Digital Commons Network^™

Acoustic Presence Of Humpback Whales (Megaptera Novaeangliae) In U.S. West Coast National Marine Sanctuaries, John C. Barkowski

Master's Theses

Humpback whales are one of many species of marine mammal that utilize sound in multiple aspects of their lives in the oceans. By collecting acoustic data from multiple areas across the habitat of these animals, we can investigate spatiotemporal patterns in their sound production to better understand their life history strategy. This study uses three years of passive acoustic data collected concurrently from three U.S. West Coast National Marine Sanctuaries to look for spatiotemporal patterns in humpback whale song and non-song vocalizations. Additionally, this study investigated correlations between upwelling conditions and the onset of song to explore links between the …

Acquisitions Unit Annual Report 2024-2025, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Annual Report of the Acquisitions Unit, University Libraries, University of Rhode Island for FY2025. Covers personnel, work flow, special projects, and serial, monograph, and e-resource acquisitions. Supplemental files include data on library materials expenditures by a number of variables as well as important working documents from the year.

Recreation Effects On Soil Carbon, Biocrust Presence, Soil Stability, And Invasive Species In Indian Creek, Bears Ears National Monument, Elisabeth M. Currit

Theses and Dissertations

Desert ecosystems perform essential ecosystem services, including playing a crucial role in the global carbon cycle. Because of this, it is important to understand how recreational activities, common in desert environments, impacts dryland ecosystems' ability to perform ecosystem services. The growing popularity of outdoor recreation in Western US poses a threat to desert ecosystems, and unregulated activities can harm soil health, particularly the presence and functioning of biological soil crusts (biocrusts). This study uses the Indian Creek Special Recreation Management area in Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, USA, as a case study for recreation impacted desert ecosystems. It examines the …

Coding For Nonstandard Channels: A Capacity-Oriented Approach, J Daniel Harman

Theses and Dissertations

This work addresses the issue of coding for non-standard channel models with an emphasis on capacity-oriented channel analysis and system design. The first channel studied is the Wyner wiretap channel. Channel sounding results were obtained to calculate the capacity for the multi-antenna case of the Wyner wiretap channel to ascertain the potential for secure communication via secrecy coding. The second channel studied is an asymmetric binary crossover erasure channel (ABCEC) with a short-blocklength constraint. The capacity for this channel was derived, and linear codes were chosen and tested. Another study was conducted on the ABCEC within a degraded wiretap channel …

Exploring Soil-Derived Antimicrobials For Inhibiting Dairy-Associated Pathogens And Spoilage Bacteria, Michael Joseph Moran

Theses and Dissertations

Spore-forming bacteria are among the most problematic contaminants in fluid milk. They can survive pasteurization, grow at refrigeration temperatures, and secrete heat-stable enzymes, making them a major cause of spoilage in both pasteurized and reconstituted milk products. Current nonthermal strategies for reducing spore counts, including microfiltration and bactofugation, are often costly and inconsistent. The increasing consumer demand for natural additives in food products has sparked interest in the use of bacterially-derived antimicrobial compounds, particularly those from generally recognized as safe (GRAS) organisms, as an alternative method of dairy preservation. This study explores the antimicrobial potential of ten soil-derived Bacillus and …

Contrasting Responses To Riverine Barrier Modification And Fish Pass Provision In Two Anadromous Non-Salmonid Species During Their Spawning Migrations, Mark I.A. Yeldham, J. Robert Britton, Charles Crundwell, Peter Davies, Jamie R. Dodd, Chris Grzesiok, Andrew D. Nunn, Randolph Velterop, Jonathan D. Bolland

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Anthropogenic in-river structures represent barriers to migrating fishes. Fish pass designs usually focus on passing anadromous salmonids, and fish pass studies usually focus on site-scale metrics, failing to consider the wider effects. Weir passage metrics and spawning distributions of anadromous iteroparous twaite shad Alosa fallax and semelparous sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus were assessed using acoustic telemetry between 2018 and 2023, within a catchment-scale reconnection programme on the River Severn (‘Unlocking the Severn’ [UtS]). Reconnection was by fish pass installation (Severn mainstem; 3 deep-vertical slot (DVS), 1 column bypass) and weir modification (Teme tributary; 1 partial removal/reduced head height, 1 reduced …

