Hazard Monitoring in a Spectrum-Challenged Future: US Department of Transportation Adjacent Band Compatibility Assessment of Interference on High-Precision GNSS Receivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blume, F.; Berglund, H. T.

2016-12-01

In 2012 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reversed its decision to allow communications company LightSquared to use GPS-adjacent spectrum for a ground based network after testing demonstrated harmful interference to GPS receivers. Now rebranded as Ligado, they have submitted modified application to use a smaller portion of the L-band spectrum at much lower power. Many GPS community stakeholders, including the hazard monitoring and EEW communities remain concerned that Ligado's proposed use could still cause harmful interference, causing signal degradation, real-time positioning errors, and total failure of GNSS hardware in widespread use in hazard monitoring networks. The Department of Transportation (DoT) has conducted hardware tests to determine adjacent-band transmitter power limit criteria that would prevent harmful interference from Ligado's operations. We present preliminary results produced from the data collected by the three UNAVCO receiver types tested: Trimble NetRS, Trimble NetR9, and Septentrio PolaRx5. In the first round of testing, simulated GNSS signals were broadcast in an anechoic chamber (pictured below) while interfering signals are broadcast simultaneously with varying amplitude and frequency. The older GPS-only NetRS receiver showed smaller reductions in SNR at frequencies adjacent to GPS L1 as compared to the other receivers, suggesting narrower L1 filter bandwidth in the RF frontend. The NetR9 showed greater decreases in observed SNR in the 1615 to 1625 MHz range when compared to the other two receivers. This suggests that the NetR9's L1 filter bandwidth has been increased to accommodate GNSS signals. Linearity tests were conducted to better relate SNR measurements between receiver types. The PolaRx5 receiver showed less SNR variation between tracking channels than both Trimble receivers. Our results show the power levels at which adjacent-band interference begins degrading receiver performance and eventually disables tracking. As the demand for spectrum for mobile applications increases, operators of hazard networks may need to consider the impact of RF interference on data quality and continuity. UNAVCO's participation ensures that our high precision GNSS community interests are represented in the future spectrum allocation decisions.

47 CFR 15.706 - Information to the user.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION GENERAL RADIO FREQUENCY DEVICES Television Band Devices § 15.706... radio communications. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception... a form other than paper, such as on a computer disk or over the Internet, the information required...

47 CFR 15.706 - Information to the user.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION GENERAL RADIO FREQUENCY DEVICES Television Band Devices § 15.706... radio communications. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception... a form other than paper, such as on a computer disk or over the Internet, the information required...

47 CFR 15.706 - Information to the user.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION GENERAL RADIO FREQUENCY DEVICES Television Band Devices § 15.706... radio communications. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception... a form other than paper, such as on a computer disk or over the Internet, the information required...

47 CFR 15.706 - Information to the user.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION GENERAL RADIO FREQUENCY DEVICES Television Band Devices § 15.706... radio communications. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception... a form other than paper, such as on a computer disk or over the Internet, the information required...

47 CFR 95.1215 - Disclosure policies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... SERVICES Medical Device Radiocommunication Service (MedRadio) § 95.1215 Disclosure policies. Manufacturers... transmitter is authorized by rule under the Medical Device Radiocommunication Service (in part 95 of the FCC Rules) and must not cause harmful interference to stations operating in the 400.150-406.000 MHz band in...

47 CFR 15.706 - Information to the user.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION GENERAL RADIO FREQUENCY DEVICES Television Band Devices § 15.706... with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no.... (b) In cases where the manual is provided only in a form other than paper, such as on a computer disk...

47 CFR 74.402 - Frequency assignment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... to operate. However, it is not necessary that each transmitter within a system be equipped to operate... shall be in accordance with the “priority of use” provisions in § 74.403(b)). The channel will be... condition that no harmful interference is caused to stations operating in accordance with the Table of...

47 CFR 80.371 - Public correspondence frequencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

....0 5 2309.0 2134.0 2312.0 2237.0 2397.0 2240.0 2400.0 Hawaii 2134.0 2530.0 Caribbean: 2009.0 2506.0 3... distress. 3 Limited to a peak envelope power of 150 watts. 4 Harmful interference must not be caused to any coast station in the Caribbean region. 5 But see section 80.373(c)(3) of this chapter. (b) Working...

47 CFR 80.371 - Public correspondence frequencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

....0 5 2309.0 2134.0 2312.0 2237.0 2397.0 2240.0 2400.0 Hawaii 2134.0 2530.0 Caribbean: 2009.0 2506.0 3... distress. 3 Limited to a peak envelope power of 150 watts. 4 Harmful interference must not be caused to any coast station in the Caribbean region. 5 But see section 80.373(c)(3) of this chapter. (b) Working...

47 CFR 80.371 - Public correspondence frequencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

....0 5 2309.0 2134.0 2312.0 2237.0 2397.0 2240.0 2400.0 Hawaii 2134.0 2530.0 Caribbean: 2009.0 2506.0 3... distress. 3 Limited to a peak envelope power of 150 watts. 4 Harmful interference must not be caused to any coast station in the Caribbean region. 5 But see section 80.373(c)(3) of this chapter. (b) Working...

47 CFR 80.371 - Public correspondence frequencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

....0 5 2309.0 2134.0 2312.0 2237.0 2397.0 2240.0 2400.0 Hawaii 2134.0 2530.0 Caribbean: 2009.0 2506.0 3... distress. 3 Limited to a peak envelope power of 150 watts. 4 Harmful interference must not be caused to any coast station in the Caribbean region. 5 But see section 80.373(c)(3) of this chapter. (b) Working...

47 CFR 80.371 - Public correspondence frequencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

....0 5 2309.0 2134.0 2312.0 2237.0 2397.0 2240.0 2400.0 Hawaii 2134.0 2530.0 Caribbean: 2009.0 2506.0 3... distress. 3 Limited to a peak envelope power of 150 watts. 4 Harmful interference must not be caused to any coast station in the Caribbean region. 5 But see section 80.373(c)(3) of this chapter. (b) Working...

47 CFR 90.257 - Assignment and use of frequencies in the band 72-76 MHz.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... any harmful interference caused by his operation to TV reception on either Channel 4 or 5 that might... 72-76 MHz fixed station less than 128 km (80 mi.) but more than 16 km (10 mi.) from the site of a TV... km (70 mi.) distant from the TV antenna site, located within a circle centered at the location of the...

47 CFR 90.257 - Assignment and use of frequencies in the band 72-76 MHz.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... any harmful interference caused by his operation to TV reception on either Channel 4 or 5 that might... 72-76 MHz fixed station less than 128 km (80 mi.) but more than 16 km (10 mi.) from the site of a TV... km (70 mi.) distant from the TV antenna site, located within a circle centered at the location of the...

47 CFR 90.257 - Assignment and use of frequencies in the band 72-76 MHz.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... any harmful interference caused by his operation to TV reception on either Channel 4 or 5 that might... 72-76 MHz fixed station less than 128 km (80 mi.) but more than 16 km (10 mi.) from the site of a TV... km (70 mi.) distant from the TV antenna site, located within a circle centered at the location of the...

47 CFR 90.257 - Assignment and use of frequencies in the band 72-76 MHz.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... any harmful interference caused by his operation to TV reception on either Channel 4 or 5 that might... 72-76 MHz fixed station less than 128 km (80 mi.) but more than 16 km (10 mi.) from the site of a TV... km (70 mi.) distant from the TV antenna site, located within a circle centered at the location of the...

47 CFR 76.613 - Interference from a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Interference from a multichannel video... (CONTINUED) BROADCAST RADIO SERVICES MULTICHANNEL VIDEO AND CABLE TELEVISION SERVICE Technical Standards § 76.613 Interference from a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD). (a) Harmful interference is...

47 CFR 76.613 - Interference from a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Interference from a multichannel video... (CONTINUED) BROADCAST RADIO SERVICES MULTICHANNEL VIDEO AND CABLE TELEVISION SERVICE Technical Standards § 76.613 Interference from a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD). (a) Harmful interference is...

47 CFR 76.613 - Interference from a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Interference from a multichannel video... (CONTINUED) BROADCAST RADIO SERVICES MULTICHANNEL VIDEO AND CABLE TELEVISION SERVICE Technical Standards § 76.613 Interference from a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD). (a) Harmful interference is...

47 CFR 76.613 - Interference from a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Interference from a multichannel video... (CONTINUED) BROADCAST RADIO SERVICES MULTICHANNEL VIDEO AND CABLE TELEVISION SERVICE Technical Standards § 76.613 Interference from a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD). (a) Harmful interference is...

47 CFR 76.613 - Interference from a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Interference from a multichannel video... (CONTINUED) BROADCAST RADIO SERVICES MULTICHANNEL VIDEO AND CABLE TELEVISION SERVICE Technical Standards § 76.613 Interference from a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD). (a) Harmful interference is...

47 CFR 90.257 - Assignment and use of frequencies in the band 72-76 MHz.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... call box operations see § 90.241). (1) The following frequencies in the band 72-76 MHz may be used for fixed operations: MHz 72.02 72.80 72.04 72.82 72.06 72.84 72.08 72.86 72.10 72.88 72.12 72.90 72.14 72... any harmful interference caused by his operation to TV reception on either Channel 4 or 5 that might...

47 CFR 2.106 - Table of Frequency Allocations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... astronomy service from harmful interference. Emissions from spaceborne or airborne stations can be particularly serious sources of interference to the radio astronomy service (see Nos. 4.5 and 4.6 and Article...

Safety aspects for public access defibrillation using automated external defibrillators near high-voltage power lines.

PubMed

Schlimp, C J; Breiteneder, M; Lederer, W

2004-05-01

Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) must combine easy operability and high-quality diagnosis even under unfavorable conditions. This study determined the influence of electromagnetic interference caused by high-voltage power lines with 16.7-Hz alternating current on the quality of AEDs' rhythm analysis. Two AEDs frequently used in Austria were tested near high-voltage power lines (15 kV or 110 kV, alternating current with 16.7 Hz). The defibrillation electrodes were attached either to a proband with true sinus rhythm or to a resuscitation dummy with generated sinus rhythm, ventricular fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia or asystole. Electromagnetic interference was much more prominent in a human's than in a dummy's electrocardiogram and depended on the position of the electrodes and cables in relation to the power line. Near high-voltage power lines the AEDs showed a significant operational fault. One AED interpreted the interference as a motion artifact, even when underlying rhythms were clearly detectable. The other AED interpreted 16.7-Hz oscillation as ventricular fibrillation with consequent shock advice when no underlying rhythm was detected. The tested AEDs neither filter nor recognize a technical interference of 16.7 Hz caused by 15-kV power lines above railway tracks or 110-kV overland power lines, as run by railway companies in Austria, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. These failures in AEDs' algorithms for rhythm analysis may cause substantial harm to patients undergoing public access defibrillation. The proper function of AEDs needs to be reconsidered to guarantee patients' safety near high-voltage power lines.

Constrained Bayesian Active Learning of Interference Channels in Cognitive Radio Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsakmalis, Anestis; Chatzinotas, Symeon; Ottersten, Bjorn

2018-02-01

In this paper, a sequential probing method for interference constraint learning is proposed to allow a centralized Cognitive Radio Network (CRN) accessing the frequency band of a Primary User (PU) in an underlay cognitive scenario with a designed PU protection specification. The main idea is that the CRN probes the PU and subsequently eavesdrops the reverse PU link to acquire the binary ACK/NACK packet. This feedback indicates whether the probing-induced interference is harmful or not and can be used to learn the PU interference constraint. The cognitive part of this sequential probing process is the selection of the power levels of the Secondary Users (SUs) which aims to learn the PU interference constraint with a minimum number of probing attempts while setting a limit on the number of harmful probing-induced interference events or equivalently of NACK packet observations over a time window. This constrained design problem is studied within the Active Learning (AL) framework and an optimal solution is derived and implemented with a sophisticated, accurate and fast Bayesian Learning method, the Expectation Propagation (EP). The performance of this solution is also demonstrated through numerical simulations and compared with modified versions of AL techniques we developed in earlier work.

Highly conductive and flexible nano-structured carbon-based polymer nanocomposites with improved electromagnetic-interference-shielding performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mondal, Subhadip; Ghosh, Sabyasachi; Ganguly, Sayan; Das, Poushali; Ravindren, Revathy; Sit, Subhashis; Chakraborty, Goutam; Das, Narayan Ch

2017-10-01

Widespread usage and development of electrical/electronic devices can create severe problems for various other devices and in our everyday lives due to harmful exposure to electromagnetic (EM) radiation. Herein, we report on the electromagnetic interference (EMI)-shielding performance of highly flexible and conductive chlorinated polyethylene (CPE)/carbon nanofiber (CNF) nanocomposites fabricated by a probe-sonication-assisted simple solution-mixing process. The dispersion of CNF nanofillers inside the CPE matrix has been studied by electron micrographs. This dispersion is reflected in the formation of continuous conductive networks at a low percolation-threshold value of 2.87 wt% and promising EMI-shielding performance of 41.5 dB for 25 wt% CNF in the X-band frequency (8.2-12.4 GHz). Such an intriguing performance mainly depends on the unique filler-filler or filler-polymer networks in CPE nanocomposites. In addition, the composite material displays a superior EMI efficiency of 47.5 dB for 2.0 mm thickness at 8.2 GHz. However, we have been encouraged by the promotion of highly flexible and lightweight CPE/CNF nanocomposite as a superior EMI shield, which can protect electronic devices against harm caused by EM radiation and offers an adaptable solution in advanced EMI-shield applications.

47 CFR 78.19 - Interference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

...) Radio Astronomy and Radio Research Installations. In order to minimize harmful interference at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory site located at Green Bank, Pocahontas County, W. Va., and at the... Astronomy Observatory, Post Office Box No. 2, Green Bank, WV 24944, in writing, of the technical particulars...

47 CFR 78.19 - Interference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

...) Radio Astronomy and Radio Research Installations. In order to minimize harmful interference at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory site located at Green Bank, Pocahontas County, W. Va., and at the... Astronomy Observatory, Post Office Box No. 2, Green Bank, WV 24944, in writing, of the technical particulars...

47 CFR 78.19 - Interference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

...) Radio Astronomy and Radio Research Installations. In order to minimize harmful interference at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory site located at Green Bank, Pocahontas County, W. Va., and at the... Astronomy Observatory, Post Office Box No. 2, Green Bank, WV 24944, in writing, of the technical particulars...

78 FR 59844 - Operation in the 57-64 GHz Band

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-30

.... With regard to the radio astronomy service and National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) concerns... analysis of potential harmful interference from 60 GHz devices to radio astronomy service. 20. Consistent with this experience, the Commission finds that interference to Radio Astronomy Service (RAS) stations...

47 CFR 78.19 - Interference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

...) Radio Astronomy and Radio Research Installations. In order to minimize harmful interference at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory site located at Green Bank, Pocahontas County, W. Va., and at the... Astronomy Observatory, Post Office Box No. 2, Green Bank, WV 24944, in writing, of the technical particulars...

47 CFR 78.19 - Interference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

...) Radio Astronomy and Radio Research Installations. In order to minimize harmful interference at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory site located at Green Bank, Pocahontas County, W. Va., and at the... Astronomy Observatory, Post Office Box No. 2, Green Bank, WV 24944, in writing, of the technical particulars...

Test Results for Developing Revised LORAN-C Protection Criteria

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1985-11-01

This report presents the results obtained from a series of tests and related analyses studying the effect of harmful RF interference on LORAN-C receivers. The effects of interference in the 70 to 130 kHz band on typical LORAN-C receivers were assesse...

Strategies for an effective tobacco harm reduction policy in Indonesia

PubMed Central

Nurwidya, Fariz; Takahashi, Fumiyuki; Baskoro, Hario; Hidayat, Moulid; Yunus, Faisal; Takahashi, Kazuhisa

2014-01-01

Tobacco consumption is a major causative agent for various deadly diseases such as coronary artery disease and cancer. It is the largest avoidable health risk in the world, causing more problems than alcohol, drug use, high blood pressure, excess body weight or high cholesterol. As countries like Indonesia prepare to develop national policy guidelines for tobacco harm reduction, the scientific community can help by providing continuous ideas and a forum for sharing and distributing information, drafting guidelines, reviewing best practices, raising funds, and establishing partnerships. We propose several strategies for reducing tobacco consumption, including advertisement interference, cigarette pricing policy, adolescent smoking prevention policy, support for smoking cessation therapy, special informed consent for smokers, smoking prohibition in public spaces, career incentives, economic incentives, and advertisement incentives. We hope that these strategies would assist people to avoid starting smoking or in smoking cessation. PMID:25518881

On the genetic modification of psychology, personality, and behavior.

PubMed

Neitzke, Alex B

2012-12-01

I argue that the use of heritable modifications for psychology, personality, and behavior should be limited to the reversal or prevention of relatively unambiguous instances of pathology or likely harm (e.g. sociopathy). Most of the likely modifications of psychological personality would not be of this nature, however, and parents therefore should not have the freedom to make such modifications to future children. I argue by examining the viewpoints of both the individual and society. For individuals, modifications would interfere with their capacity for self-determination in a way that undermines the very concept of self-determination. I argue that modification of psychology and personality is unlike present parenting in morally significant ways. For society, modification offers a medium for power to manipulate the makeup of persons and populations, possibly causing biological harm to the species and altering our conceptions of social responsibility.

Determination of Receiver Susceptibility to Radio Frequency Interference from Portable Electronic Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Truong X.; Ely, Jay J.

2002-01-01

With the increasing pressures to allow wireless devices on aircraft, the susceptibility of aircraft receivers to interference from Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) becomes an increasing concern. Many investigations were conducted in the past, with limited success, to quantify device emissions, path loss, and receiver interference susceptibility thresholds. This paper outlines the recent effort in determining the receiver susceptibility thresholds for ILS, VOR and GPS systems. The effort primarily consists of analysis of data available openly as reported in many RTCA and ICAO documents as well as manufacturers data on receiver sensitivity. Shortcomings with the susceptibility threshold data reported in the RTCA documents are presented, and an approach for an in-depth study is suggested. In addition, intermodulation products were observed and demonstrated in a laboratory experiment when multiple PEDs were in the proximity of each other. These intermodulation effects generate spurious frequencies that may fall within aircraft communication or navigation bands causing undesirable effects. Results from a preliminary analysis are presented that show possible harmful combinations of PEDs and the potentially affected aircraft bands.

BISPHENOL A INTERFERES WITH SYNAPTIC REMODELING

PubMed Central

Hajszan, Tibor; Leranth, Csaba

2010-01-01

The potential adverse effects of Bisphenol A (BPA), a synthetic xenoestrogen, have long been debated. Although standard toxicology tests have revealed no harmful effects, recent research highlighted what was missed so far: BPA-induced alterations in the nervous system. Since 2004, our laboratory has been investigating one of the central effects of BPA, which is interference with gonadal steroid-induced synaptogenesis and the resulting loss of spine synapses. We have shown in both rats and nonhuman primates that BPA completely negates the ~70–100% increase in the number of hippocampal and prefrontal spine synapses induced by both estrogens and androgens. Synaptic loss of this magnitude may have significant consequences, potentially causing cognitive decline, depression, and schizophrenia, to mention those that our laboratory has shown to be associated with synaptic loss. Finally, we discuss why children may particularly be vulnerable to BPA, which represents future direction of research in our laboratory. PMID:20609373

Improved Calibration through SMAP RFI Change Detection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Piepmeier, Jeffrey; De Amici, Giovanni; Mohammed, Priscilla; Peng, Jinzheng

2017-01-01

Anthropogenic Radio-Frequency Interference (RFI) drove both the SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) microwave radiometer hardware and Level 1 science algorithm designs to use new technology and techniques for the first time on a spaceflight project. Care was taken to provide special features allowing the detection and removal of harmful interference in order to meet the error budget. Nonetheless, the project accepted a risk that RFI and its mitigation would exceed the 1.3-K error budget. Thus, RFI will likely remain a challenge afterwards due to its changing and uncertain nature. To address the challenge, we seek to answer the following questions: How does RFI evolve over the SMAP lifetime? What calibration error does the changing RFI environment cause? Can time series information be exploited to reduce these errors and improve calibration for all science products reliant upon SMAP radiometer data? In this talk, we address the first question.

47 CFR 2.106 - Table of Frequency Allocations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... radio astronomy service from harmful interference. Emissions from spaceborne or airborne stations can be particularly serious sources of interference to the radio astronomy service (see Nos. 4.5 and 4.6 and Article...-401 MHz, administrations shall take all practicable steps to protect the radio astronomy service in...

47 CFR 2.106 - Table of Frequency Allocations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... radio astronomy service from harmful interference. Emissions from spaceborne or airborne stations can be particularly serious sources of interference to the radio astronomy service (see Nos. 4.5 and 4.6 and Article...-401 MHz, administrations shall take all practicable steps to protect the radio astronomy service in...

47 CFR 2.106 - Table of Frequency Allocations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... radio astronomy service from harmful interference. Emissions from spaceborne or airborne stations can be particularly serious sources of interference to the radio astronomy service (see Nos. 4.5 and 4.6 and Article...-401 MHz, administrations shall take all practicable steps to protect the radio astronomy service in...

Sources of Interference in Recognition Testing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Annis, Jeffrey; Malmberg, Kenneth J.; Criss, Amy H.; Shiffrin, Richard M.

2013-01-01

Recognition memory accuracy is harmed by prior testing (a.k.a., output interference [OI]; Tulving & Arbuckle, 1966). In several experiments, we interpolated various tasks between recognition test trials. The stimuli and the tasks were more similar (lexical decision [LD] of words and nonwords) or less similar (gender identification of male and…

47 CFR 15.113 - Power line carrier systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

...-interference basis in accordance with § 15.5 of this part. If harmful interference occurs, the electric power... frequencies. (e) Power line carrier system apparatus shall conform to such engineering standards as may be... 47 Telecommunication 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Power line carrier systems. 15.113 Section 15...

Practices of US health insurance companies concerning MS therapies interfere with shared decision-making and harm patients.

PubMed

Bourdette, Dennis N; Hartung, Daniel M; Whitham, Ruth H

2016-04-01

The US Food and Drug Administration has registered 13 multiple sclerosis (MS) disease-modifying therapies (DMTs). The medications are not interchangeable as they vary in route of administration, efficacy, and safety profile. Selecting the appropriate MS DMT for individual patients requires shared decision-making between patients and neurologists. To reduce costs, insurance companies acting through pharmacy benefit companies restrict access to MS DMTs through tiered coverage and other regulations. We discuss how policies established by insurance companies that limit access to MS DMTs interfere with the process of shared decision-making and harm patients. We present potential actions that neurologists can take to change how insurance companies manage MS DMTs.

A call for safer utilization of radio frequency identification in the e-health era.

PubMed

Liu, Chung-Feng; Hwang, Hsin-Ginn; Kuo, Kuang-Ming; Hung, Won-Fu

2011-10-01

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of the electromagnetic interference (EMI) caused by radio frequency identification (RFID) with medical devices among hospitals as well as to call the attention of medical institutions to the development of RFID applications. A survey sponsored by the Department of Health of Taiwan was conducted and the target subjects were every hospital in Taiwan (486 in total). The survey topics included testing of RFID interference with medical devices and perceptions of safety issues of RFID. The main targets of the survey were the Chief Information Officers (CIOs) or the main person responsible for RFID systems in each hospital. Of the original 486 questionnaires mailed, 273 were returned. A return rate of 56.17% was obtained. The survey results revealed that only six hospitals had carried out tests on interference by RFID with medical devices, and the results of these tests indicated that RFID does not interfere with medical devices. A majority of hospitals understood that RFID may interfere with medical devices but did not think that this would seriously harm patients. The application of RFID in the healthcare industry is certainly promising; however, EMI issues must be appropriately handled. This study asserts that most hospitals do not understand or pay insufficient attention to the issue of RFID interference with patient safety or medical devices. In addition, most hospitals believe that the problem of RFID should be resolved by RFID vendors. Therefore, this study argues that medical institutions should develop more understanding of RFID issues and that more attention should be given to the potential problems of RFID interference when developing RFID applications.

47 CFR 87.109 - Station logs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... conditions and difficulties, including harmful interference. Such entries should include, whenever... operations. (c) Stations maintaining written logs must also enter the signature of each operator, with the...

47 CFR 87.109 - Station logs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... conditions and difficulties, including harmful interference. Such entries should include, whenever... operations. (c) Stations maintaining written logs must also enter the signature of each operator, with the...

47 CFR 87.109 - Station logs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... conditions and difficulties, including harmful interference. Such entries should include, whenever... operations. (c) Stations maintaining written logs must also enter the signature of each operator, with the...

47 CFR 87.109 - Station logs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... conditions and difficulties, including harmful interference. Such entries should include, whenever... operations. (c) Stations maintaining written logs must also enter the signature of each operator, with the...

47 CFR 87.109 - Station logs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... conditions and difficulties, including harmful interference. Such entries should include, whenever... operations. (c) Stations maintaining written logs must also enter the signature of each operator, with the...

47 CFR 18.101 - Basis and purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... industrial, scientific, and medical equipment (ISM) that emits electromagnetic energy on frequencies within the radio frequency spectrum in order to prevent harmful interference to authorized radio...

47 CFR 18.101 - Basis and purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... industrial, scientific, and medical equipment (ISM) that emits electromagnetic energy on frequencies within the radio frequency spectrum in order to prevent harmful interference to authorized radio...

47 CFR 18.101 - Basis and purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... industrial, scientific, and medical equipment (ISM) that emits electromagnetic energy on frequencies within the radio frequency spectrum in order to prevent harmful interference to authorized radio...

47 CFR 18.101 - Basis and purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... industrial, scientific, and medical equipment (ISM) that emits electromagnetic energy on frequencies within the radio frequency spectrum in order to prevent harmful interference to authorized radio...

47 CFR 18.101 - Basis and purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... industrial, scientific, and medical equipment (ISM) that emits electromagnetic energy on frequencies within the radio frequency spectrum in order to prevent harmful interference to authorized radio...

Examining the Relationship of an All-Cause Harm Patient Safety Measure and Critical Performance Measures at the Frontline of Care.

PubMed

Sammer, Christine; Hauck, Loran D; Jones, Cason; Zaiback-Aldinger, Julie; Li, Michael; Classen, David

2018-02-07

In 2015, the Institute of Medicine Vital Signs report called for a new patient safety composite measure to lessen the reporting burden of patient harm. Before this report, two patient safety organizations had developed an electronic all-cause harm measurement system leveraging data from the electronic health record, which identified and grouped harms into five broad categories and consolidated them into one all-cause harm outcome measure. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between this all-cause harm patient safety measure and the following three performance measures important to overall hospital safety performance: safety culture, employee engagement, and patient experience. We studied the relationship between all-cause harm and three performance measures on eight inpatient care units at one hospital for 7 months. The findings demonstrated strong correlations between an all-cause harm measure and patient safety culture, employee engagement, and patient experience at the hospital unit level. Four safety culture domains showed significant negative correlations with all-cause harm at a P value of 0.05 or less. Six employee engagement domains were significantly negatively correlated with all-cause harm at a P value of 0.01 or less, and six of the ten patient experience measures were significantly correlated with all-cause harm at a P value of 0.05 or less. The results show that there is a strong relationship between all-cause harm and these performance measures indicating that when there is a positive patient safety culture, a more engaged employee, and a more satisfying patient experience, there may be less all-cause harm.This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal.

78 FR 9605 - Operation of Wireless Communications Services in the 2.3 GHz Band; Establishment of Rules and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-11

...In this document, the Commission affirms, modifies, and clarifies its actions in response to various petitions for reconsideration and/or clarification. The revised rules are intended to enable Wireless Communications Service (WCS) licensees to deploy broadband services in the 2305-2320 MHz and 2345-2360 MHz (2.3 GHz) WCS bands while continuing to protect Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service (SDARS) operator Sirius XM Radio Inc. (Sirius XM) and aeronautical mobile telemetry (AMT) operations in adjacent bands and the deep space network (DSN) earth station in Goldstone, California from harmful interference. In addition, the revised rules will facilitate the flexible deployment and operation of SDARS terrestrial repeaters in the 2320-2345 MHz SDARS band, while protecting adjacent bands WCS licensees from harmful interference.

47 CFR 90.103 - Radiolocation Service.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... shown that the desired separation will result in a protection ratio of at least 20 decibels throughout... Data Relay Satellite System shall continue to be protected from harmful interference. (d) Other...

47 CFR 27.57 - International coordination.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 698-763 MHz, 775-793 MHz, and 805-806 MHz bands is subject to international agreements between Mexico..., and must accept harmful interference from, television broadcast operations in Mexico and Canada. (c...

Office of Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) and Spectrum Management Program Overview.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-01-01

Civil Global Positioning System (GPS)/PNT Leadership : Coordinate the development of departmental positions on PNT and : spectrum policy and protection from harmful radio frequency : interference and operational degradation of capabilities : ...

36 CFR 1256.48 - Information about internal agency rules and practices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... states or assesses an agency's vulnerability to outside interference or harm. NARA withholds records that... describing specific measures that can be used to counteract such agency vulnerabilities. (b) The Archivist of...

47 CFR 87.479 - Harmful interference to radionavigation land stations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... to establish wide-band systems using frequency-hopping spread spectrum techniques in the 960-1215 MHz.... Transmissions will be automatically prevented if: (1) The frequency-hopping mode fails to distribute the JTIDS...

Current facts on pacemaker electromagnetic interference and their application to clinical care

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sager, D.P.

1987-03-01

The development of the sensing demand cardiac pacemaker brought with it the problem of interference as a result of extraneous electric current and electromagnetic fields. This problem still deserves consideration, not only because harmful disruption of pacemaker function, while infrequent, can occur but also because myths and misunderstandings have flourished on the subject. Misinformation has often led to needless patient anxiety and unnecessary restrictions in activities of daily living. Similarly, when health care practitioners are misinformed about pacemaker interference, potentially hazardous situations can occur in the clinical environment. This article is a review of current information on the sources andmore » effects of electromagnetic interference (EMI) on pacemakers and includes a discussion of their application to patient care.« less

Autophagy and Human Neurodegenerative Diseases-A Fly's Perspective.

PubMed

Kim, Myungjin; Ho, Allison; Lee, Jun Hee

2017-07-23

Neurodegenerative diseases in humans are frequently associated with prominent accumulation of toxic protein inclusions and defective organelles. Autophagy is a process of bulk lysosomal degradation that eliminates these harmful substances and maintains the subcellular environmental quality. In support of autophagy's importance in neuronal homeostasis, several genetic mutations that interfere with autophagic processes were found to be associated with familial neurodegenerative disorders. In addition, genetic mutations in autophagy-regulating genes provoked neurodegenerative phenotypes in animal models. The Drosophila model significantly contributed to these recent developments, which led to the theory that autophagy dysregulation is one of the major underlying causes of human neurodegenerative disorders. In the current review, we discuss how studies using Drosophila enhanced our understanding of the relationship between autophagy and neurodegenerative processes.

Taking action on developmental toxicity: Scientists’ duties to protect children

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Although adaptation and proper biological functioning require developmental programming, pollutant interference can cause developmental toxicity or DT. Objectives This commentary assesses whether it is ethical for citizens/physicians/scientists to allow avoidable DT. Methods Using conceptual, economic, ethical, and logical analysis, the commentary assesses what major ethical theories and objectors would say regarding the defensibility of allowing avoidable DT. Results The commentary argues that (1) none of the four major ethical theories (based, respectively, on virtue, natural law, utility, or equity) can consistently defend avoidable DT because it unjustifiably harms, respectively, individual human flourishing, human life, the greatest good, and equality. (2) Justice also requires leaving “as much and as good” biological resources for all, including future generations possibly harmed if epigenetic change is heritable. (3) Scientists/physicians have greater justice-based duties, than ordinary/average citizens, to help stop DT because they help cause it and have greater professional abilities/opportunities to help stop it. (4) Scientists/physicians likewise have greater justice-based duties, than ordinary/average citizens, to help stop DT because they benefit more from it, given their relatively greater education/consumption/income. The paper shows that major objections to (3)-(4) fail on logical, ethical, or scientific grounds, then closes with practical suggestions for implementing its proposals. Conclusions Because allowing avoidable DT is ethically indefensible, citizens---and especially physicians/scientists---have justice-based duties to help stop DT. PMID:22963689

Taking action on developmental toxicity: scientists' duties to protect children.

PubMed

Shrader-Frechette, Kristin

2012-09-10

Although adaptation and proper biological functioning require developmental programming, pollutant interference can cause developmental toxicity or DT. This commentary assesses whether it is ethical for citizens/physicians/scientists to allow avoidable DT. Using conceptual, economic, ethical, and logical analysis, the commentary assesses what major ethical theories and objectors would say regarding the defensibility of allowing avoidable DT. The commentary argues that (1) none of the four major ethical theories (based, respectively, on virtue, natural law, utility, or equity) can consistently defend avoidable DT because it unjustifiably harms, respectively, individual human flourishing, human life, the greatest good, and equality. (2) Justice also requires leaving "as much and as good" biological resources for all, including future generations possibly harmed if epigenetic change is heritable. (3) Scientists/physicians have greater justice-based duties, than ordinary/average citizens, to help stop DT because they help cause it and have greater professional abilities/opportunities to help stop it. (4) Scientists/physicians likewise have greater justice-based duties, than ordinary/average citizens, to help stop DT because they benefit more from it, given their relatively greater education/consumption/income. The paper shows that major objections to (3)-(4) fail on logical, ethical, or scientific grounds, then closes with practical suggestions for implementing its proposals. Because allowing avoidable DT is ethically indefensible, citizens---and especially physicians/scientists---have justice-based duties to help stop DT.

Cognitive Load Selectively Interferes with Utilitarian Moral Judgment

PubMed Central

Greene, Joshua D.; Morelli, Sylvia A.; Lowenberg, Kelly; Nystrom, Leigh E.; Cohen, Jonathan D.

2008-01-01

Traditional theories of moral development emphasize the role of controlled cognition in mature moral judgment, while a more recent trend emphasizes intuitive and emotional processes. Here we test a dual-process theory synthesizing these perspectives. More specifically, our theory associates utilitarian moral judgment (approving of harmful actions that maximize good consequences) with controlled cognitive processes and associates non-utilitarian moral judgment with automatic emotional responses. Consistent with this theory, we find that a cognitive load manipulation selectively interferes with utilitarian judgment. This interference effect provides direct evidence for the influence of controlled cognitive processes in moral judgment, and utilitarian moral judgment more specifically. PMID:18158145

Deontological Dilemma Response Tendencies and Sensorimotor Representations of Harm to Others

PubMed Central

Christov-Moore, Leonardo; Conway, Paul; Iacoboni, Marco

2017-01-01

The dual process model of moral decision-making suggests that decisions to reject causing harm on moral dilemmas (where causing harm saves lives) reflect concern for others. Recently, some theorists have suggested such decisions actually reflect self-focused concern about causing harm, rather than witnessing others suffering. We examined brain activity while participants witnessed needles pierce another person’s hand, versus similar non-painful stimuli. More than a month later, participants completed moral dilemmas where causing harm either did or did not maximize outcomes. We employed process dissociation to independently assess harm-rejection (deontological) and outcome-maximization (utilitarian) response tendencies. Activity in the posterior inferior frontal cortex (pIFC) while participants witnessed others in pain predicted deontological, but not utilitarian, response tendencies. Previous brain stimulation studies have shown that the pIFC seems crucial for sensorimotor representations of observed harm. Hence, these findings suggest that deontological response tendencies reflect genuine other-oriented concern grounded in sensorimotor representations of harm. PMID:29311859

47 CFR 97.303 - Frequency sharing requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... harmful interference to stations in the Earth exploration-satellite service (passive) or the space...; and (3) Other nations in the Earth exploration-satellite (active), radionavigation-satellite (space-to...: (1) The United States Government in the aeronautical radionavigation, Earth exploration-satellite...

47 CFR 97.303 - Frequency sharing requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... harmful interference to stations in the Earth exploration-satellite service (passive) or the space...; and (3) Other nations in the Earth exploration-satellite (active), radionavigation-satellite (space-to...: (1) The United States Government in the aeronautical radionavigation, Earth exploration-satellite...

47 CFR 97.303 - Frequency sharing requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... harmful interference to stations in the Earth exploration-satellite service (passive) or the space...; and (3) Other nations in the Earth exploration-satellite (active), radionavigation-satellite (space-to...: (1) The United States Government in the aeronautical radionavigation, Earth exploration-satellite...

47 CFR 97.303 - Frequency sharing requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... harmful interference to stations in the Earth exploration-satellite service (passive) or the space...; and (3) Other nations in the Earth exploration-satellite (active), radionavigation-satellite (space-to...: (1) The United States Government in the aeronautical radionavigation, Earth exploration-satellite...

17 CFR 165.9 - Criteria for determining amount of award.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

...; (v) The efforts undertaken by the whistleblower to remediate the harm caused by the violations of the... reduced or eliminated by the Commission because an entity self-reported a commodities violation following... harm or potential harm caused by the underlying violations, the type of harm resulting from or...

17 CFR 165.9 - Criteria for determining amount of award.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... the harm caused by the violations of the Commodity Exchange Act, including assisting the authorities... potential monetary sanctions were reduced or eliminated by the Commission because an entity self-reported a... amount of harm or potential harm caused by the underlying violations, the type of harm resulting from or...

17 CFR 165.9 - Criteria for determining amount of award.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

...; (v) The efforts undertaken by the whistleblower to remediate the harm caused by the violations of the... reduced or eliminated by the Commission because an entity self-reported a commodities violation following... harm or potential harm caused by the underlying violations, the type of harm resulting from or...

Factors associated with drug-related harms related to policing in Tijuana, Mexico

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Objective To assess factors associated with drug-related harms related to policing among injection drug users (IDUs) in Tijuana, Mexico. Methods IDUs who were over 18 years old and had injected drugs within the last six months were recruited via respondent-driven sampling and underwent questionnaires and testing for HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), syphilis and TB (tuberculosis). Random effects logistic regression was used to simultaneously model factors associated with five drug-related harms related to policing practices in the prior six months (i.e., police led them to rush injections; affected where they bought drugs; affected locations where they used drugs; feared that police will interfere with their drug use; receptive syringe sharing). Results Of 727 IDUs, 85% were male; median age was 38 years. Within the last 6 months, 231 (32%) of IDUs reported that police had led them to rush injections, affected where they bought or used drugs or were very afraid police would interfere with their drug use, or shared syringes. Factors independently associated with drug-related harms related to policing within the last six months included: recent arrest, homelessness, higher frequencies of drug injection, use of methamphetamine, using the local needle exchange program and perceiving a decrease in the purity of at least one drug. Conclusions IDUs who experienced drug-related harms related to policing were those who were most affected by other micro and macro influences in the physical risk environment. Police education programs are needed to ensure that policing practices do not exacerbate risky behaviors or discourage protective behaviors such as needle exchange program use, which undermines the right to health for people who inject drugs. PMID:21477299

Adolescent self-harm and risk factors.

PubMed

Zhang, Jixiang; Song, Jianwei; Wang, Jing

2016-12-01

This study aims to define the characteristics of adolescents who have engaged in self-harm behavior and ascertain the risk factors. From January 2013 to January 2014, 4,176 adolescents from senior middle schools in Linyi, China, were administered four questionnaire surveys to ascertain the following: incidence of self-harm behavior regarding the frequency of different self-harm behaviors by group (never/one to five times/greater than five times in the last 6 months) and then comparing the self-harm behavior of the different subgroups; symptom self-check, comparing the differences between the adolescents with self-harm behavior and without in nine subscales (somatization, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, fear, paranoid, and psychosis); Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Check List scores; and Egna Minnenav Barndoms Uppfostran (EMBU) scores. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the risk factors of self-harm in adolescents. The incidence of adolescent self-harm was 27.60%; the occurrence of adolescent self-harm was closely related to their mental health status, stressful life events, and EMBU. Being female, an urban student, or an only child; having poor school performance or experiences of stressful life events, harsh parenting styles, or excessive interference; and poor mental health were the risk factors for adolescent self-harm. The incidence of adolescent self-harm was high, and their mental health status, stressful life events, and EMBU affected the occurrence of adolescent self-harm, which is an issue that needs greater attention. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

47 CFR 25.203 - Choice of sites and frequencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... National Radio Astronomy Observatory: In order to minimize possible harmful interference at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory site located at Green Bank, Pocahontas County, W. Va., and at the Naval... such application with the Commission, simultaneously notify the Director, National Radio Astronomy...

47 CFR 25.203 - Choice of sites and frequencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... National Radio Astronomy Observatory: In order to minimize possible harmful interference at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory site located at Green Bank, Pocahontas County, W. Va., and at the Naval... such application with the Commission, simultaneously notify the Director, National Radio Astronomy...

47 CFR 25.203 - Choice of sites and frequencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... National Radio Astronomy Observatory: In order to minimize possible harmful interference at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory site located at Green Bank, Pocahontas County, W. Va., and at the Naval... such application with the Commission, simultaneously notify the Director, National Radio Astronomy...

47 CFR 25.203 - Choice of sites and frequencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... National Radio Astronomy Observatory: In order to minimize possible harmful interference at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory site located at Green Bank, Pocahontas County, W. Va., and at the Naval... such application with the Commission, simultaneously notify the Director, National Radio Astronomy...

Perceptions of Harm to Children Exposed to Secondhand Aerosol From Electronic Vapor Products, Styles Survey, 2015.

PubMed

Nguyen, Kimberly H; Tong, Van T; Marynak, Kristy; King, Brian A

2017-05-25

The US Surgeon General has concluded that e-cigarette aerosol is not harmless and can contain harmful and potentially harmful chemicals, including nicotine. We assessed factors associated with adults' perceptions of harm related to children's exposure to secondhand aerosol from electronic vapor products (EVPs). Data came from the 2015 Styles, an Internet panel survey of US adults aged 18 years or older (n = 4,127). Respondents were asked whether they believe aerosol from other people's EVPs causes children harm. Harm perceptions were assessed overall and by cigarette smoking, EVP use, and sociodemographic characteristics. Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess odds of perceived harm. Overall, 5.3% of adults responded that secondhand EVP exposure caused "no harm" to children, 39.9% responded "little harm" or "some harm," 21.5% responded "a lot of harm," and 33.3% responded "don't know." Odds of "no harm" response were greater among men than among women, current and former cigarette smokers than among never smokers, and current and former EVP users than among never users; odds were lower among non-Hispanic blacks, Hispanics, and non-Hispanic other races than among non-Hispanic whites. Odds of responding "don't know" were greater among men, current cigarette smokers, and current and former EVP users; odds were lower among those aged 45 to 64 years than those aged 18 to 24 years and lower among non-Hispanic other races and Hispanics than non-Hispanic whites. Two-fifths of US adults believe that children's exposure to secondhand EVP aerosol causes some or little harm, while one-third do not know whether it causes harm. Efforts are warranted to educate the public about the health risks of secondhand EVP aerosol, particularly for children.

On Curbing Racial Speech.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gale, Mary Ellen

1991-01-01

An alternative interpretation of the First Amendment guarantee of free speech suggests that universities may prohibit and punish direct verbal assaults on specific individuals if the speaker intends to do harm and if a reasonable person would recognize the potential for serious interference with the victim's educational rights. (MSE)

33 CFR 154.1040 - Specific requirements for facilities that could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... facilities that could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm to the environment. 154.1040 Section... to the environment. (a) The owner or operator of a facility that, under § 154.1015, could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm to the environment, shall submit a response plan that meets the...

33 CFR 154.1040 - Specific requirements for facilities that could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... facilities that could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm to the environment. 154.1040 Section... to the environment. (a) The owner or operator of a facility that, under § 154.1015, could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm to the environment, shall submit a response plan that meets the...

33 CFR 154.1040 - Specific requirements for facilities that could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... facilities that could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm to the environment. 154.1040 Section... to the environment. (a) The owner or operator of a facility that, under § 154.1015, could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm to the environment, shall submit a response plan that meets the...

33 CFR 154.1040 - Specific requirements for facilities that could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... facilities that could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm to the environment. 154.1040 Section... to the environment. (a) The owner or operator of a facility that, under § 154.1015, could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm to the environment, shall submit a response plan that meets the...

33 CFR 154.1040 - Specific requirements for facilities that could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... facilities that could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm to the environment. 154.1040 Section... to the environment. (a) The owner or operator of a facility that, under § 154.1015, could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm to the environment, shall submit a response plan that meets the...

A table of polyatomic interferences in ICP-MS

USGS Publications Warehouse

May, Thomas W.; Wiedmeyer, Ray H.

1998-01-01

Spectroscopic interferences are probably the largest class of interferences in ICP-MS and are caused by atomic or molecular ions that have the same mass-to-charge as analytes of interest. Current ICP-MS instrumental software corrects for all known atomic “isobaric” interferences, or those caused by overlapping isotopes of different elements, but does not correct for most polyatomic interferences. Such interferences are caused by polyatomic ions that are formed from precursors having numerous sources, such as the sample matrix, reagents used for preparation, plasma gases, and entrained atmospheric gases.

Electromagnetic interference of bone-anchored hearing aids by cellular phones.

PubMed

Kompis, M; Negri, S; Häusler, R

2000-10-01

We report a case of electromagnetic interference between a bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) and a cellular phone. A 54-year-old women was successfully treated for severe mixed conductive and sensorineural hearing loss with a BAHA. Five years after implantation, the patient experienced a sudden feeling of dizziness, accompanied by a loud buzzing sound and by a sensation of head pressure while examining a digital mobile phone. During a subsequent experiment, the buzzing sound could be reproduced and was identified as electromagnetic interference between the BAHA and digital cellular phones. Seventeen adult BAHA users from our clinic participated in a subsequent survey. Of the 13 patients with some experience of digital cellular phones, 11 reported hearing annoying noises elicited by these devices. However, no other sensation, such as dizziness, was described. Owing to the increasing number of users of both hearing aids and cellular phones, the incidence of electromagnetic interference must be expected to increase as well. Although to date there is no evidence that such interference may be harmful or dangerous to users of conventional or bone-anchored hearing aids, unexpected interference can be a frightening experience.

47 CFR 74.636 - Power limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... carry out the communications desired and shall not exceed the values listed in the following table... specified in the following table. In cases of harmful interference, the Commission may, after notice and opportunity for hearing, order a change in the effective radiated power of this station. The table follows...

47 CFR 74.636 - Power limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... carry out the communications desired and shall not exceed the values listed in the following table... specified in the following table. In cases of harmful interference, the Commission may, after notice and opportunity for hearing, order a change in the effective radiated power of this station. The table follows...

47 CFR 74.636 - Power limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... carry out the communications desired and shall not exceed the values listed in the following table... specified in the following table. In cases of harmful interference, the Commission may, after notice and opportunity for hearing, order a change in the effective radiated power of this station. The table follows...

Cognitive Load Selectively Interferes with Utilitarian Moral Judgment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greene, Joshua D.; Morelli, Sylvia A.; Lowenberg, Kelly; Nystrom, Leigh E.; Cohen, Jonathan D.

2008-01-01

Traditional theories of moral development emphasize the role of controlled cognition in mature moral judgment, while a more recent trend emphasizes intuitive and emotional processes. Here we test a dual-process theory synthesizing these perspectives. More specifically, our theory associates utilitarian moral judgment (approving of harmful actions…

47 CFR 80.373 - Private communications frequencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... engaged in commercial fishing activities in the open sea or adjacent waters; (ii) Harmful interference... area of Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors, within a 25-nautical mile radius of Point Fermin..., i.e., weather; sea conditions; time signals; notices to mariners; and hazards to navigation. 14...

47 CFR 80.373 - Private communications frequencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... engaged in commercial fishing activities in the open sea or adjacent waters; (ii) Harmful interference... Angeles and Long Beach harbors, within a 25-nautical mile radius of Point Fermin, California. 3 156.550..., i.e., weather; sea conditions; time signals; notices to mariners; and hazards to navigation. 14...

47 CFR 80.373 - Private communications frequencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... engaged in commercial fishing activities in the open sea or adjacent waters; (ii) Harmful interference... Angeles and Long Beach harbors, within a 25-nautical mile radius of Point Fermin, California. 3 156.550..., i.e., weather; sea conditions; time signals; notices to mariners; and hazards to navigation. 14...

47 CFR 80.373 - Private communications frequencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... engaged in commercial fishing activities in the open sea or adjacent waters; (ii) Harmful interference... Angeles and Long Beach harbors, within a 25-nautical mile radius of Point Fermin, California. 3 156.550..., i.e., weather; sea conditions; time signals; notices to mariners; and hazards to navigation. 14...

Ethical Perspectives on RNA Interference Therapeutics

PubMed Central

Ebbesen, Mette; Jensen, Thomas G.; Andersen, Svend; Pedersen, Finn Skou

2008-01-01

RNA interference is a mechanism for controlling normal gene expression which has recently begun to be employed as a potential therapeutic agent for a wide range of disorders, including cancer, infectious diseases and metabolic disorders. Clinical trials with RNA interference have begun. However, challenges such as off-target effects, toxicity and safe delivery methods have to be overcome before RNA interference can be considered as a conventional drug. So, if RNA interference is to be used therapeutically, we should perform a risk-benefit analysis. It is ethically relevant to perform a risk-benefit analysis since ethical obligations about not inflicting harm and promoting good are generally accepted. But the ethical issues in RNA interference therapeutics not only include a risk-benefit analysis, but also considerations about respecting the autonomy of the patient and considerations about justice with regard to the inclusion criteria for participation in clinical trials and health care allocation. RNA interference is considered a new and promising therapeutic approach, but the ethical issues of this method have not been greatly discussed, so this article analyses these issues using the bioethical theory of principles of the American bioethicists, Tom L. Beauchamp and James F. Childress. PMID:18612370

17 CFR 240.21F-6 - Criteria for determining amount of award.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... remediate the harm caused by the violations, including assisting the authorities in the recovery of the... entity self-reported a securities violation following the whistleblower's related internal disclosure... the enforcement action, including the amount of harm or potential harm caused by the underlying...

