Made by DATEXIS (Data Science and Text-based Information Systems) at Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin
Deep Learning Technology: Sebastian Arnold, Betty van Aken, Paul Grundmann, Felix A. Gers and Alexander Löser. Learning Contextualized Document Representations for Healthcare Answer Retrieval. The Web Conference 2020 (WWW'20)
Funded by The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy; Grant: 01MD19013D, Smart-MD Project, Digital Technologies
The first approach, which is the best approach at an effective management practice would be to eradicate or severely damage the Mountain and Cherry Leafhopper population because the leafhoppers are the number one vectors for this pathogen. To do this, pesticides (i.e. acephate, bifenthrin, cyfluthrin) could be applied or biological control (predators of the leafhopper) could be used. There should be a pre-season application of control measures as well as a post-season application. This is to maximize the effort at controlling both types of leafhoppers (Cherry and Mountain), thus cutting down the starting inoculum at both stages in the life cycle.
There are numerous steps one has to take to try to manage the disease as best as possible. The aim is at prevention because once the pathogen reaches the cherry trees, disease will surely ensue and there is no cure or remedy to prevent the loss of fruit production as well as the ultimate death of the tree.
Currently, antibiotic drugs such as penicillin or tetracycline are the only effective methods for disease treatment. Within wild populations, disease control consists of reducing the amount of bacterial spores present in the environment. This can be done by removing contaminated carcasses and scat.
In laboratory animals, prevention includes a low-stress environment, an adequate amount of nutritional feed, and appropriate sanitation measurements. Because animals likely ingest bacterial spores from contaminated bedding and feed, regular cleaning is a helpful method of prevention. No prevention methods are currently available for wild animal populations.
Sugarcane smut or "Ustilago scitaminea Sydow" is caused by the fungus "Sporisorium scitamineum"; smut was previously known as "Ustilago scitaminea". The smut 'whip' is a curved black structure which emerges from the leaf whorl, and which aids in the spreading of the disease. Sugarcane smut causes significant losses to the economic value of a sugarcane crop. Sugarcane smut has recently been found in the eastern seaboard areas of Australia, one of the world's highest-yielding sugar areas.
For the sugarcane crop to be infected by the disease, large spore concentrations are needed. The fungi uses its "smut-whip" to ensure that the disease is spread to other plants, which usually occurs over a time period of three months. As the inoculum is spread, the younger sugarcane buds just coming out of the soil will be the most susceptible. Because water is necessary for spore germination, irrigation has been shown to be a factor in spreading the disease. Therefore, special precautions need to be taken during irrigation to prevent spreading of the smut.
Another way to prevent the disease from occurring in the sugarcane is to use fungicide. This can be done by either pre-plant soaking or post-plant spraying with the specific fungicide. Pre-plant soaking has been proven to give the best results in preventing the disease, but post-plant spraying is a practical option for large sugarcane cultivations.
The smuts are multicellular fungi characterized by their large numbers of teliospores. The smuts get their name from a Germanic word for dirt because of their dark, thick-walled, and dust-like teliospores. They are mostly Ustilaginomycetes (of the class Teliomycetae, subphylum Basidiomycota) and can cause plant disease. The smuts are grouped with the other basidiomycetes because of their commonalities concerning sexual reproduction.
Smuts are cereal and crop pathogens that most notably affect members of the grass family ("Poaceae"). Economically important hosts include maize, barley, wheat, oats, sugarcane, and forage grasses. They eventually hijack the plants' reproductive systems, forming galls which darken and burst, releasing fungal teliospores which infect other plants nearby. Before infection can occur, the smuts need to undergo a successful mating to form dikaryotic hyphae (two haploid cells fuse to form a dikaryon).
Isotretinoin, high doses of vitamin A and tretinoin cream can be utilized. Also, emollients, oral antihistamines, and antipruritic creams that contain menthol and camphor may be helpful because the lesions can become very itchy.
Sweating causes lesions to form, but lesions aggravated by sweat usually return to "normal" fairly quicklyavoiding sweat is not a reason to avoid exercise. Minor outbreaks can be controlled with prescription strength topical cortisone creams. More severe eruptions usually clear up after treatment for one to three months with Accutane or tetracycline. If these fail or the outbreak is severe, PUVA phototherapy treatments, antifungal pills and cortisone injections are alternatives.
Some research has suggested a correlation of Grover's disease with mercury toxicity in which case Dimercaptosuccinic acid might help.
