bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Epstein-Barr Virus Latent Membrane Protein 2A Regulates c-Jun Protein through Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase
Authors: Chen Shao-Yin , Lu Jean , Shih Yin-Chu , Tsai Ching-Hwa
Published: October 2002

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latent membrane protein 2A (LMP2A) is widely expressed in both EBV-infected cells and EBV-associated malignancies. However, the function of LMP2A is still veiled. In this study, LMP2A was found to induce the kinase activities of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase JNK/SAPK. Furthermore, the downstream effector c-Jun showed hyperphosphorylation under LMP2A expression. The phosphorylation could be inhibited by the ERK pathway inhibitor PD98059, indicating that ERK may contribute to the phosphorylation of c-Jun in LMP2A-expressing cells. The impact on c-Jun phosphorylation by mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) is suggested to increase c-Jun protein stability, and this was also observed in LMP2A-expressing cells by a protein synthesis inhibition assay. Moreover, LMP2A-induced cell invasion was inhibited in the presence of the ERK pathway inhibitor. Taken together, we suggest that LMP2A may exploit MAPK kinases and affect both the phosphorylation and stability of c-Jun protein. Additionally, LMP2A may thereby promote the mobility of the cells. In doing so, it may enhance the mobility of EBV-infected cells and contribute to the metastatic process of malignant cells. Here we demonstrated the first evidence of LMP2A-induced migration and the underlying pathways accounting for it.
Phosphorus Insertion Into Borane Clusters. A Review
Authors: Štíbr Bohumil
Published: October 2002

A review is presented on the methods of incorporation of phosphorus vertices into borane, carborane and heteroborane clusters. The structural diversity of boron cluster compounds allows for the synthesis of various types of phosphaboranes, phosphacarboranes and phosphaheteroboranes of structurally different cluster shapes, sizes, and positional isomerism. The phosphaborane compounds outlined in this work are direct analogues of corresponding carboranes. This analogy is the main reason for recent interest and developments in this area. A review with 45 references.
Polyhedral Boron Compounds as Potential Linkers for Attachment of Radiohalogens to Targeting Proteins and Peptides. A Review
Authors: Tolmachev Vladimir , Sjöberg Stefan
Published: October 2002

Polyhedral boron clusters (PBC) are three-dimensional inorganic aromatic systems. Some of them can easily be halogenated, and the halogen-boron bond in such systems is very strong. We consider the use of PBC as linkers for attachment of radioactive halogen isotopes to tumor-targeting proteins and peptides. In this review the major preconditions for such applications, such as biological considerations, knowledge concerning coupling chemistry and radiolabeling of PBC, are described. A review with 90 references.
The Relation Between Polyhedral Borane Sandwiches and Endohedral Complexes; the Electronic Structure and Stability of X@YmBnHn+mq (X = He, Ne, Li, Be; Y = B, C, Si; m = 0-3; n = 12-9; q = -2 to +2), (C2B4H6)2Xq (X = Li, Al, Si; q = -3, -1, 0) and X2@B17H17q (X = He, Li; q = -2, 0)
Authors: Jemmis Eluvathingal D. , Jayasree Elambalassery G.
Published: October 2002

An electronic structural connection is established for sandwich complexes and polyhedral boranes containing encapsulated atoms. The charge requirements of these extreme geometrical patterns, examples 3 and 9, depend on the size of the central atom or on the distance between the adjacent rings. While going from the endohedral to the corresponding sandwich complexes the unoccupied a2u and eg molecular orbitals are stabilized considerably requiring additional 6 electrons for stability. The two endohedral atoms in the doped structures 10 resulting from the multidecker sandwich complexes 4 are found to stabilize the large borane skeleton. The energetics and geometries of the relatively less explored endohedral boranes show that endohedral silaboranes are more stable than the endohedral carbaboranes. In general, when an atom is encapsulated in a borane cage, its skeletal bonds are elongated. The exo bonds are shortened due to the possible reduction in the torsional strain between the adjacent vertices. A comparison of the endohedral complexes with the corresponding exo isomers shows that encapsulation makes the system more strained.
4-Bromophenylboronate Derivatives of Ring and Cage Borosilicates
Authors: Avent Anthony G. , Lawrence Simon E. , Meehan Margaret M. , Russell Tom G. , Spalding Trevor R.
Published: October 2002

The reactions between equimolecular amounts of 4-bromophenylboronic acid and di-tert-butylsilanediol or tert-butylsilanetriol in toluene solutions at reflux temperatures afforded the borosilicate ring compound [(4-BrC6H4B)O2Si(t-Bu)2]2 (1), and the cube-based species [(t-BuSi)4(4-BrC6H4B)4O10] (2), in medium (62%) and low (13%) yields, respectively. These compounds were characterised by microanalysis, IR and NMR (1H, 11B, 13C and 29Si) spectroscopy and single crystal X-ray crystallography. During the work-up of 2, a sample of the boroxine, [(4-BrC6H4BO)3] (3), was isolated and was characterised by single crystal diffraction.
Commotio cordis
Authors: McCrory P
Published: October 2002

This article has been retracted. See the retraction notice for details. The PDF is retained for transparency.
A prospective study of injuries to elite Australian rugby union players
Authors: Bathgate A , Best J P , Craig G , Jamieson M
Published: October 2002

Objectives: To assess injury patterns and incidence in the Australian Wallabies rugby union players from 1994 to 2000. To compare these patterns and rates with those seen at other levels of play, and to see how they have changed since the beginning of the professional era.