17 CFR 240.21F-6 - Criteria for determining amount of award.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... remediate the harm caused by the violations, including assisting the authorities in the recovery of the... entity self-reported a securities violation following the whistleblower's related internal disclosure... the enforcement action, including the amount of harm or potential harm caused by the underlying...

17 CFR 240.21F-6 - Criteria for determining amount of award.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... remediate the harm caused by the violations, including assisting the authorities in the recovery of the... entity self-reported a securities violation following the whistleblower's related internal disclosure... the enforcement action, including the amount of harm or potential harm caused by the underlying...

Correlates and Predictors of New Mothers' Responses to Postpartum Thoughts of Accidental and Intentional Harm and Obsessive Compulsive Symptoms.

PubMed

Fairbrother, Nichole; Thordarson, Dana S; Challacombe, Fiona L; Sakaluk, John K

2018-07-01

Unwanted, intrusive thoughts of infant-related harm are a normal, albeit distressing experience for most new mothers. The occurrence of these thoughts can represent a risk factor for the development of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). As the early postpartum period represents a time of increased risk for OCD development, the transition to parenthood provides a unique opportunity to better understand OCD development. The purpose of this study was to assess components of cognitive behavioural conceptualizations of postpartum OCD in relation to new mothers' thoughts of infant-related harm. English-speaking pregnant women (n = 100) participated. Questionnaires were completed at approximately 36 weeks of gestation, and at 4 and 12 weeks postpartum. An interview to assess postpartum harm thoughts was administered at 4 and 12 weeks postpartum. Questionnaires assessed OC symptoms, OC-related beliefs, fatigue, sleep difficulties and negative mood. Prenatal OC-related beliefs predicted postpartum OC symptoms, as well as harm thought characteristics and behavioural responses to harm thoughts. The severity of behavioural responses to early postpartum harm thoughts did not predict later postpartum OC symptoms, but did predict frequency and time occupation of accidental harm thoughts, and interference in parenting by intentional harm thoughts. Strong relationships between OC symptoms and harm thought characteristics, and concurrent sleep difficulties, negative mood and fatigue were also found. Findings provide support for cognitive behavioural conceptualizations of postpartum OCD and emphasize the importance of maternal sleep, fatigue and negative mood in the relationship between OC-related beliefs and maternal cognitive and behavioural responses to postpartum harm thoughts.

Study on Interference Suppression Algorithms for Electronic Noses: A Review

PubMed Central

Liang, Zhifang; Zhang, Ci; Sun, Hao; Liu, Tao

2018-01-01

Electronic noses (e-nose) are composed of an appropriate pattern recognition system and a gas sensor array with a certain degree of specificity and broad spectrum characteristics. The gas sensors have their own shortcomings of being highly sensitive to interferences which has an impact on the detection of target gases. When there are interferences, the performance of the e-nose will deteriorate. Therefore, it is urgent to study interference suppression techniques for e-noses. This paper summarizes the sources of interferences and reviews the advances made in recent years in interference suppression for e-noses. According to the factors which cause interference, interferences can be classified into two types: interference caused by changes of operating conditions and interference caused by hardware failures. The existing suppression methods were summarized and analyzed from these two aspects. Since the interferences of e-noses are uncertain and unstable, it can be found that some nonlinear methods have good effects for interference suppression, such as methods based on transfer learning, adaptive methods, etc. PMID:29649152

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in medical environment: Gaussian Derivative Frequency Modulation (GDFM) as a novel modulation technique with minimal interference properties.

PubMed

Rieche, Marie; Komenský, Tomás; Husar, Peter

2011-01-01

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems in healthcare facilitate the possibility of contact-free identification and tracking of patients, medical equipment and medication. Thereby, patient safety will be improved and costs as well as medication errors will be reduced considerably. However, the application of RFID and other wireless communication systems has the potential to cause harmful electromagnetic disturbances on sensitive medical devices. This risk mainly depends on the transmission power and the method of data communication. In this contribution we point out the reasons for such incidents and give proposals to overcome these problems. Therefore a novel modulation and transmission technique called Gaussian Derivative Frequency Modulation (GDFM) is developed. Moreover, we carry out measurements to show the inteference properties of different modulation schemes in comparison to our GDFM.

[Thumbsucking and malocclusion--presentation of a clinical case].

PubMed

Estripeaut, L E; Henriques, J F; de Almeida, R R

1989-01-01

The digital sucking habit have been significantly related with the malocclusions. These problems can be observed as in the deciduous and mixed as in the permanent dentition. Frequency, length, and intensity of the habit generate as a consequence: anterior open bite, retrusion of the mandible, protrusion of the maxilla, excessive overjet, labial version of the upper incisors, uprighting of the lower incisors, posterior cross bites, sometimes associated to a ogival palate, diastema between the upper incisors, and any others facial characteristics. According to various authors, when the habit persist for an extended period after the age of four years, is considered how malocclusion cause. In this case is requered the professional interference. The presentation of this study has the objective to show the clinic conduct for preventive orthodontics in face to cases who exhib harmful habits.

47 CFR 5.91 - Notification to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Notification to the National Radio Astronomy... SERVICE Applications and Licenses § 5.91 Notification to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. In order to minimize possible harmful interference at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory site located...

47 CFR 5.91 - Notification of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Notification of the National Radio Astronomy... Astronomy Observatory. In order to minimize possible harmful interference at the National Radio Astronomy... Astronomy Observatory, P.O. Box NZ2, Green Bank, West Virginia, 24944, in writing, of the technical...

47 CFR 25.203 - Choice of sites and frequencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... National Radio Astronomy Observatory: In order to minimize possible harmful interference at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory site at Green Bank, Pocahontas County, W. Va., and at the Naval Radio..., simultaneously notify the Director, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, P.O. Box No. 2, Green Bank, W. Va...

47 CFR 5.91 - Notification to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Notification to the National Radio Astronomy... SERVICE Applications and Licenses § 5.91 Notification to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. In order to minimize possible harmful interference at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory site located...

47 CFR 5.91 - Notification of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Notification of the National Radio Astronomy... Astronomy Observatory. In order to minimize possible harmful interference at the National Radio Astronomy... Astronomy Observatory, P.O. Box NZ2, Green Bank, West Virginia, 24944, in writing, of the technical...

47 CFR 5.91 - Notification of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Notification of the National Radio Astronomy... Astronomy Observatory. In order to minimize possible harmful interference at the National Radio Astronomy... Astronomy Observatory, P.O. Box NZ2, Green Bank, West Virginia, 24944, in writing, of the technical...

47 CFR 101.1421 - Coordination of adjacent area MVDDS stations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... SPECIAL RADIO SERVICES FIXED MICROWAVE SERVICES Multichannel Video Distribution and Data Service Rules for... compatible with adjacent and co-channel operations in the adjacent areas on all its frequencies; and (2... adjacent and co-channel operations in adjacent areas. (b) Harmful interference to public safety stations...

76 FR 3892 - Notice of Public Information Collection(s) Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-21

... potential for harmful interference to adjacent Wireless Communications Service (WCS) spectrum users by...) average equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) to facilitate the flexible deployment of SDARS... qualifications of SDARS applicants or licensees to operate a station, transfer or assign a license, and to...

Perfectionism: A Risk to Self-Harm

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cranab, A. Linsey; Raja, B. William Dharma

2015-01-01

Naturally humans strive to do their work. But when it exceeds a limit, it becomes neurotic and also not healthy perfectionism. Perfectionism is always not pleasurable, and people typically confuse their talents and capabilities with their perfectionism. In fact, perfectionism interferes with a person's ability to do well (Hummel, 2000). This paper…

Development of an Electronic Pediatric All-Cause Harm Measurement Tool Using a Modified Delphi Method.

PubMed

Stockwell, David Christopher; Bisarya, Hema; Classen, David C; Kirkendall, Eric S; Lachman, Peter I; Matlow, Anne G; Tham, Eric; Hyman, Dan; Lehman, Samuel M; Searles, Elizabeth; Muething, Stephen E; Sharek, Paul J

2016-12-01

To have impact on reducing harm in pediatric inpatients, an efficient and reliable process for harm detection is needed. This work describes the first step toward the development of a pediatric all-cause harm measurement tool by recognized experts in the field. An international group of leaders in pediatric patient safety and informatics were charged with developing a comprehensive pediatric inpatient all-cause harm measurement tool using a modified Delphi technique. The process was conducted in 5 distinct steps: (1) literature review of triggers (elements from a medical record that assist in identifying patient harm) for inclusion; (2) translation of triggers to likely associated harm, improving the ability for expert prioritization; (3) 2 applications of a modified Delphi selection approach with consensus criteria using severity and frequency of harm as well as detectability of the associated trigger as criteria to rate each trigger and associated harm; (4) developing specific trigger logic and relevant values when applicable; and (5) final vetting of the entire trigger list for pilot testing. Literature and expert panel review identified 108 triggers and associated harms suitable for consideration (steps 1 and 2). This list was pared to 64 triggers and their associated harms after the first of the 2 independent expert reviews. The second independent expert review led to further refinement of the trigger package, resulting in 46 items for inclusion (step 3). Adding in specific trigger logic expanded the list. Final review and voting resulted in a list of 51 triggers (steps 4 and 5). Application of a modified Delphi method on an expert-constructed list of 108 triggers, focusing on severity and frequency of harms as well as detectability of triggers in an electronic medical record, resulted in a final list of 51 pediatric triggers. Pilot testing this list of pediatric triggers to identify all-cause harm for pediatric inpatients is the next step to establish the appropriateness of each trigger for inclusion in a global pediatric safety measurement tool.

Interference in Ballistic Motor Learning: Specificity and Role of Sensory Error Signals

PubMed Central

Lundbye-Jensen, Jesper; Petersen, Tue Hvass; Rothwell, John C.; Nielsen, Jens Bo

2011-01-01

Humans are capable of learning numerous motor skills, but newly acquired skills may be abolished by subsequent learning. Here we ask what factors determine whether interference occurs in motor learning. We speculated that interference requires competing processes of synaptic plasticity in overlapping circuits and predicted specificity. To test this, subjects learned a ballistic motor task. Interference was observed following subsequent learning of an accuracy-tracking task, but only if the competing task involved the same muscles and movement direction. Interference was not observed from a non-learning task suggesting that interference requires competing learning. Subsequent learning of the competing task 4 h after initial learning did not cause interference suggesting disruption of early motor memory consolidation as one possible mechanism underlying interference. Repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of corticospinal motor output at intensities below movement threshold did not cause interference, whereas suprathreshold rTMS evoking motor responses and (re)afferent activation did. Finally, the experiments revealed that suprathreshold repetitive electrical stimulation of the agonist (but not antagonist) peripheral nerve caused interference. The present study is, to our knowledge, the first to demonstrate that peripheral nerve stimulation may cause interference. The finding underscores the importance of sensory feedback as error signals in motor learning. We conclude that interference requires competing plasticity in overlapping circuits. Interference is remarkably specific for circuits involved in a specific movement and it may relate to sensory error signals. PMID:21408054

25 CFR 224.136 - How will the Director's report address a tribe's noncompliance?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... MINERALS TRIBAL ENERGY RESOURCE AGREEMENTS UNDER THE INDIAN TRIBAL ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AND SELF... determination of whether the tribe's noncompliance has resulted in harm or the potential for harm to a physical trust asset. (b) If the Director determines that the tribe's noncompliance may cause harm or has caused...

25 CFR 224.136 - How will the Director's report address a tribe's noncompliance?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... MINERALS TRIBAL ENERGY RESOURCE AGREEMENTS UNDER THE INDIAN TRIBAL ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AND SELF... determination of whether the tribe's noncompliance has resulted in harm or the potential for harm to a physical trust asset. (b) If the Director determines that the tribe's noncompliance may cause harm or has caused...

25 CFR 224.136 - How will the Director's report address a tribe's noncompliance?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... MINERALS TRIBAL ENERGY RESOURCE AGREEMENTS UNDER THE INDIAN TRIBAL ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AND SELF... determination of whether the tribe's noncompliance has resulted in harm or the potential for harm to a physical trust asset. (b) If the Director determines that the tribe's noncompliance may cause harm or has caused...

25 CFR 224.136 - How will the Director's report address a tribe's noncompliance?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... MINERALS TRIBAL ENERGY RESOURCE AGREEMENTS UNDER THE INDIAN TRIBAL ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AND SELF... determination of whether the tribe's noncompliance has resulted in harm or the potential for harm to a physical trust asset. (b) If the Director determines that the tribe's noncompliance may cause harm or has caused...

Apparent hyperthyroidism caused by biotin-like interference from IgM anti-streptavidin antibodies.

PubMed

Lam, Leo; Bagg, Warwick; Smith, Geoff; Chiu, Weldon; Middleditch, Martin James; Lim, Julie Ching-Hsia; Kyle, Campbell Vance

2018-05-29

Exclusion of analytical interference is important when there is discrepancy between clinical and laboratory findings. However, interferences on immunoassays are often mistaken as isolated laboratory artefacts. We characterized and report the mechanism of a rare cause of interference in two patients that caused erroneous thyroid function tests, and also affects many other biotin dependent immunoassays. Patient 1 was a 77 y female with worsening fatigue while taking carbimazole over several years. Her thyroid function tests however, were not suggestive of hypothyroidism. Patient 2 was a 25 y female also prescribed carbimazole for apparent primary hyperthyroidism. Despite an elevated FT4, the lowest TSH on record was 0.17mIU/L. In both cases, thyroid function tests performed by an alternative method were markedly different. Further characterization of both patients' serum demonstrated analytical interference on many immunoassays using the biotin-streptavidin interaction. Sandwich assays (e.g. TSH, FSH, TNT, beta-HCG) were falsely low, while competitive assays (e.g. FT4, FT3, TBII) were falsely high. Pre-incubation of serum with streptavidin microparticles removed the analytical interference, initially suggesting the cause of interference was biotin, however, neither patient had been taking biotin. Instead, a ~100kDa IgM immunoglobulin with high affinity to streptavidin was isolated from each patient's serum. The findings confirm IgM anti-streptavidin antibodies as the cause of analytical interference. We describe two patients with apparent hyperthyroidism as a result of analytical interference caused by IgM anti-streptavidin antibodies. Analytical interference identified on one immunoassay should raise the possibility of other affected results. Characterization of interference may help to identify other potentially affected immunoassays. In the case of anti-streptavidin antibodies, the pattern of interference mimics that due to biotin ingestion; however, the degree of interference varies between individual assays and between patients.

Impact of Psychopathy on Moral Judgments about Causing Fear and Physical Harm

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Psychopathy is a personality variable associated with persistent immoral behaviors. Despite this, attempts to link moral reasoning deficits to psychopathic traits have yielded mixed results with many findings supporting intact moral reasoning in individuals with psychopathic traits. Abundant evidence shows that psychopathy impairs responses to others’ emotional distress. However, most studies of morality and psychopathy focus on judgments about causing others physical harm. Results of such studies may be inconsistent because physical harm is an imperfect proxy for emotional distress. No previous paradigm has explicitly separated judgments about physical harm and emotional distress and assessed how psychopathy affects each type of judgment. In three studies we found that psychopathy impairs judgments about causing others emotional distress (specifically fear) but minimally affects judgments about causing physical harm and that judgments about causing fear predict instrumental aggression in psychopathy. These findings are consistent with reports linking psychopathy to insensitivity to others’ fear, and suggest that sensitivity to others’ fear may play a fundamental role in the types of moral decision-making impaired by psychopathy. PMID:25992566

A media information analysis for implementing effective countermeasure against harmful rumor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagao, Mitsuyoshi; Suto, Kazuhiro; Ohuchi, Azuma

2010-04-01

When large scale earthquake occurred, the word of "harmful rumor" came to be frequently heard. The harmful rumor means an economic damage which is caused by the action that people regard actually safe foods or areas as dangerous and then abort consumption or sightseeing. In the case of harmful rumor caused by earthquake, especially, tourism industry receives massive economic damage. Currently, harmful rumor which gives substantial economic damage have become serious social issue which must be solved. In this paper, we propose a countermeasure method for harmful rumor on the basis of media trend in order to implement speedy recovery from harmful rumor. Here, we investigate the amount and content of information which is transmitted to the general public by the media when an earthquake occurred. In addition, the media information in three earthquakes is treated as instance. Finally, we discuss an effective countermeasure method for dispeling harmful rumor through these analysis results.

The Impact of Radio Interference on Future Radio Telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitchell, Daniel A.; Robertson, Gordon J.; Sault, Robert J.

While future radio telescopes will require technological advances from the communications industry interference from sources such as satellites and mobile phones is a serious concern. In addition to the fact that the level of interference is growing constantly the increased capabilities of next generation instruments make them more prone to harmful interference. These facilities must have mechanisms to allow operation in a crowded spectrum. In this report some of the factors which may limit the effectiveness of these mechanisms are investigated. Radio astronomy is unique among other observing wavelengths in that the radiation can be fully sampled at a rate which completely specifies the electromagnetic environment. Knowledge of phases and antennae gain factors affords one the opportunity to attempt to mitigate interference from the astronomical data. At present several interference mitigation techniques have been demonstrated to be extremely effective. However the observational scales of the new facilities will push the techniques to their limits. Processes such as signal decorrelation varying antenna gain and instabilities in the primary beam will have a serious effect on some of the algorithms. In addition the sheer volume of data produced will render some techniques computationally and financially impossible.

47 CFR 101.113 - Transmitter power limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... of harmful interference, the Commission may, after notice and opportunity for hearing, order a change... frequency band. (ii) The climate zones in Table 1 are defined for different geographic locations within the US as shown in Appendix 28 of the ITU Radio Regulations. Table 1 1 Climate zone e.i.r.p. Spectral...

47 CFR 101.113 - Transmitter power limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... of harmful interference, the Commission may, after notice and opportunity for hearing, order a change... frequency band. (ii) The climate zones in Table 1 are defined for different geographic locations within the US as shown in Appendix 28 of the ITU Radio Regulations. Table 1 1 Climate zone e.i.r.p. Spectral...

47 CFR 101.113 - Transmitter power limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... of harmful interference, the Commission may, after notice and opportunity for hearing, order a change... frequency band. (ii) The climate zones in Table 1 are defined for different geographic locations within the US as shown in Appendix 28 of the ITU Radio Regulations. Table 1 1 Climate zone e.i.r.p. Spectral...

Statement from FCC Spokesperson Tammy Sun on Letter from NTIA Addressing Harmful Interference Testing Conclusions Pertaining to LightSquared and Global Positioning Systems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-02-14

To drive economic growth, job creation, and to promote competition, the FCC has been focused on : freeing up spectrum for mobile broadband. This includes our efforts to remove regulatory barriers that : preclude the use of spectrum for mobile serv...

47 CFR 2.106 - Table of Frequency Allocations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

..., administrations are urged to take all practicable steps to protect the radio astronomy service from harmful... interference to the radio astronomy service (see Nos. 4.5 and 4.6 and Article 29). (WRC-07) 5.150The following...-401 MHz, administrations shall take all practicable steps to protect the radio astronomy service in...

47 CFR 87.479 - Harmful interference to radionavigation land stations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... band. Authorization for a Joint Tactical Information Distribution Systems (JTIDS) has been permitted on... transmitting if the time slot duty factor exceeds a 20 percent duty factor for any single user and a 40 percent... office. The following information must be provided to the extent available: (1) Name, call sign and...

28 CFR 541.3 - Prohibited acts and available sanctions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... harm to others; or those hazardous to institutional security or personal safety; e.g., hack-saw blade... which disrupts or interferes with the security or orderly running of the institution or the Bureau of... running of the institution or the Bureau of Prisons most like another High severity prohibited act. This...

28 CFR 541.3 - Prohibited acts and available sanctions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... harm to others; or those hazardous to institutional security or personal safety; e.g., hack-saw blade... which disrupts or interferes with the security or orderly running of the institution or the Bureau of... running of the institution or the Bureau of Prisons most like another High severity prohibited act. This...

28 CFR 541.3 - Prohibited acts and available sanctions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... harm to others; or those hazardous to institutional security or personal safety; e.g., hack-saw blade... which disrupts or interferes with the security or orderly running of the institution or the Bureau of... running of the institution or the Bureau of Prisons most like another High severity prohibited act. This...

28 CFR 541.3 - Prohibited acts and available sanctions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... harm to others; or those hazardous to institutional security or personal safety; e.g., hack-saw blade... which disrupts or interferes with the security or orderly running of the institution or the Bureau of... running of the institution or the Bureau of Prisons most like another High severity prohibited act. This...

47 CFR 87.479 - Harmful interference to radionavigation land stations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... to establish wide-band systems using frequency-hopping spread spectrum techniques in the 960-1215 MHz... spectrum uniformly across the band; (2) The radiated pulse varies from the specified width of 6.4... peak of the JTIDS spectrum as measured in a 300 kHz bandwidth. The JTIDS will be prohibited from...

47 CFR 87.479 - Harmful interference to radionavigation land stations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... to establish wide-band systems using frequency-hopping spread spectrum techniques in the 960-1215 MHz... spectrum uniformly across the band; (2) The radiated pulse varies from the specified width of 6.4... peak of the JTIDS spectrum as measured in a 300 kHz bandwidth. The JTIDS will be prohibited from...

47 CFR 87.479 - Harmful interference to radionavigation land stations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... to establish wide-band systems using frequency-hopping spread spectrum techniques in the 960-1215 MHz... spectrum uniformly across the band; (2) The radiated pulse varies from the specified width of 6.4... peak of the JTIDS spectrum as measured in a 300 kHz bandwidth. The JTIDS will be prohibited from...

76 FR 30706 - Information Collections Being Submitted for Review and Approval to the Office of Management and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-26

... limit the potential for harmful interference to adjacent Wireless Communications Service (WCS) spectrum... (kW) average equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) to facilitate the flexible deployment of... and legal qualifications of SDARS applicants or licensees to operate a station, transfer or assign a...

47 CFR 101.113 - Transmitter power limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... of harmful interference, the Commission may, after notice and opportunity for hearing, order a change... frequency band. (ii) The climate zones in Table 1 are defined for different geographic locations within the US as shown in Appendix 28 of the ITU Radio Regulations. Table 1 1 Climate zone e.i.r.p. Spectral...

75 FR 29677 - PLMR Licensing; Frequency Coordination and Eligibility Issues

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-27

... in the portions of the 1427-1432 MHz band where non- medical telemetry has primary status. We take... free of harmful interference. The band 1427-1432 MHz is shared between medical and non-medical telemetry operations. Generally, WMTS has primary status in the lower half of the band, and non-medical...

78 FR 21981 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Order Approving a...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-12

... proposed rule change is consistent with the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations... the pending heightened quoting obligations and the considerable costs that would otherwise be involved... interfere with the continuity of its market and reduce liquidity, which would ultimately harm investors and...

Expanding Behavioral Activation to Depressed Adolescents: Lessons Learned in Treatment Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCauley, Elizabeth; Schloredt, Kelly; Gudmundsen, Gretchen; Martell, Christopher; Dimidjian, Sona

2011-01-01

Depression during adolescence represents a significant public health concern. It is estimated that up to 20% of adolescents experience an episode of depression that interferes with academic and social functioning and is associated with an increased risk for self-harm. Although significant progress has been made in the last decade in treating…

Public Perceptions of Self-Harm: Perceived Motivations of (and Willingness to Help in Response to) Adolescent Self-Harm.

PubMed

Nielsen, Emma; Townsend, Ellen

2018-01-01

We investigated public perceptions of, and responses to, adolescent self-harm-an under-researched topic, given that the majority of self-harm in this group is not disclosed to formal support services. Participants (N = 355, aged 18-67 years) were presented with 1 of 10 vignettes and completed self-report measures assessing perceived motivations for self-harm and helping/rejecting responses. Vignettes were manipulated across conditions for stated motivation, controllability of stated cause, and presentation format. Results indicate that stated motivation for self-harm, controllability of stated cause, and presentation format affect perceived motivations. Further, participants demonstrate an understanding of the complex nature of self-harm, indicating an appreciation that an individual may hold multiple motivations simultaneously. Perceived motivations for self-harm are associated with the endorsement of helping/rejecting behaviors. These relationships are important to explore, given the critical importance of initial responses to self-harm on subsequent disclosures and help-seeking.

Intervening in the psychopath's brain.

PubMed

Glannon, Walter

2014-02-01

Psychopathy is a disorder involving personality and behavioral features associated with a high rate of violent aggression and recidivism. This paper explores potential psychopharmacological therapies to modulate dysfunctional neural pathways in psychopaths and reduce the incidence of their harmful behavior, as well as the ethical and legal implications of offering these therapies as an alternative to incarceration. It also considers whether forced psychopharmacological intervention in adults and children with psychopathic traits manifesting in violent behavior can be justified. More generally, the paper addresses the question of how to weigh the psychopath's presumptive right to non-interference in his brain and mind against the public interest in avoiding harm.

Target-specific stigma change: a strategy for impacting mental illness stigma.

PubMed

Corrigan, Patrick W

2004-01-01

In the past decade, mental health advocates and researchers have sought to better understand stigma so that the harm it causes can be erased. In this paper, we propose a target-specific stigma change model to organize the diversity of information into a cogent framework. "Target" here has a double meaning: the power groups that have some authority over the life goals of people with mental illness and specific discriminatory behaviors which power groups might produce that interfere with these goals. Key power groups in the model include landlords, employers, health care providers, criminal justice professionals, policy makers, and the media. Examples are provided of stigmatizing attitudes that influence the discriminatory behavior and social context in which the power group interacts with people with mental illness. Stigma change is most effective when it includes all the components that describe how a specific power group impacts people with mental illness.

Relationship between atorvastatin dose and the harm caused by torcetrapib.

PubMed

Barter, Philip J; Rye, Kerry-Anne; Beltangady, Mohan S; Ports, William C; Duggan, William T; Boekholdt, S Matthijs; DeMicco, David A; Kastelein, John J P; Shear, Charles L

2012-11-01

Development of the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitor, torcetrapib, was halted after the ILLUMINATE trial revealed an increase in both all-cause mortality (ACM) and major cardiovascular events (MCVEs) associated with its use. We now report that the harm caused by torcetrapib was confined to those in the 10 mg atorvastatin subgroup for both ACM [hazard ratio (HR) = 2.68, 95% CI (1.58, 4.54), P < 0.0001] and MCVEs [HR = 1.41, 95% CI (1.14, 1.74), P = 0.002], with no evidence of harm when torcetrapib was coadministered with higher doses of atorvastatin. In the atorvastatin 10 mg subgroup, age, prior heart failure and stroke were significantly associated with ACM, independent of torcetrapib treatment, whereas low apoA-I, smoking, hypertension, heart failure, myocardial infarction, and stroke were independently associated with MCVEs. After adjusting for these factors, the HR associated with torcetrapib treatment in the 10 mg atorvastatin subgroup remained elevated for both ACM [HR = 2.67, 95% CI (1.57, 4.54), P < 0.001] and MCVE [HR = 1.36, 95% CI (1.10, 1.69), P = 0.005]. Thus, the harm caused by torcetrapib was confined to individuals taking atorvastatin 10 mg. The harm could not be explained by torcetrapib-induced changes in lipid levels, blood pressure, or electrolytes. It is conceivable that higher doses of atorvastatin protected against the harm caused by torcetrapib.

Number needed to sacrifice: statistical taboo or decision-making tool?

PubMed

Trewby, Peter

2013-03-01

The percentage that benefit from medical preventive measures is small but all are exposed to the risk of side effects so most of those harmed would never benefit from their use. There is no expression or acronym to describe the ratio of harm to benefit nor discussion of what level of harm is acceptable for what benefit. Here we describe the harm to benefit ratio (HBR) expressed as number harmed (H) for 100 to benefit (B) and calculated for commonly used medical interventions. For post TIA carotid endarterectomy the HBR is 25 (25 postoperative strokes or deaths are caused for 100 to be stroke free at 5 years); warfarin in atrial fibrillation in patients aged under 65 results in 400 intracerebral haemorrhages for every 100 saved from a thromboembolic event; fibrinolytic treatment for stroke causes 44 symptomatic intracranial haemorrhages for every 100 that have minimal disability at 3 months; aspirin in high risk patients causes 33 major bleeds for every 100 occlusive vascular events prevented; routine inpatient thromboprophylaxis causes 133 additional bleeds for every 100 pulmonary emboli prevented; breast cancer screening causes 1000 unnecessary cancer treatments for 100 cancer deaths to be prevented. The HBR or number needed to sacrifice is larger than most imagine. Its wider use would allow us better to recognise the number harmed, allow better informed consent, compare different preventive strategies and understand the risks as well as benefits of preventive treatments.

Applied Use of Safety Event Occurrence Control Charts of Harm and Non-Harm Events: A Case Study.

PubMed

Robinson, Susan N; Neyens, David M; Diller, Thomas

Most hospitals use occurrence reporting systems that facilitate identifying serious events that lead to root cause investigations. Thus, the events catalyze improvement efforts to mitigate patient harm. A serious limitation is that only a few of the occurrences are investigated. A challenge is leveraging the data to generate knowledge. The goal is to present a methodology to supplement these incident assessment efforts. The framework affords an enhanced understanding of patient safety through the use of control charts to monitor non-harm and harm incidents simultaneously. This approach can identify harm and non-harm reporting rates and also can facilitate monitoring occurrence trends. This method also can expedite identifying changes in workflow, processes, or safety culture. Although unable to identify root causes, this approach can identify changes in near real time. This approach also supports evaluating safety or policy interventions that may not be observable in annual safety climate surveys.

Indicators: Wetland Vegetation (Introduced Species)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Introduced plants are indicators of the ecological integrity of waters and evidence of increased human-caused disturbance in the watershed. Introduced species that cause economic or environmental harm, or harm to human health, are called invasive species.

Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse

MedlinePlus

... their drinking causes distress and harm. It includes alcoholism and alcohol abuse. Alcoholism, or alcohol dependence, is a disease that causes ... the liver, brain, and other organs. Drinking during pregnancy can harm your baby. Alcohol also increases the ...

Collaborating with Parents in Using Effective Strategies to Reduce Children's Challenging Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fettig, Angel; Schultz, Tia R.; Ostrosky, Michaelene M.

2013-01-01

Challenging behavior is often a source of frustration for parents. Challenging behavior is defined as any behavior that interferes with children's learning and development, is harmful to children and to others, and puts a child at risk for later social problems or school failure (Bailey & Wolery, 1992; Kaiser & Rasminsky, 2003). Children's…

75 FR 76263 - Inmate Discipline Program/Special Housing Units: Subpart Revision and Clarification

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-08

... security or orderly running of the institution or the Bureau of Prisons most like another prohibited act in... harm to others; or those hazardous to institutional security or personal safety; e.g., hack-saw blade... Conduct which disrupts or interferes with the security or orderly running of the institution or the Bureau...

47 CFR 2.803 - Marketing of radio frequency devices prior to equipment authorization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... device that is in the conceptual, developmental, design or pre-production stage may be offered for sale...) The following notice is included with the kit: FCC NOTICE: This kit is designed to allow: (1) Product... stations and that this product accept harmful interference. Unless the assembled kit is designed to operate...

47 CFR 2.803 - Marketing of radio frequency products prior to equipment authorization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... device that is in the conceptual, developmental, design or pre-production stage may be offered for sale...) The following notice is included with the kit: FCC NOTICE: This kit is designed to allow: (1) Product... stations and that this product accept harmful interference. Unless the assembled kit is designed to operate...

Mobile communication devices causing interference in invasive and noninvasive ventilators.

PubMed

Dang, Bao P; Nel, Pierre R; Gjevre, John A

2007-06-01

The aim of this study was to assess if common mobile communication systems would cause significant interference on mechanical ventilation devices and at what distances would such interference occur. We tested all the invasive and noninvasive ventilatory devices used within our region. This consisted of 2 adult mechanical ventilators, 1 portable ventilator, 2 pediatric ventilators, and 2 noninvasive positive pressure ventilatory devices. We operated the mobile devices from the 2 cellular communication systems (digital) and 1 2-way radio system used in our province at varying distances from the ventilators and looked at any interference they created. We tested the 2-way radio system, which had a fixed operation power output of 3.0 watts, the Global Systems for Mobile Communication cellular system, which had a maximum power output of 2.0 watts and the Time Division Multiple Access cellular system, which had a maximum power output of 0.2 watts on our ventilators. The ventilators were ventilating a plastic lung at fixed settings. The mobile communication devices were tested at varying distances starting at zero meter from the ventilator and in all operation modes. The 2-way radio caused the most interference on some of the ventilators, but the maximum distance of interference was 1.0 m. The Global Systems for Mobile Communication system caused significant interference only at 0 m and minor interference at 0.5 m on only 1 ventilator. The Time Division Multiple Access system caused no interference at all. Significant interference consisted of a dramatic rise and fluctuation of the respiratory rate, pressure, and positive end-expiratory pressure of the ventilators with no normalization when the mobile device was removed. From our experiment on our ventilators with the communication systems used in our province, we conclude that mobile communication devices such as cellular phones and 2-way radios are safe and cause no interference unless operated at very close distances of less than 1 meter.

The harms of prostitution: critiquing Moen's argument of no-harm.

PubMed

Westin, Anna

2014-02-01

In this short critical analysis, the author examines the recent argument by Moen in his article 'Is Prostitution Harmful?' In highlighting why prostitution does not cause harm to either member involved in the act, Moen argues that prostitution is not an ethical concern. However, while Moen is able to clearly challenge contemporary objections to prostitution, the author of this review will suggest that Moen's argument is itself incomplete as it does not address essential key ontological issues. This critical analysis will briefly suggest why this omission weakens Moen's argument. Finally, it will conclude with examining why prostitution differs substantially from other professions through the type of harm that it causes to the moral agents involved.

Developing and Evaluating an Automated All-Cause Harm Trigger System.

PubMed

Sammer, Christine; Miller, Susanne; Jones, Cason; Nelson, Antoinette; Garrett, Paul; Classen, David; Stockwell, David

2017-04-01

From 2009 through 2012, the Adventist Health System Patient Safety Organization (AHS PSO) used the Global Trigger Tool method for harm identification and demonstrated harm reduction. Although the awareness of harm demonstrated opportunities for improvement across the system, leaders determined that the human and fiscal resources required to continue with a retrospective manual harm identification process were unsustainable. In addition, there was growing concern that the identification of harm after the patient's discharge did not allow for intervention during the hospital stay. Therefore, the AHS PSO decided to seek an alternative method for patient harm identification. The AHS PSO and another PSO jointly developed a novel automated all-cause harm trigger identification system that allowed for real-time bedside intervention, real-time trend analysis affecting patient safety, and continued learning about harm measurement. A sociotechnical approach of people, process, and technology was used at two pilot hospitals sharing the same electronic health record platform. Automated positive harm triggers and work-flow models were developed and evaluated. Combined data from the two hospitals in a period of 11 consecutive months indicated (1) a total of 2,696 harms (combined hospital-acquired and outside-acquired); (2) that hypoglycemia (blood glucose ≤ 40 mg/dL) was the most frequently identified harm; (3) 256 harms related to the Patient Safety Indicator 90 (PSI 90) Composite descriptions versus 77 harms reported to regulatory harm reduction programs; and (4) that almost one third (32%) of total harms were classified as outside-acquired. The automated harm trigger system revealed not only more harm but a broader scope of harm and led to a deeper understanding of patient safety vulnerabilities. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

AANA Journal Course: update for nurse anesthetists. Arrhythmia management devices and electromagnetic interference.

PubMed

Mattingly, Emily

2005-04-01

The technological complexity of implantable arrhythmia management devices, specifically pacemakers and defibrillators, has increased dramatically since their introduction only a few decades ago. Patients with such devices are encountered much more frequently in hospitals and surgery centers, yet anesthesia provider knowledge of safe and proper management is often incomplete. Anesthesia textbooks and references may provide only short paragraphs on arrhythmia management devices that do not address important perioperative management strategies for this ever-growing patient population. It is no longer satisfactory to simply place a magnet over an implanted device during surgery and assume that this action protects the patient from harm due to electromagnetic interference from inappropriate device function. This AANA Journal course serves as a concise review of basic device function, the sources and effects of electromagnetic interference in the operative setting, and patient management recommendations from current literature.

A Novel Complex-Coefficient In-Band Interference Suppression Algorithm for Cognitive Ultra-Wide Band Wireless Sensors Networks.

PubMed

Xiong, Hailiang; Zhang, Wensheng; Xu, Hongji; Du, Zhengfeng; Tang, Huaibin; Li, Jing

2017-05-25

With the rapid development of wireless communication systems and electronic techniques, the limited frequency spectrum resources are shared with various wireless devices, leading to a crowded and challenging coexistence circumstance. Cognitive radio (CR) and ultra-wide band (UWB), as sophisticated wireless techniques, have been considered as significant solutions to solve the harmonious coexistence issues. UWB wireless sensors can share the spectrum with primary user (PU) systems without harmful interference. The in-band interference of UWB systems should be considered because such interference can severely affect the transmissions of UWB wireless systems. In order to solve the in-band interference issues for UWB wireless sensor networks (WSN), a novel in-band narrow band interferences (NBIs) elimination scheme is proposed in this paper. The proposed narrow band interferences suppression scheme is based on a novel complex-coefficient adaptive notch filter unit with a single constrained zero-pole pair. Moreover, in order to reduce the computation complexity of the proposed scheme, an adaptive complex-coefficient iterative method based on two-order Taylor series is designed. To cope with multiple narrow band interferences, a linear cascaded high order adaptive filter and a cyclic cascaded high order matrix adaptive filter (CCHOMAF) interference suppression algorithm based on the basic adaptive notch filter unit are also presented. The theoretical analysis and numerical simulation results indicate that the proposed CCHOMAF algorithm can achieve better performance in terms of average bit error rate for UWB WSNs. The proposed in-band NBIs elimination scheme can significantly improve the reception performance of low-cost and low-power UWB wireless systems.

A Novel Complex-Coefficient In-Band Interference Suppression Algorithm for Cognitive Ultra-Wide Band Wireless Sensors Networks

PubMed Central

Xiong, Hailiang; Zhang, Wensheng; Xu, Hongji; Du, Zhengfeng; Tang, Huaibin; Li, Jing

2017-01-01

With the rapid development of wireless communication systems and electronic techniques, the limited frequency spectrum resources are shared with various wireless devices, leading to a crowded and challenging coexistence circumstance. Cognitive radio (CR) and ultra-wide band (UWB), as sophisticated wireless techniques, have been considered as significant solutions to solve the harmonious coexistence issues. UWB wireless sensors can share the spectrum with primary user (PU) systems without harmful interference. The in-band interference of UWB systems should be considered because such interference can severely affect the transmissions of UWB wireless systems. In order to solve the in-band interference issues for UWB wireless sensor networks (WSN), a novel in-band narrow band interferences (NBIs) elimination scheme is proposed in this paper. The proposed narrow band interferences suppression scheme is based on a novel complex-coefficient adaptive notch filter unit with a single constrained zero-pole pair. Moreover, in order to reduce the computation complexity of the proposed scheme, an adaptive complex-coefficient iterative method based on two-order Taylor series is designed. To cope with multiple narrow band interferences, a linear cascaded high order adaptive filter and a cyclic cascaded high order matrix adaptive filter (CCHOMAF) interference suppression algorithm based on the basic adaptive notch filter unit are also presented. The theoretical analysis and numerical simulation results indicate that the proposed CCHOMAF algorithm can achieve better performance in terms of average bit error rate for UWB WSNs. The proposed in-band NBIs elimination scheme can significantly improve the reception performance of low-cost and low-power UWB wireless systems. PMID:28587085

Duty to warn of genetic harm in breach of patient confidentiality.

PubMed

Keeling, Sharon L

2004-11-01

Harm caused by the failure of health professionals to warn an at-risk genetic relative of her or his risk is genetic harm. Genetic harm should be approached using the usual principles of negligence. When these principles are applied, it is shown that (a) genetic harm is foreseeable; (b) the salient features of vulnerability, the health professional's knowledge of the risk to the genetic relative and the determinancy of the affected class and individual result in a duty of care being owed to the genetic relative; (c) the standard of care required to fulfil the duty to warn should be the expectations of a reasonable person in the position of the relative; and (d) causation is satisfied as the harm is caused by the failure of intervention of the health professional. Legislation enacted subsequent to the Report of the Commonwealth of Australia, Panel of Eminent Persons (Chair D Ipp), Review of the Law of Negligence Report (2002) and relevant to a duty to warn of genetic harm is considered. The modes of regulation and penalties for breach of any future duty to warn of genetic harm are considered.

Interference susceptibility measurements for an MSK satellite communication link

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kerczewski, Robert J.; Fujikawa, Gene

1992-01-01

The results are presented of measurements of the degradation of an MSK satellite link due to modulated and CW (unmodulated) interference. These measurements were made using a hardware based satellite communication link simulator at NASA-Lewis. The results indicate the amount of bit error rate degradation caused by CW interference as a function of frequency and power level, and the degradation caused by adjacent channel and cochannel modulated interference as a function of interference power level. Results were obtained for both the uplink case (including satellite nonlinearity) and the downlink case (linear channel).

75 FR 64107 - Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Significant Narcotics Traffickers Centered...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-18

..., corruption, and harm such actions cause in the United States and abroad. Because the actions of significant... economy of the United States and cause an extreme level of violence, corruption, and harm in the United...

[Clarifying the implementation of nursing care systematization].

PubMed

Hermida, Patricia Madalena Vieira

2004-01-01

This study has reviewed the national literature regarding nursing assistance systematization (NAS), with the aim of identifying the difficulties implementing this practice and the factors that interfere with and harm its implementation. The MEDLINE, LILACS, and BDENF databases have been utilized and six studies published in nursing periodicals in the last five years have been surveyed. The results indicate several difficulties implementing the NAS and several factors that interfere negatively with its implementation. Considering the importance of this assistance methodology for valuing professional nursing, it is necessary to reflect on/discuss its practical difficulties so that we can overcome them, making it a pleasurable activity capable of providing nurses with autonomy and providing patients with quality assistance.

Validation of the Short Gambling Harm Screen (SGHS): A Tool for Assessment of Harms from Gambling.

PubMed

Browne, Matthew; Goodwin, Belinda C; Rockloff, Matthew J

2018-06-01

It is common for jurisdictions tasked with minimising gambling-related harm to conduct problem gambling prevalence studies for the purpose of monitoring the impact of gambling on the community. However, given that both public health theory and empirical findings suggest that harms can occur without individuals satisfying clinical criteria of addiction, there is a recognized conceptual disconnect between the prevalence of clinical problem gamblers, and aggregate harm to the community. Starting with an initial item pool of 72 specific harms caused by problematic gambling, our aim was to develop a short gambling harms scale (SGHS) to screen for the presence and degree of harm caused by gambling. An Internet panel of 1524 individuals who had gambled in the last year completed a 72-item checklist, along with the Personal Wellbeing Index, the PGSI, and other measures. We selected 10 items for the SGHS, with the goals of maximising sensitivity and construct coverage. Psychometric analysis suggests very strong reliability, homogeneity and unidimensionality. Non-zero responses on the SGHS were associated with a large decrease in personal wellbeing, with wellbeing decreasing linearly with the number of harms indicated. We conclude that weighted SGHS scores can be aggregated at the population level to yield a sensitive and valid measure of gambling harm.

Direct to consumer genetic testing and the libertarian right to test.

PubMed

Bonython, Wendy Elizabeth; Arnold, Bruce Baer

2017-08-20

Loi recently proposed a libertarian right to direct to consumer genetic testing (DTCGT)- independent of autonomy or utility-reflecting Cohen's work on self-ownership and Hohfeld's model of jural relations. Cohen's model of libertarianism dealt principally with self-ownership of the physical body. Although Loi adequately accounts for the physical properties of DNA, DNA is also an informational substrate, highly conserved within families. Information about the genome of relatives of the person undergoing testing may be extrapolated without requiring direct engagement with their personal physical copy of the genome, triggering rights and interests of relatives that may differ from the rights and interests of others, that is, individual consumers, testing providers and regulators. Loi argued that regulatory interference with exercise of the right required justification, whereas prima facie exercise of the right did not. Justification of regulatory interference could include 'conflict with other people's rights', 'aggressive' use of the genome and 'harming others'. Harms potentially experienced by relatives as a result of the individual's exercise of a right to test include breach of genetic privacy, violation of their right to determine when, and if, they undertake genetic testing and discrimination. Such harms may justify regulatory intervention, in the event they are recognised; motives driving 'aggressive' use of the genome may also be relevant. Each of the above criteria requires clarification, as potential redundancies and tensions exist between them, with different implications affecting different groups of rights holders. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Length Is Associated with Pain: Jellyfish with Painful Sting Have Longer Nematocyst Tubules than Harmless Jellyfish.

PubMed

Kitatani, Ryuju; Yamada, Mayu; Kamio, Michiya; Nagai, Hiroshi

2015-01-01

A large number of humans are stung by jellyfish all over the world. The stings cause acute pain followed by persistent pain and local inflammation. Harmful jellyfish species typically cause strong pain, whereas harmless jellyfish cause subtle or no pain. Jellyfish sting humans by injecting a tubule, contained in the nematocyst, the stinging organ of jellyfish. The tubule penetrates into the skin leading to venom injection. The detailed morphology of the nematocyst tubule and molecular structure of the venom in the nematocyst has been reported; however, the mechanism responsible for the difference in pain that is caused by harmful and harmless jellyfish sting has not yet been explored or explained. Therefore, we hypothesized that differences in the length of the nematocyst tubule leads to different degrees of epithelial damage. The initial acute pain might be generated by penetration of the tubule, which stimulates pain receptor neurons, whilst persistent pain might be caused by injection of venom into the epithelium. To test this hypothesis we compared the lengths of discharged nematocyst tubules from harmful and harmless jellyfish species and evaluated their ability to penetrate human skin. The results showed that the harmful jellyfish species, Chrysaora pacifica, Carybdea brevipedalia, and Chironex yamaguchii, causing moderate to severe pain, have nematocyst tubules longer than 200 μm, compared with a jellyfish species that cause little or no pain, Aurelia aurita. The majority of the tubules of harmful jellyfishes, C. yamaguchii and C. brevipedalia, were sufficiently long to penetrate the human epidermis and physically stimulate the free nerve endings of Aδ pain receptor fibers around plexuses to cause acute pain and inject the venom into the human skin epithelium to cause persistent pain and inflammation.

Please Don't Eat the Daisies (A Guide to Harmful Plants).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manor, C. Robert

1982-01-01

Reviews common wild, cultivated, and household plants which may be harmful to humans by causing allergic reactions, dermatitis, physical injury, or internal poisoning. Includes brief descriptions of plants, their potential harm, and some illustrations. (DC)

Trojan Horse Strategy for Non-invasive Interference of Clock Gene in the Oyster Crassostrea gigas.

PubMed

Payton, Laura; Perrigault, Mickael; Bourdineaud, Jean-Paul; Marcel, Anjara; Massabuau, Jean-Charles; Tran, Damien

2017-08-01

RNA interference is a powerful method to inhibit specific gene expression. Recently, silencing target genes by feeding has been successfully carried out in nematodes, insects, and small aquatic organisms. A non-invasive feeding-based RNA interference is reported here for the first time in a mollusk bivalve, the pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. In this Trojan horse strategy, the unicellular alga Heterocapsa triquetra is the food supply used as a vector to feed oysters with Escherichia coli strain HT115 engineered to express the double-stranded RNA targeting gene. To test the efficacy of the method, the Clock gene, a central gene of the circadian clock, was targeted for knockout. Results demonstrated specific and systemic efficiency of the Trojan horse strategy in reducing Clock mRNA abundance. Consequences of Clock disruption were observed in Clock-related genes (Bmal, Tim1, Per, Cry1, Cry2, Rev.-erb, and Ror) and triploid oysters were more sensitive than diploid to the interference. This non-invasive approach shows an involvement of the circadian clock in oyster bioaccumulation of toxins produced by the harmful alga Alexandrium minutum.

76 FR 50124 - Safety Zones; August and September Fireworks and Swimming Events in Captain of the Port Boston Zone

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-12

... boat collisions with swimmers in the water that may cause death or serious bodily harm) and by... of fireworks and debris falling into the water that may cause death or serious bodily harm). During... issue a rule without prior notice and opportunity to comment when the agency for good cause finds that...

47 CFR 27.64 - Protection from interference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... is being caused, it may, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, require modifications to any... provided against interference caused by tropospheric and ionospheric propagation of signals. ...

47 CFR 27.64 - Protection from interference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... is being caused, it may, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, require modifications to any... provided against interference caused by tropospheric and ionospheric propagation of signals. ...

47 CFR 27.64 - Protection from interference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... is being caused, it may, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, require modifications to any... provided against interference caused by tropospheric and ionospheric propagation of signals. ...

Why restrictions on the immigration of health workers are unjust.

