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Fire Department enforces maximum occupancy levels

City Editor
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Maximum occupancy levels have become a hot topic after the City of Davis Fire Department began enforcing codes more strictly on Picnic Day.

Just before this year’s Picnic Day, the fire department visited restaurants that serve alcohol, mainly downtown, and began enforcement of maximum occupancy levels.

“We just had to make sure the numbers were as accurate as possible because if you’re going to enforce them, they need to be,” said Davis Fire Department’s Fire Marshal Tim Annis said. “Historically, there have been fire deaths in these types of establishments, and after last year, we wanted to ensure safety.”

Annis said though the numbers have always been in place, the department decided to begin enforcing the capacity levels more proactively after issues with overcrowding during Picnic Day 2010.

Lt. Paul Doroshov of the Davis Police Department said if restaurants are found in violation of capacity levels, they are required to shut down for the rest of the day. No citations were given for the violation this year.

Restaurants do not lose their alcohol license for the violation, but managers like Dee Clark of Woodstock’s Pizza’s said having to close business for a day is severe punishment in and of itself.

“We wanted to be proactive this year, so we informed the restaurants of their capacity levels before Picnic Day,” Doroshov said. “The idea is to manage the number of people for safety.”

Davis follows model state fire code, set by the International Code Council, for maximum occupancy levels. The code was last updated in January.

Model code is updated every three years and the only change from 2007’s code is a decrease in the ratio of people in waiting areas, from seven to three people per square foot. The indoor capacity of restaurants that serve alcohol is still 15 per square foot.

Annis said he visited around 30 to 35 establishments in late February and early March to inform them of their occupancy levels.

He gave the stores maximum occupancy level signs to hang in their establishments by Picnic Day, when the police began enforcing the capacity levels. The stores can either use the signs given to them or make their own.

The department verified these levels on April 11 in order to remind owners of the change closer to the event – which was held on April 16.

Clark said she questions the capacity numbers’ accuracy, but believes the idea of keeping a safe capacity is a good thing.

Clark said the older official capacity levels for Woodstock’s was set when the restaurant opened in 1986.

“The levels were a lot more severe than we expected,” Clark said. “There were definitely more people out in front of the store than inside, because we wanted to make sure we didn’t receive a violation.”

Commenters on DavisWiki responded to the changes. One concluded that bars were hit hard and that it is an attempt to shutdown Picnic Day.

However, Scott Rea, manager of Froggy’s on G Street, said he found no problems with the change in enforcement.

“Our capacity numbers have been the same for years,” Rea said. “They haven’t changed because of this decision to begin more enforcement. We had no problems on Picnic Day.”

ANGELA SWARTZ can be reached city@theaggie.org.

For the love of the game

Sports Editor
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It’s almost midnight and former Aggie Andy Suiter has already spent a day on the job. He’s leaving work and has a six and a half hour bus ride looming in the near future before he arrives in a new city and gets ready for tomorrow. Suiter doesn’t have a normal nine to five job – he’s a professional baseball player.

From April to August, Suiter travels from city to city making under $20,000 a year to play baseball. A Northern California native, Suiter currently plays in the minor leagues for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. This means Suiter spends almost the entire season on the road.

“Five months is a long time to essentially not have a home,” the left-handed pitcher said.

There are a growing number of minor and major league baseball players who have gone from playing as Aggies at Dobbins Stadium into the professional ranks.

Daniel Descalso of the St. Louis Cardinals is the only UC Davis alumnus currently in the major leagues. On Tuesday, the infielder belted his first career major league home run to help the Cardinals to a 7-5 victory over the Florida Marlins.

“There is no feeling like stepping into the batter’s box with 40,000 sets of eyes on, ready to see the one-on-one battle between you and the pitcher,” Descalso said. “It’s the best feeling in the world. I put so much hard work and so many hours of practice into making it to the big leagues that it seems like not making it would be a failure.”

Few other Aggies have been as fortunate as Descalso.

“What a lot of people don’t know is that it can take a really long time for someone to get a shot at the majors,” Suiter said.

Catcher Jake Jefferies and pitcher Eddie Gamboa currently play Double-A baseball – two levels shy of the majors. Infielder Tyler Kelly plays his ball at the Single-A level in the Baltimore Orioles organization.

While the former Aggies are all playing professional baseball now, they all share the experience of playing at Dobbins Baseball Complex.

“My experience at UC Davis played a huge role in preparing me for professional baseball,” Descalso said. “Being able to play everyday for three years against top competition allowed me to improve in all aspects of the game and put me in a position to get exposure come draft time.”

Jefferies said he owes a lot to the UC Davis coaching staff.

“I had a great experience at UC Davis,” said Jefferies, who plays in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. “The coaching staff does a great job. Head coach Rex Peters worked with my swing and taught me a lot about the mental game. [Assistant coach] Tony Schifano had over 10 years in professional baseball and prepared us well for what was coming.”

Gamboa, who plays in the Orioles organization, had some adversity when it came to collegiate baseball, but said Peters kept him motivated to reach professional baseball.

“I missed all of 2006 with an arm injury,” Gamboa said. “Even though I didn’t get to play at all that year, Peters and the staff made sure I was kept involved with the team and didn’t feel left out.”

Even though the former Aggies didn’t all play at the same time, the connecting factor while at UC Davis was Peters. The nine-year coach played in the Dodgers’ organization for a few seasons.

“Our goal is to teach them what it’s like to play day in and day out,” Peters said. “Baseball is a game of failure. The long bus rides, along with the sub-par facilities that come with minor league baseball, can be hard to deal with.”

While the long bus ride is commonplace in minor league baseball, Jefferies has one in particular memory that stands out.

“We had one that was supposed to be 14 hours long and it ended up taking us 22 hours,” Jefferies said. “Our bus driver got lost and was stopping on the side of the road to take a nap every couple hours.”

Minor league baseball players clearly don’t live the glamorous life that their counterparts in the majors do. They almost always take buses instead of planes and are more likely to stay in a Motel 6 instead of a fancy hotel.

“I’ve stayed in some pretty bad motels,” Suiter said. “A lot of the time the cities we’re staying in are so small that they only have the one option.”

According to Descalso, the major league life can be more glamorous. He once texted Suiter a picture of his hotel room because it was so nice.

It’s not just the rooms that get larger in the big leagues. Major leaguers get about $125 a day while on the road to cover expenses.

“We get $25 [a day], which means a lot of Denny’s and Cracker Barrel,” Suiter said. “I’m pretty sure I couldn’t spend $125 on food even if I tried.”

Aside from the long bus rides and bad motels, minor leaguers don’t get paid much for their time. A first-year player usually gets around $1,100 a month, but this total increases as he reaches higher levels. Still, it never reaches a substantial amount until they get to the majors where the league minimum is $414,000 a year.  

Despite the low salary and other poor conditions, Kelly and other former Aggies are thankful for their opportunity.

“We get to play baseball every day as our job,” Kelly said . “It’s a pretty cool thing to be able to say.”

Women’s Golf Preview

Sports Editor
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Event: NCAA Regionals

Where: Washington National Golf Club – Auburn, Wash.

When: Today through Saturday, all day

Who to watch: Sophomore Demi Runas has already accomplished so much in her short time as an Aggie.

The Torrance, Calif. native was named the 2010-11 Big West Conference Women’s Golfer of the Year for her performance on the conference-winning squad.

Runas leads UC Davis in scoring with a 74.1 average and has enjoyed a season with six top-10 finishes, including third at the Big West Championships, fourth at the Peg Barnard Invitational at Stanford an sixth at the Fresno State Lexus Classic. 

Did you know? The two seniors on the roster – Chelsea Steltzmiller and Alice Kim – will be participating in their fourth NCAA Regionals this week.

Preview: To coach Anne Walker, a new season begins now.

The UC Davis women’s golf team begins play at the NCAA Regionals today. This is the third time in four years at the Division I level the Aggies have reached the NCAA Regionals.

According to Walker, the 2010-11 Big West Coach of the Year, the Aggies’ can’t rely on past successes to carry them through the event.

“NCAA Regionals are a whole different deal,” Walker said. “What we’ve done earlier doesn’t mean anything. It’s almost like rolling the dice at this event.”

One of the biggest reasons the Regionals are a different animal, according to Walker, is the larger draw. The Aggies will go up against 24 different squads this weekend, including seven of the top-20 teams in the nation. Currently, UC Davis is ranked 26th in the country and is the eight seed at this weekend’s event.

That said, Walker said one of the things UC Davis has going in its favor, is confidence. The Aggies cruised to its second-straight Big West team title this year, setting the conference scoring record for the league championships.

Walker said UC Davis has an advantage with four of the squad’s starting five, having participated at the NCAA Regionals before.

“I’m feeling good about our overall team leadership,” Walker said. “If we can go to Regionals and do well one shot at a time, we’ll end up where we want to be.”

– Jason Alpert

Softball preview

Sports Editor
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Teams: UC Davis vs. Cal Poly

Records: Aggies 21-23 (6-9); Mustangs 8-33 (4-11)

Where: La Rue Field

When: Saturday at noon and 2 p.m.; Sunday at noon

Who to watch: Pitcher Jessica Thweatt will play a key role for the Aggies in their final two series.

The sophomore out of Sacramento has been a solid complement to ace hurler Alex Holmes, as Thweatt has posted a 3.33 ERA this season while tallying 44 strikeouts and a 6-6 record.

Did you know? Cal Poly has fallen well short of expectations this season.

The Mustangs were predicted to finish first in the Big West Conference Preseason Poll, edging second-place UC Davis by three points.

Cal Poly has not performed as predicted, however, and the Mustangs are currently tied for last in the league. Cal Poly’s winning percentage this season is below .200 and the team has lost 10 of its last 12 contests.

Preview: Last year’s series with Cal Poly was a key piece in the Aggies’ run to the NCAA Regionals. UC Davis swept the Mustangs in 2010, capping an 11-game win-streak.

If the Aggies want a similar result this time around, coach Karen Yoder believes the Aggies need to get on top at the plate.

“We need to get used to their pitching as soon as possible,” she said. “Whichever side adjusts to the opponent’s pitching fastest has a very good chance to take the series.”

The Aggies were able to jump on the Highlanders’ pitching last weekend, laying 28 runs on UC Riverside over the three-game series, including a 17-run performance on Saturday – the highest scoring performance by any team in the Big West this season.

UC Davis plans to use that momentum as the foundation of a good swing this weekend.

“We want to keep building on that performance,” Yoder said. “Hopefully we can have our offense at that same level this weekend.”

Getting two or three wins this series could give the Aggies a huge boost as they come down the home stretch. UC Davis is currently fifth in the conference, but with the top-four teams all facing off this weekend, Yoder knows this will be a chance for the Aggies to move up in the standings.

“Everyone in this program knows how important these games are,” Yoder said. “These final six games could propel us upward in the conference, and into position for postseason consideration on selection-Sunday.”

– Trevor Cramer

UC Davis men’s golf sinks second conference title in three years

Sports Editor
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Entering the Big West Conference Championship, men’s golf coach Cy Williams was very confident in his team’s chances to take the title.

“It’s all about us,” Williams said before the event. “We play well and we’ll win. Period.”

Williams couldn’t have predicted the results of the conference championships any better.

Behind the strong play of tournament winner Austin Graham, the Aggies cruised to the Big West title by a total of 17 strokes.

“It’s a great reflection on our team,” Williams said. “We felt like we were the best team entering the tournament and our guys really earned that through their play all season.”

Graham took the individual title, carding a 6-under 210 for a four-stroke victory. This conference title is the second for Graham in his UC Davis career, as he bested teammate Ramie Sprinkling in a playoff for the 2009 individual championship.

Graham was the most consistent player, firing three rounds of 70, including back-to-back pars on the final two holes during his last round.

“I am very happy for Austin,” Williams said. “That is a hard golf course and he was methodical and very smart and very patient. He hit some great shots and then had a great short game when he needed to.”

All five Aggies finished in the top-20 out of 45 individual participants. Junior Tyler Raber tied for fourth, while Andrew Haggen came in 11th, Daniel Covrig at 14th and Matt Hansen at 17th.

The Aggies, ranked 57th nationally according to Golfweek, secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals, which will be held at six sites from May 19-21. UC Davis will find out its draw on Monday. It will be the third time in four years at the Division I level that the Aggies will go to the Regionals.

With the tournament win, UC Davis solidified itself as a golf powerhouse in the Big West. The Aggie women’s golf team took the conference title a couple weeks ago.

The men’s golf title this year was the 11th time a UC Davis team has come away with either a Big West regular-season or tournament title since joining the league.

JASON ALPERT can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

Photo of the week

Features Editor
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Every Wednesday evening during the spring, Picnic in the Park occurs in Davis’ Central Park. This weekly event, paired with the farmers market, brings hundreds out to the grass to listen to live music, eat local food or just hang out.

During last week’s trip, I was sitting on the grass when these individuals caught my eye. They were doing partner yoga and some very impressive things with their bodies. I decided I had to take a picture.

Since the sun was setting, the lighting was perfect – just enough for me to use a low ISO of 400. I was able to use a medium aperture of f/6.3 and a shutter speed of 1/200 of a second in order to freeze any motion. I wanted to show how impressive the positions were so I went low to the ground and shot across at the group. I also wanted each figure to balance out the other in the frame so I placed them on either side to make a picture that was as balanced as the people were themselves. 

– Zach Land-Miller

UC Davis alumnus to appear on ABC hit reality show “Shark Tank”

Features Editor
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Imagine a device that can turn almost any hollow item into a speaker. Entrepreneur and UC Davis Class of 2006 graduate, Jason Lucash, combined his love for music with modern technology and the ancient Japanese art of paper folding to start his company, OrigAudio.

Jason Lucash will appear on ABC’s reality television show “Shark Tank” on May 6 at 8 p.m., where he will be pitching his innovative line of portable speakers.

Lucash launched his company, OrigAudio, in August 2009. Since then, his speakers have been featured on the CBS “Early Show,” on the NBC “Today Show,” in The New York Times, in InStyle Magazine and were named in Time Magazine’s “The 50 Best Inventions of 2009.”

“Shark Tank,” created by Mark Burnett, executive producer of reality shows such as “Survivor” and “The Apprentice,” allows entrepreneurs to pitch their innovative ideas to five “sharks” – multimillionaire businessmen, including Mark Cuban and Jeff Foxworthy – in the hopes that these experienced tycoons will invest in their businesses.

