Cross-tolerance to abiotic stresses in halophytes: Application for phytoremediation of organic pollutants

International audienceHalopytes are plants able to tolerate high salt concentrations but no clear definition was retained for them. In literature, there are more studies that showed salt-enhanced tolerance to other abiotic stresses compared to investigations that found enhanced salt tolerance by other abiotic stresses in halophytes. The phenomenon by which a plant resistance to a stress induces resistance to another is referred to as cross-tolerance. In this work, we reviewed cross-tolerance in halophytes at the physiological, biochemical, and molecular levels. A special attention was accorded to the cross-tolerance between salinity and organic pollutants that could allow halophytes a higher potential of xenobiotic phytoremediation in comparison with glycophytes

Flexible video-endsocopic injection sclerotherapy for second and third degree internal hemorrhoids

Background and objectives: Bleeding from hemorrhoids is the commonest cause of rectal bleeding in adults. Injection sclerotherapy of internal hemorrhoids is one of the non-surgical treatments, and is simple, safe and feasible. Conventionally sclerotherapy is performed with rigid proctoscope which has limitations of maneuverability, narrower field of vision and documentation compared to flexible videoendoscope. Therefore, we assessed the efficacy and safety of video-colonoscopic sclerotherapy for bleeding internal hemorrhides. Methods: Seventy-nine patients of bleeding internal hemorrhoids were subjected to colonoscopic sclerotherapy using 1.5% polidocanol in retroflexed or forward viewing positions. Success of treatment was defined as cessation of bleeding for six weeks. Patients were observed for complications and were followed up regularly for 3 months. Results: A total of 79 evaluable patients, 61 had grade II and 18 had grade III hemorrhoids. There was no statistically significant differences in achieving excellent or good results for control of bleeding between patients with grade II and grade III hemorrhoids (100% vs 94,5%; p>0.05). The number of sessions of sclerotherapy required were significantly more in grade II than grade III hemorrhoids (1.1 ± 0.3 vs 1.3 ± 0.7; p = 0.04). No significant complications were noted except for bloating in ten patients (12.6 %) and rectal pain in 6 (7.6%) patients. Median time taken for the procedure was 30 minutes. Conclusions: Video-endoscopic sclerotherapy is safe, well-tolerated and effective treatment for bleeding internal hemorrhoids