Pulmonary involvement of Brucellosis: a report of six cases

Background:Pulmonary involvement of brucellosis rarely occurs due to inhalation of infected aerosol or hematogenous overspreading. Objective The study aimed to reveal the pulmonary manifestations of brucellosis that occur rarely in Brucella infections in the context of six cases in this report. Methods: Between 1998-2008, 82 patients with brucellosis treated and followed up at infectious diseases clinic have been retrospectively studied in relation to their clinical and laboratory findings and treatment results. Results: Patients’ (n=6) age ranged from 48 to 59 years and they showed equal gender distribution. All patients presented with fever and cough. Radiological examination showed pneumonic patches and consolidation in two cases, bilateral glass round opacity in four cases, perivascular and peribronchial thickness increase in two cases, pleural effusion in two cases, sentri-acinar emphysematous images in one patient, and athelectasis in one patient. Blood cultures of three patients grew Brucella spp. . All patients responded to treatment containing doxycycline, rifampicin and streptomycin (for only one patient) within seven to 10 days and were treated for six weeks except for one patient for who was treated eight weeks due to hepatosplenic rucellosis. Conclusion: Pulmonary involvement of brucellosis has good prognosis with combined antimicrobial therapy.Key words: Brucellosis, pulmonary, manifestation

Tuberculous Meningitis: A Report of 60 Adult Cases

Objective: This was to evaluate the history, clinical and laboratory findings, outcome and prognosis of patients with tuberculous meningitis (TBM). Method: Between 1998 and 2009, 60 patients with TBM were evaluated, retrospectively. Results: Overall, 60 patients were selected, of which 33 (55%) were male. The patients’ age ranged from 14 to 62 years. In the majority of the patients, disease was in an advanced stage on admission (66% in stage III according to the British Research Council neurological criteria). The rate of complications was highest among patients in stages II and III with an overall mortality rate of 6.6% (n = 2 of stage II patients and n = 2 of stage III patients). Conclusions: Earlier admission of the patients with TBM could provide better outcomes with regard to sequelae and mortality. Fatal cases presented with rapid deterioration and were refractory to treatment. Keywords: Mortality, sequelae, staging, tuberculous meningiti

Sodium borohydride hydrolysis-mediated hydrogenation of carbon dioxide, towards a two-step production of formic acid

International audienc

Thermal degradation characteristic of Tetra Pak panel boards under inert atmosphere

Thermal degradation characteristics of Tetra Pak panel boards (TPPB) can be useful to improve usage of such panels as an alternative to wood-based products such as plywood, fiberboard, and particleboard. In the study, samples from the TPBBs manufactured from waste Tetra Pak packages (WTPP) were heated in a nitrogen atmosphere at different heating rates (10, 15 and 20 degrees C/min) using a thermal analysis system. The Coats-Redfern kinetic model was applied to calculate kinetic parameters. The degradation rate equations were then established. In addition, the kinetic compensation effect (KCE) was used to correlate the pre-exponential factor (k(o)) with activation energy (E-a) and the existence of the KCE was accepted. TG-FT/IR analyses were applied to the TPPB degradation and then the FT-IR stack plot was used to analyze gas products (CO2, CH4, HCOOH, and CH3OH). Infrared vibrational frequencies and the micro, crystal structure of the TPPBs were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-Ray diffraction analysis (XRD), respectively