Genetic Overlap Between Functional Impairment And Depression And Anxiety Symptom Severity: Evidence From The Glad Study, Megan Skelton, Jessica Mundy, Abigail Ter Kuile, Brett Adey, Cherie Armour, Joshua Buckman, Jonathan Coleman, Molly Davies, Colette R. Hirsch, Matthew Hotopf, Ian Jones, Gursharan Kalsi, Georgina Krebs, Sang Hyuck Lee, Yuhao Lin, Andrew M. Mcintosh, Alicia J. Peel, Christopher Rayner, Katharine Rimes, Daniel J. Smith, Katherine N. Thompson, David Veale, James T.R. Walters, Christopher Hübel, Gerome Breen, Thalia C. Eley

School of Psychology

BACKGROUND: Functional impairment in daily activities, such as work and socializing, is part of the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder and most anxiety disorders. Despite evidence that symptom severity and functional impairment are partially distinct, functional impairment is often overlooked. To assess whether functional impairment captures diagnostically relevant genetic liability beyond that of symptoms, we aimed to estimate the heritability of, and genetic correlations between, key measures of current depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and functional impairment.

METHODS: In 17,130 individuals with lifetime depression or anxiety from the Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression (GLAD) Study, we analyzed total scores …

Nuak Kinases: Signaling Mechanisms And Therapeutic Applications, Nicole M. Cullen, Peter Rosston, Bakhtawar Tufail, Anne E. D'Armond, Ayushi Patel, Dara H. Khosravi, Bridgette M. Collins-Burow, Van T. Hoang, Elizabeth C. Martin, David H. Drewry, Matthew E. Burow, Suresh K. Alahari

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

The novel (nua) kinases 1 and 2 are two of 12 AMP-activated protein–related kinases whose signaling pathways are involved in cancer progression, as well as neurologic, fibrotic, and inflammatory diseases. Currently, there are 80 Food and Drug Administration-approved kinase inhibitors which target roughly 24 of the 500+ known human kinases, leaving most kinases underexplored, including NUAK1 and NUAK2. Thus, there is a critical need for selective inhibition of NUAK1 and NUAK2 signaling. Here, we review the protein structure, known upstream regulators and downstream targets, and expression profiles of NUAK1 and NUAK2 in cancerous compared to noncancerous tissue. We also delineate …

Socioeconomic Determinants Of Depression And Anxiety Disorders In Puerto Ricans Living On The Island And The Mainland, Herman Alvarado

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research shows that, among Hispanics, depression and anxiety disorders are the two most prevalent mental disorders, particularly for Puerto Ricans. The socioecological model approaches mental health conditions from a perspective where multiple levels in society influence health-related behaviors. Based on this approach, this quantitative study looked at how socioeconomic factors - marital status, education, employment, and residential status were related to a diagnosis of depression or anxiety in Puerto Ricans. This study also explored whether there were differences between two groups of Puerto Ricans: those living on the island compared to those living in the 50 states. Analysis was conducted …

Profiling Brain Morphology For Autism Spectrum Disorder With Two Cross-Culture Large-Scale Consortia, Xue-Ru Fan, Ye He, Yin-Shan Wang, Lei Li, Lifespan Brain Chart Consortium (Lbcc), China Autism Brain Imaging Consortium (Cabic), Xujun Duan, Xi-Nian Zuo, John Blangero

Human Genetics Publications

We explore neurodevelopmental heterogeneity in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) through normative modeling of cross-cultural cohorts. By leveraging large-scale datasets from Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE) and China Autism Brain Imaging Consortium (CABIC), our model identifies two ASD subgroups with distinct brain morphological abnormalities: subgroup “L” is characterized by generally smaller brain region volumes and higher rates of abnormality, while subgroup “H” exhibits larger volumes with less pronounced deviations in specific areas. Key areas, such as the isthmus cingulate and transverse temporal gyrus, were identified as critical for subgroup differentiation and ASD trait correlations. In subgroup H, the regional volume …

Information Theory Optimization Of Signals From Small-Angle Scattering Measurements, Robert P Rambo, John A Tainer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) of particles in solution informs on the conformational states and assemblies of biological macromolecules (bioSAXS) outside of cryo- and solid-state conditions. In bioSAXS, the SAXS measurement under dilute conditions is resolution limited, and through an inverse Fourier transform, the measured SAXS intensities directly relate to the physical space occupied by the particles via the P(r)-distribution. Yet, this inverse transform of SAXS data has been historically cast as an ill-posed, ill-conditioned problem requiring an indirect approach. Here, we show that through the applications of matrix and information theories, the inverse transform of SAXS intensity data is a …

Phase 2 Study Of Zilovertamab Vedotin In Participants With Metastatic Solid Tumors, Funda Meric-Bernstam, Martin Gutierrez, Enrique Sanz-Garcia, Diego Villa, Jun Zhang, Jennifer Friedmann, Fengting Yan, Mark A Socinski, John Sarantopoulos, Luis E Raez, Quincy S Chu, Maxime Chénard-Poirier, Manash Chatterjee, Hong Ren, Qi Liu, Douglas A Levine, Komal L Jhaveri

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Zilovertamab vedotin, an antibody‒drug conjugate targeting receptor tyrosine kinase‒like orphan receptor 1 (ROR1), had manageable safety and promising antitumor activity in participants with relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphomas. We evaluated zilovertamab vedotin in participants with previously-treated metastatic solid tumors.

Methods: This phase 2, open-label, nonrandomized study (NCT04504916) enrolled participants with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, hormone receptor‒positive (HR+) breast cancer, nonsquamous non‒small-cell lung cancer, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, or pancreatic cancer. Participants received zilovertamab vedotin ≤2.5 mg/kg once every 3 weeks (Q1/3W) or < 1.75 mg/kg twice every 3 weeks (Q2/3W). Primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR) per RECIST v1.1 by blinded independent central review. ROR1 protein expression was correlated with clinical outcomes.

Results: 102 participants were enrolled (Q1/3W, n=70; Q2/3W, n=32). ORR was 1% (95% CI, 0%‒8%) with …

Association Between Allostatic Load And Accelerated White Matter Brain Aging: Findings From The Uk Biobank, Li Feng, Zhenyao Ye, Zewen Du, Yezhi Pan, Travis Canida, Hongjie Ke, Song Liu, Shuo Chen, L Elliot Hong, Peter Kochunov, Jie Chen, David K Y Lei, Edmond Shenassa, Tianzhou Ma

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

White matter (WM) brain age, a neuroimaging-derived biomarker indicating WM microstructural changes, helps predict dementia and neurodegenerative disorder risks. The cumulative effect of chronic stress on WM brain aging remains unknown. In this study, we assessed cumulative stress using a multi-system composite allostatic load (AL) index based on inflammatory, anthropometric, respiratory, lipidemia, and glucose metabolism measures, and investigated its association with WM brain age gap (BAG), computed from diffusion tensor imaging data using a machine learning model, among 22 951 European ancestries aged 40 to 69 (51.40% women) from UK Biobank. Linear regression, Mendelian randomization, along with inverse probability weighting, …

Optimizing Coral Sexual Propagation Ex Situ: Synergistic Effects Of Multiple Cues On The Larval Settlement Of Caribbean Corals, Chloe Daniel

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

For coral restoration to be effective at an ecosystem scale, ex situ coral propagation needs to be optimized and cost-effective. One of the major bottlenecks to sexual propagation of Caribbean corals ex situ is low larval settlement, typically induced by the presence of crustose coralline algae (CCA) and microbial films. Previous studies found that coral larval settlement can be enhanced by colored substrates, healthy reef sounds, and the presence of food. This study assessed the potential synergistic effects of colored substrate, reef sounds, and food, along with the commonly used settlement cues (CCA and microbial films) on the larval settlement …

The Benefits Of High Phosphate Concentration (10n : 1p) And Diagonal Orientation On The Ex Situ Grow-Out Of Caribbean Coral Juveniles, Ashley Shen

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

As coral reefs keep declining, it is imperative to increase coral production ex situ for restoration, but this requires culture protocols to be optimized. This study examined the impacts of grow-out orientation and phosphate concentration (and nitrate (N): phosphate (P) ratio) on the survival and growth of Montastraea cavernosa and Pseudodiploria clivosa juveniles from 3 to 9 months old. Pristine reefs typically have low nitrate (0.12μmol/L) and low phosphate (0.03μmol/L) concentrations, leading to N:P ratios of 4-16 N: 1P. In recirculating tanks, it is difficult to lower nitrate concentrations below 25μmol/L. Here we hypothesized that increasing the phosphate concentration in …

