Digital Commons Network^™

Island Times, May 2012, Kevin Attra

Island Times Newspaper, 2012

No abstract provided.

Vulnerable Plaque Risk Of Rupture Examined Via Patient Based Micro-Ct And Ivus Fluid-Structure Interaction Studies, Xuan Liang

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulations were conducted in patient-specific coronary vulnerable plaque (VP) geometries reconstructed from Micro-CT and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), in order to study the effects of several biomechanical factors on plaque vulnerability. The models reconstructed from IVUS included vessel wall, fibrous cap, lipid core and large calcifications. A model reconstructed post mortem from a coronary specimen of a patient with confirmed VP was scanned using high resolution micro-CT. This enabled capture of micro calcifications embedded in the VP fibrous cap in addition to the plaque components mentioned above. Regions susceptible to tissue failure were studied. The thin fibrous cap …

Quantifying The Nutrient Bioextraction Capacity Of Restored Eastern Oyster Populations In Two Coastal Bays On Long Island, New York, Daria Sebastiano

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Degradation of coastal areas due to eutrophication is becoming evident on a global scale. Like many estuaries, Jamaica Bay and Great South Bay, NY have been impacted by eutrophication at varying degrees. The eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, has been suggested as a way to remediate eutrophication through nutrient bioextraction. Eastern oyster populations were once abundant in both Jamaica Bay and Great South Bay. Overfishing, habitat destruction, and pollution have caused ecological extinction of populations in these regions. The abundance of oysters that once existed in these regions may drive the desire for restoration in these areas. Although appealing, invested individuals …

The Functions Of Atypical Pkc And The Par Complex In Axon Growth Inhibition, Seong Il Lee

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

The failure of axon regeneration at injury sites in the central nervous system is due, at least in part, to the formation of a growth-inhibitory environment. The glial scar formed at injury sites contains numerous growth-inhibitory molecules whose intracellular signaling mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, I provide evidence that the polarity machinery, consisting of atypical PKC, PAR6 and PAR3, mediates axon growth inhibition induced by NG2, a major chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan in the glial scar. NG2 activates aPKC. Inhibition of aPKC reduces the inhibitory action of NG2. Phosphomimetic forms of aPKC are sufficient for axon growth inhibition. NG2 activates Cdc42. …

Aesthetics Of Soft Focus: Art Photography, Masculinity And The Re-Imagining Of Modernity In Late Victorian Britain, 1885-1914, Scott Christopher Lesko

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Aesthetics of Soft Focus examines the contested and mutually constituted discourses of masculinity and national imperial identity through the visual medium of photography in late Victorian and early Edwardian Britain. It argues that the art photography produced by members of the Brotherhood of the Linked Ring produced essential sites in which to question the dominant political and cultural paradigms of the era. This dissertation examines four primary interconnected sites of performance: the photographer, the photographic exhibition, the photographic society and most importantly the photographic image, which together reflected a broader reconfiguration of British modernity. From George Davison's pinhole landscape photograph, …

The Difference Between Boys, Girls, And Otherwise: Frank Wedekind's Spring Awakening As Queer Dramaturgy, Elizabeth Sager

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

This thesis is based on the project completed for the Master's degree at Stony Brook University, which was split into two parts: translation of Frank Wedekind's Spring Awakening from German to English, and the presentation of this translation as a production. In order to endow further meaning on the controversial play, I sought to undermine the audience's expectations of sex and gender by using cross gender casting and other production values in order to cause an audience to question their expectations of the gender binary and the societal expectation for men and women to adhere to prescribed gender roles. This …

The Inhibitory Effect Of Francisella Tularensis On Endothelial Cells, Deanna Bublitz

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

The endothelium can be activated by various bacterial pathogens to secrete proinflammatory cytokines and recruit circulating leukocytes. However, there is a distinct lack of activation of these cells by Francisella tularensis, the causative agent of tularemia. Given the importance of endothelial cells in facilitating innate immunity, we investigated the ability of the attenuated live vaccine strain (LVS) and virulent Schu S4 strain of F. tularensis to inhibit the proinflammatory response of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Living F. tularensis LVS and Schu S4 did not stimulate secretion of the chemokine CCL2 by HUVEC, whereas material released from heat-killed bacteria …

Pathogen Traffic By Dendritic Cells In Periodontitis: Links To Coronary Heart Disease, Julio Carrion

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Chronic low-grade infections, such as chronic periodontitis (CP), are suspected of increasing Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) risk; however, the linking mechanisms are just emerging. Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), commonly implicated in CP, along with multiple other pathogens, have been associated with the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD). However, it is unclear how these pathogens travel to and invade the arteries and their precise role in the disease process. P. gingivalis is known for invading epithelial, fibroblast, endothelial and myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs). Recent in-vitro evidence has demonstrated that P. gingivalis targets DC-SIGN+ (Dendritic Cell-Specific Intercellular adhesion molecule-3-Grabbing Non-integrin) mDCs via …

