Digital Commons Network^™

My Endless Compliance, Kate Lutzner

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Haitian Diaspora Impact On Haitian Socio-Political And Economic Development, Sharleen Rigueur

Dissertations and Theses

"There is a new perspective developing within the international community on Diasporas and their potential to assist in the development process of their country of origin. The discussion began from the realization that transnational flows of remittances from sending countries (core) to receiving countries (periphery) increasingly surpass donor contributions to developing countries. The argument further discusses different socio-economic strategies to use when diasporic communities residing in developed countries (core) are assisting their homeland (periphery). This paper will look at the Haitian Diaspora in the United States and its active transnational link to Haiti. Since the days of post-Duvalierism, the Haitian …

Tell It Slant, Andrea Ribaudo

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

The Geography Of Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Within Urban Areas Of India, Jochen Albrecht, Peter Marcotullio, Andrea Sarzynski

Publications and Research

This paper examines the patterns of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from urban areas in India—a rapidly growing and urbanizing nation. It uses a new dataset, Emission Dataset for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR) to estimate the urban share of national GHG emissions. It presents a geographic picture of emission variation by urban form (urban population size, area size, density, and growth rate), and economic (GDP and GDP per capita), geographic (location of emissions released: 20, 40, and 80 km from urban areas), and biophysical (ecosystem and climate: cooling degree days) characteristics. Dependent variables include emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), …

Review Of Zazie Dans Le Metro, Michael Adams

Publications and Research

Review of Louis Malle's 1960 French New Wave film.

Phenolic Constituents From Garcinia Intermedia And Related Species, Ulyana Muñoz Acuña

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Antioxidants from plants scavenge free radicals and prevent reactive oxygen species from having damaging effects in common ailments such as inflammation, atherosclerosis, and Alzheimer’s disease. As part of our ongoing studies of antioxidants from tropical edible fruits, we have studied Garcinia intermedia (Pittier) Hammel [synonym: Rheedia edulis (Seem.) Planch. & Triana], native to Central America. In the fruits the following compounds were identified: guttiferone A, guttiferone E, xanthochymol, fukugetin, volkensiflavone and fukugeside. A new compound was tentatively identified in the fruits of this species. The antioxidant activity of guttiferone A in the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay was IC50 = 46 μM. …

Role For Sumoylation In Systemic Inflammation And Immune Homeostasis In Drosophila Larvae, Indira Paddibhatla, Mark J. Lee, Marta E. Kalamarz, Roberto Ferrarese, Shubha Govind

Publications and Research

To counter systemic risk of infection by parasitic wasps, Drosophila larvae activate humoral immunity in the fat body and mount a robust cellular response resulting in encapsulation of the wasp egg. Innate immune reactions are tightly regulated and are resolved within hours. To understand the mechanisms underlying activation and resolution of the egg encapsulation response and examine if failure of the latter develops into systemic inflammatory disease, we correlated parasitic wasp-induced changes in the Drosophila larva with systemic chronic conditions in sumoylation-deficient mutants. We have previously reported that loss of either Cactus, the Drosophila (IkB) protein or Ubc9, the SUMO-conjugating …

Intradermal Immunization Of Mice With Radiation-Attenuated Sporozoites Of Plasmodium Yoelii Induces Effective Protective Immunity, Tatiana Voza, Chahnaz Kebaier, Jerome P. Vanderberg

Publications and Research

Background Intravenous injection of mice with attenuated Plasmodium berghei sporozoites induces sterile immunity to challenge with viable sporozoites. Non-intravenous routes have been reported to yield poor immunity. Because intravenous immunization has been considered to be unacceptable for large scale vaccination of humans, assessment was made of the results of intradermal immunization of mice with Plasmodium yoelii, a rodent malaria parasite whose infectivity resembles that of human malaria. Methods Mice were immunized with two injections of isolated, radiation-attenuated P. yoelii sporozoites, either by intravenous (IV) or intradermal (ID) inoculation. In an attempt to enhance protective immunogenicity of ID-injections, one group of …

