Digital Commons Network^™

Integrated Pest Management Manual For Greenhouses, Evy Z. Santiago

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

The original definition of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) was introduced by Stern et al. in 1959 as Integrated Control. It was defined as applied pest control which combines and integrates biological and chemical control (Stern et al. 1959). Entomologists began exploring insect management alternatives to reduce reliance on insecticides in the 1950’s after resistance and pest resurgence in agriculture was first noted. Today, the European Union follows a definition of IPM largely inspired from the definition given by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (Barzman et al. 2015). Integrated Pest Management means the careful consideration of …

Using Insects To Improve Seed Quality And Farming Profitability In Phaseolus Vulgaris, Eduardo Valentín Cruzado

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Phaseolus vulgaris, or dry beans, are generally cultivated for their seeds, which add flavor to the diets of millions of people throughout the world. This crop was originally domesticated in South America more than 7,000 years ago, eventually spreading north through Mexico and across most of the United States (NDBGA, n.d.). Phaseolus vulgaris belongs to the legume family, and like other legumes it can fix nitrogen in the soil from the air through a symbiotic relationship with a bacterium called Rhizobia. In addition to this, P. vulgaris is high in protein, and in many parts of the world, it …

Examining University Food Systems: Understanding Student Food Insecurity Levels And Food Waste At Minority-Serving Institutions, Amy Louise Gootee-Ash

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This quantitative study investigated food insecurity levels and attitudes and behaviors towards food waste at minority-serving colleges (MSIs). A validated survey from the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Adult Food Security Survey Modules (AFSSM) was used to assess food security population levels. Paper 1 of the three included is a case study at a MSI (n = 229) that examined food security levels. No significant relationships at the p < .05 were found between food security and student ethnicity, living arrangements, meal plan enrollments, or grade-point averages. Paper 2 examined food security at three MSIs (n = 449) and two traditional, diverse schools (TDUs; n = 236). Food security levels between MSIs and TDUs were shown to be statistically significant (p < .05), while levels of student financial aid participation between MSIs and TDUs were not statistically significant. A comparison of food security levels at regional-state colleges in Delaware and Maryland reveal a significant difference in levels of food security (p < .05). The third paper found no significant relationship between students (n = 222) who were exposed to food waste education campaigns and reported levels of food waste behaviors. No statistical significance could be discerned between meal plan offerings and reported plate waste, which is food thrown away by consumers after a meal.

Influence Of Corn Hybrid, Kernel Traits, Location, And Dry-Rolling Or Steam-Flaking On Digestibility, Flint W. Harrelson

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

Three trials were conducted to evaluate the effect of corn hybrid, kernel traits, growing location, and dry rolling or steam flaking on DM or starch digestibility or both. Trial 1 used 72 commercially available corn hybrids to evaluate the influence of hybrid on kernel characteristics and their effect on digestibility. Kernel characteristics evaluated were test weight, 1,000-kernel weight, and kernel hardness using the Stenvert hardness test. All analyses were conducted on dry, whole corn samples, and DM digestibility was determined for dry-rolled corn samples. Trial 2 used 12 hybrids to evaluate steam flaking or dry rolling on DM and starch …

University Of New Hampshire Undergraduate Academic Catalog, 2019-2020, University Of New Hampshire

Undergraduate Catalog

No abstract provided.

Safety And Security On Campus: Annual Security And Fire Safety Report 2019, University Of Minnesota Morris

Safety and Security Report

No abstract provided.

Exploration Of Molecular Basis For Rebound Weight Gain In Caenorhabditis Elegans., Sarah Nosacka

Theses & ETDs

In the midst of the obesity epidemic, a broad understanding of metabolic conditions is necessary for proper care of obese and overweight individuals. Rebound weight gain, that which follows a period of significant weight loss, is an adaptive symptom which minimizes the utility of caloric deficit as a long-term treatment of obesity. Rebound weight gain is documented in humans and mice, and mice have been found with increased levels of a fat-synthesis gene, acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC, pod- 2), in response to starvation and refeeding. In the present study, the model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans, was age-matched with hypochlorite treatment, starved …

