Tc-99m-labeled dextran for mammary lymphoscintigraphy in dogs

Lymphoscintigraphy is the technique of choice for sentinel lymph node detection in women with early breast cancer, but there is limited information evaluating the value of this technique in animals. We investigated mammary lymphatic drainage in 25 young female mongrel dogs by intramammary injection of 18.5 MBq of Tc-99m-dextran (70,000 Da). Lymph node anatomical referencing was obtained using an external marker, bone scintigraphy, or scintiscanning the body contour. Cranial and caudal thoracic mammary glands drained into the cranial sternal lymph node and axillary lymph center. The cranial thoracic mammary gland also drained into the superficial cervical lymph node in two of five animals. The cranial abdominal gland was drained by the axillary lymph center. The caudal abdominal mammary gland was drained by the superficial inguinal lymph node in all animals and simultaneously by medial iliac lymph nodes in four of five animals. In one dog, this mammary gland was also drained by the mediastinal and the superficial cervical lymph nodes. The inguinal mammary gland was drained by superficial inguinal lymph nodes and simultaneously via the medial iliac lymph node in one animal. Lymphatic communications between lymph nodes were identified in 11 of 25 (44%) animals. Tc-99m-dextran mammary lymphoscintigraphy was easy and rapid to perform and may provide valuable information for further studies.

Saethre-Chotzen Syndrome, Pro136His TWIST Mutation, Hearing Loss, and External and Middle Ear Structural Anomalies: Report on a Brazilian Family

Objective: To describe the clinical, speech, hearing, and imaging findings in three members of a Brazilian family with Saethre-Chotzen syndrome (SCS) who presented some unusual characteristics within the spectrum of the syndrome. Design: Clinical evaluation was performed by a multidisciplinary team. Direct sequencing of the polymerase chain reaction amplified coding region of the TWIST1 gene, routine and electrophysiological hearing evaluation, speech evaluation, and imaging studies through computed tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed. Results: TWIST1 gene analysis revealed a Pro136His mutation in all patients. Hearing evaluation showed peripherial and mixed hearing loss in two of the patients, one of them with severe unilateral microtia. Computed tomography scan showed structural middle ear anomalies, and MRI showed distortion of the skull contour as well as some of the brain structures. Conclusions: We report a previously undescribed TWIST1 gene mutation in patients with SCS. There is evidence that indicates hearing loss (conductive and mixed) can be related both with middle ear (microtia, high jugular bulb, and enlarged vestibules) as well as with brain stem anomalies. Here we discuss the relationship between the gene mutation and the clinical, imaging, speech, and hearing findings.

Two-dimensional radiographic and clinical references of the tooth crown for orthodontic mini-implant insertion: A guide-free technique

Objective. This study evaluated the reliability of tooth-crown radiographic references to aid in orthodontic mini-implant insertion and showed an insertion technique based on these references. Study design. The sample consisted of 213 interradicular septa evaluated in 53 bitewing radiographs. The proximal contour of adjacent tooth crowns was used to define septum width and its midpoint was linked to the interdental contact point to determine septum midline (SML). The distances from SML to mesial and distal teeth were measured and compared to evaluate SML centralization degree in 2 different septum heights. Results. The mesial and distal distances were not statistically different in the midpoint of the septum height, but they were different at the apical septum height. Conclusions. The tooth-crown radiographic references determine a high centralization degree of the SML on which an insertion site could be defined. The greater SML centralization degree was observed at the coronal septum area. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 2010;110:e8-e16)

Fatigue life and failure modes of crowns systems with a modified framework design

