A review of vertebroplasty for osteoporotic and malignant vertebral compression fractures

Vertebral compression fractures are a common clinical problem and the incidence of them will increase with the ageing population. Traditionally management has been conservative; however, there has been a growing trend towards vertebroplasty as an alternative therapy in patients with persisting severe pain. NICE produced guidance in 2003 recommending the procedure after 4 weeks of conservative management. Recent high-quality studies have been contradictory and there is currently a debate surrounding the role of the procedure with no agreement in the literature. We examine the evidence in both osteoporotic and malignant vertebral compression fractures; we also describe the benefits and side effects, alternative treatment options and the cost of the procedure. Finally, we recommend when vertebroplasty is most appropriately used based on the best available evidence.

Space, authenticity and utopia in the hip-hop teen dance film

The dance film flourished in the 2000s in the form of the hip-hop teen dance film. Such films as Save the Last Dance (Thomas Carter, 2001), Honey (Billy Woodruff, 2002) and Step Up (Anne Fletcher, 2006) drew on hip-hop’s dominance of the mainstream music industry and combined the teen film’s pre-existing social problem and musical narratives. Yet various tension were created by their interweaving of representations of post-industrial city youth with the utopian sensibilities of the classical Hollywood musical. Their narratives celebrated hip-hop performance, and depicted dance’s ability to bridge cultural boundaries and bring together couples and communities. These films used hip-hop to define space and identity yet often constructed divisions within their soundscapes, limiting hip-hop’s expressive potential. This article explores the cycle’s celebration of, yet struggle with, hip-hop through examining select films’ interactions between soundscape, narrative and form. It will engage with these films’ attempts to marry the representational, narrative and aesthetic meanings of hip-hop culture with the form and ideologies of the musical genre, particularly the tensions and continuities that arise from their engagement with the genre’s utopian qualities identified by Richard Dyer (1985). Yet whilst these films illustrate the tensions and challenges of combining hip-hop culture and the musical genre, they also demonstrate an effective integration of hip-hop soundscape and the dancing body in their depiction of dance, highlighting both form’s aesthetics of layering, rupture and flow (Rose, 1994: 22).

Childhood trauma: methods for the identification of physeal fractures in non-adult skeletal remains

Objectives Today, fractures at the growth plate (or physis) are common injuries in children, but provide challenges of identification in skeletonized remains. Clinical studies provide detailed information on the mechanisms, locations, age of occurrence, and complications associated with physeal fractures, enabling the development of new criteria for identifying this injury in non-adults. To test these criteria, skeletal remains from five rural and urban medieval cemeteries were examined. Methods The sample consisted of 961 skeletons (0-17 years) with open epiphyses. Macroscopic observation looked for any irregularities of the metaphysis or epiphysis which was consistent with the clinical appearance of physeal fractures or resulting complications. Radiographic examination was applied to identify fracture lines or early growth arrest. Results This study revealed 12 cases of physeal trauma (1.2%). Physeal fractures occurred predominantly at the distal end (75%), and while they were identified in all age categories, they were most frequent in those aged 12-17 years (0.2% TPR). The humerus was the most commonly affected location (3/12 or 25%). Conclusions This study highlights the potential for recognizing physeal fractures in children of all ages, enhancing our understanding of non-adult trauma, and enabling us to assign a more precise age of the injury to build up a picture of their activities in the past.

A retrospective study of zygomatico-orbital complex and/or zygomatic arch fractures over a 71-month period

Background/Aim: The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the epidemiology, treatment, and complications of zygomatico-orbital complex (ZOC) and/or zygomatic arch (ZA) fractures either associated with other facial fractures or not over a 71-month period. Material and methods: This survey was performed in three hospitals of Ribeirao Preto in Sao Paulo, Brazil, from August 2002 to July 2008. The records of 1575 patients with facial trauma were reviewed. There were 140 cases of ZOC and ZA fractures either associated with other facial fractures or not. Data regarding gender, age, race, addictions, day of trauma, etiology, signs and symptoms, oral hygiene condition, day of initial evaluation, hospital admission, day of surgery, surgery approach, pattern of fractures, treatment performed, post-operative antibiotic therapy, day of hospital discharge, and post-operative complications were collected. The data were subjected to descriptive statistical analyses. Results: The most frequent fractures affected Caucasian men and occurred during the fourth decade of life. The most frequent etiology was traffic accident, and symptoms and signs included pain and edema. Type I fractures were the main injury observed, and the treatment of choice was always rigid internal fixation. Post-operative antibiotic therapy was solely employed when there was an indication. Complications were observed in 13.1% of the cases. Conclusions: The treatment protocol yielded suitable post-operative results and also showed success rates comparable to published data around the world.

