Lehman College

This brief research report presents pilot baseline data that will serve as the foundation for developing a high school intervention aimed at engaging students in health studies and careers from a health disparities perspective. The overarching goal of this project is to increase the number of Bronx high school students who pursue studies and careers in the health sciences by engaging them in transformative learning experiences using a place-based education approach. Approximately 75% of the 2025 graduating class participated in this pilot study. Students were assessed on their knowledge of the following health disparities topics: sleep health, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), adolescent mental health, and community health and health disparities, as well as their career interests in the health professions and their perceptions and attitudes toward the health sciences. Overall, most students were Hispanic females aged 17–18 years. Responses suggest that approximately 80% will pursue a health career, and about 65% expect to take health courses in college. On the other hand, 30–35% reported an unenthusiastic attitude toward science, and more than 42% of students were unclear about their STEM skills. The empirical results indicate that students have strong attitudes and intentions toward health careers, exhibit significant insecurity regarding their scientific competencies, and reveal important gaps in knowledge in the five health topics assessed. These knowledge gaps may represent an opportunity for the project to foster students’ interest in each health topic and potentially motivate their research interest in health disparities in the Bronx. Furthermore, proficiency in topics related to health disparities has the potential to influence young adults’ attitudes, intentions, and motivations in health sciences and ultimately to increase the diversity of the biomedical and healthcare workforce, thereby strengthening their health equity approach to healthcare.

Jurinea himalaica, a medicinal plant native to the Western Himalayas, was comprehensively studied for its phytochemical composition and pharmacological potentials. Qualitative phytochemical studies, polarity directed extraction of various fractions, and column chromatography based isolation of compounds were performed. Crude samples including crude methanolic extract (Jh.Cme), n-hexane (Jh.Hex), and chloroform (Jh.Chf) were tested against acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), and urease enzymes. Samples were also tested for their free radicals scavenging potentials using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) assays. The antimicrobial potentials of the crude samples were appraised against bacterial and fungal strains, and phytotoxic studies were also performed following standard procedures. Qualitative phytochemical studies identified the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, glycosides, saponins, and anthraquinones with terpenoids found in particularly high abundance. Column chromatographic separation led to tentative identification of a bioactive compound. The Jh.Chf was found highly potent and inhibited considerable AChE and BChE inhibitory potentials with IC50 values of 85 and 43 μg/mL, respectively. Notably, the Jh.Chf showed strong urease inhibitory activity (IC50 = 63 μg mL−1) which was comparable to the control drug thiourea. The Jh.Chf revealed considerable radical scavenging potentials against DPPH, ABTS and H2O2 radicals with IC50 values of 30, 25, and 19 μg mL−1, respectively. The tested samples also revealed gastroprotective potentials by inhibition of urease enzyme and inhibition of Proteus mirabilis with a diameter of inhibitory zone (DIZ) of 22.8 mm. A considerable antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (MIC 0.91 mg mL−1) and strong antifungal potentials against Aspergillus flavus with minimum fungicidal concentrations (MFCc) as low as 1.11 µg mL−1 signify its potential antimicrobial effects. The phytotoxic assay also demonstrated that Jh.Cme and Jh.Chf significantly suppressed radish seed germination (up to 88%) and root elongation (up to 91%) at 1000 μg mL−1 concentrations. In conclusion, our findings validate the traditional medicinal use of J. himalaica in various diseases and highlight its significant potential as a source of cholinesterase, urease inhibitory, neuroprotective, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and bio-herbicides. Further purification and mechanistic studies are required to completely explore the therapeutic and agrochemical uses of this plant.

Globally, Spodoptera frugiperda is a major threat to many important crops, including maize, rice, and cotton, causing significant economic damage. To control this invasive pest, environmentally friendly pest control techniques, including pheromone detection and identification of potential molecular targets to disrupt S. frugiperda mating communication, are needed. Female moths biosynthesize pheromones and emit them from the pheromone gland, which significantly depends on the intrinsic factors of the moth. Male S. frugiperda have a sophisticated olfactory circuit on their antennae that recognizes pheromone blends via olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs). With its potential to significantly modify the insect genome, CRISPR/Cas9 offers a revolutionary strategy to control this insect pest. The impairing physiological behaviors and disrupting the S. frugiperda volatile-sensing mechanism are the main potential applications of CRISPR/Ca9 explored in this review. Furthermore, the release of mutant S. frugiperda for their long-term persistence must be integral to the adoption of this technology. Looking forward, CRISPR/Cas9-based gene drive systems have the potential to synergistically target pheromone signaling pathways in S. frugiperda by disrupting pheromone receptors and key biosynthesis genes, thereby effectively blocking intraspecific communication and reproductive success. In conclusion, CRISPR/Cas9 provides an environmentally friendly and revolutionary platform for precise, targeted pest management in S. frugiperda.

Respiratory disease presents major global health challenges, and its early detection could save numerous lives, prompting the demand for accurate and non-intrusive diagnostic methods. This study presents a multi-model machine learning framework for classifying respiratory diseases (COPD, Bronchiolitis, Pneumonia, URTI, and Healthy) using audio data from the Respiratory Sound Database. We extract Mel frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs) and apply data augmentation to address class imbalance. We propose a novel hybrid model, ConvMambda, and compare its performance against other popular classification models, including 1D CNN, random forest, SVM, and LSTM. The ConvMamba model achieves the highest test accuracy (90.77%) and macro F1-score (0.8932), outperforming 1D-CNN (90% accuracy) and random forest (82% accuracy), SVM (68% accuracy), and LSTM (68% accuracy). We analyze the performance across classes, highlighting challenges with minority classes (Bronchiolitis, URTI) and propose strategies to mitigate imbalance. Our findings demonstrate the potential of audio-based diagnostics, with the ConvMamba model offering the superior performance for respiratory diseases classification.

Abstract This paper shares findings from an age inclusivity study conducted at Lehman College, February-April, 2025. Located in the Bronx, Lehman is a commuter campus offering degrees to over 12,000 students. It is a federally designated Hispanic-serving institution. Faculty number over 900 and staff, including leadership, exceed 1,400. Facing mounting pressure to increase enrolment, promote retention, and meet the needs of changing student demographics in the context of political, financial and social change, the timing of this project is urgent. Research aims included developing new knowledge about the experiences of older members of the Lehman community; providing data to promote age inclusive policies and practices; and improving the Lehman experience for older students, staff and faculty. With student, faculty and staff ages exceeding national norms, Lehman presents an opportunity for leadership in age inclusivity in higher education. Moreover, with student populations trending older and retirement ages extending later, improving conditions for older community members seeking to develop skills, knowledge and networks and participate meaningfully in society with gainful employment, is essential. The Age Inclusivity Survey was sent by email to the Lehman community. Participation was anonymous and voluntary. Key findings include lack of awareness about factors that affect older community members and existing policies and practices designed to enhance the Lehman experience for older members. Qualitative comments revealed disappointment and frustration with, and some appreciation for, campus resources. Implications include raising awareness of diverse experiences at Lehman and extending the reach of inclusivity to improve the Lehman experience for all.

Background: Addressing the need for improved healthcare services for survivors of sexual assault in India is a crucial issue. It is recommended to add forensic content to nursing curricula in India, but effective implementation in this regard is limited. We assessed the readiness of nursing faculty to integrate the sexual assault nurse examiners (SANE) curriculum in India. Methods: A pilot study was conducted among nursing faculty members from four nursing colleges in a selected district of Kerala, India. A total sample of 100 faculty members from the selected colleges was surveyed using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Results: Most participants (95%) agreed SANE would improve survivor care. Barriers to reporting included police/legal intimidation (98%), male examiners (12%), invasive procedures (25%), and social stigma. Most supported having a dedicated caregiver for survivors (85%). However, only 12% had provided care, and 6% were aware of SANE training. Major barriers identified were the lack of SANE-trained personnel (77%), clinician disinterest (35%), physician resistance to shared roles (12%), and insufficient legal support (40%). While 62% urged policy reform, few found the curriculum socially (2.1%) or educationally (11.5%) inadequate. Nonetheless, 94% strongly supported and 6% supported SANE legislation and implementation by the Indian Nursing Council and other bodies. Conclusions: Nursing faculty supported the implementation of SANE education and practice, recognizing its importance to Indian society and its potential benefit for survivors of sexual trauma. This positive attitude among nurses represents a crucial step toward the successful integration of the SANE curriculum into nursing education.

