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Potential Dangers (potential + danger)
Selected AbstractsCancer risk from diagnostic radiology in a deliberate self-harm patientACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 5 2010L. J. Norelli Norelli LJ, Coates AD, Kovasznay BM. Cancer risk from diagnostic radiology in a deliberate self-harm patient. Objective:, Patients who engage in recurrent deliberate self-harm (DSH) behaviours have increased morbidity and mortality and use emergency services more than others. Unrecognized iatrogenic injury may play a role. Specifically, we call attention to the potential danger of cumulative radiation exposure. Method:, Case presentation and discussion. Results:, A 29-year-old woman with multiple episodes of deliberate foreign body ingestion received over 400 diagnostic radiology examinations during a 12 year period. The patient's calculated total radiation dose reached an average of 20.5 mSv per year, a dose comparable to atomic bomb survivors and nuclear industry workers, populations in which there is a significant excess cancer risk. Conclusion:, Patients with recurrent self-injurious behaviours, frequent users of healthcare services who often undergo repeated medical assessment and treatment, are likely at higher risk for iatrogenic adverse events. Multiple diagnostic radiology examinations have recently come under scrutiny for causing increased lifetime risk of cancer. Healthcare providers, in particular psychiatrists and emergency department physicians, should consider the cumulative risks of radiological procedures when assessing and treating patients with DSH. [source] Hepatotoxic cyanobacterial blooms in the lakes of northern PolandENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY, Issue 5 2005Joanna Mankiewicz Abstract The lakes of northern Poland are among the recreational sites most valued by Polish and German holiday makers. Given the socioeconomic importance of these lakes, water quality should be maintained at high levels for such intensive recreational purposes. In 2002 studies of species composition, biomass, and toxin production by phytoplankton and the attendant physicochemical variables were performed in order to assess the risk of cyanobacterial blooms in selected northern lakes: Lakes Jeziorak, Jagodne, Szymoneckie, Szymon, Taltowisko, Siecino, and Trzesiecko. The research showed that total phosphorus (0.1 mg P/L) and total nitrogen (1.5 mg N/L) in the studied lakes almost exceeded the permissible limits for eutrophication of water bodies. Most phytoplankton samples were taken in late summer, when cyanobacteria were expected to reach their highest biomass. At the time of sampling most of the lakes were dominated by oscillatorialean and nostocalean species. Average chlorophyll-a concentration was higher than 10 ,g/L in almost all the lakes studied, which corresponded with an average microcystin concentration in the range of 4,5 ,g/L. The main microcystins in the analyzed samples were dmMC-RR, MC-RR, MC-YR, and MC-LR. The results demonstrated a potential for intensive cyanobacterial blooms to appear during the summer in northern Polish lakes. The levels of cyanobacteria found in the lakes investigated indicated that toxicity had reached the first-alert level according to World Health Organization recommendations. If microcystin-producing cyanobacteria dominate, with a microcystin concentration of 2,4 ,g/L, symptoms of toxicity can appear in the swimmers most sensitive to exposure. Analysis of cyanobacterial assemblages in northern Polish lakes also indicated a significant presence of Aphanizomenon species including a Scandinavian species, A. skujae (Skuja) Kom.-Legn. & Cronb. Future investigations of Polish lakes also should assess neurotoxins and study the biology of their producers. This study was the first attempt to evaluate the potential danger of toxic cyanobacterial blooms in the lakes of northern Poland. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 20: 499,506, 2005. [source] Forensic evaluation of clothing flammabilityFIRE AND MATERIALS, Issue 7 2009M. M. Hirschler Abstract A set of 17 commercial garments were purchased, categorized based on their fabric composition and fire tested. Three fire exposures were used: (a) a simile of the United States regulatory test for apparel fabrics (16CFR1610), (b) a small vertical candle on a small swatch of fabric and (c) a candle applied to a full garment, placed on a mannequin. Comparisons were made between the results of the various tests and of the various fabrics tested. A general correlation was observed whereby increased fabric areal density [weight/unit fabric area] resulted in improved fire performance. Where outliers to this generalization were observed the improved fire performance was due to the superior inherent fire performance of specific fabric types such as silk. Overall, the quantitative behavior with regard to flame spread rate observed after ignition of cellulosic, thermoplastic and blended fabrics was more heavily dependent on fabric areal density than on their chemical composition. Two key conclusions are that very lightweight fabrics constitute a potential danger and that the United States regulatory value, set at 88.3g/m2 (2.6oz/yd2), represents an essentially arbitrary cut-off in this regard. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A coupled model for solid deformation and gas leak flowINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS, Issue 11 2004Peide Sun Abstract From the viewpoint of interaction mechanics of solid and gas, a coupled mathematical model is presented for solid coal/rock-mass deformation and gas leak flow in parallel deformable coal seams. Numerical solutions using the strong implicit procedure (SIP) method to the coupled mathematical model for double parallel coal seams are also developed in detail. Numerical simulations for the prediction of safety range using protection layer mining are performed with experimental data from a mine with potential danger of coal/gas outbursts. Analyses show that the numerical simulation results are consistent with the measured data on the spot. The coupled model shows a positive future for applications in a wide range of gas-leak-flow-related problems in mining engineering, gas drainage engineering and mining safety engineering. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Prevalence of verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) and E. coli O157:H7 in French porkJOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2002J. Bouvet Aims:,To determination the prevalence of VTEC in pork products and the surrounding environment of the pork plant (slaughterhouse and cutting plant), and characterization of the VTEC strains isolated (virulence genes and serotype). Methods and Results: ,Among the 2146 carcass and pork samples and 876 environmental samples (swabs of surfaces or materials), 328 (15%) and 170 (19%) were PCR-positive for stx genes respectively. VTEC strains were recovered from positive samples by colony hybridization or immunoconcentration, serotyped and genetically characterized. Strains of E. coli O157:H7 were not isolated from 3 uidA-positive samples detected by PCR. The VTEC isolates did not harbour eae, ehx and uidA genes. Conclusions: ,Pigs and pork meat may contain VTEC strains but characterization of the strains based on virulence factors showed that the potential danger of pork meat appears to be low since although all strains harboured a stx gene, they did not have other virulence genes. Significance and Impact of the Study:,General hygiene measures appear to be sufficient and specific hygiene measures for VTEC are not necessary at this time. The porcine VTEC strains isolated in our study probably do not present a hazard. [source] Encroachment of Echinococcus granulosus into urban areas in eastern Queensland, AustraliaAUSTRALIAN VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue 8 2008DJ Jenkins Objective To investigate the prevalence of Echinococcus granulosus in wild dogs (dingos and dingo,domestic dog hybrids) living in and around human habitation on Fraser Island and in townships of the Maroochy Shire, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, Australia. Design Wild dogs were humanely killed on Fraser Island and in the Maroochy Shire because they were deemed a potential danger to the public. Their intestines were collected and the contents examined for intestinal parasites. Procedure Intestines were removed as soon after death as possible, packed in plastic bags and kept frozen until examination. The intestinal contents were washed, sieved and examined microscopically for the presence of helminths, which were identified and counted. Results Intestines from 108 wild dogs, 7 foxes and 18 Fraser Island dingoes were examined. Echinococcus granulosus was only present in the wild dogs from Maroochy Shire (46.3%) with worm burdens of between 30 and 104,000. Other helminths included Spirometra erinacei, Dipylidium caninum, Taenia spp., Ancylostoma caninum and Toxocara canis. Two specimens of a trematode (Haplorchinae sp.) usually found infecting fish and seabirds were recovered from a Fraser Island dingo. Conclusion Dingoes on Fraser Island are not infected with E. granulosus and do not pose a hydatid disease public health risk to residents or visitors. However, wild dogs examined from the Maroochy Shire do present a potential hydatid disease public health risk. [source] Illness, power and prayer in Asser's Life of King AlfredEARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE, Issue 2 2001Paul Kershaw Asser's account of Alfred's mysterious illnesses is one of the most puzzling and most-discussed passages in his Life. This article attempts to place this account in its contemporary setting, analysing its devotional, intellectual and political contexts, in order to argue that, far from being an anomaly, it reflects the cultural interests of the Alfredian court and the influence upon it of contemporary Carolingian notions of rulership. In the process, Asser is shown to be an author with a keen sense of the prevailing notions of royal authority, but one equally aware of the potential dangers such notions could bring, particularly when one key royal attribute, humility, could be seen as indicative more of weakness than fitness to rule. Taken as a whole, the ideas, allusions and influences present in the work allow Asser's Life to be seen not merely as a descriptive but also as a thematic portrait of the king's intellectual interests. Above all, the Life emerges as a work with strong resonances with the cultural preoccupations of the late ninth century. [source] A Reality Check for Data SnoopingECONOMETRICA, Issue 5 2000Halbert White Data snooping occurs when a given set of data is used more than once for purposes of inference or model selection. When such data reuse occurs, there is always the possibility that any satisfactory results obtained may simply be due to chance rather than to any merit inherent in the method yielding the results. This problem is practically unavoidable in the analysis of time-series data, as typically only a single