Dong-Suk Lee

Fungus ball within a mucocele of the sphenoid sinus and infratemporal fossa: case report with radiological findings

OBJECTIVE We report an extremely rare case of a fungus ball within a mucocele of the sphenoid sinus and infratemporal fossa. CASE REPORT A 62-year-old woman was referred for evaluation of a mass lesion in the left sphenoid sinus and infratemporal fossa. Endoscopic examination of the nasal cavity was unremarkable. Computed tomography showed a non-enhancing, expansile mass with calcifications in the sphenoid and infratemporal fossa; T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging revealed marked hypointense signals within the sphenoid sinus mass, with an intermediate signal intensity. A presumptive diagnosis of a mucocele was made. During surgery, a profuse amount of yellow fluid was drained from the mucocele. Clay-like material was noted within the mucocele, corresponding to the hypointense magnetic resonance imaging signals; this was identified as aspergillus on histopathological examination. Radiological findings for a fungus ball within a mucocele can be similar to those for allergic fungal sinusitis, which shows mixed low and high attenuation on computed tomography and low-signal intensity on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, within an expansile, cystic lesion. CONCLUSION Although an association between a fungus ball and a mucocele is rare in the paranasal sinuses, this disease entity should be considered in the differential diagnosis of expansile, cystic sinus lesions.

Soil and Compost Type Affect Phosphorus Leaching from Inceptisol, Ultisol, and Andisol in a Column Experiment

A column leaching experiment using three soils (Inceptisol, Ultisol, and Andisol) and seven livestock manure composts that had different characteristics was conducted for 19 weeks to investigate the interactive effects of composts and soils on the phosphorus (P) leaching potential of compost-amended soils and to identify the principal variables that affect P leaching. Cumulative total P leaching (TPcum) tended to increase with increasing total and available P concentration in the soils. Among various compost properties, total P concentration was positively correlated with TPcum from the compost-amended soils, except for the Andisol, which has a high P-sorption capacity. There was no significant relationship between TPcum and water-extractable P concentration of the composts, suggesting that total P rather than inorganic P concentration of composts may be successfully used in predicting P leaching potential from compost-amended soils except for soils that have a high P-sorption capacity, as in Andisol.

The Role of Organic Amendments with Different Biodegradability in Ammonia Volatilization during Composting of Cattle Manure

This study was conducted to investigate the roles of co-existed organic materials (OM) with different biodegradability in composting of cattle manure in terms of emission and volatilization. Either sawdust (SD, low biodegradability) or rice bran (RB, high biodegradability) was mixed with cattle manure at a various rate and the amounts of emission and volatilization were determined periodically during 4 weeks of composting. Percentage of dry matter loss during the composting period was also calculated. The amount of emitted increased with increasing rate of OM and was significantly (P immobilization and thus decrease concentration that is susceptible to ammonia volatilization. Binding of on to phenolic compounds of SD may also contribute to the decrease in concentration. Meanwhile, as RB has a relatively low C/N ratio, remineralization of immobilized could increase concentration as high as the level for the occurrence of ammonia volatilization. Therefore, our study suggests that OM which is resistant to biodegradation can reduce volatilization largely by physico-chemical pathways across the entire composting period and that easily biodegradable OM can retard volatilzation via microbial immobilization in the early period of composting followed by rapid remineralization, leading to substantial volatilization of in the middle stage of composting.

Fly ash and zeolite amendments increase soil nutrient retention but decrease paddy rice growth in a low fertility soil

PurposeFly ash (FA) and zeolite (Z) are known to increase nutrient retention in paddy soils through the immobilization of phosphorus (P) by FA and nitrogen (N) by Z. However, there is a possibility that the co-application of the amendments may hamper rice growth due to reduced availability of the nutrients. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of the co-application of FA and Z on soil N and P availability and rice growth.Materials and methodsRice was cultivated in soils without the amendment (control) and with the amendment: FA alone, Z alone, and both FA and Z. Tiller number, dry matter (DM), rice uptake of N and P, and soil N and P concentrations were determined.Results and discussionThe application of FA and Z increased N and P concentrations in the soils; however, such increased nutrient retention did not translate to DM increases. Results suggested that reduced mobility of nutrients hampered tillering in the early growth period, eventually leading to a reduction in DM accumulation at the harvest. Due to the nutrient limitation caused by FA and Z, the rice grown with both FA and Z did not survive at the harvest.ConclusionsOur study shows that the application of FA and Z does not always improve rice growth due to nutrient limitation, especially in a low fertility soil. Furthermore, the co-application of FA and Z should be avoided, as the negative impact of FA or Z on nutrient limitation became more severe when FA and Z were co-amended.

Organised haematoma of the maxillary sinus in patients with chronic renal failure

OBJECTIVE Organised haematoma of the maxillary sinus may be present in chronic renal failure patients, because these patients are at high risk of haemorrhage. CASE REPORTS We present two cases of organised haematoma of the maxillary sinus in patients with chronic renal failure. CONCLUSION A diagnosis of organised haematoma of the maxillary sinus should be considered when a patient with a history of chronic renal failure develops unilateral, recurrent epistaxis and nasal obstruction.