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Comparison Of Different Transfer Learning Methods For Classification Of Mangrove Communities Using Mccunet And Uav Multispectral Images, Yuyang Li, Bolin Fu, Xidong Sun, Donglin Fan, Yeqiao Wang, Hongchang He, Ertao Gao, Wen He, Yuefeng Yao Jan 2022

Comparison Of Different Transfer Learning Methods For Classification Of Mangrove Communities Using Mccunet And Uav Multispectral Images, Yuyang Li, Bolin Fu, Xidong Sun, Donglin Fan, Yeqiao Wang, Hongchang He, Ertao Gao, Wen He, Yuefeng Yao

Natural Resources Science Faculty Publications

Mangrove-forest classification by using deep learning algorithms has attracted increasing attention but remains challenging. The current studies on the transfer classification of mangrove communities between different regions and different sensors are especially still unclear. To fill the research gap, this study developed a new deep-learning algorithm (encoder–decoder with mixed depth-wise convolution and cascade upsampling, MCCUNet) by modifying the encoder and decoder sections of the DeepLabV3+ algorithm and presented three transfer-learning strategies, namely frozen transfer learning (F-TL), fine-tuned transfer learning (Ft-TL), and sensor-and-phase transfer learning (SaP-TL), to classify mangrove communities by using the MCCUNet algorithm and high-resolution UAV multispectral images. This …


Media, Obesity Discourse, And Participatory Politics: Exploring Digital Engagement Among University Students, Tao Papaioannou Dec 2021

Media, Obesity Discourse, And Participatory Politics: Exploring Digital Engagement Among University Students, Tao Papaioannou

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Situated within research on youth, participatory politics, and media framing of obesity, this study examined how undergraduate students in a media literacy course engaged with obesity discourse as a nexus of civic participation. Twenty-nine students enrolled on the course identified frames of obesity in plus-size model Tess Holliday’s Instagram posts surrounding her controversial Cosmopolitan cover in 2018. Analysis of these frames – self-validation, injustice of fat-shaming and stigmatization, influences of Instagram celebrities on fat embodiment, and health stereotypes of obese people – enabled the students to critique activist responses to accepted body norms and moral values facilitating weight bias. In …


Usage Statistics: Project Counter R5 Tr_J1 Report Fy2021 - Journal Requests (Excluding Oa_Gold) By Title, Andrée Rathemacher Dec 2021

Usage Statistics: Project Counter R5 Tr_J1 Report Fy2021 - Journal Requests (Excluding Oa_Gold) By Title, Andrée Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Project COUNTER R5 Report TR_J1 for the University of Rhode Island for the period from July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021. The TR_J1 report is defined as "Journal Requests (Excluding OA_Gold)." This report presents an annual total only and only includes those platforms successfully configured for automated harvesting via SUSHI.

File for download is Excel spreadsheet generated by Alma Analytics.

Results:

  • Total Item Requests - 696,705
  • Unique Item Requests - 513,492


Bioaccumulation Of Pcbs, Ocps And Pbdes In Marine Mammals From West Antarctica, Mohammed Khairy, Emily Brault, Rebecca Dickhut, Karin C. Harding, Tero Harkonen, Olle Karlsson, Kristine Lehnert, Jonas Teilmann, Rainer Lohmann Dec 2021

Bioaccumulation Of Pcbs, Ocps And Pbdes In Marine Mammals From West Antarctica, Mohammed Khairy, Emily Brault, Rebecca Dickhut, Karin C. Harding, Tero Harkonen, Olle Karlsson, Kristine Lehnert, Jonas Teilmann, Rainer Lohmann

