Digital Commons Network^™

Relating Predator Community Ecology And Duck Nest Survival In Eastern South Dakota, Samantha R. Fino

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As conversion of native grasslands and wetlands to croplands continues in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR), managers are tasked with maintaining sustainable waterfowl populations. Mesopredator community dynamics is a hypothesized mechanism driving spatiotemporal variation of waterfowl nest survival in the PPR, yet studies often lack detailed information on mesopredator species occurrence and abundance. Therefore, understanding spatial and temporal variation in behaviors of mesopredators provides valuable insights for understanding predator-prey interactions between mesopredators and upland duck nests. Further, differences in a predator community resulting from lethal removal of dominant species may influence composition and space use patterns of subordinate and non-target …

Adaptive Learning Gain In Asset Pricing, Sedealy Juste Lokossou

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper delves into the complexities of asset pricing, emphasizing the need to go beyond prevailing paradigms and constant learning gain assumptions. We examine the influence of personal experiences, adaptive learning processes, and subjective return expectations on asset pricing. By incorporating the concept of time-varying learning gain, we provide a more realistic portrayal of asset pricing. Empirical analysis reveals a consistent negative correlation between experienced real payout growth and subsequent returns, indicating counter-cyclical behavior. Our findings also support the mean-reversion hypothesis in stock returns, although caution is needed due to some scenarios lacking statistical significance. Theoretical exploration uncovers that higher …

Tracking Nitrogen Mineralization In The Presence Of Biochar Utilizing Complementary-Method Assays In East Central South Dakota, Andrew Calvin Engel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding soil N transformations in agricultural systems of the Northern Great Plains is crucial for guiding effective soil and nutrient management of this vital cropland. While the use of biochar in agriculture has attracted great attention recently, little has been reported on the seasonal dynamics of soil nitrogen (N) transformation and its response to biochar application. A field experiment was conducted over 2 seasons, spring (6/3/19-6/24/19) and summer (7/26/19-8/16/19), using four treatments or control soil, urea (224 kg N/ha), biochar (46,250 kg/ha), and urea+biochar (224 kg N/ha and 46,250 kg/ha, respectively). The results for both seasons showed biochar had no …

Formulation Development And Targeted Delivery For Bcs Ii Drugs Using Hot Melt Extrusion Technology, Ahmed Almotairy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hot-melt extrusion (HME) is one of the approaches to formulate an amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) and has gained popularity within the pharmaceutical industry over the past three decades. Additionally, HME has the ability to produce several versatile formulations and its ability to tailor processing materials through modifications in the screw design and mixing and shearing forces or by controlling the material feed rate; additionally, HME allows processing at multiple temperatures and screw speeds. HME has advantages over traditional pharmaceutical processing techniques, including its ability for continuous operation and ability to implement quality by design (QbD) and process analytical technology (PAT) …

Formulation Development And Characterization Of Dual Drug Loaded Hot-Melt Extruded Inserts For Better Ocular Therapeutic Outcomes: Sulfacetamide/Prednisolone, Indrajeet Karnik

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this investigation was to formulate, characterize, and evaluate a bioadhesive, hot-melt extruded (HME), immediate- and extended-release ophthalmic inserts containing a fixed-dose combination of Prednisolone Sodium Phosphate (PSP) and Sulfacetamide Sodium (SA) to improve the treatment outcomes of multiple ocular bacterial infections. The HME inserts were prepared using FDA-authorized biocompatible polymers including Polyox WSR N10 LEO NF (polyethylene oxide; PEO), Klucel™ HF (hydroxypropyl cellulose; HPC-HF), and Ethocel™ (Ethylcellulose; EC). The inserts were then assessed for physicochemical characteristics, weight variation, surface pH, uniformity of thickness, drug content, swelling index, thermal analysis, drug–excipient compatibility, moisture uptake and loss, surface morphology, …

