Digital Commons Network^™

Investigation Of Atmospheric Effects On Vapor Intrusion Processes Using Modelling Approaches, Elham Shirazi

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Most people in the United States (US) spend considerable amount of time indoors—about 90% of their time as compared to outdoors, which makes the US population vulnerable to adverse health effects of indoor air contaminants. Volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations are well-known to be higher in indoor air than outdoor air. One source of VOC concentrations in indoor air that has gained considerable attention in public health and environmental regulatory communities is vapor intrusion. Vapor intrusion is the process by which subsurface vapors enter indoor spaces from contaminated soil and groundwater. It has been documented to cause indoor air contamination …

Vocal Function Exercises For Normal Voice: The Effects Of Maximally Sustained Phonation, Mariah Elaine Morton

Theses and Dissertations--Communication Sciences and Disorders

Vocal Function Exercises (VFEs) is a well-known treatment program that consists of four exercises, in which the first and fourth tasks require maximally sustained phonation. However, the active ingredients responsible for treatment efficacy are still unknown. The primary purpose of this investigation was the explore the effects of maximally sustained phonation on the VFE outcome measure of maximum phonation time (MPT) in individuals between the ages of 18-40 with normal voice. Participants were randomized into three experimental groups that completed VFEs for six weeks. The baseline group sustained tasks one and four for as long as was achieved at the …

The Drugs/Violence Nexus: Theory Testing And Behavioral Health Factors Among Justice-Involved Appalachian Women, Grant Victor

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

This study examined the relationship between drug use and violence among justiceinvolved women in Appalachian Kentucky. Goldstein’s (1985) conceptual framework was used as a theoretical guide in formulating the drugs and violence relationships. Therefore, three types of drug use and violence relationships were explored, including: 1) psychopharmacological violence; economic-compulsive violence; and 3) systemic violence. Although these drug-related violence typologies have been investigated, little research has been devoted to rural justice-involved women. Moreover, to date no studies have examined how these drug/violence relationships might be associated with behavioral health factors. Ergo, there were three aims of the current study. First, to …

Reducing Survey Hypothetical Bias Through Revealed Behavior Priming: A Case Of Student Preference For Beef Served By University Dining, Gaby De Nascimento Mandlhate

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

Economists are still searching for methods to reduce/eliminate Hypothetical Bias (HB). Different methods have been previously applied some with success and others without. In this study, we aimed to further test the cognitive dissonance approach (CD) through a learning design method to estimate the WTP for five beef attributes: Non-quality, Kentucky Proud, Appalachian, Grass Fed and a mix of 25% Non-quality and 75% Kentucky Proud, using a one and one half bounded model. To test the CD, 881 participants from the University of Kentucky, were randomly assigned to a real/hypothetical market for a battery recycling project at first and afterwards …

Economic Impact Of Ethanol Biorefineries In The U.S. Midwest From 2001 To 2015: A Quasi-Experimental Approach, Scott W. Hall

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

The objective of this dissertation is to analyze the economic impact of newly operational ethanol biorefineries on rural counties in the U.S. Midwest region for the period 2001 to 2015 using a quasi-experimental approach. Rapid growth in the ethanol industry expanded the number of ethanol plants located in the U.S. Midwest from 54 in 2001 to 173 in 2015. Out of the counties with 119 new ethanol biorefineries, 97 counties met the general treatment criteria defined in this dissertation, but only 56 of those counties qualified for the rural treatment criteria. Counties with ethanol biorefineries that qualified for treatment were …

Defining Infidelity And Identifying Offending Spouses, Yabin Tang

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Research on infidelity has suffered from inconsistency in how infidelity has been operationalized across studies. This study was designed to advance methodological considerations for defining infidelity and identifying offending spouses. A subjective definition of infidelity was obtained from each respondent via both closed- and open-ended items. The open-ended responses were applied to explore the definition of infidelity. Additionally, an indirect questioning method was adopted to identify offending spouses according to their own subjective definitions of cheating and test the effectiveness of this approach relative to direct questioning for identifying offending spouses. Furthermore, gender differences in acknowledging infidelity through both direct …

Johnny Appleseed: Citizenship Transmission Laws And A White Heteropatriarchal Property Right In Philandering, Sexual Exploitation, And Rape (The Whp) Or Johnny And The Whp, Blanche Cook

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Title 8, United States Code, Section 1409-one of this country's

citizenship transmission laws-creates a white heteropatriarchal property right

in philandering, sexual exploitation, and rape (the "WHP"). Section 1409

governs the transmission of citizenship from United States citizens to their

children, where the child is born abroad, outside of marriage, and one parent is a

citizen and the other is not. Section 1409, however, draws a distinct gender

distinction between women and men: An unwed female American citizen who

births a child outside the United States, fathered by a foreign man, automatically

transmits citizenship to her child. An unwed male American …

Revising The Tax Law: The Tcja And Its Place In The History Of Tax Reform, Jennifer Bird-Pollan

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Tax reform in the United States seems like a nearly unending process.

