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Tracking Diet And Movement Of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus Thynnus) Using Carbon And Nitrogen Stable Isotopes, John Logan

Doctoral Dissertations

Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABFT; Thunnus thynnus) are important top predators in pelagic ecosystems. Understanding their diet and movements is necessary for proper management, but existing methods are costly and logistically challenging. Naturally occurring stable isotopes have been used to study diet and movement in many aquatic ecosystems and offer a novel approach for studying these large pelagic fishes.

Lipids, which have lower carbon isotope values than protein, can affect isotope analyses of bulk tissue. Both chemical and mathematical corrections were used to address lipid effects on ABFT and the prey. All chemical extraction methods altered nitrogen isotope values. Mathematical corrections …

"It's Just Part Of What We Do": Adolescent Interactions With Multimodal Texts Across Social Spaces, Anita S. Charles

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores how adolescents are interacting with text across shifting social spaces, and how they learn to be literate across a range of social, academic, print, and digital contexts. The intent of the study is to help articulate the boundedness and fluidity of multiple discourses, and to better clarify how teens maneuver across these boundaries successfully. My research approach incorporates ethnographic methodology with a framework of critical sociocultural theory, drawing heavily upon Gee's (2005) work in discourse analysis.

New technologies have broken down bounded spaces and dichotomous views of what it means to be literate, creating interrelationships among literacies …

Chemical Sensors Based On Swellable Polymer Microparticles And Molecular Imprinted Polymers, John Ong'any Osambo

Doctoral Dissertations

Swellable thermoresponsive and lightly cross-linked polymer microparticles were prepared for the development of chemical sensors for various target analytes. The swelling and shrinking of the polymer particles as a function of concentration of target analytes has been investigated using turbidity and fluorescence measurements at suitable pH values.

Chemical sensors that respond to transition metal ions such as Cu 2+, Ni2+, Zn2+, and Pb2+ were prepared by copolymerizing N-Isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) with ligands such as; 2,2'-acylamidodiacetic acid (AIDA), dibutyl-2,2'-(3 vinylphenylazanediyl) diacetate (DVPAA), N-((4'-methyl-2,2'-bipyridin-4yl)methyl)-N-propylacrylamide (NMPPAAm), and N,N-bis(pyridine-2-ylmethyl)prop-2-en-1-amine (NBPMPA). The microparticles were either labeled with 9-vinylanthracene (9-VA)/2-Naphthylmethacrylate (2-NMA), or fluorescein o-acrylate/methacryloxethyl thiocarbonyl rhodamine B …

To Pave Or Not To Pave: A Social Landscape Analysis Of Land Use Decision-Making In The Lamprey River Watershed, Erika Lea Washburn

Doctoral Dissertations

Seacoast New Hampshire's population has quadrupled in four decades resulting in sprawl and increased impervious surfaces which threaten the ecological health of Great Bay. Calls for watershed-based strategies addressing growth and land use planning abound. This study addresses these challenges by examining the question of whether there is a potential for watershed base land use decision-making. Using constructivist grounded theory, this study explores the social landscape of land use decision-making in a case study of the towns of the Lamprey River watershed. The qualitative methods include semi-structured interviews with GIS based maps and content analysis in NVivo software. Results include …

Development Of Nitrogen Protecting Groups And Synthesis And Complexation Of Bridged Bis-Tetraazamacrocycles, Matthew J. Young

Doctoral Dissertations

The development of nitrogen-protecting groups that are orthogonal to the N-benzyl group for use in cross-bridged tetraazamacrocycles and the synthesis and complexation of bridged bis-tetraazamacrocycles are presented. The allyl, p-methoxybenzyl (PMB), and 2-naphthylmethyl (Nap) nitrogen-protecting groups were investigated for use on cross-bridged tetraazamacrocycle systems and conditions for deprotection were found for the N-allyl and N-PMB protecting groups. The conditions applied for the cleavage of the N-allyl and N-PMB groups and the systems that these conditions were employed on are illustrated below. This research has demonstrated that the N-allyl and N-PMB protecting groups are applicable to a variety of systems. These …