history measuring a given phenomenon of interest is available for analysis. It is widely acknowledged by empirical researchers that data snooping is a dangerous practice to be avoided, but in fact it is endemic. The main problem has been a lack of sufficiently simple practical methods capable of assessing the potential dangers of data snooping in a given situation. Our purpose here is to provide such methods by specifying a straightforward procedure for testing the null hypothesis that the best model encountered in a specification search has no predictive superiority over a given benchmark model. This permits data snooping to be undertaken with some degree of confidence that one will not mistake results that could have been generated by chance for genuinely good results. [source] Forecasting and Finite Sample Performance of Short Rate Models: International Evidence,INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF FINANCE, Issue 3-4 2005SIRIMON TREEPONGKARUNA ABSTRACT This paper evaluates the forecasting and finite sample performance of short-term interest rate models in a number of countries. Specifically, we run a series of in-sample and out-of-sample tests for both the conditional mean and volatility of one-factor short rate models, and compare the results to the random walk model. Overall, we find that the out-of-sample forecasting performance of one-factor short rate models is poor, stemming from the inability of the models to accommodate jumps and discontinuities in the time series data. In addition, we perform a series of Monte Carlo analyses similar to Chapman and Pearson to document the finite sample performance of the short rate models when ,3 is not restricted to be equal to one. Our results indicate the potential dangers of over-parameterization and highlight the limitations of short-term interest rate models. [source] Democracy and Conceptual Contestability: Reconsidering Conceptions of Democracy in Democracy PromotionINTERNATIONAL STUDIES REVIEW, Issue 3 2010Milja Kurki Democracy is a deeply contested concept: historically, complex debates have revolved around the meaning of democracy and the plausibility of different ,models of democracy.' However, democracy's conceptual contestability has received diminished attention in the post-Cold War democracy promotion debate as the attention of democracy promotion actors and scholars has turned to fine-tuning of policies through which a liberal democratic model can be successfully encouraged. It is argued here that the focus on the extension of the reach of the liberal democratic mode of governance has resulted in a conceptually impoverished appreciation of the multiple meanings that the idea of democracy can take. It is argued that the ,essential contestability' of the idea of democracy is not adequately recognized and tackled, which in turn has important effects for the ability of democracy promotion scholars, as well as practitioners, to take into account the consequences that considering alternative (non- or extra-liberal) models of democracy might have for democracy promotion. To move the debate forward, I explore here, primarily in conceptual and theoretical terms, what serious engagement with the essential contestability of democracy might mean for democracy promotion. I argue that it entails a two-fold move: ,pluralization' and ,contextualization' of the conceptions of democracy. The latter part of the article examines in detail the reasons that might exist for considering such a move in framing the study and the practice of democracy promotion, as well as the potential dangers that might be involved. [source] Solitude: An Exploration of Benefits of Being AloneJOURNAL FOR THE THEORY OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR, Issue 1 2003Christopher R. Long Christopher R. Long and James R. Averill, Solitude: An Exploration of Benefits of Being Alone, pp. 21,44. Historically, philosophers, artists, and spiritual leaders have extolled the benefits of solitude; currently, advice on how to achieve solitude is the subject of many popular books and articles. Seldom, however, has solitude been studied by psychologists, who have focused instead on the negative experiences associated with being alone, particularly loneliness. Solitude, in contrast to loneliness, is often a positive state,one that may be sought rather than avoided. In this article, we examine some of the benefits that have been attributed to solitude,namely, freedom, creativity, intimacy, and spirituality. In subsequent sections, we consider the environmental settings and personality characteristics conducive to solitude, how time spent alone is experienced differently across the life span, and the potential dangers related to the attractiveness of solitude. We conclude with a brief discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of solitude. [source] Allen Denver Russell Memorial Lecture, 2006JOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 4 2006The use of microbiocides in infection control: a critical look at safety, applications, testing Abstract Microbial pathogens continue as major threats to health. Indeed, many ongoing societal changes are enhancing our vulnerability and exposure to several frank and opportunistic pathogens. This, together with rampant antimicrobial resistance and reduced prospects for newer drugs and vaccines, is forcing a higher reliance on microbiocides in infection prevention and control. That this reliance may not be well-founded becomes apparent from a closer look at current ways of testing and registering microbiocides, their