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Notes: Abstract. This paper describes experiments on the inhibitory effects of hydroquinone (HQ), phenylphos-phorodiamidate (PPDA) and N-butyl phosphorothioic triamide (NBPT) on the nitrification in soil. Incubations were carried out at 2/3 field capacity at 25°C of soil samples to which either ammonium or nitrite was added together with inhibitors. Addition of PPDA or NBPT did not influence the oxidation of ammonium. HQ. however, retarded the process significantly, and also the accumulation of nitrite. This was confirmed in experiments whereby added nitrite was followed. Some of the differences could be explained by changes in the soil pH. During incubation the evolution of the total mineral nitrogen was not importantly altered by addition of the inhibitors.

Notes: Abstract. The influence of three urease inhibitors, hydroquinone (HQ), phenyl phosphorodiamidate (PPDA) and N-(n-butyl) phosphorothioic triamide (NBPT) on denitrification of nitrate in soil was studied in an incubation experiment under waterlogged conditions, at 25°C and in the presence of increasing amounts (0.0, 0.1 and 1 %) of ground barley straw. Two hundred milligrams of nitrate-N (as potassium nitrate) was added with the respective urease inhibitors.Addition of barley straw increased the denitrification rate in the soil. Within 2 days the added nitrate-N was completely reduced. This result was confirmed by the measurement of nitrous oxide. HQ decreased gaseous nitrogen loss by decreasing the activity of the denitrifiers in the soil. The inhibitory effect was increased by adding increasing amounts of HQ. Because denitrification is stimulated by readily decomposable organic matter, the retardation seems to be a short-term effect. The other urease inhibitors, PPDA and NBPT, had no significant influence on the denitrification process when they were applied at the rate of 4 mg per kilogram of soil.

Notes: The recommended treatment for medically fit patients with muscle-invading bladder cancer is usually radical cystectomy. However, transurethral resection of the tumor, partial cystectomy, irradiation and systemic chemotherapy are each effective in some patients. These latter treatments allow bladder preservation and cure as an alternative to radical cystectomy although when used unselectively the survival rates are inferior to those of radical cystectomy.The updated results of conservative surgery, radiation therapy and systemic chemotherapy as monotherapy, as well as strategies of combined modality treatment were reviewed. Based on this review many areas of consensus were reached which include:1. The primary goal of any treatment for a patient with muscle-invading bladder cancer is survival; bladder preservation in the interest of quality of life is a secondary objective.2. Only a small proportion of carefully selected patients may be cured by transurethral surgery alone, or by partial cystectomy alone.3. Radiation therapy is currently the standard bladder-preserving therapy against which all other bladder-preserving methods must be compared.4. Systemic chemotherapy as monotherapy is inadequate and cannot be recommended.5. The addition of cisplatin-containing systemic chemotherapy to radiation therapy or conservative surgery appears to improve local control. While no multi-modality therapeutic regimen has yet been shown to be clearly optimal with regard to local efficacy and minimizing toxicity, monotherapy for bladder preservation is probably not desirable as a routine approach.6. Deferring the patient from immediate cystectomy does not appear to compromise survival, nor does the addition of primary systemic chemotherapy appear to significantly increase the morbidity of cystectomy or radiotherapy.7. All patients treated by bladder-preserving therapy must return to the urologist for regular cystoscopic follow-up so that additional therapy may be started at the earliest opportunity if relapse occurs.8. Bladder substitution is suboptimal compared with a normally functioning, disease-free bladder.9. If alternatives to cystectomy are not considered, little progress will be made in the treatment of muscle-invading bladder cancer.10. Randomized phase III trials must be performed to establish the role of optimal combined modality treatment for bladder preservation, but patient recruitment into such trials may prove difficult unless urologists are prepared to open their minds to the possibility that cystectomy may not be the best treatment for all patients with muscle-invading bladder cancer. Further, urologists must be prepared to have their patients randomized into phase III protocols and investigators must not allow premature publication of findings.

Notes: The recommended treatment for medically fit patients with muscle–invading bladder cancer is usually radical cystectomy. However, transurethral resection of the tumor, partial cystectomy, irradiation and systemic chemotherapy are each effective in some patients. These latter treatments allow bladder preservation and cure as an alternative to radical cystectomy although when used unselectively the survival rates are inferior to those of radical cystectomy.The updated results of conservative surgery, radiation therapy and systemic chemotherapy as monotherapy, as well as strategies of combined modality treatment were reviewed. Based on this review many areas of consensus were reached which include:1. The primary goal of any treatment for a patient with muscle–invading bladder cancer is survival; bladder preservation in the interest of quality of life is a secondary objective.2. Only a small proportion of carefully selected patients may be cured by transurethral surgery alone, or by partial cystectomy alone.3. Radiation therapy is currently the standard bladder–preserving therapy against which all other bladder–preserving methods must be compared.4. Systemic chemotherapy as monotherapy is inadequate and cannot be recommended.5. The addition of cisplatin–containing systemic chemotherapy to radiation therapy or conservative surgery appears to improve local control. While no multi–modality therapeutic regimen has yet been shown to be clearly optimal with regard to local efficacy and minimizing toxicity, monotherapy for bladder preservation is probably not desirable as a routine approach.6. Deferring the patient from immediate cystectomy does not appear to compromise survival, nor does the addition of primary systemic chemotherapy appear to significantly increase the morbidity of cystectomy or radiotherapy.7. All patients treated by .bladder–preserving therapy must return to the urologist for regular cystoscopic follow–up so that additional therapy may be started at the earliest opportunity if relapse occurs.8. Bladder substitution is suboptimal compared with a normally functioning, disease–free bladder.9. If alternatives to cystectomy are not considered, little progress will be made in the treatment of muscle–invading bladder cancer.10. Randomized phase III trials must be performed to establish the role of optimal combined modality treatment for bladder preservation, but patient recruitment into such trials may prove difficult unless urologists are prepared to open their minds to the possibility that cystectomy may not be the best treatment for all patients with muscle–invading bladder cancer. Further, urologists must be prepared to have their patients randomized into phase III protocols and investigators must not allow premature publication of findings.

Notes: Abstract: The aim of the study was to determine the success rate, the complications, the failures and the solutions found in troublesome cases. A retrospective study was performed in three university centers in Belgium. Between March 1994 and April 1998, a quadripolar electrode and a pulse generator were implanted in 53 patients (8 men, 45 women, 43 ± 12 years, mean follow-up 24 ± 8 months, range 13–39 months). During the first few months, 45 (85%) of the 53 patients had an objective response. Eight late failures occurred, with a mean failure delay of 9 ± 5 months. We performed 15 revisions in 12 patients. Major complications were pain and current-related troubles. The outcome was significantly better (P= 0.001) in post-stress incontinence surgery patients. Device-related pain was found more frequently in patients with dysuria and/or retention or perineal pain, and the test stimulation was less reliable (P= 0.025) in patients with a psychiatric history. Sacral nerve stimulation is efficient in treating patients with refractory lower urinary tract symptoms and/or perineal pain.