TETHERED CORD IN THE ADULT MIMICKING THE LUMBAR DISC SYNDROME - REPORT OF 2 CASES

Two adult patients with tethered cords whose symptoms mimicked those of lumbosacral intervertebral disc herniation are reported. Neither one of the patients had cutaneous stigmata, and one had normal plain x-ray examination of the spine. Magnetic resonace imaging in both patients demonstrated tethering of the cord. Untethering of the cord resulted in disappearance of the symptoms in both patients. These unusual cases suggest that tethering of the cord must be included in the differential diagnosis of the herniated lumbar intervertebral disc syndrome

pneumonia

Objectives: To present lung ultrasound findings in children assessed with suspected pneumonia in the emergency department and to show the benefit of lung ultrasound in diagnosing pneumonia in comparison with chest X-rays.Methods: This observational prospective study was performed in the pediatric emergency department of a single center. Point of care lung ultrasound was performed on each child by an independent sonographer blinded to the patient's clinical and chest X-ray findings. Community acquired pneumonia was established as a final diagnosis by two clinicians based on the recommendations in the British Thoracic Society guideline.Results: One hundred sixty children with a mean age of 3.3 +/- 4 years and a median age of 1.4 years (min-max 0.08-17.5 years) were investigated. Final diagnosis in 149 children was community-acquired pneumonia. Lung ultrasound findings were compatible with pneumonia in 142 (95.3%) of these 149 children, while chest X-ray findings were compatible with pneumonia in 132 (88.5%). Pneumonia was confirmed with lung ultrasound in 15 of the 17 patients (11.4%) not evaluated as compatible with pneumonia at chest X-ray. While pneumonia could not be confirmed with lung ultrasound in seven (4.6%) patients, findings compatible with pneumonia were not determined at chest X-ray in two of these patients. When lung ultrasound and chest X-ray were compared as diagnostic tools, a significant difference was observed between them (p = 0.041).Conclusions: This study shows that lung ultrasound is at least as useful as chest X-ray in diagnosing children with community-acquired pneumonia. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Absolute and geometric parameters of contact binary GW Cnc

We present the results of our investigation on the geometrical and physical parameters of the W UMa type binary system GW Cnc. We analyzed the photometric data obtained in 2010 and 2011 at Ankara University Observatory (AUO) and the spectroscopic data obtained in 2010 at TUBITAK National Observatory (TUG) by using the Wilson-Devinney (2013 revision) code to obtain the absolute and geometrical parameters. We derived masses and radii of the eclipsing system to be M-1 = 0.257 M-circle dot, M-2 = 0.971 M-circle dot, R-1 = 0.526 R-circle dot and R-2 = 0.961 R-circle dot with an orbital inclination i(degrees) = 83.38 +/- 0.25 and we determined the GW Cnc system to be a W-type W UMa over-contact binary with a mass ratio of q = 3.773 +/- 0.007. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

The diffusion of nimesulide gel into synovial fluid: a comparison between administration routes

Background: Nimesulide is available in gel formulation and applied mainly for topical pain management. However, its passage to the synovial fluid is not yet clear. The aim of this study was to evaluate if topical administered nimesulide passes into the synovial fluid and to compare its concentration with the oral nimesulide administration regimen