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Highlights • Thyroid heterotopy can be a cause of tumorous oropharyngeal and neck lesions. • We present three cases of ectopic thyroid tissue with compression of the upper aerodigestive tract in the lingual area, thyroglossal duct cyst, and right submandibular region. • We describe clinical and imaging examinations for diagnosis and treatment., Introduction Ectopia is the most common sporadically occurring thyroid heterotopy. We present three cases of ectopic thyroid tissue with compression of the upper aerodigestive tract. The first case involved ectopic thyroid tissue in the lingual area of a 60-year-old male with dysphagia, swelling at the base of the tongue, and stomatolalia. The second case was a 66-year-old female with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) in a thyroglossal duct cyst. The third patient was a 50-year-old female with aberrant thyroid tissue in the right submandibular region, with a cribriform-morular variant of PTC (CMV-PTC). Methods After resecting the heterotopic tissue and verifying the presence of PTC, the second and third cases underwent total thyroidectomy, and the third patient also underwent radioactive iodine ablation (RAI). Postoperative athyreosis was compensated by permanent levothyroxine substitution. Results The diagnosis of ectopic thyroid tissue is challenging. Clinical examination together with imaging methods play a key role, especially postoperative histological examination along with scintigraphy and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Ultrasonography should be used to exclude normally localized thyroid tissue and to distinguish other tumorous diseases. In the pre-operative examination, ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (US-FNAB) often results in technically-difficult sampling and non-diagnostic cytology. Conclusion Resection is the most suitable therapy for clinical symptoms of a foreign body in the upper aerodigestive tract and inflammatory complications; total thyroidectomy follows in case of malignant transformation. Thyroid heterotopy is a rare pathological condition, yet it should be taken into consideration during differential diagnosis of tumorous oropharyngeal and neck lesions.

To determine the role of cortisol in modulating the effects of energetics on muscle mass in a subsistence society, measures of cortisol and body composition were obtained from a sample of Turkana men. Subjects were 63 settled and 69 nomadic men, ages 24 and older. Urinary cortisol was determined along with measures of muscle mass. Cortisol/creatinine ratio was higher among nomadic men (57.8 +/- 56.8 vs. 34.5 +/- 44.6; P < 0.001). Controlled for age, urinary cortisol was inversely related to arm muscle plus bone area (MPBA) among the nomadic (beta = -0.28; P = 0.04), but not the settled (beta = -0.04; P = 0.78) sample. Urinary cortisol was not related to any other measures of body composition. These results suggest that even in chronically undernourished populations, cortisol may be elevated primarily under conditions of acute nutritional stress. However, the catabolic effects of cortisol on muscle in our results may be confounded by other energetic factors, including energy availability.

Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading diagnosis responsible for deaths of patients with malignant diseases in the Czech Republic. About 50 % of patients are diagnosed in the late stage.

Background: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common malignant thyroid tumour. A common mutation of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the somatic mutation of the BRAF V600E gene. Aim: The aim was to 1) determine the association of lymph node metastases of PTC with the BRAF gene mutation of primary tumour; 2) evaluate association of the BRAF mutation in the ­primary tumour with clinicopathological para­meters; 3) examine the extent of genetic heterogeneity by monitoring the BRAF mutation in multicentric tumours. Subjects and methods: Retrospective analysis of the BRAF V600E mutation in PTC and PTC neck lymph node metastases in 156 patients operated from 2003 to 2012 in Prague and Zlin, the Czech Republic, using a qPCR assay. The results were correlated with clinicopathological factors. Results: DNA was successfully extracted from 137 samples. The BRAF V600E mutation was detected in 78 cases (56.9%). The patients with BRAF p.Val600Glu mutation of primary tumour had only non-significantly higher risk of cervical lymph node metastases [OR=2.39 (95%) CI 1.00–5.75, p=0.052]. In the classic papillary variant, the BRAF V600E mutation was found significantly more often than in other PTC subtypes (p=0.022). We did not confirm any significant association between the BRAF V600E mutation and other clinicopathological findings. Conclusion: Except for the higher prevalence in papillary variant of PTC, BRAF p.Val600Glu mutation was not associated with other prognostic clinicopathological factors of PTC. BRAF mutation cannot be regarded as a reliable marker of node metastases in patients with PTC.

