University Of California At Berkeley Research Articles

Treating symptomatic flexible flatfoot deformities. a novel technique: comparison of uc berkeley laboratory foot orthosis with and without kinesio taping in juvenil athletes.

Symptomatic flexible pes planus(SFPP)can cause pain anddiscomfortwhen walking or engaging in sportive activitiesin children and adolescents. SFPP can be treated conservatively with foot orthoses, such as the University of California Berkeley Laboratory (UCBL)foot orthosis, which can improve foot function and reduce pain. Kinesio Tape(KT) has also beenused as an adjunct to foot orthoses in the treatment of pes planus. This study aims to compare the effectiveness of the UCBL foot orthosis with and without KTin the treatment of SFPPamong amateur juvenile and adolescent athletes. Fiftypatients with SFPP were included in the study. In 27 patients UCBL foot orthosis with KT(group 1)was used whereas in 23 UCBL(group 2)was preferred only. The patients were evaluated withAOFASandradiologicalmeasurements. The mean follow-up period was28.6 ± 4.3(26) months.At the final follow-up AOFAS of group 1 was significantly higher than group 2.In group2, 12 patients (%52,17) had pressure sores that caused superficial dermabrasion.LateralTFMAs andtalocalcaneal angleingroup 1wassignificantlybetterthangroup 2. This study attempted to determine if using KT with the UCBL foot orthosis was beneficial to the treatment of SFPP compared to simply wearing the orthosis. Our results suggest that KT is effective in reducing pronation and improving the AOFAS score. The use of UCBL with KT seems to be preferable in children and adolescents with SFPP since it is associated witha lower rate of complication, a higher degree of patientcomplianceand faster improvement in the radiological and clinical findings, compared to the use of the UCBL orthosis alone.

Analysis of International Carbon-Neutrality Campus Cases -A Case Study on Research Universities in the United States-

This study aims to contribute to the spread and promotion of discussions on carbon-neutral campuses by examining cases of carbon-neutral campus development in major research universities in the United States (Harvard, MIT, Stanford, UC Berkeley). To achieve this, an analysis was conducted on the carbon emissions status, climate conditions, carbon-neutral campus goals and strategies, emission quantification status, and progress of each university. The background for achieving carbon-neutral campuses at each university was explored, and the possibility of adoption in domestic universities was investigated. The universities effectively reduced greenhouse gases using PPAs and cooperative governance systems to create carbon-neutral campuses. PPAs were funded via government grants, university endowments, and fund creation. Sustainability departments were established, engaging internal and external stakeholders in carbon-neutral planning. In particular, the sustainability offices of each university demonstrate leadership both in reducing carbon and improving overall quality of life by setting goals related to reducing water consumption, promoting health, culture, food, and connecting with local communities. Korean universities face challenges in reducing building emissions, with limited use of mechanisms like PPAs. Thus, Policy backing is vital for procuring renewable energy. Additionally, although some domestic universities have ESG committees or sustainability committees, there are limitations in their roles, authority, and member participation. Thus, for the creation of carbon-neutral campuses and transition to sustainable society, it is imperative to establish relevant governance structures and systemic climate/environmental education, research collaboratively for institution value and talent development.

]MA[ – The Space between the Interval

<p>“]MA[ – The Space between the Interval” is the fourth movement of ]MA[, a multidisciplinary performance created in 2013 by Thingamajigs Performance Group (TPG) and performed at the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. In 2019, group member Dylan Bolles conducted and recomposed a series of interviews in which TPG reflected on the process of making and performing ]MA[. We asked questions such as: How does embodiment create particular amalgamations of influence and technique that trouble distinctions between thoughts of East and West? How do cultural artifacts change when passed through different bodies and contexts? What are the underlying principles which allow for sometimes effortless musical communication between seemingly distant cultural representatives? Our conversations, disjointed as they are, intermingle both shared and previously unshared experiences from many years working together and apart on intercultural performance projects. What emerges is a glimpse into a process of intercultural integration in motion.</p>

