What is wrong between ecological science and policy?

Ecological research is highlighting different kinds of issues concerning biodiversity conservation policies. Based on a historical study on protected areas, we suggest that these issues are not caused by a lack of knowledge or technical tools but rather by a misuse of ecological knowledge during the implementation of policy instruments in part driven by a lack of understanding of the mechanisms underlying the policymaking process. We believe that determining the conditions under which ecological science can enlighten policy decisions is now necessary to address current biodiversity conservation issues.

Parafoveal and optic disc vessel density in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: an optical coherence tomography angiography study.

Aims: To compare optic disc perfusion, radial peripapillary capillaries (RPC) and macular vascular density, between normal subjects and subjects with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) using spectral-domain OCT angiography (OCTA).

Methods: Sixteen eyes of patients with mild OSAS, 17 eyes with moderate OSAS, 20 eyes with severe OSAS on polygraphy and 28 controls were evaluated with OCTA RT XR Avanti (AngioVue software, Optovue Inc., Fremont, CA).

[Is cheating with automatic perimetry possible?].

Introduction: Automatic perimetry examination requires the patient's cooperation, but the programs used check response validity. This study evaluated the possibility of patient cheating on this examination.

Materials And Method: This study investigated 27 visual fields of automatic perimetry with patients who had no ophthalmological history.

[How patients react when glaucoma is diagnosed?].

Purpose: Evaluate the psychological consequences of announcing the diagnosis of glaucoma.

Materials And Methods: Two hundred patients completed a 20-item questionnaire designed to analyze the context in which glaucoma was discovered and the patients' reaction to this diagnosis. Behavioral modification in patients and their families are specified as well as their perception of the information received.

A possible method to control prolongations of bleeding time under antiplatelet therapy with ticlopidine.

The interactions of oral and i.v. administrations of corticosteroids with the effects of ticlopidine were studied, in a search for an antidote for possible excessive prolongations of bleeding time induced by antiaggregating agents.

Pharmacokinetics and metabolism of diltiazem in man.

Dilitazem, a coronary vasodilating agent, after oral administration of four different doses, was well and rapidly absorbed. The pharmacokinetics of the drug followed a two-compartment model, with a rapid distribution and an elimination with a half-life of 4-7 hours. After chronic treatment the pharmacokinetic parameters were practically unchanged and therefore no accumulation of the drug was observed.

Inherited erythrocyte phosphofructokinase deficiency: molecular mechanism.

Erythrocyte PFK activity 50--60% that of normal controls was found in a mother and her son, without muscular or hematological symptoms. The PFK activity of the mother's muscle was normal in fresh preparations and partially unstable to storage at 4 degrees C. Electrophoresis of muscle PFK revealed two bands, on normal and one abnormal with an anodic mobility greater than normal.

Pharmacokinetics of the new beta-adrenoceptor blocking agent betaxolol (SL 75212) in man after repeated oral administration.

(+/-)-1-(Isopropylamino)-3-[p-(2-cyclopropyl-methoxyethyl)-phenoxy]-2-propanol HCl (betaxolol, SL 75212) was given to groups of healthy volunteers, 10 mg daily for 7 days followed by 20 mg daily 7 days in one group, and increasing daily doses up to 60 mg/day for a total of 15 days in the other group. The pharmacokinetics were studied during dosing and in the washout period. The pharmacokinetic characteristics were unchanged after repeated doses, T/2 16-22 h, Vd 7.

Clinical pharmacology studies with acenocoumarol.

In two different studies, the relation between plasma concentrations of acenocoumarol and apparent prothrombin levels (Quick test) was investigated, using a new specific analytical method for the assay of the drug. The prothrombin level appeared independent of the plasma concentration of the drug, which is higher in old patients (over 70 years) than in younger patients (under 51 years).

[Bilateral malignant exophthalmia as a manifestation of IgM multiple myeloma].

The authors report a case of IgM myeloma revealed by bilateral malignant exophtalmia, only the third case to be published in the world. This exophthalmia was due to plasma cell infiltration of the periorbital fat, and not to primary involvement of the orbit. Other rare localisations were found on autopsy: ovarian, pleuro-pulmonary and, above all, epicardiac.

[Properties of and information about a new preparation of immunoglobulins (IgGAM) enriched in IgA and IgM].

A new immunoglobulin preparation, called IgGAM, has been obtained from fraction III. Fraction III obtained during large scale fractionation is used as starting material and caprylic acid for the precipitation of most proteins other than the immunoglobulins present in fraction III; the immunoglobulin concentrate is finally obtained by ethanol precipitation of the supernatant. The IgGAM preparation contains IgG,IgA and IgM in various proportions according to the modifications of the initial technique, and we can obtain fractions more specially enriched in IgA or in IgM.

Clinical pharmacology of flurbiprofen: a novel inhibitor of platelet aggregation.

Studies are reviewed of the inhibitory effect of flurbiprofen, given in doses ranging from 50 mg to 200 mg per day for 1 week, on platelet aggregation measured by biological tests (adenosine diphosphate and collagen methods). Flurbiprofen at doses of 50 mg and 100 mg daily had a peak time of action of between 1 and 2 hours, the effects usually disappearing after 24 hours, and 100 mg flurbiprofen caused a similar decrease in platelet aggregation to 1 g aspirin daily. In a clinical study of 72 patients with chronic glomerulonephritis treated with doses of flurbiprofen up to 200 daily there was a significant correlation between the parameters of aggregation measured and treatment, and between proteinuria and adenosine disphosphate aggregation when the flurbiprofen dose did not exceed 100 mg daily.

The interactions of ticlopidine and aspirin in normal subjects.

This trial was performed on 24 health volunteers in order to study the possible interactions between aspirin and ticlopidine. The results confirm the inhibitory activity of aspirin on collagen-induced aggregation and that of ticlopidine on ADP-induced aggregation. If aspirin does not modify the inhibitory effect of ticlopidine on ADP-induced aggregation, ticlopidine on the other hand potentiates the effect of aspirin on collagen-induced aggregation.

[Monoclonal gammapathy of a familial type. Discovery of myeloma in the sister of a patient suffering from Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia].

The relatives of a 82 years old female patients with a Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia were submitted to clinical and hematological investigations. A diclonal gammapathy (IgG kappa and IgG lambda) was found in the sister's serum and was related to a myeloma. A noticiable Bence Jones Proteinuria (light chain of lambda type) was equally found in serum and urines of the propositus brother but without any clinical or hematological evidence of myeloma.

[The use of new immunoglobulin preparation, enriched in IgA and IgM (IgGAM)].

The clinical results obtained with fraction IgGAM are reported. Different types of antibody deficiency syndromes have successfully been treated : 8 cases of Bruton-type agammaglobulinemia. In one of these case a tenacious Pseudomonas infection cleared off during the treatment.

Effects of ticlopidine, a new platelet aggregation inhibitor in man.

Ticlopidine is a new platelet aggregation inhibitor. The effect of this drug was studied on 55 subjects, healthy volunteers and hospitalized patients. The action requires 24 to 48 hr to appear, and lasts more than 3 days.

Anticoagulant effect and plasma kinetics of fluorophenindione after a single dose in man.

After administration of a single loading dose (80 mg p.o.) of fluorophenindione, the prothrombin level decreased to 37% in 24 h, and the effect lasted for 48 h.