Background radiation equivalent time small area in India as high as 30 mSv (3 rem). Using the 2.4 mSv value each BRET unit equals 6.6 μSv. BRET values for diagnostic radiography procedures range from 2 BRET for a dental x-ray to around 400 for a barium enema study. Background radiation equivalent time Background Radiation Equivalent Time, or BRET, is a unit of measurement of ionizing radiation dosage. One BRET is the equivalent of one day worth of average human exposure to background radiation. The unit is also referred to as BERT (Background Equivalent Radiation Time). BRET units are used as a measure of low
Biological effects of radiation on the epigenome and structure and therefore effectively destabilizes the cell. Ionizing radiation causes the cell to generate increased ROS and the increase of this species damages biological macromolecules. In order to compensate for this increased radical species, cells adapt to IR induced oxidative effects by modifying the mechanisms of epigenetic gene regulation. There are 4 epigenetic modifications that can take place: ROS generated by ionizing radiation chemically modify histones which can cause a change in transcription. Oxidation of cellular lipid components result in an electrophilic molecule formation. The electrophilic molecule binds to the lysine residues of histones causing a ketoamide adduct formation.