ABSTRACT
In diagnostic radiology there are two reasons for measuring or estimating radiation doses to patients. Firstly measurements provide a means for setting and checking standards of good practice as an aid to the optimization of patient protection. Secondly estimates of the absorbed dose to tissue and organs in the patients. A total of 2382 patients were studied to calculate the Entrance Surface Air Kerma [ESAK] following seven radiographic examinations including: chest [PA, Lat], lumbar spines [AP, Lat], pelvis [AP], abdomen [AP], skull [PA, Lat], thoracic spine [AP, Lat] and cervical spines [AP, Lat]. The ESAKs values were measured according to x- ray tube output, optimized exposure parameters and body thickness [tp] for each technique. The parameters such as, 1st quartile, mean, median, 3rd quartile, minimum, maximum and standard deviation of each ESAK values are reported and compared to NRPB guide levels. The results showed that the ESAKs values in the lumbar spines and chest X-ray examinations were 30% above the guide levels. However, for the pelvis [AP], skull [PA] and abdomen [AP] examinations, these values were below than those reported by the NRPB. Periodic quality control and monitoring the technical performance of radiographers might effectively improve the image quality and eventually reducing the dose received by patients
ABSTRACT
Fungi are widely distributed in nature and they are usually present in atmosphere but other sources such as water play an important role in their ecology. This study was done to evaluate mycoflora assessment in drinking tap water in Sari, North of Iran. The tap water collected form Sari water distribution system for fungi. In this descriptive study, a volume of 100 ml of tap drinking water samples [n=60] were collected in sterile bottles. All water samples passed through sterile 0.45 micrometer filters. The filters were placed directly on Malt extract agar and incubated at 27°C for 3-7 days. Routine mycological techniques were applied to identify the grown fungi. Out of 468 grown fungal colonies, eight different fungal genera were identified. The total mean cfu per 100 ml for the positive samples were 8.4. Aspergillus [37.4%] and Penicillium [27.3%] were the most common isolated fungi. Rhizopus [0.6%] had the lowest frequency. Among Aspergillus species, A. flavus had the highest frequency. Our result showed that various fungi were present in the tap drinking water. We propose fungi should be considered as part of the microbiological analysis parameters in drinking tap water