Digital Commons Network^™

Lacuny Disability Services Roundtable Meeting Minutes, December 2009, Lacuny

Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Release From Cross-Orientation Suppression Facilitates 3d Shape Perception, Andrea Li, Qasim Zaidi

Publications and Research

Cross-orientation suppression (COS) in striate cortex has been implicated in the efficient encoding of visual stimuli. We show that release from COS facilitates the decoding of 3-D shape. In planar surfaces overlaid with textures, slanting the surface can increase the visibility of the component parallel to the slant. Since this component provides the orientation flows that signify 3-D shape, the enhancement of visibility facilitates 3-D slant perception. Contrast thresholds reveal that this enhancement results from a decrease in COS when 3-D slant creates a frequency mismatch between texture components. We show that coupling compressive nonlinearities in LGN neurons with expansive …

Optimal Cryptographic Hardness Of Learning Monotone Functions, Dana Dachman-Soled, Homin K. Lee, Tal Malkin, Rocco A. Servedio, Andrew Wan, Hoeteck Wee

Publications and Research

Over the years a range of positive algorithmic results have been obtained for learning various classes of monotone Boolean functions from uniformly distributed random examples. Prior to our work, however, the only negative result for learning monotone functions in this model has been an information-theoretic lower bound showing that certain super-polynomial-size monotone circuits cannot be learned to accuracy 1/2+w(log n/ p n) (Blum, Burch, and Langford, FOCS’98). This is in contrast with the situation for nonmonotone functions, where a wide range of cryptographic hardness results establish that various “simple” classes of polynomial-size circuits are not learnable by polynomial-time algorithms.

In …

The Ticker, December 7, 2009

The Ticker

The Ticker is the student newspaper of Baruch College. It has been published continuously since 1932, when the Baruch College campus was the School of Business and Civic Administration of the City College of New York.

John Jay Sentinel Volume 2, No 2, John Jay College Of Criminal Justice

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Nonknowledge: The Bibliographical Organization Of Ignorance, Stupidity, Error, And Unreason: Part Two, Jay H. Bernstein

Publications and Research

Starting with the Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom paradigm in information science it is possible to derive a model of the opposite of knowledge having hierarchical qualities. A range of counterpoints to concepts in the knowledge hierarchy can be identified and ascribed the overall term “nonknowledge.” This model creates a conceptual framework for understanding the connections between topics such as error, ignorance, stupidity, folly, popular misconceptions, and unreason by locating them as levels or phases of nonknowledge. The concept of nonknowledge links heretofore disconnected discourses on these individual topics by philosophers, psychologists, historians, sociologists, satirists, and others. Subject headings provide access to the categories …

Linkage Among U.S. Interest Rates And East Asian Purchases Of U.S. Treasury Securities, Dene T. Hurley Dr.

Publications and Research

Recent increases in East Asian purchases of US treasury securities has led to growing concern over its impact on the US economy, particularly on the US long-term and shortterm interest rates. The vector error-correction model results revealed the presence of long-run causal relations among the federal funds rate, the 10-year Treasury rate and the East Asian demand in addition to a unidirectional short-run causal relation from the 10-year rate to the Federal funds rate. The variance decomposition and impulse response findings indicated that the Asian demand for US assets has a limited but negative impact on the 10-year US Treasury …

Sustained Release Of Multiple Growth Factors From Injectable Polymeric System As A Novel Therapeutic Approach Towards Angiogenesis, Qinghua Sun, Eduardo A. Silva, Aixia Wang, James C. Fritton, David J. Mooney, Mitchell B. Schaffler, Paul M. Grossman, Sanjay Rajagopalan

Publications and Research

Purpose The aim was to investigate that a bio-degradable alginate and poly lactide-co-glycolide (PLG) system capable of delivering growth factors sequentially would be superior to single growth factor delivery in promoting neovascularization and improving perfusion. Methods Three groups of apoE null mice underwent unilateral hindlimb ischemia surgery and received ischemic limb intramuscular injections of alginate (Blank), alginate containing VEGF165 (VEGF), or alginate containing VEGF165 combined with PLG microspheres containing PDGF-BB (VEGF/PDGF). Vascularity in the ischemic hindlimb was assessed by morphologic and immunohistochemical end-points, while changes in blood flow were assessed by Laser Doppler Perfusion Index. Muscle VEGF and PDGF content …

El Concepto De Audiencia Y La Colaboración Entre Iguales En La Revisión De Textos Escritos, David Sánchez-Jiménez

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Lacuny Acquisitions Roundtable Meeting Minutes, November 2009, Lacuny

Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Lacuny Junior Faculty Research Roundtable Meeting Minutes, November 2009, Lacuny

Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Lacuny Serials Roundtable Meeting Minutes, November 2009, Lacuny

Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

The Ticker, November 16, 2009

The Ticker

The Ticker is the student newspaper of Baruch College. It has been published continuously since 1932, when the Baruch College campus was the School of Business and Civic Administration of the City College of New York.

