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Potential Injury (potential + injury)
Selected AbstractsStiffness, viscosity, and upper-limb inertia about the glenohumeral abduction axisJOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH, Issue 1 2000Li-Qun Zhang To evaluate the dynamic properties of the shoulder and understand how they are controlled by the central nervous system, glenohumeral-joint stiffness and viscosity and upper-limb inertia were quantified under various levels of muscle contraction in seven healthy human subjects. Through a cast attachment, the upper limb was perturbed in a precise pattern by a computer-controlled servomotor to manifest the dynamic properties of the joint. The recorded joint position and torque were used to estimate joint stiffness and viscosity and upper-limb inertia. With moderate muscle contraction, the stiffness and viscosity increased several fold. A stiffer shoulder joint associated with stronger muscle contraction made the shoulder more stable and protected it from potential injuries during strenuous tasks. Joint viscosity, especially the stronger viscous damping associated with more strenuous contraction, smoothed shoulder movement and stabilized the joint. From the control viewpoint, the glenohumeral joint responded to the central nervous system more quickly with increasing muscle contraction, which was useful during strenuous tasks. On the other hand, the central nervous system controlled stiffness and viscosity synchronously so that it dealt with only a nearly constant damping ratio of the joint over various levels of contraction, which simplified its task substantially. This approach quantified the dynamic and static properties of the shoulder under various levels of contraction more accurately and completely than a manual test, and it can potentially be used to evaluate changes in these properties caused by musculoskeletal injuries and their surgical treatments. [source] Pain and Anatomical Locations of Radiofrequency Ablation as Predictors of Esophageal Temperature Rise During Pulmonary Vein IsolationJOURNAL OF CARDIOVASCULAR ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 1 2008ARASH ARYANA M.D. Introduction: Esophageal temperature rise (ETR) during ablation inside left atrium has been reported as a marker for esophageal thermal injury. We sought to investigate the possible relationships between chest pain and ETR during radiofrequency (RF) ablation, and ETR and locations of RF application, in patients undergoing pulmonary vein (PV) isolation under moderate sedation. Methods and Results: We analyzed anatomical locations of each RF application and its association with esophageal temperature and presence/absence of pain. Data from 40 consecutive patients (mean age: 56 ± 10 years) were analyzed. There were a total of 4,071 RF applications resulting in 291 episodes of pain (7.1%) and 223 ETRs (5.5%). Thirty-five patients (87.5%) experienced at least one pain episode and 32 (80.0%) had at least one ETR. While 77.4% of posterior wall applications that caused pain also corresponded to an ETR (P < 0.0001), only 0.8% of pain-free posterior wall applications were associated with ETRs (P < 0.0001). The sensitivity and specificity of pain during ablation for ETR were 94% and 98%, respectively. No ETRs were observed during anterior wall applications. ETRs occurred more frequently during ablation on the left (86.1%) versus the right (13.9%), and in inferior (70.4%) versus superior (29.6%) segments. Conclusion: In patients undergoing PV isolation, ETR was encountered when ablating in the posterior left atrium with the distribution left > right and inferior > superior. Pain during ablation was associated with ETR, and lack of pain was strongly associated with absence of ETR. Pain during RF ablation may thus serve as a predictor of esophageal heating and potential injury. [source] Sports Medicine and School Nurses: A Growing Need for Further Education and Appropriate ResourcesJOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 1 2006Cynthia S. Knight The use of exercise as a prerequisite for conditioning and proper treatment of injuries was first documented in early Greek civilization with the establishment of the Olympics. Today, sports by their very nature invite injury. In 2000, 2.5 million students participated in varsity sports with 750,000 injuries recorded. These numbers do not account for sports activities outside school or leisure activities. Another area of potential injury is physical education class. These classes are large with limited supervision and encompass students of varying age and abilities. Nurses do not have an extensive knowledge of injury prevention or assessment in their basic nursing education. School nurses, as a subspecialty within nursing, are expected to keep up with the requirements of the adolescent and pediatric populations as well basic nursing skills. Due to work schedules and limited resources for continuing education, school nurses are not afforded much time or benefits to attend classes that would teach them skills needed to assess athletic-type injuries. School nurses need printed resources specific to their setting to help fill this void. Recognizing this need, Sports Medicine Techniques for the School-Based Nurse is a manual in process that will help fill this void. Being developed specifically for school nurses, the manual will provide information on prevention, evaluation, and management of athletic-type injuries commonly seen in the school nurse's office. (J Sch Health. 2006;76(1):8-11) [source] Incident investigation: Process to identify root causes of mechanical failures,PROCESS SAFETY PROGRESS, Issue 1 2006A. M. (Art) Dowell III P.E. This paper describes an actual incident investigation into unexpected premature failure of sealed diaphragm pressure transmitters in a chemical process. Some nontypical investigation tools from the CCPS Guidelines for Investigating Chemical Process Incidents (2nd edition) were used. A typical failure allowed a release of a corrosive process fluid with potential injury to personnel. The failures also required a shutdown of the process with loss of production. The cause of the problem was elusive; pressure transmitters from the same manufacturer had no problems in a similar process unit, although component designs differed between the two units. The investigation included confirmation of materials of construction, photographic and visual analyses of failed components, simulation of assembly of the pressure transmitter in the process and measurement of torque values, and brainstorming of possible failure mechanisms. Several hypotheses were tested using a fact,hypothesis matrix to determine most likely cause scenarios. Similarly, a matrix was used to illustrate which scenarios could be prevented by which corrective actions. The investigation included a root cause analysis tree to confirm cause scenarios. The paper discusses the incident investigation process, including diversity of skills on the investigation team, and how each of the tools was used. The paper also discusses the communication of the findings to operations. © 2005 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog, 2006 [source] | ||||||||||