The peculiarities of preparation of single crystals of yttrium-aluminum garnet doped with cerium and terbium optimized for use as X-ray scintillators are described. Their X-ray luminescent properties are considered. The results of application of one of these scintillators in the design of a two-dimensional X-ray detector are presented.

The structure dynamics in the temperature range of the melting phase transition of a dimyristoyl-phosphatidylserine multilayer on the surface of a colloidal silica solution with a particle diameter of 5 nm has been investigated by X-ray reflectometry and grazing diffraction of 71-keV photons. The joint model and model-free analysis of the reflectometry data revealed a structure consisting of a surface lipid monolayer and a set of lamellar bilayers sandwiched between water layers, with a period of 150 Å. With an increase in temperature above the critical value one can observe a surface monolayer transition from a crystalline phase with a minimum area per lipid molecule of 40 ± 1 Å2 to a disordered (liquid) phase with a calculated area per molecule of 52 ± 2 Å2. At low temperatures, the data indicate that from five to eight H2O molecules are tightly bound to the PS fragment of the lipid in both the monolayer and the bilayer structures. However, above the transition temperature, approximately 14 water molecules are attached to the headgroups of the bilayer: this is almost twice as many molecules as the eight H2O molecules-per-headgroup in the surface monolayer.

The possibilities of X-ray reflectometry for studying the structure of planar liquid-phase membranes are demonstrated by the example of polyester films formed on the surface of deionized water from solutions of polylactoglycolide (PLG) in chloroform and tetraglycol (TG). It is found that the use of solutions with PLG concentrations ranging from 1 to 4 wt % or above 6 wt % leads to a proportional increase in the density of these films with preservation of their structure and thickness up to 25 Å. At a PLG concentration close to 5 wt % the PLG/TG system transits to an unstable state, characterized by intense penetration of PLG aliphatic chains into the water substrate bulk to a depth up to 100 Å.

The spectral properties of the correlation function of the heights of interlayer boundaries in a lamellar 1,2‑distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine film deposited on the surface of the hydrosol of amorphous silica nanoparticles are investigated within the scope of a model-independent approach based on the data of nonspecular X-ray scattering. The data analysis shows that the spectrum of interlayer roughnesses in a multilayer is qualitatively different from the prediction of the capillary wave theory in the entire considered interval of spatial frequencies.

A technique for studying the local elastic properties of inhomogeneous ferroelectrics has been proposed by the example of growth striations in triglycine sulfate crystals, layer-by-layer doped with chromium and L-α-alanine impurities. The data on the width and impurity compositions of stripes were obtained by X-ray fluorescence analysis and X-ray topography. The positions of the boundaries of the stripes emerging at the surface and the domain structure morphology were determined by the methods of correlation electrical atomic-force microscopy. The force curves were measured and Young’s moduli were calculated for impurity-free and doped crystal stripes using contact atomic-force spectroscopy. The introduction of impurity decreases Young’s modulus: the difference was found to be 20–25 and 12–14% for chromium and L-α-alanine, respectively.

The results of a systematic study on the adsorption of polylysine molecules of different lengths on the surface of a 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-L-serine (DMPS) monolayer in the liquid (LE) and condensed (LC) states are presented. A compressibility diagram and the Volta potential were recorded with the Langmuir monolayer technique and further analyzed with the empirical approach. The structure of the monolayer films with adsorbed polypeptides was studied with synchrotron X-ray reflectometry. Two- and three-layer slab models describe the reflectivity data fairly well and reveal both the significant structural changes and the dehydration of the polar groups induced by all polylysines used at the maximal coverage of the monolayer interface in both the LE and LC states. On the one hand, in the LE phase of the monolayer (area per molecule A ≅ 70 Ǻ2), the integrated electron density of the lipid headgroup region is approximately half the density contained in the clean monolayer. This indicates both significant compaction and dehydration in the polar groups of the lipids, caused by the adsorption of polypeptides. On the other hand, in the LC state (A ≅ 40 Ǻ2), the degree of the hydration of the polar region is similar to that for the initial DMPS monolayer. However, both the electron density and the thickness of the head group region differ significantly from the values of these parameters for the clean monolayer in the LC state.

Background and ObjectiveThe laser‐induced stress relaxation provides new prospects to obtain stable long fragments of costal cartilage for autoimplantation avoiding the risk of spontaneous deformation and poor engraftment. However, the age‐related alterations of cartilage may sufficiently influence its interaction with infrared (IR) laser radiation and disrupt the effectiveness and safety of the technique. The aim of the work is to study the influence of the structural quality of costal cartilage on its interaction with IR laser and efficiency of obtaining of curved implants for trachea surgery.Study Design/Materials and MethodsHealthy costal cartilage was taken from pigs and human. Ossified costal cartilage was taken from humans of age 65 ± 7. The cartilage slices with a mean thickness of 3 mm were mechanically curved and processed to stress relaxation by laser irradiation with the wavelength 1.56 µm. The structure and mineral content were studied by X‐ray microtomography and element analysis. The optical measurements included the study of the propagation of IR radiation, speckle interferometry, and IR radiometry.ResultsThe aged cartilage demonstrates a high level of heterogeneity in structure and properties and decreased water content. The presence of dense inclusions consisting of amorphous calcined volumes makes the tissue more fragile and less elastic. The IR radiation propagation intensity for aged cartilage is at least twice higher than that for healthy cartilage. The thermal‐induced motion of scatterers in aged cartilage is slower. X‐ray microtomography showed the cartilage‐like and the bone‐like structures within the ossified samples.ConclusionsThe main challenge for laser reshaping of aged cartilage is the presence of ossifications. However, the new stable curvature can be obtained with adjustment of laser power. To obtain the satisfying stable curvature of an implant the ossified volumes should be avoided The laser‐induced stress‐relaxation mechanism for aged cartilage can be particularly different from that of healthy tissue and the optimal laser regimes should be specified. Lasers Surg. Med. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

An X-ray reflectivity analysis has shown that the composition of liquid substrates affects the structure of deposited Nafion (Teflon copolymer) films. A model of Nafion monomer, developed based on small-angle X-ray scattering data, is used to interpret the results of X-ray reflectivity analysis.

Anna A. Oleshkevich, Specific features of change in enzymate activity in

The structure of the planar surface of colloidal solutions of amorphous 27-nm silica sol particles enriched with heavy K+, Rb+, and Cs+ alkali ions is studied by the methods of reflectometry and diffuse (nonspecular) scattering of synchrotron radiation. For liquid-phase systems, we have used a self-consistent approach that makes it possible to reconstruct from experimental data the electron density profiles perpendicular to the hydrosol surface, as well as the spectra of the height–height correlation function in the plane of the surface without using any a priori information about the near-surface structure. Analysis represented here shows that for high values of pH, alkali cations with a large radius and a surface concentration of (5 ± 1) × 1018 m–2 replace Na+ ions with a smaller radius. This result is in qualitative agreement with the dependence of the Kharkats–Ukstrup single-ion electrostatic free energy on the ion radius and in good quantitative agreement with the results obtained by other authors using the capillary-wave approach. The integrated value of  the effective height of interface roughness (3.2 ± 0.5 Å) coincides to within the measuring error with the prediction of the capillary-wave theory; however, the experimental spectra of the height-to-height correlation function basically differ from the theoretical spectra in the range of low spatial frequencies ν < 10–3 nm–1. The approximation of the spectra by the sum of two K-correlation distributions indicates a transition from the natural roughness of the compact layer of alkali metal ions to the capillary roughness of the liquid surface in the correlation length range of about 1 μm. In our opinion, the aggregate of available data indicates the dispersion of this layer into 2D clusters (Wigner islands).

Polarization analysis of the reflected radiation has been performed in Mossbauer reflectivity measurements with a Synchrotron Mossbauer Source (SMS). Effective pi ->sigma' polarization selection is attained with LiF crystal ((6 2 2) 90 degrees-reflection for 14.4 keV radiation, angular acceptance similar to 100 '') capable of high pi ->pi' suppression. Basic features of the reflectivity with the rotated pi ->sigma' polarization are revealed in the experiment with the [Fe-57(10 ML)/V(20 ML)](20) multilayer. Selection of pi ->sigma' polarization component in Mossbauer reflectivity allows to exclude nonresonant electronic scattering, besides Mossbauer pi ->sigma' reflectivity spectra (R-spectra) contain only contributions from magnetized along the beam ferromagnetic phases. The antiferromagnetic iron oxides do not contribute to pi ->sigma' R-spectra (dichroic component is compensated). Therefore, in the Mossbauer reflectivity experiment supplemented by polarization analysis the data interpretation becomes more certain and gives information about depth position for ferromagnetic layers selectively. With this new technique we locate antiferromagnetic iron phases in the very top layer of [Fe-57(10 ML)/V(20 ML)](20) multilayer and ascertain the ferromagnetic ordered iron layers in the remaining part of the structure. This new approach in Mossbauer reflectivity has interesting perspectives for investigations of hyperfine interactions for iron complexes on the surface, ultrathin layers and multilayers with complicated magnetic structures.

Mössbauer reflectivity spectra measured for the [Fe(3.0 nm)/Cr(1.2 nm)]10 structure in the half-order Bragg peak, which corresponds to the doubling of the period, have revealed the formation of a canted antiferromagnetic structure under the action of an external magnetic field of $${{B}^{{{\text{ext}}}}} = 0.06$$ Т applied perpendicular to the scattering plane. This result certainly follows from the appearance of the second and fifth lines in the Mössbauer sextet, which should be suppressed for any symmetric orientation of the magnetic hyperfine field in two 57Fe layers in one magnetic period. The experiment involves a polarization analysis of the reflected beam and shows that this new approach simplifies the form of angular dependences and reflectivity spectra, since it eliminates the interfering contribution of nonresonant scattering, and improves the reliability of the data interpretation.

A universal thermostatic chamber has been designed for X-ray scattering studies of various types of adsorption layers at air–water and oil–water interfaces. The camera can be used both on a laboratory diffractometer with a horizontal arrangement of a sample and a mobile emitter–detector system, as well as in a specialized spectrometer on a synchrotron radiation source.

The authors present a review of the systematic studies of the structure of macroscopically planar thin films at the air-liquid interface (water, alkali solution and silica hydrosol). A common feature of the considered works is the application of a model-independent approach to the analysis of X-ray reflectometry data, which does not require a priori assumptions about the structure of the object under study. It is shown that the experimental results obtained with the laboratory source in some cases are qualitatively on par with the results of those obtained with the use of synchrotron radiation source. The reproducibility of the effect of spontaneous ordering in films of amphiphilic organic molecules (phospholipids) at the surface of the colloidal solution of silica nanoparticles is demonstrated. The possibility of influencing the kinetics of the in situ formation of a phospholipid film by enriching the liquid substrate with alkali metal ions is also discussed.

The authors present a review of the systematic studies of the structure of macroscopically planar thin films at the air-liquid interface (water, alkali solution and silica hydrosol). A common feature of the considered works is the application of a model-independent approach to the analysis of X-ray reflectometry data, which does not require a priori assumptions about the structure of the object under study. It is shown that the experimental results obtained with the laboratory source in some cases are qualitatively on par with the results of those obtained with the use of synchrotron radiation source. The reproducibility of the effect of spontaneous ordering in films of amphiphilic organic molecules (phospholipids) at the surface of the colloidal solution of silica nanoparticles is demonstrated. The possibility of influencing the kinetics of the in situ formation of a phospholipid film by enriching the liquid substrate with alkali metal ions is also discussed.