Digital Commons Network^™

Memory And Distance: On Nobuhiro Suwa's A Letter From Hiroshima, Jessica Fernanda Conejo Muñoz

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

A Letter from Hiroshima is the second production directed by Nobuhiro Suwa on the Japanese city that was ravaged by the atomic bombings, by the United States, in 1945. The short film is a reflective game which approach to the past is based on distancing effects. The distance, understood in the sense of Brecht and counter cinema, is part of an experimental process that becomes a political technique of construction and decipherment of memory. Suwa’s work is opposed to the belief that history is something that can be narrated, since the approximation to the past is not carried out through …

Challenging Old And New Images Representing The Cambodian Genocide: The Missing Picture (Rithy Panh, 2013), Vicente Sánchez-Biosca

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This article focuses on the images used over four decades to represent the Cambodian genocide in photography, cinema, visual arts and the media as the basis for analyzing the documentary-memoir directed by Rithy Panh, The Missing Picture. First, there is a paucity of images which depict, evoke or allude to the crimes perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge (1975-1979); second, scholars raise objections about whether any image can adequately depict a catastrophic event such as genocide. This article begins by categorizing the Cambodian genocide iconography according to the modality of the visual production. After briefly classifying this visual output in four …

Cockroaches, Cows And "Canines Of The Hebrew Faith": Exploring Animal Imagery In Graphic Novels About Genocide, Deborah Mayersen

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Graphic novels about genocide feature a surprisingly rich array of animal imagery. While there has been substantial analysis of the anthropomorphic animals in Maus, the roles and functions of non-anthropomorphised animals have received scant attention. In this article, I conduct a comparative analysis of ten graphic novels about genocide to identify and elucidate the archetypical functions of non-anthropomorphised animals. These animals can play a symbolic role, providing insight into the human condition. More commonly, they provide crucial emotional cues to the reader. Animal imagery can be a powerful technique for creating an affective context, communicating both simple and complex …

Avatars, Acting, And Imagination: Bringing New Techniques Into The Legal Classroom, Joy Kanwar

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Membrane Associated Collagen Xiii Promotes Cancer Metastasis And Enhances Anoikis Resistance, Hui Zhang, Tricia Fredericks, Gaofeng Xiong, Yifei Qi, Piotr G. Rychahou, Jia-Da Li, Taina Pihlajaniemi, Wei Xu, Ren Xu

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Background: Increased collagen expression and deposition are associated with cancer progression and poor prognosis in breast cancer patients. However, function and regulation of membrane-associated collagen in breast cancer have not been determined. Collagen XIII is a type II transmembrane protein within the collagen superfamily. Experiments in tissue culture and knockout mouse models show that collagen XIII is involved in cell adhesion and differentiation of certain cell types. In the present study, we determined roles of collagen XIII in breast cancer progression and metastasis.

Methods: We analyzed the association of collagen XIII expression with breast cancer development and metastasis using published …

Comparative Venom-Gland Transcriptomics And Venom Proteomics Of Four Sidewinder Rattlesnake (Crotalus Cerastes) Lineages Reveal Little Differential Expression Despite Individual Variation, Erich Hofmann, Rhett M. Rautsaw, Jason L. Strickland, Matthew L. Holding, Michael P. Hogan, Andrew J. Mason, Darin R. Rokyta, Christopher L. Parkinson

Publications

Changes in gene expression can rapidly influence adaptive traits in the early stages of lineage diversification. Venom is an adaptive trait comprised of numerous toxins used for prey capture and defense. Snake venoms can vary widely between conspecific populations, but the influence of lineage diversification on such compositional differences are unknown. To explore venom differentiation in the early stages of lineage diversification, we used RNA-seq and mass spectrometry to characterize Sidewinder Rattlesnake (Crotalus cerastes) venom. We generated the first venom-gland transcriptomes and complementary venom proteomes for eight individuals collected across the United States and tested for expression differences …

Glucose Signaling Is Important For Nutrient Adaptation During Differentiation Of Pleomorphic African Trypanosomes, Yijian Qiu, Jillian E. Milanes, Jessica A. Jones, Rooksana E. Noorai, Vijay Shankar, James C. Morris

Publications

The African trypanosome has evolved mechanisms to adapt to changes in nutrient availability that occur during its life cycle. During transition from mammalian blood to insect vector gut, parasites experience a rapid reduction in environmental glucose. Here we describe how pleomorphic parasites respond to glucose depletion with a focus on parasite changes in energy metabolism and growth. Long slender bloodstream form parasites were rapidly killed as glucose concentrations fell, while short stumpy bloodstream form parasites persisted to differentiate into the insect-stage procyclic form parasite. The rate of differentiation was lower than that triggered by other cues but reached physiological rates …

Mind The Gaps: How Can Food Safety Gaps Be Addressed In Developing Nations?, Jessie L. Vipham, Byron D. Chaves, Valentina Trinetta

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

As global food systems integrate, to meet the demands of a growing global population, safe and healthy agriculture value-chains will be essential to maintaining public health worldwide. In many ways, the current global food production landscape is made up of “mice and men.” Meaning that the food sector within and across most countries includes both large-scale corporate agriculture production and varying degrees of small-scale agriculture production; the variation being the interpretation of small scale, which is highly dependent upon the country. This structure presents challenges for the creation of effective food safety systems in many countries, and can contribute to …

Purification And Characterization Of Naturally Occurring Post-Translationally Cleaved Ara H 6, An Allergen That Contributes Substantially To The Allergenic Potency Of Peanut, Govardus A. H. De Jong, Shyamali Jayasena, Philip Johnson, Justin Marsh, Danijela Apostolovic, Marianne Van Hage, Julie A. Nordlee, Joe Baumert, Steve L. Taylor, Camille Roucairol, Harmen De Jongh, Stef J. Koppelman

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

The 2S albumin Ara h 6 is one of the most important peanut allergens. A post-translationally cleaved Ara h 6 (pAra h 6) was purified from Virginia type peanuts, and the cleavage site was mapped using high-resolution mass spectrometry. Compared to intact Ara h 6, pAra h 6 lacks a 5-amino acid stretch, resembling amino acids 43−47 (UniProt accession number Q647G9) in the nonstructured loop. Consequently, pAra h 6 consists of two chains: an N-terminal chain of approximately 5 kDa and a C-terminal chain of approximately 9 kDa, held together by disulfide bonds. Intermediate post-translationally cleaved products, in which this …

Acquired Resilience: An Evolved System Of Tissue Protection In Mammals., Jonathan Stone, John Mitrofanis, Daniel M Johnstone, Benedetto Falsini, Silvia Bisti, Paul Adam, Arturo Bravo Nuevo, Mindy George-Weinstein, Rebecca Mason, Janis Eells

PCOM Scholarly Works

This review brings together observations on the stress-induced regulation of resilience mechanisms in body tissues. It is argued that the stresses that induce tissue resilience in mammals arise from everyday sources: sunlight, food, lack of food, hypoxia and physical stresses. At low levels, these stresses induce an organised protective response in probably all tissues; and, at some higher level, cause tissue destruction. This pattern of response to stress is well known to toxicologists, who have termed it hormesis. The phenotypes of resilience are diverse and reports of stress-induced resilience are to be found in journals of neuroscience, sports medicine, cancer, …

The Virtue Of Holy Indifference: The Fruit Of Saint Vincent De Paul’S Spiritual Journey, Sung Hae Kim S.C.

Vincentian Studies

To update her article on indifference from Vincentian Heritage 30:2, Sung Hae Kim uses Vincent de Paul’s letters and conferences to understand his conception of indifference. For him, it was the basis for all the virtues he wanted the Congregation and the Daughters of Charity to cultivate. It meant a complete abandonment of one’s own will in favor of complete openness to God’s will. Vincent believed that this openness led to a state of perfect freedom and happiness. Indifference allowed people to free themselves from their own desires and attachments and helped them to “love all things from the eyes …

Cystamine And Cysteamine As Inhibitors Of Transglutaminases In Vivo, Thomas M. Jeitner, John T. Pinto, Arthur J. L. Cooper

