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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (82 results)

  • Thesis
  • Peer Reviewed
UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2019)

I will be discussing systems different identities create and how paradigms of opposition to one another form through mainstream agendas of each identity. I will then talk about opposing forces and the result of their unity, navigating instances where contrasting dynamisms are dependent on one another in accomplishing a goal or completing a new unique force from their collision. Finally, I will speak of material metaphors and breaking points, dissecting a material’s limit to force of exterior aspects and of itself. Additionally, the queering of material through unraveling and transformation.

    Cover page: Jihad of Bitter Petals: Queering Identity and Material through Unraveling and Struggle
    • Article
    Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference, Volume 9 (1980)
    Two acute rodenticides, zinc phosphide and Vacor, at different concentrations were tested on the rice field rats (Rattus argentiventer) and the bandicoot rats (Bandicota indica) with a choice-feeding procedure. It was found that zinc phosphide at 0.5%, 0.8%, 1.6% caused 30%, 30%, and 60% mortality, respectively, to R. argentiventer, and at 1.6% caused death only 30% to B. indica, whereas Vacor at 0.5%, 0.8%, 1.6% caused 70%, 60% and 80% mortality, respectively to R. argentiventer and this compound at 1.6% killed 60% of B. indica. Five anticoagulants, Actosin-P, warfarin, Racumin, brodifacoum, and chlorophacinone also were tested on R. argentiventer and only brodifacoum was tested on B. indica at an appropriate concentration with a non-choice feeding procedure. It was found that with-one day consumption of the poisoned bait brodifacoum 0.005% is the only anticoagulant that caused 100% mortality to R. argentiventer and B. indica, whereas, Actosin-P, warfarin, Racumin, and chlorophacinone killed 20%, 20%, 30%, and none of R. argentiventer, respectively.
      Cover page: Efficacy tests of different rodenticides on some species of rats in Thailand
      • Thesis
      • Peer Reviewed
      UC Merced Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2022)

      Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne illness that infects 390 million people annually. Dengue outbreaks in Guatemala have been occurring more often and at increased rates since the first dengue outbreak in Guatemala in the 1970s. This study will examine environmental and socioeconomic factors associated with dengue in Guatemala at the municipality (county) level. Socioeconomic factors included population density, literacy, use of cellphones, computers, and the internet (CCI), Mayan language speakers, economic activity, and attending school. Environmental factors included elevation, temperature, and precipitation. The relationship between our environmental and socioeconomic predictor variables and the Dengue cases outcome variable was initially evaluated through chi-square tests of independence and one-way ANOVA, and then again through three zero-inflated negative binomial regression models (Socioeconomic, Environmental, and Combined). For all models, temperature and elevation were concerned as predictors of zero-inflation. Predicted rates of Dengue Fever incidence and adjusted confidence intervals were calculated after increasing mean yearly temperature by 1°C. In the combined model the significant variables included population density, use of CCI, attending school, and Mayan language speakers. There was a positive relationship between use of CCI and Dengue Fever and negative relationships between population density, attending school, and Mayan language speakers and Dengue Fever. Elevation was significant as a predictor of zero-inflation for all three regression models. The Ayutla, Ocós and Champerico, three municipalities with the highest mean yearly temperature, all had increased rates of Dengue Fever incidence following a 1°C increase in temperature, while the municipality of Guatemala had a decreased rate. This research suggests that socioeconomic factors may play a larger role in predicting risk of Dengue incidence in Guatemala when compared to environmental factors. The predicted rates of Dengue Fever also highlight the potential effect climate change (in the form of increasing temperature) can have on Dengue Fever incidence in Guatemala.

