Schlussbericht für das Projekt: SPWD-BUSData: Seismic prediction while drilling - bring up seismic data: Teilprojekt 3: Entwicklung, Bau und Tests des Kommunikationssystems, Kanalmessungen. Laufzeit: 01.10.2010 - 30.09.2012, verlängert bis 31.12.2012

To reduce costs for geothermal energy, search for water-bearing fault zones in the rocks hundreds of meters below the ground will be assisted by seismic prediction while drilling (SPWD) enabling control of the drilling direction. The SPWD tool needs higher data rates to the ground In contrast to common mud-pulse telemetry offering few bit/s, our approach is based on acoustic wave propagation along the steel wall of the drill string. Based on waveguide theory, we develop a tractable channel model for drill-string communication predicting the pass- and stopbands created by regular screwjomts between the pipes For data transmission, we use closed-loop adaptive orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) following the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE). Starting with the terrestrial LTE system with 20 MHz bandwidth, we reduced the sample rate by 1,000, shifted the DC carrier to 0 Hz and applied a so-called mirror function x(-f) = conjugate{x(f)) to create a real-valued baseband signal with 10 kHz bandwidth. The LTE frame structure is maintained, but is 1,000 times slower than the original and an acoustic radio frame lasts 10 s Fortunately, all other nice features of LTE, like synchronization, channel estimation, detection and channel coding, are still present. To approach maximum data rate, channel estimation was exploited to enable adapted modulation. In a first experiment over a 4 5 m drill pipe data rates of more than 4 5 kbps were achieved (currently up to 30 kbps) and a second experiment over 55 m (9 drill pipes) allows 3 1 kbps (currently 12 5 kbps). In both cases the bit error rate was below 1%. In a final field trial channel data of drill strings up to 2000 m were measured allowing for simulations with our communication system. These reveal too great pulse delays and too small passbands for our system. Both drawbacks can be remedied by the integration of one component of the new LTE-advance standard (carrier aggregation) With the improved communication system a simulation with the measured channel data for 1040 m shows a data rate of 724 kbps

Multiple-dose pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of Anacetrapib, a potent cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitor, in healthy subjects

Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) is a plasma protein that catalyzes the heteroexchange of cholesteryl esters from high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and trglycerides to apolipoprotein B-containing lipoproteins, especially very low-density lipoproteins (LDL-C).(1,2

Evaluating prescribing competencies and standards used in nurse independent prescribers’ prescribing consultations: An observation study of practice in England

Background: Independent prescribing of medicines by nurses is widely considered to be part of advanced nursing practice, and occurs within an episode of patient care that can be completed independently by a nurse. Nurse prescribers therefore require the competencies necessary to manage a consultation—such as history taking and diagnostic skills—and subsequently need to decide on any appropriate medicine to be prescribed. Safe prescribing should also involve an accurate, legible and comprehensive written prescription and documentation of the consultation in the patient’s records. However, the extent to which nurse independent prescribers use prescribing competencies and standards in practice had not been researched prior to this study. Aim: To describe the frequency with which nurses use a range of prescribing competencies in their prescribing consultations, in order to provide a measure of the quality and safety of nurses’ independent prescribing practices. Design and methods: Across 10 case study sites, 118 nurse independent prescribers’ prescribing consultations were analysed using non-participant observation and a structured checklist of prescribing competencies. Documentary analysis was also undertaken of a) prescriptions written (n =132) by nurses and b) the record of the prescribing episode in patient records (n =118). Sample and setting: 118 prescribing consultations of 14 purposively selected nurse independent prescribers working in primary and secondary care trust case study sites in England. Findings: Nurse independent prescribers were issuing a prescription every 2.82 consultations; nurses used a range of assessment and diagnosis competencies in prescribing consultations, but some were employed more consistently than others; nurses almost universally wrote full and accurate prescription scripts for their patients; nurses recorded each of their prescribing consultations, but some details of the consultation and the prescription issued were not always consistently recorded in the patient records. Conclusion: The findings from this observation study provide evidence about the quality and safety of nurses’ prescribing consultations in England