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Significance Of Population Centers As Sources Of Gaseous And Dissolved Pahs In The Lower Great Lakes, Carie A. Mcdonough, Mohammed A. Khairy, Derek C G Muir, Rainer Lohmann

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Polyethylene passive samplers (PEs) were used to measure concentrations of gaseous and dissolved polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the air and water throughout the lower Great Lakesduring summer and fall of 2011. Atmospheric Σ_15PAH­ concentrations ranged from 2.1 ng/m³ in Cape Vincent (NY) to 76.4 ng/m³ in downtown Cleveland (OH). Aqueous Σ_18PAH concentrations ranged from 2.4 ng/L at an offshoreLake Erie site to 30.4 ng/L in Sheffield Lake (OH). Gaseous PAH concentrations correlated strongly with population within 3-40 km of the sampling site depending on the compound considered, suggesting that urban centers are a primary …

Nutritional And Immunological Evaluation Of Soy-Based Diets For Summer Flounder (Paralichthys Dentatus) Aquaculture, Daniel Ward

Open Access Dissertations

Summer flounder aquaculture has progressed significantly in the last twenty years, and diets have been optimized to provide optimal nutrition, ensuring a high quality final product. Recently, the focus of research has evolved toward finding a replacement for fish meal in diets for many species, as the demand for fish meal worldwide has caused the primary protein product to become increasingly economically volatile. Therefore, a series of experiments were designed to systematically evaluate feeds for summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) including soy-based products as the primary protein source. The first feed trial involved the comparison of three diets; a …

Prediction Of Structure Borne Noise Radiation And Propagation From Offshore Impact Pile Driving, Huikwan Kim

Open Access Dissertations

This study investigates prediction of structure borne noise radiation and propagation from offshore impact pile driving in shallow water environment. Noise generated by offshore impact pile driving radiates into and propagates through the air, water, and sediment medium. Predicting noise levels around the pile structure at sea is required to estimate the effects of the noise and vibration on marine life. This study used one of the commercial FE (Finite Element) code Abaqus 6.11 to calculate harmonic and transient response of the offshore wind turbine support structure and associated acoustic pressure amplitudes due to hydraulic hammer impact on top. First …

Carbon-Nitrogen Bond Formation Via Tandem Carbon-Hydrogen (C-H) And Nitrogen-Hydrogen (N-H) Bond Functionalization, Abhishek A. Kantak

Open Access Dissertations

The oxidative cross-coupling of carbon-hydrogen (C-H) and nitrogenhydrogen (N-H) bonds to form carbon-nitrogen (C-N) bonds is an important synthetic advance, as amine and amide functional groups are ubiquitous in biologically active molecules. This technique is orthogonal to conventional amination techniques, which rely on electrophilic nitration/reduction strategies or metal catalyzed coupling of prefunctionalized arenes.

This dissertation’s main focus is on the development of oxidative methods for constructing N-arylamines and amides via tandem C-H/N-H bond activation and increasing synthetic efficiency for total synthesis of an inhibitor of botulinum neurotoxin via direct C–H functionalization.

The first manuscript, “Metal-Free Intermolecular Oxidative C-N Bond …

Phytochemical Investigation Of The Traditional Botanical Medicine Iresine Celosia, Caroline Grace Killian

Open Access Dissertations

Iresine celosia L. is a traditional medicine used by the indigenous Mayan people for a variety of ailments. It is also the sole active ingredient in the Odyliresin™ formulation currently marketed to humans worldwide as an antioxidant and for the promotion of prostate health. However, Odyliresin™ has not been characterized phytochemically, or evaluated biologically for its intended use. This work represents the first comprehensive phytochemical investigation of the Odyliresin™ formulation botanical extract. To better understand its constitutive phytochemistry, a tailored isolation scheme was developed, using various chromatography resins (silica gel, LH-20), separation and purification techniques. In all, eleven compounds were …

Compartmentalized D2-Dopamine Receptors: Roles In Signaling & Potential Mechanism Of Antipsychotic Drug Action, J. Christopher Octeau

Open Access Dissertations

Dopamine is the most widely distributed catecholamine neurotransmitter in the brain. D2-dopamine receptors (D2R) are one member of a receptor class, known as G-protein coupled receptors, which transduce cellular signals upon an interaction with dopamine. Historically, it was believed that in schizophrenic patients, an excess of dopaminergic signaling at D2R was the cause of psychotic symptoms. Thus, antipsychotics reversed psychosis by blocking excessive dopaminergic signaling from D2R. Sixty years after the introduction of antipsychotic drugs, the connection between the anti-dopaminergic activity of these drugs at D2R and the suppression of psychotic symptoms remains unknown. Understanding the ways that different molecules …

