Digital Commons Network^™

Biomolecule Mediating Synthesis Of Inorganic Nanoparticles And Their Applications, Zengyan Wei

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Project 1.

The conventional phage display technique focuses on screening peptide sequences that can bind on target substrates, however the selected peptides are not necessary to nucleate and mediate the growth of the target inorganic crystals, and in many cases they only show moderate affinity to the targets. Here we report a novel phage display approach that can directly screen peptides catalytically growing inorganic nanoparticles in aqueous solution at room temperature. In this study, the phage library is incubated with zinc precursor at room temperature. Among random peptide sequences displayed on phages, those phages that can grow zinc oxide (ZnO) …

The Emergence Of L1 Innovations In Spanish-English Bilinguals: Evidence From Cross-Linguistic Structural Priming, Agustina Carando

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation explores the hypothesis that structural priming is an internal mechanism motivating processes of convergence in bilinguals. The focus of the investigation is linguistic innovations in Spanish produced by Spanish-English bilinguals. Innovations involve both changes in the frequency of alternative constructions and existing patterns produced in new contexts modeled on English equivalents. From structural priming techniques that model convergence, the data assess the extent of English influence on Spanish, in a contact setting (New York, United States) and a non-contact setting (Córdoba, Argentina).

In the field of language contact, convergence may manifest itself as an increase in the use …

The Ties That Bind: Gender, Race, And Empire In Caribbean Indenture Narratives, Alison Joan Klein

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation traces the ways that oppressive gender roles and racial tensions in the Caribbean today developed out of the British imperial system of indentured labor. Between 1837 and 1920, after slavery was abolished in the British colonies and before most colonies achieved independence, approximately 750,000 laborers, primarily from India and China, traveled to the Caribbean under indenture. This is a critical but under-explored aspect of colonial history, as this immigration dramatically altered the ethnic make up of the Caribbean, the cultural norms and traditions of those who migrated, and the structure of British imperialism. I focus on depictions of …

Microbial Stimulation And Succession Following A Test Well Injection Simulating Co₂ Leakage Into A Shallow Newark Basin Aquifer, Gregory O'Mullan, M. Elias Dueker, Kale Clauson, Qiang Yang, Kelsey Umemoto, Natalia Zakharova, Juerg Matter, Martin Stute, Taro Takahashi, David Goldberg

Publications and Research

In addition to efforts aimed at reducing anthropogenic production of greenhouse gases, geological storage of CO2 is being explored as a strategy to reduce atmospheric greenhouse gas emission and mitigate climate change. Previous studies of the deep subsurface in North America have not fully considered the potential negative effects of CO2 leakage into shallow drinking water aquifers, especially from a microbiological perspective. A test well in the Newark Rift Basin was utilized in two field experiments to investigate patterns of microbial succession following injection of CO2-saturated water into an isolated aquifer interval, simulating a CO2 leakage scenario. A decrease in …

Population Genomics Reveals Seahorses (Hippocampus Erectus) Of The Western Mid-Atlantic Coast To Be Residents Rather Than Vagrants, J. T. Boehm, John Waldman, John D. Robinson, Michael J. Hickerson

Publications and Research

Understanding population structure and areas of demographic persistence and transients is critical for effective species management. However, direct observational evidence to address the geographic scale and delineation of ephemeral or persistent populations for many marine fishes is limited. The Lined seahorse (Hippocampus erectus) can be commonly found in three western Atlantic zoogeographic provinces, though inhabitants of the temperate northern Virginia Province are often considered tropical vagrants that only arrive during warm seasons from the southern provinces and perish as temperatures decline. Although genetics can locate regions of historical population persistence and isolation, previous evidence of Virginia Province persistence is only …

Pokeweed Antiviral Protein, A Ribosome Inactivating Protein: Activity, Inhibition And Prospects, Artem V. Domashevskiy, Dixie J. Goss

Publications and Research

Viruses employ an array of elaborate strategies to overcome plant defense mechanisms and must adapt to the requirements of the host translational systems. Pokeweed antiviral protein (PAP) from Phytolacca americana is a ribosome inactivating protein (RIP) and is an RNA N-glycosidase that removes specific purine residues from the sarcin/ricin (S/R) loop of large rRNA, arresting protein synthesis at the translocation step. PAP is thought to play an important role in the plant’s defense mechanism against foreign pathogens. This review focuses on the structure, function, and the relationship of PAP to other RIPs, discusses molecular aspects of PAP antiviral activity, the …

Inhibiting Metastatic Breast Cancer Cell Migration Via The Synergy Of Targeted, Ph-Triggered Sirna Delivery And Chemokine Axis Blockade, Peng Guo, Jin-Oh You, Jiang Yang, Di Jia, Marsha A. Moses, Debra T. Auguste

