Digital Commons Network^™

Characterizing Quinclorac-Resistant Smooth Crabgrass (Digitaria Ischaemum) Control And Possible Metabolic Mechanisms Of Resistance, Atikah Dwi Putri

Theses and Dissertations

Quinclorac controls crabgrass (Digitaria spp.) post-emergence in cool- and warm-season turfgrass. A rate response study revealed that two Mississippi smooth crabgrass (Digitaria ischaemum) species (MSU1 and MSU2) are resistant to quinclorac. Following that, field experiments were carried out to evaluate programmatic approaches to control one of these populations. Despite prior study on quinclorac-resistant weeds, to date, quinclorac-resistant smooth crabgrass and its mechanism of resistance have only been reported once in California. The mechanism of resistance of MSU1 and MSU2 relative to susceptible (SMT) was then investigated. The SMT biotype accumulated three times more cyanide than the resistant …

The Impact Of Environmental Education Delivery Methods And Outreach Messaging On Attitudes, Interests, And Intended-Behavior Changes Toward Nature, Vanessa Elizabeth Hoffman

Theses and Dissertations

Environmental education (EE) is important for environmental awareness and stewardship. Involving youth and adults in EE ensures current and future generations will conserve natural resources. This thesis explores impacts of delivery methods on participants’ environmental attitudes and behaviors toward nature through middle school classroom- and camp-based EE instruction, focus group interviews with rural minority youth, and adult responses to aquatic conservation outreach messaging. I observed no difference in environmental attitudes between online versus in-person delivery of EE lessons for middle-schoolers. Outdoor-based learning may be more impactful for EE than experiential, classroom-based learning. Focus group outcomes suggested youth EE programs should …

Beyond Algorithms: A User-Centered Evaluation Of A Feature Recommender System In Requirements Engineering, Oluwatobi Lasisi

Theses and Dissertations

Several studies have applied recommender technologies to support requirements engineering activities. As in other application areas of recommender systems (RS), many studies have focused on the algorithms’ prediction accuracy, while there have been limited discussions around users’ interactions with the systems. Since recommender systems are designed to aid users in information retrieval, they should be assessed not just as recommendation algorithms but also from the users’ perspective. In contrast to accuracy measures, user-related issues can only be effectively investigated via empirical studies involving real users. Furthermore, researchers are becoming increasingly aware that the effectiveness of the systems goes beyond recommendation …

Navigating The Road To Distributional Social Equity Using Smart Cities Technologies, Annus Azhar

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation aims to understand the mechanisms behind the adoption of smart cities technologies (SCT) and how they can promote social equity in local communities in the United States. There is a distinct lack of empirical research addressing the methods designed for the promotion of social equity despite their numerous benefits. The present study will address this omission in the scholarship by providing evidence-based insights on how public administrators can leverage SCT to promote distributional social equity through the Digital Era Governance (DEG) and Adoption Theory frameworks. This study also demonstrates the efficacy of applying the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) …

Quantifying Seasonal And Annual Precipitation Variability On San Salvador Island, Bahamas Using Surface Observations And Satellite Estimates., John Bryson Wells

Theses and Dissertations

San Salvador Island is a small Bahamian island located in the subtropics just north of the Tropic of Cancer. Due to its subtropical location, the island is influenced by both mid-latitude and tropical weather patterns. These weather patterns vary in scale from localized convective uplift to synoptic-scale systems. This study compares satellite-derived estimates of precipitation and rain gauge observations from June 2019 through September 2021 to evaluate the relationship between the two datasets. This study then uses the satellite-derived estimates of precipitation over a 20-year period to quantify annual and seasonal variability in precipitation on San Salvador. Corroborating past research, …

Physiological And Proteomic Analysis Of Soybean In Response To Drought And Heat Stress, Amandeep Kaur

Theses and Dissertations

Drought and temperature stress are the two most important factors limiting crop productivity. A physiological and proteomic analysis of soybean was performed to investigate the negative impact of these variables. The previous studies reported the beneficial effect of silicon under stress conditions. Silicon supplementation may promote plant growth under drought stress, although the mechanism to alleviate drought stress is uncertain. The proteomic analysis of chloroplast proteins was carried out to study the response of silicon supplementation under drought stress.

