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At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Structure of a fluid dioleoylphosphatidylcholine bilayer determined by joint refinement of x-ray and neutron diffraction data. I. Scaling of neutron data and the distributions of double bonds and water.

We described in two previous papers a method for the joint refinement of the structure of fluid bilayers using neutron and x-ray diffraction data (Wiener, M. C., and S. H. White 1991a, b. Biophys. J. 59: 162-173 and 174-185). An essential part of the method is the appropriate scaling of the diffraction data. Here we describe the scaling of the neutron data and the determination of the transbilayer distribution of double bonds in liquid-crystalline (L alpha phase) phospholipid bilayers of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC). The distribution was determined by neutron diffraction of oriented multilayers (66% RH) of DOPC specifically deuterated at the 9- and 10-position of both acyl chains. The double-bond distribution is described accurately by a pair of Gaussian functions each located at a position Zcc = 7.88 +/- 0.09 A from the bilayer center with 1/e-halfwidths of Acc = 4.29 +/- 0.16 A. Previously, we determined the transbilayer distribution of bromine atoms in a specifically halogenated lipid, 1-oleoyl-2-9,10-dibromostearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (OBPC), and showed it to be an isomorphous replacement for DOPC (Wiener, M. C., and S. H. White, 1991c. Biochemistry. In press). A comparison of the double-bond and bromine profiles indicates that the positions of the centers of the deuterated double bond and the brominated methylene Gaussian distributions are equal within experimental error and that each label undergoes similar average thermal motions with respect to the bilayer normal. The observation that the average position of a label on both acyl chains (the deuterated double bonds) is similar to the average position of a label on the 2-chain alone (the brominated methylenes) indicates that the maximum separation along the bilayer normal between the double bonds of the acyl chains is 1 A or less. The fully-resolved transbilayer water distribution, previously determined at lower resolution (Jacobs, R. E., and S. H. White. 1989. Biochemistry. 28:3421-3437), was obtained from the analysis of neutron diffraction data of DOPC hydrated with a D20/H20 mixture. The water distribution is described accurately by a pair of Gaussian functions each located at a position Zw = 22.51 +/- 0.77 A from the bilayer center with 1/e-half widths of Aw = 4.63 +/- 0.48A. We present the relative absolute neutron and x-ray structure factors of DOPC at 66% RH that will be used to solve the complete structure of DOPC which will be presented in a later paper of this series.

Lipid Bilayers↗
PubMed1982

Cell death (apoptosis) in the mouse small intestine after low doses: effects of dose-rate, 14.7 MeV neutrons, and 600 MeV (maximum energy) neutrons.

The production of dead (apoptotic) cells by low doses of gamma-rays was independent of dose-rate between 0.27 and 450 cGy per min. The r.b.e. for doses of 14.7 MeV neutrons between 1 and 15 cGy was about 4, and for neutrons generated by bombarding a beryllium target with 600 MeV protons the r.b.e. was about 2.7. The dose-incidence curves for all three radiation types reached a plateau at about 3-4 dead cells per crypt section, and this occurred at about 20-40 cGy of gamma-rays. These curves are compatible with exponential survival of the cell population at risk (D0 of 24 cGy for gamma-rays, 6 cGy for 14.7 MeV neutrons and 9 cGy for 600 MeV neutrons). Since the dose-response is exponential there is no indication of much higher r.b.e. values at very low doses, a point of concern in radiation protection. The spatial distribution of dead cells in the crypt was similar after doses of gamma-rays or neutrons, indicating that the same population of target cells was affected in both cases.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

A novel fast neutron dosemeter based on fission chambers. Part I: Principles of operation and theoretical response in neutron therapy radiation fields.

A novel method is proposed of accurately measuring fast neutron doses of interest in radiotherapy. The technique, which utilizes calculated neutron fluence-to-kerma conversion factors, is based upon the combination of measurements with calibrated neptunium-237 and uranium-238 pulse fission chambers to obtain a response which matches the variation of kerma with neutron energy. The theoretical performance of a practical instrument has been assessed for a variety of neutron spectra to evaluate the spectrum dependence of the dosemeter. The overall systematic uncertainty using this absolute method of determining the neutron dose under charged particle equilibrium conditions is comparable to that encountered with ionization chamber techniques.

