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Title: Effects of a multi-strain Bacillus subtilis-based direct-fed microbial on weanling pig growth performance, nutrient digestibility, immunity markers, intestinal morphology, and microbial communities
Creator: Lewton, Jaron R.
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of a multi-strain Bacillus subtilis-based direct-fed microbial (DFM) on weanling pig growth performance, nutrient digestibility, immunity markers, intestinal morphology, and microbial communities. A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that DFM supplemented pigs would have greater nutrient digestibility and improvements in specific indicators of health status. Eighty pigs, of equal number of barrows and gilts (initial BW: 7.0 ...
Show moreThe objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of a multi-strain Bacillus subtilis-based direct-fed microbial (DFM) on weanling pig growth performance, nutrient digestibility, immunity markers, intestinal morphology, and microbial communities. A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that DFM supplemented pigs would have greater nutrient digestibility and improvements in specific indicators of health status. Eighty pigs, of equal number of barrows and gilts (initial BW: 7.0 ± 0.60 kg), weaned at 21 ± 1 days of age were randomly allotted to sixteen pens, with five pigs per pen. Two dietary treatments were implemented, a basal control (CON) and a control plus DFM (DFM). Both diets were corn, soybean meal, and distillers dried grains based and were formulated to meet or exceed all nutrient requirements and manufactured on site. Diets were fed for 42 days. Growth performance was recorded on a weekly basis. On d 21 and 42 of the experiment, one pig per pen was randomly selected and euthanized, with equal number of males and females represented. Blood samples were collected prior to euthanasia for assessment of plasma concentrations of immunoglobin A (IgA) and intestinal fatty acid binding protein. Segments of the gastrointestinal tract including duodenum, jejunum, ileum, ascending and distal colon were removed for analysis of nutrient digestibility, intestinal morphology, microbial communities, and concentrations of interleukin 6, interleukin 10 (IL-10), and tumor necrosis factor alpha. Overall growth performance did not differ between DFM and CON. Overall means ± SD were 0.51 ± 0.05 kg/d, 0.79 ± 0.05 kg/d and 0.66 ± 0.05 for ADG, ADFI, and G:F, respectively. Compared to pigs fed CON, overall digestibility of AA within the jejunum tended to be greater for tryptophan (P = 0.06), methionine (P = 0.10), and cysteine (P = 0.12) for pigs fed DFM. The pH of contents in ascending colon, a possible indicator of varied fiber digestion, did not differ. Apparent total tract nitrogen and energy digestibility did not differ between DFM and CON on d 21 or 42. Compared to CON, overall jejunal villus height was greater (P = 0.02) (422 vs. 385 ± 10 [mu]m, respectively) and ascending colon crypt depth tended to be greater (P = 0.10) on d 21 (373 vs. 337 ± 14 [mu]m, respectively). Compared to CON, DFM tended to increase IgA (P = 0.06) on d 21 (0.34 vs. 0.54 ± 0.07 mg/mL, respectively) and tended to increase IL-10 (P = 0.12) on d 42 (133 vs. 237 ± 49 pg/mL, respectively). Addition of a multi-strain Bacillus subtilis-based DFM appears to impact select amino acid digestibility within the jejunum. Improvements in digestibility may be related to the DFMs benefit on weanling pig health status, observed via differences in intestinal morphology and specific immunity markers.
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Title: Gendered power and healthcare access : a participatory study with transgender and gender diverse youth
Creator: Chiaramonte, Danielle
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Systemic oppression of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals is fueled by societal stigmas derived from normative perspectives on sex and gender (Sevelius, 2013; Testa et al., 2012). Prior research indicates that the marginalized status of TGD youth may negatively impact their health and healthcare access (Hendricks & Testa, 2012). Overcoming barriers to equitable healthcare access for TGD youth requires an awareness of the oppressive power structures that impede their well-being...
