Shirt Pocket Research Articles

A Simple and Cogent Forensic Technique to Trap and Nab a Bribe-Seeking Corrupt Public Servant ‘Blue-Handed’

For strengthening the legal system of justice against the menace of bribery, a highly cogent and sensitive forensic technique has been developed using an indicator dye of triphenylmethane group---Bromocresol green (BCG)---as corruption marker. By means of BCG, a bribe-seeker can be so firmly trapped that not only his/her hand or finger(s) get colored blue upon treatment with water, that even the shirt's pocket as well as some of the coercively-received currency notes also get tainted with deep blue color. The new technique replaces the age-old use of phenolphthalein for trapping the bribe-seeker wherein, when bribe-taker's hand is dipped in sodium carbonate solution a pink color is produced. The necessity for a new and cogent technique has become desirable because owing to several procedural deficiencies and techno-legal lacunae as pointed out in various High Courts’ and Supreme Court's judgments, and also because of the instability of the pink color generated by phenolphthalein and alkali, the trapped-and-convicted persons are quite often set free upon appeals. But the sturdy blue color produced by BCG is of highly stable in nature which firmly and truly ratifies the “Locard's Exchange Principle” of forensic science. The strong blue spots specially on the hand or fingers and the blue-spotted shirt pocket along with the blue-tinted currency notes, can all act collectively as strong incriminating legal evidence(s) against the trapped person. Unlike phenolphthalein, sodium carbonate is not required in the BCG method to generate the color (blue) either in water or on other (hard) objects. Moreover, any additional stabilizer like hydroquinone, etc., is also not required either for storing the blue solution, or for safekeeping the blue-spotted hard materials like shirt, handkerchief, or currency notes for showing them in the court of law at appropriate stage. Since the BCG-produced blue color on the currency notes is of utmost stability and can not be wiped away by ordinary means, a special method has also been reported to safely remove (conceal) the blue spots from the currency notes used in the ‘Operation BCG’. Having all these (hard) bluish objects in the hands of anti-corruption bureau (ACB) as irrefutable evidences against the accused, there is hardly left any need for safekeeping the blue-colored water solution (the liquid obtained after dipping trapped person's hand in water).

Other Halves, and: Untitled (Man Smoking), and: Untitled (Man Reading Newspaper), and: Untitled (Nude)

Other Halves, and: Untitled (Man Smoking), and: Untitled (Man Reading Newspaper), and: Untitled (Nude) Ama Codjoe (bio) Other Halves Accra, Ghana i My father has many names, many faces. I have walked red earth in the city that raised him, sought him in the complexion of the sky when the moon was a canoe. ii The seamstress takes measurements of my bust, waist, arms, and shoulders. She cuts the fabric, then sews it back together. The sewing machine hums a percussion. The door stays wide to customers and weather, a small shop with yards of batiks and geometric, Dutch cloth, straight pins, silhouettes, and scissors. She fashions a purple dress with a scoop back [End Page 118] and jacket to match. I’ll wear the outfit months later on a date in Brooklyn with a man who says the sleeves look like gills. He will tear my cheek before throwing me back: the blood sticking to my scales. iii My cousin Carol lifted the fabric to my skin, the purples and blues looked cool against my arm, tanned from near-equator sun. Carol argued for a lower price, then turned her shoulder as if to go. Come back, the woman called. I carried away what was still just cloth in the same black plastic bags that littered Labadi Beach. In the back seat of the cab Carol spoke her English and I spoke mine. A boy selling water tapped our window. His t-shirt exclaimed, “Go Huskies!” I stared at the rip in his thin shirt, open like a mouth. iv My father did not hold my hand. I don’t imagine he practiced saying the words: they sounded scratchy across the telephone line, the minutes [End Page 119] costly and accounted for. Perhaps he put it this way: You have a half- sister I never told you about. He didn’t confess her age or speak of her mother. He didn’t say, Her name is a versionof mine. He didn’t say, There are others. v My body becomes a twist on the myth of those four-armed, four-legged, two-faced beings who terrified the earth. My father at once the god who tore them apart, set them to wander, and the man who created them. Untitled (Man Smoking) I know about addiction. There are reasons I’ve never smoked a single cigarette. For years it was a deal breaker. The summer we met, you carried a pack of Marlboro Lights in the shirt pocket over your heart. By fall you quit. The truth is I would have taken you anyway. The first time we said goodbye I thought: I don’t want a day to pass [End Page 120] without seeing your face. I know about addiction: the fall without recovery, the way I reach out of habit. My fingers grip the back of your neck. I bring you to my mouth. The smoke stings my eyes. Untitled (Man Reading Newspaper) We used to take care of each other. Like the time you hung the hammock in the backyard and sat at my feet like a sentry. Now and then I’d feel the net sway from the push of your hands. On Saturdays, you’d sleep in and I’d walk the five blocks to your favorite café to cop a copy of the Times. Give you first dibs. You’d spread out the Travel section like a road map and I’d break two eggs on the side of a glass bowl, careful to pick out any shells. I never liked the look of eggs, but on Saturdays I’d serve them with toast and the strawberry preserves I canned in a sweaty July kitchen. Then, having read half the paper between us, we’d draw the curtains and go back to bed, our fingers dirtied by ink and jam. [End Page 121] Untitled (Nude) I was shy to use the word naked in front of you— instead I said unclothed. On a June walk we paused to search for couples making love in the yellow-lit squares of a high-rise Manhattan hotel. The night was moonless and full of city lights...

Estimation of heart rate variability using a compact radiofrequency motion sensor

Physiological indices that reflect autonomic nervous activity are considered useful for monitoring peoples’ health on a daily basis. A number of such indices are derived from heart rate variability, which is obtained by a radiofrequency (RF) motion sensor without making physical contact with the user's body. However, the bulkiness of RF motion sensors used in previous studies makes them unsuitable for home use. In this study, a new method to measure heart rate variability using a compact RF motion sensor that is sufficiently small to fit in a user's shirt pocket is proposed. To extract a heart rate related component from the sensor signal, an algorithm that optimizes a digital filter based on the power spectral density of the signal is proposed. The signals of the RF motion sensor were measured for 29 subjects during the resting state and their heart rate variability was estimated from the measured signals using the proposed method and a conventional method. A correlation coefficient between true heart rate and heart rate estimated from the proposed method was 0.69. Further, the experimental results showed the viability of the RF sensor for monitoring autonomic nervous activity. However, some improvements such as controlling the direction of sensing were necessary for stable measurement.

A Novel Step Counting Algorithm Based on Acceleration and Gravity Sensors of a Smart-Phone

Various sensors have been recently integrated in a smart-phone and step detection method based on the acceleration sensor of a smart-phone has been introduced for indoor positioning scheme. Many researchers have put their interests on the study of step detection algorithm based on the acceleration sensor. However, the estimation performances of these methods are not good enough or just suitable for the situation when the position of the smart-phone is fixed in hand because the performance is significantly degraded in other cases. In this paper, a novel step counting algorithm based on the acceleration and the gravity sensors is proposed to enhance the estimation performance regardless of the position of a smart-phone and the motions of a pedestrian likewise walking or running. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme is demonstrated with experiments and the performance of the proposed scheme is compared with those of the conventional schemes. According to the results, the performance of the proposed scheme is enhanced compared to the conventional schemes no matter what the pedestrian is walking or running although the phone is in different places like trouser pocket, shirt pocket and hands.

A bendable and wearable cardiorespiratory monitoring device fusing two noncontact sensor principles.

A mobile device is presented for monitoring both respiration and pulse. The device is developed as a bendable/flexible inlay that can be placed in a shirt pocket or the inside pocket of a jacket. To achieve optimum monitoring performance, the device combines two sensor principles, which work in a safe noncontact way through several layers of cotton or other textiles. One sensor, based on magnetic induction, is intended for respiratory monitoring, and the other is a reflective photoplethysmography sensor intended for pulse detection. Because each sensor signal has some dependence on both physiological parameters, fusing the sensor signals allows enhanced signal coverage.

Validity of activity monitors worn at multiple nontraditional locations under controlled and free-living conditions in young adult women.

The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of counting steps and computing indices of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) using miniature activity monitors with 3-D technology worn at various locations under controlled (CON) and free-living conditions (FL). Kenz e-style2, Tanita Calorism Smart, and Omron Calori Scan HJA-306 activity monitors were assessed. Nine and 31 young adult women were assigned to the CON and FL studies, respectively. While walking or jogging on a treadmill at 5 different speeds, the subjects simultaneously carried the 3 different monitors in a pants pocket (PP), a chest shirt pocket, and a shoulder bag (B). Under the FL condition, the 3 monitors were placed only at the PP and B locations for practical reasons. Significant effects of monitor location and walking/jogging speed on the step count measured by the 3 monitors were evaluated under the CON condition. Monitors placed at both PP and B tended to underestimate the number of steps; however, there were no significant differences between the values obtained with the Kenz monitor and those obtained with a criterion accelerometer under the FL condition. Moreover, strong correlations were observed between steps measured by monitors placed at PP and steps measured by the criterion accelerometer. The amount of MVPA for the PP location and the non-carrying duration of the bag for the B location were considered to be important determinants of the accuracy of step counting under the FL condition. In conclusion, monitors placed at the PP location, especially the Kenz monitor, showed acceptable accuracy for young adult women in real-life settings. In contrast, MVPA indices assessed using these monitors showed limited validity.

Dashboard Poet: Roger Miller

who lives by the song shall die by the road.--Roger (1) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Even before he became the King of the Road, Roger reigned as the undisputed king of the dashboard poets. By his own recollection, he composed his first solo hit, You Don't Want Love, on the road from Fort Worth to Nashville. Just along by myself, described the process, sipping a little wine here and along the way [to] keep my spirits up. His first top-ten hit, When Two Worlds Collide, came about in Miller's Rambler station wagon during an all-night drive with Bill Anderson. In those days we didn't have these little tape recorders like you do now, said Anderson, we had to stay up all night singing it to each other, all the way down there, so we wouldn't forget it. Miller's classic ballad Husbands and Wives initially took shape, fittingly enough, while he and his wife were driving down the freeway one night. just started singing it, said Miller, who wrote the rest of the song on a ride home from the Los Angeles airport with friend Don Bowman. Thanksgiving Day, no traffic, it took thirty or thirty-five minutes, and he was humming and tapping on the dashboard, said Bowman. He didn't say a word all the way there ... [H]e got out and walked in the house, picked up his guitar and sang 'Husbands and Wives.' Then there was King of the Road, inspired by a sign (Trailer for Sale or Rent) that saw hanging on the side of a barn one night on his way to Chicago. The song sold over one million copies and won him six Grammys in 1966. (2) Miller's only serious rival behind the wheel may have been his old friend and fellow traveler Willie Nelson, who reportedly wrote three hits--Crazy, Night Life, and Funny How Time Slips Away--over a two-week stretch as he drove back and forth, night after night, to a club on the other side of Houston. Some of my best writing, I think, is done when I'm down the highway by myself, said Nelson. My mind is clear and open and receptive. Then something will happen ... A song will start. The good ones come quickly, and then it's over. Like Nelson, did some of his best work on the road, or some variation thereof, becoming perhaps the only person in the history of recorded music to write a top-twenty hit (A World So Full of Love) on the back of a mower. Call it highway hypnosis or some sort of equivalent meditative state, there was something about laying hands to the wheel that freed up the songwriter in his mind. (3) Miller's habit of dashboard composition--which also produced Fair Swiss Maiden and Invitation to the Blues, a number-three country hit for Ray Price-- may not have been uncommon among traveling musicians of his day, most of whom were forced by necessity to write whenever and wherever they could find the time. But it's all the more impressive considering Miller's well-documented habits, which would qualify as erratic by any standard. As William Whitworth noted in his 1969 profile for The New Yorker, Miller has the manual dexterity for but not the attention span. Every few minutes, bored with simply staring at heavy traffic, he would begin reading a note from his shirt pocket, examining the instrument panel on the dash, or checking to see what was tucked under his sun visor. [His drummer Jerry] Allison saved us from certain death three times by hollering at just in time to get us off a collision course. Whitworth wasn't alone. Kris Kristofferson recalled a last minute dash to the Nashville airport during which was literally riding on the sidewalks. Mel Tillis rode with enough to know better than to let him take the wheel at all. wouldn't let him drive, said Tillis. Hell, he couldn't keep his mind on what he was doing. was either thinking of songs or [women]. Of course, was thinking about the road--at least as inspiration. …

Reducing Smoking Risks While Honoring Residents' Choices

Reducing Smoking Risks While Honoring Residents' Choices

Beyond Blood

Beyond Blood Thomas Larson Elsewhere. Richard Russo. Knopf. http://www.knopfdoubleday.com. 256 pages; cloth, $25.95, paper, $15.00. For Richard Russo—who, along with John Irving, is a kingpin of New England novelists: ten books, eight of them fiction, one a Pulitzer prizewinner—“love your mother” is not some affirmation he’s noted on a three-by-five card and keeps in his shirt pocket. He does love her. Unfailingly. Undetachably. A long life, both devoted to and trapped by Mom, has proved it. Russo’s mother—Jean to her friends—raised him after separating from her no-count, gambler husband in the small town of Gloversville, New York, home to a glove factory and her family who worked the trade. Early on, Mom secures the boy’s pledge that they’ll stand together no matter what. No matter that they must share a house with her parents, against the latter’s wishes, and no matter that the ensuing friction, along with her eventual joblessness, poverty, and dependency, defines their drama. This strangely celebrant entanglement is written as a looking-back summary (with selected pithy scenes) of their buddy-like bond. When Richard leaves Gloversville (where his youth and Jean’s security is least fraught) and heads college in Arizona, there’s just one snag. Mom comes with. When he moves to Illinois for his first teaching job, Mom comes with. And for the rest of his life—his teaching and quitting teaching, his novel-writing career, his marriage, two daughters, taking care of Mom’s parents, a succession of jobs/homes in Illinois, New York, Maine—you got it: Mom comes with, requiring her own house or apartment nearby where she counts on her son’s visits and daily phone calls—Mr. Fixit, Mr. Psychologist, Mr. Enabler. No wonder Elsewhere’s portrait is a rich impasto—Russo’s decrypting her psychological dependency, her ebb-and-flow self-esteem, her manic peevishness, not to mention his own guilt for always playing to her hand. Beyond blood, Mom is his appendage. (Who’s given birth to whom is the riddle the memoir invites Russo to solve.) She’s not just needy and moody one day, proud and determined the next, illogical and truculent the next. It’s that Russo never knows what she wants, though, for the most part, he’s able to box her out of his writing time. She doesn’t haunt Russo as much as she consumes his free time, a burden Russo’s wife worries over. Mom’s doctor’s appointments, leaving noisy apartment complexes, packing and unpacking books, her schisms with friends. Several oft-quoted lines distinguish her. To others: “My son does that.” “I live independently.” To Richard: “Don’t I deserve a life?” “I need you to come.” “Ricko-Mio. Always there. Always my rock.” Russo has an appealingly nifty way of de-centering himself. He defers to Mom, analyzes her disposition as vigorously in the life as he does in writing the life. This is so in part because he does the work of understanding her roiling emotions (she’s largely incapable of that). But it’s more germane that her chameleonic nature fascinates this noticer-novelist. As if every day Jean is a newly unwrapped gift—a fictional character whom her son does not have to invent and yet who flowers and fulminates like any good protagonist, a regular Mrs. Bridge out of the Evan S. Connell novel. In the opening pages, Russo presents her primary trait. “This was something the whole family seemed aware of, but no one talked about it. One word, nerves, was evidently deemed sufficient to describe, categorize, stigmatize, and dismiss it.” He realizes (post-death, of course) that her magnetic, repellant self bespeaks her condition, often drowns others: the keel to calm waters is managing it. Did he know that all along? Hardly. But he recalls just how hyperaware he’s had to be: any minute, she might have gone off, got sick, broken down. “Her health was in my hands,” he writes. “Other kids were good because they didn’t want to get punished if they misbehaved; I was good because I feared that...

3D+Stereo Augmented Reality for Landing Systems Feasibility and Experiment Design

This paper considers the possibility of creating an aircraft landing system (LS) with the augmented reality (AR) 3D+stereo interface (patent pending). Such a LS system can be used as a supplementary navigation resource and has the following advantages in comparison with the existing solutions: improved spatial navigation, shirt pocket size, autonomous power supply, minimal training, and low cost. The design of experiments to prove the effectiveness of an AR 3D+stereo interface is described.

SEMEN pH;

Background: Male infertility is a frequent reproductive health problem in the world. It is usually related to abnormal spermproduction or function and these abnormalities can occur anywhere in the production of sperm including hormonal regulation, storage andtransport of sperm. Various factors are known to be responsible for seminal fluid abnormalities. Usually the first step in evaluating for maleinfertility is semen analysis. Setting: The study was conducted at Muhimbili National Hospital mainly in the department of Pathology laboratory,cytology unit. Study design: The study was a hospital based cross-sectional type. Objective: To determine semen pH in patients presenting withinfertility complains and relate how pH of seminal fluid and other semen parameters influence each other. Material and methods: Beforesemen collection, patients were instructed to abstain from sexual intercourse for a minimum of 48 hours to 7 days and collect semen bymasturbation and transport it to the laboratory through shirt pocket. Semen was to reach the laboratory for examination in not more than onehour from time of collection. Semen was examined macroscopically for volume, colour, viscosity and pH by using a pH meter (Consort C830)followed by microscopic examination which included motility of spermatozoa and sperm count by using Neuber counting chamber. The smearwas made on glass slides, fixed in 95% ethyl alcohol for 30 minutes then stained by using Papanicolaou’s staining technique and then analyzedmicroscopically for morphological examination. Results: In the analysis of the influence of semen parameters on semen pH, there wasdecrease in seminal fluid pH with age whereby as age increased the pH of seminal fluid decreased.. The general trend observed was that thepH of seminal fluid tended to decrease with an increase in the days of abstinence. pH tended to decrease with an increase of seminal fluidvolume. The pH of seminal fluid also increased with an increase in viscosity (Hyperviscosity >Hypoviscosity). The pH of seminal fluid in patientswith less than 50% forward progressive movement of spermatozoa was higher when compared to those with more than 50% forwardprogressive movement. pH had an influence on the motility of spermatozoa. Conclusions and recommendation: pH and other parameterstended to have an influence each other during seminal analysis in our study. There is a variation of pH in different parts of the World according tothe studies done. It is recommended that pH should be included during seminal analysis because our study has shown that it affects most of theseminal fluid parameters in and contribute to the problem of infertility.

Media and Book Reviews: Introduction: Taking the digital plunge

When I was a medical student, residents would often say—always with an air of confidentiality—“trust me, you'll need it.” Then they would reveal a must-have medical book tucked into the pocket of their white coat. Even back then I shuddered at the idea of carrying all those books. There were so many of them! Even less did I want to use a magnifying glass to read the 2-point font such books typically employ. More than anything, I did not want to waste time searching for information. I wanted it ready at a moment's notice. Many physicians today are blending smartphones, PDAs, laptops, tablets, and e-readers with their clinical practice. Some of us have been doing this from the beginning of our careers, others are just now wondering what the fuss is all about, and some Luddites are stubbornly holding out (though today this requires a conscious decision). So what is all the fuss about? Yes, font sizes are adjustable, 100 textbooks do fit in a shirt pocket, and information is indexed …

39.3: Single Packaged RGB LEDs with Recycling for Pocket and Pico‐Projectors

AbstractWith the advancements in the LED development, it becomes possible to have projectors made using LEDs as the illumination light sources, that fit into shirt pockets and small enough to be integrated into cell phones. Similar to the development and commercialization of cell phone cameras, in order to have a high adoption rate, the cost has to be low, which requires low component count and simple construction. To achieve low cost, the most important factor is to use less number of components, and small imager chips, which is one of the most costly component in the system. The use of smaller imager increases the illumination requirements. The limitation of LED brightness requires light recycling to increase the system brightness, effectively matching the illumination etendue to that of the imager chips. This paper presents an integrated approach to the illumination system by recycling using RGB LEDs assembled into a single package suitable for simple optical configuration and low cost.

Discrimination between Upstairs and Downstairs Based on Accelerometer

An algorithm for the discrimination between human upstairs and downstairs using a tri-axial accelerometer is presented in this paper, which consists of vertical acceleration calibration, extraction of two kinds of features (Interquartile Range and Wavelet Energy), effective feature subset selection with the wrapper approach, and SVM classification. The proposed algorithm can recognize upstairs and downstairs with 95.64% average accuracy for different sensor locations, i.e. located on the subject's waist belt, in the trousers pocket, and in the shirt pocket. Even for the mixed data from all sensor locations, the average recognition accuracy can reach 94.84%. Experimental results have successfully validated the effectiveness of the proposed method.

RESPONSE

Dear Editor-in-Chief: We thank Jehn et al. (3) for their interest in our article. The primary objective of our study (2) was to examine the validity of step counts measured with the Omron HJ-112 pedometer and to assess the effect of pedometer placement during treadmill walking in healthy, normal/overweight, and obese adults. We examined pedometer accuracy during a variable-speed condition and at slow (1.12 m·s−1 or 2.5 mph), moderate (1.34 m·s−1 or 3.0 mph), and fast (1.56 m·s−1 or 3.5 mph) speeds. The primary findings of this study were that the Omron HJ-112 pedometer validly assesses steps in both normal/overweight and obese individuals during constant and variable-speed walking when positioned around the neck, in a shirt pocket, or at the hip. Although there are limited data regarding preferred walking speeds for the general population, recently published data from Kang and Dingwell (5) and Finnis and Walton (1) suggest that the speeds used in our study were appropriate for our healthy adult population. In healthy young adults (n = 17, age = 23.3 ± 2.6 yr, body mass index [BMI] = 23.5 ± 1.7 kg·m−2), Kang and Dingwell (5) reported a preferred walking speed of 1.30 ± 0.10 m·s−1 (range = 1.16-1.56 m·s−1). In healthy older adults (n = 18, age = 72.1 ± 6.0 yr, BMI = 25.4 ± 3.2 kg·m−2), the preferred walking speed was 1.29 ± 0.15 m·s−1 (range = 0.93-1.52 m·s−1). Furthermore, researchers who have measured pedestrian walking speeds for the purpose of planning pedestrian walking facilities have reported an average walking speed of 1.33 m·s−1 for the general population (1). Thus, a walking speed of 1.12 m·s−1 may exceed that typically considered as slow and should have been designated as slow relative to the other constant speed conditions included in our study. Nevertheless, we are confident that the speeds chosen for this particular study accurately represent the range of preferred walking speeds in a free-living environment for a healthy, ambulatory, adult population. Jehn et al. (3) correctly note that previous studies have found inaccuracies in pedometer step counting at speeds below 0.83 m·s−1. Assessing pedometer accuracy at extremely slow speeds would most likely be uncomfortable for a healthy, ambulatory participant and would likely result in changes in walking gait such as stride length and frequency (4). Each of these walking parameters could potentially change the accuracy of the pedometer. However, healthy, ambulatory, adult individuals rarely walk at such slow speeds for a prolonged period. We agree with Jehn et al. (3) that the reliability of the piezoelectric pedometer should be validated at walking speeds of 0.83 m·s−1 or slower, which are typically reported in special populations with irregular walking gaits; however, that was not the purpose of our study. Our goal was to validate the Omron HJ-112 pedometer for different BMI groups because the advances in pedometer design were likely to make the pedometer less susceptible to problems associated with positioning in obese participants; and we did so at speeds that are preferred in a healthy, ambulatory, adult population. Rebecca E. Hasson Jeannie Haller David M. Pober Department of Kinesiology University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA John S. Staudenmayer Department of Mathematics and Statistics University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA Patty S. Freedson Department of Kinesiology University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA

Validity of the Omron HJ-112 Pedometer during Treadmill Walking

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the validity of step counts measured with the Omron HJ-112 pedometer and to assess the effect of pedometer placement. Ninety-two subjects (44 males and 48 females; 71 with body mass index [BMI] <30 kg.m and 21 with BMI >or=30 kg.m) completed three, 12-min bouts of treadmill walking at speeds of 1.12, 1.34, and 1.56 mxs. A subset (21 males and 23 females; 38 BMI <30 kg.m and 6 BMI >or=30 kg.m) completed a variable walking condition. For all conditions, participants wore an Omron HJ-112 pedometer on the hip, in the pants pocket, in the chest shirt pocket, and around the neck. Hip pedometer placement was alternated between right and left sides with the Yamax Digiwalker SW-701. During each walk, an investigator recorded actual steps with a manual hand counter. There was no substantial bias with the Omron in any speed condition (-0.1% to 0.5%). Bias was larger with the Yamax (-3.6% to 2.0%). The largest random error for the Omron was 3.7% in the variable-speed condition for the BMI <30 kg.m group, whereas random errors for the Yamax were larger and up to 20%. None of the Omron placement positions produced statistically significant bias. Hip mounting produced the smallest random error (1.2%), followed by shirt pocket (1.7%), neck (2.2%), and pants pocket (5.8%). The Omron HJ-112 pedometer validly assesses steps in different BMI groups during constant- and variable-speed walking; other than that in the pants pocket, placement of the pedometer has little effect on validity.

Bacterial counts from hospital doctors' ties are higher than those from shirts

Doctor ties are often contaminated with bacteria, and it has been suggested that they should not be worn. We have compared bacterial counts from the ties and shirt pockets of 50 doctors. Counts were higher (P = .002) from ties that were rarely, if ever, cleaned than from shirts that were washed every 2 days or more frequently. The results support the need for further research on unwashable clothing of hospital staff.

Questionnaire Helps Identify Children's Sleep Disorders

Questionnaire Helps Identify Children's Sleep Disorders

Sensing Radiation

Sensing Radiation Janet Yoder (bio) My world is mapped by Hanford. Its nuclear topography runs along the Columbia River where I was born—reactors, cooling towers as tall as grain elevators, laboratories, electric substations, pumps, tanks, concrete, steel, and hundreds of miles of fencing. In the heat of war and the race for weapons, Hanford grew from a farm town to a nuclear reservation in little more than a year. Hanford’s first reactor was completed in September 1944; its first plutonium was produced within six weeks, then refined and shipped to Los Alamos for the Trinity Bomb Test. More plutonium from Hanford went into the Fat Boy atomic bomb that fell on Nagasaki. That was during the hot war. When Hanford saved the day. Then came the Cold War. By my birth Hanford was etched deep into our map. Reactors ran in the background of our lives like eternal engines, producing power—and plutonium. It was the local factory, where every dad worked. I live in Seattle now, separated from Hanford by the Cascade Mountains; by opposing forces of geology, climate, politics; and by two hundred miles. In October comes my birthday. In October 1984 came my dad’s cancer diagnosis. That October we were put on notice, called home. Each October since, instinct calls me to where my world began. It is October. I leave Seattle and drive east, past Issaquah, into the foothills, and rise to the summit at Snoqualmie. Vine maples—veins of gold—light up the mountainsides. Against the dark forest of Douglas firs the maples signal their mutable state. I am a pilgrim, a seeker, a prodigal daughter, drawn across the mountains, drawn to the desert and its river, drawn by power. [End Page 77] Radiation lives east of the mountains. Like tea stains long steeped into the teapot’s craquelure, radiation seeps through cracks in the dry land along the Columbia River. Radiation lives out its half-lives—many multiples of our whole lives—in the expanse of land that is Hanford. There, below ground, radiation is contained in tanks, barrels, ponds, pits, and pipes that—following immutable laws of entropy and gravity—leak into the water table and weep into the mighty river. Now, we speak of radiation. Sometimes. At least west of the mountains we do. People learn where I am from. They crack their jokes about glow-in-the-dark rabbits and double-tailed rattlers. Or whisper their shuddering fear. Hanford is creepy, they say. I nod and change the subject. Then, we didn’t speak of radiation. In those days everyone’s dad worked at Hanford, doing science that was nuclear, pure, patriotic, and secret. Once trained to secrecy, men held to it. My father was one of these men. A chemical engineer. Dad wore his security badge clipped to his shirt pocket, coat collar, or jacket lapel, and he daily passed through the gate to work at Hanford and daily returned home. He didn’t talk about his work; that was just how it was. You can’t see radiation. Yet you sense its dance, a jittery zigzag across the sagebrush, tumbleweeds, yarrow, like a visual migraine. It ripples through cheat grass on Rattlesnake Mountain. It blows along the Horse Heaven Hills, carrying its dust, mixing that dust with all that has become dust, with all that will become dust. A thin, dry layer coats cars and houses, coats the leaves of cottonwood and sycamore trees, even throats. You might try to catch it straight on, but radiation remains in the periphery, like distant lightning that disappears before you can turn your head. Or is it always there, deep within the rose-red sky that stretches out beyond evening, beyond memory and gravity and time? I knew what kids in the 1950s knew about Hanford: that nuclear power is good, that it can heat and light the country with its brilliant, clean energy; that it can extend the shelf life of foods; that it can sterilize insects that [End Page 78] kill cattle or destroy crops; that it can treat cancer. Particularly, we knew that it can make plutonium for a nuclear bomb, that it already had. That...

A Daughter’s Duty

A Daughter’s Duty