Digital Commons Network^™

Icebergs And Sea Ice Detected With Inverted Echo Sounders, M. Andres, A. Silvano, F. Straneo, D. R. Watts

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

A 1-yr experiment using a pressure-sensor-equipped inverted echo sounder (PIES) was conducted in Sermilik Fjord in southeastern Greenland (66°N, 38°E) from August 2011 to September 2012. Based on these high-latitude data, the interpretation of PIESs’ acoustic travel-time records from regions that are periodically ice covered were refined. In addition, new methods using PIESs for detecting icebergs and sea ice and for estimating iceberg drafts and drift speeds were developed and tested. During winter months, the PIES in Sermilik Fjord logged about 300 iceberg detections and recorded a 2-week period in early March of land-fast ice cover over the instrument site, …

Exploring The Planetary Boundary For Chemical Pollution, Miriam L. Diamond, Cynthia A. De Wit, Sverker Molander, Martin Scheringer, Thomas Backhaus, Rainer Lohmann, Rickard Arvidsson, Åke Bergman, Michael Hauschild, Ivan Holoubek, Linn Persson, Noriyuki Suzuki, Marco Vighi, Cornelius Zetzsch

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Rockström et al. (2009a, 2009b) have warned that humanity must reduce anthropogenic impacts defined by nine planetary boundaries if “unacceptable global change” is to be avoided. Chemical pollution was identified as one of those boundaries for which continued impacts could erode the resilience of ecosystems and humanity. The central concept of the planetary boundary (or boundaries) for chemical pollution (PBCP or PBCPs) is that the Earth has a finite assimilative capacity for chemical pollution, which includes persistent, as well as readily degradable chemicals released at local to regional scales, which in aggregate threaten ecosystem and human viability. The PBCP allows …

Effect Of An Exercise And Dietary Intervention On Cognitive Function In Obese Older Women, Kathleen Mae Uy

Senior Honors Projects

Background: Cognitive decline in older adults is a public health problem and prior research shows that higher levels of physical activity and dietary factors are associated with higher cognitive function. However, it is unclear how an exercise and diet intervention affects cognitive function in obese older women.

Purpose: To examine the effect of a combined Tai Chi (TC), resistance training (RT), and diet intervention on cognitive function and to evaluate the relationship between cognitive function and physical function in older obese women.

Methods: This was a non-randomized study where 31 obese (BMI= 37.6 ± 4.5 kg/m²) older (age= …

The Cancer Genome Atlas (Tcga): Breast And Ovarian Cancers, Laura Ann Riccio

Senior Honors Projects

The field of genomics originated in the 1970’s starting with the sequencing of small organisms’ genomes such as the bacterium, Haemophilus influenzae, and the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A genome is the complete ordered sequence of DNA bases (A, C, G, and T) comprising all of the protein- and RNA-coding genes, as well as all of the regulatory sequences necessary for the construction of an organism. Over time, scientists sequenced the genomes of larger and more complex organisms, eventually leading to the sequencing of the human genome. The Human Genome Project (HGP) was initiated in 1990 and took over ten …

Cloning Of The Sox2 Gene From Diplosoma Listerianum, Jessica M. Simonelli, Steven Q. Irvine

Senior Honors Projects

Diplosoma listerianum is an invasive tunicate species that can reproduce asexually by pyloric budding. Tunicates, more commonly known as “sea squirts” or ascidians, are filter feeding marine invertebrates. Pyloric budding is a unique form of asexual reproduction among tunicate species in which the esophagus of a single animal will form two buds, each of which develops into parts of a new genetically identical animal. The overall goal of my research is to better understand the genes that are important for this organism’s asexual development. More specifically, this project examines the role of the SOX2 gene in Diplosoma, to find …

How Has The Domestication Of Dogs Impacted Native North American Culture And Way Of Life?, Mikaela E. Reisman

Senior Honors Projects

Dogs, as the only domestic mammal in North America, were a part of the life and culture of the people who migrated to the Americas from Eurasia. Originally domesticated from Eurasian wolves, the uses of dogs expanded once the Native American ancestors spread throughout the continents. I investigate the kinds of dogs Native Americans bred over thousands of years and how these dogs impacted native North American culture, through a review of recent genetic, biological, archaeological, oral historical, and historical evidence and research.

Evidence of Native American use of dogs ranges from hunting, to companionship, to using their fur for …

Propagation Methods For Growing Spartina Alterniflora For Salt Marsh Restoration, Samantha Walker

Senior Honors Projects

Salt marsh ecosystems can be found along the east coast of the United States, but are now disappearing due to human development and sea level rise. Salt marshes provide countless ecosystem services including shoreline protection from storms and flooding, nutrient removal, habitat for fish, birds and other wildlife, and provide some of the most beautiful areas for hunting, fishing and recreational activities. In order to protect salt marshes and restore the large portion of them that have been damaged, it is important to focus on the vegetation that help salt marshes function. Spartina alterniflora, smooth cordgrass, is a critical …

Enhancement Of Radiation Effect On Cancer Cells By Gold-Phlip, Michael P. Antosh, Dayanjali D. Wijesinghe, Samana Shrestha, Robert Lanou, Yun Hu Huang, Thomas Hasselbacher, David Fox, Nicola Neretti, Shouheng Sun, Natallia Katenka, Leon N. Cooper, Oleg A. Andreev, Yana K. Reshetnyak

Physics Faculty Publications

Previous research has shown that gold nanoparticles can increase the effectiveness of radiation on cancer cells. Improved radiation effectiveness would allow lower radiation doses given to patients, reducing adverse effects; alternatively, it would provide more cancer killing at current radiation doses. Damage from radiation and gold nanoparticles depends in part on the Auger effect, which is very localized; thus, it is important to place the gold nanoparticles on or in the cancer cells. In this work, we use the pH-sensitive, tumor-targeting agent, pH Low-Insertion Peptide (pHLIP), to tether 1.4-nm gold nanoparticles to cancer cells. We find that the conjugation of …

Who’S Talking About (And Citing) Me? Tracking Your Work Using Databases, Google, Web Of Knowledge, And Altmetrics Tools, Amanda Izenstark, Julia Lovett, Andrée Rathemacher

Technical Services Faculty Presentations

Slides from a presentation, "Who's Talking About (and Citing) Me? Tracking Your Work using Databases, Google, Web of Knowledge, and Altmetrics Tools," offered at the University of Rhode Island Libraries on April 22 and April 23, 2015.

"Stop using the impact factor as a measure of the value of your research. There are better ways. In this hands-on session find out about tools that can help you learn how your work is being received, used, and disseminated across scholarly platforms and social media networks."

Part of the University Libraries' Search Savvy Seminar series.

How Classical Field Theory Can Help In Process Flowsheet And Equipment Modeling: General Principles And Practical Reductions, Ross Swaney

Amgen Seminar Series in Chemical Engineering

Chemical process and equipment modeling is central to chemical engineering, comprising much of textbook content and providing the basis for much of engineering practice. This body of knowledge is traditionally learned as an extensive family of equations. The unifying principles behind them are not always evident.

The models most widely employed actually derive from integrations of the diffusion-convection-reaction PDEs. While detailed 3-D integrations are seldom practical for modeling of equipment performance or flowsheets, the usual practical models are still in fact approximate integrations of the continuum model. Because of this, classical field theory may be applied to reveal useful properties …

Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes April 16, 2015, University Of Rhode Island Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Metatranscriptome Analyses Indicate Resource Partitioning Between Diatoms In The Field, Harriet Alexander, Bethany D. Jenkins, Tatiana A. Rynearson, Sonya T. Dyhrman

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Diverse communities of marine phytoplankton carry out half of global primary production. The vast diversity of the phytoplankton has long perplexed ecologists because these organisms coexist in an isotropic environment while competing for the same basic resources (e.g., inorganic nutrients). Differential niche partitioning of resources is one hypothesis to explain this “paradox of the plankton,” but it is difficult to quantify and track variation in phytoplankton metabolism in situ. Here, we use quantitative metatranscriptome analyses to examine pathways of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) metabolism in diatoms that cooccur regularly in an estuary on the east coast of the United …

2015-04 Library Impact Statement For Nrs 475 Coral Reef Conservation, Michael Cerbo

Collection Development Reports and Documents

Library Impact Statement submitted in response to new course proposal for NRS 475 Coral Reef Conservation. This class was supported with no need for additional resources. Responding library faculty: Michael Cerbo. Requesting faculty: Graham Forrester and Anya Hanson.

