Application of micro-PIXE to fish life history analyses: trace element analysis of otoliths

Otoliths are biogenic, carbonate concretions which form part of the hearing/balance system in fishes. The radial growth of otoliths and the variation of trace elements along the radius appear to capture important aspects of fishes' environmental history. At the Lund Nuclear Microprobe Laboratory, we have begun to use Proton-Induced X-ray Emission spectroscopy (PIXE) for micro-elemental analysis of otoliths. The experimental procedure is discussed and a number of examples of what can be investigated are presented. In particular, movement of diadromous species (eel, menhaden, and anadromous brown trout) can be detected between fresh and brackish water by Sr/Ca ratio. This technique has also been used to identify fish that were raised in freshwater hatcheries and then released to brackish water (pike-perch example).     

Internal elemental imaging by scanning X-ray fluorescence microtomography at the hard X-ray microprobe beamline of the SSRF: Preliminary experimental results

Synchrotron-based X-ray micro-fluorescence (μ-SXRF) is a non-destructive analytical technique and has been widely used to detect and quantify the elemental composition of samples in their natural state. To determine the internal elemental distributions within samples, X-ray fluorescence microtomography has been developed based on the hard X-ray microprobe at beamline BL15U1 of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) in Shanghai, China. This technique was applied to image the cross-sectional distributions of multiple elements within a single human hair, and its validity was evaluated by comparing the results with the elemental maps of a thin hair section obtained using the well-established μ-SXRF mapping method. Elemental images of S, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, and Zn within a virtual slice of the hair were reconstructed after the tomographic measurements. The tomographic images of heavy elements like Fe, Cu, and Zn were found to be in good agreement with the corresponding μ-SXRF maps. Light elements, such as S, however, represented different patterns due to non-negligible self-absorption in the sample, and sophisticated correction algorithms accounting for such effects are required for obtaining qualitatively and quantitatively more accurate images. Compared to μ-SXRF mapping, X-ray fluorescence microtomography reduces the sample preparation requirements and has been demonstrated in this work as being a more ideal and effective imaging modality to non-destructively mapping out the internal distribution of heavy elements within samples at the micrometer scale at the SSRF.     

Analysis of counter ions of cyanine dye in Langmuir–Blodgett films by PIXE

Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) films of 1-methyl-1^′-octadecylquinocyanine bromide, iodide and perchlorate were prepared from subphases containing NaClO₄, KBr and/or KI. Each sample consists of an arachidic cadmium layer and about 100 cyanine dye layers on a Si substrate. Anions incorporated into the film as counter ions from the subphase were analyzed by particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) using a 2.5 MeV He²⁺ beam. It was found that the dissociation of the cationic dye molecule in the monolayer at the air/water interface leads to the substitution of counter anions of the dye molecules, and the subsequent incorporation of the counter anions in the LB films. Some of the dissociation constants of cyanine halide dyes were estimated.     

Analysis of atmospheric aerosols by particle-induced X-ray emission, instrumental neutron activation analysis, and ion chromatography

Particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE), ion chromatography (IC), and occasionally also instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) were used in combination for the analysis of atmospheric aerosol samples that were collected on Nuclepore polycarbonate filters. A comparison of the results enabled us to evaluate the matrix effects (i.e., particle size effects) of the PIXE analysis for the light elements and to assess the water-solubility and/or speciation of a number of elements (e.g., S, K, Ca). Results are presented from several measurement campaigns at urban and forested sites in Europe, whereby PM10 or PM2.5 filter samples were taken. From the PIXE and IC results for a 2003 summer campaign at the K-puszta site in Hungary, it was estimated that organosulphates could be responsible for 20% of the total sulphur concentration and 30% of the organic aerosol in PM10. The comparison of the IC and PIXE data for K and Ca from the various sites indicated that most of the Ca was water-soluble (the mineral dust Ca was presumably mostly present as calcite, and perhaps also in part as gypsum); in contrast, for K, only half of it was typically water-soluble, indicating that it was to a large extent associated with insoluble mineral dust. Exceptions, with almost fully water-soluble K, were found for samples that were substantially impacted by biomass burning.     

Imaging performance evaluation in depth-of-interaction PET with a new method of sinogram generation:A Monte Carlo simulation study

In conventional PET systems,the parallax error degrades image resolution and causes image distortion.To remedy this,a PET ring diameter has to be much larger than the required size of field of view(FOV),and therefore the cost goes up.Measurement of depth-of-interaction(DOI)information is effective to reduce the parallax error and improve the image quality.This study is aimed at developing a practical method to incorporate DOI information in PET sinogram generation and image reconstruction processes and evaluate its efficacy through Monte Carlo simulation.An animal PET system with 30-mm long LSO crystals and 2-mm DOI measurement accuracy was simulated and list-mode PET data were collected.A sinogram generation method was proposed to bin each coincidence event to the correct LOR location according to both incident crystal indices and DOI positions of the two annihilation photons.The sinograms were reconstructed with an iterative OSMAPEM(ordered subset maximum a posteriori expectation maximization)algorithm.Two phantoms(a rod source phantom and a Derenzo phantom)were simulated,and the benefits of DOI were investigated in terms of reconstructed source diameter(FWHM)and source positioning accuracy.The results demonstrate that the proposed method works well to incorporate DOI information in data processing,which not only overcomes the image distortion problem but also significantly improves image resolution and resolution uniformity and results in satisfactory image quality.