Enhanced high-sensitivity multi-layer neutron detector based on LiF:ZnS(Ag) scintillator.

This study proposes a novel, highly sensitive neutron detector design utilizing a unique multi-layered configuration. Each layer consists of a LiF: ZnS(Ag) scintillator coupled with a transparent neutron moderator that also functions as a light guide for the Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) light sensor. This design offers a cost-effective and readily available alternative for existing neutron detectors.

Revolutionary ZVI-Entrapped Sol-Gel Silica Matrices: Efficient Catalytic Reduction of High-Concentration Halo-Organic Compounds-Addressing Bromoacetic Acid Contamination in Industrial Wastewaters.

The de-halogenation of highly concentrated halo-organic compounds using Zero Valent Iron entrapped in silica matrices as a catalyst was investigated. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Zero Valent Iron-entrapped organically modified silica matrices in transforming highly concentrated hazardous halogenated compounds into environmentally benign materials in the presence of BH. The Zero Valent Iron-entrapped silica gel matrices were synthesized using the sol-gel method.

Self-assembly of hard anions around cationic gold nanorods: potential structures for SERS.

The placement of polyoxometalates next to the surface of noble metallic nanoparticles has been found to enhance the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect. The enhancement is believed to stem from either charge (electrostatic attraction) or chemical effects. Anisotropic gold nanorods are recognized as useful nanostructures for SERS, mainly due to the high electric field enhancement at their ends.

Unusual Defect Chemistry of Thorium Doping of PbS.

The unusual defect chemistry of thorium doping in the PbS system was investigated computationally to answer several open questions arising from the experimental observations. These include finding Th in a +4 oxidation state in contrast to Pb, attracting more than two oxygen atoms on average per thorium and affecting the growth morphology of PbS and its electronic properties. We find Th to be energetically stable at the lead lattice position in PbS and to attract 2-3 oxygens, including in the adjacent interstitial position, which binds strongly to Th.

The potential longevity-promoting hypoxic-hypercapnic environment as a measure for radioprotection.

Many biological mechanisms of aging well converge with radiation's biological effects. We used scientific insights from the field of aging to establish a novel hypoxic-hypercapnic environment (HHE) concept for radioprotection. According to this concept, HHE which possesses an anti-aging and longevity-promoting potential, should also act as a radiomitigator and radioprotector.

Adaptive Segmentation of DAPI-stained, C-banded, Aggregated and Overlapping Chromosomes.

Existing algorithms for automated segmentation of chromosomes and centromeres do not work well for condensed, C-banded and DAPI-stained chromosomes and centromeres. Overlapping and aggregation, which frequently occur in metaphase spreads, introduce additional challenges to the counting of chromosomes and centromeres in the Dicentrics Chromosome Assay (DCA). In this paper, we introduce adaptive algorithms, for segmentation of difficult metaphase spreads that include overlapping and aggregated chromosomes.

The Effects of Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) and Heat Treatment on the Microstructure and Mechanical Behavior of Electron Beam-Melted (EBM) Ti-6Al-4V Alloy and Its Susceptibility to Hydrogen.

The effects of the secondary processes of Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) at 920 °C and Heat Treatment (HT) at 1000 °C of Electron Beam-Melted (EBM) Ti-6Al-4V alloy on the microstructure and hydrogen embrittlement (HE) after electrochemical hydrogen charging (EC) were investigated. Comprehensive characterization, including microstructural analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal desorption analysis, and mechanical testing, was conducted. After HIP, the β-phase morphology changed from discontinuous Widmanstätten to a more continuous structure, 10 times and ~1.

Electrochemical Characterization of Diffusion in Polymeric vs. Monomeric Solvents.

Polymer electrolyte was used as a medium for testing the performance of microband electrodes under conditions of linear diffusion. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA) experiments were performed in a highly viscous medium, where diffusion rates are much slower than in fluid solutions. The log i vs.

Unique activity of a Keggin POM for efficient heterogeneous electrocatalytic OER.

Polyoxometalates (POMs) have been well studied and explored in electro/photochemical water oxidation catalysis for over a decade. The high solubility of POMs in water has limited its use in homogeneous conditions. Over the last decade, different approaches have been used for the heterogenization of POMs to exploit their catalytic properties.

Quantum tunneling instability of the mythical hexazine and pentazine.

Through computational analysis we found that pentazine and hexazine, two hypothetical high-energy density materials, exhibit inherent instability due to quantum tunneling effects. This instability remains even near the absolute zero, and therefore they can be deemed as unsynthesizable. We propose substituents that could potentially stabilize pentazine, especially dimethylamine.

Investigations of the exchange energy of neutral atoms in the large-Z limit.

The non-relativistic large-Z expansion of the exchange energy of neutral atoms provides an important input to modern non-empirical density functional approximations. Recent works report results of fitting the terms beyond the dominant term, given by the local density approximation (LDA), leading to an anomalous Z ln Z term that cannot be predicted from naïve scaling arguments. Here, we provide much more detailed data analysis of the mostly smooth asymptotic trend describing the difference between exact and LDA exchange energy, the nature of oscillations across rows of the Periodic Table, and the behavior of the LDA contribution itself.

Biosorption of uranyl ions from aqueous solutions by soluble renewable polysaccharides.

Polysaccharides derived from natural sources have been offered as environment friendly sorbents for the adsorption of heavy metals. We present a simple technique to remove uranyl ions from aqueous solutions by using representative polysaccharides. The adsorption efficiency of UO decreased in the following order: xanthan gum > kappa > iota/guar gum, for instance, the efficiencies after sorption of 30 min with 500 mg per L uranyl acetate and 0.

Enantioselective disruption of cellulose nanocrystal self-assembly into chiral nematic phases in D-alanine solutions.

