Biodegradation of plastics and ecotoxicity testing: when should it be done

Biodegradation of plastics and ecotoxicity testing: when should it be done

Most biodegradable plastics are waterinsoluble solid materials under normal environmental conditions (Bohlmann, 2005). The biodegradation of plastics is a surface erosion process which happens at the solid/liquid interface, where extracellular enzymes, in the liquid phase, start depolymerisation of the solid phase (Tosin et al., 1996). The depolymerisation releases monomers that are assimilated...

Tubeless Percutaneous Nephrolithotripsy: When it should be done?

Percutaneous Nephrolithotripsy (PCNL) has become a standard method to approach large urinary stones (over 2cm) located in the kidney or proximal ureter. Among the minimal invasive urological procedures, PCNL still remains as the most morbid treatment. The routine of using post-operative nephrostomy is still controversial, and some authors supports that tubeless PCNL could be as safe as standard...

Laparoscopic Appendectomy: Why It Should Be Done

OBJECTIVE Notwithstanding its widely perceived advantages, laparoscopic appendectomy has not yet met with universal acceptance. The aim of the present work is to illustrate retrospectively the results of a case-control experience with laparoscopic versus open appendectomy carried out at our institution. METHODS Between January 1993 and November 2000, 555 patients (M:F = 210:345; mean age 25.2...

Coronary revascularization, when it needs to be done it needs to be done.

Rapid advances in the fields of diagnostic and therapeutic cardiology have led to an increase in health care costs. This has resulted in cost curtailing measures imposed by health care managers, based on assumptions that utilization of these methods do not provide commensurate increases in health benefits (over-use). To control the presumably spiralling costs of health care, practice guidelines...

What is osteopenia, and what should be done about it?