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Removal Of Harmful Algal Bloom Toxin, Microcystin-Lr Via Graphene Coated Polymers, Justin Douglas Puhnaty May 2025

Removal Of Harmful Algal Bloom Toxin, Microcystin-Lr Via Graphene Coated Polymers, Justin Douglas Puhnaty

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates a novel 3D-printed graphene-coated polymer (GCP) for the removal of Microcystin-LR (MC-LR), a harmful cyanotoxin produced during harmful algal blooms (HABs). While graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs) exhibit high adsorption capacity, their powdered form limits practical application. To address this, GnPs were coated onto 3D-printed poly(lactic acid) (PLA) substrates, enabling enhanced handling for field deployment. Surface characterization using laser confocal microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis confirmed GnP distribution and coating uniformity. Batch adsorption experiments revealed pseudo-second-order kinetics, a maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) of 596 μg/g, and adsorption behavior best described by the Langmuir isotherm. Statistical analysis and comparison …


Application Of Pu Learning In Detection Of Ddos Attacks, Gagana Sathya Narayana Prasad May 2025

Application Of Pu Learning In Detection Of Ddos Attacks, Gagana Sathya Narayana Prasad

Theses and Dissertations

The gcore radar 2024 says, the number of DDoS attacks has been increased by 46% in 12 months. Supervised and unsupervised techniques struggle detecting DDoS attacks due to the scarcity of labeled attack samples and an overwhelming presence of benign traffic. In contrast PU- Learning offers a promising solutions by dividing the data into positive and unlabeled data. This study explores the effectiveness of PU-learning in detecting DDoS attacks by comparing it with unsupervised methods. This method employs PU Bagging, Two Step method and auto-encoder based models to extract meaningful patters from network traffic data, utilizing CICDDoS2017 dataset for evaluation. …


Assessing The Kinematics And Kinetics About The Knee With An Isokinetic Dynamometer And Force Plates During Field-Based And Lab-Based Trials., Samantha Ann Searles May 2025

Assessing The Kinematics And Kinetics About The Knee With An Isokinetic Dynamometer And Force Plates During Field-Based And Lab-Based Trials., Samantha Ann Searles

Theses and Dissertations

The incidence rate in knee injuries has increased over the last 20 years, with women at a 2-8 times higher incidence rate compared to men. This is likely a result of lower neuromuscular control of the trunk, generating less hip muscle activation, and more reliance on the quadriceps, alongside reduced hip, knee, and dorsiflexion angles, paired with increased knee valgus angles, ground reaction forces (GRF), hip adduction, and knee rotation upon landing from jumps. The focus of this study is to determine if knee kinetics and kinematics during field- and lab-based trials are associated with knee injury predictors. Theoretically, if …


Design And Evaluation Of A 5g Testbed: Analyzing Security Solutions, Iq Sample Management, And Performance Visualization, Mohammed Saleh Shaik May 2025

Design And Evaluation Of A 5g Testbed: Analyzing Security Solutions, Iq Sample Management, And Performance Visualization, Mohammed Saleh Shaik

Theses and Dissertations

The evolution of 5G networks has introduced new opportunities for high-speed, low-latency wireless communication, supporting a wide range of applications from industrial automation to secure data transmission. However, as 5G networks become more complex, ensuring security and maintaining optimal performance present significant challenges. This thesis explores the development of a 5G testbed using Software-Defined Radios (SDRs) and open-source platforms to analyze signal behavior, security implementations, and performance. The testbed, built with the open source srsRAN software library and widely available SDR hardware, serves as a controlled environment for studying 5G communications security features and innovations. To evaluate transmission characteristics, in-phase/quadrature …


Does An Adapted Swimming Program Improve Self-Efficacy In Individuals With Intellectual Disability?, Georgia Grace Starr May 2025

Does An Adapted Swimming Program Improve Self-Efficacy In Individuals With Intellectual Disability?, Georgia Grace Starr

Theses and Dissertations

BACKGROUND: Short-term adapted swimming programs may improve self-efficacy in individuals with intellectual disability (ID). PURPOSE: We investigated if self-efficacy was improved from the perspectives of swimmers, their parents, and volunteering staff. METHODS: A 5-day program (60 min∙day-1) focused on swim skill development and independence, with each participant supported by a volunteer without disability. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 5 swimmers (14–35 years, 4 females), 5 parents (40–70 years, all mothers), and 5 volunteers (17–64 years, 4 females). Analysis, using open, structured, and focused coding, highlighted themes aligning with Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory (SET)—previous experience, vicarious experience, social persuasion, and feedback—and Self-determination …


An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Investigation Of Previous Sexual Health Communication Between Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Or Queer Young Adults And Their Parents, Haley Elizabeth Solace May 2025

An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Investigation Of Previous Sexual Health Communication Between Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Or Queer Young Adults And Their Parents, Haley Elizabeth Solace

Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests parent-child communication about sexual health can promote positive sexual health outcomes (e.g., Estrada-Martinez et al., 2020; Jayne et al., 2021); however, parent-child sexual health conversations are often infrequent and heteronormative (Estes, 2017). Few studies explore sexual health communication between LGBQ youth and their parents. This study explores previous experiences with parent-child sexual health communication between seven LGBQ young adults, aged 18 to 26, and four of their heterosexual mothers, to better understand parent-child sexual health communication and differences between parental-child reflections. Findings suggest LGBQ young adults and parents recall similar experiences, however, perceived discomfort and parental competency differently. …


Effects Of Environmental Stress And Antimicrobials On The Health, Microbiome, And Product Shelf-Life Of Channel And Hybrid Catfish, Guyue Tang May 2025

Effects Of Environmental Stress And Antimicrobials On The Health, Microbiome, And Product Shelf-Life Of Channel And Hybrid Catfish, Guyue Tang

Theses and Dissertations

Two studies investigated various aspects of channel and hybrid catfish production and processing. The first study examined the effects of ammonia stress (15 mg/L vs. 1 mg/L control) on growth performance and fillet quality. While channel catfish demonstrated superior growth, ammonia stress minimally impacted the sensory profiles of both species. Gut microbiota analysis revealed species-specific differences, with Lactococcus lactis dominating hybrid catfish communities. The second study evaluated buffered vinegar treatment (1.5%) on fillet shelf life during refrigerated storage. Vinegar-treated fillets maintained better microbiological quality, with aerobic plate counts remaining below 7 log cfu/g through day 6, while untreated fillets exceeded …


Synthetic Data Augmentation For Retinoblastoma Using Diffusion, Andrew Thompson May 2025

Synthetic Data Augmentation For Retinoblastoma Using Diffusion, Andrew Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

Many AI models rely on large and high quality datasets for optimal training. In certain cases, data can be difficult or expensive to obtain, making training difficult. Rare medical conditions are one of these cases. Datasets for retinoblastoma are severely lacking in quantity. Diffusion has been used to create synthetic data in the industrial, medical, and financial domains. By applying the latest Diffusion methods to retinoblastoma, this work seeks to improve predictive model performance on identifying retinoblastoma.


“Here For Everyone” (?): How Intimate Partner Violence Service Organizations Address Community Needs And Transgender Inclusion In The Deep South, Brian Tesch May 2025

“Here For Everyone” (?): How Intimate Partner Violence Service Organizations Address Community Needs And Transgender Inclusion In The Deep South, Brian Tesch

Theses and Dissertations

Transgender individuals face disproportionately high rates of intimate partner violence (also known as IPV) when compared to other sociodemographic groups. Despite this prevalence, IPV service organizations in the Deep South (e.g., Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina), a region of the U.S. encompassing several rural communities and characterized by traditional gender norms and conservative Christian religious values, may have difficulties meeting the unique needs of transgender IPV survivors. This dissertation explores two key areas: (1) the perceptions of IPV service organization staff members in the Deep South concerning how their agencies assist members of the transgender community, and (2) …


The Role Of K-12 Educators In Shaping Stem Pathways: Examining Social Capital And Self-Efficacy In Stem Education, Holly Trisch May 2025

The Role Of K-12 Educators In Shaping Stem Pathways: Examining Social Capital And Self-Efficacy In Stem Education, Holly Trisch

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the impact of K-12 educators on students’ pathways in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) by focusing on two main factors: the social capital of K-12 and elementary school teachers and the self-efficacy of preservice teachers in STEM education instruction. The first study investigates the social capital of first year engineering students, emphasizing the relationships and resources they gained during their K-12 education that influenced their decision to major in engineering. A quantitative study using survey data collected from first-year undergraduate engineering students indicates that K-12 educators play a crucial role by providing mentorship and resources that …


