Digital Commons Network^™

Visual Saliency Analysis, Prediction, And Visualization: A Deep Learning Perspective, Ali Majeed Mahdi

Dissertations

In the recent years, a huge success has been accomplished in prediction of human eye fixations. Several studies employed deep learning to achieve high accuracy of prediction of human eye fixations. These studies rely on pre-trained deep learning for object classification. They exploit deep learning either as a transfer-learning problem, or the weights of the pre-trained network as the initialization to learn a saliency model. The utilization of such pre-trained neural networks is due to the relatively small datasets of human fixations available to train a deep learning model. Another relatively less prioritized problem is amount of computation of such …

A Correlational Study On The Relationship Between Pupil Control Ideology, Color-Blind Racial Attitudes, And Teacher Efficacy Among Urban Teachers, Kyria Parker-Hart

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Teacher efficacy describes teachers’ beliefs in their ability to impact student achievement, regardless of external factors. The present study’s purpose was to determine factors that influence teacher efficacy such as color-blindness and pupil control ideology. The goals were to determine the following: If there was a relationship between color-blind beliefs and teacher efficacy, do color-blind racial attitudes moderate the relationship between pupil control ideology and teachers’ sense of efficacy, and can beliefs about student behavior and color-blindness predict levels of teacher efficacy? The Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale, Pupil Control Ideology Scale, and the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale were used …

The Influence Of Successful Completion Of A Spanish Course On Middle School Students’ Reading Comprehension, Jason Ray Cheek

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative, causal-comparative study investigated the effect of foreign language education on reading comprehension by students’ biological sex. The theoretical framework for this study is Piaget and Barlett’s Schema Theory. Participants in this study consisted of middle school students within a PK-8 school. A convenience sample of 200 students was selected, 100 males and 100 females. All students were given a pretest and posttest using the Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI). Independent variables consisted of enrollment in a Spanish course and biological sex while the dependent variable was reading comprehension skills as determined by assessment results on the SRI. An analysis …

Foster Youth Transitioning To Independent Living And Higher Education: A Phenomenological Study, Janet P. Harrison

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of foster youth who aged out of foster care and enrolled in higher educational programs in rural areas of southern Virginia. The theory that guided this study was Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as it applied to higher educational pursuits of foster youth who had, or were about to, age out of foster care. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory also guided this study to identify additional barriers to higher education for foster youth. This phenomenological study used a transcendental research method. Data collection methods included face-to-face and phone interviews, focus …

Sonship: Biblical Concepts And The Need For Spiritual Father And Son Relationships In The Church, Anthony Batiste Thompson Jr

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research exposes and explains the biblical concept and purpose of sonship in the church. More specifically, it will illustrate an effective model of the spiritual father and son relationship between pastors and their leaders and followers showing how to duplicate the same patterns according to God’s design for the Church. The rationale for this topic is derived from perceiving the need to address the deficiency in the effective duplication of leadership within the Church. Regarding leadership, much of the Church has neglected or deviated from the need for spiritual fathers to leaders and how this biblical concept and principle …

A Case Study Of Home Visits Conducted By Kindergarten Teachers In A Low-Income Elementary School, Sheena Brannock Green

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this single case study was to develop an in-depth description of the practice of home visits conducted by kindergarten teachers with students at the beginning of the school year in a suburban, low-income elementary school in North Carolina. The theory guiding this study was Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological systems theory of human development, as it states that important child development occurs in all environments where children interact. Data were collected via face-to-face interviews, mock letters of advice, and a focus group. The purposive sample included kindergarten teachers who conducted home visits, parents of kindergarteners who had a home …

A Transcendental Phenomenology Of The Lived Experiences Of Non-Custodial Grandparents Who Contribute Resources Toward The Grandchild's Christian School Education, Michele Sutton Worley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenology was to discover the lived experiences of non-custodial grandparents who contribute resources toward their grandchild’s Christian school education. The guiding theory for this study was Erikson’s (1950) theory of psychosocial development and the specific psychological stage of pursuing Generativity action versus Stagnation. This transcendental phenomenology included 15 non-custodial grandparents who had a grandchild who attended a K-12 Christian school and who had contributed resources operationally defined as financial, physical, emotional, intellectual, and/or spiritual for the grandchild’s Christian school education within the United States. The data was collected through grandparent interviews, focus group, support documents, …

