To investigate the variability in primary tumour volume in nasopharyngeal carcinoma and compare it with the tumour staging of the 1997 American Joint Committee on Cancer.
Prospective study.
Tertiary ...care centre.
A series of 33 newly diagnosed patients who were treated with high-dose radiotherapy participated in the study.
Using computed tomographic scans, primary tumour volumes were measured using the summation-of-areas technique, and the variability in tumour volume was determined. The Mann-Whitney test was used for statistical analysis.
A large variation in primary tumour volume was observed, especially in advanced-stage cases.
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma shows considerable variability in primary tumour volume. Incorporation of primary tumour volume may lead to further refinement of the 1997 tumour staging system.
Primary mediastinal yolk sac tumor is rare. In this report, a case of a 32-year-old male with a mediastinal yolk sac tumor was studied by light, electron, and immunofluorescent microscopy. A positive ...immunofluorescent reaction to alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) correlated with the PAS-positive hyaline globules and electron-dense deposits seen in intracellular and extracellular locations. Serum AFP is a useful tumor marker for monitoring the results of therapy. Review of the literature indicates that the prognosis for patients with yolk sac tumor is generally poor.
Sixteen cases of breast fibroadenomas and 11 of adenosis were studied ultrastructurally; emphasis was placed on the patterns of myoepithelial differentiation and the number and appearance of the ...basal laminae. Ducts of both fibroadenomas and adenosis showed well differentiated, peripherally arranged myoepithelial elements with conspicuous cytoplasmic filaments and numerous hemidesmosomes; focal myoepithelial multilayering occurred. Myoepithelial cells exhibited complex, convoluted cytoplasmic processes extending into the stroma and resulting in the formation of pseudocysts containing stromal material. Basal lamina deposition was invariably found; basal lamina reduplication was extremely frequent. Basal lamina discontinuities with cytoplasmic processes extending directly into the stroma were seen in adenosis. Myoepithelial features and conspicuous basal lamina deposition indicate advanced differentiation and correlate well with the benign prognosis of these lesions. The focal basal lamina gaps in adenosis may be significant in the long-term evolution of this and similar dysplastic processes.
Comprehensive measurements of the dependence of the weld width, penetration depth, and joint strength on the Au coating thickness in laser welding techniques for semiconductor laser packages are ...presented. The results obtained from the Invar-Invar joints show that the welded joints with thick Au coating exhibit narrower weld width, shallower penetration, and hence less joint strength than those the package joints with thin Au coating. A finite-element method (FEM) has been carried out on the effect of Au thickness on laser beam penetration in Invar-Invar joints. This method has been employed successfully to predict the laser beam penetration in laser welded Au-coated materials that the weld width and the penetration depth are reduced as the Au coating thickness increases. The likely cause for the reduction is the increased thermal conduction of thicker Au in the welded region. In addition to Au coating, the effect of Ni coating on laser beam penetration is also presented. Detailed knowledge of the effect of Au coating thickness on laser beam penetration is important for the practical design and fabrication of reliable optoelectronic packaging having laser welded Au-coated materials.
Severe hypokalemia (2.6 mEq/l), hypomagnesemia (0.6 mg/dl), mild hypercalcemia (10.9 mg/dl), and secondary hyperaldosteronism developed in a patient receiving viomycin for pulmonary tuberculosis. ...Reversible renal wasting of both potassium (K+) and magnesium (Mg++) was documented. Viomycin administered to 40 rats resulted in severe damage to the proximal tubule and mild damage to the distal tubule. THe case report and experimental data suggest viomycin induces proximal tubule dysfunction that results in renal wasting of sodium, K+ and Mg++ and secondary hyperaldosteronism. Hypercalcemia, not previously associated with viomycin therapy, may be secondary to hypomagnesemia-induced hyperparathyroidism.
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