Digital Commons Network^™

Carbon And Nitrogen Isoscapes In West Antarctica Reflect Oceanographic Transitions, Emily K. Brault, Paul L. Koch, Kelton W. Mcmahon, Kyle H. Broach, Aaron P. Rosenfield, Wilson Sauthoff, Valerie J. Loeb, Kevin R. Arrigo, Walker O. Smith Jr.

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Antarctic marine ecosystems are spatially and temporally dynamic. Regional climate change is significantly altering the patterns and magnitudes of this dynamism with cascading impacts on biogeochemistry, productivity, and food web architecture. Isoscapes (or isotopic maps) provide a valuable analytical framework to characterize ecosystem processes and address questions about trophic dynamics, animal movement, and elemental cycling. Applications of stable isotope methods to Antarctic ecosystems are currently limited by a paucity of information on geospatial isotope characteristics within the Southern Ocean. In response, we have created the first empirically derived zooplankton isoscapes for West Antarctica based on analysis of bulk nitrogen and …

Phytochemical Investigation Of A Native North American Species, “Acer Saccarinum” And An Endemic Saudi Arabian Species, “Euphorbia Saudiarabica”, Abdullatif Bin Muhsinah

Open Access Dissertations

The objectives of this work are the isolation, purification, structure elucidation, and biological evaluation of bioactive secondary metabolites, primarily tannins and diterpenoids, of two plant species: silver maple (Acer saccharinum) and Euphorbia saudiarabica, respectively.

Based on the ethnopharmacological literature, Acer saccharinum is a traditional medicinal plant that has been used by the people of North America. According to previous phytopharmacological studies by our group, over 70 phytochemicals, primarily tannins and flavonoids, have been discovered from three different maple species, including sugar (Acer saccharum), red (Acer rubrum), and sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) maples. …

Estimating Recreational User Day Value And Impacts Of Congestion And Water Quality: Application To Salt Ponds, Rhode Island, Eunsun Hwang

Open Access Dissertations

The objective of this study is to estimate values associated with recreation in three Rhode Island salt ponds: Ninigret, Quanochontaug and Point Judith pond. The study estimates values per recreation day, as well as changes in values associated with changes in water quality and congestion.

First the study applies the Travel Cost Method to estimate the user-day value for recreation in Rhode Island salt ponds, based on an on-site survey. The study then applies the Conjoint stated preference approach to estimate changes in recreational values associated with changes in water quality and congestion at the recreation sites. Next the study …

The Impact Of The 2014-2016 Ebola Epidemic On Sierra Leonean Immigrants In The United States, Daphne J. Cole

Open Access Dissertations

The 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic represented the largest outbreak in the history of the disease and it took a tremendous toll on the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone who were impacted by a disease that had never been seen in their part of the world. While the epidemic significantly impacted those three nations, reported cases also spread to African countries such as Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal, as well as countries in the western world, such as Spain and the U.S. prior to the West African epidemic. Ebola was perceived in the U.S. as a distant threat dramatized …

Impacts Of Urbanization And Invasive Species On Foraging Behavior And Body Size In Anolis Sagrei, Zachary Chejanovski

Open Access Dissertations

Urbanization dramatically alters the abiotic and biotic environment of cities, favoring species that are pre-adapted or are able to adapt (e.g. through phenotypic plasticity or evolutionary mechanisms) to these novel conditions. While urbanization is widely considered one of the greatest threats to biodiversity worldwide, we still lack a general understanding of the mechanisms underlying organismal responses to human-induced rapid environmental change. The focus of this thesis was to examine how urbanization-induced changes in the abiotic and biotic environment influence the foraging behavior and body size of the brown anole, Anolis sagrei. In Chapter 1, we presented anoles from habitats …

Eastern Oyster Larval Transcriptomes In Response To Probiotic And Pathogenic Bacteria, Tejashree Modak

Open Access Dissertations

Oysters are described as keystone species serving an important ecological role. As filter-feeders they help in maintaining water quality. Oyster reefs provide refuge and support to different organisms. The eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, native to the East Coast of United States and Gulf of Mexico is a part of the rapidly growing aquaculture industry. Aquaculture production depends on a healthy and constant supply of oyster larvae that are provided by hatcheries. Several hatcheries on the east coast that provide C. virginica seed to oyster farms face significant losses owing to Vibrio infections causing massive larval mortalities. Use of antibiotics …

Compassion: Can Service Learning Make A Difference, And If So, How?, Edward Goldberg

Open Access Dissertations

The future of education is often framed in terms of bringing education into the second half of the 21^st century. Technology and along with it, faster and better ways to bring content to our students are important topics for discussion; but how our students treat each other and other members of their community is equally, if not more, important.

This study takes a look at how we may be able to encourage and foster compassion among our students. I wanted to know how compassionate thoughts and feelings develop following a service-learning experience focused on compassionate behavior. In this qualitative …

Analysis Of Atp-Dependent Chaperone Protein Interactions With Misfolded Proteins, Amyloids, And Aggregated Proteins, Shannon May

Open Access Dissertations

Protein aggregation occurs when proteins adopt non-native conformations, exposing hydrophobic surfaces due to misfolding. The exposed regions of two or more proteins associate to form amorphous deposits or highly ordered, stable fibrillar structures called amyloid aggregates. Within the cell, a robust network of proteins safeguard against protein misfolding and aggregation. This network is referred to as the proteostasis network and includes molecular chaperone proteins, co-chaperone proteins, and the ubiquitin proteasome system. Molecular chaperone proteins function in various cellular processes including intracellular transport, oligomeric assembly, and efficient protein folding. Moreover, molecular chaperones are required for folding denatured, misfolded, and de novo …

Mechanisms Of Individual Variation In Glucuronidation, Sulfonation, And Amidation: Bisphenol A And Bile Acids, Adam Michael Auclair

Open Access Dissertations

The role of conjugation of chemicals and endogenous compounds is an important mechanism in detoxification and metabolic signaling. Specifically, amidation, sulfonation, and glucuronidation are necessary functions of the human body. Exposure to environmental toxins such as bisphenols must be conjugated in order to be excreted from the body. Bisphenol A was originally developed as a synthetic estrogen, however later found use as a monomer within the plastics industry allowing for wide-spread exposure to BPA through food and drink containers. While most healthy individuals are capable of metabolizing and excreting bisphenol A, this metabolism can be impacted by diet and disease. …

Satellite Sensor Requirements For Monitoring Essential Biodiversity Variables Of Coastal Ecosystems, Frank E. Muller-Karger, Colleen B. Mouw, Et Al

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

The biodiversity and high productivity of coastal terrestrial and aquatic habitats are the foundation for important benefits to human societies around the world. These globally distributed habitats need frequent and broad systematic assessments, but field surveys only cover a small fraction of these areas. Satellite‐based sensors can repeatedly record the visible and near‐infrared reflectance spectra that contain the absorption, scattering, and fluorescence signatures of functional phytoplankton groups, colored dissolved matter, and particulate matter near the surface ocean, and of biologically structured habitats (floating and emergent vegetation, benthic habitats like coral, seagrass, and algae). These measures can be incorporated into Essential …

Peruvian Antiquities And The Collecting Of Cultural Goods, Terrence H. Witkowski

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

Ancient art, artifacts, and architecture have long excited the intellectual curiosity and acquisitive passions of private and institutional collectors who, in turn, have funded archaeological research, preservation initiatives, and public education. Yet, the procurement of these goods also has encouraged looting and trafficking activities. Supplying collectors has destroyed much cultural evidence in source countries and has raised questions about who should control heritage and history. This article investigates the market for Peruvian antiquities, the surviving material culture created by the country’s inhabitants before the Spanish Conquest. It briefly reviews Peru’s early history and the history of collecting its artifacts, and …

Zoo Animal Management Avs 327x, Michael Cerbo

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

Philippine Aquatic Food Production Afs 450, Michael Cerbo

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

Sea Star Wasting Disease In Asterias Forbesi Along The Atlantic Coast Of North America, Caitlin Bucci, Madison Francoeur, Jillon Mcgreal, Roxanna Smolowitz, Vanesa Zazueta-Novoa, Gary M. Wessel, Marta Gomez-Chiarri

Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences Faculty Publications

As keystone species, sea stars serve to maintain biodiversity and species distribution through trophic level interactions in marine ecosystems. Recently, Sea Star Wasting Disease (SSWD) has caused widespread mass mortality in several sea star species from the Pacific Coast of the United States of America (USA) and Asterias forbesi on the Atlantic Coast. A densovirus, named Sea Star associated Densovirus (SSaDV), has been associated with the wasting disease in Pacific Coast sea stars, and limited samples of A. forbesi. The goal of this research is to examine the pathogenesis of SSWD in A. forbesi on the Atlantic …

The Five Hundred And Forty-Fourth Report Of The Curricular Affairs Committee: Curricular Proposals, University Of Rhode Island Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Bills

No abstract provided.

