Digital Commons Network^™

Dry Reforming Of Methane To Produce Syngas Over Ni-Based Bimodal Pore Catalysts, Zhenghong Bao

Theses and Dissertations

Dry reforming of methane is an important reaction to generate syngas from two greenhouse gases. The syngas can be used in Fishcher-Tropsch synthesis to produce valueded chemicals. Chapter I reviews the catalytic conversion of methane and carbon dioxide to syngas, including DRM reaction chemistry, catalysts used in this process, catalyst deactivation, and the kinetics of DRM reaction. Chapter II discusses the development of bimodal pore NiCeMgAl catalysts for DRM reaction. Bimodal pore NiCeMgAl catalysts were synthesized via the refluxed co-precipitation method and systematically investigated the influence of active metal loading, calcination temperature, reduction temperature and gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) …

Economic, Environmental, And Energetic Performance Analysis Of A Solar Powered Organi Rankine Cycle (Orc), Emily Diane Spayde

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, different configurations of solar powered organic Rankine cycles (ORC) are investigated. The configurations include: a basic ORC, a regenerative ORC (R-ORC), and a basic ORC with electric energy storage (EES) (ORC-EES). The basic ORC and the R-ORC are evaluated using different dry organic fluids based on the first and second laws of thermodynamics and electricity production. The performance of both ORC systems is based on the potential for primary energy consumption (PEC) and carbon dioxide emission (CDE) savings, the electricity production, and the available capital cost (ACC) for the system. The R-ORC and basic ORC are both …

Effect Of Water Temperature, Angling Time, And Dissolved Oxygen Concentration On The Survival Of Angled And Tournament-Handled Largemouth Bass, Kevin Randy Keretz

Theses and Dissertations

Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides is the most sought after species by recreational anglers in the United States. Survival of angled and tournament-handled Largemouth Bass is related to numerous factors; however, the independent effects of water temperature, angling time, and live well dissolved oxygen concentration on survival have not been measured. Survival was evaluated in simulated catch and release and tournament trials over the range of temperatures encountered by Largemouth Bass anglers (17-33°C) while also testing independent effects of angling time, live well temperature, and live well dissolved oxygen treatments. Caught-and-released Largemouth Bass experienced 100% survival at temperatures ≤33°C after 1 …

Use Of Formative Research To Develop A Healthy Eating Social Marketing Campaign For Low Resource Families In Mississippi, Rahel Mathews

Theses and Dissertations

Mississippi leads the nation in chronic disease, obesity, poverty, and food insecurity. Preventing further growth in disease rates, requires a cultural shift towards a ‘healthy eating’ environment. Healthy patterns of food consumption along with physical activity can prevent and reduce these rates. A state-wide ‘healthy eating’ social marketing campaign could motivate voluntary population behavioral change. Three different methodologies were used to develop a strategy for Mississippi: a systematic review of the literature, a state-wide phone survey (quantitative), and focus groups (qualitative). A systematic review of articles published since January 2007 was conducted, using PRISMA guidelines. Five databases were searched with …

Development Of Herbicide Tolerant Tomato, Gourav Sharma

Theses and Dissertations

Tomato is a major horticulture crop grown across the globe. Unfortunately, its yield is reduced by 25% because of auxin herbicides and glyphosate drift. In this present study, wild germplasm of tomato was screened for herbicide tolerance. From the greenhouse study nine accessions for glyphosate and 2,4-D, eleven accessions for dicamba, five accessions for quinclorac, eight accessions for aminocyclopyrachlor, and two accessions for picloram and aminopyralid were identified to be tolerant. A few accessions were selected from each herbicide tolerant group for field trials at two locations in Mississippi in 2016 and 2017. Results indicated that TOM18 was most tolerant …

Listeria Monocytogenes Response To Sublethal Sodium Hypochlorite Induced Oxidative Stress On Its Biofilm Forming Ability And Antibiotic Resistance, Mohit Bansal

Theses and Dissertations

Listeria monocytogenes response to oxidative stress by sublethal sodium hypochlorite was investigated in this study. Continuous exposure of sublethal chlorine influenced biofilm formation and stress adaptation (homologous and heterologous) in L. monocytogenes. The biofilm forming ability of oxidative stress adapted and control cells were investigated on polystyrene surface at 22°C and 37°C. The oxidative stress adapted cells were found to form less biofilm in the presence of chlorine (p < 0.10) when compared to non-treated control cells at both the temperatures. In addition, the biofilm forming ability of L. monocytogenes was reduced significantly at higher sublethal chlorine concentrations (p < 0.10). In conclusion, oxidative stress adapted L. monocytogenes has developed tolerance to chlorine and some of the antibiotics. However, oxidative stress those cells did demonstrate an antibiofilm effect. This demonstrates that oxidative stress reduces L. monocytogenes biofilm formation but can also increase antibiotic resistance.

