Stern College for Women -- Faculty Publications

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12202/42

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Open Access
The 9th century BCE destruction layer at Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel: integrating macro- and microarchaeology.
(Elsevier, 2011-12) Katz, Jill
Destruction events in multi-period sites are valuable marker horizons that represent time-synchronous events across the site and sometimes between sites. Destruction layers often preserve rich finds that provide insights into site use. Here we use both macro- and microarchaeological methods to study a destruction event from the late 9th century at Tell es-Safi/Gath in Israel. A major conflagration at this specific location resulted in the consolidation of parts of the roof construction materials, thus enabling us to differentiate between roof, walls and floor materials. We could reconstruct the events which lead to the formation of an approximately 80 cm thick layer. The base of this layer that overlies the floor surface is a thin charred organic material-rich ash layer. As the clays in this layer were not altered by heat and the ceramics still have preserved residues, we conclude that the ash was produced elsewhere and was redistributed to this location. Ceramics that are associated with burnt roof sediments do not have preserved residues. We also estimate the time that each of the accumulation events might have taken, and conclude that this accumulation occurred over decades. The architecture and artifacts found within and beneath the destruction do not allow us to unequivocally identify the function of this area prior to destruction. We do however identify an unusual bin and associated stone pavement, and a corner rich in artifacts, phytoliths and charred organic material. We also show that a wall was built of fired mud bricks; a most unusual occurrence for this time period in the Levant. This study demonstrates well the usefulness of an integrated macro- and microarchaeological approach to understanding the archaeological record, as well as the benefits of using an on-site laboratory.
Open Access
Accumulation of antifreeze proteins on ice is determined by adsorption.
(2024)
Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) facilitate the survival of diverse organisms in frigid environments by adsorbing to ice crystals and suppressing their growth. The rate of AFP accumulation on ice is determined by an interplay between AFP diffusion from the bulk solution to the ice-water interface and the subsequent adsorption of AFPs to the interface. To interrogate the relative importance of these two processes, here we combine non-equilibrium fluorescence experiments with a reaction-diffusion model. We find that as diverse AFPs accumulate on ice, their concentration in the aqueous solution does not develop a gradient but remains equal to its bulk concentration throughout our experiments. These findings lead us to conclude that AFP accumulation on ice crystals, which are smaller than 100 microns in radius, is not limited by the diffusion of AFPs, but by the kinetics of AFP adsorption. Our results imply that mass transport limitations do not hinder AFPs from performing their biological function.
Open Access
Adom HaRishon and his contemporaries: Soulless humanoids
(Yeshiva University Stern College for Women, 2022) Babich, Harvey
On a Friday morning, in the very late summer, 5782 years ago, HaShem, using the generative nature of soil, formed the first human being, Adom HaRishon (Sanhedrin 38b). As with all animals, Adom HaRishon was provided with a life-giving force, or nefesh. However, Adom HaRishon was unique among the animal kingdom, as he was given an additional spirit, a soul (neshama). “And HaShem God formed the man from dust of the ground, and He blew into his nostrils the soul of life and man became a living being” (Bereishis 2:7).
Open Access
Analytical description of the survival probability of coherent states in regular regimes.
(American Physical Society, 2018) Lerma-Hernandez, Sergio; Chavez-Carlos, Jorge; Bastarrachea-Magnani, Miguel A.; Santos, Lea F.; Hirsch, Jorge G.; 0000-0001-9400-2709
Using coherent states as initial states, we investigate the quantum dynamics of the Lipkin–Meshkov–Glick (LMG) and Dicke models in the semi-classical limit. They are representative models of bounded systems with one- and two-degrees of freedom, respectively. The first model is integrable, while the second one has both regular and chaotic regimes. Our analysis is based on the survival probability. Within the regular regime, the energy distribution of the initial coherent states consists of quasi-harmonic sub-sequences of energies with Gaussian weights. This allows for the derivation of analytical expressions that accurately describe the entire evolution of the survival probability, from t = 0 to the saturation of the dynamics. The evolution shows decaying oscillations with a rate that depends on the anharmonicity of the spectrum and, in the case of the Dicke model, on interference terms coming from the simultaneous excitation of its two-degrees of freedom. As we move away from the regular regime, the complexity of the survival probability is shown to be closely connected with the properties of the corresponding classical phase space. Our approach has broad applicability, since its central assumptions are not particular of the studied models.