Show moreSystemic oppression of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals is fueled by societal stigmas derived from normative perspectives on sex and gender (Sevelius, 2013; Testa et al., 2012). Prior research indicates that the marginalized status of TGD youth may negatively impact their health and healthcare access (Hendricks & Testa, 2012). Overcoming barriers to equitable healthcare access for TGD youth requires an awareness of the oppressive power structures that impede their well-being and ability to flourish. Researchers have inadequately studied the manner in which gender shapes TGD youth's ability to seek out needed healthcare services safely and on how gender-based oppression impacts TGD youth's health and well-being told from youth's perspectives.Using Walker and Pratto's (2004) theory of gendered power and a sequential mixed-methods participatory design, I collaborated with a TGD youth research and advisory team to explore gendered power and healthcare access in two unique samples of TGD youth. I intentionally used a participatory approach because researchers have historically excluded youth's perspectives on their social and structural marginalization and its impact on access to healthcare. Findings revealed a framework of gendered power composed of three distinct mechanisms that limited youth's power over their gender expression and identity. The framework's restrictive mechanisms-gatekeeping, violent control, and reification of heteropatriarchy-mirror extant theory on gender and power. These mechanisms of control were enacted differently than in the case of cisgender women on whom prior theories were developed. Restrictive mechanisms of power also impacted youth's willingness to engage with and have confidence in healthcare providers. Further, among the sample of TGD youth living with HIV (n=28), I found the restrictive mechanisms of gendered power undermined TGD youth's steady engagement in HIV care, despite also finding that HIV care was the sole source of affirmation within medical environments. Mechanisms operated differently as a function of youth's age, race, gender identity, gender presentation, and socio-economic status. Finally, we identified restorative mechanisms for reclaiming control of and enacting autonomy over identity (e.g., educating and advocating for rights, lifting up the self and the TGD community, disrupting power imbalances, enacting physical expression).The findings from this research provide an empirically based theoretical framework of gendered power that is developmentally appropriate for TGD youth. This study also underscores the importance of theories of gendered power in understanding healthcare access and general well-being among TGD youth. The results suggest the need to support youth reclamation of gendered power at individual interpersonal, and community levels. Findings also point to policy and practice interventions that would promote TGD youth's engagement in care, including revised medical training curriculum for practitioners of family medicine, pediatrics, and reproductive health on gender diversity and affirming TGD care. Finally, results highlight the need for gender affirming policies within youth-serving institutions that promote the validation, inclusion, and safety of TGD youth.
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Title: Understanding spatial and temporal variability of corn yield to improve nitrogen use efficiency
Creator: Davidson, Olivia
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Two field scale studies were performed in five corn fields across southwest Michigan over three years in order to examine i) the influence of delayed corn plant emergence on final yield, and ii) the effect of strategic, varied nitrogen management on final yield, profit, and nitrogen use efficiency. Individual corn plant emergence date was documented, and kernel weight, kernel number, and biomass weights were analyzed in order to examine the importance of uniform plant stands in achieving high...
Show moreTwo field scale studies were performed in five corn fields across southwest Michigan over three years in order to examine i) the influence of delayed corn plant emergence on final yield, and ii) the effect of strategic, varied nitrogen management on final yield, profit, and nitrogen use efficiency. Individual corn plant emergence date was documented, and kernel weight, kernel number, and biomass weights were analyzed in order to examine the importance of uniform plant stands in achieving high yields, analyzed by the known historical yield stability (Basso et al., 2019). The results showed a 22-gram decrease from early to late emergence and a 15-gram decrease in total kernel weight from early to medium emergence date, equivalent to 1,825 and 1,244 kg/ha decrease in yield. Yield stability zones differentiation showed a 19.9-gram decrease in relative total kernel weight (1,651 kg/ha) from historically high and stable yield to low and stable yield. More variability in days after planting and decreased yields were seen in the low and medium yielding zones. For the second field study, a procedure was created to variably rate nitrogen fertilization using remotely sensed imagery and crop modelling using the SALUS crop model. Whole plant destructive samples and yield monitor data were analyzed to examine the spatial and temporal variability in differing yield stability zones among all study sites. The results showed no statistically significant difference in yield or profit between nitrogen fertilization zones in most fields, while increases in nitrogen use efficiency were seen in all tactically reduced fertilization rate zones.
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Title: Course Conditions. (2019 Fall)
Date: 2019-10/2019-12
Collection: Course Conditions

Title: Course Conditions. (2019 Summer)
Date: 2019-07/2019-09
Collection: Course Conditions

Title: Course Conditions. (2019 Spring)
Date: 2019-04/2019-06
Collection: Course Conditions

Title: Michigan State University associate professor and Public health advocate Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha talks about the Flint water crisis
Creator: Hanna-Attisha, Mona
Date: 2019-02-26
Collection: G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
Description: Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, pediatrician and associate professor of Human Medicine at Michigan State University and the public health advocate whose research exposed the Flint, MI water crisis, talks about her book, "What the eyes don't see." Hanna-Attisha discusses the history of Flint, how the city got into such a dire financial situation and why she started to investigate the possible lead contamination of Flint's drinking water. She also describes her fight against the State of Michigan's...