Frāy in Seven Documents from the Pahlavi Archive of Hastijan

Abstract In this article, seven documents from the Pahlavi Archive of Hastijan have been examined. All seven documents are housed in the Bancroft Library of the University of Berkeley. Three documents, Berk. 35, Berk. 162, and Berk. 33A, were published for the first time by Gignoux (2010 and 2003), but the present writer tried to revise them and complete the unread words, correct the misreadings, and achieve a better translation. Other documents – Berk. 169, Berk. 12, Berk. 17, and Berk. 170 (a small fragment) – are published for the first time in this article. The common feature of these documents is that a person named Frāy is present in all of them. Frāy is a famous person in the Pahlavi Archive of Hastijan, and we can see his name in 38 documents. The early document, Tehran C, was written in the year 32 (32 years after the death of Yazdgird III), and the last document, Berk. 8, was written in the month Spandarmad (12th month) of the year 49.

Multi-Threshold Image Segmentation Based on the Improved Dragonfly Algorithm

In view of the problems that the dragonfly algorithm has, such as that it easily falls into the local optimal solution and the optimization accuracy is low, an improved Dragonfly Algorithm (IDA) is proposed and applied to Otsu multi-threshold image segmentation. Firstly, an elite-opposition-based learning optimization is utilized to enhance the diversity of the initial population of dragonflies, laying the foundation for subsequent algorithm iterations. Secondly, an enhanced sine cosine strategy is introduced to prevent the algorithm from falling into local optima, thereby improving its ability to escape from local optima. Then, an adaptive t-distribution strategy is incorporated to enhance the balance between global exploration and local search, thereby improving the convergence speed of the algorithm. To evaluate the performance of this algorithm, we use eight international benchmark functions to test the performance of the IDA algorithm and compare it with the sparrow search algorithm (SSA), sine cosine algorithm (SCA) and dragonfly algorithm (DA). The experiments show that the algorithm performs better in terms of convergence speed and accuracy. At the same time, the Otsu method is employed to determine the optimal threshold, a series of experiments are carried out on six images provided by Berkeley University, and the results are compared with the other three algorithms. From the experimental results, the peak signal-to-noise ratio index (PSNR) and structural similarity index (SSIM) based on the IDA algorithm method are better than other optimization algorithms. The experimental results indicate that the application of Otsu multi-threshold segmentation based on the IDA algorithm is potential and meaningful.

Effect of foot orthoses on balance among individuals with flatfoot: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Individuals with flatfoot have impaired proprioception owing to ligament laxity and impaired tendons, which can result in poor balance. Foot orthoses (FOs) have been reported to stimulate plantar mechanical receptors and are used to manage foot overpronation in individuals with flatfoot. However, the results of the use of FOs to improve balance are inconsistent. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we aimed to identify and investigate the effects of FOs on balance in individuals with flatfoot. Electronic databases were searched for articles published before March 2023. Peer-reviewed journal studies that included adult participants with flexible flatfoot and reported the effects of FOs on balance were included and classified based on the study design: randomized control trials (RCT) and non-RCTs. Four RCT studies were retained, and their methodological quality was assessed (mean, 63.2%; range 47.3%-73.1%: high), as were three non-RCT studies (mean, 54.1%; range, 42.1%-68.4%: high). Meta-analysis was performed by calculating the effect size using the standardized mean differences between the control and FO conditions. Transverse-arch insoles immediately improved static balance after use. However, no immediate significant effect was found for medial archsupport FOs, cuboid-posting FOs, or University of California Berkeley Laboratory FOs during the study period (2-5 weeks) when compared with the controls. The transverse-arch insole is the most effective FO feature for improving static balance. However, the high heterogeneity between study protocols contributes to the lack of evidence for the effects of FO on balance in people with flatfoot.

