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South African Medical Journal =... Sep 2019Zebra snake (Naja nigricincta nigricincta) bite is a significant health problem in Namibia. Although fatalities are thought to be rare, the severe cytotoxic effects and...
Zebra snake (Naja nigricincta nigricincta) bite is a significant health problem in Namibia. Although fatalities are thought to be rare, the severe cytotoxic effects and debilitating consequences of neglected bites are well documented. The focus of our treatment has always been the urgent treatment of necrosis. Although there have been a few reports of infant fatalities, acute renal failure and mild coagulation problems, systemic effects after envenomation were not well documented. Three case reports of patients with rhabdomyolysis, intravascular haemolysis and coagulopathy following N. n. nigricincta bites are presented.
Topics: Animals; Blood Coagulation Disorders; Child; Hemolysis; Humans; Infant; Male; Naja; Rhabdomyolysis; Snake Bites; Young Adult
PubMed: 31635568
DOI: 10.7196/SAMJ.2019.v109i10.14103 -
Forensic Science International May 2021Spitting is an occupational hazard of police work with increased risk due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to calculate the prevalence of spitting on police officers...
OBJECTIVES
Spitting is an occupational hazard of police work with increased risk due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to calculate the prevalence of spitting on police officers in use of force incidents, as well as the demographic and situational factors associated with spitting.
METHODS
Data on spitting were compiled from more than 10,000 use of force incidents occurring at 81 agencies in eight different states in the US.
RESULTS
Spitting occurred in 3.6% of cases. Female and younger subjects and those using drugs and/or alcohol are more likely to spit on officers. Spitting is more likely to occur in incidents of longer duration, when officers use less force relative to subject resistance, when subjects are assaultive or engage in self-harm, and when subjects are hobbled.
CONCLUSIONS
Spitting on officers is common and may now constitute a significant work hazard. Implications for police practice are discussed.
Topics: Adult; COVID-19; Female; Humans; Law Enforcement; Male; Police; Prevalence; Retrospective Studies; Saliva; United States
PubMed: 33743512
DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2021.110747 -
Anthropology & Medicine Dec 2014
PubMed: 24963868
DOI: 10.1080/13648470.2014.929090 -
The Journal of Experimental Biology Apr 2021Venom spitting is a defence mechanism based on airborne venom delivery used by a number of different African and Asian elapid snake species ('spitting cobras'; spp. and...
Venom spitting is a defence mechanism based on airborne venom delivery used by a number of different African and Asian elapid snake species ('spitting cobras'; spp. and spp.). Adaptations underpinning venom spitting have been studied extensively at both behavioural and morphological level in cobras, but the role of the physical properties of venom itself in its effective projection remains largely unstudied. We hereby provide the first comparative study of the physical properties of venom in spitting and non-spitting cobras. We measured the viscosity, protein concentration and pH of the venom of 13 cobra species of the genus from Africa and Asia, alongside the spitting elapid and the non-spitting viper By using published microCT scans, we calculated the pressure required to eject venom through the fangs of a spitting and a non-spitting cobra. Despite the differences in the modes of venom delivery, we found no significant differences between spitters and non-spitters in the rheological and physical properties of the studied venoms. Furthermore, all analysed venoms showed a Newtonian flow behaviour, in contrast to previous reports. Although our results imply that the evolution of venom spitting did not significantly affect venom viscosity, our models of fang pressure suggests that the pressure requirements to eject venom are lower in spitting cobras than in non-spitting cobras.
Topics: Africa; Animals; Elapid Venoms; Elapidae; Tooth
PubMed: 33827968
DOI: 10.1242/jeb.229229 -
Comprehensive Psychiatry Oct 2015Recent studies suggest that chewing and spitting out food may be associated with severe eating-related pathology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the...
OBJECTIVE
Recent studies suggest that chewing and spitting out food may be associated with severe eating-related pathology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between chewing and spitting, and other symptoms of eating disorders. We hypothesized that patients who chew and spit as a compensatory behavior have more severe eating-related pathology than patients who have never engaged in chewing and spitting behavior.
METHOD
We divided 359 patients with eating disorders into two groups according to whether they engaged in chewing and spitting as a compensatory behavior to lose weight or not. After comparing eating-related pathology between the two groups, we examined factors associated with pathologic eating behaviors using logistic regression analysis.
RESULTS
Among our 359 participants, 24.5% reported having engaged in chewing and spitting as a compensatory behavior. The chewing and spitting (CHSP+) group showed more severe eating disorder symptoms and suicidal behaviors. This group also had significantly higher scores on subscales that measured drive for thinness, bulimia, and impulse regulation on the EDI-2, Food Craving Questionnaire, Body Shape Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive Inventory.
DISCUSSION
Chewing and spitting is a common compensatory behavior among patients with eating disorders and is associated with more-pathologic eating behaviors and higher scores on psychometric tests.
