Search

Context Ectopic pancreatic rest is an uncommon condition resulting in diverse clinical and pathological presentation. It results from altered development of two primitive pancreatic buds that fuse to form the uncinate-head and body-tail of normal gland. Ectopic pancreas is an anomaly where an ectopic rest develops at a place away from the normal site. Case report We describe a 48-year-old male patient who presented with progressive jaundice and pruritus. He was established to have a periampullary mass highly suggestive of malignancy, for which he undergo pancreaticoduodenectomy. However, histology showed ectopic pancreatic tissue in the periampullary region. Conclusion This case highlights importance of preoperative histological diagnosis of periampullary tumors to avoid morbid surgical procedure in the form pancreaticoduodenectomy. Ectopic pancreas should include differential diagnosis of periampullary tumors., JOP. Journal of the Pancreas, Vol 12, N° 6 (2011): November - p. 557-630

Pinhão is the seed of Brazilian Pine (Araucaria angustifolia), a conifer that grows in the south of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. Pinhão seeds are very good source of carbohydrates but there is no wide scale consumption of these seeds hence a large quantity is lost at the end of each harvest. Due to high humidity, seeds can easily be contaminated by fungi during stockpiling, thus hindering its commercialization. The seeds are traditionally used as source of flour for baking or cooked in hot water, peeled, and consumed. The objectives of my research were: (1) To study the migration of polyphenols from hull to seed during atmospheric and pressure cooking of pinhão seeds and; (2) To test the extrudability of pinhão flour fortified with soy flour to make snack food. The hull of pinhão has ample amount of phenolics but hull forms the non-edible part of the whole nut. It has been proved by previous researchers that phenolics diffuse from the hull to the seed during atmospheric cooking. In this study we investigated the migration of phenolics during atmospheric and pressure cooking as a function of time. More migration of phenolics from hull to seed occured in a shorter time period during pressure cooking as compared to atmospheric cooking which proved that pressure cooking is an efficient cooking process as regards to polyphenolic content in cooked seeds. We also studied the single screw extrusion of pinhão flour fortified with soy flour using Response Surface Methodology. Box-Behnken (BBD) design was used to obtain the extrusion conditions to make extrudates. The process parameters during the extrusion were moisture content of the blended flour (17-24% w.b.), barrel temperature (120- 180°C), and ratio of pinhão flour to soy flour (1-3). The physical characteristics studied were sectional expansion index, bulk density, breaking strength, hue, chroma, water absorption index, and water solubility index. The total phenolic content of the blended flour and extrudates was also compared; it was found that there was substantial loss in polyphenols after extrusion cooking. For the expansion of the extrudates, maximum puffing of the samples was obtained at 17% moisture content of the blended flour, 150°C barrel temperature, and 3:1 ratio of pinhão flour to soy flour. Sensory testing of the selected extrudate samples was also conducted and results showed that sample extruded at low moisture content and high pinhão to soy flour ratio was perceived and liked by subjects the most.

To The Editor: Pediatric UTI often remains an under-diagnosed clinical entity in primary care [1]. Usually, the presentation of UTI is variable with nonspecific signs and symptoms. But it is important to diagnose the condition as it could be the first presentation of an underlying urological anomaly [2] or it may in itself, lead to significant morbidity from renal scarring, hypertension or eventually renal failure [1].