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Assessment Of Synthetic Aperture Radar For Classification Of Exposed Coastal Soils In The Great Bay Estuary, Tess Priest

Master's Theses and Capstones

Coastlines around the world are composed of a wide range of sediments. The classification of coastal soil ranges from coarse-grained sediments (gravels and sands, 75 mm to 0.075 mm), to fine-grained sediments (silts and clays, 0.075 mm and smaller). In geotechnical engineering applications, the shear strength of soil is a key characteristic and is commonly influenced by the classification, grain size, and water content of the soil. While site-specific investigation is the best method for obtaining these parameters, information regarding soil type can often be readily accessed from existing literature as a general classification. However, soil type can vary at …

Dependance On The Atr-Chk1-Wee1 Axis Due To R-Loop Accumulation In Merkel Cell Carcinoma, Evelyn Victoria Proctor

Master's Theses and Capstones

Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC) is a rare neuroendocrine skin cancer. In the United States about 80% of MCC cases are caused by MCPyV, which is the only human polyomavirus that has been directly correlated to human cancer. However, there is not a significant amount of information about pathways that are important in MCC. Here we show that MCC cells are reliant on the ATR-CHK1-WEE1 axis for proliferation and to maintain their oncogenic phenotype. We have found several inhibitors that work to reduce cell viability in MCC cells. Synergistic combinations of these inhibitors and chemotherapeutic agents have also been found. Additionally, …

Hardware And Software Optimization For Of Smart Insole Systems For Gait Analysis, Femi John Olugbon

Master's Theses and Capstones

Gait analysis is vital in human biomechanicals, clinical diagnostics, and rehabilitation, providing essential insights into human locomotion. Ground reaction forces play a significant role in understanding gait dynamics, detecting abnormalities, and assessing treatment outcomes. Accurate measurement and analysis of ground reaction forces and other gait parameters are crucial for developing effective interventions and improving patient outcomes.

The first part of this thesis explores methods to optimize and standardize the number of pressure sensors and their optimum placements within the insole for accurate and reliable estimation of temporal gait parameters. Standardization of sensor position for temporal gait analysis is crucial for …

Say Bananas: A Pilot Study On An App-Based Intervention As A Modality Of Home Practice, Kate Margaret Sjostedt

Master's Theses and Capstones

This single subject design study provides an initial exploration of using Say Bananas toprovide motor learning-based intervention for children with childhood apraxia of speech. By implementing an app-based home practice intervention tool to support traditional speech sound disorder treatment, specifically the Treatment for Establishing Motor Program Organization (TEMPO), it was designed to treat speech sound disorders by implementing exercises using a more engaging platform. We tested the performance of three different children diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech. Each child used the app as a modality of home practice five days a week for four weeks in addition to their …

Understanding Ecological Baselines To Inform Humpback Whale (Megaptera Novaeangliae) Management Strategies In Southeast Alaska, Melanie Anabel Smith

Master's Theses and Capstones

Vessel disturbance impedes the resilience and recovery of humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) populations. Many management strategies in Southeast Alaska aim to protect whales and their habitat. However, it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of management strategies without understanding the state of an ecosystem with minimal vessel traffic. The thesis examines two situations with reduced vessel activity to understand humpback whale behavioral and acoustic ecology. We first use the Beardslee Island Complex and adjacent waters in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (Glacier Bay), an area with minimal vessel traffic, to understand habitat use by foraging and traveling whales. Using …

Bioimpedance Smart Needle System For Real-Time Tissue Detection During Intramuscular Injection, Marc Peter Tausanovitch

Master's Theses and Capstones

Injectable drug delivery is an extremely commonplace procedure in the world ofmedicine, with over 16 billion injections administered annually. Due to the high vascularity of muscle tissue, the intramuscular (IM) route is preferred for many antibiotic, biological, and hormonal drugs. Appropriate needle length plays a critical role in the success of IM injection, ensuring that the drug is deposited in the core muscle. Instances of over- or under-penetration are associated with reduced drug bioavailability and vaccine related injury. Unfortunately, guidelines for needle length selection do not always yield positive results due to practitioner error or adverse patient physiology. This thesis …

Characterizing The Diets Of Tidal Marsh Sparrows Using Fecal Dna Metabarcoding, William Thomas Rumfelt

Master's Theses and Capstones

Animal diet studies provide valuable insights into evolution and ecology, including about niches filled by species and how they are shaped by interspecific competition. Fecal DNA metabarcoding is an efficient, non-invasive approach to assess animal diets by sequencing DNA recovered from fecal samples. This study used fecal DNA metabarcoding to characterize the breeding season diets of six Atlantic coast tidal marsh sparrow species with varying levels of adaptation to tidal salt marsh habitat. We identified the major prey taxa present in each species’ diet, compared dietary diversity as a measure of niche width across species of varying salt marsh specialization, …

Investigating Late Pleistocene To Recent Bimodal Sedimentation In The Terrebonne Basin, Gulf Of Mexico, Kayla Tozier

Master's Theses and Capstones

The UT-GOM2-2 Deepwater Hydrate Coring Expedition collected continuous conventional and pressure cores in the Terrebonne Basin, Gulf of Mexico (GOM) to 155 mbsf to investigate the physical, chemical, and biological properties of sediments within, bounding, and overlying methane hydrates. Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy constrains the age of the upper 145 mbsf to the Pleistocene (<0.66 Ma) to recent. Description of UT-GOM2-2 Hole H003 revealed a lithologic unit from 4.5 to 152 mbsf, defined by bimodal sedimentation of carbonate oozes and interbedded muds. In this thesis, we examine the shallowest mud-to-carbonate ooze transition to investigate the processes driving this bimodal sedimentation through measurements of biogenic silica (BSi), total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), total sulfur (TS), total organic carbon (TOC), and δ13C of total organic carbon (δ13C-TOC) from 4.62 to 37.83 mbsf. Mixed planktonic foraminifers were picked for radiocarbon dates through 14.39 mbsf, constraining the last ~42,000 years. Our results are integrated with additional existing shipboard and post-cruise data sets, including XRF core scanning data, calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy, reworked calcareous nannofossil abundance, smear slide analyses, and magnetic susceptibility data. Our integrated results suggest that the BSi record represents reworked (RW) Cretaceous radiolarians delivered fluvially to the site, rather than Pleistocene to recent radiolarians produced via in situ productivity. Evidence of greater terrigenous flux by RW Cretaceous microfossils (both calcareous nannofossils and radiolarians) during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2 is consistent with a closer distance of the site to the shoreline during a sea-level low stand. Increased grain size and sand delivery during the last deglacial (16 to 8.9 ka) are consistent with meltwater pulse-driven sedimentation documented elsewhere in the Gulf of Mexico (e.g. Emiliani et al., 1975; Aharon, 2003). Below the radiocarbon constrained interval, two biostratigraphic age datums from 70 to 290 ka nearly constrain a full glacial-interglacial cycle (most of MIS 4-8), where coarse turbidite delivery is greatly increased during a glacial period, consistent with sea level low stands, and reworked sediment delivery greatly increases towards the interglacial period, consistent with meltwater pulses and higher sea level. Though stadial/interstadial processes are evident in our datasets, it appears that the bimodal sedimentation represents a systematic shift in the proximity of the site to the Mississippi River mouth. Low and relatively consistent CaCO3 content, depleted δ13C values, and high TOC:TN values within the carbonate ooze interval suggest that in situ productivity does not increase, but rather dilution by terrigenous sediment decreases. These findings have implications for the deposition of coarse- and fine-grained lithologies on the northern Gulf of Mexico, which may ultimately influence gas hydrate distribution along continental margins. Additionally, these findings suggest that BSi can be measured in GOM sediments as a proxy for the Mississippi River flux.

