Digital Commons Network^™

Retention Time Of Microplastics In The Purple Sea Urchin (Arbacia Punctulata), Alexandra Shore

Honors Theses and Capstones

Marine ecosystems around the world are facing the problem of plastic pollution. Large pieces of plastic eventually degrade into smaller microplastics that are suspended in the water column and sink to the seabed. Sea urchins are exposed to microplastics as they graze on the sea floor and can accidentally consume these pollutants. Sea urchins are ecologically important animals because they physically alter their ecosystem via grazing and are integral part of marine food webs. To better understand how sea urchins interact with microplastics, purple sea urchins were exposed to microfibers and microspheres in a laboratory setting, and the retention time …

Bridging Clinic To Home: The Development Of A Caregiver Education Program To Support Home Carryover Of Feeding Interventions, Rachel Adams

OTD Capstones

Abstract

Objective Caregivers of children with pediatric feeding disorders or difficulties face stressful emotions within the context of feeding. There is an identified gap in pediatric outpatient occupational therapy and the educational resources they provide to caregivers related to feeding. To address this, the capstone project aimed to develop and integrate an evidence-based caregiver education program into the capstone site’s feeding therapy model to make a more well-rounded and all-inclusive feeding therapy program. Methods Two caregiver surveys were sent out along with a staff survey to identify the needs of the site and the caregivers of the clients and to …

Town Of Lempster, New Hampshire, Incorporated 1767, Annual Reports For The Year Ending December 31, 2025, Lempster Town Representatives

Lempster, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

Improving Psychiatric Paraprofessional Preparedness Through Mental Health First Aid Training In An Outpatient Mental Health Clinic, Anisha Hampton

DNP Scholarly Projects

BACKGROUND: Paraprofessional staff in outpatient mental health clinics play a critical role in monitoring clients with serious mental illness (SMI) and supporting continuity of care in community-based settings. However, the absence of standardized training contributes to variability in staff knowledge, confidence, and ability to recognize early signs of mental health deterioration. Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is an evidence-based training designed to improve mental health literacy and crisis response skills among frontline workers.

METHODS: This quality improvement project utilized a pre-post design within a Plan-DoStudy-Act (PDSA) framework at an outpatient mental health clinic. Paraprofessional staff completed the Mental Health Literacy …

Evaluating The Use Of Precision Technology To Understand Differences Between Ketotic And Non-Ketotic Jersey Cows, Emily Kathryn Palermo

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Forage Legume Community Dynamics In Response To Stand Management, Nicholas Warren

Doctoral Dissertations

A primary challenge for perennial forage production systems is maintaining crop productivity and forage quality over time. Including legume species in these systems is an opportunity to reduce external inputs, to extend the seasonal productivity of a pasture, and to balance the nutritional characteristics of grass species. However, legume persistence in mixed stands is frequently poor. Identifying harvest practices, legume species, or species mixtures that improve legume persistence would help to maximize the ecosystem services of forages. I conducted a four-year field experiment (2019 to 2022) in southeastern New Hampshire to evaluate the productivity and persistence of four perennial legumes …

A Quality Improvement Project: Enhancing Nursing Knowledge And Patient Safety In The Prevention Of Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injuries (Hapis) In A Medical-Surgical Unit, Kristen Vartabedian

Master's Theses and Capstones

Background: Hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) are a significant quality indicator within the hospital system. HAPIs increase hospitalization, morbidity, and associated healthcare costs. The current evidence suggests that ongoing nursing education can improve pressure injury prevention and help in the early identification.

Local Problem: Nurses within a medical-surgical unit demonstrated a gap in knowledge in the identification of hospital acquired pressure injuries and lack of accuracy when charting skin findings. Thus, contributing to a delay in recognition and treatment of HAPIs.

Methods: This quality improvement project utilized the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) framework to guide implementation of educational flipbooks. Materials contained standardized wound …

Reducing Readmissions For Copd Through Improved Education: A Gap Analysis, Raphael Gaughan

Master's Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Improving Efficiency In The Intensive Care Unit Through Reduction Of Nurse Burnout: A Quality Improvement Initiative, Johanna Grace Koroma

Master's Theses and Capstones

Abstract

Background: Intensive care unit (ICU) nursing is prone to high levels of burnout, which poses concern for staff wellbeing, patient safety, and microsystem strain (Kerlin et al., 2020). Educational interventions may serve as a means of increasing awareness on the issue and reducing the effects of burnout, through promotion of evidence-based management strategies.

