Neutron generator (HIRRAC) and dosimetry study.
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Dosimetry studies have been made for neutrons from a neutron generator at Hiroshima University (HIRRAC) which is designed for radiobiological research. Neutrons in an energy range from 0.07 to 2.7 MeV are available for biological irradiations. The produced neutron energies were measured and evaluated by a 3He-gas proportional counter. Energy spread was made certain to be small enough for radiobiological studies. Dose evaluations were performed by two different methods, namely use of tissue equivalent paired ionization chambers and activation of method with indium foils. Moreover, energy deposition spectra in small targets of tissue equivalent materials, so-called lineal energy spectrum, were also measured and are discussed. Specifications for biological irradiation are presented in terms of monoenergetic beam conditions, dose rates and deposited energy spectra. (+info)
Dose estimations of fast neutrons from a nuclear reactor by micronuclear yields in onion seedlings.
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Irradiations of onion seedlings with fission neutrons from bare, Pb-moderated, and Fe-moderated 252Cf sources induced micronuclei in the root-tip cells at similar rates. The rate per cGy averaged for the three sources, , was 19 times higher than rate induced by 60Co gamma-rays. When neutron doses, Dn, were estimated from frequencies of micronuclei induced in onion seedlings after exposure to neutron-gamma mixed radiation from a 1 W nuclear reactor, using the reciprocal of as conversion factor, resulting Dn values agreed within 10% with doses measured with paired ionizing chambers. This excellent agreement was achieved by the high sensitivity of the onion system to fast neutrons relative to gamma-rays and the high contribution of fast neutrons to the total dose of mixed radiation in the reactor's field. (+info)
Neutron energy-dependent initial DNA damage and chromosomal exchange.
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This study was undertaken to investigate the biological effect of monoenergetic neutrons on human lymphocyte DNA and chromosomes. Monoenergetic neutrons of 2.3, 1.0, 0.79, 0.57, 0.37 and 0.186 MeV were generated, and 252Cf neutrons and 60Co gamma-rays were also used for comparison. Biological effect was evaluated two ways. The RBE values with the comet assay were estimated as 6.3 and 5.4 at 0.37 MeV and 0.57 MeV relative to that of 60Co gamma-rays, and chromosome aberration rates were also observed in these different levels of monoenergetic neutrons. The yield of chromosome aberrations per unit dose was high at lower neutron energies with a gradual decline with 0.186 MeV neutron energy. The RBE was increased to 10.7 at 0.57 MeV from 3.9 at 252Cf neutrons and reached 16.4 as the highest RBE at 0.37 MeV, but the value decreased to 11.2 at 0.186 MeV. The response patterns of initial DNA damage and chromosome exchange were quite similar to that of LET. These results show that the intensity of DNA damage and chromosomal exchange is LET dependent. RBE of low energy neutrons is higher than that of fission neutrons. Low energy neutrons containing Hiroshima atomic bomb radiation may have created a significantly higher incidence of biological effect in atomic bomb survivors. (+info)
Neutron-energy-dependent cell survival and oncogenic transformation.
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Both cell lethality and neoplastic transformation were assessed for C3H10T1/2 cells exposed to neutrons with energies from 0.040 to 13.7 MeV. Monoenergetic neutrons with energies from 0.23 to 13.7 MeV and two neutron energy spectra with average energies of 0.040 and 0.070 MeV were produced with a Van de Graaff accelerator at the Radiological Research Accelerator Facility (RARAF) in the Center for Radiological Research of Columbia University. For determination of relative biological effectiveness (RBE), cells were exposed to 250 kVp X rays. With exposures to 250 kVp X rays, both cell survival and radiation-induced oncogenic transformation were curvilinear. Irradiation of cells with neutrons at all energies resulted in linear responses as a function of dose for both biological endpoints. Results indicate a complex relationship between RBEm and neutron energy. For both survival and transformation, RBEm was greatest for cells exposed to 0.35 MeV neutrons. RBEm was significantly less at energies above or below 0.35 MeV. These results are consistent with microdosimetric expectation. These results are also compatible with current assessments of neutron radiation weighting factors for radiation protection purposes. Based on calculations of dose-averaged LET, 0.35 MeV neutrons have the greatest LET and therefore would be expected to be more biologically effective than neutrons of greater or lesser energies. (+info)
Uncertainties of DS86 and prospects for residual radioactivity measurement.
