Synthesis Gas Biorefinery.

Synthesis gas or syngas is an intermediate, which can be produced by gasification from a variety of carbonaceous feedstocks including biomass. Carbon monoxide and hydrogen, the main constituents of syngas, can be subjected to a broad range of chemical and microbial synthesis processes, leading to gaseous and liquid hydrocarbon fuels as well as to platform and fine chemicals. Gasification of solid biomass differs from coal gasification by chemical composition, heating value, ash behavior, and other technical and biomass related issues. By thermochemical pre-treatment of lignocellulose as the most abundant form of biomass, for example, by torrefaction or fast pyrolysis, energy dense fuels for gasification can be obtained, which can be used in the different types of gasifiers available today. A number of pilot and demonstration plants exist, giving evidence of the broad technology portfolio developed so far. Therefore, a syngas biorefinery is highly flexible in regard to feedstock and product options. However, the technology is complex and does not result in competitive production costs today. Added value can be generated by suitable integration of thermochemical, biochemical, and chemical processes.

[Restrictive ventricular septal defect in a dwarf rabbit]. / Restriktiver Ventrikelseptumdefekt bei einem Zwergkaninchen.

A 9-week-old intact female dwarf rabbit was presented for evaluation of a heart murmur. Physical examination revealed a grade IV/VI systolic heart murmur with the maximal intensity over the right heart base. Evidence for a left-sided cardiomegaly was present on lateral and dorsoventral radiographs. An electrocardiogram was recorded in right lateral recumbency, which revealed a sinus tachycardia with a heart rate of 360 beats/minute. Echocardiography showed normal dimensions for the atria and ventricles. Two-dimensional echocardiography confirmed the presence of a perimembranous ventricular septal defect (VSD) with a diameter of 0.8 mm. Identification of the VSD was possible from a right (long and short axes) and a left parasternal window. Peak flow velocity of the systolic left to right shunt was 5.2 m/s. Additionally, a relative pulmonic stenosis (peak flow in the pulmonary artery of 1.02 m/s, pulsed-wave Doppler) was present. According to these findings, the VSD was classified as restrictive. At this time point, medical treatment was unnecessary. The re-examination after 7 weeks revealed unchanged morphological and haemodynamic findings. The VSD in this dwarf rabbit displayed both in the physical and echocardiographic examinations typical features as seen in dogs and cats as well as in one New Zealand white rabbit.

[NT-proBNP as a diagnostic marker in dogs with dyspnea and in asymptomatic dogs with heart murmur]. / NT-proBNP in der Diagnostik bei Hunden mit Dyspnoe und asymptomatischen Hunden mit Herzgeräusch.

OBJECTIVE: The cardiac biomarker NT-proBNP indicates cardiac load in terms of myocardial wall stress. The objective of the study was to compare the results of NT-proBNP measurements in healthy dogs and dogs with dyspnea as well as asymptomatic dogs with heart murmur with the literature. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Between April 2007 and December 2007 dogs with dyspnea of non-cardiac origin (n=11), dogs with dyspnea of cardiac origin (n=18) and asymptomatic dogs with heart murmur (n=22) were included. Twelve clinically healthy dogs served as a control group. All animals underwent cardiologic examination including echocardiography and measurement of serum NT-proBNP concentration. Serum was centrifuged and frozen within 30 minutes and was stored frozen until analysis was performed. RESULTS: Median NT-proBNP concentration in healthy dogs was 240 pmol/l (range 131-546 pmol/l). Dogs with dyspnea and primary respiratory disease displayed a median NT-proBNP concentration of 876 pmol/l (range 97-2614 pmol/l). In patients with dyspnea of non-cardiac origin, there was a difference in the values of NT-proBNP of dogs with and without pulmonary hypertension diagnosed by echocardiography. Dogs with dyspnea of cardiac origin displayed a median NT-proBNP concentration of 2000 pmol/l (range 137-2614 pmol/l). Low normal NT-proBNP values were only found in patients with pericardial effusion. Median NT-proBNP concentration in asymptomatic dogs with heart murmur was 698.5 pmol/l (range 121-2614 pmol/l). Considerably increased values were particularly measured in asymptomatic patients with severe congenital heart disease. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: NT-proBNP represents a useful additional diagnostic parameter in veterinary clinical cardiology to assess the severity of cardiac disease. Interpretation must take into consideration the clinical picture of the patient, as dogs with severe arrhythmias, sepsis and pulmonary thromboembolism may display high NT-proBNP levels without congestive heart failure. Our results indicate the following cut-off values: <500 pmol/l: no relevant cardiac load; 500-900 pmol/l: moderate cardiac load; >900 pmol/l: severe cardiac load.

