Digital Commons Network^™

Neuronal Primary Cilia In Postnatal Brains & Alzheimer’S Disease Mice Eeg Patterns Under Fear Conditioning, Sierra Rose Mae Walsh

Honors Theses and Capstones

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative condition caused by the abnormal accumulation of amyloid β plaque. While small amounts of amyloid β plaque is to be expected with increased age, AD presents amyloid precursor protein (APP), a gene promoting inappropriate plaque formation, causing early neuronal death and tissue depreciation. APP23 transgenic mouse models contain the human mutation in the neocortical and hippocampal positions, areas revealing of plaque accumulation and memory loss. Within the hippocampal cortices, the primary cilia, which regulate higher cognition and neurodevelopment can be studied along with burst suppressions, or moments of high focal activity, to target potential …

Applications Of Video Game Music Theory For The Highschool/College Theory Curriculum, Daniel L. Thompson

Honors Theses and Capstones

This paper covers the origins of video game audio and the technical limitations that effected what composers could write. Several audio excerpts have been transcribed with roman numeral analysis. The goal of this project was to determine if musical excerpts from video games could supplement an existing highschool/college theory curriculum. Theory techniques ranging from simple cadences to secondary function chords are present throughout the pieces. The pieces are from a variety of games and composers from 1983 - 2014. Overall, many of the compositions contain excellent examples of theory techniques. These excerpts would best be utilized alongside existing theory material. …

Determining Deuterium Polarization Via Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Nicholas Muche

Honors Theses and Capstones

Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) is a method by which the spins of electrons are specifically targeted by microwaves at resonance frequency in order to induce spin flips. Occasionally, the electron spins couple with nuclear spins and nuclear spin flips are induced. The relaxation time of the electron is significantly lower than that of the nuclei, which allows for large polarization. The main goal of the Slifer Lab is to utilize specifically prepared crystalline structures in order to separate the convoluted energy transitions ("Batman Peak") in the deuterium's nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signal, which would allow for tensor enhancement of deuterium. …

The Market’S Reaction To The Disclosure Of A Cybersecurity Breach, Jill L. Mattucci

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Preliminary Findings For Stem Undergraduate Research Mentoring Across Neurodiversity, Sarah K. Young

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Growth Drivers And Inhibitors Of The B Corp Movement, Jason Plant

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Consumer's Perceptions Of Sustainable Products Through Social Media, Alessandra M. Cutone

Honors Theses and Capstones

Within the past 10 years, marketing has shifted drastically. Companies have slowly made the switch from mailers and print marketing to a variety of digital marketing forms in order to keep the attention of their consumers. This research examines consumer’s perceptions of advertisements through social media influencers relating to sustainable products. More specifically, what drives consumers to buy eco-friendly products on social media? Does the sustainability focus of the influencer matter for product endorsement? And along with that, does there need to be a match between the sustainability focus of both the product and the influencer? The results of this …

Implementing Universal Suicidality Screening In A Critical-Access Emergency Department, Delaney M. Kjendal, Kerry Nolte, Sara Robinson, Kimberly Force

Honors Theses and Capstones

Background: Implementation of a universal suicidality screening is considered best practice as it is associated with improved the detection of occult, or latent, suicide risk and can reduce subsequent risk. This quality improvement (QI) project evaluates the implementation of the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) to screen patients over the age of twelve at a regional healthcare system.

Methods: The QI project was conducted at Littleton Regional Healthcare (LRH) emergency department, a critical-access hospital in Littleton, New Hampshire that serves about 206 patients per week. Implementation of suicidality screening was of interest to LRH to promote mental health in the …

Cybersecurity Breaches And Auditor Turnover, Kilian O'Connell

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Plastic Storage In River Sediments Across An Urbanization Gradient In The Ipswich Watershed In Massachusetts, Jackie L. Harris

Honors Theses and Capstones

The importance of plastic pollution research has become apparent as plastic pollution has increased exponentially since its introduction in the 1950s. Plastics mechanically break down into minuscule particles called microplastics, which are plastic particles with a size range of 0.1 micrometers (μm) to 5 millimeters (mm). Most of the research on microplastic pollution has centered around marine ecosystems rather than freshwater ecosystems. More freshwater microplastic research to date is emerging but is still nascent and sparse. Furthermore, the idea that rivers are merely conduits of microplastics to the ocean is even more limited and ignores microplastic loading and retention in …

