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Genome-Wide Association Studies And Advanced Genomic Selection Strategies: Towards The Optimization Of Oat (Avena Sativa L) Breeding, Girma Ayana

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Oats are important cereal crops worldwide, primarily valued for their nutritional and health benefits. The primary goal of oat breeding programs is to accelerate genetic gain to develop oat varieties with the desired product profiles, with the aim of meeting the needs and expectations of growers, processors, and consumers. Achieving this goal involves conducting extensive and resource-intensive field trials, particularly for traits such as crop yield and grain quality, which are strongly influenced by environmental factors. The availability of cost-effective molecular markers and tools like genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and genomic selection have the potential to accelerate the oat breeding …

Characterization Of Parp1-Dependent Poly-Adp-Ribosylation Of Sprtn, Quincee Simonson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs) are a type of DNA lesion that form when proteins become covalently linked to DNA. It is estimated that replicating cells experience approximately 6,000 DPCs per day per genome during exponential growth (Ruggiano & Ramadan, 2021). If left unrepaired, DPCs can be lethal to cells. For this reason, cells have evolved multiple pathways to repair or bypass DPCs to survive. One such pathway involves SPRTN, a nuclear metalloprotease that plays a key role in the repair of DPCs through direct proteolysis (Lopez-Mosqueda et al., 2016; Vaz et al., 2016). Once SPRTN degrades the bulky protein component of …

Develop Biochar-Based Control Release Nitogen Fertilizers Using Biodegradable Polypropylene, Abdulkarim Aldekhail

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nitrogen (N) is an indispensable key nutrient for crop plant growth, health, and yield, which significantly affects crop productivity. N fertilizers are wildly utilized in agriculture. Managing N application stands as a necessity to achieve optimal crop yield. Urea is one of the most common N fertilizers in agricultural practices due to its high N content and cost-effectiveness. Due to its commercial scale, feasibility, and reliability, it is demonstrating potential as a medium to improve agricultural sustainability. However, economic challenges, and environmental pollution remain as setbacks. This research focuses on selecting cost-effective and environmentally friendly coating materials for the fabrication …

Evaluation Of Low-Cost Radiometer For Surface Reflectance Re-Trieval And Orbital Sensor’S Validation, Dinithi Siriwardana Pathiranage

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper evaluates the Arable Mark 2 sensor, an automated and low-cost radiometer, for its potential to retrieve surface reflectance data and validate orbital sensors such as the Landsat-8 (L8) Operational Land Imager (OLI) Level 2 product. While orbital sensors are widely used for monitoring solar radiation changes, managing natural resources, and understanding climatic trends, atmospheric effects can make it challenging to obtain accurate measurements. Equipped with multiple sensors, including long-wave and short-wave radiometers, the Arable Mark 2 sensor can measure upwelling and downwelling irradiance to calculate surface reflectance. To assess the accuracy and consistency of the Arable Mark 2 …

Seroprevalence Of Sars-Cov-2 Antibodies Among Rural Healthcare Workers, Jordan Neises

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this longitudinal cohort study was to determine the seroprevalence of antibodies to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARSCoV- 2) in healthcare workers employed at healthcare clinics in three rural counties in eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota from May 13, 2020 through December 22, 2020. Three blood draws were performed at five clinical sites and tested for the presence of antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Serum samples were tested for the presence of antibodies using a fluorescent microsphere immunoassay (FMIA), neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Spike-pseudotyped particles (SARS-CoV-2pp) assay, and serum virus neutralization (SVN) assay. The seroprevalence was determined …

Extraction, Characterization, And Utilization Of Yellow Pea Starch, Abdulmalik Albu Tuwaybah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dry peas, a leguminous crop, are one of the world's oldest crops, accounting for 35–40% of total pulse trade. Pea starch is an inexpensive source of starch since it can be obtained as a by-product of protein extraction. Recovering the starch from protein isolation streams (i.e., before or after) improves the environmental impact of the protein isolation process. The goal of the study was to transform low-value pea starch into highvalue starch through starch extraction and food application. Two methods of starch extraction were used (47.5% ethanol treatment and SC CO2 + EtOH extraction). Starch samples were analyzed for chemical, …

Extended Cross-Referenced Analysis Using Data From The Landsat 8 And 9 Underfly Event, Garrison Gross