Despite this nearly constant tweaking of the law, there has not been a major

revision of the tax law in the U.S. since the bipartisan efforts that led to the

1986 tax reform. The law known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (or "TCJA")

of 2017 (which most commentators continue to call it, and which title I will

use here, although the title was not formally enacted as part of the bill, leaving

the bill without an official name) represents the first major piece of tax

legislation …

Speaking Their Truth: Black Women's Perspectives On Executive-Level Administration In Higher Education, Tanja N. Bibbs

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

While Black women have etched a place for themselves as leaders within colleges and universities, few have advanced to the most senior levels of postsecondary administration and they remain underrepresented in those type of roles (Gamble & Turner, 2015; Jackson & Harris, 2007; West, 2015). Scholarly research has explored Black women’s experiences as institutional leaders (Davis & Maldonado, 2015; Smith & Crawford, 2007; Waring, 2003); yet the phenomenon of executive-level higher education administration, specifically as it relates to Black women’s perspectives, is not well known (Enke, 2014; Jean-Marie, Williams, & Sherman, 2009). Moreover, research that directs attention to Black women’s …

Fly Ash Composites, A Step Toward Pond Ash Composites, Kunigal N. Shivakumar, Wade H. Brown, Kazi A. Imran

Coal Combustion and Gasification Products Journal Archive

The study demonstrated that ash composites made from polyurethane and fly ash are able to reduce leaching of coal ash inorganics to less than one-third of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum containment limit even after being exposed to an accelerated water circulation system for 14 months. Even if these ash blocks are broken, the composite is safe. The concept of encapsulation of fly ash into ash composite by using a polar polymer to bind the fine inorganic particles, as nature has done in the original unburned coal, makes the ash composite safe. The ash composites have compression and f …

Phaselous Vulgaris Growth Under The Influence Of Manufactured Coal Ash Aggregates, Sangchul Hwang, Imiraily Hernandez, Isomar Latorre, Sahid Rosado

Coal Combustion and Gasification Products Journal Archive

Manufactured coal ash aggregates (MAs) are a 2:1 (w/w) solidified composite of fly and bottom ash. The current study assessed the feasibility of beneficial utilization of MAs as a subsoil substitute for open-pit restoration to phyto-viable land. A series of indoor and outdoor experiments examined Phaselous vulgaris growth under the influence of MAs in the soil environment. With the MAs layer below the topsoil, P. vulgaris showed enhanced growth with respect to shoot height, leaf number, and leaf chlorophyll intensity. Similar growth enhancement was observed when the MAs were mixed with topsoil or applied as a micronutrient source over the …

South Africa’S Power Producer’S Revised Coal Ash Strategy And Implementation Progress, Kelley Reynolds-Clausen, Nico Singh

Coal Combustion and Gasification Products Journal Archive

The South African electricity public utility Eskom has embarked on a process to increase utilisation of the ash produced through the electricity generation process at its coal-fired power stations. In the 2014–2015 financial year, 119.2 million tons of coal was consumed, producing 34.4 million tons (28.9%) of ash. About 7% of the Eskom ash is sold from 6 of the 13 coal-fired power stations. Many stations are currently running out of ash storage space, and expansion of the ash disposal facilities is required, which could affect security of supply because of limited ashing areas. Additionally, legislative requirements lead to extra …

Effects Of Naltrexone On Alcohol And Nicotine Use In Female P Rats, Usman Z. Hamid, Sarah E. Maggio, Meredith A. Saunders, Kimberly Nixon, Mark A. Prendergast, Richard L. Bell, Michael T. Bardo

Posters-at-the-Capitol Presentations

The objective of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of the opioid antagonist naltrexone at reducing the consumption of EtOH and nicotine in female alcohol-preferring (P) rats. P rats have been selectively bred to have a genetic predisposition for alcohol abuse, which allows them to be used as an animal model of alcoholism. P rats readily self-administer i.v nicotine (Le et al., 2016), have EtOH consumption during adolescence that is similar to that seen in adulthood, and operantly respond for EtOH until they are impaired/intoxicated (Bell et al., 2006). Thus, P rats are a useful model for studying …

Ambulance Service Ownership And Management: How It Affects Quality Of Service Delivery For Medicare Patients, Sookti Chaudhary, Kenneth R. Troske, Suzanne Troske, Alison Davis

Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise Working Papers

This study investigates how ownership and/or management affects ambulance services across the United States. We investigate whether ambulance quality, measured by patient transportation time, varies by organization type. We estimate the effect of ownership structure on response time variables using data from the National EMS Information System (NEMSIS) for the years 2010–2015, the most comprehensive data set on emergency medical services. Focusing on ground transportation (as opposed to air and water transportation) and on Medicare-eligible (age 65 years and older) patients, we find that, on average, ambulance services owned by fire departments respond faster than those managed by other types …

Live Ambience And Homestead Away From Home: Social Media Use And Dependency By Visiting Chinese Students In The United States, Zixue Tai, Jue Lu, Fengbin Hu

Journalism and Media Faculty Publications

This study investigates social media dependency relations among Chinese college students during their three-month study abroad sojourn in the United States. Data were collected using a multimethod approach of ethnography, field observation, and in-depth interviews. Inspired by the lens of media system dependency (MSD) theory, the analysis focuses on the diverse goals and motivations that drive student behavior in social media engagement, as well as various contextual factors leading students to adapt and transition to the U.S. social networking sites (SNS), and the subsequent outcomes. The findings indicate that task-driven and assignment-centered goals dominate social media use, and that multidimensional …

Berrycare: A Sustainable Community-Academia Nutrition Based Collaborative Program To Promote Well-Being In Older Adults, Abbey L. Moellering

Theses and Dissertations--Nutrition and Food Systems

With medical advancement and technology, generations are living longer. The process of aging is accompanied by development of chronic disease, reduced physical function, and increased risk of mortality. Older adults do not meet dietary requirements for fruits and vegetables due to lack of access, early satiety, socioeconomic factors, etc. Without proper attainment of fruit and vegetable recommendations, older adults are placed at risk of chronic disease. Interventions exist to help bridge the gap between older adult nutrition and currently established dietary guidelines. Built environments, such as community gardens, have received attentions in the public health arena as a successful way …

Screening For Alcohol Use, Misuse, Or Abuse In The Primary Care Setting Using The Audit-C Tool: An Extension Study, Courtney Amanda Minnis

DNP Projects

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to improve alcohol screening rates in one primary care setting by educating and supporting providers and office staff on the use of the Audit-C alcohol screening tool.

METHODS: This study design was a Quasi-Experimental intervention, one group post-test. Data was collected utilizing a retrospective chart review from the electronic medical records of adults over age 18 years by visit type: New Patient Visit, Annual Visit, or Employee Wellness Exam. Data included: demographic data of patient age, race, gender, the Audit-C score, and whether or not an intervention was performed.

RESULTS: Five providers …

Association Of Skeletal Muscle And Psychological Responses To Immobility After Major Injury, Jacob T. Higgins

Theses and Dissertations--Nursing

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the physical and psychological responses to the combination of major trauma (Injury Severity Score [ISS] > 15) and variable periods of immobility. Specific aims were to: 1) develop a conceptual model that illustrates physiological and psychological alterations that occur after injury and subsequent immobility, and their association with skeletal muscle responses and recovery; 2) evaluate daily measures of skeletal muscle strength (bicep and quadricep) using dynamometry and skeletal muscle (rectus femoris and biceps brachii) muscle thickness measured with ultrasound in patients after major trauma; and 3) assess the predictive ability of anxiety and …

Exploring Mechanisms Of Persistent Cognitive Deficits In Mice With Transient Hyperhomocysteinemia, Reeya Khanal

Neuroscience Scholars Theses

Hyperhomocysteinemia (Hhcy) has been found in the elderly and is considered a risk factor for several neurological diseases, especially Alzheimer’s and Vascular Dementia. Previous studies have found an increase in Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB) leakage, glial activation, neuronal damage, and cognitive deficit with elevated levels of plasma homocysteine. Lowering homocysteine could be an easy and inexpensive way to reduce the risk of dementia. But it is still not known for sure if reducing plasma homocysteine levels can recover cognitive function. In our transient Hhcy model, 28 mice were given Hhcy inducing or nutritionally matched control diet for 8 weeks and then …

Fraud Detection Protocol For Web-Based Research Among Men Who Have Sex With Men: Development And Descriptive Evaluation, April M. Ballard, Trey Cardwell, April M. Young

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background: Internet is becoming an increasingly common tool for survey research, particularly among “hidden” or vulnerable populations, such as men who have sex with men (MSM). Web-based research has many advantages for participants and researchers, but fraud can present a significant threat to data integrity.