Mindfulness And Meditation: Activation Likelihood Estimates (Ale) And Meta-Analytic Connectivity Modelling (Macm), Ariana Christine White

Master's Theses and Capstones

Introduction: Mindfulness, a popular practice that originated as a Buddhist custom, encompasses a myriad of techniques such as meditation, yoga, and journaling. Such practice is often suggested for individuals with mental health disorders (MHD). Recently, mindfulness-based interventions, including forms of psychotherapy like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, have gained prominence. Investigations into brain activity associated with mindfulness-based interventions have identified positive modulation of a Triple Network Model (TNM), a confluence of three brain networks that are commonly associated with MHD. Targeting these networks and understanding mindfulness-specific connectivity may provide evidence for regions to target during intervention in order to induce neural …

Evaluating The Long-Term Performance Of Recycling Agents In High-Rap Content Asphalt Mixtures, Zheng Wang

Master's Theses and Capstones

The Utilization of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) has become a pivotal strategy for improving infrastructure sustainability. However, with a high RAP content included in the pavement material, the aged asphalt will decline the mechanical properties of the flexible pavement and thus decrease the durability. Recycling agents (RAs) are products with chemical and physical characteristics designed to restore the rheological properties of reclaimed asphalt material and improve the performance of recycled asphalt mixtures with high RAP content that promote economic and environmental benefits. Plenty of the RA products are proven effective once blended with asphalt; however, the long-term effect of the …

Mitigation Of Road Mortality Of Freshwater Turtles In New Hampshire With An Emphasis On Blanding's Turtles (Emydoidea Blandingii), Lauren White

Master's Theses and Capstones

The Blanding’s turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) is a state-endangered species in New Hampshire that is particularly vulnerable to road mortality due to reproductive life history traits, habitat use, and migration patterns. Successful conservation techniques to mitigate wildlife road mortality include building fences and wildlife crossing structures (eco-passages) at roadkill hot spots. A collaborative research group designed a road mortality risk model to understand turtles' relative road mortality risk at existing wetland crossing sites in New Hampshire and to assess whether culverts at these sites may function as eco-passages. To ground-truth this model, roadkill surveys and wildlife camera monitoring techniques were used …

Contribution Of Type Three Secretion To Competitive Survival Of Vibrio Parahaemolyticus In The Great Bay Estuary, Anna Lin Early

Master's Theses and Capstones

Over the past 12 years, infections from the ubiquitous coastal bacterium and human pathogen V. parahaemolyticus have increased in the Northeast USA. The majority of the infections here are caused by the hypervirulent ST36 which originated in the Pacific Northwest USA where it caused only sporadic infections. This sequence type seems to have found its niche in the Northwest Atlantic where climate events likely created environmental conditions allowing ST36 strains or strains carrying one of the unique virulence factors on the VPaIγ, associated with this sequence type, to maintain and spread up the coast of New England. In the Great …

Automatic-Adjusting Drip Chlorination System Without Electricity, Brian Genet

Master's Theses and Capstones

Developing countries often use open-source water including groundwater, snowmelt, and springsas the primary source of their drinking water. These water sources increase the risk of contamination from bacteria and pathogens from nearby humans and animals. Ingestion of contaminated water can cause illnesses, and in extreme cases, death. While the technology to decrease or even eliminate the risk of contamination in drinking water exists, most of these methods require electricity, which is not necessarily readily available or sustainable in developing countries. The objective of this study is disinfection without electricity as a means to provide disinfected drinking water to developing countries. …

Evaluating The Effects Of Wildfires On Microbial Communities And Gene Expression Involved In Nitrogen Cycling In Arctic Tundra Soils, Alma Idali Hernandez

Master's Theses and Capstones

Wildfires in the Arctic tundra are increasing in frequency in response to global warming.Under this changing fire regime, important components of permafrost ecosystems, such as soils and their microbial communities, are disturbed by the burning of vegetation, organic soils, and their nutrients. Previous studies of wildfires have documented significant changes in nutrient availability following wildfires, including an increase in inorganic nitrogen (N), which is a key nutrient component of soil organisms. Microbes are the main drivers of transformation of soil N, which is ultimately taken up by both microbes and plants as a nutrient source. However, due to the historical …

Mechanical Properties Of Composite Fiberglass Rods Used For Ocean Structure Tethers To Mitigate North Atlantic Right Whale Entanglement, Louis Gitelman

