Of the importance of a leaf: the ethnobotany of sarma in Turkey and the Balkans

BACKGROUND: Sarma - cooked leaves rolled around a filling made from rice and/or minced meat, possibly vegetables and seasoning plants - represents one of the most widespread feasting dishes of the Middle Eastern and South-Eastern European cuisines. Although cabbage and grape vine sarma is well-known worldwide, the use of alternative plant leaves remains largely unexplored. The aim of this research was to document all of the botanical taxa whose leaves are used for preparing sarma in the folk cuisines of Turkey and the Balkans. Methods: Field studies were conducted during broader ethnobotanical surveys, as well as during ad-hoc investigations between the years 2011 and 2014 that included diverse rural communities in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey. Primary ethnobotanical and folkloric literatures in each country were also considered. Results: Eighty-seven botanical taxa, mainly wild, belonging to 50 genera and 27 families, were found to represent the bio-cultural heritage of sarma in Turkey and the Balkans. The greatest plant biodiversity in sarma was found in Turkey and, to less extent, in Bulgaria and Romania. The most commonly used leaves for preparing sarma were those of cabbage (both fresh and lacto-fermented), grape vine, beet, dock, sorrel, horseradish, lime tree, bean, and spinach. In a few cases, the leaves of endemic species (Centaurea haradjianii, Rumex gracilescens, and R. olympicus in Turkey) were recorded. Other uncommon sarma preparations were based on lightly toxic taxa, such as potato leaves in NE Albania, leaves of Arum, Convolvulus, and Smilax species in Turkey, of Phytolacca americana in Macedonia, and of Tussilago farfara in diverse countries. Moreover, the use of leaves of the introduced species Reynoutria japonica in Romania, Colocasia esculenta in Turkey, and Phytolacca americana in Macedonia shows the dynamic nature of folk cuisines. Conclusion: The rich ethnobotanical diversity of sarma confirms the urgent need to record folk culinary plant knowledge. The results presented here can be implemented into initiatives aimed at re-evaluating folk cuisines and niche food markets based on local neglected ingredients, and possibly also to foster trajectories of the avant-garde cuisines inspired by ethnobotanical knowledge

ДОЛГОЖИВУЩИЕ РАДИОНУКЛИДЫ ПРИ ПОЛУЧЕНИИ [18F]ФТОРХОЛИНА ДЛЯ ПЭТ-ДИАГНОСТИКИ

In the present study the distribution of long-lived radionuclides between the drug product, recovered water [ 18O]H2 O and solid phase extraction cartridges was studied in [18F]fluorocholine production process. Isotopic composition for long-lived nuclides (half-lives = 10–312 days) was determined, the mechanisms of their formation and accumulation on cartridges are considered. It was shown that in the batches of pharmaceutical produced the content of long-lived nuclides is by 5 orders of magnitude lower than the limit value specified by the appropriate 07/2016:2793 European Pharmacopoeia article. The results obtained are of vital importance for optimization of the procedures for radioactive waste management in the production of [18F]fluorocholine using IBA Cyclone 18/9 HC cyclotron and, consequently, for minimization of radiation exposure of personnel.Исследовано распределение долгоживущих радионуклидов между готовой лекарственной формой, регенерированной водой [18O]H2 O и картриджами сорбционной очистки в процессе производства [18F]фторхолина. Определен изотопный состав долгоживущих радионуклидов (t 1/2 = 10–312 сут), рассмотрены механизмы их образования и накопления на картриджах. Показано, что в произведенных партиях радиофармпрепарата содержание долгоживущих радионуклидов на 5 порядков ниже предельных значений, задаваемых соответствующей статьей 07/2016:2793 Европейской фармакопеи. Полученные результаты имеют важное значение для оптимизации методов обращения с радиоактивными отходами при производстве [ 18F]фторхолина с использованием циклотрона IBA Cyclone 18/9 HC и, как следствие, минимизации дозовых нагрузок персонала

Sunlight-Exposed Biofilm Microbial Communities Are Naturally Resistant to Chernobyl Ionizing-Radiation Levels

BACKGROUND: The Chernobyl accident represents a long-term experiment on the effects of exposure to ionizing radiation at the ecosystem level. Though studies of these effects on plants and animals are abundant, the study of how Chernobyl radiation levels affect prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbial communities is practically non-existent, except for a few reports on human pathogens or soil microorganisms. Environments enduring extreme desiccation and UV radiation, such as sunlight exposed biofilms could in principle select for organisms highly resistant to ionizing radiation as well. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To test this hypothesis, we explored the diversity of microorganisms belonging to the three domains of life by cultivation-independent approaches in biofilms developing on concrete walls or pillars in the Chernobyl area exposed to different levels of radiation, and we compared them with a similar biofilm from a non-irradiated site in Northern Ireland. Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Acidobacteria and Deinococcales were the most consistently detected bacterial groups, whereas green algae (Chlorophyta) and ascomycete fungi (Ascomycota) dominated within the eukaryotes. Close relatives to the most radio-resistant organisms known, including Rubrobacter species, Deinococcales and melanized ascomycete fungi were always detected. The diversity of bacteria and eukaryotes found in the most highly irradiated samples was comparable to that of less irradiated Chernobyl sites and Northern Ireland. However, the study of mutation frequencies in non-coding ITS regions versus SSU rRNA genes in members of a same actinobacterial operational taxonomic unit (OTU) present in Chernobyl samples and Northern Ireland showed a positive correlation between increased radiation and mutation rates. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results show that biofilm microbial communities in the most irradiated samples are comparable to non-irradiated samples in terms of general diversity patterns, despite increased mutation levels at the single-OTU level. Therefore, biofilm communities growing in sunlight exposed substrates are capable of coping with increased mutation rates and appear pre-adapted to levels of ionizing radiation in Chernobyl due to their natural adaptation to periodical desiccation and ambient UV radiation