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

To understand the bioaccumulation and food web dynamics of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) as a function of species, age and sex in Antarctic mammals, blubber samples of 3 killer whales (Type C) and 77 pinnipeds (Weddell, Ross and crabeater seals) were collected from the Southern Ocean, Antarctica. They were analyzed for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). ΣDDTs, Σ29PCBs and chlordanes (12 – 4,600, 13 – 1,600, and < 1.5 – 1,700 ng/g lipid, respectively) were the most abundant POPs. Killer whales typically displayed several times greater concentrations of POPs compared to seals, except for PBDEs. PCBs and PBDEs were consistently higher in adult crabeater and Weddell seal males, and in adult female Ross seals than in other sex and age groups reflecting an age accumulation and possible influence of segregated diet, foraging areas, and metabolic transformation rates. POPs concentrations significantly correlated with gene transcription of nuclear receptors involved in detoxification of contaminants and immune relevant cell mediators in the crabeater seals, indicating possible immunotoxic and deleterious health effects. This represents one of the largest studies on POPs in Antarctic marine predators and highlights the complexity of POPs bioaccumulation.


Usage Statistics: Project Counter R5 Ir_M1 Report Fy2021 - Multimedia Item Requests, Andrée Rathemacher Dec 2021

Usage Statistics: Project Counter R5 Ir_M1 Report Fy2021 - Multimedia Item Requests, Andrée Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Project COUNTER R5 Report IR_M1 for the University of Rhode Island for the period from July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021. The IR_M1 report is defined as "Multimedia Item Requests." This report presents an annual total only and only includes those platforms successfully configured for automated harvesting via SUSHI.

File for download is Excel spreadsheet generated by Alma Analytics.

Results:

Total Item Requests - 6,292


Usage Statistics: Project Counter R5 Tr_B1 Report Fy2021 - Book Requests (Excluding Oa_Gold) By Title, Andrée Rathemacher Dec 2021

Usage Statistics: Project Counter R5 Tr_B1 Report Fy2021 - Book Requests (Excluding Oa_Gold) By Title, Andrée Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Project COUNTER R5 Report TR_B1 for the University of Rhode Island for the period from July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021. The TR_B1 report is defined as "Book Requests (Excluding OA_Gold)." This report presents an annual total only and only includes those platforms successfully configured for automated harvesting via SUSHI.

File for download is Excel spreadsheet generated by Alma Analytics.

Results:

  • Total Item Requests - 84,955
  • Unique Title Requests - 38,932


Usage Statistics: Project Counter R5 Dr_D1 Report Fy2021 - Database Search And Item Usage, Andrée Rathemacher Dec 2021

Usage Statistics: Project Counter R5 Dr_D1 Report Fy2021 - Database Search And Item Usage, Andrée Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Project COUNTER R5 Report DR_D1 for the University of Rhode Island for the period from July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021. The DR_D1 report is defined as "Database Search and Item Usage." This report presents an annual total only and only includes those platforms successfully configured for automated harvesting via SUSHI.

File for download is Excel spreadsheet generated by Alma Analytics.

Results:

  • Searches Automated - 149,904
  • Searches Federated - 28,031
  • Searches Regular - 812,778
  • Total Item Investigations - 664,064
  • Total Item Requests - 259,213


Gregarine Single-Cell Transcriptomics Reveals Differential Mitochondrial Remodeling And Adaptation In Apicomplexans, Eric D. Salomaki, Kristina X. Terpis, Sonja Rueckert, Michael Kotyk, Zuzana Kotyková Varadínová, Ivan Čepička, Christopher E. Lane, Martin Kolisko Dec 2021

Gregarine Single-Cell Transcriptomics Reveals Differential Mitochondrial Remodeling And Adaptation In Apicomplexans, Eric D. Salomaki, Kristina X. Terpis, Sonja Rueckert, Michael Kotyk, Zuzana Kotyková Varadínová, Ivan Čepička, Christopher E. Lane, Martin Kolisko

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Apicomplexa is a diverse phylum comprising unicellular endobiotic animal parasites and contains some of the most well-studied microbial eukaryotes including the devastating human pathogens Plasmodium falciparum and Cryptosporidium hominis. In contrast, data on the invertebrate-infecting gregarines remains sparse and their evolutionary relationship to other apicomplexans remains obscure. Most apicomplexans retain a highly modified plastid, while their mitochondria remain metabolically conserved. Cryptosporidium spp. inhabit an anaerobic host-gut environment and represent the known exception, having completely lost their plastid while retaining an extremely reduced mitochondrion that has lost its genome. Recent advances in single-cell sequencing have enabled the first broad genome-scale …


