Test of the Einstein Equivalence Principle near the Galactic Center Supermassive Black Hole.

During its orbit around the four million solar mass black hole Sagittarius A* the star S2 experiences significant changes in gravitational potential. We use this change of potential to test one part of the Einstein equivalence principle: the local position invariance (LPI). We study the dependency of different atomic transitions on the gravitational potential to give an upper limit on violations of the LPI. This is done by separately measuring the redshift from hydrogen and helium absorption lines in the stellar spectrum during its closest approach to the black hole. For this measurement we use radial velocity data from 2015 to 2018 and combine it with the gravitational potential at the position of S2, which is calculated from the precisely known orbit of S2 around the black hole. This results in a limit on a violation of the LPI of |ß_{He}-ß_{H}|=(2.4±5.1)×10^{-2}. The variation in potential that we probe with this measurement is six magnitudes larger than possible for measurements on Earth, and a factor of 10 larger than in experiments using white dwarfs. We are therefore testing the LPI in a regime where it has not been tested before.

[Home Treatment]. / Home Treatment.

Home Treatment (HT) means acute psychiatric treatment in the patient's usual environment. Conceptually, HT is to be differentiated from other home-based services: It is limited with regard to duration and multiprofessional (e. g. psychiatrist plus psychiatric nursing staff plus social worker); the "24/7"-accessibility is frequently provided by the corresponding background hospital infrastructure. Target group are acutely mentally ill persons with an indication to inpatient treatment, who are willing to cooperate, and absence of endangerment to self and others. In contrast to the Scandinavian and many Anglophone countries where nationwide HT services are delivered, there are not many HT sites in Germany so far. Consequently, empirical data concerning HT in Germany is scarce. In summary, international studies show equivalent effects on psychopathological measures compared to inpatient treatment, reductions with regard to inpatient days, higher patient satisfaction and a trend towards cost-effectivity.

Fibrinogen content of low-volume cryoprecipitate.

Single-donor cryoprecipitate is the most convenient and reliable source of fibrinogen. A change by the regional Red Cross Blood Service to the production of low-volume cryoprecipitate led the authors to reexamine the fibrinogen content of cryoprecipitate units. The average fibrinogen content of individual low-volume (4 ml) units (n = 23) was 101 +/- 48 mg; in the 10-unit pools (n = 9 pools), content was 89 +/- 13 mg. Both measurements were considerably lower than previously published. By contrast, the mean fibrinogen content of regular-volume (15 ml) cryoprecipitate units (n = 8) was 142 +/- 50 mg. The fibrinogen was stable for at least 4 hours after thawing, and it survived refreezing and thawing.

Untoward effects of blood transfusion: common problems and simple safeguards.

Potential transfusion reactions include hemolysis, disease transmission (particularly hepatitis), allergic and febrile reactions, and symptoms of circulatory overload. Limiting the number of transfusions given to patients for whom the procedure will achieve some clearly defined clinical goal is one way of reducing the number of adverse reactions. When transfusion is to be carried out, great care should be taken in correctly identifying both patient and blood to avoid ABO mix-ups, and thorough pretransfusion laboratory testing should be done. During and after transfusion the patient should be closely observed for complications.