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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)
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Bronchiolitis obliterans is a lung disease characterized by fixed airway obstruction. Inflammation and scarring occur in the airways of the lung, resulting in severe shortness of breath and dry cough.
FEV1 (forced expiratory volume in 1 second) should be above 80% of predicted values to be considered normal. Bronchiolitis obliterans reduces this to between 16% and 21%.
Symptoms include dry cough, shortness of breath and wheezing.
The symptoms can start gradually, or severe symptoms can occur suddenly.
Bronchiolitis obliterans (BO), informally known as popcorn lung, is a disease that results in obstruction of the smallest airways of the lungs (bronchioles) due to inflammation. Symptoms include a dry cough, shortness of breath, wheezing, and feeling tired. These symptoms generally get worse over weeks to months. It is not related to organizing pneumonia.
Causes include breathing in toxic fumes, respiratory infections, connective tissue disorder, or following a bone marrow or heart-lung transplant. Symptoms may not occur until two to eight weeks following toxic exposure or infection. The underlying mechanism involves inflammation that results in scar tissue formation. Diagnosis is by CT scan, pulmonary function tests, or lung biopsy. A chest X-ray is often normal.
While the disease is not reversible treatments can slow further worsening. This may include the use of corticosteroids or immunosuppressive medication. A lung transplant may be tried. Outcomes are often poor with most people dying in months to years.
Bronchiolitis obliterans is rare in the general population. It affects about 75% of people by ten years following a lung transplant and up to 10% of people who have received a bone marrow transplant from someone else. The condition was first clearly described in 1981. Prior descriptions occurred as early as 1956.
Wind turbine syndrome or wind farm syndrome is a psychosomatic disorder primarily caused by anxiety generated by heightened awareness of turbines – the "nocebo effect" – prompted by proponents of the idea that wind turbines have adverse health effects. While proponents claim that a number of effects including death, cancer and congenital abnormality have been caused by wind farms, the distribution of recorded events correlates with media coverage of wind farm syndrome itself, and not with the presence or absence of wind farms. It is not recognised by any international disease classification system and does not appear in any title or abstract in the United States National Library of Medicine's PubMed database. The Center for Media and Democracy's "SourceWatch" website has identified at least one Australian fossil fuel industry funded astroturfing group as involved in promoting the idea of wind turbine syndrome. An investigation led to the foundation being stripped of its status as a health promotion charity.
Symptoms of CTE, which occur in four stages, generally appear 8 to 10 years after an athlete experiences repetitive mild traumatic brain injury.
First-stage symptoms include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as well as confusion, disorientation, dizziness, and headaches. Second-stage symptoms include memory loss, social instability, impulsive behavior, and poor judgment. Third and fourth stages include progressive dementia, movement disorders, hypomimia, speech impediments, sensory processing disorder, tremors, vertigo, deafness, depression and suicidality.
Additional symptoms include dysarthria, dysphagia, cognitive disorder such as amnesia, and ocular abnormalities, such as ptosis.
The condition manifests as dementia, or declining mental ability, problems with memory, dizzy spells or lack of balance to the point of not being able to walk under one's own power for a short time and/or Parkinsonism, or tremors and lack of coordination. It can also cause speech problems and an unsteady gait. Patients with DP may be prone to inappropriate or explosive behavior and may display pathological jealousy or paranoia.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease found in people who have had multiple head injuries. Symptoms may include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. This typically does not begin until years after the injuries. It often gets worse over time and can result in dementia. It is unclear if the risk of suicide is altered.
Most documented cases have occurred in athletes involved in contact sports such as football, wrestling, ice hockey, and soccer. Other risk factors include being in the military, prior domestic violence, and repeated banging of the head. The exact amount of trauma required for the condition to occur is unknown. Definitive diagnosis can only occur at autopsy. It is a form of tauopathy.
As of 2017 there is no specific treatment. Rates of disease have been found to be about 30% among those with a history of multiple head injuries. Population rates, however, are unclear. Research into brain damage as a result of repeated head injuries began in the 1920s, at which time the condition was known as "punch drunk". Changing the rules in some sports has been discussed as a means of prevention.
The incubation period of the chikungunya virus ranges from one to twelve days, and is most typically three to seven. The disease may be asymptomatic, but generally is not, as 72% to 97% of those infected will develop symptoms. Characteristic symptoms include sudden onset with high fever, joint pain, and rash. Other symptoms may occur, including headache, fatigue, digestive complaints, and conjunctivitis.
