43 research outputs found
Bassem Youssef, Mon Qatar chéri et l'utopie arabe
No full textY a-t-il toujours un « rêve arabe » ? La question est posée par Bassem Youssef, une des voix les plus incisives du monde arabe d'aujourd'hui, l'équivalent égyptien du comique nord-américain Jon Stewart. Dans un contexte très différent naturellement, le succès de cet ancien chirurgien cardiaque ne peut manquer de faire penser aux remous provoqués sur la scène politique par des personnalités comme Coluche en France ou Beppe Grillo en Italie. De plus en plus en effet, les interventions de cet an..
Wide Tangent Photon Field Versus Electron Field in the Treatment of Internal Mammary Lymph Nodes in Patients With Left Breast Cancer: A Decision-Making Flowchart
No full textPurpose: This study of internal mammary lymph node chain (IMC) irradiation in patients with left breast cancer aimed at comparing the merits of using, on one hand, a dedicated direct IMC electron field versus a wide tangent photon field covering both breast and IMC on the other. The objective was to produce guidelines allowing clinicians to readily determine the preferred method for each patient. Methods and Materials: For 19 patients with cancer of the left breast/chest wall, we produced 2 treatment plans each using a different technique: the electron technique using 2 standard opposed photon tangents covering only the breast or chest wall along with a matching adjacent electron field targeting the IMC only or the wide tangent technique using 2 opposed wide tangents covering simultaneously IMC and breast or chest wall. All plans were then optimized for acceptable target coverage. Results: For patients where the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) was located outside of the wide tangent fields (13 patients), the wide tangent technique resulted in lower dose to the LAD, left lung, and heart. When the LAD was inside the wide tangents (6 patients), dose was lower with the electron technique for LAD and heart. In all cases, regardless of LAD location, the wide tangent technique returned strictly superior dose homogeneity but much higher right (contralateral) breast dose. Conclusions: A flowchart was produced based on LAD location that allows the clinician to readily determine the preferred technique for each patient without having to perform and compare 2 treatment plans, thus saving valuable planning time. © 2023 The Author
The role of prophetic medicine in the management of diabetes mellitus: A review of literature
No full textAbstractProphetic medicine is the total authentic Hadith narrated by the Prophet, peace be upon him, in relation to medicine, whether Qur'anic verses or honourable Prophetic Hadith. It includes remedy recipes, by which the Prophet, peace be upon him, was cured or he called people to be cured by. Furthermore, it includes recommendations relevant to human health in the conditions of life, including eating, drinking, housing, and marriage. It comprehends legislations related to medication, medicine in practicing the profession, and the guarantee of the patient in the perspective of Islamic Law. Ibn Al Qayyim, may Allah be merciful with him, in his book Zad Al Ma'ad Fe Haday Khair Al Abad, said: “The medicine of the Messenger, peace be upon him, is not similar to the medicine of physicians. The medicine of the Prophet, peace be upon him, is certain, categorical, and godly medicine; issued by the Revelation, Prophethood niche, and sagacity; while the medicine of others is inductive, assumptive, and experimental.”In KSA alone, 3.8 million cases of diabetes were recorded, thus warranting increased global health concern. Scientific evidence has accorded the claim of several plants and honey listed in prophetic medicine, which improve glycaemic control in diabetes mellitus. In addition to their hypoglycaemic effect, studies indicate that extracts from those plants and honey ameliorate other associated metabolic derangements. In this review, we present several of the latest findings linking the bioefficacy of these plants and honey with the pathogenesis of diabetes and insulin secretion in diabetes mellitus subjects
Optimizing Joint Data and Power Transfer in Energy Harvesting Multiuser Wireless Networks
No full textEnergy harvesting emerges as a potential solution for prolonging the lifetime of the energy-constrained mobile wireless devices. In this paper, we focus on radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting for multiuser multicarrier mobile wireless networks. Specifically, we propose joint data and energy transfer optimization frameworks for powering mobile wireless devices through RF energy harvesting. We introduce a power utility that captures the power consumption cost at the base station (BS) and the used power from the users' batteries, and determine optimal power resource allocations that meet data rate requirements of downlink and uplink communications. Two types of harvesting capabilities are considered at each user: harvesting only from dedicated RF signals and hybrid harvesting from both dedicated and ambient RF signals. The developed frameworks increase the end users' battery lifetime at the cost of a slight increase in the BS power consumption. Several evaluation studies are conducted in order to validate our proposed frameworks. 1 2017 IEEE.Manuscript received August 25, 2016; revised February 16, 2017 and May 9, 2017; accepted June 9, 2017. Date of publication June 22, 2017; date of current version December 14, 2017. This work was supported by the National Priorities Research Program under Grant NPRP 5-319-2-121 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The review of this paper was coordinated by Prof. Y. Li. (Corresponding author: Bassem Khalfi.) B. Khalfi and B. Hamdaoui are with Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331 USA (e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]. edu).Scopu
