Stern College for Women -- Faculty Publications
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Item Open Access Conjugated dienoic acid peroxides as substrates in Chaetopterus bioluminescence system(MDPI, 2023) Oliveira, Anderson G.; Shcheglov, Aleksandr S; Mineev, Konstantin S.; Dubinnyi, Maxim A.; Myasnyanko, Ivan N; Belozerova, Olga A.; Pakhomova, Vera G; Petushkov, Valentin N; Rodionova, Natalia S; Rodionova, Natalia S; Guglya, Elena B.; Kovalchuk, Sergey; Kozhemyako, Valeri B; Mirza, Jeremy D.; Yampolsky, Ilia V.; Kaskova, Zinaida M; Tsarkova, Aleksandra S; 0000-0003-1752-0726Biochemistry of bioluminescence of the marine parchment tubeworm Chaetopterus has been in research focus for over a century; however, the results obtained by various groups contradict each other. Here, we report the isolation and structural elucidation of three compounds from Chaetomorpha linum algae, which demonstrate bioluminescence activity with Chaetopterus luciferase in the presence of Fe2+ ions. These compounds are derivatives of polyunsaturated fatty acid peroxides. We have also obtained their structural analogues and demonstrated their activity in the bioluminescence reaction, thus confirming the broad substrate specificity of the luciferase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Journal of Molecular Sciences is the property of MDPI 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.)Item Metadata only Walt Whitman: Poet of prizefighters.(Oxford UP, 2024) Price, Kenneth; Schöberlein, StefanThis article comprehensively examines Walt Whitman’s writings on nineteenth-century bare-knuckle prizefighting and its training regimens. Until recently, the only sport addressed in relation to Whitman has been baseball; however, the recent discovery of the poet’s self-help manifesto, “Manly Health and Training,” greatly expands his known writing on boxing and forces a reconsideration of Whitman in the context of sports literature in general and early American prizefighting in particular. For a brief period prior to the Civil War, culminating in 1858, Whitman expressed sustained interest in pugilism. He praises boxers’ character and physique, reviews a recent bout heralded as America’s first championship fight, recommends boxing training broadly to Americans, and argues for the sport’s legalization—making Whitman, as opposed to Jack London, the first American author of note to significantly address America’s most widely discussed spectator sport during the nineteenth century.Item Metadata only Rationalizing Kerei u-Ketiv: Methodology in his biblical commentaries(Academic Studies Press, 2023) Grunhaus, Naomi; Eleff, Z.; Seidler-Feller, S."Emet le-Ya'akov comprises a collection of essays celebrating the career and achievements of Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, who has served the American and international Jewish community with distinction in his roles as a synagogue rabbi, university professor, and public intellectual. These articles, like the honoree, recognize the importance of both history and memory, emphasize the necessity of accuracy in historiography, and do not shy away from inconvenient truths. They are divided into three categories that help frame the discussion around "facing the truths of history": Textual Traditions, Memory and Making of Meaning, and (Re)Creating a Usable Past. The volume also includes a brief sketch of Schacter's life and work and a bibliography of his publications"-- Provided by publisherItem Metadata only The relationship between social support, self-efficacy, and asthma outcomes in older adults(SAGE Publicatons, 2023) Feldman, Jonathan M.; Greenfield, N.; Becker, J.; Wisnevsky, J.; Federman, A.; 0000-0002-7326-3026Objective There has been a call for research examining factors that influence asthma outcomes in older adults because of the notable disparities observed in this age group. Social support and self-efficacy are resources that factor into asthma outcomes. The current study aimed to examine the relationship between these resources (independently and jointly) and asthma control and quality of life. Methods Older adults with moderate-severe asthma were recruited from NYC. Data were obtained during in-person interviews via validated measures of social support, asthma self-efficacy, asthma control, and asthma quality of life. Linear regression evaluated self-efficacy in the relationship between social support and asthma outcomes. Results In a sample of 359 older adults (M = 68.04, 47.9% Hispanic, 26.5% Black, and 25.6% other), social support had an inverse association with asthma control. As social support increased, asthma control decreased (β=.95, t(356)=-3.13, p=.002). Self-efficacy significantly moderated this relationship (β=.01, t(356)=2.37, p=.018). For