Schmincke's Tumor, Carcinoma of the Base of the Tongue c T1-2, cN2c M0 – A Case Report

Background: Lymphoepithelial tumors are the most common carcinomas of the nasopharynx. The non-differentiated tumor, also called Schmincke’s tumor, is more prevalent in the African and Chinese population. The incidence of the tumor according to age peaks between 20 and 30 years of age, and after 60 years of age. The tumor is rarely located outside of the nasopharynx. Case Report: This report is about a 73-year-old female patient diagnosed with a tumor of the base of the tongue. The histological result shows a low-grade carcinoma of the squamous epithelium, a lymphoepithelial carcinoma. Conclusion: Despite the tumor’s rare manifestation outside the nasopharynx, one must also consider the non-differentiated carcinoma of lymphoepithelial matrix. Especially due to the well-known early tumor spreading, cervical lymph node swelling on both sides can be recognized as a possible early symptom. First-line therapy consists of primary radiation of the tumor’s primary region and its lymphoid draining channels. Concomitant chemotherapy can be applied. In case of cervical tumor spreading, a neck dissection reduces the risk of local recurrence

The visibility of IQHE at sharp edges: Experimental proposals based on interactions and edge electrostatics

The influence of the incompressible strips on the integer quantized Hall effect (IQHE) is investigated, considering a cleaved-edge overgrown (CEO) sample as an experimentally realizable sharp edge system. We propose a set of experiments to clarify the distinction between the large-sample limit when bulk disorder defines the IQHE plateau width and the small-sample limit smaller than the disorder correlation length, when self-consistent edge electrostatics define the IQHE plateau width. The large-sample or bulk QH regime is described by the usual localization picture, whereas the small-sample or edge regime is discussed within the compressible/incompressible strips picture, known as the screening theory of QH edges. Utilizing the unusually sharp edge profiles of the CEO samples, a Hall bar design is proposed to manipulate the edge potential profile from smooth to extremely sharp. By making use of a side-gate perpendicular to the two dimensional electron system, it is shown that the plateau widths can be changed or even eliminated altogether. Hence, the visibility of IQHE is strongly influenced when adjusting the edge potential profile and/or changing the dc current direction under high currents in the non-linear transport regime. As a second investigation, we consider two different types of ohmic contacts, namely highly transmitting (ideal) and highly reflecting (non-ideal) contacts. We show that if the injection contacts are non-ideal, however still ohmic, it is possible to measure directly the non-quantized transport taking place at the bulk of the CEO samples. The results of the experiments we propose will clarify the influence of the edge potential profile and the quality of the contacts, under quantized Hall conditions.Comment: Substantially revised version of manuscript arXiv:0906.3796v1, including new figures et

Structural Olfactory Nerve Changes in Patients Suffering from Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension

BACKGROUND: Complications of idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) are usually caused by elevated intracranial pressure (ICP). In a similar way as in the optic nerve, elevated ICP could also compromise the olfactory nerve system. On the other side, there is growing evidence that an extensive lymphatic network system around the olfactory nerves could be disturbed in cerebrospinal fluid disorders like IIH. The hypothesis that patients with IIH suffer from hyposmia has been suggested in the past. However, this has not been proven in clinical studies yet. This pilot study investigates whether structural changes of the olfactory nerve system can be detected in patients with IIH. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Twenty-three patients with IIH and 23 matched controls were included. Olfactory bulb volume (OBV) and sulcus olfactorius (OS) depth were calculated by magnetic resonance techniques. While mean values of total OBV (128.7±38.4 vs. 130.0±32.6 mm(3), p=0.90) and mean OS depth (8.5±1.2 vs. 8.6±1.1 mm, p=0.91) were similar in both groups, Pearson correlation showed that patients with a shorter medical history IIH revealed a smaller OBV (r=0.53, p<0.01). In untreated symptomatic patients (n=7), the effect was greater (r=0.76, p<0.05). Patients who suffered from IIH for less than one year (n=8), total OBV was significantly smaller than in matched controls (116.6±24.3 vs. 149.3±22.2 mm(3), p=0.01). IIH patients with visual disturbances (n=21) revealed a lower OS depth than patients without (8.3±0.9 vs. 10.8±1.0 mm, p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The results suggest that morphological changes of the olfactory nerve system could be present in IIH patients at an early stage of disease

Screening model of metallic nonideal contacts in the integer quantized Hall regime

In this work, we calculate the electron and the current-density distributions both at the edges and the bulk of a two-dimensional electron system, focusing on ideal and nonideal contacts. A three-dimensional Poisson equation is solved self-consistently to obtain the potential profile in the absence of an external magnetic field considering a Hall bar defined both by gates (contacts) and etching (lateral confinement). In the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field, we obtain the spatial distribution of the incompressible strips, taking into account the electron-electron interactions within the Thomas-Fermi approximation. Using a local version of Ohm's law, together with a relevant conductivity model, we also calculate the current distribution. We observe that the incompressible strips can reside either on the edge or at the bulk depending on the field strength. Our numerical results show that, due to a density poor region just in front of the contacts, the incompressible strips are not in direct contact with the injection region when considering nonideal contact configuration. Such a nonideal contact is in strong contrast with the conventional edge channel pictures, hence has a strong influence on transport. We also take into account heating effects in a phenomenological manner and propose a current injection mechanism from the compressible regions to the incompressible regions. The model presented here perfectly agrees with the local probe experiments all together with the formation of hot-spots