York Area Research Articles

The Newark I Never Knew

The Newark I Never Knew Louis Gordon (bio) MEMOIR AS INTRODUCTION I was born in Beth Israel Hospital in Newark in 1963, some thirty years after Philip Roth's birth. But the city changed so much over the next three and a half years that my brother was delivered at St. Barnabas in Livingston. For many Roth scholars, the geography may not mean that much, but to me, the change in birth sites epitomizes the loss of an entire way of urban American Jewish life that largely evaporated in the late 1960s. For many of my generation, the defining difference between us and our parents was the move to the suburbs and loss of a cohesive community. Roth may be a lot of things to different readers, but in a way that no other writer could, he opened the door—even if only halfway—to an earlier America that seemed closed to those of us who grew up in the Jersey suburbs in the 1970s. I first encountered Roth through the television premier of an adaptation of his novella, "Goodbye, Columbus" (1959), which was screened on New York area television around 1975. I couldn't see the ending because it was after my bedtime, but if the film symbolized the division between the new and the old in an era of abolished cultural norms, the old seemed much better. It probably would have come as a shock to Roth, who viewed himself as a rebel, that Neil Klugman seemed to me to be the type of square that I had wished still existed in the 1970s! And that image is even more pronounced in the film where the clean-cut veteran, Klugman, is contrasted with the long-haired rock musicians who play at the country club where he romances Brenda. Fast forward about six years to my last years of yeshiva high school in the Elmora section of Elizabeth, which is the same neighborhood where the Swede's wife, Dawn Dwyer, attended church at St. Genevieve's, and which is only about a ten-minute drive from Newark. Some of my classmates lived on the fringe of the inner-city neighborhood that was now Weequahic; one actually lived in that formerly Jewish neighborhood. Though my peers didn't speak much about Roth, at the beginning of my senior year I stumbled across a copy of Portnoy's Complaint (1969) in a used bookstore. The novel intrigued me but not for the reasons that an entire crowd of assimilated Jews liked it. As a yeshiva high school student in 1980, I knew very well [End Page 59] that Roth had a limited understanding of Jewish tradition. But I was drawn to the fact that he was talking about Newark. Roth's Newark was all around me. My classmate's father had participated in the Southside bonfires against Weequahic that Roth depicted in Portnoy's Complaint, and I had another classmate whose father, a student at Weequahic High School with Roth, was able to separate some of the myths about Roth from the facts. But it was not until the mid-1990s when I was living in Los Angeles that I published what would be the first of my essays, "Philip Roth as He Has Never Been Read Before." In it were the seeds of the type of criticism on Roth's work (is it New Historicism or Cultural Materialism?) that I have been engaged in for the last several years. At some point, my New Jersey origins and literary reading led me to start writing interpretations of Roth that I didn't see anywhere else. NEW HISTORICISM OR CULTURAL MATERIALISM? What Roth did for Newark is unparalleled in literary annals due to the sheer number of books he produced. From the beginning, Roth both thrilled and repelled the hometown crowd. Jane Wallerstein reviewing Roth's first collection in Newark's Jewish News notes that "it isn't often that Essex County appears in fiction, as it does, by grace of a former Newarker, in Goodbye, Columbus. The presence of familiar places in print is one reason why this collection of short stories is absorbing" (17). But, Wallerstein continues, "[a]s an...

Community time-activity trajectory modeling based on Markov chain simulation and Dirichlet regression

Accurate modeling of human time-activity trajectory is essential to support community resilience and emergency response strategies such as daily energy planning and urban seismic vulnerability assessment. However, existing modeling of time-activity trajectory is only driven by socio-demographic information with identical activity trajectories shared among the same group of people and neglects the influence of the environment. To further improve human time-activity trajectory modeling, this paper constructs community time-activity trajectory and analyzes how social-demographic and built environment influence people's activity trajectory based on Markov Chains and Dirichlet Regression. We use the New York area as a case study and gather data from American Time Use Survey, Policy Map, and the New York City Energy & Water Performance Map to evaluate the proposed method. To validate the regression model, Box's M Test and t-test are performed with 80% data training the model and the left 20% as the test sample. The modeling results align well with the actual human behavior trajectories, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed method. It also shows that both social-demographic and built environment factors will significantly impact a community's time-activity trajectory. Specifically: 1) Diversity and median age both have a significant influence on the proportion of time people assign to education activity. 2) Transportation condition affects people's activity trajectory in the way that longer commute time decreases the proportion of biological activity (eg. sleeping and eating) and increases people's working time. 3) Residential density affects almost all activities with a significant p-value for all biological needs, household management, working, education, and personal preference.

