University at Albany, State University of New York
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NAT10 Stabilizes Immune Response Factors Aiding with Cellular Immune Response to Zika Virus Infection
No full textZika virus (ZIKV) remains a significant public health concern due to major gaps in our understanding of its infection mechanisms and immune evasion strategies. Despite its link to severe complications such as microcephaly and Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), no vaccine or targeted antiviral therapies exist. Compounding this concern is the expanding habitat of ZIKV-carrying mosquito vectors, driven by climate change, which increases the risk of future outbreaks in previously unaffected regions.
One promising area of investigation involves post-transcriptional modifications (PTMs) chemical alterations to RNA that influence its stability, translation, and function. Although over 170 PTMs have been identified, their roles remain largely unexplored, especially in viral pathogenesis. Recent research has begun to link specific RNA modifications, such as N4-acetylcytidine (ac4C), to viral infections including HIV-1 and EV71. These modifications may represent a novel layer of host-virus interaction through which viruses evade immune detection.
Our work demonstrates that ZIKV infection alters the landscape of RNA modifications, notably showing a consistent decrease in ac4C. We identified that the ac4C writer enzyme, NAT10, is crucial for an effective host immune response. In NAT10-deficient cells, ZIKV infection resulted in elevated viral RNA, protein, and titers, as well as accelerated degradation of key immune effectors such as IFIT1 and MX1. This suggests that NAT10-mediated ac4C plays a protective role, helping the host sustain an effective innate immune response during ZIKV infection.
These findings highlight a previously underappreciated axis of viral regulation and immune modulation, with broader implications for understanding RNA virus infections. By linking epitranscriptomic dynamics to immune function, this work lays critical groundwork for future therapeutic strategies targeting RNA modifications during viral infections
Improving Generalizability in Image Manipulation Detection
No full textImage manipulation detection (IMD) aims to determine whether an image has been tampered with and to identify the manipulated regions. These capabilities have become increasingly important with the rapid advancement of media editing and generation technologies, such as Photoshop and generative AI methods, which underscore the need for robust tools for media authentication. Although current state-of-the-art (SoTA) methods achieve strong results on common manipulation types, such as splicing, copy-move, and removal, they often struggle to generalize to manipulation types not represented in the training data. Consequently, their real-world applicability remains limited, with performance degrading significantly in practical scenarios.
In this dissertation, we advance image manipulation detection through three key contributions. First, we introduce the Challenging Image Manipulation Detection (CIMD) benchmark, a novel, high-quality dataset with fine-grained annotations designed to evaluate SoTA methods on both editing-based and compression-based manipulations under realistic and more complex conditions. Using CIMD, we demonstrate that existing SoTA methods struggle with small tampered regions and double-compression cases with identical quality factors, and we propose a two-branch HRNet-based model that significantly outperforms prior work on these challenges. Second, we present a unified unsupervised and weakly supervised framework that reduces reliance on pixel-level annotations. This framework leverages implicit neural representations and selective contrastive learning, achieving detection performance comparable to supervised methods while improving robustness to unseen manipulations. Finally, we develop a training-free diffusion-based approach that exploits inconsistencies between conditional and unconditional reconstructions for manipulation detection. This method requires no external training data and outperforms existing unsupervised and weakly supervised techniques, while achieving competitive results with fully supervised models across multiple benchmark datasets.
Collectively, these contributions strengthen IMD performance in realistic tampering scenarios and broaden its applicability to forensic settings where manipulation types are diverse, rapidly evolving, and often unseen during training
From Friction to Decay: How Ordinary Policy Failures in Government Expose Policy Entropy
No full textOrdinary failures in public policy are abundant in practice yet scarce in the literature. State-level policy practitioners navigate a daily reality of running the traps and surviving policies that are often the gift that kills you. These routine failures are the frequent, small-scale, low-profile dysfunctions that deplete time, resources, will, and morale. Current scholarship, by contrast, focuses on extraordinary breakdowns, missing the mundane friction that often precedes them. I argue these ordinary failures are neither isolated incidents nor background noise, but rather systematic manifestations of policy entropy: a cumulative drift toward disorder in policy systems that, absent intentional maintenance, erodes coherence and function over time.
How do we identify and understand ordinary policy failures, and what do they reveal about the deeper dynamics of policy systems and institutions? Drawing on 41 semi-structured interviews with executive policy practitioners who lead state government agencies in New York, I demonstrate that failures are an indicator of policy entropy, accumulating at rates regulated by the interaction between external environmental pressure (hot vs. cool) and internal organizational culture (thick vs. thin). When hot pressure meets thin culture, systems enter cascading dysfunction, but when it meets thick culture, organizations absorb stress without collapse. This dynamic becomes empirically observable through four indicators (i.e., decision time, rework rate, maintenance delay, and shadow system use) that distinguish manageable friction from accelerating decay.
This research makes three contributions: (1) it reframes ordinary policy failure as measurable entropy, extending theories of policy failure, implementation, change, and institutional drift; (2) it identifies organizational culture as entropy\u27s primary regulator and conceptualizes it; and (3) it elevates mezzo-level practitioner knowledge from mere implementation detail to significant theory-generating evidence, revealing system pathologies that other methods may miss. The result is a need for a sweeping maintenance imperative in government, recognizing that policy systems require continuous upkeep or they decay to the detriment of the public good
Can Financial Inclusion-Based Interventions for Poverty Alleviation Build Sustainable Livelihoods? Voices from Mutual Solidarity Groups (MUSO) in Haiti.
No full textScholars, policymakers, changemakers, and social workers have attempted to define, understand, and eradicate poverty. Its endurance raises the prospect that these efforts may be incomplete or faulty. This thesis will probe this concern by examining poverty and poverty alleviation programs through the lens of a holistic intervention-based framework known as the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF). The first paper introduces the SLF and uses it to undertake a conceptual analysis comparing demand and supply driven poverty alleviation interventions that are based on financial inclusion. Next it uses the SLF as a methodological tool to compare financial inclusion programs, as operationalized by solidarity-based organizations in Haiti. Understanding poverty in Haiti requires examination of the country’s history, geography, and apparatus of state institutions in the context of neoliberal, post-colonial globalization. In this complex landscape, solidarity-based organizations, which center lived experiences, collaboration, and collective agency of impacted people, have led poverty alleviation interventions. The second (qualitative) and third (quantitative) paper of this thesis investigates people’s experiences with financial institutions, what they perceive as critical elements that support their well-being, how different types of institutions and processes serve those elements, and how these efforts impact poverty and well-being. These questions have broad conceptual and practical implications for social and economic development practice, which faces many challenges that are the direct or indirect consequences of poverty
Odesa Will Never be a \u27Russian\u27 City Again
Get PDFRussophone poet Galina Itskovich wrote the statement serving as the title of this text about the identity of her native Odesa, Ukraine in 2023, more than a year and a half after the full-scale invasion by Russia. I propose an examination of the relationship of contemporary Odesan writers to the Russian language. Sources for this examination include the work of writers in or from Odesa such as Galina Itskovich, Maria Galina, Oleg Fesenko, and Igor Bozhko. To discuss what this situation means for translation, such as is demanded by Ukraine’s 2019 law on the status of the Ukrainian language, I use the ideas of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o as a critical lens for establishing a decolonial approach to considering Russophone literary writing in Odesa after February 2022. Of specific use for this project will be Ngũgĩ’s ideas about how a colonial language such as English or Russian, while not necessarily being a language utilized by a given writer themselves, can be utilized as an interlanguage for translation between subjugated languages such as Gĩkũyũ or Ukrainian. The tension surrounding Russian can open a discourse on translation between Russian and Ukrainian in Ukraine. While the war continues, translation cannot determine what the relationship between these languages will be. But translation can help articulate questions about the relationship between colonialism and language
Fabrication of Functional Microparticles for Biological Analysis
Get PDFTo better advance our knowledge of cellular behavior, development of an organism, and disease mechanisms understanding cellular heterogeneity in the functional proteome is essential. Bulk measurements across a cell population often fail to capture the variations which exist between individual cells, however single cell proteomic technology has increasingly demonstrated the characterization of cellular heterogeneity. A single cell functional proteomics assay needs to be both high-throughput and multiplexed to effectively identify biomarkers and provide a quantitative correlation to better understand the interrelationships within complex protein networks. Janus particles have the ability to be engineered to have good compatibility and stability in a complex biological environment. Functionalization or surface modification of a microparticle allows for a precise targeted detection of cytokines. The dual nature of a Janus particle allows for both surface interaction and detection in a cellular environment. In this first project a Janus particle is fabricated to demonstrate the asymmetric patterning and evaluate its capabilities in detecting cytokines in HL-60 cells. Fluorescent microscopy imaging confirms the Janus particle design and the ability to attach to a cell membrane, however the experimental yield is low for an adequate quantitative analysis with cytokines. In the second project a Multiplex In Situ Tagging (MIST) array is designed and the fluorescence ELISA sandwich technique is used to quantify the release of cytokines (P53, Total COX-2, TNF RI, Phospho-GSK-3, Cleaved Caspace-3, and Phospho-CREB) in THP1 cells. On an assembled microchip a multiplex DNA encoded microbead array with microwells has a high sensitivity to measure cytokine expression. The MIST array demonstrated shows the ability for a multiplex cytokine detection, however sensitivity demonstrated in this experiment would need to be optimized for a better understanding of the cellular heterogeneity of the cytokines expressed in the single cells
Raw Data for Tailoring High Entropy Borides for Hydrogenation: The Influence of Crystal Morphology and the Exploration of Catalytic Pathways
