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PubMed1995

Occupational disorders affecting agricultural workers in tropical developing countries: results of a literature review.

This paper presents the results of a literature review undertaken to determine the nature and extent of occupational health problems in tropical agriculture and to identify opportunities for ergonomics intervention. Occupational disorders were categorized as follows: disorders associated with the use of pesticides; disorders associated with biomechanical and postural demands; and disorders associated with harmful materials other than pesticides. It was concluded that the high rate of pesticide poisoning in tropical agriculture is partly a consequence of the inappropriate transfer of technology from industrialized to developing countries. Ergonomics intervention has the potential to reduce the incidence of occupational pesticide poisoning in developing countries. Biomechanical disorders are commonly presumed to be prevalent in tropical agriculture, but the evidence to confirm this is lacking. Again, ergonomics intervention has the potential to minimize such disorders, but the cultural significance associated with traditional tools and practices must be considered in such a development programme. Disorders associated with contact with harmful materials have been described as occupational diseases. Pesticides aside, these have received little attention, partly because it is difficult to distinguish between occupational and non-occupational incidences of such diseases. Opportunities to reduce the occurrence of these occupational diseases could be limited.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1992

The chronic disease data bank model: a conceptual framework for the computer-based medical record.

The principles underlying the chronic disease data bank model are straight-forward: (1) the purpose of medical care is to improve patient outcomes; (2) patient outcomes in contemporary developed societies are overwhelmingly linked to chronic illnesses and degenerative processes and will become increasingly so; (3) such outcomes have multiple determinants including the psychological and social, as well as the biologic; (4) outcome antecedents (risk factors) may precede clinical illness by years or decades; and (5) these complex characteristics require for their study (a) computer aid and (b) longitudinal data. The chronic disease data bank provides an important resource, available to many investigators, for examination of the complex set of clinical and policy questions arising with long-term illness and addressing the questions of lifetime health. The chronic disease data bank consecutively enrolls eligible subjects, follows them for life, and amasses time-oriented, multidisciplinary data including clinical findings, medical history, demographics, treatments, resource utilization and disease outcomes, and assessing both the quality of life and its duration. Analyses are longitudinal and time-series in type, examining changes in trends and tempo of the disease, and are focused upon long-term outcomes. Outcomes are regularly and carefully assessed, and include the outcome dimensions of death, disability, discomfort, iatrogenic toxicity, and dollar cost. Specific studies address the description of the disease from biologic, demographic, economic, and social viewpoints, identify the factors associated with good and bad outcomes, and assess the effects of treatment, both good and ill. The clinical and policy goals are focused upon delaying transitions from more benign disease states to more serious ones, thus improving both longevity and the quality of life. The time is appropriate to consider generalization of the chronic disease data bank model to the usual clinical care situation, with large rewards in improvement of the quality of care. The traditional medical record lacks systematic documentation of end results and of important covariates related to health risks. As such, it cannot readily be used to assess the ultimate quality of care and to establish a feedback loop to change behaviors and thereby improve outcomes. It is weak where the chronic disease data bank is strong. The technology is transferable.

Chronic Disease↗

PubMed1982

Life support system development in West Germany.

The delivery of fully qualified Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLS) flight hardware for the Spacelab Flight Unit was completed in 1979, and the first Spacelab flight is scheduled for mid 1983. With Spacelab approaching its operational stage, ESA has initiated the Follow-on Development Programme. The future evolution of Spacelab elements in a continued U.S./European cooperation is obviously linked to the U.S. STS evolution and leads from the sortie-mode improvements (Initial Step) towards pallet systems and module applications in unmanned and manned space platforms (Medium and Far Term Alternatives). Extensive studies and design work have been accomplished on life support systems for Life Sciences Laboratories (Biorack) in Spacelab (incubators and holding units for low vertebrates). Future long term missions require the implementation of closed loop life support systems and in order to meet the long range development cycle feasibility studies have been performed. Terrestrial applications of the life support technologies developed for space have been successfully implemented.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

Earth benefits from space life sciences.

Contributions of space exploration which are widely recognized are those dealing with the impact of space technology on public health and medical services in both urban and remote rural areas. Telecommunications, image enhancement, 3-dimensional image reconstructions, miniaturization, automation, and data analysis, have transformed the delivery of medical care and have brought about a new impetus to the field of biomedicine. Many areas of medical care and biological research have been affected. These include technological breakthroughs in such areas as: (1) diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cardiovascular diseases, (2) new approaches to the understanding of osteoporosis, (3) early detection of genetic birth defects, (4) emergency medical care, and (5) treatment of chronic metabolic disorders. These are but a few examples where technology originally developed to support space medicine or space research has been applied to solving medical and health care delivery problems on Earth.

Aerospace Medicine↗

PubMed1990

Risk and value analysis of SETI.

This paper attempts to apply a traditional risk and value analysis to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence--SETI. In view of the difficulties of assessing the probability of success, a comparison is made between SETI and a previous search for extraterrestrial life, the biological component of Project Viking. Our application of simple Utility Theory, given some reasonable assumptions, suggests that SETI is at least as worthwhile as the biological experiment on Viking.

