Digital Commons Network^™

Reliability And Validity Of Physical Literacy Assessment Tools In The High School Aged Population, Zachary Malone

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Social Factors Influencing Family Planning Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices In The Ngäbe Population In Bocas Del Toro And The Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, Panama, Carolina Vicens Cardona

Master's Theses

Introduction: According to Panama’s 2009 National Sexual and Reproductive Health Survey, only 19% of indigenous women in Panama use modern family planning (FP) methods. Despite the Ngäbe representing 62% of the indigenous population, there is limited research on their use of FP.

Methodology: 14 Ngäbe communities in Bocas del Toro were surveyed. Women between the ages of 18 and 50, and had >2 children completed a survey to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding family planning.

Results: A total of 148 women were enrolled, mean age was 32.18; mean number of pregnancies was 5. 32.4% of women …

Mir-433-3p Negatively Regulates Bone Formation And Targets Critical For Osteoblast Function, John Garcia

Master's Theses

Osteoblastic differentiation is tightly controlled by multiple signaling pathways associated with key transcription factors, as well as a number of microRNAs (miRNAs). miRNAs are small noncoding RNAs that function in the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. While clinical strategies to combat the reduction in bone density have often centered on impeding further bone resorption, this strategy neglects to promote bone formation, a component which is particularly problematic in the aging population. miRNAs could serve to bridge that gap, as potential therapeutic candidates. Several studies have established that miRNAs can direct osteoprogenitors towards an osteoblastic lineage through modulation of Wnt, MAPK, …

State Of Community Health Needs Assessments In Connecticut, Miryam Hannah Wilson Reardon

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Pre-Surgery Leptin Level And Weight Loss In Female Bariatric Surgery Patients, Miriam Katz

Master's Theses

Background: Improving weight loss after bariatric surgery remains a clinical concern. An unstudied factor is the role of leptin, the appetite control hormone, as a pre-surgical predictor of weight loss. High serum levels, often seen in obesity, are an indicator of leptin resistance as the brain no longer responds to satiety signaling.

Methods: Leptin levels were ascertained in female bariatric patients (n=28) prior to surgery at a large tertiary care hospital. We calculated Pearson Correlation Coefficients (r) and unstandardized β coefficients using multivariate linear regression. Primary outcome: Percent Excess Weight Loss (%EWL) evaluated at 6- and 12-months post-surgery. …

Exposure To Disability-Related Content And Attitudes Toward Persons With Disabilities Within The Uconn Mph Program: An Exploratory Study, Holly Labrecque

Master's Theses

Background: The purposes of this study include gathering a baseline assessment of 1) the extent to which UConn MPH students describe their exposure to disability content within the curriculum, and 2) how students describe their experiences encountering persons with disabilities (PWD).

Methods: A survey was completed by 36 current UConn MPH students and alumni.

Results: When asked how often disability was integrated into curriculum and class discussion, a majority of participants (n= 28) answered sometimes, rarely, or never, (77.8%), (88.9%). All students who reported having classes with students from other disciplines reported that it was valuable. Eighty-six percent indicated …

The Effects Of Agricultural Management On Wetland Birds, Theresa Wisneskie

Master's Theses

With the rapid growth of the human population, there is a need to balance biodiversity conservation with achieving food security. Increasing agricultural inputs has greatly augmented food production on smaller areas of land, but generally has negative effects on biodiversity. As natural wetlands decline worldwide, birds are increasingly using flooded agricultural land. The objectives of this thesis are (1) to determine what affects the use of flooded agriculture by waterbirds and (2) to determine what has been studied about the effects of agricultural intensification on wetland birds.

I examined the factors affecting the use of flooded agriculture by waterbirds by …

Vidocq, Vautrin, Et La Naissance Du Genre Policier, Carrie Slayton

Master's Theses

Vidocq, Vautrin, et la Naissance du Genre Policier examines how the life of former criminal-turned-chief of the French Sûreté Nationale, Eugène-François Vidocq, was mythicized with his sensational ghost-written memoirs, Mémoires of Vidocq, and in what way his legendary career and memoirs influenced some of the most renowned characters in French literature during the nineteenth century – most notably Honoré de Balzac’s infamous criminal-turned-police chief, Vautrin, in the Comédie Humaine. This study aims to demonstrate how the paradigm that was created by the combination of his Mémoires and his first literary incarnation, Balzac’s Vautrin, went on to establish the archetype …

Community Needs Assessment: Opioid Use Within The Central Connecticut Health District, Luis Pantoja

Master's Theses

Objective: An Opioid Community Needs Assessment examining opioid use and its consequences in the Central Connecticut Health District (CCHD) was conducted to characterize the problem in the district and inform future harm reduction program operations through data driven evidence-based research.

