The evidence for herbal and botanical remedies, Part 2.

In part one of this series, we discussed the studies that have been done on capsaicin, butterbur, green tea, and peppermint. In this installment, we outline the research on 5 additional remedies: turmeric/curcumin, which may be of benefit in ulcerative colitis; chamomile, which appears to offer relief to patients with anxiety; rosemary, which may help treat alopecia; as well as coffee and cocoa, which may have some cardiovascular benefits.

The evidence for herbal and botanical remedies, Part 1.

There is evidence to support the use of capsaicin to relieve osteoarthritis and postherpetic neuralgia and support for green tea to serve as a lipid-lowering agent and help treat diabetes. Similarly, researchers have found that peppermint may be of value in the management of irritable bowel syndrome. We also review the literature on butterbur for migraine headaches, but serious safety issues exist.

Oh rats! Fever, rash and arthritis in a young woman.

A 17-year-old girl presented with worsening right-sided hip and low back pain for 2 days. She had also experienced intermittent fevers and a recurring maculopapular rash over the past 2 weeks. Social history revealed the presence of three domestic rats living in the girl's home.

Evaluation and Management of Acne.

Acne is a common complaint in the primary care clinics. It has not only physical implications but also psychological. This article discusses the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and criteria for making the diagnosis.

Correlates of HIV testing and receipt of test results in addiction health services in Los Angeles County.

Background: HIV testing and receipt of HIV test results among individuals with substance use disorders is less than optimal. We examined rates and correlates of HIV testing and receipt of test results in one of the largest public addiction health services systems in the United States.

Methods: The study included 139,516 adult clients in treatment between 2006 and 2011.

Three-dimensional illumination system using dielectric liquid lenses.

A 25-pixel illumination system composed of a 5 × 5 dielectric liquid-lens (DLL) zoom module array, 25 light-emission diodes (LEDs), and a secondary optical lens demonstrates 3D light field manipulation. LEDs function as 2D illumination pixels while the DLL module array performs longitudinal illuminance adjustability by zooming each illumination pixel. A test on the similarity of two illuminance patterns between experiments and simulations shows a normalized cross correlation (NCC) higher than 0.

Miniaturization of dielectric liquid microlens in package.

This study presents packaged microscale liquid lenses actuated with liquid droplets of 300-700 μm in diameter using the dielectric force manipulation. The liquid microlens demonstrated function focal length tunability in a plastic package. The focal length of the liquid lens with a lens droplet of 500 μm in diameter is shortened from 4.

Circular dielectric liquid iris.

We demonstrate a liquid iris diaphragm using dielectric force, enabling its aperture to vary from 4 mm at the resting state to 1.5 mm at 160 V(rms). The liquid iris is a packaged optical component comprised of transparent oil, opaque ink, and a set of driving electrodes on a glass substrate.