Two-year follow-up of a thyroid cartilage metastasis from prostate cancer: A case report
No full textFew case reports describe metastatic prostate cancer to the thyroid cartilage. While earlier reports identified the metastatic lesions upon developing symptoms, more recent ones have detected them via prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography (PSMA PET). Herein, we report the case of a patient with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer and a PSMA PET-detected lesion in the thyroid cartilage. Over the course of 2 years, he received multiple lines of chemotherapy and hormonal therapy, and his overall disease status fluctuated — some nodal and bony metastases resolved while others appeared anew. His thyroid cartilage lesion, however, slowly progressed in a consistent fashion with increasing uptake on successive PSMA PET images. Apart from mild dysphonia, the patient remained to be asymptomatic from this lesion, and no local therapies were used. To our knowledge, this is the first close follow-up of prostate cancer metastatic to the thyroid cartilage, shedding light on the course of such lesions and helping answer management-related questions, which are particularly relevant as more occult metastases are discovered in the PSMA PET era
On the risk of secondary cancer from thymoma radiotherapy
No full textAbstract
Objective. This study aims at quantifying the lifetime attributable risk of secondary fatal cancer (LARFAC) to patients receiving adjuvant radiotherapy treatment for thymoma, a neoplasm where cure rates and life expectancy are relatively high, patient age at presentation relatively low and indications for radiotherapy controversial depending on the disease stage. Approach. An anthropomorphic phantom was scanned, organs were contoured and a standard 6 MV 3DCRT treatment plan was produced for thymoma treatment. The phantom was loaded with thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) and treated by linear accelerator per plan. The TLDs were subsequently read for out-of-field dose distribution while in-field dose distribution was obtained from the planning system. Sex and age-specific lifetime radiogenic cancer risk was calculated as the sum of in-field risk and out-of-field risk. The latter risk was estimated using hybrid ICRP 2007 103-BEIR VII tables of organ-specific risks based on the linear-no threshold (LNT) model and applicable at low doses, while the former using mathematical risk models applicable at high doses. Main results. The LARFAC associated with a prescribed dose of 50 Gy to target volume in 25 fractions was in the approximate range of 1%–3%. The risk was higher for young and female patients. The largest contributing organ to this risk were the lungs by far. Using the LNT model inappropriately to calculate risk at therapeutic doses (in-field) would overestimate the risk up to tenfold. Significance. The LARFAC to patient from thymoma radiotherapy was quantified taking into consideration the inapplicability of the LNT model at therapeutic doses. The risk is not negligible; the information may be relevant to patients and clinicians.</jats:p
Can Finance and Credit Enable Economic Growth and Democracy?
No full textCan economic growth and democracy be fuelled by finance and credit? This chapter examines mechanisms that have positive effects on democratic transition in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, such as credit growth and the development of capital markets-based credit, based on a bond market and a Sukuk market, its sharia-compliant equivalent. The contribution analyses the general role of credit as a network of legally binding contracts of trust between economic actors, including the state, in any given country. By comparing the role and size of credit in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and the MENA region, the author argues that, in general, the growth of credit’s role in MENA countries and, in particular, the development of debt capital markets in the region, strengthen public participation in the economic activity of the region. The spread of contractual obligations requires more transparent and accessible accounting and financial reporting, and a wider network of legally binding obligations. These powerful mechanisms therefore facilitate democratic transitions in MENA countries, even in autocratic regimes.La finance et le crédit permettent-ils la croissance économique et la démocratie ?La croissance économique et la démocratie peuvent-elles être alimentées par la finance et le crédit ? Cet article analyse les mécanismes ayant des effets positifs sur les transitions démocratiques au Moyen-Orient et en Afrique du Nord (MENA), tels que la progression générale du crédit et le développement d’un crédit fondé sur les marchés de capitaux, adossé à un marché obligataire et au marché Sukuk, son équivalent conforme à la charia. L’article examine le rôle général du crédit en tant que réseau de contrats de confiance juridiquement contraignants entre des acteurs économiques, y compris l’État, dans un pays donné. À partir d’une étude comparative du rôle et de l’importance du crédit dans les pays membres de l’Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Économiques (OCDE) et ceux du MENA, le texte postule qu’en général l’augmentation du rôle du crédit dans les pays de la région et plus particulièrement le développement des marchés de capitaux d’emprunt, renforcent la participation du public à l’activité économique de la région. La multiplication des obligations contractuelles exige une comptabilité et une information financière plus transparentes et plus accessibles, ainsi qu’un réseau plus large d’obligations juridiquement contraignantes. Ces puissants mécanismes facilitent donc les transitions démocratiques dans les pays de la région MENA, et ce, même dans les régimes autocratiques