Effects Of A Large Fishing Closure On Benthic Communitites In The Western Gulf Of Maine: Recovery From The Effects Of Gillnets And Otter Trawls, Raymond E. Grizzle, Larry G. Ward, Larry A. Mayer, Mashkoor A. Malik, Andrew B. Cooper, Holly Abeels, Jennifer K. Greene, Melissa Brodeur, Andrew A. Rosenberg

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

The recovery of benthic communities inside the western Gulf of Maine fishing closure area was evaluated by comparing invertebrate assemblages at sites inside and outside of the closure four to six years after the closure was established. The major restriction imposed by the closure was a year-round prohibition of bottom gillnets and otter trawls. A total of 163 seafloor sites (~half inside and half outside the closure) within a 515-km2 study area were sampled with some combination of Shipek grab, Wildco box corer, or underwater video. Bottom types ranged from mud (silt and clay) to boulders, and the effects of …

Town Of New Boston, New Hampshire Annual Report For The Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2008., New Boston Town Representatives

New Boston, NH Annual Reports

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

University Of New Hampshire Undergraduate Course Catalog, 2009-2010, University Of New Hampshire

Undergraduate Catalog

No abstract provided.

University Of New Hampshire R+30 Headcounts Of Majors By College And Gender Unh - Durham Degree Candidates Only Spring 2009, University Of New Hampshire. Institutional Research And Assessment

UNH Factbooks

University of New Hampshire factbook data from the 2008-2009 academic year

Annual Report Of The Town Officers Of The Town Of Dummer, N.H. For The Year Ending December 31, 2008 Including Dummer School Report., Dummer Town Representatives

Dummer, NH Annual Reports

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

Bachelor Degree Completions By College, 1999-2008, University Of New Hampshire. Institutional Research And Assessment

UNH Factbooks

University of New Hampshire factbook data from the 2008-2009 academic year

Orientation Of Vernal Pool Amphibians In An Industrial Forest Landscape, Emma Carcagno

Master's Theses and Capstones

Understanding the movement patterns of vernal pool amphibians is a critical aspect of effective conservation and land management. I used clearcutting to manipulate buffer widths at 11 vernal pools within an industrial forest landscape located in Maine. Forested buffers were either 30m or 100m wide, surrounded by 100m wide clearcut. Each pool was encircled with a drift fence and pitfall traps. I captured wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus ) and spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) as they entered and exited pools and documented orientation across three years. Orientation at all pools for both species was non-uniform, differed among pools, between species, and …

Electricity Production From The Management Of Municipal Solid Waste Leachate With Microbial Fuel Cells, Lisa Damiano

Master's Theses and Capstones

Microbial fuel cells are a new technology that can be used for treating landfill leachate and simultaneously producing electricity. Three designs were tested in batch cycles using landfill leachate (908-3200 mg/L COD): a Square (995 mL), Circle (934 mL) and a Large Scale MFC (18.3 L). A total of seven cycles were completed for each the Square MFC and Circle MFC and two cycles for the Larger Scale MFC. Maximum power densities of 24-31 mW/m2 (653 mW/m3-824 mW/m3) were achieved using the Circle MFC and a maximum voltage of 635 mV was produced using the Larger Scale MFC. BOD, TOC, …

Expanding The Availability Of Sustainable Seafood: Uncovering Barriers For Retailers, Lindsey Piilani Fong

Master's Theses and Capstones

In the fall of 2008, a mail survey was distributed to New England retailers to assess their knowledge and interest regarding 'sustainable seafood' campaigns and eco-labeling programs, as well as identify incentives to help overcome perceived barriers that prevent the distribution of sustainably harvested and labeled seafood in grocery stores. This investigation yields valuable insight for increasing the effectiveness of efforts that aim to influence consumer purchasing of seafood, as there has been little prior investigation of seafood eco-label systems used at the point-of-purchase, or retailer willingness to offer sustainably produced seafood products. This study found that many retailers are …

