MDCT Findings of Denim-Sandblasting-Induced Silicosis: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Denim sandblasting is as a novel cause of silicosis in Turkey, with reports of a recent increase in cases and fatal outcomes. We aimed to describe the radiological features of patients exposed to silica during denim sandblasting and define factors related to the development of silicosis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sixty consecutive men with a history of exposure to silica during denim sandblasting were recruited. All CT examinations were performed using a 64-row multi-detector CT (MDCT). The nodules were qualitatively and semi-quantitatively analyzed by grading nodular profusion (NP) on CT images.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Silicosis was diagnosed radiologically in 73.3% of patients (44 of 60). The latency period (the time between initial exposure and radiological imaging) and duration of silica exposure was longer in patients diagnosed with silicosis than in those without silicosis (p < 0.05). Nodules were present in all cases with centrilobular type as the commonest (63.6%). All cases of silicosis were clinically classified as accelerated and 11.4% had progressive massive fibrosis (PMF). Mild NP lesions were the most prevalent in all six zones of the lung. The NP score was significantly correlated with the duration of silica exposure, the latency period, presence of PMF, and pleural thickening. Enlarged lymphadenopathy was present in 45.5% of patients.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The duration of exposure and the latency period are important for development of silicosis in denim sandblasters. MDCT is a useful tool in detecting findings of silicosis in workers who has silica exposure.</p

A case of idiopathic pulmonary alveolar proteinosis

AbstractIdiopathic pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a rare disease due to impaired alveolar macrophage function caused by neutralising anti-granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating autoantibodies. A nineteen years old male patient was admitted with the complaints of cough, sputum production, dyspnea and fever. There were bilaterally inspiratory fine crackles. The chest radiographs showed bilateral air-space consolidation. On thorax computed tomography; pre-carinal lymph nodes enlargement, ground glass opacities, septal thickening and crazy-paving appearance were determined. Bronchoalveolar lavage was performed and reported was PAP

Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing measures on the sexual functions of women treated for vaginismus (genitopelvic pain/penetration disorder)

Introduction and hypothesis Female sexual function is influenced by the emotional and hormonal state. COVID-19 has been the major global health crisis of our time with high psychosocial impact. Vaginismus is a form of female sexual dysfunction and a subset of genitopelvic pain/penetration disorder in which any form of vaginal penetration is painful or impossible. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on sexual function of women treated for vaginismus. Materials and methods All women treated using dilators between 2018-2019 were included. Data obtained 3 months after comfortable penetration and during the pandemic via telephone interview were compared. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), Golombok-Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (GRISS), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were used to evaluate sexual function and depression. Frequency of sexual intercourse and pain was compared using a visual analogue scale. Results Seventy-seven women were included. Mean duration of treatment and number of treatment sessions were 3.5 +/- 2.6 months and 4.2 +/- 2.6, respectively. There were significant improvements in the FSFI desire, arousal, orgasm, and pain subscales and total score and in the GRISS infrequency, noncommunication, avoidance, non-sensuality, and vaginismus subscales and total score during the pandemic. The GRISS dissatisfaction and anorgasmia subscales and BDI score significantly worsened. Mean frequency of sexual intercourse was 2.3 +/- 1.8/week and did not change significantly. Pain scores decreased during the pandemic (2.7 +/- 2.8) compared to post-treatment (6.2 +/- 2.9). Conclusion Although frequency of sexual intercourse was not affected and pain scores and FSFI total and subscale scores improved, satisfaction and orgasm were adversely affected, which may be attributed to increased stress and anxiety during the pandemic

An XAI approach for COVID-19 detection using transfer learning with X-ray images

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has continued to cause severe challenges during this unprecedented time, affecting every part of daily life in terms of health, economics, and social development. There is an increasing demand for chest X-ray (CXR) scans, as pneumonia is the primary and vital complication of COVID-19. CXR is widely used as a screening tool for lung-related diseases due to its simple and relatively inexpensive application. However, these scans require expert radiologists to interpret the results for clinical decisions, i.e., diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. The digitalization of various sectors, including healthcare, has accelerated during the pandemic, with the use and importance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) dramatically increasing. This paper proposes a model using an Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) technique to detect and interpret COVID-19 positive CXR images. We further analyze the impact of COVID-19 positive CXR images using heatmaps. The proposed model leverages transfer learning and data augmentation techniques for faster and more adequate model training. Lung segmentation is applied to enhance the model performance further. We conducted a pre-trained network comparison with the highest classification performance (F1-Score: 98%) using the ResNet model

Damascus kids' slaughter, carcass and meat quality traits in different production systems using antioxidant supplementation

This study intended to investigate slaughter, carcass and meat quality characteristics of Damascus male kids reared under different production systems and antioxidant effect (Vit E). The kids, housed in pen groups and grazing groups, were equally divided for production systems and later each group was again equally divided for determination of Vit E effect. Production systems and Vit E were found to have no significant effect on slaughter and carcass traits. Differences between production systems were found significant for meat pH(24), water holding capacity, cooking loss, tenderness, ether-extractable lipid and some color characteristics and concentrate feed supplemented with Vit E was effective on TBARS values. Each of the fatty acids except C18:2 n6 was affected by the production system but Vit E influence was superior on long-chain fatty acids. Grazing kids had a lower percentage of total SFA, n6, n6/n3, AI and TI ratio, while kids housed in pens had the lowest percentage of total UFA, NV and n3 ratio. On the other hand, kids that consumed supplemental Vit E had a higher percentage of total UFA, ratio of UFA/SFA, n3 and lower percentage of SFA, ratio of n6/n3, AI, TI compared to the kids fed by non-supplemental concentrate feed with Vit E. In accordance with the meat fatty acid composition, meat obtained from the kids that grazed and consumed supplemental Vit E was healthier than that of those housed in pen kids and non-supplemental Vit E consumed kids. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved