Luminita Ghervase

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Researcher at Institute for Research and Development in Optoelectronics

A group of wall painting fragments discovered at Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa, an important Roman archeological site located in the former Roman province of Dacia (Romania), have been investigated with the aim of defining the material composition of their pictorial layers and exploring the pictorial technology used. In order to preserve the integrit...

This article aims to present the results of the investigations performed on a 19th-century oil painting on canvas belonging to the Conservation and Restoration Department of the University of Art and Design in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The artwork depicting the portrait of a lady originating from an important Irish noble family (Judith Bunbury, 1785–18...

With the rapid scientific and technological changes that occur every day, a new kind of necessity, real-time, rapid, and accurate detection methods, preferably also non- or minimally invasive and non-destructive, has emerged. One such method is laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (LIF), applied in various fields of activity in recent decades, r...

This study highlights the decomposing role through the hydrolytic activities of fungi isolated from natural environments represented by brackish and hypersaline lakes in Romania. Novel strains belonging to the Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Emericellopsis genera were isolated and screened for the ability to produce extracellular hydrolytic enzymes,...

This study evaluated both the possible fungal metabolites involved in the degradation of the commercial consolidant known as Paraloid® B72 and the national artisanal consolidant named transparent dispersion of casein and the deteriorative potential of melanised fungi. Fungi were found to have the capacity to produce organic acids, proteases and est...

Natural minerals and earths with coloring properties have been widely used as artistic pigments since prehistoric times. Despite being extensively studied, the complex chemistry of earth pigments is still unsatisfactory described with respect to their mineralogical and structural variability and origin. In this study, a large group of earth pigment...

This paper presents an integrated multi-analytical documentation of a bronze vessel discovered in a 2nd century Roman military fort from ancient Dacia. The process involved 3D digitization, X-ray and hyperspectral imaging, and molecular, elemental, and structural analysis using Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence, laser-indu...

In this study, several wall painting fragments discovered in the Roman baths from the archeological site Alburnus Maior (Roşia Montană, Romania) were analyzed with the aim to investigate the material composition of both plasters and pictorial layers. Dated from the beginning of the second century AD, these rare findings stand among the oldest examp...

This report presents pilot research of archaeological pottery excavated in the Early-Neolithic settlement of Chavdar located in the Pirdop-Zlatitsa field, Bulgaria (first half of VI mill BC). The object of investigation is a red-slipped ceramic fragment decorated on both sides with white paint. A multi-analytical approach including optical microsco...

This contribution presents a study on the efficiency of the laser removal of black permanent marker tags from a contemporary graffiti painting. The effect of two wavelengths – 1064 nm and 532 nm, on the marker inks and the graffiti paints, was investigated using optical microscopy and colorimetric measurements. Preliminary characterization of the m...

The article presents a multi-analytic investigation of a severely degraded Jewish ritual parchment coming from a private collection. The main aim of the study was to obtain key information on the parchment manufacturing technique and original materials used, information that could help understand the historical context of the object. To this aim, a...

This study focuses on the investigation of certain bronze adornment objects from the First Iron Age (the so-called middle Hallstatt period), dating to the ninth–eighth c. BC. These objects are part of a bronze and iron hoard (labeled Cx 116) discovered in the present Romanian territory, at Tărtăria–Podu Tărtăriei vest archaeological site, in Alba C...

The paper aims to present a method of obtaining quantitative information from X-rays based on the shades of grey. Relative shades of grey in radiographs are obtained due to different acquisition parameters (tube voltage, tube current and exposure time) and material type and thickness. For this method, samples made from the same material, but with d...

This paper presents the first set of investigations on the mural paintings belonging to Drăguțești wooden church (1813-1814 A.D.) that has recently been included into the patrimony of Golești Museum, Argeș County. Conservation of a religious site of this type requires a deep analysis of materials in order to evaluate correctly the murals' state of...

Abstract The Peleș National Museum in Sinaia, Romania, includes within its collection of musical instruments a unique harpsichord of the Taskin workshop. The instrument is representative of the eighteenth century French harpsichords, finished in 1772 by Taskin Pascal, a master instrument-maker of his time. This paper presents the results of a compr...

In this study several non-invasive and minimally-invasive techniques were employed for the discovery of the original aspect of an old iconostasis belonging to a small wooden church in Vâlcea County (southern Romania). Preliminary examination of the iconostasis raised suspicions upon its actual age, the wooden carved decorations style pointing towar...

This paper deals with the development of a multidisciplinary study on the current state of conservation of the facade of the Arciprestal Church of Santa María de Morella (Castellón, Spain), a work of the Gothic period of great historical and artistic value. The aim of this diagnosis was to undertake the preventive conservation actions required and...

This article reports the first analytical study carried on some of the oldest surviving examples of Roman wall paintings, discovered so far on the Romanian territory. Dating back to the second century, these decorative polychrome wall painting fragments were found during an archaeological research carried at Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa, and represe...

A stone bead, part of a necklace found in a middle Hallstatt period—type of settlement—the Tărtăria site in Alba County, Romania, was investigated following a non-destructive approach, by means of energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The highly heterogenous object, found together with numero...