NYMC Faculty Publications

Cystamine is commonly used as a transglutaminase inhibitor. This disulfide undergoes reduction in vivo to the aminothiol compound, cysteamine. Thus, the mechanism by which cystamine inhibits transglutaminase activity in vivo could be due to either cystamine or cysteamine, which depends on the local redox environment. Cystamine inactivates transglutaminases by promoting the oxidation of two vicinal cysteine residues on the enzyme to an allosteric disulfide, whereas cysteamine acts as a competitive inhibitor for transamidation reaction catalyzed by this enzyme. The latter mechanism is likely to result in the formation of a unique biomarker, N -(gamma-glutamyl)cysteamine that could serve to indicate how …

Ethanol Enhances Estrogen Mediated Angiogenesis In Breast Cancer, Rachana Maniyar, Sanjukta Chakraborty, Robert Suriano

NYMC Faculty Publications

Angiogenesis, a highly regulated process, is exploited by tumors like breast cancer to ensure a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients and is key for tumor survival and progression. Estrogen and alcohol independently have been observed to contribute to angiogenesis in breast cancer but their combinatorial effects have never been evaluated. The exact mechanism by which estrogen and alcohol contribute to breast cancer angiogenesis remains to be elucidated. In this study, we defined the in vitro effects of the combination of estrogen and alcohol in breast cancer angiogenesis using the tubulogenesis and scratch wound assays. Conditioned media, generated by culturing …

Sexually Dimorphic Regulation Of Eet Synthesis And Metabolism: Roles Of Estrogen, An Huang, Dong Sun

NYMC Faculty Publications

Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) are metabolites of arachidonic acid via cytochrome P450 (CYP)/epoxygenase and are hydrolyzed by soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH). Circulating and tissue levels of EETs are controlled by CYP (EET synthesis) and sEH (EET degradation). Therefore, both increases in CYP activity and decreases in sEH expression potentiate EET bioavailability, responses that prevail in the female sex as a function of estrogen. This mini review, based on subtitles listed, briefly summarizes studies focusing specifically on (1) female-specific potentiation of CYP/epoxygenase activity to compensate for the endothelial dysfunction; and (2) estrogen-dependent downregulation of sEH expression, which yields divergent actions in both …

Modeling The Impact Of Traffic Conditions And Bicycle Facilities On Cyclists' On-Road Stress Levels, Àlvaro Caviedes, Miguel A. Figliozzi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Past research efforts have shown that cyclists’ safety, stress, and comfort levels greatly affect the routes chosen by cyclists and cycling frequency. Some researchers have tried to categorize cyclists’ levels of traffic stress utilizing data that can be directly measured in the field, such as the number of motorized travel lanes, motorized vehicle travel speeds, and type of bicycle infrastructure. This research effort presents a novel approach: real-world, on-road measurements of physiological stress as cyclists travel across different types of bicycle facilities at peak and off-peak traffic times. By matching videos with stressful events, it was possible to observe the …

Cannabinoid-Induced Behavioral Sensitization In Adolescent Sprague-Dawley Rats, Michelle Stone

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Adolescent cannabis use has grown because of increased availability and higher societal acceptance. This increase in cannabis use is problematic as adolescents who experiment with cannabis are more likely to abuse cannabis and experiment with other illicit drugs such as cocaine. The reason for the greater susceptibility to drugs use is unclear and may be the result of altered drug sensitivity after cannabis exposure. Thus, the present investigation used the behavioral sensitization paradigm to examine the behavioral response of early adolescent rats to the cannabinoid agonist CP 55,940 (CP) or cocaine after repeated cannabinoid administration. It was hypothesized that: (1) …

Impact Of Explicit Instruction Using Culturally Relevant Texts In Reading On Student Confidence, Wendy Harriford Platt

