Strong pitching propels baseball to fourth straight win to start season

The Bruins capped off their season-opening homestand with another scoreless debut on the mound.

No. 4 UCLA baseball (4-0) took down Loyola Marymount (1-2) by a score of 5-0 on Tuesday night on the back of freshman right-hander Nick Nastrini’s 4 2/3 shutout innings in his first collegiate start. This came one game after another freshman right-hander, Jesse Bergin, started his Bruin career with 5 2/3 shutout innings of his own Sunday.

Nastrini’s nine strikeouts also tied the record set by Bergin for most strikeouts in a collegiate debut since coach John Savage took the helm.

“I thought (Nastrini) pitched pretty well,” Savage said. “He threw the ball for strikes for the most part, and he pitched out of some problems, which was good to see.”

Nastrini dealt with command issues in the first inning, walking two of the first three batters he faced. However, he bounced back with a strikeout and ground out to escape the jam.

“I definitely think I was a little too anxious, a little too nervous,” Nastrini said. “I was trying to do too much. Once I walked the second guy, I kind of just stepped off and told myself to go pitch by pitch, just execute my pitches.”

After the first, Nastrini retired 11 of the next 13 batters, including seven on strikeouts. He surrendered a leadoff double in the fourth, but retired the next three batters to strand the runner and record another scoreless inning.

Nastrini said that pitching from the stretch was an aspect of his game he focused on in the preseason.

“I really struggled with that throughout the fall,” Nastrini said. “I came in and I was OK in the windup, but I really struggled with runners on second. Working on it these past couple of weeks really helped me.”

Nastrini was pulled with two outs in the fifth inning and a runner on second. According to Savage, it was strictly a pitch count issue – the rookie had already thrown 74 pitches, and his limit for the night was 70.

On the offensive side, UCLA broke a scoreless tie with four runs in the third. Freshman center fielder Matt McLain drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the inning to drive in the first run, before senior designated hitter Jake Pries launched a bases-clearing triple off the left field wall.

“We had a good report on the team,” Pries said. “So we were put in a good place before the game to capitalize in that type of situation. They just put us in the best situation by loading the bases, and we came through.”

Pries has picked up five extra-base hits across UCLA’s first four games, one shy of his total in 46 games last season.

The Lions threatened to start a comeback in the sixth when they loaded the bases against right-handers freshman Sean Mullen and sophomore Michael Townsend. Savage turned to senior right-hander Nathan Hadley, who entered the game and struck out the next batter to end the inning.

The Bruins padded their lead in the bottom of the sixth, on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly from junior third baseman Ryan Kreidler that put them up 5-0.

The UCLA bullpen took care of business the rest of the way, pitching three hitless innings to close the game out.

With Tuesday night’s win, the Bruins finished an undefeated homestand. They also did not give up an earned run in their first four games for the first time since 2011.

“Overall, it was a very successful homestand,” Savage said. “I especially liked our mindset on the mound. … We made the pitches when we had to.”

UCLA will now travel east for its first road games of the season, squaring off against Georgia Tech in a three-game series beginning Friday.

UCLA Pritzker Center awards five grants in support of research for foster youth

Five interdisciplinary and community-based service teams received the inaugural UCLA Pritzker Center for Strengthening Children and Families grants to support research for youth and families in the child welfare system, according to a university press release.

The center awarded each team a one-year grant of up to $25,000 to expand their research or service projects. The grant requires the teams to partner with community organizations working to support children and families in Los Angeles.

Recipients’ projects will focus on issues such as preventing foster care, using media to improve perceptions of foster care, and improving outcomes for families experiencing homelessness and child welfare intervention. Others will focus on strengthening immigrant youth and families as well as providing specialized reproductive health intervention for sexually exploited youth in child welfare.

The UCLA Pritzker Center aims to strengthen the network of university and community figures who work toward these goals.

The teams were composed of faculty and staff from different schools and disciplines such as the Department of Psychiatry; the School of Theater, Film and Television; the Fielding School of Public Health; and the Department of Pediatrics.

The UCLA Pritzker Center was launched in January 2018 following a donation by the Anthony and Jeanne Pritzker Family Foundation to address the needs of underserved children, particularly foster children. This initiative combined the efforts of several UCLA organizations and community groups to create support systems for foster children and prevention systems for families at risk of losing their children to the foster system.

The Pritzker Center chooses recipients who reflect the interdisciplinary, community-partnered research already taking place at UCLA, according to the press release.

Professors of economics and engineering awarded Sloan Research Fellowship

Three UCLA professors were awarded fellowships to continue research in their respective fields Tuesday.