This article reviews the effects of malnutrition on early brain development using data generated from animal experiments and human clinical studies. Three related processes, each with their own functional consequences, are implicated in the alteration of brain development. (1) Maternal undernutrition at the start of pregnancy results in reduced transfer of nutrients across the placenta, allowing the conservation of effort for future reproductive episodes. (2) Differential allocation to growing organs by the fetus in response to nutritional stress spares the brain to a large though still limited degree, reflecting the organ's relative contribution to survival and reproductive success. (3) Prenatal malnutrition disrupts developing neurotransmitter systems, which results in the expression of specific cognitive and affective traits. It is argued that the increasing size and therefore cost of the brain, in conjunction with increasing ecological instability and marginality, reinforced selection for maternally controlled growth suppression of offspring, reallocation of organ growth rates by offspring, and behavioral changes related to development of neurotransmitter systems.

In most plural-breeding mammals, female group members are matrilineal relatives but, in a small number of species, all adult females are immigrants who are seldom closely related to each other. Some explanations of contrasts in female philopatry suggest that these differences are a consequence of variation in resource distribution and feeding competition, whereas others argue that they reflect variation in the risk of close inbreeding to philopatric females. However, neither explanation has been tested against quantitative comparisons. Here, we use quantitative comparisons and phylogenetic reconstructions to show that contrasts in female philopatry in plural breeders are associated with the risk that a female's father is reproductively active in her group when she starts to breed, supporting the suggestion that habitual female dispersal has evolved to minimize the risk of inbreeding.

In most social mammals, some females disperse from their natal group while others remain and breed there throughout their lives but, in a few, females typically disperse after adolescence and few individuals remain and breed in their natal group. These contrasts in philopatry and dispersal have an important consequence on the kinship structure of groups which, in turn, affects forms of social relationships between females. As yet, there is still widespread disagreement over the reasons for the evolution of habitual female dispersal, partly as a result of contrasting definitions of dispersal. This paper reviews variation in the frequency with which females leave their natal group or range (social dispersal) and argues that both the avoidance of local competition for resources and breeding opportunities and the need to find unrelated partners play an important role in contrasts between and within species.

SIMD computer systems offer tremendous potential speed-ups but aggressive compilation strategies are required to realize this potential. The paper presents the Compass SIMD compiler technology developed while working on a number of SIMD compilers. Although the various targets have much in common, our increased understanding of the SIMD compilation process on each successive project and the differences in the targets themselves has affected the shape of each compiler.

Periodontal disease may be diagnosed with the Periotest technique, which involves electronically controlled and reproducible percussion of tooth. The movement on percussion was investigated with high-speed film and then compared with the return of teeth after static deflection for several seconds as has been reported previously by Lukas and Scholz. The elastic and viscous properties of the periodontium and the surrounding bony tooth socket are to a large extent non-linear. The 10-20 microns deflection of the healthy tooth represents only a fraction of static tooth mobility published by Parfitt or Schulte et al. The visco-elastic properties of a healthy tooth enabling the percussion of the Periotest tapping head to be decelerated in less than 1 ms are largely lost in periodontitis. It is this essential difference which the Periotest method utilizes.

The Periotest measures the reaction of the periodontium to a defined percussive force. The percussion is applied to the tooth by an electronically controlled tapping head. Information on structural change is obtained by measurement of both the elastic and viscous characteristics of the periodontium. The latter prevent oscillations of the tooth in the alveolar bone. A value is calculated and is displayed as a "Periotest value". The following research report shows the relation of Periotest values to bone loss. Bone loss was quantitatively determined for 2312 teeth from orthopantomographic radiographs and for 900 teeth exposed to intra-oral films using the standard paralleling technique. A differentiation was made between vertical and horizontal bone loss. Clinical mobility index, pocket depth, gingival recession and papillary hemorrhagic index were also measured. There was a strong association between the Periotest value and bone loss. These results suggest that Periotest evaluation provides an objective indication of the extent of periodontal bone loss.

We have calculated the nuclear energy shifts and the nuclear decay widths of the molecular (dtμ) levels. While the muon is described within the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, we treat the nuclear degrees of freedom microscopically within the multi-channel resonating-group method based on many-bodyn+α andd+3H configurations and pseudo-states as well as on an effective nucleon-nucleon interaction containing central, spin-orbit, and tensor components. This microscopic nuclear model has been shown to reproduce the low-energy3H(d, n)4He fusion cross section and other properties of the 5-nucleon system very well. For nuclear separations larger than the range of the strong interaction and of the antisymmetrization our model reduces to the well-known 3-body Coulomb problem.

