358 research outputs found
Successful Non-Invasive treatment of stricturing fibrosing colonopathy in an adult patient
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>Fibrosing colonopathy (FC) is a rare entity associated with cystic fibrosis (CF). Until now, patients with stricturing FC have usually been treated surgically. In this instance, we aimed at avoiding surgery by applying a new conservative approach.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Case report on an adult with CF who developed persistent abdominal pain due to a non-passable stricture in the right transverse colon. Histology confirmed fibrosing colonopathy.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Initially we treated the patient with prednisolone pulse therapy and additive antibiotic therapy. For maintenance therapy we administered budesonide. The patient underwent clinical, laboratory and endoscopic follow-up over a three-year period. The stricture healed and was easy to pass. A relapse in the cecum at the ileocecal valve again improved under steroid and antibiotic therapy.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We present a novel therapeutic approach for advanced stricturing FC in an adult patient which successfully avoided surgery (right hemicolectomy) over a three year follow up.</p
Hidden order in bosonic gases confined in one dimensional optical lattices
We analyze the effective Hamiltonian arising from a suitable power series
expansion of the overlap integrals of Wannier functions for confined bosonic
atoms in a 1d optical lattice. For certain constraints between the coupling
constants, we construct an explicit relation between such an effective bosonic
Hamiltonian and the integrable spin- anisotropic Heisenberg model. Therefore
the former results to be integrable by construction. The field theory is
governed by an anisotropic non linear -model with singlet and triplet
massive excitations; such a result holds also in the generic non-integrable
cases. The criticality of the bosonic system is investigated. The schematic
phase diagram is drawn. Our study is shedding light on the hidden symmetry of
the Haldane type for one dimensional bosons.Comment: 5 pages; 1 eps figure. Revised version, to be published in New. J.
Phy
Systematic Density Expansion of the Lyapunov Exponents for a Two-dimensional Random Lorentz Gas
We study the Lyapunov exponents of a two-dimensional, random Lorentz gas at
low density. The positive Lyapunov exponent may be obtained either by a direct
analysis of the dynamics, or by the use of kinetic theory methods. To leading
orders in the density of scatterers it is of the form
, where and are
known constants and is the number density of scatterers expressed
in dimensionless units. In this paper, we find that through order
, the positive Lyapunov exponent is of the form
. Explicit numerical values of the new constants
and are obtained by means of a systematic analysis. This takes into
account, up to , the effects of {\it all\/} possible
trajectories in two versions of the model; in one version overlapping scatterer
configurations are allowed and in the other they are not.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, minor changes in this version, to appear in J.
Stat. Phy
Exact results on the Kitaev model on a hexagonal lattice: spin states, string and brane correlators, and anyonic excitations
In this work, we illustrate how a Jordan-Wigner transformation combined with
symmetry considerations enables a direct solution of Kitaev's model on the
honeycomb lattice. We (i) express the p-wave type fermionic ground states of
this system in terms of the original spins, (ii) adduce that symmetry alone
dictates the existence of string and planar brane type correlators and their
composites, (iii) compute the value of such non-local correlators by employing
the Jordan-Wigner transformation, (iv) affirm that the spectrum is
inconsequential to the existence of topological quantum order and that such
information is encoded in the states themselves, and (v) express the anyonic
character of the excitations in this system and the local symmetries that it
harbors in terms of fermions.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure
An introduction to network psychometrics:Relating ising network models to item response theory models
In recent years, network models have been proposed as an alternative representation of psychometric constructs such as depression. In such models, the covariance between observables (e.g., symptoms like depressed mood, feelings of worthlessness, and guilt) is explained in terms of a pattern of causal interactions between these observables, which contrasts with classical interpretations in which the observables are conceptualized as the effects of a reflective latent variable. However, few investigations have been directed at the question how these different models relate to each other. To shed light on this issue, the current paper explores the relation between one of the most important network models—the Ising model from physics—and one of the most important latent variable models—the Item Response Theory (IRT) model from psychometrics. The Ising model describes the interaction between states of particles that are connected in a network, whereas the IRT model describes the probability distribution associated with item responses in a psychometric test as a function of a latent variable. Despite the divergent backgrounds of the models, we show a broad equivalence between them and also illustrate several opportunities that arise from this connection
Improved Modeling of Residential Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps for Energy Calculations
This report presents improved air conditioner and heat pump modeling methods in the context of whole-building simulation tools, with the goal of enabling more accurate evaluation of cost effective equipment upgrade opportunities and efficiency improvements in residential buildings
Bowel Preparation for Colonoscopy with Sodium Phosphate Solution versus Polyethylene Glycol-Based Lavage: A Multicenter Trial
Background: Adequate bowel preparation is essential for
accurate colonoscopy. Both oral sodium phosphate (NaP) and
polyethylene glycol-based lavage (PEG-ELS) are used predominantly
as bowel cleansing modalities. NaP has gained popularity due to
low drinking volume and lower costs. The purpose of this
randomized multicenter observer blinded study was to compare
three groups of cleansing (NaP, NaP + sennosides, PEG-ELS +
sennosides) in reference to tolerability, acceptance, and
cleanliness. Patient and Methods: 355 outpatients between 18 and
75 years were randomized into three groups (A, B, C) receiving NaP =
A, NaP, and sennosides = B or PEG-ELS and sennosides = C.
Gastroenterologists performing colonoscopies were blinded to the
type of preparation. All patients documented tolerance and adverse
events. Vital signs, premedication, completeness, discomfort, and
complications were recorded. A quality score (0–4) of cleanliness
was generated. Results: The three groups were similar
with regard to age, sex, BMI, indication for colonoscopy, and
comorbidity. Drinking volumes (L) (A = 4.33 + 1.2, B = 4.56 + 1.18, C = 4.93 + 1.71) were in favor of NaP
(P = .005). Discomfort from
ingested fluid was recorded in A = 39.8% (versus C: P = .015),
B = 46.6% (versus C: P = .147), and C = 54.6%. Differences in tolerability and acceptance between the three groups were
statistically not significant. No differences in adverse events
and the cleanliness effects occurred in the three groups (P = .113).
The cleanliness quality scores 0–2 were calculated in A:
77.7%, B: 86.7%, and C: 85.2%. Conclusions:
These data fail to demonstrate significant differences in
tolerability, acceptance, and preparation quality between the
three types of bowel preparation for colonoscopy. Cleansing with
NaP was not superior to PEG-ELS
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