Digital Commons Network^™

Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms Vary Within And Across Years At Lake Fayetteville, Arkansas, Alyssa Ferri

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The occurrence of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (HABs) and toxins are a nationwide concern. Although Lake Fayetteville likely experienced HABs for many years, microcystin, an algal toxin, was not monitored until 2019. The objectives of this study were to: 1) observe temporal variation in water quality and total microcystin concentrations, 2) quantify thresholds with microcystin and nutrients, algal parameters, and environmental factors, and 3) evaluate complex relationships between total microcystin and nutrient supplies, algal parameters, and environmental factors using a classification and regression tree model (CART). Three sites (dam, inlet, and mid) at Lake Fayetteville were sampled weekly to monthly …

Modeling Damage Spread, Assessment, And Recovery Of Critical Systems, Justin Burns

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Critical infrastructure systems have recently become more vulnerable to attacks on their data systems through internet connectivity. If an attacker is successful in breaching a system’s defenses, it is imperative that operations are restored to the system as quickly as possible. This thesis focuses on damage assessment and recovery following an attack. A literature review is first conducted on work done in both database protection and critical infrastructure protection, then the thesis defines how damage affects the relationships between data and software. Then, the thesis proposes a model using a graph construction to show the cascading affects within a system …

Teaching White Privilege At A Southern University: A Multi-Method Approach, Morgan Browning

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fueled by individual and systemic prejudices, racism continuously cycles through American society. Eliminating racism begins with education and awareness on all societal levels. Denying the existence of privilege, specifically White privilege, allows people to ignore racial inequalities and aids in the perpetuation of injustice. This study focused on educating students at a southern university about privilege, oppression, racism, and discrimination with the goal of contributing to a less racist campus. A similar program developed and implemented in a previous study by the researcher was adapted for online modules. These four online modules consisted of presentations, activities, videos, speakers, and reflective …

Live Access Control Policy Error Detection Through Hardware, Bryce Mendenhall

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Access Control (AC) is a widely used security measure designed to protect resources and infrastructure in an information system. The integrity of the AC policy is crucial to the protection of the system. Errors within an AC policy may cause many vulnerabilities such as information leaks, information loss, and malicious activities. Thus, such errors must be detected and promptly fixed. However, current AC error detection models do not allow for real-time error detection, nor do they provide the source of errors. This thesis presents a live error detection model called LogicDetect which utilizes emulated Boolean digital logic circuits to provide …

Media Erasure: A 1904 Lynching In St. Charles, Arkansas, Mary Hennigan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As Americans grew increasingly interested in historic racial violence following the Black Lives Matter movement in 2021, select news publications chose to publish apologetic editorials and articles that addressed their failure of inclusive reporting for the last century (Lancaster, 2021; Fannin, 2020). In the theme of acknowledging past mistakes, the Printing Hate project emerged to investigate the power white-owned papers had in influencing lynching incidents in the county (Capital News Service, 2021). The present study examines one Arkansas lynching in 1904 St. Charles. The incident includes the death of 13 Black men. Findings from a content analysis of 70 original …

Breeding Soybean [Glycine Max (L) Merr.] Under Reduced Irrigation, Francia Seconde Ravelombola

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Soybean [Glycine max (L) Merr.], a legume species native to East Asia in the Fabaceae family, ranks among the most important food crops in the world. It is widely grown and known for its high protein and oil concentration. Soybean is valuable because its seeds have multiple applications in food, feed, pharmaceutical, and industrial enterprises. Even though seed yield is the most important trait, breeders have recently given a significant attention to quality traits, such as high protein or modified oil concentration. Soybean seed protein inheritance has been extensively studied; however, genetics of high-protein ‘BARC-7’ soybean are still unknown.On the …

Dentistry And The Law: What Is Illegal About Disclosing Fee Schedules?, Dan Schulte Jd

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This Dentistry and the Law column addresses the question of disclosing fee schedules by dental plans. The author clarifies that dental plans often withhold fee schedule information, citing potential antitrust violations or illegality. However, the column asserts that this is an excuse rather than a legal constraint. The author explains that disclosing fee schedules does not violate antitrust laws; violations occur through agreements that unreasonably restrain competition. The reluctance of dental plans to disclose fee information is attributed to business objectives, not legal concerns. Dentists are encouraged to request fee schedules to make informed decisions about network participation, with a …

