ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Radiation is an integral part of routine medical practice, but it carries a risk to the health of medical staff. Hence, it should be assessed periodically. The study's goal was to quantify the levels of radiation exposure for medical staff at King Faisal Medical Complex (KFMC), Taif City Saudi Arabia, and to assess their radiation protective procedures in practice. METHODS: The study looked at the thermoluminescence dosimeters (TLDs) records of 50 medical professionals who were exposed to radiation while working at KFMC from 2019 to 2020 in Taif city, Saudi Arabia. In Riyadh, radiation exposure is read from skin TLDs using Harshaw model 6600 plus detectors. The Excel software was utilized to process the obtained data for calculating effective doses. A questionnaire was also distributed to the medical staff to assess their radiation protection procedures. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program version 23 was used to analyze the obtained data. RESULTS: The mean annual effective doses of the medical staff in 2019 and 2020 were determined to be 1.14 mSv and 1.4645 mSv, respectively, with no significant difference in effective doses between males and females in either year. The socio-demographic features of the medical personnel were examined, and the findings revealed that the majority of participants were male radiological technologists. The rate of adherence to radiation protection techniques was 68%, with a normally distributed dispersal. The amount of adherence varied significantly depending on nationality, occupation, and academic qualification. CONCLUSION: According to the research, the mean annual effective dosage for medical professionals at KFMC was significantly below the recommended level, indicating satisfactory compliance with the ALARA radiation safety concept.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The present study was carried out to evaluate the assumption that oxytocin (OT) plays a neuroendocrine role in bone remodeling. For this purpose the changes in serum calcium, serum RANKL and OPG levels were detected in addition to morphological examination of the bone. METHODS: Two regimes for OT administration were used: 1. one group of rats was treated with a high OT dose of 40 microIU/kg b.w. for 6 weeks; 2. second group was treated with a low OT dose of 8 microIU/kg b.w. for a longer period of treatment (12 weeks). To evaluate the possible role of OT in bone remodeling, the changes in serum calcium, serum RANKL (sRANKL--Receptor Activator of Nuclear factor K-beta Ligand) and OPG (Osteoprotegerin) levels were detected and sRANKL/OPG ratio was calculated. To confirm the biochemical data, a histological and ultrastructural study of rat bone samples, before and after injection with oxytocin, was also performed. RESULTS: In general, the present study shows that intramuscular injection of OT at both concentrations and durations of treatment caused a significant decrease in serum calcium and sRANKL levels and a significant increase in OPG level. The sRANKL/OPG ratio was decreased as well. Morphological observations showed that both OT treatments induced a slight effect on bone remodeling in favor of bone formation. CONCLUSION: Oxytocin was found to posses a growth promoting effects on bone. The results also clearly showed that treatment with a high OT dose for a short duration was more effective than the low dose for a longer period of treatment.
