• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.44-50
• /
• 1986

Tissue distribution and blood chemistry of uranium in serum levels of BUN, Creatinine, SGPT and SGOT were determined in rats after the administration of uranylnitrate. Determination of uranium in organ was done by radio activation analysis. Radioactivity of $^{239}Np$ in lung was higher than in other tissues (e.g. liver, kidneys, spleen, tibia, testes, stomach and brain). Correlations between BUN and Creatinine were positively increased after the administration of 25 mg/kg uranylnitrate. The SGPT and SGOT activities showed weak correlation with the control group. However, activities of SGPT and SGOT after the administration of lmg/kg uranylnitrate showed high peak at 90 min interval. Uranium uptake by liver and kidneys increased at early period and decreased immediately to the control level. Lung who confirmed to be the critical organ on toxic effect by uranylnitrate.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.101-104
• /
• 2016

Background: To protect the public from natural radioactive materials, the 'Act on safety control of radioactive rays around living environment" was established in Korea. There is an annual effective dose limit of 1 mSv for products, but the activity concentration limit for products is not established yet. Materials and Methods: To suggest the activity concentration limits for consumer goods containing NORM, in this research, we assumed the "small room model" surrounding the ICRP reference phantom to simulate the consumer goods in contact with the human bodies. Using the Monte Carlo code MCNPX, we evaluate the effective dose rate for the ICRP reference phantom in a small room with dimension of phantom size and derived the activity concentration limit for consumer goods. Results and Discussion: The consumer goods have about 1600, 1200 and $19000Bq{\cdot}kg^{-1}$ for $^{226}Ra$, $^{232}Th$ and $^{40}K$, and the activity concentration limits are about six times comparing with the values of building materials. We applied the index to real samples, though we did not consider radioactivity of $^{40}K$, indexes of the some samples are more than 6. However, this index concept using small room model is very conservative, for the consumer goods over than index 6, it is necessary to reevaluate the absorbed dose considering real usage scenario and material characteristics. Conclusion: In this research, we derived activity concentration limits for consumer goods in contact with bodies and the results can be used as preliminary screening tool for consumer goods as index concept.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.52 no.10
• /
• pp.2370-2378
• /
• 2020

Building materials contribute significantly to the indoor radon and thoron levels. Therefore, parameters that influence the exhalation rates of radon and thoron from building material need to be analyzed closely. As a preliminary study, the effects of humidity on exhalation rates were measured using a system with an accumulation chamber and RAD7 detector for Korean brick, Korean soil, and Indonesian brick. Resulting doses to a person who resides in a room constructed from the building materials were assessed by UNSCEAR method for different air exchange rates. The measurements have revealed that Korean brick exhaled the highest radon and thoron while Indonesian brick exhaled the lowest thoron. Results showed that for a typical low dense material, radon and thoron exhalation rate will increase until reached its maximum at a certain value of humidity and will remain saturated above it. Analysis on concentration and effective dose showed that radon is strongly affected by air exchange rate (ACH). This is showed by about 66 times decrease of radon dose from 0.00 h^-1 to those of 0.50 h^-1 ACH and decrease by a factor of 2 from 0.50 h^-1 to those of 0.80 h^-1. In case of thoron, the ACH doesn't have significant effects on effective dose.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
• /
• v.20 no.6
• /
• pp.533-538
• /
• 1997

Biflavonoid is one of unique classes of naturally-occurring bioflavonoid. Previously, certain biflavonoids were found to possess the inhibitory effects on phospholipase $A_2$ activity and lymphocytes $ proliferation^1$ suggesting their anti-inflammatory/immunoregulatory potential. In this study, effects of several biflavonoids on arachidonic acid release from rat peritoneal macrophages were investigated, because arachidonic acid released from the activated macrophages is one of the indices of inflammatory conditions. When resident peritoneal macrophages labeled with $[^{3}H]$arachidonic acid were activated by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate(PMA) or calcium ionophore, A23187, radioactivity released in the medium was increased approximately 4.1-7.3 fold after 120 min incubation compared to the spontaneous release in the control incubation. In this condition, biflavonoids (10 uM) such as ochnaflavone, ginkgetin and isoginkgetin, showed inhibition of arachidonate release from macrophages activated by PMA (32.5-40.0% inhibition) or A23187 (21.7-41.7% inhibition). Amentoflavone showed protection only against PMA-induced arachidonate release, while apigenin, a monomer of these biflavonoids, did not show the significant inhibition up to 10 uM. Staurosporin (1 uM), a protein kinase C inhibitor, showed an inhibitory effect only against PMA-induced arachidonate release (96.8% inhibition). Inhibition of arachidonate release from the activated macrophages may contribute to an anti-inflammatory potential of biflavonoids in vivo.

