Different Types Of Radiation Research Articles

Structure, optical, and radiation shielding properties of PVA–BaTiO3 nanocomposite films: An experimental investigation

Developing different types of radiation shielding with certain specifications according to the type of radiation and method of application is essential. In this work, the radiation shielding, optical and structural features of PVA films containing BaTiO3 nanoparticles are investigated. The radiation shielding properties were measured experimentally with real gamma sources (133Ba, 152Eu, and 137Cs). The efficiency calibration and spectrum analysis were performed with the Spectra Line Ultimate Gamma Lab packet program. Moreover, the results were compared with the FLUKA Monte Carlo code. Before radiation attenuation measurements, the prepared films were characterized via X-ray diffraction (XRD). The structure of the BaTiO3 nanoparticles in the polymer matrix was studied with a scanning electron microscope (SEM, Merlin, Carl-Zeiss, LEO982). In addition, the optical properties of the polymer films were studied and presented. As the BaTiO3 content increases in the polymer matrix, transmission decreases and reflectance increases. Equally, as the BaTiO3 content increases, the value of α increases. For the shielding properties, the mass attenuation coefficient (μm) increases as the BaTiO3 content increases from 0.65 to 3.57 wt%. There is a strong agreement between experimental results and the values obtained from the FLUKA Monte Carlo code.

Complex impact of polarized and non-polarized low intense light and methylene blue on growth rate of some opportunistic microorganisms

Resistance to antibiotics is considered as a global and unsolved problem in the branch of medicine. That is why the use of novel non-drug methods of treatment of bacterial and fungal infections is of great relevance. One of such methods is photodynamic treatment, which is a treatment procedure that uses light energy to activate a photosensitizing agent in the presence of oxygen. Due to the broad spectrum of action, the efficacy against antibiotic resistant cells and the lack of selection of photoresistant strains, antimicrobial photodynamic therapy compares favourably with traditional drug therapy, and has emerged in the clinical field as a potential alternative to antibiotics to treat microbial infections. In this article results of studies of the complex effect of methylene blue (0.1% aqueous solution) and LED radiation of the red-infrared spectrum as well as methylene blue and polarized incoherent low-energy radiation (PILER) with a red light filter on the growth rate of some opportunistic microorganisms on solid nutrient media are presented. Standardized suspensions of microorganisms were prepared for research with the subsequent determination of direct impact of polarized and non-polarized radiation (at duration of exposure of 5 min), photosensitizer, and also the set of these factors on growth of the studied microorganisms. The growth intensity of bacteria and yeast-like fungi was determined by the number of their colonies after reseeding on nutrient media in Petri dishes. The obtained data were compared with control groups, which were not influenced by any factors. The results indicate a significant antimicrobial effect of the combined action of different types of radiation and methylene blue on microorganisms, which was manifested in a reduction in the number of colonies by on average 35–45%, compared with the control groups. Comparing the effect of exposure when using LED and PILER light, we have noted its similarity. It is also worth noting a certain antimicrobial activity of 0.1% methylene blue solution on the studied strains, but this was much less pronounced than in the complex effect. The direct effect of both LED and PILER radiation with low duration of exposure caused the stimulation of the growth of the studied microorganisms with an increase in the number of their colonies on Petri dishes by 15–35%. Given the rapid growth of resistance to antimicrobial agents, the described technique can be used as an alternative to traditional antibiotic therapy for the treatment of purulent-inflammatory diseases of the skin and mucous membranes.

Crosslinking of Polylactide by High Energy Irradiation and Photo-Curing.

Polylactide (PLA) is presently the most studied bioderived polymer because, in addition to its established position as a material for biomedical applications, it can replace mass production plastics from petroleum. However, some drawbacks of polylactide such as insufficient mechanical properties at a higher temperature and poor shape stability have to be overcome. One of the methods of mechanical and thermal properties modification is crosslinking which can be achieved by different approaches, both at the stage of PLA-based materials synthesis and by physical modification of neat polylactide. This review covers PLA crosslinking by applying different types of irradiation, i.e., high energy electron beam or gamma irradiation and UV light which enables curing at mild conditions. In the last section, selected examples of biomedical applications as well as applications for packaging and daily-use items are presented in order to visualize how a variety of materials can be obtained using specific methods.

