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Exploring Play Attention, Brett Hoyt May 2009

Exploring Play Attention, Brett Hoyt

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the Play Attention neurofeedback computer program to determine its efficacy in the classroom. A program that would increase students' ability to pay better attention in the classroom would vastly improve our entire educational system. The two areas that were used to determine the effectiveness of the program were improved task performance and the ability to follow directions the first time they are given. Daily progress reports of twenty different students were compared to each other over a six month period. There were ten students in the experimental group and ten students in the control group. There …

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Childhood Temperament And Its Effects On Adjustment To College, Ashley L. Prim May 2009

Childhood Temperament And Its Effects On Adjustment To College, Ashley L. Prim

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether temperaments seen in early childhood would have an effect on adjustment throughout life, especially during adjustment to college. Specifically, the researcher hypothesized that children with easy temperaments would have an easier time adjusting to college; whereas, children with slow-to-warm-up or difficult temperaments would have a more difficult time adjusting to college. A self-created survey was distributed to 30 undergraduate psychology students at Rowan University. The survey consisted of temperament and adjustment measures. Correlations were run using SPSS in order to determine the effects of temperament on adjustment to college. While the …

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Development And Investigation Of Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy Treatment Planning For Four-Dimensional Anatomy, Yelin Suh May 2009

Development And Investigation Of Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy Treatment Planning For Four-Dimensional Anatomy, Yelin Suh

Theses and Dissertations

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Radiotherapy is one of the main treatment modalities of lung cancer. However, the achievable accuracy of radiotherapy treatment is limited for lung-based tumors due to respiratory motion. Four-dimensional radiotherapy explicitly accounts for anatomic motion by characterizing the motion, creating a treatment plan that accounts for this motion, and delivering this plan to the moving anatomy. This thesis focuses on the current problems and solutions throughout the course of four-dimensional radiotherapy. For characterization of respiratory-induced motion, patient tumor motion data were analyzed. It is shown that tumor motion can be significant …

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Attentional Biases And Ptsd Symptomology In Victims Of Sexual Assault And Motor Vehicle Accidents, Orin R. Redmond May 2009

Attentional Biases And Ptsd Symptomology In Victims Of Sexual Assault And Motor Vehicle Accidents, Orin R. Redmond

Theses and Dissertations

While the field of change detection and attentional biases has become an increasingly popular area of study and much is already known about Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), very little research has been done integrating these two areas. In the present study, we chose to investigate two types of traumatic experiences prevalent in the college population, motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) and sexual assaults. The flicker paradigm, used to measure change detection, was utilized to examine hypersensitivity to environments with threatening stimuli in individuals whom experienced either of these traumas. The paradigm monitored reaction times to identifying changes that took place in …

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A Study Of Selected Teachers' Methods To Improve Parental Involvement In Education, Michael Sandberg May 2009

A Study Of Selected Teachers' Methods To Improve Parental Involvement In Education, Michael Sandberg

Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to explore teaching methods of selected teachers that help to improve parental involvement in education at a middle school in South Jersey. The study also investigated demographic factors such as gender, subject taught, subject or discipline taught, and years of teaching experience. Data on the attitudes were collected by means of a survey using 14 Likert-type items using a 4 point scale and 4 open-ended questions. Research and this study show that a variety of teacher's methods could improve the communication and involvement of parents in the educational process.

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Early Maladaptive Schemas Mediating The Relationship Between Perceptions Of Early Parenting And Depression And Anxiety, Monique Schatzman May 2009

Early Maladaptive Schemas Mediating The Relationship Between Perceptions Of Early Parenting And Depression And Anxiety, Monique Schatzman

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how EMS's mediate the relationship between perceptions of early parenting and depressive and anxious symptoms. The overall hypothesis was that EMS's based on the total score of YSQ-S3 would mediate the relationship between parental styles based on the YPI and depressive and anxious symptoms. Results indicated support for the mediating effects of EMS's in the relationship between perceptions of early parenting and depressive and anxious symptoms. EMS's mediated the overprotective, belittling, pessimistic/fearful, and punitive mother with depression. EMS's mediated the emotionally depriving, overprotective, belittling, pessimistic/fearful, controlling, and emotionally inhibited father with depression. EMS's also mediated the emotionally …

