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Nanoscale Functional Imaging By Tailoring Light-Matter Interaction To Explore Organic And Biological Systems, Negar Otrooshi Jan 2019

Nanoscale Functional Imaging By Tailoring Light-Matter Interaction To Explore Organic And Biological Systems, Negar Otrooshi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Probing molecular systems with light has been critical to deepen our understanding of life sciences. However, conventional analytical methods fail to resolve small quantities of molecules or the heterogeneity in molecules assembled into complex systems. This bottleneck is mostly attributed to light diffraction limit. In recent years, the successful implementation of new approaches to achieve sub-wavelength chemical speciation with an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) has paved the way to a deeper understanding of the effect of local composition and structure on the functional properties of a larger scale system. The combination of infrared light, to excite the vibrational modes of …


Spatial Models With Specific Error Structures, Nathaniel Adu Jan 2019

Spatial Models With Specific Error Structures, Nathaniel Adu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to study the first order autoregressive model in the spatial context with specific error structures. We begin by supposing that the error structure has a long memory in both the i and the j components. Whenever the model parameters alpha and beta equal one, the limiting distribution of the sequence of normalized Fourier coefficients of the spatial process is shown to be a function of a two parameter fractional Brownian sheet. This result is used to find the limiting distribution of the periodogram ordinate of the spatial process under the null hypothesis that alpha …


Perceptions Of Health Coaching And Its Associations With Personality Style And Weight Loss In Meal Replacement Program Participants, Bailey Judith Larson Jan 2019

Perceptions Of Health Coaching And Its Associations With Personality Style And Weight Loss In Meal Replacement Program Participants, Bailey Judith Larson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: To determine if personality style is related to perceptions of health coaching and if there is a relationship between perceptions of health coaching and the ability to lose weight. Methods: Data was gathered from approximately 2,000 MR program participants via an electronic survey. The Client Evaluation of Motivational Interviewing scale was used to determine if perceptions of health coaching affect the ability to lose weight. The Ten Item Personality Inventory was used to determine if personality style is associated with the perception of health coaching. Self-reported start weight and current weight were used to calculate percent of starting weight. …


Some Studies On Leaf Spot Of Oats And Triticale, Mohammed Abdullah Lashram Jan 2019

Some Studies On Leaf Spot Of Oats And Triticale, Mohammed Abdullah Lashram

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Oat is an important cereal crop, and it is considered to be among the highest used in cereal crops. It is considered among the healthiest grains due to the rich source of the soluble fiber, β-glucan that helps in lowering the cholesterol. Oat production and demand have increased considerably in the past few years due to its health benefits. South Dakota is ranked in the top three largest oat-producing states in the USA. Oat is relatively less susceptible to pest and diseases except for leaf diseases such as crown rust, Drechslera avenae leaf spot, and Stagonospora avenae leaf blotch. Leaf …


Development And Evaluation Of Vaccine Candidates For Senecavirus A, Bishwas Sharma Jan 2019

Development And Evaluation Of Vaccine Candidates For Senecavirus A, Bishwas Sharma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Senecavirus A (SVA) has been associated with several outbreaks of vesicular disease (VD) since 2014 in major swine-producing countries around the world. The virus causes VD that is clinically indistinguishable from foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in pigs. Currently there are no commercial vaccines available for SVA. Here, we developed a live attenuated SVA strain by mutating a wild type SVA strain SD15-26 (wt SVA). The live attenuated virus, rSVA mSacII, replicated less efficiently in cell cultures in vitro and expressed lower amounts of VP1 and VP2 capsid proteins than wt SVA. Most importantly, the rSVA mSacII virus failed to induce clinical …


Political Connectedness, Firm Performance And Corporate Risk Taking: Are Emerging Markets Different?, Augustine Tarkom Jan 2019

Political Connectedness, Firm Performance And Corporate Risk Taking: Are Emerging Markets Different?, Augustine Tarkom

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Existing literature exploring the effect of politically connected firms on their performance and risk-taking seems to offer decisive results for the emerging and the developed market. However, from professionals and anecdotal evidence, both markets do not exhibit similar characteristics. Considering these characteristics, instability of the government, lack thereof of adequate governance structure, I revisit the topic. This study comprises 27 advanced and 20 emerging economies for the years 1992 through 2016. I find that sound political environment drives risk-taking in advanced markets, while political connections drive corporate risk-taking in emerging markets. I also find that political institutions and political connections …


Influence Of Sporulation And Germination Behavior Of Bacillus Licheniformis On Microbial Quality Of Skim Milk Powder, Nancy Awasti Jan 2019

Influence Of Sporulation And Germination Behavior Of Bacillus Licheniformis On Microbial Quality Of Skim Milk Powder, Nancy Awasti

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation includes modeling of sporulation and germination behavior of Bacillus licheniformis strains during raw milk holding, tracking the survival of sporeformers and spores of high sporulating Bacillus strain during skim milk powder manufacturing. In addition, preliminary studies were done to standardize a rapid spore detection technique by using ratiometric fluorescence. To understand the role of strain variability during raw milk holding conditions, population dynamics of two strains of Bacillus licheniformis, ATCC 6634 and 14580, were modeled as a function of temperature (4.0 -12.0˚ C) and duration (0 - 72 h), using regression analysis. Based on initial spiking of vegetative …


Shrimp Production Environment And The Gut Microbiome: Effects Of Aquaculture Practices And Selective Breeding On The Gut Microbiome Of Pacific Whiteleg Shrimp, Litopenaeus Vannamei, Angela Landsman Jan 2019

Shrimp Production Environment And The Gut Microbiome: Effects Of Aquaculture Practices And Selective Breeding On The Gut Microbiome Of Pacific Whiteleg Shrimp, Litopenaeus Vannamei, Angela Landsman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Knowledge of the functional role of the gut microbiome in animal health and nutrition may provide solutions to shrimp aquaculture challenges, such as improving disease resistance and optimizing growth particularly with low cost feeds. Successful manipulation of bacteria found in the gut requires a deeper understanding of shrimp microbial communities and how their compositional structure is influenced by environmental conditions, and inherent host factors such as genetics. The initial research investigated the intestinal bacterial communities of the Pacific whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) reared in pond systems compared to indoor aquaculture facilities as an exploration of the effects of aquaculture practices …


Novel Hybrid Analogs Of Estrone Origin Exhibits Cytotoxic Effects Against Egfr-Dependent Cancers, Felix Acheampong Jan 2019

Novel Hybrid Analogs Of Estrone Origin Exhibits Cytotoxic Effects Against Egfr-Dependent Cancers, Felix Acheampong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cancer is second only to cardiovascular illnesses as the deadliest human disease globally. Currently, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and triple negative breast carcinoma (TNBC) are the most frequent types of cancer and have the highest mortalities. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a central regulator of tumor progression, is frequently overexpressed in both cancers and is a key clinical target for therapeutic intervention. Natural products and their synthetic analogs have been utilized as EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) with potent antitumor effects. However, acquired resistance limits the long-term efficacy of these drugs. Estrone has been used as a scaffold in …


Effects Of Resistant Starch Type 4 On Gut Microbiota Derived Medium And Long Chain Fatty Acids And Bile Acids, Elizabeth Nagel Jan 2019

Effects Of Resistant Starch Type 4 On Gut Microbiota Derived Medium And Long Chain Fatty Acids And Bile Acids, Elizabeth Nagel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The human gastrointestinal tract is populated by a diverse and mutualistic microbial flora that has profound effect on human health. Identification and characterization of microbial-metabolites produced in response to human dietary intakes may provide insights into host-microbiota interactions to better understand the role of the microbiota in human health and diseases. However, much of this interaction is poorly understood as many metabolites remain unidentified or understudied at the present time. Starch is ubiquitously present in human diet and is a major energy source to all living cells. Resistant starch (RS) is the starch portion that is not absorbed in the …


