Digital Commons Network^™

20th Century Bronx Childhood: Recalling The Faces And Voices, Janet Butler Munch

Publications and Research

A popular photographic exhibit on childhood, originally featured in the Lehman College Art Gallery in the Bronx, New York, was brought to life two decades later through a library digitization grant. The website Childhood in the Bronx features 61 photographs of boys and girls with family or friends, at play, on streets, and in parks, schools, shelters, hospitals, and other locales. Oral history sound excerpts about their childhood, not heard in the original exhibit, complement the 18 vintage photographs shown. The combination of images with the spoken word enhances the user's sensory experience with deeper meaning and enjoyment. This article …

Label-Free Fluorescence Spectroscopy For Detecting Key Biomolecules In Brain Tissue From A Mouse Model Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Lingyan Shi, Luyao Lu, George Harvey, Thomas Harvey, Adrián Rodríguez-Contreras, Robert R. Alfano

Publications and Research

In this study, label-free fluorescence spectroscopy was used for the first time to determine spectral profiles of tryptophan, reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), and flavin denine dinucleotide (FAD) in fresh brain samples of a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Our results showed that the emission spectral profile levels of tryptophan and NADH were higher in AD samples than normal samples. The intensity ratio of tryptophan to NADH and the change rate of fluorescence intensity with respect to wavelength also increased in AD brain. These results yield an optical method for detecting early stage of AD by comparing spectral profiles …

Light-Induced Electrohydrodynamic Instability In Plasmonically Absorbing Gold Nanofluids, Sujan Shrestha, Luat T. Vuong, Jorge Luis Dominguez-Juarez

Publications and Research

Plasmonically absorbing nanofluids exhibit light-induced electrokinetics. We measure an electrical response to the light-induced Rayleigh-Bénard-Marangoni convective instabilities in gold-polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) nanoparticles (NPs) suspended in isopropanol and water. Microampere current oscillations are measured and attributed to the presence of the Au-PVP NPs with negative zeta potential, in correspondence with the accompanying thermal lens oscillations and a nanofluid thermoelectric effect. The measured electrical oscillations represent an electrohydrodynamic stability driven by light, one among many that should be observed with plasmonic nanoparticles in liquids.

"Where Are The Bathrooms?": Academic Library Restrooms And Student Needs, Stephanie Margolin, Jennifer Poggiali

Publications and Research

This article investigates bathrooms, paying specific attention to those in academic libraries. The authors describe how bathrooms have been considered in the library literature for the past century and challenges to changing the status quo. Finally, this work sets the stage for future inquiry. Research materials come from a range of sources: historical library literature, building codes, social science theory and research that address the issues around bathroom taboos, and checklists for assessing bathrooms. The authors propose librarians and library administrators reconsider all aspects of their own bathrooms: location, features, equity/inclusiveness, and maintenance in service to their patrons.

Naidoo Explores The Psychology Of Leaders And Their Followers., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

“I started out being very interested from a very young age in biology. I loved animals, birds and wildlife, and spent much of my time running around the woods in Canada identifying different species and such,” says Loren Naidoo. Yet this native of Montreal decided to make a career in psychology.

“In high school I had a close friend who was somebody everyone liked and looked up to and wanted as a friend. At a certain point, he attempted suicide and that really floored me and really made me wonder how is it that this person that everyone really looks …

Offering Self-Administered Oral Hiv Testing As A Choice To Truck Drivers In Kenya: Predictors Of Uptake And Need For Guidance While Self-Testing, Elizabeth A. Kelvin, Gavin George, Eva Mwai, Eston N. Nyaga, Joanne E. Mantell, Matthew L. Romo, Jacob O. Odhiambo, Kaymarlin Govender