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Landsat 8 and 9 Underfly Event occurred in November 2021, where Landsat 9 flew beneath Landsat 8 in the final stages before settling in its final orbiting path. An analysis was performed on the images taken during this event, which resulted in a cross-referenced with uncertainties estimated to be less than 0.5%. This level of precision was due in part to the near-identical sensors aboard each instrument as well as the underfly event itself, which allowed the sensors to take nearly the exact same image at nearly the exact same time. This initial calibration was applied before the end …

Quantitative Change Analysis Of Undisturbed Lands In Eastern South Dakota: 2012-2021, Riley W. Wollschlager

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The actual rate of loss of undisturbed prairie and woodland in eastern South Dakota is unknown, and the landscape composition of the region continues to change. Undisturbed land is land with no proven prior cropping or other disturbance history. Agriculture, development, recreation, and other land use practices create disturbances resulting in the further conversion of undisturbed prairies and woodlands. Previous work by South Dakota State University (SDSU) quantified the remaining undisturbed land in eastern South Dakota as of 2012 (Bauman et al 2016). Farm Service Agency (FSA) common land unit (CLU) and National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery were the …

A Study Of The Local Deep Galerkin Method For The Modified Cahn Hilliard Equation, Shi Wen Wong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Solving higher order partial differential equations (PDEs) can often prove to be a challenging task due to the involvement of higher-order derivatives of the unknown function, particularly for complex problems. The higher the order of the PDE, the more challenging it becomes to obtain an analytical solution. In such cases, alternative numerical methods are often used, such as finite element method or finite difference method. However, these methods can be computationally expensive and require a significant amount of mathematical expertise to implement. In recent times, there has been significant progress in applying neural networks to various fields, including the solution …

Building No-Tillage Maize Nitrogen Recommendation Algorithm That Considers Improvements In Soil Health, Dwarika Bhattarai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In long-term no-till fields, farmers have reported that less N is required to optimize maize (Zea mays L.) yields in long term no-tillage fields than conventional tillage fields. These reductions may be attributed to improved soil health resulting from increasing soil organic matter, higher soil microbial activities, and improved water and nutrient use efficiency. However, the impact of soil health measurements on fertilizer-N requirement has not been determined. The objective of this dissertation was to compare different regional N recommendation models to measured values and develop a maize fertilizer-N recommendation model, using machine learning approaches, that includes adjustments based on …

Impact Of Virtual Fence Technology On Yearling Steer Behavior, Performance, And Energetic Expenditure, Logan Riley Vandermark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Beef cattle production in the U.S. is largely dependent upon extensive rangelands like the Northern Great Plains. Solutions are needed to meet both the demand of animal-based protein products for a growing world population and the desire for producers to manage for several different ecosystem functions. Virtual fencing (VF) is an emerging precision technology that has the potential to revolutionize livestock management on extensive rangeland systems. However, the need to quantify animal behavior and performance differences using emerging precision technologies, like VenceTM, is ever growing. Thus, the objective of this research was to determine the impact of virtual fencing on …

Modulatory Effects Of Deacetylated Sialic Acids (A Sugar Residue) In Nk-Mediated Cytotoxicity And Targeted Therapy By Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors, Mathias Tawiah Anim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The complex nature of the biology of cancer is still an unraveling science, yielding several biomarkers that have served as molecular targets for detection and treatment of the disease. How sugars, glycans, play a role has remained relatively uninvestigated. Sialic acid (Sia), a sugar residue on the surface of cells, has been identified as a hallmark of cancer and its progression. Sialic acid can be highly functionalized, but we became interested in acetylated Sias. This functional group is modulated by Sialate O- acetylesterase (encoded by the gene SIAE) and Sialate O-acetyltransferase (encoded by CASD1), enzymes that play a crucial role …

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 …

The Development Of Dark Hyperspectral Absolute Calibration Model Using Extended Pseudo Invariant Calibration Sites At A Global Scale: Dark Epics-Global, Padam Bahadur Karki

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research aimed to develop a novel dark hyperspectral absolute calibration (DAHAC) model using stable dark targets of "Global Cluster - 36" (GC-36), one of the clusters from "300 Class Global Classification." The stable dark sites were identified from GC-36 called "Dark EPICS-Global" covering the surface types viz; dark rock, volcanic area, and dark sand. The Dark EPICS-Global shows a temporal variation of 0.02 unit reflectance. This work uses the Landsat-8 (L8) Operational Land Imager (OLI) , Sentinel-2A (S2A) Multispectral Instrument (MSI) , and Earth Observing One (EO-1) Hyperion data for the DAHAC model development, where well-calibrated L8 and S2A …

