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Breast cancer ranks among the most commonly diagnosed cancers worldwide and bears the highest mortality rate. As an integral component of cancer treatment, mastectomy entails the complete removal of the affected breast. Typically, breast reconstruction, involving the use of silicone implants (augmentation mammaplasty), is employed to address the aftermath of mastectomy. To mitigate postoperative risks associated with mammaplasty, such as capsular contracture or bacterial infections, the functionalization of breast implants with coatings of cyclodextrin polymers as drug delivery systems represents an excellent alternative. In this context, our work focuses on the application of a mathematical model for simulating drug release from breast implants coated with cyclodextrin polymers. The proposed model considers a unidirectional diffusion process following Fick's second law, which was solved using the orthogonal collocation method, a numerical technique employed to approximate solutions for ordinary and partial differential equations. We conducted simulations to obtain release profiles for three therapeutic molecules: pirfenidone, used for preventing capsular contracture; rose Bengal, an anticancer agent; and the antimicrobial peptide KR-12. Furthermore, we calculated the diffusion profiles of these drugs through the cyclodextrin polymers, determining parameters related to diffusivity, solute solid–liquid partition coefficients, and the Sherwood number. Finally, integrating these parameters in COMSOL multiphysics simulations, the unidirectional diffusion mathematical model was validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Maxillary ameloblastoma is a rare, slow-growing odontogenic tumor that can recur after surgical excision, be locally aggressive, and rarely develop systemic metastases. We describe the course and management of a patient with recurrent maxillary ameloblastoma with orbital invasion and systemic metastases, the fourth case of its kind to be described in the literature. Case Presentation: A 50-year-old female presented with left hyperglobus. A diagnosis of maxillary ameloblastoma was made based on biopsy and neuroimaging with MRI and CT. Surgical management included partial maxillectomy with orbital floor reconstruction, given the orbital invasion. Three years later, left hyperglobus recurred, and the patient was found to have orbital recurrence and lung metastases on PET imaging. The lung and orbital lesions have responded well to chemoradiation therapy without surgical intervention. Conclusion: Maxillary ameloblastoma is a rare tumor that typically arises from odontogenic tissues. Though considered benign, they can recur and in the case of our patient, metastasize. Complete surgical excision with wide surgical margins is associated with a shorter average time to recurrence and a lower incidence of metastasis. Cases of metastasis are managed with chemotherapy with or without adjuvant radiotherapy. Precision medicine may play a role in managing this entity in the future, given the discovery of differing profiles of maxillary ameloblastoma compared to mandibular. Ophthalmologists should be aware of this tumor as it can invade the orbit, resulting in significant ocular morbidity and mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a mathematical model to describe drug delivery from polymer coatings on implants is proposed. Release predictability is useful for development and understanding of drug release mechanisms from controlled delivery systems. The proposed model considers a unidirectional recursive diffusion process which follows Fick's second law while considering the convective phenomena from the polymer matrix to the liquid where the drug is delivered and the polymer–liquid drug distribution equilibrium. The resulting model is solved using Laplace transformation for two scenarios: (1) a constant initial condition for a single drug delivery experiment; and (2) a recursive delivery process where the liquid medium is replaced with fresh liquid after a fixed period of time, causing a stepped delivery rate. Finally, the proposed model is validated with experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social sciences have documented the economic and social impacts of mining activities on communities around the world, showing mining towns and villages, on the one hand, present high economic growth and, on the other, have problematic quality-of-life indicators. In this article, we present the results of an extensive ethnographic study of one city in northern Chile, Antofagasta, located in a region where about half of the country's total copper production is concentrated. We sociologically explore these trends and document how they are interconnected and configure specific ways of living and inhabiting a place. Far from disproving the problematic relationship between social development and the mining industry, we reflect on the interrelatedness of the impacts of mining projects and suggest analytical clues for an ecological study of mining cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]