Application of stable isotopes in Russian Federation

The increased use of enriched stable isotopes in Russian Federation resulting from the demand of medical diagnostic techniques, fundamental physical research, and the development of new materials is considered. The most perspective technology for producing wide spectrum isotopes of middle and heavy masses seems to be the gas centrifuge.     

Production and application of isotopes in China

The research, development and production of isotopes and their products have made great progress in the past years. A comprehensive nuclear industry has been established. At present, isotope-and radiation technology has been developed rapidly and applied extensively in many fields such as agriculture, industry and medicine in China. Some successful projects have generated considerable economical and social benefits. Organized efforts are being made to ensure continuing research and development of isotope and radiation technologies to meet the challenges and opportunities in the turn of the century.     

Isotope shift and hyperfine structure of stable platinum isotopes

Isotope shift (IS) and hyperfine structure (hfs) measurements have been performed on seven lines of the platinum I spectrum with interference as well as laser fluorescence spectroscopy. In the latter case a frequency-doubled single-mode cw dye laser was applied. The IS of¹⁹⁰Pt with a natural abundance of only 0.01% was determined to beδν ^{190, 192}=?38.65(8) mK in theλ306.47 nm transition. The IS parameters and the effective hfs integrals in the configuration (5d+6s)¹⁰ were determined in intermediate coupling by a least squares fit of the IS and hfs data with eigenvectors obtained from the platinum fine structure (fs). The results are compared with theoretical values and yield improvedδ〈r ²〉 data.     

Metabolic turnover rates of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in captive juvenile snakes

Metabolic turnover rates (m) of δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C were assessed in different tissues of newly hatched captive‐raised corn snakes (Elaphe guttata guttata) fed maintenance diets consisting of earthworms (Eisenia foetida) that varied substantially in δ¹⁵N (by 644‰) and δ¹³C (by 5.0‰). Three treatments were used during this 144 day experiment that consisted of the same diet throughout (control), shifting from a depleted to an enriched stable isotope signature diet (uptake), and shifting from an enriched to depleted stable isotope signature diet (elimination). Values of δ¹³C in the liver, blood, and muscle of the control snakes reached equilibrium with and were, respectively, 1.73, 2.25 and 2.29 greater than in their diet, this increase is called an isotopic discrimination factor (Δδ¹³C = δ¹³C_snake ? δ¹³C_food). Values of δ¹⁵N in snake tissues did not achieve equilibrium with the diets in any of the exposures and thus Δ¹⁵N could not be estimated. Values of metabolic turnover rates (m) for δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N were greater in liver than in muscle and blood, which were similar, and relative results remained the same if the fraction of ¹⁵N and ¹³C were modeled. Although caution is warranted because equilibrium values of stable isotopes in the snakes were not achieved, values of m were greater for δ¹³C than δ¹⁵N, resulting in shorter times to dietary equilibrium for δ¹³C upon a diet shift, and for both stable isotopes in all tissues, greater during an elimination than in an uptake shift in diet stable isotope signature. Multiple explanations for the observed differences between uptake and elimination shifts raise new questions about the relationship between animal and diet stable isotope concentrations. Based on this study, interpretation of feeding ecology using stable isotopes is highly dependent on the kind of stable isotope, tissue, direction of diet switch (uptake versus elimination), and the growth rate of the animal. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optical isotope shifts and changes in nuclear charge radii of stable Ti isotopes

Isotope shifts and hyperfine structures in three optical transitions of TiI have been investigated by using laser induced resonance fluorescence in a collimated atomic beam. From the isotope shifts data, changes of the mean square charge radii of the stable titanium isotopes have been determined for the first time. Using a combined analysis with muonic atom data on root mean square nuclear charge radii, improved model independent r ^21/2 values for the odd-even Ti isotopes have been obtained.     

Fractionation and metabolic turnover of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in black fly larvae

Diet-tissue fractionation factors and metabolic turnover rates of delta15N and delta13C were assessed in laboratory-reared black fly (Simulium vittatum IS-7) larvae fed isotopically distinct diets. Five treatments consisted of using food with different delta15N signatures throughout the experiments (19-26 days), a sixth shifted from a low to high delta15N signature diet (uptake) on day 14, and the last shifted from a high to low delta15N signature diet (elimination) on day 14. In the larvae, diet-tissue fractionation factors for delta13C, which were in steady state with food, ranged from -0.61 to 2.0, with a median of 1.87. The delta15N diet-tissue fractionation factors were mostly negative, ranging from +2.85 to -24.96 per thousand, with a single positive value from the elimination treatment in which larval delta15N did not achieve steady state with the food. Diet-tissue fractionation factors also had a significant negative relationship (r2 = 0.98) with delta15N values in the food suggesting that nitrogen diet-tissue fractionation factors are 15N concentration-dependent. The delta15N of shed head capsules and feces were enriched in 15N and could be mechanisms for elimination of 15N by the larvae. For delta15N, metabolic turnover values based on the Hesslein model were highly consistent (0.40 to 0.43 delta15N*day(-1)) between uptake and elimination phases and across experiments and were an order of magnitude greater than growth rates. The rapid turnover of nitrogen in black fly larvae, which was orders of magnitude greater than measured in vertebrates, makes them an excellent indicator of short-term changes in nitrogen inputs to aquatic systems.     

Determination of alpha-emitting uranium isotopes in soft tissues by solvent extraction and alpha-spectrometry

A radiochemical procedure has been developed for the determination of alpha-emitting isotopes of uranium ((238)U, (235)U and (234)U) in soft tissues. Known amounts of sample are spiked with (232)U internal tracer and wet-ashed. Uranium is co-precipitated with iron hydroxide as carrier, and extracted into 20% trilaurylamine solution in xylene after dissolution of the precipitate in 10M hydrochloric acid. The uranium, after stripping into an aqueous phase, is electro-deposited onto a platinum disc and counted by alpha-spectrometry. The radiochemical recovery ranges from 60 to 85% for bovine liver samples. The average radiochemical recoveries for human tissues vary from 53 to 78%.     

Determination of stable carbon isotopes of organic acids and carbonaceous aerosols in the atmosphere

A wet oxidation method for the compound-specific determination of stable carbon isotopes (delta(13)C) of organic acids in the gas and aerosol phase, as well as of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), is presented. Sampling of the organic acids was done using a wet effluent diffusion denuder/aerosol collector (WEDD/AC) coupled to an ion chromatography (IC) system. The method allows for compound-specific stable carbon isotope analysis by collecting different fractions of organic acids at the end of the IC system using a fraction collector. delta(13)C analyses of organic acids were conducted by oxidizing the organic acids with sodium persulfate at a temperature of 100 degrees C and determining the delta(13)C value of the resulting carbon dioxide (CO(2)) with an isotope ratio mass spectrometer. In addition, analysis of delta(13)C of the WSOC was performed for particulate carbon collected on aerosol filters. The WSOC was extracted from the filters using ultrapure water (MQ water), and the dissolved organic carbon was oxidized to CO(2) using the oxidation method. The wet oxidation method has an accuracy of 0.5 per thousand with a precision of +/-0.4 per thousand and provides a quantitative result for organic carbon with a detection limit of 150 ng of carbon.     

A technique for the determination of ruthenium stable isotopes in urine samples

Proton activation analysis has been recently applied for the determination of stable isotopes of trace metals in blood plasma samples taken from volunteers during tracer kinetic studies. The very low values of intestinal uptake for some elements, like ruthenium, make the kinetics of the excretion crucial for interpreting the bioassay data. Therefore, a procedure has been developed to process urine samples in order to have proper targets for the activation with protons. Preliminary tests with Ru-doped samples, conducted using the MC-40 Cyclotron at JRC Ispra, has confirmed the feasibility of the method. The minimum detectable concentrations, in the current operating conditions, are 16 ng ⁹⁹Ru^·ml⁻¹ and 0.5 ng ¹⁰¹Ru^·ml⁻¹. On leave from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria.