Absence of pancreatic duct dilation in chronic pancreatitis: surgical significance

Of 22 patients treated surgically for intractable pain from chronic alcoholic pancreatitis, eight did not show notable dilation of the main pancreatic duct by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), operative pancreatography, and/or operative and microscopical studies of the pancreas after subtotal pancreatectomy. In all patients, far advanced parenchymal pancreatitis was evident at operation and by microscopical study of the removed portion of the pancreas. These findings indicate that the basic problem in a considerable number of patients with symptomatic alcoholic chronic pancreatitis is not related primarily to obstruction with dilation of the major pancreatic duct, but to intrinsic changes in the parenchymal pancreas. The preoperative use of ERCP and individualization of operative procedures with a preference for subtotal or partial pancreatectomy for symptomatic chronic alcoholic pancreatitis are supported.     

A simplified urea breath test for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection using the LARA System. Laser Assisted Ratio Analyzer

We report a schwannoma with a rare location at the tip of the nose in a 20-year-old woman with an otherwise unremarkable medical history. The imaging findings underline the usefulness of MRI in narrowing down the differential diagnosis of masses in this region. Once the diagnosis was focussed on a neural origin of the mass, the exact nature of the tumour could not be predicted from the MRI, although the presence of a capsule on imaging studies as well as at operation suggested it was probably a schwannoma. A schwannoma must be considered when one encounters a sharply delineated mass at the tip of the nose, showing high signal on T2-weighted images and strongly contrast enhancement.     

Dehydration of lesquerella oil

The dehydration of lesquerella oil has been accomplished for the first time. Dehydration was performed using sulfuric acid, sulfates and phosphates, acidic clay, and aluminum oxide as dehydration catalysts. Dehydration products were characterized by infrared (FTIR), ultraviolet (UV), and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR) spectroscopies. Color grades, acid values, hydroxyl values, and iodine values were obtained by established ASTM methods. Dehydration of either lesquerolic or ricinoleic acids creates slightly more conjugated diene than nonconjugated diene. Product mole ratios of conjugated to nonconjugated diene versus catalyst type varied from 1.1 to 1.6. Dehydrated lesquerella oil containing about 28 mol % conjugated (77.8 mol % total) diene has an iodine value of 147. Drying properties were also examined. Dehydration converts nondrying lesquerella oil into a drying oil with a drying velocity equivalent to a commercially dehydrated castor oil. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Characteristics of pigment-filled polymer coatings on paperboard

Adding plate-like pigments such as talc or kaolin clay to a styrene-butadiene (SB) dispersion before coating paperboard on a pilot scale resulted in a coated material with improved water vapour barrier properties. Addition of paraffin wax further significantly reduced the water vapour permeability. A limited study was also performed using poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as the matrix material and a similar result was obtained. In addition to the barrier properties, the surface characteristics (gloss, roughness, surface energy and chemical composition) and the printability of the coated substrate were evaluated. In general, it was found that the properties of the coated material were improved if the surface of the base substrate was smoothened prior to coating by a suitable surface treatment such as hot calendering or precoating. Such a treatment gave a more homogeneous coating film on the substrate. A comparison of the experimental results with the prediction of models for the effect of impermeable particles on the vapour permeability indicated that the pigments were not optimally dispersed (or oriented) in the coating layer. There is thus room for improvement. In a further series of experiments, nanoclays were incorporated into the coating layers. Exfoliation of the silicate layers was indicated in laboratory coating experiments using SB, but not on the pilot-scale coated materials. Thus no significant effects on the barrier properties were observed for such coated specimens. With PVA as the matrix polymer and low contents of the nanoclay, a marked decrease in the water vapour permeability took place, indicating a more pronounced exfoliation.     

Solid state structure and melting behavior of interdiffused polyethylenes in microlayers

Gradient structures, produced by interdiffusion in microlayers of a high density polyethylene/linear low density polyethylene polymer pair that cocrystallizes isomorphically, were studied experimentally. Microlayers were taken into the melt for a period of time, and the compositional gradient was fixed by crystallization upon quenching. High specific interfacial area of microlayers offset the low diffusion mobility of polymeric chains so that the microlayer in the melt approached compositional homogeneity on a laboratory time scale. Taking advantage of the systematic change of the melting temperature with the blend composition, the compositional gradient was visualized by progressively melting the microlayer with increasing temperature. This made it possible to monitor the kinetics of interdiffusion without using a chemical label. The compositional profiles were analyzed with a diffusion model formulated for a polydisperse system. Diffusion coefficients for lightly branched and linear polyethylene chains, which correlated well with the data of previous studies, were obtained. It was found that the interlayer boundaries remained stationary during a characteristic time of interdiffusion of the component main fractions, and moved at long times as high molecular weight fractions became involved in interdiffusion. The moving boundary phenomenon was investigated with optical and atomic force microscopy and the development of crystalline morphology in the microscopic compositional gradient was described.     

