End of life and termination of life: opinions of elderly persons with health problems

OBJECTIVE: To determine the views of elderly persons with physical limitations about a number of aspects of the end stage of life and termination of life. DESIGN: Enquiry. SETTING: University of Groningen, the Netherlands. METHOD: An enquiry was conducted in 1995 among 575 elderly (429 females, 146 males; age 57-99 years; 281 living alone) with physical restrictions (mostly heart disease, hypertension, rheumatism or other articular diseases). The group had been selected from the 'Groningen longitudinal aging study'. The respondents were asked (a) what they thought about euthanasia, (b) whether they worried about the end stage of life, (c) whether they were afraid of death and how much they were 'preoccupied with death'. For the last-mentioned two questions a visual analogue scale was used. RESULTS: Almost one-third of the elderly were not preoccupied with death and over half were not afraid of death. Very few scored high on these scales. Respondents' views about the acceptability of active termination of life varied greatly: almost half were of the opinion that their life had to be terminated once they themselves had developed complete dementia. Regarding the end stage of life, respondents mostly worried about being a burden to others, being completely dependent on others, having to say goodbye to their loved ones and having to suffer greatly. Elderly persons with poorer health were more preoccupied with death and worried more about the problems of the end stage of life. CONCLUSION: Most of those interviewed were not greatly preoccupied with or afraid of death. They did worry, however, about the problems that might be associated with the end stage of life.     

A two-dimensional numerical model of a single-electron transistor

A two-dimensional numerical model of a single-electron transistor is suggested. It is based on the numerical solution to Poisson’s equation and makes it possible to calculate a potential distribution and currentvoltage characteristics (CVCs) of the transistor in dependence of its design, process, and electrophysical parameters. Model results agree well with experimental data.     

A single-electron transistor model based on a numerical solution of the poisson equation

A numerical model of a single-electron metal transistor is proposed based on a solution of the Poisson equation. The model provides a good agreement with experimental data on the current-voltage characteristics obtained at nonzero temperatures in the ambient medium.     

Mathematical model of a turbogenerator in a frequency-chronometric representation

A mathematical model has been constructed to interpret the results of time-motion studies of turbogenerators. The model accounts for the mechanical vibrations of the system and the electromechanical processes that take place in the generator. The reactions of the system to different disturbances are studied. Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 4, pp. 34–37, April, 1998.     

Pulmonary and systemic fat embolization after medullary canal pressurization: a hemodynamic and histologic investigation in the dog

BACKGROUND: The potential to produce fat embolism may be important in determining the ideal method and timing of fracture treatment in patients with preexisting lung injury. METHODS: Four dogs underwent femoral and tibial canal reaming and pressurization. Blood gas samples were analyzed, and pulmonary arterial pressure was monitored at 1 and 72 hours. Animals were killed 72 hours postoperatively, and the lungs, kidneys, and brain were examined histologically and compared with equivalent specimens from four control dogs that had not undergone femoral and tibial canal reaming and pressurization. RESULTS: Postmortem, intravascular fat persisted for 72 hours after induction of pulmonary fat embolism. Mean PaO2 was unchanged from baseline at 72 hours after canal pressurization. Canal pressurization caused a sustained increase in pulmonary arterial pressure (p=0.02) for 1 hour after canal pressurization. The mean pulmonary edema score at 72 hours was 29+/-3. Only a scant polymorph infiltrate (zero to two polymorphs per high-power field) was present at any time. No hyaline membranes were seen at any time. The percentage area occupied by intravascular fat in the lungs was 0.0214+/-0.0058 at 72 hours. No signs of ischemia or inflammation were seen in either the cerebral or the renal specimens. CONCLUSION: This study is the first to show that intravascular fat persists in the lungs, kidneys, and brain for 72 hours after canal pressurization and, by itself, does not cause pathologic evidence of acute inflammation.     

Amplification of fluorescent in situ hybridisation signals in formalin fixed paraffin wax embedded sections of colon tumour using biotinylated tyramide

Fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) is a powerful tool for the evaluation of chromosomal alterations in formalin fixed paraffin wax embedded sections of colorectal cancer. However, initial experiments using a two-step detection system for digoxigenin labelled chromosome specific centromeric probes resulted in a complete lack of hybridisation signal from a number of colorectal tumour sections. This was due to high levels of background autofluorescence observed in this tissue, which masked any relatively weak hybridisations present. To overcome this problem, a biotinylated tyramide mediated amplification system was incorporated into the FISH detection protocol. This involves the use of horseradish peroxidase to activate the biotinylated tyramide, resulting in the deposition of a large number of biotin molecules at the site of bound peroxidase, which corresponds directly to the location of hybridised probe. Final detection was by means of a streptavidin-FITC conjugate. Using this technique, a panel of 11 colorectal tumour samples studied to date have shown strong, specific hybridisation signals to the nucleus of tumour cells. Amplification of FISH signals by biotinylated tyramide has the potential to improve weak hybridisation signals in cells from numerous sources, using a variety of probe types, including single copy gene probes as well as centromere specific probes.     

Treatment of linea alba hernia and diastasis of rectus abdominis

The asynchronous development of structural and metabolic disorders of aponeurosis, leading to the development of defects in sheath of the rectus abdominis is the major factor of hernia of linea alba formation. Development of diastasis of m. rectus abdominis is caused by primary structural and metabolic changes of myocytes caused by the extreme overload. The important factor of the operation is restoration of anatomic and physiologic parameters of the abdominal wall by bringing mm. rectus abdominis together, shortening and enforsing of aponeurosis makes it possible to distribute regularly the load on the aponeurotic sheath of musculi recti.     

Sesame oil in injectable gold: two drugs in one?

To investigate the potential anti-inflammatory effects of sesame oil, which is present in the injectable gold preparation Auromyose, the synthesis of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) by in vitro stimulated blood cells was measured before, during and after 12 weeks of dietary supplementation with 18 g of sesame oil daily in 11 healthy male volunteers. Neither TNF-alpha, PGE2 nor LTB4 production levels showed statistically significant changes during the 12 weeks of dietary supplementation with sesame oil. These results do not suggest an anti-inflammatory effect of sesame oil as present in injectable gold preparations which are used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.