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Division Of Research And Economic Development Monthly Report For January 2014, Uri Division Of Research And Economic Development

Reports (Research and Economic Development)

The monthly reports include statistics for project proposals and awards received by individual academic and administrative departments at the University of Rhode Island.

Division Of Research And Economic Development Monthly Report For February 2014, Uri Division Of Research And Economic Development

Reports (Research and Economic Development)

The monthly reports include statistics for project proposals and awards received by individual academic and administrative departments at the University of Rhode Island.

Division Of Research And Economic Development Monthly Report For May 2014, Uri Division Of Research And Economic Development

Reports (Research and Economic Development)

The monthly reports include statistics for project proposals and awards received by individual academic and administrative departments at the University of Rhode Island.

Division Of Research And Economic Development Monthly Report For April 2014, Uri Division Of Research And Economic Development

Reports (Research and Economic Development)

The monthly reports include statistics for project proposals and awards received by individual academic and administrative departments at the University of Rhode Island.

Division Of Research And Economic Development Monthly Report For July 2014, Uri Division Of Research And Economic Development

Reports (Research and Economic Development)

The monthly reports include statistics for project proposals and awards received by individual academic and administrative departments at the University of Rhode Island.

Division Of Research And Economic Development Monthly Report For June 2014, Uri Division Of Research And Economic Development

Reports (Research and Economic Development)

The monthly reports include statistics for project proposals and awards received by individual academic and administrative departments at the University of Rhode Island.

Division Of Research And Economic Development Monthly Report For September 2014, Uri Division Of Research And Economic Development

Reports (Research and Economic Development)

The monthly reports include statistics for project proposals and awards received by individual academic and administrative departments at the University of Rhode Island.

Division Of Research And Economic Development Monthly Report For August 2014, Uri Division Of Research And Economic Development

Reports (Research and Economic Development)

The monthly reports include statistics for project proposals and awards received by individual academic and administrative departments at the University of Rhode Island.

Division Of Research And Economic Development Monthly Report For October 2014, Uri Division Of Research And Economic Development

Reports (Research and Economic Development)

The monthly reports include statistics for project proposals and awards received by individual academic and administrative departments at the University of Rhode Island.

Division Of Research And Economic Development Monthly Report For November 2014, Uri Division Of Research And Economic Development

Reports (Research and Economic Development)

The monthly reports include statistics for project proposals and awards received by individual academic and administrative departments at the University of Rhode Island.

Division Of Research And Economic Development Monthly Report For December 2014, Uri Division Of Research And Economic Development

Reports (Research and Economic Development)

The monthly reports include statistics for project proposals and awards received by individual academic and administrative departments at the University of Rhode Island.

Choppi: A Web Tool For The Analysis Of Immunogenicity Risk From Host Cell Proteins In Cho-Based Protein Production, Chris Bailey-Kellogg, Andres H. Gutiérrez, Leonard Moise, Frances Terry, William D. Martin, Anne S. De Groot

Institute for Immunology and Informatics Faculty Publications

Despite high quality standards and continual process improvements in manufacturing, host cell protein (HCP) process impurities remain a substantial risk for biological products. Even at low levels, residual HCPs can induce a detrimental immune response compromising the safety and efficacy of a biologic. Consequently, advanced-stage clinical trials have been cancelled due to the identification of antibodies against HCPs. To enable earlier and rapid assessment of the risks in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO)-based protein production of residual CHO protein impurities (CHOPs), we have developed a web tool called CHOPPI, for CHO Protein Predicted Immunogenicity. CHOPPI integrates information regarding the possible presence …

Effect Of Temperature On Feeding Period Of Larval Blacklegged Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) On Eastern Fence Lizards, Eric L. Rulison, Roger A. Lebrun, Howard S. Ginsberg

Plant Sciences and Entomology Faculty Publications

Ambient temperature can influence tick development time, and can potentially affect tick interactions with pathogens and with vertebrate hosts. We studied the effect of ambient temperature on duration of attachment of larval blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis Say, to eastern fence lizards, Sceloporus undulatus (Bosc & Daudin). Feeding periods of larvae that attached to lizards under preferred temperature conditions for the lizards (WARM treatment: temperatures averaged 36.6°C at the top of the cage and 25.8°C at the bottom, allowing behavioral thermoregulation) were shorter than for larvae on lizards held under cool conditions (COOL treatment temperatures averaged 28.4°C at top of cage …

