Bono Shares Turmeric Health Benefits in Reader's Digest

Feb 12, 2019

In a Reader's Digest article on anti-aging supplements, Nancy Bono, D.O., chair and assistant professor of Family Medicine, NYITCOM, touts the health benefits of turmeric. Turmeric, which belongs to the ginger family and has been used to fight inflammation for centuries in Chinese medicine, has also been noted to lower LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Bono supports these findings, noting that the curcumin found in turmeric may be helpful in combating high cholesterol, a condition that tends to worsen with age. 

 

Donoghue to Livestrong: Fitness Trackers Don't Always Motivate

Feb 12, 2019

Health and fitness website Livestrong.com featured comments from Joanne Donoghue, Ph.D., director of clinical research and assistant professor at NYITCOM, in its article, “The Dark Side of Fitness Trackers.” In the story, which also references NYITCOM’s Fit physician study, Donoghue notes that some people may falsely assume that just because they wear a fitness tracker, they’ll be more motivated to get moving.

“We conducted a large fitness tracker study with 80 of our NYIT medical students over the course of a year. They all received a fitness tracker to wear for the year,” Donoghue says. “One group received weekly emails to offer ways to increase activity. The other group was told to try and attain 10,000 steps a day on their own and were not contacted.”

Supporting the idea that trackers alone are sometimes not enough to motivate a healthier lifestyle, the group that had weekly contact with investigators showed improvement in activity, while the group that simply wore the tracker showed no improvement.

 

Kutasovic Cited in Forbes

Feb 08, 2019

In an opinion piece published at Forbes.com, Finance and Economics Professor Paul R. Kutasovic, Ph.D., offered his view of the trade war between China and the United States. “The U.S.-China trade friction has been blown out of proportion,” says Kutasovic in the article. He adds, “The trade deficit America is running with China is a symptom of a strong US economy, which drives imports of Chinese products, rather than a matter of Chinese trade protectionism.”

Kutasovic also contrasts anti-China policies and U.S. consumers’ continuing willingness to buy Chinese exports, saying, “I don’t see consumers complaining when they buy China-made products in these stores."

 

The Island Now Covers Appointment of Dean Gordon Schmidt

Feb 05, 2019

Gordon Schmidt, newly appointed dean of the School of Health Professions, is featured in an article in The Island Now describing his new role and responsibilities as well as his extensive research and higher education experience.

“We strive to be at the forefront of scientific knowledge and the cutting edge of health science,” Schmidt said. “As a school of health professions in a technology-infused institution, we are in a unique position to provide an exceptional inter-professional education.”

 

Zwibel Addresses Role of Healthcare Providers in eSports on The Academic Minute

Feb 01, 2019

In an NYIT Week segment of The Academic Minute, Hallie Zwibel, D.O., director, NYIT Center for Sports Medicine, who also oversees the Center for eSports Medicine, explains how eSports is changing the way healthcare providers evaluate college athletes. While the word ‘‘athlete” may not conjure images of one playing a video game, Zwibel contends that like any other sport, eSports comes with its fair share of health considerations.

“In addition to promoting exercise to address a sedentary lifestyle, [sports medicine] professionals have a responsibility to treat eye strain and wrist pain from computer use, provide postural assessments to ease and prevent neck or back discomfort, evaluate for addictive behaviors, and counsel on LED screens altering sleep,” says Zwibel. “The rise of eSports is more than a fad, and [we] have the ability to help these individuals, as we would any other athlete.”

 

Zwibel Weighs in on Cryotherapy in U.S. News and World Report

Jan 31, 2019

Hallie Zwibel, D.O., director, NYIT Center for Sports Medicine, was quoted in U.S. News and World Report on whole body cryotherapy, a growing trend popping up in U.S. gyms and spas.

As mentioned in the story, whole body cryotherapy, which essentially means cold treatment, is a procedure that exposes the body to temperatures colder than negative 200 degrees Fahrenheit for two to four minutes. While it’s been used to treat conditions such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis in Japan since the late 1970s, it’s only been used in western countries for the past few decades, primarily to alleviate muscle soreness for elite athletes. Acknowledging that the therapy is not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Zwibel cautions people with an allergy to cold or nerve issues from participating in cryotherapy, as it may worsen their condition.

 

Dong Discusses 3-D Modeling to Assess Urban Sustainability on The Academic Minute

Jan 31, 2019

For NYIT Week on The Academic Minute, Cecilia Dong, Ph.D. of the College of Engineering and Computing Sciences notes the increasing threat of extreme weather conditions, and explains how modeling tools can help engineers and urban leaders build infrastructure that can stand up to climate change. She states:

“As governments, utilities, project developers, and investors decide how to best prepare for this future, they need to be able to understand, quantify, and visualize the range of interdependent impacts of their possible choices before they have to commit. …Better investments in urban infrastructure mean that, at a future extreme weather event, we will have fewer mandatory evacuations, fewer people stranded in upper floors of tall buildings, fewer cars waiting in lines at gas stations, and a safer, more reliable supply of water and food.”

Dong is currently working with an NYIT team and other partners to develop a 3-D visualization tool that will help urban leaders simulate and visualize the consequences of preventive sustainability measures.

 

Gibb Advocates for Phage Therapy Research on The Academic Minute

Jan 30, 2019

As heard on NYIT Week on The Academic Minute, Bryan Gibb, Ph.D., College of Arts and Sciences, discusses the potential for bacteriophage therapy to treat antibiotic resistance. He notes that while phage therapy has been used successfully in Eastern European countries such as the Republic of Georgia and Poland, it has not been explored to its full potential in the U.S.

“Phages, which quickly evolve just like the mutating bacteria they fight, have a major edge over antibiotics, but their flexible nature also makes them difficult to evaluate in a traditional clinical trial setting,” says Gibb. “To overcome this challenge, the FDA would need to establish a separate approval track for phage therapy.”

 

Restivo Op-ed Publishes in Salon

Jan 29, 2019

Solitary confinement is dangerous for juveniles. It causes severe psychological harm and impedes reintegration into society, writes Emily Restivo, Ph.D., associate professor of behavioral sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, in a Salon op-ed. “It's time to put convicted teenagers in correctional facilities with people their own age, and prohibit solitary confinement for those under the age of 18,” she notes.

Solitary confinement does nothing to rehabilitate young offenders. “We need to ensure children tried and convicted as adults are placed in juvenile facilities. Once there, they should be given opportunities to socialize with other kids and receive the support services they need to one day become productive, law-abiding adults,” she adds.

 

Kim on The Academic Minute: Inclusive Architecture at DMZ Border Can Improve Inter-Korea Relations

Jan 29, 2019

During NYIT Week on The Academic Minute, School of Architecture and Design’s Dongsei Kim examines architecture’s impact on nation-state borders, and how lines drawn at different scales can be inclusive. Kim notes that by deconstructing the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) through architectural methods, architects and designers can challenge long-held assumptions and preconceived views to better understand the “other” beyond the border.

“My research examines the nature of spatial borders that define us versus them, so that architects can visualize spatial conditions of borders like the DMZ and remap them to envision new alternative futures,” he says.