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R S Roberts

Publications and source records attributed to R S Roberts.

131 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Ability to distinguish whisky (uisge beatha) from brandy (cognac).

OBJECTIVE: To assess ability to distinguish between first rate malt whisky and brandy and between different brands of each. DESIGN: Crossover with two sessions of 12 blindfold tastings of two whiskies and two brandies before and after supper, repeated not more than seven days later. SETTING: Dundas, Ontario. PARTICIPANTS: 4 volunteers aged 50-68 years, all moderate drinkers of alcohol and members of a wine club. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Proportion of samples correctly identified (whisky v brandy) and, of those, the proportion of brands correctly identified. RESULTS: Only one participant produced irrefutable statistical evidence (P < 0.0001) of being able to distinguish between whisky and brandy, correctly identifying 50/51 (98%) samples. Two participants achieved some success in identification (72%, P = 0.0031 and 65% P = 0.031). The fourth participant's responses reflected pure guesswork. Brandy was no easier to identify than whisky (P = 0.84). The participant who was best able to distinguish between whisky and brandy was also best able to identify correctly the brand of whisky (100%, P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Despite the fact that not all participants completed the full number of tastings the results show that some participants could distinguish neither between malt whisky and brandy nor between different brands of whisky and brandy. However, the success of one participant shows that "it can be done" and that his whisky specific ability is acquired not innate.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A secondary prevention, randomized trial of suloctidil in patients with a recent history of thromboembolic stroke.

Four hundred and thirty-eight patients who had suffered a thromboembolic stroke not less than two weeks or more than four months previously, were entered into a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial to determine whether suloctidil (200 mg t.i.d.) would influence the subsequent recurrence of stroke, the occurrence of myocardial infarction, or cardiovascular death. The two treatment groups were comparable at baseline with respect to important prognostic variables and there was good adherence to the study protocol during an average follow-up of 20 months. Significantly more patients complained of side-effects in the suloctidil group and more hepatotoxicity was also reported in the suloctidil group. Four cases of clinical hepatitis were suspected to be due to suloctidil, each of which was reversible on termination of study treatment; relative increases in SGOT and SGPT at three months in the suloctidil group were found to be mild and transient. The primary analysis of efficacy was based on the incidence of the first event of stroke, myocardial infarction or cardiovascular death, but excluding events that occurred more than 28 days after complete withdrawal from study medication for whatever reason. Thus, the primary analysis included 38 events in the suloctidil group and 47 in the placebo group (p = 0.17) representing a risk reduction of 24%. If total mortality is substituted for cardiovascular death, the corresponding figures are 47 in the suloctidil group and 58 in the placebo group (p = 0.08).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cerebrovascular Disorders↗
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[Not Available].

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History, Modern 1601-↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Surgical treatment of displaced ankle fractures.

To test the validity of the practice of open reduction and internal fixation for the treatment of displaced ankle fractures, 25 cases were reviewed after a mean follow-up period of 1.5 years. Eighty-eight per cent had satisfactory objective results and 76% satisfactory subjective results. Eight-eight per cent of the patients with good results had anatomic reductions, whereas none of those with poor results was anatomically reduced. No patient with anatomic reduction had early evidence of degenerative arthritis. There were no nonunions of the medial malleolus, and open fractures did not predispose to poor results. The pronation-eversion injury as classified by Lauge-Hansen was found to have the poorest results objectively, with 70% fair or poor subjectively. This observation is believed to be due to the complete ligamentous disruption of the syndesmosis, which, unlike intraosseous diastasis, fails to heal solidly in a high percentage of patients. This study indicates that good results can be achieved by open reduction and internal fixation when exact anatomic reduction is achieved. The pronation-eversion injury remains a difficult problem. Better methods of treatment for this injury are needed.

Adolescent↗