Fatal steamer accident; blunt force injuries and drowning in post-mortem MSCT and MRI.

Steamer accidents, through contact with the bucket wheel, are very seldom today. No publication of such a kind of fatal accident could be found in literature. We present the case of a fatal steamer accident, in which the findings of a blunt traumatization of a person by the ship was completely documented by post-mortem combined multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations. A rupture of the aorta was detected using both radiological methods without use of radiopaque material. Radiological examination revealed a comminuted fracture of the thorax vertebrae at the same level as the aortic rupture. Injuries of the soft tissues of the back, caused by the bucket wheel of the steamer, were also diagnosed. In addition to the signs of blunt force trauma the findings of drowning such as an over inflation of the lungs, fluid in the stomach and duodenum were revealed. Furthermore, algological analysis detected diatoms in the lung tissue and blood from the left heart. Therefore, the cause of death was considered being a combination of fatal hemorrhage, caused by the aortic rupture, and drowning. We conclude that virtual autopsy using combined post-mortem MSCT and MRI is a useful tool for documentation, visualisation and analysis of the findings of blunt force trauma and drowning with a large potential in forensic medicine.

Rough Waters: Life at Sea in the 19th Century

This talk consists of two parts - first part deals with what Jeffrey Bolster called “The Changing Nature of Maritime Insurrection”- and I will tie that into some research that I did on a New York clipper ship called the Contest. The second part of the talk will look at the rise of seafarer’s missions and that will tie Roald Kverndal’s magnum opus Seamen’s Missions: Their Origin and Early Growth into some research that I did on the earliest work done in New York among seafarers that pre-dated the American Seamen’s Friend Society.

Molecular mechanism of jet fuel induced immune suppression

Dermal exposure to jet fuel suppresses the immune response. Immune regulatory cytokines, and biological modifiers, including platelet activating factor, prostaglandin E2, and interleukin-10 have all been implicated in the pathway leading to immunosuppression. It is estimated that approximately 260 different hydrocarbons are found in JP-8 (jet propulsion-8) jet fuel, and the identity of the immunotoxic compound is not known. The recent availability of synthetic jet fuel (S-8), which is devoid of aromatic hydrocarbons, made it feasible to design experiments to test the hypothesis that the aromatic hydrocarbons are responsible for jet fuel induced immune suppression. Applying S-8 to the skin of mice does not up-regulate the expression of epidermal cyclooxygenase-2 nor does it induce immune suppression. Adding back a cocktail of 7 of the most prevalent aromatic hydrocarbons found in jet fuel to S-8 up-regulated cyclooxygenase-2 expression and induced immune suppression. Cyclooxygenase-2 induction can be initiated by reactive oxygen species (ROS). JP-8 treated keratinocytes increased ROS production, S-8 did not. Antioxidant pre-treatment blocked jet fuel induced immune suppression and cyclooxygenase-2 up-regulation. Accumulation of reactive oxygen species induces oxidant stress and affects activity of ROS sensitive transcription factors. JP-8 induced activation of NFκB while S-8 did not. Pre-treatment with antioxidants blocked activation of NFκB and parthenolide, an NFκB inhibitor, blocked jet fuel induced immune suppression and cyclooxygenase-2 expression in skin of treated mice. p65 siRNA transfected keratinocytes demonstrated NFκB is critically involved in jet fuel induced COX-2 expression. These findings clearly implicate the aromatic hydrocarbons found in jet fuel as the agents responsible for inducing immune suppression, in part by the production of reaction oxygen species, NFκB dependent up-regulation of cyclooxygenase-2, and the production of immune regulatory factors and cytokines. ^

Description and chemical composition of manganese deposits during the deep-sea expedition of the streamer Valdivia in 1898-1899

This monograph forms the fourth part of the tenth volume of the scientific results of the voyage of the German exploring ship Valdivia in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, made during the years 1898-1899. These volumes are published under the editorship of Prof. Chun, the zoologist of Leipzig, who was leader of the expedition ; and Prof. E. Philippi with the cooperation of Sir John Murray. The nature of the materials brought up at various points during the voyage is well illustrated by a series of plates, similar to those accompanying the Challenger volumes. Among the concretions from the Agulhas Bank were found phosphatic nodules containing 33 per cent, of calcium carbonate, 28 of calcium phosphate, 14.6 of calcium sulphate, and 4.8 of magnesium carbonate, with some ferric oxide, alumina, and silica. These nodules were dredged at a depth of 155 metres. Off the coast of Namibia, a large quantity of manganese nodules were also dredged. Their chemical analysis performed at the Mineralogical Institute of the University Jena show similar composition as the nodules recovered by the "Challenger" at station 253 in the Pacific Ocean.

Planktonic foraminifera of the Mediterranean Sea

A high-resolution biochronology is presented for the Late Quaternary of the central Mediterranean. In the Late Pleistocene-Holocene successions three assemblage zones are distinguished on the basis of frequency patterns of planktic foraminifera. The age of these zones is determined by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS)14C dating. The zonal boundaries are dated at 12,700 yr B.P. (the end of Termination Ia) and 9600 yr B.P. (the start of Termination Ib), respectively. The AMS dates show that major changes in the planktic and benthic realms occurred synchronously over wide areas, although records of individual species may show important regional differences. In the studied areas, resedimentation processes revealed by anomalous successions of14C dates, play a far more important role than indicated by the sedimentological and micropaleontological data. Possibly these processes contribute to the very high accumulation rates in the glacial Zone III. Although the AMS technique has increased the accuracy of14C-measurements, admixture of older carbonate may still lead to substantial age differences between areas with different sedimentary regimes.