PubMed

Hidalgo, Javier

2014-12-01

Some bioethicists and political philosophers argue that rich states should restrict the immigration of health workers from poor countries in order to prevent harm to people in these countries. In this essay, I argue that restrictions on the immigration of health workers are unjust, even if this immigration results in bad health outcomes for people in poor countries. I contend that negative duties to refrain from interfering with the occupational liberties of health workers outweighs rich states' positive duties to prevent harm to people in sending countries. Furthermore, I defend this claim against the objection that health workers in poor countries acquire special duties to their compatriots that render them liable to coercive interference. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

An energy ratio feature extraction method for optical fiber vibration signal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheng, Zhiyong; Zhang, Xinyan; Wang, Yanping; Hou, Weiming; Yang, Dan

2018-03-01

The intrusion events in the optical fiber pre-warning system (OFPS) are divided into two types which are harmful intrusion event and harmless interference event. At present, the signal feature extraction methods of these two types of events are usually designed from the view of the time domain. However, the differences of time-domain characteristics for different harmful intrusion events are not obvious, which cannot reflect the diversity of them in detail. We find that the spectrum distribution of different intrusion signals has obvious differences. For this reason, the intrusion signal is transformed into the frequency domain. In this paper, an energy ratio feature extraction method of harmful intrusion event is drawn on. Firstly, the intrusion signals are pre-processed and the power spectral density (PSD) is calculated. Then, the energy ratio of different frequency bands is calculated, and the corresponding feature vector of each type of intrusion event is further formed. The linear discriminant analysis (LDA) classifier is used to identify the harmful intrusion events in the paper. Experimental results show that the algorithm improves the recognition rate of the intrusion signal, and further verifies the feasibility and validity of the algorithm.

The Precautionary Principle and the Tolerability of Blood Transfusion Risks.

PubMed

Kramer, Koen; Zaaijer, Hans L; Verweij, Marcel F

2017-03-01

Tolerance for blood transfusion risks is very low, as evidenced by the implementation of expensive blood tests and the rejection of gay men as blood donors. Is this low risk tolerance supported by the precautionary principle, as defenders of such policies claim? We discuss three constraints on applying (any version of) the precautionary principle and show that respecting these implies tolerating certain risks. Consistency means that the precautionary principle cannot prescribe precautions that it must simultaneously forbid taking, considering the harms they might cause. Avoiding counterproductivity requires rejecting precautions that cause more harm than they prevent. Proportionality forbids taking precautions that are more harmful than adequate alternatives. When applying these constraints, we argue, attention should not be restricted to harms that are human caused or that affect human health or the environment. Tolerating transfusion risks can be justified if available precautions have serious side effects, such as high social or economic costs.

Toward patient-centered cancer care: patient perceptions of problematic events, impact, and response.

PubMed

Mazor, Kathleen M; Roblin, Douglas W; Greene, Sarah M; Lemay, Celeste A; Firneno, Cassandra L; Calvi, Josephine; Prouty, Carolyn D; Horner, Kathryn; Gallagher, Thomas H

2012-05-20

Cancer treatments are complex, involving multiple clinicians, toxic therapies, and uncertain outcomes. Consequently, patients are vulnerable when breakdowns in care occur. This study explored cancer patients' perceptions of preventable, harmful events; the impact of these events; and interactions with clinicians after such events. In-depth telephone interviews were conducted with cancer patients from three clinical sites. Patients were eligible if they believed: something "went wrong" during their cancer care; the event could have been prevented; and the event caused, or could have caused, significant harm. Interviews focused on patients' perceptions of the event, its impact, and clinicians' responses to the event. Ninety-three of 416 patients queried believed something had gone wrong in their care that was preventable and caused or could have caused harm. Seventy-eight patients completed interviews. Of those interviewed, 28% described a problem with medical care, such as a delay in diagnosis or treatment; 47% described a communication problem, including problems with information exchange or manner; and 24% described problems with both medical care and communication. Perceived harms included physical and emotional harm, disruption of life, effect on family members, damaged physician-patient relationship, and financial expense. Few clinicians initiated discussion of the problematic events. Most patients did not formally report their concerns. Cancer patients who believe they experienced a preventable, harmful event during their cancer diagnosis or care often do not formally report their concerns. Systems are needed to encourage patients to report such events and to help physicians and health care systems respond effectively.

Electromagnetic interference with pacemakers caused by portable media players.

PubMed

Thaker, Jay P; Patel, Mehul B; Jongnarangsin, Krit; Liepa, Valdis V; Thakur, Ranjan K

2008-04-01

Electromagnetic fields generated by electrical devices may cause interference with permanent pacemakers. Media players are becoming a common mode of portable entertainment. The most common media players used worldwide are iPods. These devices are often carried in a shirt chest pocket, which may place the devices close to an implanted pacemaker. The purpose of this study was to determine if iPods cause interference with pacemakers. In this prospective, single-blinded study, 100 patients who had cardiac pacemakers were tested with four types of iPods to assess for interference. Patients were monitored by a single-channel ECG monitor as well as the respective pacemaker programmer via the telemetry wand. iPods were tested by placing them 2 inches anterior to the pacemaker and wand for up to 10 seconds. To simulate actual use, standard-issue headphones were plugged into the iPods. To maintain consistency, the volume was turned up maximally, and the equalizer was turned off. A subset of 25 patients underwent testing on 2 separate days to assess for reproducibility of interference. Pacemaker interference was categorized as type I or type II telemetry interference. Type I interference was associated with atrial and/or ventricular high rates on rate histograms. Type II interference did not affect pacemaker rate counters. Electromagnetic emissions from the four iPods also were evaluated in a Faraday cage to determine the mechanism of the observed interference. One hundred patients (63 men and 37 women; mean age 77.1 +/- 7.6 years) with 11 single-chamber pacemakers and 89 dual-chamber pacemakers underwent 800 tests. The incidence of any type of interference was 51% of patients and 20% of tests. Type I interference was seen in 19% of patients and type II in 32% of patients. Reproducibility testing confirmed that interference occurred regardless of pacing configuration (unipolar or bipolar), pacing mode (AAI, VVI, or DDD), and from one day to the next. Electromagnetic emissions testing from the iPods demonstrated maximum emissions in the pacemaker carrier frequency range when the iPod was turned "on" with the headphones attached. iPods placed within 2 inches of implanted pacemakers monitored via the telemetry wand can cause interference with pacemakers.

HEALTH AND ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS: RISK ASSESSMENT NEEDS

EPA Science Inventory

The symposium session, Indicators for Effects and Predictions of Harmful Algal Blooms, explored the current state of indicators used to assess the human health and ecological risks caused by harmful algal blooms, and highlighted future needs and impediments that must be overcome...

The neural basis of the interaction between theory of mind and moral judgment

PubMed Central

Young, Liane; Cushman, Fiery; Hauser, Marc; Saxe, Rebecca

2007-01-01

Is the basis of criminality an act that causes harm, or an act undertaken with the belief that one will cause harm? The present study takes a cognitive neuroscience approach to investigating how information about an agent's beliefs and an action's consequences contribute to moral judgment. We build on prior developmental evidence showing that these factors contribute differentially to the young child's moral judgments coupled with neurobiological evidence suggesting a role for the right temporoparietal junction (RTPJ) in belief attribution. Participants read vignettes in a 2 × 2 design: protagonists produced either a negative or neutral outcome based on the belief that they were causing the negative outcome (“negative” belief) or the neutral outcome (“neutral” belief). The RTPJ showed significant activation above baseline for all four conditions but was modulated by an interaction between belief and outcome. Specifically, the RTPJ response was highest for cases of attempted harm, where protagonists were condemned for actions that they believed would cause harm to others, even though the harm did not occur. The results not only suggest a general role for belief attribution during moral judgment, but also add detail to our understanding of the interaction between these processes at both the neural and behavioral levels. PMID:17485679

A distributed scheme to manage the dynamic coexistence of IEEE 802.15.4-based health-monitoring WBANs.

PubMed

Deylami, Mohammad N; Jovanov, Emil

2014-01-01

The overlap of transmission ranges between wireless networks as a result of mobility is referred to as dynamic coexistence. The interference caused by coexistence may significantly affect the performance of wireless body area networks (WBANs) where reliability is particularly critical for health monitoring applications. In this paper, we analytically study the effects of dynamic coexistence on the operation of IEEE 802.15.4-based health monitoring WBANs. The current IEEE 802.15.4 standard lacks mechanisms for effectively managing the coexistence of mobile WBANs. Considering the specific characteristics and requirements of health monitoring WBANs, we propose the dynamic coexistence management (DCM) mechanism to make IEEE 802.15.4-based WBANs able to detect and mitigate the harmful effects of coexistence. We assess the effectiveness of this scheme using extensive OPNET simulations. Our results indicate that DCM improves the successful transmission rates of dynamically coexisting WBANs by 20%-25% for typical medical monitoring applications.

Performance weight sensor using graded index optical fiber on static test with UTM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khamimatul Ula, R.; Hanto, Dwi

2017-05-01

Overloading the vehicle on a highway cause the damage to roads, accidents and harm other road users. Required a weight sensor has a high sensitivity, resistant to corrosion and electromagnetic wave interference. Graded index optical fiber is a kind of fiber that has the potential to be used as a deformation sensor. This research aims to optimize the load sensor has been developed previously to detect a load on a ton scale. The weight sensor-based micro bending graded index fiber and LED as a light source capable of detecting a load from 0.7 to 1.93 tons with a standard deviation of 1.18 and 99.45% accuracy level in a static text using UTM. This sensor has been able to be used to detect heavy vehicles such as water truck wheels 6 and fuel trucks. The study will be further developed in order to detect the load to more than 8 tons.

In vivo ROS and redox potential fluorescent detection in plants: Present approaches and future perspectives.

PubMed

Ortega-Villasante, Cristina; Burén, Stefan; Barón-Sola, Ángel; Martínez, Flor; Hernández, Luis E

2016-10-15

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are metabolic by-products in aerobic organisms including plants. Endogenously produced ROS act as cellular messengers and redox regulators involved in several plant biological processes, but excessive accumulation of ROS cause oxidative stress and cell damage. Understanding ROS signalling and stress responses requires precise imaging and quantification of local, subcellular and global ROS dynamics with high selectivity, sensitivity, and spatiotemporal resolution. Several fluorescent vital dyes have been tested so far, which helped to provide relevant spatially resolved information of oxidative stress dynamics in plants subjected to harmful environmental conditions. However, certain plant characteristics, such as high background fluorescence of plant tissues in vivo and antioxidant mechanisms, can interfere with ROS detection. The development of improved small-molecule fluorescent dyes and protein-based ROS sensors targeted to subcellular compartments will enable in vivo monitoring of ROS and redox changes in photosynthetic organisms. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Early Emergence of Guilt-Motivated Prosocial Behavior.

PubMed

Vaish, Amrisha; Carpenter, Malinda; Tomasello, Michael

2016-11-01

Guilt serves vital prosocial functions: It motivates transgressors to make amends, thus restoring damaged relationships. Previous developmental research on guilt has not clearly distinguished it from sympathy for a victim or a tendency to repair damage in general. The authors tested 2- and 3-year-old children (N = 62 and 64, respectively) in a 2 × 2 design, varying whether or not a mishap caused harm to someone and whether children themselves caused that mishap. Three-year-olds showed greatest reparative behavior when they had caused the mishap and it caused harm, thus showing a specific effect of guilt. Two-year-olds repaired more whenever harm was caused, no matter by whom, thus showing only an effect of sympathy. Guilt as a distinct motivator of prosocial behavior thus emerges by at least 3 years. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development © 2016 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

A World Health Organization field trial assessing a proposed ICD-11 framework for classifying patient safety events.

PubMed

Forster, Alan J; Bernard, Burnand; Drösler, Saskia E; Gurevich, Yana; Harrison, James; Januel, Jean-Marie; Romano, Patrick S; Southern, Danielle A; Sundararajan, Vijaya; Quan, Hude; Vanderloo, Saskia E; Pincus, Harold A; Ghali, William A

2017-08-01

To assess the utility of the proposed World Health Organization (WHO)'s International Classification of Disease (ICD) framework for classifying patient safety events. Independent classification of 45 clinical vignettes using a web-based platform. The WHO's multi-disciplinary Quality and Safety Topic Advisory Group. The framework consists of three concepts: harm, cause and mode. We defined a concept as 'classifiable' if more than half of the raters could assign an ICD-11 code for the case. We evaluated reasons why cases were nonclassifiable using a qualitative approach. Harm was classifiable in 31 of 45 cases (69%). Of these, only 20 could be classified according to cause and mode. Classifiable cases were those in which a clear cause and effect relationship existed (e.g. medication administration error). Nonclassifiable cases were those without clear causal attribution (e.g. pressure ulcer). Of the 14 cases in which harm was not evident (31%), only 5 could be classified according to cause and mode and represented potential adverse events. Overall, nine cases (20%) were nonclassifiable using the three-part patient safety framework and contained significant ambiguity in the relationship between healthcare outcome and putative cause. The proposed framework enabled classification of the majority of patient safety events. Cases in which potentially harmful events did not cause harm were not classifiable; additional code categories within the ICD-11 are one proposal to address this concern. Cases with ambiguity in cause and effect relationship between healthcare processes and outcomes remain difficult to classify. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press in association with the International Society for Quality in Health Care. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

49 CFR 1001.4 - Predisclosure notification procedures for confidential commercial information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause substantial competitive harm. (2) Submitter means any person... submitters. Except as provided in paragraph (g) of this section, the Board, to the extent permitted by law... disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to cause substantial competitive harm; or (2) The...

A Non-Mentalistic Cause-Based Heuristic in Human Social Evaluations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buon, Marine; Jacob, Pierre; Loissel, Elsa; Dupoux, Emmanuel

2013-01-01

In situations where an agent unintentionally causes harm to a victim, the agent's (harmless) intention typically carries "more" weight than his/her (harmful) causal role. Therefore, healthy adults typically judge leniently agents responsible for an accident. Using animated cartoons, we show, however, that in the presence of a difficult concurrent…

29 CFR 1610.19 - Predisclosure notification procedures for confidential commercial information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... competitive harm. (2) Submitter refers to any person or entity who provides confidential commercial... competitive harm to the submitter; (2) The information was submitted prior to January 1, 1988, the records are... which is likely to cause substantial harm to the submitter's competitive position. (e) Notice of intent...

High-Volume Repeaters of Self-Harm.

PubMed

Ness, Jennifer; Hawton, Keith; Bergen, Helen; Waters, Keith; Kapur, Navneet; Cooper, Jayne; Steeg, Sarah; Clarke, Martin

2016-11-01

Repetition of self-harm is common and is strongly associated with suicide. Despite this, there is limited research on high-volume repetition. To investigate individuals with high-volume repeat self-harm attendances to the emergency department (ED), including their patterns of attendance and mortality. Data from the Multicentre Study of Self-Harm in England were used. High-volume repetition was defined as ⩾15 attendances within 4 years. An attendance timeline was constructed for each high-volume repeater (HVR) and the different patterns of attendance were explored using an executive sorting task and hierarchical cluster analysis. A small proportion of self-harm patients are HVRs (0.6%) but they account for a large percentage of self-harm attendances (10%). In this study, the new methodological approach resulted in three types of attendance patterns. All of the HVRs had clusters of attendance and a greater proportion died from external causes compared with non-HVRs. The approach used in this study offers a new method for investigating this problem that could have both clinical and research benefits. The need for early intervention is highlighted by the large number of self-harm episodes per patient, the clustered nature of attendances, and the higher prevalence of death from external causes.

Harmful Algal Bloom Webinar

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The problem is complex. Excessive nitrogen and phosphorous levels can cause harmful algal blooms. Different algal/cyanobacteria strains bloom under different conditions. Different strains produce different toxins at varying amounts.

They're Here: A Coast-to-Coast Investigation of Invasive Species

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hogan, Tracy; Craven, John

2005-01-01

According to the National Invasive Species Council, an "invasive species" is defined as a species that is (1) nonnative (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration, and (2) whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. In this article, the authors describe an activity that can be…

33 CFR 154.1240 - Specific requirements for animal fats and vegetable oils facilities that could reasonably be...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... environment. 154.1240 Section 154.1240 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND... oils facilities that could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm to the environment. (a) The... expected to cause substantial harm to the environment, must submit a response plan that meets the...

33 CFR 154.1240 - Specific requirements for animal fats and vegetable oils facilities that could reasonably be...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... environment. 154.1240 Section 154.1240 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND... oils facilities that could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm to the environment. (a) The... expected to cause substantial harm to the environment, must submit a response plan that meets the...

33 CFR 154.1240 - Specific requirements for animal fats and vegetable oils facilities that could reasonably be...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... environment. 154.1240 Section 154.1240 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND... oils facilities that could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm to the environment. (a) The... expected to cause substantial harm to the environment, must submit a response plan that meets the...

33 CFR 154.1240 - Specific requirements for animal fats and vegetable oils facilities that could reasonably be...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... environment. 154.1240 Section 154.1240 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND... oils facilities that could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm to the environment. (a) The... expected to cause substantial harm to the environment, must submit a response plan that meets the...

Flexible and inflexible task sets: asymmetric interference when switching between emotional expression, sex, and age classification of perceived faces.

PubMed

Schuch, Stefanie; Werheid, Katja; Koch, Iring

2012-01-01

The present study investigated whether the processing characteristics of categorizing emotional facial expressions are different from those of categorizing facial age and sex information. Given that emotions change rapidly, it was hypothesized that processing facial expressions involves a more flexible task set that causes less between-task interference than the task sets involved in processing age or sex of a face. Participants switched between three tasks: categorizing a face as looking happy or angry (emotion task), young or old (age task), and male or female (sex task). Interference between tasks was measured by global interference and response interference. Both measures revealed patterns of asymmetric interference. Global between-task interference was reduced when a task was mixed with the emotion task. Response interference, as measured by congruency effects, was larger for the emotion task than for the nonemotional tasks. The results support the idea that processing emotional facial expression constitutes a more flexible task set that causes less interference (i.e., task-set "inertia") than processing the age or sex of a face.

75 FR 3355 - Guidelines and Requirements for Mandatory Recall Notices

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-21

... particular, several commenters are concerned about harm that could occur to business reputation based on the... recall. Finally, the Commission rejects the idea that a recall notice causes undue harm to business... the harm, the same level of detail may not be necessary for every recall to be helpful to consumers...

Harmful algal bloom smart device application: using image analysis and machine learning techniques for early classification of harmful algal blooms (SETAC presentation)

EPA Science Inventory

Reports of toxic cyanobacterial blooms, also known as Harmful Algal Blooms (HABS) have increased drastically in recent years. HABS impact human health from causing mild allergies to liver damage and death. The Ecological Stewardship Institute (ESI) at Northern Kentucky Universi...

Harmful Non-Indigenous Species in the United States.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Office of Technology Assessment.

Non-indigenous species (NIS) are common in the United States landscape. While some are beneficial, others are harmful and can cause significant economic, environmental, and health damage. This study, requested by the U.S. House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, examined State and Federal policies related to these harmful NIS. The report is…

Cruel to be kind but not cruel for cash: Harm aversion in the dictator game.

PubMed

Perera, Pri; Canic, Emina; Ludvig, Elliot A

2016-06-01

People regularly take prosocial actions, making individual sacrifices for the greater good. Similarly, people generally avoid causing harm to others. These twin desires to do good and avoid harm often align, but sometimes they can diverge, creating situations of moral conflict. Here, we examined this moral conflict using a modified dictator game. Participants chose how much money to allocate away from a recipient who was designated as an orphan, creating a sense of harm. This money was then reallocated to either the participant or a charity. People were strongly prosocial: they allocated more money away from the orphan for charity than for themselves. Furthermore, people left more money with the orphan when the harm was framed as a means (taking) than as a side effect (splitting). As is predicted by dual-process theories of moral decision making, response times were longer with the take action and were positively correlated with the amount taken from the orphan. We concluded that just as people take positive actions for the greater good, they are similarly more willing to cause harm when it benefits others rather than themselves.

Adverse Drug Events caused by Serious Medication Administration Errors

PubMed Central

Sawarkar, Abhivyakti; Keohane, Carol A.; Maviglia, Saverio; Gandhi, Tejal K; Poon, Eric G

2013-01-01

OBJECTIVE To determine how often serious or life-threatening medication administration errors with the potential to cause patient harm (or potential adverse drug events) result in actual patient harm (or adverse drug events (ADEs)) in the hospital setting. DESIGN Retrospective chart review of clinical events that transpired following observed medication administration errors. BACKGROUND Medication errors are common at the medication administration stage for hospitalized patients. While many of these errors are considered capable of causing patient harm, it is not clear how often patients are actually harmed by these errors. METHODS In a previous study where 14,041 medication administrations in an acute-care hospital were directly observed, investigators discovered 1271 medication administration errors, of which 133 had the potential to cause serious or life-threatening harm to patients and were considered serious or life-threatening potential ADEs. In the current study, clinical reviewers conducted detailed chart reviews of cases where a serious or life-threatening potential ADE occurred to determine if an actual ADE developed following the potential ADE. Reviewers further assessed the severity of the ADE and attribution to the administration error. RESULTS Ten (7.5% [95% C.I. 6.98, 8.01]) actual adverse drug events or ADEs resulted from the 133 serious and life-threatening potential ADEs, of which 6 resulted in significant, three in serious, and one life threatening injury. Therefore 4 (3% [95% C.I. 2.12, 3.6]) serious and life threatening potential ADEs led to serious or life threatening ADEs. Half of the ten actual ADEs were caused by dosage or monitoring errors for anti-hypertensives. The life threatening ADE was caused by an error that was both a transcription and a timing error. CONCLUSION Potential ADEs at the medication administration stage can cause serious patient harm. Given previous estimates of serious or life-threatening potential ADE of 1.33 per 100 medication doses administered, in a hospital where 6 million doses are administered per year, about 4000 preventable ADEs would be attributable to medication administration errors annually. PMID:22791691

Aroclor1254 interferes with estrogen receptor-mediated neuroprotection against beta-amyloid toxicity in cholinergic SN56 cells.

PubMed

Bang, Yeojin; Lim, Juhee; Kim, Sa Suk; Jeong, Hyung Min; Jung, Ki-Kyung; Kang, Il-Hyun; Lee, Kwang-Youl; Choi, Hyun Jin

2011-10-01

Because estrogen plays important neurotrophic and neuroprotective roles in the brain by activating estrogen receptors (ERs), disruption of normal estrogen signaling can leave neurons vulnerable to a variety of insults, including β-amyloid peptide (Aβ). Aroclor1254 (A1254) belongs to the endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) polychlorinated biphenyls and has anti-estrogenic properties. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of A1254 on the protective activity of estrogen against Aβ toxicity in differentiated cholinergic SN56 cells. Aged Aβ25-35 causes apoptotic cell death in differentiated SN56 cells, and the cytotoxic evidences are effectively rescued by estrogen. We found that A1254 abolishes the neuroprotective activity of estrogen against Aβ toxicity, and attenuates the suppressive effect of estrogen on Aβ-induced tau phosphorylation and JNK activation. The effects of A1254 on the neuroprotective effects of estrogen in Aβ toxicity are very similar to the effects of the estrogen receptor antagonist ICI182,780. Thus, exposure to EDCs that have anti-estrogenic activity might interfere with normal estrogen-activated neuroprotective signaling events and leave neurons more vulnerable to dangerous stimuli. Our present results provide new understanding of the mechanisms contributing to the harmful effects of EDCs on the function and viability of neurons, and the possible relevance of EDCs in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cooperative Interference Alignment for the Multiple Access Channel

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-11-01

Communications. I. INTRODUCTION Conventional wireless networks were previously thought to be interference-limited, where interference is mainly caused by...interference-free capacity for any number of users K at high SNR. This fundamental result showed that wireless networks are not interference-limited as...decoding of the K users’ messages. This is applicable in uplink transmissions in cellular communications, where mobiles transmit independent messages

The law (and politics) of safe injection facilities in the United States.

PubMed

Beletsky, Leo; Davis, Corey S; Anderson, Evan; Burris, Scott

2008-02-01

Safe injection facilities (SIFs) have shown promise in reducing harms and social costs associated with injection drug use. Favorable evaluations elsewhere have raised the issue of their implementation in the United States. Recognizing that laws shape health interventions targeting drug users, we analyzed the legal environment for publicly authorized SIFs in the United States. Although states and some municipalities have the power to authorize SIFs under state law, federal authorities could still interfere with these facilities under the Controlled Substances Act. A state- or locally-authorized SIF could proceed free of legal uncertainty only if federal authorities explicitly authorized it or decided not to interfere. Given legal uncertainty, and the similar experience with syringe exchange programs, we recommend a process of sustained health research, strategic advocacy, and political deliberation.

Reading Dilemmas in a Foreign Language Reduces Both Deontological and Utilitarian Response Tendencies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muda, Rafal; Niszczota, Pawel; Bialek, Michal; Conway, Paul

2018-01-01

Moral dilemmas entail deciding whether to cause harm to maximize overall outcomes, such as killing 1 person to save 5. Past work has demonstrated that people are more willing to accept causing such outcome-maximizing harm when they read dilemmas in a foreign language they speak rather than their native language. Presumably this effect is due to…

The OTA report on harmful nonindigenous species

Treesearch

Phyllis N. Windle

1998-01-01

At least 4,500 species of foreign origin have established free-living populations in the United States, of which about 15% cause severe economic or environmental harm. Between 1906 and 1991, just 79 species caused an estimated $97 billion in losses. Virtually every economic sector and area of the country is affected, with some of the biggest problems in the east....

Invasive plants in 21st Century landscapes.

Treesearch

Valerie Rapp

2005-01-01

A plant species is defined as invasive if it is nonnative to the ecosystem under consideration, and if it causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. Nonnative plant invasions are generally considered to have reached the Pacific Northwest in the mid-1800s with the arrival of European-American settlers. Invasive species such as...

Not Just Bad Actions: Affective Concern for Bad Outcomes Contributes to Moral Condemnation of Harm in Moral Dilemmas.

PubMed

Reynolds, Caleb J; Conway, Paul

2018-02-01

Moral dilemmas typically entail directly causing harm (said to violate deontological ethics) to maximize overall outcomes (said to uphold utilitarian ethics). The dual process model suggests harm-rejection judgments derive from affective reactions to harm, whereas harm-acceptance judgments derive from cognitive evaluations of outcomes. Recently, Miller, Hannikainen, and Cushman (2014) argued that harm-rejection judgments primarily reflect self-focused-rather than other-focused-emotional responses, because only action aversion (self-focused reactions to the thought of causing harm), not outcome aversion (other-focused reactions to witnessing suffering), consistently predicted dilemma responses. However, they assessed only conventional relative dilemma judgments that treat harm-rejection and outcome-maximization responses as diametric opposites. Instead, we employed process dissociation to assess these response inclinations independently. In two studies (N = 558), we replicated Miller and colleagues' findings for conventional relative judgments, but process dissociation revealed that outcome aversion positively predicted both deontological and utilitarian inclinations-which canceled out for relative judgments. Additionally, individual differences associated with affective processing-psychopathy and empathic concern-correlated with the deontology but not utilitarian parameter. Together, these findings suggest that genuine other-oriented moralized concern for others' well-being contribute to both utilitarian and deontological response tendencies, but these tendencies nonetheless draw upon different psychological processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

47 CFR 80.213 - Modulation requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... transmission period of 60 seconds followed by a minimum quiescent period four times the duration of the... designed to reduce interference caused by triggering from radar antenna sidelobes. (i) Variable frequency... using frequency agile techniques must include circuitry designed to reduce interference caused by...

Malfunction of medical equipment as a result of mains borne interference.

PubMed

Railton, R; Currie, G D; Corner, G A; Evans, A L

1993-08-01

Medical equipment has become more intelligent as the manufacturers have incorporated the latest microprocessor based technology. Equipment malfunction can be caused at any time by inherent errors in the control program but it is particularly important that this is designed to cope with the effects of electrical interference which, in addition, may cause corruption of the software. We have considered interference found in the mains supply in the hospital environment. Using a test protocol with appropriate interference simulators, a wide range of medical equipment was removed temporarily from use and its immunity to electrical mains borne interference tested. Battery operated mains rechargeable devices were unaffected by mains voltage variations including drop-outs and sags whereas mains powered devices were affected to varying degrees of severity. In particular, repetitive drop-outs caused loss of power due to fuse blowing in some life support equipment. Impulses affected 25% and pulse bursts 50% of the equipment tested with some evidence that the more recent designs coped better. The EEC Directive on electro-medical compatibility compliance may cause the design of equipment to be improved but hospitals will have to cope with the above problems in their existing equipment for many years to come.

Teen Violence

MedlinePlus

... slapping, or hitting Use of weapons such as guns or knives Some violent acts can cause more emotional harm than physical harm. Others can lead to serious injury or even death. An important risk factor for violence in teens ...

12 CFR 908.5 - Temporary cease and desist orders.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

..., is likely to cause insolvency, a significant depletion of total capital, or irreparable harm to a..., depletion, or harm pending completion of such proceedings. Such order may include any requirement authorized...

School Avoidance: Tips for Concerned Parents

MedlinePlus

... Threats of physical harm (as from a school bully) Actual physical harm Tips for Concerned Parents: As ... the classroom. If a problem like a school bully or an unreasonable teacher is the cause of ...

Careful Cheating: People Cheat Groups Rather than Individuals.

PubMed

Amir, Amitai; Kogut, Tehila; Bereby-Meyer, Yoella

2016-01-01

Cheating for material gain is a destructive phenomenon in any society. We examine the extent to which people care about the victims of their unethical behavior-be they a group of people or an individual-and whether they are sensitive to the degree of harm or cost that they cause to these victims. The results of three studies suggest that when a group (rather than a single individual) is the victim of one's behavior, the incidence of cheating increases only if the harm to the group is presented in global terms-such that the cheating might be justified by the relatively minor harm caused to each individual in the group (Studies #1 and #3). However, when the harm or cost to each individual in the group is made explicit, the tendency to cheat the group is no longer apparent and the tendency to cheat increases when the harm caused is minor-regardless of whether the victim is an individual or a group of people (Study #2). Individual differences in rational and intuitive thinking appear to play different roles in the decision to cheat different type of opponents: individual opponents seem to trigger the subject's intuitive thinking which restrains the urge to cheat, whereas groups of opponents seem to trigger the subject's rational mode of thinking which encourage cheating.

Careful Cheating: People Cheat Groups Rather than Individuals

PubMed Central

Amir, Amitai; Kogut, Tehila; Bereby-Meyer, Yoella

2016-01-01

Cheating for material gain is a destructive phenomenon in any society. We examine the extent to which people care about the victims of their unethical behavior—be they a group of people or an individual—and whether they are sensitive to the degree of harm or cost that they cause to these victims. The results of three studies suggest that when a group (rather than a single individual) is the victim of one’s behavior, the incidence of cheating increases only if the harm to the group is presented in global terms—such that the cheating might be justified by the relatively minor harm caused to each individual in the group (Studies #1 and #3). However, when the harm or cost to each individual in the group is made explicit, the tendency to cheat the group is no longer apparent and the tendency to cheat increases when the harm caused is minor—regardless of whether the victim is an individual or a group of people (Study #2). Individual differences in rational and intuitive thinking appear to play different roles in the decision to cheat different type of opponents: individual opponents seem to trigger the subject’s intuitive thinking which restrains the urge to cheat, whereas groups of opponents seem to trigger the subject’s rational mode of thinking which encourage cheating. PMID:27065898

Link Scheduling Algorithm with Interference Prediction for Multiple Mobile WBANs

PubMed Central

Le, Thien T. T.

2017-01-01

As wireless body area networks (WBANs) become a key element in electronic healthcare (e-healthcare) systems, the coexistence of multiple mobile WBANs is becoming an issue. The network performance is negatively affected by the unpredictable movement of the human body. In such an environment, inter-WBAN interference can be caused by the overlapping transmission range of nearby WBANs. We propose a link scheduling algorithm with interference prediction (LSIP) for multiple mobile WBANs, which allows multiple mobile WBANs to transmit at the same time without causing inter-WBAN interference. In the LSIP, a superframe includes the contention access phase using carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) and the scheduled phase using time division multiple access (TDMA) for non-interfering nodes and interfering nodes, respectively. For interference prediction, we define a parameter called interference duration as the duration during which disparate WBANs interfere with each other. The Bayesian model is used to estimate and classify the interference using a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) and the number of neighboring WBANs. The simulation results show that the proposed LSIP algorithm improves the packet delivery ratio and throughput significantly with acceptable delay. PMID:28956827

14 CFR 23.251 - Vibration and buffeting.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... interfere with the satisfactory control of the airplane or cause excessive fatigue to the flight crew. Stall... flight condition, including configuration changes during cruise, severe enough to interfere with the satisfactory control of the airplane or cause excessive fatigue to the flight crew. Stall warning buffeting...

Long-Term Interference Effect: An Alternative to "Learned Helplessness"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glazer, Howard I.; Weiss, Jay M.

1976-01-01

Presents three experiments that explore whether inescapable shock of long duration and moderate intensity (LoShk) produces an avoidance-escape deficit (called an interference effect) by causing animals to learn to respond less actively or by causing them to learn to be "helpless". (Editor)

Deliberate self-harm in adolescents

PubMed Central

Lauw, Michelle; How, Choon How; Loh, Cheryl

2015-01-01

Deliberate self-harm refers to an intentional act of causing physical injury to oneself without wanting to die. It is frequently encountered in adolescents who have mental health problems. Primary care physicians play an important role in the early detection and timely intervention of deliberate self-harm in adolescents. This article aims to outline the associated risk factors and possible aetiologies of deliberate self-harm in adolescents, as well as provide suggestions for clinical assessment and appropriate management within the primary care setting. PMID:26106236

Absence of Interference in Association with Gene Conversion in SORDARIA FIMICOLA, and Presence of Interference in Association with Ordinary Recombination

PubMed Central

Kitani, Y.

1978-01-01

From the analysis of large samples of gene conversion asci in the g locus of Sordaria fimicola, it was found that neither the conversion event itself nor conversion-associated recombination of flanking markers cause either chiasma or chromatid interference with crossing over in a neighboring interval. The presence of more than one kind of crossover event, one causing interference the other not, is considered. The existence of two kinds of gene loci, one of single-cistron composition and the other of multiple-cistron composition, is discussed in relation to reciprocal recombination within a locus. PMID:17176535

Absence of interference in association with gene conversion in Sordaria fimicola, and presence of interference in association with ordinary recombination.

PubMed

Kitani, Y

1978-07-01

From the analysis of large samples of gene conversion asci in the g locus of Sordaria fimicola, it was found that neither the conversion event itself nor conversion-associated recombination of flanking markers cause either chiasma or chromatid interference with crossing over in a neighboring interval. The presence of more than one kind of crossover event, one causing interference the other not, is considered. The existence of two kinds of gene loci, one of single-cistron composition and the other of multiple-cistron composition, is discussed in relation to reciprocal recombination within a locus.

Media Tort Liability for Physical Harm: Problems in Legal Duty and Cause.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drechsel, Robert

Although the media has long been familiar with the tort law of libel and invasion of privacy, they may not be aware that the law of torts reaches more broadly. This paper examines legal developments in cases where actions of the media are alleged either to have caused the plaintiff to do something resulting in physical harm or financial loss, or…

Trends in Self-Harm in Kuala Lumpur, 2005-2011.

PubMed

Armitage, Christopher J; Abdul Rahim, Wirda; Rowe, Richard; O'Connor, Rory C

2016-01-01

Acts of self-harm are not routinely tracked in Malaysia. The present study investigates the prevalence of self-harm in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, over a 7-year period. The aims were to: (a) assess the prevalence of self-harm; (b) examine any changes over a period of 7 years, and (c) identify correlates of methods of self-harm. Data were extracted from the hospital records of Kuala Lumpur Hospital to review trends in self-harm between 2005 and 2011. There were 918 episodes of self-harm across the 7-year period, with a significant peak in 2007-2009. The average rate of self-harm (7.7 per 100,000 population per year) was similar or lower than the rate of suicide (6-8 or 8-13 per 100,000) suggesting that genuine cases of self-harm are often attributed to other causes. Nevertheless, over-representation of young people, women and Indians suggest areas in which resources to prevent self-harm might usefully be targeted. Estimating rates of self-harm are fraught with problems and further research is needed to understand the economic and cultural barriers around seeking treatment for self-harm, reporting self-harm and classifying self-harm.

Understanding self-harm in victims of intimate partner violence: a qualitative analysis of calls made by victims to a crisis hotline in China.

PubMed

Wong, Susan P Y; Wang, Cuiling; Meng, Mei; Phillips, Michael R

2011-04-01

Text analysis of the transcripts of 26 calls made to a Chinese crisis hotline by victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) reporting thoughts or acts of self-harm abstracted information on victims' patterns of self-harm and the relationship of their self-harm to IPV. Specific violent episodes often triggered self-harm. Victims considered self-harm a method for airing painful emotions caused by abuse or as a last resort to escape by dying when they saw no other options and were no longer able to endure the violence. We also elaborate on callers' discussions of barriers to accessing support, sociocultural pressures to preserve "face" and family, and restrictive gender roles that contribute to their self-harm behaviors.

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of policies and programmes to reduce the harm caused by alcohol.

PubMed

Anderson, Peter; Chisholm, Dan; Fuhr, Daniela C

2009-06-27

This paper reviews the evidence for the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of policies and programmes to reduce the harm caused by alcohol, in the areas of education and information, the health sector, community action, driving while under the influence of alcohol (drink-driving), availability, marketing, pricing, harm reduction, and illegally and informally produced alcohol. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses show that policies regulating the environment in which alcohol is marketed (particularly its price and availability) are effective in reducing alcohol-related harm. Enforced legislative measures to reduce drink-driving and individually directed interventions to already at-risk drinkers are also effective. However, school-based education does not reduce alcohol-related harm, although public information and education-type programmes have a role in providing information and in increasing attention and acceptance of alcohol on political and public agendas. Making alcohol more expensive and less available, and banning alcohol advertising, are highly cost-effective strategies to reduce harm. In settings with high amounts of unrecorded production and consumption, increasing the proportion of alcohol that is taxed could be a more effective pricing policy than a simple increase in tax.

Can Google Searches Predict the Popularity and Harm of Psychoactive Agents?

PubMed

Jankowski, Wojciech; Hoffmann, Marcin

2016-02-25

Predicting the popularity of and harm caused by psychoactive agents is a serious problem that would be difficult to do by a single simple method. However, because of the growing number of drugs it is very important to provide a simple and fast tool for predicting some characteristics of these substances. We were inspired by the Google Flu Trends study on the activity of the influenza virus, which showed that influenza virus activity worldwide can be monitored based on queries entered into the Google search engine. Our aim was to propose a fast method for ranking the most popular and most harmful drugs based on easily available data gathered from the Internet. We used the Google search engine to acquire data for the ranking lists. Subsequently, using the resulting list and the frequency of hits for the respective psychoactive drugs combined with the word "harm" or "harmful", we estimated quickly how much harm is associated with each drug. We ranked the most popular and harmful psychoactive drugs. As we conducted the research over a period of several months, we noted that the relative popularity indexes tended to change depending on when we obtained them. This suggests that the data may be useful in monitoring changes over time in the use of each of these psychoactive agents. Our data correlate well with the results from a multicriteria decision analysis of drug harms in the United Kingdom. We showed that Google search data can be a valuable source of information to assess the popularity of and harm caused by psychoactive agents and may help in monitoring drug use trends.

The Theory of Dyadic Morality: Reinventing Moral Judgment by Redefining Harm.

PubMed

Schein, Chelsea; Gray, Kurt

2018-02-01

The nature of harm-and therefore moral judgment-may be misunderstood. Rather than an objective matter of reason, we argue that harm should be redefined as an intuitively perceived continuum. This redefinition provides a new understanding of moral content and mechanism-the constructionist Theory of Dyadic Morality (TDM). TDM suggests that acts are condemned proportional to three elements: norm violations, negative affect, and-importantly-perceived harm. This harm is dyadic, involving an intentional agent causing damage to a vulnerable patient (A→P). TDM predicts causal links both from harm to immorality (dyadic comparison) and from immorality to harm (dyadic completion). Together, these two processes make the "dyadic loop," explaining moral acquisition and polarization. TDM argues against intuitive harmless wrongs and modular "foundations," but embraces moral pluralism through varieties of values and the flexibility of perceived harm. Dyadic morality impacts understandings of moral character, moral emotion, and political/cultural differences, and provides research guidelines for moral psychology.

Mycobacterial Infections

MedlinePlus

... many different kinds. The most common one causes tuberculosis. Another one causes leprosy. Still others cause infections ... aren't "typical" because they don't cause tuberculosis. But they can still harm people, especially people ...

Heterophilic antibody interference affecting multiple hormone assays: Is it due to rheumatoid factor?

PubMed

Mongolu, Shiva; Armston, Annie E; Mozley, Erin; Nasruddin, Azraai

2016-01-01

Assay interference with heterophilic antibodies has been well described in literature. Rheumatoid factor is known to cause similar interference leading to falsely elevated hormone levels when measured by immunometric methods like enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or multiplex immunoasays (MIA). We report a case of a 60-year-old male patient with a history of rheumatoid arthritis referred to our endocrine clinic for investigation of hypogonadism and was found to have high serum levels of LH, FSH, SHBG, Prolactin, HCG and TSH. We suspected assay interference and further tests were performed. We used Heteroblock tubes and PEG precipitation to eliminate the interference and the hormone levels post treatment were in the normal range. We believe the interference was caused by high serum levels of rheumatoid factor. Although he was treated with thyroxine for 3 years, we believe he may have been treated inappropriately as his Free T4 level was always normal despite high TSH due to assay interference. Our case illustrates the phenomenon of heterophilic antibody interference likely due to high levels of rheumatoid factor. It is essential for clinicians and endocrinologists in particular to be aware of this possibility when making treatment decisions in these groups of patients.

Advances and New Concepts in Alcohol-Induced Organelle Stress, Unfolded Protein Responses and Organ Damage.

PubMed

Ji, Cheng

2015-06-03

Alcohol is a simple and consumable biomolecule yet its excessive consumption disturbs numerous biological pathways damaging nearly all organs of the human body. One of the essential biological processes affected by the harmful effects of alcohol is proteostasis, which regulates the balance between biogenesis and turnover of proteins within and outside the cell. A significant amount of published evidence indicates that alcohol and its metabolites directly or indirectly interfere with protein homeostasis in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) causing an accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins, which triggers the unfolded protein response (UPR) leading to either restoration of homeostasis or cell death, inflammation and other pathologies under severe and chronic alcohol conditions. The UPR senses the abnormal protein accumulation and activates transcription factors that regulate nuclear transcription of genes related to ER function. Similarly, this kind of protein stress response can occur in other cellular organelles, which is an evolving field of interest. Here, I review recent advances in the alcohol-induced ER stress response as well as discuss new concepts on alcohol-induced mitochondrial, Golgi and lysosomal stress responses and injuries.

Tumor-homing peptides as tools for targeted delivery of payloads to the placenta

PubMed Central

King, Anna; Ndifon, Cornelia; Lui, Sylvia; Widdows, Kate; Kotamraju, Venkata R.; Agemy, Lilach; Teesalu, Tambet; Glazier, Jocelyn D.; Cellesi, Francesco; Tirelli, Nicola; Aplin, John D.; Ruoslahti, Erkki; Harris, Lynda K.

2016-01-01

The availability of therapeutics to treat pregnancy complications is severely lacking mainly because of the risk of causing harm to the fetus. As enhancement of placental growth and function can alleviate maternal symptoms and improve fetal growth in animal models, we have developed a method for targeted delivery of payloads to the placenta. We show that the tumor-homing peptide sequences CGKRK and iRGD bind selectively to the placental surface of humans and mice and do not interfere with normal development. Peptide-coated nanoparticles intravenously injected into pregnant mice accumulated within the mouse placenta, whereas control nanoparticles exhibited reduced binding and/or fetal transfer. We used targeted liposomes to efficiently deliver cargoes of carboxyfluorescein and insulin-like growth factor 2 to the mouse placenta; the latter significantly increased mean placental weight when administered to healthy animals and significantly improved fetal weight distribution in a well-characterized model of fetal growth restriction. These data provide proof of principle for targeted delivery of drugs to the placenta and provide a novel platform for the development of placenta-specific therapeutics. PMID:27386551

Evaluation of Clipping Based Iterative PAPR Reduction Techniques for FBMC Systems

PubMed Central

Kollár, Zsolt

2014-01-01

This paper investigates filter bankmulticarrier (FBMC), a multicarrier modulation technique exhibiting an extremely low adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) compared to conventional orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technique. The low ACLR of the transmitted FBMC signal makes it especially favorable in cognitive radio applications, where strict requirements are posed on out-of-band radiation. Large dynamic range resulting in high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) is characteristic of all sorts of multicarrier signals. The advantageous spectral properties of the high-PAPR FBMC signal are significantly degraded if nonlinearities are present in the transceiver chain. Spectral regrowth may appear, causing harmful interference in the neighboring frequency bands. This paper presents novel clipping based PAPR reduction techniques, evaluated and compared by simulations and measurements, with an emphasis on spectral aspects. The paper gives an overall comparison of PAPR reduction techniques, focusing on the reduction of the dynamic range of FBMC signals without increasing out-of-band radiation. An overview is presented on transmitter oriented techniques employing baseband clipping, which can maintain the system performance with a desired bit error rate (BER). PMID:24558338

Effects of skilled nursing facility structure and process factors on medication errors during nursing home admission.

PubMed

Lane, Sandi J; Troyer, Jennifer L; Dienemann, Jacqueline A; Laditka, Sarah B; Blanchette, Christopher M

2014-01-01

Older adults are at greatest risk of medication errors during the transition period of the first 7 days after admission and readmission to a skilled nursing facility (SNF). The aim of this study was to evaluate structure- and process-related factors that contribute to medication errors and harm during transition periods at a SNF. Data for medication errors and potential medication errors during the 7-day transition period for residents entering North Carolina SNFs were from the Medication Error Quality Initiative-Individual Error database from October 2006 to September 2007. The impact of SNF structure and process measures on the number of reported medication errors and harm from errors were examined using bivariate and multivariate model methods. A total of 138 SNFs reported 581 transition period medication errors; 73 (12.6%) caused harm. Chain affiliation was associated with a reduction in the volume of errors during the transition period. One third of all reported transition errors occurred during the medication administration phase of the medication use process, where dose omissions were the most common type of error; however, dose omissions caused harm less often than wrong-dose errors did. Prescribing errors were much less common than administration errors but were much more likely to cause harm. Both structure and process measures of quality were related to the volume of medication errors.However, process quality measures may play a more important role in predicting harm from errors during the transition of a resident into an SNF. Medication errors during transition could be reduced by improving both prescribing processes and transcription and documentation of orders.

Method Development, Monitoring, and Occurrence of Microcystins in Ambient Water

EPA Science Inventory

The occurrence and intensity of cyanobacterial harmful blooms have become increasingly common over the last few decades. Cyanobacteria are a worldwide concern in areas with eutrophic water conditions. Cyanotoxins generated from cyanobacteria are harmful ecologically, cause econom...

3 CFR - Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Significant Narcotics Traffickers Centered...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Colombia and the extreme level of violence, corruption, and harm such actions cause in the United States... of violence, corruption, and harm in the United States and abroad, the national emergency declared on...

3 CFR - Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Significant Narcotics Traffickers Centered...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Colombia, and the extreme level of violence, corruption, and harm such actions cause in the United States... level of violence, corruption, and harm in the United States and abroad, the national emergency declared...

Laughter and MIRTH (Methodical Investigation of Risibility, Therapeutic and Harmful): narrative synthesis.

PubMed

Ferner, R E; Aronson, J K

2013-12-12

To review the beneficial and harmful effects of laughter. Narrative synthesis. We searched Medline (1946 to June 2013) and Embase (1974 to June 2013) for reports of benefits or harms from laughter in humans, and counted the number of papers in each category. Benefits of laughter include reduced anger, anxiety, depression, and stress; reduced tension (psychological and cardiovascular); increased pain threshold; reduced risk of myocardial infarction (presumably requiring hearty laughter); improved lung function; increased energy expenditure; and reduced blood glucose concentration. However, laughter is no joke-dangers include syncope, cardiac and oesophageal rupture, and protrusion of abdominal hernias (from side splitting laughter or laughing fit to burst), asthma attacks, interlobular emphysema, cataplexy, headaches, jaw dislocation, and stress incontinence (from laughing like a drain). Infectious laughter can disseminate real infection, which is potentially preventable by laughing up your sleeve. As a side effect of our search for side effects, we also list pathological causes of laughter, among them epilepsy (gelastic seizures), cerebral tumours, Angelman's syndrome, strokes, multiple sclerosis, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or motor neuron disease. Laughter is not purely beneficial. The harms it can cause are immediate and dose related, the risks being highest for Homeric (uncontrollable) laughter. The benefit-harm balance is probably favourable. It remains to be seen whether sick jokes make you ill or jokes in bad taste cause dysgeusia, and whether our views on comedians stand up to further scrutiny.

Proposal Drafted for Allocating Space-to-Space Frequencies in the GPS Spectrum Bands

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spence, Rodney L.

