Introductory Radiation Biology

Exam I

2010

WHEREVER POSSIBLE, SHOW ALL WORK!!! AND UNITS!!!

NO WORK, NO CREDIT!!!

1.On his way to work, Dr. Lewis listens to KCMQ, broadcasting at a frequency of 96.7 MHz (9.67 × 107 s-1). What is the wavelength and energy (in eV) of these radio photons?

2. 15362Sm (T1/2 = 46 h) is used for treatment of skeletal metastases in prostate and breast cancer patients, as well as for treatment of bone cancer in children and dogs. Drs. Stephanie Essman and Mike Lewis in the MU Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery studied the biological damage to growing bones caused by 153Sm, in order to learn how to make this treatment safer and more effective for children. 15362Sm decays exclusively to 15363Eu (stable), with a decay energy of 810 keV. In 72% of events, 15362Sm decays to the ground state of 15363Eu. In 28% of events, 15362Sm decays to an excited state that lies 103 keV above the ground state of 15363Eu and de-excites to the ground state in less than 1 ns.

a.Sketch a decay scheme that is consistent with this information.

  1. 153Sm
  1. is proton rich.
  2. is neutron rich.
  3. decays by isomeric transition.
  4. can be used for nuclear power.
  1. Given the conversion of matter to energy, which nuclide is lighter (i.e., has lower mass)?
  1. 153Sm
  2. 153Eu
  1. At the University of Missouri Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH), Dr. Jim Lattimer treats dogs with bone cancer using the radiopharmaceutical 153Sm-EDTMP, produced by the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR). At MURR, a dose of 100 mCi of 153Sm-EDTMP is prepared for shipment to the VMTH at 1:00 pm on Monday, and Dr. Lattimer needs 20 mCi to treat a dog scheduled for a 9:00 am appointmenton Friday. How much 153Sm will Dr. Lattimer have when his patient arrives? Will he have enough to give the prescribed dose?

3. The linear attenuation coefficient (μ) of the 103 keV153Sm photon is 0.15 cm-1 in bone.

  1. What is the half-value layer (HVL) of this photon in bone?

b.How many cm of bone are required to reduce the initial intensity (I0) of these photons by 90% (i.e., I = 10% of I0)?

  1. Approximately how many half-value layers (HVLs) is this?

4.The range of a 6.8 MeV alpha particle in soft tissue is 34.9 µm.

  1. What is the LET (in keV/μm) of this alpha particle in tissue?
  1. Estimate the LET (in keV/μm) of a 6.8 MeV proton (i.e., 11H+1) in tissue.

5.TRUE/FALSE

_____a.The range of a 62 keV tungsten characteristic x-ray is longer than the range of a 5 MeV alpha particle in soft tissue.

_____b.111In is produced by proton irradiation of 111Cd using a cyclotron. Therefore, it is generally used for diagnostic imaging.

_____c.Bremsstrahlung radiation emitted from an x-ray tube is always monoenergetic.

_____d.Pierre and Marie Curie shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics with Henri Becquerel for the discovery of natural radioactivity.

_____e.As the energy of a given type of charged particle increases, its range in matter decreases.

_____f.Alpha particles emitted during radioactive decay are always observed at discrete energies, while beta particles (β- and β+) resulting from radioactive decay are always observed as a continuous energy spectrum.

_____g.When a high-energy charged particle (e.g., a 15 MeV LINAC electron) first collides with an atom in an absorbing medium, it usually transfers only a tiny fraction of its kinetic energy to that atom.

_____h.Without knowing the mechanism of emission, it is impossible to distinguish Auger and conversion electrons using a conventional radiation detector.

6.Rank the following forms of ionizing radiation in order of increasing LET. (Fill in the blanks: rank the lowest LET radiation number 1 and the highest number 6.)

  1. 140 keV gamma ray_____
  2. 5 MeV electron_____
  3. 5 MeV proton_____
  4. 500 keV positron_____
  5. 500 keV alpha particle_____
  6. 5 MeV alpha particle_____

7.In terms of radiation biology effects, the most important mechanism by which photons interact with soft tissue is

a.Compton scattering.

b.the photoelectric effect.

c.transfer of an average of 60 eV by collision with an atom.

d.pair production.

e.none of the above.

8.If you were to absorb 67 calories of energy (equal to 1.75 × 1021eV), which process is most likely to ruin your whole day?

  1. Being lifted overhead by a circus strongman.
  2. Drinking one sip of hot coffee.
  3. Absorbing a lethal dose of ionizing radiation.
  4. Having your body temperature increase to 37.002 °C.

