Abstract: Exogenous lipoid pneumonia is caused by inhalation or aspiration of a fatty substance. It constitutes a rare entity, with atypical clinical findings, such as chronic cough or dyspnea, and is accompanied by the presence of diffuse interstitial infiltrates in chest CT scans. We present the case of an exogenous lipoid pneumonia in a psychotic patient with inflammatory bowel disease and mega-esophagus. A 45-year-old man was referred for consultation due to chronic cough and abnormal findings on multiple X-rays during the past 3 months, and on a previous CT scan. He suffered from schizophrenia and chronic inflammatory bowel disease under azathioprine. He daily received oily laxatives due to constipation. During the past months he received several antibiotic treatment regiments without any clinical or radiological benefit. The CT scan revealed the presence of consolidative opacities with air bronchogram involving both lungs in the middle and lower lobes, upper lobe emphysema and a severely dilated esophagus. The patient underwent fiberoptic bronchoscopy, without any abnormal endobronchial findings. The bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid was examined with bacterial, fungal and mycobacterium cultures that were negative and a cytological study for malignant cells which was also negative. Because of high clinical suspicion, BAL specimens were also examined for lipid staining. The presence of numerous foamy alveolar macrophages with lipid vacuoles stained with Oil Red (O) confirmed the presence of fat, thus enhancing the diagnosis of exogenous lipoid pneumonia. Lipoid pneumonia can mimic many other pulmonary diseases and, because of the insidious onset and the atypical findings, can be misdiagnosed. BAL examination is a diagnostic method that can detect the presence of foamy alveolar macrophages with lipid vacuoles stained with Oil Red (O) or Sudan III, findings indicative of lipoid pneumonia, thus avoiding more invasive diagnostic procedures.
In the context of reducing CO2 emissions, avoiding climate change and global warming, the Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997, which contains legislative commitments and obliges 37 developed economies to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Corresponding policies are followed by European countries, but also by several large economies. Under these conditions, the exchange of carbon credits is allowed, which has led to the creation of a new market, the market for emission allowances (emission unit). But at the same time with the emerging environmental market, the already developed energy market pre-existed. But after 9/11, the world changed as US aggression against oil-producing countries in the Middle East and the Enron energy scandal, combined with the deep economic crisis of recent years, created a greater market interest in the field of energy derivatives. This work provides an overview of the above markets and due to the specificity of the environmental market and the intense volatility of fuel prices, methods of environmental and energy risk management will be applied.
Male breast lymphoma is a rare extranodal lymphoma occupying the mammary gland, and it could be either primary or secondary.A 78-yearold man presented an enlargement of the right breast.He had no medical history of interest.On physical examination, a unilateral, painless breast lump was found, with no skin changes or nipple discharge.There was no palpable lymphadenopathy.Routine laboratory tests revealed leukocytosis and lymphocytosis.Excisional biopsy of the breast lesion revealed mammary tissue infiltration by chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) with plasmacytoid features and immunoglobulin G/kappa monotypic expression.To our knowledge, this is the first report of male breast involvement by CLL.Considering important the collection of clinicopathological data of all reported male breast lymphoma cases, a literature review is presented.
An approach for the analytical prediction of the deformation capacity of reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls in existing buildings, designed with past non conforming seismic regulations is presented.Most modern seismic assessment and redesign provisions include models for the prediction of the capacity of existing RC members.Specifically, Eurocode 8-Part 3 provides semi-empirical and analytical expressions which focus on the estimation of yield and ultimate chord rotation.For this purpose, cross section analyses were carried out using OpenSees platform in order to predict the Moment-Curvature diagram (M-φ) which is thereafter transformed, by analytical expressions, into the final Load-Displacement (P-δ) capacity curve of such members.In addition, numerical simulations were carried out using two alternative element models, available in OpenSees library, in order to directly predict the overall Load-Displacement (P-δ) curve of a shear wall.Both analytical and numerical results were compared with test results from a series of experiments of isolated non conforming RC shear wall elements, which were tested as cantilevers under statically reversed lateral loading in the RC Laboratory of the National Technical University of Athens.
