• Korean Journal of Bronchoesophagology
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.49-56
• /
• 2009

Purpose : To evaluate the treatment outcome for patients with locally advanced, unresectable esophageal cancer treated with relatively high dose radiation therapy(RT). Materials and Methods : From January 2000 to December 2008, 32 patients with locally advanced unresectable or medically inoperable esophageal cancer were treated with radiation therapy(RT) with or without concurrent chemotherapy. Ten patients were excluded from analysis because of distant metastasis and drop off. Patient distributions according to AJCC stages II, III IVa were 7(31.8%), 12(54.6%), 3(13.6%) respectively. The locations of tumor were cervical/upper thorax 3 (13.6%), mid thorax 13(59.1%), and lower thorax/abdominal 6(27.3%), respectively. Eleven patients received RT only, and 11 patients received cisplatin based concurrent chemoradiotherapy(CCRT). Median radiation dose was 65 Gy(range 57.6~72 Gy). Results : The median follow-up was 9.1 months(range 1.9~43.8 months). The response rates for complete response, Partial response, stable disease and Persistent disease were 6(27.3%), 11(50.0%), 4(18.2%) and 1(4.5%), respectively. Two patients(9.1%) suffered from esophageal stenosis and stents were inserted. Two patients(9.1%) had Grade 3 radiation pneumonitis and one of them expired due to acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS) at 36 days after completion of radiation therapy. The recurrence rate was 11(50.0%). The patterns of recurrence were persistent disease and local progression in 5(22.7%), local recurrence 3(13.7%) and concomitant local and distant recurrence in 3(13.7%). The overall survival(OS) rate was 32.1% at 2 years and 21.4% at 3 years(median 12.0 months). Disease free survival(DFS) rate was 17.3% at 2 and 3 years. All patients who had no dysphagia at diagnosis showed complete response after treatment and 100% OS at 3 years(p=0.0041). The OS for above 64.8 Gy group and 64.8 Gy or below group at 3 years were 60.6% and 9.1%(p=0.1341). The response to treatment was the only significant factor affecting OS(p=0.004). Conclusion : Relatively high dose radiation therapy in unresectable esophageal cancer tended to have a better outcome without increased complication rate. Further study with more patients is warranted to justify improved result.

• Progress in Medical Physics
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.74-80
• /
• 2003

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of the teflon encapsulated TLD rod, which may be used in nuclear medicine for the direct in vivo measurements of radiation dose. We analyzed the influence of teflon encapsulation for measuring absorbed dose. An experiment was carried out to evaluate and observe the response of a LiF TLD-100 rod in a thin-wall teflon capsule at different depths in a solid phantom. An adult anthropomorphic phantom was used to measure the absorbed dose using thin teflon encapsulated TLD. The measurements of PDD-, and TMR in solid phantom and athe bsorbed dose in humanoid phantom performed with normal TLD were compared with values obtained by teflon encapsulated TLD. It was demonstrated that the difference of TL response of LiF in phantom with and without teflon thin-wall capsule was less than 3％ under the same conditions beyond the build-up region. However, significant differences were observed near the phantom surface because of the build-up effect caused by the thin-wall thickness of the teflon capsule. Thus, our study showed that the contribution of teflon thin-wall capsule to TLD response for the megavoltage photon beams was negligible and that it did not significantly effect dose measurement. The teflon encapsulated TLD described in this work has been proven to be appropriate for in vivo dosimetry in therapeutic environments.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.93-101
• /
• 2006

Background: Memory T lymphocytes of the immune system provide long-term protection in response to bacterial or viral infections/immunization. Ag concentration has also been postulated to be important in determining whether T cell differentiation favors effector versus memory cell development. In the present study we hypothesized that naive Ag-specific $CD4^+$ T cells briefly stimulated with different Ag doses at the primary exposure could affect establishment of memory cell pool after secondary immunization. Methods: To assess this hypothesis, the response kinetics of DO11.10 TCR $CD4^+$ T cells primed with different Ag doses in vitro was measured after adoptive transfer to naive BALB/c mice. Results: Maximum expansion was shown in cells primarily stimulated with high doses of ovalbumin peptide $(OVA_{323-339})$, whereas cells in vitro stimulated with low dose were expanded slightly after in vivo secondary exposure. However, the cells primed with low $OVA_{323-339}$ peptide dose showed least contraction and established higher number of memory cells than other treated groups. When the cell division was analyzed after adoptive transfer, the high dose Ag-stimulated donor cells have undergone seven rounds of cell division at 3 days post-adoptive transfer. However, there was very few division in naive and low dose of peptide-treated group. Conclusion: These results suggest that primary stimulation with a low dose of Ag leads to better memory $CD4^+$ T cell generation after secondary immunization. Therefore, these facts imply that optimally primed $CD4^+$ T cells is necessary to support effective memory pool following administration of booster dose in prime-boost vaccination.

