Measurement of natural radioactivity and its health hazards associated with the use of different branded cement samples collected from different manufactures in Dhaka city using gamma spectrometry

The radioactivity of naturally occurring radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K was determined in thirteen cement samples collected from different manufactures of Dhaka city. The measurement was performed by gammaray spectrometry system using high purity germanium (HPGe) detector. The average activity of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K in cement samples are fon und to be 30.23±15.04 Bqkg-1, 20.10±11.76 Bqkg-1 and 145.27±24.14 Bqkg-1, respectively. The average values of radium equivalent activity (Raeq), absorbed dose rates (D), internal hazard and external hazard index (Hex), and annual effective dose equivalent are 370 Bqkg-1, 0.27, 0.18, and 27.99 nGyh-1, respectively. The average annual effective dose is found 0.13 mSvy-1, which is less than the recommended value (1 mSvy-1) by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP-60, 1990), as the maximum permissible annual effective dose to the members of the public. The present study results are discussed and compared with those reported in similar studies and with internationally recommended values. No artificial radioactivity was found in the present study. The results show that the analyzed cement samples do not pose any significant radiation hazard from naturally occurring radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th and 40K reported here and also considered safe for use in buildings construction.&#x0D; J. Bangladesh Acad. Sci. 45(1); 95-104: June 2021</jats:p

The Impact of Sex on the Outcomes of Prosthetic Joint Infection Treatment with Debridement, Antibiotics and Implant Retention: A Systematic Review and Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The influence of sex on the failure of débridement antibiotics and implant retention (DAIR) for treating prosthetic joint infection (PJI) is important for decision-making, patient counseling, and equitable health care. However, very few studies in the orthopaedic literature conduct sex-specific analyses. AIM: The primary aim was to determine whether sex influences treatment success after DAIR. METHODS: A systematic review and individual patient data (IPD) meta-analysis was conducted. MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE (Ovid), Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched, and IPD was requested via e-mail. Patients who underwent DAIR after developing PJI within 12 months of a primary total hip or knee arthroplasty were included in the analysis. Treatment failure was defined by the Delphi International Consensus criteria. Adjusted odds ratios for treatment failure were calculated using a mixed-effects logistic regression. RESULTS: The study collected and analyzed IPD of 1,116 patients from 21 cohorts. The odds of treatment failure were 29% lower in women (odds ratio, 0.71; 95% CI 0.54 to 0.017; P = 0.017), after adjusting for duration of symptoms >7 days and Staphylococcus aureus infection (methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus or any infection with S aureus). None of the 64 studies included in the systematic review conducted a sex-specific analysis. CONCLUSION: For patients who developed a PJI within 1 year postsurgery, females have lower odds of DAIR failure than males. Other factors also have varying effects on outcome for men and women. It is essential to implement sex-specific analysis in orthopaedic research