Staff Matters: Employees On Military Leave, Jodi Schafer Sphr, Shrm-Scp

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This Staff Matters column addresses an employer's concern about an employee being deployed for military service and explores options for managing the situation. The response emphasizes the application of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The article highlights that USERRA, applicable to all employers regardless of size, mandates unpaid leave for military service members and outlines re-employment rights. Practical suggestions for coping with the absence, including hiring temporary staff and having a clear policy in the employee handbook, are provided. The column also hints at future articles …

10-Minute Ebd: Charcoal Toothpastes Pose Risks With Few Benefits, Kelly Lemke Dds, Ms

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

The rising popularity of charcoal toothpaste, fueled by social media influencers and claims of teeth-whitening benefits, prompts an investigation into its effectiveness and potential risks. The article explores the evidence through a PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome) question focused on patients seeking whiter teeth. A literature review reveals limited scientific validation for the cosmetic or health benefits of charcoal-containing oral products. The abrasiveness of charcoal toothpaste poses risks, potentially leading to enamel loss, dentin exposure, and hypersensitivity. Lack of fluoride in many charcoal toothpaste formulations raises concerns about caries risk. The article emphasizes the importance of dental providers conducting due …

J Mich Dent Assoc May 2022

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

Monthly, The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association brings news, information, and feature articles to our state's oral health community and the MDA's 6,200+ members. No publication reaches more Michigan dentists!

In this May 2022 issue, the reader will find the following original content:

• A feature on “Periodontal Disease and COVID-19"
• A cover feature introducing Dr. Vince Benivegna 2022-23 MDA President
• A 10-Minute EBD: “Charcoal Toothpastes Pose Risks with Few Benefits”
• A Professional Ethics article on “How Can Our Office be More Inclusive of Transgender Patients”
• News you need: an Editorial, a profile on Dr. Jessica Rikert, recipient of the …

Periodontal Disease And Covid-19, Zhaozhao Chen Dds, Ms, Phd, Laurie K. Mccauley Dds, Ms, Phd, Purnima S. Kumar Bds, Ms, Phd, Hom-Lay Wang Dds, Ms, Phd

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

As the gateway to the respiratory system, the oral cavity can play an essential role in SARS-CoV-2 invasion and transmission. Besides high expression of angiotensin‐converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the oral cavity can harbor viral particles in saliva, gingival crevicular fluid, and the periodontal pocket. Microbial and inflammatory associations closely link periodontitis and COVID-19. In this review, we summarize the possible oral manifestations of COVID‐19, its association with periodontal diseases, the plausible underlying mechanisms of microbial and inflammatory crosstalk between COVID‐19 and periodontal diseases, and mitigation protocols during periodontal treatment.

Elevated Hot Gas And High-Mass X-Ray Binary Emission In Low-Metallicity Galaxies: Implications For Nebular Ionization And Intergalactic Medium Heating In The Early Universe, Bret D. Lehmer, Rafael T. Eufrasio, Antara Basu-Zych, Kristen Garofali, Woodrow Gilbertson, Andrei Mesinger, Mihoko Yukita

Space and Planetary Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

High-energy emission associated with star formation has been proposed as a significant source of interstellar medium (ISM) ionization in low-metallicity starbursts and an important contributor to the heating of the intergalactic medium (IGM) in the high-redshift (z ≳ 8) universe. Using Chandra observations of a sample of 30 galaxies at D ≈ 200–450 Mpc that have high specific star formation rates of 3–9 Gyr−1 and metallicities near Z ≈ 0.3Z⊙, we provide new measurements of the average 0.5–8 keV spectral shape and normalization per unit star formation rate (SFR). We model the sample-combined X-ray spectrum as a …

Post-Obergefell V. Hodges: How Lgbt Contact Can Alter Public Lgbt Policy Positions In The U.S. And Arkansas, Briana Huett

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Contact Theory (CT) of attitudinal change has utilized to understand perceptions of minority-group members and the policies that surround them since the 1950s. It has further been used to specifically examine how we form our opinions of LGBT-identifying individuals, the LGBT community, and LGBT policies more generally. However, further evidence is still needed from the CT literature surrounding how this form of contact interacts with individuals’ social identities to determine and alter their LGBT policy positions, how the level of contact with LGBT persons might have differing effects on these positions, and whether LGBT contact holds the same effects …

How Do Virtual Social Media Influencers Affect Millennial And Gen Z Female Consumers’ Purchase Intention? A Comparison Of Fast Fashion Versus Luxury Fashion Brands, Lauren Bouvier

