Digital Commons Network^™

Explaining The Similarities Between Anti-Plastic Pollution Ordinances In Rhode Island Towns, Alyssa Parise

Open Access Master's Theses

Marine plastic pollution is a serious and escalating issue. In response, many towns and cities in Rhode Island have created ordinances to reduce the amount of plastic pollution in our waters and land. These ordinances are surprisingly similar, even though towns have distinct cultures and demographics. What factors explain the similarities and differences between these ordinances? What can those factors tell us about future expansion and adoption of anti-plastic pollution ordinances across the state? This thesis analyzes local ordinances and meeting minutes to generate questions for supplementary interviews with town/city council members. The research is framed by theories of local …

Developing Smart Textiles Encapsulated With Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes For Biomedical Applications, Devleena Chowdhury

Open Access Master's Theses

This thesis investigates the creation of core-shell nanofibers for enhanced wound healing applications using a variety of polymer combinations. Chronic wounds are a major worry in the biomedical sector, and researchers are looking at new materials to help the healing process. The PVDF/PVA core-shell structure with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) was chosen due to its balanced mechanical strength, high biocompatibility, and DNA-SWCNT complex stability. PVDF is a preferred shell material due to its biocompatibility and water solubility, making it excellent for wound dressings, implanted scaffolds, and sensors that monitor healing.

The study focuses on improving the electrospinning method to produce …

A C-Met Receptor Targeting Nanoparticle Platform For Combination Therapy Against Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Subarna Das

Open Access Master's Theses

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) poses a significant global health challenge, being the sixth most common cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death, with over 906,000 new cases and 830,000 fatalities globally in 2020. Conventional HCC treatments like surgery, transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), and chemotherapy are limited by high recurrence rates, limited patient eligibility - particularly applicable only to a subset with early-stage disease and optimal liver function - and chemoresistance, complicating effective disease management. Existing targeted drug therapies are often hampered by limited efficacy, with many patients experiencing rapid disease progression or significant adverse effects. This situation is further exacerbated …

Innovative Bioink Formulation For 3d Bioprinting Of Tissue-Engineered Intervertebral Disc Implants, Sophia Boiani

Open Access Master's Theses

Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is a significant contributor to back pain and disability globally, necessitating advancements in treatment options. This thesis presents the development and characterization of a novel bioink to be used for generating 3D bioprinted tissue-engineered constructs of the nucleus pulposus (NP) region of the IVD. The bioink, a composite of methylcellulose (MC, 7 wt%), polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA, 15 wt%), and Lithium phenyl-2,4,6-trimethylbenzoylphosphinate (LAP, 0.1 wt%), is optimized for enhanced mechanical properties and cellular integration. Polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nanoparticles were also incorporated in the hydrogel to potentially delivery growth factors in the future, which will support cell …

Policy Assessment Of Fisheries Management In The Face Of Climate Change: Implications For The New England Fishery Management Council, Grace Omer

Open Access Master's Theses

A comparative policy analysis was conducted to examine the current efforts, priorities, and goals for climate adaptive fisheries management at the Federal, Regional, and State level from 2014-2024 by categorizing the resulting documents into 4 climate adaptive management elements. We are currently encountering a novel challenge in effectively responding to environmental changes resulting from the effects of climate change. This study establishes the expectations of the Federal and State governments and how the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) is responding to those expectations. The federal government (through documents, legislation, and Executive Orders) has established a low bar of expectations, …

The Interaction Of Early Life Experiences, Physical Health, And Socio-Economic Status On Neurocognitive Function In Youth, Janis Gaudreau

Open Access Master's Theses

Previous research demonstrates that cognitive and brain function and development during childhood are associated with greater physical activity (PA) levels, fitness, income, less adverse early life experiences (ELE), healthier body mass index (BMI), body composition of lean and fat mass, and fewer experiences of mental health disorders.

We used the Child Mind Institute’s Healthy Brain Network open-access dataset to evaluate neurocognitive outcomes in children. We predicted that children with combined greater SES and positive physical health outcomes, alongside fewer adverse ELE, will exhibit greater cognitive function and resting state electroencephalography (EEG) outcomes, and fitness and PA will positively protect neurocognitive …

Surveying Seafood Preferences And Potential Neophobia Of Underutilized Species In Rhode Island Consumers, Alejandro Rojas

Open Access Master's Theses

Commercial fish stocks are currently in decline with over eighty seven percent at fully exploited or overexploited levels. The overfishing of economically valuable target species is one major cause of these population declines, which is why there has been significant focus on urging consumers to try more underutilized or unheard-of species. However, the question remains: are consumers willing to try these species? Given potential barriers like food neophobia, which is a biological human avoidance of unknown foods, it is important to find out the current seafood preferences of consumers to influence marketing and legislation. The goals of this study were …

Probing The Anoxic World Of Coastal Marine Sediments In New England: Understanding The Novel Partnership Between Protists And Their Bacterial Symbionts, Raúl A. Gutiérrez

Open Access Master's Theses

In the oxygen-depleted environments of New England's coastal marine sediment, microbial communities engage in symbiotic interactions to overcome energy deficiencies from oxygen limitation. Among these interactions, ciliates, known for their ability to form diverse symbiotic relationships, play a prominent role. The ciliated protozoa, Metopus sp. commonly form symbiotic relationships with bacteria and archaea that support their fermentative metabolism (Fenchel and Finlay, 1995), though the diversity of these partnerships, particularly in the ocean, is poorly known. To gain insights into the interactions between Metopus ciliate cultures and their microbial partners, we employed Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization (FISH) with species-specific probes. We …

Examining The Narratives, Misinformation, And Delay Tactics In Newspaper Coverage Of Offshore Wind Development In Relation To Whale Strandings On The East Coast Of The United States, Rafeed Hussain

Open Access Master's Theses

The United States set a goal to develop 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy by 2030 as an ocean-based method to decarbonize the energy grid to combat climate change (The White House, 2021). The problem is that certain opposition groups are adopting delay and misinformation strategies to dissuade offshore wind development (Dunlap & Brulle, 2020; Supran & Oreskes, 2021; Climate and Development Lab, 2023; Slevin et al., 2023) by conflating actual environmental impacts (BOEM & NOAA Fisheries, 2024) with an unusual mortality event of North Atlantic Right Whales and humpback whales on the East Coast of the United States …

Heat Transfer Mechanisms In Gold Nanoparticles Studied Via Pump-Probe Measurements, Ludovica Palazzo

Open Access Master's Theses

The investigation of gold nanoparticle thin films for cancer therapy is a topic of significant interest in the scientific community. A comprehensive examination of their heat transfer properties is crucial to explore their potential applications in materials science and medicine. This study focuses on measuring and analyzing the heat transfer properties of gold nanorod thin films utilized in cancer therapy, with a specific focus on the effective electron-phonon coupling factor. The thin film was realized through the spin coating of a gold nanorod solution onto a hydrogel platform to ensure adherence between the solution and the glass coverslip. Using pump-probe …