Digital Commons Network^™

Perceived Versus Actual Attitude Similarity As Predictors Of Change In Interpersonal Attraction, Andrew Robert Mcgarva

Doctoral Dissertations

The present investigation was intended to identify factors that affect the degree to which interpersonal attraction changes over the course of face-to-face interaction. Participants completed a modified version of Byrne's (1971) attitude questionnaire, the Crowne-Marlowe Social Desirability Scale (1964), and Snyder's Self-Monitoring Scale and were then paired into attitudinally similar, dissimilar, or neutral dyads. Both before and after interacting for 40-minutes, dyads were asked to rate their interpersonal attraction toward their partner. Attitude similarity better predicted post-conversation interpersonal attraction when controlling for pre-conversation attraction than when not controlling for pre-conversation attraction. Social desirability, self-monitoring, and the coordination of vocal activity …

Development And Application Of Molecular Techniques For The Detection Of Human Enteric Viruses In Environmental Samples, Patrick Michael Regan

Doctoral Dissertations

Shellfish and water have been implicated in the transmission of viral diseases. National surveillance data on waterborne and foodborne illnesses underestimate the public health significance of these viruses. The focus of this research was to evaluate, develop, and apply molecular techniques to detect human enteric viruses in environmental samples.

The initial study evaluated a nucleic acid hybridization assay using a $\sp{32}$P labeled cDNA probe to detect poliovirus in clams. Clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) were harvested from Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. Poliovirus was detected in clams from the conditionally approved area in 3 of 9 collections and in the prohibited area in …

Psychosocial And Sociostructural Determinants Of Mastery: The Context Of Age And Disability, Scott David Schieman

Doctoral Dissertations

The "active" and "potent" self has held a special interest to philosophers, psychologists, and sociologists since the inception of those disciplines. The present research uses sociological perspectives on social comparison and reference group theory to provide a framework for understanding the various dimensions of self-process in the context of age and disability. Specifically, this research examines associations between age, disability, and social status indicators as they impress upon personal agency or mastery.

This study uses secondary data that includes respondents aged 18 and over who resided in any of ten counties in Southwestern Ontario and were part of a two-wave …

Predation By Nucella Lapillus (Linnaeus, 1758) On Littorina Obtusata (Linnaeus, 1758) And Mytilus Edulis (Linnaeus, 1758), Helena Matthews Cascon

Doctoral Dissertations

Prey preference and recognition by individuals of Nucella lapillus from 13 different populations from New England were studied, to determine if individuals of this species kept on a single prey diet develops a preference for this prey, and if prey availability affects prey recognition in this predator. Individuals from all 13 populations showed a preference for Mytilus edulis over Littorina obtusata in laboratory experiments, including those from a population that prey only on L. obtusata in the field. Individuals from another population were not able to recognize L. obtusata as a prey. N. lapillus kept in a diet of M. …

Beta-Carotene In The Bovine Corpus Luteum, Stephen Grimmell Judd

Doctoral Dissertations

There have been conflicting reports which associate a low dietary intake or plasma concentration of beta-carotene (BC) with decreased fertility in dairy cows. The bovine corpus luteum (CL), a transient endocrine gland formed subsequent to ovulation, produces the steroid hormone progesterone which sustains pregnancy and is associated with fertility. Because of its high concentrations of the antioxidant nutrient beta-carotene, the CL was examined to identify an in vivo function for BC, other than that as a precursor of retinol. Five non-lactating Jersey cows were fed a basal ration containing a low BC concentration. Each cow received either 0, 1.6, 8.0, …

Molecular Characterization Of A Cytotoxic Porin Protein From Campylobacter Jejuni And Its Role In Campylobacteriosis, David John Bacon

Doctoral Dissertations

Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of enteritis in developed and developing countries. A cytotoxic complex was isolated from organism-free filtrates of broth grown organisms by screening for activity in HEp-2 cells following high performance liquid chromatography using a combination of size exclusion and DEAE column chromatography. The toxin was found to coincide with a 45 kDa protein possessing an N-terminus sequence indicative of a bacterial outer membrane porin protein together with a high molecular weight carbohydrate which was determined to be lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

The carbohydrate portion of the LPS had reactivity for the lectins Galanthus nivalis agglutinin, Maakia amurensis …

Numerical Analysis For Blood Distribution In Complete Flow Cross-Section Microvascular Networks, Jewen Xiao

Doctoral Dissertations

As the blood flows through a bifurcation, the axisymmetric red blood cell concentration profile is skewed by plasma skimming. In the downstream segment of the bifurcation the concentration profile of red blood cells recovers symmetry by the red blood cell dispersion process.

