We study how Metropolitan Medical Response System units conceptualize the physical space of a disaster and their organized response. Using a variety of ethnographic methods before, during, and after a disaster drill, we have developed an initial ontology for geospatial and context-aware technology. The conceptual map of first responders is far more complex than a geographical map. Zones and Are...

VOLUME 12, NUMBER 1, 2000 LINCOLN LABORATORY JOURNAL 3 B   have seldom been used throughout history [1–4]. The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention of 1972 outlawed the possession and use of biological weapons; this convention has been ratified by all but a handful of major nations [5], and no nation has an overt, declared biological-weapons capability. Despite these facts, i...

The obesity crisis in the United States has been associated with an alarming increase in the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MSX) disease cluster. Here we review evidence that the MSX reflects a failure of a system of intracellular lipid homeostasis that prevents lipotoxicity in the organs of overnourished individuals by confining the lipid overload to cells specifically designed to store...

Biological and chemical terrorism is a growing concern for the emergency preparedness community. While health care facilities (HCFs) are an essential component of the emergency response system, at present they are poorly prepared for such incidents. The greatest challenge for HCFs may be the sudden presentation of large numbers of contaminated individuals. Guidelines for managing contaminated p...

1006 Emerging Infectious Diseases • Vol. 8, No. 9, September 2002 capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and reverse transcriptasepolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests for flaviviruses, alphaviruses, and Bunyamwera serogroup bunyaviruses were also negative. RT-PCR for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (C-CHFV) was positive. Tests for anti-C-CHFV–specific IgM antibody by indirect immu...