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The European XFEL requires long and ultraflat X-ray mirrors of high precision for the beam offset and distribution system [Altarelli et al. (2006), XFEL Technical Design Report, DESY 2006-097. DESY, Hamburg, Germany]. A general specification of the beam transport mirrors is a length of up to 950 mm and an optical surface with a deviation from a perfectly flat surface of

BACKGROUND: Diagnosis of a surgical site infection (SSI) in dermatologic surgery can be entirely based on a subjective assessment according to the 4th criterion of the most common definition of an SSI, which was established by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC).OBJECTIVES: To investigate the interobserver agreement between dermatologists in their diagnosis of SSI of dermatosurgical wounds.METHODS: An international electronic photographic survey with eight photographs of wounds 1 week after full-thickness skin grafting (FTSG) was sent to dermatologists. All wounds were assessed in terms of visual criteria beforehand. Data collected from respondents included physician characteristics and experience, and SSI assessments of all wounds.RESULTS: A total of 393 dermatologists from 27 countries enrolled. Most respondents were from the United States (25%), followed by Sweden (24%) and the United Kingdom (13%). There was only a slight interobserver agreement on SSI suspicion (κ = 0·19). SSI suspicion was lower for male physicians (P = 0·03), board-certified dermatologists (P = 0·001), physicians regularly assessing surgical wounds (P = 0·03), and physicians performing FTSG (P < 0·001). Swedish physicians diagnosed more SSIs than US physicians (P = 0·002). Erythema was more common in cases with higher SSI suspicion.CONCLUSION: This study reveals a broad inter-rater variability in the diagnosis of SSI, illustrating the need for novel objective diagnostic methods that can better capture the variables that constitute an SSI. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. (Less)

Chronic wounds are a health problem that have devastating consequences for patients and contribute major costs to healthcare systems and societies. To understand the magnitude of this health issue, a systematic review was undertaken. Searches were conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, EBM Reviews and Cochrane library, CINAHL, EBSCO, PsycINFO, and Global Health databases for articles published between 2000 and 2015. Included publications had to target adults (≥18 years of age), state wound chronicity (≥3 weeks) and/or label the wounds as chronic, complex, hard-to-heal, or having led to an amputation. The review excluded studies that did not present data on generic health-related quality of life and/or cost data, case studies, randomized controlled trials, economic modeling studies, abstracts, and editorials. Extracted data were summarized into a narrative synthesis, and for a few articles using the same health-related quality of life instrument, average estimates with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Thirty articles met the inclusion criteria. Findings revealed that health-related quality of life was lowest for physical pathologies, and based on average estimates were scores most inferior in the domain physical role for both patients with chronic wounds and for those with wound-related amputations. The cost burden was mainly attributed to amputations for patients also comorbid with diabetes, where the cost for hospitalization ranged from US$12,851 to US$16,267 (median) for this patient group. Patients with chronic wounds have poor health-related quality of life in general and wound-related costs are substantial. Development and implementation of wound management strategies that focus on increasing health-related quality of life and effectively reduce costs for this patient group are urgently needed.

Wound infection is a common and serious medical condition with an unmet need for improved diagnostic tools. A peptidomic approach, aided by mass spectrometry and bioinformatics, could provide novel means of identifying new peptide biomarkers for wound healing and infection assessment. Wound fluid is suitable for peptidomic analysis since it is both intimately tied to the wound environment and is readily available. In this study we investigate the peptidomes of wound fluids derived from surgical drainages following mastectomy and from wound dressings following facial skin grafting. By applying sorting algorithms and open source third party software to peptidomic label free tandem mass spectrometry data we provide an unbiased general methodology for analyzing and differentiating between peptidomes. We show that the wound fluid peptidomes of patients are highly individualized. However, differences emerge when grouping the patients depending on wound type. Furthermore, the abundance of peptides originating from documented antimicrobial regions of hemoglobin in infected wounds may contribute to an antimicrobial wound environment, as determined by in silico analysis. We validate our findings by compiling literature on peptide biomarkers and peptides of physiological significance and cross checking the results against our dataset, demonstrating that well-documented peptides of immunological significance are abundant in infected wounds, and originate from certain distinct regions in proteins such as hemoglobin and fibrinogen. Ultimately, we have demonstrated the power using sorting algorithms and open source software to help yield insights and visualize peptidomic data.

