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Nanoparticle Infused Gauze Quickly Stanches Wounds
jackieduvall writes "Medical gauze has received its first upgrade since World War I. Chemists have infused it with nanoparticles derived from kaolin clay, which somehow give it an amazing ability to stop severe bleeding. It was developed when the Navy approached a team of inorganic chemists at the University of California Santa Barbara to solve a problem with QuikClot, a zeolite-based hemostatic agent that became way too hot and caused burns when it came in contact with water or blood. While performing blood clotting tests, they realized that kaolin clay, which has been used as a control for clotting experiments since the 1950s, could also be used as a first aid product."
There is a video demonstration alongside the article. It shows the gauze halting the bleeding from a pig's aorta. The blood isn't excessive, but if you're bothered by that sort of thing, you may want to skip the video.
http://science.slashdot.org/science/06/10/10/2024228.shtml
It doesn't say what happened to the pig. I have to hope there was a BBQ afterward.
Darn... I was so excited when I read that as shaolin clay.
alias possession='chmod 666 satan && ls
Hey, it's not a conscript army. Let the grunts fuck each other up and perhaps we'll get some medicine out of it which will help non-psychopaths involved in accidents/illness etc.
> It's probably naive to think that we don't need a defense budget (which is not what I'm advocating),
Have you seen the size of the US "defence" budget? Whenever you hear someone talk about poverty, illness, charity for victims of, say, the Asian tsunami etc, look at what's being given, then look at the budget. I bet you can do it with laughing after a little practice.
So when our ancestors got wounds and rubbed dirt into them they had it right all along? Or is it they had it wrong, you only rub special dirt in, and only if the wound is severe?
Sounds like a gauze for celebration!
Medical factoid - kaolin and pectin are the substances that constitute the anti-diarrheal substance "Kaopectate" (hence the name.) Note that it doesn't really do anything but bind with water -- kind of a clay-like substance that will then give one more firm stools.
I think the modern kaopectate has modified its ingredients, but kaolin clay like substances are still available for medical use. Nice to see a new implementation of this technology, with the "nano" prefix thrown in for sexiness.
Slashdotter, ID #101. UIDs are in binary, right?
Food for thought? Like I haven't heard enough people with your view already? We need to both be better at killing people and better at saving their lives. Both are useful.
That's fine for people with blood, but what happens to those of us who are caffeine-based lifeforms?
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
Your logic is sorta flawed. If they did not need to patch wounds they would not need to create a better solution to stopping blood flow thus the research would never happen.
... some where around the rate of WWII would be sufficient. This would help drive down ridiculous land prices.
Without a valid reason to spend money on research it tends to be difficult to get money. Like I would love to do a 50 year research project on how having a harem of over a dozen women will effect erectile dysfunction in a man through adulthood... but I've yet to be able to convince the government on why they should spend their military money on me.
Seriously though... if you wanna spout agenda's I wish we were loosing tons more people on a world scale
Clay- all clay- is basically a mixture of kaolin, water, and larger particles (sand or "grog"- crushed clay bits.) Clays with a low percentage of kaolin and a high percentage of inclusions are low-fire clays, such as terra cotta, while a high percentage of kaolin is necessary for high-fire clays such as porcelin.
Porcelin clays are fired between three and four thousand degrees in order to vitrify- which means, to melt and fuse together. Glazes, which are based in sand and metal, vitrify at a lower temperature, which is why pots have two firings, the first to make them pots instead of shaped clay, and the second to decorate them.
Kaolin is not quite as common as dirt or sand but it is found all over the world and not too difficult to obtain. A good college ceramics department will have a barrel on hand.
The upshot of this, I guess, is that if you are foolish enough to stick your hand into a clay mixer, which is like a Kitchen Aid stand mixer on steroids, and get your hand torn off, sticking your hand into the barrel of kaolin dust would be amazingly good first aid.
Actually I am a lab rat in an elaborate plot to take over the world.
Actually, I'm fairly sure that it is correctly 'stanch' for 'cause to cease bleeding' and 'staunch' for 'very fervid, committed to a cause'. You stanch blood, you are a staunch supporter. They can be interchanged, but those are the original meanings, and it is correct as used.
The U.S. gives more money to countries in need than anyone other country in the world -- by a huge margin, especially if you combine government and private aid. When a disaster hits, the U.S. is often the first there with actual relief supplies. When that tsunami hit, the UN spent the first few months bitching about the quality of the hotel buffet and didn't do a damn thing about the people who needed help. The U.S. immediately sent a naval carrier task force (I think it took about a week to get there) -- which was criticized by idiots. A carrier task force gives you:
Multiple hospitals, fully stocked with everything you need.
