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Alzheimer's Disease (Ad) Like Pathology Following Developmental Lead Exposure In Primates And The Role Of Aging In Ad-Related Genes Regulation In Rodents And Primates, Jinfang Wu Jan 2008

Alzheimer's Disease (Ad) Like Pathology Following Developmental Lead Exposure In Primates And The Role Of Aging In Ad-Related Genes Regulation In Rodents And Primates, Jinfang Wu

Open Access Dissertations

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, irreversible neurodegenerative disease results in memory loss and dementia. The search for the etiology of sporadic AD focuses on environmental links and the role of aging. In manuscript 1, we validated our previous rodent model in primates by the following findings. (1) Developmental Pb exposure caused elevated AD-related APP, BACE1 and Sp1 mRNA expression as well as APP protein and amyloidogenic Aβ40 and Aβ42. (2) The molecular changes were accompanied by AD-like pathological changes in exposed monkey brains. (3) Pb exposure increased 8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanine in the monkey brain. (4) DNA methyltransferase activity was suppressed in exposed …

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Silane-Based Copolymers As Chromatographic Stationary Phases, Deidre Lynn Blackwell Jan 2008

Silane-Based Copolymers As Chromatographic Stationary Phases, Deidre Lynn Blackwell

Open Access Dissertations

In this work, a group of thermally stable polar-embedded polymer based stationary phases are presented. The silane-based copolymer is synthesized by radical polymerization to incorporate polar groups, through phenylmaleimides, and alkoxysilane groups. By way of the alkoxysilane groups, the copolymer can be attached on to silica particles or converted to polymer-silica composite particles using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as a sol-gel precursor. Through characterizations in this work, they proved to be stable in high temperatures (400°C) as well as effective in high water mobile phases. Phenyl moieties of the material provide increased and sometimes excessive retention of analytes with pi-systems occurred in …

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Study On The Nonenzymatic Glycation Of Nucleosides/Nucleotides And Proteins With Sugars: An In Vitro Investigation Of Advanced Glycation Endproducts (Ages) Formation, Yuyuan Li Jan 2008

Study On The Nonenzymatic Glycation Of Nucleosides/Nucleotides And Proteins With Sugars: An In Vitro Investigation Of Advanced Glycation Endproducts (Ages) Formation, Yuyuan Li

Open Access Dissertations

Advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) are a complex and heterogeneous group 1 of compounds formed by the nonenzymatic reactions of the carbonyl groups of reducing sugars with the free amino groups of biomolecules. Nonenzymatic reactions can occur in vitro and in vivo and affect the structure, function and conformation of many biomolecules, and AGEs has been suggested to associate with the pathogenesis of various disease such as diabetes and Alzheimer disease. The increased number of reports on the nonenzymatic glycation of proteins and nucleic acids has generated great interest in the methods for characterization of AGEs. The lack of universally applicable …

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Microstructure Studies In Synthetic And Bio-Colloids, Imaging And Applications, Ashish Kumar Jha Jan 2008

Microstructure Studies In Synthetic And Bio-Colloids, Imaging And Applications, Ashish Kumar Jha

Open Access Dissertations

The mean size of CTAB/HDBS mixed surfactant vesicles confined into the three-dimensional voids generated by the random close packing (RCP) of polystyrene beads, shows a systematic decrease as the characteristic confinement length scale is reduced. The RCP of polystyrene beads of radius Rb = 1.5μm, 0.25μm and 0.1μm, creates voids of characteristic dimensions R ∼ 0.22 Rb = 3300Ã…, 550Ã… and 220Ã… respectively. These void length scales are comparable to or less than the radii of vesicles formed in the system under conditions of no confinement. A simple thermodynamic model was developed accounting for the balance between increased enthalpy when …

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Interpersonal And Psychosexual Factors Predicting Hiv-Related Risky Sex Behaviors In Heterosexually Active Women And Men, Asako C. Matsuura Jan 2008

