Digital Commons Network^™

Maturation Of Equine Proximal Sesamoid Bones In Thoroughbred Horses, Angela Maria Mangine

Theses and Dissertations--Veterinary Science

Proximal sesamoid bone (PSB) injuries account for approximately 50% of all fatal catastrophic musculoskeletal injuries in Thoroughbred racehorses. In addition, PSB fractures are not uncommon in Thoroughbred foals and yearlings as a result of energetic or intense free exercise. The ability to interpret some PSB pathology assessments, however, is more difficult given the limited information published on the normal development and maturation of these paired sesamoid bones. In addition, the level of normal variation in PSB morphological and structural parameters within the Thoroughbred population as a function of age, body size, gender, and inter-animal variation are not well documented, complicating …

Comparing Beopt (Energyplus) Energy Predictions To Measured Circuit Level Energy Consumption Of 12 Similar Small Energy-Efficient Single-Family Residences, Braydi Mcpherson-Hathaway

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Residential energy usage patterns change as a result of new building codes, renewable technologies, household electronics, and changes in occupancy habits. Building simulations have used end-use energy studies to inform occupancy profiles and overall usage characteristics for the building simulations. Building simulations allow designers, engineers, policymakers, code developers, and building owners to model proposed designs to new and existing buildings, thus it is imperative that the energy profiles used in the models are accurate. In this study, the building simulation engine BEopt is used to model energy-efficient homes recently constructed in Southern Kentucky. The homes have well defined building characteristics …

Southern Pine Beetle-Specific Rna Interference Demonstrates No Effects On Nontarget Insects, Hannah Marie Hollowell

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

The endemic southern pine beetle (SPB), Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann, is a highly destructive bark beetle that has devastated coniferous forests of the southern United States for decades. Traditional management strategies have been unable to respond effectively to largescale SPB outbreaks, prompting exploration of novel techniques including RNA interference (RNAi). Double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) are effective at triggering gene silencing and inducing mortality in SPB, but determining delivery methods and demonstrating specificity of the treatments is necessary before this technology may progress to deployment.

I evaluated three SPB-specific dsRNAs on model nontarget insects to assess potential lethal effects, sublethal effects such as …

Distribution And Diversity Of Heliothine And Other Lepidopteran Nudiviruses, Emrah Ozel

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

Helicoverpa zea nudivirus 2 (HzNV-2) is the only known sterilizing and sexually-transmitted insect virus and causes pathological symptoms in H. zea reproductive tissues. HzNV-2 has features that make it a candidate as a H. zea (corn earworm) control agent, such as the ability to cause asymptomatic (latent) and symptomatic (lytic) infections and the ability to influence mating behavior of its host to favor virus spread. HzNV pathology has been studied and its genome sequenced, however, its prevalence in natural populations is largely unknown. In this study, we developed and used a low-cost PCR-based molecular survey to investigate HzNV-2 prevalence and …

The Lived Experience Of Hope In The Midst Of Recovery From A Substance Use Disorder: A Phenomenology, Mary Katherine Lance

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Substance use disorder (SUD) is difficult to treat, as evidenced by its high prevalence and relapse rates. Research shows, however, that hope may have the potential to create effective and efficient change in the way we prevent and treat SUD. In order to utilize hope in this way, we must have a good understanding of what hope is. This phenomenological study aims to explore and describe the essence of hope through the lived experience of individuals in recovery from a SUD. Through interviews with 20 informants to generate data and an iterative interpretative process to identify shared meanings, hope emerged …

A Qualitative Examination Of The Agency Of Women In Their 30s And 40s Who Use Dating Applications, Tera Buerkle

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The use of dating applications (apps) to find romantic and sexual partners is widespread across age groups, however, there is a paucity of research on dating apps with those in middle adulthood. Sexual script theory suggests that women’s agency (i.e. the ability to act in one’s own best interest) may be impacted by expectations from an inherently sexualized context, such as dating apps. Feminist theory contends that women’s agency is complicated by gender socialization due to the imbalance of power in society that greatly favors men. In this study seventeen women aged 30 to 49 completed in-depth semi-structured interviews, and …

