Evolution of radiocaesium contamination in mushrooms and influence of treatment after collection

In literature quite a lot of data is available on uptake of radioactive caesium in mushrooms. There is less available on the evolution of concentration in fruitbodies after several years and on “outbound” transfer of radiocaesium from fruitbodies to their direct environment, i.e. dilution according to cooking techniques. The recent event at Fukushima has put the question of radionuclides in food, and the following exposure of consumers, high on the agenda. The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) in order to investigate the variation in time of caesium uptake by fungi, analyses of the same species having grown on the same spot at different intervals during the last 25 years have been performed and (2) in terms of radiation protection the most important thing is the activity taken in by the consumer and not the contamination of raw products. Preparation can have a great impact on activity concentration. Various species of mushrooms frequently eaten have been sampled in Europe and contaminated areas in Japan. Different preparation techniques that can break the walls of the hyphae (drying, deepfreezing etc.) have been applied as well as different treatments: boiling or macerating in water with salt, in acid and basic media. The pH of different media was adjusted and measured. The samples and the medium were analysed separately in gamma spectrometry.     

A Compton-vetoed germanium detector with increased sensitivity at low energies

The difficulty to directly detect plutonium in spent nuclear fuel due to the high Compton background of the fission products motivates the design of a gamma detector with improved sensitivity at low energies. We have built such a detector by operating a thin high-purity Ge detector with a large scintillator Compton veto directly behind it. The Ge detector is thin to absorb just the low-energy Pu radiation of interest while minimizing Compton scattering of high-energy radiation from the fission products. The subsequent scintillator is large so that forward-scattered photons from the Ge detector interact in it at least once to provide an anti-coincidence veto for the Ge detector. For highest sensitivity, additional material in the line of sight is minimized, the radioactive sample is kept thin, and its radiation is collimated. We will discuss the instrument design, and demonstrate the feasibility of the approach with a prototype that employs two large CsI scintillator vetoes. Initial spectra of a thin Cs-137 calibration source show a background suppression of a factor of ~2.5 at ~100 keV, limited by an unexpectedly thick 4 mm dead layer in the Ge detector.     

Obituary: Professor Dr.-Ing. Justus Mühlenpfordt

Abstract

The dose-dependent isotope fractionation during decarboxylation (¹³C/¹²C) amplifies the radiation effect in the relatively low dose range. The fractionation of the nitrogen isotopes during deamination (¹⁵N/¹⁴N) at the dose of 17 Gy was found to be smaller than that of decarboxylation.     

Mechanisms and behavioral regularities of the vacuum-arc microparticles near and on a potential electrode immersed in plasma

It is experimentally revealed that the pulse-periodic bias potential provides a multifold decrease in the surface content of microparticles (MPs). It is ascertained that a decrease in the MP concentration at the target can be explained by several physical mechanisms. From experiments with a fine-structure grid, it is found that less than 10% of MPs negatively charged in the plasma can be reflected in the electric field of the charge-separation layer near the sample. A substantial decrease in the MP density occurs after direct interaction between a MP and the sample under the action of a negative HF short-pulse bias potential. Almost half the MP surface density is caused by ion sputtering. A twelvefold reduction in the MP surface density is attained when the target is irradiated for 2 min.     

Study of the technological limitations of photolithography for the relief surface of a SOI wafer during formation of the three-dimensional micromechanical structure of an integral tensoconverter

The results of studying the formation of the three-dimensional micromechanical structure of an integral tensoconverter are presented. The technological restrictions on contact photolithography over the relief structure formed on the device layer of the silicon-on-insulator wafer are analyzed. The effect of the design parameters (the frame height and the width of the frame slit) are described.     

Dielectric studies of a bioactive tetramic acid and its complexes with Cu(II) and Co(II)

The 3-acyl tetramic acids constitute a growing class of natural products displaying a range of biological activities. The g , g ' tricarbonyl moiety present in the 3-acyl tetramic acid provides a suitable site for bidentate complexation to a metal, which increases the biological activity. For the dielectric study of N-acetyl-3-butanoyl tetramic acid and a series of its complexes with Cu(II) and Co(II) in symmetric and asymmetric forms, we used the Thermally Stimulated Depolarization Currents (TSDC) technique. The drastic decrease of the intensity of the TSDC peaks of the symmetric and asymmetric complexes, compared to the above mentioned ligand, suggested that the polarizability of the side groups is considerably reduced. This result enhances the proposed complexation mode of the ligand through oxygen next to carbons 3 and 4 of the 5-member ring.     

On the problem of the stability of pyramidal structures on bombarded copper surfaces

The morphological evolution of pyramids, developed on bombarded copper surfaces, as a function of consecutive doses of 12 keV Kr—ions from 2.4 × 10¹⁶ up to 3 × 10¹⁶ ions/cm², has been studied. In disagreement with many previous studies, apparently based on a limited choice of doses which were sometimes not in sequence, we found that the pyramids disappeared at high enough doses. Pyramids are therefore not an equilibrium structure.     

Synthesis and Photoluminescent Properties of Lanthanides Acetoacetanilide Complexes

This work reports on the photoluminescent properties of three new lanthanide complexes with acetoacetanilide (aaa), a β-diketonate ligand. The complexes have the general molecular formulae [RE(aaa)₃(H₂O)], they are soluble in organic solvents such as ethanol and chloroform and insoluble in water. The energy of the triplet state was determined at about 4,700 cm^?1 higher than the ⁵D₄ emitting level of the Tb(III) ion, leading to an absolute quantum yield of 22 % for the [Tb(aaa)₃(H₂O)] complex. The photoluminescent properties were studied and the luminescence parameters of the [Eu(aaa)₃(H₂O)] complex were experimentally determined. The photostabilities of the complexes under continuous UV irradiation were measured and the data indicate low stability of the [Tb(aaa)₃(H₂O)] complex when the system is excited at the band attributed to energy transfer from the ligand to terbium(III) ion. However, its photostability is significantly improved under inert atmosphere.     

Properties of MnSb/GaAs heterostructures

MnSb layers are deposited on GaAs(100) via the laser ablation of Mn and Sb targets. The magnetic field dependences of the transverse Kerr effect display magnetic anisotropy and magnetization jumps. Measurements of the Hall effect reveal a hysteresis loop at temperatures of up to 300 K.