An optimizing compiler for a data parallel programming language can significantly improve program performance on a massively parallel computing system by incorporating new strategies for allocating array elements to processors. We discuss techniques for automatic layout of arrays in a compiler targeted to SIMD architectures, such as the Connection Machine computer system. Our primary goal is to minimize the cost of moving data among processors. We also attempt to minimize memory usage. Improved array layout may allow more specialized communication operations with lower cost. We discuss the algorithms to effect such improvement and present some typical examples of code fragments that can be improved significantly with respect to memory consumption and by orders of magnitude with respect to execution time.

Chimpanzees live in large groups featuring remarkable levels of gregariousness and cooperation among the males. Because males stay in their natal communities their entire lives and are hence expected to be living with male relatives, cooperation is therefore assumed to occur within one large 'family' group. However, we found that the average relatedness among males within several chimpanzee groups as determined by microsatellite analysis is in fact rather low, and only rarely significantly higher than average relatedness of females in the groups or of males compared across groups. To explain these findings, mathematical predictions for average relatedness according to group size, reproductive skew and sex bias in dispersal were derived. The results show that high average relatedness among the philopatric sex is only expected in very small groups, which is confirmed by a comparison with published data. Our study therefore suggests that interactions among larger number of individuals may not be primarily driven by kin relationships.

Numts are fragments of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) that have been translocated to the nucleus, where they can persist while their mitochondrial counterparts continue to rapidly evolve. Thus, numts represent 'molecular fossils' useful for comparison with mitochondrial variation, and are particularly suited for studies of the fast-evolving hypervariable segment of the mitochondrial control region (HV1). Here we used information from numts found in western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) and eastern gorillas (Gorilla beringei) to estimate that these two species diverged about 1.3 million years ago (Ma), an estimate similar to recent calculations for the divergence of chimpanzee and bonobo. We also describe the sequence of a gorilla numt still possessing a segment lost from all contemporary gorilla mtDNAs. In contrast to that sequence, many numts of the HV1 are highly similar to authentic mitochondrial organellar sequences, making it difficult to determine whether purported mitochondrial sequences truly derive from that genome. We used all available organellar HV1 and corresponding numt sequences from gorillas in a phylogenetic analysis aimed at distinguishing these two types of sequences. Numts were found in several clades in the tree. This, in combination with the fact that only a limited amount of the extant variation in gorillas has been sampled, suggests that categorization of new sequences by the indirect means of phylogenetic comparison would be prone to uncertainty. We conclude that for taxa such as gorillas that contain numerous numts, direct approaches to the authentication of HV1 sequences, such as amplification strategies relying upon the circularity of the mtDNA molecule, remain necessary.

Opisujemo tridesetdvogodišnjeg bolesnika zaraženog HIV-om koji se razbolio pet mjeseci prije prijema u Kliniku s progresivnim mršavljenjem, febrilitetom i dijarejom. Zadnja 4 dana prije prijama osjetio je jače bolove u trbuhu. U času prijama u bolnicu bio je afebrilan, orijentiran, usporen, blijed, afoničan, klonuo, kahektičan i nepokretan. Abdomen je bio mekan, difuzno lagano osjetljiv na palpaciju. Opće stanje je bilo teže poremećeno. Na rendgenogramu pluća bila su obostrano prisutna inhomogena zasjenjenja. Postupno se razvijao akutni abdomen te je bolesnik operiran, nađeno je više perforacija na tankom i debelom crijevu, uz sterkoralni peritonitis. Učinjena je resekcija dijela terminalnog ileuma, desna hemikolektomija, ileotransverzalna terminoterminalna anastomoza i jejunostomija. Patohistološkom pretragom nađena je granulomatozna upala s kazeoznom nekrozom u stijenci tankog i debelog crijeva. Bolesnik je imao 11 limfocita CD4+ u mikrolitru krvi, te HIV-1 viremiju određenu metodom PCR od 1 480 000 kopija u mililitru plazme. Liječen je uspješno antituberkuloticima i kombinacijom antibiotika uz antiretrovirusno liječenje i parenteralnu i enteralnu alimentaciju. Privremena jejunostoma zatvorena je 3 mjeseca po prvoj operaciji, a 8 mjeseci potom bolesnik ima uobičajenu tjelesnu težinu (ukupno je dobio 35 kg). PCR HIV1 RNK je tada bila nedektabilna, a apsolutni broj limfocita CD4+ iznosio je 163/μL plazme., We present a case of a thirty-two-year-old HIV infected patient who presented with a 5 months history of weight loss, fever and diarrhea. Four days before admission he started to experience abdominal pain. On admission to the hospital the patient had no fever was pale, cachectic and immobile. The abdomen was diffusely tender on palpation. His general condition was poor. Achest X-ray upon the admission showed bilateral inhomogenous infiltrations. The patient developed clear signs of acute abdomen. Surgery was performed and multiple perforations of the small and large intestine were found together with a stercoral peritonitis. The terminal ileum was partially removed, a right hemicolectomy with a terminoterminal ileotransversal anastomosis and a jejunostomy were performed. Patohistological examination of the intestine revealed granulomatous inflammation of the small and large intestine areas of caseous necrosis. The CD4 lymphocyte count was 11 per microliter and the plasma HIV viral load measured by PCR showed 1 480 000 copies per milliliter. The patient was successfully treated with antituberculous drugs and other antimicrobials together with antiretrovirals. Parenteral and enteral alimentation was also given. The temporary jejunostomy was closed three months after the first operation. Eight months after the operation the patients regained his normal body weight (weight gain: 35 kg). HIV1 RNA was at that time undetectable and his CD4+ lymphocyte count was 163/μL.