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of framework design on the fatigue life and failure modes of metal ceramic (MC, Ni-Cr alloy core, VMK 95 porcelain veneer), glass-infiltrated alumina (ICA, In-Ceram Alumina/VM7), and veneered yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (Y-TZP, IPSe.max ZirCAD/IPS e.max,) crowns. Methods: Sixty composite resin tooth replicas of a prepared maxillary first molar were produced to receive crowns systems of a standard (MCs, ICAs, and Y-TZPs, n = 10 each) or a modified framework design (MCm, ICAm, and Y-TZPm, n = 10 each). Fatigue loading was delivered with a spherical steel indenter (3.18 mm radius) on the center of the occlusal surface using r-ratio fatigue (30-300 N) until completion of 10(6) cycles or failure. Fatigue was interrupted every 125,000 cycles for damage evaluation. Weibull distribution fits and contour plots were used for examining differences between groups. Failure mode was evaluated by light polarized and SEM microscopy. Results: Weibull analysis showed the highest fatigue life for MC crowns regardless of framework design. No significant difference (confidence bound overlaps) was observed between ICA and Y-TZP with or without framework design modification. Y-TZPm crowns presented fatigue life in the range of MC crowns. No porcelain veneer fracture was observed in the MC groups, whereas ICAs presented bulk fracture and ICAm failed mainly through the veneer. Y-TZP crowns failed through chipping within the veneer, without core fractures. Conclusions: Framework design modification did not improve the fatigue life of the crown systems investigated. Y-TZPm crowns showed comparable fatigue life to MC groups. Failure mode varied according to crown system. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of framework design on crown failure

This study evaluated the effect of core-design modification on the characteristic strength and failure modes of glass-infiltrated alumina (In-Ceram) (ICA) compared with porcelain fused to metal (PFM). Premolar crowns of a standard design (PFMs and ICAs) or with a modified framework design (PFMm and ICAm) were fabricated, cemented on dies, and loaded until failure. The crowns were loaded at 0.5 mm min(-1) using a 6.25 mm tungsten-carbide ball at the central fossa. Fracture load values were recorded and fracture analysis of representative samples were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy. Probability Weibull curves with two-sided 90% confidence limits were calculated for each group and a contour plot of the characteristic strength was obtained. Design modification showed an increase in the characteristic strength of the PFMm and ICAm groups, with PFM groups showing higher characteristic strength than ICA groups. The PFMm group showed the highest characteristic strength among all groups. Fracture modes of PFMs and of PFMm frequently reached the core interface at the lingual cusp, whereas ICA exhibited bulk fracture through the alumina core. Core-design modification significantly improved the characteristic strength for PFM and for ICA. The PFM groups demonstrated higher characteristic strength than both ICA groups combined.

Blink startle modulation during anticipation of pleasant and unpleasant stimuli

The present research investigated blink startle modulation during the anticipation of pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral pictures. In Experiment 1 (N = 18), participants were presented with three different tone-picture pairings. Tones differed in pitch and were followed by pleasant, neutral or unpleasant pictures. Acoustic blink reflexes were elicited during some tones and during stimulus free intervals. Blink facilitation during tones that preceded pleasant and unpleasant pictures was larger than during the tone that preceded neutral pictures. Experiment 2 (N = 10) assessed whether this difference was due to a difference in the presentation frequency of the three conditions. No difference in blink facilitation between the conditions was found when pictures of flowers and mushrooms replaced the pleasant and unpleasant pictures, indicating that picture content was instrumental in causing the differential blink facilitation in Experiment 1. The results from Experiment 1 seem to indicate that startle modulation during the anticipation of pictorial material reflects the interest in or the arousal associated with the pictures rather than picture valence.

Analysis of flexural waves excited by rectangular contact type transducers

In this paper, an attempt was made to investigate a fundamental problem related to the flexural waves excited by rectangular transducers. Due to the disadvantages of the Green's function approach for solving this problem, a direct and effective method is proposed using a multiple integral transform method and contour integration technique. The explicit frequency domain solutions obtained from this newly developed method are convenient for understanding transducer behavior and theoretical optimization and experimental calibration of rectangular transducers. The time domain solutions can then be easily obtained by using the fast Fourier transform technique. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

A semi-analytical solution for vibration of rectangular plates with abrupt thickness variation

A semi-analytical analysis of free vibration of plates with cross-sectional discontinuities due to abrupt changes in thickness is presented. A basic square element divided into suitable subdomains dependent upon the positions of these abrupt changes is used as the basic building element, Admissible functions that satisfy the essential or geometric boundary conditions are used to define the transverse deflection of each subdomain. Continuities in the displacement, slope, moment and higher derivatives between adjacent subdomains are enforced at the interconnecting edges. The resulting global energy functional from the proper assembly of the coupled strain and kinetic energy contributions of each subdomain is then minimized via the Ritz procedure to extract the frequencies and mode shapes. Contour plots of a range of new mode shapes are presented for the enhancement of understanding the dynamic behavior of this class of plates, (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd, All rights reserved.

