Oral-Facial-Digital Syndrome Type 1: Oral Features in 12 Patients Submitted to Clinical and Radiographic Examination

Objective: To evaluate the oral features in individuals with oral-facial-digital syndrome type 1 (OFD 1), previously diagnosed by the Genetic Sector of the Hospital of Rehabilitation of Craniofacial Anomalies of the University of São Paulo (HRAC-USP).Design: Twelve patients with OFD 1 were examined clinically and radiographically; their medical files were also evaluated.Results: Associated oral malformations were observed in all patients (100%). The most frequent findings were tongue hamartomas, multiple buccal frena, asymmetric lips, asymmetric tongue, and bilateral maxillary gingival swelling. Interestingly, atrophy of the maxillary midline frenum was also observed in all the individuals examined.Conclusions: Several extra and intraoral alterations were observed in patients with OFD 1. The authors suggest the inclusion of atrophy of the maxillary midline frenum as a commonly found characteristic of OFD 1.

Features of myoneural junctions in the extraocular muscles of the opossum (Didelphis albiventris)

The myoneural junctions present in the opossum (Didelphis albiventris) extraocular muscles were studied through histochemical and ultrastructural techniques. Three different types of junction were shown: two single types, 'en grappe' and 'en plaque', present in the middle third of the muscle fibers; and one multiple type, more rare and observed in the distal third of the muscle.

Physicochemical features of rivers and lakes in pantanal wetland

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Key features of alumina/magnesia/graphite refractories for steel ladle lining

The corrosion resistance of resin bonded alumina/magnesia/graphite refractories containing different kinds of aggregates were investigated when submitted to the action of slags of several CaO/SiO2 ratios. The laboratory testing was performed by means of the rotary slag attack test. Specifically evaluated was the influence of alumina/carbon ratio and magnesia and silica contents on the refractories corrosion resistance. It was found that this property could be improved by increasing the refractory Al2O3/SiO2 ratio as well as by choosing the appropriate Al2O3/C ratio. © 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Submicroscopical features of leaves of xyris species

The leaf infrastructure of five Xyris species were examined using scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and histochemical methods. All studied leaves show some features in epidermis and mesophyll, which were of considerable adaptative significance to drought stress. Such features included the occurrence of a pectic layer on the stomatal guard cells and the presence of a nehvork ofpectic compounds in the cuticle. Pectic compunds were also in abundance in lamellated walls of the mesophyll cells and on the inner surface of the sclerified cell walls of the vascular bundle sheaths. There were also specialized chlorenchymatous peg cells in the mesophyll and drops of phenolic compounds inside the epidermal cells.

Shape-based features for cat ganglion retinal cells classification

This article presents a quantitative and objective approach to cat ganglion cell characterization and classification. The combination of several biologically relevant features such as diameter, eccentricity, fractal dimension, influence histogram, influence area, convex hull area, and convex hull diameter are derived from geometrical transforms and then processed by three different clustering methods (Ward's hierarchical scheme, K-means and genetic algorithm), whose results are then combined by a voting strategy. These experiments indicate the superiority of some features and also suggest some possible biological implications.

Sintering and mass transport features of (Sn,Ti)O2 polycrystalline ceramics

Different (Sn,Ti)O2 compositions were sintered at 1450 °C for 2 h with the purpose of investigating their sintering and mass transport properties. Highly dense ceramics were obtained and their structural properties studied by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The changes in lattice parameters were analyzed by the Rietveld method and two mass transport mechanisms were observed during sintering in different temperature ranges, evidenced by the linear shrinkage rate as a function of temperature. The effect of the concentration of TiO2 on mass transport and densiffication during sintering was analyzed by considering the intrinsic defects. System densiffication was attributed to a mass transport mechanism in the SnO2 matrix, caused by the presence of TiO2, which formed a solid solution phase. The change in the mass transport mechanism was attributed to chemical bonding between SnO2 and TiO2, which improves ionic difusion as the concentration of TiO2 increased in (Sn,Ti)O2 compositions. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Laryngeal electromyography: Technical features