Publications and Research

Because breast cancer patient survival inversely correlates with metastasis, we engineered vehicles to inhibit both the C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) and lipocalin-2 (Lcn2) mediated migratory pathways. pH-responsive liposomes were designed to protect and trigger the release of Lcn2 siRNA. Liposomes were modified with anti-CXCR4 antibodies to target metastatic breast cancer (MBC) cells and block migration along the CXCR4-CXCL12 axis. This synergistic approach—coupling the CXCR4 axis blockade with Lcn2 silencing—significantly reduced migration in triple-negative human breast cancer cells (88% for MDA-MB-436 and 92% for MDA-MB-231). The results suggested that drug delivery vehicles engineered to attack multiple migratory pathways may …

Urban And Rural Msw Stream Characterization For Separate Collection Improvement, Simona Ciuta, Tiberiu Apostol, Valentin Rusu

Publications and Research

In the new legislation framework enacted by new member countries of the European Union (EU), the characterization of municipal solid waste (MSW) represents an important instrument for local governments and sanitation operators in setting and achieving targets for waste recycling and recovery. This paper presents the results of a study conducted in accordance with the Romanian methodology for domestic wastes characterization ROMECOM, aiming to provide a proper basis for developing clear and realistic forecasts in current municipal waste management, based on MSW composition and generation rate. The analyzed MSW came both from areas where the waste is collected in mixed …

Neuroinflammation And J2 Prostaglandins: Linking Impairment Of The Ubiquitin-Proteasome Pathway And Mitochondria To Neurodegeneration, Maria E. Figueiredo-Pereira, Patricia Rockwell, Thomas Schmidt-Glenewinkel, Peter Serrano

Publications and Research

The immune response of the CNS is a defense mechanism activated upon injury to initiate repair mechanisms while chronic over-activation of the CNS immune system (termed neuroinflammation) may exacerbate injury. The latter is implicated in a variety of neurological and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, HIV dementia, and prion diseases. Cyclooxygenases (COX-1 and COX-2), which are key enzymes in the conversion of arachidonic acid into bioactive prostanoids, play a central role in the inflammatory cascade. J2 prostaglandins are endogenous toxic products of cyclooxygenases, and because their levels are significantly …

Taking Care Of Digital Efforts: A Multiplanar View Of Project Afterlives, Robin Camille Davis

Publications and Research

In this presentation, given at the 2015 MLA Convention, I examine the status of online digital humanities projects 10 years after they were presented.

Just over half of the 60 projects presented at DH2005 are still online. Of all the projects, about one-third are ongoing; one-third have been clearly completed; and one-third have unknown statuses. Of the 23 projects that were considered to be complete, three-quarters are still online; one quarter is no longer accessible.

Endothelial Surface Glycocalyx Can Regulate Flow-Induced Nitric Oxide Production In Microvessels In Vivo, Wanyi Yen, Bin Cai, Jinlin Yang, Lin Zhang, Min Zeng, John M. Tarbell, Bingmei M. Fu

Publications and Research

Due to its unique location, the endothelial surface glycocalyx (ESG) at the luminal side of the microvessel wall may serve as a mechano-sensor and transducer of blood flow and thus regulate endothelial functions. To examine this role of the ESG, we used fluorescence microscopy to measure nitric oxide (NO) production in post-capillary venules and arterioles of rat mesentery under reduced (low) and normal (high) flow conditions, with and without enzyme pretreatment to remove heparan sulfate (HS) of the ESG and in the presence of an endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) inhibitor, NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA). Rats (SD, 250–300g) were anesthetized. The mesentery …

Comparing Three Methods For Estimating Ozone Depleting Substance Substitute Greenhouse Gases: Case Study Of The New York City Region, Wallace A. Murray Iii

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis evaluates the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) method for estimating emissions from one source, Ozone Depleting Substances Substitutes (ODS substitutes) by comparing results for the New York City Metropolitan Statistical Area (NYC-MSA) with results from two other methodologies. The EPA’s method utilizes population data and GDP data to estimate and geographically allocate emissions, with little regard for the geographies of industrial activity. The two alternative methods use data for industrial employment and activity to provide results for comparison and perhaps a more accurate accounting and allocation of emissions throughout the NYC-MSA.

Removing The Malice From Federal "Malicious Prosecution": What Cognitive Science Can Teach Lawyers About Reform, Sofia Yakren

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Re-Integrating Community Space: The Legal And Social Meanings Of Reclaiming Abandoned Space In New York's Lower East Side, Andrea Mcardle

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

What The Obesity Prevention Field Can Learn From The Gay Marriage Movement, Sergio Costa, Emily Ferris, Terry T-K Huang

Publications and Research

In the US, two-thirds of adults and one-third of children continue to be affected by overweight or obesity despite two decades and billions of dollars' spent in public health efforts. In the last decade, public health has stepped up its call for greater emphasis on environmental and policy interventions, including active designs in urban planning and restrictions on food marketing to children, to incentivize healthy behaviors and disincentivize less healthy ones. However, there has been little success in policy change to prevent obesity. Voters in Berkeley, CA recently passed a one-cent-per-ounce soda tax, but a similar measure was defeated by …

Do We Need A Human Right To A Healthy Environment?, Rebecca Bratspies

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Tr-2015001: A Survey And Critique Of Facial Expression Synthesis In Sign Language Animation, Hernisa Kacorri