Adjunct Fenofibrate Up-Regulates Bile Acid Glucuronidation And Improves Treatment Response For Patients With Cholestasis, Gina M. Gallucci, Trottier, Christopher Hemme, David N. Assis, James L. Boyer, Olivier Barbier, Nisanne S. Ghonem Dec 2021

Adjunct Fenofibrate Up-Regulates Bile Acid Glucuronidation And Improves Treatment Response For Patients With Cholestasis, Gina M. Gallucci, Trottier, Christopher Hemme, David N. Assis, James L. Boyer, Olivier Barbier, Nisanne S. Ghonem

Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Accumulation of cytotoxic bile acids (BAs) during cholestasis can result in liver failure. Glucuronidation, a phase II metabolism pathway responsible for BA detoxification, is regulated by peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor alpha (PPARα). This study investigates the efficacy of adjunct fenofibrate therapy to up-regulate BA-glucuronidation and reduce serum BA toxicity during cholestasis. Adult patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC, n = 32) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC, n = 23), who experienced an incomplete response while receiving ursodiol monotherapy (13-15 mg/kg/day), defined as serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) ≥ 1.5 times the upper limit of normal, received additional fenofibrate (145-160 mg/day) as standard …


Personal Digital Health In Parkinson's Disease: Case Histories And Commentary, Aidan T. Boving, L. Shuster, Theodore A. Walls, Todd Brothers Dec 2021

Personal Digital Health In Parkinson's Disease: Case Histories And Commentary, Aidan T. Boving, L. Shuster, Theodore A. Walls, Todd Brothers

Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Research Faculty Publications

The use of self-tracking of bio-behavioral states along with prescription dosing information is increasingly popular in the care and study of many human diseases. Parkinson’s Disease is particularly amenable to such tracking, as patients live with the progressive disease for many years, increasing motivation to pursue quality of life changes through careful monitoring of symptoms and self-guided management of their medications and lifestyle choices. Through the use of digital self-tracking technologies, patients independently or in conjunction with professional medical advice are modulating their medications and behavioral regimens based on self-tracking data. Self-trackers engage in self-experimentation with their health, and more …


Marine Phytoplankton Functional Types Exhibit Diverse Responses To Thermal Change, S. I. Anderson, A. D. Barton, S. Clayton, S. Dutkiewicz, T. A. Rynearson Dec 2021

Marine Phytoplankton Functional Types Exhibit Diverse Responses To Thermal Change, S. I. Anderson, A. D. Barton, S. Clayton, S. Dutkiewicz, T. A. Rynearson

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Marine phytoplankton generate half of global primary production, making them essential to ecosystem functioning and biogeochemical cycling. Though phytoplankton are phylogenetically diverse, studies rarely designate unique thermal traits to different taxa, resulting in coarse representations of phytoplankton thermal responses. Here we assessed phytoplankton functional responses to temperature using empirically derived thermal growth rates from four principal contributors to marine productivity: diatoms, dinoflagellates, cyanobacteria, and coccolithophores. Using modeled sea surface temperatures for 1950–1970 and 2080–2100, we explored potential alterations to each group’s growth rates and geographical distribution under a future climate change scenario. Contrary to the commonly applied Eppley formulation, our …


Chronicling The Journey Of The Society For The Advancement In Biology Education Research (Saber) In Its Effort To Become Antiracist: From Acknowledgement To Action, Miriam Segura-Totten, Bryan Dewsbury, Stanley M. Lo, Elizabeth Gibbons Bailey, Laura Beaster-Jones, Robert J. Bills, Sara E. Brownell, Natalia Caporale, Ryan Dunk, Sarah L. Eddy, Marcos E. García-Ojeda, Stephanie M. Gardner, Linda E. Green, Laurel Hartley, Colin Harrison, Mays Imad, Alexis M. Janosik, Sophia Jeong, Tanya Josek, Pavan Kadandale, Jenny Knight, Melissa E. Ko, Sayali Kukday, Paula Lemons, Megan Litster, Barbara Lom, Patrice Ludwig, Kelly K. Mcdonald, Anne C.S. Mcintosh, Sunshine Menezes, Erika M. Nadile Nov 2021