Interpersonal And Psychosexual Factors Predicting Hiv-Related Risky Sex Behaviors In Heterosexually Active Women And Men, Asako C. Matsuura

Open Access Dissertations

This study focused on psychosexual and interpersonal constructs and their relationship with partner risk and unprotected intercourse, based on the multifaceted model of HIV risk (MMOHR). The model was examined for 625 men and women (ages 18-24); the model was then compared across gender. The MMOHR-based model was strongly supported. Having a higher sense of self-efficacy in using condoms, and a higher sense of assertiveness in practicing prevention both predicted decreased unprotected vaginal intercourse. Contrastingly, those better able to refuse unwanted sexual advances were more likely to report unprotected vaginal intercourse. Condom use assertiveness significantly predicted condom self-efficacy and condom …

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Fabrication, Characterization And Application Of The Novel Bionanomaterials, Lan Yao Jan 2008

Fabrication, Characterization And Application Of The Novel Bionanomaterials, Lan Yao

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on developing methods to synthesize novel bionanomaterials, studying their properties and exploring their potential applications. Fabricating semiconducting nanowires is a significant challenge in making nanoscale electronic devices. We propose to use self-assembling biomolecules as templates for the fabrication of nanowires. Here we demonstrate that quantum dots (QDs) could be conjugated to actin filaments, forming long semiconductor filaments. We constructed an optical system and developed the interactive software for fluorescence anisotropy imaging of single QDs and QD-nanowires. The fluorescence anisotropy studies revealed that QD transition dipoles are likely circular (elliptical) dipoles. The fluorescence anisotropy of a single QD …

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Forest Management In The Presence Of Harvest Restrictions Around Vernal Pools: A Metaheuristic Approach, Gabriela Dobrot Jan 2008

Forest Management In The Presence Of Harvest Restrictions Around Vernal Pools: A Metaheuristic Approach, Gabriela Dobrot

Open Access Dissertations

The primary objective of this research is to model the economic opportunity costs of alternative harvest restrictions aimed at conserving and sustaining ecological functions of vernal pools. The simulations performed incorporate a series of economic and ecological factors in order to determine: alternative configurations of canopy cover around the ponds which could produce similar adoption costs, in both a non-spatial and a spatially defined forest structure, optimal harvest schedules when a mix of tree species is being introduced on the studied landscape, as well as the sensitivity of this schedule to different stumpage prices. Methodologically, the results in this study …

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Coping With Everyday Classism: Experiences Of Low-Income People In A Southeastern Rural Community, Susan Faye Ritz Jan 2008

Coping With Everyday Classism: Experiences 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 classism, but at the same time, they provided insight into one proactive coping strategy that they appeared to …

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Chemistry Of Antibiotics From Atlantic Actinomycete And Bacillus Bacteria, Aaron Martin Socha Jan 2008

Chemistry Of Antibiotics From Atlantic Actinomycete And Bacillus Bacteria, Aaron Martin Socha

Open Access Dissertations

The emergence of drug-resistant pathogens requires the use of innovative therapeutic agents. Hospital-acquired (nosocomial) infections represent major health and economic burdens for patients and health care professionals. In the United States over 1 million nosocomial infections are caused by drug-resistant bacteria anually, with associated expenditures ranging from $4 to $30 billion. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) commonly shows reduced susceptibility to β-lactam, peptide, macrolide, aminoglycoside, tetracycline, and lincosamide classes of antibiotics. The emergence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) is even more alarming since glycopeptide antibiotics were once considered the drugs of last resort. Moreover, community-acquired MRSA infections are spreading out of the …

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Applications Of Linear And Cyclic Peptides As Enzyme Inhibitors And Molecular Transporters, Guofeng Ye Jan 2008

Applications Of Linear And Cyclic Peptides As Enzyme Inhibitors And Molecular Transporters, Guofeng Ye

