• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.31
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• pp.7.1-7.6
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• 2016

Objectives The aim of this study is to evaluate radiation exposure resulting from the comprehensive health examinations of selected university hospital programs and to present basic data for research and management strategies on the health effects of medical radiation exposure. Methods Radiation-based diagnostic studies of the comprehensive health examination programs of ten university hospitals in Seoul, Korea, as introduced in their websites, were analyzed. The medical radiation studies of the programs were reviewed by radiologists. Only the effective doses of the basic studies were included in the analysis. The optional studies of the programs were excluded. Results Among the 190 comprehensive health examination programs, 132 programs (69.5%) included computed tomography studies, with an average of 1.4 scans. The average effective dose of radiation by program was 3.62 mSv for an intensive program for specific diseases; 11.12 mSv for an intensive program for cancer; 18.14 mSv for a premium program; and 24.08 mSv for an overnight program. A higher cost of a programs was linked to a higher effective dose (r=0.812). The effective doses of the examination programs for the same purposes differed by as much as 2.1 times by hospital. Inclusion of positron emission tomography-computed tomography was the most critical factor in determining the level of effective dose. Conclusions It was found that radiation exposure dose from comprehensive health exam programs targeted for an asymptomatic, healthy public reached between 3.6 and 24 times the annual dose limit for the general public. Relevant management policies at the national level should be provided to minimize medical radiation exposure.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.273-279
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• 2012

Purpose : This study was aimed to calculate effective dose from cone beam CT and compare effective dose from periapical and panoramic radiography for mesiodens. Materials and Methods : Upper anteiror periapical, panoramic radiography and cone-beam CT were taken for diagnosis of mesiodens. The effective dose were calculated by using an anthropomorphic phantom loaded with thermoluminescent dosimeters at the 23 sites related to sensitive organs. Results : The highest absorbed doses were received by the mandibular body, parotid gland and cheek from periapical, panoramic and cone-beam CT, respectively. The effective doses for periapical, panoramic radiography and cone-beam CT measured 2, 18 and 48 ${\mu}Sv$. Conclusion : Cone-beam CT, although providing additional diagnostic benefits, exposes patients to higher levels of radiation than conventional periapical and panoramic radiography.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.123-132
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• 2014

After the nuclear accident of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plants (FDNPPs) on 11 March 2011, a large amount of radioactive materials has been released into the atmosphere and the ocean. A compartment model is used to evaluate the circulation characteristics and the spatiotemporal concentration distributions of radionuclides in the ocean. In the comparison with observed concentrations of $^{137}Cs$ in seawater, calculated concentrations by the compartment model were well agreed with them. On the basis of these results, we performed evaluation of the effective dose and the cancer risk. In the early stage of the accident, the effective doses from ingestion of the seafood near the Fukushima region were much higher than 1 mSv which is the value of the annual effective dose limit to individual recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). However, the effective doses by ingestion of the seafood decreased below 1 mSv as distance from the FDNPPs increased and time passed. In addition, it was estimated that the cancer risks by intake of the contaminated marine products were less than natural occurrence probability of cancer. Consequently, it was inferred that the health risk due to the $^{137}Cs$ was low after since mid-term period of the accident.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.342-352
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• 2021

Objectives: This study analyzed the local exposure levels of radiation emitted from the equipment with soft X-ray ionizers to investigate the radiation exposure levels in Liquid Crystal Display(LCD) manufacturing processes. Methods: This study measured the local radiation levels for the equipment installed in two LCD manufacturing companies. The equipment were installed at diverse processes and equipped with various number of ionizers. The local radiation levels were measured on the surface of the equipment by using direct reading equipment, and the measurements were converted into annual effective dose by considering the radiation exposure time of workers. Statistical analyses were performed to investigate the radiation exposure characteristics. Results: Annual effective doses for 97.6% of the equipment being measured were less than 1 mSv. However, the range of annual effective doses was 0.004 mSv ~ 2.167 mSv, which indicated a large variation among the equipment. Statistical analyses of the study found that this large variation was raised due to improper shielding of the equipment rather than process and/or equipment characteristics. To pinpoint the cause of this large variation in annual effective dose, this study improved the shielding of the equipment being radiated over 1 mSv and found that their average effective dose was reduced from 1.604 mSv to 0.126 mSv after shielding improvement. Conclusions: Relatively high exposure levels of radiation were observed in some equipment where their shielding were insufficiently thick and/or sealed. This finding implies that the shielding of the equipment is an important engineering countermeasure to control the radiation exposure levels in industries.

