The differentiation of cholesterol and pigment gallstones

Gallbladder biles and stones were obtained at 116 cholecystectomies for symptomatic gallstone disease. All 33 patients younger than 50 years had cholesterol stones, whereas 40% of the older patients had pigment stones. We compared the reliability of three different bile tests for the differentiation between cholesterol and pigment stone patients. Whereas both the presence of cholesterol monohydrate crystals in fresh gallbladder bile and a nucleation time 20 days in ultrafiltered gallbladder bile had a specificity of 100% for cholesterol gallstone disease, biliary supersaturation with cholesterol (cholesterol saturation index >1.0) had a low specificity. The sensitivity of nucleation time 20 days for cholesterol gallstone disease was 78% in concentrated gallbladder biles (biliary total lipid concentration 5 g/dl) but only 21% in dilute biles (biliary total lipid concentration <5 g/dl). In contrast, examination for the presence of cholesterol crystals in fresh bile was reasonably sensitive both in concentrated and diute gallbladder biles (sensitivity, 84% and 72%, respectively). In addition, duodenal bile obtained from 16 patients (10 cholesterol, 6 pigment) before cholecystectom showed cholesterol crystals in 7 of the cholesterol but in none of the pigment stone patients. We conclude that examination of fresh bile for cholesterol crystals is a specific and reasonably sensitive test for cholsterol gallstone disease

The response of a harpacticoid copepod community to a small-scale natural disturbance

Evidence is accumul ating that natural disturbances can influence marine hard-bottom communities. The importance of disturbances in marine soft-bottom communities is less well known, particularly where the disturbed patch is small. In a subtidal site off the Florida panhandle (29° 54.0\u27 N, 84° 37.8\u27 W), enteropneusts (Ptychodera bahamensis) create numerous fecal mounds (median diameter is 5 cm) on the sediment surface...

A retrospective study of utilisation and uptake of visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) as a cervical cancer screening method at a specific hospital in Zimbabwe

The purpose of this study was to describe the factors that determine the utilisation of VIA, and to investigate the socio-economic status of women who undergone VIA. A retrospective document analysis of 323 clinical records was conducted at a specific rural hospital in Zimbabwe. A retrospective, cross-sectional, non-experimental, descriptive, analysis of clinical records was conducted using a checklist to extract data from the records of women who have undergone VIA for cervical screening at the specific rural hospital. The results revealed that 70% (N=225) were from outside the catchment area, 73% (N=234) were poor, 54% (N=173) were of high parity, 85% (N=275) were ill with conditions that included lower back and abdominal pains, excessive vaginal discharge and vaginal bleeding after intercourse. The study further revealed that 72% (N=226) had no prior cervical cancer screening and 87% (N=277) were screened by chance. The conclusion drawn was that socio-economic and logistical constraints hinder cervical cancer screening among rural women. It is recommended that VIA screening and health education on cervical cancer be offered to all women visiting healthcare facilities. Furthermore, the government should consider funding in order to prioritise women’s health issues.Health StudiesM.A. (Nursing Science

Harpacticoid dispersion patterns: Implications for deep-sea diversity maintenance

Several models have been proposed to explain high macrofaunal diversity in the deep-sea benthos, but a mechanistic explanation of the maintenance of the enhanced diversity has not been demonstrated. This paper seeks evidence in meiofaunal harpacticoid copepod species\u27 dispersion patterns of evidence of spatial scales at which diversity-maintaining processes act. Evidence of nonrandom dispersion is found at 100 meter, meter and centimeter scales of sample separation...

An evaluation of the effects of simulator training on ice management performance

This research offers practical insights into the relationship between amount of training and ice management performance. In a previous experiment, it was found that, on average, experienced seafarers performed better in an ice management simulator than inexperienced cadets (Veitch, 2018). In a current experiment, two additional groups of inexperienced cadets were trained for ice management in either one or two sessions. The training included viewing examples of expert performance and completing practice scenarios in a simulator. After training, the cadets completed two ice management simulator scenarios, one of which was the same as that used in the previous experiment. Training was found to have a positive effect on ice management performance in most scenarios. In the scenario used in both experiments, ice management performance improved with increasing amounts of training and the results demonstrate a proposed method for estimating the amount of training required to reach a performance target

Investigating Afghanada: Situating the CBC Radio Drama in the Context and Politics of Canada and the War on Terror

In 2008, Globe and Mail theatre critic J. Kelly Nestruck made a significant remark about Canadian theatre and the War on Terror, noting a clear absence of stage plays that addressed Canada’s participation. There was, however, a long-running CBC radio drama series, Afghanada, which centred fully on the experiences of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan. Because relatively little research has yet to be published about the radio series, Lindsay Thistle details Afghanada’s production history, major players, creative processes and goals. She also considers how the radio medium affected the objectives of the series and its ability to represent war, ultimately arguing that Afghanada was inescapably politicized through its relationship with national institutions, its interest in realistic and true-to-life stories, its focus on everyday soldiers, its casting choices and its inclusion of post-traumatic stress disorder. Throughout this investigation, Thistle raises important questions about the politics of dramatizing war while Canada itself was at war. She concludes by observing that while Afghanada avoids an explicit message in support of or against the Canada’s involvement in the War on Terror, it engaged with the political from its inception, through its creation, and in its reception.En 2008, J. Kelly Nestruck, critique de théâtre au Globe and Mail , faisait une remarque importante au sujet du théâtre canadien et de la guerre contre le terrorisme en soulignant l’absence manifeste de pièces de théâtre traitant de la participation du Canada. Toutefois, la CBC a diffusé à l’époque un feuilleton radiophonique de longue durée intitulé Afghanada qui dramatisait des expériences vécues par des soldats canadiens en Afghanistan. Cette série radiophonique ayant fait l’objet de peu d’études, Lindsay Thistle retrace dans cet article l’historique de la production d’ Afghanada et décrit ses principaux intervenants, les processus créatifs employés et les objectifs de la série. Elle examine également de quelle façon le médium radio a pu affecter les objectifs de la série et sa capacité de représenter la guerre, faisant valoir, en fin de compte, qu’ Afghanada était inévitablement politisée à travers son rapport avec des institutions nationales, son intérêt pour les récits réalistes et véridiques portant sur de simples soldats, ses choix dans la distribution des rôles et sa décision d’aborder le trouble de stress post-traumatique. Au fil de son enquête, Thistle soulève des questions importantes sur la politique de la dramatisation de la guerre à une époque où le Canada participait lui-même au combat. Elle conclut en observant que, si Afghanada évite de communiquer un message explicite pour ou contre la participation du Canada à la guerre contre le terrorisme, la série a contribué au débat politique, depuis sa création jusqu’à sa réception