Digital Commons Network^™

The Contribution Of Tgbdp5 To Gene Regulation In The Acute Stage Of Toxoplasma, Julia Heffernan

Master's Theses and Capstones

Toxoplasmosis, caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, is a highly prevalent disease found on every content. An estimated 20-40% of the United States’ population is infected with the parasite according to IgG seroprevalence. There are two stages of Toxoplasma that cause disease, tachyzoites which cause the acute phase and the bradyzoites which cause the chronic phase. The chronic stage will persist for a life-long infection which can reactivate to tachyzoites if the host becomes immunocompromised, leading to encephalitis and heart failure. Current drug therapies clinically approved to treat Toxoplasma can only target tachyzoites and can cause adverse reactions. Therefore, the …

Seeing The Forest For The Trees: A Social-Ecological Approach To Sustainably Managing Outdoor Recreation Visitation In Parks And Protected Areas, Georgia Ann Giles

Master's Theses and Capstones

Parks and protected areas visitation in the United States has increased substantially over the past several decades, and dramatically within the past few years. This expansion in visitation raises concerns regarding the influence of social, situational, and ecological factors upon visitor experiences, natural resources, and adjacent communities. This study investigated the relationship between three influencing factors and visitors’ behaviors and decision-making on the White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) of New Hampshire. A mail-back and online survey method was used to collect data from WMNF visitors from June to August of 2020 (n= 642). Structural equation modeling and binary logistic regression …

An Improv-Able Legacy: Shining The Composition Spotlight On Viola Spolin’S Improvisational Pedagogy, Cory Richard Chamberlain

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is an archival study of the works of Viola Spolin who is considered by many to be the founding mother of improvisational theater. During her life she published Improvisation for the Theater which is essential reading for anyone interested in doing improvisational theater as well as Theater Games for The Classroom where she adapted some of her techniques and games to an educational setting outside of theater. Along with these works, I was able to examine two of her unpublished works, a handbook on education and What’s Your Score? as well as various notes, correspondences and interviews housed …

Toward A Feminist Rhetorical Strategy Of Sass: Sheila Hibben As America’S Early 20th Century Culinary Influencer, Meaghan Elliott Dittrich

Doctoral Dissertations

My dissertation restores to the canon of women’s rhetorical history a voice who, in her time of the early twentieth century, made a mark on the world of food writing. By identifying Sheila Hibben’s rhetorical strategy of sass as a method of critiquing hierarchies and as a feminist rhetorical practice, my work contributes to the field of rhetoric and composition.This dissertation defines and deconstructs Sheila Hibben’s sass as a rhetorical strategy during two essential periods of economic crises—the Great Depression and World War II—to influence two audiences of white working- and upper-class housewives to eat well during times of national …

Essays On The Unintended Effects Of Tobacco Control Policies On Adolescent Health Behaviors, Rebecca Sen Choudhury

Doctoral Dissertations

My dissertation examines the unintended consequences of tobacco control policies on adolescent health behaviors and outcomes. The first essay examines the effects of cigarette taxes on teenagers’ physical activity. Smoking and physical activity are both strategies for weight management, and exercise may be a way to reduce some of the ill effects of smoking. These different links suggest that cigarette taxes could either increase or decrease physical activity. We explore this relationship using repeated cross-sectional 1991-2017 data from the national and state Youth Risk BehaviorSurveillance System (YRBS), combined with state-level policies and controls. Our smoking participation results confirm past work; …

Structural And Binding Studies Of The Polar Organizing Protein Z (Popz) Using Nmr Spectroscopy, Christopher Taylor Nordyke

Doctoral Dissertations

The polar organizing protein Z (PopZ) is an intrinsically disordered protein from Caulobacter crescentus that is necessary for the formation of three-dimensional microdomains at the cell poles, where it functions as a hub protein that recruits multiple regulatory proteins. Although a large portion of the protein is predicted to be disordered, PopZ can self-assemble into polymeric superstructure scaffolds that directly bind to at least ten different proteins. Here, we report the solution NMR structure of PopZΔ134–177, a truncated variant of PopZ that does not self-assemble but retains the ability to interact with heterologous proteins. We show that the unbound form …

