History of Medicine & Surgery - Pers >> .
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Painfully Slow - Progress of Medicine, Surgery
History of Medicine & Surgery - Pers >> .
Penicillin, Discovery 1928
.1928 Discovery of penicillin (1964) > .
A government-produced film (1964) about the discovery of penicillin by Sir Alexander Fleming, and the continuing development of its use as an antibiotic by Howard Florey and Ernst Boris Chain. The film uses many modernist animations to depict the scientific research. This video was made from material preserved by the BFI National Archive. Find out more: http://catalogue.wellcomelibrary.org/.... .
Sir Alexander Fleming discusses the problem of antibiotic resistance in 1945: https://soundcloud.com/wellcomelibrar.... .
While working at St Mary's Hospital in London, Scottish physician Alexander Fleming was the first to experimentally discover that a Penicillium mould secretes an antibacterial substance, and the first to concentrate the active substance involved, which he named penicillin in 1928. The mould was determined to be a rare variant of Penicillium notatum (now Penicillium rubens), a laboratory contaminant in his lab. For the next 16 years, he studied on methods of better production of penicillin, medicinal uses and clinical trial. His successful treatment of Harry Lambert who had fatal streptococcal meningitis in 1942 proved to be a critical moment in the medical usage of penicillin.
Many later scientists were involved in the stabilization and mass production of penicillin and in the search for more productive strains of Penicillium. Important contributors include Ernst Chain, Howard Florey, Norman Heatley and Edward Abraham. Fleming, Florey and Chain shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery and development of penicillin. Dorothy Hodgkin received the 1964 Nobel Prize in Chemistry determining the structures of important biochemical substances including penicillin. Shortly after the discovery of penicillin, there were reports of penicillin resistance in many bacteria. Research that aims to circumvent and understand the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance continues today.
Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of antibiotics originally obtained from Penicillium moulds, principally P. chrysogenum and P. rubens. Most penicillins in clinical use are chemically synthesised from naturally-produced penicillins. A number of natural penicillins have been discovered, but only two purified compounds are in clinical use: penicillin G (intravenous use) and penicillin V (given by mouth). Penicillins were among the first medications to be effective against many bacterial infections caused by staphylococci and streptococci. They are members of the β-lactam antibiotics, which are some of the most powerful and successful achievements in modern science.[2] They are still widely used today for different bacterial infections, though many types of bacteria have developed resistance following extensive use.
About 10% of people report that they are allergic to penicillin; however, up to 90% of this group may not actually be allergic. Serious allergies only occur in about 0.03%. Those who are allergic to penicillin are most often given cephalosporin C (another β-lactam antibiotic) because there is only 10% crossover in allergy between the penicillins and cephalosporins.
Penicillin was discovered in 1928 by Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming as a crude extract of P. rubens. Fleming's student Cecil George Paine was the first to successfully use penicillin to treat eye infection (ophthalmia neonatorum) in 1930. The purified compound (penicillin F) was isolated in 1940 by a research team led by Howard Florey and Ernst Boris Chain at the University of Oxford. Fleming first used the purified penicillin to treat streptococcal meningitis in 1942. For the discovery, Fleming shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Florey and Chain.
There are several semi-synthetic penicillins which are effective against a broader spectrum of bacteria: these include the antistaphylococcal penicillins, aminopenicillins and the antipseudomonal penicillins.
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
St Bart's
.
A History of Barts, Britain's Oldest Hospital - Gresham > .St. Bartholomew's Hospital (1970-1979) > .
Nurses At St. Bartholomew's Hospital (1973) > .
Bart's Hospital (1974) > .
St Bart's & London Hospitals - SuHo >> .
Medical Texts (1858+) ..
St Bartholomew's and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry
Between the Wars, students at The London needing to complete a First MB (in Biology, Chemistry and Physics) attended Queen Mary College for a year before proceeding to Second MB at The London.
Women students were first admitted to both colleges following World War II."
"Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry (previously St Bartholomew's and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry) was formed in 1995 by a merger of St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College and the London Hospital Medical College with Queen Mary and Westfield College, now known as Queen Mary, University of London."
