Showing papers by "Elizabeth A. Ainsbury published in 2019"
TL;DR: Findings highlight the likely importance of dose-rate in low-dose cataract formation and represent the first evidence that LECs process radiation damage differently to blood lymphocytes.
Abstract: The influence of dose rate on radiation cataractogenesis has yet to be extensively studied One recent epidemiological investigation suggested that protracted radiation exposure increases radiation-induced cataract risk: cumulative doses of radiation mostly <100 mGy received by US radiologic technologists over 5 years were associated with an increased excess hazard ratio for cataract development However, there are few mechanistic studies to support and explain such observations Low-dose radiation-induced DNA damage in the epithelial cells of the eye lens (LECs) has been proposed as a possible contributor to cataract formation and thus visual impairment Here, 53BP1 foci was used as a marker of DNA damage Unexpectedly, the number of 53BP1 foci that persisted in the mouse lens samples after γ-radiation exposure increased with decreasing dose-rate at 4 and 24 h The C57BL/6 mice were exposed to 05, 1 and 2 Gy ƴ-radiation at 0063 and 03 Gy/min and also 05 Gy at 0014 Gy/min This contrasts the data we obtained for peripheral blood lymphocytes collected from the same animal groups, which showed the expected reduction of residual 53BP1 foci with reducing dose-rate These findings highlight the likely importance of dose-rate in low-dose cataract formation and, furthermore, represent the first evidence that LECs process radiation damage differently to blood lymphocytes
19 citations
TL;DR: The majority of young people will receive cumulative lens doses well below 500 mGy, meaning the risk of cataract induction is likely to be very small.
12 citations
TL;DR: Scoring rings in cell fusion-induced PCC assay can be a feasible and fast approach for the analysis of high-dose exposures and it is valid to score only hollow rings to reduce the scoring time.
Abstract: Purpose: This study aimed to construct a calibration curve for high-dose exposure using cell fusion-induced premature chromosome condensation (PCC). Some of the associated practicalities and method...
5 citations
TL;DR: This work presents high performance ADCI (ADCI-HT), with the requisite throughput to stratify exposures of populations in large scale radiation events, and delivers timely and accurate dose estimates in a simulated population-scale radiation incident.
Abstract: Introduction The dicentric chromosome (DC) assay accurately quantifies exposure to radiation, however manual and semi-automated assignment of DCs has limited its use for a potential large-scale radiation incident. The Automated Dicentric Chromosome Identifier and Dose Estimator Chromosome (ADCI) software automates unattended DC detection and determines radiation exposures, fulfilling IAEA criteria for triage biodosimetry. We present high performance ADCI (ADCI-HT), with the requisite throughput to stratify exposures of populations in large scale radiation events. Methods ADCI-HT streamlines dose estimation by optimal scheduling of DC detection, given that the numbers of samples and metaphase cell images in each sample vary. A supercomputer analyzes these data in parallel, with each processor handling a single image at a time. Processor resources are managed hierarchically to maximize a constant stream of sample and image analysis. Metaphase data from populations of individuals with clinically relevant radiation exposures after simulated large nuclear incidents were analyzed. Sample counts were derived from US Census data. Analysis times and exposures were quantified for 15 different scenarios. Results Processing of metaphase images from 1,744 samples (500 images each) used 16,384 CPUs and was completed in 1hr 11min 23sec, with radiation dose of all samples determined in 32 sec with 1,024 CPUs. Processing of 40,000 samples with varying numbers of metaphase cells, 10 different exposures from 5 different biodosimetry labs met IAEA accuracy criteria (dose estimate differences were 1 Gy or >2 Gy). The time needed to analyze samples of all individuals receiving exposures from a high yield airborne nuclear device ranged from 0.6-7.4 days, depending on the population density. Conclusion ADCI-HT delivers timely and accurate dose estimates in a simulated population-scale radiation incident.
3 citations