ABSTRACTBackgroundPhysical activity (PA) is a modifiable lifestyle factor strongly linked to adiposity and metabolic health. Breast cancer survivors are at a higher risk of obesity‐related metabolic complications, negatively impacting prognosis and quality of life. Therefore, updated objective assessments of PA and its effects on metabolic health are critical to improving survivorship care.AimsTo analyze the most recent nationally representative sample of the US population where physical activity was objectively measured to identify associations between PA, adiposity measures, and metabolic health parameters among cancer survivors, specifically breast cancer survivors.Methods and ResultsNHANES data from 2011 to 2014 is used to examine associations between PA, adiposity measures, and metabolic parameters in women aged 20 and older. PA is objectively measured using accelerometer data. Adiposity is assessed via sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD), waist circumference (WC), and body mass index (BMI), and the metabolic parameters are glucose and insulin. The analysis involved regressing the natural logarithms of SAD, WC, BMI, glucose, and insulin on moderate‐to‐vigorous and sedentary PA levels. The sample consisted of 4068 participants, including 397 with cancer diagnoses and 118 with breast cancer. Additionally, factors such as ethnicity, education, income, age, energy intake, diabetes, and smoking habits were considered. The associations between adiposity measures and excess daily sedentary PA are stronger for breast cancer survivors compared to all women and cancer survivors, with statistically significant results for SAD. SAD directly assesses visceral fat and is more closely linked to metabolic and cardiovascular risks. While moderate‐to‐vigorous PA is associated with decreased adiposity for all women, the decrease is less pronounced among cancer survivors. Daily moderate‐to‐vigorous PA has a significant and negative correlation with glucose and insulin levels, whereas sedentary PA has a positive correlation. The associations of PA with metabolic parameters in breast cancer survivors are similar to those in all women and cancer survivors.ConclusionThis study provides an updated objective assessment of PA in breast cancer survivors using the most recent NHANES survey cycles, where this data was collected. The results confirm rising obesity rates among breast cancer survivors, highlighting the need for ongoing monitoring of adiposity. The results suggest that engaging in daily moderate‐to‐vigorous PA significantly lowers glucose and insulin levels, which are crucial for metabolic health. Given its modifiable nature, PA can be a valuable intervention for breast cancer patients, emphasizing the importance of its assessment. Implementing lifestyle changes that prioritize PA and targeted interventions to manage SAD is essential, as reducing sedentary behavior can lead to improved health outcomes with significant public health implications.

The aim of this study was to establish reference values forthe Five-Times-Sit-to-Stand Test (FTSST) in a large, population-representative sample from 14 European countries. Data were collected among 45,470 participants aged 50 + years, as part of the 5th wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. The reference values for the FTSST were calculated as the 5th, 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th, 80th, 90th, and the 95th weighted percentile. The analyses were stratified by age and sex. For females, the best performance on the FTSST was observed among the 50-54-year-olds (5th percentile = 18s; 50th percentile = 10s; 95th percentile = 6s) and the worst among 85-89-year-olds and ≥ 90-year-olds (5th percentile = 28s; 50th percentile = 15s; 95th percentile = 9s). For males, the best performance was observed among the 55-59-year-olds (5th percentile = 18s; 50th percentile = 9s; 95th percentile = 5s). The worst performance for males was observed among ≥ 90-year-olds (5th percentile = 26s; 50th percentile = 15s; 95th percentile = 9s), even though the 10th percentile was higher (poorer performance) among 85-89-year-olds. The reference values indicate poorer performance on the test among females and in older age groups. The provided reference values for FTSST can be used for health screening, surveillance, and intervention planning, as they enable an interpretation of test results according to sex and age.