Digital Commons Network^™

A Comparison Of The Nutritional Quality Of Food Products Advertised In Grocery Store Circulars Of High- Versus Low-Income New York City Zip Codes, Danna Ethan, Corey H. Basch, Sonali Rajan, Lalitha Samuel, Rodney N. Hammond

Publications and Research

Grocery stores can be an important resource for health and nutrition with the variety and economic value of foods offered. Weekly circulars are a means of promoting foods at a sale price. To date, little is known about the extent that nutritious foods are advertised and prominently placed in circulars. This study’s aim was to compare the nutritional quality of products advertised on the front page of online circulars from grocery stores in high- versus low-income neighborhoods in New York City (NYC). Circulars from grocery stores in the five highest and five lowest median household income NYC zip codes were …

Los Efectos De Las Transformaciones Agrícolas En Los Antiguos Países Socialistas: Algunas Consideraciones Para Cuba, Mario A. Gonzalez-Corzo

Publications and Research

Este estudio ofrece una síntesis de los efectos principales de las transformaciones agrícolas en un grupo selecto de antiguos países socialistas de Asia y Europa, tomando en base la importancia de indicadores como la producción física, la productividad laboral y los rendimientos agrícolas, y evalúa algunas consideraciones relevantes en el caso de Cuba. Por razones de espacio, el estudio no incluye otros indicadores de los efectos de las reformas agrícolas como los ingresos rurales, el impacto ambiental y los costos de oportunidad relacionados con la transición. Los países incluidos en el estudio son: China, Vietnam, Rusia, Ucrania, Estonia, La Republica …

"He Got In My Face So I Shot Him": How Defendants' Language Impairments Impair Attorney-Client Relationships, Michele Levigne, Gregory Van Rybroek

City University of New York Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Optogenetic Gene Expression System With Rapid Activation And Deactivation Kinetics, Laura B. Motta-Mena, Anna Reade, Michael J. Mallory, Spencer Glantz, Orion D. Weiner, Kristen W. Lynch, Kevin H. Gardner

Publications and Research

Optogenetic gene expression systems can control transcription with spatial and temporal detail unequaled with traditional inducible promoter systems. However, current eukaryotic light-gated transcription systems are limited by toxicity, dynamic range, or slow activation/deactivation. Here we present an optogenetic gene expression system that addresses these shortcomings and demonstrate its broad utility. Our approach utilizes an engineered version of EL222, a bacterial Light-Oxygen-Voltage (LOV) protein that binds DNA when illuminated with blue light. The system has a large (>100-fold) dynamic range of protein expression, rapid activation (< 10 s) and deactivation kinetics (< 50 s), and a highly linear response to light. With this system, we achieve light-gated transcription in several mammalian cell lines and intact zebrafish embryos with minimal basal gene activation and toxicity. Our approach provides a powerful new tool for optogenetic control of gene expression in space and time.

Spinal Morphine But Not Ziconotide Or Gabapentin Analgesia Is Affected By Alternative Splicing Of Voltage-Gated Calcium Channel Cav2.2 Pre-Mrna, Yu-Qiu Jiang, Arturo Andrade, Diane Lipscombe

Publications and Research

Presynaptic voltage-gated calcium CaV2.2 channels play a privileged role in spinal level sensitization following peripheral nerve injury. Direct and indirect inhibitors of CaV2.2 channel activity in spinal dorsal horn are analgesic in chronic pain states. CaV2.2 channels represent a family of splice isoforms that are expressed in different combinations according to cell-type. A pair of mutually exclusive exons in the CaV2.2 encoding Cacna1b gene, e37a and e37b, differentially influence morphine analgesia. In mice that lack exon e37a, which is enriched in nociceptors, the analgesic efficacy of intrathecal morphine against noxious thermal stimuli is reduced. Here we ask if sequences unique …

Reid On Olfaction And Secondary Qualities, Jake Quilty-Dunn

Publications and Research

Thomas Reid is one of the primary early expositors of the “dual-component” theory of perception, according to which conscious perception constitutively involves a non-intentional sensation accompanied by a noninferential perceptual belief. In this paper, I will explore Reid's account of olfactory perception, and of odor as a secondary quality. Reid is often taken to endorse a broadly Lockean picture of secondary qualities, according to which they are simply dispositions to cause sensations. This picture creates problems, however, for Reid's account of how we perceive secondary qualities, including odors. Given Reid's insistence that we come to be aware of odors only …

Food Advertisements In Two Popular U.S. Parenting Magazines: Results Of A Five-Year Analysis, Corey H. Basch, Rodney N. Hammond, Danna Ethan, Lalitha Samuel

