Daily Business Report-July 3, 2020
A team of mechanical engineering students designed a neonatal ECMO simulation for their senior design project. (Photo courtesy of the Jacobs School of Engineering)
Jacobs School of Engineering undergrads
design neonatal simulation system
A team of undergraduate mechanical engineering students at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego have developed a neonatal simulation system for a critical and rare surgical procedure called ECMO. They developed this realistic simulation system — believed to be the first for neonatal patients –for their senior design project.
The system was developed in collaboration with physicians and surgeons at Rady Children’s Hospital
ECMO — extracorporeal membrane oxygenation — is a rare procedure used when a patient’s heart or lungs aren’t able to function. Doctors use a machine to circulate and oxygenate the patient’s blood by pumping it through an external system of tubes and filters outside of their body, through an artificial lung, and back into the body.
ECMO is used for patients recovering from heart or lung surgery; for people whose heart or lungs aren’t functioning; or for infants experiencing respiratory or cardiac distress. The procedure is rare, particularly for children—at Rady Children’s, it’s only performed a handful of times per year. However, it has been used more often during the COVID-19 pandemic as a means to give patient’s lungs time and capacity to heal.
_______________________________
SDSU redevelopment of Mission
Valley site could start in August
San Diego State University is scheduled to break ground in August on the redevelopment of Mission Valley land into an academic and research hub following the San Diego City Council vote approving the sale of the land to the university.
After a required 30-day waiting period, Mayor Kevin Faulconer will sign the agreement, fully executing the sale and beginning the escrow period. Transfer of ownership is expected to take place in early August and construction will begin on the site shortly thereafter, with the stadium and the river park first in line for development.
The landmark decision is historic, San Diego State University President Adela de la Torre and Mayor Kevin Faulconer said in a joint statement marking the milestone city vote.
SDSU Mission Valley will create an academic and research hub helping generations of San Diegans achieve their personal, educational, and professional goals, according to the joint statement. It will create thousands of jobs and strengthen our regional economy. It will also support many of the city’s goals by creating more housing, including affordable housing; enhancing mobility options with new bike and pedestrian paths; increasing transit use; and improving the quality of life for all San Diegans through the creation of a world-class river park.
The community can follow development progress at missionvalley.sdsu.edu.
_______________________________
New urgency to remove police
from nonviolent crises
CalMatters
Police would no longer be responsible for responding to crises involving mental illness, homelessness, natural disasters and domestic violence under a pilot program proposal gaining traction in California in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, CalMatters’ Jocelyn Wiener reports. The bill, currently under consideration by the Legislature, would create up to a dozen such pilot programs around the state. San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento and Los Angeles have already pledged to divert nonviolent calls from police — an idea supported by officers and activists alike.
Brian Marvel, president of the Peace Officers Research Association of California: “Unfortunately, with city budgets and the societal ills that we face, it all gets dumped on police. It seems to have fallen on deaf ears. But it appears now that they’re taking it seriously.”
Cat Brooks, co-founder of Anti Police-Terror Project: “We rely on police to be the answer to every single social ill and they shouldn’t be.”
_______________________________
SDG&E urges customers to call 811
before digging to prevent gas line strikes
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has launched a campaign to remind everyone to call 811 to get underground utility lines marked before they dig in their gardening and yard projects.
Unsafe digging from construction and landscaping activities resulted in almost 350 local gas emergencies last year. SDG&E aims to reduce the number of these incidents.
Already this year, there have been approximately 150 gas emergencies due to unsafe digging. Hitting a gas or electric line can result in a serious safety hazard, fires, property damage, loss of utility service, costly repairs and fines. Gas or electric strikes disrupt daily lives and cause a wide range of inconveniences to the public from service outages for an entire neighborhood to closed streets. These incidents also take up precious police and fire response resources.
“Many homeowners and contractors aren’t aware that calling 811 to get underground utilities marked should be the first step, before they undertake projects that involve extensive digging,” said David Buczkowski, SDG&E’s vice president of gas distribution. “Taking that simple step to call beforehand helps to keep our communities safe and avoids potential fines.”
_______________________________
Inside a decade’s worth of Harassment
and abuse complaints at Westview High
A new accusation against a Westview High School employee is just the latest in a string of sexual assault and harassment incidents to have surfaced at the school over the last decade.
Five of the six people who have been accused of or found to have engaged in boundary-crossing interactions with students over the last decade were athletic coaches at the school. Few of them faced any consequences. Two are still employed.
More than once, Poway Unified officials determined that because no actual sexual contact had occurred and it was the teacher’s first offense, the teachers in question should be allowed to keep their jobs. The incidents illuminate the lengths officials at the school have gone to keep numerous teachers accused of misconduct employed.