Open Access
Ancient pathologies with current medical diagnoses: “There is nothing new under the sun” (Koheles 1:9)
(Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2016) Babich, Harvey
In Ta’Nach, only brief mention is made of ailments and pathologies experienced by various personalities, without providing an in-depth description of the underlying etiologies of such health issues. Ta’Nach is not a medical textbook and the lack of such descriptors of health issues is therefore appropriate. However, it is interesting to delve into such pathologies using current medical terminology and understanding. This article focuses on cardiovascular health issues, sugar-related diseases, and cancers that possibly were experienced by individuals noted in Chumash, Nevi’im, and the Talmud. The original text, as interpreted by commentators, provides some insight into the health ailment, allowing for the formulation of an educated guess as to the specific ailment and pathology. Obviously, medical analyses of ancient pathologies cannot draw upon current biomedical technology, e.g., radiology, electrocardiograms, MRIs, CAT scans, blood and urine chemistry, or clinical specimens [1].
Open Access
The Arba minim
(Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2010) Babich, Harvey
"You shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of the hadar tree, the branches of date palms, twigs of a plaited tree, and brook willows; and you shall rejoice before HaShem, your G-d, for a seven day period" (Vayikra 23:40). This sentence is the source for the four plant species (i.e.,the arba minim) used on Succot. The hadar tree refers to the citron tree (Citrus medica), in particular, to its fruit, the etrog (citron); the date palm tree (Phoenix dactylifera) which is the source of the lulav; the plaited tree is the myrtle tree (Myrtus communis), which has trifoliate groupings of leaves, forming a braided appearance, and comprises the hadasim; and the willow brook tree (Salix acmophylla) is the source of the aravot. The unit of the arba minim consists of one etrog, one lulav, two aravot branches, and three hadasim branches (Succah 34b).
Open Access
Asymptotic expansion of correlation functions for Z^d covers of hyperbolic flows.
(IMS: Insttiute of Mathematical Statistics, 2022) Dolgopyat, Dmitry; Nándori, Peter; Pène, Françoise; 0000-0001-8238-6653
We establish expansion of every order for the correlation function of sufficiently regular observables of Zd extensions of some hyperbolic flows. Our examples include the Z2 periodic Lorentz gas and geodesic flows on abelian covers of compact manifolds with negative curvature.
Open Access
Asymptotic properties of the Lorentz process and some closely related models
(ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global, 2015) Nándori, Péter; Sz´asz, Domokos; 0000-0001-8238-6653
Chaotic, “stochastic” behavior of deterministic systems is much interesting from both theoretical and applied points of view. An archetype of such systems is the Sinai billiard - or equivalently, its periodic extension, the periodic Lorentz process. The motivation for studying these models is multiple. In the physics literature, Hendrik Lorentz [L05] introduced Lorentz gas as a model of motion of electrons in a metal. By considering the dynamics of just one classical electron in a crystal, one obtains the (periodic) Lorentz process. Nowadays, a central problem in statistical physics is to derive macroscopic laws from microscopic dynamics. In the optimal case, the microscopic dynamics are Newtonian which makes the model more realistic. The two model families, where such rigorous results are available, are mathematical billiards and oscillators. ___Going back to the motivation by the work of Lorentz [L05], one sees that these kind of problems are also physically motivated (crystals often have impurities). In the last few years, some other nonhomogeneous modifications of the periodic Lorentz process were also considered, see for instance [SYZ12] for a very recent one. As both the delicate statistical properties of the periodic Lorentz process and the basic statistical properties of some non-homogeneous versions are current active research fields, there are plenty of interesting, challenging questions, a few of which we are going to address in this thesis. ___This thesis consists of six more or less self-contained chapters. Chapters 2 3 4 and 5 contain (almost verbatim) the articles [N11a, N11b, NSz12, NSzV12a], respectively. Chapter 6 is the preprint [NSzV12b], while Chapter 7 is an unpublished work, also joint with Domokos Szasz and Tamas Varju. I would also like to remark that Chapter 2 heavily overlaps with my MSc thesis. At several points - mainly in the introductions -, the Chapters may overlap (by not much, though). The high level logic of the thesis is the following: Chapters 2 and 3 are about some stochastic models (random walks) that are motivated by the periodic Lorentz processes. Chapter 4 is about a specific type of inhomogeneity (both in space and time) in Lorentz process. On the technical level, Chapters 2-4 require ideas almost exclusively from Probability theory. Chapter 5 suggests an approach to study general time inhomogeneity in dynamical systems (at its present state, not strong enough to treat two dimensional dynamics, though). Chapter 6 deals with Lorentz processes with infinite horizon in dimension d ≥ 3, while Chapter 7 is roughly speaking a new proof for the convergence to the Brownian motion in the plane, again, in the infinite horizon case. On the technical level, Chapters 5-7 require ideas primarily from the theory of Dynamical systems and elementary geometry, although Probability theory is still an important ingredient. We also mention that the motivation of Chapters 3 and 7 is mainly (but not exclusively) is the hope that they might be useful at attacking Conjecture 1.1. Each Chapter starts with an introductory Section and some of them has some remarks in the end pointing out some possible extensions and open questions. In the rest of this Section, we introduce each Chapter in some more details.