Comparison Of Self-Reported Depression And Anxiety Scores Between U.S. Households With And Without Children At Early And Later Stages Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Hanan Mohammed Eissa Jamali

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Parents in particular, are disproportionately affected by the 2019 coronavirus pandemic and the lockdowns that followed. Parents had to find a way to balance work, teaching, and taking care of their kids when schools were forced to close for safety reasons. While changes in parents' mental health have been the subject of a number of studies, there have been no studies comparing the level of depression and anxiety experienced by parents with and without children below the age of 18 years in the United States. Data for this study came from Households Pulse Survey (HPS) (week 2 N = 41,996; …

Aphid Parasitoid Wasps (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Aphidiinae) Of The Americas: Species Discovery, Key To Genera, Annotated Checklist, And Summary Of Biology, Abigail Paige Martens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Fighting For What Is Right: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Fan Campaign To Save Anne With An E From Cancellation, Marie E. Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Anne with an E fan campaign highlighted storylines of social issues that fans felt were important for society. Of particular interest to the fan community was a storyline from the series in which Anne and her friends organized a protest following incidents of sexual assault and censorship aimed at silencing girls from speaking out on gendered issues. This storyline was heavily referenced in the billboards that the fan-based campaign displayed in Toronto and New York City (Anne Nation, 2020). In this analysis, I used fantasy theme analysis (Bormann, 1972) and metaphorical criticism (Osborn, 2018) to conduct a visual and …

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 …

Efficacy, Durability And Design Of A Bucket Wheel Excavator For Icy Lunar Regolith, Austin Lohsandt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research project focused on the design and testing of a prototype bucket wheel excavator developed for NASA's Break the Ice Lunar Challenge, which sought innovative ideas for lunar excavation. Several attempts have been made by other universities and private industries to create systems that can successfully excavate simulated frozen regolith, however, few have been successful. The chosen excavation technology employed a bucket wheel concept inspired by large open-pit mining machines, modified to incorporate grinding nubs for pulverizing lunar simulant material. The goals included proving the viability of a bucket wheel excavator for lunar excavation, exploring grinding nubs, conducting durability …

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 …

Mechanical Properties Evaluation Of 3d Printed Petg And Pctg Polymers, Kalpesh Krishnarao Bhosale

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

3D printing is also known as additive manufacturing (AM) which has become a popular manufacturing trend over the years. Due to its unique advantages of fast production rate, ability to create complex geometrical features, toolless manufacturing and many more attracts various industries from Aerospace to general cosmetics. Along with the advancement in material science, various polymers including Polylactic Acid (PLA), Polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) and many more are available for 3D printing. Due to the wide range of applications in PLA, it is necessary to improve its toughness to make it more suitable by adding Poly Cyclohexylenedimethylene Terephthalate glycol (PCTG) …

The Effects Of Body Weight, Feed Intake, And Weather On Total And Liquid Water Intake In Growing Beef Cattle, Madison Rae Kovarna

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research conducted in the 1950s to determine water requirements utilized cattle that vary greatly from the animals being raised today. Additionally, most of the previous research has been conducted on animals being fed for slaughter, rather than bulls or reproductive females. The objective of this study was to analyze the effect of weather variables, dry matter intake (DMI), and body weight (BW) on total daily water intake (TDWI) and liquid daily water intake (LDWI) in growing beef bulls and heifers. Two contemporary groups of Angus and Simmental x Angus bulls and heifers over a two-year period were utilized in this …

Customer Experience With Service Robots In Hospitality And Tourism: Scale Development, Olena Ciftci

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: This study aims to create a measurement scale of customer experience with service delivered by robots in hospitality and tourism settings to address the industry need and gap in the academic literature.

