Posters Copyright (c) 2013 University of Rhode Island All rights reserved. http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/discovery/2011/posters Recent Events in Posters en-us Mon, 20 May 2013 09:35:22 PDT 3600 Investigating the Potential for Nitrate-N Removal in Rhode Island Transient Headwater Streams http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/discovery/2011/posters/8 http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/discovery/2011/posters/8 Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:00:00 PDT Excess nitrogen (N) can have detrimental effects on the environment, particularly in coastal waters where inputs from septic systems and agricultural runoff can lead to algal blooms and hypoxic zones. However, transient headwater streams, which comprise a significant portion of streams in watersheds, may have the potential to remove N given their low flow rates, high surface to volume ratios, long retention times, and hydric soils. We investigated the physical characteristics and N removal capacity of transient headwater streams. Four bromide (Br) and nitrate-N slug tests were conducted in four streams in southern RI. Streams were sampled repeatedly as the plume traveled 30 m. Nitrogen removal was determined by changes in the Br:N ratio from start to end. Three out of the four slug tests demonstrated substantial N removal – 25-65% N removal. Removal occurred towards the end of the slug tests due to hyporheic interactions. Streams with longer retention times demonstrated greater N removal. Transient headwater streams may be important N sinks and future research should focus on determining the in-stream processes that facilitate N removal.

]]> Molly Welsh et al. The Impact of Teaching Gender Issues on College Students’ Awareness, Knowledge, and Sensitivity to the Topic http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/discovery/2011/posters/7 http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/discovery/2011/posters/7 Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:00:00 PDT In an effort to evaluate the effectiveness of a course module being taught to students enrolled in a large (approximately 850) general psychology course, students were administered a pretest to assess their awareness of, knowledge about, and sensitivity to gender issues. After the module was taught, students were given the same survey as a posttest. The analysis revealed that there were significant (all p < 0.05) differences in student awareness and knowledge of gender issues as a function of this course module. On the other hand, sensitivity to these issues appeared to be less susceptible to our teaching procedures. This was somewhat expected as research indicates that it can be difficult to change student attitudes (Boatright-Horowitz, 2005). In its current format, the course module for this class involves discussions of chromosomal and hormonal anomalies that give rise to physical and psychological sexual variations. It also includes information about gender as a social construct. As a result of these data, we plan to incorporate information about intersexualism into this course module, specifically the work of Faustos-Sterling (1993), regarding the possibility that there are five sexes. Our expectation is that this additional information would be eye opening for our students and possibly impact their sensitivity to the plight of people whose sexuality deviate from the norm. Our work also illustrates the importance of using scientific methods for assessing the effectiveness of classroom discussions and activities, as well as using the results to guide future classroom curriculum.

Boatright-Horowitz, S. (2005). Teaching antiracism in a large introductory psychology class: A course module and its evaluation. Journal of Black Studies, 36 (1), 34-51.

Fausto-Sterling, A. (1993). The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are Not Enough. The Sciences, 33 (2), 20-24.

]]> Stephanie Marshall et al. Inhibition of Bacterial Growth and Biofilm Production by Metabolites from Hypericum spp http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/discovery/2011/posters/6 http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/discovery/2011/posters/6 Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:00:00 PDT Biofilm embedded bacterial pathogens such as Staphylococcus spp., Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acinetobacter baumannii are difficult to eradicate and are major sources of bacterial infections. New drugs are needed to combat these pathogens. Hypericum is a plant genus that contains species known to have antimicrobial properties. However, the specific metabolites responsible for the antimicrobial properties are not entirely known, nor have most compounds been tested as inhibitors of biofilm development. The investigation presented here tested seven secondary metabolites isolated from the species Hypericum densiflorum, Hypericum ellipticum, Hypericum prolificum and Hypericum punctatum as inhibitors of bacterial growth and biofilm production. Assays were conducted against Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, clinical methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Acinetobacter baumannii. Five of the seven metabolites demonstrated growth inhibition against the Gram-positive bacteria with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) ranging from 1.95 µg/mL to 7.81 µg/mL. Four of the metabolites inhibited biofilm production by certain Gram-positive strains at sub-MIC concentrations.

]]> S.A. Sarkisian et al. A Riverbank Filtration Demonstration Project on the Banks of the Kali River in southwestern India http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/discovery/2011/posters/5 http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/discovery/2011/posters/5 Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:00:00 PDT One solution to India’s pressing safe drinking water needs is riverbank filtration (RBF). To evaluate the performance of RBF under the hydrogeological and climatological conditions of southern India, a small scale RBF system was installed in a village near the Kali River in the state of Karnataka. A series of hydraulic and tracer tests were carried out along with periodic geochemical monitoring of various water sources in the study area. Silica tracer data used to determine the relative contribution of surface and groundwater to the RBF system indicate that this RBF system derives approximately 27.6% of its water from the river. Despite this low percentage of surface water in the RBF system, the data indicate that the attenuation of pollutants in the RBF system is mostly the result of natural removal processes. Groundwater dilution does not appear to play a major role in pollutant reduction. Additionally, environmental isotopes highlight the impact of nearby rice paddies on the RBF production well. Bacteria levels demonstrate at least 95.1% to 99.8% removal over currently used source waters. However, the water quality does not meet Indian standards for total coliform and does not consistently meet Indian drinking water standards for E. coli. Average dissolved metal levels meet Indian standards for all metals analyzed. In summary, this pilot-scale project demonstrates an RBF system that is welcomed by the host community and provides water of higher quality than other sources in this setting.

]]> Pamela Cady et al. Social Media and Supply Chain http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/discovery/2011/posters/4 http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/discovery/2011/posters/4 Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:00:00 PDT With the rapid growth of social media, new challenges are being created for each process of supply chain management (SCM). In order to take advantage of the great potential of social media, managers and designers of SCM systems need to figure out ways to employ social media to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their systems. This study is based on a systematic, multi-judge Q-sort assessment and analysis of a specified universe of reported early-stage cases and examples of social media usage in SCM contexts. The results of the Q-sort analysis help us in developing a conceptual model that depicts the emergent links between social media and supply chain management.

]]> Gema Vinuale et al. Assessing the Tailgating Situation on Urban Rhode Island Highways and Potential Counter-Tailgating Measures http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/discovery/2011/posters/3 http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/discovery/2011/posters/3 Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:00:00 PDT Tailgating is an aggressive driving behavior and a leading cause of rear-end crashes. Understanding tailgating and finding means to mitigate tailgating behavior on highways has become a priority to many urban traffic management authorities. A human factors study was conducted to investigate the tailgating issue and possible counter-tailgating measures. The study started with a questionnaire survey and a traffic analysis to assess the causes and effects of tailgating and its impact on urban RI highway traffic. To identify drivers’ perceptions on tailgating behavior, 210 subjects were recruited in the survey. It found that 95% of participants are potential tailgators and heavy traffic was identified as the top tailgating cause. Vehicle headways on specific urban segments of three major RI highways were next examined in the traffic analysis. It found that over 60% of vehicles were tailgating during rush hours and about 40% during non-rush hours. The findings confirmed that serious tailgating exists on urban RI highways. To advise drivers and mitigate their tailgating behaviors, counter-tailgating measures such as advisory signs and an educational video were designed and assessed through a driving simulation experiment. Pronounced effect of advisory signs on limiting tailgating was identified especially after subjects viewing the video. Participants’ driving behaviors were further studied through a field study. The majority found it difficult to maintain a safe following distance in a real driving environment without employing any measures. Based on the results, it is recommended that the proposed counter-tailgating measures be adopted into a more sophisticated tailgating treatment system.

]]> Miao Song Partnership for International Research and Education in Microfluidic Technology with Applications in Point of Care Diagnostic http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/discovery/2011/posters/2 http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/discovery/2011/posters/2 Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:00:00 PDT This poster summarizes the research highlights of a project conducted as part of an National Science Foundation (NSF) partnership for research and education. The objective of this multidisciplinary, international project was to conduct research on microfluidic technology and applications. The project team is comprised of participants from the University of Rhode Island and the Technical University of Braunschweig in Germany. The research focuses on the following four tasks: Task 1 – Discovery of disease biomarkers; Task 2 –Streaming based microfluidic platform for pumping, mixing, separation and detection; Task 3 – Development of rapid, quantitative and sensitive microfluidic fluorescence immunosensors for point-of-care diagnostics; and Task 4 – Microfluidic ocean based applications. The following elements are examined in Task 3: Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) by manipulation of magnetic beads in microfluidic channel network; development of charged coupled device (CCD) contact imaging system for lab-on-a-chip biosensors for detection of disease biomarkers; a portable and hand-held lab-on-a-chip system for detection of disease biomarkers; on-chip valveless sequential sample loading, mixing, and micro-pneumatic valves; and numerical simulation of microfluidics using dissipative particle dynamics.

]]> Mohammed Faghri et al. The Rhode Island Stormwater Management and Treatment Demonstration Facility http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/discovery/2011/posters/1 http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/discovery/2011/posters/1 Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:00:00 PDT The occurrence of toxic heavy metals from Rhode Island highways, verified in a report completed by Thiem, Bade & Alkhatibe in 1998, showed that cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel and zinc exceeded EPA’s acute and/or chronic water quality criteria. Besides toxic metals, stormwater also contains petroleum hydrocarbons, nutrients, and microbial matter as well as many other chemical compounds (Goebel et al., 2007). These toxic stormwater constituents are easily washed into water bodies, causing a decrease in overall stream diversity. The selection of the various, commercially available stormwater runoff commercial systems relies mostly on unverified manufacturer’s data or is based on performance reports from other parts of the country where local environmental conditions are much different than those in Rhode Island. The focus of this joint-research effort is to provide state agencies and the URI transportation community with a new facility where BMP structures can be evaluated against the manufacturer’s claims and under environmental conditions prevailing in our state. This facility will be known as the “Rhode Island Stormwater Management and Treatment Demonstration Facility” (RI SDF). Our research efforts can be groups in three major research taks. Task I revolves around the set-up of the RI SDF facility. Task II focuses the contaminant removal efficiencies of a commercial hydrodynamic separator unit, while the Task III seeks to evaluate the performance of pervious concrete amended with organo-soils. Task II and III will be the first projects to take advantage of the newly built RI SDF site.

]]> Hui Chen et al.