The paper presents a comparative investigation on two icons, dated approximately 17–18th and 19th century, respectively, which are representative for the Russian Lipovan cultural communities. A non-invasive protocol was employed aiming to gain a wider perspective on this type of icons, which had not been studied so far through analytical means. Ima...

This paper presents an ongoing work within a national project regarding the scientific investigation of one of the most important archaeological sites in Romania: Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa. Although the project has many objectives, in this paper we will focus on the development work of a virtual archaeodrome for the archaeological park. In this r...

The paper presents a characterization of certain prehistoric bronze artefacts, part of Tartaria I hoard (Alba County, Romania), using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Results indicated copper high input at the objects’ surface, in green-looking areas, as a consequence of corrosion processes, while darker, brown-looking areas had higher iron levels.

In the present paper, an analytical characterization of mural painting samples coming from a 14th century Romanian Monastery has been carried. Investigations were performed through non-destructive spectroscopic techniques: X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) using a handheld energy-dispersive XRF analyzer and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) in...

In vivo real-time skin evaluation was performed by fluorescence spectroscopy on three examples of benign lesions: keratoacanthoma, seborrheic keratosis, and dermatofibroma. Spectral domains corresponding to elastin crosslinks, flavins, and porphyrins fluorophores were investigated. For all skin lesions, the total area of the fluorescence spectra wa...

The study of optospectral techniques for the non-invasive, in vivo diagnosis of skin diseases has intensified in the last years. Optical diagnosis methods have already started to prove their ability to reveal specific skin functions and to identify skin lesions and their various stages, allowing for the early diagnosis of skin diseases and monitori...

Water samples from two types of sources: partially treated sewage generated by a medium-sized city, with a high quantity of total coliforms and partially treated industrial wastewater, which contained mostly petroleum products from refineries, were treated using the same concentration of TiO2 catalyst, for different exposure periods. UV-Vis and flu...

The effectiveness of thermal decontamination of a soil sample polluted with crude oil was assessed using optical methods (absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy) and the standard high performance liquid chromatography method (HPLC). The sample was divided in aliquots and subjected to pyrolysis for 1 h, at three operating temperatures: 300, 400 an...

The paper presents an evaluation of the influence that spatial planning of village households and utilities has over the groundwater used as drinking water source. Water samples collected from wells in a rural area in Romania were analyzed using fluorescence spectroscopy and the cadmium reduction method for nitrates. The spatial distribution of dis...

Aluminophosphate glasses belonging to the Li2O-BaO-Al2O3- La2O3-P2O5 system doped with Tb3+ were prepared and investigated. Methods as Induced Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), Induced Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) have been used to establish the elemental composition of these vitreous ma...

Context. Advanced skin cancers have high mortality and morbidity, and early detection is crucial for prognosis, Information regarding the patterns of skin self-examination and tumor early detection in the Central and Eastern Europe is scarce. Objective. Analyze the gender differences in the practices and attitudes related to skin cancer early detec...

The work deals with optical and structural properties of aluminophosphate glasses from Li2O–BaO–Al2O3–La2O3–P2O5 system containing Sm3 + and Eu3 + ions. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) has been used to establish the elemental composition of these materials. The influence of Sm3 + and Eu3 + ions on the optical properties of these glasses has been investiga...

Three dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy, as a spectral fingerprint of dissolved organic matter was used to examine the impact of surrounding areas on groundwater sources (wells) situated in a rural village, Vartoapele de Jos, Teleorman County. Fluorescence indices allowed discriminating between water types in connection with the proximity of di...

An ordinary differential equations (ODE) system describing the oscillation dynamics of a neuronal network is numerically integrated aiming to evidence chaos by the change in sign from negative to positive of the maximum Lyapunov exponents, and by a sudden decrease in the error doubling time. The error doubling time is calculated for different frequ...

The paper presents the synthesis and optical/structural characterization of 1% CdSe-doped Li2O-Al2O3-P2O5 glasses as promising materials for temperature sensors based on luminescence. The doped glasses were synthesized by a conventional dry route, embedding the dopant into the molten glass under continuous stirring. UV-Vis absorption revealed chara...

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) strongly influences several ecosystem processes, including the reduction of solar radiation, control of nutrient availability, modification of contaminant toxicity, and energy cycling. Using fluorescence spectroscopy, one of the most important DOM features, metal binding affinity, has been characterized, due to its di...

The study aimed at a new approach for assessment of lake water quality, correlating physico-chemical analyses and spectroscopic data with pollution sources. Water quality of lakes from a major urban area was analyzed and correlated with specific degradation sources along each lake. The results showed that water quality is impacted by the antropic a...

Fluorescence spectroscopy is a promising approach to the characterization of natural aquatic components and organic pollutants, due to its rapid analysis and high sensitivity. Petroleum products had been studied, using fluorescence technique, in numerous occasions, as seawater and soil contaminant or as raw sample. Nevertheless, no complex assessme...

