Digital Commons Network^™

Photochemical And Photophysical Dynamics Of The Aqueous Ferrate(Vi) Ion, Cali Antolini

Open Access Dissertations

Ferrate(VI) has been suggested as a ‘green’ alternative to current oxidation and disinfection methods used in water treatment, especially in combination with ultraviolet light. UV-activation of the ferrate salts has been shown to improve the efficiency of treating water due to the generation of highly oxidizing Fe(V) and Fe(IV) species. However, the incomplete understanding behind the nature of these intermediates, the mechanisms by which they form, and their roles in downstream oxidation reactions have limited the full-scale use of ferrate salts in facilities. Our goal is to advance the engineering of UV/ferrate(VI)-based water treatment processes by gaining a better understanding …

Advancing Nanopore Characterization Of Carbohydrates With Chemical Synthesis And Machine-Learning, James Thomas Hagan

Open Access Dissertations

The work presented in this thesis covers advancements made in carbohydrate analysis, a topic relevant for pharmaceutical testing, medical diagnostics, food adulteration analysis, and numerous other glycomics-related purposes. While carbohydrates have been extracted and commodified by humans for several millennia,^1,2 and their associated chemical identity and structural motifs have been known for over a century,^3,4 reliable and readily available methods for full characterization of this prevalent and naturally occurring group of molecules are lacking and under-developed. Conventional methods of analysis show promise but are constrained by several obstacles to overcome. This thesis work answers a still-relevant 2012 call …

Experiences Of White Women Graduate Students In A Diversity And Inclusion Badge Program At A Predominantly White Institution In A Time Of Whitestream Racial Reckoning, Stefanie Argus

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore how white women engaged with interrogating whiteness, race, and racism after completing a multi-session diversity program designed for graduate students. This qualitative research project tends to the following research question: What are the lived experiences of white women who complete a diversity and inclusion program for graduate students?

For this research project, white women who are graduate students participated in in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Using critical whiteness theory, a feminist research framework, and interpretive phenomenological analysis, this study identified commonalities in experiences among participants (Creswell & Poth, 2018; van Manen, 2014). As is …

A Study Of The Structure-Activity Relationships Of Carcinogenic Protein- And Dna-Binding Chemicals, Alicia M. Crisalli

Open Access Dissertations

Chapter 1

Chemical contaminants in our environment may interact with macromolecules such as proteins and DNA in our bodies and have the potential to disrupt normal biological processes, leading to diseases such as cancer and metabolic conditions. Elucidation of these mechanisms, particularly the relationship between their structure and subsequent biological outcomes, is paramount to mitigating the harm associated with human exposure to such contaminants. It is also an important tool in the drug design/discovery process. This introductory chapter shall serve as background knowledge for readers unversed in the field, outlining several families of persistent chemical contaminants known to cause cancer …

Flux To Flow: A Clearer View Of Earth’S Water Cycle Via Neural Networks And Satellite Data, Albert Eric Larson

Open Access Dissertations

Earth’s weather and climate changes dynamically, and humans must monitor the evolution of our environment or fail to plan and adapt. Water is our most valuable resource, and as such it is of the utmost importance to have a continuous view of its movements as water cycles over, in, and under land, in the atmosphere, and in the sea. One way that we observe the water cycle is with satellite measurements. Unfortunately, the resolution of these instruments is typically too coarse to visualize many transient phenomena of interest. If their vision is fine enough, the instrument captures only a small …

Pelagic-Benthic Coupling In The Gulf Of Maine: Multidecadal Molecular Isotope Records Of Zooplankton And Deep Sea Corals Bioarchives, Catherine Nowakowski

Open Access Dissertations

The export of organic matter from the surface to deep ocean has major implications for global biogeochemical cycles, the transfer of energy across food webs, and the sequestration of carbon through the biological pump. Therefore, understanding the physical and biological conditions that control these processes is important to understanding pelagic-benthic coupling and resulting controls on ocean productivity, fisheries production, and Earth’s climate regulation. Equally important is consideration of and collaboration with diverse audiences that need to understand this information to make scientifically informed decisions about climate and environment policies that come from this research. Despite the importance of this knowledge, …