An Investigation Into The Inclusivity, Methodology, And Education Of Severe Weather In K-12 Schools, Stephen Holden Wooten May 2025

An Investigation Into The Inclusivity, Methodology, And Education Of Severe Weather In K-12 Schools, Stephen Holden Wooten

Theses and Dissertations

Schools are a focal point in the lives of everyone in the community, especially teachers, parents, and students. Investigating the connection between these individuals and tornadoes by identifying shortcomings in education, training, and emergency procedures can induce more effective and informed decision-making for future encounters. This study evaluated the inclusivity of tornado protocols for students with disabilities, uncovered where parents prefer their child to shelter in early dismissal situations and clarified how extensively natural hazard education and tornado drills are covered in schools. Two surveys and semi-structured interviews were used to obtain responses from earth science teachers, K-12 guardians, and …


An Updated Viscoplastic Self-Consistent Model To Capture The Effects Of Residual Stress, Microstructural Heterogeneity, And Precipitation In Cold-Sprayed Aluminum Alloys, Aulora Williams May 2025

An Updated Viscoplastic Self-Consistent Model To Capture The Effects Of Residual Stress, Microstructural Heterogeneity, And Precipitation In Cold-Sprayed Aluminum Alloys, Aulora Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Cold spray additively manufactured (CSAM) aluminum alloys exhibit heterogenous microstructures and mechanical properties, primarily due to high dislocation densities, sub-grain structures, and variation in inter-particle (intersplat) bonding arising from high-velocity particle impacts. Thermal post-processing has been shown to enhance intersplat bonding, reduce high residual stress concentrations, and lower dislocation densities, thereby improving the overall mechanical properties. Building on previous advancements with a mean-field viscoplastic self-consistent (VPSC) model, integrating intersplat boundary terms, Hall-Petch relations, and physically informed residual stress parameters, the current work extends the model to include precipitates and their effects. Observations of CSAM aluminum 7050 alloy indicate precipitate congregation …


Global Attractivity Of Positive Solutions Of Higher Order Nonlinear Difference Equations And Its Applications, Abdulaziz Almaslokh May 2025

Global Attractivity Of Positive Solutions Of Higher Order Nonlinear Difference Equations And Its Applications, Abdulaziz Almaslokh

Theses and Dissertations

Difference equations play an effective role in many mathematical models that represent some phenomena in different fields such as physics, economics, engineering and biology. From this perspective, studying and analyzing such equations are interesting issues for the advancement of scientific research. In particular, studying the asymptotic behavior of positive solutions of some population models that are a system of difference equations has become a necessity. In this dissertation, we examine the global attractivity of positive solutions of certain higher order nonlinear difference equations and apply these results to some population models.


Promoting Collaboration And Multi-Directional Reliance By Sharing Mental Model Information For Effective Multi-Agent Teaming, Audrey L. Aldridge May 2025

Promoting Collaboration And Multi-Directional Reliance By Sharing Mental Model Information For Effective Multi-Agent Teaming, Audrey L. Aldridge

Theses and Dissertations

Successful human-agent teaming requires teammates to form and maintain a shared or common understanding of several attributes regarding taskwork and teamwork. With enhanced information sharing, mental model development, and team functionality, teammates (human, autonomous) can learn to anticipate each others' behaviors, preferences, and needs as well as understand their capabilities and limitations. In designing a framework to support this type of cooperative teaming, there is a need to determine how sharing knowledge, mental models, and common understandings impacts teaming dynamics and performance. By incorporating each individual's understanding into a human-agent interface, this research enables better team coordination and performance through …


The Teaching Experiences Of Black Women Faculty In Educator Preparation Providers Licensure Programs At Predominantly White Institutions, Tiffiney M. Atterberry May 2025

The Teaching Experiences Of Black Women Faculty In Educator Preparation Providers Licensure Programs At Predominantly White Institutions, Tiffiney M. Atterberry

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the experiences that Black women faculty encounter in instructional spaces of Educator Preparation Providers licensure programs (hereafter referred to as EPPs) at predominantly White institutions are important for institutional change and reform to occur. In spaces of EPPs, Black women faculty are forced to cope and deal with racialized issues such as feelings of social isolation, a lack of inclusion, acts of microaggression from students, disrespectful acts, and students challenging their knowledge and credentials. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how Black women faculty narrate their teaching experiences in EPPs at PWIs. The use of Collins’ …