9.The range of charged particles in matter is, by definition, always

  1. approximately 4 cm.
  2. impossible to estimate.
  3. infinite.
  4. finite.
  5. none of the above.

10.Anytime a nucleus is capable of emitting a gamma ray,

  1. itmust be undergoing isomeric transition.
  2. itmust have been left in an excited state following alpha or beta minus decay.
  3. an orbital electron could be ejected as an internal conversion electron instead.
  4. all of the above.
  5. none of the above.

11.Briefly define, identify, or describe.

  1. Ionizing radiation
  1. Radioactivity, or radioactive decay
  1. LET
  1. Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
  1. Photoelectric effect
  2. The major decay modes of proton rich radionuclides

g.Half-life of a radionuclide

Radiopharmaceuticals in Nuclear Medicine

Fall 2010, Exam 2

1.Identify which of the following SPECT and PET radiopharmaceuticals are currently used for assessment of myocardial (heart muscle blood flow) [more than one answer is possible].

a)13N-ammoniae)82Rb+

b)99mTc-ECDf)201Thallous chloride

c)99mTc-HMPAOg)99mTc-DISIDA

d)99mTc-sestamibih)99mTc-tetrofosmin

g)18F-FDG

2.99mTc-S-colloid is used for gastric emptying and lymph node imaging studies in patients.

a)What is a colloid?

b)99mTc-S-colloid is considered

i.very stable

ii.moderately stable

iii.not very stable

c)The size of 99mTc-S-colloid is considerably smaller in diameter than 99mTc-MAA particles (True or False).

3.The physical properties of 18F are:

a)half-life ______

b)mode of decay______

c)energy of photons emitted resulting from the decay of 18F.

4.a) Explain (a sketch may help) how the glomerular filtration (GF) process occurs in the kidneys for clearance of some radiopharmaceuticals.

b)Radiopharmaceuticals that are cleared from the blood primarily via the GF route are:

i)small and hydrophilic

ii)small and hydrophobic

iii)large (> 10 K Daltons) and hydrophobic

iv)large (> 10 K Daltons) and hydrophilic

5.The mechanism of uptake of some radiopharmaceuticals occurs by passive diffusion of the radiopharmaceutical from the blood into the tissue/cells/organ. Describe what “Passive Diffusion” is and provide two examples of radiopharmaceuticals that localize by the process.

6.Define or describe the following terms.

a)Blood Brain Barrier

b)18F-FDG

c)First pass “Extraction Efficiency” of a radiopharmaceutical from the blood by a tissue.

d)Blood plasma

7.18F-fluoride is used for imaging ______

8.What is the mechanism of trapping of 99mTc-sestamibi in the cells where it localizes?

9.a) The overall charge on 99mTc-mebrofenin is

i)-2

ii)-1

iii)0

iv)+1

b) The cell in the liver involved in clearance of 99mTc-mebrofenin from the blood is

______.

10.True-False

___a.99mTcO is primarily cleared from the body by the tubular secretion process in the kidneys.

___b.18F-FDG localizes in the brain and heart muscle via a receptor mediated pathway on the cell membranes responsible for transport of unlabeled glucose molecules from the blood.

Introduction to Radiation Biology – Exam III

November 11, 2010Dr. Lattimer

For each of the following questions choose the one best answer from those provided at the bottom of each page. Answers may be used once, more than once or not at all. Please put answers in the left hand margin next to the question.

  1. Free radicals reacting with DNA are the most common source of damage to the DNA by radiation. Which of the choices is the compound or element which is the most frequent source of these free radicals?
  1. DNA is one of the most complex molecules known. Which of the choices represents the subunit of the cellular DNA which can be seen by light microscopy during cellular division?
  1. Nearly all the DNA in the cell is located in the nucleus of the cell but there is a small amount of it which is found outside the nucleus. Where is this small amount of DNA found?
  1. Radiation induced injury to the DNA can result in numerous types of injury to the DNA. Which of the choices is the type of injury which is most easily repaired by intranuclear repair mechanisms?
  1. What category of DNA damage is that which could be enhanced or made more lethal by hyperthermia?
  1. Acentric fragments are examples of choromosomal aberrations arising from what type of damage?
  1. What type of DNA injury which could result in loss of large amounts of DNA from the nucleus is usually efficiently repaired by intranuclear repair mechanisms?
  1. What type of DNA injury is usually accurately repaired only during S-phase of the cell cycle?
  1. The initial straight portion of the cell survival curve seen at low doses is due to what type of DNA damage?

