<p>The purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility of a non-invasive, reliable, and cheap method to evaluate iron-overload in beta-thalassemia major patients. The approach taken was through the possibility of in-vivo measurement of iron in the skin using a technique called x-ray fluorescence. It was hoped that the quantification of iron levels in the skin will correlate with those levels in major parenchymal organs, such as the liver and the heart – where most iron deposition occurs in thalassemic patients. Water phantoms were used to produce a calibration line with an R² value of 0.998. Skin, liver and heart tissues from 36 control mice were measured and their iron levels quantified. Iron concentration range in the skin was found to be -2 – 38 ppm with an average of 9.8 ± 1.6 ppm. Significant correlation was found between the iron levels in skin vs. heart (R_s² of 0.382); however, it was not significant in skin vs. liver (R_s² of 0.080). Skin biopsies from various sites of 6 cadavers were investigated in a synchrotron light source facility. Maps of iron, zinc and calcium distribution as a function of skin depth were then constructed. It was found that all three elements were significantly present in the epidermal layer compared to the dermal one. Calcium and zinc were present in the entire epidermis, whereas iron was mainly concentrated at the deepest region of the epidermis. It was also concluded that skin samples from the back, arm and thigh gave the clearest elemental distribution.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)

Trade and exchange of Steatite in the Susquehanna and Delaware river watersheds becomes more visible in the archaeological record approximately 3000 BC. This study will examine procurement and consumption of steatite bowls within the above watersheds of Pennsylvania between 3000 BC to 750 BC. Looking at the distribution of steatite sites in comparison to the distance from the quarry locations has enabled us to examine the trade and exchange model being utilized to acquire this material. The two models that are applicable to this region are direct procurement and down-the-line. Direct-procurement and down-the-line trade have distinct distribution drop-off patterns from the source. Using spatial analysis the distribution drop-off patterns from preferred steatite sources were examined. The data shows that steatite, a valued resource, was directly procured by a small number of groups within the watersheds examined. / Anthropology

Det har uppmärksammat att det fortfarande förekommer tenn och koppar från båtbottenfärg på fritidsbåtars skrov trots förbud av båtbottenfärger med tennföreningen TBT sedan 1989 och reglering av kopparbaserade färger sedan 1999.Syftet med denna kandidatuppsats är att ge en dagslägesrapport vad gäller förekomst av tenn och koppar på fritidsbåtars skrov.Under våren 2011 har tester på 336 fritidsbåtar i tre vattenområden gjorts med hjälp av en handhållen XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence, röntgenfluorescens) som genom avläsning av en yta visar halter av olika grundämnen. Testerna utfördes på vinterförvarade fritidsbåtar &lt;12 m hos båtklubbar vid Mälaren, Storsjön och Härnösandskusten. Undersökningen visar att 73 % av båtarna i denna undersökning har halter av tenn och/eller koppar överstigande &gt;2500 ppm, vilket är det för rapporten satta riktvärdet. Det innebär att de skulle kunna tas vidare till kemisk testning med till exempel gaskromatografi kopplad till masspektrometri (GC-MS) för att avgöra exakt vilken substans färgen innehåller. Resultatet visar också att användningen av tennfärger antingen fortfarande förekommer i liten skala eller att gamla tennfärger är så pass starka att de ger utslag genom övermålade färglager. Kopparfärg verkar användas både vid ostkusten och i insjöar.Antifoulingsystem som kan ersätta bottenfärg blir allt vanligare och det dyker upp fler och fler mer miljövänliga alternativ på marknaden. Det vanligaste alternativa systemet, båttvättar, blir dock mindre miljövänligt i och med förekomst av gammal färg innehållande skadliga substanser som tvättas av i båtborsttvättar med starkt bristfällig uppsamling och rening av avfallet/slammet. / It has been noticed that tin and copper are still present in antifouling paints residing on the hulls of leisure boats, in spite of a ban of TBT-based paints since 1989 and strict regulations regarding