Tons of food.
Enough electrical power to supply a city.
The most modern communication equipment in the world.
The ability to create something like 100,000 gallons of pure drinking water a day.
Helicopters for transporting supplies, personal, and the injured.
Construction equipment, bulldozers are handy things when buildings have collapsed.
Security. Natural disasters tend to attract roving bands of thugs who take advantage of the chaos to prey upon the helpless.
etc, etc, etc.
A carrier task force is about the best damn thing to have around when dealing with a disaster of that magnitude. I don't even need to list the huge sums of money and supplies donated by the American people and American businesses. I know of a lot of companies that sponsored donation matching.
-- Will program for bandwidth
The blood isn't excessive, but if you're bothered by that sort of thing, you may want to skip the video.
Here's something that I've always wondered and never got an answer to. Why are some people bothered by the sight of blood? What's shocking about it? I really don't get it even a bit. Besides I always thought (my own) blood was kind of yummy.
You just got troll'd!
Damned hippies!
"I may be full of crap about this game, and I may be wrong, and that's fine." -Jack Thompson
As if the military had no other reason to look into this.
Since when does grinding something small constitute nanotechnology?
I'd have to take such characterization with a grain of nano calcium chloride.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Being that kaolin clay binds with water and causes clotting, does this mean that this stuff will work on people who have clotting issues, such as those on blood thinning medications or hemophiliacs?
Back to 6th grade biology / sex-ed course for you, funny boy.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Is it just me, or did that seem like an advertisement for a company and their product, moreso than there being anything of substance? It isn't like this is groundbreaking chemistry either.
"When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
That would be informative, otherwise you're essentially passing opinion (which I don't care about and leaves me less rather then more informed).
Quack, quack.
No offense, but if my views were widely popular to be that annoying, I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have elected Bush twice nor would we be in war right now.
I'm not trying to start a political war here, it's already happening everywhere else. Just like I said, food for thought*.
*Your appetite may vary
If you can't mod them join them.
Now suspend it in a spray with liquid bandages and parents everywhere rejoice!
I must admit ignorance about what an ARG is capable of doing. A carrier task force is still pretty damn good to have around, wouldn't you agree?
-- Will program for bandwidth
These are such well known statistics that I'm surprised you're questioning them. The United States Government is, and has been for some time, the largest giver in absolute dollars of any nation in the world. There are tons of references to this online but here is one: http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Debt/USAid.asp#ForeignAidNumbersinChartsandGraphs Buried in that article is the knowledge that U.S. Citizens, outside the government, donate almost double what the Government does. No matter how you slice the numbers the United States through it's government and private citizens are the most generous givers in absolute terms of any nation and her citizens. Period.
"Stanches", yay; "Staunches", nay.
See http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stanches
Then why didn't we send a carrier in after Katrina hit?
It's pretty common knowledge that the USA is both the largest source of foreign aid in terms of raw dollars and one of the smallest sources of foreign aid in terms of GDP.
What's less well known is that close to two-thirds of that aid go to Israel and Egypt for the the purpose of buying weapons.
You are correct. I should have looked it up in the first place. Still, I was hardly off topic as the mods seemed to believe :)
They did send in a bunch of military vessels. My guess is there was no carrier close enough to send.
-- Will program for bandwidth
The U.S. gives more money to countries in need than anyone other country in the world...
If you're going to rattle off broad claims like this you should at least cite them.
The US give by far the most in dollars, but fairly low in terms of GNP. But that is only counting UN Official Development Assistance contributions. I couldn't find numbers for private donations or other non-military aid. Although the Gates Foundation wrote just over $2 billion in grants in 2007, which would put their giving on a level just between Denmark and Australia.
We are all just people.
> These are such well known statistics that I'm surprised you're questioning them. The United States Government is, and has been for some
> time, the largest giver in absolute dollars of any nation in the world.
Yeah, but most of that `giving` is to Israel. I'm talking about charity, to countries which need it. And by the Government, not the people. Finally, the US gives far less than the suggested minimum of its GDP. You're living the dream, arncha!
I'm an Aussie, I generally agree with your post and think Americans (both in government and in private) are generous when disaster strikes.
