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Given limited funding for school-based science education, non-school-based programs have been developed at colleges and universities to increase the number of students entering science- and health-related careers and address critical workforce needs. However, few evaluations of such programs have been conducted. We report the design and methods of a controlled trial to evaluate the Stanford Medical Youth Science Program's Summer Residential Program (SRP), a 25-year-old university-based biomedical pipeline program. This 5-year matched cohort study uses an annual survey to assess educational and career outcomes among four cohorts of students who participate in the SRP and a matched comparison group of applicants who were not chosen to participate in the SRP. Matching on sociodemographic and academic background allows control for potential confounding. This design enables the testing of whether the SRP has an independent effect on educational- and career-related outcomes above and beyond the effects of other factors such as gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, and pre-intervention academic preparation. The results will help determine which curriculum components contribute most to successful outcomes and which students benefit most. After 4 years of follow-up, the results demonstrate high response rates from SRP participants and the comparison group with completion rates near 90%, similar response rates by gender and ethnicity, and little attrition with each additional year of follow-up. This design and methods can potentially be replicated to evaluate and improve other biomedical pipeline programs, which are increasingly important for equipping more students for science- and health-related careers.

Despite decades of precollege science education programs, African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans remain critically underrepresented in science and health professions. This report describes college and career outcomes among graduates of the Stanford Medical Youth Science Program (SMYSP), a 5-week summer residential program for low-income high school students among whom 97% have been followed for up to 21 years. Approximately 24 students are selected annually, with participation limited to low-income students who have faced substantial personal hardships. Undergraduate and medical students provide key program leadership and training. The curriculum is based on science inquiry education and includes hospital internships, anatomy practicums, research projects, faculty lectures, college admissions/standardized test preparation, and long-term college and career guidance. A total of 476 high school students participated between 1988 and 2008, with 61% from underrepresented ethnic minority groups. Overall, 78% of African American, 81% of Latino, and 82% of Native American participants have earned a 4-year college degree (among those admitted to college, and excluding those currently attending college). In contrast, among 25-34-year old California adults, 16% of African Americans, 8% of Latinos, and 10% of Native Americans earn a 4-year college degree. Among SMYSP's 4-year college graduates, 47% are attending or have completed medical or graduate school, and 43% are working as or training to become health professionals. SMYSP offers a model that expands inquiry-based science education beyond the classroom, and recognizes the role of universities as "high school interventionists" to help diversify health professions.

A salary-growth model is presented as a practical solution to the problem of compensating teachers equitably. An empirical validation using data from 24,785 California teachers, 15,233 Ohio teachers, and 5,489 South Carolina teachers demonstrates the general applicability of the model. A scenario for model use is presented. (SLD)

The article features the Applied Biological Technologies Initiative, intended to address the needs of the biotechnology and biosciences community in California. In partnership with local and regional industry professionals, the directors of the Applied Biological Technologies Initiative design skill-based instruction for employers, work with agencies on legislative, governmental, and economic development of bioscience workforce, and partner on workforce concerns with the biotechnology industry.