The seismic design of reinforced concrete (RC) mass or stiffness irregular buildings, in accordance with the classifications of Eurocode 8, is adjusted through the quantification of irregularity, through the use of irregularity indices and corresponding irregularity criteria.As a consequence, the design behavior factor in this case is no longer constant over a group of structures of similar form and building material, but varies on a case by case basis, since it involves modification of both behavior factors defining the design q, namely q due to structural overstrength (q Ω ) and q due to the local ductility supply of the members (q μ ).The reliability of this design approach is evaluated herein through the investigation of the inelastic performance of a form of irregular building with different degrees of irregularity per EC8.Focusing primarily herein -for the sake of simplicity -on vertical irregularity, an automated and therefore objective design analysis procedure is presented, which has been developed on the Open System of Earthquake Engineering Simulation platform (OpenSees).Following the definition of the basic framing configuration, characteristic loads and material grades, the procedure includes the following automatic steps: i) successive analysis of the frame for all EC8 required combinations, ii) evaluation of the internal design forces and envelopes thereof, iii) evaluation of flexural and shear reinforcement in all member critical regions, iv) evaluation of the local ductility supply of the members, v) formulation of the inelastic threedimensional model of the structure (base is assumed fixed), using spread damage fiber section finite elements, vi) three dimensional analysis of the model both statically (modal load profiles) and in the time domain (incremental base excitation); and vii) establishment of response details and damage indices, such as seismic shear and deformation profiles, the collapse pattern, local and global ductility and supplied q.Given the module versatility, different levels of vertical and/or torsional irregularities can be established by removing selected structural members in plan, by adjusting selectively the plan or height geometry or by locally increasing the acting vertical loads.The process is applied to a typical tower; the code prescribed design procedure and irregularity indices are imposed and their reliability is established through local damage comparisons with the assumed design values.
Abstract In many cases, fertilizer crop recommendations in northern Greece are made based on personal opinions rather than scientific background. This may lead to overfertilization and waste of resources. For sound fertilizer recommendations, a model is necessary that would suggest the exact rates of nitrogen (N) based on soil properties of a large number of soil samples. For this reason we developed a model (named N-WHELM), which is a simplified form of a model by Koukoulakis. The output data of our model (the N recommendations) were estimated using data obtained from 50 soil samples, which represented a wide range of soil properties, and were obtained from northern Greece. We tested our model for maize, wheat, and sunflower and evaluated it against the results obtained by the Koukoulakis model. The results showed that the fertilizer recommendations of the N-WHELM model for all three crops were not significantly different from that of the Koukoulakis model. The good relationship between the two models was confirmed by the significant correlations of the two models for all tested crops (R 2 values at the P < 0.001 level). Although the fertilizer recommendations of N-WHELM were not significantly correlated with nitrate (NO3)–nitrogen (N) or other soil properties (when correlated one by one), they did show a strong relationship with soil organic matter as well as a significant relationship when multiple regressions were performed, with all estimated soil properties taken as independent variables. We concluded that the simplified model we developed was successful in recommending N fertilizer requirements similar to those of Koukoulakis. Keywords: Cropnutrient requirements
This study aimed to develop, apply and assess a visual grading system that could evaluate the preservation state of historic buildings structural timbers and correlate it with three NDT methods that are widely used during diagnostic surveys. Assessing timber condition is crucial not only for the structural analysis of buildings, but also for reinsuring that well preserved original material of Cultural Heritage will not be lost. However, assessment based only on NDT results may be biased as it depends on many parameters such as i) the natural variability of wood ii) the type and degree of deterioration iii) the experimental conditions e.t.c. Furthermore, results obtained are not always coinciding and they are often unrelated to the macrosopic condition of timbers. Therefore, this work investigates comparatively a grading system developed based on European with results obtained from ultrasounds application, resistograph profiling and X-ray radiation. The three NDT techniques were tested on samples coming from a post Byzantine mansion in Athens, which presented various types and degrees of decay. For comparison reasons techniques were applied on sound wood of the same species also. Prior to NTD implementation, samples were conditioned in two different RH in order to examine the role of wood moisture on NTD results.
The VERDI detector was developed for accurate neutron measurements in the plasma-facing modules of a tokamak. It comprises a low activation capsule, capable to withstand the harsh conditions of the fusion environment, containing a defined mass of metallic foils. The neutron fluence and energy spectrum are derived by analysis of the gamma lines produced by neutron activation of the metallic elements. In this work, the use of a Compton Suppression System (CSS) is investigated aiming to enhance the sensitivity of VERDI detector analysis. The CSS consists of a 40% HPGe primary detector coupled to a set of NaI secondary detectors. The apparatus was set to discard signals simultaneously recorded on both primary and secondary detectors, thus lowering the Compton continuum. The VERDI detectors were irradiated at the Joint European Torus (JET) during the 2019 Deuterium-Deuterium (DD) campaign. The CSS performance was studied by calculating peak and continuum suppression factors. The advantage introduced by Compton suppressed gamma spectrometry for each nuclide of interest is explored and the suitability of this system for VERDI detector measurements is discussed.