Resistively loaded helical antennas for ground-penetrating radar

Resistively loaded helical antennas, used in the normal mode and horizontally polarised, are modelled using the moment method above typical lossy ground. The distributed resistive loading was adjusted to maintain a two octave bandwidth. The centre frequency of 1 m dipoles was reduced from 250 MHz for the straight resistive wire to 50 MHz for a helix of pitch 2.5 cm and diameter 5 cm. The reduction in efficiency required to maintain the bandwidth for this helix was 12 dB. This agrees reasonably with the theory for small antennas in free space. The results were also verified by comparing measurements performed on a monopole resistively loaded helical antenna in a watertank with the numerical model used elsewhere.

Winding patterns for actively shielded shim coils with asymmetric target-fields

A method is presented for calculating the currents and winding patterns required to design independent zonal and tesseral shim coils for magnetic resonance imaging. Both actively shielded and unshielded configurations are considered, and the region of interest can be located asymmetrically with respect to the coil's length. Streamline, target-field and Fourier-series methods are utilized. The desired target-field is specified at two cylindrical radii, on and inside a circular conducting cylinder of length 2L and radius a. The specification is over some asymmetric portion pL < z < qL of the coil's length (-1 < p < q < 1). Arbitrary functions are used in the outer sections, -L < z < pL and qL < z < L, to ensure continuity of the magnetic field across the entire length of the coil. The entire field is then periodically extended as a half-range cosine Fourier series about either end of the coil. The resultant Fourier coefficients are then substituted into the Fourier-series expressions for the internal and external magnetic fields, and current densities and stream functions on both the primary coil and shield. A contour plot of the stream function directly gives the required coil winding patterns. Spherical harmonic analysis and shielding analysis on field calculations from a ZX shim coil indicate that example designs and theory are well matched.

Experimental investigation of criteria for continuous variable entanglement

We generate a pair of entangled beams from the interference of two amplitude squeezed beams. The entanglement is quantified in terms of EPR paradox and inseparability criteria, with both results clearly beating the standard quantum limit. We experimentally analyze the effect of decoherence on each criterion and demonstrate qualitative differences. We also characterize the number of required and excess photons present in the entangled beams and provide contour plots of the efficacy of quantum information protocols in terms of these variables.

Efeito da geometria dos dentes da serra de fita na produção de madeira serrada de eucalipto

O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar o efeito dos parâmetros que compõem os dentes de serra de fita na produção e qualidade da madeira serrada de eucalipto. Analisou-se o efeito de dois passos de dentes (57,15 mm e passo variado: 50,8 - 50,8 - 50,39 - 50,71 - 60,03 - 60,35 mm), de dois ângulos de ataque (26 e 270) e de duas alturas (22 e 25,4 mm) em duas classes diamétricas (25 a 34 cm e 35 e 47 cm) de clones de híbridos Eucalyptus grandis x Eucalyptus urophylla com 15 anos de idade. Não houve ganho de qualidade quando se trabalhou com passo variado. As lâminas de serra que possuíam ângulo de ataque de 270 e passo único tanto com altura do dente de 22 mm quanto com 25,4 mm geraram desvios acima da espessura-meta. A menor variação em torno da espessura-meta foi obtida quando se utilizaram lâminas de serra de ângulo de ataque de 270 e altura do dente de 25,4 mm. O maior desvio ocorreu quando o desdobro foi efetuado com passo variado e ângulo de ataque de 260. A utilização de passo variado, de modo geral, foi o que apresentou maiores desvios na espessura das tábuas em relação à espessura desejada.

Estudo do comportamento vocal no ciclo menstrual: avaliação perceptivo-auditiva, acústica e auto-perceptiva

