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Evolution Of The Kinetics And Dynamics Of Heme-Crevice Loop Regulating Chemistry In Human Cytochrome C, Shiloh M. Nold

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Cytochrome c, cytc, is a metalloprotein that plays primary roles in electron transport and intrinsic apoptotic pathways. Much of the chemistry that cytc is involved with is regulated by a highly conserved region known as the heme crevice loop, consisting of residues 70-85. Only three of these residues (those at positions 81, 83 and 85) are not universally conserved within the evolutionary timeline. Here I look to elucidate possible evolutionary roles for several of the key residues known to be important in regulating heme chemistry of cytc.

I first address the role that lysine …

Harvest And Persistence Of Wolf Populations: Variable Effects Of Harvest On Wolf Packs In The Rocky Mountains, Sarah B. Bassing

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Pubic harvest is a common method used to manage populations of wolves (Canis lupus) in North America. Although wolves appear resilient to the effects of harvest management the influences on demography and pack stability are uncertain. Packs generally drive population dynamics for wolves; thus, we were interested in how harvested populations were maintained and how harvest influenced the abundance and distribution of packs. We used noninvasive genetic data collected in Idaho, USA (2008–2014) and Alberta, Canada (2012–2014) to test whether immigration compensated for harvest mortality and helped maintain population densities. We further fit occupancy models to detection data …

Implications Of Rancher Decision-Making Patterns In Douglas County, Washington For Incentive-Based Conservation Of Sage-Grouse, Clancy Jandreau

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Conservationists are increasingly recognizing the importance of private land for the conservation of imperiled wildlife species while at the same time acknowledging the controversies with seeking Endangered Species Act protections. Recent and ongoing government-led efforts to conserve the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) through the Sage Grouse Initiative (SGI) provide an illustrative experiment in applying incentive-based conservation to private lands. However, whether the SGI program works because it provides an alternative to listing has not been empirically researched. In this study I apply a qualitative, exploratory approach to examine SGI participation among ranchers in Washington, a state with high …

Estimating The Effects Of Overstory Retention, Vegetative Competition, And Site Quality On The Height Growth Of Small Ponderosa Pine Trees Using Regression Quantiles, Colin P. Kirkmire

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa C. Lawson) forests in the Inland Northwestern region of the US are increasingly managed under multi-aged silvicultural systems that provide stand structure for wildlife habitat, timber production, enhanced aesthetic, or restoration of presettlement conditions (O'Hara 2005). Partial retention harvest, where an element of the previous stand's overstory structure is retained, is commonly used to achieve a multi-aged stand structure. However, little is known about how ponderosa pine trees in the understory respond to overstory and understory competitive factors following partial retention harvest. The height growth of small trees was hypothesized to be influenced by site …

Subjective Experience Of Empathy In Schizotypy Elicited By Literary Fictional Narrative, Christa "Anahata" Neuman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The elaborate and multidimensional systems that are involved in the personal and subjective experience of empathy are largely unexplored. Nevertheless, when empathy is measured as a static trait there is considerable evidence that individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and schizotypy demonstrate altered and reduced empathic abilities respectively (Thirioux, 2014). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect that the context of reading literary fiction has on a portion of the process of empathic responding in relation to schizotypal traits, taking into consideration personal factors including current mood. A new measure for the use of momentary assessment of empathy was …

An Investigation Of The Effects Of Depressive-Rumination On Prospective Memory, Mark Primosch

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Depression is related to prospective memory (PM) impairment. However, the research on depression-related PM impairment remains inconclusive. No study to date has taken into account the possible effects of depressive-rumination, which is known to impair executive functions underlying PM. The current study addresses this gap in the literature. Participants: Participants were grouped according to self-reported depression severity per the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II). Fifty-five individuals with low (BDI-II < 8), 17 individuals with moderate (BDI-II 9-18), and 16 individuals with high (BDI-II > 19) symptoms of depression were included in the study. Method: Participants completed demographic and trait and state rumination questionnaires. Participants within each …

