Human Fatalities from Cyanobacteria: Chemical and Biological Evidence for Cyanotoxins

An outbreak of acute liver failure occurred at a dialysis center in Caruaru, Brazil (8 degrees 17 'S, 35 degrees 58 'W), 134 km from Recife, the state capital of Pernambuco. At the clinic, 116 (89%) of 131 patients experienced visual disturbances, nausea, and vomiting after routine hemodialysis treatment on 13-20 February 1996. Subsequently, 100 patients developed acute liver failure, and of these 76 died. As of December 1996, 52 of the deaths could be attributed to a common syndrome now called Caruaru syndrome. Examination of phytoplankton from the dialysis clinic's water source, analyses of the clinic's water treatment system, plus serum and liver tissue of clinic patients led to the identification of two groups of cyanobacterial toxins, the hepatotoxic cyclic peptide microcystins and the hepatotoxic alkaloid cylindrospermopsin. Comparison of victims' symptoms and pathology using animal studies of these two cyanotoxins leads us to conclude that the major contributing factor to death of the dialyses patients was intravenous exposure to microcystins, specifically microcystin-YR, -LR, and -AR. From liver concentrations and exposure volumes, it was estimated that 19.5 mug/L microcystin was in the water used for dialysis treatments. This is 19.5 times the level set as a guideline for safe drinking water supplies by the World. Health Organization.

A data-driven analytics approach in the study of pneumonia’s fatalities

As huge amounts of data become available in organizations and society, specific data analytics skills and techniques are needed to explore this data and extract from it useful patterns, tendencies, models or other useful knowledge, which could be used to support the decision-making process, to define new strategies or to understand what is happening in a specific field. Only with a deep understanding of a phenomenon it is possible to fight it. In this paper, a data-driven analytics approach is used for the analysis of the increasing incidence of fatalities by pneumonia in the Portuguese population, characterizing the disease and its incidence in terms of fatalities, knowledge that can be used to define appropriate strategies that can aim to reduce this phenomenon, which has increased more than 65% in a decade.

Diagnostic value of soluble CD14 subtype (sCD14-ST) presepsin for the postmortem diagnosis of sepsis-related fatalities.

The first aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic performance of presepsin (sCD14-ST) in postmortem serum from femoral blood compared to procalcitonin (PCT) to detect sepsis-related fatalities. The second aim was to compare sCD14-ST levels found in postmortem serum to the values in pericardial fluid to investigate the usefulness of the latter as an alternative biological fluid. Two study groups were formed, a sepsis-related fatalities group and a control group. Radiology (unenhanced CT scans and postmortem angiographies), autopsies, histology, neuropathology, and toxicology as well as other postmortem biochemistry investigations were performed in all cases. Microbiological investigations on right cardiac blood were carried out exclusively in septic cases. The results of this study indicated that postmortem serum PCT and sCD14-ST levels, individually considered, allowed septic cases to be identified. Even though increases in both PCT and sCD14-ST concentrations were observed in the control cases, coherent PCT and sCD14-ST results in cases with suspected sepsis allowed the diagnosis to be confirmed. Conversely, no relevant correlation was identified between postmortem serum and pericardial fluid sCD14-ST levels in either the septic or control groups.

Motor Vehicle Accident Fatalities for the Week Ending, February 24, 2006

Record of the Fatalities for Motor Vehicle Accidents in Iowa per week.

Motor Vehicle Accident Fatalities for the Week Ending, February 3, 2006

Record of the Fatalities for Motor Vehicle Accidents in Iowa per week.

Motor Vehicle Accident Fatalities for the Week Ending, March 3, 2006

Record of the Fatalities for Motor Vehicle Accidents in Iowa per week.

Motor Vehicle Accident Fatalities for the Week Ending, March 17, 2006

Record of the Fatalities for Motor Vehicle Accidents in Iowa per week.

Motor Vehicle Accident Fatalities for the Week Ending, March 31, 2006

Record of the Fatalities for Motor Vehicle Accidents in Iowa per week.

Motor Vehicle Accident Fatalities for the Week Ending, February 10, 2006

Record of the Fatalities for Motor Vehicle Accidents in Iowa per week.

Motor Vehicle Accident Fatalities for the Week Ending, February 17, 2006

Record of the Fatalities for Motor Vehicle Accidents in Iowa per week.

Motor Vehicle Accident Fatalities for the Week Ending, January 20, 2006

Record of the Fatalities for Motor Vehicle Accidents in Iowa per week.

Motor Vehicle Accident Fatalities for the Week Ending, January 13, 2006

Record of the Fatalities for Motor Vehicle Accidents in Iowa per week.

Motor Vehicle Accident Fatalities for the Week Ending, April 7, 2006

Record of the Fatalities for Motor Vehicle Accidents in Iowa per week.

Motor Vehicle Accident Fatalities for the Week Ending, April 14, 2006

Record of the Fatalities for Motor Vehicle Accidents in Iowa per week.

Motor Vehicle Accident Fatalities for the Week Ending, April 21, 2006

Record of the Fatalities for Motor Vehicle Accidents in Iowa per week.