Theses and Dissertations

This paper describes an action research question focused on how explicit instruction in reading, coupled with culturally responsive teaching, can affect the confidence levels of African-American male ninth graders regarding their reading comprehension abilities. The research question seeks to illustrate the benefits of using explicit instruction in the context of materials seen as relevant by the student to unpack each step of the reading comprehension process thereby engaging students who otherwise view reading as a streamlined, passive process; it also uses teacher modeling to show how to increase reading comprehension, Also, classroom instruction on the secondary level makes use of …

Impacts Of Natural And Anthropogenic Colonized Habitats On The Range Shifting Mangrove Tree Crab (Aratus Pisonii), Zachary John Cannizzo

Theses and Dissertations

Mis-matches in climate-mediated shifting rates cause the ranges of some species to become decoupled from their historic ecosystem, leading to the colonization of ecosystems they have not previously inhabited. When this occurs, the shifting species may experience suboptimal conditions which challenge its ability to persist and expand into the novel ecosystem. However, within the colonized ecosystem, shifting species may encounter artificial habitat analogues: artificial habitats that more closely resemble the species’ historic ecosystem than the surrounding habitat and which mitigate some of the negative impacts experienced elsewhere in the novel ecosystem. Despite their importance to the ecology, life history, and …

Turning Up Antitumor Immunity Against Breast Cancer, Johnie Hodge

Theses and Dissertations

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide, and is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in spite of significant advances in treatment and emphasis on early diagnosis. While treatment of localized disease is often successful, metastatic breast cancer, especially of the triple negative molecular subtype, carries a much poorer prognosis. The significant role of the immune system in the progression from localized to metastatic disease is becoming more and more appreciated. Tumor escape from immune surveillance and immune suppression in the tumor microenvironment have become therapeutic targets in addition to the traditional goals of directly killing …

A Single Case Study Exploring Self-Efficacy In An After-School Program, Dubois T. Mcmillan

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this single-case study was to examine the impact that the Young Moviemakers of America (YMA) after-school program had on the self-efficacy levels of six student-participants. Self-efficacy is considered a strong predictor of students’ academic success and social-emotional intelligence that influences life trajectories. YMA was formed to provide an outlet for youth in south Los Angeles to express their creative voices through a project-based, hands-on model where participants write and produce an original short documentary film.

This study was conducted to examine how YMA’s use of self-efficacy building strategies might impact students’ personal perceptions of general self-efficacy. Various …

Interfacing Iconicity - Addressing Software Divarication Through Diagrammatic Design Principles, George Akhvlediani

Theses and Dissertations

This research examines conflicts accompanying the proliferation of computer technology and, more specifically, constellations of dependency in the always expanding volume of software, platforms, and the firms/individuals using them. We identify a pervasive phenomenon of “divarication” in the growing variety of progressively specialized systems and system roles. As software systems enter new thresholds of sophistication, they effectively aggregate many distinct components and protocols. Consequently, we are confronted with a diverse ecology of stratified and thereby incompatible software systems. Software inherits the limitations and potential flaws of its constituent parts, but unlike physical machinery, it isn’t readily disassembled in instances of …

Development Of A Fluorescence Imaging Photometer-Based Method For Characterization Of Phytoplankton Communities, Cameron Maxwell Rekully

Theses and Dissertations

The development of methods for real-time characterization of phytoplankton community structure has important implications for environmental monitoring and the prediction of harmful algal blooms. Our research group has developed an instrument, the Fluorescence Imaging Photometer (FIP), which is capable of rapid classification of phytoplankton via imaging single-cell chlorophyll a fluorescence under different excitation conditions. Discrimination of cells from different taxonomic groups is achieved using optical bandpass filters that have been chosen to selectively excite pigments which occur in characteristic ratios that vary from one group to the next. The relative fluorescence intensity emitted by cells under these different excitation conditions …

The Role Of Cdk8 In Metastatic Growth Of Colon Cancer, Jiaxin Liang

Theses and Dissertations

Unresectable hepatic metastases of colon cancer poorly respond to existing therapies and are a major cause of colon cancer lethality. Transcription- regulating Mediator kinase CDK8, an early clinical stage drug target, is amplified or overexpressed in many colon cancers and CDK8 expression correlates with shorter patient survival. Here we show that CDK8 inhibition does not generally suppress proliferation of CDK8-overexpressing colon cancer cells but nevertheless CDK8 knockdown by shRNA or CDK8 kinase inhibition by a selective small-molecule drug candidate suppresses metastatic growth of mouse and human colon cancer cells in the liver. This effect is due at least in part …

