Los Angeles Pierce College

Illegal hunting, particularly poaching, represents a major threat to biodiversity across multiple regions worldwide, including the Ecuadorian Amazon. Within this context, technological innovations have emerged as valuable tools against this crime. Among these, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly referred to as drones, have been increasingly employed to monitor and safeguard wildlife populations. Despite their operational advantages, their use has raised concerns regarding the rights of Indigenous peoples, particularly those in voluntary isolation — such as the Taromenane and the Tagaeri — who have deliberately chosen to avoid contact with the outside world.

Introduction: i n vivo partial cell reprogramming through transient overexpression of Oct3/4 , Klf4 , Sox2 and cMyc (OKSM) transcription factors generates de-differentiated or molecularly rejuvenated cells that may contribute to tissue regeneration. However, not all cell types are equally amenable to reprogramming, and tools to induce cell type-specific reprogramming in vivo are scarce. Here, we generated cardiomyocyte-specific, “reprogrammable” mice (CM-OKSM) that enabled inducible OKSM expression specifically in this cell type, characterized by its remarkably poor regenerative capacity after birth. Using this model, we investigated if partial, in situ , cardiomyocyte reprogramming was feasible and able to enhance cardiac regeneration. Methods: To generate lineage-traceable CM-OKSM mice, we combined Cre recombination driven by a cardiomyocyte-specific promoter ( Myh6 ), conditional GFP labelling and conditional, doxycycline (dox)-inducible, control of OKSM expression. We administered 1 mg/ml dox in the drinking water of CM-OKSM mice, and investigated reprogramming at the molecular level (immunostaining, RT-qPCR, RNAseq, DNA methylation), histological level (H&E, electron microscopy) and functional level (teratoma assay, echocardiography). We compared dox administration for six cycles of a two-day ON/five-day OFF regime, and for eighteen continuous days, to investigate partial and full reprogramming to pluripotency, respectively. We conducted studies in young adult mice (8 to 12 weeks old) and on older mice (9 months old) with heart failure, to assess the effects of cardiomyocyte reprogramming in cardiac performance. Results and Discussion: In young CM-OKSM mice, adult cardiomyocytes can be fully reprogrammed to pluripotency in vivo by eighteen-day overexpression of OKSM. This was evidenced by significant upregulation of endogenous pluripotency markers, loss of sarcomere organization, cell de-differentiation, and the appearance of GFP+ teratomas with trilineage contribution. We then found that cyclic OKSM induction prevented reacquisition of pluripotency and tumorigenesis, both in young and old mice. In the latter, partial reprogramming of cardiomyocytes induced significant rejuvenation of their epigenetic age and halted the progression of congestive heart failure. Our results confirm that the OKSM cocktail can reprogram adult mouse cardiomyocytes in vivo and that partial reprogramming can contribute to functional improvements in cardiac disease.

In this study, we discuss how iterative solutions of QCD-inspired gap-equations at the finite chemical potential demonstrate domains of chaotic behavior as well as non-chaotic domains, which represent one or the other of the only two—usually distinct—positive mass gap solutions with broken or restored chiral symmetry, respectively. In the iterative approach, gap solutions exist which exhibit restored chiral symmetry beyond a certain dynamical cut-off energy. A chirally broken, non-chaotic domain with no emergent mass poles and hence with no quasi-particle excitations exists below this energy cut-off. The transition domain between these two energy-separated domains is chaotic. As a result, the dispersion relation is that of quarks with restored chiral symmetry, cut at a dynamical energy scale, and determined by fractal structures. We argue that the chaotic origin of the infrared cut-off could hint at a chaotic nature of confinement and the deconfinement phase transition.

Wildfires have continued to increase in frequency and severity in Southern California due in part to climate change. To gain a further understanding of microbial soil communities’ response to fire and functions that may enhance post-wildfire resilience, soil fungal and bacterial microbiomes were studied from different wildfire areas in the Gold Creek Preserve within the Angeles National Forest using 16S, FITS, 18S, 12S, PITS, and COI amplicon sequencing. Sequencing datasets from December 2020 and June 2021 samplings were analyzed using QIIME2, ranacapa, stats, vcd, EZBioCloud, and mixomics. Significant differences were found among bacterial and fungal taxa associated with different fire areas in the Gold Creek Preserve. There was evidence of seasonal shifts in the alpha diversity of the bacterial communities. In the sparse partial least squares analysis, there were strong associations (r > 0.8) between longitude, elevation, and a defined cluster of Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs). The Chi-square test revealed differences in fungi–bacteria (F:B) proportions between different trails (p = 2 × 10−16). sPLS results focused on a cluster of Green Trail samples with high elevation and longitude. Analysis revealed the cluster included the post-fire pioneer fungi Pyronema and Tremella. Chlorellales algae and possibly pathogenic Fusarium sequences were elevated. Bacterivorous Corallococcus, which secretes antimicrobials, and bacterivorous flagellate Spumella were associated with the cluster. There was functional redundancy in clusters that were differently composed but shared similar ecological functions. These results implied a set of traits for post-fire resiliency. These included photo-autotrophy, mineralization of pyrolyzed organic matter and aromatic/oily compounds, potential pathogenicity and parasitism, antimicrobials, and N-metabolism.

