Age-related changes to lumbosacral spinal cord motoneurons that modulate bladder and bowel functions in male C57BL/6 mice

Incontinence and sexual dysfunction are often increased in the aged human population. In rats and mice the pattern of micturition and faecal clearance also changes with ageing and is suggestive of bladder and bowel dysfunction

Changes in murine anorectum signaling across the life course

Background: Increasing age is associated with an increase in the incidence of chronic constipation and fecal impaction. The contribution of the natural aging process to these conditions is not fully understood. This study examined the effects of increasing age on the function of the murine anorectum.Methods: The effects of increasing age on cholinergic, nitrergic, and purinergic signaling pathways in the murine anorectum were examined using classical organ bath assays to examine tissue function and electrochemical sensing to determine age‐related changes in nitric oxide and acetylcholine release.Key Results: Nitrergic relaxation increased between 3 and 6 months, peaked at 12 months and declined in the 18 and 24 months groups. These changes were in part explained by an age‐related decrease in nitric oxide (NO) release. Cholinergic signaling was maintained with age by an increase in acetylcholine (ACh) release and a compensatory decrease in cholinesterase activity. Age‐related changes in purinergic relaxation were qualitatively similar to nitrergic relaxation although the relaxations were much smaller. Increasing age did not alter the response of the anorectum smooth muscle to exogenously applied ACh, ATP, sodium nitroprusside or KCl. Similarly, there was no change in basal tension developed by the anorectum.Conclusions and Inferences: The decrease in nitrergic signaling with increasing age may contribute to the age‐related fecal impaction and constipation previously described in this model by partially obstructing defecation

Strategies for coping with the costs of inpatient care: a mixed methods study of urban and rural poor in Vadodara District, Gujarat, India

Background In India, coping mechanisms for inpatient care costs have been explored in rural areas, but seldom among urbanites. This study aims to explore and compare mechanisms employed by the urban and rural poor for coping with inpatient expenditures, in order to help identify formal mechanisms and policies to provide improved social protection for health care

Transparent and Flexible Thin Film Electroluminescent Devices Using HiTUS Deposition and Laser Processing Fabrication

Highly transparent thin film electroluminescent structures offering excellent switch on characteristics, high luminance and large break-down voltages have been deposited onto glass and flexible polymeric materials with no substrate heating using high target utilization sputtering. Deposition of ZnS:Mn as the active light emitting layer and Y2O3,Al2O3,Ta2O5, and HfO2 as dielectric materials arranged in single and multiple layer configurations were investigated. Devices incorporating Al2O3,HfO2 quadruple layers demonstrate the highest attainable luminance at low threshold voltage. Single pulse excimer laser irradiation of the phosphor layer prior to deposition of the top dielectric layer enhanced the luminance of the devices. The devices fabricated on glass and polymeric substrates exhibited a maximum luminance of 500 and 450 cdm−2 when driven at 270 VRMS and 220 VRMS, respectively, with a 1.0 kHz sine wave

From policy to pedagogy: widening the discourse and practice of the learning society in the European Union

This paper explores the policy turn of the learning society, and how the academic world is responding to new social and political demands. It highlights some of the criticisms levelled at the learning society, as well as the voices of support. The paper also showcases the European Language Portfolio and the Transferable Skills project as two examples of good practice. Cet article examine le tournant de la politique de la socie´te´ du savoir ainsi que la re´ponse du monde intellectuel face aux nouvelles exigences sociales et politiques. Il met en lumie`re certaines des critiques souleve´es par la socie´te´ du savoir ainsi que par les voix favorables. L’article s’appuie sur deux exemples pratiques, a` savoir le Portfolio Europe´en des Langues et le Project des Compe´tences Transmissibles

MODIS Tree Cover Validation for the Circumpolar Taiga-Tundra Transition Zone

A validation of the 2005 500m MODIS vegetation continuous fields (VCF) tree cover product in the circumpolar taiga-tundra ecotone was performed using high resolution Quickbird imagery. Assessing the VCF's performance near the northern limits of the boreal forest can help quantify the accuracy of the product within this vegetation transition area. The circumpolar region was divided into longitudinal zones and validation sites were selected in areas of varying tree cover where Quickbird imagery is available in Google Earth. Each site was linked to the corresponding VCF pixel and overlaid with a regular dot grid within the VCF pixel's boundary to estimate percent tree crown cover in the area. Percent tree crown cover was estimated using Quickbird imagery for 396 sites throughout the circumpolar region and related to the VCF's estimates of canopy cover for 2000-2005. Regression results of VCF inter-annual comparisons (2000-2005) and VCF-Quickbird image-interpreted estimates indicate that: (1) Pixel-level, inter-annual comparisons of VCF estimates of percent canopy cover were linearly related (mean R(sup 2) = 0.77) and exhibited an average root mean square error (RMSE) of 10.1 % and an average root mean square difference (RMSD) of 7.3%. (2) A comparison of image-interpreted percent tree crown cover estimates based on dot counts on Quickbird color images by two different interpreters were more variable (R(sup 2) = 0.73, RMSE = 14.8%, RMSD = 18.7%) than VCF inter-annual comparisons. (3) Across the circumpolar boreal region, 2005 VCF-Quickbird comparisons were linearly related, with an R(sup 2) = 0.57, a RMSE = 13.4% and a RMSD = 21.3%, with a tendency to over-estimate areas of low percent tree cover and anomalous VCF results in Scandinavia. The relationship of the VCF estimates and ground reference indicate to potential users that the VCF's tree cover values for individual pixels, particularly those below 20% tree cover, may not be precise enough to monitor 500m pixel-level tree cover in the taiga-tundra transition zone

Do community-based health insurance schemes fulfil the promise of equity? A study from Burkina Faso

Objective: To examine whether the community-based health insurance (CBHI) scheme in Burkina Faso has been effective in providing equitable healthcare access to poor individuals, women, children and those living far from health facilities. Methods: We used the Nouna Health District Household Survey to collect panel data on 990 households during 2004?08. By applying a series of random effects regressions and using concentration curves, we first studied determinants of CBHI enrolment and then assessed differences in healthcare utilization between members and non-members. We studied differences with regard to rich and poor, men and women, children and adults and those living far vs those living close to health facilities. Findings: With regard to enrolment, we found that poor (odds ratio [OR] = 0.274) and children (OR = 0.456) were less likely to enrol while gender and distance were not significantly correlated to enrolment. In terms of utilization, poor (coefficient = 0.349), women (coefficient = 0.131) and children (coefficient = 0.190) with CBHI had higher utilization than the group without CBHI. We also found that there was no significant difference in utilization between members and non-members if they were living far from health facilities. Conclusion: The CBHI scheme in this case was only partially successful in achieving the equity objectives. This study advises policy makers in Burkina Faso and elsewhere, who see CBHI schemes as a silver bullet to achieve universal health coverage, to be mindful of the chronically low enrolment rates and more importantly the lack of equity across the various groups that this study has highlighted