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Alemam E (2021) Cleaning of wall paintings by Polyvinyl alcohol–Borax/Agarose (PVA–B/AG) double network hydrogels : characterization, assessment, and applications. 184 p
Abstract: Wall paintings make up an important section of cultural heritage. They resemble time portals that can be used to travel back into the past and witness the life of our ancestors. In these paintings, the ancient artists depicted the different aspects of their life, such as cooking, baking, farming, manufacturing, as well as thoughts and beliefs. Unfortunately, wall paintings are susceptible to degradation over time in the form of the accumulations of dirt and deposits on the painted surfaces and loss of adhesion of the paint layers at the surface. Therefore, the removal of these deposits is one of the primary duties of conservator-restorers. Such operations are intended to restore the painted surface to a condition close enough to its original state. Since cleaning artworks may cause undesirable physicochemical alterations and is nonreversible, the proper cleaning procedure should be adopted. In this regard, numerous gels have been developed and exploited for the cleaning of various artwork surfaces. Lately, polyvinyl alcohol-borax (PVA-B) and agarose (AG) hydrogels have been widely employed as cleaning materials by conservator-restorers. However, both hydrogels have shown limitations in specific cleaning practices. In this work, we investigated a new double network hydrogel based on blending PVA-B and agarose to avoid the limitations posed by the constituting hydrogels. For this reason, a detailed characterization of the PVA–B/AG double network hydrogel was performed, including chemical structure, liquid phase retention, mechanical strength, rheological behavior, and self-healing behavior of various PVA-B/AG hydrogels. These new hydrogels revealed better properties than PVA-B and agarose hydrogels and obviated their limitations. A laboratory experiment on the removal of deteriorated Paraloid® B72 proved that the PVA-B/AG hydrogel loaded 10%/10% MEK/1-PeOH was able to remove these layers efficiently. Therefore, the hydrogel was tested on a wall painting from the Temple of Seti I in Abydos – Egypt. It removed the glossy/darkened consolidant from the wall painting and restored the original matt appearance of the painted surface. In another application on the painted ceiling of the same temple, the hydrogel was tested for removing thick soot layers. The hydrogel formulation (loaded with 5% ammonia, 0.3% ammonium carbonate, and 0.3% EDTA) removed these layers with no noticeable damage to the paint layers. In a wide-scale application of the hydrogel (loaded with 10% propylene carbonate), it removed a highly deteriorated varnish layer from a 19-c wall painting. All the traditional cleaning methods employed caused damage to the paint layers, proving that gel cleaning can be a safer cleaning alternative in some cases.
Keywords: Doctoral thesis; Engineering sciences. Technology; Art; AXES (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation); Antwerp Cultural Heritage Sciences (ARCHES); Antwerp X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy (AXIS)
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Alania M (2017) Quantification of 3D atomic positions for nanoparticles using scanning transmission electron microscopy: statistical parameter estimation, dose-limited precision and optimal experimental design. Antwerpen
Keywords: Doctoral thesis; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
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“Application of proton induced X-ray emission analysis to the St. Louis regional air pollution study”. Akselsson R, Orsini C, Meinert DL, Johansson TB, Van Grieken RE, Kaufmann HC, Chapman KR, Nelson JW, Winchester JW, (1976)
Keywords: P3 Proceeding; AXES (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation)
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Aierken Y (2017) First-principles studies of novel two-dimensional materials and their physical properties. Antwerpen
Keywords: Doctoral thesis; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT)
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Ahmadi Eshtehardi H (2024) Combined computational-experimental study on plasma and plasma catalysis for N2 fixation. 160 p
Abstract: Humanity feels the urge of shifting to a sustainable society more than at any other time in its history. Electrification of chemical industry plays a key role in this transition. The possibility of producing fertilizers from air using renewable electricity, and simultaneously, no greenhouse gas emission, resulted in an increasing interest toward plasma technology as a solution for electrification of a part of the chemical industry in the past few years. Additionally, the activation of nitrogen molecules by vibrational and electronic excitation reactions in plasma can lead to an energy-efficient process. Last but not least, the modularity (fast on/off characteristic) of plasma technology makes it capable of using intermittent renewable electricity on site for the production of fertilizers using air. All these advantages offered by plasma technology make it a potential solution for the on-site production of fertilizers in small and decentralized plants using air and renewable electricity, which leads to a considerable reduction in fertilizer production and transportation costs. However, industrialization of plasma-based NF suffers from several challenges, including challenges of plasma catalysis for the selective production of desired species, the high energy cost of plasma-based NF compared to current industrial processes, and the design and development of scaled up and energy-efficient plasma reactors for industrial purposes. In the framework of this thesis we have tried to add to the state-of-the-art (SOTA) in plasma-based NOx production and deal with its limitations using a combination of experimental and modelling work.
