Nonfatal bathroom injuries among persons aged ≥15 years--United States, 2008

Problem

Information about where nonfatal unintentional injuries occur is limited, but bathrooms commonly are believed to be a hazardous location.

Methods

Data from a nationally representative sample of hospital emergency departments (ED) was used to quantify and characterize nonfatal unintentional bathroom injuries among people aged ≥ 15 years.

Results

In 2008, an estimated 234,094 nonfatal bathroom injuries were treated in EDs. Most injuries (81.1%) were caused by falls and 37.3% of injuries occurred when bathing, showering, or getting out of the tub or shower. Both injury and hospitalization rates increased with age.

Summary

These results suggest that bathrooms tend to be most hazardous for persons in the oldest age groups.

Impact on Industry

Bathroom injuries among all household members might be reduced by increasing awareness about potentially hazardous activities in the bathroom combined with simple environmental changes such as adding grab bars inside and outside the tub or shower.     

Enzymatische Umsetzung von Arsenkampfstoffen durch das Pilzenzym Mangan-Peroxidase

Das Pilzenzym Mangan-Peroxidase wurde eingesetzt, um verschiedene Arsenkampfstoffe in zellfreien Reaktionsans?tzen (in vitro) abzubauen. Die Konzentrationsabnahme der Arsenkampfstoffe wurde nach Thiol-Derivatisierung mittels Gaschromatographie geprüft. Alle untersuchten arsenorganischen Verbindungen wurden von der Mangan-Pero-xidase bei Raumtemperatur zu mehr als 90% umgesetzt. Aliphatische Arsenkampfstoffe wurden schneller angegriffen als aromatische Derivate.     

Bodenkontaminationen in Rüstungsaltlasten aus dem Ersten Weltkrieg

The results of the chemical analysis of soil samples from WWI munition plants showed that the most important compounds are dinitrobenzenes, trinitrotoluene and metabolites, and dinitronaphthalenes. The presence of 1,2-dinitrobenzene and 1,3-dinitrobenzene in soil samples shows that, during the production of dinitrobenzenes, in WWI, the raw dinitrobenzene was not washed with sulphite. The results show that the parameter list must be different from the parameter list for the analysis of soil samples from munition plants of WW II.     

Colonial and single breeding in fieldfares,Turdus pilaris L.: a comparison of nesting success in early and late broods

Summary Pairs of fieldfares breed singly or in colonies. Their breeding season was subdivided into an early part, when the trees were still leafless, and a late part, when the trees had leaves. Early colonial pairs has a significantly higher nesting success than single pairs. However, amongst late broods the nesting success of both categories of pairs was the same. Colonies of only two pairs show a weak trend suggesting that it could be advantageous for early broods to have a neighbour nearby, while the nesting success of late broods seems to be highest if the neighbour is farther away. The number of neighbours is more important than the distance to the nearest neighbour when colonies of different sizes are examined. The nesting success of colonial broods is also influenced by the time of breeding. Success increases with colony size, in early colonies, but the opposite applies for the late breeding season.A little owl was placed near single and colonial nests to show how communal defence contributed to the greater success of early colonial nests. Predators entering a colony risk being contaminated by significantly more faeces due to the higher rate of attacks by fieldfares using aimed defecation near colonial nests and these could affect the predators' flying ability.The possibility of fieldfare colonies serving as information centres for food finding is also discussed.     

Trends in organochlorine and mercury levels in Gannet eggs

Levels of DDE, HEOD, PCBs and mercury were measured in Gannet eggs from several colonies around Britain during 1971-1987. At two colonies (Ailsa Craig and Bass Rock) sampled throughout this period, organochlorine levels declined between the early 1970s and 1983, and then increased again. The trends at other colonies, sampled over shorter periods, were generally consistent with those at Ailsa Craig and Bass Rock. Trends in mercury levels were more variable, and increases were observed at four colonies and declines at two. Some shell-thinning occurred in association with DDE contamination. However, levels of this chemical were too low to affect breeding success in the years concerned. The same was probably true of the other chemicals.