An Investigation Of Non-Persistence Of Second And Third Year Engineering Students At A Midsize Research University In The South, Kimberly Elizabeth Ball May 2025

An Investigation Of Non-Persistence Of Second And Third Year Engineering Students At A Midsize Research University In The South, Kimberly Elizabeth Ball

Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 25% of engineering students drop out during their 1st year of school, with nearly that many leaving during their second or third years. A meta-analysis of engineering non-persistence literature led to the development of an Engineering Non-persistence Model, which incorporates both quantitative and qualitative factors. While previous research primarily focused on factors of non-persistence of engineering students as a whole, this study aims to fill the gap in existing literature by examining factors within the model that contribute to non-persistence among 2nd- and 3rd-year engineering students. The goal is to provide tailored support to second and third year students …


Evaluation Of Plant Growth Regulators On Sweetpotato Slip Propagation, Kerington Lyn Bass May 2025

Evaluation Of Plant Growth Regulators On Sweetpotato Slip Propagation, Kerington Lyn Bass

Theses and Dissertations

Sweetpotato production is often impacted by high mortality of slips during transplantation to the field, particularly with greenhouse-grown slips. These slips develop thinner stems, thus being more vulnerable to transplant shock, resulting in reduced establishment. To address this issue, the study evaluated the effects of four plant growth regulators on the morphological and anatomical characteristics of sweetpotato slips. In the first experiment, external growth parameters were recorded over four weeks, followed by post-harvest assessments of plant and root material. In the second experiment, the widths of various stem structures in stained cross-sections of slip stems were measured. Results showed that …


The Influence Of Nature On Design: A Focus On The Flora And Fauna Influence On 18th And 19th Century Decorative Arts, Rachel Ann Bozeman May 2025

The Influence Of Nature On Design: A Focus On The Flora And Fauna Influence On 18th And 19th Century Decorative Arts, Rachel Ann Bozeman

Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to assist interior designers and preservationists in enhancing interior decoration by appreciating decorative arts in a historically accurate and visually appealing manner. It places a strong emphasis on the profound influence of nature on design. For centuries, creatives have drawn inspiration from nature, leading to the creation of unique design elements and decorative objects. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, naturalists produced floral and faunal prints that reflected this inspiration. Nature's impact on design extends beyond aesthetics; it also affects how individuals feel within a space. The environment one person inhabits influences his or her state of …


The Effect Of Ultrasound Transducer Type On Diagnosing Medial Meniscal Injury In Dogs With Cranial Cruciate Ligament Injury, Thomas Campbell May 2025

The Effect Of Ultrasound Transducer Type On Diagnosing Medial Meniscal Injury In Dogs With Cranial Cruciate Ligament Injury, Thomas Campbell

Theses and Dissertations

Ultrasonography is reported to be accurate in diagnosing meniscus injuries in dogs but the effect of transducer type has not been studied. The aim was to determine the effect of ultrasound transducer type on utility of meniscal ultrasound. We hypothesized that ultrasonography will provide good diagnostic utility for meniscal injury and that linear transducers will perform best. In this prospective study, the ultrasonographic findings of the medial meniscus using three transducers were compared to arthrotomy findings. Thirty-nine stifles were included with an injury prevalence of 23/39 (59%). The standard linear transducer provided the highest negative predictive value (60%). The small …


The Teaching Self-Efficacy Of Agriculture Faculty At Community Colleges In The Southern United States, Allison Rachel Coley May 2025

The Teaching Self-Efficacy Of Agriculture Faculty At Community Colleges In The Southern United States, Allison Rachel Coley

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess the teaching self-efficacy of agriculture teachers at community colleges in the southern United States. The accessible population consisted of all current faculty who teach agriculture at community colleges within the southern United States (N=102) with 102 surveys being distributed and 39% completing the survey. This descriptive study utilized a causal-comparative research design and a purposive sampling technique to select faculty to participate in the study. Means were used to determine how strongly teachers felt about their perceived teaching self-efficacy. Standard deviations helped to determine how the responses varied. Frequencies and percentages determined …


Evaluating The Efficacy Of Functional Feed Additives In Broilers With Or Without A Live Coccidiosis Vaccine Challenge, Dalton Gerard Dennehy May 2025

Evaluating The Efficacy Of Functional Feed Additives In Broilers With Or Without A Live Coccidiosis Vaccine Challenge, Dalton Gerard Dennehy