A High-Granularity Digital Tracking Calorimeter Optimized for Proton CT

A typical proton CT (pCT) detector comprises a tracking system, used to measure the proton position before and after the imaged object, and an energy/range detector to measure the residual proton range after crossing the object. The Bergen pCT collaboration was established to design and build a prototype pCT scanner with a high granularity digital tracking calorimeter (DTC) used as both tracking and energy/range detector. In this work the conceptual design and the layout of the mechanical and electronics implementation, along with a Monte Carlo (MC) simulation of the new pCT system are reported. The DTC is a multilayer structure with a lateral aperture of 27 cm × 15 cm, made of 41 detector/absorber sandwich layers (calorimeter), with aluminum (3.5 mm) used both as absorber and carrier, and 2 additional layers used as tracking system (rear trackers) positioned downstream of the imaged object; no tracking upstream the object is included. The rear tracker’s structure only differs from the calorimeter layers for the carrier made of ~200 μm carbon fleece and carbon paper (carbon-Epoxy sandwich), to minimize scattering. Each sensitive layer consists of 108 ALPIDE chip sensors (developed for ALICE, CERN) bonded on a polyimide flex and subsequently bonded to a larger flexible printed circuit board. Beam tests tailored to the pCT operation have been performed using high-energetic (50–220 MeV/u) proton and ion beams at the Heidelberg Ion-Beam Therapy Center (HIT) in Germany. These tests proved the ALPIDE response independent of occupancy and proportional to the particle energy deposition, making the distinction of different ion tracks possible. The read-out electronics is able to handle enough data to acquire a single 2D image in few seconds making the system fast enough to be used in a clinical environment. For the reconstructed images in the modeled MC simulation, the water equivalent path length error is lower than 2 mm, and the relative stopping power accuracy is better than 0.4%. Thanks to its ability to detect different types of radiation and its specific design, the pCT scanner can be employed for additional online applications during the treatment, such as in-situ proton range verification.

Puncture technologies in the treatment of pain syndrome caused by sacroiliac joint dysfunction

Sacroiliac joint (SIJ) dysfunction is a cause of low back pain in 10–30% of cases. In 1993, the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defined the following set of diagnostic criteria necessary to diagnose SIJ dysfunction: 1) the presence of pain in the areas characteristic of SIJ lesions, with special attention to pain in the Fortin area projection, with possible different types of radiation; 2) positive pain provocation tests for a SIJ lesion; 3) reduced pain after intra-articular anesthetic injection; 4) the lack of a specific nature of the lesion (fracture, inflammation, tumor, etc.). Injection of 0.5–2.5 ml of solution of an anesthetic (bupivacaine, lidocaine) and 20–40 mg of triamcinolone or 5 mg of betamethasone (1 ml) into the SIJ area is used as interventional technologies. More prolonged analgesia involves radiofrequency denervation (RFD) of the SIJ, in which needles with electrodes are placed in the projection of the nerves that innervate the SIJ, and their local thermal destruction is performed. The effectiveness of RFD of SIJ requires further investigation.

The Impacts of Different Types of Radiation on the CRT and PDL1 Expression in Tumor Cells Under Normoxia and Hypoxia.

