Low-temperature ion beam sputtered optical coatings.

In thin film deposition processes, the lower limit of the deposition temperature is determined by the used coating technology and the duration of the coating process and is usually higher than room temperature. Hence, the processing of thermally sensitive materials and the adjustability of thin film morphology are limited. In consequence, for factual low-temperature deposition processes, an active cooling of the substrate is required. The effect of low substrate temperature on thin film properties during ion beam sputtering was investigated. The S i O 2 and T a 2 O 5 films grown at 0°C show a trend of lower optical losses and higher laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) compared to 100°C.

The rise of Chemical Peeling in 19th-century European Dermatology: emergence of agents, formulations and treatments.

BACKGROUND: Considering the increasing number of chemical peeling applications, also the interest in the history of chemical peelings and agents, has grown in dermatology. Research ascribes the first use of phenol as a chemical peeling agent to William Tilbury Fox (1836-1879) in 1871. Furthermore, Ferdinand von Hebra (1847-1902) is said to describe the properties of various peeling agents in 1874, and Paul Gerson Unna (1850-1929) adds resorcinol and trichloroacetic acid in 1882. OBJECTIVE: To identify the first mentions of chemical peeling applications and agents in 19th-century dermatology. METHODS: Nineteenth-century dermatologists were identified by an examination of literature of the last 30 years on the history of chemical peeling. Systematic examination of the medical textbooks of Hebra, Fox and Unna was conducted. It was proved whether the mentioned agents were used for chemical peeling applications. RESULTS: The skin peeling property of phenol was already discovered by its first describer, the chemist Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge (1795-1867) in 1834. The Viennese dermatologist Hebra described phenol as a chemical peeling agent in 1860. Hebra and his associate Moriz Kaposi (1837-1902) stated that 'Lotio carbolica' was already used in London. Fox used phenol mostly as a disinfectant and not for chemical peelings since 1869. Unna described the chemical peeling property of salicylic acid in 1882 and gave the most comprehensive account of chemical peels of the 19th century in 1899. Unna also introduced the Gutta-percha plaster with salicylic acid and phenol. Around 1900, Unna was famous for his peeling paste with resorcinol in Germany. CONCLUSIONS: A new chronology of the introduction of chemical peeling in dermatology can be drawn from the results. The German-speaking dermatology pioneered the treatment of skin diseases with chemical peelings as well as for aesthetical purposes 21 years earlier than hitherto known.

Closed venereology wards in postwar Hamburg.

BACKGROUND: A number of research results on closed venereology facilities in the Soviet Occupation Zone (SOZ) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) have been presented in recent years. However, little is known about similar facilities in the Western Occupation Zones (WOZ) and in the early Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). METHOD: We have researched the records of the State Archive in Hamburg. Subsequently, the analysed sources were evaluated using the historically critical method. RESULTS: Three closed venereology wards existed in Hamburg. Compulsory commitments were conducted according to a three-stage procedure. In the immediate postwar period, the wards had barred windows and the doors were locked. Everyday life in the wards was initially determined by the postwar situation - poor facilities, poor hygiene, overcrowding. In the early 1950s, the number of beds was drastically reduced. The function of the wards consisted of isolation and medical care for the compulsorily committed persons. Medical care was in accordance with professional medical standards. DISCUSSION: Closed venereology wards in Hamburg followed the tradition established during the period of the Weimar Republic. This becomes apparent both in terms of the legal framework and in terms of the structure and functions of the wards. Thus, they clearly differ from the closed venereology facilities in the SOZ and in the GDR. These facilities were established in the tradition of Soviet prophylactics institutions. The wards in Hamburg served as isolation and treatment centres, the facilities in the SOZ and in the GDR also had a disciplinary function.

Katharsis of the skin: peeling applications and agents of chemical peelings in Greek medical textbooks of Graeco-Roman antiquity.

