The etiology of foreign bodies found during aspiration of the respiratory airways of children

Departamentul Pediatrie USMF „Nicolae Testemiţanu”The aspiration of foreign bodies into the respiratory airways in children is an important cause of death and raises the risk of severe pulmonary diseases. The aim of the study was to evaluate the etiological, clinical and endoscopic effects on children undergoing foreign body aspiration. We present a retrospective study of 38 cases of bronchial foreign body in children, who presented in the pulmonary pediatric clinic during 2011-2012 they had a median age of 3.6 years +/- 0.2. Foreign body aspiration frequently is presented as a paediatric emergency and sunflower seeds are the commonest cause. Aspiraiţia de corpi străini în căile respiratorii la copii este o cauză importantă de deces si are riscuri majore de maladii pulmonare severe. Scopul nostru a fost studierea particularităţilor etiologice, clinico-evolutive si endoscopice la copiii cu corp străin endobronşic. Se prezintă un studiu descriptiv a 38 de cazuri de corp străin în bronhii la copii cu vârsta de 3,26±0,2 ani. Corpii străini bronşici prezintă o urgenţă pediatrică frecventă cauzată preponderent de aspiraţii cu seminţe de floarea-soarelui

Canine granulomatous meningoencephalitis: a case report and review of the literature

Canine granulomatous meningoencephalomyelitis (GME) is a subtype of a large group of idiopathic central nervous system diseases with a relatively high incidence (up to 25%) among dogs with central nervous system affection (Tipold, 1995). Neurological presentation of GME can vary from focal to multifocal, or ocular form. Histologically, GME is characterized by focal, disseminated or perivascular mononuclear cells spreading in the white matter and meninges (Coates and Jeffery, 2014). The aim of the current case report is to describe the pathological findings and to discuss the diagnostic features of this disease. Therefore, we should further emphasize the importance of this disease in current veterinary practice

Canagliflozin and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes and nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to <90 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area and albuminuria (ratio of albumin [mg] to creatinine [g], >300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of <15 ml per minute per 1.73 m2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P<0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P<0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years

Assessment of the Anthropogenic Impact and Distribution of Potentially Toxic and Rare Earth Elements in Lake Sediments from North-Eastern Romania

Chemical analysis was performed on sediment samples collected in two sampling sessions (July and October) from Podu Iloaiei Dam Lake, one of the most important water resources used for aquaculture in north-eastern Romania. The concentration of 15 trace elements (TEs), 8 refractory elements (REs), and 15 rare earth elements (REEs)—determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry—showed variability largely dependent of the sampling points and collection time. Manganese was the most abundant TE, V and Cr were the most abundant REs, while Ce was one of the most abundant REEs. The cerium negative anomaly and Gd positive anomaly were observed in the Chondrite-normalized distributions. In October, the Ce anomaly showed significant negative correlation with Mn, emphasizing the water body oxidation potential. The identified positive Gd anomaly was most likely associated with the use of Gd-chelating agents in magnetic resonance imaging in Iasi, the largest medical hub in north-eastern Romania. Principal component analysis extracted three factors explaining 96.0% of the observed variance, i.e., rock weathering, leaching from soil surface, contributions from urban stormwater and atmospheric deposition (50.9%), pedological contributions (23.7%), and mixed anthropogenic sources (e.g., traffic, waste discharge, agricultural activities; 21.4%). The evaluation of pollution indices highlighted low and moderate degrees of contamination for most of the elements and a considerable degree of contamination for Cd. Assigned Cd sources included fertilizers and pesticides used in the near agricultural areas or the high traffic road located near the lake. Since contamination of aquatic ecosystems with harmful elements is a human health concern, further monitoring of specific vectors in the food chain of the investigated dam lake will be of the utmost importance