And perhaps most alarming of all, one of these bold dealers was determined to dish his wares directly to the Islamic State back in February.
The third possible explanation is the one that is most alarming and it's the one that scientists like Dr. Lin and others are beginning to look at, and that's that there's an underlying pathological mechanism that has an influence on both hearing loss and dementia.
Perhaps most alarming of all, just one third of people aged 16 to 24 had visited a library in the last 12 months, compared with nearly 40% four years earlier.
The events of the weekend were all of the immediately and obviously catastrophic variety, one-off moments of focussed violence that have long been one of the most alarming, and, for many, enticing parts of the game.
As one of his final acts in office, Surgeon General David Satcher called attention to one of the most alarming public-health issues in America: the medical neglect, abuse and disenfranchisement of 7 million Americans with mental retardation.
Salome remains arguably the most alarming love story ever penned, and one of the most extreme experiences classical music has to offer.
One of the most alarming suggestions was offered by the Kuwaiti interior minister, Sheikh Jaber al-Khaled al-Sabah, in a meeting with a US ambassador in February last year.
One year on from the Chibok kidnappings and #BringBackOurGirls campaign, the UN Secretary-General identified the incident involving 276 schoolgirls in Nigeria as "one of the most alarming episodes of 2014".
Syria's civil war has been especially dangerous for health professionals; a United Nations report issued last month described the "deliberate targeting of hospitals, medical personnel and transports" as "one of the most alarming features of the Syrian conflict".