Master's Theses and Capstones

Entanglements in rope fishing gear significantly threaten the critically endangered North Atlantic Right Whale’s health and population (Knowlton, 2022; Brooker & Matthias, 2020). This thesis investigates the potential to mitigate the risk of whale entanglements in ocean structure tether components by using stiff fiberglass composite rods instead of rope. This potential was investigated through five main avenues:1. A survey was conducted of the availability, cost, and material properties of available composite rods and their operability in marine structures. 2. Four-point flexure testing was conducted to measure the degradation of the material properties of fiberglass composite rod samples as a function …

Assessing The Capacity Of Red Algae (Gracilaria Vermiculophylla) And American Oysters (Crassostrea Virginica) To Sequester Ammonia From Shrimp (Litopenaeus Vannamei) In A Land-Based Imta System., Elizabeth Martin

Master's Theses and Capstones

Growing shrimp with extractive species is gaining momentum to reduce effluent waste in aquaculture systems. Preliminary experiments were conducted at the University of New Hampshire’s Spaulding laboratory to calculate total ammonia nitrogen uptake rates by Gracilaria vermiculophylla and output rates by whiteleg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. Based on these results, oysters and red algae were incorporated into a shrimp recirculating aquaculture system at University of New Hampshire’s Coastal Marine Laboratory to determine their effectiveness in reducing dissolved nitrogen. This is a critical step in mitigating negative impacts to ecosystems surrounding shrimp aquaculture operations, while producing valuable biproducts. An aquatic habitat (AHAB) …

From Seed To Sourdough And Barley To Beer: Values-Based Grain Supply Chain Models To Support Mid-Scale Farm Viability In The Upper Northeast, Elise Neidecker

Master's Theses and Capstones

The industrialization and commodification of grains has had major environmental, health, and economic implications. Pushing back against this commodity system, alternative grain networks are emerging in the form of collaborations between farmers, millers, bakers, maltsters, and brewers creating localized grain supply chains. These grain chains are part of a broader movement toward the development of values-based supply chains in the food system, in which business partners form long-term, strategic partnerships based on shared extra-economic values like sustainability and equity and deliver value-added and differentiated products that allow farmers to capture a price premium. Despite the presence of localized grain chains …

Just Maps? Exploring The Development And Use Of Environmental Justice Mapping Tools In The United States, Claire Emrick

Master's Theses and Capstones

The disparate distribution of environmental risks and benefits is well documented in the United States. In response, interactive mapping tools that attempt to represent and address environmental justice (EJ) issues have proliferated in recent years. By synthesizing socioeconomic and environmental data into a user-friendly interface, EJ mapping tools can inform advocacy and policy decisions that benefit disadvantaged communities. Numerous studies have contributed to the development and assessment of the indices and datasets found in these mapping tools, while other articles have highlighted approaches to and lessons learned from single cases of EJ mapping tool development. However, only a few studies …

Design Of An Axial-Flow Tidal Turbine Test Bed And Initial Validation And Performance Testing With 1:5 Scale Mhkf1 Rotor, Megan Nicole Andersen

Master's Theses and Capstones

The University of New Hampshire (UNH) and XFlow Energy jointly designed and built a scale axial-flow turbine (AFT) test bed under the Atlantic Marine Energy Center (AMEC) work scope. The test bed was fabricated to fill an infrastructure gap in tidal energy testing equipment at UNH. The combination of rotor size and achievable towing speeds allowed for testing in a regime where turbine performance became independent of Reynolds number effects, while also maintaining reasonable blockage. As a result, data collected from the test bed can be used to predict the performance of full-scale tidal turbines. Results and uncertainty analysis were …

Determining Asphalt Pavement Milling Best Practices Through Enhanced Understanding Of Milling Operations, Kaleigh Miech

Master's Theses and Capstones

Milling of asphalt pavements is a commonly used technique in many cases of maintaining and rehabilitating roadways. That said, implementing these milling operations has potential to cause harm to the layers below the mill line due to it being a relatively high-stress and energy activity. In this study, the impact of milling to the pavement layer directly below the mill line was evaluated for five parameters: the pavement temperature at the time of milling, the amount of time between milling and post-mill overlay construction, the depth of milling relative to the asphalt lift interfaces, the structure of the existing pavement, …