Similarly, temperature stress, mainly heat stress, has an adverse effect on soybean plants. The comparative analysis of two soybean cultivars, DS25-1 …

The Consequences Of Low Energy Availability Related To Relative Energy Deficiency In Male Athletes: A Systematic Review, Lauryn Bailey

Theses and Dissertations

RED-S is a syndrome that stems from low energy availability (LEA) in athletes. It can impact numerous physiological and psychological functions, as well as negatively affect performance. Because RED-S is a relatively new syndrome, there are few studies showing the impact of RED-S on performance and physiological factors. The aim of this systematic review was to examine the consequences of induced LEA in relation to RED-S in male athletes. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, Five studies were deemed eligible based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Studies measured risk of RED-S through body composition, bone …

Race, Gender, And Inheritance: The Experience Of Black Farmers In Mississippi, Gbenga Idowu Elufisan

Theses and Dissertations

The population of Black farmers in the U.S. has declined to 2% of farmers in the U.S. because of institutional racism, land dispossession, heir’s property, and youth’s disinterest in farming. Most works on Black farmers have focused on racism, and heirs’ property, but little is known about the influence of race, gender, and inheritance on Black farmers’ experience. To understand this, I asked: what are the contemporary challenges associated with farming among Black farmers in Mississippi? How do race, gender, and inheritance influence the experiences of Black farmers? And how do Black farmers cope with their farming challenges? Twenty farmers …

A Step Toward Understanding Software Development In The Public Sector: A Study Of A Department Of Defense Research And Development Organization, Joshua Q. Church

Theses and Dissertations

This paper focuses on the importance of effective software development processes and a foundational understanding of success factors in the public sector. Although there has been significant investment in information technology, not all public sector software projects result in a successful return on investment. This study explores the crucial factors, referred to as Critical Success Factors (CSFs), that enable the success of public sector software development projects. Additionally, this study aims to discover if the CSFs, the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), or its methodologies are more impactful for the success of software projects. This study aims to also identify …

Development Of Live Attenuated A. Hydrophila Vaccines And Understanding Of Macrophage-Aeromonas Hydrophila Interactions, Eda Ozdemir

Theses and Dissertations

Channel catfish farming is the largest aquaculture industry in the U.S., and virulent Aeromonas hydrophila is an important re-emerging bacterial pathogen of farmed catfish. A. hydrophila is ubiquitous in the aquatic environment and causes motile Aeromonas septicemia (MAS) in farmed catfish. A. hydrophila infection is challenging to treat due to rapidly progressive mass mortalities. Although florfenicol has been used in managing outbreaks, acute onset of anorexia, drug cost, and emergence of antimicrobial-resistant strains are significant concerns. Prevention of MAS by vaccination could be a promising approach, but a commercial vaccine is not available. Thus, it is critical to develop effective …

Design Of High-Power Ultra-High-Speed Permanent Magnet Machine, Md Khurshedul Islam

Theses and Dissertations

The demand for ultra-high-speed machines (UHSM) is rapidly growing in high-tech industries due to their attractive features. A-mechanically-based-antenna (AMEBA) system is another emerging application of UHSM. It enables portable wireless communication in the radio frequency (RF)-denied environment, which was not possible until recently. The AMEBA system requires a high-power (HP) UHSM for its effective communication performance. However, at the expected rotational speed range of 0.5 to 1 million rpm, the power level of UHSM is limited, and no research effort has succeeded to improve the power level of UHSM.