The ships you speak of helped out in Indonesia, it took less than a week since, they were in the area and arrived before the Aussies could get there (and we live next door!!). The US had a shipload of choppers and spent weeks carting bottled water, desal plants, portable hostpitals, etc, etc. On one isolated island the choppers were attacked by some stone age natives with bows and arrows (who had survived by following their ancestors advice and going to high ground when the earth rumbled), but generally the assistance was greatly appreciated.
One point in your post bugs me, you don't need to denigrate the efforts of others (UN) to make the US look good. The US is great for initial releif and moving a lot of bulk in a hurry. The UN is great for long term assistance and opening the political doors that enable the US Navy to do it's stuff. In other words the US & UN work best together not in competition.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
I could just as easily find statistics that prove the opposite : http://www.poverty.com/internationalaid.html But then again .. what has any of this to do with " Nanoparticle Infused Gauze Quickly Stanches Wounds"
I get areas of nasty dried skin on my feet and will happily set about cutting them off. Inevitably I cut too deep and bleed a little. Everywhere. First time I thought "oh crap"... but 100th or so time performing minor surgery, I don't give a shit.
Mind you, despite 3 years practise the missus still gets in a tizz as I sit stemming the bleed with tissue paper and/or superglue. Mostly because I'm making a mess on the carpet (I don't want to think about the row I'd get if I bled to death on the nice rugs).
Python coder | PyQt Applications | Writer
We have invented *tons* of useless and useful things without the help of DOD or for war purposes.
Anyway, seeing the moderation my comment got and the responses I think my post was lost on this whole discussion so might as well stop replying.
If you can't mod them join them.
lol!
:P
I hope you intended that to be in a cartman like voice
Thanks for the laugh.
If you can't mod them join them.
Anyway, charity is charity, regardless of your uninformed opinion. Maybe someone somewhere thinks that drug users don't deserve to be given money, but that doesn't mean you're not being charitable when you give to a program to help drug users.
So there's a suggested minimum for being charitable now?
The problem with the UN helping is it's a democratic process and by the time the members vote to form a study group to report on the degree of the required help, then reports back to the committee who holds a vote to request the over-flight and assigns that to another subcommittee, which then requests supplies from the members etc. where the carrier group's Admiral just says "We're going to help those people, we've got more combat power than most nations so try to stay out from underfoot until we're done; and the UN comes around and pretends they are helping"
Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
Official aid is not free, there are strings attached. No matter how you slice the numbers the United States through it's government and private citizens are the most generous givers That is UTTER bullshit, your own link slices the numbers and in EVERY WAY but one, the US is far, far from first place, never mind your mistaken idea about giving VS loaning.
You can't take the sky from me...
The last time I was deployed in Iraq, we were all issued Quikclot packs in our trauma bags; I'm sure that if I needed to use it, it would have worked fine. However, Quikclot causes pretty severe burns and pain when it's used; in addition, the hard 'clot' that is formed is a PITA for surgeons to remove.
In my personal trauma kit here at home, I use Celox:
http://www.celoxmedical.com/
It is chitosan-based but claims to not affect people with seafood-based allergies. It produces no heat and is removed easily by water irrigation. I am curious why the DoD has not moved towards this product; you can get the celox-infused gauze that works much the same as this kaolin-based product already. If any of you are EMTs or just interested in having a good hemostatic agent in your kit, you should look into Celox. When everything else is equal, the disadvantages of Quikclot make Celox the clear winner.
-b
No offense, but I've stopped responding to AC's.
They did - along with amphib ships and helo carriers. You can check this article for a decent list. Look at the paragraphs just to the left of the Chinook photo.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
Not to belittle US assistance, but as a percentage of gross national income the US is way low on the scale. It's true that the absolute numbers that the US gives are very high (about twice as high as the next highest country), but it also helps to keep in mind that we aren't really sacrificing all that much in order to do it. About 0.17% of our GNI. Here's a page with some nice charts and numbers.
http://www.rootstrikers.org/
Perhaps it's more sarcastic cynicism? While reporters aren't a high priority to the people dying, they are a high priority to some of those tendering relief (politicos)...the good PR of being 'seen' saving lives can be a large incentive.
Yeah, the can dissect out some tiny vessels, but when you have a tumor, that's what you get.
Liver surgeons, and orthopods ( bone docs like me) would really like this.
..........FULL STOP.
Why would you want to take something with a grain of lime?
There are plenty of Brits around here - they're the ones who keep reminding us that Slashdot isn't just for Americans.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
I did not mean to insult any nation. The world's reaction to the relief effort made me stop for a moment and think, "damn, there's hope for the human race after all!" The UN delegation, however, was a completely different matter. I wasn't joking when I said they bitched about the hotel buffet. They did. And they didn't do a damn thing to actually help the relief effort.
