CANCER - GENERAL |
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Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these cells to invade other tissues, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis. This unregulated growth is caused by damage to DNA, resulting in mutations to genes that encode for proteins controlling cell division. Many mutation events may be required to transform a normal cell into a malignant cell. These mutations can be caused by chemicals or physical agents called carcinogens, by close exposure to radioactive materials, or by certain viruses that can insert their DNA into the human genome. Mutations occur spontaneously, or are passed down generations as a result of germ line mutations.
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CANCER - LUNG |
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Lung cancer is a cancer of the lungs characterised by the presence of malignant tumours. Most commonly it is bronchogenic carcinoma (about 90%). Lung cancer is one of the most lethal of cancers worldwide, causing up to 3 million deaths annually. Only one in ten patients diagnosed with this disease will survive the next five years. Although lung cancer was previously an illness that affected predominately men, the lung cancer rate for women has been increasing in the last few decades, which has been attributed to the rising ratio of female to male smokers.
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CARBON MONOXIDE EMISSIONS |
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Carbon monoxide, chemical formula CO, is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, flammable and highly toxic gas. It is a major product of the incomplete combustion of carbon and carbon-containing compounds. It is less dense than air under ordinary conditions, however it accumulates on the ground, meaning that if poisoning causes loss of consciousness the amount of carbon monoxide inhaled increases and so fatality is radically increased. It is very slightly soluble in water and burns in air with a characteristic blue flame, producing carbon dioxide; it is a component of producer gas and water gas, which are widely used artificial fuels. It is a reducing agent, removing oxygen from many compounds and is used in the reduction of metals, e.g., iron , from their ores. At high pressures and elevated temperatures it reacts with hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst to form methanol. Carbon monoxide is formed by combustion of carbon in oxygen at high temperatures when there is an excess of carbon. It is also formed with a byproduct oxygen by decomposition of carbon dioxide at very high temperatures (above 2,000 °C). It is present in the exhaust of internal-combustion engines, often the exhaust of automobiles, and is generated in coal stoves, furnaces, and gas appliances that do not get enough air. This may be due to insufficient ventilation or other reasons.
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DATA PROCESSING |
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Data processing is any computer process that converts data into information. The processing is usually assumed to be automated and running on an a mainframe, minicomputer, microcomputer, or personal computer. Because data are most useful when well-presented and actually informative, data-processing systems are often referred to as information systems to emphasize their practicality. Nevertheless, both terms are roughly synonymous, performing similar conversions; data-processing systems typically manipulate raw data into information, and likewise information systems typically take raw data as input to produce information as output.
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DRUG ABUSE |
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Drug abuse has a wide range of definitions, all of them relating to the use, misuse or overuse of a psychoactive drug or performance enhancing drug for a non-therapeutic or non-medical effect. Some of the most commonly abused drugs include alcohol, amphetamines, barbiturates, caffeine, cannabis, cocaine, methaqualone, nicotine, opium alkaloids, and minor tranquilizers. Use of these drugs may lead to criminal penalty in addition to physical, social, and psychological harm.[1] Other definitions of drug abuse fall into four main categories: Public health definitions, Mass communication and vernacular usage, Medical definitions, and Political and criminal justice definitions.
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POLLUTION |
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Pollution is the release of environmental contaminants. Carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and nitrogen oxides produced by industry and motor vehicles are common air pollutants. Sunlight converts nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons to ozone or smog. Water pollutants may consist of a wide range of organic and inorganic chemicals such as heavy metals, petrochemicals, chloroform, and bacteria. Water pollution may also occur in the form of thermal pollution and dissolved oxygen depletion. Soil contamination is an important aspect of environmental pollution; this phenomenon occurs when chemicals are released by spill or underground storage tank leakage. Among the most significant soil contaminants are hydrocarbons, heavy metals, MTBE, herbicides, pesticides and chlorinated hydrocarbons. The U.S., Russia, China and Japan are the world leaders in air pollution emissions; however, Canada is the number two country on a per capita basis.
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SECURITY |
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Security is the condition of being protected against danger or loss. In the general sense, security is a concept similar to safety. The nuance between the two is an added emphasis on being protected from dangers that originate from outside. Individuals or actions that encroach upon the condition of protection are responsible for the breach of security.
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STROKE |
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A stroke, also known as cerebrovascular accident (CVA), is an acute neurologic injury whereby the blood supply to a part of the brain is interrupted, either by a clot in the artery or if the artery bursts. The result is that the part of the brain perfused by that artery no longer can receive oxygen carried by the blood and it dies (becomes necrotic) with cessation of function from that part of the brain. In addition to tissue death, hemorrhages also cause damage from physical impingement of blood on the brain tissue. Stroke is a medical emergency and can cause permanent neurologic damage or even death if not promptly diagnosed and treated. It is the third leading cause of death and adult disability in the US and industrialized European nations (Jauch, 2005).
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TRADE DRESS |
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Trade dress refers to characteristics of the visual appearance of a product or its packaging (or even the facade of a building such as a restaurant) that may be registered and protected from being used by competitors in the manner of a trademark. These characteristics can include the three-dimensional shape, graphic design, color, or even smell of a product and/or its packaging.
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TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT |
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Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attaching to a registered trademark without the authorisation of the trademark owner or any licensees. Infringement may occur when one party, the infringer, uses a trademark which is identical or confusingly similar to a registered trademark owned by another party, in relation to products or services which are identical or similar to the products or services which the registration covers. An owner of a registered trademark may commence legal proceedings against a party which infringes its registration.
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WARNINGS / LABELS |
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A warning label is a label attached to an item, or contained on the item's instruction manual, usually warning the user about risks associated with the use of the item. Some of them are intended to prevent lawsuits against the item's manufacturer, which sometimes results in labels which state the obvious.
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