Choices

a.Lethal damagef.Protienm.Base deletion

b.Potentially Lethal Damageg.Chromosomen.Single strand break

c.Sublethal Damageh.Chromatido.Double strand break

d.Oxygen i.Genep.mitosis

e.Waterj.Golgi Bodyq.G1-phase

f.Nitrogenk.Mitochondriar.S-phase

e.DNAl.Nucleusq.G2-phase

10.Repair of DNA injury is generally considered to have the greatest effect during which phase of the cell cycle?

11.Repair of DNA injury is has the least effect during which phase of the cell cycle?

12.Which of the choices can improve the efficiency of DNA repair for a given total dose to the DNA?

13.In some instances the effect of DNA repair is also enhanced by what other process.

14.Reestablishment of the normal cell cycle phase proportions of a cycling cell population following preferential killing of some phase of the cycle is referred to as what?

15.Cell populations with different cell cycle kinetics exhibit different apparent radiation responses. Bone marrow stem cells are examples of which type of cell population according to Rubin and Cassarett?

16.Cells with have the potential to differentiate into other cell types to aid and promote repair of tissue radiation injury are known as what types of cells.

17.Cells such a pneumocytes which are differentiated cells which have the ability to reproduce themselves are members of what type of cell population according to Michaelowski?

18.Cell lines which must survive for a tissue and sometimes the organism to survive are called what?

19.Cell lines which typically exhibit strong repair capabilities are typically what type of cells?

20.Profound hypoxia at the cellular level is a potent promoter of what process?

21.In Vitro assays done with cell culture are typically examples of what type of cellular assay?

22.In Vivo assays involving implanting tissue from one animal to another are what type of assay?

Choices:

a.Mitosish.Repopulationo.Lethality

b.G1-phasei.Vegetative intermitoticp.Transplantation

c.G2-phasejDifferentiating intermitoticq.Clonogenic

d. S-phasek.Multipotential connectiver.Functional

e.Reassortmentl.Reverting post mitotics.Flexible cells

f.Repairm.Fixed post mitotict.Critical cells

g.Reoxygenationn.In Situ u.Hierarchical

23.Erythema, edema and moist desquamation are examples of what type of tissue response to radiation injury.

24.Replacement of cells in a radiation field by cells of another type is an example of what type of tissue response?

25.Tissues for which the critical cell lines have long cell cycle times are referred to as what type of tissue?

26.Bone marrow and intestinal epithelium are considered to be what types of tissue with regards to radiation injury?

27.Hair loss and atrophy of fat in a radiation field are examples of what type of tissue response?

28.The cellular kinetics factor which favors recovery of a tissue following radiation exposure would be what?

29.Which of the cell types listed is considered to be most resistant to radiation injury?

30. Which of the cell types listed is considered to be the most sensitive to radiation injury?

31.Which of the cell types listed is responsible for recovery of skin following radiation injury?

32. Which of the cell types listed is considered to be the dose limiting cell in the GI tract?

33. Which of the reproductive cells listed is the most resistant to killing by radiation?

34.Which of the cell types listed below is especially susceptible to injury in teenagers and very young children?

Choices:

a.Early respondingh.Lymphocyteo.Hepatocytes

b.Late respondingi.Pneumocytesp.Oocyte

c.Acute reactionj.Macrophageq.Crypt cells

d.Chronic reactionk.Basal Cellsr.Bone marrow cell

e.Cellular Growth fractionl.Epithelial cellss.Cartilage cells

f.Cellular Loss fractionm.Germinal cellst.Erythrocyte

g.Blast cellsn.Mucous cellsu.Sperm cells

35.Which particulate radiation is of greatest concern with regards to whole body radiation exposure?

36.Which of the particulate radiations will result in the highest local dose equivalent to a tissue concentrating it?

37.The prodromal stage of a radiation syndrome is an example of what type of response to whole body irradiation?

38.The Bone Marrow Syndrome usually causes death through which process?

39.The GI Syndrome usually causes death through what process?

40.Death is virtually a certainty after what dose of radiation to the whole body?

41. How long following a whole body irradiation would the Bone Marrow Syndrome reach a manifest illness stage?

42. The period of organogenesis resulting in extreme organ system sensitivities to irradiation lasts approximately how long in humans?

43.In the human fetus the central nervous system is at particular risk for approximately how many weeks of the gestation?

44.Approximately how long after exposure to an antigen will a whole body irradiation dose of 1.0 Gy not blunt the immune response to the body to that antigen.

45.Which type of radiation would be of particular threat to a developing embryo?

46.Blunting of the immune response to antigens has been demonstrated to occur in some experiments at doses as low as?

47.In humans, a whole body radiation dose at which a bone marrow transplant would be expected to improve survival would be?

