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Background and Objectives: Being highly consumed by the population for nutritional purposes, the monitoring of radionuclides in milk represents a very important task for the protection of human health. The present paper reports the results of an investigation aimed at determining the natural and anthropogenic radioactivity content in milk and assessing the radiological health risks due to its ingestion. Methods: Liquid for infants, Ultra Heat Treated (UHT) sheep, UHT cow, and UHT goat milk samples, coming from Italian large retailers, were investigated. In particular, a total of twenty samples, five for each type, were analyzed by using High Purity Germanium (HPGe) gamma-ray spectrometry, with the ultimate goal of quantifying the specific activity of natural and anthropic radionuclides (40K and 137Cs, respectively). The evaluation of dose levels due to the milk ingestion was also performed for six age categories, namely infants, 1-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-17 years old, and adults (> 17 years old), taking into account the average yearly direct consumption in Italy and under the a priori hypothesis that this need can be satisfied by a single variety of milk. Results: The mean specific activity of 40K varies from (30 ± 4) Bq L-1 to (48 ± 6) Bq L-1; the lowest value was obtained for the UHT sheep milk, while the highest one for the UHT cow milk, with investigated Italian large retailers milk samples presenting an activity concentration of (38 ± 5) Bq L-1 on average. The 137Cs specific activity is lower than the minimum detectable activity (MDA) value for all investigated samples. Regarding the dose levels due to the milk ingestion, the obtained values remain below the threshold value of 1 mSv y-1 set by the Italian legislation. Conclusion: Reported results then show that the radiation dose incurred from the ingestion of the investigated milk samples poses no significant health effect on the population from a radiological point of view.

In the present paper, we present the main results of a diagnostic investigation on different paintings by Mattia Preti, belonging to the Cycle of the New Church of Sarria, located inside the Church of the Immaculate Conception of Sarria (Floriana) in Malta. The analysis was carried out on the occasion of the restoration process and, due to the short time available, only on some representative areas of each painting. A multi-technique approach was applied in situ, employing X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) and Raman microscopy. The aim was to achieve information on the execution technique, in a completely non-invasive way, following the requirements of the restorers., peer-reviewed

The present paper reports a detailed experimental vibrational analysis, performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in attenuated total reflectance geometry (FTIR-ATR), of water confined in the pores of cellulose nano-sponges (CNSs), prepared using TEMPO oxidized and ultra-sonicated cellulose nano-fibers (TOUS-CNFs) as three-dimensional scaffolds, and branched polyethyleneimine (bPEI) as the cross-linking agent. The analysis was carried out by varying hydration and cross-linker amount, with the aim of achieving a deep understanding of how the hydrogen bond (H-bond) scheme developed by engaged water molecules can play a role in the water adsorption process already observed at macroscopic level, furnishing at the same time evidence of a nano-porous network for CNSs. In particular, the combined investigation of the FTIR-ATR spectra of CNSs hydrated with H2O and D2O allowed for the selective analysis of vibrational modes of entrapped water molecules, namely O-H stretching and HOH bending modes. As main result, a destructuring effect of hydration on the H-bond pattern of interfacial water molecules is revealed, associated to structural modifications of the bPEI/TOUS-CNFs network previously detected by small angle neutron scattering (SANS) technique. It turned out to be more relevant for low bPEI amounts. In addition, a supercooled behavior of entrapped water molecules is detected, supporting the idea of a nano-confinement for water in these systems. The obtained information can be very helpful in view of all the possible applications of bPEI-TOCNF sponges as efficient adsorbent materials, especially for water remediation.