Procuring Produce In A Rural, Appalachian County: A Thematic Analysis Of Community Member Experiences, Caroline Blincoe

Theses and Dissertations--Nutrition and Food Systems

Rates of obesity and other health disparities are exceptionally high in rural Appalachian counties compared to the nation as a whole. One causal factor of these health disparities in Appalachian counties is the inequitable allocation of healthy food. Food insecurity and the local food environment are large drivers for obesity experienced by Martin County, Kentucky residents. Successful socioecological model (SEM) and policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) interventions have shown promising results in reducing obesity and enhancing food security in this population. Through the transcription of semi-structured focus group interviews, thematic analysis aimed to obtain perspectives on the local food system. …

Sexual Expression And Self-Confidence In Long-Distance Relationships, Morgann Kidwell

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Little is known about the impact of distance on sexual expression and self-confidence in long-distance relationships, especially as mediated by technology. The purpose of the present study is to investigate how sexual expression and self-confidence vary in romantic relationships between those in long- versus short-distance relationships. Data from 327 participants—156 in long-distance relationships and 171 in short-distance relationships—were collected via Amazon MTurk. Results indicate that forms of technology-mediated sexual expression are widely used in long-distance relationships. Technology-mediated sexual expression is positively associated with sexual satisfaction in both long- and short-distance relationships; however, technology-mediated sexual expression was not statistically associated with …

A Comparative Study Of Stress, Trauma, Well-Being, And Future Orientation Among Community College Students, Melinda A. Lemaster

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

This study measured perceived stress, past trauma, well-being, and future orientation in a sample of community college students located in the Southeast United States. The sample included 412 participants (78%) female; 59% of student participants reported living in a rural community and 41% in a non-rural community. The mean age was 22 for 70% of participants, while 30% were over age 30. Framed by Family Stress Theory and Human Ecological Systems Theory, the study tested whether rural college students would report higher levels of stress, more past trauma, lower well-being and future orientation when compared with non-rural students. In addition, …

The Evaluation Of An Amino Acid- Oral Re-Hydration Solution (Enterade®) To Improve Quality Of Life In Solid Tumor Cancer Patients By Reduction Of Chemotherapy Related Diarrhea, Holly Chitwood

DNP Projects

Background: Chemotherapy related diarrhea (CRD) is a common adverse effect of many chemotherapy agents used to treat cancer. CRD negatively affects quality of life (QOL) for cancer patients and often results in treatment delays, hold, dose reductions, and hospitalizations affecting morbidity and mortality. Proper management of CRD with novel therapeutics is needed to improve the quality of life and patient outcomes for this population.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of a proprietary amino acid-oral rehydration solution (AA-ORS) known as Enterade® to reduce the severity of CRD, to improve patient reported QOL among patients over …

Analysis Of Tax Increment Financing (Tif) Usage And State Requirements, Joseph Black

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Tax Increment Financing(TIF)is one of the most popular economic development tools in use, as well as one of the few economic development tools available to municipal governments. Although it was slow to be adopted by many states, currently every state, as well as the District of Colombia, has active TIF districts to back over $35 billion in bonds across the country. Despite its popularity, there is no consensus on the ability of TIF to create a planned and measurable outcome. Because of this ambiguity, TIF usage is clustered across the country as state legislatures have put in varying requirements to …

The Evaluation Of The Role Of Research Administrators In The Biomedical Research Grant Lifecycle And How Public Universities’ Policies Are Designed To Protect Funding, Megan Eder

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

There was a time in the not-so-distant past, where a simple infection had the opportunity to send an individual to an early grave. With advancements in biomedical research, medical professionals can treat simple infections as well as more complicated illnesses. Medical research has come a long way, but there is still a need for research in order to find, treat, and advance cures for illness and disease. Last year, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire world was waiting for researchers to create a vaccine to help slow the spread and get the world back to operating at a normal capacity. …

