HEMS in Alpine Rescue for Pediatric Emergencies.

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the pediatric emergencies encountered by the Christophorus-1 helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) during a period of 2 years.

Methods: Emergency treatment of pediatric casualties by HEMS was evaluated at a helicopter base. Children up to 14 years who were treated by HEMS emergency physicians from Christophorus-1 during primary missions in the alpine region were retrospectively enrolled.

Revealing an intermediate region between the collisional radiofrequency plasma bulk and its sheath.

Experimental evidence of the existence of an intermediate region between a capacitively coupled plasma and the collisional space-charge region at its borders is presented. This proof is generated by monitoring-in an airplane carrying out parabolic flights-the trajectory of plasma-confined microparticles. Based on only primary data and without the need for a sophisticated model, our analysis concludes a sharply marked transition from the sheath region into another region with a significantly lower-yet nonzero-space-charge density, i.

Absolute measurement of the total ion-drag force on a single plasma-confined microparticle at the void edge under microgravity conditions.

We present an absolute measurement of the total ion-drag force on one single microparticle at the edge of the dust free region in low pressure complex plasmas: the void. In order to do so, the particle confinement position was monitored as a function of the gas pressure for two particle sizes under normal gravity conditions and under microgravity conditions during parabolic flights. At the border of the void, the ion-drag force on a particle with a radius of 4.

Note: Measuring breakdown characteristics during the hot re-ignition of high intensity discharge lamps using high frequency alternating current voltage.

To investigate the cold and hot re-ignition properties of High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps in more detail an automated setup was designed in such a way that HID lamps of various sizes and under different background pressures can be tested. The HID lamps are ignited with a ramped sinusoidal voltage signal with frequencies between 60 and 220 kHz and with amplitude up to 7.5 kV.

Microparticles in a collisional Rf plasma sheath under hypergravity conditions as probes for the electric field strength and the particle charge.

We used microparticles under hypergravity conditions, induced by a centrifuge, in order to measure nonintrusively and spatially resolved the electric field strength as well as the particle charge in the collisional rf plasma sheath. The measured electric field strengths demonstrate good agreement with the literature, while the particle charge shows decreasing values towards the electrode. We demonstrate that it is indeed possible to measure these important quantities without changing or disturbing the plasma.

Basic life-support kit in an out-of-hospital emergency.

An 8-year-old boy suffered a skull fracture and severe brain injury while attending a skiing event. A physician, equipped with his private emergency kit accomplished placement of a venous access line enabling administration of analgesic and sedating medication with ketamine and midazolam. When the helicopter emergency medical service arrived on the scene the patient's peripheral circulation had decreased to such an extent that further attempts to place a second peripheral venous line were impossible.

Laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy for phenol and intermediate products in aqueous solutions degraded by pulsed corona discharges above water.

Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) spectroscopy is introduced as an in situ diagnostic for phenol and intermediate products in an aqueous solution degraded by corona discharges. The complications that are inherent in applying LIF as a diagnostic for aqueous solutions are experimentally examined. The LIF intensities of phenol and the intermediate products are measured as a function of time.

Measurements of electric-field strengths in ionization fronts during breakdown.

Using laser-induced fluorescence-dip Stark spectroscopy, we performed time-resolved, direct measurements of electric-field strengths during the breakdown phase of a low-pressure, pulsed discharge in xenon. With this experimental technique we could for the first time quantitatively measure the time evolution of the driving force of the plasma breakdown process: the electric field. Moving ionization fronts were measured with submicrosecond resolution.

Review on the importance of an emergency kit for physicians in out-of-hospital emergencies.

The importance of an emergency kit for private use by emergency physicians was evaluated. Self-reporting questionnaires were used to assess the satisfaction of emergency physicians who were given a specially adjusted emergency kit for 3 years. Of 73 emergency physicians, 52.

[Emergency treatment of injuries following lightning and electrical accidents].

The pattern of injuries following electrical accidents and the treatment by emergency teams differ depending on whether exposure was to a low-voltage or high-voltage power source or to a lightning bolt. Tissue damage results from the direct effect of current on cell membranes and from conversion of electrical energy into heat. Depending on the magnitude of electrical energy and the duration of exposure, cardiac dysrhythmia, damage to nerve tissue, extensive burns and shock may occur.

Characterization of a vacuum-arc discharge in tin vapor using time-resolved plasma imaging and extreme ultraviolet spectrometry.