Topics: Adult; Body Weight; Drive; Feeding Behavior; Feeding and Eating Disorders; Female; Humans; Logistic Models; Male; Mastication; Middle Aged; Motivation; Personality Inventory; Psychometrics; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 26343479
DOI: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2015.07.010 -
Epileptic Disorders : International... Apr 2018We report a patient presenting drug-resistant, non-dominant temporal lobe epilepsy with ictal spitting and prosopometamorphopsia, both extremely rare semiologies....
We report a patient presenting drug-resistant, non-dominant temporal lobe epilepsy with ictal spitting and prosopometamorphopsia, both extremely rare semiologies. Second-phase pre-surgical monitoring was performed using SEEG due to lesion-negative imaging and the rare semiology. The seizure onset zone was delimited to the right anterior hippocampus and the temporobasal cortex, with the propagation zone within the entorhinal cortex. Interestingly, direct electrical stimulation to the entorhinal cortex, which was reproduced in a number of trials, evoked spitting without leading to seizures or post-discharges. After the resection of the epileptogenic zone, the patient remained seizure-free without AEDs for a follow-up period of five years (Engel Class 1a). The neuropathology revealed a focal cortical dysplasia type FCD-Ia. Spectral analysis of intracranial ictal EEG (iEEG) data suggested a possible role of the basal temporal and entorhinal cortex as a necessary node in ictal spitting. [Published with video sequences on www.epilepticdisorders.com].
Topics: Adult; Drug Resistant Epilepsy; Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Neurosurgical Procedures; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 29620007
DOI: 10.1684/epd.2018.0963 -
Journal of Comparative Physiology. A,... Oct 2005Spitting cobras defend themselves by spitting their venom in the face of a harasser. Although it is common belief that spitting cobras direct their venom at the eyes of...
Spitting cobras defend themselves by spitting their venom in the face of a harasser. Although it is common belief that spitting cobras direct their venom at the eyes of an aggressor, this has never been investigated. Here, we show that the spitting act of cobras (Naja nigricollis and N. pallida) can readily be triggered by a moving human face or by a moving real size photo of a human face. In contrast, a stationary human face (real or photo) or a moving or stationary human hand does not trigger the spitting act. If threatened, spitting cobras aim their venom, ejected either in two distinct jets (N. pallida) or in a fine spray (N. nigricollis), either between the eyes or at one eye. In both cobra species investigated, the width and height of the area hit by the venom was independent of eye distance (test range 5.5 cm and 11 cm). During the spitting act the cobras performed fast undulating head movements that lead to a larger distribution of their venom. This behavior increases the probability that at least one eye of the aggressor is hit.
Topics: Animals; Behavior, Animal; Cues; Elapid Venoms; Elapidae; Face; Female; Humans; Male; Photic Stimulation; Psychomotor Performance; Reaction Time; Videotape Recording
PubMed: 16007458
DOI: 10.1007/s00359-005-0010-8 -
Journal of Comparative Physiology. A,... Aug 2009If threatened by a human, spitting cobras defend themselves by ejecting their venom toward the face of the antagonist. Circulating head movements of the cobra ensure...
If threatened by a human, spitting cobras defend themselves by ejecting their venom toward the face of the antagonist. Circulating head movements of the cobra ensure that the venom is distributed over the face. To assure an optimal distribution of the venom, the amplitudes of head movements should decrease with increasing target distance. To find out whether cobras (Naja pallida and N. nigricollis) adjust their spitting behavior according to target distance we induced spitting from different distances and analyzed their spitting patterns. Our results show that the spray pattern of spitting cobras is not fixed. Instead the snake matches its venom distribution to the size of the target independent of target distance.
Topics: Animals; Behavior, Animal; Distance Perception; Elapid Venoms; Elapidae; Reaction Time; Regression Analysis
PubMed: 19462171
DOI: 10.1007/s00359-009-0451-6 -
AIDS Policy & Law May 1997
Topics: Dangerous Behavior; Disease Transmission, Infectious; HIV Seropositivity; Humans; Male; Ohio; Saliva
PubMed: 11364345
DOI: No ID Found -
Journal of the History of Medicine and... Jul 2013Tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in early twentieth-century America. Reducing the sputum vector of contagion by changing public behavior initially focused on...
Tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in early twentieth-century America. Reducing the sputum vector of contagion by changing public behavior initially focused on anti-spitting campaigns. According to most Progressive Era health experts, "promiscuous" spitting was a prime culprit in spreading the disease. Beginning in 1896 in New York, towns and cities throughout America passed anti-spitting legislation, sometimes creating tensions between individual liberty and the need to protect public health, and often highlighting class issues. Progressives viewed anti-spitting legislation in a favorable light because they advocated improving the health and well-being of Americans using state-of-the-art medical knowledge and because they often advocated the use of law and the coercive power of the state to impose order on society.
Topics: Germ Theory of Disease; Health Behavior; History, 19th Century; History, 20th Century; Humans; Law Enforcement; Public Health; Sanitation; Sputum; Tuberculosis; United States
PubMed: 22298563
DOI: 10.1093/jhmas/jrr073