Potential Source Apportionment and Meteorological Conditions Involved in Airborne 131I Detections in January/February 2017 in Europe.

Traces of particulate radioactive iodine (131I) were detected in the European atmosphere in January/February 2017. Concentrations of this nuclear fission product were very low, ranging 0.1 to 10 µBq m-3 except at one location in western Russia where they reached up to several mBq m-3. Detections have been reported continuously over an 8-week period by about 30 monitoring stations. We examine possible emission source apportionments and rank them considering their expected contribution in terms of orders of magnitude from typical routine releases: radiopharmaceutical production units > sewage sludge incinerators > nuclear power plants > spontaneous fission of uranium in soil. Inverse modeling simulations indicate that the widespread detections of 131I resulted from the combination of multiple source releases. Among them, those from radiopharmaceutical production units remain the most likely. One of them is located in Western Russia and its estimated source term complies with authorized limits. Other existing sources related to 131I use (medical purposes or sewage sludge incineration) can explain detections on a rather local scale. As an enhancing factor, the prevailing wintertime meteorological situations marked by strong temperature inversions led to poor dispersion conditions that resulted in higher concentrations exceeding usual detection limits in use within the informal Ring of Five (Ro5) monitoring network.

Concentration and vertical distribution of 137Cs in the undisturbed soil of southwestern Nigeria.

The results of measurements of 137Cs in soil profiles that were sampled in undisturbed soil in Ondo, Ekiti, and Oyo states in the southwestern area of Nigeria are presented in this paper. Samples were collected from nine soil profiles. The vertical distributions of 137Cs in the soil profiles have been determined. Cesium concentration ranged from 0.31 +/- 0.10 Bq kg(-1) in the 0-2 cm depth to a maximum of 1.25 +/- 0.21 Bq kg(-1) in the 6-8 cm depth at some sites and from 3.16 +/- 0.16 Bq kg(-1) in 0-5 cm depth to below detection limit (BDL) at 20-25 cm at another site. 137Cs total deposition in 0-10 cm depth was found to be greatest at Ikogosi site with a value of 90.30 Bq m(-2). The results generally showed that more than 40 y after the first nuclear weapon tests, 137Cs still remains within the 25 cm upper layer of soil in the region with a migration velocity of 0.17-0.18 cm y(-1). The mean value of effective dose commitment due to the presence of cesium in soil in the entire region was found to be 10.77 microSv.

Medical and economic considerations in using a new contrast medium.

In deciding to use a new intravascular contrast medium, the considerations should be patient safety, Imaging efficacy, and cost. Balancing these factors, use can be estimated. With the new low-osmolality contrast media, particularly the nonionic media, the expected increased patient safety must be balanced against the much higher cost.

Direct air activation measurements at a 15-MV medical linear accelerator.

Direct radiometric determination of (14)N (γ, n) (13)N air activation was achieved at a 15-MV medical linear accelerator operating in a high-energy photon mode. (13)N was identified by irradiating a gas-tight Marinelli beaker filled with nitrogen gas and later observing the 10-min half-life of the 511-keV positron-electron annihilation line using high-resolution gamma spectroscopy. Quantitative evaluation of the spectral signal yielded a (13)N production rate of 836.8 ± 32 Bq Gy(-1) in air per 40 × 40 cm(2) field cross section at 100 cm source-surface distance.

The need for more study of gastrointestinal contrast media.

After four score years of alimentary tract radiology based on barium sulfate, we have little agreement on the proper characteristics of the contrast agent for visualization of the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, and colon, nor have we had any viable replacements, organic or inorganic, for barium sulfate. A number of characteristics of barium sulfate preparations have been examined. A positive charge on the particle is not of advantage in mucosal coating, but viscosity seems to be important. Particle size is probably not important. Suspension stability is probably overrated. Much, if not most, of the properties of barium sulfate preparations depend on the surface active agents, the so-called additives. The thickness of barium sulfate coating necessary for surface visualization under clinical conditions is defined. Some preliminary data on a new barium preparation is reported.

Nephrotoxicity of sodium iopanoate in hydrated and dehydrated dogs.

