Easier surveillance of climate-related health vulnerabilities through a Web-based spatial OLAP application.

Background: Climate change has a significant impact on population health. Population vulnerabilities depend on several determinants of different types, including biological, psychological, environmental, social and economic ones. Surveillance of climate-related health vulnerabilities must take into account these different factors, their interdependence, as well as their inherent spatial and temporal aspects on several scales, for informed analyses.

Towards a SOLAP-based public participation GIS.

In this paper, we describe how spatial on-line analytical processing (SOLAP), a specific category of business intelligence technology especially adapted to geospatial data, can help to improve the technological side of public participation GIS applications. Based on two simulated cases of realistic scenarios of a public audience, this paper aims at demonstrating the relevance of this SOLAP technology to support and improve the interactive access and analysis of multi-scale, multi-epoch geospatial information (and indirectly public involvement) for an environmental management PPGIS application.

Significance of tumor capsular invasion in well-differentiated thyroid carcinomas.

This study examines the influence of tumor capsular invasion on the biological behavior of papillary (PTC) and follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) and the prognosis of surgically treated patients. This retrospective cohort study included 350 cases of PTC or FTC from a university teaching hospital. Patient charts were randomly selected and reviewed.

Single versus sequential fine-needle aspiration biopsy in the management of thyroid nodular disease.

Unlabelled: Fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is considered a safe, reliable and cost-effective means of selecting thyroid nodules with risk for malignancy. However, there are limitations of this method including false positive/negative and "nondiagnostic" results that may be reduced by repeating FNAB.

Objective: To evaluate accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and costs of sequential FNAB in the management of thyroid nodular disease.

Fine-needle aspiration biopsy findings suspicious for papillary thyroid carcinoma: a review of cytopathological criteria.

Objectives/hypothesis: The objective was to evaluate the usefulness of standard suspect cytological features on fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) in predicting papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review of consecutive fine-needle biopsies of the thyroid.

Methods: The study was a retrospective review of consecutive patients presenting with a diagnosis of suspected (group 1) or positive papillary thyroid carcinoma (group 2).

Role of fine-needle aspiration biopsy and frozen section in the management of papillary thyroid carcinoma subtypes.

Since fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) was introduced, the value of frozen section (FS) has been questioned. This study compares FNAB and FS sensitivities among the usual form of papillary thyroid cancer (uPTC) and variants of PTC such as tall cell (tcPTC), follicular (fPTC), and Hurthle cell (HcPTC). A total of 257 patients who underwent preoperative FNAB, intraoperative FS, and thyroidectomy for PTC were, randomly selected from a database of a university teaching hospital in Toronto.

Thyroid colloid nodules diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration: efficacy of suppression.

Background: This study reviewed the accuracy of fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) and the efficacy of thyroid suppression for colloid nodules in our population to determine the utility of these two modalities on the decision to operate.

Methods And Materials: A retrospective chart review of patients with colloid nodules diagnosed by FNAB from January 1993 to July 1995 was conducted. A 52-patient cohort underwent surgical management, and their needle aspirate cytologies and final pathologies were reviewed.

Interobserver agreement of a probabilistic approach to reporting breast fine-needle aspirations on ThinPrep.

We have previously demonstrated the accuracy and reproducibility of a probabilistic/categorical approach for reporting breast fine-needle aspiration (FNA). However, the interobserver agreement in the application of this approach has not been assessed. Twenty breast FNA cases (each on one ThinPrep slide) were pulled from the cytology files of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Clinicopathologic significance of histologic vascular invasion in papillary and follicular thyroid carcinomas.

Background: The association of angioinvasion with tumor aggressiveness in follicular and papillary thyroid carcinoma remains unclear. This study addresses this problem focusing on clinicopathologic relevance of angioinvasion in the treatment of papillary thyroid carcinoma and follicular thyroid carcinoma.

Methods: From a university hospital database, 358 patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma or follicular thyroid carcinoma were randomly selected.

Assessment of thin-layer breast aspirates for immunocytochemical evaluation of HER2 status.

Objective: To determine whether immunocytochemistry (ICC) for HER2 on ThinPrep (TP)-processed breast fine needle aspiration biopsies (Cytyc Corp., Boxborough, Massachusetts, U.S.

Integrating GIS components with knowledge discovery technology for environmental health decision support.

This paper presents a new category of decision-support tools that builds on today's Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) technologies to facilitate Geographic Knowledge Discovery (GKD). This new category, named Spatial OLAP (SOLAP), has been an R&D topic for about 5 years in a few university labs and is now being implemented by early adopters in different fields, including public health where it provides numerous advantages. In this paper, we present an example of a SOLAP application in the field of environmental health: the ICEM-SE project.

Modern information technologies in environmental health surveillance. An overview and analysis.

In recent years we have witnessed the massive introduction of new information technologies that are drastically changing the face of our society. These technologies are being implemented en masse in developed countries, but also in some pockets of developing nations as well. They rely on the convergence of several technologies such as powerful and affordable computers, real-time electronic measurement and monitoring devices, massive production of digital information in different formats, and faster, wireless communication media.

Carotid body tumor mimicking adenocarcinoma on fine-needle aspiration.

We report an 86-year-old woman who presented with a 6-month history of a mass in the left side of her neck. MRI and MRI angiography favored a diagnosis of a neural tumor. FNAB showed a large cluster of cohesive, pleomorphic cells with intranuclear inclusion bodies; a diagnosis of adenocarcinoma was favored.

Thyroid thymoma in childhood.

A nontoxic thyroid nodule was detected in a female infant soon after birth. At 4 years of age, the nodule was removed. Histological examination disclosed a Iobulated spindle-cell neoplasm with focal epithelioid differentiation.