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.

Distribution and fate of selected oxygenated organic species in the troposphere and lower stratosphere over the Atlantic

Abstract: A large number of oxygenated organic chemicals (peroxyacyl nitrates, alkyl nitrates, acetone, formaldehyde, methanol, methylhydroperoxide, acetic acid and formic acid) were measured during the 1997 Subsonic Assessment (SASS) Ozone and Nitrogen Oxide Experiment (SONEX) airborne field campaign over the Atlantic. In this paper, we present a first picture of the distribution of these oxygenated organic chemicals (Ox-organic) in the troposphere and the lower stratosphere, and assess their source and sink relationships. In both the troposphere and the lower stratosphere, the total atmospheric abundance of these oxygenated species (ΣOx-organic) nearly equals that of total nonmethane hydrocarbons (ΣNMHC), which have been traditionally measured. A sizable fraction of the reactive nitrogen (10–30%) is present in its oxygenated organic form. The organic reactive nitrogen fraction is dominated by peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), with alkyl nitrates and peroxypropionyl nitrate (PPN) accounting for <5% of total NOy. Comparison of observations with the predictions of the Harvard three-dimensional global model suggests that in many key areas (e.g., formaldehyde and peroxides) substantial differences between measurements and theory are present and must be resolved. In the case of CH3OH, there appears to be a large mismatch between atmospheric concentrations and estimated sources, indicating the presence of major unknown removal processes. Instrument intercomparisons as well as disagreements between observations and model predictions are used to identify needed improvements in key areas. The atmospheric chemistry and sources of this group of chemicals is poorly understood even though their fate is intricately linked with upper tropospheric NOx and HOx cycles.

A Model for the Thermal Response of Polymer Composite Materials with Experimental Verification

Abstract: The thermal response of a polymer composite material undergoing decomposition has been modeled. A one-dimensional transient thermal model with an nth order ap proximation for the rate of decomposition was applied. The model was tested by ex perimentally measuring the temperature profiles during decomposition for a glass- filled phenol-formaldehyde polymer composite. Additionally, the specific heat and thermal conductivity of the virgin and char components, heat of decomposition, and the kinetic parameters were experimentally determined and used as input to the model. The predicted temperature profiles are in good agreement with experimental temperatures obtained using a radiant heat flux apparatus.

RNA–DNA ratio and other nucleic acid-based indicators for growth and condition of marine fishes

Abstract: Nucleic acid analysis has provided useful tools to study recent growth and mortality of young fishes and their responses to environmental variability. The ratio of RNA–DNA (R/D) has been shown to respond to changes in feeding conditions and growth after periods as short as 1–3 days in a variety of fish species. The earliest studies used primarily UV-based methods, but most investigators now use more sensitive, fluorometric dye-binding assays to estimate RNA and DNA in individual larvae. These newer methods are very sensitive to procedural details and choice of standards. Analytical methods, normalization and calibration procedures to optimize information obtained from nucleic acid analysis are discussed. We present examples illustrating the technique's utility, and problems encountered when applying nucleic acid-based indices to fish larvae and early juveniles. The wide use of R/D analysis in studies of fish early life stages, together with a proliferation of analytical methods, demands a major intercalibration exercise.

Defense of trust management vulnerabilities in distributed networks

Abstract: Establishing trust among distributed network entities has been recognized as a powerful tool to secure distributed networks such as MANETs and sensor networks. Similar to most security schemes, trust establishment methods themselves can be vulnerable to attacks. In this article we investigate the benefits of introducing trust into distributed networks, the vulnerabilities in trust establishment methods, and the defense mechanisms. Five attacks against trust establishment methods are identified, and defense techniques are developed. Effectiveness of the attacks and the defense is demonstrated in the scenarios of securing routing protocols and detecting malicious nodes in MANETs.