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Coculture Of Probiotic Bacteria In Algal Feedstocks For Disease Management In Bivalve Hatcheries, Samuel Hughes

Open Access Master's Theses

Bivalve hatcheries include microalgae culture operations as a food source for stock, and these algae cultures harbor dynamic bacterial communities. Because algae from these cultures and their commensal microbiota are distributed to stock larval tanks daily upon feeding, the presence of pathogenic Vibrio spp. in hatchery microalgae cultures is a threat to stock health and survival. This study investigates the algal/bacterial and bacterial/bacterial interaction between four popular species of microalgae feedstock, a Vibrio sp. of known pathogenicity to bivalves (V. coralliilyticus RE22 [RE22]), a probiotic marine bacterium with demonstrated effectiveness in reducing larval shellfish mortality in culture operations …

Correlations Of The Fear Of Missing Out & Interpersonal Stress With Female College Students’ Sleep, Victoria Elizabeth Russo

Open Access Master's Theses

Insomnia has been correlated with several negative mental and physical health outcomes in female undergraduate students, a population with increasing interest when considering those suffering with insomnia. Considering the increased vulnerability reported by college students, and the poor outcomes of insomnia, it is important to determine correlates of insomnia and which factors differentially impact college students’ development of insomnia. This study examined whether interpersonal stress or the fear of missing out (i.e. FoMO) was more highly correlated with insomnia in a population of female undergraduate students at the University of Rhode Island. This study also examined whether levels of interpersonal …

Platform For Hadal Autonomy And General Experimentation (Phage), Lillian Muir

Open Access Master's Theses

Due to the harsh environment and inaccessibility of the deep-sea, most oceanographic equipment is rated to sample above the hadal region (6000 meters and below). A few deep-sea landers and piloted vehicles have ventured into deep ocean trenches to sample at the ocean floor, but the hadal water column remains under-sampled. A full ocean depth profile and hadal samples can provide information on ocean circulation, deep-water mixing, trench overturning rates, and the ocean environment.

The Platform for Hadal Autonomy and General Experimentation (PHAGE) is a full ocean depth profiler rated to 11 km. Designed around a 24 bottle CTD rosette, …

Plastic Perceptions: Surveying Public Opinion Of Plastic Pollution In Rhode Island, Sabrina Pereira

Open Access Master's Theses

This research surveyed 200 coastal and noncoastal Rhode Island residents to determine their perceptions of marine plastic debris and their support for plastic and paper bag legislation. The results suggest that one’s residency, or geographic distance from the coast, has no bearing on plastic and paper bag policy support and that most participants, 77%, classify plastic pollution as a serious threat to various types of wildlife, the marine environment, human health, and Rhode Island’s economy. The data also seems to suggest support for a statewide plastic bag ban and a statewide fee of 10 cents on paper bags as a …

Identification Of 15 Phthalate Esters In Commercial Cheese Powder Via Cyclodextrin-Promoted Fluorescence Detection, Benjamin B. Cromwell

Open Access Master's Theses

Human exposure to toxicants such as environmental pollutants, carcinogens, and endocrine disruptors occurs via a variety of mechanisms, including through the use of commercial products that contain these toxicants. Among such commercial products, many classes of food products have been found to contain toxicants, including phthalate and phthalate esters, which have traditionally been detected using mass spectrometry-based techniques. Reported herein is the use of gas chromatography mass spectrometry and cyclodextrin-promoted fluorescence detection to accomplish the sensitive (0.124µM limits of detection) detection of 15 phthalate esters in commercial cheese powder used in macaroni and cheese products. These results highlight the versatility …

Anthelmintic Efficacy Of Pelleted Cranberry Vine Against Gastrointestinal Nematodes Of Sheep, Bailey Chalut

Open Access Master's Theses

Gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) represent a major health concern in small ruminants as well as a constraint for producers. The prevalence of anthelmintic resistance in small ruminant GIN has increased rapidly worldwide, creating the need for alternative control methods to address the issue. The discovery that plant secondary compounds, including proanthocyanidins (PAC), suppress GIN infections has provided promise for alternative methods of GIN control. Although the mechanism is not well understood, studies have shown in vitro and in vivo evidence of anti-parasitic effects of bioactive plants. Recently a study from our laboratory provided in vitro evidence of anthelmintic activity of cranberry …

Dredging For Environmental Benefit: Models Of Circulation And Flushing Dynamics In The Providence River Estuary, Grace Elizabeth Medley

