Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Off-Season Fall-Winter Farm Field Flooding On Nitrogen Gas Production, Andrew Rosson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increased nitrogen (N) fertilizer use and cultivation of N-fixing crops have dramatically increased agricultural N inputs to the global N cycle. Excess N on agricultural lands is highly susceptible to loss through runoff or atmospheric emissions, potentially as a greenhouse gas (GHG). Nitrous oxide (N2O), a GHG with a warming potential ~300 times that of carbon dioxide (CO2), primarily enters the atmosphere through denitrification, which converts bioavailable nitrate (NO3-) to inert nitrogen gas (N2), with N2O as an intermediate. Wetlands are crucial for de-nitrification and N regulation due to their wet, anoxic soils, but have declined worldwide, including substantial losses …

Perceived Linguistic And Non-Linguistic Barriers Facing Saudi Female Partners Learning English, Samah Mohamad Dulli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The partners of the Saudi students who come to the United States on scholarships to earn a degree (Bachelor's, Master's, or Ph.D.) are eligible for full scholarships as well. However, most of them fail to proceed in earning a degree or fulfill the language proficiency requirement needed to join an academic degree program. This study surveys between 10 to 20 adult female partners of Saudi university students to elicit their opinions on how much English they think they will learn during their partner scholarship time in academic and non-academic settings. This study investigates the female partners of the Saudi degree …

Punishing Poverty: An Examination Of Financial Disadvantage And Out-Of-School Suspension, Joshua Rosenbaum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

School suspension is often a response by officials to address deviant behavior within the school setting. While studies have examined various causes and consequences of school suspension, there is a dearth of literature focusing on the effects of financial disadvantage on school discipline (i.e., school suspension). Given that out-of-school suspension is a reliable predictor of juvenile justice involvement later in life, it serves as an important outcome variable in preventative criminology. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), the purpose of the current study is to analyze the relationship between financial disadvantage and …

Ftir Microspectroscopy For The Investigation Of Microplastic Pollution, Automotive Paint Layers, And Prehistoric Rock Paint With An Emphasis On Analytical Method Development, Kendall Wontor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The research detailed in this dissertation centers on the development of new analytical methods using chemical imaging microspectroscopy, primarily μ[micro]-FTIR, for applications in environmental, forensic, and archeological chemistry. The state-of-the-art instrument (LUMOS II) used in this research combines optical microscopy with IR spectroscopy, allowing sample visualization during FTIR imaging and micro-analysis.

Chapter 1 serves as an introduction and provides background detail on the instrumentation and technique. Chapter 2 describes the use of fluorescent microscopy to quantify microplastics (MPs) in oysters from the Mississippi Sound. High concentrations of putative MPs were found, with sites inside bays near population centers displaying higher …

The Higher Ed Forgotten: Experiences And Perceptions Of Face-To-Face Bipoc Administrators During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Dana Evans

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explores the experiences of academic administrators during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the impact of institutional racism on their professional lives. The study specifically investigates the challenges faced by administrators from diverse racial backgrounds in navigating institutional responses to the crisis. The research aims to develop a comprehensive plan that can be implemented at the local level in educational institutions and subsequently modeled and implemented nationally, a plan that can uphold sustainable structures, processes, and best practices for administrators during crises.

Breaking Old: Trends And Adverse Events Of Prescription Stimulant Use In Older Adults, Saumil Jadhav

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examined prescription stimulant medication (PSM) use among older adults in the United States from 2012-2020 by (1) assessing annual prevalence and describing clinical characteristics and treatment patterns among new PSM users, (2) evaluating the association between PSM initiation and risk of adverse events such as stroke, myocardial infarction, and all-cause mortality, and (3) analyzing trends in the concomitant use of PSMs and antidepressants. The study utilized 5% national sample of Medicare administrative claims from 2012-2020.

First, the study identified an increase in the annual prevalence of PSM use from 0.44% in 2012 to 0.63% in 2020 among older …

Addressing Teacher Stress Levels To Implement A Social Emotional Learning Program For Teachers, Kourtney Mcdowell-Bush

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers have endured work-related stressors daily to provide the best educational experience to students. This applied research study addressed teacher stress levels to implement a teacher centered social emotional learning (SEL) program. This study was collaborative and involved teachers, administrators, and district staff who worked together to develop, implement, and evaluate the action plan. There was a teacher team which included teachers from different grade levels who also completed the teacher stress survey. This teacher team met to provide an in-depth insight into teacher stressors. The teacher team with the assistance of the administrators worked to develop an SEL professional …

Essays On State Lotteries, Adedayo James Ogunniran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores how two major factors—gasoline prices and inflation—may influence state lottery revenues, with each factor examined in a separate essay. The first essay investigates the relationship between gasoline prices and lottery ticket revenues at gas stations. As the largest retailers of lottery tickets, gas stations play a crucial role in the lottery market. However, the relationship between gasoline prices and lottery ticket revenue has received very little attention. To address this gap, the essay analyzes weekly gas station-level data from four states—Texas, Florida, Illinois, and New York—over a 52-week period. The structural panel vector autoregression (PSVAR) approach yields …

Bacterial Metallophores As Potential Agents In Heavy Metal Bioremediation, Mohammed Ahmed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Heavy metal pollution is a significant threat to human health and the environment. Bacteria have evolved diverse mechanisms to adapt to these pollutants, including the secretion of small molecules called metallophores. Bacterial metallophores are metabolites excreted in response to toxic metal stress to protect the bacterial cell. These small molecules have shown versatility in potential applications for the remediation of heavy metals. This research focuses on constructing a library of bacterial metallophores, which will facilitate the assessment of their metal-binding properties when exposed to different metals. The study has two main areas of investigation: Firstly, it involves isolating and characterizing …

Exploring African American Female Students' Choice Of Stem Major At Rust College, Shatara Hall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In comparison to the rest of the United States population, African American women are undeniably inadequately represented in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). As one of the oldest historically black colleges in Mississippi, Rust College has the social responsibility to increase the presence and contributions of minorities in STEM. Since the enrollment of African American females is greater than that of African American males at Rust College, the college has the fortuity to assist in increasing the diversity in STEM for both race and gender. This DIP utilizes Intersectionality Theory as the conceptual foundation to explore …

Essays On The Greek Debt Crisis And The Welfare Paradox In The Lucas Natural Rate Model, Liandong Yang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation includes two projects, one on the Greek debt crisis and the other on the welfare in the Lucas natural rate model.

The first chapter discusses the origin of Greek debt crisis. The Greek debt crisis stands out as a compelling case study of a severe financial crisis in a developed country within a currency zone. Despite the abundance of literature on the subject, the significance of debt accumulation in the 1980s is often overlooked, and details are frequently omitted. Through an analysis of data gathered from Greek government’s public finance statistical yearbooks spanning from 1962 to 2008, I …

Il-17a Inhibitors For The Treatment Of Psoriasis, Mangesh Bankhele

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Psoriasis is a long-lasting skin condition caused by the immune system, which is characterized by red, scaly areas. It mainly affects the scalp, elbows, knees, and lower back. Psoriasis, which affects around 2-3% of the world's population, has a substantial influence on the quality of life of people who suffer from it. The disorder arises due to an atypical immunological response in which the immune system mistakenly attacks skin cells, causing fast cell reproduction, inflammation, and excessive growth. Psoriasis can be treated with topical therapies, systemic drugs, and biologics. Topical therapies, including corticosteroids, vitamin D analogs, and retinoids, are commonly …

Juvenile Coping And General Strain Theory, Peyton Conner Stephenson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to quantitatively assess the impact of victimization on behavioral and emotional outcomes among a sample of adolescents detained within the juvenile justice system. Specifically, the study focuses on understanding the relationship between reports of victimization (e.g., being beaten up or threatened) and maladaptive coping mechanisms, such as involvement in fighting. To do so, Agnew’s (1992) General Strain Theory (GST) and the Pains of Imprisonment are adopted as frameworks for understanding the role of strain or stressors in prompting deviant behavior as a coping mechanism. This study uses secondary data from the Northwestern Juvenile Project …

