Potential of the Bucharest 3 MV Tandetron™ for IBA studies of deer antler mineralization

Combined PIXE and PIGE analysis was applied at the new Bucharest Tandetron to investigate biomineralization in two calcified tissues, deer antlers and femur bone. By annual loss and fast re-growth, antlers are a valuable model for bone as a dynamical system. Samples characterized by optical microscopy and histology were analyzed for P, Ca, F, Na, Mg, S, Cl, K, Zn, Sr by 3 MeV proton simultaneous PIXE and PIGE, using a hydroxyapatite standard and other reference materials. Good correlation between methods was found for P, and the concentrations were related to biological data. Antlers showed lower mineralization than femur, with the lowest values in the third antler beam. A power function of mineralization vs. >mineral age> of antlers was found. Thus combined PIXE and PIGE of antlers may bring highly relevant insights in biomineralization research.Peer Reviewe

ICT solutions supporting collaborative information acquisition, situation assessment and decision making in contemporary environmental management problems : the DIADEM approach

This paper presents a framework of ICT solutions developed in the EU research project DIADEM that supports environmental management with an enhanced capacity to assess population exposure and health risks, to alert relevant groups and to organize efficient response. The emphasis is on advanced solutions which are economically feasible and maximally exploit the existing communication, computing and sensing resources. This approach enables efficient situation assessment in complex environmental management problems by exploiting relevant information obtained from citizens via the standard communication infrastructure as well as heterogeneous data acquired through dedicated sensing systems. This is achieved through a combination of (i) advanced approaches to gas detection and gas distribution modelling, (ii) a novel service-oriented approach supporting seamless integration of human-based and automated reasoning processes in large-scale collaborative sense making processes and (iii) solutions combining Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis, Scenario-Based Reasoning and advanced human-machine interfaces. This paper presents the basic principles of the DIADEM solutions, explains how different techniques are combined to a coherent decision support system and briefly discusses evaluation principles and activities in the DIADEM project.DMCR: the joint environmental protection agency of the province of South Holland and 16 municipalities</p