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the emergence and increasing prevalence of social media, the effectiveness of social media influencers (SMIs) is apparent in today’s fast-paced life. Virtual social media influencers (VSMIs), computer-generated influencers with a real human appearance, have gained popularity. The purpose of this study is to examine important VSMI’s characteristics that affect brand image and trust which lead to purchase intention (fast fashion vs. luxury fashion brand). Social exchange theory and source credibility model were adopted to develop a theoretical framework for the present study. Two Instagram ads were developed that included the post’s image and corresponding caption: VSMI endorsing H&M and …

Growth Differentiation Factor 5 Is A Paracrine Regulator Of Sarcopenic Obesity, Landen W. Saling

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sarcopenic obesity attributes to skeletal muscle loss more than sarcopenia and obesity alone. Individuals with SO suffer from the comorbidity of excess body fat and concurrent muscle mass loss due to aging. Growth differentiation factors (Gdfs) have never been recognized as playing a role in skeletal muscle maintenance in those with SO. Specifically, Gdf5, has been recognized as playing a part in Bone Morphogenic Protein signaling to activate protein synthesis and deactivate protein degradation via SMAD 1/5/8 and SMAD 4 complex. Using RNA sequencing, Gdf5 was identified as being significantly upregulated in SO mice. Purpose: To determine the cellular role …

Cyanobacterial And Microcystin Response To Nutrient Additions At Lake Fayetteville Throughout The 2021 Growing Season, Lillie Haddock

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are becoming a global concern due to their increasing distribution, frequency, intensity, and the occurrence of toxins. While it is known that eutrophication influences algal blooms, there is less known about what triggers these HABs to produce toxins, especially microcystin. In this study, we conducted 21 community bioassays at Lake Fayetteville, a hypereutrophic reservoir in Fayetteville, Arkansas, from April-November 2021 to examine how the addition of phosphorous and nitrogen influence cyanobacteria concentrations, microcystin concentrations, and microcystin toxin production. These experiments included a control, nitrogen (1.0 mg/L as KNO3), low phosphorus (0.025 mg/L as K2HPO4), high phosphorus …

Toward Global Localization Of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Using Overhead Image Registration With Deep Learning Convolutional Neural Networks, Rachel Linck

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Global localization, in which an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) estimates its unknown current location without access to its take-off location or other locational data from its flight path, is a challenging problem. This research brings together aspects from the remote sensing, geoinformatics, and machine learning disciplines by framing the global localization problem as a geospatial image registration problem in which overhead aerial and satellite imagery serve as a proxy for UAS imagery. A literature review is conducted covering the use of deep learning convolutional neural networks (DLCNN) with global localization and other related geospatial imagery applications. Differences between geospatial imagery …

Evaluation Of The Effect Of A Lippia Organoides Essential Oil Extract On Clostridium Perfringens Proliferation In Vitro And Necrotic Enteritis In Broiler Chickens, Makenly E. Coles

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present research was to assess the effects of essential oils derived from the plant Lippia organoides on performance parameters, intestinal integrity, and necrotic enteritis (NE) in broiler chickens. To do this, a previously established challenge model for NE was utilized which included challenging with Salmonella Typhimurium on day 0, Eimeria maxima on day 18, and Clostridium perfringens on days 22 and 23. Treatment groups included a 1) non-challenged, negative control, 2) challenged control, and 3) challenged, Lippia origanoides (37ppm in the diet). Group 1 (negative control) had significantly (P < 0.05) higher body weight gain from d8-25 and d0-25 compared to both challenged groups. Feed intake was significantly different for all three groups (P < 0.05) at 8-25 days and 0-25 days with group 1 having the highest feed intake for both time periods. Total mortality was greater in the positive control when compared to both the negative and treatment groups. NE lesion scores were significantly different between all groups with the positive control having the highest mean lesion scores and the negative control having a mean lesion score of 0. The positive control group had the highest FITC-d amounts detected in the sera, being statistically higher than both the treatment group and negative group which were both statistically different from each other. At the present inclusion rate for the essential oil (37 ppm), there was an overall reduction in the negative impact from the NE infection. Further studies should be conducted to reach more significant conclusions.

