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Focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of complete vaginal obstruction caused by chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Facts about GVHD; Description of eight cases of vaginal obstruction due to GVHD; Observations noted from the patients.

A sustainable management of non-renewable metals calls for scientific-ecological understanding of the regional material household. The copper household in the USA between 1900 and 2100 was chosen to illustrate mathematical modelling of such systems. Relatively limited and inaccurate sets of data already allow a first approximation of the metal management system. The copper fluxes of the 20th century have contributed to the formation of two new ore deposits of the same order of magnitude as the currently still available reservoir (90 million tons), i.e. copper stock in consumption products (approx. 70 million tons) and in landfills (approx. 40 million tons). The “landfill”, therefore, contains copper whose potential use is lost due to dilution. The long-term copper consumption stock is greater than the short-term stock. Scenarios show that the current economically mineable Cu-stocks will be exhausted in 30 to 50 years if a change in the existing management system does not occur. In case of a reorientation, the use of copper as a “new resource” in the consumption stocks appears to be the most promising strategy. The future waste management processes will have to increase their copper recycling rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In three limno-corrals of the MELIMEX project the transport paths of the trace metals Cu, Zn, Cd, Hg and Pb and the reaction of the systems on increased metal loads were investigated. The metal balances lead to the conclusion that the biomass is the main factor responsible for the regulation of trace metal concentration. The observed sequence of relative residence times of the trace metals can be described with a steady-state model. Additional metal load decreases the ability of the limnic system to lower the metal concentration. The production of phytoplankton and its assimilation capacity for metals are reduced leading to relatively higher metal concentrations in the lake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The method of material flux analysis is applied as an instrument for the early recognition of environmental problems in an urban region of developing countries. It is shown that, even with poor data quality and quantity, it is possible to apply the method in Tunja, an urban region in Colombia. With sensitivity analysis monitoring points are developed to attain 'early recognition' concerning changes in water quality and quantity in this region. Using the scenario technique it is shown that, owing to the low dilution capacity for sewage in the region, surface water cannot reach the quality of water at a natural state even if technical measures used in industrialized countries are taken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]