California Institute Research Articles

Thinking and Teaching with Aurora Guerrero's Mosquita y Mari

Aurora Guerrero is a California-based queer Chicana activist, writer, and filmmaker born in San Francisco's Mission District and currently residing in Southern California. Born to Mexican immigrant parents, she is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and the California Institute of the Arts. Her films include Pura Lengua (2005), Viernes Girl (2005), and Mosquita y Mari (2012). In the ten years since its release, Mosquita y Mari has become a film classic, making a significant impact on queer studies scholarship and in university courses in Latinx studies, gender and sexuality studies, and film and media studies.This dossier spotlights the impact of Guerrero's film—focused on the intimate bond between two fifteen-year-old Latinas growing up in the working-class immigrant Los Angeles neighborhood of Huntington Park—in the context of the classroom. Beginning with a conversation between Guerrero and Richard T. Rodríguez, the dossier includes four contributions by Gayatri Gopinath, Ariana Ruiz, Amalia Cabezas, and Larissa M. Mercado-Lopez that spotlight the pedagogical value of Mosquita y Mari for thinking about the complexities of sexuality, gender, class, race, and desire. Indeed, Guerrero's film—which refuses hard-and-fast categorizations of identity—proves generative for considering intimacy against the grain. In her compelling reading of Mosquita y Mari, Micaela Jamaica Díaz-Sánchez understands the film as operating in tandem with what Chicana lesbian theorist Emma Pérez (1999) calls “the decolonial imaginary.” In the film, Díaz-Sánchez (2017: 110) writes, “The decolonial signals a process and not a final location or destination. Guerrero participates in developing a decolonial aesthetic by resisting the logic of completion. She offers us images of desire that disarticulate heteronormative notions of intimacy.” And this is why Mosquita y Mari continues to matter a decade after its initial appearance.

Benefit-risk assessment of brensocatib for treatment of non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis.

Brensocatib is a novel anti-inflammatory therapy in development for bronchiectasis treatment. Phase 2 WILLOW trial data demonstrate a low number needed to treat and negative number needed to harm, suggesting a favourable benefit-risk profile. https://bit.ly/3SbisW3.

The Languages of Early Medieval Charters: Latin, Germanic Vernaculars, and the Written Word. Edited by RobertGallagher, EdwardRoberts and FrancescaTinti. Brill’s Series on the Early Middle Ages 27. Leiden: Brill. 2021. xvi + 548 pp. €134. ISBN 978 90 04 42811 9.

Early Medieval EuropeEarly View Book review The Languages of Early Medieval Charters: Latin, Germanic Vernaculars, and the Written Word. Edited by Robert Gallagher, Edward Roberts and Francesca Tinti. Brill’s Series on the Early Middle Ages 27. Leiden: Brill. 2021. xvi + 548 pp. €134. ISBN 978 90 04 42811 9. Warren C. Brown, Warren C. Brown orcid.org/0000-0003-1151-3373 California Institute of TechnologySearch for more papers by this author Warren C. Brown, Warren C. Brown orcid.org/0000-0003-1151-3373 California Institute of TechnologySearch for more papers by this author First published: 16 March 2023 https://doi.org/10.1111/emed.12635Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Early ViewOnline Version of Record before inclusion in an issue RelatedInformation

Business Roundup

BUSINESS Business Roundup ShareShare onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail C&EN, 2023, 101 (8), p 13March 6, 2023Cite this:C&EN 101, 8, 13AbstractHuntsman has completed the sale of its textile effects business to Archroma for $593 million, plus assumed pension liabilities. Huntsman bought the business in 2006 from Ciba Specialty Chemicals. Albemarle is increasing its stake in an Australian lithium processing plant it’s building with Mineral Resources. In exchange, Mineral Resources is boosting its interest in an associated lithium mine the companies operate. Evonik Industries says it plans to spend a “mid-double-digit million” euro amount to build a fumed aluminum oxide plant in Yokkaichi, Japan. The company says aluminum oxide is used to make ultrathin separator coatings for lithium-ion batteries. Genascence , a firm targeting musculoskeletal diseases with gene therapy, has been awarded $11.6 million over 4 years by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The money will go toward the company’s Phase 1b clinical trial of its lead gene therapy for knee osteoarthritis and to “phase-appropriate manufacturing activities.” Umicore saysView: PDF | Full Text HTML

