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Relationship between lunar phases and serious crimes of battery: a population-based study
Abstract
The hypothesis of a lunar influence on human abnormal behavior is still widespread, although research has led to conflicting findings. Therefore, a population-based study to assess the influence of lunar phases on violent crimes was conducted.
The study included all serious crimes of battery (aggravated assaults) committed in Middle Franconia (Bavaria, Germany) between 1999 and 2005 (n = 23 142). Data were analyzed regarding lunar phase, sex, and place of crime scene (outdoor vs indoor).
No significant associations between full, absent, and the moon's interphases and serious crimes of battery could be detected. Furthermore, a Fourier analysis was conducted that failed to produce an association between violence and the moon's phases.
Several possible explanations for the presented results are discussed including biological and social mechanisms.
The present study fails to find a significant association between lunar phases and crimes of battery.
... Because of this, it is important to address the issue and prevent the causes of suicide. The lunar cycle is characterized by a periodic change in the visible side of the moon from the earth and is typically 29.53 days long [4]. The cycle has four distinct phases: first quarter, full moon, last quarter, and new moon [4][5][6]. ...
... The lunar cycle is characterized by a periodic change in the visible side of the moon from the earth and is typically 29.53 days long [4]. The cycle has four distinct phases: first quarter, full moon, last quarter, and new moon [4][5][6]. The first quarter is seen one week after the new moon and happens when the moon is at a 90-degree angle with respect to the earth and sun. ...
... Lunatic has been used to refer to insanity related to the lunar cycle since the 13th century. Throughout history, sleepwalking, insanity, and epilepsy have all been connected with lunar effects [4][5][6]. In relevant literature, significant seasonal impacts on panic and anxiety disorders were reported [7]. ...
Aim: Suicide is when a person intentionally ends his or her own life. Today, it is considered a global concern. It is important to address the underlying causes
leading to suicides. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between the lunar cycle and suicide attempts. Material and Method: This multicenter
study was done retrospectively between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012. The records of patients who presented to emergency departments (EDs)
with attempted suicide at nine different hospitals across the country were evaluated retrospectively. The lunar phases of the days when patients presented to
the hospitals were also evaluated. Results: As determined by an investigation of the days of presentation of the 5,647 patients who were investigated, 25.28%
of the patients presented during the first quarter, 25.71% during the full moon, 25.03% during the last quarter, and 23.68% during the new moon. There is,
therefore, no significant difference observed between the lunar phases and suicidal attempts (P <0.05). Discussion: The results of the present study and the
literature findings do not support the hypothesis of the lunar cycle having any effect on suicide attempts.
... Because of this, it is important to address the issue and prevent the causes of suicide. The lunar cycle is characterized by a periodic change in the visible side of the moon from the earth and is typically 29.53 days long [4]. The cycle has four distinct phases: first quarter, full moon, last quarter, and new moon [4][5][6]. ...
... The lunar cycle is characterized by a periodic change in the visible side of the moon from the earth and is typically 29.53 days long [4]. The cycle has four distinct phases: first quarter, full moon, last quarter, and new moon [4][5][6]. The first quarter is seen one week after the new moon and happens when the moon is at a 90-degree angle with respect to the earth and sun. ...
... Lunatic has been used to refer to insanity related to the lunar cycle since the 13th century. Throughout history, sleepwalking, insan- ity, and epilepsy have all been connected with lunar effects [4][5][6]. In relevant literature, significant seasonal impacts on panic and anxiety disorders were reported [7]. ...
... A study conducted by Joseph A. Schafer et al. (2010) in United State titled 'Bad moon on the rise? Lunar cycles and incidents of crime' and a similar study executed by Teresa Biermann et al (2009) in Germany, titled 'Relationship between lunar phases and serious crimes of battery: a population-based study' also concluded that there is no correlation between the lunar cycle and incidence of crime 6,7 . ...
... A study conducted by Joseph A. Schafer et al. (2010) in United State titled 'Bad moon on the rise? Lunar cycles and incidents of crime' and a similar study executed by Teresa Biermann et al (2009) in Germany, titled 'Relationship between lunar phases and serious crimes of battery: a population-based study' also concluded that there is no correlation between the lunar cycle and incidence of crime 6,7 . ...
... Inconsistent results have been reported regarding the full moon night being positively or negatively associated with the risk of various medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease, 15 traffic accidents, 2 birth, 23 surgery, 4 sleep duration, 1 or even suicide and crime. 24, 25 For example, the MONICA/KORA Registry recently suggested that the moon phase did not have any apparent association with the occurrence of AMI. 26 Previous studies explained the association of a full moon with medical conditions due to exposure levels of moonlight, 1 stress, 26 or hormones. 1,26 Furthermore, the gravitational forces would cause cyclic fluid shifts between body compartments and thereby trigger emotional disturbances, suicides and aggressive behavior in predisposed individuals, as stipulated in the theory of biological tides. ...
... Please find supplementary file(s); http://dx.doi.org/10.1253/circrep.CR- [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] accordance with the Utstein-style international guidelines for OHCA data reporting. 17,18 Finally, the present results may not be generalized to other countries because this study was carried out in Japan. ...
Background: It is commonly believed that a full moon affects human behavior or the occurrence and outcome of various diseases; thus, the occurrence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) might increase during full moon nights.
Methods and Results: This nationwide, population-based observational study consecutively enrolled OHCA patients in Japan with attempted resuscitation between 2005 and 2016. The primary outcome measure was the occurrence of OHCA. Based on the doublecontrol method, assuming Poisson sampling, we evaluated the average number of OHCA events that occurred on full moon nights compared with that which occurred on control nights, which included events that occurred on the same calendar days 1 week before and after the full moon nights. A total of 29,552 OHCA that occurred on 148 full moon nights and 58,707 OHCA that occurred on 296 control nights were eligible for analysis. The occurrence of OHCA did not differ between full moon and control nights (199.7 vs. 198.3 per night; relative risk [RR], 1.007; 95% CI: 0.993–1.021). On subgroup analysis, compared with control nights, the RR of OHCA occurrence were 1.013 (95% CI: 0.994–1.032, P=0.166) and 0.998 (95% CI: 0.977–1.020, P=0.866) for cardiac and non-cardiac origins, respectively.
Conclusions: In this population, there was no significant difference in OHCA occurrence between full moon and control nights.
... reported that no significant associations between full, absent, and the moon's interphases and serious crimes of battery could be detected. Furthermore, a Fourier analysis was conducted that failed to produce an association between violence and the moon's phases [15]. ...
The effect of lunar cycle on human behavior has always been the area of interest for the researchers worldwide. It is accepted in academic literature as 'The Transylvanian Effect'. While some has drawn results in favor of this, some also has rejected this hypothesis on the basis of negative results. This study aims to find out the effect of lunar cycle on unnatural deaths. This prospective study is done over a period of 18 and half months (1 st January 2013 to 17 th July 2014). During this period, a total of 312 cases were taken in this study which include unnatural death by homicide. These cases were brought to the Department of Forensic Medicine, IMS, BHU, Varanasi for medico legal postmortem examination from the various police station of Varanasi and have been analyzed prospectively. The incidences of homicidal deaths in and around full moon and new moon days were compared with that of other days of the month which are statically analyzed by employing the 'one-way parametric ANOVA'. The study reveals a rise in incidences during the full moon and new moon days over the others but is statistically insignificant. It is concluded that there is no correlation between lunar cycle and occurrence of homicidal deaths.
... 2 Moreover, there is less probability of a reduction of total sleep time, stage 4 sleep, and REM sleep for women in near full moon in contrast to men. 7 Nevertheless, for trauma admission, crime battery, and attempted suicides referring to a hospital emergency room, the relationship was negative. 4,8,9 The mean age of victims deceased during the middle third of the lunar month tended to be more than on other days in the lunar month (P< 0.05). It is similar to the report of Onozuka et al., 10 who stated that the frequency of traffic accidents resulting in emergency ambulance transport for patients aged > 40 years was significantly increased by full moon days. ...
... Many studies showed changes on human and animal behavior. These studies revealed some results about the impact of the moon cycle in human behaviors such as homicide (Näyhä 2019), violence (Biermann et al. 2009), accidents (Nogueira 1982), human sleep (Cajochen et al. 2013), madness (Owens and McGowan 2006), and length of stay of psychiatric inpatients (Gupta et al. 2019). On the other hand, according to scientific studies, the lunar cycle influences animals prominently in various ways such as animal bites (Bhattacharjee et al. 2000), daily activity (Lang et al. 2006) feeding activity (Penteriani et al. 2011), and physiology (Portugal et al. 2019). ...
Several studies have investigated the effect of the lunar phase and weather conditions on animal behaviour. As in other parts of the world, fishermen may modify their behaviour in response to the weather conditions and the moon cycle in Turkey. The main objective of the study was to find out the answer to "Do lunar illumination and weather conditions have effects on trawl and small-scale fishery landings in the southern Aegean Sea?". The study results showed that while cloudiness has a positive effect, lunar illumination, lunar distance and mean wind speed have negative impacts on small-scale fishery landings. On the other hand, the trawl fishery is affected positively by cloudiness. However, lunar illumination has a negative impact on trawl landings. Apart from the effects of the lunar cycle and weather on fisheries landings, other factors such as oceanographic variables, anthropogenic impact and climate change should also be investigated.
... Many studies showed changes on human and animal behavior. These studies revealed some results about the impact of the moon cycle in human behaviors such as homicide (Näyhä 2019), violence (Biermann et al. 2009), accidents (Nogueira 1982), human sleep (Cajochen et al. 2013), madness (Owens and McGowan 2006), and length of stay of psychiatric inpatients (Gupta et al. 2019). On the other hand, according to scientific studies, the lunar cycle influences animals prominently in various ways such as animal bites (Bhattacharjee et al. 2000), daily activity (Lang et al. 2006) feeding activity (Penteriani et al. 2011), and physiology (Portugal et al. 2019). ...
Several studies have investigated the effect of the lunar phase and weather conditions on animal behaviour. As in other parts of the world, fishermen may modify their behaviour in response to the weather conditions and the moon cycle in Turkey. The main objective of the study was to find out the answer to “Do lunar illumination and weather conditions have effects on trawl and small-scale fishery landings in the southern Aegean Sea?”. The study results showed that while cloudiness has a positive effect, lunar illumination, lunar distance and mean wind speed have negative impacts on small-scale fishery landings. On the other hand, the trawl fishery is affected positively by cloudiness. However, lunar illumination has a negative impact on trawl landings. Apart from the effects of the lunar cycle and weather on fisheries landings, other factors such as oceanographic variables, anthropogenic impact and climate change should also be investigated.
... Many studies showed changes on human and animal behavior. These studies revealed some results about the impact of the moon cycle in human behaviors such as homicide (Näyhä 2019), violence (Biermann et al. 2009), accidents (Nogueira 1982), human sleep (Cajochen et al. 2013), madness (Owens and McGowan 2006), and length of stay of psychiatric inpatients (Gupta et al. 2019). On the other hand, according to scientific studies, the lunar cycle influences animals prominently in various ways such as animal bites (Bhattacharjee et al. 2000), daily activity (Lang et al. 2006) feeding activity (Penteriani et al. 2011), and physiology (Portugal et al. 2019). ...
In this paper, we discuss two different data transformation techniques for dealing with censored data: Kaplan-Meier weights and the k-nearest neighbor imputation method. The main objective of this paper is to find penalized spline estimates for the components of a linear mixed effect model with right-censored data. In the context of a mixed model setting, the estimation procedure is performed based on the modified or transformed dataset obtained via these transformation techniques. In order to compare the outcomes from a linear mixed model using these two approaches, a Monte Carlo simulation and two real data examples are presented. According to our results, the k-nearest neighbor imputation is very successful in dealing with censored observations.
... (Fig. 1) Researchers have looked at various things like relationship between lunar cycle and psychiatric admissions or emergency department presentations, use of community psychiatry services, road accidents, violence, suicide, sleep, cardiac events, menstrual cycles, dog bites, fish reproduction, cataract surgery complications, stock market returns, and so on. [8][9][10][11][12] According to Indian astrology, moon is one of the planets that can influence a person developing mental illness. 13 Moon is even proposed to be of help in therapy. ...
... To date, there is an ongoing debate concerning the connection between lunar cycle and psychiatric illness [4,5]. The literature presents conflicting results, with the majority of studies showing no relationship between lunar cycle and either psychiatric admissions or emergency evaluations [6][7][8][9], psychiatric inpatient admissions [10], use of community psychiatry services [11,12], violent behaviour [13][14][15][16][17], suicide [18,19], or sleep disturbances [20,21]. However, some studies do show relationships between the lunar cycle various psychiatric phenomena. ...
Background:
There is an ongoing debate concerning the connection between lunar cycle and psychiatric illness.
Aims of the study:
The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the rates of admission to and discharge from psychiatric inpatient treatment, as well as the length of stay, in relation to the lunar cycle, including 20 different categories of phases of the moon.
Methods:
The data of 17,966 cases of people treated in an inpatient setting were analysed. Routine clinical data and data about admission and discharge were used. The lunar calendar was obtained from the website of the US Naval Observatory and was used to calculate the dates of the full moon according to the geographic location of the clinics. The clinics are located in the Canton Grisons in Switzerland. The following phases of the moon throughout the lunar cycle were defined: (a) full moon, (b) quarter waxing moon, (c) new moon, and (d) quarter waning moon. In addition, we coded one day and two days preceding every lunar phase as well as the two days following the respective phases of the moon.
Results:
The lunar cycles showed no connection with either admission or discharge rates of psychiatric inpatients, nor was there a relationship with the length of stay.
Conclusions:
Despite the widespread belief that the moon impacts peoples’ mental health and subsequently psychiatric treatment, this study provides no evidence that our celestial neighbour influences our mental well-being.
... To model the temporal regularity of crime, most approaches in the literature use timeseries analysis and its various tools such as spectral analysis [33][34][35][36][37], spatial correlation [38], regression analysis [39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57], cross correlation [58], and spatial point pattern tests [59][60][61]. These approaches assume a temporal regularity of crime activity limited within fixed regional localities. ...