• Advanced Industrial SCIence
• /
• v.2 no.3
• /
• pp.1-7
• /
• 2023

Recently, it is increasing that a issue of concern about radiation exposure. It affects soil, water, air, crops, etc., and in the long term, environmental pollution and food pollution occur, and it is considered to cause social problems and economic damage. Radiation exposure causes diseases and health problems, but as a method for diagnosing diseases, nuclear medicine tests such as X-ray imaging, CT, and PET-CT are conducted, and radiation isotopes are exposed for the purpose of cancer treatment. A Hungarian case study on radiation in water, particularly drinking water, following the release of radioactive waste from Fukushima, and an examination of the Larsemann Hills area in Antarctica, found that it was within the prescribed radioactivity limits of drinking water recommended by the World Health Organization. We looked at radioprotective agents, focusing on DNA damage, cell and organ damage, and cancer, and also investigated various literatures on ACE inhibitors, antioxidants, and natural substances among restoration materials. Although exposed to radiation in everyday life, the reason why it can be safe is probably because there is a radiation protection material and a recovery material for radiation exposure, so we are trying to find possible materials.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.56 no.3
• /
• pp.1066-1080
• /
• 2024

SMART100 has a containment pressure and radioactivity suppression system (CPRSS) for passive containment cooling system (PCCS). This prevents overheating and over-pressurization of a containment through direct contact condensation in an in-containment refueling water storage tank (IRWST) and wall condensation in a CPRSS heat exchanger (CHX) in an emergency cool-down tank (ECT). The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) constructed scaled-down test facilities, SISTA1 and SISTA2, for the thermal-hydraulic validation of the SMART100 CPRSS. Three separate effect tests were performed using SISTA1 to confirm the heat removal characteristics of SMART100 CPRSS. When the low mass flux steam with or without non-condensable gas is released into an IRWST, the conditions for mitigation of the chugging phenomenon were identified, and the physical variables were quantified by the 3D reconstruction method. The local behavior of the non-condensable gas was measured after condensation inside heat exchanger using a traverse system. Stratification of non-condensable gas occurred in large tank of the natural circulation loop. SISTA2 was used to simulate a small break loss-of-coolant accident (SBLCOA) transient. Since the test apparatus was a metal tank, compensations of initial heat transfer to the material and effect of heat loss during long-term operation were important for simulating cooling performance of SMART100 CPRSS. The pressure of SMART100 CPRSS was maintained below the design limit for 3 days even under sufficiently conservative conditions of an SBLOCA transient.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.11 no.12
• /
• pp.4819-4825
• /
• 2010

In all of dental ceramics, these materials contained the radio-isotopes with natural abundance ratio. After dental treatment, remained dental ceramics in the oral cavity is caused for human internal dose. In this study, the gross beta activity levels were measured in dental materials including 22 dental ceramics, 1 resin, and 2 cements for estimation of human internal dose. In dental ceramic samples, the obtained results showed that the gross beta activity level varied between 1.317 ~ 2.935 Bq/g and the gross beta activity level was 2.379 Bq/g. And the same level for dentine, opacious dentine, translucent and enamel were 2.479 Bq/g, 2.491 Bq/g, 2.470 Bq/g and 2.069 Bq/g, respectively. The gross beta activity level of temporary resin and cements were negligible, compare to the same level of dental ceramics. The high gross beta activity level observed in opacious dentine code OD-A4 is 2.935 Bq/g thus mainly ascribable to 40K. The reduction of the radiation level of natural radio-isotopes and the improvement of the dental ceramic materials should be required for internal dose reduction.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
• /
• 2003.11a
• /
• pp.101-104
• /
• 2003

