Search

A new generalization of curvature modified plasma dispersion functions is introduced in order to express Dupree renormalized dispersion relations used in quasi-linear theory. For instance the Dupree renormalized dispersion relation for gyrokinetic, toroidal ion temperature gradient driven (ITG) modes, where the Dupree's diffusion coefficient is assumed to be a low order polynomial of the velocity, can be written entirely using generalized curvature modified plasma dispersion functions: Knm's. Using those, Dupree's formulation of renormalized quasi-linear theory is revisited for the toroidal ITG mode. The Dupree diffusion coefficient has been obtained as a function of velocity using an iteration scheme, first by assuming that the diffusion coefficient is constant at each v (i.e. applicable for slow dependence), and then substituting the resulting v dependence in the form of complex polynomial coefficients into the Knm's for verification. The algorithm generally converges rapidly after only a few iterations. Since the quasi-linear calculation relies on an assumed form for the wave-number spectrum, especially around its peak, practical usefulness of the method is to be determined in actual applications. A parameter scan of ηi shows that the form of the diffusion coefficient is better represented by the polynomial form as ηi is increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the postacute phase of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), survivors may have persistent symptoms, lung function abnormalities, and sequelae lesions on thoracic computed tomography (CT). This new entity has been defined as post-COVID interstitial lung disease (ILD) or residual disease., Aims: To evaluate the characteristics, risk factors and clinical significance of post-COVID ILD., Study Design: Multicenter cross-sectional analysis of data from a randomized clinical study., Methods: In this study, patients with persistent respiratory symptoms 3 months after recovery from COVID-19 were evaluated by two pulmonologists and a radiologist. post-COVID ILD was defined as the presence of respiratory symptoms, hypoxemia, restrictive defect on lung function tests, and interstitial changes on follow-up high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT)., Results: At the three-month follow-up, 375 patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome were evaluated, and 262 patients were found to have post-COVID ILD. The most prevalent complaints were dyspnea (n = 238, 90.8%), exercise intolerance (n = 166, 63.4%), fatigue (n = 142, 54.2%), and cough (n = 136, 52%). The mean Medical Research Council dyspnea score was 2.1 ± 0.9, oxygen saturation was 92.2 ± 5.9%, and 6-minute walking distance was 360 ± 140 meters. The mean diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide was 58 ± 21, and the forced vital capacity was 70% ± 19%. Ground glass opacities and fibrotic bands were the most common findings on thoracic HRCT. Fibrosis-like lesions such as interlobular septal thickening and traction bronchiectasis were observed in 38.3% and 27.9% of the patients, respectively. No honeycomb cysts were observed. Active smoking [odds ratio (OR), 1.96; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.44-2.67), intensive care unit admission during the acute phase (OR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.1-1.95), need for high-flow nasal oxygen (OR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.42-1.9) or non-invasive ventilation (OR, 1.31; 95% CI, 0.8-2.07), and elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase levels (OR, 1.23; 95% CI 1.18-1.28) were associated with the development of post-COVID ILD. At the 6-month follow-up, the respiratory symptoms and pulmonary functions had improved spontaneously without any specific treatment in 35 patients (13.4%). The radiological interstitial lesions had spontaneously regressed in 54 patients (20.6%)., Conclusion: The co-existence of respiratory symptoms, radiological parenchymal lesions, and pulmonary functional abnormalities which suggest a restrictive ventilatory defect should be defined as post-COVID-19 ILD. However, the term “fibrosis” should be used carefully. Active smoking, severe COVID-19, and elevated lactate dehydrogenase level are the main risk factors of this condition. These post-COVID functional and radiological changes could disappear over time in 20% of the patients., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Introduction: Patients with airway diseases who bear the burden of smoking need access to smoking cessation support. We aimed to investigate the impact of immediately scheduled appointments on access to smoking cessation clinics compared with usual care in this patient group., Methods: This multicenter, prospective, randomized, open-label study was conducted between November 2022 and June 2023 at pulmonary outpatient clinics. The study included adult patients who were current smokers and had a diagnosis of asthma, COPD, or bronchiectasis for at least six months. Sequentially randomization was used for the allocation of patients in a 1:1 ratio to two study arms: the usual support arm (representing the current standard care procedure) and the immediate support arm (involving intensive brief cessation advice followed by the immediate arrangement of an appointment at the same clinic's smoking cessation service). After one week, both patient groups were contacted by phone to assess their quit attempts and whether they had sought assistance from smoking cessation outpatient clinics (SCCs)., Results: A total of 397 patients were enrolled in the study, with 199 allocated to the usual support arm and 198 allocated to the immediate support arm. Within the first week, 18.1% of patients in the usual support arm and 77.3% of patients in the immediate support arm sought assistance from the smoking cessation clinic (p<0.001). The rate of smokers without an intention to quit was 56.7% in the usual support arm and 27.7% in the immediate support arm in the first week of follow-up. Immediate appointment scheduling was significantly associated with a 13-fold (OR=13.38; 95% CI: 8.00-22.38) increase in referral rates in the multivariate logistic regression model., Conclusions: Arranging instant appointments has increased access to SCCs by 13 times compared to the usual care, this group of patients should be given an immediate appointment to SCCs., Competing Interests: The authors have completed and submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest and none was reported., (© 2024 Karadoğan D. et al.)

