Effect of Auditory-Perceptual Training With Natural Voice Anchors on Vocal Quality Evaluation.

Purpose: To analyze the effects of auditory-perceptual training with anchor stimuli of natural voices on inter-rater agreement during the assessment of vocal quality.

Study Design: This is a quantitative nature study.

Methods: An auditory-perceptual training site was developed consisting of Programming Interface A, an auditory training activity, and Programming Interface B, a control activity.

Two Draft Genome Sequences of Isolates from the Rio Negro.

The draft genome sequences of two strains isolated from the Rio Negro are reported here. These bacteria carry most genetic systems associated with the production of bioactive compounds, but unlike other strains, they lack a dedicated operon for arsenic resistance.

The Influence of Noise on the Vocal Dose in Women.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate if noise interferes with the vocal dose in women without vocal complaints.

Study Design: This is an experimental and comparative study.

Methods: Data were collected on 27 women between 22 and 50 years of age without vocal complaints in a university classroom.

Somatic Mutations Activating the mTOR Pathway in Dorsal Telencephalic Progenitors Cause a Continuum of Cortical Dysplasias.

Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) and hemimegalencephaly (HME) are epileptogenic neurodevelopmental malformations caused by mutations in mTOR pathway genes. Deep sequencing of these genes in FCD/HME brain tissue identified an etiology in 27 of 66 cases (41%). Radiographically indistinguishable lesions are caused by somatic activating mutations in AKT3, MTOR, and PIK3CA and germline loss-of-function mutations in DEPDC5, NPRL2, and TSC1/2, including TSC2 mutations in isolated HME demonstrating a "two-hit" model.

Expression of iron-related proteins in feline and canine mammary gland reveals unexpected accumulation of iron.

Dysregulation of cellular iron homeostasis in human breast cancer is reflected by the altered expression of regulatory proteins. The expressions of iron-related proteins in the mammary glands of cats and dogs have not been assessed. We evaluated the expressions of ferritin, ferroportin, hepcidin and transferrin receptor 1 in benign and malignant mammary gland lesions in cats and dogs.

The Effects of Amplification on Vocal Dose in Teachers with Dysphonia.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if voice amplification influenced vocal dose in female teachers with dysphonia.

Material And Methods: This was an experimental study with comparative intrasubjects in which 15 individuals were compared in two different moments: condition 1 (C1) without voice amplification and condition 2 (C2) with voice amplification. All of them were female, kindergarten and elementary school teachers who presented organic or functional dysphonia.

Canine invasive mammary carcinomas as models of human breast cancer. Part 1: natural history and prognostic factors.

Purpose: Dogs have been proposed as spontaneous animal models of human breast cancer, based on clinicopathologic similarities between canine and human mammary carcinomas. We hypothesized that a better knowledge of the natural history and prognostic factors of canine invasive mammary carcinomas would favor the design of preclinical trials using dogs as models of breast cancer.

Methods: The 2-year outcome of 350 female dogs with spontaneous invasive mammary carcinoma was studied.

Canine invasive mammary carcinomas as models of human breast cancer. Part 2: immunophenotypes and prognostic significance.

Purpose: Relevant animal models of human breast cancer are currently needed, especially for the aggressive triple-negative breast cancer subtype. Recent studies and our results (Part 1) indicate that spontaneous canine invasive mammary carcinomas (CMCs) resemble human breast cancer by clinics and pathology as well as behavior and prognostic indicators. We hypothesized that the current molecular classifications of human breast cancer, used for therapeutic decision, could be relevant to dogs.

Defining Hand Stereotypies in Rett Syndrome: A Movement Disorders Perspective.

Introduction: Hand stereotypies (HS) are a primary diagnostic criterion for Rett syndrome (RTT) but are difficult to characterize and quantify systematically.

Methods: We collected video on 27 girls (2-12 years of age) with classic RTT who participated in a mecasermin trial. The present study focused exclusively on video analyses, by reviewing two five-minute windows per subject to identify the two most common HS.

Rates, distribution and implications of postzygotic mosaic mutations in autism spectrum disorder.

We systematically analyzed postzygotic mutations (PZMs) in whole-exome sequences from the largest collection of trios (5,947) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) available, including 282 unpublished trios, and performed resequencing using multiple independent technologies. We identified 7.5% of de novo mutations as PZMs, 83.

A Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasonographic Study About the Impact of Long-term Exercise Training on Mammary Tumor Vascularization.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of long-term exercise training on the vascularization of rat mammary tumors.

Methods: Female rats were divided into 4 groups: N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) treated sedentary, MNU treated exercised, control sedentary, and control exercised. Tumor development was induced in the MNU groups by MNU administration.

Waist-to-height ratio and its association with TV viewing in a sample of Portuguese children aged 7-9 years.

Introduction: During the past decades, increased TV viewing and reduced physical activity (PA) levels may have contributed to the increased prevalence of pediatric obesity. This study aimed to analyze the association between TV viewing and central adiposity risk in Portuguese children.

Methods: The sample comprised 3987 children (1997 girls and 1990 boys) aged 7-9 years.

