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The Impacts Of Administering Metabolites Of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae On Broiler Performance, Yields And Salmonella Content Of Component Portions, Bill Douglas Potter

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The impacts of using health-promoting Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation metabolites in poultry production and processing can be measured in respect to multiple measures of success. Traditionally this yeast-based compound has been administered to poultry, livestock, poultry, and other species to improve animal performance and production volume output. In addition, Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation metabolites have also been shown in more recent research to reduce colonization of pathogenic bacteria in the host organism’s gastro-intestinal tract. In this dissertation, the impacts of administering a functional ingredient containing Saccharomyces cerevisiae metabolites on broiler performance measures and pathogen reduction were measured. One of the studies in …

Landuse And Soil Property Effects On Infiltration And Soil Aggregate Stability In The Lower Mississippi River Valley, Rebecca Lynn Anderson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Following European settlement of the Lower Mississippi River Valley (LMRV), agricultural expansion and unsustainable, agriculturally related practices have caused groundwater depletion, soil erosion, and surface water contamination by eroded sediments and sediment-bound nutrients to become major environmental threats to the region. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of common landuses [i.e., native prairie, deciduous forest, coniferous forest, Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) grassland, and conventional-tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT) agriculture] on surface water infiltration and aggregate-stability-related properties [i.e., water-stable macroaggregate (WSA) size distribution, total water-stable macroaggregate (TWSA) concentration, and mean weight diameter (MWD)]. The overall infiltration rate …

Synchrophasor-Based Fault Location Detection And Classification, In Power Systems, Using Artificial Intelligence, Hemal Falak

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the introduction of sophisticated electronic gadgets which cannot sustain interruption in the provision of electricity, the need to supply uninterrupted and reliable power supply, to the consumers, has become a crucial factor in the present-day world. Therefore, it is customary to correctly identify fault locations in an electrical power network, in order to rectify faults and restore power supply in the minimum possible time. Many automated fault location detection algorithms have been proposed, however, prior art requires topological and physical information of the electrical power network. This thesis presents a new method of detecting fault locations, in transmission as …

Hardware Ip Classification Through Weighted Characteristics, Brendan Mcgeehan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Today’s business model for hardware designs frequently incorporates third-party Intellectual Property (IP) due to the many benefits it can bring to a company. For instance, outsourcing certain components of an overall design can reduce time-to-market by allowing each party to specialize and perfect a specific part of the overall design. However, allowing third-party involvement also increases the possibility of malicious attacks, such as hardware Trojan insertion. Trojan insertion is a particularly dangerous security threat because testing the functionality of an IP can often leave the Trojan undetected. Therefore, this thesis work provides an improvement on a Trojan detection method known …

Reduced Disposal Area Performance Utilizing Secondary-Treated Effluent In Profile-Limiting Soils, David A. Meints

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Onsite wastewater systems dispose of primary treated effluent by utilizing the soil for final recycling and renovation of wastewater into the environment. Soil and site limitations have become a challenge to design a wastewater system and dispose of onsite wastewater using a conventional pipe and gravel design. Using secondary-treated effluent from an advanced treatment unit applied to a reduced disposal area offers an additional alternative when developing an onsite wastewater system. The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of hydraulically loading limiting soils with secondary-treated effluent in a reduced disposal area. A reduced disposal area was constructed …

Plasmonic Properties Of Nanoparticle And Two Dimensional Material Integrated Structure, Desalegn Tadesse Debu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recently, various groups have demonstrated nano-scale engineering of nanostructures for optical to infrared wavelength plasmonic applications. Most fabrication technique processes, especially those using noble metals, requires an adhesion layer. Previously proposed theoretical work to support experimental measurement often neglect the effect of the adhesion layers. The first finding of this work focuses on the impact of the adhesion layer on nanoparticle plasmonic properties. Gold nanodisks with a titanium adhesion layer are investigated by calculating the scattering, absorption, and extinction cross-section with numerical simulations using a finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. I demonstrate that a gold nanodisk with an adhesive …

Characterization Of Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy Grown Gan Substrates For Future Iii-Nitride Growth, Alaa Ahmad Kawagy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this research is to investigate and characterize the quality of commercially obtained gallium nitride (GaN) on sapphire substrates that have been grown using hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE). GaN substrates are the best choice for optoelectronic applications because of their physical and electrical properties. Even though HVPE GaN substrates are available at low-cost and create the opportunities for growth and production, these substrates suffer from large macro-scale defects on the surface of the substrate.

