Neurogenic mechanisms in bladder and bowel ageing

The prevalence of both urinary and faecal incontinence, and also chronic constipation, increases with ageing and these conditions have a major impact on the quality of life of the elderly. Management of bladder and bowel dysfunction in the elderly is currently far from ideal and also carries a significant financial burden. Understanding how these changes occur is thus a major priority in biogerontology. The functions of the bladder and terminal bowel are regulated by complex neuronal networks. In particular neurons of the spinal cord and peripheral ganglia play a key role in regulating micturition and defaecation reflexes as well as promoting continence. In this review we discuss the evidence for ageing-induced neuronal dysfunction that might predispose to neurogenic forms of incontinence in the elderly

Exploring new physics frontiers through numerical relativity

The demand to obtain answers to highly complex problems within strong-field gravity has been met with significant progress in the numerical solution of Einstein's equations - along with some spectacular results - in various setups. We review techniques for solving Einstein's equations in generic spacetimes, focusing on fully nonlinear evolutions but also on how to benchmark those results with perturbative approaches. The results address problems in high-energy physics, holography, mathematical physics, fundamental physics, astrophysics and cosmology

Selection of Pseudomonas for industrial textile dyes decolourization

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Pigment is the first contaminant to be recognised in bodies of water and wastewater. Besides the aesthetic problem, dyes obstruct light and reduce oxygen mass transfer. This paper describes the selection of Pseudomonas strains with the ability to remove colour from textile industrial dyes. Four Pseudomonas species were tested against 14 commercial industrial dyes, Pseudomonas cepacia exhibited no growth at all on plates containing dyes (1 g l(-1)), whereas Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas oleovorans and Pseudomonas putida exhibited considerable growth. Decolourization in a liquid culture revealed that P. oleovorans is more viable for decolourizing textile dyes, as it achieved over 80% colour removal for two of the 14 dyes studied; it also proved to be more tolerant to high dye concentrations. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.632230235Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Decolorization of industrial azo dye in an anoxic reactor by PUF immobilized Pseudomonas oleovorans

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)This work reported the full degradation of an azo dye in a synthetic effluent by Pseudomonas oleovorans immobilized in polyurethane foam (PUF). For each fed-batch experiment, a screw-top vessel containing 160 mL of nutrient broth was inoculated with 0.16 gL(-1) of fresh culture, incubated at 32 degrees C and supplemented with 50 mgL(-1) of dye every 24 hours. Afterwards, the P. oleovorans were immobilized in PUF and inoculated in an anoxic reactor. The results showed that at fed-batch conditions, P. oleovorans was capable of removing 50 mg of dye in 192 hours. However, when the decolorization was performed in an anoxic reactor, it was capable of fully degrading 25 mg of dye in only 24 hours.111826Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Eliciting Higher Maximal and Submaximal Cardiorespiratory Responses During a New Taekwondo-Specific Aerobic Test.

Purpose: To propose and validate new taekwondo-specific cardiopulmonary exercise tests. Methods: Twelve male national-level taekwondo athletes (age 20 [2] y, body mass 67.5 [5.7] kg, height 175 [8] cm, and training experience 7 [3] y) performed 3 separate exercise tests in a randomized counterbalanced order: (1) a treadmill running cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) and (2) continuous and (3) interval taekwondo-specific cardiopulmonary exercise tests (cTKDet and iTKDet, respectively). The CPET was administered using an individualized ramp protocol. Taekwondo tests comprised sequences of turning kicks performed on a stationary target. The impacts were recorded via an electronic scoring sensor used in official competition. Stages on the cTKDet and iTKDet lasted 1 min and progressively reduced the kick interval duration. These were guided by a sound signal, starting with 4.6 s between kicks and reducing by 0.4 s every minute until the test ended. Oxygen uptake (), heart rate (HR), capillary blood lactate, and ratings of perceived exertion were measured. Results: Modest differences were identified in between the tests (F2,22 = 3.54; P = .046; effect size [ES] = 0.16). Maximal HR (HRmax) was higher during both taekwondo tests (F2,22 = 14.3; P = .001; ES = 1.14) compared with CPET. Specific tests also yielded higher responses in the first ventilatory threshold (F2,22 = 6.5; P = .04; ES = 0.27) and HR (F2,22 = 12.3; P &lt; .001; ES = 1.06), and HR at the second ventilatory threshold (F2,22 = 5.7; P = .02; ES = 0.72). Conclusions: Taekwondo-specific cardiopulmonary tests enhance the validity of some cardiopulmonary responses and might therefore be considered to optimize routine diagnostic testing and training prescription for this athletic group.</jats:p

A questionnaire to evaluate the impact of chronic diseases: validated translation and Illness Effects Questionnaire (IEQ) reliability study

INTRODUCTION: Patients' perception about their health condition, mainly involving chronic diseases, has been investigated in many studies and it has been associated to depression, compliance with the treatment, quality of life and prognosis. The Illness Effects Questionnaire (IEQ) is a tool which makes the standardized evaluation of patients' perception about their illness possible, so that it is brief and accessible to the different clinical settings. This work aims to begin the transcultural adaptation of the IEQ to Brazil through the validated translation and the reliability study. METHODS: The back-translation method and the test-retest reliability study were used in a sample of 30 adult patients under chronic hemodialysis. The reliability indexes were estimated using the Pearson, Spearman, Weighted Kappa and Cronbach's alpha coefficients. RESULTS: The semantic equivalence was reached through the validated translation. In this study, the reliability indexes obtained were respectively: 0.85 and 0.75 (p < 0.001); 0.68 and 0.92 (p < 0.0001). DISCUSSION: The reliability indexes obtained attest to the stability of responses in both evaluations. Additional procedures are necessary for the transcultural adaptation of the IEQ to be complete. CONCLUSION: The results indicate the translation validity and the reliability of the Brazilian version of the IEQ for the sample studied