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Abstract  

Multielement determination of airbone particulates collected on PTFE-membrane filters by XRF, and possibility of using this technique in Receptor Model analysis were investigated. In order to keep the background interference as low as possible, special emphasis was therefore laid on the setup of optimized analytical procedures for XRF measurement. An intercomparison between INAA and XRF methods was performed by analyzing the same filter samples.

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Abstract  

The concentration of certain toxic and essential elements in various raw materials of Chinese herbs and scientific Chinese medicine were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). Correlation of these elements as they exist in the raw materials and in the prescription of medicine were investigated and the approximate intake of elements by patients were estimated. Values of elements determined both by ASS and INAA presented excellent agreement. The ranges of elemental concentrations were found to vary from 104 to 10–1 mg/kg in different kinds of herbs. All herbs exhibit extraordinary enrichment capabilities from the environment for elements such as Mn, Zn, Ca, K, Mg, Cd, Cu, Pb and As. Higher contents of Cd, Pb and As in herbs may be attributed to the uptake of these elements from polluted soil due to industrial and antropogenic activities. It was found that commercial scientific Chinese medicine, SCDBT, contains more elemental concentrations than that of herbs used in the prescription, which may indicate that possible contamination could be caused by unknown ingredients added in the process. A much higher toxic elemental content, such as Pb, Cd and As, has been found in CFH and the daily intake of these elements by the patient will exceed the PTDI values.

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The neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a functional food ingredient of growing importance in the preparation of GABA-enriched germinated brown rice (GBR). Quantification of GABA levels during germination in a locally developed high yielding red rice variety (UKMRC-9) was carried out via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis using pre-column chemical derivatisation with 2-hydroxynaphthaldehyde (HN) using a UV detection system. Factors that influence rice germination such as soaking time and temperature were also studied. The results of this study showed that the UKMRC-9 rice variety soaked in water for 6 hours at 35 °C yielded the highest value for both germination percentage (95.4±1.2%) and GABA content (411 μg g-1). This suggests that long soaking times of 1-4 days can be substituted by short soaking times to produce high GABA levels in germinated brown rice.

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Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry
Authors:
Songsheng Jiang
,
Zhiyuan Chang
,
Min Zhao
,
Yonggang Zhao
,
X. L. Zhao
, and
W. E. Kieser

Summary  

Under an IAEA project for upgrading of reference materials, a new determination of the 129I concentration in the IAEA-375 reference material was performed. A chemical procedure was set up for the preparation of the AgI samples. Measurement of 129I was carried out using the IsoTrace Tandetron AMS facility at University of Toronto. To ensure the accuracy of the calibration, the tuning of the AMS system was iterated using not only the QC (quality control) samples but also all unknown samples. To minimize any possible current-dependent effects between 129I and 127I ions in the injection magnet, low Cs+ sputtering beam intensity (10 μA) was used. The reproducibility in determining the 129I/127I ratio in the IAEA-375 AgI samples was less than 1%. The activity concentration (C A) of 129I in the IAEA-375 reference material was determined to be 1.59±0.08 mBq . kg-1 at 95% confidence level. The present value is about 7% lower than the IAEA recommended value (1.7 mBq . kg-1) listed in 2000 or 20% lower than the recommended value (2 mBq . kg-1) listed in the IAEA AQCS Reference Material Catalogue (2002-2003). Since the IAEA recommended values for IAEA-375 materials was issued about 10 years ago and error range of the recommended values were large, the results we obtained might be useful in upgrading the recommended value.

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Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry
Authors:
U. Sansone
,
Chang Kim
,
G. Kis-Benedek
,
R. Schorn
,
E. Zeiller
,
A. Qaribov
,
V. Huseynov
, and
A. Chupov

Abstract  

In the frame of an International Atomic Energy Agency Technical Cooperation project, a radiological survey was performed in the Araks and Kura Rivers (Azerbaijan). Sediment samples, and where available, aquatic plants were collected along these two rivers and their inflow and tributary rivers. 137Cs, 238U, 234U, 239+240Pu, 238Pu, 90Sr and 241Am activity concentrations were measured. The radionuclide levels measured were relatively low, and in most cases below the detection limit, as compared with those from other areas of the world which have been directly affected by effluents from nuclear installations or influenced by the Chernobyl accident. The results indicated that the radionuclides are of natural origin or attributable to the atmospheric fallout from nuclear weapons tests or to the Chernobyl-derived deposition.

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