Feasibility criteria for total thyroidectomy in outpatient surgery.

Introduction: France is pursuing a policy of cutting healthcare costs, and outpatient surgery is one of the objectives of this policy. Thyroid surgery could be suitable for outpatient management, provided there is an appropriate patient selection process. The aim of this study was to assess the risk factors for postoperative complications in total thyroidectomy (TT).

Does hemithyroidectomy still provide any benefit?

Objectives: Multinodular goiter is a common disorder, found in 5% of the general population. If only one thyroid lobe is affected, hemithyroidectomy may be preferred to total thyroidectomy, to limit the risk of complications and avoid hormone replacement therapy, but incurs a risk of subsequent completion thyroidectomy. The aim of the present study is to determine whether the arguments in favor of hemithyroidectomy are justified and whether it still provides real benefit.

The distribution of tritium between water and suspended matter in a laboratory experiment exposing sediment to tritiated water.

Following recent suggestions regarding the strong affinity of tritiated water for organic matter in suspended particulates and sediments, two equilibration experiments between sediment organic matter (dry and fresh) and tritiated water were performed to look for potential tritium bio-concentration. The T/H ratios measured at the end of both experiments are lower in the sediment organic matter than in the water, indicating that only a fraction of the hydrogen pool (between 14% and 20%) within the sediment equilibrated with the tritiated water. These results are consistent with the widely used concept of exchangeable and non-exchangeable tritium pools in organic matter and show no sign of tritium bio-accumulation in the sediment relative to water.

Arctic Ocean: hydrothermal activity on Gakkel Ridge.

In the hydrothermal circulation at mid-ocean ridges, sea water penetrates the fractured crust, becomes heated by its proximity to the hot magma, and returns to the sea floor as hot fluids enriched in various chemical elements. In contradiction to earlier results that predict diminishing hydrothermal activity with decreasing spreading rate, a survey of the ultra-slowly spreading Gakkel Ridge (Arctic Ocean) by Edmonds et al. and Michael et al.