| 1. |
- Lind, Monica, et al.
(författare)
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Estrogen supplementation modulates effects of the endocrine disrupting pollutant PCB126 in rat bone and uterus : diverging effects in ovariectomized and intact animals.
- 2004
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Ingår i: Toxicology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0300-483X .- 1879-3185. ; 199:2-3, s. 129-136
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aims of the present study are to compare effects of estrogen depletion (OVX) and estradiol (E2) supplementation on the tissue effects of exposure to the endocrine disrupting organochlorine 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB126). For this purpose two highly estrogen-dependent tissues, bone and uterus, were studied. Forty rats exposed to PCB126 (ip) for 3 months (total dose 384 microg/kg body weight (bw)) were randomized in to OVX/sham operation or E2 supplementation (ip, 23 microg/kg, 3 days weekly) per vehicle (corn oil) groups in a 2 x 2 factorial design. Sham operated rats were treated with vehicle, PCB or PCB plus E2 (sham, sham + PCB and sham + PCB + E2, n=10 per group) whereas ovariectomized were treated with vehicle, PCB or PCB plus E2(OVX, OVX + PCB and OVX + PCB + E2, n=10 per group). As control groups served OVX or sham, and OVX + E2 (n=10 in each group). In OVX rats PCB126 + E2 treatment increased trabecular bone volume (TBV) (P<0.01), whilst the opposite was found in sham-operated rats (P<0.01). In OVX animals exposed to PCB126, E2 supplementation decreased the uterine weight and increased the uterine ERbeta mRNA level, whilst no difference was found between the PCB126 and PCB126 + E2 exposed groups in the sham-operated animals. In conclusion, estrogen modulates PCB126 induced effects on trabecular bone, as well as several uterine parameters. These results further support an important role of estrogen on the toxic effects of PCB126 on bone and uterus.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Carlstedt, F, et al.
(författare)
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Hypocalcemic syndromes.
- 2001
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Ingår i: Crit Care Clin. ; 17, s. 139-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 4. |
- Eiland, F, et al.
(författare)
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Influence of initial C/N ratio on chemical and microbial composition during long term composting of straw
- 2001
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Ingår i: Microbial Ecology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1432-184X .- 0095-3628. ; 41:3, s. 272-280
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Shredded straw of Miscanthus was composted in 800-L boxes with different amounts of pig slurry added as nitrogen source. The impact of the different initial CIN ratios (11, 35, 47, 50, and 54) on the composting process and the end product was evaluated by examining chemical and microbiological parameters during 12 months of composting. Low initial C/N ratios caused a fast degradation of fibers during the first three months of composting (hemicellulose: 50-80%, cellulose: 40-60%), while high initial C/N ratios resulted in 10-20% degradation of both hemicellulose and cellulose. These differences were reflected in the microbial biomass and respiration, which initially were higher in low C/N treatments than in high C/N treatments. After 12 months of composting, this situation was reversed. Composts with high initial CIN ratios had high microbial biomass (15-20 mug ATP g(-1) OM) and respiration rates (200 mug CO, h(-1) g(-1) OM) compared to treatments with low initial C/N ratios (less than 10 mug ATP g(-1) OM and 25 mug CO2 h(-1) g(-1) OM). This could be explained by the microorganisms being nitrogen limited in the high C/N ratio treatments. In the low C/N ratio treatments, without nitrogen limitation, the high activity in the beginning decreased with time because of exhaustion of easily available carbon. Different nitrogen availability was also seen in the nitrification patterns, since nitrate was only measured in significant amounts in the treatments with initial C/N ratios of 11 and 35. The microbial community structure (measured as phospholipid fatty acid, PLFA, profile) was also affected by the initial C/N ratios, with lower fungal/bacterial ratios in the low compared to the high C/N treatments after 12 months of composting. However, in the low C/N treatments higher levels of PLFAs indicative of thermophilic gram-positive bacteria were found compared to the high C/N treatments. This was caused by the initial heating phase being longer in the low than in the high C/N treatments. The different fungal/bacterial ratios could also be explained by the initial heating phase, since a significant correlation between this ratio and heat generated during the initial composting phase was found.