IntroductionHypoxia is a hallmark of cancer that may contribute to an immunosuppressive microenvironment and promote radioresistance. High linear energy transfer (LET) radiation is considered to be able to overcome the negative effects of hypoxia. However, the anti-tumorigenic effects induced by low or high LET radiation have not been fully elucidated. This study aimed to compare the effects of different types of radiation on the immune response, particularly the impact on calreticulin (CRT), and programmed cell death ligand 1 (PDL1) expression.MethodsFour human tumor cell lines were investigated in this study. Cells in normoxic and hypoxic groups were irradiated with 4Gy (physical dose) photon, proton, and carbon-ion radiation, respectively. The expression of CRT and PDL1 was detected 48 h after irradiation, and the median fluorescence intensities (MFIs) were compared by flow cytometry. Meanwhile, the radiosensitivity of tumor cells in each group was also compared by colony formation assays and flow cytometry.ResultsAll types of radiation could significantly inhibit the colony formation of tumor cells under normoxia. However, the efficacy of photon and proton radiation was impaired under hypoxia. Carbon-ion radiation could still inhibit colony formation. The percentage of viable cells after irradiation was higher under hypoxia compared with those under normoxia. The CRT expression under normoxia was significantly increased after radiation. Carbon-ion radiation enhanced CRT expression compared to photon and proton radiation. Conversely, under hypoxia, the CRT expression level was significantly upregulated at baseline (0Gy). Radiation could not increase the expression further. PDL1 expression was also significantly increased by radiation under normoxia in all cell lines except the Ln18 cell line. Carbon-ion radiation induced the most significant increase. Under hypoxia, the PDL1 expression level was also upregulated at baseline and radiation could not increase expression further.ConclusionTumor cells were resistant to photon and proton but sensitive to carbon-ion radiation under hypoxia. Carbon-ion radiation could induce the highest CRT and PDL1 expression under normoxia. However, under hypoxia, radiation could not further enhance the high baseline expression of CRT and PDL1.

Overview of GaAs und CdTe Pixel Detectors Using Medipix Electronics

AbstractGaAs and CdTe pixel detectors have been developed over the last few decades. The applications of these detectors include X‐ and gamma‐ray detectors working at room temperature. Fundamental properties such as detection efficiency and noise are determined by the material properties of the sensor material. Different materials have been evaluated over the years in search of the best choice for different types of radiation. This article describes the properties of GaAs and CdTe materials for single photon processing pixel detectors using the Medipix electronics.

Citrulline, A Potential Biomarker of Radiation-Induced Small Intestine Damage.

Radiation damage assessment of the small intestine is important in nuclear accidents or routine radiotherapy of abdominal tumors. This article reviews the clinical symptoms and molecular mechanisms of radiation-induced small intestinal damage and summarizes recent research on biomarkers of such damage. Citrulline is the most promising biomarker for the evaluation of radiation-induced small intestinal damage caused by radiotherapy and nuclear accidents. This article also summarizes the factors influencing plasma citrulline measurement investigated in the latest research, as well as new findings on the concentration of citrulline in saliva and urine after different types of radiation.

Distinctive features of diffusion-controlled radiation defect recombination in stoichiometric magnesium aluminate spinel single crystals and transparent polycrystalline ceramics

MgAl2O4 spinel is important optical material for harsh radiation environment and other important applications. The kinetics of thermal annealing of the basic electron (F, F+) and hole (V) centers in stoichiometric MgAl2O4 spinel irradiated by fast neutrons and protons is analyzed in terms of diffusion-controlled bimolecular reactions. Properties of MgAl2O4 single crystals and optical polycrystalline ceramics are compared. It is demonstrated that both transparent ceramics and single crystals, as well as different types of irradiation show qualitatively similar kinetics, but the effective migration energy Ea and pre-exponent D0 are strongly correlated. Such correlation is discussed in terms of the so-called Meyer-Neldel rule known in chemical kinetics of condensed matter. The results for the irradiated spinel are compared with those for sapphire, MgO and other radiation-resistant materials.

An introduction to the school “Rewriting Nuclear Physics Textbooks: one step forward” and future perspectives

The third edition of the school “Rewriting Nuclear Physics Textbooks: one step forward” was devoted to the societal impact of nuclear physics. One of the main beneficiaries in this area is medicine. From magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to the different types of radiation used in hospitals, nuclear physics is omnipresent. The development of new radioisotope production techniques, therapy of certain cancers with ions and hadron therapy are among the subjects undergoing rapid development. Many other fields benefit from the techniques of nuclear physics: archaeometry, the non-destructive investigation of packages or containers at customs, the study of the pollution of our environment, etc. The school was completed by the presentation of some basic research topics: the contribution of cold and ultra-cold neutrons to the study of the lifetime and electric dipole moment of the neutron, the measurement of the proton charge radius via the study of muonic atoms, the investigation of the extremes of neutron richness in nuclei, and finally, the quest for traces of 60Ni in sediments in order to study the history of supernova explosions in our universe. The number and quality of projects in a scientific field gives a measure of its future. For nuclear physics, the number of accelerators under construction in the world attests to the robustness and the future of the field. In the last part of the article, I briefly recall the specifics of nuclear physics accelerators under construction throughout the world. In my introductory presentation at the school, I covered all of these topics by pointing out the contributions of nuclear physics. This article closely follows this presentation.

