No abstract

Adherence to a defined ALG simplified the management of traumatic pancreatic injuries and contributed to a reduction in both pancreas-related morbidity and mortality. The majority of all proximal pancreatic injuries can be treated with drainage alone. For distal injuries, a clinical decision based on defined parameters and suspicion of ductal injury dictates definitive management.

Studies of naturally occurring and artificially introduced carbon dust are conducted in DIII-D and TEXTOR. In DIII-D, dust does not present operational concerns except immediately after entry vents. Submicrometre sized dust is routinely observed using Mie scattering from a Nd : Yag laser. The source is strongly correlated with the presence of type I edge localized modes (ELMs). Larger size (0.005–1 mm diameter) dust is observed by optical imaging, showing elevated dust levels after entry vents. Inverse dependence of the dust velocity on the inferred dust size is found from the imaging data. Heating of the dust particles by the neutral beam injection (NBI) and acceleration of dust particles by the plasma flows are observed. Energetic plasma disruptions produce significant amounts of dust; on the other hand, large flakes or debris falling into the plasma may induce a disruption. Migration of pre-characterized carbon dust is studied in DIII-D and TEXTOR by introducing micrometre-size particles into plasma discharges. In DIII-D, a sample holder filled with 30–40 mg of dust is inserted in the lower divertor and exposed, via sweeping of the strike points, to the diverted plasma flux of high-power ELMing H-mode discharges. After a brief dwell (∼0.1 s) of the outer strike point on the sample holder, part of the dust penetrates into the core plasma, raising the core carbon density by a factor of 2–3 and resulting in a twofold increase in the radiated power. In TEXTOR, instrumented dust holders with 1–45 mg of dust are exposed in the scrape-off-layer 0–2 cm radially outside of the last closed flux surface in discharges heated with 1.4 MW of NBI. Launched in this configuration, the dust perturbed the edge plasma, as evidenced by a moderate increase in the edge carbon content, but did not penetrate into the core plasma.

Prognostic and epidemiologic study, level III.

Epidemiologic/prognostic study, level III.

Based on moderate-to-good quality of evidence, chemoprophylaxis is beneficial in preventing VTE, with no significant increase in either major or minor bleeding complications in patients undergoing cranial and spinal procedures. Further research is needed to determine whether this conclusion holds true for more specific subpopulations.

A set of methods has been developed to study the adhesion between four Lactobacillus reuteri strains and the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) components in dairy products. By combining sucrose density gradient (SDG) centrifugation and bacterial DNA quantification it was found which strains of L. reuteri were more strongly associated with the dairy products, and the results were corroborated by direct binding rate and force measurements made with optical tweezers. It was determined that strong binding was associated with hydrophobicity of the bacteria and that this hydrophobicity is correlated with the presence of LiCl-extractable protein on the surface of the bacteria. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) allowed for the visualization of interactions between bacteria and MFGM. This study demonstrates that these methods can be used in combination to characterize, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the adhesion of lactic acid bacteria strains in dairy products.

Therapeutic/care management study, level IV.