Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Examining The Transient Neural Dynamics Underlying Working Memory Maintenance For Complex Visual Stimuli, Chelsea Reichert Plaska

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Working memory (WM) is the temporary storage of information to accomplish a future goal. The WM delay period is the time after encoding but before retrieval when information is being maintained, typically in the absence of relevant stimuli. Understanding how the brain supports maintenance during the delay period, and how neural activity and connectivity are related to memory is critical for advancing both basic knowledge as well as informing declines in memory and cognition related to neurodegenerative diseases and healthy aging. An open question in the field of WM research is how information is stored during this delay period. One …

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, June 2021, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Volume 2, Issue 6.

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2-6 Remembering the Life of Dr. Pengra and Celebrating His legacy for Entire Generations to Come.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions And The Macroeconomy: Evidence From The Asean Region, Mari Joy M. Buenavista, Rosalina Palanca-Tan

Economics Department Faculty Publications

This paper examined the effects of income, trade, and foreign direct investments (FDI) on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries for the period of 1970–2011 using the panel corrected standard errors (PCSE) estimation method. The results of the study were consistent with the environmental Kuznet’s curve (EKC) hypothesis – CO2 emissions increase as per capita GDP increases up to a certain income threshold, beyond which further increase in income is accompanied by lower emissions. However, the threshold per capita GDP (estimated to be USD 20,017) is way above the income levels of …

Exposure Characterization And Assessment Of Airborne Chemicals And Sars-Cov-2 Transmission In New York City Nail Salons, Amelia P. H. Watkins

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Currently, there are 156,000 people employed as manicurists or pedicurists in the United States. Employment in this sector is expected to grow by 10% over the next decade. Exposure assessments have revealed that salon workers are chronically exposed to a variety of substances that cause respiratory sensitization, developmental problems, contact dermatitis, blood, liver, and kidney issues, as well as nervous system impacts. Most recently, the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic has raised the issue of the vulnerability of nail salon workers to airborne infectious diseases as well. This dissertation aims to characterize and assess the chemical exposures that nail salon workers …

Action Video Gaming Experience Related To Altered Resting-State Eeg Temporal And Spatial Complexity, Ruifang Cui, Jinliang Jiang, Lu Zeng, Lijun Jiang, Zeling Xia, Li Dong, Diankun Gong, Guojian Yan, Weiyi Ma, Dezhong Yao

General Human Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Action video gaming (AVG) places sustained cognitive load on various behavioral systems, thus offering new insights into learning-related neural plasticity. This study aims to determine whether AVG experience is associated with resting-state electroencephalogram (rs-EEG) temporal and spatial complexity, and if so, whether this effect is observable across AVG subgenres. Two AVG games – League of Legends (LOL) and Player Unknown’s Battle Grounds (PUBG) that represent two major AVG subgenres – were examined. We compared rs-EEG microstate and omega complexity between LOL experts and non-experts (Experiment 1) and between PUBG experts and non-experts (Experiment 2). We found that the experts and …

My Interdisciplinary Perspective On Climate Change [Natural Sciences], Richa Gupta, Tuli Chatterji, Tao Chen, Rebecca Schwartz

Open Educational Resources

This assignment titled “My Interdisciplinary Perspective on Climate Change” was developed in Fall 2020 as the signature assignment of the STEM Learning Community LC50 for students enrolled in the Biology program of the Natural Sciences department, at LaGuardia Community College, CUNY. The assignment targets Integrative Learning and Global Learning Core Competencies, and Digital/Oral Communication Abilities.

For this STEM Cluster, “Climate Change” is the shared theme that connects learning from the different disciplines and helps build students’ overall knowledge on an imperative issue that our planet currently faces. Work on this assignment entails a narrated digital student presentation on the various …

Real-Life Conundrums In The Struggle For Institutional Transformation, Julia Mcquillan, Nestor Hernandez

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Intersecting systems of inequality (i.e., gender and race/ethnicity) are remarkably resistant to change. Many universities, however, seek National Science Foundation Institutional Transformation awards to change processes, procedures, and cultures to make science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) departments more inclusive. In this article we describe a case study with observations for eight years of before (2000–2007), five during (2008–2013), and seven after (2014–2020) intensive efforts to increase women through reducing barriers and increasing access to women. Finally, we reflect on flawed assumptions built into the proposal, the slow and uneven change in the proportion of women over time, the strengths …

