[Knowledge of school pupils about the HIV/AIDS topic at selected schools in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania]. / Der Wissensstand von Schülern über das Thema HIV/AIDS an ausgewählten Schulen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

AIM OF THE STUDY: The increasing numbers of new HIV diagnoses in Germany generate a need to measure the level of knowledge of the young generation about the issue of HIV/AIDS. METHODOLOGY: A survey was conducted of 769 pupils of different age groups and from different schools in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Data analysis was performed using SPSS; statistically significant differences (p<0.05) were tested between the groups using the chi-square test. RESULTS: The level of knowledge within the sample differs: more precise knowledge is demonstrated by pupils following an awareness event (60%) and by pupils interested in HIV (69%) than by those who have attended no awareness event (40%) and those who have little interest in the issue (31%). Moreover, it was noted that grammar school pupils generally achieve better results than pupils from comprehensive and intermediate secondary schools. Furthermore, there are significant differences between the genders: girls give correct answers more frequently than boys and more often show an interest in the HIV/AIDS issue. In addition, age-specific differences are also identifiable: from the age of 14, there is a considerable increase in knowledge, which then remains static at the age of 16. AIDS education in biology lessons is common among pupils and 93% are familiar with this. Over 70% of pupils are unfamiliar with local AIDS awareness teams. CONCLUSIONS: There are significant gaps in the level of knowledge about methods of infection, particularly with respect to questions about the no risk areas, which should thus be particularly dealt with in awareness events. As to knowledge transfer, the pupils' interest should be aroused while taking the type of school, gender and age of the pupils into consideration. In the course of the school career, every pupil should take part in at least one awareness event since our survey showed that only 60% attended such an event. Local AIDS awareness teams should be more frequently active in the schools since 73% stated to be unfamiliar with them in our survey.

Clamydial antibody in sera of patients with trachoma.

Serum samples were taken in 1987 from 118 patients with trachoma seen in the Department of Opthalmology of the Gonder College of Medical Sciences, Gonder, Ethiopia, patients being staged according to MacCallan (II, III, IV), and classified in categories of different degrees of inflammation according to Dawson et al. Sera were investigated with the microIF test, using Chlamydia trachomatis serotypes A, B, C and partially D as antigens. Healthy Ethiopian students (n = 14), patients with chlamydial urogenital infections (n = 100), salpingitis (n = 47), and D-seronegative individuals (n = 574) served as controls. Patients with trachoma with severe inflammation showed significantly higher chlamydial antibody titres (greater than or equal to 1:128) against serotype A (p less than 0.05), B (p less than 0.01), and C (p less than 0.01) than patients with trivial, mild or moderate inflammatory symptoms. There was little correlation between MacCallan stages and chlamydial antibody titres, probably due to persistence of antibodies. In the control group of Ethiopian students only single persons were found to react with C. trachomatis serotypes A, B, and C in high titres; the geometric mean varied from x = 1:17 to x = 1:25 and distinctly differed from trachoma patients (x = 1:65). The individuals of other control groups showed high antibody titres against serotype C only in single cases and low geometric mean values.

[Dynamic stereoscopy and parallactoscopy and their importance for the 3-dimensional perception of moving objects]. / Die dynamische Stereoskopie und Parallaktoskopie sowie ihre Bedeutung für das Raumsehen bewegter Objekte.

The three-dimensional perception of moving objects plays an important role in professional and everyday tasks. Nevertheless, to date it has remained relatively unnoticed in the practice of ophthalmological and occupational medicine, although in 1984 the WHO also recommended testing dynamic vision. To determine dynamic stereoscopic visual acuity, the binocular prism rotation device was constructed and to determine dynamic parallactoscopy, the parallactoscopometer. The visual acuity found via dynamic stereoscopy decreased relatively quickly with increasing velocity (n = 103) and differed from stereoscopy determined at rest. Dynamic stereoscopy led to very precise fine spatial orientation, but it failed with average velocities; dynamic parallactoscopy had coarser visual powers, but it was relatively independent of speed and thus rendered essentially better spatial orientation possible at rapid velocities. It is possible that at slow pedestrian speed the two were equal. Under much-reduced light densities and reduced visual acuities, dynamic parallactoscopy remained intact in contrast to dynamic stereoscopy.