BACKGROUND: Recipes for peelings date back to medical texts of old Egypt. The oldest medical papyri contain recipes for 'improving beauty of the skin' and 'removing wrinkles' by use of agents such as salt and soda. The Egyptian Queen Cleopatra (69-30 BC) is said to have taken bathes in donkey's milk to improve the beauty of her skin. However, little is known about other agents and peeling applications in later Greek medical textbooks. OBJECTIVE: We will discover new agents and describe ancient peeling applications. First, we will have to identify ancient Greek medical terms for the modern terms 'peeling' and 'chemical peeling'. Second, on the basis of the identified terms, we will perform a systematic full-text search for agents in original sources. Third, we will categorize the results into three peeling applications: (i) cleansing, (ii) aesthetical improvement of the skin and (iii) therapy of dermatological diseases. METHODS: We performed a full systematic keyword search with the identified Greek terms in databases of ancient Greek texts. Our keywords for peeling and chemical peeling are 'smexis' and 'tripsis'. Our keywords for agents of peeling and chemical peeling are 'smégmata', 'rhýmmata', 'kathartiká' and 'trímmata'. RESULTS: Diocles (4th century BC) was the first one who mentioned 'smexis' and 'tripsis' as parts of daily cleansing routine. Criton (2nd century AD) wrote about peeling applications, but any reference to the agents is lost. Antyllus (2nd century AD) composed three lists of peeling applications including their agents. CONCLUSION: Greek medical textbooks of Graeco-Roman antiquity report several peeling applications such as cleansing, brightening, darkening, softening and aesthetical improvement of the skin by use of peeling and chemical peeling, as well as therapy of dermatological diseases. There are 27 ancient agents for what is contemporarily called peeling and chemical peeling. We discovered more specific agents than hitherto known to research.

Closed venereology wards in the GDR.

BACKGROUND: At least 10 closed venereology wards existed in the GDR. To this date, the history of these wards has not yet been investigated thoroughly. OBJECTIVE: The history of the closed venereology wards in the GDR will be reconstructed by taking those in Halle (Saale) and Leipzig-Thonberg as examples. At the centre of the examination are the daily routines, the medical treatment and the education of the women. METHODS: Extensive archival research was conducted and the historical sources were critically evaluated. Moreover, interviews were held with women who had been admitted against their will as well as with former physicians, nurses and administrative staff members of the closed venereology wards. RESULTS: In most cases, the women were taken at random and admitted to the closed venereology wards by the police. They were not informed about the purpose, type and possible side-effects of their medical treatment. It was performed without their consent and therefore constituted a violation of their physical integrity. Even though 70% of the women had not been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease (STD), all of them had to undergo a gynaecological examination on a daily basis. The daily routine was strict, and the women were kept under surveillance. The wards had the 'educative' goal of transforming the women into 'socialist personalities'. CONCLUSION: The women in the closed venereology wards fell victim to politicized medicine. Put differently, medical care was supplemented with educational intentions and concepts, the purpose of which was to transform 'suffering persons' into 'socialist personalities'. This disciplinary system was based on terror. The closed venereology wards were not all alike; in some wards the women had to carry out chores on a daily basis (Halle/Saale), while in other wards they were detained and isolated from the outside world (Leipzig-Thonberg).

[Dentists' Knowledge of Ethical Questions Regarding Dental Medicine - A Survey of Dentists from Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia (Germany)]. / Zahnmedizinethische Kenntnisse in der Praxis ­ eine Befragung von Zahnärzten aus Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt und Thüringen.