In this research, four GaN on sapphire substrates were investigated in order to characterize the surface defects and, subsequently, understand their influence on …

Associate And Baccalaureate Degree Nursing Students’ Knowledge Of And Attitudes Toward Medication Errors And Reporting Medication Errors: Implications For Curriculum Development, Tabatha Diann Teal

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper evaluates senior nursing students’ knowledge and attitudes of medication errors and reporting errors. This study was conducted to evaluate a need for improvements to nursing education on these two concepts. This mixed method study was conducted using a modified version of the Medication Administration Error Reporting Survey by Wakefield, Uden-Holman, and Wakefield (2005) and focus group sessions at four nursing programs in the Southern United States. Medication errors continue to be a threat to patient safety and underreporting exists due to the stigma surrounding admitting a mistake. Evaluating nursing students’ knowledge and attitudes on these concepts is a …

The Finnish Line: Verbal Tactics Of Small States In Immature Anarchy, Christopher Main

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The rules-based international system which has steadily emerged over the last century is in decline. Realists fail to realize that the fundamental anarchy of the international system can mature into a rules-based system which constrains geopolitics. Liberals fail to realize that it can regress in the opposite direction, towards the self-help system described by the realists. Small states stand to lose the most in this regression and are least equipped to fight it by material means. Finland is an ideal example of such a small state, and its foreign policy is articulated by President Sauli Niinistö. This paper will analyze …

Designing A Human-Centric Rigid Body Armor For Female Police Officers: The Implications Of Fit On Performance And Gender Inclusivity, Sarah West

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The lack of availability of female plates for police officers is an issue that has not been analyzed. Female anthropometry is uniformly different from male anthropometry. Currently available hard plates are flat. These plates may decrease coverage while increasing feelings of poor fit, discomfort, and poor mobility for both male and female officers. The plates designed for males offer the possibility of female officers experiencing feelings of gender exclusion. This research project explored the current perceptions of male and female police officers in Arkansas across the dimensions of fit, comfort, and mobility in the context of hard plate body armor. …

Powers And Behaviors Of Directed Self-Assembly, Trent Allen Rogers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In nature there are a variety of self-assembling systems occurring at varying scales which give rise to incredibly complex behaviors. Theoretical models of self-assembly allow us to gain insight into the fundamental nature of self-assembly independent of the specific physical implementation. In Winfree's abstract tile assembly model (aTAM), the atomic components are unit square "tiles" which have "glues" on their four sides. Beginning from a seed assembly, these tiles attach one at a time during the assembly process in an asynchronous and nondeterministic manner.

We can gain valuable insights into the nature of self-assembly by comparing different models of self-assembly …

The Farmers’ Federation: Regional Racial Mythologies As Agricultural Capital, Jama Mcmurtery Grove

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 1927, the Farmers’ Federation agricultural cooperative in Western North Carolina launched an organization to solicit funds from wealthy donors. The money raised through philanthropic campaigns enabled the cooperative to fund large-scale agricultural projects, which helped members navigate the dramatic agricultural transformations of the early twentieth century. Although the cooperative advocated a progressive program of business-minded, scientific farming, its leadership modified programs to reflect farmer members’ limited resources and the realities of mountain production. As a result, the co-op provided a crucial bridge between white farmers and new methods of agricultural production that reached deep into peoples’ familial and productive …

The Image From The Road: Towards Mapping The Phenomenological, Rachel Anna Smith Loerts

