IntroductionParaneoplastic necrotizing myopathy is a rare disorder, described as a proximal, symmetrical, and rapidly progressing myopathy that is manifested as a paraneoplastic syndrome. Diagnosis is established via histological examination of the muscle biopsy.Case presentationWe present the case of a 53-year-old woman, born in Guinea-Bissau, with a history of locally advanced breast cancer, diagnosed ten months previously. The patient had experienced a progressively proximal muscle weakness of the lower extremities, which led to a total inability to walk. Upon neurological examination, the patient showed muscle weakness and atrophy in both proximal lower extremities without myalgia. Muscle strength was graded according to the Medical Research Council Scale as 2 out of 5 in the bilateral iliopsoas muscle, and 4 out of 5 in the bilateral quadriceps femoris. The deep-tendon reflexes were hypoactive. The laboratory examination showed increased values of serum creatinine kinase and myoglobin. An electromyogram showed an incomplete interference pattern during voluntary contraction in the iliopsoas and quadriceps femoris. The motor nerve conduction was 44.1 m/s and 44.3 m/s in the right and left tibial nerves, respectively, and 46.5 m/s and 46.1 m/s in the right and left peroneal nerves, respectively. The sensory motor nerve conductions and the compound motor action potential amplitudes were normal. These findings, despite not being specific, suggested a myopathy. Consequently, a muscle biopsy was performed. A biopsy specimen showed myopathic changes that were characteristic of a necrotizing myopathy.ConclusionTreatment for this syndrome consists of controlling the tumor, and providing corticoid therapy. This led to the partial remission of the neurological manifestations.
The number of forest fires ignitions has decreased worldwide, thus observing increased levels of intensity and destruction, endangering urban areas and causing material damages and deaths (Portugal, 2017). Forest fire hazard mapping supported by the surveillance strategy targeted at very susceptible areas with high losses potential are the common tools of fire prevention. Each municipality creates its own Forest Fire Hazard Map, and so it is observed that along the administrative boundaries, discrepancies occur, even when identical types of land use are in place. The evolution of geographic information systems technology sustained by the open-source satellite imagery, along with the innovative Habitat Risk Assessment model of the InVEST software, allowed the creation of an easily applicable trans-administrative boundary fire hazard map, with frequent update capabilities and fully open source. This work considered three municipalities (Tomar, Ourém, and Ferreira do Zêzere) that annually observe various forest fire occurrences. Results enabled the creation of a homogeneous Forest Fire Risk Map, using landuse, slope, road access network, fire ignitions’ history, visualization basins, and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as variables. All variables correlate with each other using different weights, in which the different classes of land use are considered as habitats and the remaining variables as fire hazard stressors. The results produce a coherent monthly updated Risk Map, which is an alternative to many risk assessment systems used worldwide.
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