Relative Humidity And Activity Patterns Of Ixodes Scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae), K. A. Berger, Howard S. Ginsberg, L. Gonzalez, Thomas N. Mather

Plant Sciences and Entomology Faculty Publications

Laboratory studies have shown clear relationships between relative humidity (RH) and the activity and survival of Ixodes scapularis Say (blacklegged tick). However, field studies have produced conflicting results. We examined this relationship using weekly tick count totals and hourly RH observations at three field sites, stratified by latitude, within the state of Rhode Island. Records of nymphal tick abundance were compared with several RH-related variables (e.g., RH at time of sampling and mean weekly daytime RH). In total, 825 nymphs were sampled in 2009, a year of greater precipitation, with a weighted average leaf litter RH recorded at time of …

Inspire Newsletter For 2014, Uri College Of Human Science And Services

College of Human Science and Services Publications

The 2014 issue of InSpire, a periodical focused on and produced by the College of Human Science and Service.

Physical Therapy Department Newsletter For Fall 2014, Uri Physical Therapy Department

Physical Therapy Publications

The Fall 2014 (Edition 2, Volume 1) issue of Physical Therapy, a periodical focused on the Physical Therapy Department within the College of Human Science and Services.

Metabolic Suppression During Protracted Exposure To Hypoxia In The Jumbo Squid, Dosidicus Gigas, Living In An Oxygen Minimum Zone, Brad A. Seibel, N. Sören Häfker, Katja Trübenbach, Jing Zhang, Shannon N. Tessier, Hans-Otto Pörtner, Rui Rossa, Kenneth B. Storey

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The jumbo squid, Dosidicus gigas, can survive extended forays into the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Previous studies have demonstrated reduced oxygen consumption and a limited anaerobic contribution to ATP production, suggesting the capacity for substantial metabolic suppression during hypoxic exposure. Here, we provide a more complete description of energy metabolism and explore the expression of proteins indicative of transcriptional and translational arrest that may contribute to metabolic suppression. We demonstrate a suppression of total ATP demand under hypoxic conditions (1% oxygen, P_O2=0.8 kPa) in both juveniles (52%) and adults (35%) of …

Integrated Assessment Of Predicted Mhc Binding And Cross-Conservation With Self Reveals Patterns Of Viral Camouflage, Lu He, Anne S. Degroot, Andres H. Gutierrez, William D. Martin, Lenny Moise, Chris Bailey-Kellogg

Institute for Immunology and Informatics Faculty Publications

Background

Immune recognition of foreign proteins by T cells hinges on the formation of a ternary complex sandwiching a constituent peptide of the protein between a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecule and a T cell receptor (TCR). Viruses have evolved means of "camouflaging" themselves, avoiding immune recognition by reducing the MHC and/or TCR binding of their constituent peptides. Computer-driven T cell epitope mapping tools have been used to evaluate the degree to which particular viruses have used this means of avoiding immune response, but most such analyses focus on MHC-facing 'agretopes'. Here we set out a new means of evaluating …

Vaxcelerate Ii: Rapid Development Of A Self-Assembling Vaccine For Lassa Fever, Pierre Leblanc, Leonard Moise, Cybelle Luza, Kanawat Chantaralawan, Lynchy Lezeau, Jianping Yuan, Mary Field, Daniel Richer, Christine Boyle, William D. Martin, Jordan B. Fishman, Eric A. Berg, David Baker, Brandon Zeigler, Dale E. Mais, William Taylor, Russell Coleman, H. Shaw Warren, Jeffrey A. Gelfand, Anne S. De Groot, Timothy Brauns, Mark C. Poznansky

Institute for Immunology and Informatics Faculty Publications

Development of effective vaccines against emerging infectious diseases (EID) can take as much or more than a decade to progress from pathogen isolation/identification to clinical approval. As a result, conventional approaches fail to produce field-ready vaccines before the EID has spread extensively. Lassa is a prototypical emerging infectious disease endemic to West Africa for which no successful vaccine is available. We established the VaxCelerate Consortium to address the need for more rapid vaccine development by creating a platform capable of generating and pre-clinically testing a new vaccine against specific pathogen targets in less than 120 d. A self-assembling vaccine is …

Immune Camouflage: Relevance To Vaccine Design And Human Immunology, Anne S. De Groot, Leonard Moise, Rui Liu, Andres H. Gutierrez, Ryan Tassone, Chris Bailey-Kellogg, William Martin

Institute for Immunology and Informatics Faculty Publications

High strain sequence variability, interference with innate immune mechanisms, and epitope deletion are all examples of strategies that pathogens have evolved to subvert host defenses. To this list we would add another strategy: immune camouflage. Pathogens whose epitope sequences are cross-conserved with multiple human proteins at the TCR-facing residues may be exploiting "ignorance and tolerance," which are mechanisms by which mature T cells avoid immune responses to self-antigens. By adopting amino acid configurations that may be recognized by autologous regulatory T cells, pathogens may be actively suppressing protective immunity. Using the new JanusMatrix TCR-homology-mapping tool, we have identified several such …

Purification Of A Serine Protease And Evidence For A Protein C Activator From The Saliva Of The Tick, Ixodes Scapularis, Sivakamasundari Pichu, José M.C. Ribeiro, Thomas N. Mather, Ivo M.B. Francischetti

Plant Sciences and Entomology Faculty Publications

The saliva of ticks is critical to their survival as parasites and hematophagous animals. In this study, we have purified an enzyme with trypsin-like activity from the saliva of the tick vector of Lyme Disease, Ixodes scapularis. This enzyme, named as IXOSP (I. scapularis salivary serine protease), is a 29.9 kDa molecule with N-terminus FPxMVxLRIKxR. A BLAST search identified IXOSP as a secreted serine protease (AAY66740) with a conserved catalytic triad His, Asp, and Ser. In vitro studies demonstrated that IXOSP cleaves chromogenic substrates with arginine in the P₁ position, by a mechanism inhibited by PMSF or …

Altmetrics: Help Your Researchers Measure Their Full Impact, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Faculty Publications

This report covers a program sponsored by the Scholarly Communication Interest Group of the Association of College and Research Libraries New England Chapter (ACRL/NEC), an independent chapter of ACRL. The workshop, titled “Altmetrics: Help Your Researchers Measure Their Full Impact,” took place on November 14, 2013 at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. Approximately 60 people attended.

Intramolecular Arylation Of Benzimidazoles Via Pd(Ii)/Cu(I) Catalyzed Cross-Dehydrogenative Coupling, Kyle C. Pereira, Ashley L. Porter, Brenton Deboef

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Electron poor benzimidazole substrates were arylated via an intramolecular cross-dehydrogenative coupling (CDC) reaction. These CDC reactions were catalyzed by a Pd(II)/Cu(I) catalyst system, capable of producing moderate yields on a large library of substrates. The substrate scope consisted of tethered arene-benzimidazoles that upon coupling, produced a fused polycyclic motif.

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A High Throughput Mhc Ii Binding Assay For Quantitative Analysis Of Peptide Epitopes, Regina Salvat, Leonard Moise, Chris Bailey-Kellogg, Karl E. Griswold

Cell and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications

Biochemical assays with recombinant human MHC II molecules can provide rapid, quantitative insights into immunogenic epitope identification, deletion, or design^1,2. Here, a peptide-MHC II binding assay is scaled to 384-well format. The scaled down protocol reduces reagent costs by 75% and is higher throughput than previously described 96-well protocols^1,3-5. Specifically, the experimental design permits robust and reproducible analysis of up to 15 peptides against one MHC II allele per 384-well ELISA plate. Using a single liquid handling robot, this method allows one researcher to analyze approximately ninety test peptides in triplicate over a range of eight …

Escherichia Coli Pathotypes Occupy Distinct Niches In The Mouse Intestine, Jessica P. Meador, Matthew E. Caldwell, Paul S. Cohen, Tyrrell Conway