"England's first medical school
The Medical College at The London Hospital, England's first medical school, opened in 1785, pioneering a new kind of medical education providing teaching in theory as well as clinical skills.
A purpose-built lecture theatre was constructed at St Bartholomew's Hospital in 1791 and in 1822 the Governors approved the provision of medical education within the Hospital. Later a residential college was established, which moved to premises at Charterhouse Square in the 1930s. At The London, larger premises, still in use in the present School of Medicine and Dentistry, were built in Turner Street in 1854.
In 1900 both medical colleges became constituent colleges of the University of London in the Faculty of Medicine.
The Dental School opened at The London in 1911, acquiring the new Dental Institute and expanding student numbers during the 1960s. Dental education developed during the 1970s, increasing the collaboration between dentists and other professionals.
http://www.smd.qmul.ac.uk/about/history/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/10/a7884110.shtml .
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/user/02/u2613002.shtml .
Medical Texts (1858+) ..
St Bartholomew's and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry
Between the Wars, students at The London needing to complete a First MB (in Biology, Chemistry and Physics) attended Queen Mary College for a year before proceeding to Second MB at The London.
Women students were first admitted to both colleges following World War II."
"Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry (previously St Bartholomew's and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry) was formed in 1995 by a merger of St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College and the London Hospital Medical College with Queen Mary and Westfield College, now known as Queen Mary, University of London."
"England's first medical school
The Medical College at The London Hospital, England's first medical school, opened in 1785, pioneering a new kind of medical education providing teaching in theory as well as clinical skills.
A purpose-built lecture theatre was constructed at St Bartholomew's Hospital in 1791 and in 1822 the Governors approved the provision of medical education within the Hospital. Later a residential college was established, which moved to premises at Charterhouse Square in the 1930s. At The London, larger premises, still in use in the present School of Medicine and Dentistry, were built in Turner Street in 1854.
In 1900 both medical colleges became constituent colleges of the University of London in the Faculty of Medicine.
The Dental School opened at The London in 1911, acquiring the new Dental Institute and expanding student numbers during the 1960s. Dental education developed during the 1970s, increasing the collaboration between dentists and other professionals.
http://www.smd.qmul.ac.uk/about/history/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/10/a7884110.shtml .
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/user/02/u2613002.shtml .
Monday, February 8, 2016
US Army Nurses
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Venereal Disease Clinics
.Birkbeck Explains: Impact of Britain's early sexual health service - UoL > .
The first British clinics for venereal disease were established during the interwar years.
"These clinics were available to anyone, you could walk in off the street or be referred by a GP and importantly they were also free at the point of use... they changed the way that British people thought about their relationship with state-provided healthcare. The VD clinics are by no means a precursor to the NHS, but they did provide a blueprint for the type of health services that we're familiar with today."
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Avro Shackleton - late '40s
The Shackleton was developed during the late 1940s as part of Britain's military response to the rapid expansion of the Soviet Navy, in particular its submarine force. Produced as the primary type equipping RAF Coastal Command, the Type 696, as it was initially designated, incorporated major elements of the Lincoln, as well as the Avro Tudor passenger aircraft, and was furnished with extensive electronics suites in order to perform the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) mission along with a much improved crew environment to accommodate the long mission times involved in patrol work. Being known for a short time as the Lincoln ASR.3, it was decided that the Type 696 would be named Shackleton in service, after the polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton.
In April 1951, it entered operational service with the RAF. The Shackleton was used primarily in the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) roles; it was also frequently deployed as an aerial search and rescue (SAR) platform and for performing several other secondary roles such as mail delivery and as a crude troop-transport aircraft. In addition to its service with the RAF, South Africa also elected to procure the Shackleton to equip the SAAF. In South African service, the type was operated in the maritime patrol capacity between 1957 and 1984. During March 1971, in one high-profile incident, a number of SAAF Shackletons was used to effect during the SS Wafra oil spill, having intentionally sunk the stricken oil tanker using depth charges in order to prevent further ecological contamination.
