Digital Commons Network^™

Using Imagery Collected By An Unmanned Aerial System To Monitor Cyanobacteria In New Hampshire, Usa, Lakes, Christine Bunyon

Master's Theses and Capstones

With the increasing occurrence and growing public health concern that cyanobacteria blooms pose, it is crucial that we continue to explore ways to improve our ability to accurately, efficiently, and safely monitor water quality in impacted lakes. Also known as blue-green algae, cyanobacteria are naturally occurring in many waters globally. Cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms (CHABs) release various toxins which can cause skin irritations and dog fatalities while the effects of long-term exposure to the neurotoxins for humans has stirred additional studies. Although possibly harmful if CHABs are present, monitoring this biological component is nonetheless an integral factor when studying freshwater …

Sub-Canopy Path Planning For Snow Depth Remote Sensing Using Autonomous Multi-Uavs, Debarpan Bhowmick

Master's Theses and Capstones

NASA studies indicate that 68% of the Earth’s fresh water exists in the form of snow andice. As such, analyzing global snow fall patterns is a useful tool with which scientists can extract the quantity of fresh water present in both the atmosphere and on the ground at any given time. The goal of this research is to leverage autonomous Unpiloted Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to measure snow depth on the forest floor via sub-canopy flight. To enable such remote sensing missions, overhead Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) scans are used to aid in pre-determined UAV flight path planning. This results …

An Analysis Of River Channel Change Over Time In New England Rivers, Trevor Fenoff

Master's Theses and Capstones

Analyzing river channel change can be important for the development and protection of infrastructure located within floodplains and on the riverbanks. Historical aerial images were delineated and evaluated to estimate river channel change in the Ammonoosuc River in New Hampshire and the Dog River in Vermont. Previous field assessments were connected to the change estimates to determine factors correlated to river channel change. Flood frequency was also assessed for the rivers to determine if flooding impacts river channel change, with a specific focus on flooding caused by Hurricane Irene. The river channel change resulting from Hurricane Irene was significantly higher …

Access To Nature In New Hampshire: Equity And Quality Of Life, Cody Garrott Crytzer

Master's Theses and Capstones

The primary objectives of this research were to understand what access to nature means for people engaged in the nature economy, economic development, recreation, conservation, and community development sectors of New Hampshire, to identify benefits, barriers and opportunities of access to nature with a focus on underserved communities, and to contribute data and knowledge to inform local, regional, and state efforts to advance equity in environmental protection, justice efforts, and future policy considerations impacting New Hampshire. This research involved qualitative analysis of interviews with statewide policy leaders and stakeholders that work with individuals and organizations closely related to nature economy …

Right Neural Substrates Of Language And Music Processing Left Out: Activation Likelihood Estimation (Ale) And Meta-Analytic Connectivity Modelling (Macm), Lauren C. Keith

Master's Theses and Capstones

Introduction: Language and music processing have been investigated in neuro-based research for over a century. However, consensus of independent and shared neural substrates among the domains remains elusive due to varying neuroimaging methodologies. Identifying functional connectivity in language and music processing via neuroimaging meta-analytic methods provides neuroscientific knowledge of higher cognitive domains and normative models may guide treatment development in communication disorders based on principles of neural plasticity.

Methods: Using BrainMap software and tools, the present coordinate-based meta-analysis analyzed 65 fMRI studies investigating language and music processing in healthy adult subjects. We conducted activation likelihood estimates (ALE) in language processing, …

Quantifying And Modeling The Effects Of Internal Waves On Synthetic Aperture Sonar, Nicholas Anthony La Manna

Master's Theses and Capstones

Synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) is based on synthetic aperture radar, with a number of key factors increasing the complexity of data collection. One of the assumptions made with respect to SAS image reconstruction is the presence of a constant sound speed. As a nearfield imaging system, SAS is sensitive to the breaking of this assumption. The sound speed in the ocean varies with depth. Variations in sound speed can come in the form of internal waves. Internal waves propagating up the slope of the continental shelf are subject to breaking mechanisms that result in the propagation of boluses shoreward. Internal …