Why Are We Doing This: How Students Find Meaning In Research Writing Across Contexts, Scott Lasley

Doctoral Dissertations

Building on the work of Eodice, Geller, and Lerner and other Composition and Higher Education scholars, my dissertation examines what factors create a meaningful research writing experience. Specifically, this study explores two research questions: 1) How do advanced-level student writers define themselves as writers who use research? 2) How do those identities influence how they understand and utilize research writing concepts? I pursued these questions through a year-long, IRB-approved, qualitative study of junior and senior university students across the disciplines, including English, Neuroscience, and Computer Engineering. Using surveys and interviews, I asked them about meaningful research writing they have done …

Nanoelectronic Devices For Sensitive Detection Of Biomarkers In Healthcare Monitoring, Md Niazul Islam Khan

Doctoral Dissertations

In recent years, biosensors have seen an exponential rise of their applications in a number of fields including the field of health care monitoring, particularly in point-of-care diagnostics. With the contemporary rise of nanotechnology, these biosensors have experienced an ever-growing inclusion of nano scale electronic devices or nanoelectronic devices to exploit the plethora of advantages of nanoelectronics. The performances of these nanoelectronic devices, however, largely depend on the nanomaterials used. Especially, carbon-based nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene have proven to be superior candidates compared to others because of their multitude of electronic and mechanical properties suitable for …

“We Feminine Foresters”: Women, Conservation, And The Usda Forest Service, 1850-1970, Rachel D. Kline

Doctoral Dissertations

The traditional narrative of the Forest Service places the mythic “two-fisted” male ranger as the focus of its history. The reality is that without women he would not have gotten the job done. Women’s work as advocates, foresters, rangers’ wives, clerks, information and education specialists, scientific researchers, and lookouts reveals that although women were excluded from the male domain of forestry, they created a distinct female tradition within the Forest Service—what one called a “feminine forestry” that proved without women, the Forest Service would not have achieved its accomplishments or growth throughout the twentieth century. Throughout their work, women spread …

Development Of A Sunken Oil Transport Tool Using Mesoscale Experiments, Melissa Denise Gloekler

Doctoral Dissertations

Oil spilled into fresh or saline water can float, become submerged in the water column (i.e., submerged oil), or sink to the bottom (i.e., sunken oil). Once introduced to the environment, oil can negatively impact ecological and public health, and the economy. Non-floating oil spills pose unique challenges to responders including the complexity of trajectory modeling; the inability to detect, track and recover oil due to limited visibility; the lack of readily deployable response technology; and limited understanding of how bottom substrate dynamics influence its fate and behavior. This dissertation research determined that the driving factors used to predict sunken …

Gdf1 As A Regulator Of Ceramide Metabolism And Hematopoiesis In Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Weiyuan Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is cancer of the myeloid lineage of blood cells. In AML, hematopoietic precursors acquire mutations or chromosomal changes that cause differentiation arrest. This results in an uncontrolled proliferation of these malignant cells in the bone marrow that can interfere with normal blood cell production. AML progresses rapidly and can be fatal within weeks if left untreated. The only current curative treatment is bone marrow transplant, which has potentially life-threatening side effects. Thus, a better understanding of the underlying biology of AML is needed to enable the development of better therapeutic modalities.Ceramides are a family of wax-like …

Justice System Outcomes Of Children Referred For Sexual Offenses, Kei Saito

Doctoral Dissertations

The proliferation of increasingly punitive sex crime legislation in the United States have extended to include children adjudicated of sexual offenses. Using data from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, this dissertation examined the impact of three factors on sentencing outcomes for children referred for illegal sexual behaviors: race, same-sex victim, and county of referral. (1) Black children were disproportionately arrested for sexual offenses compared to any other racial/ethnic group. However, Black children in the sample were less likely to face harsher outcomes compared to Caucasian children, such as adjudication and ordered to register as a sex offender. (2) Children …

