Combined shear wave elastography and EU TIRADS in differentiating malignant and benign thyroid nodules

202401 bcvcVersion of RecordOthersHong Kong Polytechnic University; Department of Health Technology and Informatics, the Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityPublishedC

Evaluation of the complexity of postoperative care following breast and gynecologic cancer surgery

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the complexity of postoperative care required by women who had undergone breast or gynecologic cancer surgery, using the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System-28. An observational, longitudinal study was carried out on 83 women admitted postoperatively to the Intensive Care Unit of the Center for Women's Integrated Healthcare. The results of this study show that women diagnosed with gynecologic cancer had a significantly higher mean Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System-28 score compared with women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer (P =.01). Women who underwent gynecologic surgery had a significantly higher mean Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System-28 score than women who had breast surgery (P=.03). Most of the activities performed by staff during the postoperative intensive care unit period involved only basic care procedures. Only advanced age and hypertension were related to death during the postoperative period. In conclusion, from the nursing standpoint, the complexity of care required in the intensive care unit during the postoperative period was moderate. Women aged 80 years or older were at the highest risk of death during this period.29649950

Assessing the feasibility of ChatGPT-4o and Claude 3-Opus in thyroid nodule classification based on ultrasound images

202503 bchyVersion of RecordOthersHong Kong Polytechnic UniversityPublishedSpringer Nature (2024)T

Remediation of an electroplating contaminated soil by EDTA flushing: chromium release and soil dissolution

Purpose: Remediation of soils contaminated with Cr (as Cr(III) complexes/precipitates and/or Cr(VI) oxyanion) and cationic metals (Cu, Ni, Zn, and Pb) by ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) flushing has been challenging and rarely investigated. This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of EDTA flushing for metal extraction of soil from an electroplating site, with a specific focus on chromium release and soil dissolution. Materials and methods: Column flushing tests were performed on a sandy soil contaminated by electroplating activities in the field. Three EDTA concentrations (5, 10, and 20 mM) and flow interruptions were employed to investigate the operation of EDTA flushing. Results and discussion: Results demonstrated that Cr, Cu, and Ni were continuously released along with dissolution of Fe, Al, Mg, and Mn throughout the entire flushing process (up to 600 pore volumes), whereas Zn and Pb removal primarily occurred in the first 50-200 pore volumes. By comparing the Cr and Fe release patterns, the observed Cr release by EDTA flushing possibly resulted from a combination of dissolution of Fe oxides, dissolution of metal-chromate precipitates, and ligand competition for the surface sites (substitution reaction). The latter two mechanisms appeared to be more influential at the early stage. It was also revealed that soil dissolution was predominant, and metal extraction became inefficient at the later stage of flushing, especially with the concentrated EDTA solution. On the other hand, when the flushing process was temporarily paused (i. e., flow interruptions), Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn concentrations elevated, whereas Pb levels in the effluent decreased, indicating the significance of rate-limited metal exchange of newly formed metal-EDTA complexes. Conclusions: In consideration of EDTA utilization efficiency and potential ecological risks, diluted EDTA solution is recommended for field applications.Department of Civil and Environmental Engineerin

Comparing chemical-enhanced washing and waste-based stabilisation approach for soil remediation

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of chemical-enhanced soil washing (with chelating agents, humic substances and inorganic acids) and soil stabilisation by inorganic industrial by-products (coal fly ash, acid mine drainage sludge and zero-valent iron) and organic resource (lignite) for timber treatment site remediation. Materials and methods: Both remediation options were assessed in terms of extraction/leaching kinetics and residual leachability (toxicity characteristic leaching procedure, TCLP) of the major risk drivers, i.e. Cu and As. Results and discussion: In chemical-enhanced soil washing, chelating agents only minimised the Cu leachability. Humic substances were ineffective while inorganic acids reduced the As leachability to the detriment of the soil quality. For the waste-stabilised soil, the short-term leaching potential (72 h) and long-term TCLP leachability (9 months) revealed that Fe-/Al-/Ca-rich AMD sludge and coal fly ash sequestered As through adsorption and (co-)precipitation, while carbonaceous lignite stabilised Cu with oxygen-containing functional groups. The short-term and long-term leaching of Cu and As into the soil solution was negligible in the presence of the waste materials. However, the waste-stabilised soil did not maintain sufficient Cu stability in the TCLP tests, in which acetate buffer induced significant mineral dissolution of the waste materials. Conclusions: These results suggest that chelant-enhanced washing (significant reduction of Cu leachability) may be augmented with subsequent stabilisation with inorganic waste materials (effective control of As leachability), thus minimising the environmental risks of both Cu (heavy metal) and As (metalloid) while preserving the reuse value of the soil. Additional tests under field-relevant conditions are required to provide a holistic performance evaluation. © 2014, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg