Osteolytic metastasis detected in a patient with lung carcinoma by F18-FDG PET

We present a 53-year-old man with a vocal cord paralysis observed as a primary manifestation of lung carcinoma. Tc-99m MDP whole body bone scan was performed and resulted in a normal scintiscan. The bone scan did not reveal any suspicious foci of uptake. The possibility of bone metastasis was taken into consideration. A whole body F18-FDG-PET scan showed intense uptake in the left upper lung corresponding to the primary tumor. A bronchial biopsy confirmed infiltration by small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC). SCLC is composed of poorly differentiated, rapidly growing cells with diseases usually occurring centrally rather than peripherally. It metastasizes early. The whole-body F18-FDG-PET scan clearly demonstrated a focus of increased uptake in the second lumbar vertebral body suspicious for osteolytic metastasis. A lytic bone metastasis was confirmed by MRI. The patient then received therapy and underwent follow up abdominal CT. The scan showed blastic changes in the L2 vertebra suggesting response to treatment.

El canto coral y las orquestas infantiles, una educación en valores = Choir singing and children’s orchestras, an education in values

This article looks at the musical activity carried out at Palafrugell Music School as a musical education centre over the past forty years. After giving a brief description of the work carried out there by vocal and instrumental groups, the article analyses and offers examples and tangible motives that use activities to show that forming part of a coral or instrumental group helps personal development and promotes the acquisition of habits, alongside musical training and learning. In short, an education in values

Effect of population densities of Heterodera glycines race 3 on leaf area, photosynthesis and yield of soybean

The effect of Heterodera glycines on photosynthesis, leaf area and yield of soybean (Glycine max) was studied in two experiments carried out under greenhouse condition. Soybean seeds were sown in 1.5 l (Experiment 1) or 5.0 l (Experiment 2) clay pots filled with a mixture of field soil + sand (1:1) sterilized with methyl bromide. Eight days after sowing, seedlings were thinned to one per pot, and one day later inoculated with 0; 1.200; 3.600; 10.800; 32.400 or 97.200 J2 juveniles of H. glycines. Experiment 1 was carried out during the first 45 days of the inoculation while Experiment 2 was conducted during the whole cycle of the crop. Measurements of photosynthetic rate, stomatic conductance, chlorophyll fluorescence, leaf color, leaf area, and chlorophyll leaf content were taken at ten-day intervals throughout the experiments. Data on fresh root weight, top dry weight, grain yield, number of eggs/gram of roots, and nematode reproduction factor were obtained at the end of the trials. Each treatment was replicated ten times. There was a marked reduction in both photosynthetic rate and chlorophyll content, as well as an evident yellowing of the leaves of the infected plants. Even at the lowest Pi, the effects of H. glycines on the top dry weight or grain yield were quite severe. Despite the parasitism, soybean yield was highly correlated with the integrated leaf area and, accordingly, the use of this parameter was suggested for the design of potential damage prediction models that include physiological aspects of nematode-diseased plants.

Differential responses of nematode communities to soybean genotypes resistant and susceptible to Heterodera glycines race 3

Heterodera glycines and Helicotylenchus dihystera were the two most abundant plant-parasitic nematodes found in two H. glycines race 3-infested fields, Chapadão do Céu, MS and Campo Alegre, MG. These fields had been planted with resistant (R) and susceptible (S) plants to cyst nematodes. In the first field, soybean (Glycine max) FT-Cristalina (S) was susceptible to H. glycines but resistant to H. dihystera, while GOBR93 122243 (R) was just the opposite. In the second field, M-Soy 8400 (R) was more resistant to the spiral nematode than M-Soy8411 (S), but the resistance to the cyst nematode was not different between the two genotypes. The total abundance of nematodes was not different between the susceptible and resistant plants in the two fields, suggesting that H. dihystera and/or bacterial feeders and other trophic groups replaced the reduced abundance of the cyst nematodes in resistant plants. Bacterial feeders acted as a compensatory factor to plant-parasitic nematodes in ecological function. The populations of fungal feeders were higher in GOBR93 122243 (R) than in susceptible FT-Cristalina (S) in Chapadão do Céu, but lower in M-Soy 8400 (R) than in M-Soy 8411 (S) in Campo Alegre. This is being attributed to the different periods of soil samplings that were made at the florescent period in the first field, and at the final growing cycle in the second field. Only four nematodes, H. glycines, H. dihystera, Acrobeles sp. and Panagrolaimus sp. dominated the nematode resistant community GOBR93 122243 (R) in Chapadão do Céu, but dominance was shared by ten genera in Campo Alegre, which explains why the five diversity indexes (S, d, Ds, H' and T) were higher in resistant plants than in susceptible plants in field two.