2000-01-01

Radionavigation Satellite Service (RNSS) systems such as the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) are primarily being used today in the space-to-Earth direction (i.e., from GPS satellite to Earth user) for a broad range of applications such as geological surveying; aircraft, automobile, and maritime navigation; hiking and mountain climbing; and precision farming and mining. However, these navigation systems are being used increasingly in space. Beginning with the launch of the TOPEX/Poseidon remote-sensing mission in 1992, over 90 GPS receivers have flown onboard spacecraft for such applications as real-time spacecraft navigation, three-axis attitude control, precise time synchronization, precision orbit determination, and atmospheric profiling. In addition to use onboard many science spacecraft, GPS has been used or is planned to be used onboard the shuttles, the International Space Station, the International Space Station Emergency Crew Return Vehicle, and many commercial satellite systems such as Orbcomm, Globalstar, and Teledesic. From a frequency spectrum standpoint, however, one important difference between the space and terrestrial uses of GPS is that it is being used in space with no interference protection. This is because there is no frequency allocation for the space-to-space use of GPS (i.e., from GPS satellite to user spacecraft) in the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) regulatory table of frequency allocations. If another space-based or groundbased radio system interferes with a spaceborne GPS user, the spaceborne user presently has no recourse other than to accept the interference. Consequently, for the past year and a half, the NASA Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field and other Government agencies have been working within ITU toward obtaining a GPS space-to-space allocation at the next World Radio Conference in the year 2000 (WRC 2000). Numerous interference studies have been conducted in support of a primary space-tospace allocation in the 1215- to 1260-MHz and 1559- to 1610-MHz RNSS bands. Most of these studies and analyses were performed by Glenn and submitted as U.S. input documents to the international Working Party 8D meetings in Geneva, Switzerland. In the structure of the ITU, Working Party 8D is responsible for frequency spectrum issues in the RNSS and the mobile satellite service (MSS). The full texts of the studies are available from the ITU web site under Working Party 8D contributions. Note that because spaceborne RNSS receivers operate in a receive-only mode with navigation signals already being broadcast toward the Earth, the addition of a space-tospace allocation will not result in interference with other systems. A space-based RNSS receiver, however, could experience interference from systems of other services, including intraservice interference from other RNSS systems. The interference scenarios examined in the studies can be inferred from the following frequency allocation charts. In these charts, services labeled in all capital letters (e.g., "ARNS") have primary status, whereas those labeled with sentence-style capitalization (e.g., "Amateur radio") have secondary status (i.e., a service with secondary status cannot claim interference protection from or cause harmful interference to a service with primary status). Charts showing the ITU frequency allocations in the 960 to 1350 MHZ range and the 1525-1660 MHZ range are discussed and presented.

A terrain based simulation system to predict the interference caused by networks of spread spectrum systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hagen, William E.; Holtzman, Julian C.

The Army Terrain Integrated Interference Prediction System (ATIIPS), a CAD terrain based simulation tool for determining the degradation effects on a network on nonspread spectrum radios caused by a network of spread spectrum radios is presented. A brief overview of the program is given, with typical graphics displays shown. Typical results for both a link simulation of interference and for a network simulation, using a slow hopped FM/FSK spread spectrum interfering radio network on a narrow band FM/FSK fixed frequency digital radio are presented.

Microbial hitchhikers on marine plastic debris: Human exposure risks at bathing waters and beach environments.

PubMed

Keswani, Anisha; Oliver, David M; Gutierrez, Tony; Quilliam, Richard S

2016-07-01

Marine plastic debris is well characterized in terms of its ability to negatively impact terrestrial and marine environments, endanger coastal wildlife, and interfere with navigation, tourism and commercial fisheries. However, the impacts of potentially harmful microorganisms and pathogens colonising plastic litter are not well understood. The hard surface of plastics provides an ideal environment for opportunistic microbial colonisers to form biofilms and might offer a protective niche capable of supporting a diversity of different microorganisms, known as the "Plastisphere". This biotope could act as an important vector for the persistence and spread of pathogens, faecal indicator organisms (FIOs) and harmful algal bloom species (HABs) across beach and bathing environments. This review will focus on the existent knowledge and research gaps, and identify the possible consequences of plastic-associated microbes on human health, the spread of infectious diseases and bathing water quality. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prevention. How much harm? How much benefit? 3. Physical, psychological and social harm.

PubMed Central

Marshall, K G

1996-01-01

Harm caused by preventive programs may be physical, psychological, social or, if informed consent has not been obtained, ethical. Adverse effects of preventive screening programs may occur at any of the three levels of the "screening cascade", the screening procedure itself, the investigation of abnormal results of screening tests or the treatment of detected abnormalities or diseases. The greatest harm occurs at the second and third levels. Examples of procedures that may cause physical harm are venipuncture, mammography, colonoscopy, breast biopsy, transrectal ultrasonography, prostate biopsy, weight-reducing and cholesterol-lowering diets and radical prostatectomy. The psychological and social harm of preventive programs involves anticipated discomfort or perception of adverse effects of preventive interventions; unpleasant interactions with health care workers, time required for preventive programs, excessive overall awareness of health, anxiety over the results of a screening test implications of a positive screening test, consequences of being labelled as "sick" or "at risk," psychopathologic effects induced directly by preventive programs and, in the case of a false-negative test result, false assurance of disease-free status. Since the positive predictive value of screening tests in the general population is always low, most abnormal test results are "false-positive," these engender a great deal of psychological discuss among patients. PMID:8800074

Declarative memory: sleep protects new memories from interference.

PubMed

Norman, Kenneth A

2006-08-08

Interference is one of the most fundamental phenomena in memory research: acquiring new memories causes forgetting of other, related memories. A new study shows that sleep, interposed between learning episodes, can mitigate the extent to which new (post-sleep) learning interferes with recall of previously acquired knowledge.

Genetic harm: bitten by the body that keeps you?

PubMed

Kahn, Jeffrey P

1991-10-01

... We must attempt to explain, how, if ever, our existence may harm us. To address this and the other questions raised, I propose to examine what constitutes harm and whether it makes sense to say that our genetic makeup may harm us. To do this I will describe three approaches to the problem of describing the status of negative effects our genes have upon us, which I have named the "technical harm" view, the "constitutive" view, and the "harmful conditions" view. On the technical harm view, the standard definitions of harm are applied to genetic disposition in an attempt to couch genetic defects or flaws in terms of harming. The constitutive view rejects applying the concept of harm to genetic disposition on the grounds that it is impossible to separate genetic disposition from individual identity. Lastly, the harmful conditions view, which I conclude is the most successful of the three, focuses on the tendency of certain genetic dispositions to cause harm in the future and thus avoids what I will argue are the "context" shortcomings of the other two approaches. To conclude the discussion I will very briefly analyze the ramifications of a harmful conditions view for the concept of genetic disease and the prospects for genetic counseling, gene therapy, and reproductive decision making.

78 FR 62341 - Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Significant Narcotics Traffickers Centered...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-18

... traffickers centered in Colombia and the extreme level of violence, corruption, and harm such actions cause in... an extreme level of violence, corruption, and harm in the United States and abroad. For these reasons...

77 FR 64221 - Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Significant Narcotics Traffickers Centered...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-19

... extreme level of violence, corruption, and harm such actions cause in the United States and abroad..., corruption, and harm in the United States and abroad, the national emergency declared on October 21, 1995...

76 FR 65353 - Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect To Significant Narcotics Traffickers Centered...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-20

... extreme level of violence, corruption, and harm such actions cause in the United States and abroad..., corruption, and harm in the United States and abroad, the national emergency declared on October 21, 1995...

Factitious Graves' Disease Due to Biotin Immunoassay Interference-A Case and Review of the Literature.

PubMed

Elston, Marianne S; Sehgal, Shekhar; Du Toit, Stephen; Yarndley, Tania; Conaglen, John V

2016-09-01

Biotin (vitamin B7) is an essential co-factor for four carboxylases involved in fatty acid metabolism, leucine degradation, and gluconeogenesis. The recommended daily intake (RDI) of biotin is approximately 30 μg per day. Low-moderate dose biotin is a common component of multivitamin preparations, and high-dose biotin (10 000 times RDI) has been reported to improve clinical outcomes and quality of life in patients with progressive multiple sclerosis. Biotin is also a component of immunoassays, and supplementation may cause interference in both thyroid and non-thyroid immunoassays. To assess whether biotin ingestion caused abnormal thyroid function tests (TFTs) in a patient through assay interference. We report a patient with biotin-associated abnormal TFTs and a systematic review of the literature. A tertiary endocrine service in Hamilton, New Zealand. The patient had markedly abnormal TFTs that did not match the clinical context. After biotin cessation, TFTs normalized far more rapidly than possible given the half-life of T4, consistent with assay interference by biotin. Multiple other analytes also tested abnormal in the presence of biotin. Biotin ingested in moderate to high doses can cause immunoassay interference. Depending on the assay format, biotin interference can result in either falsely high or low values. Interference is not limited to thyroid tests and has the potential to affect a wide range of analytes. It is important for clinicians to be aware of this interaction to prevent misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment.

Electromagnetic interference from GSM and TETRA phones with life-support medical devices.

PubMed

Hietanen, Maila; Sibakov, Viktor

2007-01-01

Disturbances in hospital devices caused by cellular telephone signals were investigated. The interference sources were GSM900, GSM1800, and TETRA380 phones. The number of medical appliances tested was 23. Most measurements were taken in a semi-anechoic laboratory. To simulate the worst situation, the phones were adjusted to emit at their maximum power levels. No interference was observed if the distance from GSM1800 phone was over 5 cm. Corresponding safety distance for GSM900 phone was 70 cm, and for TETRA phones over 3 m. Hence, the use of GSM1800 type mobile phones can be considered safe, whereas GSM 900 and TETRA phones may cause considerable interference in hospital devices, which can result in life-endangering situations.

CHEMICAL VERSUS SERUM TREATMENT OF EPIDEMIC MENINGITIS.

PubMed

Flexner, S; Amoss, H L

1916-05-01

Claims of efficiency have been made at two widely separated periods for the chemical treatment of epidemic meningitis, in the first instance for lysol and in the second for protargol. The use of lysol was long since abandoned; the recommendation for protargol is based on a single series of cases, small in number. Because of the variable severity of epidemics of meningitis, small reliance can be placed on results of treatment limited in extent to small numbers of cases and to one locality. A more uniform and accurate measure of the value of a method of treatment is provided by animals infected experimentally with pathogenic cultures of meningococci. Young guinea pigs respond in a definite manner to intraperitoneal inoculation of virulent meningococci. Neither protargol nor lysol proved to have any curative action on the experimental infection thus produced in these animals. Monkeys respond in a characteristic manner to the inoculation of virulent cultures into the subarachnoid space. Protargol displayed no curative action on the experimental infection thus produced in these animals. On the contrary, both lysol and protargol exert antileukotactic and antiphagocytic effects, and are also potent protoplasmic poisons, and the leukocytes with which they come in contact are injured and made to degenerate. According to the extent to which these harmful properties are exerted, the chemicals promote the advance rather than restrain the progress of meningococcic infection. Recovery from meningococcic infection in man and animals is accomplished chiefly through the process of phagocytosis. The specific antiserum acts curatively by increasing the emigration of leukocytes, by promoting phagocytosis directly, and by agglutinating the meningococci, and also by neutralizing endotoxin. Any means which interfere with and reduce these essential processes retard or prevent recovery. Both lysol and protargol interfere with and diminish the emigration of leukocytes and the phagocytosis of meningococci, and neither possesses antitoxic power. The mixture of antiserum with lysol and with protargol reduces to a certain extent the antileukotactic and antiphagocytic effect of the chemicals; but this action is insufficient to set aside wholly the injurious effects which they produce. It follows, therefore, that whatever theoretical advantages might accrue from a bactericidal activity exerted by these chemicals independently of the type of meningococcus causing epidemic meningitis, is more than offset by the harmful effects which they cause. Hence specific antiserum seems to provide the logical therapeutic agent with which to combat epidemic meningitis, since it is itself innocuous and promotes those processes essential to recovery from the disease. The problem up to the present has been that of producing an antiserum which represents the several types of the meningococcus, and this problem is now in a fair way to being solved.

47 CFR 73.209 - Protection from interference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... BROADCAST SERVICES FM Broadcast Stations § 73.209 Protection from interference. (a) Permittees and licensees of FM broadcast stations are not protected from any interference which may be caused by the grant of... (secondary) noncommercial educational FM stations. See § 73.509. (b) The nature and extent of the protection...

47 CFR 73.209 - Protection from interference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... BROADCAST SERVICES FM Broadcast Stations § 73.209 Protection from interference. (a) Permittees and licensees of FM broadcast stations are not protected from any interference which may be caused by the grant of... (secondary) noncommercial educational FM stations. See § 73.509. (b) The nature and extent of the protection...

iPad2(R) use in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators causes electromagnetic interference: the EMIT Study.

PubMed

Kozik, Teri M; Chien, Gianna; Connolly, Therese F; Grewal, Gurinder S; Liang, David; Chien, Walter

2014-04-10

Over 140 million iPads(®) have been sold worldwide. The iPad2(®), with magnets embedded in its frame and Smart Cover and 3G cellular data capability, can potentially cause electromagnetic interference in implantable cardioverter defibrillators. This can lead to potentially life-threatening situations in patients. The goal of this study was to determine whether the iPad2(®) can cause electromagnetic interference in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators. Twenty-seven patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators were studied. The iPad2(®) was held at reading distance and placed directly over the device with cellular data capability activated and deactivated. The manufacturers/models of devices and the patients' body mass index were noted. The presence of electromagnetic interference was detected by using a programmer supplied by each manufacturer. Magnet mode with suspension of anti-tachycardia therapy was triggered in 9 (33%) patients. All occurred when the iPad2(®) was placed directly over the device. The cellular data status did not cause interference and no noise or oversensing was noted. There was no significant difference between the mean body mass index of the groups with or without interference. The iPad2(®) can trigger magnet mode in implantable cardioverter defibrillators when laid directly over the device. This is potentially dangerous if patients should develop life-threatening arrhythmias at the same time. As new electronic products that use magnets are produced, the potential risk to patients with implantable defibrillators needs to be addressed.

How Strong Is the Evidence that Illicit Drug Use by Young People Is an Important Cause of Psychological or Social Harm? Methodological and Policy Implications of a Systematic Review of Longitudinal, General Population Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacLeod, John; Oakes, Rachel; Oppenkowski, Thomas; Stokes-Lampard, Helen; Copello, Alex; Crome, Ilana; Davey Smith, George; Egger, Matthias; Hickman, Mathew; Judd, Ali

2004-01-01

Recreational use of illicit drugs (i.e. use not associated with a diagnosed drug problem) may cause psychological and social harm. A recent systematic review found that evidence for this was equivocal. Extensive evidence was only available in relation to cannabis use. This was relatively consistently associated with lower educational attainment…

Teens Homeless with Families More Likely to Self-Harm, Consider and Attempt Suicide than Youth with Homes

MedlinePlus

... More Likely to Self-Harm, Consider and Attempt Suicide than Youth with Homes Page Content There are ... country who experience homelessness each year, and while suicide is the second-leading cause of death among ...

Doing harm: living organ donors, clinical research and The Tenth Man.

PubMed Central

Elliott, C

1995-01-01

This paper examines the ethical difficulties of organ donation from living donors and the problem of causing harm to patients or research subjects at their request. Graham Greene explored morally similar questions in his novella, The Tenth Man. PMID:7608947

Breakdown Cause and Effect Analysis. Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biały, Witold; Ružbarský, Juraj

2018-06-01

Every company must ensure that the production process proceeds without interferences. Within this article, the author uses the term "interferences" in reference to unplanned stoppages caused by breakdowns. Unfortunately, usually due to machine operators' mistakes, machines break, which causes stoppages thus generating additional costs for the company. This article shows a cause and effect analysis of a breakdown in a production process. The FMEA as well as quality management tools: the Ishikawa diagram and Pareto chart were used for the analysis. Correction measures were presented which allowed for a significant reduction in the number of stoppages caused by breakdowns.

Effects of Practice Schedule on Wind Instrument Performance: A Preliminary Application of a Motor Learning Principle

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stambaugh, Laura A.; Demorest, Steven M.

2010-01-01

The effects of three practice schedules on beginning instrumental achievement were explored. A total of 19 seventh-grade clarinet and saxophone students completed one 18-minute practice session using either a blocked schedule causing a low level of cognitive (contextual) interference, a hybrid schedule causing a moderate level of interference, or…

Theoretical Limits on Multiuser Molecular Communication in Internet of Nano-Bio Things.

PubMed

Dinc, Ergin; Akan, Ozgur B

2017-06-01

In nano-bio networks, multiple transmitter-receiver pairs will operate in the same medium. Both inter-symbol interference and multi-user interference can cause saturation at the receiver side, and this effect may cause an outage. Thus, we propose a tractable framework to calculate the theoretical operating points for fully absorbing receiver.

The cost of harmful alcohol use in South Africa.

PubMed

Matzopoulos, R G; Truen, S; Bowman, B; Corrigall, J

2014-02-01

The economic, social and health costs associated with alcohol-related harms are important measures with which to inform alcohol management policies and laws. This analysis builds on previous cost estimates for South Africa. We reviewed existing international best-practice costing frameworks to provide the costing definitions and dimensions. We sourced data from South African costing literature or, if unavailable, estimated costs using socio-economic and health data from secondary sources. Care was taken to avoid possible causes of cost overestimation, in particular double counting and, as far as possible, second-round effects of alcohol abuse. The combined total tangible and intangible costs of alcohol harm to the economy were estimated at 10 - 12% of the 2009 gross domestic product (GDP). The tangible financial cost of harmful alcohol use alone was estimated at R37.9 billion, or 1.6% of the 2009 GDP. The costs of alcohol-related harms provide a substantial counterbalance to the economic benefits highlighted by the alcohol industry to counter stricter regulation. Curtailing these costs by regulatory and policy interventions contributes directly and indirectly to social well-being and the economy. CONCLUSIONS; Existing frameworks that guide the regulation and distribution of alcohol frequently focus on maximising the contribution of the alcohol sector to the economy, but should also take into account the associated economic, social and health costs. Current interventions do not systematically address the most important causes of harm from alcohol, and need to be informed by reliable evidence of the ongoing costs of alcohol-related harms.

Autonomy and paternalism in medical e-commerce.

PubMed

Mendoza, Roger Lee

2015-08-01

One of the overriding interests of the literature on health care economics is to discover where personal choice in market economies end and corrective government intervention should begin. Our study addresses this question in the context of John Stuart Mill's utilitarian principle of harm. Our primary objective is to determine whether public policy interventions concerning more than 35,000 online pharmacies worldwide are necessary and efficient compared to traditional market-oriented approaches. Secondly, we seek to determine whether government interference could enhance personal  utility maximization, despite its direct and indirect (unintended) costs on medical e-commerce. This study finds that containing the negative externalities of medical e-commerce provides the most compelling raison d'etre of government interference. It asserts that autonomy and paternalism need not be mutually exclusive, despite their direct and indirect consequences on individual choice and decision-making processes. Valuable insights derived from Mill's principle should enrich theory-building in health care economics and policy.

Messing with Bacterial Quorum Sensing

PubMed Central

González, Juan E.; Keshavan, Neela D.

2006-01-01

Quorum sensing is widely recognized as an efficient mechanism to regulate expression of specific genes responsible for communal behavior in bacteria. Several bacterial phenotypes essential for the successful establishment of symbiotic, pathogenic, or commensal relationships with eukaryotic hosts, including motility, exopolysaccharide production, biofilm formation, and toxin production, are often regulated by quorum sensing. Interestingly, eukaryotes produce quorum-sensing-interfering (QSI) compounds that have a positive or negative influence on the bacterial signaling network. This eukaryotic interference could result in further fine-tuning of bacterial quorum sensing. Furthermore, recent work involving the synthesis of structural homologs to the various quorum-sensing signal molecules has resulted in the development of additional QSI compounds that could be used to control pathogenic bacteria. The creation of transgenic plants that express bacterial quorum-sensing genes is yet another strategy to interfere with bacterial behavior. Further investigation on the manipulation of quorum-sensing systems could provide us with powerful tools against harmful bacteria. PMID:17158701

Interference Mitigation Effects on Synthetic Aperture Radar Coherent Data Products

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Musgrove, Cameron

2014-05-01

For synthetic aperture radar image products interference can degrade the quality of the images while techniques to mitigate the interference also reduce the image quality. Usually the radar system designer will try to balance the amount of mitigation for the amount of interference to optimize the image quality. This may work well for many situations, but coherent data products derived from the image products are more sensitive than the human eye to distortions caused by interference and mitigation of interference. This dissertation examines the e ect that interference and mitigation of interference has upon coherent data products. An improvement tomore » the standard notch mitigation is introduced, called the equalization notch. Other methods are suggested to mitigation interference while improving the quality of coherent data products over existing methods.« less

76 FR 44489 - Medical Devices; Neurological Devices; Classification of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-26

...; Hazards caused by electromagnetic interference and electrostatic discharge hazards; and Hearing loss. FDA... electromagnetic Electromagnetic compatibility. interference and electrostatic discharge hazards. Labeling. Hearing...

Laughter and MIRTH (Methodical Investigation of Risibility, Therapeutic and Harmful): narrative synthesis

PubMed Central

Aronson, J K

2013-01-01

Objective To review the beneficial and harmful effects of laughter. Design Narrative synthesis. Data sources and review methods We searched Medline (1946 to June 2013) and Embase (1974 to June 2013) for reports of benefits or harms from laughter in humans, and counted the number of papers in each category. Results Benefits of laughter include reduced anger, anxiety, depression, and stress; reduced tension (psychological and cardiovascular); increased pain threshold; reduced risk of myocardial infarction (presumably requiring hearty laughter); improved lung function; increased energy expenditure; and reduced blood glucose concentration. However, laughter is no joke—dangers include syncope, cardiac and oesophageal rupture, and protrusion of abdominal hernias (from side splitting laughter or laughing fit to burst), asthma attacks, interlobular emphysema, cataplexy, headaches, jaw dislocation, and stress incontinence (from laughing like a drain). Infectious laughter can disseminate real infection, which is potentially preventable by laughing up your sleeve. As a side effect of our search for side effects, we also list pathological causes of laughter, among them epilepsy (gelastic seizures), cerebral tumours, Angelman’s syndrome, strokes, multiple sclerosis, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or motor neuron disease. Conclusions Laughter is not purely beneficial. The harms it can cause are immediate and dose related, the risks being highest for Homeric (uncontrollable) laughter. The benefit-harm balance is probably favourable. It remains to be seen whether sick jokes make you ill or jokes in bad taste cause dysgeusia, and whether our views on comedians stand up to further scrutiny. PMID:24336308

Emergency Department Staff Beliefs About Self-Harm: A Thematic Framework Analysis.

PubMed

Koning, Kate Louise; McNaught, Angela; Tuffin, Keith

2017-11-03

To explore the beliefs and attitudes of emergency department staff about self-harm behaviour. Existing studies looking at views regarding self-harm rely solely on the information provided by medical and nursing staff using a questionnaire format. No studies currently consider ancillary staff members' beliefs about self-harm, even though they also work with these patients. A thematic framework analysis of interview transcripts was carried out. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted from December 2015 to February 2016. Fifteen medical, nursing, and ancillary staff members from a large, tertiary emergency department participated. There were 5 major themes identified-causes of self-harm are multifactorial; beliefs about self-harm can change over time; emergency departments should only focus on the physical; self-harm occurs on a spectrum; and the system has failed. The results suggest participants felt ill-prepared and lacking in appropriate training to help patients that self-harm, and furthermore they have little faith in the mental health system. Staff beliefs and attitudes may change over time with exposure to patients who self-harm, possibly becoming more positive in response to a greater understanding of why the self-harm behaviour is occurring.

RNAi as an emerging approach to control Fusarium head blight disease and mycotoxin contamination in cereals

PubMed Central

Machado, Ana Karla; Brown, Neil A; Urban, Martin; Kanyuka, Kostya

2017-01-01

Abstract Fusarium graminearum is a major fungal pathogen of cereals worldwide, causing seedling, stem base and floral diseases, including Fusarium head blight (FHB). In addition to yield and quality losses, FHB contaminates cereal grain with mycotoxins, including deoxynivalenol, which are harmful to human, animal and ecosystem health. Currently, FHB control is only partially effective due to several intractable problems. RNA interference (RNAi) is a natural mechanism that regulates gene expression. RNAi has been exploited in the development of new genomic tools that allow the targeted silencing of genes of interest in many eukaryotes. Host‐induced gene silencing (HIGS) is a transgenic technology used to silence fungal genes in planta during attempted infection and thereby reduces disease levels. HIGS relies on the host plant's ability to produce mobile small interfering RNA molecules, generated from long double‐stranded RNA, which are complementary to targeted fungal genes. These molecules are transferred from the plant to invading fungi via an uncharacterised mechanism, to cause gene silencing. Here, we describe recent advances in RNAi‐mediated control of plant pathogenic fungi, highlighting the key advantages and disadvantages. We then discuss the developments and implications of combining HIGS with other methods of disease control. © 2017 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry. PMID:28967180

The Price of Fame: The Impact of Stimulus Familiarity on Proactive Interference Resolution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prabhakaran, Ranjani; Thompson-Schill, Sharon L.

2011-01-01

Interference from previously learned information, known as proactive interference (PI), limits our memory retrieval abilities. Previous studies of PI resolution have focused on the role of short-term familiarity, or recency, in causing PI. In the present study, we investigated the impact of long-term stimulus familiarity on PI resolution…

47 CFR 74.23 - Interference jeopardizing safety of life or protection of property.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Interference jeopardizing safety of life or... SERVICES General; Rules Applicable to All Services in Part 74 § 74.23 Interference jeopardizing safety of life or protection of property. (a) The licensee of any station authorized under this part that causes...

Dual-Task Interference When A Response is Not Required

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

VanSelst, Mark; Johnston, James C.; Shafto, Michael (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

When subjects are required to respond to two stimuli presented in rapid succession, responses to the second stimulus are delayed. Such dual-task interference has been attributed to a fundamental processing bottleneck preventing simultaneous processing on both tasks. Two experiments show dual-task interference even when the first task does not require a response. The observed interference is caused by a bottleneck in central cognitive processing, rather than in response initiation or execution.

THE TRPV1 RECEPTOR: THE INTERAGENCY, INTERNATION SYMPOSIUM ON CYANOBACTERIAL HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS.

EPA Science Inventory

Background and Significance

Evidence indicates that the frequency of occurrence of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CHABs) is increasing in spatial and temporal extent in the US and worldwide. Cyanotoxins are among the most potent toxins known, causing death through ...

Dynamic memory searches: Selective output interference for the memory of facts.

PubMed

Aue, William R; Criss, Amy H; Prince, Melissa A

2015-12-01

The benefits of testing on later memory performance are well documented; however, the manner in which testing harms memory performance is less well understood. This research is concerned with the finding that accuracy decreases over the course of testing, a phenomena termed "output interference" (OI). OI has primarily been investigated with episodic memory, but there is limited research investigating OI in measures of semantic memory (i.e., knowledge). In the current study, participants were twice tested for their knowledge of factual questions; they received corrective feedback during the first test. No OI was observed during the first test, when participants presumably searched semantic memory to answer the general-knowledge questions. During the second test, OI was observed. Conditional analyses of Test 2 performance revealed that OI was largely isolated to questions answered incorrectly during Test 1. These were questions for which participants needed to rely on recent experience (i.e., the feedback in episodic memory) to respond correctly. One possible explanation is that episodic memory is more susceptible to the sort of interference generated during testing (e.g., gradual changes in context, encoding/updating of items) relative to semantic memory. Alternative explanations are considered.

An overview of historical harmful algae blooms outbreaks in the Arabian Seas.

PubMed

Al Shehhi, Maryam R; Gherboudj, Imen; Ghedira, Hosni

2014-09-15

Harmful algae blooms (HABs), often composed of oceanic plants called phytoplankton, are potentially harmful to the marine life, water quality, human health, and desalination plants, a chief source of potable water in the Arabian Gulf. The last decade has seen a noticeable increase in the frequency of HAB outbreaks in the Arabian Seas. This increase is mainly caused by the unprecedented economic growth in the region. The increased human activities in the region have added more stress to the marine environment and contributed to the changes observed in the properties of the marine ecosystem: high temperature and salinity, high evaporation rates, limited freshwater inflow, shallow nature, pollution. However, very few studies that cover the HAB outbreaks, causes, impacts and biological characteristics over the region have been published. This work presents a comprehensive overview of historical HAB outbreaks recorded in the region, and investigate their causes and impact, and seasonal variability. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effect of electromagnetic interference from mobile communication on the performance of intensive care ventilators.

PubMed

Jones, R P; Conway, D H

2005-08-01

Electromagnetic interference produced by wireless communication can affect medical devices and hospital policies exist to address this risk. During the transfer of ventilated patients, these policies may be compromised by essential communication between base and receiving hospitals. Local wireless networks (e.g. Bluetooth) may reduce the 'spaghetti syndrome' of wires and cables seen on intensive care units, but also generate electromagnetic interference. The aim of this study was to investigate these effects on displayed and actual ventilator performance. Five ventilators were tested: Drager Oxylog 2000, BREAS LTV-1000, Respironics BiPAP VISION, Puritan Bennett 7200 and 840. Electromagnetic interference was generated by three devices: Simoco 8020 radio handset, Nokia 7210 and Nokia 6230 mobile phone, Nokia 6230 communicating via Bluetooth with a Palm Tungsten T Personal Digital Assistant. We followed the American National Standard Recommended Practice for On-Site, Ad Hoc Testing (ANSI C63) for electromagnetic interference. We used a ventilator tester, to simulate healthy adult lungs and measure ventilator performance. The communication device under test was moved in towards each ventilator from a distance of 1 m in six axes. Alarms or error codes on the ventilator were recorded, as was ventilator performance. All ventilators tested, except for the Respironics VISION, showed a display error when subjected to electromagnetic interference from the Nokia phones and Simoco radio. Ventilator performance was only affected by the radio which caused the Puritan Bennett 840 to stop functioning completely. The transfer ventilators' performance were not affected by radio or mobile phone, although the mobile phone did trigger a low-power alarm. Effects on intensive care ventilators included display reset, with the ventilator restoring normal display function within 2 s, and low-power/low-pressure alarms. Bluetooth transmission had no effect on the function of all the ventilators tested. In a clinical setting, high-power-output devices such as a two-way radio may cause significant interference in ventilator function. Medium-power-output devices such as mobile phones may cause minor alarm triggers. Low-power-output devices such as Bluetooth appear to cause no interference with ventilator function.

Patients' Perspectives on the Prevention and Treatment of Peritonitis in Peritoneal Dialysis: A Semi-Structured Interview Study.

PubMed

Campbell, Denise J; Craig, Jonathan C; Mudge, David W; Brown, Fiona G; Wong, Germaine; Tong, Allison

♦ BACKGROUND: Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is recommended for adults with residual kidney function and without significant comorbidities. However, peritonitis is a serious and common complication that is associated with hospitalization, pain, catheter loss, and death. This study aims to describe the beliefs, needs, and experiences of PD patients about peritonitis, to inform the training, support, and care of these patients. ♦ METHODS: Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 29 patients from 3 renal units in Australia who had previous or current experience of PD. The interviews were conducted between November 2014 and November 2015. Transcripts were analyzed thematically. ♦ RESULTS: We identified 4 themes: constant vigilance for prevention (conscious of vulnerability, sharing responsibility with family, demanding attention to detail, ambiguity of detecting infection, ineradicable inhabitation, jeopardizing PD success); invading harm (life-threatening, wreaking internal damage, debilitating pain, losing control and dignity); incapacitating lifestyle interference (financial strain, isolation and separation, exacerbating burden on family); and exasperation with hospitalization (dread of hospital admission, exposure to infection, gruelling follow-up schedule, exposure to harm). ♦ CONCLUSIONS: Patients perceived that peritonitis could threaten their health, treatment modality, and lifestyle, which motivated vigilance and attention to hygiene. They felt a loss of control due to debilitating symptoms including pain and having to be hospitalized, and they were uncertain about how to monitor for signs of peritonitis. Providing patients with education about the causes and signs of peritonitis and addressing their concerns about lifestyle impact, financial impact, hospitalization, and peritonitis-related anxieties may improve treatment satisfaction and outcomes for patients requiring PD. Copyright © 2016 International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis.

Harms to Consumers of Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities in the United States: An Analysis of News Articles.

PubMed

Shields, Morgan C; Reneau, Hailey; Albert, Sasha M; Siegel, Leeann; Trinh, Nhi-Ha

2018-05-30

Inpatient psychiatric facilities in the United States lack systematic regulation and monitoring of a variety of patient safety concerns. We conducted a qualitative analysis of 61 news articles to identify common causes and types of harms within inpatient psychiatric facilities, with a focus on physical harm. The news articles reported on patient self-harm, patient-patient violence, and violence between patients and staff, noting that youth, older adults, and veterans were especially vulnerable. Harms occurred throughout the care continuum - at admission, during the inpatient stay, and at discharge - and retaliation towards whistleblowers deterred facility accountability. We recommend 1) addressing staffing shortages, 2) instituting systematic monitoring of critical incidents and the experiences of consumers and staff, 3) improving both inpatient safety and post-discharge community supports, and 4) continued journalistic coverage of harms within inpatient psychiatric facilities.

Release from output interference in recognition memory: A test of the attention hypothesis.

PubMed

Criss, Amy H; Salomão, Cristina; Malmberg, Kenneth J; Aue, William; Kılıç, Aslı; Claridge, MarkAvery

2018-05-01

Retrieval results in both costs and benefits to episodic memory. Output interference (OI) refers to the finding that episodic memory accuracy decreases with increasing test trials. Release from OI is the restoration of original accuracy at some point during the test. For example, a release from OI in recognition memory testing occurs when the semantic similarity between stimuli decreases midway through testing, suggesting that item representations stored on early trials cause interference on tests occurring on later trials to the extent that the earlier items share features with the latter items. In two recognition memory experiments, we demonstrate release from OI for words and faces. We also test whether release from OI is the result of interference or is due to a boost in attention caused by reorienting to a novel stimulus type. A test for the foils presented during the initial test list supports the interference account of OI. Implications for models of memory are discussed.

47 CFR 73.827 - Interference to the input signals of FM translator or FM booster stations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... translator or FM booster stations. 73.827 Section 73.827 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION... Interference to the input signals of FM translator or FM booster stations. (a) Interference to the direct... continue to operate if an FM translator or FM booster station demonstrates that the LPFM station is causing...

Laser system for identification, tracking, and control of flying insects

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Flying insects are common vectors for transmission of pathogens and inflict significant harm on humans in large parts of the developing world. Besides the direct impact to humans, these pathogens also cause harm to crops and result in agricultural losses. Here, we present a laser-based system that c...

10 CFR 1047.7 - Use of deadly force.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... reasonable person would consider likely to cause death or serious bodily harm. Its use may be justified only... following circumstances exists: (1) Self-Defense. When deadly force reasonably appears to be necessary to... death or serious bodily harm. (2) Serious offenses against persons. When deadly force reasonably appears...

10 CFR 1047.7 - Use of deadly force.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... reasonable person would consider likely to cause death or serious bodily harm. Its use may be justified only... following circumstances exists: (1) Self-Defense. When deadly force reasonably appears to be necessary to... death or serious bodily harm. (2) Serious offenses against persons. When deadly force reasonably appears...

10 CFR 1047.7 - Use of deadly force.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... reasonable person would consider likely to cause death or serious bodily harm. Its use may be justified only... following circumstances exists: (1) Self-Defense. When deadly force reasonably appears to be necessary to... death or serious bodily harm. (2) Serious offenses against persons. When deadly force reasonably appears...

10 CFR 1047.7 - Use of deadly force.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... reasonable person would consider likely to cause death or serious bodily harm. Its use may be justified only... following circumstances exists: (1) Self-Defense. When deadly force reasonably appears to be necessary to... death or serious bodily harm. (2) Serious offenses against persons. When deadly force reasonably appears...

78 FR 25214 - Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-30

... action is necessary to help mitigate expected adverse economic and social harm resulting from substantial... biological, economic, and social impact analysis for this action are contained in the environmental... likely cause serious management problems and result in substantial economic and social harm for the...

REMEDIAL DREDGING AND EFFECTIVE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: EXAMPLES FROM THE NEW BEDFORD HARBOR, MA SUPERFUND SITE

EPA Science Inventory

Currently, there is an on-going national debate questioning whether remedial dredging can be conducted without causing environmental harm. Two common assertions are that: 1) dredging contaminated sediment will do more harm than good, and 2) natural processes will eventually mitig...

Satellite monitoring of cyanobacterial harmful algal bloom frequency in recreational waters and drinking water sources

EPA Science Inventory

Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) cause extensive problems in lakes worldwide, including human and ecological health risks, anoxia and fish kills, and taste and odor problems. CyanoHABs are a particular concern because of their dense biomass and the risk of expos...

Anti-Aging Medicine: Can Consumers Be Better Protected?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mehlman, Maxwell J.; Binstock, Robert H.; Juengst, Eric T.; Ponsaran, Roselle S.; Whitehouse, Peter J.

2004-01-01

The use of interventions claiming to prevent, retard, or reverse aging is proliferating. Some of these interventions can seriously harm older persons and aging baby boomers who consume them. Others that are merely ineffective may divert patients from participating in beneficial regimens and also cause them economic harm. "Free market…

47 CFR 22.352 - Protection from interference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 1934, as amended, (47 U.S.C. 303(f), 316), require modifications to any Public Mobile station as... interference caused by tropospheric and ionospheric propagation of signals. (6) Facilities for which the...

47 CFR 22.352 - Protection from interference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 1934, as amended, (47 U.S.C. 303(f), 316), require modifications to any Public Mobile station as... interference caused by tropospheric and ionospheric propagation of signals. (6) Facilities for which the...

47 CFR 22.352 - Protection from interference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 1934, as amended, (47 U.S.C. 303(f), 316), require modifications to any Public Mobile station as... interference caused by tropospheric and ionospheric propagation of signals. (6) Facilities for which the...

47 CFR 22.352 - Protection from interference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 1934, as amended, (47 U.S.C. 303(f), 316), require modifications to any Public Mobile station as... interference caused by tropospheric and ionospheric propagation of signals. (6) Facilities for which the...

47 CFR 22.352 - Protection from interference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 1934, as amended, (47 U.S.C. 303(f), 316), require modifications to any Public Mobile station as... interference caused by tropospheric and ionospheric propagation of signals. (6) Facilities for which the...

Pulse transmission transceiver architecture for low power communications

DOEpatents

Dress, Jr., William B.; Smith, Stephen F.

2003-08-05

Systems and methods for pulse-transmission low-power communication modes are disclosed. A method of pulse transmission communications includes: generating a modulated pulse signal waveform; transforming said modulated pulse signal waveform into at least one higher-order derivative waveform; and transmitting said at least one higher-order derivative waveform as an emitted pulse. The systems and methods significantly reduce lower-frequency emissions from pulse transmission spread-spectrum communication modes, which reduces potentially harmful interference to existing radio frequency services and users and also simultaneously permit transmission of multiple data bits by utilizing specific pulse shapes.

Flat-topped broadband rugate filters.

PubMed

Imenes, Anne G; McKenzie, David R

2006-10-20

A method of creating rugate interference filters that have flat-topped reflectance across an extended spectral region is presented. The method applies known relations from the classical coupled wave theory to develop a set of equations that gives the spatial frequency distribution of rugate cycles to achieve constant reflectance across a given spectral region. Two examples of the application of this method are discussed: a highly reflective coating for eye protection against harmful laser radiation incident from normal to 45 degrees , and a spectral beam splitter for efficient solar power conversion.

Analysis of the selected mechanical parameters of coating of filters protecting against hazardous infrared radiation.

PubMed

Gralewicz, Grzegorz; Owczarek, Grzegorz; Kubrak, Janusz

2017-03-01

This article presents a comparison of the test results of selected mechanical parameters (hardness, Young's modulus, critical force for delamination) for protective filters intended for eye protection against harmful infrared radiation. Filters with reflective metallic films were studied, as well as interference filters developed at the Central Institute for Labour Protection - National Research Institute (CIOP-PIB). The test results of the selected mechanical parameters were compared with the test results, conducted in accordance with a standardised method, of simulating filter surface destruction that occurs during use.

Classification of drugs with different risk profiles.

PubMed

Saedder, Eva Aggerholm; Brock, Birgitte; Nielsen, Lars Peter; Bonnerup, Dorthe Krogsgaard; Lisby, Marianne

2015-08-01

A risk stratification approach is needed to identify patients at high risk of medication errors and a resulting high need of medication review. The aim of this study was to perform risk stratification (distinguishing between low-risk, medium-risk and high-risk drugs) for drugs found to cause serious adverse reactions due to medication errors. The study employed a modified Delphi technique. Drugs from a systematic literature search were included into two rounds of a Delphi process. A panel of experts was asked to evaluate each identified drug's potential for harm and for clinically relevant drug-drug interactions on a scale from 1 (low risk) to 9 (high risk). A total of 36 experts were appointed to serve on the panel. Consensus was reached for 29/57 (51%) drugs or drug classes that cause harm, and for 32/57 (56%) of the drugs or drug classes that cause interactions. For the remaining drugs, a decision was made based on the median score. Two lists, one stating the drugs' potential for causing harm and the other stating clinically relevant drug-drug interactions, were stratified into low-risk, medium-risk and high-risk drugs. Based on a modified Delphi technique, we created two lists of drugs stratified into a low-risk, a medium-risk and a high-risk group of clinically relevant interactions or risk of harm to patients. The lists could be incorporated into a risk-scoring tool that stratifies the performance of medication reviews according to patients' risk of experiencing adverse reactions. none. not relevant.

Patient safety in palliative care: A mixed-methods study of reports to a national database of serious incidents.

PubMed

Yardley, Iain; Yardley, Sarah; Williams, Huw; Carson-Stevens, Andrew; Donaldson, Liam J

2018-06-01

Patients receiving palliative care are vulnerable to patient safety incidents but little is known about the extent of harm caused or the origins of unsafe care in this population. To quantify and qualitatively analyse serious incident reports in order to understand the causes and impact of unsafe care in a population receiving palliative care. A mixed-methods approach was used. Following quantification of type of incidents and their location, a qualitative analysis using a modified framework method was used to interpret themes in reports to examine the underlying causes and the nature of resultant harms. Reports to a national database of 'serious incidents requiring investigation' involving patients receiving palliative care in the National Health Service (NHS) in England during the 12-year period, April 2002 to March 2014. A total of 475 reports were identified: 266 related to pressure ulcers, 91 to medication errors, 46 to falls, 21 to healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs), 18 were other instances of disturbed dying, 14 were allegations against health professions, 8 transfer incidents, 6 suicides and 5 other concerns. The frequency of report types differed according to the care setting. Underlying causes included lack of palliative care experience, under-resourcing and poor service coordination. Resultant harms included worsened symptoms, disrupted dying, serious injury and hastened death. Unsafe care presents a risk of significant harm to patients receiving palliative care. Improvements in the coordination of care delivery alongside wider availability of specialist palliative care support may reduce this risk.

A media player causes clinically significant telemetry interference with implantable loop recorders.

PubMed

Thaker, Jay P; Patel, Mehul B; Shah, Ashok J; Liepa, Valdis V; Jongnarangsin, Krit; Thakur, Ranjan K

2009-03-01

The implantable loop recorder is a useful diagnostic tool for intermittent cardiovascular symptoms because it can automatically record arrhythmias as well as a patient-triggered ECG. Media players have been shown to cause telemetry interference with pacemakers. Telemetry interference may be important in patients with implantable loop recorders because capturing a patient-triggered ECG requires a telemetry link between a hand-held activator and the implanted device. The purpose of this study was to determine if a media player causes interference with implantable loop recorders. Fourteen patients with implantable loop recorders underwent evaluation for interference with a 15 GB third generation iPod (Apple, Inc.) media player. All patients had the Reveal Plus (Medtronic, Inc.) implantable loop recorder. We tested for telemetry interference on the programmer by first establishing a telemetry link with the loop recorder and then, the media player was placed next to it, first turned off and then, on. We evaluated for telemetry interference between the activator and the implanted device by placing the activator over the device (normal use) and the media player next to it, first turned off and then, on. We made 5 attempts to capture a patient-triggered ECG by depressing the activator switch 5 times while the media player was off or on. Telemetry interference on the programmer screen, consisting of either high frequency spikes or blanking of the ECG channel was seen in all patients. Telemetry interference with the activator resulted in failure to capture an event in 7 patients. In one of these patients, a green indicator light on the activator suggested that a patient-triggered event was captured, but loop recorder interrogation did not show a captured event. In the remaining 7 patients, an event was captured and appropriately recognized by the device at least 1 out of 5 times. A media player playing in close proximity to an implanted loop recorder may interfere with capture of a patient-triggered event. Patients should be advised to keep media players away from their implanted loop recorder.

Differentiating drugs by harm potential: the rational versus the feasible.

PubMed

Kalant, H

1999-01-01

In an ideal harm reduction model, drugs would be ranked according to their potential to cause harm, with varying implications for control policies and interventions. In such a public health oriented approach, the maximum protection of the public from harm would be balanced with the least possible restriction of freedom. In reality, however, the accuracy and completeness of the necessary information for such a ranking is highly limited. Many other factors not readily incorporated in a rational model, such as values, beliefs, and traditions, also affect drug policy decisions. Thus, rather than relying on acquisition of the necessary knowledge, it may be preferable to focus efforts on developing effective nonlegal measures to reduce drug use and harm. [Translations are provided in the International Abstracts Section of this issue.

Effect of occlusal interference on habitual activity of human masseter.

PubMed

Michelotti, A; Farella, M; Gallo, L M; Veltri, A; Palla, S; Martina, R

2005-07-01

It has been suggested that occlusal interference may increase habitual activity in the jaw muscles and may lead to temporomandibular disorders (TMD). We tested these hypotheses by means of a double-blind randomized crossover experiment carried out on 11 young healthy females. Strips of gold foil were glued either on a selected occlusal contact area (active interference) or on the vestibular surface of the same tooth (dummy interference) and left for 8 days each. Electromyographic masseter activity was recorded in the natural environment by portable recorders under interference-free, dummy-interference, and active-interference conditions. The active occlusal interference caused a significant reduction in the number of activity periods per hour and in their mean amplitude. The EMG activity did not change significantly during the dummy-interference condition. None of the subjects developed signs and/or symptoms of TMD throughout the whole study, and most of them adapted fairly well to the occlusal disturbance.

Native-Language Phonological Interference in Early Hakka-Mandarin Bilinguals' Visual Recognition of Chinese Two-Character Compounds: Evidence from the Semantic-Relatedness Decision Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wu, Shiyu; Ma, Zheng

2017-01-01

Previous research has indicated that, in viewing a visual word, the activated phonological representation in turn activates its homophone, causing semantic interference. Using this mechanism of phonological mediation, this study investigated native-language phonological interference in visual recognition of Chinese two-character compounds by early…

Prediction of shipboard electromagnetic interference (EMI) problems using artificial intelligence (AI) technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swanson, David J.

1990-01-01

The electromagnetic interference prediction problem is characteristically ill-defined and complicated. Severe EMI problems are prevalent throughout the U.S. Navy, causing both expected and unexpected impacts on the operational performance of electronic combat systems onboard ships. This paper focuses on applying artificial intelligence (AI) technology to the prediction of ship related electromagnetic interference (EMI) problems.

Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Ethical Views of Buddhist, Hindu and Catholic Leaders in Malaysia.

PubMed

Sivaraman, Mathana Amaris Fiona; Noor, Siti Nurani Mohd

2016-04-01

Embryonic Stem Cell Research (ESCR) raises ethical issues. In the process of research, embryos may be destroyed and, to some, such an act entails the 'killing of human life'. Past studies have sought the views of scientists and the general public on the ethics of ESCR. This study, however, explores multi-faith ethical viewpoints, in particular, those of Buddhists, Hindus and Catholics in Malaysia, on ESCR. Responses were gathered via semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. Three main ethical quandaries emerged from the data: (1) sanctity of life, (2) do no harm, and (3) 'intention' of the research. Concerns regarding the sanctity of life are directed at particular research protocols which interfere with religious notions of human ensoulment and early consciousness. The principle of 'do no harm' which is closely related to ahimsa prohibits all acts of violence. Responses obtained indicate that respondents either discourage research that inflicts harm on living entities or allow ESCR with reservations. 'Intention' of the research seems to be an interesting and viable rationale that would permit ESCR for the Buddhists and Hindus. Research that is intended for the purpose of alleviating human suffering is seen as being ethical. This study also notes that Catholics oppose ESCR on the basis of the inviolability of human life.

Optical monitoring of Disinfection By-product Precursors with Fluorescence Excitation-Emission Mapping (F-EEM): Practical Application Issues for Drinking, Waste and Reuse Water Industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gilmore, A. M.

2012-12-01

Drinking water, wastewater and reuse plants must deal with regulations associated with bacterial contamination and halogen disinfection procedures that can generate harmful disinfection by-products (DBPs) including trihalomethanes (THMs), haloacetic acids (HOAAs) and other compounds. The natural fluorescent chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is regulated as the major DBP precursor. This study outlines the advantages and current limitations associated with optical monitoring of water treatment processes using tcontemporary Fluorescence Excitation-Emission Mapping (F-EEM). The F-EEM method coupled with practical peak indexing and multi-variate analyses is potentially superior in terms of cost, speed and sensitivity over conventional total organic carbon (TOC) meters and specific UV-absorbance (SUVA) measurements. Hence there is strong interest in developing revised environmental regulations around the F-EEM technique instruments which can incidentally simultaneously measure the SUVA and DOC parameters. Importantly, the F-EEM technique, compared to the single-point TOC and SUVA signals can resolve CDOM classes distinguishing those that strongly cause DBPs. The F-EEM DBP prediction method can be applied to surface water sources to evaluate DBP potential as a function of the point sources and reservoir depth profiles. It can also be applied in-line to rapidly adjust DOC removal processes including sedimentation-flocculation, microfiltration, reverse-osmosis, and ozonation. Limitations and interferences for F-EEMs are discussed including those common to SUVA and TOC in contrast to the advantages including that F-EEMs are less prone to interferences from inorganic carbon and metal contaminations and require little if any chemical preparation. In conclusion, the F-EEM method is discussed in terms of not only the DBP problem but also as a means of predicting (concurrent to DBP monitoring) organic membrane fouling in water-reuse and desalination plants.