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| 11. |
- Karlsson, Julia, et al.
(författare)
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Beta1-adrenergic receptor gene polymorphisms and response to beta1-adrenergic receptor blockade in patients with essential hypertension
- 2004
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Ingår i: Clinical Cardiology. - : Wiley. - 0160-9289 .- 1932-8737. ; 27:6, s. 347-350
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Studies suggest that the Ser49Gly and Arg389Gly polymorphisms in the beta1-adrenergic receptor might be of functional importance for the cardiovascular system. Both have been associated with altered receptor activity in vitro, and with hypertension and cardiac failure in vivo. HYPOTHESIS: The aim of this study was to test whether these polymorphisms were associated with the change in heart rate or blood pressure in patients with essential hypertension and left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy treated with the beta1-adrenergic receptor blocker atenolol. METHODS: Blood pressure and heart rate were measured in 101 hypertensive patients with echocardiographically verified LV hypertrophy, randomized in a double-blind study to treatment with either the beta1-adrenergic receptor blocker atenolol or the angiotensin II type I receptor antagonist irbesartan. Changes in blood pressure and heart rate were evaluated after 12 weeks. Beta1-adrenergic receptor genotyping was performed using polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism. RESULTS: We found no significant associations between the changes in the measured variables and either of the two polymorphisms. However, carriers of the 49Gly allele showed a tendency toward a greater reduction in heart rate compared with patients with the Ser/Ser49 genotype (p = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: The Ser49Gly and Arg389Gly beta1-adrenergic receptor polymorphisms do not seem to exert a major effect on the changes in heart rate and blood pressure during 12 weeks of treatment with atenolol in patients with essential hypertension and LV hypertrophy.
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| 12. |
- Klamer, M, et al.
(författare)
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Changes in chemical composition and microbial biomass during composting of straw and pig slurry
- 2000
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Ingår i: PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMPOSTING SYMPOSIUM (ICS'99). ; 1-2, s. 322-334
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Composting was performed in an 800-L box and a 500-L, reactor system. The material used was shredded straw of Miscanthus with pig slurry added as a nitrogen source. Chemical and microbial parameters were measured at five degree temperature intervals until the end of the heating phase and then with increasing intervals during the remaining experiment. In both systems, major losses of carbon occurred during and after the thermophilic phase as a result of degradation of hemicellulose, followed by degradation of cellulose. Total amounts of phospholipid fatty acid (totPLFA) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) were used as indirect estimates of microbial biomass. These methods correlated well over time, when the limitations of the method for the determination of ATP were taken into account. Microbial biomass in the two systems showed similar values when measured by totPLFA. In contrast, microbial biomass measured by ATP content was higher in the box system than in the reactor system. In spite of the differences in chemical and physical properties in the two systems, the distribution of taxonomic groups of microorganisms, indicated by marker PLFAs, showed similar patterns in the two systems, emphasising that in composting systems temperature is the major parameter controlling the composition of the microbial community.
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| 17. |
- Lind, U, et al.
(författare)
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Functional probing of the human glucocorticoid receptor steroid-interacting surface by site-directed mutagenesis - Gln-642 plays an important role in steroid recognition and binding
- 2000
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Ingår i: Journal of Biological Chemistry. - 0021-9258 .- 1083-351X. ; 275:25, s. 19041-19049
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To elucidate which amino acids in the glucocorticoid receptor ligand-binding domain might be involved in determining steroid binding specificity by interaction with the D-ring of glucocorticoids, we have performed site-directed mutagenesis of the four amino acids Met-560, Met-639, Gln-642, and Thr-739 based on their proximity to the steroid in a model structure. Mutations of these residues affected steroid binding affinity, specificity, and/or steroid-dependent transactivation. The results indicate that these residues are located in close proximity to the ligand and appear to play a role in steroid recognition and/or transactivating sensitivity, possibly by changes in the steroid-dependent conformational change of this region, resulting in the formation of the AF-2 site. Mutation of Gln-642 resulted in a marked decrease in affinity for steroids containing a 17 alpha-OH group. This effect was alleviated by the presence of a 16 alpha-CH3 group to a varying degree. Thr-739 appears to form a hydrogen bond with the 21-OH group of the steroid, as well as possibly forming hydrophobic interactions with the steroid, Met-EGO and Met-639 appear to form hydrophobic interactions with the D-ring of the steroid, although the nature of these interactions cannot be characterized in more detail at this point.
