No abstract available.
Aircraft* ; DNA Fingerprinting ; Guam*

The purpose of this study was to make landmark efforts to prevent the major causes of commercial-aviation fatalities on controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) in approach-and-landing accidents. Major analysis for controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) of Guam accident, Mokpo accident and Gimhae accident in commercial transport-aircraft accidents from 1993 through 2002 was made. CFIT occurs when an airworthy aircraft under the control of the flight crew is flown unintentionally into terrain, obstacles or water, usually with no prior awareness by the crew. This type of accident can occur during most phases of flight, but CFIT is more common during the approach-and-landing phase. Key prevention for CFIT accident was education and training for flying crew and to upgrade for equipment such as EGPWS, and the need for more research by professional organizations of airlines.
Accident Prevention ; Aircraft ; Diptera ; Guam ; Societies ; Water

The purpose of this study was is leading landmark efforts to prevent the major causes of commercial-aviation fatalities about controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) in approach-and-landing accidents. The paper of major analysis for controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) was Guam accident, Mokpo accident and Gimhae accident in commercial transport-aircraft accidents from 1997 through 2002. CFIT occurs when an airworthy aircraft under the control of the flight crew is flown unintentionally into terrain, obstacles or water, usually with no prior awareness by the crew. This type of accident can occur during most phases of flight, but CFIT is more common during the approach-and-landing phase. The paper believed that prevention for CFIT accident was education and training for flying crew and upgrade for equipment such as EGPWS, and need more research for professional organizations of airlines.
Aircraft ; Diptera ; Guam ; Humans ; Societies ; Water

No abstract available.
Aircraft* ; Coroners and Medical Examiners* ; Guam* ; Humans

In this paper, a new superimposition scheme using a computer vision system was proposed with pairs of skull and ante-mortem photographs, which were already identified through other tests and DNA fingerprints at the Korea National Institute of Scientific Investigation. In this computer vision system, an unidentified skull was caught by video-camcoder with the MPEG and the other ante-mortem photograph was scanned by scanner. These two images were processed and superimposed using pixel processing. This recognition of individual identifications by anatomical references can be performed on the two superimposed images for many big cases like as Guam KAL accident in 1997.
Artificial Intelligence ; DNA Fingerprinting ; Guam ; Korea ; Skull

It has become our common knowledge nowadays that the airplane crash occurs so often in late years. as the aviation transportation is in wide use for both domestic and international travels. The following operational protocol is suggested based on my personal experience with investigation of the Air Manila crash we had here on Guam in 1976 killing 46 people plus the lessons we learned from United Airlines Flight 232, a wide-bodied DC-10 crash at Sioux City, iowa, in July 1989, killing 112 people. Whenever we encounter such a disaster, we tend to be apprehensive and we do not know what to start off first. The most important thing is to calm down and make a well-thought-out plan by forming a disaster management team. The main purpose of the operation is first to give medical aids to those survivors, then identify the deceased, determine the cause of death, investigate into the cause of crash, protect the valuable personal properties of the passengers, and finally to find ways to prevent such tragedy in the future. In this regard, we should pay attention to the pilots and maintenance crew of the aircraft. Following this, we must field any mechanical defects of aircraft with a high index of suspicion for a possible sabotage, i .c. deliberate destruction of the airplane with an explosive device. The following is a step-by-step plan which I strongly recommend in the event of an airplane disaster.
Aircraft* ; Aviation ; Cause of Death ; Disasters ; Guam ; Homicide ; Humans ; Iowa ; Survivors ; Transportation

