Squamous cell carcinoma of skin with a rhabdoid phenotype: a case report

A 67 year old man presented with a polypoid lesion on the temple that had all the light microscopic, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural features of a rhabdoid tumour. There was an area of intraepidermal carcinoma and invasive squamous carcinoma at the base of the polyp. The tumour progressed aggressively and the patient died five months after primary excision. Cutaneous tumours with a rhabdoid morphology have been described previously and tend to have a very poor prognosis. No previously published report describes a clear squamous histogenesis. Key Words: rhabdoid • skin • squamous carcinom

Portfolios and PDPs

The ePortfolio—love it or loathe it—is an integral part of the workplace-based assessment, it is now a fact of life for general practice trainees. It is also preparation for the appraisal system for qualified GPs, which is heavily reliant upon portfolios of evidence and the creation of personal development plans (or PDPs). Such reliance is only likely to increase with the proposed new revalidation system, which is currently expected to be introduced in 2010–11. Given this context, it is wise for GP trainees to learn how to use these tools to best effect, not only to provide robust evidence of good practice but also to aid personal development. This article aims to describe the way in which PDPs and portfolios can be best employed during your years as a trainee, equipping you with useful skills for a career in general practice. Although the use of tools such as significant event analysis, audit and the consultation observation tool (COT) and case-based discussion, assessments are all important reflective components of the ePortfolio, they will not be discussed in depth in this article

Computational Modeling and Analysis of the Role of Physical Activity in Mood Regulation and Depression

Abstract. Physical activity is often considered an important factor in handling mood regulation and depression. This paper presents a computational model of this role of physical activity in mood regulation. It is shown on the one hand how a developing depression can go hand in hand with a low level of physical activity, and on the other hand, how Exercise Therapy is able to reverse this pattern and make the depression disappear. Simulation results are presented, and properties are formally verified against these simulation runs

A record of soil loss from Butrint, southern Albania, using mineral magnetism indicators and charcoal (AD 450 to 1200).

Mineral magnetic and charcoal analyses were carried out on two sections 0.6 km apart on the Vrina Plain at Shën Dëlli, a suburb of Roman Butrint (ancient Buthrotum), southern Albania. Using a chronology developed by archaeomagnetic dating, the two sections postdate Roman archaeological structures on the site, providing a sediment record between c. ad 450 and 1200. Environmental magnetic data were analysed using cluster analysis to interpret a consistent stratigraphic development between the two sections. Above the archaeo logical remains on the western side of the Shën Dëli settlement, marsh clay sedimentation started ad 450–500, contemporaneous with evidence of site occupation. Anthropogenic activity is evident from the high macro-charcoal content, which declines at ad 750–800, and may mark the end of settlement in the vicinity. Both sections show similar sedimentation rates which, when extrapolated, suggest that marsh growth to the present day levels would have been completed between about ad 1500 and 1600. From about ad 750 to 850 sedimentation continued consistently across the site, with low microcharcoal input, but an increasingly important pres ence of magnetic minerals, including superparamagnetic magnetite, associated with top soil input. Between ad 1050 and 1200 the input from magnetically enhanced topsoil had increased tenfold over 300 years earlier, indicating that soil erosion was a major sediment source. This marked increase in soil loss could be due either to different land-management practices or to local deforestation. Whether this change in topsoil loss is linked to climatic changes associated with the beginning of the ‘Mediaeval Warm Period’ (c. ad 1000–1400) needs further investigation