This research aimed to address health and food security challenges affecting Los Angeles and beyond in our own backyard. One possible way to combat these challenges is through biotechnology. The purpose of this research was to characterize the arable soils at Los Angeles Pierce College and their potential uses. The methods employed were collection of soil physical and chemical properties, cultivation of soil microorganisms, and 16S rDNA sequencing with a citizen science platform. Statistical analysis in R revealed associations between field conditions and life in the soil. The testing of plant-based antimicrobial agents on antibiotic-resistant bacteria revealed that plant oils could be more efficacious for control than common antibiotics. We found evidence of plant growth-promoting, antibiotic-producing, and bioremediating bacteria in different fields with distinct microclimates based on the 16S rDNA taxonomy results and inferred functional profiles. The major findings included an abundance of Streptomyces, Bacillus, Methylobacteria, and others with desirable functions. Numerous Streptomyces isolates cultivated on selective media demonstrated the ability to reduce nitrate. These results will empower future trials and product development by identifying target soil microorganisms and the most viable fields.

<p>Determinar cómo se vieron, eliminaron o manipularon los restos humanos después de la muerte puede proporcionar una herramienta útil para comprender las sociedades del pasado. En la Oaxaca prehispánica, el hueso humano se manipulaba comúnmente después de la muerte, a veces en forma de herramientas, adornos o artefactos ceremoniales. A continuación se describen los restos humanos modificados culturalmente de una terraza doméstica ubicada en el Cerro Danush, una colina prominente en el sitio arqueológico de Dainzú en el Valle de Oaxaca, México. La distribución de la terraza y los artefactos muestran que fue habitada por un grupo familiar de élite y estuvo ocupada desde los períodos Clásico (600 d.C.) hasta el Posclásico temprano (850–1300 d.C.). Se recuperaron más de 30 huesos humanos modificados, procedentes de individuos juveniles y adultos. Estos incluyen mandíbulas perforadas y talladas, un segmento de eje femoral grabado, discos circulares de bóvedas craneales y huesos largos trabajados y pulidos. Estos se interpretan como máscaras bucales y herramientas de tejido, probablemente utilizadas en actividades ceremoniales. Se discute el contexto de estos restos dentro de Dainzú y su asociación con el paisaje religioso de Oaxaca. Al proporcionar osteobiografías detalladas, este documento amplía nuestra comprensión de quién fue considerado aceptable para su inclusión en narraciones ceremoniales y roles distintos practicados en esta comunidad oaxaqueña, contextualizando los restos humanos dentro del registro arqueológico.</p>

Seventy-one students in two community college Statistics for the Social Sciences classes took six exams either individually or collaboratively. Assignment to test condition was randomly determined for each exam. Scores on collaboratively-taken exams were significantly higher than those for individually-taken exams, particularly for students with low GPAs and high test anxiety. Women’s, but not men’s, performances on the mid-term and final exams was related to the quality and quantity of their collaborative interactions. Thus, examining both quantity and quality of collaboration adds to our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of collaborative testing. First published November 2018 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives

Humans possess manual dexterity, motor skills, and other physical abilities that rely on feedback provided by the somatosensory system. Herein, a method is reported for creating soft somatosensitive actuators (SSAs) via embedded 3D printing, which are innervated with multiple conductive features that simultaneously enable haptic, proprioceptive, and thermoceptive sensing. This novel manufacturing approach enables the seamless integration of multiple ionically conductive and fluidic features within elastomeric matrices to produce SSAs with the desired bioinspired sensing and actuation capabilities. Each printed sensor is composed of an ionically conductive gel that exhibits both long-term stability and hysteresis-free performance. As an exemplar, multiple SSAs are combined into a soft robotic gripper that provides proprioceptive and haptic feedback via embedded curvature, inflation, and contact sensors, including deep and fine touch contact sensors. The multimaterial manufacturing platform enables complex sensing motifs to be easily integrated into soft actuating systems, which is a necessary step toward closed-loop feedback control of soft robots, machines, and haptic devices.