Northampton Community College

About: Northampton Community College is a education organization based out in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 3410 authors who have published 4582 publications receiving 130398 citations. The organization is also known as: Northampton County Area Community College.

Cretaceous-Tertiary palaeo-bathymetry in the northern North Sea; integration of palaeo-water depth estimates obtained by structural restoration and micropalaeontological analysis

Abstract: Temporal and spatial variations in palaeo-water depth are crucial parameters in basin analysis since changes in palaeo-bathymetry detail the amount of sediment underfill during basin evolution. By carefully integrating seismic-stratigraphic observations with palaeo-water depth estimates from structural restoration and micropalaeontological data, changes in accommodation space throughout the Cretaceous-Tertiary post-rift interval are documented on a regional scale in the northern North Sea. Since it is not possible to determine the palaeo-water depth exactly, we have focussed on determining most likely water depth figures, and identifying the principal shallowing and deepening trends. The inferred trends from the investigated wells are generally in good agreement with each other on a regional scale, especially when the tectonic position within the basin is taken into account. The inferred general trends are: (1)general shallowing superimposed on several transgressive / regressive events during the Early Cretaceous; (2) deepening from the early Cenomanian to mid-Campanian; (3)shallowing from the mid-Campanian to latest Maastrichtian; (4) deepening in the Early to Late Paleocene; (5) shallowing from the Late Eocene to Late Miocene; (6) deepening from the Late Miocene to Early Pliocene; (7) shallowing during Pliocene time. The early Cenomanian to latest Maastrichtian and the late Eocene to Pliocene events correspond with changes in eustatic sea level, but the deepening / shallowing trends were probably amplified by tectono-thermal effects. The events in the Early Cretaceous, Early to Late Paleocene, and Late Miocene to Early Pliocene cannot be explained by the eustatic sea-level curve, and therefore need to be explained by purely tectono-thermal events.

The costs and impacts of testing for hepatitis C virus antibody in public STD clinics.

Abstract: Approximately 4.1 million people in the United States (1.6% of the total population) have been infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), which is acquired through contact with an infected person's blood.1 Injection drug use behaviors, such as sharing needles or syringes or other injection paraphernalia (e.g., cotton, cookers, water), are the most important behavioral risk factors for HCV infection.1,2 As many as 85% of those infected with HCV develop chronic infection, which may lead to chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, liver cancer, and death.2 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends routine HCV antibody (anti-HCV) testing for high-prevalence groups, particularly people who have ever injected drugs (i.e., injection drug users [IDUs]) or received blood transfusions from infected donors. People who test positive for anti-HCV need follow-up testing for the presence of virus, and to distinguish current from past HCV infection, and are usually referred for follow-up testing as part of medical evaluation. HCV counseling, testing, and referral (CTR) may delay progression of chronic HCV infection and complications because some HCV-infected people change behaviors that speed progression (e.g., alcohol consumption) or are referred for medical evaluation, care, and possible antiviral treatment.3 Public sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics represent a promising setting for HCV CTR, but few STD clinics currently offer it. (Personal communication, Chris Taylor, NASTAD, August 2006.) Most STD clinics offering HCV CTR services (including the anti-HCV test) target IDUs, but clients may not report injecting drugs, perhaps because of perceived stigma.4–6 For example, in a San Diego STD clinic, Gunn et al.7 found that 40% of HCV-positive clients who initially denied injecting drugs admitted this behavior after diagnosis. For this reason, STD clinics may be reluctant to limit testing to self-reported IDUs (hereafter “IDUs”), but most clinics cannot afford to implement universal testing, and it may be inefficient to do so, even if funds were available. STD clinics need guidance to help them decide how to target HCV CTR services. This article provides estimates of the STD clinic cost per additional positive anti-HCV identified among IDUs and other subgroups potentially at risk for HCV infection. Clinics can use these estimates to inform decisions about whether to offer anti-HCV testing and to whom.

Suicide by gunshot in the United Kingdom: a review of the literature.

Abstract: This paper reviews the research literature on gunshot suicide in the United Kingdom and the international literature with reference to strategies aimed at preventing gunshot suicides. Trends in gun ownership and changes in firearm legislation in the UK over the past 20 years are described. Most UK gunshot suicides are male, middle-aged and living with a partner and involve the use of shotguns. They are less likely to have current or past mental health problems, or a previous act of self-harm, than people who commit suicide by other methods, and their suicide is more likely to have been precipitated by a relationship dispute. Where alcohol is consumed the amount tends to be large. The international literature provides evidence of a strong association between rates of gun ownership and gunshot suicide, and some evidence of a reduction in firearm suicide rates following the introduction of restrictive firearm legislation. Over the past 20 years the number of gunshot suicides in the UK has declined by over 50% to a little over a hundred deaths per annum. At the same time, firearm legislation has become progressively more restrictive and rates of gun ownership have declined. Measures, which might further reduce the prevalence of gunshot suicides in the UK, are discussed.

Alertness of night nurses: two shift systems compared.

Abstract: The alertness of hospital trainee nurses during their night shift work was assessed by recording performance at night on an arousal-sensitive unprepared simple reaction time task. One group carried out a number of separate weeks on night shift throughout their three-year course. Here performance fell from first to seventh day of the week on night shift, implying progressive sleep deprivation. Another group covered their night work by a single three-month ‘permanent’ night shift of four (or three) nights on and three (or four) days off each week. Here initial performance level fell by the 45th night but had returned to normal by the last (90th) night. In both systems individuals varied considerably in their ability to maintain performance during sustained night work. These results strengthen the case for permanent night shifts, with careful selection of personnel, as a means of organizing night nursing in hospitals.