Chronicling The Journey Of The Society For The Advancement In Biology Education Research (Saber) In Its Effort To Become Antiracist: From Acknowledgement To Action, Miriam Segura-Totten, Bryan Dewsbury, Stanley M. Lo, Elizabeth Gibbons Bailey, Laura Beaster-Jones, Robert J. Bills, Sara E. Brownell, Natalia Caporale, Ryan Dunk, Sarah L. Eddy, Marcos E. García-Ojeda, Stephanie M. Gardner, Linda E. Green, Laurel Hartley, Colin Harrison, Mays Imad, Alexis M. Janosik, Sophia Jeong, Tanya Josek, Pavan Kadandale, Jenny Knight, Melissa E. Ko, Sayali Kukday, Paula Lemons, Megan Litster, Barbara Lom, Patrice Ludwig, Kelly K. Mcdonald, Anne C.S. Mcintosh, Sunshine Menezes, Erika M. Nadile

Natural Resources Science Faculty Publications

The tragic murder of Mr. George Floyd brought to the head long-standing issues of racial justice and equity in the United States and beyond. This prompted many institutions of higher education, including professional organizations and societies, to engage in long-overdue conversations about the role of scientific institutions in perpetuating racism. Similar to many professional societies and organizations, the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER), a leading international professional organization for discipline-based biology education researchers, has long struggled with a lack of representation of People of Color (POC) at all levels within the organization. The events surrounding Mr. …


Host Genotype Structures The Microbiome Of A Globally Dispersed Marine Phytoplankton, Olivia M. Ahern, Kerry A. Whittaker, Tiffany C. Williams, Dana E. Hunt, Tatiana A. Rynearson Nov 2021

Host Genotype Structures The Microbiome Of A Globally Dispersed Marine Phytoplankton, Olivia M. Ahern, Kerry A. Whittaker, Tiffany C. Williams, Dana E. Hunt, Tatiana A. Rynearson

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Phytoplankton support complex bacterial microbiomes that rely on phytoplankton-derived extracellular compounds and perform functions necessary for algal growth. Recent work has revealed sophisticated interactions and exchanges of molecules between specific phytoplankton-bacteria pairs, but the role of host genotype in regulating those interactions is unknown. Here, we show how phytoplankton microbiomes are shaped by intraspecific genetic variation in the host using global environmental isolates of the model phytoplankton host Thalassiosira rotula and a laboratory common garden experiment. A set of 81 environmental T. rotula genotypes from three ocean basins and eight genetically distinct populations did not reveal a core microbiome. While …


Clustered Hierarchical Anomaly And Outlier Detection Algorithms, Najib Ishaq, Thomas J. Howard Iii, Noah M. Daniels Nov 2021

Clustered Hierarchical Anomaly And Outlier Detection Algorithms, Najib Ishaq, Thomas J. Howard Iii, Noah M. Daniels

Computer Science and Statistics Faculty Publications

Anomaly and outlier detection is a long-standing problem in machine learning. In some cases, anomaly detection is easy, such as when data are drawn from well-characterized distributions such as the Gaussian. However, when data occupy high-dimensional spaces, anomaly detection becomes more difficult. We present CLAM (Clustered Learning of Approximate Manifolds), a manifold mapping technique in any metric space. CLAM begins with a fast hierarchical clustering technique and then induces a graph from the cluster tree, based on overlapping clusters as selected using several geometric and topological features. Using these graphs, we implement CHAODA (Clustered Hierarchical Anomaly and Outlier Detection Algorithms), …


Translational Nano-Medicine: Targeted Therapeutic Delivery For Pain, Cancer And Inflammatory Diseases, Mansoor Amiji Nov 2021

Translational Nano-Medicine: Targeted Therapeutic Delivery For Pain, Cancer And Inflammatory Diseases, Mansoor Amiji

