Chemical Weapons Of Mass Destruction Research Articles

Oxidative Stress: An Intersection Between Radiation and Sulfur Mustard Lung Injury.

Nuclear and chemical weapons of mass destruction share both a tragic and beneficial legacy in mankind's history and health. The horrific health effects of ionizing radiation and mustard gas exposures unleashed during disasters, wars, and conflicts have been harnessed to treat human health maladies. Both agents of destruction have been transformed into therapies to treat a wide range of cancers. The discovery of therapeutic uses of radiation and sulfur mustard was largely due to observations by clinicians treating victims of radiation and sulfur mustard gas exposures. Clinicians identified vulnerability of leukocytes to these agents and repurposed their use in the treatment of leukemias and lymphomas. Given the overlap in therapeutic modalities, it goes to reason that there may be common mechanisms to target as protective strategies against their damaging effects. This commentary will highlight oxidative stress as a common mechanism shared by both radiation and sulfur mustard gas exposures and discuss potential therapies targeting oxidative stress as medical countermeasures against the devastating lung diseases wrought by these agents.

THE ISSUE OF MODERN WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION WHEN STUDYING CIVIL DEFENSE, SAFETY AND LABOR PROTECTION IN THE INDUSTRY

The article deals with the peculiarities of teaching issues about modern types of weapon of mass destruction in the study of civil protection, safety of life and labor protection in the industry, as a necessary element of improvement of the educational process in the conditions of a full-scale long-term war with the country-aggressor-terrorist Russian Federation. The peculiarities of layout and lecture material on biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction by their main components and specific topical examples of use against combatants and civilians are shown. The current state of strategic nuclear forces of the main countries of "Nuclear club" (United States, Russian Federation, People's Republic of China, France, The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, India) and the main tactical and technical characteristics of their dry and marine components of "nuclear triad" as the most dangerous types Weapons that can lead to full-scale catastrophic consequences, including "Nuclear autumn" and "Nuclear winter", even to "local" use. It is stated that in 2021 the total expenses of the countries of the world for nuclear weapons have already reached $ 85 billion. In the first place in terms of expenses for maintaining its nuclear arsenal is the United States – $ 45 billion. The United States is planned to spend $ 550 billion in the 1922-2040 years. In the second place of the PRC, which spends up to $ 12 billion every year, and launched a long-term program of modernization and qualitative improvement of the nuclear arsenal. In the third place of the Russian Federation, which spends up to $ 9 billion on the maintenance and re-equipment of its strategic and tactical nuclear forces. The following are: UK – up to $ 7 billion; France – up to $ 6 billion; India – up to $ 2.5 billion; Israel – up to $ 1.5 billion; Pakistan – up to $ 1.2 billion; and DPRK – up to $ 0.7 billion. This nine actual "Nuclear club" member countries can have up to 24,000 nuclear and thermonuclear warlouses in its arsenal, the total explosion capacity of which is equivalent to the explosion force of more than 10 billion tons of TNT: the USA is ~ 11,000 warriors; Russian Federation – ~ 10 thousand warriors; China – ~ 1,5 thousand warriors; France – ~ 400 warriors; UK – ~ 250 warriors; Israel – ~ 200 warriors; India – ~ 200 warriors; Pakistan – ~ 165 warriors; DPRK – ~ 60 warriors. At the same time, only in the US and the Russian Federation together there are up to 21 thousand nuclear and thermonuclear warheads, the power of the explosion of many of which is much exceeding the power of the explosion of atomic bombs, dumped on 6 and 9 August 1945 by US aviation in Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They also consider the possibility of preventive nuclear stroke "low -power" (<50 CT) of the battleships on command centers and strategic objects of the enemy for "only paralyzing damage".

Development of versatile and potent monoquaternary reactivators of acetylcholinesterase.