During the 1970s, the Shackleton was replaced in the maritime patrol role by the jet-powered Hawker Siddeley Nimrod. During its later life, a small number of the RAF's existing Shackletons received extensive modifications in order to adapt them to perform the airborne early warning (AEW) role. The type continued to be used in this support capacity until 1991, at which point it has been replaced by the newer Boeing E-3 Sentry AEW aircraft. These were the last examples of the type remaining in active service.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Air_Force
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Catalina - ASW
Catalina Flying Boat
Coastal Command - ASW
https://youtu.be/uTE-jHVIKJU?t=19m3s
http://www.angelfire.com/fm/compass/Catalina.htm
Short Sunderland, etc - British Seaplanes That Terrorized U-Boats | War Stories > .
https://youtu.be/uTE-jHVIKJU?t=19m3s
http://www.angelfire.com/fm/compass/Catalina.htm
Short Sunderland, etc - British Seaplanes That Terrorized U-Boats | War Stories > .
Inside The Cockpit - Short Sunderland - MAH > .
Sub Chasers of the Civil Air Patrol > .
Why Aircraft Patrols Were a Source of Fear for Nazi U-Boats > .
Why Depth Charges Don't Have to Touch a Submarine to Sink It > .
Catalina - ASW
Other work by the Coastal Command's Operational Research Section (CC-ORS) indicated that on average if the trigger depth of aerial-delivered depth charges (DCs) were changed from 100 feet to 25 feet, the kill ratios would go up. The reason was that if a U-boat saw an aircraft only shortly before it arrived over the target then at 100 feet the charges would do no damage (because the U-boat wouldn't have had time to descend as far as 100 feet), and if it saw the aircraft a long way from the target it had time to alter course under water so the chances of it being within the 20-foot kill zone of the charges was small. It was more efficient to attack those submarines close to the surface when the targets' locations were better known than to attempt their destruction at greater depths when their positions could only be guessed. Before the change of settings from 100 feet to 25 feet, 1% of submerged U-boats were sunk and 14% damaged. After the change, 7% were sunk and 11% damaged. (If submarines were caught on the surface, even if attacked shortly after submerging, the numbers rose to 11% sunk and 15% damaged). Blackett observed "there can be few cases where such a great operational gain had been obtained by such a small and simple change of tactics".
------
"The "exchange rate" ratio of output to input was a characteristic feature of operational research. By comparing the number of flying hours put in by Allied aircraft to the number of U-boat sightings in a given area, it was possible to redistribute aircraft to more productive patrol areas. Comparison of exchange rates established "effectiveness ratios" useful in planning. The ratio of 60 mines laid per ship sunk was common to several campaigns: German mines in British ports, British mines on German routes, and United States mines in Japanese routes."
http://www.feightstudios.com/navalasw.htm .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operations_research .
Sub Chasers of the Civil Air Patrol > .
Why Aircraft Patrols Were a Source of Fear for Nazi U-Boats > .
Why Depth Charges Don't Have to Touch a Submarine to Sink It > .
Catalina - ASW
Other work by the Coastal Command's Operational Research Section (CC-ORS) indicated that on average if the trigger depth of aerial-delivered depth charges (DCs) were changed from 100 feet to 25 feet, the kill ratios would go up. The reason was that if a U-boat saw an aircraft only shortly before it arrived over the target then at 100 feet the charges would do no damage (because the U-boat wouldn't have had time to descend as far as 100 feet), and if it saw the aircraft a long way from the target it had time to alter course under water so the chances of it being within the 20-foot kill zone of the charges was small. It was more efficient to attack those submarines close to the surface when the targets' locations were better known than to attempt their destruction at greater depths when their positions could only be guessed. Before the change of settings from 100 feet to 25 feet, 1% of submerged U-boats were sunk and 14% damaged. After the change, 7% were sunk and 11% damaged. (If submarines were caught on the surface, even if attacked shortly after submerging, the numbers rose to 11% sunk and 15% damaged). Blackett observed "there can be few cases where such a great operational gain had been obtained by such a small and simple change of tactics".
