Monitoring and evaluation of the health-for-all strategy: experience in the Eastern Mediterranean region

This article is an account of the activities undertaken by the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean in relation to reporting on monitoring and evaluation of progress in the implementation of the strategy for health for all by the year 2000, and the resulting effect on improving coverage and the quality of data. Tables 1-3 compare the completeness of items in the Eastern Mediterranean Region's reports on the three cycles (1983, 1985 and 1988) to that for other regions and for the global level. The comparison is based on the respective global reports presented to the World Health Assembly.     

Survival after gastric adenocarcinoma resection: Eighteen-year experience at a single institution

Gastric adenocarcinoma is the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide. In Western series, survival rates vary widely and are generally lower than those reported from Eastern series. We performed a retrospective analysis of cases operated on at the Johns Hopkins Hospital over the past 18 years and collected data on demographics, tumor characteristics, pathologic stage, treatment methods, complications, survival time, and other relevant factors. Survival according to stage of disease, Lauren tumor type, tumorlocation,time period, andadministration of adjuvant therapy wasanalyzed, andresultswerecompared with those of other Western series. During this period, 436 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma underwent resection. We have shown a statistically significant association between survival and margin status, stage of disease, and Lauren tumor type. Overall 5-year survival was 26%, and 5-year survival after R0 resection was 33%. No significant difference was detected between survival and tumor location, time period of treatment, or administration of adjuvant therapy. Analysis of various Western series reveals major differences between the cohorts under study, such as stage of disease, extent of resection, tumor type, and tumor location. Many of the reported differences among Western series may be due to cohort differences, such as stage of disease, extent of resection, tumor type, and tumor location.     

Assessment of Photoinduced Frontal Polymerization Processes for a Stable 1K System

Frontal polymerization (FP) has attracted increasing interest in recent years in various applications. This polymerization method can be very promising for the polymerization of thick materials with high fillers content in the range of 50–80% (weight) by local application of a reasonable amount of energy. In this work, recent advances in controllable and predictive behavior for photoinduced frontal photopolymerization are reported. Here, tert-butyl peroxybenzoate (Luperox-P) is selected to initiate thermal polymerization at depth because its high polymerization ability and its decomposition temperature is in a promising range, i.e., neither extremely high (monomer decomposition) nor very low (storage stability issues). Thermal imaging experiments are used to follow the temperatures in the samples in real time. The number of cured layers and the depth of cure are also determined. This paper investigates various factors such as the contents of both photo and thermal initiators, the light intensity, the fiber contents, the irradiation time, etc., resulting in a statistical design of experiments with the factors: 1) content of Luperox P and 2) the irradiation time used to investigate the influence on photoinduced frontal polymerization. Markedly, FP appears to be fully controllable for a storage-stable, tunable 1K system.     

Aberrant cervical thymus in an infant: an unusual cause of stridor

We report an 8-month-old infant presenting with stridor caused by a nonpalpable neck mass discovered at imaging and surgery. The diagnosis of aberrant thymic tissue was confirmed at histopathology. The authors reviewed the literature and discuss the embryology, imaging findings and differential diagnosis of this rare disorder. Received: 1 July 1999; Revised: 3 September 1999; Accepted: 6 September 1999     

Laparoscopic liver resections: a feasibility study in 30 patients

OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility and safety of laparoscopic liver resections. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: The use of the laparoscopic approach for liver resections has remained limited for technical reasons. Progress in laparoscopic procedures and the development of dedicated technology have made it possible to consider laparoscopic resection in selected patients. METHODS: A prospective study of laparoscopic liver resections was undertaken in patients with preoperative diagnoses including benign lesion, hepatocellular carcinoma with compensated cirrhosis, and metastasis of noncolorectal origin. Hepatic involvement had to be limited and located in the left or peripheral right segments (segments 2-6), and the tumor had to be 5 cm or smaller. Surgical technique included CO2 pneumoperitoneum and liver transection with a harmonic scalpel, with or without portal triad clamping or hepatic vein control. Portal pedicles and large hepatic veins were stapled. Resected specimens were placed in a bag and removed through a separate incision, without fragmentation. RESULTS: From May 1996 to December 1999, 30 of 159 (19%) liver resections were included. There were 18 benign lesions and 12 malignant tumors, including 8 hepatocellular carcinomas in cirrhotic patients. Mean tumor size was 4.25 cm. There were two conversions to laparotomy (6.6%). The resections included 1 left hepatectomy, 8 bisegmentectomies (2 and 3), 9 segmentectomies, and 11 atypical resections. Mean blood loss was 300 mL. Mean surgical time was 214 minutes. There were no deaths. Complications occurred in six patients (20%). Only one cirrhotic patient developed postoperative ascites. No port-site metastases were observed in patients with malignant disease. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic resections are feasible and safe in selected patients with left-sided and right-peripheral lesions requiring limited resection. Young patients with benign disease clearly benefit from avoiding a major abdominal incision, and cirrhotic patients may have a reduced complication rate.     

Gastrointestinal and hepatic manifestations of COVID-19 infection: Lessons for practitioners

Originating from Wuhan in China, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread globally within months and was declared a pandemic by World Health Organization in March 2020, making it one of the biggest healthcare calamities of our time. As more data on COVID-19 infection became available, what was initially thought to be a simple respiratory illness was found to be more complex. Many extra-pulmonary manifestations are now frequently reported for COVID-19 in available literature, most commonly gastrointestinal and hepatopancreato-biliary manifestations. Due to early scarcity of data, extra pulmonary manifestations were initially overlooked and may have contributed to nosocomial spread of the infection. Practitioners, especially gastroenterologists, who frequently encounter patients with these symptoms, need to be aware of them. This can not only help minimize the nosocomial spread, ensure safety of provider but also help conserve already stretched-thin healthcare resources. A tremendous amount of COVID-19 related literature is getting added to the growing pool every day, making it difficult for providers to follow. The aim of our review is to summarize the available evidence for gastrointestinal and hepatopancreatobiliary manifestations of COVID-19. We here briefly discussed the possible pathophysiologic mechanism for these manifestations and summarized the recommendations put forward by multiple gastrointestinal societies regarding safe and effective clinical practice during the ongoing pandemic.     

Are zona pellucida laser drilling and polar body biopsy safe for in vitro matured oocytes?

Introduction  

Preconception diagnosis requires first polar body biopsy. When the hole in the zona pellucida is made with a laser beam, heat propagation could, like the biopsy itself, be deleterious. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of this technique on human in vitro matured oocyte and embryo development.