Background: The coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic has contributed to work-related psychosocial risks in healthcare workers., Aims: To evaluate the perceived need for mental health services and related factors in Turkish healthcare workers practicing in pandemic hospitals., Study Design: Cross-sectional study., Methods: Data were collected from face-to-face interviews with healthcare workers at 19 pandemic hospitals in 13 provinces between September and November 2021. The study survey included the evaluation of the perceived need for and utilization of mental health services in the previous year, as well as sociodemographic, health-related, and work-related characteristics, the General Health Questionnaire-12, the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQoL-BREF) questionnaire, and the Fear of coronavirus disease-2019 scale (FCV-19S)., Results: Of 1,556 participants, 522 (33.5%) reported a perceived need for mental health services, but only 133 (8.5%) reported receiving these services. Multiple logistic regression analysis of the perceived need for mental health services revealed significant relationships with lower age, female sex, being a current smoker, having a chronic disease, having a mental disorder, coronavirus disease-2019 contact within the last three months in settings other than the home or workplace, a positive coronavirus disease-2019 vaccination history, being a physician, being a non-physician healthcare professional, and coronavirus disease-2019 contact within the last three months at work. After adjustment for these characteristics, higher General Health Questionnaire-12 and FCV-19S scores and lower WHOQoL-BREF domain scores were related to the perceived need for mental health services in logistic regression analyses., Conclusion: The findings indicate a substantial need for mental health services amongst Turkish healthcare workers during the pandemic and outline participants’ characteristics regarding high-priority groups for the intervention. Future research may focus on developing actions and evaluating their efficiency.

Early fault detection and real-time condition monitoring systems have become quite significant for today's modern industrial systems. In a high volume of manufacturing facilities, fleets of equipment are expected to operate uninterrupted for days or weeks. Any unplanned interruptions to equipment uptime could jeopardize manufacturers' cycle time, capacity, and, most significantly, credibility for their customers. With the help of smart manufacturing technologies, companies have started to develop and integrate fault detection and classification systems where end-to-end constant monitoring of equipment is facilitated, and smart algorithms are adapted for the early generation of fault alarms and classification. This paper proposes a generic real-time fault diagnosis and condition monitoring system utilizing edge artificial intelligence (edge AI) and a data distributor open source middleware platform called FIWARE. The implemented system architecture is flexible and includes interfaces that can be easily expanded for various devices. This work demonstrates it for condition monitoring of autonomous transfer vehicle (ATV) equipment targeting a smart factory use case. The system is verified in a designated industrial model environment in a lab with a single ATV operation. The anomaly conditions of the ATV are diagnosed by a deep learning-based fault diagnosis method performed in the Edge AI unit, and the results are transferred to the data storage via a data pipeline setup. The proposed system's Edge AI solution for the ATV use case provides significant real-time performance. The network bandwidth requirement and total elapsed data transfer time have been reduced by 43 and 37 times, respectively. The proposed system successfully enables real-time monitoring of ATV fault conditions and expands to a fleet of equipment in a real manufacturing facility.

It has been more than 3 months now since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Turkey. Globally, the number of confirmed cases and deaths reached 9,653,048 and 491,128 respectively, as reported by 216 countries by June 27, 2020. Turkey had 1,396 new cases, 194,511 total cases, and 5,065 deaths by the same date. From the first case until today, the Turkish Thoracic Society (TTS) has been very proactive in educating doctors, increasing public awareness, undertaking academic studies, and assisting with public health policies. In the present report, social, academic, and management perspectives of the pandemic are presented under appropriate subtitles. During this critical public health crisis, TTS has once again demonstrated its readiness and constructive stance by supporting public health, healthcare workers, and the environment. This review summarizes the perspective of TTS on each aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic and casts light on its contributions.

Paracetamol is a common analgesic drug widely used in all regions of the world more than hundred tonnes per year and it poses a great problem for the aquatic environment. Its phenolic intermediates are classified as persistent organic pollutants and toxic for the environment as well as human beings. In the present study, the irradiation of aqueous solutions of paracetamol with 60Co gamma-rays was examined on a laboratory scale and its degradation path was suggested with detected radiolysis products. The synergic effect of ozone on gamma-irradiation was investigated by preliminary ozonation before irradiation which reduced the irradiation dose from 5 to 3 kGy to completely remove paracetamol and its toxic intermediate hydroquinone from 6 to 4 kGy as well as increasing the radiation chemical yield (Gi values 1.36 and 1.66 in the absence and presence of ozone, respectively). The observed amount of formed hydroquinone was also decreased in the presence of ozone. There is a decrease in pH from 6.4 to 5.2 and dissolved oxygen consumed, which is up to 0.8 mg l(-1), to form some peroxyl radicals used for oxidation. Analytical measurements were carried out with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and ion chromatography (IC) both qualitatively and quantitatively. Amounts of paracetamol and hydroquinone were measured with gas chromatography after trimethylsilane derivatization. Small aliphatic acids, such as acetic acid, formic acid and oxalic acid, were measured quantitatively with IC as well as inorganic ions (nitrite and nitrate) in which their yields increase with irradiation.