Humans are constantly exposed to a wide range of reactive and toxic chemicals from the different sources in everyday life. Identification of the exposed chemical helps in the detection and understanding the exposure associated adverse health effects. Covalent adducts of proteins and DNA formed after xenobiotics exposure may serve as readily measurable indicators of these exposures. Measuring the exposed chemicals with focus on adducts resulting from the nucleophilic interactions with blood proteins is useful in the development of diagnostic markers. Particularly, the most abundant proteins such as albumin and hemoglobin acts as dominant scavengers for many reactive chemicals in blood and can serve as excellent diagnostic candidates to determine the type of chemical exposure. This review focuses on the potential application of an adductomics approach for the screening of bimolecular adducts of chemical warfare agents (CWAs). Recent incidents of CWAs use in Syria, Malaysia, and the UK illustrate the continuing threat of chemical warfare agents in the modern world. Detection of CWAs and their metabolites in blood or in other body fluids of victims depends on immediate access to victims. Concentrations of intact CWAs in body fluids of surviving victims may decline rapidly within a few days. Certain CWAs, particularly nerve agents and vesicants, form covalent bonds with certain amino acids to form CWA-protein adducts. Proteins that are abundant in the blood, including albumin and hemoglobin, may carry these adducts longer after the original exposure. We searched MEDLINE and ISI Web of Science databases using the key terms "adductomics" "adducts of CWAs," "CWAs adducts detection in the biological samples," "protein adducts of CWAs," alone and in combination with the keywords "detection" "intoxication" "exposure" "adverse effects" and "toxicity." We also included non-peer-reviewed sources such as text books, relevant newspaper reports, and applicable Internet resources. We screened bibliographies of identified articles for additional relevant studies including non-indexed reports. These searches produced 1931 citations of which only relevant and nonduplicate citations were considered for this review. The analysis of biomedical samples has several purposes including detecting and identifying the type of chemical agent exposed, understanding the biological mechanism, assists in giving adequate treatment, determining the cause of death and providing evidence in a court of justice for forensic investigations. Rapid advances in the mass spectrometry to acquire high-quality data with greater resolution enabled the analysis of protein and DNA adducts of xenobiotics including CWAs and place the rapidly advancing 'adductomics' next to the other "-omics" technologies. Adductomics can serve as a powerful bioanalytical tool for the verification of CWAs exposure. This review mostly describes the protein adducts for nerve agents and vesicants, outlines the procedures for measuring adducts, and suggests the evolving (or future) use of adducts in the detection and verification of CWAs.
Matched MeSH terms: Chemical Warfare*; Chemical Warfare Agents/toxicity*
During the Japanese Occupation of Singapore (1942-1945), Singapore was renamed Syonan (or Syonanto). The Japanese Military Administration established The Medical College on 27 April 2603 (1943) and it was known as The Marei Ika Daigaku or Syonan Medical College. It was sited at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital (Hakua Byoin). The Ika Daigaku relocated to the General Hospital, Malacca in February 2604 (1944) where it functioned till the end of the Japanese Occupation in September 1945. About 200 students from Singapore, Malaya, Sumatra and Java attended the Syonan Medical College; the students were taught mainly Japanese language and culture.
In the concluding part of her war diary, Brenda MacDuff, a nurse with the Colonial Nursing Service in Malaya, tells of her final incarceration, eventual freedom and reunion with her husband.
In Part 1 of her war diary, Brenda MacDuff, a nurse with the Colonial Nursing Service in Malaya, tells of her early experiences in the country at the outbreak of war in the East and of her subsequent capture by the Japanese Army.
The war exploits of Australian Army nurses have been represented in a number of literary sources, but there is a paucity of data about the nurses who served in the Malayan Emergency (1948-1960). Using descriptive interpretive historiography, with a central focus on oral testimony, this paper aims to highlight the culturally rich and diverse environment of Malaya in the 1950s. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four women from the Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps to expose their experiences and perceptions of the Malayan environment and its people. The information provided by these nurses was subjected to manual thematic analysis resulting in the emergence of a number of themes. One prominent theme, Malaya's cultural diversity, was chosen for this paper because it contained an abundant source of new and rich data. To protect the identities of the informants pseudonyms were used in the presentation of the oral narratives. This approach led to revelations about how Australian women, with limited knowledge or exposure to other cultural groups, engaged in work and leisure time pursuits in Malaya's exotic cultural milieu.
The views and concerns of the employers of reservists sent on overseas deployments are largely unknown. A survey was conducted of 126 Australian employers who participated in Exercise Boss Lift sponsored by the Australian Defence Force, which involved a visit to their employees deployed on overseas service in the Solomon Islands and Malaysia during the period 2006-2010. Employers reported a substantial number of positive aspects of reservist deployment for both their enterprise and the individual reservist employee, including an increase in leadership, teamwork, skills, maturity, and confidence. There were 40% fewer reported negatives, which primarily concerned the costs associated with the absence of an important employee. The employers expressed needs for greater information regarding dates of absence of their reservist employee and assistance from the ADF to enable them to enhance the overall deployment. Importantly, employers sought confirmation of ways to effectively manage the transition of their reservist from military service back to their civilian roles. Some employers offered to act as advocates.
Climate change and nuclear war are currently the most dangerous challenges to human civilisation and survival. The effects of climate change are now sufficient to persuade many governments to take effective measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Today there are about 27,000 nuclear warheads, many at least ten times more powerful than the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs, and a meaningful medical response to a nuclear attack is impossible. Nevertheless, the threat of nuclear war does not raise public concern, and indeed the nuclear-weapon states are upgrading their capability. The only effective preventive measure is the abolition of nuclear weapons. Steps towards this include: a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty, for the nuclear weapon states to observe their obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty to enter into force. The ultimate need is for a Nuclear Weapons Convention; International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War have launched an International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear weapons (ICAN) to promote a NWC.
The invasion of Singapore and Malaya was delayed because of the reduction in the period of service in the Far East. The atom bombs were then dropped and plans for all services including medical ones had to be altered, their main aim becoming the treatment and repatriation of surviving prisoners of war. The ending of the war did not occur abruptly on V-J day; many Japanese troops had to be convinced that the war was over. Meantime the treatment of diseases in British and other service men continued; reference is made to some experiences in Rangoon. The morale of personnel who now were anxious to return to their homes was low and efforts were made to raise their spirits. In India it was accepted that the days of British rule were over.
François Sirois' influential paradigm for diagnosing episodes of epidemic hysteria is discussed. The part of his schema addressing the large diffuse outbreak should be eliminated as it does not possess characteristic features of mass hysteria and overlooks the potential social, cultural, political, ritualistic and institutional patterning of collective behavior. A case study involving the collective delusion of phantom rockets over Sweden during 1946 illustrates the complexities of such episodes.
This is a personal experience with MERCY Malaysia’s Team 7 during its sixday sojourn in Gaza immediately after the 22-day war. It was a mission cut short. We were asked to evacuate as Israel intensified its shelling. This paper is divided into two main parts: First, my observations as a psychiatrist and humanitarian volunteer; and second, a plan for a psychosocial programme in
Gaza.
In this article, we speculate the reasons behind the death of Achilles during the Trojan war. Roots of Medicine can be traced to ancient Greek history. From the Hippocrates Oath to the Achilles tendon, it all has a long story to tell. In the history of ancient Greece, Gods played an important role in their lives and the immortals existed.