HIV Infection, risk factors and health services use among male-to-female transgender sex workers: a cross-sectional study in Portugal.

Male-to-female transgender sex workers (TSW) have been identified as a key population at risk for HIV. This study examined risk behaviors and HIV prevalence among TSW, and described health services use. A participatory cross-sectional survey was conducted with 125 TSW recruited in locations and networks where sex workers congregate.

Self-medication among nursing students in the state of Amazonas - Brazil.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of self-medication and associated factors among nursing students.

Method: This is a cross-sectional study with 116 nursing students from the public university in the state of Amazonas, Brazil, from March to April 2014. Data were collected using a questionnaire with socioeconomic and medicine use variables.

Treponema pallidum ssp. pallidum identification by real-time PCR targetting the polA gene in paraffin-embedded samples positive by immunohistochemistry.

Syphilis is a systemic and sexually transmitted infection caused by Treponema pallidum ssp. pallidum. This spirochete causes different clinical and subclinical stages depending on the duration of infection and immune status of the host.

Modulation of mammary tumor vascularization by mast cells: Ultrasonographic and histopathological approaches.

Aims: The inhibition of mast cells' degranulation may be an approach to prevent the formation of new vessels during the mammary carcinogenesis.

Materials And Methods: Female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five experimental groups. Mammary tumors were induced by intraperitoneal injection of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU).

Mast Cells in Mammary Carcinogenesis: Host or Tumor Supporters?

Background/aim: The effects of mast cells on carcinogenesis is not yet fully understood. This work aimed to disclose the role of mast cells in mammary carcinogenesis in a rat model.

Materials And Methods: Mammary tumors were induced by the administration of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) in three groups of rats.

Analysis of voice-related quality of life in children.

Purpose: To analyze the voice-related quality of life of children with dysphonia and without voice disorders in a population sample of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.

Methods: Study participants were 420 children, 98 with dysphonia and 322 without voice disorders, aged six to 10 years, enrolled in public and private elementary schools. The random sample was divided into two groups: dysphonic children (study group - SG) and children without vocal disorders (control group - CG).

Biallelic mutations in human DCC cause developmental split-brain syndrome.

Motor, sensory, and integrative activities of the brain are coordinated by a series of midline-bridging neuronal commissures whose development is tightly regulated. Here we report a new human syndrome in which these commissures are widely disrupted, thus causing clinical manifestations of horizontal gaze palsy, scoliosis, and intellectual disability. Affected individuals were found to possess biallelic loss-of-function mutations in the gene encoding the axon-guidance receptor 'deleted in colorectal carcinoma' (DCC), which has been implicated in congenital mirror movements when it is mutated in the heterozygous state but whose biallelic loss-of-function human phenotype has not been reported.

Effect of performance time of the high-pitched blowing vocal exercise in the voice of women.

Purpose: To analyze the results of the runtimes of one, three, five, and seven minutes of the high-pitched blowing vocal exercise in women without voice complaints and with dysphonia and vocal nodules.

Methods: This is an experimental study with a consecutive and convenience sample of 60 women divided into two groups: 30 participants with dysphonia caused by vocal fold nodules (study group - SG) and 30 participants without vocal complaints (control group - CG). All participants performed the high-pitched blowing vocal exercise for one, three, five, and seven minutes.

A spontaneous high-grade undifferentiated mammary carcinoma in a seven-week-old female rat.

The present work describes a rare case of a spontaneous high-grade carcinoma in a seven-week-old Sprague-Dawley female rat that had been included in the control group of an assay of mammary carcinogenesis. The mass was detected at 50days of age, it grown quickly and the animal was humanely sacrificed eight days later. The tumor was located in the left cervical region, in the vicinity of the left submandibular and sublingual glands.

Antihistamines as promising drugs in cancer therapy.

Histamine is a biogenic amine, synthetized and released by mast cells, which acts as a vasodilator in several pathologic processes, namely in allergies and conjunctivitis. Its role on cancer is not fully understood. High levels of histamine have been associated with a bivalent behavior in regulation of several tumors (i.

Electron Microscopy Findings in N-Methyl-N-Nitrosourea-Induced Mammary Tumors.

Although the rat model of mammary tumors chemically induced by N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) has been frequently used by several research teams, there is a lack of ultrastructural studies in this field. The main aim of this work was to perform an ultrastructural characterization of MNU-induced mammary tumors in female rats. Some alterations previously reported in human mammary tumors, such as nucleus size and shape, accumulation of heterochromatin in the perinuclear region, and interdigitating cytoplasmic processes between cancer cells were also observed in MNU-induced mammary tumors.

Effect of Performance Time of the Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract Exercises in Dysphonic Children.

Objective: This study aimed to verify the effects of execution time on auditory-perceptual and acoustic responses in children with dysphonia completing straw phonation exercises.

Study Design: A randomized, prospective, comparative intra-subject study design was used.

Methods: Twenty-seven children, ranging from 5 to 10 years of age, diagnosed with vocal cord nodules or cysts, were enrolled in the study.