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Shrinking The Janzen-Connell Doughnut: Consequences Of An Invasive Multiplier (Microstegium Vimineum) On The Mid-Canopy In A Mixed Pine-Oak Forest, Rebekha Shaw May 2009

Shrinking The Janzen-Connell Doughnut: Consequences Of An Invasive Multiplier (Microstegium Vimineum) On The Mid-Canopy In A Mixed Pine-Oak Forest, Rebekha Shaw

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction of invasive species can alter seed fate predictions made by the Janzen-Connell Escape Hypothesis (JCEH). The JCEH states that there is a suitable region around a plant that is ideal for seed germination, growth, and recruitment. Seeds dispersed too close to the maternal plant are subject to competition from the maternal individual and perhaps density-dependent predation, whereas seeds dispersed further away may end up in suboptimal habitats. Invasive species may change the amount of these suitable habitats for native plants by creating unsuitable light environments and as a result, may influence the size of the ideal recruitment zone surrounding …

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Topology Optimization Of Continuum Structures Using Element Exchange Method, Mohammad Rouhi May 2009

Topology Optimization Of Continuum Structures Using Element Exchange Method, Mohammad Rouhi

Theses and Dissertations

In this research, a new zeroth-order (non-gradient based) topology optimization methodology for compliance minimization was developed. It is called the Element Exchange Method (EEM). The principal operation in this method is to convert the less effective solid elements into void elements and the more effective void elements into solid elements while maintaining the overall volume fraction constant. The methodology can be integrated with existing FEA codes to determine the stiffness or other structural characteristics of each candidate design during the optimization process. This thesis provides details of the EEM algorithm, the element exchange strategy, checkerboard control, and the convergence criteria. …

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Syngas From Biomass Gasification As Fuel For Generator, Ajay Shah May 2009

Syngas From Biomass Gasification As Fuel For Generator, Ajay Shah

Theses and Dissertations

The emergence of biomass based energy warrants the evaluation of syngas from biomass gasification as a fuel for personal power systems. The objectives of this study were to determine the performance and exhaust emissions of a commercial 5.5 kW generator modified for operation with 100% syngas at different syngas flows and to compare the results with those obtained for gasoline operation at same electrical power. Maximum power output for gasoline operation was 2451 W and maximum power output for syngas operation was 1392 W. Overall efficiencies of the generator were same at maximum electrical power outputs for operation with both …

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Travel Time Estimation In Congested Urban Networks Using Point Detectors Data, Anas Mohammad Mahmoud May 2009

Travel Time Estimation In Congested Urban Networks Using Point Detectors Data, Anas Mohammad Mahmoud

Theses and Dissertations

A model for estimating travel time on short arterial links of congested urban networks, using currently available technology, is introduced in this thesis. The objective is to estimate travel time, with an acceptable level of accuracy for real-life traffic problems, such as congestion management and emergency evacuation. To achieve this research objective, various travel time estimation methods, including highway trajectories, multiple linear regression (MLR), artificial neural networks (ANN) and K –nearest neighbor (K-NN) were applied and tested on the same dataset. The results demonstrate that ANN and K-NN methods outperform linear methods by a significant margin, also, show particularly good …

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Laboratory And Theoretical Investigations Of Direct And Indirect Microbial Influences On Seafloor Gas Hydrates, James Gregory Radich May 2009

Laboratory And Theoretical Investigations Of Direct And Indirect Microbial Influences On Seafloor Gas Hydrates, James Gregory Radich