Initial Design of IoT-Based Earthquake Intensitymeter Using MMI Scale with Smartphone Display

This paper discusses the initial design of an earthquake intensitymeter measuring instrument using the IoT-based MMI scale. This research is motivated by the lack of instrumentation technology applied to the community for earthquake mitigation, which is related to the geographical location of Indonesia in earthquake-prone areas. The existing earthquake intensitymeter instrument still has shortcomings in terms of hardware and data acquisition. So this paper tries to provide a solution to the problem by using an MPU6050 accelerometer sensor that can measure PGA values simultaneously on three axes. This system is also equipped with an IoT-based intensitymeter for data acquisition that can be accessed via smartphone. In this system, the MPU6050 sensor is tested for characteristics first using the UC Berkeley Seismological Myshake application, and the average linearity test data obtained is 0.994. The data acquisition system is webserver-based so that every bit of data read every second will be sent to the webserver. The webserver is also equipped with a real-time measurement graph, and every smartphone device can access the data using the IP address of the webserver.

David A. Frick (1955–2022) i jego badania staropolskie

The paper is devoted to David Allan Frick, an American scholar, translator, and professor at the University of Berkeley. The author briefly presents the biography of Frick and analyses his books, focusing on Frick’s research on early modern Polish literature and culture.

What's in a word? Student beliefs and understanding about green chemistry

For the past decade, the College of Chemistry at UC Berkeley has iteratively redesigned general chemistry laboratory courses to introduce students to green chemistry concepts, while simultaneously using green chemistry as a relevant context to learn chemistry. To investigate the effectiveness of this curriculum we developed approaches to investigate student understanding of green chemistry. We adapted a constructivist educational framework to iteratively design fixed and free response items appropriate for large enrollment courses that probe student knowledge of green chemistry concepts and practices. Two free response items were designed to probe students’ ability to define green chemistry and make green chemistry decisions in the context of a case study. A set of fixed response items were designed to probe particular aspects of green chemistry knowledge that were included in the course. Together, we used these items to characterize (1) changes in student understanding of green chemistry and (2) how prior “green” knowledge impacts student learning of new green chemistry principles in the general chemistry laboratory course. Analysis of student responses indicated that, on average, students demonstrated increased green chemistry understanding after completing this green chemistry aligned laboratory course. Students were able to integrate more normative green chemistry principles in their answers and began to indicate awareness of complex interconnected systems. Because the items focused on assessing student knowledge of green chemistry, rather than their self-assessment of knowledge, they provided valuable insight regarding students’ prior green chemistry knowledge that will be used to develop future versions of the curriculum.

[Intracellular Mechanism of Gastric Acid Secretion: What is the True Switch?]

In 1985, I was accepted as postdoc by Professor Forte of UC Berkeley. He discovered H+,K+-ATPase and established the membrane recycling theory as the activation mechanism for acid secretion using whole animals. H+,K+-ATPase is an enzyme that exchanges H+ with K+. In resting state, it locates on the tubulovesicles and the pump does not work because the membrane lacks K+ permeability. Upon stimulation, the tubulovesicles fuse to the apical membrane and acquire K+ permeability, turning the pump on. The main route was known to be protein kinase A (PKA), but its specific targets remained unknown. Right after I joined Forte's lab, I was fortunate enough to reproduce the above mechanism in vitro, and I discovered proteins of molecular weight 120 kDa and 80 kDa that were specifically phosphorylated in stimulated parietal cells. After I returned to Japan, the former was cloned and named as parchorin, which is one of the chloride intracellular channels. Although no progress was made on ezrin, I found out the importance of PIP2 and Arf6 using permeabilized gland models. After I left parietal cell research, the link between ezrin and Arf6 was revealed. PKA phosphorylates S66 of ezrin and also MST4. The former changes the N-terminal structure of ezrin to bind syntaxin3, and the latter phosphorylates ACAP4, an Arf6-GAP, to accelerate binding to ezrin. Subsequently, H+,K+-ATPase, SNAREs, ezrin, and Arf6-GAP are aligned on the apical membrane. However, there are still many unsolved questions and the intracellular mechanism of parietal cells remains an attractive research area.