Distribution Of Epibionts And Their Effects On The Marine Snail Littorina Littorea In Northern New England, Laura Chelynne Page

Master's Theses and Capstones

Epibiosis, or the growth of one organism on another, is a common life history strategy in marine environments where space is at a premium. Many epibiotic organisms live on or in biotic hard substrates, such as shells. In the spatially competitive rocky intertidal of New England, hard substrate surface area is greatly increased by the presence of the non-native marine periwinkle snail Littorina littorea. The snail's shell can be exploited by epibiotic organisms such as barnacles, bryozoans, and encrusting calcareous algae. However, an in-depth examination of the prevalence and impact of epibionts on Littorina littorea in New England has not …

Experimental Evolution Of Vibrio Fischeri To Squid Symbiosis, Lauren Perry

Master's Theses and Capstones

Background. Co-evolution of Vibrio fischeri strains with Euprymna scolopes has led to isolates that are superior squid colonists [1, 2]. To better understand how V. fischeri adapts to symbiosis with squid we serially transferred a planktonic Hawaiian isolate, H905 [3], and the natural E. scolopes symbiont, ES114, in squid. We characterized derived isolates for colonization ability as well as other phenotypic traits that have been implicated as being important to symbiosis.

Results. We hypothesized that as a result of adaptation to symbiosis H905 would become more phenotypically similar to ES114. We see this trend in luminescence and siderophore production of …

Characterization Of T24d14(Ok809) A Putative Alpha-1,2 Glucosyltransferase In C Elegans And Detailed Structural Analysis Of The Lipid Linked Oligosaccharide Pathway Via Msn, William Cobb Wiswall Jr.

Master's Theses and Capstones

The formation of glycoconjugates, lipids or proteins covalently linked to carbohydrate groups in biological systems, is a universal process in every form of life studied to date. The carbohydrate moiety of glycoconjugates range in complexity from single monomers to intricately branched structures containing over a dozen residues. This complexity is further compounded by the incorporation of several different monomer types with varying linkage positions and branching patterns. The number of possible carbohydrate structures is astronomical providing significant challenges to characterize, study, and catalog these molecules. Furthermore, assigning biological consequence can be a daunting task considering the numerous interactions caused by …

Identification Of Photorhabdus Temperata Motility Mutants Altered In Insect Pathogenesis, Holli N. Rowedder

Master's Theses and Capstones

The entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora forms a specific association with its bacterial partner Photorhabdus temperata. The objective of this study was to identify genes involved in insect pathogenesis. Previously we generated a bank of 10,000 transposon mutants and identified 86 motility mutants and 11 calcofluor-binding mutants. The purpose of these experiments was to determine the effects of these defects on bacterial pathogenesis and mutualism. An insect mortality screen with host-model, Galleria mellonella, initially identified 14 mutants with altered insect pathogenesis. Four mutants were confirmed including one (UNH5832) with an enhanced pathogenesis response compared to the parental wild-type, while three other …

Accelerated Carbonation Of Contaminated Sediments And Its Application, Ketaki Tarabadkar

Master's Theses and Capstones

In United States, every year approximately 300 million cubic yards of sediments are dredged in order to improve the shipping navigation and deepen the harbors. Out of these dredged sediments, approximately 3--12 million cubic yards sediments are contaminated. Disposal of clean sediments has various possibilities but contaminated sediments require special and expensive treatments.

