The tin content of lead inclusions in ancient tin-bronze artifacts: a time-dependent process?

In antiquity, Pb was a common element added in the production of large bronze artifacts, especially large statues, to impart fluidity to the casting process. As Pb does not form a solid solution with pure Cu or with the Sn-Cu alloy phases, it is normally observed in the metal matrix as globular droplets embedded within or in interstitial positions among the crystals of Sn-bronze (normally the α phase) as the last crystallizing phase during the cooling process of the Cu-Sn-Pb ternary melt. The disequilibrium Sn content of the Pb droplets has recently been suggested as a viable parameter to detect modern materials [Shilstein, Berner, Feldman, Shalev & Rosenberg (2019).

X-ray fluorescence-based differentiation of neck tissues in a bovine model: implications for potential intraoperative use.

This study explores the possibility of using X-ray fluorescence (XRF)-based trace-element analysis for differentiation of various bovine neck tissues. It is motivated by the requirement for an intra-operative in-vivo method for identifying parathyroid glands, particularly beneficial in surgery in the central neck-compartment. Using a dedicated X-ray spectral analysis, we examined ex-vivo XRF spectra from various histologically verified fresh neck tissues from cow, which was chosen as the animal model; these tissues included fat, muscle, thyroid, parathyroid, lymph nodes, thymus and salivary gland.

New prospective for non-invasive detection, grading, size evaluation, and tumor location of prostate cancer.

Background: PSA blood test and other present screening tools fail to provide the required sensitivity and specificity and, at early stages, lack correlation with tumor grade, volume, and location. Thus alternative approaches are highly desired. We present and assess a novel method for PCa detection, grading, volume evaluation and tumor location, based on non-invasive zinc concentration mapping in the gland by means of a dedicated rectal probe.

Prostatic Zn determination for prostate cancer diagnosis.

We present our studies of prostatic Zn concentration measurements, carried out in the light of a novel prostate cancer (CAP) diagnosis method proposed by us. The method is based on in vivo prostatic Zn mapping by XRF trans-rectal probe. We report on the extensive clinical studies, intended to assess the validity of the novel proposed diagnostic method.

XRF study of archaeological and metallurgical material from an ancient copper-smelting site near Ein-Yahav, Israel.

A movable XRF instrument (a bench-top designed machine modified to work in the field for archaeological purposes) was used for analysis of artifacts and sediments during the field study (01-07 April 2003) of a small copper-smelting site in the Negev (about 30km west of the Feinan complex of ancient copper mines and smelting sites in Jordan). The site consists of a relatively small hill with blackened slopes, covered mainly by crushed copper slag. The surface collection of datable objects (i.