Theses and Dissertations

Bacillus subtilis capable of producing surfactin was cultured to evaluate effects of microbial cell mass on natural gas hydrate formation, dissociation, and stability characteristics. The direct molecular influences of microbial cell wall polymers inhibited gas hydrate formation significantly, decreased hydrate formation rates, and increased dissociation rates. Upon the introduction of bentonite, significant synergy was observed in the system in the form of a catalytic effect. Microbes cultured from seafloor seawater-saturated sediments collected from Mississippi Canyon 118 (MC-118) produced similar effects and generalized the observed trends. MC-118 cultures also produced biosurfactant in several culture media, which was shown to catalyze natural …

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Carbon Sequestration Resulting From Bottomland Hardwood Afforestation In The Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (Lmav), Bertrand Festus Nero May 2009

Carbon Sequestration Resulting From Bottomland Hardwood Afforestation In The Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (Lmav), Bertrand Festus Nero

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to examine some mechanisms of bottomland hardwood afforestation and their impacts on above- and belowground carbon sequestration. Six combinations of bottomland hardwood species and two levels each of fertilizer and herbicide were applied in a completely randomized design on two sites in the LMAV. Survival, ground line diameter and total height were monitored for two growing seasons. Soil carbon and nitrogen to a depth of one meter, herbaceous biomass, and tree biomass were sampled in the first and second years of establishment. Species mixes, fertilizer, and herbicide application significantly affected survival, growth, above- and …

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Characterization Of Late Embryonic B Cell Stages In Chicken Bursa Of Fabricius, Balazs Felfoldi May 2009

Characterization Of Late Embryonic B Cell Stages In Chicken Bursa Of Fabricius, Balazs Felfoldi

Theses and Dissertations

B cell development in chicken takes place in a specific primary lymphoid organ, the bursa of Fabricius. The bursa is considered to provide a microenvironment that promotes B lymphocyte survival and maturation. The most important maturation step in the bursa is the immunoglobulin (Ig) gene conversion, a process that is responsible for immunoglobulin repertoire in avian species. The Ig-gene conversion is strictly regulated, and only progenitors that are able to initiate the process will develop into fully functional B lymphocytes. In this study the late embryonic B lymphocyte stages are investigated, the bursal stem cell stage and the onset of …

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"A Pbs Mind In An Mtv World": Teaching Teenagers Meteorology By Placing A Weather Forecast On Mtv And The Creation Of The Concert Forecast, Victoria Leigh Shaw May 2009

"A Pbs Mind In An Mtv World": Teaching Teenagers Meteorology By Placing A Weather Forecast On Mtv And The Creation Of The Concert Forecast, Victoria Leigh Shaw

Theses and Dissertations

Studies show teenagers are influenced by television. This study tested the hypothesis that students can learn meteorology by viewing a weather forecast on Music Television (MTV). MTV was used because it is the network watched most by adolescents. Two surveys were administered to 175 high school students along with a DVD showing a weather forecast for MTV’s Spring Break. Half of the sample group was told the forecast was for MTV and the other was told it was for Channel One. Results showed that there was no statistically significant difference between MTV and Channel One in information recalled from the …

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Evaluation Of Energy Usage In The Chemical Industry And Effective Measures To Reduce Energy Losses, Raul Jose Crespo May 2009

Evaluation Of Energy Usage In The Chemical Industry And Effective Measures To Reduce Energy Losses, Raul Jose Crespo

Theses and Dissertations

Energy consumption is one of the major concerns in the current environment, not only because of the limited availability of non-renewable fuels, but also due to the high cost and the pollution generated by energy production. In general, industries consume large quantities of electricity, fuels and other types of energy. Among the industries, the chemical industry is one of the highest energy consumers because of the nature of its processes. This fact makes the chemical industry one of the best candidates for the study and evaluation of different technologies to improve the efficiency of the energy use without affecting the …

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Cho-Human Hybrid Cells As Models For Human Chromosome Non-Disjunction, Elizabeth Balconi Evans May 2009

Cho-Human Hybrid Cells As Models For Human Chromosome Non-Disjunction, Elizabeth Balconi Evans