This article presents a study concerning the storage effect on the fluorescence properties of dissolved organic matter fractions, obtained by ultrafiltration. Protein-like peak, γ, and recent production of organic matter, β, were evidenced through fluorescence spectroscopy in the 0.5 kDa subfractions, while humic substances, α and α', appeared pred...

Networks of dots made of As 2 S 3 chalcogenide has been obtained by Vacuum Evaporation and Pulsed Laser Deposition from bulk glassy As 2 S 3 by the adapted method of SCEV (screen evaporation method). A very thin layer of Eu 2 O 3 was deposited from a different target in the final deposition process. After a heat treatment at 180 ºC for 90 minutes i...

Bucharest is one of largest cities in Romania and disposes of natural and artificial lakes, which are utilized for different economical and leisure purposes. Water samples collected from lakes within the urbanized area were characterized by oxygen indicators (dissolved oxygen, chemical oxygen demand), nutrients related indicators (ammonia, nitrates...

Recent optoelectronic developments have helped scientists and dermatologists to design and improve equipments for the diagnosis of skin lesions. Among the numerous techniques which can be used in dermatology, optical coherence tomography (OCT) represents one of the best options, in terms of skin penetration depth and resolution, for retrieving morp...

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an emergent imaging technique, based on the interference of infrared radiation and living tissues, that allows the in vivo visualization of the skin structures, at high resolution and up to 1.6 mm depth. As such, there is mounting evidence that OCT may be an interesting technique for the diagnosis of skin disea...

The present paper aims to evidence the characteristics of drinking water from the point of view of fluorescence spectroscopy. Fluorescence spectra of tap water, both in fresh and old state (i.e. water stored in pipes and in laboratory conditions, for a few days) are compared. The results obtained in this study recommend fluorescence spectroscopy as...

Undoped and neodymium doped quartz glasses were obtained by the hybrid sol-gel method. The vitrification was performed in He atmosphere. The Nd3+characteristic absorption bands in the UV and VIS were put into evidence. Investigations in the NIR range revealed a small amount (86 ppm) of OH- in the vitreous matrix. FTIR and Raman spectra exhibit the...

Water represents an important receiver of the environmental problems generated by human settlements, being the environmental component which transfers many of the environmental externalities (wastewaters, waste, heat, various substances). In Bucharest, an essential part of the urban ecosystem is represented by the lakes along the Colentina River, w...

Bucharest is one of largest cities in Romania and disposes of natural and artificial lakes, arranged for different leisure activities and some of them even for bathing. Monitoring and maintaining the quality of lentic ecosystems is important from both an economical and environmental point of view. Several lake water samples were collected from Buch...

Urban systems play a vital role in social and economic development in all countries. Their environmental changes can be investigated on different spatial and temporal scales. Urban and peri-urban environment dynamics is of great interest for future planning and decision making as well as in frame of local and regional changes. Changes in urban land...

Fluorescence data obtained by laser excitation at 266 nm were used for the first time to determine fluorescence properties of household and chicken farm discharges. Two fluorescence indices were applied: a modified humification index (HIX) and a new one, as tyrosine:tryptophan ratio (Tyr/Trp). HIX described very well the degree of contamination of...

Fluorescence spectroscopy was used to evaluate the anthropogenic influence on rivers crossing Sofia. Specific fluorescence fingerprints for different sampling locations on Dragalevska, Perlovska and Vladaiska rivers were compared. The increase in pollution downstream due to the continuous contribution of surface runoff and the presence of protein-l...

Organic matter is ubiquitous in every type of aquatic system and due to the influence that it has on their ecological health, can be used as a useful water quality indicator. Fluorescence spectroscopy has been efficiently used in the past decades to determine and characterize organic matter, and its link to function and chemical water quality. In t...

Preliminary investigation of contaminated soil in the surrounding area of a petroleum tank has been carried out based on fluorescence techniques: excitation emission matrix (EEM) and synchronous fluorescence scan (SFS). A fluorescence fingerprints library containing several EEM and SFS maps for various dilutions of Romanian crude oil in methanol, w...

Many up-to-date optical techniques have been developed and applied recently in clinical practice for obtaining qualitatively and quantitatively new data from the investigated lesions. Due to their high sensitivity in detection of small changes, these techniques are widely used for detection of early changes in biological tissues. Light-induced fluo...

Water Framework Directive states that all Europe Rivers must achieve good ecological status by 2015. This goal is much problematic in developing countries where cities are rapidly growing and authorities have to deal with new wastewater management problems. One such case is Arges Lower Basin which represents one of the most polluted areas of Romani...

Materia organică acvatică îşi schimbă constant caracteristicile în urma interacţiei cu diverşi compuşi care intră în sistemul acvatic prin infiltrarea în sol, prin aportul apelor pluviale sau poluare. Asemenea procese complexe duc la formarea nitraţilor. Pentru a determina cantitatea de nitraţi şi corelarea acesteia cu materia organică s-a realizat...

A new magnetic undulator structure for free electron lasers with two beams is presented. The permanent magnets have alternating magnetisation, transversal on direction beams. The transversal magnetic field component produced by magnets are spatially periodic. The X, Y and Z magnetic field components were analytically and numerically evaluated. The...