Abstract: Shelf sediments of the southern North Sea, were studied with a microanalytical [electron probe X-ray microanalysis (EPXMA)] and two bulk [X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF)] techniques. The investigation proved that the promptness of the microanalytical method is combined with a reasonable analytical reliability. XRD studies of such a type of sediments with monotonous mineral composition are not able to provide mineralogical information beyond the main well-crystalline minerals and the mineralogical quantitative characteristic of the sediment based on XRD estimations are incorrect. The EPXMA mineralogical interpretations are based on the statistical evaluation of a huge data set (thousands of mineral particles) and provide a rather correct quantitative determination of the main minerals. The comparative EPXMAXRF study revealed that the Al, Si, K, Ca, Fe and to some extent Ti contents estimated by EPXMA are fairly reliable. In this respect the accuracy of the EPXMA-based mineral identification of the pure silicates, pure aluminosilicates, and Al-, Ca-, Fe- and Ti-containing minerals with simple composition is very high. Mg-calcite, augite and apatite determinations are assessed to be correct. The supposed accuracy of the clay mineral determinations is slightly lower (7080%) than that of the other main minerals due to the complex and varying composition of the clays. The identification of XRD-invisible accessory minerals and quantification of their presence in the sediments is an essential advantage of the EPXMA, which makes it a useful approach in tracing the origin of the sediments, the pathways of their transport and the geochemical processes they have undergone. However, the EPXMA has several flaws, which need to be solved in the future sediment investigations: (1) calibration with natural standards is needed in order to provide a higher accuracy of the mineral determinations; (2) any EPXMA study of sediments needs to be secured with XRF examinations of selected samples since EPXMA gives only semi-quantitative information about the abundance of the elements; (3) ultra-thin window EPXMA of low-Z elements has to be used since some of them (O, C) are always present in the main sediment components: silicates, aluminosilicates, carbonates and metal oxyhydroxides; (4) the interpretations of the clay fraction have to be supported with detailed XRD investigations of selected samples, while the mineralogy of the silt and sand fractions needs to be backed up with optical microscopy studies. The information from different analytical techniques (EPXMA with XRFXRD-optical microscopy of selected samples) combined with the knowledge about the most possible minerals in a given environment, would give the most reliable results in studying mineralogical composition of shelf sediments.

Abstract: The application of micro-Raman spectroscopy is discussed for the analysis of structural features of human tooth tissues affected by high doses of external ionizing radiation (0.51.7 Gy) after the nuclear plant catastrophe in Chernobyl in 1986. The results have shown significant changes in the mineral matrix of dental enamel that lead to the decrease of tooth enamel hardness. Destruction of the collagen chain of the organic matrix has been observed for dentin and cementum.

Abstract: Results on analysis of prehistoric pigments from excavations and pigments on coloured child bones from North Patagonia, Argentina, are reported. To analyze their composition we used two micro-analytical techniques: micro- Raman spectrometry (MRS) and scanning electron microscopy coupled with X-ray micro-analysis (SEM/EDX). Most investigated excavated pigments show red or yellow ochres consistent with reddish or yellow minerals, such as á- and ã-goethite, haematite, erdite, haapalaite and jarosite. Raman spectra show also evidence of calcium oxalate monohydrate and calcite indicating lichen activity. Pigments covering human bones were identified as hematite and magnetite. This study allows us to infer that pigments found in excavation were employed for burial ceremonies, even though distances between excavated pigment archaeological site and buried remains are quite far, more than 50 km in a straight line.

Abstract: The spatial distribution and temporal concentration variation of a set of gaseous air components (e.g., CO2, CO, H2CO, H2O) have been monitored with a multi-channel photoacoustic gas-analyzer in an urban church ( Saint Catherine's, Cracow) and a mountain church ( Saint Michaels Archangel, Szalowa) of Poland, in order to assess the likely effects of air pollution indoors under the influence of provisory electrical infrared (IR) heaters and without heating. Likewise, the ventilation characteristic and the leakage of these buildings with different constructions (i.e., plastered stone and wooden structures) with the assistance of decay curves of SF6 tracer gas was evaluated and compared. The wooden building in Szalowa, due to its more open structure, developed about one order higher ventilation rates (e.g., 0.9-1.3 h(-1)) than the stone church in Cracow (e.g., 0.1 h(-1)). The IR-heating affected only modestly the ventilation rate of the wooden church (e.g., 1.2-1.6 h(-1)), but it increased significantly that of the plastered stone church (e.g., 0.27 h(-1)). The ventilation rates were also assessed with the use of the CO2 curve decay method, and satisfactory agreement was found with those observed by the use of SF6 tracer. The spatial distribution of the studied gaseous pollutants (CO2, H2O) was found to be in some occasions nonhomogeneous in both buildings, due to the active usage of the IR-heating, especially, during a couple of consecutive liturgical services. Besides the pollution events due to ingress of gaseous air pollutants, present at enhanced levels outdoors, increased CO, CO2 and H2CO peaks were observed indoors too, which, in most cases, could be associated with incense burning. (C) 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.