Frances Owens to Samuel Robert Owens, January 26, 1942

This letter was sent January 26, 1942 from Frances Elivra Owens to her son, Samuel Robert Owens. The letter was sent back to her by the Navy, because there were serious attacks happening during this time in the Philippines. Frances Owens has not heard from Samuel for 5 months. She talks about her other son, Frank, who had been with Samuel in Manila for a few days months ago. Frances also talks about her other son Floyd, who she mentions is actually sick and has been going to Duke Hospital for treatment, because he has an ulcerated stomach

Changes To Water Chemistry And Implications For Sensitive Aquatic Biota In Southern Blue Ridge Streams

Freshwater systems, which constitute a mere 2.5% of Earth's total water, are increasingly impacted by abiotic and biotic factors. Changes to land use and other anthropogenic stressors are widely understood to drive the alteration of freshwater ecosystems. The Southern Blue Ridge is among North America's most biologically diverse regions and is home to the forested headwaters of the Tennessee and Ohio drainages. I examined long-term (~60 years) water quality and land use (18 years) datasets to assess which broad-scale changes in water chemistry may be correlated with recent declines of aquatic species in this region. My in-depth analysis of water chemistry from 80 Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC10) watersheds revealed increases in DO concentration, TDS, pH and spC over the last 5 decades. I used descriptive statistics, Spearman rank correlations, and model fitting to understand how water chemistry has changed over time and in relation to urbanization in a primarily forested region. Species modeling suggests freshwater fish are the taxa that have experienced statistically significant changes in watershed occupancy from 1900-2010

The Canopus by Capt. E.L. Sackett, U.S.N.

In the years between the first and second world wars, the West watched with growing alarm the rise of militarism in Japan. Japan began a full-scale invasion of China in the summer of 1937 which culminated in the infamous Nanking Massacre that, an attack on the Great Wall of China in 1938, and continued bombardment of Chinese cities during the late 1930s and early 1940s. Seeking to counteract Japan’s economic and military influence in the region, the United States and its allies discontinued sale of oil, steel, and iron ore to Japan. Viewing this embargo as a provocation, Japan saw war with the West as the only way to protect its interests in the Pacific and attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941. Japan’s attacks on the Philippine Islands in the following days included the bombing of Nichols Field, a U.S. military airfield south of Manila and near the Cavite Navy Yard in Manila where the submarine tender USS Canopus was carrying out its duties before being moved north to Mariveles Bay.These events serve as an opening to the remarkable story of the USS Canopus and its men transcribed and edited here

Ventricular Dysrhythmias Associated with Poisoning and Drug Overdose: A 10-Year Review of Statewide Poison Control Center Data from California

Background: Ventricular dysrhythmias are a serious consequence associated with drug overdose and chemical poisoning. The risk factors for the type of ventricular dysrhythmia and the outcomes by drug class are not well documented. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the most common drugs and chemicals associated with ventricular dysrhythmias and their outcomes. Methods: We reviewed all human exposures reported to a statewide poison control system between 2002 and 2011 that had a documented ventricular dysrhythmia. Cases were differentiated into two groups by type of arrhythmia: (1) ventricular fibrillation and/or tachycardia (VT/VF); and (2) torsade de pointes (TdP). Results: Among the 300 potential cases identified, 148 cases met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 132 cases (89 %) experienced an episode of VT or VF, while the remaining 16 cases (11 %) had an episode of TdP. The most commonly involved therapeutic classes of drugs associated with VT/VF were antidepressants (33/132, 25 %), stimulants (33/132, 25 %), and diphenhydramine (16/132, 12.1 %). Those associated with TdP were antidepressants (4/16, 25 %), methadone (4/16, 25 %), and antiarrhythmics (3/16, 18.75 %). Drug exposures with the greatest risk of death in association with VT/VF were antidepressant exposure [odds ratio (OR) 1.71; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.705–4.181] and antiarrhythmic exposure (OR 1.75; 95 % CI 0.304–10.05), but neither association was statistically significant. Drug exposures with a statistically significant risk for TdP included methadone and antiarrhythmic drugs. Conclusions: Antidepressants and stimulants were the most common drugs associated with ventricular dysrhythmias. Patients with suspected poisonings by medications with a high risk of ventricular dysrhythmia warrant prompt ECG monitoring