Marine Medicine Research Articles

The Dilemmas and Strategies of Chinese Marine Bio-medicine Industry

Marine bio-medicine industry is recognized as one of the most promising industries in the 21st century. The State Oceanic Administration of China has put the development of marine bio-medicine industry into the national strategic level. This article reviewed the development of Marine Bio-medicine Industry in China, argued that issues in human resources, innovation, demand, R&D investment and technology transfer mechanism restrained the development of the industry. It is concluded that, in order to promote the development of marine biological medicine and narrow the gap between developed countries, the government should increase capital investment and strengthen policy support. Enterprises should devote more to the ability of independent innovation, improvement of the industrial mechanism and market exploitation.

INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE: EXPERIENCE AND PROBLEMS

The article discusses the positive experience of the Southern regional medical center of FMBA of Russia in the system of industrial healthcare. Describes the experience of work in selected areas of industrial medicine - diving and marine medicine, the tasks and the experience of the Center of professional pathology, discussed a number of problematic issues.

Protective effect of Holothurian intestine against indomethacin induced gastric mucosal damage in rats

Our study aimed to investigate the protective effects of Holothurian intestines (HI) on NSAIDs-induced gastric mucosal damage and the possible mechanism. At first, 60 male Wistar rats were induced of gastric lesions with indomethacin (IDM, 30 mg kg−1). The rats were pretreated for 15 consecutive days with saline, sucralfate, or HI (0.4 g kg−1d−1, 0.8 g kg−1d−1 and 1.6 g kg−1d−1) prior to IDM treatment, followed by evaluations of macroscopic damage and microscopic features; and investigation of the levels of inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress parameters, gastric mucosal prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and total hexosamine in tissues. The expression of COX-1 and COX-2 mRNA in the gastric tissue were determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Pathological gastric ulcer indexes, levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-17, TNF-α) and lipid peroxidation were significantly decreased in HI-treated groups, whereas the levels of protective factors (TGF-β, GSH, SOD activity and PGE2) were significantly elevated especially in the group with HI 1.6 g kg−1d−1 (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the expression of COX-2 mRNA decreased significantly in HI groups (P < 0.05). The study investigates that holothurian intestines may act as a kind of marine medicine which have protective effect on IDM-induced gastric ulcer, which could be a dietary preventive agent for the prevention of gastric damage.

4th International Conference on Competitive Materials and Technology Processes (IC-CMTP4)

The competitiveness is one of the most important component of our life and it plays key role in efficiency both of organizations and societies. The more scientific supported and prepared organizations develop more competitive materials with better physical, mechanical, chemical and biological properties and the leading companies are applying more competitive equipment and technology processes.The aims the 4th International Conference on Competitive Materials and Technology Processes (ic-cmtp4) and the Symposiums is-ism1, is-icbm2 and is-icm2 are the followings:• Promote new methods and results of scientific research in the fields of material, biological, environmental and technology sciences;• Change information between the theoretical and applied sciences as well as technical and technological implantations.• Promote the communication between the scientist of different nations, countries and continents.Among the major fields of interest are innovative materials with increased physical, chemical, biological, medical, thermal, mechanical properties and dynamic strength; including their crystalline and nano-structures, phase transformations as well as methods of their technological processes, tests and measurements. Multidisciplinary applications of material science and technological problems encountered in sectors like ceramics, glasses, thin films, aerospace, automotive and marine industry, electronics, energy, construction materials, medicine, biosciences and environmental sciences are of particular interest.In accordance to the program of the conference ic-cmtp4, and its symposiums is-ism1, is-icbm2 and is-icm2 we have received more than 450 inquires and registrations frome 46 countries of 5 continents. Finally from them more than 240 abstracts were accepted for presentation, including the 10 PLENARY lectures. Scientists and researchers have arrived to Miskolc-Lillafüred (Hungary) from 41 countries of Asia, Europe, Africa, North and South America and Australia.Together with co-authors in this book are presented abstracts from more than 700 scientists and researchers..Prof. Dr. László A. GÖMZEchair, ic-cmtp4

THE STRATEGY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF MARINE MEDICINE ACCORDING TO THE PRINCIPAL ARCTIC REGIONAL DIRECTION OF THE NATIONAL NAVAL POLICY OF RUSSIA

The paper addresses the strategy of development of marine medicine according to one of the six principal directions of the National Naval policy of Russia, which is the Arctic direction related to eight subjects of the Russian Federation, i.e., Murmansk Oblast, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Chukchi Autonomoius Okrug, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Sakha (Yakut) Republic, and Krasnoyarsk Region, and also islands in the Arctic Ocean. These territories altogether amount to almost one fifth of the whole area of the Russian Federation, and its population is 2.3 million making about 52% of the total arctic population in the world. The health characteristics of the arctic population of Russia and the factors that influence them are discussed. The priorities of developing marine medicine in the coastal arctic subjects of the Russian Federation are outlined.

Phylogenetic Tree Analysis of the Cold‐Hot Nature of Traditional Chinese Marine Medicine for Possible Anticancer Activity

Traditional Chinese Marine Medicine (TCMM) represents one of the medicinal resources for research and development of novel anticancer drugs. In this study, to investigate the presence of anticancer activity (AA) displayed by cold or hot nature of TCMM, we analyzed the association relationship and the distribution regularity of TCMMs with different nature (613 TCMMs originated from 1,091 species of marine organisms) via association rules mining and phylogenetic tree analysis. The screened association rules were collected from three taxonomy groups: (1) Bacteria superkingdom, Phaeophyceae class, Fucales order, Sargassaceae family, and Sargassum genus; (2) Viridiplantae kingdom, Streptophyta phylum, Malpighiales class, and Rhizophoraceae family; (3) Holothuroidea class, Aspidochirotida order, and Holothuria genus. Our analyses showed that TCMMs with closer taxonomic relationship were more likely to possess anticancer bioactivity. We found that the cluster pattern of marine organisms with reported AA tended to cluster with cold nature TCMMs. Moreover, TCMMs with salty-cold nature demonstrated properties for softening hard mass and removing stasis to treat cancers, and species within Metazoa or Viridiplantae kingdom of cold nature were more likely to contain AA properties. We propose that TCMMs from these marine groups may enable focused bioprospecting for discovery of novel anticancer drugs derived from marine bioresources.

Updates on military medicine

Updates on Military Medicine including Naval Medicine; Combat and Trauma Medical Care; Military Epidemiology and Military Psychiatry. The summary of the latest scientific publications in the field of Marine Medicine and allied sciences.

Ic-cmtp3: 3rd International Conference on Competitive Materials and Technology Processes

Competitiveness is one of the most important factors in our lives and it plays a key role in the efficiency both of organizations and societies. The more scientifically advanced and prepared organizations develop more competitive materials with better physical, chemical, and biological properties, and the leading companies apply more competitive equipment and technological processes.The aims of the 3rd International Conference on Competitive Materials and Technology Processes (ic-cmtp3), and the 1st International Symposium on Innovative Carbons and Carbon Based Materials (is-icbm1) and the 1st International Symposium on Innovative Construction Materials (is-icm1) organized alongside are the following:—Promote new methods and results of scientific research in the fields of material, biological, environmental and technological sciences;—Exchange information between the theoretical and applied sciences as well as technical and technological implementations;—Promote communication and collaboration between the scientists, researchers and engineers of different nations, countries and continents.Among the major fields of interest are advanced and innovative materials with competitive characteristics, including mechanical, physical, chemical, biological, medical and thermal, properties and extreme dynamic strength. Their crystalline, nano - and micro-structures, phase transformations as well as details of their technological processes, tests and measurements are also in the focus of the ic-cmtp3 conference and the is-scbm1 and is-icm1 symposia. Multidisciplinary applications of material science and the technological problems encountered in sectors like ceramics, glasses, thin films, aerospace, automotive and marine industries, electronics, energy, construction materials, medicine, biosciences and environmental sciences are of particular interest.In accordance with the program of the ic-cmtp3 conference and is-icbm1 and is-icm1 symposia we have received more than 350 enquiries and registrations from different organizations. More than 240 abstracts were accepted for presentation. From them 12 were plenary lectures and 112 oral presentations. Researchers from 41 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, North and South America travelled to Miskolc-Lillafüred (Hungary) and participated in the conference events. Including co-authors, the research work of more than 700 scientists were presented in the sessions and symposia of the ic-cmtp3 conference.