Show moreDr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, pediatrician and associate professor of Human Medicine at Michigan State University and the public health advocate whose research exposed the Flint, MI water crisis, talks about her book, "What the eyes don't see." Hanna-Attisha discusses the history of Flint, how the city got into such a dire financial situation and why she started to investigate the possible lead contamination of Flint's drinking water. She also describes her fight against the State of Michigan's efforts to discredit her research on lead contamination in Flint and its effects on the city's children. She answers questions from the audience.
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Title: Michigan potato research report. Vol. 50 (2018)
Date: 2019
Collection: Michigan Potato Research Reports

Title: Affective education by design : an experiential pedagogy for natural resources education
Creator: Higley, Corrine A.
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Attitudes and values are considered an important component of learning in higher education, but natural resources and environmental education programs typically emphasize cognitive gains in the design of instructional activities and subsequent assessments. This research suggests that greater consideration of affective learning outcomes should be more explicitly considered to better achieve learning goals, and identifies experiential learning as a pedagogy that integrates the three domains of...
Show moreAttitudes and values are considered an important component of learning in higher education, but natural resources and environmental education programs typically emphasize cognitive gains in the design of instructional activities and subsequent assessments. This research suggests that greater consideration of affective learning outcomes should be more explicitly considered to better achieve learning goals, and identifies experiential learning as a pedagogy that integrates the three domains of learning to facilitate the cognitive and affective development of students. In the first chapter, the relationship between attitudes and subsequent behaviors is explored from various theoretical perspectives in the context of environmental education. It is argued that greater attention to how attitudes are formed and shaped, as well as characteristics of attitudes that influence how resistant to change they are, is necessary to achieve broader goals of affective development. Direct experiences as they relate to the development, accessibility, stability, and strength of attitudes are identified as a significant factor, with important implications for affective learning in higher education. The second chapter explores the influence of experience across the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains of learning and presents various approaches for incorporating experiential learning into college and university curricula. Two course models at Michigan State University (MSU) that employ experiential learning pedagogies are described in detail, as well as the benefits and constraints of each model, and concludes with a discussion of barriers to implementing experiential learning pedagogies into college and university curricula more broadly. The third chapter links theory and practice to explore how various dimensions of environmental attitudes are influenced as an outcome of experiential learning in both MSU courses. Connectedness to nature, which measures the cognitive, affective, and experiential components of an individual's relationship with nature, is identified as a relevant construct to assess affective development in the context of learning goals for both courses. Experiential learning was demonstrated to significantly increase overall nature relatedness, as well as the affective and cognitive aspects of students' connectedness to nature as an outcome of learning in both MSU courses. The experiential dimension of connectedness to nature was not influenced by course participation, and may be a relic of students' past experiences in and with nature that contributed to their choice of major. Results indicate that experiential learning to increase students' connectedness to nature may be more impactful for students in other disciplines, those with lower initial nature relatedness scores, or individuals with less previous experience in nature. These results suggest that affective learning outcomes can be achieved when they are explicitly considered in course and curriculum design, and provides evidence in support of experiential learning as a useful pedagogy for the affective development of undergraduate students. The final chapter of this dissertation shifts focus from affective learning gains to cognitive ones to assess whether learning outcomes are influenced by order of instruction in an experiential learning activity. Results indicate that order of instruction does not influence how well students learn course material when experiential pedagogies are employed. The significance of experiential learning on affective and cognitive learning outcomes in higher education to better achieve learning goals warrants further consideration.
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Title: Investigating the relationship between uv-b radiation exposure and racial disparities in preeclampsia : a medical geography study
Creator: Kutch, Libbey C.
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Preeclampsia is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Research had demonstrated that adequate levels of vitamin D can help to circumvent the risk of preeclampsia. Vitamin D plays a role in cardiovascular health and in maternal health, and cutaneous exposure to ultra-violet (UV)-B radiation is critical to maintaining healthy vitamin D levels. The majority of vitamin D in humans is produced when the skin is exposed to ultraviolet radiation. UV-B varies...
Show morePreeclampsia is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Research had demonstrated that adequate levels of vitamin D can help to circumvent the risk of preeclampsia. Vitamin D plays a role in cardiovascular health and in maternal health, and cutaneous exposure to ultra-violet (UV)-B radiation is critical to maintaining healthy vitamin D levels. The majority of vitamin D in humans is produced when the skin is exposed to ultraviolet radiation. UV-B varies geographically; therefore geography influences the availability of vitamin D and the potential risk for preeclampsia. However, research on the geographic relationship between UV-B and pregnancy induced hypertensive disorders, including preeclampsia has been relatively neglected. This research investigates the relationship between maternal UV-B exposure and preeclampsia for mothers giving birth in Michigan from 2008 to 2015 during 3 time periods, 1-pre-conception, 2-early pregnancy, and 3-late pregnancy. A medical geographic and human ecological framework conceptualizes the environmental, biological and behavioral factors influencing the UV-B and preeclampsia relationship. UV-B is estimated using the Erythemal Daily Dose calculated form OMI remote sensing data. Preeclampsia is measured using Michigan's Vital Statistics Birth Data 2008-2015. Multilevel models were estimated to study these relationships. This study found that slight increases in UV-B exposure prior to conception and later in pregnancy could reduce the odds of preeclampsia for white but not black mothers. Other important risk factors for preeclampsia were increasing BMI, chronic and gestational diabetes and living in urban areas. Receiving Medicaid was protective for preeclampsia for white mothers but not black mothers. Enrollment in WIC was highly protective for all mothers. This medical geography research demonstrates the importance of utilizing remote sensing to begin to understand UV-B exposure on an important pregnancy outcome from a population perspective. Future research should also focus on reevaluating the measurement of the Erythemal Daily Dose to reflect people with high melanin concentrations. Future research could also branch out to other highly prevalent conditions with low vitamin D susceptibility such as cancers and dementia and Alzheimer's.
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Title: Blow fly (Diptera : Calliphoridae) community structure at a new northern latitude forensic research facility and during aquatic decomposition
Creator: Wydra, Breanna R.
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are necrophagous insects which are attracted to decomposing remains. The presence and life stage of their larvae are an important factors in the estimation of the postmortem interval (PMI) during death investigations. The purpose of this study was to survey the blow fly communities present under two separate circumstances: first, in the pre- and early-operation stages of a new outdoor forensic research facility in Northern Michigan (FROST); and second, in...
Show moreBlow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are necrophagous insects which are attracted to decomposing remains. The presence and life stage of their larvae are an important factors in the estimation of the postmortem interval (PMI) during death investigations. The purpose of this study was to survey the blow fly communities present under two separate circumstances: first, in the pre- and early-operation stages of a new outdoor forensic research facility in Northern Michigan (FROST); and second, in the context of large vertebrate (Sus scrofa) decomposition in a freshwater aquatic system in Mid-Michigan. Eight blow fly species were collected at the Forensic Research Outdoor Station (FROST) from May-September with Phormia regina, Lucilia illustris, and Cochliomyia macellaria composing a cumulative 94.2% of the total collections. Month was a significant factor in the mean relative abundance of these major species. Two blow fly species were collected over the course of approximately one month during aquatic vertebrate decomposition with Phormia regina composing 90.5% of the collections. Time was not a significant factor in the mean relative abundance of the species collected, but larval length changes over this period suggested multiple oviposition events. The findings in these two studies provide new and important information which can be utilized by forensic entomologists in future research as well as by forensic science professionals during death investigations and related casework.
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Title: Re-calibration of rigid pavement performance models and development of traffic inputs for Pavement-ME design in Michigan
Creator: Musunuru, Gopi Krishna
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (AASHTOWARE Pavement-ME) incorporates mechanistic models to estimate stresses, strains, and deformations in pavement layers using site-specific climatic, material, and traffic characteristics. These structural responses are used to predict pavement performance using empirical models (i.e., transfer functions). The transfer functions need to be calibrated to improve the accuracy of the performance predictions, reflecting the unique field...