The nephrotoxic effect of sodium iopanoate, infused intravenously in dosages of 1.5, 3 and 6 g over a 2-hour period in eight dogs (22--27 kg) in both the hydrated and dehydrated stages, were investigated. On biochemical, hemodynamic and morphological studies, the nephrotoxic effect was found to be clearly dose-dependent and greater in the dehydrated stage. Previously suggested mechanisms for acute renal failure, such as a direct tubular toxicity, tubular obstruction and hypotension, could not be supported as main factors in the development of acute renal failure post-cholecystography, although they might well have a contributory effect. The primary cause of renal failure post-cholecystography cannot be determined unequivocally from this investigation. However, the observed findings would appear to be consistent with a toxic effect of iopanoate in the small vessels possibly resulting in ischemic tubular necrosis.

Cardiovascular radiology. Possible factors in intravascular contrast media toxicity.

(I.) Toxicity of ionic coronary arteriography contrast media has been shown to depend on their cationic and anionic composition and their osmolality. Using a right coronary injection technique in the dog, the authors have shown a relationship between toxicity as manifested by occurrence of ventricular fibrillation and the presence of calcium binders in the contrast media. Sodium citrate and EDTA have been identified as the specific agents in certain contrast media that significantly increase the incidence of fibrillation in laboratory experiments. (II.) A deleterious synergism between water-soluble angiographic and urographic media and digitalis compounds has now been demonstrated, based on mortality studies (LD50) using bolus intravenous injections in white mice. The testing of a number of other classes of drugs for a similar effect has shown thus far that only the digitalis class exhibits this synergism. Surprisingly, the nonionic contrast medium, metrizamide, has been shown to have a greater synergistic effect with digitalis drugs than diatrizoate ionic media. (III.) In dog experiments under Nembutal anesthesia in which aortic flow, pulmonary artery and vein pressures, systemic arterial pressure, and EKG were monitored, left atrial pressure increases as soon as or before pulmonary artery pressure rises, even at low doses of ionic contrast media administered intravenously. This may indicate 1) flow to the left heart increases dramatically, or 2) there is a very early myocardial depression. The significance of the above findings and application to clinical practice will be discussed.

The effect of bilirubin on biliary iodipamide excretion in the dog.

The effect of bilirubin on biliary iodipamide excretion and concentration was investigated in cholecystectomized dogs during complete bile diversion and constant bile salt replacement. A significant dose-dependent depression of both biliary iodipamide excretion rate and bile iodipamide concentration was found with increasing bilirubin dose. Whether or not bilirubin was infused at a constant of 0.1 mu moles/min/kg, the excretion rate and bile concentration of iodipamide was greatest with the largest 5.2 mu moles/min/kg iodipamide dose. Iodipamide had no significant effect on the bilirubin excretion rate, but because of its highly choleretic nature it had a dilution effect on the bilirubin bile concentration. This investigation suggests that a reduction of the iodipamide blood levels by either decreasing the dose or prolonging the infusion time will lead to poorer radiographic visualization of the biliary system in patients with unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia (prehepatic jaundice).

Contrast media in coronary arteriography: a review.

Much knowledge of coronary artery disease and much of the progress in surgical treatment of coronary artery disease has been directly dependent upon the safety with which coronary arteriography has been performed. This safety depends upon the ease of placing the contrast media in the arteries and on the toxicity of the contrast medium itself. This review deals with contrast media toxicity in coronary arteriography, as distinct from toxicity in angiocardiography and other angiography.

Biliary excretion of iodipamide and iodoxamate in dogs with hepatic dysfunction induced by oral administration of dimethylnitrosamine.

Iodipamide and iodoxamate were compared in equimolar clinical dosages in five cholecystectomized chronic bile fistula dogs in which hepatic dysfunction was produced by oral administration of a total dose of 480 and 960 microliters dimethylnitrosamine (DMNA), respectively. After both DMNA dosages, the peak biliary excretion rate for iodoxamate was significantly higher than for iodipamide (p less than 0.01). The peak bile iodine concentration was not significantly different for the two agents (480 microliter DMNA: p less than 0.1; 960 microliter DMNA: p = 0.07). On the basis of this investigation, it is suggested that iodoxamate should not significantly improve the opacification of the biliary system in patients with hepatic dysfunction.