The Effect Of Anticipatory Anxiety On Fear Extinction Learning, Daniela C. Echeverria

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Adaptive regulation of fear is dependent on successful fear extinction learning; therefore, investigating factors that both enhance and diminish fear extinction learning is a critical line of research. In the present study, we induce mild anticipatory anxiety during fear extinction learning in an attempt to modulate how participants extinguish fear memory. In the experiment, we apply a classic three-day fear learning protocol to both control participants (N = 20) and an experimental group (N = 20) with fear acquisition, fear extinction, and fear recovery phases; each phase is separated by a period of 24 hours and we use a skin …

The Role Of Placental Genes On Intellectual Disability And Developmental Delay, Maedot A. Yidenk

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The complex interaction between gene expressions and environmental factors plays a key role in the pathogenesis of various diseases, including neurodevelopmental disorders (Lenroot & Giedd, 2008). This study aimed to evaluate first, the magnitude of association between placental gene Methyl-CpG Binding Protein 2 (MeCP2) and intellectual disability (ID) in the offspring and second, the synergy between placental gene Forkhead box protein 1(FOXP1) and developmental delay (DD) in the offspring. We focused on assessing two specific paradigms, i) placental gene expressions of MeCP2 among children that have ID vs. children without ID; and ii) placental gene expression of …

Learning To Feel Safe: A Translational Study Of The Influence Of Safety Learning On Anxiety-Related Overgeneralized Fear, Hyein Cho

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health diagnoses, affecting about a third of the population in their lifetime. However, approximately a third of individuals with anxiety do not respond to current treatment approaches, highlighting the need to identify additional potential therapeutic mechanisms. Safety learning is one such mechanism, but methodological challenges and a dearth of research have prevented the field from advancing the understanding of the role of safety learning in the etiology and remediation of anxiety disorders. Animal research, using single-cued safety learning paradigms, has yielded promising early findings, demonstrating that safety learning directly reduces anxiety-related behaviors …

Early Emotion Regulation In The Children Of Superstorm Sandy, Jessica L. Buthmann

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Rising prevalence of childhood psychopathology mandate investigation into the antecedents of symptom onset. Growing evidence shows prenatal maternal stress experienced in utero is a strong contributor to offspring neurodevelopmental deficits, including emotion dysregulation, a core feature of many types of psychopathology. This dissertation summarizes a body of work studying children prenatally exposed to maternal stress related to a natural disaster, Superstorm Sandy (i.e., storm stress). This work includes six experiments conducted in the framework of the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis. The DOHaD hypothesis posits that developmental disruptions, like storm stress exposure, during a critical period of …

A Comparison Of Intestinal Parasite Infections And Activity Budgets In Three Free-Ranging Vs. Enclosure-Housed Lemur Species (Lemur Catta, Varecia Rubra, And Eulemur Mongoz), Angela M. Achorn, Jeffrey Winking

Anthropology Faculty Publications

This study examines how range size affects intestinal parasite infections, and how such infections affect activity budgets in captive lemurs. There were no differences in parasite richness or intensity attributable to habitat type. However, there was a strong suggestion that parasite loads reduce activity levels.

Research Performance And Trends In Seed Technology Research: A Scientometric Assessment, Suresh N Dr, Thanuskodi S Dr

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study assesses the research performance and trends of global Seed technology research publications by using scientometric indicators i.e. publication growth pattern, author, institution and country research performance, the collaborative trend among countries. The study found that a total of 16613 publications contributed by 40588 authors from 1647 number of scholarly journals received with 350561 citations and h-index and g-index 182, 262 respectively, 148 countries have contributed in the Seed technology research. The English Language has the dominant language (96%) in Seed technology research. The research article title “Importance of pollinators in changing landscapes for world crops” has received 2215 …

Understanding The "Social" In "Social Media" An Analysis Of Twitter Engagement Of Pulmonary And Critical Care Fellowship Programs, Sheetal Gandotra, Nancy H Stewart, Dina Khateeb, Puneet Garcha, W Graham Carlos, Christopher L Carroll, Viren Kaul

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Social media is ubiquitous as a tool for collaboration, networking, and dissemination. However, little is known about use of social media platforms by pulmonary and critical care medicine fellowship programs.

Objective: We identify and characterize pulmonary and critical care fellowship programs using Twitter and Instagram, as well as the posting behaviors of their social media accounts.

Methods: We identified all adult and pediatric pulmonary, critical care medicine (CCM), and combined pulmonary and critical care medicine (PCCM) programs in the United States using the Electronic Residency Application Service. We searched for Twitter profiles for each program between January 1, 2018, …

Selective Neural Stimulation By Leveraging Electrophysiological Diversity And Using Alternative Stimulus Waveforms, Bemin Ghobreal

Dissertations

Efforts on finding the principle mechanism for selective neural stimulation have concentrated on segregating the neurons based on their size and other geometric factors. However, neuronal subtypes found in different parts of the nervous system also differ in their electrophysiological properties. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of selective activation of neurons by leveraging the diversity seen in passive and active membrane properties.

Using both a local membrane model and an axon model based on the CRRSS, the diversity of electrophysiological properties is simulated by varying four model parameters (membrane leakage-Gleak and capacitance-Cm, temperature coefficient-Ktemp, …

The Effect Of Smoking On Carbon Monoxide Respiration Among Active Smokers In Palembang City, Indonesia, Rico Januar Sitorus, Imelda Gernauli Purba, Merry Natalia, Kraichat Tantrakarnapa

Kesmas

Smoking leads to disease and disability as well as harm nearly every organ of the body. Furthermore, smoking of tobacco is known to cause pulmonary dysfunction and lead to complications, pain, or even death. This study aimed to measure the risk factors for the respiration of carbon monoxide among smokers. A cross-sectional design was implemented by involving 156 smokers in Karyajaya Subdistrict, Palembang City. The dependent variable was carbon monoxide levels (ppm), while the independent variables were smoking frequency, duration, and the last period of smoking. The carbon monoxide levels (ppm) measured with a PiCO + Smokerlyzer® device from Bedfont …

The Significance Of Super Depo Sutorejo: Waste Management Project In Surabaya Municipality, Indonesia, Yohanes Kambaru Windi, Dyah Wijayanti, Eko Rustamaji Wiyatno, Loetfia Dwi Rahariyani

Kesmas

The Super Depo Sutorejo Surabaya (SDSS) Project was created to separate household waste into fractions, but its separation effect is unknown. This study assessed the significance of the project in sorting general waste into biodegradable, non-biodegradable, and assorted. The t-test compared the means of general and biodegradable waste (normally distributed). The non-biodegradable and assorted waste were not significantly distributed; therefore, the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test was used to compare their medians against general waste. The multivariate analysis compared the significance level of each waste fraction. Each statistical analysis showed that the SDSS significantly sorts the general waste. The p-values were …

Relationships Between Sports, Physical Activity Participation, And Phys-Ed Gpa: Results And Analyses From A National Sample Of Asian American Students, Howard Z. Zeng, Raymond E. Weston, Juan Battle

Publications and Research

Relationships among sports, physical activity (PA) participation, and educational outcomes have been studied in various venues, however, used a longitudinal method with a national sample of Asian-American High-School Students (AAHSS) was barely covered. This study employed the latest National High-School Longitudinal Study data (Participants, N = 950); hierarchical regression modeling and intersectionality theory examined, analyzed, and evaluated the relationships among sports, PA participation, and the outcomes on the physical education grade point average (Phys-Ed GPA). Moreover, the demographics factors impact on the participants' Phys-Ed GPA was also analyzed and evaluated. The primary results included: 1) the female students who participate …

The Essence Of Telemedicine For Bridging The Gap In Health Services, Budi Wiweko, Sarah Chairani Zakirah, Atha Luthfi

Kesmas

This study aimed to review the essence of telemedicine in this modern era of technology and innovation, especially in developing countries. It also investigated the regulation aspect as the main component for healthcare services. There were five main categories of telemedicine: revenue stream and technology literacy, health facilities, human resources, data authorization and security, and health protocol. Furthermore, when combined with wearable devices, it enhanced healthcare delivery opportunities. There were two major components of global electronic health, namely telehealth and health informatics, based one-commerce and e-learning systems. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been able to describe the roles of …

The Determinants Of Stunting For Children Aged 24-59 Months In Kulon Progo District 2019, Chatrine Aprilia Hendraswari, Yuliasti Eka Purnamaningrum, Tri Maryani, Yani Widyastuti, Sakinah Harith

Kesmas

This study pertains to stunting in children in Indonesian with z-scores of less than -2 Standard Deviation (SD) and less than -3 SD. The preliminary study results showed the highest prevalence of stunting to be 22.6%, at the Temon II Primary Health Care in Kulon Progo District. The study aimed to assess the determinants of stunting children aged 24–59 months. This study was conducted from September 2018–May 2019. The design of this study was analytical observational with study design case-control. The sample was 60 children aged 24–59 months. The method utilized proportional sampling, whereas the data analysis applied chi-square and …

A Path Analysis Model For Explaining The Factors Influencing Wearing A Mask Among Commuting Workers Using Commuter Line Bogor-Jakarta, David Kusmawan, Shofi Andari, Ira Gustina, Indri Hapsari Susilowati, Mufti Wirawan

Kesmas

Jakarta is one of the most air-polluted cities in the world, which can increase the health risk of commuting workers exposed to pollutants. This study aimed to determine the factors that directly and indirectly affect healthy behavior (wearing a mask) for commuters using the Bogor-Jakarta Commuter Line. Furthermore, a total of 155 respondents participated and the data collected were analyzed using descriptive and path analysis. The commuters aware of the hazard potential related to air pollution during commuting were 137 people (88.4%). While 104 people (67.1%) were aware of the good perception of pollution and 125 uses masks during commuting …

Empowering Health Cadres To Support Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (Dr-Tb) Patient To Enroll In Treatment, Esty Febriani, Adik Wibowo, Neeraj Kak, Hala Jassim Al Mossawi

Kesmas

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a big challenge globally, while the involvement of health cadres’ constitutes one of the key strategies for the TB program in Indonesia. These roles were further expanded to providing support to DR-TB patients. This study was a qualitative study, conducted in 2015 to explore the various factors which influence the performance of health cadres’ in supporting DR-TB patients to enroll in treatment. A total of 39 informants consisting of 24 health cadres, three nurses, four DR-TB patients, and three family members, two peer support, a head of primary health care, and two TB staffs from the District …

National Health Insurance Scheme: Internal And External Barriers In The Use Of Reproductive Health Services Among Women, Evi Martha, Herna Lestari, Resvi Siti Zulfa, Yoslien Sopamena

Kesmas

Lack of familiarity among the community, medical workers, and administrative staff regarding reproductive health services covered by Badan Penyelenggara Jaminan Sosial (BPJS) or the National Health Insurance (NHI) in Indonesia remained a problem. Therefore, this resulted in sub-optimal use of the medical services, as shown by surveys from the Women's Health Foundation for three consecutive years (2015-2017). This qualitative study was conducted with a Rapid Assessment Procedure design in three cities within Indonesia: Padang Pariaman, Manado, and Kupang. Data were collected through IDIs (n = 47informants) and 6 FGDs (7 persons/group). Participants also consisted of NHI RHS users (mothers and …

Prevalence And Determinants Of Pre-Lacteal Feeding: Insights From The 2017 Indonesia Demographic And Health Survey, Siti Nurokhmah, Siti Masitoh, Kusuma Estu Werdani

Kesmas

Pre-lacteal feeding is widely known as a distraction to exclusive breastfeeding, and the malpractice continues to be prevalent in Indonesia. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the potential determinants of pre-lacteal feeding among mothers of infants below 24 months. A sample of 6,455 mother-infant pairs from the 2017 Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey (IDHS) was used. Also, multivariate logistic regression was employed to identify factors associated with pre-lacteal feeding practice. In Indonesia, 44% of infants were introduced to solid/liquid feeds in their first three days of life. Infant formula was the most common pre-lacteal feed given, followed by any other …

