Isolated angioedema of the bowel due to C1 esterase inhibitor deficiency: a case report and review of literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>We report a rare, classic case of isolated angioedema of the bowel due to C1-esterase inhibitor deficiency. It is a rare presentation and very few cases have been reported worldwide. Angioedema has been classified into three categories.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 66-year-old Caucasian man presented with a ten-month history of episodic severe cramping abdominal pain, associated with loose stools. A colonoscopy performed during an acute attack revealed nonspecific colitis. Computed tomography of the abdomen performed at the same time showed a thickened small bowel and ascending colon with a moderate amount of free fluid in the abdomen. Levels of C4 (< 8 mg/dL; reference range 15 to 50 mg/dL), CH50 (< 10 U/mL; reference range 29 to 45 U/ml) and C1 inhibitor (< 4 mg/dL; reference range 14 to 30 mg/dL) were all low, supporting a diagnosis of acquired angioedema with isolated bowel involvement. Our patient's symptoms improved with antihistamine and supportive treatment.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In addition to a detailed comprehensive medical history, laboratory data and imaging studies are required to confirm a diagnosis of angioedema due to C1 esterase inhibitor deficiency.</p

Dynamic polarizability of rotating particles in electrorheological fluids

A rotating particle in electrorheological (ER) fluid leads to a displacement of its polarization charges on the surface which relax towards the external applied field ${\bf E}_0$, resulting in a steady-state polarization at an angle with respect to ${\bf E}_0$. This dynamic effect has shown to affect the ER fluids properties dramatically. In this paper, we develop a dynamic effective medium theory (EMT) for a system containing rotating particles of finite volume fraction. This is a generalization of established EMT to account for the interactions between many rotating particles. While the theory is valid for three dimensions, the results in a special two dimensional configuration show that the system exhibits an off-diagonal polarization response, in addition to a diagonal polarization response, which resembles the classic Hall effect. The diagonal response monotonically decreases with an increasing rotational speed, whereas the off-diagonal response exhibits a maximum at a reduced rotational angular velocity $\omega_0$ comparing to the case of isolated rotating particles. This implies a way of measurement on the interacting relaxation time. The dependencies of the diagonal and off-diagonal responses on various factors, such as $\omega_0$, the volume fraction, and the dielectric contrast, are discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted to J. Phys. Chem.

Meeting the Challenges Facing Wheat Production The Strategic Research Agenda of the Global Wheat Initiative

Wheat occupies a special role in global food security since, in addition to providing 20% of our carbohydrates and protein, almost 25% of the global production is traded internationally. The importance of wheat for food security was recognised by the Chief Agricultural Scientists of the G20 group of countries when they endorsed the establishment of the Wheat Initiative in 2011. The Wheat Initiative was tasked with supporting the wheat research community by facilitating col-laboration, information and resource sharing and helping to build the capacity to address chal-lenges facing production in an increasingly variable environment. Many countries invest in wheat research. Innovations in wheat breeding and agronomy have delivered enormous gains over the past few decades, with the average global yield increasing from just over 1 tonne per hectare in the early 1960s to around 3.5 tonnes in the past decade. These gains are threatened by climate change, the rapidly rising financial and environmental costs of fertilizer, and pesticides, combined with declines in water availability for irrigation in many regions. The international wheat research community has worked to identify major opportunities to help ensure that global wheat pro-duction can meet demand. The outcomes of these discussions are presented in this paper

ICAR: endoscopic skull‐base surgery

n/

A Landau-Squire nanojet

Fluid jets are found in nature at all length scales, from microscopic to cosmological. Here we report on an electroosmotically driven jet from a single glass nanopore about 75 nm in radius with a maximum flow rate ~15 pL/s. A novel anemometry technique allows us to map out the vorticity and velocity fields that show excellent agreement with the classical Landau-Squire solution of the Navier Stokes equations for a point jet. We observe a phenomenon that we call flow rectification: an asymmetry in the flow rate with respect to voltage reversal. Such a nanojet could potentially find applications in micromanipulation, nanopatterning, and as a diode in microfluidic circuits.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figure