• Journal of Lipid and Atherosclerosis
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.61-77
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• 2016

Objective: This study aims to analyze cost-effectiveness of two most-commonly used statins from the perspective of the Korean national health system. Methods: The scope of the analysis included rosuvastatin (5 mg, 10 mg, and 20 mg) and atorvastatin (10 mg, 20 mg, 40 mg, and 80 mg). Effectiveness was defined as percentage (%) and absolute (mg/dL) reductions of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) from the baseline. They were derived from published randomized controlled studies for rosuvastatin and atorvastatin. Effectiveness was defined as reductions in LDL-C levels per mg dose of the drugs. The annual direct medical costs including drug acquisition costs and monitoring costs over the one-year time horizon were calculated for each alternative. The average cost-effectiveness ratios (ACERs) and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) for each statin dose were calculated. Results: The ACERs for all doses of rosuvastatin (5 mg, 10 mg, and 20 mg) were lower than those for all doses of atorvastatin (10 mg, 20 mg, 40 mg, and 80 mg). Rosuvastatin 10 mg was the most cost-effective statin for LDL-C reduction. In cost-effectiveness analyses for corresponding doses of rosuvastatin and atorvastatin, rosuvastatin was the superior strategy which suggests both higher effectiveness and lower costs than atorvastatin. However, we have to consider this analysis is highly influenced by current price of statins in each market. Conclusion: For reduction of LDL-C levels in Korean patients with dyslipidemia, rosuvastatin 10mg is the most cost-effective statin in the current Korean market.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.1949-1958
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• 2023

The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publication 116 was released to provide a comprehensive dataset of the dose coefficients (DCs) for external exposures produced with the adult reference voxel phantoms of ICRP Publication 110. Although an advanced skeletal dosimetry method for photons and neutrons using fluence-to-dose response functions (DRFs) was introduced in ICRP Publication 116, the ICRP-116 skeletal DCs were calculated by using the simple method conventionally used (i.e., doses to red bone marrow and endosteum approximated by doses to spongiosa and/or medullary cavities). In the present study, the photon and neutron DRFs were used to produce skeletal DCs of the ICRP-110 reference phantoms, which were then compared with the ICRP-116 DCs. For photons, there were significant differences by up to ~2.8 times especially at energies <0.3 MeV. For neutrons, the differences were generally small over the entire energy region (mostly <20%). The general impact of the DRF-based skeletal DCs on the effective dose calculations was negligibly small, supporting the validity of the ICRP-116 effective DCs despite their skeletal DCs derived from the simple method. Meanwhile, we believe that the DRF-based skeletal DCs could be beneficial in better estimates of skeletal doses of individuals for risk assessments.