Prevention is through use of Stock coryza-free birds. In other areas culling of the whole flock is a good means of the disease control. Bacterin also is used at a dose of two to reduce brutality of the disease. Precise exposure has also has been used but it should be done with care. Vaccination of the chicks is done in areas with high disease occurrence. Treatment is done by using antibiotics such as erythromycin, Dihydrostreptomycin, Streptomycin sulphonamides, tylosin and Flouroquinolones .
UV irradiation can be utilized after curetting the hyperkeratosis with a combination medication treatment of oral retinoids, psoralen and Ultraviolet A radiation.
Treatment is by reassurance, as the condition is benign, and then by correction of any predisposing factors. This may be cessation of smoking or cessation/substitution of implicated medications or mouthwashes. Generally direct measures to return the tongue to its normal appearance involve improving oral hygiene, especially scraping or brushing the tongue before sleep. This promotes desquamation of the hyperparakeratotic papillae. Keratolytic agents (chemicals to remove keratin) such as podophyllin are successful, but carry safety concerns. Other reported successful measures include sodium bicarbonate mouthrinses, eating pineapple, sucking on a peach stone and chewing gum.
Adequate footwear is important to prevent trauma. General good health and nutrition also reduce ulcer risk. Adequate and prompt cleansing and treatment of ankle and leg skin breaks is also important. Improving hygiene and nutrition may help to prevent tropical ulcers.
BHT is a benign condition, but people who are affected may be distressed at the appearance and possible halitosis, and therefore treatment is indicated.
Untreated, the disease has a mortality rate upwards of 90%. Cats treated in the early stages can have a recovery rate of 80–90%. Left untreated, the cats usually die from severe malnutrition or complications from liver failure. Treatment usually involves aggressive feeding through one of several methods.
Cats can have a feeding tube inserted by a veterinarian so that the owner can feed the cat a liquid diet several times a day. They can also be force-fed through the mouth with a syringe. If the cat stops vomiting and regains its appetite, it can be fed in a food dish normally. The key is aggressive feeding so the body stops converting fat in the liver. The cat liver has a high regeneration rate and the disease will eventually reverse assuming that irreparable damage has not been done to the liver.
The best method to combat feline hepatic lipidosis is prevention and early detection. Obesity increases the chances of onset. In addition, if a cat stops eating for 1–2 days, it should be taken to a vet immediately. The longer the disease goes untreated, the higher the mortality rate.
White band disease (Acroporid white syndrome) is a coral disease that affects acroporid corals and is distinguishable by the white band of dead coral tissue that it forms. The disease completely destroys the coral tissue of Caribbean acroporid corals, specifically elkhorn coral ("Acropora palmata") and staghorn coral ("A. cervicornis"). The disease exhibits a pronounced division between the remaining coral tissue and the exposed coral skeleton. These symptoms are similar to white plague, except that white band disease is only found on acroporid corals, and white plague has not been found on any acroporid corals. It is part of a class of similar disease known as "white syndromes", many of which may be linked to species of "Vibrio" bacteria. While the pathogen for this disease has not been identified, "Vibrio carchariae" may be one of its factors. The degradation of coral tissue usually begins at the base of the coral, working its way up to the branch tips, but it can begin in the middle of a branch.
Treatment is with penicillin, ampicillin, tetracycline, or co-trimoxazole for one to two years. Any treatment lasting less than a year has an approximate relapse rate of 40%. Recent expert opinion is that Whipple's disease should be treated with doxycycline with hydroxychloroquine for 12 to 18 months. Sulfonamides (sulfadiazine or sulfamethoxazole) may be added for treatment of neurological symptoms.
Currently, there is no cure for Urbach–Wiethe disease although there are some ways to individually treat many of its symptoms. There has been some success with oral dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and intralesional heparin, but this is not true in all cases. D-penicillamine has also shown promise, but has yet to have been used extensively. There are also some reports of patients being treated with etretinate, a drug typically prescribed to treat psoriasis. In some cases, calcifications in the brain can lead to abnormal electrical activity among neurons. Some patients are given anti-seizure medication to help deal with these abnormalities. Tracheostomy is often used to relieve upper respiratory tract infections. Carbon dioxide laser surgery of thickened vocal cords and beaded eyelid papules have improved these symptoms for patients. The discovery of the mutations of the ECM1 gene has opened the possibility of gene therapy or a recombinant EMC1 protein for Urbach–Wiethe disease treatment, but neither of these two options are currently available.