copper-based paints since 1999.This bachelor thesis aims to give the reader a view of the current situation regarding the presence of tin and copper on the hull of leisure boats.During the spring of 2011, 336 leisure boats in three different waters were tested with a hand-held XRF analyzer (X-Ray Fluorescence). After scanning the surface of a hull the machine displays the paint’s proportions of basic elements. Testing was performed on leisure boats, winter-stored at yacht clubs connected to the lakes Mälaren, Storsjön and the coast of Härnösand. In this study 73 % of the tested boats show levels of tin and/or copper exceeding the (for this essay) set limits of 2500 parts per million, which means they could qualify for further testing, gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for example, to determine the exact substances in the paints. The results also show that tin-based paints are either still in use, albeit in small scale, or that they are strong enough to detect through another layer(s) of paint. Copper-based paints seem to be used both along the east coast and in fresh-water lakes.More and more alternative antifouling systems that are capable of replacing paints while being more environmentally friendly are reaching the market. The most common alternative, to wash the boat with brushes or with a high-pressure water jet, is somewhat less environmentally friendly when the boat is painted with harmful substances and the facilities lack proper collection and sanitation of the wastewater.

Stoft är ett eoliskt, klastiskt silt-material som blåst från exponerade områden via atmosfären och avsätts i form av löss-sekvenser på andra ställen i världen. Dessa sekvenser utgör ett naturligt arkiv som innehåller information om tidigare förändringar i klimatet ända bak till kvartärtidens början för ungefär 2.5 miljoner år sedan.                       Mycket av stoftet i Europa avsattes under senaste istiden som var för cirka hundra tusen till tio tusen år sedan. En löss-sekvens är lokaliserad i Madaras i södra Ungern och är tio meter tjock, för det här projektet har stoft-prover från sekvensen analyserats med röntgenstrålning. Analysen visar vilka och vilken halt av grundämnen som stoftproverna från de olika nivåerna innehåller, vilket i sin tur hjälper till att rekonstruera klimat från den senaste istiden. Röntgenstrålningen har genererats av en apparat som heter Brukar S1 Titan och utför metoden XRF som står för X-ray Flourescence, vilken har utförts på Geocentrum på Uppsala Universitet. Tolkning av resultatet samt jämförelse med tidigare forskning ska hjälpa till att förstå klimatförändringar från senaste istiden genom att undersöka vittring och ursprungskälla. Resultatet indikerar på att information om klimat är bevarat i sekvensen, då slutsatsen är att vittring har haft en svag men tydlig effekt på stoftet som avsatts i Madaras, och att ändringar av stoftets ursprungskälla inte har påverkat den studerade sekvensen. / Dust is aeolian, clastic silt material that has been eroded from exposed land surfaces, blown via the atmosphere and deposited as loess sequences in other areas in the world. Loess contains information about changes in the climate all the way back to the beginning of the Quaternary, approximately 2.5 million years ago.                       Research shows that a lot of the European dust was deposited during the last glacial of the Quaternary period, which was from approximately one hundred thousand to ten thousand years ago. One loess sequence is located in Madaras in southern Hungary and is 10 meters thick, in this project, dust samples from the sequence have been analyzed with XRF (X-ray Flourescence). The analysis shows which and what percentage of elements the samples contain, which in turn will help to reconstruct climate from the last glacial. The analysis was conducted using a XRF machine called Bruker S1 Titan and was done at Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden. Interpreting of the results, as well as comparing with earlier research, will help to understand climate changes from the latest glacial by examine weathering and dust source. The result indicates that information about past climate is preserved at the site, because of the conclusion that says that weathering has had a weak but distinct effect on the dust deposited at Madaras, and that the dust source changes do not have affected the studied sequence.