Wound infections are significant challenges globally, and there is an unmet need for better diagnosis of wound healing status and infection. The wound healing process is characterized by proteolytic events that are the result of basic physiological processes involving coagulation and complement activation, but also dysfunctional activations by endogenous and bacterial proteases. Peptides, downstream reporters of these proteolytic actions, could therefore serve as a promising tool for diagnosis of wound healing and infection. In the present study, we demonstrate a method for the characterisation of the complete peptidome of human wound fluids. We compare acute non-infected wound fluids obtained post-surgery with plasma samples and find significantly higher protein and peptide numbers in wound fluids, which typically were also smaller in size as compared to plasma-derived peptides. Finally, we analyse wound fluids collected from dressings after facial skin graft surgery and compare three uninfected and normally healing surgical wounds with three inflamed and S. aureus infected wounds. The results identify unique peptide patterns of various selected proteins including coagulation and complement factors, as well as proteases and antiproteinases. Together, the work defines a workflow for analysis of peptides derived from human wound fluids and demonstrate a proof-of-concept that such wound fluids can be used for analysis of qualitative differences of peptide patterns derived from wound fluids on larger patient cohorts, providing novel biomarkers for wound healing and infection.

Background: A surgical site infection (SSI) is believed to be the result of an exaggerated inflammatory response. Objective: Examine the relationship between clinical status and inflammation biomarkers in full-thickness skin grafting wounds. Methods: Twenty patients planned for facial full-thickness skin grafting were enrolled. A week after surgery, all graft wounds were clinically assessed using a 3-step scale for inflammation (low, moderate, high). All wounds were swabbed for routine microbiological analysis and assessment of numbers of aerobic bacteria. Tie-over dressings from all patients were collected and used for wound fluid extraction and subsequent analysis of MMPs, cytokines, and NF-kappa B inducing activity. Results: Wounds with a high degree of inflammation contained increased total MMP activity (P

The Materials Imaging and Dynamics (MID) station is located at the SASE2 undulator beamline of European XFEL and has become operational in 2019. The MID instrument operates in the medium to hard X-ray range (5 - 25 keV) and its scientific focus is on time-resolved coherent X-ray scattering and diffraction studies in materials science, with particular interest in ultrafast pump-probe experiments where the pump can be either X-rays, an optical laser beam or a pulsed magnetic field. The optical setup of the MID instrument includes two vertically offset mirrors equipped with cryogenic cooling. The top mirror will be employed for grazing incidence experiments on liquid surfaces, and the bottom mirror will be used to spatially overlap two split beams generated by a “split and delay” line. The mirrors are 500 mm long and are coated with boron carbide (B4C) and platinum (Pt) in two adjacent stripes. Deterministic mirror polishing is done to compensate the gravitational sag in order to achieve a perfectly flat mirror when it is installed. The requirements were very challenging for the surface shape and the needed ion-beam deterministic polishing, so also the coating process had to be performed and monitored with particular care. We present the metrological characterization of the mirrors, carried out before and after the B4C and Pt coating, and performed with a large aperture Fizeau interferometer. The measurements were made at European XFEL’s metrology lab in grazing incidence setup and with the mirrors facing sideways. Analyzing these data, we can deduce many important parameters, as the peak-to-valley of the central profile, the bending radius, and the gravity compensation profile. We show metrological results before and after coating and give details about the calculations performed to decide whether the mirror shapes are still complying with specifications after all these processes.

Bacterial biofilm and the S. aureus derived protease, staphopain, are present on the skin surface of patients with atopic dermatitis

This article shows the extension of an empirical model for the numeric calculation of the spread during rolling Freiberg in calibres developed at TU Bergakademie to Mg alloys AZ31, AZ81 und WE43.The material independent foundations were developed at the Institute of Metal Forming at TU Bergakademie Freiberg.The Freiberger spread model has, through numerous rolling trials and examinations of the material flow, been broadened. Furthermore, the results of the calculations were compared with these trials.The Freiberger model for spread takes the geometrical input and output parameters into consideration, as well as the material flow, the deformation rate v, the deformation temperature θ, the chemical composition of the material Cw, longitudinal tension CL, and friction Cμ between the rolling stock and rolls. And it further considers the diagonal ratio CA∗aKNn of the box pass and the filling ratio of the box pass m.

Mycosis fungoides (MF) is a primary cutaneous T-cell lymphoma with slow disease progression. There is a lack of descriptive data from Sweden concerning patients with this diagnosis. This study extracted data on patients admitted to the dermatology department at Lund University Hospital, Sweden from 1996 to 2010. Forty-four patients with clinically and histopathologically verified MF were identified during the period, with a mean follow-up time of 5.6 years. Median age at initial diagnosis was 64 years. In several cases other skin diseases preceded MF onset, such as non-specific dermatitis (32%) and parapsoriasis (30%). The majority of patients (86%, n = 38) had limited-stage (IA–IB) disease at the time of diagnosis. Overall response rate to psoralen plus ultraviolet A (PUVA) treatment was 81%. In adnexal MF, a trend to higher rate of progression to an advanced stage was observed when compared with non-adnexal disease (40% and 21%, respectively). Increased levels of soluble interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptor correlated with disease stage, being elevated in advanced stages or adnexal disease, but almost never elevated in early non-adnexal limited-stage disease. Overall mortality was 25%, but only 11% could be verified as caused by MF. Published version

Tuberculosis has been reaffirmed as the infectious disease causing most deaths in the world. Co-infection with HIV and the increase in multi-drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains complicate treatment and increases mortality rates, making the development of new drugs an urgent priority. In this study we have identified a promising candidate by screening antimicrobial peptides for their capacity to inhibit mycobacterial growth. This non-toxic peptide, NZX, is capable of inhibiting both clinical strains of M. tuberculosis and an MDR strain at therapeutic concentrations. The therapeutic potential of NZX is further supported in vivo where NZX significantly lowered the bacterial load with only five days of treatment, comparable to rifampicin treatment over the same period. NZX possesses intracellular inhibitory capacity and co-localizes with intracellular bacteria in infected murine lungs. In conclusion, the data presented strongly supports the therapeutic potential of NZX in future anti-TB treatment. Funding Agencies|UK Medical Research Council; Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation [20150733]; Alfred Osterlunds Foundation; Royal Physiographic Society of Lund; Swedish Research Council; European Unions Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) [604182]

SASE1 is the first beamline of the European XFEL that became operational in 2017. It consists of the SASE1 undulator system, the beam transport system, and the two scientific experiment stations: Single Particles, Clusters, and Biomolecules and Serial Femtosecond Crystallography (SPB/SFX), and Femtosecond X-ray Experiments (FXE). The beam transport system comprises mirrors to offset and guide the beam to the instruments and a set of X-ray optical components to align, manipulate and diagnose the beam. The SASE1 beam transport system is described here in its initial configuration, and results and experiences from the first year of user operation are reported.

is missing (Editorial)

Carbonic anhydrases are ubiquitously expressed enzymes that reversibly hydrate carbon dioxide to bicarbonate and protons. While the main function of carbonic anhydrases is to regulate pH and osmotic balance, their involvement in other physiological processes remains to be explored. This study analysed changes in mRNA and protein levels of carbonic anhydrase II in human primary keratinocytes treated with various toll-like receptor agonists and cytokines. A significant upregulation of carbonic anhydrase II at the mRNA and protein levels was observed upon treatment with polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid, a toll-like receptor 3 agonist. Furthermore, in agreement with the increased expression of carbonic anhydrase II in atopic dermatitis skin, carbonic anhydrase II was upregulated by the Th2 cytokines interleukins -4 and -13. In conclusion, these results suggest a potential role of carbonic anhydrase II in Th2-dependent and toll-like receptor 3-induced pathways in inflammatory skin conditions.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are evolutionarily old components of innate immunity. AMPs identified in human skin include defensins, cathelicidin, dermcidin, psoriasin, and RNase7 (1, 2). Some AMPs, such as the human cathelicidin peptide LL-37, are upregulated during inflammation in skin (1). Various microbes colonize the hair follicular canal, and various AMPs may modulate their population and composition (3, 4). It is not known whether the hair shaft per se contains functionally active antimicrobials. MOE (Min. of Education, S’pore) Published version

Purpose Chronic wounds are a major public health challenge, but little is known about the true burden with studies reporting different estimates because of disparities in study designs and measurement methods. This hampers efficient resource allocation, planning, and improvement of wound care. Methods Our study aimed to pool prevalence estimates from a global perspective by systematically carrying out searches in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, CINAHL, Global Health, and PsycINFO databases for articles reporting the prevalence of chronic wounds in adults, from January 2000 to June 2018. The included publications had to define wound chronicity by duration (≥3 weeks), and/or labeling the wounds as chronic, complex, or hard-to-heal. Results Seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria, and 11 studies analyzing chronic wounds in the general population were included in random effects meta-analyses to calculate pooled prevalence. Chronic wounds of mixed etiologies (n = 3) showed a pooled prevalence of 2.21 per 1000 population, and for chronic leg ulcers (n = 9), the prevalence was estimated at 1.51 per 1000 population. Conclusions Our findings, aligned to previous studies reporting point prevalence of chronic wounds identified within the healthcare system, showed that the vast majority of chronic wounds in epidemiological studies are made up by chronic leg ulcers.

The term “chronic wound” was first used in the literature in the 1950s, to refer to wounds that were difficult to heal or did not follow a normal healing process (1, 2). However, the term has met criticism for its uncertainty regarding the duration of chronicity (3). Various alternative terminologies have been suggested, such as hard-to-heal wounds, difficult to heal wounds, non-healing wounds and complex wounds (4, 5). “Chronic wounds” are commonly defined as “wounds that have not proceeded through an orderly and timely reparation to produce anatomic and functional integrity after 3 months” (6). However, Martin & Nunan (7) defined a “chronic wound” as a barrier defect that has not healed in 3 months, and Leaper & Durani (8) defined it as a wound that lacks a 20–40% reduction in size after 2–4 weeks of optimal treatment or when there is not complete healing after 6 weeks. Recent reviews have also highlighted the lack of consensus regarding the definition of a “chronic wound” and the need for further research in this area (9, 10). ASTAR (Agency for Sci., Tech. and Research, S’pore) Published version

For improving material properties, a fundamental knowledge of all processing steps is necessary. Non-oriented electrical steels are characterized by low losses and a high permeability in the final application. To achieve high grades, every processing step needs to be coordinated with the previous and subsequent one. Simulation tools are useful to harmonize these steps. Experimental investigation had shown, that a heterogeneous material flow and microstructure evolution is a key feature for bcc Iron-Silicon alloys. Therefor hot rolling of non-oriented electrical steel with a silicon content of 2.4 wt.% is simulated by the software LaySimS that allows a fast investigation of heterogeneous deformation stated during rolling. In comparison to experimental rolling trials on a semi-continuous rolling mill the area of validity is predicted and shown. The focus of a comparison between experiment and simulations is put to the microstructure after hot rolling.

