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The Formulation And Process Development Of A Novel Multiparticulate Extended Release Pharmaceutical Delivery Platform For A Highly Water Soluble Compound, Cyrus D. Agarabi

Open Access Dissertations

This research compared a traditional drug development approach with an enhanced "Quality by Design" (QbD) approach to foster greater process and formulation understanding. Propranolol HCl extended release capsules and Metoprolol Succinate extended release tablets served as targets for development. The formulation and process parameters utilized well-established techniques, such as wet granulation, extrusion, spheronization, and fluid bed processing with commercially available aqueous or organic polymeric systems.

Propranolol HCl extended release capsules were a benchmark for current generic pharmaceutical process development to identify basic parameters for a suitable product. Metoprolol Succinate extended release tablets utilized the ICH Q8 annex guidelines approach to …

Polychlorinated Biphenyls In Air And Water Of The North Atlantic And Arctic Ocean, Rosalinda Gioia, Rainer Lohmann, Jordi Dachs, Christian Temme, Soenke Lakaschus, Stlef Schulz-Bull, Ines Hand, Kevin C. Jones

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Air and seawater samples were collected on board the R/V Polarstern during a scientific expedition from Germany to the Arctic Ocean during June–August 2004. The air data show a strong decline with latitude with the highest polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations in Europe and the lowest in the Arctic. Σ_ICES PCBs in air range from 100 pg m⁻³ near Norway to 0.8 pg m⁻³ in the Arctic. A comparison with other data from previous and ongoing land‐based air measurements in the Arctic region suggests no clear temporal decline of PCBs in the European Arctic since the mid‐1990s. Dissolved …

Changes In A Benthic Megafaunal Community Due To Disturbance From Bottom Fishing And The Establishment Of A Fishery Closure, Rebecca G. Asch, Jeremy S. Collie

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Trawling and dredging on Georges Bank (northwest AtlanticOcean) have altered the cover of colonial epifauna, as surveyed through in situ photography. A total of 454 photographs were analyzed from areas with gravel substrate between 1994 and 2000 at depths of 40–50 m and 80–90 m. The cover of hydroids, bushy bryozoans, sponges, and tubewormswas generally higher at sites undisturbed by fishing than at sites classified as disturbed. The magnitude andsignificance of this effect depended on depth and year. Encrusting bryozoans were the only type of colonial epifauna positively affected by bottom fishing. Species richness of noncolonial epifauna declined with increasedbottom …

Mitochondrial Cob And Cox1 Genes And Editing Of The Corresponding Mrnas In Dinophysis Acuminata From Narragansett Bay, With Special Reference To The Phylogenetic Position Of The Genus Dinophysis, Huan Zhang, Debashish Bhattacharya, Lucie Maranda, Senjie Lin

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Dinophysis acuminata cells were isolated from Narragansett Bay water samples in June 2005 using flow cytometry. Dinoflagellate-specific PCR primers were used to isolate small-subunit rRNA (18S rRNA), mitochondrial cytochrome b (cob), and cytochrome c oxidase I (cox1) genes and the encoded cDNAs. Maximum-likelihood analysis of a concatenated data set of ribosomal DNA and cDNA sequences of cob and cox1 showed that D. acuminata was sister to Gonyaulacoids, but without strong bootstrap support. The approximately unbiased test could not reject alternative positions of D. acuminata. To gain better resolution, mRNA editing of cob and cox1 was …

Uri Undergraduate And Graduate Course Catalog 2008-2009, University Of Rhode Island

URI Course Catalogs Archive

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of The Association Of Sex And Gender And The Motives For Lying In Intimate Relationships, Anca Moraru

Open Access Master's Theses

The current thesis examined the most common motives for lying in intimate relationships and the possible sex and gender differences in lying behavior. Student participants (N= 250), aged between 19-25 years old, at the University of Rhode Island, completed an anonymous questionnaire concerning motives for lying in intimate relationships. All participants were currently involved in a romantic relationship at the time of the study or had been involved in such a relationship in the recent past. Participants were asked to recall a prior serious deceptive experience with a relational partner. In the second part of the questionnaire students completed a …