individuals with low or moderate asthma self-efficacy, more received social support was associated with worse asthma control (β= -.33, t(356) = -4.66 p <.0001; β =-.20; t(356) = -3.21 p =.0014, respectively). For individuals with high self-efficacy, no relationship was found between received social support and asthma control (β = -.10, t(356)= -1.20, p=.23). For asthma quality of life, higher levels of received social support were associated with worse quality of life (β = -.88, t(356)=-2.64 p =.009), but this association was not significantly moderated by self-efficacy (β=.01, t(356)= 1.90 p = .0582). Conclusions For older adults with asthma, receiving more social support is associated with worse asthma outcomes, especially for older adults with lower asthma self-efficacy.Item Metadata only 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.Item Open Access Micro-thermography for imaging ice crystal growth and nucleation inside non-transparent materials(AIP (American Institute of Physics), 2023) Zalazar, M.; Zypman, Fredy; Drori, Ron; 0000-0002-6436-5602Ice crystal growth and nucleation rate measurements are usually done using light microscopy in liquid and transparent samples. Yet, the understanding of important practical problems depends on monitoring ice growth inside solid materials, for example how rapid ice growth leads to structural damage of food, or how the final structure of cementitious materials is affected by ice during curing. Imaging crystal growth inside solid materials cannot be done with visible light and is intrinsically more challenging than visible light imaging. Thermography is a technique that uses thermal (infrared) cameras to monitor temperature changes in a material, and it has been used to provide a qualitative description of ice propagation with a low spatial resolution. Here, we describe a method that uses a novel micro-thermography system to image ice nucleation and growth inside non-transparent samples. This method relies on two major components: a cold stage with accurate temperature control (±0.001 ○C) and a thermal camera with high spatial and temperature resolution. Our experiments include imaging of ice formation and growth in pure water first and then inside plant leaves used as a model for a non-transparent material. An ice growth rate of 2.2 mm/s was measured inside a plant leaf at −12 ○C, and ice nucleation in single plant cells was observed as a hotspot having a diameter of 160 μm. The results presented here provide an experimental proof that high-quality imaging of ice growth is achievable, thus paving the way for quantitative measurements of ice growth kinetics and ice nucleation in solid materials. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0142245Item 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.Item Metadata only Molecular basis for destabilization of methane clathrate by a deep subsurface bacterial protein(Oxford UP, 2024) Huard, D. J. E.; Johnson, A. M; Fan, Z.; Kenney, L. G.; Xu, M.; Drori, R.; Gumbart, J. C.; Dai, S.; Lieberman, R. L.; Glass, J. B.; 0000-0002-6436-5602Item Metadata only Divergent mechanisms of ice growth inhibition by antifreeze proteins(Springer Nature, 2024) Drori, Ron; Stevens, C. A.; 0000-0002-6436-5602Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are biomolecules that can bind to ice and hinder its growth, thus holding significant potential for biotechnological and biomedical applications. AFPs are a subset of ice-binding proteins (IBPs) and are found in various organisms across different life kingdoms. This mini-review investigates the underlying mechanisms by which AFPs impede ice growth, emphasizing the disparities between hyperactive and moderate AFPs. Hyperactive AFPs exhibit heightened thermal hysteresis (TH) activity and can bind to both the basal and prism planes of ice crystals, enabling them to endure extremely cold temperatures. In contrast, moderate AFPs predominantly bind to the prism/pyramidal planes and demonstrate lower TH activity. The structural diversity of AFPs and the presence of ordered water molecules on their ice-binding sites (IBS) have been subjects of debate among researchers. Multiple hypotheses have been proposed concerning the significance of ordered water molecules in ice binding. Gaining insights into the binding dynamics and the factors influencing TH activity in AFPs is crucial for the development of efficient synthetic compounds and the establishment of comprehensive models to elucidate ice growth inhibition. Here we emphasize the necessity for further research to unravel the mechanisms of AFPs and presents a pathway for constructing models capable of comprehensively explaining their inhibitory effects on ice growth.Item Metadata only Investigating the interaction between ice-binding