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| 18. |
- Machungo, F, et al.
(författare)
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Syphilis, gonorrhoea and chlamydial infection among women undergoing legal or illegal abortion in Maputo
- 2002
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Ingår i: International Journal of STD and AIDS. - : SAGE Publications. - 0956-4624 .- 1758-1052. ; 13:5, s. 326-330
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Our objectives were to compare the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in 103 women undergoing induced legal abortion (LA) and in 101 women with confirmed, recent illegal abortion (IA), in Maputo, Mozambique. For the purpose of this study, LA was considered the abortion provided in the Maputo Central Hospital with the approval of the Ministry of Health, and IA the one not provided through the approved facility, mentioned above. Women with IA were recruited in the outpatient gynaecology ward and women with LA in the emergency gynaecology ward in the Maputo Central Hospital, during the same time period. Serological tests for syphilis (rapid plasma reagin, ELISA-IgC and fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption), gonorrhoea (indirect haemagglutination) and chlamydia (microimmunofluorescence) were carried out. Direct immuno-fluorescence for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis antigen was done on endocervical smears from all the women. The prevalence of syphilis seropositivity in IA women is twice that of LA women (odds ratio [OR] 2.13; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.55-9.95), with 10.9% and 4.9%, respectively. Exposure to gonorrhoea in these 2 groups is similar (OR 1.18; 95% CI 0.63-2.20), with seroprevalence of 31.1% in the LA and 34.7% in the IA group. The high titres are also similar in both groups. Serology findings for C. trachomatis indicate prevalence of seropositivity of 40.6% in the LA and 44.4% in the IA group with no significant difference (OR 1.17; 95% CI 0.64-2.13). In conclusion, STIs are highly prevalent in both IA and LA groups in Maputo. Urgent interventions are needed to reduce their prevalence and consequently their adverse consequences.
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| 23. |
- Quintana, M., et al.
(författare)
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Assessment of the longitudinal and circumferential left ventricular function at rest and during exercise in healthy elderly individuals by tissue-Doppler echocardiography : relationship with heart rate
- 2004
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Ingår i: Clinical Science. - : Portland Press Ltd.. - 0143-5221 .- 1470-8736. ; 106:5, s. 451-457
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Tissue-Doppler echocardiography (TDE) has been introduced to quantify stress echocardiography by means of assessing the left ventricular (LV) segmental myocardial velocities and excursion. The interaction between LV long- and short-axis function during physical exercise has not been elucidated completely. The aim of the present study was to investigate long- and short-axis LV function, as assessed by myocardial velocities and excursions at rest and during exercise and its possible relationship with heart rate in healthy elderly individuals by TIDE Twenty-seven individuals underwent an exercise test in the supine position on a bicycle ergometer. The initial workload was 30 Watts, followed by 20-Watt increments every third minute. Standard echocardiographic images with super-imposed colour TDE were digitized at the end of each step. The following variables were studied in the LV long- and short-axis: myocardial peak systolic velocity (PSV) and excursion, isovolumic contraction and relaxation times, peak velocity at early diastole (E-wave) and peak velocity at late diastole (A'-wave) and the E'/A' ratio. Increments in myocardial peak systolic velocity and excursion in the LV long-axis were more pronounced during low workloads. The increase in those variables in the short-axis occurred mainly, at higher exercise loads. The improvement in LV long- and short-axis functions was closely related to the increase in the heart rate. Shortening of the isovolumic contraction and relaxation times occurred only at the initial stages of exercise. An increase in the long-axis E'/A' ratio occurred during exercise, whereas this ratio was unchanged in the short-axis. In conclusion, during exercise, the LV long- and short-axis functions behave differently, and increases in LV long- and short-axis functions are related to changes in heart rate. Therefore, in the interpretation of echocardiographic findings during exercise stress echocardiography, these facts have to be taken into account.