Amgen Seminar Series in Chemical Engineering

Tremendous advances in molecular and personalized medicine also present challenges for translation of innovative experimental approaches into clinically relevant strategies. To overcome some of these challenges, nanotechnology offers interesting solutions for disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. For many systemic diseases, overcoming biological barriers and target specific delivery are the key challenges. Additionally, newer generations of molecular therapies, such as gene therapy, oligonucleotides, and RNA interference (RNAi) require robust and highly specific intracellular delivery strategies for effective and clinically meaningful therapeutic outcomes. In this presentation, I will cover several of our approaches for development of multifunctional engineered nano-systems for targeted therapies …


Chemical Emissions From Cured And Uncured 3d-Printed Ventilator Patient Circuit Medical Parts, Jordan E. Krechmer, Brennan Phillips, Nicholas Chaloux, Russell Shomberg, Conner Daube, Gaurav Manchanda, Sam Murray, Alex Mccarthy, Rodrigo Fonseca, Jinen Thakkar, Brice Loose, Scott C. Herndon, John T. Jayne, Douglas R. Worsnop, Manjula R. Canagaratna Nov 2021

Chemical Emissions From Cured And Uncured 3d-Printed Ventilator Patient Circuit Medical Parts, Jordan E. Krechmer, Brennan Phillips, Nicholas Chaloux, Russell Shomberg, Conner Daube, Gaurav Manchanda, Sam Murray, Alex Mccarthy, Rodrigo Fonseca, Jinen Thakkar, Brice Loose, Scott C. Herndon, John T. Jayne, Douglas R. Worsnop, Manjula R. Canagaratna

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Medical shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic saw numerous efforts to 3D print personal protective equipment and treatment supplies. There is, however, little research on the potential biocompatibility of 3D-printed parts using typical polymeric resins as pertaining to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which have specific relevance for respiratory circuit equipment. Here, we measured VOCs emitted from freshly printed stereolithography (SLA) replacement medical parts using proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry and infrared differential absorption spectroscopy, and particulates using a scanning mobility particle sizer. We observed emission factors for individual VOCs ranging from ∼0.001 to ∼10 ng cm-3 min-1. Emissions were heavily dependent …


Controlling The Timing Of Therapeutic Delivery To Enhance Regenerative Medicine Strategies, Cathal Kearney Nov 2021

Controlling The Timing Of Therapeutic Delivery To Enhance Regenerative Medicine Strategies, Cathal Kearney

Amgen Seminar Series in Chemical Engineering

Engineering tools to understand and mimic natural cue timing motivates the central research themes in the Kearney Lab: the precise temporal control of local therapeutic delivery; the effect of therapeutic delivery timing on efficacy; and integrating these platforms within biomaterials. This talk will cover several technologies developed in the Lab and their testing and application. By developing technologies to deliver therapeutics at specific time-points, we can probe the role of timing in repair processes and aim to ultimately drive coordination of biological processes. Designing novel tissue engineering scaffolds and integrating these delivery systems in them is a key parallel focus …


An Analysis Of Companion Animal Tick Encounters As Revealed By Photograph-Based Crowdsourced Data, Heather L. Kopsco, Roland J. Duhaime, Thomas N. Mather Nov 2021

An Analysis Of Companion Animal Tick Encounters As Revealed By Photograph-Based Crowdsourced Data, Heather L. Kopsco, Roland J. Duhaime, Thomas N. Mather

Plant Sciences and Entomology Faculty Publications

Background: Community science is increasingly utilized to track important vectors of companion animal disease, providing a scalable, cost-effective strategy for identifying new foci, changing phenology, and disease prevalence across wide geographies. Objectives: We examined photographs of ticks found attached to predominately dogs and cats reported to a photograph-based tick surveillance program to identify potential areas for improvements in tick prevention education and risk intervention. Methods: We compared estimated days of tick attachment using a Kruskal–Wallis one-way analysis of variance, and a Pearson's chi-square analysis of variance on the number of submissions by host type submitted for each season. Results: The …


