scholarly journals The shipboard Beirut terrorist bombing experience: a historical account and recommendations for preparedness in events of mass neurological injuries

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. E18
Author(s):  
Zachary S. Hubbard ◽  
Fraser Henderson ◽  
Rocco A. Armonda ◽  
Alejandro M. Spiotta ◽  
Robert Rosenbaum ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Spinal Cord Injuries ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Skull Fracture ◽  
Medical Personnel ◽  
Mass Casualty ◽  
Neurological Injury ◽  
World War ◽  
Mass Casualty Event

On a Sunday morning at 06:22 on October 23, 1983, in Beirut, Lebanon, a semitrailer filled with TNT sped through the guarded barrier into the ground floor of the Civilian Aviation Authority and exploded, killing and wounding US Marines from the 1st Battalion 8th Regiment (2nd Division), as well as the battalion surgeon and deployed corpsmen. The truck bomb explosion, estimated to be the equivalent of 21,000 lbs of TNT, and regarded as the largest nonnuclear explosion since World War II, caused what was then the most lethal single-day death toll for the US Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. Considerable neurological injury resulted from the bombing. Of the 112 survivors, 37 had head injuries, 2 had spinal cord injuries, and 9 had peripheral nerve injuries. Concussion, scalp laceration, and skull fracture were the most common cranial injuries.Within minutes of the explosion, the Commander Task Force 61/62 Mass Casualty Plan was implemented by personnel aboard the USS Iwo Jima. The wounded were triaged according to standard protocol at the time. Senator Humphreys, chairman of the Preparedness Committee and a corpsman in the Korean War, commented that he had never seen such a well-executed evolution. This was the result of meticulous preparation that included training not only of the medical personnel but also of volunteers from the ship’s company, frequent drilling with other shipboard units, coordination of resources throughout the ship, the presence of a meticulous senior enlisted man who carefully registered each of the wounded, the presence of trained security forces, and a drilled and functioning communication system.Viewed through the lens of a neurosurgeon, the 1983 bombings and mass casualty event impart important lessons in preparedness. Medical personnel should be trained specifically to handle the kinds of injuries anticipated and should rehearse the mass casualty event on a regular basis using mock-up patients. Neurosurgery staff should participate in training and planning for events alongside other clinicians. Training of nurses, corpsmen, and also nonmedical personnel is essential. In a large-scale evolution, nonmedical personnel may monitor vital signs, work as scribes or stretcher bearers, and run messages. It is incumbent upon medical providers and neurosurgeons in particular to be aware of the potential for mass casualty events and to make necessary preparations.

scholarly journals Field Experiments in Class Size from the Early Twentieth Century

2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 211-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonah Rockoff
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Class Size ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
The Other ◽  
World War ◽  
Mixed Messages

A vast majority of adults believe that class size reductions are a good way to improve the quality of public schools. Reviews of the research literature, on the other hand, have provided mixed messages on the degree to which class size matters for student achievement. Here I will discuss a substantial, but overlooked, body of experimental work on class size that developed prior to World War II. These field experiments did not have the benefit of modern econometrics, and only a few were done on a reasonably large scale. However, they often used careful empirical designs, and the collective magnitude of this body of work is considerable. Moreover, this research produced little evidence to suggest that students learn more in smaller classes, which stands in contrast to some, though not all, of the most recent work by economists. In this essay, I provide an overview of the scope and breadth of the field experiments in class size conducted prior to World War II, the motivations behind them, and how their experimental designs were crafted to deal with perceived sources of bias. I discuss how one might interpret the findings of these early experimental results alongside more recent research.

Fluorine-Containing Elastomers

1961 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 1521-1552 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Montermoso
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Air Force ◽  
Department Of Defense ◽  
Low Temperatures ◽  
Task Force ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
World War ◽  
Arctic Regions ◽  
Rubber Compounds ◽  
Fuel Leakage

Abstract Fluoroprene, the first fluorine-containing elastomer, was developed by E. I. du Pont de Nemours … Company and reported by Mochel and others in 1948. However, intensive research to develop specialty rubbers from fluorocarbons was not started until the early 1950's. At the time, there was an urgent military need for fuel and chemical resistant rubbers for service under extremely low temperatures. Consequently, most of the fluorine-containing elastomers were the result of research conducted or sponsored by the Department of Defense. Army experiences in the Aleutians during World War II and in several task force operations in the Arctic regions showed, among others, that fuel hoses became brittle and cracked. Gaskets failed to function. On shipboard, the Navy was experiencing similar difficulties with rubber items. The Air Force, on the other hand, was being plagued with an epidemic of fuel leakage on many of its aircraft. The extraction of the plasticizers from the nitrile rubber compounds and the low temperature of the environment caused shrinkage of the seals and gaskets resulting in leakage of fuels. Obviously, a solution to these problems was to develop new fuel resistant rubbers which would be inherently flexible at extremely low temperatures.