Abstract In the last decades, the notion that cities are in a state of equilibrium with a centralised organisation has given place to the viewpoint of cities in disequilibrium and organised from bottom to up. In this perspective, cities are evolving systems that exhibit emergent phenomena built from local decisions. While urban evolution promotes the emergence of positive social phenomena such as the formation of innovation hubs and the increase in cultural diversity, it also yields negative phenomena such as increases in criminal activity. Yet, we are still far from understanding the driving mechanisms of these phenomena. In particular, approaches to analyse urban phenomena are limited in scope by neglecting both temporal non-stationarity and spatial heterogeneity. In the case of criminal activity, we know for more than one century that crime peaks during specific times of the year, but the literature still fails to characterise the mobility of crime. Here we develop an approach to describe the spatial, temporal, and periodic variations in urban quantities. With crime data from 12 cities, we characterise how the periodicity of crime varies spatially across the city over time. We confirm one-year criminal cycles and show that this periodicity occurs unevenly across the city. These ‘waves of crime’ keep travelling across the city: while cities have a stable number of regions with a circannual period, the regions exhibit non-stationary series. Our findings support the concept of cities in a constant change, influencing urban phenomena—in agreement with the notion of cities not in equilibrium.
... Bestalde, sinesmen kulturalak medio, gaizkileak ilargi betearen eraginpean dagoela pentsa dezake, eta krimena egi- tera adoretu. Azkenik, ilbetean eta hurbileko gauetan izaten den argitasuna dela eta, ohikoagoa da gaue- ko aisialdiko ekintzak egitea eta ordu txikitan kalean ibiltzea, eta, ondorioz, estatistikoki aukera gehiago daude eraso bat egin edo jasateko [5]. ...
Aspalditik dator Ilargiak gizakion jokabidean eragina izan dezakeelako ustea; hain zuzen ere, sinesmen horren inguruko lehen idatzia Hipokratesen garaikoa da (K.a. 400. urtea). Mendeak igaro ahala, bizirik mantendu dira Lurraren sateliteari loturiko usteak, eta, gaur egun ere, badira pertsonen jokabide oldarkorrak edota osasun-arazoak astroaren faseei egozten dizkieten profesionalak ere. Zer du, baina, mitoak egiatik?
... To model the temporal regularity of crime, most approaches in the literature use time-series analysis and its various tools such as spectral analysis [33][34][35][36][37] , spatial correlation 38 , regression analysis [39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57] , cross correlation 58 , and spatial point pattern tests [59][60][61] . These approaches assume a temporal regularity of crime activity limited within fixed regional localities. ...
In the last decades, the notion that cities are in a state of equilibrium with a centralised organisation has given place to the viewpoint of cities in disequilibrium and organised from bottom to up. In this perspective, cities are evolving systems that exhibit emergent phenomena built from local decisions. While urban evolution promotes the emergence of positive social phenomena such as the formation of innovation hubs and the increase in cultural diversity, it also yields negative phenomena such as increases in criminal activity. Yet, we are still far from understanding the driving mechanisms of these phenomena. In particular, approaches to analyse urban phenomena are limited in scope by neglecting both temporal non-stationarity and spatial heterogeneity. In the case of criminal activity, we know for more than one century that crime peaks during specific times of the year, but the literature still fails to characterise the mobility of crime. Here we develop an approach to describe the spatial, temporal, and periodic variations in urban quantities. With crime data from 12 cities, we characterise how the periodicity of crime varies spatially across the city over time. We confirm one-year criminal cycles and show that this periodicity occurs unevenly across the city. These `waves of crime' keep travelling across the city: while cities have a stable number of regions with a circannual period, the regions exhibit non-stationary series. Our findings support the concept of cities in a constant change, influencing urban phenomena---in agreement with the notion of cities not in equilibrium.
... For example, negative results were obtained for homicides (Pokorny and Jachimczyk 1974), emergency psychological events (Kazemi-Bajestani et al. 2011), and reported crimes to the police (Schafer et al. 2010). There were also negative results for completed suicides in Spain and Norway (Jacobsen et al. 1986;Gutiérrez-García 1997) and serious crimes of battery in Germany (Biermann et al. 2009). Russell and de Graaf (1985), found no evidence in Canada for aggression during hockey games. ...
Past scientific investigations of paranormal/superstitious assertions have proven that they have no basis in objective reality. However, there have been a number of studies on the supposition that the full moon causes an increase in aberrant behaviors in human beings and although the studies with negative results seem to be preponderant, a handful have appeared with (questionable) positive results. In 2016 three instances of a “supermoon” occurred, wherein the moon’s perigee to the Earth was the closest. Several state penitentiaries were contacted and their records requested for during those periods. The supposed effect of a full moon would have presumably increased due to the increased proximity of the satellite yet no significant increase in violent behaviors were evident during the “supermoon.”
... While Fourier analysis has been previously used in a variety of physical sciences, the use of this technique in criminology is relatively new and novel. In fact, we are aware of only a handful of studies that have applied this technique to crime data (Biermann et al., 2009;Rhodes, Kling, & Johnston, 2007;Tranter, 1985), and none have employed it in the way that this study proposes. Second, the results of this research may provide important insight into existing criminological theory by offering a unique perspective of the temporal variability of crime in a study area. ...
In this article, we identify and analyze the periodicity of violent and property crimes committed in Tshwane, South Africa, from 2001 to 2006. This is done using Fourier analysis, an advanced explorative mathematical technique commonly used in the physical sciences to detect the presence of a frequency or periodicity in a large time-series data set. The use of this technique in criminology is in its infancy, and in this study, Fourier analysis is used to identify periodic moments in time at which the risk of being a victim of violent and property crime in the city of Tshwane is heightened. Results indicated that violent crime peaks roughly every 7 and 75 days over the 5-year study period, with a marginal peak every 150 days. Property crimes peak every 75 days and every 150 days. Periodic peaks of crime observed in this study are explained using the central tenets of routine activities theory. Fourier analysis is an underused, powerful data-driven mathematical tool that should be added to the methodological arsenal available to criminologists when analyzing the temporal dimension of crime.
... Así se defiende que "recientes investigaciones nos han permitido establecer una correlación entre el cáncer, e incluso el sida, con disonancias de los planetas en relación con la carta natal" o que "los policías están familiarizados con ese aumento de los crímenes según las fases lunares", sin ningún estudio sobre el tema. Por desgracia para el autor-y por suerte para los caminantes noctámbulos-no hay más delitos los días de luna llena que en otros días del mes (Biermann et al. 2009). ...
... Such as, there is no significant relationship between total violence and aggression or level of violence and aggression and any phase of the lunar month (Owen et al. 1998). There was no significant association detected between full, absent, and the moon's interphases and serious crimes of battery (Biermann et al. 2009). According to Laverty and Kelly (1998), occurrence of traffic accidents involving damage to property and involving nonfatal injury has no relationship with the total or half synodic and anomalistic lunar cycles or between the waxing and waning synodic cycle. ...
The four prominent phases of the lunar month are new moon, first quarter, full moon, and third quarter. According to the position of the moon in its orbit, the gravitational pull of the moon on earth changes and the amplitude of ocean tides also vary. A large number of investigations have shown the association of different lunar phases with the mental health or physical health and diseases, physical activity pattern, and reproduction of humans. The changes occurred may be due to either the disturbance of electromagnetic field of the earth or the changes of lunar gravitational force on earth and changes of "human tidal wave" or "biological tide" during different lunar phases. The altered autonomic neural activity and cardiovascular activity during different lunar phases is probably one of the fundamental causes of the changes of human physiology.
... These studies include Tranter (1985), which used Fourier analysis to examine intra-urban variability in calls for service in Newcastle, Australia and found that different neighbourhoods exhibited different temporal peaks of crime depending on whether a neighbourhood was primarily composed of students, workers or retired people. Biermann et al. (2009) also used Fourier analysis to examine the relationship between lunar phases and battery in Germany and found no associations between violence and the moon's phases, whilst Rhodes, Kling, and Johnston (2007) used Fourier transformations to model seasonal arrest patterns in the USA. ...
This paper analyses the periodicity of violent and property crimes committed in Tshwane, South Africa from 2001 to 2006. Conventional monthly, daily and hourly variations in these types of crime are highlighted and then Fourier analysis is introduced as an advanced mathematical technique which is able to identify periodic peaks or signals of crime contained within a large time-series crime data-set. Specifically, Fourier analysis is used to examine crime periodicities in Tshwane in neighbourhoods stratified by social deprivation. Across most neighbourhood quintiles, there is a notable peak in violent crimes every 7-10 days. That is, every 7-10 days over the 5 years, there is a peak in violent crimes in most neighbourhoods in Tshwane. There is also a marginal peak occurring roughly every 50-60 days in neighbourhood Quintiles 1 (most affluent) and 3 (‘middle class’). Similar to violent crimes, the largest consistent periodicity for property crimes was observed across all five neighbourhood quintiles approximately every 7-10 days. A significant peak was also observed in property crime in Quintile 3 (‘middle class’) roughly every 75 days. Tentative explanations are provided for the results obtained.
... Rotton and Kelly (1985) conducted a meta-analysis of 37 published and unpublished studies to examine the relationship between phases of the moon and different aspects of psychopathology and demonstrated very weak association between lunar cycle and behavioral problems. Biermann et al. (2009) investigated 23,142 subjects in Germany between 1999and 2005 and failed to find a significant association between lunar phases and crime. McLay et al. (2006) also conducted an analysis of records from 1909 patients with history of emergency psychiatric evaluations between the years 2002 and 2003 and found no significant association between lunar cycle and psychiatric admissions or emergency evaluation. ...
... The study included 15881 crimes of violent behavior (without suicides) which were filed at the Police Department of Middle Franconia, Bavaria/Germany between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2005, and gathered into the EVioS (Erlangener Violence Studies [35]) data base. Bodily harm as defined in § 223 German Criminal Code is more closely examined. ...
Animals, including humans, exhibit a variety of biological rhythms. This article describes a method for the detection and simultaneous comparison of multiple nycthemeral rhythms.
A statistical method for detecting periodic patterns in time-related data via harmonic regression is described. The method is particularly capable of detecting nycthemeral rhythms in medical data. Additionally a method for simultaneously comparing two or more periodic patterns is described, which derives from the analysis of variance (ANOVA). This method statistically confirms or rejects equality of periodic patterns. Mathematical descriptions of the detecting method and the comparing method are displayed.
Nycthemeral rhythms of incidents of bodily harm in Middle Franconia are analyzed in order to demonstrate both methods. Every day of the week showed a significant nycthemeral rhythm of bodily harm. These seven patterns of the week were compared to each other revealing only two different nycthemeral rhythms, one for Friday and Saturday and one for the other weekdays.
Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie obecnej polityki azylowej w państwach członkowskich Unii Europejskiej, w oparciu o metody tradycyjnie stosowane w naukowych badaniach nad prawem (hermeneutyka prawnicza) z zastosowaniem krytycznej analizy tekstów źródłowych, w tym regulacji unijnych i krajowych in rem. W artykule opisano nowe mechanizmy prawne na terenie Polski, pomagające w zwalczaniu zagrożeń powiązanych z nielegalną imigracja. Obejmują one w szczególności działania ponadnarodowych zorganizowanych grup przestępczych, zajmujących się m.in. przemytem narkotyków oraz nielegalnych imigrantów i praniem brudnych pieniędzy. W pierwszej części dokonano analizy danych dotyczących nielegalnej imigracji do Unii Europejskiej w 2023 r. Następnie przedstawiono międzynarodowe regulacje azylu i ochrony, a także politykę Unii Europejskiej w dziedzinie azylu i ochrony. Ponadto opisano założenia nowej ustawy imigracyjnej, a także istotę nowej służby migracyjnej. Odpowiednio do postawionego celu sformułowano problem badawczy: Jakie są najbardziej efektywne mechanizmy prawne w zwalczaniu nielegalnej imigracji przy jednoczesnym przestrzeganiu regulacji międzynarodowych azylu? Uzyskanie odpowiedzi na powyższe pytania wymagało zastosowania metod badawczych, w tym dokonania krytycznej analizy aktów prawnych i dokumentów krajowych oraz zagranicznych, wybranych pozycji literatury przedmiotu, a także analizy aktualnych danych statystycznych
Efekt transylwański, nazywany inaczej księżycowym, to założenie o istnieniu wpływu Księżyca na zachowanie ludzi. Negatywne zachowania, w tym przestępstwa i wykroczenia, mają nasilać się w czasie określonych faz Księżyca, głównie w czasie pełni. Celem przeprowadzonego badania była weryfikacja istnienia związków pomiędzy fazami Księżyca a liczbą wezwań i interwencji Policji. Badanie przeprowadzone zostało na obszarze powiatu toruńskiego i obejmowało trzy wskaźniki: liczbę interwencji, wypadków i kolizji drogowych oraz zgłoszeń w Krajowej Mapie Zagrożeń Bezpieczeństwa. Dane dotyczyły okresu od 1 grudnia 2016 r. do 30 listopada 2022 r. Dane dotyczące zmiennych zależnych zostały zebrane z Komendy Miejskiej Policji Toruniu oraz Komendy Głównej Policji, natomiast dane o fazach Księżyca pochodziły z obserwatorium astronomicznego Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu. Wyniki analiz statystycznych nie wykazały istnienia związku między fazami Księżyca a liczbą wezwań i interwencji Policji. Przeprowadzono również odrębne obliczenia dla pełni Księżyca, które także nie wykazały tej zależności. Oznacza to, że nie ma potrzeby uwzględniania faz Księżyca w planowaniu służb patrolowych, zarówno w służbie prewencji, jak i ruchu drogowym. Potwierdzono, że fazy Księżyca nie mają wpływu na liczbę zgłoszonych interwencji do Policji.
Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet,[f] with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of Australia.
In this research, the Biblical verses dealing with the moon are presented. So, the characteristics, the origin, the characteristics, moon illusion, the accretion to the earth, health effects, including mission to the moon, and astronauts' health are presented.
The research deals with various health effects, including mortality, consultation rates, emergency medical use, cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, diabetic patients, pulmonary toxicity, thyroid effect, gastrointestinal, ophthalmological risks, urological presentations, surgery, shock wave lithotripsy related pain outcome, deliveries, child births, Down's syndrome screening, menstrual cycle, breast cancer, trauma, sleep, seizures, and mental health.
Numerous adverse effects of space flight can affect astronauts. In the space missions, the risk of spacecraft malfunction far outweighs the risk of human system failure. The international space agencies have begun to investigate the requirements for both a human settlement on the Moon and manned missions to Mars.
In the recent years, the diagnostic possibilities have been validated through scientific research and have shown medicinal value in the diagnostics and the management of conditions associated with the moon.
This research has shown that the awareness of the moon has accompanied humans during the long years of our existence.
The lunar synodic cycle is often believed to be associated with psychiatric emergencies and exacerbation in various countries, including India. However, the scientific literature regarding this matter is inconclusive. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between lunar cycle phase and admission rates plus occurrence of sentinel events in the psychiatric ward of a tertiary care general hospital in India. All admissions and transfer-ins (N = 780) to the Department of Psychiatry between August 1st, 2016 and July 31st, 2017 were evaluated from hospital records by a blinded author to obtain sentinel events, like requirement of physical restraint (PR) and chemical restraint (CR), occurring on full moon days (FM), new moon days (NM), and control days (CD). Statistical analysis was done by comparison of proportions. Significant positive differences were found when CR applied exclusively [p = .0008] on FM and NM days, and its frequency [p < .0001] in comparison to CD. Frequencies of parenteral [p = .0001] and per oral [p = .0064] modes of CR applied on FM and NM days showed significant positive results when compared with CD. Use of all restraints (PR plus CR) [p = .0017] and their frequencies [p < .0001] on FM and NM days were also positively significant. Sentinel events, such as use of restraints, especially chemical ones, in psychiatry in-patients are significantly more common during full moon and new moon phases.
Objective
To test whether homicides in Finland vary according to moon phases.
Design
A time series study.
Setting
Finland.
Participants
6808 homicides committed in 1961–2014.
Outcome
Daily numbers of homicides.
Method
The daily numbers of homicides were related to eight moon phases and the illuminated percentage of the moon disc using negative binomial regression. To identify lunar patterns, piecewise linear terms of lunar days were used, together with changes from one moon phase to another. Homicides were similarly regressed on quintiles of the illuminated percentage of the moon disc. A periodic term of length 29.53 days was included to detect cyclic patterns. The results were adjusted for sex, age, secular trend, distance from the moon, seasons, weekday, major holidays and temperature.
Results
During the full moon, 15% less homicides were committed than during the new moon (RR 0.85; 95% CI 0.77 to 0.94) and 86% less during the lightest quintile of illumination compared with the darkest quintile (RR 0.14; 95% CI 0.04 to 0.50). Adjustments did not change the results. Piecewise linear regressions showed a significant decline in homicides at the full moon and a rise thereafter. The full moon drop in homicides was directionally similar for seasons, weekdays, sex, age and time periods, and it was particularly pronounced in the early part of period studied (1961–1974). Periodic regression showed a regular cyclic pattern of length 29.53 days (p~0.035).
Conclusions
Contrary to current scientific opinion, an association exists between moon phases and homicides, and contrary to what has been previously assumed, homicides declined during the full moon, especially in earlier decades. However, the causality of the association remains elusive.
In Hokkaido, Japan, the number of Yezo deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis) has recently increased drastically, causing a large number of deer-vehicle traffic accidents. This paper examines conditions related to deer-vehicle traffic accidents by analysing the following relationships: time of accident and lunar phase; time of accidents and time of sunrise/sunset; likelihood of accidents and rainfall patterns, temperature and season (particularly snow and hunting seasons). The results suggest that the potential for deer-vehicle traffic accidents increases during hunting and non-snow seasons when there is little or no rainfall, just before sunrise or just after sunset, or during a full, first quarter, or third quarter moon. A statistically significant relationship between temperature and deer-vehicle traffic accidents was not detected.
This study aimed to verify the hypothesis that the lunar cycle influences the number of pediatric psychiatric emergency department (ED) visits.
Pediatric psychiatric ED visits between 2009 and 2011 were obtained retrospectively. Patients aged between 4 and 21 years presenting to Miami Children's Hospital ED with a primary psychiatric complaint were included in the study. Patients with a concomitant psychiatric problem and a secondary medical condition were excluded. The number of psychiatric visits was retrieved for the full moon dates, control dates as well as the day before and after the full moon when the moon appears full to the naked eye (full moon effect). A comparison was made using the 2-sample independent t test.
Between 2009 and 2011, 36 dates were considered as the true full moon dates and 108 dates as the "full moon effect." A total of 559 patients were included in the study. The 2-sample independent t tests were performed between the actual full moon date and control dates, as well as between the "full moon effect" dates and control dates. Our results failed to show a statistical significance when comparing the number of pediatric psychiatric patients presenting to a children's hospital ED during a full moon and a non-full moon date.
Our study's results are in agreement with those involving adult patients. The full moon does not affect psychiatric visits in a children's hospital.
The aim of the present epidemiological study was to investigate characteristics of assaults in the elderly aged 65 years and above from the perspective of the victim and perpetrator. This population-based study included 23,142 assaults (according to §§ 224/226 StGB of German criminal law) that were recorded in Bavaria, Germany, from 1999 to 2005. The population-based ratio of serious crimes of battery for the elderly in comparison with the reference population was markedly lower (0.10; 95% CI: 0.09-0.11) in suspects aged more than 65 years and 0.08 (95% CI: 0.07-0.09) for the injured above 65 years. Elderly perpetrators differed significantly concerning the manner of the assault (p < 0.001). They committed less crimes in urban areas (56.1% vs. 68.8%) and were victimized significantly more in rural areas (p < 0.001; 41.2% vs. 30.2%). Violence in the elderly differs from that of the younger population. Further research is warranted to establish prevention measures.
Critically examines the "violence breeds violence" hypothesis broadly defined. Organized into seven sections, the literature review includes (a) the abuse breeds abuse hypothesis; (b) reports of small numbers of violent/homicidal offenders; (c) studies examining the relationship of abuse and neglect to delinquency, (d) to violent behavior, and (e) to aggressive behavior in infants and young children; (f) abuse, withdrawal, and self-destructive behavior; and (g) studies of the impact of witnessing or observing violent behavior. A detailed discussion of methodological considerations and shortcomings precedes the review. The author concludes that existing knowledge of the long-term consequences of abusive home environments is limited and suggests that conclusions about the strength of the cycle of violence be tempered by the dearth of convincing empirical evidence. Recommendations are made for further research.
Prevention of violence-related injury has become an important public health issue but national, regional and local data are lacking. The aims of this study were to determine trends, seasonality and rates of violence-related injury according to Accident and Emergency (A&E) recorded data in England and Wales over a 5 year period, 1995-2000.
A stratified sample of 58 major A&E departments in England and Wales were recruited for the study. Electronic data on age, gender and date of attendance of all those reporting violence-related injury over a 5 year period, May 1995 to April 2000, were retrieved. Injury rates (number of injured per 100 resident population) were computed and ordinary least-squares regression analysis was used to evaluate linear and non-linear trends in these time series data.
A total of 353442 (258719 males: 73 per cent) violence-related attendances were identified. Overall annual violence-related attendance did not change significantly (p > 0.05) but attendance of females aged 11-17 years increased steadily and significantly (p < 0.05) over the 5 year period. Health-region, gender- and age-specific increases in violence-related attendance slowed (p < 0.05). Compared with spring there were significantly lower levels of violence in autumn and winter for both males and females (p < 0.05). Violence affecting males aged 18-30 years was not subject to seasonality. Males, those aged 18-30 years and those living in the northern and western regions in England and Wales were at highest risk of violence-related injury.
This national study from the perspective of health services suggests that violence did not increase over the period 1995-2000. Slowing of age-, gender- and health-region-specific increases in violence-related injury suggests that violence is coming under control. The reasons for significant trends in individual urban centres deserve further study, and could provide important new directions for violence prevention.
The hypothesis of lunar influence on suicide remains widespread, despite the fact that little scientific evidence to substantiate it. We conducted a population-based study to assess the influence of the lunar phases on suicides according to age, sex, and chosen method. The study included all suicides in Middle Franconia between 1998 and 2003. From a population-based sample of 3351 events, the files of 3054 suicides (1949 males and 1105 females) were complete for the study variables. Data were categorized by lunar phase, sex, age, and chosen method-"violent" vs. "non-violent" acts. No significant relationship was detected between the full, absent, and moon's interphases and suicide incidence. Nevertheless, there was a weak association between the absent moon and choice of a non-violent suicide method in men aged less than the median of 40.2 yrs. There was no evidence of a relationship between suicide and lunar phase. Some explanations for this phenomenon are discussed.
The authors retrospectively reviewed all neurologic records of an emergency unit from 1999 to 2003 to identify a potential association between lunar phases and seizure occurrence. Overall 859 patients admitted for seizure occurrence were divided into the four quarters of the synodic month according to moon phases. A significant clustering of seizures around the full moon period was observed, supporting the ancient belief of periodic increased seizure frequency during full-moon days.
Previous research that related lunar phase to abnormal behavior has led to apparently conflicting findings because of different methodology. The present study, based upon both new data and that already in the literature, combined studies that used the same segments of the synodic cycle. Such analysis indicated a disproportionate frequency of abnormal behavior at the time of the new moon, at the time of the full moon, and in the last half of the lunar phase. These findings were regarded as generally congruent with folklore.
Data were gathered in a large metropolitan area over a period of one year as to nine categories of 34,318 criminal offenses committed during the phases of the full moon and non full moon. It was found that the eight categories of rape, robbery and assault, burglary, larceny and theft, auto theft, offenses against family and children, drunkenness, and disorderly conduct occurred significantly more frequently during the full moon phase than at other times of the year. Only the category of homicide did not occur more frequently during the full moon phase. The results support further exploration and research related to cosmic influences on man's behavior.
OBJECTIVE: The choice of the suicide method is influenced by the individual's sex, age, cultural value system and the method's availability. Therefore, we studied the chosen method in relation to the investigated motive, age and sex. METHOD: The study included all residents of Middle Franconia, dying from suicide due to death certificate and police investigations. 2062 suicides were included. Data was categorized by method and underlying reason. RESULTS: Women preferred self-poisoning and men predominantly chose hanging with the distribution changing with regard to the underlying motive, especially in suicide due to family distress and lovesickness. The association between method and underlying reason of suicide was highly significant (chi (2)-test, chi (2) = 268.5, p Language: de
The study of school bullying has recently assumed an international dimension, but is faced with difficulties in finding terms in different languages to correspond to the English word bullying. To investigate the meanings given to various terms, a set of 25 stick–figure cartoons was devised, covering a range of social situations between peers. These cartoons were shown to samples of 8– and 14–year–old pupils (N= 1,245; n= 604 at 8 years, n= 641 at 14 years) in schools in 14 different countries, who judged whether various native terms cognate to bullying, applied to them. Terms from 10 Indo–European languages and three Asian languages were sampled. Multidimensional scaling showed that 8–year–olds primarily discriminated nonaggressive and aggressive cartoon situations; however, 14–year–olds discriminated fighting from physical bullying, and also discriminated verbal bullying and social exclusion. Gender differences were less appreciable than age differences. Based on the 14–year–old data, profiles of 67 words were then constructed across the five major cartoon clusters. The main types of terms used fell into six groups: bullying (of all kinds), verbal plus physical bullying, solely verbal bullying, social exclusion, solely physical aggression, and mainly physical aggression. The findings are discussed in relation to developmental trends in how children understand bullying, the inferences that can be made from cross–national studies, and the design of such studies.
To study the relationship between lunar position and the day of delivery; to investigate the synodic distribution of spontaneous deliveries, especially in relation to the presence of a full moon.
Retrospective analysis of 1248 spontaneous full-term deliveries in three-year period (36 lunar months), setted at Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Civil Hospital, Fano (Marche, Italy), using circular statistics techniques.
A connection between the distribution of spontaneous full-term deliveries and the lunar month was found. The effect of the phases of the moon seems to be particularly relevant in multiparae and plurigravidae; in these cases, the mean day of delivery corresponds to the first or second day after the full moon.
In this paper the effect of lunar phases on the time of delivery is shown. This influence seems to be especially relevant in the case of multiparae and plurigravidae. Nevertheless, it is too weak to allow for prediction regarding the days with the highest frequency of deliveries.
A victim survey was conducted in a large city centre hospital accident and emergency department serving a well-defined population. Those most at risk of violence were similar to risk groups identified in previous crime surveys. Compared to the hospital catchment population, males aged 16–29 years, those resident in the most socially and materially deprived electoral areas, single people, skilled manual workers, and the unemployed were significantly over-represented. Males attended for treatment most often at the weekend between 11.00 p.m. and 3.00 a.m. while females attended more evenly through the week. The incidence of domestic violence was higher than that reported in the British Crime Surveys. Overall, numbers of victims increased with increasing hours of daylight during the first five months of the year. Most assaults took place in the street or in public houses or discotheques, though female victims were most often assaulted in their own home, usually after an argument. Accident and Emergency Department data are a useful source of information about violent crime.
Data on five aggressive and/or violent human behaviors were examined by computer to determine whether a relationship exists between the lunar syndoic cycle and human aggression. Homicides, suicides, fatal traffic accidents, aggravated assaults and psychiatric emergency room visits occurring in Dade County, Florida all show lunar periodicities. Homicides and aggravated assaults demonstrate statistically significant clustering of cases around full moon. Psychiatric emergency room visits cluster around first quarter and shows a significantly decreased frequency around new and full moon. The suicide curve shows correlations with both aggravated assaults and fatal traffic accidents, suggesting a self-destructive component for each of these behaviors. The existence of a biological rhythm of human aggression which resonates with the lunar synodic cycle is postulated.
12 studies are reviewed that have examined the relationships among crisis calls to police stations, poison centers, and crisis intervention centers and the synodic lunar cycle. On the basis of the studies considered it is concluded that no good foundation exists for the belief that lunar phase is related to the frequency of crisis calls. In addition, there is no evidence whatsoever for the contention that calls of a more emotional or "out-of-control" nature occur more often at the full moon.
There exists a popular belief in the causal relationship between the moon's phase and the incidence of major trauma. In this retrospective study we reviewed 1,444 trauma victims admitted to the hospital during one calendar year. Full moons were defined as three-day periods in the 29.531-day lunar cycle, with the middle day being described in the world almanac as the full moon. Victims of violence included those patients sustaining blunt assault, gunshot wounds, and stabbings. There was no statistical difference in number of trauma admissions between the full moon, 129 patients per 36 days (mean, 3.58), and nonfull moon days, 1,315 patients per 330 days (mean, 3.98). Mortality rate, 5.4% versus 10.3%; mean Injury Severity Score, 13 versus 15; and mean length of stay, ten versus 12 days, were not significantly different during the full moon and nonfull moon days. Victims of violence were admitted at a similar frequency on full moon, 16 patients per 36 days (mean, 0.444), and nonfull moon days, 183 patients per 330 days (mean, 0.555). We conclude that the belief in the deleterious effects of the full moon on major trauma is statistically unfounded.
Data on homicides were analyzed by computer to determine whether a relationship exists between the lunar synodic cycle and human emotional disturbance. A statistically significant lunar periodicity was demonstrated for homicides committed in Dade County, Fla., over a 15-year period. A similar, but nonsignificant, periodicity was found for homicides occurring over a 13-year period in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.
The incidence of crimes reported to three police stations in different towns (one rural, one urban, one industrial) was studied to see if it varied with the day of the lunar cycle. The period of the study covered 1978-82. The incidence of crimes committed on full moon days was much higher than on all other days, new moon days, and seventh days after the full moon and new moon. A small peak in the incidence of crimes was observed on new moon days, but this was not significant when compared with crimes committed on other days. The incidence of crimes on equinox and solstice days did not differ significantly from those on other days, suggesting that the sun probably does not influence the incidence of crime. The increased incidence of crimes on full moon days may be due to "human tidal waves" caused by the gravitational pull of the moon.
There was an excess of injuries during the full and new moons in hours of darkness, but either a deficit or no significant difference occurred during these phases in daylight hours. Implications for research were suggested, and conjecture regarding explanations for the apparent dark-light interaction with phase of moon were offered.
Previous research that related lunar phase to abnormal behavior has led to apparently conflicting findings because of different methodology. The present study, based upon both new data and that already in the literature, combined studies that used the same segments of the synodic cycle. Such analysis indicated a disproportionate frequency of abnormal behavior at the time of the new moon, at the time of the full moon, and in the last half of the lunar phase. These findings were regarded as generally congruent with folklore.
Questionnaires sent to 325 people indicated that 140 people (43%) held the personal belief that lunar phenomena alter individual behavior. Specifically, mental health professionals (social workers, master's clinical psychologists, nurses' aides, LPNs) held this belief more strongly than other occupational groups.
The hypothesis that geomagnetic storms may partly account for the seasonal variation in the incidence of depression, by acting as a precipitant of depressive illness in susceptible individuals, is supported by a statistically significant 36.2% increase in male hospital admissions with a diagnosis of depressed phase, manic-depressive illness in the second week following such storms compared with geomagnetically quiet control periods. There is a smaller but not statistically significant increase in female psychotic depression and non-psychotic depression admissions following storms. There was no correlation between geomagnetic storm levels and number of male admissions with psychotic depression, which is consistent with a threshold event affecting predisposed individuals. Phase advance in pineal circadian rhythms of melatonin synthesis may be a possible mechanism of causation or be present as a consequence of 5-hydroxytryptamine and adrenergic system dysfunction associated with geomagnetic disturbance. Effects on cell membrane permeability, calcium channel activity and retinal magneto-receptors are suggested as possible underlying biochemical mechanisms.
The influence of the moon on patient consultations for anxiety or depression in general practice was assessed through a retrospective survey based on general practice medical records and on lunar records detailing the dates and times of different phases of the moon. Seven-hundred-eighty-two patients continuously registered in a general practice in Beckenham, South London, between 1971 and 1988 were included in analyses. No statistically significant lunar effect was found by setting the expected surge in consultations one to three days after the full moon and the period of the sine-wave curve to 30 days. Similarly, no statistically significant lunar effect was found, when the period of the sine-wave curve was allowed to vary in order to best fit the data. The moon had little influence on when individuals consulted their general practitioner with anxiety or depression.
The existence of lunar influence on the frequency of suicide is tested by means of a permutation test. A total of 897 suicide deaths reported by the Anatomical Forensic Institute of Madrid were analyzed by a permutation test, a direct application of Fisher's ideas. Noteworthy in this study are the testing method used and the accuracy of timing of the deaths. Both factors provide firm ground for our conclusion: there appears to be no relationship between lunar phases and suicide.
It is commonly believed that the full moon exerts an influence on violence and aggression in psychiatric settings. The literature to date is contentious. This study used a robust methodology to examine the hypothesis that there was an increased frequency of violent and aggressive behaviour among hospitalised psychiatric clients at the time of the full moon.
Prospective data were collected in five inpatient psychiatric settings across the Northern Sydney Area Health Service. Morrison's hierarchy of violence and aggression was used to rate behaviour. Lunar phases were clearly defined and Poisson regression used to examine relationships between lunar phase and violence. Extraneous temporal variation was considered.
No significant relationship was found between total violence and aggression or level of violence and aggression and any phase of the moon.
Future research could profitably examine the implications of a belief in the lunar effect among health workers in the face of evidence that no relationship exists between violence, aggression and the lunar cycle.
Belief that the full moon is associated with psychiatric disturbance persists despite 50 years research showing no association. This article traces the historical roots of belief in the power of the moon to cause disorders the mind, especially insanity and epilepsy. Putative mechanisms of lunar action are critiqued. It is proposed that modern findings showing lack of lunar effect can be reconciled with pre-modern beliefs in the moon's power through a mechanism of sleep deprivation. Prior to the advent of modern lighting the moon was a significant source of nocturnal illumination that affected sleep-wake cycle, tending to cause sleep deprivation around the time of full moon. This partial sleep deprivation would have been sufficient to induce mania/hypomania in susceptible bipolar patients and seizures in patients with seizure disorders. The advent of modern lighting attenuated this lunar effect, especially in modern urban areas, where most 20th century studies of lunar effects on the mind have been conducted. The hypothesis presented in this article is open to empirical validation or falsification. Potential tests for the sleep-deprivation hypothesis of lunar action are discussed.
The effect of seasons on suicides has been suggested repeatedly. In order to reveal a true seasonal pattern, an appropriate statistical technique, which is sensitive to a specific type of cyclic variation in the data, must be chosen. This study is a review of the use of statistical techniques for seasonality and of some important characteristics of study samples that were evaluated from 46 original suicide seasonality articles published in major psychiatric journals. The results showed that statistical techniques were applied in a majority of articles, but they were commonly lacking regarding analyses, which compared seasonal patterns among subgroups of a population. In recent studies more sophisticated statistical techniques were utilized for seasonality, like spectral analyses, as compared with earlier studies, in which the emphasis was on chi-square tests. Lack of reporting essential features of the data, such as the sample size and monthly values of suicides, were frequent. The calendar effect was adjusted only in 11 studies. Some recommendations concerning the methodological and reporting issues are summarized for future articles on the seasonal affect on suicides.
The study of school bullying has recently assumed an international dimension, but is faced with difficulties in finding terms in different languages to correspond to the English word bullying. To investigate the meanings given to various terms, a set of 25 stick-figure cartoons was devised, covering a range of social situations between peers. These cartoons were shown to samples of 8- and 14-year-old pupils (N = 1,245; n = 604 at 8 years, n = 641 at 14 years) in schools in 14 different countries, who judged whether various native terms cognate to bullying, applied to them. Terms from 10 Indo-European languages and three Asian languages were sampled. Multidimensional scaling showed that 8-year-olds primarily discriminated nonaggressive and aggressive cartoon situations; however, 14-year-olds discriminated fighting from physical bullying, and also discriminated verbal bullying and social exclusion. Gender differences were less appreciable than age differences. Based on the 14-year-old data, profiles of 67 words were then constructed across the five major cartoon clusters. The main types of terms used fell into six groups: bullying (of all kinds), verbal plus physical bullying, solely verbal bullying, social exclusion, solely physical aggression, and mainly physical aggression. The findings are discussed in relation to developmental trends in how children understand bullying, the inferences that can be made from cross-national studies, and the design of such studies.