Development And Characterization Of Wheat-Thinopyrum Junceiforme Chromosome Addition Lines, Dilkaran Singh Jan 2019

Development And Characterization Of Wheat-Thinopyrum Junceiforme Chromosome Addition Lines, Dilkaran Singh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Production of wheat is challenged by dynamic biotic and abiotic stresses. Genetic improvement via alien gene transfer is an effective approach to tackle such challenges. Alien gene transfer played an important role in the history of wheat crop improvement. Sea wheatgrass (SWG; Thinopyrum junceiforme, 2n = 28, genomes J1J1J2J2) is a wild relative of wheat. In our previous work, we have developed a complete amphiploid between cultivated emmer and SWG and shown that SWG is resistant to wheat streak mosaic virus, Fusarium head blight and wheat stem sawflies (due to the solid stem) and tolerant to waterlogging, salinity, heat, and …


Isolation And Identification Of Potential Bioinoculants Based On Phosphate Solubilizing And Plant Growth Promoting Benefits, Rachel Raths Jan 2019

Isolation And Identification Of Potential Bioinoculants Based On Phosphate Solubilizing And Plant Growth Promoting Benefits, Rachel Raths

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Conservative models have shown that as populations rise, food production needs to double by 2050. Population increase and the green revolution have caused fertilizer inputs to increase since the 1960’s, increasing environmental issues and production costs. These intensive practices have led to degraded arable land and there has been an increase in urbanization meaning we need to make best use of the farming land that is available and ensure it is sustainable for future food production. Due to this, there has been a higher demand for research on more environmentally and economically friendly approaches to food production. Plant growth promoting …


Investigation Of Intergroup Bias In Two Neuromaturationally Distinct Age Cohorts: An Erp Study, Reuven M. Hanna Jan 2019

Investigation Of Intergroup Bias In Two Neuromaturationally Distinct Age Cohorts: An Erp Study, Reuven M. Hanna

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Currently, sociological investigation of adolescent behavior focuses on the intersection of biography, history, and structure to explain adolescent risk-taking, reward-seeking, impulsivity, novelty-seeking and peer-salience. However, the preponderance of the evidence points away from social ecology and to a significant neuromaturational restructuring event between the 12th and 25th years of life as the root of adolescent behavioral tendencies. As a result, sociological social psychology can benefit from engaging in basic research using neuroscience methods. The present study expands the dual systems model of brain development to account for maturational changes in the social brain network as a way to explain social …


Model School Wellness Policies: Opportunities For Improvement, Maty Skinner Jan 2019

Model School Wellness Policies: Opportunities For Improvement, Maty Skinner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Schools that participate in the US Child Nutrition program are required to have a wellness policy. Many state agencies provide model wellness policies to aid schools in writing wellness policies. However, use of model wellness policies has not been associated with higher quality policies. PURPOSE: Assess the strength and comprehensiveness of model wellness policies and to determine if federal regulations are more likely to be included in model wellness policies than evidence-based, best-practices that are not required per federal regulation. METHODS: Model wellness policies available online through state agency websites in January 2019 were analyzed for comprehensiveness and strength using …


Hydrodynamic Cavitation As In-Line Process To Control Common Dairy Sporeformers, Pratibha Chaudhary Jan 2019

Hydrodynamic Cavitation As In-Line Process To Control Common Dairy Sporeformers, Pratibha Chaudhary

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sporeforming bacteria and their endospores have the ability to survive thermal treatments and proliferate in the milk and dairy products to cause spoilages. We applied the effect of hydrodynamic cavitation in controlling these bacteria and their spores at pilot scale level. Our aim was to investigate a technology that would improve the microbial quality of milk and dairy products, and is capable of being scaled up to be adapted at industrial level. Cavitation damages the cell walls of the bacteria and their endospores (releasing dipicolinic acid, responsible for endospore resistance to extreme conditions), thereby making them susceptible to thermal treatments …


