Retrocaval Ureter: Clinical Images.

Retrocaval ureter (RCU) is a rare congenital anomaly with the ureter looping around inferior vena cava (IVC). We present the case of 10-year-old boy. Diagnosis was confirmed with ultrasound and CT.

A successful treatment strategy for clozapine-induced parotid swelling: a clinical case and systematic review.

Parotid gland swelling is a less frequently reported side effect of clozapine and has no licensed treatment. A 58-year-old man treated with clozapine for treatment-resistant schizophrenia developed bilateral painful parotid swellings and hypersalivation. Initial trials of dose alteration and antihypersalivatory medication had limited success.

Depolymerization and hydrodeoxygenation of switchgrass lignin with formic acid.

Organosolv switchgrass lignin is depolymerized and hydrodeoxygenated with a formic acid hydrogen source, 20 wt % Pt/C catalyst, and ethanol solvent. The combination of formic acid and Pt/C is found to promote production of higher fractions of lower molecular weight compounds in the liquid products. After 4 h of reaction, all of the switchgrass lignin is solubilized and 21 wt % of the biomass is shown to be converted into seven prominent molecular species that are identified and quantified.

Hydrodeoxygenation and coupling of aqueous phenolics over bifunctional zeolite-supported metal catalysts.

Pt supported on HY zeolite is successfully used as a bifunctional catalyst for phenol hydrodeoxygenation in a fixed-bed configuration at elevated hydrogen pressures, leading to hydrogenation-hydrogenolysis ring-coupling reactions producing hydrocarbons, some with enhanced molecular weight.

Serum adiponectin and cardiovascular risk in chronic kidney disease and kidney transplantation.

Background: Serum adiponectin is inversely linked to obesity, impaired glucose homeostasis, dyslipidemia and hypertension and has been suggested as a possible marker of cardiovascular (CV) disease in the general population. However, its role in chronic kidney disease and following renal transplantation is not well established.

Methods: This study examined the relationship of adiponectin with CV risk factors and kidney function in patients with predialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD) (n=33) and those who had undergone a renal transplantation (n=43).

Acid-catalyzed conversion of sugars and furfurals in an ionic-liquid phase.

The reactivity of monosaccharides, furfural, and 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (HMF) in the presence of a Brønsted acid (added as H(2)SO(4)) in the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BMImCl) is investigated at 120 °C. Fructose is converted much faster than mannose, glucose, and xylose and yields HMF with high selectivity, even in the absence of acid. Conversion of mannose, glucose, and xylose involves more complex reaction networks.

Quantitative solid state NMR analysis of residues from acid hydrolysis of loblolly pine wood.

The composition of solid residues from hydrolysis reactions of loblolly pine wood with dilute mineral acids is analyzed by (13)C Cross Polarization Magic Angle Spinning (CP MAS) NMR spectroscopy. Using this method, the carbohydrate and lignin fractions are quantified in less than 3h as compared to over a day using wet chemical methods. In addition to the quantitative information, (13)C CP MAS NMR spectroscopy provides information on the formation of additional extractives and pseudo lignin from the carbohydrates.