An Educational Intervention To Raise Obesity Awareness, The Importance Of Follow-Up, And The Need To Utilize Recommended Strategies And Interventions Among Advanced Care Practitioners In A Sleep Center Setting, Cindy L. Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Obesity is a national epidemic that affects approximately 40% of adult Americans. A lack of advanced practitioner (AP) knowledge about obesity and follow-up may contribute to the obesity epidemic. Diagnosing obesity and beginning prompt weight loss (WL) management with the aim to prevent the development or progression of chronic illnesses associated with obesity is imperative. Research has shown that WL of 5% to 10% of initial body weight can reverse or reduce the onset of chronic illnesses. The purpose of this evidence-based practice (EBP) scholarly project was to raise the awareness of weight management resources among APs caring for patients …

Mental Health Counseling: A Phenomenological Study Of Afro-Caribbean Christian's Help-Seeking Tendencies, Heather G. Lewis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to understand the help-seeking tendencies of Afro-Caribbean Christians. The use of social support systems and the impact of generational status on asking for and seeking help is the central phenomenon of the study. Study participants include 10 members selected from a Philadelphia church. The theory guiding this study is social support as it explains the relationship between social support and the use of professional mental health services. Study participants were interviewed using a semistructured interview process, transcribed interviews were analyzed in NVivo a qualitative data analysis software used for data management and analysis. …

Tracing God's Hand In Redemption: Exploring Evidence Of The Imago Dei In Human Molecular Biology, James Don Johansen

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This interdisciplinary dissertation examines how Imago Dei and the impacts and redemption of sin may be observable in molecular biology. It introduces the idea of biological redemption, where, in support of our Imago Dei mission and calling, our bodies can respond to environmental and spiritual factors with biological redemptive adaptations. This project does both theological and scientific assessment. It explores how God is engaged with individuals in community via spiritual social networks, where Christian communities act as an ecosystem in which individuals can thrive and undergo spiritual formation, living out Christian spiritual practices. The main question this dissertation addresses is: …

Early Life Child Micronutrient Status, Maternal Reasoning, And A Nurturing Household Environment Have Persistent Influences On Child Cognitive Development At Age 5 Years: Results From Mal-Ed, Benjamin J J. Mccormick, Stephanie A. Richard, Laura E. Caulfield, Laura L. Pendergast, Jessica C. Seidman, Beena Koshy, Reeba Roshan, Rita Shrestha, Erling Svensen, Muneera Rasheed

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Background: Child cognitive development is influenced by early-life insults and protective factors. To what extent these factors have a long-term legacy on child development and hence fulfillment of cognitive potential is unknown.
Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the relation between early-life factors (birth to 2 y) and cognitive development at 5 y.
Methods: Observational follow-up visits were made of children at 5 y, previously enrolled in the community-based MAL-ED longitudinal cohort. The burden of enteropathogens, prevalence of illness, complementary diet intake, micronutrient status, and household and maternal factors from birth to 2 y were extensively measured …

Improved Sample Preparation Method For Lc-Ms/Ms Based Cellular Proteomics And Co-Immunoprecipitation Cross-Linking Proteomics Study Of Toll-Like Receptor 4, A.D.A Shahinuzzaman

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

Mass spectrometry-based methods are now widely practiced in large-scale proteomics studies. Unfortunately, sample loss in proteomics hinders complex analysis in proteomics, and immune precipitation (IP) mass spectrometry-based proteomics is getting popular in studying comprehensive signaling pathways. To contribute to these demanding research areas, I have completed two experimental projects in this thesis. In our first project, we developed a sample preparation method to identify proteins from detergent-containing cell lysate samples efficiently. Methanol-chloroform purification is an essential step in LC-MS/MS based cellular proteomics experiments since it removes salts and detergents from the sample. The cell lysis buffer contains a high concentration …

Analytical Methods For Solving Complex Problems In Food And Environmental Science, Jamie Lynn York

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

Complex samples can be challenging for analysis in a number of different ways. Food and environmental samples can be particularly difficult due to their non-uniformity from sample to sample, possible unknown contents, and complexity in terms of their number of constituents and range of abundances of different species. To overcome challenges faced with the analysis of complex samples, intricate sample handling and processing techniques need to be tailored in order to build optimal methods. These procedures can include sample preparation techniques, on-line sample clean-up, and/or tools that the instrument has to offer. Each complex sample needs to be assessed for …