Resa i röstens landskap : en narrativ studie av hur lärare blir professionella röstanvändare

The theme of this thesis is the learning process that occurs when teachers become professional voice users. The aim is to explore what it (really) means to become a professional voice user in a teaching profession; thereby developing an understanding of how future education in this field can be arranged so as to both effectively prevent vocal problems and to develop oral didactical competence among teachers. The ambition is to describe, interpret, and understand the learning process through a combination of emic and ethic research perspectives. The theoretical frame of reference reflects the cross disciplinary character of the thesis. Voice problems are common among both student teachers and inservice teachers and adversely affect professional competence, identity and quality of life. Additionally, vocal problems are proven to have a negative impact on pupils´ learning. The individual elements of learning are explored in the light of experiential learning theory and transformative learning theory. The social elements of learning are explored in relation to the theory of situated learning. In addition, theories of teacher professionalisation in terms of competence and identity are outlined. The empirical study has a longitudinal and multi method character. It is anchored in a phenomenological hermeneutical tradition, more specifically in narrative inquiry. The point of departure is the learning experiences of ten student teachers, who attended a ten week long course on voice production as part of their teacher training at Åbo Akademi University, in the autumn of 2002 and the spring of 2003. Four interviews in the form of conversations were conducted with each participant. These were crystallised with a process diary, a Swedish Voice Handicap Index, a voice observation, and a video observation. A fifth interview was conducted with each participant five years post teacher training, in the spring of 2008. Participant observation was also conducted throughout the course. The research materials have been analysed and interpreted narratively using a phenomenological hermeneutical method. The results are presented descriptively as individual narratives, which are reflected in logopedic research materials. Learning is here understood as emergent awareness. This is followed by a meta narrative concerning learning as experiences in the four dimensions body, thought, feeling, and relation. Finally, interpretation is expressed with respect to the theory of relational education. Learning is here understood as a movement in the field between the actual and the possible voice. It is also viewed as fundamentally rooted in inter-human relationships, in moments of presence and coexistence. As a tentative answer to the call for an existential space for learning in order to be a professional voice user, I suggest the concept of a learning refuge as a locus for a learning process built on trust, mutuality and openness.

Musikalisk lärandemiljö : planerade musikaktiviteter med småbarn i daghem

A musically stimulating nvironment is of great significance when considering the opportunities for development and learning that are offered to children in day nurseries. Moreover, the quality of musical activities also has great significance for the musical development of growing children. Young children are always striving to create meaning and understanding; they influence and are influenced by the context in which they are situated. The purpose of this study is to investigate the planned music activities in the musical learning environment of seven toddler’s groups in day nurseries, based on four different aspects: the texts of children’s songs, the melodies of children’s songs, the basic elements of music and the use of instrumentation. The data has been gathered by video observation of the planned music activities. The age of the children studied ranged from 11 months to 3 years and 11 months, and on average there were 13 children in each group. The study involved a total of just over 90 children and nine educators. The methodological approaches are hermeneutic as well as videographic, and they are applied to the analysis as required. The approaches are well suited to an understanding of the planned music activities where the individual’s communications and actions are studied. The results of the study show that educators impart a cultural heritage to the children in the form of old traditional songs, but they also act as intermediaries for newer children's songs. They focus on actively on the text content of the children’s songs in their interaction with the children, but do not address the meaning of the text. Furthermore, while the educators use music sessions for the children to develop, among other things, an understanding of language and social skills, they do not use the sessions to develop the children’s musical skills. The educators could, to a much greater extent than they now do, direct the children's attention to the basic elements of music, and conduct meta-cognitive dialogues with the children. They use a large repertoire of children's songs, which are, however, often too demanding for the children’s voices to cope with. In addition, the educators do not plan, in any significant way, activities for the toddlers in order to help them develop the accuracy of their vocal tones. With regard to the use of instruments, the educators focus, in their interaction with the children, is placed on both the usage of the instruments and knowledge about the instruments. Regarding the use of instruments the study shows that the children’s musical expression takes place in an environment that includes both melody and rhythm instruments. It is clear that children are actively interested in the constructed instrument environment, because for long periods of time they independently play and experiment with instruments.

Efficiency of distinct data mining algorithms for classifying stress level in piglets from their vocalization

Among the challenges of pig farming in today's competitive market, there is factor of the product traceability that ensures, among many points, animal welfare. Vocalization is a valuable tool to identify situations of stress in pigs, and it can be used in welfare records for traceability. The objective of this work was to identify stress in piglets using vocalization, calling this stress on three levels: no stress, moderate stress, and acute stress. An experiment was conducted on a commercial farm in the municipality of Holambra, São Paulo State , where vocalizations of twenty piglets were recorded during the castration procedure, and separated into two groups: without anesthesia and local anesthesia with lidocaine base. For the recording of acoustic signals, a unidirectional microphone was connected to a digital recorder, in which signals were digitized at a frequency of 44,100 Hz. For evaluation of sound signals, Praat® software was used, and different data mining algorithms were applied using Weka® software. The selection of attributes improved model accuracy, and the best attribute selection was used by applying Wrapper method, while the best classification algorithms were the k-NN and Naive Bayes. According to the results, it was possible to classify the level of stress in pigs through their vocalization.

Vocalization data mining for estimating swine stress conditions

This study aimed to identify differences in swine vocalization pattern according to animal gender and different stress conditions. A total of 150 barrow males and 150 females (Dalland® genetic strain), aged 100 days, were used in the experiment. Pigs were exposed to different stressful situations: thirst (no access to water), hunger (no access to food), and thermal stress (THI exceeding 74). For the control treatment, animals were kept under a comfort situation (animals with full access to food and water, with environmental THI lower than 70). Acoustic signals were recorded every 30 minutes, totaling six samples for each stress situation. Afterwards, the audios were analyzed by Praat® 5.1.19 software, generating a sound spectrum. For determination of stress conditions, data were processed by WEKA® 3.5 software, using the decision tree algorithm C4.5, known as J48 in the software environment, considering cross-validation with samples of 10% (10-fold cross-validation). According to the Decision Tree, the acoustic most important attribute for the classification of stress conditions was sound Intensity (root node). It was not possible to identify, using the tested attributes, the animal gender by vocal register. A decision tree was generated for recognition of situations of swine hunger, thirst, and heat stress from records of sound intensity, Pitch frequency, and Formant 1.

Cisto esplênico não-parasitário e não-neoplásico

The authors present a rare case of pathology from spleen, a nonparasitic, non-neoplastic splenic cyst, in an adult male patient without a previous history of abdominal trauma. Principal clinical findings were pain in left upper quadrant, nausea, regurgitation and precocious satiation. On investigation, ultrasonography and CT scan showed an expansive lesion in the spleen, compressing the stomach. Surgical procedure was splenectomy and a microscopical examination revealed a non- parasitic, non-neoplastic splenic cyst. Splenic cysts are usually benigns, but surgical remotion is necessary when they are symptomatic or exist risk of rupture. In this report is presented the classification of splenic cysts, clinical manifestations, diagnostics methods and discussed their surgical treatment.

Cisto de colédoco em adulto

Choledochal cyst is a rare congenital malformation of the biliary tree, and aproximately 25% of them are diagnosed in adults. Appropriate surgical management of these lesions depends on the anatomic site and extension of the cystic process. The recognized association of the bile duct cysts with hepatobiliary malignant disease has important surgical implications. Total cyst removal and cholecistectomy with Roux-en- Y hepaticojejunostomy was performed in a 47 year old female with a common bile duct cyst tipe 1 postoperative period was uneventful. A review of literature is presented.

Carcinoma folicular tireoideo metastático para ducto tireoglosso

The authors present a case of a female. 43-year-old patient. with a neck mass suggestive of a thyroglossal duct cyst. During the operation. a hard and adherent mass was found and the pathological findings demonstrated a metastatic follicular carcinoma. Despite of the negative image, total thyroidectomy was performed and a small primary tumor of 0,2cm was found in the left inferior lobe. There were only three of these cases reported.

Linfangioma cístico do fígado

Hepatic lymphangioma developed from a malformation that blocks the lymphatic system of a given area of the liver is a rare benign tumor observed most often in children and adolescents. The authors report and discuss a case of cystic lymphangioma of the liver in a 65 years old female patient, from a region where hydatid disease is endemic, with a complaint of epigastric pain, nausea, and vomiting. The patient presented a non-pulsatile mass, with severe pain at palpation in the epigastric region, The diagnostic investigation revealed a large cystic lesion in the left lobe of the liver; and she was submitted to bisegmentectomy II and III, which showed a hepatic lymphangioma. Considering the progressive character of this lesion, it should be carefully evaluated, since the removal of the lymphangioma is a safe, curative procedure.

Linfangioma cístico do mesentério: uma rara apresentação de abdômen agudo

Mesenteric cyst is a rare intra abdominal pathology. The incidence ranges from 1/100,000 to 1/250,000 hospital admissions. The authors present a case of a female patient, 20 years old, with abdominal pain for four months which three days had an acute onset of abdominal pain, and ultrasound revealed a cyst of mesentery within a dense fluid. The patient had been submitted to a laparotomy, and resection of the cyst. We emphasized the clinical symptoms, diagnostic evaluation and the therapeutic of this condition.

Abordagem videolaparoscópica de cisto esplênico não parasitário

A rare case of primary splenic cyst is shown in a young woman who had a left subcostal abdominal pain. Abdominal echography and CT scan revealed a cyst of the anterior aspect of the spleen. A sorologic test for hidatic disease was negative. On the basis of a presumed diagnostic of nonparasitic cyst, the patient was referred to a laparoscopic decapsulation with excision of the cyst wall not covered by splenic tissue. The patient was discharged 24 hours later. Histological report revelead epidermoid cyst. The laparoscopic approach has being recently considered an effective and less invasive alternative in the treatment of splenic diseases. We demonstrated that it should be considered for the treatment of splenic cysts present in a superficial location, with the advantage of organ preservation.

Cisto epidérmico pré-sacral no adulto

Presacral tumors are relatively uncommon. We report a case of presacral epidermal cyst in a 29-years-old female, which was completely extirpated through a posterior approach ,whitout removal of the coccyx. Histological examination showed a cyst lined by keratinized stratified squamous epithelium.