903. Formulary Edits and Consistent Messaging for Unproven COVID-19 Therapeutics

Abstract Background A challenge the healthcare system faced during the COVID-19 pandemic was ensuring appropriate use of therapeutics. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), azithromycin, and ivermectin are FDA-approved for rheumatic, antibacterial, and antiparasitic conditions, respectively. During the pandemic, these drugs were used for COVID-19 treatment, despite unproven benefit and lack of clinical guideline support. Payer-based formulary edits of these agents during the COVID-19 pandemic were reviewed to determine effectiveness in supporting appropriate use. Methods After local discovery of COVID-19 the University of Rochester Medical Center and a local payor in the upstate New York area, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, disseminated education about the unproven role of these agents in treatment or prevention of COVID-19. In March 2020, May 2020 and February 2021, respectively, Excellus BCBS placed a quantity limit (QL) on prescriptions for HCQ, azithromycin and ivermectin and prior authorization (PA) for ivermectin in October 2021 for all formularies except Medicare. The QL for HCQ and azithromycin were in effect until December 2020. An exception process was available for individuals who required a higher quantity. Data was gathered retrospectively for claims and total drug utilization amongst Excellus BCBS members through February 2022. Results Use of HCQ increased by 56.5% prior to QL implementation. After HCQ QL was implemented, HCQ use returned to near pre-pandemic baseline, and most (88%) claims were processed. For azithromycin, after the QL limit was implemented, while overall usage dropped, most claims (77%) were processed. Prior to QL and PA, ivermectin usage quadrupled. Following implementation of the ivermectin QL, usage was stable and a minority (41%) of ivermectin claims were processed. The month that PA was implemented, usage dropped by 81%, and 9% of claims were processed. Conclusion Formulary edits resulted in returning use of HCQ to pre-pandemic levels despite an initial rise in use. The edits may have curtailed azithromycin use as well. A QL was associated with stabilization in ivermectin use but ultimately usage did not decrease until PA was required. Formulary edits consistent with local messaging appeared to help control use of unproven therapeutics for COVID-19. Disclosures Alyssa Tutino, PharmD, BCGP, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield: Salary Justin Bender, BS, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield: Salary Michelle Sageer, Pharm D, BCACP, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield: Salary Mona Chitre, PharmD, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield: Salary.

The Medawar Prize Acceptance Speech 2022.

The Medawar Prize Acceptance Speech 2022.

Abstract 9921: E-cigarette Use and Markers of Endothelial Function in Diverse Young Adults From New York City: The VapeScan Study

Introduction: Compared to traditional tobacco use, the cardiovascular effects of e-cigarette use, or vaping, an increasing behavior especially among young adults, are poorly understood. The ongoing VapeScan Longitudinal Study aims to determine the effects of vaping on participants’ endothelial health and other subclinical markers. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that e-cigarette use (alone or in combination with smoking), compared to never using e-cigarettes or smoking products, is associated with an adverse profile in markers of endothelial health in a diverse cohort of healthy young adults. Methods: We recruited 132 participants, aged 18-49 and residing in the greater New York area, between May 2021 and May 2022. Participants who were pregnant, had a history of cardiovascular or respiratory disease, smoked but did not vape, or formerly vaped, were excluded. Endothelial health was assessed via endothelium-dependent vasodilation using an EndoPAT2000 machine. Reactive Hyperemia Index (RHI) and Framingham RHI (fRHI) values were computed from the results. Participants missing EndoPAT data (n=3) were excluded from analysis, leaving 129 participants (17 vaping/never smoking, 19 vaping/former smoking, 24 vaping/smoking (dual use), and 69 never vaping/never smoking). Results: Participants’ median age was 26 years and 61% were female. Participants classified as vaping/never smoking and dual users were younger than the other groups (Table). Median levels of RHI and fRHI were lowest for dual users, although the differences across the four groups were not statistically significant (one-way ANOVA p-value = 0.27 for RHI and 0.10 for fRHI). Participants’ vaping/smoking status was not associated with RHI or fRHI in linear regression models adjusted for age and sex. Conclusions: Preliminary findings from the VapeScan Study support that subclinical measures of endothelial function are a promising tool to help identify early effects of tobacco product use in young adults.

Examining the Relationship between Paternal Mental Health and Informal Support Networks: Reflections on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Paternal mental health remains an under-researched area in the UK. Consequently, father-focused formal and informal support provisions fail to address the complex emotional and psychological wellbeing needs of fathers. Drawing on data from twenty semi-structured interviews with fathers in the York area, this study seeks to better understand how access to and participation in informal support networks is influenced by gendered perceptions and the impact hegemonic perceptions of masculinity have on fathers’ access to support prior and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings demonstrate that fathers internalise stereotypical masculine tropes, such as stoicism, which prevent them from actively seeking support. While fathers value informal support network, they generally struggle to engage in mental health talks. The COVID-19 lockdown exacerbated fathers’ struggles to access informal support or prioritise their mental health. Fathers felt the pandemic presented a unique challenge that only people that became parents at the time understood. This meant that fathers could not rely on their parents or other parents who did not have similar experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper aims at challenging structural and cultural barriers that inhibit fathers’ participation in informal support networks, and to promote more meaningful, supportive engagement with peer groups.

Associations of microvascular complications with all-cause death in patients with diabetes and COVID-19: The CORONADO, ABCD COVID-19 UK national audit and AMERICADO study groups.

AimTo provide a detailled analysis of the microvascular burden in patients with diabetes hopitalized for COVD‐19.Materials and MethodsWe analysed data from the French CORONADO initiative and the UK Association of British Clinical Diabetologists (ABCD) COVID‐19 audit, two nationwide multicentre studies, and the AMERICADO, a multicentre study conducted in New York area. We assessed the association between risk of all‐cause death during hospital stay and the following microvascular complications in patients with diabetes hospitalized for COVID‐19: diabetic retinopathy and/or diabetic kidney disease and/or history of diabetic foot ulcer.ResultsAmong 2951 CORONADO, 3387 ABCD COVID‐19 audit and 9327 AMERICADO participants, microvascular diabetic complications status was ascertained for 1314 (44.5%), 1809 (53.4%) and 7367 (79.0%) patients, respectively: 1010, 1059 and 1800, respectively, had ≥1 severe microvascular complication(s) and 304, 750 and 5567, respectively, were free of any complications. The patients with isolated diabetic kidney disease had an increased risk of all‐cause death during hospital stay: odds ratio [OR] 2.53 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.66‐3.83), OR 1.24 (95% CI 1.00‐1.56) and OR 1.66 (95% CI 1.40‐1.95) in the CORONADO, the ABCD COVID‐19 national audit and the AMERICADO studies, respectively. After adjustment for age, sex, hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD), compared to those without microvascular complications, patients with microvascular complications had an increased risk of all‐cause death during hospital stay in the CORONADO, the ABCD COVID‐19 diabetes national audit and the AMERICADO studies: adjusted OR (adjOR) 2.57 (95% CI 1.69‐3.92), adjOR 1.22 (95% CI 1.00‐1.52) and adjOR 1.33 (95% CI 1.15‐1.53), respectively. In meta‐analysis of the three studies, compared to patients free of complications, those with microvascular complications had an unadjusted OR for all‐cause death during hospital stay of 2.05 (95% CI 1.42‐2.97), which decreased to 1.62 (95% CI 1.19‐2.119) after adjustment for age and sex, and to 1.50 (1.12‐2.02) after hypertension and CVD were further added to the model.ConclusionMicrovascular burden is associated with an increased risk of death in patients hospitalized for COVID‐19.