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| 24. |
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| 25. |
- Quintana, M., et al.
(författare)
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Electromechanical coupling, uncoupling, and ventricular function in patients with bundle branch block : A tissue-doppler echocardiographic study
- 2004
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Ingår i: Echocardiography. - : Wiley. - 0742-2822 .- 1540-8175. ; 21:8, s. 687-698
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Left bundle branch block (LBBB) is associated with impaired left ventricular (LV) function and increased morbidity and mortality, especially in patients with structural heart diseases. The mechanisms are poorly understood. Subjects and Methods: Subjects with isolated LBBB (n = 20), right bundle branch block (RBBB, n = 20), and controls (C, n = 20) were studied with standard two-dimentional (2D), and color-encoded tissue-Doppler echocardiography (TDE). Inter- and intraventricular systolic and diastolic coordination were assessed from the TDE velocity profiles. LV function was assessed by 2D echocardiography, by TDE-derived peak systolic velocities, and the atrioventricular (AV) plane displacement. Results: Subjects with LBBB had longer electromechanical delays and longer isovolumic relaxation times than did the C and RBBB groups (P < 0.001). For the LBBB subjects compared with the RBBB and C groups, ejection times were shorter, peak systolic velocities and AV plane displacements were lower, they had larger LV end-systolic volumes and lower LV ejection fraction (all P < 0.001), and the atrial contribution to A-V plane displacement was higher (P < 0.01). There were no differences in diastolic or filling times among the groups. Conclusions: In patients with LBBB, delayed regional electromechanical coupling and uncoupling leads to generalized intra- and interventricular asynchrony, thereby explaining the depressed regional and global LV functions. Assessment of the electromechanical coupling and uncoupling processes and their consequences on cardiac function in patients with BBB and structural heart diseases may be possible using TDE.
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| 26. |
- Remahl, AIMN, et al.
(författare)
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Hyperbaric oxygen treatment of active cluster headache: a double-blind placebo-controlled cross-over study
- 2002
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Ingår i: Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache. - : SAGE Publications. - 0333-1024. ; 22:9, s. 730-739
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sixteen patients, 12 with episodic and four with chronic cluster headache (CH) according to the International Headache Society criteria (1), participated in the study. They were randomly selected to start with one out of two different hyperbaric treatments in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study design. Both gases were administered by mask inside a multiplace hyperbaric chamber for 70 min at 250 kPa (2.5 ATA) in two sessions 24 h apart. Active treatment was 100% oxygen (HBO treatment), while placebo treatment was 10% oxygen in nitrogen (hyperbaric normoxic placebo = sham treatment) corresponding to breathing air at sea level. All patients were decompressed on air. The patients documented the number of headache attacks and their degree of severity according to a modified VAS scale (level 0-4, where level 0 = no headache and level 4 = very severe headache). A headache index (HI = sum of (number of attacks times degree of severity)) was calculated for the run-in week prior to and the week after each separate treatment. A treatment was regarded as effective if it reduced the HI by > 50%. Blood samples were taken from the external jugular vein before and during hyperbaric treatment (after 30 and 70 min), 1 day and 1 week after each treatment for analyses of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) and in a few patients also endotheline and nitrate. No difference between HBO and sham treatment on the HI or the prophylactic effect was observed in our study. However, 83% of the episodic CH patients and 25% of the chronic ones responded to either of the two treatments with at least 50% reduction of HI or remission for shorter or longer periods. This response rate exceeds an expected high placebo response due to the study procedure. Two episodic CH patients still experienced remission on follow-up 1 year after sham treatment. Five patients reported mild or moderate CH attacks during the sham treatment, and none during the HBO treatment. Changes in neuropeptides, endotheline and nitrate levels did not differ systematically when comparing the two different hyperbaric treatments or with respect to responders and non-responders. We conclude that two HBO sessions were not more effective than two sham treatments in reducing the HI and interrupting the CH period when given in a well-established cluster period or in chronic CH. The hyperbaric condition itself seems effective in reducing the HI, at least in patients with episodic CH, although a powerful placebo response can not be ruled out.
