Search Results
Abstract
The trace element contents of Taiwanese diet were determined using conventional neutron activation analysis. Sample were prepared with duplicate portion technique by collecting food items ate and drank during a 3 day period in winter. Samples were homogenized, freeze-dried, and elemental concentration of trace elements were determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis. The interference from fast neutron induced reactions were corrected. Concentrations and daily dietary intake of the elements were compared with those collected in the summer, resulting less daily intake of K, Ca, Mn, Fe, and Zn among Taiwanese than the values recommended by WHO and RDA. Alarming low intake of Fe for females and Zn among Taiwanese were indicated.
Abstract
Traditional medicinal seeds prescribed for specific treatment purposes, were purchased from local markets and analyzed by INAA. The samples were irradiated at Es-Salam research reactor, at a power of 5 MW for 6 h. The accuracy of the method was established by analyzing reference materials. Twenty elements were measured, with good accuracy and reproducibility. The concentration of elements determined, was found to vary depending on the seeds. The daily intake of essential and toxic elements was determined, and compared with the recommended values. The probable cumulative intake of toxic elements is well below the tolerance limits.
Abstract
It is important that in radioiodine dosimetry for low levels of daily intake, allowance must be made for the normal daily intake of stable iodine. This intake varies from one region to another, and variations are observed from one person to the next within a region, depending on eating habits. Measuring iodine in the urine over 24 hours can indirectly assess these variations. Analysis of the total iodine in the urine was carried out for 69 French people living in a temperate maritime region or in mainland France. This study justifies individual assessment of the coefficient of iodine transfer to the thyroid by means of this survey based on the urinary iodine analysis. The consequences for man of the release of 129I around a nuclear reprocessing plant were analyzed by applying the methodology published previously by the authors. A software program based on the iodine biokinetic model recommended by the ICRP was used to calculate the daily urine excretion of 129I for five different diets of total iodide in a ratio of 10-4 for 129I/127I. This model makes it possible to set a practical detection limit of 20 mBq (0.003 µg). This approach is important from a practical point of view for health physicists involved in routine monitoring of workers in the nuclear field and members of the public exposed to radioiodine released into the environment.
Abstract
The blood serum is the fluid medium through which most of the minerals are absorbed into the human body and get metabolized. The concentrations of Th in blood serum is in equilibrium with the content of Th in human body and therefore could reflect its content in the body. The daily intake (ingestion and inhalation) and the corresponding concentration of Th in blood serum of a group of subjects living in the high-background (monazite) area of Kerala State were measured and compared with the daily intake and corresponding blood serum concentrations of Th in three other groups of subjects namely: (1) those living in normal background area, (2) administrative staff working in Thorium Plant but not directly exposed to Th and its compounds, and (3) the occupational workers from Thorium Plant working for a time period in the range15–30 years. The Th concentration in the blood serum of subjects from high background area were found to be only marginally higher in comparison to the similar data from normalbackground area, which indicated that internal exposure due to Th to the subjects living in high background is quite low.
All boarding school provisions within the Slovak Republic are due to prepare meals under the guidance of the Ministry of Health that monitors recommended daily intakes of individual foods and dietary allowances of nutrients through scientific meetings. Calculations based on a nutrition model of a boarding school in four months were done to estimate the mean dietary intake of nitrates and nitrites, industrially added to foodstuffs, by children aged 7 to 10 years. Following recognised methodology of the Codex Alimentarius and the European Commission, it was assumed that nitrates and nitrites are used in the widest possible range of foods and at their maximum permitted levels, resulting in overestimation of intake values. The mean daily exposure of consumers with the lowest (21 kg) and the mean (26.5 kg) body mass to nitrates ranged from 0.6 to 6.7% and from 0.5 to 5.3% of their acceptable daily intake (ADI), respectively. For the same consumers, the mean daily exposure to nitrites ranged from 0 to 13.0% and from 0 to 10.3% ADI. No significant seasonal differences were obvious. The results indicated that the above-mentioned group of children is sufficiently protected from hazard of nitrates and nitrites in food.
