Sleepiness, driving, and motor vehicle crashes. Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical Association.

Objective: To assess the contribution of driver sleepiness to highway crashes and review recent recommendations to change federal hours-of-service regulations for commercial motor vehicle drivers.

Data Sources: Information was derived from a search of the MEDLINE, Transportation Research Information Service (TRIS), and Bibliographic Electronic Databases of Sleep (BEDS) databases from 1975 through 1997 and from manual review of the reference lists in relevant journal articles, government publications, conference proceedings, and textbooks.

Data Synthesis: Driver sleepiness is a causative factor in 1% to 3% of all US motor vehicle crashes.

Toxicokinetics of tumour promoters of mouse skin. II. Metabolism of the tumour promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate in mouse skin and biological activities of metabolites.

The metabolism of the phorbol diester [20-3H]12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate [( 3H]TPA) was studied in the back skin of NMRI mice after topical administration of a single tumour-promoting dose, dp. Up to 72 h after administration most of the radioactivity recovered from the skin surface, and from the epidermis and dermis of the treated skin area was unchanged TPA, as determined by silica gel HPLC of extracts obtained from these skin fractions. The major TPA metabolite was less polar than TPA and chromatographed in the range of long-chain TPA-20-acylates.

Origin and health risks of indoor radon.

Radon has always been a component of ground and air and it has been present in increased concentrations from the moment humans first sought shelter inside dwellings. Recent improvements in the energy efficiency of dwellings have led to increased concentrations of radon and to increased risks of lung cancer. To quantify the magnitude of this risk, well-designed epidemiological studies, including surveys of representative dwellings, are needed, and several are being implemented.

Radon in homes: determining risks and preventing exposures.

Knowledge about the effects of radon disintegration products and their levels in the nation's homes indicates that in a small proportion of homes these radioactive substances are increasing the inhabitants' risks of lung cancer. Testing for the problem and reducing its magnitude are the homeowner's responsibility. While practical methods for testing are known, they may not be easily available in all regions.

Athletes' Use and Abuse of Drugs.

In brief: This article presents a review of the literature on drug misuse by athletes and information from 16 sports and medical organizations whose representatives met in 1985 to discuss the problem. Studies of drug use by athletes are relatively few. Existing data do not show a difference in drug use between athletes and nonathletes, but anabolic steroids probably are used more widely among athletes.

A review of the medical standards for civilian airmen. Synopsis of a two-year study.

This article summarizes the report of a comprehensive review by the American Medical Association (AMA) of the medical standards for civilian airmen. The present standards were promulgated by the Federal Aviation Administration in 1959; the alcoholism and cardiovascular standards were revised in 1982. The AMA report recommends new or revised standards for cardiovascular, mental and behavioral, visual, endocrine, respiratory, hematological, hearing and equilibrium, musculoskeletal, and nervous system disorders.

A model for epidemiologic research.

Health sciences students should understand the fundamentals of epidemiologic methods that can lead to major advances in the treatment of disease. To this end, the research process is defined and a three-dimensional model that considers some basic elements of epidemiologic research--time, place, and strategy--is described. The strategies available to the investigator (descriptive, analytic, and experimental) and the possible time frames (retrospective, concurrent, and prospective) are illustrated in terms of field investigations that involve problems of infection, nutrition, dysplasia, metabolism, and cancer.

Injuries, crashes, and construction on a superhighway.

Crash and injury-crash rates increased significantly on segments of an Illinois superhighway undergoing major construction, compared to crash rates of preceding years and to crash rates on segments not undergoing construction. Maintaining separation of traffic on segments under construction resulted in smaller increase in injury-crash rates than crossover diversion of traffic from lanes under construction into previously one-way roads.

Changes in fatal and nonfatal crash rates on a toll highway.

Rates of crashes, crashes with injuries, and crashes with fatalities were lower during the 6 months of March 1-August 31, 1974, following a 5-15 mph (8-24 kph) decrease in speed limits on the Illinois Tollway, than the corresponding rates for any of the 6 preceding years, 1968-1973. During the same months of 1968-1974, rates of crashes and of crashes with injuries showed peaks without consistent trends, but rates and percentages of fatal crashes decreased. The data agree with the hypothesis that reducing speed limits on toll roads may lead to substantial reductions in rate of crashes and injuries.

Chiang Mai and Illinois: a cooperative international project, 1962-1970.

Participants in the Chiang Mai-Illinois Project had unique opportunities to work toward the goals of medical education in an attractive but alien environment. Concepts concerning public health and preventive medicine did not have high priority as the new medical school at Chiang Mai began, but a growing department made some progress in the teaching of these concepts with discussions, library and record room projects, and limited village investigations. Studies of hospital and clinic patients and of specific diseases disclosed useful data about northern Thai people.