Theses and Dissertations

Functional feed additives, such as probiotics, prebiotics, and phytogenics, have seen increased usage in commercial poultry production due to their ability to improve growth performance, meat yield, and overall health status. Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate the efficacy of functional feed additives in broilers with or without an enteric challenge induced via a live coccidiosis vaccine (LCV). In the first study (Chapter II), broilers were raised on used litter without an LCV challenge and fed varying levels of a multi-strain Bacillus-based probiotic in the starter phase (1x or 2x dose). Reduced performance was observed in early …


Assessment Of Water Quality And Remediation Of Heavy Metals In A Coastal System, Christiana Fumnanya Eziashi May 2025

Assessment Of Water Quality And Remediation Of Heavy Metals In A Coastal System, Christiana Fumnanya Eziashi

Theses and Dissertations

This research focuses on a three-part study to assess water quality in a coastal system and evaluate the absorption capacity of modified biochar and algae to remediate cadmium (Cd). The first chapter introduces the hypothesis and objectives, and the second chapter provides a detailed literature review. The third chapter focuses on the first study, where surface water samples and water quality data collected from a manned boat and a novel autonomous surface vessel (ASV) in the Western Mississippi Sound (WMS) in the summer of 2021 and 2022 were analyzed and the interrelationship between the nutrient, trace metals, salinity, and chlorophyll-a …


Optimizing Mars Terrain Segmentation With Weakly Supervised Learning: A Focus On Weighted Loss From Annotation Metadata, Malika Dutta May 2025

Optimizing Mars Terrain Segmentation With Weakly Supervised Learning: A Focus On Weighted Loss From Annotation Metadata, Malika Dutta

Theses and Dissertations

The study of planetary surfaces heavily depends upon space rovers that gather detailed images of terrain needed for analysis and navigation. Deep neural networks and other sophisticated machine learning techniques are necessary for autonomous navigation in challenging terrain. However, the inconsistent annotations by citizen scientists frequently hinder the performance of these models. This study seeks to optimize terrain segmentation to improve the autonomous capabilities of future Mars rovers by presenting a novel weakly supervised learning framework to handle noise and unreliability in datasets. Using factors like number of clicks, pixel accuracy, and annotator dependability, the method utilizes annotation metadata in …


Lateral Control Of Autonomous Vehicle Using Deep Cnn And Ampc, Iffat Ara Ebu May 2025

Lateral Control Of Autonomous Vehicle Using Deep Cnn And Ampc, Iffat Ara Ebu

Theses and Dissertations

Autonomous functionalities are pivotal for the advancement of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), driving towards collision-free and environmentally sustainable transportation. This thesis presents two distinct studies addressing critical aspects of autonomous vehicle control: lane centering via deep learning and lateral vehicle control using model predictive control. The first study explores end-to-end learning f or autonomous s teering command generation, focusing on lane centering. A convolutional neural network (CNN) model, inspired by NVIDIA’s PilotNet, is employed to directly map raw camera pixel inputs to steering commands, eliminating the need for intermediate feature engineering. The model is trained and validated using datasets …


Assessment Of Pagp Gene Function In Avian Pathogenic Escherichia Coli Pathogenicity Using Different Challenge Models, Hailey Fugate May 2025

Assessment Of Pagp Gene Function In Avian Pathogenic Escherichia Coli Pathogenicity Using Different Challenge Models, Hailey Fugate

Theses and Dissertations

Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in poultry, contributing an estimated $40 million in annual losses in the U.S. broiler industry alone, and contributing to growing concerns over antibiotic resistance. This study investigated the role of the pagP gene, which encodes a lipid A palmitoyl transferase involved in immune evasion, using both a broiler chick and embryo challenge model. Deletion of pagP significantly reduced mortality and lesion severity in broilers, indicating its role in APEC pathogenicity. However, in embryos, pagP deletion had minimal effects on survival and bacterial colonization, suggesting alternative virulence mechanisms …


Bucket-Based Priority Queues For A* And Related Bounded-Suboptimal And Anytime Search Algorithms: Theoretical And Practical Advancements, Garrett Michael Fereday May 2025

Bucket-Based Priority Queues For A* And Related Bounded-Suboptimal And Anytime Search Algorithms: Theoretical And Practical Advancements, Garrett Michael Fereday