The Journey Towards the Creation of HDMI: How a serial interface used in a UC Berkeley SPUR project in the 1980’s became a household brand

The Journey Towards the Creation of HDMI: How a serial interface used in a UC Berkeley SPUR project in the 1980’s became a household brand

Estimation of the Probability of Earthquakes Return Period in Zimbabwe Using Gumbel’s Extreme Value Theory Method

Using Gumbel's extreme value theory method, this study looked into the probability of the largest earthquakes for different return periods in Zimbabwe. The Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS), the Northern California Earthquake Data Centre website, and UC Berkeley in the United States provided the data used for this study. The natural earthquakes with Mb ≥ 4.0 that occurred in the study area between January 1, 1901 and December 31, 2001 (a period of 100 years) with a focal depth ranging from 0 to 700 km made up the selected data. The study area is between 150S - 220S and 250E -340E in coordinates. A total of 81 events were used in the investigation. According to the results, there is a 100% chance that earthquakes with a magnitude between 4.5 and 5.5 will occur during the time interval of approximately 1 to 14 years and a 9.5% chance that within the next 100 years, there will be an earthquake with a magnitude of Mb = 6.0 or higher. For magnitudes Mb = 6.0 and above, the return period is relatively long - roughly 50 – 701 years. This suggests that there is little chance that Zimbabwe will experience earthquakes larger than magnitude 6.0. Despite being low, it is impossible to forecast with certainty because earthquake forecasting and prediction is still a complex topic.

LGBTQ-RELATED DISCRIMINATION REDUCES SLEEP QUALITY IN OLDER ADULTS: EVIDENCE FROM VUSNAPS AND UCNETS

Abstract Sleep is a critical protective factor for health outcomes with low-quality sleep linked to increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cognitive decline. Theoretical work proposes that minority stress may negatively affect sleep quality for LGBTQ and other minoritized populations. We examine differences in sleep quality across sexual orientation and gender identity and test the relationship between minority stress and sleep quality for LGBTQ adults. Data come from 1) UC Berkeley Social Networks Study (UCNets), a panel study of 50–70-year-olds with an oversample of older LGBTQ adults and 2) the Vanderbilt University Social Networks, Aging, and Policy Study (VUSNAPS), a panel study of older LGBTQ adults aged 50-76. LGBTQ identity includes participants who are transgender and/or gay, lesbian, bisexual, or something else. We estimate Poisson models predicting sleep quality as a function of LGBTQ identity and exposure to LGBTQ-related discrimination. Sleep quality is measured using three items available in both studies: 1) the number of nights per week trouble falling asleep, 2) number of nights per week trouble staying asleep, and 3) number of mornings per week waking well rested. Experiences of LGBTQ-related discrimination in the last year were measured using the Daily Heterosexist Experiences Questionnaire. We find that LGBTQ identity is significantly associated with poorer sleep quality compared to non-LGBTQ peers. Among LGBTQ adults, sleep quality declines as the number and intensity of recent experiences of LGBTQ-related discrimination increases. Poorer sleep quality may be an underlying mechanism exacerbating health disparities across sexual orientation and gender identity.

Evaluation of BTXBrain‐Tau, an AI‐powered automated quantification software for Flortaucipir PET images