Lacuny Executive Council Minutes Minutes, November 2009, Lacuny

Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Egg Eviction Imposes A Recoverable Cost Of Virulence In Chicks Of A Brood Parasite, Michael G. Anderson, Csaba Moskát, Miklós Bán, Tomáš Grim, Phillip Cassey, Mark E. Hauber

Publications and Research

Background Chicks of virulent brood parasitic birds eliminate their nestmates and avoid costly competition for foster parental care. Yet, efforts to evict nest contents by the blind and naked common cuckoo Cuculus canorus hatchling are counterintuitive as both adult parasites and large older cuckoo chicks appear to be better suited to tossing the eggs and young of the foster parents. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we show experimentally that egg tossing imposed a recoverable growth cost of mass gain in common cuckoo chicks during the nestling period in nests of great reed warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus hosts. Growth rates of skeletal traits and …

Contexts Of Exit In The Migration Of Russian Speakers From The Baltic Countries To Ireland, Sofya Aptekar

Publications and Research

Recently, Ireland has become a major destination for migrants from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Many of these migrants are members of Russian-speaking minorities leaving a context of restrictive citizenship and language laws and varying degrees of ethnic tension. This paper draws on interviews collected in Ireland to examine the role played by the contexts of exit in decisions to migrate among Russian-speaking minorities from the Baltics. The results suggest that Russian speakers from Estonia migrate because of their experiences as minorities, while those from Latvia and Lithuania migrate to escape low wages and irregular employment. This is so despite equally …

The Ticker, November 9, 2009

The Ticker

The Ticker is the student newspaper of Baruch College. It has been published continuously since 1932, when the Baruch College campus was the School of Business and Civic Administration of the City College of New York.

The Communicator, November 6, 2009, Bronx Community College

The Communicator

The Communicator newspaper published on November 6, 2009.

Lacuny Cataloging Roundtable Meeting Minutes, November 2009, Lacuny

Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Correlating Molecular Phylogeny With Venom Apparatus Occurrence In Panamic Auger Snails (Terebridae), Mandë Holford, Nicolas Puillandre, Maria Vittoria Modica, Maren Watkins, Rachel Collin, Eldredge Bermingham, Baldomero M. Olivera

Publications and Research

Central to the discovery of neuroactive compounds produced by predatory marine snails of the superfamily Conoidea (cone snails, terebrids, and turrids) is identifying those species with a venom apparatus. Previous analyses of western Pacific terebrid specimens has shown that some Terebridae groups have secondarily lost their venom apparatus. In order to efficiently characterize terebrid toxins, it is essential to devise a key for identifying which species have a venom apparatus. The findings presented here integrate molecular phylogeny and the evolution of character traits to infer the presence or absence of the venom apparatus in the Terebridae. Using a combined dataset …

Advocate, November 2009, Vol. [21], No. [3], Gc Advocate

The Advocate

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

From the Editor’s Desk: Education Über Alles. (p. 2)

Adjuncting: The Collapse of the Tenure Track. Alison Powell (p. 4)

Health Issues: Rapid HIV Testing Returns to GC on Dec. 3. Collette Sosnowy (p. 5)

Political Analysis: The Militarization of Crowd Control. Justin Rogers-Cooper (p. 6)

Dispatches from the Front: Grading Papers is Hell (But It Doesn’t Have to Be). Talia Argondezzi (p. 8)

Books That Changed the Way We Think: Autonomy! Review of Autonomia: Post-Political Politics, edited by Sylvère Lotringer and Christian Marazzi (MIT Press, 2007). Ashley Dawson (p. 9)

Lessons in Terror at John …

The Latino Population Of New York City, 2008, Laird Bergad

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction: This report examines demographic and socioeconomic factors concerning New York City based Latinos in 2008.

Methods: Data on Latinos and other racial/ethnic groups were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa. Cases in the dataset were weighted and analyzed to produce population estimates.

Results: There were over 2.3 million Latinos living in New York City in 2008 an increase of 5% from 2000. Latinos were 28% of the City’s total population in 2008 and accounted for 52% of the population of the Bronx, 27% …

A Profile Of Latina Women In New York City, 2007, Laura Limonic

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction: This report provides an in-depth profile of Latinas of various national origins in 2007 New York City.

Methods: Data on Latinas and other racial/ethnic groups were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa. Cases in the dataset were weighted and analyzed to produce population estimates.

Results: There was little difference in the sex breakdown between Latinos and non-Latinos in New York City (48% of all Latinos were women while 47.6% of non-Latinos were women). 37% of Latinas in 2007 were Puerto Rican while Dominican …

Demographic, Economic, And Social Transformations In Brooklyn Community District 4: Bushwick, 1990 - 2007, Astrid Rodríguez

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction: This report analyzes demographic and socioeconomic characteristics among the five largest Latino nationality groups during 1990-2007 in the NYC Community District 4 of the borough of Brooklyn, which comprise the neighborhood of Bushwick.

Methods: Data on Latinos and other racial/ethnic groups were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa. Cases in the dataset were weighted and analyzed to produce population estimates.

Results: Puerto Ricans are the largest Latino subgroup in Brooklyn’s Community District 4, accounting for over 22% of the total population and 32% …

Latino Middle Class Income-Earners In New York City In 2006, Miriam Jiménez

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction: This study examines demographic and socioeconomic factors of racial/ethnic groups in New York City in 2006 – particularly the income rates of the Latino population.

Methods: Data on Latinos and other racial/ethnic groups were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa. Cases in the dataset were weighted and analyzed to produce population estimates.

Results: For this study, the middle class refers to those population sectors that fall between $35,000—$59,999 and $ 60,000—$100,000 in annual personal income. Middle-class income earners account for approximately 25.7% of …

Health Insurance Patterns Among Latinos In Comparative Perspective 2004 — 2007, Rachael Varra

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction: This report examines the rates at which the four major racial/ethnic groups in the United States — Latinos, non-Hispanic Whites, non-Hispanic Blacks and Asians — lacked health insurance from 2004- 2006 in the U.S. overall and in the ten states with the largest Latino populations: California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois, Arizona, New Jersey, Colorado, New Mexico and Georgia.

Methods: The “lack of insurance data” in this report were derived from Health Statistics Data obtained by the Center for Disease Control from 2004 to 2006. In September 2008 these data became available by race, age and ethnicity/race on a …

Pointcut Rejuvenation: Recovering Pointcut Expressions In Evolving Aspect-Oriented Software, Raffi T. Khatchadourian, Phil Greenwood, Awais Rashid, Guoqing Harry Xu

Publications and Research

Pointcut fragility is a well-documented problem in Aspect-Oriented Programming; changes to the base-code can lead to join points incorrectly falling in or out of the scope of pointcuts. We present an automated approach that limits fragility problems by providing mechanical assistance in pointcut maintenance. The approach is based on harnessing arbitrarily deep structural commonalities between program elements corresponding to join points selected by a pointcut. The extracted patterns are then applied to later versions to offer suggestions of new join points that may require inclusion. We demonstrate the usefulness of our technique by rejuvenating pointcuts in multiple versions of several …

Manipulating Neuronal Circuits With Endogenous And Recombinant Cell-Surface Tethered Modulators, Mande Holford, Sebastian Auer, Martin Laqua, Ines Ibanez-Tallon

Publications and Research

Neuronal circuits depend on the precise regulation of cell-surface receptors and ion channels. An ongoing challenge in neuroscience research is deciphering the functional contribution of specifi c receptors and ion channels using engineered modulators. A novel strategy, termed “tethered toxins”, was recently developed to characterize neuronal circuits using the evolutionary derived selectivity of venom peptide toxins and endogenous peptide ligands, such as lynx1 prototoxins. Herein, the discovery and engineering of cell-surface tethered peptides is reviewed, with particular attention given to their cell-autonomy, modular composition, and genetic targeting in different model organisms. The relative ease with which tethered peptides can be …

Lacuny Reserves Roundtable Meeting Minutes, October 2009, Lacuny

Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Mercury Exposure, Nutritional Deficiencies And Metabolic Disruptions May Affect Learning In Children, Renee Dufault, Roseanne Schnoll, Walter J. Lukiw, Blaise Leblanc, Charles Cornett, Lyn Patrick, David Wallinga, Steven G. Gilbert, Raquel Crider

Publications and Research

Among dietary factors, learning and behavior are influenced not only by nutrients, but also by exposure to toxic food contaminants such as mercury that can disrupt metabolic processes and alter neuronal plasticity. Neurons lacking in plasticity are a factor in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and mental retardation. Essential nutrients help maintain normal neuronal plasticity. Nutritional deficiencies, including deficiencies in the long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, the amino acid methionine, and the trace minerals zinc and selenium, have been shown to influence neuronal function and produce defects in neuronal plasticity, as well as impact behavior …