Astronomy↗

PubMed1994

Spacelab program's scientific benefits to mankind.

This paper describes the Spacelab program's scientific accomplishments during the past 10 years, highlighting major scientific accomplishments. An overview of Spacelab systems performance, significant issues, and utilization and operations activities applicable to the space station era is presented.

Aerospace Medicine↗

PubMed1991

Strategies for evaluating treatments for major depression in primary care patients.

Primary care physicians are being urged to provide patients experiencing a major depression treatments validated with psychiatric patients. The propriety of transferring clinical technologies from one care-giving sector to another is questionable, however, as it has little scientific support. We suggest that clinical trials be initiated so as to expand the available knowledge base. This paper analyzes the methodologic issues involved in pursuing such experimental research and urges that it be conducted despite the possible need for initial design compromises.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Analyses of the primary in vitro responsiveness of non-immune porcine peripheral blood mononuclear cells with reference to immunization by African swine fever virus antigen and treatment with leucine methyl ester.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from non-immune pigs were immunized in vitro using African swine fever (ASF) virus antigen with concomitant mitogenic stimulations known to have varying effects on B and T lymphocyte activity. None of these conditions, including those previously reported as being successful for the in vitro immunization of non-immune porcine PBMC with ASF virus antigen, supported the induction of specific antibody. Due to the reports on in vitro immunization of human PBMC, attempts were made to control suppressor cell activity in the porcine PBMC from non-immune pigs through L-leucine methyl ester (Leu-OMe) treatment. Upon immunization of the Leu-OMe treated PBMC with ASF virus antigen, concomitant with mitogen or cytokine stimulations, no specific antibody production was detected. Nevertheless, aspecific porcine immunoglobulin secretion was observed. Further analysis of the PBMC responsiveness demonstrated that 2.5 mM Leu-OMe (the dose recommended for use with human PBMC) suppressed mitogen-induced porcine lymphocyte proliferation, but in the absence of any detectable cytotoxicity. In fact, both anti-ASF virus antigen specific immunization and stimulation with "T-lymphocyte" mitogens were suppressed, whereas pokeweed mitogen stimulation of B lymphocyte aspecific immunoglobulin secretion was unaffected. Consequently, it was not possible to immunize in vitro non-immune porcine PBMC with ASF virus antigen as had been previously reported, nor was it possible to transfer the technology successfully used with non-immune human PBMC to the in vitro stimulation/immunization of non-immune porcine PBMC. The furtherance of this work will require greater insight into the immunobiological parameters and dynamics of the stimulation of non-immune porcine peripheral blood leukocytes, which are not as simple as previously reported, nor the same as identified with human PBMC.

African Swine Fever↗

PubMed1996

Regulating healthcare technologies and medical supplies in the European Economic Area.

A complex relationship exists among EU regulations, current national practices and rules, institutional capacities to implement regulatory adjustments and the legacy of past health and regulatory policy and traditions. However, there is little empirical information on medical devices policy, the medical devices industry, and the assurance of medical device safety and usage. Drawing on a review of the secondary literature and on-going field work, the evidence suggests that the current mix of state-centric and self-regulatory traditions will be as important in determining the implementation and final outcomes of EU-rules as the new rules themselves. EU directives redesign rules, but they do not necessarily lead to institutional change, create manpower, skills and institutional capacities, or alter governance and administrative practices in the short term. Neither EU directives nor national regulatory adjustments determine the 'man-machine/skills-experience' interface which is shaped and influenced by local medical traditions and the acceptance of these traditions by local publics.

Capital Expenditures↗

PubMed1992

Availability of quality vaccines: the industrial point of view.

Availability of vaccines may be temporarily affected by sudden peak demand, coming on top of the vast increases of regular demand that the world has witnessed; this must be addressed by sound planning, and flexibility both from manufacturers and users. Temporary shortages are not structural in nature, and capacity is at hand to meet demand. Transfer of technology to developing nations is not likely to make the supply of vaccines of good quality any easier, faster or substantially cheaper, as the constraints that determine vaccine manufacture will not change merely by locating a production unit in a developing nation.

Developing Countries↗

PubMed1989

Space medicine comes down to Earth.

Over the years innovative technologies developed for space flight have found their way into a variety of useful terrestrial applications. Significant examples can be found in the area of space medicine, which has greatly influenced human health care delivery on Earth. This report discusses several US applications of space medicine to terrestrial health needs and services, stressing the importance of a 'space applications mentality' as a valuable national asset.

Aerospace Medicine↗

PubMed1992

Commercial involvement in the development of space-based plant growing technology.

Considerable technological progress has been made in the development of controlled environment facilities for plant growth. Although not all of the technology used for terrestrial facilities is applicable to space-based plant growth facilities, the information resident in the commercial organizations that market these facilities can provide a significant resource for the development of the plant growing component of a CELSS. In 1985, NASA initiated an effort termed the Centers for the Commercial Development of Space (CCDS). This program endeavors to develop cooperative research and technology development programs with industrial companies that capitalize on the strengths of industry-university working relationships. One of the these CCDSs, the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics (WCSAR), deals with developing automated plant growth facilities for space, in cooperation with several industrial partners. Concepts have been developed with industrial partners for the irradiation, water and nutrient delivery, nutrient composition control and automation and robotics subsystems of plant growing units. Space flight experiments are planned for validation of the concepts in a space environment.

