Digital Commons Network^™

Optimization Of Nitrogen Removal Rate In One-Stage Reactor Through Partial Nitrification Anammox Process During Direct Treatment Of Poultry Litter Wastewater, Yiting Xiao

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anammox is an increasingly common process used for the treatment of reject water and even mainstream wastewater due to its low oxygen demand. However, anammox is not commonly utilized in the direct treatment of poultry litter because of the high organic content, which would inhibit the anammox process. Thus, this project is aimed at optimizing the nitrogen removal rate through partial nitrification anammox process (PN/A) to treat synthetic poultry litter wastewater. Nitrogen removal efficiencies will therefore be improved through optimizing the combination of three operating parameters including hydraulic retention time (HRT), dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration, and carbon to nitrogen (C/N) …

An Assessment Of The Neurovascular Structures Of The Trigeminal Nerve And Their Relationship To Diet In Primates, Caitlin Yoakum

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) enters the mandible via the mental foramen, supplies nervous sensation to the mandibular teeth as it travels through the mandibular canal, and exits the mandibular foramen to send information to the brain to maintain chewing cycles and protect the teeth from damage. Although bony canals and foramina have been shown to form around soft-tissue structures, there are some examples (e.g., the hypoglossal nerve/canal) where the nervous structures do not comprise most of the canal/foramina space. It is important to know the size of nerves because it has been established that larger nerves convey more information …

Canine Microwear In Relation To Diet In Sumatran Primates And African Great Apes, Putu Pujiantari

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis considers canine microwear in relation to diet in five Sumatran primates (Pongo abelii, Hylobates lar, Hylobates agilis, Presbytis thomasi, and Macaca fascicularis) and two African great apes (Pan paniscus and Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) using both microwear texture analysis and microwear feature analysis techniques. Statistical results for texture analysis show that there are significant differences in scale of maximum and heterogeneity. This indicates that some species have large pits on their canine surfaces, having these dominated by deep features at coarse scale yet have a slight microwear heterogeneity. For feature analysis, all variables show statistically significant variation. Variance in …

Reducing Dietary Crude Protein: Characterization Of Branched-Chain Amino Acid Antagonism In Modern Broiler Chickens, Craig William Maynard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reducing the crude protein content of broiler diets while maintaining performance has been a primary research area in nutrition. During the late 20th century, the bulk of this research has involved supplementing broiler diets with feed-grade amino acids and proving the economic benefits of their additions. To date, widespread adoption of feed-grade amino acids is limited to methionine, lysine, threonine, and to some extent valine. With valine and isoleucine gaining prevalence in commercial formulation, classic data on the antagonisms associated with the branched-chain amino acids has returned to the forefront of practical broiler nutrition research. Therefore, a series of 23 …

Precise Nitrogen Recommendations Improve Economic And Environmental Outcomes In Arkansas Rice Production, Cristin Roberts

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Soil testing has become an increasingly important tool in making agronomically efficient production management decisions. N-STaR is a N test used in rice production and is unique in its ability to selectively quantify soil organic-N compounds which are readily mineralizable for plant N uptake and contribute to growth and yield. This study uses historical (2002–2018) adoption rates of N-STaR, which is funded through Rice Checkoff funds, to calculate the total cost savings from N-STaR adoption. These cost savings alone would be the “typical” benefits used in a benefit-cost ratio of a public ally funded research program like N-STaR. However, we …

Queering The Metanarrative Of Domesticity: Chosen Families In Late Nineteenth- Century American Women's Literature, Sharla Rosenbaum

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My primary purpose in this project is to dispel the notion that the white, bourgeois, patriarchal, nuclear family believed by millions of US citizens to have once monopolized the United States’s cultural landscape through an examination of how women authors in the United States constructed families in literature immediately following the Civil War. Not only do the novels under examination reflect diverse representations of families, but they also reflect those images from diverse perspectives. I will use a Marxist lens to explore class and ideologic interpellation; a renegade global feminist lens to explore failure and differential consciousness; a queer and …

Development And Evaluation Of Models For Hatchery-Mediated Infection Of Neonatal Broiler Chicks, Brittany Danielle Graham

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Formaldehyde fumigation has been used to control the microbial load in commercial hatch cabinets. The hatch cabinet environment promotes replication and dissemination of both apathogenic and pathogenic microorganisms. As the microbial load increases during the hatching phase, formaldehyde eliminates airborne microorganisms circulating in the hatch cabinet environment. Due to the hazardous properties of formaldehyde, non-toxic alternatives to formaldehyde fumigation to control the microbial bloom in hatch cabinets are needed. The objectives of the present dissertation were to develop challenge models using singular or multiple microorganisms associated with the microbial bloom to simulate contamination that occurs in commercial hatch cabinets. Initially, …