To date, the only treatments developed for poisoning by organophosphorus compounds, the most toxic chemical weapons of mass destruction, have exhibited limited efficacy and versatility. The available causal antidotes are based on reactivation of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which is rapidly and pseudo-irreversibly inhibited by these agents. In this study, we developed a novel series of monoquaternary reactivators combining permanently charged moieties tethered to position 6- of 3-hydroxypyridine-2-aldoxime reactivating subunit. Highlighted representatives (21, 24, and 27; also coded as K1371, K1374, and K1375, respectively) that contained 1-phenylisoquinolinium, 7-amino-1-phenylisoquinolinium and 4-carbamoylpyridinium moietiesas peripheral anionic site ligands, respectively, showed efficacy superior or comparable to that of the clinically used standards. More importantly, these reactivators exhibited wide-spectrum efficacy and were minutely investigated via determination of their reactivation kinetics in parallel with molecular dynamics simulations to study their mechanisms of reactivation of the tabun-inhibited AChE conjugate. To further confirm the potential applicability of these candidates, a mouse in vivo assay was conducted. While K1375 had the lowest acute toxicity and the most suitable pharmacokinetic profile, the oxime K1374 with delayed elimination half-life was the most effective in ameliorating the signs of tabun toxicity. Moreover, both in vitro and in vivo, the versatility of the agents was substantially superior to that of clinically used standards. Their high efficacy and broad-spectrum capability make K1374 and K1375 promising candidates that should be further investigated for their potential as nerve agents and insecticide antidotes.

Chemical and radiological toxicity of uranium compounds

Studies into the effects from environmental pollution by uranium compounds have been overviewed. Analysis of the impact of uranium oxides resulted from military operations using armor-piercing shells made of depleted uranium shows a predominance of chemical toxicity caused by the strong oxidizing power of uranyl ions. They induce oxidative stress through the generation of reactive oxygen species. As a result, oxidative damage to biomolecules and disruption of metabolic processes occur. Oxidative DNA damage causes long-term genotoxic effects in the form of mutagenesis, carcinogenesis, and other pathologies. The necessity of prohibiting the use of depleted uranium shells as chemical weapons of mass destruction has been substantiated.

Biological and Chemical Weapons of Mass Destruction: Updated Clinical Therapeutic Countermeasures Since 2003

The objective of this article is to provide updated treatment options for bioterrorism agents. This updated synopsis includes recent clinical cases and treatment recommendations that have arisen in the last 5 years. The decontamination, treatment, and disposition of these biologic and chemical agents are presented alphabetically by agent type: biologic, chemical, and radiologic/nuclear. The information provided outlines only new treatment options since 2003.

Reflections on the American War on Terror: A Corrective from the Pages of History

Reflections on the American War on TerrorA Corrective from the Pages of History Richard Drake (bio) The American government’s official policy statement on terrorism ignores the historical literature on the subject. The book-length document released by the United States Department of State on April 30, 2007, Country Reports on Terrorism 2006, contains not a single reference to any of the classic or modern studies of terrorism. The State Department’s Country Reports begins with a strategic assessment that celebrates America’s advances in the war on terror. The authors point to the progress that has been made in producing security improvements, reducing terrorist capabilities, and eliminating key terrorist leaders. They lament the problems that remain: Iran, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Lebanon, al Qaeda and its affiliates worldwide. Indeed, no part of the world is free of terrorism or the threat of it, with the [End Page 67] Middle East, North Africa, and South and Central Asia the regions most at risk. State sponsors of terrorism—chiefly Iran, Syria, and Cuba—are said to provide critical support for nonstate terrorist groups. Nuclear, radiological, biological, and chemical weapons of mass destruction (WMD) attacks from terrorist groups could occur at any time. Uneasy lies the head that wears a superpower’s crown. What is to be done about the manifold threats of terrorism? In Chapter 5 of Country Reports, we receive an answer to this question. In addition to eliminating terrorist leaders and safe havens, “we must address the underlying conditions that terrorists exploit.” The conditions favoring terrorist activity are as follows: lack of economic opportunity and political participation, ethnic conflict, ungoverned space, and political injustice. In commenting on what the United States is doing about the underlying conditions that give rise to terrorism, the State Department authors reveal their ultimate concern: radical Islamic terrorism. All of the other terrorist threats against the United States amount to very little. Europe and Latin America, once hotbeds of terrorist activity, rate only passing mention by the State Department now. The section of Country Reports that deals with underlying causes (in Chapter 5) concerns Islamic societies exclusively. To eliminate these causes, the authors present a program called the Middle East Partnership Initiative as the paramount means of spreading democracy, women’s empowerment, and economic prosperity in the region. In addition, they tout America’s special aid programs for Pakistan and Saudi Arabia as effective counterterrorism measures. Most importantly, “the United States recognizes that the global and generational challenge of countering terrorism is, at its heart, a contest of ideas and values, and that America is more secure when people around the world share the same hopes and freedoms.” Unrecognized by the United States, at least in the pages of the Country Reports, are the particular conflicts that have sparked the firestorm of anti-American sentiment in the Islamic world. The authors immediately move from their statement about the generic conditions favoring terrorism to a listing of America’s counterterrorism measures. Clearly, they missed a step in their analysis. Here is where the approaches of the classic historians, [End Page 68] beginning with Thucydides, can be of help to them in establishing the proper ways to define the threats of terrorism (Drake 2007). If we begin with the premise that terrorism is a particular form of warfare, the efficacy of Thucydides’s explanation for all wars becomes readily apparent. In the introduction to the History of the Peloponnesian War, he lays down the rule that wars result from general and particular causes. For the Peloponnesian War, he establishes a context by analyzing Greek history from the end of the Persian Wars to the outbreak of hostilities between Athens and Sparta, a period of about 50 years. These two powerful states contended for supremacy in Hellas, intermittently clashing with each other. An attempt to establish a meaningful truce did not hold for long: “As to the reasons why they broke the truce, I propose first to give an account of the causes of complaint which they had against each other and of specific instances where their interests clashed: this in order that there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind about...

The comprehensive medical preparedness in chemical emergencies: ‘the chain of chemical survival’

Medical management of victims of chemical incidents includes supportive therapy, decontamination and antidote administration. Chemical weapons of mass destruction are available to many countries and are a possible alternative to conventional weapons for terrorist groups. During the last 5 years, some Italian institutions have made big efforts to establish a national system of antidote stockpiling and distribution. Little or no efforts have been addressed to other aspects of the medical management of patients exposed to chemical agents, such as decontamination, personal protective equipment, and specific supportive therapy. Although antidotes are indispensable instruments for some poisonings, as nerve agent and botulin intoxication, antidote stockpiling cannot be considered the only objective of a comprehensive medical preparedness for chemical emergencies. This paper addresses the medical priority when approaching victims of chemical emergencies. The priority actually is to establish a chain of chemical survival in which antidote administration is one out of several links.

Neurosciences and Research on Chemical Weapons of Mass Destruction in Nazi Germany1

As a side-product of industrial research, new chemical nerve agents (Tabun, Sarin, Soman) superior to those available to the Allied Forces were discovered in Nazi Germany. These agents were never used by Germany, even though they were produced at a large scale. This article explores the toxicological and physiological research into the mechanisms of action of these novel nerve agents, and the emergence of military research objectives in neurophysiological and neurotoxicological research. Recently declassified Allied military intelligence files document secret nerve agent research, leading to intensified research on anticholinesterase agents in the peripheral and the central nervous system. The article discusses the involvement of IG Farben scientists, educational, medical and military institutions, and of Nobel Prize laureate Richard Kuhn, director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Medical Research. 1Research for this article was made possible by the Max Planck-Society’s Presidental Commission Research Program. “History of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society During the National Socialist Era.” For the author’s Ph.D. project on chemical warfare research at six institutes of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society see: Schmaltz (2005).

