• Toxicological Research
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• 제20권2호
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• pp.89-100
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• 2004

The comet assay (also called the single-cell gel electrophoresis assay) has been widely used for detecting DNA damage and repair in individual cells. Since the conventional methods of evaluating comet assay data using frequency statistics are unsatisfactory we developed a new quantitative measure of DNA damage/repair that is based on all information residing in the dose/time-response curves of a comet experiment. Blood samples were taken from 25 breast cancer patients before undergoing radiotherapy. The comet assay was performed under alkaline conditions using isolated lymphocytes. Tail DNA, tail length, tail moment and tail inertia of the comet were measured for each patient at four doses of $\gamma$-rays (0, 2, 4 and 8 Gy) and at four time points after irradiation (0, 10, 20 and 30 min) using 100 cells each. The resulting three-dimensional dose-time response surface was modeled by multiple regression, and the second derivative, termed 2D, on dose and time was determined. A software module was programmed in SAS/AF to compute 2D values. We applied the new method successfully to data obtained from cancer patients to be assessed for their radiation sensitivity. We computed the 2D values for the four damage measures, i.e., tail moment, tail length, tail DNA and tail inertia, and examined the pairwise correlation coefficients of 2D both on the log scale and the unlogged scale. 2D values based on tail moment and tail DNA showed a high correlation and, therefore, these two damage measures can be used interchangeably as far as DNA repair is concerned. 2D values based on tail inertia have a correlation profile different from the other 2D values which may reflect different facets of DNA damage/repair. Using the dose-time response surface, other statistical models, e.g., the proportional hazards model, become applicable for data analysis. The 2D approach can be applied to all DNA repair measures, Le., tail moment, tail length, tail DNA and tail inertia, and appears to be superior to conventional evaluation methods as it integrates all data of the dose/time-response curves of a comet assay.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제48권1호
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• pp.274-284
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this work is to describe the spectrometric analysis of gaseous cloud formation over reactor mixed uranium-and-plutonium (UP) fuel $(U_{0.8}Pu_{0.2})O_2$ samples heated to a temperature $>2,000^{\circ}C$, and thus forecast and evaluate radiation hazards threatening humans who cope with the consequences of any accident at a fission reactor loaded by UP mixed oxide $(U_{0.8}Pu_{0.2})O_2$, such as a mixture of 80% U and 20% Pu in weight. Materials and methods: The UP nuclear fuel samples were heated up to a temperature of over $2,000^{\circ}C$ in a suitable assembly (apparatus) at out-of-pile experiments' implementation, the experimental in-depth study of metabolism of active materials in living organisms by means of artificial irradiation of pigs by plutonium. Spectrometric measurements were carried out on the different exposed organs and tissues of pigs for the further estimation of human internal exposure by nuclear materials released from the core of a fission reactor fueled with UP mixed oxide. Results: The main results of the research described are the following: (1) following the research on the influence of mixed fuel fission products (radioactive isotopes being formed during reactor operation as a result of nuclear decay of elements included into the fuel composition) on living organisms, the authors determined the quantities of plutonium dioxide ($PuO_2$) that penetrated into blood and lay in the pulmonary region, liver, skeleton and other tissues; and (2) experiments confirmed that the output speed of plutonium out of the basic precipitation locations is very small. On the strength of the experimental evidence, the authors suggest that the biological output of plutonium can be disregarded in the process of evaluation of the internal irradiation doses.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제56권5호
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• pp.1781-1795
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• 2024

