The questionnaire for urinary incontinence diagnosis (QUID): Validity and responsiveness to change in women undergoing non-surgical therapies for treatment of stress predominant urinary incontinence

Aims The Questionnaire for Urinary Incontinence Diagnosis (QUID), a 6-item urinary incontinence (UI) symptom questionnaire, was developed and validated to distinguish stress and urge UI. This study's objective was to evaluate QUID validity and responsiveness when used as a clinical trial outcome measure. Methods Participants enrolled in a multi-center trial of non-surgical therapy (continence pessary, pelvic floor muscle training or combined) for stress-predominant UI and completed baseline and 3-month diaries, the Urinary Distress Inventory (UDI) and QUID. Data from all treatment groups were pooled. QUID internal consistency (Cronbach's Α) and convergent/discriminant validity (Pearson correlations) were evaluated. Responsiveness to change was assessed with 3-month score outcomes and distribution-based measurements. Results Four hundred forty-four women (mean age 50) were enrolled with stress (N = 200) and mixed (N = 244) UI; 344 had 3-month data. Baseline QUID Stress and Urge scores (both scaled 0–15, larger values indicating worse UI) were 8.4 ± 3.2 and 4.5 ± 3.3, respectively. Internal consistency of QUID Total, Stress, and Urge scores was 0.75, 0.64 and 0.87, respectively. QUID Stress scores correlated moderately with UDI-Stress scores (r = 0.68, P  < 0.0001) and diary stress UI episodes (r = 0.41, P  < 0.0001). QUID Urge scores correlated moderately with UDI-Irritative scores (r = 0.68, P  < 0.0001) and diary urge UI episodes (r = 0.45, P  < 0.0001). Three-month QUID Stress and Urge scores improved (4.1 ± 3.4 and 2.2 ± 2.7, both P  < 0.0001). QUID Stress score effect size (1.3) and standardized response mean (1.2) suggested a large change after therapy. Conclusion The QUID has acceptable psychometric characteristics and may be used as a UI outcome measure in clinical trials. Neurourol. Urodynam. 29:727–734, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/77446/1/20818_ftp.pd

Direct peptide bioconjugation/PEGylation at tyrosine with linear and branched polymeric diazonium salts

Direct polymer conjugation at peptide tyrosine residues is described. In this study Tyr residues of both leucine enkephalin and salmon calcitonin (sCT) were targeted using appropriate diazonium salt-terminated linear monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)s (mPEGs) and poly(mPEG) methacrylate prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization. Judicious choice of the reaction conditions-pH, stoichiometry, and chemical structure of diazonium salt-led to a high degree of site-specificity in the conjugation reaction, even in the presence of competitive peptide amino acid targets such as histidine, lysines, and N-terminal amine. In vitro studies showed that conjugation of mPEG 2000 to sCT did not affect the peptide's ability to increase intracellular cAMP induced in T47D human breast cancer cells bearing sCT receptors. Preliminary in vivo investigation showed preserved ability to reduce [Ca 2+] plasma levels by mPEG 2000-sCT conjugate in rat animal models. © 2012 American Chemical Society

APPLIED ADAPTIVE DYNAMICAL IDENTIFICATION TO THE PREDICTION OF CHEMICAL PROCESS EVOLUTION: A Case Study

A Self Tuning/Adaptive Control Algorithm has been developed and tested. This control has proved to be efficient to maintain the pH effluent of the bench set-up at neutrality. It has been compared with other conventional controllers showing its greater ca-pacity to stand the high changing dynamic of the controlled plant. The minimal control equipment has been chosen in order to approach experimental conditions to industrial real cases. This selection increases the difficulty of the control. Adaptation has proved to be a reliable strategy even under additional constraints. The control goal has been achieved: The developed Self Tuning/ Adaptive Regulator guarantees, in a satisfactory way, pH neutralization without having to use holding stages and even standing in front of hard perturbations

Dealing with complex overactive bladder syndrome patient profiles with focus on fesoterodine: in or out of the EAU guidelines?

Contains fulltext : 181610.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Overactive bladder (OAB) syndrome is a common, complex, and challenging condition. To assist the management of these patients, the European Association of Urology (EAU) updates its guidelines annually. This review reports the presentations from the symposium titled "Dealing with complex OAB patient profiles: in or out of the EAU guidelines?" held at the 32nd EAU Annual Congress in March 2017 in London. The symposium focused on three groups of OAB patients: women who may also suffer pelvic organ prolapse, stress urinary incontinence, the genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM); patients at risk of cognitive impairment; and elderly patients. The aim of the symposium was to determine how the 2017 EAU guidelines can best assist physicians, as well as to assess the benefits of fesoterodine in these patients. The EAU guidelines recommend antimuscarinic agents (grade A) for the medical treatment of OAB. In women, OAB is correlated with GSM, both of which are underdiagnosed and undertreated. Fesoterodine decreases OAB symptoms and the associated limitation of physical activity. A combination of fesoterodine and vaginal estrogens is appropriate for OAB associated with GSM. In patients at risk of cognitive impairment, prescribers should pay particular attention to the choice of medication. Fesoterodine is a Pgp substrate with limited ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, which may explain the lack of negative effects on the central nervous system observed in clinical trials of this agent. OAB should not be regarded as a normal consequence of aging. Fesoterodine has been extensively investigated in the elderly, and is the only anticholinergic drug licensed for OAB in this population, rated B (beneficial) according to the Fit for the Aged classification for lower-urinary-tract symptoms. The EAU guidelines are a valuable resource for physicians managing patients with OAB, and the pharmacological properties of fesoterodine offer credible clinical advantages in these three patient groups