Among patients with acute abdominal pain, those whose CT scans did not show inner-layer enhancement of a thickened small-bowel wall were more prone to undergo surgery and small-bowel resection and were more likely to have small-bowel necrosis than those with such enhancement. Poor inner-layer enhancement on CT might be consistent with sloughed or necrotic mucosa, as observed on pathology.

Even though a retrohepatic gallbladder and a severely distorted hepatic morphology due to compensatory hypertrophy of the left and caudate lobes may raise a suspicion of agenesis of the right lobe of the liver, absence of visualization of all of the right hepatic vein, right portal vein and its branches, and dilated right intrahepatic ducts is a prerequisite of the diagnosis of agenesis of the right hepatic lobe on CT. In severe lobar atrophy, at least one of these structures is recognizable.

Objectives: To identify indicators and possible risk factors of haemothorax in patients with spontaneous pneumothorax. Methods: All patients presenting to the emergency department of Chi-Mei Foundation Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan with primary spontaneous pneumothorax between 1 January 1997 and 31 December 2002 were screened for inclusion in the present study. Of the 211 patients who qualified, eight had spontaneous haemopneumothorax (SHP) (3.79%). The clinical data and demographic characteristics of these patients were similar to those of patients with spontaneous pneumothorax without haemothorax (SP). Results: All eight SHP patients were thin and young men (mean age 24 years and mean weight 56.1 kg). Seven were smokers. The patients with SHP were taller that the patients with SP (177.4 cm v 170.3 cm, respectively; p,0.01), and tended to have a lower body mass index (BMI) (17.9 kg/m 2 v 19.6 kg/m 2 , respectively; p = 0.06) and higher heart rate (101.0 v 88.0 beats/min, respectively; p = 0.09). Clinically, patients with SHP were more likely to have dyspnoea compared with SP patients (62.5% v 26.6%, respectively; p = 0.04) and lower levels of haemoglobin (12.8 v 14.7 g/dl, respectively; p = 0.01) and haematocrit (38.1% v 44.1%, respectively; p,0.01). Chest x rays revealed pleural effusion in all patients with SHP but in none with SP. Conclusions: Patients with SHP are taller, with lower levels of haemoglobin and haematocrit, and are more likely to have dyspnoea than patients without haemothorax. The chest x ray finding of pneumothorax with an ipsilateral air-fluid level is a strong indicator of SHP.

Saccular aneurysms, adjacent soft tissue masses, rim enhancement, stranding, fluid, gas, and unusual adjacent bony destruction highly suggest infected aneurysm.

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In this study, we demonstrated a simple method of fabricating a high-performance surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate. Monodispersive SiO 2 colloidal spheres were self-assembled on a silicon wafer, and then a silver layer was coated on it to obtain a Ag/SiO 2 SERS substrate. The Ag/SiO 2 SERS substrates were used to detect three kinds of plasticizer with different concentrations, namely, including bis(2ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), and dibutyl phthalate (DBP). The enhancement of Raman scattering intensity caused by surface plasmon resonance can be observed using the Ag/SiO 2 SERS substrates. The Ag/SiO 2 SERS substrate with a 150-nm-thick silver layer can detect plasticizers, and it satisfies the detection limit of plasticizers at 100 ppm. The developed highly sensitive Ag/SiO 2 SERS substrates show a potential for the design and fabrication of functional sensors to identify the harmful plasticizers that plastic products release in daily life.

DESCRIPTIONWe present the case of a 74-year-old patient who, as an adult, enjoyed eating uncooked pork and beef. Recently, he had suffered from a sudden onset of gait disturbance, memory loss and disturbance of consciousness. He was brought to the emergency department for evaluation. On arrival, his vital signs were stable. The physical examination revealed mild weakness of the right extremities (muscle strength grade 3/5), slurred speech, left facial palsy and general appearance of weakness. ELISA was positive, as were serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) parasite antibody immunoglobulin G for cysticercosis. We strongly suspected neurocysticercosis.The brain CT scan (figure 1), brain MRI (figure 2), abdominal CT scan (figure 3) and plain X-rays (figures 4-9) had a characteristic 'starry sky'