## 2 Materials and Methods
### Elemental and Structural Analysis
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Parameters** & **Equations** & **Descriptions** \\ \hline Linear attenuation coefficients, & \(\mu=\ln(I_{0}/I)/t\) & \(I_{0}\) and \(I\) are the intensities of the incident photons and those passing through the absorber, respectively. \\ (LAC, cm\({}^{-1}\)) 1 [FOOTNOTE:1]Footnote 1: The EpiX software program is used to calculate theoretical values [35] (accessed on March 2025 from [[https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs](https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs)]([https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs](https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs))). 2 Theoretical values are calculated using the Phy-X software package [36] (accessed on March 2025 from [[https://phy-x.net/PSD](https://phy-x.net/PSD)]([https://phy-x.net/PSD](https://phy-x.net/PSD))). 3 Theoretical values are calculated using the NGcal software package [37] (accessed on March 2025 from [[http://ngcal.com/](http://ngcal.com/)]([http://ngcal.com/](http://ngcal.com/))). \\ \hline Mass attenuation coefficients, & \(\mu_{m}=\ln(I_{0}/I)/\rho t\) & \(\rho\) is the density and \(t\) is thickness. \\ (MAC, cm\({}^{2}\)/g) 1 [FOOTNOTE:1]Footnote 1: The EpiX software program is used to calculate theoretical values [35] (accessed on March 2025 from [[https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs](https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs)]([https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs](https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs))). 2 Theoretical values are calculated using the Phy-X software package [36] (accessed on March 2025 from [[https://phy-x.net/PSD](https://phy-x.net/PSD)]([https://phy-x.net/PSD](https://phy-x.net/PSD))). 3 Theoretical values are calculated using the NGcal software package [37] (accessed on March 2025 from [[http://ngcal.com/](http://ngcal.com/)]([http://ngcal.com/](http://ngcal.com/))). \\ \hline Mean free path, (MFP, cm) 1 [FOOTNOTE:1]Footnote 1: The EpiX software program is used to calculate theoretical values [35] (accessed on March 2025 from [[https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs](https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs)]([https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs](https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs))). 2 Theoretical values are calculated using the Phy-X software package [36] (accessed on March 2025 from [[https://phy-x.net/PSD](https://phy-x.net/PSD)]([https://phy-x.net/PSD](https://phy-x.net/PSD))). 3 Theoretical values are calculated using the NGcal software package [37] (accessed on March 2025 from [[http://ngcal.com/](http://ngcal.com/)]([http://ngcal.com/](http://ngcal.com/))). \\ \hline Half value thickness, (HVL, cm) 1 [FOOTNOTE:1]Footnote 1: The EpiX software program is used to calculate theoretical values [35] (accessed on March 2025 from [[https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs](https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs)]([https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs](https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs))). 2 Theoretical values are calculated using the Phy-X software package [36] (accessed on March 2025 from [[https://phy-x.net/PSD](https://phy-x.net/PSD)]([https://phy-x.net/PSD](https://phy-x.net/PSD))). 3 Theoretical values are calculated using the NGcal software package [37] (accessed on March 2025 from [[http://ngcal.com/](http://ngcal.com/)]([http://ngcal.com/](http://ngcal.com/))). \\ \hline Effective atomic number 1 [FOOTNOTE:1]Footnote 1: The EpiX software program is used to calculate theoretical values [35] (accessed on March 2025 from [[https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs](https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs)]([https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs](https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs))). 2 Theoretical values are calculated using the Phy-X software package [36] (accessed on March 2025 from [[https://phy-x.net/PSD](https://phy-x.net/PSD)]([https://phy-x.net/PSD](https://phy-x.net/PSD))). 3 Theoretical values are calculated using the NGcal software package [37] (accessed on March 2025 from [[http://ngcal.com/](http://ngcal.com/)]([http://ngcal.com/](http://ngcal.com/))). \\ \hline Radiation-protection efficiency, RPE & \((1-1/I_{0})\times 100\) & \(I_{0}\) and \(I\) are the intensities of the incident radiation and those passing through the absorber, respectively. \\ \hline Buildup factor 1 [FOOTNOTE:1]Footnote 1: The EpiX software program is used to calculate theoretical values [35] (accessed on March 2025 from [[https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs](https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs)]([https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs](https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs))). 2 Theoretical values are calculated using the Phy-X software package [36] (accessed on March 2025 from [[https://phy-x.net/PSD](https://phy-x.net/PSD)]([https://phy-x.net/PSD](https://phy-x.net/PSD))). 3 Theoretical values are calculated using the NGcal software package [37] (accessed on March 2025 from [[http://ngcal.com/](http://ngcal.com/)]([http://ngcal.com/](http://ngcal.com/))). \\ \hline Fast neutron removal cross-section 2 [FOOTNOTE:2]Footnote 2: The EpiX software program is used to calculate theoretical values [35] (accessed on March 2025 from [[https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs](https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs)]([https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs](https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs))). 2 Theoretical values are calculated using the Phy-X software package [36] (accessed on March 2025 from [[https://phy-x.net/PSD](https://phy-x.net/PSD)]([https://phy-x.net/PSD](https://phy-x.net/PSD))). 3 Theoretical values are calculated using the NGcal software package [37] (accessed on March 2025 from [[http://ngcal.com/](http://ngcal.com/)]([http://ngcal.com/](http://ngcal.com/))). \\ \hline Thermal and fast neutron macroscopic cross-section 3 [FOOTNOTE:3]Footnote 3: The EpiX software program is used to calculate theoretical values [35] (accessed on March 2025 from [[https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs](https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs)]([https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs](https://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/software/epixs))). 2 Theoretical values are calculated using the NGcal software package [36] (accessed on March 2025 from [[https://phy-x.net/PSD](https://phy-x.net/PSD)]([https://phy-x.net/PSD](https://phy-x.net/PSD))). 3 Theoretical values are calculated using the NGcal software package [37] (accessed on March 2025 from [[http://ngcal.com/](http://ngcal.com/)]([http://ngcal.com/](http://ngcal.com/))). \\ \hline The absorbed equivalent dose percentage & \((I_{0}-I)/I_{0}\times 100\) & \(I_{0}\) and \(I\) are the intensities of incident neutrons and those passing through the absorber, respectively. \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}