Patient Selection for Surgery vs Radiotherapy for Early Stage Oropharyngeal Cancer
No full textSurgery and radiation therapy are both commonly used in the treatment of early stage (AJCC stages T1-T2 N0-M0) oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) have been reported to result in similar survival and disease control outcomes. However, their side effect profiles widely differ. Nevertheless, patients who experience the worst side effects and quality of life are the ones who receive the combination of TORS and adjuvant radiation or chemoradiation therapy. Thus, appropriate patient selection for surgery to minimize the need for multimodality therapy is key. We propose, in this paper, the use of sentinel lymph node biopsy in the node negative (N0) neck as a means that is worth exploring for selecting patients to either radiation therapy or surgery. Patients with a positive sentinel lymph node (SLN) would be better directed to upfront radiation. On the contrary, patients with a negative SLN biopsy would be more confidently directed towards TORS and neck dissection alone. © The Author(s) 2021
Survival outcome after radiation therapy for patients with early cervical carcinoma undergoing inadequate primary surgery
No full textObjective: The aim of this study was to investigate the survival outcome after radiation therapy for patients with early cervical carcinoma undergoing inadequate primary surgery. Methods: A retrospective analysis of medical charts of all patients with stage IA2 to IIA carcinoma who were referred with inappropriate primary surgery and treated with radiation therapy was reviewed. The collected data include age, presenting symptoms, retrospective stage, lymph node status, histology type, type of surgery, baseline radiologic status before radiotherapy, details of radiation therapy, follow-up, and details of disease recurrence, disease-free survival, and overall survival (OS). Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to show the OS and recurrence-free survival. Results: A total of 32 patients were treated. The median age of the patients was 48.2 years, with a range of 27.6 to 79.2 years. Twenty-three patients had retrospective stage IB1, and 9 had stage IIA disease. The most common type of surgery (62.5percent) was total abdominal hysterectomy with or without bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. The pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) status was not determined in 20 patients, 11 had PLND surgical assessment (2 were positive), and 1 had bulky PLND by computed tomographic scan. Baseline assessment showed that 14 patients had no residual disease, 11 had microscopic disease, and 7 had macroscopic disease. The follow-up ranged from 3.3 to 77.8 months, with a median of 24.3 months. Eleven patients developed disease recurrence, and all of them died of their disease. Two- and 5-year OS rates were 79percent and 51.7percent. Univariate analysis did not show a statistically significant effect of either the disease stage or residual disease survival. Conclusions: Survival outcome after radiation therapy for patients with early-stage cervical cancer undergoing inadequate surgery seems to be markedly worse than that for patients of comparable stage treated initially with radical radiation. © 2013 by IGCS and ESGO.AMPIL F, 1987, CANCER, V60, P280, DOI 10.1002-1097-0142(19870801)60:3280::AID-CNCR28206003033.0.CO;2-1; ANDRAS EJ, 1973, AM J OBSTET GYNECOL, V115, P647; Buckley SL, 1996, GYNECOL ONCOL, V63, P4, DOI 10.1006-gyno.1996.0268; Choi DH, 1997, GYNECOL ONCOL, V65, P506, DOI 10.1006-gyno.1997.4711; Creasman WT, 1998, AM J OBSTET GYNECOL, V178, P62, DOI 10.1016-S0002-9378(98)70628-3; DAVY M, 1977, ACTA OBSTET GYN SCAN, V56, P105; DURRANCE FY, 1968, AMER J ROENTGENOL RA, V102, P165; Franco EL, 2003, CANCER J, V9, P348, DOI 10.1097-00130404-200309000-00004; HELLER PB, 1986, OBSTET GYNECOL, V67, P187; HOPKINS MP, 1990, GYNECOL ONCOL, V36, P7, DOI 10.1016-0090-8258(90)90100-Y; KINNEY WK, 1992, GYNECOL ONCOL, V44, P24, DOI 10.1016-0090-8258(92)90006-5; Landoni F, 1997, LANCET, V350, P535, DOI 10.1016-S0140-6736(97)02250-2; MATSUYAMA T, 1984, CANCER, V54, P3072, DOI 10.1002-1097-0142(19841215)54:123072::AID-CNCR28205412443.0.CO;2-E; Munstedt K, 2002, GYNECOL ONCOL, V86, P337, DOI 10.1006-gyno.2002.6767; NEWTON M, 1975, AM J OBSTET GYNECOL, V123, P535; ORR JW, 1986, OBSTET GYNECOL, V68, P353; PERKINS PL, 1984, GYNECOL ONCOL, V17, P340, DOI 10.1016-0090-8258(84)90219-1; RODDICK JW, 1971, AM J OBSTET GYNECOL, V109, P754; ROMAN LD, 1993, GYNECOL ONCOL, V50, P179, DOI 10.1006-gyno.1993.1189; Wilson CM, 2004, INT J GYNECOL CANCER, V14, P1, DOI 10.1111-j.1048-891x.2004.14178.x0