Les nouveaux matériaux de type chalcogénures (à base de S, Se, Te) font l’objet d’un intérêt croissant, non seulement pour les applications mémoires avancées, photonique et photovoltaïque, mais également autour des matériaux dichalcogénures innovants à base de métaux de transition (MoS₂, WS₂, ..). Les propriétés de ces matériaux, réalisés sous forme d’alliages binaires ou ternaires, avec ou sans dopage, dépendent fortement de leur composition, du profil de composition dans ces couches très fines, ainsi que des conditions de surface et d’interface (préparation, passivation). La maîtrise des propriétés de ces couches fines, déposées par voie chimique (CVD) ou par co-pulvérisation cathodique magnétron, doit s’appuyer sur des nouveaux protocoles de caractérisation aux incertitudes optimisées et compatibles avec un contrôle de fabrication en ligne. Dans cette thèse, nous présentons les performances de protocoles de métrologie spécifiquement développés pour l’analyse de couches minces de chalcogénures. Ces protocoles, qui s’appuient essentiellement sur les techniques non destructives de spectroscopie de photoélectrons (XPS) et de fluorescence X (XRF), ont été optimisés pour la caractérisation surfacique des couches ultrafines, l’analyse quantitative de la composition des matériaux complexes à base de tellure ou de soufre, et la mesure du profil de composition dans des couches et empilements < 50 nm. Dans un premier temps, nous présentons l’étude par XPS quasi in situ des propriétés de surface des matériaux Ge, Sb, Te ainsi que de leurs composés binaires et ternaires. Nous mettons en évidence l’évolution de la surface après remise à l’air puis vieillissement, et nous comparons l’efficacité de stratégies d’encapsulation in situ de couches minces à base de Te et Se. Nous démontrons ensuite les performances de protocoles d’analyses par XRF à dispersion de longueur d’onde (WDXRF) et XPS pour la quantification précise de la composition chimique de composés Ge-Sb-Te (de 1 à 200 nm) et de couches ultrafines de dichalcogénures à base de métaux de transition (MoS₂, WS₂). L’analyse combinée WDXRF/XPS permet de mesurer l’évolution avec la composition des facteurs de sensibilité relative des composantes Ge3d, Te4d et Sb4d, et par conséquent d’améliorer la précision de mesure par XPS de la composition des matériaux à changement de phase de type GexSbyTez. Nous soulignons également l’influence des effets de matrice sur la capacité de la WDXRF à l’analyse quantitative de l’azote dans des matériaux Ge-Sb-Te. Nous évaluons la possibilité d’un étalonnage de la WDXRF fondé sur des analyses par faisceaux d’ions spécifiques, ce qui permet in fine un suivi en ligne de couches GeSbTeN dans une fenêtre procédé donnée. Enfin, nous présentons deux stratégies de caractérisation non destructive du profil de composition dans des couches minces de chalcogénures. D’une part, nous démontrons que la combinaison des techniques de XRF en géométrie d'incidence rasante (GIXRF) et de réflectométrie X (XRR) permet une mise en évidence non ambiguë de faibles variations dans les procédés de dépôts, voire de phénomènes de diffusion dans des empilements de 10 nm d'épaisseur. L'utilisation de substrats multicouches en lieu et place du silicium permet d’optimiser la distribution en profondeur du champ d'ondes stationnaires, ce qui conduit à une amélioration nette de la sensibilité des stratégies XRR / GIXRF. D’autre part, nous montrons l’adéquation de protocoles fondés sur l’analyse XPS résolue en angle pour la caractérisation du profil de composition dans des couches nanométriques de GeTe et Ge₂Sb₂Te₅, ce qui permet une étude fine des premières étapes de dépôt de ces matériaux. / Chalcogenide materials are compounds based on S, Se, and Te elements from group VI of the periodic table. They are receiving an extensive interest not only for applications in resistive memories (PCRAM and CBRAM), photonics and photovoltaics but also in the development of new 2-D materials (e.g. spintronics applications). Chalcogenide materials are already present in the semiconductor roadmaps and it is already replacing