Considering the human health risk due to the consumption of foodstuffs, the concentrations of heavy metals (lead, manganese, chromium, cadmium, and arsenic) are investigated in vegetables, fruits, and fish species collected from the central market (called Shaheb Bazar) of Rajshahi City, Bangladesh. The foodstuffs examined for metal constituents are the basis of human nutrition in the study area. The highest concentrations of Mn and As in vegetables (onion and pointed gourd, respectively), Cr and Cd in fruits (black berry and mango, respectively), and Pb in fish (catla) are recorded. Health risks associated with these heavy metals are evaluated due to dietary intake. Target hazard quotient (THQ) and hazard index (HI) are calculated to evaluate the non-carcinogenic health risk from individual and combined heavy metals. The THQ values for individual heavy metals are below 1, suggesting that people would not experience significant health risks if they ingest a single heavy metal from one kind of foodstuff (e.g., vegetables). However, consumption of several of the foodstuffs could lead a potential health risk to human population since HI value is higher than 1. The relative contributions of vegetables, fishes, and fruits to HI are 49.44, 39.07, and 11.53 %, respectively. Also, the relative contributions of Pb, Cd, As, Mn, and Cr to HI are 51.81, 35.55, 11.73, 0.85, and 0.02 %, respectively. The estimation shows that the carcinogenic risk of arsenic exceeds the accepted risk level of 1 × 10(-6). Thus, the carcinogenic risk of arsenic for consumers is a matter of concern.

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Nuclear reaction / Cross section / Excitation function / Integral yield / Radionuclidic purity / Highly enriched target material / Electrolytic deposition SummaryExcitation functions of 54 Fe(d,n) 5S Co and 54 Fe(d,«) 52g Mn reactions were determined from their respective thresholds up to 13 MeV via the stacked-foil technique using natural as well as 99.85% enriched 54 Fe as target material. Thin samples were prepared by electrolytic deposition of ""Fe or M Fe on a Au-backing. From the measured cross sections the integral yields of 55 Co and 52s Mn were deduced. Due to its very low yield, the 54 Fe(d, a) 52g Mn process is not suitable for production of 52g Mn. The optimum energy range for the production of "Co via the 54 Fe(d, n)-process was found to be E d = 10 ->5 MeV, the 55 Co yield amounting to 32 MBq (0.86 mCi)^Ah and the level of 56 -57 Co impurities to <0.1%. The 54 Fe(d,n) 55 Co process on highly enriched M Fe is thus ideally suited for the production of high-purity 55 Co at a small cyclotron.

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Y(a,x) reactions MC-50 cyclotron Stacked-foil activation technique Excitation functionOff line c-ray spectrometry a b s t r a c tThe excitation functions of 89g,m,90,91m,92m Nb, 88,89 Zr, and 87g,m,88,90m,91m Y from alpha-induced reactions on 89 Y were measured from their respective threshold to 45 MeV by using a stacked-foil activation technique at the MC-50 cyclotron of the Korean Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences. The results were compared with the earlier reported data as well as with the theoretical values obtained from the TENDL-2013 library based on the TALYS1.6 code. Our measurements in the energy region from the threshold energy to 45 MeV are in general good agreement with the other experimental data and calculated results. The integral yields for thick target of the produced radionuclides were also deduced from their measured cross sections and the stopping power of 89 Y. The measured excitation functions find importance in various practical applications including nuclear medicine and improvement of nuclear model calculations.