'Iatrogenic septic pit': empyema, a rare complication after endobronchial valve placement.

Objective: Patients with severe emphysema who do not experience relief with non-invasive therapies such as medication and physical activity may need advanced treatments. Bronchoscopic lung volume reduction using endobronchial valves (EBV) is an alternative therapy that may improve exercise capacity and quality of life in carefully selected cases. This treatment is less invasive compared to lung reduction surgery or transplants.Clinical presentation: In this case report, a rarely described complication after EBV insertion is presented: empyema. Conclusion: However EBV has advantages in selected cases, it can be associated with different complications such as pneumothorax, valve migration, and pneumonia.

Combined Spectroscopic Analysis of Beads from the Tombs of Kindoki, Lower Congo Province (Democratic Republic of the Congo).

Raman spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis are commonly applied to archaeological objects as a fast and nondestructive way to characterize the materials. Here, micro-Raman spectroscopy and chemometrics on handheld XRF results were used to completely characterize beads found during archaeological excavations in the Congo. Metallic objects, organogenic materials, and glass beads were studied. Special attention was paid to the glassy materials, as they seem to be of European production. The matrix family and crystalline phases assemblage, as well as the results from principal components analysis on the elemental data, were used to define groups of beads of similar composition, and therefore probably of similar origin. This research project establishes the feasibility of this approach to archaeological glasses, and can be used to confirm and support the bead typologies used by archaeologists.