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ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to gain insights into the variations seen in the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy of the native signals of teeth and bones used for retrospective dosimetry measurements. We determined that changes occur in the long-lived free radicals responsible for the native signal of cortical bone in aging or diseased human females and aged ovariectomized rats. This was done by measuring the magnitude of the broad (BC) and narrow (NC) components of the native EPR signal of bone following chemical extraction, aging, crushing and thermal annealing. Bone from the upper midshaft of femora of young (17-34 years old, n=5) and elderly (70-92 years old, n=18) females was examined. The results showed that the elderly women had significantly higher BC than the younger women (P<0.01). A similar interpretation was made of the data from an aging female rat osteoporosis model. The results for the NC signals were similar. Finally, dramatic decreases in both NC and BC signals were seen in HIV positive and uncontrolled diabetic (one each) patients indicating the need for studying this signal for a broad spectrum of metabolic disorders. Experiments were performed which strongly indicate that iron liganded with organic molecules is the source of the BC signal. Finally, the accuracy achieved in this study indicates that resolving the dosimetric signal (g=2.0018) should be improved by subtraction of the deconvoluted NC and BC signals from the original spectrum.
Radiation Measurements 07/2005; 39(3):255-62. · 1.18 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Bricks collected from a contaminated village (Muslyumovo) of the lower Techa river valley, Southern Urals, Russia, were measured using thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence by four European laboratories and a U.S. laboratory to establish and compare the applied dose reconstruction methodologies. The bricks, collected from 60-100-year-old buildings, had accumulated a relatively high dose due to natural sources of radiation in the brick and from the surrounding environment. This work represents the results of a first international intercomparison of luminescence measurements for bricks from the Southern Urals. The luminescence measurements of absorbed dose in bricks collected from the most shielded locations of the same buildings were used to determine the background dose due to natural sources of radiation and to validate the age of the bricks. The absorbed dose in different bricks measured by four laboratories using thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence at a depth of 10 +/- 2.5 mm from the exposed brick surface agreed within +/-21%. After subtraction of the natural background dose, the absorbed dose in brick due to contaminated river sediments and banks was calculated and found to range between 150 and 200 mGy. The cumulative doses in brick due to man-made sources of radiation at 100 and 130 mm depths in the bricks were also measured and found to be consistent with depth dose profiles calculated by Monte Carlo simulations of photon transport for possible source distributions.
Health Physics 02/2002; 82(1):94-101. · 1.68 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The effect of caries in EPR dosimetry of tooth enamel (in the dose range of 0–1 Gy) was investigated. The enamel of each tooth was divided into carious, non-carious and intermediate portions. The EPR signals of enamel at g = 2.0018 (dosimetric) and g = 2.0045 (native) were examined. The intensity of the dosimetric signal was the same for all three portions, while that of the native signal was higher for carious portions than for non-carious and intermediate portions. Reconstruction of the laboratory applied doses was done using all portions. Reasonable correlation between nominal and reconstructed doses was found in most cases. The effect of alkali treatment on the native and dosimetric signals of enamel was also tested. Reduction of the native signal intensity, particularly in the carious portions, was found to be the only significant effect. This resulted in a slight improvement in the accuracy of the reconstructed doses.
Radiation Measurements 12/2000; 32:799-803. · 1.18 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: We propose a new approach to the additive dose method in EPR dosimetry studies for tooth enamel specimens. We outline a specialized routine whereby the sample may be left for the most part unirradiated, while only a small aliquot of the sample will be additively irradiated to relatively large doses. The routine is done in such a way so as not to significantly compromise either precision or accuracy of the dose reconstruction. It is also demonstrated that the overall throughput of the dose reconstruction is not appreciably compromised. With this potential ability, the utility of an international dose/sensitivity standard for EPR dosimetry of teeth is considered.