Pharmacy Student Opinions Related To Question, Persuade, And Refer (Qpr) Suicide Prevention Training, Alexandra Sutphin

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2017). The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has increased concerns related to suicide, with additional attention placed on the potential long-term negative impact of COVID-19 on mental health. Pharmacists are healthcare providers who are readily accessible and underutilized in suicide prevention efforts. This study uses survey methodology and comparative analyses to develop recommendations for the timing and administration of Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR) suicide prevention training in the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum at the University of Kentucky College …

Analysis: Internal Controls Impact On The Mitigation Of Risk And Fraud In Public Finance, Brian Stephens

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Internal controls involve every process that assess or mitigates risks within an organization. From an organizational level, internal control objectives relate to the reliability of financial reporting, measurements on the status of achieving operational or strategic goals, and compliance with laws and regulations. Over the years internal controls have gained the misconception of being merely an accounting or auditing function. However, poor or lapsed internal controls can have devastating effects on an organization. Conversely, an organization that places heavy emphasis on internal controls and leads with an ethical culture are more likely to be successful in meeting their organization’s mission …

Keep Lexington Beautiful Strategic Plan, Katherine Losekamp

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

As an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, Keep Lexington Beautiful (KLB) encourages residents of Fayette County to engage in environmentally sustainable practices (Keep Lexington Beautiful, 2020). KLB was formerly a city commission of Lexington- Fayette Urban County Government (LFUCG) but in the winter of 2020 to 2021 broke off to form their own independent non-profit by the same name. During this process, they maintained about half of their original board members and hope in the future to expand their board to get more people from different perspectives involved. This project utilizes a short-term strategic plan to guide KLB through this …

Lost And Found: Reuniting Missing Participants And Lost Pensions, Kathryn L. Moore

Law Faculty Books and Chapters

In the United States, the problem of missing participants and lost pensions is huge. Although there is no precise estimate of the size of the problem, the PBGC reports that more than 80,000 workers have unclaimed pensions worth more than $300 million and Terry Dunne of Millennium Trust Company has made “an educated guess based on government and industry data that more than 900,000 workers lose track of 401k-style, defined-contribution plans each year.” Anecdotally, Kyle Garrett posted on July 8, 2020, that in his 15 years at the Pension Rights Center, the most frequent question he has received from callers …

The Characterization Of Purified Citrate-Coated Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles Prepared Via Hydrothermal Synthesis, Matthew L. Hancock, Robert A. Yokel, Matthew J. Beck, Julie L. Calahan, Travis W. Jarrells, Eric J. Munson, George A. Olaniyan, Eric A. Grulke

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Hypothesis

Cerium oxide nanoparticles were synthesized using a hydrothermal approach with citric acid as a stabilizing agent. Citric acid adsorption onto the nanoceria particle surface can cease particle formation and create a stable dispersion for an extended shelf life. The product was dialyzed immediately following the synthesis to remove unreacted cerium that could contribute to biological effects. Nanoparticle characterization results are expected to help identify the surface citrate bonding structure.

Experiments

Many characterization techniques were utilized to determine size, morphology, surface properties, and citrate complexation on the nanoceria particle surface. These included transmission electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, dynamic …

Periocular Mesenchyme Heterogeneity During Morphogenesis Of The Vertebrate Ocular Anterior Segment, Kristyn L. Van Der Meulen

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

The vertebrate eye is a complex organ, responsible for the primary sense with which we interact with our environment: vision. Development of the eye is a tightly regulated process, controlled by a vast network of genes. This process begins with eye morphogenesis, when the eye structure is formed through a series of morphogenetic movements and culminates in the creation of the optic cup, lens, and presumptive optic stalk. Next, retinal differentiation creates the critical cell layers of the retina needed to process light waves that enter the eye, including rod and cone photoreceptors, interneurons, and support cells. Failure in either …