Justice on Both Sides: Transforming Education through Restorative Justice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winn, Maisha T.

2018-01-01

Restorative justice represents "a paradigm shift in the way Americans conceptualize and administer punishment," says author Maisha T. Winn, from a focus on crime to a focus on harm, including the needs of both those who were harmed and those who caused it. Her book, "Justice on Both Sides," provides an urgently needed,…

29 CFR 825.301 - Designation of FMLA leave.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... designate leave in accordance with § 825.300 causes the employee to suffer harm, it may constitute an... employment, reinstatement, promotion, or any other relief tailored to the harm suffered (see § 825.400(c... returning to work during that time period regardless of the designation, an employee may not be able to show...

Family history of suicide and interpersonal functioning in suicide attempters.

PubMed

Rajalin, Mia; Hirvikoski, Tatja; Salander Renberg, Ellinor; Åsberg, Marie; Jokinen, Jussi

2017-01-01

Difficulties in interpersonal relationships are associated with a wide range of psychiatric diagnoses and have been reported as a trigger for suicidal behavior, too. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between interpersonal problems and family history of suicide in suicide attempters and to describe relevant patterns of interpersonal problems in this patient group. The study involves 181 patients having their clinical follow-up after a suicide attempt. Family history of suicide was assessed by using the Karolinska Self Harm History Interview or retrieved in patient records. The Inventory of Interpersonal Problems was used to assess personal style in an interpersonal context. Suicide attempters with a family history of suicide had significantly more often an intrusive personal style. The results remained significant after adjustment for personality disorder. The specific interpersonal patterns associated with family history of suicide may interfere with the ability to create stable, long-lasting relationships. In regards to treatment, these personal qualities could cause difficulties in the alliance with health care personnel and make it harder for suicide attempters to accept or benefit from treatment. Attention to suicide attempters' interpersonal problems is of importance to lower their distress. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison of test methods to screen for residual chemical contamination on medical device surfaces.

PubMed

Kulkarni, Prachi; Shoff, Megan; Lucas, Anne

2012-01-01

Reprocessing medical devices involves several steps including cleaning and disinfection or sterilization. Chemical residuals can occur at various stages of reprocessing. These residues could interfere with device function and potentially harm patients. These solutions are composed of a combination of various chemicals and their residues are highly diluted post rinsing, therefore, it is difficult to find a sensitive and rapid method to detect toxicity due to chemical residues. This study focused on (1) finding the levels of residues that are cytotoxic using two mammalian cell lines and Daphnia magna, and (2) evaluating two test methods, Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and the Luminescent Bacteria Test (LBT), to measure residual chemicals levels. The two mammalian cell lines were equal in their cytotoxicity responses. However, Daphnia were more sensitive to some chemical residue than the two mammalian cell lines. TOC and LBT were able to detect the presence of residue well below the levels that were determined to cause mammalian cytotoxicity. LBT was more sensitive for some chemicals and TOC for others, both in solution and in simulated cleaning and rinsing for the limited number of solutions tested in this study.

Beyond insects: current status, achievements and future perspectives of RNAi in mite pests.

PubMed

Niu, Jinzhi; Shen, Guangmao; Christiaens, Olivier; Smagghe, Guy; He, Lin; Wang, Jinjun

2018-05-11

Mites comprise a group of key agricultural pests on a wide range of crops. They cause harm through feeding on the plant and transferring dangerous pathogens, and the rapid evolution of pesticide resistance in mites highlights the need for novel control methods. Currently, RNA interference (RNAi) shows a great potential for insect pest control. Here, we review the literature associated with RNAi in mite pests. We discuss different target genes and RNAi efficiency in various mite species, a promising Varroa control program through RNAi, the synergy of RNAi with plant defense mechanisms and microorganisms, and the current understandings of systemic movement of dsRNA. Based on this, we can conclude that there is a clear potential for an RNAi-based mite control application but further research on several aspects is needed, including: (i) the factors influencing the RNAi efficiency, (ii) the mechanism of environmental RNAi and cross-kingdom dsRNA trafficking, (iii) the mechanism of possible systemic and parental RNAi, and (iv) non-target effects, specifically in predatory mites, should be considered during the RNAi target selection. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

[Delirium: The 7th Vital Sign?

PubMed

Prayce, Rita; Quaresma, Filipa; Neto, Isabel Galriça

2018-01-31

Delirium is an acute, transient and fluctuating neuropsychiatric syndrome that is common in medical wards, particularly in the geriatric and palliative care population. We present a brief literature review of the definition, pathophysiology, aetiology, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of delirium and its social and economic impact. Delirium is under-recognized, especially by health professionals, and is associated with higher morbidity, mortality and economic burden. Moreover, the presence of delirium interferes with the evaluation and approach to other symptoms. Furthermore, it causes significant distress in patient's families and health professionals. The best treatment for delirium is prevention which is based on multidisciplinary interventions that addresses the main risk factors. The scientific evidence for the treatment of delirium is scarce. Non-pharmacological approaches are usually the first choice, and includes environmental, behavioural and social strategies. Pharmacological options, mainly antipsychotics, are a second-line treatment used essentially to prevent self harm. The recognition and prevention of delirium are crucial. Health professional education and training, patient clinical monitoring and families support are mandatory. Considering the impact of delirium on patients, relatives, health services and professionals we must be more aware of delirium and, why not, make it the 7th vital sign.

Leave Her out of It: Person-Presentation of Strategies is Harmful for Transfer.

PubMed

Riggs, Anne E; Alibali, Martha W; Kalish, Charles W

2015-11-01

A common practice in textbooks is to introduce concepts or strategies in association with specific people. This practice aligns with research suggesting that using "real-world" contexts in textbooks increases students' motivation and engagement. However, other research suggests this practice may interfere with transfer by distracting students or leading them to tie new knowledge too closely to the original learning context. The current study investigates the effects on learning and transfer of connecting mathematics strategies to specific people. A total of 180 college students were presented with an example of a problem-solving strategy that was either linked with a specific person (e.g., "Juan's strategy") or presented without a person. Students who saw the example without a person were more likely to correctly transfer the novel strategy to new problems than students who saw the example presented with a person. These findings are the first evidence that using people to present new strategies is harmful for learning and transfer. Copyright © 2015 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Are anxious workers less productive workers? It depends on the quality of social exchange.

PubMed

McCarthy, Julie M; Trougakos, John P; Cheng, Bonnie Hayden

2016-02-01

In this article, we draw from Conservation of Resources Theory to advance and test a framework which predicts that emotional exhaustion plays an explanatory role underlying the relation between workplace anxiety and job performance. Further, we draw from social exchange theories to predict that leader-member exchange and coworker exchange will mitigate the harmful effects of anxiety on job performance. Findings across a 3-wave study of police officers supported our model. Emotional exhaustion mediated the link between workplace anxiety and job performance, over and above the effect of cognitive interference. Further, coworker exchange mitigated the positive relation between anxiety and emotional exhaustion, while leader-member exchange mitigated the negative relation between emotional exhaustion and job performance. This study elucidates the effects of workplace anxiety on resource depletion via emotional exhaustion and highlights the value of drawing on social resources to offset the potentially harmful effects of workplace anxiety on job performance. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Two questions about surrogacy and exploitation.

PubMed

Wertheimer, Alan

1992-01-01

In this article I will consider two related questions about surrogacy and exploitation: (1) Is surrogacy exploitative? (2) If surrogacy is exploitative, what is the moral force of this exploitation? Briefly stated, I shall argue that whether surrogacy is exploitative depends on whether exploitation must be harmful to the exploited party or whether (as I think) there can be mutually advantageous exploitation. It also depends on some facts about surrogacy about which we have little reliable evidence and on our philosophical view on what counts as a harm to the surrogate. Our answer to the second question will turn in part on the account of exploitation we invoke in answering the first question and in part on the way in which we resolve some other questions about the justification of state interference. I shall suggest, however, that if surrogacy is a form of voluntary and mutually advantageous exploitation, then there is a strong presumption that surrogacy contracts should be permitted and even enforceable, although that presumption may be overridden on other grounds.

Children's Intrinsic Motivation to Provide Help Themselves After Accidentally Harming Others.

PubMed

Hepach, Robert; Vaish, Amrisha; Tomasello, Michael

2017-07-01

Little is known about the flexibility of children's prosocial motivation. Here, 2- and 3-year-old children's (n = 128) internal arousal, as measured via changes in pupil dilation, was increased after they accidentally harmed a victim but were unable to repair the harm. If they were able to repair (or if they themselves did not cause the harm and the help was provided by someone else) their arousal subsided. This suggests that children are especially motivated to help those whom they have harmed, perhaps out of a sense of guilt and a desire to reconcile with them. Young children care not only about the well-being of others but also about the relationship they have with those who depend on their help. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development © 2016 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Incidence, clinical management, and mortality risk following self harm among children and adolescents: cohort study in primary care

PubMed Central

Webb, Roger T; Carr, Matthew J; Kontopantelis, Evangelos; Green, Jonathan; Chew-Graham, Carolyn A; Kapur, Nav; Ashcroft, Darren M

2017-01-01

Objectives To examine temporal trends in sex and age specific incidence of self harm in children and adolescents, clinical management patterns, and risk of cause specific mortality following an index self harm episode at a young age. Design Population based cohort study. Setting UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink—electronic health records from 674 general practices, with practice level deprivation measured ecologically using the index of multiple deprivation. Patients from eligible English practices were linked to hospital episode statistics (HES) and Office for National Statistics (ONS) mortality records. Participants For the descriptive analytical phases we examined data pertaining to 16 912 patients aged 10-19 who harmed themselves during 2001-14. For analysis of cause specific mortality following self harm, 8638 patients eligible for HES and ONS linkage were matched by age, sex, and general practice with up to 20 unaffected children and adolescents (n=170 274). Main outcome measures In the first phase, temporal trends in sex and age specific annual incidence were examined. In the second phase, clinical management was assessed according to the likelihood of referral to mental health services and psychotropic drug prescribing. In the third phase, relative risks of all cause mortality, unnatural death (including suicide and accidental death), and fatal acute alcohol or drug poisoning were estimated as hazard ratios derived from stratified Cox proportional hazards models for the self harm cohort versus the matched unaffected comparison cohort. Results The annual incidence of self harm was observed to increase in girls (37.4 per 10 000) compared with boys (12.3 per 10 000), and a sharp 68% increase occurred among girls aged 13-16, from 45.9 per 10 000 in 2011 to 77.0 per 10 000 in 2014. Referrals within 12 months of the index self harm episode were 23% less likely for young patients registered at the most socially deprived practices, even though incidences were considerably higher in these localities. Children and adolescents who harmed themselves were approximately nine times more likely to die unnaturally during follow-up, with especially noticeable increases in risks of suicide (deprivation adjusted hazard ratio 17.5, 95% confidence interval 7.6 to 40.5) and fatal acute alcohol or drug poisoning (34.3, 10.2 to 115.7). Conclusions Gaining a better understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the recent apparent increase in the incidence of self harm among early-mid teenage girls, and coordinated initiatives to tackle health inequalities in the provision of services to distressed children and adolescents, represent urgent priorities for multiple public agencies. PMID:29046278

Research Areas: Causes of Cancer

Cancer.gov

Understanding the exposures and risk factors that cause cancer, as well as the genetic abnormalities associated with the disease, has helped us to reduce certain exposures and to ameliorate their harmful effects.

Perceived intent motivates people to magnify observed harms

PubMed Central

Ames, Daniel L.; Fiske, Susan T.

2015-01-01

Existing moral psychology research commonly explains certain phenomena in terms of a motivation to blame. However, this motivation is not measured directly, but rather is inferred from other measures, such as participants’ judgments of an agent’s blameworthiness. The present paper introduces new methods for assessing this theoretically important motivation, using tools drawn from animal-model research. We test these methods in the context of recent “harm-magnification” research, which shows that people often overestimate the damage caused by intentional (versus unintentional) harms. A preliminary experiment exemplifies this work and also rules out an alternative explanation for earlier harm-magnification results. Exp. 1 asks whether intended harm motivates blame or merely demonstrates the actor’s intrinsic blameworthiness. Consistent with a motivational interpretation, participants freely chose blaming, condemning, and punishing over other appealing tasks in an intentional-harm condition, compared with an unintentional-harm condition. Exp. 2 also measures motivation but with converging indicators of persistence (effort, rate, and duration) in blaming. In addition to their methodological contribution, these studies also illuminate people’s motivational responses to intentional harms. Perceived intent emerges as catalyzing a motivated social cognitive process related to social prediction and control. PMID:25733850

Self-harm and suicide in adolescents.

PubMed

Hawton, Keith; Saunders, Kate E A; O'Connor, Rory C

2012-06-23

Self-harm and suicide are major public health problems in adolescents, with rates of self-harm being high in the teenage years and suicide being the second most common cause of death in young people worldwide. Important contributors to self-harm and suicide include genetic vulnerability and psychiatric, psychological, familial, social, and cultural factors. The effects of media and contagion are also important, with the internet having an important contemporary role. Prevention of self-harm and suicide needs both universal measures aimed at young people in general and targeted initiatives focused on high-risk groups. There is little evidence of effectiveness of either psychosocial or pharmacological treatment, with particular controversy surrounding the usefulness of antidepressants. Restriction of access to means for suicide is important. Major challenges include the development of greater understanding of the factors that contribute to self-harm and suicide in young people, especially mechanisms underlying contagion and the effect of new media. The identification of successful prevention initiatives aimed at young people and those at especially high risk, and the establishment of effective treatments for those who self-harm, are paramount needs. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sociocultural Influences on Moral Judgments: East–West, Male–Female, and Young–Old

PubMed Central

Arutyunova, Karina R.; Alexandrov, Yuri I.; Hauser, Marc D.

2016-01-01

Gender, age, and culturally specific beliefs are often considered relevant to observed variation in social interactions. At present, however, the scientific literature is mixed with respect to the significance of these factors in guiding moral judgments. In this study, we explore the role of each of these factors in moral judgment by presenting the results of a web-based study of Eastern (i.e., Russia) and Western (i.e., USA, UK, Canada) subjects, male and female, and young and old. Participants (n = 659) responded to hypothetical moral scenarios describing situations where sacrificing one life resulted in saving five others. Though men and women from both types of cultures judged (1) harms caused by action as less permissible than harms caused by omission, (2) means-based harms as less permissible than side-effects, and (3) harms caused by contact as less permissible than by non-contact, men in both cultures delivered more utilitarian judgments (save the five, sacrifice one) than women. Moreover, men from Western cultures were more utilitarian than Russian men, with no differences observed for women. In both cultures, older participants delivered less utilitarian judgments than younger participants. These results suggest that certain core principles may mediate moral judgments across different societies, implying some degree of universality, while also allowing a limited range of variation due to sociocultural factors. PMID:27656155

Amplification of interference color by using liquid crystal for protein detection

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhu, Qingdi; Yang, Kun-Lin, E-mail: cheyk@nus.edu.sg

Micrometer-sized, periodic protein lines printed on a solid surface cause interference color which is invisible to the naked eye. However, the interference color can be amplified by using a thin layer of liquid crystal (LC) covered on the surface to form a phase diffraction grating. Strong interference color can thus be observed under ambient light. By using the LC-amplified interference color, we demonstrate naked-eye detection of a model protein—immunoglobulin G (IgG). Limit of detection can reach 20 μg/ml of IgG without using any instrumentation. This detection method is potentially useful for the development of low-cost and portable biosensors.

Constipation and Defecation Problems

MedlinePlus

... resulting in harm to people with kidney failure. Stimulant laxatives contain substances that directly stimulate the walls ... bisacodyl), causing them to contract. Taken by mouth, stimulant laxatives generally cause a bowel movement in six ...

Inductive Interference in Rapid Transit Signaling Systems. Volume 1. Theory and Background.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1986-05-01

This report describes the mechanism of inductive interference to audio frequency (AF) signaling systems used in rail transit operations, caused by rail transit vehicles with chopper propulsion control. Choppers are switching circuits composed of high...

Intervention Groups for Adolescents with Conduct Problems: Is Aggregation Harmful or Helpful?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mager, Wendy; Milich, Richard; Harris, Monica J.; Howard, Anne

2005-01-01

Past research has suggested that the aggregation of deviant peers during treatment may cause harmful effects (T. J. Dishion, J. McCord, & F. Poulin, 1999). This study compared the effectiveness of problem-solving skills training groups in which all members had conduct problems ("pure" group condition) with groups that consisted of adolescents with…

Evidence for Overuse of Medical Services Around the World

PubMed Central

Brownlee, Shannon; Chalkidou, Kalipso; Doust, Jenny; Elshaug, Adam G.; Glasziou, Paul; Heath, Iona; Nagpal, Somil; Saini, Vikas; Srivastava, Divya; Chalmers, Kelsey; Korenstein, Deborah

2017-01-01

Summary Overuse, which is defined as the provision of medical services that are more likely to cause harm than good, is a global problem that afflicts rich and poor countries alike. This article reviews the definition of overuse, methods for measuring overuse, harms from overuse, and the evidence for worldwide overuse of many types of services. PMID:28077234

Adolescents' Self-Reported Suicide Attempts, Self-Harm Thoughts and Their Correlates across 17 European Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kokkevi, A.; Rotsika, V.; Arapaki, A.; Richardson, C.

2012-01-01

Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death among adolescents in Europe. Self-harm thoughts and behaviours are documented precursors of completed suicide. It is therefore of great importance to investigate the prevalence of suicide thoughts and attempts and their correlates, with the aim of preventing this major life-threatening public health…

Pesticides, Neurodevelopmental Disagreement, and Bradford Hill's Guidelines.

PubMed

Shrader-Frechette, Kristin; ChoGlueck, Christopher

2016-06-27

Neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism affect one-eighth of all U.S. newborns. Yet scientists, accessing the same data and using Bradford-Hill guidelines, draw different conclusions about the causes of these disorders. They disagree about the pesticide-harm hypothesis, that typical United States prenatal pesticide exposure can cause neurodevelopmental damage. This article aims to discover whether apparent scientific disagreement about this hypothesis might be partly attributable to questionable interpretations of the Bradford-Hill causal guidelines. Key scientists, who claim to employ Bradford-Hill causal guidelines, yet fail to accept the pesticide-harm hypothesis, fall into errors of trimming the guidelines, requiring statistically-significant data, and ignoring semi-experimental evidence. However, the main scientists who accept the hypothesis appear to commit none of these errors. Although settling disagreement over the pesticide-harm hypothesis requires extensive analysis, this article suggests that at least some conflicts may arise because of questionable interpretations of the guidelines.

Analysis of compounds that interfere with herpes simplex virus-host receptor interactions using surface plasmon resonance.

PubMed

Gopinath, Subash C B; Hayashi, Kyoko; Lee, Jung-Bum; Kamori, Akiko; Dong, Cai-Xia; Hayashi, Toshimitsu; Kumar, Penmetcha K R

2013-11-05

The entry of herpes simplex virus into host cells involves a complex series of events that require concerted inputs from multiple HSV glycoproteins. Among these glycoproteins, the gD protein of HSV-1 and HSV-2 plays an important role for host receptor binding and membrane fusion. In the present study, we evaluated the ability of different sulfated saccharides to interfere with gD-host receptor (HVEM) interactions using our recently reported molecular assay (Gopinath, S. C. B.; Hayashi, K.; Kumar, P. K. R. J. Virol. 2012, 86, 6732-6744). Initially, we tested the ability of heparan sulfate to interfere with the HVEM-HSV-1 gD interaction and found that heparan sulfate is able to interfere efficiently, with an apparent EC50 of 2.1 μM. In addition, we tested different synthetic sulfated polysaccharides and natural sulfated polysaccharides from an edible alga, Sargassum horneri , after fractionation into different sizes and sulfate and uronic acid contents. Six polysaccharides isolated from S. horneri were found to efficiently interfere with the HVEM-gD interaction. Three others caused moderate interference, and five caused weak interference. These results were confirmed with plaque assays, and good agreement was found with the results of the SPR assay for the identification of compounds that interfere with HVEM-HSV-1 gD binding. These studies suggest that our molecular assay based on surface plasmon resonance is not only useful for the analysis of viral-host protein interactions but is also applicable for the routine screening of compounds to identify those that interfere with the first step of viral entry, thus facilitating the rapid development of novel antiviral compounds that target HSV.

Articulating Connections between the Harm-Reduction Paradigm and the Marginalisation of People Who Use Illicit Drugs

PubMed Central

Souleymanov, Rusty; Allman, Dan

2016-01-01

In this paper, we argue for the importance of unsettling dominant narratives in the current terrain of harm-reduction policy, practice and research. To accomplish this, we trace the historical developments regarding the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and harm-reduction policies and practice. We argue that multiple historical junctures rather than single causes of social exclusion engender the processes of marginalisation, propelled by social movements, institutional interests, state legislation, community practices, neo-liberalism and governmentality techniques. We analyse interests (activist, lay expert, institutional and state) in the harm-reduction field, and consider conceptualisations of risk, pleasure, stigma, social control and exclusionary moral identities. Based on our review of the literature, this paper provides recommendations for social workers and others delivering health and social care interested in the fields of substance use, HIV prevention and harm reduction. PMID:27559236

Articulating Connections between the Harm-Reduction Paradigm and the Marginalisation of People Who Use Illicit Drugs.

PubMed

Souleymanov, Rusty; Allman, Dan

2016-07-01

In this paper, we argue for the importance of unsettling dominant narratives in the current terrain of harm-reduction policy, practice and research. To accomplish this, we trace the historical developments regarding the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and harm-reduction policies and practice. We argue that multiple historical junctures rather than single causes of social exclusion engender the processes of marginalisation, propelled by social movements, institutional interests, state legislation, community practices, neo-liberalism and governmentality techniques. We analyse interests (activist, lay expert, institutional and state) in the harm-reduction field, and consider conceptualisations of risk, pleasure, stigma, social control and exclusionary moral identities. Based on our review of the literature, this paper provides recommendations for social workers and others delivering health and social care interested in the fields of substance use, HIV prevention and harm reduction.

Harm, moralism, and the struggle for the soul of feminism.

PubMed

Brush, L D

1997-06-01

This article presents a response to the complaint about the moralistic character of feminist effort to restructure harm. Focus is given to the claim that moralism is both explicable and strategically desirable in feminist antiviolence. Moreover, it also argues the complaint about moralism, which is disingenuous, to the extent that it ignores differences in women's vulnerability to harm from threats and violence. Contemporary feminist strategies to stop violence against women have revealed a profound conflict of interest among women. Feminists have mobilized moral outrage, built institutions to protect and nurture women, and demanded resources for policing and healing by drawing attention to the harms caused by violence against women. However, many women, especially young, heterosexual women, are alienated by a discourse of victimization that reflects neither their experiences nor their interests. Through an analysis of welfare reform, it links harm to a broader context that includes issues of economic opportunity, reproductive rights, and political parity.

Corticolimbic gating of emotion-driven punishment.

PubMed

Treadway, Michael T; Buckholtz, Joshua W; Martin, Justin W; Jan, Katharine; Asplund, Christopher L; Ginther, Matthew R; Jones, Owen D; Marois, René

2014-09-01

Determining the appropriate punishment for a norm violation requires consideration of both the perpetrator's state of mind (for example, purposeful or blameless) and the strong emotions elicited by the harm caused by their actions. It has been hypothesized that such affective responses serve as a heuristic that determines appropriate punishment. However, an actor's mental state often trumps the effect of emotions, as unintended harms may go unpunished, regardless of their magnitude. Using fMRI, we found that emotionally graphic descriptions of harmful acts amplify punishment severity, boost amygdala activity and strengthen amygdala connectivity with lateral prefrontal regions involved in punishment decision-making. However, this was only observed when the actor's harm was intentional; when harm was unintended, a temporoparietal-medial-prefrontal circuit suppressed amygdala activity and the effect of graphic descriptions on punishment was abolished. These results reveal the brain mechanisms by which evaluation of a transgressor's mental state gates our emotional urges to punish.

Particulate Matter in Second-Hand Smoke Emitted from Different Cigarette Sizes and Types of the Brand Vogue Mainly Smoked by Women.

PubMed

Kant, Nora; Müller, Ruth; Braun, Markus; Gerber, Alexander; Groneberg, David

2016-08-08

Indoor air pollution with harmful particulate matter (PM) is mainly caused by cigarette smoke. Super-Slim-Size-Cigarettes (SSL) are considered a less harmful alternative to King-Size-Cigarettes (KSC) due to longer filters and relatively low contents. We ask if "Combined Mainstream and Sidestream Smoke" (CMSS)-associated PM levels of SSL are lower than of KSC and thus are potentially less harmful. PM concentrations in CMSS (PM10, PM2.5, and PM₁) are measured from four cigarette types of the brand Vogue, using an "automatic-environmental-tobacco-smoke-emitter" (AETSE) and laser aerosol spectrometry: SSL-BLEUE, -MENTHE, -LILAS and KSC-La Cigarette and -3R4F reference. This analysis shows that SSL MENTHE emitted the highest amount of PM, and KSC-La Cigarette the lowest. 3R4F reference emitted PM in the middle range, exceeding SSL BLEUE and falling slightly below SSL LILAS. It emerged that PM₁ constituted the biggest proportion of PM emission. The outcome shows significant type-specific differences for emitted PM concentrations. Our results indicate that SSL are potentially more harmful for passive smokers than the respective KSC. However, this study cannot give precise statements about the general influence of the size of a cigarette on PM. Alarming is that PM₁ is responsible for the biggest proportion of PM pollution, since smaller particles cause more harmful effects.

Should fertile people have access to in vitro fertilisation?

PubMed

Dawson, K; Singer, P

1990-01-20

Some existing laws and some proposed legislation regulating the practice of in vitro fertilization (IVF) limit its availability to infertile couples. Dawson and Singer question whether it is reasonable to so restrict access to IVF, and examine some of the medical and social circumstances in which IVF and the related procedures of embryo freezing, embryo biopsy, and embryo transfer might be used by the fertile. They argue that while society may object to some uses of IVF by the fertile, the principle of governmental non-interference with personal liberties except to prevent harm mitigate against legally restricting IVF to the infertile.

Electromagnetic interference may cause false asystole alarms in certain Philips IntelliVue monitoring products.

PubMed

2011-09-01

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) may cause some Philips Healthcare IntelliVue MMS, MP2, MP5, and X2 patient monitoring products to incorrectly display a flat electrocardiogram (ECG) waveform and generate a false asystole alarm. This occurs while the devices' pace pulse rejection feature is enabled. Facilities that suspect such behavior in their inventories should contact Philips to discuss whether installation of firmware version D.02.05 will help address the problem.

Digital music players cause interference with interrogation telemetry for pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators without affecting device function.

PubMed

Webster, Gregory; Jordao, Ligia; Martuscello, Maria; Mahajan, Tarun; Alexander, Mark E; Cecchin, Frank; Triedman, John K; Walsh, Edward P; Berul, Charles I

2008-04-01

Concern exists regarding the potential electromagnetic interaction between pacemakers, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) and digital music players (DMPs). A preliminary study reported interference in 50% of patients whose devices were interrogated near Apple iPods. Given the high prevalence of DMP use among young patients, we sought to define the nature of interference from iPods and evaluate other DMPs. Four DMPs (Apple Nano, Apple Video, SanDisk Sansa and Microsoft Zune) were evaluated against pacemakers and ICDs (PM/ICD). Along with continuous monitoring, we recorded a baseline ECG strip, sensing parameters and lead impedance at baseline and for each device. Among 51 patients evaluated (age 6 to 60 years, median 22), there was no interference with intrinsic device function. Interference with the programmer occurred in 41% of the patients. All four DMPs caused programmer interference, including disabled communication between the PM/ICD and programmer, noise in the ECG channel, and lost marker channel indicators. Sensing parameters and lead impedances exhibited no more than baseline variability. When the DMPs were removed six inches, there were no further programmer telemetry interactions. Contrary to a prior report, we did not identify any evidence for electromagnetic interference between a selection of DMPs and intrinsic function of PM/ICDs. The DMPs did sometimes interfere with device-programmer communication, but not in a way that compromised device function. Therefore, we recommend that DMPs not be used during device interrogation, but suggest that there is reassuring counterevidence to mitigate the current high level of concern for interactions between DMPs and implantable cardiac rhythm devices.

Another look at retroactive and proactive interference: a quantitative analysis of conversion processes.

PubMed

Blank, Hartmut

2005-02-01

Traditionally, the causes of interference phenomena were sought in "real" or "hard" memory processes such as unlearning, response competition, or inhibition, which serve to reduce the accessibility of target items. I propose an alternative approach which does not deny the influence of such processes but highlights a second, equally important, source of interference-the conversion (Tulving, 1983) of accessible memory information into memory performance. Conversion is conceived as a problem-solving-like activity in which the rememberer tries to find solutions to a memory task. Conversion-based interference effects are traced to different conversion processes in the experimental and control conditions of interference designs. I present a simple theoretical model that quantitatively predicts the resulting amount of interference. In two paired-associate learning experiments using two different types of memory tests, these predictions were corroborated. Relations of the present approach to traditional accounts of interference phenomena and implications for eyewitness testimony are discussed.

Global Issues and the Precautionary Principle

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brody, Charlotte

2005-01-01

The author observes that environmental science is finding that industrial chemicals act like pharmaceuticals: a dose that won't hurt an adult can harm a fetus or a child; an amount that won't harm the mother can hurt her child in utero; some people are more sensitive than others to the effect; and one substance can interact with others and cause a…

Popular intoxicants: what lessons can be learned from the last 40 years of alcohol and cannabis regulation?

PubMed

Weissenborn, Ruth; Nutt, David J

2012-02-01

In this paper we discuss the relative physical, psychological and social harms of the two most frequently used intoxicant drugs in the UK, namely cannabis and alcohol. Over the past 40 years, the use of both drugs has risen significantly with differential consequences. It is argued that increased policing of cannabis use under the current drug classification system will lead to increased criminalization of young people, but is unlikely to significantly reduce the rates of schizophrenia and psychosis. In comparison, increases in alcohol drinking are related to significant increases in liver cirrhosis hospital admissions and mortality, at a time when mortality rates from other major causes are on the decline. A recent expert-led comparison of the health and social harms to the user and to others caused by the most commonly used drugs in the UK showed alcohol to be more than twice as harmful as cannabis to users, and five times as harmful as cannabis to others. The findings underline the need for a coherent, evidence-based drugs policy that enables individuals to make informed decisions about the consequences of their drug use.

Medicines and Bone Loss

MedlinePlus

... The doses of thyroid hormone used to treat hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) don’t harm bone and shouldn’t be cause for concern. Only high doses, used for thyroid cancer treatment, can cause bone loss. High doses or long- ...

It is the outcome that counts! Damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex disrupts the integration of outcome and belief information for moral judgment.

PubMed

Ciaramelli, Elisa; Braghittoni, Davide; di Pellegrino, Giuseppe

2012-11-01

Moral judgment involves considering not only the outcome of an action but also the intention with which it was pursued. Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research has shown that integrating outcome and belief information for moral judgment relies on a brain network including temporo-parietal, precuneus, and medial prefrontal regions. Here, we investigated whether the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) plays a crucial role in this process. Patients with lesions in vmPFC (vmPFC patients), and brain-damaged and healthy controls considered scenarios in which the protagonist caused intentional harm (negative-outcome, negative-belief), accidental harm (negative-outcome, neutral-belief), attempted harm (neutral-outcome, negative-belief), or no harm (neutral-outcome, neutral-belief), and rated the moral permissibility of the protagonists' behavior. All groups responded similarly to scenarios involving intentional harm and no harm. vmPFC patients, however, judged attempted harm as more permissible, and accidental harm as less permissible, than the control groups. For vmPFC patients, outcome information, rather than belief information, shaped moral judgment. The results indicate that vmPFC is necessary for integrating outcome and belief information during moral reasoning. During moral judgment vmPFC may mediate intentions' understanding, and overriding of prepotent responses to salient outcomes.

A Population-Based Study of the Prevalence and Correlates of Self-Harm in Juvenile Detention

PubMed Central

Hildahl, Keith; Katz, Laurence Y.; Bolton, James; Sareen, Jitender

2016-01-01

Background Suicide is the number one cause of death among incarcerated youth. We examined the demographic and forensic risk factors for self-harm in youth in juvenile detention using a Canadian provincial correctional database. Method We analyzed data from de-identified youth aged 12 to 18 at the time of their offense who were in custody in a Manitoba youth correctional facility between January 1, 2005 and December 30, 2010 (N = 5,102). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses determined the association between staff-identified self-harm events in custody and demographic and custodial variables. Time to the event was examined based on the admission date and date of event. Results Demographic variables associated with self-harm included female sex, lower educational achievement, older age, and child welfare involvement. Custodial variables associated with self-harm included higher criminal severity profiles, younger age at first incarceration, longer sentence length, disruptive institutional behavior, and a history of attempting escape. Youth identified at entry as being at risk for suicide were more likely to self-harm. Events tended to occur earlier in the custodial admission. Interpretation Self-harm events tended to occur within the first 3 months of an admission stay. Youth with more serious offenses and disruptive behaviors were more likely to self-harm. Individuals with problematic custodial profiles were more likely to self-harm. Suicide screening identified youth at risk for self-harm. Strategies to identify and help youth at risk are needed. PMID:26760497

The concept of "harm" in Internet gaming disorder.

PubMed

King, Daniel L; Delfabbro, Paul H

2018-05-23

Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is a proposed condition that refers to persistent gaming leading to clinically significant impairment. However, there have been few attempts to study the different types and degrees of harm caused by IGD. This commentary describes some of the negative intrapersonal and interpersonal effects of an extreme time investment in gaming activities in the context of IGD. Future research should examine the way in which IGD harms may occur at different levels and degrees. This may enhance the screening of individuals whose behavior is suspected to meet the definition of the proposed IGD criteria.

Embodied harms: gender, shame, and technology-facilitated sexual violence.

PubMed

Henry, Nicola; Powell, Anastasia

2015-06-01

Criminality in cyberspace has been the subject of much debate since the 1990s, yet comparatively little attention has been paid to technology-facilitated sexual violence and harassment (TFSV). The aim of this article is to explore the ways in which retraditionalized gender hierarchies and inequalities are manifested in online contexts, and to conceptualize the cause and effects of TFSV as "embodied harms." We argue that problematic mind/body and online/off-line dualisms result in a failure to grasp the unique nature of embodied harms, precluding an adequate understanding and theorization of TFSV. © The Author(s) 2015.

Double Jeopardy: Insurance, Animal Harm, and Domestic Violence.

PubMed

Signal, Tania; Taylor, Nik; Burke, Karena J; Brownlow, Luke

2018-05-01

Although the role of companion animals within the dynamic of domestic violence (DV) is increasingly recognized, the overlap of animal harm and insurance discrimination for victims/survivors of DV has not been considered. Prompted by a case study presented in a National Link Coalition LINK-Letter, this research note examines "Pet Insurance" policies available in Australia and whether nonaccidental injury caused by an intimate partner would be covered. We discuss the implications of exclusion criteria for victims/survivors of DV, shelters providing places for animals within a DV dynamic, and, more broadly, for cross- or mandatory-reporting (of animal harm) initiatives.

Incidence, clinical management, and mortality risk following self harm among children and adolescents: cohort study in primary care.

PubMed

Morgan, Catharine; Webb, Roger T; Carr, Matthew J; Kontopantelis, Evangelos; Green, Jonathan; Chew-Graham, Carolyn A; Kapur, Nav; Ashcroft, Darren M

2017-10-18

Objectives  To examine temporal trends in sex and age specific incidence of self harm in children and adolescents, clinical management patterns, and risk of cause specific mortality following an index self harm episode at a young age. Design  Population based cohort study. Setting  UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink-electronic health records from 647 general practices, with practice level deprivation measured ecologically using the index of multiple deprivation. Patients from eligible English practices were linked to hospital episode statistics (HES) and Office for National Statistics (ONS) mortality records. Participants  For the descriptive analytical phases we examined data pertaining to 16 912 patients aged 10-19 who harmed themselves during 2001-14. For analysis of cause specific mortality following self harm, 8638 patients eligible for HES and ONS linkage were matched by age, sex, and general practice with up to 20 unaffected children and adolescents (n=170 274). Main outcome measures  In the first phase, temporal trends in sex and age specific annual incidence were examined. In the second phase, clinical management was assessed according to the likelihood of referral to mental health services and psychotropic drug prescribing. In the third phase, relative risks of all cause mortality, unnatural death (including suicide and accidental death), and fatal acute alcohol or drug poisoning were estimated as hazard ratios derived from stratified Cox proportional hazards models for the self harm cohort versus the matched unaffected comparison cohort. Results  The annual incidence of self harm was observed to increase in girls (37.4 per 10 000) compared with boys (12.3 per 10 000), and a sharp 68% increase occurred among girls aged 13-16, from 45.9 per 10 000 in 2011 to 77.0 per 10 000 in 2014. Referrals within 12 months of the index self harm episode were 23% less likely for young patients registered at the most socially deprived practices, even though incidences were considerably higher in these localities. Children and adolescents who harmed themselves were approximately nine times more likely to die unnaturally during follow-up, with especially noticeable increases in risks of suicide (deprivation adjusted hazard ratio 17.5, 95% confidence interval 7.6 to 40.5) and fatal acute alcohol or drug poisoning (34.3, 10.2 to 115.7). Conclusions  Gaining a better understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the recent apparent increase in the incidence of self harm among early-mid teenage girls, and coordinated initiatives to tackle health inequalities in the provision of services to distressed children and adolescents, represent urgent priorities for multiple public agencies. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Electronic systems failures and anomalies attributed to electromagnetic interference

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leach, R. D. (Editor); Alexander, M. B. (Editor)

1995-01-01

The effects of electromagnetic interference can be very detrimental to electronic systems utilized in space missions. Assuring that subsystems and systems are electrically compatible is an important engineering function necessary to assure mission success. This reference publication will acquaint the reader with spacecraft electronic systems failures and anomalies caused by electromagnetic interference and will show the importance of electromagnetic compatibility activities in conjunction with space flight programs. It is also hoped that the report will illustrate that evolving electronic systems are increasingly sensitive to electromagnetic interference and that NASA personnel must continue to diligently pursue electromagnetic compatibility on space flight systems.

The interference aerodynamics caused by the wing elasticity during store separation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lei, Yang; Zheng-yin, Ye

2016-04-01

Air-launch-to-orbit is the technology that has stores carried aloft and launched the store from the plane to the orbit. The separation between the aircraft and store is one of the most important and difficult phases in air-launch-to-orbit technology. There exists strong aerodynamic interference between the aircraft and the store in store separation. When the aspect ratio of the aircraft is large, the elastic deformations of the wing must be considered. The main purpose of this article is to study the influence of the interference aerodynamics caused by the elastic deformations of the wing to the unsteady aerodynamics of the store. By solving the coupled functions of unsteady Navier-Stokes equations, six degrees of freedom dynamic equations and structural dynamic equations simultaneously, the store separation with the elastic deformation of the aircraft considered is simulated numerically. And the interactive aerodynamic forces are analyzed. The study shows that the interference aerodynamics is obvious at earlier time during the separation, and the dominant frequency of the elastic wing determines the aerodynamic forces frequencies of the store. Because of the effect of the interference aerodynamics, the roll angle response and pitch angle response increase. When the store is mounted under the wingtip, the additional aerodynamics caused by the wingtip vortex is obvious, which accelerate the divergence of the lateral force and the lateral-directional attitude angle of the store. This study supports some beneficial conclusions to the engineering application of the air-launch-to-orbit.

Clustering-based energy-saving algorithm in ultra-dense network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Junwei; Zhou, Pengguang; Teng, Deyang; Zhang, Renchi; Xu, Hao

2017-06-01

In Ultra-dense Networks (UDN), dense deployment of low power small base stations will cause serious small cells interference and a large amount of energy consumption. The purpose of this paper is to explore the method of reducing small cells interference and energy saving system in UDN, and we innovatively propose a sleep-waking-active (SWA) scheme. The scheme decreases the user outage causing by failure to detect users’ service requests, shortens the opening time of active base stations directly switching to sleep mode; we further proposes a Vertex Surrounding Clustering(VSC) algorithm, which first colours the small cells with the most strongest interference and next extends to the adjacent small cells. VSC algorithm can use the least colour to stain the small cell, reduce the number of iterations and promote the efficiency of colouring. The simulation results show that SWA scheme can effectively improve the system Energy Efficiency (EE), the VSC algorithm can reduce the small cells interference and optimize the users’ Spectrum Efficiency (SE) and throughput.

Phase compensation with fiber optic surface profile acquisition and reconstruction system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bo, En; Duan, Fajie; Feng, Fan; Lv, Changrong; Xiao, Fu; Huang, Tingting

2015-02-01

A fiber-optic sinusoidal phase modulating (SPM) interferometer was proposed for the acquisition and reconstruction of three-dimensional (3-D) surface profile. Sinusoidal phase modulation was induced by controlling the injection current of light source. The surface profile was constructed on the basis of fringe projection. Fringe patterns are vulnerable to external disturbances such as mechanical vibration and temperature fluctuation, which cause phase drift in the interference signal and decrease measuring accuracy. A closed-loop feedback phase compensation system was built. In the subsystem, the initial phase of the interference signal, which was caused by the initial optical path difference between interference arms, could be demodulated using phase generated carrier (PGC) method and counted out using coordinated rotation digital computer (CORDIC) , then a compensation voltage was generated for the PZT driver. The bias value of external disturbances superimposed on fringe patterns could be reduced to about 50 mrad, and the phase stability for interference fringes was less than 6 mrad. The feasibility for real-time profile measurement has been verified.

PERSPECTIVE: On the verge of dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kriegler, Elmar

2007-03-01

The recent publication of the summary for policy makers by Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) [1] has injected a renewed sense of urgency to address climate change. It is therefore timely to review the notion of preventing 'dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system' as put forward in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The article by Danny Harvey in this issue [2] offers a fresh perspective by rephrasing the concept of 'dangerous interference' as a problem of risk assessment. As Harvey points out, identification of 'dangerous interference' does not require us to know with certainty that future climate change will be dangerous—an impossible task given that our knowledge about future climate change includes uncertainty. Rather, it requires the assertion that interference would lead to a significant probability of dangerous climate change beyond some risk tolerance, and therefore would pose an unacceptable risk. In his article [2], Harvey puts this idea into operation by presenting a back-of-the-envelope calculation to identify allowable CO2 concentrations under uncertainty about climate sensitivity to anthropogenic forcing and the location of a temperature threshold beyond which dangerous climate change will occur. Conditional on his assumptions, Harvey delivers an interesting result. With the current atmospheric CO2 concentration exceeding 380 ppm, a forcing contribution from other greenhouse gases adding an approximate 100 110 ppm CO2 equivalent on top of it, and a global dimming effect of aerosols that roughly compensates for this contribution (albeit still subject to considerable uncertainty) ([1], figures SPM-1 and 2), we are on the verge of or even committed to dangerous interference with the climate system if we (1) set the risk tolerance for experiencing dangerous climate change to 1% and (2) allocate at least 5% probability to the belief that climate sensitivity is 4.5 °C or higher. In the language of the IPCC, the latter would mean that such a high climate sensitivity is anything but extremely unlikely ([1], footnote 6 and p 9), a view that is shared by many in the scientific community. Even if the risk tolerance is increased to 10%, the maximum allowable CO2 equivalent concentration remains below 460 ppm ([2], figure 7(c)). We are bound to reach that concentration in the near future, as it can be surpassed both by addition of new greenhouse gases and by a reduction of global dimming. Given the potential significance of this result, let us take a step back, and investigate its underlying assumptions. The concept of 'dangerous anthropogenic interference' is inextricably linked to the idea of a threshold beyond which climate change can be labeled dangerous. This idea enters Harvey's analysis in the form of a probability distribution for the—as he calls it—'harm threshold' measured in terms of global mean temperature increase since preindustrial time. It might be due to the presumption of such a threshold that climate science and society at large have had a difficult relationship with the concept of 'dangerous anthropogenic interference' (Dessai et al [3]). Nevertheless, I want to argue here, as many have done before (see Oppenheimer and Petsonk [4] for an overview), that this concept is not ill-defined. First of all, it is clear that 'dangerous interference' and the stipulation of a 'harm threshold' carry a value judgment, and therefore cannot be decided upon purely by science. This does not prevent science, however, from providing information and conceptual frameworks to facilitate such judgment (Schellnhuber et al [5]). Secondly, it is certainly true that our interference with the climate system emanates from local and national action, and that the consequences of such interference will first and foremost be felt on the local to regional scale. However, this does not need to conflict with the assessment of a global 'harm threshold'. The nexus of climate policy is inevitably global since our interference with the climate system is determined by the sum total of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, we are living in a highly interconnected world, and it would be foolish not to take global patterns of drivers and impacts of climate change into account. Finally, some may find the assumption of a harm threshold at odds with a cost benefit approach, since the latter implies trading off avoided climate damage with the costs of mitigation measures. However, even if such a trade-off is made, harm thresholds will occur if damage rises sharply beyond some critical amount of climate change. A look into the climate history will convince us that this is not a far-fetched idea. Climate changes in the past have often exhibited highly non-linear behaviour (see figure 1). Although the paleoclimatic record does not provide a perfect analogue to the current situation, it offers little comfort that abrupt climate change in response to our massive and rapid increase of atmospheric CO2 concentrations might not happen in the future. Consequently, cost benefit analyses accounting for the prospect of dangerous climate change have surfaced in recent years (e.g. Keller et al [6]). In addition, society has been prepared to set thresholds, e.g., to limit exposure to contaminants, even in situations where no clear jump in damage could be identified. And often such identification of thresholds was aided by cost benefit analysis (e.g. Gurian et al [7]). Is it appropriate to offer a deep time perspective on climate change such as presented in figure 1 in a discussion of 'dangerous anthropogenic interference'? Yes, because the magnitude of the anthropogenic perturbation of the carbon cycle forces us to go back far into the past, if we want to look for clues of what might happen in the future. Certainly, some of the climate changes reflected in figure 1 are a result of volcanism and continental drift, in particular the opening and closing of sea passages. However, recent data indicate that the carbon cycle was a major player in the transition from the Eocene hothouse to the modern-day icehouse world (e.g. Moran et al [11], Zachos et al [12]). The studies by Zachos et al [12] and Pearson and Palmer [13] found that carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere decreased from well above 1000 ppm during the Eocene to below or around 300 ppm during the Mio-, Plio- and Pleistocene. On the basis of their data, it is likely that present-day levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide have not occurred for the last 23 million years. Moreover, projections of the growing anthropogenic perturbation of the carbon cycle in the 21st century, including scenarios that aim at stabilizing atmospheric CO2 concentration at twice its preindustrial value, carry us to carbon dioxide levels that were last seen during the Oligocene, where major restructuring of the climate system occurred. But what about time scales? Certainly, climate policy cannot be concerned with climate changes that unravel over millions of years. However, the slowest processes in the climate system, i.e., heat penetration into the deep ocean and changes in ice sheet volume, operate on time scales of thousands of years, with deglaciation potentially occurring much faster within hundreds of years. Hence, if the driver is sufficiently fast, rapid climate change can occur. This is evidenced in the paleoclimatic record shown in figure 1 by the event called Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) 55 million years ago. During the PETM, global temperatures rose by 5 10 °C to presumably the hottest conditions during the Cenozoic era in a matter of several thousand years (Zachos et al [14]) due to a large perturbation of the carbon cycle (Zachos et al [15]) of hitherto unknown cause (Pagani et al [16]). A millennial time scale is still far beyond the time horizon of current socio-economic activity, but this is just the time scale for the system to equilibrate (bar the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere ocean-biosphere reservoir which proceeds much more slowly [15]). Significant changes will be felt much earlier. And when it comes to assessing 'dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system' that has the potential to change the face of the planet for a hundred thousand or more years to come, an extension of our time horizon to several hundred years seems to be appropriate. Oxygen-18 stable isotope ratios in benthic foraminifera for the last 65 million years Figure 1. Any harm threshold here? Shown are δ18O stable isotope ratios (18O:16O relative to standard mean ocean water) in benthic foraminifera for the last 65 million years from Zachos et al [8]. The stable isotope ratio of the oxygen contained in the calcium carbonate of the foram shells depends on the water temperature in which they calcified (the warmer the water, the smaller δ18O). A complication arises from the fact that it also depends on the δ18O of the surrounding sea water, which is affected by latitude, evaporation and rainfall, and the presence or absence of large ice sheets. Therefore, these measurements can only be tied uniquely to past ocean temperatures for the early Cenozoic hothouse (Paleo- and Eocene) where no ice sheets existed, and for the most recent period by observing that the oxygen isotope measurements by Lisiecki and Raymo [9] are tightly correlated to temperature changes identified in the Vostok ice core (Petit et al [10]). Present day is indicated as 0. The large shifts of isotope ratio during the Oligocene also reflect changes in ice sheet volume. The figure was prepared by Robert A Rohde from published and publicly available data, and is distributed under the GNU free documentation license at www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:65_Myr_Climate_Change_Rev_png. While the paleoclimatic record in figure 1 can inform us that 'dangerous interference with the climate system' may be in store for a species that evolved during icehouse conditions, it can not yet point us to specific harm thresholds in the climate system. Our knowledge about the climate in the past is still too sparse, and the analogy to present-day conditions too limited. In order to get a better idea about harm thresholds as the global mean temperature continues to increase, we need to turn to model projections of future climate change and associated impacts, as well as our own normative assessment of what might be labeled dangerous and what not. Given the imperfection of state-of-the-art model projections, e.g., in terms of extreme event statistics (although some have become available, see Tebaldi et al [17]), agreement on the regional scale (although improving, see [1], p 12 and figure SPM-6), and ability to model abrupt climate change, and the foreseeable disagreement between societal groups on what might be dangerous, this will certainly be an exercise in guestimating and consensus finding on some sort of uncertainty measure for the location of thresholds to dangerous climate change. In his article, Harvey offers his own take on the problem by presenting two different harm-threshold probability distributions: a stringent variant with median at 1.5 °C and 95% quantile at 2.7 °C of global mean temperature increase since preindustrial time, and a more lenient variant with median at 2.5 °C and 95% quantile at 3.8 °C. Whether or not one believes the temperature values attached to the list of impacts that Harvey offers in support of his harm assessment, there is still a value judgment about the 'dangerousness' of these impacts to be made. As Harvey points out himself, this is a question that can be informed, but not answered by science. Consequently, the allowable CO2 concentrations to prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system presented in Harvey's article reflect a value judgment. So it is for you, the reader, and society at large to decide whether or not these findings are significant. If your judgment about the onset of dangerous climate change lies somewhere in the range of Harvey's harm-threshold probability distributions, his results will carry meaning for you. I, for my part, can certainly answer this question in the affirmative. Once we accept this range of harm-threshold probabilities, the natural question emerges whether Harvey's result indicating that we are on the verge of dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system is inevitable. Is there an easy way out by adjusting the methodological framework that would present us considerably larger allowances of carbon in the atmosphere? It does not seem so. The virtue of Harvey's back-of-the-envelope calculation is that it includes the dominant factors in a simple, but fairly robust manner, which makes it hard to significantly alter the outcome by changing the details. Harvey has considered a wide range of medians and 95% quantiles for the probability distribution of climate sensitivity, but what if we changed the shape of both the climate sensitivity and harm-threshold probability density function (PDF)? After all, there is no particular reason why they should follow a lognormal distribution as Harvey assumed. The answer to this question is harbored by equation (1) of his article. The smaller the overlap between the climate sensitivity PDF and the harm-threshold CDF, the greater the carbon allowance available without committing dangerous interference with the climate system will be. And in this respect, Harvey's assumption of lognormality for both distributions goes some way in minimizing the overlap across possible shapes for fixed median and 95% quantiles. So what about peaking concentrations that can reach higher carbon dioxide levels because the part of the equilibrium warming they would entail will never be realized due to the time lag of the temperature response? Harvey has included this—as he calls it—climate-disequilibrium credit in his analysis, and thus his dire assessment of the proximity of dangerous interference extends to the case of transient climate change. True, he has not considered uncertainty in the heat uptake of the ocean that dominates the time lag of the temperature response along with climate sensitivity. But assuming a larger heat uptake and a slower temperature response within the confidence bounds allowed by the 20th century temperature and ocean heat content records is unlikely to change the carbon allowance by more than a few tens of ppm. Thus, Harvey's findings seem to stand firm once we underwrite the value judgment that the probability of dangerous climate change lies somewhere in the range of the harm-threshold probability distributions put forward in his article. The new sense of urgency to address climate change mirrors this judgment. References [1] IPCC 2007 Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis - Summary for Policymakers. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) in preparation (available for download at http://www.ipcc.ch) [2] Harvey L D D 2007 Allowable CO2 concentrations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as a function of the climate sensitivity probability distribution function Environ. Res. Lett. 2 014001 [3] Dessai S, Adger W N, Hulme M, Turnpenny J, Köhler J and Warren R 2004 Defining and experiencing dangerous climate change Clim. Change 64 11 25 [4] Oppenheimer M and Petsonk A 2005 Article 2 of the UNFCCC: historical origins, recent interpretations Clim. Change 73 195 226 [5] Schellnhuber H J, Cramer W, Nakicenovic N, Wigley T and Yohe G (ed) 2006 Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) pp 392 [6] Keller K, Hall M, Kim S R, Bradford D F and Oppenheimer M 2005 Avoiding dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system Clim. Change 73 227 38 [7] Gurian P L, Small M J, Lockwood J R and Schervish M J 2001 Benefit-cost estimation for alternative drinking water maximum contaminant levels Water Resources Res. 37 2213 16 [8] Zachos J C, Pagani M, Sloan L, Thomas E and Billups K 2001 Trends, rhythms, and aberrations in global climate 65 Ma to present Science 292 686 93 [9] Lisiecki L E and Raymo M E 2005 A Pliocene Pleistocene stack of 57 globally distributed benthic δ18O records Paleoceanography 20 PA1003 [10] Petit J R, Jouzel J, Raynaud D, Barkov N I, Barnola J M, Basile I, Bender M, Chappellaz J, Davis J, Delaygue G, Delmotte M, Kotlyakov V M, Legrand M, Lipenkov V, Lorius C, Pépin L, Ritz C, Saltzman E and Stievenard M 1999 Climate and Atmospheric History of the Past 420 000 years from the Vostok Ice Core, Antarctica Nature 399 429 36 [11] Morgan K and the ACEX expedition team 2006 The Cenozic paleoenvironment of the Arctic Ocean Nature 441 601 5 [12] Pagani M, Zachos J C, Freeman K H, Tipple B and Bohaty S 2005 Marked decline in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations during the paleogene Science 309 600 3 [13] Pearson P N and Palmer M R 2000 Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations over the past 60 million years Nature 406 695 9 [14] Zachos J C, Wara M W, Bohaty S, Delaney M L, Petrizzo M R, Brill A, Bralower, T J and Premoli-Silva I 2003 A transient rise in tropical sea surface temperature during the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum Science 302 1551 4 [15] Zachos J C, Röhl U, Schellenberg S A, Sluijs A, Hodell D A, Kelly D C, Thomas E, Nicolo M, Raffi I, Lourens L J, McCarren H and Kroon D 2005 Rapid acidification of the ocean during the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum Science 308 1611 5 [16] Pagani M, Caldeira K, Archer D, Zachos J C 2006 An ancient carbon mystery Science 314 1556 7 [17] Tebaldi C, Hayhoe K, Arblaster J M and Meehl G A 2006 Going to the extremes: an intercomparison of model-simulated historical and future changes in extreme events Clim. Change 79 185 211 Photo of Elmar Kriegler Elmar Kriegler received a diploma (MS equivalent) degree in physics from the Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Germany, in 1998, and a PhD degree in physics from the University of Potsdam, Germany, in 2005. He worked for seven years as a graduate/post-doctoral researcher at the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research on topics relating to the integrated assessment of climate change. He is now a visiting researcher at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, USA, where he works—with support by a Marie-Curie Outgoing International Fellowship from the European Union—on the evaluation of climate policies under large uncertainty about climate change.