Methods: Prospective data were recorded from 1994 to 2000. All injuries to Australian Wallabies rugby union players were recorded by the team doctor. An injury was defined as one that forced a player to either leave the field or miss a subsequent game.

Results: A total of 143 injuries were recorded from 91 matches. The overall injury rate was 69/1000 player hours of game play. The injury rates in the periods before (1994–1995) and after (1996–2000) the start of the professional era were 47/1000 player hours and 74/1000 player hours respectively. The lock was the most injured forward, and the number 10 the most injured back. Most injuries were soft tissue, closed injuries (55%), with the head being the most commonly injured region (25.1%). The phase of play responsible for most injuries was the tackle (58.7%). Injuries were more likely to occur in the second half of the game, specifically the third quarter (40%). The vast majority of injuries were acute (90%), with the remainder being either chronic or recurrent.

Conclusions: Injury rate increases at higher levels of play in rugby union. Injury rates have increased in the professional era. Most injuries are now seen in the third quarter of the game, a finding that may reflect new substitution laws. There is a need for standardised collection of injury data in rugby union.
Injuries in Australian cricket at first class level 1995/1996 to 2000/2001
Authors: Orchard J , James T , Alcott E , Carter S , Farhart P
Published: October 2002

Objective: To describe and analyse injuries and illness occurring in Australian cricket at first class level.

Methods: Injuries occurring to the state and national teams were surveyed prospectively between the seasons 1998/1999 and 2000/2001, and the three preceding seasons were surveyed retrospectively. The definition of an injury was detailed and generally required the player to miss playing time in a major match.

Results: Average injury match incidence in the seasons studied prospectively varied from a low of 19.0 injuries per 10 000 player hours in first class domestic matches to a high of 38.5 injuries per 10 000 player hours in one day internationals. The average seasonal incidence was 19.2 injuries per squad (25 players) per season (20 matches). Injury prevalence (the percentage of players missing through injury at any given time) was 14% for pace bowlers, 4% for spin bowlers, 4% for batsmen, and 2% for wicket keepers. The most common injuries were hamstring strains, side strains, groin injuries, wrist and hand injuries, and lumbar soft tissue injuries. Bowlers who had bowled more than 20 match overs in the week leading up to a match had an increased risk of sustaining a bowling injury (risk ratio 1.91, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.28 to 2.85). A further risk for bowling injury is bowling second in a match—that is, batting first (risk ratio 1.62, 95% CI 1.04 to 2.50). A risk factor for injury in fielding is colliding with the boundary fence.

Conclusions: Further study is required to determine ways to minimise the risk of injury in fast bowlers. Cricket grounds should mark a boundary line on the playing field to prevent players colliding with fences in the field.
Inferior capsular shift operation for multidirectional instability of the shoulder in players of contact sports
Authors: Choi C-H , Ogilvie-Harris D J
Published: October 2002

Objectives: To assess the results of inferior capsular shift for multidirectional instability of the shoulder in athletes.

Methods: Multidirectional instability was surgically corrected in 53 shoulders in 47 athletes who engaged in contact sports. A history of major trauma was found in eight patients, the others having had minor episodes. Before surgery, all patients had complex combinations of instabilities. The surgical approach was selected according to the predominant direction of instability.

Results: Anterior inferior capsular shift was carried out in 37 shoulders, and anterior dislocation recurred in three. In one of these, it was anterior alone, one was anterior and inferior, and one was unstable in all three directions. After posterior inferior capsular shift in 16 shoulders, one dislocation occurred anteriorly and one posteriorly. With the anterior approach, four athletes could not return to sport. Two patients treated with the posterior approach could not return to sport. Of these six failures, five patients had had bilateral repairs. Successful repair based on the criteria of the American Shoulder and Elbow Association was achieved in 92% of anterior repairs and 81% of posterior repairs. Successful return to sport was noted in 82% of patients with anterior repairs, 75% with posterior repairs, and 17% with bilateral repairs. Overall, there were five subsequent dislocations, three in the anterior repair group (8%), and two in the posterior repair group (12%).

Conclusions: Inferior capsular shift can successfully correct multidirectional instability in most players of contact sports, but the results in bilateral cases are poor.
Effectiveness of toughened glassware in terms of reducing injury in bars: a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Warburton Alison L , Shepherd Jonathan P
Published: October 2002

Objective—To evaluate the effectiveness, in terms of injury prevention, of toughened pint glassware in bars.