A Visual Tour Of Carbon Export By Sinking Particles, Colleen A. Durkin, Ken O. Buesseler, Ivona Cetinić, Margaret L. Estapa, Roger P. Kelly, Melissa Omand Oct 2021

A Visual Tour Of Carbon Export By Sinking Particles, Colleen A. Durkin, Ken O. Buesseler, Ivona Cetinić, Margaret L. Estapa, Roger P. Kelly, Melissa Omand

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

To better quantify the ocean's biological carbon pump, we resolved the diversity of sinking particles that transport carbon into the ocean's interior, their contribution to carbon export, and their attenuation with depth. Sinking particles collected in sediment trap gel layers from four distinct ocean ecosystems were imaged, measured, and classified. The size and identity of particles was used to model their contribution to particulate organic carbon (POC) flux. Measured POC fluxes were reasonably predicted by particle images. Nine particle types were identified, and most of the compositional variability was driven by the relative contribution of aggregates, long cylindrical fecal pellets, …


The “Sweet Spot” In The Middle: Why Do Mid-Scale Farms Adopt Diversification Practices At Higher Rates?, Kenzo Emiliano Esquivel, Liz Carlisle, Alison Ke, Elissa M. Olimpi, Patrick Baur, Joanna Ory, Hannah Waterhouse, Alastair Iles, Daniel S. Karp, Claire Kremen, Timothy M. Bowles Oct 2021

The “Sweet Spot” In The Middle: Why Do Mid-Scale Farms Adopt Diversification Practices At Higher Rates?, Kenzo Emiliano Esquivel, Liz Carlisle, Alison Ke, Elissa M. Olimpi, Patrick Baur, Joanna Ory, Hannah Waterhouse, Alastair Iles, Daniel S. Karp, Claire Kremen, Timothy M. Bowles

Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences Faculty Publications

In the past few decades, farmers and researchers have firmly established that biologically diversified farming systems improve ecosystem services both on and off the farm, producing economic benefits for farmers and ecological benefits for surrounding landscapes. However, adoption of these practices has been slow, requiring a more nuanced examination of both barriers and opportunities to improve adoption rates. While previous research has demonstrated that both individual and structural factors shape farmers' decisions about whether to adopt diversification practices, this study aims to understand the interaction of these individual and structural factors, and how they relate to farm scale. Based on …


Location And Species Matters: Variable Influence Of The Environment On The Gene Flow Of Imperiled, Native And Invasive Cottontails, Thomas J. Mcgreevy, Sozos Michaelides, Mihajla Djan, Mary Sullivan, Diana M. Beltrán, Bill Buffum, Thomas Husband Sep 2021

Location And Species Matters: Variable Influence Of The Environment On The Gene Flow Of Imperiled, Native And Invasive Cottontails, Thomas J. Mcgreevy, Sozos Michaelides, Mihajla Djan, Mary Sullivan, Diana M. Beltrán, Bill Buffum, Thomas Husband

College of Nursing Faculty Publications

The environment plays an important role in the movement of individuals and their associated genes among populations, which facilitates gene flow. Gene flow can help maintain the genetic diversity both within and between populations and counter the negative impact of genetic drift, which can decrease the fitness of individuals. Sympatric species can have different habitat preferences, and thus can exhibit different patterns of genetic variability and population structure. The specialist-generalist variation hypothesis (SGVH) predicts that specialists will have lower genetic diversity, lower effective population sizes (Ne), and less gene flow among populations. In this study, we used spatially explicit, individual-based …


The Stress-Active Cell Division Protein Zape Alters Ftsz Filament Architecture To Facilitate Division In Escherichia Coli, Eric C. Dibiasio, Rebecca A. Dickinson, Catherine E. Trebino, Colby N. Ferreira, Josiah J. Morrison, Jodi L. Camberg Sep 2021

The Stress-Active Cell Division Protein Zape Alters Ftsz Filament Architecture To Facilitate Division In Escherichia Coli, Eric C. Dibiasio, Rebecca A. Dickinson, Catherine E. Trebino, Colby N. Ferreira, Josiah J. Morrison, Jodi L. Camberg