Discharge sources in tin vapor have recently been receiving increased attention as candidate extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light sources for application in semiconductor lithography, because of their favorable spectrum near 13.5 nm. In the ASML EUV laboratory, time-resolved pinhole imaging in the EUV and two-dimensional imaging in visible light have been applied for qualitative characterization of the evolution of a vacuum-arc tin vapor discharge.

Stark broadening experiments on a vacuum arc discharge in tin vapor.

Pinched discharge plasmas in tin vapor are candidates for application in future semiconductor lithography tools. This paper presents time-resolved measurements of Stark broadened linewidths in a pulsed tin discharge. Stark broadening parameters have been determined for four lines of the Sn III spectrum in the range from 522 to 538 nm, based on a cross-calibration to a Sn II line with a previously known Stark width.

Collective Thomson scattering experiments on a tin vapor discharge in the prepinch phase.

Partially collective Thomson scattering measurements have been performed on a triggered vacuum arc in tin vapor, which is a candidate source of extreme ultraviolet light for application in semiconductor lithography. In this paper, results on the electron densities and temperatures are presented for the prepinch phase of the discharge. Electron densities and temperatures increase from 1 x 10(23) m(-3) to 1 x 10(24) m(-3) and from 5 eV to over 30 eV, respectively, in about 100 ns.

Epidemiology and outcome of pediatric trauma treated by an emergency-physician-staffed advanced life-support unit.

Background: The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology and outcome of pediatric trauma in the setting of an emergency-physician-staffed mobile advanced life support (ALS) unit serving a predominantly urban area in Austria.

Methods: In this retrospective chart review, all pediatric trauma patients (0-14 years of age) who were treated by a physician-staffed ALS unit in Innsbruck within a 3-year period were analyzed. In addition, hospital charts were assessed to determine the clinical course and the outcome of these patients.

Long-term survival and neurological outcome of patients who received recombinant tissue plasminogen activator during out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Objective: The long-term outcome in patients who received recombinant tissue plasminogen activator during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) of non-traumatic aetiology was assessed.

Methods: The neurological outcome in survivors and their level of performance, subjective well-being and quality of life were evaluated.

Results: A follow-up study of 27 cardiac arrest survivors was conducted; four patients (15%) died during the first year, a total of seven patients (26%) within 5 years.

Time-resolved pinhole camera imaging and extreme ultraviolet spectrometry on a hollow cathode discharge in xenon.

A pinhole camera, an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectrometer, a fast gatable multichannel plate EUV detector, and a digital camera have been installed on the ASML EUV laboratory setup to perform time-resolved pinhole imaging and EUV spectroscopy on a copy of the Philips EUV hollow cathode discharge plasma source. The main properties of the setup have been characterized. Time-resolved measurements within the plasma pulse in the EUV have been performed on this source.

Evolution of a dust void in a radio-frequency plasma sheath.

The onset and growth of a dust void are investigated in a radio-frequency (rf) sheath of a capacitively coupled argon plasma. A circularly symmetric void emerges and grows with increasing rf power and pressure in the central region of the dust cloud levitating in the sheath. Experimental measurements of the void diameter are compared with the predictions of a simple phenomenological theory, based on a balance of forces on dust grains.

Dynamic Mach cone as a diagnostic method in reactive dusty plasma experiments.

We demonstrate how the observation of dynamic Mach cones in dusty plasma experiments allows one to follow the evolution of the dust acoustic wave velocity as charges on dust particles change, or as their mass changes. In experiments in which only the charge is changing due to, e.g.

Recombinant tissue plasminogen activator during cardiopulmonary resuscitation in 108 patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Background: Thrombolytic therapy during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a controversial issue in emergency medicine practice. This study was conducted to determine whether administration of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest of non-traumatic aetiology improves CPR outcome.

Methods And Results: A retrospective chart review of 401 patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest who were resuscitated by the emergency medical services (EMS) during a 6 year period was performed.

Boundary conditions in fluid models of gas discharges.

Fluid models of gas discharges are typically based on continuity equations and drift-diffusion equations for plasma particle species. The boundary conditions for these equations are an important part of the description of the problem. In this Brief Report, we point out that the most commonly used boundary conditions do not describe the physics properly.

[Pediatric emergencies. An epidemiologic study of mobile care units in Innsbruck].

Objectives: We studied the epidemiology and outcome of prehospital pediatric emergencies treated by a physician-staffed mobile intensive care unit (MICU).

Methods: A 3-year retrospective analysis for the period 1991-1993.

Results: Children under the age of 15 years comprised 5.