Gender And Sexuality In Homeschooling: An Analysis Of Gender Constructs And Sexual Behaviors Within Homeschooling Communities, Hannah Grace Badley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Homeschooling has grown increasingly popular as a form of alternative education both in the United States and globally. However, research examining the public health implications of this homeschooling is minimal, especially research focusing on sexual behaviors and gender identity development. Similarly, research on homeschooling tends to focus on the caregivers' or parents' perceptions or motivations to homeschool, as opposed to centering the experiences and voices of those who are or were homeschooled. Because of this, very little is known about the ways homeschooled youth experience sexual health education, how gender identity development occurs, and how homeschoolers access reproductive healthcare. To …

Integrating The Simplified Silhouette Score Into The Vector In Partition (Vip) Algorithm For Cluster Validation, Luke Xavier Pirrotta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Clustering analysis is a fundamental technique in machine learning, with K-means and its variants being widely used for their interpretability and efficiency. The Vector in Partition (VIP) algorithm extends K-means by incorporating a multi-dimensional distance measure for nested genetic data structures. Still, it inherits the challenge of selecting the optimal number of clusters (k). This thesis proposes integrating the simplified silhouette score (SSI) into VIP’s optimization options to improve k selection. Through simulation studies comparing SSI with currently implemented methods (Elbow, Slope, and Minimum AIC and BIC), we demonstrate that SSI consistently performs on par or better than existing methods, …

Rare Variants In Bmal1 Are Associated With A Neurodevelopmental Syndrome, Vishnu Anand Cuddapah, Dechun Chen, Bumsik Cho, Rebecca Moore, Mohnish Suri, Hana Safraou, Frederic Tran-Mau-Them, Ashley Wilson, Jacqueline Odgis, Atteeq U Rehman, Carol Saunders, Shiva Ganesan, Vaidehi Jobanputra, Stephen W Scherer, Ingo Helbig, Amita Sehgal

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Children with neurodevelopmental disorders exhibit highly penetrant sleep and circadian dysfunction, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. We asked whether a subset of individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders might have genetic variants in genes known to drive circadian rhythms. Through international collaboration, we identified ten individuals with very rare genetic variants in BMAL1, a core component of the molecular clock. These individuals exhibited overlapping signs and symptoms including developmental delay, autism spectrum disorder, and variably penetrant marfanoid features. We functionally tested the identified BMAL1 variants in cell culture and in vivo and found disrupted BMAL1 function. These findings demonstrate that …

Rescue Of Male Infertility By Human Prss55 In Transgenic Mice Establishes A Contraceptive Research Model, Courtney M Sutton, Kohei Umezu, Daisuke Mashiko, Masahito Ikawa, Irina V Larina, Thomas X Garcia, Martin M Matzuk

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The development of non-hormonal male contraceptives requires validated preclinical models. This study investigated whether human orthologs of two mouse testis-specific serine proteases, PRSS55 and TMPRSS12, both essential for male fertility in mice, could functionally rescue the infertility phenotypes of their respective knockout mouse lines. We generated transgenic mouse lines expressing human PRSS55 with either an extracellularly or intracellularly positioned C-terminal 3xFLAG tag (RES GPI or RES TM), and a line expressing human TMPRSS12 with a C-terminal 3xFLAG tag (T12 RES), all on their respective mouse null backgrounds. Fertility was assessed through continuous mating trials, and sperm parameters were evaluated. Both …

Survival To Hospital Discharge In The Fetus With Moderate To Severe Mitral Regurgitation Either In Isolation Or In Combination With Aortic Valve Stenosis Or Atresia, A Fetal Heart Society Collaborative Study, Betul Yilmaz Furtun, Kavitha Pundi, Anita Moon-Grady, Nicole Cresalia, Asela Nieuwsma, Sarah K Gelehrter, Bhawna Arya, Mary T Donofrio, Christopher Statile, Ann Kavanaugh-Mchugh, Lindsay Freud, Elijah Bolin, Megan Warner, Sowmya Balasubramanian, James Strainic, Carol Wittlieb-Weber, Nelangi M Pinto, Lisa Hornberger, Shaine A Morris

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Case series report high mortality after fetal diagnosis of moderate to severe mitral regurgitation in combination with left atrial dilation, hydrops, or restrictive atrial septum. However, overall outcomes and specific high-risk features remain unclear.