Design—Randomised controlled trial.

Setting—A random sample of 57 bars in South Wales, West Midlands, and West of England.

Subjects—A total of 1229 bar workers.

Intervention—Complete replacement of pint glasses with annealed (control) or toughened (intervention) glassware.

Main outcome measures—Bar staff injuries recorded monthly: number, site, and severity (lifestyle impact; treatment need) of injuries.

Results—Ninety eight bar staff experienced 115 injuries: 43 in the control group, 72 in the intervention group. Adjusting for people at risk gave a relative risk (RR) of 1.48 (confidence interval (CI) 1.02 to 2.15). Similarly, adjusting for hours worked gave RR 1.57 (CI 1.08 to 2.29). Thus, injury rate was 60% higher in the intervention group (p<0.05), with no significant difference in severity. Most were hand injuries requiring first aid. Injuries tended to occur simultaneously in more than one body part in the intervention group, reportedly caused by spontaneous disintegration of toughened glassware. Impact resistance testing showed the energy required to break annealed glass (1.8 ± 0.2 J) was greater than that for toughened glass (1.4 ± 0.2 J), though the difference was not significant.

Conclusions—Glass with lower impact resistance caused more injuries. “Toughened” glassware had lower impact resistance. Standards for toughening need to be developed.
Youth injury data in the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program: do they represent the Canadian experience?
Authors: Pickett William , Brison Robert J , Mackenzie Susan G , Garner Michael , King Matthew A , Greenberg T Lawson , Boyce William F
Published: October 2002

Objective—Injuries to Canadian youth (11–15 years) identified from a population based health survey (World Health Organization—Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Survey, or WHO-HBSC) were compared with youth injuries from a national, emergency department based surveillance system. Comparisons focused on external causes of injury, and examined whether similar rankings of injury patterns and hence priorities for intervention were identified by the different systems.

Setting—The Canadian version of the WHO-HBSC was conducted in 1998. The Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) is the national, emergency room based, surveillance program. Two hospitals involved in CHIRPP collectively provide population based data for Kingston, Ontario.

Method—Numbers of injuries selected for study varied by data source: WHO-HBSC (n=3673); CHIRPP (n=20 133); Kingston CHIRPP (n=1944). WHO-HBSC and Kingston CHIRPP records were coded according to four variables in the draft International Classification of External Causes of Injury. Existing CHIRPP codes were available to compare Kingston and other CHIRPP data by five variables. Males and females in the three datasets were ranked according to the external causes. Data classified by source and sex were compared using Spearman's rank correlation statistic.

Results—Rank orders of four variables describing external causes were remarkably similar between the WHO-HBSC and Kingston CHIRPP (ρ>0.78 p<0.004) for mechanism, object, location, and activity). The Kingston and other CHIRPP data were also similar (ρ>0.87; p<0.001) for the variables available to describe external causes of injury (including intent).

Conclusion—The two subsets of the CHIRPP data and the WHO-HBSC data identified similar priorities for injury prevention among young people. These findings indicate that CHIRPP may be representative of general youth injury patterns in Canada. Our study provides a novel and practical model for the validation of injury surveillance programs.
Injuries in child care centers: gender-environment interactions
Authors: Alkon Abbey , Ragland David R , Tschann Jeanne M , Genevro Janice L , Kaiser Pamela , Boyce W Thomas
Published: October 2002

Objectives—To examine child characteristics (age, gender) and child care center environments (socioemotional quality, physical safety) that jointly predict injuries for preschool children.

Methods—A two year prospective study of 360 preschool children, ages 2–6 years, was conducted in four urban child care centers. Composite scores for center quality and physical safety were derived from on-site observations, and injury rates were based on teacher reports. Poisson regression analyses examined age, gender, center quality, center safety, and the interactions of gender with quality and safety as predictors of injury incidence over one child year.

Results—Age was significantly associated with injury rates, with younger children sustaining higher rates. An interaction between gender and center quality also significantly predicted injury incidence: girls in low quality centers experienced more injuries, while girls in high quality centers sustained fewer injuries than their male peers. Finally, an interaction between gender and center safety showed that girls in high safety centers sustained more injuries than boys, while girls in low safety centers sustained fewer injuries.

Conclusions—Injuries occur even in relatively safe environments, suggesting that in child care settings, the socioemotional context may contribute, along with physical safety, to the incidence of injury events. Further, gender specific differences in susceptibility to environmental influences may also affect children's vulnerability and risks of injuries. The prevention of injuries among preschool children may thus require attention to and modifications of both the physical and socioemotional environments of child care.
Maternal reports of child injuries in Canada: trends and patterns by age and gender
Authors: Kohen Dafna E , Soubhi Hassan , Raina Parminder
Published: October 2002

Objectives—This study examines gender and age differences in maternal reports of injuries in a cross sectional group of children aged 0–11 years. The cause, nature, body part injured, and location of injury are explored, as are the associations with family socioeconomic indicators and associations with limitations in activities.