Bronchiolitis obliterans following exposure to sulfur mustard: chest high resolution computed tomography

Background: Pulmonary complications are known to occur in over half of the patients exposed to sulfur mustard (SM). Chemical weapons of mass destruction (WMD) including SM were used by Iraq during Iran–Iraq war between 1983 and 1989. We undertook this study to evaluate the chest high resolution computerized tomography (HRCT) as a diagnostic tool in patients with documented exposure to SM and chronic respiratory symptoms. Method: The medical records of 155 patients exposed to SM during Iran–Iraq war and suffered respiratory complications were reviewed. Chest HRCTs of these patients were examined. Ten healthy controls with no history of exposure to HD were matched for age, gender, and chest HRCT protocol applied. Results: Fifty chest HRCTs of these patients were randomly selected for this study. The most frequent findings were; air trapping 38 (76%), bronchiectasis 37 (74%), mosaic parenchymal attenuation (MPA) 36 (72%), irregular and dilated major airways 33 (66%) bronchial wall thickening (BWT) 45 (90%), and interlobular septal wall thickening (SWT) 13 (26%), respectively. Air trapping in one patient (10%) was the only positive finding in the control group. Conclusions: Chest HRCT findings of bronchiectasis, air trapping, MPA, SWT, and BWT were seen in our patients 15 years after exposure to HD. These findings suggest the diagnosis of bronchiolitis obliterans (BO). We did not encounter chest HRCT features consistent with pulmonary fibrosis.

Effect of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) on Rapid Patient Assessment and Treatment during a Simulated Chemical Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Attack

Effect of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) on Rapid Patient Assessment and Treatment during a Simulated Chemical Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Attack

Bioterrorism and public health: an Internet resource guide

From the Book: The sudden appearance of cases of both cutaneous and inhalational anthrax following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 raised for the first time the very real and frightening specter of bioterrorism on U.S. soil. Although investigators have not found any connection between the September 11 terrorists and the anthrax-laced letters, there is no question that certain individuals, whether domestic or foreign, intentionally sought to spread the deadly anthrax bacteria through the mail. Agencies of the federal government, including the FBI and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, immediately moved into high gear to identify the source and potential impact of anthrax on the population at large. Little historic and epidemiologic experience existed regarding anthrax as a biological weapon, other than simulated studies and laboratory research at secret military installations in the U.S., Russia, and certain other countries, both friendly and hostile. Biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction have been on the drawing boards for many years, even in the U.S., while international commissions have sought to outlaw their existence. What the public has not been prepared for is the actual deployment of these weapons in the U.S., and the corresponding public health, social, and psychological impact of these weapons. The purpose of this book is to bring together the extensive resources that now exist, both organizational and informational, in the bioterrorism and public health arenas. The unique focus of this book is its directory section of more than 500 Web sites covering government agencies, organizations, research centers, and clinical and public health information sources. Enhancing this content is material from the new federal Office of Public Health Preparedness, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies. We hope our readers will find this compilation useful from several points of view. General information is available on bioterrorism, including biological, chemical, agricultural, and waterborne biowarfare. Readers will also find Web sites posting the latest news and developments, along with online newsletters from federal and public health agencies related to bioterrorism and homeland security. Policymakers will find resources on public policy guidelines, conventions, analysis, and legislation, while emergency response professionals will find sections on public preparedness and response, hazardous materials, and decontamination. Information on specific infectious diseases associated with bioterrorism will be of interest to clinicians and epidemiologists, accompanied by disease management guidelines and consensus statements. A section specific to mental health is also included. Consumer-oriented information includes guidelines for personal health and safety and disaster readiness, as well as listings of hotlines, mailing lists, and alerting services. Finally, public health professionals will find a variety of resources covering educational opportunities, implementation of public health response plans, and conferences and symposia. Overall, we believe that this guidebook will be a useful resource for many different audiences, and that it will serve as an educational guide for the American public as we face these new challenges as a nation. —Daniel R. Goldenson, Publisher

Biologic and chemical weapons of mass destruction

Weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) are capable of producing massive casualties and are typically grouped into nuclear, biologic, and chemical weapons. In the wake of the September 11th disasters, attention to terrorist groups and the potential for use of WMDs has increased. Biologic and chemical weapons are relatively accessible and inexpensive to develop, and are thought to be the most available to foreign states and subnational terrorist groups. This article reviews various biologic and chemical weapons, including emergency diagnosis and management of selected agents.