2015-02 Library Impact Statement For Nrs 475 Coral Reef Conservation, Michael Cerbo

Library Impact Statements

Library Impact Statement submitted in response to new course proposal for NRS 475 Coral Reef Conservation. This class was supported with no need for additional resources. Responding library faculty: Michael Cerbo. Requesting faculty: Graham Forrester and Anya Hanson.

Giving Genes The Silent Treatment: Lipid-Like Materials For Sirna Delivery, Kathryn Whitehead

Amgen Seminar Series in Chemical Engineering

Despite the promise of RNA interference therapeutics, progress towards the clinic has been slowed by the difficulty of delivering short interfering RNA (siRNA) into cellular targets within the body. siRNA is large (~13 kDa) and negatively charged; it does not have favorable biodistribution properties in vivo nor an ability to cross the cellular membrane of target cells. In order to facilitate these transport processes, a class of lipid-like materials termed ‘lipidoids’ has been synthesized and studied for applications in siRNA-mediated gene silencing. Although efficacious, initial lipidoids identified for siRNA delivery applications in vivo can have limited utility in therapeutic settings …

Chemical Warfare In Narragansett Bay: Determining The Allelopathic Effects Of Ulva, Fiona P. Mackechnie, Lindsay A. Green, Carol S. Thornber

Senior Honors Projects

Several species of Ulva are commonly found in the waters of Narragansett Bay, especially in eutrophic waters, where they can form fast growing blooms that can have ecological and economic consequences. The formation and release of allelopathic chemicals has been previously documented in some species of Ulva, including Ulva lactuca. Three species of blade-forming Ulva are commonly found in Narragansett Bay and coastal Rhode Island, namely, U. compressa, U. lactuca, and U. rigida. We aimed to determine if these three species of Ulva had allelopathic effects by testing their impacts on the growth of other macroalgae. Cystoclonium purpureum …

Biogeography Of A Plant Invasion: Plant–Herbivore Interactions, James T. Cronin, Ganesh P. Bhattarai, Warwick J. Allen, Laura A. Meyerson

Natural Resources Science Faculty Publications

Theory predicts that native plant species should exhibit latitudinal gradients in the strength of their interactions with herbivores. We hypothesize that if an invasive plant species exhibits a different latitudinal gradient in response to herbivores (e.g., a nonparallel gradient), it can create large-scale heterogeneities in community resistance/susceptibility to the invasive species. We conducted a study of latitudinal variation in the strength of herbivory and defenses of native genotypes of Phragmites australis in North America (NA) and Europe (EU) and European invasive genotypes in NA. Within NA, we tested whether (1) invasive genotypes are better defended and suffer less herbivory than …

Curricular Affairs Committee Report #524 Appendix A, University Of Rhode Island Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Committee Reports and Appendices

No abstract provided.

The Autistic Child: Developmental Diversity In The Early Childcare Classroom., Olivia J. Harrison

Senior Honors Projects

The autistic child: developmental diversity in the early childcare classroom

Olivia Harrison

Autism is a growing factor in society. Today 1 child in 68 is born with an autism spectrum disorder, a 119% increase from the year 2000. Autistic children develop atypically and often non-autistic children are alarmed by the diverse and occasionally erratic behaviors of their peers simply because they are unfamiliar with developmental differences.

While there are many lovely children’s books written FOR autistic children, there is less of a market for addressing the concept of autism in the classroom as a whole. In order to facilitate an …

2015-03 Library Impact Statement For Bio 208 The Invisible Ocean, Michael Cerbo

Collection Development Reports and Documents

Library Impact Statement submitted in response to new course proposal for BIO 208 The Invisible Ocean. This class was supported with no need for additional resources. Responding library faculty: Michael Cerbo. Requesting faculty: Chris Lane.

2015-03 Library Impact Statement For Bio 208 The Invisible Ocean, Michael Cerbo

Library Impact Statements

Library Impact Statement submitted in response to new course proposal for BIO 208 The Invisible Ocean This class was supported with no need for additional resources. Responding library faculty: Michael Cerbo. Requesting faculty: Chris Lane.

Carbon Dynamics Of The Weddell Gyre, Southern Ocean, Peter J. Brown, Loïc Jullion, Peter LandschüTzer, Dorothee C.E. Bakker, Alberto C. Naveira Garabato, Michael P. Meredith, Sinhue Torres-Valdés, Andrew J. Watson, Mario Hoppema, Brice Loose, Elizabeth M. Jones, Maciej Telszewski, Steve D. Jones, Rik Wanninkhof

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

The accumulation of carbon within the Weddell Gyre and its exchanges across the gyre boundaries are investigated with three recent full-depth oceanographic sections enclosing this climatically important region. The combination of carbon measurements with ocean circulation transport estimates from a box inverse analysis reveals that deepwater transports associated with Warm Deep Water (WDW) and Weddell Sea Deep Water dominate the gyre's carbon budget, while a dual-cell vertical overturning circulation leads to both upwelling and the delivery of large quantities of carbon to the deep ocean. Historical sea surface pCO₂ observations, interpolated using a neural network technique, …

National Livestock Policy Of Nepal: Needs And Opportunities, Upendra B. Pradhanang, Soni M. Pradhanang, Arhan Sthapit, Nir Y. Krakauer, Ajay Jha, Tarendra Lakhankar

Geosciences Faculty Publications

This paper describes Nepal’s national livestock policies and considers how they can be improved to help meet the pressing national challenges of economic development, equity, poverty alleviation, gender mainstreaming, inclusion of marginalized and underprivileged communities, and climate vulnerability. Nepal is in the process of transforming its government from a unitary system to a federal democratic structure through the new constitution expected by 2015, offering the opportunity to bring a new set of priorities and stakeholders to policymaking. Nepal’s livestock subsector comes most directly within the purview of the National Agricultural Policy 2004, Agro-Business Policy, 2006 and Agricultural Sectoral Operating Policies …

The Cranberry Flavonoids Pac Dp-9 And Quercetin Aglycone Induce Cytotoxicity And Cell Cycle Arrest And Increase Cisplatin Sensitivity In Ovarian Cancer Cells, Yifei Wang, Alex Han, Eva Chen, Rakesh K. Singh, Clinton O. Chichester, Richard G. Moore, Ajay P. Singh, Nicholi Vorsa

Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Cranberry flavonoids (flavonols and flavan-3-ols), in addition to their antioxidant properties, have been shown to possess potential in vitro activity against several cancers. However, the difficulty of isolating cranberry compounds has largely limited anticancer research to crude fractions without well-defined compound composition. In this study, individual cranberry flavonoids were isolated to the highest purity achieved so far using gravity and high performance column chromatography and LC-MS characterization. MTS assay indicated differential cell viability reduction of SKOV-3 and OVCAR-8 ovarian cancer cells treated with individual cranberry flavonoids. Treatment with quercetin aglycone and PAC DP-9, which exhibited the strongest activity, induced apoptosis, …

Sequential Dengue Virus Infections Detected In Active And Passive Surveillance Programs In Thailand, 1994–2010, Piraya Bhoomiboonchoo, Ananda Nisalak, Natkamol Chansatiporn, In-Kyu Yoon, Siripen Kalayanarooj, Mathuros Thipayamongkolgul, Timothy Endy, Alan L. Rothman, Sharone Green, Anon Srikiatkhachorn, Darunee Buddhari, Mammen P. Mammen, Robert V. Gibbons

Institute for Immunology and Informatics Faculty Publications

Background:

The effect of prior dengue virus (DENV) exposure on subsequent heterologous infection can be beneficial or detrimental depending on many factors including timing of infection. We sought to evaluate this effect by examining a large database of DENV infections captured by both active and passive surveillance encompassing a wide clinical spectrum of disease.

Methods:

We evaluated datasets from 17 years of hospital-based passive surveillance and nine years of cohort studies, including clinical and subclinical DENV infections, to assess the outcomes of sequential heterologous infections. Chi square or Fisher’s exact test was used to compare proportions of infection outcomes such …

A Generalization Of Electromagnetic Fluctuation-Induced Casimir Energy, Yi Zheng

Mechanical, Industrial & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Intermolecular forces responsible for adhesion and cohesion can be classified according to their origins; interactions between charges, ions, random dipole—random dipole (Keesom), random dipole—induced dipole (Debye) are due to electrostatic effects; covalent bonding, London dispersion forces between fluctuating dipoles, and Lewis acid-base interactions are due to quantum mechanical effects; pressure and osmotic forces are of entropic origin. Of all these interactions, the London dispersion interaction is universal and exists between all types of atoms as well as macroscopic objects. The dispersion force between macroscopic objects is called Casimir/van der Waals force. It results from alteration of the quantum and thermal …

Thz Fiber Bragg Grating For Distributed Sensing, Zhen Chen, Lei Yuan, Gerald Hefferman, Tao Wei

Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

This letter reports a fiber Bragg grating for distributed sensing applications fabricated using single-mode optical fiber and a femtosecond laser and interrogated in the terahertz range. A theoretical model of device behavior was derived, which agreed well with experimentally observed device behavior. In order to investigate the utility of terahertz fiber Bragg gratings (THz FBGs) as a sensing modality, temperature tests were conducted. The results demonstrated a sensitivity of -1.32 GHz/ºC and a detection resolution of less than 0.0017 ºC. A temperature distribution test was also conducted using a THz FBG, demonstrating its potential as a distributed sensing platform with …

Hla Class I Supertype Associations With Clinical Outcome Of Secondary Dengue Virus Infections In Ethnic Thais, Sasijit Vejbaesya, Rungrot Thongpradit, Siripen Kalayanarooj, Komon Luangtrakool, Panpimon Luangtrakool, Robert V. Gibbons, Duangporn Srinak, Somporn Ngammthaworn, Kusuma Apisawes, In-Kyu Yoon, Stephen J. Thomas, Richard G. Jarman, Anon Srikiakthachorn, Sharone Green, Dasnayanee Chandanayingyong, Sangshin Park, Jennifer Friedman, Alan Rothman, Henry A.F. Stephens

Institute for Immunology and Informatics Faculty Publications

Background: HLA supertypes are groups of functionally related alleles that present structurally similar antigens to the immune system. Despite many reports of HLA allele associations with dengue, there have to date been no studies of HLA supertype associations with disease.

Objectives: To analyse HLA class I supertypes in hospitalised Thai children with acute dengue illness.

Methods: 762 patients and population-matched controls recruited predominantly in Bangkok were HLA-A and –B typed. HLA supertype frequencies were compared and tested for significant dengue disease associations using logistic regression analyses. Final multivariable models were built by conducting forward stepwise selection procedures.

Results: In the …

Graduate Council Report No. 2014-2015-9, University Of Rhode Island Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Committee Reports and Appendices

No abstract provided.

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Alters Fine Root Bacterial Abundance And Mycorrhizal Associations In Eastern Hemlock, Justin F. Vendettuoli, David A. Orwig, Jennifer Adams Krumins, Matthew D. Waterhouse, Evan L. Preisser

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

While the impact of aboveground herbivores on plant biomass and fitness has received considerable attention, there has been far less research on the corresponding belowground impacts. The belowground effects of aboveground feeding may be particularly noticeable for invasive and/or outbreaking herbivore species that reach high densities and can cause major damage and sometimes death. The hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae, is an invasive pest on the eastern seaboard of the United States that feeds on a native shade-tolerant conifer, the eastern hemlock Tsuga canadensis. Trees rapidly decline and die following infestation, and the invasion of this insect has …