Open Access Dissertations

The diversity of amino acids in peptides allows the design of different linear or cyclized compounds. Peptides can be designed to act as inhibitors, probes, or molecular transporters of other molecules. The objective of this dissertation research was to exploit the diversity of peptide structures and focused on developing linear and cyclic peptides as c-Src inhibitors and using the information derived from c-Src crystal structure to design novel peptide-based molecular transporters. A series of peptide analogues of Ac-CIYKYY were designed and synthesized to improve the inhibitory potency against active Src Linear peptide Ac-CIYKF(4-NO 2)Y (IC50 = 0.53 μM) and a …

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Design And Evaluation Of Nucleoside Derivatives For Targeted Drug Delivery And Therapeutic Applications, Hitesh Kumar Agarwal Jan 2008

Design And Evaluation Of Nucleoside Derivatives For Targeted Drug Delivery And Therapeutic Applications, Hitesh Kumar Agarwal

Open Access Dissertations

2',3'-Dideoxynucleoside analogs are commonly used as anti-HIV, anti-HBV, and anti-cancer drugs. Despite of their potent activities, there are some major limitations in using 2',3'-dideoxynucleosides as therapeutic agents. The nucleosides have usually poor cellular uptake because of their hydrophilic nature. Some of the nucleoside analogs, such as anti-HIV agents, become ineffective after multiple administrations because of the development of the drug resistance, and therefore they must be administered in combination therapy. It is hard to deliver the nucleoside analogs to a particular tissue for site specific targeting. Furthermore, nucleoside analogs undergo three intracellular phosphorylation steps to become active. The first phosphorylation …

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The Relationship Between Self-Efficacy And Decisional Balance For Stress Management And Exercise Behavior In An Adolescent Population: A Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis, Catherine Stephan Jan 2008

The Relationship Between Self-Efficacy And Decisional Balance For Stress Management And Exercise Behavior In An Adolescent Population: A Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis, Catherine Stephan

Open Access Dissertations

In the world of increasing levels of stress and declining rates of exercise in today's youth, the development of effective intervention strategies for stress management and exercise behavior is crucial for the promotion of healthy physical and mental health lifestyles in adolescent populations. Utilizing Grant's Model of Adolescent Psychopathology and key theoretical constructs from the Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM), this study examined the relationship between self-efficacy and decisional balance measures within and across two target behaviors (stress management, exercise). The current study included 996 high school students from the state of Rhode Island who participated in a larger four-year, …

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Global Asymptotic Behavior Of Yn+1 = (Pyn + Yn-1)/(R + Qyn + Yn-1), A. Brett, M. R.S. Kulenović Dec 2007

Global Asymptotic Behavior Of Yn+1 = (Pyn + Yn-1)/(R + Qyn + Yn-1), A. Brett, M. R.S. Kulenović

Mathematics Faculty Publications

We investigate the global stability character of the equilibrium points and the period-two solutions of yn+1 = (pyn + yn-1)/(r + qyn + yn-1), n = 0, 1,..., with positive parameters and nonnegative initial conditions. We show that every solution of the equation in the title converges to either the zero equilibrium, the positive equilibrium, or the period-two solution, for all values of parameters outside of a specific set defined in the paper. In the case when the equilibrium points and period-two solution coexist, we give a precise description of the basins of attraction of all points. Our results give …

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East African Megadroughts Between 135 And 75 Thousand Years Ago And Bearing On Early-Modern Human Origins, Christopher A. Scholz, Thomas C. Johnson, Andrew S. Cohen, John W. King, John A. Peck, Johnathan T. Overpeck, Michael R. Talbot, Erik T. Brown, Leonard Kalindekafe, Philip Y.O. Amoako, Robert P. Lyons, Timothy M. Shanahan, Isla S. Castañeda, Clifford W. Heil, Steven L. Forman, Lanny R. Mchargue, Kristina R. Beuning, Jeanette Gomez, James Pierson Oct 2007

East African Megadroughts Between 135 And 75 Thousand Years Ago And Bearing On Early-Modern Human Origins, Christopher A. Scholz, Thomas C. Johnson, Andrew S. Cohen, John W. King, John A. Peck, Johnathan T. Overpeck, Michael R. Talbot, Erik T. Brown, Leonard Kalindekafe, Philip Y.O. Amoako, Robert P. Lyons, Timothy M. Shanahan, Isla S. Castañeda, Clifford W. Heil, Steven L. Forman, Lanny R. Mchargue, Kristina R. Beuning, Jeanette Gomez, James Pierson

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

The environmental backdrop to the evolution and spread of early Homo sapiens in East Africa is known mainly from isolated outcrops and distant marine sediment cores. Here we present results from new scientific drill cores from Lake Malawi, the first long and continuous, high-fidelity records of tropical climate change from the continent itself. Our record shows periods of severe aridity between 135 and 75 thousand years (kyr) ago, when the lake's water volume was reduced by at least 95%. Surprisingly, these intervals of pronounced tropical African aridity in the early late-Pleistocene were much more severe than the Last Glacial Maximum …

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Nitrogen Inputs To Rhode Island Coastal Salt Ponds - Too Much Of A Good Thing, Scott W. Nixon, Betty A. Buckley Oct 2007

Nitrogen Inputs To Rhode Island Coastal Salt Ponds - Too Much Of A Good Thing, Scott W. Nixon, Betty A. Buckley

Special Collections (Miscellaneous)

Reviews concerns about increase of nitrogen in Rhode Island salt ponds as a result of human activities.

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Monographic Acquisitions And Copy Cataloging (Macc) Annual Report 2006-2007, Karen M. Ramsay Sep 2007

Monographic Acquisitions And Copy Cataloging (Macc) Annual Report 2006-2007, Karen M. Ramsay

Monographic Acquisitions and Copy Cataloging Reports and Documents

Annual report of the Monographic Acquisitions and Copy Cataloging (MACC) Unit, University Library, University of Rhode Island. Covers staffing, hardware and software, monograph acquisitions, and inventory project during the fiscal year 2006-2007.

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Exploring Subseafloor Life With The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, Steven D'Hondt, Fumio Inagaki, Timothy Ferdelman, Bo Barker Jørgensen, Kenji Kato, Paul Kemp, Patricia Sobecky, Mitchell Sogin, Ken Takai Sep 2007

Exploring Subseafloor Life With The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, Steven D'Hondt, Fumio Inagaki, Timothy Ferdelman, Bo Barker Jørgensen, Kenji Kato, Paul Kemp, Patricia Sobecky, Mitchell Sogin, Ken Takai

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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Serials Unit Annual Report 2006-2007, Andree J. Rathemacher Aug 2007

Serials Unit Annual Report 2006-2007, Andree J. Rathemacher

Serials Unit Reports

Annual report of the Serials Unit, University of Rhode Island Library. Covers personnel, work flow, subscriptions, and statistics on expenditures by a number of variables.

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Digitalcommons@University Of Rhode Island Statistics 2006-2007 Jul 2007

Digitalcommons@University Of Rhode Island Statistics 2006-2007

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Statistics on the total number of full text downloads from the DigitalCommons@University of Rhode Island institutional repository for 2006-2007. Data are provided monthly on the number of full text downloads by collection and document, and on the number of referrals by domain and country. Dissertations are included in the statistics. Digital Commons statistics are COUNTER-compliant, with downloads from robots and automated processes filtered out.

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Serials Solutions Subject Search Report 2006-2007 Jul 2007

Serials Solutions Subject Search Report 2006-2007

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Statistics on the total number of Serials Solutions subject searches at the University of Rhode Island Libraries by month for 2006-2007. Shows how many times the A-Z full text electronic journal list (at http://zu4tq4pb5v.search.serialssolutions.com/) was browsed by specific subjects.