Methods—Data for 22 831 children and their families come from cycle 1 of the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth collected in 1995. Descriptive analyses and χ2tests for trends are used to examine injury variations by child gender and age. Logistic regressions are used to examine the relationship between socioeconomic indicators and injury and the associations between injury and limitations in activities.

Results—Consistent with findings from hospital data, boys experience more injuries than girls, and injuries increase with child age. Falls are the most common sources of maternally reported injuries, followed by scalds/poisonings for young children and sports injuries for school aged children. The majority of injuries occur in or around the home for young children, but at school for older children. For maternal reports of childhood injuries, single marital status is a risk factor for boys.

Conclusions—Maternally reported injuries occur in 10% of Canadian children and many of these are associated with limitations in activities. Preventative strategies should take both child age and gender into consideration.
Injuries associated with falls from beds: Figure 1
Authors: Macgregor D M
Published: October 2002

Objectives—To assess the severity of injuries due to falls from upper bunks and lower beds and cots, and to ascertain the age group most at risk of such injuries.

Setting—The accident and emergency (A&E) department in the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital which has the only paediatric A&E department in the north east of Scotland, serving a catchment area of over half a million people.

Methods—All children attending with an injury sustained due to a fall from a bed or top bunk over five months had their case notes reviewed by the author.

Results—Eighty five children were identified, a majority of whom were reported to have fallen out of bed while sleeping. Twenty five sustained a fracture, 27 a head injury, 12 a laceration requiring treatment, and 21 sustained a soft tissue injury to a limb. Fourteen (16%) required admission. Sixty six (78%) of the injuries occurred in children under the age of 6 years.

Conclusion—These results show a higher incidence of significant injury than previously reported, and demonstrate the inadvisability of letting children under the age of 6 years sleep in upper bunks. In an attempt to make parents more aware of the risks it is recommended that these dangers should be brought to public attention.
Do self reported safety behaviours predict childhood unintentional injuries?
Authors: Hapgood R , Kendrick D , Marsh P
Published: October 2002

Objective—The aim of this study was to investigate the validity of self reported safety behaviours as a proxy for injuries in unintentional injuries research.

Setting—The study population comprised parents and guardians of children aged 3–12 months in 18 general practices throughout Nottingham (n=764) who responded to a questionnaire on safety practices.

Method—Injury data were collected by searching the primary and secondary care records of each child in the study. Safety behaviour was measured by computing a safety practices score from self reported safety practices for each respondent to a postal baseline questionnaire survey of safety behaviours. The score was used to classify families into low, medium, and high risk of injury occurrence. Two further scores were calculated, firstly for those safety practices which required obtaining an item of safety equipment, and secondly those safety practices requiring behavioural change without cost implications.

Results—High risk families were no more likely than low risk families to sustain an injury (odds ratio (OR) 1.08; 95% confidence interval 0.65 to 1.79). Medium risk families were also no more likely than low risk families to have a medically attended injury (OR 1.09; 0.73 to 1.61) suggesting no association between safety score and future medically attended injury. Similarly, compared to low risk families, medium risk (OR 0.93; 0.33 to 2.61) and high risk (OR 0.46; 0.08 to 2.43) families were no more likely to have a child admitted to hospital with an injury. There was no correlation between the total number of injuries sustained during the study period and the baseline safety practices score (Spearman's rho = 0.004; p=0.917). Subgroup analyses for safety behaviours requiring passive and active safety measures did not reveal significant associations with injury outcomes.

Conclusion—Self reported safety behaviours do not appear to be good predictors of childhood unintentional injuries. Further research is required to ascertain valid proxy outcome measures for injury research.
Surface characteristics, equipment height, and the occurrence and severity of playground injuries
Authors: Laforest S , Robitaille Y , Lesage D , Dorval D
Published: October 2002

Objectives—To evaluate whether surface characteristics (absorption level (g-max), material) and the height of play equipment are related to the occurrence and severity of injuries from falls.

Setting and methods—During the summers of 1991 and 1995, conformity of play equipment to Canadian standards was assessed in a random sample (n=102) of Montreal public playgrounds. Surface absorption (g-max) was tested using a Max Hic instrument and the height of equipment was measured. Concurrently, all injuries presenting at the emergency department of Montreal's two children's hospitals were recorded and parents were interviewed. Inspected equipment was implicated in 185 injuries. The g-max measurements (1995 only) were available for 110 of these playground accidents.

Results—One third of falls (35 %) occurred on a surface exceeding 200 g and the risk of injury was three times greater than for g level lower than 150 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.45 to 6.35). On surfaces having absorption levels between 150 g and 200 g, injuries were 1.8 times more likely (95% CI 0.91 to 3.57). Injuries were 2.56 times more likely to occur on equipment higher than 2 m compared with equipment lower than 1.5 m. Analysis of risk factors by severity of injury failed to show any positive relationships between the g-max or height and severity, whereas surface material was a good predictor of severity.

