Digital Commons Network^™

Sarcoptes Scabiei Mites Modulate Gene Expression In Human Skin Equivalents, Marjorie S. Morgan, Larry G. Arlian, Michael P. Markey

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications

The ectoparasitic mite, Sarcoptes scabiei that burrows in the epidermis of mammalian skin has a long co-evolution with its hosts. Phenotypic studies show that the mites have the ability to modulate cytokine secretion and expression of cell adhesion molecules in cells of the skin and other cells of the innate and adaptive immune systems that may assist the mites to survive in the skin. The purpose of this study was to identify genes in keratinocytes and fibroblasts in human skin equivalents (HSEs) that changed expression in response to the burrowing of live scabies mites. Overall, of the more than 25,800 …

Endangered And Threatened Wildlife And Plants; Determination Of Endangered Species Status For The Austin Blind Salamander And Threatened Species Status For The Jollyville Plateau Salamander Throughout Their Ranges, Dan Ashe

KIP Articles

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), determine endangered species status for the Austin blind salamander (Eurycea waterlooensis) and threatened species status for Jollyville Plateau salamander (Eurycea tonkawae) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended. The effect of this regulation is to conserve these salamander species and their habitats under the Act. This final rule implements the Federal protections provided by the Act for these species.

An Environmental History Of Bowling Green State University's Community Gardens, Lin-Z Tello

Honors Projects

Colleges and Universities across America are integrating “green” initiatives and environmentally focused programs into campus policy. Community gardens provide an example of one method that institutions are utilizing in an effort to showcase their commitment towards sustainability. This report focuses on establishing a framework that may be utilized in order to create a successful community gardening program at Bowling Green State University (located in Bowling Green, Ohio). Past community gardening programs at Bowling Green State University are analyzed in this study to determine how prior community gardening programs at the University disbanded. Current community gardening programs at the University of …

Multifactorial Analysis Of Mortality Of Soybean Cyst Nematode (Heterodera Glycines Ichinohe) Populations In Soybean And In Soybean Fields Annually Rotated To Corn In Nebraska, Oscar Perez-Hernandez

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The soybean cyst nematode (SCN; Heterodera glycines Ichinohe) is the most economically important pathogen of soybean in the U.S. The effect of annual corn rotation, soil properties, weather, and agronomic factors on SCN population densities was quantified in 45 fields in Nebraska over three years. SCN population densities (eggs/100 cm³ of soil) in each field were determined before (Pi) and after (Pf) annual corn rotation. Average SCN population density reduction was 50.62%. Multivariate analysis was used to describe the relationship of soil texture (% of sand, silt, and clay), Pi, and Pf. Two principal components explained 92% of the …

Effect Of Leaf Type And Pesticide Exposure On Abundance Of Bacterial Taxa In Mosquito Larval Habitats, Ephantus J. Muturi, Benedict O. Orindi, Chang Hyun Kim

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Lentic freshwater systems including those inhabited by aquatic stages of mosquitoes derive most of their carbon inputs from terrestrial organic matter mainly leaf litter. The leaf litter is colonized by microbial communities that provide the resource base for mosquito larvae. While the microbial biomass associated with different leaf species in container aquatic habitats is well documented, the taxonomic composition of these microbes and their response to common environmental stressors is poorly understood. We used indoor aquatic microcosms to determine the abundances of major taxonomic groups of bacteria in leaf litters from seven plant species and their responses to low concentrations …

Agricultural Biotechnology, International Trade, General Equilibrium And Efficiency, Comlanvi Martin Konou

College of Business: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Ongoing debates about the adoption of the agricultural biotechnology in the developing countries and EU have dominated the literature in development economics and biosciences. This dissertation considers some environmental, economic and social consequences of the technology from three perspectives: 1) the impact of the ongoing pest density on the performance of the agricultural biotechnology in India; 2) trade consequences of EU restrictive trade policies towards biotech products; and 3) the adoption decision of the technology in the EU and the developing economies.

