Investigation of thermochemical Features of Gamma Irradiated Tryptophan Stereoisomers

In this work, the use of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is demonstrated as a powerful technique that can provide accurate thermodynamic property values of nutritional supplements such as tryptophan. Nutritional supplements require a decontamination procedure and irradiation appears as a promising technique for this purpose. The valuable properties of tryptophan for food and pharmaceutical industry as dietary supplement have led to increasing interest in its technological behaviour. L-, D- isomers and DL-racemic mixture of tryptophan irradiated and non-irradiated were studied by DSC. Irradiation was performed at room temperature with gamma radiations using a 137Cs source, the irradiation dose range was between 0.6- 10 kGy. Two steps decomposition pattern for both irradiated and non-irradiated samples up to 350 oC was found. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic studies were performed. The obtained results indicate that the irradiation process does not inhibit the thermal properties of tryptophan when irradiated up to 10 kGy. The HPLC method was employed to evidence the degradation of the irradiated material. Resumen. En este trabajo, se demuestra el uso de calorimetría diferencial de barrido (DSC) como una técnica poderosa que puede proporcionar valores precisos de propiedades termodinámicas de suplementos nutricionales como el triptófano. Los suplementos nutricionales requieren un procedimiento de descontaminación y la irradiación aparece como una técnica prometedora para este propósito. Las valiosas propiedades del triptófano para la industria alimentaria y farmacéutica como suplemento dietético han provocado un creciente interés por su comportamiento tecnológico. Los isómeros L-, D- y la mezcla racémica DL- de triptófano irradiado y no irradiado fueron estudiados por DSC. La irradiación se realizó a temperatura ambiente con radiaciones gamma utilizando una fuente de 137Cs, el rango de dosis de irradiación estuvo entre 0.6 - 10 kGy. Se encontró un patrón de descomposición de dos pasos para muestras irradiadas y no irradiadas hasta 350 ºC. Se realizaron estudios espectroscópicos de infrarrojos por la transformada de Fourier. Los resultados obtenidos indican que el proceso de irradiación no inhibe las propiedades térmicas del triptófano cuando se irradia hasta 10 kGy. Se empleó el método HPLC para evidenciar la degradación del material irradiado.

Wireless Backpack System for Detection of Radioactive Cesium on Contaminated Soil Using Portable Plastic Scintillator with Efficient Readout Device

The miniaturization and usability of radiation detectors make it increasingly possible to use mobile instruments to detect and monitor gamma radiations. Here, a Bluetooth-based mobile detection system for integrated interaction in a backpack was designed and implemented to smart equipment for the detection of radioactive cesium on contaminated soil. The radiation measurement system was demonstrated in the form of a backpack using a quantum dot (QD)-loaded plastic scintillator manufactured and prepared directly in this study, and it can be measured by a person in the wireless framework of integrated interaction. The QD-loaded plastic scintillator was measured after setting the distance from the contaminated soil to 20, 50, and 100 mm. As a result, the detection efficiency of the commercial plastic scintillator (EJ-200) was calculated to be 11.81% and that of the QD-loaded plastic scintillator was 15.22%, which proved the higher detection efficiency performance than the commercial plastic scintillator. The measurement result was transmitted to a personal computer using Bluetooth as a portable system. In the future, this wireless system design could be expanded as a wireless communication system equipped with a global positioning system to detect and measure radioactively contaminated environments.

Characterization and measurement of gamma radiation shielding of a new tungsten-lignin composite

This research has been carried on to analyze the capability of a new composite to be effectively used as shielding of gamma radiation. The preparation of a metal-organic composite formed by tungsten and Kraft lignin is presented. Samples have been characterized through X-rays and scanning electron microscopy measurements. The results led to the study of the different phase formations. The microscopic analyzes indicate that two different phases are present in the composite. The absence of oxidation in the process even after the temperature treatment imposed to form the sample has also been noticed. Measurements of the attenuation have been performed to study its ability to absorb gamma radiation. A sample of cobalt 60 (Co-60), for which the peak energies are at 1173 keV and 1332 keV, was used as a source of gamma radiation in the experiment of attenuation. The measured attenuation of gamma radiations when the composite is placed to act as a shield is only 16% smaller than the attenuation obtained for standard pure tungsten. This is a clear indication that the new metal-organic composite is suitable for the fabrication of devices dedicated to shielding radiation, with the advantage of being easier to manipulate.