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An area of focus, used in early and contemporary forms of cognitive geography research, is the ‘cognitive map’, a concept that suggests “that people hold a map-like database in their minds to which they can add and use to tackle geographical tasks”. Kevin Lynch, an urban planner in the 1960s, was an early adopter of the cognitive map approach to reveal spatial cognition, what or how people see their environment, specifically cognition of the urban environment. Lynch’s research aimed to develop empirical methods, to identify how people make spatial relationships. Contemporary tools like machine learning are now considered relevant for …

Modeling Of Complex Parts For Industrial Waterjet Cleaning, Braden James

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Industrial high-pressure waterjet cleaning is common to many industries. The modeling in this paper functions inside a collaborative robotic framework for high mix, low volume processes where human robot collaboration is beneficial. Automation of pressure washing is desirable for economic and ergonomic reasons. An automated cleaning system needs path simulation and analysis to give the operator insight into the predicted cleaning performance of the system. In this paper, ablation, the removal of a substrate coating by waterjet, is modeled for robotic cleaning operations. The model is designed to work with complex parts often found in spray cleaning operations, namely parts …

A Bayesian Framework For Estimating Seismic Wave Arrival Time, Hua Zhong

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Because earthquakes have a large impact on human society, statistical methods for better studying earthquakes are required. One characteristic of earthquakes is the arrival time of seismic waves at a seismic signal sensor. Once we can estimate the earthquake arrival time accurately, the earthquake location can be triangulated, and assistance can be sent to that area correctly. This study presents a Bayesian framework to predict the arrival time of seismic waves with associated uncertainty. We use a change point framework to model the different conditions before and after the seismic wave arrives. To evaluate the performance of the model, we …

Preparation And Evaluation Of Single-Stranded Dna Aptamer-Based Immunological Adjuvant In Broiler Chickens, Adil Sabr Al-Ogaili

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mineral oils and metal salts are commonly used as adjuvants to enhance acquired immunity. Recently, monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and recombinant peptides agonist CD40 receptor have shown remarkable promise for induction of rapid and robust immune responses. Limitations of this approach MAb production costs and multiple administrations due to anti-MAb immune responses. Here we demonstrate the development of a unique and sophisticated DNA aptamer-based alternative for CD40-directed delivery of universal antigens as an alternative in chickens, and potentially other vertebrate species. This receptor, expressed by antigen-presenting cells, acts as a costimulatory molecule for activated T helper lymphocytes. After initially selecting for …

A Hidden Markov Factor Analysis Framework For Seizure Detection In Epilepsy Patients, Mahboubeh Madadi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 1% of the world population suffers from epilepsy. Continuous long-term electroencephalographic (EEG) monitoring is the gold-standard for recording epileptic seizures and assisting in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with epilepsy. Detection of seizure from the recorded EEG is a laborious, time consuming and expensive task. In this study, we propose an automated seizure detection framework to assist electroencephalographers and physicians with identification of seizures in recorded EEG signals. In addition, an automated seizure detection algorithm can be used for treatment through automatic intervention during the seizure activity and on time triggering of the injection of a radiotracer to …

To And Through College: Investigating Attitudes Towards, Enrollment In, And Graduation From College, Elise Swanson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Postsecondary access and degree completion are increasingly important concerns for individuals and policymakers. This dissertation presents evidence on three distinct strategies for increasing students’ level of preparedness for higher education, rates of postsecondary enrollment, and rates of postsecondary degree completion. The first is an intervention aimed at increasing eighth-grade students’ familiarity with college life. Results from an experimental study indicate that students assigned to participate in campus visits demonstrate higher levels of knowledge about college, are more likely to have conversations with school personnel about college, put forth higher levels of effort while completing a college-related survey, and express a …

Comprehensive Poultry Supply Chain Model With Vertical And Horizontal Linkages: Implication Of Domestic And International Shocks, Hakan Unveren

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

According to USDA FAS, in 2017, the US was the largest broiler-producing country with 18.696 million metric tons and the second largest exporter of broiler products with 3.075 million metric tons (Brazil is the largest exporter with 3.847 million metric tons). Thus, around 83% of US production is consumed domestically. According to USITC, chickens are the most important protein source in the US, and Americans consume more chicken per capita than any other country. However, while the broiler industry is a key segment of US agriculture, it is underserved by large-scale supply-chain and trade models.

