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...

The aim of this study was the development a new multi-analytical approach to evaluate chemical alterations and differences in element content relation arsenic (As) As hyperaccumulator fern P. vittata. vittata plants were grown on two natural As-rich soils with either high or moderate (750 58 mg/kg). Dried samples from plant tissues then analysed by means micro-energy dispersive X-ray fluorescen...

This overview paper discusses the important role that synchrotron-based techniques play in addressing frontiers in water-rock interactions. Over the past decade, with the advent of cutting-edge molecular scale in-situ analytical techniques, significant advances have occurred in determining the speciation and sorption/release mechanisms of metals, oxyanions, and other contaminants in soil and wa...

Metal patch test is often used in clinical settings when metal-induced contact dermatitis is suspected. However, the transdermal permeation behavior of metal ions from the patch test remains unclear. Current patch tests using high concentrations of metal salt solutions have some side effects, e.g. acute skin reactions to high concentrations of metal salt. To resolve these, estimating metal ion ...

Shell fragments from turtles collected in a wetland receiving outfall from coal combustion ash basins were elevated in a number of contaminants, notably Se and As. Micro-XANES analysis of the epithelial layer on the shell and of the bone tissue revealed that the keratin associated Se was present exclusively in seleno-amino acid coordination environments, whereas Se in the bone tissue was a mixt...

Strong characteristic Kα X-ray lines are accompanied by weak lines due to the radiative Auger effect (RAE) [1, 2]. The characteristic Kα fluorescent X-rays (K-L2,3 lines) are emitted by the 2p→1s electric dipole transition after one of the 1s electron photoionization, Though the probability is less than 0.01, one of the 2p electrons is excited into an unoccupied discrete or continuum level simu...

Enhancing nutrient uptake and the subsequent elemental transport from the sites of application to sites of utilization is of great importance to the science and practical field application of foliar fertilizers. The aim of this study was to investigate the mobility of various foliar applied zinc (Zn) formulations in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) and to evaluate the effects of the addition of...