Blood sampling in very low birth weight infants receiving different levels of intensive care.

Sixty very low birth weight infants (birth weight 560-1450 g) were studied during the first 28 days of life. The infants were classified as group A (n = 19 infants who never required ventilator support), group B (n = 20 infants mechanically ventilated for minor respiratory problems), and group C (n = 21 infants ventilated for respiratory distress syndrome). Diagnostic blood sampling was measured, infants were checked for clinical symptoms and laboratory signs of anaemia 24 h before and after the transfusion of packed red cells. A total of 7998 punctures (average: 4.8 per infant per day) were performed, the mean blood loss due to diagnostic sampling was 50.3 ml/kg per 28 days (range 7-142) for all infants. A high correlation (rs = +0.91) was found between the blood volumes sampled and transfused. In group A, the mean blood loss was 24 ml/kg, and a total of 29 blood transfusions were administered. The most frequent symptoms of anaemia were poor weight gain and apnoeic spells. In group B, the mean blood loss was 60 ml/kg and a total of 97 blood transfusions were administered. In group C, the mean blood loss was 67 ml/kg and a total of 116 blood transfusions were administered. In both groups B and C, poor weight gain, pallor and distended abdomen were the most frequent symptoms of anaemia. Following the blood transfusion, haematocrit rose and blood pressure remained unchanged. The symptoms that responded most favourably to the blood transfusion were: poor weight gain, oxygen requirement, and distended abdomen. The results emphasize the need for miniaturizing laboratory techniques and monitoring blood sampling.

[Quality of space perception of moving objects in the aged]. / Die Qualität der Raumwahrnehmung bei bewegten Objekten im Alter.

The quality of visual spatial perception for movable objects clearly decreases in old age. This significantly concerns the dynamic visual acuity as well as the dynamic stereoscopy and the parallaktoskopy of motion. The main cause for this is the decrease of the association ability in the CNS during ageing, which leads to the loss of the exact sensomotoricity of the eyes. The senile changes were investigated by the binocular prism rotation device (n = 103) and the parallacto-scopometer (n = 79). The reduction of the dynamic vision in old age is above all important as tho the fitness for traffic.

Testing visual perception of three-dimensionally moving objects (dynamic stereoscopy).

In the past decade, visual requirements in the field of stereoscopy have considerably increased in a number of professions, as well in present-day traffic and sports. As a result of a statement of the WHO (1984) viz. that for prevention of accidents the testing of static vision only is insufficient, and that dynamic vision too should be a subject of investigation, a test for measuring dynamic stereoscopic visual acuity has been devised. With the help of two synchronously rotating prisms, a stereo test consisting of four bars is transposed into an apparent circumduction movement which is presented at different velocities. Stereoscopy under static and dynamic conditions do not run a parallel course. Dynamic stereoscopy is significantly influenced by age, but not by sex.

[Initial results of studies on stereo-visual acuity for moving objects]. / Erste Untersuchungsergebnisse über die Stereo-Sehschärfe für bewegte Objekte.

Besides dynamic visual acuity, dynamic stereo visual acuity can also be interesting in ergophthalmology. This was investigated in 11 test persons by means of two synchronously rotating prisms simulating circular motion. The dynamic stereo visual acuity decreases more steeply with increasing speed than dynamic visual acuity. The interindividual standard deviation is considerable, especially in cases of reduced vision. Bilateral good vision or good stereopsis does not always result in good dynamic stereo visual acuity, because of differences in the ability to achieve stereopsis and to follow to object by rolling the eyes.