flash memories (e.g. phase change material and ovonic threshold switch in new random access memory). For the next technology nodes, chalcogenide properties can be scaled by tuning the chemical composition or by reducing the film thickness. Nonetheless, it also means that their properties become more tightly influenced by the chemical composition, the surface/interface effects and the depth-profile composition. Hence, dedicated metrology protocols must be developed, first to assist the optimization of chalcogenide materials processes in cleanroom environment, then to allow non-destructive process monitoring with industry-driven uncertainties. In this PhD thesis, we developed metrology protocols based on X-ray techniques, dedicated to thin chalcogenides materials and fully compatible with inline monitoring. First, we used quasi in-situ X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) to characterize the surface of Ge, Sb, Te thin materials and compounds, and to study the composition-dependent evolution of the surface after air break and ageing. The efficiency of in situ capping strategies to protect Te-based and Se-based thin layered materials from ageing was also investigated. Secondly, we demonstrated the ability of improved metrology strategies based on in-line Wavelength Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (WDXRF) and XPS to accurately quantify the chemical composition of Ge-Sb-Te compounds (from 1 to 200 nm) and ultrathin 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (MoS₂, WS₂). Combined WDXRF/XPS analysis was used to determine refined values of composition-dependent relative sensitivity factors for Te4d, Sb4d and Ge3d that allow for XPS-based metrology of PCRAM materials with mastered accuracy. We pointed the need for in-depth study of the significant matrix effects that alter the ability of WDXRF to quantify Nitrogen in Ge-Sb-Te materials: ion beam analysis was carefully investigated as possible input for WDXRF calibration, and a WDXRF protocol was established for inline monitoring of N-doped Ge-Sb-Te films in a specific process window. Finally, we investigated two ways to non-destructively characterize the in-depth chemical distribution in thin chalcogenide films: we demonstrated that the combination of XRF in grazing incidence geometry (GIXRF) and X-ray reflectometry (XRR) was able to unambiguously reveal small process differences along with process-induced diffusion in 10 nm-thick stackings. We showed that the use of multilayered substrate instead of silicon allowed fine-tuning of the depth-dependent X-ray standing wave field, resulting in improved sensitivity of XRR/GIXRF strategies. We also developed an angle-resolved XPS protocol for the evaluation of the first deposition steps of GeTe and Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ films, revealing the process-dependent elemental distribution as a function of the film growth. Therefore, in this work we not only elaborated advanced metrology protocols for the development of new chalcogenide films but also metrological solutions for the next technology nodes (28 nm and below), since current in-line metrology tools reach their detection limits.

With our changing climate it becomes more vital to understand the processes that control climate change in order to better understand possible future shifts. By doing this, predictions can be made about future climates and better prepare us for them. Loess, a silt-sized aeolian sediment, makes up an important climate record of the Quaternary and can therefore be used to reconstruct past climate changes. Loess deposits can be found on the Channel Island Jersey, next to the North Atlantic where several major climate shifts occurred during the last glacial period. During warmer climate periods the sediment starts to undergo chemical weathering. This causes the parental materials elemental composition to change where some elements become enriched, and others are diminished. This project aims to understand how the climate changed during the late Quaternary on Jersey, as well as determining if there has been a change in