Assessment of two non-invasive techniques for measuring turbulent benthic fluxes in a shallow lake.

Benthic fluxes refer to the exchange rates of nutrients and other compounds between the water column and the sediment bed in aquatic ecosystems. Their quantification contributes to our understanding of aquatic ecosystem functioning. Near-bed hydrodynamics plays an important role at the sediment-water interface, especially in shallow lakes, but it is poorly considered by traditional measuring techniques of flux quantification, such as sediment incubations.

The amnesic shellfish poisoning toxin, domoic acid: The tattoo of the king scallop Pecten maximus.

Domoic acid (DA) is a potent neurotoxin produced by diatoms of the genus Pseudo-nitzschia and is responsible for Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) in humans. Some fishery resources of high commercial value, such as the king scallop Pecten maximus, are frequently exposed to toxic Pseudo-nitzschia blooms and are capable of accumulating high amounts of DA, retaining it for months or even a few years. This poses a serious threat to public health and a continuous economical risk due to fishing closures of this resource in the affected areas.

How to define failure of intradetrusor injections of botulinum toxin A for neurogenic detrusor overactivity.

Introduction: Neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO) has a major impact on patients' quality of life and can lead to upper urinary tract complications. Intradetrusor botulinum toxin type A injections are administered as second-line treatment to these patients following the failure of anticholinergic agents. The aim of the DETOX 2 study is to propose a consensus definition of the failure of intradetrusor botulinum toxin injections for NDO in patients presenting spinal cord injury, spina bifida, or multiple sclerosis (MS) with self-catheterization.

Novel halogenated flame retardants in Canadian human milk from the MIREC study (2008-2011).

Novel halogenated flame retardants (NHFRs) have been developed to replace those brominated flame retardants that have been restricted due to their persistence, bioaccumulation potential and toxicity, therefore, it is important to determine whether these replacement products are present at detectable concentrations in Canadians. NHFRs were measured in human milk samples (n = 541) collected from across Canada between 2008 and 2011, which is the first pan-Canadian dataset for these chemicals in human milk. Among the 15 measured NHFRs and eight methoxy-polybrominated diphenyl ethers (MeO-PBDEs), nine NHFRs and two MeO-PBDEs (6-MeO-PBDE 47 and 2-MeO-PBDE 68) were detected at a frequency of more than 9%.

Differences in mirex [dechlorane] and dechlorane plus [syn- and anti-] concentrations observed in Canadian human milk.

As part of the pan-Canadian Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals (MIREC) study, human milk samples were collected between 2008 and 2011, and analyzed for mirex, an organochlorine insecticide and flame retardant, in addition to dechlorane plus (syn- and anti-DDC-CO), the flame retardant replacement for mirex. Mirex was analyzed separately, using a method for the analysis of existing organochlorine insecticides, while the presence of DDC-CO isomers was determined using a method developed for the detection of emerging flame retardants. Mirex was detected in all samples analyzed (n = 298), while syn- and anti-DDC-CO were present in 61.