The FIRST large-scale mapping of radon concentration in soil gas and water in Romania

In the framework of the last Council Directive 2013/59 (Euratom, 2014) laying down basic safety standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionizing radiation, the problem of radon was assumed in Romania at national level by responsible authorities through the design and development of a National Radon Action Plan and an adequate legislation (HG nr. 526/2018). In order to identify radon risk areas, however, it is necessary to perform systematic radon measurements in different environmental media (soil gas, water, indoor air) and to map the results. This paper presents an atlas of up-to-date radon in soil and water levels for central and western part of Romania. The radon in soil map includes data from 2564 measurements carried out on-site, using Luk3C radon detector. The Luk-VR system was used to measure radon activity concentration from 2452 samples of drinking water. The average radon activity concentration was 29.3?kBq?m-3 for soil gas, respectively 9.8?Bq?l-1 for water dissolved air. Mapping of radon can be a useful tool to implement radon policies at both the national and local levels, defining priority areas for further study when land-use decisions must be made.This work was supported by the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research and Innovation, CNCS-UEFISCDI, by the project ”Radon map (residential, geogenic, water) for center, west and north-west regions from Romania (RAMARO), PN-II-PCCA-PT-73/2012 and by the project ID P_37_229, Contract No. 22/01.09.2016, with the title „Smart Systems for Public Safety through Control and Mitigation of Residential Radon linked with Energy Efficiency Optimization of Buildings in Romanian Major Urban Agglomerations SMARTRAD-EN” of the POC Programme

A review of recent work on discharge characteristics during plasma electrolytic oxidation of various metals

The review describes recent progress on understanding and quantification of the various phenomena that take place during plasma electrolytic oxidation, which is in increasing industrial use for production of protective coatings and other surface treatment purposes. A general overview of the process, and some information about usage of these coatings, are provided in the first part of the review. The focus is then on the dielectric breakdown that repeatedly occurs over the surface of the work-piece. These discharges are central to the process, since it is largely via the associated plasmas that oxidation of the substrate takes place and the coating is created. The details are complex, since the discharge characteristics are affected by a number of processing variables. The inter-relationships between electrical conditions, electrolyte composition, coating microstructure and rates of growth, which are linked via the characteristics of the discharges, have become clearer over recent years and these improvements in understanding are summarized here. There is considerable scope for more effective process control, with specific objectives in terms of coating performance and energy efficiency, and an attempt is made to identify key points that are likely to assist this

An Innovative System for Monitoring Radon and Indoor Air Quality

Nowadays, a global trend towards increasing the performance of a building is the reduction in energy consumption. In this respect, for existing residential buildings the most common techniques are the application of a thermal insulation layer to the exterior wall of the building and / or window replacements. Unfortunately, their application without proper education of those involved may have a negative effect on the indoor air quality. The use of a continuous monitoring device can give the owner the ability to understand the impact of his behaviour on indoor air quality and, as such, to adjust his routine in order to maintain the indoor air quality at the desired level. This paper introduces a prototype, called ICA system, for continuous, real-time indoor air quality monitoring. The ICA system presents sensors for monitoring the concentration of radon, CO2, CO, VOCs, as well as meteorological parameters, such as temperature, pressure, and relative humidity. Experiments were performed both in laboratory and in situ conditions for testing and validating the proposed system.This work was supported by the project ID P_37_229, Contract No. 22/01.09.2016, with the title “Smart Systems for Public Safety through Control and Mitigation of Residential Radon linked with Energy Efficiency Optimization of Buildings in Romanian Major Urban Agglomerations SMART-RAD-EN” of the POC Programme

A prospective survey in European Society of Cardiology member countries of atrial fibrillation management: baseline results of EURO bservational Research Programme Atrial Fibrillation (EORP-AF) Pilot General Registry

Aims: Given the advances in atrial fibrillation (AF) management and the availability of new European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines, there is a need for the systematic collection of contemporary data regarding the management and treatment of AF in ESC member countries. Methods and results: We conducted a registry of consecutive in- and outpatients with AF presenting to cardiologists in nine participating ESC countries. All patients with an ECG-documented diagnosis of AF confirmed in the year prior to enrolment were eligible. We enroled a total of 3119 patients from February 2012 to March 2013, with full data on clinical subtype available for 3049 patients (40.4% female; mean age 68.8 years). Common comorbidities were hypertension, coronary disease, and heart failure. Lone AF was present in only 3.9% (122 patients). Asymptomatic AF was common, particularly among those with permanent AF. Amiodarone was the most common antiarrhythmic agent used (~20%), while beta-blockers and digoxin were the most used rate control drugs. Oral anticoagulants (OACs) were used in 80% overall, most often vitamin K antagonists (71.6%), with novel OACs being used in 8.4%. Other antithrombotics (mostly antiplatelet therapy, especially aspirin) were still used in one-third of the patients, and no antithrombotic treatment in only 4.8%. Oral anticoagulants were used in 56.4% of CHA 2DS2-VASc = 0, with 26.3% having no antithrombotic therapy. A high HAS-BLED score was not used to exclude OAC use, but there was a trend towards more aspirin use in the presence of a high HAS-BLED score. Conclusion: The EURObservational Research Programme Atrial Fibrillation (EORP-AF) Pilot Registry has provided systematic collection of contemporary data regarding the management and treatment of AF by cardiologists in ESC member countries. Oral anticoagulant use has increased, but novel OAC use was still low. Compliance with the treatment guidelines for patients with the lowest and higher stroke risk scores remains suboptimal. © The Author 2013

Genotoxic effects of 60Co gamma-rays on Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the cellular radiosensitivity and radiation-induced DNA damage and repair in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Cell survival after irradiation was assessed using the clonogenic assay. The initial, radio-induced and residual DNA damage in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells exposed to 60Co gamma-rays were determined using the alkaline comet assay. A linear-quadratic (LQ) survival curve was observed in CHO line. Data obtained by comet assay demonstrated a linear dose-response correlation in the range of tested doses (0.3-4 Gy). The process of DNA repair was modeled by exponential equation. In addition, we found a good correlation (R2 = 0.995) between clonogenic cell survival and radio-induced DNA damage

Fast Analysis of Total Polyphenol Content and Antioxidant Activity in Wines and Oenological Tannins Using a Flow Injection System with Tandem Diode Array and Electrochemical Detections

An analytical method for simultaneous determination of total polyphenol content (TPC) and antioxidant activity (AA) of wines (white and red wines) and oenological tannins, using a flow injection system with sequential diode array and electrochemical amperometry detectors (DAD-ECD), was proposed. The signal at 280 nm provided aggregate data for TPC. The anodic peak related to wine phenolic oxidation was scanned using pulsed integrated amperometry over the potential of 800 mV vs. Ag/AgCl, to obtain AA. Serial dilutions avoided the poisoning at the glassy carbon (GC) electrode and the linear response obtained with both detectors was compared with spectrophotometric assays commonly used in oenology laboratory. Intraday and interday analytical repetitions showed a good repeatability and reproducibility (relative standard deviation RSD < 6% for both detectors), and the satisfactory relationship between the proposed coupled flow injection/DAD-ECD and the classic UV methods (R2TPC = 0.9967; R2DPPH = 0.9621) confirmed the efficacy of flow injection analysis with a coupled detection system, for the reliable quality control of wine and wine-related products