The Impacts Of A Multimodal Assessment Project In General Biology I At A Southwestern Community College, Larchinee Turner

Theses and Dissertations

This Dissertation in Practice (DiP) uses an action research (AR) methodology to answer a research question pertaining to the impacts of implementing a multimodal-based assessment project in the introductory, General Biology I (BI 114) classroom at East- State Junior College. A mixed-methods approach will be utilized to ascertain the impacts on student learning as well as student perceptions of the project. Chapter One provides a justification of the relevance and importance of the research question regarding student learning, the post-secondary science landscape, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and the challenges of providing positive learning opportunities and experiences to those students. A concise literature …

An Existentialist Approach To Teaching Writing: Anguish, Bad Faith, And Seriousness In Composition, Andreas Peter Herzog

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation aims at developing a model concept for the teaching of ethics in the composition classroom through the use of existentialism in the writings of Jean-Paul Sartre. Overall, the gap I am trying to fill with my dissertation is a lack of awareness of how much Sartre actually fits rhetorical theory and composition. Ultimately, this dissertation is the attempt to develop an ethic that is universally applicable in the teaching of composition, without the need for a service learning environment or additional resources outside the university itself. To provide an overview of the project, the approach will be illustrated …

Puerto Rico: One Year After Hurricane Maria, Center For Puerto Rican Studies

CUNY Centro, The Center for Puerto Rican Studies

September 20, 2018 marked a year since hurricane Maria wrought havoc on the island of Puerto Rico. Though the media has reported the crisis in a myriad of ways–for better or worse–our intention here is to provide a timeline of the major occurrences in the aftermath, a meta-analysis of the media’s coverage of the disaster, and an updated account of the exodus of people. The island continues to suffer from a tenuous electric grid, ruined infrastructure, and financial bankruptcy a year after the hurricane; the increase in migratory numbers reflects the limitations that many continue to face on the island. …

Section 4968 And Taxing All Charitable Endowments: A Critique And A Proposal, Edward A. Zelinsky

Articles

No abstract provided.

What Are The Parental Beliefs On The Relationship Between Poverty And Low-Grade Achievement?, Selamawit Ayalkebet

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This project addresses the question: What are the parental beliefs on the relationship between poverty and low-grade achievement? It documented a well-written essay of the correlation between poverty and low-grade achievement. For my Literature Review chapter, I used sources that researchers conducted on studies related to my research question and I talked about how to understand low-grade achievement with the following lens: socioeconomics status of children and their families, socio-cultural status, family background and how these concepts are connected to low-grade achievement and what schools and teachers can do to best help students who come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds to …

An Exploration Of Portfolios As An Alternative Assessment To Standardized Testing, Carolyn Schmitz

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this project was, How can portfolios be used as an assessment of Common Core reading standards in an eighth grade middle school classroom? As standardized testing continues to drive educational policy and decision-making, the author questions if traditional standardized tests are what is best for students, educators, or families. Researching through the lenses of attitudes toward standardized testing as well as the effectiveness of standardized testing, the author ultimately pursues the research of the use of portfolios as an alternative means of formally assessing students. An examination of the existing literature reveals that portfolios hold …

Effective Environmental Education Practices For Designing Urban Watershed Curriculum For An Elementary Classroom, Stephanie Davidson-Hatzenbihler

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

As human consumption of water increases the strain on the world’s water resources, the need for watershed education becomes more important to ensure water stewardship for future generations. Past studies have researched utilizing environmental education best practices, specifically water education best practices, to measure for program effectiveness and increases in knowledge and skill building of school-age children. Through the development of a place-based watershed curriculum for the elementary classrooms of Rochester, Minnesota, this capstone project puts into practice the findings from these studies to help answer the research question, what are the most effective environmental education practices for designing urban …