Incidental finding of 68Ga-PSMA uptake in covid-19 induced pneumonia

A 68 years old man with prostate carcinoma was referred for 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT scan because of recent significant rise of PSA. He complained of muscle weakness and fatigue, since 3 weeks before the scan, without dyspnea or shortness of breath. In his 68Ga-PSMA-617 PET/CT study, widespread skeletal metastasis, as well as liver involvement were noticed. Also, multiple bilateral patchy areas of ground glass opacities were noticed in peripheral areas of both lung fields, which showed typical pattern of covid-19 pneumonia. These lung lesions showed relatively significant PSMA uptake which were about twice of the liver uptake. Serology test which was performed later, confirmed covid-19 infection.

Sorption-enhanced Steam Methane Reforming for Combined CO2 Capture and Hydrogen Production: A State-of-the-Art Review

The European Commission have just stated that hydrogen would play a major role in the economic recovery of post-COVID-19 EU countries. Hydrogen is recognised as one of the key players in a fossil fuel-free world in decades to come. However, commercially practiced pathways to hydrogen production todays, are associated with a considerable amount of carbon emissions. The Paris Climate Change Agreement has set out plans for an international commitment to reduce carbon emissions within the forthcoming decades. A sustainable hydrogen future would only be achievable if hydrogen production is “designed” to capture such emissions. Today, nearly 98% of global hydrogen production relies on the utilisation of fossil fuels. Among these, steam methane reforming (SMR) boasts the biggest share of nearly 50% of the global generation. SMR processes correspond to a significant amount of carbon emissions at various points throughout the process. Despite the dark side of the SMR processes, they are projected to play a major role in hydrogen production by the first half of this century. This that a sustainable, yet clean short/medium-term hydrogen production is only possible by devising a plan to efficiently capture this co-produced carbon as stated in the latest International Energy Agency (IEA) reports. Here, we have carried out an in-depth technical review of the processes employed in sorption-enhanced steam methane reforming (SE-SMR), an emerging technology in low-carbon SMR, for combined carbon capture and hydrogen production. This paper aims to provide an in-depth review on two key challenging elements of SE-SMR i.e. the advancements in catalysts/adsorbents preparation, and current approaches in process synthesis and optimisation including the employment of artificial intelligence in SE-SMR processes. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is a clear gap in the literature where the above areas have been scrutinised in a systematic and coherent fashion. The gap is even more pronounced in the application of AI in SE-SMR technologies. As a result, this work aims to fill this gap within the scientific literature.

Association between Clinical Characteristics and Laboratory Findings with Outcome of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: A Report from Northeast Iran.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first discovered in December 2019 in China and has rapidly spread worldwide. Clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, and their association with the outcome of patients with COVID-19 can be decisive in management and early diagnosis. Data were obtained retrospectively from medical records of 397 hospitalized COVID-19 patients between February and May 2020 in Imam Reza Hospital, northeast Iran. Clinical and laboratory features were evaluated among survivors and nonsurvivors. The correlation between variables and duration of hospitalization and admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) was determined. Male sex, age, hospitalization duration, and admission to ICU were significantly related to mortality rate. Headache was a more common feature in patients who survived (p=0.017). It was also related to a shorter stay in the hospital (p=0.032) as opposed to patients who experienced chest pain (p=0.033). Decreased levels of consciousness and dyspnea were statistically more frequent in nonsurvivors (p=0.003 and p=0.011, respectively). Baseline white blood cell (WBC) count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were significantly higher in nonsurvivors (p < 0.001). Patients with higher WBC and CRP levels were more likely to be admitted to ICU (p=0.009 and p=0.001, respectively). Evaluating clinical and laboratory features can help clinicians find ways for risk stratifying patients and even make predictive tools. Chest pain, decreased level of consciousness, dyspnea, and increased CRP and WBC levels seem to be the most potent predictors of severe prognosis.