No abstract

Although southern Saskatchewan is not known to be a region endemic to blastomycosis, we present a case of disseminated blastomycosis in a 39-year-old man with pulmonary, genitourinary, and osteoarticular involvement. The patient presented with persistent fevers despite recent antibiotic therapy, arthritis in his left foot, and urinary obstruction. A computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest revealed a diffuse miliary pattern. A transbronchial biopsy only showed granulomatous changes, and washings were negative for fungal culture. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the left foot revealed signs of septic arthritis. Pathology from the joint aspiration and debridement revealed budding yeast in keeping with blastomycosis. Urine culture also grew blastomycosis, confirming urinary involvement. He was initiated on itraconazole, with complete resolution of his symptoms within 2 weeks. This case illustrates the challenges in diagnosing disseminated blastomycosis, and further establishes the endemicity of blastomycosis in southern Saskatchewan.

Musical dissonance is generally understood in terms of two simultaneous notes. However, low frequency notes sound dissonant when played alone on a piano. The explanation proposed in this work is that this dissonance arises from the harmonics of the played note interfering with one another.Using the piano as a model, perceived dissonance was calculated through the combination of the two-tone dissonance formula with the A-weighting curve and the different harmonic intensities of a piano. Sound spectrums of sample piano notes were used to compare harmonics of low frequency and high frequency notes.Single note dissonance increased rapidly as note frequency decreased. A-weighting had no qualitative effect on the dissonance-frequency trend, implying a physical and not an aural cause. As verified in the sound spectrums, the lower register note had harmonics closer together, compared to the higher register note. It is thus possible that the harmonics of low notes interfere significantly with each other, thereby producing the observed single-note dissonance.The simulation produces a score for the perceived dissonance of a single-note played on the piano. This analysis could be adapted in the future to other instruments, including aerophones, as well as integrate timbre, partials, and inharmonics.La dissonance musicale et pour la plupart compris en matière de deux notes simultanées. Cependant, les notes de basse fréquence semble en désordre quand ils sont joués seules sur un piano. L'explication proposée dans cet oeuvre est que cette dissonance se produit des harmoniques des notes qui s'interfèrent.Utilisant le piano comme exemple, la dissonance perçue a été calculé par la combination de la formule de dissonance entre deux notes avec la courbe de pondération A et les intensités harmoniques d'un piano. Les spectres sonores des notes de piano ont été utilisés pour la comparaison des notes de basse et haut fréquences.La dissonance des seules notes augmentait rapidement alors que les fréquences des notes diminuaient. La pondération A n'avait pas eu un effet sur la tendance entre la dissonance et les fréquences, qui signifie la présence d'une cause physique au lieu d'une cause auditive. Vérifié dans les spectres sonores, la note de registre inférieur avait ses harmoniques plus proches comparés à la note du registre plus haut. C'est alors possible que les harmoniques des notes des registres inférieurs interfèrent considérablement avec les unes les autres, et produit ainsi la dissonance des seules notes observée dans les calculs. La simulation produit un résultat pour la dissonance perçue sur un piano. Cette analyse pourrait être adaptée dans le futur aux autres instruments, incluant les aérophones, et puis intégrer aussi des analyses de timbre, des tons simples, et des inharmoniques.