Applied Radiation and Isotopes 06/2000; 52(5):1065-70. · 1.17 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Electron paramagnetic resonance dosimetry may be applied to whole deciduous teeth of children. This makes it feasible to make direct measurement of absorbed gamma ray dose in the days and weeks following a nuclear accident, particularly if used in conjunction with a public awareness program. The technique reported here requires little sample preparation and has resulted in precision of approximately 30 mGy (1 sigma) for a deciduous incisor. Under conditions for rapid screening procedures, the methodology is estimated to provide 0.5 Gy accuracy. The largest error in the process is the determination of an appropriate background native signal for subtraction from the whole tooth spectrum. The native signal is superimposed on the radiation-induced signal, and the subtraction requires knowledge of a sample's relative content of enamel and dentin along with their relative native signal intensities. Using a composite background standard, an equivalent absorbed dose of 70+/-38 mGy (1 sigma) was determined. The lower detection limit of the technique was achieved by the elimination of anisotropic effects through rotation of the sample during measurement, together with subtraction of the standard native background signal and empty tube background spectra from the sample spectra.
Health Physics 03/1999; 76(2):137-44. · 1.68 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Variations in several electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectral parameters of importance in retrospective dosimetry of tooth enamel were measured using instrumentation and methodologies designed to maximize measurement reproducibility. Measurements were made using accessory EPR equipment that can be readily constructed with little more than a variable power supply, a geared down motor and some high-purity CaO. Spectroscopic precision is considerably enhanced due to elimination of sample anisotropies by scanning samples throughout their angular range. Frequency drifting incurred by sample reorientation and instrument/sample warm-up is effectively eliminated using an in-cavity :CaO standard. This work shows that for highly anisotropic samples, spectral characteristic parameters (peak-to-peak amplitudes, signal component widths and positions) are reproduced with equal or comparable precision to the case where standard EPR configurations are used while measuring approximately isotropic samples.
Measurement Science and Technology 12/1998; 9(12):1994. · 1.49 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR) was used to study synthetic hydroxyapatite and approximately 1, 2, and 6% synthetic carbonated apatites, deorganified dentine, and enamel. The carbonated apatites were synthesized by hydrolysis of dicalcium phosphate. Comparisons were made with spectra from enamel and deorganified dentine. Microwave power saturation and dose responses were determined for the synthetic materials. The Marquardt version of the Levenberg decomposition method was used to extract individual signals from the apatite data. Two samples of dentine were irradiated with 25 and 100 Gy, respectively, from a 60Co source. The first sample was then deorganified at 200 degreesC using the Soxhlet extraction technique. A third sample was irradiated with 100 Gy after deorganification. The resulting EPR spectra were then compared. It was determined that the dosimetric signal of 2% synthetic carbonated apatite was approximately the same as that of enamel. It was also verified that the dosimetric signal saturates at about 2% in synthetic carbonated apatites. The study established that the precenters responsible for the dosimetric signal (g perpendicular = 2.0018, g parallel = 1.9985) are preferentially concentrated in the surface-accessible region of the mineral component, as shown by the approximately 80% attenuation of the dosimetric signal in dentine following deorganification. The precenters responsible are not destroyed by the deorganification since the magnitude of the dosimetric signal from the dentine specimen irradiated following deorganification was approximately twice that of the comparable untreated, irradiated sample. Finally, the dose response of 2 and 6% synthetic carbonated apatites was determined.
Calcified Tissue International 05/1998; 62(5):443-6. · 2.38 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The effect of the crushing and additive dose procedures used in EPR dosimetry of enamel on EPR signals with g-factors of 2.0045 and g⊥=2.0018, g||=1.9975 was studied. Eight fractions, ranging in size from <75 μm to 2 mm, were prepared from one tooth. Two cases were investigated: crushing of a non-irradiated sample and crushing of a previously irradiated sample (6 Gy from a 60Co gamma ray source). In the non-irradiated case, the intensity of the native signal at 2.0045 increased by approximately 1.75 times as the grain size decreased from maximum to minimum. A small decrease (<8%) in radiation sensitivity (change in signal intensity per unit of irradiation) was also observed with decreasing grain size. In the irradiated samples, crushing resulted in slight variations of reconstructed doses from expected values, but the worst case (grain sizes <75 μm) showed that additional errors were less than 10%. Due to the presence of transient signals, the radiation sensitivity of enamel measured immediately after exposure is underestimated. It increases by about 15% in the first month. Based on the decomposition of the observed spectra, a new interpretation of transient signals is proposed which explains the above phenomena. Recommendations about how to use this interpretation in retrospective EPR dosimetry are given.