In this study, the concentration convective equation, which models the red blood cell dispersion process, is solved with the method of finite differences in cylindrical coordinates. In the computation, a shear-induced diffusivity coefficient is used. The computed hematocrit ratios at the second bifurcation are compared with in vitro experimental data obtained from 50 $\mu$m serial trees with two …

Phylogenetic Diversity And Community Structure Of Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria In A Salt Marsh Sediment, Juliette Nicole Rooney Varga

Doctoral Dissertations

Phylogenetic diversity and community structure of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) in a salt marsh sediment and rhizosphere of Spartina alterniflora were investigated. Uncultivated phylotypes were studied by selectively amplifying Desulfobacteriaceae 16S rRNA gene fragments from DNA extracted from salt marsh rhizosphere samples. An in vitro transcription technique was developed to synthesize reference RNAs containing sequences presumably identical to corresponding regions of the uncultivated organisms' 16S rRNAs. These reference RNAs were used in subsequent quantitative probing experiments. Oligonucleotide probes were designed to specifically target novel phylotypes and were tested for optimal hybridization wash conditions and target specificity. The newly designed probes were …

Construction Of An X-Band Electron Nuclear Double Resonance Spectrometer And Partial Characterization Of An Iron Nitrosyl Complex Of Transferrin, Pamela Marie Proulx-Curry

Doctoral Dissertations

An X-band Electron Nuclear Double Resonance (ENDOR) spectrometer was constructed, tested at both room and liquid helium temperatures, and characterized at liquid helium temperature using a vanadyl-imidazole standard.

An iron nitrosyl complex of transferrin was studied. Three methods of generating nitric oxide gas were tested and resulted in no differences in product formation. The g-factors for the rhombic complex--prepared with and without carbonate addition to the buffer--were determined. For the complex prepared with carbonate g$\sb{\rm x}$ = 2.052, g$\sb{\rm y}$ = 2.028, and g$\sb{\rm z}$ = 2.013. For the complex prepared without addition of carbonate g$\sb{\rm x}$ = 2.051, g$\sb{\rm …

Variation In Reproductive Success Within A Natural Population Of The American Toad (Bufo Americanus), Paulo Cascon

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate if mating success and clutch size are good estimates of reproductive success in a population of Bufo americanus, through the study of the contribution of life history parameters to the variation in individual reproductive success. A B. americanus population that breeds in a pond located in Madbury, NH was studied during the 1994, 1995 and 1996 mating seasons. In 1995 and 1996 clutches were also studied and the larvae were used in laboratory and field experiments. The following fitness parameters were investigated: mating success, clutch and egg size, growth rate and survivorship …

Sharing Reality: The Construction Of Professional Knowledge In A Middle School Team Setting, Carol Walker Mulligan

Doctoral Dissertations

In this case study of a middle school team of teachers, I describe and interpret daily meeting conversations among one group of practitioners over the course of one school year. Through the lens of the social construction of reality, I examine processes of sharing and co-constructing aspects of professional knowledge in this setting.

To conduct the study, I collected data from the regularly scheduled daily team meetings of my own interdisciplinary middle school team. The result is an insider view of the conversations of a group of practitioners who share the same population of students. For purposes of elaboration and …

A Biosystematic Monograph Of The Genus Nuphar Sm (Nymphaeaceae), Donald Jay Padgett

Doctoral Dissertations

The genus Nuphar (Nymphaeaceae) comprises 10 perennial species native to freshwaters of the Northern Hemisphere. This taxonomic assessment utilizes morphometric analyses, cladistic analyses of morphology, nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequences, evaluation of randomly amplified polymorphic DNA, and pollen fertility estimations. Evolutionary reconstructions position Nuphar at the base of the family, most closely allied to Barclaya. Phylogenetic estimates within Nuphar indicate two major evolutionary lines, largely congruent with present biogeographical distributions that indicate an Old World/New World divergence. Accordingly, the genus is subdivided into two sections, Nuphar and Astylata. Section Nuphar includes the type of the genus, N. lutea, as well …

Relativistic Thinking And Identity Development In College Students, Rebecca Anne Regeth