In The Line Of Duty - A Documentary Film About Davis Duty And His Seeing Eye Dog, Paulina Sobczak

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

“In the Line of Duty” is a documentary film about Jeff Davis Duty, a man from a small town in Arkansas, who lost his sight at the age of five. He is the oldest Seeing Eye dog user in the world. At the age of 22, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship at the London School of Economics in England, as the first Fulbright Scholar with disability. Duty achieved great success in his career as a lawyer, leading a fulfilling and enjoyable life. The documentary film’s storytelling focuses on Duty’s life from his childhood to current times and presents all …

Divergent Selection For Water Conversion Ratio In Broiler Populations, Joseph Hiltz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water scarcity is a global reality and with the anticipated population growth, freshwater resources will be further strained to meet both human needs and agriculture applications. To ensure a water sustainable and food secure future, all aspects of agriculture must become more efficient. Two strategies were explored. The potential of improving water efficiency in broilers was examined. The first strategy was to develop a more efficient and accurate method for measuring water consumption/inputs in agriculture. To date, water measuring technology has lacked the necessary sophistication to assure accuracy and repeatability of low flow water usage.

After establishing a low flow …

Yumiko Ōshima’S The Star Of Cottonland: A Translation, Sheena Woods

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This is a translation of Volume 1 of Yumiko Ōshima’s The Star of Cottonland.

Systematics Of Eastern North American Podothrombium (Parasitengona: Podothrombiidae), Kelsey Lynn Cline

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Velvet mites of the genus Podothrombium Berlese, 1910 are found worldwide with only two described species known from North America, both occurring on the west coast. The present study describes five new species occurring in the east, from both larval and post-larval stages. Species hypotheses are supported with morphology and analysis of mitochondrial (barcoding region of COI) and nuclear genes (D2-3 expansion regions of 28S rDNA). Specimens are incorporated from the Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD), allowing our dataset to span most of North America. Therefore, we were able to raise the number of Podothrombium in North America from …

Nocturnal Pollination In Fruit Agriculture, Stephen Robertson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Insect pollination in agriculture provides as much as 35% of the global food supply and contributes hundreds of billions of dollars to the global economy each year. In the past 30 years, reports of declining populations of managed and wild bees, notably the western honey bee (Apis mellifera) and a wide array of bumble bees (Bombus spp.), have raised concerns about the stability and outlook of agriculture. At the same time, agricultural dependence on insect pollinators is increasing as greater percentages of land being converted to pollinator-dependent crops, such as soy and oil palm, than pollinator-independent crops, such as grains …

Tribological Studies Of Thick Polytetrafluoroethylene Coatings Enhanced By Polydopamine And Nanoparticles, Sujan Kumar Ghosh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a popular low friction solid lubricant with high chemical and thermal stability. Thick PTFE coatings have the potential for many tribological applications, such as replacing Tin-based Babbitt materials in journal bearings. However, the weak bonding strength to the substrate and the high wear rate of PTFE coatings are current limiting factors. The lack of understanding of their tribological properties and wear mechanisms in oil-lubricated conditions and how coating thickness affects the tribological performance further hindered the use of PTFE coatings. In this dissertation, polydopamine (PDA), a bio-inspired adhesive, is used as an underlayer for or as a …

Establishment Of Pollinator Habitat Within A Livestock Pasture Ecosystem, Roshani Sharma Acharya

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pollinators are important for fertilization, setting fruits, and seed development of more than 78% of the flowering plants that provide food for human beings and other species. Use of pollinators to maximize crop production is a proven agricultural practice; however, it has been less explored in livestock forage production systems. This study investigated pollinator abundance and diversity in pastures using different sampling methods and determined the impact of different pasture management practices on insect pollinators in a livestock pasture ecosystem. In Chapter 2, utility of four different colors of pan trap (blue, green, yellow, and purple) for sampling bees in …

Experimental And Analysis Of Electromagnetic Characterization Of Biological And Non-Biological Materials In Microwave, Millimeter-Wave, And Terahertz Frequency Bands, Nagma Vohra

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research is to characterize the electromagnetic properties of biological and non-biological materials at terahertz (THz), millimeter-wave, and microwave frequency bands. The biological specimens are measured using the THz imaging and spectroscopy system, whereas the non-biological materials are measured using the microwave and millimeter-wave free-space system. These facilities are located in the Engineering Research Center at the University of Arkansas. The THz imaging system (TPS 3000) uses a Ti-Sapphire laser directed on the photoconductive antennas to generate a THz time domain pulse. Upon using the Fourier Transform, the spectrum of the pulsed THz signal includes frequencies from …

