LABEC, the INFN ion beam laboratory of nuclear techniques for environment and cultural heritage

The LABEC laboratory, the INFN ion beam laboratory of nuclear techniques for environment and cultural heritage, located in the Scientific and Technological Campus of the University of Florence in Sesto Fiorentino, started its operational activities in 2004, after INFN decided in 2001 to provide our applied nuclear physics group with a large laboratory dedicated to applications of accelerator-related analytical techniques, based on a new 3 MV Tandetron accelerator. The new accelerator greatly improved the performance of existing Ion Beam Analysis (IBA) applications (for which we were using since the 1980s an old single-ended Van de Graaff accelerator) and in addition allowed to start a novel activity of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS), in particular for ¹⁴C dating. Switching between IBA and AMS operation became very easy and fast, which allowed us high flexibility in programming the activities, mainly focused on studies of cultural heritage and atmospheric aerosol composition, but including also applications to biology, geology, material science and forensics, ion implantation, tests of radiation damage to components, detector performance tests and low-energy nuclear physics. This paper describes the facilities presently available in the LABEC laboratory, their technical features and some success stories of recent applications.

Fiber composition and digestibility of fodder in different ryegrass fields submitted to different harvesting management systems

ABSTRACT This essay aims to evaluate the composition of fiber in neutral detergent, digestibility of plant components, as well as ruminal disappearance rate of fodder dry matter from five ryegrass fields submitted to different cut systems for the production of haylage. The experimental design was the randomized blocks one, at a 5 x 3 factorial scheme, with five cultivars (cv.) of ryegrass Lolium multiflorum (cv. Barjumbo, cv. BarHQ, cv. Ribeye, cv. Potro and cv. Willians) associated with three harvesting management systems: 1- single harvesting system at a pre-floral stage; 2 - double harvesting system, with a cut at vegetative stage and another at pre-floral stage; and 3 - triple harvesting system, with a cut at vegetative stage, a cut at full vegetative stage and a cut at pre-floral stage, with three repetitions each. Similarities were noticed on the results of fodder digestibility of different fields, however, cv. Potro presented a higher ruminal disappearance rate after 48 hours, with 69.27%. Generally, the harvesting management system with the increase of ryegrass cut frequency determined increments on the percentage of lignin and the reduction in the concentration of total nutrients and dry matter digestibility of the resulting hylage.