New possibilities of Consteel furnaces

The disadvantages of Consteel electric furnaces, which are mainly caused by the low efficiency of heating of a charged metal scrap by effluent furnace gases, are considered. A new concept of an electric-arc furnace with scrap heating on a conveyer by powerful burners, which provide fast scrap heating to 800°C, is proposed. As follows from calculations, the capacity of such a furnace increases substantially, the specific electric power consumption decreases, and the emission of toxic substances into the atmosphere decreases as compared to the existing Consteel furnaces.     

New possibilities for the use of control computers in a heat- treatment department with bell-type furnaces

Novolipetsk Metallurgical Combine. Translated from Metallung, No. 1, pp, 34–35, January, 1990.     

铝型材生产大帽处理的新方法

本文分析了铝型材生产中"压大帽"形成的原因,结合本单位(原甘肃铝业集团铝型材厂)生产实际,提出了处理的新方法,并介绍了其实践效果.     

New preventive possibilities in HIV infection]

The most important preventive measures against accidental HIV infection in health care are the education of personnel and the observance of routine procedures in everyday work. In this way, the accidental infection rate can be reduced by more than 50 per cent. Consistent registration of the causes of accidental infection can further reduce work-related risks. In January, the Danish authorities issued guidelines for the use of antiviral chemoprophylaxis against HIV infection following occupational exposure. A four-week course of triple-drug anti-retroviral prophylaxis is recommended to prevent HIV infection in causes of needle-stick or other penetration injuries.     

New diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities in neonatal sepsis

Neonatal sepsis remains a major clinical problem in neonatology, with high morbidity and mortality rates. The host defence against infections is immature in the newborn infant, and this makes the child more susceptible to invasive infection. The neutrophil storage pool and various granulocyte functions are impaired. In addition, the levels of immunoglobulins and complement are low. The detection of raised levels of complement activation products and cytokines may be of diagnostic help at an early stage of neonatal infection. Rapid treatment with antibiotics is essential for a favourable outcome. Possible adjuvant treatment may be to reduce the relative immunodeficiency by giving immunoglobulins or colony-stimulating factors which increase the production of leukocytes. Further, the potent inflammatory reaction initiated by the microorganisms may be suppressed by various therapies. In spite of much research in this field, no such adjuvant treatment has so far been shown to improve the outcome of neonatal sepsis.     

Aromatase inhibitors--new possibilities in treatment of breast carcinoma

Aromatase inhibition is now an acknowledged second line treatment modality for advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Aminoglutethimide is an inhibitor of adrenal steroid biosynthesis and blocks the conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolone, and therefore reduces levels of adrenal androgens, which are a source of estrogens in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Aminoglutethimide has produced antitumor response rates of 35% in unselected patients, most of whom have undergone prior therapy with either chemotherapy or hormonal manipulation. As is true of other hormonal responses, high response rates of up to 70% are observed in patients who are ER and/or PR positive. The reason why these drugs are currently used after tamoxifen is mainly due to the side effects of aminoglutethimide, which impairs the mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid synthesis. New, less toxic compounds appear, which block the conversion of androstenedione to estrone and efficiently suppress plasma estrogen levels., e.g. formestane, anastrozole and letrozole. Aromatase inhibitors are now being compared to tamoxifen as first-line endocrine treatment in relapsing patients. If these trials confirm a similar or better response rate to new aromatase inhibitors compared to tamoxifen, the time will come to study them as the first line adjuvant treatment in non-metastatic disease.     

Gauging possibilities for action based on friction underfoot.

Standing and walking generate information about friction underfoot. Five experiments examined whether walkers use such perceptual information for prospective control of locomotion. In particular, do walkers integrate information about friction underfoot with visual cues for sloping ground ahead to make adaptive locomotor decisions? Participants stood on low-, medium-, and high-friction surfaces on a flat platform and made perceptual judgments for possibilities for locomotion over upcoming slopes. Perceptual judgments did not match locomotor abilities: Participants tended to overestimate their abilities on low-friction slopes and underestimate on high-friction slopes (Experiments 1-4). Accuracy improved only for judgments made while participants were in direct contact with the slope (Experiment 5), highlighting the difficulty of incorporating information about friction underfoot into a plan for future actions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)