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Investigation Of The Physical Mechanisms Controlling Exchange Between Mount Hope Bay And The Sakonnet River, William Deleo

Open Access Master's Theses

The complexities of estuarine circulation control the exchange of physical, chemical and biological quantities between oceanic and riverine systems. This exchange is predominantly driven by three distinct forcing mechanisms: tides, winds and density. The influence of each mechanism must be understood in order to interpret and predict the currents. This study investigates the circulation in the upper Sakonnet River (SR) and Mount Hope Bay (MHB), with respect to each forcing mechanism.

This study also investigates how exchange between the lower SR and MHB is affected by the complex geomorphology of the upper SR. Circulation in the upper SR, or the …

Comparing Several Self-Report Measures Of Adherence With Medications For Hiv With Electronically Monitored Medication Adherence., Neelam Awte

Open Access Master's Theses

Objective: Self-report of medication adherence is commonly used in research studies, but the information is lacking about the sensitivity, specificity, reliability and clinical validity of this method. The purpose of this study was to test the sensitivity, specificity and reliability of several methods for accessing medication compliance using patient self-report of adherence. The Medication Event Monitoring System (MEMS) was used as a standard against which self-report measures were compared.

Design: Cross sectional study.

Data Collection: A self-reported questionnaire accessed compliance of Anti-retroviral therapy (ART) and Protease inhibitors (PI) used by the patients with IIlV infection during the …

Childhood Trauma, Family Functioning And Adult Health: Protective Factors As Mediating Variables, Jennifer Ann Morrow

Open Access Dissertations

The current study looked at the plausibility of two theories: Social Cognitive Theory and Survivor Theory to explain the interrelationships between childhood trauma, family functioning, protective factors, and adult health. The interrelationships among these constructs were explored with a sample of 451 undergraduate students . Structural equation models revealed that there is a mediational relationship between childhood trauma and health through social support. This relationship was similar for men and women. Cluster analysis and multivariate analysis of covariance revealed that individuals with high levels of all the childhood traumas (physical, psychological, and sexual abuse) have significantly more physical and psychological …

Runoff Modeling Of The Saugatucket River: An Application Of Hec-Hms Software, Quoc An Nguyen

Open Access Master's Theses

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had revised its HEC-1 software. The new version is HEC-HMS (Hydrological Modeling System). This versatile software retains all computational and analysis capabilities of the old version with additional features, which includes CAD (Computer Aided Design) like modeling techniques (icon and dialogue box driven). The main objective of this project is to model flow response from a rainfall event in the Saugatucket River. Through model selection process, HEC-HMS was selected as the appropriate software for implementation.

The modeling technique used here is different from standard professional practice in the model calibration and validation. This project …

Hypoglycemic Drug Utilization And Adherence To Prescribed Regimens: A Pharmacoepidemiologic Study Using Retail Pharmacy Data, Stephen Jon Kogut

Open Access Dissertations

Diabetes mellitus is a highly prevalent condition, afflicting an estimated 6% of the United States adult population. It is also a complex condition to manage. Dietary, exercise, and drug therapies are essential for reducing the risk of various neurologic and vascular diseases related to disease progression. Tight control of blood glucose as achieved through intensive pharmacologic therapy has been shown to decrease the risk of developing several types of diabetic complications. Success in achieving tight blood glucose control is contingent upon adherence to the prescribed hypoglycemic drug regimen , a behavior known to often be sub-optimal. The objectives of this …

Hybridization Diversity Of The Chorion Multigene Families Of Bombyx Mandarina With Reference To Several Genetic Stocks Of Bombyx Mori, Bungo Sakaguchi, Marian R. Goldsmith, Nikolaus A. Spoerel, Yumiko Nakajimai, Yutaka Kawaguchi, Katsumi Koga

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Genomic Southern blotting analyses of Bombyx mori and B. mandarina were performed with the 5′-exons or 5′-flanking sequences of two members of genes A/B.L11 and A/B.L12. They represent multigene families encoding chorion proteins that are expressed in the middle period of choriogenesis. Many bands cross-hybridized with the probes in B. mandarina and in different strains and races of B. mori, supporting the idea that the middle chorion multigene families have remained essentially the same in the two species. Both the exon and the 5′-flanking probes exhibited similar patterns within the European stocks of B. mori, indicating that the examined …

Eradication Of Biofilm-Forming Staphylococcus Epidermidis (Rp62a) By A Combination Of Sodium Salcylate And Vancomycin, Roy E. Polonio, Leonard A. Mermel, Gregory E. Paquette, Jay F. Sperry

Past Departments Faculty Publications (CELS)

Staphylococcus epidermidis is a major cause of infections associated with indwelling medical devices. Biofilm production is an important virulence attribute in the pathogenesis of device-related infections. Therefore, elimination of these biofilms is an ideal treatment. Salicylate (5 mM) combined with 1 μg of vancomycin per ml inhibited biofilm formation by S. epidermidis (RP62A) by ≥99.9%. When biofilm-coated polystyrene beads were exposed to 5 mM sodium salicylate and 4 μg of vancomycin per ml (one-half the minimum biofilm eradication concentration), there was a >99.9% reduction in viable count.

A Characterization Of The North Atlantic Stmw Layer Climatology Using World Ocean Atlas 1994 Data, Michael A. Alfultis, Peter C. Cornillon

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

The North Atlantic Subtropical Mode Water (STMW) layer was identified based on its temperature, large thickness, and small temperature gradient. Comparisons between this method and identifying the STMW layer using a density-based (i.e., potential vorticity) criteria indicate that this method successfully identifies the STMW layer as the remnant of the previous winter's convective mixing. By using this temperature-based characterization of the STMW layer, this method was able to develop a climatology using the large number of expendable bathythermographs (XBTs) deployed between 1968 and 1988, and contained in the World Ocean Atlas 1994 historical hydrographic database. From this climatology, the STMW …

Pfiesteria: Review Of The Science And Identification Of Research Gaps. Report For The National Center For Environmental Health, Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, Jonathan Samett, Gary S. Bignami, Robert Feldman, William Hawkins, Jerry Neff, Theodore Smayda

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

In connection with the CDC National Conference on Pfiesteria, a multidisciplinary panel evaluated Pfiesteria-related research. The panel set out what was known and what was not known about adverse effects of the organism on estuarine ecology, fish, and human health; assessed the methods used in Pfiesteria research; and offered suggestions to address data gaps. The panel's expertise covered dinoflagellate ecology; fish pathology and toxicology; laboratory measurement of toxins, epidemiology, and neurology. The panel evaluated peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed literature available through June 2000 in a systematic conceptual framework that moved from the source of exposure, through exposure research and dose, …

Zooplankton Feeding Behavior And Particle Selection In Natural Plankton Assemblages Containing Toxic Alexandrium Spp., Gregory J. Teegarden, Robert G. Campbell, Edward G. Durbin

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Laboratory experiments suggest that toxic Alexandrium spp. cells are unpalatable to zooplankton grazers, and that toxic cells should be selectively avoided by zooplankton when feeding in mixtures of different prey species. Such avoidance, if practised in the wild, might contribute to harmful bloom formation by reducing losses of Alexandrium spp. due to grazing. In the spring of 1998 and 1999, during Œred tide¹ outbreaks in the southwestern Gulf of Maine, weekly experiments were performed using field collected natural water samples with ambient phytoplankton and dominant mesozooplankton grazers. The feeding response of Acartia hudsonica, Semibalanus balanoides nauplii, and Calanus finmarchicus …

Bay Anchovy Anchoa Mitchilli In Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. I. Population Structure, Growth And Mortality, Amy E. Lapolla