The design of HP-UHSM is highly iterative, and …

Understanding Vascular Calcification Through The Lens Of Canonical Wnt Signaling, Karlee Mcneel

Theses and Dissertations

Every 37 seconds, someone in the United States dies from cardiovascular disease. Vascular calcification is one of the underlying causes of these fatal events. Medial calcification develops following arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. Medial calcification is characterized by the deposition of hydroxyapatite in the medial layer of the arteries after normal vascular smooth muscle cells undergo a phenotypic switch to resemble osteoblast-like cells. It is hypothesized that this switch is caused by the wingless related (WNT)-Signaling pathway. The WNT-Signaling pathway, upon activation, causes the upregulation of osteogenic markers for the development of osteoblast-like cells. Current treatments alleviate consequences of …

Hydrological And Water Quality Assessment Of Forested Coastal Watersheds, Shreeya Bhattarai

Theses and Dissertations

Coastal regions are at risk of environmental threats. Flooding in coastal rivers is the result of intense precipitation which is triggered by climate change. Coastal watersheds are prone to losing significant amounts of sediment and nutrients because of the shorter transport pathway that drains directly into the coastal water. In this study, the hydrology, flood frequency, and water quality assessment of two coastal watersheds, Wolf River watershed (WRW) and Jourdan River watershed (JRW), were conducted using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). Since WRW and JRW are the main tributaries to fetch freshwater to Saint Louis Bay (SLB) of …

Evaluation Of Italian Ryegrass And Palmer Amaranth Control In Mississippi, Johnson Harris Hughes

Theses and Dissertations

Italian ryegrass is a problematic weed in Mississippi corn production due to the development and proliferation of glyphosate resistance. Studies were conducted to assess Italian ryegrass control prior to planting using herbicides. Effects of fall and spring applied burndown herbicide applications for Italian ryegrass control and subsequent corn grain yield were investigated at the R.R. Foil PSRC in Starkville, MS, at the Coastal Plain Experiment Station in Newton, MS, and the Black Belt Experiment Station in Brooksville, MS on soil textures ranging from sandy loam to silt clay loam. A fall preemergence (PRE) application of S-metolachlor + metribuzin followed …

Secure And Efficient Federated Learning, Xingyu Li

Theses and Dissertations

In the past 10 years, the growth of machine learning technology has been significant, largely due to the availability of large datasets for training. However, gathering a sufficient amount of data on a central server can be challenging. Additionally, with the rise of mobile networking and the large amounts of data generated by IoT devices, privacy and security issues have become a concern, resulting in government regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, CCPA, and ADPPA. Under these circumstances, traditional centralized machine learning methods face a problem in that sensitive data must be kept locally for privacy reasons, making it difficult to …

Effects Of Alternative Jet Fuels On Aerospace-Grade Composites: Experimental And Modeling Studies, Naoufal Harich

Theses and Dissertations

The aviation industry aims to reduce its environmental impact through innovation and research. The usage of composite materials for multiple primary structures represents one such measure. Several alternative fuels were approved and used along with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). These alternative fuels are produced from wastes and biomasses. Some alternative fuels were initially only approved as drop-in fuels, meaning they must be blended with conventional fuels to operate. Fuel tanks are usually embedded into the wing structure, which is mainly made of composite materials. These composites tend to absorb fluids it encounters through their matrix phase. The absorption behavior …

Eating German, The American Way: German And American Cooking Traditions, Potato Salad, And The Culinary Assimilation Of German Immigrants, 1820-1920., Scott Wooley

Theses and Dissertations

“Eating German, the American Way” explores how and why the mayonnaise-based potato salad came to be a staple of American culinary tradition. It examines how native-born Americans and German immigrants in the nineteenth century identified themselves based on their culinary traditions and what they ate and how the interactions between, and accessibility of, those traditions created a new identity based on the sharing of recipes as the two groups mingled and assimilated to each other. It uses food as a way to understand the processes of assimilation by defining the distinctions between the two groups based on their separate repertoire …

Protecting The Vulnerable: Tornado Sheltering And Communication Of Public Shelters With A Case Study From The Covid-19 Pandemic, Craig Douglas Croskery

Theses and Dissertations

One of the greatest natural hazards that is faced with in much of the United States are tornadoes. Despite improvements in the warning processes, the risk of significant loss of life remains high. That is particularly true with vulnerable communities which have higher proportions of mobile homes; however, violent tornadoes are very difficult to manage in permanent homes or buildings as well. As a result, tornado shelters have been built in some communities and have become available to the public. However, their presence is intermittent, and there are many tornado-prone areas that lack such shelters.

