The efficacy of individualised homeopathic treatment on constipation

Abstract:Background: Constipation is the term describing either infrequent bowel movements, difficult evacuation of stool, hard stool or a sensation of incomplete defecation (Longmore, 2012). The effects of constipation compound from impacting on the person’s physical health to effecting their moods and influencing their social life (Marks, 2012). Most conventional treatments strive to treat only local symptoms and do not address concomitant symptoms of constipation. Alternative treatment options such as homeopathy offer a more holistic approach and can be adopted; however, further research is needed to establish its effectiveness in treating constipation. Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of individualised homeopathic treatment on chronic constipation in adults. Methodology: This was a case study research design conducted at the University of Johannesburg Homeopathy Health Training Centre. Thirteen adults between the ages of 18 to 50 years who met the Rome II criteria for constipation were selected for participation and ten participants completed the study. The study consisted of four consultations per participant over a six week period. At the initial meeting a comprehensive case history was taken and analysed according to the principles of classical homeopathic prescribing and the best suited homeopathic remedy was administered. Data collection was in the form of case studies, which were analysed and described. The Bowel Function Diary and Bristol Stool Form Scale were used to assess changes in defecation quality and frequency and the results of these were then represented in the form of graphs. Results: The results of the case studies were positive and holistic. They indicated an improvement in stool frequency for all ten participants, and an improvement in stool form and ease of evacuation for the majority of the participants. The participants also reported that they experienced a better state of general and emotional wellbeing during the course of the research study. These results support previous findings which suggest that when an individualised homeopathic approach is correctly applied in a clinical setting, it is an effective approach for the management of chronic constipation in adults

Spatio-Temporal Scaling of Solar Surface Flows

The Sun provides an excellent natural laboratory for nonlinear phenomena. We use motions of magnetic bright points on the solar surface, at the smallest scales yet observed, to study the small scale dynamics of the photospheric plasma. The paths of the bright points are analyzed within a continuous time random walk framework. Their spatial and temporal scaling suggest that the observed motions are the walks of imperfectly correlated tracers on a turbulent fluid flow in the lanes between granular convection cells.Comment: Now Accepted by Physical Review Letter

Evaluating an unconfined aquifer by analysis of age-dating tracers in stream water

The mean transit time (MTT) is a fundamental property of a groundwater flow system that is strongly related to the ratio of recharge rate to storage volume. However, obtaining samples for estimating the MTT using environmental tracers is problematic as flow-weighted samples over the full spectrum of transit times are needed. Samples collected fromthe base flow of a gaining stream in the North Carolina Coastal Plain (West Bear Creek) that were corrected for exchange with the atmosphere yielded environmental tracer concentrations (SF6 and CFC-11) very similar to flow-weighted values from nine or ten streambed piezometers that directly sampled groundwater during low streamflow. At higher streamflow on the falling limb of the hydrograph, stream tracer concentrations (after correction for gas exchange) were significantly higher than the flow-weighted mean from piezometers, consistent with dominance of the streamtracer signal by transient influx of surface water and/or younger subsurface water. The apparent MTT derived from SF6 in low flow stream water samples was 26 years, suggesting a groundwater recharge rate of about 210 mm/yr, that is consistent with vertical profiles obtained by sampling nested piezometers in the aquifer. When sampled under low flow conditions when streamflow consists of a high component of groundwater discharge, West Bear Creek appears to act as a flow-weighted integrator of transit times and, streamflow samples can provide fundamental information regarding groundwater recharge rate and MTT. Our study suggests that watershed-scale evaluation of some groundwater flow systems is possible without utilizing monitoring wells

What determines auditory similarity? The effect of stimulus group and methodology.

Two experiments on the internal representation of auditory stimuli compared the pairwise and grouping methodologies as means of deriving similarity judgements. A total of 45 undergraduate students participated in each experiment, judging the similarity of short auditory stimuli, using one of the methodologies. The experiments support and extend Bonebright's (1996) findings, using a further 60 stimuli. Results from both methodologies highlight the importance of category information and acoustic features, such as root mean square (RMS) power and pitch, in similarity judgements. Results showed that the grouping task is a viable alternative to the pairwise task with N > 20 sounds whilst highlighting subtle differences, such as cluster tightness, between the different task results. The grouping task is more likely to yield category information as underlying similarity judgements

Magellan: Preliminary description of Venus surface geologic units

Observations from approximately one-half of the Magellan nominal eight-month mission to map Venus are summarized. Preliminary compilation of initial geologic observations of the planet reveals a surface dominated by plains that are characterized by extensive and intensive volcanism and tectonic deformation. Four broad categories of units have been identified: plains units, linear belts, surficial units, and terrain units

Sand stirred by chaotic advection

We study the spatial structure of a granular material, N particles subject to inelastic mutual collisions, when it is stirred by a bidimensional smooth chaotic flow. A simple dynamical model is introduced where four different time scales are explicitly considered: i) the Stokes time, accounting for the inertia of the particles, ii) the mean collision time among the grains, iii) the typical time scale of the flow, and iv) the inverse of the Lyapunov exponent of the chaotic flow, which gives a typical time for the separation of two initially close parcels of fluid. Depending on the relative values of these different times a complex scenario appears for the long-time steady spatial distribution of particles, where clusters of particles may or not appear.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure