Monte Carlo method applied to the mechanical dating of the Turin Shroud

Alternative dating methods to radiocarbon have been recently developed to study the Turin Shroud (TS), the linen sheet that according to the tradition enveloped the dead body of Jesus Christ; among them, a mechanical one is based on the study of five mechanical parameters in reference to the breaking strength, the Young modulus and the loss factor. This method tests single TS linen fibers using a machine, built in for the purpose, capable to measure the stress-stain parameters during loading cycles. These parameters have been already shown to be dependent on the age of the linen under test, and a preliminary result has been obtained: the TS date is 400 A.D. \ub1400 years at 95% confidence level. A companion paper has combined this mechanical result with two chemical ones, coming from Raman and FT-IR spectra, and the combined result is 90 AD \ub1200 years at 95% confidence level, thus confirming the compatibility of the age of the TS with the period in which Jesus Crist lived in Palestine. As the evaluation of the uncertainty propagation is not simple in the case of the mechanical parameters, this paper tries to furnish a more reliable result applying the Monte Carlo method to the mechanical parameters directly measured. The obtained mechanical age of the TS of 279 A.D. \ub1216 years at 95% confidence level is compatible with the previous results, but with an uncertainty almost halved

Доктрина на динамизма в трите версии на юдейския храм

Mony Almalech claims that the Judaism is a dynamic doctrine with striking examples of changes. Such an example is the historical change of the term for linen in the four-colored garment of the high priest. In the Tabernacle’ four color unit (ХІІІ-Х B.C.) Moses’s term for linen is šeš. Solomon preserves at the First Temple (Х-VI B.C.) the four color unit but the term for linen is butz. At the Second Temple (VI B.C – I A.D) Ezekiel abrogate the four color unit and postulate that the garments should be only of linen, and the linen is pištim. These three types of linen mark different levels of knowledge and periods of the monotheism. Almalech’s analysis and conclusions are based on the status of Hebrew as a sacral language and on the algebraic features of Hebrew grammar

Pattern Research Project: An Investigation of The Pattern And Printing Process - Kiku

2018 Pattern Research Project Yufei Zheng- Kiku The Pattern Research Project involves research and analysis of contemporary patterns found in the textiles and wallcoverings of the built interior environment. Patterns use motif, repetition, color, geometry, craft, technology, and space to communicate place, time, and concept. Through this research and analysis, built environments - their designers, occupants, construction, and context - can be better understood. Yufei Zheng, VCU Interior Design BFA 2021, selected the Kiku pattern for the 2018 Pattern Research Project. The text below is excerpted from the student’s work: “The contemporary Kiku motif only depicted on the outline of the precedent Kiku pattern. There are lotus roundels and interlocking arabesques on the background to act as the sub-patterns layered as they create a more complex pattern (Suzanne, 2018). The pattern sample is made out of 100% yarn dyed plain, weaved linen. Linen is made from the fibers that grow inside of the Flax plant. It takes about two processes to extract the fibers from the plant: threshing, and retting (Tailor, 2013). The textile is airo finish, which means the linen was thrashed using air until it was soft to the touch. The sample feels smooth and soft compared to the regular linen fabric. The color blue used in the textile is inspired by the original 19th century Japanese futon cover. This textile also comes in green and red colors. The pattern and color are digital screen printed with ink in the UK.”https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/prp/1014/thumbnail.jp

Is the Shroud of Turin in Relation to the Old Jerusalem Historical Earthquake?

Phillips and Hedges suggested, in the scientific magazine Nature (1989), that neutron radiation could be liable of a wrong radiocarbon dating, while proton radiation could be responsible of the Shroud body image formation. On the other hand, no plausible physical reason has been proposed so far to explain the radiation source origin, and its effects on the linen fibres. However, some recent studies, carried out by the first author and his Team at the Laboratory of Fracture Mechanics of the Politecnico di Torino, found that it is possible to generate neutron emissions from very brittle rock specimens in compression through piezonuclear fission reactions. Analogously, neutron flux increments, in correspondence to seismic activity, should be a result of the same reactions. A group of Russian scientists measured a neutron flux exceeding the background level by three orders of magnitude in correspondence to rather appreciable earthquakes (4th degree in Richter Scale). The authors consider the possibility that neutron emissions by earthquakes could have induced the image formation on Shroud linen fibres, trough thermal neutron capture by Nitrogen nuclei, and provided a wrong radiocarbon dating due to an increment in C(14,6)content. Let us consider that, although the calculated integral flux of 10^13 neutrons per square centimetre is 10 times greater than the cancer therapy dose, nevertheless it is100 times smaller than the lethal dose.Comment: 13 pages, 1 figur

