Daily Business Report-Nov. 29, 2018
From left: Ludovic Mure and Satchidananda Panda. (Credit: Salk Institute)
Research
Why screen time can disrupt sleep
Salk scientists uncover how certain retinal cells respond to artificial illumination
For most, the time spent staring at screens—on computers, phones, iPads—constitutes many hours and can often disrupt sleep. Now, Salk Institute researchers have pinpointed how certain cells in the eye process ambient light and reset our internal clocks, the daily cycles of physiological processes known as the circadian rhythm. When these cells are exposed to artificial light late into the night, our internal clocks can get confused, resulting in a host of health issues.
The results, published Nov. 27 in Cell Reports, may help lead to new treatments for migraines, insomnia, jet lag and circadian rhythm disorders, which have been tied to cognitive dysfunction, cancer, obesity, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and more.
“We are continuously exposed to artificial light, whether from screen time, spending the day indoors or staying awake late at night,” says Salk Professor Satchidananda Panda, senior author of the study. “This lifestyle causes disruptions to our circadian rhythms and has deleterious consequences on health.”
The backs of our eyes contain a sensory membrane called the retina, whose innermost layer contains a tiny subpopulation of light-sensitive cells that operate like pixels in a digital camera. When these cells are exposed to ongoing light, a protein called melanopsin continually regenerates within them, signaling levels of ambient light directly to the brain to regulate consciousness, sleep and alertness. Melanopsin plays a pivotal role in synchronizing our internal clock after 10 minutes of illumination and, under bright light, suppresses the hormone melatonin, responsible for regulating sleep.
“Compared to other light-sensing cells in the eye, melanopsin cells respond as long as the light lasts, or even a few seconds longer,” says Ludovic Mure, staff scientist and first author of the paper. “That’s critical, because our circadian clocks are designed to respond only to prolonged illumination.”
_________________
Criminal charges filed in ivory trafficking case
Sting operation uncovers $1.3 million in illegal ivory for sale at La Jolla gallery
San Diego City Attorney Mara W. Elliott on Wednesday announced that criminal charges have been filed against the Carlton Gallery in La Jolla, its owner, and an employee for trafficking ivory in defiance of California law.
This prosecution follows the largest seizure of ivory products by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife since a state law banning their sale took effect in 2016. More than 300 pieces of ivory and items containing ivory were seized from the gallery and its warehouse.
The investigation into Carlton Gallery began in May 2017, when wildlife officers from the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Trafficking Unit observed two art-deco sculptures that appeared to be ivory in the gallery’s Prospect Street display window. In December 2017 and March 2018, wildlife officers returned and observed additional items that appeared to contain ivory.
In a sting operation conducted on May 1, 2018, undercover wildlife officers purchased an ivory sculpture from salesperson Sheldon Miles Kupersmith, who offered to sell the officers three other sculptures containing ivory. Wildlife officers obtained and executed a search warrant later that day and seized 146 items containing ivory from the gallery. The Gallery’s owner, Victor Hyman Cohen, then led investigators to a warehouse nearby where officers seized 192 additional pieces of ivory. Most of the items contained ivory from elephants, while some contained ivory from the teeth of hippopotami. Cohen and Kupersmith were charged as individuals.
A first-time violation of this law is a misdemeanor, subject to criminal penalties of up to a year in jail and fines of $1,000 to $40,000, depending upon the value of the items.
(A headline in Wednesday’s Daily Business Report wrongly attributed the charges to the DA’s office.)
_________________
Academy of Our Lady of Peace receives
$2 million donation from Darlene Marcos Shiley
The Academy of Our Lady of Peace has received a $2 million donation from philanthropist Darlene Marcos Shiley — the largest cash gift ever received by the all-girls Catholic high school.
The funds will be used for the renovation and reconstruction of an academic building which will be named the Shiley Center for Science and Innovation. The building will feature a 1,500-square-foot engineering makerspace and innovation lab that will engage students in creative higher-order problem solving, hands-on design and construction in engineering and robotics classes. The new facility will include five fully-outfitted multidisciplinary science labs that will accommodate 150 students at any one time.
“We are so deeply honored and humbled by Darlene’s generosity,” said Dr. Lauren Lek, head of OLP. “The new Shiley Center for Science and Innovation will stand as an enduring tribute to Darlene for her support of science, technology, education, and math (STEM). We are blessed to have her in our community.”
In 2015 the Academy of Our Lady of Peace created the STEM certification program to recognize students for their achievements and involvement in STEM-related activities. This past year, the graduating class saw 40 percent of its graduates pursuing STEM majors in college, which is more than double the co-ed national average (16 percent).
Darlene Marcos Shiley is the president of The Shiley Foundation and a renowned patron of the arts, medical research, and education.
_________________
A homecoming for El Cajon
museum’s new executive director
Brittany Gardner was a student at Avocado Elementary School when she fell in love with the Heritage of the Americas Museum during a third-grade field trip. Less than 20 years after that excursion, Gardner was recently named the museum’s new executive director.
“I remember it as being this big, grand place with all these artifacts, an exhibit with rocks that glowed, I was just amazed and in awe,” Gardner said. “I never dreamed at the time that I would one day become the museum director.”
Located on the Cuyamaca College campus in El Cajon, the Heritage of the Americas Museum is a cultural and educational jewel packed with a vast collection highlighting the history and prehistory of the Americas – from Maya painted bowls and wedding vases to jade burial suits, ancient Peruvian art, saber tooth tiger skulls, and an abundance of fossils and arrowheads.
For Gardner, the third-grade field trip planted the seeds of discovery that led to dual associate degrees from Cuyamaca College and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from San Diego State University. Now pursuing an MBA and a certificate in nonprofit management from the University of San Diego, Gardner, 27, was a natural fit to head the museum after the retirement of longtime director Kathleen Oatsvall.
As executive director, Gardner directs and oversees all aspects of running the museum, including managing a small paid staff and more than 40 volunteers.
_________________
Mauro Colabianchi named chair
of Young Tax Lawyers group local chapter
Attorney Mauro Colabianchi of McLaughlin Legal, a San Diego-based firm providing legal services for small to mid-sized companies and business owners, has been named the new chair of the California Lawyers Association’s Taxation Section Young Tax Lawyers group for the San Diego chapter. The committee provides education and support for new tax lawyers throughout California.
“As a past chair myself, I know that Mauro will bring the same excellence and excitement to the San Diego Young Tax Lawyers group as he shows in his day-to-day practice,” said Kevan McLaughlin, founder and managing Partner of McLaughlin Legal.
The Young Tax Lawyers Committee is part of the California Lawyers Association Taxation Section and is composed of an executive board that works with regional chapters.
_________________
Book-launch party Jan. 13 for San Diego
author’s cockpit confessional ‘FLYGIRL’
A free book-launch party for Robin Kardon’s novel, “FLYGIRL,” her experiences in integrating an all-male flight department, will be held Sunday, Jan. 13, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at San Diego Writers, Ink, 2730 Historic Decatur Road, in Point Loma.
Reserve a space at rdkardonauthor.com.
Before San Diego author and attorney Robin Kardon came up with the idea for “FLYGIRL,” her debut novel about a female pilot breaking the blue ceiling, she lived it. Her cockpit confessional has been hailed as “an astounding peek behind the scenes of pilot life.”
Kardon was a commercial pilot for 12 years and says she always enjoys talking about aviation in general, and how to succeed in the male-dominated field.
_________________
First patient in San Diego treated with novel cancer therapy
A 31-year-old local resident on Wednesday became the first patient in San Diego County to receive a unique form of targeted therapy for a rare form of cancer when he received an infusion of the radioactive drug Lutathera by a team of Scrips MD Anderson Cancer Center caregivers.
Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration earlier this year, Lutathera treats gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) of the digestive tract that are positive for the hormone receptor somatostatin. William Apodaca of Paradise Hills received the infusion in the nuclear medicine unit of Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego.
Apodaca, a National City native, was originally diagnosed in late 2015 and underwent a variety of treatments, with varying degrees of success. He said he had known about Lutathera early in his cancer journey, and was just waiting for it to be approved for use in the U.S. He is an intensive care unit nurse at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla.
The SDSU team says toxic chemicals of tobacco smoke can be embedded in pillows. Non-smokers, especially children, can be exposed to toxic chemicals via contact with the polluted pillows. (Credit: SDSU)
_________________
Research: Tobacco smoke easily pollutes new, clean materials
By La Monica Everett-Haynes | SDSU
The scent of stale tobacco may be found in thrift stores, decade-old books, rental cars and hotels. Now, a growing body of research indicates the negative effects of this thirdhand smoke is likely far more extensive than currently understood.
In fact, the research indicates that thirdhand smoke may be absorbed through the skin, ingested through house dust, and inhaled well after a smoker has finished a cigarette. A new San Diego State University study focused on a simple method to detect the lingering presence of thirdhand smoke in fabrics is contributing to that body of work.
Georg E. Matt, who chairs SDSU’s Department of Psychology, led an interdisciplinary team in a study of pillows, which he calls “reservoirs of environmental toxicants.”
“Everybody has pillows at home, some serve very practical purposes and are used every day while others are for decoration and not handled much at all. At least in my house, some pillow covers and pillows are washed regularly, while others are washed hardly ever,” Matt said.
The team wanted to understand whether brand new fabrics could capture residual nicotine—a marker for thirdhand smoke—after being placed in indoor environments where no current smoking was taking place. For the study, the team placed new, travel-size organic cotton pillows in the homes of non-smokers and also people who had smoked in the past (an average of 67 cigarettes per week), but had quit smoking before the study started.
_________________
Qualcomm launches $100 million AI investment fund
Qualcomm Inc. announced the launch of the Qualcomm Ventures AI Fund to invest up to $100 million in startups transforming artificial intelligence. The fund will focus on startups that share the vision of on-device AI becoming more powerful and widespread, with an emphasis on those developing new technology for autonomous cars, robotics and machine learning platforms.
The fund builds on more than a decade of Qualcomm’s AI research and its heritage of developing the foundational building blocks of low power processing and connectivity, which are essential for AI.
Qualcomm has set out to make on-device AI technology ubiquitous by inventing, developing, commercializing and, importantly, investing in it. As AI shifts towards the wireless edge – combining essential on-device capabilities with the edge cloud – the industry is already starting to see the full potential of 5G. Qualcomm’s ambitious 5G vision and strategic commitment to on-device AI goes hand in hand with mobile becoming the pervasive AI platform.