Methods: This study conducted a cross-sectional, community-based, secondary analysis of opioid use related data sourced from broadly utilized vital statistics and novel syndromic surveillance systems. Data sets were sourced from the Connecticut Department of Health (DPH’s) & Health Monitoring’s EpiCenter Syndromic Surveillance, Washington/Baltimore’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDA) Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program (ODMAP) and the Office of the …

Clinical Assessment Of Repetitive And Restricted Behaviors In Toddlers On The Autism Spectrum, Katelynn Porto

Master's Theses

Repetitive and restricted behaviors (RRBs) are core symptoms of ASD and often emerge in the first year of life. It is important to understand how best to integrate diagnostically relevant information from multiple methods of assessment in clinical settings. The study aims to characterize the association between parent report and clinical observation of RRBs, compare the utility of each method for eliciting information on RRBs, and characterize the presentation of RRBs in toddlers at the time of initial diagnosis. Participants were 65 children ages 18-39 months diagnosed with ASD. Associations between a parent report rating scale, clinician-driven parent interview, and …

The Necessity Of Vesicle-Associated Membrane Protein Expression By Ng2 Glia For Maintenance Of Glial And Neuronal Health, Robert Horning

Master's Theses

NG2 glia are vital for the myelination of axons in the brain and spinal cord. Many NG2 cells receive synaptic inputs from neurons through neurotransmitters such as glutamate and GABA, but the consequences of this input have remained unclear. Interestingly, NG2 cells express voltage-dependent Ca²⁺ channels and transcripts encoding SNARE proteins that are necessary for vesicle docking in neurons. We therefore hypothesized that NG2 cells respond to neuronal synaptic inputs by releasing bioactive molecules in a Ca²⁺-dependent manner. To test this, we generated double transgenic mice in which a cre-inducible botulinum toxin (BoNT/B) is constitutively expressed by …

A Serial Multiplexed Approach To Immunolabeling Brain Tissue For Electron Microscopy, Peter Tiley

Master's Theses

To fully understand how biological systems give rise to complex phenomena, both structural and functional knowledge of the components in the system must be acquired. In this manuscript, I explain why new methods must be developed to achieve this level of understanding with brain tissue and introduce serial multiplexing as a potential solution. I discuss how this method can lead to highly annotated volume reconstructions of brain tissue using electron and light microscopy, along with the steps required to do so. I present what our lab has found throughout the process of adapting, refining, and combining more traditional methods together …

Dealing With Faulty Data Via A Physics-Based Filtering Method, Ross Pellenberg

Master's Theses

Gas turbines are expensive, revenue generating machines and, as such, there is a strong interest in practicing state-of-the-art maintenance techniques to keep them running at healthy performance levels. One way to monitor and evaluate gas turbine health is to train a machine learning model on historical run-to-failure sensor data to differentiate between healthy and unhealthy performance. The biggest barrier to building these models is the scarcity of run-to-failure data. Not only is this data expensive and time consuming to acquire, but the data is often not publicly released for competitive purposes. This thesis uses a publicly available run-to-failure dataset previously …

The Denial Of Black Victimhood: Examining Attitudes Of Sexual Assault And Victim-Blaming On A College Campus, A Continued Analysis, Odia Kane

Master's Theses

This study examines the attribution of guilt and victimhood in the context of rape on predominately white college campuses. The study is comprised of two samples; Sample 1 (n=362) and Sample 2 (n=1,144) of students from a New England university. Each participant read a vignette regarding two classmates: a female victim, Taneesha or Madeline, and a male perpetrator, Jamal or Connor, completing a group project. The findings of this study are critical because they analyze the surrounding attitudes of the treatment of victims of sexual assault and assess the social and political climate of rape culture on college campuses.