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Residual radioactivity data of 152Eu, 60Co and 36Cl have been accumulated and it has been revealed in the thermal neutron region that a systematic discrepancy exists between the measured data and activation calculation based on the DS86 neutrons in Hiroshima. Recently 63Ni produced in copper samples by the fast neutron reaction 63Cu(n,p)63Ni has been of interest for evaluation of fast neutrons. Reevaluation of atomic-bomb neutrons and prospects based on residual activity measurements have been discussed. (+info)
Positive selection of mutants with deletions of the gal-chl region of the Salmonella chromosome as a screening procedure for mutagens that cause deletions.
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We have developed a convenient and specific positive selection for long deletions through the gal region of the chromosomes of Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli. Through simultaneous selection for mutations in the two closely linked genes, gal and chlA, a variety of deletions of varying length, some extending through as much as 1 min of the chromosome, could be readily obtained. Many of these deletions resulted in the loss of a gene, which we named dhb, concerned with the ability of the bacterium to synthesize the iron chelating agent enterobactin. The selection was adapted for the screening of mutagens for their ability to generate long deletions in the bacterial deoxyribonucleic acid. Forty agents were screened for this capability. Nitrous acid, previously reported to be an efficient mutagen for this purpose, increased the frequency of deletion mutations 50-fold in our system. Three others, nitrogen mustard, mitomycin C, and fast neutrons, were shown to increase the frequency of long deletions between five- and eightfold. The remainder were found to be incapable of generating these deletions. (+info)
First results of a randomized clinical trial of fast neutrons compared with X or gamma rays in treatment of advanced tumours of the head and neck. Report to the Medical Research Council.
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Results of the first randomized clinical trial to compare the effects of fast neutrons and those of x or gamma rays (photons) in treating patients with advanced tumours of the head and neck are reported. In 37 out of 52 patients treated with neutrons and 16 out of 50 treated with photons the local tumour completely regressed; the tumour later recurred in nine of the 16 photon patients but in none of the 37 neutron patients. The advantages to the neutron-treated patients were seen in tumours of well and poorly differentiated histology and in each site. Complications after treatment did not differ significantly between the groups. Despite these substantial differences in local control of the tumour there were no significant differences in mortality between the series. A detailed study of the effective doses and the response of tumours and normal tissue in each series indicated that the improved results from neutron therapy were due to differences in the biological quality of the beam and not to the rather higher average effective dose in the neutron series. To assess the long-term effects of neutron treatment patients in earlier stages of disease and with smaller tumours should be included in the next phase of the trial. (+info)
Dose and dose-rate effects of X rays and fission neutrons on lymphocyte apoptosis in p53(+/+) and p53(-/-) mice.
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Following the exposure of mice to X rays or fission neutrons, the frequency (F) of apoptosis was measured after 4 h, and the weight loss or lymphocyte content loss in the thymus and spleen was measured after 24 h. In p53(+/+) mice, F increased linearly with the dose (D (Gy)) and the induced rate per Gy of F (detected by TUNEL staining) was 0.05 and 0.23 for X rays and fission neutrons, respectively. Therefore, the RBE of fission neutrons was 4.6 for apoptosis induction. This indicates that radiation-induced apoptosis is mostly due to double strand breaks (DSBs) in DNA because we previously obtained almost the same RBE value of fission neutrons for the induction of crossover mutations in Drosophila melanogaster, which arise from the recombinational repair of DSBs. In p53(+/+) mice, decreases in the organ weight and the lymphocyte content were observed for the thymus and the spleen 24 h after X-irradiation. These atrophic changes in the thymus and the spleen quantitatively corresponded to the total apoptotic cell deaths occurring in them. However, in p53(-/-) mice, no vigorous apoptosis was induced after X-irradiation, and hyperplastic changes in the weight and the lymphocyte content appeared in the thymus and the spleen 24 h after X-irradiation. In p53(+/+) mice, there was no difference in the induced rate per Gy of reduction in the surviving fraction of lymphocytes between acute (0.4 Gy/min) and chronic (3 mGy/min) gamma-irradiations. Namely, radiation-induced apoptosis in lymphocytes is a dose-rate independent event. (+info)