No full textThe high entropy boride (HEB) Al0.2Nb0.2Pt0.2Ta0.2Ti0.2B2, with its unique crystal structure and high coordination (platinum coordinated to 12 borons), has been shown in our previous work to exhibit exceptional catalytic properties, especially in sulfur-rich environments, where traditional platinum catalysts would succumb to sulfur-poisoning. In this work, we investigate the mechanism of the HEB catalyst, first by comparing the synthesis by flux growth, as previously reported, to an arc melted preparation. It is evident that the aluminum flux growth synthesis encourages the growth of single crystals, with clear and defined crystal facets, whereas the arc melted sample results in poorly defined facets with non-uniform morphology. Here, we explore two potential mechanisms: hydrogen spillover effect (HSPE) and hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) by which the catalytic pathway is performed. Hydrogenation reactions were performed using WO3 and 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxyl (TEMPO), which highlight the ability of the heterogeneous HEB catalyst to perform the hydrogenation through a suspended solid solution in addition to a dissolved solution. We propose that the HEB Al0.2Nb0.2Pt0.2Ta0.2Ti0.2B2 goes through a hybrid HAT/HSPE mechanism, where H2 bonds to the platinum atoms on the edges of the HEB, dissociate, then the radical hydrogen departs to the substrate
Characterization of Adaptive Quorum Sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Get PDFPseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that is highly antibiotic resistant and causes tens of thousands of infections each year. It persists in hospitals by forming biofilms on medical equipment like ventilators and catheters, making it difficult to eradicate. Biofilm formation, among other virulence factors of P. aeruginosa, is regulated through quorum sensing, a mechanism of bacterial communication. Quorum sensing is primarily coordinated through LuxI-R type systems comprised of an autoinducer synthase and receptor, respectively. Canonically, the first system to be expressed is LasI-R, and LasR upregulates the second arm of the quorum sensing network, the RhlI-R system. Research on clinical strains of P. aeruginosa has shown that there is a high frequency of LasR-inactivating mutations, in both chronic and acute infection strains, resulting in complete loss of LasR signaling. However, quorum sensing is maintained in these strains through the RhlI-R system. This dissertation characterizes the different ways in which the RhlR transcription factor is expressed, activated, and stabilized independent of LasR regulation to provide insights on virulence gene regulation through adaptive quorum sensing in P. aeruginosa
Author-Centered Approaches in ELA Instruction: A Multiple Case Study of Secondary English Teachers
No full textLiterary authors are often neglected in secondary ELA (English Language Arts) literary instruction. Teachers are unsure how to teach about the author and how much time to spend on establishing the context for the text when the goal is to “cover” a variety of literary texts as part of a planned curriculum during the school year. Acknowledging the role of authors’ intentions as well as their experiences and aesthetic decisions in the production of literature may provide new entry points into literary texts for students. This multiple-case study of secondary English teachers and their high school students in a “bounded system” of five classroom contexts located in a northeastern public high school is being conducted to analyze how teachers plan and implement curriculum for teaching about the author in literary instruction. Grounded in a framework of Sociocultural theory and Activity theory, this study will examine each classroom as an activity system using multiple data sources such as a teacher questionnaire, student and teacher interviews, observations, and student and teacher documents/artifacts. The following research questions will direct this inquiry: (1) What are secondary English teachers’ thoughts about literary authors and their works? (2) How do secondary English teachers think about literary authors and their works in planning literary instruction? (3) How do secondary English teachers think about literary authors and their works in teaching literary instruction? A central assumption of this study is that how teachers treat the author in instruction has a profound impact on student learning. Findings were that teachers utilized the author as a tool and a resource to teach literature to increase student engagement in support of literacy development, but each teacher responded from their past experiences as learners to form practices in which they displayed varied levels of appropriation of the author and supporting resources. Theoretical and practical implications were that authorial intention, once derogated as unnecessary speculation in literary analysis by the New Critics, was found to be pedagogically useful in teaching about the lived experiences of authors as a way into a literary text; also, from a deconstructionist standpoint, the author was viewed as dead in theory circa 1970, but was found to be pedagogically foundational for teachers. Practical implications were that author-driven professional development and collaboration could be positive sites of foundational change in which the author in literature may be utilized to support culturally-responsive teaching and learning
The Role of Higher Education in Diplomacy
No full textThis paper examines the evolving role of higher education in international diplomacy, distinguishing between knowledge diplomacy, characterized by reciprocity, horizontal collaboration, mutual benefits, and soft power approaches that rely on vertical relationships and competitive advantage. Through analysis of contemporary case studies, including the Pan African University\u27s continent-wide integration initiatives, Brown University\u27s BIARI program in humanitarian diplomacy, etc, the research demonstrates how higher education institutions transcend traditional diplomatic channels to become engines of global engagement, cultural exchange, and sustainable development. These institutions facilitate academic mobility, joint research, and ethical leadership development while acting as conveners for cross-sectoral partnerships. The study critically assesses challenges higher education institutions face in executing knowledge diplomacy, including balancing research security with openness, navigating complex geopolitical landscapes, and managing increasing private sector involvement in academic affairs. For developing nations, particularly, the paper reveals that investing in higher education serves not merely as a strategy for national advancement but as a critical diplomatic instrument for fostering societal resilience and cross-border collaboration. The analysis concludes with recommendations for advancing international student opportunities, strengthening global educational partnerships, promoting curriculum internationalization, and embedding sustainable development principles within higher education systems, ultimately calling for a deliberate realignment of higher education with diplomatic objectives to pursue a more inclusive, peaceful, and sustainable global order