Automatic Bankfull Width Extraction Of New Hampshire And Vermont Rivers, Desmond Kager

Master's Theses and Capstones

Understanding a river's morphology can help scientists measure erosion, improve understanding of flood hazards and better estimate riparian habitat. While there have been many developments in the field of fluvial geomorphology, there are still many challenges that exist in efficiently and accurately quantifying various important river metrics, such as the location of channel banks. Conducting field surveys of riverbanks is expensive and time consuming, leading many scientists to shift towards remote sensing techniques to measure river morphological features. This project aims to extract bankfull width measurements automatically from high-resolution Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) of rivers located in New Hampshire and …

Changing Winters And The Vernal Window In Northwestern Wyoming, Julia Olson

Master's Theses and Capstones

The timing of snowmelt and the onset of spring is changing in the Mountain West of the United States. The period between snow disappearance and vegetation green-up, known as the vernal window, is also changing, with implications for ecohydrology, the regional water supply, and the economy. Here, I present the first detailed analysis of the vernal window in the Mountain West at the ecosystem scale, focusing specifically on northwestern Wyoming in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA). I used in-situ and satellite data to address four objectives: 1) to understand how winter intensity and duration are changing, 2) to understand when …

The Effects Of Hatchery Stressors On Growth, Aggression, And Cannibalism Of Juvenile Lumpfish, Shelby Perry

Master's Theses and Capstones

Due to the high demand for cleanerfish in salmonid ocean farming operations, increasing lumpfish hatchery production and rearing efficiency are of great importance. Juvenile lumpfish are cannibalistic which is controlled, to some extent, through frequent size grading of the fish, however, cannibalism still occurs. Understanding and mitigating factors that exacerbate aggressive behaviors in juvenile lumpfish, which can lead to cannibalism, would help achieve the goal of increasing juvenile production in the hatchery. We hypothesize that lumpfish cannibalism is linked to a specific ontogenetic period related to fish size rather than age and can be exacerbated by various stressors such as …

Legacy Effects Of Land Cover And Land Use On Painted Turtle (Chrysemys Picta) Populations Over A 20-Year Period In Southeastern New Hampshire, Benjamin Phillips

Master's Theses and Capstones

More than half of all freshwater turtles and tortoises are threatened with extinction. Human land use practices and land cover conversion often decrease adult turtle survivorship and dampen the reproductive potential of turtle populations. The ability to make informed conservation and management decisions depends on understanding the relative impacts of different landscape contexts on turtle populations, and the spatial extent over which they have an impact. We surveyed painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) populations along an urbanization gradient in southeastern New Hampshire, USA to assess the relative impact of land cover, land use, and chemical contaminants on population density and sex …

Cultivating Commitment: How Cultural Ecosystem Services Affect Visitor Loyalty In Parks And Protected Areas, Thomas James Robinson

Master's Theses and Capstones

Parks and protected areas (PPAs) provide essential ecosystem services to society, including both the material and non-material benefits obtained from healthy ecosystems. While research on this topic has mainly focused on material-based ecosystem services, limited attention has been given to the benefits of non-material cultural ecosystem services (CES) such as recreation, history, and culture. Visitor loyalty refers to an individual’s commitment and willingness to return to a PPA in perpetuity and is influenced by various factors, including the quality of the recreation experience and the ecological integrity of a natural resource. CES may significantly influence visitor loyalty in PPAs, as …

Machine Vision Based Speed Control And Its Application In Autonomous Uav Snow Depth Remote Sensing, Jacob Matthew Shaker

Master's Theses and Capstones

Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) sensors are an effective way to unobtrusively measure snow depth using Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). LiDAR snow depth estimation performs poorly when scanning obstructed areas due to a reduction in LiDAR ground returns. When using Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) to measure snow depth in forests, trees obstruct LiDAR laser pulses from penetrating to the forest floor, thus, reducing the number of returns. Decreasing UAV flight speed increases the total number of returns which, in turn, can improve snow depth estimates but reduces the sampling extent. In this work, it is shown that Machine Vision (MV) …