This study investigated the levels of radioactivity in soil surrounding a phosphate fertilizer factory in Egypt, aiming to assess potential risks to the population exposed to radiation. Concentrations of ²³⁸U, ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K were measured in soil samples collected from two subsites: one near the factory (subsite 1) and another further away (subsite 2). Two different systems were used for measuring radioactivity, a high-purity gamma ray spectroscopy system with an HPGe detector for gamma-emitting isotopes and a CR-39 solid nuclear track detector for alpha-emitting radon gas. Subsite 1, located close to the factory, displayed significantly elevated levels of ²²⁶Ra compared to global background levels (514 and 456 Bq/kg vs. 35 Bq/kg). Additionally, the concentrations of ²³⁸U (241.06 Bq/kg vs. global average 35 Bq/kg), ²³²Th (16.15 Bq/kg vs. global average 30 Bq/kg), and ⁴⁰K (146.36 Bq/kg vs. global average 400 Bq/kg) were all above global averages. Furthermore, a high concentration of radon gas (337.06 μSv/y) was measured at subsite 1. The strong positive correlation observed between ²²⁶Ra and ²³⁸U (0.96256) provides further evidence of potentially elevated radioactivity levels near the factory. In contrast, subsite 2, situated farther from the factory, exhibited natural radioactive background levels within international limits. Quantitative analysis revealed that gamma ray absorbed doses for ²²⁶Ra and ²³²Th exceeded global averages in some samples. Specifically, ²²⁶Ra doses ranged from 7.8 to 46.26 ppm (exceeding the 20 ppm global average in some cases), and ²³²Th doses ranged from 1.98 to 9.14 ppm (exceeding the 10 ppm global average in some cases). The concentration of ⁴⁰K, however, remained within the global range (0.07%-0.69 %). The observed imbalances in the ratios of Th/U (0.17-0.24 Bq/kg and 0.73-0.24 ppm) and U/Ra (0.81-0.73 Bq/kg and 0.73-0.17 ppm), both of which are significantly lower than their respective global averages of 4 and 2.4, point towards the presence of fertilizer-derived contamination. This conclusion is further supported by the high phosphate concentrations detected in the samples. Overall, this study suggests that radioactive contamination near the phosphate fertilizer factory significantly exceeds global background levels and international limits in some cases. This raises concerns about potential risks posed to surrounding agricultural land and crops.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• 제14권4호
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• pp.265-279
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• 1996

방사선은 DNA손상을 초래하고 세포 성장에 관련된 유전자의 발현 조절 및 apoptosis등을 유발한다고 알려져 있으며 본 연구는 신경계에 있어 방사선 조사 후 종양 발생율과 시간 경과의 관계 및 조사 양과 암 발생의 관계를 구명하기 위해 코발트 60의 전신조사에 따른 흰쥐 뇌 조직의 생체 반응을 연구하고자 하였다. 이를 위하여 상기조직의 jun 및 p53 유전자의 발현도를 1 Gy로 부터 100 Gy 범위의 감마선 용량별 및 1시간에서 6시간까지의 조사 훈 경과 시간 별로 Northern 분석하였다. Jun유전자 발현도는 ley이하에서 1시간 이내에 한계수준에 도달하였으며 30 Gy의 조사 1시간 째에 최대였다. 또한 조사 1시간 이후 1 Gy로부터 10 Gy 범위에서는 조사 5시간 및 6시간까지 점진적으로 증가되었으나 20 Gy로부터 100 Gy 범위에서는 조사 2시간까지 증가 후 감소되는 양상을 나타냈다. p53유전자의 발현도는 1 Gy이하에서 1시간 이내에 한계 수준에 근접했고 1 Gy의 조사 후 6시간 째에 최대였다. 1 Gy로부터 40 Gy까지의 범위에서는 조사 5시간 및 6시간까지 점진적으로 증가되는 반면 50 Gy에서 100 Gy범위에서는 조사 2시간 째까지 증가 후 감소되는 양상을 보였다. 따라서 감마선 조사양이 높을수록 jun 및 p53유전자는 신속하게 최대로 발현되었고 감마선 조사양이 낮을수록 서서히 증가되었다 그러나 jun유전자와 p53유전자의 감마선 조사에 따른 발현 양상에는 상호간의 연관성을 찾을 수 없었다.

• 대한원격탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한원격탐사학회 1999년도 Proceedings of International Symposium on Remote Sensing
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• pp.148-153
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• 1999

Baikdu-san was a very active volcano during the Cenozoic era and is believed to be formed in late Cenozoic era. Recently it was also reported that there was a major eruption in or around 1002 A.D. and there are evidences which indicate that it is still an active volcano and a potential volcanic hazard. Remote sensing techniques have been widely used to monitor various natural hazards, including volcanic hazards. However, during an active volcanic eruption, volcanic ash can basically cover the sky and often blocks the solar radiation preventing any use of optical sensors. Synthetic aperture radar(SAR) is an ideal tool to monitor the volcanic activities and lava flows, because the wavelength of the microwave signal is considerably longer that the average volcanic ash particle size. In this study we have utilized several sets of SAR data to evaluate the utility of the space-borne SAR system. The data sets include JERS-1(L-band) SAR, and RADARSAT(C-band) data which included both standard mode and the ScanSAR mode data sets. We also utilized several sets of auxiliary data such as local geological maps and JERS-1 OPS data. The routine preprocessing and image processing steps were applied to these data sets before any attempts of classifying and mapping surface geological features. Although we computed sigma nought ($\sigma$$^{0}$) values far the standard mode RADARSAT data, the utility of sigma nought image was minimal in this study. Application of various types of classification algorithms to identify and map several stages of volcanic flows was not very successful. Although this research is still in progress, the following preliminary conclusions could be made: (1) sigma nought (RADARSAT standard mode data) and DN (JERS-1 SAR and RADARSAT ScanSAR data) have limited usefulness for distinguishing early basalt lava flows from late trachyte flows or later trachyte flows from the old basement granitic rocks around Baikdu-san volcano, (2) surface geological structure features such as several faults and volcanic lava flow channels can easily be identified and mapped, and (3) routine application of unsupervised classification methods cannot be used for mapping any types of surface lava flow patterns.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제8권3호
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• pp.237-245
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• 2017

Background: Solar furnaces are used worldwide to conduct experiments to demonstrate the feasibility of solar-chemical processes with the aid of concentrated sunlight, or to qualify high temperature-resistant components. In recent years, high-flux solar simulators (HFSSs) based on short-arc xenon lamps are more frequently used. The emitted spectrum is very similar to natural sunlight but with dangerous portions of ultraviolet light as well. Due to special benefits of solar simulators the increase of construction activity for HFSS can be observed worldwide. Hence, it is quite important to protect employees against serious injuries caused by ultraviolet radiation (UVR) in a range of 100 nm to 400 nm. Methods: The UV measurements were made at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Cologne and Paul-Scherrer-Institute (PSI), Switzerland, during normal operations of the HFSS, with a high-precision UV-A/B radiometer using different experiment setups at different power levels. Thus, the measurement results represent UV emissions which are typical when operating a HFSS. Therefore, the biological effects on people exposed to UVR was investigated systematically to identify the existing hazard potential. Results: It should be noted that the permissible workplace exposure limits for UV emissions significantly exceeded after a few seconds. One critical value was strongly exceeded by a factor of 770. Conclusion: The prevention of emissions must first and foremost be carried out by structural measures. Furthermore, unambiguous protocols have to be defined and compliance must be monitored. For short-term activities in the hazard area, measures for the protection of eyes and skin must be taken.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• 제12권1호
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• pp.317-328
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• 2017

