Topical use of aprotinin in open heart operations

Among various pharmacological agents used to reduce bleeding after open-heart operations, high-dose aprotinin therapy seems most promising. However, its long-term effects are still obscure; there is almost always possibility of bypass graft occlusions produced by the hypercoagulable state induced by aprotinin in coronary bypass operations. Topical application of aprotinin into the pericardial cavity could prevent the adverse effects. Fifty patients were prospectively studied to evaluate the effects of topical aprotinin. One million KIU of aprotinin was poured into the pericardial cavity before closure of the sternotomy in group 1 (n = 25). Patients in group 2 (n = 25) served as controls. Total postoperative bleeding was significantly reduced in group 1 when compared with that of group 2 (722.7 +/- 230.8 versus 1,282.6 +/- 225.7 mL; p < 0.01). The use of banked donor blood products was significantly less in group 1 than in group 2 (0.33 +/- 0.67 versus 1.36 +/- 0.86 units; p < 0.01). These results show that topical use of aprotinin reduces post-operative blood loss and need for transfusion. It seems promising and warrants further studies to be done.     

Speed reduction on through roads in Nordrhein-Westfalen.

The paper describes a program of experiments for speed reduction on 28 through roads in Nordrhein-Westfalen. In the process, different measures of construction, design, and traffic control were examined to determine their usefulness to reduce speed and to improve road safety. The need for systematic evaluation of a catalogue of measures partly resulted in unsatisfactory design conceptions for the through roads. The evaluation of the effects of the program has been carried out by use of before-and-after-studies of large extent. The speed measurements show that a distinct speed reduction can be obtained only from selected physical improvements. Measures based on optical effects and traffic signs were found to have very little effect on vehicle speeds. Furthermore, in light of the relatively small number of accidents that occur on the selected facilities, it was not possible to establish the beneficial impact of each specific control measure with statistical certainty. However, the results of the experiment have had an influence on the current definition of new design standards for main urban streets in Germany.     

堤坝渗漏防治技术在社岗防护堤的应用

该文从设计、施工和运行管理等方面介绍了高喷板墙、减压井、充填灌浆以及开挖导渗等技术在飞来峡水利枢纽社岗防护堤中的应用情况,探讨了堤坝渗漏综合防治的技术措施和有关问题。     

Development of an empirical mathematical model for describing and optimizing the hygiene potential of a thermophilic anaerobic bioreactor treating faeces.

Poor sanitation and insufficient disposal of sewage and faeces are primarily responsible for water associated health problems in developing countries. Domestic sewage and faeces are prevalently discharged into surface waters which are used by the inhabitants as a source for drinking water. This paper presents a decentralized anaerobic process technique for handling of such domestic organic waste. Such an efficient and compact system for treating faeces and food waste may be of great benefit for developing countries. Besides a stable biogas production for energy generation, the reduction of bacterial pathogens is of particular importance. In our research we investigated the removal capacity of the reactor concerning pathogens, which has been operated under thermophilic conditions. Faecal coliforms and intestinal enterococci have been detected as indicator organisms for bacterial pathogens. By the multiple regression analysis technique an empirical mathematical model has been developed. The model shows a high correlation between removal efficiency and both, hydraulic retention time (HRT) and temperature. By this model an optimized HRT for defined bacterial pathogens effluent standards can be easily calculated. Thus, hygiene potential can be evaluated along with economic aspects. In this paper not only results for describing the hygiene potential of a thermophilic anaerobic bioreactor are presented, but also an exemplary method to draw the right conclusions out of biological tests with the aid of mathematical tools.