Wind, Wave, And Engineering Effects On Tidal Inlet Morphodynamics, Joshua Lincoln Humberston

Doctoral Dissertations

This body of work examines the hydro- and morpho-dynamics of tidal inlets using a diverse array of research tools. A custom X-band radar system (RIOS) is designed and used to track the evolution of shoal features over the ebb-tidal delta at Oregon Inlet, NC. Analysis of the data reveals that alongshore shoal migration rates are closely correlated to wave driven alongshore sediment transport, and also that the cross-shore bedform migration rates are tightly correlated with a sub-tidal water level gradient though the inlet. A follow up experiment with in-situ sensors suggests that the sub-tidal gradient is set up by regional …

Genome Evolution And Population Dynamics Of Staphylococcus Bacteria, Joshua Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

The gram-positive bacterial genus Staphylococcus (phylum Firmicutes) is a heterogeneous group that consists of commensals and opportunistic pathogens of humans and animals. To date, there are 57 validly published species according to the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN). The most well-studied and widely sampled species is Staphylococcus aureus, which causes a wide range of diseases in humans from relatively minor skin infections to much more invasive and serious sepsis, pneumonia, or endocarditis. For many years, Staphylococcus other than S. aureus have been regarded as non-pathogenic, but these bacteria are now being recognized as potential pathogens in …

Diversity In The Commercial Sexual Exploitation Of Children In The Us, Brianna Ferreira

Master's Theses and Capstones

Researchers have examined the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), however, they tend to focus on a stereotypical victim. Little research exists on the diversity of CSEC, and the various forms that it can encompass. This secondary data analysis examines the diversity in United States CSEC cases by using Mitchell, Finkelhor, and Wolak’s (2010) National Juvenile Prostitution Study (NJPS) case narratives. The current study uses thematic analysis to analyze the 132 NJPS case narratives. Seven major overarching themes of diversity emerged throughout the research process: (1) Facilitator/Relationship of Facilitator and Dynamics, (2) Gender of Juvenile, (3) Reason for Engagement: Risk …

U.S East Coast Community Resilience From A Community Capitals Perspective: Application Of Indexing And Spatial Cluster Analysis, Taylor Daigle

Master's Theses and Capstones

This thesis addresses regional, state, and county-level community resiliency to disasters along the United States East Coast. Research objectives include understanding the role of vulnerability and resiliency in disaster management, measuring community resilience in a new geographical area, and identifying strengths and weaknesses in community capitals, as related to disaster management. Community resilience in this study is measured by implementing an indexing method to fourteen states (129 counties) along the U.S East Coast. The community disaster resilience index (CDRI) consists of measuring four community capitals (human, physical, social, and economic) according to the relevant disaster management activities identified in the …

Cognitive Control And Language Network Connectivity Associated With Language Production In Aphasia, Jessica Lee

Master's Theses and Capstones

Aphasia is the breakdown of language comprehension and production due to an acquired brain injury of the left hemisphere. Investigation of the neurological underpinnings of aphasia have advanced from post-mortem investigation of specific regions in the 1800s to the utilization of brain imaging technology to understand brain networks. These approaches have helped us to appreciate the reorganization of the brain and its networks post stroke, particularly as it relates or is modified for adequate versus impaired performance. Research into neuroplastic changes can elucidate differences between healthy and lesioned brains. Furthermore, identification of adaptive (or maladaptive) neuroplastic changes can also inform …

Restoration Of Native Plant Communities In Sand Dune Systems Of Plum Island, Newbury, Massachusetts, Natalie Feldsine

Master's Theses and Capstones

The impacts of Superstorm Sandy on coastal resources of the eastern United States have brought the importance of resilient sand dune systems into focus. While dunes are primarily dominated by American beachgrass (Ammophila breviligulata), a host of other native species commonly occur in these systems, providing diversity and habitat complexity that is often not recognized or incorporated into dune restoration initiatives, and could benefit sites where dune dieout is a concern. Dieout refers to the death of A. breviligulata occurring in large patches. The goal of this study was to explore the importance of biodiversity on dune resiliency by using …

Examining The Relationship Between Life Skill Development And Negative Experiences In Sport: The Influence Of Resilience, Levone Lee

Master's Theses and Capstones

A study by Kendellen and Camire (2015) demonstrated that sport participants not only experienced positive outcomes (i.e., development of life skills), but also encounter numerous examples of negative experiences (i.e., anxiety, aggression, negative interactions with coaches, and prioritizing sport over school). Negative experiences have been linked to an increased risk of detrimental outcomes, such as mental and behavioral health concerns. However, there is a paucity of research examining the impact that negative experiences have on positive outcomes. Utilizing a risk and resiliency framework (Fraser et al., 1999), which proposes that individuals have the capability of attaining positive outcomes even when …

Applying Island Biogeography Theory And Ecoacoustic Approaches To Explore The Species Composition, Richness, And Biodiversity In Northern Temperate Salt Marsh Pools Of The Little River Estuary, Sofia Rose Licht

Master's Theses and Capstones

Salt marsh habitats are prevalent throughout coastal New England and offer a wide rangeof ecological services, including serving as nursery habitats to both transient and resident species, trapping sediment and nutrients to keep pace with rising sea levels, and improving water quality through filtration of runoff. These complex habitats remain poorly understood, especially regarding the biological communities that occupy them. The northern temperate salt marshes that characterize the coast of Northern New England contain northern temperate salt marsh pools (NTSPs) that serve as important wildlife habitats with unique abiotic conditions and biotic communities. The isolated nature of these pools from …

Assessing The Variability In Length Of Juvenile Atlantic Salmon In Maine Streams Through A Long-Term Electrofishing Dataset, Athena Marie Ryan

Master's Theses and Capstones

Atlantic salmon Salmo salar are an endangered migratory fish with recovery projects in their last remaining habitats in Maine focused on juvenile stocking and habitat restoration efforts. Population productivity of Atlantic salmon has been linked to size of juveniles, suggesting that conditions that facilitate growth in stream habitats are important to recovery. Broadly, the objectives of my thesis were to examine how different habitat and biological variables affect the size of juvenile parr throughout Maine and to assess long-term trends (1969 – 2017) among four drainages (East Machias, Narraguagus, Sheepscot, and Penobscot). Extensive electrofishing surveys captured ~250,000 individual Atlantic salmon …

Factors Affecting Purchase Of Locally Grown Produce: A Case Study Of New Hampshire Markets, Jordan Strater

Master's Theses and Capstones

There has been a recent focus on expanding local agriculture production in New Hampshire, and more information on consumer decision making in regard to local food purchasing is needed. Expansion of local food production and consumption has been of great interest in the past several years, with many consumers becoming increasingly curious about where their food comes from. Concerns about disease, environmental damage, fossil fuel usage, and recently food chain disruption due to COVID-19 as well as the health of local economies have fostered this awareness about the origins of our food (Onozaka et al. 2010; Thilmany et al. 2020). …

Covenants To Discriminate: How The Anti-Lgbt Policies Of Participating Voucher Schools Might Violate The State Action Doctrine, Preston C. Green Iii, Julie F. Mead, Suzanne E. Eckes

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

This article analyzes the legal arguments that students might make to compel states that subsidize private education through voucher, tax credit scholarship, and ESA programs to offer these programs on an equal basis, regardless of the sexual orientation or gender identity of the student or members of the student’s family. The first section provides an overview of voucher programs and discusses the prevalence of participating schools with anti-LGBT admissions policies. The second section evaluates constitutional challenges that students could make to invalidate the anti-LGBT admissions policies of participating voucher schools under the state action doctrine. Specifically, we explain the possibilities …

