Digital Commons Network^™

Asleep Behind The Wheel: Experiences Of Night Shift Nurses On The Commute Home, Shirley A. Sargent

Open Access Dissertations

Aim: The aim of this study was to obtain descriptions of nurses’ perceptions and experiences of falling asleep behind the wheel on the drive home after a worked night shift.

Background: While the evidence suggests that the problem of drowsy driving and fall asleep driving is a strong contributor to vehicular accidents, little is known about nursing perceptions of the issue.

Methods: The design of the study is qualitative and descriptive. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 12 registered nurses who had experienced falling asleep behind the wheel on the drive home from work after a worked night shift. The interviews …

A Comparison Of Carbonic Anhydrase Among Invertebrates, With A Focus On Cephalopods, Albert C. Nyack

Open Access Dissertations

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is both an unavoidable waste product of aerobic carbohydrate metabolism and a fuel source for autotrophic and chemoautotrophic organisms. At biological pH, CO₂ rapidly reacts with interstitial and intracellular water to form carbonic acid (H₂CO₃), that then dissociates into protons (H⁺) and bicarbonate (HCO₃^-). While CO₂ and H⁺ readily diffuse across biological membranes, the majority of the CO₂ in living tissues is in the membrane-impermeable form HCO₃^-. The enzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA) catalyzes the reversible hydration of CO_{2 …}

Trophic Ecology Of Oxygen Minimum Zone Zooplankton Revealed By Carbon And Nitrogen Stable Isotopes, Rebecca Williams

Open Access Dissertations

Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) are areas in which midwater oxygen concentration can be significantly lower than in non OMZ areas at comparable depths. OMZs are of great interest because of the limits oxygen availability places on life. The potential for OMZ expansion with warming of the oceans has refocused attention on the importance of these areas and their potential impacts on the global carbon cycle. The large open ocean OMZs of the Eastern Tropical Pacific and Arabian Sea are notable for their size, thickness, and the intensity of oxygen depletion (

Here, I use measurements of natural abundance carbon and …

Adolescent Sleep And Cellular Phone Use: Recent Trends And Implications For Research, Sue K. Adams, Jennifer F. Daly, Desirée N. Williford

Human Development and Family Science Faculty Publications

Adolescent sleep needs range from 8.5–10 hours per night, with older adolescents requiring less sleep than younger adolescents. On average, however, American adolescents receive between 7.5–8.5 hours of sleep per night, with many sleeping fewer than 6.5 hours on school nights. Cellular phone use is emerging as an important factor that interferes with both sleep quality and quantity, particularly as smartphones become more widely available to teens. This review paper has three objectives. First, we will describe adolescent sleep patterns and the effects of sleep deprivation on adolescent physical and mental health. Second, we will describe current trends in technology …

Limited Entry In Rhode Island Tracing An Idea From Open Access To License Limitation To Catch Shares, Jonathon M. Peros

Open Access Master's Theses

For centuries fisheries institutions have shaped Rhode Island’s storied fishing tradition, a hallmark of which has been access to marine resources by the residents of the state. In 2001, after a series of moratoriums on commercial fishing licenses, Rhode Island embarked on an extensive public process through the Coastal Institute at the University of Rhode Island to identify fishery management options based on the input of stakeholders. The outcome of that process was the passage of Senate Bill 2771 sub A – otherwise known as Rhode Island Gen. Law 20.2-1 (2002). The legislation ended a moratorium on the issuance of …

Modulation Of Cd8+ T Cell Responses To Aav Vectors With Igg-Derived Mhc Class Ii Epitopes, Daniel J. Hui, Etiena Banser-Tschakarjan, Yifeng Chen, Robert J. Davidson, George Buchlis, Mustafa Yazicioglu, Gary C. Pien, Jonathan D. Finn, Virginia Haurigot, Alex Tai, David W. Scott, Leslie P. Cousens, Shangzhen Zhou, Anne S. De Groot, Federico Mingozzi

Institute for Immunology and Informatics Faculty Publications

Immune responses directed against viral capsid proteins constitute a main safety concern in the use of adeno-associated virus (AAV) as gene transfer vectors in humans. Pharmacological immunosuppression has been proposed as a solution to the problem; however, the approach suffers from several potential limitations. Using MHC class II epitopes initially identified within human IgG, named Tregitopes, we showed that it is possible to modulate CD8⁺ T cell responses to several viral antigens in vitro. We showed that incubation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with these epitopes triggers proliferation of CD4⁺CD25⁺FoxP3⁺ T cells that …