Monetary Valuation Of Waterfront Open Space In Coastal Areas Of Mississippi And Alabama, Ram Prasad Dahal

Theses and Dissertations

Open space provides a wide range of ecosystem services to communities. In growing communities, open space offers relief from congestion and other negative externalities associated with rapid development. To make effective policy and planning decisions pertaining to open space preservation, it is important to estimate monetary values of its benefits. In addition, assessing public opinions regarding open space provides information on demand and how residents value open space. This study estimated the monetary value of open space in Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast communities. The study also collected information on coastal residents’ attitudes towards open space, working waterfronts, and their …

Race, Drugs, And Sentencing: A Quantitative Analysis Of Sentencing Outcomes For Federal Cocaine And Methamphetamine Drug Offenses, Makeela Johari Wells

Theses and Dissertations

For decades, the United States has fought a “War on Drugs” with no success. This war has led to substantial increases in the number of individuals incarcerated in the United States prison system. The following dissertation investigates the impact of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (FSA 2010) on sentencing decisions for crack and powder cocaine offenders sentenced in the federal system. The FSA 2010 is a federal policy that reduced the crack-to-powder cocaine quantity from 100-to1 to 18-to-1 in an effort to reduce racial/ethnic disparity in sentencing associated with harsh penalties. Specifically, I examined federal crack cocaine and powder …

Feasibility And Marketing Channels Of A Smartphone Application That Brings Nondestructive Techniques To Job Sites, Songyi Han

Theses and Dissertations

This work conducted market research on the use of smartphones and smartphone applications in the forest products industry and academia. This research also attempted to project how likely the industry would be to use an app that measures stiffness of wood. After the review of scholarly literature and existing apps, data was collected via an online survey. Participants were individuals who work with wood or wood-based products. Out of 1,221 invitations, 311 were returned at the response rate of 27.2 percent. Data was analyzed using SPSS statistics. Nearly all of the respondents (95.7%) had smartphones, and over half of them …

African American Male Students' Perceptions Of The Community College Experience In Rural Louisiana And How It Influences Graduation And Retention Rates, Aaron Jagers

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study explored the obstacles African American male students face that can hinder their academic progress at community colleges within the rural regions of Louisiana. This study viewed the collective experiences of African American males in community colleges in order to improve their academic outcomes, completion, and retention rates. This study also explored the African American male’s educational experiences and the personal and academic obstacles they faced as students in the community college environment. This study used a research design that collected data from African American male students in two rural Louisiana community colleges. This study utilized a survey …

An Application Of Roger Ulrich's Methods: Designing A Healing Garden For African American Women Living In Low-Income Public Housing, Juriel Annishia Rogers

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this preference study is to identify the effects that the presence of a healing garden may have, on the perceived stress of African American women living in in low-income public housing. Literature states that women who live in public housing experience higher rates of malnutrition, fatigue, susceptibility to infection, and premature death (Adler et al., 1994; Whelch and Kneipp, 2005). Few of these studies address healing gardens as solutions. The explanation of behavior while visiting a healing garden in this study will help to identify particular aspects of gardens that are perceived as therapeutic. This research compared …

An Examination Of Child Abuse Disclosures In Mississippi: The Effects Of Child And Interviewer Characteristics, Morgan Colley

Theses and Dissertations

Each year, hundreds of thousands of children fall victim to child abuse in the United States, most often perpetrated by a parent or legal guardian (Children’s Bureau – An Office of the Administration for Children and Families, 2015). The current project used secondary data from a Children’s Advocacy Center to explore abuse disclosure rates in forensic interviews. The three main objectives of this project were as follows: 1) to determine whether children with certain demographic characteristics (i.e., race, gender, and age) were more likely to disclose abuse, 2) to determine whether interviewers with certain demographic characteristics (i.e., race and age) …

An Oral History & Literary Review Of Edward Blake Jr.: Exploring The Evidence Of A Principled Practice, Hans Curtis Herrmann

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a study of oral histories and literary records covering the professional development and works of Edward Blake Jr., ASLA, (1947-2010). The study considers Blake’s design principles via newly collected oral histories and a review of his literary record within the continuum of landscape architecture history from 1970 to 2010. Additionally, the study explores Blake’s position within the ecological design community to establish his status as a possible founding voice of ecologically focused landscape architecture practice in the Coastal Plains Region of the southeastern United States. The primary sources include a newly developed oral history collection with questionnaire-based …

Analysis Of Classroom Practices That Preschool Teachers Use To Promote Civic Efficacy, Muhammad Riaz

Theses and Dissertations

This research is aimed at finding the classroom environment indicators that lead young preschoolers, three and four years of age, learn civic efficacy to bring a change in the lives of others a member of the classroom community. The sample comprises of six female preschool teachers at a preschool in a University in Southern America. The data collected from; lesson plans, teachers’ portfolio notes, classroom observations, and semi structured interviews. The qualitative analysis tool, NVivo pro was used to analyze the data. For a clear picture of an obscure contextual phenomenon, charts showing emerging civic efficacy themes are added. Findings …

Student Loan Debt For Community College Transfer Students And How Debt Information Letters Impact Future Borrowing Decisions, Kenneth Paul Mckinney

Theses and Dissertations

There has been a proliferation of student loan debt over the past decade. The indebtedness that students incur while attending college reduces their discretionary income once they enter repayment after graduation. For graduates, there is an opportunity cost along with personal and professional life decisions being made based on this debt. For example, some students are choosing the enter the workforce after obtaining their undergraduate degree instead of pursuing a graduate degree. The purpose of this study was to examine the decisions that currently enrolled undergraduate students are making about obtaining student loans based on information supplied to them about …

The Application And Exploration Of The City Biodiversity Index Through A Case Study Of The City Of Starkville, Mississippi, Leslie Rhea Moma

Theses and Dissertations

During the 21st century, more people will reside in cities than in rural areas for the first time in human history. As cities expand to accommodate their growing population, pressure is mounting on local biodiversity and the ecosystems they support. This prompted the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity - in collaboration with the City of Singapore - to develop a biodiversity index specifically for cities. In 2014, the final draft of the City Biodiversity Index was released. Twenty-three indicators comprise three categories that assess: native biodiversity, ecosystem services, and municipal support for local biodiversity. A case-study was designed for Starkville, …

The Effects Of Institutional Structure Of Predominantly White Land-Grant Colleges And Universities In The Southeast On African American Graduation Rates In Engineering, Angela Denice Clinkscales Verdell

Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. Department of Labor reports that only 5% of U.S. workers are employed in fields related to science and engineering, yet they are responsible for more than 50% of our sustained economic expansion (U.S Department of Labor, 2007). Furthermore, minorities makeup 0.0025 % (1/400) of that Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce. Methods are currently underway to understand and address the attrition of minority students in the STEM workforce. The problem of underrepresentation of minorities (URMs) in STEM careers continues to result in a “leaky pipeline” where URMs have cited institutional factors such “chilly campus” climates as barriers …

The Effects Of The First Year Of Implementation Of Positive Behavioral Intervention Supports, Rosalind Flanigan Operton

Theses and Dissertations

Disciplinary practices and protocols in schools have been a notable concern over the past 30 years. The traditional punitive punishment-based tactics have not proven to be effective in changing student behavior. Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS) is a proactive alternative that puts whole school systems in a place wherein students and teachers share in the responsibility of building a culture and climate of behaviors that produce positive outcomes. Research based on the implementation of PBIS in schools has concluded that problem behaviors decrease, students and staff feel safe, and attendance improves. There is a body of research that concludes that …

Senior Food Environments: Predicting Low Food Access And Developing Interventions For Seniors In Nonmetropolitan Counties, Joshua J. Turner

Theses and Dissertations

The continued growth of the nation’s older adult population will bring many societal challenges. One of these challenges deals with meeting this population’s basic needs. Among the most crucial basic needs in older adulthood is proper nutrition, which is heavily impacted by one’s ability to access adequate amounts of healthy foods. Extensive research has been conducted on low food access among diverse populations, but opportunities remain to expand upon this research by concentrating on the food access challenges facing the older adult population. The current study had a twoold purpose. First, this study aimed to serve a basic academic purpose …

Explaining Mental Health Stigma Through Controllability, Just World Beliefs, And Social Dominance Orientation, Katherine F. Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

Mental illness carries a pervasive stigma. Research uncovered several theories to explain stigma, including the Attribution Theory, the Biological Model, Belief in a Just World (BJW), and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO). Previous research identified a mediational pathway in which BJW influenced SDO, and where SDO predicted stigmatizing beliefs and intent to discriminate. There is a lack of research examining BJW and SDO from within the framework of mental illness controllability. This study attempted to fill in the gap within stigma literature by examining if perceived mental illness controllability influences the BJW-SDO- Stigma model. Analyses failed to replicate the previously found …

Global Operation Of Integrated Decentralized Power Systems, Mojtaba Khanabadi Ghehi

