Quantification of antithrombin isoform proportions in plasma samples of healthy subjects, sepsis patients, and in antithrombin concentrates

Antithrombin (AT) circulates in plasma in two isoforms, AT-alpha (90-95%) and AT-beta (5-10%). AT isoform proportions were measured in plasma samples of 17 healthy subjects and 26 posttraumatic or postoperative septic patients, as well as in 4 commercially available AT concentrates. Total AT was immune-purified from plasma and concentrates. Micellar electrokinetic chromatography was used to analytically separate and quantify the isoforms. Compared with plasma samples of healthy donors, septic plasmas revealed significantly reduced AT activity (p < 0.001) and beta-isoform content (p < 0.05). AT-beta correlated inversely with urea and creatinine serum concentrations (p < 0.01), indicating a relationship between better renal function and higher beta-isoform content. beta-Isoform neither correlated with age, gender, and 28-day mortality, nor with plasma concentrations of various inflammatory and organ function parameters. The commercial AT concentrate, which is equivalent to the current WHO standard, had an AT-beta content close to that found in plasma of healthy subjects. The availability of this novel quantitative AT isoform assay allows, for the first time, a closer look at the role of AT isoforms in hemostasis and sepsis pathophysiology. Copyright (C) 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel

Monte Carlo aided design of the inner muon veto detectors for the Double Chooz experiment

The Double Chooz neutrino experiment aims to measure the last unknown neutrino mixing angle theta_13 using two identical detectors positioned at sites both near and far from the reactor cores of the Chooz nuclear power plant. To suppress correlated background induced by cosmic muons in the detectors, they are protected by veto detector systems. One of these systems is the inner muon veto. It is an active liquid scintillator based detector and instrumented with encapsulated photomultiplier tubes. In this paper we describe the Monte Carlo aided design process of the inner muon veto, that resulted in a detector configuration with 78 PMTs yielding an efficiency of 99.978 +- 0.004% for rejecting muon events and an efficiency of >98.98% for rejecting correlated events induced by muons. A veto detector of this design is currently used at the far detector site and will be built and incorporated as the muon identification system at the near site of the Double Chooz experiment

A Participatory Process to Develop a Landslide Warning System: Paradoxes of Responsibility Sharing in a Case Study in Upper Austria

During a participatory process in Gmunden, Austria, the organizational and responsibility-sharing arrangements for a landslide warning system proved to be contested issues. While questions on the warning system technology and the distribution of information, including the alarm for evacuation, could be resolved with the support of experts, controversies arose on the financial and legal responsibilities that ensure long-term and effective monitoring for the protection of the landslide-prone community. This paper examines how responsibilities can be shared among the residents, experts, and public authorities during the design and operation of landslide warning systems. In particular, we discuss the outcome and implications of three stakeholder workshops where participants deliberated on warning-system options that, in turn, were based on a discourse analysis of extensive stakeholder interviews. The results of the case study show that an end-user orientation requires the consideration of stakeholder worldviews, interests, and conflicts. Paradoxically, the public did not fully support their own involvement in the maintenance and control of the warning system, but the authorities promoted shared responsibility. Deliberative planning does not then necessarily lead to responsibility sharing, but it proved effective as a platform for information and for shared ownership in the warning syste