Evaluation of Musculoskeletal Hydatid Cyst Cases in Terms of Clinical Manifestations, Method of Dealing, Treatment, and Recurrence

Hydatid disease is one of the most common parasitic diseases caused by Echinococcus granulosus worm. In this disease, involvement of all organs is likely. However, primary hydatid cysts of muscle tissue are so rare that occasionally in differential diagnosis, cystic masses are not placed in endemic areas. Timely and accurate diagnosis is crucial to prevent unnecessary biopsy. In this case-series study conducted in hospitals of Semnan and Tehran, Iran, from 2009 to 2014, 15 patients with musculoskeletal problems due to hydatid cyst were evaluated. In each case, information about the patient’s clinical manifestations, including initial complaint, cyst location, treatment method, location of involvement organ, duration, dose of drug used and diagnostic method was evaluated. According to results of the present study, the prevalence of musculoskeletal system involvement was 7.21%. The most common site of involvement was spine and paravertebral muscles (7 cases) and the most common symptom was compressive symptoms on the spinal canal. Magnetic resonance imaging was the most commonly used diagnostic method and only in 1 case a wrong pre-operative diagnosis was made. Eleven patients reported a history of recurrence at the site of previous surgery (3 cases of hip involvement and 6 cases of spine involvement). There were 5 cases of recurrence following recent treatment, 2 of which were hip involvement and 2 cases of spine involvement. Furthermore, most patients (12 cases) underwent cyst resection surgery. The results of this study showed that although hydatid cystic skeletal muscle is rare, due to the possibility of repeated recurrence, especially in cases of spine and bone involvement, endemic areas should be considered in the differential diagnosis of each cystic mass of muscle and bone

A Numerical Study to Investigate the Impact of Phase Change Materials on Thermal Caisson Systems Performance

Conference Abstract. Part of the Proceedings of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering International Congress 2022

EFFECT OF ATORVASTATIN ON THE FUNCTIONAL STATE OF THE KIDNEYS IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROME WHO UNDERWENT PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY ANGIOPLASTY

According to current investigations statins may prevent contrast induced nephropathy in patients

Uncertainty of outcome or strengths of teams: an economic analysis of attendance demand for international cricket

A significant body of theoretical literature has argued that popular interest in sporting contests between teams is heavily influenced by how difficult it is to predict the result ex-ante. Empirical research has, however, been unable to reach a consensus on the magnitude of uncertainty of outcome on demand. In this article, we seek to resolve this impasse by distinguishing between uncertainty of outcome in the short run and uncertainty of outcome in the long run. We also show that it is important to control for the independent effect of absolute team strength when testing the uncertainty of outcome hypothesis. Using data on over 380 Test cricket matches played in England, Australia and New Zealand since 1980, we find that short-run uncertainty of outcome has a significant impact on attendance demand and that absolute team strength has better explanatory power for attendance demand than does long-run uncertainty of outcome. Our results suggest some policy implications for the management and organization of international cricket

Optimization of Hybrid Ground Source Heat Pump System Design

The lack of a computerized approach to optimally size hybrid Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) systems leaves a glaring gap in our knowledge of their benefits when utilized in an urban environment. To address this issue, this study introduces two new, robust methodologies, one for determining optimal GSHP size as part of a hybrid system for an individual building and one for assessing the appropriateness of combining multiple buildings onto a single hybrid GSHP system. Both methodologies simultaneously consider heating and cooling and are applicable to residential, commercial and industrial buildings that are either heating or cooling dominant. Using these methodologies can result in significant reductions in initial costs of installation, payback period, and operation costs, when compared to following rules of thumb or using non-hybrid systems. In most cases, when optimization is performed, the GSHP meets very large portions of the total annual heating and cooling demand of buildings.</jats:p

