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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (164 results)

  • Article
  • Peer Reviewed
AAPI Nexus: Policy, Practice and Community, Volume 1, Issue 1 (2003)
This article talks about the formation of communities and its implications. Little Tokyo is pointed out as an example of a community borne out as a result of a segregationist US society. During World War II there was a dramatic decline in the construction of Little Tokyo since Japanese people were put into interment camps. There is a dramatic shift of the function of Little Tokyo before the war and after the war. Post-WW II demonstrates“paradox dispersal” because as the ethnic population was no longer heavily concentrated in one area the historic Little Tokyo communities assumed a new importance as they are regarded as a symbol ethnic identity and community. The power struggle in the community is part of a broader political, economic, and cultural issue. Three forces are responsible for shaping the history of community development in Little Tokyo: Japanese corporations, the region’s elite development regimes, and local Japanese American organizations. Post WW II “urban renewal” opened the door to Japanese corporate capital. This policy is discussed insofar as it influences the community. By late 1980s Japanese Americans were able to shape the Little Tokyo development as they gain more economic power. The ‘recreation center’ controversy is discussed.
    Cover page: The Paradox of Dispersal: Ethnic Continuity and Community Development Among Japanese Americans in Little TokyoCreative Commons 'BY-NC-ND' version 4.0 license
    • Article
    Recent Work (2005)

    Economic theory predicts that in a first-price auction with equal and observable valuations, bidders earn zero profits. Theory also predicts that if valuations are not common knowledge, then since it is weakly dominated to bid your valuation, bidders will bid less and earn positive profits. Hence, rational players in an auction game should prefer less public information. We are perhaps more used to seeing these results in the equivalent Bertrand setting. In our experimental auction, we find that individuals without information on each other's valuations earn more profits than those with common knowledge. Then, given a choice between the two sets of rules, half the individuals still preferred to have the public information. We discuss possible explanations, including ambiguity aversion.

      Cover page: When Curiosity Kills the Profits: an Experimental Examination
      • Article
      • Peer Reviewed
      Dermatology Online Journal, Volume 24, Issue 4 (2018)

      Background: There is a lack of research on the impact of the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) photograph on the residency selection process.

      Objective: We sought to elucidate the role of the ERAS photograph in the dermatology residency selection outcome and to determine if photographs submitted by matched applicants differ from those of unmatched applicants.

      Methods: We analyzed ERAS photographs submitted by dermatology residency applicants based on photograph characteristics related to composition, attire, facial expression, hairstyle, and accessories.

      Results: Candidates who smiled, wore glasses, and wore jackets in their photographs were more likely to match. There was no difference in the rate of matching among applicants depending on whether their photograph was of professional quality or whether they wore formal attire in their pictures. Gender specific characteristics were not found to be influential in the match outcome for male applicants. Among female applicants, having hair to the shoulders or longer was associated with a positive match outcome.

      Conclusion: Certain characteristics of the ERAS photographs were found to be associated with a more favorable match outcome. Further biases inferred from these photographs might be present in the dermatology selection process. We suggest blinding the selection committees to ERAS application photographs prior to granting residency interviews.

