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Kaempferol Inhibits Il‑1Β‑Induced Proliferation Of Rheumatoid Arthritis Synovial Fibroblasts And The Production Of Cox‑2, Pge2 And Mmps, Ha-Yong Yoon, Lee, Hyun Lee, In Jin Cho, Yun Jung Choi, Myung-Soon Sung, Han-Gyul Yoo, Wan-Hee Yoo

Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Inflammatory cytokines, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and cyclooxygenase (COX)‑2 released from rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts (RASFs) are involved in the destruction of both articular bone and cartilage. Kaempferol has been reported to act as an antioxidant and anti‑inflammatory agent by inhibiting nitric oxide synthase and COX enzymes. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of kaempferol on the interleukin‑1β (IL‑1β)‑induced proliferation of RASFs and the production of MMPs, COX and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) by RASFs. The proliferation of the RASFs stimulated with IL‑1β and treated with/without kaempferol was evaluated by CCK‑8 assay. The expression of MMPs, TIMP …

Environmental Factors Influencing Epidemic Cholera, Antarpreet Jutla, Elizabeth Whitcombe, Nur Hasan, Bradd Haley, Ali S. Akanda, Anwar Hug, Munir Alam, R. Bradley Sack, Rita Colwell

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Cholera outbreak following the earthquake of 2010 in Haiti has reaffirmed that the disease is a major public health threat. Vibrio cholerae is autochthonous to aquatic environment, hence, it cannot be eradicated but hydroclimatology-based prediction and prevention is an achievable goal. Using data from the 1800s, we describe uniqueness in seasonality and mechanism of occurrence of cholera in the epidemic regions of Asia and Latin America. Epidemic regions are located near regional rivers and are characterized by sporadic outbreaks, which are likely to be initiated during episodes of prevailing warm air temperature with low river flows, creating favorable environmental conditions …

The Development And Validation Of The Family Experiences With Autism Spectrum Disorders (Feasd) Scale, Adam Moore

Open Access Dissertations

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) impacts 1 in 50 children in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2013). This striking increase in the number of children with ASD affects families in a variety of ways.

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a scale that measured the experiences of families of children with ASD in schools, health care settings, and in their families/communities. Family-centered care (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2003) principles were used to create the items in the scale. In addition to determining the psychometric properties of the scale, the second purpose of …

Study Of Glycation And Advanced Glycation On A Humanized Monoclonal Antibody, Hong Liu

Open Access Dissertations

In the presented work, we reviewed the protein glycation effect on recombinant monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), and demonstrated an in vitro glycation model on rhuMAb A was a successful tool to evaluate site-specific glycation. We also implemented this model to study MAb glycation in three aspects: the formation of glycation, the change of glycation adducts under thermal stress, and the control of glycation adducts stability by formulation compositions.

A protein characterization study demonstrated that the in vitro forced glycation model generated seven glycated amino acid sites on rhuMAb A. The lysine residue K49 was the preferably site, while others sites were …

Fluid Interactions That Enable Stealth Predation By The Upstream-Foraging Hydromedusa Craspedacusta Sowerbyi, K. Lucas, S. P. Colin, J. H. Costello, K. Katja, E. Klos

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Unlike most medusae that forage with tentacles trailing behind their bells, several species forage upstream of their bells using aborally located tentacles. It has been hypothesized that these medusae forage as stealth predators by placing their tentacles in more quiescent regions of flow around their bells. Consequently, they are able to capture highly mobile, sensitive prey. We used digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) to quantitatively characterize the flow field around Craspedacusta sowerbyi, a freshwater upstream-foraging hydromedusa, to evaluate the mechanics of its stealth predation. We found that fluid velocities were minimal in front and along the sides of the …

Draft Genome Sequence Of Marine Alphaproteobacterial Strain Himb11, The First Cultivated Representative Of A Unique Lineage Within The Roseobacter Clade Possessing An Unusually Small Genome, Bryndan P. Durham, Jana Grote, Kerry A. Whittaker, Sara J. Bender, Haiwei Luo, Sharon L. Grim, Julia M. Brown, John R. Casey, Anthony Dron, Lennin Florez-Leiva, Andreas Krupke, Catherine M. Luria, Aric H. Mine, Olivia D. Nigro, Santhiska Pather, Agathe Talarmin, Emma K. Wear, Thomas S. Weber, Jesse M. Wilson, Matthew J. Church, Edward F. Delong, David M. Karl, Grieg F. Steward, John M. Eppley, Nikos C. Krypides, Stephan Schuster, Michael S. Rappé

