A Sampling of Clips for August 5, 2011

* UCSD faculty and staff may obtain a copy of an article by e-mailing the University Communications Office

Hamilton Sees Faster U.S. Growth as Recession Odds Rise
Washington Post/Bloomberg, Aug. 4 -- James Hamilton, a professor at University of California, San Diego, talks in this video interview about the U.S. economy and fiscal policy. He speaks on Bloomberg Television's "InBusiness With Margaret Brennan." More

Avoid Raising Overweight Kids by Feeding them Home-cooked Meals: Study
The Independent, Aug. 5  --  When parents opt for convenience and take kids to fast-food restaurants, they're feeding them foods that account for almost half a child's daily caloric intake and up to 100 percent of their recommended daily sodium levels. In a study published in this week's journal of Childhood and Obesity, researchers out of the University of California San Diego found that lunchtime meals at fast-food restaurants accounted for between 36 to 51 percent of a child's daily caloric needs. Furthermore, 35 to 39 percent of calories came from fat and the meals provided more than 50 percent of the recommended total daily sodium intake for most children. More

Crafting Art from the Simple Clothespin
Miami Herald, Aug. 4 -- The attention-grabbing art technique started with a party dress, a funky peek-a-boo party dress. Miami artist Gerry Stecca was in a dollar store poking around for oddball items to fashion a flirty frock for a friend. He bought a package of ordinary clothespins. From there, Stecca, who holds a degree in visual arts from the University of California at San Diego, began using clothespins to build sculptures. He drills teeny holes into the wooden pieces and links them with wire to form sturdy sheets that may be twisted, folded and wrapped into an assortment of figures and shapes. He’s created mannequin-like sculptures, clothespin-shaped fish, baskets and bottles — all from the wooden sticks used to hang clothes. His work is catching on, showcased in art galleries, museums and soon-to-be in Bloomingdale’s. More

Daily Dose of Chocolate to Lower BP
Times of India, Aug. 4 -- Next time, when you reach for that bar of Hershey's, know that it only takes a bite or two of chocolate to get the benefits. A new study has suggested that a daily bite of chocolate could bolster your workouts, reports the New York Daily News. Scientists gave a group of mice a twice-daily dose of purified form of epicatechin, cacao's chief beneficial compound. These mice outperformed the group of mice who had not been given the chocolate-y supplement, according to researchers at the University of California, San Diego. More

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LA Weekly, Aug. 5

UCSD Researchers Improve Light-Based Photonic Chips
North County Times, Aug. 3 -- A research team including UC San Diego scientists says they've made significant progress toward improving light-based "photonic" microprocessors so they can handle information far more efficiently than electronic chips. The researchers say they've solved the problem of interference from light that reflects backward on the chip, which reduces its reliability. They designed a circuit that handles light differently depending on which direction it's traveling. Going forward, the light travels in a symmetrical path. Backward, the light is scattered asymmetrically, dissipating so it doesn't cause interference. The feat "is expected to have strong impacts in both fundamental physics and device applications," the paper stated. The solution is similar to that used in electronics for diodes, according to a press release from UC San Diego. Leading the research was Liang Feng, an electrical engineering Ph.D. at Caltech, who earned his doctorate at UCSD last year. Others who took part are UCSD's Maurice Ayache and Yeshaiahu Fainman. More

Similar story
MIT Technology Review, Aug. 4
Science Daily, Aug. 4

DeMaio Cries Foul Over Petition Gathering Tactics
KPBS, Aug. 4 -- Some San Diego city leaders are trying to eliminate pensions for most new city employees. To do so, they're trying to get a measure on next year's municipal ballot. Such measures require thousands of voters to sign a petition. But a labor-backed group is fighting the effort by linking a signature to the possibility of identity theft. Vladimir Kogan, who studies voter trends at the University of California, San Diego, however said the chances of your identity being stolen through the signing of a petition are slim. A lot of the information signers give is already public record, Kogan noted. "So, for example, on my computer I have a database of all the voters in San Bernardino County," Kogan said. "I not only have their addresses and birth dates, I know if they have a cat or dog. I know what language they speak at home. I know how many kids they have. I know how old their kids are." More

La Jolla’s First Interpretive Panel Installed near Scripps Pier
La Jolla Light, Aug. 4 -- In keeping with its mission statement of enriching “the environmental, social and cultural experience of La Jolla,” the La Jolla Community Foundation installed the first interpretive panel along the coastline on Wednesday and has lined up artists for two more murals. The colorful photo display, mounted on the railing along the walkway overlooking the beach south of Scripps Pier was drawing looks even before the installation, said Nigella Hillgarth, executive director of the Birch Aquarium, which is partnering with the community foundation. On Tuesday, as the installation was tested, several people stopped to see it at the end of the walkway near the Scripps Seaside Forum. The panel shows “Species Found along the La Jolla Coast” — from the round stingray to the shovelnose guitarfish and has a spotlight on grunion and “giant kelp facts.” (Mentions Anya Gallaccio and  Kim MacConnal of the UC San Diego visual arts department.) More

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