Biological effectiveness factor

The multiple conversions shown in Table 5.3.8.4 between rad and rem (and Gy and Sv) are due to the different relative biological effectiveness factors for different kinds of radiation. 

Consequently, a correction factor, called the biological effectiveness factor, or RBE (for Relative Riological Effectiveness), is usually multipUed by the dose in rads to obtain the dose in a unit called the rem for roentgen equivalent man. 

Dose in rads X biological effectiveness factor = dose in rems... 

The biological effectiveness factor for alpha radiation, for example, is much higher than that for gamma radiation. 

Explain the significance of the biological effectiveness factor in measuring radiation exposure. What types of radiation would you expect to have the highest biological effectiveness factor ... 

Butylenes are not toxic. The effect of long-term exposure is not known, hence, they should be handled with care. Reference 96 Hsts air and water pollution factors and biological effects. They are volatile and asphyxiants. Care should be taken to avoid spills because they are extremely flammable. Physical handling requires adequate ventilation to prevent high concentrations of butylenes in the air. Explosive limits in air are 1.6 to 9.7% of butylenes. Their flash points range from —80 to —73° C. Their autoignition is around 324 to 465°C (Table 2). Water and carbon dioxide extinguishers can be used in case of fire. 

The biological effect of radiation is expressed in rems (radiation equivalent for man). The number of rems is found by multiplying the number of rads by a "damage" factor, n ... 

Radioactivity The ability possessed by some natural and synthetic isotopes to undergo nuclear transformation to other isotopes, 513 applications, 516-518 biological effects, 528-529 bombardment reactions, 514-516 diagnostic uses, 516t discovery of, 517 modes of decay, 513-514 nuclear stability and, 29-30 rate of decay, 518-520,531q Radium, 521-522 Radon, 528 Ramsay, William, 190 Random polymer 613-614 Randomness factor, 452-453 Raoult s law A relation between the vapor pressure (P) of a component of a solution and that of the pure component (P°) at the same temperature P — XP°, where X is the mole fraction, 268... 

Competitive antagonists affinity of, 261-264 description of, 75 IC50 correction factors for, 223 Schild analysis, 261-264 Concentration-dependent antagonism, 99 Concentration-response curve, 13 Confidence intervals, 228-229 Conformations, 13-14 Constitutive activity of receptors description of, 49—51 receptor density and, 56 Schild analysis, 108-111 Context-dependent biological effect, 188 Correction factors, 211-213, 223 Correlational research, 231 CP320626, 128... 

Q is the relative biological effectiveness of the radiation. Normally, Q < 1 Sv-Gy 1 for 7, P, and most other radiation, but Q < 20 Sv Gy 1 for a radiation and fast neutrons. A further factor of 5 (that is, 5Q) is used for bone under certain circumstances. 

Dose Equivalent (DE)—A quantity used in radiation safety practice to account for the relative biological effectiveness of the several types of radiation. It expresses all radiations on a common scale for calculating the effective absorbed dose. It is defined as the product of the absorbed dose in rad and certain modifying factors. (The unit of dose equivalent is the rem. In SI units, the dose equivalent is the sievert, which equals 100 rem.)... 

Quality Factor (Q)—The linear-energy-transfer-dependent factor by which absorbed doses are multiplied to obtain (for radiation protection purposes) a quantity that expresses - on a common scale for all ionizing radiation - the approximate biological effectiveness of the absorbed dose. 

Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE)—The RBE is a factor used to compare the biological effectiveness of absorbed radiation doses (i.e., rad) due to different types of ionizing radiation. More specifically, it is the experimentally determined ratio of an absorbed dose of a radiation in question to the absorbed dose of a reference radiation (typically 60Co gamma rays or 200 keV x rays) required to produce an identical biological effect in a particular experimental organism or tissue (see Quality Factor). 

Dose equivalent or rem is a special radiation protection quantity that is used, for administrative and radiation safety purposes only, to express the absorbed dose in a manner which considers the difference in biological effectiveness of various kinds of ionizing radiation. The ICRU has defined the dose equivalent, H, as the product of the absorbed dose, D, and the quality factor, Q, at the point of interest in biological tissue. This relationship is expressed as H = D x Q. The dose equivalent concept is applicable only to doses that are not great enough to produce biomedical effects. 

RBE is used to denote the experimentally determined ratio of the absorbed dose from one radiation type to the absorbed dose of a reference radiation required to produce an identical biologic effect under the same conditions. Gamma rays from cobalt-60 and 200-250 keV x-rays have been used as reference standards. The term RBE has been widely used in experimental radiobiology, and the term quality factor used in calculations of dose equivalents for radiation safety purposes (ICRP 1977 NCRP 1971 UNSCEAR 1982). RBE applies only to a specific biological end point, in a specific exposure, under specific conditions to a specific species. There are no generally accepted values of RBE. 

A biologically important factor affecting drug absorption is drug metabolism or reaction coincident with diffusion across a membrane. The reaction often produces inactive or less potent products than the parent drug. It is conceivable that the reaction will also reduce the drug flux into the systemic circulation. We are interested in the effect of reaction on membrane diffusion. 

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