Choices:

a.photonsi.3 weeksq.5 gray

b.neutronsj.6 weeksr.10 gray

c.alpha particlesk.18 weekss.acute

d.Beta particlesl.39 weekst.late

e.1 daym.0.1 grayu.infection

f.4 daysn.0.5 grayv.anemia

g.1 weeko.1.0 grayw.starvation

h.2 weeksp.3.0 grayx.dehydration

48.For the induction of cancer several criteria have to be satisfied. One of those criteria is up-regulation of positive growth promoting factors within the cell. Which of these results in such a positive growth promoting factor?

49.Cells which suffer a DNA mutation which causes them to die when they try to reproduce and are removed from the cycling pool at the G1-S interface die by what mechanism?

50.Genes which encode for the repair of DNA damage are part of what general group of genes?

51.No matter the mechanism by which it occurs, tumor cells must escape certain controls on their proliferation. What is the most fundamental control lost by any neoplastic growth?

52.Loss or reduced function of which general group of genes will promote the development of neoplastic disease.

53.In order for a mutated cell to develop into a cancer it must retain what capability.

54.Tumor cell populations possess what characteristic which is very different from the cell population which they arise from?

55.What response to irradiation of a large neoplastic growth is virtually never seen in normal tissues?

56. Failure to control a tumor using radiation is due to what response of the tumor to the radiation injury?

57.Radiation injury may result in either tumor cells or normal cells becoming part of the cycling cell population where they were not before. This may happen for a variety of reasons. What is the term which is used to indicate this process?

58.The use of multiple radiation treatments (fractions) is used with photon radiation principally due to what process that occurs in cell populations following irradiation?

59.Using smaller fractions of radiation favors the survival of what type of tissues?

Choices:

a.Late respondingi.mutagenic activityq.Contact inhibition

b.Early respondingj.clonogenic activityr.Cellular adhesion

c. Acute injuryk.functional activitys.Apoptosis

d.Reoxygenationl.Proto-oncogenest.Mitotic linked death

e.Reassortmentm.DNA stability genesu.Immunological attack

f.Repairn.Tumor suppressor genesv.revascularization

g.Repopulationo.Phenotypic diversityw.metastasis

h.Recruitmentp.Genetic diversityx.Hypoxia

60.Use of High LET radiation for treatment of cancer would be most valuable for treatment of tumors have large numbers of cells exhibiting what characteristic?

61.High LET radiation also is a powerful suppressor of what process?

62.Chemotherapeutic agents in combination with radiation are most likely to have the most dramatic effect on what types of tissue?

63.Drugs which improve blood flow to a tumor would promote what process?

64.In general, the radioprotectantAmiphostine enhances survival of what types of tissues?

65.High energy protons and electrons are considered to be what type of radiation?

66.Hyperthermia could be used to enhance cell killing in tumors if it could be limited to the tumor because it inhibits what process?

67.Administration of what type of radiation therapy can result in very high doses of radiation to a tumor with minimal to very little dose to the surrounding normal tissues?

66.Hyperthermia is synergistic with radiation because its effect is not blunted by what condition?

67.Reducing the normal tissue dose to ½ of the tumor dose should theoretically reduce the normal tissue effects relative to the tumor by a factor of how much?

68.If a dose of 1.5 gray kills 50% of the cells in a population each time it is given, how many doses would it require to reduce the number of cells in the population by >99% assuming no repopulation?

69.With regards to carcinogensis due to low dose, low dose rate radiation exposure, doubling the dose increases the probability of a radiation induce neoplasm by what factor?

70.The radioprotective effect of hypoxia occurs principally below how many mmHg of oxygen tension?

71.High LET radiation would have the most profound effect on cells in what part of the cell cycle?

72.What type of radiation therapy would be best suited to treating a small deep seated brain tumor located next to the visual cortex of the brain?

Choices

  1. 1i.Repairq.teletherapy
  2. 2j.Reoxyengenationp.brachytherapy
  3. 3k.Reassortmentq.neutron therapy
  4. 4l.Repopulationr.proton therapy
  5. 5m.Early respondings.High LET
  6. 7n.Late respondingt.Low LET
  7. 10o.hypoxiau.Mitosis
  8. 20p.heterogenous genotypev.S-phase

Name______

Introductory Radiation Biology

Final Exam, 2010

1.A radiation worker received a whole body dose of 100 mrads from fast neutrons

(QF = 20) as a result of an accident.

a.Calculate the Equivalent Dose (in mrem units) this worker received.

b.The Equivalent Dose in mSv units is ______mSv.

c.The Absorbed Dose in Gy units is ______Gy

2.a) According to the BEIR and UNSCEAR reports, it has been estimated that approximately ______radiation induced cancer deaths will occur in a population of 1 million people receiving a whole body radiation dose (from gamma-rays) of 1 rem each.