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Bone is one of the most common metastatic target sites in breast cancer, with more than 200 thousand new cases of invasive cancer diagnosed in the US alone in 2011. We set out to establish a multimodality imaging platform for bone metastases in small animals as a tool to non-invasively quantify metastasis growth, imaging the ensuing bone lesions and possibly the response to treatment. To this end, a mouse model of osteolytic metastatic bone tumors was characterized with SPECT/CT and MRI over time. A cell line capable of forming bone metastases, MDA-MB-231, was genetically modified to stably express the reporter gene herpes simplex virus-1 thymidine kinase ( hsv-1 tk ). The intracellular accumulation of the radiolabeled tracer [ 123 I]FIAU promoted by HSV-1 TK specifically pinpoints the location of tumor cells which can be imaged in vivo by SPECT. First, a study using tumors implanted subcutaneously was performed. The SPECT/MRI overlays and the ex vivo γ-counting showed a linear correlation in terms of %ID/cm 3 (R 2 = 0.93) and %ID/g (R 2 = 0.77), respectively. Then, bone metastasis growth was imaged weekly by SPECT/CT and T 2 -weighted MRI over a maximum of 40 days post-intracardiac injection of tumor cells. The first activity spots detectable with SPECT, around day 20 post-cell injection, were smaller than 2 mm 3 and not yet visible by MRI and increased in volume and in %ID over the weeks. Osteolytic bone lesions were visible by CT ( in vivo ) and μCT ( ex vivo ). The SPECT/MRI overlays also showed a linear correlation in terms of %ID/cm 3 (R 2 = 0.86). In conclusion, a new multimodality imaging platform has been established that non-invasively combines images of active tumor areas (SPECT), tumor volume (MRI) and the corresponding bone lesions (CT and μCT). To our knowledge this is the first report where the combination of soft tissue information from MRI, bone lesions by CT, and reporter gene imaging by SPECT is used to non-invasively follow metastatic bone lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background A small proportion of individuals with Tourette syndrome (TS) have a lifelong course of illness that fails to respond to conventional treatments. Open label studies have suggested that low frequency (1-Hz) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) targeting the supplementary motor area (SMA) may be effective in reducing tic severity. Objective/Hypothesis To examine the efficacy of rTMS over the SMA for TS in a randomized double-blind sham-controlled trial (RCT). Methods We conducted a two-site RCT-rTMS with 20 adults with severe TS for 3 weeks. Treatment consisted of 15 sessions (1-Hz; 30 min; 1800 pulses per day) of active or sham rTMS at 110% of the motor threshold over the SMA. A subsequent 3 week course of active rTMS treatment was offered. Results Of the 20 patients (16 males; mean age of 33.7 ± 12.2 years), 9 received active and 11 received sham rTMS. After 3 weeks, patients receiving active rTMS showed on average a 17.3% reduction in the YGTSS total tic score compared to a 13.2% reduction in those receiving sham rTMS, resulting in no statistically significant reduction in tic severity ( P = 0.27). An additional 3 week open label active treatment for those patients ( n = 7) initially randomized to active rTMS resulted in a significant overall 29.7% reduction in tic severity compared to baseline ( P = 0.04). Conclusion This RCT did not demonstrate efficacy of 3-week SMA-targeted low frequency rTMS in the treatment of severe adult TS. Further studies using longer or alternative stimulation protocols are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: This study aims to compare the prevalence of obsessive–compulsive spectrum disorders (OCSD) in psychiatric outpatients with and without a history of rheumatic fever (RF). Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study assessing a large sample of consecutive psychiatric outpatients at a Brazilian private practice was conducted during a 10-year period. Psychiatric diagnoses were made by a senior psychiatrist based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition. Best-estimate diagnosis procedure was also performed. Results: The total sample comprised 678 subjects, 13 of whom (1.92%) presented with a previous history of RF. This group showed a higher prevalence of subclinical obsessive–compulsive disorder (P=.025) and OCSD (P=.007) when compared to individuals with no such history. Conclusions: A previous history of RF was associated with OCSD. These results suggest that clinicians should be encouraged to actively investigate obsessive–compulsive symptoms and related disorders in patients with a positive history of RF. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The present report describes a case of a 33-year old male patient with homozygous sickle cell disease (SCD) with comorbid psychotic symptoms. The systematical evaluation revealed an intimate association between acute SCD complications, associated with hematological abnormalities, and psychotic symptoms worsening. Clozapine was effective in controlling psychotic symptoms refractory to previous antipsychotic trials. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Climate aspects are important for forage production. Therefore, mathematical models that account for such aspects are useful tools to help decision making and improve pasture management. The objective of this study was to develop and parameterize an agrometeorological model based on solar radiation, temperature and soil water availability to estimate Urochloa (syn. Brachiaria ) brizantha cv. Marandu production. Such model was parameterized with data from nine growth cycles of an experiment conducted in 2011/2012. For this, base temperature (Tb), radiation use efficiency (RUE) and soil water availability were determined. The model was validated with data from three experiments conducted in 2001/2002, 2009/2010 and 2012 under irrigated and rainfed conditions. Using historical climate data from São Carlos (21°57′S, 47°50′W, 860 m), and Votuporanga (20°30′S, 49°59′W, 430 m), both in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, a sensitivity analysis was performed. During the validation, the biomass estimations presented a R 2 of 0.92, D index of 0.98, mean error of −8.1 kg ha −1 , and RMSE of 360.7 kg ha −1 . Based on the sensitivity analysis, the proposed model was effective to estimate the inter-annual and seasonal Marandu palisade grass productivity variability, as a function of solar radiation, temperature and rainfall fluctuations. Therefore, this model can be used as a tool to improve pasture management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new methodology for assessing respiratory rate (RR) using acoustic data was evaluated. • Acoustic data can be used for identifying and counting breaths in free-grazing heifers and lactating cows. • There was a high positive correlation between RRs determined using acoustic and visual methods. The aim of this study was to validate whether acoustic data analysis can be used to assess respiration rate (RR) in dairy cattle under grazing systems. Two validation trials, one with heifers and other with lactating cows, were conducted. The RR derived from acoustic data acquired with an MP3 recorder fitted on the halter was compared to the RR derived from a visual method, counting flank movements. Data were analyzed using correlation test and Willmott's index of agreement (d). There was no significant difference (P>0.05) between RR assessed using the acoustic or visual method, in both heifers and lactating cows. The coefficients of determination (R2) indicated that 92.31% (heifers) and 62.09% (lactating cows) of the variability in the RR derived using the visual assessment method was explained by the RR derived using the acoustic method. The d values were 0.99 (heifers) and 0.98 (lactating cows), which denoted good agreement between the RR derived using the two methods. The acoustic method is non-invasive, allows for the assessment of RR in free-grazing dairy cattle and may replace the current standard of visual counting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) often present with deficits in episodic memory, and there is evidence that these difficulties may be secondary to executive dysfunction, that is, impaired selection and/or application of memory-encoding strategies (mediation hypothesis). Semantic clustering is an effective strategy to enhance encoding of verbal episodic memory (VEM) when word lists are semantically related. Self-initiated mobilization of this strategy has been associated with increased activity in the prefrontal cortex, particularly the orbitofrontal cortex, a key region in the pathophysiology of OCD. We therefore studied children and adolescents with OCD during uncued semantic clustering strategy application in a VEM functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-encoding paradigm.Method: A total of 25 pediatric patients with OCD (aged 8.1-17.5 years) and 25 healthy controls (HC, aged 8.1-16.9) matched for age, gender, handedness, and IQ were evaluated using a block design VEM paradigm that manipulated semantically related and unrelated words.Results: The semantic clustering strategy score (SCS) predicted VEM performance in HC (p < .001, R(2) = 0.635), but not in patients (p = .099). Children with OCD also presented hypoactivation in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (cluster-corrected p < .001). Within-group analysis revealed a negative correlation between Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale scores and activation of orbitofrontal cortex in the group with OCD. Finally, a positive correlation between age and SCS was found in HC (p = .001, r = 0.635), but not in patients with OCD (p = .936, r = 0.017).Conclusion: Children with OCD presented altered brain activation during the VEM paradigm and absence of expected correlation between SCS and age, and between SCS and total words recalled. These results suggest that different neural mechanisms underlie self-initiated semantic clustering in OCD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]