Lucash, along with his business partner Mike Szymczak, came up with the idea for OrigAudio while lugging around big, bulky speakers as they constantly traveled for their former jobs. Lucash wanted to create an easy way to listen to music while on the road. His first product, “Fold and Play,” are one-watt, self-powered, foldable speakers. Lucash remembers when the idea hit him.

“I was traveling for business in Thailand messing with a Chinese takeout box. That’s when I had one of those eureka moments. What if you put those speakers in a Chinese takeout box,” Lucash laughed.

When he came home, Lucash toyed for hours with the takeout box but couldn’t get it to stand properly. That’s when he came up with using the idea of the Japanese art of origami, hence the name of the company, OrigAudio.

Three months after launching, “Fold and Play” was named No. 39 in Time Magazine’s “The 50 Best Inventions of 2009.” Time Magazine stated in the feature: “Origami has never sounded so good.”

“[That] was the greatest honor we have received since starting the company. It really makes our hard work feel validated,” said Szymczak, director of marketing for OrigAudio.

To put it in perspective, the number one invention the year prior was the Apple iPhone and other inventions OrigAudio competed with in 2009 included an AIDS vaccine and NASA’s Ares Rockets.

The day “Fold and Play” appeared in Time, OrigAudio sold 5,000 speakers, and since then business has skyrocketed.

“Business just kind of blew up in our face. It has been one hell of a ride,” Lucash said.

Expanding on his first idea, Lucash came out with his second product, the “Rock-it.” This device, using vibration sequences from sound waves, can turn almost any hollow object into a speaker. Lucash saw this technology while traveling in Japan and was able to transform it into a popular product.

“We basically saw something in Japan that is a big flower box that turns your whole coffee table into a speaker. We took it apart, saw how it worked and made it into something that is small and portable. [We] added some adhesive to it and that was it – we had the ‘Rock-it,'” Lucash said.

The “Rock-it” works best with anything that is hollow so the sound can vibrate through, such as cardboard boxes, cereal and oatmeal boxes, microwaves or even plastic cups.

“The loudest thing I ever heard it on was a row boat. We turned it upside down and put the speaker right in the middle of the boat,” Lucash said.

Lucash says the concept is hard to explain without actually seeing it in person. Although this has been one of his toughest challenges to get past, Lucash has used YouTube, television infomercial channels and his official web site to provide demonstrations. He hopes his appearance on “Shark Tank” will help in this regard.

Lucash and Szymczak, who will present their entire line of speakers to the sharks, prepared for the show by watching as many old episodes as they could.

“The experience of ‘Shark Tank’ is like nothing else out there: you walk into a room of self-made billionaires and they are brutally honest on your business,” Szymczak said.

OrigAudio has come a long way since it started back in 2009. The company now prides itself in producing products that are all eco-friendly – something Lucash learned about while at Davis. OrigAudio also donates a percentage of their proceeds to Music National Service, which according its official website, “trains and places musicians to serve full-time as teachers and mentors in low-performing public schools, youth centers and other high-need community settings” – a purpose OrigAudio is very passionate about.

The company, now based in Chicago, Ill., consists of only Lucash, Szymczak and four other people. Lucash said that he never imagined he would be doing this after graduating from UC Davis and describes the whole experience as surreal. But, he said that with the right determination it could happen to any Aggie grad.

“I took a big risk, but it was something that I knew I had to take and if I had passed this up I knew I would have looked back on it forever. The biggest piece of advice I would have is to let your hard work pay off.”

OrigAudio speakers are currently sold at the UC Davis Bookstore and can also be purchased online at their website origaudio.com. Or you can tune in on May 6 to see if Lucash escapes alive or gets eaten by the sharks.

CLAIRE MALDARELLI can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

Aggies finish ranked No. 60

Sports Editor
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A fantastic season for the UC Davis women’s tennis team came to an end last weekend at the Big West Conference Tournament.

Despite the loss, it was a record year for the Aggies. The team received their first ever Intercollegiate Tennis Association national ranking back in mid-March, and finished the year ranked 60th in the country.

The grand total of 17 wins was the most for the program since reclassifying to Division I. With only seven losses during the season the team also posted its highest winning percentage since the division switch.

Individually, the Aggies garnered multiple awards for their season’s performance.

UC Davis’ No. 1 singles player, Megan Heneghan, was named the 2011 Big West Freshman of the Year. Heneghan also received First Team honors, and freshman Kelly Chui was named to the All-Big West Second Team. Junior Dahra Zamudio received honorable mention.

Coach Bill Maze, a former professional tennis player, was named the 2011 Big West Coach of the Year for the first time during his 16-year career with the Aggies.

Unfortunately for UC Davis, the regular season success did not carry over into the Big West Championships. UC Davis was upset by UC Irvine on Friday, a day when nothing seemed to go right.

“It was just one of those days,” Maze said. “They played very well. [UC Irvine] is a very well-coached team. I have great respect for them.”

Friday – UC Irvine 4, UC Davis 0

For UC Davis, a match against the defending Big West Champions proved to be too tough a task.

“[The Anteaters] had more experience than [we did], and they were just too good,” Maze said.

UC Irvine jumped out to an early advantage in the southern California heat, taking two of the three doubles matches from the Aggies and earning the first point.

UC Davis’ No. 2 pairing of freshman Nicole Koehly and sophomore Ellie Edles were able to secure a win, but the team saw losses at the first and third positions.

For Maze, the doubles win by Koehly and Edles was the best part of Friday’s competition.

“The highlight of the match for us was No. 2 doubles,” he said. “Nicole and Ellie played a phenomenal match.”

UC Irvine continued to apply the pressure in singles play, winning the first three matches to complete the sweep. For the Aggies, Koehly, Heneghan and Zamudio each lost in straight sets. The final three singles matches did not finish.

The team’s focus now shifts to the 2011-2012 campaign, and the Aggies are ready to go.

“I’m so excited for next year,” Maze said. “One of our players said ‘we’re ready to play tomorrow.'”

In fact, the Aggies will be able to rest for the remainder of the quarter, the last spring quarter for departing seniors Sidney Brady and Shawdee Rouhafza.

When the team reconvenes in the fall, it will do so with all six of their starters from this season.

Joining that group will be incoming freshman Layla Sanders, a five-star recruit from El Cerrito, Calif.

“She is an all-court player which makes her as adept in doubles as she is in singles,” Maze said of Sanders.

Overall, Maze is impressed by the efforts of his squad.

“Our team should be proud of [itself],” he said. “We had a heck of a year and I think they’re all looking forward to next year.”

CAELUM SHOVE can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

Baseball Preview

Sports Editor
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Teams: UC Davis vs. San Jose State; at Pacific

Records: Aggies, 12-25 (6-6); Spartans, 30-16; Tigers, 14-25 (6-9)

Where: Dobbins Stadium; Bill Simoni Field – Stockton, Calif.

When: Today at 2:30 p.m.; Friday at 6 p.m.; Saturday at 6 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m.

Who to watch: Junior Scott Kalush was on fire at the plate in last weekend’s sweep of Cal State Northridge.

The 6-foot-1 catcher out of San Mateo, Calif. hit .455 with three runs scored and seven RBI, garnering Big West Conference Player of the Week accolades for the first time in his Aggie career.

Kalush’s offensive performance included a grand slam in the first inning of game one.

According to coach Rex Peters, that hit was huge for the Aggies’ momentum.

“We were way overdue for a big hit like that,” Peters said. “We haven’t gotten many of those this year, and [Kalush] came up and delivered for us, and anytime you can get four runs with one swing of the bat that certainly helps.”

Did you know? The Aggies hit five homeruns in the recent home series, boosting their team total to 15 on the season.

UC Davis now ranks second in the Big West Conference in homers, behind Cal State Northridge (17).

Preview: With heightened Aggie energy after the sweep of the Matadors last weekend, the team is eager to keep fighting in league play.

“We didn’t have that good of a start to the season,” Kalush said. “We’re trying to pick it up and see if we can do well in conference. We definitely have something to play for and we’re all playing with a purpose.”

UC Davis will head to Stockton, Calif. for a three-game series against Pacific after taking on San Jose State on Wednesday to wrap up a five-game home stand.

When the Aggies hosted the Tigers for a three-game series during the 2009-2010 campaign, Pacific swept UC Davis handily by a combined score of 30-13.

The Aggies will look to their recent power hitting and sturdiness on the mound for another conference triumph at Pacific.

“It’s Big West pride,” Peters said. “We’re going to try to get as many Big West wins as we can and finish as high as we can. Right now, we’d like to finish in the top half of the conference and at least have that positive in our pocket at the end of the year.”

– Grace Sprague

Human bones found in Yolo County

City Editor
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Human bones were discovered in a dry creek bed in Yolo County on April 17. Multiple leg bones were found, as well as a rib and a jawbone.

It was originally suspected that the bones might be connected to the disappearance of Leticia Barrales Ramos, but the Yolo County Sheriff’s Department says otherwise.

“It’s not possibly her. All of the information we have leads us to believe it is not her. We even went out and did a second search,” said Detective Jennifer Davis, who is working on the case.

Ramos disappeared from Winters last month. She has not been seen since and is assumed deceased. Ramos was a 28-year-old mother and her husband has since been charged with her murder.

Though there is no direct evidence that the bones are the aftermath of a murder, information about the remains is still being withheld. Davis said this is done to prevent interference in what could become a criminal investigation.

“As with any case involving human remains, it is being handled as suspicious until proven otherwise,” a Yolo County press release stated.

“The bones were originally found by hunters in the area and during a further search detectives and coroners located more human bones.”

The second search was conducted on April 28, but did not yield any results.

Police brought the bones to the anthropology department at Chico State to research the age, sex, height and weight of the body that was found.