Background: Subjects regarding ethical questions in dental medicine are only slightly touched in the study of dental medicine or in the working regulations of the dentists' association. However, dentists are confronted with these matters in everyday working life. The empirical study at hand collects current data regarding the ethical knowledge about dental medicine in the practical experience of dentists in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. Methods: The tool used in the survey was a structured questionnaire. Out of 600 randomly chosen and contacted dentists from Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia, 290 replied (response rate: 48.3%). The anonymised assessment took place between June and November 2013. Results: Dentists frequently encounter ethical questions regarding dental matters. The dentists interviewed in the study are in favour of a participative relationship between patient and dentist. Simultaneously, the patient's health is predominantly seen as the good of higher value than his or her self-determination. The dentists show competent knowledge of ethical dental subjects, although increased uncertainties could be observed in more complex situations, e. g. considering contact with patients who are HIV-positive. Conclusions: Questions dealing with dental ethical questions do play a major role in the daily professional life of dentists. In order to further support and strengthen dentists in their individual dental ethical competence, we see a need for advanced training and further education regarding questions and problems in the area of ethics in dental medicine. Also, these topics should become a component in the curriculum of the study of dental medicine.

[Production of accentuated personality traits in baroque opera : Opera buffa Arcifanfano-Re dei matti (1749)]. / Inszenierung von akzentuierten Persönlichkeitszügen in der Barockoper : Opera buffa Arcifanfano - Re dei matti (1749).

BACKGROUND: Madness served primarily as a form of amusement for the spectators in operas of the seventeenth century. This representation was far removed from clinical reality. This circumstance changed in the eighteenth century at the time when tragic madness emerged in numerous operas. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The opera buffa Arcifanfano-Re dei matti (Arcifanfano-King of fools, premiered in 1749 in Venice, text by Carlo Goldoni 1707-1793 and music by Baldassare Galuppi 1706-1785), which continuously enacts a realm of fools and is meant to appear amusing, is riddled with psychopathological abnormalities for which a retrospective diagnosis is methodologically rejected. However, the opera presents many subjects for working out a typology of fools based on outlasting personality traits of the protagonists. The libretto is investigated. A musical analysis is spared. RESULTS: The conceptualized typology of fools in the opera, which is oriented towards the seven main vices or deadly sins serves, in the tradition of moral satire, to critically hold up a mirror to the audience to reflect their own vices by an amusing characterization of the latter. Historically classified, the treatment of fools by means of isolation, custody, locking up in cages as well as authoritarian measures of submission reflects the custom in those days before humanizing the treatment of people with mental illness in the course of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. CONCLUSION: The opera Arcifanfano is essentially characterized by continuous madness. A typology of the fools can be worked out from the precise depiction of the personalities. A mirror is held up to the spectators in terms of vices, in the tradition of the contemporary baroque opera. At the same time, the opera can be classified psychiatrically and historically as a seismograph of its time when in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries people with mental illness were isolated and incarcerated.

[Forced sterilisation based on the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring. The role of the Heil- und Pflegeanstalt (State Hospital) Günzburg]. / Zwangssterilisationen nach dem Gesetz zur Verhütung erbkranken Nachwuchses. Die Rolle der Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Günzburg.

OBJECTIVE: From 1934 to 1945, 350,000-400,000 human beings were sterilised by force in the German Reich. Forced sterilisation was based on the Gesetz zur Verhütung erbkranken Nachwuchses (Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring). The Heil- und Pflegeanstalt (State Hospital) Günzburg was one of the institutions where compulsory sterilisation was practised. METHODS: Data evaluation was based on patient documents and annual reports of the archives of today's district hospital at Günzburg. Patient records were analysed with respect to predefined criteria. The municipal archives of Günzburg provided further historical sources and data. RESULTS: Between 1934 and 1943, 366 patients were sterilised in the Heil- und Pflegeanstalt (State Hospital) Günzburg. Age, sex and diagnosis were found to be criteria relevant for selection of patients for sterilisation. CONCLUSIONS: The study was able to show the active involvement of the Heil- und Pflegeanstalt (State Hospital) Günzburg in the compulsory sterilisation programme.

