Diagnostic aspects of gonorrhoea

In 1971 an investigation into the epidemiological, clinical, bacteriological and therapeutic aspects of gonorrhoea was started in collaboration with the Bacteriological Laboratory of the University Hospital/Medical Faculty Rotterdam. Jn the framework of this investigation, the data were recorded on optically readable forms. These forms could be processed to punched cards and fed to a computer for storage and processing, and could also be used as such for filing purposes. Jn order to make efficient use of these forms, it now became necessary to standardize the questioning technique used for collection of the epidemiological data, and the methods of clinical examination, bacteriological investigation and treatment. This thesis deals with a part of the data covered by the abovementioned investigation - mainly those parts relating to the diagnostic aspects of gonorrhoea. However, in order to place these aspects in the total framework of the investigation and in order to allow better comprehension of further publications resulting from this thesis, a full description is given of the methods of examination, treatment and follow-up (Chapter I ) , the methods of bacteriological investigation (Chapter II) and the registration and processing of the data (Chapter III). The epidemiological data on the gonorrhoea patients covered by this investigation are also summarized (Chapter IV)

Kinetic Equations for Longwavelength Excitations of the Quark-Gluon Plasma

We show that longwavelength excitations of the quark-gluon plasma are described by simple kinetic equations which represent the exact equations of motion at leading order in $g$. Properties of the so-called ``hard thermal loops'', i.e. the dominant contributions to amplitudes with soft external lines, find in this approach a natural explanation. In particular, their generating functional appears here as the effective action describing long wavelength excitations of the plasma.Comment: January 8, 1993; 8 pages; SPhT/93-

Improved performance of PACE 2 with modified collection system in combination with probe competition assay for detecti

The Gen-Probe PACE 2 assay (GP) in combination with a modified collection system was compared with cell culture (CC) for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in urethral specimens from males. Analysis of discordant results was performed by PCR. The modifications, i.e., application of a more rigid swab type and a 50% reduction in the amount of transport medium, were made to improve the sensitivity of the assay. By using the modified GP on 302 urethral specimens from males, a sensitivity of 89.5% and a specificity of 100% were determined. In addition, performance of a probe competition assay on all GP samples with a result > 0.6 and < 1.0 times the cutoff factor (gray zone) detected three more true-positive samples. The sensitivity of GP in combination with the probe competition assay increased to 94.9%, with a specificity of 100%. This was identical to the performance of CC. The modified GP offers a very sensitive and specific alternative to CC

Experiencing Urban Air Mobility: How Passengers evaluate a simulated flight with an Air Taxi

For the successful development and implementation of novel concepts and technology, the acceptance of potential users is crucial. Therefore, within the project HorizonUAM, we investigated passengers' acceptance of air taxis. One challenge is that not many people have real experiences with urban air mobility (UAM) at the moment and thus requirements formulated by potential users refer to rather abstract concepts. To allow participants to gain realistic impressions of UAM concepts, a Mixed Reality Air Taxi Simulator was set up. It allows participants to experience an inner-city business shuttle flight. A study with 30 participants assessed the information needs and the influence of another person on board on wellbeing in nominal situations (experiment 1) as well as one non-nominal situation (experiment 2). For the latter, participants experienced a re-routing of the flight due to an unavailability of landing sites at the vertidrome. During and after the flights, participants answered questionnaires and extensive interviews were conducted. The study produced first empirical data on relevant factors regarding interaction, information needs and comfort within an air taxi. The findings show that passengers want to be informed about intentions of the vehicle. The presence of a steward on board is not necessary but can increase wellbeing especially during non-nominal situations.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures, 8 table

Influence of volume of sample processed on detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in urogenital samples by PCR

In the present study, it was demonstrated that the sensitivity of the PCR for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis is influenced by the volume of the clinical sample which is processed in the PCR. An adequate sensitivity for PCR was established by processing at least 4%, i.e., 80 microliters, of the clinical sample volume per PCR. By using this preparation procedure, 1,110 clinical samples were evaluated by PCR and by cell culture, and results were compared. After discordant analysis, cell culture resulted in a sensitivity of 79.1% and PCR resulted in a sensitivity of 92.7%. Furthermore, it was shown that treatme

Evaluation of Clearview and Magic Lite tests, polymerase chain reaction, and cell culture for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in urogenital specimens

The Clearview Chlamydia test (CV; Unipath Ltd., Bedford, United Kingdom), the Magic Lite Chlamydia test (ML; CIBA Corning, Medfield, Mass.), a polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and cell culture (CC) were evaluated for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in urogenital specimens. Specimens were collected from 283 men and 724 women visiting the outpatient clinic for Sexually Transmitted Diseases at the University Hospital Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. ML, PCR, and CC were all performed on the same sample to prevent swab-to-swab variability. CV was performed on a separate sample. Analysis of discordant results was performed by application of the following confirmatory assays: first, PCR on th

Assessment of Air Taxi Passenger Acceptance – Implementation and Initial Evaluation of a Mixed Reality Simulator

Urban air mobility paves new ways for public transport modalities like air taxis. To shape the operational concepts and the design of these air taxis, the acceptance and requirements of future passengers should be considered even in early stages of the development process. Within the HorizonUAM project, it is of interest to understand the effects of social presence, e.g. through on-board service personnel, on perceived comfort. These results help to develop concepts, how fully or mainly autonomous operations can be achieved that are accepted by users. As part of HorizonUAM, an air taxi simulator was implemented to assess the aforementioned passenger acceptance with regard to defined key criteria like presence of on-board personnel or amount of presented information. To create an experience that is as close to a real air taxi flight as possible, recent advancements in head-mounted display technology facilitated the creation of a mixed reality simulation. Mixed reality combines advantages of full-flight simulators like human collaboration and use of analog instruments with those of virtual reality simulators that are cost-effective, highly immersive devices for rapid prototyping. This paper reports on the work conducted to define and design such a mixed reality simulation to investigate factors of passenger acceptance. First, functional requirements that were defined for a first study of passenger interaction and comfort are presented, as well as the technical requirements that were derived. Additionally, mixed reality technology should be used for the novel simulator to enable high flexibility. Second, as numerable different setups of mixed reality were possible with state-of-the-art technology, four different setups were compared in a pre-study against each other. The empirical results with regards to experienced immersion are presented. Finally, the conclusion from this study regarding the final setup for the mixed reality simulation are presented

iUSIM - Institutsübergreifende, modulare Urban Mobility Simulationsinfrastruktur

Generische Simulationsmodelle sind essenziell für die Bewertung neuer Konzepte, Verfahren und Methoden im Bereich Luftfahrt und Verkehr und stellen somit einen wesentlichen Bestandteil unserer Forschung dar. Die Institute für Flugführung (FL), Verkehrssystemtechnik (TS) und Softwaretechnologie (SC) verfügen jeweils über fundierte Kenntnisse und Expertisen hinsichtlich verschiedener Simulationstechnologien und -möglichkeiten. Diese wurden im Rahmen des Projektes zusammengetragen und ausgetauscht. Anhand eines Rettungsszenarios steht insbesondere die Verbindung der einzelnen Simulatoren von FL, TS, SC im Fokus dieser Arbeit