The current research aims at utilization of mildly contaminated sediments in positive way in order to find better management techniques. Ideally, solidification and stabilization of the sediments would allow them to be used in beneficial use application. Artificial aggregates were prepared using accelerated carbonation technique in which …

Disruption Of Cytokeratin 18-Containing Intermediate Filaments In Bovine Luteal Cells: Effects On Fas Expression, Progesterone Secretion, And Fasl-Induced Apoptosis, Alice Duncan

Master's Theses and Capstones

In the current study, the possibility that cytokeratin 18 (CK18)---containing intermediate filaments (IFs) protect bovine luteal cells from FasL-induced apoptosis was explored. Bovine corpora lutea (CL) from early and late stages of the luteal phase were collected and prepared for cell culture. The cultures were exposed to culture medium without (control) or with 5mM acrylamide for 4 hr to disrupt CK18 IFs. Subsequently, the cultures were exposed to fresh medium without (control) or with FasL (50ng/mL) for 24 hr to induce apoptosis. Acrylamide disrupted CK18 IFs without affecting microtubules, progesterone secretion (P>0.05), or cell viability (P>0.05). Surface expression …

Frequency Of Reovirus Detection In Biosolids: Comparison Of The Epa Cfr 503 Technique To Integrated Cell Culture - Quantitative Pcr, Elizabeth Gallagher

Master's Theses and Capstones

The public health threat from pathogens creates controversy for the land application of biosolids, a sewage treatment byproduct. Previous work has demonstrated that some enteric viruses are not detected with a plaque assay, the current method for virus detection in biosolids. The Integrated Cell Culture - Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (ICC-qPCR) assay, which combined quantitative PCR with seven days incubation in cell culture, allows for detection of more viruses.

To compare method sensitivities, a biosolid sample was seeded with mammalian orthoreovirus. 3x105 plaque forming units (PFU) per ml were detected by the plaque assay and 108 PFU equivalents per ml …

Assessing The Role Of Protists In Removing E Coli In Slow Sand Filters, Ethan C. Gyles

Master's Theses and Capstones

The organic layer that forms on top of the sand bed in slow sand filters, known as the schmutzdecke, is vital for bacterial removal. The schmutzdecke consists of abundant bacteria and protists, and is where suspended particles can be strained, organic matter compounds broken down, and microorganisms are entrapped.

Some varieties of protists prey upon bacteria. Their role in bacterial removal is not well quantified. The goal of this study was to confirm the relationship between filter run time and protistan abundance, to determine the significance of protistan predation on E. coli, and whether protists can be "seeded" onto filters …

Attenuation Of Hydrogen Sulfide From Landfill Gas Study And Exploration Of Construction And Demolition Debris Characteristics And Production, Dan Hrobak

Master's Theses and Capstones

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has become recognized as a problematic gas emitted from landfills. Sulfate, which can produce H 2S in a landfill, is in drywall in construction and demolition (C&D) debris and sometimes products or recycling. This research consisted of examining alternative treatment of H2S gas at landfills, input/output of sulfur at landfills and generation/prevention of H2S in the landfill setting using C&D. In this research, four ashes were tested with landfill gas to investigate H2S attenuation, the highest attenuation reached was 73.8mg of H2S per gram of ash. In addition, these exhausted ashes, as well as sulfur cake were …

Spatial And Temporal Trends Of Dissolved Nitrous Oxide In The Lamprey River Watershed And Controls On The End-Products Of Denitrification, Emily Difranco

Master's Theses and Capstones

An understanding of the controls on the production of the greenhouse gas N2O is important to assess the atmospheric contribution of N2O from freshwater streams. Concentration and percent saturation of dissolved N2O were measured from March 2008 to February 2009 and were used as to measure the potential for streams in the Lamprey River Watershed to lose N2O to the atmosphere. Almost all streams were oversaturated most of the year, and though field concentrations of dissolved N2O did show trends with stream chemistry, it is possible that N2O is not only being produced within the streams themselves, but is entering …

The Effect Of Plant-Soil Feedback And Competition On The Invasion Of New Hampshire Thickets By Non-Native Shrubs, Kristina Vagos

Master's Theses and Capstones

Early-successional habitat is disappearing throughout the northeastern United States. Much of the remaining habitat is being invaded by non-native invasive shrubs suspected of altering native shrubland quality. To assess whether soil feedback and competition facilitate invasion, three native and three invasive shrub species were used in two greenhouse experiments. Soil feedback was examined by growing each species in soil cultured by the same species and those cultured by other species, in both tilled and non-tilled soil. Soil microbial communities were assessed using PLFA. Soil feedback effects were species specific and likely do not facilitate invasion. Additionally, cultured soil communities were …

N-Linked Glycans Characterization And Biomarker Discovery By Sequential Mass Spectrometry, Hongqin (Jenny) Jiao

Master's Theses and Capstones

N-linked glycans from a well-studied glycoprotein, (hen albumin) were characterized using ion trap MS (MSn) without chromatographic separation. From the spectral profile, ten major ion compositions were selected for study, which resulted in the characterization of 37 isomeric structures, 16 of which were previously unreported. These findings were compared with previously reported studies using different analytical strategies: IMMS, MS/MS. MSn not only identifies but also structurally characterizes components in the absence of any adjunct instrumentation. Selected examples have been detailed.

A major challenge for adult stem cell (ASC) research is the lack of specific biomarkers for their identification and isolation. …

Assessing Post Treatment Aeration Variables To Reduce Trihalomethanes For Small Systems, Ethan S. Brooke

Master's Theses and Capstones

Small Public Water Systems face unique challenges in meeting Stage I & II disinfection byproduct rules. Diffused and spray aeration offer significant advantages in installation and O&M costs for small communities that need to lower THMs in finished drinking water. In this study, bench and pilot aeration assessments were undertaken in order to evaluate the importance and interaction of aeration variables associated with Trihalomethane (THM) and specifically chloroform removal. Bench scale experiments to determine the effect of air stripping on free chlorine levels and water pH were also conducted.

Sampling Techniques For Sediment Pore Water In Evaluation Of Reactive Capping Efficacy, Donald E. Wise

Master's Theses and Capstones

Contaminated sediments are a significant problem that has adverse effects on human, animal and plant health. Heavy metal contamination, with dissolved metals being the most bioavailable form, has been occurring since man first started living in communities around water bodies. Pore water provides contaminated metals a medium for transport from the sediment to the water body. Determining the toxic metal concentration in pore water is essential to any remediation plan. In-situ dialysis samplers or peepers were investigated in this thesis as a tool for evaluating metal contamination in sediments. Peeper performance was compared to direct suction samplers. Both samplers were …

The Effect Of Particle-Associated Viruses On Disinfection Processes In Water Treatment, Jessica L. Tokson

Master's Theses and Capstones

This research focused on what accelerates or hinders virus-particle association, how the addition of turbidity affects both chlorine and ultraviolet light disinfection, and if sonication can disrupt virus-particle associations exposing viruses to disinfection methods.

A decrease in pH, from 7--4, was found to accelerate association by 2-logs. Calcium increased association by 2.74-logs, and total organic carbon decreased association by 0.36-logs.

An addition of 5 NTU, the maximum turbidity level allowed by USEPA for unfiltered drinking water supplies, affected both chlorine and UV light disinfection showing differences in the rate of kill per dose. The association of viruses and particles can …

Comparative Genomics Exploration Tools, Shilpa M. Kulkarni

Master's Theses and Capstones

Comparative Genomics focuses on elucidating the genetic differences between different species or different strains of the same species by the comparative analysis of DNA sequences to identify functional elements and regulatory regions. This thesis describes the design and development of two software tools to support comparative genomics research. These tools were specifically developed to support the analysis and assembly of sequence data produced from innovative new DNA sequencing technology from 454 Life Sciences using the PicoTiterPlate(TM) device. This technology will dramatically affect comparative genomics research. Currently available software tools were developed to handle traditional shotgun sequences averaging 500-1000 base pairs …