Restored Agricultural Wetlands in central Iowa: Habitat Quality and Amphibian Response

Amphibians are declining throughout the United States and worldwide due, partly, to habitat loss. Conservation practices on the landscape restore wetlands to denitrify tile drainage effluent and restore ecosystem services. Understanding how water quality, hydroperiod, predation, and disease affect amphibians in restored wetlands is central to maintaining healthy amphibian populations in the region. We examined the quality of amphibian habitat in restored wetlands relative to reference wetlands by comparing species richness, developmental stress, and adult leopard frog (Lithobates pipiens) survival probabilities to a suite of environmental metrics. Although measured habitat variables differed between restored and reference wetlands, differences appeared to have sub-lethal rather than lethal effects on resident amphibian populations. There were few differences in amphibian species richness and no difference in estimated survival probabilities between wetland types. Restored wetlands had more nitrate and alkaline pH, longer hydroperiods, and were deeper, whereas reference wetlands had more amphibian chytrid fungus zoospores in water samples and resident amphibians exhibited increased developmental stress. Restored and reference wetlands are both important components of the landscape in central Iowa and maintaining a complex of fish-free wetlands with a variety of hydroperiods will likely contribute to the persistence of amphibians in this landscape

The use of tamsulosin to prevent postoperative urinary retention in laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study

PURPOSE: The rate of postoperative urinary retention (POUR) in laparoscopic inguinal hernia repairs is 1-22%. POUR may cause patient anxiety, discomfort, and increased hospital costs. Currently there is no standard prophylaxis for POUR. Preoperative administration of tamsulosin has been shown to decrease POUR rates in urologic studies. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of tamsulosin on the incidence of POUR in patients undergoing totally extraperitoneal (TEP) LIHR. METHODS: A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial was initiated and accrued patients from 2017 to 2019. A total of 169 males undergoing elective TEP LIHR were included. Patients were administered tamsulosin 2 h before surgery and followed for up to 24 h postoperatively for episodes of POUR. Analysis was performed to quantify the association between patient, surgical, and perioperative factors with POUR. RESULTS: The overall rate of POUR was 9%. There was no difference in the rate of POUR between the placebo (9.9%) and tamsulosin groups (7.9%) (p = 0.433). Univariate analysis showed a trend toward POUR in patients with history of benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) (p = 0.058). Previously reported risk factors of older age, total IVF, length of procedure and opioid use were not associated with increased rates of POUR. Tamsulosin reduced the time to discharge by 4 to 68 min when compared to placebo. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that preoperative administration of tamsulosin may not reduce the risk of POUR in males undergoing elective TEP LIHR. Further study with a larger sample size may be needed to show a statistically significant difference