Search

An IAEA handbook presenting transfer parameter values for wildlife has recently been produced. Concentration ratios (CRwo-media) between the whole organism (fresh weight) and either soil (dry weight) or water were collated for a range of wildlife groups (classified taxonomically and by feeding strategy) in terrestrial, freshwater, marine and brackish generic ecosystems. The data have been compiled in an on line database, which will continue to be updated in the future providing the basis for subsequent revision of the Wildlife TRS values. An overview of the compilation and analysis, and discussion of the extent and limitations of the data is presented. Example comparisons of the CRwo-media values are given for polonium across all wildlife groups and ecosystems and for molluscs for all radionuclides. The CRwo-media values have also been compared with those currently used in the ERICA Tool which represented the most complete published database for wildlife transfer values prior to this work. The use of CRwo-media values is a pragmatic approach to predicting radionuclide activity concentrations in wildlife and is similar to that used for screening assessments for the human food chain. The CRwo-media values are most suitable for a screening application where there are several conservative assumptions built into the models which will, to varying extents, compensate for the variable data quality and quantity, and associated uncertainty. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Background/Objectives: A high prevalence of Type 2 diabetes exists in Saudi Arabia. Epidemiological evidence suggests that low glycaemic index (GI) diets reduce diabetes risk. Yet, little is known about the GI of traditional Saudi Arabian staples such as Hassawi rice (HR). HR was evaluated in terms of its GI and insulinaemic indices (II). Comparisons were made in vitro assessing glucose released enzymatically. A long grain rice variety available in both the UK and Saudi was studied as a comparison. Subjects/Methods: For GI and II measurements, HR, Uncle Ben’s rice (UBR) and a standard glucose solution were consumed by healthy subjects (n=13) on 7 randomised occasions. Capillary bloods were collected at specific times over 2 h after food intake. FAO/WHO protocols were employed to determine GI and II. For the in vitro studies, cooked rice was incubated with hydrolytic enzymes under standardised conditions. Samples were taken at t=20 & t=120 min and rapidly available glucose (RAG) and slowly available glucose (SAG) were computed. Results: Values of RAG and SAG were lower for HR compared to their respective values for UBR (p<0.001 & p=0.011, respectively). However, no significant difference was observed for GI (p>0.05) despite a lower insulin response noted for HR (p=0.007). Conclusions: HR had a similar GI to UBR although a lower insulin response was evident. RAG and SAG values were different for the two rice varieties despite similar GI values. These differences may be important in terms of their metabolic impact and outcome on diabetes.