“Because the bones were found easily and not dug up they will be able to use carbon dating and other sources that can be used on more recent bones to determine the age of the bones,” said Amanda Avery, a UC Davis alumna who majored in anthropology.

“The bones that were found were easily identified, which makes me think that these bones are from more recent years,” Avery said in an e-mail. “Also, the femur is the largest bone in an individual’s body, which means that anthropologists will be able to determine sex and age.”

While the identity of the remains is still unknown, Avery said she is anticipating news after more research is done.

“If anything, these bones are going to help solve an unknown mystery of an individual’s disappearance, which is huge in all aspects of the discovery,” she said.

AARON WEISS can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

New exhibit explores culinary artistry

Campus Editor
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On May 9, Peter J. Shields Library will turn its Nuevo Latino Cuisine exhibit into an afternoon of culture, food, history and education.

The event will take place at Putah Creek Lodge from noon to 5 p.m. with a $50 entrance fee. Provided with open conversation, book signings and guest speakers, community members will also get to taste the various cuisines catered by Bay Area restaurant Pica Pica.

“The library has never done anything like this before,” said Myra Appel, head of the Humanities, Social Sciences and Government Information Services Department, who worked on the exhibit. “This is an important event because it marks a coming together. The library is a place of diversity and this event helps community members to see that the library is a supportive place for intellectual conversation and diverse exploration.”

The exhibit shares the rich heritage of Latin American culture. The collection of books and recipes located at the library’s entrance takes viewers through the anthropological, economical and historical progression of Nuevo Latino cuisine.

“Davis is known to be an agricultural and viticulture school,” Appel said. “This includes food. Particularly Latin food has become important in our lives. Most of the research done at this school is interdisciplinary, and by taking this exhibit and bringing it outside the library, we are giving community members the opportunity to understand this discipline in particular.”

The event will explore the history and roots of cuisine as well as feature four guest speakers. Among the speakers are Ken Albala, history professor at the University of Pacific, Steve Sando, owner of Rancho Gordo, Leopoldo López Gil, owner of Pica Pica and Clare Hasler, executive director of the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food.

The various speakers will present topics on sustainability, texture, taste, culture, history, roots and more.

“Latin food has a huge global impact,” Albala said. “Its influence on the historical events and its migration from Europe to America is important to our culture today. Eating is just about the only thing everyone does. Everyone makes conscious choices about it and should know its roots.”

Sando has first-hand experience on sustainability. Working with indigenous populations in Mexico, he grows heirloom products to preserve his stock, Appel said.

Randolph Siverson, acting university librarian, said that the library is looking to focus on the diversity of Nuevo Latino cuisine and how it crossed the border.

“The event and the exhibit showcase and explore a history that people normally wouldn’t get exposed to. The library is thrilled to be the one providing this information to the community,” he said.

Registration for the event ends today. For more information on how to sign up, as well as the speakers of the event visit lib.ucdavis.edu/ul/events/nuevo-latino-cuisine/

RACHEL LEVY can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Girls less likely to be placed on transplant waitlist

Science Editor
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A recent study of children waiting for kidney transplants has found that girls are less likely than boys to be placed on the waiting list to receive a kidney.

The study was conducted by researchers at the UC Davis School of Medicine (UCDSM) and found that girls under the age of 21 are 22 percent less likely than boys of the same age to be placed on the waitlist, even after controlling for factors like medical diagnosis or family preference.

According to Stephanie Nguyen, a pediatric nephrologist at UCDSM, researchers who have previously studied this gender disparity initially speculated that perhaps girls developed renal failure faster than boys, which could prevent health care providers from preparing them for transplant.

“However, our research does not suggest this as we tried to adjust for the underlying diagnosis as a potential confounding factor,” Nguyen said.

The researchers say that their findings are crucial because if girls aren’t placed on the waiting list as often as boys, then they must spend more time on dialysis than boys. Dialysis, a procedure that replaces lost kidney function by filtering wastes from the blood, is not a good long-term substitute for healthy kidneys.

A prior study by a different group of UC Davis researchers, conducted in December 2010, found that the longer a child is on dialysis while awaiting a kidney transplant, the greater likelihood that the child’s transplantation will be unsuccessful.

“Children who face kidney transplant fare best when they receive the organ without undergoing dialysis,” said Lavjay Butani, chief of pediatric nephrology at the UCDSM and the lead author of the study, in a UCDSM press release. “The longer the dialysis prior to the operation, the worse is the survival of the kidneys.”

Researchers are unsure exactly why girls are not being placed on the kidney transplantation waitlist as often as boys. The researchers looked at all the children on dialysis at different points in their treatments. Regardless of when the researchers checked back on the list of children awaiting placement on the transplant list, whether at the beginning of dialysis or 12 months later, there were always more girls awaiting placement.