[The "Aktion T4". In remembrance of victims of the healing and nursing institution in Günzburg]. / Die "Aktion-T4". Erinnerung an Patientenopfer aus der Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Günzburg.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article was to achieve a commemoration of patients of the Healing and Nursing Institute in Günzburg who were victims of "Aktion T4". METHODS: On the basis of pre-defined criteria several individual patient documents were selected for this study and analyzed historically. Most items of information concerning patient histories and diagnoses were obtained from the stock R 179 of the branch office of the federal archives in Berlin Lichterfelde. Further supplementary information was extracted from administrative documents and patient charts of the archives of the psychiatric department at the regional hospital Günzburg. RESULTS: The historical reconstruction of three individual life histories contributes to a literary memorial for the victims. CONCLUSIONS: It is a historical responsibility to remember the victims of the "Aktion T4" by contributing to a reconstruction of their life histories.

Yesterday's ethics in contemporary medicine - is it still of concern?

Discussions on questions and problems of medical ethics are on everyone's lips. The debates center for instance around the just allocation of public resources, demographical changes in our society or the guarantee of patient autonomy, thus posing questions on the technical progress in modern medicine. These contemporary conflicts in medicine are numerous, but not all of them are new; rather, the discussion in medical ethics on these dilemmas is bound to contexts and has historical roots. Some of these conflicts reach back to the medicine of the Renaissance and Antiquity, thus assigning actuality to the historical viewpoint. Taking history into account, one can benefit from a timeless content and not least get a feeling for historicity and contingency. Considering the creation of identity, the old authorities also represent central normative reference points for the ethical competence of physicians understood as an attitude within an interpersonal medicine. For this reason, the heritage of Hippocrates, which encompasses values and norms of the Hippocratic Oath, needs to be respected. Apart from other dimensions of knowledge and skills, the development of an individual ethical competence also requires awareness of the past, leading to an understanding for the historical, social and cultural relativity of medical action.

[Neuropathological research on organs of patients of the "Heil- und pflegeanstalt" (state hospital) Günzburg]. / Neuropathologische Forschung an Organen von Patienten der Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Günzburg.

BACKGROUND: The two Kaiser Wilhelm-Institutes (KWI) in Berlin (1914, new building 1931) and in Munich (1917, new building 1926-28), specialized on pathologic anatomical as well as psychiatric genetic research, were set up before times of National Socialism. METHODS: Data evaluation is based on patient documents and annual reports of the archive of today's district hospital Günzburg and on patient documents (copies) of the historical archive of today's Max-Planck Institute of Psychiatry. RESULTS: The KWI in Munich was indirectly provided with brain material by Bavarian "Heil- und Pflegeanstalten" (state hospitals) including the state hospital Günzburg. CONCLUSIONS: During National Socialism patients' organs were sent from the "Heil- und Pflegeanstalt" (state hospital) Günzburg to the KWI in Munich for the purpose of conducting research. Commemorating patients' fates and clarifying what happened defines a place of remembrance.

[Mercury or sarsaparilla. On the pharmacotherapy of venereal diseases by Johannes Franc (1649-1725) and Friedrich Hoffmann (1660-1742)]. / Quecksilber oder Sarsaparille. Zur Arzneimitteltherapie venerischer Erkrankungen bei Johannes Franc (1649­1725) und Friedrich Hoffmann (1660­1742).

In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, ancient humoral pathology was gradually complemented by new concepts of medical theory. Two important theories that emerged in this context were iatrochemistry and iatrophysics. The physician Johannes Franc (1649-1725) from Ulm and Friedrich Hoffmann (1660-1742), the first professor of the medical faculty of the Fridericiana in Halle (Saale), are representatives of these concepts. In their writings, they conveyed specific instructions for broader therapeutic treatment including various forms of medication. The iatrochemist Franc recorded his therapies in his medical diary. The treatment methods of the iatrophysicist Hoffmann are written down in his twelve-volume Medicina consultatoria. Using the examples of gonorrhea and syphilis, the goal of this paper is to analyze, on the basis of both records, how the two physicians applied the new medical theoretical concepts in the treatment of these diseases. Franc and Hoffmann held the view that these two venereal diseases represent two separate entities. Thus both physicians departed from the traditional theory that gonorrhea was a stage of syphilis. Accordingly, they used different medication therapies for these diseases. Franc and Hoffmann referred to humoral pathological ideas, the discrasia of the humors in expounding the causes of the diseases. The same applies to their basic therapeutic approaches: they implemented humoral pathological concepts in their therapeutic practice. Bloodletting, sweating cures, and water cures as well as strict diets were prescribed. Nevertheless, differences in their treatment methods are clear. Franc consistently supplemented humoral pathology with ideas of iatrochemistry, prescribing treatment of gonorrhea and syphilis with mercury. Hoffmann, on the other hand, explicitly warned against treating gonorrhea with mercury; however, he was not fundamentally opposed to the use of drugs for the treatment of syphilis.