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Strain HIMB11 is a planktonic marine bacterium isolated from coastal seawater in Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Hawaii belonging to the ubiquitous and versatile Roseobacter clade of the alphaproteobacterial family Rhodobacteraceae. Here we describe the preliminary characteristics of strain HIMB11, including annotation of the draft genome sequence and comparative genomic analysis with other members of the Roseobacter lineage. The 3,098,747 bp draft genome is arranged in 34 contigs and contains 3,183 protein-coding genes and 54 RNA genes. Phylogenomic and 16S rRNA gene analyses indicate that HIMB11 represents a unique sublineage within the Roseobacter clade. Comparison with other publicly available genome sequences …

Predation On Prerecruits Can Delay Rebuilding Of Depleted Cod Stocks, Jeremy Collie, Cóilín Minto, Boris Worm, Richard Bell

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Predation by clupeoid species (e.g., Atlantic herring, Clupea harengus Linnaeus, 1758) on the early life stages of gadoids is hypothesized to be an important source of mortality, especially for Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua Linnaeus, 1758. Adult cod also prey on herring, creating a positive feedback process ("trophic triangle") that may result in alternative dominance patterns of cod or herring depending on the relative levels of mortality. We estimated the effect of herring on cod recruitment with a predator-dependent Ricker stock-recruitment function, fit to time-series data. In this formulation, herring gradually reduce the per capita recruitment rate of cod, but this …

Equatorial Pacific Peak In Biological Production Regulated By Nutrient And Upwelling During The Late Pliocene/Early Pleistocene Cooling, J. Etourneau, Rebecca S. Robinson, P. Martinez, R. Schneider

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

The largest increase in export production in the eastern Pacific of the last 5.3 Myr (million years) occurred between 2.2 and 1.6 Myr, a time of major climatic and oceanographic reorganization in the region. Here, we investigate the causes of this event using reconstructions of export production, nutrient supply and oceanic conditions across the Pliocene–Pleistocene in the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) for the last 3.2 Myr. Our results indicate that the export production peak corresponds to a cold interval marked by high nutrient supply relative to consumption, as revealed by the low bulk sedimentary ¹⁵N/¹⁴N (δ^{15 …}

Sulfur Degassing At Erta Ale (Ethiopia) And Masaya (Nicaragua) Volcanoes: Implications For Degassing Processes And Oxygen Fugacities Of Basaltic Systems, J. M. De Moor, T. P. Fischer, Z. D. Sharp, P. L. King, M. Wilke, R. E. Botcharnikov, E. Cottrell, M. Zelenski, B. Marty, K. Klimm, C. Rivard, D. Ayalew, C. Ramirez, Katherine A. Kelley

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

We investigate the relationship between sulfur and oxygen fugacity at Erta Ale and Masaya volcanoes. Oxygen fugacity was assessed utilizing Fe³⁺/∑Fe and major element compositions measured in olivine‐hosted melt inclusions and matrix glasses. Erta Ale melts have Fe³⁺/∑Fe of 0.15–0.16, reflecting fO₂ of ΔQFM 0.0 ± 0.3, which is indistinguishable from fO₂ calculated from CO₂/CO ratios in high‐temperature gases. Masaya is more oxidized at ΔQFM +1.7 ± 0.4, typical of arc settings. Sulfur isotope compositions of gases and scoria at Erta Ale (δ³⁴S_gas − 0.5‰; δ^{34 …}

New Insights Into Hydrothermal Vent Processes In The Unique Shallow-Submarine Arc-Volcano, Kolumbo (Santorini), Greece, Stephanos P. Kilias, Paraskevi Nomikou, Dimitrios Pappanikolaou, Paraskevi N. Polymenakou, Athanasios Godelitsas, Ariadne Argyraki, Steven Carey, Platon Gamaletsos, Theo J. Mertzimekis, Elenie Stathopoulou, Joerg Goettlicher, Ralph Steininger, Konstantina Betzelou, Isidoros Livanos, Christos Christakis, Katherine Croff Bell, Michael Scoullos

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

We report on integrated geomorphological, mineralogical, geochemical and biological investigations of the hydrothermal vent field located on the floor of the density-stratified acidic (pH ~ 5) crater of the Kolumbo shallow-submarine arc-volcano, near Santorini. Kolumbo features rare geodynamic setting at convergent boundaries, where arc-volcanism and seafloor hydrothermal activity are occurring in thinned continental crust. Special focus is given to unique enrichments of polymetallic spires in Sb and Tl (±Hg, As, Au, Ag, Zn) indicating a new hybrid seafloor analogue of epithermal-to-volcanic-hosted-massive-sulphide deposits. Iron microbial-mat analyses reveal dominating ferrihydrite-type phases, and high-proportion of microbial sequences akin to "Nitrosopumilus maritimus", a …

Uri Undergraduate And Graduate Course Catalog 2013-2014, University Of Rhode Island

URI Course Catalogs Archive

This is a downloadable PDF version of the University of Rhode Island course catalog.

