Pathology of common diseases of the thyroid gland in Port Harcourt

Background: Thyroid diseases are rare in this environment but are more frequent in Western and Northern parts of Nigeria. These diseases present with neck swellings, pains and resulting in high morbidity and mortality rate as well as posing cosmetic problems. Aim: To study the frequency, age distribution and histological types of thyroid diseases. Design/ Setting: A ten-year (1994-2003) retrospective study in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Methods: Histologic slides were reviewed to ascertain the type of diseases in all cases. The age, sex and clinical presentations were extracted from the histology consultation forms, surgical notes, day books, radiological reports and patient's case file. Results: Thyroid disease accounted for 0.9% of biopsies received during the period under review. The lowest frequency occurred in the ages 0 - 10 and 61 -70 years, with one case (1.3%) each. The highest occurred in the age group 31-40 years, which recorded 31 cases (38.8%). The youngest was a 10 - year old male while the oldest was a 70-year-old female. Eight cases (10.0%) occurred in males while 72 (90.0%) occurred in females giving a female to male sex ratio of 9:1. Metabolic disease (colloid goitre) was the most common, occurring in 42 (52.0%) cases. The least common was inflammatory diseases, 3 (3.8%) cases. The most common clinical presentation was neck mass, 64 (80.0%) cases. Conclusion: This study confirmed the rarity of thyroid diseases in the Port Harcourt environment and colloid goitre was the most frequent disease. The predominance of females needs an elaborate population based study.   Key words:  Thyroid diseases, Goitre, Tumours, Port Harcour

Characterization of a Shallow Horizontal Fracturing Treatment in Western Missouri

Normally, the objective of hydraulic fracturing is to design and execute a fracture treatment that achieves the desired fracture dimensions (length & conductivity) to maximize a wells production rate and reserve recovery. Treatments are most typically applied in reservoirs with in-situ stresses that yield vertical fractures. Case studies of horizontal fractures and identification of the key parameters unique to horizontal fractures are uncommon, in part due to the fact that oil and gas reservoirs occur in relatively deep subsurface formations. A research project, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, was undertaken to demonstrate a development method for the significant heavy oil reserves that exist at ultra-shallow depth in the Pennsylvanian sands in Southwestern Missouri and Southeastern Kansas. The principal objective is to demonstrate an economically viable and sustainable method of producing the shallow heavy oil using a combination of microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) treatments and horizontal fracturing in vertical wells. In this application, the purpose of hydraulic fracturing is to expose additional reservoir surface area for subsequent microbial injection. Once the hydrocarbons are contacted by the microbes, the horizontal fractures are to provide a conductive pathway back to the wellbore for the lower viscosity hydrocarbons to flow. Two wells in the study area, Fauvergue 1 and 5, were cased, perforated, and hydraulically fracture stimulated. Analysis of the treatments with surface tiltmeters confirmed that horizontal fractures were created. Geomechanical studies conducted prior to fracturing confirmed that the Pennsylvanian sands are more competent and have a greater Young\u27s Modulus than previously reported in the literature. This paper provides documentation of the extensive laboratory study conducted to develop an understanding of the elastic properties of the Warner and Blue Jacket sandstones and shale, fracture fluid sensitivity, and embedment testing. The paper also reports the horizontal fracture stimulation execution and pressure analysis. Surface tiltmeter data are reviewed with the hydraulic fracturing performance, to determine whether the treatment objectives were achieved