The Philippine Journal of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgerypreviously co published two guest editorials, on “Reducing the Risks of Nuclear War— the Role of Health Professionals”¹and “Time to Treat the Climate and Nature Crisis as One Indivisible Global Health Emergency”²that addressed dual potentially catastrophic concerns that both place us “on the brink.”³

By co-publishing these guest editorials, the Philippine Journal of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery joined the call for “health professional associations to inform their members worldwide about the threat to human survival and to join with the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) to support efforts to reduce the near-term risks of nuclear war.”¹As enumerated in the editorial,¹we urged three immediate steps that should be taken by nuclear-armed states and their allies: 1) adopt a no first use policy;⁴2) take their nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert; and 3) urge all states involved in current conflicts to pledge publicly and unequivocally that they will not use nuclear weapons in these conflicts.It is alarming that noprogress has been made on these measures.

Thus, on our 44th Anniversary, we join over 150 scholarly scientific journals worldwide in co-publishing another Guest Editorial on “Ending Nuclear Weapons, Before They End Us.”⁵We call on the World Health Assembly (WHA) to vote this May on re establishing a mandate for the World Health Organization (WHO) to address the consequences of nuclear weapons and war,6and urge health professionals and their associations (including otolaryngologists – head and neck surgeons, all surgeons and physicians, and the Philippine Society of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Philippine College of Surgeons, Philippine College of Physicians,
Philippine Academy of Family Physicians, Philippine Pediatric Society, Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecologic Society, Philippine Society of Anesthesiology, Philippine College of Radiology, Philippine Society of Pathologists, other specialty and subspecialty societies, and the Philippine Medical Association) to urge the Philippine Government to support such a mandate and support the new United Nations (UN) comprehensive study on the effects of nuclear war.⁷

war ; armed conflicts ; Nuclear Energy ; Atomic Energy ; Radiation ; Nuclear Weapons

war ; Armed Conflicts ; Nuclear Energy ; Atomic Energy ; Radiation ; Nuclear Weapons

No abstract available.
Hand ; Weapons

On December 31, 2018, an incident occurred where a doctor was attacked and killed by a patient carrying a lethal weapon in the outpatients' clinic of the psychiatric department of a tertiary general hospital. The suspect was diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder (manic depressive disorder) and has been hospitalized and cared for in the psychiatric ward of this hospital. This incident illustrates the necessity of more active cures and therapeutic intervention for mental patients with intellectual developmental disorders who require treatment considering the fact that a radical outcome has been caused by such a patient. However, on the other hand, there is also a need for an approach and analysis from the perspective of crime prevention for all medical departments. The reason for this is that even a tertiary general hospital equipped with the largest human resources, medical devices, facilities, and so forth, is susceptible to violence. As for illegal actions perpetrated against health and medical service personnel in medical institutions, such as verbal abuse, assault, injury, etc. there have neither been understanding shown for the current extent of damage in detail, nor discussions of active institutional improvement related to the seriousness of the act. It can be said that violence in the field of medical treatment is a realm requiring serious discussion and appropriate remedial actions. This is because when such incidents take place, if a patient who is supposed to get treatment from the damaged health care provider is in an urgent situation or on the waiting list of serious cases, he or she could suffer serious damage caused by deprivation of treatment opportunity, or secondary damage might be caused to the patient and/or a guardian who can hardly have an opportunity to take action. Accordingly, in this review, we would like to help create the necessary conditions for both health and medical service personnel and patients/guardians, respectively, to provide and receive medical treatment in a more secure environment. Therefore, objective assessment of the institution and issues relating to this aforementioned incident and general cases of violence occurring in medical institutions, and by suggesting legal and institutional improvements and solutions.
Crime ; Hand ; Health Personnel ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Mentally Ill Persons ; Mood Disorders ; Violence ; Waiting Lists ; Weapons

Public health emergencies caused by infectious diseases are the greatest threat to mankind in the 21st century, and pose an even more significant threat than nuclear weapons. The first step in preparing for and responding to such public health emergencies is to conduct thorough surveillance and rapid epidemiological investigations. Especially in the case of public health emergencies, most information is not smoothly transmitted. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the emergency and to collect data quickly and efficiently by defining the minimum necessary data and information. In addition, these data should be analyzed and interpreted promptly, and countermeasures and strategies should be developed and utilized in preparedness and response activities. Epidemiological investigations should also be carried out promptly in accordance with the emergency situation, and in particular, if the infection source is not known, maximal measures should be taken to prevent epidemiologists from becoming infected. In order to carry out surveillance and epidemiological investigations effectively in the future in the event of a public health emergency, continuous efforts should be made to nurture professional manpower, international cooperation, and use of the latest information technology.
Communicable Diseases* ; Disease Outbreaks ; Emergencies* ; Epidemiology ; International Cooperation ; Nuclear Weapons ; Public Health*

If we analogize any external physical force applied to victims of crimes involving violence, it would be possible to not only presume the mutual action between victims and suspects but also deduce more facts related to the cases. Therefore, in this study, defining the phenomenon of amino acid compounds in sweat spreading into clothes as impact marks, experiments using ninhydrin, 1,8-dizafluoren-9-one (DFO), 1,2-indanedione-zinc (1,2-IND-Zn) were conducted to determine developmental variations through change over time, which was not performed in previous studies. A 5-week period was set up including first damage as a variation factor, and materials in each action were developed using certain reagents. The level of specimen development depending on the change over time was identified. Thus, no changes were observed at each initial level of development.
Amino Acids* ; Clothing* ; Crime ; Indicators and Reagents* ; Ninhydrin ; Sweat ; Violence ; Weapons*

A human skull was discovered at the 16th-century drainage channel of market district ruins, one of the busiest streets in the capital of Joseon kingdom. By anthropological examination, we noticed the cut mark at the right occipital part of the cranium. Judging from the wound property, it might have been caused by a strong strike using a sharp-edged weapon. As no periosteal reaction or healing signs were observed at the cut mark, he might have died shortly after the skull wound was made. We speculated that this might have been of a civilian or soldier victim who died in a battle or the decapitated head of prisoner. This is the first report about the discovery of the skull damaged by sharp-edged weapon at the archaeological sites in the capital city of Joseon Kingdom.
Drainage ; Head ; Humans ; Korea* ; Military Personnel ; Prisoners ; Prisons ; Seoul* ; Skull* ; Strikes, Employee ; Weapons* ; Wounds and Injuries

The level of terrorist threats using chemical, biological, and radiological agents has been continuously increasing, and it is an undeniable truth that these agents are actually in use today. The fact that most chemical, biological, and radiological agents cause skin-related symptoms, and that the skin symptoms are observed at a relatively early stage of the condition, leads to the conclusion that dermatologists could be the first point of contact for potential victims of these agents. It is highly important that first responders are able to recognize symptoms caused by these agents early and react quickly. Therefore, dermatologists do have a responsibility to take on a role in dealing with chemical, biological, and radiological attacks, and pre-equip themselves with professional knowledge in this field. Among the various types of chemical agents, typical examples of agents causing skin-related symptoms are blistering agents, which lead to bullae and necrosis on the skin. Biological agents are classified from Category A to C according to their respective risk factors. The most dangerous Category A agents include anthrax, smallpox, plague, tularemia, and viral hemorrhagic fever, all of which are known to show characteristic skin-related symptoms. Upon exposure to a certain level of radiation, radiological agents can also lead to erythema on the skin. In this article, we will discuss various characteristics and up-to-date treatment methods of potential chemical, biological, and radiological agents to help dermatologists advance their knowledge in this field.
Anthrax ; Biological Factors ; Blister ; Erythema ; Hemorrhagic Fevers, Viral ; Necrosis ; Plague ; Risk Factors ; Skin ; Smallpox ; Terrorism ; Tularemia ; Weapons

The level of terrorist threats using chemical, biological, and radiological agents has been continuously increasing, and it is an undeniable truth that these agents are actually in use today. The fact that most chemical, biological, and radiological agents cause skin-related symptoms, and that the skin symptoms are observed at a relatively early stage of the condition, leads to the conclusion that dermatologists could be the first point of contact for potential victims of these agents. It is highly important that first responders are able to recognize symptoms caused by these agents early and react quickly. Therefore, dermatologists do have a responsibility to take on a role in dealing with chemical, biological, and radiological attacks, and pre-equip themselves with professional knowledge in this field. Among the various types of chemical agents, typical examples of agents causing skin-related symptoms are blistering agents, which lead to bullae and necrosis on the skin. Biological agents are classified from Category A to C according to their respective risk factors. The most dangerous Category A agents include anthrax, smallpox, plague, tularemia, and viral hemorrhagic fever, all of which are known to show characteristic skin-related symptoms. Upon exposure to a certain level of radiation, radiological agents can also lead to erythema on the skin. In this article, we will discuss various characteristics and up-to-date treatment methods of potential chemical, biological, and radiological agents to help dermatologists advance their knowledge in this field.
Anthrax ; Biological Factors ; Blister ; Erythema ; Hemorrhagic Fevers, Viral ; Necrosis ; Plague ; Risk Factors ; Skin ; Smallpox ; Terrorism ; Tularemia ; Weapons