Introduction

Introduction| March 01 2023 Introduction: Words from the Editor Jay Needham, MFA Jay Needham, MFA Jay Needham is an artist, musician, and cultural producer who utilizes multiple creative platforms to produce his works. As a hearing-divergent person, Needham explores present and emerging ecologies of the electromagnetic spectrum that often feature the sense of sound and vibration as a component in the interpretation of his works. His sound art, works for radio, visual art, performances, and installations have appeared worldwide at museums, festivals, and on the airwaves. His most recent sound installation is on permanent display in the BioMuseo, designed by Frank Gehry in the Republic of Panama. Needham’s writing appears in the books Hearing Places: Sound, Place, Time, Culture and Moving Sounds: A Cultural History of the Car Radio. His research has been published in Exposure, Soundscape: The Journal of Acoustic Ecology and Leonardo Music Journal. Needham is a professor in the School of Media Arts at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He received his MFA from the School of Art at California Institute of the Arts. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Resonance (2023) 4 (1): 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1525/res.2023.4.1.1 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Jay Needham; Introduction: Words from the Editor. Resonance 1 March 2023; 4 (1): 1–5. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/res.2023.4.1.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentResonance Search As I introduce the fourth volume of Resonance, I’m very proud to welcome the newest members of the journal’s editorial board. These sound studies scholars and artists add to the diversity of perspectives as we continue to explore cultural boundaries and expand upon the concept of sound as a living, cultural force. Throughout our fourth volume we will be presenting a new special series, “Queer Politics & Positionalities in Sonic Art.” The series will be guest edited by Charles Eppley (they/he), assistant teaching professor of Interdisciplinary Arts & Performance at Arizona State University and co-editor and research coordinator for the Proclaiming Disability Arts initiative at the NYU Center for Disability Studies. Their work will be assisted by a diverse team of scholars and artists from within the Resonance community. “Queer Politics & Positionalities in Sonic Art” asks vitally important questions such as, Does queer sound exist, and are there... You do not currently have access to this content.

Breaking New Ground: Space Agencies and Epidemiologists Partner Up on Particulates

Breaking New Ground: Space Agencies and Epidemiologists Partner Up on Particulates

Deep Learning Solution for Quantification of Fluorescence Particles on a Membrane.

The detection and quantification of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus particles in ambient waters using a membrane-based in-gel loop-mediated isothermal amplification (mgLAMP) method can play an important role in large-scale environmental surveillance for early warning of potential outbreaks. However, counting particles or cells in fluorescence microscopy is an expensive, time-consuming, and tedious task that only highly trained technicians and researchers can perform. Although such objects are generally easy to identify, manually annotating cells is occasionally prone to fatigue errors and arbitrariness due to the operator's interpretation of borderline cases. In this research, we proposed a method to detect and quantify multiscale and shape variant SARS-CoV-2 fluorescent cells generated using a portable (mgLAMP) system and captured using a smartphone camera. The proposed method is based on the YOLOv5 algorithm, which uses CSPnet as its backbone. CSPnet is a recently proposed convolutional neural network (CNN) that duplicates gradient information within the network using a combination of Dense nets and ResNet blocks, and bottleneck convolution layers to reduce computation while at the same time maintaining high accuracy. In addition, we apply the test time augmentation (TTA) algorithm in conjunction with YOLO's one-stage multihead detection heads to detect all cells of varying sizes and shapes. We evaluated the model using a private dataset provided by the Linde + Robinson Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, United States. The model achieved a mAP@0.5 score of 90.3 in the YOLOv5-s6.

A Time of Change

A Time of Change

A Preview of JWST Metallicity Studies at Cosmic Noon: The First Detection of Auroral [O ii] Emission at High Redshift* *The data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made

We present ultradeep Keck/MOSFIRE rest-optical spectra of two star-forming galaxies at z = 2.18 in the COSMOS field with bright emission lines, representing more than 20 hr of total integration. The fidelity of these spectra enabled the detection of more than 20 unique emission lines for each galaxy, including the first detection of the auroral [O ii]λλ7322, 7332 lines at high redshift. We use these measurements to calculate the electron temperature in the low-ionization O+ zone of the ionized interstellar medium and derive abundance ratios of O/H, N/H, and N/O using the direct method. The N/O and α/Fe abundance patterns of these galaxies are consistent with rapid formation timescales and ongoing strong starbursts, in accord with their high specific star formation rates. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using auroral [O ii] measurements for accurate metallicity studies at high redshift in a higher-metallicity and lower-excitation regime previously unexplored with the direct method in distant galaxies. These results also highlight the difficulty in obtaining the measurements required for direct-method metallicities from the ground. We emphasize the advantages that the JWST/NIRSpec instrument will bring to high-redshift metallicity studies, where the combination of increased sensitivity and uninterrupted wavelength coverage will yield more than an order of magnitude increase in efficiency for multiplexed auroral-line surveys relative to current ground-based facilities. Consequently, the advent of JWST promises to be the beginning of a new era of precision chemical abundance studies of the early universe at a level of detail rivaling that of local galaxy studies.

2023 ACS National Award winners—Part IV

Elias J. Corey Award for Outstanding Original Contribution in Organic Synthesis by a Young Investigator: Robert R. Knowles Sponsor: Pfizer Endowment Fund Citation : For establishing proton-coupled electron transfer as a general approach to solve synthetic challenges in the areas of free radical chemistry, asymmetric catalysis, and organometallic chemistry Current position: Professor of chemistry, Princeton University Education: BS, chemistry, College of William and Mary; PhD, organic chemistry, California Institute of Technology Knowles on the most rewarding part of his job: “The process of taking an idea that begins as a drawing on a blackboard and developing it into something real that other people can actually use and build upon.” What Knowles’s colleagues say: “Rob has established an extraordinarily original and successful independent research program and set new directions in the field of reaction chemistry. He is a highly creative synthetic and mechanistic chemist, with a remarkably insightful and probing mind.”—Eric

CO Emission, Molecular Gas, and Metallicity in Main-sequence Star-forming Galaxies at z ∼ 2.3* *The data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support

We present observations of CO(3−2) in 13 main-sequence z = 2.0–2.5 star-forming galaxies at that span a wide range in metallicity (O/H) based on rest-optical spectroscopy. We find that /SFR decreases with decreasing metallicity, implying that the CO luminosity per unit gas mass is lower in low-metallicity galaxies at z ∼ 2. We constrain the CO-to-H2 conversion factor (α CO) and find that α CO inversely correlates with metallicity at z ∼ 2. We derive molecular gas masses (M mol) and characterize the relations among M *, SFR, M mol, and metallicity. At z ∼ 2, M mol increases and the molecular gas fraction (M mol/M *) decreases with increasing M *, with a significant secondary dependence on SFR. Galaxies at z ∼ 2 lie on a near-linear molecular KS law that is well-described by a constant depletion time of 700 Myr. We find that the scatter about the mean SFR−M *, O/H−M *, and M mol−M * relations is correlated such that, at fixed M *, z ∼ 2 galaxies with larger M mol have higher SFR and lower O/H. We thus confirm the existence of a fundamental metallicity relation at z ∼ 2, where O/H is inversely correlated with both SFR and M mol at fixed M *. These results suggest that the scatter of the z ∼ 2 star-forming main sequence, mass–metallicity relation, and M mol–M * relation are primarily driven by stochastic variations in gas inflow rates. We place constraints on the mass loading of galactic outflows and perform a metal budget analysis, finding that massive z ∼ 2 star-forming galaxies retain only 30% of metals produced, implying that a large mass of metals resides in the circumgalactic medium.