The Experiences Of The Transgender And Gender Diverse Community On Coming Out At The University Of Arkansas, Taylor Hubbard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Researching the experiences of the TGD community can help better understand the unique struggles this community may face, specifically regarding the unique experiences southeastern United States TGD individuals have encountered. We draw on previous studies regarding the entire LGBTQ+ community and the minimal research on the TGD community. There is minimal research looking specifically at the experiences college TGD students have when coming out in different aspects and the perceptions TGD individuals have about themselves as a result of their experiences coming out. We conducted a survey with 37 respondents as well as 4 qualitative interviews. We present interviews conducted …

Diffusive Dynamics Of Biological Macromolecules In The Cytoplasm Of Live Bacteria, Asmaa Ali Sadoon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bacteria are small organisms that play important roles in our bodies and in maintaining our surrounding environment. However, bacterial infections are considered as one of the health diseases that threatens the lives of humans. Resistance of bacteria to antibiotics has made treating bacterial infections more challenging. With the emergence of many developed optical techniques, it has become possible to study various biological mechanisms of molecules inside these small organisms with high resolution and precise localization. In this research, single particle tracking photoactivation localization microscopy (sptPALM) technique was used to investigate the dynamics of fluorescent histonelike nucleoid-structuring proteins (H-NS) in live …

An Engineering And Economic Analysis Of The Implementation Of The Carbo Rock-It, Lydia Huck

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The patented Carbo Rock-It system was developed to carbonate beverages for the craft brewing industry with the goal of reducing time, cost, and environmental impacts of the carbonation process. This research field tests, models, analyzes and optimizes the engineering and economic performance of a commercial-scale Carbo Rock-It placed in production at an operating brewery (Core Brewing and Distilling Co., Springdale, AR). Field tests indicated that the Carbo Rock-It was able to successfully carbonate twelve 120 BBL batches of Scarlet Letter Seltzer to 3.0 vol/vol while meeting all beverage quality and safety requirements. The Carbo Rock-It was able to reduce carbonation …

How Abortion Laws Do And Don't Work, Michelle Oberman

Faculty Publications

The US Supreme Court appears ready to permit states to re-criminalize abortion. When the “law on the books” changes in the United States, what might the “law on the ground” look like? One answer lies in examining what happens today, in countries with restrictive abortion laws. Israel’s 1977 law bars abortion unless approved by a “pregnancy termination committee.” Drawing on interviews with committee members, lawmakers, advocates and others, this Article presents an ethnographic study of one country’s experience with a law criminalizing abortion.

Israel’s approach, limiting abortion access to those with qualifying conditions, is likely to be in play for …

Understanding Interfacial Reactions Initiating On Electrode Materials For Energy Storage Technologies, Jingnan Li

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since the first generation of lithium-ion batteries featured lithium cobalt oxide cathode and carbon anode commercialized in the 1990s, the high-capacity materials with lower cost are in demand to further increase the battery energy density. Lithium metal and silicon anode are promising high-capacity anode materials to achieve next-generation lithium batteries. However, both the materials actively react in electrolytes and suffer from dramatic volume change. Therefore, a reliable passivation layer at the electrolyte/electrode interphase (i.e., solid electrolyte interphase, or “SEI”) is required to support the long-term cycling of both materials. Cetrimonium hydro fluoride (CTAHF2) has been proposed and synthesized as an …

Recommendations For Effective Documentation In Regional Anesthesia: An Expert Panel Delphi Consensus Project, Hassan M Ahmed, Benjamin P Atterton, Gillian G Crowe, Jaime L Barratta, Mark Johnson, Eugene R. Viscusi, Sanjib Adhikary, Eric Albrecht, Karen Boretsky, Jan Boublik, Dara S Breslin, Kelly Byrne, Alan Ch'ng, Alwin Chuan, Patrick Conroy, Craig Daniel, Andrzej Daszkiewicz, Alain Delbos, Dan Sebastian Dirzu, Dmytro Dmytriiev, Paul Fennessy, H Barrie J Fischer, Henry Frizelle, Jeff Gadsden, Philippe Gautier, Rajnish K Gupta, Yavuz Gürkan, Harold David Hardman, William Harrop-Griffiths, Peter Hebbard, Nadia Hernandez, Jakub Hlasny, Gabriella Iohom, Vivian H Y Ip, Christina L Jeng, Rebecca L Johnson, Hari Kalagara, Brian Kinirons, Andrew Kenneth Lansdown, Jody C Leng, Yean Chin Lim, Clara Lobo, Danielle B Ludwin, Alan James Robert Macfarlane, Anthony T Machi, Padraig Mahon, Stephen Mannion, David H Mcleod, Peter Merjavy, Aleksejs Miscuks, Christopher H Mitchell, Eleni Moka, Peter Moran, Ann Ngui, Olga C Nin, Brian D O'Donnell, Amit Pawa, Anahi Perlas, Steven Porter, John-Paul Pozek, Humberto C Rebelo, Vicente Roqués, Kristopher M Schroeder, Gary Schwartz, Eric S. Schwenk, Luc Sermeus, George Shorten, Karthikeyan Srinivasan, Markus F Stevens, Kassiani Theodoraki, Lloyd R Turbitt, Luis Fernando Valdés-Vilches, Thomas Volk, Katrina Webster, T Wiesmann, Sylvia H Wilson, Morné Wolmarans, Glenn Woodworth, Andrew K Worek, E M Louise Moran