Laryngeal Electromyography (LEMG) is an auxiliary diagnostic method used for the comprehension and diagnosis of different neurological diseases that compromise laryngeal function. The most common LEMG technique is the percutaneous insertion of needle electrodes guided by surface anatomical references. We describe techniques for inserting needle electrodes into the tireoaritenoideus (TA), cricotireoideus (CT), cricoaritenoideus lateralis (CAL) and cricoaritenoideus posterioris (CAP) muscles; these are used at UNICAMP laryngology ambulatory; we discuss difficulties found and their proposed solutions. All patients were submitted to otorhinolaryngological, phonoaudiological and laryngeal endoscopy before LEMG. The CAP approach, by digital rotation of the thyroid cartilage was found to be the most difficult, followed by the CAL approach. TA and CT approaches gave no major problems, except with some older and obese patients. A significant complication of the TA approach via thyroid cartilage was a hematoma in one patient which partially obstructed the laryngeal lumen.

Semi-automatic modeling of buildings from digital surface models

Semi-automatic building detection and extraction is a topic of growing interest due to its potential application in such areas as cadastral information systems, cartographic revision, and GIS. One of the existing strategies for building extraction is to use a digital surface model (DSM) represented by a cloud of known points on a visible surface, and comprising features such as trees or buildings. Conventional surface modeling using stereo-matching techniques has its drawbacks, the most obvious being the effect of building height on perspective, shadows, and occlusions. The laser scanner, a recently developed technological tool, can collect accurate DSMs with high spatial frequency. This paper presents a methodology for semi-automatic modeling of buildings which combines a region-growing algorithm with line-detection methods applied over the DSM.

Juvenile localized scleroderma: Clinical and epidemiological features in 750 children. An international study

Objective. Juvenile localized scleroderma (JLS) includes a number of conditions often grouped together. With the long-term goal of developing uniform classification criteria, we studied the epidemiological, clinical and immunological features of children with JLS followed by paediatric rheumatology and dermatology centres. Methods. A large, multicentre, multinational study was conducted by collecting information on the demographics, family history, triggering environmental factors, clinical and laboratory features, and treatment of patients with JLS. Results. Seven hundred and fifty patients with JLS from 70 centres were enrolled into the study. The disease duration at diagnosis was 18 months. Linear scleroderma (LS) was the most frequent subtype (65%), followed by plaque morphea (PM) (26%), generalized morphea (GM) (7%) and deep morphea (DM) (2%). As many as 15% of patients had a mixed subtype. Ninety-one patients (12%) had a positive family history for rheumatic or autoimmune diseases; 100 (13.3%) reported environmental events as possible trigger. ANA was positive in 42.3% of the patients, with a higher prevalence in the LS-DM subtype than in the PM-GM subtype. Scl70 was detected in the sera of 3% of the patients, anticentromere antibody in 2%, anti-double-stranded DNA in 4%, anti-cardiolipin antibody in 13% and rheumatoid factor in 16%. Methotrexate was the drug most frequently used, especially during the last 5 yr. Conclusion. This study represents the largest collection of patients with JLS ever reported. The insidious onset of the disease, the delay in diagnosis, the recognition of mixed subtype and the better definition of the other subtypes should influence our efforts in educating trainees and practitioners and help in developing a comprehensive classification system for this syndrome. © 2006 Oxford University Press.