Lentiviral Gene Therapy for Artemis-Deficient SCID

BackgroundThe DNA-repair enzyme Artemis is essential for rearrangement of T- and B-cell receptors. Mutations in DCLRE1C, which encodes Artemis, cause Artemis-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency (ART-SCID), which is poorly responsive to allogeneic hematopoietic-cell transplantation.MethodsWe carried out a phase 1–2 clinical study of the transfusion of autologous CD34+ cells, transfected with a lentiviral vector containing DCLRE1C, in 10 infants with newly diagnosed ART-SCID. We followed them for a median of 31.2 months.ResultsMarrow harvest, busulfan conditioning, and lentiviral-transduced CD34+ cell infusion produced the expected grade 3 or 4 adverse events. All the procedures met prespecified criteria for feasibility at 42 days after infusion. Gene-marked T cells were detected at 6 to 16 weeks after infusion in all the patients. Five of 6 patients who were followed for at least 24 months had T-cell immune reconstitution at a median of 12 months. The diversity of T-cell receptor β chains normalized by 6 to 12 months. Four patients who were followed for at least 24 months had sufficient B-cell numbers, IgM concentration, or IgM isohemagglutinin titers to permit discontinuation of IgG infusions. Three of these 4 patients had normal immunization responses, and the fourth has started immunizations. Vector insertion sites showed no evidence of clonal expansion. One patient who presented with cytomegalovirus infection received a second infusion of gene-corrected cells to achieve T-cell immunity sufficient for viral clearance. Autoimmune hemolytic anemia developed in 4 patients 4 to 11 months after infusion; this condition resolved after reconstitution of T-cell immunity. All 10 patients were healthy at the time of this report.ConclusionsInfusion of lentiviral gene-corrected autologous CD34+ cells, preceded by pharmacologically targeted low-exposure busulfan, in infants with newly diagnosed ART-SCID resulted in genetically corrected and functional T and B cells. (Funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03538899.)

Exhibition Review: Christina Fernandez: Multiple Exposures

Exhibition Review: <i>Christina Fernandez: Multiple Exposures</i>

Process Optimization of Single-Step Photolithography

Due to the precision and sizing requirements of popular semiconductor devices nowadays, thickness control and uniformity optimization of the photoresist during the photolithography process are thought to be critical issues for process engineers to consider. In this paper, the parameters affecting photoresist thickness are thoroughly analyzed and an economic and novel approach improving uniformity during spin coating is presented. In the Integrated Nanosystems Research Facility at the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2), 8 silicon wafers were coated with a positive photoresist named Shipley 1827 for this purpose. At the end of this paper, the author concludes several essential but easily ignored factors that can affect the uniformity and thickness of the photoresist. By following the given rules, high quality single-layer silicon wafer can be coated at ease.

Zooming in or zoning out: examining undergraduate learning experiences with zoom and the role of mind-wandering

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a systematic change in course modalities due to the nationwide suspension of in-person instruction, resulting in the transition to emergency remote distance learning via Zoom. This transition certainly facilitated affordances of flexibility and continuity, but with it brought issues of unfamiliarity, lack of confidence, anxiety, distractions, and validity from both the instructors and the student perspectives. This in situ study aimed to better understand the students' learning experiences with Zoom by assessing the social, cognitive, and behavioral factors influencing learner's mind-wandering and its effect on online engagement. Undergraduate students from 14 classes across two research institutions in California (N = 633) were recruited to participate in an online survey while distance learning through a pandemic. Structural equation modeling was used to conduct a path analysis to explain the factors impacting students' online engagement mediated by students' frequency to mind-wander. Study findings revealed that (1) self-efficacy and trait anxiety had significant direct effects on students' mind-wandering; (2) self-efficacy, trait anxiety, task-value beliefs, and mind-wandering had significant direct effects on students' online engagement; and finally (3) the frequency of students' mind-wandering partially mediated the relationship between self-efficacy and engagement and between trait anxiety and engagement. Identifying these structural relationships further confirmed our hypotheses on sources contributing to students' mind-wandering while learning remotely, provided insights into potential mechanisms underpinning students' online engagement, and suggests practical pedagogical learning experience design recommendations for instructors to immediately implement while teaching and learning with Zoom..

Perspectives and opportunities: a molecular toolkit for fundamental physics and matter-wave interferometry in microgravity * *A portion of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

The study of molecular physics using ultracold gases has provided a unique probe into the fundamental properties of nature and offers new tools for quantum technologies. In this article we outline how ultracold molecular physics in a space environment opens opportunities for (a) exploring ultra-low energy regimes of molecular physics with high efficiency, (b) providing a toolbox of capabilities for fundamental physics, and (c) enabling new classes of matter-wave interferometers with applications in precision measurement for fundamental and many-body physics.