Optimization of Hybrid Ground Source Heat Pump System Design

The lack of a computerized approach to optimally size hybrid Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) systems leaves a glaring gap in our knowledge of their benefits when utilized in an urban environment. To address this issue, this study introduces two new, robust methodologies, one for determining optimal GSHP size as part of a hybrid system for an individual building and one for assessing the appropriateness of combining multiple buildings onto a single hybrid GSHP system. Both methodologies simultaneously consider heating and cooling and are applicable to residential, commercial and industrial buildings that are either heating or cooling dominant. Using these methodologies can result in significant reductions in initial costs of installation, payback period, and operation costs, when compared to following rules of thumb or using non-hybrid systems. In most cases, when optimization is performed, the GSHP meets very large portions of the total annual heating and cooling demand of buildings.</jats:p

In-situ Measurement of Ventilation and Impacts of Filtration on IEQ and Energy use of Residential Buildings

Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) impacts of filters in residential HVAC systems is a strong function of many HVAC system- and building-specific parameters. Furthermore, the energy consequences of filters can be important, and the magnitude and the sign of these energy impacts are system-specific as well. These system- and building-specific parameters can vary not only over different residential buildings, but also over the lifetime of a filter in a given building. A primary building-specific parameter that varies greatly over time is outdoor ventilation air change rate (ACR). ACR is not only an important particle removal mechanism, and a source of variations in filter IEQ performance, but it also is an important contributor to energy use in buildings. This work first critically reviews the existing literature on filtration and then presents an integrated evaluation of the overall IEQ and energy performance of higher efficiency residential filters. It also further develops the understanding of how ACR varies over time and how it influences filtration performance in residences. Yearlong measurement results from particle removal performance analysis of four different high efficiency filters placed in 21 residences in Toronto, Ontario showed that there was more variation in filter performance between the same filter in different homes than there was between different filters in the same home. In addition, increasing system runtime (ontime fraction) could also lead to higher particle removal impacts of filters. Study of energy consequences of the same filters in the same homes showed that fan energy consequences of high efficiency filters are negligible and because HVAC runtimes were generally low (median = 9.6%) in this sample of homes, the difference between energy consumption of different types of motor fans at typical runtimes was small (less than 10 kWh per month). Yearlong ACR measurements showed that ACR is a temporally dynamic parameter with timescales of minutes that varies considerably over long-term periods (e.g., geometric mean = 0.47/h, geometric standard deviation = 3.44 in one of the residences studied). Overall, this dissertation provides new methods and data for assessing the ventilation performance and impacts of filtration on IEQ and energy use of residential buildings.Ph.D

In-situ Measurement of Ventilation and Impacts of Filtration on IEQ and Energy use of Residential Buildings

Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) impacts of filters in residential HVAC systems is a strong function of many HVAC system- and building-specific parameters. Furthermore, the energy consequences of filters can be important, and the magnitude and the sign of these energy impacts are system-specific as well. These system- and building-specific parameters can vary not only over different residential buildings, but also over the lifetime of a filter in a given building. A primary building-specific parameter that varies greatly over time is outdoor ventilation air change rate (ACR). ACR is not only an important particle removal mechanism, and a source of variations in filter IEQ performance, but it also is an important contributor to energy use in buildings. This work first critically reviews the existing literature on filtration and then presents an integrated evaluation of the overall IEQ and energy performance of higher efficiency residential filters. It also further develops the understanding of how ACR varies over time and how it influences filtration performance in residences. Yearlong measurement results from particle removal performance analysis of four different high efficiency filters placed in 21 residences in Toronto, Ontario showed that there was more variation in filter performance between the same filter in different homes than there was between different filters in the same home. In addition, increasing system runtime (ontime fraction) could also lead to higher particle removal impacts of filters. Study of energy consequences of the same filters in the same homes showed that fan energy consequences of high efficiency filters are negligible and because HVAC runtimes were generally low (median = 9.6%) in this sample of homes, the difference between energy consumption of different types of motor fans at typical runtimes was small (less than 10 kWh per month). Yearlong ACR measurements showed that ACR is a temporally dynamic parameter with timescales of minutes that varies considerably over long-term periods (e.g., geometric mean = 0.47/h, geometric standard deviation = 3.44 in one of the residences studied). Overall, this dissertation provides new methods and data for assessing the ventilation performance and impacts of filtration on IEQ and energy use of residential buildings.Ph.D