Mass media deliver pertinacious rumours that lunar phases influence the progress and long-term results in several medical procedures. Peer reviewed studies support this, e.g. in myocardial infarction, others do not.
We looked retrospectively at the dates of cardiac arrests (CA; n=368) of cardiac origin and of acute myocardial infarctions (AMI) with consecutive thrombolytic therapy or acute PTCA (n=872) and at the lunar phases at the corresponding dates. Medical data had been collected prospectively on the patient's admission. The lunar phases were defined as full moon+/-1 day, new moon+/-1 day and the days in between as waning and waxing moon. The incidence of these cardiac events at each phase was calculated as days with a case divided by the total number of days of the specific moon phase in the observation period (1992-1998). Wilcoxon Rank Test was used for statistical analysis.
AMI and CA occurred on equal percentages of days within each lunar phase: AMI on 35% of all days with new moon, on 38% of full moon days, on 39% waning, and on 41% of the waxing moon days; CA on 19, 17, 16 and 16% of all days of the respective lunar phase. This difference was not significant.
Lunar phases do not appear to correlate with acute coronary events leading to myocardial infarction or sudden cardiac death.
Time patterns of suicide have been attributed not only to social and psychological factors but also to direct geophysical effects. Seasonal variations in day length and temperature seem likely to contribute to the timing of the suicide process.
We analysed all suicides (n=1658) committed in a northern province of Finland during a period of 153 months. Daily data on the number of suicides, local weather conditions and geomagnetic storms were compiled and modelled with Poisson regression using the province population as the denominator, and with the means of harmonic series for seasonal variation. Time series analysis of monthly numbers of suicides was carried out using the seasonal-trend decomposition procedure based on loess.
Marked fluctuations in the number of suicides occurred during the study period (P=0.01). There was significant seasonal variation in death from suicide (P=0.01), but analysis of the meteorological data showed no evidence of effect on the risk of suicide.
Assessment of mental disorder or alcohol consumption was missing, since only data derived from death certificate was available for each case.
The seasonal effect was significant, but remained modest compared to sex and age as risk factors for suicide. Preventive measures need to be tailored according to time of the year.
To investigate a possible relationship between seizure frequency and the lunar cycle, we reviewed the occurrence of seizures recorded in our epilepsy monitoring unit over a 3-year period. Analysis of the total number of seizures (epileptic plus nonepileptic) showed no significant association. A separate analysis revealed that for nonepileptic seizures, there was an increase at the full moon, and for epileptic seizures, an increase in the last quarter. We conclude that there is no "full moon" effect on seizures as a whole, although there is a possible effect on nonepileptic seizures.
The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the lunar cycle on the frequency of deliveries and/or delivery complications.
This was a retrospective cohort, secondary analysis of 564,039 births across 62 lunar cycles that were identified from North Carolina birth certificate data from 1997 to 2001.
Using analysis of variance and t-tests, we found no significant differences in the frequency of births, route of delivery, births to multigravid women, or birth complications across the 8 phases of the moon or between documented high- and low-volume intervals of the lunar cycle.
An analysis of 5 years of data demonstrated no predictable influence of the lunar cycle on deliveries or complications. As expected, this pervasive myth is not evidence based.
Popular belief holds that the lunar cycle affects human physiology, behaviour and health. We examined the influence of moon phase on sleep duration in a secondary analysis of a feasibility study of mobile telephone base stations and sleep quality. We studied 31 volunteers (18 women and 13 men, mean age 50 years) from a suburban area of Switzerland longitudinally over 6 weeks, including two full moons. Subjective sleep duration was calculated from sleep diary data. Data were analysed using multiple linear regression models with random effects. Mean sleep duration was 6 h 49 min. Subjective sleep duration varied with the lunar cycle, from 6 h 41 min at full moon to 7 h 00 min at new moon (P < 0.001). Average sleep duration was shortened by 68 min during the week compared with weekends (P < 0.001). Men slept 17 min longer than women (P < 0.001) and sleep duration decreased with age (P < 0.001). There was also evidence that rating of fatigue in the morning was associated with moon phase, with more tiredness (P = 0.027) at full moon. The study was designed for other purposes and the association between lunar cycle and sleep duration will need to be confirmed in further studies.
The choice of the suicide method is influenced by the individual's sex, age, cultural value system and the method's availability. Therefore, we studied the chosen method in relation to the investigated motive, age and sex.
The study included all residents of Middle Franconia, dying from suicide due to death certificate and police investigations. 2062 suicides were included. Data was categorized by method and underlying reason.
Women preferred self-poisoning and men predominantly chose hanging with the distribution changing with regard to the underlying motive, especially in suicide due to family distress and lovesickness. The association between method and underlying reason of suicide was highly significant (chi (2)-test, chi (2) = 268.5, p < 0.0001), in male (chi (2) = 166.7, p < 0.0001) and in female subjects (chi (2) = 132.7, p < 0.0001). Furthermore, there were differences regarding the suicide method concerning the age.
Certain motives tended to be associated with some suicide methods, so that the means to commit suicide should be further taken into account in preventive as well as in therapeutic measures.
The goal of the work described here was to investigate the influence of environmental factors on admissions of patients with status epilepticus (SE) to the intensive care unit (ICU).
This retrospective cohort study analyzed all admissions to a university hospital ICU because of SE. Poisson regression and likelihood ratio tests were employed to determine associations between environmental factors and the incidence of SE.
Data on 184 patients (mean age: 57, range: 18-89) indicated a significant (P<0.0001) diurnal pattern, with admissions peaking between 4 and 5 PM and reaching a minimum in the early morning. No significant weekly, monthly, or seasonal pattern was observed. Admissions varied significantly across the lunar cycle (P=0.003), peaking at Day 3 after new moon and being minimal 3 days before new moon. The incidence of SE increased on bright days (P=0.04) and with the duration of daily sunshine (P=0.03). High relative humidity (P<0.01), high temperature (P<0.05), and dark days (P=0.02) were significantly protective factors. The incidence of SE on weekends was significantly lower in the subgroup of patients with known epilepsy (P=0.004), and the risk of nonconvulsive SE was significantly higher in summer (P=0.04).
Admissions of patients with SE to the ICU are significantly associated with several environmental protective and precipitating factors, such as diurnal, weekly, and lunar cycles and weather variables.
Acts of violence account for an estimated 1.43 million deaths worldwide annually. While violence can occur in many contexts, individual acts of aggression account for the majority of instances. In some individuals, repetitive acts of aggression are grounded in an underlying neurobiological susceptibility that is just beginning to be understood. The failure of "top-down" control systems in the prefrontal cortex to modulate aggressive acts that are triggered by anger provoking stimuli appears to play an important role. An imbalance between prefrontal regulatory influences and hyper-responsivity of the amygdala and other limbic regions involved in affective evaluation are implicated. Insufficient serotonergic facilitation of "top-down" control, excessive catecholaminergic stimulation, and subcortical imbalances of glutamatergic/gabaminergic systems as well as pathology in neuropeptide systems involved in the regulation of affiliative behavior may contribute to abnormalities in this circuitry. Thus, pharmacological interventions such as mood stabilizers, which dampen limbic irritability, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which may enhance "top-down" control, as well as psychosocial interventions to develop alternative coping skills and reinforce reflective delays may be therapeutic.
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