Verabreichungsmöglichkeit eines NSAID (Meloxicam) kombiniert mit Eisendextran bei der Kastration männlicher Saugferkel

In dieser Studie soll untersucht werden, ob eine kombinierte Applikation von Meloxicam und Eisen möglich ist, um die Ferkel, gleichzeitig mit der Eisengabe, für die Kastration analgetisch zu versorgen. Insgesamt 213 vier Tage alte, klinisch gesunde, männliche Ferkel werden nach Zufallsprinzip einer von acht Versuchsgruppen zugeteilt(Handling (H,1), Kastration (K,2), Kastration Meloxicam- Suspension p.o. (M-S, 3), Kastration Meloxicam- Suspension+Fe p.o. (M-S+Fe, 4), Kastration Meloxicam- Injektionslösung p.o. (M-I oral, 5), Kastration Meloxicam- Injektionslösung+Fe p.o. (M-I+Fe oral, 6), Kastration Meloxicam- Injektionslösung i.m. (M-I i.m., 7), Kastration Meloxicam- Injektionslösung + Fe i.m. (M-I+Fe i.m., 8)). Die Tiere der Gruppe 1 wurden für etwa 30-45 Sekunden lediglich fixiert. Die Kastration der Tiere der Gruppe 2 erfolgte ohne Behandlung. Tiere der Gruppen 3-6, die ihre Behandlung per os erhielten, wurden 30 Minuten nach Verabreichung kastriert. Die Tiere der Gruppen 7 und 8 wurden 15 Minuten nach Behandlung kastriert. Vor, eine, drei und 24 Stunden nach Kastration bzw. Handling wurden Blutproben entnommen und darin die Cortisol- und Eisenkonzentration bestimmt. Von einer weiteren Blutprobe am zehnten Lebenstag wurde nur der Eisenspiegel ermittelt. Aus den Ergebnissen der Cortisoluntersuchung wird deutlich, dass die Werte der Tiere, die nur gehandelt werden (Gruppe 1. Handling), keine deutliche Veränderung der Serumcortisolkonzentration aufweisen. Im Gegensatz dazu führt die Kastration ohne medikamentelle Behandlung zu einem deutlichen Anstieg des Serumcortisols. Die oral verabreichten nichtsteroidalen Antiphlogistika in Form von M-S + Fe oral (4), sowie M-I (5) führen zu einer signifikanten Reduzierung des Cortisolspiegels, im Gegensatz dazu unterscheiden sich die Gruppe M-S oral (3) und Gruppe M-I + Fe oral (6) eine Stunde nach Kastration signifikant im Cortisolspiegel von dem der scheinkastrierten Gruppe (1). Der kastrationsbedingte Schmerz wird somit nicht signifikant reduziert. Die Verabreichung der Meloxicam- Injektionslösung i.m (7) und der Meloxicam- Injektionslösung + Fe i.m (8) hingegen führt zu einer signifikanten Reduktion des Cortisolspiegels eine Stunde nach Kastration im Vergleich zu dem der Gruppe Kastration (2). Das gleiche gilt auch noch drei Stunden nach Kastration für Gruppe 8. Die Ergebnisse bezüglich der Serumeisenkonzentrationen der verschiedenen Versuchsgruppen zeigen, dass alle Kombinationspräparate (Gruppe M-S + Fe oral (4), Gruppe M-I + Fe oral (6), und Gruppe M-I + Fe i.m (8)) eine Erhöhung des Eisenspiegels über den Referenzwert von 18,00 μmol/l gewährleisten. Dabei steigt der Serumeisengehalt nach intramuskulärer Applikation des Kombipräparates jedoch wesentlich deutlicher an, als nach Verabreichung des oralen Kombipräparates. Eine Interaktion von Meloxicam und Eisendextran nach intramuskulärer Applikation konnte nicht festgestellt werden. Außerdem war jeweils zwischen den Gruppen 3 und 4 (M-S oral und M-S + Fe oral), 5 und 6 (M-I oral und M-I + Fe oral) und den Gruppen 7 und 8 (M-I i.m. und M-I + Fe i-m.) kein signifikanter Unterschied und somit keine Beeinflussung des jeweiligen Präparates durch die Kombination erkennbar

Achieving electrical conductive tracks by laser treatment of non-conductive polypropylene/polycarbonate blends filled with MWCNTs

Electrical non-conductive polymer blends consisting of a polypropylene (PP) matrix and dispersed particles of polycarbonate (PC) were melt compounded with 3 wt.% multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) loading and processed into plates by injection molding. The morphological analysis confirmed the selective localization of the MWCNTs in the PC component. By local irradiation with a CO2 laser beam, depending on the laser conditions, conductive tracks with dimensions of about 2 mm width, 80 to 370 μm depth and line resistances as low as 1.5 kΩ · cm-1 were created on the surface of the non-conductive plates. The factors affecting the line resistance are the PC content, the laser speed and laser power, as well as laser direction with respect to the melt flow direction. After the irradiation an enrichment of MWCNTs in the laser lines was detected indicating that conductive paths were generated by percolation of nanotubes selectively within these lines in otherwise non-conductive plates. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Enhancing Flood Impact Analysis using Interactive Retrieval of Social Media Images