The fourth countrywide nutrition survey was initiated and co-ordinated by the Hungarian Food Safety Office jointly to the yearly Household Budget Survey of Hungarian Central Statistical Office in 2009. The dietary assessment was performed by trained interviewers and skilled dieticians using a complex questionnaire system, containing three-day diary, short food frequency questionnaire and questions on taking of dietary supplements and on prevalence of food allergy. The data records were processed and the questionnaires were validated, the results obtained on the micronutrient intakes of the adult population are shown in this article. From fat soluble vitamins, the average daily intakes of vitamins A and D were lower than the national recommendations in case of both genders, meaning low intake for around 60% (in case of retinol) and 80–90% (in case of calciferols) of adults. The intakes of some water soluble vitamins belonging to B group, vitamin C and folates were low as well. Regarding the macroelements, the most important health problem on population level is the extremely high sodium load of the inhabitants, combined with unfavourable sodium/potassium ratio. The average daily calcium intake of every age and gender group was far below the recommended value. The average daily intake of iron was low for the 50% of adult females. The article also provides data on frequency of food supplement taking habits of inhabitants and of self-reported food allergy.
Abstract
The health food Angelica keiskei, planted and consumed as an oriental herb, was sampled from five farms in Taiwan. The determination of minor and trace elements identified in the roots, fresh leaves and stems of the plant, as well as in end-products such as tea bags and capsules, is essential for estimating the recommended daily intake for ensuring optimum health safety. Samples were homogenized prior to freeze-drying, and were irradiated with a neutron flux at about 2.0.1012 n.cm-1.s-1. A total of 17 elements were analyzed using INAA. In the collected samples the elements exist in widely differing concentrations, ranging from 105 to 10-2 mg/g for different farms. We found that aluminum is more highly concentrated in roots than in any other part of the plant. Selenium was the only element analyzed down to 10-1 mg/g in the leaves. Meanwhile, arsenic was also found in the roots and stems at levels of nearly 10-2 mg/g. The elemental concentrations and maximum daily intake (MDI) of this herb are compared with those of Angelica sinensis (Danggui in Mandarin), Ligusticum chuanxiony (Chuanxiong in Mandarin) and Panax ginseng (Ginseng in Mandarin) as well as with the recommended daily dietary intake values for Taiwanese consumers, developed by the WHO.
Abstract
Uranium (238U) and thorium (232Th) concentrations were evaluated in different cereal, fruit and vegetable samples by using a method based on the calculation of the detection efficiencies of the emitted a-particles by CR-39 and LR-115 type II solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTD) and measuring the resulting track densities. The influence of the soils on which the plants grow, and the fertilizers used was investigated. Total daily intakes of 238U and 232Th for a typical food basket were estimated to be 1.16 Bq.d-1 and 0.94 Bq.d-1, respectively, corresponding to a total committed effective dose of 0.27.10-7 Sv.d-1. Annual committed effective doses due to 238U and 232Th originated from the ingestion of different foodstuffs were evaluated for the adult members of the population by using the ICRP ingestion dose coefficients.
Abstract
It is known that in the Turkish soil Se and Zn concentrations are somewhatlower than in other countries. Lower zinc intake causes significant healthproblems mostly at rural areas. Six different population groups, total of55 subjects, consisting of children, people from rural areas, university studentsand staff members were selected and diet samples were collected by duplicateportion technique. Bread and flour samples were collected from six differentbakeries in Ankara. Zinc, selenium and other trace elements in these sampleswere analyzed mostly by INAA. Daily dietary zinc intake differs among differentgroups, ranging 5–13 mg Zn/day, and for all cases, it is lower thanRDA value of 15 mg Zn/day. Similarly, selenium daily intake is around 20–53µg Se/day, which is also lower than RDA value of 55–70 µgSe/day.
Abstract
A study was conducted to estimate the thorium concentration in locally grown vegetables in high background radiation area (HBRA) of southern coastal regions of India. Locally grown vegetables were collected from HBRA of southern coastal regions of India. Thorium concentration was quantified using instrumental neutron activation analysis. The samples were irradiated at CIRUS reactor and counted using a 40% relative efficiency HPGe detector coupled to MCA. The annual intake of thorium was evaluated using the consumption data provided by National Nutrition Monitoring Board. The daily intake of 232Th from the four food categories (green leafy vegetables, others vegetables, roots and tubers, and fruits) ranged between 0.27 and 5.352 mBq d−1. The annual internal dose due to ingestion of thorium from these food categories was 46.8 × 10−8 for female and 58.6 × 10−8 Sv y−1 for male.
