Journals at the University of Arizona
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EFFICACY OF KINESIO TAPING IN EARLY STAGE BREAST CANCER ASSOCIATED LYMPHEDEMA: A RANDOMIZED SINGLE BLINDED STUDY
No full textThis study was designed to evaluate theeffectiveness of kinesio taping compared tocompression garment in treatment of earlystage breast cancer-associated lymphedema(BCAL). Patients between 18-70-years old whohad unilateral stage 1 BCAL were randomizedinto group I kinesio taping (KT) and groupII compression garment (CG) for this singleblinded study. KT was applied with a lymphaticcorrection technique in three-four day intervalsfor four weeks. At the end of the fourth week,patients were suggested to wear CGs. Patientsin group II were treated daily for 23-hours inCGs. Education, preventive measures, and exerciseswere given to both groups. All patientswere evaluated before the treatment (T0), immediatepost treatment (T1), and three monthsafter treatment (T2). Circumference differenceswere measured between the extremities witha nonelastic tape at five levels. Additionally,shoulder range of motion (ROM) was measured,and pain, heaviness, and sensation oftightness were evaluated with a visual analogscale (VAS). Thirty-five patients with stage 1BCAL were included and randomized to theKT (n= 16) and CG (n= 19) groups. Demographicdata and baseline clinical characteristicswere similar. Both groups had reductionsin all levels of arm circumference differencesat immediate post-treatment and three monthsafter treatment. Pain, tightness, and heavinessscores significantly decreased for both groupsat immediate post-treatment and third month.Patients in the KT group had significantlylower pain sores than patients in the CG group.Results demonstrated that both modalities hadsimilar effects in the treatment of early stageBCAL. For patients with early stage BCAL,KT can be an alternative treatment to CG forpatients who have difficulties in obtaining andwearing CGs
MELILOTUS, RUTIN AND BROMELAIN IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY LYMPHEDEMA
No full textAs reported in the literature, benzopyrones(alpha and gamma) have important effects onthe microcirculation through various mechanisms.Coumarins are an alpha-benzopyroneas derivatives of Melilotus Officinalis, whilebioflavonoids are a gamma-benzopyrone andinclude Rutin. Alpha-benzopyrones have twofundamental pharmacological effects: theyhave pro-lymphokinetic action by activatingcontractility of lymphangions; and the activationof macrophages to provide a proteolyticeffect. Gamma-benzopyrones, such as Rutin,have an important anti-exuding and membranestabilizing effect. Bromelain is knownfor its anti-inflammatory effect. The presentstudy enrolled 52 patients with primary and/orsecondary lymphedema in clinical stages I orII (according to the ISL classification) with 31cases involving the lower limbs and 21 cases involvingthe upper limbs. All subjects were givenfor six months a natural compound consistingof 100 mg of natural Melilotus, that contains20 grams of Coumarin, 300 mg of Rutin and100 mg of Bromelain. The following parameterswere studied at zero time (T0), after threemonths (T1), and after six months of treatment(T2): pitting, Stemmer's sign, measurement oflimb circumferences, measurement of superficialtissue thickness in the affected limbs usingultrasound, and blood tests to evaluate hepaticfunction (ALT, AST, GGT, total and fractionalbilirubin). At the end of the treatment (T2), thefollowing results were observed: disappearanceof pitting in 72% of the cases; unchanged Stemmer'ssign; average decrease in limb circumferencesof 4.2 cm; and average reduction ofthe superficial thickness of 29%. There wasno variation in the liver function parametersexamined. The combination of natural compounds(Melilotus, Rutin, and Bromelain) hasbeen shown to be a valuable aid in the clinicalcontrol of both primary and secondary lymphedemaof clinical stages I and II as well as incontrol of inflammatory phenomena relatedto chronic stasis. There were no side effectsand no alteration of liver function parametersfound
Political ecologies of time and temporality in resource extraction
No full textThis article introduces a Special Section on time and temporality in natural resource extraction. The Special Section illuminates the importance of both resource temporalities and temporal strategies around resource extraction, including nostalgia and identity, political strategies to delay projects, and contested attempts at predicting and managing the future. In addressing these themes, contributors highlight divergent spatio-temporalities and memories of extractive landscapes, local people's anticipation of future effects from mining, and governmental and corporate practices to speed up project implementation. We suggest that various temporal aspects – such as history, memory, velocity, delay, and epistemologies of time – play a central role in how struggles and controversies over extractive development manifest in particular places. We also offer additional avenues for research on contested understandings of time and temporality in political ecology.Keywords: natural resources, extractive industry, temporality, political ecolog