Senecavirus A: Pathogenicity And Interactions With Host Cell Death Pathway, Maureen Hoch Vieira Fernandes Jan 2019

Senecavirus A: Pathogenicity And Interactions With Host Cell Death Pathway, Maureen Hoch Vieira Fernandes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Senecavirus A (SVA) is a positive sense single-strand RNA virus of the genus Senecavirus, family Picornaviridae. Senecavirus A is an emerging picornavirus of swine, which causes vesicular disease (VD) in pigs that is clinically indistinguishable from footand- mouth disease and other high consequence VDs of swine. There is evidence that SVA has been circulating in the US swine population since the late eighty’s, however, recently the virus emerged worldwide, and it has been associated with several VD outbreaks in pigs in many of the major swine producing countries. Despite the recent surge in the number of cases of …


The Impact Of Location Characteristics On Population Distribution In The United States, Shuruq Alsharif Jan 2019

The Impact Of Location Characteristics On Population Distribution In The United States, Shuruq Alsharif

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The United States is one of the most mobile countries in the world. This paper examined a couple of questions not previously addressed in the literature, namely the research questions of how the distributional patterns and associated factors, especially locational characteristics could be different between two types of internal migrants: native-born and foreign-born. The central hypothesis that guided the analysis was that income is often the primary push factor and key contributor to population growth in a county for both types of internal migrants, as they would be more likely to live in a county with a good economic conditions …


Comparing Gut Microbiome And Virome In The Breast Milk- And Formula-Fed Late Preterm Infants, Zyi Wang Jan 2019

Comparing Gut Microbiome And Virome In The Breast Milk- And Formula-Fed Late Preterm Infants, Zyi Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The neonatal intestinal microbiome consists of all microorganisms in the gut. Although the microbiome is critical to human health and disease, its colonization remains incompletely understood, particularly in the preterm infant. We aimed to characterize the intestinal bacteria microbiome and virome in moderate-to-late preterm infants. We hypothesized that the bacteria microbiome and virome differs between breast milk and formula-fed infants. We collected stool samples from twenty infants born between 32 0/7 and 36 6/7 weeks gestation. Samples were collected after infants reached full volume enteral feedings. Ten infants were breast milk fed and ten received infant formula. DNA and RNA …


Students’ Relationships With First-Year Advisors And The Transition To Faculty Advisors: A Qualitative Study Of Appreciative Advising And Its Effects On College Students., Robert Mclean Jan 2019

Students’ Relationships With First-Year Advisors And The Transition To Faculty Advisors: A Qualitative Study Of Appreciative Advising And Its Effects On College Students., Robert Mclean

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated questions that were created to (a) help improve the quality of academic advising within professional advising and faculty advising at a public university in the Midwest as well as (b) provide additional support to the importance of Appreciative Advising in the advising role and in student services. The theoretical framework for this thesis was Appreciative Education also known as Appreciative Inquiry and Appreciative Advising (Bloom, Hutson, He & Konkle, 2013). Student testimonials were gauged through face-to-face, one-on-one interviews to analyze students’ interactions with their professional and faculty academic advisors and to determine which connections with their …


Diversification And Its Implications For South Dakota Farmers’ Identity As Farmers: Wind Farm Diversification As A Case Study, Abdelrahim Abulbasher Jan 2019

Diversification And Its Implications For South Dakota Farmers’ Identity As Farmers: Wind Farm Diversification As A Case Study, Abdelrahim Abulbasher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Studies have been conducted in the last three decades to examine the impact of the ongoing economic changes that encourage farmers to adopt nonconventional practices (such as crop diversification, on-farm recreation, and wind farming) to diversify their income. Limited research, however, has been conducted to examine the impact of on farm diversification practices on farmers’ identity as farmers (growers of food, feed, and fiber) including their role, self-conception, and family history/legacy. Using social identity and socio-ecological systems theories, this study seeks to understand how farmers construct their identity, the symbolic meanings they attach to their daily practices, and the influence …


