New methodology to process shifted excitation Raman difference spectroscopy data : a case study of pollen classification

Shifted excitation Raman difference spectroscopy (SERDS) is a background correction method for Raman spectroscopy. Here, the difference spectra were directly used as input for SERDS-based classification after an optimization procedure to correct for photobleaching of the autofluorescence. Further processing included a principal component analysis to compensate for the reduced signal to noise ratio of the difference spectra and subsequent classification by linear discriminant analysis. As a case study 6,028 Raman spectra of single pollen originating from plants of eight different genera and four different growth habits were automatically recorded at excitation wavelengths 784 and 786 nm using a high-throughput screening Raman system. Different pollen were distinguished according to their growth habit, i.e. tree versus non-tree with an accuracy of 95.9%. Furthermore, all pollen were separated according to their genus, providing also insight into similarities based on their families. Classification results were compared using spectra reconstructed from the differences and raw spectra after state-of-art baseline correction as input. Similar sensitivities, specificities, accuracies and precisions were found for all spectra with moderately background. Advantages of SERDS are expected in scenarios where Raman spectra are affected by variations due to detector etaloning, ambient light, and high background

A multi-detector array for high energy nuclear e+e- pair spectrosocopy

A multi-detector array has been constructed for the simultaneous measurement of energy- and angular correlation of electron-positron pairs produced in internal pair conversion (IPC) of nuclear transitions up to 18 MeV. The response functions of the individual detectors have been measured with mono-energetic beams of electrons. Experimental results obtained with 1.6 MeV protons on targets containing $^{11}$B and $^{19}$F show clear IPC over a wide angular range. A comparison with GEANT simulations demonstrates that angular correlations of $e^+e^-$ pairs of transitions in the energy range between 6 and 18 MeV can be determined with sufficient resolution and efficiency to search for deviations from IPC due to the creation and subsequent decay into $e^+e^-$ of a hypothetical short-lived neutral boson.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figure

An introductory view on archaeoastronomy

Archaeoastronomy is still a marginalised topic in academia and is described by the Sophia Centre, the only UK institution offering a broader MA containing this field, as ‘the study of the incorporation of celestial orientation, alignments or symbolism in human monuments and architecture’. By many it is associated with investigating prehistoric monuments such as Stonehenge and combining astronomy and archaeology. The following will show that archaeoastronomy is far more than just an interdisciplinary field linking archaeology and astronomy. It merges aspects of anthropology, ethno-astronomy and even educational research, and is possibly better described as cultural astronomy. In the past decades it has stepped away from its quite speculative beginnings that have led to its complete rejection by the archaeology community. Overcoming these challenges it embraced full heartedly solid scientific and statistical methodology and achieved more credibility. However, in recent times the humanistic influences of a cultural context motivate a new generation of archaeoastronomers that are modernising this subject; and humanists might find it better described as post-modern archaeoastronomy embracing the pluralism of today’s academic approach to landscape and ancient people

Nothing Lasts Forever: Environmental Discourses on the Collapse of Past Societies

The study of the collapse of past societies raises many questions for the theory and practice of archaeology. Interest in collapse extends as well into the natural sciences and environmental and sustainability policy. Despite a range of approaches to collapse, the predominant paradigm is environmental collapse, which I argue obscures recognition of the dynamic role of social processes that lie at the heart of human communities. These environmental discourses, together with confusion over terminology and the concepts of collapse, have created widespread aporia about collapse and resulted in the creation of mixed messages about complex historical and social processes

Comparability of Raman Spectroscopic Configurations: A Large Scale Cross-Laboratory Study

This is the final version. Available on open access from the American Chemical Society via the DOI in this recordThe variable configuration of Raman spectroscopic platforms is one of the major obstacles in establishing Raman spectroscopy as a valuable physicochemical method within real-world scenarios such as clinical diagnostics. For such real world applications like diagnostic classification, the models should ideally be usable to predict data from different setups. Whether it is done by training a rugged model with data from many setups or by a primary-replica strategy where models are developed on a 'primary' setup and the test data are generated on 'replicate' setups, this is only possible if the Raman spectra from different setups are consistent, reproducible, and comparable. However, Raman spectra can be highly sensitive to the measurement conditions, and they change from setup to setup even if the same samples are measured. Although increasingly recognized as an issue, the dependence of the Raman spectra on the instrumental configuration is far from being fully understood and great effort is needed to address the resulting spectral variations and to correct for them. To make the severity of the situation clear, we present a round robin experiment investigating the comparability of 35 Raman spectroscopic devices with different configurations in 15 institutes within seven European countries from the COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) action Raman4clinics. The experiment was developed in a fashion that allows various instrumental configurations ranging from highly confocal setups to fibre-optic based systems with different excitation wavelengths. We illustrate the spectral variations caused by the instrumental configurations from the perspectives of peak shifts, intensity variations, peak widths, and noise levels. We conclude this contribution with recommendations that may help to improve the inter-laboratory studies.COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology)Portuguese Foundation for Science and TechnologyNational Research Fund of Luxembourg (FNR)China Scholarship Council (CSC)BOKU Core Facilities Multiscale ImagingDeutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation

Nonresonant Raman spectroscopy of isolated human retina samples complying with laser safety regulations for in vivo measurements.

Contains fulltext : 214852.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Retinal diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration, are leading causes of vision impairment, increasing in incidence worldwide due to an aging society. If diagnosed early, most cases could be prevented. In contrast to standard ophthalmic diagnostic tools, Raman spectroscopy can provide a comprehensive overview of the biochemical composition of the retina in a label-free manner. A proof of concept study of the applicability of nonresonant Raman spectroscopy for retinal investigations is presented. Raman imaging provides valuable insights into the molecular composition of an isolated ex vivo human retina sample by probing the entire molecular fingerprint, i.e., the lipid, protein, carotenoid, and nucleic acid content. The results are compared to morphological information obtained by optical coherence tomography of the sample. The challenges of in vivo Raman studies due to laser safety limitations and predefined optical parameters given by the eye itself are explored. An in-house built setup simulating the optical pathway in the human eye was developed and used to demonstrate that even under laser safety regulations and the above-mentioned optical restrictions, Raman spectra of isolated ex vivo human retinas can be recorded. The results strongly support that in vivo studies using nonresonant Raman spectroscopy are feasible and that these studies provide comprehensive molecular information of the human retina

Future experiments using forward electron spectroscopy to study the quantum dynamics of high- Z ions at the ESR/CRYRING storage rings

International audienc

Few-body quantum dynamics of high- Z ions studied at the future relativistic high-energy storage ring

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