Bodies of children in the Institute of Anatomy in Halle (Saale), Germany, between 1920 and 1945.

At the Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology in Halle (Saale) 74 children's bodies of unknown historical provenance are being held in storage. The aim of this study was the evaluation of their identities, the circumstances of their acquisition, as well as the documentation of their individual characteristics. For these purposes, all bodies were comprehensively examined and photo-documented. Furthermore, CT-scans of 29 bodies were performed and information was collected from various local and national archives. Although most of the bodies were found to be those of stillborn children and infants, five children were between two and twelve years old, according to an age estimate by body-length and carpal bone analysis. The CT-scans revealed the cause of death for some of the children. The embalming method indicates that the bodies date from the first decades of the 20th century, and archival sources containing documents from 1920 to 1960 strongly suggest that these children's bodies were acquired by Institute of Anatomy between 1920 and 1942. During that period, a total of 2602 children's bodies were delivered to the Institute of Anatomy and registered in the communal burial records. At this point, there is no evidence that these children might have been victims of National Socialist crimes. It is planned to give them a dignified burial.

Results and conclusions of the Austrian radon mitigation project 'SARAH'.

The Austrian radon mitigation joint research project SARAH (supported by the Austrian Ministry of Economy and the Government of Upper Austria), a 2-year follow-up study of the Austrian National Radon Project (ONRAP), was started in 1996. The objectives of the research project were to find simple, cost-effective experimental methods for the characterisation of the radon situation in dwellings and to evaluate technically and economically the implementation of state of the art remedial actions for Austrian house types. After an intercomparison exercise of the assigned radon measuring instruments and detectors five houses were closely examined in regions with elevated radon levels in the federal state of Upper Austria. In this research work for the first time an extended Blower-Door method (which is conventionally used for determining the tightness of buildings) was successfully applied to radon diagnosis of buildings. In this paper the methods used for the radon diagnosis, the applied mitigation measures and the related technical and economical aspects are discussed. In conclusion of the results of this project a common strategy for solving the radon problem in Austria in the future is presented briefly.

Occupational exposure and its effect on some immune parameters.

Some immunological parameters were investigated in a group of workers exposed to external radiation (1.4 to 9.8 mSv) and inhalation of tritium (comm. eff. dose equiv. 1.2 to 2.8 mSv). The present investigations indicate the differential radiosensitivity of lymphocytic subsets: CD8 positive suppressor T cells were found to be the most sensitive subpopulation in the peripheral blood of radiation exposed workers. CD4/CD8 ratios were increased mainly due to an increase in absolute numbers of CD4 positive helper T cells indicating a selective cell renewal after irradiation. Results obtained after phytohaemugglutinin stimulation of lymphocytes showed individual variation, though there seems to be a trend towards an inverse correlation between absolute T cell numbers in peripheral blood and the number of S phases observed after stimulation, low T cell numbers leading to a high rate of stimulation. The calculation of the committed effective dose equivalents show that radiation protection against internal tritium contamination in power plants should not be neglected.

Multifractal analysis of the 137Cs fallout pattern in Austria resulting from the Chernobyl accident.

The cumulative deposition of the 137Cs fallout in Austria resulting from the passage of the Chernobyl cloud has been investigated by applying correlation dimension and hyperbolic frequency distribution methods. For the analysis, a total of 1,881 deposition values were used, which were collected by the Federal Environmental Agency of Austria and the Federal Ministry of Health, representing all available measurements of 137Cs in soil made in Austria after the Chernobyl accident. From these data a hyperbolic exponent for the frequency distribution of 4.0 and a set of fractal correlation dimensions, which decrease from 1.426 +/- 0.022 (for the whole network) to 0.706 +/- 0.047 (for 137Cs values > or = 100 kBq m(-2)), were derived, thus confirming that the fallout pattern can be described as a multifractal.

Estimate of the dose due to 90Sr to the Austrian population after the Chernobyl accident.

In order to estimate the contribution of 90Sr to the exposure of the Austrian population, the ratio of 90Sr to 137Cs in 126 food samples and nine drinking water samples was determined. From this and the average activity concentration of 137Cs in each type of food as obtained by the measurement of some 100,000 food samples after the Chernobyl accident, a good estimate of the average activity concentration of 90Sr in these food items could be obtained. Samples were investigated at various times after the accident to take into account possible changes with time in the 90Sr-activity concentration and its ratio to 137Cs. Also, pre-Chernobyl samples were measured to estimate the relative contribution of the reactor accident and the fallout of the atomic bomb testing to the intake of 90Sr. Assuming average food consumption, the intake of 90Sr for an adult person amounted to 168 Bq in the first year and 115 Bq in the second year after the accident, resulting in an effective dose equivalent of 5.9 muSv and 4.0 muSv, respectively. This is a minor fraction of the dose due to the ingestion of Cs isotopes, which amounted to 360 muSv in the first year and 97 muSv in the second year. For the one-year-old infant, a 90Sr intake of 96 Bq (10.5 muSv) in the first year and 65 Bq (7.1 muSv) in the second year is estimated. Approximately 50% of the intake in the first year and 70% of that in the second year are due to 90Sr from nuclear weapons testing.

A ultra low level laboratory for nuclear test ban measurements.

The radionuclide laboratory at the Austrian Research Centers Seibersdorf (ATL03) was installed to support the international monitoring system for verification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT and Text of the establishment of a Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Test-Ban-Treaty Organization, 1996). Therefore, the background of a high-purity germanium detection system has been reduced by developing a high sophisticated active and passive detector shielding. The entire system is encapsulated in an iron-castle and placed into a fall-out shelter. The final count rate, achieved over the energy interval from 40 to 2700 keV, amounts to 0.18 counts s(-1) kg(-1) (Ge).

The long-term decrease of 90Sr availability in the environment and its transfer to man after a nuclear fallout.

Due to its long physical half-life, and the fact that its long-term mobility in the environment as well as its radiotoxicity is higher than that of 137Cs, the long-term bio-availability of 90Sr in the environment is of importance with regard to the long-term population exposure after fallout from nuclear weapons detonations or a severe reactor accident. It will also substantially influence the time-span required until re-utilisation of highly contaminated territory is possible again. An assessment of the long-term decrease of the activity concentration in all foodstuffs relevant for internal exposure after severe 90Sr fallout was performed. The observed effective half-lives were approximately 1.8-2.1 years in the first 2-3 years after the end of fallout and 8-10 years in the following three decades. This is equivalent to a biological half-life of about 13.2 years and results in a total 50 year dose of 6.2 times the first year exposure. Due to this decline in 90Sr-availability, the average annual activity intake of 90Sr in Austria has decreased from 840 Bq at the climax of the nuclear weapons tests to about 42 Bq in 1997 for adults, and from 500 Bq to about 35 Bq for 1 year old infants. This is equivalent to a 90Sr ingestion dose of 1.2 microSv for adults and 2.5 microSv for 1 year old infants in 1997 or less than 0.4% of the ingestion dose by natural radionuclides in the diet.