Microbial Activity In The Marine Deep Biosphere: Progress And Prospects, Beth N. Orcutt, Douglas E. Larowe, Jennifer F. Biddle, Frederick S. Colwell, Brian T. Glazer, Brandi Kiel Reese, John B. Kirkpatrick, Laura L. Lapham, Heath J. Mills, Jason B. Sylvan, Scott D. Wankel, C. Geoff Wheat

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

The vast marine deep biosphere consists of microbial habitats within sediment, pore waters, upper basaltic crust and the fluids that circulate throughout it. A wide range of temperature, pressure, pH, and electron donor and acceptor conditions exists—all of which can combine to affect carbon and nutrient cycling and result in gradients on spatial scales ranging from millimeters to kilometers. Diverse and mostly uncharacterized microorganisms live in these habitats, and potentially play a role in mediating global scale biogeochemical processes. Quantifying the rates at which microbial activity in the subsurface occurs is a challenging endeavor, yet developing an understanding of these …

Study Of Ph(Low) Insertion Peptides (Phlips) Interaction With Lipid Bilayer Of Membrane, Dhammika Anuradha Weerakkody

Open Access Dissertations

The pH-dependent interactions of pHLIPs^® (pH (Low) Insertion Peptides) with lipid bilayer of membrane provides an opportunity to study and address fundamental questions of protein folding/insertion into membrane and unfolding/exit, as well as develop novel approach to target acidic diseased tissue such as cancer, ischemic myocardium, infection and others.

The main goal of the work presented here is to answer the following questions:

- What is the molecular mechanism of spontaneous insertion and folding of a peptide in a lipid bilayer of membrane;

- What is the molecular mechanism of unfolding and exit of a peptide from a lipid …

Hybrid Optical Acoustic Seafloor Mapping, Gabrielle Inglis

Open Access Dissertations

The oceanographic research and industrial communities have a persistent demand for detailed three dimensional sea floor maps which convey both shape and texture. Such data products are used for archeology, geology, ship inspection, biology, and habitat classification. There are a variety of sensing modalities and processing techniques available to produce these maps and each have their own potential benefits and related challenges. Multibeam sonar and stereo vision are such two sensors with complementary strengths making them ideally suited for data fusion. Data fusion approaches however, have seen only limited application to underwater mapping and there are no established methods for …

Seasonal Particle And Carbon Dynamics In The Eastern Bering Sea, Matthew S. Baumann

Open Access Dissertations

The ocean margins of high-latitude seas, such as the eastern Bering Sea, are recognized as important areas for the enhanced scavenging removal of particle reactive chemicals and for the potential to sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide via photosynthetic conversion to biogenic particles and subsequent downward particle transport to deeper waters. This region is expected to warm in the future, and with the warming will come a reduction in the extent and duration of seasonal sea-ice. This physical process exerts an important control on the timing, location, and magnitude of the spring primary production bloom. Within the context that 2008-2010 are characterized …

Sequence Effects On The Repair And Replication Of Arylamine-Dna Adducts, Vipin Jain

Open Access Dissertations

Cancer is a collection of diseases defined by uncontrolled cell growth and dissemination of abnormal cells. It is the second most deadly disease in the United States. Exposure to chemicals, both endogeneous and exogeneous is one of the major causes of cancer initiation. The role of chemicals in carcinogenesis was observed back in the eighteenth century when surgeon Pott observed a large number of scrotal cancer cases in chimney sweeps and associated it with to the soot exposure. However, research in the field of chemical carcinogenesis was renewed when Yamagawa and Ichikawa reported the development of malignant tumor on the …

The Effects Of N-Butonol On The Model And Reconstituted Membrane Of Clostridium Pasteurianum, Yogi Kurniawan

Open Access Dissertations

During n-butanol fermentation, n-butanol partitions into microbial membranes result in destabilizing cellular lipid membranes by altering their lipid composition (generally the ratio of saturated to unsaturated lipids) whereas adapted microorganisms respond by altering the ratio of unsaturated to saturated lipids. The mechanism of how microbes achieve a high adaptation in response to n-butanol is barely known. This dissertation describes the role of unsaturated lipids and charged lipid composition in modulating n-butanol partition into membrane using model bacteria (i.e. lipid bilayer vesicles or liposomes and Langmuir monolayers) and those studies were compared with reconstituted membranes (Clostridium pasteurianum) that represented …