Assessing Riparian Ecosystem Condition And Monitoring Recovery From Natural And Anthropogenic Disturbance, Rachel Powers

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Riparian ecosystems are the transition zones between river systems and uplands. They provide many valuable ecological functions including creating habitat for wildlife, stabilizing banks from erosion and providing a buffer that prevents excess nutrients from entering streams. Fires and other disturbances alter the function of these ecosystems. Currently, there is a lack of broadly used standardized assessments and monitoring methods in riparian areas within our current water policy framework. This study aims to examine this gap in riparian ecosystem protection by reviewing the assessment methods currently in use, selecting one method for field testing, and analyzing the effort involved in …

Ethics, Eugenics, And Public Education In Georgia (1910-1965), Aaron Gerald Guest Sr.

Theses and Dissertations

This study traces the eugenics movement in Georgia, focusing on the ideology behind the social policies that led to the forced sterilizations of over four thousand Georgians from 1939 to 1965. This thesis will address the following questions: 1) How were Georgia’s public policies affected by eugenics? 2) To what extent were the racial views of Georgians affected by scientific proclamations? 3) What role did the public schools play in educating the populace about eugenics? This research will focus primarily on the scientific racial dynamic of America during the twentieth century, arguing that American political thought and the idea of …

Design, Cloning, And Expression Of Rat Preptin And Alanine Analogs, Jahbo M. Love

Theses and Dissertations

Alanine scanning mutagenesis was employed to determine the structural epitopes of preptin; a newly discovered polypeptide found on the proinsulin-like growth factor II. The alanine scanning mutagenesis was accomplished by the use of, cloning, affinity chromatography, gel electrophoresis, gene sequencing, and mass spectra. However, due to inconclusive results, more research is required before the epitopes can be elucidated.

Effects Of Grazers And Elevated Temperature On The Dynamics Of A Wastewater Algal Treatment System, Mengyuan Li

Theses and Dissertations

Wastewater algal treatment systems (ATS) have been shown to effectively remove excessive nutrients from wastewater and prevent eutrophication. However, the performance of ATS could be strongly affected by environmental factors. This study examined (1) the effect of grazers on nutrient removal rates and (2) the effect of 1.7 °C increase in temperature on algal biomass. The effect of grazers was assessed outdoors by analyzing dissolved and tissue nutrient concentrations in ATS with and without biological pesticide in two 20-day trials. The effect of elevated temperature was evaluated indoors by comparing algal biomass between heated and non-heated ATS for 20 days. …

Effects Of Estrogens On Astrocytes Exposed To Stressors, Bridget N. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), used by many women to alleviate menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and mood swings, is often a combination of horomones such as estrogens, progesterone, and conjugated equine estrogens (CEE), extracted from the urine of pregnant mares. Previous studies have found positive correlations between estradiol and cellular protection, but recent research has concluded CEE provide less protective mechanisms as compared to endogenous hormones. This research sought to compare the effects of estrogen treatments (single and combined estrogen) on viability when astrocytes were induced with stressors (epinephrine, cortisol, and low oxygen concentration). Cultured human astrocytes were treated …

Tools For Anti-Microbial Peptide Editable Database, Sunandha Sharma Acharya

Open Access Master's Theses

The goal of this thesis is to create tools for Anti-Microbial Peptide Database AMPed, developed by Professor Lenore Martin’s microbial peptide research group at University of Rhode Island. The database is for Researchers and Biologists, as they will be the main users. To develop a functioning and efficient database there should be tools that are relevant to the users of the database. In our case, the primary users are biologists, needing to calculate specific results or to visualize their data. The tools that are developed as a part for this thesis are the MIC (Minimal Inhibitory Concentration) and MLC (Minimal …

