Measuring Successful Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Is “Satisfactory Relief ” Enough?

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75081/1/j.1572-0241.2006.00519.x.pd

The Effect of Microplastic Fibers on the Freshwater Amphipod, Hyalella Azteca

Microplastics are a growing and persistent contaminant in aquatic ecosystems. There is a wide variety of shapes that MPs can take, with fibers being the most prominently found in marine systems. Few studies have investigated the toxicological implications of MP exposure to freshwater organisms, and none so far has quantified the effect that fibers, as compared to spherical particles, may have on aquatic organisms. A 42-day chronic exposure to polypropylene MP fibers (0 – 22.5 MPs/mL) was conducted in order to investigate potential effects on mortality, growth, reproduction, and egestion times. Significant mortality was only observed at the highest concentration (22.5 MPs/mL). Growth and reproduction is also significantly less than the control at all exposures to MP fibers, with no mating pairs forming at all in concentrations greater than 5.63 MPs/mL. Interestingly, gut clearance times after exposure to MP fibers is also greater at concentrations greater than 5.63 MPs/mL. Delays in reproduction and growth may result from deficiencies in nutrient uptake. This study provides further insight on how the shape of MPs may hold significant implications on their toxicity to aquatic organisms

Response of selected microorganisms to experimental planetary environments

The anaerobic utilization of phosphite or phosphine and the significance of this conversion to potential contamination of Jupiter were investigated. A sporeforming organism was isolated from Cape Canaveral soil which anaerobically converts hypophosphite to phosphate. This conversion coincides with an increase in turbidity of the culture and with phosphate accumulation in the medium. Investigations of omnitherms (organisms which grow over a broad temperature range, i.e. 3 -55 C were also conducted. The cellular morphology of 28 of these isolates was investigated, and all were demonstrated to be sporeformers. Biochemical characterizations are also presented. Procedures for replicate plating were evaluated, and those results are also presented. The procedures for different replicate-plating techniques are presented, and these are evaluated on the basis of reproducibility, percentage of viable transfer, and ease of use. Standardized procedures for the enumeration of microbial populations from ocean-dredge samples from Cape Canaveral are also presented

Water-mass distributions in the western South Atlantic; A section from South Georgia Island (54S) northward across the equator

A long CTD/hydrographic section with closely spaced stations was made in February–April 1989 in the western Atlantic Ocean between 0°40′N and South Georgia (54S) along a nominal longitude of 25W. Vertical sections of various properties from CTD and discrete water-sample measurements are presented and discussed in terms of the large-scale circulation of the South Atlantic Ocean. One of the most important results is the identification of various deep-reaching fronts in relation to the large-scale circulation and the distribution of mode waters. Five major fronts are clearly defined in the thermal and salinity fields. These are the Polar (49.5S), Subantarctic (45S), Subtropical (41–42S), Brazil Current (35S) Fronts, and an additional front at 20–22S. The first three are associated with strong baroclinic shear. The Brazil Current Front is a boundary between the denser and lighter types of the Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW), and the 20–22S front marks the boundary between the anticyclonic subtropical and cyclonic subequatorial gyres. The latter front coincides with the northern terminus of the high-oxygen tongue of the Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) and also with the abrupt shift in density of the high-silica tongue originating in the Upper Circumpolar Water and extending northward. Two pycnostads with temperatures 20–24°C are observed between 10S and 25S with the denser one in the subtropical and the other lighter one in the subequatorial gyre. A weak thermostad centered at 4°C occurs in the AAIW between the Subtropical Front and the Subantarctic Front and shows characteristics similar to the densest variety of the SAMW. Another significant result is a detailed description of the complex structure of the deep and bottom waters. The North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) north of 25S contains two vertical maxima of oxygen (at 2000 m and 3700 m near the equator) separated by intervening low-oxygen water with more influence from the Circumpolar Water. Each maximum is associated with a maximum of salinity and minima of nutrients. The deeper salinity maximum is only weakly defined and is limited to north of 18S, appearing more as vertically uniform salinity. South of 25S the NADW shows only a single maximum of salinity, a single maximum of oxygen, and a single minimum of each nutrient, all lying close together. The salinity maximum south of 25S and the deeper oxygen/salinity maximum north of 11S are derived from the same source waters. The less dense NADW containing the shallower extrema of characteristics turns to the east at lower latitudes and does not reach the region south of 25S. The southward spreading of the NADW is interrupted by domains of intensified circumpolar characteristics. This structure is closely related to the basin-scale gyre circulation pattern. The Weddell Sea Deep Water is the densest water we observed and forms a relatively homogeneous layer at the bottom of the Georgia and Argentine Basins. The bottom layer of the Brazil Basin is occupied by the vertically and laterally homogeneous Lower Circumpolar Water