Cell and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications

During pathogenic infections, bacterial cells experience environmental stress conditions, including low oxygen and thermal stress. Bacterial cells proliferate during infection and divide by a mechanism characterized by the assembly of a large cytoskeletal structure at the division site called the Z-ring. The major protein constituting the Z-ring is FtsZ, a tubulin homolog and GTPase that utilizes the nucleotide to assemble into dynamic polymers. In Escherichia coli, many cell division proteins interact with FtsZ and modulate Z-ring assembly, while others direct cell wall insertion and peptidoglycan remodeling. Here, we show that ZapE, an ATPase that accumulates during late constriction, directly interacts …


Representing Africa In The ‘Coming To America’ Films, Samuel K. Bonsu, Delphine Godefroit-Winkel Sep 2021

Representing Africa In The ‘Coming To America’ Films, Samuel K. Bonsu, Delphine Godefroit-Winkel

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

Through an interpretive analysis of the two Eddie Murphy films "Coming to America" (CTA) and "Coming 2 America", spaced nearly 30 years apart, this review essay underscores the persistence of Orientalist Othering of Africa. The negative images of Africa that are so engrained in people have been facilitated in significant part by a strategic, but perhaps unconscious, effort to socialize audiences into an identity construction process that casts Africans as inferior. Despite attempts at favorable depictions of Africa, these processes continue to play out.


Polyelectrolyte Microgels As Self-Defensive Biomaterials, Matthew Libera Sep 2021

Polyelectrolyte Microgels As Self-Defensive Biomaterials, Matthew Libera

Amgen Seminar Series in Chemical Engineering

Preventing the bacterial colonization of tissue-contacting biomedical devices is a key scientific challenge rich with potential clinical impact. Much research has concentrated on antimicrobial modification of device surfaces either by incorporating continuous elution mechanisms or by covalent surface tethering. Both strategies have shortcomings. As an alternative, we are studying a microgel-based approach to modulate the antimicrobial properties of surfaces. Notably, polyelectrolyte microgels can be electrostatically deposited to form sub-monolayer microgel coatings on complex 3-D devices. We have shown that the size and spatial distribution of antifouling PEG-based microgels critically controls the competing requirements for bacterial repulsion and tissue-cell adhesion/proliferation. Incorporating …


Microbial Communities In A Serpentinizing Aquifer Are Assembled Through Strong Concurrent Dispersal Limitation And Selection, Lindsay I. Putman, Mary C. Sabuda, William J. Brazelton, Michael D. Kubo, Tori M. Hoehler, Tom M. Mccollom, Dawn Cardace, Matthew O. Schrenk Sep 2021

Microbial Communities In A Serpentinizing Aquifer Are Assembled Through Strong Concurrent Dispersal Limitation And Selection, Lindsay I. Putman, Mary C. Sabuda, William J. Brazelton, Michael D. Kubo, Tori M. Hoehler, Tom M. Mccollom, Dawn Cardace, Matthew O. Schrenk

Geosciences Faculty Publications

In recent years, our appreciation of the extent of habitable environments in Earth's subsurface has greatly expanded, as has our understanding of the biodiversity contained within. Most studies have relied on single sampling points, rather than considering the long-term dynamics of subsurface environments and their microbial populations. One such habitat are aquifers associated with the aqueous alteration of ultramafic rocks through a process known as serpentinization. Ecological modeling performed on a multiyear time series of microbiology, hydrology, and geochemistry in an ultrabasic aquifer within the Coast Range Ophiolite reveals that community assembly is governed by undominated assembly (i.e., neither stochastic …


“My Daughter Was Sacrificed By My Mother”: Women’S Involvement In Ritually Motivated Violence And Murder In Contemporary Africa, Chima Agazue Sep 2021

“My Daughter Was Sacrificed By My Mother”: Women’S Involvement In Ritually Motivated Violence And Murder In Contemporary Africa, Chima Agazue