How do environmental impact assessments fail to prevent social conflict? Government technologies in a dam project in Colombia
No full textWe analyze environmental impact assessment (EIA) for infrastructure development projects in Latin America through the case of the "El Cercado" dam on the Rancheria river in La Guajira Province of northern Colombia. We argue that social and environmental conflicts regarding development projects are not only the result of deficient EIA implementation but also of historically established power relations and deep-rooted beliefs concerning the economy and socio-spatial relations, of which EIAs are a constituting and enabling element. We focus on governmentality practices from an ethnographic political ecology perspective to trace how the EIA uses the concept of "areas of influence" as a standardized inclusion/exclusion technique, limited by its static nature and functioning as a legitimizing device for governmental interest to expand neoliberal economies in natural resource-strategic regions. Our analysis aims to understand how EIAs used for infrastructure development projects in Latin America have failed to prevent socio-environmental conflicts. At the same time, we question the notions of "space", "influence", and "affected population" behind EIA practices. We conclude that EIAs are a government technology of neoliberal environmental governance that has the potential to exclude the socio-spatial dynamics of local populations while depoliticizing the interests behind the project. With this article, we contribute to the ethnographic approach to governmentality in the context of infrastructure development projects in Latin America and to the understanding of the role of expert knowledge and technologies of government in neoliberal hydro-politics.Keywords: Environmental Impact Assessment, dam, hydro-politics, government technologies, social conflic
"Critical Ecosystems" as a concept in political ecology – developing a comprehensive analytical framework
No full textPolitical ecology is supposed to be a field of two parts of equal importance – "politics" and "ecology." However, critics have pointed to the fact that it dwells on the politics, while rendering ecology secondary in its focus. Political ecologists have hardly used the structure that the concept of ecosystem services brought to the field of ecology, and this lends credence to this critique. In this article, I introduce the concept of "critical ecosystems" that reinforces understanding of the science of "ecology", as an important dimension of political ecology. I use components of the framework of ecosystem services in context of unequal power relations. Some local people who have symbiotic relationships with their environment owe their existence – both their livelihoods and culture – to specific natural resources whose decline has proximate and tangible consequences for them. However, they often lose these "critical ecosystems" in times of natural resource exploitation due to their relative powerlessness. I argue that it is important that political ecologists utilize the framework of ecosystem services in our inquiries, to prioritize those ecosystems that are intricately connected to the survival of the local population. Based on this, I introduce the "critical ecosystems" model, and how it can be modified to fit specific cases and can reconcile the sociological and political dimensions of political ecology, with biophysical understanding of ecological processes. This holistic inquiry, I argue, will make political ecology worthy of its name. Keywords: Political ecology; ecosystem services; unequal power relations; Millennium Ecosystems Assessment; Ghan
Review of Daggett, Cara New. 2019. The Birth of Energy: fossil fuels, thermodynamics, and the politics of work.
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THORACIC DUCT STENT-GRAFT DECOMPRESSION WITH 3-MONTH PATENCY: REVISITING A HISTORICAL TREATMENT OPTION FOR PORTAL HYPERTENSION
No full textThis report introduces the rationale for thoracic duct stent-graft decompression in cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension and provides a case example with 3-month stent-graft patency. Thoracic duct flow and pressure are elevated in cirrhosis. Historically, complications of portal hypertension have been successfully treated with external drainage of the thoracic duct or surgical lymphovenous bypass. A 45-year-old woman with cirrhosis, chronic portosplenomesenteric thrombosis, and acute variceal hemorrhage underwent percutaneous thoracic duct stent-graft placement across the lymphovenous junction. The hemorrhage subsequently resolved and follow up endoscopy demonstrated decom-pression of the bleeding varices. Venography 40 days later demonstrated a partially patent stent-graft with fibrin sheath formation distally. The stent-graft was extended distally to the right atrium and was fully patent on venography 3 months later. The patient had no further episodes of hemorrhage.