Developing And Validating A Novel Screening Instrument For General Psychological Distress, Steven M. Bishop

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study presents the results of both factor analyses in developing the General Psychological Distress Screener (GPDS), and provides preliminary data of its predictive validity. As a new screening instrument, the GPDS assesses mental fatigue and emotional distress in adults and predicts certain psychiatric disorder diagnoses. Drawing upon network analysis principles, two studies were conducted to construct and refine the GPDS. Study 1 identified the variable constructs from psychopathology networks that were used in Study 2. Study 2 used principal axis factoring to develop a 4-factor solution, which was subsequently reduced to a 2-factor model for improved interpretability. Confirmatory Factor …

The Effects Of Technology-Enhanced Learning On Radiologic Sciences Student Engagement, Zack Gray

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the multifaceted connection between technology-enhanced learning (TEL) and student engagement, with a specific emphasis on student perceptions, attitudes, and distractions associated with technology usage in the classroom. Recognizing the increasing prevalence of technology in educational settings, this study seeks to understand how students perceive technology in the learning environment and how these perceptions influence their attitudes toward its use. The research framework is anchored in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), providing a theoretical lens to assess the cognitive factors influencing student behavior.The study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining surveys and observations to gather comprehensive insights into …

Investment Decisions Of Institutional Investors, Sunghan Bae

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the first essay, we investigate whether social preference affects institutional investors’ socially responsible investing (SRI) by examining US insurance firms. Prior literature suggests that investors value firms’ socially responsible endeavors and are willing to sacrifice financial gains when conducting SRI. We show that, on average, insurers allocate less weight to securities with high ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) scores. However, a subset of insurers with high Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) scores overweight high ESG securities. Moreover, we find that insurers with high CSR scores experience positive abnormal returns when they invest in high ESG stocks. This indicates that insurers …

Understanding Angler Responses To Fish Stocking Programs Across South Dakota, Riley L. Mounsdon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fisheries management is a complex process that often requires consideration of many factors to be implemented effectively. Stocking is one of the most often used fisheries management techniques for addressing a myriad of issues in the fisheries field. Stocking is also one of the largest expenses for many fisheries management agencies. Due to license sale declines, management actions including stocking, are being evaluated by many agencies to determine if there are ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness to reduce costs and enhance angler participation. For my second chapter, I evaluated the current fish stocking decision-making process within South Dakota Game, …

Nutrient Intake, Performance, And Body Composition In Preseason Wrestlers, Gregory Coapstick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

BACKGROUND: College athletes, especially in weight class sports, often experience energy deficits. Weight class sports such as wrestling are at greatest risk for deficiencies, and little is known about the relationships between body composition, nutrient intake, and performance in these athletes.
OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this study were to quantify macronutrient and micronutrient intake of pre-season male collegiate wrestlers and compare to recommendations, and examine relationships among nutritional intakes, body composition, and performance measurements of strength, anaerobic, and aerobic capacity.
METHODS: Male Division I wrestlers (n=11, mean ± SD age: 21.3±1.7 years, wrestling experience: 14.9±2.5 years) were recruited during preseason. …

Influence Of Reduced Salt In Fully Cooked Ham And Sausage Cured With Natural Celery Powder On The Growth Of Listeria Monocytogenes At 4⁰C, Anne Sherod

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research evaluated the influence of reducing salt on outgrowth of L. monocytogenes on ready to eat (RTE) deli-style sliced ham cured with natural celery powder, fully cooked sausage links cured with traditional sodium nitrite and sausage links cured with natural celery powder, vacuum packaged and stored at 4⁰C on the outgrowth of L. monocytogenes. Experiment 1 evaluated L. monocytogenes outgrowth on ham over 153 days on the following treatments, current retail ham (HC) 2.0% salt; reduced salt 1 (HRS1) 1.5% salt; reduced salt 2 (HSR2) 1.35% salt; and reduced salt 2 without antimicrobials (HRS2WA) 1.35% salt without potassium lactate …

