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Division Of Research And Economic Development Annual Report For Fy2004, Uri Division Of Research And Economic Development

Reports (Research and Economic Development)

Annual report for the Division of Research and Economic Development of the University of Rhode Island for the year 2003-2004.

Includes statistics of project proposals, expenditures, URI Foundation Awards, previous annual report summaries and awards received by individual academic and administrative departments.

Hepp Report: Infectious Diseases In Corrections, Vol. 7 No. 1, Hiv & Hepatitis Education Prison Project

Infectious Diseases in Corrections Report (IDCR)

No abstract provided.

Diet Quality And Food Limitation Affect The Dynamics Of Body Composition And Digestive Organs In A Migratory Songbird (Zonotrichia Albicollis), Barbara J. Pierce, Scott R. Mcwilliams

Natural Resources Science Faculty Publications

Migrating songbirds interrupt their feeding to fly between stopover sites that may vary appreciably in diet quality. We studied the effects of fasting and food restriction on body composition and digestive organs in a migratory songbird and how these effects interacted with diet quality to influence the rate of recovery of nutrient reserves. Food limitation caused white‐throated sparrows to reduce both lean and fat reserves, with about 20% of the decline in lean mass represented by a decline in stomach, small intestine, and liver. During refeeding on diets similar in nutrient composition to either grain or fruit, food‐limited grain‐fed birds …

Susceptibility Of Selected Ericaceous Ornamental Host Species To Phytophthora Ramorum, P. W. Tooley, K. L. Kyde, Larry Englander

Past Departments Faculty Publications (CELS)

We assessed disease reactions of 51 species or varieties of ericaceous ornamental hosts to two isolates of Phytophthora ramorum, the causal agent of sudden oak death. Inoculation was performed with an A2 mating type U.S. isolate from rhododendron and the P. ramorum type culture of A1 mating type from Germany. For only one host were statistically significant differences in disease observed between the two isolates. Several different inoculation methods were compared. The 51 hosts tested varied widely in susceptibility, ranging from 0% to over 90% leaf area infected. Two cultivars of Vaccinium macrocarpon (cranberry) showed no disease, while three …

Should Employers Have The Ability To Monitor Their Employees Electronically?, Danielle Dorval

Seminar Research Paper Series

The purpose of this paper is to answer the question of whether or not employers should have the ability to electronically monitor their employees in the workplace. It stresses both the monitoring of computers, and also telephone wiretapping. The topic is examined through a legal, behavioral, and ethical perspective, to gain a more complete idea of the extent of the concern with electronic monitoring. Court cases were used to explain the different facets of the legal struggle between the employer’s right to monitor and the employee’s right to privacy. Several theories, including panoptic theory, were used to explain the behavioral …

Carbon Nutrition Of Escherichia Coli In The Mouse Intestine, Dong-Eun Chang, Darren J. Smalley, Don L. Tucker, Mary P. Leatham, Wendy E. Norris, Sarah J. Stevenson, April B. Anderson, Joe E. Grissom, David C. Laux, Paul S. Cohen, Tyrrell Conway

Cell and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications

Whole-genome expression profiling revealed Escherichia coli MG1655 genes induced by growth on mucus, conditions designed to mimic nutrient availability in the mammalian intestine. Most were nutritional genes corresponding to catabolic pathways for nutrients found in mucus. We knocked out several pathways and tested the relative fitness of the mutants for colonization of the mouse intestine in competition with their wild-type parent. We found that only mutations in sugar pathways affected colonization, not phospholipid and amino acid catabolism, not gluconeogenesis, not the tricarboxylic acid cycle, and not the pentose phosphate pathway. Gluconate appeared to be a major carbon source used by …

Inhibitors Of Protein Kinase Signaling Pathways: Emerging Therapies For Cardiovascular Disease, Thomas Force, Keisuke Kuida, Mark Namchuk, Keykavous Parang, John M. Kyriakis

Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Protein kinases are enzymes that covalently modify proteins by attaching phosphate groups (from ATP) to serine, threonine, and/or tyrosine residues. In so doing, the functional properties of the protein kinase’s substrates are modified. Protein kinases transduce signals from the cell membrane into the interior of the cell. Such signals include not only those arising from ligand–receptor interactions but also environmental perturbations such as when the membrane undergoes mechanical deformation (ie, cell stretch or shear stress). Ultimately, the activation of signaling pathways that use protein kinases often culminates in the reprogramming of gene expression through the direct regulation of transcription factors …

A Comparative Evaluation Of The Habitat Value Of Shellfish Aquaculture Gear, Submerged Aquatic Vegetation And A Non-Vegetated Seabed, Joseph Dealteris, Brian D. Kilpatrick, Robert B. Rheault

Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences Faculty Publications

The habitat value of modified rack and bag, shellfish aquaculture gear (SAG) used for the grow-out phase of the American oyster, Crassostrea virginica, submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), Zostera marina, and a shallow nonvegetated seabed (NVSB) was comparatively evaluated over a 1-year period in Pt. Judith Pond, a tidal estuary in Southern Rhode Island. Enclosure gear was used to sample the three ecotypes, and organisms (>5 mm) were identified, enumerated, and measured to the nearest millimeter. Abundances of marine organisms and species diversity indices were used as measures of the habitat value of these ecotypes within each season. Environmental …

Glycolytic And Gluconeogenic Growth Of Escherichia Coli O157:H7 (Edl933) And E. Coli K-12 (Mg1655) In The Mouse Intestine, Regina L. Miranda, Tyrrell Conway, Mary P. Leatham, Dong Eun Chang, Wendy E. Norris, James H. Allen, Sarah J. Stevenson, David C. Laux, Paul S. Cohen

Cell and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications

Escherichia coli EDL933, an O157:H7 strain, is known to colonize the streptomycin-treated CD-1 mouse intestine by growing in intestinal mucus (E. A. Wadolkowski, J. A. Burris, and A. D. O'Brien, Infect. Immun. 58:2438-2445, 1990), but what nutrients and metabolic pathways are employed during colonization has not been determined. In this study, when the wild-type EDL933 strain was fed to mice along with an EDL933 ΔppsA ΔpckA mutant, which is unable to utilize tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates and gluconeogenic substrates for growth, both strains colonized the mouse intestine equally well. Therefore, EDL933 utilizes a glycolytic substrate(s) for both …

Mechanical Design Of Mussell Byssus: Load Cycle And Strain Rate Dependence, Emily Carrington, John M. Gosline

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The ability to produce a strong byssal attachment is one key to the competitive dominance of mussels on many rocky shores. The byssus is composed of numerous extracellular collagenous threads, which in turn can be divided into proximal and distal regions that are distinct in ultrastructure and chemical composition. Our current understanding of the mechanical design of mussel byssus is largely based on quasi-static testing, where a fiber is slowly extended to failure. Mussels in nature, however, inhabit a dynamic environment where repetitive loads can be applied on short time scales. This study evaluates the mechanical properties of the threads …

Allometric Length-Weight Relationships For Benthic Prey Of Aquatic Wildlife In Coastal Marine Habitats, Richard A. Mckinney, Sarah M. Glatt, Scott R. Williams

Natural Resources Science Faculty Publications

We developed models to estimate the soft tissue content of benthic marine invertebrates that are prey for aquatic wildlife. Allometric regression models of tissue wet weight with shell length for 10 species of benthic invertebrates had r² values ranging from 0.29 for hermit crabs Pagurus longicarpus to 0.98 for green crabs Carcinus maenas. As a class, bivalves had the highest r² values (0.84) and crustaceans the lowest (0.48). Energy and nutrient content of soft tissue is also presented for the 10 benthic species. The energy content was lowest in crabs, and ranged within 2.20–4.71 kcal g^-1 dry …

Uri Undergraduate And Graduate Course Catalog 2004-2005, University Of Rhode Island

URI Course Catalogs Archive

No abstract provided.

Acoustic Sensing For Ocean Research, Bruce M. Howe, James H. Miller

Ocean Engineering Faculty Publications

Ocean observatories have the potential to examine the physical, chemical, biological, and geological parameters and processes of the ocean at time and space scales previously unexplored. Acoustics provides an efficient and cost-effective means by which these parameters and processes can be measured and information can be communicated. Integrated acoustics systems providing navigation and communications and conducting acoustic measurements in support of science applications are, in concept, analogous to the Global Positioning System, but rely on acoustics because the ocean is opaque to electromagnetic waves and transparent to sound. A series of nested systems is envisioned, from small- to regional- to …

Smoking And Stress: Exploring Patterns Among High School Youth In Bulgaria, Milena D. Anatchkova

Open Access Dissertations

Bulgaria has recently emerged as one of the countries characterized by strikingly high death rates due to stroke, heart disease and different types of cancer. No serious attempt at dynamic analysis of the behavioral factors contributing to these high disease rates exists. It is clear that in order for this trend to be changed, the group within the age range of onset of most unhealthy behaviors needs to receive special attention. These facts and the lack of systematic exploration of the behavioral health risks of adolescents underline the importance of the proposed study.

The project had three goals: 1/ Measurement …

Design Of An Acoustic Data Storage Tag For Long Range Fish Tracking In The Ocean, Sangmok Lee

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the design of a miniature acoustic data storage tag intended for the tracking of small fish. The essential components of the system have been integrated in standard 0.5um CMOS technology. Geopositioning of the tag is achieved by measuring the transit time of a sonar signal emitted from a fixed source location. The received sonar signal is pre-amplified, filtered by three switched-capacitor filters, digitized, and then correlated with the expected pattern stored in internal memory. The monolithic temperature sensor is embedded in a band-gap reference circuit. The analog output of the temperature sensor is converted to digital by …

Ecomorphology Of The Temperate Scleractinian Astrangia Poculata: Coral-Macroalgal Interactions In Narragansett Bay, Sean Patrick Grace

Open Access Dissertations

Corals and macroalgae often co-occur on temperate reefs, where macroalgae provide a majority of the bio-complexity and small scleractinian corals occur in low abundance. Macroalgae typically outcompete adjacent organisms for resources such as space, light, and nutrients, and one mechanism for this competitive success is abrasion. This study explores factors that may influence the interactions between corals and macroalgae, in particular macroalgal abrasion, on a temperate reef in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. Chapter One examines how exposure, depth and orientation influence the abundance and morphology of the coral Astrangia poculata, as well as the percent cover of macroalgae and other …

The Experience Of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury For Selected Cases, Joanne Baggerly

Open Access Dissertations

There are hints in the literature that recovery from mild traumatic brain injury may be problematic for older persons, yet there is a paucity of information on the experience. The purpose of this study was to develop a descriptive base and highlight the perspective of the client. This is important to nurses in that appropriate intervention must be grounded in an understanding of the problem as perceived and acted upon by the client. This study describes the experience of three women over 50 years of age who had a mild traumatic brain injury. The analytical process followed the case study …

From Discourse To Activism: Trajectories Of Percy Bysshe Shelley's Nonviolence Philosophy In Literatures Of Resistance, Susan Joan Peterson

Open Access Dissertations

My dissertation traces the emergence of a new discourse on nonviolence conflict reconciliation during the age of the English Romantic poets. Specifically, this project examines Percy Bysshe Shelley's prose works such as An Address to the Irish People, Proposals for an Association of Philanthropists , and the Notes to Queen Mab. Within these texts Shelley articulates both the philosophy and methodology of nonviolent conflict reconciliation. His theory significantly impacted the formation of the philosophies and the campaigns of the later nonviolence author/activists Henry David Thoreau, Mohandas Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mairead Maguire. Rather than viewing their momentous …

Prolegomenon To The Literary Study Of Hypertext, Edward Steven Shear

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation is intended as contribution to the development of a framework and methodology for the literary study of hypertext. Its first purpose is to analyze the term "hypertext" and related keywords in respect to their widely varying usages in multiple disciplines to provide required clarification to identify the object of study in literary hypertext studies. The second purpose of the study is to propose a framework by which pre-computer literary works may be examined in relationship to the contemporary form of hypertext. These two goals work hand-in-hand to provide a groundwork of a literary history of hypertext. The first …

A Redevelopment Plan For The Monastery In Cumberland, Rhode Island, Craig S. Pereira

Open Access Master's Theses

This research project proposes a plan for the redevelopment of the Monastery in Cumberland, Rhode Island. The study will detail the history and cultural value of the site to the people of Cumberland, Rhode Island. The environmental setting will be defined and evaluated to determine environmental constraints to development through Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping and a site survey of existing conditions. The site will also be evaluated through the perspective of land use regulations, political issues, and trends in programs for the preservation/ protection of open space.

A major consideration in the development of this plan was the Town …

Extent And Composition Of Open Coastal Sandplain Plant Communities Of The Cape Cod National Seashore, Evan L. Gwilliam

Open Access Master's Theses

Coastal sandplain heathlands and grasslands of the northeastern United States are globally rare habitat types that support a unique assemblage of plants and animals. This habitat is rapidly disappearing due to plant succession following cessation of land use, and coastal processes. I used interpretation of historical maps, aerial photography, GIS, and analysis of field data to examine vegetation dynamics and the impact of historic land use and coastal processes on the current extent and composition of coastal sandplain plant communities found within the Cape Cod National Seashore (CCNS). Currently, one third (244 ha) of the coastal heathland and grassland habitat …

Regulation Of Cra, A Regulatory Gene Of Glycolytic And Gluconeogenic Pathways In Salmonella Enterica Serovar Typhimurium, James H. Allen

Open Access Dissertations

The Cra protein is a global regulator of carbon and energy metabolism for glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. The live oral vaccine candidate, Salmonella typhimurium SR-11 Fad, is unable to utilize gluconeogenic substrates as sole carbon sources and is avirulent and protective in BALB/c mice. Furthemore, the era gene is interrupted in this strain of Salmonella. The cra gene was suspected to be regulated by another global regulator, acetyl phosphate. To further investigate the regulation of the cra gene and to determine if gluconeogenesis is linked to virulence, mutations in the gluconeogenic genes fbp (fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase), maeB (NADP-dependent malic enzyme), and sfcA …

