Siting of Adobe Structures in Earthquake Prone Areas

Construction Techniques/Siting. (302.9)The digital Cuny Archive was made available in part through funding assistance from USAID.Adobe and mud structures, used widely for housing in earthquake prone areas throughout the world, will fail, even in the presence of good design and workmanship, if they are built on poor sites. Structural and seismic factors, topographic factors, and lithologic factors are all important in selecting geologically safe construction sites away from fault zones, cliffs, unstable slopes, or areas with deep alluvial or man-made fills

Selecting Safe Building Sites in Seismically Active Areas of Developing Countries

Construction Techniques/Siting. (302.9) Construction Techniques/Earthquake. (302.7)The digital Cuny Archive was made available in part through funding assistance from USAID.Loss of life and property as a result of earthquakes can be significantly reduced through appropriate design and construction of structures on relatively safe sites. Structural-seismic factors, topographic factors, and lithologic factors should all be evaluated by a geologist and an engineer in the site selection process. Active faults, landslides, and poorly consolidated soils must be avoided as building sites. In developing countries, geologists and engineers are not always available for site selection, especially during post-disaster reconstruction. Paraprofessionals, trained by a knowledgeable instructor, may employ specific criteria designed to avoid major problem areas when professional geologists and engineers are not available for site selection. Although the selected sites may have deficiencies, a carefully employed site selection process should significantly reduce earthquake losses

From Select Agent to an Established Pathogen: The Response to \u3ci\u3ePhakopsora pachyrhizi\u3c/i\u3e (Soybean Rust) in North America

The pathogen causing soybean rust, Phakopsora pachyrhizi, was first described in Japan in 1902. The disease was important in the Eastern Hemisphere for many decades before the fungus was reported in Hawaii in 1994, which was followed by reports from countries in Africa and South America. In 2004, P. pachyrhizi was confirmed in Louisiana, making it the first report in the continental United States. Based on yield losses from countries in Asia, Africa, and South America, it was clear that this pathogen could have a major economic impact on the yield of 30 million ha of soybean in the United States. The response by agencies within the United States Department of Agriculture, industry, soybean check-off boards, and universities was immediate and complex. The impacts of some of these activities are detailed in this review. The net result has been that the once dreaded disease, which caused substantial losses in other parts of the world, is now better understood and effectively managed in the United States. The disease continues to be monitored yearly for changes in spatial and temporal distribution so that soybean growers can continue to benefit by knowing where soybean rust is occurring during the growing season

ACC/AHA Guidelines for the Management of Patients With ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction—Executive Summary A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (Writing Committee to Revise the 1999 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction)

Although considerable improvement has occurred in the process of care for patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), room for improvement exists (1–3). The purpose of the present guideline is to focus on the numerous advances in the diagnosis and management of patients with STEMI since 1999. This is reflected in the changed name of the guideline: “ACC/AHA Guidelines for the Management of Patients With ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction.” The final recommendations for indications for a diagnostic procedure, a particular therapy, or an intervention in patients with STEMI summarize both clinical evidence and expert opinion (Table 1).To provide clinicians with a set of recommendations that can easily be translated into the practice of caring for patients with STEMI, this guideline is organized around the chronology of the interface between the patient and the clinician. The full guideline is available at http://www.acc.org/clinical/guidelines/stemi/index.htm

Control of star formation by supersonic turbulence

Understanding the formation of stars in galaxies is central to much of modern astrophysics. For several decades it has been thought that stellar birth is primarily controlled by the interplay between gravity and magnetostatic support, modulated by ambipolar diffusion. Recently, however, both observational and numerical work has begun to suggest that support by supersonic turbulence rather than magnetic fields controls star formation. In this review we outline a new theory of star formation relying on the control by turbulence. We demonstrate that although supersonic turbulence can provide global support, it nevertheless produces density enhancements that allow local collapse. Inefficient, isolated star formation is a hallmark of turbulent support, while efficient, clustered star formation occurs in its absence. The consequences of this theory are then explored for both local star formation and galactic scale star formation. (ABSTRACT ABBREVIATED)Comment: Invited review for "Reviews of Modern Physics", 87 pages including 28 figures, in pres

An Evolutionary Conserved Role for Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase in Behavioral Responses to Ethanol

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (Alk) is a gene expressed in the nervous system that encodes a receptor tyrosine kinase commonly known for its oncogenic function in various human cancers. We have determined that Alk is associated with altered behavioral responses to ethanol in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, in mice, and in humans. Mutant flies containing transposon insertions in dAlk demonstrate increased resistance to the sedating effect of ethanol. Database analyses revealed that Alk expression levels in the brains of recombinant inbred mice are negatively correlated with ethanol-induced ataxia and ethanol consumption. We therefore tested Alk gene knockout mice and found that they sedate longer in response to high doses of ethanol and consume more ethanol than wild-type mice. Finally, sequencing of human ALK led to the discovery of four polymorphisms associated with a low level of response to ethanol, an intermediate phenotype that is predictive of future alcohol use disorders (AUDs). These results suggest that Alk plays an evolutionary conserved role in ethanol-related behaviors. Moreover, ALK may be a novel candidate gene conferring risk for AUDs as well as a potential target for pharmacological intervention