Prevalence and risk factors of radiographic vertebral fracture in Brazilian community-dwelling elderly

The prevalence and risk factors of radiographic vertebral fracture were determined among Brazilian community-dwelling elderly. Vertebral fractures were a common condition in this elderly population, and lower hip bone mineral density was a significant risk factor for vertebral fractures in both genders. The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of radiographic vertebral fracture and investigate factors associated with this condition in Brazilian community-dwelling elderly. This cross-sectional study included 943 elderly subjects (561 women and 382 men) living in So Paulo, Brazil. Thoracic and lumbar spine radiographs were obtained, and vertebral fractures were evaluated using Genant`s semiquantitative method. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry, and bone biochemical markers were also evaluated. Female and male subjects were analyzed independently, and each gender was divided into two groups based on whether vertebral fractures were present. The prevalence of vertebral fracture was 27.5% (95% CI 23.8-31.1) in women and 31.8% in men (95% CI 27.1-36.5) (P = 0.116). Cox regression analyses using variables that were significant in the univariate analysis showed that age (prevalence ratio = 1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.06; p = 0.019) and total femur BMD (PR = 0.27, 95% CI 0.08-0.98; p = 0.048) were independent factors in predicting vertebral fracture for the female group. In the male group, Cox regression analyses demonstrated that femoral neck BMD (PR = 0.26, 95% CI 0.07-0.98; p = 0.046) was an independent parameter in predicting vertebral fractures. Our results suggest that radiographic vertebral fractures are common in Brazilian community-dwelling elderly and that a low hip BMD was an important risk factor for this condition in both genders. Age was also significantly correlated with the presence of vertebral fractures in women.

Columnar joints in the Patino Formation sandstones, Eastern Paraguay: a dynamic interaction between dyke intrusion, quartz dissolution and cooling-induced fractures

The Patino Formation sandstones, which crop out in Aregua neighborhood in Eastern Paraguay and show columnar joints near the contact zone with a nephelinite dyke, have as their main characteristics the high proportion of syntaxial quartz overgrowth and a porosity originated from different processes, initially by dissolution and later by partial filling and fracturing. Features like the presence of floating grains in the syntaxial cement, the transitional interpenetrative contact between the silica-rich cement and grains as well as the intense fracture porosity are strong indications that the cement has been formed by dissolution and reprecipitation of quartz from the framework under the effect of thermal expansion followed by rapid contraction. The increase of the silica-rich cement towards the dyke in association with the orthogonal disposition of the columns relative to dyke walls are indicative that the igneous body may represent the main heat source for the interstitial aqueous solutions previously existing in the sediments. At macroscopic scale, the increasing of internal tensions in the sandstones is responsible for the nucleation of polygons, leading to the individualization of prisms, which are interconnected by a system of joints, formed firstly on isotherm surfaces of low temperature and later on successive adjacent planes towards the dyke heat source.

A corpus approach to discursive constructions of a hip-hop identity

This chapter is an analysis of a 100,000-word corpus consisting of message-board postings on hip-hop websites. A discourse analysis of this corpus reveals three strategies employed by the posters to identify themselves as members of the hip-hop community in the otherwise anonymous setting of the internet: (1) defined openings and closings, (2) repeated use of slang and taboo terms, and (3) performance of verbal art. Each strategy is characterized by the codification of non-standard grammar and pronunciations characteristic of speech, as well as by the use of non-standard orthography. The purpose of the discourse is shown to be a performance of identity, whereby language is used and recognized as the discursive construction of one’s hip-hop identity.

Hip hop sul : um espaço televisivo de formação e atuação musical

O presente trabalho investigou o programa televisivo Hip Hop Sul, veiculado pela TV Educativa do Rio Grande do Sul, e a sua relação com os músicos que dele participam, buscando entender as funções sócio-musicais e as experiências de formação e atuação musical que o programa desempenha. As técnicas utilizadas na coleta de dados foram a entrevista semi-estruturada, observações e acompanhamento da rotina de trabalho dos produtores do programa e registros em fotografias digitais e em audiovisuais da atuação dos grupos de rap e da produção do programa. A investigação foi desenvolvida na perspectiva dos estudos culturais (Wolf, 1995) e a análise dos dados foi feita com base no método de análise televisiva de Casetti e Chio (1998). O trabalho fundamenta-se na perspectiva da televisão como mediadora de conhecimentos musicais, (Fischer, 1997, 2000a, 2000b; Kraemer, 2000; Nanni, 2000 e Souza, 2000), a partir dos quais foram evidenciados os aspectos musicais formativos e atuantes presentes no Hip Hop Sul. Os aspectos abordados referem-se as experiências musicais dos grupos de rap como telespectadores e participantes do programa. Os resultados dessa pesquisa mostram que para esses grupos, ver a si mesmo ou sentir-se representados na televisão, significa existir, ter uma identidade e sair do anonimato. Estar na televisão é, portanto, uma experiência que modifica o ser e o fazer musical.