Conclusions—This study confirms the relationships between risk of injury, surface resilience, and height of equipment, as well as between type of material and severity of injury. Our data suggest that acceptable limits for surface resilience be set at less than 200 g, and perhaps even less than 150 g, and not exceed 2 m for equipment height. These findings reinforce the importance of installing recommended materials, such as sand, beneath play equipment.
Epidemiology of violent deaths in the world
Authors: Reza A , Mercy J A , Krug E
Published: October 2002

Objective—This study describes epidemiologic patterns of mortality due to suicide, homicide, and war for the world in order to serve as a benchmark against which to measure future progress and to raise awareness about violence as a global public health problem.

Setting—The world and its eight major regions.

Method—Data were derived fromThe Global Burden of Diseaseseries and the US National Center for Health Statistics to estimate crude rates, age adjusted rates, sex rate ratios, and the health burden for suicide, homicide, and war related deaths for the world and its eight major regions in 1990.

Results—In 1990, an estimated 1 851 000 people died from violence (35.3 per 100 000) in the world. There were an estimated 786 000 suicides. Overall suicide rates ranged from 3.4 per 100 000 in Sub-Saharan Africa to 30.4 per 100 000 in China. There were an estimated 563 000 homicides. Overall homicide rates ranged from 1.0 per 100 000 in established market economies to 44.8 per 100 000 in Sub-Saharan Africa with peaks among males aged 15–24 years old, and among females aged 0–4 years old. There were an estimated 502 000 war related deaths with peaks in rates for both sexes among people aged 0–4, 15–29, and 60–69 years old.

Conclusion—The number of violence related deaths in the world is unacceptably high. Coordinated prevention and control efforts are urgently needed.
Rural population survey of behavioral and demographic risk factors for loaded firearms
Authors: Nordstrom D L , Zwerling C , Stromquist A M , Burmeister L F , Merchant J A
Published: October 2002

Objectives—In the United States, firearm deaths are almost as frequent as motor vehicle deaths. Firearm unintentional and suicide death rates are raised in rural areas. This study examines firearm prevalence and storage practices in three different types of rural households.

Methods—Adults from a stratified random sample of 983 households in a rural Iowa county were interviewed. The χ2test of independence was used to assess association between loaded, unlocked firearms and seven behavioral and demographic risk factors.

Results—Nearly 67% of respondents reported firearms in their households. Nearly 7% of households had a loaded, unlocked gun. Prevalence of firearms at home was higher while prevalence of loaded, unlocked guns was lower than reported in other surveys. Prevalence of loaded, unlocked guns in farm households, 10.5%, was about twice the level in town households, 5.5% (χ2test, p=0.033). Having taken a gun safety course was associated with more than double the prevalence of a loaded, unlocked gun, 13.5%v5.1% (χ2test, p=0.001). The prevalence of loaded, unlocked guns in households with a handgun, 19.3%, was four and one half times higher than in households with a long gun only, 4.2% (χ2test, p=0.001). Households with someone with a lifetime prevalence of alcohol abuse or dependence were about twice as likely as other households, 13.0%v6.6% (χ2test, p=0.004), to report having loaded, unlocked firearms.

Conclusions—Anyone interested in promoting safe storage of firearms in rural homes should consider these observations.
Surveillance of hospitalized farm injuries in Canada
Authors: Pickett W , Hartling L , Dimich-Ward H , Guernsey J R , Hagel L , Voaklander D C , Brison R J
Published: October 2002

Objective—To provide an overview of hospital admissions for the treatment of farm injuries.

Methods—Design:descriptive analysis of data from the Canadian Agricultural Injury Surveillance Program (CAISP).Population:persons experiencing a farm injury requiring hospitalization, April 1991 to March 1995. Access to hospital separation data was negotiated within Canadian provinces. Individual cases were verified by medical records personnel and supplemental data describing injury circumstances were obtained.Analysis: descriptive analyses characterizing farm injuries by: persons involved, mechanisms, primary diagnoses, and agents of injury.

Results—Data from 8/10 Canadian provinces representing 98% of the farm population were obtained. A total of 8263 farm injuries were verified. Adults aged 60 years and older were over-represented in these injuries. Leading external causes of agricultural machinery injury included entanglements, being pinned/struck by machinery, falls, and runovers. Non-machinery causes included falls from heights, animal related trauma, and being struck/by against objects. Leading diagnoses varied by age group, but included: limb fractures/open wounds, intracranial injuries, skull fractures, and spinal/truncal fractures.

Conclusions—CAISP is a new agricultural injury surveillance program in Canada. Data from this system are actively used to inform prevention initiatives, and to indicate priorities for etiological and experimental research in the Canadian agricultural setting.
Injury related infant death: the impact of race and birth weight
Authors: Jain A , Khoshnood B , Lee K S , Concato J
Published: October 2002

Objective—To examine the effect of race and birth weight independent of other sociodemographic factors on injury related infant death using national data.

