Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) may be more frequent in patients with particular types of septal deformities. The aim of this article was to investigate the incidence of particular types of septal ...deformities in adult CRS patients and healthy volunteers in various countries to determine whether some of them are more frequent in those groups.
This international multicentric study involved 505 subjects from five countries: Croatia, Romania, Italy, Russia, and Turkey. The types of septal deformities were observed and grouped according to the Mladina classification. Subjects were examined by means of native anterior rhinoscopy, anterior rhinoscopy after decongestion, and fiber endoscopy with topical anesthesia. CRS patients have been diagnostically proved by computed tomography scanning of the paranasal sinuses.
Considering the CRS patients, the prevalence of so-called vertical deformities (types 2, 3, and 4) was seen. Among them, type 3 deformity was found most frequently in Turkey, Croatia, Italy, and Romania.
Type 3 deformity has been found frequently in CRS patients in all five of the countries. Russian subjects exhibited a high frequency of type 4 deformity. Because this type consists of types 2 and 3, the later, again, has been proven to be prevalent in CRS patients also in this group of patients.
Chronic cough (cough persisting more than 3 weeks) is the one of the most common presenting symptom in adults seeking medical care. Given the fact that the variety of diseases that can produce this ...symptom is great, the correct management of chronic cough should include a close cooperation between pneumologist, gastroenterology specialist and otorhinolaryngology specialist, in another words a multidisciplinary approach. The purpose of this article is to reveal this symptom from the otolaryngologist perspective, emphasising on the main diseases involved, and also on the diagnosis and treatment alternatives of chronic cough.
Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MMSCs) are plastic-adherent cells with a well-established phenotype. Equine, but not human, adipose MMSCs have been characterized ultrastructurally. The purpose ...of our study was to evaluate ultrastructurally the adipose-derived human MMSCs. Cell cultures were prepared from human lipoaspirate. The flow cytometry evaluation of surface markers of cultured cells confirmed the expected profile of MMSCs, that were positive for CD73, CD90 and CD105, and negative for CD34 and CD45. We examined these human adipose-derived MMSCs in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) by Epon en-face embedding the fixed MMSCs. The main ultrastructural features of MMSCs were the extremely rich content of endosomal/vesicular elements, long mitochondria, dilated RER (rough endoplasmic reticulum) cisternae, and abundant intermediate filaments and microtubules. We found two types of MMSCS prolongations: (a) thick processes, with opposite, vesicular and filaments-rich, sides and (b) slender processes (pseudopodes and filopodes), with occasional proximal dilated segments housing mitochondria, vesicles and secretory granules. These TEM features of MMSCs characterized an in vitro cell population and could use to distinguish between different cell types in culture.
To evaluate the outcomes of endoscopic LASER assisted dacryocystorhinostomy without stenting, a total of 39 patients (41 eyes) with complains of epiphora and diagnosed with nasolacrimal duct ...obstruction were included in a prospective study. All the patients had the same preoperative assessment, including radiological and ophthalmologic evaluation, with repeated lacrimal washouts, to confirm the postsacal obstruction. The surgical technique's goal was to create a wide opening of the medial wall of the sac, using drilling of the frontal process of the maxillary bone and some of the lacrimal bone, incision of the lacrimal sac and the radial vaporisation of the incision margins performed with Diode LASER, in order to create a 0.7 - 1 cm opening in the medial wall of the sac. Patients were examined endoscopically, at postoperative intervals of 1 month, 3 month, 6 and 9 month minimum (follow-up period ranged between 9 to 21 months, average 11, 8 months). We obtained a good permeability of the opening of the lacrimal sac in 87.8% of our cases (36 eyes). 5 patients (12.2%) required re-evaluation of the medial sac wall area and re-intervention using different methods. The success criteria were considered the patient's relief of symptoms and the endoscopic visualization of a patent stoma. In conclusions, in the hands of an experienced surgeon, endoscopic LASER assisted dacryocystorhinostomy without stenting compares favourably with other techniques.
Cervical intranodal schwannoma – a rare diagnosis Mirea, Daniel; Manea, Marius Claudiu; Bejinariu, Nona Ionela ...
Romanian journal of morphology and embryology,
01/2022, Volume:
63, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Open access
Intranodal schwannoma is a rare benign tumor, which originates from the peripheral nerve sheath (Schwann cells), fewer cases being reported with lymphatic involvement. We present the case of a ...middle-aged female patient, with one-year growing mass in the lateral-cervical area, in intimate relation with the vascular package of the neck. Preoperative cervical computed tomography examination showed the tumor features. There was no intraoperative complication, with the piece being completely removed. The morphological examination revealed the structure of a lymph node, and after Hematoxylin–Eosin staining, there were eosinophilic cytoplasm, euchromatic nuclei, with round, elongated or slightly wavy form and reduced pleomorphism, rare degenerative nuclear atypia, and no mitotic activity nor necrosis. The expression of S100 protein on immunohistochemistry, along with negative results for smooth muscle actin and desmin sustained the diagnosis of intranodal schwannoma of the neck. With a low index of cellular proliferation (Ki67), this case is in line with the reported features of schwannoma having extremely rare malignant transformation.