Revolutionary Advances In The Treatment Of Genetic Disease, Emma Kaitlyn Carrigan

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Does Covid Have An Effect On Consumer Behavior Towards Vacation Rental Homes?, Whitney Wiley

Honors Theses and Capstones

While Covid has significantly impacted the tourism industry, this research study analyzes the effect of the pandemic on consumers’ behavior towards vacation rental homes. More specifically, it focuses on the three main stages of vacation rental: the choice, booking, and stay. A qualitative research approach was used along with primary data collection. Interviews with individuals in Gen Z were collected in a semi-structured format with open-ended questions. The findings reveal that consumers are now more likely to choose vacation rental homes over other accommodations due to the space and privacy that rental homes provide. As a result of Covid, individuals …

Cutaneous Microbiome Of Red Fox (Vulpes Vulpes) Infected With Sarcoptic Mange (Sarcoptes Scabiei), Jacqueline C. Robidoux

Honors Theses and Capstones

Sarcoptic mange is a parasitic skin disease that affects countless mammals worldwide, including red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). The symptoms, such as hair loss, crusting, and the number of mites, vary between individual foxes. Sarcoptic mange damages the skin barrier, which in turn disrupts the biodiversity of bacteria in the microbiome. It is unknown what the biodiversity of bacteria is at each stage of the disease. This experiment will compare the microbiomes of different samples with and without mange; in hopes to reveal a connection between the different severities of sarcoptic mange and the biodiversity of bacteria and fungi …

The Search For Value For New England Skiers, Colin J. Liebert

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Mpacts Of Parental Incarceration On Child's Well-Being And Interventions To Support Them, Anna Stacey Roberge

Honors Theses and Capstones

This study reviews the effectiveness and impact of current interventions for children who have incarcerated parents in New Hampshire. The negative impacts of parental incarceration have led to the need for these intervention strategies. Recently psychologists and behavioral experts have conducted their studies which show that children who have incarcerated parents are more likely to display delinquent behaviors. Additionally, studies have shown that parental incarceration can lead to the experiencing of several more psychological difficulties, such as depression, anxiety, and learning disorders (Kremer et al., 2020). Several communities have worked to implement interventions that will help these children avoid falling …

Cardiorespiratory And Metabolic Responses To Low-Intensity Blood-Flow Restricted Running, Violet E. Sullivan, Amanda P. Ares, Summer B. Cook Ph.D.

Honors Theses and Capstones

Low-intensity (LI) aerobic exercise with blood-flow restriction (BFR) increases heart rate (HR), oxygen consumption (VO₂), and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), sometimes to similar levels as high-intensity (HI) exercise. Distance runners may benefit from LI-BFR running in periods of reduced volume or intensity, possibly due to injury. PURPOSE: To compare HR, VO₂, blood lactate (BLa), and RPE during LI-BFR running and HI running without BFR. METHODS: Fifteen female distance runners (age 23+4yrs, height 1.67+0.50m, body mass 57.6+5.7kg, VO₂max 51.0+4.5mL•kg^-1•min^-1) completed three randomized 12-minute running conditions: LI control (40% VO_{2 …}

A Literature Analysis Of Microgrid Optimization Studies, Izzy Medeiros

Honors Theses and Capstones

Senior civil engineering student, Izzy Medeiros, is presenting her honors thesis in the form of a literature analysis. Her research involved investigating existing microgrid studies and where there are current gaps in the knowledge. About 40 publications written within the last 20 years were analyzed for their research goals, optimization objectives, and microgrid design, pointing to where this research is currently lacking. Most real studies were conducted in Asia, as Southeast Asia has island communities that need the reliability of a renewable microgrid during extreme weather events. Photovoltaic panels in combination with wind turbines comprise the most common configuration of …

Investigation And Enhancement Of Students’ Conceptions Of Ph Buffers, Mary Alice Woodland Sheppard

Doctoral Dissertations

Understanding how students construct knowledge of pH buffer concepts is essential to developing effective instructional strategies to support student learning. A resource theoretical framework and the phenomenographic method were used to explore 12 general chemistry students’ conceptions of pH buffers using three buffer questions ranging from algorithmic to conceptual. Open coding of student responses revealed a diverse array of resources that varied in productivity and connectedness. A layered resource graph was introduced to visually compare resource activations across question contexts, highlighting some resources as important for all sensemaking about pH buffers, while others were specific to particular topics. The phenomenographic …

Studying Us Iranian Immigrant Parents Negotiating Movements Toward Future Belonging, Fatemeh Hajnaghizadeh

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, I reflect on how my work with Iranian immigrant parents in the US is informed by my lived experiences and research as a member of the minoritized group both in post-revolutionary Iran and the US. I recognize these experiences as informing my research on diasporic parenting throughout different stages, from designing the methodology to curating the theoretical framework and analyzing data.The desire to engage with minoritized ways of being and knowing beyond static essentializing viewpoints informs my approach to designing methodological processes that centralize confusion/disagreements with dominant practices and ideologies. In my study’s methodology, I use stories …

Development And Characterization Of Electrospray Ionization Modes In Mass Spectrometry: Applications In Protein Analysis And Beyond, Huishan Li

Doctoral Dissertations

Electrospray ionization (ESI) has emerged as a widely used soft ionization method, facilitating the introduction of intact molecular ions into mass spectrometers for diverse applications. Despite its popularity, ESI in its current form still faces certain non-ideal limitations. One ongoing research direction is focused on reducing the flow rate for ESI, a crucial parameter that correlates with the size of initial charged droplets generated. Smaller initial charged droplets have exhibited improved performances, including enhanced ionization efficiency, reduced nonspecific adducts, and minimized sample consumption. It would be of significant interest to measure and investigate ultra-low ESI flow rates for downscaled study. …

Trend Stationary Time Series: Simultaneous Estimation Of Trend And Autocorrelated Errors, Jakub Michel

Doctoral Dissertations

The world of time series analysis is predominantly focused on nonstationary time series, which exhibit various patterns and behaviors that researchers across different industries aim to analyze. Decomposing nonstationary time series into a trend component and a stationary process is a common approach, with trend and stationary process estimation achieved through parametric and nonparametric methods.

Polynomial regression and nonparametric methods, such as Kernels and B-Splines, are employed to estimate the trend. Once the trend is estimated, the residuals are obtained by subtracting the estimated trend from the data, allowing for the fitting of an ARMA stationary process. However, the estimation …

Clarifying The Role Of Microorganisms And Their Traits In Soil Organic Matter Formation, Emily Whalen

Doctoral Dissertations

Soil organic carbon (C), the largest actively cycling reservoir of C on earth, is ultimately derived from plant photosynthesis. Once in soils, a significant proportion of this C is processed by microbial communities prior to its incorporation into soil organic matter (SOM) pools, and microbial-derived organic matter inputs are increasingly recognized as a dominant source of SOM. Conceptual theory therefore posits that microbial physiological traits (e.g., growth efficiency) are central controls on SOM formation and stabilization. However, recent observations are mixed, and the specific traits that promote the formation and retention of different SOM functional pools (e.g., total vs. stable …

Elucidating Mechanisms Of Action Of Eicosapentaenoic Acid In Models Of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease, Samuel C.R. Sherratt

Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACTELUCUDATING MECHANISMS OF ACTION OF EICOSAPENTAENOIC ACID IN MODELS OF ATHEROSCLEROTIC CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE by Samuel C.R. Sherratt, B.S. University of New Hampshire Omega-3 fatty acids (O3FAs) possess beneficial properties for cardiovascular (CV) health and elevated O3FA levels are associated with lower incident risk for CV disease (CVD). Yet, treatment of at-risk patients with various O3FA formulations has produced disparate results in large, well-controlled and well-conducted clinical trials. The formulation of the O3FAs used, specifically monotherapy of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or mixtures of EPA and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), appears to dictate clinical efficacy, with benefits only observed with EPA monotherapy. The …

Essays In Applied Microeconomics, Thanh Tam Nguyen

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three essays in applied microeconomics covering topics in public policy, health, government assistance, and crime. The first essay is an analysis of the impact of Medicaid value-based payment reforms on birth outcomes. Between 2006 and 2019, 27 states adopted value-based payment models targeting maternal care, including nonpayment policies for early elective deliveries, blended payments for Cesarean and vaginal deliveries, pay-for-performance bonuses, and bundled payments. Using cross-sectional data drawn from the 2007-2019 Natality Detail Files and a staggered difference-in-differences model, my coauthor and I find that nonpayment policies are associated with a 6.9 percent decrease in early …