Theses and Dissertations

We have used Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)-human hybrid cells containing chromosomes 16, 18, X, and 21 to test the ability of human kinetochores to successfully bind to spindle microtubules and to be distributed to the daughter cells. We have established the intrinsic rate of non-disjunction among these human chromosomes noted above and compared these rates with those in cells presented with mitotic challenges such as taxol, nocodazole, and mitosis with unreplicated genomes (MUG). Cells were grown on culture slides, fixed and processed for immunofluorescence and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Daughter pairs were identified by staining with anti-á-tubulin to identify …

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Development Of An Interactive Model Predicting Climatological And Cultural Influences On Annual Groundwater Volume In The Mississippi Delta Shallow Alluvial Aquifer, Tia Leni Merrell May 2009

Development Of An Interactive Model Predicting Climatological And Cultural Influences On Annual Groundwater Volume In The Mississippi Delta Shallow Alluvial Aquifer, Tia Leni Merrell

Theses and Dissertations

Water volume in the shallow alluvial aquifer in the Mississippi Delta region is subject to seasonal declines and annual fluctuations caused by both climatological variability and crop water use variations from year-to-year. The most recently documented water volume decline in the aquifer is estimated at 500,000 acreeet. Available climate, crop acreage, irrigation water use, and groundwater decline data from Sunflower County, MS are used to evaluate the climate-groundwater interactions in the Mississippi Delta region. This research produced a model that simulates the effects of climatic variability, crop acreage changes, and specific irrigation methods on consequent variations in the water volume …

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Effect Of Nitrogen, Location, And Harvesting Stage On Peppermint (Mentha X Piperita L.) Productivity, Oil Content, And Composition, Vasile Cerven May 2009

Effect Of Nitrogen, Location, And Harvesting Stage On Peppermint (Mentha X Piperita L.) Productivity, Oil Content, And Composition, Vasile Cerven

Theses and Dissertations

Peppermint dry weight biomass was higher in Verona (8119 kg/ha) than in Stoneville (6115 kg/ha). Overall both, oil content and yield were higher in bud formation stage than flowering stage. The levels of major essential oil constitutes were (-)-menthol 26 – 30 %, (-)-menthone 14 – 21 %, (+)-menthofuran 5 – 11 %, and eucalyptol 3 – 4 % of total essential oil content at flowering stage. Menthone content and its yield were higher at first cut; however, (+)-menthofuran content and its yield were higher at the second cut at bud formation. Although N fertilizers at rate 80 kg/ha did …

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Evaluation Of Technology Aimed To Improve Nitrogen Use Efficiency For Delayedlood Rice (Oryza Sativa L.) Production, Jason Morris Satterfield May 2009

Evaluation Of Technology Aimed To Improve Nitrogen Use Efficiency For Delayedlood Rice (Oryza Sativa L.) Production, Jason Morris Satterfield

Theses and Dissertations

Improving nitrogen (N) use efficiency is crucial for maximizing growth and yield in rice production. Tools to determine precise midseason N rates as well as knowledge of the effects of starter fertilizer N applications on rice growth and yield are lacking. Field experiments were conducted in 2007 and 2008 at the Delta Research and Extension Center to evaluate canopy reflectance as a means for determining yield and N nutrition at midseason and to assess agronomic effects and N recovery efficiency of starter fertilizer N. Measurable in-season parameters were significantly related to grain yield. Grain yield and measured parameters were related …

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Campus Emergency Evacuation Traffic Management Plan, Di Wu May 2009

Campus Emergency Evacuation Traffic Management Plan, Di Wu

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis was motivated to simulate the evacuation traffic of Mississippi Stated University (MSU) main campus using the Path-Following logic of TSIS/CORSIM and to evaluate a set of traffic management plans. Three scenarios of traffic management plans were developed and tested. A NCT of 123 minutes was projected if evacuate without any plan. In comparison, under a pre-planned traffic management plan the NCT would decrease to 39 minutes. Further, if implement contra flow the NCT would reduce to 21 minutes. If even further adjust the signal timing plans at the university exits a NCT of 20 minutes would be achieved. …

