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Ihpp 2022 Annual Report, Institute For Health Policy And Practice (Ihpp)

All Materials

No abstract provided.

Convergence: Eos News And Updates, May 2023, Unh Institute For The Study Of Earth, Oceans And Space

Convergence: EOS News and Updates

No abstract provided.

Framing Radical Care And Radical Empathy In The #Blacklivesmatter Movement, Ashley White

Comm-entary

This thesis looks at the ongoing media framing of the #BlackLivesMatter movement (primarily in the realm of journalism) to argue that incorporating elements of radical care and radical empathy in how we communicate stories can lead to transformative change. The paper looks at the history of the movement, with attention paid to the major cases that have sparked outrage, protests, and policy changes in the United States in the last decade. Attention is also paid to the #SayHerName movement and the role of intersectionality in whether some stories reach prominence or not. Following this, a comprehensive explanation of the concepts …

Comm-Entary 43rd Edition, 2022-2023 - Full Issue

Comm-entary

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Ocean Acidification On The Physiology Of The Blue Mussel Mytilus Edulis, Bryson Yerik Torgovitsky

Master's Theses and Capstones

Bivalve aquaculture garners global ecological and economic benefits, which makes the continued health of bivalve populations paramount. Ocean acidification presents a novel pressure on bivalves. Decreased pH due to acidification limits the carbonate available for bivalves to take-up, thus inhibiting the formation and growth of their calcium carbonate-based shells. The aragonite saturation (Ω) of seawater serves a useful biologic contextualization for pH in studies of acidification and bivalves, as an Ω of 1 indicates that calcium and carbonate ions can bond to form calcium carbonate. Shell health is a central aspect of bivalve fitness as it is the main defense …

Tracking Green Crabs: Quantifying Meter-Scale Movements Of An Invasive Species With Acoustic Telemetry In A Gulf Of Maine Estuary, Emily Alana Burke

Master's Theses and Capstones

The green crab (Carcinus maenas) is a long-term invader of the Northwest Atlantic that negatively impacts coastal ecosystems and is a growing concern for management. However, spatial metrics of use have not been robustly quantified, and the general movement ecology is still generally lacking for this invasive species. We tracked the meter-scale movements of 43 green crabs using acoustic telemetry via a Vemco Positioning System (VPS) within the Webhannet estuary (Maine, USA). From the 163,307 crab positions yielded from the VPS array from May 27 – December 16, we described a suite of movement ecology metrics including individual crab position …

Investigation Into Itadori Knotweed As A Control Of Bank Erosion In New Hampshire Rivers, Lauren Kaehler

Master's Theses and Capstones

As floods increase in frequency and magnitude throughout New England, research on controls of erosion is necessary to help manage riverbank erosion and its implications on river system health and safety of infrastructure situated along the bank. Reynoutria japonica (Itadori knotweed) is an invasive species spreading throughout New Hampshire rivers which is suspected to cause riverbank erosion due to its unique root structure and winter die-back. To examine the impact of knotweed on riverbank erosion, paired knotweed and native species vegetation patches were selected as study sites along the Sugar and Lamprey Rivers, New Hampshire. Study sites were monitored over …

Studies Of Epigenetics And Properties Of B Cell Receptor In Waldenström Macroglobulinemia (Wm), Mona Karbalivand

Doctoral Dissertations

Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) is an indolent lymphoproliferative disorder with aberrant monoclonal immunoglobulin M (IgM) production that is associated with disease symptoms. Despite significant advances in our understanding of disease biology, the cell of origin remains largely unknown. Although WM therapy options have improved over the last decade, WM is still an incurable disease. Many studies have identified epigenetic dysregulation as a regulatory factor in WM malignancy. Here, we investigated the role of Mixed-lineage leukemia 1 (MLL1) histone methyltransferase in WM. We showed that MLL1 and its partner Menin are upregulated in WM patients. We also found that MLL1 knockdown and …

Evaluating The Chenopodium Microbiome: How Do Rhizosphere Microbial Interactions Affect Plant Growth And Stress Tolerance?, Haley Nolen

Doctoral Dissertations

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) has potential for cultivation in North America; however, abiotic stresses like high humidity and a short growing season are obstacles for production in the Northeast. Wild relatives of quinoa such as C. berlandieri and C. ficifolium thrive in New England and have the potential to serve as both genetic resources for breeding research and as sources of novel beneficial microbes for application to quinoa. Previous studies have shown that certain bacteria and fungi within the soil-root zone (or rhizosphere) microbiome can increase plant growth, aid in stress tolerance, and increase water and nutrient acquisition. It is …

Iron Chelator And Fluorophore Peptide Bioconjugates For The Study Of Cellular Iron Metabolism, Leonid I. Povolotskiy

Doctoral Dissertations

Bifunctional Szeto-Schiller (SS) peptides provide new tools for the study of cellular processes and drug delivery at the organelle level. SS-peptides have been shown to localize to the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM), which holds a large fraction of intracellular labile iron. Dysregulation of iron has been linked to a variety of disorders ranging from neurodegeneration to cancer. Previous studies have employed the hydroxypyridinone and catechol chelating families which fail to inhibit Fenton-style redox cycling of iron. It has been shown independently, that tripodal 8-hydroxyquinoline (8HQ) structures can prevent Fenton chemistry. SS-peptide variants containing 8HQ as the iron-chelating group along with …

Gelatin-Based Microporous Injectable Hydrogels For In Situ Stem Cell Encapsulation, Seth David Edwards

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, I developed and investigated gelatin-based microporous injectable hydrogels for the encapsulation of stem cells for multiple applications in cell delivery. Utilizing microgels composed from a mixture of gelatin and modified gelatin, I demonstrated the utility of a dual crosslinking mechanism, which enabled rapid gelation and tissue adhesion with improved cytocompatibility. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) encapsulated in this hydrogel proliferated at a more rapid rate than in a nonporous counterpart, and showed increased immunomodulatory potential. Then, I investigated gelatin microporous hydrogel for the encapsulation of MSCs for bone tissue regeneration. Encapsulated cells more readily differentiated into osteoblasts (i.e. …

"A Wild Home For Wild Things": Forest Workers' Co-Creation Of Knowledge, Identity, And Place, Adrienne R. Brown

Doctoral Dissertations

This study addresses the relationship between environmental knowledge and place-based and occupational identities. I conducted fifty-five in-depth interviews with people involved in forest management in northern California. Participants belonged to one of three groups: logger- industrial, governmental-institutional, or organizational. In addition, I completed twenty-seven hours of observational fieldwork at logging sites in the region. From these transcripts, several themes emerge. Participants adopt a variety of ways of knowing and conceptions of care, and these correspond to different forest priorities, as well as attitudes toward global environmental issues. These groups also each construct distinct occupational identities, which sometimes form in response …

Domestic Shakespeares In The Antebellum United States, Daniel G. Lauby

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines how early nineteenth-century female novelists developed a new mode of adapting Shakespeare, what I am calling “domestic Shakespeares,” that cite, reference, and rearrange plays based on women’s experiences in and of the home. I focus on popular women authors whose novels appeared between 1827 and 1862, a time when identity was especially apparent in the geographical formation of the United States. These women novelists used allusions to and adaptations of Shakespeare in their works to express their frustrations with conventional paradigms of womanhood and related disciplinary systems, such as coverture, that limited women’s citizenship. “Domestic Shakespeares,” I …

Designing For The Dissonance: Community-Engaged Field Experiences For Challenging Curricular Misconceptions Of Place Toward Localizing And Indigenizing Curricula Within Elementary Teacher Education., Elaine Marhefka

