Report: Puerto Rico Nuclear Center (111TH Meeting of the Advisory Committee for Biology and Medicine to the Atomic Energy Commission, January 13, 14, 15, 1966)

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PUERXO WICO NUCLEAR CENTER Advisory Committee for Biology d n d Niedicine to t h e Atomic Energy Commission

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Thii report &a prepared as an &unt of Government sponllored work. Neither ?he United Statm,nor the Commission. nor any petson acting on bebU of €he Commission: A. Makes any warranty (v representation. express or hoplied. with respect to the accuracy, completeness. or usefulness of the information contained in thii reporf or that the use of any information. apparatus, method, or process disclosed in thk report may not infringe privately owned rights; or B. Assumcs any liabzities with respect to the use of, or for damages ruulting from the usc of any information. appnratus. method. or process disclosed in this mpoR As rued in the above, “person acting on behalf of the Commission” includes any employee or contractor of the Commission to the extent that such ernploy& or contractor prepares. handlcs or distributes, or provides acccss to, any information pursuant to his employment or contract with the Commksion.

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Table of Contents Terrestrial Ecology Program, PartI The Rain Forest Terrestrial Ecology Program, Part I1 Radiation Induced Variability in Indigenous Radioisotope Applications Divislon Cli c ical Applications Division Radiotherapy and Cancer Division Medical Sciences acd Radiobiology Division A Study of the Mechanism of Antigen-Antibody Reactions Following the Inocxlatioc of Mice with Irradiated and - Normal Schistosoma mansoni cercariae

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Program of t h e PAerto Rico Nuclear Center (Lunch will be provided.) Bus returns t o Condado Eeach Hotel Cocktails azld Dinner at the * Please dress i n old clothes zqd wear old shoes for E l Verde field trip.

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Atomic Energy Commission staff attending meeting:- Medicai Xesearch Brarch Division of Bio loa acd Nedicine Assistant Director f o r Medical ar?d Health Research Division of Biology ar,d Medicine Division of Biology axd Medicine Divisiofi of Gpezatioria; Safety Division of Biology and Medicine Division of Sioiogy arld Medicine Division of Biology an_d Medicine Division of Biology azd FedizFrie Assistant. gi rector for A&nistration Division of Siology azd Medicine Associate Director for Researeh Division of Biology and Medicine Division of Eiology arid Medicbe Radiology Physi.=s and lrrstrime ntat ion Branch Division of Biology and Medicine Chief, Inst.itlJtes and Pellowships Branch Division of Nucleaz Edacation & Training

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Terrestrial Ecology Program, Part 6 C e s i m on t.he Rain Forest: system at. Zi Verdeo (3) To ch w acte rize the circuiir.s and rretakollc ezergy pdses of a complex terrestrial. ecoiogical syst.em so as 5c aqdershrid %he ccnsequerce of ir ra diz tion and fall. 0-A. stor&ge, Afkr 15 months of pre-irzadia$.iori sk dies and preparations at mLliion E. Post irradiation measwenents are Ir, progress showing effects ..the radiation and coct,rcl areiis., ir ra diz ti ori Segan January 19, 1965. Dah emerging provide some factual basis for predicting effects Variclis met.hods for appraising effect and rscovery include optical density, frog rLoise, microciimate, r?easl?rements of sew growth; seedling ari i mal pcpulations, aer iai phot.cga.phe, e5c

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dose exposwes, and gross h a l f lives of irradi&ted materials under known flux mad irradiation the so In addition the identification and measurement of niarly eiemests 8 s for example, Cu, Co, Fe: Zr-,Mn, Sc, La, Na, and &hers can be carried cat on neutron irradiated specimens, Some samples frcm Parrana axd Virgix forest of Dominica were collected for couipa-risons. Preliminary six vey s of soil specimens from various locations i n Puert.0 Iiico have revealed certain sites of unusiially high levels Of radium daughtezs. Tizese sites which ccztair, a factor of 6 mare natural radioactivity than the E1 Verde s i t e may be of comiderable value i n future stiAdies of the behavior cf radioisotopes of the 2anim decay series ir, riatxral envirormerlf,s A sugges+;ed preliminary mefor these sites i s t.0 study the possibility of radcn transpiration by plant. by examining wood from the Coincident with Dr0 1 - iey ’ s sabbatical work here, special effort i s being made t o measure the Leaching rates of the leaTfes of %he rain forest trees acd two species of rainforest ciimate agricultural. species circuits that might be prepared i f amhcrized aad 5udgeted. ?he system on the passi-Je principi e allows f3r flows i n 36 eompartments for which there are data available to set storage consta;?ts and The work on a giant cyiinder t o neasure forest met.abolism and tranPriorities on this spj.r&tion when the plast.ic tore loose inthe wind after being in position experiment may go up now since the giant cylinder provides rates of transpiration for asec tic n of rainforest, an item necessary to calculate the tritiun. balance i n any co2sideration of Pacania canal fe a sibi li ties. A stronger plastic has been ordered.