The Mitochondrial Ca(2+) Uniporter: Structure, Function, And Pharmacology., Jyotsna Mishra, Bong Sook Jhun, Stephen Hurst, Jin O-Uchi, György Csordás, Shey-Shing Sheu

Center for Translational Medicine Faculty Papers

Mitochondrial Ca(2+) uptake is crucial for an array of cellular functions while an imbalance can elicit cell death. In this chapter, we briefly reviewed the various modes of mitochondrial Ca(2+) uptake and our current understanding of mitochondrial Ca(2+) homeostasis in regards to cell physiology and pathophysiology. Further, this chapter focuses on the molecular identities, intracellular regulators as well as the pharmacology of mitochondrial Ca(2+) uniporter complex.

'Civil Wars: A History In Ideas' By David Armitage (Review), Zachary C. Shirkey

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Dismantling Motivational Interviewing: Effects On Initiation Of Behavior Change Among Problem Drinkers Seeking Treatment, Jon Morgenstern, Alexis Kuerbis, Jessica Houser, Sijing Shao, James R. Mckay

Publications and Research

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is an efficacious treatment for alcohol use disorders (AUD). MI is thought to enhance motivation via a combination of two therapeutic strategies or active ingredients: one relational and one directional. The primary aim of this study was to examine MI’s hypothesized active ingredients using a dismantling design. Problem drinkers (N=139) seeking treatment were randomized to one of three conditions: MI, relational MI without the directional elements labeled spirit-only MI (SOMI) or a non-therapy control (NTC) condition and followed for eight weeks. Those assigned to MI or SOMI received four sessions of treatment over eight weeks. All participants …

A Pilot Study Of Online Feedback For Adult Drinkers 50 And Older: Feasibility, Efficacy, And Preferences For Intervention, Alexis Kuerbis, Lisa Hail, Alison A. Moore, Frederick Muench

Publications and Research

Normative (NF) and personalized feedback (PF) are moderately effective brief interventions for at-risk drinking middle-aged and older adults. This study tested the feasibility of online feedback for drinkers 50 and older. This study’s aims were to identify whether there is differential effectiveness of PF over NF in prompting drinkers 50 years old and older to plan for change and to determine potential preferences for intervention among adult drinkers 50 and older with practical knowledge about computers. Method—Using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, 138 male and female drinkers aged 50 to 75+ were recruited to complete an online survey that asked about their: …

Agronomic Characteristics Of Birdsfoot Trefoil (Lotus Corniculatus L.) In The Northeast, Sarah Ferguson

Open Access Master's Theses

Tanniferous forages, such as birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.), are a potential control for the parasitic nematode Haemonchus contortus (barber pole worm). Gastrointestinal parasites cause huge economic loss in small ruminant production. Tanniferous forages have been shown to reduce counts of parasite eggs in feces of small ruminants. Currently the tanniferous forage Lespedza cuneate L. is used in the southern United States in control of gastrointestinal nematodes of small ruminants. It is not a viable option in the Northeast due to insufficient winter hardiness. Birdsfoot trefoil is adapted to the Northeast and may be a viable option as a …

Investigating Rhode Island Town Beaches Litter Policies, Sara Benson

Open Access Master's Theses

Marine litter in coastal areas creates environmental, social and aesthetic problems. Environmental effects of marine debris include choking animals, entanglement of marine mammals and killing marine life through the leaching of chemicals. Marine debris can negatively impact humans and the economies of coastal communities. The issues pertaining to marine debris are so expansive it is difficult to assess where to start mitigating the issue. Focusing on beaches is a small, yet significant start to solving the overall marine debris issue. Many turn to beach or ocean cleanups; however, controlling litter before it enters the marine environment will be more effective …

Predictors Of Infection In Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Using Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor Agents, Tasia Liu