Doctoral Dissertations

Harmful oversights remain in elementary social studies curricula which overlook or misrepresent minoritized communities. This dissertation explores designs for teacher education which address these oversights through community collaborations. This multi-manuscript dissertation is an empirical-conceptual inquiry design (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009), as it is not purely empirical or conceptual research. This design allows for an independent discussion of each study, while interpreting phenomena across the three chapters. Acknowledging my positionality as a white female, in a predominantly white, female profession, I look to Indigenous and Black scholars, both locally and broadly, to inform my perspective and project design. Using a phenomenological …

Embedding Explicit Metacognitive Instruction Into The General Chemistry Curriculum: Equipping Community College Students With 21st Century Stem Competencies, Sonja Gamby

Doctoral Dissertations

This work describes the development, implementation, and assessment of a curriculum- embedded metacognition instruction model. The Talking About Learning is Key (TALK) module, a 10-week, discussion-based instruction module was initially integrated into a general chemistry course at a community college in Spring 2020. This case study was assessed qualitatively using a thematic analysis to characterize student posts and replies to the Learning Management System discussion board. Course outcomes between Spring 2020 – Fall 2021 were analyzed to determine what effect participation had on course completion and final grade.Finally, the generalizability of the module was investigated using a focused case comparison …

Synthesis, Modification, And Characterization Of Semiconductor Photocatalysts For Environmental Remediation, Norbert Okechukwu Okolie

Doctoral Dissertations

Semiconductor photocatalysis is a viable solution to tackle the increasing global demand for energy and the need for the recovery of wastewater in situ, without the need for fossil fuel dependence. Semiconductor materials active in the visible or near visible regions of light have been explored as suitable candidates for photocatalytic environmental remediation. Magnesium tantalates (MgTa2O6-xNx) were initially explored as promising candidates because their bandgaps can be brought well into the visible region by the introduction of nitrogen atoms as dopants. The synthesis of a highly ordered mesoporous nitrogen doped magnesium tantalate was achieved and the bandgap of magnesium tantalate …

“They Turn To Violence”: Active Shootings And The Convergence Of Hegemonic Masculinity, Race, And Perceived Injustice, Linda M. Fogg

Doctoral Dissertations

Public rampage shootings like Parkland, FL, the Las Vegas concert shooting, and Sandy Hook are a type of crime that captures national attention. As media covers these incidents and the perpetrators of them, they seek to explain why someone would commit such violence. Using active shooter data for incidents that occurred between 2000 and 2019, I examine shooter identity with particular focus on the shooter’s race, an often-unreported statistic. Finding 55.4% of active shooters are white men, interviews with 20 white men and 10 white women are analyzed for explanations for white men’s violence. These men and women describe active …

A Mixed Methods Approach To Social License To Operate For Aquaculture: Understanding How Broad Public Perceptions And Local Company Actions Influence Community Acceptance, Emily H. Whitmore

Doctoral Dissertations

With aquaculture development becoming increasingly important in meeting global food needs, understanding social dynamics of development is essential. Social license to operate (SLO), a concept that describes community acceptance and approval of incoming industry, offers a lens into these dynamics and possible strategies for successful development. Using a mixed-methods approach, this project aimed to investigate how broad public perceptions and local company actions influence social license to operate in aquaculture. First, a systematic literature review of SLO studies identified perceptions that would likely condition a community’s willingness to issue social license, independent of company actions. These predictors included environmental values, …

Examining Empathy During An Initial Nutrition Counseling Session Through Video-Cued Narrative Reflection, Kevin Joseph Pietro

Doctoral Dissertations

Empathy is considered critical to client-centered care within the broader nutrition profession. Through empathy, practitioners are said to recognize the individual experience better, support client/patient autonomy, and encourage collaboration in decision-making regarding treatment. However, the literature on empathy is fraught with conceptual disagreement and methodological misalignment, which has resulted in a limited understanding of the role and presence of empathy within a nutrition counseling session. Additionally, research conducted on nutrition undergraduate students using self-reported questionnaires may offer insight into students’ perceived/believed tendencies related to empathy but fail to provide evidence of empathy during a patient/client interaction. Given the current landscape, …