Publications and Research

Obesity rates among American youth have prompted an examination of food advertisements geared towards children. Research indicates children’s high exposure to these advertisements and their influence on food preferences. Less is known about the presence of these advertisements in parenting magazines. This study’s objective was to examine prevalence of food advertisements in popular parenting magazines and identify products by USDA food category. We analyzed 116 issues of two popular U.S. parenting magazines across five years. All food and beverage advertisements for USDA Food Category were coded. Breakfast cereals were coded for nutritional quality. The coding took place at varied libraries …

Microfluidic Generated Egf-Gradients Induce Chemokinesis Of Transplantable Retinal Progenitor Cells Via The Jak/Stat And Pi3kinase Signaling Pathways., Uchenna J. Unachukwu, Moira Sauane, Maribel Vazquez, Stephen Redenti

Publications and Research

A growing number of studies are evaluating retinal progenitor cell (RPC) transplantation as an approach to repair retinal degeneration and restore visual function. To advance cell-replacement strategies for a practical retinal therapy, it is important to define the molecular and biochemical mechanisms guiding RPC motility. We have analyzed RPC expression of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and evaluated whether exposure to epidermal growth factor (EGF) can coordinate motogenic activity in vitro. Using Boyden chamber analysis as an initial high-throughput screen, we determined that RPC motility was optimally stimulated by EGF concentrations in the range of 20-400 ng/ml, with decreased …

Teaching The Skills To Question: A Credit-Course Approach To Critical Information Literacy, Ian Beilin, Anne E. Leonard

Urban Library Journal

Critical Information Literacy does not dispense with teaching ‘rules’ (of grammar, citation, research, writing, etc.), but also places these elements within larger frameworks of critical dialogue, creative thinking and learning, and political and historical inquiry. All of these elements together empower students far more than a mastering of the rules and techniques of research. “Research and Documentation for the Information Age” is the critical information literacy course currently offered by the Library department at New York City College of Technology. With the luxury of three credits, we emphasize integration of library skills into all facets of assignments rather than presenting …

Validity And Reliability Of Using A Self-Lavaging Device For Cytology And Hpv Testing For Cervical Cancer Screening: Findings From A Pilot Study, Heidi E. Jones, Mahesh M. Mansukhani, Guo-Xia Tong, Carolyn L. Westhoff

Publications and Research

Self-sampling could increase cervical cancer screening uptake. While methods have been identified for human papillomavirus (HPV) testing, to date, self-sampling has not provided adequate specimens for cytology. We piloted the validity and reliability of using a self-lavaging device for cervical cytology and HPV testing. We enrolled 198 women in New York City in 2008–2009 from three ambulatory clinics where they received cervical cancer screening. All were asked to use the Delphi Screener™ to self-lavage 1–3 months after clinician-collected index cytological smear (100 normal; 98 abnormal). Women with abnormal cytology results from either specimen underwent colposcopy; 10 women with normal results …

Grinding The Gears: Academic Librarians And Civic Responsibility, Lisa Sloniowski, Mita Williams, Patti Ryan

Urban Library Journal

Corporate encroachments are transforming universities into edu-factories which are designed to produce servants of the state rather than engaged citizens. Academic librarians have a duty to resist the machineries of the institution. This panel will survey the revolutionary potential inherent in the open source movement, feminist porn collections, and critical information literacy.

Rebuilding Post War Europe: New York And Digital Archives As Reconstitutive Fabric, Anthony Cocciolo

Urban Library Journal

This project explores four digital initiatives that document and make available to the public information related to American, German, and Jewish relationships before, during, and after World War II. The goal of these projects is to make primary source information available to the public using digital technology, in effect, creating an educational infrastructure for enhancing understanding among these groups. These four projects will be treated as cases, with the guiding question being: what infrastructures are needed to create a contemporary, educational, primary source-based digital platform? The goal of this study is to highlight those infrastructure elements that are instrumental in …

Sustaining Scholarship: Librarians And The Political Economy Of Print, Emily Drabinski

Urban Library Journal

As workers in the knowledge industry, librarians have particular insight into the implications of the tectonic shifts wrought by the decline of print. Drawing on work to make the journal Radical Teacher open access, this paper discusses how librarians can mobilize our insider knowledge to transform our communities of practice.