AbstractBackgroundPositron emission tomography (PET) has been used to visualize the distribution of brain biomarkers associated with AD. Flortaucipir (18F‐AV‐1451) is a tau‐specific PET tracer that has been used to detect tau pathology in AD. However, the accurate quantification of Flortaucipir PET images requires an accurate spatial normalization of the image data. We evaluated BTXBrain‐Tau, an AI‐based automated quantification software that does not require an MRI, on the Flortaucipir data. In comparison, performance on automatic quantification was demonstrated against conventional MRI‐based spatial normalization results.MethodIn the previous study, BTXBrain‐Tau was pretrained with approximately 1000 amyloid PET images. To fine‐tune the network, 180 Flortaucipir images were obtained from Seoul National University Hospital. Trained network was evaluated using 146 Flortaucipir images from the ADNI. Each image had been quantified using FreeSurfer at UC Berkeley, and these quantifications served as the “ground truth.” Spatial normalization was also performed using SPM12 with 3D T1 MRI to demonstrate the proposed method’s superiority. The results were compared using four Braak stage‐based composite regions of interest. Statistical analysis of the results was conducted using linear regression and intraclass correlation coefficients.ResultThe linear regression slopes for BTXBrain‐Tau were 0.95, 0.97, 1.03, and 0.95 for four regions of interest (ROIs), outperforming the results of SPM12 (0.81, 0.80, 0.81, 0.79). The R‐squared values also showed superior performance for BTXBrain‐Tau (0.94, 0.98, 0.95 and 0.98) compared to SPM12 (0.88, 0.97, 0.91 and 0.96). ICCs between the ground truth and SPM12 normalization results were 0.93, 0.96, 0.94 and 0.96 for SPM12, however, these values were improved in BTXBrain‐Tau processing (0.97, 0.99, 0.97 and 0.99).ConclusionThe results demonstrated that BTXBrain‐Tau was able to generate spatially normalized images without the use of 3D MRI input. Statistical analysis revealed a high degree of correspondence between the FreeSurfer‐based quantification and the proposed method. Additionally, the study demonstrated the generalizability of the network by assessing its performance on different types of test data, (training on Asia, testing on Caucasian). These results suggest that BTXBrain‐Tau is a promising tool for the accurate quantification of Flortaucipir PET images, which could lead to early detection and precise staging of Alzheimer’s disease.

Teaching Community Engagement Through an Anti-Racism Lens: Lessons Learned From a Pilot Micro Course in Public Health and Health Care

Growing appreciation of the necessity of, and evidence-based strategies for, working collaboratively with communities in health promotion and related fields have been well documented. Yet community engagement, the umbrella term for many of these efforts, is rarely taught as a standalone course, nor is a critical component of community engagement –antiracism practice—typically included. Following a review of the literature, we discuss the contexts, pedagogical grounding and strategies, learning objectives and piloting of a “micro course” on community engagement using an antiracism lens at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health. Designed for graduate students interested in community-based participatory research and practice but unable to take a full academic course in this area, the 30 hour pilot course drew a diverse mix of 16 students. Focused attention on racism, systematic racism, and antiracism practice was provided through lectures, in-class exercises, homework reflections, and the course final. Case-based examples of the critical role of antiracism practice in community engagement, particularly in and with BIPOC communities, were shared, and a range of strategies explored for building and maintaining cross-cultural partnerships and transforming our own institutions to better reflect antiracism practice. Challenges faced are highlighted, and lessons learned shared, including the imperative of creating, in both course planning and teaching, sharing our positionality and creating safe spaces for discussing any tensions that may arise.

From Metaphor to Metonym: Shakespearean Recognition in the United States University

This essay historicizes the Shakespeare curriculum at UC Berkeley’s English department over the last one hundred years. An elite research university in the United States, UC Berkeley’s extensive course offerings have expanded due to changes in undergraduate education and external cultural shifts. With a growing number of courses on sexuality, race, gender, etc., that became part of the purview of an English department, the teaching of Shakespeare expanded as well. I demonstrate how the emphasis on Shakespeare in the U.S. undergraduate curriculum shifts over time from one form of recognition—an acknowledgement of his value or worth—to a recognition of identifying with his work based on prior experience. Distinguishing between courses that combine “Shakespeare and” and those that combine “Literature and,” I expose the consequences each has for the canonicity of both Shakespeare and subject fields with which his works are placed in conversation, explicitly and implicitly. I argue that the expansion of Shakespeare in the American undergraduate curriculum coincides with and depends on the compression of key aspects of interpretation that pose challenges for the new knowledges it seeks to create. I illuminate how an expanded Shakespeare curriculum saw a compression of Shakespeare into metonymic mythic status, which has implications for the teaching of literature from various identity and cultural groups. I demonstrate how the origins of an expansive undergraduate Shakespeare curriculum in the United States positions Shakespeare as the interlocutor for a wide range of topics.