Making Vaccines "On Demand", Anne S. De Groot, Leo Einck, Leonard Moise, Michael Chambers, John Ballantyne, Robert W. Malone, Matthew Ardito, William Martin

Institute for Immunology and Informatics Faculty Publications

The integrated US Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE) has made great strides in strategic preparedness and response capabilities. There have been numerous advances in planning, biothreat countermeasure development, licensure, manufacturing, stockpiling and deployment. Increased biodefense surveillance capability has dramatically improved, while new tools and increased awareness have fostered rapid identification of new potential public health pathogens. Unfortunately, structural delays in vaccine design, development, manufacture, clinical testing and licensure processes remain significant obstacles to an effective national biodefense rapid response capability. This is particularly true for the very real threat of “novel pathogens” such as the avian-origin influenzas H7N9 …

Degradation Of Mangrove Tissues By Arboreal Termites (Nasutitermes Acajutlae) And Their Role In The Mangrove C Cycle (Puerto Rico): Chemical Characterization And Organic Matter Provenance Using Bulk Δ13C, C/N, Alkaline Cuo Oxidation‐Gc/Ms, And Solid‐State 13C Nmr, Christopher H. Vane, Alexander W. Kim, Vicky Moss-Hayes, Collin E. Snape, Miguel Castro Diaz, Nicole S. Khan, Simon E. Engelhart, Benjamin P. Horton

Geosciences Faculty Publications

Arboreal termites are wood decaying organisms that play an important role in the first stages of C cycling in mangrove systems. The chemical composition of Rhizophora mangle, Avicennia germinans, and Laguncularia racemosa leaf, stem, and pneumatophore tissues as well as associated sediments was compared to that of nests of the termite Nasutitermes acajutlae. Nests gave δ¹³C values of −26.1 to −27.2‰ (±0.1) and C/N of 43.3 (±2.0) to 98.6 (±16.2) which were similar to all stem and pneumatophores but distinct from mangrove leaves or sediments. Organic matter processed by termites yielded lignin phenol …

Regulatory T Cell Epitopes (Tregitopes) In Igg Induce Tolerance In Vivo And Lack Immunogenicity Per Se, Yan Su, Robert Rossi, Anne S. De Groot, David W. Scott

Institute for Immunology and Informatics Faculty Publications

Tregitopes are a set of epitopes, derived from IgG, that bind to MHCII, activate nTregs, and promote tolerance. We have now confirmed that coadministration of Tregitopes with a range of proteins (autoantigens and nominal antigens, such as OVA) in vitro and in vivo leads to suppression of T cell and antibody responses to the test antigens. In this study, we demonstrate that Tregitopes are not immunogenic in vivo even when emulsified with strong adjuvants, such as IFA or CFA. Moreover, in vivo administration of Tregitopes with IFA or CFA does not induce Th1 or Th2 cytokine expression under restimulation conditions …

Effects Of Transcranial Focal Electrical Stimulation Via Tripolar Concentric Ring Electrodes On Pentylenetetrazole-Induced Seizures In Rats, Walter G. Besio, O. Makeyev, A. Medvedev, K. Gale

Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Purpose: To study the effects of noninvasive transcranial focal electrical stimulation (TFS) via tripolar concentric ring electrodes (TCRE) on the electrographic and behavioral activity from pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced seizures in rats.

Methods: The TCREs were attached to the rat scalp. PTZ was administered and, after the first myoclonic jerk was observed, TFS was applied to the TFS treated group. The electroencephalogram (EEG) and behavioral activity were recorded and studied.

Results: In the case of the TFS treated group, after TFS, there was a significant (p = 0.001) decrease in power compared to the control group in delta, theta, and alpha …

Automatic Seizure Detection In Rats Using Laplacian Eeg And Verification With Human Seizure Signals, Amal Feltane, G. Faye Boudeaux-Bartels, Walter Besio

Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Automated detection of seizures is still a challenging problem. This study presents an approach to detect seizure segments in Laplacian electroencephalography (tEEG) recorded from rats using the tripolar concentric ring electrode (TCRE) configuration. Three features, namely, median absolute deviation, approximate entropy, and maximum singular value were calculated and used as inputs into two different classifiers: support vector machines and adaptive boosting. The relative performance of the extracted features on TCRE tEEG was examined. Results are obtained with an overall accuracy between 84.81 and 96.51%. In addition to using TCRE tEEG data, the seizure detection algorithm was also applied to the …

High Population Density Recruitment And Survival Of A Harvested Coral Reef Fish, Clare L. Wormald, Mark A. Steele, Graham E. Forrester

Natural Resources Science Faculty Publications

A negative relationship between population growth and population density (direct density dependence) is necessary for population regulation and is assumed in most models of harvested populations. Experimental tests for density dependence are lacking for large-bodied, harvested fish because of the difficulty of manipulating population density over large areas. We studied a harvested coral reef fish, Lutjanus apodus (schoolmaster snapper), using eight large, isolated natural reefs (0.4–1.6 ha) in the Bahamas as replicates. An initial observational test for density dependence was followed by a manipulation of population density. The manipulation weakened an association between density and shelter-providing habitat features and revealed …

Suppression Of Pxr Expression By Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress And Microrna, Thaveechai Vachirayonstien

Open Access Dissertations

The pregnane X receptor is a nuclear receptor, functioning as a ligand activated transcriptional factor. PXR is recognized as a major regulator of xenobiotic metabolism. Several important Phase I and Phase II enzymes, and drug transporters are regulated by PXR. PXR is also a master regulator of CYP3A4, which is one of the most important enzymes in drug metabolism. Thus, knowledge of regulation of PXR expression is crucial to understand alterations in drug metabolism. Many liver diseases such as steatosis and inflammatory liver diseases alter the expression of drug metabolizing enzymes and transporters. CYP3A4 is down-regulated in these diseases. Endoplasmic …

An In Vitro Study On The Non-Enzymatic Glycation Of Melamine And Serum Albumin By Reducing Sugars, Weixi Liu

Open Access Dissertations

Glycation is a non-enzymatic reaction with reactants including a reducing sugar and a free amino containing molecule such as protein, amino acids, DNA, RNA and lipids. In the initial phase of glycation, the carbonyl group of the reducing carbohydrate condenses with the free amino groups on the target biomolecule to form reversible glycosylamines, which are then converted to more stable Amadori products. Once formed, these Amadori products can with time undergo dehydration, cyclization, oxidation, and rearrangement to form a polymorphic group of compounds collectively referred to as Advanced Glycation Endproducts (AGEs). The accumulation of AGEs in vivo has been implicated …

Effect Of Metabolic Disease And Xenobiotic Exposure On Hepatic Atp-Binding Cassette (Abc) Drug Transporter Expression, Ajay Chowdary Donepudi

Open Access Dissertations

Drug transporters are membrane bound proteins, which are involved in facilitating both uptake and efflux of xenobiotics, endogenous compounds and their metabolites in various tissues such as liver, kidney, testis, and brain. Alteration in drug transporters may cause imbalances in endogenous compounds such as bile acids, hormones, and bilirubin. Xenobiotic metabolism is inefficient without drug transporters, and drug transporters are recognized as vital mediators for moving polar compounds across membranes. ATP binding cassette (Abc) transporters are a kind of drug transporters, which are ATP-dependent membrane bound proteins involved in transport of wide variety of compounds. Multiple hepatic conditions can alter …

Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Of Childhood Anxiety: Examining A Parent Consultation Model, Allison M. Smith

Open Access Dissertations

Strong evidence supports the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for the treatment of clinical anxiety in children. As parents may play an etiological role in the development, progression, and maintenance of childhood anxiety, researchers have noted that including parents in child treatment confers some benefit upon child outcomes. Conducting CBT solely with the parents of anxious children may be equally beneficial and potentially more cost-effective than treatment modalities with only the child. The present study examined the efficacy of a ten-session parent-only CBT intervention delivered individually to parents of anxious children (ICBT) in comparison to a ten week wait-list control …

Physical Properties Of Marine Sediments And Their Application Toward Climate Change Studies, Tania Lado Insua

Open Access Dissertations

The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) is the world’s largest collaborative research initiative for the study of the ocean seafloor, subseafloor, and their application to earth system science. The processing of recovered cores from the subseafloor by IODP has been standardized to maintain constant, reproducible results and to make the measurements available to the scientific community using a worldwide- web based database. The study of physical properties is a basic requirement for the study of marine sediments as they form a foundation data set for most of earth system dynamic studies.

This thesis focuses on solving four different scientific problems …

Lightning-Rod Men, Magnetic Lives, Bodies Electric: Electromagnetic Corporeality In Emerson, Melville, & Whitman, James Patrick Gorham

Open Access Dissertations

From the time of American independence to the antebellum period, Americans labored to distinguish their collective identity from that of their colonial forebears in a world increasingly shaped by technological advances, industrial transformations, and scientific developments. Discoveries regarding electricity and electromagnetism resulted in inventions that would especially revolutionize human life. The advent of the lightning-rod in the mid-eighteenth century challenged prior notions that a destructive lightning bolt was an inevitable consequence of divine will, with any interference with that power understood as sacrilege. The rod symbolized a new, Franklinian American, who, steeped in Enlightenment science and philosophy, could stand up …

Survival Of The Blacktip Shark, Carcharhinus Limbatus, William A. Swinsburg

Open Access Master's Theses

Proportional survival (S) is a crucial life-history parameter in population dynamics, natural selection, and management of harvested stocks; variations in survival due to age, sex, or geographic region may have large effects on the success of managing fish stocks. The blacktip shark, Carcharhinus limbatus, is the most abundantly harvested shark species in American fisheries. Direct estimates of survival are preferred, but all current survival estimates for this species are either focused on young-of-the-year (YOY) or based on indirect methods. The objectives of this study were to determine whether age, sex, or geographic grouping affects survival and to generate …

Visual Images And The Rhetoric Of Environmental Advocacy, Collin Syfert

Open Access Master's Theses

This project investigates visual representations of staged environmental protests that are produced and distributed by the environmental-activist organization Greenpeace, and broadcast through international news media. By examining eight images taken from four separate Greenpeace image campaigns, this thesis shows how these demonstrations generally, and images of them more specifically, draw attention to climate change issues through their rhetorical capacity to challenge dominant cultural values that have enabled climate-changing human activities to persist. As such, the rhetorical capacity of these images further demonstrates Kevin DeLuca’s image event theory, which suggests how visual demonstrations can be designed to attract mass media attention …

Transcriptome Of The Eastern Oyster Crassostrea Virginica In Response To Bacterial Challenge, Ian Mcdowell

Open Access Master's Theses

The Eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica, an ecologically and economically important estuarine organism, suffers mortalities as high as 90-100% in affected areas due to Roseovarius Oyster Disease (ROD), caused by the bacterial pathogen, Roseovarius crassostreae. Advanced genotypic breeding techniques necessitate information regarding markers and genes associated with disease resistance. As yet, the host-pathogen interaction between C. virginica and R. crassostreae is poorly understood at the molecular level. The identification of potential genes and pathways responsible for an effective host defense response in the Eastern oyster to R. crassostreae is important not only to provide a basis for enhanced breeding techniques, …

Pathological Effects Of Soybean Anti-Nutritional Factors On Summer Flounder (Paralichthys Dentatus) Tissues, Rachel Michelle Bone

Open Access Master's Theses

Summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus), a popular carnivorous fish in New England, is an important candidate for aquaculture development. The inclusion of plant proteins as a replacement for fish meal in the diets of marine carnivorous fish may lead to economical advantages and increased sustainability. Anti-nutritional factors, organic molecules that cannot be digested and may inhibit digestion of other molecules present in soybean meal, but not in soy protein concentrate, may limit the inclusion of soybean meal into carnivorous fish diets by impacting fish growth rates or immune function. In order to determine the mechanisms by which soybean meal …

First Principles, Unstructured, Dynamic Model For Regulating Co2 And Ph In Bicarbonate Buffered Perfusion Bioreactor, Ashish Gaurav Airan

