Co-Firing of Natural Gas with Wood Dust Experimental Test Runs

Co-Firing biomass in the form of wood dust or sawdust with natural gas is a new concept, which was performed in a specialized burner from the Riga Technical University. In order to test the burner, primary experimental test runs were performed to get an overview of flue gas behaviour. The addition of sawdust increased CO values but O2 values remained very low in the flue gases. This was due to technical problems with the fuel. Co-Firing has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions of energy production and wood dust is an abundant by-product of forestry, therefore the potential has to be explored in future research

Artificial intelligence for road asset management

Als Grundlage für die im Zuge der Verkehrswende anfallenden Planungs- und Entscheidungsprozesse werden aktuelle und digitale Daten des Straßenraums benötigt. Mobile-Mapping-Systeme sind in der Lage, solche raumbezogenen Daten schnell, genau und flächendeckend zu erfassen. Die anfallenden Datenmengen sind dabei jedoch erheblich und der Zeitaufwand für eine manuelle Analyse durch Personen mit entsprechender Expertise immens. Daher ist eine Automatisierung wünschenswert. Der vorliegende Beitrag gibt einen praxisbezogenen Überblick über Anwendungsmöglichkeiten für Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) im Themenbereich Straßenraumerfassung. Aufbauend auf einer thematischen Einführung in Mobile Mapping und KI werden ausgewählte Anwendungen vorgestellt, bei denen KI-Ansätze typische Prozesse der Straßenraumdatenverarbeitung unterstützen und beschleunigen können.As a basis for the planning and decision-making processes that arise in the process of the traffic transition, current and digital data of the road and its surroundings is needed. Mobile mapping systems are able to record such spatial data quickly, accurately and comprehensively. However, the amount of data is significant and the time required for manual analysis by experts is immense, so automation is desirable. This article gives a practical overview of possible applications for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the field of road asset managment. After a short introduction to mobile mapping and AI, selected applications are presented in which AI approaches can support and accelerate typical processes of road space data processing

APOS—antibiotic prophylaxis for preventing infectious complications in orthognathic surgery: study protocol for a phase III, multicentre, randomised, controlled, double blinded, clinical trial with two parallel study arms

Background!#!It is a constant debate among surgeons whether the use of prolonged postoperative antibiotics may reduce surgical site infection rates. As specific treatment guidelines are still lacking, many surgeons continue to use broad-spectrum antibiotics, causing not only increased costs but also contributing to the potential for antibiotic resistance. Hence, there is an urgent need for an appropriately designed prospective clinical trial, to investigate whether a prophylactic use of antibiotics after surgery actually decreases surgical site infections to a clinically relevant degree.!##!Methods!#!This study presents a multicentre, randomised, controlled, double-blinded, clinical trial with two parallel study arms to demonstrate that no postoperative antibiotic prophylaxis (AP) is not inferior to antibiotic prophylaxis with respect to surgical site infections in patients having undergone orthognathic surgery. The primary efficacy endpoint is defined as the occurrence of postoperative surgical site infections within 30 days of surgery. Secondary endpoints are further efficacy and subject-oriented parameters within 90 days after surgery. The entire trial is planned for 54 months, with an enrolment of 1420 patients over 39 months by 14 national participating centres.!##!Discussion!#!As a highly standardised procedure on an exceeding, healthy and young homogenous study population and identical processes all over the world, elective orthognathic surgery as clean-contaminated procedure provides comparable intervention groups with balanced baseline characteristics, comparable surgical duration, even when performed within multiple centres. Therefore, evaluating antibiotic prophylaxis after orthognathic surgery will be of high scientific value representable for other surgical procedures.!##!Trial registration!#!DRKS-German Clinical Trials Register- DRKS00022838 ; EudraCT No. 2020-001397-30. Registered on 29 March 2021

The presence of iodinated contrast agents amplifies DNA radiation damage in computed tomography

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of iodinated contrast agents on the formation of DNA double-strand breaks in vitro in lymphocytes and to verify these results in patients undergoing diagnostic computed tomography examinations. Blood samples were irradiated in vitro in the presence of iodinated X-ray contrast agent. Controls were irradiated without contrast agent. Fourteen patients were investigated using contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT), and 14 other patients with unenhanced CT. Blood samples were taken prior to and 5 min and 1, 2 and 24 h after the CT examination. In these blood samples the average number of γH2Ax-foci per lymphocyte was enumerated by fluorescence microscopy. Statistical differences between foci numbers developed in the presence and absence of contrast agent were tested using an independent sample t-test. In vitro foci numbers after irradiation were significantly higher when contrast agent was present during irradiation. In vivo, γH2Ax-foci levels were 58% higher in patients undergoing contrast-enhanced CT compared with those undergoing unenhanced CT. In the presence of iodinated contrast agents DNA, damage is increased and the radiation dose is not the only factor affecting the amount of DNA damage. Individual patient characteristics and biological dosimetry applications, e.g. the analysis of γH2Ax-foci, have to be considered

Structural basis and mechanism for metallochaperone-assisted assembly of the CuA center in cytochrome oxidase

ISSN:2375-254

Robotic versus open partial pancreatoduodenectomy (EUROPA): a randomised controlled stage 2b trialResearch in context

Summary: Background: Open partial pancreatoduodenectomy (OPD) represents the current gold standard of surgical treatment of a wide range of diseases of the pancreatic head but is associated with morbidity in around 40% of cases. Robotic partial pancreatoduodenectomy (RPD) is being used increasingly, yet, no randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of RPD versus OPD have been published, leaving a low level of evidence to support this practice. Methods: This investigator-initiated, exploratory RCT with two parallel study arms was conducted at a high-volume pancreatic centre in line with IDEAL recommendations (stage 2b). Patients scheduled for elective partial pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) for any indication were randomised (1:1) to RPD or OPD with a centralised web-based tool. The primary endpoint was postoperative cumulative morbidity within 90 days, assessed via the Comprehensive Complication Index (CCI). Biometricians were blinded to the intervention, but patients and surgeons were not. The trial was registered prospectively (DRKS00020407). Findings: Between June 3, 2020 and February 14, 2022, 81 patients were randomly assigned to RPD (n = 41) or OPD (n = 40), of whom 62 patients (RPD: n = 29, OPD: n = 33) were analysed in the modified intention to treat analysis. Four patients in the OPD group were randomised, but did not undergo surgery in our department and one patient was excluded in the RPD group due to other reason. Nine patients in the RPD group and 3 patients in the OPD were excluded from the primary analysis because they did not undergo PD, but rather underwent other types of surgery. The CCI after 90 days was comparable between groups (RPD: 34.02 ± 23.48 versus OPD: 36.45 ± 27.65, difference in means [95% CI]: −2.42 [−15.55; 10.71], p = 0.713). The RPD group had a higher incidence of grade B/C pancreas-specific complications compared to the OPD group (17 (58.6%) versus 11 (33.3%); difference in rates [95% CI]: 25.3% [1.2%; 49.4%], p = 0.046). The only complication that occurred significantly more often in the RPD than in the OPD group was clinically relevant delayed gastric emptying. Procedure-related and overall hospital costs were significantly higher and duration of surgery was longer in the RPD group. Blood loss did not differ significantly between groups. The intraoperative conversion rate of RPD was 23%. Overall 90-day mortality was 4.8% without significant differences between RPD and OPD. Interpretation: In the setting of a very high-volume centre, both RPD and OPD can be considered safe techniques. Further confirmatory multicentre RCTs are warranted to uncover potential advantages of RPD in terms of perioperative and long-term outcomes. Funding: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF: 01KG2010)