Durante o período pré-menstrual é comum a ocorrência de disfonia, e são poucas as mulheres que se dão conta dessa variação da voz dentro do ciclo menstrual (Quinteiro, 1989). OBJETIVO: Verificar se há diferença no padrão vocal de mulheres no período de ovulação em relação ao primeiro dia do ciclo menstrual, utilizando-se da análise perceptivo-auditiva, da espectrografia, dos parâmetros acústicos e quando esta diferença está presente, se é percebida pelas mulheres. FORMA DE ESTUDO: Caso-controle. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: A amostra coletada foi de 30 estudantes de Fonoaudiologia, na faixa etária de 18 a 25 anos, não-fumantes, com ciclo menstrual regular e sem o uso de contraceptivo oral. As vozes foram gravadas no primeiro dia de menstruação e no décimo-terceiro dia pós-menstruação (ovulação), para posterior comparação. RESULTADOS: Observou-se durante o período menstrual que as vozes estão rouco-soprosa de grau leve a moderado, instáveis, sem a presença de quebra de sonoridade, com pitch e loudness adequados e ressonância equilibrada. Há pior qualidade de definição dos harmônicos, maior quantidade de ruído entre eles e menor extensão dos harmônicos superiores. Encontramos uma f0 mais aguda, jitter e shimmer aumentados e PHR diminuída. CONCLUSÃO: No período menstrual há mudanças na qualidade vocal, no comportamento dos harmônicos e nos parâmetros vocais (f0,jitter, shimmer e PHR). Além disso, a maioria das estudantes de Fonoaudiologia não percebeu a variação da voz durante o ciclo menstrual.

A eficácia da adaptação de prótese auditiva na redução ou eliminação do zumbido

O zumbido é uma desordem extremamente freqüente em pacientes com perda auditiva, atingindo cerca de 40 milhões de pessoas nos EUA, afetando aproximadamente 1/3 da população acima dos 65 anos de idade. A prática clínica tem demonstrado que pacientes portadores de perda auditiva associada a zumbido beneficiam-se com o uso de próteses auditivas, pois estas, além de melhorarem a compreensão da conversação, aliviam o zumbido. OBJETIVO: No presente trabalho, procurou-se verificar a eficiência da adaptação de próteses auditivas na redução ou eliminação do zumbido em pacientes com perda auditiva. FORMA DE ESTUDO: Estudo de série. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: Foram avaliados 47 indivíduos adultos, sendo 32 do sexo feminino e 15 do sexo masculino, com idades entre 32 e 88 anos, com indicação médica para adaptação de prótese auditiva. Realizou-se análise e avaliação subjetiva da sensação de zumbido por meio da técnica da acufenometria, caracterizando-o quanto ao pitch e loudness, e acompanhamento dos pacientes durante um ano afim de verificar se houve melhora do zumbido após a adaptação da prótese auditiva. RESULTADOS: A maioria dos pacientes (87,2%) referiu melhora do zumbido com o uso da prótese auditiva, sendo que em 51% destes o zumbido desapareceu completamente. O tempo de uso da prótese necessário para a melhora do zumbido foi de 3 a 8 meses para a maioria dos indivíduos. As características da prótese auditiva, como modelo, tecnologia e ventilação, não influenciaram a melhora do zumbido. CONCLUSÃO: A adaptação de próteses auditivas mostrou-se eficaz na redução ou eliminação do zumbido em pacientes portadores de perda auditiva associada a zumbido.

Sensibilidade e especificidade da análise perceptivo-auditiva da voz na triagem de distúrbios laríngeos

Apesar da crescente experiência adquirida com as campanhas nacionais da voz na triagem de indivíduos com alterações laríngeas, ainda não estabelecemos qual o melhor método de avaliação: triagem fonoaudiológica exclusiva, exame laringoscópico exclusivo ou trabalho conjunto médico/fonoaudiólogo para triagem. OBJETIVO: O objetivo do atual estudo foi avaliar a sensibilidade, especificidade, valor preditivo positivo e negativo da análise perceptivo auditiva da voz em comparação com videolaringoscopia como método de triagem de indivíduos com alterações laringofaríngeas. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: Foram comparados os aspectos vocais (escala GRBASI, pitch, loudness, CPF e ressonância) e videolaringoscópicos de 567 indivíduos que participaram da Campanha da Voz 2005 em um hospital universitário terciário. RESULTADOS: A alteração laríngea mais freqüente foi o refluxo laringofaríngeo (RLF) (43,5%), seguida de lesões benignas (17%) e suspeitas de malignas (1%). A sensibilidade da avaliação perceptivo-auditiva da voz foi 91% para os pacientes com lesões benignas e 100% nas suspeitas de maligna, porém apenas 76% no RLF. Dos exames considerados normais 52% foram flagrados como tendo alterações vocais. O valor preditivo positivo foi de 71% e o negativo foi de 61%. CONCLUSÕES: Apesar de importante, a análise perceptivo-auditiva não deve ser usada como único instrumento de triagem em campanhas de saúde vocal.