Show moreThe mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (AASHTOWARE Pavement-ME) incorporates mechanistic models to estimate stresses, strains, and deformations in pavement layers using site-specific climatic, material, and traffic characteristics. These structural responses are used to predict pavement performance using empirical models (i.e., transfer functions). The transfer functions need to be calibrated to improve the accuracy of the performance predictions, reflecting the unique field conditions and design practices. The existing local calibrations of the performance models were performed by using version 2.0 of the Pavement-ME software. However, AASHTO has released versions 2.2 and 2.3 of the software since the completion of the last study. In the revised versions of the software, several bugs were fixed.Consequently, some performance models were modified in the newer software versions. As a result, the concrete pavement IRI predictions and the resulting PCC slab thicknesses have been impacted. The performance predictions varied significantly from the observed structural and function distresses, and hence, the performance models were recalibrated to enhance the confidence in pavement designs. Linear and nonlinear mixed-effects models were used for calibration to account for the non-independence among the data measured on the same sections over time. Also, climate data, material properties, and design parameters were used to develop a model for predicting permanent curl for each location to address some limitations of the Pavement-ME. This model can be used at the design stage to estimate permanent curl for a given location in Michigan.Pavement-ME also requires specific types of traffic data to design new or rehabilitated pavement structures. The traffic inputs include monthly adjustment factors (MAF), hourly distribution factors (HDF), vehicle class distributions (VCD), axle groups per vehicle (AGPV), and axle load distributions for different axle configurations. During the last seven years, new traffic data were collected, which reflect the recent economic growth, additional, and downgraded WIM sites. Hence it was appropriate to re-evaluate the current traffic inputs and incorporate any changes. Weight and classification data were obtained from 41 Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) sites located throughout the State of Michigan to develop Level 1 (site-specific) traffic inputs. Cluster analyses were conducted to group sites for the development of Level 2A inputs. Classification models such as decision trees, random forests, and Naive Bayes classifier were developed to assign a new site to these clusters; however, this proved difficult. An alternative simplified method to develop Level 2B inputs by grouping sites with similar attributes was also adopted. The optimal set of attributes for developing these Level 2B inputs were identified by using an algorithm developed in this study. The effects of the developed hierarchical traffic inputs on the predicted performance of rigid and flexible pavements were investigated using the Pavement-ME. Based on the statistical and practical significance of the life differences, appropriate levels were established for each traffic input. The methodology for developing traffic inputs is intuitive and practical for future updates. Also, there is a need to identify the change in traffic patterns to update the traffic inputs so that the pavement sections would not be overdesigned or under-designed. Models were developed where the short-term counts from the PTR sites can be used as inputs to check if the new traffic patterns cause any substantial differences in design life predictions.
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Title: Spring foliar application of nitrogen fertilizers and plant growth regulators to sweet cherry (Prunus avium) spur leaves
Creator: Li, Feiran
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of nitrogen fertilizers and plant hormones applied to sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) spurs in early spring on spur leaf growth and morphological features, including leaf area, leaf thickness and adaxial epidermis cell size. In preliminary studies (2017) with isolated spurs, three plant hormone treatments, gibberellic acid (GA3, 30 ppm), 6-benzylaminopurine (BA, 150 ppm) and 6-benzylaminopurine + gibberellic acid (150 ppm BA + 30 ppm...
Show moreThe objective of this study was to investigate the effect of nitrogen fertilizers and plant hormones applied to sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) spurs in early spring on spur leaf growth and morphological features, including leaf area, leaf thickness and adaxial epidermis cell size. In preliminary studies (2017) with isolated spurs, three plant hormone treatments, gibberellic acid (GA3, 30 ppm), 6-benzylaminopurine (BA, 150 ppm) and 6-benzylaminopurine + gibberellic acid (150 ppm BA + 30 ppm GA4+7) increased total spur leaf area 30%, 37% and 47%, respectively, compared to an untreated control. One nitrogen fertilizer treatment (2.0% calcium nitrate, Ca[NO3]2) caused phytotoxicity to emerge spur leaves, and the others (0.5% urea and 1.7% potassium nitrate, KNO3) showed no significant differences with the control treatment. At the microscopic level, there were no statistically significant differences in leaf thickness among treatments, but the leaf adaxial epidermis cell size was increased from 20% to 40% in the plant hormone treatments, which supports that hypothesis that plant hormones increased leaf size by promoting larger cell size. In follow-up studies at the whole tree level (2018), three experiments examined plant hormone application rates, timing, and gibberellin type. For the Rate experiment, the 150 ppm BA + 30 ppm GA3 and the 75 ppm BA + 15 ppm GA3 applications increased total leaf area per spur by 59% and 55%, respectively. For the Timing experiment, 30 ppm GA3 applied twice (first when three emerging leaves were present and second after accrual of an additional 100 Growing Degree Days, GDD using a base temperature of 7°C) increased total leaf area by 36% relative to the control. For the Gibberellins experiment, 30 ppm GA3 increased total leaf area by 33% relative to the control. However, unlike in 2017 with the isolated spur study, none of the plant hormone treatments to whole trees in 2018 increased the area of individual leaves relative to the control; for the Timing and Rate experiments, the larger total leaf area per spur was due primarily to the emergence of more leaves per spur.
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Title: "A place to call home" : the rhetoric of Filipinx-American place-making
Creator: Mahnke, Stephanie
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: In this dissertation, I analyze the place-making efforts of the Philippine American Cultural Center of Michigan, a space for Detroit's Filipinx community. By looking at the place-making process from the center's earliest conception to later development, this study aims to determine the negotiations and factors that influence the production and sustainment of space based on the group's cultural ideology. To gather and analyze data, I coded the center's planning minutes from 1980 to 2001,...
Show moreIn this dissertation, I analyze the place-making efforts of the Philippine American Cultural Center of Michigan, a space for Detroit's Filipinx community. By looking at the place-making process from the center's earliest conception to later development, this study aims to determine the negotiations and factors that influence the production and sustainment of space based on the group's cultural ideology. To gather and analyze data, I coded the center's planning minutes from 1980 to 2001, followed by interviews with members of the original planning committee and center's leaders. All findings are validated by the community through the Filipinx indigenous interviewing method of pagtatanung-tanung. Through analysis of the documents and interviews, I conclude the distinct rhetoric of this center's Filipinx-American place-making is a result of negotiated Filipinx values to prioritize beliefs in unity and reciprocity, creating a materially and symbolically malleable cultural center to accommodate different forms of members' "giving back". Results of the study may inform cultural rhetoricians' methodology and fuller treatment of place-making as a rhetorical process, and community organizers of the importance of accounting for distinct cultural ideologies which influence place-making efforts.
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Title: Biological control of Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) through the use of the microsporidian pathogen, Ovavesicula popilliae
Creator: Piombino, Michael A., IV
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: "Three experiments were designed to evaluating the effects of Ovavesicula popilliae, a species-specific microsporidian pathogen, on Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) in Michigan. In the first experiment prevalence of O. popilliae, in Michigan was determined by collecting host larvae and adults at 47 golf courses or rest areas in 2018 and 2019. Larvae and adults were dissected and assessed for O. popilliae infection. Infection and scarab species data from nine of the golf courses visited in...
Show more"Three experiments were designed to evaluating the effects of Ovavesicula popilliae, a species-specific microsporidian pathogen, on Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) in Michigan. In the first experiment prevalence of O. popilliae, in Michigan was determined by collecting host larvae and adults at 47 golf courses or rest areas in 2018 and 2019. Larvae and adults were dissected and assessed for O. popilliae infection. Infection and scarab species data from nine of the golf courses visited in 2018 was compared to similar data from the same nine golf courses from 1999. The survey of golf courses and highway rest areas in Michigan documented a significant decline of Japanese beetle in the 20 year-period since the last survey, and the slow spread of Ovavesicula popilliae. At introduction sites from the last 12 years O. popilliae established and persisted at epizootic levels.In the second experiment survival of Ovavesiucla popilliae-infected larvae was compared with survival of healthy larvae during their overwintering period, from October to May, in two consecutive years of experiments. Ovavesicula popilliae infection of larvae at the beginning of the experiment (34.0 and 26.9%, in October 2017 and October 2018, respectively) and soil cores from a site where the pathogen was active had a significant impact on the survival of infected larvae (90-100% reduction). In the third experiment healthy Japanese beetle larvae were inoculated by placing them in soil cores collected from a site where O. popilliae had established and became epizootic. Infection and survival of inoculated larvae was compared with the same for healthy Japanese beetle larvae from October to May. There was no difference in percent infection of inoculated larvae (5.0 %) and control larvae (1.8%). This may be because the field plots for this study were placed directly over the top of field plots from the previous year where infected larvae were put into turf and soil cores."--Page ii.
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Title: A descriptive analysis of beginning specialty crop farmer training programs in Michigan
Creator: Comer, Donald M.
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Michigan's diverse agricultural landscape provides multiple perspectives when considering the need for beginning farmer training. One perspective is a $104 billion industrial agricultural industry, with an ageing and decreasing farming population, and consolidation of land (MDARD, 2019). Another perspective is a growing movement of smaller-scale, regenerative farms with an emphasis on direct marketing, minimizing external inputs and improving ecosystem services. In the middle is an emerging...
Show moreMichigan's diverse agricultural landscape provides multiple perspectives when considering the need for beginning farmer training. One perspective is a $104 billion industrial agricultural industry, with an ageing and decreasing farming population, and consolidation of land (MDARD, 2019). Another perspective is a growing movement of smaller-scale, regenerative farms with an emphasis on direct marketing, minimizing external inputs and improving ecosystem services. In the middle is an emerging population of passionate and inexperienced growers that need training to get started, and farmer training organizations with their own challenges to meet farmers' needs. The purpose of this descriptive study was to survey Michigan's beginning specialty crop farmer training organizations in order to inform educators, policy makers, and beginning farmers. The research provides a description of existing training programs, the types of farmers participating in those programs, and current collaborations among the organizations. The results showed that Michigan has a diverse number of training options, but most operate independently of each other and lack resources to provide the best possible services. Recommendations include developing a state-wide systems approach to training and developing a central body or network that will aid in collaboration, resource allocation, and policy development. With this research as a foundation, it will be possible to complete a more comprehensive analysis, and to begin building a network that will provide future farmers to meet Michigan's agricultural challenges.