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Radioisotope App E ications Division Edwin Roig, Ph,Z., Chief Scienzist 11, Head; I-I, Harry Szmant, Ph.D., The mair, objective of the program i s the offering of sufficient tra i zing to scientists in the application of radioisotopes and iorlizicg radiation t o the physical sciences t o proyide t,echnical compet,ence for their future work. A second objective is the offericg of introductory radioisotopes and ionizing ra diz tion as a backgroud o r as complementary (1) Sadiochemistry Course (Chemistry 465--4c redit hours) e A onesemester course offered orxe a year for advanced undergraduate and graduate students. Three one-hour lectures and one foxr-hour laboratory period per (2) Nuclear Zechniques i n Biological Research (Biology 372--4 credit A one-semester course offerPd once a year for advanced under-hou_rs). period per week, Three one-hour lectures and one four-hour laboratory (3) Radioisotope Applications i n Organic Chemistry-- Lecture course first time the second semester of t h i s academic year. lec sues per week. A one-semest.er graduate course t o be offered for the The Radiochemistry course mentioned above i s a pre- (4) Eadioisotope Applications i n Organic Cheniistry-- Laboratory course ( 2 credit. hours), A one-semester laboratory course t o be offered f o r the

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relations and distinct ios s bet.ween these, giving training in fhe use of quantum chemical calculations for evaluation of the experimental reslfits, Also included are projects !!%e research topics .irwalve st c dies of transient species formed by 7 - irradiatior, of heterocyclic molecules, and trapped in rigid matrices The allied theoretical projects involve Molecular The 7 -radibiysis and phc5olysis studies have been begm very recently, and are i n t.heir preliminary sfages of measuring control absorption .spectra, and determinifig optimum experimental conditions with systems previously are being actively carried out., and a large nlmber of het.erocyc1i.c molecules wi%h Prof. C. Zauli, University of Bologna, It.aly) in triplet states of heterocyclic molecules ase i n progress. Valence bond calculations ( i n collaboration

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(2) I n addition t.0 applications for formal training we have received requests f o r informal training. have already been trained, 24 have been accepted for training, and 13 candidates a r e pending decision. As a result of this activity k persons (3) Evidence has been obtained t h a t many prospective t.rain$es could come t o Puerto Rico for training provided maintenance expenses could be To complement the training program, research projects are active i n (1)Thyroid disorders: diagnosis and therapy. (4) Organ and. tumor localization.

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(2) Special Short Term Radiotherapy Training Course. Special programs are prepared according tothe needs of the person. Participants may engage ina research project and may parrticipate i n all teaching activities of the Radiotherapy and Cancer Division; but are not given An additional training act.ivity.is offered for Fourth Year Medical Students. Selected candidates receive one month of intensive in-service training, where they are exposed t o cancer and radiotherapy clinical Experienced radiotherapists from Latin America =e hired as visiting Division and t o carry ,out research projects. This permits them t.0 become acquainted with t.he work of this TO complement the training programs, a number of research projects are active in this Division. Role of Surgical Sterilization in the Etiology of Cancer of the Uterine Cervix; (2) Study of Fractionatiori of WeekLy Radiation Doses i n Cancer Patients Under Radiotherapy; (3) Carcinoma of the Uterine Cervix Associated with Pregnancy; (4) Biochemical Changes i n t h e Blood of Cancer Patienis Receiving Radiotherapy; (5) Determination of Optimal Tamor-Dose i n Radiation Therapy of Cancer of the Esophagus; (6) Controlled Study of the Split-Dose Technique i n Eadiotherapy of Cancer; (7) Study of Chromosome Changes i n Patients Undergoing Radiation Therapy for Cancer; (8) Lymphangiography i n Cancer Patients; (9) Exfoliative Cytology as a Tool f o r Determining Prognosis i n Cases with Cervical Carcinoma Submitted to Irradiation ; (10) Surgical Adjuvant Breast Project; (U) Study of the Incidence of Leukemia inPatients with Cervical Cancer Treated with Radiation; (12) Quantitative Fractionated Irradiation Studies ina Transplantable Mouse Chondrosarcoma; (13) Clinical Dose-Time-Fractionation These include: (1)Investigation of the This division i s collaborating i n varioas research projects conducted

