ABSTRACT
In Asia, the roots of Paeonia lactiflora and Astragalus membranaceus have been used as therapeutic agents for thousands of years. Once the medicinal plants are harvested, they are dried and their ingredients are extracted by heat-mediated reflux extraction. However, the condensed structure of organic products (especially roots) limits the extraction of bioactive components. In this study, we assessed the effect of the puffing method (using high temperature and pressure) before the extraction process in relation to the profile and antioxidant capacity of active ingredients. We demonstrated that the additional puffing process before extraction methods improves the yield of polyphenol concentrations and antioxidant activities from the roots of P. lactiflora and A.membranaceus.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE@#The aim of this study was to analyze the status of split tablet prescription in South Korea.@*METHODS@#We conducted this analysis using 2016 National Patient Sample data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. We computed split tablet prescription rates by sex and age and determined which medicine and medical specialties had the highest split tablet prescribing rates.@*RESULTS@#The proportion of prescriptions that included split tablets was 15.6% (n=6,687,35). The proportion of prescriptions that included split tablets was higher for females (56.7%) than for males (43.3%), while that of prescriptions including split tablets versus total prescriptions for each sex was higher for males (16.4%) than for females (14.9%) (p<0.001). In the age group under 19 years, the proportion of prescriptions including split tablets (53.7%) was more than half of the total. The highest tablet splitting rate was found to be 89.9% for formoterol fumarate (40 µg), and pseudoephedrine hydrochloride (60 mg) had the highest number of prescriptions. Pediatrics (65.6%) was the medical field with the highest rate of split tablet prescription.@*CONCLUSION@#Split tablets were most prescribed to pediatric patients. To minimize the use of split tablets, it is necessary to develop lower dose tablets and establish a policy that promotes prescription of these lower-dose tablets.
ABSTRACT
In this study, we have fabricated a fiber-optic dosimeter for a proton beam therapy dosimetry. We have measured scintillating lights with the various kinds of organic scintillators and selected the BCF-12 as a sensor-tip material due to its highest light output and peak/plateau ratio. To determine the optimum diameter of BCF-12, we have measured scintillating lights according to the energy losses of proton beams in a water phantom. Also, we determined the adequate length of organic scintillator by measuring scintillating lights according to the incident angles of proton beam. Using an optimized fiber-optic dosimeter, we have measured scintillating lights according to the dose rates and monitor units of proton accelerator.
Subject(s)
Light , Optical Fibers , Organothiophosphorus Compounds , Proton Therapy , Protons , WaterABSTRACT
In this study, we have fabricated a one-dimensional fiber-optic dosimeter for electron beam therapy dosimetry. Each fiber-optic dosimeter has an organic scintillator with a plastic optical fiber and it is embedded and arrayed in the plastic phantom to measure one-dimensional high energy electron beam profile of clinical linear accelerator. The scintillating lights generated from each sensor probe are guided by plastic optical fibers to the multi-channel photodiode amplifier system. We have measured one-dimensional electron beam profiles in a PMMA phantom according to different field sizes and energies of electron beam. Also, the isodose and three-dimensional percent depth dose curves in a PMMA phantom are obtained using a one-dimensional fiber-optic dosimeter with different electron beam energies.