Severe acute pancreatitis (AP) is characterized by leukocyte infiltration and tissue injury. Herein, we wanted to examine the potential effects of thrombin-derived host defense peptides (TDPs) in severe AP. Pancreatitis was provoked by infusion of taurocholate into the pancreatic duct or by intraperitoneal administration of l-arginine in C57BL/6 mice. Animals were treated with the TDPs GKY20 and GKY25 or a control peptide WFF25 30 min before induction of AP. TDPs reduced blood amylase levels, neutrophil infiltration, hemorrhage, necrosis, and edema formation in the inflamed pancreas. Treatment with TDPs markedly attenuated the taurocholate-induced increase in plasma levels of CXCL2 and interleukin-6. Moreover, administration of TDPs decreased histone 3, histone 4, and myeloperoxidase levels in the pancreas in response to taurocholate challenge. Interestingly, administration of TDPs abolished neutrophil expression of Mac-1 in mice with pancreatitis. In addition, TDPs inhibited CXCL2-induced chemotaxis of isolated neutrophils in vitro. Fluorescent-labeled TDP was found to directly bind to isolated neutrophils. Finally, a beneficial effect of TDPs was confirmed in l-arginine-induced pancreatitis. Our novel results demonstrate that TDPs exert protective effects against pathological inflammation and tissue damage in AP. These findings suggest that TDPs might be useful in the management of patients with severe AP.

All product lifecycle processes are highly determined by product design. The concept of Lean Design focuses on maximizing customer value and minimizing waste throughout all stages of product lifecycle by an optimized product design. Design for X approaches are essential elements of Lean Design to make the right design decisions by help of concrete qualitative design guidelines. However, Design for X approaches focus on a specific stage of product lifecycle or specific aspect of products or processes, what makes a holistic optimization of product design highly complex. Therefore, the paper analyses the vast range of qualitative design guidelines given in Design for X approaches concerning their effects on product lifecycle and derives recommendations for a lifecycle optimized product design.

Background Chronic non-healing wounds present a substantial economic burden to healthcare system; significant reductions in quality of life for those affected, and precede often serious events such as limp amputations or even premature deaths. This burden is also likely to increase with a larger proportion of elderly and increasing prevalence of life-style diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Reviews of the evidence on the burden of illness associated with chronic wounds have not been comprehensive in scope and have not provided an assessment of the distribution of the health care costs across categories of resource use. Methods/design This study is a systematic review of multiple databases for studies on adult patients with chronic wounds and with the primary objective to assess the impact on health-related quality of life by category of ulcers, and associated direct and indirect costs. Eligible studies will primary be empirical studies evaluating, describing or comparing measurement of quality of life and economic impact. Two reviewers will independently screen titles and abstracts and select studies involving adults with chronic wounds. These investigators will also independently extract data using a pre-designed data extraction form. Differences in applied methodologies and uncertainties will clearly be accounted for. Conservative valuations of costs and impact on health-related quality of life will be prioritised. Variations that may depend on age distribution, the categorisation of ulcer, healthcare system etc. will be described clearly. Discussion The proposed systematic review will yield a comprehensive assessment of the humanistic and economic burden of chronic wounds in an adult population. A better understanding of the humanistic and economic burden of chronic wounds is essential for policy and planning purposes, to monitor trends in disease burden and not at least in order to estimate the real-world cost-effectiveness of new treatments and therapies. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42016037496 Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13643-016-0400-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The current paper describes a mathematical model, which was developed to simulate the heat transfer in acetylene cylinders during exposure to a fire. The cases of a direct engulfment of the cylinder in the flames and of exposure to a distant fire were considered. Furthermore, the model was also applied to the prediction of the heat transfer during the cooling with water of heated acetylene cylinders, in order to assess the effectiveness of this procedure as a measure to prevent the burst of the cylinder. To provide data for the definition and validation of the model a total of 13 bonfire tests with 8.9-, 10- and 50-dm3-cylinders were performed, where pressure and temperature measurements in the samples were performed. During 5 experiments the fire was extinguished before the expected cylinder burst and a cooling with water was applied. In the paper a short description of the experimental set-up and of the test results is given. Finally, a comparison with the model predictions is provided, showing reasonable agreement.

