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Mediastinal masses originate from the structures of the mediastinum or neck organs and can represent primary benign or malignant tumors, as well as metastases. In most cases, they are detected through radiological imaging, such as an X-ray of the enlarged mediastinum. In the differential diagnostic approach, the acronym "the terrible T" (thymoma, teratoma, terrible lymphoma, and thyroid) is useful. A retrosternal goiter with its compressive effect can lead to changes in the voice, difficult speaking, tracheal compression, and potentially superior vena cava syndrome. Additionally, visualization techniques, thyroid hormones, and tumor markers can be helpful in the diagnostic process. We presented a patient who, during a meal, stopped eating, lost consciousness, and experienced asystole. Due to a chest injury sustained during resuscitation, a computerized tomography (CT) scan was performed. The CT scan revealed a nodular formation in the right lobe of the thyroid gland that extends through the upper thoracic aperture behind the sternum, exerting a pronounced compressive effect on the trachea. Based on the examination, it was concluded that the patient has a goiter with retrosternal and mediastinal extension, accompanied by thyrotoxicosis, which was most likely induced by the iodine contrast agent. Thyrostatic therapy was initiated, followed by surgical treatment of the retrosternal goiter. Computed tomography is the most accessible form of imaging for preoperative assessment of goiter position and its extent, while surgery remains the gold standard for treating symptomatic retrosternal goiters.

Bilateral adrenal tumors are a rare pathology, increasingly detected due to the widespread use of diagnostic imaging procedures such as ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These changes can be either malignant or benign, with the potential for autonomous hormone production. Historically, tuberculosis was a leading cause of bilateral adrenal changes due to lower socio-economic status and poor hygiene. In this case, the patient was diagnosed with hypertension at 38 years old, and initial considerations included secondary endocrine causes of hypertension, specifically primary aldosteronism. CT imaging revealed bilaterally enlarged adrenal glands with multiple nodular changes showing absolute and relative washout indices characteristic of adenomas, with the largest measuring 17 x 23 mm on the right and 21 x 23 mm on the left. The patient had a history of hypokalemia, with the lowest recorded potassium level being 3.3 mmol/L. She reported spontaneous bruising on her arms and legs and weight gain in the abdominal area. Testing indicated the presence of ACTH-independent hypercortisolism. To precisely localize cortisol hypersecretion, adrenal vein sampling (AVS) was performed.

Adrenocortical carcinoma is a rare malignant disease, occurring in 0.5-2 per 1,000,000 cases annually. Clinical signs may arise due to autonomous hormonal hypersecretion by the tumor, but also due to local compressive symptoms in the abdomen. The success of treatment depends on early diagnosis, with the recommended treatment being definitive adrenalectomy. An essential strategy in the further treatment of such complex malignancies is chemotherapy with mitotane. Thanks to advancements in medical sciences and comprehensive research, there will be an improved approach in the detection and treatment of adrenocortical carcinomas. We presented a female patient who, during follow-up for operated colon adenocarcinoma, was incidentally found on CT to have a lesion in the right adrenal gland. Due to its size and results consistent with subclinical Cushing's syndrome, the lesion was operated on, and histopathological findings indicated adrenocortical carcinoma. Given the confirmed adrenocortical carcinoma, therapy with mitotane was initiated.

Graves' disease is an autoimmune disorder in which TSH receptor antibodies play the main pathogenic role. Besides the usual clinical presentation as hyperthyroidism, extrathyroidal manifestations can develop. Thyroid dermopathy is one of them and it is present in about 0.5-4.3% of cases, mostly in patients with thyroid orbitopathy as main extrathyroidal manifestation. Dermopathy can manifest in different forms: non-pitting edema, plaques, nodules and elephantiasis. We are reporting a case of a patient with thyrotoxicosis caused by Graves' disease with ocular extrathyroidal manifestation and dermopathy in elephantiasis form, confirmed by punch biopsy. Corticosteroid therapy significantly improved ocular manifestations, as well as skin lesions. Elephantiasis represents the most severe form of this disease and can be resistant to any treatment thus why it is a major therapeutic challenge.

Depending on intensity, physical exercise in horses causes various changes in the parameters of hematological, biochemical, acid-base, and electrolyte status, which can affect the health and athletic performance of the horse. This study’s objective was to look at how submaximal exercise at the end of the racing season affected the horses’ hematological, biochemical, acid-base, and electrolyte status markers. In this study, eight (n=8) trotters, aged 4±2 years, were involved. Venous blood samples were drawn from each horse by jugular puncture before and after exercise to determine hematologic, biochemical, acid-base and electrolyte parameters. The submaximal physical exercise in this study was two intervals of 2,000 m of slow trotting and two consecutive runs of 500 m at submaximal level. Hematocrit (HCT), red blood cell (RBC) and monocyte count, hemoglobin (HGB) concentration, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity, and glucose concentration increased significantly after the exercise. Additionally, significant decreases in venous blood pH, bicarbonate (HCO3-) and total CO2 (TCO2) concentration, base excess of the extracellular fluid (BEecf), and ionized Ca2+ (iCa2+) concentrations were established after exercise. In contrast, partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2), total concentration of weak acids (Atot), the anion gap (AG), and total protein and lactate concentrations were significantly higher after exercise. Considering the significant changes in the parameters of hematological, biochemical, and acid-base status after submaximal exercise, determining those parameters would be useful for monitoring the health and performance of trotters.

