University of Rhode Island

About: University of Rhode Island is a education organization based out in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Bay. The organization has 11464 authors who have published 22770 publications receiving 841066 citations. The organization is also known as: URI & Rhode Island College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts.

Delayed Cord Clamping in Very Preterm Infants Reduces the Incidence of Intraventricular Hemorrhage and Late-Onset Sepsis: A Randomized, Controlled Trial

Abstract: OBJECTIVE. This study compared the effects of immediate (ICC) and delayed (DCC) cord clamping on very low birth weight (VLBW) infants on 2 primary variables: bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and suspected necrotizing enterocolitis (SNEC). Other outcome variables were late-onset sepsis (LOS) and intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH). STUDY DESIGN. This was a randomized, controlled unmasked trial in which women in labor with singleton fetuses RESULTS. Seventy-two mother/infant pairs were randomized. Infants in the ICC and DCC groups weighed 1151 and 1175 g, and mean gestational ages were 28.2 and 28.3 weeks, respectively. Analyses revealed no difference in maternal and infant demographic, clinical, and safety variables. There were no differences in the incidence of our primary outcomes (BPD and suspected NEC). However, significant differences were found between the ICC and DCC groups in the rates of IVH and LOS. Two of the 23 male infants in the DCC group had IVH versus 8 of the 19 in the ICC group. No cases of sepsis occurred in the 23 boys in the DCC group, whereas 6 of the 19 boys in the ICC group had confirmed sepsis. There was a trend toward higher initial hematocrit in the infants in the DCC group. CONCLUSIONS. Delayed cord clamping seems to protect VLBW infants from IVH and LOS, especially for male infants.

Validation of Bupropion Hydroxylation as a Selective Marker of Human Cytochrome P450 2B6 Catalytic Activity

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to establish bupropion (BUP) hydroxylation as a selective in vitro marker of cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2B6 catalytic activity. Among a panel of 16 human liver microsomes (HLMs), BUP hydroxylase activity varied 80-fold when assayed at 500 microM substrate and significantly correlated with CYP2B6 blotting density (r(2) = 0.99) and S-mephenytoin N-demethylase activity (r(2) = 0.98). Kinetic analysis of BUP hydroxylation was performed in a subset of seven HLMs representative of the 80-fold range in activity. Sigmoidal kinetics suggestive of allosteric activation was observed in five HLMs exhibiting low or high activity; the mean apparent K(m) for BUP hydroxylation in these HLMs (130 microM) was similar to the K(m) for cDNA-expressed CYP2B6 (156 microM). Nonsaturable, biphasic kinetics was observed in two HLMs exhibiting low activity. Among a panel of cDNA-expressed P450 isoforms, CYP2B6 and CYP2E1 demonstrated the highest rates of BUP hydroxylation at 12 mM BUP (7.0 and 2.4 pmol/min/pmol of P450, respectively). The relative contributions of CYP2B6 and CYP2E1 to BUP hydroxylation were estimated by using immunoinhibitory monoclonal antibodies (MAB) to these enzymes. MAB-2B6 produced 88% maximum inhibition of BUP hydroxylation when assayed at 12 mM BUP in a high activity HLM, whereas MAB-2E1 produced 81% maximum inhibition in a low activity HLM. However, negligible inhibition by MAB-2E1 was observed when low and high activity HLMs were assayed at 500 microM BUP. These results demonstrate selectivity of BUP hydroxylation for CYP2B6 at 500 microM BUP, thereby validating its use as a diagnostic in vitro marker of CYP2B6 catalytic activity.

The Fetal Basis of Amyloidogenesis: Exposure to Lead and Latent Overexpression of Amyloid Precursor Protein and β-Amyloid in the Aging Brain

Abstract: The fetal basis of adult disease (FeBAD) hypothesis states that many adult diseases have a fetal origin. According to FeBAD, injury or environmental influences occurring at critical periods of organ development could result in “programmatic” changes via alterations in gene expression or gene imprinting that may result in functional deficits that become apparent later in life. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by excessive deposits of aggregated β-amyloid (Aβ) peptides, which are snippets of the β-amyloid precursor protein (APP). The predominately sporadic nature of AD suggests that the environment must play a role in neurodegeneration. To examine latent responses to an environmental agent, we exposed rodents to lead and monitored the lifetime expression of the APP gene. We observed that APP mRNA expression was transiently induced in neonates, but exhibited a delayed overexpression 20 months after exposure to Pb had ceased. This upregulation in APP mRNA expression was commensurate with a rise in activity of the transcription factor Sp1, one of the regulators of the APP gene. Furthermore, the increase in APP gene expression in old age was accompanied by an elevation in APP and its amyloidogenic Aβ product. In contrast, APP expression, Sp1 activity, as well as APP and Aβ protein levels were unresponsive to Pb exposure during old age. These data suggested that environmental influences occurring during brain development predetermined the expression and regulation of APP later in life, potentially altering the course of amyloidogenesis.

Analyzing the representativeness of internet political participation

Abstract: Political participation researchers have developed several evaluative techniques to assess the representativeness of political participation patterns. Yet, while the Internet has become a mainstream avenue for political participation in the United States, current assessments of online participation insufficiently apply these methods. To incorporate these methods we begin by drawing upon resource theory to inform two-stage ordered-logit models of online and offline political participation. Our results suggest that the factors predicting online participation often differ from the factors that predict offline participation. Even so, we find that those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds tend to disproportionately possess these distinct online determinants. Next, we use a wide spectrum of political opinion questions to determine whether online participators’ opinions reflect or distort those of the general population. Overall, we find that online participation tends to relate moderately with liberal preferences. However, because offline participation relates to political attitudes similarly, the Internet only marginally advantages the political voice of liberals. Finally, we discuss the implications of these results.