1,721,463 research outputs found
Efficacy of pinaverium bromide in the treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS): A meta-analysis
No full textBor, Serhat/0000-0001-5766-9598; Tack, Jan/0000-0002-3206-6704[No abstract available
Microbiota in health and irritable bowel syndrome: current knowledge, perspectives and therapeutic options
No full textAbstract The gastrointestinal tract is a natural reservoir of microbiota. The gut is germ-free at birth, but rapidly becomes host to various bacteria establishing a progressively mutual relationship. The composition of gut microbiota is individual-specific and depends on the genotype of the host and environmental factors. Novel techniques have been used to characterize gastrointestinal microbiota, including genomic approaches. The bacterial profile shows that dominant and minor phyla are present in the gastrointestinal tract. From the proximal to the distal segments of the gut the bacterial density gradually increases, reaching an estimated 10(11) to 10(12) bacteria per gram of colonic content. Dynamic interactions between gut and microbiota play a physiological role in metabolic, protective and structural functions, while dysbiosis contributes to several diseases. Microbiota appear to play a role in IBS, where qualitative and quantitative changes of bacteriaoccur in IBS subtypes. Initial therapeutic approaches in IBS have focused on microbiota. The relationship between perturbations of the microbiota, mucosal inflammation and IBS remains to be further investigated.The gastrointestinal tract is a natural reservoir of microbiota. The gut is germ-free at birth, but rapidly becomes host to various bacteria establishing a progressively mutual relationship. The composition of gut microbiota is individual-specific and depends on the genotype of the host and environmental factors. Novel techniques have been used to characterize gastrointestinal microbiota, including genomic approaches. The bacterial profile shows that dominant and minor phyla are present in the gastrointestinal tract. From the proximal to the distal segments of the gut the bacterial density gradually increases, reaching an estimated 10(11) to 10(12) bacteria per gram of colonic content. Dynamic interactions between gut and microbiota play a physiological role in metabolic, protective and structural functions, while dysbiosis contributes to several diseases. Microbiota appear to play a role in IBS, where qualitative and quantitative changes of bacteriaoccur in IBS subtypes. Initial therapeutic approaches in IBS have focused on microbiota. The relationship between perturbations of the microbiota, mucosal inflammation and IBS remains to be further investigated
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Management of refractory typical GERD symptoms
No full textThe management of patients with refractory GERD (rGERD) is a major clinical challenge for gastroenterologists. In up to 30% of patients with typical GERD symptoms (heartburn and/or regurgitation), acid-suppressive therapy does not provide clinical benefit. In this Review, we discuss the current management algorithm for GERD and the features and management of patients who do not respond to treatment (such as those individuals with an incorrect diagnosis of GERD, inadequate PPI intake, persisting acid reflux and persisting weakly acidic reflux). Symptom response to existing surgical techniques, novel antireflux procedures, and the value of add-on medical therapies (including prokinetics and reflux inhibitors) for rGERD symptoms are discussed. Pharmaceutical agents targeting oesophageal sensitivity, a condition that can contribute to symptom generation in rGERD, are also discussed. Finally, on the basis of available published data and our expert opinion, we present an outline of a current, usable algorithm for management of patients with rGERD that considers the timing and diagnostic use of pH-impedance monitoring on or off PPI, additional diagnostic tests, the clinical use of baclofen and the use of add-on neuromodulators (tricyclic agents and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)
Different luminal nutrients activate distinct patterns of myenteric neurons
No full textBackground: Monitoring of ingested nutrients by an organism is essen-tial for balancing energy input. The gastrointestinal tract plays an im-portant role in this homeostasis. Nutrient signals sensed by specialized enteroendocrine cells in the epithelium are conveyed to the enteric nerv-ous system (ENS) to initiate intestinal reflexes facilitating digestion and absorption. However, the extent to which the ENS is ‘aware’ of the lumi-nal composition remains elusive. We addressed whether there are spe-cific enteric pathways dedicated to detecting different luminal nutrients.Methods: Calcium imaging was performed on intact jejunal prepara-tions from Wnt1- cre; R26R- GCaMP3 mice, which express the fluores-cent calcium indicator GCaMP3 in their ENS. Glucose (300 mM), acetate (100 mM), and L- phenylalanine (100 mM), as a model sugar, short chain fatty acid, and amino acid respectively, were perfused onto the mucosa whilst imaging the underlying enteric neurons. Nutrient transport or diffusion across the mucosa was mimicked by pressure ejecting nutri-ents from a micropipette impaled through the epithelium of a villus to target the containing nerve endings, or by applying nutrients onto gan-glia in peeled preparations. Responders were further classified by their cell size and neurochemistry using post-hoc immunolabeling.Results: Glucose, acetate, and L- phenylalanine perfused onto the mucosa each evoked Ca2+ transients in distinct subsets of my-enteric (17 ± 6%, 12 ± 2%, and 9 ± 2%) and submucosal neurons (21 ± 4%; 24 ± 7%, and 23 ± 3% of total neurons within the field of view, respectively). The cell size (P < 0.0001; One- way ANOVA) and proportions of calbindin+ and nNOS+ myenteric neurons that re-sponded differed significantly between the nutrients (P < 0.0001; χ2 test), while submucosal responders were predominantly cholinergic (98 ± 2% of total responders) and of similar size. Nutrients applied into villi or onto ganglia did not elicit neuronal responses, indicating that nutrients are first sensed at the epithelium.Conclusions: Different nutrients applied to the epithelium triggered distinct patterns of myenteric neuronal activation, suggesting that the ENS is able to discriminate between different compositions of luminal content such that it can act accordingl
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