Brooklyn College

Scientifc fndings on gender, sex, and their entanglement should and do extend to policy and practice. Through both theorizing and exemplifying, this chapter identifes how the application of sex and gender as discrete, disentangled constructs harms individuals and groups in policy application (such as via discrimination). It also discusses how the application of entangled gender/sex can support more robust and just policy as well as sciences

Decisions made by a government agency on an individual’s sex classification can differ from an individual’s understanding of themselves as female, male, or nonbinary. This disjunction has often been understood as a conflict between sex construed as a biological phenomenon and gender as a psychological/social phenomenon. This article presents another way to understand conflicts and contradictory outcomes in gender/sex classification. Instead of thinking about problems in the state management of gender/sex as consequences of getting the definition “wrong” or as disagreements about “what sex really is” and its relation to gender, this article suggests that much can be learned about the use of gender/sex in policy by adopting the methodological starting point that “sex” is not a thing in itself but only an effect of a particular state action. It focuses on one particular issue: the reclassification of an individual as female, male, or nonbinary by state actors in the United States. Examining these policies in the United States, three distinct phases are identified that reveal the different governing and political rationales at play.

Humans seek to eat what is palatable, especially when snacking. Theoretically, a person who enjoys sweet taste more may choose snacks with higher sugar and calories, leading to lower overall diet quality, yet individual eating behavior traits may interfere with this relationship. We investigated the influences of sweet taste preference (assessed using a forced-choice paired-comparison method) and eating behaviors (i.e., uncontrolled eating, emotional eating, and cognitive restraint using the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire–R18) on diet quality and added sugars intake (validated short Healthy Eating Index survey) in 65 adults (23.0 ± 5.5 years). Participants were divided into sweet dislike, moderate sweet liker, and extreme sweet liker groups by preferred sucrose concentration tertiles. Most participants selected a low-calorie, high-sweetness snack, and neither sweet preference nor eating behavior traits were associated with snack choice. Compared to extreme sweet likers, sweet dislikers and moderate sweet likers had a lower added sugars intake, F(2, 62) = 7.32, p = 0.001, and better diet quality, F(2, 62) = 4.06, p = 0.02. Preferred sucrose concentration correlated only with higher added sugars intake (r = 0.49, p < 0.001) and lower diet quality (r = -0.27, p = 0.03) but not with the intake of other food groups. Higher sweet preference increased the odds of consuming medium (OR = 2.18, 95% CI = 0.32, 6.08) and high (OR = 3.17, 95% CI = 1.85, 7.86) amounts of added sugars. Adding other covariates did not improve the statistical model. Interestingly, only sweet preference, but not added sugars intake and eating behaviors, was associated with diet quality. Thus, our data suggest that sweet preference may have a stronger influence on added sugars intake and diet quality compared to eating behaviors, although these findings should be replicated in other populations and with a larger sample size. Future studies may also assess liking for other sensory qualities (e.g., fat liking) to understand the contributions of taste preference to nutrient intake and diet quality.

Prenatal exposure to metals is a significant concern, particularly in urban settings where environmental factors and maternal characteristics may contribute to varying exposure levels. Understanding the factors influencing metal concentrations in newborns is crucial for developing targeted interventions. This study assessed the association between maternal characteristics, including country of origin and residential factors, and prenatal metal exposure in newborns delivered at public hospitals in New York City. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted on 301 mother-newborn dyads. Meconium samples were collected and analyzed for ten metals using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Concentrations of metals, including aluminum, iron, manganese, nickel, and lead, varied based on demographic variables in the study population. Asian and Spanish-speaking mothers had significantly higher lead concentrations compared to White and English-speaking mothers. No significant associations were found between maternal housing characteristics and metal concentrations, potentially due to participants predominantly residing in environmental justice areas. The findings suggest that prenatal metal exposure in this population may be influenced by prior exposures in the country of origin and socio-economic factors post-immigration. These insights highlight the need for targeted public health interventions to reduce prenatal metal exposure in vulnerable urban populations.

This Element proposes that, in addition to using traditional historical methodologies, historians need to find extra-textual, embodied ways of understanding the past in order to more fully comprehend it. Written by a medieval historian, the Element explains why historians assume they cannot use reperformance in historical inquiry and why they, in fact, should. The Element employs tools from the discipline of performance studies, which has long grappled with the differences between the archive and the repertoire, between the records of historical performances and the embodied movements, memories, and emotions of the performance itself, which are often deemed unknowable by scholars. It shows how an embodied epistemology is particularly suited to studying certain premodern historical topics, using the example of medieval monasticism. Finally, using the case of performance-lectures given at The Met Cloisters, it shows how using performance as a tool for historical investigation might work.

Objective To evaluate the current evidence on the diagnosis, management, and outcomes of pediatric pulmonary embolism (PE) across varying severity classifications, including massive, submassive, and non-massive presentations. Methods A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Searches were performed in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases up to February 17, 2024. Eligible studies included pediatric and adolescent patients (≤ 21 years) with confirmed PE diagnoses. Risk of bias was assessed using the NIH tool. Results Six studies involving 258 pediatric patients with massive, submassive, or non-massive PE were included. Most patients were adolescents, with a mean age of 14.1 years and a predominance of females (62–66%). Risk factors included obesity, oral contraceptive use, thrombophilia, and autoimmune conditions. Computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) was the most frequently used diagnostic modality, showing varied lobar, segmental, and subsegmental involvement. Management strategies ranged from anticoagulation to catheter-directed thrombolysis and surgical thrombectomy. Outcomes varied by severity, with massive PE cases showing higher mortality and complications compared to submassive and non-massive cases. Conclusion Pediatric PE requires tailored risk stratification and management strategies to optimize outcomes. Delays in diagnosis and severe disease presentations contribute to higher morbidity and mortality. Future research should focus on standardized severity classifications, novel diagnostic modalities, and comparative assessments of therapeutic interventions to enhance outcomes in this population.

Since being introduced into the Laurentian Great Lakes in the 1990s, round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) has spread rapidly, reaching the Hudson River Estuary, NY in 2021. To address the expansion potential into saline environments from this North American coastal invasion front, we experimentally assessed the salinity tolerance of adult round gobies. Water temperatures vary widely in temperate aquatic ecosystems, and our study is the first to investigate the effect of temperature on the salinity tolerance of round goby, conducting tolerance trials at three temperatures: a preferred temperature of 20°C, 26°C reflective of summer conditions, and 5°C reflective of winter conditions. Adult round gobies were subjected to weekly salinity increases of 3 parts per thousand (ppt), concluding at 33ppt. Study specimens were monitored for stress cues (behavior changes and color changes), and mortality. We found significant salinity tolerance differences dependent on water temperature, with the highest tolerance at 5°C and the lowest tolerance at 26°C. By 30ppt, survival was 87% at 5°C and only 7% at 26°C. Based on mortality results, round goby expansion may occur year-round into brackish portions (<21ppt) of the Hudson River Estuary as far south as the Harlem River. This would open access to portions of Long Island Sound, potentially rendering other coastal watersheds to be at risk of invasion. However, temperature-dependent salinity tolerance findings suggest round goby expansion potential into high salinity habitats may be seasonally dependent, with expansion opportunities occurring in colder months and expansion barriers occurring in warmer months. To assess longer term survival and body condition, another experiment maintained round gobies at four sustained salinities (≤ 21ppt) for ten weeks at 20°C. Growth and hepatosomatic index at 21ppt were significantly lower (p<0.001) than at 1, 9, and 15ppt, indicating sustained exposure to higher salinities may affect energy stores, potentially limiting establishment potential.

Stocking is an important conservation tool to restore fish populations. Yet, assessing restoration success is often limited by a lack of field-based demographic information at low abundance, particularly for juvenile fish. Using outcomes from cisco (Coregonus artedi) reintroductions to Keuka Lake, New York, USA, we demonstrate a data-driven approach to assess fish stocking performance and evaluate the likelihood of achieving conservation goals. Multistage juvenile survival estimates from acoustic telemetry quantified high post-stocking mortality rates across three distinct stages. Modeled post-stocking stages include immediate release, acclimation, and long-term survival assumed to reflect natural mortality of cisco in Keuka Lake. High juvenile mortality severely limited the probability that stocked fish will reach reproductive maturity, and population viability analysis with a Leslie matrix life-stage model indicated that re-establishing a cisco population is unlikely with current stocking practices and lake conditions. By contrast, using cisco life history parameters extrapolated from other systems would have resulted in false optimism for restoration success. Our results highlight the importance of utilizing in situ demographic estimates for designing and implementing conservation stocking efforts.

Employees face difficulties in the modern workplace that put a burden on both their professional and personal well-being. This study aimed to clarify the intricate interactions between romantic partner stress, burnout, and the support of a romantic partner in the healing process. The literature emphasizes the role of romantic partners as both resource givers and demand producers. This idea is based on the Conservation of Resources (COR) principle. We sampled full-time employees from various industries in committed long-term partnerships (N=277). Using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to conduct our research, we provide support to understand the complex dynamics of romantic partner support in reducing work-related stress and its effects on burnout. Our results highlight how vital it is to comprehend how the supporting and demanding roles of romantic partners interact to influence burnout. We present our findings, discuss managerial implications, and outline recommendations for future research.

Atropisomerism is a stereochemical phenomenon that results from high configurational stability of chiral axes and is an important structural element in many functional molecules. Thus, understanding how different structural features can influence the stability of chiral axes can be an important consideration for molecular design. Recent studies have demonstrated that certain tropone-based chiral axes are significantly more stable than those of related benzenoids, likely a result of their relatively smaller external bond angles. The following manuscript explores this phenomenon through computational and experimental studies on a simple, class 3 atropisomeric alpha-naphthyl-substituted tropone (G‡ ~ 32 kcal/mol). Conditions were established for an atropselective Suzuki cross-coupling that enabled its asymmetric synthesis, and the absolute configuration of the compound was determined using vibrational circular dichroism. Based on computational modeling, we found that the alpha-naphthyl-substituted tropone has a lower rotational energy barrier than the phenol analog, which appears to arise from the puckering ability of the tropone. Despite the lower rotational energy barrier, the alpha-naphthyl-substituted tropone still displays high configurational stability. Thus, this new atropisomeric scaffold has the potential for incorporation into drug design and should support the development of new classes of ligands and catalysts for use in asymmetric synthesis.

Palladium-catalyzed C–N bond forming reactions and Heck arylations involve reaction of an aryl halide at either a nitrogen or carbon atom, respectively. A suitable catalyst-ligand combination and a base are generally employed in both. With substrates containing both an amino group and a vinyl moiety, control of C–N versus C–C reactivity will provide a method to regiodivergent functionalization. With such a focus, reactions of 8-vinyl adenosine and 2’-deoxyadenosine with aryl bromides and iodides have been probed herein. Pd(OAc)2, Pd2(dba)3, and preformed dichloro[1,1’-bis(di-t-butylphosphino)ferrocene]palladium (II) (Pd-118) were tested as metal sources. Supporting ligands analyzed were Xantphos, DPEphos, BIPHEP, and DPPF, while Cs2CO3, and K3PO4 were tested as bases. In toluene as solvent, the Pd(OAc)2/Xantphos/Cs2CO3 combination was uniquely capable of promoting N6 arylation predominantly. Aryl bromides and iodides gave comparable product yields. However, replacement of Cs2CO3 with K3PO4 switches reactivity from N6 arylation to predominant Cvinyl arylation, as did all other combinations of catalyst, ligand, and bases that were tested. Changing the Pd source from Pd(OAc)2 to Pd2(dba)3 resulted in loss of chemoselectivity. Two structurally similar catalytic systems that gave selective Cvinyl and N6 arylation reactions were then used to accomplish sequential arylation of the nucleosides at the 8-vinyl and N6 moieties. To demonstrate further applications, products from these reactions were converted to other novel nucleoside analogues. The photophysical properties of fluorescent compounds were experimentally and computationally assessed.

This exploratory study examines how perceptions of pay dynamics—pay equity, satisfaction, communication, and secrecy—shape employees'acceptance of new workplace technology. Using Social Cognitive Theory as a theoretical framework, we explore how these pay-related attitudes interact with demographic factors, particularly age and gender, to influence employees'perceptions of technology's ease of use and utility. A time-lagged survey of 396 full-time employees across various U.S. industries was conducted, and data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Results indicate that perceptions of pay equity significantly enhance perceived ease of use, particularly among women, while pay satisfaction and communication foster greater fairness perceptions, which in turn shape technology acceptance. Conversely, pay secrecy negatively impacts perceptions of fairness and, indirectly, technology engagement. Gender and age moderate these relationships, with women demonstrating stronger associations between fair pay perceptions and ease of technology use. These findings underscore the importance of transparent and equitable pay practices in facilitating technology adoption and highlight the role of socioeconomic factors in shaping employees’ openness to technological change.