Pulmonary Hydatid Cyst with Complicating Aspergillus Infection Presenting as a Refractory Lung Abscess

Background Hydatid disease is rare in the United States. Rarely the hydatid cyst can become infected with mycotic organisms, such as Aspergillus . We describe a young male who presents with clinical features of suppurative lung abscess whose workup diagnosed hydatid cyst complicated by Aspergillus co-infection. Case presentation A 27-year-old Peruvian male was hospitalized because of fever, chills, and productive cough of three months’ duration. Clinical features were consistent with a suppurative lung abscess. Significant findings included leukocytosis with eosinophilia and a chest x-ray showing a large lingular lobe thick walled cavity with a wavy irregular fluid level. The patient ultimately underwent surgical resection of the lingular lobe. Examination of the surgical specimen revealed the cavity to be a hydatid cyst. Histologic examination of the cyst wall showed intense inflammation and several septate hyphae of Aspergillus species. The patient recovered fully and has remained in good health. Conclusion A thick-walled cavity and a wavy meniscus constitute unusual features for an ordinary pyogenic lung abscess and suggests other possibilities. Endogenous cases of hydatid disease are uncommon in the United States, with the majority of cases occurring in immigrants. There are few published case reports describing incidental findings of Aspergillus in a hydatid cyst. The rare occurrence of such a condition can lead to a delay in diagnosis and treatment

Luxación Traumática de Cadera en el Niño

La luxación traumática de cadera en el niño es una lesión poco frecuente. Los autores presentan un caso de luxación anterior de cadera en un niño de 4 años producida por traumatismo mínimo. La exploración realizada en urgencias mostró impotencia funcional para la deambulación y gran dolor. El seguimiento ha sido de 18 meses tras los cuales el paciente no presenta complicaciones. Exponen su experiencia en el caso y revisión de la bibliografía.Traumatic hip dislocation of the hip is rare in children. The authors report a case of anterior hip dislocation in a 4-year-old boy who received relatively minor trauma. He was unable to walk and was in severe pain when seen in emergency room. He was followed-up for 18 months and no complications have appeared. They report here their experience with one case and review the literature

The late-Variscan peraluminous Valdepeñas pluton (southern Central Iberian Zone)

The Valdepeñas pluton is the easternmost outcrop of the Cáceres-Valdepeñas magmatic alignment (southern Central Iberian Zone). This massif is constituted by a cordierite-bearing porphyritic monzogranite and may be grouped within the so-called “Serie Mixta” granitoids. The Valdepeñas monzogranite is of magnesian [FeOt/(FeOt+MgO)~0.76], alkali-calcic [(Na2O+K2O)–CaO=7.8–8.5] and peraluminous (A/CNK=1.14–1.20). Multielemental- and REE-normalized patterns are comparable to those of similar rocks in the Nisa- Alburquerque-Los Pedroches magmatic alignment, and slightly differ from those of the Montes de Toledo batholith, both in the southern Central Iberian Zone. The U-Pb zircon age of 303±3Ma is consistent with the late-orogenic character of the intrusion and is in accordance with most of the granitic peraluminous intrusions in the southern Central Iberian Zone.  86Sr/87Sr300Ma ratios (0.707424–0.711253), εNd300Mavalues (-5.53 to -6.68) and whole-rock major and trace element compositions of the studied rocks, suggest that the parental magma of the Valdepeñas monzogranite could derive from a crustal metaigneous source. The U-Pb ages (552–650Ma) of inherited zircon cores found in Valdepeñas monzogranite samples match those often found in Lower Paleozoic metavolcanics and granitic orthogneisses of Central Iberia and, furthermore, point to Upper Neoproterozoic metaigneous basement rocks as possible protoliths at the magma source. Based on the solubility of monazite in peraluminous melts, the estimated emplacement temperature of the studied monzogranite is 742–762ºC. The results obtained in this work would contribute to a better understanding of the origin of the “Serie Mixta” granitoids