In this study, to fill …

Spatial Reorganization Of Histone-Like Nucleoid Structuring Proteins Caused By Silver Nanoparticles, Meaad Alqahtany

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and ions (Ag+) can be the new generation of antibiotics due to their antimicrobial effects against bacteria and other microbes. Many studies have shown that AgNPs and suppress the growth of bacteria and damage the cell walls of the microbes; therefore, treating bacterial cells with AgNPs may be a promising method to terminate multi-resistant bacteria. In this work, the effect of AgNPs with two different surface coatings on the spatial reorganization of histone-like nucleoid structuring (H-NS) proteins in Escherichia coli bacteria was investigated using quantitative super-resolution fluorescence microscopy to understand the toxicity and antimicrobial mechanism of AgNPs. …

Characterization Of Microtubule Organizing Centers In The Genus Protostelium, Including Evolutionary Implications, Ethan Taylor Ozment

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Microtubule organizing centers (MTOCs) are cellular regions of microtubule nucleation. The best known MTOCs are those associated with the centrosome, but several non-centrosomal MTOCs are known in eukaryotes, especially in land plants. MTOCs are poorly characterized across the breadth of amoebozoan diversity, but are well-known in certain amoebozoan lineages, including the genus of protosteloid slime molds Protostelium. The structure of the MTOC is known for two non-ciliated species, P. nocturnum and P. mycophaga, as well as P. aurantium, which can reversibly become ciliated under appropriate conditions. P. nocturnum and P. mycophaga have acentriolar centrosomal MTOCs while P. aurantium has a …

Painting The Leaky Pipeline Pink: Girl Branded Media And The Promotion Of Stem, Juniper Patel

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides a critical feminist analysis of girl branded media depictions of girls in STEM. Through close textual analysis of three case studies—Disney Fairies films, Barbie: Dreamhouse Adventures, and My Little Pony: Equestria Girls media—I found that such STEM promotion tends to emphasize traditional gender roles and neoliberal market values. Disney Fairies films promote traditional gender roles via portrayals of play STEM, white hegemony, and western beauty standards. Additionally, these films promote the neoliberal ideal of industrialization as consequence free. Dreamhouse Adventures depicts STEM in relation to traditional gender norms such as caretaking, heteronormativity, and girl culture. Furthermore, this …

Implications Of Rice Cultivar Selection To Optimize Returns From Crop Insurance, David Ethan Branscum

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rice production differs from most other field crops by distinct differences in yields across cultivars and rice producers being paid for yield after post-harvest milling. Using eleven years (2003-2013) of Arkansas harvest data from performance trials in six different locations, hybrids have 19% higher paddy yields and head rice yield rate 1.7% lower than conventional cultivars. Given the 2014 Farm Bill’s emphasis on crop insurance as a risk management tool for producers, these variations in yield among cultivars have significant implications for rice producers. Comparing national level, crop insurance data on corn, soybeans and rice indicates rice producers strongly prefer …

Local And Central Controllers For Microgrids, Edgar Ariel Escala Calame

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The main objective of this thesis is to serve as a guide, so readers are able to learn about microgrids and to design simple controllers for different AC microgrid applications. In addition, this thesis has the objective to provide examples of simulation cases for the hierarchical structure of a basic AC microgrid which can be used as a foundation to build upon, and achieve more complex microgrid structures as well as more sophisticated power-converter control techniques.

