Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30003160›Full record

ArticleHeliyon2018

Autoradiographic analysis of internal plutonium radiation exposure in Nagasaki atomic bomb victims.

Kazuko Shichijo, Toshihiro Takatsuji, Manabu Fukumoto, Masahiro Nakashima, Mutsumi M Matsuyama, Ichiro Sekine

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Heliyon, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 28% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Kazuko ShichijoDivision of Tumor and Diagnostic Pathology, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
Toshihiro TakatsujiFaculty of Environmental Science, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
Manabu FukumotoDepartment of Molecular Pathology, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo, Japan.
Masahiro NakashimaDivision of Tumor and Diagnostic Pathology, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
Mutsumi M MatsuyamaTissue and Histopathology Section, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
Ichiro SekineDivision of Tumor and Diagnostic Pathology, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
Nagasaki University · JPTokyo Medical University · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRadiation doses received by Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors has been evaluated from data related only to external exposure because there was no reliable evidence for internal exposure in atomic bomb victims. However, we assumed that the contribution of internal exposure cannot be ruled out.

methodsAutoradiography was carried out with the 70-year old paraffin-embedded specimens taken from Nagasaki atomic bomb victims who died within 5 months after the bombing. After exposure to photo emulsion for 6 months alpha-tracks were revealed in the specimens. We confirmed the alpha-tracks were emitted from deposited plutonium (Pu) in reference to the track length of the 8.787 MeV alpha-particle of thorium series from Polonium-212. Radioactivity concentration of Pu was obtained by counting alpha-tracks. The absorbed dose of each cell nucleus penetrated by an alpha-particle was estimated by calculating the absorbed energy from the particle.

resultsUsing old paraffin embedded sections processed about 70 years ago, we demonstrated for the first time that conditions in the aftermath of the bombing led to internal exposure to alpha-particles emitted from Pu, the fissile material of the Nagasaki atomic bomb. Dose rate of internal exposure was higher in the victims exposed outdoors than those indoors. Radioactivity concentration was relatively uniform among organs examined in a victim.

conclusionPu was deposited in the bodies of the Nagasaki A-bomb victims presumably via various routes. Organ dose from Pu of the Nagasaki A-bomb victims studied was during their surviving period, which is lower compared with external exposure. However, the impact to the individual cell nucleus by a single alpha-particle might not be negligible, It would be meaningful; to analyze the relationship of the impact of internal exposure at the cellular level and organ dose. The 70-year old pathological specimens utilized in our study are an invaluable source for understanding internal radiation exposure and are crucial in elucidating experimentally unreproducible phenomena.

Indexed as

BiophysicsNuclear medicinePathology

Identifiers

PMID30003160
PMCPMC6039857
OpenAlexW2811434184

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.