• Environmental Mutagens and Carcinogens
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.97-105
• /
• 2002

Nowadays a huge variety of products that aim to assist to quit smoking or reduce addictive symptoms are developed and manufactured with safety evaluation, but the safety of the most recent products of interest which do not contain tobacco and nicotine, and shape cigarettes is not evaluated and guaranteed relatively. This study was carried out to evaluate the single and repeated dose inhalation toxicity and genotoxicity of H menthol (Nicotine free-tobacco free) herbal cigarettes provided by Cigastop Ltd. in ICR mice. In this study, doses which we determined to expose to mice were 40 cigarettes for 6 hours a day to mice in single dose and 20 (high dose), 10 (middle dose) and 5 cigarettes (low dose) a day for 28 days in repeated dose inhalation toxicity, in vivo chromosome aberration test and micronucleus test. The particulate substances from H menthol herbal cigarettes also were gathered and used in the Salmonella typhimurium/microsome assay (Salmonella test; Ames test). We could find neither significant changes between control and treatment groups nor dose-response effects of test material at all except serum Ca level of female middle dose treatment group in repeated dose inhalation toxicity test. In conclusion, H menthol herbal cigarettes, when applied clinically intended dose we used, might not show any toxic and/or mutagenic effect.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.49 no.1
• /
• pp.1-10
• /
• 2023

Low-dose radiation exposure has received considerable attention because it reflects the general public's type and level of exposure. Still, controversy remains due to the relatively unclear results and uncertainty in risk estimation compared to high-dose radiation. However, recent epidemiological studies report direct evidence of health effects for various types of low-dose radiation exposure. In particular, international nuclear workers' studies, CT exposure studies, and children's cancer studies on natural radiation showed significantly increased cancer risk among the study populations despite their low-dose radiation exposure. These studies showed similar results even when the cumulative radiation dose was limited to an exposure group of less than 100 mGy, demonstrating that the observed excess risk was not affected by high exposure. A linear dose-response relationship between radiation exposure and cancer incidence has been observed, even at the low-dose interval. These recent epidemiological studies include relatively large populations, and findings are broadly consistent with previous studies on Japanese atomic bomb survivors. However, the health effects of low-dose radiation are assumed to be small compared to the risks that may arise from other lifestyle factors; therefore, the benefits of radiation use should be considered at the individual level through a balanced interpretation. Further low-dose radiation studies are essential to accurately determining the benefits and risks of radiation.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.15-22
• /
• 1989

Investigations were carried out into the time-and dose-related changes in acute skin reaction following graded single dose (20,30 and 40 Gy) of x-ray irradiation in Wistar rats, in order to evaluate the radioprotective effect of Diethon on skin. For the duration of skin response over 1. 5 score in dose of 40 Gy, the Diethone group of 24.7 days was significantly different (p<0.02) from that of control (29.8 days) and vaseline (29.2 days) groups, it was $17.1\%$ diminution of skin response period compared with that of control group. By the averaging daily scores for 10 days during peak skin reaction the mean scores were obtained. Mean score of Diethone group $(2.43\pm0.22)$ was significantly different (p<0.01) from that of control $(2.91\pm0.23)$ and vaseline $(2.81\pm0.18)$ groups of 40Gy dose. By iso-effect dose obtained at level of 2.5 score the dose reduction factor (DRF) was 1.41 which reduced radiation dose of $41\%$ by radioprotective effect of Diethone. From this experimental data, it may be possible to give higer radiation dose to large and/or radioresistant tumor mass rather than conventional treatment doses for improving therapeutic ratio by using topical application of skin radioprotector.

