Changes

2021 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 344-346
Author(s):  
Jeanne Tiehen
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rates ◽  
Difficulty Breathing

In March 2020 I came home from a theatre conference with a nagging cough, which I had been fighting for some time. Yet, it deepened and strengthened over the next few days. In the following week, symptoms accumulated and were strange and fluctuating: an experience with which I would become all too well acquainted in my COVID journey. Two weeks later on a second telemedical appointment a doctor heard me describe the coughing and chest burning I felt—where it almost felt like a sunburn—and told me it sounded like I had COVID. The inhaler she prescribed helped, but I originally dismissed her diagnosis. These were the early days when a test could not be found or taken, so I lacked confirmation that my body would verify to me for the months following through more drastic measures. A year later, after ongoing and prolonged symptoms of costochondritis, fluctuating high heart rates, difficulty breathing, and a multitude of costly hospital and specialist visits—including now being a part of the Post/Long COVID clinic in my state—I am changed. My health, like most of our lives this past year, follows a path of uncertainty and unknowns.

Acute, medium and long-term effects of yellow sand and air pollutants on allergy and biomarker search

Impact ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (3) ◽  
pp. 63-65
Author(s):  
Tomomi Higashi
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Emergency Rooms ◽  
Improve Treatment ◽  
Treatment And Prevention ◽  
Chronic Effects ◽  
Difficulty Breathing ◽  
Acute And Chronic Effects

Talk to any allergy sufferer and they will tell you how awful it can be. Runny noses, itchy eyes, coughing and difficulties breathing. For many these symptoms rise only to the level of annoyance and can be avoided by steering clear of the source of their allergy. What many people don't realise though is that allergies can become a far more serious issue for a large segment of the population. Shortness of breath and difficulty breathing due to allergies bring many people to emergency rooms and these are just the acute symptoms. Along with the potential for an allergic attack during a windy or dusty day, researchers and medical professionals are beginning to recognise that there are chronic, long term effects associated with allergies. In order to mitigate both the acute and chronic effects of allergies a better understanding of how genetic factors combine with environmental conditions to produce the ranges of symptoms and effects of allergy suffers is needed. Professor Tomomi Higashi, from the Department of Hygiene at Kanazawa University in Japan, is an expert in this field and is currently working to improve treatment and prevention of allergic disease.

scholarly journals Allergic Diseases Caused by Aspergillus Species in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis

Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 357
Author(s):  
Aidan K. Curran ◽  
David L. Hava
Keyword(s):  
Cystic Fibrosis ◽  
Fungal Infections ◽  
Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis ◽  
Hyphal Growth ◽  
Allergic Diseases ◽  
Chronic Obstructive ◽  
Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ◽  
Th2 Immune Response ◽  
Difficulty Breathing ◽  
Oral Corticosteroids

Aspergillus spp. are spore forming molds; a subset of which are clinically relevant to humans and can cause significant morbidity and mortality. A. fumigatus causes chronic infection in patients with chronic lung disease such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cystic fibrosis (CF). In patients with CF, A. fumigatus infection can lead to allergic disease, such as allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) which is associated with high rates of hospitalizations for acute exacerbations and lower lung function. ABPA results from TH2 immune response to Aspergillus antigens produced during hyphal growth, marked by high levels of IgE and eosinophil activation. Clinically, patients with ABPA experience difficulty breathing; exacerbations of disease and are at high risk for bronchiectasis and lung fibrosis. Oral corticosteroids are used to manage aspects of the inflammatory response and antifungal agents are used to reduce fungal burden and lower the exposure to fungal antigens. As the appreciation for the severity of fungal infections has grown, new therapies have emerged that aim to improve treatment and outcomes for patients with CF.