Local Problem: One ICU microsystem identified several key contributing factors to nurse burnout, including staffing shortages, limited resources, competing responsibilities within the macrosystem, and insufficient organizational support (Zhang et al., 2025). Baseline survey data of the population observed a prevalence of 50% “high” burnout profiles among …

Introducing Education For Sensory Approaches In Mental Health-Related Emergency Department Visits: A Quality Improvement Project To Enhance Patient-Centered Care, Jesse O'Neill

Master's Theses and Capstones

Background: Barriers to specialty care access have resulted in emergency departments (ED) operating as temporary psychiatric hold facilities for their communities. Patients boarding in the ED are demonstrated to use a disproportionate percentage of facility resources with minimal benefit to the patient. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement identifies the impact of the healthcare environment on patient outcomes and suggests staff training to foster trauma-informed practice culture (Schall et al., 2020).

Local Problem: High-stress healthcare environments can escalate maladaptive patient behaviors and the use of restrictive interventions. Traditional use of restrictive interventions lacks supportive evidence and contradicts person-centered care goals (Molloy …

Enhancing Nursing Education To Improve Care For Women Experiencing A Substance Use Disorder During Pregnancy, Sadie Caddell

UNH URC Open (2026 and after)

Enhancing Nursing Education to Improve Care for Women Experiencing a Substance Use Disorder During Pregnancy

Covering The Care: Why Financial Resources Matter For Health, Mark Bonica, Phd,Mba,Ms

All Materials

Where people end up in the income and wealth distribution has a powerful and lasting influence on how healthy they are and how long they live. This is not just a story about poverty versus comfort. Across the entire population, health improves step by step as financial resources increase. Researchers call this pattern the health gradient.

This brief explains why that gradient exists. Drawing on decades of research from economics, public health, and social epidemiology, it shows how limited financial resources shape health through multiple pathways that unfold over different time horizons—from immediate consequences to cumulative effects that build …

Strafford County 2025 Annual Report Of The Commissioners, Treasurer, Other County Officers, And The Strafford County Delegation For The Year Ending December 31, 2025, Strafford County Representatives

Strafford County, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report for 2025 containing vital statistics for Strafford County in the state of New Hampshire.

A Simple Guide For Researchers And Institutional Review Boards (Irbs) To Protect Data Integrity In Online Human Subjects Survey Research, Julie Simpson

Integrity in Research and Scholarship

Researchers have used the internet to collect data for over two decades. More recently, however, online research has become a target for fraudulent respondents, particularly when researchers offer monetary incentives for participation in a study. This guide will briefly outline the evolution of internet-based human subjects research, explore the current environment for online data collection from human participants, outline strategies for researchers and Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) to help minimize and identify fraudulent responses and protect data integrity in online surveys, and discuss the challenges of balancing data integrity with research participant welfare.

Strafford County Extension - Advisory Council Meeting Minutes 2026, Rebecca Hull

Advisory Council

No abstract provided.

4-H Livestock Field Day Sponsor Form, Hannah Majewski

UNH Cooperative Extension

No abstract provided.

What Is Nh 4-H Agri-Science Quiz Bowl, Hannah Majewski

UNH Cooperative Extension

No abstract provided.

Your Wellness Wheel [Activity], Alyssa Lemmermann, Kendra Lewis

UNH Cooperative Extension

No abstract provided.