Associations Of Cardiovascular Health, Strength, And Physical Activity In Participants With A History Of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction, Kirsten Allen

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Sources And Fluxes Of Reactive N In A Southern New England River, Veronica Rollinson

Master's Theses

Little Narraganset Bay has seen an increase in filamentous algae, colloquially known as cladophora, over the past twenty years. The Pawcatuck River is the dominant input of freshwater to Little Narraganset bay, delineating the Connecticut and Rhode Island border. There are three point sources of nitrogen on the river system: two waste water treatment facilities (WWTF) in the estuary and one fabric processing plant within the upper-watershed in Kenyon, RI. Non-point sources include a myriad of farms specializing in turf and animal husbandry, as well as septic systems for the majority of the watershed that are not serviced by the …

Oral Health Literacy And Oral Health Practices In South Asian Populations, Ambika Sharma

Master's Theses

Background: Oral Health is a strong predictor of and has strong implications on overall health and quality of life. The 2018 Surgeon General’s Report of Oral Health declared a need for more data collection and surveillance on the oral health status of minority groups in America. Surveillance studies examining the scope of inequalities can ultimately drive policy to mitigate disparities. Surveillance data can also help shed light on South Asians in Americans, their oral health perspectives and practices.

Methods: A 19-question survey was administered to convenience samples of South Asians in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. Study subjects were …

Comparative Genomics Of Six Juglans Species Reveals Disease-Associated Gene Family Contractions, Alexander Trouern-Trend

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Triplet-Triplet Annihilation-Based Photon Upconversion In Protein Biomaterials, Alexander M. Oddo

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Innovation Dynamics Of Cultural Production: Evidence In Rap Lyrics, James M. Zumel Dumlao, Junjie Lei, Emeka Nwosu, Li Yu Oon, Tsai Ling Jeffrey Wong, James Rising, Jesse Anttila-Hughes

Master's Theses

Culture is a driving force in organizing the structure of societies, and is conjoined with economic development. However, quantifying the impact of culture is difficult. Culture manifests itself in cultural production, through art, performance, music, etc. Innovation and influence in cultural production industries partially determines product quality. Using techniques from the “digitized humanities”, we agnostically identify informational distance to describe the spatiotemporal dynamics of innovation and influence in Rap music lyrics. Rap emphasizes lyricism and hometown pride more than other genres of popular music, and is interesting as a globally impactful manifestation of the racially segregated labor market in the …

Identity, Activism, And Rap In The Filipino American Diaspora, Scott Cooper

Master's Theses

For close to two decades, an established network of Filipino American rap artists have developed on the West Coast of the United States. These artists share musical narratives exploring their working-class immigrant experiences as well as the impact of colonization in the Philippines. Outside of music, these artists often engage in community organizing and activism, but few scholars have explored hip hop's effect within these spaces. Recently, a younger generation of Filipino American youth actively make use of hip hop in community organizations and activist groups. This paper will specifically examine how the identity of 1.5 and second generation Filipino …

Development Of An Attenuated Zika Virus By Editing The 5’ Untranslated Region, E. Ashley Thompson

Master's Theses

Zika Virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-transmitted flavivirus that usually causes no symptoms to mild febrile in humans, and it has been regarded as an insignificant pathogen to public health. However, recent outbreaks of ZIKV infection have revealed that ZIKV can cause severe neurological effects in adults, such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), and in infants whose mothers acquired the virus during pregnancy, causing Congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS). Currently, no approved vaccine is available and there is a critical need to develop an effective and safe vaccine. While most vaccine developmental strategies target the viral prM-E protein of ZIKV, we aimed to …

Actors As Engineers: The Reconstruction Of Antifascism In Defa Films, 1949-1961. [2020], Jonathan Herr

Master's Theses

The East German film industry (led by state film company DEFA) had, since its inception in 1946, focused heavily upon the theme of antifascism. However, the meaning and definition of antifascism changed dramatically over the course of East Germany’s early history. In DEFA’s earliest days, antifascism was a confrontation of Germany’s Nazi past and argued that capitalism was a forebearer to fascism. As the East German state formed, antifascism evolved, casting America and its unchecked capitalism as the enemy to democracy. Here DEFA films still confronted Germany’s dark past, though the end goal of the films was to promote hope …

Efficacy Of An Audio-Based Biofeedback Intervention To Modify Running Gait In Female Runners 2020, Sarah Rothstein