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Title: The effects of nature-based preschool on child development
Creator: Pikus, Arianna E.
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Nature-based preschools are on the rise in the United States. Currently, they can be found in over 43 states in the United States and more nature-based education facilities are being added every year (Merrick, 2016; North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), 2017). While there has been an increase in this type of early childhood program, it has yet to be determined if these programs are preparing children to the same degree as a more traditional preschool would. This...
Show moreNature-based preschools are on the rise in the United States. Currently, they can be found in over 43 states in the United States and more nature-based education facilities are being added every year (Merrick, 2016; North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), 2017). While there has been an increase in this type of early childhood program, it has yet to be determined if these programs are preparing children to the same degree as a more traditional preschool would. This study takes a mixed-methods approach to determine if children who attend a nature-based preschool are developing the skills needed to be successful in kindergarten, at a rate similar to children in traditional, high-quality preschool settings. While types of activities varied by preschool location, children at both locations developed early literacy, reasoning and some aspects of executive function at similar rates. Other aspects of executive function, including performance on the HTKS task (McClelland et al., 2014), were associated with greater growth for children in the traditional preschool classrooms.
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Title: Agronomic management of corn using seasonal climate predictions, remote sensing and crop simulation models
Creator: Jha, Prakash Kumar
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Management decisions in corn (Zea mays mays L) production are usually based on specific growth stages. However, because of climate and weather variability, phenological stages vary from season to season across geographic locations. This variability in growth and phenology entails risks and quantifying it will help in managing climate related risks. Crop simulation models can play a significant role in minimizing these risks through designing management strategies; however, they are not always...
Show moreManagement decisions in corn (Zea mays mays L) production are usually based on specific growth stages. However, because of climate and weather variability, phenological stages vary from season to season across geographic locations. This variability in growth and phenology entails risks and quantifying it will help in managing climate related risks. Crop simulation models can play a significant role in minimizing these risks through designing management strategies; however, they are not always accurate. Remote sensing observations and climate predictions can improve the accuracy in managing time bound climate-sensitive decisions at larger spatiotemporal scale. However, there is also a disconnect between climate forecasts and crop models. The unavailability of downscaling tool that can downscale rainfall and temperature forecasts simultaneously make this task more challenging. To address these knowledge gaps, this dissertation consists of three studies focused on interdisciplinary approaches to agronomic management of corn.In the first study, we calibrated and validated genetic coefficients of CERES-Maize using field data from the Michigan corn performance trials. Multiple methods of estimating genetic coefficients GENCALC (Genotype Coefficient Calculator), GLUE (Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimate), and NMCGA (Noisy Monte Carlo Genetic Algorithm) were evaluated and ensembled to estimate more reliable genetic coefficients. The calibrations were done under irrigated conditions and validation under rainfed conditions. The results suggested that ensembled genetic coefficients performed best among all, with d-index of 0.94 and 0.96 in calibration and validation for anthesis and maturity dates, and yield.In the second study, simulated growth stages from the calibrated crop model were used to develop site-specific crop coefficients (kc) using ensembled ET and reference ET from the nearest weather station. ET from multiple models were ensembled and validated with the measured ET from eddy-covariance flux towers for 2010 - 2017. Results suggest that the ensembled ET performed best among all ET models used, with highest d-index of 0.94. Likewise, the performance of the newly derived kc-curve was compared with FAO-kc curve using a soil water balance model. Then, the derived region-specific Kc-curve was used to design irrigation scheduling and results suggest that it performed better than FAO Kc-curve in minimizing the amount irrigation while maintaining a prescribed allowable water stress.The third study used the calibrated crop model to simulate anthesis using downscaled seasonal climate forecasts. The predicted anthesis and downscaled seasonal climate forecasts were used to develop risk analysis model for ear rot disease management in corn. In this study an innovative downscaling tool, called FResamplerPT, was introduced to downscale rainfall and temperature simultaneously. The results suggest that temperature and relative humidity are better predictors (combined) as compared to temperature and rainfall (combined). With this risk analysis model, growers can evaluate and assess the future climatic conditions in the season before planting the crops. The seasonal climate information with the lead-time of 3 months can help growers to prepare integrated management strategies for ear rot disease management in maize.
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Title: The estimation of neighborhood deprivation and preterm birth using longitudinally linked natality records
Creator: McArdle, Cristin Elizabeth
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: This dissertation examined the association between neighborhood-level deprivation and perinatal outcomes. We studied the association between neighborhood poverty rate and pre-term birth (PTB; birth < 37 weeks) using longitudinal maternally-linked natality files of women and their infants in Michigan during the period 1990-2012. This study examined the embodiment of place and role of maternal characteristics during pregnancy in an effort to understand how selection into neighborhood may bias...