proteins and ice surfaces using microfluidic devices and cold stages(Springer, 2024) Drori, Ron; Drori, Ron; Stevens, C. A.; 0000-0002-6436-5602Ice-binding proteins (IBPs) protect organisms living in sub-freezing conditions by inhibiting ice growth in fish and insects, limiting ice recrystallization in plants, and assisting bacteria to adhere to ice. The mechanisms by which these proteins bind to ice and inhibit its growth have been studied both experimentally and using molecular dynamic simulations. A unique experimental technique developed to test and characterize the interactions between IBPs and ice using a combination of a microfluidic device, cold stages with millikelvin temperature resolution, fluorescence-labeled IBPs, and fluorescence microscopy is described herein. The main advantage of this technique is the ability to exchange the solution around micron-sized ice crystals and characterize their binding to and inhibition of ice.Item Open Access E. J. Edmunds, school integration, and white supremacist backlash in Reconstruction New Orleans(Cambridge University Press, 2019-08) Zelbo, Sian Elizabeth; 0000-0002-3819-6104When the New Orleans school board appointed E. J. Edmunds, a light-skinned Afro-Creole man, the mathematics teacher for the city's best high school in 1875, the senior students walked out rather than have a "negro" as a teacher of "white youths." Edmunds's appointment was a final, bold act by the city's mixed-race intellectual elite in exercising the political power they held under Radical Reconstruction to strip racial designations from public schools. White supremacist Redeemers responded with a vicious propaganda campaign to define, differentiate, and diminish the "negro race." Edmunds navigated the shifting landscape of race in the New Orleans public schools first as a student and then as a teacher, and the details of his life show the impact on ordinary Afro-Creoles as the city's warring politicians used the public schools both to undermine and reinforce the racial order.Item Metadata only The recreational mathematics of activities of ordinary nineteenth century Americans: A study of two mathematics puzzle columns and their contributors(Taylor & Francis, 2019) Zelbo, Sian Elizabeth; 0000-0002-3819-6104This study analyses two American recreational mathematics columns from the end of the nineteenth century—one from Atlanta, Georgia’s Sunny South and one from Wilmington, Delaware’s Delaware Gazette and State Journal. Each was an active forum, used by ordinary, educated laypeople to participate in a culture of mathematics by contributing problems and solutions, and in some cases entering into heated discussions. This period was one of dramatic change in American mathematics, in which researchers, educators and textbook authors ended their isolation from developments in Europe and shifted emphasis from rote procedures and practical calculations toward reasoning about abstract mathematics. The mathematics columns in Sunny South and the Delaware Gazette reflect these two different views of mathematics that were percolating in American culture at the time and offer a window into the mathematical beliefs and understanding of the ordinary Americans who contributed to them.Item Open Access A thesaurus for Biblical Hebrew(c European Language Resources Association (ELRA),, 2020-05-11) Waxman, Joshua; Azar, Miriam; Pahmer, Aliza; 0000-0002-8617-2254Abstract We build a thesaurus for Biblical Hebrew, with connections between roots based on phonetic, semantic, and distributional similarity. To this end, we apply established algorithms to find connections between headwords based on existing lexicons and other digital resources. For semantic similarity, we utilize the cosine-similarity of tf-idf vectors of English gloss text of Hebrew headwords from Ernest Klein’s A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English as well as from Brown-Driver-Brigg’s Hebrew Lexicon. For phonetic similarity, we digitize part of Matityahu Clark’s Etymological Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew, grouping Hebrew roots into phonemic classes, and establish phonetic relationships between headwords in Klein’s Dictionary. For distributional similarity, we consider the cosine similarity of PPMI vectors of Hebrew roots and also, in a somewhat novel approach, apply Word2Vec to a Biblical corpus reduced to its lexemes. The resulting resource is helpful to those trying to understand Biblical Hebrew, and also stands as a good basis for programs trying to process the Biblical text.Item Open Access The persistence of pay inequality: The gender pay gap in an anonymous online labor market.(PLoS ONE (Public Library of Science), 2020-02-21) Waxman, Joshua; Litman, Leib; Robinson, Jonathan; Rosen, Zohn; Rosenzweig, Cheskie; Bates, Lisa M.; 0000-0002-8617-2254Studies of the gender pay gap are seldom able to simultaneously account for the range of alternative putative mechanisms underlying it. Using CloudResearch, an online microtask platform connecting employers to workers who perform research-related tasks, we examine whether gender pay discrepancies are still evident in a labor market characterized by anonymity, relatively homogeneous work, and flexibility. For 22,271 Mechanical Turk workers who participated in nearly 5 million tasks, we analyze hourly earnings by gender, controlling for key covariates which have been shown previously to lead to differential pay for men and women. On average, women’s hourly earnings were 10.5% lower than men’s. Several factors contributed to the gender pay gap, including the tendency for women to select tasks that have a lower advertised hourly pay. This study provides evidence that gender pay gaps can arise despite the absence of overt discrimination, labor segregation, and inflexible work arrangements, even after experience, education, and other human capital factors are controlled for. Findings highlight the need to examine other possible causes of the gender pay gap. Potential strategies for reducing the pay gap on online labor markets are also discussed.Item Open Access Identification of sumoylated targets in proliferating mouse spermatogonia and human testicular seminomas(Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications, 2020., 2020) Vigodner, Margarita; Lucas, Benjamin; Kemeny, Stav; Schwartz, Tamar; Levy, RebeccaORIGINAL ARTICLE Identification of sumoylated targets in proliferating mouse spermatogonia and human testicular seminomas Vigodner, Margarita1,2,; Lucas, Benjamin1; Kemeny, Stav1; Schwartz, Tamar1; Levy, Rebecca1 Author Information 1Department of Biology, Stern College, Yeshiva University, New York, NY 10016, USA 2Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA Correspondence: Dr. M Vigodner (vigodner@yu.edu) Received September 27, 2019 Accepted January 17, 2020 Asian Journal of Andrology 22(6):p 569-577, Nov–Dec 2020. | DOI: 10.4103/aja.aja_11_20 Open Abstract Spermatogenesis is regulated by a complex network of posttranslation modifications. Sumoylation (a modification by small ubiquitin-like modifiers, or SUMO proteins) was identified as an important cellular event in different cell types. SUMO proteins are highly expressed in the testis, and their role during spermatogenesis has begun to be elucidated. Given the important role of sumoylation in the regulation of mitosis and cancer progression in other tissues, the aim of the current study was to identify the targets of SUMO in proliferating mouse spermatogonia and human seminoma tissues and to initially examine the level of sumoylation in relation to the proliferative activity of the tissues. Using freshly purified spermatogonia and C18-4 spermatogonia cell line, mass spectrometry analysis identified several SUMO targets implicated into the proliferation of spermatogonia (such as heat shock protein 60 [HSP60] and prohibitin). Tissue array and western blot approaches showed that SUMO expression is a prominent feature of human seminomas and that the proliferative activity of the tumor tissues was positively correlated with the level of SUMO expression. Downregulation of sumoylation with si-RNA was not sufficient to significantly affect the proliferation of C18-4 spermatogonia; however, SUMO overexpression increased the proliferation rate of the cells. These data suggest that cells are more sensitive to an elevated level of SUMO, and that this situation may lead to an upregulated cellular proliferation and, possibly, cancer. Mass spectrometry analysis identified around a hundred SUMO targets in seminoma samples. Notably, many of the identified proteins (such as proliferating cell nuclear antigen [PCNA], DNA topoisomerase 2-alpha [Top2A], prohibitin, 14-3-3 protein, and others) were implicated in oncogenic transformation and cancer progression.Item Open Access A course-based undergraduate research experience examining neurodegeneration in Drosophila melanogaster teaches students to think, communicate, and perform like scientists(PLoS ONE (Public Library of Science), 2020) Delventhal, Rebecca; Steinhauer, Josefa; 0000-0002-0960-5271As educators strive to incorporate more active learning and inquiry-driven exercises into STEM curricula, Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) are becoming more common in undergraduate laboratory courses. Here we detail a CURE developed in an upper-level undergraduate genetics course at Yeshiva University, centered on the Drosophila melanogaster ortholog of the human neurodegeneration locus PLA2G6/PARK14. Drosophila PLA2G6 mutants exhibit symptoms of