The paper examines the State of California's new international trade and investment strategy through the lens of strategic management. This examination, embedded in a discussion of the history of the state's involvement, focuses on critical issues influencing strategy formulation and implementation. Findings indicate conceptual strategy design issues, political constraints, budgetary limitations, and organizational and managerial deficiencies contributing to a limited state engagement in international trade and investment with emphasis on leveraging existing resources rather than providing primary services. Unless California finds ways to deal with these issues, desired outcomes such as increased exports and investments will be lacking. Several lessons are offered to inform future state government efforts aimed at promoting international trade and investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Honey Lake fault is a major strike-slip fault in northeastern California that accommodates northwest-directed right-lateral shear in the northern Walker Lane. We reexamine the fault's paleoseismic history and slip rate by evaluating a natural stream bank exposure of the fault and offset terrace riser. Structural and stratigraphic relations within the modern stream cut, radiocarbon ages, and a detailed topographic survey of the offset terrace riser are used to estimate a Holocene fault slip rate of 1:7-0:6 mm/yr or more. We also interpret the occurrence of at least four surface-rupturing earthquakes during the last 7025 calendar years before present (B.P.). Three of the surface-rupturing earthquakes occurred prior to 4670 calendar years B.P. and have interevent times that range between 730 and 990 yr. The stratigraphic record is limited after ~4670 calendar years B.P., and records evidence for at least one more subsequent surface-rupturing earthquake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paleoseismic trenching within Fort Ross State Historic Park provides data on the late Holocene rupture history of the North Coast segment of the northern San Andreas fault. The 1906 earthquake ruptured through the Fort Ross Orchard site, which is characterized by a narrow shutter ridge and associated linear trough containing latest Holocene sediments. Trenches across the northeast-facing fault scarp exposed sediments interpreted as scarp-derived colluvium and possible fissure-fill deposits, and tentative upward fault truncations that provide evidence of three possible surface ruptures prior to 1906. Coarse-grained scarp-derived colluvial sediments were deposited after individual surface-rupturing earthquakes that predate the 1906 rupture. Radiocarbon analyses of 31 detrital radiocarbon samples collected from the colluvial deposits constrain the thning of earthquakes over the past approximately 1000 years. Based on stratigraphic ordering and a statistical comparison of radiocarbon dates using the OxCal program, we estimate (at a 95% confidence level) that three pre-1906 surface ruptures at the Orchard site occurred at A.D. 1660.1812, A.D. 1220--1380. and A.D. 1040-1190. Previous trenches at the nearby Fort Ross Archae Camp site are consistent with these dates and further suggest the occurrence of an earlier event between A.D. 555 and 950. Collectively, the Fort Ross Orchard and Archae Camp sites suggest pre-1906 ruptures at A.D. 1660-1812, A.D. 1220-1380, A.D. 1040-1190, and A.D. 555-950. The time windows for these ruptures are consistent with results from other sites on the North Coast segment of the San Andreas fault. However, additional information on the late Holocene history of rupture events on adjacent fault segments is needed to evaluate whether the long-term behavior of the San Andreas fault involves a mix of large, 1906-type ruptures and shorter, segment-specific ruptures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-Aspergillus invasive mould infections (IMIs) are associated with devastating morbidity and mortality rates and are increasingly diagnosed in immunocompromised hosts. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology and outcomes of non-Aspergillus IMIs at a university hospital in San Diego, California, USA. A retrospective chart review of the medical records of all patients with cultures growing non-Aspergillus moulds at the microbiology laboratory in the Center for Academic Laboratory Medicine, Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Health between mid-2014 and mid-2017 (3-year period) was performed. A total of 23 cases of non-Aspergillus IMI were identified, including 10 cases of mucormycosis, 8 cases of lomentosporiosis and 5 cases of fusariosis. Antifungal susceptibility testing was performed for 14 isolates, and 10/11 Fusarium and Lomentospora isolates had minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of >16 µg/mL for voriconazole and/or posaconazole. Overall 180-day mortality was significantly lower among those who received combination antifungal therapy than among those who received single-agent therapy [3/13 (23%) vs. 9/10 (90%); P = 0.003]. In conclusion, Lomentospora prolificans (35% of non-Aspergillus IMIs) and Fusarium spp. (22%) accounted for high proportions of non-Aspergillus IMIs during the study period. Non-Aspergillus IMIs were detected in patients with various underlying diseases and were associated with high mortality rates, which was significantly lower in those who received antifungal combination therapy., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Adult cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis felis (Bouché), from two laboratory colonies (one originating in California and one from Florida) were exposed to residues of eight pyrethroids to compare their susceptibilities. The Florida strain was more tolerant than the California strain, with 6.8-, 5.2-, and 4.8-fold tolerance to cyfluthrin, cypermethrin, and fluvalinate, respectively. The Florida strain showed less than 3-fold tolerance to the other five insecticides (permethrin, tralomethrin, d-phenothrin, resmethrin, and fenvalerate). Overall, the pyrethroids were ineffective against the Florida strain.