Fluid Dynamics: Representations Of Water In Music, James E. Evans

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Water has remained a subject of all kinds of musical works since at least the middle ages. These musical works lack the concrete representational capacity of paintings, photographs, and films, relying instead on more abstract metaphorical constructs to convey water imagery. Current scholarship on water music typically centers on Romantic and Impressionist works and does not examine the process of signification by which musical signs portray water. The principal goal of this study is to determine how musical devices convey specific aspects of bodies of water and how such devices interact and contribute to musical depictions of streams, rivers, lakes, …

Perspectives On Cultivating A Positive Collegiate Clarinet Studio Environment: A Survey Of Students And Professors, Katherine Nichole Breeden

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Data was analyzed from a survey of collegiate clarinet students and professors concerning student and faculty preferences and perceptions concerning the cultivation of a positive collegiate clarinet studio environment. Over two hundred respondents indicated preferences for the structure of individual lessons and studio class.

The data indicated it is essential that the professor adapt their teaching to individual students during lesson instruction. Goals should be recorded, a verbal agreement alone is insufficient. Contact information for all studio colleagues should be available, and the professor should be accessible should the need arise. Large ensemble concert attendance should be encouraged, and recital …

Building Communication, Collaboration, And Self-Efficacy Among Elementary School Counselors Through Communities Of Practice, Garrett Rimey

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

There are few life-changing experiences like transitioning from elementary school to middles school. A new setting, new peers, new teachers, and new structures have been shown to elicit a myriad of emotions from students as they transition into middle school. A student’s academic record, accommodations, and other pertinent academic information follow a student into middle school; however, their social and emotional portfolio does not. Research has shown that students who are negatively impacted the most by transitioning into middle school also show their academics are negatively impacted, with title 1 students showing to be even more negatively impacted. However, school …

A Constructive Approach To Managing Faculty Conflict: An Action Research Study, Natasha L. Davis

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

Research indicates colleges and universities are faced with an excess of challenges and issues, and one of these issues is dealing with conflict. The purpose of this mixed methods action research study was to implement a conflict management strategies workshop on the campus of Morehead State University as an intervention to address the problem of conflict between faculty and administrators. Data collected and analyzed from an exploratory pilot study included interviews of current faculty and administrators regarding situations of conflict. As a result, the following information was discovered: conflict does exist on the campus of Morehead State University between faculty …

Strategic Educational Leadership Within The Policy-Making Arena: The Promulgation, Passage, And Practice Of Tennessee's High Performing School Districts Flexibility Act Of 2013, Robert Lawrence Hullett Jr.

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

In 2010, Tennessee’s 106th General Assembly passed the First to the Top Act (2010), a companion legislation for the federal Race to the Top Act (2009) program launched by the Obama Administration. A provision of this state law required that half of teacher and principal evaluations be based upon student achievement, which included a component of required continuous academic growth. For school districts whose students scored at the highest academic performance levels, the continuous growth component would negatively impact their teachers’ and principals’ annual evaluations. In 2012, the Williamson County Schools (WCS) superintendent requested mitigation for relieve from the Tennessee …

Representing And Learning Preferences Over Combinatorial Domains, Michael Huelsman

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

Agents make decisions based on their preferences. Thus, to predict their decisions one has to learn the agent's preferences. A key step in the learning process is selecting a model to represent those preferences. We studied this problem by borrowing techniques from the algorithm selection problem to analyze preference example sets and select the most appropriate preference representation for learning. We approached this problem in multiple steps.