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Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms, underperception of respiratory compromise, and illness representations in Black and Latino children with asthma
(Oxford UP, 2023) Feldman, Jonathan M.; Fruchter, N.; Arcoleo, K.; Rastogi, D.; Serebrisky, D.; Warman, K.; 0000-0002-7326-3026
•Objective This study examined the associations between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, underperception of respiratory compromise, and illness representations in Black and Latino children with asthma. We hypothesized that increased child-reported ADHD symptoms, as well as parent reports for their child, would be associated with underperception of respiratory compromise, and maladaptive asthma beliefs. •Methods Two hundred ninety-six parent–child dyads were recruited from pediatric asthma and primary care clinics in the Bronx. Participants completed demographic questionnaires, the Conners-3 ADHD Index to measure ADHD symptoms, and the Asthma Illness Representation Scale to assess asthma beliefs. Perception of respiratory compromise was assessed by programmable electronic peak flow monitors that measured the child’s subjective estimates of peak expiratory flow (PEF) and actual PEF, with underperception as the primary measure. •Results •Child-reported ADHD symptoms were associated with greater underperception (β = .117, p = .049) of respiratory compromise. Parent-reported ADHD symptoms were associated with greater underperception (β = .129, p = .028) of respiratory compromise. Child-reported ADHD symptoms (β = −.188, p < .001) were associated with more maladaptive asthma beliefs, F(1, 341) = 13.135. Parent-reported ADHD symptoms (β = −.203, p ≤ .001) were associated with more maladaptive asthma beliefs, F(1, 341) = 15.644. Conclusions •ADHD symptoms were associated with a greater underperception of respiratory compromise and more maladaptive asthma beliefs. Deficits of attentional processes and/or hyperactivity levels might be contributing factors. We emphasize the need for psychoeducation and interventions that improve perception and health beliefs in children with comorbid ADHD and asthma.
Open Access
Betar and Aelia Capitolina: Symbols of Jewish suffering.
(Yeshiva University, 2011) Katz, Jill
Open Access
Biblical and Talmudic human genetics
(Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2014) Babich, Harvey
Neither the Ta'nach nor the Talmud is a scientific genetics textbook, yet each contains information relevant to human genetic health issues, and each makes note of various pathologies linked to defective genes. For example, from a hereditary viewpoint of the transmission of traits, recommendations are presented concerning which couples are suitable marriage partners and which are not. The first recorded case history of a geneticallv transmitted disease (i.e., hemophilia) is cited in the Talmud. The interactions between the environment and genetics (i.e., nature and nurture) in molding phenotype are noted, as well as hints for the newly discovered science of epigenetics. Rather a new science, epigenetics is the study o[ mechanisms that alter gene expression that can be transmitted from one generation to the next, but do not involve a change in the DNA sequence (i.e., are not mutagenic). Traits controlled by autosomes and by the X and Y sex chromosomes are discussed, as are sex-limited and sex-influenced traits. This manuscript reviews some of the human genetics noted in the Ta'nach and in the Talmud.
Open Access
Biblical and Talmudic microbes
(Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2009) Babich, Harvey
Microbiology is the study of organisms that cannot be viewed with the unaided or naked eye, but rather they must be viewed through a microscope. This category of organisms is rather broad and includes bacteria, algae, protozoa, and yeasts, which are types of fungus. Viruses are acellular and, although not considered to be life forms, are usually included in the study of microbiology. Some varieties of microorganisms are actually macroscopic and can be seen without the use of a microscope. Examples are filamentous fungi, which include mushrooms and truffles, and some multicellular algae. Microscopic life forms were first recognized by Antony van Leeuwenhoek, who developed a simple compound microscope and reported the existence of protozoa in 1674 and bacteria in 1676. Thus, there is no mention of microbes in Ta’nach or in the Talmud. Mushrooms and truffles, however, are noted in the Talmud.
Open Access
Bioluminescence in Polynoid Scale Worms
(Frontiers Media S.A., 2021., 2021) Moraes, Gabriela V.; Hannon, Mary Colleen; Soares, Douglas M. M.; Stevani, Cassius V.; Schulze, Anja; Oliveira, Anderson G.; 0000-0003-1752-0726
Bioluminescence is widespread throughout the phylum Annelida and occurs in terrestrial and marine lineages. Among marine taxa, bioluminescence has been documented in eight families and anecdotally reported in six additional families. Although new bioluminescent systems have been recently described in annelids, there are still many other families whose light emission mechanisms have not been sufficiently studied. Some of these include luminescent species belonging to the Polynoidae family, also known as scale worms, whose iterations of dorsal elytra (scales) have the ability to emit intense light when stimulated. Depending on the degree of stimulation, some polynoids can autotomize these luminous elytra and posterior segments, which could potentially give them an advantage in evading attacks by predators. It is believed that Polynoidae bioluminescence is associated with a membrane enzyme known as “polynoidin,” which was isolated during the early 1980s from Malmgrenia lunulata. However, the characterization and properties of this enzyme, as well as the chemical nature of its substrate or additional potential cofactors, have never been fully described and remain largely unknown. As such, this paper seeks to revisit previous research involving bioluminescence studies in Polynoidae, as well as the morphological, phylogenetic and ecological aspects related to this emission of light.
Open Access
Bioluminescent dinoflagellates as a bioassay for toxicity assessment
(MDPI, 2022-10-27) Oliveira, Anderson Garbuglio de; Perin, Luíza S.; Moraes, Gabriela V.; Galeazzo, Gabriela A; 0000-0003-1752-0726
Dinoflagellates bioluminescence mechanism depends upon a luciferin–luciferase reaction that promotes blue light emission (480 nm) in specialized luminogenic organelles called scintillons. The scintillons contain luciferin, luciferase and, in some cases, a luciferin-binding protein (LBP), which prevents luciferin from non-enzymatic oxidation in vivo. Even though dinoflagellate bioluminescence has been studied since the 1950s, there is still a lack of mechanistic understanding on whether the light emission process involves a peroxidic intermediate or not. Still, bioassays employing luminous dinoflagellates, usually from Gonyaulax or Pyrocystis genus, can be used to assess the toxicity of metals or organic compounds. In these dinoflagellates, the response to toxicity is observed as a change in luminescence, which is linked to cellular respiration. As a result, these changes can be used to calculate a percentage of light inhibition that correlates directly with toxicity. This current approach, which lies in between fast bacterial assays and more complex toxicity tests involving vertebrates and invertebrates, can provide a valuable tool for detecting certain pollutants, e.g., metals, in marine sediment and seawater. Thus, the present review focuses on how the dinoflagellates bioluminescence can be applied to evaluate the risks caused by contaminants in the marine environment.
Open Access
Blood, frogs, and lice
(Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, 2008) Babich, Harvey
This article analyses the initial three plagues through the eyes of various Torah commentaries and synthesizes scientific explanations within the discussions. The approach, noted by Rav E. Munk [1], is as follows: “In the miracles recorded in the Torah, the supernatural is often interwoven with the natural and the plagues may be defined as miraculously intensified forms of the diseases and other natural occurrences encountered in Egypt.” Rav E. Dessler [2] explained that there is no essential difference between the natural and the miraculous. We term an act as a miracle when HaShem causes a novel occurrence, unfamiliar to us. Everyday natural events, those governed by the so-called laws of nature, are also miracles, but their common occurrence and recognizable patterns dilute their significance.
Open Access
Building a city wall: An administrative perspective.