        Cover page: Do looks matter? The role of the Electronic Residency Application Service photograph in dermatology residency selectionCreative Commons 'BY-NC-ND' version 4.0 license
        • Article
        • Peer Reviewed
        UC Berkeley Previously Published Works (2011)
        Abstract Background Poverty, lack of female empowerment, and lack of education are major risk factors for childhood illness worldwide. Microcredit programs, by offering small loans to poor individuals, attempt to address the first two of these risk factors, poverty and gender disparity. They provide clients, usually women, with a means to invest in their businesses and support their families. This study investigates the health effects of also addressing the remaining risk factor, lack of knowledge about important health issues, through randomization of members of a microcredit organization to receive a health education module based on the World Health Organization's Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) community intervention. Methods Baseline data were collected in February 2007 from clients of a microcredit organization in Pucallpa, Peru (n = 1,855) and their children (n = 598). Loan groups, consisting of 15 to 20 clients, were then randomly assigned to receive a health education intervention involving eight monthly 30-minute sessions given by the organization's loan officers at monthly loan group meetings. In February 2008, follow-up data were collected, and included assessments of sociodemographic information, knowledge of child health issues, and child health status (including child height, weight, and blood hemoglobin levels). To explore the effects of treatment (i.e., participation in the health education sessions) on the key outcome variables, multivariate regressions were implemented using ordinary least squares. Results Individuals in the IMCI treatment arm demonstrated more knowledge about a variety of issues related to child health, but there were no changes in anthropometric measures or reported child health status. Conclusions Microcredit clients randomized to an IMCI educational intervention showed greater knowledge about child health, but no differences in child health outcomes compared to controls. These results imply that the intervention did not have sufficient intensity to change behavior, or that microcredit organizations may not be an appropriate setting for the administration of child health educational interventions of this type. Trial Registration This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01047033.
        • 2 supplemental files
        Cover page: Health education for microcredit clients in Peru: a randomized controlled trial
        • Article
        • Peer Reviewed
        Dermatology Online Journal, Volume 26, Issue 10 (2020)
        The personal statement is a required component of the residency application, offering applicants the opportunity to showcase their personality as well as unique thoughts and experiences not explicitly stated elsewhere in their application. Although the applicant-generated nature of personal statements can gauge an applicant's professionalism, creativity, sound judgement, and tact, specific criteria for evaluating personal statements and comparing them to one another is lacking. Research on the value of personal statements in the application process is also lacking. The purpose of this research project is to quantify the perceived value of the personal statement to program directors and faculty members of U.S. dermatology programs involved in residency application review. Analysis of our survey responses determined that although the majority of participants consider the personal statement to be a necessary element of an application, it was rated least important compared to other components of the application. An applicant's Medical Student Performance Evaluation, clerkship grades, research projects and publications, board scores, and letters of recommendation were consistently rated as more important than the personal statement. These findings suggest the personal statement lacks the standardization needed for decision makers to confidently choose the best new dermatology residents for their program.
          Cover page: Value of personal statements to dermatology programs: a survey-based critical reviewCreative Commons 'BY-NC-ND' version 4.0 license
          • Article
          • Peer Reviewed
          Dermatology Online Journal, Volume 22, Issue 11 (2016)
          The demand for dermatologic services and training at academic medical centers has outpaced the growth in the field’s academic workforce. Recruitment of graduating residents has been proposed as a solution to the shortage of academic dermatologists. The purpose of this study was to further our current understanding of the factors that support the recruitment and retention of academicians. A survey questionnaire was mailed to graduates of the dermatology residency program at the University of North Carolina, and data were gathered retrospectively from participants’ residency application materials. The factors from residency applications that predicted initial practice setting and the driving factors behind the choice of initial practice in academia were analyzed using generalized linear models. Of the department’s 39 graduates between 2005 and 2014, 37 (95%) completed our survey. Sixteen graduates (43%) remained in academia upon completion of residency, whereas fourteen graduates (38%) are currently in academic practices. Those who had obtained a PhD before starting residency were more likely than their peers to initially accept academic positions (RR 2.73, 95% CL 1.64, 4.71, p = 0.05). However, other applicant characteristics available from residency application materials poorly predicted graduates’ likelihood of remaining in academia at the time of graduation. In free-text survey responses, graduates who joined academic practices upon completion of residency were significantly more likely to cite teaching opportunities (PR 3.01, 95% CL 1.60-5.78, p = 0.05) and practice environment (PR 2.97, 95% CL 1.51-6.37, p = 0.05) as factors that had strongly influenced their initial career decisions. Because it is difficult to predict which residency applicants will ultimately pursue careers in academia, promoting the desirable aspects of the academic practice setting during residency training may be a better strategy for addressing the academic workforce shortage than the selection of residency applicants who possess specific characteristics.Keywords:
            Cover page: Factors correlated with residents’ decisions to enter academic dermatologyCreative Commons 'BY-NC-ND' version 4.0 license
            • Article
            • Peer Reviewed
            UC San Francisco Previously Published Works (2016)

            Rationale

            There has been an explosion of research on the potential benefits of the social neuropeptide oxytocin for a number of mental disorders including substance use disorders. Recent evidence suggests that intranasal oxytocin has both direct anti-addiction effects and pro-social effects that may facilitate engagement in psychosocial treatment for substance use disorders.

            Objectives

            We aimed to assess the tolerability of intranasal oxytocin and its effects on heroin craving, implicit association with heroin and social perceptual ability in opioid-dependent patients receiving opioid replacement therapy (ORT) and healthy control participants.

            Methods

            We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, within- and between-subjects, crossover, proof-of-concept trial to examine the effects of oxytocin (40 international units) on a cue-induced craving task (ORT patients only), an Implicit Association Task (IAT), and two social perception tasks: the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task (RMET) and The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT).

            Results

            Oxytocin was well tolerated by patients receiving ORT but had no significant effects on craving or IAT scores. There was a significant reduction in RMET performance after oxytocin administration versus placebo in the patient group only, and a significant reduction in TASIT performance after oxytocin in both the patient and healthy control groups.

            Conclusions

            A single dose of intranasal oxytocin is well tolerated by patients receiving ORT, paving the way for future investigations. Despite no significant improvement in craving or IAT scores after a single dose of oxytocin and some evidence that social perception was worsened, further investigation is required to determine the role oxytocin may play in the treatment of opioid use disorder.

            Clinical trial registration

            Methadone Oxytocin Option. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01728909.
              Cover page: The effects of intranasal oxytocin in opioid-dependent individuals and healthy control subjects: a pilot study
              • Article
              • Peer Reviewed
              UCLA Previously Published Works (2021)
              The phenotypic variability associated with pathogenic variants in Lysine Acetyltransferase 6B (KAT6B, a.k.a. MORF, MYST4) results in several interrelated syndromes including Say-Barber-Biesecker-Young-Simpson Syndrome and Genitopatellar Syndrome. Here we present 20 new cases representing 10 novel KAT6B variants. These patients exhibit a range of clinical phenotypes including intellectual disability, mobility and language difficulties, craniofacial dysmorphology, and skeletal anomalies. Given the range of features previously described for KAT6B-related syndromes, we have identified additional phenotypes including concern for keratoconus, sensitivity to light or noise, recurring infections, and fractures in greater numbers than previously reported. We surveyed clinicians to qualitatively assess the ways families engage with genetic counselors upon diagnosis. We found that 56% (10/18) of individuals receive diagnoses before the age of 2 years (median age = 1.96 years), making it challenging to address future complications with limited accessible information and vast phenotypic severity. We used CRISPR to introduce truncating variants into the KAT6B gene in model cell lines and performed chromatin accessibility and transcriptome sequencing to identify key dysregulated pathways. This study expands the clinical spectrum and addresses the challenges to management and genetic counseling for patients with KAT6B-related disorders.
                Cover page: Novel variants in KAT6B spectrum of disorders expand our knowledge of clinical manifestations and molecular mechanisms
                • Article
                • Peer Reviewed
                UC Davis Previously Published Works (2020)
                The global distribution of primary production and consumption by humans (fisheries) is well-documented, but we have no map linking the central ecological process of consumption within food webs to temperature and other ecological drivers. Using standardized assays that span 105° of latitude on four continents, we show that rates of bait consumption by generalist predators in shallow marine ecosystems are tightly linked to both temperature and the composition of consumer assemblages. Unexpectedly, rates of consumption peaked at midlatitudes (25 to 35°) in both Northern and Southern Hemispheres across both seagrass and unvegetated sediment habitats. This pattern contrasts with terrestrial systems, where biotic interactions reportedly weaken away from the equator, but it parallels an emerging pattern of a subtropical peak in marine biodiversity. The higher consumption at midlatitudes was closely related to the type of consumers present, which explained rates of consumption better than consumer density, biomass, species diversity, or habitat. Indeed, the apparent effect of temperature on consumption was mostly driven by temperature-associated turnover in consumer community composition. Our findings reinforce the key influence of climate warming on altered species composition and highlight its implications for the functioning of Earth's ecosystems.
                  Cover page: Climate drives the geography of marine consumption by changing predator communities
                  • Article
                  • Peer Reviewed
                  UC Santa Cruz Previously Published Works (2012)
                  A combined search for the Standard Model Higgs boson with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC using datasets corresponding to integrated luminosities from 1.04 fb-1 to 4.9 fb-1 of pp collisions collected at s=7TeV is presented. The Higgs boson mass ranges 112.9-115.5 GeV, 131-238 GeV and 251-466 GeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level (CL), while the range 124-519 GeV is expected to be excluded in the absence of a signal. An excess of events is observed around mH~126GeV with a local significance of 3.5 standard deviations (σ). The local significances of H→γγ, H→ZZ(z.ast;)→ℓ+ℓ-ℓ'+ℓ'- and H→WW(z.ast;)→ℓ+νℓ'-ν- the three most sensitive channels in this mass range, are 2.8σ, 2.1σ and 1.4σ, respectively. The global probability for the background to produce such a fluctuation anywhere in the explored Higgs boson mass range 110-600 GeV is estimated to be ~1.4% or, equivalently, 2.2σ. © 2012 CERN.
                    Cover page: Combined search for the Standard Model Higgs boson using up to 4.9 fb−1 of pp collision data at s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHCCreative Commons 'BY' version 4.0 license
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