neurodegeneration, such as attenuated lifespan and decreased climbing ability with age, which can be replicated by neuron-specific knockdown of PLA2G6. To ask whether the neurodegeneration phenotype could be caused by loss of PLA2G6 in specific neuronal subtypes, students used GAL4-UAS to perform RNAi knockdown of PLA2G6 in subsets of neurons in the Drosophila central nervous system and measured age-dependent climbing ability. We organized our learning objectives for the CURE into three broad goals of having students think, communicate, and perform like scientists. To assess how well students achieved these goals, we developed a detailed rubric to analyze written lab reports, administered pre- and post-course surveys, and solicited written feedback. We observed striking gains related to all three learning goals, and students reported a high degree of satisfaction. We also observed significantly improved understanding of the scientific method by students in the CURE as compared to the prior year's non-CURE genetics lab students. Thus, this CURE can serve as a template to successfully engage students in novel research, improve understanding of the scientific process, and expose students to the use of Drosophila as a model for human neurodegenerative disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of PLoS ONE is the property of Public Library of Science 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.)Item Open Access The thought worlds of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks(Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), 2020-11) Shatz, DavidRabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks’ contributions to Jewish thought are massive and breathtaking.They span works of philosophy, parshanut , history, and homiletics, along with commentarieson the Siddur, Mahzor , and Haggada. Countless Jews know his name; many of them,particularly among the Orthodox, have read his works, heard him speak, perused his parasha sheets, regularly used his siddur , and viewed or heard his online conversations. He addressed robustly issues of paramount concern for Jews: anti-Semitism, Jewish identity, the Shoah, Israel, the family, unity, community, and continuity. Here was a man who had little formal Jewish learning until his 20s and yet — by harnessing brilliance, vision, commitment.and stunning eloquence — sensitized hearts, expanded minds, and animated Jewish life. Hisreaders and audiences always emerged edified and inspired. Those who met him were greeted warmly and witnessed his capacity to engage. All are saddened by his passing,which sprang upon us so quickly. (from Introduction)Item Open Access Professor Mark Steiner: In Memoriam(Rabbinical Council of America (RCS), 2020-05) Shatz, David; Berger, DavidMark Steiner z”l , Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the Hebrew University, passed away shortly before Passover from the COVID-19 virus, at age 77.Item Open Access Teaching Jewish philosophy: Materials, methods, and meaning(2020) Shatz, DavidThere are numerous conceptions of Jewish philosophy (or, if you will, Jewish thought—more on terminology later), and which readings a teacher assigns depends in large measure on which conception that teacher is utilizing. Is Jewish philosophy the history of a canon featuring Saadya, Bahya, Halevi, Maimonides, and others? Is it a philosophical explication of concepts and claims found in classic texts, such as Tanakh, Talmud, and Midrash? Is it an assessment of those concepts and claims? Is it the attempt to create new ideas that touch base with the old texts? Is it the quest to define the meaning of Jewish existence in the contemporary world, especially in light of the Holocaust and the rise of the State of Israel? Is it the study of contemporary thinkers? Or, finally, is it the application of Jewish philosophical (and not only legal) concepts to concrete social issues? (from Introduction)Item Open Access Darshan for the ages.(New York NY: Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, 2020) Shatz, DavidIn sharing my memories of Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm, I want to focus not on my connection to him as a faculty member at Yeshiva University, but on a different and more personal connection that goes back almost sixty years. Even so, these thoughts are only partly about what Rabbi Lamm means to me; they are also about what he meant to World Jewry well before he became president of Yeshiva University, and about what his labors will mean for generations to come. As I reflect, every fiber of my being is filled with gratitude to him, with hakarat hatov— but also with inexpressible sadness, a sadness that already began with the passing of Mrs. Mindella Lamm just six weeks before her husband’s petirah .