Further or repeated use of equipment, instruments, devices, or materials. It includes additional use regardless of the original intent of the producer as to disposability or durability. It does not include the repeated use of fluids or solutions.

Apparatus, devices, or supplies intended for one-time or temporary use.

Any materials used in providing care specifically in the hospital.

Expendable and nonexpendable equipment, supplies, apparatus, and instruments that are used in diagnostic, surgical, therapeutic, scientific, and experimental procedures.

The presence of an infectious agent on instruments, prostheses, or other inanimate articles.

Devices which are very resistant to wear and may be used over a long period of time. They include items such as wheelchairs, hospital beds, artificial limbs, etc.

A liquid that functions as a strong oxidizing agent. It has an acrid odor and is used as a disinfectant.

Freedom of equipment from actual or potential hazards.

Equipment required for engaging in a sport (such as balls, bats, rackets, skis, skates, ropes, weights) and devices for the protection of athletes during their performance (such as masks, gloves, mouth pieces).

Blood, mucus, tissue removed at surgery or autopsy, soiled surgical dressings, and other materials requiring special disposal procedures.

Instruments used for injecting or withdrawing fluids. (Stedman, 25th ed)

A soft, loose-fitting polyurethane sheath, closed at one end, with flexible rings at both ends. The device is inserted into the vagina by compressing the inner ring and pushing it in. Properly positioned, the ring at the closed end covers the cervix, and the sheath lines the walls of the vagina. The outer ring remains outside the vagina, covering the labia. (Med Lett Drugs Ther 1993 Dec 24;35(12):123)

The application of LUBRICANTS to diminish FRICTION between two surfaces.

Methods of creating machines and devices.

The destroying of all forms of life, especially microorganisms, by heat, chemical, or other means.

The unstable triatomic form of oxygen, O3. It is a powerful oxidant that is produced for various chemical and industrial uses. Its production is also catalyzed in the ATMOSPHERE by ULTRAVIOLET RAY irradiation of oxygen or other ozone precursors such as VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS and NITROGEN OXIDES. About 90% of the ozone in the atmosphere exists in the stratosphere (STRATOSPHERIC OZONE).

Contaminated water generated as a waste product of human activity.

The discarding or destroying of liquid waste products or their transformation into something useful or innocuous.

Refuse liquid or waste matter carried off by sewers.

A purine base found in most body tissues and fluids, certain plants, and some urinary calculi. It is an intermediate in the degradation of adenosine monophosphate to uric acid, being formed by oxidation of hypoxanthine. The methylated xanthine compounds caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline and their derivatives are used in medicine for their bronchodilator effects. (Dorland, 28th ed)

Any of several processes in which undesirable impurities in water are removed or neutralized; for example, chlorination, filtration, primary treatment, ion exchange, and distillation. It includes treatment of WASTE WATER to provide potable and hygienic water in a controlled or closed environment as well as provision of public drinking water supplies.

Treatment of diseases with biological materials or biological response modifiers, such as the use of GENES; CELLS; TISSUES; organs; SERUM; VACCINES; and humoral agents.

Worthless, damaged, defective, superfluous or effluent material from industrial operations.

Complex pharmaceutical substances, preparations, or matter derived from organisms usually obtained by biological methods or assay.

Drugs designed and synthesized, often for illegal street use, by modification of existing drug structures (e.g., amphetamines). Of special interest are MPTP (a reverse ester of meperidine), MDA (3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine), and MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine). Many drugs act on the aminergic system, the physiologically active biogenic amines.

A genomic region found in DROSOPHILA. The region contains genes encoding BASIC HELIX-LOOP-HELIX TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS that play a critical role in the regulation of pattern formation during EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT.

Personal devices for protection of the eyes from impact, flying objects, glare, liquids, or injurious radiation.

A clear, odorless, tasteless liquid that is essential for most animal and plant life and is an excellent solvent for many substances. The chemical formula is hydrogen oxide (H2O). (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)

Penetrating stab wounds caused by needles. They are of special concern to health care workers since such injuries put them at risk for developing infectious disease.

Infectious organisms in the BLOOD, of which the predominant medical interest is their contamination of blood-soiled linens, towels, gowns, BANDAGES, other items from individuals in risk categories, NEEDLES and other sharp objects, MEDICAL WASTE and DENTAL WASTE, all of which health workers are exposed to. This concept is differentiated from the clinical conditions of BACTEREMIA; VIREMIA; and FUNGEMIA where the organism is present in the blood of a patient as the result of a natural infectious process.