The True Cost: The Bitter Truth Behind Fast Fashion, Zeynep Ozdamar-Ertekin

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

The True Cost is a documentary about the clothes we wear, the people who make them and the impact the industry has on the environment, the society, and the workers. It shows us the dark and grim side of global fast fashion supply chain. The review provides the main highlights of the film and summarizes the human, social and environmental costs of the industry. A number of counter-examples are included to show how people can make a difference and there can be a better way of making clothes. The current fast fashion model is all about profit. It does not …

Orbits Of Contemporary Globalization, A. Fuat Fırat

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

Contrary to the commonly accepted view, human beings were global (i.e., migratory and without borders) to begin with and then localized as they started to reduce hunting and gathering and got into agriculture and animal husbandry. When they were migratory, humans exchanged genes, tools, cultures – in effect, they were already globalizing. In the second part of this commentary, I analyze the contemporary conditions of globalization. I suggest that today we are experiencing a market centered iconographic culture; and the possibilities for richer and more inclusive symbolic cultures exist, and need to be cultivated.

Globalization: Mere Hiccup, Major Convulsion Or Mega Transformation?, Nikhilesh Dholakia, Deniz Atik

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

No abstract provided.

Urinformed December 2017, Urinformed

URInformed: The URI Employees' Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Genetically Engineered Animals, Drugs, And Neoliberalism: The Need For A New Biotechnology Regulatory Policy Framework, Zahra Meghani

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Genetically engineered (GE) animals that are meant for release in the wild could significantly impact ecosystems given the interwoven or entangled existence of species. Therefore, among other things, it is all too important that regulatory agencies conduct entity appropriate, rigorous risk assessments that can be used for informed decision-making at the local, national and global levels about the release of those animals in the wild. In the United States (US), certain GE animals that are intended for release in the wild may be regulated as new animal drugs by the Food and Drug Administration. This paper argues that the decision …

Is Your Research Reproducible?, Andrée Rathemacher, Harrison Dekker, Amanda Izenstark

Technical Services Faculty Presentations

Slides from a presentation, "Is Your Research Reproducible?", offered at the University of Rhode Island Libraries on December 1 and December 5, 2017.

"Learn more about the reproducibility crisis, how tools like the Open Science Framework can help you contribute to solutions, and about how proper management of your code and data helps you and other researchers."

Part of the University Libraries' Search Savvy Seminar series.

Main file is a PDF file of speaker slides as presented. Supplementary file is a PDF file of speaker slides with notes, including extra slides that were not used for presentation.

A Miniature Acoustic Device For Tracking Small Marine Animals Or Submerged Drifters, Godi Fischer, Thomas Rossby, Daniel Moonan

Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper presents an acoustic archival tag capable of tracking small marine animals. It is also a technology that can be ported to other platforms, such as the next-generation acoustic and Argo floats as well as gliders. Tracking is achieved by standard RAFOS triangulation using the arrival times of unique sound signals emitted by moored sources. At the core of the tag is a custom microchip that controls all system operations. It incorporates the critical acoustic arrival time detector, a thermal sensor, and a pressure sensor interface. All the electronic components are housed inside a cylindrical hydrophone of 25.4-mm length …

Isocitrate Dehydrogenase Mutation In Vibrio Anguillarum Results In Virulence Attenuation And Immunoprotection In Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss), Xiangyu Mou, Edward J. Spinard, Shelby L. Hillman, David R. Nelson

Cell and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications

Background

Vibrio anguillarum is an extracellular bacterial pathogen that is a causative agent of vibriosis in finfish and crustaceans with mortality rates ranging from 30% to 100%. Mutations in central metabolism (glycolysis and the TCA cycle) of intracellular pathogens often result in attenuated virulence due to depletion of required metabolic intermediates; however, it was not known whether mutations in central metabolism would affect virulence in an extracellular pathogen such as V. anguillarum.

Results

Seven central metabolism mutants were created and characterized with regard to growth in minimal and complex media, expression of virulence genes, and virulence in juvenile rainbow …

Resources Review: Adaptive (Podcast), Montreal*In/Accessible (Mobile App), Accessible Arcade Tables (Diy Project), Giuliana Cucinelli

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Thisresourcesreview spotlights a variety of DIY (do-it yourself) innovative media projects. Examples of these projects include: a podcast series on adaptive technologies, building mobile applications that allow participants to publish images, text and sound recordings, an interactive map that documents disability discrimination in the certain cities and the DIY creation of accessible arcade tables.

The social production of disability is seen in barriers created by society to restrict access to certain places or even certain cultural forms. The internet offers a space to share media productions and social media initiatives that use digital media to intervene, creatively, in theableistassumptions embedded …

Barriers To Fanfiction Access: Results From A Usability Inspection Of Fanfiction.Net, Jayne C. Lammers, Nicholas P. Palumbo

Journal of Media Literacy Education

As researchers encourage teachers to bring fanfiction into classrooms, questions remain about whether online fanfiction communities are accessible to all students. This paper presents results from a practitioner-oriented usability inspection of FanFiction.net, investigating challenges students with disabilities might encounter as they participate. Operating this website with screen reader assistive technology reveals navigation, social connection, and reading barriers users may face when trying to engage in typical fanfiction practices. This study offers implications for media literacy educators to consider as they work to bring online media into classrooms without further marginalizing students with disabilities.

Digital Media Production To Support Literacy For Secondary Students With Diverse Learning Abilities, April Marie Leach

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Producing digital media is a hands-on, inquiry-based mindful process that naturally embeds Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles into literacy instruction, providing options for learning and assessment for a wide array of students with diverse learning abilities. Video production learning experiences acknowledge the cognitive talents of some students labeled “disabled.” For some, the discovery of personal abilities activated when learning through the production process may motivate deeper learning. Although challenges of access, quality of teacher preparation and assessment strategies represent significant challenges, digital media production learning experiences offer diverse learners a rich, socially interactive environment that models open communication and …

Universal Design For Learning: Guiding Principles To Reduce Barriers To Digital & Media Literacy Competence, Elizabeth M. Dalton

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a framework for designing instruction to address the wide range of learner variation in today’s inclusive classrooms, can be applied effectively to broaden access, understanding, and engagement in digital and media literacy learning for ALL. UDL supports constructivist learning principles. UDL strategiesand methods encouragedevelopment of expert learners though personal engagement and motivation. UDL transforms one-size-fits-all instruction into diverse, multiple, and accessible learning opportunities that embrace student variation. UDL principles and guidelines offer a unique way for educators in digital and media literacy fields to ensure that their work will benefit the widest range of learners, …

Equine Management Avs 326/326x, Michael Cerbo

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

Thymoquinone Ameliorates Diabetic Phenotype In Diet-Induced Obesity Mice Via Activation Of Sirt-1-Dependent Pathways, Shpetim Karandrea, Huquan Yin, Xiaomei Liang, Angela Slitt, Emma Heart

Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Thymoquinone, a natural occurring quinone and the main bioactive component of plant Nigella sativa, undergoes intracellular redox cycling and re-oxidizes NADH to NAD⁺. TQ administration (20 mg/kg/bw/day) to the Diet-Induced Obesity (DIO) mice reduced their diabetic phenotype by decreasing fasting blood glucose and fasting insulin levels, and improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity as evaluated by oral glucose and insulin tolerance tests (OGTT and ITT). Furthermore, TQ decreased serum cholesterol levels and liver triglycerides, increased protein expression of phosphorylated Akt, decreased serum levels of inflammatory markers resistin and MCP-1, and decreased NADH/NAD⁺ ratio. These changes were …

Alma Link Resolver Title & Issn Report (Top 500) 2016-2017, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Statistics for 2016-2017 on the total number of OpenURL requests by journal title and ISSN made to the Ex Libris Alma link resolver for items held by the University of Rhode Island Libraries. Includes only the top 500 journals.

Information provided includes journal Title, ISSN, EISSN, Number of Requests, Number of Clicked Requests, % Clicks from Requests.