• Korean Journal of Weed Science
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.159-169
• /
• 2012

Hormesis is a dose-response phenomenon that is characterized by low-dose stimulation and high-dose inhibition. This biphasic dose-responses have had a long and extensive history in the fields of chemical toxicology, radiation biology and pharmacology. Hormesis has been found from bacteria, fungi, plants and animals, but hormesis in plants has received relatively little attention. Thus principles, occurrence, factors affecting the expression of hormetic responses, and their mechanisms in plants induced by herbicides are reviewed to provide the potentials for crop enhancement. Bromacil, bromoxynil, chloramben, propachlor, terbacil, EPTC, MSMA, and glyphosate at low doses showed stimulatory response in growth. Subtoxic dose of glyphosate increased sucrose content in sugarcane that is used worldwide in sugarcane production. Low dose of protoporphyrinogen-inhibiting herbicides induced increased pathogen defence, and low dose of triazine herbicides improved nitrogen metabolism and increased protein content in some crops. Further researches on potential benefits and risks of hormesis and its mechanism are needed for application of crop enhancement in agriculture.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• v.36 no.3
• /
• pp.248-253
• /
• 2018

Radiation protection in the scrotum to reduce the risk of genetic effect in the future is very important. This study aimed to measure the scrotal dose outside the treatment fields by using the radio-photoluminescence glass dosimeter (RPLGD). The characteristics of RPLGD model GD-302M were studied. Scattered dose to scrotum was measured in one liposarcoma case with the prescribed dose of 60 Gy. RPLGDs were placed in three different locations: one RPLGD was positioned at the posterior area which closer to the scrotum, and the other two RPLGDs were placed between the penis and the scrotum. Three RPLGDs were employed in each location. The scattered doses were measured in every fraction during the whole course of treatment. The entire number of 100 RPLGDs showed the uniformity within ±2%. The signal from RPLGD demonstrated linear proportion to the radiation dose (r = 0.999). The relative energy response correction factor was 1.05. The average scrotal dose was 4.1 ± 0.9 cGy per fraction. The results presented a wide range since there was a high uncertainty during RPLGD placement. The total scrotal dose for the whole course of treatment was 101.9 cGy (1.7% of the prescribed dose). The RPLGD model GD-302M could be used to measure scattered dose after applying the relative energy correction factor.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.270-277
• /
• 2018

The adsorption of Eosin Y by the activated carbon (WCAC) prepared from waste citrus peel was investigated by using response surface methodology (RSM) and Box-Behnken design (BBD) statistical procedures. Experiments were carried out as per BBD with three input parameters, the Eosin Y concentration (Conc. : 30~50 mg/L), the solution temperature (Temp. : 293~313 K), and the adsorbent dose (Dose : 0.05~0.15 g/L). Regression analysis showed a good fit of the experimental data to the second-order polynomial model with coefficients of the determination ($R^2$) value of 0.9851 and P-value (Lack of fit) of 0.342. An optimum dye uptake of 59.3 mg/g was achieved at the dye concentration of 50 mg/L, the temperature of 333 K, and the adsorbent dose of 0.1056 g. The adsorption process of Eosin Y by WCAC can be well described by the pseudo second order kinetic model. The experimental data followed the Langmuir isotherm model.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.345-362
• /
• 2017

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the risk of various disease outcomes due to exposure to cyanobacteria toxin (microcystin-LR) through drinking water in a Korean watershed. In order to determine the risk in a more quantitative way, the risk assessment framework developed by the National Research Council (NRC) of the United States (US) - hazard identification, dose-response relationship, exposure assessment, and risk characterization - was used in this study. For dose-response relationships, a computer software (BenchMark Dose Software (BMDS)) developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was used to fit the data from previous studies showing the relationship between the concentration of microcystin-LR and various disease outcomes into various dose-response models. For exposure assessment, the concentrations of microcystin-LR in the source water and finished water in a Korean watershed obtained from a recent study conducted by the Ministry of Environment of Korea were used. Finally, the risk of various disease outcomes due to exposure to cyanobacteria toxin (microcystin-LR) through drinking water was characterized by Monte-Carlo simulation using Crystall Ball program (Oracle Inc.) for adults and children. The results of this study suggest that the risk of disease due to microcystin-LR toxin through drinking water is very low and it appears that current water treatment practice should be able to protect the public from the harmful effects of cyanobacteria toxin (microcystin-LR) through drinking water.