Comparison of ibuprofen release from minitablets and capsules containing ibuprofen: β-Cyclodextrin complex

NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Eur J Pharm Biopharm. 2011 May;78(1):58-66. Epub 2010 Dec 30.Mixtures containing ibuprofen (IB) complexed with b-cyclodextrin (bCD) obtained by two complexation methods [suspension/solution (with water removed by air stream, spray- and freeze-drying) and kneading technique] were processed into pharmaceutical dosage forms (minitablets and capsules). Powders (IB, bCD and IBbCD) were characterized for moisture content, densities (true and bulk), angle of repose and Carr’s index, X-ray and NMR. From physical mixtures and IBbCD complexes without other excipients were prepared 2.5-mm-diameter minitablets and capsules. Minitablets were characterized for the energy of compaction, tensile strength, friability, density and IB release (at pH 1.0 and 7.2), whereby capsules were characterized for IB release. The results from the release of IB were analyzed using different parameters, namely, the similarity factor (f2), the dissolution efficiency (DE) and the amounts released at a certain time (30, 60 and 180 min) and compared statistically (a = 0.05). The release of IB from the minitablets showed no dependency on the amount of water used in the formation of the complexes. Differences were due to the compaction force used or the presence of a shell for the capsules. The differences observed were mostly due to the characteristics of the particles (dependent on the method considered on the formation of the complexes) and neither to the dosage form nor to the complex of the IB

Difficult Scenarios for NMSSM Higgs Discovery at the LHC

We identify scenarios not ruled out by LEP data in which NMSSM Higgs detection at the LHC will be particularly challenging. We first review the `no-lose' theorem for Higgs discovery at the LHC that applies if Higgs bosons do not decay to other Higgs bosons - namely, with L=300 fb^-1, there is always one or more `standard' Higgs detection channel with at least a 5 sigma signal. However, we provide examples of no-Higgs-to-Higgs cases for which all the standard signals are no larger than 7 sigma implying that if the available L is smaller or the simulations performed by ATLAS and CMS turn out to be overly optimistic, all standard Higgs signals could fall below 5 sigma even in the no-Higgs-to-Higgs part of NMSSM parameter space. In the vast bulk of NMSSM parameter space, there will be Higgs-to-Higgs decays. We show that when such decays are present it is possible for all the standard detection channels to have very small significance. In most such cases, the only strongly produced Higgs boson is one with fairly SM-like couplings that decays to two lighter Higgs bosons (either a pair of the lightest CP-even Higgs bosons, or, in the largest part of parameter space, a pair of the lightest CP-odd Higgs bosons). A number of representative bench-mark scenarios of this type are delineated in detail and implications for Higgs discovery at various colliders are discussed.Comment: 31 pages, 5 figure

EML4-ALK translocation identification in RNA exosomal cargo (ExoALK) in NSCLC patients: a novel role for liquid biopsy

The introduction of druggable targets has significantly improved the outcomes of non-small cell lung cancer patients (NSCLC). EML4-ALK translocation represents 4–6% of the druggable alterations in NSCLC. With the approval of Crizotinib, first discovered drug for the EML4-ALK translocation, on first line treatment for patients with detected mutation meant a complete change on the treatment landscape. The current standard method for EML4-ALK identification is immunohistochemistry or FISH in a tumor biopsy. However, a big number of NSCLC patients have not tissue available for analysis and others are not suitable for biopsy due to their physical condition or the location of the tumor. Liquid biopsy seems the best alternative for identification in these patients that have no tissue available. Circulating free RNA has not been validated for the identification of this mutation. As a complementary tool, exosomes might represent a good tool for predictive biomarkers study, and due to their stability, they preserve the genetic material contained in them. Our group has described for the first time the translocation EML4-ALK in RNA isolated from exosomes derived from NSCLC patients using next generation sequencing

Correlación secuencial de los depósitos del Cenomanense inferior y medio del Sistema Central, Cordillera Ibérica y Catalánides