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Pie neEtror somce (with 10 mp ard fill moderator) and triethanolamine borate as a tagging compound we have evoiired a system with which, starting cells growing and cTiv5ding i n synclnTony we h3ve established the conditians necessaxy t o reduce the plating eff i cie my of the t.agged m d irradiated cells to half that of the controls. A cooperative study of hman chromosomes i n normal individuals and those receiving radiation therapy was set. up with %he U.S. Army Tropical Research Medical Laborat.ory (COO. Col, M. Dacquisto) and the Division of Radiotherapy but with the reorient.at5on of the Army program and t,ransfer of Col. Dacquisto t o Washington we lost the considerable support we had been receiving from that assumed the responsibility for the Chromosome projecr,s which continue, these may be divided into the following sub-secticns. a) We aze continuing the collection of specimens from Puerto Rico Nuclear Center staff to establish a reference collection. b)A study of the karyotypes of individuals of two d is th ct asthma last sub-project bep. with Col. Dacquisto) e ) The study of chromosome patterns i n odr ''normal HeLa cell cLiltures f o r comparison with ?.hose affected by Boron 10 neutron d) Occasional ci in ical st.udies which derive from associated programs or anomalies found i n our volunteers. A t one time we were cooperat.ing ina study of the factors which bring small children int.0 hospital with acute neurological disorders - although this was progressing well and producing very interesting results,a combination of several factors forced us t o abandon our part in this program. Dr. Correa has been adapted t o our C F l mice arid from them has been established in tissue culture where it has yielded three dist in cz morphological cell types which appear t o be stable. 3 and 4 separate reports are given for the virus and Schistosomiasis The series of attempts t o adapt. the Dengue viruses, isolated during the 1963-64 epidemic, to tissue c.j'Lt.ures has now been dropped, largely due t o the fact that Dr. Wissman's group i n Baltimore have achieved an adaptatior, to chilled baby mice.

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Ville lla, Rii. E., Associate Scientist, Full time. Authorization f o r thi's program was received on Decem'Der 3rd, 2363 and it i s based upon work by Ville lla ar1.d Gemberg while a t the UrSversity cf Michigar,, and on similar work published by Sadur. e t a:. Both these groups reported an acquired resistance to chaL'LI.;ige with virulent S. mansosi cercariae after prior exposure t o cercariae which had been Zanaged by exposure t o gamma irradiation ; t!ie differ m ce Tr,t h e work of :.ti.: groups lies in the route of exposure tothe cerctiriae; wr1ii.p Ville lk zaed intra - object. of the preserrt. program t o perfec;;. a dn5cat.e means of ascesslng t h e designed to test the duration of the prot.eci.ion conferred and the stages a t which various serological teats yield posiT ive results Wrien ?kt parameters for inducing maximalprotectlon have b3ec 5stakllsned it. i s intendPd t o make a detailed study of a l l detectable reactions whlck occur between the challenging para5it.e and .the "immme" host,, with spkcial etrqhasie on the factors which lead tothe disabling of t9osI- cn alle qing cercariae which fail to "immune response'! o r degree of protecttori conferred upon a mouse which has been exposed to irradiated cercariae are virtually insuperable using techniques ir, current. use by paras i to logi sts. Experimeit 5 Lave also been We have now perfected a method cf a;sesslcg the degree of infection which i s baEed on the number of S. mansorii ova wnich can be recovered from t h e feces of the infected mice, usini standardized observation procedures. sensitive that it readily shows variation in mouse susceptibility with age - most authorities have claitr.ed that no such phenomenon exists. Experiments are currently i n progress t o determine the oprimum amount of radiation for This is so cercarial exposure, i n order TO irsduce -me challer,ge. The results of the experimenss after which ?he final phase of the program greatest degree of resistance t o should t o be hand early i n 1966 can be mounted.

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3. Effect of wezting agellrs OP foliz absor.ps3.o~of phosphase5. Lndenrifiraticn rif tissue wcleo:ldes - several compoilnds c o Radiatior, s teri liza tio g of s-cgarcar.e borer (Walker) e 1. Shelf - life extersfm of narLgoes - Thesis study i s nearly 2 * E f f e c t of radiazlon 01, pecyins ic mango - Extensive depolperizat.ion OCCLC red vitk- 2 megvad dose, polygalackranase on shelf - life ard r,l~$.tieri. i eyre; s POX ?;_n_derway(Graham) e

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limestone, serpentine or rocks of volcanic origin, the characteristics of variability in trace element content of populations of organisms from a given environment, and the development of methods for analyzing trace elements i n a variety of sample types.

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DEPUTY DIRECTOR t H.J. GOMBERG RIO PIEDRAS MAYAGUEZ ASST. DIRECTOR FOR HEALTH a INTER NATIONAL ATOM I C OPERATIONS : OAK. RIDGE ASST. DIRECTOR FOR SCIENTIFIC I it HECTOR BARCELO (21)