Reply to “Comment on ‘Piezonuclear decay of thorium’ [Phys. Lett. A 373 (2009) 1956]” [Phys. Lett. A 373 (2009) 3795]

In a paper appearing in this issue of Physics Letters A, Ericsson et al. raise some critical comments on the experiment [F. Cardone, R. Mignani, A. Petrucci, Phys. Lett. A 373 (2009) 1956] we carried out by cavitating a solution of thorium-228, which evidenced its anomalous decay behaviour, thus confirming the results previously obtained by Urutskoev et al. by explosion of titanium foils in solutions. In this Letter, we reply to these comments. In our opinion, the main shortcomings of the criticism by the Swedish authors are due to their omitting of inserting our experiment in the wider research stream of piezonuclear reactions, and to the statistical analysis they used, which does not comply with the rules generally accepted for samples with small numbers. However, apart from any possible theoretical speculation, there is the basic fact that two different experiments (ours and that by Urutskoev et al.), carried out independently and by different means, highlight an analogous anomaly in the decay of thorium subjected to pressure waves. Such a convergence of results shows that it is worth to further carry on experimental investigations, in order to get either a confirmation or a disproof of the induced-pressure anomalous behaviour of radioactive nuclides even different from thorium.     

New measurement of (g−2) of the Muon

The g-factor anomaly, a≡(g?2)/2, has been measured for μ⁺ in the new Muon Storage Ring at CERN. The result is a = (1 165 895 ± 27) × 10^?9. This is (13 ± 29) × 10^?9 below the theoretical value which includes sixth-order QED terms and a hadronic contribution of (73 ± 10) × 10^?9.     

Automated Stress Separation Along Stress Trajectories

A procedure for the separation of principal stresses in automated photoelasticity is presented. It is based on the integration of indefinite equations of equilibrium along stress trajectories, also known as Lamè–Maxwell equations. A new algorithm for precise and reliable stress trajectory calculation, which is an essential feature of the procedure, has also been developed. Automated stress separation is carried out along stress trajectories starting from free boundaries. Experimental tests were performed on a disc in diametral compression and on a ring with internally applied pressure. Full-field principal stress values were obtained and results were compared with those from the theory of elasticity and with those obtained from the classical shear difference method. It was shown that the proposed method is more accurate and less affected by the presence of residual stresses or experimental errors at the boundaries than the shear difference method. In addition, the method requires little human interaction and is therefore well-suited for automated photoelasticity.     

Crossed-beam dynamics studies of the radical-radical combustion reaction O((3)P) + CH3 (methyl)

The dynamics of the radical-radical reaction O((3)P) + CH(3), a prototypical case for the reactions of atomic oxygen with alkyl radicals of great relevance in combustion chemistry, has been investigated by means of the crossed molecular beam technique with mass spectrometric detection at a collision energy of 55.9 kJ mol(-1). The results have been examined in the light of previous kinetic and theoretical work. From product angular and velocity distribution measurements, the dynamics of the predominant H-displacement channel leading to formaldehyde formation has been characterized. This channel has been found to proceed via the formation of an osculating complex; a significant coupling between the product centre-of-mass angular and translational energy distributions has been noted. Experimental attempts to characterize the dynamics of the channel leading to HCO + H(2) have failed and it remains unclear whether HCO is formed by the reaction and/or, if formed, a part of HCO does not dissociate quickly into CO + H.     

High-throughput microwave-digestion procedures to monitor neurotoxic elements in body fluids by means of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Microwave (MW) digestion procedures with high sample throughput (simultaneous digestion of 36 or 80 samples) and procedural simplicity (disposable plastic tubes, or re-usable liners with screw-cap) were investigated for their efficiency in routine analyses of biological samples. Different digestion vessel materials were tested for metal leaching/adsorption and thermal resistance: quartz, glass, polyethylene (PE) and polystyrene (PS). For the instrumental quantification of Al, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, and Tl at ultra-trace levels in urine, serum, and whole blood, sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SF-ICP-MS) was used. The different pretreatment conditions and vessels were evaluated in terms of contamination risk, effective power of detection, accuracy, and precision. Results of analyses of serum, urine and whole blood certified reference materials (CRMs) were fully satisfactory for almost all the analytes. In the case of Hg, Mo, and Tl in serum digested in plastic containers the results were just below the lower limit of uncertainty of the certified range. On the basis of the present data the following MW procedures can be suggested: 1. for urine, digestion with nitric acid at atmospheric pressure in plastic vials; 2. for serum, digestion with nitric acid at atmospheric pressure in glass vessels; and 3. for whole blood, digestion under pressure in quartz tubes.Because of the levels of the procedural blanks, Bi was not measurable at the concentrations expected in human fluids, and Al was accurately detectable in whole blood only.     

Treatment of the solution extracted from metal contaminated soils by reverse osmosis and chemical precipitation

In this study a process for the remediation of soils contaminated by lead or copper is proposed, consisting of the operations in sequence: soil flushing, membrane treatment, acidification, and metal precipitation. Pb(II) and Cu(II) extraction from a synthetically contaminated soil using a 0.05 M EDTA aqueous solution were investigated in column. The metal removal efficiencies and the final soil metal concentration were 98.2% and 37.96 mg/g respectively for lead and 95.4% and 59.20 mg/kg for copper. The extracted solutions were concentrated through a membrane treatment to reduce the water content up to the 75% and to obtain a permeate metal concentration in compliance with the Italian Environmental Regulation. The recovery of the used EDTA from the retentate solution, with recovery yield of at least 85.4%, was also obtained through acidification. Metal precipitation from the filtered solution was then performed according two different methods, achieving metal removal yield of more than 99.4%.     

Development of a new assay for the screening of hypochlorous acid scavengers based on reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

A new assay for the screening of hypochlorite/hypochlorous acid (XOCl) scavengers, based on the reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatographic analysis of human serum albumin (HSA, 0.2% in 100 mM sodium phosphate, pH 7), before and after oxidation by XOCl (1.6 mM), was developed. XOCl induced a significant decrease of the area under the chromatographic peak of HSA at 280 nm due to the oxidation of the aromatic amino acids tryptophan and tyrosine, as suggested by the literature and by the chromatographic analyses and the electrochemical study performed here. The assay was validated by testing known XOCl scavengers such as ascorbic acid, cysteine, glutathione, S-methylglutathione and alpha-lipoic acid and other antioxidants such as carnosine and chlorogenic acid, which inhibited the oxidation of HSA. Quantitative activities were calculated using an original formula based on the changes of the area of the albumin peak. Electrochemical data collected here in a homogeneous medium showed that the anodic potentials of the antioxidants tested are less positive (ascorbic acid, chlorogenic acid and cysteine) or similar (alpha-lipoic acid) compared with those of the aromatic residues (tryptophan and tyrosine) of HSA oxidized by XOCl. However, as expected, carnosine, glutathione and S-methylglutathione were inactive at a glassy-carbon, gold or platinum electrode.     

Application of WDXRF in the provenance studies of Persian haft rang tiles: a statistical approach

An outstanding style of Persian tilework, which emerged from the north‐eastern Iran in the 15th century, was extensively used for decorating architectural facades during the Safavid period (from the 16th through the 18th century). This type of tilework, the so‐called haft rang, technically comprises of forming a clay body and firing two glazed layers on top of the body. In the present paper, the first analytical data concerning haft rang tiles is provided. To do so, forty three samples of Safavid haft rang bodies were analysed by wavelength dispersive x‐ray fluorescence (WDXRF) and the obtained data were handled by principal component analysis (PCA). The results showed that the 17th century haft rang tiles wherever found are local products; that is, Safavid tile‐makers have used local clay sources to make the bodies of haft rang tiles. The analytical data also showed that old tileworks, in general sense, can be simply replaced by newly manufactured tiles or, at least, all tilework revetments in an individual edifice might not have been produced in an identical workshop. Moreover, WDXRF was used as an accurate and precise method to determine the chemical composition and to support compositional classification in provenance studies and can be considered as a reliable alternative for studying the provenance of archaeological ceramics. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The relaxation oscillator as a resonance photon detector

A commercially available neon indicator lamp in a Relaxation Oscillator (RO) configuration has been demonstrated to be capable of detecting light intensities of the order of nanowatts under ambient light conditions with a subpicometer spectral resolution. The RO has also been shown as capable of acting as a wireless light switch with light intensities of the order of 1 µW. Temporal excitation studies have also shown the predominant mechanism describing the observed frequency changes in the RO to be a result of laser perturbation of the neon lamp when it is in the Townsend-discharge region and not in the abnormal glow.     

Synthesis and antioxidant activity of [60]fullerene-flavonoid conjugates

Chalcone, flavone, and arylideneflavanone derivatives bearing one or two 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl groups were synthesized from 2′,4′-dihydroxyacetophenone and 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde. These flavonoids were converted into the corresponding malonates and then reacted with C₆₀ to yield the title compounds. The O-H bond dissociation enthalpies (BDE) and the chain-breaking antioxidant activity of the flavonoid derivatives and the corresponding C₆₀ conjugates were evaluated. These results are consistent with the phenolic moiety being the main responsible for the reaction with peroxyl radicals, while the C₆₀ part of the molecule acts synergically by trapping alkyl radicals under reduced O₂ partial pressure. These novel C₆₀-flavonoid conjugates are therefore promising leads for broad-spectrum radical scavengers.