Deep Learning Based Predictive Models For Performance Enhancement In Bio Medical Applications, Sajila Dimagi Wickramaratne

Doctoral Dissertations

The medical field produces large quantities of multidimensional, complex, and often unstructured data. The timely interpretation of medical data is crucial for medical diagnostics. Machine learning applications are increasingly becoming popular with the ever-increasing computational ability and data availability. Machine learning methods can potentially find complicated relationships that may not be apparent in traditional clinical decision rule systems used in medical applications. Models deployed in medical applications need to be reliable, time efficient, and easy to interpret, thus making working with biosignals challenging in some cases.

The first part of the dissertation focuses on building predictive systems using existing data …

Modernism On The Edge Of The Anthropocene: The Ecological Imagination Of Forster, West, Warner, Woolf, And Eliot, Leanna Jean Lostoski-Ho

Doctoral Dissertations

By reading modernist literature on the edge of the Anthropocene, I argue in this dissertation that modernist authors, through the experimental aesthetics of their works, are able to articulate the beginnings of anthropogenic climate change in the early-twentieth century. The early-twentieth century, and particularly the interwar period, in which British modernist authors such as E. M. Forster, Rebecca West, Sylvia Townsend Warner, Virginia Woolf, and T. S. Eliot were writing coincides with the early-twentieth-century ramp up period of human activity rising to the level of a geological force before the beginning of the Anthropocene. While this dissertation does not argue …

A Comparison Of The Spectroscopically Determined Complex Refractive Indices Across Uv/Vis Wavelengths For Vanillic Acid From Two Aerosol Generation Methods, Vahid Hosseinpour Hashemi

Doctoral Dissertations

Aerosols are important because of their direct and indirect impact on the energy budget of Earth. Characterizing and understanding the physical, chemical, and optical properties of aerosols is beneficial to decrease uncertainties on the Earth’s energy budget estimations and improve climate models. Field studies characterize the real conditions and cases; however, controlling all variables, including the weather, is impossible, so only a snapshot can be obtained. Laboratory work can be a great support for field studies because controlling experimental conditions on a smaller scale is easier and targets can be achieved. Laboratory optical property studies of aerosol, even single chemical …

Cyclodextrin Impedimetric Biosensors For The Detection Of Hydrophobic Metabolites, Zahra Panahi

Doctoral Dissertations

Sepsis is a complicated medical emergency and critically ill patients suffering from infectious diseases are at a high risk for developing and dying from sepsis. According to a recent (2019) cohort study from six United States hospitals, suboptimal care (e.g., delay in antibiotics, inappropriate antibiotic therapy) is responsible for 22.7 % of in-hospital sepsis-associated deaths. In September 2020, the World Health Organization called on the scientific community to develop rapid, effective, and affordable tools to improve diagnosis, surveillance, and treatment of sepsis. Our long-term goal throughout this project is to develop a cyclodextrin (CD) impedimetric tongue that can provide early …

Gli3 Is Required For M2 Macrophage Polarization And M2-Mediated Waldenström Macroglobulinemia Growth And Survival, Ava J. Boutilier

Master's Theses and Capstones

The macrophage polarization paradigm has become at the forefront of cancer research in recent years; however, the effects of this phenomenon have yet to be investigated in Waldenström Macroglobulinemia (WM). WM is an indolent, B-cell lymphoma, characterized by increased IgM production and infiltration of the bone marrow niche by malignant cells. Macrophages may polarize to one of 2 phenotypes: M1, which is inflammatory or M2, which is inhibitory. While macrophage polarization is typically investigated as a singular point in time, it is important to understand that M2-type macrophages can switch to an M1 phenotype, or vice versa, based on environmental …

Unions As Gendered Institutions: The Effects Of Union Membership And Occupational Gender Composition On Parental Leave Access, Meghan Cormier-O'Leary