RINGSAT

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DOWDY; GUTHRIE; KUYKENDALL; MARTYN; OKANO; NIEDERMEIER; WILLIAMS

1994-01-01

Radio frequency interference (RFI) presents a serious problem to naval communications. Unauthorized transmissions on the same frequencies that FLTSAT or LEASAT use cause a loss of one or more transponders on a satellite. The problem is not correctable until the emitter is located and turned off, or until it runs off on its own. The present geolocation system cannot deal with the RFI problem adequately. This causes the Navy to lose operational capability and money. The proposed Radio Frequency Interference Navy Geolocation Satellite (RINGSAT) would locate the source of the interference within 3 hours, an outstanding improvement over current equipment. Furthermore, RINGSAT can be built quickly, at minimal cost, and can be used concurrently for other military missions. Currently, geolocation to identify the RFI is done at Naval Space Command. Using single satellite doppler, time delay of arrival, and frequency delay of arrival techniques, it is possible to locate the interfering emitter. However, for the first quarter of fiscal year 1993, about 50 different channels used by the Navy were nonoperational for over 500 hours. Almost 30 percent of the interference occurrences lasted for over 12 hours. In only one quarter of the cases was the interference turned off in less than two_hours either by our detection or on its own.

REM sleep rescues learning from interference

PubMed Central

McDevitt, Elizabeth A.; Duggan, Katherine A.; Mednick, Sara C.

2015-01-01

Classical human memory studies investigating the acquisition of temporally-linked events have found that the memories for two events will interfere with each other and cause forgetting (i.e., interference; Wixted, 2004). Importantly, sleep helps consolidate memories and protect them from subsequent interference (Ellenbogen, Hulbert, Stickgold, Dinges, & Thompson-Schill, 2006). We asked whether sleep can also repair memories that have already been damaged by interference. Using a perceptual learning paradigm, we induced interference either before or after a consolidation period. We varied brain states during consolidation by comparing active wake, quiet wake, and naps with either non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM), or both NREM and REM sleep. When interference occurred after consolidation, sleep and wake both produced learning. However, interference prior to consolidation impaired memory, with retroactive interference showing more disruption than proactive interference. Sleep rescued learning damaged by interference. Critically, only naps that contained REM sleep were able to rescue learning that was highly disrupted by retroactive interference. Furthermore, the magnitude of rescued learning was correlated with the amount of REM sleep. We demonstrate the first evidence of a process by which the brain can rescue and consolidate memories damaged by interference, and that this process requires REM sleep. We explain these results within a theoretical model that considers how interference during encoding interacts with consolidation processes to predict which memories are retained or lost. PMID:25498222

Interference Impacts Working Memory in Mild Cognitive Impairment

PubMed Central

Aurtenetxe, Sara; García-Pacios, Javier; del Río, David; López, María E.; Pineda-Pardo, José A.; Marcos, Alberto; Delgado Losada, Maria L.; López-Frutos, José M.; Maestú, Fernando

2016-01-01

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is considered a transitional stage between healthy aging and dementia, specifically Alzheimer's disease (AD). The most common cognitive impairment of MCI includes episodic memory loss and difficulties in working memory (WM). Interference can deplete WM, and an optimal WM performance requires an effective control of attentional resources between the memoranda and the incoming stimuli. Difficulties in handling interference lead to forgetting. However, the interplay between interference and WM in MCI is not well-understood and needs further investigation. The current study investigated the effect of interference during a WM task in 20 MCIs and 20 healthy elder volunteers. Participants performed a delayed match-to-sample paradigm which consisted in two interference conditions, distraction and interruption, and one control condition without any interference. Results evidenced a disproportionate impact of interference on the WM performance of MCIs, mainly in the presence of interruption. These findings demonstrate that interference, and more precisely interruption, is an important proxy for memory-related deficits in MCI. Thus, the current findings reveal novel evidence regarding the causes of WM forgetting in MCI patients, associated with difficulties in the mechanisms of attentional control. PMID:27790082

76 FR 37267 - Safety Zone, Pantego Creek; Belhaven, NC

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-27

... obstructions to the waterway that may cause death, serious bodily harm, or property damage. Establishing a... notice and opportunity to comment when the agency for good cause finds that those procedures are... finds that good cause exists for not publishing a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) with respect to...

Suprasegmental Aspects of Reading Interference.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Westbrook, Colston R.

Information is presented in this paper regarding suprasegmental features of Black English thay may cause reading interference for some Black children. Much of the research concerning reading problems of many Afro-American students stresses the segmental differences of the phonology, the morphology, the syntax, and lexical selection between two…

Shock whilst gardening--implantable defibrillators & lawn mowers.

PubMed

Von Olshausen, G; Lennerz, C; Grebmer, C; Pavaci, H; Kolb, C

2014-02-01

Electromagnetic interference with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) can cause inappropriate shock delivery or temporary inhibition of ICD functions. We present a case of electromagnetic interference between a lawn mower and an ICD resulting in an inappropriate discharge of the device due to erroneous detection of ventricular fibrillation.

The global health network on alcohol control: successes and limits of evidence-based advocacy

PubMed Central

Schmitz, Hans Peter

2016-01-01

Global efforts to address alcohol harm have significantly increased since the mid-1990s. By 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) had adopted the non-binding Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol. This study investigates the role of a global health network, anchored by the Global Alcohol Policy Alliance (GAPA), which has used scientific evidence on harm and effective interventions to advocate for greater global public health efforts to reduce alcohol harm. The study uses process-tracing methodology and expert interviews to evaluate the accomplishments and limitations of this network. The study documents how network members have not only contributed to greater global awareness about alcohol harm, but also advanced a public health approach to addressing this issue at the global level. Although the current network represents an expanding global coalition of like-minded individuals, it faces considerable challenges in advancing its cause towards successful implementation of effective alcohol control policies across many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The analysis reveals a need to transform the network into a formal coalition of regional and national organizations that represent a broader variety of constituents, including the medical community, consumer groups and development-focused non-governmental organizations. Considering the growing harm of alcohol abuse in LMICs and the availability of proven and cost-effective public health interventions, alcohol control represents an excellent ‘buy’ for donors interested in addressing non-communicable diseases. Alcohol control has broad beneficial effects for human development, including promoting road safety and reducing domestic violence and health care costs across a wide variety of illnesses caused by alcohol consumption. PMID:26276763

The global health network on alcohol control: successes and limits of evidence-based advocacy.

PubMed

Schmitz, Hans Peter

2016-04-01

Global efforts to address alcohol harm have significantly increased since the mid-1990 s. By 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) had adopted the non-binding Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol. This study investigates the role of a global health network, anchored by the Global Alcohol Policy Alliance (GAPA), which has used scientific evidence on harm and effective interventions to advocate for greater global public health efforts to reduce alcohol harm. The study uses process-tracing methodology and expert interviews to evaluate the accomplishments and limitations of this network. The study documents how network members have not only contributed to greater global awareness about alcohol harm, but also advanced a public health approach to addressing this issue at the global level. Although the current network represents an expanding global coalition of like-minded individuals, it faces considerable challenges in advancing its cause towards successful implementation of effective alcohol control policies across many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The analysis reveals a need to transform the network into a formal coalition of regional and national organizations that represent a broader variety of constituents, including the medical community, consumer groups and development-focused non-governmental organizations. Considering the growing harm of alcohol abuse in LMICs and the availability of proven and cost-effective public health interventions, alcohol control represents an excellent 'buy' for donors interested in addressing non-communicable diseases. Alcohol control has broad beneficial effects for human development, including promoting road safety and reducing domestic violence and health care costs across a wide variety of illnesses caused by alcohol consumption. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2015; all rights reserved.

Functional Behavioral Assessment and Positive Interventions: What Parents Need to Know. Alliance Action Information Sheets

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jordan, Dixie

2005-01-01

Many children have inappropriate behaviors that are part of their disability. These behaviors may make it difficult to learn, cause harm to the child or others, or isolate a child from his or her peers. Some children have behaviors that they can't control, such as tics for a child with Tourette syndrome or self-harming behaviors for some children…

Altered stoichiometry Escherichia coli Cascade complexes with shortened CRISPR RNA spacers are capable of interference and primed adaptation

DOE PAGES

Kuznedelov, Konstantin; Mekler, Vladimir; Lemak, Sofia; ...

2016-10-13

The Escherichia coli type I-E CRISPR-Cas system Cascade effector is a multisubunit complex that binds CRISPR RNA (crRNA). Through its 32-nucleotide spacer sequence, Cascade-bound crRNA recognizes protospacers in foreign DNA, causing its destruction during CRISPR interference or acquisition of additional spacers in CRISPR array during primed CRISPR adaptation. Within Cascade, the crRNA spacer interacts with a hexamer of Cas7 subunits. We show that crRNAs with a spacer length reduced to 14 nucleotides cause primed adaptation, while crRNAs with spacer lengths of more than 20 nucleotides cause both primed adaptation and target interference in vivo. Shortened crRNAs assemble into altered-stoichiometry Cascademore » effector complexes containing less than the normal amount of Cas7 subunits. The results show that Cascade assembly is driven by crRNA and suggest that multi-subunit type I CRISPR effectors may have evolved from much simpler ancestral complexes.« less

Altered stoichiometry Escherichia coli Cascade complexes with shortened CRISPR RNA spacers are capable of interference and primed adaptation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kuznedelov, Konstantin; Mekler, Vladimir; Lemak, Sofia

The Escherichia coli type I-E CRISPR-Cas system Cascade effector is a multisubunit complex that binds CRISPR RNA (crRNA). Through its 32-nucleotide spacer sequence, Cascade-bound crRNA recognizes protospacers in foreign DNA, causing its destruction during CRISPR interference or acquisition of additional spacers in CRISPR array during primed CRISPR adaptation. Within Cascade, the crRNA spacer interacts with a hexamer of Cas7 subunits. We show that crRNAs with a spacer length reduced to 14 nucleotides cause primed adaptation, while crRNAs with spacer lengths of more than 20 nucleotides cause both primed adaptation and target interference in vivo. Shortened crRNAs assemble into altered-stoichiometry Cascademore » effector complexes containing less than the normal amount of Cas7 subunits. The results show that Cascade assembly is driven by crRNA and suggest that multi-subunit type I CRISPR effectors may have evolved from much simpler ancestral complexes.« less

2013 R&D 100 Award: 'SHIELD' protects NIF optics from harmful pulses

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chou, Jason

In the past, it took as long as 12 hours to manually screen 48 critical checkpoints at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) for harmful laser pulses. The screening equipment had to be moved from point to point throughout a facility the size of three football fields. Now with a new technology, called Laser SHIELD (Screening at High-throughput to Identify Energetic Laser Distortion), and with the push of a button, the screening can be done in less than one second. Proper screening of pulses is critical for the operation of high-energy lasers to ensure that the laser does not exceed safemore » operating conditions for optics. The energetic beams of light are so powerful that, when left uncontrolled, they can shatter the extremely valuable glass inside the laser. If a harmful pulse is found, immediate adjustments can be made in order to protect the optics for the facility. Laser SHIELD is a custom-designed high-throughput screening system built from low-cost and commercially available components found in the telecommunications industry. Its all-fiber design makes it amenable to the unique needs of high-energy laser facilities, including routing to intricate pick-off locations, immunity to electromagnetic interference and low-loss transport (up to several kilometers). The technology offers several important benefits for NIF. First, the facility is able to fire more shots in less time-an efficiency that saves the facility millions of dollars each year. Second, high-energy lasers are more flexible to wavelength changes requested by target physicists. Third, by identifying harmful pulses before they damage the laser's optics, the facility potentially saves hundreds of thousands of dollars in maintenance costs each year.« less

Short-Term Behavioural Responses of the Great Scallop Pecten maximus Exposed to the Toxic Alga Alexandrium minutum Measured by Accelerometry and Passive Acoustics.

PubMed

Coquereau, Laura; Jolivet, Aurélie; Hégaret, Hélène; Chauvaud, Laurent

2016-01-01

Harmful algal blooms produced by toxic dinoflagellates have increased worldwide, impacting human health, the environment, and fisheries. Due to their potential sensitivity (e.g., environmental changes), bivalves through their valve movements can be monitored to detect harmful algal blooms. Methods that measure valve activity require bivalve-attached sensors and usually connected cables to data transfers, leading to stress animals and limit the use to sessile species. As a non-intrusive and continuously deployable tool, passive acoustics could be an effective approach to detecting harmful algal blooms in real time based on animal sound production. This study aimed to detect reaction changes in the valve movements of adult Pecten maximus exposed to the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium minutum using both accelerometry and passive acoustic methods. Scallops were experimentally exposed to three ecologically relevant concentrations of A. minutum for 2 hours. The number of each type of valve movement and their sound intensity, opening duration, and valve-opening amplitude were measured. Four behaviours were identified: closures, expulsion, displacement, and swimming. The response of P. maximus to A. minutum occurred rapidly at a high concentration. The valve activity of P. maximus was different when exposed to high concentrations (500 000 cells L-1) of A. minutum compared to the non-toxic dinoflagellate Heterocapsa triquetra; the number of valve movements increased, especially closure and expulsion, which were detected acoustically. Thus, this study demonstrates the potential for acoustics and sound production changes in the detection of harmful algal blooms. However, field trials and longer duration experiments are required to provide further evidence for the use of acoustics as a monitoring tool in the natural environment where several factors may interfere with valve behaviours.

Short-Term Behavioural Responses of the Great Scallop Pecten maximus Exposed to the Toxic Alga Alexandrium minutum Measured by Accelerometry and Passive Acoustics

PubMed Central

Coquereau, Laura; Jolivet, Aurélie; Hégaret, Hélène; Chauvaud, Laurent

2016-01-01

Harmful algal blooms produced by toxic dinoflagellates have increased worldwide, impacting human health, the environment, and fisheries. Due to their potential sensitivity (e.g., environmental changes), bivalves through their valve movements can be monitored to detect harmful algal blooms. Methods that measure valve activity require bivalve-attached sensors and usually connected cables to data transfers, leading to stress animals and limit the use to sessile species. As a non-intrusive and continuously deployable tool, passive acoustics could be an effective approach to detecting harmful algal blooms in real time based on animal sound production. This study aimed to detect reaction changes in the valve movements of adult Pecten maximus exposed to the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium minutum using both accelerometry and passive acoustic methods. Scallops were experimentally exposed to three ecologically relevant concentrations of A. minutum for 2 hours. The number of each type of valve movement and their sound intensity, opening duration, and valve-opening amplitude were measured. Four behaviours were identified: closures, expulsion, displacement, and swimming. The response of P. maximus to A. minutum occurred rapidly at a high concentration. The valve activity of P. maximus was different when exposed to high concentrations (500 000 cells L-1) of A. minutum compared to the non-toxic dinoflagellate Heterocapsa triquetra; the number of valve movements increased, especially closure and expulsion, which were detected acoustically. Thus, this study demonstrates the potential for acoustics and sound production changes in the detection of harmful algal blooms. However, field trials and longer duration experiments are required to provide further evidence for the use of acoustics as a monitoring tool in the natural environment where several factors may interfere with valve behaviours. PMID:27508498

2013 R&D 100 Award: 'SHIELD' protects NIF optics from harmful pulses

ScienceCinema

Chou, Jason

2018-02-13

In the past, it took as long as 12 hours to manually screen 48 critical checkpoints at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) for harmful laser pulses. The screening equipment had to be moved from point to point throughout a facility the size of three football fields. Now with a new technology, called Laser SHIELD (Screening at High-throughput to Identify Energetic Laser Distortion), and with the push of a button, the screening can be done in less than one second. Proper screening of pulses is critical for the operation of high-energy lasers to ensure that the laser does not exceed safe operating conditions for optics. The energetic beams of light are so powerful that, when left uncontrolled, they can shatter the extremely valuable glass inside the laser. If a harmful pulse is found, immediate adjustments can be made in order to protect the optics for the facility. Laser SHIELD is a custom-designed high-throughput screening system built from low-cost and commercially available components found in the telecommunications industry. Its all-fiber design makes it amenable to the unique needs of high-energy laser facilities, including routing to intricate pick-off locations, immunity to electromagnetic interference and low-loss transport (up to several kilometers). The technology offers several important benefits for NIF. First, the facility is able to fire more shots in less time-an efficiency that saves the facility millions of dollars each year. Second, high-energy lasers are more flexible to wavelength changes requested by target physicists. Third, by identifying harmful pulses before they damage the laser's optics, the facility potentially saves hundreds of thousands of dollars in maintenance costs each year.

Effect of hemoglobin- and Perflubron-based oxygen carriers on common clinical laboratory tests.

PubMed

Ma, Z; Monk, T G; Goodnough, L T; McClellan, A; Gawryl, M; Clark, T; Moreira, P; Keipert, P E; Scott, M G

1997-09-01

Polymerized hemoglobin solutions (Hb-based oxygen carriers; HBOCs) and a second-generation perfluorocarbon (PFC) emulsion (Perflubron) are in clinical trials as temporary oxygen carriers ("blood substitutes"). Plasma and serum samples from patients receiving HBOCs look markedly red, whereas those from patients receiving PFC appear to be lipemic. Because hemolysis and lipemia are well-known interferents in many assays, we examined the effects of these substances on clinical chemistry, immunoassay, therapeutic drug, and coagulation tests. HBOC concentrations up to 50 g/L caused essentially no interference for Na, K, Cl, urea, total CO2, P, uric acid, Mg, creatinine, and glucose values determined by the Hitachi 747 or Vitros 750 analyzers (or both) or for immunoassays of lidocaine, N-acetylprocainamide, procainamide, digoxin, phenytoin, quinidine, or theophylline performed on the Abbott AxSym or TDx. Gentamycin and vancomycin assays on the AxSym exhibited a significant positive and negative interference, respectively. Immunoassays for TSH on the Abbott IMx and for troponin I on the Dade Stratus were unaffected by HBOC at this concentration. Tests for total protein, albumin, LDH, AST, ALT, GGT, amylase, lipase, and cholesterol were significantly affected to various extents at different HBOC concentrations on the Hitachi 747 and Vitros 750. The CK-MB assay on the Stratus exhibited a negative interference at 5 g/L HBOC. HBOC interference in coagulation tests was method-dependent-fibrometer-based methods on the BBL Fibro System were free from interference, but optical-based methods on the MLA 1000C exhibited interferences at 20 g/L HBOC. A 1:20 dilution of the PFC-based oxygen carrier (600 g/L) caused no interference on any of these chemistry or immunoassay tests except for amylase and ammonia on the Vitros 750 and plasma iron on the Hitachi 747.

Particulate Matter in Second-Hand Smoke Emitted from Different Cigarette Sizes and Types of the Brand Vogue Mainly Smoked by Women

PubMed Central

Kant, Nora; Müller, Ruth; Braun, Markus; Gerber, Alexander; Groneberg, David

2016-01-01

Indoor air pollution with harmful particulate matter (PM) is mainly caused by cigarette smoke. Super-Slim-Size-Cigarettes (SSL) are considered a less harmful alternative to King-Size-Cigarettes (KSC) due to longer filters and relatively low contents. We ask if “Combined Mainstream and Sidestream Smoke” (CMSS)-associated PM levels of SSL are lower than of KSC and thus are potentially less harmful. PM concentrations in CMSS (PM10, PM2.5, and PM1) are measured from four cigarette types of the brand Vogue, using an “automatic-environmental-tobacco-smoke-emitter” (AETSE) and laser aerosol spectrometry: SSL-BLEUE, -MENTHE, -LILAS and KSC-La Cigarette and -3R4F reference. This analysis shows that SSL MENTHE emitted the highest amount of PM, and KSC-La Cigarette the lowest. 3R4F reference emitted PM in the middle range, exceeding SSL BLEUE and falling slightly below SSL LILAS. It emerged that PM1 constituted the biggest proportion of PM emission. The outcome shows significant type-specific differences for emitted PM concentrations. Our results indicate that SSL are potentially more harmful for passive smokers than the respective KSC. However, this study cannot give precise statements about the general influence of the size of a cigarette on PM. Alarming is that PM1 is responsible for the biggest proportion of PM pollution, since smaller particles cause more harmful effects. PMID:27509517

Clinicians' perceptions of the benefits and harms of prostate and colorectal cancer screening.

PubMed

Elstad, Emily A; Sutkowi-Hemstreet, Anne; Sheridan, Stacey L; Vu, Maihan; Harris, Russell; Reyna, Valerie F; Rini, Christine; Earp, Jo Anne; Brewer, Noel T

2015-05-01

Clinicians' perceptions of screening benefits and harms influence their recommendations, which in turn shape patients' screening decisions. We sought to understand clinicians' perceptions of the benefits and harms of cancer screening by comparing 2 screening tests that differ in their balance of potential benefits to harms: colonoscopy, which results in net benefit for many adults, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing, which may do more harm than good. In this cross-sectional study, 126 clinicians at 24 family/internal medicine practices completed surveys in which they listed and rated the magnitude of colonoscopy and PSA testing benefits and harms for a hypothetical 70-year-old male patient and then estimated the likelihood that these tests would cause harm and lengthen the life of 100 similar men in the next 10 years. We tested the hypothesis that the availability heuristic would explain the association of screening test to perceived likelihood of benefit/harm and a competing hypothesis that clinicians' gist of screening tests as good or bad would mediate this association. Clinicians perceived PSA testing to have a greater likelihood of harm and a lower likelihood of lengthening life relative to colonoscopy. Consistent with our gist hypothesis, these associations were mediated by clinicians' gist of screening (balance of perceived benefits to perceived harms). Generalizability beyond academic clinicians remains to be established. Targeting clinicians' gist of screening, for example through graphical displays that allow clinicians to make gist-based relative magnitude comparisons, may influence their risk perception and possibly reduce overrecommendation of screening. © The Author(s) 2015.

Dual Coding in Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burton, John K.; Wildman, Terry M.

The purpose of this study was to test the applicability of the dual coding hypothesis to children's recall performance. The hypothesis predicts that visual interference will have a small effect on the recall of visually presented words or pictures, but that acoustic interference will cause a decline in recall of visually presented words and…

40 CFR Appendix B to Subpart Q of... - Standard Health Effects Language for Public Notification

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... interfere with disinfection and provide a medium for microbial growth. Turbidity may indicate the presence... microbial growth. Turbidity may indicate the presence of disease-causing organisms. These organisms include..., turbidity can interfere with disinfection and provide a medium for microbial growth. Turbidity may indicate...

Parsing the Behavioral and Brain Mechanisms of Third-Party Punishment

PubMed Central

Bonnie, Richard J.; Hoffman, Morris B.; Shen, Francis X.; Simons, Kenneth W.

2016-01-01

The evolved capacity for third-party punishment is considered crucial to the emergence and maintenance of elaborate human social organization and is central to the modern provision of fairness and justice within society. Although it is well established that the mental state of the offender and the severity of the harm he caused are the two primary predictors of punishment decisions, the precise cognitive and brain mechanisms by which these distinct components are evaluated and integrated into a punishment decision are poorly understood. Using fMRI, here we implement a novel experimental design to functionally dissociate the mechanisms underlying evaluation, integration, and decision that were conflated in previous studies of third-party punishment. Behaviorally, the punishment decision is primarily defined by a superadditive interaction between harm and mental state, with subjects weighing the interaction factor more than the single factors of harm and mental state. On a neural level, evaluation of harms engaged brain areas associated with affective and somatosensory processing, whereas mental state evaluation primarily recruited circuitry involved in mentalization. Harm and mental state evaluations are integrated in medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate structures, with the amygdala acting as a pivotal hub of the interaction between harm and mental state. This integrated information is used by the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex at the time of the decision to assign an appropriate punishment through a distributed coding system. Together, these findings provide a blueprint of the brain mechanisms by which neutral third parties render punishment decisions. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Punishment undergirds large-scale cooperation and helps dispense criminal justice. Yet it is currently unknown precisely how people assess the mental states of offenders, evaluate the harms they caused, and integrate those two components into a single punishment decision. Using a new design, we isolated these three processes, identifying the distinct brain systems and activities that enable each. Additional findings suggest that the amygdala plays a crucial role in mediating the interaction of mental state and harm information, whereas the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex plays a crucial, final-stage role, both in integrating mental state and harm information and in selecting a suitable punishment amount. These findings deepen our understanding of how punishment decisions are made, which may someday help to improve them. PMID:27605616

Parsing the Behavioral and Brain Mechanisms of Third-Party Punishment.

PubMed

Ginther, Matthew R; Bonnie, Richard J; Hoffman, Morris B; Shen, Francis X; Simons, Kenneth W; Jones, Owen D; Marois, René

2016-09-07

The evolved capacity for third-party punishment is considered crucial to the emergence and maintenance of elaborate human social organization and is central to the modern provision of fairness and justice within society. Although it is well established that the mental state of the offender and the severity of the harm he caused are the two primary predictors of punishment decisions, the precise cognitive and brain mechanisms by which these distinct components are evaluated and integrated into a punishment decision are poorly understood. Using fMRI, here we implement a novel experimental design to functionally dissociate the mechanisms underlying evaluation, integration, and decision that were conflated in previous studies of third-party punishment. Behaviorally, the punishment decision is primarily defined by a superadditive interaction between harm and mental state, with subjects weighing the interaction factor more than the single factors of harm and mental state. On a neural level, evaluation of harms engaged brain areas associated with affective and somatosensory processing, whereas mental state evaluation primarily recruited circuitry involved in mentalization. Harm and mental state evaluations are integrated in medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate structures, with the amygdala acting as a pivotal hub of the interaction between harm and mental state. This integrated information is used by the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex at the time of the decision to assign an appropriate punishment through a distributed coding system. Together, these findings provide a blueprint of the brain mechanisms by which neutral third parties render punishment decisions. Punishment undergirds large-scale cooperation and helps dispense criminal justice. Yet it is currently unknown precisely how people assess the mental states of offenders, evaluate the harms they caused, and integrate those two components into a single punishment decision. Using a new design, we isolated these three processes, identifying the distinct brain systems and activities that enable each. Additional findings suggest that the amygdala plays a crucial role in mediating the interaction of mental state and harm information, whereas the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex plays a crucial, final-stage role, both in integrating mental state and harm information and in selecting a suitable punishment amount. These findings deepen our understanding of how punishment decisions are made, which may someday help to improve them. Copyright © 2016 Ginther et al.

An elastic analysis of stresses in a uniaxially loaded sheet containing an interference-fit bolt

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crews, J. H., Jr.

1972-01-01

The stresses in a sheet with an interference-fit bolt have been calculated for two sheet-bolt interface conditions: a frictionless interface and a fixed (no-slip) interface. The stress distributions were calculated for various combinations of sheet and bolt moduli. The results show that for repeated loading the local stress range is significantly smaller if an interference bolt is used instead of a loosely fitting one. This reduction in local stress range is more pronounced when the ratio of bolt modulus to sheet modulus is large. The analysis also indicates that currently used standard values of interference cause yielding in the sheet.

Communicating with parents of children with autism about vaccines and complementary and alternative approaches.

PubMed

Gupta, Vidya Bhushan

2010-05-01

Despite incontrovertible evidence that vaccines do not cause autism, some parents continue to refuse them and many parents of children with autism seek hope in unproven and potentially harmful complementary and alternative (CAM) approaches. This commentary explores the reasons for such behaviors and proposes that pediatricians may support parents in their pursuit of hope in unproven treatments as long as these are not potentially harmful to the child or prohibitively expensive. While respecting parental autonomy and hope the pediatricians should share with parents their concerns about lack of scientific evidence about CAM and potential for harm by some approaches.

Suicide Following Deliberate Self-Harm.

PubMed

Olfson, Mark; Wall, Melanie; Wang, Shuai; Crystal, Stephen; Gerhard, Tobias; Blanco, Carlos

2017-08-01

The authors sought to identify risk factors for repeat self-harm and completed suicide over the following year among adults with deliberate self-harm. A national cohort of Medicaid-financed adults clinically diagnosed with deliberate self-harm (N=61,297) was followed for up to 1 year. Repeat self-harm per 1,000 person-years and suicide rates per 100,000 person-years (based on cause of death information from the National Death Index) were determined. Hazard ratios of repeat self-harm and suicide were estimated by Cox proportional hazard models. During the 12 months after nonfatal self-harm, the rate of repeat self-harm was 263.2 per 1,000 person-years and the rate of completed suicide was 439.1 per 100,000 person-years, or 37.2 times higher than in a matched general population cohort. The hazard of suicide was higher after initial self-harm events involving violent as compared with nonviolent methods (hazard ratio=7.5, 95% CI=5.5-10.1), especially firearms (hazard ratio=15.86, 95% CI=10.7-23.4; computed with poisoning as reference), and to a lesser extent after events of patients who had recently received outpatient mental health care (hazard ratio=1.6, 95% CI=1.2-2.0). Compared with self-harm patients using nonviolent methods, those who used violent methods were at significantly increased risk of suicide during the first 30 days after the initial event (hazard ratio=17.5, 95% CI=11.2-27.3), but not during the following 335 days. Adults treated for deliberate self-harm frequently repeat self-harm in the following year. Patients who use a violent method for their initial self-harm, especially firearms, have an exceptionally high risk of suicide, particularly right after the initial event, which highlights the importance of careful assessment and close follow-up of this group.

Assessing the harms of cannabis cultivation in Belgium.

PubMed

Paoli, Letizia; Decorte, Tom; Kersten, Loes

2015-03-01

Since the 1990s, a shift from the importation of foreign cannabis to domestic cultivation has taken place in Belgium, as it has in many other countries. This shift has prompted Belgian policy-making bodies to prioritize the repression of cannabis cultivation. Against this background, the article aims to systematically map and assess for the first time ever the harms associated with cannabis cultivation, covering the whole spectrum of growers. This study is based on a web survey primarily targeting small-scale growers (N=1293) and on three interconnected sets of qualitative data on large-scale growers and traffickers (34 closed criminal proceedings, interviews with 32 criminal justice experts, and with 17 large-scale cannabis growers and three traffickers). The study relied on Greenfield and Paoli's (2013) harm assessment framework to identify the harms associated with cannabis cultivation and to assess the incidence, severity and causes of such harms. Cannabis cultivation has become endemic in Belgium. Despite that, it generates, for Belgium, limited harms of medium-low or medium priority. Large-scale growers tend to produce more harms than the small-scale ones. Virtually all the harms associated with cannabis cultivation are the result of the current criminalizing policies. Given the spread of cannabis cultivation and Belgium's position in Europe, reducing the supply of cannabis does not appear to be a realistic policy objective. Given the limited harms generated, there is scarce scientific justification to prioritize cannabis cultivation in Belgian law enforcement strategies. As most harms are generated by large-scale growers, it is this category of cultivator, if any, which should be the focus of law enforcement repression. Given the policy origin of most harms, policy-makers should seek to develop policies likely to reduce such harms. At the same time, further research is needed to comparatively assess the harms associated with cannabis cultivation (and trafficking) with those arising from use. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Summaries of Papers Presented at Photonic Switching Topical Meeting Held in Salt Lake City, Utah on 1-3 March 1989. Technical Digest

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-01-31

a set of codes which will provide a large number of addresses while minimizing interference . We have analyzed the bit error rate (BER) of the...there will be significant crosstalk. The most severe interference will be caused by the unswitched component of the high-intensity pulses. For example...Diagram of Experimental Apparatus Q = Quarter-wave Plate P = Polarising Filter IF = Interference Filter Figure 2. I Oscilloscope trace a. of Kerr

Motion interference analysis and optimal control of an electronic controlled bamboo-dance mechanism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xiaohong; Xu, Liang; Hu, Xiaobin

2017-08-01

An electric bamboo-dance mechanism was designed and developed to realize mechanism of automation and mechanization. For coherent and fluent motion, ANSYS finite element analysis was applied on movement interference. Static structural method was used for analyzing dynamic deflection and deformation of the slender rod, while modal analysis was applied on frequency analysis to avoid second deformation caused by resonance. Therefore, the deformation in vertical and horizontal direction was explored and reasonable optimization was taken to avoid interference.

Disentangling Intracycle Interferences in Photoelectron Momentum Distributions Using Orthogonal Two-Color Laser Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Xinhua; Wang, Tian; Yu, ShaoGang; Lai, XuanYang; Roither, Stefan; Kartashov, Daniil; Baltuška, Andrius; Liu, XiaoJun; Staudte, André; Kitzler, Markus

2017-12-01

We use orthogonally polarized two-color (OTC) laser pulses to separate quantum paths in the multiphoton ionization of Ar atoms. Our OTC pulses consist of 400 and 800 nm light at a relative intensity ratio of 10 ∶1 . We find a hitherto unobserved interference in the photoelectron momentum distribution, which exhibits a strong dependence on the relative phase of the OTC pulse. Analysis of model calculations reveals that the interference is caused by quantum pathways from nonadjacent quarter cycles.

D-METHIONINE REDUCES TOBRAMYCIN-INDUCED OTOTOXICITY WITHOUT ANTIMICROBIAL INTERFERENCE IN ANIMAL MODELS

PubMed Central

Fox, Daniel J.; Cooper, Morris D.; Speil, Cristian A.; Roberts, Melissa H.; Yanik, Susan C.; Meech, Robert P.; Hargrove, Tim L.; Verhulst, Steven J.; Rybak, Leonard P.; Campbell, Kathleen C. M.

2015-01-01

Background Tobramycin is a critical cystic fibrosis treatment however it causes ototoxicity. This study tested D-methionine protection from tobramycin-induced ototoxicity and potential antimicrobial interference. Methods Auditory brainstem responses (ABR) and outer hair cell (OHC) quantifications measured protection in guinea pigs treated with tobramycin and a range of D-methionine doses. In vitro antimicrobial interference studies tested inhibition and post antibiotic effect assays. In vivo antimicrobial interference studies tested normal and neutropenic E. coli murine survival and intraperitoneal lavage bacterial counts. Results D-methionine conferred significant ABR threshold shift reductions. OHC protection was less robust but significant at 20 kHz in the 420 mg/kg/day group. In vitro studies did not detect D-methionine-induced antimicrobial interference. In vivo studies did not detect D-methionine-induced interference in normal or neutropenic mice. Conclusions D-methionine protects from tobramycin-induced ototoxicity without antimicrobial interference. The study results suggest D-met as a potential otoprotectant from clinical tobramycin use in cystic fibrosis patients. PMID:26166286

Cue-independent memory impairment by reactivation-coupled interference in human declarative memory.

PubMed

Zhu, Zijian; Wang, Yingying; Cao, Zhijun; Chen, Biqing; Cai, Huaqian; Wu, Yanhong; Rao, Yi

2016-10-01

Memory is a dynamic process. While memory becomes increasingly resistant to interference after consolidation, a brief reactivation renders it unstable again. Previous studies have shown that interference, when applied upon reactivation, impairs the consolidated memory, presumably by disrupting the reconsolidation of the memory. However, attempts have failed in disrupting human declarative memory, raising a question about whether declarative memory becomes unstable upon reactivation. Here, we used a double-cue/one-target paradigm, which associated the same target with two different cues in initial memory formation. Only one cue/target association was later reactivated and treated with behavioral interference. Our results showed, for the first time, that reactivation-coupled interference caused cue-independent memory impairment that generalized to other cues associated with the memory. Critically, such memory impairment appeared immediately after interference, before the reconsolidation process was completed, suggesting that common manipulations of reactivation-coupled interference procedures might disrupt other processes in addition to the reconsolidation process in human declarative memory. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

d-Methionine reduces tobramycin-induced ototoxicity without antimicrobial interference in animal models.

PubMed

Fox, Daniel J; Cooper, Morris D; Speil, Cristian A; Roberts, Melissa H; Yanik, Susan C; Meech, Robert P; Hargrove, Tim L; Verhulst, Steven J; Rybak, Leonard P; Campbell, Kathleen C M

2016-07-01

Tobramycin is a critical cystic fibrosis treatment however it causes ototoxicity. This study tested d-methionine protection from tobramycin-induced ototoxicity and potential antimicrobial interference. Auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) and outer hair cell (OHC) quantifications measured protection in guinea pigs treated with tobramycin and a range of d-methionine doses. In vitro antimicrobial interference studies tested inhibition and post antibiotic effect assays. In vivo antimicrobial interference studies tested normal and neutropenic Escherichia coli murine survival and intraperitoneal lavage bacterial counts. d-Methionine conferred significant ABR threshold shift reductions. OHC protection was less robust but significant at 20kHz in the 420mg/kg/day group. In vitro studies did not detect d-methionine-induced antimicrobial interference. In vivo studies did not detect d-methionine-induced interference in normal or neutropenic mice. d-Methionine protects from tobramycin-induced ototoxicity without antimicrobial interference. The study results suggest d-met as a potential otoprotectant from clinical tobramycin use in cystic fibrosis patients. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Long-term interference at the semantic level: Evidence from blocked-cyclic picture matching.

PubMed

Wei, Tao; Schnur, Tatiana T

2016-01-01

Processing semantically related stimuli creates interference across various domains of cognition, including language and memory. In this study, we identify the locus and mechanism of interference when retrieving meanings associated with words and pictures. Subjects matched a probe stimulus (e.g., cat) to its associated target picture (e.g., yarn) from an array of unrelated pictures. Across trials, probes were either semantically related or unrelated. To test the locus of interference, we presented probes as either words or pictures. If semantic interference occurs at the stage common to both tasks, that is, access to semantic representations, then interference should occur in both probe presentation modalities. Results showed clear semantic interference effects independent of presentation modality and lexical frequency, confirming a semantic locus of interference in comprehension. To test the mechanism of interference, we repeated trials across 4 presentation cycles and manipulated the number of unrelated intervening trials (zero vs. two). We found that semantic interference was additive across cycles and survived 2 intervening trials, demonstrating interference to be long-lasting as opposed to short-lived. However, interference was smaller with zero versus 2 intervening trials, which we interpret to suggest that short-lived facilitation counteracted the long-lived interference. We propose that retrieving meanings associated with words/pictures from the same semantic category yields both interference due to long-lasting changes in connection strength between semantic representations (i.e., incremental learning) and facilitation caused by short-lived residual activation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Interference of Apoptosis by Hepatitis B Virus

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes liver diseases that have been a consistent problem for human health, leading to more than one million deaths every year worldwide. A large proportion of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases across the world are closely associated with chronic HBV infection. Apoptosis is a programmed cell death and is frequently altered in cancer development. HBV infection interferes with the apoptosis signaling to promote HCC progression and viral proliferation. The HBV-mediated alteration of apoptosis is achieved via interference with cellular signaling pathways and regulation of epigenetics. HBV X protein (HBX) plays a major role in the interference of apoptosis. There are conflicting reports on the HBV interference of apoptosis with the majority showing inhibition of and the rest reporting induction of apoptosis. In this review, we described recent studies on the mechanisms of the HBV interference with the apoptosis signaling during the virus infection and provided perspective. PMID:28820498

Pediatric ocular trauma caused by recreational drones: two case reports.

PubMed

Spitzer, Nicole; Singh, Jasleen K

2018-03-14

Drones are increasingly being used by children and adults recreationally and commercially. The propeller blades when spinning at high speeds may cause serious harm to the eye and orbital structures. We report 2 cases of injuries to the eye and orbital structures caused by drones. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Intimate Relationships and Personal Distress: The Invisible Harm of Psychological Aggression.

PubMed

Arriaga, Ximena B; Schkeryantz, Emily L

2015-10-01

Aggression in intimate relationships is pervasive, has been implicated in personal distress, and yet may not be perceived as harmful. Two studies (cross-sectional, longitudinal) examined whether being the target of psychologically aggressive behavior by a partner is uniquely associated with personal distress, beyond the effects of general couple functioning, perpetrating aggression, or experiencing physical aggression. New instances of psychological aggression by a partner predicted increases in personal distress. Study 2 also examined participants' perceptions of what causes them stress. Although psychological aggression by a partner predicted personal distress, participants did not perceive their relationship as a source of stress. This suggests a pattern of "invisible harm" in which individuals victimized by psychological aggression may not recognize the harm they are experiencing. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Thiazolidinediones as a novel class of algicides against red tide harmful algal species.

PubMed

Kim, Yeon-Mi; Wu, Ying; Duong, Thi Uyen; Ghodake, Gajanan S; Kim, Si Wouk; Jin, Eonseon; Cho, Hoon

2010-12-01

This paper reports the synthesis of 28 thiazolidinedione derivatives along with their algicidal activity against microalgae causing harmful algal blooming. Among the 28 compounds tested, most showed effective algicidal activity against Heterosigma akashiwo, Chattonella marina, and Cochlodinium polykrikoides, while non-harmful algae were relatively tolerant to these thiazolidinedione derivatives. Compounds 6, 13, and 22 were the most potent against C. polykrikoides with IC₅₀ values <0.5 µM. Among the thiazolidinedione derivatives tested, compounds 7, 13, 27, and 28 were extremely competent and selective to C. polykrikoides with IC₅₀ values ranging from 0.1 to 2 µM, while C. marina and H. akashiwo showed an IC₅₀ value ranging from 30 to 130 µM. These results show that some thiazolidinedione derivatives can act as potent algicides against harmful algal blooms.

Biotrespass

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Beer, Jeremy

2007-01-01

As the sciences of biotechnology, synthetic biology, and nanotechnology develop, questions about liability for harms caused by self-replicating inventions will arise increasingly often. Although negligence, nuisance, and other torts may be relevant in such circumstances, trespass may be the more appropriate cause of action. First, the author…

A Defence of the Counterfactual Account of Harm.

PubMed

Purshouse, Craig

2016-05-01

In order to determine whether a particular course of conduct is ethically permissible it is important to have a concept of what it means to be harmed. The dominant theory of harm is the counterfactual account, most famously proposed by Joel Feinberg. This determines whether harm is caused by comparing what actually happened in a given situation with the 'counterfacts' i.e. what would have occurred had the putatively harmful conduct not taken place. If a person's interests are worse off than they otherwise would have been, then a person will be harmed. This definition has recently faced challenges from bioethicists such as John Harris, Guy Kahane and Julian Savulescu who, believing it to be severely flawed, have proposed their own alternative theories of the concept. In this article I will demonstrate that the shortcomings Harris, Kahane and Savulescu believe are present in Feinberg's theory are illusory and that it is their own accounts of harm that are fraught with logical errors. I maintain that the arguments presented to refute Feinberg's theory not only fail to achieve this goal and can be accommodated within the counterfactual account but that they actually undermine the theories presented by their respective authors. The final conclusion will be that these challenges are misconceived and fail to displace the counterfactual theory. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Pulse transmission receiver with higher-order time derivative pulse generator

DOEpatents

Dress, Jr., William B.; Smith, Stephen F.