An alcoholic beverage usually made from malted cereal grain (as barley), flavored with hops, and brewed by slow fermentation.

Fermented juice of fresh grapes or of other fruit or plant products used as a beverage.

A general term for single-celled rounded fungi that reproduce by budding. Brewers' and bakers' yeasts are SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE; therapeutic dried yeast is YEAST, DRIED.

A system of physical units in which the fundamental quantities are length, time, mass, electric current, temperature, luminous intensity, and amount of substance, and the corresponding units are the meter, second, kilogram, ampere, kelvin, candela, and mole. The system has been given official status and recommended for universal use by the General Conference on Weights and Measures.

Anaerobic degradation of GLUCOSE or other organic nutrients to gain energy in the form of ATP. End products vary depending on organisms, substrates, and enzymatic pathways. Common fermentation products include ETHANOL and LACTIC ACID.

A species of the genus SACCHAROMYCES, family Saccharomycetaceae, order Saccharomycetales, known as "baker's" or "brewer's" yeast. The dried form is used as a dietary supplement.

Restoration of human functions to the maximum degree possible in a person or persons suffering from disease or injury.

Policies and programs which ensure that DISPLACED PERSONS and chronic illnesses receive the support and SOCIAL SERVICES needed to live in their communities.

Persons with physical or mental disabilities that affect or limit their activities of daily living and that may require special accommodations.

Organizations representing specialized fields which are accepted as authoritative; may be non-governmental, university or an independent research organization, e.g., National Academy of Sciences, Brookings Institution, etc.

Component of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. Through basic and clinical biomedical research and training, it conducts and supports research into the nature of the aging process and diseases associated with the later stages of life. The Institute was established in 1974.

Paid work for mentally or physically disabled persons, taking place in regular or normal work settings. It may be competitive employment (work that pays minimum wage) or employment with subminimal wages in individualized or group placement situations. It is intended for persons with severe disabilities who require a range of support services to maintain employment. Supported employment differs from SHELTERED WORKSHOPS in that work in the latter takes place in a controlled working environment. Federal regulations are authorized and administered by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.

A series of actions, sometimes symbolic actions which may be associated with a behavior pattern, and are often indispensable to its performance.

Devices capable of receiving data, retaining data for an indefinite or finite period of time, and supplying data upon demand.

A procedure consisting of a sequence of algebraic formulas and/or logical steps to calculate or determine a given task.

Nucleus in the NEOSTRIATUM of bird brains that sends signals for song production and receives auditory input. In some adult SONGBIRDS, research has shown that the size of this nucleus changes seasonally and that it exhibits neurogenesis.

Exclusive legal rights or privileges applied to inventions, plants, etc.

In INFORMATION RETRIEVAL, machine-sensing or identification of visible patterns (shapes, forms, and configurations). (Harrod's Librarians' Glossary, 7th ed)

PASSERIFORMES of the suborder, Oscines, in which the flexor tendons of the toes are separate, and the lower syrinx has 4 to 9 pairs of tensor muscles inserted at both ends of the tracheal half rings. They include many commonly recognized birds such as CROWS; FINCHES; robins; SPARROWS; and SWALLOWS.

Standards or regulations for construction which are designed to ensure safety against electrical hazards, fires, etc.

Garbage, refuse, or sludge, or other discarded materials from a wastewater treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, and air pollution control facility that include solid, semi-solid, or contained material. It does not include materials dissolved in domestic sewage, irrigation return flows, or industrial discharges.

Environmental reservoirs of water related to natural WATER CYCLE by which water is obtained for various purposes. This includes but is not limited to watersheds, aquifers and springs.

A polysymptomatic condition believed by clinical ecologists to result from immune dysregulation induced by common foods, allergens, and chemicals, resulting in various physical and mental disorders. The medical community has remained largely skeptical of the existence of this "disease", given the plethora of symptoms attributed to environmental illness, the lack of reproducible laboratory abnormalities, and the use of unproven therapies to treat the condition. (From Segen, Dictionary of Modern Medicine, 1992)

Process that is gone through in order for a device to receive approval by a government regulatory agency. This includes any required preclinical or clinical testing, review, submission, and evaluation of the applications and test results, and post-marketing surveillance. It is not restricted to FDA.

An agency of the PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE concerned with the overall planning, promoting, and administering of programs pertaining to maintaining standards of quality of foods, drugs, therapeutic devices, etc.