Quantitative determinations and imaging in different structures of buried human bones from the XVIII-XIXth centuries by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence - Postmortem evaluation

In this work, a non-commercial triaxial geometry energy dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) setup and a benchtop mu-XRF system were used to identify postmortem contamination in buried bones. For two of the individuals, unusually high concentrations of Cu and Pb, but also Zn (in one individual) were observed. The pigments of the burial shroud coverings have been identified as the source of contamination.Accurate and precise quantitative results were obtained by nondestructive process using fundamental parameters method taking into account the matrix absorption effects.A total of 30 bones from 13 individuals, buried between the mid-XVlllth to early XIXth centuries, were analyzed to study the elemental composition and elemental distribution. The bones were collected from a church in Almada (Portugal), called Ermida do Espirito Santo, located near the Tagus River and at the sea neighbourhood.The triaxial geometry setup was used to quantify Ca, Fe, Cu, Zn, Br, Sr and Pb of powder pressed bone pellets (n=9 for each bone). Cluster analysis was performed considering the elemental concentrations for the different bones. There was a clear association between some bones regarding Fe, Cu, Zn, Br and Pb content but not a categorization between cortical and trabecular bones. The elemental distribution of Cu, Zn and Pb were assessed by the benchtop p.-analysis, the M4 Tornado, based on a polycapillary system which provides multi-elemental 2D maps. The results showed that contamination was mostly on the surface of the bone confirming that it was related to the burial shroud covering the individuals

Combining μXANES and μXRD mapping to analyse the heterogeneity in calcium carbonate granules excreted by the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris

The use of fluorescence full spectral micro-X-ray absorption near-edge structure (μXANES) mapping is becoming more widespread in the hard energy regime. This experimental method using the Ca K-edge combined with micro-X-ray diffraction (μXRD) mapping of the same sample has been enabled on beamline I18 at Diamond Light Source. This combined approach has been used to probe both long- and short-range order in calcium carbonate granules produced by the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris. In granules produced by earthworms cultured in a control artificial soil, calcite and vaterite are observed in the granules. However, granules produced by earthworms cultivated in the same artificial soil amended with 500 p.p.m. Mg also contain an aragonite. The two techniques, μXRD and μXANES, probe different sample volumes but there is good agreement in the phase maps produced

Public Communication in a Pandemic : Language in COVID‐19 public health advertising

This linguistic study in the field of pragmatics looked at the language used by public health authorities in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States to inform citizens about COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021. It made a qualitative analysis of advertisements that were posted on Instagram by the Department of Health and Aged Care, the National Health Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in relation to COVID-19 during this time frame. Using Speech Act Theory and Gricean theory on the cooperative principle and conversational implicature, it shows how these linguistic features were operationalised in the advertisements to achieve a certain behaviour from its audience. The study also compared language use between the selected countries and over time. Some minor differences that can be attributed to national contexts, such as sporting events, specific holidays or differences caused by the strategies chosen to address the pandemic were found.Denna studie i det lingvistiska området pragmatik studerar det språk som användes av folkhälsomyndigheter i Australien, Storbritannien och USA för att informera medborgare om COVID-19 under åren 2020 och 2021. Den gör en kvalitativ analys av COVID-19-relaterade annonser som publicerats på Instagram av australiensiska Department of Health and Aged Care, brittiska National Health Service och amerikanska Centers for Disease control and Prevention under denna tidsperiod. Med hjälp av talaktsteori och Grices teorier om samarbetsprincipen och hans konversationsmaximer visar studien hur dessa språkliga aspekter används i annonserna för att uppnå ett önskat beteende från sin tänkta publik. Studien jämförde även språkanvändning mellan de utvalda länderna och över tid. Några mindre skillnader som kan hänföras till nationella sammanhang, som exempelvis idrottsevenemang, specifika helgdagar eller skillnader orsakade av de strategier som valts för att hantera pandemin noterades