Microdosimetric quantities of an accelerator-based neutron source used for boron neutron capture therapy measured using a gas-filled proportional counter

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is an emerging radiation treatment modality, exhibiting the potential to selectively destroy cancer cells. Currently, BNCT is conducted using a nuclear reactor. However, the future trend is to move toward an accelerator-based system for use in hospital environments. A typical BNCT radiation field has several different types of radiation. The beam quality should be quantified to accurately determine the dose to be delivered to the target. This study utilized a tissue equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) to measure microdosimetric and macrodosimetric quantities of an accelerator-based neutron source. The micro- and macro-dosimetric quantities measured with the TEPC were compared with those obtained via the the particle and heavy ion transport code system (PHITS) Monte Carlo simulation. The absorbed dose from events >20 keV/μm measured free in air for a 1-h irradiation was calculated as 1.31 ± 0.02 Gy. The simulated result was 1.41 ± 0.07 Gy. The measured and calculated values exhibit good agreement. The relative biological effectiveness (RBE) that was evaluated from the measured microdosimetric spectrum was calculated as 3.7 ± 0.02, similar to the simulated value of 3.8 ± 0.1. These results showed the PHITS Monte Carlo simulation can simulate both micro- and macro-dosimetric quantities accurately. The RBE was calculated using a single-response function, and the results were compared with those of several other institutes that used a similar method. However, care must be taken when using such a single-response function for clinical application, as it is only valid for low doses. For clinical dose ranges (i.e., high doses), multievent distribution inside the target needs to be considered.

The Potential Effects of Radiation on the Gut-Brain Axis.

Over the course of a lifetime, humans may be exposed to different types of radiation, typically in the form of low-linear energy transfer (LET) radiation, which is used, for example, in cancer treatment. In addition, astronauts may be exposed to high-LET radiation in outer space. Here, we propose that alterations to the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota may occur when exposure to either low- or high-LET radiation, and that these alterations may perturb important relationships that exist between the GI microbiota and human health. For example, the GI microbiota can communicate with the brain via various pathways and molecules, such as the enteric nervous system, the vagus nerve, microbial metabolites and the immune system. This relationship has been termed the "gut-brain axis". Alterations to the composition of the GI microbiome can lead to alterations in its functional metabolic output and means of communication, therefore potentially causing downstream cognitive effects. Consequently, studying how radiation can affect this important network of communication could lead to new and critical interventions, as well as prevention strategies. Herein, we review the evidence supporting a relationship between radiation exposure and disruption of the gut-brain axis as well as summarize strategies that may be used to counter the effects of radiation exposure on the GI microbiome.

New solid-state organic scintillators for fast and thermal neutron detection

Detection of special nuclear materials (SNM) requires instruments that can detect and characterize uranium and plutonium isotopes, having at the same time the ability to discriminate among different types of radiation. For many decades, neutron detection has been based on 3He proportional counters sensitive primarily to thermal neutrons. The most common methods for detection of fast neutrons have been based on liquid scintillators with pulse shape discrimination (PSD). The shortage of 3He and handling issues with liquid scintillators stimulated a search for efficient solid-state PSD materials. Recent studies conducted at LLNL led to development of new materials, among which are organic crystals with excellent PSD and first PSD plastics for fast neutron detection. More advantages are introduced by plastics doped with neutron capture agents, such as 10B and 6Li, that can be used without moderation for combined detection of both thermal and fast neutrons, offering, in addition, a unique “triple” PSD for signal separation between fast neutrons, thermal neutrons, and gamma-rays. More recent studies have been focused on development of deuterated scintillators that can be used for neutron spectroscopy without time-of-flight (ToF). Among commercially produced materials are large-scale (>10 cm) stilbene crystals grown by the inexpensive solution technique, and different types of PSD plastics that, due to the deployment advantages and ease of fabrication, create a basis for the widespread use of solid-state scintillators as large-volume and low-cost neutron detectors.

