Showing papers by "Young I. Cho published in 2013"

Effect of hydration on whole blood viscosity in firefighters.

Abstract: ContextCardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of on-duty death among firefighters, totaling 45% of on-duty fatalities. Heat stress and fluid losses can result in decreases in cardiac output of firefighters, despite sus- tained tachycardia and maximally elevated heart rate dur- ing emergencies. Measurements of whole blood viscosity (WBV) may serve as an independent biomarker of the hydration and dehydration states of on-duty firefighters. ObjectiveThe current pilot study investigates the effects of a strenuous firefighting simulation and subsequent rehydration on WBV and other biological metrics in nine healthy, nonsmoking firefighters to (1) determine whether dehydration and rehydration result in detectable changes in WBV and (2) compare WBV with the results from a range of conventional medical tests. DesignThe research team designed a single-center, unblinded pilot study. SettingFire Training Division, 1900 Lind Ave SW, Renton, WA, 98057. ParticipantsParticipants were 9 healthy, nonsmoking firefighters who were volunteers. Outcome Measure(s) • Vital signs, traditional medical blood tests, and WBV were measured for each firefighter (1) at baseline, (2) after exercise but before rehydration with alkaline water, and (3) postexercise and after rehy- dration. Hematocrit (HCT), hemoglobin (Hb), and WBV increased after exercise and before rehydration. ResultsDehydration during the mock fire drill resulted in elevated WBV at both low- and high-shear rates. HCT and Hb increased due to dehydration and hemoconcen- tration. Hb and HCT returned to baseline values after exercise and rehydration, and while WBV improved, base- line values were not restored. After exercise but before rehydration, WBV changes were significantly larger than HCT and Hb changes, suggesting the profound influence of hydration states on WBV. ConclusionsWBV measurements were better determi- nants of hydration states than HCT or Hb and should be performed to monitor the cardiovascular health of at-risk firefighters. (Altern Ther Health Med. 2013;19(4):44-49.)

Pre-treating water with non-thermal plasma

Abstract: The present invention consists of a method of pre-treatment of adulterated water for distillation, including adulterated water produced during hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) of shale rock during natural gas drilling. In particular, the invention is directed to a method of treating adulterated water, said adulterated water having an initial level of bicarbonate ion in a range of about 250 ppm to about 5000 ppm and an initial level of calcium ion in a range of about 500 ppm to about 50,000 ppm, said method comprising contacting the adulterated water with a non-thermal arc discharge plasma to produce plasma treated water having a level of bicarbonate ion of less than about 100 ppm. Optionally, the plasma treated water may be further distilled.

Reduction of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, plasma viscosity, and whole blood viscosity by the application of pulsed corona discharges and filtration.

Abstract: The present study investigated the feasibility of applying pulsed corona discharges to blood plasma to reduce the viscosity of blood plasma and whole blood. Blood plasma was separated from blood cells, treated with corona discharges, and filtered before it was re-mixed with blood cells. Plasma viscosity (PV), whole blood viscosity (WBV), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-c concentration were measured before and after the corona treatment and filtration. Both PV and WBV increased in the case of the corona treatment only, whereas both of them decreased in the case of the corona treatment plus filtration. In particular, the LDL-c decreased in the case of the corona treatment plus filtration by 31.5% from the baseline value. The effect of the corona treatment on the reduction of the WBV was significant at low shear rates, but not at high shear rates, suggesting that the precipitation of the molecules in blood plasma by the corona treatment and subsequent removal may suppress the aggregation of erythrocytes and improve rheological properties of blood.

Fundamental Physics and Engineering of Nanosecond-Pulsed Nonequilibrium Microplasma in Liquid Phase without Bubbles

Abstract: : The team has demonstrated the possibility of formation of non-equilibrium microscale plasma in the liquid phase and studied the dynamics of excitation and quenching of non-equilibrium MPD in liquid water: the dynamics of the high-voltage nanosecond and subnanosecond pulsed discharge in water without bubbles was investigated; liquid plasma generation without formation of gas bubbles was demonstrated; up to 5000 km/s propagation velocity was observed for a subnanosecond discharge; electron densities and temperatures were measured; a mechanisms of nanosecond discharge development in liquid phase was developed. It was shown that liquid phase plasma is not limited to water in which it has been first observed, but may be generated in virtually any liquid. It was shown that conventional Townsend and streamer breakdown mechanisms are limited in liquid by short electron mean-free path and consequently not sufficient mean electron energy. Quasi-homogeneous generation of liquid phase plasma by nano- and subnanosecond high voltage pulses can be attributed to a cold leader-type mechanism that is similar to generation.