In order to develop the best possible product enterprises have to consider multiple solutions during the product engineering process. In early phases of the product development process enterprises generally reduce the number of possible solutions by focusing only on a few solutions to minimize development time and costs. However, in the early phases enterprises are not able to make an objective choice for the best possible product, because of missing information. To evaluate multiple solutions and nevertheless develop a cost effective product the enterprises have the aim to simplify and to objectify the decision process especially in the early phases of the product development process. Therefore the enterprises need a methodology to enable objective decisions.

BACKGROUND Surgical site infections (SSIs) after dermatologic surgery cause pain, prolong healing, result in unaesthetic complications, and lead to excessive use of antibiotics. The pathogenesis of wound infections is complex and is dependent on bacterial load and diversity, among several factors. OBJECTIVE To investigate bacterial dynamics at dermatosurgical sites at different time intervals and assess the correlation with postoperative outcomes and to examine different endo- and exogenous factors that may contribute to SSIs. METHODS Eighteen patients undergoing skin grafting of the face were studied. The following SSI-related factors were registered: age and sex of the patient, ulceration of the lesion, diabetes, immunosuppressive therapy, smoking, anticoagulative therapy, and use of antibiotic prophylaxis. Wounds from each patient were swabbed preoperatively, intraoperatively, and postoperatively. The bacterial composition of the swabs was then analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. RESULTS Sixteen of 18 surgical sites contained varying quantities of surface-associated bacteria. Coagulase-negative staphylococci and Propionibacterium acnes were the predominant bacteria isolated at all times. Intraoperative analysis was not predictive of SSIs. Use of antibiotic prophylaxis was the only registered SSI-related factor that showed significant variation in bacterial load between pre- and postoperative samples. Postoperative bacterial load was found to be lower than preoperative load in patients who received antibiotics. This was in contrast to patients who did not receive antibiotics, who had significantly higher postoperative levels (p=.02). The presence of high postoperative bacterial loads, regardless of the bacterial species isolated, showed a statistically significant positive correlation with a complicated postoperative outcome (p≤.001). CONCLUSIONS This study provides novel insights into the bacterial dynamics of dermatologic surgery-induced wounds and the variation of this over time. The results highlight the potential relevance of quantifying bacterial loads, as well as determining specific types of bacteria, in dermatologic surgery.

We examined the importance of injury for the epidermal innate immune response in human skin wounds. We found that injury, independent of infiltrating inflammatory cells, generated prominent chemotactic activity toward neutrophils in injured skin because of IL-8 production. Furthermore, injury was a major inducer of the expression of antimicrobial (poly)peptides (AMPs) in skin wounds. In human skin, these injury-induced innate immune responses were mediated by activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Consequently, inhibition of the EGFR blocked both the chemotactic activity generated in injured skin and the expression of the majority of the AMPs. The importance of injury was confirmed in mouse experiments in vivo, in which injury independent of infection was a potent inducer of AMPs in skin wounds. To our knowledge, these data thereby provide a previously unreported molecular link between injury and neutrophil accumulation and identify the molecular background for the vast expression of IL-8 and AMPs in wounded epidermis. Conceptually, these data show that the growth factor response elicited by injury is important for the recruitment of neutrophils in skin wounds.

The skin constitutes an innate immunity barrier against surrounding microbes. This barrier is disrupted when wounding/injury occurs. The subsequent wound healing is divided broadly into the overlapping stages of coagulation, inflammation, proliferation and tissue remodeling. The EGF receptor (EGFR) is activated after cutaneous injury. This review highlights the role of the EGFR in the innate immune defense of the cutaneous wound. Activation of the EGFR establishes one of the molecular links between injury and the subsequent neutrophil influx, expression of antimicrobial (poly)peptides and the re-establishment of the physical barrier.