Younger Millennials And Outdoor Recreation: Understanding Outdoor Recreational Pursuits Of Millennial College Students, Jason Mehlhaf Jan 2019

Younger Millennials And Outdoor Recreation: Understanding Outdoor Recreational Pursuits Of Millennial College Students, Jason Mehlhaf

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Outdoor recreation has been shown through past research to provide numerous benefits to the participant when utilized, but for younger millennials, life’s expectations are pulling them away from participating. If there is a decrease in recreation participation, what will motivate this demographic toward participation in the future? The purpose of this study is to identify younger millennial perceptions, habits, and trends, so that in the future, recreation professionals are able to cater for specifically toward this demographic. Two universities in South Dakota, one public and one private, were surveyed through an online software program, QuestionPro, to a convenience sample from …


Design, Synthesis And Biological Screening Of Novel Cucs-Inspired Estrone Analogs Towards Treatment Of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma, Khaled Alseud Jan 2019

Design, Synthesis And Biological Screening Of Novel Cucs-Inspired Estrone Analogs Towards Treatment Of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma, Khaled Alseud

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pancreatic cancer is currently the fourth most deadly type of cancer globally. It is expected to become the second by 2030, due to its poor prognosis and its resistance to the current standard treatment, Gemcitabine. Moreover, the survival rate after treatment is low compared to other cancer types, which suggests an urgent need for new potent and safe treatment agents. Recently, the triterpenoid, cucurbitacin, has shown promising antiproliferative activity against human pancreatic cancer cells in a dose- and timedependent manner, and decreased pancreatic tumor size in combination with gemcitabine in vivo. However, the use of cucurbitacin in clinical studies has …


Modeling And Study Of Thermal Effects On Battery Pack Using Phase Change Materials, Umang Selokar Jan 2019

Modeling And Study Of Thermal Effects On Battery Pack Using Phase Change Materials, Umang Selokar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The scope of the current research is to reduce the temperature distribution area in Li-ion cell and the battery pack with respect to time in battery design, using CFD technology (Computational Fluid Dynamics) in ANSYS fluent. A 3D model was design in CAD software (CATIA) and analyzed in ANSYS fluent to study the thermal behavior of the designed battery pack. An analytical thermal model was generated to evaluate the heat generation rate passing throughout the battery pack. The battery pack were analyzed and simulated on two different designs. One battery design is modeled with and without insulation (superwool EST compression …


Greater Sage-Grouse Survival, Breeding Ecology, Resource Selection, And West Nile Virus Prevalence On The Eastern Fringe Of Their Range, Lindsey Anne Parsons Jan 2019

Greater Sage-Grouse Survival, Breeding Ecology, Resource Selection, And West Nile Virus Prevalence On The Eastern Fringe Of Their Range, Lindsey Anne Parsons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is a sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) obligate species that has experienced population declines over the past several decades. Sage-grouse are a species of conservation concern throughout the Intermountain West and are considered a species of greatest conservation need in South Dakota. Numerous studies have documented drivers of demographic performance at the core of their distribution; however, relatively few studies have examined sage-grouse inhabiting the eastern extent of their range, in South Dakota. We sought to examine sage-grouse space use in multiple seasons, estimate survival, and determine factors affecting nest success in South Dakota …


Preservice Agricultural Education Majors’ Perceptions Of Integrating Science Into Agriculture, Kasey Trocke Jan 2019

Preservice Agricultural Education Majors’ Perceptions Of Integrating Science Into Agriculture, Kasey Trocke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Agricultural science has seen a rise in secondary agricultural classrooms and many studies have been done with regards to integrating science into agriculture. Several recommendations have been to assist preservice agriculture education majors with science integration. Preservice agricultural education majors could influence the future of agricultural science due to their perceptions of integrating science into agriculture into the classroom. The purpose of the study was to assess preservice teachers’ perceptions of integrating science into agriculture curriculum based on the theory of planned behavior. An online survey was administered to the population of agricultural education majors at South Dakota State University. …


Efficacy Of Synthetic And Biopesticides On Bacteria Leaf Streak Management And Influence Of Cultivar And Environment On Epiphytic Bacteria Diversity On Wheat Seeds, Marilen Nampijja Jan 2019

Efficacy Of Synthetic And Biopesticides On Bacteria Leaf Streak Management And Influence Of Cultivar And Environment On Epiphytic Bacteria Diversity On Wheat Seeds, Marilen Nampijja

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is the most important staple food for over two billion people, or 36% of the world population. The United States ranks 4th in the world for wheat production. However, wheat production is faced by both biological and non-biological constraints. Among the biological constraints, diseases play a big role in limiting wheat production with estimated yield losses ranging from 20% to 40%. Bacterial leaf streak (BLS) of wheat caused by Xanthomonas translucens pv undulosa (Xtpvu) is one of the major bacterial diseases affecting the wheat production in most wheat growing regions in the USA. In recent years, it …


Design, Synthesis, And Evaluation Of Gunw-3 As A Brain Targeting Agent, Asim Najmi Jan 2019

Design, Synthesis, And Evaluation Of Gunw-3 As A Brain Targeting Agent, Asim Najmi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The blood brain barrier (BBB) is a barrier in the brain that separates the peripheral blood circulation system from the central nerve system (CNS). The barrier effectively protects the brain from xenobiotics. The BBB serves as a physical barrier through the tight junction of endothelial cells that were found to be 50-100 times tighter than that of normal endothelial cells. Different drug efflux pumps such as P-glycoproteins and multidrug-resistance proteins are found to be overdistributed on the BBB. These drug efflux pumps help pump xenobiotics out if they enter the cells and serv as an additional mechanism to prevent xenobiotics …


Rigid Equilibriums Of A Rotating String, Teddrick Schaffer Jan 2019

Rigid Equilibriums Of A Rotating String, Teddrick Schaffer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper describes some possible equilibrium configurations of a string rotating in a certain class of force fields, which have properties motivated by the inverse square gravitational force. Specifically it is shown that for a given number n, there exists a sufficient rotational rate such that any equilibrium configuration with no more than n zeros is guaranteed to exist for any force field in the class considered.


Differences In Running Mechanics And Tibial Plateau Dimensions Between Overweight/Obese And Healthy Weight Children, Claire Sylvestre Jan 2019

Differences In Running Mechanics And Tibial Plateau Dimensions Between Overweight/Obese And Healthy Weight Children, Claire Sylvestre

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

INTRODUCTION: Overweight and obese (OW/OB) children display increased knee joint loading during running, which may lead to excessive frontal plane motion and moments at the knee joints. The relationship between tibial plateau dimensions and knee vertical loading may explain the loading related injuries OW/OB children experience.
PURPOSE: Compare knee mechanics during running and tibial plateau dimensions between healthy weight (HW) and OW/OB children.
METHODS: Ten HW children and ten OW/OB children aged 9-12 participated in the study. Kinematic and kinetic data were captured as participants ran across a force platform at 3.5m/s. Tibial plateau area and density were collected by …


A Study Of The Effect Of Heat Treatment On 3d Printed Pla Impact Strength, Suresh Thota Jan 2019

A Study Of The Effect Of Heat Treatment On 3d Printed Pla Impact Strength, Suresh Thota

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Environmental conditions have a significant effect on the mechanical properties of various materials. Environmental parameters such as temperature and humidity have a major impact on mechanical properties of materials such as compressive strength, tensile strength, bending strength and impact strength. The purpose of this research is to study how temperature and humidity affect the impact strength of 3D printed PLA plastic. Impact strength is the ability of a material to absorb energy subjected to an impact load by a pendulum. In this research, 3D printing was employed to produce PLA specimens which were later used for different experimental testings. For …