Tödliche Arbeitsunfälle im Sektionsgut der Rechtsmedizin Frankfurt am Main 1991 – 2004

Die Zahl der tödlichen Arbeitsunfälle hat im Untersuchungszeitraum von 1991-2004 in absoluten Zahlen kontinuierlich abgenommen. Damit setzt sich ein erfreulicher Trend fort, der auch in Arbeiten aus der Zeit davor festzustellen war und der sich in der vorliegenden Untersuchung genauso wie in der gesamtdeutschen Entwicklung spiegelt. Allerdings stellt sich das Bild etwas anders dar, wenn man diese Zahlen zur ebenfalls stark rückläufigen Zahl der Vollbeschäftigten in den hauptsächlich betroffenen Sparten, d.h. der Baubranche und der gewerblichen Industrie in Beziehung setzt. Vor diesem Hintergrund stellt sich heraus, daß sich ein gewisses Maß an Unfällen wohl trotz verbesserter Arbeitsschutzbedingungen nicht vermeiden läßt und daß die relative Abnahme weit geringer als angenommen ist. Es sind fast ausschließlich Männer, die am Arbeitsplatz tödliche Unfälle erleiden. Allerdings läßt sich die Hypothese, daß dies im männlichen Risikoverhalten begründet sei, nicht erhärten. Vielmehr spiegelt sich darin das Geschlechterverhältnis an unfallgefährdeten Arbeitsplätzen. Der Altersgipfel der Unfallopfer liegt wesentlich höher als dies dem Durchschnitt aller Arbeitnehmer entspräche, so daß von einer deutlich erhöhten Mortalität im höheren Alter ausgegangen werden muß. Die Mortalität ausländischer Arbeitnehmer ist ebenfalls stark erhöht und spiegelt nicht den relativen Anteil von Ausländern an den betroffenen Arbeitsplätzen. Noch mehr zeigt sich dies bei Absturzunfällen, die die größte Gruppe im Hinblick auf den Unfallmechanismus darstellen. Im Jahresverlauf zeigt sich durchweg eine im konstanten Verhältnis zur Zahl der Arbeitnehmer am Arbeitsplatz stehende Anzahl von tödlichen Unfällen. Auch im Verlauf über die Woche kann anhand der vorliegenden Zahlen die früher häufig nachgewiesene erhöhte Montagsmortalität nicht mehr bestätigt werden. Die Mortalität verhält sich proportional zur Zahl der geleisteten Arbeitsstunden. Eine tageszeitliche Schwankung ergibt sich mit einem Gefährdungshöhepunkt zwischen 10:00 und 11:00 Uhr vormittags. Bezüglich der Todesursache zeigte sich, daß besonders Opfer von Absturzunfällen ein stark erhöhtes Risiko haben, an einer Lungenembolie zu versterben, unabhängig von der Sturzhöhe. Sicherheit am Arbeitsplatz ist nach wie vor ein Problem, das es weiter zu verbessern gilt, wenn man die Feststellung berücksichtigt, daß nur in rund einem Viertel aller Unfälle die vorgeschriebenen Sicherheitsmaßnahmen sowohl von Arbeitgeber- wie von Arbeitnehmerseite eingehalten wurden und daß mithin drei Viertel aller Unfälle höchstwahrscheinlich vermeidbar gewesen wären.Absolute numbers of fatal occupational accidents have continuously decreased during the 1991-2004 period examined here. This continues a positive trend, which was already ascertained in the preceeding period. Moreover, the trend is observable in the present sample as well as in the overall development in reunited Germany. However, this picture is somewhat altered if the numbers are subjected to a comparison with the equally decreasing number of those employed full-time in the predominantly affected sectors, such as the building industry and the industrial economy. Viewed against this background, a further decrease of fatal occupational accidents turns out to be unlikely, despite considerably improved conditions of workspace safety, while the relative decrease is much less prominent than expected. It is almost exclusively males who suffer from fatal occupational accidents. The hypothesis, however, that this is due to a particular male risk behaviour, could not be corroborated. Rather, the phenomenon reflects the overall statistical gender ratio at dangerous work places. The age peak of accident casualties is considerably above the average of all employees, pointing towards a decidedly increased mortality at advanced age. Mortality of foreign employees is also distinctly increased, and does not mirror the relative proportion of foreigners employed in the affected work places. This is even more obvious with respect to free-fall accidents, which constitute the largest group among the accident mechanisms. On a yearly average, a constant number of fatal accidents could be observed, if compared to the number of employees at a given work place. Moreover, the much quoted claim of an increased monday mortality could not be confirmed any longer. Mortality is proportional to the number of hours worked. Daytime fluctuation, on the other hand, reaches an endangerment peak between 1000 and 1100 hrs. a.m. As far as the causes of death are concerned, it emerged that victims of free-fall accidents suffer from a strongly increased risk to die from pulmonary embolism, regardless of fall height. Considering the fact that security measures prescribed by law were only heeded in roughly a quarter of the accident cases by employers as well as employees, workspace security continues to be a problem destined for continuous improvement, all the more since it seems likely that three quarters of the accidents could have been avoided