Hot Temperature↗
PubMed1991

Evidence of a neutron RBE of 70 (+/- 50) for solid-tumor induction at Hiroshima and Nagasaki and its implications for assessing the effective neutron quality factor.

Carcinogenic and genetic effects in the cohort of A-bomb survivors are the main source of information on radiation effects on humans. A detailed analysis of the age-specific mortality rates for solid tumors as a group using the widely accepted linear-quadratic cum cell-killing dose-effect model reveals that the Hiroshima-Nagasaki data are statistically consistent with a limiting, low-dose neutron RBE of about 70. This value, although consistent with a wide range of neutron RBEs, is about 3.5 times higher than the current effective quality factor for neutrons. The data on leukemia mortality do not support the notion of a difference in effectiveness between neutron and gamma radiation; however, these two radiation sources appear to act synergistically. For both types of tumors, the commonly used concepts of constant, dose-independent RBE and "gamma effective dose" cannot be justified other than at very low neutron doses.

Humans↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluation of an iron-filtered epithermal neutron beam for neutron-capture therapy.

An epithermal neutron filter using iron, aluminum, and sulfur was evaluated to determine if the therapeutic performance could be improved with respect to aluminum-sulfur-based filters. An empirically optimized filter was developed that delivered a 93% pure beam of 24-keV epithermal neutrons. It was expected that a thick filter using iron with a density thickness greater than 200 g/cm2 would eliminate the excess gamma contamination found in Al-S filters. This research showed that prompt gamma production from neutron interactions in iron was the dominant dose component. Dosimetric parameters of the beam were determined from the measurement of absorbed dose in air, thermal neutron flux in a head phantom, neutron and gamma spectroscopy, and microdosimetry.

Brain Neoplasms↗
PubMed1998

Measurement of the neutron sensitivity of TLD-300 irradiated in a tissue equivalent phantom by d(48.5) + Be neutrons.

The neutron sensitivities of the total response (kT) as well as of separate peaks 3 (k3) and 5 (k5) on the glow curve were measured for CaF2:Tm (TLD-300) thermoluminescent dosimeters. The TLD-300 were encapsulated in A-150 TE plastic and located at different depths in the water phantom. The phantom was irradiated with neutrons produced by the d(48.5) + Be reaction at the superconducting cyclotron of the Gershenson Radiation Oncology Center at Harper Hospital. A set of measurements, based on the use of a TE ionization chamber and Geiger-Müller (GM) counter was used to measure the neutron (Dn) and gamma (D gamma) dose at these locations. The neutron sensitivities of the TLDs were thus derived by comparison with the results obtained with the twin detector method. The average neutron sensitivities relative to gamma of the total response and the responses of single peaks 3 or 5 are 0.215 +/- 0.016, 0.126 +/- 0.010, and 0.357 +/- 0.014, respectively. A linear relationship was found between the ratio of the areas under peak 3 to that under peak 5 and the ratio of the gamma dose to the total dose.

Calibration↗
PubMed1999

Fission converter and metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor study of thermal neutron flux distribution in an epithermal neutron therapy beam.

The depth distribution of the thermal neutron flux is a major factor in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) in determining the efficiency of cell sterilization. In this paper the fission detector method is developed and applied to measure the in-phantom thermal neutron flux depth distribution. Advantages of the fission detector include small size, direct measurement of thermal neutron flux in a mixed radiation field of BNCT beam, self-calibration, and the possibility of on-line measurement. The measurements were performed at epithermal a BNCT facility. The experimental results were compared with the thermal neutron flux calculated by the Monte Carlo method and found to be in good agreement.

Biophysical Phenomena↗
PubMed1986

A comparative review of the Hammersmith (1971-75) and Edinburgh (1977-82) neutron therapy trials of certain cancers of the oral cavity, oropharynx, larynx and hypopharynx. Medical Research Council Neutron Therapy Working Group.