Classroom-Based Empathy Training: An Evaluation Of Program Effects In An Elementary School, Kimberly Sherman

Open Access Dissertations

Universal classroom-based social skills and violence prevention training is currently a topic of widespread interest. Although there is a growing body of empirical support for some existing social skills programs, less is known about contributions of specific program components to intervention outcomes. Empathy training is one common component of social skills curricula that has been subject to relatively little research. The current study is a single-school quasi-experimental investigation of Second Step empathy training effects on 57 first- and fourth-graders. Dependent variables included self-reported empathy, teacher-reported social skills, teacher-reported problem behaviors, and fourth-graders' self-reported social skills. The study also explored teachers' …

Coping With Everyday Classism: Exeriences Of Low-Income People In A Southeastern Rural Community, Susan Faye Ritz

Open Access Dissertations

The present research provided an in-depth look at experiencing and coping with everyday classism in a sample of low-income. people in a mid-size southeastern rural United States community. The study employed a qualitative methodology consisting of semi-structured interviews and analyzing the collected data using Grounded Theory Method. Of 50 participants selected for an interview, 40 described experiences with classism, each discussing two incidents, for a total of 80 incidents shared. Seven of the remaining 10 participants felt that they had not experienced class ism, but at the same time, they provided insight into one proactive coping strategy that they appeared …

Advances In Global Optimization, Rajeswar R. Gattupalli

Open Access Dissertations

Optimization is an active area of research and an important computational tool in many fields of science and engineering. While many effective global optimization algorithms have been developed over the past decades, there is still a need for improved robustness, reliability and efficiency. Examples where improvements in robustness, reliability and efficiency are needed include finding the global minimum of molecular modeling problems and finding all physically relevant solutions for mathematical models of chemical engineering applications. This dissertation describes two novel advanced global optimization tools--a multi-scale terrain/funneling methodology and logarithmic barrier-terrain method--that provide improved robustness, reliability and computational efficiency for solving …

Gonadal Cycle Of Northern Quahogs, Mercenaria Mercenaria (Linne, 1758), From Fished And Non-Fished Subpopulations In Narragansett Bay, Dora C. Marroquin-Mora, Michael A. Rice

Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences Faculty Publications

To determine if population density in areas closed to fishing in Narragansett Bay is causing differences in the reproductive potential of the organisms, this study used two approaches to determine the reproductive condition of the animals. The first approach consisted in employing a gravimetric condition index (CI) to evaluate the general condition of quahogs from nine different sites, 3 sites open conditionally for fishing (conditional areas) and 6 sites closed to fishing. The second approach was a determination of gonadal index (GI) of a subset of the sample sites, by histological observation of gonadal tissue sections. Initial sampling included determination …

A Sequential Algorithm For Biological Event Detection Using Statistical Nonstationarity, John Dicecco

Open Access Dissertations

High dimension complex dynamical systems, such as those found in physiological processes, produce time series which are often accompanied by nonstationarity. In many cases, the nonstationarity is caused by a physiologically significant event such as the prelude to ventricular fibrillation in cardiac arrest or the change of stasis by introducing pharmaceuticals. A need exists to be able to detect and monitor this change. Most conventional attempts at addressing this problem involve segmenting the time series and evaluating the statistics of the segments. The difficulty with this approach is that the nature of the nonstationarity can be transient, such that it …

An Examination Of Price In The Economic Management Of Marine Resources: Three Empirical Essays, Diego Valderrama Rojas

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation conducts an examination of price as an economic parameter of strategic importance for the improved management of marine resources. To this end, the dissertation examines three different problems in marine resource economics: the effectiveness of rotational management strategies in the Atlantic sea scallop fishery; the implications of market interactions with the aquaculture sector for Alaskan salmon fisheries; and the effectiveness of targeted tariffs in the 2004 shrimp antidumping case. Each of these studies tackles a number of management issues of current relevance for U.S. fisheries. In each case, economic analysis leads to a better understanding of the concept …

Beyond Gender: Taking A Multi-Status Approach To Understanding Students' Positioning In Stem, Ashima Singh