Structure Characterization Of Adsorbed Poly (Ethylene Oxide) Layers On Solid Substrate, Fen Chen

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

In recent years, irreversibly adsorbed polymer layers formed on solid substrates have been received considerable interest since they can modify various properties of polymeric materials confined at the nanometer scale. In this thesis, I investigate the annealing time dependence of the poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO) adsorbed layer formed at the substrate interface. The detailed structures of the PEO adsorbed layer prepared were characterized by ellipsometry, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and x-ray reflectivity techniques. The total thickness of the PEO adsorbed layer is generally around 3 nm. Different from PS, the annealing time dependence of the PEO adsorbed layer simple show …

Chitosan/Tpp Nanoparticles As A Gene Delivery Agent For Tumor Suppressant P53, Gaojun Liu

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

In the last decade, non-viral polymeric vectors have become more attractive than their viral counterparts due to their nontoxicity and good biocompatibility. However, one of the major drawbacks is the low transfection efficiency when compared to viruses. In this work, a naturally cationic polysaccharide, chitosan, was cross-linked with negatively charged tripolyphosphate (TPP) to synthesize chitosan/TPP nanoparticles (CNPs) for delivery of plasmid DNA (pDNA). Particle size and zeta potential were characterized for CNPs with chitosan-TPP mass ratios of 4:1 and 6:1 (w/w) using benchtop dynamic light scattering. And both potentiometric titration method and FTIR spectrometer were applied to measure the degree …

Minimising Gear Conflict And Resource Sharing Issues In The Shark Bay Trawl Fisheries And Promotion Of Scallop Recruitment, Mervi I. Kangas, Arani Chandrapavan, Y L. Hetzel, Erroll C. Sporer

Fisheries Research Reports

Objectives 1. To determine size specific recapture mortality rates of Amusium balloti as a result of repeated capture and release experiments and gear impacts on newly recruited (juvenile) scallops. 2. To determine the impacts of various scallop mesh sizes for the capture of the target size of Amusium balloti and its impact on damage to and retention of prawns. 3. To investigate if small-scale spatial closures assist recruitment of Amusium balloti by reducing gear impacts and capture mortality but without affecting overall prawn catches. 4. To examine whether existing hydrodynamic models can guide the selection of spatial closures and to …

The Affects That Children Diagnosed With Autism Disorder Have On Their Siblings In The Area Of Behavior Development, Emma Thomas

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to assess the affects that children with Autism Disorder have on their siblings in the area of behavior development specifically pertaining to: social impairment, repetitive behavior, and impaired communication. The following questions have been answered by this study: First, how extensive are the behaviors that occur in younger siblings of children with autism, next, are the same behaviors applicable to older siblings, and finally are the behaviors described simply a part of being a sibling. The participants in this study were 4 families that have a child with autism and a younger sibling, 2 …

An Exploration Into Project Management: A Grassroots Experience In A Developing Nation, Brittany L. O'Brien

Senior Honors Projects

As a senior at the University of Rhode Island, it has been my experience that the knowledge that has been most successfully retained within my mind has been that which I gained through active learning. As an international development minor I have taken many courses on how developmental aid is provided around the world, and throughout these courses I have learned that the drive for creating those endeavors came from an understanding of need. In order to best complete my education on international development I created a sustainable developmental aid project which provided education for specific needs in Malawi, Africa. …

Road Map To Becoming A Physician Assistant, Maguire J. Miller

Senior Honors Projects

The field of medicine is under constant change and reconstruction, especially when it comes to healthcare practitioners. When a demand is placed on the system, healthcare providers must figure out how they can satisfy the medical needs of the population. Within the past few decades there has been a shortage of people who are capable of fulfilling these needs. For this reason a new profession has been developed; it is called a Physician Assistant (PA). Professionals with this title have been through a rigorous training modeled after what a medical student goes through, but it is condensed into a much …

The Herring River Estuary: Understanding Salt Marsh Restoration And How To Predict The Response Of Phragmites Australis To Increased Tidal Flow, Theresa Murphy

Senior Honors Projects

My presentation invites you to learn about what is involved in planning a salt marsh restoration project. The Herring River Estuary is a disturbed salt marsh ecosystem at Cape Cod National Seashore which has been diked since 1909. The National Park Service (NPS), in cooperation with many partners, is engaged in efforts to restore the now impacted 1,100 acre estuary by re-introducing tidal flow. There is significant complexity involved in trying to restore such an intricate system- from the multitude of environmental factors to important social and economic consequences. There are also several benefits to restored tidal flow. My thesis …

Assessment Of Nutritional Knowledge And Eating Behaviors On The Weight And Obesity Of College Students, Britta Thielemann

