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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (82 results)

  • Article
  • Peer Reviewed
UCLA Previously Published Works (2016)
Sleep and pain are critical homeostatic systems that interact in a bidirectional manner. Complaints of sleep disturbance are ubiquitous among patients with chronic pain disorders, and conversely, patients with persistent insomnia symptoms commonly report suffering from chronic pain. Sleep deprivation paradigms demonstrate that partial or complete sleep loss induce hyperalgesia, possibly due to shared mechanistic pathways including neuroanatomic and molecular substrates. Further, chronic pain conditions and sleep disturbances are intertwined through comorbidities, which together cause detrimental psychological and physical consequences. This critical review examines 29 polysomnography studies to evaluate whether nonmalignant chronic pain patients, as compared to controls, show differences in objective measures of sleep continuity and sleep architecture. Whereas these controlled studies did not reveal a consistent pattern of objective sleep disturbances, alterations of sleep continuity were commonly reported. Alterations of sleep architecture such as increases in light sleep or decreases in slow-wave sleep were less commonly reported and findings were mixed and also inconsistent. Methodological flaws were identified, which complicated interpretation and limited conclusions; hence, recommendations for future research are suggested. Knowledge of abnormalities in the sleep process has implications for understanding the pathophysiology of chronic pain conditions, which might also direct the development of novel intervention strategies.
    Cover page: Polysomnographic characteristics in nonmalignant chronic pain populations: A review of controlled studies
    • Thesis
    • Peer Reviewed
    UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2020)

    Plants serve the basic energy and food source for all living organisms on Earth and have been bred for centuries in order to maximize qualities that are desirable for humans, including organ size or yield. Fruit are the harvested product in many crops, and thus, many fruit traits have been targeted in breeding programs for decades. Current global factors such as climate change, reduced water availability or the availability of arable land, will largely impact breeding and crop yield in the 21st century, jeopardizing food security of our increasing human population. The rise of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technologies has provided new promising venues for crop improvement. More recently, ground-breaking Active Genetics tools have provided novel opportunities to explore new techniques for faster breeding and circumvent the constraints of classical Mendelian inheritance. This becomes even more important when considering that many of our crops are polyploid. As an initial step towards implementing Active Genetics in polyploid species, we need to find a configuration in which CRISPR is efficient. In this study, we have investigated different CRISPR configurations for efficiently targeting polyploid plant genomes with the goal of being able to transfer this knowledge to crops. We hope that we can then accelerate plant breeding in order to elaborate new cultivars to meet future food and yield demands.

      Cover page: Implementation of CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Engineering Tools in Polyploid Plant Genomes
      • Article
      • Peer Reviewed
      Alon: Journal for Filipinx American and Diasporic Studies, Volume 1, Issue 3 (2021)

      Introduction: New Filipino American Scholarship on the Marcos Era

        Cover page: Introduction: New Filipino American Scholarship on the Marcos EraCreative Commons 'BY-NC' version 4.0 license
        • Article
        • Peer Reviewed
        UCLA Previously Published Works (2016)

        Background and aims

        Sleep disturbance is a prominent complaint in cocaine and alcohol dependence. This controlled study evaluated differences of polysomnographic (PSG) sleep in cocaine- and alcohol-dependent subjects, and examined whether substance dependence interacts with age to alter slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

        Design

        Cross-sectional comparison.

        Setting

        Los Angeles and San Diego, CA, USA.

        Participants

        Abstinent cocaine-dependent subjects (n = 32), abstinent alcohol-dependent subjects (n = 73) and controls (n = 108); mean age 40.3 years recruited 2005-12.

        Measurements

        PSG measures of sleep continuity and sleep architecture primary outcomes of Stage 3 sleep and REM sleep. Covariates included age, ethnicity, education, smoking, body mass index and depressive symptoms.

        Findings

        Compared with controls, both groups of substance dependent subjects showed loss of Stage 3 sleep (P < 0.001). A substance dependence × age interaction was found in which both cocaine- and alcohol-dependent groups showed loss of Stage 3 sleep at an earlier age than controls (P < 0.05 for all), and cocaine-dependent subjects showed loss of Stage 3 sleep at an earlier age than alcoholics (P < 0.05). Compared with controls, REM sleep was increased in both substance-dependent groups (P < 0.001), and cocaine and alcohol dependence were associated with earlier age-related increase in REM sleep (P < 0.05 for all).