Cell and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications

Since the first step of the infection process is colonization of the host, it is important to understand how Escherichia coli pathogens successfully colonize the intestine. We previously showed that enterohemorrhagic O157:H7 strain E. coli EDL933 colonizes a niche in the streptomycin-treated mouse intestine that is distinct from that of human commensal strains, which explains how E. coli EDL933 overcomes colonization resistance imparted by some, but not all, commensal E. coli strains. Here we sought to determine if other E. coli pathogens use a similar strategy. We found that uropathogenic E. coli CFT073 and enteropathogenic E. coli E2348/69 occupy intestinal …

Disciplinary Evolution And The Rise Of The Transdiscipline, Eli B. Cohen, Scott J. Lloyd

College of Business Faculty Publications

This paper challenges readers to reflect on academic disciplines in a new way, through the lens of the theory of evolution. Indeed, how disciplines came into being has been largely left unexplored. This paper shows how the concepts of evolution can be productively applied to describe the development, creation, and diminishment of disciplines. These concepts include natural selection, speciation, parallel evolution, extinction, and heterosis, among others. The paper concludes that these forces lead to a prediction that a new form of organization, the transdiscipline, is evolving to become perhaps predominant.

Cyclodextrin-Promoted Energy Transfer For Broadly Applicable Small-Molecule Detection, Nicole Serio, Chitapom Chanthalyma, Lindsey Prignano, Mindy Levine

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Reported herein is the development of non-covalent, proximity-induced energy transfer from small-molecule toxicants to organic fluorophores bound in the cavity of γ-cyclodextrin. This energy transfer occurs with exceptional efficiency for a broad range of toxicants in complex biological media, and is largely independent of the spectral overlap between the donor and acceptor. This generally applicable phenomenon has significant potential in the development of new turn-on detection schemes.

Primate Energy Expenditure And Life History, Herman Pontzer, David A. Raichlen, Adam D. Gordon, Kara K. Schroepfer-Walker, Brian Hare, Matthew C. O'Neill, Kathleen M. Muldoon, Holly M. Dunsworth, Brian M. Wood, Karin Isler, Judith Burkart, Mitchell Irwin, Robert W. Shumaker, Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf, Stephen R. Ross

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Humans and other primates are distinct among placental mammals in having exceptionally slow rates of growth, reproduction, and aging. Primates’ slow life history schedules are generally thought to reflect an evolved strategy of allocating energy away from growth and reproduction and toward somatic investment, particularly to the development and maintenance of large brains. Here we examine an alternative explanation: that primates’ slow life histories reflect low total energy expenditure (TEE) (kilocalories per day) relative to other placental mammals. We compared doubly labeled water measurements of TEE among 17 primate species with similar measures for other placental mammals. We found that …

Remnants Of An Ancient Forest Provide Ecological Context For Early Miocene Fossil Apes, Lauren A. Michel, Daniel J. Peppe, James A. Lutz, Steven G. Driese, Holly M. Dunsworth, William E. H. Harcourt-Smith, William H. Horner, Thomas Lehmann, Sheila Nightingale, Kieran P. Mcnulty

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Publications

The lineage of apes and humans (Hominoidea) evolved and radiated across Afro-Arabia in the early Neogene during a time of global climatic changes and ongoing tectonic processes that formed the East African Rift. These changes probably created highly variable environments and introduced selective pressures influencing the diversification of early apes. However, interpreting the connection between environmental dynamics and adaptive evolution is hampered by difficulties in locating taxa within specific ecological contexts: time-averaged or reworked deposits may not faithfully represent individual palaeohabitats. Here we present multiproxy evidence from Early Miocene deposits on Rusinga Island, Kenya, which directly ties the early ape …

Are Exotic Herbivores Better Competitors? A Meta-Analysis, Laura Radville, Liahna Gonda-King, Sara Gomez, Ian Kaplan, Evan L. Preisser

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Competition plays an important role in structuring the community dynamics of phytophagous insects. As the number and impact of biological invasions increase, it has become increasingly important to determine whether competitive differences exist between native and exotic insects. We conducted a meta-analysis to test the hypothesis that native/exotic status affects the outcome of herbivore competition. Specifically, we used data from 160 published studies to assess plant-mediated competition in phytophagous insects. For each pair of competing herbivores, we determined the native range and coevolutionary history of each herbivore and host plant. Plant-mediated competition occurred frequently, but neither native nor exotic insects …