Automatic determination of heart rates from microscopy videos of early life stages of fish

2017 ◽  
Vol 80 (16-18) ◽  
pp. 932-940 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond Nepstad ◽  
Emlyn Davies ◽  
Dag Altin ◽  
Trond Nordtug ◽  
Bjørn Henrik Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Early Life Stages ◽  
Automatic Determination ◽  
Heart Rates

scholarly journals Regional differences in office and self‐measured home heart rates in Asian hypertensive patients: AsiaBP@Home study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoko Tomitani ◽  
Satoshi Hoshide ◽  
Peera Buranakitjaroen ◽  
Yook Chin Chia ◽  
Sungha Park ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Regional Differences ◽  
Hypertensive Patients ◽  
Heart Rates ◽  
Home Study

scholarly journals Automated Assessment of Thoracic-Abdominal Asynchrony in Patients with Morquio Syndrome

Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 880
Author(s):  
Madhavi V. Ratnagiri ◽  
Yan Zhu ◽  
Tariq Rahman ◽  
Mary Theroux ◽  
Shunji Tomatsu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Learning Algorithm ◽  
Assessment Methodology ◽  
Emergency Rooms ◽  
Multiple Organs ◽  
Difficulty Breathing ◽  
Causes Of Mortality ◽  
Morquio Syndrome ◽  
Automated Technique ◽  
Thoracic And Abdominal ◽  
Function Testing

Morquio syndrome is a rare disease caused by a disorder in the storage of mucopolysaccharides that affects multiple organs, including musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, and digestive systems. Respiratory failure is one of the leading causes of mortality in Morquio patients; thus, respiratory function testing is vital to the management of the disease. An automated respiratory assessment methodology using the pneuRIP device and a machine-learning algorithm was developed. pneuRIP is a noninvasive approach that uses differences between thoracic and abdominal movements (thoracic-abdominal asynchrony) during respiration to assess respiratory status. The technique was evaluated on 17 patients with Morquio (9 females and 8 males) between the ages of 2 and 57 years. The results of the automated technique agreed with the clinical assessment in 16 out of the 17 patients. It was found that the inverse cumulative percentage representation of the time delay between the thorax and abdomen was the most critical variable for accurate evaluation. It was demonstrated that the technique could be successfully used on patients with Morquio who have difficulty breathing with 100% compliance. This technique is highly accurate, portable, noninvasive, and easy to administer, making it suitable for a variety of settings, such as outpatient clinics, at home, and emergency rooms.

scholarly journals Evaluating a calcium-aware kernel for CT CAC scoring with varying surrounding materials and heart rates: a dynamic phantom study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niels R. van der Werf ◽  
Ronald Booij ◽  
Bernhard Schmidt ◽  
Thomas G. Flohr ◽  
Tim Leiner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coronary Artery ◽  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Patient Specific ◽  
Reconstruction Technique ◽  
Ct Reconstruction ◽  
Raw Data ◽  
Heart Rates ◽  
Tissue Equivalent ◽  
Tin Filtration ◽  
Reconstruction Kernel

Abstract Objectives The purpose of this study was twofold. First, the influence of a novel calcium-aware (Ca-aware) computed tomography (CT) reconstruction technique on coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores surrounded by a variety of tissues was assessed. Second, the performance of the Ca-aware reconstruction technique on moving CAC was evaluated with a dynamic phantom. Methods An artificial coronary artery, containing two CAC of equal size and different densities (196 ± 3, 380 ± 2 mg hydroxyapatite cm−3), was moved in the center compartment of an anthropomorphic thorax phantom at different heart rates. The center compartment was filled with mixtures, which resembled fat, water, and soft tissue equivalent CT numbers. Raw data was acquired with a routine clinical CAC protocol, at 120 peak kilovolt (kVp). Subsequently, reduced tube voltage (100 kVp) and tin-filtration (150Sn kVp) acquisitions were performed. Raw data was reconstructed with a standard and a novel Ca-aware reconstruction technique. Agatston scores of all reconstructions were compared with the reference (120 kVp) and standard reconstruction technique, with relevant deviations defined as > 10%. Results For all heart rates, Agatston scores for CAC submerged in fat were comparable to the reference, for the reduced-kVp acquisition with Ca-aware reconstruction kernel. For water and soft tissue, medium-density Agatston scores were again comparable to the reference for all heart rates. Low-density Agatston scores showed relevant deviations, up to 15% and 23% for water and soft tissue, respectively. Conclusion CT CAC scoring with varying surrounding materials and heart rates is feasible at patient-specific tube voltages with the novel Ca-aware reconstruction technique. Key Points • A dedicated calcium-aware reconstruction kernel results in similar Agatston scores for CAC surrounded by fatty materials regardless of CAC density and heart rate. • Application of a dedicated calcium-aware reconstruction kernel allows for radiation dose reduction. • Mass scores determined with CT underestimated physical mass.

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