• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.45 no.4
• /
• pp.171-177
• /
• 2020

Background: This study aims to determine the effective atomic number (Zeff) from dual-energy image sets obtained using a conventional computed tomography (CT) simulator. The estimated Zeff can be used for deriving the stopping power and material decomposition of CT images, thereby improving dose calculations in radiation therapy. Materials and Methods: An electron-density phantom was scanned using Philips Brilliance CT Big Bore at 80 and 140 kVp. The estimated Zeff values were compared with those obtained using the calibration phantom by applying the Rutherford, Schneider, and Joshi methods. The fitting parameters were optimized using the nonlinear least squares regression algorithm. The fitting curve and mass attenuation data were obtained from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The fitting parameters obtained from stopping power and material decomposition of CT images, were validated by estimating the residual errors between the reference and calculated Zeff values. Next, the calculation accuracy of Zeff was evaluated by comparing the calculated values with the reference Zeff values of insert plugs. The exposure levels of patients under additional CT scanning at 80, 120, and 140 kVp were evaluated by measuring the weighted CT dose index (CTDIw). Results and Discussion: The residual errors of the fitting parameters were lower than 2%. The best and worst Zeff values were obtained using the Schneider and Joshi methods, respectively. The maximum differences between the reference and calculated values were 11.3% (for lung during inhalation), 4.7% (for adipose tissue), and 9.8% (for lung during inhalation) when applying the Rutherford, Schneider, and Joshi methods, respectively. Under dual-energy scanning (80 and 140 kVp), the patient exposure level was approximately twice that in general single-energy scanning (120 kVp). Conclusion: Zeff was calculated from two image sets scanned by conventional single-energy CT simulator. The results obtained using three different methods were compared. The Zeff calculation based on single-energy exhibited appropriate feasibility.

• Natural Product Sciences
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.315-320
• /
• 2011

Routinely applicable HPLC assay procedures for the ganglioside content in various deer antler preparations were established through the creation of a UV-absorbing chromophoric substance - trans-${\alpha},{\beta}$-unsaturated-hexadecene-aldehyde - from the sphingosine moiety in ganglioside molecules by two step chemical reactions. In order to guarantee the assay's accuracy and sensitivity, the HPLC-assay procedure adopted internal reference procedures by mixing cis-${\alpha},{\beta}$-unsaturated-hexadecene aldehyde[V] or cis-3-heptadecene- 1,2-diol[IV] to assay samples. The internal reference compound [IV] or [V] was synthesized in our laboratory starting from mannitol-diacetonide through three or four step organic reactions. This new HPLC-assay procedure was successfully applied to deer antler extracts with good dose-dependent calibration curves at the picomole level of gangliosides.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
• /
• v.40 no.3
• /
• pp.155-160
• /
• 2010

A gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of valproic acid (VPA) and its toxic metabolites, 4-ene-VPA and 2,4-diene-VPA in rat plasma. Extraction was performed in weak acidic condition (pH 5.2) to avoid degradation of 4-ene-VPA and 2,4-diene-VPA. The recoveries for 4-ene-VPA and 2,4-diene-VPA were more than 70% and that for VPA was 33-42%. R value for each compounds exceeded 0.998 in calibration curve during all the analysis. Accuracy and precision ranged from 88.3 to 113.2% and from 2.16 to 14.2%, respectively The method was successfully applied to monitor plasma concentrations of VPA, 4-ene-VPA and 2,4-diene-VPA after intravenous administration of VPA at the dose of 100 mg/kg, suggesting that these toxic metabolites may involved in the hepatotoxicity induced by VPA.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 1994

In order to assay the human plasma concentration of nifedipine in patients with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and pulmonary hypertension, a modified high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was applied. The retention times for nifedipine and an internal standard (11-ketoprogesterone) were $10.5\;{\pm}\;0.41$ and $13.1\;{\pm}\;0.63$ min, respectively. Absolute recovery from the plasma was $102.9\;{\pm}\;7.07%$. Reproducibility was excellent and variability between the runs was small. There was a negligible degradation during the assay procedure. The calibration curve shows a good linearity in the range of the desired plasma concentrations of nifedipine. A stability test of nifedipine in the human plasma shows 8 and 13% degradation during the storage of 5 and 9 months, respectively. There were no interferences on the HPLC assay with any possible medications for the BPD. The method has been used to monitor the drug concentrations in a patient. The concentration-time curve of a patient after a single oral dose of 0.3 mg/kg shows a double-peak phenomenon that was quite different from the previous report, suggesting non-bolus administration. However the hemodynamic responses were corresponding to the plasma concentration levels of nifedipine.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.54-60
• /
• 2017

Quantifying the trace elements in infinitesimal ambient liquid samples (e.g., single raindrop, cloud/fog water, and the soluble fraction extracted from the particles collected for a short time) is an important task for understanding formation processes, heating/cooling rates, and their health hazards. The purpose of this study is to employ an in-air micro PIXE system for quantitative analysis of the trace elements in a thimbleful of reference liquid sample. The bag type liquid sample holder originally designed with $10{\mu}m$ thick $Mylar^{(R)}$ film retained the original shape without any film perforation and apparent peaks of film blank by the end of the analysis. As one of tasks to be solved, the homogeneity of the elemental distribution in liquid reference species was verified by the X-ray line profiles for several references. It was possible to resolve the significant peaks for whole target elements corresponding to the channel number of micro-PIXE spectrum. The calibration curves for the six target elements (Si, S, Cl, Fe, Ni, and Zn) in standard solutions were successfully plotted by concentration (ppm) and ROI of interest net counts/dose (nC).