Investigating The Effects Of Fructose, Stevia, And Aspartame On The Lifespan And Body Fat Content Of Caenorhabditis Elegans, Kara Grissom

Theses & ETDs

The consumption of sugar has increased greatly over the last few decades, and is correlated with obesity and several major diseases. While fructose is a natural sugar, it is the main component in high fructose corn syrup which has been targeted as an offender in the obesity epidemic in recent years. Aspartame, an artificial sweetener, has over 100 studies that support its safety however its efficacy in use for diabetics is still questioned. Stevia is a relatively new sweetener that comes from a plant in the form of steviol glycosides, however the leaf and crude extract safety have not been …

Spiritual But Not Religious, Judaism In The New Age: A Case Study Of Jewish Practitioners Of Kundalini Yoga As Taught By Yogi Bhajan In The United States, Bliss Aruj

Theses & ETDs

This thesis seeks to examine the impact of the New Age movement and New Age thought on modern American Judaism, its practices and motivations. Through the lens of Celia E. Rothenberg's work on Jewish Yoga and other modalities of ‘New Age Judaism,’ this study uses Jewish practitioners of Kundalini Yoga as Taught by Yogi Bhajan (KYTYB), a New Age postural yoga system, as a case study for understanding the pluralistic ways American Jews incorporate New Age into their lives. This thesis presents interviews with Jewish practitioners of KYTYB that I conducted after spending a year in the community. Ultimately these …

Comparative Effects Of Acute Low And High-Toxin Red Tide (Karenia Brevis Wilson) Exposure On Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea Virginica Gmelin) Feeding Response, Daniel Collins Niedospial

Theses & ETDs

Red Tide causes extensive ecological and economic damage through massive marine deaths, water quality shifts and human illness. A contributor to the health of coastal ecosystems and economies, it’s important to understand how the Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica Gmelin) responds to red tide and its toxins. Studies on the chronic effects of Karenia brevis exposure on bivalve mollusks are increasing, but few have explored its short-term effects on Eastern Oyster feeding response. In this study, Eastern Oysters were fed Tetraselmis impellucida and Isochrysis galbana, starved for 48 hours, and exposed to Karenia brevis Low-Toxin and High-Toxin Wilson in a static …

Taking Coal To The Polls: A Critical Analysis Of Voting Patterns In West Virginia, 1960-2018, Jessie Sinitch

Theses & ETDs

From 1960 to 1996, West Virginia voted for just two Republican presidential candidates. West Virginia was known for being filled with “New Deal Democrats” and had all Democratic Senators and just three Republican Governors from 1961 to 1997. Since 2000, West Virginia has voted for Republican presidential candidates each election cycle. This paper seeks to examine this change in political voting outcomes through a historical and political analysis of voting trends in West Virginia from 1960 to 2018. Gubernatorial and congressional data are also examined. The results of this paper illustrate that positions for the Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, …

Feminist Visions Of Rural Development: Methods Of Finding Local Well-Being And Global Sustainability, Carolyn Beer

Theses & ETDs

No abstract attached to PDF.

Breaking The Bee’S Knees: An Overview Of Global Pollinator Decline And Conservation Efforts On The New College Of Florida Campus, Jackie Lebouitz

Theses & ETDs

We live in a world where anthropogenic activity and its consequences (pollution, habitat destruction, climate change, etc.) have led to the loss of pollinator biodiversity. Both agricultural operations and general ecosystems require pollination for stability. Biodiversity provides an excellent ecological buffer for compromised species that may disappear due to environmental stressors, disease, and genetic bottlenecks. In fact, bats, birds, butterflies, beetles, and even some species of lizards can provide pollination services to plants. Some flowering plants rely on specialist pollinators for their continued persistence in an ecological community, and the vulnerability of these species can lead to disruptions in the …

The Effect Of Anthropogenic Noise Pollution On The Foraging Efficiency Of Corn Snakes (Pantherophis Guttatus), Margaret Hoffswell

Theses & ETDs

Travel by car produces many types of pollution and one of the most disregarded of these types is noise pollution. Sadly, the vast majority of populations that may be affected by noise pollution remain unstudied. This research aims to investigate the effects of such traffic noise on the widespread and charming corn snake. Snakes rely on highly sensitive mechanoreception to hunt, including an acute articulation of their ear bone directly to their jaw. Because noise pollution may interfere with these senses, it may hinder their ability to forage effectively. To study this relationship, I subjected eight snakes to artificial traffic …

Affliction As Insight: Disability And Empathy In Dostoevsky’S The Idiot, Alyson Hart

Theses & ETDs

This thesis is an exploration of how the characters Ippolit and Prince Myshkin in Dostoevsky’s The Idiot are affected by their disabling conditions in regards to their capacity for empathy towards others, as well as how others empathize with them. Drawing on the theories of various critics, this thesis outlines the characteristics of each characters’ illness, and the unique ways that these illnesses influence each character’s life. Each chapter focuses on one character, examining different episodes that illustrate how each character gives and receives empathy throughout the novel. The first chapter focuses on Prince Myshkin, the protagonist of the novel …

Growth And Nutrient Dynamics Of A Tank Forming Bromeliad ( Tillandsia Utriculata), Elizabeth White

Theses & ETDs

Tillandsia utriculata is an ecologically important epiphytic bromeliad that is native to Florida. These plants have unique ways of absorbing nutrients and responding to the stressors that come along with occupying a particularly stressful niche (growing on the bark of trees). A major adaptation that this study focused on is the growth form of these plants’ leaves, referred to as “tanking”. Tanking allows for the collection of detritus and water in the base of these plants leaves to be stored and used in times of drought. From a pilot study, there is reason to believe that there is some kind …

‘Dèyè Mòn Gen Mòn’: An Examination Of Health Disparities Affecting Haitian Communities In Florida, Eva Ernst

Theses & ETDs

While political scientists have spent many years process-tracing policy relating to U.S legislature from various fields, it is not as often that this method of analysis attempts to look at intersections of identity. By using a mixed methods approach, I have shown that the discrimination faced by Haitians living in the state of Florida both as immigrants and ethnic minorities has caused them to face significant health disparities. The historical neglect of Haitians as economic refugees and potential HIV-carriers on behalf of the U.S has left a mark on communities living in Florida to this day as they attempt to …

Food Justice, Or Just Foodies?: Cultivating Local Food In Segregated Spaces, Timothy Manning

Theses & ETDs

Farmers markets have grown more prevalent in recent years as different cities and communities use them to invigorate public spaces and provide healthy food. They are a manifestation of the alternative foods movement, a broad movement dedicating to changing the way that food is produced, distributed, and consumed. Increasingly, the alternative foods movement has become a site of food justice work, which is focused on bringing healthy food to communities that have historically not had access and creating socially sustainable forms of agriculture. This thesis examines two farmers markets in the city of Sarasota, Florida, which are geographically close but …

A Literary And Visual Analysis Of Extinction In The Anthropocene: Focus On Puma Concolor Coryi (Young And Goldman 1946) And Cyclargus Thomasi Bethunbakeri (W.P Comstock And Huntington 1943), Dani Patarroyo-Avila

Theses & ETDs

As growing evidence demonstrates the increased rates of biodiversity loss, methods and efforts for conservation are required to ameliorate flora and fauna devastation. My aim with this thesis is to review current biological and ecological barriers against the conservation of species, focusing on two recent case studies within Florida. Additionally, I consider the influence of visual conduits of conservation promotion for education and funding. I use previous literature on population loss to focus on the methods and results of new and ongoing conservation projects in regard to the Florida panther, Puma concolour coryi and the Miami blue butterfly, Cyclargus thomasi …

Autonomy And Close Relationships, Sara Friend

Theses & ETDs

The goal of this thesis is to examine autonomy in the context of our close relationships, specifically by illuminating ways in which romantic partnerships and parent-child relationships can nourish the autonomy of participants. This project is situated in the greater context of philosophical work on relational autonomy wherein feminist philosophers work to combat the traditional individualistic approach to autonomy by underscoring the importance of our relational situation. Throughout, I focus on three dimensions that I find conceptually core to personal autonomy: self-concepts, needs and interests, and evaluative perspectives. I put forth for each domain ways in which autonomy is threatened, …