Summary Companies active in electricity generation or supply that also own transmission or distribution network assets are generally presumed to have an economic interest in using its monopoly position as network owner to prevent or hinder competition in other areas of the value chain. This can happen in many ways such as raising rivals’ costs, price squeezes or by providing essential information only to affiliated companies. All of these practices distort a level playing field. In order to limit the risk of such behavior from occurring Member States of the European Union introduced a “regulated third party access” regime under which third parties have a right to access the network in a non-discriminatory manner. It is the purpose of the paper to derive the welfare implications of a regulation of access charges for electricity grids taking the costs of transmission as a benchmark. It shows that a cost-based regulation is second-best optimal only if the gap between the incumbent’s and the downstream entrant’s efficiency is sufficiently large. In all other cases an access charge deviating from the transmission costs is second-best optimal. There is no simple and generally applicable rule for the determination of second-best optimal access charges.

Surgical site infections (SSIs) after dermatologic surgery continue to represent undesirable complications that affect patients in several aspects. The etiology and pathogenesis of SSIs are not completely understood, and as a result, current preventative measures are debatable.To review and summarize the current available literature specific to SSIs in dermatologic surgery. The pathogenesis of SSIs, factors contributing to SSIs, current preventative guidelines, and evidence supporting their use are explored.A review of the medical literature.Most measures used to prevent SSIs in dermatologic surgery are based on studies of wounds in general surgery. Evidence specific to dermatologic surgery is scarce. More research related to the pathogenesis of SSIs is needed to establish effective preventative measures that are key to reducing incidences of SSIs.

In September 2005, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles presented its new Constellation heavy truck line in Rio de Janeiro to the public. The new line is formed by the three models VW 17.250, VW 24.250 and VW 19.320 being the finishing touch in the world of heavy vehicles in the entire southern hemisphere.

Enterprises react to changing conditions in product development with the implementation of Lean Development Systems. Lean offers a guideline for eliminating waste and increasing customer value in all processes. In particular, Lean development has been introduced to improve efficiency, effectiveness and the skills of staff and organization within product development. Enterprises like Toyota, which develop and work according to lean principles, are able to develop products in significant shorter time-to-markets with higher quality and lower costs. However, implementing Lean causes remarkable changes in product development. To identify these changes the impact of lean development principles on phases and cross functions of the product development process is examined. Based on literature research the impact is evaluated by means of a three-stage-process. Afterwards results are summarized and rated. To conclude, measures concerning future actions are outlined based on the previous rating.

is missing (Short Communication).

Background Polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB)-based antiseptic solutions can reduce bacterial loads in different clinical settings and are believed to lower risk of infections. Objective We sought to assess the efficacy of a PHMB-based solution in lowering bacterial loads of full-thickness skin grafting wounds and the risk of surgical site infections (SSIs). Methods In this double-blinded clinical trial, 40 patients planned for facial full-thickness skin grafting were randomized 1:1 to receive tie-over dressings soaked with either PHMB-based solution or sterile water. Quantitative and qualitative bacterial analysis was performed on all wounds before surgery, at the end of surgery, and 7 days postoperatively. In addition, all patients were screened for nasal colonization of Staphylococcus aureus . Results Analysis of wounds showed no statistically significant difference in bacterial reductions between the groups. The SSI rates were significantly higher in the intervention group (8/20) than in the control group (2/20) ( P = .028). Higher postoperative bacterial loads were a common finding in SSIs ( P = .011). This was more frequent when S aureus was present postoperatively ( P = .034), intraoperatively ( P = .03), and in patients with intranasal S aureus colonization ( P = .007). Limitations Assessment of SSIs is largely subjective. In addition, this was a single-center study and the total number of participants was 40. Conclusion Soaking tie-over dressings with PHMB solution in full-thickness skin grafting had no effect on postoperative bacterial loads and increased the risk of SSI development. The presence of S aureus intranasally and in wounds preoperatively and postoperatively increased postoperative bacterial loads, which in turn resulted in significantly more SSIs.

It has been proposed that excessive and uncontrolled proteolytic activity is an important pathogenetic factor for chronic wounds. Identification of molecules that either control or reflect proteolysis in wounds may prove to be useful in determining wound healing activity. In this study wound fluid was sampled under a polyurethane dressing or on hydrophilic glass filters. Multiple chronic wound fluid components were identified; viz. the previously described alpha2-macroglobulin, alpha1-antitrypsin and fibronectin, as well as "novel" wound fluid molecules such as complement factor C3, inter-alpha-inhibitor, kininogen, IgG, IgA, C-reactive protein, tetranectin, orosomucoid and ceruloplasmin. There appeared to be a highly variable degradation of alpha1-antitrypsin in the wounds; furthermore, the activation of C3 appeared to correlate with the appearance of fibronectin breakdown products. In wound fluid, inter-alpha-inhibitor was degraded. The influence of the sampling procedures was studied. It was shown that contact phase activation must be taken into account in the study of molecules (such as kininogens) activated by hydrophilic charged surfaces.

This paper presents computations on the behaviour of hydrogen/air mixture clouds which would be formed by accidental hydrogen gas release from storage tanks or pipes. It deals mainly with the dispersion of the gas mixture cloud, i.e., its shape and size as function of atmospheric and meteorological conditions, release rate, release time and amount, and boundary conditions given by the physical nature of the test ground. Gas cloud shape and size were predicted using the Computational Fluid Dynamics Code F luent 4. The results will contribute to the improvement of the description of the risk potential associated with hydrogen releases in accidents. The modelling was made as close as possible to the pattern of the liquid hydrogen release experiments performed by BAM in the framework of the EQHHPP. These had been made between buildings in order to simulate a real accident as close as possible. © 1999 International Association for Hydrogen Energy.

Hydrogen will be used as aviation fuel in the foreseeable future. First flight tests with a hydrogen demonstrator aircraft, currently under investigation in the scope of the German-Russian Cryoplane project, are scheduled for 1999. Regular service with regional aircraft may begin around 2005, followed by larger Airbus-type airliners around 2010–2015. The fuel storage aboard such airliners will be of the order of 15 t or roughly 200 m3 LH2. This paper investigates a number of safety problems associated with the handling and air transport of so much hydrogen. The same is done for the infrastructure on the airport. Major risks are identified, and appropriate measures in design and operation are recommended. It is found that hydrogen aircraft are no more dangerous than conventional ones—safer in some respects. Many risks can be avoided by suitable constructive measures, and the rest are bearable. The real challenge lies with the dimensions of the installations on the airfields which will become necessary when hydrogen aircraft become common.

An organization providing funding the grant to the last author (JC) were incorrectly omitted, and a funding organization for that grant was also incorrectly given in the Funding Statement. The first sentence of the Funding Statement should read: “This work was supported in part by the grant from the Foundation for Polish Science TEAM/2010-5/1, co-financed by the European Union within European Regional Development Fund and Polish National Science Center grant 2011/02/A/NZ5/00337 (to JC)."

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease. The pathogenesis of AD involves skin barrier defects and dysregulation of innate and adaptive immunity. Some environmental factors such as stress, infections, and allergens are associated with aggravation of AD. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between skin barrier function, skin colonization of Staphylococcus aureus, and sensitization to antigens of skin-associated microorganisms in adult patients with AD.Thirty adult patients with AD and 10 controls were recruited. Eczema severity was assessed, and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) was measured. Bacterial samples were taken from the skin using a swab technique for qualitative identification of S. aureus and a contact agar disc method for quantitative assessment. Immunological analyses of specific IgE to staphylococcal enterotoxins and yeasts as well as total serum IgE levels, were performed.TEWL was significantly higher among S. aureus-positive patients in comparison to S. aureus-negative patients with AD (P0.05). TEWL increased with increasing bacterial load (P = 0.018). In the group of patients sensitized to all three of the investigated skin-associated microorganisms (S. aureus, Malassezia, and Candida), an increased TEWL was observed, in comparison to patients sensitized to none, or one or two (P = 0.026).In adult patients with AD, a disrupted skin barrier promotes skin colonization by microbes, such as S. aureus. Heavy microbial colonization may facilitate skin penetration of microbial antigens leading to subsequent IgE sensitization. These results illustrate the importance of skin-associated microbial colonization and sensitization to microbial-derived allergens in eczema pathogenesis.