After a public survey, it …

Evaluating The Relationship Between Methane Seeps And Seafloor Geomorphology On The Northern Us Atlantic Margin, Gabriel Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations

Methane seeps are a transport pathway for carbon from seafloor sediments to the marine environment with important implications for global biogeochemical cycling. Accordingly, there is substantial interest in better understanding the processes that control seep location and predicting the distribution of seeps with existing seafloor datasets. Visual evaluation of methane seeps, in multibeam sonar water column data, suggests a spatial relationship between seeps and specific seafloor morphologic features such as ridge crests. In this thesis, seafloor geomorphology at 1996 seep detection sites on the US Atlantic margin was quantitatively characterized by geomorphologic phonotype, bathymetric position index, slope, rugosity, and aspect …

Cameroonian Immigrant Youths: Perceptions Of Influences On Educational Attainment And Outcomes In American Schools, Marlise De Paul Ngassam

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study uses the lens of expectation theory to highlight the educational achievements of Cameroonian youths in American educational institutions as it also examines their individual educational experiences and the many challenges (social, cultural, and academic) that each encountered in his or her journey toward significant educational outcomes. Findings from this study challenge the misconception that students coming into the United States other than from Asia and Europe are academically inferior to their counterparts born in the U.S. Six francophone Cameroonian-born young adults between the ages of 19-30 residing in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area participated in this study. …

Molecular Characterization Of Seminal Plasma From Boars With Divergent Sperm Quality, Notsile Hleliwe Dlamini

Theses and Dissertations

Seminal plasma (SP) is the microenvironment of spermatozoa whose composition reflects semen quality and constitutes an excellent source for detecting non-invasive biomarkers. This study characterizes good vs. poor quality semen using seminal extracellular vesicles coupled proteins and miRNA. Fresh boar semen samples were screened, centrifuged, and SP supernatants were collected for near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) analysis. EVs were extracted from SP (SP-EVs), characterized, and those of extremely poor or good sperm quality groups were subjected to proteomics and small RNA sequencing. Significant differences were set for P

Physiological And Yield Responses Of Soybean Cultivars To Heat And Drought Stresses, Sadikshya Poudel

Theses and Dissertations

Soybean (Glycine max L.) is an important legume crop often exposed to heat and drought stresses during reproductive and early-seed setting stages, resulting in lower yields and seed quality. Ten soybean cultivars were phenotyped for individual (drought or heat) and combined stress tolerance. Under drought, reduced stomatal conductance and increased canopy temperature significantly reduced seed number (46%) and weight (35%). Heat stress alone reduced seed number (19%) and weight (23%) compared to control. Moreover, a degree increase in daytime temperature above 32 °C during the reproductive stage reduced seed weight by 4% and 7% under well-watered and drought conditions, respectively. …

Evaluation Of Conservation Practices Effect On Water Quality Using The Swat Model, Vivek Venishetty

Theses and Dissertations

The deterioration of water quality due to human-driven alternations has an adverse effect on the environment. More than 50% of surveyed surface water bodies in the United States (US) are classified as impaired waters as per the Clean Water Act. The pollutants affecting the water quality in the US are classified as point and non-point sources. Pollutant mitigation strategies such as the selective implementation of best management practices (BMPs) based on the severity of the pollution could improve water quality by reducing the amounts of pollutants. Quantifying the efficiency of a specific management practice can be difficult for large watersheds. …

Interspecies Differences In Organophosphate Anticholinesterase Inhibition Potency And Reactivation Using Novel Oximes, Katie Elizabeth Strickland

Theses and Dissertations

Organophosphates are insecticides which result in acute adverse signs when exposed at toxic doses by animals and lead to death if left untreated. The current treatment for organophosphate toxicity includes atropine and the federally approved oxime 2-PAM. However, 2-PAM is not very effective at crossing the blood brain barrier which results in prolonged inactivation of acetylcholinesterase, which is the primary target of organophosphates, in the brain even after administration. The novel oximes, Oxime 15 and Oxime 20, are able to cross the blood brain barrier and reactivate the inhibited acetylcholinesterase. In this experiment with six animal species frequently used in …

