Soil Remediation Practices for Hydrocarbon and Heavy Metal Reclamation in Mining Polluted Soils

The study assessed the pollution, biodegradation rates, and phytoaccumulation of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs), Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), and Arsenic (As) in soils in the wet and dry seasons and compared them with set standards. Ten samples of 1kg each were randomly collected and mixed for each site that is the upgradient control site (10 strata design) and the downgradient contaminated site (16 strata design) to make a composite sample for each site. Three representative samples were collected and replicated for four months on both sites. Pot experiments were run with the same concentration levels of TPHs, Pb, As, and Cd. Each pot experiment was also replicated four times for tobacco compost, chicken droppings, Brassica juncea, and the control. Inductive Coupled Spectrometry, SPSS, ANOVA, t-test, normality, and post hoc tests were carried out for analysis. TPHs, Pb, As, and Cd concentrations were significantly higher (pPb>Cd>As. Bioremediation in a controlled experiment revealed that Chicken Droppings and Brassica juncea were effective in reclaiming TPHs, As, and Cd while Tobacco Compost was effective in reclaiming Pb. The highest mean concentrations of Pb, As, and Cd were found in Brassica juncea in the following increasing order: roots, stem, and leaves, respectively.

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Hypothalamic hypopituitarism secondary to suprasellar metastases from small cell lung cancer: a case report and review of the literature

Metastasis to the pituitary gland is an infrequent clinical problem, and the symptoms caused by metastases have been reported in only 2.5–18.2% of the cases. However, metastasis to the suprasellar lesion has r...

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Updates on autoinflammatory diseases

Narcisa Martinez-Quiles | Raphaela Goldbach-Mansky

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Symptomatic Primary Hyperparathyroidism as a Risk Factor for Differentiated Thyroid Cancer

Background. The primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is a common disease for the endocrinologist. The concomitant thyroid disease and differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) appear to be more frequent in patients with PHPT than in the general population. The aim of this study was to characterize patients with symptomatic PHPT with and without DTC and analyze frequency and risk factors. Methods. We consecutively studied patients with symptomatic PHPT diagnosed and treated at our center between 2013 and 2015. Patients with subclinical and syndromic forms of PHPT were excluded. Clinical and biochemical characteristics of patients with and without DTC were compared and risk factors were determined. All patients were studied with thyroid ultrasound and thyroid gammagraphy with TC-MIBI. Two expert surgeons performed all the surgical procedures. Results. In 59 patients included, we found 12 cases of PTC (20.3%). The final histopathological report of the PTC was 7 cases of follicular variant, 2 cases of oncocytic variant, 2 cases of classic variant, and 1 case of columnar cells variant of PTC. Patients with thyroid cancer were older than patients without thyroid cancer (62 ± 9.5 versus 52 ± 15.8, p = 0.03). Higher preoperative levels of iPTH were associated with PTC (p=0.03) [OR 5.16 (95% CI: 1.08-24.7)]. Conclusion. PTC is frequent in patients with symptomatic PHPT. Thyroid nodules in patients with symptomatic PHPT must be studied before parathyroidectomy. In symptomatic PHPT, higher level concentration of parathormone (PTH) was associated with higher risk of DTC.

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Association of antinuclear antibody status with clinical features and malignancy risk in adult-onset dermatomyositis

Antinuclear antibody testing is positive in most adults with dermatomyositis. There is a strong association between negative antinuclear antibody status and increased risk of underlying malignancy in adults with dermatomyositis. More frequent follow-up and malignancy screening may be warranted in adults with dermatomyositis and negative antinuclear antibody testing.

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Vulvar Paget disease: a national retrospective cohort study

Vulvar Paget disease is a rare skin disorder with unknown malignant potential. Recurrence rates are about 40%. The risk of developing invasive disease after a non-invasive diagnosis is 8%. Five-year disease specific survival of invasive disease is significantly worse than in non-invasive or micro-invasive disease: 50% versus 98%.

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Acne Vulgaris in Patients with Hidradenitis Suppurativa

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