In this work, removal of heavy metals (Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, and Pb) from fly ash has been studied using acid leaching and wet oxidation methods. In parallel, microwave-assisted acid digestion was applied for determination of pseudo-total concentrations of heavy metals to estimate the leaching efficiency. Multivariate statistics (Pearson correlation, principal component analysis, and hierarchical cluster analysis) have shown two dominant groups of elements, depending on their characteristics and affinity towards the ash solid phase. Thus, Cr, Zn, Mn, Co, and Ni belong to the group I, while Pb, As, Cd, and Cu belong to the group II. It was demonstrated that the wet oxidation method was more suitable than acid leaching since the reduction in metal concentration was 30 to 75 % compared to 12 to 25 % obtained by acid digestion. The influence of fly ash treatment on the residue characteristics was investigated by X-ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy. The analyses revealed surface and structure changes of fly ash after the wet oxidation treatment. Overall, wet oxidation could be an appropriate treatment for heavy metal removal from fly ash, providing a material that could be further used, thus reducing the risk of pollution caused by the disposal of coal combustion fly ash.

Introduction: Increased plasma concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines are found in chronic schizophrenia patients, patients with first episode and in individuals with high risk for psychosis. The most replicated findings are increased concentrations of IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1β through different phases of the disorder while the results for two important proinflammatory cytokines IL8 and IFN-γ were not consistent. Objectives: Primary objective of this study was to assess differences in concentrations of IL-8, IFN-γ and IL-1β between schizophrenia patients and healthy controls, Secondary objective was to explore differences in first episode drug naïve patients. Methods: We measured plasma concentrations of IL-8, IFN-γ and IL-1β in 64 healthy controls and 64 schizophrenia patients during acute exacerbation and remission phase. 25% were drug naive first episode schizophrenia patients. The patients were matched by age, sex and body mass index and exclusion criteria included obesity class 2 or higher, any concomitant organic mental or neurological disorder, acute or chronic inflammatory disease, and use of immunomodulatory drugs or psychoactive substances. Results: Levels of IL-8 were significantly lower in patients with schizophrenia in acute phase and remission compared to healthy controls (p=0,009 for acute phase and p=0,020 for remission). There was no significant difference in the levels of INF-γ and IL-β between schizophrenia in acute phase and remission and healthy controls (p>0,05). In schizophrenia patients there was no difference in the levels of INF-γ, IL-β and IL-8 between acute phase, remission and healthy controls (p>0,05). There was no difference in plasma levels of IL-8, IFN-γ and IL-1β between first episode drug naïve and previously treated schizophrenia patients. Conclusions: Our research did not find disturbance of plasma levels of IFN-γ and IL-1β in schizophrenia patients, although the increase of IL-1β was the most replicated finding up to date. Interestingly and contrary to expected the finding of significantly decreased levels of IL-8 in schizophrenia patients requires further research since IL-8 plays a vital role in the inflammatory pathway and may be implicated in cognitive dysfunction. Disclosure of Interest: None Declared [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ruminant husbandry contributes to global methane (CH4) emissions and beside its negative impact on the environment, enteric CH4 emissions cause a loss of gross energy intake in cows. The study is aimed to estimate CH4 emission and metabolic status in dairy cows via the methane concentration profile as a tool for analyzing the CH4 production pattern. The study included eighteen cows whose enteric CH4 emission was measured during three consecutive days in three periods: 2 hours before (P1), 2–4 hours (P2) and 6–8 hours (P3) after the morning feeding. Based on CH4 enteric emissions, cows were divided into two groups (n=6, respectively): HM (average CH4 concentration: 5430.08 ± 365.92 ppm) and LM (average CH4 concentration: 1351.85 ± 205.20 ppm). Following CH4 measurement, on day 3, venous blood was sampled to determine the indicators of the metabolic status. HM cows had significantly higher average CH4 concentrations, maximum and average CH4 peak amplitude than LM cows in all measuring periods (P1-P3), while the number of CH4 peaks tended to be higher in HM than in LM cows in P2. There were no differences in the maximum and average CH4 peak width and average distance among two CH4 peaks between examined groups of cows. HM cows had significantly higher total protein concentrations and significantly lower total bilirubin and NEFA concentrations than LM cows. In conclusion, HM cows have a greater number of eructations and release more CH4 per eructation than LM cows, hence the differences in metabolic status are most likely related to the differences in their liver function.

Keratitis-ichthyosis-deafness (KID) syndrome is a rare congenital ectodermal dysplastic syndrome presenting with keratitis, ichthyosis and sensorineural hearing loss. The most common causes of KID syndrome are heterozygous missense mutations in the GJB2 gene that codes for connexin 26.