Zur Berechnung der speciellen Störungen der kleinen Planeten

http://tartu.ester.ee/record=b1728951~S1*es

Theologumena Taciti

http://tartu.ester.ee/record=b1611355~S1*es

Synergy of carbon capture, waste heat recovery and hydrogen production for industrial decarbonisation

Industry is the biggest sector of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, whose decarbonisation is essential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Carbon capture, energy efficiency improvement and hydrogen are among the main strategies for industrial decarbonization. However, novel approaches are needed to address the key requirements and differences between sectors to ensure they can work together to well integrate industrial decarbonisation with heat, CO2 and hydrogen. The emerging Calcium Looping (CaL) is attracting interest in designing CO2-involved chemical processes for heat capture and storage. The reversibility, relatively high-temperature (600 to 900 °C) and high energy capacity output, as well as carbon capture function, make CaL well-fit for CO2 capture and utilisation and waste heat recovery from industrial flue gases. Meanwhile, methane dry reforming (MDR) is a promising technology to produce blue hydrogen via the consumption of two major greenhouse gases, i.e., CO2 and CH4. It has great potential to combine the two technologies to achieve in-situ CO2 utilization with multiple benefits. In this paper, progresses on the reaction conditions and performance of CaL for CO2 capture and industrial waste heat recovery, as well as MDR were screened. Secondly, recent approaches to CaL-MDR synergy have been reviewed to identify the advantages. The major challenges in such a synergistic process include MDR catalyst deactivation, CaL sorbents sintering and system integration. Thirdly, the paper outlooks future work to explore a rational design of a multi-function system for the proposed synergistic process

Pulmonary Disease Caused by Mycobacterium xenopi: The First Case in Korea

Mycobacterium xenopi is a nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) that rarely causes pulmonary disease in Asia. Here we describe the first case of M. xenopi pulmonary disease in Korea. A 66-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with a 2-month history of productive cough and hemoptysis. His past medical history included pulmonary tuberculosis 44 years earlier, leading to a right upper lobectomy. Chest X-ray upon admission revealed cavitary consolidation involving the entire right lung. Numerous acid-fast bacilli were seen in his initial sputum, and M. xenopi was subsequently identified in more than five sputum cultures, using molecular methods. Despite treatment with clarithromycin, rifampicin, ethambutol, and streptomycin, the infiltrative shadow revealed on chest X-ray increased in size. The patient's condition worsened, and a right completion pneumonectomy was performed. The patient consequently died of respiratory failure on postoperative day 47, secondary to the development of a late bronchopleural fistula. This case serves as a reminder to clinicians that the incidence of NTM infection is increasing in Korea and that unusual NTM are capable of causing disease in non-immunocompromised patients

Multislice CT Virtual Intravascular Endoscopy for Assessing Pulmonary Embolisms: a Pictorial Review

Multislice CT has been widely used in clinical practice for diagnosing cardiovascular disease due to its reduced invasiveness and its high spatial and temporal resolution. As a reliable alternative to conventional pulmonary angiography, multislice CT angiography has been recognized as the first line technique for detecting and diagnosing pulmonary embolism. A pulmonary embolism located in the main pulmonary artery, as well as being located in the segmental branches, can be accurately detected with multislice CT imaging, and especially with the use of 16- and 64-slice CT scanners. Visualization of pulmonary embolisms has traditionally been limited to 2D, multiplanar reformation and the 3D external surface visualizations. In this pictorial review, we present our experience of using 3D virtual intravascular endoscopy to characterize and evaluate the intraluminal appearance of pulmonary embolisms in a group of patients who were suspected of having pulmonary embolism and who were undergoing multislice CT angiography. We expect that the research findings from this study will provide insight into the extent of disease and the luminal changes to the pulmonary arteries that are due to the presence of thrombus, and so monitoring of the progress of disease and predicting the treatment outcome can well be achieved

Mycobacterial infections in a large Virginia hospital, 2001-2009

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In areas where both tuberculosis (TB) and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are prevalent, descriptive studies of the clinical features of individual mycobacteria are needed to inform clinical triage.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We queried the University of Virginia Clinical Data Repository for all mycobacterial infections from 2001-2009.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of 494 mycobacterial infections in 467 patients there were 22 species. Patients with pulmonary Tb were more likely to be reported as immigrants (p < 0.001) and less likely to have a predisposing risk factor for NTM (pre-existing lung disease or host predisposition; p = 0.002). Review of chest CT scans revealed that TB infection was more likely to exhibit cavities and pleural effusion than NTM infection (p < 0.05). Among NTM infections <it>M. kansasii</it>, <it>M. xenopi</it>, and <it>M. fortuitum </it>were more likely than MAC to have cavities. There were at least 83 patients that met criteria for NTM lung disease and these were caused by 9 species. <it>M. abscessus </it>infection was associated with cystic fibrosis and <it>M. xenopi </it>infection was associated with male gender.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In our center mycobacterial infections were common and of diverse species. Immigrant status, cavities, and effusion were associated with TB vs. NTM.</p

The Incidence of Pulmonary Embolism and Associated FDG-PET Findings in IV Contrast-Enhanced PET/CT

Rationale and objectivesMost fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography with computed tomography (PET/CT) studies are performed on cancer patients. These patients are at increased risk of pulmonary embolism (PE). In this retrospective review, we determined the rate of PE, and the prevalence of associated FDG-PET findings on intravenous (IV) contrast-enhanced PET/CT.Materials and methodsWe identified all PET/CT studies performed at our institution with a reported finding of PE between January 2005 and October 2012. The medical record was reviewed for symptoms, which were identified after the diagnosis of PE, and whether the patients received treatment. The prevalence of associated FDG-PET findings was determined.ResultsA total of 65 total cases of PE (of 182,72 total PET/CT examinations) were identified of which 59 were previously unknown. This gives an incidental PE (IPE) rate of 0.32%. Of the patients where sufficient clinical information was available, 34 of 36 (94%) were treated either with therapeutic anticoagulation or inferior vena cava filter, and 30 of 36 (83%) were asymptomatic in retrospect. Of the patients with IPE, we found nine (15.2%) with associated focal pulmonary artery hypermetabolism, three (5.1%) with hypermetabolic pulmonary infarction, and one with increased isolated right ventricular FDG uptake (1.7%). One case of chronic PE demonstrated a focal hypometabolic filling defect in a pulmonary artery on PET.ConclusionsWe found IPE in 0.32% of PET/CT scans. Focal pulmonary artery hypermetabolism or hypometabolism, and hypermetabolic pulmonary artery infarction with the "rim sign" were uncommonly associated with PE. These findings could raise the possibility of IPE in non-IV contrast-enhanced PET/CT studies

Dual-source computed tomography in patients with acute chest pain: feasibility and image quality

The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility and image quality of dual-source computed tomography angiography (DSCTA) in patients with acute chest pain for the assessment of the lung, thoracic aorta, and for pulmonary and coronary arteries. Sixty consecutive patients (32 female, 28 male, mean age 58.1±16.3 years) with acute chest pain underwent contrast-enhanced electrocardiography-gated DSCTA without prior beta-blocker administration. Vessel attenuation of different thoracic vascular territories was measured, and image quality was semi-quantitatively analyzed by two independent readers. Image quality of the thoracic aorta was diagnostic in all 60 patients, image quality of pulmonary arteries was diagnostic in 59, and image quality of coronary arteries was diagnostic in 58 patients. Pairwise intraindividual comparisons of attenuation values were small and ranged between 1±6 HU comparing right and left coronary artery and 56±9 HU comparing the pulmonary trunk and left ventricle. Mean attenuation was 291±65 HU in the ascending aorta, 334±93 HU in the pulmonary trunk, and 285±66 HU and 268±67 HU in the right and left coronary artery, respectively. DSCTA is feasible and provides diagnostic image quality of the thoracic aorta, pulmonary and coronary arteries in patients with acute chest pain

Whole body MR imaging in ankylosing spondylitis: a descriptive pilot study in patients with suspected early and active confirmed ankylosing spondylitis

BACKGROUND: Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory rheumatic disorder which usually begins in early adulthood. The diagnosis is often delayed by many years. MR imaging has become the preferred imaging method for detection of early inflammation of the axial skeleton in ankylosing spondylitis. The goal of this study was to assess the frequency and distribution of abnormalities on whole body MR imaging in patients with suspected early ankylosing spondylitis and with active confirmed ankylosing spondylitis. METHODS: Ten patients with suspected early ankylosing spondylitis and ten patients with confirmed ankylosing spondylitis were enrolled. On an 18-channel MR system, coronal and sagittal T1 weighted and STIR sequences were acquired covering the entire spine, sacrum, anterior chest wall, shoulder girdle, and pelvis. The total examination time was 30 minutes. RESULTS: In both groups inflammatory lesions of the lower thoracic spine were frequent (number of patients with suspected early/confirmed ankylosing spondylitis: 7/9). In confirmed ankylosing spondylitis the upper thoracic spine (3/6) and the lumbar spine (4/8) were more commonly involved. The inferior iliac quadrant of the sacroiliac joints was frequently altered in both groups (8/8). The superior iliac (2/5), inferior sacral (6/10) and superior sacral (3/6) quadrants were more frequently affected in confirmed ankylosing spondylitis. Abnormalities of the manubriosternal joint (2/4), the sternoclavicular joints (1/2) and hip joint effusion (4/3) were also seen. CONCLUSION: In both suspected early ankylosing spondylitis and confirmed ankylosing spondylitis, whole body MR examinations frequently demonstrate inflammatory lesions outside the sacroiliac joints. These lesions are similarly distributed but occur less frequently in suspected early compared to confirmed ankylosing spondylitis. Due to the small sample size in this pilot study these results need to be confirmed in larger studies with this emerging technique