Open Access Master's Theses

Since its inception, the biotechnology industry has faced the problem of pH control and CO₂ management. This research paper explores the challenges of developing a first principles, unstructured, dynamic, nonlinear mathematical model to maintain pH and control carbon dioxide levels in an aerobic Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell culture in a perfusion bioreactor. Perfusion bioreactor is an extremely complex bioreactor to model because the cells grow in a quasi-steady state system. Cell growth, feed, substrate consumption, by-product formation and product formation are all time dependent, equations for which can only be solved through numerical methods. Added complexity comes from …

Phytochemicals From The Roots Of Northern Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium Corymbosum), Amanda Cirello

Open Access Master's Theses

Growing evidence from many in vitro studies suggest that plants produce secondary metabolites which may have potential physiological properties. The northern highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) plant is commercially cultivated for its valuable dark-blue fruit, which has been extensively researched and has been shown to contain phenolic compounds recognized to have positive health benefits. Thus, an evaluation of other parts of the plant, that as of yet have not been investigated, could be worthwhile. There may be undiscovered bioactive compounds within the roots of this plant that may contribute to the improvement of human health. This rationale supports further …

The Ability Of Pomegranate To Ameliorate Symptoms Associated With Alzheimer's Disease In Aged Transgenic Mice, Aseef H. Ahmed

Open Access Master's Theses

Accumulating research has demonstrated that polyphenolic compounds from natural products, such as pomegranate, may have antioxidant and neuroprotective properties in animal models of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the present study explores whether the administration of a pomegranate peel extract could have a rescuing effect on AD pathology in aged transgenic animal models of AD. These mice already have abundant AD pathology since amyloid beta (Aβ) deposition continues with time. Two doses of the extract or a control solution were fed daily to groups of transgenic mice (R1.40), ranging in age from 24-30 months. Treatment and behavioral assessment lasted thirty-seven days …

Using Composite Fuels As A Substitute For Standard Fuels For Combustion, Adam Duszkiewicz

Open Access Master's Theses

This study will examine the practicality of using composite solid-liquid fuel technology and it they can by improved through emulsification. The practicality of this technology was determined based on whether a composite fuel could be modeled that had acceptable combustion properties. These properties were determined through experimentation, literature analysis and modeling. Experiments determining settling velocity were conducted on coal-soybean oil and wood-soybean oil composite mixtures. Settling velocities were determined varying mass concentrations, temperatures and average solid particulate size. Then 20% mass concentration of water was added to the same mixtures and the experiments were repeated. It was found that lower …

Characterizing The Benthic Invertebrate Communities Of The Mixed-Coarse Intertidal Habitat In Boston Harbor, Elizabeth N. Eddy

Open Access Master's Theses

The Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area (BOHA) has an extensive intertidal zone, with 47% of the area composed of mixed-coarse substrate. Given anticipated climate change impacts such as sea level rise and ocean warming, and other stressors associated with the urban environment, the critical ecosystem functions provided by the dominant yet largely understudied mixed-coarse habitat are likely to be altered. To evaluate the benthic invertebrate communities of BOHA and to determine what environmental factors of the mixed-coarse substrate affect community structure, 87 sampling sites were distributed between wave-exposed and wave-protected shorelines between mean higher high water and mean lower …

Myostatin And Tgf-Β Function In The Regulation Of Myogenesis In Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss), A Basal Teleost, Ian Morrison Jaffe

Open Access Master's Theses

Myogenesis in vertebrates is a complex and intricately regulated process, various mechanisms of which have been alternately conserved or lost throughout the course of vertebrate evolution. Mammalian myogenesis is highly regulated by myostatin, a member of the Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β) family of cytokines, however, a similar role for myostatin in fish currently remains the subject of inquiry. Myostatin initiates signal transduction by means of the activin type IIb receptor, and shares considerable sequence and structural homology across vertebrate taxa, though its functional homology remains unclear. Two families of transgenic (TG) rainbow trout (RBT), one in which myostatin was inhibited …

The Good 5 Cent Cigar (11/28/2012), University Of Rhode Island

The Good 5 Cent Cigar (Student Newspaper Archives)

This is a digitized, downloadable version of the University of Rhode Island school newspaper.

The Good 5 Cent Cigar (11/20/2012), University Of Rhode Island

The Good 5 Cent Cigar (Student Newspaper Archives)

This is a digitized, downloadable version of the University of Rhode Island school newspaper.