Open Access Master's Theses

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an incurable autoimmune disease that can cause permanent joint damage and loss of function. Anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) agents inhibit the function of tumor necrosis factor (TNF), which leads to a reduction in the progression of joint damage due to inflammation. However, an increased risk of serious infections in RA patients using anti-TNF agents has been observed in previous studies. This increased risk may be due to the immunologic disturbance of the RA disease process itself, the immunosuppressive properties of anti-rheumatic drug therapies, or co-existing risk factors for infection present in RA patients. Herein, our …

Receptor-Protein Interactions Mediated By The Fourth Transmembrane Of D2r Can Be Altered By Treatment With Antipsychotics, Craig Michael Irving

Open Access Master's Theses

The treatment of psychological diseases like schizophrenia has depended on the use of antipsychotic drugs many of which were created as far back as the 1970’s. These drugs typically act on the D2 dopamine receptor (D2R) to antagonize its signaling and alter the signaling of the mesolimbic and mesocortical dopaminergic pathways in the brain. Several studies have indicated that it may be more important to identify the specific receptor-protein interactions which could prove to be more beneficial drug targets for the treatment of schizophrenia (Magalhaes, Dunn, & Ferguson, 2012). In this study we identified that the fourth transmembrane motif in …

Assessment Of Fluid Imaging For Determination Of Diatom Assemblage Composition And Biometrics Of Southern Ocean Sediment, Neil Redmond

Open Access Master's Theses

Diatoms are important ecologic indicators whose assemblage, chemistry, and valve features are reflections of their original environmental conditions. Fossil diatom biometrics are an emerging measurement introduced to supplement our understanding of the hydrographic history of the Southern Ocean. Here, we present a novel method to simultaneously measure fossil diatom assemblage and biometrics using a FlowCam, an instrument combining features from a flow cytometer and microscopic camera. It offers, computerized automatic identification to supplement manual, visual identifications, leading to increased counts and biometric measurements. To assess the viability of the FlowCam as a paleoceanographic tool, a FlowCam measured data set was …

The Exploration Of Young Audiences And Identity Development Through Social Media Platforms, Sara L. Benn

Open Access Master's Theses

Past research found that messages in popular television promote fame as a top value, while social media allows anyone to reach broad audience. Adolescents ages 11-17 are more likely to value fame, wealth, and image over community, affiliation, and self-acceptance. Teens may become addicted to the peer connection and affirmation they are able to get via social media. As a result, young audiences may be highly influenced at this stage of development and their value system may be influenced negatively by their use of social media? Despite this research, some researchers see adolescent social media use well within normal socialization, …

Plat: A Web Based Protein Local Alignment Tool, Stephen H. Jaegle

Open Access Master's Theses

Protein structure largely determines functionality; three-dimensional structural alignment is thus important to analysis and prediction of protein function. Protein Local Alignment Tool (PLAT) is an implementation of a web-based tool with a graphic interface that performs local protein structure alignment based on user-selected amino acids. Global alignment compares entire structures; local alignment compares parts of structures. Given input from the user and the RCSB Protein Data Bank, PLAT determines an optimal translation and rotation that minimizes the distance between the structures defined by the selected inputs.

Use Of Ground-Penetrating Radar For Monitoring Bridge Scour And The Identification Of Shallow Bedrock, Moritz Kanter

Open Access Master's Theses

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is increasingly being used in transportation projects to monitor the performance of roadways and bridges and to identify buried structures. The objective of this thesis was to evaluate the use of GPR for the identification of bridge scour and to estimate the depth of shallow rock for geotechnical site investigations. The ability to understand and predict scour at bridges is a requirement for safe, economical foundation design and is important for the development of feasible scour monitoring systems. Accurate assessment of the depth to rock is essential for designing and constructing foundations for buildings and transportation infrastructure. …

Flavin-Containing Monooxygenase-3 And 5: Tissue Distribution, Age-Related Expression And Regulation By Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress, Zhen Xu

Open Access Master's Theses

Background Flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMO) constitute a class of oxidative enzymes. FMO3 and FMO5 are two major FMOs that are highly expressed in the liver. The study was performed to determine regulated expression of both enzymes by age, fructose, therapeutic agents and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stressors. The expression of both enzymes in 33 extrahepatic tissues was determined as well.

