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Query: UMLS:C0032273 (pneumoconiosis)
 1,578 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Four cases of silicate pneumoconiosis are described in pigs raised near several chalk quarries and two cement works. The pulmonary changes were characterized by thickened alveolar septa, resulting in distorted airspaces, and small foci of initial fibrosis. In the bronchiolar and alveolar sites, as in the interstitium, free and intracytoplasmic dust was detected. An energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis coupled with a scanning electron microscope revealed that this dust was composed mainly of silicon, calcium, potassium, sulphur, aluminium and iron. In lung-associated lymph nodes, severe lymphoid cell depletion and dilatation of peritrabecular and subcapsular sinuses were constant findings. The inorganic material found in the lymph nodes contained the elements listed above. Air samples from the same geographical area revealed particulate pollutants, the qualitative features of which were similar to those found in lung and lymph nodal tissue. It is concluded that domestic animals raised in polluted environmental conditions represent an important biological source from which helpful data may be obtained for assessing risks to human health.
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PMID:Silicate pneumoconiosis in pigs: optical and scanning electron microscopical investigations with X-ray microanalysis. 804 Mar 88

This report focuses on the state of health of the cattle raised in the district of Taranto - city of Italy rated as environmentally at risk. Representative samples of lungs, bronchial and mediastinal lymph nodes of cattle from district of Taranto's slaughterhouses were collected. After a macroscopic examination, samples with marked lesions were processed for light microscopy. Samples were also observed with polarized light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and with microanalysis. The macroscopic examination revealed that 60 out of 183 samples showed marked lesions. Lung alterations were characterized by thickening of the alveolar septa and by the latter's modifying action on the alveolar spaces, foci of fibrosis and bronchopulmonary inflammation. For 51 out of the 60 samples observed, the histological examination confirmed the presence of pneumoconiosis and lymph nodal anthracosis. Energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis of lung samples identified a wide range of elements including silicon, aluminium, titanium, iron, carbon and small amount of the other metals. In the lymph-nodes the same kind of metals with a different levels of distribution was observed. Our survey on cattle farmed in areas at high risk of pollution may be helpful to the estimation of the exposure risk for man to environmental contaminants and to the evaluation of the occurrence of the pathological manifestations as well.
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PMID:Lesions associated with mineral deposition in the lymph nodes and lungs of cattle: a case-control study of environmental health hazard. 2043 Jul 32

The purpose of this study was to explore the accuracy of (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in the assessment of mediastinal lymph node in coal workers who had non-small cell lung cancer. We retrospectively reviewed 42 retired coal workers who had lung cancer without distant metastasis, between May 2007 and May 2010. Regarding the mediastinal lymph nodes, when the standard uptake value was greater than 2.5, it was considered "malignancy positive." After histological examination of the mediastinal lymph nodes, anthracotic and metastatic ones were detected. The results of PET/CT were analyzed to determine its accuracy. Of these 42 patients, PET/CT detected 47 positive mediastinal lymph nodes in 24 patients with a mean SUV maximum of 6.2 (2.6-13.8). One hundred and thirty-one mediastinal lymph node foci were dissected. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of FDG-PET/CT in detecting nodal metastases were 84% (16/19), 65% (15/23), 66% (16/24), 83% (15/18), and 74% (31/42) on a per-patient basis, respectively. Mediastinal node staging with FDG-PET/CT in coal workers is insufficient due to the high false-positive rates due to the presence of pneumoconiosis. In these patients, an invasive technique such as mediastinoscopy seems mandatory for confirmation of ipsilateral or contralateral mediastinal lymph node metastasis.
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PMID:Accuracy of positron emission tomography in mediastinal node assessment in coal workers with lung cancer. 2138 Jul 83