Because of apparent inconsistencies in the two trials of neutron therapy carried out under its auspices, the MRC in 1982 requested a comparative review of the data in the Hammersmith and Edinburgh trials in so far as the clinical material allowed of such comparison. It was clear that the two trials were not only not contemporaneous (Hammersmith 1971-75; Edinburgh 1977-82) but that they differed in site and stage of disease as well as in the parameters of radiation dosage. Only a fraction of the patients were comparable and this review, which sets out the differences in design and conduct of the two trials, focuses on squamous-cell carcinoma in the four sites--oral cavity, oropharynx, larynx and hypopharynx--which were common in both. The first 120 patients entered into the Edinburgh trial have been compared with the 95 patients selected from 161 in the Hammersmith trial who would have been eligible at Edinburgh by reason of the site of disease and histology. Thus, Hammersmith patients with tumours of salivary glands, sinuses and neck nodes were, of necessity, excluded. Within such limitations the data on case distribution, tumour size and stage, the parameters of radiation dosage and the outcome in terms of tumour control, survival and treatment morbidity have been subjected to rigorous assessment and analysis. The important aspects in which the two investigations had differed included the stage of disease (more advanced at Hammersmith, with 63% of patients having fixed nodes, compared with 27% at Edinburgh); radiation dosage (the median neutron dose being 5% lower at Edinburgh than at Hammersmith while the median photon dose was l0% higher at Edinburgh); the "photon arm" of the Edinburgh trial being on site whereas that at Hammersmith had been at multiple centres; and the years in which the trials had been carried out. The two series are comparable in terms of treatment failure (local recurrence or late radiation death) following local tumour control. The results are also consistent in associating an increased incidence of late severe radiation morbidity and of intercurrent deaths with neutron therapy. In three other respects the results of the two series differ. At Edinburgh there was advantage to the photon-treated patients in terms of overall mortality, whereas at Hammersmith the advantage was to those treated with neutrons. The incidence of tumour regression for patients randomised to photons was much lower in the Hammersmith trial than for neutrons, whereas in Edinburgh the two modalities gave similar results.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗
PubMed2006

Design of a rotating facility for extracorporal treatment of an explanted liver with disseminated metastases by boron neutron capture therapy with an epithermal neutron beam.

In 2001, at the TRIGA reactor of the University of Pavia (Italy), a patient suffering from diffuse liver metastases from an adenocarcinoma of the sigmoid was successfully treated by boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). The procedure involved boron infusion prior to hepatectomy, irradiation of the explanted liver at the thermal column of the reactor, and subsequent reimplantation. A complete response was observed. This encouraging outcome stimulated the Essen/Petten BNCT group to investigate whether such an extracorporal irradiation could be performed at the BNCT irradiation facility at the HFR Petten (The Netherlands), which has very different irradiation characteristics than the Pavia facility. A computational study has been carried out. A rotating PMMA container with a liver, surrounded by PMMA and graphite, is simulated using the Monte Carlo code MCNP. Due to the rotation and neutron moderation of the PMMA container, the initial epithermal neutron beam provides a nearly homogeneous thermal neutron field in the liver. The main conditions for treatment as reported from the Pavia experiment, i.e. a thermal neutron fluence of 4 x 10(12) +/- 20% cm(-2), can be closely met at the HFR in an acceptable time, which, depending on the defined conditions, is between 140 and 180 min.

Computer Simulation↗
PubMed2004

Optimization of the epithermal neutron beam for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy at the Brookhaven Medical Research Reactor.

The use of epithermal neutron beam in clinical trials of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy for patients with malignant brain tumors had been carried out for half a decade at the Brookhaven's Medical Reactor. The decision to permanently close this reactor in 2000 cut short the efforts to implement a new conceptual design to optimize this beam in preparation for use with possible new BNCT protocols. Details of the conceptual design to produce a highly intensified and focused neutron beam with less gamma and neutron contamination in tissues are presented here for their potential applicability to other reactor facilities. Neutron-photon coupled Monte Carlo calculations were used to predict the flux, current, heating, and absorbed dose produced by the proposed design. The results were benchmarked by the dose rate and flux measurements taken at the facility then in use.

Academies and Institutes↗
PubMed1979

[Cytogenetic effects induced in vitro in human peripheral blood lymphocytes by neutrons. II. Relative biological effectiveness of neutrons having different energies].

Human lymphocytes were irradiated in vitro during Go stage by graded doses of thermal neutrons and neutrons having an average energy of 0.04; 0.09; 0.35; 0.85 and 14,7 MeV as well as by 60Co gamma rays, and RBE of neutrons relative to gamma-rays was calculated for the frequency of total and different types of aberrations. It was found that the RBE has the most value at the low doses and decreases when the exposition dose increases. 0.35 MeV neutrons have the maximum RBE in comparison with neutrons having other energies. When comparing the RBE values calculated for different types of chromosome aberrations, it was found out that dicentrics and dicentrics plus centric rings had more RBE than acentric aberrations (pair fragments and minutes).