Drug discovery by a basic research scientist.

I was fortunate to do my military service during the Vietnam era as a medical officer at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. My first research at NIH was concerned with making a variety of optical measurements on nucleic acid bases and proteins, including single crystal spectra in linearly polarized light and near infrared circular dichroism, interpreting the spectra using molecular orbital and crystal field theories. What I do now is drug discovery, a field at the opposite end of the scientific spectrum. This article gives a brief account of my transition from spectroscopy to sickle cell hemoglobin polymerization to protein folding to drug discovery for treating sickle cell disease. My lab recently developed a high throughput assay to screen the 12,657 compounds of the California Institute of Biomedical Research ReFrame drug repurposing library. This is a precious library because the compounds have either been FDA approved or have been tested in clinical trials. Since the 1970s numerous agents have been reported in the literature to inhibit HbS polymerization and/or sickling with only one successful drug, hydroxyurea, and another of dubious value, voxelotor, even though it has been approved by the FDA. Our screen has discovered 106 anti-sickling agents in the ReFrame compound library. We estimate that as many as 21 of these compounds could become oral drugs for treating sickle cell disease because they inhibit at concentrations typical of the free concentrations of oral drugs in human serum.

Public History: Podcast, Documentary, Digital Resources

Research Article| November 01 2022 Public History: Podcast, Documentary, Digital Resources Bryan David, Bryan David BRYAN DAVID is a lecturer of history at Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, Nevada. He holds a PhD in history from the University of Nevada, Reno, and an MA in history from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. His work has been published in Clio’s Quill and H-Net Reviews. He is currently working on revising his dissertation, “Homespun Fun: Theme Parks, Suburbia, and the Postwar Child,” for publication. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Sarah Keyes Sarah Keyes Guest Editor Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar California History (2022) 99 (4): 98–100. https://doi.org/10.1525/ch.2022.99.4.98 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Bryan David; Public History: Podcast, Documentary, Digital Resources. California History 1 November 2022; 99 (4): 98–100. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/ch.2022.99.4.98 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentCalifornia History Search “We Are Not Strangers Here: African American Histories in Rural California” includes a series of podcast episodes as well as physical and digital exhibits. It is a collaboration between Susan D. Anderson of the California African American Museum, the California Historical Society, Amy Cohen and Exhibit Envoy, Ildi Carlisle-Cummins and the California Institute for Rural Studies (CIRS), and Caroline Collins of UC San Diego. Elsewhere in this issue of California History, Dr. Collins details the overall project’s content, creation, and reception. This review is of the podcast series only. From the outset of the first episode, “We Are Not Strangers Here”—a six-episode series on the CIRS podcast Cal Ag Roots—establishes its mission to (re)insert Black Americans into narratives of the rural West. As series producer and narrator Caroline Collins states, more than just filling a historical gap, “We Are Not Strangers Here” seeks to challenge myths about the... You do not currently have access to this content.

The Orbits of the Main Saturnian Satellites, the Saturnian System Gravity Field, and the Orientation of Saturn’s Pole* * ©2022 California Institute of Technology. Government sponsorship acknowledged.

Four spacecraft have been sent to investigate the Saturnian system: Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, Voyager 2, and Cassini. By analyzing data acquired with these spacecraft together with Earth-based and Hubble Space Telescope satellite astrometry and Saturnian ring and satellite occultations, we constructed a model for the orientation and precession of Saturn’s pole and determined gravitational parameters of the system and the orbits of the Saturnian satellites. This article provides details of our analysis and its results.

The Research on Split-Brian and Philosophical Thinking by Sperry

Among the advances in brain research at the frontiers of contemporary science, the most notable achievement was the work of Roger W. Sperry, a professor of psychobiology at the California Institute of Technology, who was awarded the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the "split-brain man". This paper is intended to analyze the philosophy behind the split-brain. Describe Sperry's main findings about the split brain.