General Human Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Obesity has become a major nationwide health concern. Negative eating habits and lack of proper nutrition information were highlighted as major aspects of weight gain. This study was conducted in order to understand the relationship between nutritional knowledge and eating behaviors and their impact on the weight and obesity of college students. For this study, an instrument was designed that included survey questions regarding perception of healthy and unhealthy foods, personal consumption, and demographic factors. The instrument was administered to 577 college students. The results indicated a positive relationship between the knowledge of nutrition and eating behavior and the weight …

Nutrition Knowledge Of Pre-Medical Students, Jennifer Newcome

General Human Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Nutrition knowledge has been shown to be increasingly critical in physician practice. Therefore, education has also become very critical. Medical schools have been working over the last few decades to include nutrition education in their curriculum, but due to many barriers, it is difficult to measure up to requirements. It is the purpose of this descriptive study to determine the nutrition knowledge of pre-medical students at the University of Arkansas and see if suggesting a nutrition class for these students would be beneficial. The average score was 11.2 ± 3.04 out of a possible 23. Because the literature provides reason …

Testing The Efficiency Of Vertically Aligned Gold Nanowires On A Titanium Needle Implantable Neural Electrodes In The Rattus Norvegicus Hippocampus, Lauren Kegley

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Miniaturized multi-electrode arrays are MEMS devices that have found use as neural prosthetics (Neuro-MEMS). As implants they can interface with neurons as sensors or actuators and help compensate for loss of sensory input, motor control, or cognitive function. The micro-electrodes, studied here, were developed in-house. They have a vertically aligned gold nanowire array and are mounted on a sturdy fine gauge titanium needle. Hence, the bill of materials and design characteristics encourage its use as neural probe. For this study, a probe was tested in vivo for signal acquisition in the hippocampus of a Rattus Norvegicus (Sprague Dawley Rat). Using …

Determination Of Selectivity And Potential For Drug Resistance Of Novel Antimalarial Compounds From Nature-Inspired Synthetic Libraries, Eric Keasler

HIM 1990-2015

As malaria, caused by Plasmodium spp., continues to afflict millions of people worldwide, there is a dire need for the discovery of novel, inexpensive antimalarial drugs. Although there are effective drugs on the market, the consistent development of drug resistant species has decreased their efficacy, further emphasizing that novel therapeutic measures are urgently needed. Natural products provide the most diverse reservoir for the discovery of unique chemical scaffolds with the potential to effectively combat malarial infections, but, due to their complex structures, they often pose extreme challenges to medicinal chemists during pharmacokinetic optimization. In our laboratory we have performed unbiased, …

Aggressive Acoustic Behavior In Yasuhikotakia Modesta: Does The Lombard Effect Hold Water?, Bethany Coffey

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The Lombard effect is the automatic and involuntary change in the intensity of vocalizations in the presence of background noise in order to maintain a constant signal to noise ratio. While this phenomenon is commonly found in vocalizing terrestrial vertebrates, it had not previously been examined in aquatic vertebrates such as fishes. This experiment tests the presence of the Lombard effect in the red-finned loach, Yasuhikotakia modesta, which make two types of sounds: butting and clicking. I recorded three pairs of Y. modesta during aggressive interactions over territory and compared the sounds produced in silence with sounds produced …

The Reaction Of Methionine With A Non-C2-Symmetrical Platinum (Ii) Diamine Compound, Nilesh Sahi

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The research that we have conducted has allowed us to discover that the amino acids, methionine (Met) and N-acetyl methionine (N-AcMet), will react in a 1:1 and 1:2 molar ratio with platinum complexes containing bulky diamine ligands. Previous research has allowed us to gain a plethora of information on the experimentation and results of specific bulky diamine ligands such as N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine and N,N-diethylethylenediamine. In the current study, we have investigated the bulky diamine ligand of N,N-dimethylethylenediamine, or Me₂en. With our focus on the bulk of the Me₂en ligand, we have been able to synthesize a platinum …

Semipermeable Membranes, Diffusion, And Osmosis Inquiry: Effective Modeling In A High School Classroom, Amar Patel

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

A novel approach is taken in teaching the core chemical and biological concepts of mass transport properties, specifically diffusion and osmosis, in an investigation-rich unit of instruction spanning fifteen days. The unit is based on the highly successful 5-E, inquiry based approach known as project-based instruction which emphasizes the use of laboratories and interactive discussions. The entire unit will center on a grand challenge which the students will provide a media-based solution for by encompassing the concepts taught in the unit. When introducing these topics in the high school classroom, the instructor must be able to help students understand the …

Predictive Model Of Ocean Sediment Binding, Erica Delaney

Honors Senior Capstones and Theses

This project explored the relationship between sediment size, sediment composition and the concentration of mercury. The samples were taken from Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. Knowledge and understanding of the binding ability of heavy metals, specifically mercury, will help to improve remediation efforts in the future. Analysis of elemental composition was conducted using the Elementar Analyzer and much troubleshooting of the instrument was necessary. End result of the project was the ability to work successfully with an advisor, as well as the ability to troubleshoot, operate and maintain the instrument.