the loess provenance, through analysis of the elemental composition of loess. Loess at La Motte on Jersey will be analysed using XRF (X-ray fluorescence), allowing constraint of its elemental composition. The elemental composition will be used to analyse how much the sediment has weathered, and in turn to infer what the climate was like during deposition. To do so, 79 samples from La Motte were dried, sieved, milled, and analysed with XRF. Weathering indexes such as CIW, CIA, CPA, PIA, and Index B are used to be able to constrain the weathering rates in the loess, as well as other ratios like Rb/Sr and Ba/Sr. Ratios of immobile elements Ti/Zr and Ti/Al are used to investigate loess provenance. The results indicate a stable climate in the oldest parts of the sequence, that gradually get colder and dryer, indicated by decreased weathering. Weathering rates then starts to increase meaning that the climate became warmer and wetter. The top part of the stratigraphy has likely been altered by humans and can therefore not be used to make assumptions regarding climate. As for the provenance of loess, many fluctuations occurred, indicating many changes in source which could be caused by several factors such as wind direction and melting of ice sheets causing sediment to be released. / Med klimatförändringarna som sker blir det allt viktigare att förstå processerna som kontrollerar klimatet för att bättre kunna förstå framtida förändringar. Genom att göra detta kan förutsägelser om framtidens klimat göras vilket kan bättre förbereda oss för dem. Lössjord, ett eoliskt sediment av silt storlek, utgör ett viktigt klimatregister för tidsperioden kvartär och kan därför användas för att rekonstruera tidigare klimatförändingar. Lager av lössjordar kan hittas på kanalön Jersey, bredvid Nordatlanten där flera förändringar i klimatet skedde under den senaste istiden. Under varmare perioder börjar sedimenten att genomgå kemisk vittring. Detta får föräldramaterialets elementära sammansättning att förändras då vissa element blir berikade och andra minskar. Detta projekt syftar till att förstå hur klimatet förändrades under sen kvartär på Jersey, såväl som att undersöka om det har skett en förändring av ursprunget till lössjordarna. Lössjordarna från La Motte på Jersey kommer att analyseras med XRF (X-ray fluorescens) vilket gör det möjligt att undersöka dess elementära sammansättining. Elementärsammansättningen kommer användas för att analysera hur mycket sedimentet har vittrat eftersom detta kommer att indikera hur klimatet var under tiden då det ansamlades. För att göra detta togs 79 prover från La Motte, Jersey som sedan blev torkade, silade, pulveriserade och analyserade med XRF. Vittringsindex såsom CIW, CIA, CPA, PIA och Index B används för att förstå hur vittringsintensiteten var vid deposition, tillsammans med andra vittringsförhållanden såsom Rb/Sr och Ba/Sr. Förhållandena mellan de orörliga ämnena Ti/Zr och Ti/Al används för att ta reda på lössjordarnas ursprung. Resultaten indikerar ett stabilt klimat i de äldsta delarna av sekvensen som sedan gradvis blir kallare och torrare, indikerad av minskad vittring. Vittringshastigheten börjar sedan att öka vilket innebär att klimatet blir varmare och våtare. Lagren högst upp i stratigrafin har troligen blivit förändrade av människor och kan därför inte användas för att dra slutsatser om klimatet. När det kommer till ursprunget av lössjordarna sker många fluktuationer, vilket indikerar många förändringar av ursprung, vilket skulle kunna orsakas av flera olika faktorer som vindriktining and smältning av istäcken som får sediment att frigöras.

