Digital Commons Network^™

Association Of Baseline Viral Serology And Sirolimus Regimens With Kidney Transplant Outcomes, Alfonso H. Santos, J. Casey, Xuerong Wen, Karl L. Womer

Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Background: The risks for transplant outcomes associated with baseline viral serostatus in kidney transplant recipients (KTR) on sirolimus have not been widely studied.

Methods: We performed a cohort-study of 61 590 adult KTR in 2000 to 2013. We used Cox regression models to determine the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of patient death, death-censored graft loss and posttransplant malignancy associated with the baseline serostatus (+ or −: hepatitis B core [HBc], hepatitis C virus [HCV], Epstein-Barr virus [EBV], or cytomegalovirus [CMV]) in KTR on sirolimus (SRL) + mycophenolate (MPA) or SRL + tacrolimus (Tac), relative to the control-regimen: Tac + MPA. …

Aquaculture Genomics, Genetics And Breeding In The United States: Current Status, Challenges, And Priorities For Future Research, Hisham Abdelrahman, Marta Gomez-Chiarri, Et Al

Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences Faculty Publications

Advancing the production efficiency and profitability of aquaculture is dependent upon the ability to utilize a diverse array of genetic resources. The ultimate goals of aquaculture genomics, genetics and breeding research are to enhance aquaculture production efficiency, sustainability, product quality, and profitability in support of the commercial sector and for the benefit of consumers. In order to achieve these goals, it is important to understand the genomic structure and organization of aquaculture species, and their genomic and phenomic variations, as well as the genetic basis of traits and their interrelationships. In addition, it is also important to understand the mechanisms …

The Cost Of Unconventional Gas Extraction: A Hedonic Analysis, Michael S. Delgado, Todd Guilfoos, Andrew Boslett

Environmental and Natural Resource Economics Faculty Publications

We focus on identification and estimation of potentially negative environmental impacts of unconventional natural gas extraction on property values in the United States and advance previous research by contributing new data and new identification strategies for isolating these potential impacts. Our study area consists of two counties in Pennsylvania that are home to large amounts of unconventional natural gas extraction but are otherwise isolated from other resource extraction industries or large urban areas. We deploy parametric, semi-parametric, and matching hedonic regression models that include recent quasi-experimental methods and, in contrast to previous research and much popular intuition, we fail to …

Environmental Impacts Of Oyster Aquaculture On The Coastal Lagoons Of Southern Rhode Island, Chelsea Elizabeth Duball

Open Access Master's Theses

Coastal lagoons are shallow estuarine systems which hold significant ecological and economic value to Rhode Island and its coastal communities. As the land around these coastal lagoons has been developed, excess inputs of nitrogen (N) from anthropogenic activity have entered the ecosystems. These inputs have resulted in eutrophication, leading to loss of ecosystem services and poor water quality. Oyster aquaculture has the potential to reduce N inputs via filter-feeding, helping to maintain water quality and ecosystem services.

In this study, I monitored water quality within aquaculture and control sites in three coastal lagoons located in southern Rhode Island, to assess …

Architectures Of Captivity: Imagining Freedom In Antebellum America, Rachel Boccio

Open Access Dissertations

Architectures of Captivity is a study of the literary construction of freedom through the paradoxical image of captivity. This project deals primarily with literature of the antebellum age, a critical moment in the historical genealogy of American freedom. A major supposition of the project is that the fundamental beliefs we hold about freedom—as citizens of the United States, as inheritors of the liberal traditions of the West, as sympathizers of democratic movements worldwide—were formed at the moment this dissertation interrogates. From the period’s discourses of Romanticism and liberalism and through the rise of the modern nation-state there materialized the fantastical …

Leisure/Crime, Immaterial Labor, And The Performance Of The Teenage Girl In Harmony Korine’S Spring Breakers (2012) And Sofia Coppola’S The Bling Ring (2013), Maryn Wilkinson

Journal of Feminist Scholarship

Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers (2012) and Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring (2013) introduced audiences to girls exploring criminal behavior both for and as leisure. The films introduce an idea of leisure/crime: criminal acts that appear to develop as natural, fruitful extensions of leisure activities, circumnavigating conventional laws of capitalism, yet still allow its actors to access, attain, and consume goods, money, value, and status. Through close analysis of the films’ style and character performances, this article proposes that the films and their enactments of leisure/crime in fact offer complex critical commentary on contemporary relations between the representation of teenage girls, …

The Transgressive Girl, Nicole Killian

Journal of Feminist Scholarship

This paper imagines the Internet as a potentially utopian girl-space by looking at how girls, and pop-cultural depictions of girls, use the language, signs, and symbols of the Internet, an inherently patriarchal system, in transgressive ways. I propose the 1990s media representations as the touchstone moment when the conditions of possibility for imagining the hacker as a weaponized girl emerged visually in popular culture. The girl, exemplified by various figures within popular television and film culture, is a precursor to and postulates an entry point into the ways Internet today is used in transgressive nature.

