In the present study, we apply and further develop an interdisciplinary approach to investigate textile remnants of a 17th-century shirt discovered during archaeological excavations by the Institute of Archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences (conducted in February 2021 under the direction of N.I. Savel’ev) in the former Goncharnaya Sloboda (Pottery Settlement area) of Moscow. When examining a fragment of the shirt with preserved decorative elements, we use a set of complementary analytical methods. The conducted research reveals that the shirt was sewn from linen fabric and bordered with woven silk ribbons. The spun golden threads used for embroidering decorative elements on the shirt are produced by twisting a core thread made of silver (with copper and gold additives) ribbon approximately 340 μm wide and 14 μm thick, with a layer of gold 1–1.5 μm thick applied to its surface. A silk thread is used as the core. A reconstruction of the method for manufacturing the metallic braided ribbon is carried out. High-resolution optical images of the spun gold threads are obtained, revealing their structure.

Two ancient Roman silver coins dating back to the 3rd–4th century AD are studied. A set of modern micro- and nondestructive analytical techniques, namely, a focused ion beam, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis, micro-X-ray fluorescence analysis, neutron-radiation analysis, and other methods is used. Research shows that Ag–Cu and Ag–Cu–Pb–Sn alloys were used, which were common in the prosperous years of the Roman Empire when the Romans produced alloys with a relatively high silver content for both outer layers and the inner core of coins. Surface silvering processes were used in different crisis periods during the reign of Antonine. It is established that even during the crisis, the Romans produced high quality Antoniniani, attempting to improve the silvering procedure using silver amalgam (Hg–Ag). Mercury is detected in the surface silver layer of the coins. A porous morphology of the coin surface is also revealed, which might be the result of an uncontrolled heating process and the removal of mercury through boiling.

The possibility of applying magnetite nanoparticles for the purpose of improving the efficiency of cancer-tumor suppression during X-ray brachytherapy treatment is considered. The proposed role of the nanoparticles is to enhance the dose of ionizing radiation, absorbed by the tumor, into which the injection of solution containing such particles is carried out. These particles possess several properties that make them useful for the targeted delivery of radiation to tumors. Magnetite nanoparticles are biodegradable and magnetic and can emit secondary radiation when irradiated with an external source. In this work, the dose distribution around a magnetite particle 10 nm in diameter, immersed into water and irradiated by monochromatic X-rays with energies in the range from 4 to 60 keV is calculated. In this case, water can be considered as a good enough equivalent of biological tissue for model computations. Using Monte Carlo computations with the Geant4 program package, it is shown that under such conditions, an increase in the dose absorbed by water on account of the generation of X-ray fluorescence radiation really takes place; however the spatial region, where such enhancement is rather high, is quite small. To apply the method effectively, one would need to deliver such nanoparticles directly into the cell nucleus.

There are many historical text documents that are too fragile to be opened or unrolled, making their content inaccessible. X-ray scanning and computer vision techniques enable the “virtual” unrolling of such documents. The paper develops an approach to virtual reconstruction of the hidden text of birch-bark scrolls using the non-destructive method of X-ray microtomography. Experiments with a model birch-bark manuscript are carried out at the Kurchatov synchrotron-radiation source. It is shown that to read the hidden text using X-ray tomography, it is possible to use both the relief and the variation in the density of the material, as well as different algorithms for revealing the text. When using algorithms with object-shape approximation, the main problem is the precision of such an approximation. The results of the study will find application in identifying hidden texts of written cultural artifacts of ancient Russia.

Synchrotron X-ray fluorescence spectra were simulated using the Geant4 software package to quantify the elemental composition of a red ink contained in a medieval parchment. From comparison of the spectra emitted from a blank spot and a spot with the writing we have found that the ink contains significant amounts of lead and mercury. This allowed us to hypothesize that the ink was based on a natural mineral pigment minium with an admixture of cinnabar.