BTW, according to the numbers, the average donation per capita of you Aussies was about USD 66. Holy shit, you guys ROCK!
-- Will program for bandwidth
a nano-tequila shot, maybe?
"Don't tug on that, you never know what it might be attached to."
--Buckaroo Banzai to assisting doctor, while performing neurosurgery.
"the average donation per capita of you Aussies was about USD 66. Holy shit, you guys ROCK!"
Thanks, most of it was private, I belive the govt gave $1B to Indonesia in cash and kind.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
> Are you totally ignorant of Israels situation, or are you just trolling?
:) Right. Didn't anyone tell you that communism is dead?
:) Right. Didn't anyone tell you that communism is dead?
Illegally occupying land, pissing off the past/present owners and surrounding community, breaching multiple UN regulations etc. Yeah, it's in the paper from time to time.
I don't understand your ramblings about charity being charity.
> So there's a suggested minimum for being charitable now?
So there's a suggested minimum for being charitable now?
Yes, I just told you there is. Reading not your strong point, eh?
I don't understand your ramblings about communism. Unless you're saying that the UN is a communist body.
oh but it is so true. It's called outsourcing in some cirlces.
Balderdash!
Meh, I could rattle of a list of 'evil' shit for just about any nation or international group, or I could quote what ambulance drivers and moticians talk about during lunch break, to do so would miss the point of my original post.
If there is a systemic problem with the UN it is that the permenent members of the UNSC use it as a method of fight proxy wars where real people (ie: smaller oil rich nations) get caught in the middle, still it's preferable to nothing.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
I will continue the theame of emphasising the good works of the UN in the case of the tsunami. A snippet below from this link dated ~4 weeks after the Tsunami hit. Note this is the area where the US were, the UN assisted across the rim of the Indian ocean to Ethiopia and brough political attention to the plight of NE Sri Lanka.
BTW: I don't think admirals have been so gung-ho since the Mogadishu thing. IIRC, in the case of Indonesia they were welcomed with open arms after responding to a request for help by the Indonesians via the UN.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
You make it sound like New Orleans would have been better off being a part of a different country.
My understanding was that the Islamic Nation of Indonesia had severe reservations about allowing the Great White Satanic US Marine Infidels on shore to save their people death and suffering.
Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
Reuters has a nice infographic comparing the total amounts donated by 20 countries for the tsunami relief effort. http://www.alertnet.org/thefacts/aidtracker/index.htm The United States was at the top in absolute amounts, but lowest in the ratio government aid to private aid (its citizens are more generous the the government) and about 16th in aid per capita.
And by the Government, not the people.
This is a fundamental issue that I fervently disagree with.
The government of this country should give ZERO dollars in aid. It should come from the people. It is NOT the purpose of a Republican government (Republican as is in "a republic", not the political party) to redistribute the wealth of the citizenry, much less to foreign nations.
The American people are some of the most giving in the world, assuming they have money left to give and it isn't all sucked up by a series of socialist wealth redistribution programs.
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
... they taste better when you eat them. :-)
Bruce Perens.
On the other hand, given our size, aren't we generally dealing with at least one INTERNAL disaster that would trigger international aid if it occurred somewhere else? Yes, Katrina triggered international aid. But we still have various fires, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, industrial accidents, etc...
And we don't normally see a huge amount of aid in them. We provide it internally. Sometimes we'll get assistance from foreign governments in the form of various specialists. But not stuff like X hundreds or thousands of tons of food, equipment, etc...
Of course, I much favor a hand up type style of aid, versus a 'hand out' style of aid. The difference is that the recipient of a hand up doesn't need one the next year, while the recipient of a hand out is generally waiting there with their hand still out next year.
Unfortunately, the hand up is generally more expensive than the hand out.
I don't read AC A human right
but lowest in the ratio government aid to private aid (its citizens are more generous the the government) and about 16th in aid per capita.
And what's wrong with that? Personally I think that aid/charity should be mostly a private matter.
16th, given the hundreds of countries, ain't bad, especially given our size and the fact we normally take care of internal incidents and disasters without counting in that international aid category.
I don't read AC A human right
Oh really. Care to cite an example?
"Are you suggesting that cases of violence amongst the general population of a country are equivalent to systematic corruption within an organization?"
/rant
I have no idea how you read that into what I said, but I was suggesting that people who are constantly exposed to human trauma may appear cold and uncaring when complaining about the breakfast buffet. I am also suggesting certain political spin merchants will jump on such trivia to demonize others and fools will go along for the ride. I don't want to get into a debate on corruption since it will be seen a "yank bashing" in this context and said corruption (by the US or UN) is unrelated to the tsunami relief effort.
"Care to cite an example?"
Good greif man, where have you been living for the last half a decade or more. If the cold war is too distant a memory how about the fact Isreal has defied more UNSC resolutions that anyone else due to the US veto powers. How about the fact that the 'corruption' in the oil for food scandal was dilegently reported to the UNSC by the general assembly - while it was happening - yet ALL of the permenent members let it slide for years because they were ALL guilty. Why the hell would Clinton donate $2B worth of attack choppers to Burma in the 90's if he didn't see Burma as a pawn. Why (in the west) is an nuke considered more dangerous in Iran than in Saudi Arabia?
The planet was divided up 60yrs ago by the winners of WW2 and the fortunate five have been haggling and fighting to increase their share ever since. The UNSC is no different in concept to the Supreme Council of Iran, both are undemocratic authorities that oversee a democratic assembly and both are used to maintain the status-quo by force of arms. If you want half a chance at understanding why international politics succedes and fails in a particular senarios then stop blindly parroting the innane spin of certain US senators who are mearly offering a convienient scapegoat to distract attention from their from their own failings.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
If you investigate a little deeper you will find the Indonesians were fighting an armed sepratist group in the area and SOME generals in the Indonesian military voiced concern for the welfare of releif workers and the possibility of three way clashes between sepratists, marines and the Indonesian regulars. Keep digging and you will also find that the tsunami was the catalyst for the sepratists and the government to make peace with each other (again via the UN).
No nation on Earth will allow a foreign force into it's waters without first assessing the situation, to enter without permission is an act of war. The same concept holds true for the relationship between individual US states and the US military. The carrier group did not just get up and go to the nearest scene of devastation on the whim of an Admiral, politicians gave it that task and they did so in a very timely and compasionate manner.
BTW: Why are you taking islamo-facist rhetoric from the extreme fringe of middle eastern politics and putting it into the mouth of a SE Asian republic?
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
Right! Because the Palestinian territories hold MASSIVE stores of oil! And the US support of Israel operates through the UN! Wow, you're so smart.
Well, except for the US. But yes, almost everyone was profiting off the oil-for-food fiasco, and not just the "permanent members". Really, you're proving MY point, which is that the UN is corrupt and useless.
I don't know, ask Clinton. All I know is that this example, like all your other examples, had absolutely nothing to do with your original stated premise, which was that "If there is a systemic problem with the UN it is that the permenent members of the UNSC use it as a method of fight proxy wars where real people (ie: smaller oil rich nations) get caught in the middle"
So far you have failed to prove your premise in a spectacular fashion. Um, fuck you very much. Unlike you, I've actually WORKED with the UN, and my opinions, while they are similar to those of most of my coworkers, are entirely my own. That you would dare suggest that I'm simply "parroting" someone elses opinions tells me all I need to know about your character. Also, please, work on your spelling; your little run-on sentence there has 5 misspelled words in it, which doesn't do much to instill confidence in your intellectual abilities.
/s "half a decade", "half a century".
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
"Well, except for the US."
US companies were responsible for ~50% of the 'corrupt' money that changed hands, it was the UNSC's responsiblity to police the sanctions they themselves set up, but they ignored all of it with a wink and a nod until the US found it convienient to do otherwise for political purposes.
I can no longer argue with such willfull ignorance as such arguments are pointless, fuck you and your perfect spelling.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
Usually when people speak of charity they mean giving to those of us who are less well off. I don't really think giving weapons to the military of a rich, industrialized country can be called charity.
I guess a good analogy would be that you give food coupons to your wealthy friend and claim that you have now helped the poor.
Hmm, I guess my definition of charity was incorrect after all. Somehow it's always felt like it should be given to the needy and so forth, but the museum example does clinch it.
Now just to be consistent, I'm sure you consider the money Iran gives to Hezbollah charity as well?
Now just to be consistent, I'm sure you consider the money Iran gives to Hezbollah charity as well? I don't know. Charity is defined as a gift meant to promote the public good. Hezbollah hasn't done much in that regard, even for their own people.
I suppose that, in the sense that Iran believes that money is being used for the greater good of the Muslim world, you could say it was charity. On the other hand, the results speak for themselves, and it does say a lot about their ideology that they're funding an organization whose only purpose is to kill civilians.