• The Journal of the Korean bone and joint tumor society
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.14-21
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• 2007

Bone is a common site for metastatic spread from many kinds of malignancies. The morbidity associated with this metastatic spread can be significant, including severe pain. When it comes to spinal metastasis, occupying nearly 40% of skeletal metastases, the risks of complications, such as vertebral body collapse, nerve root impingement, or spinal cord compression, are also significant. Because of the necessity of preserving the integrity of the spinal column and the proximity of critical structures, surgical treatment has limitations when durable local control is desired. Radiotherapy, therefore, is often used as an adjunct treatment or as a sole treatment. A considerable limitation of standard radiotherapy is the reported recurrence rate or ineffective palliation of pain, either clinically or symptomatically. This may be due to limited radiation doses to tumor itself because of the proximity of critical structures. CyberKnife is an image-guided robotic radiosurgical system. The image guidance system includes a kilovoltage X-ray imaging source and amorphous silica detectors. The radiation delivery device is a mobile X-band linear accelerator (6 MV) mounted on a robotic arm. Highly conformal fields and hypofractionated radiotherapy schedules are increasingly being used as a means to achieve biologic dose escalation for body tumors. Therefore, we can give much higher doses to the targeted tumor volume with minimizing doses to the surrounding critical structures, resulting in more effective local control and less severe side effects, compared to conventional fractionated radiotherapy. A description of this technology and a review of clinical applications to bone metastases are detailed herein.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.84-89
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• 1972

An experiment was carried out to investigate the optimum doses of gamma-irradiation for sprouting inhibition of onion bulbs with irradiation time and storage conditions. The results. obtained are as follows: 1) The irradiation doses of 5, 7 and 10 krad, respectively, at 11, 32 and 66 days after harvest were sufficient to inhibit subsequent sprout of onion bulbs obtained from Nampyeong district. When they were irradiated at 96 day after harvest, however, there was little sprout-inhibition by 15 krad. In case of onion bulbs obtained from Changnyeong district, sprout was inhibited by doses of 8 and 12 krad respectively, at 51 and 89 days after harvest. 2) Low-temperature storage after irradiation was not effective in sprout-inhibition of onion bulbs. Onion bulbs stored at low temperature of $5^{\circ}C$ rather showed higher sprouting rate as compared with that of room temperature. 3) Rot increased in irradiated lot and at room temperature, and spores of Aspergillus sp. were little germinated at a level of 100 krad. 4) The respiratory rate of irradiated onion bulbs was higher immediately after irradiation but lower one week after irradiation than control. Respiratory quotient of tissues seems to be little affected by gamma-irradiation.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.41-48
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• 1977

Dose response of DNA repair synthesis induced by bleomycin was dose-dependent in lower doses, and maximum rate of it at 5 $\\mu$g/ml represents about 15% of total cells analyzed. At higher doses DNA-repair synthesis was reduced and the rate of it remained unchanged even prolonged treatment. Pretreatment with BUdR or IUdR was found to enhance DNA repair synthesis and also to interfere with semiconservative DNA synthesis at higher doses. Time dependence study showed that DNA repair synthesis occurred as long as for 24 hours after removal of bleomycin. These results seem to suggest that bleomycin is not to be an effective chemical in inducing excision repair and that damages induced in DNA by this drug might include not only strand breaks but other types of DNA damage.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.335-339
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• 2024

Employees of nuclear medicine facilities performing medical procedures with the use of open radioactive sources require continuous detailed control of exposure to ionizing radiation. Thermoluminescent (TL) detectors placed in dosimeters: for the whole body, for lenses, ring and wrist dosimeters were used to assess exposure. The highest whole-body exposure of (1.70 ± 1.09) µSv/GBq was recorded in nurses administering radiopharmaceutical to patients. The highest exposure to lenses and fingers was recorded for employees of the quality control zone and it was (8.08 ± 2.84) µSv/GBq and a maximum of (1261.46 ± 338.93) µSv/GBq, respectively. Workers in the production zone received the highest doses on their hands, i.e. (175.67 ± 13.25) µSv/GBq. The measurements performed showed that the analyzed workers may be classified as exposure category A. Wrist dosimeters are not recommended for use in isotope laboratories due to underestimation of ionizing radiation doses. Appropriately selected shields, which significantly reduce the dose received by employees, must be used in isotope laboratories. Periodic measurements confirmed that the appropriate optimization of exposure reduces the radiation doses received by employees.