The influence of biotic and abiotic factors on 137Cs accumulation in higher fungi after the accident at Chernobyl NPP

Publication date: September 2016
Source:Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 161
Author(s): N. Zarubina
Levels of soil contamination with ¹³⁷Cs, the belonging of fungi to a certain ecological group, the localization depth of the main part of mycelium in soil are the primary factors influencing the value of ¹³⁷Cs specific activity in higher fungi after the accident at Chernobyl NPP. It has been found that the value of ¹³⁷Cs specific activity in fungi of one species could vary by more than 10 times during a vegetation period. A correlation between the changes of ¹³⁷Cs content in fungi during the vegetation period and the amount of precipitates during various periods preceding the collection of samples has not been determined. An assumption has been proposed stating dependence between peculiarities of mycelium growth during the vegetation period and the changes of ¹³⁷Cs specific activity in fungi.



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The transfer of radiocesium from the bark to the stemflow of chestnut trees (Castanea crenata) contaminated by radionuclides from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant accident

Publication date: September 2016
Source:Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 161
Author(s): Yoshito Sasaki, Hironobu Abe, Katsuaki Mitachi, Takayoshi Watanabe, Yasuo Ishii, Tadafumi Niizato
We report on the behavior of radiocesium in tree bark and its transfer into the stemflows of chestnut trees in a forest in the Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. In stems that were present at the time of the accident, the radiocesium concentration of the bark was found to be approximately 10 times that of the wood. The average ¹³⁷Cs concentration of the dissolved fraction (<0.45 μm) in the stemflow was measured to be around 10 Bq/L. The ¹³⁷Cs concentration ratio [present at the time of the accident (Bq/kg) in the bark/the dissolved fraction in the stemflow (Bq/L)] was approximately 10³. A strong positive correlation was observed between the radiocesium concentration and the electrical conductivity of the dissolved fraction of the stemflow; this result suggests that radiocesium and electrolytes have the same elution mechanism from the tree. The size fractionation analysis of the <0.45 μm fraction through ultrafiltration revealed that the radiocesium was present as an almost dissolved species. Some of the particles in the particulate fraction (>0.45 μm) of the stemflow were strongly adsorbed radiocesium.



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A database of radionuclide activity and metal concentrations for the Alligator Rivers Region uranium province

Publication date: October 2016
Source:Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volumes 162–163
Author(s): Che Doering, Andreas Bollhöfer
This paper presents a database of radionuclide activity and metal concentrations for the Alligator Rivers Region (ARR) uranium province in the Australian wet-dry tropics. The database contains 5060 sample records and 57,473 concentration values. The data are for animal, plant, soil, sediment and water samples collected by the Environmental Research Institute of the Supervising Scientist (ERISS) as part of its statutory role to undertake research and monitoring into the impacts of uranium mining on the environment of the ARR. Concentration values are provided in the database for 11 radionuclides (²²⁷Ac, ⁴⁰K, ²¹⁰Pb, ²¹⁰Po, ²²⁶Ra, ²²⁸Ra, ²²⁸Th, ²³⁰Th, ²³²Th, ²³⁴U, ²³⁸U) and 26 metals (Al, As, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Rb, S, Sb, Se, Sr, Th, U, V, Zn). Potential uses of the database are discussed.



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Editorial board

Publication date: September 2016
Source:Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 161





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Characteristics of initial deposition and behavior of radiocesium in forest ecosystems of different locations and species affected by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

Publication date: September 2016
Source:Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 161
Author(s): Masabumi Komatsu, Shinji Kaneko, Shinta Ohashi, Katsushi Kuroda, Tetsuya Sano, Shigeto Ikeda, Satoshi Saito, Yoshiyuki Kiyono, Mario Tonosaki, Satoru Miura, Akio Akama, Takuya Kajimoto, Masamichi Takahashi
After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, information about stand-level spatial patterns of radiocesium initially deposited in the surrounding forests was essential for predicting the future dynamics of radiocesium and suggesting a management plan for contaminated forests. In the first summer (approximately 6 months after the accident), we separately estimated the amounts of radiocesium (¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs; Bq m⁻²) in the major components (trees, organic layers, and soils) in forests of three sites with different contamination levels. For a Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) forest studied at each of the three sites, the radiocesium concentration greatly differed among the components, with the needle and organic layer having the highest concentrations. For these cedar forests, the proportion of the ¹³⁷Cs stock in the aboveground tree biomass varied from 22% to 44% of the total ¹³⁷Cs stock; it was 44% in highly contaminated sites (7.0 × 10⁵ Bq m⁻²) but reduced to 22% in less contaminated sites (1.1 × 10⁴ Bq m⁻²). In the intermediate contaminated site (5.0–5.8 × 10⁴ Bq m⁻²), 34% of radiocesium was observed in the aboveground tree biomass of the Japanese cedar stand. However, this proportion was considerably smaller (18–19%) in the nearby mixed forests of the Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora) and deciduous broad-leaved trees. Non-negligible amounts of ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs were detected in both the sapwood and heartwood of all the studied tree species. This finding suggested that the uptake or translocation of radiocesium had already started within 6 months after the accident. The belowground compartments were mostly present in the organic layer and the uppermost (0–5 cm deep) mineral soil layer at all the study sites. We discussed the initial transfer process of radiocesium deposited in the forest and inferred that the type of initial deposition (i.e., dry versus wet radiocesium deposition), the amount of rainfall after the accident, and the leaf biomass by the tree species may influence differences in the spatial pattern of radiocesium by study plots. The results of the present study and further studies of the spatial pattern of radiocesium are important for modeling future radiocesium distribution in contaminated forest ecosystems.



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Neurons that Underlie Drosophila melanogaster Reproductive Behaviors: Detection of a Large Male-Bias in Gene Expression in Fruitless-Expressing Neurons

Male and female reproductive behaviors in Drosophila melanogaster are vastly different, but neurons that express sex-specifically spliced fruitless transcripts (fru P1) underlie these behaviors in both sexes. How this set of neurons can generate such different behaviors between the two sexes is an unresolved question. A particular challenge is that fru P1-expressing neurons comprise only 2-5% of the adult nervous system, and so studies of adult head tissue or whole brain may not reveal crucial differences. Translating Ribosome Affinity Purification (TRAP) identifies the actively translated pool of mRNAs from fru P1-expressing neurons allowing a sensitive, cell-type-specific assay. We find four times more male-biased than female-biased genes in TRAP mRNAs from fru P1-expressing neurons. This suggests a potential mechanism to generate dimorphism in behavior. The male-biased genes may direct male behaviors by establishing cell fate in a similar context of gene expression observed in females. These results suggest a possible global mechanism for how distinct behaviors can arise from a shared set of neurons.

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To compare and evaluate the anti-inflammatory efficacy of terminalia arjuna (aqueous extract of bark) with diclofenac sodium on rats

2016-05-31T03-23-57Z
Source: International Journal of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology
Maninder Singh Rana, Rani Walia, Alok Dixit, Kaustubh Raina.
Background: Terminalia arjuna is a well-known Indian medicinal plant whose bark is extensively used in ayurvedic medicine. It is one of the most versatile medicinal plants having a wide spectrum of biological activity. The objective of this study was to study and evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of Terminalia arjuna on carragennan induced paw edema in sprague dwaley rats. Methods: Terminalia arjuna aqueous extract of bark in 200, 400 and 800mg/kg doses were administered to sprague dawely rats prior to induction of carrageenan induced paw edema. Statistical analysis: was done by using student t test. P

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