Agricultural biotechnology appears to be successful in increasing yield and reducing the use of pesticides. However, most studies …

The American Ideal Of Representative Democracy: The Roles Of National Identity And Perceived Consensus And Homogeneity Among The American People, Frank John Gonzalez

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A “true” American takes pride in the democratic processes that grant power to the people, right? Some literature has shown that “power to the people” is actually quite far from being uniformly endorsed by the American people, largely because of the inherent conflict and disagreement that comes with it (e.g., Hibbing & Theiss-Morse, 2002). So are people more positive toward democratic processes when they perceive consensus among citizens? I utilize survey data from a representative sample of the United States in order to show that perceptions of consensus are positively related to support for the political power of the American …

Refworks Usage Statistics Through June 2013, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

RefWorks is a subscription-based, online software product that helps researchers save, organize, and format bibliographic citations. This report provides monthly statistics on the usage of RefWorks by the University of Rhode Island community from 2002 through June 2013. Data provided includes: user type summary, focus area summary, references created per month, accounts created per month, all user accounts by user type, all user accounts by focus area, last quarter number of accounts by user type, reference type detail, all references by focus area, last quarter references by focus area, last quarter references by user type, all references by user type, …

Mississippi Teacher Corps Trains Record Class, Jerra A. Scott, Andrew Mark Abernathy

University of Mississippi News

More than 50 percent of new recruits to teach math or science

Serials Solutions Subject Search Report 2012-2013, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Statistics on the total number of Serials Solutions subject searches at the University of Rhode Island Libraries by month for 2012-2013. Shows how many times the A-Z full text electronic journal list (at http://zu4tq4pb5v.search.serialssolutions.com/) was browsed by specific subjects.

Serials Solutions Click-Through Statistics By Provider And Database 2012-2013, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Statistics on the total number of database and journal-level clicks, by provider and database, of Serials Solutions tools at the University of Rhode Island Libraries by month for 2012-2013. Clicks may have originated from the A-Z full text electronic journal list (at http://zu4tq4pb5v.search.serialssolutions.com/), from OpenURL links ("360 Link"), or the 856 fields of Serials Solutions-generated MARC records ("360 MARC Updates").

Serials Solutions 360 Link Referring Sources Report 2012-2013, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Statistics for 2012-2013 on the number of OpenURL requests made to the "Serials Solutions 360 Link" OpenURL link resolver (at http://zu4tq4pb5v.search.serialssolutions.com/) for items held by the University of Rhode Island Libraries.

Information provided includes Referring Source ID, total Number of Requests for the year, and %Total (Number of Requests).

Note: "36520" = EBSCOhost

Mouse Strain Determines Cardiac Growth Potential, Carmen Kiper, Barry Grimes, Gary Van Zant, Jonathan Satin

Physiology Faculty Publications

RATIONALE: The extent of heart disease varies from person to person, suggesting that genetic background is important in pathology. Genetic background is also important when selecting appropriate mouse models to study heart disease. This study examines heart growth as a function of strain, specifically C57BL/6 and DBA/2 mouse strains.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we test the hypothesis that two strains of mice, C57BL/6 and DBA/2, will produce varying degrees of heart growth in both physiological and pathological settings.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Differences in heart dimensions are detectable by echocardiography at 8 weeks of age. Percentages of cardiac progenitor cells (c-kit+ …

A Mathematical System For Human Implantable Wound Model Studies, Salomonsky Paul-Michael

Theses and Dissertations

Dermal wound healing involves a myriad of highly regulated and sophisticated mechanisms, which are coordinated and carried out via several specialized cell types. The dominant players involved in this process include platelets, neutrophils, macrophages and fibroblasts. These cells play a vital role in the repair of the wound by orchestrating tasks such as forming a fibrin clot to stanch blood flow, removing foreign organisms and cellular debris, depositing new collagen matrix and establishing the contractile forces which eventually bridge the void caused by the initial infraction.\\[5pt] \indent Our current understanding of these mechanisms has been primarily based upon animal models. …

Spectral Discrimination Of Breast Pathologies In Situ Using Spatial Frequency Domain Imaging, Ashley M. Laughney, Venkataramanan Krishnaswamy, Elizabeth J. Rizzo, Mary C. Schwab, Richard J. Barth, David J. Cuccia, Bruce J. Tromberg, Keith D. Paulsen, Brian W. Pogue, Wendy A. Wells

Dartmouth Scholarship

Introduction: Nationally, 25% to 50% of patients undergoing lumpectomy for local management of breast cancer require a secondary excision because of the persistence of residual tumor. Intraoperative assessment of specimen margins by frozen-section analysis is not widely adopted in breast-conserving surgery. Here, a new approach to wide-field optical imaging of breast pathology in situ was tested to determine whether the system could accurately discriminate cancer from benign tissues before routine pathological processing.

Development Of Pectoral Apparatus In Ictalurid Catfish, Shweta Lahiri

Theses and Dissertations

The thesis contains two manuscripts- 1) Developmental changes in pectoral muscle fiber diameter and number in the Blue Catfish, Ictalurus furcatus and 2) Reduction in pectoral spine and girdle in domesticated Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus is likely caused by the absence of fish predators. The first study showed that fiber diameter increased linearly with fish size, whereas fiber number increases non linearly with fish size in the Blue Catfish correlated with dietary shift. The second study showed shorter spines in domesticated Channel Catfish as compared to wild Channel Catfish was a result of reduction in selection pressure during domestication in …

Environmental Influences On Sex Ratio And Spatial Distribution Of Dioecious Morella Cerifera L. On A Virginia Barrier Island., Molly Hokkanen

Theses and Dissertations

For dioecious plant species, sex ratios within a population depend on multiple environmental and life history characteristics. Sex ratio is an indicator of population health and can be a predictor for genetic bottlenecking. My study established the previously unknown sex ratio for the shrub, Morella cerifera, on a Virginia barrier island. The ratio was compared with multiple environmental and reproductive traits to determine their potential influence on sex determination and/or distribution of male and female plants. Multivariate analyses were used to identify relationships between sex, sex ratio and environmental drivers. The sex ratio for M. cerifera changed depending on scale. …

Use Of Metarhizium Anisopliae Chitinase Genes For Genotyping And Virulence Characterization, Saliou Niassy, Sevgan Subramanian, Sunday Ekesi, Joel L. Bargul, Jandouwe Villinger, Nguya K. Maniania

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Virulence is the primary factor used for selection of entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) for development as biopesticides. To understand the genetic mechanisms underlying differences in virulence of fungal isolates on various arthropod pests, we compared the chitinase genes, chi2 and chi4, of 8 isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae. The clustering of the isolates showed various groups depending on their virulence. However, the analysis of their chitinase DNA sequences chi2 and chi4 did not reveal major divergences. Although their protein translates have been implicated in fungal virulence, the predicted protein structure of chi2 was identical for all isolates. Despite the critical role of …

Acer Research Conference Proceedings (2013)

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

How the Brain Learns: What lessons are there for teaching? was the theme of the 2013 Research Conference, held 4–6 August 2013 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

2013 Annual Meeting Program

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Aspergillosis Of Pseudopterogorgia Americana: Increased Host Range Of Aspergillus Sydowii From The Wider Caribbean, Garriet W. Smith

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Reports of gorgonian diseases have been increasing in the past few years,but, with the exception of Gorgonia spp., the etiological agents responsible are generally unknown. In the summer of 1999, populations of Pseudopterogorgia americana were observed with lesions and galls, somewhat similar to Aspergillus sydowii infections on Gorgonia ventalina, in Bermuda. Surveys of three sites were made, repeated the following two years, and compared with sites in the Bahamas. Microscopic observations of affected tissue and subsequent pure culture studies indicated the pathogen was also A. sydowii. Over half of the colonies at the Bahamas site were affected, but …

Evaluation Of The Efficacy Of 1-Octen-3-Ol And Carbon Dioxide Chemoattractants With Mosquitoes And Bloodmeal Analysis Of Culex Mosquito Spp. In Lancaster County, Nebraska, Julianne N. Matczyszyn

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of mosquito-borne disease surveillance is to assess the risk of pathogen transmission by assessing mosquito populations and the prevalence of disease pathogens in those populations. West Nile virus (WNV) is an important mosquito-borne virus in Nebraska, and can be transmitted by several mosquito species found in Lancaster County, Nebraska, including Culex pipiens L., Culex salinarius Coquillett, Culex restuans Theobald, Culex tarsalis Coquillett, Culex territans Walker, and Culex erraticus Dyar & Knab. These species are ornithophilic, yet many studies indicate a shift in host feeding to mammalian in late summer months. One-octen-3-ol (octenol) can be isolated …

Colonization History And Origin Of The Galapagos Flycatcher (Myiarchus Magnirostris) And Its Parasites, Eloisa Helena Reis Sari

Dissertations

The Galápagos flycatcher (Myiarchus magnirostris) is an endemic species to the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, and is among the least studied Galápagos terrestrial birds. In this work I unveiled the origin and colonization history of the Galápagos flycatcher, and also the origin of the parasites that are currently found in/on this bird species. To determine the origin of the Galápagos flycatcher, I rebuilt the phylogeny of the Myiarchus genus using cytb and ND2, and applied a Bayesian approach to estimate its colonization time. I discovered that the closest living relative of the Galápagos flycatcher is Myiarchus tyrannulus (Brown-crested flycatcher) …