Radiation Measurements 02/1998; 29(1):105-111. · 1.18 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: This paper was presented at a workshop addressing the potential of biodosimetry techniques for use in the interplanetary space program. Some of the concerns for adequate dosimetry in space include: (1) a dosimeter that provides a permanent record of the cumulative dose and can be read independently on return to Earth; (2) a dosimeter which cannot be lost, forgotten or inadvertently removed by an individual; and (3) appropriate assessments of radiation exposures that pose an acute health risk and could jeopardize the success of an interplanetary mission. Tooth enamel is a permanent, stable biological dosimeter showing great promise in retrospective dosimetry of radiation accidents. With a proper technique, the minimum detectable dose can be in the range of tens of milligrays in extracted, prepared teeth. In addition to transient accidental doses, the cumulative dose from chronic low-level exposures (which individually may be below reportable limits) is recorded in the enamel of teeth. While many teeth remain with an individual over all or most of a lifetime, one or more are often removed due to dental problems and provide an opportunity to make dosimeteric measurements. The collection and analysis of extracted teeth in later life allows measurement of cumulative lifetime dose using the high-sensitivity techniques described in this paper. The goal of a lightweight, high-sensitivity, in vivo EPR spectrometer has not yet been realized, but its benefit to all aspects of retrospective dosimetry, terrestrial or otherwise, would be great. This paper reviews the current status of EPR dosimetry of teeth as applied to retrospective measurements of accidental exposures and outlines future research directions which will further reduce the limits of detection.
Radiation Research 12/1997; 148(5 Suppl):S51-9. · 2.68 Impact Factor
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T Straume,
L R Anspaugh, E H Haskell,
J N Lucas,
A A Marchetti,
I A Likhtarev,
V V Chumak,
A A Romanyukha,
V T Khrouch,
Gavrilin YuI,
V F Minenko
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ABSTRACT: In this article we discuss examples of challenging problems in retrospective dosimetry and describe some promising solutions. The ability to make measurements by accelerator mass spectrometry and luminescence techniques promises to provide improved dosimetry for regions of Belarus, Ukraine and Russian Federation contaminated by radionuclides from the Chernobyl accident. In addition, it may soon be possible to resolve the large neutron discrepancy in the dosimetry system for Hiroshima through novel measurement techniques that can be used to reconstruct the fast-neutron fluence emitted by the bomb some 51 years ago. Important advances in molecular cytogenetics and electron paramagnetic resonance measurements have produced biodosimeters that show potential in retrospective dosimetry. The most promising of these are the frequency of reciprocal translocations measured in chromosomes of blood lymphocytes using fluorescence in situ hybridization and the electron paramagnetic resonance signal in tooth enamel.
Stem Cells 02/1997; 15 Suppl 2:183-93. · 7.78 Impact Factor
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Health Physics 08/1996; 71(1):95. · 1.68 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: We report here a rapid method of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) dosimetry of dental enamel which will allow screening of whole deciduous teeth of children following a nuclear accident. The technique requires virtually no sample preparation and is capable of measuring doses of less than 100 mGy. Teeth may be scanned for threshold dose levels without the need for added calibration doses and those of particular interest may be more accurately examined using the additive dose method. The success of the technique lies in the elimination of anisotropic effects by rotation of spectra from the empty cavity and a standard background tooth. Normalization using in- cavity Mn++ standards is also employed.
12/1995;
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ABSTRACT: The feasibility of using dentine from surgically extracted human teeth as in vivo dosimeters was investigated. The organic fraction of human dentine was removed by Soxhlet extraction with diethylenetriamine. The specimens were then crushed and 75 to 250 microns granules were given doses of gamma radiation ranging from 50 mGy to 8 Gy. Following irradiation, electron paramagnetic resonance spectra were collected. Signals were detected with Lande factors of g = 2.0018, line width = 0.903 mT; and g = 1.9961, line width = 0.444 mT. These signals have both been reported for hydroxyapatite of bone and enamel. Several other signals were also seen but not characterized. It was concluded that doses of 500 mGy or less may be resolved with prior removal of the organic component of dentine.