Identifying Consumer Perceptions Of Fresh-Market Blackberries, Aubrey Dunteman

Food Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Blackberries are grown worldwide for commercial fresh markets, but there is limited information on consumer perceptions of this fruit. In this study, physiochemical and consumer sensory attributes of three Arkansas-grown fresh-market blackberry genotypes were evaluated and consumer perceptions of fresh-market blackberries were also investigated though an online survey. Two cultivars (Natchez and Ouachita) and one advanced selection (A-2418) were evaluated for compositional and nutraceutical analysis and consumer sensory analysis. Natchez had the highest berry weight, length, drupelets and pyrenes/berry, and pyrene weight/berry. Ouachita had the highest soluble solids content (11.9%), pH (3.18) and soluble solids/titratable acidity ratio (10.92). There were …

The Rainbow Connection: Treatment And Analysis Of Hand-Colored Photographs, Courtney Helion

Art Conservation Master's Projects

The colors from two historic photographs, hand-coloring kits, and hand-colored mock-ups created from the hand-coloring kits were analyzed to identify their chemical compositions and binders, and to determine whether there were preferred conventional or proprietary pigments used in the hand-coloring of historic photographs. This information will benefit future analysis of historical hand-colored photographs and the development and implementation of treatment plans and goals. The photographs were examined and analyzed using Multimodality Imaging, Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF).

Swosu Standing Committees 2019-2020, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

University Standing Committees

No abstract provided.

Data Analytics And Applications In The Fashion Industry: Six Innovative Cases, Yue Du

Major Papers by TMD Master of Science Students

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Cultivar And Substrate On The Efficacy Of Biopesticides To Suppress Pythium On Greenhouse Crops, Liza May Degenring

Master's Theses and Capstones

Oomycetes, such as Pythium, are soil-borne plant pathogens that can cause significant losses in greenhouse crop production due to their swimming zoospores and wide host range. Additionally, the increasing use of substrates that lack microbial diversity in greenhouse production creates a “biological vacuum” that can reduce the substrate’s capacity to resist microbial invasion by soil-borne diseases. The lack of competition by a natural microbial community and the environmental conditions of greenhouse production creates an ideal situation for the use of biopesticides. Biopesticides are commercial products that use beneficial microorganisms (biocontrol agents) to suppress disease and promote plant health. Greenhouse producers …

Food Safety For New Hampshire Oysters: A Multidisciplinary Perspective, Lia Tosiello

Master's Theses and Capstones

Oyster aquaculture in New Hampshire is a relatively new industry that has emerged in the last decade. Management of food safety is an integral part of the oyster growing process in this small community. In particular, Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a bacterium that can cause gastrointestinal illness in people who eat raw or undercooked seafood. Recently, New Hampshire created a policy to manage importation of oyster seed for V. parahaemolyticus-related human health concerns. This highlighted a need for data on V. parahaemolyticus in oyster seed. Therefore, the objectives of this research are to examine both social and microbiological aspects of food …

Microbial Communities Regulate Nitrogen Use Efficiency By Balancing Tradeoff Between Resource Acquisition And Growth Rate, Bennett Edward Thompson

Master's Theses and Capstones

Microbial nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is the portion of N uptake that microbes allocate to growth versus mineralize as ammonium and is thus a critical parameter governing the transformation of organic to inorganic nitrogen. Microbial NUE is sensitive to changes in the soil environment, but its microbial controls remain untested. I performed an incubation where identical mesocosms were inoculated with three distinct microbial communities derived from agricultural land management (conventional, organic, and deciduous forest). Through this incubation, I explored three scales at which communities may exercise control over NUE: in how microbes alter their soil environment through system-level processes; through …

16s Rrna Analysis And Toxin Gene Presence In Escherichia Coli Isolated From Beach Water And Sand At A Public Beach (Erie County, Ny), Jennifer D. Jackson

Biology Theses

Every year, thousands of people utilize beaches for recreation, but most are unaware of Escherichia coli (E. coli) contamination and the possibility of acquiring an infection. In this study, 173 strains of E. coli were isolated from sand and adjacent waters from a public beach in Erie County, NY and analyzed for genetic relatedness based on sequence differences in the variable regions of the 16S rRNA gene. Some of the variable regions (V1 and V6) proved useful in constructing phylogenetic trees but the discriminatory power of these regions was inadequate to resolve intraspecies differences. Therefore, whether extant populations …

New Approaches To Use Genomics, Field Traits, And High-Throughput Phenotyping For Gene Discovery In Maize (Zea Mays), Zhikai Liang