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Has The Education And Health Relationship Changed Over Time?A Panel Analysis Of Age, Period, And Cohort Effects, Wesley Lynn James May 2009

Has The Education And Health Relationship Changed Over Time?A Panel Analysis Of Age, Period, And Cohort Effects, Wesley Lynn James

Theses and Dissertations

Two vital American social institutions, education and health care, are intimately related. The individual-level relationship between education and health is tenuous, changing over time, throughout the life course, and across generations. Previous research in this area does not separate the mediating effects of age, period, and cohort or assess the unique effects of various levels of educational attainment on health. Using longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, this dissertation untangles these factors to find that education has become a more important predictor of health now than twenty years ago, education benefits health across the life course, and …

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Solvent Methods In Coupled-Cluster Theory, Kanchana Sahan Thanthiriwatte May 2009

Solvent Methods In Coupled-Cluster Theory, Kanchana Sahan Thanthiriwatte

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation describes the implementation of the molecular electronic structure calculations with an implicit solvent model using coupled-cluster theory. The theory for and the implementation of the solvent reaction field method (SCRF) and the reference interaction site model (RISM) at the coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) are presented. In the SCRF model a solute molecule is placed in a spherical cavity, and the outer solvent is represented by a dielectric continuum, which is characterized by the dielectric constant of the solvent. The reaction field is introduced to the system by using the multipole moment expansion of the electronic structure of …

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Pictures With A Voice: Understanding The Everyday Lives Of Native Americans Of The Chickasaw Nation In Developing A Nutrition Social Marketing Campaign, Krystal Rebecca Bowen May 2009

Pictures With A Voice: Understanding The Everyday Lives Of Native Americans Of The Chickasaw Nation In Developing A Nutrition Social Marketing Campaign, Krystal Rebecca Bowen

Theses and Dissertations

Randomly selected Native American families eligible to receive commodity foods were provided cameras to take pictures of visual responses in the areas of: 1) primary food purchases, 2) family use of food, 3) family activities and information access, and 4) future goals of the family. Using a focus-group format, participants chose five pictures that represented the group’s consensual responses. Selected pictures and meaning were analyzed using thematic analysis procedures. Twelve families completed the project. There were four major themes: 1) the importance of family and the Native-American community, 2) health of individual and family including extended family as it pertains …

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Population Genetics Of Helicoverpa Zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae): Differentiation And Quantification Of Overwintering And Spring Migratory Populations In Northern Mississippi, Satya Ravikanth Vemula May 2009

Population Genetics Of Helicoverpa Zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae): Differentiation And Quantification Of Overwintering And Spring Migratory Populations In Northern Mississippi, Satya Ravikanth Vemula

Theses and Dissertations

Helicoverpa zea, commonly referred to as corn earworm, has been a major pest of corn and cotton, along with many major crops grown in United States. Migration of this pest plays a major role in its distribution and successful survival. Part of the current resistance management strategy for transgenic crops, using non-Bt crops as refuges, is totally based on the movement of the adult populations between the Bt and non-Bt fields, and successful exchange of genetic material between the rare resistant and susceptible populations. To study the movement and migration patterns, and their implications in resistance management, suitable molecular genetic …

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Predictors Of Paternal Commitment And Paternal Involvement Among Low-Income African American Fathers, Deadric Treandis Williams May 2009

Predictors Of Paternal Commitment And Paternal Involvement Among Low-Income African American Fathers, Deadric Treandis Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Results indicate that structural factors are highly predictive of paternal commitment and paternal involvement among low-income African American fathers, thus lending strong credence to the structural barriers perspective. Moreover, while findings also indicate that several cultural factors are associated with paternal involvement (e.g., attitudes toward single motherhood and low self-efficacy), they are at odds with the cultural deficiency perspective. These results have both theoretical and policy implications. With respect to fatherhood theory, findings derived from this research call for a much-needed theoretical integration in studying paternal commitment and paternal involvement among low-income African American fathers; that is, to synthesize and …