Setting—Infants born in the United States to mothers who were white (non-Hispanic), African American, Mexican American, and Native American.

Methods—Linked infant birth and death data from the National Center for Health Statistics for 1989–91 were analyzed to calculate unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios for death due to homicide or unintentional injury within the first year of life. In addition to maternal race and birth weight, the risk of death was adjusted for maternal age, prenatal care, maternal education, paternal education, marital status, birth order, interval since last pregnancy, smoking during pregnancy, and alcohol intake during pregnancy.

Results—Among 10.7 million births during 1989–91, 821 homicides and 2397 unintentional deaths were reported in infants. Relative to whites, African Americans were at highest risk for homicides (unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios = 3.6 (95% confidence interval = 3.1 to 4.2) and 1.6 (1.3 to 1.9), respectively) and Native Americans at highest risk for unintentional injuries (unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios = 3.8 (3.0 to 4.8) and 2.1 (1.7 to 2.6), respectively). After accounting for other sociodemographic factors, Mexican American infants appeared protected from injury (adjusted odds ratio = 0.7 (0.6 to 1.0) for homicides and 0.7 (0.6 to 0.8) for unintentional injuries). An inverse effect of birth weight was seen—as birth weight decreased, risk of homicides and unintentional injuries increased. After adjustment for the sociodemographic factors, very low birthweight babies were still at substantially increased risk of homicides with an odds ratio of 2.1 (1.4 to 3.1) and unintentional injuries with an odds ratio of 2.9 (2.4 to 3.7).

Conclusions—Using a large national dataset, the effect of race as a risk factor for fatal infant injuries was mostly explained by birth weight and other sociodemographic factors. Preventable risk factors need to be identified for African Americans and Native Americans, in particular. Birth weight is an important independent risk factor; very low birthweight babies should be monitored for both homicide and unintentional injury.
Relationship between licensing, registration, and other gun sales laws and the source state of crime guns
Authors: Webster D W , Vernick J S , Hepburn L M
Published: October 2002

Objective—To determine the association between licensing and registration of firearm sales and an indicator of gun availability to criminals.

Methods—Tracing data on all crime guns recovered in 25 cities in the United States were used to estimate the relationship between state gun law categories and the proportion of crime guns first sold by in-state gun dealers.

Results—In cities located in states with both mandatory registration and licensing systems (five cities), a mean of 33.7% of crime guns were first sold by in-state gun dealers, compared with 72.7% in cities that had either registration or licensing but not both (seven cities), and 84.2% in cities without registration or licensing (13 cites). Little of the difference between cities with both licensing and registration and cities with neither licensing nor registration was explained by potential confounders. The share of the population near a city that resides in a neighboring state without licensing or registration laws was negatively associated with the outcome.

Conclusion—States with registration and licensing systems appear to do a better job than other states of keeping guns initially sold within the state from being recovered in crimes. Proximity to states without these laws, however, may limit their impact.
Underreporting of traffic injuries involving children in Japan
Authors: Nakahara S , Wakai S
Published: October 2002

Background—Significant underreporting of road traffic injuries by the police has been documented, even in developed countries. The objective of this study was to clarify the magnitude of underreporting of police data in Japan.

Methods—Police reports were compared with those of the fire department and the Marine and Fire Insurance Association of Japan.

Results—The results reveal significant underreporting by police of child vehicle occupant injuries. The true incidence of these injuries in preschoolers was twice as high as that provided by official police reports.

Conclusion—Police reports would underestimate the magnitude of vehicle occupant injuries in children and distort any evaluations of preventive initiatives. Improving the police report system, and establishing a more comprehensive trauma registry, that would include data from hospitals and insurance companies should be implemented.
Knowledge, attitude, and practice of sugarcane crushers towards hand injury prevention strategies in India
Authors: David S S , Goel K
Published: October 2002

Introduction—Injuries of the hand have an enormous impact on hand function and on quality of life. Occupational injuries are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in India and their incidence has been steadily increasing. Sugarcane crushers produce juice using dangerous procedures.

Objective—The objective of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices among sugarcane crushers in India and thus assist in the formulation of effective preventive strategies.

Setting—A block (area) in the Vellore District, South India (population 100 000).

Subjects and methods—All sugarcane crushers living in this area (n = 32) were included. A single observer, using a questionnaire, conducted personal on-site interviews.

Results—Carelessness was involved in 63% of injuries. Sixteen per cent felt that machines with improved safety features are required; 40% supported the use of special gloves, although 19% considered them a hindrance. Eighty eight per cent did not consider the long duration of work as a risk factor and 38% were fatalistic (God's will); 50% thought the injuries were due to “bad luck”.

