[en] To examine the pattern of thyroid cancer, assess the magnitude of the problem, and evolve a management plan for such malignancies. This is a retrospective cohort study of all thyroid cases operated at Aseer Central Hospital, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, between January 1998 and December 2007. Clinical presentations, management regimens, and recurrence were reviewed. Five hundred and sixteen patients were operated for different thyroid lesions. Ninety-two (17.8%) were malignant (20 males and 72 females). Mean age for males was 41.35 +/- 15.52 years compared to 36.59 +/- 13.28 years for females. Papillary carcinoma constituted 50%, while follicular carcinoma formed only 4.3% of malignant cases. Lymphoma ranked third with only 1.1% of all malignant thyroid lesions. No cases of medullary carcinoma were found. Of 92 patients, 75 reported for follow-up. The recurrence rate for follow-up patients was 29 (31.5%). High resolution neck ultrasonography and image-guided fine needle aspiration cytology should be considered as routine investigative tools in patients with suspicious thyroid swelling. Total thyroidectomy and removal of all lymph nodes in the central compartment of the neck seem to be the ideal management plan, until such trials emerge. Residual thyroid tissues, following surgery, should be ablated using radioiodine I131 isotope (Author).

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[en] This work deals with the theoretical study of the asphalt based solids leaching. A unified descriptive model has been developed in order to take advantage of the available knowledge and to propose an evolution of the model to leaching conditions the most general possible (series of free swelling phases and of forced swelling phases). The proposed approach consists to answer analytically and numerically the model for two limit cases (free swelling and initially forced), in order to reveal the influence parameters and to explain why it is expected that the phenomenologies differ. (O.M.)

[en] The author observed and analyzed the age, sex, chief complaint and radiographic finding of sixty-one cases of benign odontogenic tumors seen in Yonsei Medical Center, for the period of Jan. 1979 to Aug. 1989. The results were as follows: 1. Benign odontogenic tumors of 61 cases included 52 cases (85.3%) of ameloblastoma and odontoma, and 9 cases of other lesions. Radiographically, the border of the lesions were well-defined. 2. Ameloblastoma constituting twenty-seven cases (44.3%) occurred the average age of 31.1 years and had a 3:1 male predominance. The most common complaint was swelling (20 cases, 74.0%) and followed by pain (13 cases, 48.2%). Radiographically, the most common site was mandibular body area (74.0%) and the lesions were mainly multiocular radiolucency; in 17 cases (63.0%) and unilocular radiolucent lesion were seen in 10 cases (37.0%). 16 cases (59.3%) showed the resorption of roots of adjacent teeth. 3. Odontoma constituting twenty-five cases (41.0%) discovered at the average age of 16.9 years and had a 3:2 male predominance. The most common complaint was delayed eruption of tooth (8 cases, 31.0%) and 7 cases (27.0%) detected on a routine radiograph of the area. Radiographically, 17 cases (68.0%) were of compound type and 8 were of complex variety and compound odontomas were common in the anterior maxilla, whereas complex odontomas occurred more frequently in the posterior mandible. 19 cases (76.0%) showed the impaction of adjacent teeth.

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[en] Popliteal venous aneurysm is a rare cause of recurrent pulmonary embolism, although the true incidence of aneurysm is probably underestimated. One-third of patients suffer further embolic events despite therapeutic anticoagulation. We report the case of a 59-year-old male who presented with recurrent PEs over a period of 12 years despite anticoagulation therapy. A thrombophilia screen and abdominal ultrasound were normal at that time. He reattended with recurrent pulmonary emboli, left calf swelling, and a mass in his left popliteal fossa causing limitation of knee movement. Venous duplex and MRI of his popliteal fossa demonstrated a thrombosed true popliteal venous aneurysm with popliteal and superficial femoral vein occlusion. In view of the mass effect we proceeded to surgical excision of his aneurysm after prophylactic placement of an IVC filter. The patient regained normal knee function with intensive inpatient physiotherapy. He has been recommenced on lifelong anticoagulant. The presentation, investigation, and management of the condition are briefly discussed. We suggest that a bilateral lower limb duplex is performed to exclude venous aneurysm in all patients presenting with pulmonary embolism in which an underlying source cannot otherwise be identified and no thrombophilic tendency is detected.

[en] The aim of the present thesis was to define and evaluate a strategy for identification of children who are at risk of developing progressive renal lesions after acute pyelonephritis. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation standards were elaborated to improve the interpretation of DMSA scintigraphy. The normal DMSA distribution pattern, the average background uptake, and scintigraphic kidney length according to age were assessed in 95 presumably healthy kidneys. Furthermore, typical DMSA distribution patterns in acute pyelonephritis were assessed on 65 kidneys in 38 children, and typical DMSA distribution patterns of 152 kidneys with VUR in 101 children with and without previous pyelonephritis. Measurement of scintigraphic kidney length, width and volume was validated in piglets and on a kidney phantom. The scintigraphic kidney length was found to be an accurate measure of renal size, whereas kidney width and volume were less reliable, at least on small kidneys. Criteria of kidney swelling in acute pyelonephritis were defined, and found to be beneficial for identifying reinfections in the absence of clinical symptoms. In 34 children with acute pyelonephritis quantitative and qualitative DMSA scintigraphic findings were correlated to clinical symptoms and laboratory data, in the acute stage and at follow up. We found that quantitative DMSA scintigraphy in the acute stage of pyelonephritis and again after one year will identify children who are at risk of developing progressive renal lesions. Qualitative assessment of DMSA distribution pattern is not reliable enough in this respect. 116 refs., 7 figs

[en] Microgels are cross-linked soft particles with a three-dimensional network structure that are swollen in a good solvent. Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAAm)-based microgels have attracted great attentions for their temperature responsive property, particularly in recent years, pNIPAAm-based microgel films were utilized as a new kind of thermoresponsive surface to tune cell attachment/detachment behavior via temperature stimuli. However, some results are not consistent, for example, different polymerization conditions may bring out different results even for pure pNIPAAm microgel. This work aims to find out which factor plays the critical role for successful cell detachment on the pNIPAAm-based microgel films. The results unraveled that the structure and swelling ratio of the microgel rather than the film thickness plays a key role on the successful cells detachment, unlike linear pNIPAAm films in which the cells’ attach/detach property is only determined by the film thickness. For poly(N-isopropylacrylamide–styrene) microgel film, NIH3T3 cells could only detach when the microgel has a uniform structure and the volume dilatation of the microgel (20/38 °C) is larger than 4.