Master's Theses

Introduction: Gait retraining interventions are used to modify foot strike parameters associated with musculoskeletal injuries. Such interventions may prove beneficial if gait modifications are maintained long-term and provide a physiological performance benefit. Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether female recreational runners can use a smartphone decibel app to self-modify gait mechanics associated with injury. The secondary purpose was to determine if such gait modifications are retained beyond the initial training session. The tertiary purpose was to determine if such gait modifications were associated with improved running economy. Methods: The peak vertical ground reaction force (vGRF), …

The Relationship Between Sport Commitment With Off-Season Training Time And Previous In-Season Playing Time In College-Aged Soccer Players 2020., Luke Zuber

Master's Theses

Sport commitment is defined as “…the desire and resolve to continue sport participation” (Scanlan, Carpenter, Schmidt, Simons, & Keeler, 1993, p. 6). Since the first definition, the concept has been further refined to reflect a more multidimensional paradigm. Overall, sport commitment is thought to be comprised of the dimensions of enthusiastic commitment and constrained commitment (Scanlan, Chow, Sousa, Scanlan, & Knifsend, 2016). Those constructs can be broken down further to 12 subconstructs that are represented in the Sport Commitment – 2 (SC; Scanlan, Chow, Sousa, Scanlan, & Knifsend, 2016), in order to evaluate the source and level of an individual’s …

The Unknown War: Army Of The Republic Of Vietnam Combat Operations 1962-1963, Justin Major

Master's Theses

The American historiography of the Vietnam War has tended to focus on the actions of the United States Armed Forces, the People’s Army of Vietnam, and the Viet Cong, while the history of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) has remained largely untold. ARVN, when mentioned, is usually portrayed as incompetent, ineffective, and even cowardly. Recently, historians like Andrew Wiest and Mark Moyar have challenged this view of ARVN that was originally advanced by journalists Neil Sheehan and David Halberstam. Moyar even suggested that ARVN was winning the war until the assassination of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh …

Helmand: The U.S. Marines And Counterinsurgency In Afghanistan, 2010-2012, Taylor L. Lewis

Master's Theses

In the years following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, American troops contended with insurgent forces resistant to conventional tactics. General David Petraeus, along with other military experts, addressed the need for new strategies with the publication of Warfighting Publication 3-33.5 (3-33.5) in 2006. The manual laid out methods by which American troops should quell insurgent threats in Iraq and Afghanistan. This thesis is concerned with how the Marine Corps enacted the policies of 3-33.5 in Helmand Province between 2010 and 2012.

The tenants of this new manual were tested in the years following President Barak Obama’s commitment of …

Local Oxidation Nanolithography Of Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite, Zachary Swart

Master's Theses

In this thesis, the physical and electrical alterations caused by local oxidation nanolithography (LON) on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) are characterized. The LON is an atomic force microscopy (AFM) based technique that applies a positive bias to the sample relative to the AFM tip, leading to an electrochemical oxidation of the sample surface. If these physical and electrical alterations due to LON are well understood, this could yield a higher degree of control over tailoring the surface to become conductive, semiconductive or insulative in nature. The advantages of LON include room temperature operation in a non-vacuum environment, less steps …

Stuttering And The Early Childhood Educator, Haley Jo Wesson

Master's Theses

The purpose of this research study was to gain information on early childhood educator’s knowledge of the myths and facts of stuttering. The researcher’s main question at hand is what are the effects of educator knowledge regarding fluency on young children? It was hypothesized that participants with a higher level of education will correctly identify more statements regarding stuttering than participants with a lower level of education. The researcher created a survey that was distributed to early childhood educators. The findings of the survey may be helpful in educating early childhood educators and bringing awareness to the misconceptions of stuttering.

The Effect Of Attentional Focus Instructions On Single Leg Balance Performance 2020., Cory Monahan

Master's Theses

Balance and postural control exercises are often a part of exercise programs. During exercise programs, movement practitioners can provide instructions to facilitate performance and learning. Instructions can be used to direct attentional focus, which has been found to affect the performance and learning of motor skills, including balance and postural control tasks. However, no known studies to date have investigated the effect of both internal and external attentional focus instructions on static single leg balance performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of attentional focus instructions on static single leg balance performance as reflected by the …