Modified serum profiles of inflammatory and vasoconstrictive factors in patients with emotional stress-induced acute coronary syndrome during World Cup Soccer 2006.
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Anticipated versus actual alcohol consumption during 21st birthday celebrations.
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OBJECTIVE: The 21st birthday celebration is often associated with excessive alcohol consumption. The current study examined whether individuals consume more alcohol than anticipated during their celebration and whether situational factors contribute to prediction errors. METHOD: College students (N = 150; 50% female) who planned to drink during their 21st birthday celebration were contacted by telephone 1 week before their celebrations and asked about their birthday plans, including anticipated alcohol consumption. The week after the celebration, in-person semi-structured interviews and self-report measures were administered to obtain information about the 21st birthday celebration, including type and amount of alcohol consumed, pace of drinking, influential peer involvement, and engagement in 21st birthday traditions. RESULTS: The majority of 21st birthday celebrants consumed more alcohol than they anticipated, with men showing greater prediction error than women. Situational factors were positively associated with the discrepancy between anticipated and actual alcohol consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Drinking shots, drinking at a fast pace, celebrating with influential peers, and engaging in 21st birthday traditions were associated with drinking more alcohol than anticipated during 21st birthday celebrations. Findings suggest future interventions that target situational factors could reduce excessive 21st birthday drinking. (+info)
Health impact assessment of the 2012 London Olympic transport plans.
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Ecstasy overdoses at a New Year's Eve rave--Los Angeles, California, 2010.
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Ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine [MDMA]) is an illegal synthetic amphetamine used as a stimulant and hallucinogen. On January 4, 2010, the Los Angeles County (LAC) Department of Public Health (DPH) learned of six MDMA-related emergency department (ED) visits and one death, all linked to a New Year's Eve event attended by approximately 45,000 persons. LAC DPH conducted an investigation to search for additional MDMA-related ED visits, characterize the cases, and determine whether drug contamination was involved. This report summarizes the results of the investigation, which determined that 18 patients visited EDs in LAC for MDMA-related illness within 12 hours of the rave. All were aged 16-34 years, and nine were female. In addition to using MDMA, 10 of the 18 had used alcohol, and five had used other drugs. Three patients were admitted to the hospital, including one to intensive care. A tablet obtained from one of the patients contained MDMA and caffeine, without known toxic contaminants. The cluster of apparent ecstasy overdoses occurred in the context of likely increasing MDMA use in the county during 2005-2009, as indicated by increased identification of MDMA-containing forensic specimens and a large increase in LAC residents entering drug treatment programs for MDMA. Collaboration between public health, police, fire, and emergency medical service (EMS) officials on a comprehensive prevention strategy might reduce the number of overdoses at similar events. (+info)
Clostridium perfringens in London, July 2009: two weddings and an outbreak.
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Food poisoning outbreaks caused by Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin occur occasionally in Europe but have become less common in recent years. This paper presents the microbiological and epidemiological results of a large C. perfringens outbreak occurring simultaneously at two weddings that used the same caterer. The outbreak involved several London locations and required coordination across multiple agencies. A case-control study (n=134) was carried out to analyse possible associations between the food consumed and becoming ill. Food, environmental and stool samples were tested for common causative agents, including enterotoxigenic C. perfringens. The clinical presentation and the epidemiological findings were compatible with C. perfringens food poisoning and C. perfringens enterotoxin was detected in stool samples from two cases. The case-control study found statistically significant associations between becoming ill and eating either a specific chicken or lamb dish prepared by the same food handler of the implicated catering company. A rapid outbreak investigation with preliminary real-time results and the successful collaboration between the agencies and the caterer led to timely identification and rectification of the failures in the food handling practices. (+info)
Vision research 1961-2011: retrospects and prospects on the 50th anniversary of vision research.
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Alcohol control policies and practices at professional sports stadiums.
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OBJECTIVE: Alcohol-related problems such as assaults and drinking-driving at or near professional sporting events are commonly reported in the media. An important strategy to reduce such problems may be the use of alcohol control policies at sports stadiums. The objective of this study was to examine alcohol control policies and practices at professional sports stadiums in the U.S. METHODS: We conducted a telephone survey of food/beverage managers from 66 of the 100 U.S professional sports stadiums that house a professional hockey, basketball, baseball, and/or football team. The survey consisted of 18 items pertaining to policies regulating alcohol sales and consumption. RESULTS: Most managers indicated that their stadium had a range of alcohol control policies and practices. For example, all or nearly all reported their stadium allows no more than two alcoholic beverages per sale and their alcohol servers are required to check age identification of patrons who appear younger than age 30. In contrast, only about half prohibit servers younger than 21 years of age from selling alcohol both in seating areas and at concession booths, and approximately one-third designate sections of their stadiums as alcohol-free. CONCLUSIONS: Although we found that some alcohol control policies appear to be common across stadiums, others are uncommon, leaving room for potential areas of improvement in reducing or preventing alcohol-related problems at professional sporting events. The results provide an important starting point for identifying policies that can be evaluated to determine their effectiveness in reducing alcohol-related injuries and deaths at sporting events. (+info)