Soil Biogeochemical Properties Remain Altered Following Cessation Of Long-Term Simulated Nitrogen Deposition In A Temperate Forest, Jennie Ellen Wuest

Master's Theses and Capstones

Nitrogen (N) is an essential nutrient in terrestrial ecosystems and the transformations it undergoes mediated by microbes in soil are central to N cycling. While rates of atmospheric N deposition due to anthropogenic activity increased dramatically with the industrial revolution, government regulations in the late 20th century resulted in a reversal. Rates of atmospheric N deposition remain well above pre-industrial levels, but the last two decades have seen a steady decrease in areas such as the Northeastern United States. To investigate the potential for soil recovery from long-term N addition, we measured a suite of soil biogeochemical properties in a …

Ramen Noodle Skillet, Autumn 4-H Family Dinner Challenge, Mikayla Cerney

UNH Cooperative Extension

No abstract provided.

Understanding Public Trust At The Local Level, Nate Bernitz

UNH Cooperative Extension

No abstract provided.

Office Of Research, Economic Engagement And Outreach Update, August 30, 2024, Office Of Research, Economic Engagement And Outreach

Office of Research, Economic Engagement and Outreach

No abstract provided.

Shaping Career Pathways: From Learner To Leader, Sustainability Institute

Sustainability Institute Blog

No abstract provided.

Conceptualizing Space Environmental Sustainability, Weiwei Mo, Brad L. Kinsey, John Vickers, Henry Helvajian, Ioana Cozmuta, Marissa Herron, Ajay Malshe

Faculty Publications

Recent advancements have significantly enhanced the capabilities for in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM), to develop infrastructure in orbit and on the surface of celestial bodies. This progress is a departure from the traditional sustainability paradigm focused solely on Earth, highlighting the urgent need to define and operationalize the concept of “space sustainability” along with the development of an evaluation framework. The expansion of human activity into space, particularly in low-earth orbit, cis-lunar space, and beyond, underscores the critical importance of considering sustainability implications. Leveraging space resources offers economic growth and sustainable development opportunities, while reducing pressure on Earth’s ecosystems. …

Conceptualizing Space Environmental Sustainability, Weiwei Mo, Brad L. Kinsey, John Vickers, Henry Helvajian, Ioana Cozmuta, Marissa Herron, Ajay Malshe

Faculty Publications

Recent advancements have significantly enhanced the capabilities for in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM), to develop infrastructure in orbit and on the surface of celestial bodies. This progress is a departure from the traditional sustainability paradigm focused solely on Earth, highlighting the urgent need to define and operationalize the concept of “space sustainability” along with the development of an evaluation framework. The expansion of human activity into space, particularly in low-earth orbit, cis-lunar space, and beyond, underscores the critical importance of considering sustainability implications. Leveraging space resources offers economic growth and sustainable development opportunities, while reducing pressure on Earth’s ecosystems. …

Paul College Adds Supply Chain And Hospitality Tracks To Business Administration Major, Aaron Sanborn

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Mainers Economic Outlook Improves But Most Expect Recession Within A Year 8/27/2024, Unh Survey Center

All UNH Survey Center Polls

Mainers hold conflicting views about the U.S. economy, as only one-third expect businesses to experience bad times over the next twelve months, but two-thirds think a recession is likely in the next year or that the country is already in one. Nearly half of Maine residents feel worse off financially than they were a year ago and a majority report struggling at least somewhat to afford basic necessities. Republicans and Independents are far more likely than Democrats to report economic hardship and feel downbeat about their personal finances as well as their perceptions of the Maine and U.S. economies.

Vermonters Feeling Worse Off Economically With Large Partisan Divide 8/27/2024, Unh Survey Center

All UNH Survey Center Polls

Few Vermonters feel better off financially than one year ago and four in ten state residents report having had at least some difficulty affording basic necessities. However, Vermont residents have a more mixed response about future economic conditions in the state and nation. Democrats are considerably more likely than Republicans to report doing better financially and to expect good times for the economy, while Republicans are much more likely to report hardship buying necessities and to anticipate a recession in the near future.