AHA/ACCF secondary prevention and risk reduction therapy for patients with coronary and other atherosclerotic vascular disease: 2011 update

"Since the 2006 update of the American Heart Association (AHA)/American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF) guidelines on secondary prevention (1), important evidence from clinical trials has emerged that further supports and broadens the merits of intensive risk-reduction therapies for patients with established coronary and other atherosclerotic vascular disease, including peripheral artery disease, atherosclerotic aortic disease, and carotid artery disease. In reviewing this evidence and its clinical impact, the writing group believed it would be more appropriate to expand the title of this guideline to “Secondary Prevention and Risk Reduction Therapy for Patients With Coronary and Other Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease.” Indeed, the growing body of evidence confirms that in patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease, comprehensive risk factor management reduces risk as assessed by a variety of outcomes, including improved survival, reduced recurrent events, the need for revascularization procedures, and improved quality of life. It is important not only that the healthcare provider implement these recommendations in appropriate patients but also that healthcare systems support this implementation to maximize the benefit to the patient. Compelling evidence-based results from recent clinical trials and revised practice guidelines provide the impetus for this update of the 2006 recommendations with evidence-based results (2–165) (Table 1). Classification of recommendations and level of evidence are expressed in ACCF/AHA format, as detailed in Table 2. Recommendations made herein are largely based on major practice guidelines from the National Institutes of Health and updated ACCF/AHA practice guidelines, as well as on results from recent clinical trials. Thus, the development of the present guideline involved a process of partial adaptation of other guideline statements and reports and supplemental literature searches. The recommendations listed in this document are, whenever possible, evidence based. Writing group members performed these relevant supplemental literature searches with key search phrases including but not limited to tobacco/smoking/smoking cessation; blood pressure control/hypertension; cholesterol/hypercholesterolemia/lipids/lipoproteins/dyslipidemia; physical activity/exercise/exercise training; weight management/overweight/obesity; type 2 diabetes mellitus management; antiplatelet agents/anticoagulants; renin/angiotensin/aldosterone system blockers; β-blockers; influenza vaccination; clinical depression/depression screening; and cardiac/cardiovascular rehabilitation. Additional searches cross-referenced these topics with the subtopics of clinical trials, secondary prevention, atherosclerosis, and coronary/cerebral/peripheral artery disease. These searches were limited to studies, reviews, and other evidence conducted in human subjects and published in English. In addition, the writing group reviewed documents related to the subject matter previously published by the AHA, the ACCF, and the National Institutes of Health.

AHA/ACCF secondary prevention and risk reduction therapy for patients with coronary and other atherosclerotic vascular disease: 2011 update: A guideline from the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology Foundation

"Since the 2006 update of the American Heart Association (AHA)/American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF) guidelines on secondary prevention,1 important evidence from clinical trials has emerged that further supports and broadens the merits of intensive risk-reduction therapies for patients with established coronary and other atherosclerotic vascular disease, including peripheral artery disease, atherosclerotic aortic disease, and carotid artery disease. In reviewing this evidence and its clinical impact, the writing group believed it would be more appropriate to expand the title of this guideline to “Secondary Prevention and Risk Reduction Therapy for Patients With Coronary and Other Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease.” Indeed, the growing body of evidence confirms that in patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease, comprehensive risk factor management reduces risk as assessed by a variety of outcomes, including improved survival, reduced recurrent events, the need for revascularization procedures, and improved quality of life. It is important not only that the healthcare provider implement these recommendations in appropriate patients but also that healthcare systems support this implementation to maximize the benefit to the patient. Compelling evidence-based results from recent clinical trials and revised practice guidelines provide the impetus for this update of the 2006 recommendations with evidence-based results2–165 (Table 1). Classification of recommendations and level of evidence are expressed in ACCF/AHA format, as detailed in Table 2. Recommendations made herein are largely based on major practice guidelines from the National Institutes of Health and updated ACCF/AHA practice guidelines, as well as on results from recent clinical trials. Thus, the development of the present guideline involved a process of partial adaptation of other guideline statements and reports and supplemental literature searches. The recommendations listed in this document are, whenever possible, evidence based. Writing group members performed these relevant supplemental literature searches with key search phrases including but not limited to tobacco/smoking/smoking cessation; blood pressure control/hypertension; cholesterol/hypercholesterolemia/lipids/lipoproteins/dyslipidemia; physical activity/exercise/exercise training; weight management/overweight/obesity; type 2 diabetes mellitus management; antiplatelet agents/anticoagulants; renin/angiotensin/aldosterone system blockers; β-blockers; influenza vaccination; clinical depression/depression screening; and cardiac/cardiovascular rehabilitation. Additional searches cross-referenced these topics with the subtopics of clinical trials, secondary prevention, atherosclerosis, and coronary/cerebral/peripheral artery disease. These searches were limited to studies, reviews, and other evidence conducted in human subjects and published in English. In addition, the writing group reviewed documents related to the subject matter previously published by the AHA, the ACCF, and the National Institutes of Health.