“Did You Call Me?” 5-Month-Old Infants Own Name Guides Their Attention, Eugenio Parise, Angela D. Friederici, Tricia Striano

Publications and Research

An infant's own name is a unique social cue. Infants are sensitive to their own name by 4 months of age, but whether they use their names as a social cue is unknown. Electroencephalogram (EEG) was measured as infants heard their own name or stranger's names and while looking at novel objects. Event related brain potentials (ERPs) in response to names revealed that infants differentiate their own name from stranger names from the first phoneme. The amplitude of the ERPs to objects indicated that infants attended more to objects after hearing their own names compared to another name. Thus, by …

State Of The College Address 2010, Jeremy Travis

Reports and Publications from John Jay College

No abstract provided.

Ectopic T Cell Receptor-Α Locus Control Region Activity In B Cells Is Suppressed By Direct Linkage To Two Flanking Genes At Once, Stefan Knirr, Janette Gomos-Klein, Blanca E. Andino, Faith Harrow, Karl F. Erhard, Damian Kovalovsky, Derek B. Sant'angelo, Benjamin D. Ortiz

Publications and Research

The molecular mechanisms regulating the activity of the TCRα gene are required for the production of the circulating T cell repertoire. Elements of the mouse TCRα locus control region (LCR) play a role in these processes. We previously reported that TCRα LCR DNA supports a gene expression pattern that mimics proper thymus-stage, TCRα gene-like developmental regulation. It also produces transcription of linked reporter genes in peripheral T cells. However, TCRα LCR-driven transgenes display ectopic transcription in B cells in multiple reporter gene systems. The reasons for this important deviation from the normal TCRα gene regulation pattern are unclear. In its …

Accumulation, Excess, Childhood: Toward A Countertopography Of Risk And Waste, Cindi Katz

Publications and Research

This piece grows out of my on-going project, ‘Childhood as Spectacle’, and my enduring concern with social reproduction and what it does for and to Marxist and other critical political-economic analyses. After more than 30 years of Marxist-feminist interventions around these issues, symptomatic silences around social reproduction remain all too common in analyses of capitalism. Working through these issues and their occlusion, I offer what I hope is a useful and vibrant theoretical framework for examining geographies of children, youth, and families. Building this framework calls into play three overlapping issues; neoliberal capitalism in crisis and David Harvey’s notion of …

Conserved Genes Act As Modifiers Of Invertebrate Smn Loss Of Function Defects, Maria Dimitriadi, James N. Sleigh, Amy Walker, Howard C. Chang, Anindya Sen, Geetika Kalloo, Jevede Harris, Tom Barsby, Melissa B. Walsh, John S. Satterlee, Chris Li, David Van Vactor, Spyros Artavanis-Tsakonas, Anne C. Hart

Publications and Research

Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is caused by diminished function of the Survival of Motor Neuron (SMN) protein, but the molecular pathways critical for SMA pathology remain elusive. We have used genetic approaches in invertebrate models to identify conserved SMN loss of function modifier genes. Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans each have a single gene encoding a protein orthologous to human SMN; diminished function of these invertebrate genes causes lethality and neuromuscular defects. To find genes that modulate SMN function defects across species, two approaches were used. First, a genome-wide RNAi screen for C. elegans SMN modifier genes was undertaken, yielding …

A New Mouse Model To Explore Therapies For Preeclampsia, Abdulwahab Ahmed, Jameel Singh, Ysodra Khan, Surya V. Seshan, Guillermina Girardi

Publications and Research

Background Pre-eclampsia, a pregnancy-specific multisystemic disorder is a leading cause of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity. This syndrome has been known to medical science since ancient times. However, despite considerable research, the cause/s of preeclampsia remain unclear, and there is no effective treatment. Development of an animal model that recapitulates this complex pregnancy-related disorder may help to expand our understanding and may hold great potential for the design and implementation of effective treatment. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we show that the CBA/J x DBA/2 mouse model of recurrent miscarriage is also a model of immunologically-mediated preeclampsia (PE). DBA/J mated CBA/J …

Classified Information: The Newsletter Of The Lloyd Sealy Library, Lloyd Sealy Library, Cuny John Jay College Of Criminal Justice

Reports and Publications from John Jay College

Classified Information was a publication that informed the College about Library services, personnel, upcoming events, new technologies, and available resources.