Se correlaciona detalladamente el Cenomanense inferior y medio a lo largo de una transversal Este-Oeste a la Cuenca Ibérica, desde el Sistema Central hasta las Catalánides, identificándose ocho litosomas con rango de Miembro. Se identifica un conjunto inferior terrígeno, con tres Miembros, y otro superior principalmente dolomítico en el que se distinguen cinco Miembros; se reconoce además la presencia de cuatro Capas de margas (Chera, Pinarueco, Poveda y Pozuel). Este conjunto inferior terrígeno se incluye en la Fm. Arenas de Utrillas, y el conjunto superior dolomítico en la Fm. Dolomías de Cortes de Pallás. Estos materiales corresponden a dos secuencias deposicionales de 3er orden: Una basal, solo presente en la zona central, y formada casi exclusivamente por depósitos costeros, que se interpreta en función de datos regionales como una secuencia deposicional menor de 4. orden (parasecuencia). Y otra superior, mejor desarrollada y limitada por dos discontinuidades de extensión regional; en esta se pueden diferenciar hasta cuatro secuencias deposicionales menores, de 4º orden (parasecuencias), formadas, a su vez, por secuencias de orden menor (5º y 6º) que permiten interpretar las parasecuencias en términos de Cortejos Sedimentarios, en este caso de 42 orden. La parte superior de los materiales estudiados, principalmente calcárea, se interpreta como un Cortejo Sedimentario transgresivo (TST) y de alto nivel del mar (HST), correspondiente a un ciclo eustático de 3er orden, el cual estaría compuesto por Cortejos Sedimentarios menores de bajo nivel del mar (LST), transgresivos (TST) y de alto nivel del mar (HST) de 4º orden. La parte basal, principalmente margosa, se interpreta en parte, como el Cortejo de bajo nivel del mar (LST) que corresponde al ciclo de 3er Orden descrito anteriormente y en parte, al borde de un HST de 3541 orden infrayacente, sólo representado aquí por su parte más alta y en facies mas somera

Testing the interaction of dark energy to dark matter through the analysis of virial relaxation of clusters Abell Clusters A586 and A1689 using realistic density profiles

Interaction between dark energy and dark matter is probed through deviation from the virial equilibrium for two relaxed clusters: A586 and A1689. The evaluation of the virial equilibrium is performed using realistic density profiles. The virial ratios found for the more realistic density profiles are consistent with the absence of interaction.Comment: 16pp 1 fig; accepted by GeR

Distribución de los espesores del aluvial de la zona de Zaragoza, análisis de la influencia kárstica

En este trabajo se analiza el desarrollo anómalo de espesores del aluvial cuaternario en las proximidades de la ciudad de Zaragoza. Los modelos de espesor y posición del substrato permiten identificar la presencia de un espacio sedimentario creado en relación con la disolución de evaporitas en el subsuelo. Estas anomalías forman depresiones topográficas cerradas y sin continuidad lateral, que no presentan relación con los cauces actuales fluviales. Localmente estos sectores presentan espesores de materiales aluviales anómalos de varias decenas de metros. La influencia de la mezcla de aguas en la confluencia de distintos acuíferos y la presencia de sales más solubles en el subsuelo produjeron una topografía irregular del substrato. El desarrollo actual de dolinas en la zona es mayor en aquellos sectores asociados a mayores espesores del aluvial, permitiendo identificar una actividad kárstica de amplio desarrollo temporal. Anomalous Quaternary alluvial thickness development is analyzed in the surroundings of the Zaragoza city. Thickness and substratum position models allow identifying the presence of space creation due to evaporite solution that produced anomalous thickness or substratum topographic depressions. These depressions do not show a correlation with actual rivers and they develop closed topographic depression without lateral continuity. Locally these sectors can exhibit anomalous thickness of several tens of meters. The influence of water mixing in the confluence of different aquifers and the presence of more soluble salts in the subsoil develops an irregular topography of the substratum.Actual karst activity is identified with a higher development over sectors linked to anomalous alluvial thickness identifying a long record of karst activity in such sectors