Reduction and Resolution of a Hiatal Hernia Using Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment: A Case Report.

Hiatal hernia is a condition where components of the abdominal cavity, most often a part of the stomach, penetrate through the diaphragm and into the chest cavity. The symptoms of hiatal hernias may differ secondary to their type and severity. The two main types of hiatal hernias are sliding and paraesophageal. Sliding hernias, which are more common and less of a cause for concern, are when the upper portion of the stomach and junction between the stomach and esophagus slides up into the thoracic cavity through a weakened diaphragm. These hernias account for the majority of all hiatal hernias, and their symptoms mimic those of gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD) due to laxity in the lower esophageal sphincter. Paraesophageal hernias occur when parts of the stomach and other abdominal organs protrude through the hiatus adjacent to an intact and in-place esophagus and stomach. Obesity and old age are risk factors for hiatal hernias, but they can occur in patients of any age and gender. Although some hiatal hernias may be asymptomatic, patients with positive symptoms may complain of heartburn, regurgitation of liquids and food back into their mouths, dysphagia, or discomfort and pain in the stomach or esophagus. Hiatal hernias are preferentially diagnosed with proper imaging, mainly with an upper gastrointestinal barium study, or by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. The treatment for hiatal hernias depends on their severity and surgical repairs, if needed, are mostly done laparoscopically. In this case of a patient with a 3 cm hiatal hernia diagnosed with the help of esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), the treatment did not require surgery. Instead, osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) was used to restore the functionality of the gastrointestinal tract and the placement of the gastroesophageal junction. The patient's symptoms were found to have improved after the application of OMT alone, with no symptoms of hiatal hernia and resolution of her somatic dysfunctions. The results of this case study suggest that OMT can be effectively utilized to treat the symptoms of hiatal hernias and may also be effective as a curative method as well.

The degradation of chlorophyll pigments in dairy silage: the timeline of anaerobic fermentation.

BACKGROUND: Detection of chlorophyll metabolites in milk has recently been suggested to be an indicator of a grass-fed diet fed for cattle. Such a means of detection, however, is complicated when the grazing season is over because cattle can be fed fermented silage ingredients, such as alfalfa and corn silage. During fermentation, chlorophyll compounds and other pigments undergo degradation due to the accumulation of lactic acid and the resultant decline in pH. RESULTS: We monitored degradation of chlorophyll compounds by measuring the fluorescence and absorption spectra of silage extracts. The spectroscopic evidence supports the hypothesis that chlorophylls are converted into fluorescent products, such as pheophytin, and further cleaved into pheophorbide. The degradation starts with dechelation and removal of the magnesium ion to produce pheophytin. Further removal of the phytol chain from pheophytin results in the production of pheophorbide. CONCLUSIONS: The fluorescence intensity of these degradation products is reduced compared to that of the parent molecule. These findings are important in understanding the fluorescent signal in milk when cows consume silage rather than fresh pasture grass. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Fluorescence quenching of the SYBR Green I-dsDNA complex by in situ generated magnetic ionic liquids.

Magnetic ionic liquids (MILs) with metal-containing cations are promising extraction solvents that provide fast and high efficiency extraction of DNA. Hydrophobic MILs can be generated in situ in a methodology called in situ dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction. To consolidate the sample preparation workflow, it is desirable to directly use the DNA-enriched MIL microdroplet in the subsequent analytical detection technique. Fluorescence-based techniques employed for DNA detection often utilize SYBR Green I, a DNA binding dye that exhibits optimal fluorescence when bound to double-stranded DNA. However, the MIL may hinder the fluorescence signal of the SYBR Green I-dsDNA complex due to quenching. In this study, MILs with metal-containing cations were selected and their fluorescence quenching effects evaluated using FÓ§rster Resonance Energy Transfer and quantified using Stern-Volmer models. The MILs were based on N-substituted imidazole ligands (with butyl- and benzyl- groups as substituents) coordinated to Ni2+ or Co2+ metal centers as cations, and paired with chloride anions. The effects of NiCl2 and CoCl2 salts and of the 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ionic liquid on the fluorophore complex were also studied to understand the components of the MIL structure that are responsible for quenching. The metal within the MIL chemical structure was found to be the main component contributing to fluorescence quenching. FÓ§rster critical distances between 11.9 and 18.8 Å were obtained for the MILs, indicating that quenching is likely not due to non-radiative energy transfer but rather to spin-orbit coupling or excited-state electron transfer. The MILs were able to be directly used in qPCR and fluorescence emission measurements using a microplate reader for detection, demonstrating their applicability in fluorescence-based detection methods. Graphical abstract.