45S55 composition demonstrates increasing of As-As bonds despite to the partial disappearance of S-S bonds, for explanation of this phenomenon Raman investigations has also been performed. It is shown that As4S3 structural units (s.u.) responsible for the observed effect. Laser light induced surface topology of the As45S55 film has been recorded by 2D profilometer.

Analyzing Raman - Infrared spectral correlation in the recently found meteorite Csátalja.

Correlating the Raman and infrared spectra of shocked minerals in Csátalja ordinary chondrite (H4, S2, W2) with controlling the composition by EPMA measurements, we identified and improved various shock indicators, as infrared spectro-microscopic analysis has been poorly used for shock impact alteration studies of meteorites to date. We also provide reference spectra as SOM for the community with local mineralogical and shock alteration related context to support further standardization of the IR ATR based measurements. Raman band positions shifted in conjunction with the increase in full width half maximum (FWHM) with shock stage in olivine minerals while in the infrared spectra when comparing the IR band positions and IR maximal absorbance, increasing correlation was found as a function of increasing shock effects. This is the first observational confirmation with the ATR method of the already expected shock related disordering. In the case of shocked pyroxenes the well-known peak broadening and peak shift was confirmed by Raman method, beyond the level that could have been produced by only chemical changes. With increasing shock level the 852-864cm-1 and 1055-1071cm-1 FTIR bands finally disappeared. From the shock effect occasionally mixed mineral structures formed, especially feldspars together with pyroxene. Feldspars were only present in the shock melted volumes, thus produced by the shock effect itself. Based on the above mentioned observations in Csátalja meteorite the less shocked (only fractured) part witnessed 2-6GPa shock pressure with temperature below 100°C. The moderately shocked parts (minerals with mosaicism and mechanical twins) witnessed 5-10GPa pressure and 900°C temperature. The strongly shocked area (many olivine and pyroxene grains) was subject to 10-15GPa and 1000°C. The existence of broad peak near 510cm-1 and disappearance of other peaks of feldspar at 480 and 570cm-1 indicate the presence of maskelynite, which proposes that the peak shock pressure could reach 20GPa at certain locations. We identified higher shock levels than earlier works in this meteorite and provided examples how heterogeneous the shock effect and level could be at small spatial scale. The provided reference spectra support the future improvement for the standardization of infrared ATR based methods and the understanding of shock-related mineral alterations beyond the optical appearance.

Radiocarbon signal of a low and intermediate level radioactive waste disposal facility in nearby trees.

Tree ring series were collected from the vicinity of a Hungarian radioactive waste treatment and disposal facility and from a distant control background site, which is not influenced by the radiocarbon discharge of the disposal facility but it represents the natural regional (14)C level. The (14)C concentration of the cellulose content of tree rings was measured by AMS. Data of the tree ring series from the disposal facility was compared to the control site for each year. The results were also compared to the (14)C data of the atmospheric (14)C monitoring stations at the disposal facility and to international background measurements. On the basis of the results, the excess radiocarbon of the disposal facility can unambiguously be detected in the tree from the repository site.

Monitoring of tritium, 60Co and 137Cs in the vicinity of the warm water outlet of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant, Hungary.

Danube water, sediment and various aquatic organisms (snail, mussel, predatory and omnivorous fish) were collected upstream (at a background site) and downstream of the outlet of the warm water channel of Paks Nuclear Power Plant. Gamma emitters, tissue free-water tritium (TFWT) and total organically-bound tritium (T-OBT) measurements were performed. A slight contribution of the power plant to the natural tritium background concentration was measured in water samples from the Danube section downstream of the warm water channel. Sediment samples also contained elevated tritium concentrations, along with a detectable amount of (60)Co. In the case of biota samples, TFWT exhibited only a very slight difference compared to the tritium concentration of the Danube water, however, the OBT was higher than the tritium concentration in the Danube, independent of the origin of the samples. The elevated OBT concentration in the mollusc samples downstream of the warm water channel may be attributed to the excess emission from the nuclear power plant. The whole data set obtained was used for dose rate calculations and will be contributed to the development of the ERICA database.

Seguimiento de la utilización de vigabatrina en relación a la modificación de su ficha técnica / Monitoring vigabatrin use in relation to its modified prescribing information

La ficha técnica de la vigabatrina fue modificada en diciembre de 1999 tras la publicación de casos documentados de defectos de campo visual. Hemos realizado un estudio retrospectivo de los pacientes a tratamiento con vigabatrina en el momento de la modificación, con el objetivo de conocer la adecuación de los mismos a las nuevas recomendaciones. Resultados: 35 pacientes estudiados, de edad media 24 años (3-63), a tratamiento con vigabatrina durante una media de 3,6 años (6 meses - 9 años). A 29 de ellos se les retiró la vigabatrina y 6 pacientes con crisis parciales generalizadas, continuaron con la misma. Se realizaron revisiones oftalmológicas específicas de los campos a 10/35 pacientes, de los cuales 7 presentaron defectos del campo visual y 5 realizaron revisiones periódicas posteriores. De los pacientes que continúan a tratamiento con vigabatrina, el 100 per cent se ajusta a las nuevas indicaciones y condiciones de prescripción, mientras que sólo al 33 per cent se le realizaron pruebas específicas de los campos y el 16 per cent realiza controles periódicos (AU)