Impact and Challenges of Marine Medicine to Man and its Environment

Marine Medicine is a science of healing, maintaining and restoring health by prevention and treatment in relation to ocean derivatives. It has an associated corollary field called Dive Medicine. Marine ecosystem is a source of unique natural products which are mainly accumulated in living organism and serves as useful pharmacologically active substances. Marine Sponges, Molluscans, Algae, Corals, Ascidians, Bryozoans and Vertebrates are major sources of biomedical compounds. A few medical derived product such as Cytarabrine (Adenine arabinoside), Vidabrine (Cytosine arabinoside), Prialt and Trabectedin are approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA); additionally several others are currently in preclinical and clinical pipeline. The main emphasis of marine drug discovery is given in search of cure for deadly disease. Divers are exposed to a number of physiological risks as a result of exposure to deep sea. Application of antihistamine drugs, pharmacotherapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy are the curative method in the treatment of most disease and injuries in marine environment. The Marine environment is vast but not infinite and as a result there is a need for protection of this resource by conservation. Conservation of the marine environment provides enormous benefits for a sustainable future. Marine medicine has given hope to fight debilitating disease of man such as Osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, auto-immune disease and Cancer. To provide and sustain a high momentum of research in marine medicine, there is a need for advance conservation, increased research, more skilled divers, taxonomist, marine chemist and sufficient financial support to improve the benefits of marine medicine to man.

SCIENTOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL PAPERS ON MARINE MEDICINE: CURRENT STATUS AND INTEGRATION INTO THE INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY

Via search in the Scientific Electronic Library (http://elibrary.ru/), 260 national scientific articles on marine medicine were identified, which were included in the Russian Science Citation Index in 2006-2015. Annually, (26±3) were published. A polynomial trend reflects increasing number of the articles. In particular, 5,6% of the articles were devoted to general biology, 6,5% - to safety in emergencies, 7,9% - to clinical medicine, 20,9% - to preventive medicine, 23,8% - to life sciences, 19,7% - to psychology, 7,1% - to physical and special training, 8,5% - to other topics. Low scientometric indices of this array of articles on maritime medicine were reveled as well as low publication activity of respective institutions. The average number of publications per author was 0,40, the average numbers of citations per article and per author were 0,87 and 0,35, respectively, 31% of the articles have been cited at least once. It is necessary to increase the innovative component of publications and to establish a habit of peer citing. The ways of integration of articles and journals into international reference-bibliographic databases.

Some suggestions on improving the capacity of offshore trauma treatment in China

With the development of national marine strategy, the importance of developing marine medicine and marine medical support capability has been highly regarded. In this paper, the problems regarding improvement on medical support for offshore trauma are discussed. Based on the analysis of the influence of environmental factors on offshore trauma treatment, and positive experience of trauma care practiced in the United States civilian ships and navy, we analyze the problems involving risk control for offshore trauma, establishment of standardized treatment and personnel training project, improvement of mobile rescue forces, and research for rescue technique and equipment, with the purpose to propose some effective and practical suggestions.

ON THE CURRENT STATE OF MARINE MEDICINE AND ON THE CONCEPTUAL APPROACHES TO ITS DEVELOPMENT IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

The paper addresses the problematic issues of military medicine as a health care segment intended for the maintenance and improvement of health conditions of navy personal and of the general populations of seaside areas. The concept of marine medical potential is introduced, and its place in and significance for the general marine potential of Russia are determined. Emphasis is put on the developmental guidelines stipulated in the Project of the Concept of Marine Medicine in the Russian Federation for up to the Year 2030, including the establishment of National and Regional Centers of Marine Medicine. The tasks to be fulfilled by these centers and the requirements to them are characterized. Information is presented about the activities of Marine Medicine Department of the Council of Scientific Experts of the Marine Panel under the Government of the Russian Federation. In 2017, special efforts should be dedicated to establishing of Marine Medicine Departments of Marine Councils under administrations of 21 seaside subjects of the Russian Federation.

THE ESTABLISHMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE BODIES OF RUSSIAN NAVY MEDICAL SERVICE IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE XIX CENTURY

The creation of the system of medical services in ships on trips and at shores is presented. The experience of establishing and developing of administrative bodies of marine medicine in Russia is analyzed. Brief biographic sketches of the chiefs of marine medical service active in the first half of the XIX century are presented, including such figures as Rogers, Leyton, Gassing, and Mende. Archival documents about the structure and functions of administrative bodies of marine medicine are reviewed.

Energy Efficiency Estimation Based on Bayesian Method and Industrial Economic Transition: Taking Shandong as an Example

This paper studied the total factor energy efficiency of industrial sector’s in Shandong. First, theoretical models of stochastic frontier approach on energy efficiency were structured, and then the referred parameters were estimated by using panel data of thirty-seven industries in Shandong from 2006 to 2013 and Bayesian estimation method. Finally Tobit model was applied to empirically study the influencing factors on energy efficiency of industrial sector’s. The study indicates that: (1) The input of capital and energy is notably positively correlative to output, while the input of labor quantity is negatively correlative to output. This means labor redundancy exist in industrial sectors. (2) Chemical industry, machinery industry, equipment manufacturing industry and food processing industry which have high energy efficiency should be further developed, especially marine chemical industry and marine biological medicine should be focused on to realize traditional industry upgrading. (3) Enterprise scale, international trade, the level of foreign investment and technology progress are notably positively relative to energy efficiency, while the proportion of state-owned economy have negative impact on energy efficiency. Therefore, it is necessary for further improvement in industrial energy efficiency in Shandong to decrease the proportion of stated-owned, encourage private capital entrance, extend opening up, and speed up the technical innovation.

ОСНОВА ДЛЯ СОСТАВЛЕНИЯ ТЕМАТИЧЕСКИХ КАРТ РАДОНОВОГО ПОТЕНЦИАЛА НА ТЕРРИТОРИИ ГОМЕЛЬСКОЙ И МОГИЛЁВСКОЙ ОБЛАСТЕЙ

Objective: to determine correlative relations between the indoor volume activity of radon and the parameter defining the content and nature of radon in rocks. Material and methods. The results of indoor volume activity in rural settlements of Gomel and Mogilev regions measured by specialists of Scientific and Research Institute of Industrial and Marine Medicine (Saint Petersburg) in 1992, the exposure doze power maps before the Chernobyl Disaster made by specialists of the Republican Unitary Enterprise «Belgeology» over 1969-1985, and the geologist rocks maps with various uranium content were used as the basis for radon risk mapping. Results and conclusion. We have proposed the complex radon factor that may be calculated as the relative content of uranium in rocks multiplied by the relative value of rock penetration. The regression dependence of volume activity on the complex radon value taken on average in Gomel and Mogilev regions has essentially high correlative coefficient - 0.76. Such correlation is enough to use this parameter based on the measurements of rock radon characteristics in Gomel and Mogilev regions for radon risk mapping.

Systems pharmacology-based drug discovery for marine resources: An example using sea cucumber (Holothurians)

Ethnopharmacological relevanceSea cucumber, a kind of marine animal, have long been utilized as tonic and traditional remedies in the Middle East and Asia because of its effectiveness against hypertension, asthma, rheumatism, cuts and burns, impotence, and constipation. In this study, an overall study performed on sea cucumber was used as an example to show drug discovery from marine resource by using systems pharmacology model. The value of marine natural resources has been extensively considered because these resources can be potentially used to treat and prevent human diseases. However, the discovery of drugs from oceans is difficult, because of complex environments in terms of composition and active mechanisms. Thus, a comprehensive systems approach which could discover active constituents and their targets from marine resource, understand the biological basis for their pharmacological properties is necessary. Materials and methodsIn this study, a feasible pharmacological model based on systems pharmacology was established to investigate marine medicine by incorporating active compound screening, target identification, and network and pathway analysis. ResultsAs a result, 106 candidate components of sea cucumber and 26 potential targets were identified. Furthermore, the functions of sea cucumber in health improvement and disease treatment were elucidated in a holistic way based on the established compound-target and target-disease networks, and incorporated pathways. ConclusionsThis study established a novel strategy that could be used to explore specific active mechanisms and discover new drugs from marine sources.

Unusual occurrence of diving accidents : Case reports from andaman &amp; nicobar islands

Introduction: Andaman and Nicobar islands due to their unique location offer several exclusive diving sites and form a hub of recreational SCUBA diving and commercial diving. This in turn increases the possibility of diving accidents in these areas. Seven cases with a wide spectrum of presentations and rare symptoms has been compiled in this article. Observations : Six cases of “Decompression Sickness” which is rare type of diving accidents in the recent times, were reported with rare and varied symptoms. Out of six cases of DCS, four were type 2 with varied presentations due to neurological, cerebellar, pulmonary etc. involvement and only one case was type 1 with skin involvement. Joint manifestation which is the common form of DCS (popularly known as “Bends”) was not reported. A thorough history, good clinical examinations, advice from Marine Medicine Specialists and prompt administration of Recompression therapy were the key factors for successful recovery of such cases. Conclusions: Management of Decompression Sickness (DCS) can be extremely challenging both in the pre-hospital and hospital care setup. This could be convoluted further by lack of hyperbaric chamber and trained staff. Availability of a Recompression chamber (RCC) has been a boon in remote areas where such cases are common.

CORRECTION OF FUNCTIONAL STATE IN OPERATOR’S OF COMPLICATED TECHNICAL SYSTEMS BY MEANS OF XENON-OXIGEN GAS MIXTURE

The supporting optimal functional state and efficiency of operators of complicated technical systems during or after the long-lasting working cycle at the marine ships is one of the most important problem of the marine medicine. It is known that the errors of operators during controlling complicated technical systems are the reasons in 50% of accidents in the navy. Usually operator’s errors appear at the state of increasing of exhaustion and decreasing of working efficiency. Application of xenon-oxygen gas mixture inhalations makes possible to restore the working efficiency of operators in more short period of time.

Editorial: Special issue on time series analysis in the biological sciences

Editorial: Special issue on time series analysis in the biological sciences

Diving and marine medicine review part II: diving diseases.

Diving is a high-risk sport. There are approximately between 1 to 3 million recreational scuba divers in the USA (with over a quarter-million learning scuba annually); there are about 1 million in Europe and over 50,000 in the United Kingdom. In this population 3-9 deaths/100,000 occur annually in the US alone, and those surviving diving injuries far exceeds this. Diving morbidity can be from near-drowning, from gas bubbles, from barotrauma or from environmental hazards. In reality, the most common cause of death in divers is drowning (60%), followed by pulmonary-related illnesses. The mean number of annual diving fatalities in the USA from 1970 to 1993 was 103.5 (sd 24.0) and the median was 106. This article will focus primarily upon pressure effects on the health of a diver. There are two principle ways pressure can affect us: by direct mechanical effects and by changing the partial pressures of inspired gases. Dysbarism is a general term used to describe pathology from altered environmental pressure, and has two main forms: barotrauma from the uncontrolled expansion of gas within gas-filled body compartments and decompression sickness from too rapid a return to atmospheric pressure after breathing air under increased pressures. Greater than 90% of the human body is either water or bone, which is incompressible; the areas directly affected by pressure changes thus are those that are filled with air or gas. These sites include the middle ear, the eustachian tube, the sinuses, the thorax, and the gastrointestinal tract. Air in these cavities is compressed when the ambient pressure rises because the pressure of inhaled air must equilibrate with the ambient pressure.