Hip-Hop : educabilidades e traços culturais em movimento

Este é um estudo dos elementos e das atividades culturais do Movimento Hip-hop tomadas como saberes e como processos de aprendizagens trans-escolares, enquanto ações sociais potencializadoras de outras educabilidades e traços culturais. É um estudo de outros conhecimentos e modos de ser humanos que se fazem com, a partir e para além dos espaçostempos tradicionalmente conhecidos como pedagógicos e que se constituem dentro de um movimento constante dos seus sujeitos em busca de saberes. Na medida que foi possível perceber e vivenciar alguns fluxos de sentidos nesta rede de educabilidades, eu procurei compreendê-las como produções dialógicas de saberes e organizá-las, segundo sua natureza e tendências evolutivas, dentro de três campos complexos. A estes campos, construídos a partir de uma reflexão aberta, resolvi dar o nome de expressivo-identitário, ético-estético e sóciopolítico. Esta abordagem facilitou a organização dos registros desta pesquisa e vem se construindo como um instrumento flexível, não definitivo, mas bastante próprio à leitura, à análise e à compreensão de vários traços e elementos culturais que constituem o Movimento Hip-hop. Além disso, ajuda a pensar aspectos diversos de um dos principais objetivos deste estudo que é a revelação de outros sentidos destas educabilidades, elevando-as a um patamar de maior importância enquanto ações sociais formadoras e transformadoras dos jovens e das suas realidades localizadas em diferentes periferias urbanas, especialmente de Santa Cruz do Sul - RS. A realização deste trabalho vem fazendo parte da minha trajetória de educador por diferentes inserções diretas em espaços-tempos de expressão da cultura hip-hop, bem como pelo diálogo possível com diferentes grupos e sujeitos que nesta cultura descobrem, problematizam, recriam e assumem suas identidades. O desejo mais forte, a vontade mais latente nesta ação investigativa é construir referências para novos caminhos de ensinoaprendizagem no contexto social mais amplo e complexo, como é o caso do Movimento Hiphop. Em outras palavras, trato de apresentar alguns passos possíveis para uma observação educativa que não deixa de estar vinculada à busca de sentidos em torno de alguns aspectos dos elementos culturais do Movimento Hip-hop, trazendo um pouco da sua história e das suas metodologias constitutivas como caminhos possíveis e como novas perturbações e desafios para a academia. Para tanto, procuro repensar estes modos de ser e de fazer da cultura que forma e que informa o hip-hop no contexto social aberto, como instâncias e ferramentas que ampliam o nosso esforço de educadoras e educadores em reorganizar a escola – seus sujeitos, processos e estruturas do ensino-aprendizagem formais. Assim, as perspectivas e desafios decorrentes deste estudo apontam para algumas metodologias de construção e para certas características dos diferentes sujeitos e práticas culturais que integram o Movimento Hip-hop – mutabilidades, recursividades, dialogicidades, vivências, midiaticidades, autopoiesis, perturbações, transitoriedades, apropriações, territorialidades – como principais contribuições ao nosso trabalho coletivo, feliz-doloroso e inevitável de reconstruir a escola e a educação que vivemos hoje.

Genetic parameters and relationships between heifers rebreeding and hip height in Nellore cattle

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Do hip hop ao ciberespaço: interações midiáticas em jovens da periferia

En el barrio de Guarapes, al oeste de Natal, RN, un grupo de jóvenes se organizó para buscar de paz en su vecindario. Encontraron en la cultura hip hop una forma de contar sus historias y trabajar en el fortalecimiento de su propio lugar. Formaron la Posse de Hip Hop Lelo Melodia (PH2LM) y hace cerca de dos años, instalaron la "Bodega Digital", una especie de telecentro que ofrecía acceso a computadoras e Internet, donde pudieron producir una gran cantidad de música, además del primer video del grupo musical, que está en el aire a través de la Internet. En un suburbio, los procesos de mediatización de la sociedad pueden adquirir su propia dinámica y seguir movimientos que van más allá de las barreras impuestas por el proceso contradictorio de la globalización. En esta investigación, se buscó establecer relaciones entre la acción político-cultural de los jóvenes de la Posse y su participación en los medios de comunicación, especialmente en la Internet. Al observar al grupo y en entrevistas episódicas con sus miembros, trazamos un mapa e interpretamos los movimientos de los jóvenes hacia el ciberespacio y en sentido inverso, cómo traen a la calle lo que conquistan allí. Hemos encontrado que, a pesar de todos los obstáculos, estos jóvenes encuentran vacíos y los aprovechan para asegurar su acceso a los medios de comunicación y su participación en el ciberespacio.