Computer Science Technical Reports

Sign language animations can lead to better accessibility of information and services for people who are deaf and have low literacy skills in spoken/written languages. Due to the distinct word-order, syntax, and lexicon of the sign language from the spoken/written language, many deaf people find it difficult to comprehend the text on a computer screen or captions on a television. Animated characters performing sign language in a comprehensible way could make this information accessible. Facial expressions and other non-manual components play an important role in the naturalness and understandability of these animations. Their coordination to the manual signs is crucial …

Rudolph The Red Nosed Squirrel Or Miracle On 82nd Street: Fiction/Quotation/Exposition, Marleen S. Barr

Publications and Research

"Rudolph The Red Nosed Squirrel or Miracle on 82nd Street: Fiction/Quotation/Exposition" by Marleen S. Barr (3721 words) Well…way to sell that weird in the first story and sell it hard. This…this is a metatextual sleigh ride through science fiction, about science fiction, about the ways in which science fiction is shaped and manipulated by people and the way that science fiction can shape and manipulate reality. But fuck is this not a really odd story that mixes "real life" with pure fantasy, positing a black Samuel Delany Santa Claus and a world that isn't quite so bound by rules as …

Bronx Community College Catalog 2016-2016, Cuny Bronx Community College

Course Catalogs

Course catalog for Bronx Community College for 2015-16.

"The Problem Of Locomotion": Infrastructure And Automobility In Three Postcolonial Urban Nigerian Novels, Danica B. Savonick

Graduate Student Publications and Research

This essay analyzes automobility in three postcolonial urban Nigerian novels: the fantasy of self-propulsion that subtends a colonial modernity materialized through the erection of urban infrastructure. Tracing the disjuncture between automobility and infrastructure—the “problem of locomotion” (Achebe)—reveals the inextricability of mobility, modernity, urbanism, and colonial violence even into Nigeria’s formally postcolonial period. By exploring how characters both invest in and move beyond inherited colonial narratives, these novels challenge top-down images of Lagos, instead depicting it as a city “otherwise fashioned” (Abani) from their characters’ perspectives on what it feels like to dwell and sell on the streets.

Due Diligence And Gender Violence: Parsing Its Power And Its Perils, Julie Goldscheid, Debra Liebowitz

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

College Sports Remain A Source Of Controversy, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Decorum: Quintilian’S Reflections On Rhetorical Humor, Don Waisanen

Publications and Research

Abstract

This study examines ancient Roman ideas about humor’s boundaries in public culture. In particular, I analyze Book 6, Chapter 3 of the Institutio Oratoria, which covers Quintilian’s reflections on the subject. Following Cicero, Quintilian engages the tensions between humor and decorum in his political context, using urbanitas to refine the former and to loosen the latter’s strictures. In this process, the use of urbanitas implicitly points readers toward factors that can make humor rhetorical. Quintilian thus answers Cicero’s question about the degree to which humor should be used and furthers inquiry into how much rhetorical humor can or …

Technological Fixes Won’T Solve Educational Issues, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Communications Now A Culture War In Academia, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Romero’S Curiosity Rooted In Undersea World, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Sexual Assaults On Campus Need To Be Addressed, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Orbitofrontal 18f-Dopa Uptake And Movement Preparation In Parkinson’S Disease, Lucio Marinelli, Arnoldo Piccardo, Laura Mori, Silvia Morbelli, Nicola Girtler, Antonio Castaldi, Agnese Picco, Carlo Trompetto, Maria Felice Ghilardi, Giovanni Abbruzzese, Flavio Nobili

Publications and Research

In Parkinson’s disease (PD) degeneration of mesocortical dopaminergic projections may determine cognitive and behavioral symptoms. Choice reaction time task is related to attention, working memory, and goal-directed behavior. Such paradigm involves frontal cortical circuits receiving mesocortical dopamine which are affected early in PD. The aim of this study is to characterize the role of dopamine on the cognitive processes that precede movement in a reaction time paradigm in PD.We enrolled 16 newly diagnosed and untreated patientswith PDwithout cognitive impairment or depression and 10 control subjectswith essential tremor. They performed multiple-choice reaction time task with the right upper limb and brain …

Pound And Disability, Václav Paris

Publications and Research

Pound and disability: the two keywords of my title are not happy bedfellows. Why then insist on their conjunction? My answer is that neither Pound studies, on its own, nor a Pound-free disability studies can offer a history of American twentieth-century poetry that is both sensitive to changes in a literary tradition and changes in attitudes towards disability.

“To See How Far I Can Go”: Benefits Of “Fun” In Encouraging Civic Engagement And Building Self-Efficacy Among New York Community College Students, Paul Naish

Publications and Research

Community Days, an innovative initiative to foster community service and civic engagement at the City University of New York’s new Guttman Community College, encourages students to perform volunteer work around the city. What makes the program unique are opportunities for students to take self-directed excursions and enjoy free resources in the city—activities not usually associated with service-learning. Including a component that the students identify as “Fun Day” in a program dedicated to volunteer service strengthens the program and increases the enthusiasm of the participants. This essay examines reflections completed by the students after participating in Community Days, considering their initial …