Renal cancer and Wegener's granulomatosis: a case report

Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) is a systemic disorder characterized by necrotizing vasculitis involving the respiratory tract, and in most cases, the kidneys. The most common manifestation of WG in the kidneys is segmental necrotizing glomerulonephritis. The presence of a renal mass as a manifestation of WG is rare. We report a patient with WG in whom a CT scan revealed an infiltrating mass in the lower portion of the left kidney. After surgical exploration, we performed an open radical nephrectomy. Histopathology showed clear cell type renal cell carcinoma (RCC). RCC associated with WG has been reported in only a few cases, and in most of them, the diseases started simultaneously, suggesting common pathogenetic pathways. Long-term immunosuppressive treatment is a known risk factor in the development of malignancies, so occurrence of RCC in WG has been proposed as a side effect of cyclophosphamide treatment. Furthermore, it is important to make a differential diagnosis between RCC and pseudotumors in WG as they cannot be distinguished solely on basis of imaging findings. Due to the higher risk of urologic malignancies, more frequent checkups and screening of WG patients should be considered

The influence of tin and silver as microstructure modifiers on the corrosion rate of Pb-Ca alloys in sulfuric acid solutions

The effect of microstructure modifiers, Sn and Ag, on the corrosion rate of commercial Pb-Ca alloy in H(2)SO(4) electrolyte was investigated by the potentiodynamic polarization and by the weight loss corrosion rate measurement at the open circuit potential. The effect of microstructure modification of the Pb-Ca alloy, provoked by the alloying with tin and silver as well as by the proper thermo-mechanical treatment, is recorded by optical microscopy. The weight loss experiments have shown three- to five-fold decreases in the corrosion rate of ternary Pb-Ca-Sn and quaternary Pb-Ca-Sn-Ag alloys, compared to the results for primary Pb-Ca alloy. It is largely in accordance with the results of potentiodynamic polarization measurements that showed comparable decrease in the passive current density of the modified alloys. The obtained results are discussed in terms of the synergetic effect of the addition of modifiers and the thermo-mechanical treatment on to the Pb-Ca alloy microstructure refinement, and accordingly the increase in their corrosion resistance

Bochdalek hernia in adults – A case report

© 2018, Inst. Sci. inf., Univ. Defence in Belgrade. All rights reserved. Introduction. Asymptomatic Bochdalek hernia in adults is a rarity. The aim of this paper is to present a rare case of Bochdalek hernia among adults and to point out to significance of clinical suspicion and important role of imaging techniques in reaching the exact diagnosis of this abnormality. Case report. A patient, aged 68 years, came to the Clinic of Pulmonology complaining of constant dyspnea, coughing and fatigue. Computed tomography (CT) findings were dominated by the large rear right diaphragmatic hernia with the hernial sac that reached the carina trachea and urged the principal bronchi. The stomach, duodenum and proximal part of jejunal winds, as well as a greater amount of omental and mesenteric adipose tissue were localized in hernial sac. Radiography of gastroduodenum showed: entry of the esophagus into the cardia was in the level of the right main bronchus. Stomach was mainly located in the chest (cardia, upper corpus half - to the level of the right main bronchus). Operation was indicated. First, we made right thoracotomy and the hernia sac was separated from the right lung and then we performed median laparotomy and the contents of the hernia sac were returned to the abdominal cavity; diaphragm defect was reconstructed with prolen mesh. Conclusion. We presented a rare case of right sided Bochdalek hernia which was discovered at late age and surgically treated with success

Multi-physical processes in geomechanics – an introduction to constitutive modelling and coupling aspects

This paper is the basis for a course dedicated to the geomechanics modelling, taking into account multiphysics couplings. A number of different coupling are discussed, with respectively the fluid flow (saturated and unsaturated) and the thermal transfers in deformable porous media. Eventually some aspects on the numerical modelling with the finite element method are discussed