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Population structure, growth and mortality of Anchoa mitchilli were evaluated in Narragansett Bay (Rhode Island, USA), an estuary near the northern extent of this species¹ broad latitudinal range. The Narragansett Bay population was dominated by young fish (Age 1 and young-of-the-year, YOY); no fish were found to have survived a third winter. Growth rates were rapid, particularly during the first year of life, and annual mortality rates were estimated at >90%. A von Bertalanffy growth model fit to length-at-age data yielded parameters of asymptotic length L_ƒ = 89.97, growth coefficient K = 1.15 and age at zero length t …

Honey Amylase And The Effect In Starch-Containing Foods, Sibel Babacan

Open Access Dissertations

Honey amylase was evaluated for potential to degrade food starch and cause viscosity loss. Honey was assayed for amylase activity with diastase number (DN). A viscosity assay, developed with unmodified waxy maize starch, measured rate of viscosity decrease (RVD) by honey amylase. The relationship between DN and RVD was linear (R2 = 0.98). Modified waxy maize starches showed resistance to honey amylase. Heat treatment at 85 °C reduced the amylase activity in honey, but confirmed enzyme heat resistance. Optimum pH for honey amylase was confirmed at pH 5.3-5.6. Lower pH was effective at decreasing enzyme activity in both pure starch …

Remote Sensing Of Bio-Optical Water Types, Phytoplankton Seasonality, And Algal Pigments In Ocean Margin Waters, Paula Susan Bontempi

Open Access Dissertations

A frontal edge detection algorithm was applied to remotely sensed ocean color satellite data to identify incorrect retrievals of phytoplankton chl a concentrations, and refine estimates of primary producer abundance in bio-optically complex ocean margin waters. Improvement of the remotely sensed biological signal will facilitate establishment of more accurate daily to decadal phytoplankton spatial patterns in these waters, and enable prediction of phytoplankton blooms or features from space. Spatial patterns of chlorophyll a (chl a) and water-leaving radiance (Lwn) from 1998 SeaWiFS (Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor) images were examined from ocean margin waters off the southeastern continental United States (SEC). …

Piety And Intolerance: A Rhetorical Inquiry Into The Constituting Of Christian Fundamentalist Identity, Mary K. Cardinale

Open Access Dissertations

"Piety and Intolerance: A Rhetorical Inquiry Into the Constituting of Christian Fundamentalist Identity" explores the connection between fundamentalist texts and the promotion of prejudice--prejudice defined as intolerance, discrimination, and "negative intergroup attitude[s]" toward outsiders. Studies suggest a relationship between religious fundamentalism and prejudice; however, no study has found conclusively what links them. In response, this study analyzes and interprets passages from two fundamentalist texts in order to locate link/s between the texts' rhetorical elements and their effects on constituting an exclusive fundamentalist identity that positions outsiders as God's enemies. I argue that epideictic rhetoric and the enthymeme, employed as a …

Theoretical And Experimental Study Of Fiber-Optic Fluorescence Immunosensors, He Cao

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the optical detection of antigens (in this case, food pathogens such as Salmonella) with fiber-optic immunosensors. The major techniques used for this optical detection include: (1) Linking the antigens to some physical tracers that can be optically detected; (2) Collecting and transmitting the optical signal to an optical detector. From an optical point of view, the problem is a nonimaging-optics problem to collect a fluorescent signal from an extended Lambertian source and deliver it to an optical detection system with maximum energy transfer and distinct wavelength separation. A raytrace model of the optical detection system was used …

Gender Roles And Science Beliefs And Their Relationship To Science Interest, Judith Jean Paolucci

Open Access Dissertations

This study investigated adolescents' views about the nature of science (NOS) and conceptions of their gender identities, and revealed whether these conceptions and views are related to their science interest. Participants were 566 high school students enrolled in chemistry courses at three high schools in a New England state. A questionnaire was used to assess participants' science interest, gender role perceptions, and views about science, as well as to provide background and math and science achievement data. The study found that while student scores of NOS understanding did not differ by gender, some significant differences were noted on the student …