Host-Parasite Interactions Within Food Webs, Adam Zvanut Hasik

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Parasitism is one of the most common life history strategies employed in nature, yet the effects of parasites are often thought to be minimal, and the vast majority of studies fail to consider parasites and their effects on host organisms. This is likely a problem, as the magnitude of parasite-mediated effects on their hosts can be quite large. Additionally, the effects of parasites are known to extend beyond the host to affect other species interactions. I used a series of approaches to gain a more integral understanding of host-parasite interactions by studying (1) the effects of parasites on biotic interactions …

Of Biodiversity, Boundaries, And Distribution: The Myxomycetes Of The Philippines And Beyond, Sittie Aisha Bustamante Macabago

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation contains a compilation of independently performed studies primarily focusing on the myxomycetes (plasmodial slime molds) from the Philippines and integrating local and worldwide data to demonstrate regional and global trends. The major themes include the following: (I) a review of the diverse group of spore-producing amoeboid protists, including the myxomycetes; (II-IV) diversity assessments in three different groups of islands in the Philippine archipelago; (V) mapping the myxomycetes found in the Philippines for databasing and analyzing the geocoded data; (VI) a study on regional boundaries, including the Philippines, using myxomycete species composition; and, (VII) creating a global species distribution …

Microfabrication And Electrochemical Characterization Of A Novel Su-8 Probe With An Array Of Individually Addressable Electrodes Suitable For Redox Cycling Experiments In Ultra-Small Volumes, Mahsa Lotfi Marchoubeh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Redox cycling is an electrochemical technique that utilizes closely spaced generator and collector electrodes to cycle reversible redox species between their oxidative states. With advantages in signal amplification, selectivity of species based on their electrochemical reaction mechanism, and limited or no background subtraction, this technique is well suited for selective detection of important electrochemically active molecules such as dopamine at basal or slowly changing levels.

Miniaturized medical devices have become an area of great interest for measurement of chemicals in limited volumes with low concentrations or in sensitive tissues. A probe on a polymeric SU-8 substrate with suitable dimensions and …

Characterization Of Iron-Sulfur Cluster Biogenesis In Methanogenic Archaea, Thomas Modlin Deere

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters are among the oldest cofactors on the planet, used by proteins in almost all forms of life on Earth to carry out processes ranging from energy transfer to DNA replication. Among the organisms believed to use these Fe-S proteins more extensively than almost any others are the methanogens, an ancient lineage of archaeal microbes that produce methane as a required product of their metabolism. Methane, the primary component of commercial natural gas, is both a potent greenhouse gas and an important fossil fuel. It can also be renewably produced as a biofuel. Biogenic methane is almost entirely …

Assessing Impacts Of Winter-Hay Feeding On Soil And Forage Nutrient Dynamics In A Rotationally-Grazed Pasture System In Arkansas, Lawrence Gordon Berry Iv

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

More than 38 % of United States’ rural land area was used for grazing (i.e., pastureland or rangeland) ruminant animals in 2017, constituting the largest private land use group. The expansive nature of these lands means that grazing and pasture management decisions have potential to impact water quality as well as profit margins. As a result, beef producers are under increased pressure from economic and environmental standpoints to limit application of nutrients beyond those required to grow the forage needed for animal consumption. At the same time, a large amount of nutrients is recycled back to pasture systems directly from …

Effect Of Harvest Time On The Incidence Of Red Drupelet Reversion And Development Of Tetraploid Linkage Maps In Blackberry, Mitchell E. Armour

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The cultivated eastern U.S. blackberry (Rubus L. subgenus Rubus Watson) has gone through tremendous strides in both trait improvement and market outreach at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture (UA System). What began as primarily a pick-your-own local fruit found mostly in the wild, has become a commercialized year-round product in most major U.S. grocery retailers. This could not have been achieved without decades of diligent breeding efforts. Although the genetic improvement of fresh-market blackberries has advanced, there are still issues that need to be addressed. One issue is the prevalence of red drupelet reversion (RDR), a physiological …

On Human Rights And Structural Justice, Robert Howard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The rights literature is full of accounts of rights, and each captures important aspects of the nature and function of rights. But none of the leading theories offers a comprehensive account of the nature and function of rights that both stands up under the pressure of counterexamples and can buck accusations of internal inconsistency.

