Intractable Trigeminal Neuralgia Secondary to Osteoma of the Clivus: A Case Report and Literature Review

Skull base osteomas (SBOs) are benign tumors that are frequently detected on radiographic images by coincidence. They are known for being slow-growing tumors and rarely symptomatic. The therapeutic approach for SBOs can differ substantially. Depending on the symptoms, size, and location of the tumor, this can range from serial observation to vigorous surgical extirpation. Clival osteoma is extremely rare. We report a case of clival osteoma, causing intractable trigeminal neuralgia due to the pressure effect on the trigeminal nerve at Meckel's cave. We also provide a review of pertinent literature. A 37-year-old woman presented with intractable trigeminal neuralgia. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated a large, lobulated, extra-axial lesion involving the right cerebellopontine angle and epicentering the clivus. Pathologically, the specimen was proven to be osteoma. The patient reported complete symptom resolution over a 4-year follow-up period. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first clinical case of intractable trigeminal neuralgia due to clival osteoma.

Quasi-Static Flooding Analysis Method of a Damaged Ship Considering Oil Spill and Cargo Load

When a ship is damaged at sea, it is important to predict its behavior as well as whether it is to sink or not. If the ship comes to an equilibrium, the equilibrium position and time should be estimated; otherwise, the time to sink should be estimated. Furthermore, flooding analysis should be carried out not only during the design stage of the ship for preventive reasons, but also after an accident for a better investigation of its causes. In addition, flooding analysis methods that can provide predictions in case of an accident are of particular importance, as there is no time for the required calculations in an emergency. For this purpose, a quasi-static flooding analysis method for the damaged ship in the time domain is proposed in this study. There are a number of studies in which the equilibrium position and time were estimated by flooding analysis. However, most of them have not considered the air pressure effect in fully flooded compartments, and the method of determining the fluid volume in these compartments was not accurate. In the present study, the virtual vent and accumulator method are used to calculate the reference pressure in the fully flooded compartments, and the compartment shape is considered by using polyhedral integration. Also, spilled oil and solid cargo items from the damaged ship are taken into account for realistic flooding analysis. Finally, the damage stability criteria were checked not only in the final state, but also during the entire time of the flooding, as the intermediate states can be more hazardous than the final state. To validate the feasibility of the proposed method, it was applied to a naval ship, which is considerably more stringent for damage stability. As a result, we checked the availability of this study.

Effectiveness of Workplace-Based Diet and Lifestyle Interventions on Risk Factors in Workers with Metabolic Syndrome: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression

Workplace health interventions are essential to improve the health and well-being of workers and promote healthy lifestyle behaviours. We carried out a systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of articles measuring the association between workplace dietary interventions and MetS risk. We recovered potentially eligible studies by searching MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science, using the terms “Metabolic syndrome” and “Occupational Health”. A total of 311 references were retrieved and 13 documents were selected after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Dietary interventions were grouped into six main types: basic education/counselling; specific diet/changes in diet and food intake; behavioural change/coaching; physical exercise; stress management; and internet/social networks. Most programmes included several components. The interventions considered together are beneficial, but the clinical results reflect only a minimal impact on MetS risk. According to the metaregression, the interventions with the greatest impact were those that used coaching techniques and those that promoted physical activity, leading to increased HDL (effect size = 1.58, sig = 0.043; and 2.02, 0.015, respectively) and decreased BMI (effect size = −0.79, sig = −0.009; and −0.77, 0.034, respectively). In contrast, interventions offering information on healthy habits and lifestyle had the contrary effect, leading to increased BMI (effect size = 0.78, sig = 0.006), systolic blood pressure (effect size = 4.85, sig = 0.038) and diastolic blood pressure (effect size = 3.34, sig = 0.001). It is necessary to improve the efficiency of dietary interventions aimed at lowering MetS risk in workers.

Constitutive Model of N15 Propellant considering the Confining Pressure Effect

To describe the effect of confining pressure on the mechanical responses of N15 propellant, a constitutive model considering the confining pressure effect was first established for N15 propellant based on the elastic-viscoelastic correspondence principle. Then, the mechanical properties of N15 solid propellant under different confining pressures were obtained using confining pressure test system, and the obtained results indicate that the initial modulus of propellant did not change with confining pressure, but the maximum tensile strength, rupture strength, the maximum elongation, and elongation at break increased with increasing confining pressure. In conjunction with propellants’ mesoscopic structure and cross-section analysis, the mechanical mechanism of confining pressure effect on propellant was initially disclosed. Due to confining pressure, the particle dewetting inside the propellant was reduced, the hole propagation was delayed, and crack extension inhibited germination, proving that confining pressure has a strengthening impact on the propellant. Finally, assuming that the model parameters were dependent on pressure, the model parameters acquisition and validation were conducted. The results demonstrated that constitutive model can describe confining pressure influence on the mechanical properties of N15 propellant accurately.