Methods: This study follows a widely accepted psychometric procedure for scale development. The scale development consists of four stages: item generation, item purification, item reduction and dimensionality, and scale validation. The items for the scale are generated from the literature on customer experience with and perception of service robots in hospitality and tourism and semi-structured interviews with customers who experienced service from robots in hospitality and tourism …

Hotel Staycationers' Well-Being Perception, Satisfaction, And Loyalty: The Role Of Restorative Qualities And Service Quality, Chanmi Hong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a rising trend for travelers is to stay at a local hotel, known as "hotel staycations," rather than traveling outside of their area. Despite the increasing popularity, empirical studies on customer behavior in the hotel staycation context are limited. Furthermore, existing studies have largely overlooked restorative qualities and service quality of hotel staycations, which can significantly influence customer well-being and satisfaction. To address these gaps, this study aims to examine the impact of restorative qualities and service quality on customers' perception of well-being and satisfaction with the hotel staycation experience by extending Kaplan's (1995) attention restorative …

The Crisis Of White Supremacy In The Antebellum South: Poor Whites, Slavery, And The Coming Of The Civil War, Jeffrey Glossner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The so-called “poor whites” of the antebellum South have often been overlooked by historians due to their perceived insignificance to the political and cultural development of the South. However, within the context of the sectional debate over slavery, poor whites represented a disturbing presence for elite southerners who sought to defend slavery on the basis of white supremacy, a political platform built on the promise of universal white superiority. In order to defend the slave labor system from northern promises of white supremacy under free labor and to justify widespread southern white poverty, the architects of the antebellum southern cultural …

Combating Teacher Turnover Through Teacher Development In A Collaborative Culture Of Teacher Leadership, Nina M. Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This applied action research with program evaluation aimed to determine if teacher-led professional development and empowerment initiatives such as the Teacher Leader Collaborative (TLC) contributed to a group of teachers' efficacy and professional growth to reduce teacher turnover of English Language Arts (ELA) teachers at Bernard Williams Middle School (BWMS). Each year the middle school has a turnover trend in the ELA department. As a result, sustainable school improvement efforts have waned, and teachers have had limited access to professional growth initiatives because of these transitions. The outcome has led to student achievement challenges. Therefore, this applied research study comprises …

A Content Analysis Of State-Level Restorative Justice Statutes, Mason Karlyn Myers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Restorative justice programs have garnered attention as a potential policy solution to address critical issues within the criminal justice system, such as mass incarceration, re-victimization, and costliness. However, effective implementation of these programs faces various challenges, including communication gaps, inadequate program design, and implementation issues. These challenges may be further exacerbated by the lack of consistent policies at the state level guiding restorative justice practices. Surprisingly, limited research has been conducted to examine restorative justice statutes at the state level. In response to this gap in the literature, this study analyzes the restorative justice policies of all fifty states, including …

A Review Of Mental Health Intake Assessments In Mississippi Jails, Sierra Molina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over 64 percent of jail inmates report mental health concerns in the United States. Limited research, however, has explored the guidelines provided by jail facilities for screening and assessing mental illness. To address this gap in the literature, this study used a qualitative design to examine the intake policy guidelines for mental health screening in Mississippi jails. Furthermore, it explored the following questions to discover themes relating to correctional mental health: how many facilities have policies relating to screening for mental health symptoms; how are these guidelines defined by correctional officials; is there variation across location and facility; and are …

Plot Twist: Vomiting Is Good! Online Psychoeducational Intervention Among Internet Support Group Users, Jennifer Petell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Emetophobia is a specific phobia of vomit (SPOV) characterized by persistent and chronic symptoms with severe impairment across domains. Research on emetophobia is limited, with even fewer studies examining the impact of intervention. Available treatment studies have broadly been examined through behavioral interventions, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) of which psychoeducation is an important foundational component. The positive role of psychoeducation on symptom reduction has been examined among a variety of psychopathology, including anxiety disorders. However, to date, research has not examined the role of psychoeducation itself (psychoeducational intervention, PI) among specific phobias broadly or emetophobia specifically. Therefore, the …

Dark Personality, Sexual Satisfaction And Sexual Perceptions: An Event-Contingent Study, Jasmine Whitney Rios

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has consistently linked Dark Personality (DP) to one’s mating tendencies (e.g., mating strategy, sexual behavior, sociosexual orientation) and sexual motivation. However, DP researchers have failed to expand the association between DP and sex beyond these common sexual dimensions. As such, there is little to no research linking DP to people’s sexual satisfaction and sexual perceptions. Additionally, personality research has predominantly investigated sexuality at the global-level (e.g., average/general report of sexual satisfaction) when studying aspects of sexual interaction at the interaction-level (i.e., soon after the interaction) can reduce various issues that accompany global measures. Thus, one purpose of this current …