BACKGROUND Biliary obstruction impairs liver function although the pathophysiological mechanism is incompletely understood. AIMS The aim of this study was to examine serial changes in liver metabolism in patients with obstructive jaundice using image guided in vivo 31-phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((31)P MRS). This technique allows repeated and non-invasive assay of organ energy ...

Background: Biliary obstruction impairs liver function although the pathophysiological mechanism is incompletely understood. Aims: The aim of this study was to examine serial changes in liver metabolism in patients with obstructive jaundice using image guided in vivo 31-phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy (P MRS). This technique allows repeated and non-invasive assay of organ energy meta...

To sustain agricultural productivity, evaporation basins (or ponds) have been widely used for the disposal of agricultural drainage in areas requiring subsurface drainage in the San Joaquin Valley of California, USA. The drainage water contains elevated concentration of trace elements including selenium (Se) and arsenic (As). Unlike Se, little information is available about As, a potentially hi...

The state of development of drainage in arid and semi-arid countries is lagging far behind the development of irrigation. This leaves the worlds’ irrigated agriculture at high risk of losing productive lands to waterlogging and salinization. As development of new irrigation projects will not likely happen any more as in the sixties and seventies, drainage of existing irrigated lands can contrib...

PURPOSE Pancreatic leakage is a serious complication of gastrectomy due to stomach cancer. Therefore, we analyzed amylase and lipase concentrations in blood and drainage fluid, and evaluated the volume of drainage fluid to discern their usefulness as markers for the early detection of serious pancreatic leakage requiring reoperation after gastrectomy. METHODS From January 2001 to December 200...

Transients in water content are well-known to mobilize microorganisms that are retained in the vadose zone. However, there is no consensus on the relative importance of drainage and imbibition events on microorganism release. To overcome this limitation, we have systematically studied the release of Escherichia coli D21g during cycles of drainage and imbibition under various solution chemistry ...

Some of the highest losses of nitrate to surface waters come from drained agricultural land. Given previous this article studied for Belgian farming conditions (i) the effect of subsurface drainage density on nitrate losses and (ii) the economics of nitrate emissions, using the nitrogen version of DRAINMOD (Brevé et al., 1997 a and b). DRAINMOD (Skaggs, 1997) was used to simulate the performanc...

External drainage of subretinal fluid during scleral buckling procedures is considered by many ophthalmologists to be a rather dangerous and uncontrolled process owing to the potential for complications such as retinal incarceration, subretinal hemorrhage, and loss of vitreous. Typically, drainage is monitored externally, with only intermittent use of indirect ophthalmoscopy to assess drainage ...

PURPOSE Recent studies have reported rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) hand infections in patients without risk factors ranging from 26% to 73%. The purpose of our study was to review a large series of pediatric hand infections to determine the rate of MRSA and identify potential risk factors. METHODS A retrospective review was performed on patients younger than 15 w...

BACKGROUND Problems in the management of thoracic trauma have stimulated the search for an alternative to underwater seals for drainage of the pleural cavity. A chest drainage bag incorporating a one way flutter valve has been compared with underwater seal drains in a randomised clinical trial. METHODS During June-December 1989 119 patients undergoing elective thoracotomy were randomised to r...