Short-term fetal bladder outflow obstruction in the ovine model: bladder morphology, physiology and in-utero urodynamics.

Aim: Previous work carried out at the Institute of Child Health revealed that in the fetal sheep, combined urethral and urachal occlusion initiated at 75 days gestation (full term = 145 days) and maintained for 30 days resulted in dilated, hypocontractile and hypercompliant bladders, associated with uniformly disrupted kidney development. The aim of this project was to create a less severe model of fetal bladder outlet obstruction, and to define the role of the urachus. This model would then be utilised to investigate the prenatal onset of obstructive bladder dysfunction by means of in-utero radiotelemetered urodynamics. We hypothesised that short-term obstruction would result in a thick-walled bladder with preserved contractility and compliance, and that urachal ligation alone would result in similar features.;Methods: Male fetal lambs were assigned to urachal ligation and partial urethral occlusion, urachal ligation only, or sham, groups. Histological analyses, filling cystometry and contractility studies were performed following nine days of obstruction. Natural-fill radiotelemetered urodynamics were performed on the urachal and urethral occlusion group.;Results: Nine days urachal and urethral occlusion from mid-gestation caused hydronephrosis and increased bladder weight, protein and DNA content. Detrusor smooth muscle architecture was maintained but urothelia were thickened and showed basal apoptosis. Bladder compliance, wall stress and contractility were not significantly deranged. The thickest, most compliant bladders were found to be associated with kidneys exhibiting glomerular cysts. Urachal obstruction alone also resulted in similar changes, suggesting that the male fetal lamb urethra is a high-resistance conduit at this gestation. Radiotelemetered urodynamics were only feasible in the obstructed group from 94 days gestation, and revealed the presence of early-onset hypercontractility. Fetal voids became increasingly frequent and prolonged, occurring at higher voiding pressures baseline filling pressures did not vary significantly over the nine-day period of observation.;Conclusion: Short-term fetal bladder outflow obstruction from mid-gestation generated thick-walled bladders without evidence of contractile failure these were associated with cystic kidneys. Detrusor hypercontractility and raised voiding pressures were observed within hours of obstruction, although filling pressures remained stable. Future work will investigate the effect of vesico-amniotic shunting on bladder function

4-[2-(1-Acetyl-2-oxopropyl­idene)­hydrazino]-N-(pyrimidin-2-yl)benzene­sulfonamide

In the title compound, C15H15N5O4S, the dihedral angle between the pyrimidine and benzene rings is 84.56 (2)°. Intra­molecular hydrazine–carbonyl N—H⋯O and inter­molecular sulfonamide–pyridimine N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds stabilize the mol­ecular and crystal structures, respectively

STEREO and Wind observations of a fast ICME flank triggering a prolonged geomagnetic storm on 5-7 April 2010

On 5 April 2010 an interplanetary (IP) shock was detected by the Wind spacecraft ahead of Earth, followed by a fast (average speed 650 km/s) IP coronal mass ejection (ICME). During the subsequent moderate geomagnetic storm (minimum Dst = -72 nT, maximum Kp=8-), communication with the Galaxy 15 satellite was lost. We link images from STEREO/SECCHI to the near-Earth in situ observations and show that the ICME did not decelerate much between Sun and Earth. The ICME flank was responsible for a long storm growth phase. This type of glancing collision was for the first time directly observed with the STEREO Heliospheric Imagers. The magnetic cloud (MC) inside the ICME cannot be modeled with approaches assuming an invariant direction. These observations confirm the hypotheses that parts of ICMEs classified as (1) long-duration MCs or (2) magnetic-cloud-like (MCL) structures can be a consequence of a spacecraft trajectory through the ICME flank.Comment: Geophysical Research Letters (accepted); 3 Figure

3-[2-(2,6-Dichloro­anilino)benz­yl]-4-[(4-meth­oxy­benzyl­idene)amino]-1H-1,2,4-triazole-5(4H)-thione

In the title compound, C23H19Cl2N5OS, the triazole ring makes dihedral angles of 24.81 (18), 69.94 (19) and 35.68 (18)° with the dichloro­phenyl, benzene and meth­oxy­phenyl rings, respectively. An intra­molecular N—H⋯N hydrogen bond occurs. In the crystal, inversion dimers linked by pairs of N—H⋯S hydrogen bonds occur. In addition, there are weak C—H⋯π inter­actions involving the dichloro­phenyl and triazole rings

Primary care in Malta : the patients’s expectations in 2009

Given the strong literature base to support the positioning of Primary Care at the core of a sustainable National Health Service, this study examines what the Maltese general public prefer, and expect, from their family doctor, and explores their preferred systems of care changes.peer-reviewe

Methyl 2-methyl-2H-1,2,3-triazole-4-carboxyl­ate

In the title compound, C5H7N3O2, all non-H atoms lie in a common plane, with a maximum deviation of 0.061 (2)° for the ester methyl C atom. The structure is stabilized by inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

(1E,3E,5E,7E)-4,4′-(Octa-1,3,5,7-tetra­ene-1,8-di­yl)dipyridine

The title compound, C18H16N2, crystallizes with one and a half independent mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit, with the half-mol­ecule being completed by crystallographic inversion symmetry. Both independent mol­ecules are almost planar, with the non-H atoms exhibiting r.m.s. deviations from the least-squares mol­ecular plane of 0.175 and 0.118 Å, respectively

Diethyl 6H,12H-5,11-methano­dibenzo[b,f][1,5]diazo­cine-1,7-dicarboxyl­ate

In the mol­ecule of the title compound, C21H22N2O4, the 1,7-diethyl ester analogue of Tröger’s base, the dihedral angle between the two benzene rings is 93.16 (3)°; the mol­ecule is C 2 symmetric

Bis{2-[4-(methyl­sulfan­yl)phen­yl]-1H-benzimidazol-3-ium} tetra­bromido­cadmate(II) ethanol monosolvate

In the anion of the title compound, (C14H13N2S)2[CdBr4]·C2H5OH, the CdII atom is in a distorted tetra­hedral environment and one of the Br atoms is disordered over three sites with site-occupancy factors of 0.828 (5), 0.106 (3) and 0.068 (4). In the crystal, inter­molecular N—H⋯O, C—H⋯O and N—H⋯Br inter­actions result in a two-dimensional polymeric network extending parallel to (010)