Israel’S Sigint Oversight Ecosystem: Covid-19 Secret Location Tracking As A Test Case, Amir Cahane

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

By mid-March 2020, Israel had experienced the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Within a fortnight, confirmed coronavirus cases surged from half a dozen to 178 cases. In response to the challenge of identifying potential carriers, the government tasked the Israeli Security Agency (the ISA, or Shin Bet) with tracing the routes of confirmed coronavirus patients via cellphone location tracking and identifying individuals with whom the patients had been in close contact.

Israel's ISA communications metadata collection measures have been shrouded in veil of secrecy. The debate – in parliament and in court – regarding the use of the country's …

Abortion Restrictions During A Pandemic At The Intersection Of The 13th Amendment And Electoral Legislation, Dr. Cynthia Boyer

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

The current pandemic is intensifying restrictions on a wide range of fundamental rights which form a key pillar of the rule of law, it includes access to reproductive rights. Some states have moved forward with their ideological quest of control and infringement of constitutional rights in order to ban or limit abortion what is a fundamental attack on constitutional rights and in particular those associated with the Thirteenth Amendment. These restrictions on abortion resulting from the proclamation of a state of emergency follow the path already taken by certain states to reinforce their coercive measures. They raise major legal and …

Going Viral?: Discouraging The Premature Use Of Civil Liability Strategies As A Response To Covid-19, Michelle L. Richards

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

In addition to the myriad of issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the virus has also placed our legal system in a position of creating problems that can contribute to the spread of this pandemic. Despite the fact that the United States has been mired in the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine strategies have been recently developed to provide protection from this virus, much is still unknown about the etiology of this virus and how to effectively control its spread. As a result, public health agencies at the federal, state, and local levels have only been able …

“Smart” Lawyering: Integrating Technology Competence Into The Legal Practice Curriculum, Dyane L. O'Leary

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

Technology has changed modern law practice. Ethics rules obligate lawyers to understand whether, when, and how to use it to deliver services. But most law schools do not incorporate the so-called “Duty of Technology Competence” into the required curriculum. Despite broad calls for legal education to make students more practice-ready, there is no clear path forward for how to weave this valuable professional skill into coursework for all students. This Article supplies one.

The legal practice course should pair technology competence with traditional legal writing and research work. Lawyers do not draft memos or perform legal research or manage caseloads …

New England State Senates: Case Studies For Revisiting The Indirect Election Of Legislators, Tyler Quinn Yeargain

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Assessment Of The Use Of Green Stormwater Infrastructure For Flood Mitigation At Berry Brook, Rachel Lynn Hastings

Master's Theses and Capstones

This research examined the effectiveness of GSI and other BMPs to control urban flooding for extreme precipitation events and compared the impacts of increasing impervious cover with the impacts of increasing rainfall intensity caused by climate change. The City of Dover has spent the last decade implementing best management practices in the 185-acre Berry Brook watershed to combat stream pollution and flooding caused by urbanization. Improvements to the watershed included building additional headwater wetland area, daylighting and restoring 1,100 feet of stream, and redirecting stormwater to GSIs, thereby reducing the effective impervious cover from 30% to 10%. Four PCSWMM models …

Enhancing Precoat Filtration Removals Of Selected Dissolved And Microbial Contaminants, Kathryn Quay

Master's Theses and Capstones

Arsenic contamination in drinking water is a worldwide public health concern. Contamination occurs from both natural and anthropogenic sources and is associated with serious acute and chronic health effects. In 2001, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) changed the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of arsenic from 50 to 10 μg/L. Because of this, there have been incentives for further research and development of cost-effective technologies to help meet these new standards, especially in small community water systems.Over the past decade, attention has turned to zero-valent iron (ZVI) as a possible arsenic removal material because of its efficient, inexpensive, and locally available …