Doctoral Dissertations

The relationship between relativistic thinking and identity formation was examined. Relativistic thinking is the ability to accept the subjective nature of knowledge and values and has been shown to develop during college. It was predicted that as students become more relativistic in their thinking, they also realize that their own perception of reality is relative too. This causes an identity crisis, resulting in a mature identity. A one-year longitudinal study showed that changes in identity (increased moratorium) were related to changes in thinking (increased relativism). Students in different college majors were shown to think differently about the nature of knowledge …

Neuroethology Of The Swimming Behavior In The Pacific Nudibranch, Melibe Leonina, Kathryn Ann Lawrence

Doctoral Dissertations

Melibe leonina is a subtidal nudibranch which is found in association with eelgrass and kelp. Melibe swims when disturbed, or knocked off of its substrate, by slow lateral undulations. Swimming is stereotyped in its form and execution, and can be reliably reproduced in the laboratory. Swimming consists of phases: (1) withdrawal, (2) flattening, (3) lateral flexions, (4) unfolding and swinging and (5) termination. Swimming can be reliably elicited using 1M KCl or contact with the tube feet of the predatory seastar Pycnopodia helianthoides. The duration of a single swim cycle and the amplitude of swimming flexions remain relatively constant, however, …

Foraging Strategies Of Two Sympatric Lagomorphs: Implications Of Habitat Fragmentation, Douglas Foxall Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

I studied the effects of variation in food patch quality and predation risk on the foraging patterns and measures of foraging behavior of New England (S. transitionalis) and eastern (S. floridanus) cottontails, and their survivorship and weight change during these experiments. I then superimposed the results of these experiments onto real habitat patches to determine the amount of habitat each species could occupy and maintain similar survivorship. Finally, I measured an adaptation (eye size), and predator detection of both species in an effort to explain the difference in survival between S. floridanus and S. transitionalis.

In outdoor enclosures (5.7 x …

The Use Of An Artificial Light System To Assess The Influence Of Relative Light Change On Diel Activity Cycles Of Nymphs Of The Mayfly, Stenonema Modestum, In The Presence And Absence Of Predators, Annette L. Schloss

Doctoral Dissertations

A mechanism by which light controls diel changes in locomotor activity and surface location of mayfly nymphs (Stenonema modestum Banks), named the Stimulus-based Timing and Activity-Rate (STAR) Model, was tested. Nymph movements were video-recorded in time-lapse from underneath unglazed artificial substrates in a laboratory stream. Light/dark cycles were simulated using computer-controlled halogen lamps. Light increases and decreases were generated to maintain constant rates of relative light change throughout simulated twilight periods. Nymph locomotor activity and position on the substrate were measured in response to rate of light change. Experiments tested whether adaptation light intensity (10$\sp{-4}$ or 10$\sp{-6}$ W cm$\sp{-2}$), time …

Receptors And Ligands Involved In The Recognition Of Group B Streptococci By Human And Bovine Phagocytic Cells, Lesley Mary Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

Macrophages have been shown to bind pathogenic microorganisms in the absence of exogenous opsonins, but the precise mechanisms are poorly understood. Microbial recognition by macrophages under these conditions becomes particularly important in individuals who have decreased amounts of opsonins such as immunocompromised individuals and neonates. This study was undertaken to investigate the mechanisms of adherence between group B Streptococcus and macrophages in opsonin-limiting conditions. Using several adherence assays; visual binding, enzyme-linked immunosorbent, and flow cytometry, GBS was able to adhere to U937 cells, a human macrophage-like cell line, in a dose-dependent manner without exogenous opsonins.

The $\beta\sb2$ integrins, a heterodimeric …

Bodily Discourses: When Students Write About Sexual Abuse, Physical Abuse, And Eating Disorders In The Composition Classroom, Michelle Marie Payne

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes student texts about bodily violence written for Freshman English and advanced writing courses at the University of New Hampshire between 1994 and 1996. All the volunteers were white women, most aged 18-21. The project addresses four central questions: Why are students writing about these experiences? How are they writing about them? What assumptions inform teachers' responses to such essays? What larger cultural contexts shape how such experiences are represented and understood by students and teachers?

The primary materials are twenty-five student essays; interviews with students, teachers, and campus personnel; and observations of classrooms and staff meetings. Information …

Systematics Of The Hamamelidaceae Based On Morphological And Molecular Evidence, Jianhua Li

Doctoral Dissertations

The Hamamelidaceae are a plant family of 31 genera and more than 140 species distributed in both the Old and New worlds. There has long been debate about the subfamilial, tribal, as well as generic, relationships within the family.

Parsimony analysis was performed to examine the relationships in the Hamamelidaceae based on morphology, and DNA sequences of the Internal Transcribed spacers (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA, and the chloroplast matK gene. The morphology-based phylogeny shows weak support for all clades except for the Altingioideae, and differs greatly from the molecular phylogenies. Phylogenies based on the matK and ITS data are …

This Is Gonna Hurt Like Hell: A Pentecostal Student Enters The Academy, Stephen R. Barrett

Doctoral Dissertations

The little that has been written about expressions of religious experience in the field of Composition Studies focuses on the many ways religious belief places its adherents at a disadvantage in writing classrooms. We discuss in our journals and staffrooms only those religious conservatives who are most expressive of their beliefs. Many others sit in silence during discussions that may reveal anything of their beliefs, fearing to offend teachers and peers or to expose themselves to offenses from others. Unfortunately, these silent students contribute little or nothing to our understanding of the abilities of faith-centered students. Many are writing with …

Investigation Of The Mechanism Of Adr1 Mediated Transcriptional Activation, Philip B. Komarnitsky

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of these studies was to examine the mechanism of function of the transcriptional activator ADR1 of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. ADR1 is required for the activation of the ADH2 gene, as well as genes involved in glycerol metabolism and peroxisome biogenesis. ADR1 is a DNA-binding protein. It binds to a 22 bp palindromic upstream activating sequence 1 (UAS1) element located 215 bp 5$\sp\prime$ to the transcription start site of ADH2. Elements similar to UAS 1 are found in promoters of all ADR1-dependent genes. ADR1 was shown previously to contain three transcriptional activation domains (TADs): TADI (amino acids 76-172), TADII …

Ruminally Undegraded Protein And Ruminally Protected Amino Acids For Dairy Heifers, Brian David Garthwaite

Doctoral Dissertations

A series of growth experiments was conducted to evaluate the feeding of ruminally undegraded protein alone, or in combination with ruminally protected lysine and methionine. Eighty Holstein heifer calves were blocked by date of birth as they became available at 6 wk of age and assigned to a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments. Main effects of the 2 x 2 factorial were amount of ruminally undegraded protein in diet dry matter and whether ruminally protected lysine arid methionine were supplemented to diets. Four phases of growth were evaluated: Phase (1) 6 wk to 100 kg; Phase (2) 100 …

Academy Recommendations On The Proposed Yucca Mountain Waste Repository: Overview And Criticisms, Kristin S. Shrader-Frechette

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Offers alternative criticism of the NAS report.

Book Review Of Amer Ei-Ahraf & William V. Willis, Management Of Animal Waste - Environmental Health Problems And Technological Solutions, Penny Dean

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Review of Amer El-Ahraf & William V. Willis, Management of Animal Waste - Environmental Health Problems and Technological Solutions (Praeger Publishers 1996). About the authors, bibliography, index, introduction, tables. LC 95-654; ISBN 0-275-93529-9 [185 pp. Cloth $65.00. 88 Post Road West, Westport CT 06881.]

Aids News As Risk Communication, Admassu Tassew

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Reports on a study of AIDS prevention stories in four prestige dailies, two in Europe and two in Africa, over an eight-year period.

Porin Proteins Of Salmonella Typhimurium Mediate Adherence To Macrophages, Robert Solomon Negm

Doctoral Dissertations

Salmonellosis continues to be a major infectious disease in both the United States and elsewhere. The outer membrane porin proteins (Omp) from Salmonella typhimurium play a key role in the initial adherence of this microorganism to murine macrophages and this mechanism is a critical event in the pathogenesis of infections. In this study macrophages were found to make contact with an OmpC-like protein of S. typhimurium and inhibition assays using the purified protein significantly reduced bacterial binding to macrophage. The ompC gene in a strain of S. typhimurium that is resistant to killing by macrophage was inactivated by transposon mutagenesis. …

The Granite, 1997, University Of New Hampshire

The Granite – Yearbook

The yearbook of the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, 1909-1922, the University of New Hampshire, 1923-

The New Hampshire, Vol. 87, No. 18 (Nov. 8, 1996), The New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Print Edition

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire.

Plantsman, Oct/Nov 1996, New Hampshire Plant Growers' Association

Plantsman

A newsletter of the New Hampshire Plant Growers' Association

The New Hampshire, Vol. 87, No. 16 (Nov. 1, 1996), The New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Print Edition

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire.