Elemental 2D imaging of paintings with a mobile EDXRF system

Imaging techniques are now used commonly and intensively in cultural heritage object analysis. Nowadays, many different techniques in nature as well as many applications exist, where they can be applied. X-ray radiography and infrared reflectography as well as UV photography are some of the most applied techniques. The study of works of art usually requires these techniques to be non-invasive. Furthermore, they are frequently required to perform in situ analysis. A few years ago, our laboratory developed a mobile energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence and UV–vis–NIR coupled spectrometer, especially designed for fieldwork studies, where all three techniques can be applied strictly at the same site of analysis. Recent developments on a new positioning system have now allowed us to perform 2D elemental mappings with our equipment, which is especially well adapted to painting analysis. The system control is carried out entirely through a laptop computer running a dedicated homemade software. The positioning is achieved by means of a CCD camera embedded in the system and controlled via a Wi-Fi connection through the computer. The data acquisition system, which is made through a homemade multichannel pulse height analyzer, being also managed via the software mentioned above, goes through an Ethernet connection. We will present here the new developments of the system and an example of in situ 2D elemental mapping applied on an anonymous oil painting on wood panel. The discovery of a hidden painting under this oil painting makes it a good choice for a first example of 2D large scan with a mobile instrument.     

Diffusion of two-dimensional particles on an air table

Rapid granular flow is diffusive in character. This diffusive nature is important in the generation of constitutive properties such as effective shear and bulk viscosities, effective conductivity of particle fluctuation energy, and self-diffusion coefficients. Experiments were performed in a large air-table apparatus that can sustain up to a few thousand small, light disks just above a horizontal porous plane. Experiments on 2D diffusion processes were performed using this apparatus. Measurements of self-diffusion coefficients and granular temperature in systems having different areal concentrations are in good agreement with predictions based on the kinetic theory and on numerical simulations.     

Integral resource capacity planning for inpatient care services based on bed census predictions by hour

The design and operations of inpatient care facilities are typically largely historically shaped. A better match with the changing environment is often possible, and even inevitable due to the pressure on hospital budgets. Effectively organizing inpatient care requires simultaneous consideration of several interrelated planning issues. Also, coordination with upstream departments like the operating theatre and the emergency department is much-needed. We present a generic analytical approach to predict bed census on nursing wards by hour, as a function of the Master Surgical Schedule and arrival patterns of emergency patients. Along these predictions, insight is gained on the impact of strategic (ie, case mix, care unit size, care unit partitioning), tactical (ie, allocation of operating room time, misplacement rules), and operational decisions (ie, time of admission/discharge). The method is used in the Academic Medical Center Amsterdam as a decision-support tool in a complete redesign of the inpatient care operations.     

Synthesis,Discovery, and Quantitation of Dihomo‐Isofurans: Biomarkers for In Vivo Adrenic Acid Peroxidation

The growing importance of lipidomics, and the interest of non‐enzymatic metabolites of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) prompted us to initiate the synthesis of novel dihomo‐IsoF compounds. Such metabolites of adrenic acid, the main PUFA in white matter, were synthesized using a divergent approach based on an orthoester cyclization. LC‐MS/MS investigation on pig brains showed the potential of this novel biomarker for the first time, as a powerful new tool for brain lipid peroxidation assessment.     

The acronyms used in the world of spectroscopy,microscopy and diffractometry—II : Glossary of abbreviations

The acronyms classified in Part I are listed in the present paper in an alphabetic order together with their meaning in full words as found in literature.