Undergraduate Academic Programs Overview 2019, Nova Southeastern University

Undergraduate Programs Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Bachelor Of Science-General Studies 2019-2020, Nova Southeastern University

Undergraduate Programs Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Moderate Alcohol Consumption On Sodium-Dependent Nutrient Co-Transport In Intestinal Epithelial Cells In Vitro And In Vivo, Molly Rae Butts

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Background: Alcohol consumption leads to a variety of different health consequences including cardiovascular disease, cancer and malnutrition. This malnutrition is in part due to a sub-optimal diet but also due to the malabsorption of nutrients along the small intestine. Many studies have shown that ethanol directly decreases nutrient absorption along the small intestine; however, few studies have investigated the effect of a moderate dose of ethanol on the transmembrane nutrient co-transporters that line the brush border membrane of the small intestine. The primary fuel source for the small intestine, glutamine, as well as for the entire body, glucose, are …

Person-Environment Interactions: The Psychological Implications Of Behaviors, Confidence, And Self-Efficacy In Falls Management., Lisa S. Roberson

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Background: Strong evidence supports medication review and management, health and safety education, and home modifications as a holistic approach to falls prevention. Current research demonstrates that individual interventions reduce the risk of falls yet do not statistically reduce the number of falls (Gallo, Stelmach, Frigeri, & Ahn, 2018). The problem this Capstone project addressed was the limited psychological considerations, awareness of behaviors, confidence, and self-efficacy, as they relate to falls prevention. These psychological factors have not been previously studied in a single study.

Purpose: To determine the relationship or significance of psychological considerations as they relate to fall prevention. Increase …

An Inference-Driven Branch And Bound Optimization Strategy For Planning Ambulance Services, Kevin Mcdaniel

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Strategic placement of ambulances is important to the efficient functioning of emergency services. As part of an ongoing collaboration with Wayne County 911, we developed a strategy to optimize the placement of ambulances throughout Wayne County based on de-identified call and response data from 2016 and 2017. The primary goals of the optimization were minimizing annual operating cost and mean response time, as well as providing a constructive solution that could naturally evolve from the existing plan. This thesis details the derivation and implementation of one of the optimization strategies used in this project. It is based on parametric statistical …

Harding Magazine Winter 2019 (Vol. 27, No. 1), Harding University

Harding Magazines

Publication distributed to alumni and friends of the university.

Cognitive Aids And Food Choice: Real-Time Calorie Counters Reduce Calories Ordered And Correct Biases In Calorie Estimates, Christopher Gustafson, Eliana Zeballos

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Studies of the effect of calorie information on food choices in food-away-from-home settings have identified minor to insignificant changes in calories ordered. An element of the choice process that may play an important role in influencing the total caloric content of a meal has received little attention: how individuals track the total number of calories selected when choosing multiple items. We study the effects of automating this potentially costly cognitive process using technology. We compare the number of calories ordered in a sequential food choice task in two conditions: one in which participants have access to calorie information for all …

Exploring Sensemaking Of The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act Of 2010, Taylor Mary Barczyk

Wayne State University Dissertations

The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 was reauthorized to create school environments that provide nutrient-dense meals to students who are living in poverty. The free and reduced-price lunch program helps 19% of students who are living in poverty in America (Kids Count Data Center, 2017). These students arrive at school hungry and often times are more concerned about their hunger than the content they need to learn. In order to assist them in learning, the school lunch program has been established. With the policy reauthorization of Public Law 111-296, students have been able to receive nourishment in the school …

Getting Started On Dash

United States Natonal Institutes of Health: Materials

Even small lifestyle changes made gradually can lead to significant health benefits. Follow these steps to get started on the DASH eating plan.

Making The Move To Dash

United States Natonal Institutes of Health: Materials

Are you new to the DASH eating plan? Moving to heart healthy eating doesn’t have to be difficult. Learn how to make DASH work for you with these easy tips.