Digital Commons Network^™

Using A Paradigm Shift To Teach Neurobiology And The Nature Of Science—A C.R.E.A.T.E.-Based Approach, Sally G. Hoskins

Publications and Research

Decades ago, classic experiments established the phenomenon of “neural induction” (Spemann and Mangold, 1924; Holtfreter, 1933). It appeared clear that amphibian ectoderm was pre-programmed to form epidermis, and that the neural phenotype was induced by a chemical signal from mesoderm. The “ectoderm makes skin, unless induced to make nervous system” model appeared in many textbooks. This interpretation, however, was not simply incorrect but 180 degrees out of alignment with the actual situation. As subsequently demonstrated, the default state of amphibian ectoderm is neuronal, and the expression of the epidermal phenotype requires cell signaling (Hemmati-Brivanlou and Melton, 1992; 1994; 1997). In …

Enforcing Behavioral Constraints In Evolving Aspect-Oriented Programs, Raffi Khatchadourian, Johan Dovland, Neelam Soundarajan

Publications and Research

Reasoning, specification, and verification of Aspect-Oriented (AO) programs presents unique challenges especially as such programs evolve over time. Components, base-code and aspects alike, may be easily added, removed, interchanged, or presently unavailable at unpredictable frequencies. Consequently, modular reasoning of such programs is highly attractive as it enables tractable evolution, otherwise necessitating that the entire program be reexamined each time a component is changed. It is well known, however, that modular reasoning about AO programs is difficult. In this paper, we present our ongoing work in constructing a rely-guarantee style reasoning system for the Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP) paradigm, adopting a trace-based …

A Wavelet-Based Method For Overcoming The Gibbs Phenomenon, Nataniel Greene

Publications and Research

The Gibbs phenomenon refers to the lack of uniform convergence which occurs in many orthogonal basis approximations to piecewise smooth functions. This lack of uniform convergence manifests itself in spurious oscillations near the points of discontinuity and a low order of convergence away from the discontinuities. Here we describe a numerical procedure for overcoming the Gibbs phenomenon called the inverse wavelet reconstruction method. The method takes the Fourier coefficients of an oscillatory partial sum and uses them to construct the wavelet coefficients of a non-oscillatory wavelet series.

An Overview Of Conditionals And Biconditionals In Probability, Nataniel Greene

Publications and Research

Conditional and biconditional statements are a standard part of symbolic logic but they have only recently begun to be explored in probability for applications in artificial intelligence. Here we give a brief overview of the major theorems involved and illustrate them using two standard model problems from conditional probability.

Flushing History As A Hydrogeological Control On The Regional Distribution Of Arsenic In Shallow Groundwater Of The Bengal Basin, A. Van Geen, Y. Zheng, S. Goodbred, A. Horneman, Z. Aziz, Z. Cheng, M. Stute, B. Mailloux, B. Weinman, M. A. Hoque, A. A. Seddique, M. S. Hossain, S. H. Chowdhury, K. M. Ahmed

Publications and Research

Whereas serious health consequences of widespread consumption of groundwater elevated in As have been documented in several South Asian countries, the mechanisms responsible for As mobilization in reducing aquifers remain poorly understood. We document here a previously unrecognized and consistent relationship between dissolved As concentrations in reducing groundwater and the phosphate-mobilizable As content of aquifer sediment for a set of precisely depth-matched samples from across Bangladesh. The relationship holds across nearly 3 orders of magnitude in As concentrations and suggests that regional as well as local patterns of dissolved As in shallow groundwater are set by the solid phase according …

Fourier Series Of Orthogonal Polynomials, Nataniel Greene

Publications and Research

Explicit formulas for the Fourier coefficients of the Legendre polynomials can be found in the Bateman Manuscript Project. However, similar formulas for more general classes of orthogonal polynomials do not appear to have been worked out. Here we derive explicit formulas for the Fourier series of Gegenbauer, Jacobi, Laguerre and Hermite polynomials.

Topological And Categorical Properties Of Binary Trees, Homeira Pajoohesh

Publications and Research

Binary trees are very useful tools in computer science for estimating the running time of so-called comparison based algorithms, algorithms in which every action is ultimately based on a prior comparison between two elements. For two given algorithms A and B where the decision tree of A is more balanced than that of B, it is known that the average and worst case times of A will be better than those of B, i.e., ₸A(n) ≤₸B(n) and TWA (n)≤TWB (n). Thus the most balanced and the most imbalanced binary trees play a main role. Here we consider them as semilattices …

Our Existential Death Penalty: Judges, Jurors, And Terror Management, Jeffrey Kirchmeier

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Asu Slated To Host Summit On Environmental Studies, Aldemaro Romero Jr., Alan Christian, Robyn Hannigan

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Anatomy Of An Arabetic Type Design, Saad D. Abulhab

Publications and Research

Arabetic type design, like type design in general, should not be limited by rigid rules, other than those advocating open choice and user options. But as with all design fields, highlighting certain principles and guidelines is crucial to realizing a successful project. In an Arabetic font design environment, such guidelines and principles should reveal deeper understanding of various scripts visual and behavioral defining characteristics rather than mere traditional calligraphic and handwriting norms. A main goal of this study is to emphasize that designing Arabetic fonts is much easier than it is portrayed, and designers of all backgrounds should be more …

Measuring Knowledge Of Natural Selection: A Comparison Of The C.I.N.S., An Open-Response Instrument, And An Oral Interview, Ross Nehm, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

Growing recognition of the central importance of fostering an in-depth understanding of natural selection has, surprisingly, failed to stimulate work on the development and rigorous evaluation of instruments that measure knowledge of it. We used three different methodological tools, the Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection (CINS), a modified version of Bishop and Anderson's (Bishop and Anderson [1990] Journal of Research in Science Teaching 27: 415-427) open-response test that we call the Open Response Instrument (ORI), and an oral interview derived from both instruments, to measure biology majors' understanding of and alternative conceptions about natural selection. We explored how these instruments …

Dominican Women Across Three Generations: Educational Dreams, Goals And Hopes, Rosie M. Soy, Stefan Bosworth

Publications and Research

This study explores the struggle of Dominican women to access formal education and the impact of such access in their lives and on their own perceptions of their experiences. The essay captures the voices of female members of three generations of Dominican immigrant families in New York City.

Removing Long-Term Errors From The Avhrr Observation Based On Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (Ndvi), Md Zahidur Rahman, Leonid Roytman, Atiqur Rahman, Felix Kogan, Runa Jesmin

Publications and Research

This paper investigates Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) stability in the NOAA/NESDIS Global Vegetation Index (GVI) data during 1982-2003. Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) weekly data for the five NOAA afternoon satellites for the China dataset is studied, for it includes a wide variety of different ecosystems represented globally. It was found that data for the years 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 2000 are not stable enough compared to other years because of satellite orbit drift, and AVHRR sensor degradation. It is assumed that data from NOAA-7 (1982, 1983), NOAA-9 (1985, 1986), NOAA-11 (1989, 1990), NOAA-14 (1996, 1997), …

Formulas For The Fourier Series Of Orthogonal Polynomials In Terms Of Special Functions, Nataniel Greene

Publications and Research

An explicit formula for the Fourier coefficient of the Legendre polynomials can be found in the Bateman Manuscript Project. However, formulas for more general classes of orthogonal polynomials do not appear to have been worked out. Here we derive explicit formulas for the Fourier series of Gegenbauer, Jacobi, Laguerre and Hermite polynomials. The methods described here apply in principle to a class of polynomials, including non-orthogonal polynomials.

Iterated Aluthge Transforms: A Brief Survey, Jorge Antezana, Enrique R. Pujals, Demetrio Stojanoff

Publications and Research

Given an r × r complex matrix T, if T = U|T| is the polar decomposition of T, then the Aluthge transform is defined by

∆(T) = |T|^1/2U|T|^1/2.

Let ∆ⁿ(T) denote the n-times iterated Aluthge transform of T, i.e. ∆⁰(T) = T and ∆ⁿ(T) = ∆(∆ⁿ⁻¹(T)), n ∈ N. In this paper we make a brief survey on the known properties and applications of …

Inverse Wavelet Reconstruction For Resolving The Gibbs Phenomenon, Nataniel Greene

Publications and Research

The Gibbs phenomenon refers to the lack of uniform convergence which occurs in many orthogonal basis approximations to piecewise smooth functions. This lack of uniform convergence manifests itself in spurious oscillations near the points of discontinuity and a low order of convergence away from the discontinuities. Here we describe a numerical procedure for overcoming the Gibbs phenomenon called the inverse wavelet reconstruction method. The method takes the Fourier coefficients of an oscillatory partial sum and uses them to construct the wavelet coefficients of a non-oscillatory wavelet series.

A-State Biology Department Sees New Library Dedicated, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Arkansas Wildlife Gets Report Card At Conference, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

A-State Aims To Improve Science Communication, Aldemaro Romero Jr., Amy R. Pearce, John B. Zibluk

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

A Year To Remember For Science At A-State, Aldemaro Romero Jr., John M. Pratte

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

A-State Slates Activities For ’09 Year Of Science, Aldemaro Romero Jr., John M. Pratte

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Asu Launches New Course On Science And Hollywood, Aldemaro Romero Jr., John M. Pratte

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Educating For Justice: A History Of John Jay College Of Criminal Justice. [Third Edition]., Gerald Markowitz

Publications and Research

Revision of the previously updated edition Educating for justice. 2004. Includes an interview with Jeremy Travis, the fourth President of John Jay College of Criminal Justice conducted June 5, 2008.