        Conclusions

        Cocaine and alcohol dependence appear to be associated with marked disturbances of sleep architecture, including increased rapid eye movement sleep and accelerated age-related loss of slow wave, Stage 3 sleep.
          Cover page: Polysomnographic measures of sleep in cocaine dependence and alcohol dependence: Implications for age‐related loss of slow wave, stage 3 sleep
          • Article
          • Peer Reviewed
          UCLA Previously Published Works (2023)

          Background

          Failed management of unanticipated difficult airway situations contributes to significant anesthesia-related morbidity and mortality. Optimization of design and layout of difficult airway trolleys (DATs) may influence outcomes during airway emergencies. The main objective of the current study was to evaluate whether a difficult airway algorithm-based DAT with integrated cognitive aids improves efficiency and team performance in difficult airway scenarios.

          Methods

          In a crossover design, 16 teams (anesthetist, nurse anesthetist, assistant nurse) completed two high-fidelity simulated unanticipated difficult airway scenarios. Teams used both an algorithm-based DAT and a comparison, standard DAT, in the scenarios and were randomized to order of trolley type. Outcome measures included objective efficiency parameters, team performance assessment and subjective user-ratings. Linear mixed models ANOVA, including DAT type and order of condition as main factors, was utilized for the primary analyses of the team results.

          Results

          Usage of the algorithm-based DAT was associated with fewer departures from the difficult airway algorithm (p = .010), and reduced number of unnecessary drawer openings (p = .002), but no significant differences in time to retrieval of airway devices or time to first effective ventilation, compared to the standard DAT. There were no significant differences in team performance, although participants expressed strong preference for the algorithm-based DAT (all user-rated measures p < .0001). Higher percentage of female members of the team improved adherence to the difficult airway algorithm (p = .043).

          Conclusions

          Algorithm-based DATs with integrated cognitive aids may improve efficiency in difficult airway situations, compared to traditional DATs. These findings have implications for improvement of anesthetic practice.
            Cover page: Influence of airway trolley organization on efficiency and team performance: A randomized, crossover simulation study
            • Article
            • Peer Reviewed
            Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (2004)

            We present completely ab initio nonperturbative calculations of the integral and single differential cross sections for double photoionization of H2 for photon energies from 53.9 to 75.7 eV. The method of exterior complex scaling, implemented with B-splines, is used to solve the Schrodinger equation for a correlated continuum wave function corresponding to a single photon having been absorbed by a correlated initial state. The results are in good agreement with experimental integral cross sections.

              Cover page: Nonperturbative theory of double photoionization of the hydrogen molecule
              • Article
              • Peer Reviewed
              UCLA Previously Published Works (2017)

              Objective

              This study examined the reciprocal associations between sleep macrostructure and levels of cellular inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and controls.

              Methods

              RA patients (n = 24) and matched controls (n = 48) underwent all-night polysomnography, along with assessment of spontaneous- and Toll-like receptor-4-stimulated monocytic production of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF) and interleukin (IL)-6 at 11:00 PM and 8:00 AM.

              Results

              As compared with controls, RA patients showed lower levels of sleep efficiency (mean [standard deviation], 88.1 [6.1] versus 83.8 [7.0]), a higher percentage stage 3 sleep (9.3 [6.4] versus 13.1 [6.9]), and higher levels of percentage of monocytes either spontaneously expressing TNF at 11:00 PM (log transformed, 1.07 [0.28] versus 1.22 [0.17]), and higher Toll-like receptor-4-stimulated production of IL6 at 8:00 AM (log transformed, 3.45 [0.80] versus 3.83 [0.39]). Higher levels of stimulated production of TNF at 11:00 PM were associated with higher sleep efficiency (0.74). In turn, sleep efficiency had a countervailing relationship on TNF production at 8:00 AM (-0.64). Higher levels of spontaneous and stimulated production of IL6 at 11:00 PM were associated with more stage 3 (0.39), stage 4 (0.43), and slow-wave sleep (0.49), with evidence that stage 4 had a countervailing relationship on IL6 production at 8:00 AM (-0.60).

              Conclusions

              RA patients show evidence of sleep fragmentation, greater sleep depth, and higher levels of cellular inflammation. Sleep maintenance and sleep depth show countervailing relationships with evening and morning levels of monocytic production of TNF and IL-6, respectively, which support the hypothesis of a feedback loop between sleep maintenance, slow-wave sleep, and cellular inflammation that is cytokine specific.
                Cover page: Reciprocal Relationship Between Sleep Macrostructure and Evening and Morning Cellular Inflammation in Rheumatoid Arthritis
                • Article
                • Peer Reviewed
                UC Davis Previously Published Works (2015)
                We investigate the two-photon double ionization of beryllium atom induced by ultrashort pulses. We use a time-dependent formalism to evaluate the ionization amplitudes and generalized cross sections for the ejection of the 2s2 valence shell electrons in the presence of a fully occupied 1s2 frozen core shell. The relative contributions of the two-photon direct and sequential process are systematically explored by varying both pulse duration and central frequency. The energy and angular differential ionization yields reveal the signatures of both mechanisms, as well as the role of electron correlation in both the single and double ionization continua. In contrast with previous results on the helium atom, the presence of an electronic core strongly affects the final state leading to back-to-back electron emission even in the a priori less correlated two-photon sequential mechanism. In particular, a dominant pathway via excitation ionization through the Be+(2p) determines the profiles and pulse-duration dependencies of the energy and angle differential yields.
                  Cover page: Two-photon double ionization of atomic beryllium with ultrashort laser pulses
                  • Article
                  • Peer Reviewed
                  UC Davis Previously Published Works (2022)
                  Intensifying concerns about online platform firms’ rapid rise, expansion, and growing asymmetric power have attracted political scrutiny and undermined the legitimacy of a minimalist regulatory regime that is giving way to intense debate and increasingly interventionist governmental policies and enforcement actions. First, we view the rise of, and recent political responses to, the often-predatory power and manipulative conduct of platform firm in terms of a ‘Polanyian’ double movement in which the destabilising and destructive effects of unchecked corporate activities and market development eventually generates political and regulatory responses to constrain private power that threaten the social, political, and economic order. Second, incipient legal changes, most notably the EU’s proposed Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act, indicate a shift in regulatory emphasis from competition (and antitrust) policy and law towards more intensive and encompassing forms of socio-economic regulation. Finally, these regulatory changes will likely vary in character and significance across political jurisdictions, and embody distinctive and possibly divergent developmental trajectories. The EU may have a first-mover advantage in regulating platform firms, but we are only at the very beginning of a protracted and conflictual transformational process.
                    Cover page: Platform power and regulatory politics: Polanyi for the twenty-first century
                    • Article
                    • Peer Reviewed
                    UCLA Previously Published Works (2023)
                    Dysregulation of sleep heightens pain sensitivity and may contribute to pain chronification. Interventions which consolidate and lengthen sleep have the potential to improve pain control. The main objective of this systematic review was to examine the effects of sleep-promoting pharmacotherapy on pain intensity in patients with chronic pain. Multiple electronic databases were searched from inception to January 2022 to identify relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Two independent reviewers screened titles, abstracts, and full-text articles; extracted data; and assessed risk of bias for each included study. The GRADE approach was used to determine the strength of evidence. The search identified 624 articles. After full-text screening, 10 RCTs (n = 574 randomized participants) involving 3 pharmacologic interventions (melatonin, zopiclone, and eszopiclone) and 7 different chronic pain populations were included. Minimum clinically significant pain reduction ≥30% was reported in 4 studies. There is low-quality evidence (downgraded due to inconsistency and imprecision) that 2 to 8 weeks treatment with a sleep-promoting medication alone or in combination with an analgesic (6 trials, n = 397) decreases pain intensity compared with placebo or the same analgesic treatment alone (SMD -0.58 [95% confidence interval -1.00, -0.17], P = 0.006). Analyses of associations between changes in sleep and pain outcomes were only provided in 2 articles, with inconsistent findings. Notably, pain-relieving effects were most consistent in melatonin trials. Only 3 studies implemented polysomnography to obtain objective sleep measures. Low-quality evidence indicates that pharmacologic sleep promotion may decrease pain intensity in chronic pain populations. More research is needed to fully understand the influence of sleep-targeting interventions on pain control.
                      Cover page: Analgesic efficacy of sleep-promoting pharmacotherapy in patients with chronic pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis
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