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Serials Solutions Click-Through Statistics By Provider And Database 2006-2007 Jul 2007

Serials Solutions Click-Through Statistics By Provider And Database 2006-2007

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Statistics on the total number of database and journal-level clicks, by provider and database, of Serials Solutions tools at the University of Rhode Island Libraries by month for 2006-2007. Clicks may have originated from the A-Z full text electronic journal list (at http://zu4tq4pb5v.search.serialssolutions.com/), from OpenURL links ("360 Link"), or the 856 fields of Serials Solutions-generated MARC records ("360 MARC Updates").

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Nelinet Costs 2006-2007 Jul 2007

Nelinet Costs 2006-2007

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

This report lists the total charges paid by the University of Rhode Island Libraries to the bibliographic utility NELINET during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007. Costs are broken down by invoice date and category. Categories include cataloging, interlibrary loan, barcodes, tattletapes, membership, DIALOG search charges, conference fees. Cataloging total: $25,786.01. ILL total: $37,616.71. DIALOG searches: $237.09. Membership: $11,663.00. Grand total: $116,244.47.

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Notes On The Marine Algae Of The Bermudas. 8. Further Additions To The Flora, Including Griffithsia Aestivana Sp. Nov. (Ceramiaceae, Rhodophyta) And An Update On The Alien Cystoseira Compressa (Sargassaceae, Heterokontophyta), Craig W. Schneider, Christopher E. Lane Jul 2007

Notes On The Marine Algae Of The Bermudas. 8. Further Additions To The Flora, Including Griffithsia Aestivana Sp. Nov. (Ceramiaceae, Rhodophyta) And An Update On The Alien Cystoseira Compressa (Sargassaceae, Heterokontophyta), Craig W. Schneider, Christopher E. Lane

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Griffithsia aestivana sp. nov. is described as an endemic from Bermuda. Vegetatively, it is most similar to G. capitata from the eastern Atlantic Ocean, but the two differ in overall size and in the tetrasporic state. Eleven other marine algal taxa are reported from Bermuda for the first time: Anadyomene howei, Struvea elegans, Cladophoropsis macromeres, Derbesia turbinata, Caulerpa racemosa var. lamourouxii, Halimeda discoidea, Chrysymenia nodulosa, Gloiocladia iyoensis, Dasya caraibica, Chondrophycus iridescens and Polysiphonia scopulorum. All except D. turbinata represent new northern limits of distribution in the North Atlantic Ocean. In addition, recent Bermuda collections of the alien Mediterranean Cystoseira …

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Reference Database Usage Statistics 2006-2007, Andree J. Rathemacher Jul 2007

Reference Database Usage Statistics 2006-2007, Andree J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Statistics on the use of online reference databases at the University of Rhode Island during the period from July 2006 through June 2007. Includes COUNTER-compliant data on sessions, searches, turnaways, full text articles downloaded, cost per search, and other metrics.

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Mechanism And Uses Of A Membrane Peptide That Targets Tumors And Other Acidic Tissues In Vivo, Oleg A. Andreev, Alison D. Dupuy, Michael Segala, Srikanth Sandugu, David A. Serra, Clinton O. Chichester, Donald M. Engelman, Yana K. Reshetnyak May 2007

Mechanism And Uses Of A Membrane Peptide That Targets Tumors And Other Acidic Tissues In Vivo, Oleg A. Andreev, Alison D. Dupuy, Michael Segala, Srikanth Sandugu, David A. Serra, Clinton O. Chichester, Donald M. Engelman, Yana K. Reshetnyak

Physics Faculty Publications

The pH-selective insertion and folding of a membrane peptide, pHLIP [pH (low) insertion peptide], can be used to target acidic tissue in vivo, including acidic foci in tumors, kidneys, and inflammatory sites. In a mouse breast adenocarcinoma model, fluorescently labeled pHLIP finds solid acidic tumors with high accuracy and accumulates in them even at a very early stage of tumor development. The fluorescence signal is stable for >4 days and is approximately five times higher in tumors than in healthy counterpart tissue. In a rat antigen-induced arthritis model, pHLIP preferentially accumulates in inflammatory foci. pHLIP also maps the renal …

