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.

Effects of the Dads for Life Intervention on Interparental Conflict and Coparenting in the Two Years After Divorce

Abstract: The ability of parents to forge harmonious coparenting relationships following divorce is an important predictor of their children's long-term well-being. However, there is no convincing evidence that this relationship can be modified through intervention. A preventive intervention that we developed, Dads for Life (DFL), which targeted noncustodial parents as participants, has previously been shown in a randomized field trial to favorably impact child well-being. We explore here whether it also has an impact on mothers' and fathers' perceptions of coparenting and interparental conflict in the 2 years following divorce. Results of the latent growth curve models we evaluated showed that both mothers and fathers reported less conflict when the father participated in DFL as compared with controls. For the fathers, perceptions of coparenting did not change over time in either the DFL or control conditions. Alternatively, mothers' perceptions of support declined over time in the control group, whereas those whose ex-husbands participated in the DFL program reported significant positive growth change toward healthier coparenting. The positive findings for mothers' reports are particularly compelling because mothers were not the participants, and thus common alternative explanations are ruled out. The DFL intervention, then, offers courts a promising program to improve families' functioning after divorce.

The Twenty-five Year Lick Planet Search

Abstract: The Lick Planet Search program began in 1987 when the first spectrum of τ Ceti was taken with an iodine cell and the Hamilton Spectrograph. Upgrades to the instrument improved the Doppler precision from about 10 m s–1 in 1992 to about 3 m s–1 in 1995. The project detected dozens of exoplanets with orbital periods ranging from a few days to several years. The Lick survey identified the first planet in an eccentric orbit (70 Virginis) and the first multi-planet system around a normal main sequence star (Upsilon Andromedae). These discoveries advanced our understanding of planet formation and orbital migration. Data from this project helped to quantify a correlation between host star metallicity and the occurrence rate of gas giant planets. The program also served as a test bed for innovation with testing of a tip-tilt system at the Coude focus and fiber scrambler designs to stabilize illumination of the spectrometer optics. The Lick Planet Search with the Hamilton Spectrograph effectively ended when a heater malfunction compromised the integrity of the iodine cell. Here, we present more than 14,000 velocities for 386 stars that were surveyed between 1987 and 2011.

Direct-Write, Self-Aligned Electrospinning on Paper for Controllable Fabrication of Three-Dimensional Structures

Abstract: Electrospinning, a process that converts a solution or melt droplet into an ejected jet under a high electric field, is a well-established technique to produce one-dimensional (1D) fibers or two-dimensional (2D) randomly arranged fibrous meshes. Nevertheless, the direct electrospinning of fibers into controllable three-dimensional (3D) architectures is still a nascent technology. Here, we apply near-field electrospinning (NFES) to directly write arbitrarily shaped 3D structures through consistent and spatially controlled fiber-by-fiber stacking of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) fibers. An element central to the success of this 3D electrospinning is the use of a printing paper placed on the grounded conductive plate and acting as a fiber collector. Once deposited on the paper, residual solvents from near-field electrospun fibers can infiltrate the paper substrate, enhancing the charge transfer between the deposited fibers and the ground plate via the fibrous network within the paper. Such charge transfer grounds the deposited fibers and turns them into locally fabricated electrical poles, which attract subsequent in-flight fibers to deposit in a self-aligned manner on top of each other. This process enables the design and controlled fabrication of electrospun 3D structures such as grids, walls, hollow cylinders, and other 3D logos. As such, this technique has the potential to advance the existing electrospinning technologies in constructing 3D structures for biomedical, microelectronics, and MEMS/NMES applications.

Interacting environmental mosaics drive geographic variation in mussel performance and predation vulnerability.

Abstract: Although theory suggests geographic variation in species' performance is determined by multiple niche parameters, little consideration has been given to the spatial structure of interacting stressors that may shape local and regional vulnerability to global change. Here, we use spatially explicit mosaics of carbonate chemistry, food availability and temperature spanning 1280 km of coastline to test whether persistent, overlapping environmental mosaics mediate the growth and predation vulnerability of a critical foundation species, the mussel Mytilus californianus. We find growth was highest and predation vulnerability was lowest in dynamic environments with frequent exposure to low pH seawater and consistent food. In contrast, growth was lowest and predation vulnerability highest when exposure to low pH seawater was decoupled from high food availability, or in exceptionally warm locations. These results illustrate how interactions among multiple drivers can cause unexpected, yet persistent geographic mosaics of species performance, interactions and vulnerability to environmental change.