Long Island University’s Hutton House announced a star-studded Fall 2020 virtual lecture series. The distinguished speakers include Four-star Army General Curtis “Mike” Scaparrotti, award-winning oceanographer and conservation scientist Dr. John T. Tanacredi, former Chief of the Division of National Resources of the National Park Service, and Dr. Libby O’Connell, Chief Historian Emerita at the History Channel and former Senior Vice President at A&E Television Networks. In 2013, President Obama appointed Dr. O’Connell as a commissioner on the United States World War I Centennial Commission.
Renowned Author Kicks Off Polk School Podcast
Renowned, award-winning author Stephanie Elizondo Griest will serve as the inaugural guest on the new podcast “How do I Become You?,” part of The Polk Professional Series within the George Polk School of Communications. Dr. Robin Hemley, Director of the George Polk School of Communications, will host the podcast, which will feature a diverse group of media figures in journalism, film, and literature.
Amazon Ranks Professor’s Book a Top New Release
The latest book from Dr. Simon Sheppard, Associate Professor of Political Science, was ranked the #1 new release on Amazon for titles on Ancient Military History, Conventional Weapons and Warfare History, Assyria, Babylonia and Mesopotamia History, and Ancient Mesopotamia History. Roman Soldier vs Parthian Warrior: Carrhae to Nisibis, 53 BC–AD 217 (Combat) analyzes the clash of Roman and Parthian forces in 53 BC.
Five-Star Surgeon Operates at Top Oklahoma Practice
Dr. Stan Pelofsky, ’62, is a five-star neurosurgeon at Neuroscience Specialists, the largest and most established neurosurgical practice in Oklahoma. Dr. Pelofsky served as a physician in the Vietnam War and was also awarded the Ellis Island Medal for his work in the neurosciences. He holds memberships in many medical associations including the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, serving as its President 2001-2002, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, the American Medical Association, the American College of Surgeons, the Royal Society of Medicine, London, England, and the North American Spine Society.
LIU – U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges
For the fourth consecutive year, Long Island University has been ranked on U.S. News and World Report’s list of Best Colleges for 2021. The distinction represents excellent performance and is widely recognized as a reliable indicator of excellence in higher education conferred by an unbiased trust agent. LIU earned additional recognition as a top national performer in social mobility. The prestigious ranking follows recent accolades from The Princeton Review and Colleges of Distinction.
With more than 15 measures of academic quality, the U.S. News 2021 Best Colleges provides data-driven information and guidance to help prospective students and their families understand their higher education options. In addition to the online announcement made in September, U.S. News will also publish most of the rankings with robust datasets in the “Best Colleges 2021” guidebook.
The 2019-2020 academic year was one marked by profound accomplishments and significant growth for LIU. Last fall, the University received approval for the College of Veterinary Medicine – the first in the New York metropolitan area and only the fourth in the Northeast, joining the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University and Tufts University.
In May, LIU announced the George Polk School of Communications, building upon the 71-year legacy of the George Polk Awards in Journalism and ushering in a new era of reporting, broadcasting, writing and production.
This summer, the University announced the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment. The Roc Nation School will serve as a globally renowned destination for world-class education, exceptional career development, cultural initiatives and philanthropic endeavors.
LIU faculty achieved numerous successes, including prestigious awards from organizations like the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the United States Department of Agriculture and the Research Council of Norway, among others.
The University launched new, in-demand academic programs, headlined by the Artificial Intelligence (AI) program, led by Dr. Mohammed Cherkaoui, Vorzimer Chair Professor and Deputy Chief Research and International Officer. In conjunction with international partners, planning is underway for novel academic and research linkages with LIU’s Digital Health and Engineering Initiative. Targeted collaborative research linkages will place LIU at the forefront of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Personalized Medicine and Cybersecurity.
Renowned researcher Dr. Bhaskar Das joined LIU Pharmacy from the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine to lead the University’s core facility in medicinal chemistry. Dr. Das has received more than 20 grants from the National Institutes of Health and his 28 patents have earned over $100 million. He has conducted groundbreaking research in cancer therapy, obesity, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases and Alzheimer’s disease.
The Global Service Institute continued the momentum early into the 2020-2021 academic year by announcing groundbreaking initiatives and new leadership. ABC’s Good Morning America featured Institute Chair Rita Cosby, renowned Emmy-winning TV host, veteran correspondent and best-selling author, who unveiled a comprehensive Global Service app that connects volunteers with nonprofit organizations. The Institute’s Board members include Evander Holyfield, Joe Theismann, Dionne Warwick, Susan Lucci, Gary Sinise, Nelson DeMille, Buzz Aldrin, General Wesley Clark, Michael Reagan, Maurice R. “Hank” Greenberg, Robert Irvine, Ken Sunshine and others.
California Commission Funds Faculty’s Dietary Research
The California Table Grape Commission awarded a grant to Dr. Jeffrey Idle, Endowed Professor and Director of the Division of Systems Pharmacology and Pharmacogenomics, and Dr. Diren Beyoglu, Associate Director and Associate Professor of Systems Pharmacology and Pharmacogenomics. Dr. Idle and Dr. Beyoglu will investigate the biological effects of a table grape diet on human metabolism and compare it to a grape-free diet in order to reveal the biological processes that underlie the benefits of a healthy diet containing table grapes.
Houston Business Journal’s Most Admired CEOs
Sheila Enriquez, ’96, Managing Partner & Chief Executive Officer of Briggs & Veselka Co., the largest independent CPA firm in Houston and the third largest in Texas, earned recognition on Houston Business Journal’s list of 2020 Most Admired CEOs. Enriquez was previously featured on the cover of Houston Business Journaland has been recognized as a 2019 Business Journal National Finance Influencer and 2020 Breakthrough Women by The Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce.
New York Times Best-Selling Author Publishes New Book
Phil Bildner, ’95, a New York Times best-selling author of numerous books for kids, published his latest book A High Five for Glenn Burke. Bildner is also the founder of The Author Village, an author booking business, and winner of a Golden Kite Award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
Princeton Review Ranks LIU “Best in the Northeast” for 4th Straight Year
For the fourth consecutive year, Long Island University has been named to The Princeton Review’s annual college rankings of the best colleges for 2021. According to The Princeton Review, the colleges on its lists are those “that we consider academically outstanding and well worth consideration in your college search.”
The University also earned a high return on investment (ROI) rating, which combines Princeton Review’s academic rating, financial aid rating, and college costs, with Payscale.com data from alumni surveys on starting and mid-career salaries.
Student survey responses gave the University high scores for quality of life, fire safety rating, and campus sustainability. The quality of life metric asks students to consider: the beauty, safety, and location of the campus; the comfort of dorms; the quality of food; the ease of getting around campus and dealing with administrators; the friendliness of fellow students; the interaction of different student types; and the quality of the school’s relationship with the local community. Additionally, LIU’s faculty was awarded high praise for professor quality, as well as for professor accessibility outside the classroom.
These rankings were based on student responses to a survey that asked 143,000 students at 386 of the nation’s top colleges to rate their schools on dozens of topics important to college applicants and their parents, including “their school’s academics and administration, their life at college, their fellow students, and themselves.”
Student commentaries from the survey are included in each college’s Princeton Review profile, with LIU receiving praise for its “strong and accepting community,” its “outstanding business and nursing programs,” and its “engaging [and] passionate” faculty.
The 2019-2020 academic year was one marked by profound accomplishments and significant growth for LIU. The University received approval for the College of Veterinary Medicine, announced the George Polk School of Communications and the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment, broke ground on a campus improvement project with RXR Realty, and debuted as the Sharks in NCAA Division I competition.
A cat’s life is a tale written by its paws
On September 22, 2013, Arizona Cardinals safety, Rashad Johnson, lost the top of his left middle finger after tackling a player from the rival team. Johnson, no stranger to injuries, tweeted the next day that this was “Prob most painful injury I’ve had”. This statement should not surprise us, as each of our fingers is a marvel of complexity, combining strength and dexterity, and as such is an extremely sensitive organ with numerous interlaced blood vessels and nerves.
Yet, the human finger is not unique in that sense. Many animals, and practically all mammals, whether they are bipedal, quadrupedal or knuckle-walkers, share a similar anatomy of their fore- and hind-limbs digits. This phenomenon is known as “homology” – the similarity of anatomical structures from different species based on their descent from a common evolutionary ancestor.
A finger, is a finger, is a finger
The underlying structure of the mammalian finger is formed by 3 small tubular bones called phalanges (or phalanx for a single bone). These bones got their name from the ancient Greek phalanx, which means “soldiers”, that like fingers, used to stand side-by-side in an army formation. The longest phalanx in each digit is closest to the palm of the hand (or the sole of the foot) and is called the proximal phalanx. Next is a shorter phalanx, named the intermediate phalanx. Finally, the shortest phalanx, termed the distal phalanx forms the tip of the digit. The exceptions are the thumb and big toe, both only having 2 phalanges as they are missing the intermediate phalanx. Figure 1 below depicts a typical human (bottom) and cat (top) digit, displaying the intermediate (right) and distal (left) phalanges in beige color.
