Transbronchial diagnosis of unexposed lung tumours is challenging in clinical practice. Although modified transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) is used for this purpose, the diagnostic yield is unsatisfactory. In such cases, conventional endobronchial ultrasonography with a guide sheath and transbronchial biopsy (TBB) is also ineffective. We found TBB was feasible by placing a guide sheath with a thin transbronchial needle into the tumours. We report two cases of unexposed tumours diagnosed successfully with this technique. Case 1 presents a typical carcinoid in the peripheral lung. Case 2 presents a squamous cell carcinoma at the third bifurcation of the right lung. TBB samples obtained this way were larger than TBNA samples. Moreover, multiple TBBs were possible once the guide sheath was inserted intratumourally. In the modern era of precision medicine, larger amounts of tissues are required for multiple downstream analyses. This novel technique will make a significant contribution towards diagnosing unexposed lung tumours.Pulmonary mucormycosis (PM) is a rare opportunistic fungal infection that commonly affects immunocompromised patients. Early diagnosis and initiation of appropriate anti-fungal therapy are crucial, as delay in diagnosis leads to increased mortality. However, the diagnosis is often challenging because of the lack of utility of serum markers and low culture sensitivity. Definitive diagnosis often requires invasive tissue sampling, which may delay treatment. Therefore, chest imaging findings play an important role in the diagnosis of suspected cases. This case highlights the importance of classic reverse halo sign and presence of necrotizing cystic changes resulting in spontaneous pneumothorax in a patient who was later found to have invasive PM.Tracheobronchial stenosis secondary to endobronchial tuberculosis (TSTB) is a rare but debilitating complication of endobronchial tuberculosis (EBTB). Topical mitomycin-C (TMC) has been successfully utilized to restore airway patency and to prevent recurrence of TSTB, although little is known about its exact efficacy. Here, we report the biggest case series to date involving seven patients who received TMC as part of multimodality endoscopic treatment for TSTB with varying levels of success. All patients presented with dyspnoea during or after treatment completion for pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). Four patients had short-segment concentric membranous TSTB while two patients had concurrent bronchomalacia. Another one patient had a thick fibrotic band adjacent to luminal opening. We hypothesize that TMC is more efficacious in short membranous stenosis without concurrent bronchomalacia and/or thick fibrotic bands. More studies are needed to bridge the current gaps in knowledge regarding the optimal role and benefits of TMC for TSTB patients.Secondary spontaneous pneumothoraces are associated with a variety of lung disorders. Malignancy is a rare cause of a pneumothorax and rarely the presenting feature. Cavitating primary tumours are less frequent causes of pneumothoraces than secondary tumours. We present the case of an asymptomatic spontaneous pneumothorax in a 71-year-old never-smoking woman. Her right apical pneumothorax was diagnosed by chance on a chest radiograph for a fall. Her final diagnosis was a primary spindle cell sarcoma of the pleura. This case demonstrates the need to explore the underlying causes of a non-resolving pneumothorax. The early diagnosis of her sarcoma allowed curative treatment.The Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia), a threatened species in Canada, breeds primarily in banks at lakeshores and rivers and in artificial (typically inland) aggregate mining pits. Inland pits may be ecological traps for this species, but relative dietary trade-offs between these two nesting habitats have not been investigated. The availability of aquatic emergent insects at lakeshores may have associated nutritional benefits for growing nestlings due to increased omega-3 fatty acids (FAs) in prey. We compared the diets of juvenile swallows from lakeshore and inland pit sites using assays of stable isotope values (δ13C, δ15N, δ2H) of feathers, faecal DNA metabarcoding and blood plasma FAs. Colony proximity to Lake Erie influenced the use of aquatic versus terrestrial insects by Bank Swallow adults and juveniles. Feather δ2H was particularly useful as a tracer of aquatic emergent versus terrestrial prey, and inland juveniles had feathers enriched in 2H, reflective of diets composed of fewer aquatic emergent insects.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/opicapone.html  DNA metabarcoding of juvenile and adult faecal material indicated that lakeshore birds consumed more aquatic-emergent chironomids than inland birds. Lakeshore juveniles had elevated plasma omega-3 eicosapentaenoic acid levels compared with inland pit-breeding birds. We discuss the need to consider 'nutritional landscapes' and the importance of this concept in conservation of declining species and populations.Older individuals exhibit a diminished ability to respond to and clear respiratory pathogens and, as such, experience a higher rate of lung infections with a higher mortality rate. It is unclear why respiratory pathogens impact older people disproportionately. Using human lung tissue from donors aged 22-68 years, we assessed how the immune cell landscape in lungs changes throughout life and investigated how these immune cells respond following in vitro exposure to influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2, two clinically relevant respiratory viruses. While the frequency of most immune cell subsets profiled in the human lung remained stable with age, memory CD8+ T cells declined, with the tissue-resident memory (Trm) CD8+ T-cell subset being most susceptible to age-associated attrition. Infection of lung tissue with influenza virus resulted in an age-associated attenuation in the antiviral immune response, with aged donors producing less type I interferon (IFN), GM-CSF and IFNγ, the latter correlated with a reduction of IFNγ-producing memory CD8+ T cells. In contrast, irrespective of donor age, exposure of human lung cells to SARS-CoV-2, a pathogen for which all donors were immunologically naïve, did not trigger activation of local immune cells and did not result in the induction of an early IFN response. Our findings show that the attrition of tissue-bound pathogen-specific Trm in the lung that occurs with advanced age, or their absence in immunologically naïve individuals, results in a diminished early antiviral immune response which creates a window of opportunity for respiratory pathogens to gain a greater foothold.