Amphiphilic Cyclic Cell-Penetrating Peptides As Drug Delivery Vehicles And Antimicrobial Peptides, Donghood Oh

Open Access Dissertations

Cell membrane is a barrier to be overcome for efficient delivery of therapeutics into a target site in cytoplasm or nucleus. The hydrophobic phospholipids are major components of the cell membrane that obstruct the transportation of therapeutics. Thus, various delivery systems, such as liposomes, nanoparticles and viral vectors, have been developed to transfer small molecules, peptides, proteins, and oligonucleotides across the membrane.

Negatively charged phosphopeptides, oligonucleotides, and siRNAs have emerged as potential therapeutic agents. Phosphopeptides mimic phosphoproteins, which give on/off signal to many enzymes through interactions with protein kinases. For example, phosphopeptide pTyr-Glu-Glu-Ile (pYEEI) is an optimal peptide ligand for …

Opting-In Online: Participants’ Perceptions Of Knowledge Construction In Public Forum Communities, Jennifer C. Lee

Open Access Dissertations

This project examines knowledge making and sharing amid special interest forums, specifically, online forums for herp (reptile and amphibian) hobbyists. In doing so, it addresses a gap in rhetoricians’ understanding of publicness: its effect on writing and people’s perceptions thereof. Few studies measure public writing unless its telos is change or activism. Additionally, despite increased rhetorical scholarship focusing on new media, much current research on forums situates them in classroom-based learning and collaboration, neglecting online forums that are open to public access. This project is a naturalistic inquiry using qualitative methods to explore collaborative public writing that occurs in discourse …

Historically Marginalized Groups In Psychological Science, Celeste Caviness

Open Access Dissertations

Over the past thirty years there has been a concerted effort to evaluate the inclusion of historically marginalized groups (HMG) – women, racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities, and low-income individuals – in research. This has been done through content analyses of research literature published in top-tier psychological journals. The purpose of this study was to examine the research literature to assess the degree to which the current literature includes ethnic, racial, and sexual minorities, women, and those of varying socioeconomic status and whether research questions focusing on historically marginalized groups are being examined within mainstream journals. Six issues from 2012 …

Intrapartum Nurses’ Beliefs About Childbirth: A Descriptive Qualitative Study In Nurses That Provide Care To Women In Labor And Birth, Sylvia P. Ross

Open Access Dissertations

In the United States, a large gap exists between what is known as best evidence in maternal-newborn health and the routine practices at the frontline of maternity care. Intrapartum nurses are uniquely positioned to promote practices that are evidencebased and support the normal physiologic process of birth. This qualitative study explored intrapartum nurses’ beliefs about childbirth and the influence of their beliefs on their clinical practice, particularly practices that promoted normal physiologic birth. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 10 intrapartum registered nurses using Rubin and Rubin’s (2012) responsive interview model. All participants practiced on a labor and delivery unit …

Portraits Of Novice Teacher Learning With Mentors In Urban Schools, Marjorie Kazin-Boyce

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this retrospective study was to examine the learning and development process of three new teachers who were paired with mentors in a formal induction program in an urban district. The qualitative case study focused on three teacher-mentor dyads who were interviewed about their experience during the teachers’ first year of teaching in middle and high school of the district. In addition to interviews with teachers and their mentors, the researcher examined documents that were part of the mentoring process such as teacher reflective journals or mentor feedback forms. Using the Purposeful, Ongoing Mentoring Model (Peno & Silva …

The Anti-Epilepsy Potential And Antagonism Of The N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor By Diaminodiphenyls, Kyle Robert Scully

Open Access Dissertations

Epilepsy is a disorder characterized by the occurrence of seizures, which are periods of abnormally excessive synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Affecting over 70 million people worldwide, many of whom do not respond to pharmacotherapy, there is a need for novel anticonvulsant compound discovery. Diaminodiphenyl compounds, a class of compounds shown to present anticonvulsive effects in vivo have been purported to exert their effects on the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAr); an excitatory, ionotropic receptor that is a key player in the functions of the glutamatergic system. The glutamatergic system is vital in the promotion of synaptic plasticity and has …

A Case Study Of Student And Teacher Relationships And The Effect On Student Learning, Patricia Brady Gablinske

Open Access Dissertations

This research study explored the affective domain of teacher-student relationships using a single case study design. This single case study produced a synthesis of information that guides a classroom teacher in the development and maintenance of her relationships with her students. The resulting analysis and interpretation provided a description of major themes that developed regarding strong teacher student relationships, as well as, specific components to the interactions considered essential for the student’s learning environment.