In this paper I embrace much of Nicholas Wolterstorff's work on justice and the relation of human rights to worth, and I propose changes to his account in order to strengthen it. I evoke the works of Johan Galtung, Richard Rubenstein, and Elizabeth Anderson in order …

The Application Of Complex Systems Science To Political Philosophy, Benjamin Nicholas House

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although complex systems science is relevant to problems of political philosophy, the intersection of these two disciplines has not been studied in depth. Complex systems are made up of multiple interdependent parts whose interactions create emergent properties. This interdependence makes these systems “fat-tailed”: low-probability events can have a major impact on the system. Complex systems engineers have formulated a series of rules of thumb for approximating an “evolutionary” environment. Contemporary human civilization is a complex system; because of this, governments need to become adaptable and approximate the evolutionary environment by fostering policy innovation while at the same time promoting mechanisms …

Nanomaterial-Based Biosensors For Detection Of Salmonella Typhimurium And Avian Influenza Virus H5n1 In Poultry, Xinge Xi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research focused on developing biosensing method and biosensing device for rapid detection of pathogens in poultry: Salmonella Typhimurium and avian influenza virus H5N1. The first part of the dissertation reports an original research on the development of a portable biosensing device for Salmonella detection. The device was designed and constructed based on a previously developed optical biosensing method, using immuno-magnetic nanoparticles to specifically capture target bacteria, and immuno-quantum dot beads to label the target bacteria for fluorescence detection. All the actions of sample mixing, magnetic separation, and fluorescence detection were controlled automatically in a disposable microfluidic chip in the …

A Time-Course Characterization Of Muscle Function And Mitochondrial Markers During Colorectal Cancer-Induced Cachexia In Tumor-Bearing Male Mice, Ana Cabrera Ayuso

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cachexia is a multisystemic and multifactorial syndrome prevalent in cancer patients. It is clinically defined by involuntary loss of >5% weight in a six-month window, despite nutritional interventions. A negative energy balance characterizes cancer cachexia (CC), it is associated with weakness and fatigue in skeletal muscle. Impaired muscle function is associated with lower quality of life in cancer patients. Defects in mitochondrial function are strongly associated with muscle wasting. This study explored muscular contractile function and mitochondrial quality control (MQC) markers in soleus, gastrocnemius, and tibialis anterior (TA) muscles of C26-induced male tumor-bearing mice during a 25-day time course. It …

Synthesis And Performance Testing Of Ecm Fiber Scaffolds, Cassandra Reed

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The progression of regenerative medicine has advanced the treatment of multiple illnesses and injuries throughout the years. A good example of the benefits of this research is the work that has gone into volumetric muscle loss (VML), where more than 20% of the muscle is loss. Skeletal muscle makes up 40% of the human body so a loss of that size greatly diminishes the strength, the flexibility, physiology, and quality of life of the injured individual. For that reason, various techniques are used to counteract the loss of structure and innate cellular signaling in order to circumvent that from happening. …

The Persistence Of Human Norovirus Surrogate In Leafy Greens Production System, Wenjun Deng

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since mostly consumed raw, foodborne pathogen contamination of leafy greens has led to a large number of foodborne disease outbreaks and illnesses each year in the United States. Human noroviruses (hNoV) are the most common viral pathogen transmitted by leafy greens. In this dissertation, the persistence of the hNoV surrogate Tulane virus (TV) on pre-harvest lettuce and microgreens was investigated. Lettuces are the most studied leafy green model, while previous hNoV research has mainly focused on the post-harvest stage of production. Here, pre-harvest hydroponically grown lettuce were used to determine TV persistence on leafy greens. After inoculation on leaves at …

Are Rice Markets In Bangladesh Efficiently Pricing Rice Based On Quality? An Empirical Assessment, Indrani Saha

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rice is an important staple for more than half of the world’s population and is the main staple in Bangladesh, accounting for 65 percent to 70 percent of the daily calorie intake. The importance of rice consumption and the high level of food insecurity in Bangladesh highlights the importance of having markets that efficiently price rice according to consumer preferences. This study aims to assess how effectively rice prices in Bangladesh are reflective of rice quality. More specifically, we estimate how the rice market is currently pricing selected rice quality attributes, such as broken percentage, chalk percentage, kernel size and …

The 'I' In First-Person Thought And What Is Meant By Self-Knowledge, Aaron Morris

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There has been a great deal of disagreement over what exactly it is that is being referenced by the first-person pronoun, ‘I.’ Immanuel Kant believed the ‘I’ associated with a thinking subject is just a formal representation of the substantially existing subject. This raises the question about whether or not ‘I’ is actually a referring expression? In this paper I explore two accounts from both sides of the debate which opens up a dialectical space for determining a positive answer for this question. On the one hand, ‘I’ is said to be a referring term for the speaker or utterer …

The Preacher And Missionary War: The Political Role Of Race And Christianity In The 1831 Baptist War, Emilee Dale

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abolitionists from the Eighteenth Century to the mid-Nineteenth Century tended to be remembered by William Wilberforce, Joseph Soul, Thomas Clarkson, Samuel Bowly, and William Lloyd Garrison. All of these men have been extremely well represented throughout scholarship and the archives. The voices that are often left out of the archives are the men and women who fought on the frontlines for their freedom. Enslaved men and women fought to the death for their freedom and are often overshadowed by White missionaries and abolitionists in the archives. Black leaders often have less representation throughout history and scholarship due to the lack …