First, we determined which representations to consider. For this problem we developed the notion of preference representation language subsumption, which compares representations based on their expressive power. Subsumption creates a hierarchy of preference …

Routing And Applications Of Vehicular Named Data Networking, Bassma G. Aldahlan

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

Vehicular Ad hoc NETwork (VANET) allows vehicles to exchange important informationamong themselves and has become a critical component for enabling smart transportation.In VANET, vehicles are more interested in content itself than from which vehicle the contentis originated. Named Data Networking (NDN) is an Internet architecture that concentrateson what the content is rather than where the content is located. We adopt NDN as theunderlying communication paradigm for VANET because it can better address a plethora ofproblems in VANET, such as frequent disconnections and fast mobility of vehicles. However,vehicular named data networking faces the problem of how to efficiently route interestpackets and …

Personality And Emotion For Virtual Characters In Strong-Story Narrative Planning, Alireza Shirvani

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

Interactive virtual worlds provide an immersive and effective environment for training, education, and entertainment purposes. Virtual characters are an essential part of every interactive narrative. The interaction of rich virtual characters can produce interesting narratives and enhance user experience in virtual environments. I propose models of personality and emotion that are highly domain independent and integrate those models into multi-agent strong-story narrative planning systems. I demonstrate the value of the strong-story properties of the model by generating story conflicts intelligently. My models of emotion and personality enable the narrative generation system to create more opportunities for players to resolve conflicts …

Toward Improving Physician/Patient Communication Regarding Invisible Chronic Illness (Ici): The Potential Of Mhealth Technology In Instructional Communication, Jami Leigh Warren, Karen Clancy, Christy F. Brady, Kendall Rump, Tayla New-Oglesby

Health and Clinical Sciences Faculty Publications

Patients that suffer from invisible chronic illness (ICI) such as autoimmune conditions, neurological conditions, and gastrointestinal problems often struggle to obtain a proper medical diagnosis due to a lack of objective indicators to help health-care providers diagnose patients with ICIs. Thus, researchers conducted interviews with 21 participants with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) to determine what messages they received from health-care providers as they pursued a diagnosis, how they interpreted those messages, and what role mHealth technology may play in improving patient/provider communication and effective diagnosis/treatment of ICIs. Several themes regarding potential instructional communication intervention content emerged from the interview …

Effects Of Covid-19 On Sports Program Offerings At Ncaa Division I Institutions, Jason Schlafer

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

COVID-19 on Sports Program Offerings at NCAA Division I Institutions 2 Executive Summary In the past 40 years, the cost of operating a competitive college athletics department that competes for an institution within a Power Five conference the highest level of intercollegiate competition- has risen drastically. Concurrently, opportunities to compete at the highest level have expanded, especially for women who now outnumber men in Division I athletics competition. As COVID-19 constrained revenue, five institutions from Power Five conferences have discontinued 23 sports programs to date. This paper addresses how decision makers determine which sports programs to eliminate and offers recommendations …

Developing Best Practices For Successful Public-Private Partnerships, Farishta Mccourt

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Many states and cities find themselves facing several serious long‐term public infrastructure challenges due to rising maintenance costs. Infrastructure funding gaps arose from an inefficient approach to public infrastructure development and operation. States and local governments were faced with unfunded pension obligations and as a solution, they diverted tax revenues away from the maintenance and growth of infrastructure. The 2008 economic recession occurred and compounded these problems. Budget studies indicated that states needed new policies and strategies to slow down the pace of spending on infrastructure maintenance as the recession started to subside, further exacerbating the infrastructure funding gap.1 This …

Communication Strategies’ Impact On Finances At Kentucky Higher Education Institutions During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jacob Most

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Kentucky public higher education institutions faced a financial cliff with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (Capilouto, 2021 Jan.). Campuses across the state closed in spring 2020, with the list of unknowns outnumbering the knowns by a significant margin (Monday, E., Blanton, J., and Kiser, K., 2021). In the face of an unknown future, administrations at Kentucky institutes of higher education relied upon communication strategies more than ever to outline Universities’ plans for reopening, reinvented operational plans, outlining contingencies, and fulfilling an invaluable role in efforts to test, contact trace and eventually vaccinate campus and broader community populations. This project …