RETROSPECTIVE MULTICENTRIC STUDY ON THE POST-SURGERY SYMPTOMATIC AND OBJECTIVE IMPROVEMENT OF BENIGN PROSTATIC HYPERPLASIA PATIENTS

Objectives: To evaluate patients of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) preoperatively and identify those who would benefit from surgery, to evaluate outcome of surgery for BPH with respect to symptomatic and objective improvement of patients, and to compare the results of different surgeries for BPH being done different hospitals at Bhopal, which included transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), transurethral incision of prostate (TUIP)/bladder neck incision (BNI), and Freyer’s prostatectomy? Methods: The present study was carried out at different hospitals of Bhopal. Patients presenting to the surgery outpatient department with symptoms of obstruction, namely, weak urinary stream, frequency hesitancy, intermittency, urgency, nocturia, etc., were included in the study. Some of the subjects included were patients presenting during emergency timings with complaints of retention of urine or occasionally other symptoms. The American Urological Association (AUA) Symptom Index questionnaire was administered to all such patients. They were also evaluated by ultrasound examination and patients having BPH on ultrasound (USG) were further evaluated by uroflowmetry. Results: Prostatic weight correlated well with the maximum urinary flow rates with an inverse relationship. Both maximum and average urinary flow rates (Q max and Qav) were improved by all the three surgeries However, TURP and Freyer’s prostatectomy showed greater improvement as compared to TUIP/BNI. Combination of AUA scoring, USG, and uroflowmetry helped us document improvement in our BPH patients and compared it favorably with other studies. Conclusion: Uroflowmetry was a simple assessment tool easy to learn and use. It was also inexpensive and formed a useful extension to clinical examination providing objective evidence of obstruction. It also helped to indirectly quantity the severity of obstruction. Symptom severity did not correlate with prostate size. Small prostates caused symptoms in the severe range also while even large prostates sometimes caused little symptoms. Prostatic weight correlated well with the maximum urinary flow rates with an inverse relationship

Limits to the thermal tolerance of corals adapted to a highly fluctuating, naturally extreme temperature environment

Naturally extreme temperature environments can provide important insights into the processes underlying coral thermal tolerance. We determined the bleaching resistance of Acropora aspera and Dipsastraea sp. from both intertidal and subtidal environments of the naturally extreme Kimberley region in northwest Australia. Here tides of up to 10 m can cause aerial exposure of corals and temperatures as high as 37 °C that fluctuate daily by up to 7 °C. Control corals were maintained at ambient nearshore temperatures which varied diurnally by 4-5 °C, while treatment corals were exposed to similar diurnal variations and heat stress corresponding to ~20 degree heating days. All corals hosted Symbiodinium clade C independent of treatment or origin. Detailed physiological measurements showed that these corals were nevertheless highly sensitive to daily average temperatures exceeding their maximum monthly mean of ~31 °C by 1 °C for only a few days. Generally, Acropora was much more susceptible to bleaching than Dipsastraea and experienced up to 75% mortality, whereas all Dipsastraea survived. Furthermore, subtidal corals, which originated from a more thermally stable environment compared to intertidal corals, were more susceptible to bleaching. This demonstrates that while highly fluctuating temperatures enhance coral resilience to thermal stress, they do not provide immunity to extreme heat stress events

Submerged oceanic shoals of north Western Australia are a major reservoir of marine biodiversity

This paper provides a first assessment of fish communities associated with the submerged oceanic banks and shoals in north-west Australia. Until recently, little was known about these deeper and more inaccessible reefs. The mesophotic coral-reef habitats (20–80 m) were a major reservoir of marine biodiversity, with unique and exceptionally high fish diversity and abundance. Species richness in the study region was 1.4 times, and abundance almost twice, that recorded for similar mesophotic habitats on the Great Barrier Reef in north-east Australia. A review of the published literature revealed that Australia’s NW oceanic shoals support the highest fish species richness reported for mesophotic reefs to date. We made regional comparisons of fish community structure (species composition, richness and abundance) and assessed the influence of depth, substrate and location. The presence of consolidated calcareous reef, depth and aspect (a surrogate for exposure) had the greatest influence on species richness. In contrast, aspect and the presence of benthic biota had the greatest influence on fish abundance. Sites most exposed to the prevailing currents (facing north-east) had lowest fish abundance, while highest abundances were recorded on moderately exposed sites (along the north-west and southeast edges). The most abundant species were small (Pomacentrus coelestis) and large (Naso hexacanthus) planktivorous fish. Currently, 29.3% of NE Australia mesophotic reefs are within no-take management zones of the Great Barrier Reef. In contrast, just 1.3% of the NW oceanic shoals are designated as no-take areas. The location and extent of mesophotic reefs remain poorly quantified globally. Because these habitats support significant biodiversity and have the potential to act as important refugia, understanding their extent is critical to maintaining coral-reef biodiversity and resilience and supporting sustainable management