Information gained during recent epidemics suggests that chikungunya fever may result in a chronic phase as well as the phase of acute illness. Within the acute phase, two stages have been identified: a viral stage during the first five to seven days, during which viremia occurs, followed by a convalescent stage lasting approximately ten days, during which symptoms improve and the virus cannot be detected in the blood. Typically, the disease begins with a sudden high fever that lasts from a few days to a week, and sometimes up to ten days. The fever is usually above and sometimes reaching and may be biphasic—lasting several days, breaking, and then returning. Fever occurs with the onset of viremia, and the level of virus in the blood correlates with the intensity of symptoms in the acute phase. When IgM, an antibody that is a response to the initial exposure to an antigen, appears in the blood, viremia begins to diminish. However, headache, insomnia and an extreme degree of exhaustion remain, usually about five to seven days.
Following the fever, strong joint pain or stiffness occurs; it usually lasts weeks or months, but may last for years. The joint pain can be debilitating, often resulting in near immobility of the affected joints. Joint pain is reported in 87–98% of cases, and nearly always occurs in more than one joint, though joint swelling is uncommon. Typically the affected joints are located in both arms and legs, and are affected symmetrically. Joints are more likely to be affected if they have previously been damaged by disorders such as arthritis. Pain most commonly occurs in peripheral joints, such as the wrists, ankles, and joints of the hands and feet as well as some of the larger joints, typically the shoulders, elbows and knees. Pain may also occur in the muscles or ligaments.
Rash occurs in 40–50% of cases, generally as a maculopapular rash occurring two to five days after onset of symptoms. Digestive symptoms, including abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea, may also occur. In more than half of cases, normal activity is limited by significant fatigue and pain. Infrequently, inflammation of the eyes may occur in the form of iridocyclitis, or uveitis, and retinal lesions may occur.
Temporary damage to the liver may occur.
Rarely, neurological disorders have been reported in association with chikungunya virus, including Guillain–Barré syndrome, palsies, meningoencephalitis, flaccid paralysis and neuropathy. In contrast to dengue fever, Chikungunya fever very rarely causes hemorrhagic complications. Symptoms of bleeding should lead to consideration of alternative diagnoses or co-infection with dengue fever or coexisting congestive hepatopathy.
A robovirus is a zoonotic virus that is transmitted by a rodent vector (i.e., "ro"dent "bo"rne).
Roboviruses mainly belong to the Arenaviridae and Hantaviridae family of viruses. Like arbovirus ("ar"thropod "bo"rne) and tibovirus ("ti"ck "bo"rne) the name refers to its method of transmission, known as its vector. This is distinguished from a clade, which groups around a common ancestor. Some scientists now refer to arbovirus and robovirus together with the term ArboRobo-virus.
The characteristic symptoms of dengue are sudden-onset fever, headache (typically located behind the eyes), muscle and joint pains, and a rash. The alternative name for dengue, "breakbone fever", comes from the associated muscle and joint pains. The course of infection is divided into three phases: febrile, critical, and recovery.
The febrile phase involves high fever, potentially over , and is associated with generalized pain and a headache; this usually lasts two to seven days. Nausea and vomiting may also occur. A rash occurs in 50–80% of those with symptoms in the first or second day of symptoms as flushed skin, or later in the course of illness (days 4–7), as a measles-like rash. A rash described as "islands of white in a sea of red" has also been observed. Some petechiae (small red spots that do not disappear when the skin is pressed, which are caused by broken capillaries) can appear at this point, as may some mild bleeding from the mucous membranes of the mouth and nose. The fever itself is classically biphasic or saddleback in nature, breaking and then returning for one or two days.
In some people, the disease proceeds to a critical phase as fever resolves. During this period, there is leakage of plasma from the blood vessels, typically lasting one to two days. This may result in fluid accumulation in the chest and abdominal cavity as well as depletion of fluid from the circulation and decreased blood supply to vital organs. There may also be organ dysfunction and severe bleeding, typically from the gastrointestinal tract. Shock (dengue shock syndrome) and hemorrhage (dengue hemorrhagic fever) occur in less than 5% of all cases of dengue, however those who have previously been infected with other serotypes of dengue virus ("secondary infection") are at an increased risk. This critical phase, while rare, occurs relatively more commonly in children and young adults.
