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PubMed2006

Weapons of mass destruction: Overview of the CBRNEs (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives).

The events of September 11, 2001, made citizens of the world acutely aware of disasters consequent to present-day terrorism. This is a war being waged for reasons obscure to many of its potential victims. The term "NBCs" was coined in reference to terrorist weapons of mass destruction, i.e., nuclear, biological and chemical. The currently accepted acronym is "CBRNE" which includes Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive weapons. Non-nuclear explosives are the most common terrorist weapon now in use. Nuclear and radiological weapons are beyond the scope of this publication, which focuses on the "CBEs", i.e. chemical, biological and explosive weapons. Although neurologists will not be the first responders to CBEs, they must know about the neurological effects in order to provide diagnosis and treatment to survivors. Neurological complications of chemical, biological and explosive weapons which have or may be used by terrorists are reviewed by international experts in this publication. Management and treatment profiles are outlined.

Biological Warfare↗
PubMed2006

[Scientific progress and new biological weapons].

The biological weapons are different from conventional weapons, because living germs hold an extraordinary and predictable potential for multiplication, propagation and genetic variation during their dissemination in a susceptible population. Only natural pathogens (1rst generation weapons) have been used in the past (smallpox virus, plague, anthrax, toxins...). However, new threats are emerging, due to the rapid progress of scientific knowledge and its exponential worldwide diffusion. It is possible to synthesize microorganisms from in silico sequences widely diffused on Internet (poliovirus, influenza...), thus resulting in the accessibility of very dangerous virus confined today in high-security laboratories (virus Ebola...). It is possible also to "improve" pathogens by genetic manipulations, becoming more resistant or virulent (2nd generation weapons). Finally, one can now create de novo new pathogens by molecular breeding (DNA shuffling), potentially highly dangerous for naive populations (3rd generation weapons). Making biological weapons does not require too much technological resources and appears accessible to terrorists, due to low cost and easy use. Although the destructive consequences are difficult to predict, the psychological and social damages should be considerable, because of the highly emotional burden in the population associated to the transgression by man of a taboo of life.

Biological Warfare↗
PubMed1988

Pediatric gunshot wounds--powder and nonpowder weapons.

A retrospective chart review of 102 consecutive cases of gunshot wound injuries in children was conducted. Victims were identified by emergency department log review and computer search for inpatient discharge diagnoses. Results are compared with other studies. Nonpowder weapons are found to be involved in a preponderance of cases. In 66% of the cases in which the weapon was known, a nonpowder weapon was used. Length of hospital stay, operations performed, and outcome were compared for the handgun and nonpowder weapon groups. Nonpowder weapons were found to have inflicted major injury in as many patients as did handguns. Methodologic problems of studying gunshot wounds in children are discussed. It is suggested that injury prevention strategies address nonpowder weapons as well as handguns.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Weapon carrying in a sample of high school students in New Zealand.

OBJECTIVE: To examine self-report of carrying weapons and correlates in a sample of New Zealand high school students. METHOD: A sample of 652 Year 11 students from all Dunedin high schools completed a web-based version of the US Youth Risk Behaviour Survey. This included questions on weapon carrying, fighting, and feeling unsafe at school, as well as measures of family and peer/friend connectedness and perception of school climate. RESULTS: Reports of ever carrying a weapon and carrying one in the last 30 days were relatively common, being 27.5% and 19.3% respectively. Weapon carrying in the last 30 days was strongly associated with being male, fighting in the last year, missing school due to feeling unsafe, and a poorer perception of school climate. CONCLUSIONS: Many high school students report weapon carrying, which in turn was associated with other aspects of physical aggression. Further study of the lethality of weapons being carried and the context in which they might be used is clearly warranted.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Choice of frequency weighting for the evaluation of weapon noise.

This paper describes a laboratory study to choose an appropriate frequency weighting network for predicting the annoyance caused by the noise from small, medium, and large weapons. The results indicate that the annoyance of all three weapon types is the same if the blasts are heard at identical A-weighted SEL's. On the other hand, equal C-weighted SEL's result in large differences in annoyance between the weapon types. The implications of these results for outdoor noise criteria depend on the assumption concerning window condition. If one assumes that people hear the blasts predominantly through open windows, then A-weighted criteria should be appropriate for all the weapon types without any correction (penalty or bonus) for weapon type. On the other hand, if the blasts are heard predominantly through closed windows a penalty of about 5 dB should be applied to the outdoor levels of the large weapons to account for the poorer low-frequency attenuation of the windows.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Incidence of weapon injuries not related to interfactional combat in Afghanistan in 1996: prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the descriptive epidemiology of weapon injuries not directly attributable to combat during armed conflict. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Nangarhar region of Afghanistan, which experienced effective peace, intense fighting, and then peace over six months in 1996. SUBJECTS: 608 people admitted to Jalalabad hospital because of weapon injuries. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Estimated incidence of injuries from combat or otherwise (non-combat injury) before, during, and after the fall of Kabul. RESULTS: Incidence of non-combat injury was initially 65 per 100 000. During the intense military campaign for Kabul the incidence declined dramatically, and then differentially increased dependent on injury subcategory-that is, whether injuries were accidental or intentional and whether they were inflicted by firearms or fragmenting munitions. Non-combat injuries accounted for 51% of weapon injuries observed over the study period. Civilians were more likely to have non-combat injuries than combat injuries. CONCLUSIONS: Weapon injuries that are not attributable to combat are common. Social changes accompanying conflict and widespread availability of weapons may be predictive of use of weapons that persists independently of conflict.

Accidents↗
PubMed2006

Inmate-made weapons in prison facilities: assessing the injury risk.

More than 2400 correctional workers in the United States required medical attention in 1999 following assaults by inmates, often with unconventional "homemade" weapons. Little information is available about these weapons. The authors surveyed 101 state prisons for a 12 month period within 2002-03, and 70 responded. A total of 1326 weapons were either confiscated (1086) or used to injure inmates (203) or staff (37). Staff were most often attacked with clubs. The prison store was the most common source of materials used to make confiscated weapons. Issued items were the most common source of materials used to make weapons to injure staff. The injury rate for staff was 1.0/1000 workers per year. The annual cost of injuries for time lost and medical care for staff was estimated at $1,125,000 in these 70 prisons. Results identify materials that should be redesigned to prevent modifications to make weapons. Prison stores and issued items deserve special attention.

Employer Health Costs↗
PubMed1992

The selfobject function of weapons: a self psychology examination.

Weapons serve a variety of functions, both for individuals and for society. One such function is that of a selfobject for narcissistically vulnerable persons. This selfobject function allows the damaged self to maintain cohesion and to offset feelings of vulnerability and powerlessness. Because the weapon allows the personality to feel in control and to exert dominance over others, it may come to be viewed in an idealized manner. This is very similar to the idealizing selfobject transference described by Kohut. Weapons are more likely to become selfobjects for those personalities suffering from some degree of self pathology. The selfobject function of weapons, however, may have significance beyond individual psychopathology. Groups of individuals, societies, and even nations may utilize weapons to counter feelings of vulnerability and to diminish fragmentation of the group's collective self. Their destructive potential may be unleashed in response to an intense narcissistic injury and narcissistic rage. The importance of weapons can thus be better understood by examining them within the context of self psychology.

Aggression↗
PubMed1997

Weapon carrying among black adolescents: a social network perspective.

OBJECTIVES: This report describes the salience of social networks to the phenomena of adolescent weapon carrying. METHODS: A random-walk network sampling design was used to survey 113 adolescents about topics, including weapon carrying. RESULTS: In a probability sample of 12- to 15-year-olds, 20.9% reported ever carrying a weapon. Carriers were eight times as likely as noncarriers to report weapon carrying by an older associate, and 19 times as likely to report weapon carrying by a peer. A significant dose-response effect was present. CONCLUSIONS: This evidence supports the interpretation that modeling of weapon carrying by personal network members is important for its initiation and maintenance in adolescence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

[Biological and toxin terrorism weapons].

The use of biological agents and toxins in warfare and terrorism has a long history. Human, animal and plant pathogens and toxins can cause disease and can be used as a threat to humans, animals and staple crops. The same is true for biological agents. Although the use of biological agents and toxins in military conflicts has been a concern of military communities for many years, several recent events have increased the awareness of terrorist use of these weapons against civilian population. A Mass Casualty Biological (Toxin) Weapon (MCBTW) is any biological and toxin weapon capable of causing death or disease on a large scale, such that the military or civilian infrastructure of the state or organization being attacked is overwhelmed. A militarily significant (or terrorist) weapon is any weapon capable of affecting, directly or indirectly, that is physically or psychologically, the outcome of a military operation. Although many biological agents such as toxins and bioregulators can be used to cause diseases, there are only a few that can truly threaten civilian populations on a large scale. Bioregulators or modulators are biochemical compounds, such as peptides, that occur naturally in organisms. They are new class of weapons that can damage nervous system, alter moods, trigger psychological changes and kill. The potential military or terrorist use of bioregulators is similar to that of toxins. Some of these compounds are several hundred times more potent than traditional chemical warfare agents. Important features and military advantages of new bioregulators are novel sites of toxic action; rapid and specific effects; penetration of protective filters and equipment, and militarily effective physical incapacitation. This overview of biological agents and toxins is largely intended to help healthcare providers on all levels to make decisions in protecting general population from these agents.

Bioterrorism↗
PubMed2005

Diversity in the weapons of sexual selection: horn evolution in the beetle genus Onthophagus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae).

Both ornaments and weapons of sexual selection frequently exhibit prolific interspecific diversity of form. Yet, most studies of this diversity have focused on ornaments involved with female mate choice, rather than on the weapons of male competition. With few exceptions, the mechanisms of divergence in weapon morphology remain largely unexplored. Here, we characterize the evolutionary radiation of one type of weapon: beetle horns. We use partial sequences from four nuclear and three mitochondrial genes to develop a phylogenetic hypothesis for a worldwide sample of 48 species from the dung beetle genus Onthophagus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). We then use these data to test for multiple evolutionary origins of horns and to characterize the evolutionary radiation of horns. Although our limited sampling of one of the world's most species-rich genera almost certainly underestimates the number of evolutionary events, our phylogeny reveals prolific evolutionary lability of these exaggerated sexually selected weapons (more than 25 separate gains and losses of five different horn types). We discuss these results in the context of the natural history of these beetles and explore ways that sexual selection and ecology may have interacted to generate this extraordinary diversity of weapon morphology.

Adaptation, Biological↗
PubMed1987

Patients who bring weapons to the psychiatric emergency room.

The personal characteristics of patients who brought weapons to a university hospital-based psychiatric emergency room were examined. During 14 months following implementation of a routine weapon-screening procedure, 37 (4%) of 1012 psychiatric emergency room patients were found to have weapons. These patients did not differ significantly from a randomly selected control group of non-weapon-carrying patients on a variety of demographic and clinical variables often associated with violence potential, although the weapon-carrying patients were more likely to be male and have a history of substance abuse. The heterogeneity of personal characteristics of weapon-carrying patients is likely to make them difficult to distinguish clinically from other patients. The findings have important implications for maintaining safety in the psychiatric emergency room.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Weapon-carrying and youth violence.

Weapons, and firearms in particular, are widely available in the United States and are at the heart of youth violence. Many schools and communities throughout the nation have identified weapon-carrying among youth as a substantial health, educational, and social problem. In fact, one of the national health objectives for the year 2000 is to substantially reduce the incidence of weapon-carrying among adolescents. This paper reviews the prevalence of weapon-carrying by youth, reasons they carry weapons, ways that firearms are obtained, firearms and violence (especially youth violence), and the controlling of weapons in schools.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Metal pins fired from unmodified blank cartridge guns and very small calibre weapons--technical and wound ballistic aspects.

Blank cartridge guns are generally regarded as being harmless and are not considered to be firearms in most countries. A comparison of the legal situations in Germany and Austria concerning weapons is given. There have been several reports of serious injuries and even fatalities due to these weapons. Ballistic experiments show that even unmodified blank cartridge guns and very small calibre weapons can fire wire nails and can inflict potentially fatal injuries even at distances of 50 cm. Two serious injuries inflicted by metal pins fired from a blank cartridge gun and a very small calibre weapon are reported. These cases suggest that such weapons should also be considered handguns in the legal sense.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Weapon violence in adolescence: parent and school connectedness as protective factors.

PURPOSE: Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), we investigated weapon violence involving violence exposure and commission, as well as the protective roles of parent and school connectedness over time. METHODS: Adolescents from Add Health's core sample (N = 7033) were followed for one year over two waves of measurement. RESULTS: Consistent with hypotheses, violence exposure and violence commission uniquely predicted each other over time. Also, adolescents who were more connected with their parents were less likely to commit weapon violence over time, and adolescents who were more connected to school were less likely to be exposed to weapon violence over time. However, neither domain of connectedness buffered adolescents from the effects of violence exposure on committing violence. Further, parent and school connectedness seemed to have more power as preventive rather than as mitigating factors in relation to weapon violence. CONCLUSION: Further research using a broader array of violence measures may reveal additional processes through which protective factors can help sever the link between weapon violence exposure and commission.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

The weapon potential of a microbe.

The designation of a microbe as a potential biological weapon poses the vexing question of how such a decision is made given the many pathogenic microbes that cause disease. Analysis of the properties of microbes that are currently considered biological weapons against humans revealed no obvious relationship to virulence, except that all are pathogenic for humans. Notably, the weapon potential of a microbe rather than its pathogenic properties or virulence appeared to be the major consideration when categorizing certain agents as biological weapons. In an effort to standardize the assessment of the risk that is posed by microbes as biological warfare agents using the basic principles of microbial communicability (defined here as a parameter of transmission) and virulence, a simple formula is proposed for estimating the weapon potential of a microbe.

Bacteria↗
PubMed2005

Medical aspects of toxin weapons.

For centuries, poisons and other biological material have been considered as weapons. However, it has been merely 100 years that the use of biological toxins as weapons has been explored scientifically. Trichothecenes, ricin and botulinum neurotoxins are natural organic toxins with diverse potencies. Their molecular structure, mechanisms of action, detection, clinical diagnosis and therapy are reviewed and their potential as biological weapon is discussed. It is not only the median lethal dose of each toxin that decides on its usability as a biological weapon, but also the availability, scale of production, purity of the isolated material and route of distribution. In general, without a state infrastructure, the use of biological weapons is restricted to assassinations or strictly localised terrorist attacks.

Bioterrorism↗
PubMed2004

Chemical weapons: documented use and compounds on the horizon.

Man's inhumanity to man is expressed through a plethora of tools of modern warfare and terror. The use of chemical and biological weapons with the goals of assault, demoralisation and lethality has been documented in recent history, both on the battlefield and in urban terror against civilians. A general review of a few of the currently employed chemical weapons and biological toxins, along with a look at potential chemical weapons and tools of counter-terrorism, follows. While these weapons are fearsome elements, the dangers should be viewed in the context of the widespread availability and efficacy of conventional weapons.

Animals↗