Scaffold Hopping For The Lead Optimization Of The Orally Active Antileishmanial Pyrrolo-Quinazoline Alkaloid Natural Product Peganine, Sunitha Jada

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Leishmaniasis is a protozoan parasitic disease caused by the species Leishmania that affects millions of people around the world. It is a serious public health concern in the developing world with about 1 million cases and 70,000 fatalities occurring each year. It has several forms with visceral, and cutaneous leishmaniasis being the most common forms of the disease. Visceral leishmaniasis, caused by the Leishmania donovani occurs mainly in Brazil, Eastern Africa, and India, and is fatal if left untreated. The current treatments for leishmaniasis such as pentavalent antimonials, amphotericin B, miltefosine, paromomycin, pentamidine, and some azoles suffer from serious drawbacks. …

Various Surfactant Soil Conditioner Effect On Plant Nutrient Concentration, Soil Nutrient Depletion, Soil Volumetric Water Content, Plant Biomass And Yield In Corn, Timothy Veldkamp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Soil conditioners help improve soil structure by increasing aeration, water infiltration and water holding capacity leading to nutrient availability and reduced irrigation needs. The goal of this study was to evaluate the impact of multiple soil conditioners (SC1, SC2, SC3, SC4, and SC5) on corn (Zea mays L.) and their ability to reduce irrigation by 30%. This was evaluated in the field in 2022 and 2023 by Aurora, SD using a Randomized Complete Block Design with six replications. Conditioners were applied as broadcast pre-emergence treatments with 70% irrigation. Control treatments of 70% and 100% irrigation, respectively were included. SC1 application …

Optimizing Large Language Models And Multimodal Approaches For Biomedical Publication And Satellite Imagery, Youngsun Jang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation comprises two main sections: the first focuses on natural language processing (NLP) for extracting key information from scientific literature using large language models (LLMs), and the second addresses remote sensing for detecting natural disasters, such as floods, from satellite imagery using a multimodal approach. The first section investigates methods to enhance Transformer-based models in classifying and extracting information from biomedical scientific publications. Key contributions include the development of a custom dataset for classification and Question and Answering (Q&A) tasks, fine-tuning Transformer models like the Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) and addressing multi-span answer issues with the TAg-based …

Genetic And Ecologic Effects Of Seed Dormancy Genes On Seed Aging, Soil Seedbank Longevity, And Microbiome In An Isogenic Background Of Rice ( Oryza Sativa L.), Bhupinder Singh Batth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Whole Genome Crispr-Cas9 Screens Identify Genes Contributing To Viral Entry And Phagocytosis, Md Saddam Hossain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

CRISPR/Cas9 is a revolutionary technique for genome editing where Cas9 nucleases can be targeted to specific genomic sites by single-guide RNAs (sgRNAs) containing roughly 20-nucleotide sequences that are complementary to the target region. Double strand breaks created by Cas9 are repaired through non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) in most cells, resulting in insertions and deletions leading to frame shift mutations in coding regions. Thus, the CRISPR-Cas9 system can be exploited for systematic evaluation of gene function relationships by whole genome screening. We also developed a CRISPR whole‐genome screen and counter‐screen strategy based on a pseudoviral platform that allowed identification of genes specific …

Impacts Of Starter Fertilizer On Corn Development, Nutrient Uptake And Grain Yield In Eastern South Dakota, Larousse Dorissant

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cold and wet spring conditions during planting in the Northern Corn Belt can limit nutrient mobility, especially phosphorus (P) due to reduced mineralization. This often triggers the use of starter fertilizers to enhance nutrient availability within the root zone, and as a result improve nutrient uptake and the overall plant growth. Albeit research has shown that starter fertilizer applications can significantly boost corn grain yield potential, the most substantial yield responses from starter fertilization are typically observed in fields where soil test P levels fall below the critical soil test P threshold. This dissertation explores i) the effects of starter …