Vid skogsavverkning tas en del av de näringsämnen som trädet använt under sin tillväxttid bort från marken och förs inte tillbaka. Detta kan leda till näringsfattigare mark och lägre pH vilket leder till sämre tillväxt för träden. Skogsstyrelsen rekommenderar olika åtgärder för att motverka detta och en av åtgärderna är återföring av aska till skogen. Det finns vissa riktlinjer för vad koncentrationen av grundämnen bör vara för att detta ska anses positivt för skogen. Det har bedrivits forskning sedan 2018 för att återföra slam och aska från pappersbruk till skogen genom att föra in det i plantor som ska utsättas i skogen. Detta i form av härdade produkter som pellets eller pulver.   Fokus i denna studie är att undersöka olika askor, slam och härdade produkter som biokol för att jämföra med riktvärdena för askåterföring som Skogsstyrelsen har bestämt. Därutöver benämns några skadliga ämnen som kan ha förekommit i för höga koncentrationer. Prover förbereds genom torkning och malning av hydrokol, pyrokol, torvmark, pyrolyserad träflis, bioaska, blandslam och bioslam. Dessa pulveriserade prover analyseras sedan i en XRF-analys för att få ut koncentrationer av olika grundämnen för provernas torrsubstans.  Slam från pappersbruk visade sig innehålla lägre koncentrationer av de makronäringsämnen och spårämnen än askan, och ur näringssynpunkt vore ren askåterföring bättre. Men med ren askåterföring råder en större risk att få en högre koncentration av giftiga ämnen som vanadin och nickel vilket förekom i högre grad i askan. Andra höga halter av spårämnen var krom i ett hydrokolprov och kobolt och svavel vilket uppkom i askproverna. En blandning av aska med en andel slam bör skapa bra förutsättningar för ökad näring med liten risk för skadliga grundämnen. Denna rapport kom fram till att en blandning av ca 55 % slam och 45 % aska bör vara lämpligt för att undvika förgiftning av nickel och vanadin och samtidigt innehålla de nödvändiga näringsämnena. Genom att processa slam från pappersindustrin har det gjorts biokol prover som denna studie fått ta del av. Det visade sig att biokolet från Heinola, Finland visar på bra resultat som ger ökad tillväxt genom sitt höga fosforvärde. Att använda samma process som Heinola proverna för tilltänkta biokol bör vara att föredra / During deforestation, some of the nutrients used by the trees during the growth period are removed from the soil and not returned. This can lead to poorer content of nutrients in the soil and lower Ph, which leads to poorer growth for the trees.   The Swedish Forest Agency recommends various measures to counteract this and one of the measures is ash recycling, which there are certain guidelines for, what the concentration of elements should be for this to be considered positive for the forest.   A research project has been conducted since 2018 to return sludge and ash from paper mills to the forest by introducing it into plants to be planted in the forest. This in the form of hardened products such as pellets or powders.  This report mainly focuses on checking different ashes, sludge and hardened products such as biochar to compare with the guideline values for ash recycling that the Swedish Forest Agency has set.   In addition, this report highlights some harmful substances that may have been present in too high concentrations.  This is done by drying and grinding samples from hydrochar, pyrochar, peat soil, pyrolyzed wood chips, bioashes, mixed sludge and biosludge. These powdered samples are then run in an XRF analysis to obtain concentrations of different elements for the samples for a maximum dry content.  The sludge was found to contain lower concentrations of the useful and dangerous substances than the ashes, and from a nutritional point of view, pure ash recycling would be better. But with pure ash recycling, there is a greater risk of getting a higher concentration of toxic substances such as vanadium and nickel.  The results show hazardous elements such as nickel, chromium, cobalt, sulfur and vanadium measured in excessive doses. These occur mainly in the ash samples. A mixture of ash with a proportion of sludge should create good conditions for increased nutrition with little risk of harmful elements. As a suggestion, this report shows that a mixture of about 55% sludge and 45% ash should be suitable to avoid poisoning of especially nickel and vanadium. It turned out that the biochar from Heinola, Finland shows good results that increase growth through its high phosphorus value. Using the same process as the Heinola samples for proposed biochar should be preferred.