Mathematics And Special Education Co-Teaching In The Middle School: How Teachers Make Sense Of Their Partnership, Bethany Lavalley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Co-teaching is the practice of general educators and special educators sharing instruction in a general education setting to deliberately meet the needs of students with and without disabilities. Co-teacher research tends to focus on the processes of co-teaching, and little is known about how teachers go about creating a system of interconnected professional expertise that flexibly meets the diverse learning needs of students. This comparative case study examines the interpersonal and professional relationships of two co-teaching teams who were supported by their respective administration, who shared common planning time, co-instructed together in the mathematics classroom, and were engaged in a …

A Care Ethical Defense Of Intergenerational Obligations, Owen Spalding

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper argues that an ethic of care can justify an obligation or set of obligations to future generations. To do this, I analyze a comparable project by Thomas Randall and while ultimately agreeing with his basic conclusion, I show that he needlessly rejects arguments that would help to establish this obligation. Specifically, I defend against his critiques of Nel Noddings and Anca Gheaus. From here, I move on to show that an ethic of care centered on needs is more effective for making policy decisions than the sufficientarian model established by Randall.

Black Hole Entropy In The Causal Set Approach, Ayush Dhital

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Einstein’s field equations delineate the intricate dance between the geometry of spacetime and the energy-momentum. It is astonishing to realize how spacetime geometry is influenced by the presence of matter and energy and how this in turn affects the dynamics of matter in the spacetime background. Matter and energy are quantum mechanical in nature but the geometry of spacetime is a mathematical theory of a 4-dimensional pseudo-Riemannian manifold. Causal set theory is one of the approaches to reconcile quantum mechanics and gravity (an emergent property of spacetime geometry), and therefore it is an approach to quantum gravity. In this approach, …

A Multi-Scale Analysis Of The Hartselle Sandstone To Characterize Reservoir Properties And Inform Carbon Sequestration Feasibility, Xiaotian Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation takes multiple approaches to investigate lithology, depositional environments, diagenesis, and reservoir quality for petroleum and carbon sequestration in the Mississippian Hartselle Sandstone. The Hartselle Sandstone has been considered economically important for its viscous bitumen and natural gas reserves, with only minor attention given to potential oil reserves due to its low permeability. I proposed to reinvestigate the possibility of oil production from the Hartselle Sandstone, including a focus on the required elements of a conventional petroleum system. A detailed petrographic analysis recognized three lithofacies associations: beach lithofacies association, protected transgressive wave-dominated coast association, and unprotected transgressive tidal flat …

Predicting Microstructure Evolution In Alloys Using Deep Learning, Benjamin Mullins Rhoads

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Modeling the microstructure evolution and linking them to materials properties is critical in establishing processing-microstructure-property linkage in materials. In this project, the evolution of microstructure of Fe-C alloys is modeled using phase field simulations to understand the behavior of these alloys under various cooling temperatures and initial carbon concentrations. However, these simulations require significant computational resources. Therefore, in this thesis, a convolutional neural network (CNN) and gated recurrent unit (GRU) are coupled with phase field simulations to predict the solidification of Fe-C alloys. In addition to the data-driven approach, the solid-liquid interfacial energy is incorporated during the training process, giving …

Determining The Geochemical Variability Of Groundwater During Riverbank Filtration, Transfer And Injection In The Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer In Shellmound, Mississippi, Alexandra Megan Ward

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With long-term water level decline in the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial aquifer (MRVAA), the Groundwater Transfer and Injection Pilot project is analyzing the feasibility of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) to increase groundwater availability in the Delta region of Mississippi. The MAR method chosen for this project included pumping water from a well adjacent to the Tallahatchie River using riverbank filtration, transferring the water through a 2-mile pipeline, and injecting the water into the MRVAA. However, by transporting river water into the aquifer, the water quality must be examined at both the river extraction site and the injection well site. The …

On The Tensor Product Of Archimedean Riesz Spaces, Page Thorn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We characterize when, for any infinite cardinal α, Fremlin’s Archimedean Riesz space tensor product of two Archimedean Riesz spaces is Dedekind α-complete. We provide an example of an ideal I in an Archimedean Riesz space E such that the Fremlin tensor product of I with itself is not an ideal in the Fremlin tensor product of E with itself. On the other hand, we present conditions for which the Fremlin tensor product of ideals is an ideal and that the Fremlin tensor product of projection bands is a projection band.

