Routine intraoperative laparoscopic cholangiography

BACKGROUND: Whether intraoperative laparoscopic cholangiography should be routine is debatable. METHODS: We reviewed the cholangiography experience in 669 consecutive laparoscopic cholecystectomies. RESULTS: Mean age of the patients was 39 years, 78% were female, and 29% had acute cholecystitis. Cholecystectomy was completed laparoscopically in 606 (91%). Laparoscopic cholangiography was completed in 562 (93%) and 348 (62%) were routine (no preoperative indication). The mean operating time in 1996 was 61 minutes. Out of the 348 routine cholangiograms, 17 demonstrated evidence of unsuspected choledocholithiasis. Five patients had choledocholithiasis documented by laparoscopic common bile duct exploration and/or endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. Two patients had normal postoperative cholangiopancreatography. One of 10 patients managed expectantly was readmitted postoperatively with obstructive jaundice. In 4 patients, routine cholangiography revealed unexpected anatomy, and in 2, this prevented misidentification and transection of the common bile duct. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic cholangiography is safe, quick, detects unsuspected choledocholithiasis, and can prevent common bile duct transection. It should be routine.     

Presence of genomes of phage PBV-1 in the mycelia of the fungus Penicillium brevi-compactum

Progressive systemic sclerosis may be associated with focal myocardial fibrosis. Electrocardiographic abnormalities including conduction block are common in progressive systemic sclerosis but whether they are due to direct destruction of the specialized conduction tissue of the heart is uncertain. The conduction systems of 35 patients with progressive systemic sclerosis were studied. Of these 35 patients, 17 (50 per cent) had myocardial fibrosis of the type seen in progressive systemic sclerosis. In 10 of the 17, it was severe. Sinus node fibrosis was present in 13 patients and was nearly as frequent in those with as in those without the progressive systemic sclerosis myocardial lesion. Overlying pericarditis may have contributed to the fibrotic changes within the sinoatrial nodes in seven of the 13 patients. The atrioventricular node and main His bundles were normal. However, fibrotic changes were found in the proximal bundle systems in six patients. In three of the six, severe myocardial progressive systemic sclerosis was present, two had focal fibrous atrophy of the left bundle, and one had complete interruption of the right bundle. In only the latter patient was this reflected in the electrocardiogram which showed a right bundle branch block. Three patients without progressive systemic sclerosis myocardial lesions also had fibrous atrophy of a portion of the proximal left bundle branch, and in one the electrocardiogram showed an isolated left anterior hemiblock. Thus, morphologic abnormalities within the conduction system in our patients are difficult to attribute to progressive systemic sclerosis per se. Furthermore, although conduction abnormalities were more frequent in patients with myocardial disease, specific conduction system disease was not the cause in most patients. As has been noted in ischemic heart disease, the conduction system appears to be relatively spared from the myocardial changes of progressive systemic sclerosis, and the high incidence of conduction disturbances in this condition may be a consequence, rather, of damage to working myocardium.     

OPTIMIZATION OF EMULSIFICATION AND MICROENCAPSULATION OF EVENING PRIMROSE OIL AND ITS OXIDATIVE STABILITY DURING STORAGE BY RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY

ABSTRACT

Microencapsulation is a technique by which small droplets of liquid or solid particles are coated with a thin film of wall materials to protect susceptible ingredients in food products to assure their quality or effectiveness. Microencapsulation of liquid lipid into powdery matrixes of wall materials includes two unit operations: emulsification of the lipid with an aqueous solution of wall material and drying of the emulsion. The effects of hydrophile–lipophile balance (HLB) value, emulsifier content and oil content on the evening primrose oil‐in‐water emulsion stability were studied by response surface methodology (RSM). The HLB value, emulsifier content and oil content all had significant effects on the emulsion stability (P < 0.05). Of them, the HLB value and emulsifier content contributed more effects than the oil content. The optimized HLB value, emulsifier content and oil content were used to mix with wall materials: gum arabic (GA), maltodextrin (MD) and/or sodium caseinate (NaC). The oil was encapsulated with these materials individually or in combination by spray‐drying, and their oxidative stability during storage was compared. The microcapsules with a single wall material were relatively susceptible to oxidation than those with multiple wall materials. The most desirable composition of the mixture of GA, MD and NaC by RSM was 17.2, 75 and 7.8%, respectively.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Response surface methodology (RSM) provided a valuable means to help us understand the relative or interactive effects of three important parameters: HLB value, emulsifier content and oil content on the emulsion stability of the oil‐in‐water (o/w) system. The information obtained would be useful for the preparation of similar o/w emulsion system as needed in some product development for foods. In addition, the effects of gum arabic, maltodextrin and sodium caseinate on the oxidative stability of microencapsulated oil were also studied by RSM. The results revealed the relative or interactive effects of these materials and gave the optimal conditions in minimizing the oxidative instability in this study. Since these wall materials are readily available and widely used in a variety of products, the information provided by this study would be useful for product‐developing professionals to use these materials more efficiently in terms of obtaining optimal microencapsulated products against lipid oxidation and cost effectiveness.     

The novel cuticular collagen Ovcol-1 of Onchocerca volvulus is preferentially recognized by immunoglobulin G3 from putatively immune individuals

The concentration and affinity to concanavalin A (ConA) of plasma alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) and AGP levels in extracts of liver tissues were investigated in specific-pathogen-free chickens infected with the highly virulent HPS-2 strain or virulent reference GBF-1 strain of infectious bursal disease virus. The plasma AGP value in uninfected control 3- to 7-wk-old chickens was 161.8 +/- 25.8 micrograms/ml (mean +/- SD), and ConA-unreactive and ConA-reactive AGP comprised 47% and 63% of total AGP. Increases in AGP levels in plasma and liver extracts were observed in both the HPS-2 and the GBF-1 groups, although albumin levels decreased. The plasma AGP values were higher in the HPS-2 group than in the GBF-1 group through the experimental period. In the HPS-2 group, ConA-reactive AGP reached levels 6.8-fold greater than control values and comprised 80% of total AGP at 4 days post-inoculation. In the lipopolysaccharide group, a great increase in ConA-reactive AGP was observed.     

Ru-Containing Polymeric Catalysts for Cellulose Conversion to Polyols

In this paper Ru-containing catalysts based on hypercrosslinked polystyrene (MN-270) and its functional analogues (MN-100 and MN-500) were studied for the first time in cellulose hydrolytic hydrogenation. The catalysts were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution TEM, and porosity measurements. Catalytic studies demonstrated that the catalyst containing 1.0 % Ru and based on MN-270 is the most active. The total yield of sorbitol and mannitol was 50 % on the average at 85 % cellulose conversion.     

Diagnosis of hemostasis disorders in young children using turbidimetry

Practical application of turbidimetrical method for the diagnosis of haemostasis disorders in babies with acute intestinal infections (AII) is described. The results of plasma biochemical analysis show that disturbances in balance between coagulation and fibrinolytic systems takes place in patients with this pathology. The correlation between biochemical parameters and clinical characteristics is observed. As follows from our data, the phase of the haemostasis disorders in babies with AII does not depend on etiology of the disease, but indicates its severity.     

核电厂环保应急计算机系统的设计

以核电厂环保与应急计算机系统为例,建立了一个具有实时监测数据的收集、评价与可靠传输、日常办公事务处理等主要功能的计算机系统。介绍了该系统的架构、设计原理、思想与方法,给出了相应的总体设计方案与应用软件功能。该系统亦适用于同类电厂。