Ce projet vise à développer un protocole d’analyses par fluorescence aux rayons X (XRF) afin d’appréhender le potentiel de cette méthode d’analyse géochimique à distinguer des sources de cherts du Nord-Ouest irlandais. Ces échantillons de roches ont été récoltés dans le cadre du projet Irish Lithic Landscapes dirigé par Killian Driscoll, Adrian Burke et Heather Short. Le but est donc la caractérisation des sources de matières premières utilisées par les populations préhistoriques durant la fin du Mésolithique, le Néolithique ainsi qu’au début de l’Âge du Bronze. Ces analyses pourraient ainsi compléter la base de données LIR (Lithotheque Ireland) référençant les sources de matières premières lithiques irlandaises, cette dernière pouvant ainsi être utilisée pour comparer les données géologiques et archéologiques et permettre de considérer les stratégies d’acquisition des populations anciennes et d’identifier la source de certains artéfacts en chert. La technique analytique de la fluorescence X n’étant pas sans contraintes, l’analyse statistique fut un défi. Ce projet de mémoire a mis en avant la difficulté que représentent les limites de détections propres à l’appareil XRF PANalytical Epsilon 3 ainsi que les problèmes liés à la taille des échantillonnages et à la variabilité intra-source lorsqu’elle est supérieure à celle inter-source. Bien que les résultats ne soient pas aussi concluants que souhaités, il en reste néanmoins que cette recherche est un premier pas pour des études plus poussées sur les cherts de cette région et ainsi comprendre et dépasser les problèmes rencontrés. / The aim of this project is to develop an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis protocol in order to understand the potential of this geochemical analysis method to distinguish between sources of cherts in the North-West of Ireland. These rock samples were collected as part of the Irish Lithic Landscapes project led by Killian Driscoll, Adrian Burke and Heather Short, with the aim of characterizing the sources of raw materials used by prehistoric populations during the Late Mesolithic, Neolithic and early Bronze Ages. These analyses could thus complement the LIR (Lithotheque Ireland) database referencing Irish lithic raw material sources, which could then be used to compare geological and archaeological data, to consider the acquisition strategies of ancient populations and to identify the source of certain chert artifacts. As the analytical technique of X-ray fluorescence is not without its constraints, statistical analysis was a challenge. This dissertation project highlighted the difficulty represented by the detection limits specific to the PANalytical Epsilon 3 XRF instrument, as well as problems linked to sampling size and intra-source variability when it is greater than inter-source variability. Although the results are not as conclusive as desired, the fact remains that this research is a first step towards more in-depth studies of the cherts in this region, in order to understand and overcome the problems encountered.

The main purpose for this paper is to study iron artefacts excavated in the Black Earth harbour district of Birka. This locale, positioned on the island Björkö in Adelsö par. Sweden, is one of the mayor sites in regard to the Scandinavian Viking age. The how and why of the corrosive process will be touched upon. Specifically how archaeological iron interacts with the soil in which it is found, and what can be done to prevent unnecessary decay after excavation. This, in turn, leads to an observation of how methods have changed in regard to the conservation of archaeological iron, from the processes used in the early days of the field, to the more present day with the method utilized in this study. The conservation of said artefacts is for this study accomplished through the use of a conventional chemical method called EDTA. The usability of this method with waterlogged metallic artefacts is tested. The product of the conservation work revealed the objects to be mostly, iron rivets, bolts or nails. Not too surprising when the articles came from an area widely believed to be a harbour. This specific chemical solution proved not to be a sufficient conservation method for the waterlogged metal objects examined in this paper. This was due to the notably hard crust that covered the objects and the structural fragility of the artefacts. Specific analyses of some of the artefacts were undertaken due to the emergence of substantial amounts of depositions in the final steps of the process. Using XRD, XRF and IR-spectroscopy, the depositions were analysed and the result showed that the depositions most likely consists of a blend of non-water-soluble iron phosphates.

The issue of a sceptre for the newly founded Faculty of Science was first discussed on the meeting of Faculty professors on the 25th November 1921, more than a year after the separation of the Faculty of Science from the Faculty of Arts. The commission elected from among the professors proposed a motion that the new Faculty sceptre should resemble the sceptre of the parental Faculty of Arts. Through a mediation of the Ministry of Education and National Enlightment the design of the new sceptre was ordered from the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design and it was elaborated by prof. Jaroslav Horejc. However, in January 1923, his design was rejected, because it didn't meet the requirements of the professors' conservative approach. When prof. Horejc refused to make a modified copy of the sceptre of the Faculty of Arts, the professors addressed Tengler, the goldsmith who had made the sceptres of other faculties and of the rector in previous years. Alois Tengler was willing to make a modified copy of the sceptre of Faculty of Arts, but he also proposed a new design (with estimated price of 20 000 K), which the professors found more suitable and subsequently this design was adopted. Tengler committed himself to manufacture the sceptre by the 15th November 1924 and to incorporate any additional design...