Over time, if untreated, acid reflux leads to inflammation (esophagitis) and difficulty in swallowing that can cause a partial closing of the lower esophagus (stricture).

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NGOs have been told that they can't host events with more than 10 people, a stricture that extends even to annual charity fund raisers for the Persian New Year.

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For instance, for history it says pupils should understand the emergence of an independent United States and its constitution - accompanied with a stricture to respect its ethnic and cultural diversity.

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Fiscal policy is constrained by budgetary stricture.

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But in parts of the developing world, where Catholic agencies are at the forefront of health provision, the stricture against condoms condemns women to years of child-bearing, and encourages the spread of HIV, the precursor to AIDS. Some women are as strongly opposed to the church's ban on abortion as they are on its stance on contraception.

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