Investigation Of Motor Programming In Childhood Apraxia Of Speech, Madison Smith

Master's Theses and Capstones

The underlying nature of the motor programming disorder in stroke-related apraxia of speech (AOS) has received extensive investigation. This is not the case for childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). CAS and AOS present with many of the same perceptual characteristics (increased intersegment and segment duration ((i.e., segmentation)), equal lexical stress, and speech sound distortions), however, little work has been done to investigate whether the disorders have the same mechanism of action (McNeil, Robin, & Schmidt, 2009). Previous studies investigating motor programming in AOS have utilized a two-stage model developed by Klapp (2003). This model breaks down the motor programming process …

The Impact Of Thiamin (B1) And Its Precursors On Microzooplankton-Phytoplankton Interactions, Sara Smith

Master's Theses and Capstones

Phytoplankton, marine microalgae that are the base of the oceanic food web, significantly influence the flow of essential nutrients throughout marine ecosystems. In particular, phytoplankton have been implicated in the cycling of the vitamin thiamin (B1) and its components 4-methyl-5-thiazoleethanol (HET) and 4-amino-5-hydroxymethyl-2-methylpyrimidine (HMP). These compounds are essential to many marine microbes but are found in relatively small concentrations (<500 pM) throughout the earth’s oceans. Despite the importance of these vitamins in fueling marine microbial growth, very little is understood regarding their sources and sinks. To better understand the impacts of vitamins on phytoplankton growth and interactions with microzooplankton grazers, 20 dilution experiments spiked with additions of B1, HET, or HMP were conducted. These were performed across seasons, and examined changes not only in bulk chlorophyll concentration, but also in size-specific growth and grazing rates. No clear patterns in rate changes in response to additions of B1 or precursors were observed. Additionally, often vitamin addition resulted in compound-dependent significant changes in growth and loss rates. No significant changes in rates were found to correlate with starting phytoplankton abundance, suggesting that the composition of the starting phytoplankton community played a large role in mediating the response to vitamin addition relative to total abundance. Overall, these findings highlight the complexity and importance of understanding the sources and sinks of B1 and its components in the marine environment.

Advancing A Design For Trusted Community Bathymetry, Daniel Tauriello

Master's Theses and Capstones

The design for a Trusted Community Bathymetry (TCB) system, presented in Calder et al., 2020, demonstrates a data collection system capable of collecting precisely geo-referenced depth soundings from any navigational echosounder installed on a volunteer vessel. The TCB system is capable of autonomously determining any vertical installation offset with respect to the waterline, and provides sufficient guarantees of data quality to allow the soundings to be considered for hydrographic use.

This thesis presents two contributions to advance the original TCB system design. First, it capitalizes on the widespread availability of low-cost sidescan modules in the recreational sonar market by describing …

Multi-Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle (Uuv) Optical Communication System Design, Igor Vladimirov

Master's Theses and Capstones

Over the past few decades the state of art of Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) has grown significantly, and one of the major challenges remains establishing reliable underwater communication among UUVs. This case is especially true in a multi-UUV setting where tethered communication is not an option. This research focuses on designing a cost-efficient, short distance optical communication system capable of supporting formation control of multiple UUVs. Although light attenuation underwater significantly degrades communication ranges, experimental results show that optical communication can achieve distances of almost 20 meters in clear water by utilizing a simple 10-Watt LED transmitter (with larger distances …

Alexandrium Spp. And Pseudo-Nitzschia Spp. Cohabitation In The Gulf Of Maine, Tiffany Winter

Master's Theses and Capstones

Globally, harmful algal blooms are a severe issue for marine ecosystems, animals, and humans both ecologically and economically. The Gulf of Maine is no stranger to harmful algal blooms, specifically the dinoflagellate, Alexandrium catenella, that has routinely been forming toxic blooms since the early 1970s. In 2016, a new species, the diatom Pseudo-nitzschia spp. formed a massive bloom and has had annual blooms since. Anecdotally, these two species do not bloom concurrently, suggesting there may be specific environmental conditions that promote bloom formation for each species. The intent of this research is to uncover potential parameters that are affecting bloom …

Using Unpiloted Aerial Vehicle Structure From Motion And Snowmodel To Map Spatial Distribution Of Wind Deposited Snow In Mount Washington, Nh Avalanche Terrain, Cameron Wagner

Master's Theses and Capstones

East of the Rocky Mountains, United States avalanche terrain is almost exclusive to Mount Washington, New Hampshire. Mount Washington’s east-aspect glacial cirques are subject to frequent wind slab avalanche problems due to high winds and ample snowfall in fetch areas above the cirques. Quantification of these slabs’ location, extent, and depth is an integral part of avalanche forecasting and risk assessment. This research used SnowModel, a spatially distributed snow-evolution model, to simulate wind slab depth maps using Mount Washington Observatory meteorologic station data on a 1 m grid. SnowModel’s SnowTran-3D, a snow redistribution by wind algorithm, is tested for one …

Characterization Of Arthropod Communities And The Environmental Variables That Influence Them, Christopher Ziadeh

Master's Theses and Capstones

Arthropods are active during the winter in temperate regions, and many use seasonal snowpack to buffer themselves from harsh ambient conditions in a refugium known as the subnivium, an area that occurs under the snowpack and above the soil. This thesis focuses on subnivium arthropod communities, how they differ from summer communities, and how silvicultural management influences these communities. Arthropods were collected using modified pitfall traps from the Second College Grant, a forested township in northern New Hampshire which has areas of land dedicated to the Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change study. In the first chapter of this thesis we …

Maternal Sars-Cov-2 Infection And Prematurity: The Southern Michigan Covid-19 Collaborative, Ray Bahado-Singh, Adi L. Tarca, Yasmin G. Hasbini, Robert J. Sokol, Madhurima Keerthy, Gregory Goyert, Theodore Jones, Lisa Thiel, Pooja Green, Youssef Youssef, Courtney Townsel, Shyla Vengalil, Paige Paladino, Amy Wright, Mariam Ayyash, Gayathri Vadlamudi, Marta Szymanska, Sonia Sajja, Onur Turkoglu, Grace Sterenberg, Alexandra R. Mangus, Micheal Baracy, Maria Gibbons, Karlee Grace, Kaitlyn Houston, Jessica Norman, Dereje W. Gudicha, Sonia S. Hassan

Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health Services Articles

OBJECTIVE: COVID-19 has been reported to increase the risk of prematurity, however, due to the frequent absence of unaffected controls as well as inadequate accounting for confounders in many studies, the question requires further investigation. We sought to determine the impact of COVID-19 disease on preterm birth (PTB) overall, as well as related subcategories such as early prematurity, spontaneous, medically indicated preterm birth, and preterm labor (PTL). We assessed the impact of confounders such as COVID-19 risk factors, a-priori risk factors for PTB, symptomatology, and disease severity on rates of prematurity.

METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of pregnant …

Family/Decision Maker Perception Of Patient Care And Withdrawal Of Life Sustaining Treatment, Joshua Paul, Revelle Gappy, Tracy Wunderlich-Barillas, Robert A. Swor

Posters

Withdrawal of life sustaining treatment (WLST) is the process by which a patient has life supporting measures removed when a decision is reached that further care if futile. This process is a complex interplay of medical science, the healthcare teams’ past experiences, and communication with the patient’s family/decision maker Family members are commonly called upon to make critical decisions regarding the provision or withdrawal of patient care. Our objective was to describe the perceptions and experiences of the family members of patients who were admitted to an intensive care unit after resuscitation from an Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA).

Effect Of Comorbidities And Choice Of Treatment On Overall Survival In Elderly Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Beaumont Experience, Bilal M. Ali, Emma Herrman, James Huang Huang, Mohammad Muhsin Chisti

Posters

First line therapy for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is 7+3 regimen. It often cannot be used in elderly patients due to intensity. Venetoclax + hypomethylating agent (HMA) is approved for AML treatment in these patients. We investigate the efficacy of this treatment in a community setting where patients do not have the same resources available to them as a large academic center. Primary outcome was survival of patients greater than 60 years of age with a diagnosis of AML who received 7+3 therapy versus those who received venetoclax + HMA. Secondary outcomes included characteristics of those who received the two …

Women In Southern Politics: How The Southern Experience Shaped Two Contemporary Forces, Liza Montgomery

Political Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Numerous books, papers, journals, articles, and newspapers have explored the human experience in the American South for many decades. Much of this recorded history and further academic and historical literature spans the time period since the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. Most of these works, while claiming to focus on the entire population, address only the life experiences of men while assuming their information pertains to the entire population. Although a portion of these accounts focus on the African American experience overall, just a fraction examines the female experience. In this paper I will be examining women’s political …

College Success 101: Resilience And Mental Health Mediate The Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And College Functioning, Mackenzie Crook

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events that children experience during the first 18 years of their lives. They can lead to health risks, both physical and mental, later on in life (Felitti et al., 1998). One of the largest transitions a person will experience is the transition from being a child to becoming an adult. This transition is often paired with people entering college, and being able to function successfully in college is a vital part of this transition. College functioning is assessed through educational functioning, relational functioning, and psychological functioning (O’Donnell et al., 2018). The purpose of …

Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Efforts Among Healthcare Providers And Systems In The United States, Peyton Jobe

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare patient experiences measured by the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey to healthcare provider’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) is a patient survey given upon patient discharge. The results cumulate to score hospitals on patient experiences. In the sample, there were 392 hospital websites that were evaluated for the existence of policies, procedures, or statements related to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts or stances. Of those, 121 of the hospitals received the lowest possible rating for patient experience …

A Review Of Adolescent Resiliency And Its Impact On Sexual Health Information And Behavior, Elizabeth Krusing

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

This Thesis reviews current research on adolescent sexual health information and behavior and makes recommendation for future research on protective factors and the use of theoretical frameworks like the IMB model that can inform the development of effective interventions to promote sexual health and well-being among children with high ACEs.

The Impact Of Low Appendicular Skeletal Muscle Mass In The Development Of Insulin Resistance And Metabolic Syndrome: A Systematic Review Of The Literature, Ella Boston

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Chronic conditions are the leading cause of death and disability. More specifically, cardio-metabolic disease is the number one cause of death worldwide. The tragedy and burden of disease is unrefuted; even more so, evidence indicates that realistic modifications of lifestyle can prevent most chronic disease. Metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance are leading risk factors in the development of cardio-metabolic disease. Presently, chronic disease is treated through symptomatic evaluation of risk. Reframing the lens of care through root cause evaluation is fundamental to optimizing patient outcomes. The purpose of this systematic review is to synthesize literature evaluating the impact of low …

Tiny Tusk Internship: Barriers To Effective Breastfeeding Within Low Socioeconomic Populations, Catherine Johnson

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Tiny Tusk Breastfeeding and Infant Support is a program created to facilitate safe and quiet places for mothers to breastfeed at various events at the University of Arkansas. It serves as a platform to spread important and essential information about breastfeeding to mothers and reach various women all from different backgrounds and populations. The purpose of this review of literature is to identify barriers that women within low socioeconomic populations face that influence their decision to breastfeed. These barriers included lack of social support from family, friends, and healthcare providers; latch difficulty; and concerns of milk supply. Altogether, low-income women …

Emerging Technology Governance In The Shadow Of The Major Questions Doctrine, Jonas J. Monast

North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology

No abstract provided.

Equity Crowdfunding & The Lead Investor, David Nows

North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology

No abstract provided.