Cardiac Tamponode Due to Stab Wound

This report discusses the management and prognosis of intrapericardial injury following a knife assault.A case with intrapericardial injury following a knife assault is reported and its management and prognosis discussed.Office of Global AIDS/US Department of State

Bimodal distribution of fasting gastric acidity in a rural African population

Setting. The people of Transkei eat a diet high in linoleic acid, the principal fatty acid in maize. The theory has been put forward that a diet high in linoleic acid and low in fat and riboflavin, such as the traditional diet in Transkei, results in overproduction of prostaglandin E2 in the gastric mucosa, and that this overproduction in turn causes a suppression of gastric add production.Objective. To investigate the effect of diet on fasting gastric pH in a rural black African population.Design. Fasting gastric acid samples were obtained by fine nasogastric tube aspiration from 150 volunteers at a rural health clinic. The pH of these samples was measured and a full dietary questionnaire was used. Helicobacter pylori serology was done on a subgroup of 30 volunteers.Results and conclusions. A bimodal pH distribution was found. Approximately half the population had a gastric pH within the range 1 - 4; Half had a pH of over 4. A high pH was significantly associated with consumption of maize (p = 0.006), and with consumption of both pumpkin and beans (p = 0.006). A high proportion of this rural African population has a diet-associated abnormally high gastric pH. The pattern of upper gastrointestinal disease may be significantly affected by diet in this community and in others with a similar diet

The ChemCam Instrument Suite on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Rover: Body Unit and Combined System Tests

The ChemCam instrument suite on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover Curiosity provides remote compositional information using the first laser-induced breakdown spectrometer (LIBS) on a planetary mission, and provides sample texture and morphology data using a remote micro-imager (RMI). Overall, ChemCam supports MSL with five capabilities: remote classification of rock and soil characteristics; quantitative elemental compositions including light elements like hydrogen and some elements to which LIBS is uniquely sensitive (e.g., Li, Be, Rb, Sr, Ba); remote removal of surface dust and depth profiling through surface coatings; context imaging; and passive spectroscopy over the 240-905 nm range. ChemCam is built in two sections: The mast unit, consisting of a laser, telescope, RMI, and associated electronics, resides on the rover's mast, and is described in a companion paper. ChemCam's body unit, which is mounted in the body of the rover, comprises an optical demultiplexer, three spectrometers, detectors, their coolers, and associated electronics and data handling logic. Additional instrument components include a 6 m optical fiber which transfers the LIBS light from the telescope to the body unit, and a set of onboard calibration targets. ChemCam was integrated and tested at Los Alamos National Laboratory where it also underwent LIBS calibration with 69 geological standards prior to integration with the rover. Post-integration testing used coordinated mast and instrument commands, including LIBS line scans on rock targets during system-level thermal-vacuum tests. In this paper we describe the body unit, optical fiber, and calibration targets, and the assembly, testing, and verification of the instrument prior to launch