Theses and Dissertations

For shortest-path problems with a small number of integer transition costs, it is well-known that the performance of the classic A* algorithm can be improved by using bucketing to reduce priority queue overhead—in particular, by using a bucket queue data structure for the priority queue, instead of a binary heap. This dissertation describes several theoretical and practical extensions of this approach. First, the traditional two-level bucket queue data structure is modified in simple ways to improve the worst-case complexity of its operations, which leads to the first demonstration that the priority queue operations of a two-level bucket queue for A* …


Influence Of Horizontal Grid Spacing On Numerical Weather Prediction Simulations Of Clear Air Turbulence, Kailah Rose Gordon May 2025

Influence Of Horizontal Grid Spacing On Numerical Weather Prediction Simulations Of Clear Air Turbulence, Kailah Rose Gordon

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research was to analyze the influence of horizontal grid spacing on numerical simulations of kinetic and thermal forced clear air turbulence (CAT) by quantifying uncertainty using a resolution ensemble. Previous studies indicated that microscale (< 1km) spatial resolutions are necessary to resolve turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) with low uncertainty. Six case studies of moderate or greater CAT, from pilot reports, were simulated at six horizontal grid spacings including 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32km using the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) Model. Results showed that grid spacing does influence the magnitude of uncertainty; however, the relationship between the grid spacings varied with the type of CAT being simulated and the addition of the cumulus parameterization scheme for grid spacings greater than 4km. Overall, higher precision was found between convective resolutions (1-4km), indicating that microscale resolutions are not necessary to precisely simulate TKE for CAT forecasts.


Unraveling Exoplanetary Signatures From Stellar Activity: A Journey Beyond The Known In Rv Mass Measurements Of K Dwarf Planets, Claire Susanne Geneser May 2025

Unraveling Exoplanetary Signatures From Stellar Activity: A Journey Beyond The Known In Rv Mass Measurements Of K Dwarf Planets, Claire Susanne Geneser

Theses and Dissertations

A precise radial velocity (RV) monitoring campaign was conducted for two Targets of Interest (TOI), TOI-2443 b and TOI-139 b, identified by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) as exoplanet candidates orbiting K dwarf stars. Preliminary estimates of the transmission spectroscopy metric (TSM) indicate that the transiting planets are promising targets for atmospheric follow-up. I perform a multi-planet RV analysis of the TOI-2443 system, combining infrared and optical RV data. The model robustly recovers the signal of TOI-2443 b, an eccentric warm sub-Neptune, with a semi-amplitude of 2.54 ± 0.24 m/s, corresponding to a mass of 7.11 ± 0.67 ��⊕ …


Impact Of An Automated Brush System On Intensively Managed Lactating Dairy Cattle Behavior, Production, And Stress Physiology, Allison Lyn Griffin May 2025

Impact Of An Automated Brush System On Intensively Managed Lactating Dairy Cattle Behavior, Production, And Stress Physiology, Allison Lyn Griffin

Theses and Dissertations

The dairy industry has increasingly prioritized improving animal welfare for intensively housed cows. This study evaluated the effects of environmental enrichment (EE) using an automated brush system on stress physiology, behavior, and productivity of lactating dairy cows. Fifty-nine pregnant and lactating dairy cows were divided into two groups: CON (no brush) and TRT (automated brush system). Saliva samples were collected to measure cortisol concentrations, and behaviors were monitored in the morning (07:00 h - 11:00 h) and evening (19:00 h - 23:00 h) using high-resolution cameras. The results indicated that cows with brush access had lower cortisol concentrations, suggesting reduced …


Atmospheric Turbulence Education Effects On Flight Anxiety, Megan A. Hanna May 2025

Atmospheric Turbulence Education Effects On Flight Anxiety, Megan A. Hanna

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the effect of turbulence education on flight anxiety. A pre-post methodology measured students’ anxiety levels before and after a study abroad flight, using an educational video during the pre-flight survey to change their feelings. The Flight Anxiety Situations (FAS) questionnaire assessed anxiety at three survey points: pre-video, post-video, and post-flight. Qualitative analysis using Friedman’s test and the Wilcoxon Signed-rank test, indicated that turbulence education effectively decreased generalized and anticipatory flight anxiety, particularly in non-phobic students. Text analysis of open-ended responses suggested increased scientific knowledge post-video helped students apply technical atmospheric processes to their feelings. Turbulence education was …