The Impact Of Predator-Prey Relationships On The Formation Of Harmful Algal Blooms In Heterosigma Akashiwo, Elizabeth L. Harvey

Open Access Dissertations

Heterotrophic protists are the primary grazers of phytoplankton in the marine environment, and changes in the rates of consumption will influence phytoplankton abundance, community composition, and ecological function. The objective of this research was to investigate the influence of predators on the formation and promotion of harmful algal blooms (HABs), specifically blooms of the toxic raphidophyte alga, Heterosigma akashiwo. To observe microscopic predator-prey interactions and their macroscopic distributions, video and image analysis were used to simultaneously quantify population distributions and individual 3D movements of both protistan predators and prey cells in laboratory tanks with realistic salinity structures. In behavioral experiments, …

The Methodological Imperatives Of Feminist Ethnography, Richelle D. Schrock

Journal of Feminist Scholarship

Feminist ethnography does not have a single, coherent definition and is caught between struggles over the definition and goals of feminism and the multiple practices known collectively as ethnography. Towards the end of the 1980s, debates emerged that problematized feminist ethnography as a productive methodology and these debates still haunt feminist ethnographers today. In this article, I provide a concise historiography of feminist ethnography that summarizes both its promises and its vulnerabilities. I address the three major challenges I argue feminist ethnographers currently face, which include responding productively to feminist critiques of representing "others," accounting for feminisms' commitment to social …

Smooth Local Subspace Projection For Nonlinear Noise Reduction, David Chelidze

Mechanical, Industrial & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Many nonlinear or chaotic time series exhibit an innate broad spectrum, which makes noise reduction difficult. Local projective noise reduction is one of the most effective tools. It is based on proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) and works for both map-like and continuously sampled time series. However, POD only looks at geometrical or topological properties of data and does not take into account the temporal characteristics of time series. Here, we present a new smooth projective noise reduction method. It uses smooth orthogonal decomposition (SOD) of bundles of reconstructed short-time trajectory strands to identify smooth local subspaces. Restricting trajectories to these …

Probiotic Strains For Shellfish Aquaculture: Protection Of Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea Virginica, Larvae And Juveniles Againsl Bacterial Challenge, Murni Karim, Wenjing Zhao, David C. Rowley, David R. Nelson, Marta Gomez-Chiarri

Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences Faculty Publications

Bacterial pathogens, including several Vibrio spp. and Roseovarius crassostreae, cause severe mortality of larval and juvenile eastern oysters. The introduction of beneficial bacterial isolates in oyster hatcheries and nurseries for the biocontrol of bacterial diseases is a good alternative to the use of antibiotics. The goal of this study was to screen and characterize marine bacterial isolates as potential agents to prevent larval and juvenile mortality by the oyster pathogens Vibrio tubiashii and R. crassostreae. Screening of bacterial isolates from Rhode Island marine organisms and environment using agar-based assay methods for detection of antimicrobial activity against oyster pathogens led …

Muscle Growth In Teleost Fish Is Regulated By Factors Utilizing The Activin Ii B Receptor, Michael P. Phelps, Ian M. Jaffe, Terence M. Bradley

Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences Faculty Publications

The activin type IIB receptor (Acvr2b) is the cell surface receptor for multiple transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) superfamily ligands, several of which regulate muscle growth in mammals. To investigate the role of the Acvr2b signaling pathway in the growth and development of skeletal muscle in teleost fish, transgenic rainbow trout (RBT; Oncorhynchus mykiss) expressing a truncated form of the acvr2b-2a (acvr2b^▵) in muscle tissue were produced. High levels of acvr2b^▵ expression were detected in the majority of P1 transgenic fish. Transgenic P1 trout developed enhanced, localized musculature in both the epaxial and hypaxial regions …

Using Molecular Tools To Elucidate Controls On Microbes Driving The Nitrogen Cycle In Marine Sediments, Shelley Marie Brown

Open Access Dissertations

Marine sediments harbor metabolically versatile bacteria whose activities can influence the cycle of nutrients on global scales. Microbial communities driving nitrogen (N) cycling are extremely diverse, thus making it difficult to identify the functional groups and elucidate controls on their activity. Denitrifiers in sediments remove significant amounts of N from the coastal ocean, while diazotrophs are typically considered inconsequential. Recently, N fixation has been shown to be a potentially important source of N in coastal sediments, however, the environmental drivers controlling this process are poorly understood. The goal of this dissertation was to identify and target the likely active denitrifiers …

Migration And Stopover Ecology Of Songbirds And Bats Along A Major Ecological Barrier, Adam D. Smith

Open Access Dissertations

Migration is a physiologically and energetically demanding period in the life cycle of a migratory animal. Most migrant songbirds alternate between periods of nocturnal flight, when energy is used, and stopover, when energy is accumulated for the next flight period; indeed, songbirds spend most of their time and energy on stopover. Conversely, the habits of migratory bats remain largely enigmatic, but there is reason to expect that models of songbird migration can inform bat migration research. I investigated, at multiple scales, the migration ecology of songbirds and bats and the stopover ecology of songbirds along the Atlantic Coast of southern …

Feeding Ecology Of Skates And Rays In Delaware And Narragansett Bays, John Andrew Szczepanski Jr.

Open Access Dissertations

Skates and rays are an integral part of the trophic structure of many estuarine ecosystems. However, there are many aspects of the fisheries biology of these species that require further exploration. For example, few comparisons have been done of the feeding habits of sympatric species that potentially overlap in resource usage, diets over time, or food preferences between fish populations from different regions. Most of what is known of batoid elasmobranch (skate and ray) diets on the Western Atlantic coast is a compilation of data from the entire continental shelf with no distinction of diets for populations within different estuaries …

Identification Of Salivary Antigens From The Deer Tick Ixodes Scapularis As Novel Vaccine Candidates, Martin Becker

Open Access Master's Theses

Ticks act as vectors for a number of different pathogens such as Borrelia burgdorferi the causative agent of Lyme disease. The most prominent tick vector in the United States is the deer tick Ixodes scapularis. Tick bites are of special public health concern since there are no vaccines available against most tick transmitted pathogens. Based on the observation that host animals such as guinea pigs or humans can develop adaptive immune responses to tick bites, anti-tick vaccination is a potential approach to mitigate health risks associated with tick bites.

The study presented here aimed at identifying immunogenic salivary proteins …

Soil Quality In Rhode Island Pastures Grazed By Different Types Of Livestock, Alissa H. Becker

Open Access Master's Theses

Historically, much of the New England landscape was converted to pasture for grazing animals and harvesting hay. Today, consumer demand for local, sustainably produced food, the number of livestock farms and the land area used for farming are increasing in Rhode Island. In order to make sound management decisions, it is important to characterize the effects of livestock on the quality of pasture soils. Although pastures remain a fairly common part of the New England landscape, little research has been published on the effects of grazing animals on pasture soil quality. To assess this, I examined soil quality in farms …

Locus Of Control As A Predictor Of Maternal Feeding Style, Anna G. Lubiner

Open Access Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was twofold: To investigate the association between parental feeding styles (authoritarian, authoritative and permissive) and maternal locus of control orientation, and to determine whether depression moderated the relationship between feeding style and locus of control. Participants were 68-English speaking mothers of preschool age children (3 to 5), who participated in two previous studies. Measures of parental feeding style, maternal depression, and locus of control, as well as basic demographic data were drawn from larger interview batteries administered as part of the previous studies.

It was hypothesized that a more internal locus of control orientation would …

Comparative Phylogeography And A Mitochondrial Dna Barcode For Identifying Three Sympatric Lagomorphs In The Northeastern United States, Mary E. Sullivan

Open Access Master's Theses

The New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis), New England’s endemic cottontail, has been experiencing dramatic population declines and is estimated to exist in only 14% of its historical range. The New England cottontail is currently a candidate for endangered species listing under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. New England cottontails may be distinguished accurately from eastern cottontails (S. floridanus) with the use of non-invasive genetic techniques (e.g., fecal sample collection) that allow sampling of large geographical areas with minimal cost. A restriction enzyme technique has been published based on NlaIII (New England Biolabs Inc, Massachusetts) cut …

Analysis Of Tunnel Production Systems And Consumer Preference For Muskmelon In Southern New England, Mina Vescera

Open Access Master's Theses

This study investigated whether muskmelon (Cucumis melo L. var. reticulates), a high-value, warm-season vegetable, would be a suitable crop for tunnel production in southern New England, and if consumers would value local production of muskmelon. In New England, muskmelon (marketed as cantaloupe) is more commonly available to consumers at the supermarket than at farmers' markets. Direct-to-consumer sales are a common and important marketing tool used by growers in this region. The New England climate does not always provide the optimal growing conditions for muskmelon production. Tunnel production is becoming increasingly popular in New England because tunnels allow growers …