Lastly, we prove that the Carathéodory space of place functions …

Ceremony On The Frontier: An Analysis Of A Thirteenth And Fourteenth Century Multi-Phase Mississippian Structure At The Carter Robinson Site, Lee County, Virginia, Taylor Greene

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Carter Robinson (44LE10, occupied from ca. A.D. 1200-1400) is a Mississippian mound site located on the frontier between the edge of the Mississippian world and the beginning of the Radford culture area in southwestern Virginia. Although several structures have been identified and studied in the past, only one structure has been featured intentional burning and reconstruction throughout the occupation of the site, and is designated as Structure 2. This structure is also unique due to its location at the site, on a small rise about 80-meters east of the mound, a construction area typically reserved for the homes of minor …

Negotiating Intersectional Identities In The Music Culture Of The Deeper Christian Life Ministries In Nigeria, If-Not-God Moses

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Christianity is the largest religion in the world with a population of over two billion. More than ever before, the rapid growth of this religion is getting more diverse due to a great variety of doctrines and practices that it accommodates. From the inception of Christianity, music has been prominent and a powerful bedrock of its religious worship. This thesis, underpinned by the paradigm of sound as a social structure as espoused by Steven Feld, examines the intersectional identities in the music culture of the Deeper Christian Life Ministries (DCLM) in Nigeria. This research aims to fathom the musical functions …

Novel Formulation Strategies For Oral And Ocular Drug Delivery, Samir Senapati

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nanoformulations such as nanoemulsions (NE), solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN), and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) are colloidal particulate systems in the submicron size range and act as carriers of drug molecules. Their size varies from 10 to 1,000 nm (1). The capacity of these nanoparticles to permeate through many anatomical barriers, the prolonged release of their contents, and their stability on the nanometer scale have widely contributed to their efficacy in drug delivery. Owing to the advantages of nanoformulations, they were further explored in our studies to target different diseases like Dry eye disease (DED), glaucoma, and malaria.

Chapter 2 discusses …

Support Experiences Of Beginning Teachers In An Alternate Route Graduate Program In Mississippi, Elizabeth Young Sweeney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Beginning teachers are the group of teachers most at risk of leaving the profession, while research has shown that novice teachers who receive support, such as mentorship or cohort programs, are more likely to continue to teach than those who do not. This study explored supports that beginning teachers in an alternate route graduate program in Mississippi experience and perceive as beneficial. A qualitative research design utilizing a phenomenological approach was used to explore the lived experiences of participants and supports they experience as beginning teachers. Thirteen beginning teachers, each teaching for less than three years, were interviewed using a …

Tidally-Induced Nonlinear Resonances In Extreme Mass Ratio Inspirals With An Analogue Model, David Bronicki

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The future space-based gravitational wave observatory LISA is expected to capture signals from extreme mass ratio inspirals (EMRIs), a new class of inspiral systems which current detectors are not sensitive to. Detection and characterization of EMRI systems requires long and accurate waveform models, which may require accounting for effects like those seen in the presence of an external tidal field. In particular, such a perturbation may break integrability of the system and cause significant dephasing. In this thesis, we use a Newtonian analogue of a Kerr black hole to study the effect of an external tidal field when the system …

Increasing Mathematics Proficiency And Growth Through Focused, Data-Driven, Professional Learning, Joye Camille Cullen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I aimed to improve elementary teachers’ mathematical instruction by enhancing their content knowledge and skills through the implementation of professional learning communities (PLCs) and professional development. The research design consisted of multiple evaluation steps conducted over time with a collaborative action plan the leadership team, mathematics specialist, and teachers developed. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from participating classrooms and were analyzed at different phases of the program evaluation.