Transvenous coil embolization of patent ductus arteriosus in small (≤3.0 kg) dogs.

BACKGROUND: Surgical and interventional therapy for occlusion of a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in small dogs is challenging. Interventional closure of a PDA is rarely described in small dogs. HYPOTHESIS: Transvenous single-coil occlusion of a PDA in small (≤3.0 kg) dogs is possible and safe. ANIMALS: Twenty-one client-owned dogs with a left-to-right shunting PDA. METHODS: Prospective clinical study. Inclusion criteria were a left-to-right shunting PDA and a body weight ≤3.0 kg. Dogs with additional congenital cardiac diseases were excluded. Without arterial access, a single detachable coil was implanted by a transvenous approach with a 4 Fr catheter. RESULTS: Twenty-one dogs were the study population with Chihuahua and Yorkshire Terrier being the commonest breeds (n = 6 and n = 5, respectively). There were 14 female and 7 male dogs. The age range was 1.9-83.5 months (median, 7.7 months), and the body weight was 1.0-2.9 kg (1.87 ± 0.45). By angiography, the minimal ductal diameter measured 1.2-2.4 mm (median, 1.8 mm) and the PDA ampulla diameter was 2.4-5.9 mm (median, 4.6 mm). Coil implantation was successful in all dogs. After detachment of the coil from the delivery cable, repositioning of the pulmonary loop of the coil became necessary in 1 dog. The prevalence of immediate closure was 76%. The prevalence of cumulative closure was 90%. CONCLUSION: For an experienced cardiologist, transvenous occlusion of a PDA in small dogs is possible with a 4 Fr catheter and a commercial single detachable coil. Arterial access is not essential. The procedure is safe and successful in experienced hands.

Results of the European Commission MARINA II study: part I--general information and effects of discharges by the nuclear industry.

From the collated data relevant to discharges by the nuclear industry, it results that the input of beta activity (excluding Chernobyl fallout and tritium) into the OSPAR region decreased by a factor of 4 from 1986 to 1991, reaching by this date the same level as in the early 1950s. Over the same period the discharges of the alpha activity into the OSPAR region also decreased by a factor 3, the same trend has been seen also for tritium. Since 1986 the effective dose to members of the critical group in the vicinity of Sellafield and Cap de La Hague was consistently below the ICRP and EU limit of 1 mSv per year to members of the general public. The overall radiological impact from nuclear industry on the population of the European Union from the OSPAR area has decreased from 280 manSv y(-1) in 1978 to 14 manSv y(-1) in 2000.

Results of the European Commission Marina II study: part II--effects of discharges of naturally occurring radioactive material.

