Calcium and potassium are essential for cell signaling, ion homeostasis and cell wall strength in plants. Unlike nutrients such as nitrogen and potassium, calcium is immobile in plants. Localized calcium deficiencies result in agricultural losses; particularly for fleshy horticultural crops in which elemental imbalances in fruit contribute to the development of physiological disorders such as b...

An artificial neural network approach was used for the analysis of low-resolution XRF spectra. Instead of peak analysis and fitting the experimental results to a mathematical function as used by the conventional algorithms, the artificial neural network method takes the spectrum as a whole, comparing its shape with the patterns learned during the training period of the network. This method was ...

The development of highly efficient X-ray optics has allowed the development of bench-top XRF systems which have high intensity X-ray beams with diameters ranging from 10 micrometres through to a few millimetres. Coupled with integrated high magnification optical cameras, these systems are ideally suited to the needs of the forensic scientist. A microscopic particle from a crime scene can be an...

The application of electrochemical X-ray fluorescence (EC-XRF), for the detection of palladium (Pd) contamination in a range of solutions containing electrochemically active compounds, present in excess and relevant to the pharmaceutical and food industries, is reported. In EC-XRF, EC is used to electrochemically pre-concentrate metal on an electrode under forced convection conditions, whilst X...

Hard X-ray fluorescence (XRF) microscopy offers unparalleled sensitivity for quantitative analysis of most of the trace elements in biological samples, such as Fe, Cu, and Zn. These trace elements play critical roles in many biological processes. With the advanced nano-focusing optics, nowadays hard X-rays can be focused down to 30 nm or below and can probe trace elements within subcellular com...

Enhancement of XRF intensity was investigated by using an Au coated glass-capillary. Au was electroplated on an inner wall of the glass-capillary with a thickness of 100 nm. The Au coated glass-capillary was attached to a micro focus x-ray tube. The XRF intensity from the pure metal samples was measured by a silicon drift x-ray detector. It was confirmed that the intensity of XRF was enhanced b...

We report the discovery of optical and radio afterglow emission from the extremely soft X-ray flash, XRF 020903. Our spectroscopic observations provide the first redshift for an X-ray flash, thereby setting the distance scale for these events. At z = 0.251, XRF 020903 is one of the nearest cosmic explosions ever detected, second only to the recent GRB 030329 and the unusual GRB 980425/SN 1998bw...

We report the discovery of optical and radio afterglow emission from the extremely soft X-ray flash, XRF 020903. Our spectroscopic observations provide the first redshift for an X-ray flash, thereby setting the distance scale for these events. At z = 0.251, XRF 020903 is one of the nearest cosmic explosions ever detected, second only to the recent GRB 030329 and the unusual GRB 980425/SN 1998bw...

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy was measured on duplicate libraries deposited on Si (without BiVO4) due to the overlap between the Ce Lα line (4.839 kV) from the coating and the V Kα line (4.952 kV) from the BiVO4. The x-ray beam was approximately 2 mm in diameter. Since the XRF sampling depth far exceeds the film thickness, XRF counts for each element were assumed to be proportional to t...

We report the discovery of optical and radio afterglow emission from the extremely soft X-ray flash, XRF 020903. Our spectroscopic observations provide the first redshift for an X-ray flash, thereby setting the distance scale for these events. At z = 0.251, XRF 020903 is one of the nearest cosmic explosions ever detected, second only to the recent GRB 030329 and the unusual GRB 980425/SN 1998bw...