Publications and Research

We assessed predictors of choosing self-administered oral HIV testing in the clinic with supervision versus the standard provider-administered blood test when offered the choice among 149 Kenyan truck drivers, described the types of guidance participants needed during self-testing and predictors of needing guidance. Overall, 56.38% of participants chose the self-test, 23.49% the provider-administered test, and 20.13% refused testing. In the adjusted regression models, each additional unit on the fatalism and self-efficacy scales was associated with 0.97 (p = 0.003) and 0.83 (p = 0.008) times lower odds of choosing the self-test, respectively. Overall, 52.38% of self-testers did so correctly without …

Estrogen-Activated Mdm2 Disrupts Mammary Tissue Architecture Through A P53-Independent Pathway, Nandini Kundu, Angelika Brekman, Jun Yeob Kim, Gu Xiano, Chong Gao, Jill Bargonetti

Publications and Research

The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data indicate that high MDM2 expression correlates with all subtypes of breast cancer. Overexpression of MDM2 drives breast oncogenesis in the presence of wild-type or mutant p53 (mtp53). Importantly, estrogen-receptor positive (ER+) breast cancers overexpress MDM2 and estrogen mediates this expression. We previously demonstrated that this estrogen-MDM2 axis activates the proliferation of breast cancer cell lines T47D (mtp53 L194F) and MCF7 (wild-type p53) in a manner independent of increased degradation of wildtype p53 (ie, p53-independently). Herein we present data supporting the role of the estrogen-MDM2 axis in regulating cell proliferation and mammary tissue architecture of …

Modulation Of Estrogen Related Receptor Alpha Activity By The Kinesin Kif17, Am Pramodh Bandara Seneviratne, Zeynep Turan, Aurelie Hermant, Patrick Lecine, William O. Smith, Jean-Paul Borg, Fanny Jaulin, Geri Kreitzer

Publications and Research

Estrogen-related receptor alpha (ERR1) is an orphan nuclear receptor that can bind transcriptional co-activators constitutively. ERR1 expression correlates with poor patient outcomes in breast cancer, heightening interest in this nuclear receptor as a therapeutic target. Because ERR1 has no known regulatory ligand, a major challenge in targeting its activity is to find cellular or synthetic modulators of its function. We identified an interaction between ERR1 and KIF17, a kinesin-2 family microtubule motor, in a yeast-2-hybrid screen. We confirmed the interaction using in vitro biochemical assays and determined that binding is mediated by the ERR1 ligand-binding/AF2 domain and the KIF17 C-terminal …

Cooperative Membership And Community Engagement: Findings From A Latin American Survey, Sangdong Tak

Publications and Research

Cooperatives as organization have mainly been explored in the field of business and management due to their operation in the business sector, and studies of nonprofit organizations have given little attention to them. Consequently, cooperatives studies have tended to examine economic outcomes, such as productivity and job security, comparing them to conventional business firms. Nevertheless, cooperatives are membership associations and have organizational characteristics in common with other types of voluntary associations. Furthermore, one explicit organizational principle of cooperatives is concern for community, and their contributions to the community have been covered frequently by media. Therefore, it is imperative to examine …

Masquerading Sanity: Crimes, Violence And Victimization On The Internet, Heath Grant, Cathryn Lavery

Publications and Research

The world of cybercrime has transformed significantly over the past ten or twenty years. Early concerns focused on the vulnerability of the financial industry, including the crimes of identity theft and hacking. However, in recent years, cybercrime has evolved to include crimes of harassment, child pornography, rape, “cyberterrorism” and even murder. This work examines an emerging form of violent crime involving the internet: Social Media Victim Targeting Networks (SVTN). The anonymity and limited available law enforcement on social media sites leaves predators with a large pool of vulnerable victims provide predators a new way to display and strengthen their criminological …

Immigration Barriers Will Affect U.S. Academia., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

The Nobel Prize is one measure of a country’s intellectual prowess. Whether it is in the sciences, literature or economics, to win one is always a point of pride, not only for the winners but also for their country of citizenship. Since the first Nobel Prize was awarded in 1901, 860 individuals from 76 countries have won it. Of these, 363 have been from the United States. More Nobel Prize winners have been American than any other nationality.

And of the 363 American awardees, 98 were born in other countries. Of the six Americans awarded Nobel Prizes last year in …

Alternatives To Pretrial Detention:Pre Global Best Practice Catalog, Jerry Cho, Sara Cronqvist, Sara Curran, Laura Galeano, Camila Jimenez Lugo, Alexandra Lynn, Weronika Kozyra, Justyna Maksimiuk, Suchaya Mokkhasen, Kelly Ortega, Kartika Rahman, Ashley Roman

Publications and Research

This Global Best Practice Catalog of Alternatives to Pretrial Detention was completed by students of the Master of Arts Degree Program in International Crime and Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice as part of their capstone course, in collaboration with the US State Department's Diplomacy Lab program. This catalog is intended to cover best practices in reducing pretrial detention (either before it occurs or while it is occurring) across the globe, including laws, policies and programs. It does not include Oceania or very detailed information on North America. Each entry meets 5 of 8 criteria below, as decided …

Cancer Cell Spheroids Are A Better Screen For The Photodynamic Efficiency Of Glycosylated Photosensitizers, Patrícia M. R. Pereira, Naxhije Berisha, N.V.S. Dinesh K. Bhupathiraju, Rosa Fernandes, João P.C. Tomé, Charles Michael Drain

Publications and Research

Environmental remediation requires ion-selective polymers that operate under a wide range of solution conditions. In one example, removal of trivalent and divalent metal ions from waste streams resulting from mining operations before they enter the environment requires treatment at acidic pH. The monoethyl ester phosphate ligands developed in this report operate from acidic solutions. They have been prepared on polystyrene-bound ethylene glycol, glycerol, and pentaerythritol, and it is found that intraligand hydrogen bonding affects their metal ion affinities. The affinity for a set of trivalent (Fe(III), Al(III), La(III), and Lu(III)) and divalent (Pb(II), Cd(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II)) ions is greater …

Inferring Personal Economic Status From Social Network Location, Shaojun Luo, Flaviano Morone, Carlos Sarraute, Matias Travizano, Hernan A. Makse

Publications and Research

It is commonly believed that patterns of social ties affect individuals’ economic status. Here we translate this concept into an operational definition at the network level, which allows us to infer the economic well-being of individuals through a measure of their location and influence in the social network.We analyse two large-scale sources: telecommunications and financial data of a whole country’s population. Our results show that an individual’s location, measured as the optimal collective influence to the structural integrity of the social network, is highly correlated with personal economic status. The observed social network patterns of influence mimic the patterns of …

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation And Sports Performance, Dylan J. Edwards, Mar Cortes, Susan Wortman-Jutt, David Putrino, Marom Bikson, Gary Thickbroom, Alvaro Pascual-Leone

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Knowledge Systems And The Colonial Legacies In African Science Education, Edward Lehner, John R. Ziegler

Publications and Research

This review surveys Femi Otulaja and Meshach Ogunniyi’s (2015) Handbook of Research in Science Education in Sub-Saharan Africa, noting the significance of the theoretically rich content and how this book contributes to the field of education as well as to the humanities more broadly. The volume usefully outlines the ways in which science education and scholarship in sub-Saharan Africa continue to be impacted by the region’s colonial history. Several of the chapters also enumerate proposals for teaching and learning science and strengthening academic exchange. Concerns that recur across many of the chapters include inadequate implementation of reforms; a lack …

Zika Virus-Like Particle (Vlp) Based Vaccine, Héléne Boigard, Alexandra Alimova, George R. Martin, Al Katz, Paul Gottlieb, Jose M. Galarza