Aging And Weight-Ratio Estimation, Jessica Marie Holmin

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Many researchers have explored the way younger people perceive weight ratios using a variety of methodologies; however, very few researchers have used a more direct ratio estimation procedure, in which participants estimate an actual ratio between two or more weights. Of the few researchers who have used a direct method, the participants who were recruited were invariably younger adults. To date, there has been no research performed to examine how older adults perceive weight-ratios, using direct estimation or any other technique. Past research has provided evidence that older adults have more difficulty than younger adults in perceiving small differences in …

Hybrid Nanostructures For Artificial Machine Olfaction, Landon Joseph Oakes

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The detection of low level concentrations of particles in a gaseous environment is of importance to many fields, especially Homeland Security. The ability to identify ppb concentrations of explosives and their degradation products can aid in the detection of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), ammunition dumps, or hidden explosives. One method of accomplishing this task is through the use of an array of chemiresistors in an electronic nose device. For this study, chemiresistors were constructed using 3-D silica nanospring mats with a contiguous film of ZnO nanocrystals and ZnO nanocrystals decorated by metallic nanoparticles. Samples with an average grain size of …

Using Arbuscular Mycorrhizae To Influence Yield, Available Soil Nutrients And Soil Quality In Conventional Vs. Organic Vegetable Production, Gary Thomas Cundiff

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This research is a two year study on the effects of endomycorrhizae on vegetable production using conventional vs. organic practices. Objective of this study was initiated to determine if mycorrhizae improve yield, available soil nutrients and soil quality from two different fertilizer sources. Measurements were taken on yield, available soil nutrients, and soil quality in comparison of glomalin production and soil loss percentage. Two plant species were chosen, Tomatoes (‘Big Beef’) and Bush Beans (‘Tenderette’). A randomized split block 2 x 3 factorial treatment arrangement was used with two crops and three different inputs: Mo- 0 mycorrhizae, M1- recommended rate, …

On Nullification Of Knots And Links, Anthony Montemayor

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Motivated by the action of XER site-specific recombinase on DNA, this thesis will study the topological properties of a type of local crossing change on oriented knots and links called nullification.

One can define a distance between types of knots and links based on the minimum number of nullification moves necessary to change one to the other. Nullification distances form a class of isotopy invariants for oriented knots and links which may help inform potential reaction pathways for enzyme action on DNA. The minimal number of nullification moves to reach a è-component unlink will be called the è-nullification number.

This …

The Relationship Between Essentialism, Religious Beliefs, And Views Of Change, Keshia Porter

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In this study, the relationship between essentialism, religious beliefs, and views of change was investigated. Participants were given surveys containing three sets of items and a demographic questionnaire. Item sets included the Intrinsic/Extrinsic-Revised Scale of Religiosity, the Essentialist Belief Scales, and the Change Vignettes. Results indicated those with gradualist religious views were not more likely to endorse essentialist views when compared to those with conversionist views. Those who essentialized at high levels were not less likely to endorse the possibility of change in comparison to those who essentialized at lower levels. Participants with high levels of extrinsic religiosity were not …

Assembly And Automated Annotation Of The Clostridium Scatologenes Genome, Jitesh Tiwari

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Clostridium scatologenes is an anaerobic bacterium that demonstrates some unusual metabolic traits such as the production of 3-methyl indole. The availability of genome level sequencing has lent itself to the exploration and elucidation of unique metabolic pathways in other organisms such as Clostridium botulinum. The Clostridium scatologenes genome, with an estimated length 4.2 million bp, was sequenced by the Applied Biosystems Solid method and the Roche 454 pyrosequencing method. The resulting DNA sequences were combined and assembled into 8267 contigs with an average length of 1250 bp with the Newbler Assembler program. Comparision of published subunits of csd gene …

Time-Dependent Density-Functional-Theory Calculation Of High-Order-Harmonic Generation Of H-2, Xi Chu, Gerrit C. Groenenboom

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The observation of the isotope effect in the high-order-harmonic generation (HHG) of H-2 presents a challenge for time-dependent density-functional-theory (TDDFT) methods, since this effect is related to the dynamics of the ion created in the tunneling ionization step of HHG and it depends on the harmonic order. As an initial step toward describing this effect within current computational capacity, we benchmark a method in which the nuclear and electronic degrees of freedom are separated and both treated quantum mechanically. For the electrons two TDDFT formalisms are adopted. Although the ion-dynamics effect is not described in our method, it reproduces the …