PubMed Health⌕ Search

PubMed · 12046755

External exposure model in the RESRAD computer code.

Abstract

An external exposure model has been developed for the RESRAD computer code that provides flexibility in modeling soil contamination configurations for calculating external doses to exposed individuals. This model is based on the dose coefficients given in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Federal Guidance Report No. 12 (FGR-12) and the point kernel method. It extends the applicability of FGR-12 data to include the effects of different source geometries, such as cover thickness, source thickness, source area, and shape of contaminated area of a specific site. A depth factor function was developed to express the dependence of the dose on the source thickness. A cover-and-depth factor function, derived from this depth factor function, takes into account the dependence of dose on the thickness of the source region and the thickness of the cover above the source region. To further extend the model for realistic geometries, area and shape factors were derived that depend not only on the lateral extent of the contamination, but also on source thickness, cover thickness, and radionuclides present. Results obtained with the model generally compare well with those from the Monte Carlo N-Particle transport code.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

S Kamboj, D LePoire, C Yu. 2002. External exposure model in the RESRAD computer code.. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004032-200206000-00011

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related citations

Generating correlated data for omics simulation.

Simulation of realistic omics data is a key input for benchmarking studies that help users obtain optimal computational pipelines. Omics data involves large numbers of measured features on each sample and these measures are generally correlated with each other. However, simulation too often ignores these correlations, perhaps due to computational and statistical hurdles of doing so. To alleviate this, we describe three approaches for generating omics-scale data with correlated measures which mimic real datasets. These approaches are all based on a Gaussian copula approach with a covariance matrix that decomposes into a diagonal part and a low-rank part. This decomposition allows for extremely efficient simulation, overcoming a hurdle for adoption of past methods. We use these approaches to demonstrate the importance of including correlation in two benchmarking applications. First, we show that variance of results from the popular DESeq2 method increases when dependence is included. Second, we demonstrate that CYCLOPS, a method for inferring circadian time of collection from transcriptomics, improves in performance when given gene-gene dependencies in some circumstances. We provide an R package, dependentsimr, that has efficient implementations of these methods and can generate dependent data with arbitrary marginal distributions, including discrete (binary, ordered categorical, Poisson, negative binomial), continuous (normal), or with an empirical distribution.

Computer Simulation↗

Addressing current challenges in cancer immunotherapy with mathematical and computational modelling.

The goal of cancer immunotherapy is to boost a patient's immune response to a tumour. Yet, the design of an effective immunotherapy is complicated by various factors, including a potentially immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment, immune-modulating effects of conventional treatments and therapy-related toxicities. These complexities can be incorporated into mathematical and computational models of cancer immunotherapy that can then be used to aid in rational therapy design. In this review, we survey modelling approaches under the umbrella of the major challenges facing immunotherapy development, which encompass tumour classification, optimal treatment scheduling and combination therapy design. Although overlapping, each challenge has presented unique opportunities for modellers to make contributions using analytical and numerical analysis of model outcomes, as well as optimization algorithms. We discuss several examples of models that have grown in complexity as more biological information has become available, showcasing how model development is a dynamic process interlinked with the rapid advances in tumour-immune biology. We conclude the review with recommendations for modellers both with respect to methodology and biological direction that might help keep modellers at the forefront of cancer immunotherapy development.

Computer Simulation↗

Degradation of supercoiled plasmid DNA within a capillary device.

Supercoiled plasmid DNA is susceptible to fluid stress in large-scale manufacturing processes. A capillary device was used to generate controlled shear conditions and the effects of different stresses on plasmid DNA structure were investigated. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was employed to characterize the flow environment in the capillary device and different analytical techniques were used to quantify the DNA breakage. It was found that the degradation of plasmid DNA occurred at the entrance of the capillary and that the shear stress within the capillary did not affect the DNA structure. The degradation rate of plasmids was well correlated with the average elongational strain rate or the pressure drop at the entrance region. The conclusion may also be drawn that laminar shear stress does not play a significant role in plasmid DNA degradation.

Computer Simulation↗