Health Physics 05/1995; 68(4):579-84. · 1.68 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: During the 1950's, the U.S. Government conducted an intensive atmospheric nuclear testing program in Nevada. Fallout from these atmospheric tests was measured throughout the U.S. with some of the heaviest concentrations to populated areas falling east of the test site in Washington County, UT. External exposures from 6.5 x 10(-4) C kg-1 to 26 x 10(-4) C kg-1 (2.5-5.0 R) were reported for this region. This study provides an independent measurement of fallout radiation doses to selected communities in Utah using a thermoluminescence technique originally developed for the dating of ancient pottery. The application of the predose thermoluminescence technique to fallout dosimetry is described. A mean dose of 38 +/- 15 mGy (4.4 +/- 1.7 R), attributed to fallout radiation, was measured in quartz grains extracted from the outer centimeter of bricks removed from six communities in Washington and Kane Counties in Utah.
Health Physics 05/1994; 66(4):380-91. · 1.68 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Samples of quartz taken from tiles from Hiroshima, Japan, exhibit a strong 210°C TL peak, which undergoes marked pre-dose sensitization. With a series of irradiation/thermal treatments its sensitivity can be extended to the detection of tens of μGy. The use of this peak for in situ dosimetry of intact but sensitized cores of brick and tile is discussed. Trap parameters of the 210°C peak support the dosimetry use.
Nuclear Tracks and Radiation Measurements (1982).
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ABSTRACT: We demonstrate a procedure in retrospective EPR dosimetry which allows for virtually nondestructive sample evaluation in terms of sample irradiations. For this procedure to work, it is shown that corrections must be made for cavity response characteristics when using variable mass samples. Likewise, methods are employed to correct for empty tube signals, sample anisotropy and frequency drift while considering the effects of dose distribution optimization. A demonstration of the method's utility is given by comparing sample portions evaluated using both the described methodology and standard full sample additive dose techniques. The samples used in this study are tooth enamel from teeth removed during routine dental care. We show that by making all the recommended corrections, very small masses can be both accurately measured and correlated with measurements of other samples. Some issues relating to dose distribution optimization are also addressed.
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment.
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ABSTRACT: Polyakov et al. (1995) showed errors in dose estimation as a function of grain size for enamel grains given beta irradiation after crushing. We tested the effect of gamma irradiation applied to the specimens before and after crushing. We confirmed Polyakov's observations and found that post-crushing irradiation altered the slope of the dose-response curve of the hydroxyapatite signal and produced a grain-size-dependent offset. No changes in the slope of the dose-response curve were seen in enamel caps irradiated whole before crushing.
Applied Radiation and Isotopes 47(11-12):1305-10. · 1.17 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Application of the pre-dose technique to bricks, tiles and other ceramic materials enables retrospective dosimetry in a variety of environmental and accident situations. Uncertainties in various aspects of the dosimetry process and their effects on dose estimation are discussed. Methods of sample preparation and analysis currently in use in the Utah laboratory are described.
Nuclear Tracks and Radiation Measurements (1982).
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ABSTRACT: Grains of sufficiently small diameter will theoretically result in an isotropic EPR response which is independent of sample orientation. In practice, use of such small grains may present problems of altered sensitivity and newly induced paramagnetic centers. Additionally, the effect of anisotropy is increased with increasing microwave power. This places limits on the effectiveness of the differential power method which allows determination of cumulative dose without the need for a zero background signal. The use of a constant rotation goniometer reduces the effect of anisotropy, making measurements at all microwave powers, and particularly the higher powers, significantly more accurate. Since the organic and the mineralized components of the EPR signal are both effected by anisotropy, this procedure may well result in reduced limits of detection.
Radiation Measurements.
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ABSTRACT: The presence of stable radiation-induced radicals in the mineral component of tooth enamel allows use of this material as a biological dosemeter. Estimation of the dose absorbed in tooth enamel can be done by EPR. Generally, for the purpose of dose reconstruction, the EPR spectrum of tooth enamel is interpreted in terms of two main components. The first is a broad background signal often called the native signal centered at a g value of 2.0045. The origin of this signal is not precisely known. The second main component in the tooth enamel spectrum (g - = 2.0018, g � = 1.9985) is purely radiation induced and can be used for retrospective dosimetry. Internal structure of the native signal and variations of its amplitude and linewidth were investigated for the samples prepared from modern teeth obtained from different geographic locations (USA and Russia). Possible reasons for the variations observed are discussed as are the potential effects of the variations on the reliability of dose estimation.