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Ritually motivated crimes are grave crimes that continue to plague contemporary Africa. Occasionally, victims abducted for ritual purposes are discovered and set free. Fresh or decomposing bodies are spotted somewhere, often with missing parts taken by the ritual killers who killed the victims. Some missing persons in the continent are presumed to have been abducted or killed by ritually motivated criminals. Although ritually motivated crimes take different forms, most of them involve brutal acts of violence and murder. The barbaric manner in which these criminals attack or slaughter their victims creates fear and panic. Traditionally, men commit serious crimes involving …


Arctic Lagoon And Nearshore Food Webs: Relative Contributions Of Terrestrial Organic Matter, Phytoplankton, And Phytobenthos Vary With Consumer Foraging Dynamics, Kelton W. Mcmahon, William G. Ambrose, Melinda J. Reynolds, Beverly J. Johnson, Alex Whiting, Lisa M. Clough Aug 2021

Arctic Lagoon And Nearshore Food Webs: Relative Contributions Of Terrestrial Organic Matter, Phytoplankton, And Phytobenthos Vary With Consumer Foraging Dynamics, Kelton W. Mcmahon, William G. Ambrose, Melinda J. Reynolds, Beverly J. Johnson, Alex Whiting, Lisa M. Clough

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Characterizing energy flow and trophic linkages is fundamental to understanding the functioning and resilience of Arctic ecosystems under increasing pressure from climate change and anthropogenic exploitation. We used carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes to examine trophic dynamics and the relative contribution of terrestrial organic matter, water column phytoplankton, and phytobenthos (benthic micro- and macro-autotrophs as well as sea ice algae) to the food webs supporting 45 macroconsumers in three Arctic coastal lagoon ecosystems (Krusenstern, Sisualik, Akulaaq) and the adjacent Kotzebue Sound with varying degrees of connectivity in Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Alaska. A two-source (water column particulate organic matter and …


Acquisitions Unit Annual Report 2020-2021, Andrée Rathemacher Aug 2021

Acquisitions Unit Annual Report 2020-2021, Andrée Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Annual Report of the Acquisitions Unit, University Libraries, University of Rhode Island for FY2021. Covers personnel, work flow, special projects, and serial, monograph, and e-resource acquisitions. Supplemental files include data on library materials expenditures by a number of variables as well as important working documents from the year.


Promoting Instrument Development For New Research Avenues In Ocean Science: Opening The Black Box Of Grazing, Susanne Menden-Deuer, Wayne Homer Slade, Heidi Dierssen Aug 2021

Promoting Instrument Development For New Research Avenues In Ocean Science: Opening The Black Box Of Grazing, Susanne Menden-Deuer, Wayne Homer Slade, Heidi Dierssen

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

While recent research has provided increasing insight into ocean ecosystem functions and rapidly improving predictive ability, it has become clear that for some key processes, including grazing by zooplankton, there simply is no currently available instrumentation to quantify relevant stocks and rates, remotely or in situ. When measurement capacity is lacking, collaborative research between instrument manufacturers and researchers can bring us closer to addressing key knowledge gaps. By necessity, this high risk, high rewards research will require iterative steps from best case scenarios under highly controlled and often artificial laboratory conditions to empirical verification in complex in situ conditions with …


Heterotrophic Dinoflagellate Growth And Grazing Rates Reduced By Microplastic Ingestion, Victoria M. Fulfer, Susanne Menden-Deuer Aug 2021

Heterotrophic Dinoflagellate Growth And Grazing Rates Reduced By Microplastic Ingestion, Victoria M. Fulfer, Susanne Menden-Deuer

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Microplastics are ubiquitous contaminants in marine ecosystems worldwide, threatening fisheries production, food safety, and human health. Ingestion of microplastics by fish and large zooplankton has been documented, but there are few studies focusing on single-celled marine predators, including heterotrophic dinoflagellates. In laboratory experiments, the heterotrophic dinoflagellate species Oxyrrhis marina and Gyrodinium sp. readily ingested both algal prey and polystyrene microplastic spheres (2.5–4.5 μm), while Protoperidinium sp. did not ingest microplastics. Compared to algae-only fed dinoflagellates, those that ingested microplastics had growth rates reduced by 25–35% over the course of 5 days. Reduced growth resulted in a 30–50% reduction of secondary …