Aircraft accidents are not new occurrences. Most people considered flying to be particularly dangerous in the early days of flight, and fatal aircraft crashes were not surprising Although investigation into the mechanical causes of crashes progressed, it was not until the 1950s that value of medical investigation of aircraft crashes became apparent. The identification process is an essential elements of an adequate investigation. Accurate identification of all fatalities incurred in an aircraft accident is often the first step in determining where each person was located at the time of the disaster and what role they may have played in its cause, Separated into basic elements, the identification process involves (1) the collection of identification information about missing persons, (2) the observation of identifying features of the victims, and (3) the comparison of the two groups of information. Many investigators know about identification techniques, but they have considered them as an isolated process anti have not integrated them into the overall investigation. Typically, physicians, dentists, and other medical personnel are assigned tasks based on a preconceived disaster plan that they had no role in developing to identify the victims of aircraft crash occurred in Guam at 6 August 1997, we performed analysis the data filed from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Office of Chief Medical Examiner, Territory of Guam, U.S.A. and National Institute of Scientific Investigation, Korea (NISI). The total of passengers on boards were 254 including 23 all-crews, Among them, only 25 (22 passengers and 3 air crews) were survived. We obtained that the first identified bodies were 100 remains including hospital dead 7 cases using by conventional methods such as finger prints, medical & dental records, and so on. We also analyzed he victims' seating configuration based on boarding pass and surveyed the process from the identification & notification to releasing the body, funeral services and transportation.
Aircraft ; Coroners and Medical Examiners ; Dental Records ; Dentists ; Diptera ; Disasters ; Fingers ; Guam ; Hepatitis A Antibodies ; Humans ; Korea ; Research Personnel ; Transportation

Sea urchins are marine invertebrates commonly found in coastal areas around the world. The potential mechanisms of injury are primary puncture wounds, envenomation, and the foreign body reaction. A 20-year-old woman presented with multiple, 0.2 to 0.3 cm-sized, erythematous papules with central blackish particles accompanied by numbness and pain on the dorsum of the right foot and ankle for 7 days. She had been injured by a sea urchin 7 days prior at the seaside in Guam. A skin biopsy of the lesion showed inflammation with foreign body reaction. The attending physician removed all the blackish particles and applied mupirocin ointment. Although skin lesions improved over time, numbness and pain still remained. There have been only six reported cases of sea urchin granuloma in Korea, but no reports of sea urchin injury with neurologic symptoms. Herein, we report a rare case of sea urchin injury accompanied by paresthesia.
Ankle ; Biopsy ; Female ; Foot ; Foreign-Body Reaction ; Granuloma ; Guam ; Humans ; Hypesthesia ; Inflammation ; Invertebrates ; Korea ; Mupirocin ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Paresthesia* ; Punctures ; Sea Urchins* ; Skin ; Wounds and Injuries ; Young Adult

Chromobacterium violaceum (C. violaceum) is a gram negative, facultative anaerobe widely distributed in natural aquatic environments and is sensitive to temperature. Its infection has a predilection to tropical or subtropical regions that between latitude 35degrees N and 35degrees S. Infection due to C. violaceum is rare. But human infection with this organism can result in severe, systemic disease with a high fatality rate. C. violaceum infection may rapidly progress to sepsis with multiple organ abscesses, predominantly in lungs, liver, and spleen. The organism is usually resistant to most antibiotics commonly prescribed for gram-negative bacterial infection like aminoglycosides, extended spectrum beta-lactam antibiotics etc. In Korea, two cases of C. violaceum infections were reported in patients injured in a Guam airplane accident, and one case was reported local C. violaceum infection. Here, we report a case of fatal C. violaceum postoperative wound infection in Korea.
Abscess ; Aircraft ; Aminoglycosides ; Ankle Fractures* ; Ankle* ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Chromobacterium* ; Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections ; Guam ; Humans ; Korea ; Liver ; Lung ; Sepsis ; Spleen ; Surgical Wound Infection ; Wound Infection* ; Wounds and Injuries*

We present a case of a 71-year-old male Chamorro patient from Guam who presented with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP)-Richardson’s syndrome. Considering his strong family history of parkinsonism and a PSP phenotype, he was clinically diagnosed with Guam parkinsonism-dementia complex (PDC). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed prominent midbrain atrophy with preserved pontine volume, forming the ‘hummingbird’ sign, which has not been described before in Guam PDC. Molecular analysis of the chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 gene (C9orf72) showed only 6 GGGGCC repeats. We discuss the clinico-pathological similarities and differences between PSP and Guam PDC, and highlight the topography of neuropathological changes seen in Guam PDC to explain the appearance of the ‘hummingbird’ sign on MRI.
Aged ; Atrophy ; Brain ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 9 ; Guam* ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Mesencephalon ; Open Reading Frames ; Parkinsonian Disorders ; Phenotype ; Supranuclear Palsy, Progressive