label claims as well as human and environmental safety of certain widely used microbicidal chemicals. Many methods to test microbiocides for registration are flawed and/or entail test conditions irrelevant to field use. Pathogens listed on product labels may not be among those amenable to interruption through microbiocide use. The wide variations and discrepancies in existing national/regional regulations for registering microbiocides for sale stifle innovation. This is a critical look at the above-mentioned issues with emphasis on chemicals meant for use on environmental surfaces and medical devices. It highlights better ways to test microbiocides and to attain global harmonization of testing and product registration. It also details the known and potential dangers of microbiocide use and what to consider in choosing such formulations for optimal safety and effectiveness. End users are advised to be more critical and prudent in the selection and application of microbicidal chemicals, manufacturers are encouraged to explore infection control products and technologies that are safer in the workplace and for the environment, and regulators are urged to review and update the requirements and procedures for premarket review of microbiocide efficacy data and label claims. Independent investigations are also urgently needed to document the proportion of nosocomial infections that would be amenable to prevention through chemical disinfection of environmental surfaces. [source] If Person-Centred Planning did not Exist, Valuing People Would Require Its InventionJOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 1 2004John O'Brien Person-centred planning is one important tool in making the culture change necessary to realize the Government's promise in Valuing People. Some potential dangers in large scale implementation are identified, a logic for local action is described, the criteria for effective person-centred planning are defined in terms of supporting personal choice, the contribution of person-centred planning to organizational culture change is identified, the possibility of failure to implement policy change is acknowledged, and the potential benefits of person-centred planning under conditions of policy failure is described. [source] Death due to electrocution in childhood and early adolescenceJOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH, Issue 1 2003RW Byard Objectives: To delineate the clinicopathological features of fatal childhood electrocutions and to identify specific risk factors. Methods: Coronial files in Adelaide (Australia) were searched from 1967 to 2001 and Medical Examiners' files in San Diego (USA) were searched from 1988 to 2001, for cases of deaths of children and adolescents younger than 16 years attributed to electrocution. Results: Sixteen cases were identified aged between 10 months and 15 years (mean 8.0 years) with a male : female ratio of 5 : 3. Deaths were due to accidents occurring while playing with or near faulty electrical equipment at home or at school (n = 8), electrical equipment while in the bath (n = 2), damaged outdoor electrical equipment (n = 1), overhead wires (n = 1), and a high voltage electricity substation (n = 1). In addition, one death was due to suicide involving an electrical appliance placed in a bath, and two other deaths occurred in older children who were moving equipment under overhead wires. No homicides were identified. Conclusions: Childhood deaths due to electrocution are rare and are more likely to occur when children are playing around electrical wires or equipment, and often result from either faulty apparatus, or a lack of understanding of the potential dangers involved. The majority of deaths (11/16; 69%) occur in the home environment. In contrast to adult electrical deaths, high-voltage electrocutions, suicides and workplace deaths are uncommon. Strategies for eliminating childhood electrocution should concentrate on ensuring safe domestic environments with properly maintained electrical devices. [source] Tension pneumo-orbitus and pneumocephalus induced by a nasal oxygen cannula: Report on two paediatric casesJOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH, Issue 5 2000Bj O'Brien Abstract: The present paper highlights the potential dangers of misplaced nasopharyngeal oxygen cannulae causing secondary pneumo-orbitus and pneumocephalus in two paediatric patients. While this complication is uncommon, early recognition allows prompt and appropriate intervention, with cessation of nasal oxygen, cannula removal, early investigation with computed tomography (CT) head/orbit scan and orbital or cranial decompression, if required. Early CT imaging identifies medial orbital or paranasal sinus fractures, the presence of sinusitis, associated intracranial air and assessment of the degree of orbital or intracranial tension. Antibiotics are not usually required for this type of clean injury unless pre-existing sinusitis is identified. In both cases, direct orbital decompression was performed with excellent results after identification of marked unilateral tense exophthalmos, delayed pupillary reactions to light and ophthalmopegia. [source] Fuzzy Legality in Regulation: The Legislative Mandate RevisitedLAW & POLICY, Issue 4 2001Margit Cohn How does law interact with regulatory reality, and why does legislative mandate, which presumably stands at the apex of a regulatory package, often deviate from its ideal-type as exclusive organizer of action? These questions are treated in this article through the concept of "fuzzy legality," which serves