Search

Objectives: To compare the characteristics and outcomes of patients presenting to hospital with alcohol-induced and gallstone-induced acute pancreatitis. Methods: Retrospective study of all patients with alcohol-induced or gallstone-induced pancreatitis during the period 1 June 2012 to 31 May 2016. The primary outcome measure was hospital mortality. Secondary outcome measures included hospital length of stay, requirements for intensive care unit admission, intensive care unit mortality, mechanical ventilation, renal replacement therapy, requirement of inotropes and total parenteral nutrition. Results: A total of 642 consecutive patients (49% alcohol; 51% gallstone) were included. No statistically significant differences were found between alcohol-induced and gallstone-induced acute pancreatitis with respect to hospital mortality, requirement for intensive care unit admission, intensive care unit mortality and requirement for mechanical ventilation, renal replacement therapy, inotropes or total parenteral nutrition. There was significant difference in hospital length of stay (3.07 versus 4.84; p Conclusion: Hospital mortality did not differ between patients with alcohol-induced and gallstone-induced acute pancreatitis. The duration of hospital stay was longer with gallstone-induced pancreatitis. Bedside Index of Severity in Acute Pancreatitis score and admission haematocrit were independently associated with hospital length of stay.

Pollination-variant persimmon (Diospyros kaki) fruit exhibits two distinct phenotypes based upon pollination status. Pollinated fruit are seeded and develop flesh that is brown in color, nonastringent, delectable in taste and highly desirable, whereas non-pollinated fruit retain unseeded orange-color flesh that is astringent and virtually unpalatable. Growers face the problem that both types of flesh may be present in the same persimmon fruit, and external skin color is uniformly orange, regardless of the extent of astringency. Thus, in this work, the nondestructive measurement modalities of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometry and near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy were investigated for their ability to screen pollination-variant persimmons for extent of nonastringent flesh. Fruit from a diverse sample set – including six cultivars stored for varying lengths of time and exhibiting an array of astringency levels – was subjected to the two nondestructive measurements and then evaluated destructively for astringency using a sequential blotting and visual sensory analysis approach. The sensory astringency score was then used as the response variable to construct partial least squares – discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) models from spectra from each modality on its own as well as for concatenated spectra, which combined the information from both modalities. These PLS-DA models performed well, showing a maximum misclassification rate of 33%. When the most market-relevant astringency threshold was used, NIR slightly outperformed NMR. When different astringency screening thresholds were considered, combining the two modalities did not consistently improve PLS-DA model performance. Thus, both modalities show promise for nondestructive characterization of the flesh of pollination-variant persimmons.

The Ag(I) and Bi(III) tantalates Ag2Ta4O11, BiTa7O19, and Bi7Ta3O18 were prepared by solid-state methods at 1000 °C for 24–48 h. The Pb(II)-containing tantalate PbTa2O6 was prepared at 1100 °C for 24 h, whereas Pb3Ta4O13 and PbTa4O11 were synthesized from a reaction of A2Ta4O11 (A = Na, Ag) precursors with a PbCl2 flux (at 1:1, 5:1, and 10:1 molar ratios) at 700 °C from 24 to 96 h. The PbTa2O6, Pb3Ta4O13, and Bi7Ta3O18 structures consist of TaO6 layers and TaO6 chains/rings with Pb(II) ions located within the cavities. The structures of Ag2Ta4O11, PbTa4O11, and BiTa7O19 consist of layers of TaO7 pentagonal bipyramids that alternate with Ag(I), Pb(II), and Bi(III) cations, respectively. UV–vis diffuse reflectance data were used to measure bandgap sizes for Ag2Ta4O11 (∼3.9 eV), PbTa4O11 (∼3.8–3.95 eV), Pb3Ta4O13 (∼3.0 eV), PbTa2O6 (∼3.6 eV), BiTa7O19 (∼3.6 eV), and Bi7Ta3O18 (∼2.75 eV). A decrease in the band gap was observed with an increase in the Pb(II) or Bi(III) content. Photocatalytic activities of th...

Context: Tumor-induced osteomalacia (TIO) is a rarely diagnosed disorder presenting with bone pain, fractures, muscle weakness, and moderate-to-severe hypophosphatemia resulting from fibroblast growth factor 23-mediated renal phosphate wasting. Tumors secreting fibroblast growth factor 23 are often small and difficult to find with conventional imaging. Objective: We studied the utility of 68Ga-DOTA-octreotate (DOTATATE) somatostatin receptor positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) imaging in the diagnosis of TIO. Design and Setting: A multicenter case series was conducted at tertiary referral hospitals. Patients and Methods: Six patients with TIO diagnosed between 2003 and 2012 in Australia were referred for DOTATATE PET imaging. We reviewed the clinical history, biochemistry, imaging characteristics, histopathology, and clinical outcome of each patient. Results: Each case demonstrated delayed diagnosis despite severe symptoms. DOTATATE PET/CT imaging demonstrated high uptake and localized the tumor with confidence in each case. After surgical excision, there was resolution of clinical symptoms and serum phosphate, except in one patient who demonstrated residual disease on PET/CT. All tumors demonstrated high somatostatin receptor subtype 2 cell surface receptor expression using immunohistochemistry. Conclusions: In patients with TIO, DOTATATE PET/CT can successfully localize phosphaturic mesenchymal tumors and may be a practical first step in functional imaging for this disorder. Serum phosphate should be measured routinely in patients with unexplained muscle weakness, bone pain, or stress fractures to allow earlier diagnosis of TIO.

Study Design Pre-Post, Mixed Factorial Trial. Introduction Focal hand dystonia is a challenging movement disorder to rehabilitate in musicians and writers. Purpose of the Study To compare the neuromusculoskeletal characteristics of those with writers' cramp (WC) and musicians' cramp (MC), and evaluate responsiveness to learning-based sensorimotor training. Methods Twenty-seven individuals (14 musicians, 13 writers) participated in 8 weeks of supervised therapy supplemented with a home program. Between-group differences on measures of musculoskeletal (physical), sensory, and motor performance were evaluated at baseline and post-intervention. Results Subjects with MC had a higher level of functional independence and better range of motion, but less strength in the affected upper limb than those of subjects with WC. Subjects with MC demonstrated greater accuracy on graphesthesia, kinesthesia, and localization at baseline. No between-group differences in motor performance were noted at baseline or post-intervention. Following individually adapted learning-based sensorimotor training, both groups improved in musculoskeletal (physical) parameters, sensory processing, and motor control; however, improvements on certain subtests differed by group. At follow-up, differences in posture, ROM, strength, graphesthesia, and kinesthesia persisted between the groups. Conclusions Subjects with WC have different physical and performance risk factors compared with those of subjects with MC. Intervention paradigms are efficacious, but variable responses to rehabilitation occur. Level of Evidence 4.