PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J H Wolcott

Publications and source records attributed to J H Wolcott.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1980

Role of radiology in aviation accident investigation.

Radiographic screening of fatality victims for skeletal detail, dental and surgical artifacts, personal effects, and foreign bodies is of established value. Radiography as the primary means of positive victim identification, through comparison with antemortem films and records, is an important new role. Data on sources of injury and relationships between victims and the crash environment may be derived from radiographic injury patterns and may be correlated with mechanisms of injury production. The result of such analysis is improved safety design. Such radiography poses unique technical and logistical problems, often involving temporary or remote facilities, which must be solved with consideration for privacy and safety. Advance planning is essential for maximum benefit from radiographic investigation.

Accidents, Aviation↗
PubMed1980

Use of personal effects in the Canary Island accident investigation.

Personal effects were used extensively to provide supportive evidence for identification and in seven cases it provided the main means of identification. Personal effects were received from the Canary Islands in numbered plastic bags, having been removed from each remains. In a few cases, personal effects must have been taken from locations near a remains because four bags were found to contain identifiable personal effects that did not match the remains with the same number. therefore, personal effects were utilized less frequently than might normally occur in the course of such investigations. Thorough searches of each remains, especially X-ray, yielded additional effects during the investigation at Dover. A small dedicated team was formed which was responsible for cleaning, cataloging, and requesting antemortem information necessary for the identification process. They made extensive use of color Polaroid photography.

Accidents, Aviation↗
PubMed1980

Administrative organization and function during the identification process for mass disasters--Canary Islands crash.

The administrative functions associated with large-scale medical and identification efforts in accident investigations are substantial and contribute directly to the overall conduct of the operation. We envisioned the administrative role as one primarily responsible for integration of all antemortem and postmortem information. This required each individual involved to be thoroughly familiar with the data. This required constructions of numerous lists, charts, and records. Secondly, its role involved data storage to document the identifications made. Finally, its role required summary status reporting both during and after the main investigation. Fortunately, we haven't had many accidents the size of the one occuring in the Canary Islands. However, this leaves us with little corporate knowledge on handling administrative matters. This article is designed to explain the who, what, why, and how administration was handled in this accident, and the lessons we learned.

Accidents, Aviation↗
PubMed1980

Summary of the means used to positively identify the American victims in the Canary Islands crash.

On board the Pan American aircraft, 326 were killed as a result of the collision with the KLM aircraft at Santa Cruz de Tenerife airport in the Canary Islands on 27 March, 1977. Of the remains returned to the United States, 212 were identified as Americans from the Pan Am, four from the KLm aircraft. Dental comparison provided the principal means of identification, especially ante- and post-mortem radiographs. Medical X-rays were extremely useful and provided the next most frequently used means of identification. Fingerprints, medical finding, and personal effects were also used, but less extensively than might be expected. The severe charring and the inability to prove conclusively to whom many of the personal effects belonged accounted for these differences. The use of medical X-rays for identification was possible in large part because many of the passengers were older and had numerous antemortem X-rays available for comparison.

Accidents, Aviation↗
PubMed1979

Correlation of choice reaction time performance with biorhythmic criticality and cycle phase.

The biorhythm theory correlates behavior to physical, emotional, and intellectual cycles. It states that an individual's behavior is influenced by these three cycles which begin at the moment of birth and operate thereafter simultaneously. The theory is commonly tested when the occurrence of accidents is compared to the phase of the biorhythm cycles. If the theory is true, more accidents would occur on a critical day than would be expected by a random distribution. A second method to test the theory is used in this paper, where actual performance of a laboratory task is correlated with the phases of the cycle. Performance was measured in a choice reaction time (CRT) task with each task composed of 400 light flashes. The methods and results are presented and discussed. The conclusion reached from analyses of the data was that performance in the CRT task was no influenced by biorhythms.

Achievement↗
PubMed1979

Mycobacterium ulcerans infection: treatment with rifampin, hyperbaric oxygenation, and heat.

The effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygenation (HBO), heat, and rifampin for treating mice infected with Mycobacterium ulcerans was analyzed. Four hundred mice were innouclated in the hind footpads with 10(8) organisms. The seven treatment groups (50 mice each) were HBO (2.5 ATA for 1.5 h, twice a day), rifampin (RIF) (20 mg/kg body weight/d), heat (mice maintained at 37 degrees C), and all combinations of the three treatments. The severity of infection in the treated mice was compared weekly for 20 weeks with that of infected controls. The most effective treatments were RIF/HEAT and RIF/HBO/HEAT, RIF/HBO/HEAT treatment was further evaluated to determine the effectiveness of treating mice at various stages of infection. Three hundred mice were inoculated in the hind footpads, and, as the infection progressed, they were separated into groups (50 mice/group) according to the severity of infection. The treatment groups were compared to positive controls. The effectiveness of therapy was indirectly proportional to the severity of infection.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Joint Committee on Aviation Pathology: XVIII. Correlation of occurrence of aircraft accidents with biorhythmic criticality and cycle phase in U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, and civil aviation pilots.