(Near Eastern Archaeology, 2017) Katz, Jill
During the Early Bronze Age II/III, Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath was fortified by a city wall. This wall has been exposed now in several areas, stretching from the acropolis in the west (Area F), alongside the central part of the southern ridge (Area P; fig. 1) to the lower slopes in the east (Area J), just below a significant Early Bronze Age neighborhood in Area E. In general, the wall width is approximately 2.5 m, but varies along its length, including periodic offsets that protrude over 0.5 m. The longest stretch of contiguous wall currently visible is 21 m, and a portion of that was exposed all the way to its foundation. This probe revealed that the stone structure itself was comprised of large and medium-sized, roughly-cut, local fieldstones to a height of 10 courses, or 2.4 m (fig. 2). In addition, there was most likely an original mud-brick superstructure on top of the stones as implied by the thick decomposed mud-brick accumulation just outside the wall.
Open Access
Calculation of transition state energies in the hcn–hnc isomerization with an algebraic model.
(American Chemical Society, 2019-10-09) Khalouf-Rivera, Jamil; Carvajal, Miguel; Pérez-Bernal, Francisco; Santos, Lea F.; 0000-0001-9400-2709
Recent works have shown that the spectroscopic access to highly excited states provides enough information to characterize transition states in isomerization reactions. Here, we show that information about the transition state of the bond-breaking HCN–HNC isomerization reaction can also be achieved with the two-dimensional limit of the algebraic vibron model. We describe the system’s bending vibration with the algebraic Hamiltonian and use its classical limit to characterize the transition state. Using either the coherent state formalism or a recently proposed approach by Baraban [ Science 2015, 350, 1338–1342], we obtain an accurate description of the isomerization transition state. In addition, we show that the energy-level dynamics and the transition state wave function structure indicate that the spectrum in the vicinity of the isomerization saddle point can be understood in terms of the formalism for excited-state quantum phase transitions.
Open Access
Caputo standard α-family of maps: Fractional difference vs. fractional
(Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science, 2014-06) Edelman, Mark; 0000-0002-5190-3651
In this paper, the author compares behaviors of systems which can be described by fractional differential and fractional difference equations using the fractional and fractional difference Caputo standard α-Families of maps as examples. The author shows that properties of fractional difference maps (systems with falling factorial-law memory) are similar to the properties of fractional maps (systems with power-law memory). The similarities (types of attractors, power-law convergence of trajectories, existence of cascade of bifurcations and intermittent cascade of bifurcations type trajectories, and dependence of properties on the memory parameter α) and differences in properties of falling factorial- and power-law memory maps are investigated. Unlike fractional calculus, whose history is more than three hundred years old, fractional difference calculus is relatively young—it is approximately thirty years old. This is probably the result of the fact that, despite the beautiful mathematics which arises during the development of fractional difference calculus, it does not have too many applications in nature and engineering. As it has been recently demonstrated, the simplest fractional difference equations (when a fractional difference on the left is equal to a nonlinear function on the right) are equivalent to maps with falling factorial-law memory. Falling factorial-law memory is asymptotically power-law memory with the rate of convergence proportional to the inverse of time (or number of iterations in discrete cases). It is difficult to distinguish power-law from asymptotically power-law memory which frequently appears in investigation of noisy natural systems. This is the major motivation for the presented work in which we study the simplest fractional difference equations with sine nonlinearity and compare their properties with properties of the corresponding systems with power-law memory.
Open Access
Celebrating Pesach in the Land of the Pharaohs.
(Yeshiva University, 2012) Katz, Jill
Open Access
A central limit theorem for time-dependent dynamical systems
(Springer, 2012) Nándori, Péter; Szász, Domokos; Varjú, Tamás; 0000-0001-8238-6653
The work by Ott et al. (Math. Res. Lett. 16:463-475, ) established memory loss in the time-dependent (non-random) case of uniformly expanding maps of the interval. Here we find conditions under which we have convergence to the normal distribution of the appropriately scaled Birkhoff-like partial sums of appropriate test functions. A substantial part of the problem is to ensure that the variances of the partial sums tend to infinity (cf. the zero-cohomology condition in the autonomous case). In fact, the present paper is the first one where non-random examples are also found, which are not small perturbations of a given map. Our approach uses martingale approximation technique in the form of Sethuraman and Varadhan (Electron. J. Probab. 10:121-1235, ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Statistical Physics is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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