Biodistribution of a particulate hepatolienographic CT contrast agent: a study of iodipamide ethyl ester in the rat.

Particulate contrast agents have been shown to be efficacious in computerized tomographic detection of liver tumors. This article quantitatively defines the biodistribution of the experimental particulate agent iodipamide ethyl ester in the rat as a function of time after intravenous infusion. The contrast agent is actively accumulated in the liver and spleen with high selectivity compared to iodine concentrations in the blood or other organs. The contrast material remains at high concentration in the liver for more than 2 hours and then is slowly cleared from the organism in approximately two days. The high selectivity and retention of contrast in the liver are indicative of the value of particulate agents in contrast-enhanced computerized tomography.

A comparison of the cardiovascular responses to carotid injections of ionic and nonionic contrast media.

Selective injection of contrast media into the canine common carotid artery results in alterations in carotid flow, heart rate, and systemic arterial pressure. In this study the responses to injections of the nonionic agents metrizamide and iopamidol were compared to the responses to the ionic agents meglumine iothalamate, meglumine sodium diatrizoate, mannitol, and saline solution. Heart rate and pressure responses were smallest for metrizamide, greater for iopamidol, and greater still for the hypertonic ionic agents: responses were roughly correlated to agent osmolality. Carotid flow increased with all agents and was roughly proportional to the agent's osmolality. The exception was metrizamide which despite its lowest osmolality, produced a large increase in flow which was maintained much longer than for other agents. The total response to the nonionic agents was judged less severe than to the ionic agents; however, the responses to all agents were transient and not life threatening.

Clinical comparison of Hexabrix, iopamidol, and Urografin-60 in whole body computed tomography.

Urografin 60, iopamidol and Hexabrix were studied in patients undergoing body CT scans to examine the pharmacodynamics of these contrast agents. Immediately following rapid injection, the lower osmolality media, Hexabrix and iopamidol, gave greater aortic concentration of iodine in addition to higher concentrations in the liver and spleen. These two agents also provided significantly better renal enhancement than Urografin 60, with Hexabrix giving higher levels than iopamidol. The higher early vascular concentrations of Hexabrix and iopamidol and the relative absence of side effects due to hyperosmolality and decreased toxicity may have advantages in dynamic CT scanning.

Pulmonary edema following high intravenous doses of ionic contrast media. Effect of the anion composition and concentration.

High intravenous doses of diatrizoate are known to induce a profound degree of pulmonary edema which is dose- and injection rate-dependent in the rat. In this study, meglumine salts of diatrizoate, iothalamate, and metrizoate were evaluated for their capacity to induce pulmonary edema following intravenous injections. Differences in anion composition or concentration of diatrizoate meglumine/sodium salts did not cause significantly different degrees of pulmonary edema.

Failure of iosulamide to enhance hepatic tumors in rats.

Iosulamide, an experimental cholangiographic agent recently being evaluated for hepatic contrast enhancement in computed tomography, has been investigated in the rat for the differential enhancement between the liver and three histologically different experimental tumors (a well differentiated mammary adenocarcinoma, a poorly differentiated colon carcinoma, and a hepatoma). After intravenous injection of iosulamide in dosages of 140 and 280 mg iodine per kg, iodine concentrations were determined in blood, liver and tumors at 1, 5, 10, and 30 minutes, using x-ray energy spectrometry. Compared with the surrounding liver parenchyma, the iodine concentrations were generally higher in the breast carcinoma. With respect to the liver, iodine concentrations varied greatly in the colon carcinoma and hepatoma. The iodine washout from all three tumors was relatively slow. Since the distribution volume of cholangiographic contrast agents includes both vascular and interstitial space, the relatively high and prolonged iosulamide accumulation in tumors can be explained by a relatively large interstitial compartment, which is apparently characteristic of neoplastic lesions. This, together with the modest iodine concentrations found in the liver, suggests that iosulamide is of little use in computed tomography for the differential enhancement of liver and hepatic tumors.

Particulate suspensions as ultrasonic contrast agents for liver and spleen.

