San Francisco Research Articles

Discussion of “Suspension Cable Design of the New San Franscisco–Oakland Bay Bridge” by John Sun, Rafael Manzanarez, and Marwan Nader

A discussion of a paper with the aforementioned title by J. Sun et al., published in this journal (Volume 9, Number 1, January/February 2004), is presented. The discusser suggests that the octagon strand arrangement, proposed in the original paper to deal with some of the problems created by the unusual cable geometry of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, may lead to other difficulties in construction. He also expresses concern about the lack of design details of strand separators in the saddles, cable strand geometry during erection stages and its relationship to the cable final position, and the limited clear space between a strand socket and its anchor rod. He concludes that these problems would make this a very difficult and expensive bridge to build.

English

SAN FRANCISCO ESTUARY & WATERSHED SCIENCE Editorial Understanding Central Valley Chinook Salmon and Steelhead: It is Time to Get off the Dime! Randy Brown, Co-Editor-in-Chief San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science brown.randall@comcast.net BACKGROUND Chinook salmon and steelhead are important biological components of the Central Valley ecosystem. The adults spawn in many streams, the young may spend a few to several months in these streams and in the San Francisco Estuary on their way to the ocean. When the adults return to their natal streams they transfer some of the ocean derived nutrients, organic matter, and energy to the lotic foodweb. Chinook salmon and steelhead together form the basis of economically important com- mercial and recreational fisheries – both in the ocean and inland waters. Chinook salmon and steelhead also are important because they are part of the historic culture in the Central Valley and qualify as “charismatic macro- fauna” with which the public can readily identify. This identification is demonstrated by the Feather River and American River salmon festivals that annually attract thousands of adults and children. The abundances of the four Chinook salmon races (win- ter, spring, fall, late fall) and steelhead are often used to judge the ecological health of the Central Valley ecosys- tem. This judgment is in part because spring and winter Chinook are respectively listed as threatened and endan- gered under the state and federal endangered species acts and the steelhead is listed as threatened pursuant to the federal Endangered Species Act. The late fall and fall runs are federal candidate species. An important ecological objective is to restore habitat and reduce the impacts of other factors so that the two salmon races and steelhead populations recover to the point they can be delisted. To complicate matters considerably, in the Central Valley we have six hatcheries that produce and release all four races of Chinook salmon and steelhead. Five of these hatcheries are mitigation hatcheries – Coleman, Feather River, Nimbus, Mokelumne, and Merced. Two of the hatcheries, Feather River and Mokelumne, also rear and release “enhancement” salmon that are grown specifically to increase the numbers of salmon available to the ocean fisheries. The other hatchery, Livingston Stone National Fish Hatchery, supplements the winter Chinook run. These hatcheries collectively produce and release impres- sive numbers of fish each year: Fall Chinook – 30 million, mostly smolt sized fish, from the five mitigation hatcheries; Spring Chinook – About two million smolts from the Feather River Hatchery; Late fall Chinook – About one million advanced smolts from Coleman National Fish Hatchery; Winter Chinook – About 250,000 advanced smolts from Livingston Stone National Fish Hatchery; Steelhead – About 1.5 million yearlings from Cole- man, Feather River, Nimbus and Mokelumne hatch- eries. Release strategies vary with the race and the hatchery. However, most fall Chinook from the Feather River and Nimbus hatcheries are released off-site in San Pablo Bay,

What's Going On in Saturn's E Ring?

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA-- More than 11,500 earth scientists from around the world gathered 13 to 17 December at the fall American Geophysical Union meeting. Researchers discussed possible explanations for last winter9s outburst of water ice from Saturn9s E ring.

TMDL FOR PESTICIDES IN SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA URBAN CREEKS

TMDL FOR PESTICIDES IN SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA URBAN CREEKSAll urban creeks in the San Francisco Bay Area are on California's 303(d) list of impaired water bodies due to observations of aquatic toxicity, primarily due to runoff of the common insecticide diazinon. Although the main culprit is diazinon, there are other pesticides of concern that are used in urban watersheds, and the toxic effects of some of these pesticides tend to be additive. There is...Author(s)Thomas MumleyBill JohnsonSourceProceedings of the Water Environment FederationSubjectSession 4: Wet Weather Pollutant Sources and Implementation ApproachesDocument typeConference PaperPublisherWater Environment FederationPrint publication date Jan, 2005ISSN1938-6478SICI1938-6478(20050101)2005:3L.427;1-DOI10.2175/193864705783967250Volume / Issue2005 / 3Content sourceTMDLS ConferenceFirst / last page(s)427 - 445Copyright2005Word count498

CLEO/IQEC assembles in the city by the bay

CLEO/IQEC assembles in the city by the bay

Addressing the burden of asthma in San Francisco through the San Francisco asthma task force

Rationale Asthma is a major and costly health problem in San Francisco (SF). To address the local epidemic, the San Francisco Asthma Task Force (TSFATF), a multidisciplinary task force, was established in 2001. The only known legislated task force of its kind, TSFATF was charged with developing a city-wide strategic plan to reduce the burden of asthma through management and prevention. Methods To support TSFATF's efforts, grants were obtained from a Kaiser Permanente and American Lung Association partnership, and the California Endowment Fund. Subcommittees were formed to target four sectors, highly impacted, by asthma: Clinical Care, Schools/Child Care, Environment and Community. Subcommittees performed extensive needs assessments by holding 13 focus groups including clinicians/medical personnel, patients/families, tenants, property owners and school personnel. Over 40 interviews were conducted with environmental activists, legislators, heads of agencies, scientists, and clinicians. Results Based on information obtained from the needs assessment and literature reviews, a comprehensive strategic plan was developed citing thirty-seven recommendations. Highlighting two recommendations from each subcommittee, the plan was endorsed by the SF Board of Supervisors' (TSFBS) Health Commission. It will also be presented to the SF Board of Education (TSFBE). Further legislative action will be pursued through TSFBS and TSFBE. Conclusions TSFATF's vision is that “San Francisco will be a model community where people with asthma, and all people, will live in a healthy environment that promotes an optimal quality of life.” Through an unprecedented collaborative effort and advocacy, TSFATF will institute legislative action and citywide strategies to improve asthma care and awareness in SF.

Ethnobotanical Knowledge of Brosimum alicastrum (Moraceae) among Urban and Rural El Salvadorian Adolescents

This study represents a systematic attempt to quantify and compare the degree of familiarity among rural and urban El Salvadorian adolescents with ujushte, Brosimum alicastrum Sw. (Moraceae). To do this, we administered a written questionnaire to 177 students attending school in either San Franciso Menendez or Apopa, El Salvador. Using a closed-end format, the students provided information about their knowledge of the tree and its fruit, frequency and enjoyment of consumption, method of preparation, and the source of their knowledge. Although most of the rural students knew of the tree and ate its fruit, very few of the urban students indicated familiarity. Statistical hypothesis testing demonstrated that the discrepancy between rural and urban knowledge could not be accounted for by differences in reported socioeconomic status. Grandparents were cited as the most important source of information about ujushte.

An Ocean Beach Diary?

Ocean Beach (part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area) in San Francisco, California, provides readily available access to the seashore for residents of, and visitors to the city. The seashore is the home to shorebirds, but also an important place for recreation. Rather than environmentalists avoiding the beach as part of a larger effort to lessen the impact of visitor use of the beach, the author suggests that environmentalists can be observers/witnesses to monitor the recreational use of the natural resource. Over the years there have been numerous environmental concerns that have impacted Ocean Beach, including wastewater runoff, erosion, and wildlife disturbance. Concerned citizens can take action by becoming involved with the San Francisco Department of the Environment's Ocean Beach Task Force that works on a number related of issues. An interpretive/naturalist presence at the beach or a popular book about the local natural history could effect visitor behavior there, and therefore mitigate against harmful use of Ocean Beach. Description In San Francisco, California, Ocean Beach lines the western edge of the city, all the way from the famous Cliff House restaurant in the northwest to Fort Funston in the southwest. There are no boardwalks with stores or numerous restaurants along its length. The city, including a few restaurants, is on the other side of the Great Highway that lines the coast in San Francisco. The Pacific Ocean waters are cold, and the surfers wear wetsuits. The waves at Ocean Beach are not very large. The National Park Service, through the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA), has oversight and management responsibilities for the area. Ocean Beach is exemplary as a public beach because of the easily available access it provides San Franciscans to the seashore. There are numerous bus and streetcar lines that end close to the shoreline. One can hike for miles along its length. On hot days there is a sense of community while crowds gather to watch the sunset at the end of the day. Need for the Resource The ocean provides a dependable and affordable source of recreation for many. It provides cool weather during the summer; it allows one to think of other places, and different ways. Ocean Beach resides at the end of the Western World. Leneek and Bosker (1999) relay the historical importance the ocean played for the literary Romantics and later generations. They tout the beach as a Paradise on Earth. At Ocean Beach, one can commune with the ocean, the sky, and the night. One can listen to the waves and observe bird life. It is also one of the few places where San Franciscans without cars can visit the ocean. On weekends, Ocean Beach is a popular place for bonfire parties. For some, Ocean Beach has become an essential part of their recreational needs. The proximity of the ocean has also had an impact on the mind frame of the city. In San Francisco's early days, during the mid 1800s, many traveled to San Francisco by ship. San Francisco Bay was port for trade and the interior region that was the site of the Gold Rush. Locals have been so enamored of the sea and the rich local marine resource, that it was possible to create marine reserves in the nearby waters like the Gulf of the Farallones Marine Reserve (which include the Farallon Islands) to the west, the Cordell Bank Marine Reserve to the northwest, and the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary to the southwest. There is also a National Park Service Maritime Museum in San Francisco, and communities of ocean singers and surfers. For many locals, the ocean has been an integral part of their lives. Looking out towards the horizon, one is reminded of the bigger world with its foreign ports. Personal Experience as Observations For years I have ventured to Ocean Beach to commune with the ocean, the sky, the night, and to observe shorebirds. One can hike unimpeded for many miles along its length. I present myself as the model for concerned citizen as observer, in contrast to the concerned non-visitor. …

"Evil habits" and "personal choices": assigning responsibility for health in the 20th century.

The 20th century began and ended with many of the nation's more affluent and better‐educated citizens in a near‐frenzied pursuit of better health through lifestyle modification. Americans sought and received health‐enhancing and disease‐preventing advice in books, newspapers, popular magazine articles, and government studies. They followed exercise regimes and bought self‐improvement paraphernalia from “medicine balls” to elliptical machines in order to learn “How to Avoid Heart Troubles” (Groedel 1901) and, even more ambitiously, to stay Forever Young (Berger 1989). Upton Sinclair alerted early 20th‐century Americans to the appalling conditions in the meatpacking industry (1906), and nearly a century later Eric Schlosser warned of the “Dark Side of the All‐American Meal” (2001). Finally, San Franciscans, fretting about the nutritional dangers to their children's health, began the last century by banning “roving pie vendors” who catered to the “habitual pie‐eating” habits of schoolchildren (Habitual Pie‐Eating Ruining Health of Children 1910) and began this century by prohibiting the sale of soft drinks and other unhealthy snacks on school campuses (Delgado 2003).

‘New era’ antipsychotics avoid weight gain

American psychiatric association annual meeting, 17-22 may, san francisco

A Host of Novel Agents for Treating Psoriasis, Psoriatic Arthritis Stir Interest

SAN FRANCISCO—A host of novel medications that have been developed with recombinant DNA techniques are offering physicians new options for treating psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis that cannot be well controlled by standard therapies. An estimated 30% of the 5.5 million people of all ages with psoriasis in the United States experience the moderate-to-severe form of the illness that these new agents are designed to treat. Termed immune modulators, biological response modifiers, or simply “biologics,” the new medications selectively block and reduce either abnormal T-lymphocyte activity or the inflammatory response that scientists believe play a key role in triggering these two disorders. Research to date suggests the new agents provide clearing of psoriatic skin and reduction of joint pain and swelling without broad suppression of the immune system. It is hoped that they therefore also will impart greater longterm safety than some of the agents currently used to treat patients with the disease, although concerns remain about their potential for immunosuppression, and their high cost—up to $26000 per year for some patients—may limit their use.

City Shows Off 150 Years Of Architectural Trends

City Shows Off 150 Years Of Architectural Trends

Volcanic Blasts Favor El Niño Warmings

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA-- A record 9300 earth, ocean, atmospheric, and planetary scientists gathered here last month for the union9s fall meeting. Talks included a discussion of a new statistical analysis of the timing of large tropical volcanic eruptions relative to ocean warmings over the past 300 years.

Book review: health care without shame: a handbook for the sexually diverse and their caregivers. by charles moser. greenery press, san francisco, california, 1999, 120 pp., $11.95

Book review: health care without shame: a handbook for the sexually diverse and their caregivers. by charles moser. greenery press, san francisco, california, 1999, 120 pp., $11.95

Contagious Divides: Epidemics and Race in San Francisco's Chinatown (review)

258 Review CONTAGIOUS DIVIDES: EPIDEMICS AND RACE IN SAN FRANCISCO'S CHINATOWN by Nayan Shah, pp. 398,18 illustrations. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001; $50.00 (cloth), $19.95 (paper). Nayan Shah, in Contagious Divides, uses a trichotomy of history, geography, and action to critique 19th- and 20th-century public health debates and practices surrounding San Francisco's Chinatown and its residents. This sophisticated and complex account highlights the structural, institutional, and individual factors that defined health and everyday life from the 1800s to the mid1900s . One of the fundamental arguments made in the book is that control over the image and representation of Chinese people and places is critical to understanding the shifting nature and focus of public health policy and practice. Shah divides the book into nine chapters, each of which focus on specific sets of interactions among illness/health, race, gender, and class that defined in large degree the behaviors of white and Chinese residents and advocates, public health and government agencies, and nongovernmental and nonprofit organizations. Each of the chapters focuses on the ways in which Chinese residents and Chinatown are seen as vectors and incubators for specific diseases or illnesses (such as smallpox, bubonic plague, syphilis, tuberculosis, and Chinese infant and child mortality) and the ways in which regulation, sanitization , and surveillance constitute predominant modes of behavior by government bureaucrats, politicians, and business leaders. For example, in Chapter 2, titled "Regulating Bodies and Space," Shah argues that public health officials and the wider public saw the smallpox epidemic as embodied in Chinese individuals (with public health officials having traced the disease to steamer ships from Asia) and therefore geographically situated in Chinatown. This public health understanding of smallpox as embodied in Chinese people and places motivated policies that mandated the social and spatial containment of Chinese immigrants (i.e., individual isolation and spatial confinement in Chinatown). Using detailed examination of public agency and media descriptions of Chinese residents and residences, the author shows how filth, uncleanliness, and even immorality became strongly associated with Chinese living, both in terms of individual lifestyles (e.g., public accounts focusing on the deviance of Chinese bachelor life, opium dens, and female prostitution) and places (e.g., public health agency evaluations of Chinatown having high-density living and mixing production such as cigar making and laundries with domestic living). Other chapters provide similarly detailed accounts of the construction and reinforcement of the social depiction by white public health officials, Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved · Vol. 13, No. 2 · 2002 ToMmshi 259 politicians, missionaries, and residents of Chinese people and places as vectors of disease and the ways in which Chinese women, Chinese laborers, and nongovernmental and grassroots groups resisted such imagery. Shah explains how these stigmatized and stylized images of Chinese people and places become translated into actions by public health staff, politicians, the courts, missionaries, and residents using varied examples (such as the regulation and attempted abolishment of Chinese laundries in San Francisco, the exclusion of Chinese residents pursued by the upscale communities of St. Francis Wood and Nob Hill, and the examination, regulation, and isolation of Chinese and other Asian immigrants on Angel Island). This book makes several contributions to scholarly understanding of health for marginalized and underserved populations. First, the book's focus on gender highlights the importance of white and Chinese women in the formulation of Chinese social identity and in public health policy design and practice. In particular, the book argues the importance and professionalization of Chinese women as physicians, nurses, and social workers who promoted and provided access to Westernized medicine among Chinese residents and families. Second, the author emphasizes the role of nonstate actors (such as nonprofit, religious, and business groups) in designing, implementing , and resisting public health policies and the widely popular social imagination of Chinese life as filthy, immoral, and exotic. Third, the author makes clear the problematic role of the state in pursuing hygienic public health strategies and in depicting and treating Chinese people and places as vectors of disease. Inter- and intrastate conflicts are often integral core elements in each of the chapters. For example, although local public officials saw bubonic plague as directly...

THE VIEW FROM DOWNSTREAM: A TMDL STRATEGY TO ATTAIN WATER QUALITY STANDARDS FOR MERCURY IN SAN FRANCISCO BAY

THE VIEW FROM DOWNSTREAM: A TMDL STRATEGY TO ATTAIN WATER QUALITY STANDARDS FOR MERCURY IN SAN FRANCISCO BAYSan Francisco Bay is an important fishery on the West Coast, serving as a food source for approximately 150,000 anglers, and providing habitat for rare and endangered species. Monitoring data indicate that mercury concentrations in popular sport fish exceed acceptable risk levels for developmental impairment of children and expectant mothers. Based on the latest criteria guidance from USEPA and...Author(s)Thomas E. MumleyKhalil E. Abu-SabaSourceProceedings of the Water Environment FederationSubjectSession 7 TMDL Development MethodologyDocument typeConference PaperPublisherWater Environment FederationPrint publication date Jan, 2002ISSN1938-6478SICI1938-6478(20020101)2002:8L.533;1-DOI10.2175/193864702785072119Volume / Issue2002 / 8Content sourceTMDLS ConferenceFirst / last page(s)533 - 555Copyright2002Word count614

