Current status of treatment for diverticulitis

Diverticula are outpouchings that occur at week points in the colonic wall where small blood vessels enter the circular muscle layer. Diverticula are most frequently found in the distal part of the colon, with 90% of patients having the sigmoid colon involved. Most patients who have diverticulosis remain asymptomatic; however an estimated 15-20% will develop diverticulitis. Acute diverticulitis is a complication of diverticulosis that occurs when these outpouchings become infected. It is theorised that inflammation occurs when the entrance to the diverticulum is obstructed by faecal matter leading to bacterial overgrowth and partial necrosis of the diverticular wall. To date, consensus appears to be lacking on several aspects regarding the diagnostic approach and treatment of diverticulitis. This has led to a joint Dutch initiative, the Dutch Diverticular Disease Collaborative Study Group. This study group is a cooperation of the Academic Medical Center Amsterdam, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, Kennemer Hospital Haarlem, Meander Medical Center Amersfoort, Saint Lucas Andreas Hospital Amsterdam aiming to deliver evidence in the form of both retrospective and prospective studies to end these persisting controversies

Stark deceleration of CaF molecules in strong- and weak-field seeking states

We report the Stark deceleration of CaF molecules in the strong-field seeking ground state and in a weak-field seeking component of a rotationally-excited state. We use two types of decelerator, a conventional Stark decelerator for the weak-field seekers, and an alternating gradient decelerator for the strong-field seekers, and we compare their relative merits. We also consider the application of laser cooling to increase the phase-space density of decelerated molecules.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure

Capsaicin-sensitive nerves and energy homeostasis:involvement in satiety and

De meeste mensen behouden gedurende hun leven een relatief constant lichaamsgewicht, terwijl hun voedselopname van dag tot dag sterk kan verschillen. De handhaving van bepaalde fysiologische toestanden in het lichaam noemt men een homeostatisch proces (homeostase = gelijke toestand). De regulatie gaat gepaard met allerlei terugkoppelings­systemen tussen onder andere sensorische zenuwen (die zaken als bloedsuikergehalte, temperatuur en vetpercentage meten) en de hersenen. Esther van de Wall onderzocht bij proefdieren de betrokkenheid van sensorische zenuwen (vagale afferenten) bij de regulatie van de energiehuishouding. Deze zenuwen lopen vanuit het lichaam naar de centrale regelkamer, de hersenen, en kunnen bloedsuiker, maagvolume, temperatuur et cetera waarnemen. Zij ontdekte dat op de korte termijn de rol van bepaalde vagale afferenten belangrijk is bij verzadigingsprocessen. Maar op lange termijn lijken ze niet onmisbaar voor de energiehomeostase. Mogelijk compenseren de proefdieren via hormonale wegen het verlies van een deel van hun informatievoorziening. Het eventueel ontbreken van de sensorische informatie wordt wellicht een probleem voor een dier bij een plotselinge bedreiging van de energiebalans. Het dier kan dan niet meer adequaat reageren en op deze manier zou een gebrekkige signalering door vagale afferenten kunnen bijdragen aan de ontwikkeling van obesitas en de geassocieerde ziekten hiermee als type 2 diabetes

Letter from A. C. Van Raalte to the Holland Community Published in De Hollander

A letter of Albertus C. Van Raalte to the Holland community which was published in De Hollander on November 30, 1850, volume I, number 9. V.R. said that the Hollanders were being deprived of national news and consequently of knowledge of American life because this community had no newspaper. Therefore, the publishers have established this paper. V.R. has been asked to write a column for it. He hopes that the paper will be an effective instrument for instructing the local people on what is happening. He also invited others to join him in providing information for the paper. Hawks and Bassett were the owners and Moses Hawks was the publisher. Giles Van de Wall would serve as the translator.https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/vrp_1850s/1187/thumbnail.jp

Effect of confinement on coil-globule transition

The equilibrium thermodynamic properties of a linear polymer chain confined to a space between two impenetrable walls (lines) at a distance $D$ under various solvent conditions have been studied using series analysis and exact enumeration technique. We have calculated the end to end distance of polymer chain, which shows a non-monotonic behaviour with inter wall ^M separation $D$. The density distribution profile shows a maxima at a particular value of ${(D=)}D^*$. Around this $D^*$, our results show that the collapse^M transition occurs at higher temperature as compared to its bulk value of 2d and 3d. The variation of $\theta-$ temperature with $D$ shows a re-entrance behaviour. We also calculate the force of compression exerted by the walls (lines) on the polymer.Comment: 11 pages with 7 eps figure