Denis Chetverikov, Yongjie Hu and Aaswath Raman were among 126 United States and Canadian researchers who received the 2019 Sloan Research Fellowship. The annual award, granted by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, offers each recipient a two-year fellowship and $70,000 for their research, a $5,000 increase from last year. The recipient pool consists of researchers from 57 colleges and universities this year, according to a press release.

Chetverikov, an assistant professor of economics, studies econometrics, which analyzes economics through mathematical and statistical methods. His recent research has focused on the empirical process theory in econometrics. Chetverikov received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received the MIT Presidential Fellowship in 2008.

Hu, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, focuses his research on heat transfer in nanostructures, and using nanomaterials for energy conversion, storage, sensor systems and thermal management. Hu’s research on thermal conductivity was published in the academic journal Science in August. His study developed a new semiconductor material that uses boron arsenide to manage heat dissipation and energy efficiency.

Raman, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering, researches how light and heat are controlled at a nanoscale level. His research aims to improve clean energy technology through radiative cooling, a field focused on new approaches to energy efficiency. Raman’s research explores how cooling can produce renewable energy.

Recipients were nominated and reviewed by distinguished scientists in independent selection committees in each eligible field, according to the Sloan Foundation website. Fellows were selected based on their research accomplishments, creativity and potential contributions.

The Sloan Foundation began awarding the fellowship in 1955 and now presents awards in eight fields such as chemistry, mathematics, and computational and evolutionary molecular biology.

Bruin Tea: Why do the UCLA gyms close so early on weekends?

Quarter system got you down? Have you fallen and can’t get up? Bruin Tea is a series investigating student questions and petty concerns about UCLA.

Complaint: Why do the UCLA gyms close so early on weekends, yet are open 24/7 during weekdays?

UCLA Recreation said in a statement it sets gym facility hours based on cost and visitor use patterns.

The John Wooden Center operates around the clock Tuesday through Thursday. It closes at 9:45 p.m., 7:45 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The hours are funded using student fees from the Social Justice Referendum of 2016.

The Bruin Fitness Center is currently open from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Thursday. It closes at 9:30 p.m., 8 p.m. and 12 a.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Peak use hours are late afternoon and evening, according to the statement.

Expanded or 24/7 operations would lead to issues, according to the statement.

Increased hours require more funding for staff hours and utility expenses. Additionally, UCLA Recreation would need more time for upkeep of the facility and equipment.

To expand hours, students would need to express their interest to UCLA Recreation, which would then decide the hours of operation based on its re-evaluation of use patterns and budget constraints.

Other stakeholders, including Facilities Management and Residential Life, would also need to give their input.

TL;DR: More hours = more money.

Lowered brain cell growth may lead to poor sleep patterns in elderly, study shows

Poor sleep among the elderly may be a result of declining brain cell growth and development, according to UCLA researchers.

Researchers in the lab of Noor Alam, an adjunct professor of medicine at UCLA and a research physiologist in the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, described how declining neural development may cause difficulty falling asleep or staying awake in aging individuals in a study published February.

There are about 40 million elderly people at risk for developing some kind of sleep disturbance in the United States, said Andrey Kostin, a researcher in the VA Healthcare System and lead author of the study. Chronic sleep disturbance is associated with cognitive decline, anxiety and depressive disorders, and increased risk of injury, he added.

Sleep disruption, which involves having trouble falling asleep or staying awake, increases with age, Alam said.

“People who are 65 and older complain of sleep disruption at night … and (falling asleep) during the day,” he said. “This is a hallmark of aging.”

Aging is associated with disrupted sleeping and waking behaviors and a decline in neurogenesis, the process of forming new brain cells. Recent research, however, suggests that neurogenesis continues later in an adult’s life than previously thought, particularly in the hypothalamus, the region of the brain responsible for sleep, Alam said.

This observation suggests new neurons are required to replenish the cells in the brain and support proper brain function, Alam said. In elderly individuals, however, the process of neurogenesis is less active, leading the researchers to believe that declining neurogenesis may be a cause of age-related sleep disruption.

Previous research suggested that poor sleep may lead to improper neurogenesis, said Md. Aftab Alam, a UCLA researcher and author on the study. This study is the first to suggest that defective neurogenesis may lead to poor sleep instead, he added.

To test if neurogenesis is necessary for proper sleep and wake cycles, the researchers stopped neurogenesis in young mice by injecting them with AraC, a drug that stops cell division and cell growth, near the hypothalamus.

After confirming most of the neurogenesis in the hypothalamus had stopped after four weeks of treatment, the researchers observed the sleeping and waking behavior of the mice, according to the study.

During the day, when mice are normally asleep, AraC-treated mice got less sleep overall than untreated mice. Instead of sleeping continuously, AraC-treated mice slept in shorter, fragmented increments of time, waking up and falling back asleep throughout the night, Noor Alam said.