The scope of the study addressed the lack of content knowledge among elementary teachers, which led to gaps in instruction and difficulties in explaining to students advanced mathematical …

Strengthening Tier One Instruction In The Mathematics Classroom By Increasing Teacher Mathematics Content Knowledge And Pedagogy, Cynthia Becton French

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this applied research study was to strengthen Tier I instruction within seventh and eighth-grade mathematics classrooms. This applied research study uses three elements; professional learning communities, consistent content-specific professional development, and increased student achievement to strengthen Tier I instruction in middle school mathematics and measure student academic growth. Interviews, surveys, statewide assessments, and benchmark scores were used in this study as measures for program success. Using these elements to support Tier I instruction can lead to increased student achievement in mathematics at the middle school level.

Design And Application Of Single And Multi-Gate Transistor-Based Analog Chaotic Maps, Maisha Sadia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rapid advancement in technology has led to an increase in security threats, such as side-channel attacks and reverse engineering, which can potentially leak sensitive data or code to malicious parties. To address these challenges, researchers harness the inherent complexity of chaos-based computing. Leveraging chaos offers several advantages, including logic obfuscation, mitigation of power analysis attacks, and encryption of images and data.

The motivation has been to design hardware-efficient circuits that meet modern systems’ power, area, and performance requirements and provide enhanced security. We have introduced our novel one-dimensional discrete chaotic map circuits, designed using a 45nm CMOS process, although the …

On Security And Privacy In Machine Learning, Thomas Cilloni

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years the use of social media platforms, surveillance cameras, and vision-enabled devices and services has increased exponentially. While the mere use of a device or service is not a privacy issue, Machine Learning use has also drastically increased, and it exposes a number of privacy and security threats, especially towards online users. Privacy legislation around the world prohibits to use of data unfairly, but the conversion of laws to technical applications is often subject to interpretation. Such ambiguity opens a gap for data owners to potentially misuse data, violating end users’ privacy.

The overall objective of this doctoral …

The Double Descent Behavior In A Two Layer Neural Network For Binary Classification, Chathurika Srimali Abeykoon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Machine learning and artificial intelligence have changed the world significantly in recent years. Its breakthrough innovations take machine learning to a whole new level where machines can learn to recognize tasks, inspired by the human brain's neural networks. The generally accepted belief about training these machines or models is that \larger models and more data are always better". In classical statistics, the test error is a \U-shaped" curve where the bigger and more complex models have higher test errors which is not favorable. But recent studies observed a surprising concept about test error called the double descent phenomenon where the …

Characterization Of Vibrational Response Of A Helical Coil Subject To Environmental Exposure And Structural Modifications, Nathan Hill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In an effort to fully characterize the response of a cylindrical helix, the heat and vibrational stresses are modeled using both simulations and experimental testing. The intent of this work is to identify the frequencies, shapes, and Q factors of the vibrational modes of the helix subject to different stimuli and evaluate changes due to environmental exposures and structural modifications. COMSOL Multiphysics is used to simulate the response of the helix under different boundary conditions. Experimental measurements of the response to impulsive and continuous wave stimuli are taken. The eigenfrequency data from the simulations and experiments are then compared for …

Development And Validation Of Different Analytical Techniques For The Quantification Of Cannabinoids And Cannflavins In Cannabis And Cannabis-Based Products, Mostafa Elhendawy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The main objective of this study is to modify, develop, and validate techniques for detecting and quantifying the levels of major and minor cannabinoids, along with their corresponding acids, in Cannabis sativa plants and certain marketed products. To achieve this goal, the research employs Gas Chromatography (GC), High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), and a novel spectroscopic method known as Absorbance-Transmittance Excitation Emission Matrix Spectroscopy (A-TEEM). Another study validated and applied the HPLC technique to analyze the unique class of flavonoids (Cannflavins) found in various parts of the cannabis plant, including leaves, buds, and pollen.