A Conjunctural Mapping of People’s Park

Following calls to spatialize conjunctures, this article proposes and practices conjunctural mapping through a case study of the ongoing struggle at People’s Park in Berkeley, California. Although the method of conjunctural analysis enables and requires an investigation into the multiple forces at work in the production of hegemony, such analyses tend to focus on cultural, economic, political, and social (or horizontal) dimensions of winning or contesting consent, without necessarily locating the formations of these expressions at different (vertical) scales. What is the role of the geographical in producing and countering hegemony, and how do we consider questions of scale in a conjunctural analysis? We offer an example through a conjunctural mapping of People’s Park, where the University of California, Berkeley, and park defenders address pressures and seize opportunities at the scales of the subject, city, and state to respectively redevelop or protect the park. Mapping their multiple geographies reveals how the neoliberal crisis (in higher education, affordable housing, and public space) takes place and requires work at each scale in the struggle for hegemonic settlement. Spiraling outward and upward, cases like People’s Park show that conjunctures are best analyzed through consideration of local complexities and scale articulations.

Review: The Scandal of Cal: Land Grabs, White Supremacy, and Miseducation at UC Berkeley, by Tony Platt

Review: <i>The Scandal of Cal: Land Grabs, White Supremacy, and Miseducation at UC Berkeley</i>, by Tony Platt

Pathway to Independence - an interview with Clotilde Cadart.

Clotilde Cadart undertook her PhD thesis with Matthieu Piel at the Curie Institute in Paris, before moving on to a postdoc with Rebecca Heald at the University of California Berkeley. Her interests lie in understanding the links between cell ploidy, cell size, metabolism and developmental progress. Clotilde is one of Development's Pathway to Independence Programme Fellows, and we caught up with her over Zoom to find out why she left medical school to become a researcher, and what she hopes to achieve in her own lab.

Correction to Amir et al. (2023).

Reports an error in "Computational signatures of inequity aversion in children across seven societies" by Dorsa Amir, David Melnikoff, Felix Warneken, Peter R. Blake, John Corbit, Tara C. Callaghan, Oumar Barry, Aleah Bowie, Lauren Kleutsch, Karen L. Kramer, Elizabeth Ross, Hurnan Vongsachang, Richard Wrangham and Katherine McAuliffe (Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Advanced Online Publication, May 08, 2023, np). In the original article, there were affiliation errors for the first and 14th authors. The affiliations for Dorsa Amir are Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley; and Department of Psychology, Boston College. The affiliation for Katherine McAuliffe is Department of Psychology, Boston College. All versions of this article have been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2023-69306-001). Inequity aversion is an important factor in fairness behavior. Previous work suggests that children show more cross-cultural variation in their willingness to reject allocations that would give them more rewards than their partner-advantageous inequity-as opposed to allocations that would give them less than their partner-disadvantageous inequity. However, as past work has relied solely on children's decisions to accept or reject these offers, the algorithms underlying this pattern of variation remain unclear. Here, we explore the computational signatures of inequity aversion by applying a computational model of decision-making to data from children (N = 807) who played the Inequity Game across seven societies. Specifically, we used drift-diffusion models to formally distinguish evaluative processing (i.e., the computation of the subjective value of accepting or rejecting inequity) from alternative factors such as decision speed and response strategies. Our results suggest that variation in the development of inequity aversion across societies is best accounted for by variation in the drift rate-the direction and strength of the evaluative preference. Our findings underscore the utility of looking beyond decision data to better understand behavioral diversity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).