Open Access Dissertations

Although data indicate that White women and persons of color are both vulnerable to selective attrition in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) pipeline, gender has been the primary focus of most research in that area. This implies that: (1) intersections of multiple marginalization (e.g. women of color) within STEM is understudied, and (2) there is a need for a multifaceted understanding (encompassing perceptual, experiential, motivational and social characteristics) of students' perceptions of, and participation in, the STEM disciplines. In this research project, a multi-status, cross-disciplinary survey methodology was used to identify the ways in which undergraduate students perceived, …

A Multiscale Approach To Breeding Habitat Model Development And Evaluation For The Common Loon, Gavia Immer, In New Hampshire, Usa, Anne Kuhn-Hines

Open Access Dissertations

The common loon, Gavia immer, is considered an emblematic and ecologically important example of aquatic-dependent wildlife in North America. The northern breeding range of loons has contracted over the last century, presumably as a result of habitat degradation from human disturbance and lake shore development. The common loon population in New Hampshire is distributed throughout the state and experiences a wide range of lake-specific habitats, water quality conditions, and varying levels of human disturbance. Identifying critical habitat that supports and enhances individual fitness for loons is an important component of loon conservation management. I used an empirical landscape-habitat modeling approach …

Tolfenamic Acid Interrupts The De Novo Synthesis Of Plaque-Forming Amyloid Beta Peptides: Implications For Alzheimers Disease, Lina I. Adwan

Open Access Master's Theses

Alzheimer's disease (AD) distresses the lives of millions of people around the world. Its costs were estimated to be at least 100 billion dollars each year (Fillit, 2000). And so far, no cure has been found to stop or slow the progression of the disease. Senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles are considered to be central in pathogenesis of AD. The plaques are mainly composed of aggregations of amyloid β (Aβ) peptides, which are generated upon the sequential cleavage of the larger amyloid precursor protein (APP) first by the enzyme β-secretase, and then by the enzyme γ-secretase. These plaques are one …

Feeding Mechanics Of A Trophic Generalist And A Specialist Shark Species: A Comparison Of Diet, Behavior And Function, Shannon Page Gerry

Open Access Dissertations

Ecomorphological studies investigate the relationship between the morphology of an organism and the environment. For feeding, this can be accomplished by a multi-level analysis of the diet, behavior and morphological function of the organism to predict the role of an organism with a community. Partitioning of resources within a community can often be determined by the degree of plasticity or degree of specialization used in resource acquisition by the members. This research studies the feeding ecology, behavior and function of a trophic generalist, spiny dogfish Squalus acanthias, and a trophic specialist, smooth-hounds Mustelus canis, from Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island to …

Barrels And Bibles: Conflict And Compromise Between Whalemen And Missionaries In The Sandwich Island, 1820-1860, Shawn M. Edge

Open Access Master's Theses

This study analyzes the relationship between New England whalemen and American Protestant missionaries after each group traveled to the Sandwich Islands in the early nineteenth century. Arriving at virtually the same point in time, these two groups had very specific, but mutually irreconcilable goals in the islands. Whaling ships could be away from their home port for four years or more and created no shortage of weary sailors and battered gear. For whalemen, the Sandwich Islands were the locale where they restocked with supplies and reinvigorated their men with alcohol and women. Contrary to the debauchery sought by the whalemen …

Cross-Frontal Velocity And Temperature Structure Of The New Jersey Midshelf Frontal Zone, Michelle Louise Aleszczyk

Open Access Master's Theses

The cross-shelf structure of fronts, which occur during the winter months along the 30 m and 50 m isobath, are examined using remote sensing observations of the southern New Jersey shelf region. Shipboard observations show that cooler, fresher, less dense water is located inshore of the front; however, little is known of the velocity structure in the frontal zone. Surface current fields from high-frequency radar are analyzed along with surface thermal front observations to describe the cross-shelf spatial variability of surface flow with regard to the fronts. Cloud-cleared, Level 2 MODIS Thermal IR sea-surface temperature (SST) data from AQUA and …