There are many treatments available for dyshidrosis. However, few of them have been developed or tested specifically on the condition.
- Barriers to moisture and irritants, including barrier creams and gloves.
- Topical steroids - while useful, can be dangerous long-term due to the skin-thinning side-effects, which are particularly troublesome in the context of hand dyshidrosis, due to the amount of toxins and bacteria the hands typically come in contact with.
- Potassium permanganate dilute solution soaks - also popular, and used to 'dry out' the vesicles, and kill off superficial "Staphylococcus aureus", but it can also be very painful. Undiluted it may cause significant burning.
- Dapsone (diamino-diphenyl sulfone), an antibacterial, has been recommended for the treatment of dyshidrosis in some chronic cases.
- Antihistamines: Fexofenadine up to 180 mg per day.
- Alitretinoin (9-cis-retinoic acid) has been approved for prescription in the UK. It is specifically used for chronic hand and foot eczema. It is made by Basilea of Switzerland (BAL 4079).
- Systemic steroids can be taken orally to treat especially acute and severe cases of dyshidrosis.
Urbach–Wiethe disease is typically not a life-threatening condition. The life expectancy of these patients is normal as long as the potential side effects of thickening mucosa, such as respiratory obstruction, are properly addressed. Although this may require a tracheostomy or carbon dioxide laser surgery, such steps can help ensure that individuals with Urbach–Wiethe disease are able to live a full life. Oral dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) has been shown to reduce skin lesions, helping to minimize discomfort for these individuals.
Recently published evidence suggest heat stress and strenuous activity-induced cyclic uricosuria and crystalluria as a possible mechanism for the tubular lesion.
There is no known cure, but an appropriate diet and the enzyme xylose isomerase can help. The ingestion of glucose simultaneously with fructose improves fructose absorption and may prevent the development of symptoms. For example, people may tolerate fruits such as grapefruits or bananas, which contain similar amounts of fructose and glucose, but apples are not tolerated because they contain high levels of fructose and lower levels of glucose.
Xylose isomerase acts to convert fructose sugars into glucose. Dietary supplements of xylose isomerase may improve the symptoms of fructose malabsorption.
Common treatments for Dercum's disease is directed towards treating the individual symptoms. Pain relief medication may be administered to temporarily reduce the discomfort in the patient. Cortisone shots have also been shown to be effective in temporarily reducing the chronic pain. Surgical removal of the damaged adipose tissue can be effective, but often the disease will recur. Once a person has Dercum's disease then they will likely have pain for the rest of their life. Studies have only shown temporary pain relief in patients. Long term the person with Dercum's disease will need to take prescription drugs for pain relief to ensure quality of life. The disease will cause chronic and severe pain for the rest of a persons life. There are several holistic treatments for this disease. Acupuncture, hypnosis and cognitive behavior therapy have been attempted to help people with Dercum's disease.
Few convincing large studies on the treatment of Dercum's disease have been conducted. Most of the different treatment strategies that exist are based on case reports. Currently, there is a lack of scientific data on the use of integrative therapies for the treatment or prevention of Dercum's disease. Not enough studies have been done to substantiate that diet and supplements could help with the disease.
Treatment methods include the following modalities:
Surgical excision of fatty tissue deposits around joints (liposuction) has been used in some cases. It may temporarily relieve symptoms although recurrences often develop.
White band disease causes the affected coral tissue to decorticate off the skeleton in a white uniform band for which the disease was given its name. The band, which can range from a few millimeters to 10 centimeters wide, typically works its way from the base of the coral colony up to the coral branch tips. The band progresses up the coral branch at an approximate rate of 5 millimeters per day, causing tissue loss as it works its way to the branch tips. After the tissue is lost, the bare skeleton of the coral may later by colonized by filamentous algae.
There are two variants of white band disease, type I and type II. In Type I of white band disease, the tissue remaining on the coral branch shows no sign of coral bleaching, although the affected colony may appear lighter in color overall. However, a variant of white band disease, known simply as white band disease Type II, which was found on Staghorn colonies near the Bahamas, does produce a margin of bleached tissue before it is lost. Type II of white band disease can be mistaken for coral bleaching. By examining the remaining living coral tissue for bleaching, one can delineate which type of the disease affects a given coral.