Samples of the food legumes, cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata), soya beans (Glycine max) and groundnuts (Arachis hypogaea) collected from rural farmers in four rural villages around Zaria, Nigeria were analysed for the concentrations of the major, minor and trace elements by the ko-ENAA and INAA methods. Irradiation and γ-ray counting were performed using the NIRR-1 and associated facilities. The NIST 1515 Apple leaves were used as the quality control material. The concentrations of the elements Se, Br and Rb were determined by ko-ENAA while those of Na, K, Zn, La, Br, Sm and Sc were determined in INAA in the food legumes. The concentrations of Zn found in all the legumes are within the limit specified in international guidelines. The concentrations of Se found in the food legumes are above the limit specified in international guidelines. The food legumes are good sources of the elements Na, K, Zn which can meet adequate dietary requirements provided the legumes are not refined. Bromine is not at toxic levels in the food legumes.
This study aimed to assess trace element concentrations in the hair of street children. Nutritional status was assessed by 24 hours’ dietary recall and anthropometric measurements. Data analysis found that Br, Sc, Sm and Ti concentrations show a normal distribution, and there is no significant difference between street children and control group. However, in the street children’s hair, the levels of Au, U, V are decreased and the levels of Co, La, Sb, Th are increased compared to the control group.
Khadijeh Rezaee Ebrahim SaraeeMohammad Reza AbdiMohammad Mehdi GharipourNayereh Soltani
The Marajó Island is the largest island of the Marajō archipelago, located in the north of Brazil. In this region, at the end of 19th century, it was identified an archaeological society named Marajora, which occupied the island from 400 to 1,350 AD. It was characterized by a ceramic style recognized by its beauty and exuberance. Until this moment, the physical and chemical analysis studies in this ceramics are scarce and this kind of studies may help archaeological studies performed in the island. With this purpose, this work presents a preliminary study of the firing temperature in the ceramics. For that, the elementary concentrations of 109 samples from Museu de Archaeology and Ethnology Museum of the University of Sáo Paulo and samples collected in the Marajá Island were studied. The samples were analyzed using instrumental neutron activation analysis in which the elemental concentration of Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, Hf, K, La, Lu, Na, Nd, Rb, Sc, Sm, Ta, Tb, Th, U, Yb and Zn were determined. The interpretation of the results was made using multivariate statistical approaches and showed the existence of three chemical groups. Some samples of each cluster were chosen for the determination of their firing temperatures by electron paramagnetic resonance, in order to verify if different firing temperatures was associated with different elemental groups of ceramic samples. The results showed that there are no statistical differences in the firing temperature between the samples from Archaeology and Ethnology Museum and the contemporary samples of the Marajá Island.
Kelly P. NunesCasimiro S. MunitaRosimeiri G. ToyotaPaulo T.M. OliveiraNilo F. CanoDenise SchaanOswaldo BaffaLuiz C. OliveiraCarlos A. BrunelloEduardo G. NevesCe1ia C. Demartini
Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) techniques were used to analyze 18 elements (K, Mn, Na, Fe, Zn, Cu, Co, Br, Sm, Cl, La, Al, Cr, Ca Cd, Ni, Pb and Hg) in different medici-nal plants often used in Indian Ayurvedic system. The samples were irradiated with thermal neutrons in a nuclear reactor and the induced activities were counted by γ-ray spectrometry using efficiency calibrated high resolution High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector. Most of the medicinal plants were found to be rich in one or more of the ele-ments under study. The elemental concentra-tion in different part of medicinal plants and their biological effects on human beings are discussed.