Currently, hydroxyapatite is probably the most researched material, due to its multiple applications in medical, environmental, or cultural heritage, when the classical structure is modified and ...calcium is displaced partially or totally with different metals. By changing the classical structure of the hydroxyapatite, new morphologies can be obtained, thus allowing final applications different from those of the initial hydroxyapatite material. However, their properties should be tuned for the desired application. In this context, the present paper describes the synthesis and characterization (through energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, FTIR, thermal analysis, and transmission electron microscopy) of iron oxide/manganese-containing phosphatic phase composite materials, developed in order to obtain the enhancement of final environmental applications (photodegradation of dyes, adsorption of organic compounds). The composite material was tested for photocatalytic properties, after embedding in hydrosoluble film-forming materials. Photocatalytic coatings show different activity during the photodecomposition of Methylene Blue, used as a model of a contaminant. The photocatalytic activities of the materials were discussed in relationship with both the phosphatic materials and the magnetic components. Finally, other environmental applications were studied for the developed materials (adsorption of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs—paracetamol and ibuprofen), revealing an enhancement of the adsorption capacity of the phosphatic material upon addition of the magnetic phase.
The rising concern for the environment and the need for a sustainable economic model has stimulated experimentation in the field of construction materials, notably in replacing certain components ...from cementitious materials with construction and demolition waste. The main objective of this study is to replace a significant proportion of natural aggregates with glass waste, in the composition of plastering mortars, and to observe the evolution of physical–mechanical characteristics in the fresh state: apparent density, consistency, and segregation tendency, and in the hardened state: apparent density, flexural strength, compression strength, and adhesion to the substrate, across time, at 3, 7, 14, and 28 days. SEM and EDX tests were also performed to observe the microscopical characteristics. The experimental program studied four types of plastering mortars: the reference mortar—CS IV, and three mortars in which aggregates have been replaced with glass waste in the following proportions, by mass: 15%, 30%, and 45%. Results obtained on fresh properties (apparent density and consistency) indicate a decrease in values as the percentage of glass increases, with the exception of the mortar with 30% aggregated glass replacement. The flexural strength and the compressive strength were improved by replacing 30% of the aggregates with glass waste and were not significantly impacted by a replacement of 15%. Mechanical properties decreased at a replacement level of 45%. All glass aggregate mortars had lower adhesion strength to the brick substrate than the reference mortar by up to 70%. SEM and EDX analyses showed the morphology of the studied mortars and the processes taking place to increase mechanical strength. Further research directions are proposed, including studying the glass particles, the occurrence of alkali–silica reactions, durability, and improvement of adhesion to the substrate, for progressing towards the most viable, locally sourced, waste-containing plastering mortar.
The management of waste, resulting in high amounts from different production processes, often raises special problems. This is also the case for sludge, generated in increasing amounts from the ...chemical pickling of steel pipes. This article presents the results of laboratory experiments regarding the micro filler effect of sludge generated by chemical pickling of steel pipes and analyzes its capacity to be a pozzolanic material. The study involved the performance of mechanical tests (specific surface of the powder; compressive mechanical strengths) and chemical tests (determination of the general chemical composition of cement and sludge using the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) method; determination of oxides in the chemical composition of sludge by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES); X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the sludge and cement used). This topic was addressed because recycling of sludge, by using it for the manufacture of new building materials, takes advantage of the waste resulting from the pickling of steel pipes that-until now-has generated large volumes without a specific use.
Today, the wish to maintain and improve living conditions worldwide has led to a particular focus on ecology issues in all areas of activity, including construction. The research demonstrates that it ...is possible to solve major problems in the management of plastic waste materials by recycling, and to obtain new building materials. In this study, the optimal recipes for the manufacture of ecological mortars by PVC waste recycling were established. Mortars containing PVC waste have the advantage that their production is less polluting, as it does not involve high energy consumption. The study presented in this paper is finalized with the development of new building materials.
The composition of mortars was improved since ancient times, even using natural fibers, or natural polymers. The physico-chemical, mechanical and elastic properties of the fiber-reinforced ...cement-based materials depend on the fiber’s properties (shape, contents and orientation) and the properties of the matrix. Given the wide range of fibers available for experimental use which can be embedded in the cementitious matrix, an important aspect is to estimate the properties of the composite before investigating. Virtual manufacturing reduces the need for laboratory tests and thus saves raw materials, but special computer programs are needed for the preliminary simulation of the behavior of newly-designed materials. This paper introduces a computer modeling approach to simulate the effect of the different types of short fibers on the traditional cement-based mortar properties and to compare the obtained values with the experimental test results.
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