ERCP and CT findings of ectopic drainage of the common bile duct into the duodenal bulb

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate ERCP and CT findings of ectopic drainage of the common bile duct into the duodenal bulb. CONCLUSION: Although rare, the diagnosis of ectopic drainage of the common bile duct into the duodenal bulb is important to prevent inadvertent damage during biliary tract or gastric surgery and to clarify the cause of chronic peptic ulcers.     

Highly Concentrated Branched Oligosaccharides as Cryoprotectant for Surimi

Freeze-thawing studies at different concentrations, using an actomyosin solution (extracted from Alaska pollock), revealed that an 8% (w/v) solution of oligosaccharides mixture (HBOS) was most effective in cryoprotection. During frozen storage (-18°C), HBOS showed cryoprotective effects similar to sucrose and a sucrose+sorbitol mixture (1:1). Surimi gel prepared with HBOS showed higher hardness and more dense microstructure than others, although water holding capacity was slightly lower than the gel with sucrose+sorbitol. HBOS containing gel showed lower whiteness than sucrose but no difference with sucrose+sorbitol. HBOS appeared to have good potential as a non-sweet cryoprotectant of fish protein.     

Gastrointestinal involvement in Henoch-Sch?nlein syndrome: CT findings

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe the CT features of gastrointestinal involvement in seven patients with Henoch-Sch?nlein syndrome. CONCLUSION: Although the incidence of Henoch-Sch?nlein syndrome is low, it should be considered when CT scans show multifocal areas of bowel-wall thickening, mesenteric edema, vascular engorgement, and nonspecific lymphadenopathy. It should be considered especially in young patients with acute gastrointestinal symptoms.     

Biochemical monitoring of black raspberry (Rubus coreanus Miquel) fruits according to maturation stage by H NMR using multiple solvent systems

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques coupled with multivariate data analysis were used to conduct monitoring of biochemical changes of black raspberry fruits at different stages of maturation and under various extraction and NMR dissolution solvent conditions: extraction with 50% methanol and D₂O as an NMR dissolution solvent, extraction with 50% methanol and 50% methanol-d₄ as an NMR dissolution solvent, and extraction with 100% ethyl acetate and 100% methanol-d₄ as an NMR dissolution solvent. Partial least-squares discriminant analysis reliably distinguished black raspberry fruits according to the maturation stage, whereby the relative levels of various compounds such as amino acids, organic acids, sugars and phenolic compounds were compared using analysis of variance. Sucrose and most of the amino acids, and organic acids decreased, whereas fructose, glucose, and cyanidins increased in relative concentration according to maturation of black raspberry fruits. The total number and kinds of assigned compounds of the three solvent systems were also compared. This research demonstrates that the metabolic profile of black raspberry fruits changes during maturation, and provides objective criteria for determining the stage of black raspberry fruit maturation via a ¹H NMR-based metabolomics technique using multiple solvent systems.     

Electrical properties of ferroelectric SBT thin films prepared using photosensitive sol-gel solution

Self-patterning of thin films using photosensitive sol-gel solution has advantages such as simple manufacturing process compared to photoresist/dry etching process. In this study, ferroelectric Sr_0.9Bi_2.1Ta₂O₉ thin films have been prepared by spin coating method using photosensitive sol-gel solution. Strontium ethoxide, tetramethylheptanedionato bismuth and tantalum ethoxide were used as starting materials. As UV exposure time to the SBT thin film increases, the intensity of UV absorption peak of metal beta-diketonate decreases due to degradation of solubility resulted from Metal-Oxygen-Metal (M–O–M) bond formation. The solubility difference by UV irradiation on SBT thin film allows to obtain a fine patterning of thin film. The ferroelectric properties of the UV irradiated SBT thin films are superior to those of the non-UV irradiated film.     

Extraction of allyl isothiocyanate from wasabi (Wasabia japonica Matsum) using supercritical carbon dioxide

The pungent flavor unique in wasabi is due to isothiocyanates including allyl isothiocyanate (AIT) which has outstanding antimicrobial activity. AIT is converted from sinigrin by enzymatic reaction in the presence of water. The optimum moisture content of wasabi root for supercritical CO₂ extraction (SCE) at 20 MPa and 35°C was found to be 125% dry basis. In the ranges of pressure (15–25 MPa) and temperature (35–55°C), yield of AIT by SCE increased as pressure increased and/or temperature decreased. The highest yield was 408 mg/100 g solid at 25 MPa and 35°C. SCE of AIT from the freeze-dried wasabi root, stem, and leaf at 20 MPa and 35°C resulted in the yields of 368, 39, and 11 mg/100 g solid, respectively. The moisture content of wasabi along with the pressure and temperature were the important parameters in SCE of AIT.     

Crystallographic orientation of ZrB2-ZrC composites manufactured by the spark plasma sintering method

The crystallographic grain orientation of ZrB₂‐ZrC composites manufactured using a spark plasma sintering (SPS) method, a new sintering technique in development for poorly sinterable ceramic materials, was analysed by the scanning electron microscopy‐electron backscattered diffraction (SEM‐EBSD) method. Their crystallographic features have been compared with those of a conventionally sintered specimen using a pressureless sintering (PLS) method. In the composite sintered by PLS, (0001) planes of ZrB₂ were orientated in the direction parallel to the specimen surface (RD) but (101 0) and (211 0) planes randomly orientated. In the case of SPS, (0001) planes of ZrB₂ were orientated normal to the specimen surface (ND) and weakly to the RD. In both cases of PLS and SPS, ZrC grains had a randomly orientated grain structure. The distribution of grain boundary misorientation of PLS and SPS‐processed composites showed the same tendency that high‐angle boundaries were more prevalent than low‐angle boundaries. But in the case of ZrC grains in the SPS sample, the proportion of CSL boundaries with low sigma value (3, 5, 7, 9, 11) was relatively larger.     

Diversity analysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolated from natural sources by multilocus sequence typing (MLST)

Food Science and Biotechnology - We used multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to analyze the diversity of natural isolates of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the most important microorganism in alcoholic...     

Structural modification and characterization of rice starch treated by Thermus aquaticus 4-α-glucanotransferase

Rice starch was modified using Thermus aquaticus 4-α-glucanotransferase (TAαGTase) in this study. The changes in the molecular structure and the effect on the starch retrogradation by TAαGTase treatment were investigated on isolated rice starch. By treating TAαGTase, molecular weight profile of amylopectins shifted to higher elution time from 1.0 × 10⁸ to 2.4 × 10⁷ or 0.8 × 10⁷, depending on the level of enzyme dosage. Meanwhile, there were huge increases in the proportions of content corresponding to amylose size and even smaller molecules. On treating with TAαGTase, short branch chains (DP 1–8) increased, and longer branch chains (>DP 19) increased significantly as well, with a broader distribution up to DP 46 compared to the control rice starch. Amylose content decreased from 30.0 to 21.8–23.7%. This indicated that the amylose could be transferred to the amylopectin branch chain by the disproportionation of TAαGTase, resulting in lowering the amylose content and the formation of amylopectin with a broader branch-chain length distribution. TAαGTase modified rice starch showed that X-ray diffraction pattern of the B-type crystalline even before cold storage, and that a variety of cyclic glucans (DP 5–19) were produced by enzymatic reaction. In particular, the accelerated rate of starch retrogradation was clearly observed compared to the control due to an overall increase in the number of elongated long-branch chains, decrease in the amount of amylose–lipid complex, and the possible synergistic effects of these factors.