Experimental Studies Of Microstructural Evolution In Mixed Cationic/Anionic Surfactant Systems, Yashen Xia

Open Access Dissertations

Various aqueous mixtures of the oppositely charged surfactants combine to form vesicles at a certain mixing ratio. The evolution of aggregate microstructures as well as the dynamics of the formation of vesicles starting with different surfactant pairs of aqueous solutions based on compositions, different molecular structures, tail lengths and addition of monovalent salt has been investigated. The growth of the aggregates during the first two hours after mixing, measured by dynamic light scattering, was found to be sensitive to compositions, tail structures and tail lengths of surfactant pairs, but not to addition of monovalent salt. The morphology of intermediate state …

Study Of Particle Deposition In Human Airway Models, Guosen Yue

Open Access Dissertations

In this dissertation, the deposition of particles in human airway models is studied. The dissertation consists of three parts: In the first part, an analytical model of particle nasal airway deposition by diffusion considering effects of both laminar and turbulent flows is proposed. It appears in the literature that neither laminar nor turbulent analytical models alone works well for the entire range of diffusion parameters. A simplified turbulent particle diffusion equation is first developed and then a new combined turbulent/laminar diffusion model is proposed. The results predicted from the new model show improved accuracy when compared with available experimental data …

Impedance Analysis Of An Enhanced Piezoelectric Biosensor, Gi-Ho Kim

Open Access Dissertations

This study investigated the usefulness and characteristics of a five-megahertz quartz crystal resonator oscillating in a thickness-shear mode as a sensor of biological pathogens such as Salmonella typhimurium . An impedance analyzer measured the impedance of the oscillating quartz crystal, which determined all mechanical properties of the oscillating quartz and its immediate environment. In this study, the impedance behavior of the bare crystal was characterized in air and in potassium phosphate buffer solution. The potassium phosphate buffer was a Newtonian liquid. The resonance frequency of the oscillating quartz shifted down about 900 Hz by contacting with the buffer. An immobilized-antibody …

Nonviolence Training Program Evaluation, Maram Hallak

Open Access Dissertations

There has been much recent attention given to conflict resolution and nonviolence training programs in the face of problems of violence in our society. The Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies at the University of Rhode Island was founded to provide nonviolence training to students of the university and community members. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Center's Nonviolence Training Program, based on Martin Luther King's approaches, designed to teach participants nonviolence methods as a way of life. A qualitative study gathered information and established the overall expectations of the parties involved. Focus groups …

Contaminants In Narragansett Bay Sediments, Paul Christian Hartmann

Open Access Dissertations

Three interrelated studies using sediment samples collected at 41 stations in 1997-98 and sediment trap samples collected from 14 stations in 2000 are presented. The concentration of LABs, PAHs, TPHs, PCBs, DDTs, and chlordanes in the surface sediments (top 2 cm) were highest in the urban rivers at the head of the bay and decreased down the East and West Passages. Overall, the data indicate that sediment PAHs, PCBs and DDTs may have a significant impact on the benthos of Narragansett Bay. The ratio of PAH to TPH, as well as the alkyl homolog distribution for PAHs, indicates that petrogenic …

Numerical Modeling Of Estuarine Transport, Water Quality, And The Impact Of Shrimp Mariculture In The Rio Chone Estuary, Ecuador, Diana Lynn Stram

Open Access Dissertations

The Rio Chone estuary in Ecuador has been heavily impacted by a range of anthropogenic impacts, particularly the conversion of mangrove forests to shrimp mariculture ponds. The combination of seasonal river flow, climate forcing and the influx of highly saline pond effluents have created a slow circulation regime in the estuary, especially during the dry season when the estuary can undergo a salinity inversion from mouth to head. Both shrimp production and water quality in the estuary have declined, specifically in the upper regions of the estuary where low dissolved oxygen is often a problem. A combined physical and biological …