Methods: We performed a multicenter retrospective cohort study of fetuses with ≥moderate mitral regurgitation and normal cardiac connections evaluated January 1, 2005 to January 31, 2016. Fetuses undergoing fetal cardiac intervention (FCI) were described separately. We assessed associations between fetal echocardiographic features and discharge mortality using mixed logistic regression and classification and regression tree modeling, stratified by studies performed < 28 and ≥28 weeks gestational age (GA).

Results: Of 67 fetuses, 96% had …

Leishmania In Texas: A Contemporary One Health Scoping Review Of Vectors, Reservoirs, And Human Health, Morgan H Jibowu, Richard Chung, Nina L Tang, Sarah Guo, Leigh-Anne Lawton, Brendan J Sullivan, Dawn M Wetzel, Sarah M Gunter

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Leishmaniasis, a vector-borne neglected tropical disease, affects over 6.2 million people globally. Case acquisition is increasingly recognized in the United States, and in Texas, most reported cases are locally acquired and speciated to Leishmania mexicana. We conducted a scoping literature review to systematically assess contemporary research on Leishmania in humans, animals, reservoir hosts, or vectors in Texas after 2000. Out of 22 eligible studies, the most prevalent themes were case reports, followed by studies on domestic animals, reservoirs, and vectors, with several studies bridging multiple disciplines. Climate change, urbanization, and habitat encroachment appear to be driving the northward expansion …

Three Things We Can Do Now To Reduce The Risk Of Avian Influenza Spillovers, Kenneth B Yeh, William P Bahnfleth, Elaine Bradford, Carol Cardona, Kristen K Coleman, Peter J Hudson, Bernadeta Dadonaite, Rebecca J Hutchins, Anthony Maresso, C Raina Macintyre, Matthew Scotch

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Increased Fungal Burden In The Gastrointestinal Tract Of Brain-Dead Organ Donors, Erika J Nachman, Colleen K Ardis, A Kyle B Ardis, Javier Nieto, Madeline M Bresson, Clare M Robertson, Maggie N Seale, Nora M Villafuerte, Zhe Lyu, Eva C Preisner, Heather A Danhof, Sara C Di Rienzi, Yolanda T Becker, Robert A Britton

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Approximately 3% of organ transplant recipients will be diagnosed with an invasive fungal infection (IFI), with 10%-47% being fatal. The source of IFI is typically not known, but Candida spp. cause the majority of IFI cases. We obtained intestines from two types of organ donors, brain-dead (BD) (n = 7) and donation after circulatory death (DCD) (n = 5), to sample microbes from the mucosal surface and the lumen. BD donors were parenterally fed and treated with corticosteroids in the days before procurement, whereas DCD donors were enterally fed and not given corticosteroids. We found fungi present in …

A Rapid, Simple, And Economical Method For The Isolation Of Ribosomes And Translational Machinery For Structural And Functional Studies, Jessey Erath, Danielle Kemper, Elisha Mugo, Alex Jacoby, Elizabeth Valenzuela, Courtney F Jungers, Wandy L Beatty, Yaser Hashem, Marko Jovanovic, Sergej Djuranovic, Slavica Pavlovic Djuranovic

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Ribosomes are RNA-protein complexes essential for protein synthesis and quality control. Traditional methods for ribosome isolation are labor-intensive, expensive, and require a substantial amount of biological material. In contrast, our method, RNA affinity purification using poly-lysine (RAPPL), provides a rapid, simple, and cost-effective alternative applicable to various species and types of starting material (cell lysates, whole cells, organs, or whole organisms). It is also compatible with traditional isolation techniques. Here, we describe the use of RAPPL for rapid isolation, functional screening, and structural analysis of ribosomes and associated factors. We also demonstrate the application of RAPPL in investigating ribosome-associated resistance …

The Shorthorn: August 16, 1968

The Shorthorn Newspaper Collection: 1960s

No abstract provided.

The Shorthorn: July 5, 1968

The Shorthorn Newspaper Collection: 1960s

No abstract provided.

The Shorthorn: March 22, 1968

The Shorthorn Newspaper Collection: 1960s

No abstract provided.

The Shorthorn: February 16, 1968

The Shorthorn Newspaper Collection: 1960s

No abstract provided.

The Shorthorn: October 6, 1967

The Shorthorn Newspaper Collection: 1960s

No abstract provided.

The Shorthorn: September 22, 1967

The Shorthorn Newspaper Collection: 1960s

No abstract provided.