Keywords: Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
DOI: 10.63028/10067/2052460151162165141
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Aghaei M (2014) Computational study of inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). Antwerpen
Keywords: Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
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Aerts R (2014) Experimental and computational study of dielectric barrier discharges for environmental applications. Antwerpen
Keywords: Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
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“Analysis of the composition of glass objects from Qumran, Israel and the comparison with other Roman glass from western Europe”. Aerts A, Janssens K, Velde B, Adams F, Wouters H page 113 (2000).
Keywords: H3 Book chapter; AXES (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation)
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“Chemical analysis of the powder deposit on Chinese jade objects”. Aerts A, Janssens K, Adams F page 12 (1995).
Keywords: H3 Book chapter; AXES (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation)
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“A chemical investigation of altered Chinese jade art objects”. Aerts A, Janssens K, Adams F page 170 (1997).
Keywords: H3 Book chapter; AXES (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation)
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“The use of surface analysis techniques and isotope mass spectrometry for the study of water-rock interactions of interest in hot-dry rock technology”. Adriaens A, van Nevel L, Van 't dack L, de Bièvre P, Adams F, Gijbels R, , 2541 (1995)
Keywords: P3 Proceeding; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
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Admasu WF (2021) Socioeconomic and environmental impact of expropriation of agricultural land for urbanisation in Ethiopia. 162 p
Abstract: Globally, incorporation of agricultural lands into the urban boundary has been a common phenomenon. Governments use various alternatives to access the required land, including land expropriation procedures, which refers to the compulsorily taking of land from the landholders without their consent by paying compensation. In Ethiopia, the urban population is growing rapidly which resulted into an increase in the demand for urban land for housing construction, public services provision, and infrastructure developments. As the Ethiopian constitution prohibits sale of landholders, governments, at various levels, have been expropriating land from the surrounding farmers to meet the demand for urban land. The general objective of this thesis is to improve the understanding of the impacts of local land deals for urbanization on socioeconomics of farmers and the environment. The findings of this thesis revealed that there are gaps in the current practices of land expropriation for urban expansion that should be improved. The results showed that the compensation paid to the affected farmers is found to be economically inappropriate, i.e., not enough to restore the affected farmers’ livelihoods, in contrast with the land laws that allows a compensation amount that would put previous land users in a better or the same wellbeing as before the land expropriation. In addition, it is indicated that the land expropriation process does not take into account the value of ecosystem services, which are benefits obtain from the land, and important for the wellbeing of the society. We conclude that while land expropriation is an important tool to obtain land from the landholders when it is needed for public purposes, the practices in the study area show it is adversely affecting the socioeconomics of farmers and the environment.
Keywords: Doctoral thesis; Engineering Management (ENM)
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“Synchrotron radiation for microscopic X-ray fluorescence analysis”. Adams F, Vincze L, Vekemans B page 343 (2004).
Keywords: H3 Book chapter; AXES (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation)
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“Future of m-XRF”. Adams F, Janssens K page 370 (2000).
Keywords: H3 Book chapter; AXES (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation)
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“X-ray microanalysis: a new tool for environmental analysis”. Adams F, Janssens K page 183 (1996).
Keywords: H3 Book chapter; AXES (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation)
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“Inorganic mass spectrometry”. Adams F, Gijbels R, van Grieken R, Kim Y-sang Freedom Academy Press, Seoul (1999).
Keywords: ME3 Book as editor; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); AXES (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation)
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Adams F, Gijbels R, Van Grieken R, Dachang Z (1993) Inorganic mass spectrometry. Fudan University Press, Shanghai, 391 p
Keywords: MA3 Book as author; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); AXES (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation)
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“Inorganic mass spectrometry”. Adams F, Gijbels R, Van Grieken R Wiley, Chichester, page 404 p. (1988).
Keywords: ME3 Book as editor; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); AXES (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation)
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“Mass spectrometry, inorganic”. Adams F, Gijbels R, Jambers W, van Grieken R Wiley, Chichester, page 2650 (1998).
Keywords: H3 Book chapter; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); AXES (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation)
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Abreu Alfonso Y (2014) Hyperfine parameters and radiation damage in semiconductors and superconducting materials. 126 p
Keywords: Doctoral thesis; AXES (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation)
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