2003-08-12

Systems and methods for pulse-transmission low-power communication modes are disclosed. A pulse transmission receiver includes: a front-end amplification/processing circuit; a synchronization circuit coupled to the front-end amplification/processing circuit; a clock coupled to the synchronization circuit; a trigger signal generator coupled to the clock; and at least one higher-order time derivative pulse generator coupled to the trigger signal generator. The systems and methods significantly reduce lower-frequency emissions from pulse transmission spread-spectrum communication modes, which reduces potentially harmful interference to existing radio frequency services and users and also simultaneously permit transmission of multiple data bits by utilizing specific pulse shapes.

Pulse transmission receiver with higher-order time derivative pulse correlator

DOEpatents

Dress, Jr., William B.; Smith, Stephen F.

2003-09-16

Systems and methods for pulse-transmission low-power communication modes are disclosed. A pulse transmission receiver includes: a higher-order time derivative pulse correlator; a demodulation decoder coupled to the higher-order time derivative pulse correlator; a clock coupled to the demodulation decoder; and a pseudorandom polynomial generator coupled to both the higher-order time derivative pulse correlator and the clock. The systems and methods significantly reduce lower-frequency emissions from pulse transmission spread-spectrum communication modes, which reduces potentially harmful interference to existing radio frequency services and users and also simultaneously permit transmission of multiple data bits by utilizing specific pulse shapes.

Implanted medical devices in the radiation environment of commercial spaceflight.

PubMed

Reyes, David P; McClure, Steven S; Chancellor, Jeffery C; Blue, Rebecca S; Castleberry, Tarah L; Vanderploeg, James M

2014-11-01

Some commercial spaceflight participants (SFPs) may have medical conditions that require implanted medical devices (IMDs), such as cardiac pacemakers, defibrillators, insulin pumps, or similar electronic devices. The effect of space radiation on the function of IMDs is unknown. This review will identify known effects of terrestrial and aviation electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radiation on IMDs in order to provide insight into the potential effects of radiation exposures in the space environment. A systematic literature review was conducted on available literature on human studies involving the effects of EMI as well as diagnostic and therapeutic radiation on IMDs. The literature review identified potential transient effects from EMI and diagnostic radiation levels as low as 10 mGy on IMDs. High-energy, therapeutic, ionizing radiation can cause more permanent device malfunctions at doses as low as 40 mGy. Radiation doses from suborbital flight altitudes and durations are anticipated to be less than those experienced during an average round-trip, cross-country airline flight and are unlikely to result in significant detriment, though longer, orbital flights may expose SFPs to doses potentially harmful to IMD function. Individuals with IMDs should experience few, if any, radiation-related device malfunctions during suborbital flight, but could have problems with radiation exposures associated with longer, orbital flights.

[Non-Antibiotic Strategies to Prevent the Recurrence of Uncomplicated Urinary Tract Infections in Women].

PubMed

Bauer, H W; Bessler, W G

2016-05-01

The aim of all medical treatment is "primum nihil nocere" ("First, do no harm").Restoring the integrity of intestinal microbiota and optimising the immune response in recurrent infections, especially in the urinary tract, are treatment alternatives which are closer to this target than the usual focus on antibiotic prevention of recurrence.In the future, antibiotics will continue to be recommended for the prevention of urinary tract infections on a case-by-case basis. However, the problems of an excessive use of antibiotics, e. g. resistance and long-term interference with intestinal microbiota, are forcing us to search for alternatives. The use of probiotics alone or in combination with immunotherapeutics, or the sole use of immunotherapeutics, are important treatment options, which are already routinely available in clinical practice. These therapies are focused on the pathomechanism of an infection and tackle the root cause of the problem. Phytotherapeutics or small molecules like mannose, which restricts the adherence of bacteria to the urothelium, are complementary approaches.The EAU guidelines recommend the following treatments for the long-term prevention of urinary tract infections:Oral and parenteral immunostimulants (StroVac(®)), local estrogen replacement and administration of Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus reuteri. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

The effects of neem oil (Azadirachta indica A. JUSS) enriched with different concentrations of azadirachtin on the integument of semi-engorged Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (Acari: Ixodidae) females.

PubMed

Lima de Souza, José Ribamar; Remedio, Rafael Neodini; Arnosti, André; de Abreu, Rusleyd Maria Magalhães; Camargo-Mathias, Maria Izabel

2017-08-01

Several studies searching for methods to control Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l., (dog tick) infestations have been developed aiming to minimize the damages caused by these ectoparasites to the hosts and the environment, which is harmed by the indiscriminate use of toxic acaricide products. In this scenario, neem oil has been used as a natural alternative against ticks, once this chemical has repellent properties and interferes in the growth regulation of these ectoparasites, inhibiting ecdysis. The present study evaluated the effects of azadirachtin-enriched neem oil on the integument of semi-engorged R.sanguineus s.l., females through morphohistological techniques. The results showed the occurrence of significant morphological and histochemical alterations, mainly in the females exposed to higher concentrations, which demonstrates the dose-dependent action of the chemical. A decrease in the cuticle thickness was observed, as well as a modification in the distribution of the epithelial cells, which displayed pyknotic and fragmented nuclei, and intensely vacuolated cytoplasm, indicating that these cells would be undergoing death processes. These morphological alterations observed in the integument of the females exposed to the azadirachtin-enriched neem oil encourage the use of this chemical as a strategy to control these ectoparasites. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Postnatal human genetic enhancement and the parens patriae doctrine

PubMed Central

Tamir, Sivan

2016-01-01

Abstract This paper explores the role of the state, acting as parens patriae, with respect to the future-looking technology of postnatal human genetic enhancement (PoGE), applied to minors by their parents or the state. Considering postnatal rather than prenatal genetic enhancement (PGE) allows us to explore the putative obligations of the state with respect to actual persons, in contrast to future persons the subjects of speculative investigation in the traditionally studied case of PGE. Part I features PoGE, mostly by analogy to PGE and other (non-genetic) postnatal enhancements. Part II examines the nature and scope of the parens patriae doctrine, distinguishing between its protective and substitutive facets. I conclude, drawing on contemporary legal constructions, that: a) the state's interference in parental genetic enhancement (GE) discretion, under its protective role, should generally be minimal, reserved to extreme cases where grave harm to the child has been caused or is reasonably foreseeable; and b) since we cannot readily find parents obligated to genetically enhance their offspring, the state as parens patriae, under its substitutive role, will be respectively exempt from such duty towards state-dependent-children, save for certain GEs considered a sine qua non necessity, equally obligating parents and state to provide children with. PMID:28852539

Determination of the carmine content based on spectrum fluorescence spectral and PSO-SVM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Shu-tao; Peng, Tao; Cheng, Qi; Wang, Gui-chuan; Kong, De-ming; Wang, Yu-tian

2018-03-01

Carmine is a widely used food pigment in various food and beverage additives. Excessive consumption of synthetic pigment shall do harm to body seriously. The food is generally associated with a variety of colors. Under the simulation context of various food pigments' coexistence, we adopted the technology of fluorescence spectroscopy, together with the PSO-SVM algorithm, so that to establish a method for the determination of carmine content in mixed solution. After analyzing the prediction results of PSO-SVM, we collected a bunch of data: the carmine average recovery rate was 100.84%, the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) for 1.03e-04, 0.999 for the correlation coefficient between the model output and the real value of the forecast. Compared with the prediction results of reverse transmission, the correlation coefficient of PSO-SVM was 2.7% higher, the average recovery rate for 0.6%, and the root mean square error was nearly one order of magnitude lower. According to the analysis results, it can effectively avoid the interference caused by pigment with the combination of the fluorescence spectrum technique and PSO-SVM, accurately determining the content of carmine in mixed solution with an effect better than that of BP.

Minimum Interference Planar Geometric Topology in Wireless Sensor Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Trac N.; Huynh, Dung T.

The approach of using topology control to reduce interference in wireless sensor networks has attracted attention of several researchers. There are at least two definitions of interference in the literature. In a wireless sensor network the interference at a node may be caused by an edge that is transmitting data [15], or it occurs because the node itself is within the transmission range of another [3], [1], [6]. In this paper we show that the problem of assigning power to nodes in the plane to yield a planar geometric graph whose nodes have bounded interference is NP-complete under both interference definitions. Our results provide a rigorous proof for a theorem in [15] whose proof is unconvincing. They also address one of the open issues raised in [6] where Halldórsson and Tokuyama were concerned with the receiver model of node interference, and derived an O(sqrt {Δ}) upper bound for the maximum node interference of a wireless ad hoc network in the plane (Δ is the maximum interference of the so-called uniform radius network). The question as to whether this problem is NP-complete in the 2-dimensional case was left open.

Sleep can reduce proactive interference.

PubMed

Abel, Magdalena; Bäuml, Karl-Heinz T

2014-01-01

Sleep has repeatedly been connected to processes of memory consolidation. While extensive research indeed documents beneficial effects of sleep on memory, little is yet known about the role of sleep for interference effects in episodic memory. Although two prior studies reported sleep to reduce retroactive interference, no sleep effect has previously been found for proactive interference. Here we applied a study format differing from that employed by the prior studies to induce a high degree of proactive interference, and asked participants to encode a single list or two interfering lists of paired associates via pure study cycles. Testing occurred after 12 hours of diurnal wakefulness or nocturnal sleep. Consistent with the prior work, we found sleep in comparison to wake did not affect memory for the single list, but reduced retroactive interference. In addition we found sleep reduced proactive interference, and reduced retroactive and proactive interference to the same extent. The finding is consistent with the view that arising benefits of sleep are caused by the reactivation of memory contents during sleep, which has been suggested to strengthen and stabilise memories. Such stabilisation may make memories less susceptible to competition from interfering memories at test and thus reduce interference effects.

Predator interference effects on biological control: The "paradox" of the generalist predator revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parshad, Rana D.; Bhowmick, Suman; Quansah, Emmanuel; Basheer, Aladeen; Upadhyay, Ranjit Kumar

2016-10-01

An interesting conundrum in biological control questions the efficiency of generalist predators as biological control agents. Theory suggests, generalist predators are poor agents for biological control, primarily due to mutual interference. However field evidence shows they are actually quite effective in regulating pest densities. In this work we provide a plausible answer to this paradox. We analyze a three species model, where a generalist top predator is introduced into an ecosystem as a biological control, to check the population of a middle predator, that in turn is depredating on a prey species. We show that the inclusion of predator interference alone, can cause the solution of the top predator equation to blow-up in finite time, while there is global existence in the no interference case. This result shows that interference could actually cause a population explosion of the top predator, enabling it to control the target species, thus corroborating recent field evidence. Our results might also partially explain the population explosion of certain species, introduced originally for biological control purposes, such as the cane toad (Bufo marinus) in Australia, which now functions as a generalist top predator. We also show both Turing instability and spatio-temporal chaos in the model. Lastly we investigate time delay effects.

Influence of digital and analogue cellular telephones on implanted pacemakers.

PubMed

Altamura, G; Toscano, S; Gentilucci, G; Ammirati, F; Castro, A; Pandozi, C; Santini, M

1997-10-01

The aim of this study was to find out whether digital and analogue cellular 'phones affect patients with pacemakers. The study comprised continuous ECG monitoring of 200 pacemaker patients. During the monitoring certain conditions caused by interference created by the telephone were looked for: temporary or prolonged pacemaker inhibition; a shift to asynchronous mode caused by electromagnetic interference; an increase in ventricular pacing in dual chamber pacemakers, up to the programmed upper rate. The Global System for Mobile Communications system interfered with pacing 97 times in 43 patients (21.5%). During tests on Total Access of Communication System telephones, there were 60 cases of pacing interference in 35 patients (17.5%). There were 131 interference episodes during ringing vs 26 during the on/off phase; (P < 0.0001); 106 at maximum sensitivity level vs 51 at the 'base' value; P < 0.0001). Prolonged pacing inhibition (> 4 s) was seen at the pacemaker 'base' sensing value in six patients using the Global system but in only one patient using Total Access. Cellular 'phones may be dangerous for pacemaker patients. However, they can be used safely if patients do not carry the 'phone close to the pacemaker, which is the only place where high risk interference has been observed.

Semantic Connection or Visual Connection: Investigating the True Source of Confusion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ishii, Tomoko

2015-01-01

It has been repeatedly argued among vocabulary researchers that semantically related words should not be taught simultaneously because they can interfere with each other. However, the question of what types of relatedness cause interference has rarely been examined carefully. In addition, there are disagreements among the past studies that have…

Thin Film Interference: An Experiment with Microwaves and Paraffin Oil

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

D'Anna, Michele; Corridoni, Tommaso

2015-01-01

Thin film interference manifests itself in a wide range of visually pleasing situations in everyday life (in the colored effects caused by a drop of oil on water, in soap bubbles, etc.) and is also involved in important technical applications (semi-reflecting mirrors, anti-reflection lenses, etc.). Yet, despite its familiarity, high school…

When Bees Hamper the Production of Honey: Lexical Interference from Associates in Speech Production

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abdel Rahman, Rasha; Melinger, Alissa

2007-01-01

In this article, the authors explore semantic context effects in speaking. In particular, the authors investigate a marked discrepancy between categorically and associatively induced effects; only categorical relationships have been reported to cause interference in object naming. In Experiments 1 and 2, a variant of the semantic blocking paradigm…

The genetic architecture of sexual conflict: male harm and female resistance in Callosobruchus maculatus.

PubMed

Gay, L; Brown, E; Tregenza, T; Pincheira-Donoso, D; Eady, P E; Vasudev, R; Hunt, J; Hosken, D J

2011-02-01

Males harm females during mating in a range of species. This harm is thought to evolve because it is directly or indirectly beneficial to the male, despite being costly to his mate. The resulting sexually antagonistic selection can cause sexual arms races. For sexually antagonistic co-evolution to occur, there must be genetic variation for traits involved in female harming and susceptibility to harm, but even then intersexual genetic correlations could facilitate or impede sexual co-evolution. Male Callosobruchus maculatus harm their mates during copulation by damaging the female's reproductive tract. However, there have been no investigations of the genetic variation in damage or in female susceptibility to damage, nor has the genetic covariance between these characters been assessed. Here, we use a full-sib/half-sib breeding design to show that male damage is heritable, whereas female susceptibility to damage is much less so. There is also a substantial positive genetic correlation between the two, suggesting that selection favouring damaging males will increase the prevalence of susceptible females. We also provide evidence consistent with intralocus sexual conflict in this species. © 2010 The Authors. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2010 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

The sadistic trait predicts minimization of intention and causal responsibility in moral judgment.

PubMed

Trémolière, Bastien; Djeriouat, Hakim

2016-01-01

The present research tests the hypothesis that specific socially aversive traits-subclinical sadism in particular-are associated with an impaired judgment of moral wrongness, guilt, and punishment in various moral scenarios manipulating intent, cause and consequence of harm. In three online studies (total N=1069), participants completed a battery of tests scaled to assess sadism and the Dark Triad constructs, then faced different situations involving moral issues (attempted harm, intentional harm, accidental harm). Study 1 revealed that a sadistic personality trait was associated with minimization of the importance of harmful intent in moral judgment. Study 2 showed that a sadistic personality trait predicted minimization of the importance of causal mechanisms to harmful consequences in moral judgment. Study 3 showed that these effects were mediated by enjoyment of cruelty, a characteristic unique to sadists. In the light of Cushman's (2008) two-process model of moral judgment, this set of studies provides the first evidence that deficits in the integration of the theory of mind and causality can be observed in personality traits. The independent predictive value of sadism highlights that features other than emotional deficits are essential in explaining impaired moral evaluations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

RNA Interference for improving the Outcome of Islet Transplantation

PubMed Central

Li, Feng; Mahato, Ram I

2010-01-01

Islet transplantation has the potential to cure type 1 diabetes. Despite recent therapeutic success, it is still not common because a large number of transpanted islets get damaged by multiple challenges including instant blood mediated inflammatory reaction, hypoxia/reperfusion injury, inflammatory cytokines, and immune rejection. RNA interference (RNAi) is an novel strategy to selectively degrade target mRNA. The use of RNAi technologies to downregulate the expression of harmful genes has the potential to improve the outcome of islet transplantation. The aim of this review is to gain a thorough understanding of biological obstacles to islet transplantation and discuss how to overcome these barriers using different RNAi technologies. This eventually will help improve islet survival and function post transplantaion. Chemically synthesized small interferring RNA (siRNA), vector based short haripin RNA (shRNA), and their critical design elements (such as sequences, promoters, backbone) are discussed. The application of combinatorial RNAi in islet transplantation is also discussed. Last but not the least, several delivery strategies for enhanced gene silencing are discussed, including chemical modification of siRNA, complex formation, bioconjugation, and viral vectors. PMID:21156190

Electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of polypropylene/conducting fiber composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Pyoung-Chan; Kim, Bo-Ram; Jeoung, Sun Kyoung; Kim, Yeung Keun

2016-03-01

Electromagnetic released from the automotive electronic parts is harmful to human body. Electromagnetic interference (EMT) shielding refers to the reflection and/or adsorption of electromagnetic radiation by a material, which thereby acts as a shield against the penetration of the radiation through the shield. Polypropylene (PP)/conductive micro fiber composites containing various fiber contents and fiber length were injection-molded. The effect of fiber content and length on electrical properties of the composites was studied by electrical resistivity and EMT shielding measurements. The through-plane electrical conductivity and dielectric permittivity were obtained by measuring dielectric properties. The EMT shielding effectiveness (SE) was investigated by using S-parameter in the range of 100 ~ 1500 MHz. Reflection, absorption and multiple-reflection are the EMT attenuation mechanisms. From the measurement of S-Parameters, the absorption coefficient, reflection coefficient, and the shielding efficiency of the materials were calculated. The EMT SE of PP/conducing fiber composites is 40 dB over a wide frequency range up to 1.5 GHz, which is higher than that of PP/talc composite used automotive parts, viz. 0 dB.

Interference fringes on GLORIA side-scan sonar images from the Bering Sea and their implications

USGS Publications Warehouse

Huggett, Q.J.; Cooper, A. K.; Somers, M.L.; Stubbs, A.R.

1992-01-01

GLORIA side-scan sonographs from the Bering Sea Basin show a complex pattern of interference fringes sub-parallel to the ship's track. Surveys along the same trackline made in 1986 and 1987 show nearly identical patterns. It is concluded from this that the interference patterns are caused by features in the shallow subsurface rather than in the water column. The fringes are interpreted as a thin-layer interference effect that occurs when some of the sound reaching the seafloor passes through it and is reflected off a subsurface layer. The backscattered sound interferes (constructively or desctructively) with the reflected sound. Constructive/destructive interference occurs when the difference in the length of the two soundpaths is a whole/half multiple of GLORIA's 25 cm wavelength. Thus as range from the ship increases, sound moves in and out of phase causing bands of greater and lesser intensity on the GLORIA sonograph. Fluctuations (or 'wiggles') of the fringes on the GLORIA sonographs relate to changes in layer thickness. In principle, a simple three dimensional image of the subsurface layer may be obtained using GLORIA and bathymetric data from adjacent (parallel) ship's tracks. These patterns have also been identified in images from two other systems; SeaMARC II (12 kHz) long-range sonar, and TOBI (30 kHz) deep-towed sonar. In these, and other cases world-wide, the fringes do not appear with the same persistence as those seen in the Bering Sea. ?? 1992 Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Exposure to community violence and self-harm in California: A multi-level, population-based, case-control study.

PubMed

Matthay, Ellicott C; Farkas, Kriszta; Skeem, Jennifer; Ahern, Jennifer

2018-06-07

Self-harm is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Exposure to community violence is an important and potentially modifiable feature of the social environment that may affect self-harm, but studies to date are limited in the samples and outcomes examined. We conducted a population-based, nested case-control study. Cases were all deaths and hospital visits due to self-harm in California, 2006-2013. We frequency-matched California resident population-based controls from the American Community Survey to cases on age, gender, race/ethnicity, and year of survey/injury. We assessed past-year community violence using deaths and hospital visits due to interpersonal violence in the community of residence. We estimated risk-difference parameters that were defined to avoid extrapolation and to capture associations between changes in the distribution of community violence and the population-level risk of self-harm. After adjustment for confounders, setting past-year community violence to the lowest monthly levels observed within each community over the study period was associated with a 30.1 (95% CI: 29.6 to 30.5) per 100,000 persons per year lower risk of nonfatal self-harm, but no difference in the risk of fatal self-harm. Associations for a parameter corresponding to a hypothetical violence prevention intervention targeting high-violence communities indicated a 5% decrease in self-harm at the population level. In sensitivity analyses, results were robust. This study strengthens evidence on the relationship between community violence and self-harm. Future research should investigate reasons for differential associations by age and gender and whether community violence prevention programs have meaningful impacts on self-harm.

Social dominance, school bullying, and child health: what are our ethical obligations to the very young?

PubMed

Halpern, Jodi; Jutte, Douglas; Colby, Jackie; Boyce, W Thomas

2015-03-01

Recent research shows that by age 5, children form rigid social hierarchies, with some children consistently subordinated, and then later, bullied. Further, several studies suggest that enduring mental and physical harm follow. It is time to analyze the health burdens posed by early social dominance and to consider the ethical implications of ongoing socially caused harms. First, we reviewed research demonstrating the health impact of early childhood subordination. Second, we used philosophical conceptions of children's rights and social justice to consider whether children have a right to protection and who has an obligation to protect them from social harms. Collectively, recent studies show that early subordination is instantiated biologically, increasing lifetime physical and mental health problems. The pervasive, and enduring nature of these harms leads us to argue that children have a right to be protected. Further, society has a role responsibility to protect children because society conscripts children into schools. Society's promise to parents that schools will be fiduciaries entails an obligation to safeguard each child's right to a reasonably open future. Importantly, this role responsibility holds independently of bearing any causal responsibility for the harm. This new argument based on protecting from harm is much stronger than previous equality of opportunity arguments, and applies broadly to other social determinants of health. Social institutions have a role responsibility to protect children that is not dependent on playing a causal role in the harm. Children's rights to protection from social harms can be as strong as their rights to protection from direct bodily harms. Copyright © 2015 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

New method for the direct determination of dissolved Fe(III) concentration in acid mine waters

USGS Publications Warehouse

To, T.B.; Nordstrom, D. Kirk; Cunningham, K.M.; Ball, J.W.; McCleskey, R. Blaine

1999-01-01

A new method for direct determination of dissolved Fe(III) in acid mine water has been developed. In most present methods, Fe(III) is determined by computing the difference between total dissolved Fe and dissolved Fe(II). For acid mine waters, frequently Fe(II) >> Fe(III); thus, accuracy and precision are considerably improved by determining Fe(III) concentration directly. The new method utilizes two selective ligands to stabilize Fe(III) and Fe(II), thereby preventing changes in Fe reduction-oxidation distribution. Complexed Fe(II) is cleanly removed using a silica-based, reversed-phase adsorbent, yielding excellent isolation of the Fe(III) complex. Iron(III) concentration is measured colorimetrically or by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). The method requires inexpensive commercial reagents and simple procedures that can be used in the field. Calcium(II), Ni(II), Pb(II), AI(III), Zn(II), and Cd(II) cause insignificant colorimetric interferences for most acid mine waters. Waters containing >20 mg of Cu/L could cause a colorimetric interference and should be measured by GFAAS. Cobalt(II) and Cr(III) interfere if their molar ratios to Fe(III) exceed 24 and 5, respectively. Iron(II) interferes when its concentration exceeds the capacity of the complexing ligand (14 mg/L). Because of the GFAAS elemental specificity, only Fe(II) is a potential interferent in the GFAAS technique. The method detection limit is 2 ??g/L (40 nM) using GFAAS and 20 ??g/L (0.4 ??M) by colorimetry.A new method for direct determination of dissolved Fe(III) in acid mine water has been developed. In most present methods, Fe(III) is determined by computing the difference between total dissolved Fe and dissolved Fe(II). For acid mine waters, frequently Fe(II)???Fe(III); thus, accuracy and precision are considerably improved by determining Fe(III) concentration directly. The new method utilizes two selective ligands to stabilize Fe(III) and Fe(II), thereby preventing changes in Fe reduction-oxidation distribution. Complexed Fe(II) is cleanly removed using a silica-based, reversed-phase adsorbent, yielding excellent isolation of the Fe(III) complex. Iron(III) concentration is measured colorimetrically or by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). The method requires inexpensive commercial reagents and simple procedures that can be used in the field. Calcium(II), Ni(II), Pb(II), Al(III), Zn(II), and Cd(II) cause insignificant colorimetric interferences for most acid mine waters. Waters containing >20 mg of Cu/L could cause a colorimetric interference and should be measured by GFAAS. Cobalt(II) and Cr(III) interfere if their molar ratios to Fe(III) exceed 24 and 5, respectively. Iron(II) interferes when its concentration exceeds the capacity of the complexing ligand (14 mg/L). Because of the GFAAS elemental specificity, only Fe(II) is a potential interferent in the GFAAS technique. The method detection limit is 2/??g/L (40 nM) using GFAAS and 20 ??g/L (0.4 ??M) by colorimetry.

Suicide After Deliberate Self-Harm in Adolescents and Young Adults.

PubMed

Olfson, Mark; Wall, Melanie; Wang, Shuai; Crystal, Stephen; Bridge, Jeffrey A; Liu, Shang-Min; Blanco, Carlos

2018-04-01

Among adolescents and young adults with nonfatal self-harm, our objective is to identify risk factors for repeated nonfatal self-harm and suicide death over the following year. A national cohort of patients in the Medicaid program, aged 12 to 24 years ( n = 32 395), was followed for up to 1 year after self-harm. Cause of death information was obtained from the National Death Index. Repeat self-harm per 1000 person-years and suicide deaths per 100 000 person-years were determined. Hazard ratios (HRs) of repeat self-harm and suicide were estimated by Cox proportional hazard models. Suicide standardized mortality rate ratios were derived by comparison with demographically matched general population controls. The 12-month suicide standardized mortality rate ratio after self-harm was significantly higher for adolescents (46.0, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 29.9-67.9) than young adults (19.2, 95% CI: 12.7-28.0). Hazards of suicide after self-harm were significantly higher for American Indians and Alaskan natives than non-Hispanic white patients (HR: 4.69, 95% CI: 2.41-9.13) and for self-harm patients who initially used violent methods (HR: 18.04, 95% CI: 9.92-32.80), especially firearms (HR: 35.73, 95% CI: 15.42-82.79), compared with nonviolent self-harm methods (1.00, reference). The hazards of repeat self-harm were higher for female subjects than male subjects (HR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.18-1.33); patients with personality disorders (HR: 1.55, 95% CI: 1.42-1.69); and patients whose initial self-harm was treated in an inpatient setting (HR: 1.65, 95% CI: 1.49-1.83) compared with an emergency department (HR: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.55-0.69) or outpatient (1.00, reference) setting. After nonfatal self-harm, adolescents and young adults were at markedly elevated risk of suicide. Among these high-risk patients, those who used violent self-harm methods, particularly firearms, were at especially high risk underscoring the importance of follow-up care to help ensure their safety. Copyright © 2018 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Screening for Ovarian Cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement.

PubMed

Grossman, David C; Curry, Susan J; Owens, Douglas K; Barry, Michael J; Davidson, Karina W; Doubeni, Chyke A; Epling, John W; Kemper, Alex R; Krist, Alex H; Kurth, Ann E; Landefeld, C Seth; Mangione, Carol M; Phipps, Maureen G; Silverstein, Michael; Simon, Melissa A; Tseng, Chien-Wen

2018-02-13

With approximately 14 000 deaths per year, ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer death among US women and the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancer. More than 95% of ovarian cancer deaths occur among women 45 years and older. To update the 2012 US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation on screening for ovarian cancer. The USPSTF reviewed the evidence on the benefits and harms of screening for ovarian cancer in asymptomatic women not known to be at high risk for ovarian cancer (ie, high risk includes women with certain hereditary cancer syndromes that increase their risk for ovarian cancer). Outcomes of interest included ovarian cancer mortality, quality of life, false-positive rate, surgery and surgical complication rates, and psychological effects of screening. The USPSTF found adequate evidence that screening for ovarian cancer does not reduce ovarian cancer mortality. The USPSTF found adequate evidence that the harms from screening for ovarian cancer are at least moderate and may be substantial in some cases, and include unnecessary surgery for women who do not have cancer. Given the lack of mortality benefit of screening, and the moderate to substantial harms that could result from false-positive screening test results and subsequent surgery, the USPSTF concludes with moderate certainty that the harms of screening for ovarian cancer outweigh the benefit, and the net balance of the benefit and harms of screening is negative. The USPSTF recommends against screening for ovarian cancer in asymptomatic women. (D recommendation) This recommendation applies to asymptomatic women who are not known to have a high-risk hereditary cancer syndrome.

76 FR 37005 - Safety Zone; Fan Pier Yacht Club Fireworks, Boston Harbor, Boston, MA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-24

... fireworks and debris falling into the water that may cause death or serious bodily harm. Establishing a... when the agency for good cause finds that those procedures are ``impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.'' Under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), the Coast Guard finds that good cause exists...

76 FR 42048 - Safety Zones; Swimming Events in Captain of the Port Boston Zone

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-18

... and the risk of boat collisions with swimmers in the water that may cause death or serious bodily harm... prior notice and opportunity to comment when the agency for good cause finds that those procedures are... finds that good cause exists for not publishing a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) with respect to...

Natural interference phenomena affecting spaceborne receivers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stacey, J. M.

1984-01-01

Earth orbiting microwave receivers which are vulnerable to the interference from natural sources, mainly, the Sun and the Moon, are discussed. The irradiance from the Sun affects microwave receivers in two ways: (1) the infrared component of the irradiance causes nonuniform heating in metal structures and produces distortions that affect electrical performance; and (2) the graybody radiation component of the solar irradiance enters the collecting aperture of the antenna and the feed ports of the calibration circuits. The graybody radiation operates to degrade the signal to noise ratios and vitiate the internal calibration accuracy. The magnitudes of interference from the Sun and the Moon are analyzed and mathematical expressions are derived which serve to quantify the expected interference levels.

Increased Risk of Burnout for Physicians and Nurses Involved in a Patient Safety Incident.

PubMed

Van Gerven, Eva; Vander Elst, Tinne; Vandenbroeck, Sofie; Dierickx, Sigrid; Euwema, Martin; Sermeus, Walter; De Witte, Hans; Godderis, Lode; Vanhaecht, Kris

2016-10-01

Human errors occur everywhere, including in health care. Not only the patient, but also the involved health professional is affected (ie, the "second victim"). To investigate the prevalence of health care professionals being personally involved in a patient safety incident (PSI), as well as the relationship of involvement and degree of harm with problematic medication use, excessive alcohol consumption, risk of burnout, work-home interference (WHI), and turnover intentions. Multilevel path analyses were conducted to analyze cross-sectional survey data from 37 Belgian hospitals. A total of 5788 nurses (79.4%) and physicians (20.6%) in 26 acute and 11 psychiatric hospitals were included. "Involvement in a patient safety incident during the prior 6 months," "degree of harm," and 5 outcomes were measured using self-report scales. Nine percent of the total sample had been involved in a PSI during the prior 6 months. Involvement in a PSI was related to a greater risk of burnout (β=0.40, OR=2.07), to problematic medication use (β=0.33, OR=1.84), to greater WHI (β=0.24), and to more turnover intentions (β=0.22). Harm to the patient was a predictor of problematic medication use (β=0.14, OR=1.56), risk of burnout (β=0.16, OR=1.62), and WHI (β=0.19). Second victims experience significant negative outcomes in the aftermath of a PSI. An appropriate organizational response should be provided to mitigate the negative effects.

Cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibition as a strategy to reduce cardiovascular risk

PubMed Central

Barter, Philip J.; Rye, Kerry-Anne

2012-01-01

Human and rabbit plasma contain a cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) that promotes net mass transfers of cholesteryl esters from high density lipoproteins (HDL) to other plasma lipoprotein fractions. As predicted, inhibition of CETP in both humans and rabbits increases the concentration of cholesterol in the potentially protective HDL fraction, while decreasing it in potentially proatherogenic non-HDL fractions. Inhibition of CETP in rabbits also inhibits the development of diet-induced atherosclerosis. However, use of the CETP inhibitor torcetrapib in humans did not reduce atheroma in three imaging trials and caused an excess of deaths and cardiovascular events in a large clinical outcome trial. The precise explanation for the harm caused by torcetrapib is unknown but may relate to documented, potentially harmful effects unrelated to inhibition of CETP. More recently, a trial using the weak CETP inhibitor dalcetrapib, which raises HDL levels less effectively than torcetrapib and does not lower non-HDL lipoprotein levels, was terminated early for reasons of futility. There was no evidence that dalcetrapib caused harm in that trial. Despite these setbacks, the hypothesis that CETP inhibitors will be antiatherogenic in humans is still being tested in studies with anacetrapib and evacetrapib, two CETP inhibitors that are much more potent than dalcetrapib and that do not share the off-target adverse effects of torcetrapib. PMID:22550134

Negative interference by rheumatoid factor in alpha-fetoprotein chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay.

PubMed

Wang, Hui; Bi, Xiaohui; Xu, Lei; Li, Yirong

2017-01-01

Background Rheumatoid factor causes positive interference in multiple immunoassays. Recently, negative interference has also been found in immunoassays in the presence of rheumatoid factor. The chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay is widely used to determine serum alpha-fetoprotein. However, it is not clear whether the presence of rheumatoid factor in the serum causes interference in the chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay of alpha-fetoprotein. Methods Serum alpha-fetoprotein was determined using the ARCHITECT alpha-fetoprotein assay. The estimation of alpha-fetoprotein recovery was carried out in samples prepared by diluting high-concentration alpha-fetoprotein serum with rheumatoid factor-positive or rheumatoid factor-negative serum. Paramagnetic microparticles coated with hepatitis B surface antigen-anti-HBs complexes were used to remove rheumatoid factor from the serum. Results The average recovery of alpha-fetoprotein was 88.4% and 93.8% in the rheumatoid factor-positive and rheumatoid factor-negative serum samples, respectively. The recovery of alpha-fetoprotein was significantly lower in the rheumatoid factor-positive serum samples than in the rheumatoid factor-negative serum samples. In two of five rheumatoid factor-positive samples, a large difference was found (9.8%) between the average alpha-fetoprotein recoveries in the serially diluted and initial recoveries. Fourteen rheumatoid factor-positive serum samples were pretreated with hepatitis B surface antigen-anti-HBs complex-coated paramagnetic microparticles. The alpha-fetoprotein concentrations measured in the pretreated samples increased significantly. Conclusions It was concluded that the alpha-fetoprotein chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay is susceptible to interference by rheumatoid factor, leading to significantly lower results. Eliminating the incidence of negative interference from rheumatoid factor should be an important goal for immunoassay providers. In the meantime, laboratorians must remain alert to the negative interference by rheumatoid factor, and in some cases, pretreat rheumatoid factor-positive samples with blocking or absorbing reagents.

Hypercalcemia

MedlinePlus

... in confusion, lethargy and fatigue. It can also cause depression. Heart. Rarely, severe hypercalcemia can interfere with your heart function, causing palpitations and fainting, indications of cardiac arrhythmia, and other heart ... building strong bones and teeth, calcium helps ...

Self-harming behavior of a parent with borderline personality disorder assessed using revealed preference and attributional approaches: a case study.

PubMed

Tustin, R Don

2002-08-01

This article discusses a case study involving a parent with Borderline Personality Disorder who exhibited self-harming behaviors. Assessment and intervention were based both on a review of the client's attributions about causes of her own behavior as being either internalizing or externalizing, and on a review of motivation of the behaviors using functional analysis. Antecedent situations for self-harming behaviors were identified to provide a basis for reviewing the client's attributions of reasons for disordered behavior. A new technique of functional analysis was applied using the principle of revealed preference arising from behavioral economics. Revealed preference identified outcomes that were valued by the client, enabling new responses to be identified to attain these reinforcers. Attribution re-training was provided. Significant reductions in self-harming behaviors were achieved during brief therapy and were maintained during follow-up.

Framing peak petroleum as a public health problem: audience research and participatory engagement in the United States.

PubMed

Nisbet, Matthew C; Maibach, Edward; Leiserowitz, Anthony

2011-09-01

Between December 2009 and January 2010, we conducted a nationally representative telephone survey of US adults (n = 1001; completion rate = 52.9%) to explore perceptions of risks associated with peak petroleum. We asked respondents to assess the likelihood that oil prices would triple over the next 5 years and then to estimate the economic and health consequences of that event. Nearly half (48%) indicated that oil prices were likely to triple, causing harm to human health; an additional 16% said dramatic price increases were unlikely but would harm health if they did occur. A large minority (44%) said sharp increases in oil prices would be "very harmful" to health. Respondents who self-identified as very conservative and those who were strongly dismissive of climate change were the respondents most likely to perceive very harmful health consequences.

Gyroscopic effects in interference of matter waves

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tolstikhin, Oleg I.; Morishita, Toru; Watanabe, Shinichi

2005-11-15

A new gyroscopic interference effect stemming from the Galilean translational factor in the matter wave function is pointed out. In contrast to the well-known Sagnac effect that stems from the geometric phase and leads to a shift of interference fringes, this effect causes slanting of the fringes. We illustrate it by calculations for two split cigar-shaped Bose-Einstein condensates under the conditions of a recent experiment, see Y. Shin et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 050405 (2004). Importantly, the measurement of slanting obviates the need of a third reference cloud.

Tuning the Thermochemical Properties of Oxonol Dyes for Digital Versatile Disc Recordable: Reduction of Thermal Interference in High-Speed Recording

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morishima, Shin-Ichi; Wariishi, Koji; Mikoshiba, Hisashi; Inagaki, Yoshio; Shibata, Michihiro; Hashimoto, Hirokazu; Kubo, Hiroshi

To reduce thermal interference between adjacent recording marks on a recordable digital versatile disc, we examined the thermochemical behavior of oxonol dyes for digital versatile disc recordable (DVD-R). We found that oxonol dyes with Meldrum's acid skeleton exhibited an abrupt reduction in weight with increasing temperature without generating excessive heat that is the fundamental cause of thermal interference. DVD-R with the oxonol dyes suppressed fluctuation in the shapes of recorded marks, thereby attaining compatibility with high-speed recording.

Task Interference in Time-Based, Event-Based, and Dual Intention Prospective Memory Conditions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hicks, Jason L.; Marsh, Richard L.; Cook, Gabriel I.

2005-01-01

Forming the intention to complete an activity later is the standard definition of a prospective memory task. Recently, a debate has arisen concerning the degree to which near-term intentions usurp resources away from other ongoing activities. In four experiments the authors tested how much interference was caused by holding a variety of different…

Structural Color of Rock Dove’s Neck Feather

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakamura, Eri; Yoshioka, Shinya; Kinoshita, Shuichi

2008-12-01

It is well known that some kinds of animal have surprisingly brilliant colors showing beautiful iridescence. These colors are called structural colors, and are thought to originate from optical interference caused by periodic microstructures that have sizes comparable with the wavelength of light. However, much larger structural modifications can also play an important role in the coloration mechanism. In this paper, we show through careful optical and structural investigations that the structural color of the neck feather of rock dove, Columba livia, has a very comprehensive mechanism: the thin-layer optical interference phenomenon fundamentally produces the iridescence, while the layer structure is accompanied by various kinds of larger-size structural modifications that control the angular range of the reflection. Further, it is found that the granules containing melanin pigment exist in a localized manner to effectively enhance the contrast of the color caused by optical interference.

Pulse Tube Interference in Cryogenic Sensor Resonant Circuits - Final Paper

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lam, Tyler

2015-08-27

Transition edge sensors (TES) are extremely sensitive superconducting sensors, operating at 100 mK, which can be used to detect X-rays and Cosmic Microwave Background. The goal of our project is to design the electronics to read out an array of 10000 of these sensors by using microwave signals. However, we noticed the pulse tube used to maintain cryogenic temperatures caused interference in our readout. To determine the cause of the signal distortions, we used a detector with a 370 MHz sampling rate to collect and analyze sensor data. Although this data provided little information towards the nature of the noise,more » it was determined through a maintenance procedure than the 0.3 mm stainless steel wires were being vibrated due to acoustic waves, which distorted the signal. Replacing this wire appeared to cease the interference from the sensor data.« less

Pulse Tube Interference in Cryogenic Sensors - Oral Presentation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lam, Tyler

2015-08-24

Transition edge sensors (TES) are extremely sensitive superconducting sensors, operating at 100 mK, which can be used to detect X-rays and Cosmic Microwave Background. The goal of our project is to design the electronics to read out an array of 10000 of these sensors by using microwave signals. However, we noticed the pulse tube used to maintain cryogenic temperatures caused interference in our readout. To determine the cause of the signal distortions, we used a detector with a 370 MHz sampling rate to collect and analyze sensor data. Although this data provided little information towards the nature of the noise,more » it was determined through a maintenance procedure than the 0.3 mm stainless steel wires were being vibrated due to acoustic waves, which distorted the signal. Replacing this wire appeared to cease the interference from the sensor data.« less

Specifying the role of the left prefrontal cortex in word selection

PubMed Central

Ries, S. K; Karzmark, C. R.; Navarrete, E.; Knight, R. T.; Dronkers, N. F.

2015-01-01

Word selection allows us to choose words during language production. This is often viewed as a competitive process wherein a lexical representation is retrieved among semantically-related alternatives. The left prefrontal cortex (LPFC) is thought to help overcome competition for word selection through top-down control. However, whether the LPFC is always necessary for word selection remains unclear. We tested 6 LPFC-injured patients and controls in two picture naming paradigms varying in terms of item repetition. Both paradigms elicited the expected semantic interference effects (SIE), reflecting interference caused by semantically-related representations in word selection. However, LPFC patients as a group showed a larger SIE than controls only in the paradigm involving item repetition. We argue that item repetition increases interference caused by semantically-related alternatives, resulting in increased LPFC-dependent cognitive control demands. The remaining network of brain regions associated with word selection appears to be sufficient when items are not repeated. PMID:26291289

Arsenic species analysis in porewaters and sediments using hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry.

PubMed

Liao, Meng-xia; Deng, Tian-long

2006-01-01

It was observed that the atomic fluorescence emission due to As(V) could has a 10% to 40% of fluorescence emission signal during the determination of As(III) in the mixture of As(III) and As(V). Besides, interferes from heavy metals such as Pb(lIl), Cu(ll) can cause severe increase of the signals as compared to the insignificant effects caused by Cd(II), Zn(ll), Mn(II) and Fe(Ill). On the basis of further studies, the masking agent of 8-hydroxyquinoline was used as an efficient agent to eliminate interference of As(V) emission and the heavy metal of Cu2+ and Pb2+ in the measurements of arsenic species. After a series standard additions and CRM researches, a sensitive and interference-free analytical procedure was developed for the speciation of arsenic in samples of porewaters and sediments in Poyang Lake, China.

[Food taboos in the northern region of Brazil].

PubMed

Trigo, M; Roncada, M J; Stewien, G T; Pereira, I M

1989-12-01

A study was carried out into alimentary taboos in two localities (São Félix and Murumuru) in the county of Marabá, State of Pará, Brazil. Ninety families were studied in São Félix and thirty-five in Murumuru. As regards the feeding taboos found, the most frequent was that prohibiting the simultaneous ingestion of milk and various types of fruit, including especially mango, orange, cashew and pineapple. The ingestion of eggs with fruit was also considered harmful as well as the eating of mammalian flesh at the same time as fish. Restrictions based on taboos were more frequent during breast feeding than during pregnancy, especially those regarding game flesh and fish that abound in the region under study. The most frequently mentioned reasons for the restrictions were: "the combination causes harm", "the combination kills", "the combination causes congestion" and "it causes vomiting".

Fear of causing harm: use of mannequin-based simulation to decrease student anxiety prior to interacting with female teaching associates.

PubMed

Pugh, Carla M; Obadina, Eniola T; Aidoo, Kofi A

2009-01-01

There is a paucity of research assessing the potential benefits of mannequin trainers when preparing students to interact with teaching associates. The goal of this study was to better understand the effects of mannequin-based simulators on student comfort toward learning specific aspects of the clinical female pelvic exam. First-year medical students (N = 344) were surveyed before and after a mannequin-based simulation curriculum to assess their comfort levels toward learning the female pelvic exam. Causing harm was the top cause of student anxiety toward learning the pelvic exam. Although the mannequin-based simulation curriculum was effective in significantly increasing (p < .001) student comfort levels toward learning the pelvic exam, the majority of students progressed from being "very uncomfortable" with the exam to being "somewhat comfortable." We suggest that mannequin-based simulators be used prior to students' learning experience with pelvic exam teaching associates.

Invasion-Flowback Processes During Hydraulic Fracturing Well Interference

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kenzhekhanov, Shaken; He, Kai; Xu, Liang; Lord, Paul; Lozano, Martin; Neeves, Keith; Yin, Xiaolong

2017-11-01

Drainage-imbibition cycles that simulate hydraulic fracturing fluid's invasion and flowback during well interference were investigated using NOA81 microfluidic micromodels. Well interference is quite common in unconventional oil and gas fields. It is not unusual for the fracturing fluid injected into a well to be discovered in a nearby well. Normally, the effect of such interference is considered to be negative, as fracturing fluid will be imbibed into the porous rock and block the flow path of hydrocarbons. However, field data show that some interferences are beneficial, and microfluidic experiments presented in this study show that surfactant in the fracturing fluid may be a reason for the observed positive interference. Two fluid drainage-imbibition cycles were conducted in micromodels. The first cycle simulates fracturing of the old well and the second cycle simulates fluid invasion from the new well into the old well's fracture network. The experimental data show that while most such interferences indeed can cause production loss, when the old well's fracturing fluid does not contain surfactant yet the new well's fracturing fluid does, interference can be positive, as the residual water saturation in the porous medium is effectively reduced by surfactants.

Oxidation of marine omega-3 supplements and human health.

PubMed

Albert, Benjamin B; Cameron-Smith, David; Hofman, Paul L; Cutfield, Wayne S

2013-01-01

Marine omega-3 rich oils are used by more than a third of American adults for a wide range of purported benefits including prevention of cardiovascular disease. These oils are highly prone to oxidation to lipid peroxides and other secondary oxidation products. Oxidized oils may have altered biological activity making them ineffective or harmful, though there is also evidence that some beneficial effects of marine oils could be mediated through lipid peroxides. To date, human clinical trials have not reported the oxidative status of the trial oil. This makes it impossible to understand the importance of oxidation to efficacy or harm. However, animal studies show that oxidized lipid products can cause harm. Oxidation of trial oils may be responsible for the conflicting omega-3 trial literature, including the prevention of cardiovascular disease. The oxidative state of an oil can be simply determined by the peroxide value and anisidine value assays. We recommend that all clinical trials investigating omega-3 harms or benefits report the results of these assays; this will enable better understanding of the benefits and harms of omega-3 and the clinical importance of oxidized supplements.

Oxidation of Marine Omega-3 Supplements and Human Health

PubMed Central

Albert, Benjamin B.; Cameron-Smith, David; Hofman, Paul L.; Cutfield, Wayne S.

2013-01-01

Marine omega-3 rich oils are used by more than a third of American adults for a wide range of purported benefits including prevention of cardiovascular disease. These oils are highly prone to oxidation to lipid peroxides and other secondary oxidation products. Oxidized oils may have altered biological activity making them ineffective or harmful, though there is also evidence that some beneficial effects of marine oils could be mediated through lipid peroxides. To date, human clinical trials have not reported the oxidative status of the trial oil. This makes it impossible to understand the importance of oxidation to efficacy or harm. However, animal studies show that oxidized lipid products can cause harm. Oxidation of trial oils may be responsible for the conflicting omega-3 trial literature, including the prevention of cardiovascular disease. The oxidative state of an oil can be simply determined by the peroxide value and anisidine value assays. We recommend that all clinical trials investigating omega-3 harms or benefits report the results of these assays; this will enable better understanding of the benefits and harms of omega-3 and the clinical importance of oxidized supplements. PMID:23738326

Psychopaths and blame: The argument from content

PubMed Central

Levy, Neil

2013-01-01

The recent debate over the moral responsibility of psychopaths has centered on whether, or in what sense, they understand moral requirements. In this paper, I argue that even if they do understand what morality requires, the content of their actions is not of the right kind to justify full-blown blame. I advance two independent justifications of this claim. First, I argue that if the psychopath comes to know what morality requires via a route that does not involve a proper appreciation of what it means to cause another harm or distress, the content of violations of rules against harm will be of a lower grade than the content of similar actions by normal individuals. Second, I argue that in order to intend a harm to a person—that is, to intend the distinctive kind of harm that can only befall a person—it is necessary to understand what personhood is and what makes it valuable. The psychopath's deficits with regard to mental time travel ensure that s/he cannot intend this kind of harm. PMID:24812441

Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Arrest in the Postanesthesia Care Unit, Rare but Preventable: Analysis of Data From Wake Up Safe, The Pediatric Anesthesia Quality Improvement Initiative.