The outcome of this study is an account of experiences and procedures that guide the development and maintenance of relationships between a teacher and her students. …

Transcriptional Regulation Of Aldo-Keto Reductase 1d1, Leila Valanejad

Open Access Dissertations

Bile acids are physiological detergents and surfactants with recently identified roles as signaling hormones. Maintenance of physiologically normal bile acids levels is fundamentally important as a deregulation within the bile acid synthesis pathway has the potential to result in an unbalanced bile acid pool. This may result in any number of pathological down stream effects and can exacerbate various diseases and disorders. Chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) and cholic acid (CA) are two major primary bile acids in humans with CDCA being more hydrophobic and toxic than CA. Aldo-keto reductase 1D1 (AKR1D1) and 12-alpha-hydroxylase (CYP8B1) are the two key enzymes responsible for …

The Bovine Spermatozoal Transcriptome And Sire Fertility, Christopher James Card

Open Access Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation research was to characterize the spermatozoal transcript profile of bovine cryopreserved spermatozoa. The main goal was to sequence the complete transcript profile from a population of sires across a wide fertility range utilizing RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq). Sequencing was then conducted to compare the spermatozoal transcript profiles of higher and lower fertility sires in an effort to determine the presence or absence of spermatozoal transcripts that may aid in improving fertility testing in sires. In addition to RNA-Seq analysis, other semen parameters such as morphology, DNA fragmentation, and RNA amount were analyzed for relationships with fertility.

The …

Introduction And Establishment Of Three Parasitoids Of The Lily Leaf Beetle, Lilioceris Lilii, (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) In North America, Elizabeth A. Tewksbury

Open Access Dissertations

Following three years of discovery and evaluation, three larval parasitoids were imported from Europe and introduced into North America to control Lilioceris lilii (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), an introduced herbivore of native and cultivated lilies. The first species, Tetrastichus setifer Thomson (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), introduced in Massachusetts in 1999, was found to be established in 2002. We made additional releases of T. setifer, introduced the parasitic wasps, Lemophagus errabundus Szepligeti (Hymenoptea: Ichneumonidae) and Diaparsis jucunda (Holmgren) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), and evaluated the establishment and distribution of the three parasitoids through 2013. Tetrastichus setifer is now established in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, …

Three Essays On The Economics Of Ecosystem Services And Land Use Change, Tingting Liu

Open Access Dissertations

Over the past few decades, agricultural and forest lands in the northeast US have been lost to residential development. Combined with more intensive farming on remaining lands, these trends have led to losses in valuable ecosystem services from the agricultural and forest landscape. Narragansett Bay is also exhibiting an increasing array of eutrophic-associated symptoms, including low dissolved oxygen, fish kills, eelgrass loss, algae blooms, and loss of submerged aquatic vegetation (Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, 2008).

This dissertation contains three essays to quantify and value the changes in ecosystem services and to evaluate the effectiveness of policy for land use management. …

Homeoviscous Response Of Clostridium Pasteurianum To Butanol Toxicity During Glycerol Fermentation, Keerthi P. Venkataramanan, Yogi Kurniawan, Judy J. Boatman, Cassandra H. Haynes, Katherine A. Taconi, Lenore M. Martin, Geoffrey D. Bothun, Carmen Scholz

Cell and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications

Clostridium pasteurianum ATCC 6013 achieves high n-butanol production when glycerol is used as the sole carbon source. In this study, the homeoviscous membrane response of C. pasteurianum ATCC 6013 has been examined through n-butanol challenge experiments. Homeoviscous response is a critical aspect of n-butanol tolerance and has not been examined in detail for C. pasteurianum. Lipid membrane compositions were examined for glycerol fermentations with n-butanol production, and during cell growth in the absence of n-butanol production, using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR). Membrane stabilization due to homeoviscous …

An Investigation Into Ground Effect For An Underwater Biologically Inspired Flapping Foil, Paulstephen Chierico

Open Access Master's Theses

The topic that was investigated was whether there is a lift and thrust benefit to flapping an underwater, biologically inspired three dimensional foil near the solid bottom surface (so that it was in ground effect). The experimental method used a dual canister device that allowed actuation in roll and pitch, with force sensors attached to the pitch shaft, in order to record the forces produced by the foil as it flapped. The dual canister was towed on a carriage at a constant speed in a large tow tank that had been configured to have a long run of constant, deep …

Molecular Interaction In Carboxylesterases-Based Catalysis: Ontogenic Expression And Induction Through A Novel Element, Yi-Tzai Chen

Open Access Dissertations

Carboxylesterases (CES) catalyze both hydrolytic and synthetic reactions and play important roles in drug metabolism and lipid mobilization. Many factors such as age and dietary supplements have been shown to regulate the CES expression. The expression of CES1 shows the developmental regulation and is highly induced by antioxidants. The goals of this project were to determine whether CES2, like CES1, is developmentally regulated and to investigate how antioxidants induced the expression of CES1 at the molecular level.

The ontogenic studies showed the mRNA levels of CES2 exhibited a postnatal surge (1-31 days versus 35-70 days) in both liver and duodenum. …

Svm-Based Volitional Artificial Leg Control Via Ubiquitous Small And Low Power Architectures, Robert Hernandez

Open Access Dissertations

Presented within this dissertation is the evolution of the research leading to the selection of small, low power architectural solutions to the University of Rhode Island’s (URI) Neural Machine Interface (NMI) algorithm. The NMI is designed to provide volitional control of an artificial limb for transfemoral amputees. The NMI algorithm is based on neuromuscular–mechanical fusion, gait phase dependent, nonlinear support vector machine (SVM) classification. URI’s NMI algorithm utilizes electromyography to detect direct commands from the human brain to the residual thigh muscles in conjunction with mechanical signals derived from loadcell to determine the user’s intended locomotion mode.

Of utmost importance …

American Woodcock Ecology And Bird Conservation In Relation To Forest Management, Roger J. Masse

Open Access Dissertations

The extent of shrubland and young forest in the Northeast, USA, has declined rapidly since the mid-1900’s. Accordingly, the abundance of wildlife that depends on young forest has also declined. For example, American woodcock (Scolopax minor), an upland shorebird species, require an appropriate spectrum and spatial configuration of young forest to thrive and their populations have declined significantly since at least 1968. Active forest management is required to conserve populations of American woodcock and other young forest wildlife, but the importance of young forest management to some aspects of the ecology of key wildlife are not fully understood. I …

The Green Eating Project: Web-Based Intervention To Promote Environmentally Conscious Eating Behaviors, Jessica T. Nash

Open Access Dissertations

The food system has been cited as unsustainable due to the reliance on natural resources and contribution to global pollution. Technological advances will play a major role in mitigating these negative consequences but consumers will also play a role through food choices. Green Eating (GE) is the concept of practicing more environmentally conscious eating behaviors and is currently defined as: eating locally grown foods, limited amounts of processed/fast foods, eating meatless meals at least one day per week, choosing organic foods as much as possible, and only taking what you plan on eating. Little research exists investigating college student perspectives’ …

A Pilot Examination Of Self-Esteem, Depression, And Sleep In College Women, Jessica R. Conti, Sue K. Adams, Tiffani S. Kisler

Human Development and Family Science Faculty Publications

While sleep deficits in adulthood are common and worsening, college women experience significantly more sleep problems and depression than their male counterparts. In recent years, sleep has been investigated as one of the primary contributors to college functioning and GPA. No known study, however, has investigated the connection between self-esteem, depression and sleep. Questionnaire assessments were given to 43 female college juniors and seniors, including: demographic information, Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, and Pittsburg Quality Sleep Index. This pilot study investigates the relationship between college self-esteem and sleep quality, as mediated by depression. The results of the study indicate …

Complementary And Alternative Medicine Use And Adherence To Asthma Medications Among Latino And Non-Latino White Families, Elizabeth L. Mcquaid, David A. Fedele, Sue K. Adams, Daphne Koinis-Mitchell, Jessica Mithcell, Sheryl J. Kopel, Ronald Seifer, Barbara Jandasek, Gregory K. Fritz, Glorisa Canino

Human Development and Family Science Faculty Publications

Objective: The current study sought to evaluate patterns of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use in a sample of Latino and Non-Latino white (NLW) children with asthma, to determine whether parental beliefs about conventional medications and barriers to obtaining these medications were related to CAM use, and to assess whether CAM use was associated with decreased adherence to controller medications.