This paper presents design and specific absorption rate analysis of a 2.4 GHz wearable patch antenna on a conventional and electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) ground planes, under normal and bent conditions. Wearable materials are used in the design of the antenna and EBG surfaces. A woven fabric (Zelt) is used as a conductive material and a 3 mm thicker Wash Cotton is used as a substrate. The dielectric constant and tangent loss of the substrate are 1.51 and 0.02 respectively. The volume of the proposed antenna is $113{\times}96.4{\times}3mm^3$. The metamaterial surface is used as a high impedance surface which shields the body from the hazards of electromagnetic radiations to reduce the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR). For on-body analysis a three layer model (containing skin, fats and muscles) of human arm is used. Antenna employing the EBG ground plane gives safe value of SAR (i.e. 1.77W/kg<2W/kg), when worn on human arm. This value is obtained using the safe limit of 2 W/kg, averaged over 10g of tissue, specified by the International Commission of Non Ionization Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). The SAR is reduced by 83.82 % as compare to the conventional antenna (8.16 W/kg>2W/kg). The efficiency of the EBG based antenna is improved from 52 to 74 %, relative to the conventional counterpart. The proposed antenna can be used in wearable electronics and smart clothing.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• 제33권1호
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• pp.21-28
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• 2016

Caves can serve as major outposts for future human exploration of the Moon and Mars. In addition, caves can protect people and electronic equipment from external hazards such as cosmic ray radiation and meteorites impacts and serve as a shelter. Numerous pit craters have been discovered on the Moon and Mars and are potential entrances to caves; the principal topographic features of pit craters are their visible internal floors and pits with vertical walls. We have devised two topographical models for investigating the relationship between the topographical characteristics and the inner void of pit craters. One of our models is a concave floor void model and the other is a convex floor tube model. For each model, optical photographs have been obtained under conditions similar to those in which optical photographs have been acquired for craters on the Moon and Mars. Brightness profiles were analyzed for determining the profile patterns of the void pit craters. The profile patterns were compared to the brightness profiles of Martian pit craters, because no good-quality images of lunar pit craters were available. In future studies, the model profile patterns will be compared to those of lunar pit craters, and the proposed method will likely become useful for finding lunar caves and consequently for planning lunar bases for manned lunar expeditions.

• 한국지하수토양환경학회지:지하수토양환경
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• 제23권4호
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• pp.1-15
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• 2018

Despite of safety issues related to radiological hazards, 31 countries around the world are operating more than 450 nuclear power plants (NPPs). To operate NPPs safely, safety regulations from radiation protection organizations were developed and adopted in many countries. However, many cases of radionuclide releases at foreign NPPs have been reported. Almost all commercial NPPs routinely release radioactive materials to the surrounding environments as liquid and gas phases under control. These releases are called 'planned releases' which are planned, regularly monitored, and well documented. Meanwhile, the releases focused in this review, called 'unplanned releases', are neither planned nor monitored by regulatory and/or protection organizations. NPPs are generally composed of various structures, systems and components (SSCs) for safety. Among them, the SSCs near reactors are closely related to safety of NPPs, and typically fabricated to comply with stringent requirements. However, some non-safety related SSCs such as underground pipes may be constructed only according to commercial standards, causing the leakage of radioactive fluids usually containing tritium ($^3H$). This paper discusses SSCs of NPPs and introduces several cases of unplanned releases at foreign NPPs. The current regulation on the environmental radiological surveillance and assessment around the NPPs in South Korea are also examined.

• 대한임상독성학회지
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• 제4권2호
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• pp.175-179
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• 2006

Welders are exposed to a number of hazards including metal fumes, toxic gases, electricity, heat, noise, and radiation such as ultraviolet and infrared light. We encountered a patient who developed non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema within a day after cutting copper pipe with an oxyethylene torch. The patient was a 26-year-old welder. He complained of dyspnea, generalized myalgia, and febrile sensation the following morning. The patient's chest X-ray and chest CT scan showed extensively distributed and ill-defined centrilobular nodules. Both his symptoms and chest X-ray abnormalities improved spontaneously. We attributed the patient's symptoms to non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema due to nitrogen dioxide, reasoning that: 1) the pipe consisted only of copper, according to material safety data sheet (MSDS); 2) a previous report in the literature demonstrated increased nitrogen dioxide levels under similar conditions; 3) the patient's clinical course and radiologic findings were very reminiscent of non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema following accidental exposure to nitrogen dioxide.