On the occurrence, origin, and intake of the nuclides, 210Po and 210Pb, in sclerotia of Wolfiporia cocos collected in China

The dried sclerotium of the fungus Wolfiporia cocos is edible and has medicinal value. This study aimed to understand the accumulation of radioactivity arising from the alpha 210Po, and beta-emitting 210Pb, in the sclerotium’s shell and core and assess a potential effective dose for consumers. Sclerotia were collected in the wild and from cultivars in China’s Anhui and Yunnan provinces. The mean values of 210Po activity concentration levels were 0.36 Bq kg−1 dry weight in the core and 12.0 Bq kg−1 dw in the shell; 210Pb activities were 0.43 and 9.84 Bq kg−1 dw, respectively. The potential effective radiation doses from core layers (as a major raw material of the sclerotium) ranged from 0.13 to 3.43 µSv kg−1 dw from 210Po decay and from 0.11 to 1.52 µSv kg−1 dw from 210Pb decay. Corresponding values for shell ranged from 0.80 to 42.4 for 210Po and from 0.53 to 13.6 µSv kg−1 dw for 210Pb. In general, the intake of W. cocos sclerotia varies between consumers, but this would not significantly change the effective radiation doses from 210Po and 210Pb isotopes. The consumption thus appears to be safe from a radiological protection point of view. Graphical abstract

Natural and anthropogenic radioactivity in some vegetables and fruits commonly consumed in the Western Black Sea region of Turkey

In this study, the activity concentration of 226Ra, 232Th, 40K, and 137Cs in some vegetable and fruit samples frequently consumed in Kastamonu province located in the West Black Sea region of Turkey were determined using a gamma-ray spectrometer. The activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K varied from 0.8 ± 0.1 to 32.8 ± 1.3, 0.7 ± 0.1 to 41.3 ± 21 and 391.8 ± 18.3 to 4679.0 ± 311.4 Bq kg−1 (dw), respectively, in twenty-eight vegetables and 1.3 ± 0.1 to 12.6 ± 0.4, 1.4 ± 0.1 to 15.0 ± 0.5 and 133.0 ± 84 to 777.0 ± 69.4 Bq kg−1 (dw), respectively, in seven fruit samples. The highest activity concentration of 226Ra and 232Th was measured in the garlic sample, while the highest activity concentration of 40K was measured in the spinach sample. Artificial radionuclide 137Cs was measured only in four vegetable samples; its activity concentration in garlic, eggplant, cucumber and carrot samples was determined as 9.6 ± 0.3, 3.1 ± 0.1, 3.1 ± 0.1 and 2.2 ± 0.1 Bq kg−1 (dw), respectively. The results obtained were compared with the results of similar studies in the literature. Annual effective radiation dose to adults due to the internal irradiation caused by ingestion of the investigated vegetable and fruit samples, and the corresponding excess lifetime cancer risk were estimated as 201 µSv and 8.9 × 10−5, respectively. The contribution of 40K to the total annual effective radiation dose was found as approximately 70%.

Radiation Doses and Risk Assessment during Computed Tomography of the Chest in COVID-19 Patients

Accounting for the effective dose (ED, mSv) and calculating the radiation risk during CT is necessary to predict the long-term consequences of radiation exposure on the population. We analyzed the results of 1003 CT examinations of the chest in patients with suspected COVID-19 in the city diagnostic center. The average ED and confidence intervals (p ≤ 0.05) for patients with a single CT scan were: children (12–14 years) 2.59 ± 0.19 mSv, adolescents (15–19 years) 3.23 ± 0.17 mSv, adults (20–64 years), 3.43 ± 0.08 mSv, older persons (65 years and older) 3.28 ± 0.19 mSv. The maximum radiation risk values were 31.2*10–5 in women children and 29.3*10–5 in women adolescents, which exceeds the risk values for men in these age groups by 2.3 and 1.9 times, respectively. For the group of adult patients the risk was 11.2*10–5 in men and 17.4*10–5 in women, which is 1.6 times higher than in men. All these risk values are in the range of 10*10–5–100*10–5, which corresponds to the level LOW. For the group of older age patients, the radiation risk was 2.6*10–5, which corresponds to the level of 1*10–5–10*10–5, VERY LOW. Our materials shows in detail the technique to evaluate effective radiation doses for chest CT and calculate the radiation risk of the carcinogenic effects of this exposure.