The analytical diagnostics of art objects and items of cultural value have become increasingly sought for in modern interdisciplinary studies. Within the natural-science approach, a manuscript is considered as a physical object consisting of materials of two types. The first type comprises various substrates for writing (papyrus, paper, parchment, palm leaves), and the second type includes writing materials (soot ink, iron gall ink, or red lead ink). Textual fragments of ancient parchment manuscripts, including hidden textual fragments, are elementally mapped and digitally imaged with X-ray fluorescence. The collagen structure of the parchment and ink composition are diagnosed.

Purpose: An intensity-modulated X-ray brachytherapy system is being developed for various clinical applications. This new system makes it possible for clinical staff to control energy as well as dose rate for different tumor sites according to their sizes and radiobiological characteristics. Materials and Methods: This system is mainly composed of an X-ray tube, guide tube collimation, and secondary (pseudo) target. Due to its configuration, convenient modulations of fluorescent X-ray energy and intensity are possible. To observe applicability of this novel system for various primary and secondary target combinations, Monte Carlo simulation using MCNP5 was performed, and air measurements were done. As a primary and pseudo-target combination, silver–molybdenum (Ag-Mo), tungsten–neodymium (W-Nd), and tungsten–erbium (W-Er) were used for the calculation for dose profile. Specifically, a dose distribution was calculated around each of these target combinations. Dose distributions as a function of target angles were also calculated. The Ag-Mo combination was analyzed for Cartesian coordinates of xy, xz, and yz planes of the pseudo-target to observe dose distribution as a function of the angle of secondary target. Results: The results showed that radial dose fall-off of Ag-Mo was greater than commercially available brachytherapy sources (103Pd and 125I) due to its low characteristic X-ray energy. Conclusions: Dose distribution variance should be considered in beam modulation for clinical application. Dynamic movement of the pseudo-target is feasible and remains as a subject for future research.

A fragment of a text written in red ink is scanned at the X-ray fluorescence analysis station of the Kurchatov synchrotron radiation facility; the element distribution in the scanned region is obtained. The possibility of imaging and reading text fragments using synchrotron radiation is proved.

Comparative investigations of homoepitaxial diamond films with natural and modified isotopic compositions, grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on type-Ib diamond substrates, are carried out using double-crystal X-ray diffractometry and topography. The lattice mismatch between the substrate and film is precisely measured. A decrease in the lattice constant on the order of (Δ a / a ) relax ∼ (1.1–1.2) × 10 –4 is recorded in isotopically modified 13 С (99.96%) films. The critical thicknesses of pseudomorphic diamond films is calculated. A significant increase in the dislocation density due to the elastic stress relaxation is revealed by X-ray topography.

Magnetite nanoparticles possess several properties that can make them useful for targeted delivery of radiation to tumors for the purpose of brachytherapy. Such particles are biodegradable and magnetic and can emit secondary radiation when irradiated by an external source. In this work, the dose distribution around a magnetite particle of 10 nm diameter being irradiated by monochromatic X-rays with energies in the range 4–60 keV is calculated.

A new concept of an X-ray brachytherapy setup based on the use of fluorescence from a secondary target placed at the tip of an implantable needle is proposed. Spatial dose-rate distributions for four combinations of secondary target materials and shapes are calculated by the Monte-Carlo method.

Structural features of diamond single crystals synthesized under high pressure and homoepitaxial films grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) have been analyzed by double-crystal X-ray diffractometry and topography. The conditions of a diffraction analysis of diamond crystals using Ge monochromators have been optimized. The main structural defects (dislocations, stacking faults, growth striations, second-phase inclusions, etc.) formed during crystal growth have been revealed. The nitrogen concentration in high-pressure/high-temperature (HPHT) diamond substrates is estimated based on X-ray diffraction data. The formation of dislocation bundles at the film-substrate interface in the epitaxial structures has been revealed by plane-wave topography; these dislocations are likely due to the relaxation of elastic macroscopic stresses caused by the lattice mismatch between the substrate and film. The critical thicknesses of plastic relaxation onset in CVD diamond films are calculated. The experimental techniques for studying the real diamond structure in optimizing crystal-growth technology are proven to be highly efficient.

An experiment confirming the possibility of extracting a narrow energy band from a wide spectrum produced by a compact electron linear accelerator with a thin transmission anode is described. A flat crystal of pyrolytic graphite was used as a monochromator.