Inter-Related Factors Influencing Sexual Quality Of Life Among Women Living With Hiv In Banten Province, Indonesia: A Mixed Methods Study, Dyah Juliastuti, Judith Dean, Yati Afiyanti, Lisa Fitzgerald

Kesmas

Socio-cultural concerns often restrict women's sexual rights and well-being living with HIV (WLHIV) in developing countries. These convergent parallel mixed methods study combined quantitative and qualitative approaches to explore factors influencing WLHIV sexual quality of life in Banten Province, Indonesia. A 2017 cross-sectional survey of 207 reproductive-aged WLHIV was analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression statistics. Furthermore, in-depth interviews with a sub-sample of survey participants (n = 30) were thematically analyzed. Most of the women (60%) involved reported loss of sexual pleasure and depressed sexual life. Meanwhile, 48% affirmed low sexual quality of life which was associated with unemployment …

Attitudes Concerning Sexual Behavior Towards Risky Sexual Behavior Of Sexual Transmitted Infections Among Male Adolescents In Indonesia, Helda Helda, Nurul Muchlisa

Kesmas

There has been an increase of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as HIV/AIDS worldwide, especially in Indonesia. Several studies on adolescent behavior, especially the male as the main predictor, reported increased in STIs’ cases due to risky sexual behavior. This study aimed to show the relationship between attitudes, sexual behavior, and the risks of STIs among male adolescents in Indonesia based on the Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey (IDHS) data in 2017. This cross-sectional study involved 10,547 male adolescents using the total sampling method according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were analyzed using a complex sample logistic regression …

Psychological Impact Of Novel Coronavirus Covid-19 Across The Globe-A Review, Sadaf Shaheen, Iram Asim, Rida Zainab, Humaira Yasmeen

Journal of Bioresource Management

The recent outbreaks of novel coronavirus disease have unprecedent impact on mental health of patients, front-line healthcare workers and local population. However, the impact is not fully documented. This review explores stress-driven factors, stress-vulnerable groups and stress management interventions. Repetitive exposure to mass media and inappropriate health protective measures has heightened stress responses. Fear of not getting recovered from COVID-19 and disaffection has profound impact of infected individuals and their families. They may experience fear, anxiety, anger, sleep deprives and anorexia which may weakens their immune system thus making them vulnerable to COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored potential gaps …

Empathy And Fairness In Nonhuman Primates: Evolutionary Bases Of Human Morality, Colt Halter

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Darwin offered an evolutionary perspective on the origins of human morality, suggesting that humans share a biological foundation with nonhuman primates. This paper reviews the current literature on moral and prosocial behaviors of nonhuman primates, specifically examining whether nonhuman primates exhibit behaviors that are typical of empathy and fairness. The literature documents that nonhuman primates exhibit empathetic behaviors regarding emotional contagion and sympathetic concern. There is also evidence that nonhuman primates have a sense of fairness, seen in their reciprocal behaviors and aversion to inequity. Taken together, this suggests that there are evolutionary roots of morality, lending empirical support to …

Microaggressions In The Academy: One Black Professor’S Narrative, Kevin L. Jones

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

For many Black men in academia, predominantly White institutions are the epicenter of racism and hindered success. My first year as an instructor at a predominantly White institution proved to be an experience I will never forget. I had some expectations of what I would encounter, but what actually happened far exceeded anything I could have imagined. Through the lens of a racial microaggressions framework, my personal narrative describes my lived experiences as a Black male preparing for the academy at a predominantly White institution in the south. Consequently, these experiences had a long-term emotional, physiological, and psychological impact. These …

Déjà Vu Or The Repetitive Nature Of Microaggressions: An Account Of Two Life Changing Experiences, 10 Years Apart, Nina M. Ellis-Hervey

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

According to American Psychologist Angela Lee Duckworth (2016), grit is often described as passion and perseverance for very long-term goals, while encompassing courage, conscientiousness, perseverance, resilience, and passion. Embodying such characteristics has supported me in thriving in various conditions and situations as an African American girl, then a woman. Grit further assisted in me overcoming many obstacles while remaining resilient, open-minded, and inquisitive. At various points in my education, more specifically my time in undergraduate and graduate schooling, and further in my pursuit of tenure as a young professor, I was met with overt and covert exposures to microaggressions of …