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A Comparison Of Pyronin Y-Methyl Green Stain And Methylene Blue Stain For Somatic Cell Count In Sheep Milk, Emily Mirek, Stacey O’Donnell May 2007

A Comparison Of Pyronin Y-Methyl Green Stain And Methylene Blue Stain For Somatic Cell Count In Sheep Milk, Emily Mirek, Stacey O’Donnell

Senior Honors Projects

Somatic cell count is a key method used to evaluate the quality of milk in today’s growing dairy sheep industry. Somatic cells are body cells, primarily the white blood cells, found in a milk sample. If an infection such as mastitis is present, the number of somatic cells in the milk increases (Gonzalo, et al. 1992). Producers routinely perform somatic cell counts on cow and goat milk. For dairy cattle in the United States, the somatic cell count can not exceed 750,000 cells per milliliter, for commercial milk. For dairy goats the accepted limit is 1,000,000 cells per mL of …

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Mechanics Of Suction Generation During Feeding In Little Skates, Danielle Duquette May 2007

Mechanics Of Suction Generation During Feeding In Little Skates, Danielle Duquette

Senior Honors Projects

Feeding mechanisms of aquatic vertebrates has been extensively studied in the past, while that of elasmobranchs remains limited. Skates and rays are believed to have evolved from a shark ancestor, thus they represent the most derived group. All skates are dorsoventrally compressed, have a unique jaw suspension type and head skeleton and live in benthic environments. It is unknown whether these derived features of skates have altered the ancestral shark feeding mechanism. Comparing feeding mechanisms in skates and sharks may shed light on morphological transformations that have arisen after the evolutionary split of these two groups. In this study prey …

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Invasive Alien Species In An Era Of Globalization, Laura A. Meyerson, Harold A. Mooney May 2007

Invasive Alien Species In An Era Of Globalization, Laura A. Meyerson, Harold A. Mooney

Natural Resources Science Faculty Publications

Globalization facilitates the spread of invasive alien species (IAS) as international commerce develops new trade routes, markets, and products. New technologies increase the pace at which humans and commodities can move around the world. Recent research on IAS at the global scale has examined commerce and travel in order to inform predictions, risk analyses, and policy. Due to limited data, regional-scale studies have primarily focused on invasion patterns rather than impacts. Local-scale experimental research can identify mechanisms and impacts of biological invasions, but the results may not be applicable at larger spatial scales. However, the number of information networks devoted …

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Beliefs Of Violence-Sensitive And Violence-Tolerant People, Amethyst Brell May 2007

Beliefs Of Violence-Sensitive And Violence-Tolerant People, Amethyst Brell

Senior Honors Projects

Every person views the world through a different lens, and one can never fully understand the motivations and opinions of someone else. However, experiments and statistics can shed some light onto people’s thought patterns and behaviors. When horrific acts of violence occur, many people strive to understand why they happen. Through my study I hope to help solve some of the mysteries behind the different ways people interpret violence. I want to see why some people tend to be more sensitive to violence and why some are more tolerant of violence. I am doing this by building on previous research …

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A Pre-Apocalyptic Masterpiece, Brad Orleck May 2007

A Pre-Apocalyptic Masterpiece, Brad Orleck

Senior Honors Projects

This article or section or project is not written in the formal tone expected of an honors project. Please improve it or discuss changes on the talk page. See URI's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. For years, various groups have predicted the end of the world, usually a spiritual or nuclear armageddon. Religious groups have predicted the second coming, Hollywood directors have predicted devastating wars with artificial intelligence, and conspiracy theorists predicted Y2K, among others. But every year, the world keeps not ending (widely regarded by scholars as a good thing). And while the world may not end …

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