TOC: Introduction. The making of John Jay College; 1965-1970. The era of open admissions: 1970-1976. The crisis: 1976. The development of criminal justice: 1976-1989. The student takeovers of 1989-1991. The quest for equity. John Jay comes of age. Epilogue. Index.

A Quantitative Synthesis Of The Medicinal Ethnobotany Of The Malinké Of Mali And The Asháninka Of Peru, With A New Theoretical Framework, Nathaniel Bletter

Publications and Research

Background: Although ethnomedically and taxonomically guided searches for new medicinal plants can improve the percentage of plants found containing active compounds when compared to random sampling, ethnobotany has fulfilled little of its promise in the last few decades to deliver a bounty of new, laboratory-proven medicinal plants and compounds. It is quite difficult to test, isolate, and elucidate the structure and mechanism of compounds from the plethora of new medicinal plant uses described each year with limited laboratory time and resources and the high cost of clinical trials of new drug candidates.

Methods: A new quantitative theoretical framework of mathematical …

Reasoning About The Behavior Of Aspect-Oriented Programs, Neelam Soundarajan, Raffi Khatchadourian, Johan Dovland

Publications and Research

Aspect-oriented programming (AOP) has become increasingly popular over the last few years. At the same time, reasoning about the behavior of these programs poses serious challenges. In this paper, we present a rely-guarantee approach to such reasoning. The rely-guarantee approach has proven useful in reasoning about concurrent and distributed programs. We show that some of the key problems encountered in reasoning about aspect-oriented programs are similar to those encountered in reasoning about concurrent programs; and that the rely-guarantee approach, appropriately modified, helps address these problems. We illustrate our approach with a simple example.

An Update On Groundwater Conditions At The Site Of The York College Cuny Campus In Southeastern Queens County, New York City, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Stanley Schleifer, Zarine Ali, Edward A. Molteni

Publications and Research

The wells operated by the Jamaica Water Supply Company in Queens represent the only large scale utilization of groundwater for public water supply in New York City in recent years. These wells were shut down, for the most part, beginning in 1996. Since that time, water table elevations in the area, which had been drawn down by the withdrawal activity of the Jamaica Water Supply Company, have risen significantly causing some high groundwater problems, including flooding of basements. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) has held public hearings on a contemplated resumption of ground water withdrawal in …

Automated Refactoring Of Legacy Java Software To Enumerated Types, Raffi Khatchadourian, Jason Sawin, Atanas Rountev

Publications and Research

Modern Java languages introduce several new features that offer significant improvements over older Java technology. In this article we consider the new enum construct, which provides language support for enumerated types. Prior to recent Java languages, programmers needed to employ various patterns (e.g., the weak enum pattern) to compensate for the absence of enumerated types in Java. Unfortunately, these compensation patterns lack several highly-desirable properties of the enum construct, most notably, type safety. We present a novel fully-automated approach for transforming legacy Java code to use the new enumeration construct. This semantics-preserving approach increases type safety, produces code that is …

1139-3159_Nir_Spex, Dagny L. Looper

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

A Rotating Panel Survey To Assess Quality Of Hunter College Education, Jennifer Sousa Brennan, William (Bill) H. Williams

Publications and Research

A rotating sample design is proposed to most accurately measure the perceived quality of a Hunter College education. A representative sample of Hunter College students will belong to one of six rotating panels. Students will be contacted during four rotation periods and report their assessment of the two most recent months. It is advantageous to use a rotating panel design as opposed to a fixed panel design in order to guard against the negative effects of a deteriorating response rate. Stratified sampling will help to ensure representation across major departments and academic year of study. Methods for sampling procedures, stratification, …

Prediction Of Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Phosphorylation Substrates, Emmanuel J. Chang, Rashida Begum, Brian T. Chait, Terry Gaasterland

Publications and Research

Protein phosphorylation, mediated by a family of enzymes called cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks), plays a central role in the cell-division cycle of eukaryotes. Phosphorylation by Cdks directs the cell cycle by modifying the function of regulators of key processes such as DNA replication and mitotic progression. Here, we present a novel computational procedure to predict substrates of the cyclin-dependent kinase Cdc28 (Cdk1) in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Currently, most computational phosphorylation site prediction procedures focus solely on local sequence characteristics. In the present procedure, we model Cdk substrates based on both local and global characteristics of the substrates. Thus, we define the …