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About The monitor. (Omaha, Neb.) 1915-1928 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 1915)
NEW TESTS OF DEATH. It is quite natural, says a contri butor to The Medical Record (New York), that the speedy and accurate diagnosis of death should receive in creasing interest in those countries in which the business of killing seems to have supplanted all other forms of human activity. He describes three new methods of determining the ces sation of life, discussed recently in Le Clinica Medica Italians. “The first of these is the ether test. A drop of ether is instilled into the conjunctival sac of one eye. If this is followed by a reddening of the conjunctiva it affords proof that the circulation ;s intact and that life is still presf nt. The other eye is useii as a control. The second test . . . consists in the subcutaneous injection of fluorescin, which, if the individual is still living, is soon followed by a yellowish coloring of the skin and mucosa. The conjunctiva and the mucous membrane of the mouth, and particularly of the frenum of the tongue, show this coloration most dis tinctly ... A negative result is ob tained in cases of marked slowing or enfeeblement of the circulation. . . The third test . . consists in direct exploration of the Jieart by means of a stylet. This is introduced through a small incision in one of the inter costal spaces. Any movement in the heart is communicated to the stylet. In some instances of suspended ani mation it is possible to arouse cardiac activity by means of gentle move ments of the stylet, combined with artificial respiration.”—Literary Di gest. FLOORING THE SEA WITH CON CRETE. While a large portion of the na tions of the world are engaged in fighting one another, Holland quietly continues its age-long struggle against its old enemy, the ocean; every new attempt of the foe to snatch a bit of Holland’s hard-won soil is met with some ingenious de fensive device. Some years ago, it Was discovered on the coast of the island of Schou wen (in Zeeland) that, although the dykes remained intact, the waters oozed up in the dyke-protected pold ers; the sea was undermining the land, and this undermining process began far out from the coast under the waters. Insidiously the water ate into the land until the dykes, having lost their foundation, toppled over in their turn, leaving the sea undisput | cd master of the field. It was the en gineer of the department of water ways for Schouwen, Mr. Yonk Heer (Yonk Heer is a title of nobility) de Muralt who devised a means of de fense against these inroads. He caused the sea bottom itself, where it sloped away seawards from the foot of the dyke, to be strengthened by laying over it a flooring of con crete. Such a flooring is in reality a sort of “mat” composed of blocks of concrete, each of one meter (39.37 inches) square. Every such “mat” weighs 200,000 kilograms (220 tons). It is constructed on an incline built over the water. When the “mat” is ready an iron pontoon is drawn up just above it, and by an ingenious system of hawsers and pulleys, the “mat” of concrete is hoisted up until it rests against the bottom of the pon toon where it is fastened by means of the hawsers. A tugboat then tows off the whole affair—pontoon and “mat” —to the spot where it has to be sunk. This proved so effective that the Netherlands government adopted the method for all places where the coast is menaced.—Scientific American. It pays to advertise in The Monitor. headquarters for dependable home furnishings priced moderately ■■■■■ BEATON & LAIER CO.I 415*17 So. 16lh St. Phone Douglas 335 Omaha, Neb. 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