Publications and Research

The newly emerged mosquito-borne Zika virus poses a major public challenge due to its ability to cause significant birth defects and neurological disorders. The impact of sexual transmission is unclear but raises further concerns about virus dissemination. No specific treatment or vaccine is currently available, thus the development of a safe and effective vaccine is paramount. Here we describe a novel strategy to assemble Zika virus-like particles (VLPs) by co-expressing the structural (CprME) and non-structural (NS2B/NS3) proteins, and demonstrate their effectiveness as vaccines. VLPs are produced in a suspension culture of mammalian cells and self-assembled into particles closely resembling Zika …

A Novel Technique For Designing High Power Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (Soa)-Based Tunable Fiber Compound-Ring Lasers Using Low Power Optical Components, Muhammad A. Ummy, Simeon Bikorimana, Roger Dorsinville

Publications and Research

A simple, stable and inexpensive dual-output port widely tunable semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA)-based fiber compound-ring laser structure is demonstrated. This unique nested ring cavity enables high optical power to split into different branches where amplification and wavelength selection are achieved by using low-power SOAs and a tunable filter. Furthermore, two Sagnac loop mirrors, which are spliced at the two ends of the compound-ring cavity not only serve as variable reflectors but also channel the optical energy back to the same port without using any high optical power combiner. We propose and discuss how the demonstrated fiber compound-ring laser structure can …

First 100 Days: Two Trump Heads Are Better Than One?, Marleen S. Barr

Publications and Research

This is a satirical short story about Trump.

Protocols And Pitfalls In Obtaining Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins For Biophysical Studies Of Ligand-Protein And Protein-Protein Interactions, Qian Wang, Samar Rizk, Cédric Bernard, May Poh Lai, David Kam, Judith Storch, Ruth E. Stark

Publications and Research

Adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein (AFABP: FABP4) is a member of the intracellular lipid-binding protein family that is thought to target long-chain fatty acids to nuclear receptors such as peroxisome proliferatoractivated receptor gamma (PPARγ), which in turn plays roles in insulin resistance and obesity. A molecular understanding of AFABP function requires robust isolation of the protein in liganded and free forms as well as characterization of its oligomerization state(s) under physiological conditions. We report development of a protocol to optimize the production of members of this protein family in pure form, including removal of their bound lipids by mixing with hydrophobically …

Concentrations And Size Distributions Of Bacteria-Containing Particles Over Oceans From China To The Arctic Ocean, Ming Li, Xiawei Yu, Hui Kang, Zhouqing Xie, Pengfei Zhang

Publications and Research

During the third China Arctic Research Expedition (July–September 2008), size-resolved measurements of bacteria-containing particles (BCPs) in the marine boundary layer (MBL) air were conducted during a cruise through the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea, the Japan Sea, the Okhotsk Sea, the Bering Sea, the Chukchi Sea, and the Arctic Ocean. The concentrations of total airborne BCPs (TBCPs), non-salt tolerant airborne BCPs (NSBCPs), and salt tolerant airborne BCPs (SBCPs) varied from 29 to 955 CFU m − 3 (CFU = Colony Forming Unit), 16 to 919 CFU m − 3 , and 4 to 276 CFU m − 3 , …

Alternative Venues: An Efl Writing Center Outside The University, Brooke R. Schreiber, Snezana Djuric

Publications and Research

Recent years have seen an increasing presence of writing centers in diverse English as a Foreign Language (EFL) settings, particularly in East Asia and in Europe (Bräuer; Chang). These new centers face familiar issues such as a lack of resources, the need to adapt pedagogy to the local context (Reichelt et. al.; Broekhoff), and ideological resistance to the idea of peer learning (Turner) or even providing support for writing at all (Bräuer). In some cases, these difficulties may force potential writing centers to seek a platform entirely outside of the university, bringing both challenges and new possibilities as the center …

L-2-Hydroxyglutarate Production Arises From Non-Canonical Enzyme Function At Acidic Ph, Andrew M. Intlekofer, Bo Wang, Hui Liu, Hardik Shah, Carlos Carmona-Fontanie, Ariën S. Rustenburg, Salah Salah, Marilyn R. Gunner, John D. Chodera, Justin R. Cross, Craig B. Thompson