Which Biomarkers Reveal Neonatal Sepsis?, Kun Wang, Vineet Bhandari, Sofya Chepustanova, Greg Huber, Stephen O′Hara, Corey S. O′Hern, Mark D. Shattuck, Michael Kirby

Publications and Research

We address the identification of optimal biomarkers for the rapid diagnosis of neonatal sepsis. We employ both canonical correlation analysis (CCA) and sparse support vector machine (SSVM) classifiers to select the best subset of biomarkers from a large hematological data set collected from infants with suspected sepsis from Yale-New Haven Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). CCA is used to select sets of biomarkers of increasing size that are most highly correlated with infection. The effectiveness of these biomarkers is then validated by constructing a sparse support vector machine diagnostic classifier. We find that the following set of five biomarkers …

Overweight People Have Low Levels Of Implicit Weight Bias, But Overweight Nations Have High Levels Of Implicit Weight Bias, Maddalena Marini, Natarajan Sriram, Konrad Schnabel, Norbert Maliszewski, Thierry Devos, Bo Ekehammar, Reinout Wiers, Cai Huajian, Mónika Somogyi, Kimihiro Shiomura, Simone Schnall, Félix Neto, Yoav Bar-Anan, Michelangelo Vianello, Alfonso Ayala, Gabriel Dorantes, Jaihyun Park, Selin Kesebir, Antonio Pereira, Bogdan Tulbure

Publications and Research

Although a greater degree of personal obesity is associated with weaker negativity toward overweight people on both explicit (i.e., self-report) and implicit (i.e., indirect behavioral) measures, overweight people still prefer thin people on average. We investigated whether the national and cultural context – particularly the national prevalence of obesity – predicts attitudes toward overweight people independent of personal identity and weight status. Data were collected from a total sample of 338,121 citizens from 71 nations in 22 different languages on the Project Implicit website (https://implicit.harvard.edu/) between May 2006 and October 2010. We investigated the relationship of the explicit and implicit …

Radical Cataloging: From Words To Action, Heather Lember, Suzanne Lipkin, Richard Jung Lee

Urban Library Journal

Radical cataloging seeks to give a voice to people and concepts that are difficult to access through library subject searches. This article will explore four areas of radical cataloging: cataloging rules and the inequities and hierarchical problems inherent in classification itself, the use of cataloging to further a cause, the challenges of language in subject headings; and cataloging efforts around unconventional collections, such as zines.

Reductions In Serum Igf-1 During Aging Impair Health Span, Zhenwei Gong, Oran Kennedy, Hui Sun, Yingjie Wu, Garry A. Williams, Laura Klein, Luis Cardoso, Ronald W. Matheny Jr, Gene B. Hubbard, Yuji Ikeno, Roger P. Farrar, Mitchell B. Schaffler, Martin L. Adamo, Radhika H. Muzumdar, Shoshana Yakar

Publications and Research

In lower or simple species, such as worms and flies, disruption of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 and the insulin signaling pathways has been shown to increase lifespan. In rodents, however, growth hormone (GH) regulates IGF-1 levels in serum and tissues and can modulate lifespan via/or independent of IGF- 1. Rodent models, where the GH/IGF-1 axis was ablated congenitally, show increased lifespan. However, in contrast to rodents where serum IGF-1 levels are high throughout life, in humans, serum IGF-1 peaks during puberty and declines thereafter during aging. Thus, animal models with congenital disruption of the GH/ IGF-1 axis are unable …

Brief Monocular Deprivation As An Assay Of Short-Term Visual Sensory Plasticity In Schizophrenia - "The Binocular Effect", John J. Foxe, Sheralyn Yeap, Victoria M. Leavitt

Publications and Research

Background: Visual sensory processing deficits are consistently observed in schizophrenia, with clear amplitude reduction of the visual evoked potential (VEP) during the initial 50-150 of processing. Similar deficits are seen in unaffected first-degree relatives and drug-naïve first-episode patients, pointing to these deficits as potential endophenotypic markers. Schizophrenia is also associated with deficits in neural plasticity, implicating dysfunction of both glutamatergic and GABAergic systems. Here, we sought to understand the intersection of these two domains, asking whether short-term plasticity during early visual processing is specifically affected in schizophrenia.

Methods: Brief periods of monocular deprivation (MD) induce relatively rapid changes …

Radical Purpose: The Critical Reference Dialogue At A Progressive Urban College, Kate Adler

Urban Library Journal

Abstract: Metropolitan College of New York pioneered “Purpose-Centered Education,” a pedagogical model that blends theory and practice in students’ jobs and lives to produce graduates with a guiding vision of social justice. This paper explores critical information literacy and the reference dialog in the context of the Purpose-Centered Education.

Lacuny Adjuncts And Substitutes Roundtable Meeting Minutes, December 2013, Lacuny

Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Optical Conductivity Of Nodal Metals, C. C. Homes, J. J. Tu, J. Li, G. D. Gu, A. Akrap

Publications and Research

Fermi liquid theory is remarkably successful in describing the transport and optical properties of metals; at frequencies higher than the scattering rate, the optical conductivity adopts the well-known power law behavior σ1(ω) ∝ ω−2. We have observed an unusual non-Fermi liquid response σ1(ω) ∝ ω−1±0.2 in the ground states of several cuprate and iron-based materials which undergo electronic or magnetic phase transitions resulting in dramatically reduced or nodal Fermi surfaces. The identification of an inverse (or fractional) power-law behavior in the residual optical conductivity now permits the removal of this contribution, revealing the direct transitions across the gap and allowing …