Review of Rational emotive behavior therapy: A therapist’s guide.

Reviews the book, Rational emotive behavior therapy: A therapist’s guide by Albert Ellis and Catharine MacLaren (see record 1998-06395-000). In this book, the authors first provide an overview of the history and theory of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). They review the philosophical and personality theory foundations of REBT and outline the theory's explanations of personality disturbance and change. Next, the authors turn to the specific intervention techniques used as part of REBT treatment. They present cognitive, experiential, and behavioral techniques, and include specific case examples of each. Finally, the authors discuss the integration of REBT with other systems of therapy and include an Appendix regarding maintaining and enhancing therapy gains. The strength of the book is in the second set of chapters, which provide an overview of specific therapeutic techniques. These chapters were clear and engaging and offer the therapist-reader concrete strategies which can be easily implemented. The earlier chapters, which provide an overview of the theory of REBT, do not work quite as well as those on treatment techniques. The organization is somewhat confusing and there appears to be some redundancy to the material presented. However, this volume would likely work well as either an introduction to REBT or as a quick, easily readable review for those familiar with the approach. It would also be appropriate for students in clinical training, who will find the hands-on techniques particularly useful. Those who use this book as an introduction to REBT, and who find the approach fits their style and philosophy, will likely want to do more in-depth reading on the subject. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical features of five pedigrees genetically linked to the juvenile glaucoma locus on chromosome 1q21-q31

BACKGROUND: Primary juvenile glaucoma is a rare form of glaucoma that typically affects individuals between 3 and 20 years of ages and is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. One gene responsible for this condition has been localized to the 1q21-q31 region of chromosome 1. To investigate the clinical features of this form of glaucoma, the authors have examined the affected members of five pedigrees demonstrating genetic linkage to the 1q21-q31 locus. METHODS: Clinical characterization of 23 affected patients was performed. Genetic linkage to the 1q21-q31 locus was confirmed by segregation of the disease trait in each pedigree with genetic markers located in the 1q21-q31 region. RESULTS: The clinical features of affected members of the five pedigrees presented are generally homogeneous. The average age of diagnosis was 18.5 years (range, 5-30 years), and the average initial intraocular pressure was 38.5 mmHg (range, 30-53 mmHg). Eighty-seven percent of affected individuals were myopic and 83% of affected individuals required surgical treatment for glaucoma. There were no uniformly associated systemic or ocular conditions. One possible nonpenetrant carrier was identified and a difference in phenotypic expression of the presumed disease gene was observed in a pair of affected monozygotic twins. We also identified two pedigrees with juvenile glaucoma and three pedigrees affected by the pigment dispersion syndrome that are not genetically linked to the 1q21-q31 region. CONCLUSION: The form of juvenile glaucoma caused by a gene located in the q21-q31 region of chromosome 1 is generally phenotypically homogeneous. The severe elevation of intraocular pressure typically seen in affected patients suggests the product of the predisposing gene may participate in the outflow function of the eye.     

Inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes in pH-adjusted pasteurized liquid whole egg

Although the transmission of L. monocytogenes to humans via pasteurized egg products has not been documented, L. monocytogenes and other Listeria species have been isolated from commercially broken raw liquid whole egg (LWE) in both the United States and Ireland. Recent Listeria thermal inactivation studies indicate that conventional minimal egg pasteurization processes would effect only a 2.1- to 2.7-order-of-magnitude inactivation of L. monocytogenes in LWE; thus, the margin of safety provided by conventional pasteurization processes is substantially smaller for L. monocytogenes than for Salmonella species (a 9-order-of-magnitude process). The objective of this study was to evaluate the inhibitory effects of nisin on the survival and growth of L. monocytogenes in refrigerated and pH-adjusted (pH 6.6 versus pH 7.5) ultrapasteurized LWE and in a liquid model system. The addition of nisin (1,000 IU/ml) to pH-adjusted ultrapasteurized LWE reduced L. monocytogenes populations by 1.6 to > 3.3 log CFU/ml and delayed (pH 7.5) or prevented (pH 6.6) the growth of the pathogen for 8 to 12 weeks at 4 and 10 degrees C. Bioactive nisin was detected in LWE at both pH values for 12 weeks at 4 degrees C. In subsequent experiments, Listeria reductions of > 3.0 log CFU/ml were achieved within 24 h in both LWE and broth plus nisin (500 IU/ml) at pH 6.6 but not at pH 7.5, and antilisterial activity was enhanced when nisin was added as a solution rather than in dry form.