Physician uncertainty, specialty ideology, and a second opinion prior to tonsillectomy

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 952-952
Author(s):  
John E. Wennberg
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Second Opinion ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
World War ◽  
Physician Uncertainty

For half a century, the tonsil has been the target of a large-scale, uncontrolled surgical experiment-tonsillectomy. In the fourth and fifth decades of this century, well over 50% of children appear to have undergone the procedure; since World War II, opinion has swung away from mass use and by 1973 about 25% of children appear to have been affected. Pediatricians have been the weathermen in the change of clinical climate, pressing for reduction in use of tonsillectomy in their journal articles. Among a sample of California physicians, the offspring of pediatricians underwent fewer tonsillectomies than the children of other types of physicians.

Stranded Modernity

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daishiro Nomiya
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Developmental Pattern ◽  
World War ◽  
Historical Process ◽  
Post World War Ii ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
Nation States

High modernity claims that the modernity project gave rise to institutional organs of modern nation states, culminating in an emergence of ultra-military states with wartime economy in the early twentieth century. It also argues that the same developmental pattern continued to dominate in the post-World War II period. This chapter examines this high-modernity thesis, employing Japan and Hiroshima as cases to be analyzed. Against the high-modernity thesis, many believe that Japan had a historical disjuncture in 1945, being ultramilitary before the end of World War II and a peaceful nation after. Examinations show that, while the modernity project controlled a large-scale historical process in Japan, it met vehement resistance, and became stranded in Hiroshima.

scholarly journals A brief history of wood use and forest management in Alaska

1996 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tricia L. Wurtz ◽  
Anthony F. Gasbarro
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Alaska Native ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
National Interest ◽  
National Forests ◽  
Forest Land ◽  
World War ◽  
History Of ◽  
Gold Miners ◽  
Commercial Forest

The Native peoples of Alaska used wood for fuel, for the construction of shelters, and for a variety of implements. Explorers, fur traders, gold miners, and settlers also relied on Alaska's forest resource. The early 20th century saw the creation of the Tongass and Chugach National Forests in coastal Alaska, where large-scale harvesting began shortly after World War II. By 1955, two 50-year contracts had been signed, committing 13 billion board feet of sawlogs and pulpwood. The commercial forest land base in Alaska has been dramatically reduced by a variety of legislative acts, including the Statehood Act of 1959 and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980. Key words: forest history, Alaska, aboriginal use of forests, fuelwood, stemwheeled riverboats, gold mining, land classification, National Forests, Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act

Anthropometric Resources vs. Civilian Needs

1978 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 600-600
Author(s):  
John T. McConville
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
World War ◽  
Occupational Groups ◽  
Military Populations ◽  
Wide Assortment ◽  
Size Data

For several decades after World War II, the only comprehensive source of body size data was that of large-scale anthropometric surveys of military personnel. While the range of most dimensions measured on military populations, both male and female, are comparable to those found in the overall U.S. population, self-selection or body size criteria dictated by particular jobs often result in considerable physical variability among occupational groups, a phenomenon which has been amply borne out by surveys of such diverse populations as law enforcement officers and airline stewardess trainees. It has become clear in the civilian sector that “all-purpose” body size data are often misleading and inadequate and that designers of clothing, equipment and workspaces are increasingly faced with the need for a wide assortment of differentiated data to meet many specialized needs. Resources will be explored and solutions suggested.

Analysis of Emergency Health Care Workforce and Service Readiness for a Mass Casualty Event in the Republic of Ireland

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (02) ◽  
pp. 243-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tener Goodwin Veenema ◽  
Fiona Boland ◽  
Declan Patton ◽  
Tom O’Connor ◽  
Zena Moore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Emergency Response ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Mass Casualty ◽  
Republic Of Ireland ◽  
Emergency Responders ◽  
Mass Casualty Event ◽  
Service Readiness ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Professional Disciplines

