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UNB Scholar is an institutional repository initiative of UNB Libraries intended to collect, preserve, showcase, and promote the open access scholarly output of the UNB community. Use UNB Scholar to explore specific collections, or search all content in the repository. Material submitted to the repository will also be freely discoverable online through Google and other major search engines.

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Tulip bulbs and maple leaves: 1st Canadian Corp veterans’ memories of the Second World War from Sicily to the Netherlands
(University of New Brunswick, 2024-08) Smith, Mackenzie; Windsor, Lee
In 1995, around the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands, Dr. Agatha Bonga collected over one thousand questionnaires completed by Canadian Second World War veterans. Dr. Bonga died before she could utilize the data. Three decades later, this project re-opens this untouched, rare collection that reveals new perspectives on the known, but thinly told story about the end of Canada’s Second World War. The questionnaire responses contained in the collection examine veterans’ prewar lives, their wartime service, and their postwar transitions. This thesis examines a sample of 336 questionnaire responses completed by 1st Canadian Corps veterans who fought in Italy and in the 1945 Liberation Campaign in the Netherlands. These questionnaire responses from middle and lower ranking Canadian Army veterans corroborate, nuance, and at times challenge Canadian historical writing, especially regarding the spring 1945 Liberation Campaign, the sudden shift from war to peace, and post-war veterans’ lives.
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Development of a new hydro-mechanical model for swelling of bentonite-based sealing materials (BBSM)
(University of New Brunswick, 2024-08) Shafaei Bajestani, Mahsa; Nasir, Othman
Bentonite-based sealing material (BBSM) is proposed for use in engineered barrier systems for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste in a deep geological repository (DGR) due to its low permeability and high swelling potential. The performance of BBSM can impact the mechanical stability and environmental performance of the DGR system. Understanding the hydro-mechanical (HM) behavior of BBSM, the ability to model, and predict the behavior are crucial components in ensuring the safety of the system. This research aimed to improve the understanding of the HM behavior of BBSM during hydration and to develop a new modelling tool by integrating experimental and numerical investigations. Experimental investigations on BBSM assessed its swelling properties via swelling experiments and advanced HM column-type tests using a newly developed tool. In the numerical part, a new HM model was developed, calibrated using experimental data from the current study, and validated with the published results for the prediction of BBSM properties, including a multiscale porosity model with a new swell model using FLAC3D and TOUGH3 software. The model was applied to a large-scale hypothetical DGR to check its applicability to a full-scale DGR system. The results of the laboratory experiments confirmed that the newly developed device was capable of measuring the swelling pressure and could be used for the advanced test. The HM column-type experiments provided insights into the wetting front, axial, and radial swelling pressure at different times. The proposed HM model was able to capture the evolution of swelling pressure and saturation profile using a single set of calibrated parameters for small-scale experiments and a large-scale hypothetical DGR. Results of the DGR analysis showed that it may take up to 10,000 years for the engineered barrier system to become fully saturated, which was consistent with other studies. The maximum swelling pressure at the fully saturated condition of the BBSM did not exceed the in-situ minor principal stress of rock formation. The sensitivity analysis of the model parameters highlighted the significant impact of rock formation and bentonite permeability on saturation time. Furthermore, it revealed that the strength-stress ratio was susceptible to variations in model parameters.
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Effects of early intervention social enrichment on emotion and affiliative behaviour of cats in an animal shelter
(University of New Brunswick, 2024-08) White, Jennifer; Forbes, Graham
Domestic cats (Felis catus) experience stress upon entering an animal shelter due to a change environment, and other factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of human social enrichment on emotional and affiliative behaviour of cats within the first three days of admission to an animal shelter. Forty-six cats were admitted to an animal shelter in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, and were divided into two groups, enriched and control. Cats in the enriched group participated in daily 7-minute petting sessions. Results indicate that enriched treatment cats displayed a 13% increase in the duration of affiliative behavior and were more content compared to control. Additionally, anxiety in all cats decreased over the three days with enriched cats showing a 2% greater trend towards decreasing time spent in an anxious state. Application of practical approaches to increase shelter cat sociability may increase interactive behaviours and improve adoption potential.
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Can hatch time of the American Lobster (Homarus americanus) be accurately predicted using embryos raised detached from a female’s brood?
(University of New Brunswick, 2024-08) Whipple, Mary L.; Rochette, Rémy
Hatch time affects the biotic and abiotic conditions experienced by larvae and, hence, their success. In Canada, hatch of American lobster (Homarus americanus) is challenging to directly monitor, because it occurs outside fishing seasons. An alternative to direct observation is the use of temperature-based functions of embryo development, although the large size of females limits the number of individuals that can simultaneously be housed in a lab to develop such functions. To address this constraint, I compared the development and hatch of embryos raised in the laboratory attached or detached from the brood of 28 female lobsters from the Bay of Fundy. No significant differences were found in mean hatch date, size at hatch, or development rate of attached versus detached embryos, indicating that embryos raised separated from a female’s brood can be used to accurately predict hatch time in American lobster, or study other aspects of their embryos’ development.
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Evaluating additional genomic variants identified by a 52 gene panel used for identification of actionable mutations in non-squamous non-small cell lung cancers
(University of New Brunswick, 2024-08) Varty, Kathleen Mary; Reiman, Tony
Lung cancer leads global cancer mortality. Much of North America now employs next-generation sequencing (NGS) for patient cancer mutational profiling. This approach identifies driver mutations, typically non-synonymous somatic alterations altering protein coding. Recent findings suggest clinical relevance of synonymous mutations, traditionally disregarded for not altering protein sequences. Yet, their prevalence and clinical implications remain underexplored. This study analyzes genomic data and clinical outcomes for non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer patients sequenced at the Saint John Regional Hospital in New Brunswick. Canada from January 2019 to January 2023. Nine possibly pathogenic synonymous variants are identified. Additionally, the clinical variant distribution and impact of an expanded gene panel are explored. This research underscores the potential significance of synonymous mutations in cancer and expands on the current knowledge base.