Gesundheitsbezogene Lebensqualität nach Frühgeburt im Grundschulalter: Selbsturteil und elterliches Fremdurteil

"Eine Frühgeburt birgt Risiken für die kindliche Entwicklung. Unsere Studie untersucht, ob sich die gesundheitsbezogene Lebensqualität (gbLQ) früh- und reifgeborener Grundschüler ohne sonderpädagogischen Förderbedarf unterscheidet. Dafür wurden Selbst- und Fremdurteile der gbLQ durch das Inventar zur Erfassung der Lebensqualität bei Kindern und Jugendlichen (ILK; Mattejat/Remschmidt 2006) erhoben. Frühgeborene und deren Eltern beurteilten die gbLQ negativer als die Vergleichsgruppen. Es zeigten sich keine Interaktionseffekte zwischen Geburtsstatus und Beurteilungsperspektive (Selbst- vs. Elternurteil).Alle untersuchten Kinder schätzten unabhängig von ihrem Geburtsstatus ihre gbLQ negativer ein als ihre Eltern. Implikationen für die Nachsorge von Frühgeborenen werden diskutiert." (Autorenreferat)"Prematurity entails well-known risks for child development. Our study investigates whether healthrelated quality of life (HRQL) differs in children born either preterm or full-term without special educational needs who attend primary school. HRQL was assessed using self- and parent proxy-ratings with a Life Quality Inventory (ILK; Mattejat/Remschmidt 2006). Premature children and their parents evaluated HRQL more negatively than the comparison groups. No associations were found, however, between perspective (self vs. parent proxy) and birth status. All children rated their HRQL more negatively than their parents, independent of birth status. Implications for the follow-up of premature children are discussed." (author's abstract

Impact of Shape Change on Capsule Aerodynamics and Shock-wave Boundary Layer Interaction

Blunt capsule shapes have proven to be suitable for atmospheric entry flights on numerous missions. Some concepts like MarcoPolo-R focus on fully passive entry systems without a parachute, demanding for aerodynamic stability of the shape throughout the complete entry flight. These probes are commonly equipped with a Thermal Protection System (TPS) consisting of an ablative material. The recession of the TPS in the early entry flight phase may lead to a significant shape change. The capsule needs to remain aerodynamically stable for a successful mission completion despite these shape changes. Within ESA’s Modshape TRP the aerodynamic impact of the recession on the MarcoPolo-R capsule is investigated experimentally and numerically. Static force and moment measurements in the TMK wind tunnel are a major part of this TRP. The experimental simulations are conducted on the nominal or baseline configuration and two configurations representing the aero shape with the recessed TPS after the hot entry flight phase of different entry scenarios. The flow structure around the capsule is visualised at supersonic Mach numbers by means of schlieren imaging. Under certain conditions, development of a complex shock system on the leeward side of the inclined capsule is observed. Numerical simulations with the DLR TAU code are performed to support the interpretation of the flow phenomena in these cases

Capsule aerodynamics and shock-wave boundary layer interaction (SBLI) in supersonic and transonic flow