Environmental exposure and sensitization to cockroach, dust mite, and cat allergen: Correlation with asthma symptoms in a population of disadvantaged, inner-city children in the san francisco bay area

Environmental exposure and sensitization to cockroach, dust mite, and cat allergen: Correlation with asthma symptoms in a population of disadvantaged, inner-city children in the san francisco bay area

Spencer's Legalization of the Irish Conquest in A View and Faerie Queene VI

Previous articleNext article No AccessOriginal ArticleSpencer's Legalization of the Irish Conquest in A View and Faerie Queene VIBRIAN LOCKEYBRIAN LOCKEYSAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY Search for more articles by this author SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITYPDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by English Literary Renaissance Volume 31, Number 3Autumn 2001 Published in association with the Arthur F. Kinney Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6757.2001.tb01193.x Views: 50Total views on this site Citations: 1Citations are reported from Crossref PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Andrew Sisson After Rome; or, Why Spenser Was Not a Republican, Spenser Studies 28 (Dec 2017): 83–118.https://doi.org/10.7756/spst.028.004.83-118

Undiagnosed and unreported AIDS deaths: results from the San Francisco Medical Examiner.

To determine whether AIDS surveillance misses a substantial number of persons who die with unreported AIDS, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of decedents examined by the San Francisco (SF) Medical Examiner. Decedents who received toxicology screening were tested for HIV antibody and examined for evidence of AIDS. Names of decedents with positive or indeterminate HIV antibody test results were cross-referenced against the SF AIDS registry to identify previously reported AIDS cases. Medical records of unreported cases were reviewed to determine whether AIDS had been diagnosed prior to death. Of 1959 decedents tested, 176 (9%) were HIV positive; 105 (60%) were identified as having AIDS by the Medical Examiner. Of the 105 AIDS cases, 101 (96%) had been previously diagnosed; 98 (97%) had been previously reported. Overall, diagnosis and reporting were 93% complete. HIV-infected decedents were more likely than those uninfected to be men and <45 years old, and less likely to be Asian/Pacific Islander or Native American (p <.001). They were more likely to have died of suicide (p <.05) or drug abuse/overdose (p <.001). In SF, AIDS case reporting is highly complete. Current surveillance activities, which identify cases from health care settings, are appropriate. To decrease deaths among HIV-infected persons, suicide prevention and substance abuse treatment programs are needed.

PROSTATE CANCER DIAGNOSIS USING A SATURATION NEEDLE BIOPSY TECHNIQUE AFTER PREVIOUS NEGATIVE SEXTANT BIOPSIES

We hypothesized that markedly increasing the number of cores obtained during prostate needle biopsy may improve the cancer detection rate in men with persistent indications for repeat biopsy. We performed saturation ultrasound guided transrectal prostate needle biopsy in 224 men under anesthesia in an outpatient surgical setting in whom previous negative biopsies had been performed in the office. The mean number of previous sextant biopsy sessions plus or minus standard deviation before saturation biopsy was 1.8 (range 1 to 7). A mean of 23 saturation biopsy cores (range 14 to 45) were distributed throughout the whole prostate, including the peripheral, medial and anterior regions. Indications for repeat biopsy were persistent elevated serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) in 108 cases, persistent elevated PSA and abnormal rectal examination in 27, persistent abnormal rectal examination in 4, high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia in the previous biopsy in 64 and atypia in the previous biopsy in 21. Cancer was detected in 77 of 224 patients (34%). The number of previous negative sextant biopsies was not predictive of subsequent cancer detection by saturation biopsy. Median PSA was 8.7 ng./ml. and median PSA velocity was 0.63 ng./ml. yearly. Of the 77 patients in whom cancer was detected radical prostatectomy was performed in 52. Pathological stage was pT2 in 48 patients and pT3 in 4, while Gleason score was 4 to 5, 6 to 7 and 8 in 5, 46 and 1, respectively. At prostatectomy median cancer volume was 1.04 cc and 85.7% of removed tumors were clinically significant, assuming a 3-year doubling time. The overall complication rate for saturation needle biopsy was 12% and hematuria requiring hospital admission was the most common event. Saturation needle biopsy of the prostate is a useful diagnostic technique in men at risk for prostate cancer with previous negative office biopsies. This technique allows adequate sampling of the whole prostate gland and has a detection rate of 34% in this cohort of patients.