“The study by Dr. Nguyen and her group poses important questions that need to be addressed, to better explore and understand the reasons behind this gender difference in access to organ transplants and to determine if there are biological factors that may lead to a more time-consuming work-up to prepare girls for a transplant,” Butani said in the UCDSM press release. “In the absence of such considerations, it is the responsibility of all health-care providers treating this population to facilitate rapid transition of all children who are dialysis-dependent toward successful transplantation.”

Establishing priority for organ recipients is a difficult issue given the large number of people awaiting transplant. In 1984, the United States Congress passed the National Organ Transplant Act, which called for a unified transplant network by a private non-profit organization operating under federal contract. This act established the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network and awarded its contract to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) in September 1986.

In order to match donors to potential recipients on the waitlist, UNOS records donor and recipient medical records as well as screenings for blood type and HIV status. Doctors must then maintain required care such as antibiotics and monitoring blood pressure for deceased donors and obtain consent from all parties.

AMY STEWART can be reached at science@theaggie.org.

Frequent CT scans dangerous for testicular cancer patients

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 Pain, swelling or lumps on the testicles are concerns for men, as they may be symptoms of testicular cancer. Younger men are already more inclined to develop testicular cancer than older men, but the treatment of testicular cancer also poses a health concern.

A recent study by a former UC Davis Medical Center (UCDMC) doctor shows that frequent CT scans may play a part in the development of secondary cancers.

 Active surveillance, a process where patients undergo various CT scans – a method of medical testing that develops precise imaging to help diagnose and treat medical conditions – may present dangers in terms of its radiation exposure. Along with chemotherapy and retroperitoneal lymphnode dissection – an incision spanning from the sternum to just underneath the bellybutton – active surveillance is one of three usual practices doctors take to treat testicular cancer.

 “The radiation exposure is 30 to 40, maybe 100 times that of a routine X-ray, depending on the type of CT scan,” said Karim Chamie, a urologist at the UCLA health center.

Chamie said that 30 percent of the time there is something that cannot be seen in original CT scans, which is the reason why many guidelines recommend so many CT scans. But Chamie warns against excessive CT scans.

  Chamie said that active surveillance may be bad for two reasons.

 “First, you’re exposing all men who are compliant to an intense CT schedule with the attendant radiation exposure,” Chamie said. “Second, those who don’t comply with the regular schedule run the risk of having their cancer progress and can expect a significant detriment to their quality of life as well life expectancy, even though they are not being exposed to the radiation of CT scans.”

Patients need to stick to a schedule and follow up with their doctors, Chamie said. If they don’t, they are exposed to unnecessary radiation and risk further development of cancer.

  Chamie said that he recommends surgery for men diagnosed with testicular cancer.

  “People who don’t get surgery are more likely to die of their testicular cancer,” Chamie said. “In studies, those that didn’t get surgery had a higher incidence of an unrelated secondary malignancy and a higher cancer mortality rate.”

  He said that he believes doctors should tell their patients about the risk of CT scans. Chamie said that risks can sometimes be downplayed when explained in contrast to chemotherapy, which causes hair loss and surgery and involves a fairly large incision.

John Boone, professor of biomedical engineering at the UCDMC and vice chair of urology at the center, said that the use of CT scans in medicine has skyrocketed in the United States over the past 30 years.

  “There will likely be around 80 million CT scans in the US this year; 30 years ago, that number was around four to five million,” Boone said.

  He attributed the efficiency of CT scans as one of the primary reasons that they are so widely utilized.

  “CT scans are so attractive because they can scan the body in about 15 seconds,” he said.

  However, Boone also said that there is an over-utilization of CT scans in the U.S. He said that perhaps as much as 30 percent of the use of CT scans is thought to be in the practice of defensive medicine – in other words, to avoid possible malpractice lawsuits.

Boone also pointed out the high doses of radiation that come with every CT scan.

  “In a year, a person receives three millisieverts of radiation from background exposure; a typical CT scan has ten millisieverts,” Boone said.

  However, Boone said that CT scans should not be looked at negatively, as they provide many benefits – such as being able to quickly diagnose medical conditions in the case of emergencies. He said that the best thing people can do is ask their physicians if they really need a CT scan.

  The American Cancer Society states that men, particularly between ages 20 and 54, should regularly do self-examinations and consult a physician if they find something that might be out of the ordinary – such as lumps, swelling or pain.

ERIC C. LIPSKY can be reached science@theaggie.org.

Undergraduates showcase their latest projects??

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From analyzing access to critical medications to exploring the development of diabetes, many UC Davis students presented health and medical-related research at the 22nd Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities Conference on Friday and Saturday.

The conference highlights research-in-progress and studies completed in the last year.

“It’s great to give the students the exposure to presenting,” said Professor David A. Hawkins, a veteran moderator of the research conference.

One of the students Hawkins is sponsoring is Kelsey Collins, a recent exercise biology graduate. Collins is doing her research project on quantifying ground reaction forces during locomotion in young adults. She wants to know how the body hits the ground as a person moves.