The household, the labour market or the commodity market? Enabling the division of labour within proto-industries: the case of the Flemish linen industry during a period of decline (first half of nineteenth century)

One of the key assumptions in the original model of proto-industries, formulated by Mendels, Kriedte, Medick and Schlumbohm, is that the size and composition of families were determined by the proto-industrial work process in which those families were involved. The family was considered to be the basic unit of production, and the larger this unit, i.e. the more children a family had, the better. Among other reasons, with more children, a certain division of labour could be established within the family. However, later studies showed that there were many alternatives to the family as the unit of production, and that a division of labour could not only be established within families, but also between families. Families could take up other people into their households to perform proto-industrial work, or individual family members could perform specific tasks for merchant-entrepreneurs (the Verlagsystem or putting-out). Another option was for family members to perform specific tasks within the production process, by exchanging the required raw materials and intermediate products independently, either at periodic markets or through informal contacts with other producers. The latter option is the topic of this paper. The paper considers the division of labour in the Flemish linen industry around the 1840s, based on the linen censuses that were held in that decade. For many Flemish households at that time, the linen industry was a crucial part of their coping mechanisms. The production process encompassed several different steps that gave rise to a clear division of labour, which had regional and gendered dimensions. Firstly, the paper shows that periodic markets were a crucial element in enabling the division of labour in rural industries. In the 1840s, the linen industry of rural Flanders relied on a limited number of large markets for the sale of cloth, the final product, but also on a dense network of smaller markets where flax and yarn were exchanged. Trade at the latter markets was small, but the number of them was quite large. Secondly, the paper also emphasises that by the 1840s the importance of these small markets had expanded rather recently. Their establishment is linked to developments in relative prices and their effect on the existing informal exchange networks. As it became more difficult to make a living from spinning and weaving flax due to foreign competition and deteriorating terms of trade between linen products and agricultural products, the older, more informal exchange networks of commodities and labour between rural households also deteriorated. In response, the households that remained deeply involved in the linen industry relied more on formal exchange mechanisms such as markets, of which many were newly established between the 1780s and 1830s

Antimicrobial and antioxidant linen via laccase-assisted grafting

A laccase from Ascomycetemyceliophthora thermophila was used to assist the binding of chitosan and catechin onto a previous enzymatically oxidized linen surface. The process consists of the pre-treatment of the linen with laccase followed by the application of chitosan in a first step and catechin plus laccase in a second step. The results presented here support the conclusion that laccase is able to oxidize phenols naturally existing in flax fibres, and that the o-quinones formed promote the attachment of chitosan or/and catechin. The pre-treatment of linen with laccase is therefore the key factor for the success of catechin and chitosan grafting. A multifunctional linen product with both antioxidant and antibacterial properties was obtained with an acceptable level of durability in terms of end user requirements.Carla Silva would like to acknowledge the Portuguese Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) for funding under the scholarship SFRH/BPD/46515/2008

Uji Sterilitas Linen Basah yang telah Disterilkan dengan Steam Sterilizer

Linen is one of the health supplies needed by the hospital in large quantities. The availability of clean and sterile linen is one of the supporting facilities for the health of hospitalized patients. To obtain clean linen is done through several processes, including cleaning, disinfection, washing, drying, and sterilization. Linen sterilization was carried out by steam sterilizer at 134oC for 3 minutes, with the final result in wet conditions. In wet conditions the microbe is easy to grow, so it is necessary to do sterility testing. Therefore performed sterility test by direct inoculation method using cotton swab. Samples for the sterility test were taken on days 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 respectively. Each was taken 4 samples. Replicated 3 times to ensure the accuracy of the results. Sterility test, fertility test and LAFC effectiveness test was performed to avoid the occurrence of false positives. As control of the implementation of aseptic technique, sterility test of cotton swab and wetting fluid was performed. As a guarantee that the sterilization process is running well, validation of sterilization process using physical, chemical and biological indicators. Growth media used is Fluid Thyoglycollate Medium to detect the presence of bacteria and Soybean Casein Digest Medium to detect the fungus. The results showed that the linen with wet end results can be guaranteed for sterility during storage until day 0, since the growth of fungus occurs on day 1 and bacterial growth occurs on day 2 during storage