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

Background and objectives: Documentation is important for quality improvement, education, and research. There is currently a lack of recommendations regarding key aspects of documentation in regional anesthesia. The aim of this study was to establish recommendations for documentation in regional anesthesia.

Methods: Following the formation of the executive committee and a directed literature review, a long list of potential documentation components was created. A modified Delphi process was then employed to achieve consensus amongst a group of international experts in regional anesthesia. This consisted of 2 rounds of anonymous electronic voting and a final virtual round table discussion with live …

Historical Underpinnings And Consequent Effects Of Labor Exploitation Of Mexican And Central Americans In The United States, Andrew Elkins

World Languages, Literatures and Cultures Undergraduate Honors Theses

The experience immigrants have today working and living in the southern United States is defined by systems that have developed out of lingering racist attitudes and reactions toward these individuals. The flow of people across the U.S.-Mexico border has a long history, and it is characterized by patterns that have continued from early guest worker programs to the present-day flow of migrants, both legal and undocumented. Also continually present is the racialization of these migrants, which has often forced them to work and live as marginalized members of American society. This project will explore the establishment of Mexican American citizen …

The Influence Of Dash Diet Education On Knowledge And Adherence In Primary Care: A Quality Improvement Project, Paige Bekker

Masters Projects

Background/Local Problem: A rural family practice was concerned about the number of

patients with uncontrolled hypertension, 19.86% n = 56, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). After several quality improvement (QI) initiates to lower the prevalence rate of uncontrolled hypertension, including proper measurement techniques and home monitoring, the modifiable risk factor of adapting one’s food intake was introduced using the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet as an intervention. The DASH diet is an evidence-based approach for lowering blood pressure. The QI project was completed with the purpose of implementing DASH diet education and …

Fault-Free Tilings, T. Elise Dettling, Amelia Goetzinger

Mathematics Undergraduate Research

Given a p×q rectangular board (height p and width q), we may fill in the area with 2×1 tiles. We say the board is tileable if the board can be filled with non-overlapping tiles leaving no open space. Not all boards are tileable, for example a 5 × 5 board is not tileable because it has an odd area. A fault-free tiling exists on the board if every line through the board parallel to a side goes through a tile. Previous work on this subject has been completed by Ron Graham in “Fault-Free Tilings of Rectangles" and Emily Montelius in …

Evaluation Of Human Microbiota-Associated (Hma) Porcine Models To Study The Human Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Nirosh D. Aluthge

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Research conducted in the past couple of decades has showcased the importance of the gut microbiota in human health and well-being. While many studies have reported on the differences in community membership between a disease state and a healthy state, few have investigated the mechanisms through which an aberrant microbiota contributes to a disease phenotype. One of the primary reasons for this are the many technical and ethical barriers to conducting the necessary studies directly in human individuals. Human microbiota-associated (HMA) porcine models have the potential to become important research tools which can enable the testing of hypotheses regarding host-microbiota …

The Utility Of The Dibels Phonemic Segmentation Fluency Assessment In Kindergarten For Establishing A Correlation With Third Grade Reading Performance, Jennifer Lynn

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether student scores on the kindergarten DIBELS PSF assessment are correlated with student reading assessment scores in third grade. I chose to examine this correlation because the kindergarten PSF score is used as one of the earliest identifiers of students who are at-risk for reading difficulties. I determined that a small number of those students who scored at-risk in kindergarten remained at-risk in the third grade.

Effective Board Governance In Covenantal Christian Schools, Justin Raap

Master of Education Program Theses

This action research project examined the various perspectives around effective board governance of current and former board members and administrators working in covenantal Christian schools. The survey, administered to participants working with covenantal schools across Canada, contained fifteen questions related to effective board governance components. Participants were also able to provide anecdotal qualitative feedback if desired. The results of the study revealed that there is notable agreement as to the importance of various components related to effective board governance in covenantal schools; however, there are a few areas where boards in covenantal schools may have opportunity for growth. These include …