Chromosomes, Human↗
PubMed2005

Energy behavior of neutrons around axi-symmetric sealed-off neutron generating tubes.

The aim of this paper is to contribute to analytical characterization of the spatial dependency of the mean energy of fast neutrons produced in non-dispersive media by sealed-off neutron generating tubes (NGT) having axial symmetry. Neutrons are generated in most of NGT by accelerating a mixture of hydrogen isotope ions (deuterons and tritons) onto plane self-targets. Deuterons and tritons are implanted in the mentioned targets and become target nuclei for the subsequent incoming ions. d-T, t-D and d-D fast neutrons are generated. Analytical expressions for the neutron mean energy in these three cases are deduced, taking into account the exothermic character of the reactions. Due consideration is paid to collision kinetics, depending upon mass and kinetic energy of particles involved in the nuclear reaction, nuclear reaction energy, etc.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Attenuation of fission neutrons by some hydrogeneous shield materials and the exponential dependence of the attenuated total neutron dose rate on the shield thickness.

This work deals with the attenuation of fission neutrons by some hydrogeneous shield materials. The attenuated fission neutrons are described by the energy groups (fast, epithermal and thermal). The exponential decrease in the fast flux is represented by the removal cross section concept. Each of the epithermal and thermal fluxes is expressed using the diffusion equation including a pair of arbitrary constants to be determined using the corresponding boundary conditions. The solution obtained for the required arbitrary constants is then approximated in a simplified form such that it may easily replace the corresponding exact solution. The attenuation values, by which the neutron dose rate distributions are exponentially decreased through certain thicknesses are also determined for the given materials. They are compared to the corresponding experimental and theoretical data. The results obtained for the total neutron dose rate distributions in terms of a suitable range of layer thicknesses are then used to determine--for each material--an average value for the total neutron dose rate representing the exponential decrease during passage through the considered range of layer thicknesses.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Neutron-mirror-neutron oscillations: how fast might they be?

We discuss the phenomenological implications of the neutron (n) oscillation into the mirror neutron (n'), a hypothetical particle exactly degenerate in mass with the neutron but sterile to normal matter. We show that the present experimental data allow a maximal n-n' oscillation in vacuum with a characteristic time tau much shorter than the neutron lifetime, in fact as small as 1 sec. This phenomenon may manifest in neutron disappearance and regeneration experiments perfectly accessible to present experimental capabilities and may also have interesting astrophysical consequences, in particular, for the propagation of ultra high energy cosmic rays.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Neutron activation of patients following boron neutron capture therapy of brain tumors at the high flux reactor (HFR) Petten (EORTC Trials 11961 and 11011).

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: At the High Flux Reactor (HFR), Petten, The Netherlands, EORTC clinical trials of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) have been in progress since 1997. BNCT involves the irradiation of cancer patients by a beam of neutrons, with an energy range of predominantly 1 eV to 10 keV. The patient is infused with a tumor-seeking, (10)B-loaded compound prior to irradiation. Neutron capture in the (10)B atoms results in a high local radiation dose to the tumor cells, whilst sparing the healthy tissue. Neutron capture, however, also occurs in other atoms naturally present in tissue, sometimes resulting in radionuclides that will be present after treatment. The patient is therefore, following BNCT, radioactive. The importance of this induced activity with respect to the absorbed dose in the patient as well as to the radiation exposure of the staff has been investigated. MATERIAL AND METHODS: As a standard radiation protection procedure, the ambient dose equivalent rate was measured on all patients following BNCT using a dose ratemeter. Furthermore, some of the patients underwent measurements using a gamma-ray spectrometer to identify which elements and confirm which isotopes are activated. RESULTS: Peak levels, i.e., at contact and directly after irradiation, are of the order of 40-60 muSv/h, falling to < 10 muSv/h 30-50 min after treatment. The average ambient dose equivalent in the first 2 h at a distance of 2 m from the patient is in the order of 2.5 muSv. The ambient dose equivalent rate in 2 m distance from the patient's head at the earliest time of leaving the reactor center (20 min after the end of treatment) is far less than 1 muSv/h. The main radioisotopes were identified as (38)Cl, (49)Ca, and (24)Na. Furthermore, in two patients, the isotopes (198)Au and (116m)In were also present. The initial activity is predominantly due to (49)Ca, whilst the remaining activity is predominantly due to (24)Na. CONCLUSION: The absorbed dose resulting from the activated isotopes in the irradiated volume is in the order of < 1% of the prescribed dose and therefore does not add a significant contribution to the absorbed dose in the target volume. In other parts of the patient's body, the absorbed dose by induced activity is magnitudes smaller and can be neglected. The levels of radiation received by staff members and non-radiation workers (i.e., accompanying persons) are well below the recommended limits.