Static force and moment measurements are performed on the MarcoPolo-R aero shape in the trisonic wind tunnel TMK. The static stability behaviour of the capsule is characterized in the Mach number range 0.5<= M<= 3.5 reproducing the Mach and Reynolds conditions of the flight trajectory in the supersonic regime. An aerodynamic database is built based on the experimental results. The flow structure around the capsule is visualised in supersonic tests by means of schlieren imaging. Under certain conditions, development of a complex shock system on the leeward side of the inclined capsule is observed. Oil film technique is used to visualise boundary layer phenomena in connection to this shock system. Numerical simulations with the DLR TAU code are performed to support the interpretation of the flow phenomena under these conditions

MRI and neurophysiology in vestibular paroxysmia: contradiction and correlation

Background Vestibular paroxysmia (VP) is defined as neurovascular compression (NVC) syndrome of the eighth cranial nerve (N.VIII). The aim was to assess the sensitivity and specificity of MRI and the significance of audiovestibular testing in the diagnosis of VP. Methods 20 VP patients and, for control, 20 subjects with trigeminal neuralgia (TN) were included and underwent MRI (constructive interference in steady-state, time-of-flight MR angiography) for detection of a NVC between N.VIII and vessels. All VP patients received detailed audiovestibular testing. Results A NVC of N. VIII could be detected in all VP patients rendering a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 65% for the diagnosis of VP by MRI. Distance between brain stem and compressing vessels varied between 0.0 and 10.2 mm. In 15 cases, the compressing vessel was the anterior inferior cerebellar artery (75%, AICA), the posterior inferior cerebellar artery in one (5%, posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA)), a vein in two (10%) and the vertebral artery (10%, VA) in another two cases. Audiovestibular testing revealed normal results in five patients (25%), a clear unilateral loss of audiovestibular function in nine patients (45%) and audiovestibular results with coinstantaneous signs of reduced and increased function within the same nerve in six patients (30%). From the 20 TN patients 7, (35%) showed a NVC of the N. VIII (5 AICA, 1 PICA, 1 vein). Conclusions Only the combination of clinical examination, neurophysiological and imaging techniques is capable of (1) defining the affected side of a NVC and to (2) differentiate between a deficit syndrome and increased excitability in VP

EFESTO-2: European Flexible Heat Shields Advanced TPS Design and Tests for Future In-Orbit Demonstration - 2

EFESTO-2 is an EU-funded project under Horizon Europe that aims to enhance European expertise in Inflatable Heat Shields (IHS). Building on the achievements of the previous EFESTO project (H2020 funds No 821801), EFESTO-2 focuses on advancing key IHS technologies to increase their Technology Readiness Level (TRL). The project pillars include analyzing the business case for IHS applications, exploring additional aspects of IHS, improving tools and models, and establishing a development roadmap for IHS systems. This paper outlines the project objectives and plan, highlighting ongoing and future activities for the next two years, positioning it within the European re-entry technology roadmap. Funding was provided by the European Union's Horizon Europe program (grant agreement No 1010811041)

BIGCHEM: Challenges and Opportunities for Big Data Analysis in Chemistry

The increasing volume of biomedical data in chemistry and life sciences requires the development of new methods and approaches for their handling. Here, we briefly discuss some challenges and opportunities of this fast growing area of research with a focus on those to be addressed within the BIGCHEM project. The article starts with a brief description of some available resources for “Big Data” in chemistry and a discussion of the importance of data quality. We then discuss challenges with visualization of millions of compounds by combining chemical and biological data, the expectations from mining the “Big Data” using advanced machine-learning methods, and their applications in polypharmacology prediction and target de-convolution in phenotypic screening. We show that the efficient exploration of billions of molecules requires the development of smart strategies. We also address the issue of secure information sharing without disclosing chemical structures, which is critical to enable bi-party or multi-party data sharing. Data sharing is important in the context of the recent trend of “open innovation” in pharmaceutical industry, which has led to not only more information sharing among academics and pharma industries but also the so-called “precompetitive” collaboration between pharma companies. At the end we highlight the importance of education in “Big Data” for further progress of this area