Show moreThis dissertation examined the association between neighborhood-level deprivation and perinatal outcomes. We studied the association between neighborhood poverty rate and pre-term birth (PTB; birth < 37 weeks) using longitudinal maternally-linked natality files of women and their infants in Michigan during the period 1990-2012. This study examined the embodiment of place and role of maternal characteristics during pregnancy in an effort to understand how selection into neighborhood may bias our understanding of neighborhood level associations. We looked at pregnancy outcomes across multiple pregnancies for the same woman (the mother) as she changed neighborhoods, and levels of poverty between pregnancies. In the first study examining residential mobility between pregnancies, we reported that approximately half of our sample changed residences between pregnancies. We further exploited our data structure to examine the association with prior PTB on subsequent mobility in two sub-samples restricted by parity: births 1 and 2, and births 2 and 3. We found the strongest risk factors for mobility were related to marital change (Divorce: births 1 to 2 OR: 2.5 95% CI: 2.4-2.6, births 2 to 3 OR: 3.3, 95% CI: 3.1-3.6); Married: births 1 to 2 OR: 2.8, 95% CI: 2.7-2.8, births 2 to 3 OR: 1.9, 95% CI:1.9-2.0) but not prior PTB (prior PTB: births 1 to 2 OR: 1.0, 95% CI:1.0-1.0, births 2 to 3 OR: 1.1 95%CI: 1.0-1.1). In the second study, we report that most women did not experience a change in the level of neighborhood poverty, based on quartile of neighborhood poverty. Women who remained in the poorest neighborhoods experienced the highest percentage of PTB across two births samples, Births 1 to 2 (11.4% PTB) and Births 2 to 3 (12.3% PTB). We found increased odds of PTB for births 1 to 2 with strong downward neighborhood trajectory (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.0-1.3) but also increased odds of PTB among strong upward neighborhood poverty trajectory (OR 1.1, 95%CI: 1.1- 1.2) compared to the static trajectory group of lowest neighborhood poverty quartile. In Study 3, we then employed a novel approach, maternal fixed effects, utilizing data linked over time to compare birth outcomes for the same mother under different exposures which allows the mother to act as her own control, analogous to a case-crossover design, while comparing the contextual effects of neighborhood deprivation on PTB. We conducted logistic regression, random effects and fixed effects analysis to evaluate n=2,191,063 eligible births during our study period. Because a fixed effects model relies on variation over time within a mother to identify the estimated association of neighborhood deprivation and PTB, the primary analytic sample was restricted (n=280,277 births to 103,328 women).We found a null association between neighborhood poverty and PTB when using a maternal fixed effects analysis (OR: 1.0, 95% CI: 1.0-1.0). This was one of the first studies to profile the maternal neighborhood mobility patterns over a long period of time, between successive pregnancies and evaluated by neighborhood poverty rate.
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Title: Automaticity as a hidden cost of expertise : situational and individual-difference factors underpinning errors of automaticity
Creator: Burgoyne, Alexander P.
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: A traditional view of automaticity holds that the ability to perform well-practiced skills without attention is adaptive because it frees mental resources to process other information. Without denying the benefits of automaticity, I show how it can also lead to error in domains of expertise such as driving, medical diagnosis, problem solving, and reading. I begin by discussing automaticity within the context of two theoretical frameworks, classical theories of skill acquisition and dual...
Show moreA traditional view of automaticity holds that the ability to perform well-practiced skills without attention is adaptive because it frees mental resources to process other information. Without denying the benefits of automaticity, I show how it can also lead to error in domains of expertise such as driving, medical diagnosis, problem solving, and reading. I begin by discussing automaticity within the context of two theoretical frameworks, classical theories of skill acquisition and dual process theory. I then examine situational and individual-difference factors that make errors of automaticity more likely to occur. Next, using proofreading as a testbed, I demonstrate how knowledge, expectations, and other top-down constraints influence reading behaviors and comprehension. I then present two experiments to investigate the self-generation effect in proofreading: the hypothesis that it is more difficult to detect mistakes in one's own writing than in the writing of others. The reasoning behind this hypothesis is that overfamiliarity with self-generated text increases the probability that errors are overlooked or seen but undetected. Finally, I discuss implications of the research and argue that understanding the benefits and consequences of automaticity is critical to improve decision-making outcomes across a wide range of applied contexts.
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