The analysis of natural disasters in a timely manner often suffers from limited sensor data. This limitation could be alleviated by leveraging information contained in images of the event posted on social media platforms, so-called “Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI)”. To save the analyst from manual inspection of all images posted online, we propose to use content-based image retrieval with the possibility of relevance feedback for retrieving only relevant images of the event. To evaluate this approach, we introduce a new dataset of 3,710 flood images, annotated by domain experts regarding their relevance with respect to three tasks (determining the flooded area, inundation depth, water pollution). We compare several image features and relevance feedback methods on that dataset, mixed with 97,085 distractor images, and are able to improve the precision among the top 100 results from 55% to 87% after 5 rounds of feedback

Dynamic Modelling of a Hybrid Solar Thermal/Electric Storage System for Application in Residential Buildings

The present paper presents the dynamic modelling of a hybrid thermal/electric energy storage for residential applications. Two systems are considered, which are suitable for application in Continental and Mediterranean climates. Bothsystems are suitable for the provision of heating, cooling and domestic hot water, but the Continental system is optimized for heating and domestic hot water production, whereas the Mediterranean system is optimized for the covering of cooling demands. The models are realized in Dymola/Modelica environment and are structured according to a modular approach, using only self-developed components or open source libraries. An adsorption module, used for thermalenergystorage purposes, a battery pack, used forelectrical storage, latent heat storages and heat pumps are the main components modelled. The integration in sub-system and the typical operation during one day under reference conditions are shown, which prove the successful integration of several sub-module

LTER HAUSGARTEN 2018 - Long-Term Ecological Research in the Fram Strait, Cruise No. MSM77, September 15 - October 13, 2018, Longyearbyen (Svalbard) - Edinburgh (Scotland)

The 77th cruise of the RV MARIA S. MERIAN contributed to various large national and international research and infrastructure projects (FRAM, ARCHES, INTAROS, ICOS, SIOS) as well as to the research programme PACES-II (Polar Regions and Coasts in the changing Earth System) of the Alfred-Wegener-Institute Helmholtz-Center for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). Investigations within Work Package 4 (Arctic sea ice and its interaction with ocean and ecosystems) of the PACES-II programme, aim at assessing and quantifying ecosystem changes from surface waters to the deep ocean in response to the retreating sea ice, and at exploring the most important (feedback) processes determining temporal and spatial variability. Contributions to the PACES-II Work Package 6 (Large scale variability and change in polar benthic biota and ecosystem functions) include the identification of spatial patterns and temporal trends in relevant benthic community functions, and the development of a comprehensive science community reference collection of observational data. Work carried out within WPs 4 and 6 will support the time-series studies at the LTER (Long-Term Ecological Research) observatory HAUSGARTEN (Fig. 1.1), where we document Global Change induced environmental variations on a polar deep-water ecosystem. This work is carried out in close co-operation between the HGF-MPG Joint Research Group on Deep-Sea Ecology and Technology and the PEBCAO Group (Phytoplankton Ecology and Biogeochemistry in the Changing Arctic Ocean) at AWI as well as the working group Microbial Geochemistry at the GEOMAR and the HGF Young Investigators Group SEAPUMP (Seasonal and regional food web interactions with the biological pump)

Variation in monitoring and treatment policies for intracranial hypertension in traumatic brain injury: A survey in 66 neurotrauma centers participating in the CENTER-TBI

Background: No definitive evidence exists on how intracranial hypertension should be treated in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). It is therefore likely that centers and practitioners individually balance potential benefits and risks of different intracranial pressure (ICP) management strategies, resulting in practice variation. The aim of this study was to examine variation in monitoring and treatment policies for intracranial hypertension in patients with TBI. Methods: A 29-item survey on ICP monitoring and treatment was developed based on literature and expert opinion, and pilot-tested in 16 centers. The questionnaire was sent to 68 neurotrauma centers participating in the Collaborative European Neurotrauma Effectiveness Research (CENTER-TBI) study. Results: The survey was completed by 66 centers (97% response rate). Centers were mainly academic hospitals (n = 60, 91%) and designated level I trauma centers (n = 44, 67%). The Brain Trauma Foundation guidelines were used in 49 (74%) centers. Approximately ninety percent of the participants (n = 58) indicated placing an ICP monitor in patients with severe TBI and computed tomography abnormalities. There was no consensus on other indications or on peri-insertion precautions. We found wide variation in the use of first- and second-tier treatments for elevated ICP. Approximately half of the centers were classified as having a relatively aggressive approach to ICP monitoring and treatment (n = 32, 48%), whereas the others were considered more conservative (n = 34, 52%). Conclusions: Substantial variation was found regarding monitoring and treatment policies in patients with traumatic brain injury and intracranial hypertension. The results of this survey indicate a lack of consensus between European neurotrauma centers and provide an opportunity and necessity for comparative effectiveness research