Theses and Dissertations

Nowadays, power systems are interconnected together to provide a reliable and secure source of the energy to the consumers and operate in lower operating cost than if they being run separately. As the most important reason for interconnecting power systems is to improve the economic aspects in operation of the entire system, this interconnection between power systems would provide the following economic advantages: 1) lower overall congestion costs for consumers; 2) more consistent prices across the areas; and 3) lower operating cost due to presence of broader pool of mutual benefits shared between systems. In addition, in the event of …

In Vitro And In Vivo Effects Of An Encapsulated Butyric Acid And A Lactic Acid Producing Bacteria Used Alone Or In Combination, Dana Kristen Dittoe

Theses and Dissertations

Lactic acid producing bacteria (LAB) and organic acids have been proposed as effective alternatives to antibiotics, however there is limited literature concerning their combination. Thus, the objective of this thesis was to investigate the effects of LAB, encapsulated butyric acid (EBA), and their combination. Under challenged conditions, the in vitro study demonstrated that both EBA and LAB were capable of reducing pathogen proliferation over time, with greater efficacy at lower initial concentration. However, EBA demonstrated a greater effectiveness on pathogen reduction. Under challenged conditions, the results of the in vivo study indicated that birds fed LAB performed comparatively to that …

Factors Influencing The Level Of Technology Adaptation By Middle-School Teachers, Janice Favre Strigh

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine those factors influencing a teacher’s level of adaptation to a one-to-one laptop program in a middle-school setting. The school chosen for this study is located in a semi-rural district with approximately 500 students in sixth through eighth grade. Over the past 10 years, the school district has implemented a one-to-one laptop program with students currently having access to their own personal computer each day. Collins’s (2007) technology, leadership management, and policy pyramid model provided a framework for this analysis. Teachers’ perceptions of leadership support for the planning activities, organizational integration …

2017-12-08, Board Of Regents, Murray State University

Board of Regents Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Foreign Price-Fixing Conspiracies, Christopher R. Leslie

Duke Law Journal

Although price-fixing agreements remain per se illegal in the United States, courts have undermined the per se rule against price fixing by making it harder for plaintiffs to prove that such an agreement exists. For example, most courts that have considered the issue have held that defendants’ price-fixing conduct in a foreign market is not probative of price fixing in the United States. This Article examines the relationship between foreign and domestic price-fixing activity and shows how expanding a price-fixing cartel from foreign markets into the United States benefits the cartel by reducing the risk of arbitrage, stabilizing the cartel, …

Colombia’S Peace Process Sputters On First Anniversary Of Historic Accord, Andrã©S Gaudã­N

NotiSur

No abstract provided.

Changes In The Utilization Of Osteoporosis Drugs After The 2010 Fda Bisphosphonate Drug Safety Communication, Bander Balkhi, Enrique Seoane-Vazquez, Rosa Rodriguez-Monguio

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Introduction

In October 2010, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety communication regarding the risks of atypical fractures of the femur, with bisphosphonates drugs. This study evaluated the impact of the bisphosphonates FDA safety communication on the utilization of osteoporosis medications in Medicaid programs.

Methods

Osteoporosis drugs utilization data from the July 2006 to June 2014 were extracted from the national Summary Files from the Medicaid State Drug Utilization Data maintained by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). We performed an interrupted time series analyses to evaluate trends in utilization of osteoporosis drugs before and …

Past Observable Dynamics Of A Continuously Monitored Qubit, Luis Pedro García-Pinto, Justin Dressel

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Monitoring a quantum observable continuously in time produces a stochastic measurement record that noisily tracks the observable. For a classical process, such noise may be reduced to recover an average signal by minimizing the mean squared error between the noisy record and a smooth dynamical estimate. We show that for a monitored qubit, this usual procedure returns unusual results. While the record seems centered on the expectation value of the observable during causal generation, examining the collected past record reveals that it better approximates a moving-mean Gaussian stochastic process centered at a distinct (smoothed) observable estimate. We show that this …

Exploring The Determinants Of Vulnerable Road Users' Crash Severity In State Roads, Àlvaro Alfonso Caviedes Cómbita

Dissertations and Theses

Pedestrians and bicyclists are the most vulnerable road users and suffer the most severe consequences when crashes take place. An extensive literature is available for crash severity in terms of driver safety, but fewer studies have explored non-motorized users' crash severity. Furthermore, most research efforts have examined pedestrian and bicyclist crash severity in urban areas. This study focuses on state roads (mostly outside major urban areas) and aims to identify contributing risk factors of fatal and severe crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists in state roads. Two ordinal regression models were developed (one for pedestrian and the other for bicyclist crashes) …

Costs And Benefits Of Mobility: The Case Of Chinese Seafarers, L Tang, G Chen

Plymouth Business School

No abstract provided.