Ultrasonic backscatter and attenuation coefficients of a medium can be increased by the addition of solid, micron-size inhomogeneities. A potentially useful agent for ultrasonic contrast of liver images has been identified. Iodipamide ethyl ester (IDE) particles can be produced in the form of dense, relatively incompressible solids with high impedance mismatch to water. The chemical, biochemical, and pharmacologic properties of the small, uniform diameter IDE particles permit safe intravenous injection followed by rapid accumulation of reticuloendothelial (RE) cells of the liver and spleen, and later elimination from these organs. Since the particles are phagocytized by RE cells, present in normal liver but not in tumors and many lesions, the selective enhancement of ultrasonic backscatter should improve detectability of lesions that are hypoechoic or isoechoic compared with surrounding tissue. The mechanisms of particle-ultrasound interaction may be described by relative motion attenuation, and scattering from a cloud of dense, incompressible spheres for the case of IDE particles in agar. Thus, values of attenuation and backscatter can be controlled by choice of ultrasound frequency and particle concentration and size. When the particles are accumulated in rat and rabbit livers, additional mechanisms induce attenuation and backscatter in excess of that predicted by IDE in agar. This preliminary work demonstrates that solid, biocompatible particles may be useful as an ultrasonic contrast agent.

Reduction in ventricular fibrillation using calcium-enriched Renografin 76.

Renografin 76 has been shown to have significant calcium-binding properties in vivo and in vitro. Two contrast media solutions were compared by selective injection into the right coronary artery of dogs. One set of injections was made with commercially available Renografin 76 (referred to as stock Renografin) and another set of injections was made with Renografin 76 to which had been added 24 mMols/liter of calcium chloride dihydrate. Ventricular fibrillation occurred significantly more often with the stock Renografin 76. The nature of the calcium binding and its effects are discussed.

New media. Particulate contrast media.

Particulate contrast agents, when compared to water-soluble media, offer the advantage of allowing the administration of high doses without creating hypertonicity gradients and ionic imbalances. Since these radiopaque particles are accumulated in the reticuloendothelial system, they could be ideal hepatic CT contrast agents. We have developed a method for making particles of 2 +/- 1 microns by precipitating from an organic solvent. Preincubation of these particles in human serum albumin overcomes the very serious problem of in vivo particle aggregation and embolization. The ethyl esters of iothalamic and iodipamic acid have been injected intravenously into mice, rats, and rabbits. Radiopacification of the liver is maximal within 2-3 hours postinfusion, with radiopaque material subsequently clearing through the biliary system. Elimination from the organism seems to be complete within a few days postinfusion. Efforts to decrease the subacute toxicity of these agents are underway.

Biliary excretion of iodipamide and iodoxamate in normal and common bile duct-obstructed dogs.

Iodipamide and iodoxamate were compared at equimolar clinical dosages in dogs with normal, incompletely obstructed and completely obstructed common bile ducts. Forty-eight experiments were performed under general anesthesia in six cholecystomized chronic bile fistula dogs. The peak biliary iodoxamate excretion rate, but not the peak bile iodoxamate concentration, was significantly higher with normal and incompletely obstructed common bile ducts. In complete obstruction, both a significantly higher total biliary iodoxamate excretion and concentration were obtained, but this was still insufficient for radiographic opacification by conventional technique. Lesser toxicity of iodoxamate is suggested by its significantly lower serum levels, its higher bile: urine excretion ratio and its faster compensatory urinary excretion in complete common bile duct obstruction. Iodoxamate appears on this evidence to be a better cholangiographic contrast agent than iodipamide.

Protein binding to iothalamate ethyl ester.

A major problem in the development of a particulate hepatolienographic agent is the prevention of particle aggregation upon contact with blood. When iothalamate ethyl ester, a particulate suspension for potential use as an hepatolienographic agent, was mixed with human or animal plasmas, it resulted in moderate to severe flocculation. In a study conducted to define the binding of plasma proteins to the iothalamate ethyl ester particles, plasma was reversibly adsorbed to various particle preparations. Fractions obtained by incubation of the particle-plasma complexes in buffers of increased ionic strength and decreased pH were subjected to polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis. The fraction containing the specifically bound proteins produced three distinct bands corresponding to prealbumin, albumin, and fibrinogen. Since the particles flocculated only when mixed with plasma, it is postulated that the fibrinogen-particle interaction is a major factor leading to particle agglutination.