The effects of an early intervention music curriculum on prereading/writing.

This study evaluated the effects of music sessions using a curriculum designed to enhance the prereading and writing skills of 25 children aged 4 to 5 years who were enrolled in Early Intervention and Exceptional Student Education programs. This study was a replication of the work of Standley and Hughes (1997) and utilized a larger sample size (n = 50) in order to evaluate the efficacy of a music curriculum designed specifically to teach prereading and writing skills versus one that focuses on all developmental areas. Both the experimental (n = 25) and control (n = 25) groups received two 30-minute sessions each week for an entire school year for a minimum of 60 sessions per group. The differentiating factors between the two groups were the structure and components of the musical activities. The fall sessions for the experimental group were focused primarily on writing skills while the spring sessions taught reading/book concepts. Music sessions for the control group were based purely on the thematic material, as determined by the classroom teacher with purposeful exclusion of all preliteracy concepts. All participants were pretested at the beginning of the school year and posttested before the school year ended. Overall, results demonstrated that music sessions significantly enhanced both groups' abilities to learn prewriting and print concepts. However, the experimental group showed significantly higher results on the logo identification posttest and the word recognition test. Implications for curriculum design and academic and social applications of music in Early Intervention programs are discussed.

Hepatic artery aneurysm. Report of an unusual case and review of the literature.

Hepatic artery aneurysms are relatively infrequent lesions and may represent significant problems in both diagnosis and management. Indeed, as many as 30 to 50 per cent of cases are completely unsuspected and are discovered only at autopsy. A case of a very large hepatic artery aneurysm (greatest dimension of approximately 35 centimeters) presenting as an asymptomatic epigastric mass is reviewed, with emphasis on preoperative evaluation and operative technique. Selective arteriography was the cornerstone of diagnosis with other investigative modes proving not to be effective. Surgical therapy included obtaining proximal and distal control, meticulous ligation of the numerous feeding vessels, and finally evacuation and partial excision of the aneurysm sac with careful suture ligation obliteration of the orifice of each feeding vessel. Restoration of hepatic artery flow was not attempted and no compromise in liver function was seen in the postoperative period. The literature on hepatic artery aneurysms is reviewed to include typical presentation, diagnostic methods, surgical approach, and common complications. Only through a high index of suspicion and early angiography can this frequently fatal lesion be detected early in its course and subsequently be subjected to successful surgical management.

A nonfatal case of intentional scopolamine poisoning.

Scopolamine, a drug not usually found in poisoning, was found to be the cause of toxicity in three persons. This paper stresses the need to confirm any unusual iodoplatinate spots that may occur in emergency drug screening. Gastric lavages appear to be the most useful source for recovering belladonna compounds as no scopolamine was found in the urine, either at admission or the day after. Atropine and scopolamine are easily separated from each other by TLC and GLC but homatropine separates poorly from atropine.