ABSTRACTObjectiveUltimately, a country’s capacity for a large-scale major emergency response will be directly related to the competence of its health care provider (HCP) workforce and communication between emergency responders and hospitals. The purpose of this study was to assess HCP preparedness and service readiness for a major emergency involving mass casualties (mass casualty event or MCE) in Ireland.MethodsA cross-sectional study using a 53-item survey was administered to a purposive sample of emergency responders and HCPs in the Republic of Ireland. Data collection was achieved using the Qualtrics® Research Suite. Descriptive statistics and appropriate tests of comparison between professional disciplines were conducted using Stata 13.ResultsA total of 385 respondents, registered nurses (43.4%), paramedics (37.9%), medical doctors (10.1%), and administrators/managers (8.6%), participated in the study. In general, a level of knowledge of MCEs and knowledge of clinical response activities and self-assessed clinical competence varied drastically across many aspects of the survey. Knowledge and confidence also varied across professional disciplines (P<0.05) with nurses, in general, reporting the least knowledge and/or confidence.ConclusionsThe results demonstrate that serious deficits exist in HCP knowledge, skills, and self-perceived abilities to participate in a large-scale MCE. Results also suggest a poor knowledge base of existing major emergency response plans. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:243–255)

scholarly journals Extraordinary curtailment of massive typhus epidemic in the Warsaw Ghetto

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (30) ◽  
pp. eabc0927
Author(s):  
Lewi Stone ◽  
Daihai He ◽  
Stephan Lehnstaedt ◽  
Yael Artzy-Randrup
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Modeling ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Epidemic Outbreak ◽  
World War ◽  
Food Ration ◽  
Warsaw Ghetto ◽  
War And Society ◽  
The Holocaust ◽  
Deadly Disease

The highly dependent interplay of disease, famine, war, and society is examined based on an extreme period during World War II. Using mathematical modeling, we reassess events during the Holocaust that led to the liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto (1941–1942), with the eventual goal of deliberately killing ~450,000, mostly Jewish residents, many through widespread starvation and a large-scale typhus epidemic. The Nazis justified genocide supposedly to control the spread of disease. This exemplifies humanity’s ability to turn upon itself, based on racially guided epidemiological principles, merely because of the appearance of a bacterium. Deadly disease and starvation dynamics are explored using modeling and the maths of food ration cards. Strangely, the epidemic was curtailed and was brought to a sudden halt before winter, when typhus normally accelerates. A far more massive epidemic outbreak was prevented through the antiepidemic efforts by the often considered incompetent and corrupt ghetto leadership and the Herculean efforts of ghetto doctors.

BCLM: Forging Ahead: building a new urban history of the Black Country

Urban History ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Simon Briercliffe
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Public History ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
World War ◽  
Public Project ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Historical Moment ◽  
Country Town

Abstract The recreation of urban historical space in museums is inevitably a complex, large-scale endeavour bridging the worlds of academic and public history. BCLM: Forging Ahead at the Black Country Living Museum is a £23m project recreating a typical Black Country town post-World War II. This article uses case-studies of three buildings – a Civic Restaurant, a record shop and a pub – to argue that urban-historical research methodology and community engagement can both create a vivid sense of the past, and challenge pervasive prejudices. It also argues that such a collaborative and public project reveals much about the urban and regional nature of industrial areas like the Black Country in this pivotal historical moment.

Becoming Interested In Experiments: American Igneous Petrologists and the Geophysical Laboratory, 1905-1965

1995 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl-Henry Geschwind
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Interwar Period ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Experimental Approach ◽  
Laboratory Data ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Experimental Science ◽  
World War ◽  
Igneous Petrology

The establishment of the Carnegie Institution of Washington's Geophysical Laboratory in 1905 and the pathbreaking work conducted there by Norman L. Bowen in the 1910s and 1920s are commonly considered to have rendered igneous petrology an experimental science. A closer examination of the work of American igneous petrologists outside the Laboratory reveals, however, that consideration of experimental data did not become an integral part of petrological practice until after World War II. To be sure, igneous petrologists celebrated the Geophysical Laboratory and its experimental approach in speeches and historical reviews throughout the interwar period. In their actual research, though, most igneous petrologists ignored the large body of experimental results gathered by the Geophysical Laboratory and treated Bowen's theory of differentiation as merely another speculative petrogenetic hypothesis to be tested against field data. These petrologists, many of whom were engaged in mapping for state and federal surveys, regarded laboratory data on simple anhydrous systems as simply inapplicable to real rocks. Not until after World War II, when the Geophysical Laboratory began large-scale experimentation on hydrous systems and natural rocks, did field petrologists generally accept the relevance of experimental data. At the same time, the institutional framework of igneous petrology changed in the late 1940s and 1950s as a number of experimental petrologists took advantage both of support from new government agencies, and of the rapidly increasing prestige of geochemistry within the discipline, to establish numerous new experimental laboratories. This change in the structure of the discipline, coupled with the greater reliance on hydrous systems and natural rocks in experimental work, finally led to the general incorporation of experimentation into petrological practice.

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