Open Access Master's Theses

In estuarine dynamics, circulation in the form of mixing and exchange have a direct link to the water quality. Edgewood Shoals is a highly anthropogenically impacted region of the Providence River bordered by three cities, and receives the outfall from six wastewater treatment facilities. Edgewood Shoals also has low dissolved oxygen levels during the summer months. The Shoal is classified as a circulation-restricted zone, where hydrodynamic exchange is limited due to the steep bathymetric gradient created by an adjacent federal shipping channel. The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is in the process of determining if there are options for …

Performance Comparison Of Self-Organizing Maps Based On Different Autoencoders, Boren Zheng

Open Access Master's Theses

The Autoencoder (AE) is a kind of artificial neural network, which is widely used for dimensionality reduction and feature extraction in unsupervised learning tasks. Analogously, the Self-Organizing Map (SOM) is an unsupervised learning algorithm to represent the high-dimensional data by a 2D grid map, thus achieving dimensionality reduction. Some recent work has shown improvement in performance by combining the AEs with the SOMs. Knowing which variations of AEs work best and finding out whether the selection of AEs is data-depended or not is the purpose of this research.

Five types of AEs are implemented in this research; three different data …

Optimizing Recommendations For Clustering Algorithms Using Meta-Learning, Adam Jilling

Open Access Master's Theses

The field of machine learning (ML) has seen explosive growth over the past decade, largely due to increases in technology and improvements of implementations. As powerful as ML solutions can be, they are still reliant on human input to select the optimal algorithms and parameters. This process is typically done by trial and error, as researchers will select a number of algorithms and choose whichever provides the most desirable result.

This study will use a process called meta-learning to evaluate and analyze datasets and extract a series of meta-features. These features can then be used to intelligently recommend an optimal …

The Relationship Between Personality Of Students In An Intergenerational Program And Attitudes Toward Older Adults, Maryam Marzban

Open Access Master's Theses

With the rapid aging of the population as well as increasing diversity in United State, research on ageism and intergenerational relationships is increasingly warranted. Ageism, or the prejudicial attitudes towards older adults, is seen as one of the most prevalent preconceived judgments that can cause poor treatment, and may even decrease levels of confidence, happiness, and health for older adults (Bishop, 2016). Intergenerational programs can provide many benefits for both younger and older adults, including developing positive changes in attitude towards aging (Wescott & Healy, 2011). Currently, the University of Rhode Island (URI) Engaging Generations: Cyber-Seniors program was developed to …

Growth Of Saccharina Latissima In Aquaculture Systems Modeled Using Dynamic Energy Budget Theory, Celeste T. Venolia

Open Access Master's Theses

Aquaculture is an industry with the capacity for further growth that can sustainably feed an increasing human population. Sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) is of particular interest for farmers as a fast-growing species that benefits ecosystems. However, as a new industry in the U.S., farmers interested in growing S. latissima lack data on growth dynamics. To address this gap, we calibrated a Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) model to data from the literature and a 2-year growth experiment in Rhode Island (U.S.). Environmental variables forcing model dynamics included temperature, irradiance, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentration, and nitrate and ammonium concentration. …

Global Patterns Of Net Respiration In Subseafloor Sediment, Victoria Madison Fulfer

Open Access Master's Theses

Microbial life is abundant in subseafloor sediment. Rates of respiration in subseafloor sediment appear to be very slow, but are generally poorly constrained. This thesis aims to address this problem by quantifying respiration rates in subseafloor sediment at sites across the globe and determining geographic patterns of depth-integrated respiration rates and average per-cell respiration rates. First, we compiled pore water profiles and descriptive data from scientific coring and drilling sediment cores deposited in publicly accessible databases. Using these profiles, we quantified the global distribution of net respiration rates in subseafloor sediment (>1.5 meters below seafloor) using (i) a reaction-transport …

Rhode Island’S Agricultural Production And Climate Change: Practices, Perceptions, And Limitations, Mishreky N. Lawandy

Open Access Master's Theses

Climate change is projected to have significant impacts on the productivity and sustainability of agricultural production in coming years. In order to safeguard agricultural productivity and strengthen the resilience of regional food systems, farmers and other agricultural stakeholders will need to explore and adopt on-farm practices that are adaptive and/or mitigative. Understanding how farmers perceive and respond to climate change on their farms is essential to resilience building efforts.

The goal of this research is to address the lack of information on the concerns and response strategies of food-producing specialty crop growers in the U.S. Northeast, specifically the state of …

Development Of Bayesian And Non-Bayesian Melphalan Pharmacokinetic Model From Literature-Generated Data, Enoch Cobbina

Open Access Master's Theses

Published articles constitute a huge repository of population pharmacokinetic (Pop PK) models that can be repurposed to answer dose-related questions. We present a Simulation-Informed-Statistically-Aided (SISA) method that can be used to select population pharmacokinetic models from literature for repurposing.

Seven published melphalan PK models, and 1 reference model from FDA NDA submission documents were selected. A 30 minute IV infusion of 140 mg/m² of melphalan was simulated using each of the 7 models. The predictive performance of each of the models were evaluated using a proposed method called modified standard normal deviate (mSND). Five models, M1, M3, M4, M5 …

Nanostructured Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Sensor For Marine Pollutants, Timo Küster

Open Access Master's Theses

Excess concentrations of nitrate and phosphate in seawater can lead to harmful algae blooms that damage coastal ecosystems, pose health risks and adversely impact commercial activity. Early in situ detection of over-nutrification is necessary for rapid response and mitigation plans. Commercial nitrate and phosphate sensors utilize UV-Vis spectroscopy methods. Those sensors show interference with ions present in seawater and are prone to biofouling, necessitating new approaches for in situ monitoring. Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a technique theoretically capable of single molecule detection, and therefore may be a promising approach for nitrate and phosphate detection. However, there are clear …

Evaluation Of Ifqs In The Pacific Halibut Fishery In Alaska: Were The Management Safeguards Successful?, Jessica Menges

Open Access Master's Theses

Alaskan fisheries are steeped in centuries of tradition and decades of innovative management. The Pacific halibut fishery is the oldest fishery in the United States managed under an individual fishing quota (IFQ) system. As such, the Pacific halibut fishery serves as an ideal system to study the long-term impacts of an IFQ system. A frenzy of research focused on the system after its implementation in 1995, which created an excellent baseline. However, interest in the halibut fishery faded as other IFQ programs began popping up around the world.

Over two decades later, the Pacific halibut fishery remains understudied in its …

Law Enforcement Officers' Perceptions Of Their Skill Development And Transfer Of Learning Post-Training, Jane Northup

Open Access Dissertations

This research examined how law enforcement officers who took a course in criminal investigative techniques developed their skill and transferred what was learned post-training. The data was collected using document reviews and interviews. The participants were ten law enforcement officers who expected to use their newly acquired skill after leaving a course in criminal investigations. As a result of the qualitative multiple case study data analysis, four constructs were revealed as aids to the participants in transferring what was learned in the course and further improving their skills. The constructs were supports, experience, reflection, and motivation. The constructs can serve …

Fabrication Of Conductive Hydrogels And Their Application In Neuroprosthetic Intervention And Drug Delivery, Rosa Ghatee

Open Access Dissertations

Electrically-responsive biomaterials such as conductive polymers and conductive hydrogels have piqued the interest of scientists for targeted payload delivery applications in recent years since generating electricity is easy. Conductive composite hydrogels are a specific class of hydrogel that can be designed to not only have mechanical properties similar to skin and soft tissue, but can also have electrical properties comparable to metals and organic semiconductors. These composite hydrogels have been considered for a wide range of technological applications. Conductive hydrogels can be fabricated to ensure that they exhibit: 1) excellent biocompatibility; 2) soft and tunable mechanical properties similar to biological …

The Bacterial Symbionts Of Closely Related Hydrothermal Vent Snails With Distinct Geochemical Habitats Show Broad Similarity In Chemoautotrophic Gene Content, Roxanne A. Beinart, Chengwei Luo, Konstantinos T. Konstantinidis, Frank J. Stewart, Peter R. Girguis

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Symbiosis has evolved between a diversity of invertebrate taxa and chemosynthetic bacterial lineages. At the broadest level, these symbioses share primary function: the bacterial symbionts use the energy harnessed from the oxidation of reduced chemicals to power the fixation of inorganic carbon and/or other nutrients, providing the bulk of host nutrition. However, it is unclear to what extent the ecological niche of the host species is influenced by differences in symbiont traits, particularly those involved in chemoautotrophic function and interaction with the geochemical environment. Hydrothermal vents in the Lau Basin (Tonga) are home to four morphologically and physiologically similar snail …

Archaea Dominate Oxic Subseafloor Communities Over Multimillion-Year Time Scales, Aurèle Vuillemin, Scott D. Wankel, Ömer K. Coskun, Tobias Magritsch, Sergio Vargas, Emily R. Estes, Arthur J. Spivack, David C. Smith, Robert Pockalny, Richard W. Murray, Steven D'Hondt, William D. Orsi

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) dominate microbial communities throughout oxic subseafloor sediment deposited over millions of years in the North Atlantic Ocean. Rates of nitrification correlated with the abundance of these dominant AOA populations, whose metabolism is characterized by ammonia oxidation, mixotrophic utilization of organic nitrogen, deamination, and the energetically efficient chemolithoautotrophic hydroxypropionate/hydroxybutyrate carbon fixation cycle. These AOA thus have the potential to couple mixotrophic and chemolithoautotrophic metabolism via mixotrophic deamination of organic nitrogen, followed by oxidation of the regenerated ammonia for additional energy to fuel carbon fixation. This metabolic feature likely reduces energy loss and improves AOA fitness under energy-starved, oxic …

Data Body Milieu: The Latinx Immigrant At The Center Of Technological Development, Melissa Villa-Nicholas

Graduate School of Library and Information Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Nonmarket Valuation Of Marine Resources In The Northeast: Implications For Recreational Fisheries Management And Offshore Wind Energy Development, Andrew Carr-Harris

Open Access Dissertations

Sound natural resource management considers the full range of costs and benefits of policy action. Understanding these implications as they pertain to nonmarket goods or externalities requires an accurate assessment of consumer preferences and behavior. The chapters of this dissertation ascertain this knowledge in the context of recreational Atlantic striped bass fishery management and offshore wind development in the northeast United States.

Atlantic striped bass are the most prominent and heavily targeted recreational species found along the coast from Maine to North Carolina. Yet due in part to heavy recreational fishing effort, the species may be currently overfished. Given this …

Investigation Of Iron Mediated Molecular Transformations And Synthesis Of 2-Amino-Α-Carboline And Its Analogues Relevant For Dna Adduct Formation, Anita Adjoa Oppong

Open Access Dissertations

The discovery of new synthetic methods and routes for making new bonds is one of the highest incentives to an organic chemist. Innovative, efficient, effective, economical and exceptionally environmentally friendly synthetic methods are being continuously discovered. Transition metal catalyzed C-H activation has been unearthed as one of these methods, especially iron catalyzed direct C-H activation. Fundamental to making more discoveries is understanding the mechanism behind a specific reaction. To this end, the mechanism behind iron catalyzed C-H activation was investigated. Results indicate the intermediary transition state for the iron species involves an Fe(I) species but the attempt to synthesize this …

Cascadia Subduction Zone Coseismic Subsidence Estimates From Northern California And Washington, Jason Scott Padgett

Open Access Dissertations

This study aims to supplement the paleogeodetic database of past Cascadia subduction zone earthquakes and further our understanding of the Cascadia subduction zone seismic and tsunami hazards. I first address a previously identified spatial gap within the Cascadia paleogeodetic database in southern Cascadia by refining the timing and magnitude of Cascadia subduction zone earthquakes over the past 2000 years in northern Humboldt Bay, California (~44.8°N, -124.2°W). There, I mapped wetland stratigraphy consistent with past megathrust earthquakes across three marshes; Jacoby Creek, McDaniel Creek, and Mad River Slough. To improve the existing paleoseismic chronology at northern Humboldt Bay, I employed Bayesian …

Remotely Activated Biomaterials For Optimizing The Temporal Profiles Of Therapeutic Molecules, Tania T. Emi

Open Access Dissertations

Remotely activated hydrogel-based biomaterials can maximize the therapeutic effects by providing localized deliveries and minimizing off-target side effects. Smart hydrogels respond to an externally applied stimulus by delivering therapeutic molecules. While showing promise in releasing molecules in a precise spatial manner, they do not inherently provide temporally dynamic delivery profiles (e.g., controlled timing, rates, and sequences) required to direct sequences of biological events.

Biological processes are characterized by a sequence of events regulated by a complex interplay of signaling factors. For example, in the instance of ischemia (where a tissue no longer receives oxygen and nutrients due to a lack …

Transcranial Focal Electrical Stimulation Via Concentric Ring Electrodes In Freely Moving Cats: Antiepileptogenic And Postictal Effects, Alejandro Valdés-Cruz, Benjamín Villasana-Salazar, Brandon Williams, David Martínez-Vargas, Víctor Manuel Magdaleno-Madrigal, Salvador Almazán-Alvarado, Walter Besio

Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Transcranial focal electrical stimulation (TFS) via tripolar concentric ring electrodes (TCRE), tripolar TFS, is proposed to treat pharmacoresistant epilepsy. We determined the effect of tripolar TFS on electrical amygdaloid kindling (AK) in freely moving cats. Fifteen cats were bilaterally implanted with electrodes in the amygdala (AM) and prefrontal cortex and assigned to three groups: the control group, which only received AK; the tripolar TFS before AK group, in which TCREs were placed over the vertex and tripolar TFS (300 Hz, 200 μs biphasic equal charge, square pulses) was delivered for 40 min just prior to AK; and the tripolar TFS …

Synthesis Of Silver Nanoparticles Using A Modified Tollens’ Method In Conjunction With Phytochemicals And Assessment Of Their Antimicrobial Activity, Muna A. Abudalo, Ismaeel R. Al-Mheidat, Alham W. Al-Shurafat, Colleen Grinham, Vinka Oyanedel-Craver

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Background: Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have attracted great attention due to their outstanding electrical, optical, magnetic, catalytic, and antimicrobial properties. However, there is a need for alternative production methods that use less toxic precursors and reduce their undesirable by-products. Phyto-extracts from the leaves of olive and rosemary plants can be used as reducing agents and (in conjunction with Tollens’ reagent) can even enhance AgNP antimicrobial activity.

Methods: Conditions for the proposed hybrid synthesis method were optimized for olive leaf extracts (OLEs) and rosemary leaf extracts (RLEs). The resultant AgNPs were characterized using UV–visible spectroscopy, an environmental scanning electron microscope, …

Enhancing The Thermal Stability Of Carbon Nanomaterials With Dna, Mohammad Moein Safee, Mitchell Gravely, Adeline Lamothe, Megan Mcsweeney, Daniel E. Roxbury

Chemical, Biomolecular, and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have recently been utilized as fillers that reduce the flammability and enhance the strength and thermal conductivity of material composites. Enhancing the thermal stability of SWCNTs is crucial when these materials are applied to high temperature applications. In many instances, SWCNTs are applied to composites with surface coatings that are toxic to living organisms. Alternatively, single-stranded DNA, a naturally occurring biological polymer, has recently been utilized to form singly-dispersed hybrids with SWCNTs as well as suppress their known toxicological effects. These hybrids have shown unrivaled stabilities in both aqueous suspension or as a dried material. Furthermore, …

Biomolecular Functionalization Of A Nanomaterial To Control Stability And Retention Within Live Cells, Mitchell Gravely, Mohammad Moein Safaee, Daniel E. Roxbury

Chemical, Biomolecular, and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Noncovalent hybrids of single-stranded DNA and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have demonstrated applications in biomedical imaging and sensing due to their enhanced biocompatibility and photostable, environmentally responsive near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence. The fundamental properties of such DNA-SWCNTs have been studied to determine the correlative relationships between oligonucleotide sequence and length, SWCNT species, and the physical attributes of the resultant hybrids. However, intracellular environments introduce harsh conditions that can change the physical identities of the hybrid nanomaterials, thus altering their intrinsic optical properties. Here, through visible and NIR fluorescence imaging in addition to confocal Raman microscopy, we show that the oligonucleotide length …

Ultrasonic Generation Of Pulsatile And Sequential Therapeutic Delivery Profiles From Calcium-Crosslinked Alginate Hydrogels, Tania Emi, Kendra Michaud, Emma Orton, Grace Santilli, Catherine Linh, Meaghan O'Connell, Fatima Issa, Stephen Kennedy

Chemical, Biomolecular, and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Control over of biological processes can potentially be therapeutically regulated through localized biomolecular deliveries. While implantable hydrogels can provide localized therapeutic deliveries, they do not traditionally provide the temporally complex therapeutic delivery profiles required to regulate complex biological processes. Ionically crosslinked alginate hydrogels have been shown to release encapsulated payloads in response to a remotely applied ultrasonic stimulus, thus potentially enabling more temporally complex therapeutic delivery profiles. However, thorough characterizations of how different types of therapeutic payloads are retained and ultrasonically released need to be performed. Additionally, the impact of potentially disruptive ultrasonic stimulations on hydrogel structure and temperature need …