Enhanced levels of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) are produced through various industrial operations and may lead to discharges to the marine environment. A recent study, called MARINA II, carried out for the European Commission considered discharges of radionuclides from the NORM industries to north European marine waters and their consequences. There are two main sources that were considered in the study. The use of phosphogypsum during the production of phosphoric acid by the fertiliser industry and the pumping of oil and gas from the continental shelf in the North Sea which produces large quantities of water contaminated with enhanced levels of naturally occurring radionuclides. Discharges of alpha emitting radionuclides from these two industries have contributed significantly to the total input of alpha emitters to north European waters over the period 1981-2000 (data were not available prior to 1981). Discharges due to the use of phosphogypsum have declined since the early 1990s and are now very low. Discharges from the oil and gas industries stabilised in the second half of the 1990s and are now the major contributor to alpha discharges to the region. As most European countries do not report discharges of radioactivity with the water produced during extraction, there is considerable uncertainty in the discharges used in the study. The impact of the discharges has been estimated both in terms of the effect on non-human biota and the radiological impact for people. In the 1980s the radiation dose rates to marine biota in the region around a phosphate plant on the north-west coast of England were as high due to the discharges from the phosphate plant as those near to the Sellafield reprocessing plant due to its discharges. In recent years the additional dose to marine biota in this region due to the past NORM discharges is of the same order of magnitude as the natural background. The collective dose rate was estimated to determine the radiological impact on people. The peak collective dose rate from the NORM industries occurred in 1984 and was just over 600 manSv y(-1). The collective dose rate fell with time as discharges from the phosphate industry reduced and was estimated as under 200 manSv y(-1) in 2000.

Contamination of Austrian soil with caesium-137.

Austria ranks among the countries that have been most strongly affected by the Chernobyl fallout. The mean contamination with 137Cs is 21.0 kBq/m2, of which 18.7 kBq/m2 is due to the Chernobyl accident, whereas global fallout contributes 2.3 kBq/m2. Maximum values of total 137Cs contamination are nearly 200 kBq/m2. Total deposition of Chernobyl 137Cs on Austrian territory is 1.6 PBq or a fraction of around 2% of the 137Cs released from the reactor. 2115 measurements were used to draw the Austrian "caesium map". The geographical pattern of fallout distribution shows regional differences of contamination as high as 1:100.

Dose assessment for recent inhabitants living adjacent to zones heavily contaminated from the Chernobyl fallout.

Within the framework of the "International Chernobyl Project," selected areas in the Republics of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia of the former USSR, contaminated by radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident in 1986, were investigated by international teams. In addition, environmental studies were carried out in areas officially declared as "uncontaminated regions" in order to corroborate this classification and to provide reference baseline data for the simultaneously performed medical investigations on health effects in the contaminated areas. Altogether, 141 measurements of the gamma dose rate, both outdoors and indoors, were carried out. Also, the radionuclide concentration in 58 soil and food sample was determined. In addition, results from 1,620 individual film dosimeter readings were analyzed. The results show that, in areas adjacent to those officially designated as contaminated regions (137Cs surface ground contamination > or = 37 kBq m-2), levels of environmental fallout contamination are insignificant. The additional resulting committed effective dose over the next 70 years due to the fallout is only a fraction of the corresponding value from the natural radiation environment.

Thinking with images or thinking with language: a pilot EEG probability mapping study.

This pilot EEG mapping study was designed to explore thinking processes using complex mental imagery and thought processes. EEG was recorded with 19 electrodes (10/20 system against averaged ear lobe signals) while volunteers (n = 42) performed two separate tasks: visualization of an abstract concept and interpretation of a painting. Average spectral parameters such as amplitude, local and interhemispheric coherences were computed for five frequency bands (theta, alpha, beta 1, 2 and 3). Results indicate that the frontal regions are strongly involved during these tasks as evidenced by coherence changes. Changes are also present in temporal, parietal and occipital regions and are discussed in relation to information processing with the frontal regions considering the different cognitive functions required by the tasks.

Chernobyl--its impact on Austria.

The nuclear reactor accident of 26 April 1986 in Chernobyl, USSR, led to numerous investigations in Austria concerning radiation levels in the environment. Consequently measures were drawn up by the Austrian government in an effort to minimize the doses to the general public. The paper gives a general view of the programs set up by the Austrian Environmental Protection Agency and others in trying to assess basic measurement parameters.