        Cover page: Socioeconomic and Environmental Factors Associated with the Risk of Dengue Fever Incidence in Guatemala (2017-2018)
        • Article
        • Peer Reviewed
        UC Merced Previously Published Works (2024)
        Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne illness that infects 390 million people annually. Dengue outbreaks in Guatemala have been occurring more often and at increased rates since the first dengue outbreak in Guatemala in the 1970s. This study will examine environmental and socioeconomic factors associated with dengue in Guatemala at the municipality (county) level. Socioeconomic factors included population density, Mayan population, economic activity, and attending school. Environmental factors included average minimum annual temperature and annual precipitation. The relationship between environmental and socioeconomic variables and dengue fever incidence was initially evaluated through univariate zero-inflated negative binomial models, and then again through three zero-inflated multivariate negative binomial regression models. For all three models, elevation was considered a predictor of zero-inflation. In the combined model, there was a positive relationship between minimum temperature, economic activity and dengue fever incidence, and a negative relationship between population density, Mayan population and dengue fever. Predicted rates of dengue fever incidence and adjusted confidence intervals were calculated after increasing minimum yearly temperature by 1°C and 2°C. The three municipalities with the highest minimum yearly temperature (El Estor, Iztapa, and Panzós) and the municipality of Guatemala, all had an increase in the magnitude of the risk of dengue fever incidence following 1°C and 2°C increase in temperature. This research suggests that these socioeconomic and environmental factors are associated with risk of dengue in Guatemala. The predicted rates of dengue fever also highlight the potential effect that climate change in the form of increasing temperature can have on dengue in Guatemala.
          Cover page: Socioeconomic and environmental factors associated with dengue fever incidence in Guatemala: Rising temperatures increase dengue risk.Creative Commons 'BY' version 4.0 license
          • Article
          • Peer Reviewed
          UC Berkeley Previously Published Works (2025)
          Extreme weather events, including wildfires, are becoming more intense, frequent, and expansive due to climate change, thus increasing negative health outcomes. However, such effects can vary across space, time, and population subgroups, requiring methods that can handle multiple exposed units, account for time-varying confounding, and capture heterogeneous treatment effects. In this article, we proposed an approach based on staggered generalized synthetic control methods to study heterogeneous health effects, using the 2018 California wildfire season as a case study. This study aimed to estimate the effects of the November 2018 California wildfires, one of the states deadliest and most destructive wildfire seasons, on respiratory and circulatory health, document heterogeneity in health impacts, and investigate drivers of this heterogeneity. We applied a two-stage generalized synthetic control method to compare health outcomes in exposed (from 8 November to 5 December 2018) versus unexposed counties and used random-effects meta-regression to evaluate the effect modification of county-level socioeconomic variables on the observed health effects of the November 2018 wildfires. We observed an increase in respiratory hospitalizations for most exposed counties when compared with unexposed counties, with significant increases in Fresno, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties. No effect on circulatory hospitalizations was observed. County-level sociodemographic characteristics seem to not modulate the effects of wildfire smoke on respiratory hospitalizations. This novel two-stage framework can be applied in broader settings to understand spatially and temporally compounded health impacts of climate hazards. We provide codes in R for reproducibility and replication purposes.
            • Article
            • Peer Reviewed
            UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2003)
            The impact of physical exercise on high-density lipoprotein (HDL) metabolism is recognized as a major mechanism of coronary artery disease (CAD) risk reduction. Prebeta-1 HDL subparticle species play a pivotal role in initiating reverse cholesterol transport (RCT). We examined the effect of acute physical exercise on plasma prebeta-1 HDL levels. Nineteen nonsmoking, healthy men (n = 11) and women (n = 8) not receiving lipid-altering medications completed dietary surveys, and had percent body fat determinations, and fasting blood drawn for measurements of plasma lipids, lipoproteins, apolipoprotein A-I (Apo A-I), and absolute and percent prebeta-1 HDL. Each subject completed cardiopulmonary exercise stress testing to Vo(2max) followed by a 4-km course of run-jogging. Laboratory measurements were repeated from blood drawn immediately after exercise. Mean +/- SD values were determined for age, percent body fat, dietary calories, dietary cholesterol, dietary fat, and plasma lipids, lipoproteins, Apo A-I, and absolute and percent prebeta-1 HDL using 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). One-way ANOVA comparisons were made for measurements of plasma lipids, lipoproteins, Apo A-I, and absolute and percent prebeta HDL measurements taken before and after exercise for all subjects combined. Entry characteristics showed the following (mean +/-SD): age, 24 +/- 5.8 years; body mass index (BMI), 22.4 +/- 2.6; percent body fat, 13 +/- 5.7; and Vo(2max), 49.1 +/- 7.9 mL O(2)/kg/min. Exercise significantly increased absolute plasma prebeta HDL (0.10 +/- 0.05 to 0.130 +/- 0.07 microg/mL, P =.039) and decreased plasma HDL-triglycerides (23.3 +/- 10.8 to 12.5 +/- 5.6 mg/dL, P =.012). Our findings indicate that prebeta-1 HDL and HDL-triglyceride metabolism are significant components of the effect of acute exercise on RCT. These findings have important relevance for studies pertaining to exercise-related effects on HDL metabolism as pertains to CAD risk reduction.
              Cover page: The effects of physical exercise on plasma prebeta-1 high-density lipoproteinCreative Commons 'BY' version 4.0 license
              • Article
              • Peer Reviewed
              UC San Diego Previously Published Works (2021)
              Currently, no treatments available for Parkinson's disease (PD) can slow PD progression. At the early stage of the disease, only a subset of individuals with PD progress quickly, while the majority have a slowly progressive form of the disease. In developing treatments that aim to slow PD progression, clinical trials aim to include individuals who are likely to progress faster, such that a treatment effect, if one exists, can be identified easier and earlier. The aim of the present study was to identify baseline predictors of clinical progression in early PD. We analyzed 12-month data acquired from the PASADENA trial Part 1 (NCT03100149, n = 76 participants who were allocated to the placebo arm and did not start symptomatic therapy) and the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) study (n = 139 demographically and clinically matched participants). By using ridge regression models including clinical characteristics, imaging, and non-imaging biomarkers, we found that Hoehn and Yahr stage and dopamine transporter single-photon emission computed tomography specific binding ratios (Dat-SPECT SBR) in putamen ipsilateral to the side of motor symptom onset predicted PD progression at the early stage of the disease. Further studies are needed to confirm the validity of these predictors to identify with high accuracy individuals with early PD with a faster progression phenotype.
                Cover page: Hoehn and Yahr Stage and Striatal Dat-SPECT Uptake Are Predictors of Parkinson’s Disease Motor ProgressionCreative Commons 'BY' version 4.0 license
                • Article
                • Peer Reviewed
                UC San Diego Previously Published Works (2021)
                Background: Currently available treatments for Parkinson's disease (PD) do not slow clinical progression nor target alpha-synuclein, a key protein associated with the disease. Objective: The study objective was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of prasinezumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds aggregated alpha-synuclein, in individuals with early PD. Methods: The PASADENA study is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled treatment study. Individuals with early PD, recruited across the US and Europe, received monthly intravenous doses of prasinezumab (1,500 or 4,500 mg) or placebo for a 52-week period (Part 1), followed by a 52-week extension (Part 2) in which all participants received active treatment. Key inclusion criteria were: aged 40-80 years; Hoehn & Yahr (H&Y) Stage I or II; time from diagnosis ≤2 years; having bradykinesia plus one other cardinal sign of PD (e.g., resting tremor, rigidity); DAT-SPECT imaging consistent with PD; and either treatment naïve or on a stable monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) inhibitor dose. Study design assumptions for sample size and study duration were built using a patient cohort from the Parkinson's Progression Marker Initiative (PPMI). In this report, baseline characteristics are compared between the treatment-naïve and MAO-B inhibitor-treated PASADENA cohorts and between the PASADENA and PPMI populations. Results: Of the 443 patients screened, 316 were enrolled into the PASADENA study between June 2017 and November 2018, with an average age of 59.9 years and 67.4% being male. Mean time from diagnosis at baseline was 10.11 months, with 75.3% in H&Y Stage II. Baseline motor and non-motor symptoms (assessed using Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale [MDS-UPDRS]) were similar in severity between the MAO-B inhibitor-treated and treatment-naïve PASADENA cohorts (MDS-UPDRS sum of Parts I + II + III [standard deviation (SD)]; 30.21 [11.96], 32.10 [13.20], respectively). The overall PASADENA population (63.6% treatment naïve and 36.4% on MAO-B inhibitor) showed a similar severity in MDS-UPDRS scores (e.g., MDS-UPDRS sum of Parts I + II + III [SD]; 31.41 [12.78], 32.63 [13.04], respectively) to the PPMI cohort (all treatment naïve). Conclusions: The PASADENA study population is suitable to investigate the potential of prasinezumab to slow disease progression in individuals with early PD. Trial Registration: NCT03100149.
                  Cover page: A Phase II Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Prasinezumab in Early Parkinson's Disease (PASADENA): Rationale, Design, and Baseline DataCreative Commons 'BY' version 4.0 license
                  • Article
                  • Peer Reviewed
                  LBL Publications (2023)
                  Multijet events at large transverse momentum (pT) are measured at s=13TeV using data recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.3fb-1. The multiplicity of jets with pT>50GeV that are produced in association with a high-pT dijet system is measured in various ranges of the pT of the jet with the highest transverse momentum and as a function of the azimuthal angle difference Δϕ1,2 between the two highest pT jets in the dijet system. The differential production cross sections are measured as a function of the transverse momenta of the four highest pT jets. The measurements are compared with leading and next-to-leading order matrix element calculations supplemented with simulations of parton shower, hadronization, and multiparton interactions. In addition, the measurements are compared with next-to-leading order matrix element calculations combined with transverse-momentum dependent parton densities and transverse-momentum dependent parton shower.
                    Cover page: Measurements of jet multiplicity and jet transverse momentum in multijet events in proton-proton collisions at s=13TeV.Creative Commons 'BY' version 4.0 license
                    • Article
                    • Peer Reviewed
                    UC San Francisco Previously Published Works (2016)

                    Background

                    Child health is a key priority on the global health agenda, yet the provision of essential and emergency surgery in children is patchy in resource-poor regions. This study was aimed to determine the mortality risk for emergency abdominal paediatric surgery in low-income countries globally.

                    Methods

                    Multicentre, international, prospective, cohort study. Self-selected surgical units performing emergency abdominal surgery submitted prespecified data for consecutive children aged <16 years during a 2-week period between July and December 2014. The United Nation's Human Development Index (HDI) was used to stratify countries. The main outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality, analysed by multilevel logistic regression.

                    Results

                    This study included 1409 patients from 253 centres in 43 countries; 282 children were under 2 years of age. Among them, 265 (18.8%) were from low-HDI, 450 (31.9%) from middle-HDI and 694 (49.3%) from high-HDI countries. The most common operations performed were appendectomy, small bowel resection, pyloromyotomy and correction of intussusception. After adjustment for patient and hospital risk factors, child mortality at 30 days was significantly higher in low-HDI (adjusted OR 7.14 (95% CI 2.52 to 20.23), p<0.001) and middle-HDI (4.42 (1.44 to 13.56), p=0.009) countries compared with high-HDI countries, translating to 40 excess deaths per 1000 procedures performed.

                    Conclusions

                    Adjusted mortality in children following emergency abdominal surgery may be as high as 7 times greater in low-HDI and middle-HDI countries compared with high-HDI countries. Effective provision of emergency essential surgery should be a key priority for global child health agendas.

                    Trial registration number

                    NCT02179112; Pre-results.
                      Cover page: Determinants of morbidity and mortality following emergency abdominal surgery in children in low-income and middle-income countries
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