Pretreatment of Cotton with Different Radiations to Improve Colour Strength and Fastness Properties in Reactive Dyeing

Different types of radiations have been found to be widely applicable in modifying the properties of materials. In this work colour strength (K/S) and colour fastness of reactive dyed cotton fabric has been studied with the application of three radiations; microwave, ultraviolet and ultrasonic. Analysis of variance and comparison of mean values statistical tests were carried out to find out the effect of different radiation treatment time and fabric density on colour strength of cotton fabrics. The colour strength (K/S) of dyed fabric enhanced significantly by pretreatment with different radiations and highest shade depth is achieved in case of microwave in comparison to untreated ultrasonic and ultraviolet irradiated samples. Furthermore, irradiated samples have shown better colour fastness to washing in all three cases. Therefore these radiations can be used to enhance the colour properties of dyed fabrics.

Use of Monte Carlo simulation and the Shadow-Cone Method to evaluate the neutron scattering correction at a calibration laboratory

The calibration of radiation detectors is performed with the aim of ensuring accurate measurements of different types of radiation. Due to scattering neutrons, the neutron beam spectrum will not be the same spectrum as that emitted by the neutron source, thus influencing the reading of the instrument to be calibrated and causing a systematic error in the calibration of the neutron measurement devices. The objective of the present work was to estimate the contribution of scattering neutron radiation to fluence and mean energy using the Monte Carlo simulation and the Shadow-Cone Method with the objective of obtaining direct and scattering counting rates. The counting rates obtained at the Neutron Calibration Laboratory at IPEN, using the Bonner sphere spectrometer, were inserted into the NeuraLN program, which uses the UTA-4 response matrix and has 81 bins of energy used to determine the spectrum, fluence rate, and mean energy at the source-detector distances of 100 cm and 150 cm.

A novel versatile phoswich detector consisting of single crystal scintillators

The discrimination of different types of radiations like gamma, charged particles, neutrons etc., is required in various applications in Academic, the Nuclear industry, homeland security, medical diagnostics, etc. For these versatile uses, we have developed a novel phoswich detector consisting of two promising single crystal scintillators to discriminate various kinds of radiation with a promising figure-of-merit (FOM) along with advantages over other single crystal scintillators reported so far. The high pulse-shape discrimination (PSD) for different radiations has been achieved by a novel combination of a Boron co-doped Gd3Ga3Al2O12:Ce (GGAG) crystal coupled to a CsI:Tl (CsI) single crystal in a phoswich detector design. This combination was optically coupled to a single photomultiplier tube and a desktop digitizer to build a compact detector setup. The FOM for discriminating alpha and gamma radiations was observed to be better than twice that of the FOM obtained using individual crystals. The gamma interacting in the front GGAG crystal and the back CsI crystal could also be discriminated with a distinguishing FOM that may lead to notable improvement of spatial resolution in the medical imaging applications. The gamma–gamma discrimination and the presence of Gd in GGAG makes it a suitable candidate for the detection of thermal neutrons in mixed fields. Overall, the observed significant improvement in the discrimination ability along with the remarkable versatility opens a vast scope for using this combination in various applications.

TES detectors applications for scientific instruments in space and on the ground

Transition Edge Sensors (TES) technology is among the most mature within the various Low Temperature Devices. These versatile devices can be used both as microcalorimeters or bolometers and tailored to different types of radiation by proper selection of the absorber layer materials and geometry. These sensors are designed and produced almost routinely in many laboratories with a good yield of devices reaching the design goals. The co-developing readout electronics for these TES systems, based on SQUID with various multiplexing schemes (time domain, frequency domain, code domain), is improving with each new instrument design and is foreseeable that instruments having many thousands of pixels are within reach in the next few years allowing the development of a new generation of spectroscopic/imaging instruments. In general the current performances of TES-based systems potentially allow to disclose new scenarios in the field of spectroscopy also for laboratory applications. This proceeding paper presents a brief overview of the TES detectors characteristics from the system engineering point of view and a panorama of some application in space and on ground.