How Can an Updated 320 Multi Detector Computed Tomography Low Dose Protocol Help in Assessment of Coronary Heart Disease

Background Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the single most common cause of death in the developed world, responsible for about I in every 5 deaths. The morbidity, mortality, and socioeconomic importance of this disease make timely accurate diagnosis and cost-effective management of CAD of the utmost importance. The recent years showed an overall increase in the use of CT for imaging of the heart and coronary arteries, coronary CT angiography is a rapidly growing technique that offers distinct advantages over traditional imaging techniques. However, because of rapid growth of this technique, radiation dose safety has been placed under the spotlight. Integration of dosesaving techniques will go a long way in maintaining diagnostic image quality and improving patient safety. Objectives The purpose of our study is the assessment of coronary artery disease by 320 MDCT and its capabilities of maintaining the quality of images and dose reduction improving patient safety. Patients and Methods This study was performed at New Cairo Police Hospital (Radiology department) and at Center in East Cairo, From October 2018 to October 2019, a total of 39 patients who had referred for CTCA for suspicion of coronary artery disease enrolled in our prospective study. Results In this study we used MDCT 64 with retrospective ECG-gating in 25.6% of patients (10 patients) and MDCT 320 with Retrospective ECG-gating was used in 25.6% (10 patients) and with Prospective ECG-gating in 48.8% (19 patients).we compared the radiation dose between prospective ECG-gating and retrospective ECG-gating acquisition techniques among all study population by the effective dose (ED) which is calculated from the DLP of the coronary scan. The effective radiation dose (ED) median was significantly lower in the prospective ECG-gating technique (7 msv) in comparison to retrospective ECG-gating technique (23 msv). We also compared the difference in radiation dose between MDCT 320 and 64 using retrospective ECG gating acquisition technique, the median (ED) was significantly lower in the 320 MI)CT technique (20 msv) in comparison to 64 MDCT (26 msv). The last comparison was the difference Of radiation dose between patients who underwent through MDCT 320 using two different techniques (prospective and retrospective), the median effective dose was lower in the prospective ECG-gating technique (7 msv) in comparison to retrospective ECG-gating technique (20 msv) this difference is also of high statistical significant value. Conclusion Prospective ECG-Gated CT coronary angiography protocol impressively reduces effective radiation doses in comparison to retrospective ECG-gated technique on 320 MDCT and is still sensitive for diagnosing significant coronary stenosis for patients with suspected CAD. Retrospective Coronary CT angiography can be performed with 320-MDCT with less radiation doses compared to 64-MDCT.

Signaling through TLR5 mitigates lethal radiation damage by neutrophil-dependent release of MMP-9

Acute radiation syndrome (ARS) is a major cause of lethality following radiation disasters. A TLR5 agonist, entolimod, is among the most powerful experimental radiation countermeasures and shows efficacy in rodents and non-human primates as a prophylactic (radioprotection) and treatment (radiomitigation) modality. While the prophylactic activity of entolimod has been connected to the suppression of radiation-induced apoptosis, the mechanism by which entolimod functions as a radiomitigator remains poorly understood. Uncovering this mechanism has significant and broad-reaching implications for the clinical development and improvement of TLR5 agonists for use as an effective radiation countermeasure in scenarios of mass casualty resulting from accidental exposure to ionizing radiation. Here, we demonstrate that in contrast to radioprotection, neutrophils are essential for the radiomitigative activity of entolimod in a mouse model of lethal ARS. Neutrophils express functional TLR5 and rapidly exit the bone marrow (BM), accumulate in solid tissues, and release MMP-9 following TLR5 stimulation which is accompanied by an increase in the number of active hematopoietic pluripotent precursors (HPPs) in the BM. Importantly, recombinant MMP-9 by itself has radiomitigative activity and, in the absence of neutrophils, accelerates the recovery of the hematopoietic system. Unveiling this novel TLR5-neutrophil-MMP-9 axis of radiomitigation opens new opportunities for the development of efficacious radiation countermeasures to treat ARS following accidental radiation disasters.

210Po and 210Pb in King Bolete (Boletus edulis) and Related Mushroom Species: Estimated Effective Radiation Dose and Geospatial Distribution in Central and Eastern Europe

210Po and 210Pb occur naturally and are the most radiotoxic isotopes of the uranium (U) decay chain. Samples of Boletus edulis and related mushroom species, including B. pinophilus, B. reticulatus, B. luridus and B. impolitus, collected from Poland and Belarus were investigated for the activity concentrations of these isotopes and also for their potential health risk through adult human consumption. The results showed that spatially, the occurrence of 210Po and 210Po was heterogeneous, with activities varying from 0.91 to 4.47 Bq∙kg−1 dry biomass and from 0.82 to 5.82 Bq∙kg−1 db, respectively. Caps and stipes of the fruiting bodies showed similar levels of contamination. Consumption of boletes foraged in Poland could result in exposure to a combined radiation dose of 10 µSv∙kg−1 db from both isotopes. This dose is not significant compared to the total annual effective radiation dose of 210Po and 210Pb (54–471 µSv∙kg−1) from all sources, suggesting that these mushrooms are comparatively safe for human consumption.

Estimation of effective radiation dose for households living in rare earth mines in Nam Xe, Lai Chau province

According to the United Nations Scientific Council on the Effects of Atomic Radiation(UNSCEAR), the global average dose level for the community is 2.4mSv/year. People living in the areas with high levels of radiation will cause adverse effects on their health. There are two main components that cause the dose of radiation, mainly due to the inhalation of radon and the extra dose of gamma radiation. The paper presents the results of assessment of natural effective radiation doses on the basis of the projected outpatient dosimetry in 70 households living in Mau and Mo village of Nam Xe, Phong Tho distrist, Lai Chau province.