“(Mice with impaired neurogenesis) have fragmentation of sleep … and are unable to maintain it,” he said.

At night, when mice are normally active, AraC-treated mice spent less time awake and more time asleep compared to untreated mice. Similar to how the mice woke frequently when they were supposed to be asleep, AraC-treated mice fell asleep frequently when they were supposed to be active, according to the study.

AraC-treated mice also recovered less robustly from sleep deprivation than untreated mice, Noor Alam said. Altogether, the behaviors of AraC-treated mice mimicked the sleeping and waking behaviors of old mice, Kostin said, leading the researchers to believe that a decline in neurogenesis may be a cause of age-related sleep disruption.

Stopping the AraC treatment for eight weeks only partially restored sleeping and waking behaviors. Noor Alam said he was unsure as to whether the researchers just needed to wait longer to see a complete recovery or if the AraC treatment caused complete or long-term damage to the neurons.

Imaging of the mice brains showed that the growing cells affected by AraC treatment corresponded to areas involved in sleep regulation and circadian rhythm, Kostin said, suggesting the creation of new neurons is necessary for maintaining proper sleep.

Future research will focus on identifying the role of developing neurons in order to identify how neurogenesis affects sleeping and waking behaviors and circadian rhythm, he added.

Broxton Brewery begins brewing in-house beer with support from Westwood councils

This post was updated Feb. 20 at 6:32 p.m.

Broxton Brewery began brewing its own beer in its on-site microbrewery Feb. 9, marking the first time a brewery has served its own alcohol in Westwood since a new neighborhood council was formed last year.

Though Broxton opened in October, it only recently began brewing its own beer due to construction issues installing the initial microbrewery.

Paige Reilly, the director of operations for New Original Breweries, a collective of breweries that Broxton Brewery is a part of, said there were issues in the construction because of the complicated nature of the system.

“Installing a seven-barrel brewing system in the historic Janss Dome building was no easy feat,” Reilly said. “Because there are so many moving parts, it took a few months for us to get the brewing side of things up and running”.

Prior to brewing their own beer, Broxton sold a rotating list of beer from other breweries such as Smog City, The Lost Abbey and Stone Brewing.

Reilly said Broxton Brewery had to secure its liquor license and a Conditional Use Permit from the city prior to opening, as well as negotiate the terms of the license with the Westwood Neighborhood Council, Los Angeles City Council and other neighborhood groups.

Broxton Brewery is the first business able to serve their own brewed beer since the North Westwood Neighborhood Council was formed in May 2018.

The NWWNC formed following a vote to subdivide the jurisdiction of Westwood from the WWNC. Westwood Forward, the group behind the subdivision, ran on a platform of addressing issues such as affordable housing and a lack of nightlife entertainment in the area.

Michael Skiles, president of the NWWNC, said Broxton faced a lot of opposition from the WWNC, which previously had jurisdiction over Broxton Brewery.

“They just make you go through a ton of red tape,” Skiles said.

He said the WWNC met with Broxton on 10 separate occasions to discuss the specifics of the new business. These meetings included checking for compliance with historic and restoration consultants and getting verification from civil engineers that the brewery would not damage the foundation of the building’s infrastructure.

Skiles said he was skeptical of whether the checks for safety were necessary, adding it is only a microbrewery as opposed to a full-scale brewery.

“In the grand scheme of things in a stable, solid building, that is not going to cause any problems. This isn’t a full-sized brewery with giant vats, this is a microbrewery,” Skiles said.

Lisa Chapman, president of the WWNC, said the WWNC regulates alcohol with city and zoning laws. She denied the claims that the WWNC met with the brewery 10 times, adding Broxton went to the WWNC on two other occasions to discuss restoring a window in the building.

She said the only historical renovation was voluntarily proposed by Broxton, but ultimately did not occur.

“They voluntarily wanted to restore a window in the historical building and wanted to bring it back to its original state, but ended up not being able to do it because of either the expenses or problems in doing it,” Chapman said.

Despite the hurdles he said were imposed by the WWNC, Skiles said he thinks the council was uncharacteristic in supporting the opening of the microbrewery, which he viewed as an effort to maintain some credibility during the NWWNC subdivision process.

He said from the summer of 2017 to May 2018, when the subdivision happened, the WWNC went back on their default positions on businesses that offered alcohol, limiting some of the restrictions on fast casual restaurants, and passing a resolution saying they were supportive of housing developments.

Skiles also said the number of restrictions Broxton faced could have been prohibitively expensive to a smaller business.

“If they weren’t a chain and instead were a young entrepreneur starting their first business, they would have gone bankrupt before they were ever able to open,” Skiles said.

Andrew Thomas, executive director of the Westwood Village Improvement Association, said the WWNC frequently discussed rules surrounding alcohol use in Westwood during its meetings.

“In the time since it’s formed, the WWNC had 46 instances of discussions about alcohol use,” Thomas said.

He added the original rules from the WWNC did not allow for pitchers, happy hour, live entertainment, dancing or pool tables.

Chapman said the restrictions on live entertainment, dancing and pool tables came from city laws. If businesses wanted to offer them, they would have to apply through the city, she said. However, she added no businesses wanting these amenities came to the council.

“As far as I know in the last nine years, in the existence of the council, no business has come to us to ask about dancing, not even once,” Chapman said.

She said the restrictions on pitchers and happy hour only apply to Westwood, adding the regulations on pitchers was created to reduce underage drinking.

“The issue with pitchers is that when they come to the table, people are given drinks that aren’t ordered by them,” Chapman said.

Skiles said Rocco’s Tavern is a good case study of the two councils’ differing approaches to regulating alcohol.

He said the owners of Rocco’s Tavern asked the NWWNC for support in removing restrictions placed on them by the previous council, such as the inability to reduce prices on drinks during happy hours, to use their front door after 10 p.m., to open their windows and to offer dancing or live music.

“(The NWWNC) thought all of these restrictions were getting in the way of a business not only succeeding, but also fun and entertainment for the community,” Skiles said.

However, Skiles added the purpose of these regulations is to preserve the historic nature of Westwood.

“I think it’s fair to say that the WWNC would like to see Westwood be more historic and more of a place that has fine dining and retail whereas Westwood Forward would rather see Westwood be an energetic, lively and inclusive place,” Skiles said.

Thomas added he thinks the WWNC also probably dealt with issues of binge drinking among college students.

Chapman said while reducing prices on drinks may lead to more drinking, she did not think the council should regulate prices itself.

“There are studies in college towns that reduced pricing on drinks leads to more drinking,” Chapman said. “I personally was never for that – it’s not our place to police how people drink.”

Skiles added he thinks Broxton brewing its own beer signaled a bright future for Westwood.

“The approval and success of businesses like the Broxton and Rocco’s is encouraging for both Westwood Forward and future businesses that would consider offering Westwood a lively atmosphere and entertainment,” Skiles said. “It signals that Westwood Village is ready to welcome these businesses and reclaim its legacy as a fun and exciting place.”

Healthy Campus Initiative grows in scope with community gardening event

This post was updated Feb. 21 at 2:29 p.m.

A campus initiative is working to centralize the various health and sustainability projects on campus to tackle issues of physical, mental and emotional well-being.

The Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center at UCLA, a university program that works to promote healthy lifestyles, organized a community gardening event Tuesday in collaboration with the UCLA Staff Assembly.

Staff members gathered in the Jane B. Semel HCI Community Garden to listen to a presentation about growing food and to sample produce from the garden.

The event aimed to inform staff about how to grow their own food, said Mark Biedlingmaier, the special projects coordinator of HCI.

“Teaching those self-sufficiency skills of growing your own food is empowering,” Biedlingmaier said. “It’s a skill that I feel like people should know.”

Geno Mehalik, the vice president of programs for the staff assembly, said he organized the event to give employees information on resources for healthy living outside the workplace.

“There are so many wonderful resources on our campus available to the entire Bruin community, and I organized the event to promote a healthy work-life balance for all UCLA staff,” Mehalik said.

Greg Hatanaka, a cook at De Neve dining hall who attended the event, said he thought the event was informative.

“It gave me a better understanding that the garden is for the community, the staff and the students,” Hatanaka said.

In addition to ongoing efforts like Tuesday’s community gardening event, HCI has expanded its programming since its creation in 2013.

The HCI has sponsored several new programs in the past year, including the UCLA Piano Project and a space-activation initiative that aims to make the Court of Sciences a more leisurely space by adding chairs and tables.

HCI also helped create the Bruin Plate dining hall, supported the creation of a food studies minor and started the Mindful Music program, Biedlingmaier said.

Mandy Muenzer, FITWELL education and outreach coordinator and the vice president of wellness of the Staff Assembly, said she thinks there are enough resources on campus to help people live healthy lifestyles, but many students still do not know about them.

“HCI is there to bring the programs under a single brand,” Muenzer said. “We really don’t need to add more programs as much as we need to make people aware of existing programs.”

Biedlingmaier said HCI aims to centralize similar health and sustainability initiatives conducted by multiple groups.

“It’s too common that different groups are working on similar projects, but they’re so disconnected from each other that they don’t create the momentum and progress that they could if they were working under one umbrella,” he said.

He added he believes the initiative has become more well-known among students with each passing year.

“I think that we have successfully integrated in terms of reaching students, although we’re always looking to reach more,” he said.