In this study based on the mass transfer theory, experiments for the evaporation rates depending on various conditions were carried out through the operation of the existing Natural Evaporation Facility in KAERI. Evaporation media were made of the cotton and polyester. Air circulation in the facility was forced by exhausting fans. The evaporation rate and the decontamination factor were calculated by the result of experiment. The evaporation rate increased as the flow rate of air supply, the feed rate of liquid waste, and the temperature of supplied air increased. As for the humidity of supplied air, the evaporation rate was getting higher as the humidity was getting lower. As the result of this study, operation conditions of the Natural Evaporation Facility are optimized as follows : The air temperature above $8^{\circ}C$, the air humidity below 70%, the air flow rate 1.14-1.47 m/sec, and the liquid waste feed rate $4.6{\ell}/hr\cdotm^2$. The decontamination factor and the radioactivity are $5.1{\times}10^3$and $4.7{\times}10^{-13}{\mu}Ci/\textrm{m}{\ell}$ respectively, at the above mentioned optimum operation conditions. The air factor in the Dalton's equation for evaporation was determined from results of experiment on the temperature, the humidity, and the flow rate of supplied air as following : $[\textit{Eh}=(0.018 + 0.0141\textitv) {\delta}textitH]$

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.37 no.5
• /
• pp.343-348
• /
• 1994

Ti plasmid of A. tumefaciens was labeled with $^3H-thymidine$, purified and encapsulated into phosphatidylserine (PS) and PS-cholesterol (Chol; 1 : 1 molar ratio) liposomes by lyophilization-rehydration method. PS was supplemented with 1 mole percent octadecyl rhodamine B for fluorometric measurement of PS. Liposomes entrapping $^3H-Ti plasmid$ were fused with Nicotiana sanderae protoplasts by treating with 5 mM $CaCl_2$ and 10% PEG. The fusion was evidenced by fluorescence microscopic technique. The amounts of Ti plasmid and PS associated with protoplasts were assayed by the radioactivity of $^3H-Ti plasmid$ and by the fluorescence of rhodamine B. About 7.9% of the PS liposome and 7.2% of PS-Chol liposome were fused with protoplasts. During the fusion process, about 30% of the liposomal contents of PS-Chol liposome was leaked, in contrast to about 60% leakage of its contents in PS liposome. Accounting the number of liposomes fused with protoplasts together with the encapsulation efficiency and the leakage of liposomal contents, it was calculated that ca. 1,700 Ti plasmid was transfered into one protoplast by the present method. This result may indicates that the present method transfers enough Ti plasmid into plant protoplast to elicit genetic transformation of plants.

• Toxicological Research
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.37-44
• /
• 2019

A major predictor of the efficacy of natural or synthetic cannabinoids is their binding affinity to the cannabinoid type I receptor ($CB_1$) in the central nervous system, as the main psychological effects of cannabinoids are achieved via binding to this receptor. Conventionally, receptor binding assays have been performed using isotopes, which are inconvenient owing to the effects of radioactivity. In the present study, the binding affinities of five cannabinoids for purified $CB_1$ were measured using a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technique as a putative non-isotopic receptor binding assay. Results were compared with those of a radio-isotope-labeled receptor binding assay. The representative natural cannabinoid ${\Delta}^9$-tetrahydrocannabinol and four synthetic cannabinoids, JWH-015, JWH-210, RCS-4, and JWH-250, were assessed using both the SPR biosensor assay and the conventional isotopic receptor binding assay. The binding affinities of the test substances to $CB_1$ were determined to be (from highest to lowest) $9.52{\times}10^{-3}M$ (JWH-210), $6.54{\times}10^{-12}M$ (JWH-250), $1.56{\times}10^{-11}M$ (${\Delta}^9$-tetrahydrocannabinol), $2.75{\times}10^{-11}M$ (RCS-4), and $6.80{\times}10^{-11}M$ (JWH-015) using the non-isotopic method. Using the conventional isotopic receptor binding assay, the same order of affinities was observed. In conclusion, our results support the use of kinetic analysis via SPR in place of the isotopic receptor binding assay. To replace the receptor binding affinity assay with SPR techniques in routine assays, further studies for method validation will be needed in the future.