Form And Function Of The Lateral Line System In Three North American Fishes: Development, Evolutionary Insights, And Impacts Of Climate Change, Aubree E. Jones

Open Access Dissertations

In addition to the sensory modalities familiar to humans (vision, hearing, smell, touch and taste), fishes have a flow-sensing system that detects local abiotic and biotic water flows called the lateral line system. The neuromast receptor organs of the lateral line system detect hydrodynamic stimuli and are located either on the skin (superficial neuromasts) or within pored, bony canals associated with the dermatocranial bones (canal neuromasts) or scales. In Manuscripts 1 and 2, the development of the cranial lateral line system in brook trout and how climate change impacts the development of this system are described. The lateral line in …

Best Management And Egg Washing Practices For Small-Scale Poultry Producers To Improve Food Safety, Julie Bosland

Open Access Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation research was to determine the best management and egg washing practices for small-scale egg producers and backyard chicken owners to help improve food safety. The main goals were to establish the most effective management and egg washing procedures to reduce total coliform bacteria load on eggshells and increase egg cleanliness. To determine the methods used for experiments in chapters 3-5, a survey was conducted on egg handling, washing and management techniques in backyard poultry and small-scale producers within the Northeastern U.S. The effect of management practices and egg washing methods on the eggshell cuticle was …

The Social And Ecological Dimensions Of Coral Reef Biomonitoring, Elaine Wang Shen

Open Access Dissertations

Coral reefs contain a disproportionately high amount of marine biodiversity and support millions of people worldwide by providing food security and livelihoods. This coupled relationship between reefs and people is increasingly threatened globally by climate change and globalization, as well as locally by overfishing, habitat destruction, and nutrient pollution. Biomonitoring the varied ecological outcomes of these threats and estimating how conservation and management interventions mitigate them are crucial scientific endeavors for understanding the socio-ecological complexity of coral reef dynamics. Common ecological indicators of reef health, however, are theoretically and taxonomically limited when used alone, thus a combination of modeling and …

Nanoscale Electrochemistry At Liquid/Liquid Interface For Biomedical And Energy Applications, Surendra R. Puri

Open Access Dissertations

The charge transfer across the liquid/liquid interface has been playing a crucial role in many biological and energy-related systems such as drug permeation through-bacterial membrane, ion or electron transfer through metal-reducing bacteria in microbial fuel cells (MFCs), and metabolic interaction in commensal bacterial species related to human health. Primarily, direct probing of these phenomena in situ is needed for more realistic fundamental analysis, thereby solving the problem related to public health and renewable energy generation. The interfacial CT in these systems mainly involves redox-inactive species that cannot be detected with conventional metal electrodes. Herein, the liquid/liquid interface is applied as …

Investigating The Role Corynebacterium Matruchotii Has Within Supragingival Plaque Spatial Organization And Its Response To Oral Streptococci And Saliva, Eric Ganeto Almeida

Open Access Dissertations

Human supragingival plaque (SUPP) is a polymicrobial biofilm on the tooth surface above the gumline, comprised of ordered structures with spatial associations between specific bacterial taxa. Recent microscopy and microbiome data have suggested that some plaque structures are scaffolded by the abundant filamentous bacterium Corynebacterium matruchotii decorated with Streptococcus species. These taxa are able to make a reproducible structure known as the ‘Hedgehog’ model in vivo where Streptococcus species tend to form 'corncob' like structures around the terminal ends of C. matruchotii. As these species colocalize in vivo, we hypothesize that they also interact biochemically with one another. …

Analyzing Factors That Contribute To Attrition Of Underrepresented Undergraduate Students In Computer Science, Noura Albarakati

Open Access Dissertations

In recent years, women and underrepresented minority students have made significant advances in traditionally White male-dominated majors. Nevertheless, they are still underrepresented in most STEM majors. Consequently, many institutions in Higher Education are exploring ways to deliver environments that support those underrepresented students’ retention in science and engineering. This study sheds some light on women and minority students’ underrepresentation in computer science by exploring factors associated with their retention in the field.

