Operational status of and upgrade plan for the 100-MeV proton linac at the Korea multi-purpose accelerator complex.

The report presents the operation status of and upgrade plan for the 100-MeV proton linac at the Korea Multi-purpose Accelerator Complex (KOMAC). First, an operation history of the 100-MeV linac since its commissioning in 2013, such as operation hours, user services, machine availabilities, and downtimes, is discussed. Second, the status of the beamlines in service or under development is described in a detailed manner. Finally, the Korea Spallation Neutron Source (KSNS), which is part of the upgrade plan for the 100-MeV proton linac to expand its utilization fields, is discussed.

Study of Single-dose Toxicity of Guseonwangdo-go Glucose Intramuscular Injection in Sprague-Dawley Rats.

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to analyze single-dose intramuscular toxicity of Guseonwangdo-go glucose pharmacopuncture. METHODS: Eighty six-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into two large groups of forty rats; Guseonwangdo-go glucose 5% and Guseonwangdo-go glucose 20% groups. Each group was sub-divided into four smaller groups of five males and five females, with the following dosages of pharmacopuncture being administered by intramuscular (IM) injection in each group: group 1 (G1, control group): 1.0 mL of normal saline solution, group 2 (G2, low-dose group): 0.1 mL, group 3 (G3, mid-dose group): 0.5 mL, and group 4 (G4, high-dose group): 1.0 mL. RESULTS: No mortalities or clinical signs were observed in any group. Also, no significant changes in body weights or in hematological/biochemical analyses were observed between the control and the experimental groups during necropsy or histopathology. CONCLUSION: The above findings suggest that the lethal dose of Guseonwangdo-go glucose 5% and 20% pharmacopuncture administered via IM injection is more than 1.0 mL per animal in both male and female rats. Further studies on the repeated-dose toxicity of Guseonwangdo-go glucose should be conducted to yield more concrete data.

Single-dose Toxicity of Guseonwangdo-go Glucose 20% Intravenous Injection in Sprague-Dawley Rats.

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to evaluate the single-dose intravenous toxicity of Guseonwangdo-go glucose 20% pharmacopuncture. METHODS: Forty Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups of five males and five females per group: an intravenous (IV) injection of 1.0 mL of normal saline solution per animal was administered to group 1 (G1, control group); an IV injections of 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 mL of Guseonwangdo-go glucose pharmacopuncture per animal were administered to experimental groups 2, 3, and 4 (G2, G3, and G4), respectively. General symptoms, body weights, hematological and biochemical test results, and necropsy histopathological observation were recorded in all groups. In the statistical analyses, significance was determined by using the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The significance level was 0.05 in all comparisons. RESULTS: For 14 days, no deaths or abnormalities were observed in any of the 4 groups. The body weights of all groups continuously increased during the observation period. In the hematological test, the WBC count was significantly increased in female rats of G4 compared to the control group, but this difference was considered not to be statistically meaningful. No significant biochemical changes were observed. On necropsy, crust formation was observed in one rat of the control group, and granulation tissues were observed around the injection site in one rat of G4; these changes were concluded to have been caused by injection of the needle into a vein. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that the lethal dose of Guseonwangdo-go glucose pharmacopuncture is more than 1.0 mL per animal in both male and female rats. Thus, we can conclude that Guseonwangdo-go glucose pharmacopuncture injection is relatively safe to use in acute toxicity tests. Further studies are needed to establish more detailed evidences of its toxicity.