SoCal Minds

Millions for 'dirty bomb' response; risky returns for juvies

From UCLA

Far be it for anyone to suggest the existence of an economic anomaly in nationl priorities. And congratulations go to the Bruins in some degree for winning money to support important research all around. Still, just taking note here that researchers have received a $14 million renewal from the feds to study potential medical countermeasures that might be needed after a hypothetical radiological or nuclear assault, say, as in what might possibly occur in the aftermath of a terrorist 'dirty bomb.' To be sure, the measures and compounds that are found to help protect particularly sensitive blood, bone marrow and soft organ tissues that suffer great harm in nuclear havoc also may have application in, say, radiation treatments for cancer.

A search for compounds, practices to curb radiological, nuclear harm

Meantime, while the exact sum to support another kind of research isn't disclosed, another work does raise questions about the human aid given to a different but societally destructive element: juvenile offenders, who, a study from Westwood shows, often come from poor, violent minority communities, and, when done with incarceration, get dumped back in those same areas with little support. Researchers tracked 4,400 young offenders who had served time in Los Angeles probation camps and then were released into specified zip codes. Guess what? The juvies, many of them poor minorities, returned to areas marked by higher than norm incidences of assaults and violence, of disporportionate numbers of liquor vendors and empty or abandoned housing. Experts say more research is needed to see if improving risky neighborhoods leads to less crime and recidivism by juveniles.

Young, poor, minority offenders found to go back to violent areas with lots of liquor outlets

Ah, and while they're at it, the Bruins report that African American and Latino kids tend to be poorer, less well insured and so less likely to get the medicine and care they need for the ear infections that plague kids and can lead to more serious and debilitating conditions.

Racial, ethnic disparities in medicines, care that kids get for all too common ear infections

 

Phew, a hectic and notable week for all manner of speakers

From ALOUD, Zocalo, UCLA, Skirball, Claremont McKenna

OK, this isn't meant to be anywhere near close to encyclopedic but let's try to capture a slice of the many and varied really smart folks who will speak in the next few days in sessions, mostly free and all requiring registration, such as:  the amazing cookbook author, food expert and New York Times columnist Mark Bittman in a chat with renowned L.A. chef Evan Kleiman at 7:30 tonight (Tues) on the Westside; MacArthur 'genius' fellow and Haitian native Edwidge Danticat in a talk with journalist Amy Wilentz on the 'immigrant artist at work,' at 7 tonight (tues) downtown; a panel of scholars, artists and activists will examine 'race, class and residence in Los Angeles,' in a Westside program at 7 tonight (tues); Matthew Kahn,  a public affairs prof, Luskin Scholar and author, will ponder 'how will cities survive climate change,' in a program at 7:30 tonight on the Westside; on Wednesday night at7:30 in mid-city, national correspondent Robert Kaplan takes on the question whether the 'U.S. is ready for the rise of Asia;' on the Westside on Wednesday night at 7, the gifted, talented, iconoclastic one-time editors of the LA Weekly will celebrate their second edition with readings and performances by contributors to their new literary venture, Slake; in Claremont on Wednesday night, sports writing legend Frank Deford will be in the spotlight; and on Thursday night at 7 downtown, though the session shows at full now, noted Los Angeles experts Glen Creason and D.J. Waldie will discuss their new examination of the City of Angels in maps.

$4.6 million to study HIV-AIDS and L.A. jails

From UCLA

Because Los Angeles runs what may be one of the largest jails in the nation, and, indeed, the world, Bruin researchers will tap a $4.6 million National Institutes of Health grant to study inmates who pass through the system and who may be infected and need care for HIV-AIDS. Experts estimate that one in seven HIV-infected individuals go in and out of some kind of correctional facilities with sad regularity, including the regrettably Dickensian, overcrowded conditions that prevail to much criticism in the L.A. jails. But the hope is that by understanding more what happens, in particular, with those who shuttle between the slam and their local communities, that health officials may be able to curb HIV infection rates and better care for those with the disease so they don't spread it. This study, among other items, will focus on jail inmates' drug abuse, hospital and emergency room use and recidivism in the correctional system. 

Research deals with reality: 1 in 7 HIV-infected individuals cycles through incarceration

 

A catch-up lagniappe with a soupcon from all over

From Cal State Fullerton, RAND, CSUN, Loyola Marymount, UCLA, UCR, UCI, Claremont Graduate University, Chapman

Let's play fast catch up. With apologies that the press of fuller time employment for actual pay has cut into the posting here -- and may continue to do so -- here's stuff from around the area worth a gander:

The Bruins open their spiffy, new Terasaki Life Sciences building today, a major facility named after the emeritus surgery prof, transplant pioneer and key developer of tissue typing technology who also donated $50 million to the school.

Also of note in Westwood: a $2.9 million study on gum disease among diabetics with emphasis in new genetic techniques that will let researchers better understand whether changes in health affect body systems and allow certain types of bacteria to flourish. Bruin scholars also will join colleagues from five other schools in a major new scrutiny of climate change in the Southwestern United States, a region that experts predict will be among the most affected by issues related to global warming.

In Fullerton, a researcher has put together nearly $7 million in grants to study and boost the health of Asian Pacific Islanders, some 870,000 of whom live in Southern California and must deal with particular challenges with obesity and cancer. Other research on campus recently has targeted Asian American women and their reproductive health, particularly since some of the student-assisted work found that this group of females, while sexually active, used contraceptives less and were unlikely to undergo routine testing for disorders affecting women. And yet another Titan scholar has become a surprising expert for highly personal reasons on the topic of suicide among people, especially young women, of Asian descent; suicide is the second leading cause of death among Asian American women ages 15 to24 and women of Asian descent in this age group, joined by those older than 65, have the highest suicide rates across all racial-ethnic groups, experts say.  

In Santa Monica, the think tank folks have found thatGood Samaritans could get better, more cost effective results if only they would work harder to coordinate all those after-school programs aimed at helping kids; the full report available here details how, in principle, five cities have proved they can help more urban youngsters reach their fullest potential through the after-school programs if sponsors work together. Other researchers, meantime, have raised questions about the market for residential wind and flood insurance, coverages that were found tragically lacking and still have not been put back together five years after Hurricane Katrina.

In Riverside, itty-bitty guppies have told a tale of species' resilience after a poor, early start in life, while in Orange, little sea slugs, jolted by electricity and shocked by nasty lobster attacks, have provided intriguing insights into brain activity and memory.

In Claremont, researchers have created a computer model to help figure how to reduce public conflicts over the location of power lines and other transmission facilities for advanced but remote solar and wind power plants, while in Westchester, student broadcasters are celebrating the resolution of a frequency dispute so that campus radio station KXLU (88.9) can be heard without interference in eastern Los Angeles, including by underground hipsters in Silverlake, downtown and Pasadena.

 

Bruins, state bet on better ways to aid bad gamblers

From UCLA

So, that's the way they roll in Westwood, eh? No, we're not meaning, in kids' vernacular, that the Bruins conduct themselves in a particular fashion. Some of them are, however, taking on a new stake, rolling the dice, so to speak, in trying to help what state and institutional experts say is a growing group of folks, the 1 of every 25 Californians, they say, who cost society more than $1 billion annually because they can't control their wagering and gambling. The school's gambling studies program -- yes, bet on it that it really exists -- says it will join forces with the state office of problem gambling, which is part of the alcohol and drug programs department, to launch a treatment program for those for whom all bet's are off because they can't control their harmful wagering. Experts will develop a range of care options, including interventions and residential treatment, as well as training for health providers. If there's a Nicely Nicely Johnson or some guy or doll who might qualify, the program is accepting candidates for consideration for this effort to find better ways to deal with chronic problem and destructive gamblers.

Experts seek new way to treat those who can't control harmful wagering

 

Everybody's talking at us about lots of stuff this week

From UCLA, ALOUD, Zocalo & Cal State Fullerton

 

Never let it be said that Southern Californians lack the capacity to exercise their rights to free speech and to talk for free and freely, whether it's about political topics, as discussed in this Bruin video above, or in conversations that this week will run the gamut of: strategies to break the cycle of gang violence late Tuesday afternoon in Westwood; music and the centrality of themes of celebration and lament in it through the ages on Tuesday night in downtown; the power of Native American story-telling and how its techniques can powerfully inform contemporary memoir writing on Wednesday night in downtown; how distinguished scholars and practitioners see the course of Latino literature in the 21st century in downtown Thursday night;  how religion is reshaping America in Chinatown Thursday night (yes, this is the correct date, this time); on the public trust and remaking the Nixon Library in Fullerton on Tuesday afternoon; and, yes, even a shout-out to a production-meditation on the solo powers exemplified in the Watts Towers on Thursday night on the Westside; and two, fully staged performances in the courtyard of 'Hamlet,' one of the best-known works of the Bard Tuesday and Wednesday night on the Westside, featuring Bruin thespians from the actor training program.

Hot stuff around town to cut the chill and gloom

From Art Center College of Design, Japanese American National Museum, the Autry, Skirball & UCLA

With the gloom and a bit of a chill descending on the metropolis just before the weekend, it may be hard to get some gas in the old tank to get up and go partake of activites. But there's plenty, including the annual Car Classic in Pasadena, a celebration not only of the automobile but also its underlying technology and especially the care, craft, thinking and design that goes into a great vehicle. Of course education itself can take some curious twists, as a scholar will explore in a converation about the ignominious history of American Indian boarding schools, which will be part of a busy Saturday in Griffith Park, where there also will be a big show and sale of vintage American Indian baskets. In Little Tokyo, they'll be rockin', jammin' and takin' in lots of jazzy sounds as the Asian American Music Festival blows into town today and Saturday, when docents will launch a two-day class on the comrehensive history of Japanese Americans. And by the way, Caldecott-winning author Allen Say (aka James Allen Koichi Moriwaki Seii) will be launching, selling and signing 'Boy in the Garden,' his latest, beautiful looking book for kids on Sunday in Little Tokyo. This might be a good weekend to scoot over to the Westside to catch up and maybe even contribute to the global 1000 Journals project and exhibition, a unique opportunity to enjoy and share outstanding examples of quality writing, art, poety and other stuff shared in a special, personal medium. And for thos who insist they can best rest when they're dead, here's a different look at how Korean shamans once escorted, danced and conducted ceremonies to get folks out of here.