Radiation Effects in Diamond pHEMTs

Field effect transistors (FET) based on diamond have 2-dimensional hole gas (2DHG) as conduction channel. In terms of usability in harsh environment, an important aspect of diamond-based FETs is its promise of radiation hardness. Because of high binding energy of diamond, diamond transistors are predicted to be radiation hard. However, the way radiation affects the 2DHG conduction layer is unknown. This may be a problem as radiation may disrupt the 2D hole concentrations in the 2DHG channel. In this work, radiation effects in diamond with 2DHG layer is explored in two ways: (1) Using Hall effect measurements to monitor changes in transport properties, and (2) measuring current-voltage characteristics for the three-terminal devices to analyze changes in their device properties. Two different types of radiation were used. A cyclotron was used for proton irradiation on diamond substrates, and a high capacity dry cell, panoramic gamma irradiator with 60Co as source material was used for gamma irradiation on diamond-based FETs. Diamond substrates were irradiated with protons at 152 keV and fluence of 1012 particles/cm2. Likewise, diamond-based FETs were irradiated with gammas from a total dose of 100kRad up to 10 MRads and exhibited an annealing effect. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors thank the University of Maryland NanoCenter, the University of Maryland Radiation Facilities and Argonne National Laboratory for equipment and staff support. The effort depicted is sponsored by the Department of Defense, Defense Threat Reduction Agency under Grant No. HDTRA1-17-1-0007. The content of this information does not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the federal government, and no official endorsement should be inferred. The authors acknowledge the assistance in material preparation from Jim Butler of EuclidTech Labs.

Impact of radiations on the long-range correlation of soil moisture: A case study of the A’rou superstation in the Heihe River Basin

Analyses of the soil moisture evolution trend and the influence of different types of radiation on soil moisture are of great significance to the simulation and prediction of soil moisture. In this paper, soil moisture (2–60 cm) and various radiation data from 2014–2015 at the A’rou superstation were selected. The radiation data include the net radiation (NR), shortwave and longwave radiation (SR and LR). Using adaptive fractal analysis (AFA), the long–range correlation (LRC) of soil moisture and long-range cross correlation (LRCC) between moisture and three types of radiation were analyzed at different timescales and soil depths. The results show that: (1) Persistence of soil moisture and consistency between soil moisture and radiation mutate at 18-d and 6-d timescales, respectively. The timescale variation of soil moisture persistence is mainly related to the influence process of radiation on soil moisture; (2) Both the soil moisture persistence and soil moisture-radiation consistency vary substantially with soil depth. The soil depth variation of soil moisture persistence is related to the influence intensity of radiation; (3) From 2–6 day timescales, LR displays the strongest influence on soil moisture at depths of 2–10 cm through negative feedback of radiation on the soil temperature. The influence intensity decreases with depth from 2–15 cm. Therefore, the soil moisture persistence is weak and increases with depth from 2–15 cm; and (4) At more than 6 day timescales, SR and NR display a stronger influence on the soil moisture persistence at depths of 2–40 cm through positive feedback of radiation on the soil temperature, especially at depths of 2–10 cm. This influence also weakens with depth. The soil moisture persistence at depths of 2–10 cm is the weakest and increases with depth from 2–40 cm. The research results are instructive for determining timescales and soil depths related to soil water in hydrological models.

Interactions between raw meat irradiated by various kinds of ionizing radiation and transglutaminase treatment in meat emulsion systems

Meat processing involves many treatments for improving the quality and durability of products. However, these treatments also affect other meat properties. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of minced pork ham irradiated with various kinds of ionizing radiation (X-ray, E-beam, and γ-ray) and transglutaminase (TG) on emulsion systems. Ionizing radiation of various kinds (P < 0.05) was found to affect protein, fat, and ash content, as well as protein solubility, and textural properties. On the contrary, moisture content, fat content, emulsion stability, pH, color, protein solubility, and textural properties were affected by TG (P < 0.05). The apparent viscosity of irradiated ham was higher than that of the control, and TG treatment increased the value further. The effect on meat and meat products using different types of irradiation provides useful information about the combined treatments of irradiation and TG in emulsion systems.