Testosterone And Progesterone Concentrations In Blow Samples Are Biologically Relevant In Belugas (Delphinapterus Leucas), Justin Thomas Richard, Todd R. Robeck, Steven D. Osborn, Lisa Naples, Alexa Mcdermott, Robert G. Laforge, Tracy A. Romano, Becky L. Sartini

Psychology Faculty Publications

Steroid hormone analysis in blow (respiratory vapor) may provide a minimally invasive way to assess the reproductive status of wild cetaceans. Biological validation of the method is needed to allow for the interpretation of hormone measurements in blow samples. Utilizing samples collected from trained belugas (Delphinapterus leucas, n = 20), enzyme immunoassays for testosterone and progesterone were validated for use with beluga blow samples. Testosterone concentrations in 40 matched blood and blow samples collected from 4 male belugas demonstrated a positive correlation (R² = 0.52, p < 0.0001). Progesterone concentrations in 64 matching blood and blow samples from 11 females were also positively correlated (R² = 0.60, p < 0.0001). Testosterone concentrations (mean ± SD) in blow samples collected from adult males (119.3 ± 14.2 pg/ml) were higher (p < 0.01) than that of a juvenile male (< 8 years) (59.4 ± 6.5 pg/ml) or female belugas (54.1 ± 25.7 pg/ml). Among adult males, testosterone concentrations in blow demonstrated a seasonal pattern of secretion, with peak secretion occurring during the breeding season (February–April, 136.95 ± 33.8 pg/ml). Progesterone concentrations in blow varied by reproductive status; pregnant females (410.6 ± 87.8 pg/ml) and females in the luteal phase of the estrous cycle (339.5 ± 51.0 pg/ml) had higher (p < 0.0001) blow progesterone concentrations than non-pregnant females without a corpus luteum (242.5 ± 27.3 pg/ml). Results indicate that blow sample analysis can be used to detect variation in reproductive states associated with large differences in circulating testosterone or progesterone in belugas.

Myofibrils In Cardiomyocytes Tend To Assemble Along The Maximal Principle Stress Directions, Hongyan Yuan, Bahador Marzban, Kevin Kit Parker

Mechanical, Industrial & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The mechanisms underlying the spatial organization of self-assembled myofibrils in cardiac tissues remain incompletely understood. By modeling cells as elastic solids under active cytoskeletal contraction, we found a good correlation between the predicted maximal principal stress directions and the in vitro myofibril orientations in individual cardiomyocytes. This implies that actomyosin fibers tend to assemble along the maximal tensile stress (MTS) directions. By considering the dynamics of focal adhesion and myofibril formation in the model, we showed that different patterns of myofibril organizations in mature versus immature cardiomyocytes can be explained as the consequence of the different levels of force-dependent remodeling …

Assessing The Quantity And Downstream Performance Of Dna Isolated From Beluga (Delphinapterus Leucas) Blow Samples, Justin Thomas Richard, Krystle Schultz, Caroline Goertz, Rod Hobbs, Tracy A. Romano, Becky L. Sartini

Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences Faculty Publications

Blow (exhale) sampling in cetaceans may provide a minimally invasive alternative to biopsy sampling for genetic analyses that may be favored in vulnerable populations. However, the utility of single-exhale blow samples has not been evaluated, and the relationship between the number of exhales collected and DNA yield and its subsequent performance during polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is unknown. DNA was extracted from 98 blow samples collected from 11 aquarium- housed and 29 wild belugas in Bristol Bay, Alaska. Blow samples consisted of one, two, or four successive exhales, with at least nine samples per type from both aquarium-housed and wild …

Subtle Microbiome Manipulation Using Probiotics Reduces Antibiotic-Associated Mortality In Fish, Victor Schmidt, Marta Gomez-Chiarri, Chelsea Roy, Katherine Smith, Linda Amaral-Zettler

Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences Faculty Publications

Prophylactic antibiotics in the aquaculture and ornamental fish industry are intended to prevent the negative impacts of disease outbreaks. Research in mice and humans suggests that antibiotics may disturb microbiome communities and decrease microbiome-mediated disease resistance, also known as “colonization resistance.” If antibiotics impact fish as they do mice and humans, prophylactic administrations on aquaculture farms may increase downstream disease susceptibility in target hosts, despite short-term pathogen control benefits. We tested the effects of antibiotics on mortality after a pathogen challenge in the Poecilia sphenops black molly and subsequently tested if probiotic inoculations could reverse any antibiotic-induced losses of disease …

Assessing Hydrology, Carbon Flux, And Soil Spatial Variability Within Vernal Pool Wetlands, Bianca N. Ross

Open Access Master's Theses

Vernal pools are small isolated wetlands that are covered by shallow water for variable periods in the winter and spring but may be completely dry for most of the summer and fall. Despite their small size, vernal pools are a dominant wetland type throughout New England. These wetlands are hotspots of floral and faunal biodiversity, as their unique hydrology and landscape characteristics allow them to serve as a home and breeding ground for many distinct plant and animal species. Because of their abundance in New England, vernal pools may also be an important long-term regional storehouse for organic carbon. Despite …

Interactions Of Polymers And Energetic Materials, Rebecca M. Levine

Open Access Master's Theses

Trace explosive detection is the primary way for quick and easy sampling of various surfaces in a check-point environment, e.g. an airport. The swabs used for commercial explosive detectors, such as ion mobility spectrometers, are made of various materials. The difficulty in collection and analysis of explosive traces is that the swabs must be effective at adsorbing as well as desorbing materials, i.e. pickup from the surface and release into the detection device. This dichotomy results in a tradeoff for development of new swabs. Generally, desorption is considered to be the more desirable property; therefore, Teflon is one choice for …

Assessment Of Salt Marsh Shoreline Degradation And Restoration On Benthic Invertebrate Infaunal Community, Anna Gerber-Williams

Open Access Master's Theses

The benthic invertebrate infaunal community is sensitive to disturbance and is an indicator for the overall health of estuarine ecosystems. To quantify the effect of salt marsh shoreline stabilization and restoration approaches on adjacent habitat quality, we compared invertebrate community assemblages of benthic infauna between four different shoreline types, two of which were erosion control methods, hardened and living shoreline, and two unaltered shorelines, natural and eroded. We quantified benthic infauna density, biomass, richness, and diversity and evaluated physical-chemical factors (water quality, sediment carbon and nitrogen content, and grain size) that may be influencing the benthic invertebrate community associated with …

Diet Quality Of Preschool Aged Children In Family Child Care Homes, Maggie You Ming Tsai

Open Access Master's Theses

Background: Although family child care homes (FCCH) are the second most utilized form of non-relative child care in the US, little is known about what children eat in this setting.

Objectives: The primary objective is to assess the quality of meals and snacks consumed by children aged 2-5 in FCCH compared to the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA 2015). The secondary, exploratory objective is to explore the association between childcare provider acculturation and dietary consumption of children in FCCH.

Design: This cross-sectional study used baseline data from an ongoing cluster randomized controlled intervention trial in FCCH.

Participants/setting: Family …

Investigating Lateral Line Canal Morphogenesis As A Bone Remodeling Process In Lake Malawi Cichlids, Julia W. Johnstone

Open Access Master's Theses

The lateral line (LL) system is a key non-visual sensory modality founded in all fishes and larval and adult aquatic amphibians. In bony fishes, the LL system consists of series of superficial neuromasts (on the skin surface) and canal neuromasts (housed in bony canals). Differences in LL canal phenotype have consequences for LL sensory capabilities, and, as such, could contribute to speciation. The LL system develops with a process of neuromast patterning followed by the genesis of canals from dermal bone around a subset of neuromasts. This study used histochemical methods to describe canal morphogenesis by assessing osteoblast (OB, bone …

Hibernal Phenology Of The Eastern Box Turtle, Terrapene Carolina Carolina, Margarete Walden

Open Access Master's Theses

The eastern box turtle, Terrapene carolina carolina, is a terrestrial ectotherm that is vulnerable due to sustained population declines across its range in the Eastern United States. Where this species uses managed fields, conservation measures could be implemented to restrict field mowing until the local population enters into hibernation, and such mowing restrictions could be adjusted each year only if the precise timing of the entry into and emergence from hibernation could be predicted based on proximate environmental conditions. I monitored twenty turtles each winter over two years to determine movement and activity patterns at the William Floyd Estate, …

Biocontrol Of Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease (Ahpnd), Jason Laporte

Open Access Master's Theses

Acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) causes mass mortalities in farmed penaeid shrimp and has proven difficult to control using typical disease control measures. The causative agent of AHPND has been identified as Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains possessing the 69 kbp plasmid pVPA3-1 containing genes homologous with Photorhabdus insect-related (Pir) toxin-like genes (pirA- and pirB-like). Probiotics have been used successfully in shrimp aquaculture to control disease outbreaks caused by pathogenic Vibrio, but there are currently no probiotics available that have been proven to control AHPND. The goal of this study was to screen and characterize marine bacterial isolates …

Aquaculturists' Perceptions Of Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (Imta), Heather Kinney

Open Access Master's Theses

Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) has been proposed as a potential strategy to reduce negative impacts of traditional monoculture and improve the domestic seafood trade market in the US. Views from the aquaculture industry on incentives for IMTA adoption and continuation are crucial for understanding the likelihood of IMTA reaching a commercial scale; however, studies on aquaculturists’ perceptions of IMTA are limited.

The objectives of this study are: 1) to explore different methods of IMTA being used in the US by aquaculturists; 2) to determine how US aquaculturists’ perceptions of IMTA affect the adoption and continuation of IMTA; and 3) to …

Social Outcomes Of Coastal Ecosystem Management: The Role Of Stakeholder Values And Norms, Lauren I. Josephs

Open Access Master's Theses

With human use of coastal ecosystems at an all-time high, a current challenge for conservation is to integrate social factors into management. Studies with this aim have focused primarily on monetary valuations of ecosystem functions, overlooking the psycho-social motivations underlying conservation and management. Our study leverages a values-beliefs-norms framework of environmental attitudes in interviews with residents and tourists of Martha’s Vineyard (MA). Specifically, we assess the role of human values, perceptions, and preferences in evaluating what constitutes social viability in coastal ecosystem management. Our results show that situational constraints to public understanding of conservation initiatives can undermine support even among …

Determination Of Age And Size At Sexual Maturation Of Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus Albacares) In The Nw Atlantic Ocean, Chelsea Roy

Open Access Master's Theses

This report examines sexual maturation of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares; YFT) above 35° North in the western Atlantic Ocean. The majority of samples were collected near Oregon Inlet, North Carolina with additional samples from New England to determine if there is a difference in maturation with latitude. Maturation was determined by gross classification of gonads as well as histological examination.

Data were compiled based on sex and fish length to elucidate trends. Females collected at lower latitudes were found to have a lower GSI and gonad weight than those from higher latitudes. Males in both locations had a …

Fto Genotype And Weight Status Among Preadolescents: Assessing The Mediating Effects Of Obesogenic Appetitive Traits, Jennifer A. Emond, Alison Tovar, Zhigang Li, Reina K. Lansigan, Diane Gilbert-Diamond

Nutrition Faculty Publications

Polymorphisms in the Fat Mass and Obesity Associated (FTO) gene are robustly associated with overweight and obesity among children, although the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. We tested if appetitive traits partially mediated the association between FTO genotype and increased BMI among a sample of US preadolescents. Data were from 178 unrelated 9–10 year olds who participated in an experimental study between 2013 and 2015. Children's DNA was isolated from buccal swabs, and the rs9939609 SNP in the FTO gene was genotyped. Children's age- and sex-adjusted BMI z-scores were computed using height and weight measured at the laboratory. …

Agronomic Characteristics Of Birdsfoot Trefoil (Lotus Corniculatus L.) In The Northeast, Sarah Ferguson

Open Access Master's Theses

Tanniferous forages, such as birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.), are a potential control for the parasitic nematode Haemonchus contortus (barber pole worm). Gastrointestinal parasites cause huge economic loss in small ruminant production. Tanniferous forages have been shown to reduce counts of parasite eggs in feces of small ruminants. Currently the tanniferous forage Lespedza cuneate L. is used in the southern United States in control of gastrointestinal nematodes of small ruminants. It is not a viable option in the Northeast due to insufficient winter hardiness. Birdsfoot trefoil is adapted to the Northeast and may be a viable option as a …

Investigating Rhode Island Town Beaches Litter Policies, Sara Benson

Open Access Master's Theses

Marine litter in coastal areas creates environmental, social and aesthetic problems. Environmental effects of marine debris include choking animals, entanglement of marine mammals and killing marine life through the leaching of chemicals. Marine debris can negatively impact humans and the economies of coastal communities. The issues pertaining to marine debris are so expansive it is difficult to assess where to start mitigating the issue. Focusing on beaches is a small, yet significant start to solving the overall marine debris issue. Many turn to beach or ocean cleanups; however, controlling litter before it enters the marine environment will be more effective …

The Impact Of Communication Technology: The Influence Of Task Type On Group Performance, Zhi Li

Open Access Master's Theses

This thesis on how communication technology influences group performances. The purpose of this study is to examine whether there is a difference in group performance across different communication media when groups are working on an idea-generation task. Past research proposed that different communication media contain different degrees of richness of information transmitted through media and the information richness requirements of that task. Face-to-face (FTF) communication was considered as an information-rich medium.

Computer-mediated (CM) communication was conceived as being limited in information richness. Therefore, the investigator proposed a hypothesis that groups using CM communication will outperform FTF groups when working on …

Concomitant Use Of Central Nervous System Stimulants And Depressants Prescribed In Rhode Island, Aram Babcock

Open Access Master's Theses

Background: Risks of morbidity and mortality may arise when prescription stimulants are used in combination with prescription central nervous system (CNS) depressants. The RI Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) captures all prescriptions for schedule II to IV, as well as information on certain schedule V medications.

Objective: This study examines the pattern of using a combination of controlled substance prescription CNS stimulants with CNS depressants in RI. We also seek the predictors of concomitant use of these two drugs classes in patients.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using de-identified data from the RI PDMP in 2015. …

The Exploration Of Young Audiences And Identity Development Through Social Media Platforms, Sara L. Benn

Open Access Master's Theses

Past research found that messages in popular television promote fame as a top value, while social media allows anyone to reach broad audience. Adolescents ages 11-17 are more likely to value fame, wealth, and image over community, affiliation, and self-acceptance. Teens may become addicted to the peer connection and affirmation they are able to get via social media. As a result, young audiences may be highly influenced at this stage of development and their value system may be influenced negatively by their use of social media? Despite this research, some researchers see adolescent social media use well within normal socialization, …

Flavin-Containing Monooxygenase-3 And 5: Tissue Distribution, Age-Related Expression And Regulation By Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress, Zhen Xu

Open Access Master's Theses

Background Flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMO) constitute a class of oxidative enzymes. FMO3 and FMO5 are two major FMOs that are highly expressed in the liver. The study was performed to determine regulated expression of both enzymes by age, fructose, therapeutic agents and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stressors. The expression of both enzymes in 33 extrahepatic tissues was determined as well.

Methods The tissue distribution of FMO3 and FMO5 was determined by immunohistochemistry. For age-related expression, livers were collected and divided into 5 age groups: I (< 31 days), II (35-70 days), III (89-119 days), IV (123-198 days), and V (>18 years of age). These samples were analyzed for the expression of FMO3 and FMO5 by …

The Physiological Glucagon Receptor In Rat Heart, Kevin Agostinucci

Open Access Master's Theses

The actions of glucagon have been extensively studied for many years. In heart, it is well established that glucagon is capable of causing inotropy. This action is mediated by glucagon binding to a G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) which activates adenylate cyclase, increasing the intracellular concentrations of cAMP. The studies that were able to show this effect used concentrations of glucagon that were considered to be much higher than what is normally found in blood. A recent report, by Harney and Rodgers (2008), described the actions and signaling mechanisms of physiological concentrations of glucagon (<10^-10 M) on perfused rat hearts. …

Conformational Insights Into Aminobiphenyl-Modified Dna: Implications For Mutation And Repair, Ang Cai

Open Access Dissertations

Cancer is a major public health problem worldwide. An estimated 1.6 million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2017. Most cancers are assumed to develop from the initiation of chemically induced DNA damages. Chemical carcinogens are genotoxic and they undergo enzymatic activation into reactive electrophilic species to form covalent bonds with the electron-rich DNA that form adducts. Aromatic amines are one of the most examined chemical carcinogens, and once activated, these amines attack the C-8 position of guanine to form C8-dG adducts (ABP [N-(2′-deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminobiphenyl], AF [N-(2′-deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene], and AAF [N-(2′-deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2 acetylaminofluorene]); these formations result in …