In the present paper the activity of uranium isotopes measured in plants and aerosols taken downwind of the releases of three nuclear fuel settlements was compared between them and with the activity measured at remote sites. An enhancement of U activity as well as U/U anomalies and U are noticeable in wheat, grass, tree leaves and aerosols taken at the edge of nuclear fuel settlements, which show the influence of uranium chronic releases. Further plants taken at the edge of the studied sites and a few published data acquired in the same experimental conditions show that the U activity in plants is influenced by the intensity of the U atmospheric releases. Assuming that U in plant is proportional to the intensity of the releases, we proposed empirical relationships which allow to characterize the chronic releases on the ground. Other sources of U contamination in plants such as accidental releases and "delayed source" of uranium in soil are also discussed in the light of uranium isotopes signatures.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2017.02.001 | DOI Listing |
JACS Au
December 2024
College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
The chemical similarities between trivalent actinides [An(III)] and lanthanides [Ln(III)] present a significant challenge in differentiating and separating them, which is a key step toward closing the nuclear fuel cycle. However, the existing separation approaches commonly suffer from demerits such as inadequate separation factors, limited stripping efficiency, and undesired coextraction. In this study, a novel unsymmetrical phenanthroline-derived amide-triazine (Et-Tol-CyMe-ATPhen) extractant was first designed and then screened with theoretical computation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCryobiology
December 2024
Institute of Biochemistry and Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada.
The garden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus) is a fat-storing mammal that undergoes annual periods of hibernation to mitigate the effects of food scarcity, low ambient temperatures, and reduced photoperiod that characterize winter. Like other hibernating species, this animal suppresses its metabolic rate by downregulating nonessential genes and processes in order to prolong available energy stores and limit waste accumulation throughout the season. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, single-stranded, noncoding RNAs that bind to mRNA and mediate post-transcriptional suppression, making miRNA ideal for modulating widespread changes in gene expression, including global downregulation typified by metabolic rate depression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
December 2024
Institute of Radiation Emergency Medicine, Hirosaki University, 66-1 Hon-cho, Hirosaki, 036-8564, Aomori, Japan.
Radon (Rn) and thoron (Rn) were reported as the highest contributors to natural radiation received by humans. Furthermore, radon has been stated as the second-highest cause of lung cancer. The concentrations of U and Th (the parent nuclide of radon and thoron, respectively) in nature vary with geological conditions and can be enhanced by human activities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanomaterials (Basel)
December 2024
School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China.
Transition metal nitrides have extensive applications, including magnetic storage devices, hardware resistance coatings, and low-temperature fuel cells. This study investigated the structural, electrical, and mechanical properties of thin zirconium nitride (ZrN) films by examining the effects of laser irradiation times. Thin ZrN films were deposited on glass substrates using pulsed DC magnetron sputtering and irradiated with a diode laser for 6 and 10 min.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTalanta
December 2024
Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, SC, 29808, USA. Electronic address:
Intentional nuclear forensics is a concept wherein the deliberate addition of benign and persistent material signatures to nuclear material can be used to reduce the time between the discovery of material outside of regulatory control and determination of its original provenance. One concept within intentional nuclear forensics involves the use of perturbed stable isotopes to generate unique isotope ratio "barcodes" to encode information (e.g.
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