Shanthi Sena: Unarmed Peacekeeping, Dennis August Almeida

Open Access Master's Theses

Where questions of violence and nonviolence cannot be raised inside a polity, it becomes obligatory that social scientists undertake them from the outside (Paige 2002:92). And if we are to "transform our society from a psychology of killing and threats to kill to one that is life-enhancing and spiritually fulfilling," (Ariyaratne 1999:73) then social science research on nonviolence and unarmed peacekeeping is an imperative. With this in mind I investigated the Shanthi Sena (Peace Brigade), an independent unit of the Sarvodaya Sharamadana Movement in Sri Lanka, through a six week in-depth case study; a full description, understanding and appreciation of …

Age Model And Core‐Seismic Integration For The Cenozoic Arctic Coring Expedition Sediments From The Lomonosov Ridge, Jan Backman, Martin Jakobsson, Martin Frank, Francesca Sangiorgi, Henk Brinkhuis, Catherine Stickley, Matthew O'Regan, Reidar Løvlie, Heiko Pälike, David Spofforth, Jérôme Gattacecca, Kate Moran, John W. King, Chip Heil

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Cenozoic biostratigraphic, cosmogenic isotope, magnetostratigraphic, and cyclostratigraphic data derived from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 302, the Arctic Coring Expedition (ACEX), are merged into a coherent age model. This age model has low resolution because of poor core recovery, limited availability of biostratigraphic information, and the complex nature of the magnetostratigraphic record. One 2.2 Ma long hiatus occurs in the late Miocene; another spans 26 Ma (18.2–44.4 Ma). The average sedimentation rate in the recovered Cenozoic sediments is about 15 m/Ma. Core‐seismic correlation links the ACEX sediments to the reflection seismic stratigraphy of line AWI‐91090, on which the ACEX sites …

Renaissance 2008, University Of Rhode Island

URI Yearbooks

This is a digitized, downloadable version of the University of Rhode Island yearbook.

Antimicrobial Peptides For Use In Oyster Aquaculture: Effect On Pathogens, Commensals, And Eukaryotic Expression Systems, Tarquin Dorrington, Marta Gomez-Chiarri

Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences Faculty Publications

Two antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) of marine origin, tachyplesin from the Japanese horseshoe crab, Tachypleus tridentatus, and pleurocidin-amide from the winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus, were tested for their potential effectiveness in disease treatment in oyster aquaculture. Tachyplesin had a greater antimicrobial effect than pleurocidin-amideagainst a range of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, with minimum inhibitor concentrations in the range of 0.625 to 5ug mL^–1. Tachyplesin (50 mg mL^–1) was also more effective than pleurocidin-amide (250 mg mL^–1) against the oyster protozoan parasite Perkinsus marinus, reducing its viability to 9% versus 22% in vitro …

Acoustic Conditioning To Reduce The Impact Of Escapement In Atlantic Salmon (Salmo Salar) Net Pen Aquaculture, Jennifer Andrew

Open Access Master's Theses

Net pen culture is the most common method used to raise salmon, however these farms are typically located in areas through which wild salmon inhabit or migrate and escapes may influence wild stocks. Commercial salmon farms can potentially reduce both economic losses to the producer and impacts on wild stocks by recapturing escapees. Acoustic signaling has been used to concentrate fish species for feeding or harvest and to deter fish from specific areas. The present study investigated the approach of conditioning salmon to associate a tone with feeding to entice return to a specific location allowing recapture. The ability of …

The Phaeodactylum Genome Reveals The Evolutionary History Of Diatom Genomes, Chris Bowler, Bethany D. Jenkins, Tatiana A. Rynearson, Et Al

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Diatoms are photosynthetic secondary endosymbionts found throughout marine and freshwater environments, and are believed to be responsible for around one-fifth of the primary productivity on Earth^1,2. The genome sequence of the marine centric diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana was recently reported, revealing a wealth of information about diatom biology^3,4,5. Here we report the complete genome sequence of the pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum and compare it with that of T. pseudonana to clarify evolutionary origins, functional significance and ubiquity of these features throughout diatoms. In spite of the fact that the pennate and centric lineages have only been diverging …