2026 Favorite Foods Festival Participation Packet For Rockingham And Strafford Counties, Caitlin Wollack

UNH Cooperative Extension

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Role Of Seaweeds In Dairy Production: Impacts On In Vitro Ruminal Fermentation, And In Vivo Mineral Utilization And Metabolic Status, William Mitchell Sims

Doctoral Dissertations

Dietary inclusion of seaweed in ruminant diets has been studied for more than 5 decades. Early research in seaweed focused primarily on potential health benefits, but recent interest has shifted the paradigm for its use as a nutritional tool to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. As new seaweeds are identified for their ability to reduce gas emissions, the pendulum will swing once more to understand the impact seaweeds have on ruminant health and production. The overall objective of this dissertation is to investigate digestibility and fermentation, as well as alterations in metabolic and mineral status in ruminants fed various seaweed species. …

The Effects Of Graded Amounts Of Nicotinic Acid On Cow Health, Colostrum Yield And Quality Of Prepartum Multiparous Jersey Cows And Growth In Their Subsequent Calves, Lydia Joy Valentine

Master's Theses and Capstones

This study evaluated the impact of graded amounts of nicotinic acid (NA) with a negative DCAD diet on cow health, colostrum composition and calf growth performance of Jersey cattle. We hypothesized that NA supplementation would increase IgG concentration of colostrum, increase calf intestinal absorption and growth and improve cow metabolic health. Thirty multiparous Jersey cows were blocked by calving date and assigned to either 0, 8 or 16 g/d of NA supplementation on top of the -40 mEq/kg DCAD dry cow diet. Blood samples were collected weekly for ketone analysis. Urine was collected three times weekly for pH, creatinine and …

Correctional System Involvement And Health Outcomes, Sarah Mason Eck ,Ph.D

All Materials

The Institute for Health Policy and Practice (IHPP) at the University System of New Hampshire commissioned Scientific Health to conduct an evidence-based review of the relationship between criminal justice system involvement and health outcomes. This research synthesized findings from recently published, peer-reviewed academic literature and relevant reports to examine how correctional system involvement affects physical health, mental health, and overall well-being among incarcerated individuals, their families, and communities. The review identified common themes related to behavioral health, chronic conditions, and systemic impacts, providing insight into the broader health implications of mass incarceration and deinstitutionalization. These findings aim to inform policy …

Carroll County Advisory Council 2025, Mikayla Cerney

UNH Cooperative Extension

No abstract provided.

Olli Fall 2025 Catalog, Toniann Leavitt

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

No abstract provided.

Contracting For Consumer Trade Compliance, Christine Abely

Law Faculty Scholarship

Export compliance is becoming increasingly important for parties required to abide by U.S. law, including many online sellers of consumer products. These retailers' contractual terms with their customers set forth a number of provisions governing the relationship between them, including those which deal with arbitration, indemnification, disclaimer of warranties, and other issues. Many such agreements also purport to create obligations on the part of the consumer as to export control and sanctions compliance relative to the products they purchase. These contract provisions attempt to do so, however, in often markedly different ways, and with language that may leave notable gaps …

Ccfan Summer Meals Success Story, Joy Gagnon

UNH Cooperative Extension

No abstract provided.

Ccfan Brochure 2025, Joy Gagnon

UNH Cooperative Extension

No abstract provided.

2025 Ccfan Accomplishments, Mikayla Cerney

UNH Cooperative Extension

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Effects Of Agricultural Management Practices On Beneficial Arthropod Communities, Isaac Newton Ativor

Doctoral Dissertations

Arthropods provide essential ecosystem services to our agricultural landscapes. These ecosystem services include biological control of pest organisms, including weed seeds, and plant pollination. Concerningly, however, there has been a global decline in insect populations over the last decade, a major cause of which is agricultural intensification. Previous research has demonstrated that agricultural management practices can strongly influence the species composition and abundance of arthropod communities, and therefore presumably the ecosystem services or disservices these organisms provide; however, our understanding of these interactions remains limited. I conducted three studies to investigate whether agricultural practices common in annual row crop (tillage …

Temporal Variability In The Bulk Nutritional Quality Of Estuarine Plankton, Marley Gonsalves

Master's Theses and Capstones

The temporal variability of plankton is well documented, particularly in constantly changing tidal systems such as estuaries, but the extent to which this variability applies to plankton nutritional quality is less well known. As the base of the aquatic food web, variation in phytoplankton nutritional quality stands to constrain fishery production, particularly of filter-feeders. Here, community and nutritional data was collected from Great Bay, NH, a model estuary, over seasonal, tidal, and daily time scales to identify the range and variability of nutritional quality in plankton. Bulk spectrophotometric neutral lipid and protein measurements were compared to plankton community composition data …