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Students' Perception Of Parental Involvement In Academic Achievement At A Rural Community College, Nerma Antrese Moore May 2009

Students' Perception Of Parental Involvement In Academic Achievement At A Rural Community College, Nerma Antrese Moore

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

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The Effects Of Feeding A Ground Raw Soybean Diet On Reproductive Performance And Carcass Quality Of Prepubertal Gilts, Daniel Jason Sykes May 2009

The Effects Of Feeding A Ground Raw Soybean Diet On Reproductive Performance And Carcass Quality Of Prepubertal Gilts, Daniel Jason Sykes

Theses and Dissertations

The administration of raw soybeans to the diet of prepubertal gilts had no effect (p>0.05) on age to puberty, number of corpora lutea, or embryos present. Also, the number of pigs farrowed live and 28d litter weights did not differ between gilts consuming the raw soybean diet and gilts consuming the control diet. There was a reduction (p<0.05) in the number of pigs weaned in the group consuming the raw soybeans but no differences (p>0.05) in weaning weights. Gilts fed the raw soybean diet had a reduction (p=0.05) of hot carcass weights compared to gilts consuming the control diet but exhibited no differences for other carcass parameters measured. Thermal imaging was able to differentiate gilts …

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The Spotted Cucumber Beetle (Diabrotica Undecimpunctata Howardi):Interactions With Cucurbits And Its Status As A Sweetpotato Pest In Mississippi, Daniel Edward Fleming May 2009

The Spotted Cucumber Beetle (Diabrotica Undecimpunctata Howardi):Interactions With Cucurbits And Its Status As A Sweetpotato Pest In Mississippi, Daniel Edward Fleming

Theses and Dissertations

The spotted cucumber beetle (Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi Barber) is regarded as a pest of sweetpotatoes in Mississippi; however, its feeding on sweetpotatoes has not previously been documented. They are attracted to cucurbit crops that could be utilized as a trap crop or sentinel plant for management of cucumber beetles in sweetpotatoes. Studies were conducted between 2006 and 2008 to determine if cucurbit plants have the potential to serve as a trap crop or as sentinel plants for the spotted cucumber beetle in sweetpotato fields, and to determine the status of the spotted cucumber beetle as a sweetpotato pest in Mississippi. …

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The Use Of Non-Invasive Monitoring Techniques For Profiling Hormonal Changes Associated With Stress And Reproductive Cyclicity In Domestic And Non-Domestic Species, Marcus Mcgee May 2009

The Use Of Non-Invasive Monitoring Techniques For Profiling Hormonal Changes Associated With Stress And Reproductive Cyclicity In Domestic And Non-Domestic Species, Marcus Mcgee

Theses and Dissertations

Accurately examining animal endocrine profiles pose unique challenges due to possible human interaction influencing basal values. Standard methods of gathering information about an animal’s endocrine status are often dependent upon restraint and use of invasive methodologies. However to accurately monitor the influence management practices, blood sampling sometimes requires that hormone measurements be observed from animals in a relaxed state. To this end, methods for non-invasive monitoring (NIM) are greatly needed to obtain basal endocrine measurements. Such methods include fecal collections followed by hormone extraction, and remote sampling technologies for obtaining blood samples without handling. The overall objective of this study …

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Treatment Of Timtek Process Water By Co-Composting And Aqueous Phytoremediation, Lauren Heard Mangum May 2009

Treatment Of Timtek Process Water By Co-Composting And Aqueous Phytoremediation, Lauren Heard Mangum

Theses and Dissertations

The Timtek process involves crushing of small diameter trees to form mats which are coated with adhesive then pressed into boards. Crushing yields an effluent water that has a high biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and total suspended solids (TSS). This water must be remediated before it can be discharged into water ways. The objective of this study is to evaluate: 1) the co-composting potential for process waste water, scrim wood waste and poultry manure; and 2) the potential for phytoremediation of diluted process water using duckweed. The results showed that co-composting reduced the bulk and toxicity …

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