Analysis Of Toxic Chemical Agents And Therapeutics For Toxic Inhaled Agents’ Exposure, Khadija Bilkis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When inhaled, toxic inhalation agents (TIAs) such as cyanide (CN), ammonia and sulfur compounds (e.g. methanethiol (MeSH)) can be fatal. Many TIAs cause cellular hypoxia, cytotoxic anoxia, apnea, respiratory failure, neurodegenerative disorder, circulatory collapse, seizures, and potential death by blocking mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase. All TIA’s have the potential to be employed as chemical warfare agents, terrorist weapons, or dangerous occupational gases. Although many TIAs are potential threats, there are minimal FDA-approved treatments for these substances useful in a mass-casualty situation. Recently, cobinamide (Cbi) has come to light as a potential antidote for MeSH poisoning. However, methods for analyzing MeSH …

Application Of Hot-Melt Extrusion Technology For The Preparation Of Carbamazepine Extended-Release Tablets, Chamundeswara Srinivasa Akash Kalla

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Carbamazepine (CBZ) is an anti-convulsant and specific analgesic for trigeminal neuralgia that reduces polysynaptic responses and blocks post titanic potentiation. Moreover, CBZ is effective in partial and generalized convulsions and mixed types. It is not effective in petit mal seizures. Carbamazepine extended-release tablets are used to treat episodes of mania (or) mixed episodes i.e., symptoms of mania and depression that happen at the same time, in patients with bipolar disorder. The present study was designed to develop CBZ extended-release tablets with acrylic acid-based polymer (Eudragit® RL PO) using a melt granulation and to match the USP dissolution test specification. Thermal …

More Than A Feeling: Materializing Sympathy In Nineteenth-Century American Literature, Kathleen Downes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

“More than a Feeling: Materializing Sympathy in Nineteenth-Century American Literature” breaks from a long tradition of criticism that only considers the nineteenth-century belief that sympathy was a benevolent, voluntary, imaginative act of feeling that maintains moral rectitude through the identification of suffering with others. In this context, sympathy is primarily defined as identificatory sympathy. “More than a Feeling” expands the definition of sympathy in the nineteenth century as also something that could be atmospherically communicated, transmitting good or bad feeling, and thus affecting and infecting those around them. This other form of sympathy, which for this project I term “effluvial …

Formulation Development And Characterization Of Isoniazid-Pyridoxine Combination Gummies Using An Extrusion-Based 3d Printer, Aditi Rajendra Holkunde

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to formulate and evaluate Isoniazid-Pyridoxine-loaded gummies for use in a population ranging from pediatric to geriatric and to study the applicability of BIO X 3D printer in printing gummy formulations. Semisolid extrusion (SSE) 3D printing is an emerging technology in personalized medicine. To address clinical multi-dose requirements, SSE has been explored to manufacture new preparations. In this study, Isoniazid (INH) and Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (PDX) were used to make gummy formulations for use in the treatment of Tuberculosis. A suitable semisolid mixture for SSE was prepared and incorporated into the BIO X 3D printer for extrusion-based 3D printing …

Mapping In/Exclusion: Queer Identity In Oxford, Mississippi, Julia Kraus

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis employs a mixed methods approach to investigate LGBTQ communities in Oxford, Mississippi, within the unique context of the Bible Belt panopticon. Through an examination of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Oxford (UUCO) and Oxford Pride, the study delves into the themes of visibility and surveillance, resistance and subversion, community and identity, and institutional interactions and impacts. The research is grounded in seven original interviews with UUCO members, providing nuanced insights into the functioning of LGBTQ communities within a conservative environment. Additionally, the creation of a podcast episode titled “Queering Oxford: the Long Path to Pride” offers an innovative …