Equipment Design↗

PubMed1994

Approaches to resource recovery in Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems.

Recovery of resources from waste streams in a space habitat is essential to minimize the resupply burden and achieve self sufficiency. The ultimate goal of a Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) is to achieve the greatest practical level of mass recycle and provide self sufficiency and safety for humans. Several mission scenarios leading to the ultimate application could employ CELSS component technologies or subsystems with initial emphasis on recycle of the largest mass components of the waste stream. Candidate physical/chemical and biological processes for resource recovery from liquid and solid waste streams are discussed and the current fundamental recovery potentials are estimated.

Biomass↗

PubMed1994

CELSS: possible contributions to earth science program and others.

CELSS technology, composed of various subsystems designed to stabilize the environment in closed space can be used to construct the Closed Ecology Experiment Facility. The Closed Ecology Experiment Facility has the character of an Environmental Time Machine. Many environmental researches of studies will, it is proposed, be conducted using this facility. The concept of Closed Ecology Experiment Facility is described, and several research items related to earth science potentially to be conducted using this facility are indicated. As an example of the application, an improved model of climate estimation is discussed.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Novel sensor technology for monitoring and control of critical plant nutrient parameters.

A novel dielectric sensor technology has been developed for monitoring and control of plant nutrient delivery systems as part of NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) program. A unique measurement phenomenon was discovered in which the electrostatic field is shunted to a third terminal of the sensor, resulting in a much greater sensitivity to changes in the complex dielectric properties of the nutrient solution. Based on this phenomenon, a small, flexible, thin-film shunting dielectric sensor (SDS) was designed to provide low-frequency, non-invasive measurement of both the thickness and nutrient concentration of the layer of solution on a plant growth surface. Test results indicate a sensitivity of +/- 0.05mm in layer thickness while characterization of the ability to measure nutrient concentration continues. The development plan for this sensor is presented and other applications are discussed.

Algorithms↗

PubMed1994

Terrestrial applications of bone and muscle research in microgravity.

Major applications to people on Earth are possible from NASA-sponsored research on bone and muscle which is conducted either in microgravity or on Earth using models mimicking microgravity. In microgravity bone and muscle mass are lost. Humans experience a similar loss under certain conditions on Earth. Bone and muscle loss exist on Earth as humans age from adulthood to senescence, during limb immobilization for healing of orthopedic injuries, during wheelchair confinement because of certain diseases, and during chronic bed rest prescribed for curing of diseases. NASA-sponsored research is dedicated to learning both what cause bone and muscle loss as well as finding out how to prevent this loss. The health ramifications of these discoveries will have major impact. Objective 1.6 of Healthy People 2000, a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, states that the performance of physical activities that improve muscular strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility is particularly important to maintaining functional independence and social integration in older adults. This objective further states that these types of physical activities are important because they may protect against disability, an event which costs the U.S. economy huge sums of money. Thus NASA research related to bone and muscle loss has potential major impact on the quality of life in the U.S. Relative to its potential health benefits, NASA and Congressional support of bone and muscle research is funded at a very low level.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Four educational programs in Space Life Sciences.

Four different educational programs impacting Space Life Sciences are described: the NASA/USRA Advanced Design Program, the NASA Specialized Center of Research and Training (NSCORT) Program, the Centers for the Commercial Development of Space (CCDS) Program, and the NASA Graduate Research Fellow Program. Each program makes somewhat different demands on the students engaged in them. Each program, at the University of Colorado, involves Space Life Sciences training. While the Graduate Student Research Fellow and NSCORT Programs are discipline oriented, the Advanced Design and CCDS Programs are focused on design, technologies and applications. Clearly, the "training paradigms" differ for these educational endeavors. But, these paradigms can be made to mutually facilitate enthusiasm and motivation. Discipline-oriented academic programs, ideally, must be flexible enough to accommodate the emergent cross-disciplinary needs of Space Life Sciences students. Models for such flexibility and resultant student performance levels are discussed based upon actual academic and professional records.

Biological Science Disciplines↗

PubMed1996

Earth benefits of interdisciplinary CELSS-related research by the NSCORT in Bioregenerative Life Support.

Earth benefits of research from the NSCORT in Bioregenerative Life Support will include the following: development of active control mechanisms for light, CO2, and temperature to maximize photosynthesis of crop plants during important phases of crop development; automation of crop culture systems; creation of novel culture systems for optimum productivity; creation of value-added crops with superior nutritional, yield, and waste-process characteristics; environmental control of food and toxicant composition of crops; new process technologies and novel food products for safe, nutritious, palatable vegetarian diets; creation of menus for healthful vegetarian diets with psychological acceptability; enzymatic procedures to degrade recalcitrant crop residues occurring in municipal waste; control-system strategies to ensure sustainabilty of a CELSS that will enable management of diverse complex systems on Earth.

Biomass↗