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Two important aspects of short-term thermally stratified energy storage, thermocline mixing and thermocline thickness, are studied analytically, experimentally and numerically. The storage detrimental aspects are investigated for a simplified configuration, i.e. an adiabatic box containing a quasi-stationary thermocline. Numerical finite difference/volume simulations agree well with experiments. The dissipation-free 1D analytical model shows a large discrepancy. It appears that mixing inside thermally stratified stores is a two-stage process. First fluid is withdrawn from the thermocline by viscous drag. Subsequent mixing takes place by stretching and folding of fluid particles, thereby enabling diffusion to become active.

Differences between clinical (cT) and pathological tumor (pT) stage occur often after radical cystectomy (RC) for muscle-invasive bladder cancer. In order to evaluate the impact of downstaging on recurrence and survival, we selected patients from a large, contemporary, population-based series of 1,409 patients with MIBC. We included all patients who underwent RC (N = 643) and excluded patients who received (neo)adjuvant therapy, those with known metastasis at time of diagnosis, and those with nonurothelial cell tumors. Disease outcomes were defined as recurrence-free survival (RFS) and relative survival (RS), as a good approximation of bladder cancer-specific survival. After applying the exclusion criteria, 375 patients were eligible for analysis. Tumor downstaging was found to be common after RC; in 99 patients (26.4%), tumor downstaging to non-muscle-invasive stages at RC occurred. Hydronephrosis at baseline and positive lymph nodes at RC occurred significantly less often in these patients. In 62 patients, no tumor was left in the cystectomy specimen. pT stage was pT1 in 20 patients and pTis in 17 patients. Patients with tumor downstaging have about a 30% higher RFS and RS compared to those without. Consequently, tumor downstaging is a favorable marker for prognosis after RC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on incident cases of small intestinal cancers in the four western Canadian provinces reported in the population-based cancer registries of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba we evaluated the descriptive epidemiological characteristics such as age, sex and subsite distribution of adenocarcinomas, carcinoids, lymphomas and sarcomas for the period 1975–1989. The distribution of adenocarcinomas, carcinoids and lymphomas presented a clear trend along the length of the small bowel. Most of the adenocarcinomas (54.7%) occurred in the duodenum and their relative frequency decreased in aboral direction: 29.9% in the jejunum and 16.0% in the ileum. The carcinoids showed an opposite trend, an increasing relative frequency in aboral direction: 3.9% in the duodenum, 9.2% in the jejunum and 86.7% in the ileum. Lymphomas were more frequent in the ileum (49.5%) compared to jejunum (29.4%) and duodenum (21.0%). Most sarcomas occurred along the jejunum (46.7%). The mean and median ages of lymphoma and sarcoma patients were significantly lower compared to adenocarcinoma and carcinoid cases. There was no difference in mean and median age by gender in the adenocarcinoma and carcinoid categories, but in the lymphoma and sarcoma groups males were significantly younger than females. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The mortality pattern of Seventh-Day Adventists (SDAs) in the Netherlands was assessed during a ten-year study period, 1968–1977. Of 522 deceased SDAs the causes of death of 482 could be ascertained. Standardized Mortality Ratios (SMR) for total mortality (SMR = 0,45), cancer (SMR = 0,50) and cardiovascular diseases (SMR = 0,41) as well as for various subgroups differed significantly from the total Dutch population. Mean age at death as well as life-expectation at baptism were significantly higher in SDAs, both in males and females, as compared with Dutch males and females. A health survey among a sample of the total SDA population and a group of ‘friend’ controls was done in order to try to explain the differences in mortality pattern and life expectancy. It is concluded that evidence was found for the thesis that abstinence from cigarette smoking is the main factor explaining the low mortality from ischaemic heart diseases among SDAs, while presumably an appropriate (prudent) diet confers additional benefit for example on colon cancer mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Review of histopathological and clinical data showed that 153 patients at one hospital developed a second primary lung cancer during 1980-6, 10% of all those with lung carcinoma. There were 64 synchronous tumours (interval less than one year) and 89 metachronous tumours (interval over one year). The average interval between metachronous tumours was 6.1 years. The criteria for diagnosing a second primary lung cancer were any of the following: (1) different histological type; (2) different lobe; (3) interval between the two tumours of at least three years. The incidence of second primary tumours increases with survival, and close follow up is required for their early detection. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A hospital-based case-control study on the possible relationship between cholecystectomy and colon cancer is described. In all, 569 cases and 1,129 controls were included in the study. Controls were patients who had been admitted either with another malignant disease (lung cancer or breast cancer), or because of benign gastrointestinal diseases. No differences with regard to colon cancer risk were observed between the two control groups. The crude odds ratio (OR) after cholecystectomy for colon cancer was 2.1 |95% CL (confidence limits) = 1.5; 2.9]. No significant difference in risk between males (OR = 2.0; 95% CL = 1.1; 3.6) and females (OR = 2.1; 95% CL = 1.4; 3.2) was found. A significant inverse relationship was found between the relative risk for colon cancer and sublocalization of the colon cancer, the highest relative risk (RR) found proximal in the colon. A decreasing risk with increasing interval between cholecystectomy and date of diagnosis of colon cancer was found. It is hypothesized that the apparent association between cholecystectomy and colon cancer does not reflect a necessary cause-effect relationship, but is rather an epiphenomenon representing a diminished exposure level to other etiologic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]