An Affect Theory of Composition

This thesis explores the effect that being published in an online journal has on students\u27 attitudes about writing and their willingness to revise. The impetus for the study was a combination of frustration at seeing the students in the Writing Center devaluing their own work, as well as my own experiences within the academy at large. The problem was that these students were neither seen as good writers within an academic setting, nor believed themselves to be such. The methods employed were the creation of a WordPress webpage, with a URL redirect ( boldjournal.org ) which served as a forum in which to display select student writing collaborated on within the Writing Center. The sample size was a population of 11 students chosen to be featured in the journal. An analysis of their texts reveals that students responded positively, became more confident writers, and embraced writing as a process. If students are given an opportunity to feel like real writers early in their academic career, they will feel an open invitation to the academic literacy club

Relational, Physical, and Mental Health: How Relationship Satisfaction Influences Exercise Self-Efficacy

Can being satisfied in a relationship create the confidence to exercise? Some research suggests a positive relationship between exercise and positive relationship events for both partners (Johnson et al., 2018), yet there may be important mediators between relationships and exercise, that have not been tested. Research has found that higher relationship satisfaction is associated with lower depressive and anxiety symptoms (Whisman, Uebelacker, & Weinstock, 2004). Another important mechanism linked with exercise is self-efficacy—or the confidence to carry out a behavior (i.e., exercise; Jackson, Tucker, & Herman, 2007). Self-efficacy and mental health are also significantly related (Bandura, 1997), as is exercise and mental health (Chekroud et al., 2018). The question remains then, how is relationship satisfaction and exercise self-efficacy linked? Utilizing dyadic data from 234 heterosexual couples, the purpose of the current study was to determine the association between relationship satisfaction and exercise self-efficacy mediated through mental health

Relationship Satisfaction & Diet: Exploring the Mechanisms through which Intimate Relationships Influence Physical Health

Understanding how intimate relationships influence physical health has been an important topic of focus; however, research remains unclear on the mechanisms through which this influence occurs. The purpose of this study was to examine how relationship satisfaction relates to diet quality, through mental health (depression and anxiety) and diet self-efficacy. Using a dyadic mediation model with a sample of 234 heterosexual couples, researchers found that women\u27s higher relationship satisfaction was associated with better diet through lower depression and higher diet self-efficacy. Results revealed the same association between women\u27s relationship satisfaction and diet through lower anxiety. Interestingly, rather than mediation through mental health, the association between men\u27s relationship satisfaction and diet was mediated through their partners\u27 diet self-efficacy. This presentation will review the gendered pathways by which relationship satisfaction influences diet in heterosexual couples and discuss the important implications of these findings for tracing how intimate relationships affect overall well-being

A Rising Tide: Oyster Aquaculture Survey Instrument

This document provides the survey instrument for the oyster aquaculture survey that was conducted throughout August and October of 2021. The purpose of the survey was to gain a food system-wide perspective on gender dynamics in the region’s aquaculture industry, inclusive of different genders and identify potential gender-based barriers and opportunities to participation for men, women, and non-binary/third gender oyster aquaculturists

A Rising Tide: Oyster Aquaculture Survey Results

This document provides the results from a survey conducted August-October 2021 on the Maine and New Hampshire oyster aquaculture industry. The purpose of the survey was to gain a food system-wide perspective on gender dynamics in the region’s aquaculture industry, inclusive of different genders and identify potential gender-based barriers and opportunities to participation for men, women, and non-binary/third gender oyster aquaculturists. The published survey results include qualitative responses and demographic data for a subset of farmers in the oyster aquaculture industry of Maine and New Hampshire

A Rising Tide Photovoice Photobook

This document provides the results of the photographic documentation and written narrative portion of the photovoice case study conducted from November, 2021 to March, 2022 by (n=4) research participants. The goal of the Photobook is to share the data collected by the research participants on their experiences as women owning and operating an oyster farm in Maine and New Hampshire

Drug specificity and affinity are encoded in the probability of cryptic pocket opening in myosin motor domains

The design of compounds that can discriminate between closely related target proteins remains a central challenge in drug discovery. Specific therapeutics targeting the highly conserved myosin motor family are urgently needed as mutations in at least six of its members cause numerous diseases. Allosteric modulators, like the myosin-II inhibitor blebbistatin, are a promising means to achieve specificity. However, it remains unclear why blebbistatin inhibits myosin-II motors with different potencies given that it binds at a highly conserved pocket that is always closed in blebbistatin-free experimental structures. We hypothesized that the probability of pocket opening is an important determinant of the potency of compounds like blebbistatin. To test this hypothesis, we used Markov state models (MSMs) built from over 2 ms of aggregate molecular dynamics simulations with explicit solvent. We find that blebbistatin\u27s binding pocket readily opens in simulations of blebbistatin-sensitive myosin isoforms. Comparing these conformational ensembles reveals that the probability of pocket opening correctly identifies which isoforms are most sensitive to blebbistatin inhibition and that docking against MSMs quantitatively predicts blebbistatin binding affinities (