Gastrointestinal Headache; a Narrative Review

There are studies reporting primary headaches to be associated with gastrointestinal disorders, and some report resolution of headache following the treatment of the associated gastrointestinal disorder. Headache disorders are classified by The International Headache Society as primary or secondary; however, among the secondary headaches, those attributed to gastrointestinal disorders are not appreciated. Therefore, we aimed to review the literature to provide evidence for headaches, which originate from the gastrointestinal system. Gastrointestinal disorders that are reported to be associated with primary headaches include dyspepsia, gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD), constipation, functional abdominal pain, inflammatory bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disorders (IBD), celiac disease, and helicobacter pylori (H. Pylori) infection. Some studies have demonstrated remission or improvement of headache following the treatment of the accompanying gastrointestinal disorders. Hypotheses explaining this association are considered to be central sensitization and parasympathetic referred pain, serotonin pathways, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, systemic vasculopathy, and food allergy. Traditional Persian physicians, namely Ebn-e-Sina (Avicenna) and Râzi (Rhazes) believed in a type of headache originating from disorders of the stomach and named it as an individual entity, the "Participatory Headache of Gastric Origin". We suggest providing a unique diagnostic entity for headaches coexisting with any gastrointestinal abnormality that are improved or cured along with the treatment of the gastrointestinal disorder

Gas hydrate characterization in sediments via x-ray microcomputed tomography

Natural gas hydrates (NGHs) are efficient and promising energy resources because of their high energy density. In addition, NGH occurs in sediments under certain pressure and temperature conditions and has the potential to meet the increasing global energy demand. However, efficient exploitation of NGH requires a precise characterization and understanding of the hydrate formation, accumulation, and dissociation mechanisms. In this context, the microstructural characterization of gas hydrate is essential and requires specialized methods and equipment. While traditional imaging and characterization tools offer fundamental microstructural analysis, x-ray microcomputed tomography (μCT) has gained recent attention in producing high-resolution three-dimensional images of the pore structure and habits of hydrate-bearing sediments and providing the spatial distribution and morphology of gas hydrate. Further, μCT offers the direct visualization of the hydrate structure and growth habits at a high resolution ranging from the macro- to micro-metric scale; therefore, it is extensively used in NGH characterization. This review summarizes the theoretical basis of μCT imaging spanning the setup of the experimental apparatus and visualization techniques. The applications of μCT in NGH reservoir characterization, such as hydrate types and their constituents, physical and chemical properties, occurrence, and accumulation, are presented. Hydrate characterization using μCT imaging is explicitly discussed, including a general understanding of hydrate pore-habit prediction, saturation and percolation behavior, seepage and permeability, and the influence of hydrate saturation on the mechanical properties of hydrate-bearing sediments. Last, conclusions and recommendations for future research are provided. This review offers a reference for understanding the application of μCT to evaluate gas hydrates, which contributes to exploiting these energy resources

Effects of administration of omega-3 fatty acids with or without vitamin E supplementation on adiponectin gene expression in PBMCs and serum adiponectin and adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein levels in male patients with CAD

Objective: Adiponectin is a unique anti-atherogenic adipocytokine. Regulation of adiponectin secretion is dysfunctional in cardiovascular diseases. The current trial study assessed the effects of omega-3 fatty acids with or without vitamin E on adiponectin gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and serum adiponectin and adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein (A-FABP; also called ap2 and FABP4) levels in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial included 67 male patients with CAD. First of the four group of participants received 4 g/day omega-3 fatty acids plus 400 IU/day vitamin E (OE), second group 4 g/day omega-3 fatty acids plus vitamin E placebo (OP), or both omega-3 fatty acid and vitamin E placebos (PP) for 8 weeks. Adiponectin gene expression and serum adiponectin and FABP4 levels were evaluated. Results: The combination of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E in patients with CAD affected their serum adiponectin and FABP4 levels and the adiponectin/FABP4 ratio significantly. In the OP group, serum adiponectin levels did not change significantly. Consumption of omega-3 fatty acids with and without vitamin E had no significant effect on adiponectin gene expression. Conclusion: Omega-3 fatty acids with or without vitamin E improve adiponectin levels in patients, without any significant changes in adiponectin gene expression. This nutritional intervention may prevent complications in patients with CAD because of increased adiponectin levels. (Anatol J Cardiol 2015; 15: 981-9

A Manifesto for Decolonising Design

Much of the academic and professional discourse within the design disciplines over the last century has been bereft of a critical reflection on the politics of design practice, and on the politics of the artifacts, systems and practices that designerly activity produces. Our premise is that— notwithstanding important and valued exceptions—design theory, practice, and pedagogy as a whole are not geared towards delivering the kinds of knowledge and understanding that are adequate to addressing longstanding systemic issues of power. These issues are products of modernity and its ideologies, regimes, and institutions reiterating, producing and exerting continued colonial power upon the lives of oppressed, marginalised, and subaltern peoples in both the ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ world. This planet, shared and coinhabited by a plurality of peoples, each inhabiting different worlds, each orienting themselves within and towards their environments in different ways, and with different civilisational histories, is being undermined by a globalised system of power that threatens to flatten and eradicate ontological and epistemological difference, rewriting histories and advance visions of a future for a privileged few at the expense of their human and nonhuman others

Safety Evaluation of Nano-Liposomal Formulation of Amphotericin B (SinaAmpholeish) in Animal Model as a Candidate for Treatment of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

Background: Development of a topical treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is an important step in the im­provement of lesion management. Amphotericin B (AmB) is effective against Leishmania species but it is toxic, a Nano-liposomal form of AmB with a size of about 100nm (Lip-AmB) was developed and showed to be effective against Leishmania major, and Leishmania tropica in vitro and against L. major in vivo in animal model. This study was designed to check the irritancy Draize test in rabbits and was completed in the Center for Research and Training in Skin Diseases and Leprosy, TUMS, in 2012. Methods: Twenty rabbits in 3 steps were housed individually with artificial lighting (12/12h light/dark). SinaAm­pholeish cream or empty liposomes (prepared under GMP condition at Minoo Company, Tehran, Iran), was applied on a gauze patch and the patches were placed on the designated sites of the skin in the back of the rabbits. At 48 and 72h later, the erythema and oedema were checked, scored and recorded. Results: The erythema score in rabbits was 0.83+0.41 for the SinaAmpholeish and 0.5+0.55 for empty liposomes (P= 0.16). The average score for oedema was 0.67+0.52 for SinaAmpholeish and 0.33+0.52 for empty liposomes (P= 0.16). Conclusion: Based on skin irritancy reactions the topical formulation of SinaAmpholeish is safe and could be further checked in human trials

CD8+ T Cells as a Source of IFN-γ Production in Human Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is usually a self-healing skin lesion caused by different species of Leishmania parasite. Resistance and susceptibility of mice to Leishmania major infection is associated with two types of CD4+ T lymphocytes development: Th1 type response with production of cytokine IFN-γ is associated with resistance, whereas Th2 type response with production of cytokines IL-4 and IL-5 is associated with susceptibility. A clear Th1/Th2 dichotomy similar to murine model is not defined in human leishmaniasis and we need as much information as possible to define marker(s) of protection. We purified CD4+/CD8+ T cells, stimulated them with Leishmania antigens and analysed gene and protein expression of Th1/Th2 cytokines in volunteers with a history of self-healing CL who are presumed to be protected against further Leishmania infection. We have seen significant upregulation of IFN-γ gene expression and high IFN-γ production in the Leishmania stimulated CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells. We concluded that both antigen-specific IFN-γ producing CD4+ Th1 cells and IFN-γ producing CD8+ T cells contribute to the long term protection in individuals with a history of CL. This proves the importance of CD8+ T cells as a source of IFN-γ in Th1-like immune responses

Targeted by Persuasion: Military Uniforms and the Legal Matter of Killing in War

In this paper, we argue that the legitimation of killing in war is not simply formed by adherence to certain legal requirements that exist apart from and prior to war; instead, we suggest, the law of armed conflict in itself cannot but operate through admitting certain materials onto the battlefield as distinctively legal materials. Using the theory of legal materiality, we show that the military uniform is a legal material that makes the legal matter of legitimate targeting intelligible to law. This process happens through the ways in which the uniform shapes the possibility of visual recognition and differentiation in order to make certain bodies targetable and others not targetable. We refer to this visual recognition and differentiation as a domain of persuasion. We show that the historical, functional and visual attributes of the uniform, as a design artefact, produce a convincing domain of distinction for the attacking agent. Finally, we turn to insurgency, arguing that the legal matter of targeting is shaped not only by the presence, use and manipulation of this legal material but also by the absence of it