Irritable bowel syndrome is characterised by diverse symptoms including abdominal pain, altered bowel function (increased bowel frequency, constipation), bloating, abdominal distension, the sensation of incomplete evacuation, and the increased passage of mucus. No unifying hypothesis explains all these symptoms, and no single agent will alleviate all components of the symptom complex. The curre...

Evidence exists of an increased risk of irritable bowel syndrome after an episode of bacterial gastroenteritis. 2 In one study, 12 out of 38 patients presented with bowel dysfunction 1 year after salmonella gastroenteritis. In another study, 386 patients with bacterial gastroenteritis were surveyed by questionnaire 6 months after infection, and 27 (7%) had developed irritable bowel syndrome. Bo...

since the study period. In-vitro tests of thryoid function have become more specific and more available recently and we believe that these should now be included in the routine investigations whenever there is the slightest suspicion that hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism might account for a patient's presenting bowel disorder. A total of 57% of the surviving patients (18 men and 26 women) stil...

Irritable bowel syndrome is a disorder diagnosed on symptom-based criteria without inclusion of any objective parameter measurable by known diagnostic methods. Heterogeneity of the disorder and overlapping with more serious organic diseases increase uncertainty for the physician's work and increase the cost of confirming the diagnosis. This paper is an attempt to summarize the efforts to find a...

In automated packing or assembly it is often necessary to bring randomly oriented parts into uniform alignment. Mechanical methods such as vibratory bowl feeders are often used for this purpose, although there is no theory for the systematic design of such feeders. A slanted “fence” attached to the stationary sides of a conveyor belt is also capable of orienting a stream of parts and a sequence...