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Gastrointestinal Disorders in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: Results from a Population-Based Survey in Olmsted County, Minnesota

Objectives. To compare the prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) disorders in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) versus non-RA subjects and to describe determinants of GI disorders in RA. Methods. The bowel disease questionnaire was completed by RA and non-RA subjects. RA patients also completed the health assessment questionnaire (HAQ). Results. The study responders included 284 RA and 233 non-RA subjects. Abdominal pain/discomfort, postprandial fullness, nausea, and stool leakage were significantly more common in RA versus non-RA (odds ratios [OR] = 1.8; 1.9; 4.0; 8.2, resp.). The use of laxatives, proton pump inhibitors, NSAIDs, acetaminophen, and narcotics was more commonly reported in RA versus non-RA (OR = 2.0; 1.7; 3.0; 2.0; 1.9, resp.). Age < 60 and HAQ ≥ 1 were associated with dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and GI symptom complex overlap in RA. Conclusion. Several upper and lower GI disorders were significantly more prevalent in RA versus non-RA subjects. Age <60 and physical function impairment (HAQ ≥ 1) were associated with GI disorders in RA

The present and future system for measuring the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and heat transport

of the global combined atmosphere-ocean heat flux and so is important for the mean climate of the Atlantic sector of the Northern Hemisphere. This meridional heat flux is accomplished by both the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and by basin-wide horizontal gyre circulations. In the North Atlantic subtropical latitudes the AMOC dominates the meridional heat flux, while in subpolar latitudes and in the subtropical South Atlantic the gyre circulations are also important. Climate models suggest the AMOC will slow over the coming decades as the earth warms, causing widespread cooling in the Northern hemisphere and additional sea-level rise. Monitoring systems for selected components of the AMOC have been in place in some areas for decades, nevertheless the present observational network provides only a partial view of the AMOC, and does not unambiguously resolve the full variability of the circulation. Additional observations, building on existing measurements, are required to more completely quantify the Atlantic meridional heat transport. A basin-wide monitoring array along 26.5°N has been continuously measuring the strength and vertical structure of the AMOC and meridional heat transport since March 31, 2004. The array has demonstrated its ability to observe the AMOC variability at that latitude and also a variety of surprising variability that will require substantially longer time series to understand fully. Here we propose monitoring the Atlantic meridional heat transport throughout the Atlantic at selected critical latitudes that have already been identified as regions of interest for the study of deep water formation and the strength of the subpolar gyre, transport variability of the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) as well as the upper limb of the AMOC, and inter-ocean and intrabasin exchanges with the ultimate goal of determining regional and global controls for the AMOC in the North and South Atlantic Oceans. These new arrays will continuously measure the full depth, basin-wide or choke-point circulation and heat transport at a number of latitudes, to establish the dynamics and variability at each latitude and then their meridional connectivity. Modeling studies indicate that adaptations of the 26.5°N type of array may provide successful AMOC monitoring at other latitudes. However, further analysis and the development of new technologies will be needed to optimize cost effective systems for providing long term monitoring and data recovery at climate time scales. These arrays will provide benchmark observations of the AMOC that are fundamental for assimilation, initialization, and the verification of coupled hindcast/forecast climate models

Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection among new outpatients with dyspepsia in Kuwait

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Testing and treatment for <it>Helicobacter pylori </it>has become widely accepted as the approach of choice for patients with chronic dyspepsia but no alarming features. We evaluated <it>H. pylori </it>status among outpatients with uninvestigated dyspepsia in Kuwait.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A prospectively collected database for 1035 patients who had undergone ¹³C-urea breath tests (UBT) for various indications was reviewed for the period from October 2007 to July 2009. The status of <it>H. pylori </it>in dyspeptic patients was determined by UBT.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among the 362 patients who had undergone UBT for uninvestigated dyspepsia, 49.7% were positive for <it>H. pylori </it>(95% CI = 44%-55%) and the percentage increased with age (35.8% at 20-29 years, 95% CI = 25.4% - 47.2%; 59.3% at 30-39 years, 95% CI = 48.5% - 69.5%) (P = 0.013). The prevalence of <it>H. pylori </it>was 42.6% among Kuwaitis (95% CI = 35%-50%) and 57.6% (95% CI = 49.8%-65%) among expatriates (p = 0.004). The prevalence among males was 51.3%, while in females it was 48.6%.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Almost half of the patients with dyspeptic symptoms in Kuwait were positive for <it>H. pylori</it>, though the prevalence varied with age and was higher among expatriates. The American Gastroenterology Association guidelines recommending testing and treatment for <it>H. pylori </it>for patients with uninvestigated dyspepsia should be endorsed in Kuwait.</p

Mechanix: An Intelligent Web Interface for Automatic Grading of Sketched Free-Body Diagrams

Sketching free body diagrams is an essential skill that students learn in introductory physics and engineering classes; however, university class sizes are growing and often have hundreds of students in a single class. This situation creates a grading challenge for instructors as there is simply not enough time nor resources to provide adequate feedback on every problem. We have developed a web-based application called Mechanix to provide automated real-time feedback on hand-drawn free body diagrams for students. The system is driven by novel sketch recognition algorithms developed for recognizing and comparing trusses, general shapes, and arrows in diagrams. We have discovered students perform as well as paper homework or other online homework systems which only check the final answer through deployment to five universities with 450 students completing homework on the system over the 2018 and 2019 school years. Mechanix has reduced the amount of manual grading required for instructors in those courses while ensuring students can correctly draw the free body diagram

Effects of eddy vorticity forcing on the mean state of the Kuroshio Extension

Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2015. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 45 (2015): 1356–1375, doi:10.1175/JPO-D-13-0259.1.Eddy–mean flow interactions along the Kuroshio Extension (KE) jet are investigated using a vorticity budget of a high-resolution ocean model simulation, averaged over a 13-yr period. The simulation explicitly resolves mesoscale eddies in the KE and is forced with air–sea fluxes representing the years 1995–2007. A mean-eddy decomposition in a jet-following coordinate system removes the variability of the jet path from the eddy components of velocity; thus, eddy kinetic energy in the jet reference frame is substantially lower than in geographic coordinates and exhibits a cross-jet asymmetry that is consistent with the baroclinic instability criterion of the long-term mean field. The vorticity budget is computed in both geographic (i.e., Eulerian) and jet reference frames; the jet frame budget reveals several patterns of eddy forcing that are largely attributed to varicose modes of variability. Eddies tend to diffuse the relative vorticity minima/maxima that flank the jet, removing momentum from the fast-moving jet core and reinforcing the quasi-permanent meridional meanders in the mean jet. A pattern associated with the vertical stretching of relative vorticity in eddies indicates a deceleration (acceleration) of the jet coincident with northward (southward) quasi-permanent meanders. Eddy relative vorticity advection outside of the eastward jet core is balanced mostly by vertical stretching of the mean flow, which through baroclinic adjustment helps to drive the flanking recirculation gyres. The jet frame vorticity budget presents a well-defined picture of eddy activity, illustrating along-jet variations in eddy–mean flow interaction that may have implications for the jet’s dynamics and cross-frontal tracer fluxes.A. S. Delman (ASD) and J. L. McClean (JLM) were supported by NSF Grant OCE-0850463 and Office of Science (BER), U.S. Department of Energy, Grant DE-FG02-05ER64119. ASD and J. Sprintall were also supported by a NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF), Grant NNX13AM93H. JLM was also supported by U.S. DOE Office of Science grant entitled “Ultra-High Resolution Global Climate Simulation” via a Los Alamos National Laboratory subcontract. S. R. Jayne was supported by NSF Grant OCE-0849808. Computational resources for the model run were provided by NSF Resource Grants TG-OCE110013 and TG-OCE130010.2015-11-0