DETERMINATION OF LETHAL DOSE OF RICE (ORYZA SATIVA L.) GENOTYPES BY RADIO SENSITIVITY TEST

The purpose of the research was to determine the effects of gamma ray on seed germination, shoot length, root length, and shoot and root fresh weight of Rice (Oryza sativa L. spp. Indica) to identify the lethal dosage of the radiation. For this research, two rice genotypes viz., Binadhan-17 and Galon were examined for varietal differences in radio sensitivity to gamma radiations. Dry healthy seeds were figured to variable doses of gamma radiations i.e., 50-1000 Gy with 50 Gy intervals using 60Co as the radiation source. Highly significant differences among the genotypes (p<0.01) for all traits and treatments were observed. The differences among radiation treatments were highly significant (p<0.01) for germination percentage of seed, shoot and root length, shoot and root fresh weight. The genotype × dose interactions were highly significant for germination percentage, shoot length, root length, shoot fresh weight and root fresh weight indicating no stability of performance for characters across different radiation levels. Mutagenic treatments shifted mean values towards negative direction for almost all traits but not in a definite pattern. In general, genotypes displayed variable response towards gamma radiations and there LD25 and LD50 were different.

Effect of Radiation Processing on Water Absorption and Germination of Kodo and Kutki Millets

Background: In pursuit of exploring gamma irradiation as a technology-intervention for de-husking of Kodo and Kutki millets grown widely, authors of this paper observed that irradiation leads to easy de-husking of hardest Kodo grains. Calibration for appropriate dose of irradiation is needed and hence, this study was planned. This technology, if established, may check millet farmers shifting to other crops.Methods: Kodo and Kutki millets were irradiated by gamma radiations for doses of 0 kGy to 10 kGy. Water absorption capacity and germination potential of irradiated grains were measured to determine the dose for desired results.Result: Water absorption and germination potential of Kodo and Kutki grains improved on irradiation; dose of 2.5 kGy and above resulted in an increase in the quantity of water absorbed and rate of water absorption. The germination also increased but registering maxima at 7.5 kGy for Kodo and 5.0 kGy for Kutki. Irradiation at doses higher than maxima caused decline. Thus, appropriate dose of irradiation was found to be 7.5 kGy for Kodo and 5 kGy for Kutki.

Low-level ionizing radiation and associated risk in an urban environment: the importance of both paving and building materials

&lt;p&gt;Natural radioactivity depends on primordial radionuclides which decay across a chain of transformations to achieve a stable nuclear state. Transformations involve the emission of particles and photons whose energy can be harmful to organisms even at low-dose. K-40, Th-232 and U-238 are responsible for most of the natural emission of gamma rays from the earth&amp;#8217;s crust and volcanic rocks are, in general, the most emissive materials.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Volcanic rocks and related volcano-sedimentary lithified deposits have been quarried for construction purposes and for road paving, since the Greek times, in the area where the city Naples is located, halfway between the volcanic districts of Phlegrean Field and Mt. Somma-Vesuvius, respectively. For centuries, lithified pyroclastic products, such as grey or yellow tuffs, have been used mainly for buildings and vertical structures; lava blocks from Phlegrean Fields and, since 18&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; century, from Vesuvian effusive materials have been historically used to pave the roads of the old town.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;However, in the last few decades,&amp;#160;&lt;span&gt;deteriorated &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;historical paving materials of some roads serving areas undergoing renovation have been partially replaced by volcanic materials of Etnean origin (proceeding from Sicily, indeed) or covered/replaced by non-geologic materials (NGMs) (e.g., asphalt).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Considering that 120,000 people live in the old town (over an area of 4 sqkm) being potentially exposed to low-dose ionizing gamma radiations, a survey to estimate the contribution of geological materials to the ambient dose equivalent rate (ADER) was completed. A radiological risk assessment was also completed.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Specifically, 2548 measurements of ADER (&amp;#181;Sv/h) were made in the open air at 0.2 (ADER0.2) and at 1 m (ADER1) above the ground, respectively, using a handheld gamma-ray spectrometer. Besides, a total of 13 samples of paving materials were collected and analyzed by means of a high purity germanium detector at the Center for Ecological-Noosphere in Armenia.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Results revealed a significant activity of all materials, except for NGMs. ADER1 and ADER0.2 values &amp;#8203;&amp;#8203;showed a strong dependence on the distance from the ground in the streets paved with geologic materials, while the distance from the ground resulted to be not relevant for ADER in areas paved by NGMs .&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Based on the ADER1 data, a Monte Carlo simulation was conducted to calculate the outdoor excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCRout) for the population of the study area and for each district belonging to the old town.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In one of the districts showing the highest average ELCRout, 51 additional ADER1 measurements were also conducted inside private dwellings to assess the indoor ELCR (ELCRin). Finally, the total excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCRtot) was estimated by summing values of ELCRout to ELCRin.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The average ELCRout obtained for the entire study area (1.33E-03) and for individual districts (from 5.20E-04 to 1.44E-03) exceeds the world average reference value (2.9E-04).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;ELCRin (4.35E-03) and ELCRtot (5.79E-03) are also higher than the average reference values proposed in the literature.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This study revealed that low-dose gamma radiations, emitted by paving or building materials of volcanic origin can pose a radiological risk to human health.&lt;/p&gt;

Measurement of Terrestrial Gamma Radiation Level and Annual Effective Dose in and Around Nuggihalli-Holenarasipura Schist Belts, Karnataka State, India

All individual living beings on the earth are exposed continuously to the radiations coming from terrestrial and extraterrestrial sources and also from their own bodies. The indoor and outdoor ambient gamma radiations are measured in and around Nuggihalli- Holenarasipura schist belts of Hassan district in Karnataka state. The measurements are carried out using the environment radiation dosimeter UR 705 which is a portable detector. Absorbed dose rate and annual effective dose rate are estimated by measuring the exposure rate. The total annual effective dose calculated from both indoor and outdoor varies from 0.68 to1.62 mSv.y-1 with an average value of 1.16 mSv.y-1. The calculated indoor and outdoor annual effective doses are found to be higher than the world average.

Gross alpha and beta radioactivity concentration from well water within Butura Kampani community of Bokkos Local Government, Plateau State, Jos

Some pollutants are radionuclides. Natural occuring radioactive materials (NORM) of the earth crust also pollute the water sources which emits alpha, beta and gamma radiations. Samples were collected from 10 different Wells within the Butura Kampani and taken to Zaria for counting and results came out showing the alpha and beta below the recommended values from ICRP and WHO

Investigation of the Mass Attenuation Coefficients, Effective Atomic Numbers and Electron Densities for Compounds of Painkiller

In this study the effects of gamma radiations with compounds are an important subject in the field of medicine, radiation shielding and radiation physics. With technological advances the using of radiation has increased in the medicine in the last century. The mass absorpsion coefficient (µ/ρ) is the fundamental a quantity characterizing gamma ray and is of major importance in radiation shielding. In this study, the mass absorption coefficient of painkillers named Ketoprofen, Flurbiprofen, Etodolac, Ibuprofen, Meloxicam, Diclofenac and Aspirin were calculated at energy range from 4.65 keV to 59.543 keV using the WinXCom data programme. In addition total atomic (σta), moleculer (σtm), electronic cross-section (σte), effective atomic number (Zeff), effective electron density (Neff) were calculated.