Toward Target 2 Of The Global Strategy For Plant Conservation: An Expert Analysis Of The Puerto Rican Flora To Validate New Streamlined Methods For Assessing Conservation Status, James S. Miller, Gary A. Krupnick, Hannah Stevens, Holly Porter-Morgan, Brian Boom, Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, James Ackerman, Duane Kolterman, Eugenio Santiago, Christian Torres, Jeanine Velez

Publications and Research

Target 2 of the 2020 Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) calls for a comprehensive list of the world's threatened plant species. The lack of such a list is one of the greatest impediments to protecting the full complement of the world's plant species, and work to achieve this has been slow. An efficient system for identifying those species that are at risk of extinction could help to achieve this goal in a time frame sensitive to today's conservation needs. Two systems that efficiently use available data to assess conservation status were tested against a provisional International Union for Conservation …

Mobile Information Literacy: Supporting Students’ Research And Information Needs In A Mobile World, Stefanie Havelka

Publications and Research

Mobile devices have changed everyday life and they have had a great impact in higher education. This article describes a pilot project in which an academic librarian at Lehman College, City University of New York, taught information literacy exclusively via mobile devices. The concept of mobile information literacy is also reviewed, and its role in current and future teaching practices is evaluated. Lessons learned from this project tell us that mobile information literacy, albeit in its infancy, could play an essential part in students’ learning, and therefore academic librarians could incorporate it as part of their practice.

College Senate Minutes December 12, 2013, Bronx Community College Senate

BCC Governance Archives

Minutes for the meeting of the College Senate on December 12, 2013.

The Role Of Power In Organizational Corruption: An Empirical Study, David Jancsics, István Jávor

Publications and Research

This article concerns the extent to which corrupt behavior is dependent on the organizational power structure and the resources available for illegal exchange. This qualitative study is based on 42 in-depth interviews with organizational actors in different organizations in Hungary. Four core themes emerged from the analysis of the interviews: (a) isolated corruption at the bottom, (b) the middle level’s own corruption, (c) “technicization” when middle-level professionals and expert groups are used to legalize the corruption of the dominant coalition, and (d) “turning-off controls” when organizational elites intentionally deactivate internal and external controls to avoid detection.

Oy It's The Cosmetics, Stupid: Or How Estee Lauder Changed The Post 9/11 World, Marleen S. Barr

Publications and Research

Professor Sondra Lear, the protagonist of my novels Oy Pioneer! (2003) and Oy Feminist Science Fiction (in press) – and some of my short fiction – appears in this story. I trot out Sondra whenever I imagine coping with reality in terms of science fictional premises. Sondra, then, is a Walter Mitty fantasy version of me. Yes, spending one’s professional life as a science fiction scholar is exceedingly interesting and exciting. But it does have its limitations. I can’t hang out with the feminist extraterrestrials who form the crux of my academic pursuits. I can’t beam up and down, time …

Can Financial Accounting Regulators And Standard Setters Get (And Stay) Ahead Of The Financial Engineers?, Jonathan Glover

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Field Effects And Ictal Synchronization: Insights From In Homine Observations, Shennan A. Weiss, Guy Mckhann Jr., Robert Goodman, Ronald G. Emerson, Andrew Trevelyan, Marom Bikson, Catherine A. Schevon

Publications and Research

It has been well established in animal models that electrical fields generated during inter-ictal and ictal discharges are strong enough in intensity to influence action potential firing threshold and synchronization. We discuss recently published data from microelectrode array recordings of human neocortical seizures and speculate about the possible role of field effects in neuronal synchronization. We have identified two distinct seizure territories that cannot be easily distinguished by traditional EEG analysis. The ictal core exhibits synchronized neuronal burst firing, while the surrounding ictal penumbra exhibits asynchronous and relatively sparse neuronal activity. In the ictal core large amplitude rhythmic ictal discharges …

Transformation Of Stimulus Correlations By The Retina, Kristina D. Simmons, Jason Prentice, Gašper Tkačik, Jan Homann, Heather K. Yee, Stephanie E. Palmer, Philip C. Nelson, Vijay Balasubramanian

Publications and Research

Redundancies and correlations in the responses of sensory neurons may seem to waste neural resources, but they can also carry cues about structured stimuli and may help the brain to correct for response errors. To investigate the effect of stimulus structure on redundancy in retina, we measured simultaneous responses from populations of retinal ganglion cells presented with natural and artificial stimuli that varied greatly in correlation structure; these stimuli and recordings are publicly available online. Responding to spatio-temporally structured stimuli such as natural movies, pairs of ganglion cells were modestly more correlated than in response to white noise checkerboards, but …

Lacuny Serials Roundtable Meeting Minutes, December 2013, Lacuny

Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.