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B Travers

Publications and source records attributed to B Travers.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Use of ultrasound for characterizing dairy products.

It has been known for a long time that acoustic measurements offer some unique features for characterizing liquid food products in their intact state, without any preparation or destruction of the product sample. Acoustic characterization can yield information about fat content, droplet size distribution, and kinetics of product variation with time. Furthermore, acoustic methods are very attractive for on-line process control. This paper addresses several questions: Why does ultrasound attenuate when propagating through a heterogeneous system? What properties of dairy products can be extracted from such ultrasound measurements? Which measurement is better for product characterization: attenuation or sound speed? What measurement precision is required to adequately characterize product properties? What frequency range is of most value for determining these product properties?It is possible to provide answers to many of these questions using experimental data, thereby avoiding, for the moment, any complex mathematical analysis. We present several applications of acoustic spectroscopy for characterizing dairy products, including characterization of the fat content in a wide variety of dairy products; calculation of the fat droplet size distribution in milk without dilution; and calculation of water droplet size in butter, without dilution or melting.

Acoustics↗
PubMed2001

Elimination of early rehospitalization in a randomized, controlled trial of multidisciplinary care in a high-risk, elderly heart failure population: the potential contributions of specialist care, clinical stability and optimal angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor dose at discharge.

BACKGROUND: Despite a growing body of data demonstrating the benefits of multidisciplinary care in heart failure, persistently high rates of readmission, especially within the first month of discharge, continue to be documented. AIMS: As part of an ongoing randomized study on the value of multidisciplinary care in a high risk (NYHA Class IV), elderly (mean age 69 years) heart failure population, we examined the effects of this intervention on previously high (20%) 1-month readmission rates. METHODS: Unlike previous studies of this approach, both multidisciplinary (MC) and routine care (RC) populations were cared for by the cardiology service, complied with adherence to clinical stability criteria prior to discharge (100% of patients) and received at least target dose angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition with perindopril prior to discharge (94% of indicated patients). We analysed death and unplanned readmission for heart failure at 1 month. RESULTS: This early report from the first 70 patients (67% male, 71% systolic dysfunction with a mean ejection fraction of 31.0+/-6.7%) enrolled in this study demonstrates elimination of 1-month hospital readmission in both RC and MC groups. This unexpected result represents a dramatic improvement both for this patient cohort (20% 30-day readmission rate prior to enrollment reduced to 0% following the index admission in both care groups) and in comparison with available data. CONCLUSIONS: Critical contributors to this improvement appear to be specialist cardiology care, adherence to clinical stability criteria prior to discharge and routine use of target or high-dose ACE inhibitor therapy prior to discharge. Widespread application of this approach may have a dramatic improvement in morbidity of CHF while limiting the escalating costs of this condition.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Effectiveness of omeprazole in seven patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome resistant to histamine H2-receptor antagonists.

The inhibitory effect of omeprazole, a benzimidazole derivative, on gastric acid secretion was investigated in seven patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome resistant to treatment with large doses of histamine H2-receptor antagonists administered alone or in combination with pirenzepine. In two patients with an acute form of the syndrome, rapid control of acid overproduction was achieved with 180-mg intravenous and 120-mg oral daily doses, respectively. The other five patients, who were free of complication, initially received a standard regimen of omeprazole 60 mg orally once a day; dosage was subsequently adjusted until the basal acid output, measured 1 hr before the next dose of the drug, was less than 10 mmol/hr. The initial daily dose proved to be adequate in three patients and had to be increased to 80 mg and 60 mg bid, respectively in the remaining two patients. In all patients omeprazole therapy resulted in clinical recovery and rapid healing of mucosal lesions. The seven patients have now been followed up for 4-24 months (average 15 months). The adequacy of the daily dosage was periodically reassessed by measuring basal acid output in the hour preceding the morning dose. In one patient initially treated with 180 mg/day, dosage could be reduced to 60 mg/day. In three others, who were initially controlled with 60 mg/day, dosage had to be increased during follow-up. Despite adequate control of gastric acid secretion, one patient underwent total gastrectomy and tumor resection and another died of extensive liver metastases. The five patients still receiving omeprazole remain free of symptoms and mucosal lesions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1980

[Bacterial endocardiitis complicating fibroplastic endocarditis: a case report (author's transl)].

A young Protugese man, who had never travelled outside of Europe, was found to have a bacterial complication of a fibroplastic endocarditis. The onset was by a spontaneous chest pain, associated with a posterolatero-apical subepicardial ischemia and giant T waves in V3, V4, and calcification in the apex of the heart on radiography. Diagnosis was confirmed by intracardiac explorations: ventricular telediastolic pressures were increased; the lower border of the right ventricle was smooth, the left ventricle had a globular appearance with a smooth anterior border, the apex appearing to be completely excluded; coronarography was normal. Histological examination confirmed the presence of fibrosis. Anticoagulant treatment was started. Four months after the onset of the disease, a high fever, an apical systolic murmur, and nine positive blood cultures for a streptococcus mitis, suggested the development of a bacterial endocarditis, though no direct evidence was discovered. Improvement occurred after appropriate antibiotic therapy, and the anticoagulants were continued. Cardiac ultrasonography recordings were normal following this episode. This case-report is of two-fold interest: on the one hand it represents an early form of fibroplastic endocarditis, diagnosed by intracardiac exploration, and on the other hand it emphasizes the rare nature of bacterial complications of this affection. Authors differ in their evaluation of the frequency of chest pain, but their inaugural and isolated nature are rarely described. In most cases the presence of the disease is revealed by a progressive cardiac insufficiency. A very positive factor is the presence of calcifications, and the absence of an eosinophilia does not exclude the diagnosis. Electrical anomalies of the ischemic type are possible, but are rarely isolated findings, and the giant appearance of the T waves in this case is rather atypical. Bacterial complications are rare, and are only reported in 12 of the 218 cases described in the published literature. They are rarely diagnosed during the life of the patient (1 case only). The infection affects the cords, the valves, the thrombus, or the fibrosis itself.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Voluminous exogastric myoid tumor. Contribution of echotomography and x-ray computed tomography].

We described a case of voluminous exogastric leiomyoblastoma revealed by abdominal pain and clinical mass. Ultrasonography showed a mixed mass, with both solid and liquid components, without determining specifically the organ of origin. CT body examination showed an intense hypervascularization, associated with cystic components. Laparotomy with tumor excision was done without any metastases. Such US and CT aspects can lead to the exact diagnostic, if they prove the gastric origin of the mass. Otherwise, the discussion is between pancreatic or epiploic tumors.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