A Synthetic Approach To Forecasting Fleet Costs And Earnings In The Northeast Regions Of The United States, Philippe D. Lallemand

Open Access Dissertations

This study describes the New England Otter Trawl Fishery between 1982 and 1998 and the potential economic impacts of regulations on the Northeastern Multispecies Groundfish Fishery (MGF). The study uses primary data collected by the author and secondary data obtained from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). This research required extensive econometric analysis of both value landed and cost data. The landed value is influenced by the vessel's physical characteristics, port of landing, seasonal choices of fishing gear-species combinations, days at sea and distance from shore, and the captain's skill (also referred to as the "skipper effect"). The vessel-cost model …

Biological Vibrational Spectroscopy: From A Cellular To A Sub-Cellular Level, Scott Wade Huffman

Open Access Dissertations

The prevention of fatality from disease has long been a goal of medical and food sciences. In the field of cervical cancer research, the early detection of cancerous cells via Pap smear screening has proven to be an effective tool in combating cancer related deaths. However the sheer magnitude of Pap smears needing diagnosis has led to a decrease in efficiency and accuracy. In a different field, a similar problem persists. The goal of food science is to provide mass quantities of food that is safe for consumption. The amount of food prepared for dispersal is staggering in that it …

Physicochemical And Microstructural Changes In Minced Fish Muscles As Affected By Cryoprotectants, Peizhi Lian

Open Access Dissertations

Alginate, carrageenan, soy protein concentrate (SPC), sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP), and sorbitol were chosen as potential cryoprotectants. Their effects on physicochemical and sensory properties of frozen red hake (Urophycis chuss) and Alaska pollock (Theragra chalcogramma ) mince at ˆ’20 °C for 17 weeks were investigated. The mince was mixed with 0.3% STPP, 4% sorbitol and either 0.2-0.4% alginate, 0.2-0.4% iota-carrageenan, or 4% SPC. Changes in texture, microstructure, and profiles of proteins, free amino acids and lipids of fresh and frozen mince were evaluated. The addition of alginate, STPP, and sorbitol significantly improved the dispersibility of uncooked red hake mince with reduced …

Cultural Conditioning And Mother/Daughter Conflicts In The Development Of Identity And Voice: The Autobiographical Fiction Of Dorothy Allison, Wan-So Pak, And Maxine Hong Kingston, Eunjoo Woo

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation examines the fictionalized autobiographies of three women writers from different cultures and ethnicities and analyzes the development of female identity, subjectivity, and voice through the mother/daughter relationships in Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out Of Carolina, Wan-So Pak's The Naked Tree and Mother's Stake 1, and Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior. These three women writers introduce the mother/daughter conflicts and suggest ways to reconcile with each other or to solve their problems in their particular and cultural contexts. Also, in spite of their cultural differences, all three women writers share their belief that the process of the daughter's search …

Cadmium Toxicity And Random Motility Studies Using Marine Dinoflagellates, Edwin Li

Open Access Dissertations

The marine biota is exposed to heavy metal residues of industrial and agricultural processes. The effects of these metals on phytoplankton are of particular interest because they represent the first link in the food chain and are able to transfer the metal to higher trophic levels. Members of the phytoplankton population include the diverse community of flagellated unicellular, mostly photosynthetic, microorganisms called dinoflagellates. The effects of cadmium (Cd) on the growth of two marine dinoflagellates Scrippsiella narragansettensis and Heterocapsa triquetra were measured under different medium composition. To investigate the role of metal speciation, experiments were carried out in media prepared …

Curricular Affairs Committee Report #391, University Of Rhode Island Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Committee Reports and Appendices

No abstract provided.

The Three Hundred And Ninetieth Report Of The Curricular Affairs Committee, University Of Rhode Island Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Bills

No abstract provided.

Hepp News, Vol. 3 No. 12, Hiv Education Prison Project

Infectious Diseases in Corrections Report (IDCR)

No abstract provided.