Purpose: To test the concept of Statistical Process Control (SPC) as a Quality Assurance (QA) procedure for dose verifications in external beam radiation therapy in conventional and 3D Conformal Radiotherapy (3D-CRT) ...Purpose: To test the concept of Statistical Process Control (SPC) as a Quality Assurance (QA) procedure for dose verifications in external beam radiation therapy in conventional and 3D Conformal Radiotherapy (3D-CRT) treatment of cervical cancer. Materials and Methods: A study of QA verification of target doses of 198 cervical cancer patients undergoing External Beam Radiotherapy (EBRT) treatments at two different cancer treatment centers in Kenya was conducted. The target doses were determined from measured entrance doses by the diode in vivo dosimetry. Process Behavior Charts (PBC) developed by SPC were applied for setting Action Thresholds (AT) on the target doses. The AT set was then proposed as QA limits for acceptance or rejection of verified target doses overtime of the EBRT process. Result and Discussion: Target doses for the 198 patients were calculated and SPC applied to test whether the action limits set by the Process Behavior Charts could be applied as QA for verified doses in EBRT. Results for the two sub-groups of n = 3 and n = 4 that were tested produced action thresholds which are within clinical dose specifications for both conventional AP/PA and 3D-CRT EBRT treatment techniques for cervical cancer. Conclusion: Action thresholds set by SPC were within the clinical dose specification of ±5% uncertainty for both conventional AP/PA and 3D-CRT EBRT treatment techniques for cervical cancer. So the concept of SPC could be applied in setting QA action limits for dose verifications in EBRT.展开更多
Water resource management programs designed to control nuisance algal infestations have historically been dominated by reactive approaches. With increased regulatory scrutiny regarding algaecide use, data regarding ef...Water resource management programs designed to control nuisance algal infestations have historically been dominated by reactive approaches. With increased regulatory scrutiny regarding algaecide use, data regarding efficacy of integrated management approaches are needed. This research outlines an efficient method of comparing management programs based upon exceeding designated algae action threshold levels (AATL) in pond systems. Phosphorus mitigating technologies were specifically evaluated as phosphorus had been indicated in supporting many nuisance algal types/densities. The objectives of this research were to evaluate pond management programs in terms of action thresholds exceeded, number of reactive algaecide treatments and algaecide amount required to maintain ponds below AATL. This research compared management programs consisting of: 1) Copper sulfate;2) SeClear Algaecide and Water Quality Enhancer;and 3) Phoslock phosphorus binding technology plus SeClear (as needed). Water and algae samples were analyzed every two weeks over two growing seasons on replicated research ponds and compared with designated AATL parameters. If an AATL was exceeded, then a reactive algaecide treatment was implemented for the corresponding water body. Ponds managed by copper sulfate alone exceeded a greater amount of AATL and required a significantly greater (P < 0.05) amount of reactive algaecide treatments to maintain control (average 6.5 annually) whereas SeClear and Phoslock plus ponds required 4.3 and 1.8 treatments, respectively. The average amount of copper applied to maintain ponds below AATL was 1414 g with copper sulfate whereas copper amendments were significantly decreased with SeClear (830 g) and even further with Phoslock plus management programs (342 g). Additionally, management programs incorporating nutrient mitigation required fewer treatments and less copper in year two of the program. This research provides valuable information for water resource managers to evaluate integrated approaches to water resource management in terms of social, economic, operational and regulatory viewpoints.展开更多
文摘Purpose: To test the concept of Statistical Process Control (SPC) as a Quality Assurance (QA) procedure for dose verifications in external beam radiation therapy in conventional and 3D Conformal Radiotherapy (3D-CRT) treatment of cervical cancer. Materials and Methods: A study of QA verification of target doses of 198 cervical cancer patients undergoing External Beam Radiotherapy (EBRT) treatments at two different cancer treatment centers in Kenya was conducted. The target doses were determined from measured entrance doses by the diode in vivo dosimetry. Process Behavior Charts (PBC) developed by SPC were applied for setting Action Thresholds (AT) on the target doses. The AT set was then proposed as QA limits for acceptance or rejection of verified target doses overtime of the EBRT process. Result and Discussion: Target doses for the 198 patients were calculated and SPC applied to test whether the action limits set by the Process Behavior Charts could be applied as QA for verified doses in EBRT. Results for the two sub-groups of n = 3 and n = 4 that were tested produced action thresholds which are within clinical dose specifications for both conventional AP/PA and 3D-CRT EBRT treatment techniques for cervical cancer. Conclusion: Action thresholds set by SPC were within the clinical dose specification of ±5% uncertainty for both conventional AP/PA and 3D-CRT EBRT treatment techniques for cervical cancer. So the concept of SPC could be applied in setting QA action limits for dose verifications in EBRT.
文摘Water resource management programs designed to control nuisance algal infestations have historically been dominated by reactive approaches. With increased regulatory scrutiny regarding algaecide use, data regarding efficacy of integrated management approaches are needed. This research outlines an efficient method of comparing management programs based upon exceeding designated algae action threshold levels (AATL) in pond systems. Phosphorus mitigating technologies were specifically evaluated as phosphorus had been indicated in supporting many nuisance algal types/densities. The objectives of this research were to evaluate pond management programs in terms of action thresholds exceeded, number of reactive algaecide treatments and algaecide amount required to maintain ponds below AATL. This research compared management programs consisting of: 1) Copper sulfate;2) SeClear Algaecide and Water Quality Enhancer;and 3) Phoslock phosphorus binding technology plus SeClear (as needed). Water and algae samples were analyzed every two weeks over two growing seasons on replicated research ponds and compared with designated AATL parameters. If an AATL was exceeded, then a reactive algaecide treatment was implemented for the corresponding water body. Ponds managed by copper sulfate alone exceeded a greater amount of AATL and required a significantly greater (P < 0.05) amount of reactive algaecide treatments to maintain control (average 6.5 annually) whereas SeClear and Phoslock plus ponds required 4.3 and 1.8 treatments, respectively. The average amount of copper applied to maintain ponds below AATL was 1414 g with copper sulfate whereas copper amendments were significantly decreased with SeClear (830 g) and even further with Phoslock plus management programs (342 g). Additionally, management programs incorporating nutrient mitigation required fewer treatments and less copper in year two of the program. This research provides valuable information for water resource managers to evaluate integrated approaches to water resource management in terms of social, economic, operational and regulatory viewpoints.