Managing Iron Deficiency Chlorosis (Idc) In Soybean Through A Cropping System Approach, Katelin Savannah Waldrep

Theses and Dissertations

Iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC) is a frequent problem throughout many areas of the United States where soils are high in calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), including the Blackland Prairie regions of Mississippi. The main objectives of this study were to 1) determine the effects of seven different cropping systems on IDC visual symptomology and grain yield in rainfed soybeans grown in calcareous soils, and 2) evaluate the effects of soil water tension (SWT) on IDC. Rotating soybeans with corn produced significantly higher yields for both tolerant and susceptible soybean varieties. IDC symptomology was worse, and yields were lower in cropping …

Evaluation Of The Relationship Between Hair Coat Shedding Ability, Apparent Forage Digestibility, And Mineral Status In Angus Cattle, Margaret P. Loftin

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between hair coat shedding ability, apparent forage digestibility, and mineral status in Angus cattle. Fecal samples were collected on fall calving Angus cows for one week in March, May, and July from 2019-2022. Liver and plasma samples were collected in March and July each year. Fecal samples were analyzed for DM, ash, NDF, and ADF while liver and plasma were analyzed for mineral concentration. Data were analyzed using MIXED procedure of SAS with significance declared at P0.05. Interactions were detected for DM, NDF, ADF, and liver Fe concentration. The model …

A Screening Tool For The Implementation Of Electric And Thermal Energy Storage Systems At Commercial And Industrial Facilities, Mckenna P. Amerson

Theses and Dissertations

The integration of on-site renewable systems with energy storage devices is an important topic in improving energy management for commercial buildings and industrial facilities. Energy storage technologies have the ability to impact the end user’s power reliability while creating measurable energy and cost savings. However, the potential yet remains to increase the application of these systems. To determine the feasibility of renewables and energy storage in commercial and industrial applications, a pre-screening software tool is developed using data-driven algorithms to complete an energy, cost, and carbon savings analysis of storage implementation. A case study of a standalone retail building is …

Two-Essay Based Exploratory Research On Service Robots’ Anthropomorphized Voice Types, Accents, And Speaking Styles, Jutong Wen

Theses and Dissertations

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence, service robots play an increasingly important role in frontline service across various industries. However, many questions surrounding service robots as a novel service option are still less studied, and thus, remain uncertain to marketers. Therefore, this dissertation investigated and addressed some of these questions, by assessing the potential advantages of service robots, not only as compared to human employees, but also among service robots’ different humanlike vocal features, including voice types, accents, and speaking styles. Specifically, to address the research gaps identified through an in-depth literature review conducted in Chapter 2, a series …

Risk Assessments And Modeling Of Driver By Using Risk Potential Theory, Riku Kikuta

Theses and Dissertations

Recently, various self-driving and driving assistance systems such as Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) have been developed with the intent to reduce the number of motor vehicle accidents. While self-driving systems have been proven to reduce traffic accidents, the systems sometimes make other drivers confused because of their mechanical behavior. To avoid confusion and possible error, it is necessary to construct self-driving systems that exhibit human-like behaviors. Risk Potential theory has been used to construct models that successfully represent driver behavior, especially expert behavior. This project uses Risk Potential theory to construct and evaluate a collision avoidance driver model which …

Limits Of Tectonic Reactivation On Mars Using Earth Analogue Analysis And Numerical Modeling, Jonathan Rich

Theses and Dissertations

Recent geodynamic modeling studies suggest that the geometry of structural landforms in the Ouachita Mountains (OM) has been influenced by the reactivation of a weak scar in the mantle-lithosphere during intracontinental orogenesis. As deformation on one-plate planets such as Mars can be considered intracontinental, and impact cratering deeply scarred the Martian lithosphere, we hypothesize that structural geometries on Mars may also reflect heterogenous networks of lithospheric scarring. To investigate this hypothesis, we model the pre-erosional fold structure of the Maumelle Chaotic Zone in the OM to compare fault and fold geometries with that of the seismically-imaged mantle-lithosphere scar. We then …