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Maize is one of major crop species over the world. With lots of genetic resources and genomic tools, maize also serves as a model species to understand genetic diversity, facilitate the development of trait extraction algorithms and map candidate functional genes. Since the first version of widely used B73 reference genome was released, independent research groups in the maize community propagated seeds themselves for further research purposes. However, unexpected or occasional contamination may happen during this process. The first study in this thesis used public RNA-seq data of B73 from 27 research groups across three countries for calling single nucleotide …

An Integrated Genomics And Phenomics Approach To Study The Evolution Of C4 Photosynthesis, Daniel Santana De Carvalho

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The C4 photosynthetic pathway was first described over 50 years ago. Today, it is known that C4 evolved independently > 60 in plant lineages, which involves understanding not only the genetic, but also the metabolic features and differences involved in this process. Also, several adaptations are involved in the evolution of this type of photosynthesis, for example: changes in leaf anatomy and the evolution of kranz anatomy, physiology and metabolic pathways. In order to further investigate this pathway, different technologies and methods have been developed to unravel genes involved in C4 photosynthesis. With the advances in molecular biology and bioinformatics tools …

Microbial Response To Biodegradable Mulch: Can Degradation Rate Be Accelerated By Management?, M. Benjamin Samuelson

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Single-use, petroleum-based polyethylene mulch is ubiquitous in certified organic mulched vegetable systems, representing a broken nutrient cycle and a waste concern. Current organic-allowable biodegradable mulches cannot match the performance of polyethylene, in part because of the requirements that they contain 100% bio-based feedstock, and biodegrade within two years after soil incorporation. It is valuable to understand whether management can influence postharvest degradation rate of mulch films. Two biodegradable mulches: a potentially organic nonwoven polylactic acid and wood particle prototype (PLA), and a widely-adopted non-organic starch/copolymer blend, Bio360® (BLK), were used in field trials in two distinct ecoregions of Nebraska, at …

Sexism In The Workplace Of Bangladesh, Rifat Rezowana Siddiqui

International Programs

To analyze feminist concerns over the present condition of women and their contribution to the development of Bangladesh. This study also focuses on discrimination against women in the economic sector, along with the causes of flawed construction of gendered identity and the effects of such faulty concepts. Finally, it offers viable solutions by addressing mental health issues and suggestions for further research.

Lotka-Volteraimpulsive Model Control Or How Not To Fish, Vladyslav Bivziuk

International Programs

Human intervention in nature often destroys the equilibrium that has been established in it. It is very important to find controls that would not destroy the stability of the natural equilibrium in the ecosystem. The impulsive systems theory allows us to investigate such effects on a biological system with a simpler example that do not destroy its equilibrium.

Prevelence Of Developmental Dental Defects In Children, Kanwal Kataria

International Programs

This poster highlights the prevalence of developmental dental defects in children worldwide.

The Importance Of Bio-Distance In Epidamnos (Modern Day Durrës), Marlon Koçi

International Programs

This poster presented discusses Greek colonization of Albania (Illyria) in the 7th Century BC.

Cover Crop Biomass Production And Effects On Soil Moisture In The Upstate Of South Carolina, Ricardo St Aime

All Theses

Cover crops can protect soil health and increase climate resilience of the crop production systems. However, few agronomic crop producers in the southern USA currently use them. Constraints on producer use of cover crops in this region include, lack of knowledge regarding the best cover crops for their locality and cropping system and potential impacts on plant-available soil moisture along with concerns about the cost and labor associated with cover cropping. The present research evaluated biomass production, soil moisture retention, and water use efficiency of single species and multi-species fall-winter cover crops in South Carolina. Overall, a mixture of Austrian …

Proteus: An Examination Of The United States Domestic Water Crisis, Conor A. Alwood

All Theses

My work acknowledges, reflects upon, and gives form to the crisis of domestic water contamination due to the runoff of three pillars of pollution: industrial manufacturing, corporate agriculture, and consumer products. Drawing from my experiences in water infrastructure, I use biomorphic ceramic sculptures and PVC pipes found in domestic water systems as a metaphor for the insidious presence of microscopic toxins within household water. The exploitation of Earth's resources presents an ecological hierarchy that positions humans as the controllers of nature. This dynamic perpetuates a neglectful hubris towards water quality, putting all organisms at risk.

Proteus consists of two separate, …