Ecosystem-Based Management In The Colorado River Delta, Karen Hae-Myung Hyun

Open Access Dissertations

The Colorado River Delta (CRD) is only 8% of its original size and is mainly sustained on agricultural run-off from the Mexicali Valley. Clearly current management of this ecosystem has not been effective and a new paradigm is needed. Ecosystem-based management (EBM), the process of controlling human activities to protect, conserve, and enhance the quality of ecosystems to meet current and future needs, provides a way forward. This study uses nine common EBM principles to analyze legislation, research, management plans, and community actions of six major CRD institutions, establishing a governance baseline. This study also utilizes scenario analysis to depict …

Experimental And Computational Study Of The Detection And Stability Of Polymorphs Using Pxrd, Dsc And Solubility, David F. Wells

Open Access Dissertations

Reliable detection of polymorphs and mixed phase crystal systems is an important area of investigation in the development of pharmaceutical (small molecule) ingredients. This work deals specifically with small molecular entities as distinguishable from large or macromolecules, which also are used as active pharmaceutical ingredients. The first manuscript describes a digital band-pass filter for removal of white noise in Powder X-ray Diffraction. The filter reduces the noise by 21% for a real PXRD diffractogram and 40% for a synthetic PXRD diffractogram while maintaining the integrity of diffraction intensities and diffraction angle positions. The solid phase form of an active pharmaceutical …

Evaluation Of A Novel Autonomous Detector For Microbial Water Quality Monitoring, Heather L. Saffert

Open Access Dissertations

Rapid testing methods are needed for monitoring waters for fecal contamination to identify associated health hazards. Today, standard methods quantify the amount of indicator bacteria, E. coli and enterococci, using culture-based techniques that require incubation periods from 18 to 48 hours. For recreational waters, this time lag delays the closure of waters when a potential health hazard exists and prolongs closures after contamination has dissipated. A remotely deployable, autonomous sampler capable of rapid automated data analysis and reporting of fecal contamination would provide a more effective warning system for both managers and the public. An in situ instrument may also …

Telemetric Assessment Of Stereotypical Motor Movements In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Matthew S. Goodwin

Open Access Dissertations

Stereotypical motor movements are one of the most common and least understood behaviors occurring in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). When severe, engagement in these behaviors can lead to social stigmatization and complicate social interaction. Moreover, if a stereotypical motor movement becomes a dominant behavior in an individual's repertoire, it can interfere with the performance of established skills and acquisition of new skills, and may lead to self-injurious behavior. Stereotypical motor movements are complex and thought to serve a multiplicity of functions. However, problems with traditional methods for measuring stereotypical motor movements have made it difficult to determine when …

Tandem Conjugate Addition -- Cyclization Reactions Of L-Methyl Prolinate With α,β-Unsaturated Ketones Catalyzed By L-Proline, Sergio Sandoval

Open Access Dissertations

L-methyl prolinate and various α,β-unsaturated ketones were reacted by a tandem sequence of conjugate addition and subsequent autocatalytic intramolecular cyclization to yield 1,3-dicarbonyl-pyrrolizidine ring systems in modest yield. This methodology represents a tandem and green preparative reaction sequence where L-proline is self-generated as an organocatalyst subsequent to the first step and prior to the second step of the process. This sequence of reactions is a one-pot, tandem, and green preparative reaction for the synthesis of various pyrrolizidine derivatives which can be performed in a general and simple way under solventless and room temperature conditions. This methodology is modest yielding and …

Speaking Out: Class, Race, And Gender In The Writings Of Ruth Mcenery Stuart, Edith Summers Kelley, And Harriette Simpson Arnow, Claire E. Reynolds

Open Access Dissertations

This study analyzes representations in American fiction of social issues during periods of national turmoil. Ruth McEnery Stuart, Edith Summers Kelley, and Harriette Simpson Arnow draw characters marginalized by class, gender, race, and ethnicity who negotiate survival amid crisis and adverse socioeconomic conditions. Giving voice to people who could not speak for themselves, the texts perform the work of cultural resistance to a discourse that privileges capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy while oppressing the poor, women, and non-whites. Following an introductory chapter, I present the authors and their works chronologically, beginning each chapter with a brief overview of the historical …