The Black Flame Trilogy, Multigenerational Educational Trauma, And The Dehumanization Of Black Students, June Cara Christian

Dissertations

This study identifies W.E.B. Du Bois’ theory of education as put forth in his Black Flame trilogy (BFT). A longitudinal survey of culture and society—specifically educational disparities in the United States from 1863 through 1956, the BFT bears close textual analysis to reveal how the processes of racialization and colonization as well as the movement toward globalization influence education and its contribution to the dehumanization of students. Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome and critical race theory are theoretical tools of analysis that create a multi-generational dialectic that understands Du Bois’ BFT as a socio-historical analysis of White supremacy that establishes a …

The Addition Of Melatonin To 17beta-Estradiol And Progesterone Modulated Markers Relevant To Mammary Tumor Development And Modulated Steroid Receptors Relevant To Uterine Protection In A Mouse Model Of Breast Cancer, Corry Dominic Bondi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is important to relieve menopausal symptoms. However, HRT use declined after an increased risk of breast cancer was reported by the Women's Health Initiative. With the ultimate goal of developing a novel replacement therapy to relieve menopausal symptoms without increasing the risk of breast cancer, we postulated that a novel replacement therapy containing 17β-estradiol (E2) and half the recommended dose of progesterone (P4) along with nocturnal melatonin supplementation (EPMRT) would be protective against mammary tumor development. Previously, in a mouse model of HER2+ breast cancer, our laboratory demonstrated that EPMRT was protective against …

Understanding Nocturnal Ambulatory Blood Pressure In Youth, Katie E. Chipungu

Open Access Dissertations

In adolescents, nocturnal ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) provides a rich and informative picture of cardiovascular health and risk. This study modeled nocturnal ABP taken during one night using multi-level growth modeling. A combination of demographic, daytime, clinical, and sleep related variables were also included as inter-individual predictors of nighttime blood pressure regulation. Adolescents (N = 252) were obtained from three larger studies addressed cardiovascular risk in youth attending public high schools in Miami-Dade County. Participants included in this study completed a baseline medical screening, initial ABP assessment visit and had at least one ABP reading taken during sleep. Within a …

The Journey Of A Science Teacher: Preparing Female Students In The Training Future Scientists After School Program, Rona Marie Robinson-Hill

Dissertations

Abstract What affect does female participation in the Training Future Scientist (TFS) program based on Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and Maslow’s Hierarchies of Needs have on female adolescents’ achievement levels in science and their attitude toward science and interest in science-based careers? The theoretical framework for this study was developed through a constructivist perspective, using dialogic engagement, coinciding with Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural learning theory. This action research project used mixed methods research design, targeted urban adolescent females who were members of Boys & Girls Club of Greater St. Louis (BGCGSTL) after-school program. The data collection measures were three qualitative instruments (semi-structured …

Summer Experience Gives Students A Chance To Research Along With Faculty, Winthrop University

Winthrop News 2013

• Students in this year’s Summer Undergraduate Research Experience worked on numerous projects, including helping to cure Alzheimer’s disease, learning about human heart development through interaction with sea squirts, working with chicken embryos to help understand human retinal eye development and testing enzymes in plants to help create biofuels.
• Professors say Winthrop has developed a culture where undergraduate research is a fundamental part of students' academic and professional development.”

Building An Effective One-On-One Working Relationship Between Middle School Teachers And Parents: What Are The Steps Of Learning For Teachers?, Karen Cheung Leong

Dissertations

The topic of parental involvement has been widely studied but within the topic, the area of training teachers to work with parents has not. The training and preparation for teachers to work with parents are scarce and at times, non-existent. The primary purpose of this study is to examine effective middle school teachers about the steps on their path of learning to work effectively with parents. The study also included middle student teachers that shared their needs in learning how to work with parents. The study focused on interviewing highly successful middle school teachers in the area of working with …

The Relationship Between Posttraumatic Cognitions And Social Support In The Severity Of Ptsd Symptoms, Ellen Margaret Koucky

Dissertations

Posttraumatic cognitions (PC), perceived social support (PSS), and received social support (RSS) contribute to the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but little is known about the way these variables may influence each other in this process. The current study tested the association between PSS and RSS and compared levels of these support types in PTSD-positive versus PTSD-negative subjects. An SEM model investigating the role of PC, PSS, and RSS in predicting PTSD symptom severity was also tested. Results indicate a significant difference in the strength of the association between support types based on diagnostic status and lower levels of …