The chiral environment of enantiomerically pure D-alanine solutions is observed to disrupt and modify the entropy-driven assembly of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) into a chiral nematic mesophase. The effect is specific to D-alanine and cannot be attributed to the adsorption of alanine molecules (neither D- nor L-alanine) onto the CNC particles.

Environmental airborne tritium monitoring system based on absorption of tritiated water on calcium chloride.

Environmental monitoring of tritium around nuclear facilities is conducted in order to demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements on the protection of members of the public. Multiple techniques are used to monitor its concentration in air, soil and flora. A new monitoring system was developed, which is based on the absorption of tritiated water on Calcium Chloride grains.

Thermally Conductive Molten Salt for Thermal Energy Storage: Synergistic Effect of a Hybrid Graphite-Graphene Nanoplatelet Filler.

Renewable energy technologies depend, to a large extent, on the efficiency of thermal energy storage (TES) devices. In such storage applications, molten salts constitute an attractive platform due to their thermal and environmentally friendly properties. However, the low thermal conductivity (TC) of these salts (<1 W m K) downgrades the storage kinetics.

Oxygen Isotope Alterations during the Reduction of UO to UO for Nuclear Forensics Applications.

The fabrication of UO from UO is an essential reaction in the nuclear fuel cycle. The oxygen isotope fractionation associated with this reaction has significant implications in the general field of nuclear forensics. Hence, the oxygen isotope fractionation during the reduction of UO to UO was determined in the temperature range of 500-700 °C and for a duration of 2 to 6 h under a high-purity H atmosphere.

Troubleshooting dioxins stack emissions in an industrial waste gas incinerator.

An important source of dioxins and furans at present is waste incineration, utmost formed during combustion processes and emitted to the environment without being fully captured by waste-gas treatment equipment. In this study, monitoring campaign of International Toxic Equivalents for dioxins and furans (I-TEQ), was carried out at pharmaceutical industrial waste incinerator to find a correlation between combustion parameters and feed composition with potential emission. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) shows that high values of dioxin emission correlate with short residence time of the flue gas in the furnace as well as low oxygen concentration.

Nanoscale dynamic mechanical analysis on interfaces of biological composites.

Biological composites incorporate structural arrays of rigid-elastic reinforcements made of minerals or crystalline biopolymers, which are connected by thin, compliant, and viscoelastic macromolecular matrix material. The near-interface regions of these biological composites grant them energy dissipation capabilities against dynamic mechanical loadings, which promote various biomechanical functions such as impact adsorption, fracture toughness, and mechanical signal filtering. Here, we employ theoretical modeling and finite-element simulations to analyze the mechanical response of the near-interface in biological composites to nanoscale dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA).

Zeolite performance in removal of multicomponent heavy metal contamination from wastewater.

Efficient removal of heavy metal pollutants from wastewater by ion-exchange sorbents requires knowledge and understanding of the interplay between the adsorption patterns of the different components. The present study elucidates the simultaneous adsorption characteristics of six toxic heavy metal cations (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) by two synthetic (13X and 4 A) and one natural (clinoptilolite) zeolite from solutions containing equimolar mixtures of the six metals. Equilibrium adsorption isotherms and equilibration dynamics were obtained by ICP-OES and complemented by EDXRF.

Direct Observation of the Ethyl Radical in the Pyrolysis of Ethane.

We report the first direct detection of ethyl radical in the pyrolysis of ethane. Observation of this vital intermediate was made possible in this extremely reactive environment by the use of a microreactor coupled with synchrotron radiation and photoelectron photoion coincidence (PEPICO) spectroscopy, despite its short lifetime and low concentration. Together with ab-initio master equation-calculated rates and fully coupled computational fluid dynamics simulations, our measurements show that even under the low pressures and short residence times in our experiment, ethyl formation can only be explained by bimolecular reactions; the most important is the catalytic attack of ethane by H atoms, which are then regenerated by decomposition of the nascent ethyl radicals.

Laser tissue soldering of the gastrointestinal tract: A systematic review LTS of the gastrointestinal tract.

Background: Laser Tissue Soldering (LTS) is a promising tissue bonding technique in which a solder is applied between the tissues and then irradiated by laser, causing it to solidify and form links with the tissue.

Methods: A comprehensive systematic review summarizing the state of research of LTS in the gastrointestinal tract.

Results: Most studies were conducted on large animal tissues, using liquid proteinaceous solder, and irradiated by a continuous wave laser at 808 nm.

Sonochemistry of molten metals.

Ultrasonic irradiation of molten metals in liquid media causes dispersion of the metals into suspensions of micro- and nanoparticles that can be separated. This is applicable mainly to low-m elemental metals or alloys, but higher m elemental metals or alloys were also reported. Among metals, mercury and gallium exhibit especially-low melting points and are thus considered as liquid metals (LMs).

Sonochemistry of molten gallium.

This review article summarizes the comprehensive work that was done in our laboratory in recent years, as-well-as other reports, on the various aspects of sonochemistry of molten gallium. The low m (29.8 °C) of gallium enables its melting in warm water, aqueous solutions and organic liquids.

A Playground for Heavy Atom Tunnelling: Neutral Substitutional Defect Rearrangement from Diamondoids to Diamonds.

Many diamond properties are defined by substitutional defects (i. e., a carbon atom replaced by another element), which may involve the formation of structural isomers that can interconvert.

Argentometric chloride determination by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy in a wide range of sample matrices.

Chloride determination is of great importance, as chloride plays important roles in human health, pitting corrosion, environmental processes, and agriculture. However, chloride determination by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), one of the premier techniques used for elemental analysis, is currently limited to specific instrument types or requires the use of additional equipment. This work presents an argentometric method for the indirect measurement of chloride, applicable to any ICP-OES instrument.