Measurement of Tritiated Moisture in Gas Stream by Collection Method Using P2O5 Desiccant

A measurement method of tritiated moisture in gas stream has been developed by taking advantage of the high hygroscopic and deliquescent performances of phosphorus pentoxide P₂O₅. The method includes two techniques; one is of collecting moisture from gas stream using the desiccant, the other is of preparing homogeneous liquid scintillation cocktails containing the phosphide and the collected moisture. By introducing an idea of common use of standard vials as the collector cells disposable and the scintillation cocktail containers, the treatment process has been simplified and the chances of error arising in process for subsequent tritium analysis have been decreased. From results of a typical experiment, a relationship between the collection efficiencies and the moisture contents of P₂O₅ has been obtained and the isotope effect on the moisture collection has been elucidated. The collecting performance and the isotope effect are discussed here considering the mass transport phenomena in collector cell.     

Protium removal from deuterium-tritium mixture with displacement chromatography method: Experiments and simulations

The displacement chromatography technique with a tri-column system was used to reduce the protium (H) in the deuterium-tritium (D-T) mixture, and the separation performance was studied numerically by ANSYS FLUENT. The experimental results showed that the isotopic abundance of H in the D-T mixture dropped from 2.7% to an acceptable level of 0.88%. The simulation results showed that a lower porosity (θ) of the filling material made a higher separation factor, but a lower separation efficiency. The velocity of the product gas at the outlet of the separation column approximately had a linear relationship with θ^5/3/(1-θ)², which partly indicated the pore diffusion resistance. The mixed gas could contact the filling materials more sufficiently under a lower flow rate resulting in a lower protium concentration in the product gas. The separation column with a thin and long shape had a better separation performance and a lower product gas loss.     

Asymmetric Autocatalysis Triggered by Chiral Crystals Formed from Achiral Compounds and Chiral Isotopomers

Asymmetric autocatalysis with amplification of enantiomeric excess is found in the enantioselective addition of diisopropylzinc to pyrimidine-5-carbaldehyde using pyrimidyl alkanol as an asymmetric autocatalyst. Asymmetric autocatalysis has been employed as a method for clarifying the origin of homochirality. Circularly polarized light, inorganic chiral crystals and statistical fluctuation of enantiomeric imbalance act as chiral initiators in asymmetric autocatalysis to afford highly enantioenriched products. We have investigated asymmetric autocatalysis using chiral crystals formed from achiral and racemic compounds as an origin of chirality. Absolute control of the crystal chirality of cytosine was achieved by the removal of crystal water. Enantioselective carbon-carbon bond formation at the enantiotopic crystal face of aldehydes was established using diisopropylzinc vapor. In addition, asymmetric autocatalysis triggered by chiral compounds arising from H, C and O isotope substitution has been achieved.     

Soil-to-Plant Transfer Factors of Stable Elements and Naturally Occurring Radionuclides (1) Upland Field Crops Collected in Japan

In long-term dose assessment models for radioactive waste disposal, an important exposure pathway to humans is via ingestion of contaminated foods. In order to obtain soil-to-plant transfer factors (TFs) of radionuclides under equilibrium conditions, naturally existing elements were measured as analogues of radionuclides. Crops grown in upland fields and associated soil samples were collected from 62 sampling sites throughout Japan. The total concentrations of 52 elements in the crops and 54 elements in the soil samples were measured. The TFs of 40 elements (Li, Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Rb, Sr, Y, Mo, Cd, Sn, Cs, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho, Er, Pb, Th and U) were calculated on a dry weight basis.

Among all the TF data, K showed the highest TF with a geometric mean (GM) of 2.1, followed by P. The GMs of TFs for rare earth elements, Th and U were on the order of 10^?4. Most of the TF-GMs for green vegetables were higher than GMs of all crops for the elements. The obtained TFs of some elements for green vegetables and potatoes were compared with those in the technical report series-364 (TRS-364) compiled by IAEA in 1994. The TF-GMs were usually lower than the best estimates (expected values) listed in TRS-364; however, the GMs of TF for La and TF for Th observed for potatoes were slightly higher than the expected values.     

Tritium Isotope Separation by Multiphoton Dissociation of CF3CTCIF

A conception of the advanced water chemistry diagnosis system for detection of anomalies and preventive maintenance of system components is proposed. Extension of anomaly diagnosis knowledge and more reliable water chemistry data are indispensable to the advanced system. Then, correlations between water chemistry (conductivity and pH) change in reactor water and anomaly occurrence in the components of the feed water line are analyzed theoretically. These correlations are verified as applicable to extension of the diagnosis knowledge for anomalies in the components of the feed water line, such as resin intrusion, sea water Leakage at the condenser, and a breakdown in ion exchange capacity of resin at the condensate demineralizer.     

Monitoring survey of patulin in a variety of fruit-based products using a sensitive UHPLC–MS/MS analytical procedure

The mycotoxin patulin is known to be the predominant natural contaminant of apples, apple-based products and a variety of other fruits. Because of its high incidence and harmful health effects, patulin is included with mycotoxins, which are strictly monitored. In this study, a sensitive and reliable ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS) method was developed and validated for determination of patulin in a variety of fruit matrices. A combination of the QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe) procedure along with a solid phase extraction (SPE) clean-up strategy enabled an effective removal of sample matrix and pre-concentration of patulin. This resulted in low limits of quantification ranging from 1 to 2.5 μg/kg, depending on fruit type. In our study, quantification of patulin was based on a stable isotope dilution assay (SIDA) using ¹³C₇-patulin as the internal standard. Data showed that the procedure described, in combination with neat solvent internal calibration, can be used for accurate quantification of patulin regardless the type of fruit. Although the SIDA method allowed omission of matrix-matched calibration, matrix-effects were estimated in order to assess suppression of the patulin signal caused by a variety of fruit samples. The method was fully validated for apples, apple baby food, apple juice, peaches, strawberries and blueberries. The recovery values were in the range from 92 to 109%. Repeatability of the method was below 10% for all tested matrices. The method was applied to the monitoring of patulin in 135 samples of fresh fruits and fruit products and can also be used as an efficient tool for routine monitoring of this contaminant in a variety of fruit-based foods.     

Resonance Assignments of Lowly Populated and Unstable Enzyme Intermediate Complex under Real-Time Conditions

Unstable and low-abundance protein complexes represent a large family of transient protein complexes that are difficult to characterize, even by means of high-resolution NMR spectroscopy. A method to assign the NMR signals of these unstable complexes through a combination of selective isotope labeling of amino acids in a protein and site-specific labeling the protein with a paramagnetic tag is presented herein. By using this method, the resonances of unstable thioester intermediate complex (lifetime <5 h and highest concentration ≈20 μm ) generated by Staphylococcus aureus sortase A and its peptide substrate under a real-time reaction have been assigned.     

A method of assessing essential amino acid availability from microbial and ruminally undegraded protein in lactating dairy cows

The objective of this study was to extend a stable isotope-based assessment of AA absorption from rumen-degradable protein (RDP) sources to include determination of essential AA (EAA) availability from microbial protein (MCP). To demonstrate the technique, a study using a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments applied in a repeated 4 × 4 Latin square design was undertaken. Factors were high and low rumen-degradable protein and high and low starch. Twelve lactating cows were blocked into 3 groups according to days in milk and randomly assigned to the 4 treatment sequences. Each period was 14 d in length with 10 d of adaption followed by 4 d of ruminal infusions of ¹⁵N-labeled ammonium sulfate. On the last day of each period, a ¹³C-labeled AA mixture was infused into the jugular vein over a 6-h period to assess total AA entry. Rumen, blood, urine, and milk samples were collected during the infusions. Ruminal bacteria and blood samples were assessed for AA enrichment. Total plasma AA absorption rates were derived for 6 EAA from plasma ¹³C AA enrichment. Absorption of 6 EAA from MCP was calculated from total AA absorption based on ¹⁵N enrichment in blood and rumen bacteria. Essential AA absorption rates from total protein, MCP, and rumen-undegradable protein were derived with standard errors of the mean of 6, 14, and 14%, respectively. An average of 45% of absorbed EAA were from MCP, which varied among 6 EAA and was interactively affected by starch and RDP in diets. Microbial AA availability measured by isotope dilution method increased with the high RDP diets and was unaffected by starch level, except for Met, which decreased with high starch. Microbial protein outflow, estimated from urinary purine derivatives, increased with RDP and was not significantly affected by starch. This was consistent with measurements from the isotope dilution method. Total AA absorption rates measured from isotope dilution were similar to estimates from CNCPS (v. 6.55), but a lower proportion of absorbed AA was derived from MCP for the former method. Compared with the isotope and CNCPS estimates, the Fleming model underestimated microbial EAA and total EAA availability. An average of 58% of the absorbed EAA was converted into milk, which varied among individual AA and was interactively affected by starch and RDP in diets. The isotope dilution approach is advantageous because it provides estimates of EAA availability for individual EAA from rumen-undegradable protein and MCP directly with fewer errors of measurement than can be achieved with intestinal disappearance methods.     

基于氡同位素的闸塘渗漏检测研究

为拓展水利工程渗漏研究方法,研究利用氡同位素识别地下水入渗点,建立了氡箱模型估算地下水入渗量,并对模型参数进行了敏感性分析。针对盐城市东台养殖区闸塘渗漏进行了实例研究。结果表明:利用氡同位素进行示踪,可有效地识别地下水入渗点,同时可定量计算地下水入渗量;计算结果的不确定性主要来自于入渗地下水的氡活度。氡同位素在地下水入渗的勘查及定量计算中具有较好的应用前景。     

Management of Plutonium Content based on Reactivity of Each Plutonium Isotope

It is strongly demanded to control reactivity for safety and steady operation of nuclear reactor. Fissile enrichment should be, therefore, accurately managed in order to carry out it. A concept of physical accounting method for adjusting fissile enrichment is very useful to manage plutonium content and to control reactivity of nuclear reactor where plutonium is used as main fissile material. The basis of the concept is shown in this paper together with the result of the application to typical prototype fast breeder reactor (FBR). The rationality for adopting the method is also quantitatively shown in this paper.