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.427-434
• /
• 1995

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry combined with the isotope dilution method is used for the determination of lithium. The isotope dilution method is based on the addition of a known amount of enriched isotope (spike) to a sample. The analyte concentration is obtained by measuring the altered isotope ratio. The spike solution is calibrated through so called reverse isotope dilution with a primary standard. The spike calibration is an important step to minimize error in the determined concentration. It has been found essential to add spike to a sample and the primary standard so that the two isotope ratios should be as dose as possible. Since lithium is neither corrosive nor toxic, lithium is used as a chemical tracer in the nuclear power plants to measure feedwater flow rate. 99.9% $^7Li$ was injected into a feedwater line of an experimental system and sample were taken downstream to be spiked with 95% $^6Li$ for the isotope dilution measurements. Effects of uncertainties in the spike enrichment and isotope ratio measurement error at various spike-to-sample ratios are presented together with the flow rate measurement results in comparison with a vortex flow meter.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.46 no.2
• /
• pp.273-280
• /
• 2014

The spectrum weighted responses of various detectors were calculated to provide guidance on the proper selection and use of survey instruments on the basis of their energy response characteristics on the neutron fields. To yield the spectrum weighted response, the detector response functions of 17 neutron-measuring devices were numerically folded with each of the produced calibration neutron spectra through the in-house developed software 'K-SWR'. The detectors' response functions were taken from the IAEA Technical Reports Series No. 403 (TRS-403). The reference neutron fields of 21 kinds with 2 spectra groups with different proportions of thermal and fast neutrons have been produced using neutrons from the $^{241}Am$-Be sources held in a graphite pile, a bare $^{241}Am$-Be source, and a DT neutron generator. Fluence-average energy ($E_{ave}$) varied from 3.8 MeV to 16.9 MeV, and the ambient-dose-equivalent rate [$H^*(10)/h$] varied from 0.99 to 16.5 mSv/h.

• Journal of Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.171-176
• /
• 2018

A study of the tissue depletion of florfenicol (FFC) administered orally to pigs at a dose of 0.05 kg/ton feed for 7 days was performed. Sixteen healthy cross swine were administered with FFC. Four treated animals were arbitrarily selected to be sacrificed 1, 3 and 5 days after the end of treatment. FFC residue concentrations in muscle, liver, kidney, and fat were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with ultraviolet photometric detector at 230 nm. The correlation coefficient ($R^2$) of the calibration curve for florfenicol amine (FFCa) was > 0.997 and the limits of detection and quantification were 0.012 and $0.040{\mu}g/mL$, respectively. Recovery rates in swine edible tissues ranged from 79.1 to 93.5%. In the FFC-treated group, FFC residues at 3 days post-treatment were below the maximum residue limits (MRLs) in muscle, kidney and fat, and those at 5 days post-administration were below the MRLs in all edible tissues. These results suggest that the withdrawal period of FFC after the drug treatment might be 5 days, which is a sufficient amount of time for reduction of the FFC residues below the MRLs in all edible tissues.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.112-117
• /
• 2021

α-Amanitin and β-amanitin are highly toxic bicyclic octapeptides responsible for the poisoning of poisonous mushrooms such as Amanita, Galerina, and Lepiota by inhibiting RNA polymerase II, DNA transcription, and protein synthesis. A sensitive, simple, and selective liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometric method using parallel reaction monitoring mode was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of α- and β-amanitin in mouse plasma to evaluate the toxicokinetics of α- and β-amanitin in mice. Protein precipitation of 5 μL mouse plasma sample with methanol as sample clean-up procedure and use of negative electrospray ionization resulted in better sensitivity and less matrix effect. The calibration curves for α- and β-amanitin in mouse plasma were linear over the range of 0.5-500 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day coefficient of variations and accuracies for α- and β-amanitin at four quality control concentrations were 3.1-14.6% and 92.5-115.0%, respectively. The present method was successfully applied to the toxicokinetic study of α- and β-amanitin after an oral administration of α- and β-amanitin at 1.5 mg/kg dose to male ICR mice.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.47 no.1
• /
• pp.39-49
• /
• 2022

Background: For proper monitoring of the eye lens dose, an appropriate calibration factor of a dosimeter and information about the mean energies of X-rays are indispensable. The scattered X-ray energy spectra should be well characterized in medical practices where eye lenses of medical staffs might be high. Materials and Methods: Scattered X-ray energy spectra were experimentally derived for three different types of X-ray diagnostic and therapeutic equipment, i.e., the computed tomography (CT) scan, the angiography and the fluoroscopy. A commercially available CdZnTe (CZT) spectrometer with a lead collimator was employed for the measurement of scattered X-rays, which was performed in the usual manner. Results and Discussion: From the obtained energy spectra, the mean energies of the scattered X-rays lied between 40 and 60 keV. This also agreed with that obtained by the conventional half value layer method. Conclusion: The scattered X-rays to which medical workers may be exposed in the region around the eyes were characterized by means of spectrometry. The obtained mean energies of the scattered X-rays were found to match the flat region of the dosimeter response.