Body Burden↗
PubMed1996

Fast neutron radiotherapy and boron neutron capture therapy: application to a human melanoma test system.

Fast neutron radiotherapy has proven to be an effective form of treatment in a selected subset of tumors (salivary gland tumors, sarcomas, and locally-advanced prostate cancer), but has not proven to be more beneficial than conventional photon irradiation for the majority of tumor types upon which it has been tested. Normal tissue tolerance limits preclude simply further escalating the neutron dose. Boron neutron capture (BNC) provides a way of selectively augmenting the radiation dose to the tumor. This process is described, and cell culture and animal model data reviewed. An irradiation configuration was developed where an enhancement of 2.10(-3) for 1 microgram of 10B per gram of tissue was achieved. This is similar to the enhancement achievable in the center of a 20 x 20 cm field envisioned for future applications such as metastases in the brain. A boron concentration of 50 micrograms per gram of tumor tissue leads to a 10% increase in the delivered physical dose in this scenario. The first human test of BNC enhancement of a fast neutron radiotherapy beam using pharmacologically-acceptable doses of orally-administered, 10B-enriched, L-paraboronophenylalanine is reported. An enhancement of tumor response was demonstrated for a melanoma skin nodule test system. Boron levels achieved in blood, skin, and tumors are presented. Future research plans are discussed.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2004

Preliminary treatment planning and dosimetry for a clinical trial of neutron capture therapy using a fission converter epithermal neutron beam.

A Phase I/II clinical trial of neutron capture therapy (NCT) was conducted at Harvard-MIT using a fission converter epithermal neutron beam. This epithermal neutron beam has nearly ideal performance characteristics (high intensity and purity) and is well-suited for clinical use. Six glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients were treated with NCT by infusion of the tumor-selective amino acid boronophenylalanine-fructose (BPA-F) at a dose of 14.0 g/m(2) body surface area over 90 min followed by irradiation with epithermal neutrons. Treatments were planned using NCTPlan and an accelerated version of the Monte Carlo radiation transport code MCNP 4B. Treatments were delivered in two fractions with two or three fields. Field order was reversed between fractions to equalize the average blood boron concentration between fields. The initial dose in the dose escalation study was 7.0 RBEGy, prescribed as the mean dose to the whole brain volume. This prescription dose was increased by 10% to 7.7 RBEGy in the second cohort of patients. A pharmacokinetic model was used to predict the blood boron concentration for determination of the required beam monitor units with good accuracy; differences between prescribed and delivered doses were 1.5% or less. Estimates of average tumor doses ranged from 33.7 to 83.4 RBEGy (median 57.8 RBEGy), a substantial improvement over our previous trial where the median value of the average tumor dose was 25.8 RBEGy.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

Boron neutron capture enhanced fast neutron radiotherapy for malignant gliomas and other tumors.

Both fast neutron radiotherapy and boron neutron capture therapy have been investigated as new radiation treatment techniques for patients with malignant gliomas. While each of these techniques individually has shown the potential for pathological eradication of malignant glioma, to date neither has evolved into an accepted, improved method of treatment. We have recently begun a research program investigating the feasibility of combining the benefits of both types of therapy. As a fast neutron beam penetrates tissue some of the particles are degraded to thermal energies. These can be captured by 10B or other suitable isotopes resulting in a highly-localized release of additional energy during a course of fast neutron radiotherapy. In this article we will review the rationale for such an approach, and review the underlying physics as well as in vitro, in vivo, and early human studies testing its feasibility. If appropriate carrier agents can be found that preferentially-localize in tumor cells, this approach ena be applied to many different tumor systems.

Animals↗