To achieve these objectives, the modeling of voltage source converters and control design in the z-domain are presented. Moreover, the implementation and transient analysis …

Effects Of Critical Reflection On University Students’ Cognitive Achievement In Agricultural Mechanization, Patterson P. Hilaire

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Experiential learning continues to play a vital role in agricultural education and mechanization laboratories (Shoulders & Myers, 2013). An essential component of experiential learning is critical reflection. Critical reflection helps students process and construct meaning from laboratory experiences. A study conducted by Shoulders and Myers (2013) revealed that only 15.4% of the agricultural educators the researchers interviewed incorporated reflective practices laboratory experiences. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of critical reflection on students’ achievement following five agricultural mechanization laboratory activities. The results from this study revealed that critical reflection had a consistently positive effect on immediate …

A Silicon Germanium Cmos Linear Voltage Regulator For Wireless Agricultural Applications, Aminta Naidili Castillo Robles

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents the design, simulation and test results of a silicon germanium (SiGe) complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) linear regulator. The objective of the circuit is to power other analog devices regardless of the load current and input voltage changes. The application of this regulator is to be part of a project developing a miniaturized semiconductor platform that can be inserted into stems of crops in order to measure data inside the plant and then send it wirelessly to the user. The linear regulator was designed on a BiCMOS SiGe 0.13µm which is a GlobalFoundries process. It has been tested at …

Model Development And Assessment Of The Gate Network In A High-Performance Sic Power Module, William Austin Curbow

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The main objective of this effort is to determine points of weakness in the gate network of a high-performance SiC power module and to offer remedies to these issues to increase the overall performance, robustness, and reliability of the technology. In order to accomplish this goal, a highly accurate model of the gate network is developed through three methods of parameter extraction: calculation, simulation, and measurement. A SPICE model of the gate network is developed to analyze four electrical issues in a high-speed, SiC-based power module including the necessary internal gate resistance for damping under-voltage and over-voltage transients, the disparity …

Large-Scale Atomistic Simulations Of Complex And Functional Properties Of Ferroic Materials, Raymond Thomas Walter

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ferroelectric (FE) nanostructures have attracted considerable attention as our abilities improve to synthesize them and to predict their properties by theoretical means. Depolarizing field effects at interfaces of FE heterostructures are particularly notable for causing topological defects such as FE vortices and negative dielectric responses in superlattices. In this thesis, I employ two large-scale atomistic techniques, the first-principles-based effective Hamiltonian (HEff) method and the linear-scaling three-dimensional fragment (LS3DF) method. I use these methods to explore optical rotation in FE vortices, electro-optic effects in FE vortices and skyrmions, and voltage amplification via negative capacitance in ferroelectric-paraelectric superlattices. We employ HEff in …

Comparison Of Physical Intensity Between Interactive Video Game Cycling And Conventional Stationary Cycling In Adolescents With High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder, Tariq Mohammed Alsoqairan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background: Obesity has become a serious health concern in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Researchers have indicated that sedentary behaviors, especially technological activities, such as video games and other forms of screen-based activities is the main barrier to participate in physical activities. Active video games have demonstrated the efficacy in increasing physical activity and reducing body weight in children and adolescents with disabilities.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine the exercise intensity and enjoyment level of interactive video game cycling (IVGC) in comparison with conventional stationary cycling (CSC) during matched number of sessions utilizing the same …

Self-Assembled Nanoantenna Enhance Optical Activity And Transport In Scalable Thin Films And Interfaces, Keith Richard Berry Jr.

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Continued population growth and the decrease of existing energy platforms demands long-term solutions for development and implementation of scalable plasmonic metamaterials for energy and agricultural applications. Self-assembled nanoantenna into random and ordered arrangements are advanced herein for optical and thermal enhancements in scalable thin film. An analytical approach to estimating the thermal dynamics of random arrangements of nanoantenna resulted in estimates within 30% across a range of geometric parameters, nanoantenna-containing media, and thermal parameters. Multimodal thermal dynamics of polymer thin films containing gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were observed through the natural log of the dimensionless temperature driving force plotted versus time …