Methods: Participants included 574 families of children with asthma from Non-Latino White, Puerto Rican, and Dominican backgrounds from RI and from Island Puerto Rico. All parents completed a brief checklist of barriers to medication use and an assessment …

Maternal Anxiety During And After Pregnancy: Effects On Child Internalizing Behaviour, Sue K. Adams, Jennifer F. Daly, Kathleen N. Morgan

Human Development and Family Science Faculty Publications

Background: Anxiety during pregnancy can have significant effects on both a developing fetus and long-term developmental outcomes. In animal and human models, prenatal anxiety has been associated with characteristics of inhibited temperament in infants, which may be a precursor to later anxiety disorders. This pilot study examined if maternal report of anxiety during pregnancy differentially explained preschool-aged children’s internalizing behaviour over and above a mother’s trait anxiety. In addition, using multi-reporter methodology, the study examined if maternal anxiety during pregnancy predicted multiple reporters’ ratings of child internalizing behaviour.

Method: Participants in this pilot study included preschool-aged children, their …

Distinct Activation Phenotype Of A Highly Conserved Novel Hla-B57-Restricted Epitope During Dengue Virus Infection, Elizabeth Townsley, Marcia Woda, Stephen J. Thomas, Siripen Kalayanarooj, Robert V. Gibbons, Ananda Nisalak, Anon Srikiatkhachorn, Sharone Green, Henry A.F. Stephens, Alan L. Rothman, Anuja Matthew

Institute for Immunology and Informatics Faculty Publications

Variation in the sequence of T cell epitopes between dengue virus (DENV) serotypes is believed to alter memory T cell responses during second heterologous infections. We identified a highly conserved, novel, HLA-B57-restricted epitope on the DENV NS1 protein. We predicted higher frequencies of B57-NS126-34-specific CD8+ T cells in PBMC from individuals undergoing secondary rather than primary DENV infection. However, high tetramer-positive T cell frequencies during acute infection were seen in only 1 of 9 subjects with secondary infection. B57-NS126-34-specific and other DENV epitope-specific CD8+ T cells, as well as total CD8+ T cells, expressed an activated phenotype (CD69+ and/or CD38+) …

Comparison Of Phenotypic Value Changes In Pure Lines Of Bombyx Mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) During Consecutive Generations Following Initial Selection On Cocoon Weight, Alireza Seidavi, Marian R. Goldsmith

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The experiments reported here were conducted to investigate the effect of selection on three quantitative traits, namely cocoon weight, cocoon shell weight, and cocoon shell percentage, during four generations by rearing six pure breeds of domesticated silkworm, Bombyx mori L. (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) of Chinese and Japanese origin compared with random unselected groups as controls. All stages of rearing and data recording were performed over four rearing periods, with generations 1–3 during successive spring seasons and generation 4 during the autumn season in year 3. Each pure line contained two groups of selected and random (control) groups. Comparisons included the effect …

Terpene Chemistry Of Eastern Hemlocks Resistant To Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, E. Alexa Mckenzie, Joseph S. Elkinton, Richard A. Casagrande, Evan L. Preisser, Mark Mayer

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Recent studies have identified a small number of individual eastern hemlock trees that demonstrate relative resistance to the introduced sap-feeding insect, the hemlock woolly adelgid. Using gas chromatography, we compared concentrations of twenty-two terpenoids in susceptible and relatively resistant trees, both in the forest and in propagated cuttings in a common-garden setting. Terpenoid concentrations were higher in twig tissue of resistant versus susceptible trees, across six sampling dates and at both sites. These changes may be particularly important because the hemlock woolly adelgid feeds on twig tissue. Because the common-garden cuttings were free of herbivores, the higher terpenoid concentrations are …

Leukocyte Recruitment To The Peritoneum Of Cultured Summer Flounder (Paralichthys Dentatus) During Bacterial, Pilar Juliet Nelson

Open Access Master's Theses

Summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) constitutes a major fishery in the coastal northeastern United States. Spurred by population declines, cultivation of summer flounder began in 1996, but expansion of culture efforts has been constrained by disease outbreaks. Flounder Infectious Necrotizing Enteritis (FINE) causes significant mortality of juvenile flounder. The disease is characterized by ascites, intestinal prolapse, and severe inflammation of the mesentery and posterior intestinal serosa, often resulting in intestinal rupture. FINE is caused by Vibrio harveyi, a bacterial pathogen of cultured marine fish and invertebrates. To better understand the immune response to FINE, recruitment and fluctuation of …