Prediction of CL-20 chemical degradation pathways, theoretical and experimental evidence for dependence on competing modes of reaction.

Highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energies, formation energies, bond lengths and FTIR spectra all suggest competing CL-20 degradation mechanisms. This second of two studies investigates recalcitrant, toxic, aromatic CL-20 intermediates that absorb from 370 to 430 nm. Our earlier study (Struct. Chem., 15, 2004) revealed that these intermediates were formed at high OH(-) concentrations via the chemically preferred pathway of breaking the C-C bond between the two cyclopentanes, thereby eliminating nitro groups, forming conjugated pi bonds, and resulting in a pyrazine three-ring aromatic intermediate. In attempting to find and make dominant a more benign CL-20 transformation pathway, this current research validates hydroxylation results from both studies and examines CL-20 transformations via photo-induced free radical reactions. This article discusses CL-20 competing modes of degradation revealed through: computational calculation; UV/VIS and SF spectroscopy following alkaline hydrolysis; and photochemical irradiation to degrade CL-20 and its byproducts at their respective wavelengths of maximum absorption.

Theoretical predictions of chemical degradation reaction mechanisms of RDX and other cyclic nitramines derived from their molecular structures.

Analysis of environmental degradation pathways of contaminants is aided by predictions of likely reaction mechanisms and intermediate products derived from computational models of molecular structure. Quantum mechanical methods and force-field molecular mechanics were used to characterize cyclic nitramines. Likely degradation mechanisms for hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) include hydroxylation utilizing addition of hydroxide ions to initiate proton abstraction via 2nd order rate elimination (E2) or via nucleophilic substitution of nitro groups, reductive chemical and biochemical degradation, and free radical oxidation. Due to structural similarities, it is predicted that, under homologous circumstances, certain RDX environmental degradation pathways should also be effective for octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX) and similar cyclic nitramines. Computational models provided a theoretical framework whereby likely transformation mechanisms and transformation products of cyclic nitramines were predicted and used to elucidate in situ degradation pathways.

The focus on women veterans who use Veterans Administration health care: the Veterans Administration Women's Health Project.

Women have served in every war and conflict in our history, but the effects of military duty on women are largely unknown. This article discusses the history of women in the military and presents findings from the Veterans Administration Women's Health Project. This study was designed to describe the health-related quality of life of women veterans who receive Veterans Administration ambulatory care. We assessed health status using the Short Form 36, an easily administered 36-item health survey that has been widely used and that has been shown to be reliable and valid. We compared Short Form 36 scores between veteran and nonveteran women. The results indicate that veteran women score lower on every scale compared with nonveteran women.

Posttraumatic stress disorder and war-zone exposure as correlates of perceived health in female Vietnam War veterans.

Previous studies have identified traumatic exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as predictors of physical health complaints without considering the relationship between exposure and PTSD. This study examined the unique associations of war-zone exposure and PTSD with perceived physical health outcomes in a nontreatment-seeking sample of 109 female veterans of the Vietnam War who responded to a series of psychological, exposure, and health questionnaires. Both PTSD and exposure were associated with reports of negative health outcomes when each variable was not adjusted for the other. The effects associated with exposure decreased when PTSD was controlled for, whereas the effects associated with PTSD remained when exposure was controlled for. Results suggest that effects of traumatic exposure on perceived health are partially mediated by increases in PTSD after exposure, supporting studies on the effects of stress on health.

Women Vietnam veterans. A comparison of studies.

There is strong evidence that many women exposed to war stress have suffered mental health problems related to their experience, and a substantial number continue to have serious emotional, psychosocial, and other readjustment problems that affect their current level of functioning and life satisfaction. The consistent exposure to severe combat casualties, death and dying, workload extremes, personal deprivation, loss, and danger all take a significant emotional toll. These studies underscore the need for affected women to explore their war experiences and associated feelings with mental health professionals, as well as the need for those professionals to develop an awareness and understanding of the impact of specific war-related stress on women.

A method of staining basal-cell plasma membranes in epidermal sheets.

An adenosine triphosphatase method was devised to stain basal epidermal cell plasma membranes in sheet preparations of humans, rat, mouse and guinea pig epidermis. The method is useful for direct observation of sizes, shapes, and numbers of basal epidermal cells.

Plantar fasciitis. The painful heel syndrome.

Of 116 patients with pain in the plantar portion of the heel, nineteen proved on follow-up to have systemic disease as the etiology. Of these treated with phenylbutazone, 71 per cent showed good results and a similar percentage benefited equally from injections of cortisone derivatives. Only two patients required surgical procedures, and these were successful in both.