To examine age-related changes in body composition and testosterone (T) among men in an urban sub-Saharan African population, measures of body composition and salivary T were obtained from 109 males ages 20–78 in Harare, Zimbabwe. Measures included height, weight, suprailiac and triceps skinfold, and percent body fat by bioelectric impedance (BIA). Saliva samples were assayed for T using radioimmunoassay. Average BMI of the overall sample (23.16 (SD = 18.12) kg/m2 was close to Western populations, while salivary T levels (AM = 196 ± 96 pmol/l; pm = 172 ± 98 pmol/l) were much lower. Both morning (beta = –0.535; P < 0.001) and afternoon salivary T declined with age (beta = −0.385; P < 0.001). Multiple regression models indicate that pm salivary T (beta = 0.24; P = 0.025), was a predictor of fat-free mass, but neither am nor pm salivary T was related to fat mass or other measures of body composition. In addition, height was significantly related to pm salivary T levels in men under the age of 60. Multivariate regression indicates that pm salivary T is a predictor of fat-free mass when controlled for height and adiposity. These findings suggest that T is related to both lean mass and overall body size among men from a non-Western nonsubsistence population. As such they are consistent with the hypothesis that bioavailable T plays a role in energetic allocation among human males. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 16:704–712, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

In comparison to their close relatives the chimpanzees and humans, very little is known concerning the amount and structure of genetic variation in gorillas. Two species of gorillas are recognized and while the western gorillas number in the tens of thousands, only several hundred representatives of the mountain gorilla subspecies of eastern gorillas survive. To analyse the possible effects of these different population sizes, this study compares the variation observed at microsatellite and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) loci in samples of wild western and mountain gorillas, collected using a sampling scheme that targeted multiple social groups within defined geographical areas. Noninvasive samples proved a viable source of DNA for sequence analysis of the second exon of the DRB loci of the MHC. Observed levels of variation at the MHC locus were similar between the two gorilla species and were comparable to those in other primates. Comparison of results from analysis of variation at multiple microsatellite loci found only a slight reduction in heterozygosity for the mountain gorillas despite the relatively smaller population size.

The array constructs of Fortran 90 (formerly called Fortran 8*) map naturally onto SIMD (single-instruction-stream, multiple-data-stream) architectures that support a data parallel programming style, such as that of the Connection Machine computer system. The FORALL statement, an extension to Fortran 90 allowing for the expression of simultaneous execution of certain DO loop bodies, enhances this natural fit. A Fortran 90 compiler for data parallel machines is extended naturally to handle the FORALL statement. The data structures and algorithms used to effect this extension are described, and some examples of source code fragments and the target operations generated for them are presented. >

A formula for the dielectric tensor in real-space coordinates is derived. Expanding this formula in a plane-wave basis yields the well-known Adler-Wiser formula [S.L. Adler, Phys. Rev. $126,$ 413 (1962); N. Wiser, Phys. Rev. $129,$ 62 (1963)], which is appropriate for bulk systems. For systems with broken symmetry like the semi-infinite crystal this approach is not possible and an alternative can be found in localized functions. Therefore, we investigate the expansion of the dielectric function in a linear combination of atomiclike orbitals basis set and compare the results with the usual plane-wave approach. We found very good agreement for the microscopic dielectric function of diamond and GaAs but deviations in the description of local-field effects.

Periotest values for dental implants depend on the type of prosthetic abutment utilized for the restoration. If Periotest value cannot be measured at the single crown, the Periotest values used for comparison must be derived from the same type of superstructure.Fifty-nine patients were selected from a regular follow-up program. At the end of the healing period, the Periotest values of Frialit-2 implants were measured at the gingiva former and abutment. The values were then compared with the Periotest measurements obtained at the placement of the final single crown and during the first follow-up examination.Compared to values measured at single crowns, the Periotest value measured at gingiva formers decreased on average by 3.5. The measurement of the abutment revealed a decrease of 1.7. Until the first recall and under functional loading of implants, the Periotest value increased on average by 1.8. These differences significantly differed from 0.If measurements at different abutments such as crown abutments or single crowns are necessary, comparison of the Periotest values in accordance with the given mean values will lead to more precise results. It is recommended that Periotest measurements be performed for the first and subsequent prostheses, during all prosthetic stages, to allow comparison if some parts of the prosthetic abutment have to be replaced.

Early diagnosis of periodontal disease is essential for the planning of restorative, prosthetic and surgical treatment. The usual clinical methods are mostly subjective. Although the Periotest device has been specially developed for the diagnosis of periodontal disease, it can also be used to aid occlusal adjustment after insertion of inlays or artificial crowns. To investigate this application of the Periotest, a jaw model with idealized dental crowns incorporating motion and force sensors has been constructed. Motion and force are recorded during measurements with the Periotest. The maximum amplitudes in the apical (vertical) direction obtained with unpolished occlusal points increased with increasing occlusal load. With polished contact points, the maximum values in the apical direction revealed no dependence on occlusal load. The maximum amplitudes of movement and force in the oral (horizontal) direction decrease with increasing occlusal load both with polished and unpolished contact points. With the first, the teeth appear to slide one upon the other such that the overall distance between them remains unchanged, and no additional apical forces develop. In the case of rough contact points, additional forces develop, and falsify Periotest measurements.

No abstract available

The aim of this work was to study the behavior of vertical and horizontal enlargement ratios in panoramic tomography in various implant regions of the maxilla and the mandible. A method is presented that admits determination of regional enlargement ratios as a function of the implant region. Clearly defined characteristics of the implant body (Frialit-2 implants) are used as reference points. The vertical enlargement ratio varied between 1.21 and 1.29 on optimal orthograde adjusted tomographs, depending on the measured area. The horizontal enlargement ratio at the coronal end of the implant varied between 1.15 and 1.35. As it is below the vertical value in the lateral tooth area, this contributes to the distortion of the implant structures depicted. The horizontal enlargement at the apical end of the implant varies between 1.12 and 1.44. The difference in horizontal enlargement ratios also causes a distortion of the implant structures shown on the panoramic tomograph. Based on this study scenario, panoramic tomography may be well suited to preimplant diagnosis, particularly in the vertical dimension. With regard to transparent templates designed for implant placement, an enlargement of 1.3 in the perpendicular line and 1.35 in the horizontal line is proposed.

The etiology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations and treatment procedures of cholera with the point to new experience are presented. This work was motivated by the intensifying interest for this old disease which has reappeared in Europe in epidemic form.

This paper reports on Periotest, its technique's history, and its possible applications. Periotest is a new diagnostic method, developed by an interdisciplinary research group embracing dentists, physicists, mathematicians, and computer engineers. Periotest will--apart from periodontal questions--mainly assist oral implantology.

The Periotest is a new instrument for the diagnosis of periodontal diseases. The 'Periotest value' depends to some extent on tooth mobility, but mainly on the damping characteristics of the periodontium. The Periotest measures the reaction to a reproducible impact applied to the tooth crown. The Periotest value is a biophysical parameter.

The Periotest is a new instrument for the diagnosis of periodontal diseases. The Periotest value depends to some extent on tooth mobility, but mainly on the damping characteristics of the periodontium. The Periotest measures the reaction to a reproducible impact applied to the tooth crown.