The overlooked threat of land take from wind energy infrastructures: Quantification, drivers and policy gaps.

Wind harnessing is a fast-developing and cost-effective Renewable Energy Source, but the land impacts of wind power stations are often overlooked or underestimated. We digitized land take, i.e., the generation of artificial land, derived from 90 wind power stations in Greece constructed between 2002 and 2020 (1.2 GW). We found substantial land take impacts of 7729 m2/MW (3.5 m2/MWh) of new artificial land, 148 m/MW of new roads and 174 m/MW of widened roads on average. Models showed that the number and size of wind turbines, the absence of other existing infrastructures and the elevational difference across new access roads increased artificial land generation. The elevational difference across new and widened access roads also increased their length. New wind power stations in Greece are planned to be installed at higher elevations and in terrains facing higher risks for soil erosion and soil biodiversity. The general tendency in the European Union is to sit fewer wind power stations in mountainous and forested land. Still, this pattern is inversed in several countries, particularly in Southern Europe. After screening 29 policy and legal documents, we found that land take is indirectly inferred in the global policy but more directly in the European policy through five non-legally binding documents and three Directives. However, the current European energy policies seem to conflict with nature conservation policies, risking land take acceleration. The study provides insights for reducing land take when planning and constructing wind power stations. We underline the need for better quantification of land take and its integration in the complex process of sustainable spatial planning of investments.

[Giant haemangioma of the liver - clinical and diagnostic problems - a case report]. / Riesenhämangiom der Leber - klinische und diagnostische Probleme - ein Fallbericht.

Typical echodense haemangiomas of the liver can easily be identified by B-scan ultrasound. Atypical or giant haemangiomas of the liver, however, need to be differentiated from secondary tumours or primary liver carcinomas and cholangiocarcinomas. Until recently, computed tomography or magnetic resonance tomography were required to confirm the diagnosis, and not so rarely even a fairly risky fine-needle puncture had to be performed. Contrast media-assisted sonography, in general, offers the same scope of differentiating liver tumours as the radiographic tomography methods. Contrast media-assisted sonography is not yet widely available and has not been sufficiently evaluated. One important limitation is thought to be the lack of echo depth. We demonstrate the diagnostic value of this method in the case of a liver haemangioma measuring more than 20 cm in diameter. The resulting clinical questions are being discussed.

[Efficiency of a portable B-scan ultrasound device in comparison to a high-end machine in abdominal ultrasound. Results of a pilot study]. / Was leistet die abdominelle B-Bild-Diagnostik mit einem tragbaren Ultraschallgerät im Vergleich mit einem High-End-Gerät? Ergebnisse einer Pilotstudie.

AIM: To determine the comparative performance of a portable sonography device in abdominal ultrasound. METHOD: In the daily routine of abdominal ultrasound scanning, the portable device SonoSite was tested against the high-end machine ATL 5000 HDI by two examiners with more than 5 years of ultrasound experience. The examination was restricted to the B-scan with a hands-on scanning time of 10 minutes. Patients with unknown diagnoses were first examined with the SonoSite, and the findings and diagnoses documented. Consecutively, the examination was repeated using the ATL HDI 5000. Differing findings and diagnoses were documented in a written form. RESULTS: There were 62 identical results in 60 patients. The high-end device yielded 23 additional findings. Examination with the portable device did not allow a definite diagnosis in 4 more cases. This difference is statistically significant with a confidence interval of 95 %. CONCLUSION: Portable ultrasound devices are surprisingly effective in the hands of experienced examiners. Imaging quality is predictably inferior to so-called high-end devices. Nearly all acute and therapeutically relevant diagnoses and findings were registered, even though nearly a quarter of the findings diagnosed with the high-end device were overlooked. These findings were mostly clinically irrelevant or very small in size. As could be expected, problems arose with pathological findings requiring high resolution, i.e., liver metastases, tiny gallstones, appendicitis, Crohn's disease etc. These form a clear indication for a high-end ultrasound examination.

Smoke alarm: a review of the clinical impact of smoking on women.

This article is a review of the health impacts of smoking on women and their newborns, with an overview of the prevalence of smoking, mortality statistics, and costs. Over 50 disorders related to smoking are identified. These include many chronic and severe problems that are often overshadowed by the more well-known impacts of cancer and cardiac disease. Female impacts of smoking include two-fold rates of ectopic pregnancy, premature delivery, and low-birthweight infants; earlier menopause; pelvic-floor disorders, including urinary incontinence; menstrual disturbances; decreased fertility; greater risk of oral contraceptive failure; and babies with increased rates of sudden infant death syndrome, asthma, and attention-deficit disorders. From a clinical perspective, one in five women is addicted to nicotine. In addition, women smokers experience a stronger response to nicotine and incur higher rates of lung cancer and cardiovascular disease than their male counterparts.

Dumb-bell intrathoracic and intraspinal neurofibroma. Report of a case.

Neurogenic tumors of the posterior mediastinum commonly constitute an extraspinal portion of a dumb-bell tumor affecting the spinal canal. In a 42-year-old man with a history of back pain for more than 6 months and severe lower-limb paralysis and impaired urinary voiding for 20 days, chest radiography showed a posterior mediastinal mass and thoracic myelogram a total extradural defect at the level of T10. A computed tomography scan showed extension of this intrathoracic mass into the intraspinal space through the spinal foramen. In a single-stage operation, posterolateral thoracotomy and laminectomy were performed. This surgical approach avoids complications, notably from traction on the spinal cord.