Military medicine
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Rapid aeromedical evacuation (AE) is standard of care in current conflicts. However, not much is known about possible effects of hypobaric conditions. We investigated possible effects of hypobaria on organ damage in a swine model of acute lung injury. ⋯ Swine with mild acute lung injury subjected to a 4 hour simulated AE showed more injury to most organs and, in particular, to the lungs compared with ground transport. This may exacerbate otherwise subclinical pathology and, eventually, manifest as abnormalities in gas exchange or possibly end-organ function.
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There is a tremendous opportunity to modernize the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry-relinquishing outdated machines that have been used for decades, and replacing them with state-of-the-art equipment that reflect more contemporary advanced technologies. This article describes how the implementation of continuous manufacturing, replacing outdated batch systems, can positively impact our health care sector. Important benefits will include the creation of advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing jobs in the United States, the establishment of capabilities and capacity to quickly produce drugs critical to U. ⋯ S. Government, in partnership with pharmaceutical companies, to address current issues such as drug shortages, national emergencies (eg, natural disasters or chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear threats), the Strategic National Stockpile (ie, improving response time and reducing maintenance costs), and the delivery of critical drugs to distant geographies (eg, forward military bases). The article also provides a detailed example of a critical aspect of continuous manufacturing: the ability to overcome technical challenges encountered by batch technologies.
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Infection frequently complicates the treatment of combat-related wounds, impairs healing, and leads to worse outcomes. To better manage wound infections, antimicrobial therapies that are effective against biofilm and designed for direct wound application are needed. The primary objective of this work was to evaluate a chitosan matrix for delivery of two engineered antimicrobial peptides, (ASP)-1 and ASP-2, to treat biofilm-associated bacteria. A secondary objective was to determine whether replacing the levorotatory (L) form amino acids in ASP-2 with dextrorotatory (D) form amino acids would impact peptide activity. ⋯ Chitosan serves as an effective delivery platform for ASP-1 and ASP-2 to treat biofilm-embedded bacteria and warrants further development as a topical treatment.
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The vestibular system is essential for normal postural control and balance. Because of their proximity to the cochlea, the otolith organs are vulnerable to noise. We previously showed that head jerks that evoke vestibular nerve activity were no longer capable of inducing a response after noise overstimulation. The present study adds a greater range of jerk intensities to determine if the response was abolished or required more intense stimulation (threshold shift). ⋯ These data suggest that noise overstimulation, such as can occur in the military, could introduce an increased risk of imbalance that should be evaluated before returning a subject to situations that require normal agility and motion. Moreover, although there is recovery with time, some dysfunction persists for extended periods.
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To establish a rabbit model of posterior penetrating eye injury as a platform to test potential therapeutics. ⋯ These data show that ocular fibrosis can be detected within 14 days after initial injury, with more severe fibrosis detected at 28 days postinjury. These results will be used to determine the optimal time points for later studies designed to test treatment strategies.