The recovery phase occurs next, with resorption of the leaked fluid into the bloodstream. This usually lasts two to three days. The improvement is often striking, and can be accompanied with severe itching and a slow heart rate. Another rash may occur with either a maculopapular or a vasculitic appearance, which is followed by peeling of the skin. During this stage, a fluid overload state may occur; if it affects the brain, it may cause a reduced level of consciousness or seizures. A feeling of fatigue may last for weeks in adults.
Chikungunya is an infection caused by the chikungunya virus (CHIKV). Symptoms include fever and joint pain. These typically occur two to twelve days after exposure. Other symptoms may include headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, and a rash. Most people are better within a week; however, occasionally the joint pain may last for months. The risk of death is around 1 in 1,000. The very young, old, and those with other health problems are at risk of more severe disease.
The virus is spread between people by two types of mosquitos: "Aedes albopictus" and "Aedes aegypti". They mainly bite during the day. The virus may circulate within a number of animals including birds and rodents. Diagnosis is by either testing the blood for the virus's RNA or antibodies to the virus. The symptoms can be mistaken for those of dengue fever and Zika fever. After a single infection it is believed most people become immune.
The best means of prevention is overall mosquito control and the avoidance of bites in areas where the disease is common. This may be partly achieved by decreasing mosquitoes' access to water and with the use of insect repellent and mosquito nets. There is no vaccine and no specific treatment as of 2016. Recommendations include rest, fluids, and medications to help with fever and joint pain.
While the disease typically occurs in Africa and Asia, outbreaks have been reported in Europe and the Americas since the 2000s. In 2014 more than a million suspected cases occurred. In 2014 it was occurring in Florida in the continental United States but as of 2016 there was no further locally acquired cases. The disease was first identified in 1952 in Tanzania. The term is from the Kimakonde language and means "to become contorted".
Dengue can occasionally affect several other body systems, either in isolation or along with the classic dengue symptoms. A decreased level of consciousness occurs in 0.5–6% of severe cases, which is attributable either to inflammation of the brain by the virus or indirectly as a result of impairment of vital organs, for example, the liver.
Other neurological disorders have been reported in the context of dengue, such as transverse myelitis and Guillain–Barré syndrome. Infection of the heart and acute liver failure are among the rarer complications.
A pregnant woman who develops dengue may be at a higher risk of miscarriage as well as low birth weight and premature birth.
Rodent borne disease can be transmitted through different forms of contact such as rodent bites, scratches, urine, saliva, etc. Potential sites of contact with rodents include habitats such as barns, outbuildings, sheds, and dense urban areas. Transmission of disease through rodents can be spread to humans through direct handling and contact, or indirectly through rodents carrying the disease spread to ticks, mites, fleas (arboborne.
A 2011 literature review stated that wind turbines can be associated with some health effects, such as sleep disturbance, and argued that the health effects reported by those living near wind turbines were probably caused not by the turbines themselves but rather by "physical manifestation from an annoyed state."
Eighteen research reviews about wind turbines and health, published since 2003, all concluded that there was very little evidence that wind turbines were harmful in any direct way.
A meta study published in 2014 concluded:
- Infrasound is emitted by wind turbines. The levels of infrasound at customary distances to homes are typically well below audibility thresholds.
- Components of wind turbine sound, including infrasound and low-frequency sound, have not been shown to present unique health risks to people living near wind turbines.
- Among the cross-sectional studies of better quality, no clear or consistent association is seen between wind turbine noise and any reported disease or other indicator of harm to human health.
- Annoyance associated with living near wind turbines is a complex phenomenon related to personal factors. Noise from turbines plays a minor role in comparison with other factors in leading people to report annoyance in the context of wind turbines
In Ontario, Canada, the Ministry of the Environment created noise guidelines to limit wind turbine noise levels 30 metres away from a dwelling or campsite to 40 dB(A). These regulations also set a minimum distance of for a group of up to five relatively quiet [102 dB(A)] turbines within a radius, rising to for a group of 11 to 25 noisier (106-107 dB(A)) turbines. Larger facilities and noisier turbines would require a noise study.
Modern wind turbines produce significantly less noise than older designs. Turbine designers work to minimise noise, as noise reflects lost energy and output. Noise levels at nearby residences may be managed through the siting of turbines, the approvals process for wind farms, and operational management of the wind farm.