Objective: The purpose of this analysis was to evaluate fraud detection strategies in a Web-based survey of young MSM and describe new protocols to improve fraud detection in Web-based survey research.

Methods: This study involved a cross-sectional Web-based survey that examined individual- and network-level risk factors for HIV transmission and substance use among young MSM …

2018 Kentucky Dental Workforce Update, Sydney P. Thompson, Melissa Slone, Frances J. Feltner

Center of Excellence in Rural Health Workforce Reports

The perception that oral health is in some way less important than and separate from general health has been deeply ingrained in the American consciousness. Many Americans are unaware of ways to preserve oral health and may not recognize signs indicating they are in trouble. Poor oral health can contribute to various diseases including endocarditis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Kentuckians often fair worse on a multitude of health measures, especially rural Kentuckians. According to the 2019 County Health Rankings data, when compared to US averages, Kentuckians are more likely to smoke (18% vs 23%), be obese …

Implementation And Analysis Of True Lean In A Startup Company By Using Pdca Model, A Case Study In A Manufacturing Venture, Ankit Jangid

Theses and Dissertations--Manufacturing Systems Engineering

The purpose of this research is to implement and analyze the true lean transformation in a manufacturing start-up organization. Often, lean transformations are observed in developed manufacturing organizations having sophisticated production lines and numerous employees, where lean tools are utilized to reduce waste while increasing profit. However, this type of transformation is narrowly focused on quantifiable process results and falls short of the ultimate goal, establishing a true lean culture within the organization. As a result, it is recommended that true lean principles, philosophies, culture, operations environment and tools be applied at the very beginning stages of an organization, or …

Investigation Of Chip-Form And Tool-Wear In Turning Of Hardened Af9628 Alloy Under Various Cooling And Lubrication Conditions, Jason Wolf

Theses and Dissertations--Manufacturing Systems Engineering

Next generation defense and commercial applications for structural steels require new alloys that eliminate or reduce critical elements from their composition to lower cost and improve manufacturability, while maintaining or exceeding high strength and toughness requirements. A new alloy, denoted as AF9628, has recently been developed for this purpose and its manufacturing characteristics and the material response in component manufacturing must be fully understood.

In the present study, hardened AF9628 alloy was turned with a coated carbide cutting tool under fixed cutting speed, feed rate, and depth of cut parameters. This work focuses on chip-form and tool-wear analysis to understand, …

Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky: Annual Technical Report 2018, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky

KWRRI Annual Technical Reports (USGS’s 104b Grant Program)

In 2018, KWRRI launched a new website, https://www.research.uky.edu/kentucky-water-resources-research-institute, to better meet the needs of its stakeholders. KWRRI also established a repository for KWRRI’s reports, https://uknowledge.uky.edu/kwrri/. The repository includes historical KWRRI reports, annual symposium proceedings, technical reports, and the Water Distribution System Research Database. During the reporting period, KWRRI produced two editions of its semi-annual newsletter (Spring 2018 and Winter 2019). The newsletter provides updates, facilitates information sharing, and increases communication among those in the Kentucky water community. The 2019 Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium was held on March 25, 2019, in Lexington, Kentucky. The day-long symposium, attended by …

Metabolism Reprogramming In Hexavalent Chromium-Induced Human Lung Carcinogenesis, James Tate Fortin Wise

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences

Hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), is an established human carcinogen that is a worldwide environmental health concern. It is well understood that reactive oxygen species, genomic instability, and DNA damage repair deficiency are important contributors to Cr(VI)-induced carcinogenesis. After decades of research some cancer hallmarks remain understudied for the mechanism of Cr(VI) carcinogenesis. Dysregulated cellular energetics have been established as a hallmark of cancer. Energy pathways that become dysregulated in cancer include mitochondrial respiration, lipogenesis, pentose phosphate pathway, one carbon metabolism, and increased anaerobic glycolysis in the presence of oxygen or ‘Warburg effect’.

To investigate metabolism changes in Cr(VI) carcinogenesis, we exposed …

Not For The Taking: Murr V. Wisconsin And The Denominator Problem, Colton L. Adams

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

Immigration Or Alienage? How States Can Legislate To Protect Undocumented Agricultural Workers, Adam Hutchinson

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

Smoky Grapes: Why The Risk Of Smoke Exposure Should Modify Grape Contracts, Kelly Ball

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

The Absolute Insurer Rule: An Unconstitutional And Ineffective Means Of Mitigating Illegal Equine Drugging In The “Sport Of Kings”, Brian Calhoun Mundell

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

Lasix Is A "Failed Experiment": Why The United States Should Follow Other Countries And Ban Lasix, Caitlyn Barnes

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.