In this paper, the ethical and legal issues raised by the deactivation of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) in patients with terminal cancer is considered. It is argued that the ICD cannot be well described either as a treatment or as a non-treatment option, and thus raises complex questions regarding how rules governing deactivation should be framed. A new category called "integra...

BACKGROUND Few studies have examined the impact of community-based smoke alarm (SA) distribution programmes on the occurrence of house fire-related deaths and injuries (HF-D/I). OBJECTIVE To determine whether the rate of HF-D/I differed for programme houses that had a SA installed through a community-based programme called Operation Installation, versus non-programme houses in the same census...

A house is not primarily a solid building; it is a system of activities. It has to accommodate a broad range of diurnal and nocturnal activities throughout the entire year, and this can best be achieved by means of a flexible spatial configuration. Any changes in the house users and their needs affect the space requirements, but we cannot predict and control these processes. This (case s...

looking from an historical perspective, it can be seen that many civilizations have lived in the country and consequently produced many different cultures and architectural products. one of the oldest cities which contain such historical examples which have lived until present is tabriz. its traditional houses are the most important places to represent the life style of the past. lack of recogn...

The aim of this paper was to study the influence of microbial biofilms on the high copper levels measured in the drinking water of rural houses. Drinking water parameters and copper pipe surfaces were analysed in the copper plumbing systems of rural and urban houses. The water in rural houses had pH values of 6.2 and alkalinity values of 63mg/L as CaCO3, whereas in urban houses the pH values we...

The State of Florida has a radon standard for new construction. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of two slab types (monolithic and slab-in-stem wall) in retarding radon entry in new houses built in accordance with the proposed standard over high radon potential soils. Fourteen houses were monitored during their construction on sites whose soil gas radon concentrations were...

In many countries, the population is either declining or rapidly concentrating in big cities, which causes problems in the form of vacant houses in many local communities. It is often challenging to keep track of the locations and the conditions of vacant houses, and for example in Japan, costly manual field studies are employed to map the occupancy situation. In this paper, we propose a techni...