The correlation of occurrence of aircraft accidents to critical and negative phases of the biorhythm cycles was investigated. Data from 880 U.S. Air Force pilot-involved accident cases were studied and added to 4,279 previously reported cases. The data were tested by chi-square analysis under the null hypothesis that there is no effect of biorhythm on aviation accidents. Under this hypothesis, the expected number of accidents occurring on critical days should be 179.13 for the U.S. Air Force; there were 179. In analyzing the effect of biorhythmic criticality for pilot-involved cases from all sources, there were were 300 individual chi-square values computed. The frequency of these values by their percentile distribution so closely matched the theoretical distribution that there was no evidence whatsoever to indicate an effect of biorhythmic criticality. There no correlation between multiply negative or individually negative phases of the biorhythm cycles and aircraft accidents in the U.S. Air Force or in the combined pilot-involved accident group.

Accidents, Aviation↗
PubMed1975

Treatment of Mycobacterium ulcerans infection by hyperbaric oxygenation.

Mycobacterium ulcerans causes chronic nectotizing ulcers of the skin and subcutaneous tissue and is a serious health problem in some tropical countries. Chemotherapy has not been effective, and the treatment of choice is extensive debridement followed by skin grafting. In spite of this, many infections are complicated by disfiguring scars, contraction deformities, and--rarely--amputation. There are other procedures that may promote healing (e.g., heat treatment, rifampicin), but none has been completely evaluated. In our study, hyperbaric oxygenation (HBO), an effective treatment for many bacterial diseases, including some mycobacterial infections, was used to treat mice with M. ulcerans-infected footpads. Three groups (40 mice/group) were treated daily with 100% oxygen by three different protocols: 2.5 ATA for 2 h; 2.5 ATA for 1.25 h, twice a day; and 2 ATA for 3.5 h. The degree of infection in the treated mice was compared weekly with 40 positive controls (infected, not treated). The HBO therapy was more effective in the group treated at 2.5 ATA for 1.25 h, twice a day. After 25 weeks, there had been two feet autoamputated and only 12 deaths among the mice, as compared to 18 feet amputated and 24 deaths in the control group. Thus, hyperbaric oxygenation has a beneficial effect in mice and, if used in conjunction with other therapeutic procedures in man, may be an effective therapeutic adjunct in treating M. ulcerans infections.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Analysis of gases and pH of blood at altitude.

The accuracy of a system for measuring pH and gas in blood in a changing-altitude environment was studied. No problems were encountered when arterial blood was measured, provided the instrument was properly calibrated. Failure to calibrate to the correct altitude settings caused major variations in measuring oxygen levels in blood. Standard gases used for calibrating were measured at altitude without recalibrating the system; approximately 80% of the oxygen and 90% of the carbon dioxide partial-pressure values were within 3 mm Hg of their expected value. More deviation occurred for Po2 values as the altitude increased. Frequently, the Po2 electrode malfunctioned, particularly above 8000 ft (2438 m). The Corning Blood Gas System, which was used in this study, was capable of making accurate determinations of gas in blood if properly operated and calibrated to specific altitude levels.

Altitude↗
PubMed1967

Orotidine-5'-phosphate decarboxylase and pyrophosphorylase of bean leaves.

This report includes results demonstrating the existence of orotidine-5'-phosphate decarboxylase and orotidine-5'-phosphate pyrophosphorylase in plant leaves. The decarboxylase enzyme, purified 8 fold from leaves of etiolated pinto beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), had a pH optimum of 6.3. It was strongly inhibited by 6-azauridine-5'-phosphate; a concentration of 12 mum decreased the reaction rate 60%. The enzyme was not dependent upon magnesium ions or inhibited by p-chloromercuribenzoate. It was present in other parts of the bean plant and was found in young leaves of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) and Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense L.)The enzyme orotidine-5'-phosphate pyrophosphorylase, which catalyzes the formation of orotidine-5'-phosphate from orotic acid and 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate, was found in the etiolated bean leaves, and was also present in the leaves of tomato and Canada thistle. It was stimulated by manganous or magnesium ions and had a pH optimum of 7.2. The K(m) value obtained by varying the concentrations of 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate was 75 mum, and when orotic acid was varied the resulting K(m) was 3.5 mum. The presence of these 2 enzymes in higher plants, combined with previous results with inhibitors and labeled metabolites, indicates that the normal pathway of pyrimidine nucleotide synthesis in higher plants proceeds through orotic acid and OMP.

Carboxy-Lyases↗