Through the use of activity monitors, similar to pedometers and equations measuring their actions, Collins’ goal is to learn more about how young adults can exercise more effectively. She hopes that the future of her research may be able to “address the problem of repeated stress fractures” in addition to overuse injuries, osteoporosis and general physical activity.

Using exercise as a different means for his research was Massud Atta, a senior nutrition science major who assessed levels of a biomarker for fatty acid oxidation in different groups of mice before and after “an exercise bout.” Data from this research could assist in understanding the development of Type II (noninsulin-dependent) Diabetes.

Atta wishes to pursue a career in cardiology, and he feels that if he does attend medical school, he would have to do a fellowship in cardiology eventually, so doing research early on would help his career.

Similarly, Micaela McNulty, senior international relations major, hopes to continue her research on access to HIV and AIDS medication during her pursuit of a master of public health.

“Using data from 31 sub-Saharan African countries between 2007 and 2009, I statistically analyze the relationship between antiretroviral [AIDS medication] prices and access to treatment,” McNulty said.

McNulty also factored key variables from the country’s economic, political and health status.

Student research at this conference was not limited to bench work or data analysis though. Junior critical economics major, Rajiv Narayan, chose to use his lived experience of obesity to critically analyze weight-related research in academia, which he felt only looked at the phenomenon of obesity and “removed the actual experience.”

Having lost 80 pounds since his first year here at UC Davis, Narayan wanted to reconstruct obesity in terms of “movement, language and localized perception.” In other words, he is looking at the daily lives of obese people.

For his sponsor, he sought Jon Rossini, Ph. D, from the department of theater and dance.

“People don’t normally think about theater and dance,” said Narayan.

He wanted to address the question, “how do regular people perform obesity?”

Students at UC Davis are given the chance to be creative in their research, or they may help a professor with their investigations.

Hawkins said that for his lab’s research, prospective students may “piggyback” onto existing research projects and even split into their own proposed research.

The research conference was divided into two days. Some students chose to showcase posters on April 29 while other students preferred to present their presentation in an oral format on April 30. Students were recognized for their work with a certificate as an Undergraduate Research Scholar.

Since 1990, the first year the research conference was established, the number of students presenting has been steadily rising, from 19 students the first year to this year’s 353 students. Researchers from all majors at UC Davis can present at this conference.

Tammy Hoyer, conference chair for the Undergraduate Research Center, says that that the next step for students who have completed their research is to submit a full length research paper to the UC Davis undergraduate research journal Explorations for potential publication of the paper’s abstract.

Research abstracts from this year’s conference can be read at undergraduateresearch.ucdavis.edu.

EVA TAN can be reached at science@theaggie.org.

Column: In the kitchen with science

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When I sit down for a tasty meal, I try not to think about poop.

I try not to think about the fact that in a day or so, my succulent sweet and sour tofu will become a little, brown lump.

I try not to think about poop. But when I heard that my friend David Lai, a senior food science and technology major, got a job at a lab studying poop, I couldn’t resist scheduling an interview.

On Sunday, Lai and I sat down over a plate of onion rings and I asked: “Why poop?”

Lai explained that his job is to analyze DNA samples extracted from baby poop. His lab wants to know what strains of a genus of bacteria called Lactobacillus have colonized the babies’ digestive systems. Lactobacilli help babies digest milk, and as babies drink less milk over time, the Lactobacilli numbers decrease.

Studying bacteria in baby poop helps food scientists understand how food affects the digestive system over time.

“It’s really necessary for us to put the pieces together,” Lai said.

Before I met Lai, I had the vague idea that food scientists were wannabe chefs.

I was wrong.

Food scientists do help companies develop new products, but they are also the ones who make sure the food manufacturing process is safe. They can look at recipes and figure out how ingredients will affect human health – babies’ intestines, for example.

“It combines culinary skills with science,” Lai said.

Lai pointed to the plate of onion rings in front of us. He’d learned about onion rings in class.

“The reason they turn brown is something called Maillard browning,” he said.

Maillard browning is a chemical reaction that occurs when amino acids react with sugars, usually because of heat. This reaction is the reason toast turns that lovely golden-brown color. It sounds like common sense – heat turns bread brown – but food scientists like Lai want to know why this happens.

“When I look at a piece of food now, it’s more than just food. There are chemical reactions going on,” Lai said.

I asked Lai what else he’s learned during his four years in the major. He laughed and then described a frightening class project.

His class took a custard-filled donut and stuck it in a blender. They made a donut smoothie and then extracted DNA from any organisms in the mix.

The most surprising result? Traces of salmonella.

“There’s bacteria in everything,” Lai said.

I was getting kind of grossed-out, but Lai said bacteria are a normal part of life. He pointed to his arm.

“Bacteria just live on your skin,” he said. “When you’re cooking, it just flakes off.”

I chomped on another onion ring.

MADELINE McCURRY-SCHMIDT wants to promote David Lai’s mission to pronounce “onion” not as “un-yun” but as “on-yun.” It just makes more sense that way. Tell Madeline about your favorite foods at science@theaggie.org.

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