scholarly journals Determination of 7Be, 210Pb and 22Na Activity in Air and Rainwater samples by Gamma-ray Spectroscopy

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 108
Author(s):  
M. Savva ◽  
M. Anagnostakis

The activity concentration of cosmogenic radionuclides in atmospheric aerosol has been used in many applications, such as air mass transport models and solar activity reconstructions. One of the most studied cosmogenic radionuclides is 7Be which is being monitored at the Nuclear Engineering Department of the National Technical University of Athens (NED- NTUA) since many years, with high accuracy and precision. Sodium-22 is another cosmogenic radionuclide met in such studies, however less reported due to its very low activity concentration, of the order of 1 μBq/m3 [1], [2] – roughly four orders of magnitude lower than that of 7Be. Besides cosmogenic radionuclides, radionuclides of terrestrial origin like the 222Rn progeny 210Pb are also used in atmospheric aerosol studies. Lead-210 serves as an ideal tracer of continental air masses because 222Rn emission from oceans and lakes is negligible (<1%) compared to land sources. However, its deposition exhibits geographic and seasonal variations depending on 226Ra content of the top soils, soil-porosity and meteorology of a particular region [3]. Values reported for 210Pb activity in the air range from 0.1 to 3.4 mBq/m3 [4]. During this research, an investigation regarding the detection of 210Pb and 22Na in atmospheric aerosol and the determination of 7Be/22Na ratio has been conducted at NED-NTUA. Sampling and analysis methods were appropriately selected to allow for the detection of all three nuclides in aerosol samples. In order to study the role of precipitation in surface air 7Be, 210Pb and 22Na activity concentration, a procedure for collecting and analyzing rainwater was also developed. From the results obtained so far it is concluded that with the sampling and analysis procedures followed, 210Pb can be easily determined with reasonable accuracy. As far as 22Na is concerned, it was concluded that it can be detected although with high uncertainty, since its activity concentration is within the limits of detection.

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sotiria Papandreou ◽  
Marilia Savva ◽  
Konstantinos Karfopoulos ◽  
Dimitrios Karangelos ◽  
Marios Anagnostakis ◽  
...  

The activity concentration of 7Be in atmospheric aerosol can exhibit seasonal variations due to various physical processes taking place in the troposphere and stratosphere, as well as due to solar activity. An investigation of these variations has been carried out at the Nuclear Engineering Department of the National Technical University of Athens over a two year period (3/2008-4/2010). In the framework of this study, sampling and analysis methods were appropriately selected to allow for the observation of short-term 7Be air activity concentration variations, using a 4-hour sampling interval, while taking in consideration type A and type B uncertainties introduced in the measurements. In order to study the role of precipitation in surface air 7Be activity concentration variations, a procedure for collecting and analyzing rainwater was developed. The techniques used in the present study allowed for the observation of seasonal and diurnal 7Be concentration variations, as well as correlations between 7Be activity concentration and the meteorological parameters of air temperature and relative humidity.


2016 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 1660237
Author(s):  
Huda Al-Sulaiti ◽  
Tabassum Nasir ◽  
K. S. Al Mugren ◽  
N. Alkhomashi ◽  
N. Al-Dahan ◽  
...  

The goal of this study was to establish the first baseline measurements for radioactivity concentration of the artificial radionuclide [Formula: see text]Cs in soil samples collected from the Qatarian peninsula. The work focused on the determination of the activity concentrations levels of man-made radiation in 129 soil samples collected across the landscape of the State of Qatar. All the samples were collected before the most recent accident in Japan, “the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant accident”. The activity concentrations have been measured via high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometry using a hyper-pure germanium detector situated in a low-background environment with a copper inner-plated passive lead shield. A radiological map showing the activity concentrations of [Formula: see text]Cs is presented in this work. The concentration was[Formula: see text]found to range from 0.21 to 15.41 Bq/kg. The highest activity concentration of [Formula: see text]Cs was observed in sample no. 26 in North of Qatar. The mean value was found to be around 2.15 ± 0.27 Bq/kg. These values lie within the expected range relative to the countries in the region. It is expected that this contamination is mainly due to the Chernobyl accident on 26 April 1986, but this conclusion cannot be confirmed because of the lack of data before this accident.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elio Tomarchio

This work was aimed to search for a correlation between outdoor 222Rn air concentration and 210Pb activity in particulate samples collected on a filter. The existence of a correlation could support the hypothesis that both 222Rn and its long-lived product 210Pb are embedded into the same air masses and undergo the same air transport phenomena. Lead-210 activity was determined by means of gamma ray spectrometric measurement carried out a few days after the sampling whereas 222Rn concentration was measured through a commercial monitor. Experimental tests allowed to obtain a weak correlation between 222Rn and 210Pb air concentration as a preliminary result due to high uncertainties of outdoor 222Rn concentration measurements.


1987 ◽  
Vol 26 (01) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Selvaraj ◽  
M. R. Suresh ◽  
G. McLean ◽  
D. Willans ◽  
C. Turner ◽  
...  

The role of glycoconjugates in tumor cell differentiation has been well documented. We have examined the expression of the two anomers of the Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen on the surface of human, canine and murine tumor cell membranes both in vitro and in vivo. This has been accomplished through the synthesis of the disaccharide terminal residues in both a and ß configuration. Both entities were used to generate murine monoclonal antibodies which recognized the carbohydrate determinants. The determination of fine specificities of these antibodies was effected by means of cellular uptake, immunohistopathology and immunoscintigraphy. Examination of pathological specimens of human and canine tumor tissue indicated that the expressed antigen was in the β configuration. More than 89% of all human carcinomas tested expressed the antigen in the above anomeric form. The combination of synthetic antigens and monoclonal antibodies raised specifically against them provide us with invaluable tools for the study of tumor marker expression in humans and their respective animal tumor models.


1981 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Yamamoto ◽  
K Watanabe ◽  
Y Ando ◽  
H Iri ◽  
N Fujiyama ◽  
...  

It has been suggested that heparin caused potentiation of aggregation induced by ADP or epinephrine. The exact mechanism of heparin-induced platelet activation, however, remained unknown. In this paper, we have investigated the role of anti-thrombin III ( AT ) in heparin-induced platelet activation using purified AT and AT depleted plasma. When ADP or epinephrine was added to citrated PRP one minute after addition of heparin ( 1 u/ml, porcine intestinal mucosal heparin, Sigma Co. USA ), marked enhancement of platelet aggregation was observed, compared with the degree of aggregation in the absence of heparin. However, in platelet suspensions prepared in modified Tyrode’s solution, heparin exhibited no potentiating effect on platelet aggregation induced by epinephrine or ADP. Potentiation of epinephrine- or ADP-induced platelet aggregation by heparin was demonstrated when purified AT was added to platelet suspensions at a concentration of 20 μg/ml. AT depleted plasma, which was prepared by immunosorption using matrix-bound antibodies to AT, retained no AT, while determination of α1-antitrypsinα2- macroglobulin and fibrinogen in AT depleted plasma produced values which corresponded to those of the original plasma when dilution factor was taken into account. The activities of coagulation factors were also comparable to those of the original plasma. Heparin exhibited potentiating effect on ADP- or epinephrine-induced aggregation of platelets in original plasma, but no effect in AT depleted plasma. When purified AT was added back to AT depleted plasma at a concentration of 20 μg/ml, potentiation of platelet aggregation by heparin was clearly demonstrated.Our results suggest that effect of heparin on platelet aggregation is also mediated by anti-thrombin III.


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