PubMed

Christensen, Robert E; Haydar, Bishr; Voepel-Lewis, Terri D

2017-04-01

Nearly 20% of anesthesia-related pediatric cardiac arrests (CAs) occur during emergence or recovery. The aims of this case series were to use the Wake Up Safe database to describe the following: (1) the nature of pediatric postanesthesia care unit (PACU) CA and subsequent outcomes and (2) factors associated with harm after pediatric PACU CA. Pediatric CAs in the PACU were identified from the Wake Up Safe Pediatric Anesthesia Quality Improvement Initiative, a multicenter registry of adverse events in pediatric anesthesia. Demographics, underlying conditions, cause of CA, and outcomes were extracted. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize data and to assess risk of harm in those suffering CA. A total of 26 CA events were included: 67% in children <5 years, and 30% in infants (<1 year); 18 (69%) were deemed likely or almost certainly preventable. All preventable CAs were respiratory in nature and most (67%) had purported root causes that included provider judgment or inexperience, inadequate supervision, and competing priorities. CAs of cardiac origin were associated with increased level of harm (temporary or greater), whereas those of respiratory origin were associated more often with no harm. PACU CA events are rare and generally survivable, with better outcomes for respiratory-based events, but most were deemed preventable, suggesting a need for further vigilance in the early postoperative period. Maintenance of monitoring during patient transport to PACU and continuing care by anesthesia care providers until emergence from anesthesia may further reduce the preventable arrest rate. The root cause analyses conducted by individual institutions reporting these data to the Wake Up Safe provided only limited insight, so multicenter collaborative approaches may allow for greater insight into effective CA-prevention strategies.

Lessons learnt from Dental Patient Safety Case Reports

PubMed Central

Obadan, Enihomo M.; Ramoni, Rachel B.; Kalenderian, Elsbeth

2015-01-01

Background Errors are commonplace in dentistry, it is therefore our imperative as dental professionals to intercept them before they lead to an adverse event, and/or mitigate their effects when an adverse event occurs. This requires a systematic approach at both the profession-level, encapsulated in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Patient Safety Initiative structure, as well as at the practice-level, where Crew Resource Management is a tested paradigm. Supporting patient safety at both the dental practice and profession levels relies on understanding the types and causes of errors, an area in which little is known. Methods A retrospective review of dental adverse events reported in the literature was performed. Electronic bibliographic databases were searched and data were extracted on background characteristics, incident description, case characteristics, clinic setting where adverse event originated, phase of patient care that adverse event was detected, proximal cause, type of patient harm, degree of harm and recovery actions. Results 182 publications (containing 270 cases) were identified through our search. Delayed and unnecessary treatment/disease progression after misdiagnosis was the largest type of harm reported. 24.4% of reviewed cases were reported to have experienced permanent harm. One of every ten case reports reviewed (11.1%) reported that the adverse event resulted in the death of the affected patient. Conclusions Published case reports provide a window into understanding the nature and extent of dental adverse events, but for as much as the findings revealed about adverse events, they also identified the need for more broad-based contributions to our collective body of knowledge about adverse events in the dental office and their causes. Practical Implications Siloed and incomplete contributions to our understanding of adverse events in the dental office are threats to dental patients’ safety. PMID:25925524

Memory Interference as a Determinant of Language Comprehension

PubMed Central

Van Dyke, Julie A.; Johns, Clinton L.

2012-01-01

The parameters of the human memory system constrain the operation of language comprehension processes. In the memory literature, both decay and interference have been proposed as causes of forgetting; however, while there is a long history of research establishing the nature of interference effects in memory, the effects of decay are much more poorly supported. Nevertheless, research investigating the limitations of the human sentence processing mechanism typically focus on decay-based explanations, emphasizing the role of capacity, while the role of interference has received comparatively little attention. This paper reviews both accounts of difficulty in language comprehension by drawing direct connections to research in the memory domain. Capacity-based accounts are found to be untenable, diverging substantially from what is known about the operation of the human memory system. In contrast, recent research investigating comprehension difficulty using a retrieval-interference paradigm is shown to be wholly consistent with both behavioral and neuropsychological memory phenomena. The implications of adopting a retrieval-interference approach to investigating individual variation in language comprehension are discussed. PMID:22773927

Neuropsychiatric Symptoms of Dementia: Consent, Quality of Life, and Dignity

PubMed Central

Passmore, Michael J.

2013-01-01

Degenerative forms of dementia are progressive, incurable, fatal, and likely to cause suffering in conjunction with personal incapacity. Timely diagnostic disclosure and counseling can facilitate important advance care planning. The risk of harm associated with neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) of dementia often has to be balanced against the risk of harm associated with medication management of NPS. A palliative care framework can help preserve autonomy, quality of life, comfort, and dignity for patients with NPS. PMID:23853768

Depression and anxiety mediate the relationship between temperament and character and psychotic-like experiences in healthy subjects.

PubMed

Prochwicz, Katarzyna; Gawęda, Łukasz

2016-12-30

In this study we examined the hypothesis that depression and anxiety may mediate the relationship between personality traits and both positive and negative psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) in healthy adults. The Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE) scale, Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were administered to 492 healthy individuals. Multiple stepwise regression and mediation analyses were performed to examine whether depressive and anxiety symptoms influence the relationship between the TCI dimensions and positive and negative PLEs. Self-transcendence, persistence, novelty-seeking and self-directedness significantly predicted positive PLEs; self-directedness and harm avoidance were predictable for negative PLEs. Self-transcendence, self-directedness, persistence and harm avoidance also predicted the distress caused by positive PLEs, whereas self-directedness and harm avoidance predicted distress raised by negative PLEs. Depressive symptoms and the state of anxiety partially mediated the linkage between self-directedness and positive PLEs, and between self-directedness, harm avoidance and negative PLEs. Our findings confirm that the personality pattern influences both positive and negative PLEs as well as distress caused by experiencing positive and negative PLEs, and they indicate that certain personality traits may influence the development of PLEs via the emotional pathway of heightened depression and anxiety. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tiny Stowaways: Analyzing the Economic Benefits of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Permit Regulating Ballast Water Discharges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lovell, Sabrina J.; Drake, Lisa A.

2009-03-01

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed permitting ballast water discharges—a benefit of which would be to reduce the economic damages associated with the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species. Research on ship-borne aquatic invasive species has been conducted in earnest for decades, but determining the economic damages they cause remains troublesome. Furthermore, with the exception of harmful algal blooms, the economic consequences of microscopic invaders have not been studied, despite their potentially great negative effects. In this paper, we show how to estimate the economic benefits of preventing the introduction and spread of harmful bacteria, microalgae, and viruses delivered in U.S. waters. Our calculations of net social welfare show the damages from a localized incident, cholera-causing bacteria found in shellfish in the Gulf of Mexico, to be approximately 706,000 (2006). On a larger scale, harmful algal species have the potential to be transported in ships’ ballast tanks, and their effects in the United States have been to reduce commercial fisheries landings and impair water quality. We examine the economic repercussions of one bloom-forming species. Finally, we consider the possible translocation within the Great Lakes of a virus that has the potential to harm commercial and recreational fisheries. These calculations illustrate an approach to quantifying the benefits of preventing invasive aquatic microorganisms from controls on ballast water discharges.

Tiny stowaways: analyzing the economic benefits of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency permit regulating ballast water discharges.

PubMed

Lovell, Sabrina J; Drake, Lisa A

2009-03-01

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed permitting ballast water discharges--a benefit of which would be to reduce the economic damages associated with the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species. Research on ship-borne aquatic invasive species has been conducted in earnest for decades, but determining the economic damages they cause remains troublesome. Furthermore, with the exception of harmful algal blooms, the economic consequences of microscopic invaders have not been studied, despite their potentially great negative effects. In this paper, we show how to estimate the economic benefits of preventing the introduction and spread of harmful bacteria, microalgae, and viruses delivered in U.S. waters. Our calculations of net social welfare show the damages from a localized incident, cholera-causing bacteria found in shellfish in the Gulf of Mexico, to be approximately $706,000 (2006$). On a larger scale, harmful algal species have the potential to be transported in ships' ballast tanks, and their effects in the United States have been to reduce commercial fisheries landings and impair water quality. We examine the economic repercussions of one bloom-forming species. Finally, we consider the possible translocation within the Great Lakes of a virus that has the potential to harm commercial and recreational fisheries. These calculations illustrate an approach to quantifying the benefits of preventing invasive aquatic microorganisms from controls on ballast water discharges.

Bacilysin from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FZB42 Has Specific Bactericidal Activity against Harmful Algal Bloom Species

PubMed Central

Wu, Liming; Wu, Huijun; Chen, Lina; Xie, Shanshan; Zang, Haoyu; Borriss, Rainer

2014-01-01

Harmful algal blooms, caused by massive and exceptional overgrowth of microalgae and cyanobacteria, are a serious environmental problem worldwide. In the present study, we looked for Bacillus strains with sufficiently strong anticyanobacterial activity to be used as biocontrol agents. Among 24 strains, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FZB42 showed the strongest bactericidal activity against Microcystis aeruginosa, with a kill rate of 98.78%. The synthesis of the anticyanobacterial substance did not depend on Sfp, an enzyme that catalyzes a necessary processing step in the nonribosomal synthesis of lipopeptides and polyketides, but was associated with the aro gene cluster that is involved in the synthesis of the sfp-independent antibiotic bacilysin. Disruption of bacB, the gene in the cluster responsible for synthesizing bacilysin, or supplementation with the antagonist N-acetylglucosamine abolished the inhibitory effect, but this was restored when bacilysin synthesis was complemented. Bacilysin caused apparent changes in the algal cell wall and cell organelle membranes, and this resulted in cell lysis. Meanwhile, there was downregulated expression of glmS, psbA1, mcyB, and ftsZ—genes involved in peptidoglycan synthesis, photosynthesis, microcystin synthesis, and cell division, respectively. In addition, bacilysin suppressed the growth of other harmful algal species. In summary, bacilysin produced by B. amyloliquefaciens FZB42 has anticyanobacterial activity and thus could be developed as a biocontrol agent to mitigate the effects of harmful algal blooms. PMID:25261512

Niemann-Pick Disease

MedlinePlus

... NINDS scientists are studying the mechanisms by which lipids accumulating in these storage diseases causes harm to the body. Additional research studies hope to identify biomarkers (signs that may ...

Corporate Philanthropy, Lobbying, and Public Health Policy

PubMed Central

Tesler, Laura E.

2008-01-01

To counter negative publicity about the tobacco industry, Philip Morris has widely publicized its philanthropy initiatives. Although corporate philanthropy is primarily a public relations tool, contributions may be viewed as offsetting the harms caused by corporate products and practices. That such donations themselves have harmful consequences has been little considered. Drawing on internal company documents, we explored the philanthropy undertaken as part of Philip Morris's PM21 image makeover. Philip Morris explicitly linked philanthropy to government affairs and used contributions as a lobbying tool against public health policies. Through advertising, covertly solicited media coverage, and contributions to legislators’ pet causes, Philip Morris improved its image among key voter constituencies, influenced public officials, and divided the public health field as grantees were converted to stakeholders. PMID:18923118

Corporate philanthropy, lobbying, and public health policy.

PubMed

Tesler, Laura E; Malone, Ruth E

2008-12-01

To counter negative publicity about the tobacco industry, Philip Morris has widely publicized its philanthropy initiatives. Although corporate philanthropy is primarily a public relations tool, contributions may be viewed as offsetting the harms caused by corporate products and practices. That such donations themselves have harmful consequences has been little considered. Drawing on internal company documents, we explored the philanthropy undertaken as part of Philip Morris's PM21 image makeover. Philip Morris explicitly linked philanthropy to government affairs and used contributions as a lobbying tool against public health policies. Through advertising, covertly solicited media coverage, and contributions to legislators' pet causes, Philip Morris improved its image among key voter constituencies, influenced public officials, and divided the public health field as grantees were converted to stakeholders.

Detection of vulnerable neurons damaged by environmental insults in utero

PubMed Central

Torii, Masaaki; Chang, Yu-Wen; Ishii, Seiji; Waxman, Stephen G.; Kocsis, Jeffery D.; Rakic, Pasko; Hashimoto-Torii, Kazue

2017-01-01

Development of prognostic biomarkers for the detection of prenatally damaged neurons before manifestations of postnatal disorders is an essential step for prevention and treatment of susceptible individuals. We have developed a versatile fluorescence reporter system in mice enabling detection of Heat Shock Factor 1 activation in response to prenatal cellular damage caused by exposure to various harmful chemical or physical agents. Using an intrautero electroporation-mediated reporter assay and transgenic reporter mice, we are able to identify neurons that survive prenatal exposure to harmful agents but remain vulnerable in postnatal life. This system may provide a powerful tool for exploring the pathogenesis and treatment of multiple disorders caused by exposure to environmental stress before symptoms become manifested, exacerbated, and/or irreversible. PMID:28123061

Using a patient-centered approach to benefit-harm assessment in treatment decision-making: a case study in uveitis.

PubMed

Yu, Tsung; Holbrook, Janet T; Thorne, Jennifer E; Puhan, Milo A

2016-04-01

Synthesizing evidence from comparative effectiveness trials can be difficult because multiple outcomes of different importance are to be considered. The goal of this study was to demonstrate an approach to conducting quantitative benefit-harm assessment that considers patient preferences. We conducted a benefit-harm assessment using data from the Multicenter Uveitis Steroid Treatment Trial that compared corticosteroid implant versus systemic corticosteroids and immunosuppression in non-infectious intermediate, posterior, and panuveitis. We focused on clinical outcomes considered important to patients, including visual acuity, development of cataracts/glaucoma, need for eye surgery, prescription-requiring hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and infections. Patient preferences elicited in a recent survey were then incorporated into our assessment of the benefit-harm balance. Benefit-harm metrics were calculated for each time point that summarized the numbers of outcomes, caused or prevented by implant therapy versus systemic therapy if 1000 patients were treated. The benefit-harm metric was -129 (95% confidence interval: -242 to -14), -317 (-436 to -196), -390 (-514 to -264), and -526 (-687 to -368) at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months follow up, respectively, suggesting that systemic therapy may have a better benefit-harm balance. However, measures of quality of life for patients treated with implant therapy were found to be better than patients treated with systemic therapy over the same time period. Results of benefit-harm assessment were different from the prospectively collected quality of life data during trial follow up. Future studies should explore the reasons for such discrepancies and the strength and weakness of each method to assess treatment benefits and harms. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Using a patient-centered approach to benefit-harm assessment in treatment decision-making: a case study in uveitis

PubMed Central

Yu, Tsung; Holbrook, Janet T.; Thorne, Jennifer E.; Puhan, Milo A.

2017-01-01

Background Synthesizing evidence from comparative effectiveness trials can be difficult since multiple outcomes of different importance are to be considered. The goal of this study was to demonstrate an approach to conducting quantitative benefit-harm assessment that considers patient preferences. Methods We conducted a benefit-harm assessment using data from the Multicenter Uveitis Steroid Treatment Trial that compared corticosteroid implant versus systemic corticosteroids and immunosuppression in non-infectious intermediate, posterior, and panuveitis. We focused on clinical outcomes considered important to patients, including visual acuity, development of cataracts/glaucoma, need for eye surgery, prescription-requiring hypertension, hyperlipidemia and infections. Patient preferences elicited in a recent survey were then incorporated into our assessment of the benefit-harm balance. Results Benefit-harm metrics were calculated for each time point that summarized the numbers of outcomes, caused or prevented by implant therapy versus systemic therapy if 1000 patients were treated. The benefit-harm metric was -129 (95% CI: -242 to -14), -317 (-436 to -196), -390 (-514 to -264) and -526 (-687 to -368) at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months follow-up, respectively, suggesting that systemic therapy may have a better benefit-harm balance. However, measures of quality of life for patients treated with implant therapy were found to be better than patients treated with systemic therapy over the same time period. Conclusions Results of benefit-harm assessment were different from the prospectively collected quality of life data during trial follow-up. Future studies should explore the reasons for such discrepancies and the strength and weakness of each method to assess treatment benefits and harms. PMID:26798977

Facilitation and interference in naming: A consequence of the same learning process?

PubMed

Hughes, Julie W; Schnur, Tatiana T

2017-08-01

Our success with naming depends on what we have named previously, a phenomenon thought to reflect learning processes. Repeatedly producing the same name facilitates language production (i.e., repetition priming), whereas producing semantically related names hinders subsequent performance (i.e., semantic interference). Semantic interference is found whether naming categorically related items once (continuous naming) or multiple times (blocked cyclic naming). A computational model suggests that the same learning mechanism responsible for facilitation in repetition creates semantic interference in categorical naming (Oppenheim, Dell, & Schwartz, 2010). Accordingly, we tested the predictions that variability in semantic interference is correlated across categorical naming tasks and is caused by learning, as measured by two repetition priming tasks (picture-picture repetition priming, Exp. 1; definition-picture repetition priming, Exp. 2, e.g., Wheeldon & Monsell, 1992). In Experiment 1 (77 subjects) semantic interference and repetition priming effects were robust, but the results revealed no relationship between semantic interference effects across contexts. Critically, learning (picture-picture repetition priming) did not predict semantic interference effects in either task. We replicated these results in Experiment 2 (81 subjects), finding no relationship between semantic interference effects across tasks or between semantic interference effects and learning (definition-picture repetition priming). We conclude that the changes underlying facilitatory and interfering effects inherent to lexical access are the result of distinct learning processes where multiple mechanisms contribute to semantic interference in naming. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Proactive interference effects on sentence production

PubMed Central

FERREIRA, VICTOR S.; FIRATO, CARLA E.

2007-01-01

Proactive interference refers to recall difficulties caused by prior similar memory-related processing. Information-processing approaches to sentence production predict that retrievability affects sentence form: Speakers may word sentences so that material that is difficult to retrieve is spoken later. In this experiment, speakers produced sentence structures that could include an optional that, thereby delaying the mention of a subsequent noun phrase. This subsequent noun phrase was either (1) conceptually similar to three previous noun phrases in the same sentence, leading to greater proactive interference, or (2) conceptually dissimilar, leading to less proactive interference. Speakers produced more thats (and were more disfluencies) before conceptually similar noun phrases, suggesting that retrieval difficulties during sentence production affect the syntactic structures of sentences that speakers produce. PMID:12613685

Ethical Justification for Conducting Public Health Surveillance Without Patient Consent

PubMed Central

Heilig, Charles M.; White, Angela

2012-01-01

Public health surveillance by necessity occurs without explicit patient consent. There is strong legal and scientific support for maintaining name-based reporting of infectious diseases and other types of public health surveillance. We present conditions under which surveillance without explicit patient consent is ethically justifiable using principles of contemporary clinical and public health ethics. Overriding individual autonomy must be justified in terms of the obligation of public health to improve population health, reduce inequities, attend to the health of vulnerable and systematically disadvantaged persons, and prevent harm. In addition, data elements collected without consent must represent the minimal necessary interference, lead to effective public health action, and be maintained securely. PMID:22095338

Marketing ‘less harmful, low-tar’ cigarettes is a key strategy of the industry to counter tobacco control in China

PubMed Central

Yang, Gonghuan

2014-01-01

While the ‘low-tar’ scheme has been widely recognised as a misleading tactic used by the tobacco industry to deceive the public about the true risks of cigarette smoking, a similar campaign using the slogan of ‘less harmful, low tar’ was launched by the Chinese tobacco industry, that is, State Tobacco Monopoly Administration/China National Tobacco Corporation and began to gain traction during the last decade. Despite the fact that no sufficient research evidence supports the claims made by the industry that these cigarettes are safer, the Chinese tobacco industry has continued to promote them using various health claims. As a result, the production and sales of ‘less harmful, low-tar’ cigarettes have increased dramatically since 2000. Recently, a tobacco industry senior researcher, whose main research area is ‘less harmful, low-tar’ cigarettes, was elected as an Academician to the prestigious Chinese Academy of Engineering for his contribution to developing ‘less harmful, low-tar’ cigarettes. The tobacco researcher's election caused an outcry from the tobacco control community and the general public in China. This paper discusses the Chinese tobacco industry's ‘less harmful, low-tar’ initiatives and calls for the Chinese government to stop the execution of this deceptive strategy for tobacco marketing. PMID:23349230

Marketing 'less harmful, low-tar' cigarettes is a key strategy of the industry to counter tobacco control in China.

PubMed

Yang, Gonghuan

2014-03-01

While the 'low-tar' scheme has been widely recognised as a misleading tactic used by the tobacco industry to deceive the public about the true risks of cigarette smoking, a similar campaign using the slogan of 'less harmful, low tar' was launched by the Chinese tobacco industry, that is, State Tobacco Monopoly Administration/China National Tobacco Corporation and began to gain traction during the last decade. Despite the fact that no sufficient research evidence supports the claims made by the industry that these cigarettes are safer, the Chinese tobacco industry has continued to promote them using various health claims. As a result, the production and sales of 'less harmful, low-tar' cigarettes have increased dramatically since 2000. Recently, a tobacco industry senior researcher, whose main research area is 'less harmful, low-tar' cigarettes, was elected as an Academician to the prestigious Chinese Academy of Engineering for his contribution to developing 'less harmful, low-tar' cigarettes. The tobacco researcher's election caused an outcry from the tobacco control community and the general public in China. This paper discusses the Chinese tobacco industry's 'less harmful, low-tar' initiatives and calls for the Chinese government to stop the execution of this deceptive strategy for tobacco marketing.

Local competition increases people's willingness to harm others

PubMed Central

Barker, Jessica L.; Barclay, Pat

2016-01-01

Why should organisms incur a cost in order to inflict a (usually greater) cost on others? Such costly harming behavior may be favored when competition for resources occurs locally, because it increases individuals’ fitness relative to close competitors. However, there is no explicit experimental evidence supporting the prediction that people are more willing to harm others under local versus global competition. We illustrate this prediction with a game theoretic model, and then test it in a series of economic games. In these experiments, players could spend money to make others lose more. We manipulated the scale of competition by awarding cash prizes to the players with the highest payoffs per set of social partners (local competition) or in all the participants in a session (global competition). We found that, as predicted, people were more harmful to others when competition was local (Study 1). This result still held when people “earned” (rather than were simply given) their money (Study 2). In addition, when competition was local, people were more willing to harm ingroup members than outgroup members (Study 3), because ingroup members were the relevant competitive targets. Together, our results suggest that local competition in human groups not only promotes willingness to harm others in general, but also causes ingroup hostility. PMID:29805247

Quantifying predictive capability of electronic health records for the most harmful breast cancer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Yirong; Fan, Jun; Peissig, Peggy; Berg, Richard; Tafti, Ahmad Pahlavan; Yin, Jie; Yuan, Ming; Page, David; Cox, Jennifer; Burnside, Elizabeth S.

2018-03-01

Improved prediction of the "most harmful" breast cancers that cause the most substantive morbidity and mortality would enable physicians to target more intense screening and preventive measures at those women who have the highest risk; however, such prediction models for the "most harmful" breast cancers have rarely been developed. Electronic health records (EHRs) represent an underused data source that has great research and clinical potential. Our goal was to quantify the value of EHR variables in the "most harmful" breast cancer risk prediction. We identified 794 subjects who had breast cancer with primary non-benign tumors with their earliest diagnosis on or after 1/1/2004 from an existing personalized medicine data repository, including 395 "most harmful" breast cancer cases and 399 "least harmful" breast cancer cases. For these subjects, we collected EHR data comprised of 6 components: demographics, diagnoses, symptoms, procedures, medications, and laboratory results. We developed two regularized prediction models, Ridge Logistic Regression (Ridge-LR) and Lasso Logistic Regression (Lasso-LR), to predict the "most harmful" breast cancer one year in advance. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was used to assess model performance. We observed that the AUCs of Ridge-LR and Lasso-LR models were 0.818 and 0.839 respectively. For both the Ridge-LR and LassoLR models, the predictive performance of the whole EHR variables was significantly higher than that of each individual component (p<0.001). In conclusion, EHR variables can be used to predict the "most harmful" breast cancer, providing the possibility to personalize care for those women at the highest risk in clinical practice.

Quantifying predictive capability of electronic health records for the most harmful breast cancer.

PubMed

Wu, Yirong; Fan, Jun; Peissig, Peggy; Berg, Richard; Tafti, Ahmad Pahlavan; Yin, Jie; Yuan, Ming; Page, David; Cox, Jennifer; Burnside, Elizabeth S

2018-02-01

Improved prediction of the "most harmful" breast cancers that cause the most substantive morbidity and mortality would enable physicians to target more intense screening and preventive measures at those women who have the highest risk; however, such prediction models for the "most harmful" breast cancers have rarely been developed. Electronic health records (EHRs) represent an underused data source that has great research and clinical potential. Our goal was to quantify the value of EHR variables in the "most harmful" breast cancer risk prediction. We identified 794 subjects who had breast cancer with primary non-benign tumors with their earliest diagnosis on or after 1/1/2004 from an existing personalized medicine data repository, including 395 "most harmful" breast cancer cases and 399 "least harmful" breast cancer cases. For these subjects, we collected EHR data comprised of 6 components: demographics, diagnoses, symptoms, procedures, medications, and laboratory results. We developed two regularized prediction models, Ridge Logistic Regression (Ridge-LR) and Lasso Logistic Regression (Lasso-LR), to predict the "most harmful" breast cancer one year in advance. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was used to assess model performance. We observed that the AUCs of Ridge-LR and Lasso-LR models were 0.818 and 0.839 respectively. For both the Ridge-LR and Lasso-LR models, the predictive performance of the whole EHR variables was significantly higher than that of each individual component (p<0.001). In conclusion, EHR variables can be used to predict the "most harmful" breast cancer, providing the possibility to personalize care for those women at the highest risk in clinical practice.

Effectiveness of assertive case management on repeat self-harm in patients admitted for suicide attempt: Findings from ACTION-J study.

PubMed

Furuno, Taku; Nakagawa, Makiko; Hino, Kosuke; Yamada, Tomoki; Kawashima, Yoshitaka; Matsuoka, Yutaka; Shirakawa, Osamu; Ishizuka, Naoki; Yonemoto, Naohiro; Kawanishi, Chiaki; Hirayasu, Yoshio

2018-01-01

Self-harm is an important risk factor for subsequent suicide and repetition of self-harm, and a common cause of emergency department presentations. However, there still remains limited evidence on intervention in emergency department settings for individuals who self-harm. This multicentre, randomised controlled trial was conducted at 17 general hospitals in Japan. In total, 914 adult patients admitted to emergency departments for a suicide attempt and had a DSM-IV-TR axis I disorder were randomly assigned to two groups, to receive either assertive case management (intervention) or enhanced usual care (control). Assertive case management was introduced by the case manager during emergency department admissions for suicide attempts, and continued after discharge. Interventions were provided until the end of the study period (for at least 18 months and up to 5 years). The number of overall self-harm episodes per person-year was significantly lower in the intervention group (adjusted incidence risk ratio (IRR) 0.88, 95%CI 0.80-0.96, p=0.0031). Subgroup analysis showed a greater reduction of overall self-harm episodes among patients with no previous suicide attempt at baseline (adjusted IRR 0.73, 95% CI 0.53-0.98, p=0.037). Patients younger than 20 years and patients who self-harmed but were not admitted to an emergency department were excluded. The present study showed that assertive case management following emergency admission for a suicide attempt reduced the incident rate of repeat overall self-harm. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Susceptibility of Ceraeochrysa cubana larvae and adults to six insect growth-regulator insecticides.

PubMed

Ono, Éric Kodi; Zanardi, Odimar Zanuzo; Aguiar Santos, Kenia Fernanda; Yamamoto, Pedro Takao

2017-02-01

The impacts of six insect growth-regulators were assessed on the predator Ceraeochrysa cubana (Hagen) larvae and adults. Our results showed that diflubenzuron, lufenuron and pyriproxyfen caused 100% larva mortality, whereas buprofezin, methoxyfenozide and tebufenozide were similar to control treatment. In comparison to the control, buprofezin prolonged the duration of larval stage, while methoxyfenozide and tebufenozide reduced the predator larva development time. Buprofezin, methoxyfenozide and tebufenozide did not affect the C. cubana duration and survival of pupal stage, fecundity and fertility. However, methoxyfenozide and tebufenozide reduced predator female and male longevities. Based on a reduction coefficient, diflubenzuron, lufenuron and pyriproxyfen were highly harmful to first instar larvae, while buprofezin, methoxyfenozide and tebufenozide were considered slightly harmful to the predator. Estimating the life table parameters, our results showed that buprofezin, methoxyfenozide and tebufenozide reduced the C. cubana R o , r and λ. In comparison to the control, buprofezin prolonged the T and methoxyfenozide and tebufenozide shortened the predator T. In adults, our results showed that the insecticides did not cause significant mortality, but diflubenzuron, lufenuron and pyriproxyfen reduced the C. cubana fecundity and longevity. Diflubenzuron and lufenuron also reduced the C. cubana fertility. Based on a reduction coefficient, diflubenzuron and lufenuron were highly harmful to C. cubana adults, while pyriproxyfen was slightly harmful and buprofezin, methoxyfenozide and tebufenozide were considered harmless to the predator. Therefore, insect growth-regulators affect the C. cubana biological or populational parameters, and they can harm the integrated pest management programs that aim the predator conservation and/or augmentation in agroecosystems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Engineered disease resistance in cotton using RNA-interference to knock down cotton leaf curl kokhran virus-Burewala and cotton leaf curl Multan betasatellite

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cotton Leaf Curl virus Disease (CLCuD) has caused enormous losses in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) production in Pakistan. RNA interference (RNAi) is an emerging technique that could knock out CLCuD by targeting different regions of the pathogen genome that are important for replication, transcription...

Age-Related Changes in Brain Activation Underlying Single- and Dual-Task Performance: Visuomanual Drawing and Mental Arithmetic

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Impe, A.; Coxon, J. P.; Goble, D. J.; Wenderoth, N.; Swinnen, S. P.

2011-01-01

Depending on task combination, dual-tasking can either be performed successfully or can lead to performance decrements in one or both tasks. Interference is believed to be caused by limitations in central processing, i.e. structural interference between the neural activation patterns associated with each task. In the present study, single- and…

Noise and Speech Interference: Proceedings of Minisymposium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shepherd, W. T. (Editor)

1975-01-01

Several papers are presented which deal with the psychophysical effects of interference with speech and listening activities by different forms of noise masking and filtering. Special attention was given to the annoyance such interruptions cause, particularly that due to aircraft flyover noises. Activities such as telephone listening and television watching were studied. A number of experimental investigations are described and the results are analyzed.

Biological interference of optical backscatterance sensors in Tampa Bay, Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schoellhamer, D.H.

1993-01-01

Optical backscatterance (OBS, D&A Instruments, Inc.1 1 Use of brand, firm, or trade names in this paper is for identification purposes only and does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Geological Survey.) sensors for measuring suspended-solids concentrations have been deployed in Tampa Bay to monitor resuspension of bottom sediments. This paper describes biological factors that affected the OBS sensors deployed in Tampa Bay and discusses deployment strategies that minimize biological interference. Phytoplankton may interfere with the OBS sensors when the suspended-solids concentration is near or below the sensor response threshold. Fish swimming in front of the OBS sensors caused spikes in the OBS sensor output, so the median average was more appropriate than the mean average. An algal slime on the OBS sensors caused excessive backscatterance that dominated the backscatterance from suspended material. Because of the fouling problem, deployments were limited to less than a week, and OBS sensors were cleaned daily, if possible. Calibration of OBS sensors with water samples collected from Tampa Bay was satisfactory when biological interference was not significant. When properly deployed, the OBS sensors can successfully monitor sediment resuspension in Tampa Bay and similar subtropical estuaries. ?? 1993.

[Determination of Heavy Metal Elements in Diatomite Filter Aid by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry].

PubMed

Nie, Xi-du; Fu, Liang

2015-11-01

This study established a method for determining Be, Cr, Ni, As, Cd, Sb, Sn, Tl, Hg and Pb, total 10 heavy metals in diatomite filter aid. The diatomite filter aid was digested by using the mixture acid of HNO₃ + HF+ H₃PO₄ in microwave system, 10 heavy metals elements were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The interferences of mass spectrometry caused by the high silicon substrate were optimized, first the equipment parameters and isotopes of test metals were selected to eliminate these interferences, the methane was selected as reactant gas, and the mass spectral interferences were eliminated by dynamic reaction cell (DRC). Li, Sc, Y, In and Bi were selected as the internal standard elements to correct the interferences caused by matrix and the drift of sensitivity. The results show that the detection limits for analyte is in the range of 3.29-15.68 ng · L⁻¹, relative standard deviations (RSD) is less than 4.62%, and the recovery is in the range of 90.71%-107.22%. The current method has some advantages such as, high sensitivity, accurate, and precision, which can be used in diatomite filter aid quality control and safety estimations.

Reproductive interference explains persistence of aggression between species.

PubMed

Drury, Jonathan P; Okamoto, Kenichi W; Anderson, Christopher N; Grether, Gregory F

2015-04-07

Interspecific territoriality occurs when individuals of different species fight over space, and may arise spontaneously when populations of closely related territorial species first come into contact. But defence of space is costly, and unless the benefits of excluding heterospecifics exceed the costs, natural selection should favour divergence in competitor recognition until the species no longer interact aggressively. Ordinarily males of different species do not compete for mates, but when males cannot distinguish females of sympatric species, females may effectively become a shared resource. We model how reproductive interference caused by undiscriminating males can prevent interspecific divergence, or even cause convergence, in traits used to recognize competitors. We then test the model in a genus of visually orienting insects and show that, as predicted by the model, differences between species pairs in the level of reproductive interference, which is causally related to species differences in female coloration, are strongly predictive of the current level of interspecific aggression. Interspecific reproductive interference is very common and we discuss how it may account for the persistence of interspecific aggression in many taxonomic groups. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Sexual aggression: mad, bad, and mad.

PubMed

Schopp, Rovert F

2003-06-01

Legal institutions in the Western liberal tradition ordinarily rely primarily on the criminal justice system to address conduct by some individuals that deliberately harms other individuals. The mental health system provides an alternative institutional structure through which societies can address such harmful behavior. Those who deliberately engage in conduct that causes harm to others are traditionally addressed through either the criminal justice or mental health systems on the basis of their being categorized as either "bad or mad." This paper examines some of the relevant reasons for categorizing sexual aggression as bad or mad. It emphasizes the significance of such categorization for the broader set of legal institutions of coercive social control and for the manner in which we respond to persons within those institutions.

3.5 GHz Environmental Sensing Capability Detection Thresholds and Deployment

PubMed Central

Nguyen, Thao T.; Souryal, Michael R.; Sahoo, Anirudha; Hall, Timothy A.

2017-01-01

Spectrum sharing in the 3.5 GHz band between commercial and government users along U.S. coastal areas depends on an environmental sensing capability (ESC)—that is, a network of radio frequency sensors and a decision system—to detect the presence of incumbent shipborne radar systems and trigger protective measures, as needed. It is well known that the sensitivity of these sensors depends on the aggregate interference generated by commercial systems to the incumbent radar receivers, but to date no comprehensive study has been made of the aggregate interference in realistic scenarios and its impact on the requirement for detection of the radar signal. This paper presents systematic methods for determining the placement of ESC sensors and their detection thresholds to adequately protect incumbent shipborne radar systems from harmful interference. Using terrain-based propagation models and a population-based deployment model, the analysis finds the offshore distances at which protection must be triggered and relates these to the detection levels of coastline sensors. We further show that sensor placement is a form of the well-known set cover problem, which has been shown to be NP-complete, and demonstrate practical solutions achieved with a greedy algorithm. Results show detection thresholds to be as much as 22 dB lower than required by current industry standards. The methodology and results presented in this paper can be used by ESC operators for planning and deployment of sensors and by regulators for testing sensor performance. PMID:29303162

Epidemiology and trends in non-fatal self-harm in three centres in England, 2000–2012: findings from the Multicentre Study of Self-harm in England

PubMed Central

Geulayov, Galit; Kapur, Navneet; Turnbull, Pauline; Waters, Keith; Ness, Jennifer; Townsend, Ellen; Hawton, Keith

2016-01-01

Objectives Self-harm is a major health problem in many countries, with potential adverse outcomes including suicide and other causes of premature death. It is important to monitor national trends in this behaviour. We examined trends in non-fatal self-harm and its management in England during the 13-year period, 2000–2012. Design and setting This observational study was undertaken in the three centres of the Multicentre Study of Self-harm in England. Information on all episodes of self-harm by individuals aged 15 years and over presenting to five general hospitals in three cities (Oxford, Manchester and Derby) was collected through face-to-face assessment or scrutiny of emergency department electronic databases. We used negative binomial regression models to assess trends in rates of self-harm and logistic regression models for binary outcomes (eg, assessed vs non-assessed patients). Participants During 2000–2012, there were 84 378 self-harm episodes (58.6% by females), involving 47 048 persons. Results Rates of self-harm declined in females (incidence rate ratio (IRR) 0.98; 95% CI 0.97 to 0.99, p<0.0001). In males, rates of self-harm declined until 2008 (IRR 0.96; 95% CI 0.95 to 0.98, p<0.0001) and then increased (IRR 1.05; 95% CI 1.02 to 1.09, p=0.002). Rates of self-harm were strongly correlated with suicide rates in England in males (r=0.82, p=0.0006) and females (r=0.74, p=0.004). Over 75% of self-harm episodes were due to self-poisoning, mainly with analgesics (45.7%), antidepressants (24.7%) and benzodiazepines (13.8%). A substantial increase in self-injury occurred in the latter part of the study period. This was especially marked for self-cutting/stabbing and hanging/asphyxiation. Psychosocial assessment by specialist mental health staff occurred in 53.2% of episodes. Conclusions Trends in rates of self-harm and suicide may be closely related; therefore, self-harm can be a useful mental health indicator. Despite national guidance, many patients still do not receive psychosocial assessment, especially those who self-injure. PMID:27130163

Harms from other people's drinking: an international survey of their occurrence, impacts on feeling safe and legislation relating to their control.

PubMed

Bellis, Mark A; Quigg, Zara; Hughes, Karen; Ashton, Kathryn; Ferris, Jason; Winstock, Adam

2015-12-23

To examine factors associated with suffering harm from another person's alcohol consumption and explore how suffering such harms relate to feelings of safety in nightlife. Cross-sectional opportunistic survey (Global Drug Survey) using an online anonymous questionnaire in 11 languages promoted through newspapers, magazines and social media. Individuals (participating November 2014-January 2015) aged 18-34 years, reporting alcohol consumption in the past 12 months and resident in a country providing ≥ 250 respondents (n=21 countries; 63,725 respondents). Harms suffered due to others' drinking in the past 12 months, feelings of safety on nights out (on the way out, in bars/pubs, in nightclubs and when travelling home) and knowledge of over-serving laws and their implementation. In the past 12 months, >40% of respondents suffered at least one aggressive (physical, verbal or sexual assault) harm and 59.5% any harm caused by someone drunk. Suffering each category of harm was higher in younger respondents and those with more harmful alcohol consumption patterns. Men were more likely than women to have suffered physical assault (9.2% vs 4.7; p<0.001), with women much more likely to suffer sexual assault or harassment (15.3% vs 2.5%; p<0.001). Women were more likely to feel unsafe in all nightlife settings, with 40.8% typically feeling unsafe on the way home. In all settings, feeling unsafe increased with experiencing more categories of aggressive harm by a drunk person. Only 25.7% of respondents resident in countries with restrictions on selling alcohol to drunks knew about such laws and 75.8% believed that drunks usually get served alcohol. Harms from others' drinking are a threat to people's health and well-being. Public health bodies must ensure that such harms are reflected in measures of the societal costs of alcohol, and must advocate for the enforcement of legislation designed to reduce such harms. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Youth self-harm in low- and middle-income countries: Systematic review of the risk and protective factors.

PubMed

Aggarwal, Shilpa; Patton, George; Reavley, Nicola; Sreenivasan, Shreenivas A; Berk, Michael

2017-06-01

Self-harm (defined here as an act of intentionally causing harm to own self, irrespective of the type, motive or suicidal intent) is one of the strongest antecedents of suicide in youth. While there have been a number of studies of youth self-harm in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), there is currently no systematic review of studies of prevalence rates and risk and protective factors. To systematically review the evidence relating to the prevalence rates and forms of self-harm in youth in LMICs and its relationship to family economic status, family functioning, relationship with the peer group, social relationships and academic performance. Electronic searches of three databases, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Scopus, were performed. In total, 27 school-, community- and hospital-based studies evaluating self-harm in LMICs with youth focus (with participants between 12 and 25 years) were included. The self-harm was divided into suicidal and non-suicidal depending on the nature of self-harm. The 12-month prevalence rates of non-suicidal self-harm varied from 15.5% to 31.3%, and the range of suicidal behaviour rates was from 3.2% to 4.7%. Banging and hitting were the most common in the community-based studies, followed by cutting, scratching and wound picking. Self-poisoning with pesticides was most commonly reported in hospital-based studies. Risk factors for self-harm were family conflict, peer groups with members indulging in self-harm, truancy and school absenteeism. Protective factors were having an understanding family, having friends and higher school competence. Risk factors for suicidal thoughts and attempts were lack of close friends and history of suicide by a friend. The 12-month prevalence rates of youth self-harm in LMICs are comparable to high-income countries (HICs). The profile of risk and protective factors suggests that family-based interventions could be useful in treatment and prevention. Future studies should aim for greater consistency in assessment methods and the constructs under evaluation.

Linking Syndemic Stress and Behavioral Indicators of Main Partner HIV Transmission Risk in Gay Male Couples.

PubMed

Starks, Tyrel J; Tuck, Andrew N; Millar, Brett M; Parsons, Jeffrey T

2016-02-01

The purpose of the current study was to examine whether syndemic stress in partnered gay men might undermine communication processes essential to the utilization of negotiated safety and other harm reduction strategies that rely on partners' HIV status disclosure. Participants included 100 gay male couples (N = 200 individuals) living in the U.S., who responded to an online survey. Participants completed measures of five syndemic factors (depression, poly-drug use, childhood sexual abuse, intimate partner violence, and sexual compulsivity). They also reported on whether condoms were used during first intercourse together and the timing of first condomless anal intercourse (CAI) relative to HIV disclosure in their relationship. Results of binary logistic regression analyses supported the hypothesis that the sum of partners' syndemic stress was negatively associated with condom use at first intercourse and with HIV disclosure prior to first CAI. Syndemic stress may contribute to HIV transmission risk between main partners in part because it accelerates the progression to CAI and interferes with communication processes central to harm reduction strategies utilized by gay men in relationships. Implications for prevention strategies and couples interventions, such as couples HIV counseling and testing, that facilitate communication skill-building, are discussed.

The population genetics of mutations: good, bad and indifferent

PubMed Central

Loewe, Laurence; Hill, William G.

2010-01-01

Population genetics is fundamental to our understanding of evolution, and mutations are essential raw materials for evolution. In this introduction to more detailed papers that follow, we aim to provide an oversight of the field. We review current knowledge on mutation rates and their harmful and beneficial effects on fitness and then consider theories that predict the fate of individual mutations or the consequences of mutation accumulation for quantitative traits. Many advances in the past built on models that treat the evolution of mutations at each DNA site independently, neglecting linkage of sites on chromosomes and interactions of effects between sites (epistasis). We review work that addresses these limitations, to predict how mutations interfere with each other. An understanding of the population genetics of mutations of individual loci and of traits affected by many loci helps in addressing many fundamental and applied questions: for example, how do organisms adapt to changing environments, how did sex evolve, which DNA sequences are medically important, why do we age, which genetic processes can generate new species or drive endangered species to extinction, and how should policy on levels of potentially harmful mutagens introduced into the environment by humans be determined? PMID:20308090

Linking syndemic stress and behavioral indicators of main partner HIV transmission risk in gay male couples

PubMed Central

Starks, Tyrel J.; Tuck, Andrew N.; Millar, Brett M.; Parsons, Jeffrey T.

2016-01-01

The purpose of the current study was to examine whether syndemic stress in partnered gay men might undermine communication processes essential to the utilization of negotiated safety and other harm reduction strategies that rely on partners’ HIV status disclosure. Participants included 100 gay male couples (N = 200 individuals) living in the U.S., who responded to an online survey. Participants completed measures of five syndemic factors (depression, poly-drug use, childhood sexual abuse, intimate partner violence, and sexual compulsivity). They also reported on whether condoms were used during first intercourse together and the timing of first condomless anal intercourse (CAI) relative to HIV disclosure in their relationship. Results of binary logistic regression analyses supported the hypothesis that the sum of partners’ syndemic stress was negatively associated with condom use at first intercourse and with HIV disclosure prior to first CAI. Syndemic stress may contribute to HIV transmission risk between main partners in part because it accelerates the progression to CAI and interferes with communication processes central to harm reduction strategies utilized by gay men in relationships. Implications for prevention strategies and couples interventions, such as couples HIV counseling and testing, that facilitate communication skill-building, are discussed. PMID:26552658

[Advances in research on harm and control of Enterobius vermicularis infection in children].

PubMed

An, Yao-Wu; Pang, Xin-Li; Liu, Jie-Bing; Huang, Shao-Yu

2012-10-01

In China, the infection rate of Enterobius vermicularis in children is still relatively high. Because the development and spread of worm eggs is fast, it is easy to treat but difficult to control the disease, and the control effect is also difficult to be consolidated. The long-term repeated Enterobius vermicularis infection may cause the damage on children's body and mind in different degrees. This paper offers an overview on the current status, harm and prevention and control of Enterobius vermicularis infection.

Deliberate self-harm as a cause of persistent discharge from arthroscopic portals.

PubMed

Brown, J N; Redden, J F; Fagg, P S

1997-08-01

Persistent discharge and bleeding from arthroscopy portals are rare complications. We report three cases which occurred as a result of deliberate self-harm. To our knowledge the occurrence of self-inflicted injury following arthroscopy has not been reported. Although suspicion of such activity may be delayed we consider it important to be aware of the possibility of this behaviour and to seek specialist help early in order to reduce the likelihood of further permanent physical damage.

Methodological Flaws, Conflicts of Interest, and Scientific Fallacies: Implications for the Evaluation of Antidepressants' Efficacy and Harm.

PubMed

Hengartner, Michael P

2017-01-01

In current psychiatric practice, antidepressants are widely and with ever-increasing frequency prescribed to patients. However, several scientific biases obfuscate estimates of antidepressants' efficacy and harm, and these are barely recognized in treatment guidelines. The aim of this mini-review is to critically evaluate the efficacy and harm of antidepressants for acute and maintenance treatment with respect to systematic biases related to industry funding and trial methodology. Narrative review based on a comprehensive search of the literature. It is shown that the pooled efficacy of antidepressants is weak and below the threshold of a minimally clinically important change once publication and reporting biases are considered. Moreover, the small mean difference in symptom reductions relative to placebo is possibly attributable to observer effects in unblinded assessors and patient expectancies. With respect to trial dropout rates, a hard outcome not subjected to observer bias, no difference was observed between antidepressants and placebo. The discontinuation trials on the efficacy of antidepressants in maintenance therapy are systematically flawed, because in these studies, spontaneous remitters are excluded, whereas half of all patients who remitted on antidepressants are abruptly switched to placebo. This can cause a severe withdrawal syndrome that is easily misdiagnosed as a relapse when assessed on subjective symptom rating scales. In accordance, the findings of naturalistic long-term studies suggest that maintenance therapy has no clear benefit, and non-drug users do not show increased recurrence rates. Moreover, a growing body of evidence from hundreds of randomized controlled trials suggests that antidepressants cause suicidality, but this risk is underestimated because data from industry-funded trials are systematically flawed. Unselected, population-wide observational studies indicate that depressive patients who use antidepressants are at an increased risk of suicide and that they have a higher rate of all-cause mortality than matched controls. The strong reliance on industry-funded research results in an uncritical approval of antidepressants. Due to several flaws such as publication and reporting bias, unblinding of outcome assessors, concealment and recoding of serious adverse events, the efficacy of antidepressants is systematically overestimated, and harm is systematically underestimated. Therefore, I conclude that antidepressants are largely ineffective and potentially harmful.

Evaluation of a Mobile Phone for Aircraft GPS Interference

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Truong X.

2004-01-01

Measurements of spurious emissions from a mobile phone are conducted in a reverberation chamber for the Global Positioning System (GPS) radio frequency band. This phone model was previously determined to have caused interference to several aircraft GPS receivers. Interference path loss (IPL) factors are applied to the emission data, and the outcome compared against GPS receiver susceptibility. The resulting negative safety margins indicate there are risks to aircraft GPS systems. The maximum emission level from the phone is also shown to be comparable with some laptop computer's emissions, implying that laptop computers can provide similar risks to aircraft GPS receivers.

Dissolving the Puzzle of Resultant Moral Luck.

PubMed

Levy, Neil

The puzzle of resultant moral luck arises when we are disposed to think that an agent who caused a harm deserves to be blamed more than an otherwise identical agent who did not. One popular (but controversial) perspective on resultant moral luck explains our dispositions to produce different judgments with regard to the agents who feature in these cases as a product not of what they genuinely deserve but of our epistemic situation. On this account, there is no genuine resultant moral luck; there is only luck in what evidence becomes available to observers. In this paper, I develop an evolutionary account of our inclination to take the results of actions as evidence for the mental states of agents, thereby explaining why the resulting intuitions are recalcitrant to correction. The account explains why the puzzle of resultant moral luck arises: because our disposition to take the harms agents cause as evidence of their mental states can produce intuitions which conflict with those that arise when we examine agents' mental states without reference to the results of their actions. The account also helps to solve the puzzle of resultant moral luck, by providing a strong reason to ignore the intuitions caused by our disposition to regard actual harms as evidence of mental states. Since these intuitions arise using an unreliable proxy for agents' mental states, they ought to be trumped by more reliable evidence.