The use of biological agents as potential weapons has been a concern of security agencies for many years. Security agencies require alternative field protocols for handling forensic samples that could be contaminated with biological weapons. In this study, manual and automated DNA extractions were compared for the ability to remove biological agents and for their effectiveness and consistency when samples were contaminated with bacteria, spores or toxins. Purified DNA was evaluated for the absence of the agents, and for the effects of the process on the isolated human DNA. Results demonstrated that incubation of samples in a cell lysis solution eliminated bacteria and toxins, but an additional 0.22 µm filtration step was necessary to successfully remove bacterial spores. Blood and buccal swab samples exposed to some bacteria showed DNA loss and/or degradation. The automated extraction procedure would be preferable over the manual protocol to isolate human DNA contaminated with biological weapons.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Sydney, 2009. / Title from title screen (viewed October 26, 2009) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy to the School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry, Dept. of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts. Includes bliographical references. Also available in print form.

Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Homeland Security and Defense))--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2009. / Thesis Advisor(s): Moltz, James Clay. Second Reader: Davis, Zachary. "December 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on January 26, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: Nuclear, terrorism, domestic, risk, Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), Global Nuclear Detection Architecture, Cooperative Threat Reduction(CTR), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of State (DOS), Russia, Highly-Enriched Uranium, Plutonium. Includes bibliographical references (p. 99-105). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S. in Information Warfare Systems Engineering)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2009. / Thesis Advisor(s): Arquilla, John. Second Reader: Iatrou, Steve. "December 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on January 27, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: Weapons of mass distruction, NES National Election Studies, public opinion, Vietnam war, Iraq war, President Johnson, Presisent Bush. Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-94). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S. in Systems Engineering and Analysis)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2009. / Thesis Advisor(s): Paulo, Eugene. Second Reader: Rhoades, Mark. "December 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on January 27, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: Systems integration, System safety, System-of-Systems safety. Includes bibliographical references (p. 51-52). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S. in Physics)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2004. / Thesis advisor(s): William Colson, Joseph Blau. Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-60). Also available online.

Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Defense Decision-Making and Planning))--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2004. / Thesis advisor(s): Peter R. Lavoy. Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-83). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S. in Applied Physics)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2004. / Thesis advisor(s): William B. Colson. Includes bibliographical references (p. 49). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S. in Contract Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): Jeffrey Cuskey, David Krueger. Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-91). Also available online.

Thesis (M.A. in National Security Affairs)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): David S. Yost, James Wirtz. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.