PERISTALSIS AND PERITONITIS

Optical Peristalsis

We describe an efficient method for transporting and rearranging mesoscopic objects in three dimensions using short repetitive sequences of holographic optical trapping patterns. Material transport in this process is analogous to peristaltic pumping, with the configurations of optical traps mimicking the states of a physical peristaltic pump. Optical peristalsis can transport large numbers of s...

Chemical peristalsis.

Molecules that emulate in part the remarkable capabilities of protein motors were recently chemically synthesized. A promising approach is based on physically interlocked macromolecular complexes such as rotaxanes and catenanes. Using the latter, Leigh et al. [Leigh, D. A., Wong, J. K. Y., Dehez, F. & Zerbetto, F. (2003) Nature 424, 174-179] constructed a molecular rotor in which two small ring...

Peritonitis as a Cause of Increased Peristalsis in the Rectum and in Other Parts of the Intestine

Neuronal dynamics and axonal flow: axonal peristalsis.

By time-lapse, phase-contrast cinemicrography of sensory nerve fibers of young mice, isolated with their originating spinal ganglia in nutrient solution, the postulated peristaltic surface drive of the cellulifugal propulsion of the semisolid axonal column at a rate of the order of 1 mm/day (1 mum/min) could be verified and quantitatively analyzed. The pulse waves follow each other at about 30-...

Large Amplitude, Short Wave Peristalsis

6 Valveless, tubular pumps are widespread in the animal kingdom, but the mechanism by which these pumps generate fluid flow are often in dispute. Where the pumping mechanism of many organs was once described as peristalsis, other mechanisms, such as dynamic suction pumping, have been suggested as possible alternative mechanisms. Peristalsis is often evaluated using criteria established in a tec...