Survival During And After Khmer Rouge, Sara S. Brown

Open Access Master's Theses

My personal life trauma experiences during the Khmer Rouge regime are described in this paper along with applications to Constructivist Self Development Theory (CSDT). This theory provides a basis for understanding the interrelatedness of biological and psychological self adaptation necessary to surviving and maintaining a consistent sense of self and the world. Five areas of self that were described in CSDT and which were applicable to my experiences of trauma are as follows:

1. Frame of reference: one's ability of understanding self and world, including spirituality. Although I was only seven years old at the time, somehow I understood the events …

Macrozooplankton And Micronekton In The Arabian Sea Oxygen Minimum Zone, Mary Rapien

Open Access Dissertations

As part of the U.S. Joint Global Ocean Flux Study, zooplankton were collected day and night in vertically stratified MOCNESS net tows at six stations, during four seasonal cruises in the Arabian Sea. Organisms comprising the large size fraction, primarily fish, shrimp, amphipods, and euphausiids (macrozooplankton and micronekton), were identified and enumerated, and their abundance and distributions from 300-1000 m were examined in relation to environmental factors including the OMZ and the monsoon cycle. Contributions to carbon cycling were also estimated for several taxa. Few animals showed significant seasonal differences in abundance. Abundances and distributions of many taxa varied geographically, …

Isolation Of Marine Metabolites From Symbiodinium Species Of Dinoflagellates, Katherine Evelyn Drainville-Higgins

Open Access Dissertations

The initial scope of this project was to determine if the symbiotic dinoflagellate, Symbiodinium sp., produces palytoxin, the highly lethal and complex compound originally found in the zoanthid, Palythoa spp. Through the examination of cell extracts made, this compound was not found. Instead, other secondary metabolites were isolated and their structures elucidated. The following is a summary of accomplishments. (1) The conditions to grow several strains of Symbiodinium organisms were investigated for the necessary extensive culturing required for cellular extraction. As a result, an isolate from Palythoa sp. obtained in Puerto Rico was successfully cultured. Previously, sustaining cultures of Palythoa …

Renaissance 2004, University Of Rhode Island

URI Yearbooks

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

Supply-Side Ecology And The Response Of Zooplankton To Climate-Driven Changes In North Atlantic Ocean Circulation, Charles H. Greene, Andrew J. Pershing, Bruce C. Monger, Mark C. Benfield, Edward G. Durbin, Maria C. Casas

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Pros And Cons Of The Learned Helplessness Construct And The Battered Woman Syndrome: A Critical Analysis And Possible Reformulation, Lucille Andreozzi Stern

Open Access Dissertations

Two prevailing, contrasting theories, learned helplessness and health psychogenesis, have been proposed to describe and explain the battered woman's experience and response to domestic violence. This research examined the status (scientific adequacy) of each theory's database to determine where the preponderance of evidence lies.

The investigator articulated nine factors that differentiate the two theories. Trained independent raters then rated study outcomes as falling into one of three categories: pro-learned helplessness, pro-health psychogenesis, or supportive of both theories. Studies of two research samples (shelter and community) were identified and assessed (rated) along four methodological dimensions (sample, instrumentation, statistical analysis, and hypothesis …

Ecological Determinants Of Lyme Disease In An Endemic Community, Neeta N. Pardanani

Open Access Dissertations

We investigated potential risk factors for Lyme disease at the level of a southern Rhode Island community where vector ticks ( Ixodes scapularis Say) and human Lyme disease are endemic. We recruited homeowners with and without household histories of Lyme disease that would permit sampling of ticks and small mammals around the wooded edge of their properties. Entomologic factors including nymphal tick abundance, rates of tick infection with Lyme disease-causing bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi ), and the density of infected nymphs were measured. We evaluated the relationship between these variables and the history of Lyme disease cases within households. The relationship …

Metabolic Routing Of Macronutrients In Migratory Songbirds: Effects Of Diet Quality And Macronutrient Composition Revealed Using Stable Isotopes, David William Podlesak

Open Access Dissertations

Animals metabolically route specific macronutrients from their diet to build and maintain tissue and researchers generally assume that the isotopic composition of an animal's tissues resembles the isotopic composition of their diet. However, animals regularly change diets and they may route dietary macronutrients differently to specific tissues. Thus, I studied metabolic routing of dietary macronutrients into animal tissue because it is fundamentally important for understanding the nutritional ecology of wild vertebrates and because such knowledge is essential for accurate interpretation of stable isotope patterns in consumers and consumed. Songbirds that routinely switch their diets during migration provide a particularly interesting …