Master's Theses and Capstones

In the absence of a national universal paid parental leave policy, access to parental leave is stratified in the United States. While several states have implemented paid family leave policies, workers typically rely on their employers to provide such a benefit. Previous qualitative research demonstrates that the share of women in labor unions may influence the provision offamily-friendly benefits. I utilize two nationally-representative datasets—the 2017-18 American Time Use Survey and the 2013-2017 American Community Survey—to analyze the relationship between union membership, occupational gender composition, and their interaction on access to paid and unpaid parental leave. Using weighted logistic regressions, I …

Using Imagery Collected By An Unmanned Aerial System To Monitor Cyanobacteria In New Hampshire, Usa, Lakes, Christine Bunyon

Master's Theses and Capstones

With the increasing occurrence and growing public health concern that cyanobacteria blooms pose, it is crucial that we continue to explore ways to improve our ability to accurately, efficiently, and safely monitor water quality in impacted lakes. Also known as blue-green algae, cyanobacteria are naturally occurring in many waters globally. Cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms (CHABs) release various toxins which can cause skin irritations and dog fatalities while the effects of long-term exposure to the neurotoxins for humans has stirred additional studies. Although possibly harmful if CHABs are present, monitoring this biological component is nonetheless an integral factor when studying freshwater …

Sub-Canopy Path Planning For Snow Depth Remote Sensing Using Autonomous Multi-Uavs, Debarpan Bhowmick

Master's Theses and Capstones

NASA studies indicate that 68% of the Earth’s fresh water exists in the form of snow andice. As such, analyzing global snow fall patterns is a useful tool with which scientists can extract the quantity of fresh water present in both the atmosphere and on the ground at any given time. The goal of this research is to leverage autonomous Unpiloted Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to measure snow depth on the forest floor via sub-canopy flight. To enable such remote sensing missions, overhead Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) scans are used to aid in pre-determined UAV flight path planning. This results …

Access To Nature In New Hampshire: Equity And Quality Of Life, Cody Garrott Crytzer

Master's Theses and Capstones

The primary objectives of this research were to understand what access to nature means for people engaged in the nature economy, economic development, recreation, conservation, and community development sectors of New Hampshire, to identify benefits, barriers and opportunities of access to nature with a focus on underserved communities, and to contribute data and knowledge to inform local, regional, and state efforts to advance equity in environmental protection, justice efforts, and future policy considerations impacting New Hampshire. This research involved qualitative analysis of interviews with statewide policy leaders and stakeholders that work with individuals and organizations closely related to nature economy …

Right Neural Substrates Of Language And Music Processing Left Out: Activation Likelihood Estimation (Ale) And Meta-Analytic Connectivity Modelling (Macm), Lauren C. Keith

Master's Theses and Capstones

Introduction: Language and music processing have been investigated in neuro-based research for over a century. However, consensus of independent and shared neural substrates among the domains remains elusive due to varying neuroimaging methodologies. Identifying functional connectivity in language and music processing via neuroimaging meta-analytic methods provides neuroscientific knowledge of higher cognitive domains and normative models may guide treatment development in communication disorders based on principles of neural plasticity.

Methods: Using BrainMap software and tools, the present coordinate-based meta-analysis analyzed 65 fMRI studies investigating language and music processing in healthy adult subjects. We conducted activation likelihood estimates (ALE) in language processing, …

Automatic Bankfull Width Extraction Of New Hampshire And Vermont Rivers, Desmond Kager

Master's Theses and Capstones

Understanding a river's morphology can help scientists measure erosion, improve understanding of flood hazards and better estimate riparian habitat. While there have been many developments in the field of fluvial geomorphology, there are still many challenges that exist in efficiently and accurately quantifying various important river metrics, such as the location of channel banks. Conducting field surveys of riverbanks is expensive and time consuming, leading many scientists to shift towards remote sensing techniques to measure river morphological features. This project aims to extract bankfull width measurements automatically from high-resolution Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) of rivers located in New Hampshire and …