ASI-Measuringmethode

Road vehicle restraint systems should considerably reduce the severity of accidents of vehicles leaving the road, and if this is in fact the case, certain criteria have to be adhered to

Evaluating the Impact of Increased Dispensing of Opioid Agonist Therapy Take-Home Doses on Treatment Retention and Opioid-Related Harm among Opioid Agonist Therapy Recipients: A Simulation Study

Modified opioid agonist therapy (OAT) guidelines that were initially introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic allow prescribers to increase the number of take-home doses to fulfill their need for physical distancing and prevent treatment discontinuation. It is crucial to evaluate the consequence of administering higher take-home doses of OAT on treatment retention and opioid-related harms among OAT recipients to decide whether the new recommendations should be retained post-pandemic. This study used an agent-based model to simulate individuals dispensed daily or weekly OAT (methadone or buprenorphine/naloxone) with a prescription over a six-month treatment period. Within the model simulation, a subset of OAT recipients was deemed eligible for receiving increased take-home doses of OAT at varying points during their treatment time course. Model results demonstrated that the earlier dispensing of increased take-home doses of OAT were effective in achieving a slightly higher treatment retention among OAT recipients. Extended take-home doses also increased opioid-related harms among buprenorphine/naloxone-treated individuals. The model results also illustrated that expanding naloxone availability within OAT patients’ networks could prevent these possible side effects. Therefore, policymakers may need to strike a balance between expanding access to OAT through longer-duration take-home doses and managing the potential risks associated with increased opioid-related harms

Acute lid swelling: a series of unusual cases, treatment and follow-up

BACKGROUND: There are many different aetiologies for acute lid swelling, including infection, inflammation, degeneration, tumours and trauma. We present five uncommon cases of acute lid swelling and give an overview of differential diagnoses for rapidly evolving eyelid swelling. HISTORY AND SIGNS: We reviewed the charts of five patients with initial presentation of acute lid swelling. For the five patients, there were diagnoses of Churg Strauss syndrome, an allergic reaction to hyaluronic acid, lymphangioma, a ruptured dermoid cyst and a co-infected pre-existing orbital lesion that was only evident in the follow-up. THERAPY AND OUTCOME: Individual patients required totally different treatments. A ruptured dermoid is a dramatic problem that demands immediate surgical attention. Swelling in sinusitis in a child is just as important, but requires antibiotic treatment, careful follow-up and subsequent treatment of any secondarily infected pre-existing lesion. The less dramatic first presentations were more difficult to diagnose and required protracted observation and immunosuppressive treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The key to success often lies in the assessment of the patient's history and correctly timed surgery. Dramatic first manifestations were often easier to treat than initially low grade lid swelling. Unclear results, such as a low grade eosinophilia, should not be ignored

On the bending angle of aluminum-copper two-layer sheets in laser forming process

The purpose of this paper is to numerically and experimentally investigate with optimized parameters laser thermal bending of aluminum-copper two-layer sheet. Due to the fact that laminated sheets have more ductility and lower manufacturing costs, in this article, the thermal bending behavior of this type of sheet is investigated. For this purpose, the optimal model is obtained using the Taguchi and finite element methods, with respect to the cost functions and the defined levels for the parameters. The effective parameters of the laser forming process such as the scanning speed, the laser beam power, and the laser beam diameter on the aluminum-copper two-layer sheet are optimally determined and subsequently the laser thermal bending of the aluminum-copper two-layer sheet is obtained by experimental tests. The Taguchi method is used to optimize the simulations required for the analysis. The Taguchi method with its own algorithm reduced the number of experiments to 9 design points. These experiments are simulated by the finite element method with a three-dimensional elastoplastic model. Then, to verify the numerical results of these optimized parameters, the samples are fabricated and the effect of optimal parameters on the behavior of this type of the aluminum-copper two-layer sheet is evaluated under experimental tests. The results showed that the laser beam power has a direct relation and the laser beam diameter and scanning speed have an inverse relation with the final bending angle

Cardiac glycosides regulate endothelial tissue factor expression in culture

BACKGROUND: Tissue factor (TF) plays an important role in acute coronary syndromes and stent thrombosis. This study investigates whether Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase regulates TF expression in human endothelial cells. METHODS AND RESULTS: Ouabain inhibited tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha-induced endothelial TF protein expression; maximal inhibition occurred at 10(-5) mol/L, reached more than 70%, and was observed throughout the 5 hours stimulation period. The decrease in protein expression was paralleled by a reduced TF surface activity. Similarly, lowering of extracellular potassium concentration inhibited TNF-alpha-induced TF protein expression. In contrast, ouabain did not affect TNF-alpha-induced expression of full-length TF mRNA for up to 5 hours of stimulation; instead, expression of alternatively-spliced TF mRNA was upregulated after 3 and 5 hours of stimulation. Ouabain did not affect TNF-alpha-induced activation of the MAP kinases p38, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and c-Jun terminal NH(2) kinase; activation of Akt and p70S6 kinase remained unaltered as well. Similar to the MAP kinases, ouabain did not affect TNF-alpha-induced degradation of IkappaB-alpha. Ouabain had no effect on TF protein degradation. CONCLUSIONS: Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase is required for protein translation of endothelial TF in culture. This observation provides novel insights into posttranscriptional regulation of TF expression