A preliminary study on the use of (10)Be in forensic radioecology of nuclear explosion sites.

Cosmogenic (10)Be, known for use in dating studies, unexpectedly is also produced in nuclear explosions with an atom yield almost comparable to (e.g.) (137)Cs. There are major production routes via (13)C(n, alpha)(10)Be, from carbon dioxide in the air and the organic explosives, possibly from other bomb components and to a minor extent from the direct fission reaction. Although the detailed bomb components are speculative, carbon was certainly present in the explosives and an order of magnitude calculation is possible. The (n, alpha) cross-section was determined by irradiating graphite in a nuclear reactor, and the resulting (10)Be estimated by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) giving a cross-section of 34.5+/-0.7mb (6-9.3MeV), within error of previous work. (10)Be should have applications in forensic radioecology. Historical environmental samples from Hiroshima, and Semipalatinsk (Kazakhstan) showed two to threefold (10)Be excesses compared with the background cosmogenic levels. A sample from Lake Chagan (a Soviet nuclear cratering experiment) contained more (10)Be than previously reported soils. (10)Be may be useful for measuring the fast neutron dose near the Hiroshima bomb hypocenter at neutron energies double those previously available.

A retrospective analysis of the intubations performed during 5 years of helicopter emergency medical service in Amsterdam.

INTRODUCTION: Different skilled personnel perform prehospital airway management, by far one of the most challenging skills with major consequences upon failure. SETTING: The setting for this study was the helicopter emergency medical service at the Vrije Universiteit Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of all medical charts of intubated trauma patients in the period from May 1995 to May 2000. We focused on intubation reasons and conditions. RESULTS: In 43 of 653 patients (7%) the process of intubation was recorded as being difficult, leading to 5 failed intubations (11.6%). In 432 of 653 trauma victims (66%), general anaesthesia was required before intubation. Forty (9%) of these patients died, most soon after arrival in the hospital. The clinical condition of 221 (34%) patients was so poor that they did not require additional drugs for intubation; 73% of those patients died, with two-thirds dying at the accident site. CONCLUSION: The rate of difficult intubation in this analysis is low (7%). The overall airway failure (11.6%) is the same as seen in the literature when sedation and relaxation are used. An adult trauma victim with a Revised Trauma Score of 0 has a very poor prognosis of survival.