------
"The "exchange rate" ratio of output to input was a characteristic feature of operational research. By comparing the number of flying hours put in by Allied aircraft to the number of U-boat sightings in a given area, it was possible to redistribute aircraft to more productive patrol areas. Comparison of exchange rates established "effectiveness ratios" useful in planning. The ratio of 60 mines laid per ship sunk was common to several campaigns: German mines in British ports, British mines on German routes, and United States mines in Japanese routes."
http://www.feightstudios.com/navalasw.htm .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operations_research .
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Saturday, January 16, 2016
Martin JRM Mars
The Glenn L. Martin Company scaled up their PBM Mariner patrol bomber design to produce the prototype XPB2M-1 Mars. The XPB2M-1 was launched on 8 November 1941. After a delay caused by an engine fire during ground runs, the aircraft first flew on 23 June 1942. After flight tests with the XPB2M between 1942 and 1943, she was passed on to the Navy. The original patrol bomber concept was considered obsolete by this time, and the Mars was converted into a transport aircraft designated the XPB2M-1R. The Navy was satisfied with the performance, and ordered 20 of the modified JRM-1 Mars. The first, named Hawaii Mars, was delivered in June 1945, but with the end of World War II the Navy scaled back their order, buying only the five aircraft which were then on the production line. Though the original Hawaii Mars was lost in an accident on the Chesapeake Bay a few weeks after it first flew, the other five Mars were completed, and the last delivered in 1947.
Four of the surviving aircraft were later converted for civilian use to firefighting water bombers. In 1959, the remaining Mars aircraft were to be sold for scrap, but a Canadian company, Forest Industries Flying Tankers (FIFT), was formed and bid for the four aircraft and a large spares inventory. The company represented a consortium of British Columbia forest companies, and the bid was accepted and the sale completed in December 1959. The four aircraft were flown to Fairey Aviation at Victoria, British Columbia, for conversion into water bombers. The conversion involved the installation of a 6,000 imp gal (27,000 l; 7,200 US gal) plywood tank in the cargo bay with retractable pick-up scoops to allow uploading of water while the aircraft was taxiing. The scoops allowed 30 tons of water to be taken on board in 22 seconds. Later some of the hull fuel tanks were replaced with water tanks.
Two of the aircraft still remain based at Sproat Lake just outside of Port Alberni, British Columbia, although neither are operational.
Monday, January 11, 2016
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Monday, November 30, 2015
● 19th century
Unification - Italy & Germany ..
1815-2-26 Bonaparte Escapes ..1834-8-1 Abolition of Slavery, UK ..1865-4-12 Lincoln Assassinated ..1870-1 Franco-Prussian War ..
1871-1-18 Wilhelm I of Prussia 1st German Emperor ..1898-4-25 Spanish–American War
With growing concerns about the safety of U.S. interests in Cuba, the battleship USS Maine was sent from Key West, Florida to Havana harbor at the end of January 1898. Three weeks later, on 15 February, a fierce explosion on board the ship killed 260 members of the crew. An investigation was immediately launched, but in the meantime the sensationalist New York Journal and New York World newspapers reported that the ship had been sunk by Spain.
Although President McKinley initially opposed going to war, the wider public demanded action. Eventually he requested permission from Congress to send troops to Cuba in an attempt to end the civil war. Passed by a vote of 311 to 6 in the House and 42 to 35 in the Senate, the Joint Resolution for Cuban independence was followed by an ultimatum to Spain to leave Cuba or else face American military intervention.
In response to the ultimatum Spain severed diplomatic relations with the United States and, on 21 April, declared war. A U.S. blockade of Cuba began the same day. Congress didn’t formally declare war until 25 April, although the declaration recognized that a state of war had existed since Spain’s declaration four days earlier.
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sī vīs pācem, parā bellum
igitur quī dēsīderat pācem praeparet bellum therefore, he who desires peace, let him prepare for war sī vīs pācem, parā bellum if you wan...