Ultrastructural features of the lining epithelium of the vas deferens of Agouti paca

The epididymal epithelium of Agouti paca, a wild South American rodent, was basically formed by principal and basal cells. Principal cells were closely related to processes of adsorptive endocytosis, phasefluid endocytosis and also secretion originating from their cytoplasmic ultrastructural features. Principal cells were also characterized by the presence of vesicles of several shapes, sizes and internalized content occurring in smaller pits, pale small vesicles next to the apical brush border of microvillus, as well as coated vesicles, smooth surface vesicles and great vesicles. Multivesicular bodies, endosomes and lysosomes were mainly observed in supranuclear position. Moreover, presence of an apocrine secretory process was demonstrated by the occurrence of apical cytoplasmic expansions projecting into the vas deferens luminal compartment. Basal flattened cells without luminal surface contact occurred next to the basement membrane of the ductus, and did no exhibit special ultrastructural features.

Detecção de bordas em imagens digitais através de um processo de difusão anisotrópica não linear

The edges detection model by a non-linear anisotropic diffusion, consists in a mathematical model of smoothing based in Partial Differential Equation (PDE), alternative to the conventional low-pass filters. The smoothing model consists in a selective process, where homogeneous areas of the image are smoothed intensely in agreement with the temporal evolution applied to the model. The level of smoothing is related with the amount of undesired information contained in the image, i.e., the model is directly related with the optimal level of smoothing, eliminating the undesired information and keeping selectively the interest features for Cartography area. The model is primordial for cartographic applications, its function is to realize the image preprocessing without losing edges and other important details on the image, mainly airports tracks and paved roads. Experiments carried out with digital images showed that the methodology allows to obtain the features, e.g. airports tracks, with efficiency.

Missing association between telomerase activity and clinicopathological features in patients with early stage carcinoma of the cervix

Objectives: This study was undertaken to evaluate the association between the telomerase activity in the tumor and clinicopathological findings in patients with stage IB-IIA (FIGO) carcinoma of the cervix. Methods: Thirty-eight patients with carcinoma of the cervix submitted to radical hysterectomy were prospectively from January 1998 to November 2001. Samples from the tumor were taken and analyzed by the telomerase PCR-TRAP-ELISA kit. Clinicopathological characteristics such as age, stage, tumor size, grade of differentiation, lymphatic vascular space invasion (LVSI), parametrial involvement and status of pelvic lymph nodes were also recorded. Results: Patient's mean age was 49.3 ± 1.99 years (29-76 years). The clinical stage (FIGO) was IB in 35 patients (92.1%) and IIA in 3 patients (7.9%). The histological classification identified squamous cell carcinoma in 33 patients (86.8%) and adenocarcinoma in 5 patients (13.2%). There was no association between age, clinical stage, histological classification, tumor size, grade of differentiation and presence of LVSI with tumoral telomerase activity. The telomerase activity was not associated with the presence of vaginal involvement (P = 0.349), parametrium involvement (P = 0.916), pelvic lymph node metastasis (P = 0.988) or tumoral recurrence (P = 0.328) in patients with carcinoma of the cervix. Conclusions: Telomerase activity in the tumor is not associated with clinicopathological findings or tumor recurrence in patients with early stage cervical carcinoma. © 2006 Springer-Verlag.

Level of insight and clinical features of obsessive-compulsive disorder with and without body dysmorphic disorder

Introduction: Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have several similarities and are included among the obsessive-compulsive spectrum of disorders. However, the content of preoccupations and level of insight of BDD patients differ from OCD patients. Objective: To compare the level of insight regarding obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) and other clinical features in OCD patients with and without comorbid BDD. Methods: We evaluated 103 OCD patients (n=25, comorbid BDD), according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale, the University of Sao Paulo Sensory Phenomena Scale, the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories, and the Brown Assessment of Beliefs Scale. Resylts: The study groups differed significantly on several clinical features, including level of insight. A worse level of insight regarding OCS was independently associated with the presence of comorbid BDD. Lower educational level, more psychiatric comorbidities, presence of somatic and hoarding obsessions, and presence of intrusive images were associated with BDD comorbidity, even after adjusting for possible confounders. Conclusion: The presence of BDD in OCD patients is associated with poorer insight into obsessional beliefs and higher morbidity, reflected by lower educational levels and higher number of psychiatric comorbid disorders in general.