Publications and Research

The metabolite 2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG) can be produced as either a D(R)- or L(S)- enantiomer, each of which inhibits alpha-ketoglutarate (αKG)-dependent enzymes involved in diverse biologic processes. Oncogenic mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase produce D-2HG, which causes a pathologic blockade in cell differentiation. On the other hand, oxygen limitation leads to accumulation of L-2HG, which can facilitate physiologic adaptation to hypoxic stress in both normal and malignant cells. Here we demonstrate that purified lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) catalyze stereospecific production of L-2HG via ‘promiscuous’ reduction of the alternative substrate αKG. Acidic pH enhances production of L-2HG by promoting a …

Knowledge To Action: A Communication And Framing Issue, Norman Eng

Publications and Research

Translating knowledge into action requires that education scholars step beyond their traditional role as researchers and engage the public more deliberately. At the same time, their impartiality must be rigorously maintained. One solution is to focus their engagement on educating, discussing, and sharing—rather than persuading or advocating. Communication studies suggests that framing research in ways that resonate with people’s core values may help the public see complex issues more constructively. It may even stimulate political will. In this paper, I explore four ways to frame education issues, based on widely held American values like achievement, progress, and pragmatism. I also …

Piwik, Junior R. Tidal

Publications and Research

Piwik is an open-source web analytics tool that can be used to track websites. This presentation outlines how to install and use Piwik for collecting data on library websites. It also examines privacy issues when using analytics tools.

A Flying Saucer Belonging To A Joan Rivers Clone Lands On Temple Emanu-El Of New York's Roof (Sans Fiddler), Marleen S. Barr

Publications and Research

This is a humorous short story which describes Joan Rivers' memorial service in terms of science fiction.

Study: Students Often Perceived Differently By Race., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

In past columns, I have reported on more than one study that shows that expectations for “brilliance” for women in higher education were much higher than that for males. For example, when a research paper is co-authored by a male and a female the assumption by many is that the male did “the real work.”

Now comes a study showing that there is a similar bias when it comes to students – only this time the differences are based on race.

Hentzi Looks At Literature And Its Circumstances., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

English is a well-known subject, but what most

people don’t know is that English scholars do a lot

of different things. One of these scholars is Dr. Gary

Hentzi, whose interest in culture dates from a very

early age. “I guess I always knew that I was interested

in the arts and culture. I started out more interested in

music than anything else, but it quickly branched out

into an interest in literature,” he says.

As a young professor, he specialized in one of the

founders of the novel as a literary genre in the early

18th century: Daniel Defoe. …

Toward The Eco-Narrative: Rethinking The Role Of Conflict In Storytelling, Corinne Donly

Publications and Research

Offered as a response to the increasingly popular call within the eco-humanities for stories that will help humankind adapt to catastrophic planetary conditions, this article proposes “the eco-narrative”—an approach to storytelling that strives to compose with, not for, its nonhuman characters. An extension of eco-critical projects that analyze stories for their depictions of nonhumanity, the theoretical research herein brings ecological analysis of narrative to the level of structure. In particular, it problematizes the dominant plot model of conflict/climax/resolution, suggesting that stories motivated by conflict reinforce dualistic and anthropocentric habits for approaching the animal other. Evaluating two narratives concerning the human …

College Presidents Worry About Higher Ed’S Future, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

One of the major responsibilities of college and university leaders is to look into the future and act accordingly. They are supposed to see things coming, whether good or bad. That is why they are assumed to be good thermometers about the prospects for higher education.

Now a new survey gives us a glimpse about how they see the present and the future. Published just a few weeks ago, the study, titled “2017Survey of College and University Presidents,” shows the level of concern by U.S. higher education presidents about the future of their institutions. According to the survey, only six …