Molecular Signatures Of The Primitive Prostate Stem Cell Niche Reveal Novel Mesenchymal-Epithelial Signaling Pathways, Roy Blum, Rashmi Gupta, Patricia E. Burger, Christopher S. Ontiveros, Sarah N. Salm, Xiaozhong Xiong, Alexander Kamb, Holger Wesche, Lisa Marshall, Gene Cutler, Xiangyun Wang, Jiri Zavadil, David Moscatelli, E. Lynette Wilson

Publications and Research

Background Signals between stem cells and stroma are important in establishing the stem cell niche. However, very little is known about the regulation of any mammalian stem cell niche as pure isolates of stem cells and their adjacent mesenchyme are not readily available. The prostate offers a unique model to study signals between stem cells and their adjacent stroma as in the embryonic prostate stem cell niche, the urogenital sinus mesenchyme is easily separated from the epithelial stem cells. Here we investigate the distinctive molecular signals of these two stem cell compartments in a mammalian system. Methodology/Principal Findings We isolated …

The Terebridae And Teretoxins: Combining Phylogeny And Anatomy For Concerted Discovery Of Bioactive Compounds, Nicolas Puillandre, Mandë Holford

Publications and Research

The Conoidea superfamily, comprised of cone snails, terebrids, and turrids, is an exceptionally promising group for the discovery of natural peptide toxins. The potential of conoidean toxins has been realized with the distribution of the first Conus (cone snail) drug, Prialt (ziconotide), an analgesic used to alleviate chronic pain in HIV and cancer patients. Cone snail toxins (conotoxins) are highly variable, a consequence of a high mutation rate associated to duplication events and positive selection. As Conus and terebrids diverged in the early Paleocene, the toxins from terebrids (teretoxins) may demonstrate highly divergent and unique functionalities. Recent analyses of the …

Dipolar Cortico-Muscular Electrical Stimulation: A Novel Method That Enhances Motor Function In Both - Normal And Spinal Cord Injured Mice, Zaghloul Ahmed

Publications and Research

Background Electrical stimulation of the central and peripheral nervous systems is a common tool that is used to improve functional recovery after neuronal injury. Methods Here we described a new configuration of electrical stimulation as it was tested in anesthetized control and spinal cord injury (SCI) mice. Constant voltage output was delivered through two electrodes. While the negative voltage output (ranging from -1.8 to -2.6 V) was delivered to the muscle via transverse wire electrodes (diameter, 500 μm) located at opposite ends of the muscle, the positive output (ranging from + 2.4 to +3.2 V) was delivered to the primary …

Management Of Online Tutorials: A Model For A Step-By-Step Approach, Kanu A. Nagra, Dorothea J. Coiffe

Publications and Research

Online tutorials have great potential to reach a large population and to accommodate multiple learning styles anytime and anywhere. This paper describes the management of online tutorials and related concepts in detail. The review of literature method is used to study the variables. The variables under study include the mission, objectives, funding, manpower, in-house creation, outsourcing, incorporation in curriculum, content, type, technology, metadata, discovery services, script design, standards, assessment, professional training, marketing techniques and future goals for creation and management of online tutorials in libraries. A practical model based on literature study and the authors' experience with online tutorials is …

The Cinema Of Control: On Diabetic Excess And Illness In Film, Kevin L. Ferguson

Publications and Research

While not rare, films that do represent diabetes must work around the disease’s banal invisibility,and images of diabetics in film are thus especially susceptible to metaphor and exaggeration.This essay is the first to outline a diabetic filmography, discussing medical and cinematic strategies for visualizing the disease as well as how the illness informs family plots and heroic characters in horror films. Doing so, it participates in a larger discussion of the manner in which film images of ill or disabled groups sustain notions of “normalcy” by both representing and denying otherness.