This dissertation starts with an exploratory analysis that examines the attrition rate of underrepresented students who switched to other majors compared to their majority peers and investigates any …

Longitudinal Investigation Of Childhood Trauma And Emotiondriven Impulsivity, Svetlana Goncharenko

Open Access Dissertations

Exposure to childhood trauma is associated with numerous adverse psychological, physical, and behavioral health consequences. This highlight childhood trauma as a major public health problem. Addressing important gaps in the existing research, the proposed study clarifies the bidirectional and unique prospective associations between childhood trauma and both negative and positive emotion-driven impulsivity. This study utilized a sample of 11,872 participants from the ABCD study and conducted Cross Lagged Panel Models to evaluate the bisectional associations between childhood trauma and positive and negative emotion-driven impulsivity. Findings showed that earlier childhood trauma was associated with higher levels of later negative and positive …

A Multi-Year Investigation Of The Specialized Metabolite Composition Of Trichodesmium Spp., Christopher William Via

Open Access Dissertations

The specialized metabolite composition of members of the genus Trichodesmium is understudied in comparison to what is known about its ecological role as a dominant nitrogen fixer in oligotrophic tropical and subtropical waters. The occurrence of large surface accumulations, or blooms, comprised of these filamentous cyanobacteria is increasing globally and these events contain potentially toxic metabolites. Currently there is a lack of a systematic field and laboratory studies with respect to Trichodesmium spp. metabolic capacity. This study aims to determine the specialized metabolite profile of two members of the Trichodesmium genus examining cultivated specimens and environmental collections (from the Gulf …

The Impacts Of The Invasive Green Iguana (Iguana Iguana) On Agricultural Production And The Communities Of Puerto Rico — An Interdisciplinary Assessment, Christina N. De Jesus Villanueva

Open Access Dissertations

Invasive species are one of the most pressing threats to the conservation of biodiversity, to human health, and the economy today. Agricultural production and invasive species are often entangled in a complex web of interactions that ultimately decrease agricultural yield and lead to billions of dollars in losses. With no indicators of slowing globalization, it is imperative that we monitor the movement of potential pest species, prevent new introductions, and mitigate the impacts of invasive species. Comprehensive monitoring of potential invasions is not always possible, however, since it is often after a species is established that wildlife management and agricultural …

Multifunctional Plasmonic And Magnetic Nanostructures Guided By Self And Directed Assembly, Muzahidul Islam Anik

Open Access Dissertations

Nanomaterials showed promising development and progress in biochemical field during the past couple of decades. Nanoparticles that can not only perform as one single task such as imaging contrast or drug delivery agent but also possess the ability to perform multiple tasks simultaneously has the potential to be the next generations of nanoparticles. Multifunctional ability will allow to use reduced dosage of nanoparticles providing us control over nanoparticle induced toxicity during imaging and therapy. The synthesis of such multifunctional nanoparticles can be guided by utilizing self and directed assembly for various application ranging from in vitro non-invasive particle tracking to …

Reconstructing Nutrient Consumption In The Expanded Southern Ocean Of Pleistocene Glacial Periods, Basia A. Marcks

Open Access Dissertations

The emergence of the longer, high amplitude glacial cycles of the last ~1 million years are attributed, in part, to variations in the global overturning circulation and iron stimulation of biological carbon drawdown. Previously, data resolving the relative importance of these processes within the Southern Ocean did not exist. Here, I present high resolution records of foraminifera-bound nitrogen isotope values from ODP Site 1090, within the Subantarctic Zone (SAZ), and IODP Site U1475, beneath the modern Subtropical Frontal Zone (STFZ), spanning both the last glacial period (0 - 160,000 years ago) and the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT, 1,200,000 - 600,000 years …

Investigation Of Novel Low Temperature Electrolytes For Lithium-Ion Batteries, Undugodage Nuwanthi Dilhari Rodrigo

Open Access Dissertations

Improving energy storge technology is vital to the worldwide adoption of renewable energy sources as well as the growth of electromobility. Therefore, recent research has been focused on developing rechargeable lithium-ion batteries enabling high energy and power density over a wide temperature range with improved safety. Unfortunately, the performance of lithium-ion batteries is dependent upon the operating temperatures. At subzero temperature, the performance of lithium-ion battery in carbonate-based electrolytes is decreased by increased cell resistance limiting lithium-ion transportation. Therefore, adjusting the electrolyte composition through use of novel solvents, electrolyte additives, alternative lithium salts and optimized solvent blends has been reported …

An Interpretative Phenomenological Study Of Undergraduate Student Wellness: Exploring Generation Z Student Wellness Experiences During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Kristen Pepin

Open Access Dissertations

Qualitative research exploring undergraduate student wellness during a pandemic was scarce prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 and is still lacking. Studies investigating student wellness during pandemics often fracture the concept by quantitatively researching specific wellness dimensions (Cao et al., 2020; Galea et al., 2020; Tang et al., 2020) as opposed to exploring the construct from a holistic perspective. Additionally, few studies aim to understand how undergraduate students make meaning of wellness and their lived wellness experiences, specifically during a pandemic. Furthermore, emerging research (Huckins et al., 2020) corroborates the extant literature that posit student health behaviors were declining in …

Treprostinil, A Prostacyclin Analog, Protects Kidney From Renal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury: Preclinical Studies In A Rat Model Of Acute Kidney Injury, Meiwen Ding

Open Access Dissertations

Renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) occurs in a variety of clinical settings, including sepsis, cardiac bypass, shock, or kidney transplantation. Renal IRI is often unavoidable and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality for this diverse set of patients. However, no pharmacological treatments for prevention or amelioration of renal IRI are available.

Renal IRI is a multifactorial process and a major cause of acute kidney injury (AKI). During renal IRI, the initial decline in tissue oxygen reduces oxidative phosphorylation and depletes intracellular ATP stores, ultimately leading to mitochondria damage and disruption of renal tubular epithelial cell structure. One of the …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Homemade Explosives, Lindsay R. Mclennan

Open Access Dissertations

Homemade explosive (HME) is a general term used to encompass energetics easily prepared from materials that consumers can purchase, but because of sensitivity, stability, and/or performance, often have no legitimate commercial or military use. HME preparation has been described in many books and message board threads for years with varying levels of detail and correctness. The class of HMEs is broad and includes fuel/oxidizer mixtures (e.g. ammonium nitrate/fuel oil or ANFO), nitrate esters (e.g. erythritol tetranitrate, ETN), and peroxides (e.g. triacetone triperoxide, TATP). Though the energetic properties for many of these compounds have been known for over a century, they …

Acoustic And Optical Imaging Techniques For Characterizing Animal Distributions In The Pelagic Ocean, Benjamin Grassian

Open Access Dissertations

Biological processes in midwater habitats -- ocean areas between the sunlit surface layers and sea floor -- are critical drivers of ocean biogeochemical cycling, oxygen availability, fish population dynamics, and ecological interactions over a wide range of scales. Achieving high-resolution observations of the environmental and biological heterogeneity in the ocean's interior is important for understanding the status and evolution of the earth system at large. Traditional ocean sampling platforms (e.g. net systems, moored and shipboard sensors), are often unable to resolve marine biota at fine (cm-m) scales and over submesoscale (sub-km to kms) survey areas comparable to the relevant variability …

The Synthetic Development Of Innovative Supramolecular Architectures For The Purposes Of Drug Delivery And Biosensing, Lauren Elizabeth Seveney

Open Access Dissertations

When I first started my graduate journey at The University of Rhode Island, I knew I wanted to pursue my research in an organic chemistry research group. I was drawn to the DeBoef Group, as their research was profoundly interesting in the sense where the group conducted research in various fields. Where each group had a name amongst the graduate students, such as “the nanopore group”, or “the polymer group”, the DeBoef Group was just what it truly is at heart, “the synthesis group”. I always wanted to be a synthetic chemist, I enjoyed the work, and taking something from …

Analyte-Sensing Particles And Impact Of Plastics On Environmentally Abundant Bacteria, Tania Thalyta Silva De Oliveira

Open Access Dissertations

Nano and microscale materials exhibit exciting chemical, physical and biological properties that dictate how they function. Furthermore, their surface chemistry influences how they respond to a specific application and interact with their surroundings. In this dissertation, a technique used to synthesize tunable hybrid gold nanoparticles for environmental sensing applications by Raman is presented, as well as the fate of nano and microplastics when in the presence of an abundant bacteria in the aquatic environment.Gold nanoparticles are widely used in many applications due to their various properties, such as facile synthesis, biocompatibility, surface conjugation with various ligand types, and tunability. The …

Dyadic Experience Of Emotion Regulation For Families With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Coral L. Shuster

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation was constructed to better understand the role that emotion regulation(ER) difficulties have in the lives of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Three research methods were utilized and are presented in this order: secondary data analysis, systematic literature review, and a cross-sectional observational study. The secondary data analysis (chapter one) aimed to understand the association between family conflict, child ER, parent perceived stress, and ASD-related social responsiveness in a sample of 2,229 children included in a nationwide longitudinal study. Findings suggest that higher social responsiveness scores predict more ER difficulties as reported by a parent. Parent perceived …

Hypertension, Rheumatoid Arthritis, And Hypothyroidism In Women Born Preterm Of The Women's Health Initiative, Pamela L. Brewer

Open Access Dissertations

Advances in perinatal and neonatal management, along with improved healthcare technologies, have increased the long-term survival of individuals who were born preterm. Millions of preterm birth survivors now reach adulthood. Premature birth, defined as birth before 37 weeks gestation, predisposes individuals to adverse health risks later in life. The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) theory was used as a framework for this dissertation. The main tenets of the DOHaD theory are that early birth infers immature organ development and when coupled with maternal, neonatal, and environmental stressors, long-term health consequences and/or chronic disease may result. International studies report …

Incorporating Hemodynamic Cognitive Neuromarkers For Personalized Assistive Communication Technology, Seyyed Bahram Borgheai

Open Access Dissertations

A Brain computer interface (BCI) for communication bypasses standard efferent neural pathways towards peripheral nerves and muscles and directly translates brain activity into symbolic commands to facilitate communication in people with motor impairments. Although a range of access options have been developed, there are still many challenges, particularly for those with severe motor-control limitations. Limitations in availability of access options and the accuracy they provide may lead to patient frustration. Hence, many conventional non-invasive BCIs that rely on eye-gaze control and alternative communicative solutions, such as eye-tracking systems, fail to provide successful and efficient communication in people with severe motor …

Probiotics For Eastern Oyster Hatcheries: Commercial Formulations And Effect On Microbial Communities, Evelyn Takyi

Open Access Dissertations

In the United States of America, oyster production is an important component of the seafood industry in many coastal communities. Oysters provide ecological, economic, and cultural services. Several hatcheries providing eastern oyster, C. virginica, seed to oyster farms face significant losses owing to Vibrio spp. infections causing massive larval mortalities. Probiotics have been proposed as a potential preventive measure to limit the impact of bacterial diseases in shellfish hatcheries. The probiotic bacterium Phaeobacter inhibens S4 has been shown to protect C. virginica larvae from Vibrio coralliilyticus RE22 (RE22) infection. A liquid formulation of this probiotic has been developed for …

Bacterial Community Dynamics In Rhode Island Coastal Ecosystems, Zachary Pimentel

Open Access Dissertations

In temperate coastal ecosystems, there are a variety of potential environmental niches and lifestyles for bacteria to occupy, along with constantly changing environmental conditions. Residing in such a diverse environment with broad habitats, bacterial adaptation can be observed at both the community and genome level. For example, an individual strain may acquire new mutations or genes to respond to varying conditions or occupy a new niche. In addition, the taxonomic composition of bacterial communities can shift, resulting in higher abundances of strains specialized for a new condition. In this dissertation, community and genome-level adaptations to varying lifestyles and environmental change …

Understanding The Roles Of Heterogenous Swi/Snf Complexes In Regulation Of Differential Gene Expression, Tomali Chakravarty

Open Access Dissertations

SWI/SNF is a multi-subunit chromatin remodeling complex that is evolutionarily conserved from yeast to human. In humans, it is known to exist in 3 distinct assemblies and influence expression of genes involved in signal transduction, cell cycle, adhesion, cell morphology, cell fate determination DNA repair, and stress response, by altering chromatin architecture. Deletions in SWI/SNF subunits are known to have deleterious consequences on cells with about 20% of all known cancers harboring loss of protein mutations in SWI/SNF. This thesis focusses on understanding how heterogeneity in SWI/SNF complexes confer advantage to cells in the absence of ARID1A, one of the …