Exploring Connections Between Food Insecurity and Identity Among Post-Secondary Students.

This article examines the connections and relationship between food insecurity and identity amongst post-secondary students in the North York Area. Through engagement with participants who are currently enrolled in post-secondary education or participants that contribute towards the production of the post-secondary student experience, I explore how each participant comes to understand and experience the impact of food security or insecurity and its relationship with identity. I use interviews, observation, and personal narratives as my primary methods. This research contributes to a greater understanding of the various consequences and effects that food insecurity may have for post-secondary students, and to further propose practical steps towards improving the rising issue of food insecurity within the North York area.

The Association Between Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease and Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Retrospective Case-Control Study.

BackgroundLung cancer is a leading cause of mortality in the USA. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) contributes to 85% of all lung cancers. It is the most prevalent subtype amongst non-smokers, and its incidence has risen in the last 20 years. In addition, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) has been associated with several lung pathologies, namely idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and asthma. We aimed to investigate the association between GERD and NSCLC by performing a retrospective, multicenter, case-control study. This is the first study of this nature to be carried out in the USA.MethodsData were retrieved from 17 Northwell health care facilities in the New York area between the years 2010 and 2018. Inclusion criteria were patients > 18 years of age with NSCLC (large cell, adenocarcinoma, and squamous cell). They were appropriately matched with controls based on age, gender, weight, comorbidities, and medication use. Our exposure group had a diagnosis of GERD based on the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth/10th Revision (ICD 9/10) codes and endoscopic, in addition to histological evidence if present. We excluded patients with secondary lung cancers, esophageal adenocarcinoma, other primary malignancies, Barrett’s esophagus, and smokers. Logistic regression was conducted to determine the adjusted odds ratio (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) for the association between NSCLC and GERD.ResultsA total of 1,083 subjects were included in our study: 543 (50%) patients were diagnosed with NSCLC. In this population, GERD was twice as prevalent compared to controls (20.4% vs. 11.6%, P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that GERD was associated with a higher risk of NSCLC compared to matched controls (OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.26 - 2.73). In addition, GERD patients treated with either antihistamines or proton pump inhibitors did not demonstrate an overall reduced risk of NSCLC (OR = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.48 - 2.12).ConclusionsOur study demonstrates that GERD is associated with a higher risk of NSCLC, irrespective of GERD treatment. We postulate that GERD patients suffer from chronic micro-aspirations leading to a prolonged inflammatory state within the lung parenchyma, triggering specific proliferative signaling pathways that may lead to malignant transformation.

A spatially explicit inventory scaling approach to estimate urban CO2 emissions

Appropriate techniques to quantify greenhouse gas emission reductions in cities over time are necessary to monitor the progress of these efforts and effectively inform continuing mitigation. We introduce a scaling factor (SF) method that combines aircraft measurements and dispersion modeling to estimate urban emissions and apply it to 9 nongrowing season research aircraft flights around New York City (NYC) in 2018–2020. This SF approach uses a weighting function to focus on an area of interest while still accounting for upwind emissions. We estimate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from NYC and the Greater New York Area (GNA) and compare to nested inversion analyses of the same data. The average calculated CO2 emission rates for NYC and the GNA, representative of daytime emissions for the flights, were (49 ± 16) kmol/s and (144 ± 44) kmol/s, respectively (uncertainties reported as ±1σ variability across the 9 flights). These emissions are within ∼15% of an inversion analysis and agree well with inventory estimates. By using an ensemble, we also investigate the variability introduced by several sources and find that day-to-day variability dominates the overall variability. This work investigates and demonstrates the capability of an SF method to quantify emissions specific to particular areas of interest.

Mental Health Literacy in Foundation Doctors - a Survey in the York and Humber Area

AimsWe aimed to measure the baseline mental health literacy in Foundation Doctors in the Yorkshire and Humber area, identify any gaps in knowledge with the purpose of addressing these within the new foundation psychiatry teaching program, developed by North Yorkshire Health Education England.MethodsIn January 2021, a questionnaire comprising of O'Connor's Mental Health Literacy Scale was sent electronically to all Foundation Doctors in the York and Humber area, that were in a placement at that time. The O'Connor's Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS) has been used since its publication in 2015 and is a 35 item, univariate scale that demonstrated good internal and test-retest reliability. It covers the following attributes: a) ability to identify disorders, b) knowledge about seeking information, risk factors and etiology, self-treatment, resources and support available, c) attitudes about mental disorders and seeking professional help. The anonymized data were collected and analysed in Microsoft Excel.ResultsIn total, we received 49 responses to the questionnaire. Overall, 85% of respondents demonstrated good mental health literacy. Breaking this down further, 91% demonstrated knowledge of core psychiatric diagnostic criteria, 68.4% were literate in etiology and risk factors, 92% and respectively 95.9% understand what resources for treatment and professional help are available. Importantly when looking at attitudes about mental disorders overall 17% of respondents showed a degree of stigma and barriers in seeking professional help. For example, 2% strongly agreed that mental health conditions are not real illnesses, 34.7% were unsure whether people with mental illness are dangerous, 40.9% neither agreed nor disagreed they would move next door with someone with a mental illness and 14.3% would not be willing to have someone with a mental illness marrying into the family. When looking at barriers to seeking help, 12% answered they would not tell someone if they had a mental health problem, with 16.3% unsure whether they would tell someone if they had a mental health problem.ConclusionOverall, our survey demonstrated good mental health literacy in our cohort, however, there are areas of improvement, the main ones being etiology, risk factors, and attitudes towards mental health. It is important to recognize these deficits, as they have been linked with poor health outcomes and barriers in seeking and providing care. Moving forward, standardization of teaching programs and anti-stigma training could be an evidence-based approach to tackling these issues.

Mental Health Care Access and Individual Help-Seeking During the Covid-19 Pandemic.

The UJA Covid-19 Jewish Impact Study constitutes a random sample of 4403 adults in Jewish households in the New York area. Collected between February and May 2021, the data include symptoms of depression and anxiety and the use of professional help. Via respondents’ zip code tabulation areas (ZCTAs), these data are linked to contextual measures of mental health care access from two data sources: the SAMHSA Locator on specialty community treatment clinics, and the Zip Code Business Patterns database on solo and small group practices. Both treatment facilities and office practices are added to multilevel logistic regression models as density rates (per 10,000 people) and as binary indicators of presence. While we find no meaningful relationship between the general presence of mental health care services and help-seeking behavior, the ZCTA-level density of office practices is significantly associated with service utilization among the socially isolated, foreign-born and Hispanics or non-white respondents.

A Letter from the Editor-in-Chief

Dear readers,&#x0D; The 2015–16 academic year saw many great developments at the Columbia Undergraduate Science Journal. Most notably, our team brought the new Columbia Research Scholars Journal from concept to first issue. The mission of this new journal is to connect high school researchers from around the world, so that they can meet fellow scientists within their respective fields and share their results. This year, we were amazed to see a diverse array of high-quality research projects, from plant-microbial fuel cells to visual adaptation in schizophrenia. The final selection of papers includes work in biology, chemistry, environmental engineering, computer science, and physics.&#x0D; In this year’s CUSJ Spring Symposium, held on April 10th, we were excited to welcome many undergraduate researchers in the New York area as well as some of our most distinguished high school CRSJ contributors. For the first time, we held a poster contest designed to reward great communication skills and novel research. The Awards of Excellence this year went to Justin Cheung and Andrew Saydjari.&#x0D; This year’s edition of the CUSJ includes four papers from Columbia University undergraduates in the areas of biomedicine and computational genomics. In the past, our policy has been to publish only research conducted by Columbia undergraduates. In order for the CUSJ to grow, we have decided to review submissions from undergraduates anywhere in the world.&#x0D; The CUSJ, CRSJ, and our successful events this year were made possible by the dedicated and meticulous work of our editing team and CEO Helen Yang. We all felt privileged to examine so many insightful research projects, and our new editors gained significant experience in reviewing submissions for two different journals. I am confident that next year’s board will uphold our rigorous review standards and successfully take on new ventures in our mission to bring science to the public.&#x0D; –Sean Ballinger

Designing an Intervention Trial of Human-Tick Encounters and Tick-Borne Diseases in Residential Settings Using 4-Poster Devices to Control Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae): Challenges for Site Selection and Device Placement.

Blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis Say, transmit Lyme disease spirochetes and other human pathogens in the eastern United States. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are key reproductive hosts for I. scapularis adults, and therefore control methods targeting deer have the potential for landscape-wide tick suppression. A topical acaricide product, containing 10% permethrin, is self-applied by deer to kill parasitizing ticks when they visit 4-Poster Tick Control Deer Feeders (hereafter, 4-Posters) Previous 4-Poster intervention studies, including in residential settings, demonstrated suppression of I. scapularis populations but did not include human-based outcomes. To prepare for a proposed 4-Poster intervention trial in residential areas of Connecticut and New York that would include human-tick encounters and tick-borne diseases as outcomes, we sought to identify areas (study clusters) in the 80-100 ha size range and specific locations within these areas where 4-Poster devices could be deployed at adequate density (1 device per 20-25 ha) and in accordance with regulatory requirements. Geographic Information System-based data were used to identify prospective study clusters, based on minimum thresholds for Lyme disease incidence, population density, and forest cover. Ground truthing of potential 4-Poster placement locations was done to confirm the suitability of selected clusters. Based on these efforts, we failed to identify more than a few residential areas fulfilling all criteria for a treatment cluster. We, therefore, reconsidered pursuing the intervention trial, which required inclusion of >30 treatment clusters to achieve adequate statistical power. The 4-Poster methodology may be more readily evaluated in natural or public areas than in residential settings in NY or CT.

Itʼs 3:00 p.m., do you know where your children are? New Yorkʼs inadequate use of federal funds that have led to the continuance of childcare deserts

AbstractIn New York, low‐income families, urban communities, and rural areas are suffering from a lack of childcare. This inadequacy leads to the formation of childcare deserts; areas where families do not have access to childcare. Because of the vague guidelines proposed by federal grants, New York has misused federal funds, which has led to the continuance of childcare deserts. This Note proposes specifying federal funding guidelines, which can better allocate funds to needy families, as well as creating a volunteer program for high school students to create before and aftercare programs in public schools.

SNAP participation and food-at-home expenditures through the Great Recession: United States and the New York Area

As a result of economic stressors experienced by vulnerable populations during the Great Recession of 2007–09, participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—the nation’s largest food assistance program—nearly doubled from 2006 to a postrecession peak in 2013. Drawing on data from the 2006 to 2015 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Diary Survey, this article compares SNAP-recipient households to non-SNAP recipient households in the New York area and the United States as a whole for the period before, during, and after the recession. Among the major findings, this study shows substantial differences in characteristics between SNAP and non-SNAP households, including rates of renting, percentage of bachelor’s degree holders, and levels of weekly food-at-home expenditures. The regression analysis shows that food-at-home expenditures remain stable over the business cycle. SNAP participation is positively associated with the probability of making weekly food shopping trips and with an increase in the amount spent per trip nationwide, whereas in the local area, the differences are not significant. Further analysis shows that an income increase from SNAP benefits or other sources results in relatively small increases in food-at-home expenditures.

Sea Turtle Stranding Patterns in New York (2017-2020)

In this observational study, we examined spatiotemporal patterns of the sea turtle taxa, and how they are affected by human interactions. We isolated the data to only 4 species of concern in the New York area from the years 2017 to 2020. The four species of concern are Leatherback (D. Coriacea), Loggerhead (C. Caretta), Kemp’s ridley (L. Kempii), and Atlantic green sea turtles (C. Mydas). We utilized data provided by the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society (AMSEAS) to plot stranding locations of Google Earth, and graph the trends. It was determined that there is a significant spike in sea turtle strandings during the summer months (July &amp; August) and the winter months (November &amp; December). We used resources from NOAA to determine that the migratory patterns of the sea turtles are causing the strandings as global warming progressively makes the water warmer in the winter months as the year’s progress. Human interaction only comprises (24.6%) of the stranding cause and over half of the human interaction caused strandings are due to vessel strikes. Furthermore, we will use this data to research stranding patterns on other marine mammals, partner with organizations to raise awareness and prevent strandings as the climate changes, and conserve these vulnerable (Leatherback), endangered (Loggerhead &amp; Green), and critically endangered (Kemp’s Ridley) sea turtles.

Frontline Reporting from the Epicenter of a Global Pandemic: A Survey of the Impact of COVID-19 on Plastic Surgery Training in New York and New Jersey.

Since the first documented case of coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19), the greater New York City area quickly became the epicenter of the global pandemic, with over 500,000 cases and 50,000 deaths. This unprecedented crisis affected all aspects of health care, including plastic surgery residency training. The purpose of this study was to understand the specific impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on plastic surgery residencies. A survey of all plastic surgery residency training programs in the greater New York City area was conducted. The impact to training during the peak months of infection (March and April of 2020) was evaluated using resident education as measured by case numbers, need for redeployment, and staff wellness as primary outcome variables. A total of 11 programs were identified in the region, and seven programs completed the survey, with a response rate 63.6 percent. When comparing productivity in March and April of 2019 to March and April of 2020, a total decrease in surgical volume of 64.8 percent (range, 19.7 to 84.8 percent) and an average of 940 (range, 50 to 1287) cancelled clinic visits per month were observed. These decreases directly correlated with the local county's COVID-19 incidence rates (p = 0.70). A total of 83 percent of programs required redeployment to areas of need, and correlation between local incidence of COVID-19 and the percentage of residents redeployed to non-plastic surgical clinical environments by a given program (ρ = 0.97) was observed. As the first COVID-19 wave passes the greater New York area and spreads to the rest of the country, the authors hope their experience will shed light on the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and inform other programs on what to expect and how they can try and prepare for future public health crises.

Minority language maintenance and the production‐prescription interface: Number agreement in New York Yiddish

AbstractStandardization is a focus of language maintenance efforts in many, but not all, minority language communities. What is the impact of this choice on interspeaker variation in maintained languages? This study investigates variable number agreement in Yiddish, a minority language spoken by two distinct communities in the New York area: (1) Hasidic Jews, who maintain the language without standardization, and (2) Yiddishists, who are overtly committed to maintaining a “correct” Yiddish. An analysis of data from 40 sociolinguistic interviews shows that Yiddishists have significantly higher rates of normative agreement than Hasidim do. The Yiddishists’ standard language ideology has also contributed to a leveling of the differences across grammatical constructions, a predictor that is more robust among the Hasidic speakers. These community‐based differences in speech reflect differences in speakers’ prescriptive judgments, which were elicited through a novel postinterview text editing task.

Organisational taxonomy alignment project use case

New York Public Radio (NYPR) is a nonprofit media organisation that owns numerous public radio stations and a live performance space in the New York area. Since 1924, WNYC has grown and evolved in response to changing radio technology and consumer behaviours, most recently introducing podcasts to its numerous audio experiences. In 2019, NYPR embarked on a metadata and taxonomy alignment project to support the end-to-end alignment of metadata tags across content types, brands and business functions. The project began by surveying relevant business units and performing audits of content and data across those teams to identify the most salient issues to be addressed and to prioritise actions through the rest of the project. This paper describes how user personas and ‘content journey maps’ were drawn up to identify the driving needs of the primary business units and the current state of content as it moved through its life cycle, including the players involved in the content’s life cycle, the systems it touches, the metadata applied and whether the content is archived. As this paper will show, the information from these exercises drove the creation of a multi-tiered taxonomy with top nodes classifying information around people, content, assets, entities and distribution.