On 3 campuses, big pushes for advances in nano world

From UCR, UCSB & UCLA

While certain television shows boast how their plots get 'ripped' from the day's headlines, folks in Riverside and Santa Barbara clearly are showing how they're staying at the fore of startling developments in the newest of materials. It was, for example, just days ago that most of the planet got cued in to this new, sheet of cool stuff that's just one carbon atom thick, and, bang, here are Inland Empire researchers saying that graphene -- the material that won two scientists a Nobel Prize in physics -- will play a key role in swifter, more efficient computers. The post tackles more of the technical details of how spinning, dancing electrons combined with graphene may produce the dazzling new computers but suffice to say that the path-breaking work in this area is occuring in the nanoscale.

Can electrons' spin, 21st century graphene material combine in super, new computer?

And that world, coincidentally, is where the National Science Foundation has put up $6 million in a five-year, significantly boosted grant for experts in Santa Barbara to keep struggling with the issue of how nanotechnology affects society. This project, combining engineers and scientists with experts in the social sciences and humanities, calls for research, education and outreach to the wider public on how nanoscience -- controlling matter at the molecular and atomic level -- affects an array of areas including energy, health, water, food and the environment.

In Santa Barbara, a $6 million boost to study on how nanoscience affects society

To those exploring new frontiers in the medical or scientific applications of nanotechnology, the mere microscopic presence of detrius like bacteria or even the most itty-bitty viruses can be deadly to their work. A level of cleanliness that exceeds any ordinary household godliness is a must for researchers fabricating materials at the molecular and atomic levels. So there's good news for such scientists, start-up entrepreneurs and researchers with an $8 million expansion of 9,700 square feet of squeaky sanitary space in Westwood. The 24/7-available cleanroom areas -- open to investigators from universities, industry and the government -- also include pricey high tech tools like an 'electron-beam writer.' Those who wish to perform 'proof of concept' and other  research  in the facilty must undergo approval and training before they can access the facility, supported with the help of Intel, ASML, Micron Technology and International Rectifier. The Bruins note that the cleanspace's proximity will be a boon to experts in their engineering and medical schools.

An $8 million doubling of clean space for nanotechnology research 

New consensus on surgical procedure for Parkinson's

From UCLA

Fifty top experts in the field have had a 'meeting of the minds,' Bruin researchers say, providing a now published consensus on criteria to help end the confusion for those with Parkinson's as to which patients might benefit most from a surgical procedure that has shown promise in treating some. To try to improve the quality of life for those with Parkinson's, afflicted with loss of balance, coordination, control over movement and tremors and rigidity, surgeons since the 1990s have implanted neurostimulators deep in the patients' brains, allowing electrical currents to block disruptive signals associated with the neurological disorder; this procedure is known as deep brain stimulation. In some cases, surgeons also remove damaged areas of the brain. But which patients do best with this kind of care? Conceding a lack of sound information for patients, families and care-givers, experts in the area developed guidelines, with a Bruin neurology prof as lead author of these consensus recommendations, just posted online in a medical journal.

50 leaders in field publish consensus guidelines on deep brain stiumulation

Stop the madness on mental illness, McGovern urges

From UCLA

George McGovern, ever more gray and more than a little wizened, has gone way past it. In an era in which politicians prove daily that they have absolutely no shame, this onetime aspirant to the presidency from South Dakota has opened his life up and shares fully now his moments of human failure, loss and embarrassment. It matters to him to talk, as he did recently in Westwood, about these episodes that would haunt anyone -- how he plucked another friend in public life into a grand candidacy and a shattering spotlight that no one handled well, and how, despite the loving efforts of he and his wife and family, he came to knew the destructive and fatal pain of his daughter. Yes, the stories have been told. Yes, they may sound sort of familiar. But the professor and sage (seen in a Tracey Landworth photo at right) still musters himself in his own special way for this all-too-personal campaign. His message is simple, powerful and well worth taking in: Mental illness, he says, should not be the cause of such shame, scandal, fear and fury. Americans need to stop acting and reacting in such crazy fashion to the torture of a disease that can be treated because the toll, he says as one who knows the cost all to well, is far too high

A presidential aspirant who knows affliction's painful toll campaigns for compassion