San Francisco State University

About: San Francisco State University is a education organization based out in San Francisco, California, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Planet. The organization has 5669 authors who have published 11433 publications receiving 408075 citations. The organization is also known as: San Francisco State & San Francisco State Normal School.

Continuous Preference Logic for System Evaluation

Abstract: In this paper, we investigate mathematical models that are suitable for modeling decisions in the area of system evaluation, comparison, and selection. Our interest is focused on soft computing models that can be directly related to observable properties of human reasoning, and have a record of use in system evaluation practice. We analyze various approaches to defining andness and orness, and use a generalized conjunction/disjunction (GCD) to build compound preference logic functions and logic models for system evaluation. We also present applications of the continuous preference logic in decision models based on the LSP method.

Issues in Bilingualism and Heritage Language Maintenance: Perspectives of Minority-Language Mothers of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract: Purpose The author investigated the language practices of 10 bilingual, Chinese/English-speaking, immigrant mothers with their children with autism spectrum disorders. The aim was to understand (a)...

An Online Intervention Comparing a Very Low-Carbohydrate Ketogenic Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations Versus a Plate Method Diet in Overweight Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract: Background: Type 2 diabetes is a prevalent, chronic disease for which diet is an integral aspect of treatment. In our previous trial, we found that recommendations to follow a very low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet and to change lifestyle factors (physical activity, sleep, positive affect, mindfulness) helped overweight people with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes improve glycemic control and lose weight. This was an in-person intervention, which could be a barrier for people without the time, flexibility, transportation, social support, and/or financial resources to attend. Objective: The aim was to determine whether an online intervention based on our previous recommendations (an ad libitum very low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet with lifestyle factors; “intervention”) or an online diet program based on the American Diabetes Associations’ “Create Your Plate” diet (“control”) would improve glycemic control and other health outcomes among overweight individuals with type 2 diabetes. Methods: In this pilot feasibility study, we randomized overweight adults (body mass index ≥25) with type 2 diabetes (glycated hemoglobin [HbA1c] 6.5%-9.0%) to a 32-week online intervention based on our previous recommendations (n=12) or an online diet program based around a plate method diet (n=13) to assess the impact of each intervention on glycemic control and other health outcomes. Primary and secondary outcomes were analyzed by mixed-effects linear regression to compare outcomes by group. Results: At 32 weeks, participants in the intervention group reduced their HbA1c levels more (estimated marginal mean [EMM] –0.8%, 95% CI –1.1% to –0.6%) than participants in the control group (EMM –0.3%, 95% CI –0.6% to 0.0%; P=.002). More than half of the participants in the intervention group (6/11, 55%) lowered their HbA1c to less than 6.5% versus 0% (0/8) in the control group (P=.02). Participants in the intervention group lost more weight (EMM –12.7 kg, 95% CI –16.1 to –9.2 kg) than participants in the control group (EMM –3.0 kg, 95% CI –7.3 to 1.3 kg; P<.001). A greater percentage of participants lost at least 5% of their body weight in the intervention (10/11, 90%) versus the control group (2/8, 29%; P=.01). Participants in the intervention group lowered their triglyceride levels (EMM –60.1 mg/dL, 95% CI –91.3 to –28.9 mg/dL) more than participants in the control group (EMM –6.2 mg/dL, 95% CI –46.0 to 33.6 mg/dL; P=.01). Dropout was 8% (1/12) and 46% (6/13) for the intervention and control groups, respectively (P=.07). Conclusions: Individuals with type 2 diabetes improved their glycemic control and lost more weight after being randomized to a very low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet and lifestyle online program rather than a conventional, low-fat diabetes diet online program. Thus, the online delivery of these very low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet and lifestyle recommendations may allow them to have a wider reach in the successful self-management of type 2 diabetes. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01967992; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01967992 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6o0fI9Mkq) [J Med Internet Res 2017;19(2):e36]

Differential resource use by primates and hornbills: implications for seed dispersal

Abstract: Arboreal frugivores, such as primates and hornbills, are important seed dis- persers for many tropical plant species, yet the degree to which they use the same resources is unknown. If primates and hornbills consume the same fruit species, they may be redundant in their roles as seed dispersers, and the loss of one of these taxa may be compensated for by the other. To examine resource use by tropical frugivores, we quantified the feeding habits of two hornbill species, Ceratogymna atrata and C. cylindricus, and five primate species, Colobus guereza, Lophocebus albigena, Cercopithecus pogonias, C. cephus, and C. nictitans, in the lowland rainforest of south-central Cameroon. Based on over 2200 feeding observations recorded between January and December 1998, we characterized the diets and estimated dietary overlap among frugivore species. Previous studies have cal- culated dietary overlap by counting the number of diet species that two animals share, often leading to inflated estimates of overlap. Our method incorporated the proportional use of diet species and fruit availability into randomization procedures, allowing a clearer as- sessment of the actual degree of overlap. This added complexity of analysis revealed that, although the diets of a hornbill and a primate species may have as many as 36 plant species in common, actual dietary overlap is low. These results suggested that there are distinct hornbill and primate feeding assemblages, with primates consuming a greater diversity of plant species and higher levels of nonfruit items like leaves and seeds. Using Correspon- dence Analysis, we also identified two primate assemblages, separated largely by degree of frugivory and folivory. In addition, we found that hornbills feed at significantly higher strata in the forest canopy and eat fruits of different colors than primates. Averaged across the year, overlap between groups (hornbill-primate) was significantly lower than combined within-group overlap (primate-primate and hornbill-hornbill), showing that primates and hornbills have dissimilar diets and are not redundant as seed dispersers. In equatorial Africa, primate populations face greater declines than hornbill populations because of hunting. It is unlikely that seed dispersal by hornbills will compensate for the loss of primates in maintaining forest structure.

Scaling Social Impact: Building Sustainable Social Ventures at the Base-of-the-Pyramid

Abstract: This paper examines the process through which ventures scale their social impact in base-of-the-pyramid communities. A careful review of extant literature reveals two distinct modes of scaling social impact – breadth and depth scale. Drawing on a longitudinal study of Naandi and Drishtee – two exemplary social ventures in rural India – it is suggested that the depth and breadth scale develop through different processes. Each venture dynamically balances a minimum critical specification of social innovation, affordability, and market penetration while scaling social impact. We chart this path to scale in the two social ventures, and find that the relationship between minimum critical specifications and social impact is mediated by contrasting approaches to resource mobilization, operating routines, and entrepreneurial adjustment. The findings suggest that the process of scaling social impact can be characterized by a punctuated equilibrium model of system change.