Selective Targeting Of Neuroblastoma Tumour-Initiating Cells By Compounds Identified In Stem Cell-Based Small Molecule Screens, Kristen M. Smith, Alessandro Datti, Mayumi Fujitani, Natalie Grinshtein, Libo Zhang, Olena Morozova, Kim M. Blakely, Susan A. Rotenberg, Loen M. Hansford, Freda D. Miller, Herman Yeger, Meredith S. Irwin, Jason Moffat, Marco A. Marra, Sylvain Baruchel, Jeffrey L. Wrana, David R. Kaplan

Publications and Research

Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most deadly extra-cranial solid tumour in children necessitating an urgent need for effective and less toxic treatments. One reason for the lack of efficacious treatments may be the inability of existing drugs to target the tumour-initiating or cancer stem cell population responsible for sustaining tumour growth, metastases and relapse. Here, we describe a strategy to identify compounds that selectively target patient-derived cancer stem cell-like tumour-initiating cells (TICs) while sparing normal paediatric stem cells (skin-derived precursors, SKPs) and characterize two therapeutic candidates. DECA-14 and rapamycin were identified as NB TIC-selective agents. Both compounds induced TIC death at …

Neuro-Endocrine Basis For Altered Plasma Glucose Homeostasis In The Fragile X Mouse, Abdeslem El Idrissi, Xin Yan, Francoise Sidime, William L’Amoreaux

Publications and Research

Background The fragile X mouse model shows an increase in seizure susceptibility, indicating an involvement of the GABAergic system via an alteration in cellular excitability. In the brain, we have previously described a reduction in GABAA receptor expression as a likely basis for this susceptibility. In the brains of fragile X mice, this reduction in receptor expression culminates with a concomitant increase in the expression of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), the enzyme responsible for GABA synthesis. Further, voltage-sensitive calcium channel expression is reduced in the pancreas of the fragile X mouse. Since there are considerable similarities in the GABAergic system …

Taurine Regulation Of Short Term Synaptic Plasticity In Fragile X Mice, Abdeslem El Idrissi, Lorenz S. Neuwirth, William L’Amoreaux

Publications and Research

Background Fragile X Syndrome is the most common known genetic cause of autism. The Fmr1-KO mouse, lacks the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), and is used as a model of the syndrome. The core behavioral deficits of autism may be conceptualized either as excessive adherence to patterns as seen in repetitive actions and aberrant language, or as insensitivity to subtle but socially important changes in patterns. The hippocampus receives information from the entorhinal cortex and plays a crucial role in the processing of patterned information. To gain more insight into the physiological function of FMRP and the neuronal mechanisms …

Pharmacological Characterization Of Gabaa Receptors In Taurine-Fed Mice, William J. L’Amoreaux, Alexandra Marsillo, Abdeslem El Idrissi

Publications and Research

Background Taurine is one of the most abundant free amino acids especially in excitable tissues, with wide physiological actions. Chronic supplementation of taurine in drinking water to mice increases brain excitability mainly through alterations in the inhibitory GABAergic system. These changes include elevated expression level of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) and increased levels of GABA. Additionally we reported that GABAA receptors were down regulated with chronic administration of taurine. Here, we investigated pharmacologically the functional significance of decreased / or change in subunit composition of the GABAA receptors by determining the threshold for picrotoxin-induced seizures. Picrotoxin, an antagonist of GABAA …

Delayed Onset Of A Daytime Nap Facilitates Retention Of Declarative Memory, Sara E. Alger, Hiuyan Lau, William Fishbein

Publications and Research

Background Learning followed by a period of sleep, even as little as a nap, promotes memory consolidation. It is now generally recognized that sleep facilitates the stabilization of information acquired prior to sleep. However, the temporal nature of the effect of sleep on retention of declarative memory is yet to be understood. We examined the impact of a delayed nap onset on the recognition of neutral pictorial stimuli with an added spatial component. Methodology/Principal Findings Participants completed an initial study session involving 150 neutral pictures of people, places, and objects. Immediately following the picture presentation, participants were asked to make …

Variability In Avian Eggshell Colour: A Comparative Study Of Museum Eggshells, Phillip Cassey, Steven J. Portugal, Golo Maurer, John G. Ewen, Rebecca L. Boulton, Mark E. Hauber, Tim M. Blackburn

Publications and Research

Background The exceptional diversity of coloration found in avian eggshells has long fascinated biologists and inspired a broad range of adaptive hypotheses to explain its evolution. Three main impediments to understanding the variability of eggshell appearance are: (1) the reliable quantification of the variation in eggshell colours; (2) its perception by birds themselves, and (3) its relation to avian phylogeny. Here we use an extensive museum collection to address these problems directly, and to test how diversity in eggshell coloration is distributed among different phylogenetic levels of the class Aves. Methodology and Results Spectrophotometric data on eggshell coloration were collected …

Meditation And Mental Freedom: A Buddhist Theory Of Free Will, Rick Repetti

Publications and Research

I argue that central Buddhist tenets and meditation methodology support a view of free will similar to Harry Frankfurt’s optimistic view and contrary to Galen Strawson’s pessimistic view. For Frankfurt, free will involves a relationship between actions, volitions, and “metavolitions” (volitions about volitions): simplifying greatly, volitional actions are free if the agent approves of them. For Buddhists, mental freedom involves a relationship between mental states and “metamental” states (mental attitudes toward mental states): simplifying greatly, one has mental freedom if one is able to control one’s mental states, and to the extent one has mental freedom when choosing, one has …

Design Collaboration As A Tool For Developing Diversity In The Work Place, Rees E. E. Shad

Publications and Research

Without a doubt the modern workplace is one made up of numerous working professionals graced with an array of varied abilities who work in tandem to meet a common goal. In this article the author recounts his personal journey to embracing the collaborative process and how he has honed and developed the skill set into an important element of design curriculum in order to prepare students for this fundamental market paradigm.

Ospie1, The Rice Ortholog Of Arabidopsis Photoperiod-Independent Early Flowering1, Is Essential For Embryo Development, Yonghan Xu, Minjuan Deng, Jianfei Peng, Zhanghua Hu, Lieming Bao, Junming Wang, Zhi-Liang Zheng

Publications and Research

Background The SWR1 complex is important for the deposition of histone variant H2A.Z into chromatin necessary to robustly regulate gene expression during growth and development. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the catalytic subunit of the SWR1-like complex, encoded by PIE1 (PHOTOPERIOD-INDEPENDENT EARLY FLOWERING1), has been shown to function in multiple developmental processes including flowering time pathways and petal number regulation. However, the function of the PIE1 orthologs in monocots remains unknown. Methodology/Findings We report the identification of the rice (Oryza sativa) ortholog, OsPIE1. Although OsPIE1 does not exhibit a conserved exon/intron structure as Arabidopsis PIE1, its encoded protein is highly similar to …

Alternative Trans-Splicing Of Caenorhabditis Elegans Sma-9/Schnurri Generates A Short Transcript That Provides Tissue-Specific Function In Bmp Signaling, Jianghua Yin, Ling Yu, Cathy Savage-Dunn

Publications and Research

Background Transcription cofactors related to Drosophila Schnurri facilitate the transcriptional programs regulated by BMP signaling in C. elegans, Drosophila, Xenopus, and mouse. In different systems, Schnurri homologs have been shown to act as either agonists or antagonists of Smad function, and as either positive or negative regulators of transcription. How Schnurri proteins achieve this diversity of activities is not clear. The C. elegans sma-9/schnurri locus undergoes alternative splicing, including an unusual trans-splicing event that could generate two non-overlapping shorter transcripts.

Results We demonstrate here that the shorter transcripts are expressed in vivo. Furthermore, we find that one of the short …