Conclusion—Sugarcane crushers do not perceive the need for safer equipment. To overcome fatalistic views, and persuade this group to take other safety measures, safety education will need to take into consideration their socioeconomic and educational status.
Thermal protective uniforms and hoods: impact of design modifications and water content on burn prevention in New York City firefighters: laboratory and field results
Authors: Prezant D J , Malley K S , Barker R L , Guerth C , Kelly K J
Published: October 2002

Objectives—To determine (1) the effectiveness of hoods in reducing head burns, (2) the impact of clothes worn under the protective outer uniform (modern = long sleeve shirt and long pants; modified modern = short sleeve T-shirt and short pants) on burns, and (3) whether water content (dry, damp or saturated) affects the level of thermal protection.

Setting—Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY).

Methods—Laboratory tests (fully dressed manikin) evaluated the different uniform and water conditions when exposed to an average 24 cal/cm2heat flux, approximately 2250°F air temperature. FDNY field results compared (1) head burns during winters wearing the hood to winters without hood and (2) upper and lower extremity burns during summers wearing traditional, modern, and modified modern uniforms.

Results—Laboratory tests showed that thermal protection was: (1) dramatically improved by the hood with protection increasing as water content increased and (2) not significantly different between modern and modified modern uniforms, regardless of water content. FDNY field results confirmed these tests showing (1) significant decreases in neck burns (by 54%), ear burns (by 60%), and head burn totals (by 46%) wearing the hood and (2) no significant differences in upper or lower extremity burns wearing modern compared with modified modern uniforms.

Conclusions—Based on combined laboratory and field results, we strongly recommend the use of modern thermal protective hoods and the modified modern uniform.
Prevention of construction falls by organizational intervention
Authors: Becker P , Fullen M , Akladios M , Hobbs G
Published: October 2002

Objectives—Determine if a university based (third party) intervention can improve construction contractor organizational performance to increase use of fall prevention practices and technologies.

Setting—Falls are the leading cause of worker injury and death in the construction industry. Equipment and practices that can prevent falls are often not used appropriately in the dynamic construction work environment.

Methods—A contractual partnership between a university and construction contractors created management systems to ensure use of fall protection measures. Audits by university faculty provided accountability for implementing the fall prevention system. Evaluation was conducted by quasiexperimental methodology comparing changes in audit score from baseline to fifth quarter from baseline for intervention and control contractors.

Results—Audit scores improvement was greater for intervention than for control contractor group.

Conclusion—A third party intervention can improve contractor fall prevention performance.
Recreational injury and its relation to socioeconomic status among school aged children in the US
Authors: Ni H , Barnes P , Hardy A M
Published: October 2002

Objectives: This study described epidemiologic patterns of recreational injuries among school aged children in the US and assessed the relation of these patterns to socioeconomic status.

Methods: Combined data from the 1997–98 National Health Interview Surveys for 38 458 children aged 6–17 years regarding non-fatal recreational injury episodes that received medical attention, reported by a household adult, were analysed. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between recreational injury and socioeconomic status while controlling for confounding factors.

Results: The annualized rate of recreational injury was 91.2 episodes per 1000 children, with an increased risk associated with a higher family income status or being non-Hispanic white. For children from not poor families, most injury episodes occurred in sport facilities, whereas for children from poor and near poor families, most occurred outside the home.

Conclusion: Recreational injury is a significant health problem for school aged children in the US. Non-Hispanic white children and children from affluent families are at increased risk of recreational injury.
Comparison of two methods for assessing injuries among preschool children
Authors: Fonseca S S , Victora C G , Halpern R , da C Lima R , Barros F C
Published: October 2002

Background: Most studies of injuries use health services records or recall rather than prospective methods, and there is no information on how these different methods compare. This study was aimed at comparing a report (retrospective) with a diary (prospective) for recording childhood injuries.

Methods: The study included 1273 and 620 children, the retrospective and prospective subsamples, respectively, from a population based birth cohort in Pelotas, southern Brazil. The reported incidence of injuries in the preceding month were compared with those reported over month by diary (prospective study).

Results: Both methods were well accepted and 92.7% of the diaries were returned. One or more injuries per child month were reported for 20.8% (retrospective) and 48.4% (prospective) of the children. The total number of reported injuries for the 620 children were 145 (retrospective) and 715 (prospective). Using the prospective method as the gold standard, the retrospective method detected only 20.2% of all injuries. Under-reporting did not vary significantly with maternal education, but was greater (51.8%) for injuries requiring medical care than for those managed at home (18.3%; p=0.003).

Conclusions: The diary was well accepted and resulted in higher incidences of reported injuries than the recall method, particularly for injuries that did not require medical care. Use of this method should be promoted to provide more complete epidemiological information to guide preventive strategies.
The nature of newspaper coverage of homicide
Authors: Taylor C A , Sorenson S B
Published: October 2002

Objectives:Previous research has shown that some homicides are more likely than others to receive newspaper coverage (for example, homicides by strangers). The present investigation examined whether, once the decision has been made to report on a homicide, the nature of the coverage (that is, how much visibility is given to a story, what information is included, and how a story is written) differs according to two key variables, victim ethnicity, and victim-suspect relationship.

Setting:Los Angeles, California (USA).

Methods:Homicide articles from the 1990–94 issues of theLos Angeles Timeswere stratified according to the predictors of interest (victim ethnicity and victim-suspect relationship) and a sample was drawn. Data that characterized two primary aspects of newspaper coverage, prominence and story framing (including background information, story focus, use of opinions, story tone, and “hook” or leading introductory lines) were abstracted from the articles. Descriptive statistics and cross tabulations were generated. Multivariate analyses were conducted to examine the predictive value of victim ethnicity and victim-suspect relationship on the nature of the newspaper coverage.

Results:Newspaper coverage of homicide was generally factual, episodic, and unemotional in tone. Victim-suspect relationship, but not victim ethnicity, was related to how a story was covered, particularly the story frame. Homicides by intimates were covered consistently differently from other types of homicides; these stories were less likely to be opinion dominated, be emotional, and begin with a “hook”.

Conclusion:Victim-suspect relationship was related to the nature of coverage of homicides in a large, metropolitan newspaper. Given the agenda setting and issue framing functions of the news media, these findings have implications for the manner in which the public and policy makers perceive homicides and, consequently, for the support afforded to various types of solutions for addressing and preventing violence.
Safety attitudes and beliefs of junior Australian football players
Authors: Finch C , Donohue S , Garnham A
Published: October 2002

Objectives:To describe the safety attitudes and beliefs of junior (aged 16–18 years) Australian football players.

Setting:Six Victorian Football League Under 18 (VFL U18) clubs in Victoria, Australia.

Methods:Cross sectional survey. Altogether 103 players completed a self report questionnaire about their safety beliefs and perceptions of support when injured, across three contexts in which they played: VFL U18 club, local club, and school.

Results:Although only 6% believed it was safe to play with injuries, 58% were willing to risk doing so. This increased to almost 80% when players perceived that their chances of being selected to play for a senior elite team would be adversely affected if they did not play. There were significant differences in the perceived level of support for injured players and in the ranking of safety as a high priority across the three settings. In general, the VFL U18 clubs were perceived as providing good support for injured players and giving a high priority to safety issues, but local clubs and particularly schools were perceived to address these issues less well.

Conclusions:Junior Australian football players have certain beliefs and perceptions in relation to injury risk that have the potential to increase injuries. These negative beliefs need to be addressed in any comprehensive injury prevention strategy aimed at these players.
A blind review and an informed review of interval breast cancer cases in the Limburg screening programme, the Netherlands
Authors: de Rijke J.M. , Schouten L.J. , Schreutelkamp J.L. , Jochem I. , Verbeek A.L.M.
Published: October 2002

Objective To investigate the proportion of interval breast cancers that could have been detected at the previous screening examination, and to gain more insight into the characteristics of these tumours.

Setting Breast cancer screening programme in mid- and southern Limburg, the Netherlands.

Method Firstly, previous screening mammograms of 92 interval cancer cases were blindly reread by the radiologists from two different units as part of their daily screening workload. Secondly, a separate informed review was conducted, in which all of the cases (except for two) were subclassified into four categories: screening error; minimal signs; radiologically occult both at previous screening and at diagnosis; or radiologically occult at previous screening. Trends in recall rates and false and true positive rates were calculated to study potential changes during and after the blind review.

Results In the blind review, 15% of the interval cancers were detected in both rereadings and 21% in one rereading. In the informed review, 25% were classified as a screening error and 24% as minimal signs present; 74% of the cases classified as a screening error had been recalled at least once in the blind review. Recall rates and false positive rates in daily screening practice increased significantly during and after the study period.

Conclusions About one third of the interval cancers could have been detected in the previous screening round. In order to diminish the number of avoidable interval cancers, review and classification of interval cancers is an important tool for continuing the education of screening radiologists. Therefore, further development of review training procedures is necessary.
Cost of quality management and information provision for screening: colorectal cancer screening
Authors: Robert G. , Brown J. , Garvican L.
Published: October 2002

Objective To estimate the costs of a quality management (QM) system as proposed by the Quality Management for Screening report for a future national colorectal cancer screening programme.

Methods Estimates of the costs of the QM system, including the associated costs of education and training and information provision, were based on expert opinion, the existing literature, and the experience of the current National Health Service (NHS) breast cancer screening programme (BSP) and the NHS cervical cancer screening programme (CSP).

Results The cost of a QM system to support a national colorectal cancer programme in the UK was estimated as approximately £3.8 million a year. Further annual costs related to QM will include £500 000 for education and training and £200 000 for information provision. Adding these additional costs to a previously published UK economic evaluation of colorectal cancer screening increases the cost-utility ratio to approximately £6500 per quality adjusted life year gained (over an eight year follow up period).

Conclusions Any new screening programme, or an existing one, must have QM to ensure that the quality of screening is high and to maintain the right balance between benefit and harm. The significant costs of such a QM system should be included in any economic evaluation of a screening programme.