Use Of Seaweeds, Direct-Fed Microbial, And Nitrate To Mitigate Enteric Methane Emissions And Improve Health And Performance Of Dairy Cows, Diana Carolina Reyes Gomez

Doctoral Dissertations

Enteric methane (CH4) emissions from ruminants contribute significantly to global warming and represent a loss of dietary energy for the animal. Dietary manipulation is a promising approach for CH4 mitigation. Nitrate can effectively reduce CH4, but it can also be toxic in non-adapted ruminants. Supplementing with Paenibacillus fortis, a denitrifying probiotic strain, is a potential strategy to prevent toxicity. The interest in using macroalgae to mitigate CH4 emissions while improving animal health and production in ruminants has increased in recent years. The overall objective of this dissertation is to investigate nutritional-based strategies to mitigate enteric methane emissions and improve the …

Acid-Sensing By Olfactory Sensory Neurons And Regulation Of Neuron Reverse Migration By Primary Cilia During Postnatal Neurodevelopment, Juan Yang

Doctoral Dissertations

Cilia are microtubules-based, hair-like structures extending from the surface of cells. Cilia can be found in various parts of the body, including the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. Olfactory cilia, which are specialized immotile cilia located on the olfactory sensory neurons of the nasal cavity, are responsible for detecting and transmitting signals related to the sense of smell. Primary cilia, another type of immotile cilia that are present solitary in almost all mammalian cells, have emerged as crucial cell antennae that can sense extracellular chemical and mechanical signals. Although numerous studies have demonstrated that dysfunctions of primary …

Epigenetic Regulation During The Differentiation Of Embryonic Stem Cells Into Cardiomyocytes, Nan Yang

Doctoral Dissertations

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, constituting a quarter of total deaths. A major reason behind the high mortality of heart disease is the low regenerative capacity of cardiomyocytes (CMs), which carry out the contractile function of the heart. Lineage- specific differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into CMs provides a promising therapeutic strategy. However, current methods suffer from challenges in generating mature and homogenous CMs in sufficient quantities for practical application. Moreover, little is known about the underlying epigenetic regulations in CM differentiation, which is essential during the establishment and maintenance of cell identity …

A Comparison Of Outcomes For Lipid Emulsions In Total Parenteral Nutrition Among Home Infusion Patients, Gregory W. Wesley-Lynch

DNP Scholarly Projects

This quality improvement project aimed to compare the outcomes of lipid emulsions used in total parenteral nutrition among home infusion patients. The quality improvement project included 45 patients who received four weeks or more of either Intralipid or SMOFlipid. Paired t-tests were used to compare SMOFlipid and Intralipid regarding three liver function test (LFTs) values; (Alkaline Phosphate (ALP), Aspartate transaminase (AST,) and Alanine transaminase (ALT). Results demonstrated that SMOFlipid was superior to Intralipid, resulting in lower LFTs for ALP, AST, and ALT. This study provides evidence to support the use of SMOFlipid over Intralipid in total parenteral nutrition for home …

Implementation Of A Standardized Process To Increase Promotion Of Family Presence During Resuscitation, Eileen Hollis

DNP Scholarly Projects

BACKGROUND: Family Presence During Resuscitation (FPDR), has been studied and recommended as an important and relevant practice for decades, yet it remains controversial with frequent barriers to implementation. The benefits of this practice are numerous; and to truly embrace shared decision making, nurses and providers must encourage patients and families to participate in all aspects of care, even during resuscitation events. As evidence supporting the emotional and psychological benefits of FPDR began to grow, however, a global pandemic brought family presence to an abrupt halt.

METHODS: This quality improvement project’s focus was to standardize a process for offering and allowing …

Utilizing Outpatient Telehealth As A Treatment Approach For Patients With Substance Use Disorder: A Quality Improvement Project, Veronica Kwegyir-Afful

DNP Scholarly Projects

Background: The issue of substance use disorder (SUD) has demonstrated a growing prevalence both in the United States (U.S.) and globally. Effective treatment modalities have been devised for individuals afflicted by SUD, thereby enabling their post-treatment prognosis to be parallel to that of patients with other chronic diseases, such as diabetes. However, several factors or barriers impede individuals with SUD from assessing treatment. These barriers encompass financial constraints stemming from inadequate insurance coverage and high cost, the stigma surrounding SUD, which results in patient's hesitancy to seek treatment treat, adverse societal attitudes, collateral social percussions like work hour losses and …