Assessing diffusive fluxes and pore water radon activities via a single automated experiment

We present a laboratory system to evaluate radon flux and pore water radon via automated sediment equilibration experiments. The setup includes a measured mass of sediment and water inside a gas-tight reaction flask connected in a closed loop to a radon-in-air analyzer. Diffusive fluxes are determined either from the near-linear slope of the activity versus time over the first several hours or by running the experiment longer to estimate the equilibrium concentration via a curve fitting approach. By combining the equilibrium activity with relevant physical parameters, one can also estimate the pore water concentrations.     

Novel Multifunctional Ascorbic Triazole Derivatives for Amyloidogenic Pathway Inhibition,Anti-Inflammation,and Neuroprotection

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder. The number of patients with AD is projected to reach 152 million by 2050. Donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine, and memantine are the only four drugs currently approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for AD treatment. However, these drugs can only alleviate AD symptoms. Thus, this research focuses on the discovery of novel lead compounds that possess multitarget regulation of AD etiopathology relating to amyloid cascade. The ascorbic acid structure has been designated as a core functional domain due to several characteristics, including antioxidant activities, amyloid aggregation inhibition, and the ability to be transported to the brain and neurons. Multifunctional ascorbic derivatives were synthesized by copper (I)-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition reaction (click chemistry). The in vitro and cell-based assays showed that compounds 2c and 5c exhibited prominent multifunctional activities as beta-secretase 1 inhibitors, amyloid aggregation inhibitors, and antioxidant, neuroprotectant, and anti-inflammatory agents. Significant changes in activities promoting neuroprotection and anti-inflammation were observed at a considerably low concentration at a nanomolar level. Moreover, an in silico study showed that compounds 2c and 5c were capable of being permeated across the blood–brain barrier by sodium-dependent vitamin C transporter-2.     

Modification of Rice Straw for Heavy Metal Ion Adsorbents by Microwave Heating

Summary: Cellulose in rice straw was chemically modified by phosphorylation using conventional heating or microwave heating. Rice straw pretreated by NaOH solution gave the highest phosphorus content when it was phosphorylated using microwave heating at 450 watt (7.07%P, ion exchange capacity 2.60 meq/g). The 3 hour-reaction in oil bath yielded the modified rice straw with lower of phosphorus content (6.32%P) and higher ion exchange capacity (2.99 meq/g) than that of microwave heating. The feasibility of the modified rice straw as cation sorbents for removing heavy metal was investigated. Cd²⁺, Cr³⁺ and Pb²⁺ were used as sorbates. In sorption test of 40 ppm with 2.0 g/L of the modified rice straw, both modified rice straws could adsorb metal ions faster than the commercial ion exchange resin (dowax) at the time less than 60 min. The modified rice straw prepared by microwave heating (A-MCW2) could remove 90% of Cd²⁺ and Cr³⁺ in 60 minutes and remove 99% of Pb²⁺ after 30 min.     

Measurement of radon and thoron progeny size distributions and dose assessments at the mineral treatment industry in Thailand

A new portable type cascade impactor has been developed to determine the activity size distribution of radon and thoron progeny in a natural environment more efficiently. The modified impactor consists of 4 stages with a back up filter stage for the collection of aerosol samples. The aerosol cut points in the impactor are set for 10, 2.5, 1 and 0.5 μm at a flow rate of 4 L min^?1. Five CR-39 chips were used as alpha detectors for each stage. In order to separate α particles emitted from radon and thoron progeny, CR-39 detectors are covered with aluminum-vaporized Mylar films. The thickness of each film is adjusted to allow α particles emitted from radon and thoron progeny to reach the CR-39 detectors. The technique has been successfully tested in field studies, particularly inside a mineral treatment industry in Thailand to estimate doses in the working environment. The dose calculations by lung dose evaluation program showed that activity median aerodynamic diameters played a significant role in determining the particle size distributions of the attached radon and thoron progeny. The dose conversion factor determined from short term measurements due to exposure from the inhalation of thoron and its progeny was found to be 4 times higher than comparable values for radon and its progeny. The effective dose for workers exposed to radon is about 4–6 times higher than thoron.     

Using high-resolution in situ radon measurements to determine groundwater discharge at a remote location: Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia

Tonle Sap Lake (Cambodia) is the largest freshwater lake in SE Asia, and is reported to have one of the highest freshwater fish productions anywhere. During the dry season (November–April) the lake drains through a tributary to the Mekong River. The flow in the connecting tributary completely reverses during the wet monsoon (May–October), adding huge volumes of water back to the lake, increasing its area about fourfold. We hypothesize that nutrients are at least partially delivered via groundwater discharge, especially during the draining portion of the annual flood cycle. We surveyed over 200 km in the northern section of the lake using a customized system that measures natural ²²²Rn (radon), temperature, conductivity, GPS coordinates and water depth while underway. Results showed that there were portions of the lake with significant enrichments in radon, indicating likely groundwater inputs. These same areas were generally characterized by lower electrical conductivities. Samples collected from nearby wells also showed a general inverse relationship between radon and conductivity. Our data suggest that groundwater pathways are important, accounting for roughly 10–20 % of the freshwater flow of the Tonle Sap tributary (connection to the Mekong River), the largest single source of fresh water to the lake. Nutrient inputs from these inputs, because of higher concentrations in groundwater, will be correspondingly higher.