Botulinum toxin: A potential alternative to current treatment of neurogenic and idiopathic urinary incontinence due to detrusor overactivity

Objective: To analyze and report the current data on the treatment of both neurogenic and idiopathic detrusor overactivity with Botulinum toxin.Methods: Literature review using Pub‐Med and Medline from 1990 until June 30, 2006.Results: Case series of patients with neurogenic detrusor dysfunction (NDD) and idiopathic detrusor overactivity (IDO) range from 15 to 200 patients with follow up from 12 to 36 weeks post‐treatment. Significant improvements in cystometric bladder capacity, reflex volume at first urge to void, and bladder compliance are seen in nearly all patients. Approximately 50% of NDD patients achieved urinary continence and almost all had improvement in bladder control up to 36 weeks following treatment. Patients with IDO with urgency alone or with incontinence also had urodynamic as well as symptom improvement. Approximately 75% of patients with IDO and incontinence are dry at 12 weeks post‐treatment. Urgency disappears on average in two thirds of patients. Quality of life scores also shows significant improvement for all groups.Conclusion: Botulinum toxin‐A has emerged as a promising option for the treatment of neurogenic and refractory idiopathic detrusor overactivity. Studies to date have shown that not only is this treatment effective at decreasing urinary symptoms and incontinence, as well as improving potentially dangerous urodynamic measures, but it is also minimally invasive, reversible and safe. Questions over proper dosing and dilution, number of injection sites, and re‐injection rates remain to be answered.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135676/1/ijgo305.pd

Two-dimensional simulations of mixing in classical novae: the effect of the white dwarf composition and mass

Context. Classical novae are explosive phenomena that take place in stellar binary systems. They are powered by mass transfer from a low-mass main sequence star onto a white dwarf (either CO or ONe). The material accumulates for 10+4 - 10+5 yr until ignition under degenerate conditions, resulting in a thermonuclear runaway. The nuclear energy released produces peak temperatures of about 0.1 - 0.4 GK. During these events, 10-7 - 10-3 Msun enriched in intermediate-mass elements (with respect to solar abundances) are ejected into the interstellar medium. However, the origin of the large metallicity enhancements and the inhomogeneous distribution of chemical species observed in high-resolution spectra of ejected nova shells is not fully understood. Aims. Recent multidimensional simulations have demonstrated that Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities that operate at the core-envelope interface can naturally produce self-enrichment of the accreted envelope with material from the underlying white dwarf at levels that agree with observations. However, such multidimensional simulations have been performed for a small number of cases, and much of the parameter space remains unexplored. Methods. Here we investigate the dredge-up, driven by Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities, for white dwarf masses in the range 0.8-1.25 Msun and different core compositions (CO-rich and ONe-rich substrates). We present a set of five numerical simulations performed in two dimensions aimed at analyzing the possible impact of the white dwarf mass (and composition) on the metallicity enhancement and on the explosion characteristics. Results. We observe greater mixing (about 30 per cent higher when measured in the same conditions), at the time we stop the simulations, and more energetic outbursts for ONe-rich substrates than for CO-rich substrates and for more massive white dwarfs.Comment: Accepted for Publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Biological activity of glucosinolate derived compounds isolated from seed meal of Brassica crops and evaluated as plant and food protection agents

Glucosinolates are amino acid derived allelochemicals characteristic of plants of the order Capparales. These compounds are present in seeds of agriculturally common Brassica crops in varying quantities depending on the species (ref). The use of the remaining seed cake after oil extraction has traditionally been limited by the concentration of these compounds. However, the extraction of glucosinolates from seed meal is nowadays possible and it further contributes to an increased quality of the seed meal for feed (Sørensen et al., this conference). Glucosinolates are hydrolysed by endogenous enzymes (myrosinases; EC 3.2.1.147) and a number of compounds are produced depending on the parent glucosinolate and the environmental conditions.1 Among these compounds, oxazolidine-2-thiones are known for their antinutritional effects on monogastric animals, whereas isothiocyanates are fungicidal, nematocidal and herbicidal.2,3 The possibility for using glucosinolates as precursors for environmental friendly biocides therefore exists, which could contribute to increase the value of the Brassica seed meal

The good, the bad and the ugly: perceptions of wildlife in Tombali (Guinea-Bissau, West Africa)

Labels attributed to different species - ‘good' or ‘bad' - can provide clues about the underlying attitudes that may determine values applied to nonhumans. Understanding such values can guide community conservation approaches, such as assessing which animals might act as flagship species (biophilic), which are thought to be of use (utilitarian), or which are viewed with hostility (authoritarian). This paper considers how people from Cantanhez National Park (Tombali, Guinea-Bissau) perceive nonhumans in order to assess whether sociozoologic scales can access people's perceptions of biodiversity. We focus on chimpanzees as a potential flagship species for promoting forest conservation. Three hypotheses were considered: (i) A correlation between positive attitudes and edibility was expected for most species, except for chimpanzees that hold attributes other than those of utility; (ii) Chimpanzees were expected to be perceived as ‘similar to humans', which should produce positive perceptions; (iii) Perceptions reflect gender and religious differences. Women who encounter chimpanzees as crop-raiders will dislike and fear chimpanzees more than men while religion was expected to influence the degree of anthropocentrism. A survey of 257 villagers was conducted between February and March 2007. Photos of Guinean animals and one of a non-Guinean control species (N=27) were shown to subjects who were asked to apply adjectives such as ‘good', ‘bad', ‘edible', ‘inedible', ‘pretty', ‘ugly', among others, and then to rank the top three animals that most strongly represented each adjective. Descriptive statistical and principal component analyses were applied to these rankings. With the exception of some religious beliefs that protect chimpanzees from bushmeat exploitation - contributing to their inedibility - people perceived them as ugly and bad. Chimpanzees human resemblance has protected them from hunting pressure, but their tendency to raid the farms makes them vulnerable to the villagers' hostility. Authorities need to consider if chimpanzees are a good flagship, since attitudes towards this species were ambivalent