The A-TEEM method was developed and validated …

Development Of Gastroretentive Floating Pellets Using Hot Melt Extrusion, Mengwen Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work aimed to develop a novel gastroretentive floating drug delivery system based on non-effervescent technology using hot melt extrusion technology to synergize gastric floating and bioadhesion strategies to achieve extended drug release. All components of the formulations including the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) of the drug (theophylline), the polymers acting as a floating matrix and achieving the adhesive function (chitosan, HPC HF, HPMC K4M, and PEO N80), and the gas generating agent sodium bicarbonate were directly fed into the hot melt extruder to prepare the novel gastroretentive pellets. The uniformity of all formulations met the United States Pharmacopeia criteria. …

Teachers' Experiences Implementing The 2018 Mississippi College And Career Readiness Standards For Science, Lydia Lytal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers have had to use standards to teach with since the 1980’s. The CCRS has made a significant shift in how standards are written and the expectations of students in learning them. With the three-dimensional design, teachers are required to change their pedagogy in order to implement the standards with fidelity. That requires training, support, and resources for the teachers. The purpose of this study was to provide insight in the experiences of high school teachers in Mississippi as they implemented the standards. Additionally, the researcher revealed emotions related to implementation and differences related to teachers in a tested subject …

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On First-Time, Freshmen At Copiah-Lincoln Community College, Tiffany Perryman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Manuscript I of this dissertation in practice (DiP) explores the impact of the disruptions of the COVID-19 school year on the academic success of first-time, freshmen enrolled at a community college in Mississippi. The conceptual framework identifies the characteristics of community college students as well as indicators of student success at community colleges. The review of literature highlights the historical role of community colleges in higher education and the impact of COVID-19 on students, particularly first-time freshmen, attending community colleges. Manuscript II of this DiP serves as a formative evaluation to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student …

Detection Of Rayleigh Faded Signal Using Two Distributed Sensors, Sayantan Saha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Distributed detection(DD) is an area of interest in the Cognitive Radio(CR) Network domain. With the help of geographically dispersed sensors and a Fusion Center(FC) (i.e. the network element which generates the global network decision), a DD system can determine the presence or absence of a primary user signal. This prevents any harmful interference by a secondary user who is trying to gain access to the unoccupied spectrum opportunistically. DD system gained its popularity in spectrum analysis due to the limited bandwidth of the reporting channels between the sensors and their fusion center.

On Intersections Of Long Cycles And Paths In K-Connected Graphs, Philip Kains

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Interest in the cardinality of the intersection of two longest cycles is inspired by Scott Smith, who conjectured that in a k-connected graph, two longest cycles meet in at least k vertices. Grőtschel and Nemhauser, Grőtschel, and Stewart and Thompson proved Smith’s Conjecture for 2 ≤ k ≤ 8, and for general k, Chen, Faudree, and Gould proved that in a k-connected graph, two longest cycles meet in at least c0k3/5 vertices, where c0 ≈ 0.2615. In this dissertation, we study the intersection of two long cycles or two long paths passing through a specified linear forest subgraph in which …

Improving Act Mathematics Scores In A Rural Mississippi Independent School: An Applied Research Study, Michael Curtis Mccain Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents an applied research study focused on improving ACT mathematics scores in a rural Mississippi independent school. The study is designed to evaluate the effectiveness of increased mathematics instructional time and curriculum mapping on improving the percentage of students meeting the College Readiness Benchmark scores on the ACT mathematics subtest. The research focuses on two elements, instructional time and curriculum alignment. Students were assigned to a mathematics lab in addition to their standard curriculum mathematics course to increase the amount of mathematics instructional time. The curriculum of the mathematics lab was subsequently aligned to the ACT mathematics standards. …