280 one-opposition near-Earth asteroids recovered by the EURONEAR with the <i>Isaac Newton</i> Telescope

Context. One-opposition near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) are growing in number, and they must be recovered to prevent loss and mismatch risk, and to improve their orbits, as they are likely to be too faint for detection in shallow surveys at future apparitions. Aims. We aimed to recover more than half of the one-opposition NEAs recommended for observations by the Minor Planet Center (MPC) using the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) in soft-override mode and some fractions of available D-nights. During about 130 h in total between 2013 and 2016, we targeted 368 NEAs, among which 56 potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs), observing 437 INT Wide Field Camera (WFC) fields and recovering 280 NEAs (76% of all targets). Methods. Engaging a core team of about ten students and amateurs, we used the THELI, Astrometrica, and the Find_Orb software to identify all moving objects using the blink and track-and-stack method for the faintest targets and plotting the positional uncertainty ellipse from NEODyS. Results. Most targets and recovered objects had apparent magnitudes centered around V ~ 22.8 mag, with some becoming as faint as V ~ 24 mag. One hundred and three objects (representing 28% of all targets) were recovered by EURONEAR alone by Aug. 2017. Orbital arcs were prolonged typically from a few weeks to a few years; our oldest recoveries reach 16 years. The O−C residuals for our 1854 NEA astrometric positions show that most measurements cluster closely around the origin. In addition to the recovered NEAs, 22 000 positions of about 3500 known minor planets and another 10 000 observations of about 1500 unknown objects (mostly main-belt objects) were promptly reported to the MPC by our team. Four new NEAs were discovered serendipitously in the analyzed fields and were promptly secured with the INT and other telescopes, while two more NEAs were lost due to extremely fast motion and lack of rapid follow-up time. They increase the counting to nine NEAs discovered by the EURONEAR in 2014 and 2015. Conclusions. Targeted projects to recover one-opposition NEAs are efficient in override access, especially using at least two-meter class and preferably larger field telescopes located in good sites, which appear even more efficient than the existing surveys

Retrosternal plunged goiter – experience of Surgical clinic 2, Timișoara

Scopul lucrării. Prezentarea experienței Clinicii 2 Chirurgie Timișoara în tratamentul chirurgical al gușilor retrosternale. Materiale și metode. Acesta este un studiu retrospectiv făcut între anii 2015 – 2022 la pacienţii cu guşă retrosternală operaţi în Clinica 2 Chirurgie. Rezultate. Studiul a inclus 95 pacienţi, dintre care 73 (76,8%) femei şi 22 (23,2%) bărbaţi. Cincizeci si opt (61.0%) pacienți au fost cu vârstă peste 60 ani. Saizeci si opt (71.6%) pacienti au fost tipul I, 21 (21.1%) au fost tipul II si 6 (6.3%) au fost tipul III. Doar 5 (5.3%) guşi au fost maligne: 2 carcinoame papilare, 2 carcinoame medulare şi unul limfom non-Hodgkin. La 5(5.3%) cazuri cu hipertiroidie a fost nevoie de tratament preoperator pentru ca pacienţii să fie aduşi în starea de eutiroidie. În acest studiu 100% din guşi au fost excizate doar prin cervicotomie, nu a fost necesară sternotomia sau toracotomia. Au fost complicaţii: hemoragie la 3(3.1%) cazuri (unul dintre ele necesitând reintervenţia), hipocalcemie transitory la 19(20.0%) pacienti şi 13(13.7%) cazuri cu paralizie recurențială tranzitorie. Concluzii. Guşa retrosternală plonjanta poate fi manageriata prin cervicotomie în marea majoritate a cazurilor, sternotomia sau toracotomia fiind necesare doar excepțional.Aim of study. To present the experience of 2nd Surgical Clinic of Timisoara about surgical treatment of retrosternal goiters. Materials and methods. This is a retrospective study between 2015 and 2022 of the patients with RSG operated in Surgical Clinic No2. Results. There were 95 patients, including 73(76.8%) females and 22(23.2%) men. Fifty-eight patients (61.0%) were older than 60 years. Sixty-eight (71.6%) was type I, 21(22.1%) was type II and 6(6.3%) was type III. Only 5 (5.3%) goiters were malignant: 2 papillary carcinoma, 2 medullary carcinoma and one non Hodgkin lymphoma with B cell. Five cases (5.3%) with hyperthyroidism needed preoperatory treatment in order to achieve normal thyroid hormones values. In this study 100 % of the goiters were removed only with the use of cervical approach, no sternotomy or thoracotomy. There were complications: hemorrhage in 3(3.1%) cases (one requiring reoperation), 19(20.0%) had transient hypocalcemia and 13(13.7%) transitory recurrent laryngeal nerve paresis. Conclusions. Retrosternal goiter can be managed by cervical approach in vast majority of cases, sternotomy is an exceptional option