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Tohoku Earthquake Continued from page 5 “It was pretty much panic for the first two weeks,” said Livingston. “The barrier between the reactor and the environment was completely compromised, so we had to assume that a complete meltdown was a possibility.” Alleman said their main focus was to make sure the U.S. troops providing humanitarian assistance to the Japanese civilians were kept safe, but that it was difficult working with limited information. “Initially, we weren’t sure what was coming out of the reactors, so it was unclear day to day whether we should expect another plume to be released,” said Alleman. Because of the uncertainty, they recommended precautions, such as taking potassium iodide to protect the thyroid from the radio iodide present in the “warm zone” - the area around the reactors deemed to have potentially dangerous levels of radiation. Dr. Regina Armstrong, director of USU’s Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative medicine, discusses brain function with a group of students from throughout the country who were in Baltimore, Md., recently attending the American Society for Neurochemistry’s High School Science Day. The students also included the winners of the USA National Brain Bee. 6 The Pulse The Official USU Newsletter Photo by Sharon Willis Although the situation was chaotic at first, Alleman said it was an exciting opportunity to put their expertise to good use. The main mission of the MMO team is to teach troops all over the world about the medical effects of ionizing radiation, whereas MRAT prepares to act as an advisory team in the event of a large-scale nuclear incident - whether that’s a power plant failure caused by a natural disaster or a terrorist attack. “We spend a lot of time preparing for things we hope never happen,” said Livingston. Fortunately, the radiation levels resulting from the Fukushima Daiichi plant cooling system failure were fairly low. Although the official data has yet to be confirmed, Livingston said no U.S. troops were exposed to more than a fraction of what the Nuclear Regulatory Commission sets as the allowable limit for annual radiation exposure in an occupational environment. “I was there for a month and a half, and got a larger exposure flying on a plane,” said Livingston, who explained that we are constantly exposed to low levels of naturallyoccurring background radiation. We receive slightly more cosmic radiation from the sun when we’re at a higher altitude, whether we’re in a plane or at the top of a mountain range. AFRRI hosted a symposium on the U.S. military response to the Fukushima Daiichi radiological incident March 27-29 at Uniformed Services University. Experts from various services and participating government agencies discussed their roles in the crisis, radiation detection, force protection and risk communication. Ms. Mariam Masheeb, Study Volunteer Recruitment Manager with USU’s Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine (CNRM), speaks to a scientist attending the recent American Society for Neurochemistry meeting in Baltimore, Md., about CNRM and its programs. Photo by Sharon Willis
Col. (Dr.) Paul Pasquina, Director of USU’s Center for Rehabilitation Science Research and Chief, Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center; Dr. Mike Nichols, chair, Public Policy and Education Committee, American Society for Neurochemistry; Dr. Regina Armstrong, director, USU Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine; Dr. Daniel Perl, Professor of Pathology (Neuropathology), USU and director, Military Brain Injury Studies Program, CNRM; and Dr. Larry Latour, staff scientist, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, principal investigator, Stroke and Neurotrauma Imaging Program, CNRM, participated in a public Brain Injury Forum held during this year’s American Society for Neurochemistry annual meeting in Baltimore, Md. Briefs Using Computer Resources Security incidents continue to be a drain to limited USU Information Assurance manpower. The following highlight current DoD policy and best practices: Personnel must not install selfcoded or non-licensed software on network resources; add, remove, configure, or attempt to modify USU computer operating systems or programs; move audio/visual or network cables, computers or attempt to connect personal computers to the network including MDL and lecture hall spaces; connect personal devices except for those previously authorized by NOC; download pornographic material and store or display offensive material, such as racist literature, sexually harassing or obscene language or material; store or process classified information on any USU system. Personnel must not permit unauthorized individuals access to a government-owned or governmentoperated system or program; access online gambling, games and social engineering sites, dates or times. Help Desk Closure The Customer Service Division (CSD) Help Desk is closed for staff meetings and training on Thursdays from 2:00 PM until 3:00 PM. Online services are still available during this time. Utilize the USU Service Desk (https://usuca/CAisd/pdmweb.exe) to enter your request and it will be serviced accordingly. Exercise/Fitness Areas Physical Fitness training should be conducted in designated areas. The only authorized space for PT within the university is room G060. The campus Student Community Lounge area is also authorized, but only during specified PFT dates or times. March 30, 2012 7
Page 1 and 2: The Official USU Newsletter Volume
Page 3 and 4: Understanding PTSD By Christine Cre
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