The 3 phalanges of each digit articulate with each other to form inter-phalangeal joints, which are reinforced by several ligaments that attach close to the edges of each bone (fig. 1, in white color). In addition, several muscle tendons are inserted along opposite sides of the 3 phalanges to enable the digits to flex and extend (fig. 1, in brown color). The bones, ligaments and muscles are entwined with blood vessels, nerves, and connective tissue, and finally encapsulated by a cover of skin.
Figure 1. A representative human finger (bottom) and cat digit (top). The intermediate (right) and distal (left) phalanges are shown in beige color. The distal inter-phalangeal joint is the articulation between these 2 bones. Ligaments are depicted in white and muscle ligaments in brown. The connective tissue, including nerves and blood vessels, are shown in light orange and the surrounding skin in pink. Nail and claw are illustrated in light blue. The top black dotted line demonstrates where the guillotine nail trimmer is placed over the cat digit to amputate the distal phalanx. The bottom black dotted line indicates the identical location in human fingers, if a similar amputation procedure would take place.
And then there is the nail, or claw (fig. 1, in light blue color). This structure is made of a hard protein called keratin, which is also the main component of hair and the outer layer of the skin (epidermis). As such, the nail/claw itself is a dead tissue, and that is why we can safely clip it without feeling pain. The nail/claw root, which is the only live part of this tissue and the site of nail/claw growth, is a different story. The nail and claw arise from this highly vascularized and innervated growth zone, which is embedded in the innermost layer of the epidermis, overlapping with the distal phalanx in humans yet firmly rooted in the distal phalanx in cats. Specialized cells, called keratinocytes, continuously divide, elongating the nail/claw and eventually forcing us to clip them.
Cats, big and small, wild and domesticated, use a different method to keep their claws short and sharp – they scratch various surfaces to remove the outer layers of their claws. Outdoors, these surfaces will include mostly trees. Indoors, however, our domestic cats revert to available surfaces like carpets, sofas, chairs and tables. This type of behavior brings them many times in conflict with their owners’ wish to keep their rugs and furniture intact and scratchless. And so, finally, we come to the topic of declawing (medically known as onychectomy).
What declawing really means
While declawing may sound like a benign term to the laypersons, implying just the removal of the claw and the prevention of claw growth, the actual meaning of declawing is really amputation. The declawing operation itself usually involves a guillotine nail trimmer or the use of a scalpel to disarticulate the distal inter-phalangeal joint and the amputation of the entire last digit with the surrounding tissue, which includes the claw growth zone, the digital flexor and extensor tendons and the dorsal and collateral ligaments of the distal inter-phalangeal joint. Looking at figure 1 again, the dotted black line indicates the location of amputation in the cat digit (top) and the corresponding location in the human digit (bottom), if a similar “declawing” operation would have taken place. Remember Rashad Johnson who suffered from a partial amputation of just one finger and described it as the most painful injury he ever endured? Now multiply it many times over, (depending if only the front paws or also the back paws of the cat are declawed), and you will only start to grasp how distressing and traumatic this operation is to the cat.
Excluding the relatively few cases where declawing is performed due to a true medical reason, the estimation is that at least 20% of all cats in the US undergo declawing as an elective procedure, which amounts to about 16 million cats, and the question must be asked – If this elective orthopedic operation of digit amputation is so drastic, painful and has no real benefit to the cat, why are we still performing it? The answer is simple; unfortunately for cats, they are the masters of disguise when it comes to pain. Owing to their stoic behavior, even under sever post-operative pain, your cat may only slightly alter its gait or at worse will limp a bit. Most owners will probably fail to notice it, let alone mention it to their vet in the next visit. Even veterinarians, are not always aware of this behavior and will fail to notice these long-term changes in gait termed lameness. Yet, as bad as chronic post-operative pain is, it is not the sole issue with declawing. Other complications are far from rare, and may include bleeding, infection, tissue necrosis, damage to the radial nerve due to severing of its distal branches, and even claw regrowth due to failure of completely removing the growth zone.
In many countries, including most European countries, declawing is illegal. This is also true for New York state, where cat declawing was banned by law in July 2019. One can only hope that other states will soon follow this humane initiative and will end this unnecessary suffering for our feline companion.
–Dr. Meir Barak, Associate Professor of Veterinary Anatomy, Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences