Digital Commons Network^™

Conservation Tillage Techniques For Mixed Vegetable Production In Southern New England, Jeffrey Ross Pieper

Open Access Master's Theses

Vegetable farming is an intensive practice that typically relies on several tillage passes to prepare fields for production. Repeatedly tilling the soil, however, is unsustainable and has been shown to decrease soil structure and organic matter while increasing erosion rates. A 3-year experiment was conducted in a mixed vegetable production system in southern New England to determine how crop yield, weed abundance, and soil health were affected by conservation tillage practices. Three conservation tillage systems were compared to conventional tillage to determine the effects on yields of six vegetable crops, weed abundance, and soil health.

Six 50 m planting beds …

Using Seaweed As A Soil Amendment: Effects On Soil Quality And Yield Of Sweet Corn (Zea Mays L.), Angela R. Possinger

Open Access Master's Theses

Application of seaweed to manage soil fertility is a traditional practice in many coastal regions, utilizing an inexpensive, abundant, and nutrient-rich resource. As a practice that re-purposes waste materials, diversifies inputs, and relies on coastal resources, seaweed amendment may be an effective and inexpensive means of strengthening and supporting agriculture in coastal agroecosystems. Putatively, seaweed biomass may be a useful amendment for crop production and soil quality improvement due to provision of plant nutrients (e.g. N, P, K, Ca), and promotion of microbial activity, among other benefits. However, limitations of seaweed application include high sulfur (S), salt, and heavy metal …

Development Of Enhanced Lateral Flow Test Devices For Point-Of-Care Diagnostics, Roman Gerbers

Open Access Master's Theses

Lateral flow Imunoassays (LFIA) are common, simple to use point-of-care devices for the diagnostic market. Conventionally LFIAs are limited in their complexity since they are optimized for minimally trained operators. Paper-based analytical devices (PAD) are advanced sensors based on a wide range of recently developed techniques for complex analytical methods. In this research, a point-of-care (POC) immunosensor was developed based on techniques adapted from lateral flow and paper-based analytical devices. Alternating layers of paper and tape were used to expand the common 2D design of lateral flow tests to 3D in order to enable complex fluid flow control. Four fluidic …

Development Of A Platform For Lateral Flow Test Devices With The Capability Of Using Multiple Fluids, Wilke Föllscher

Open Access Master's Theses

This study presents the development of a 3-fluid microfluidic device for the application in immunoassays. The test uses a microfluidic valve in order to sequentially load the reagents autonomously onto the detection area after adding the sample. The development of the multi-fluid circuit allows the application of an enzyme-linked assay in a lateral flow device as to provide with an improved sensitivity compared to strip tests available on the market. For fabricating the channels of the device, a wax printer was used. The layers were attached using double-sided tape. In order to advance the reliability of the device, new fabrication …

Nicu Sodium Administration To Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants: Relationships With Recommendations And Growth, Donna Kelly

Open Access Master's Theses

Title: NICU sodium administration to extremely low birth weight infants: Relationships with recommendations and growth.

Objectives. To determine the amount of sodium being administered in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) from all sources including parenteral and enteral nutrition, medications, and intravenous solutions to extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants -- those weighing less than or equal to 1000 grams. It was hypothesized that there are variable amounts of sodium given, but those amounts are not adequate when compared to the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) (3-5 mEq/kg/d).

Study design. The study design was …

The Morphology And Biomechanics Of Jaw Structures In Chondrichthyes, Jordan Balaban

Open Access Master's Theses

The skeletons of chondrichthyans (sharks, skates, rays, and chimeras) are composed entirely of cartilage, yet must still provide the skeletal support that bone does in other vertebrates. There is also an incredible range of diversity in the morphology of the cartilaginous skeleton of the feeding apparatus in Chondrichthyans. The goal of this research is to provide insight into the morphological evolution and biomechanical function of the cranial skeleton in chondrichthyans. Feeding style changes can occur with morphological changes in the skeletal elements of the shark feeding apparatus. In chapter one, to increase our understanding of how the feeding skeletal morphology …

Ecology Of Menidia Menidia Larvae In Two Temperate Estuarine Littoral Habitats, Miranda Lopez

Open Access Master's Theses

The Atlantic silverside (Menidia menidia) is one of the numerically most abundant fish species in estuaries along the East Coast of North America, but its ecology during the first two weeks post-hatch has not been described. Therefore ecological investigations into appropriate sampling methods, preferred habitats, feeding ecology and growth of these larvae will contribute valuable information to our knowledge base for this species. The upper reaches of two Rhode Island, USA, estuaries, with differing levels of anthropogenic inputs, were the study sites for this project. Previous studies have shown that during early spring M. menidia adults ripen for …

Gluconeogenesis And Colonization Of The Mouse Intestine By E. Coli Edl933 And E. Coli Nissle 1917, Silvia Anna Christina Schinner

Open Access Master's Theses

Previous studies in this laboratory have indicated that E. coli Nissle 1917 can act as a probiotic and is able to prevent the pathogenic E. coli EDL933 from growing to high numbers in the mouse large intestine. This study evaluated the influence of gluconeogenesis in E. coli Nissle 1917 and E. coli EDL933 to compete against each other and for their maintenance in the intestine. Knockout mutants of both strains were created for the analysis of the importance of gluconeogenesis in colonization experiments in the mouse large intestine. To knock out the ability to use gluconeogenesis and therefore metabolizing substrates …

Modification Of The Escherichia Coli Nissle 1917 EnvZ Gene To Improve Its Probiotic Potential, Jimmy Adediran

Open Access Master's Theses

The pathogenic Escherichia coli EDL933 is known to cause infection in the intestine. E. coli Nissle 1917 is used as a probiotic strain to prevent infection (63). When the mouse intestine is pre-colonized with E. coli Nissle 1917 it prevents E. coli EDL933 from growing up in the intestine. E. coli EDL933 is not eliminated from the intestine; it stays at the level in which it was fed to the mice. The P41L envZ missense mutation was previously shown to causes an increase in the level of phosporylated OmpR (OmpR~P) produced (67). E. coli MG1655 with the P41L missense …

Body Composition, Movement Phenology And Habitat Use Of Common Eider Along The Southern New England Coast, Joshua M. Beuth

Open Access Master's Theses

The nearshore and offshore waters of southern New England provide important winter habitat for many sea duck species including common eiders (Somateria mollissima). Sea ducks that inhabit these waters must contend with global climate change, disease, and anthropogenic disturbance including proposed offshore wind energy development; however, evaluating these potential impacts on sea ducks, in general, and eiders in particular is difficult because knowledge of their ecology during winter is limited. I conducted the first validation of a non-lethal method for estimating body composition (deuterium dilution) of eiders and then applied this method to assess changes in body composition …

Geospatial Analysis Of Denitrifying Septic Systems And Groundwater Nitrate Concentrations In Jamestown Shores, Rhode Island, Amy B. Parmenter

Open Access Master's Theses

High-density housing areas with onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) and domestic drinking water wells are susceptible to groundwater contamination from nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N). One solution is to install denitrifying OWTS, which are designed to reduce the effluent nitrogen by approximately half that of conventional OWTS. Geostatistical methods were used to analyze groundwater NO3-N data from the Jamestown Shores neighborhood of Jamestown, Rhode Island to determine if denitrifying OWTS have had an affect on water quality. Temporal trends were analyzed using NO3-N concentrations from sample events approximately 15 years apart, 1996-1997 and 2010-2011, between which a number of denitrifying OWTS were installed. …

The Ultrasonic Pulse-Echo Immersion Technique And Attenuation Coefficient Of Particulate Composites, Miguel Angel Goni Rodrigo

Open Access Master's Theses

This thesis comprises two main sections, namely a critical evaluation of the use of the Ultrasonic pulse echo immersion technique to measure attenuation and an application of the same to particulate composites. The former consisted of testing the main assumptions adopted by the different approaches developed to carry out the attenuation coefficient measurement. The first assumption states that a perfectly bonded interface between water and specimen exists. A second assumption requires consistent reflection coefficients every time the specimen is immersed. Finally, some existing methods assume equal reflection coefficients on either side of any specimen during a particular immersion. Herein, it …

Effects Of Position And Orientation On Pax6 Upstream Enhancers In Ciona Intestinalis, Thomas Andrew Bregnard

Open Access Master's Theses

The classical definition of genetic cis-regulatory modules such as enhancers identifies these elements as insensitive to changes in position and orientation relative to the transcription start site (TSS). While this theory is well supported, some recent studies have uncovered examples of constraint in the position or orientation of particular enhancers. This study examines the position and orientation sensitivity of two upstream enhancer elements found in the gene Pax6, which regulates development of the eyes and central nervous system in vertebrates. Late embryonic stages of the organism used in this study, Ciona intestinalis, show expression of Pax6 in …

Green Eating And Dietary Quality In University Students, Garrick Brown

Open Access Master's Theses

Objective: To determine if environmentally conscious eating, also known as Green Eating (GE), was associated with dietary quality among university students.

Design: Non-randomized cross-sectional analysis at baseline.

Setting: A northeastern university.

Participants: University students (n=26) aged 18-24 years, with a campus meal plan, and a body mass index (BMI) greater than 18.5 kg/m².

Main Outcome Measures: Healthy Eating Index (HEI) - 2005 score.

Analysis: GE Stage of Change (SOC) was assessed by an online survey administered to first and second year students. Subjects were eligible if they were in the precontemplation SOC (PC) (n=18) or …

Factors Of Different Management Of Northern Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus Thynnus), Patrick Samuel

Open Access Master's Theses

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is a regional fisheries management organization (RFMO) comprised of over fifty cooperating states and fishing entities. It manages Northern Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Due to overfishing and ineffective management, the stock abundance of this species has declined to about thirty percent of its unfished biomass in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Publications point to this poor stock status as evidence of a fisheries management failure; it is commonly repeated that ICCAT’s mismanagement of the resource amounts to an international …

Designing Effective Messages For Increasing Readiness To Use Alternative Transportation, Jonathan M. Drew

Open Access Master's Theses

The use of single-occupancy vehicles (SOVs) has had a profound impact on human health and the environment. In order to change the impact our travel behavior has on both the environment and our health, change needs to occur at an individual level. The purpose of this study was to determine effective framing strategies that will encourage individuals to use alternative, or sustainable transportation (ST), i.e. commuting by means other than SOV, and to compare the efficacy of this intervention to that of a “green” eating (GE) intervention. Using the Transtheoretical model (TTM) and its key constructs, self-efficacy and decisional balance, …

An Emulsion-Based Route To Generate Magnetic Capsules For Concrete Applications, Lennart Max Kleinfeldt

Open Access Master's Theses

The deterioration of reinforced concrete structures due to corrosion of the reinforcement bars has a major ecological and economical impact worldwide. Increased corrosion inhibition shall be allowed by placing polyurea capsules containing water soluble chemicals that protect the steel such as calcium nitrite. The capsules are modified with iron oxide nanoparticles to generate a magnetic susceptibility of the capsules. The iron oxide particles are introduced to the process in the preliminary step of emulsification of the water phase. The magnetic property can be possibly used to attract the capsules by running current through the steel wires which induces a magnetic …

Impacts Of Changing Inshore Water Temperatures On Phenology And Thermal Preferences Of Fish Species, M. Elisabeth Henderson

Open Access Master's Theses

The University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography Fish trawl survey of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, USA, provides a unique weekly time series of fish and invertebrate abundances over the last five decades (1959-present). Conditions in the bay changed in numerous ways since 1959 including increasing sea surface temperature and declining chlorophyll concentrations. With rising ocean temperatures, fish species may change phenology, abundance, or physiologically adapt to differing temperature regimes.

A comparison of species distributions according to water temperature and week of year is made with single-parameter quotient analyses to assess the magnitude and patterns of temporal changes. Species …

Rhode Island Aquaculturists' Perceptions Of Eco-Labeling Certification Programs, Nicole Deangelis

Open Access Master's Theses

Eco-labeling is a communication tool that allows producers to demonstrate to consumers that they comply with a set of environmental and social criteria by placing an eco-label on their product. Since global aquaculture production is increasing and bivalve mollusks comprise a large share of the world aquaculture production, eco-labeling certification has been suggested as a tool for creating a market for products that are produced with minimal negative environmental and social impacts. Because eco-labeling certification programs for bivalve aquaculture are currently voluntary in the United States, producers’ opinions of these programs influence their current and future involvement in these programs. …

Metabolism, Hypoxia Tolerance And Heat Shock Response Of Amphipods, Emphasizing The Hyperiid Amphipod Phronima Sedentaria, Leanne Elizabeth Elder

Open Access Dissertations

This work investigates the ecophysiology of marine amphipods. Amphipods are an important part of the zooplankton community in the pelagic environment. Amphipods are a food source for a variety of fishes and also have a role in carbon cycling. Little is known about their physiology and how they have adapted to environmental variation.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that global warming is causing temperatures to rise throughout the world’s oceans, a trend that will continue with rising human carbon emissions. As temperature and CO₂ levels increase, oceanic oxygen levels are predicted to decrease, and as a …

Are Full-Length Mrna In Bos Taurus Spermatozoa Transferred To The Oocyte During Fertilization?, Elizabeth Jane Anderson

Open Access Master's Theses

This thesis focuses on the discovery of full-length mRNA transcripts in Bos taurus spermatozoa. The primary aim of this study is to identify and validate full-length mRNA primarily from RNA-Sequencing of bovine spermatozoa. The secondary aim is to determine if full-length spermatozoal transcripts are delivered to the oocyte at fertlilization, allowing for future studies to track their inheritance from paternal sources to the embryo. The main hypothesis of this thesis is that full-length mRNA transcripts exist within the spermatozoal transcript profile in Bos taurus. The secondary hypothesis is that if spermatozoal mRNA is functional after fertilization, then full-length transcripts …

Benthic-Pelagic Coupling As A Function Of Changing Organic Inputs In Coastal Ecosystems, Lindsey Fields

Open Access Dissertations

Benthic-pelagic coupling links the sediments and the water column in shallow coastal marine ecosystems. Measurements of benthic-pelagic coupling have been made for decades in shallow, estuarine ecosystems, but relatively few measurements have been made in transitional inner continental shelf areas. Accordingly, the Providence River Estuary and mid-Narragansett Bay have many measurements while ecosystems on the Southern New England inner continental shelf have few. However, even in estuarine areas, the reactions and response times of benthic-pelagic coupling to recent anthropogenic and climate-induced changes are poorly constrained.

Recently, a climate-induced oligotrophication has weakened the relationship between the benthos and the water column …

Saving Prince Peach: A Study Of “Gaymers” And Digital Lgbt/Gaming Rhetorics, M. William Macknight

Open Access Dissertations

This study looks at the tensions surrounding the inclusion and increasing presence of LGBT performances within video games, their surrounding industry and culture, and their related internetworked cyberspaces – an assemblage referred to in this research as the “game-sphere.” By analyzing the rhetorical activity performed within a specific LGBT game cyberspace (the Reddit subforum r/gaymers), this study offers insight into gaming and LGBT culture by answering the following research question: What rhetorical action is performed by LGBT video game players within r/gaymers? Data were collected over a period of two weeks, wherein screen-captures were taken and saved twice a …

Role Of Nuclear Factor E2 Related Factor 2 (Nrf2) In Development Of Steatosis And Drug Transporter Alterations, Vijay Rs More

Open Access Dissertations

Steatosis is fat deposition in liver arising from conditions like obesity, diabetes, and/or alcohol consumption. It is a benign condition with normal liver function, and can often be reversed. Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic liver steatosis can further progress to irreversible steatohepatitis to cirrhosis and substantial loss of liver function. Nuclear factor E2 related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a transcription factor known to combat oxidative stress in the cell. The contribution of Nrf2 to other cellular functions, such as lipid homeostasis is emerging. The work herein assessed how enhanced Nrf2 activity impacts progression of hepatic steatosis with long-term high fat diet …

Pharmacodynamic Mechanisms Of Tolfenamic Acid Induced Sp1 Degradation Relative To Alzheimer's Disease Pathology, Lina I. Adwan

Open Access Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) continues to disrupt the lives of millions of patients and caregivers around the world. The few drugs currently used for AD have modest effects on the symptoms and do not prevent the progression of the disease into total memory loss and death. With the increase in the number of AD cases and the high social and economical costs of the disease, there is a great need to find disease-modifying therapeutics that target the core pathology of the disease as well as improve the symptoms and the patients’ everyday quality of life. Two types of pathological aggregates are …

(Viewpoint): Science Should Guide Tsca Reform, Rainer Lohmann, Heather M. Stapleton, Ronald A. Hites

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Little is known about the fate of polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) across the Oceans. Air and water were sampled using both active and passive polyethylene samplers on an east–west transect across the tropical Atlantic Ocean in 2009 and analyzed for PBDEs. Typical particle-bound concentrations of PBDEs in the surface water were low, at <1 pg L^–1. Truly dissolved concentrations from passive samplers were ∼0.5 pg L^–1 for BDE 47 and around 0.1 pg L^–1 for BDEs 28, 99, and 100 (results from active samples were compromised). In the atmosphere, particle-bound BDE 209 dominated overall concentrations (median 1.2 pg m^{–3 …}

Fluid Interactions That Enable Stealth Predation By The Upstream-Foraging Hydromedusa Craspedacusta Sowerbyi, K. Lucas, S. P. Colin, J. H. Costello, K. Katja, E. Klos

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Unlike most medusae that forage with tentacles trailing behind their bells, several species forage upstream of their bells using aborally located tentacles. It has been hypothesized that these medusae forage as stealth predators by placing their tentacles in more quiescent regions of flow around their bells. Consequently, they are able to capture highly mobile, sensitive prey. We used digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) to quantitatively characterize the flow field around Craspedacusta sowerbyi, a freshwater upstream-foraging hydromedusa, to evaluate the mechanics of its stealth predation. We found that fluid velocities were minimal in front and along the sides of the …

Rebuilding Fish Communities: The Ghost Of Fisheries Past And The Virtue Of Patience, Jeremy Collie, Marie-Joëlle Rochet, Richard Bell

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

The ecosystem approach to management requires the status of individual species to be considered in a community context. We conducted a comparative ecosystem analysis of the Georges Bank and North Sea fish communities to determine the extent to which biological diversity is restored when fishing pressure is reduced. First, fishing mortality estimates were combined to quantify the community‐level intensity and selectivity of fishing pressure. Second, standardized bottom‐trawl survey data were used to investigate the temporal trends in community metrics. Third, a size‐based, multispecies model (LeMans) was simulated to test the response of community metrics to both hypothetical and observed changes …

Distribution Characteristics And Ecology Of The Near Shore Marine Finfish Assemblage Inhabiting Northeastern U.S. Waters, Ethan Dwight Estey

Open Access Dissertations

While the near shore marine environment has been demonstrated to be a productive habitat, little is known about this finfish resource in this habitat in the northeastern U.S. This is primarily due to the difficulties of sampling in this environment, high variability in fish distributions, and lack of a standardized sampling approach, so as to be able to compare different studies. The focus of this work is to better understand the ecology of the near shore marine finfish distribution in the northeastern U.S. This is accomplished through identifying the finfish species inhabiting the surf zone environment and providing a description …

Characterization And Aerosol Dispersion Performance Of Spray-Dried Chemotherapeutic Pegylated Phospholipid Particles For Dry Powder Inhalation Delivery In Lung Cancer, Samantha A. Meenach, Kimberly W. Anderson, J. Zach Hilt, Ronald J. Mcgarry, Heidi M. Mansour

Chemical, Biomolecular, and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Pulmonary inhalation chemotherapeutic drug delivery offers many advantages for lung cancer patients in comparison to conventional systemic chemotherapy. Inhalable particles are advantageous in their ability to deliver drug deep in the lung by utilizing optimally sized particles and higher local drug dose delivery. In this work, spray-dried and co-spray dried inhalable lung surfactant-mimic PEGylated lipopolymers as microparticulate/nanoparticulate dry powders containing paclitaxel were rationally designed via organic solution advanced spray drying (no water) in closed-mode from dilute concentration feed solution. Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and dipalmitoylphosphatidylethanolamine poly(ethylene glycol) (DPPE-PEG) with varying PEG chain length were mixed with varying amounts of paclitaxel in methanol …