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| 27. |
- Schnittger, V, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of carbon monoxide poisoning on neutrophil responses in patients treated with hyperbaric oxygen
- 2004
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Ingår i: Journal of investigative medicine : the official publication of the American Federation for Clinical Research. - : SAGE Publications. - 1081-5589. ; 52:8, s. 523-530
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning can cause tissue injury. Neutrophil granulocytes have been proposed to contribute to the injury, which may be ameliorated by hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) treatment. We sought to assess the relationship between acute CO poisoning and blood neutrophil count, plasma cytokine, and cortisol responses, as well as the mechanism behind the observed beneficiary effects of HBO2 treatment.MethodsEight patients (age 26-82 years) with severe acute CO poisoning were enrolled, concomitant with eight healthy controls (age 27-42 years), in a prospective, controlled, clinical study. The patients were given three HBO2 treatments (2.8 atmospheres absolute, 100 minutes) within the first 24 hours. The controls were given identical simultaneous HBO2treatments. Venous blood samples were taken before and after each treatment.ResultsAt the start of the HBO2 treatment, patients displayed significantly higher blood neutrophil counts (p < .0001) and plasma cortisol levels (p = .020) than controls, but the two groups had similar values for interleukin-8, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), neutrophil H2O2 generation, and CD16 and CD18 surface expression. During the observation time, neutrophil H2O2 accumulation declined in patients and in controls (p = .031), whereas the up-regulation of CD18 expression increased (p = .002) in both groups. Moreover, G-CSF levels became significantly higher in patients than in controls (p = .015). G-CSF levels also correlated significantly with neutrophil counts.ConclusionCO poisoning was associated with discrete changes of blood neutrophil counts, cortisol, and G-CSF plasma concentrations. HBO2 treatment modulated neutrophil generation of H2O2 and surface expression of CD18. These changes may be part of the cascade of events leading to the sequelae of CO poisoning and their attenuation by HBO2.
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| 30. |
- Waligórski, M P R, et al.
(författare)
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Cellular parameters for track structure modeling of radiation hazard in space.
- 2004
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Ingår i: Adv Space Res. - : Elsevier BV. - 0273-1177 .- 1879-1948. ; 34:6, s. 1378-82
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Based on irradiation with 45 MeV/u N and B ions and with Co-60 c rays, cellular parameters of Katz’s track structure modelhave been fitted for the survival of V79-379A Chinese hamster lung fibroblasts. Cellular parameters representing neoplastictransformations in C3H10T/1/2 cells after their irradiation with heavy ion beams, taken from earlier work, were also used to modelthe radiation hazard in deep space, following the system for evaluating, summing and reporting occupational exposures proposed in1967 by a subcommittee of NCRP. We have performed model calculations of the number of transformations in surviving cells, aftera given fluence of heavy charged particles of initial energy 500 MeV/u, penetrating thick layers of cells. We take the product of celltransformation and survival probabilities, calculated along the path lengths of charged particles using cellular survival and transformationparameters, to represent a quantity proportional to the ‘‘radiation risk factor’’ discussed in the NCRP document. The‘‘synergistic’’ effect of simultaneous charged particle transfers is accounted for by the ‘‘track overlap’’ mode inherent in the model ofKatz.
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