as a common title for six different legal arrangements that stray from the ideal-type legislative mandate, while enabling "perfectly legal" industry behavior. Against the background of potential dangers involved in such practices, the article traces the politics of preference for fuzziness both by regulators and regulatees. It reassesses calls for responsive and reflexive law as a cure for the regulatory malaise: these may have been voiced due to existing overly rigid regulatory frameworks, rather than the intrinsic flaw of legal constructs. [source] Risk of first-generation H1 -antihistamines: a GA2LEN position paperALLERGY, Issue 4 2010M. K. Church To cite this article: Church MK, Maurer M, Simons FER, Bindslev-Jensen C, van Cauwenberge P, Bousquet J, Holgate ST, Zuberbier T. Risk of first-generation H1 -antihistamines: a GA2LEN position paper. Allergy 2010; 65: 459,466. Abstract Background: First-generation H1 -antihistamines obtained without prescription are the most frequent form of self-medication for allergic diseases, coughs and colds and insomnia even though they have potentially dangerous unwanted effects which are not recognized by the general public. Aims:, To increase consumer protection by bringing to the attention of regulatory authorities, physicians and the general public the potential dangers of the indiscriminate use first-generation H1 -antihistamines purchased over-the counter in the absence of appropriate medical supervision. Methods:, A GA2LEN (Global Allergy and Asthma European Network) task force assessed the unwanted side-effects and potential dangers of first-generation H1-antihistamines by reviewing the literature (Medline and Embase) and performing a media audit of US coverage from 1996 to 2008 of accidents and fatal adverse events in which these drugs were implicated. Results:, First-generation H1 -antihistamines, all of which are sedating, are generally regarded as safe by laypersons and healthcare professionals because of their long-standing use. However, they reduce rapid eye movement (REM)-sleep, impair learning and reduce work efficiency. They are implicated in civil aviation, motor vehicle and boating accidents, deaths as a result of accidental or intentional overdosing in infants and young children and suicide in teenagers and adults. Some exhibit cardiotoxicity in overdose. Conclusions:, This review raises the issue of better consumer protection by recommending that older first-generation H1 -antihistamines should no longer be available over-the-counter as prescription- free drugs for self-medication of allergic and other diseases now that newer second- generation nonsedating H1 -antihistamines with superior risk/benefit ratios are widely available at competitive prices. [source] Statins in primary prevention:should we ignore the zealots?PRESCRIBER, Issue 6 2009Article first published online: 3 APR 200 Dr Stephen Banham warns of the potential dangers of extending the known benefits of using statins in secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease to widespread primary prevention. Copyright © 2009 Wiley Interface Ltd [source] Local attitudes and perceptions toward crop-raiding by orangutans (Pongo abelii) and other nonhuman primates in northern Sumatra, IndonesiaAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 10 2010Gail Campbell-Smith Abstract Human,wildlife conflicts, such as crop-raiding, increase as people expand their agricultural activities into wildlife habitats. Crop-raiding can reduce tolerance toward species that are already threatened, whereas potential dangers posed by conflicts with large-bodied species may also negatively influence local attitudes. Across Asia, wild pigs and primates, such as macaques, tend to be the most commonly reported crop raiders. To date, reports of crop-raiding incidents involving great apes have been less common, but incidents involving orangutans are increasingly emerging in Indonesia. To investigate the interplay of factors that might explain attitudes toward crop-raiding by orangutans (Pongo abelii), focal group discussions and semi-structured interviews were conducted among 822 farmers from 2 contrasting study areas in North Sumatra. The first study area of Batang Serangan is an agroforest system containing isolated orangutans that crop-raid. In contrast, the second area of Sidikalang comprises farmlands bordering extensive primary forest where orangutans are present but not reported to crop-raid. Farmers living in Batang Serangan thought that orangutans were dangerous, irrespective of earlier experience of crop-raiding. Farmers placed orangutans as the third most frequent and fourth most destructive crop pest, after Thomas' leaf monkey (Presbytis thomasi), wild boar (Sus scrofa), and long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis). Although most (57%) farmers across both study areas were not scared of wildlife species, more than a quarter (28%) of the farmers' feared orangutans. Farmers in Batang Serangan were generally more tolerant toward crop-raiding orangutans, if they did not perceive them to present a physical threat. Most (67%) Batang Serangan farmers said that the local Forestry Department staff should handle crop-raiding orangutans, and most (81%) said that these officials did not care about such problems. Our results suggest that efforts to mitigate human,orangutan conflict may not, per se, change negative perceptions of those who live with the species, because these perceptions are often driven by fear. Am. J. Primatol. 72:866,876, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||