Methods The tissue distribution of FMO3 and FMO5 was determined by immunohistochemistry. For age-related expression, livers were collected and divided into 5 age groups: I (< 31 days), II (35-70 days), III (89-119 days), IV (123-198 days), and V (>18 years of age). These samples were analyzed for the expression of FMO3 and FMO5 by …

Circadian Rhythm: A Functional Connection Between Shp And Dec1 Transcription Factor, Marek Matczynski Marczak

Open Access Master's Theses

Circadian rhythms ensure physiological processes to be coordinated with daily changes of the surrounding. Circadian rhythm misalignment has been increasingly recognized to pose health risk for a wide range of diseases, particularly metabolic disorders. The liver maintains metabolic homeostasis and express many circadian genes, such as the genes encoding differentiated embryo chondrocyte-1 (DEC1) and small heterodimer partner (SHP). DEC1 is established to repress transcription through class B E-box elements, and SHP belongs to the superfamily of nuclear receptors and has multiple Ebox elements in its promoter. Importantly, DEC1 and SHP are expressed in an inverse oscillating manner. The present study …

Epidemiology Of Browser-Based Malware, Sindhura Jaladhanki

Open Access Master's Theses

The presence of personal financial data, intellectual property, and classified documents on University computer systems makes them particularly attractive to hackers, but not well prepared for their attacks. The University of Rhode Island (URI) is one of the few institutions collecting network traffic data (NetFlow) for inference and analysis of normal and potentially malicious activity. This research focuses on web-based traffic with client-server architecture and adopts simple probability-based transmission models to explore the vulnerability of the URI web-network to anticipated threats. The fact that the URI firewall captures only traffic data in- and out- of URI necessitates the modeling of …

Assessment Of Activity Of Bacteria In Integrated Fixed Film Activated Sludge, Hannes Behrmann

Open Access Master's Theses

In this study, the feasibility of a manometric batch test method to measure biological activity of Integrated Fixed Film Activated Sludge (IFAS) microbial aerobic and anaerobic communities was investigated. Additionally, the substrate consumption ratio, the N₂O emissions from the biological activity of the different microbial populations and the inhibitory effect of stormwater pollutants on the activity and N₂O production were investigated as well.

The obtained results from the aerobic tests showed qualitative correspondence with trends described in the literature, but differed greatly in quantitative terms (1 to 2 orders of magnitude). The anoxic test did not …

The Physiological Glucagon Receptor In Rat Heart, Kevin Agostinucci

Open Access Master's Theses

The actions of glucagon have been extensively studied for many years. In heart, it is well established that glucagon is capable of causing inotropy. This action is mediated by glucagon binding to a G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) which activates adenylate cyclase, increasing the intracellular concentrations of cAMP. The studies that were able to show this effect used concentrations of glucagon that were considered to be much higher than what is normally found in blood. A recent report, by Harney and Rodgers (2008), described the actions and signaling mechanisms of physiological concentrations of glucagon (<10^-10 M) on perfused rat hearts. …

Metatranscriptomic Analysis Of Co-Occurring Phytoplankton Species In The Ross Sea Polynya, Sylvia Minjee Kim

Open Access Master's Theses

Primary production (PP) of the Ross Sea Polynya (RSP) contributes a significant proportion of the total PP of the Southern Ocean. As a result, the photosynthetic activities of phytoplankton communities in the RSP play important roles in the overall biochemical cycling of carbon and nutrients and structuring the marine food-web. Environmental change, especially in light and iron regimes, regulates variations in PP and affects the phytoplankton community dynamics. Since individual phytoplankton species have unique nutrient requirements, the limited resources impact these algal taxa in different ways. In this study, we used metatranscriptomic analysis to examine how the algal taxa Fragilariopsis …