Search results

Title: LIFE IS NOT JUST BLACK AND WHITE : THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL CLASS CUES ON RACE IN AN AFFECT MISATTRIBUTION PROCEDURE
Creator: Carrillo, Alejandro
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Indirect measures of racial bias, such as the Affect Misattribution Procedure, Evaluative Priming Task, and the Implicit Association Task, have been used to provide evidence of stereotypical associations and valenced evaluations towards different racial categories. However, a common limitation shared across these tasks is the tendency to use simplistic racial stimuli that do not capture or account for the multiple categories people may belong to. That is, it is unlikely that people are...
Show moreIndirect measures of racial bias, such as the Affect Misattribution Procedure, Evaluative Priming Task, and the Implicit Association Task, have been used to provide evidence of stereotypical associations and valenced evaluations towards different racial categories. However, a common limitation shared across these tasks is the tendency to use simplistic racial stimuli that do not capture or account for the multiple categories people may belong to. That is, it is unlikely that people are perceived and evaluated along a single feature (i.e., race) but rather at the intersections of multiple categories (i.e., race, age, attractiveness, social class, etc.). Social class, in particular, is a strongly evaluated category and has been shown to share stereotypic associations with race (Moore-Berg & Karpinski, 2019). Thus, this thesis investigated the effects of social class on racial evaluations in an AMP task. Social class was manipulated using occupational clothing in Study 1 and residential areas in Study 2, while race was limited to Black and White men. Across two studies, participants demonstrated a consistent, unexpected pro-Black bias. In addition, an effect of social class was only found in Study 2 such that high-class primes were associated with positive responses. Regarding social class, the results suggest that the manipulations chosen may play an important role in categorization; however, future research is needed to examine just how different class representations impact evaluation.
Show less

Title: A STUDY OF MARGINALIZED NEWS PUBLICATION COMMENTERS AND THEIR MOTIVATIONS AND PERCEPTIONS OF LGBTQIA+ NEWS FORUMS
Creator: Kim, Soojeong
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The majority of news comment studies focus on elite news publications such as The New York Times. These studies typically arrive at one of two conclusions: (a) news comment forums are uncivil spaces and (b) White men dominate the conversation spaces on news websites. Yet we know little about how marginalized news commenters on alternative news publications’ online comment forums perceive news spaces and participate in them. Therefore, 22 commenters active in commenting on marginalized (i.e.,...
Show moreThe majority of news comment studies focus on elite news publications such as The New York Times. These studies typically arrive at one of two conclusions: (a) news comment forums are uncivil spaces and (b) White men dominate the conversation spaces on news websites. Yet we know little about how marginalized news commenters on alternative news publications’ online comment forums perceive news spaces and participate in them. Therefore, 22 commenters active in commenting on marginalized (i.e., LGBTQIA+) publications were interviewed to investigate news commenters’ perceptions and motivations. The Social Identity and Bounded Generalized Reciprocity theoretical frameworks suggest these news comment forums should be perceived as safer and more civil spaces due to their homogenous nature. Social Identity Theory suggests that commenters should behave in a more community-oriented way because of in-group favoritism, while Bounded Generalized suggests individuals’ commenting motivations might be driven by the reciprocal expectation that in-group members will positively reciprocate their comments and support their reputational standing. The interview results rooted in the SIT and BGR theoretical lenses provided support for those commenting motivations: (1) perceived similarity, (2) reciprocity, and (3) reputation acknowledgment, which led them to perceive that interactions are civil and safe on LGBTQIA+ news forums.
Show less

Title: EXPLORING THE TRANSITION FROM INITIATION TO DEPENDENCE ON ALCOHOL
Creator: Walsh, Madison
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Objective:This study aims to expand on published literature regarding the transition from alcohol initiation to alcohol dependence among newly initiated alcohol users. The main aim is to broaden the estimates to include a larger age group, comparing male and female differences, and exploring potential associations that link days of drinking with the occurrence of alcohol dependence among newly initiated drinkers (NID) and individuals who are alcohol dependent. An additional goal is to assess...
Show moreObjective:This study aims to expand on published literature regarding the transition from alcohol initiation to alcohol dependence among newly initiated alcohol users. The main aim is to broaden the estimates to include a larger age group, comparing male and female differences, and exploring potential associations that link days of drinking with the occurrence of alcohol dependence among newly initiated drinkers (NID) and individuals who are alcohol dependent. An additional goal is to assess the criteria in DSM-IV and DSM-5 regarding alcohol use disorders (AUD), thus exploring the change in the questions that the United States National Surveys on Drug Use and Health has been using to measure AUD for the survey each year. In conclusion, I propose a protocol for clinicians to use to gauge their disagreement with the DSM-5 unit-weighting of individual diagnostic criteria versus alternatives that allow clinicians to weight some criteria more heavily than others. I have included this proposed protocol in my thesis as a direction for future research. Due to the SARS-COV-2 pandemic and other circumstances, I offer the protocol, but I do not provide empirical estimates. The empirical estimates remain on the agenda for future research.Study Design: The United States National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (US, NSDUH, 2002-2019) draw samples of the nation’s population, take standardized measurements, and provide the primary data for this research. The sample population included non-institutionalized U.S. civilian residents aged 12 years and older, and NSDUH seeks to produce a nationally representative sample of this segment of the U.S. population. For my thesis research project, I tapped the ‘Restricted-use Data Analysis System (RDAS) online analysis tool, which organizes the datasets in year-pairs, from which analysis-weighted study estimates and variances can be derived. After deriving these estimates, I produced meta-analytic summaries with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Frequency distributions are used for the analysis-weighted estimates of the association involving days of drinking.Results:Looking across 2002-2019, the meta-analytic summary for newly initiated alcohol users who became alcohol-dependent within the first year of use is 1.67% [95% CI: (1.46, 1.95)]. For every 100 NIDU, roughly 1.5-2.0 had become dependent when assessed within the first year after the first full drink. Focusing on male and female differences, females had a modestly different meta-analytic estimate for the transition from initiation to the dependence on alcohol (1.86% [95% CI: (1.6, 2.2)] versus the corresponding male estimate of 1.47% [95% CI: (1.2, 1.8], but this female-male variation is unremarkable when the overlap of 95% CI is taken into account. The most common drinking days for all newly initiated alcohol users irrespective of alcohol dependence from 2002 to 2019 were 1-11 days (78.1%), compared to 100-299 days for all alcohol-dependent users from 2002 to 2019 (53.9%). Looking at the 2002-2020 data for the same estimates, there was not an appreciable difference in the meta-analytic summary for newly initiate alcohol users who became alcohol-dependent within the first year of use [1.69% (95% CI: (1.45, 1.91]). Adding the 2020 data to the male estimate decreased the overall meta-analytic summary to 1.34% [95% CI (1.1, 1.7). The female estimate did not change appreciably, increasing to 1.90 from 1.86% [95% CI (1.63, 2.21)]. Finally, the number of individuals with alcohol disorders increased greatly in 2020 when using DSM-5 criteria (9.9%, 95% CI (9.4, 10.6)) versus DSM-IV criteria (3.2, 95% CI (2.9, 3.5). Conclusion: The estimate of newly incident alcohol users and their subsequent transition to dependence has varied from 2002 to 2019; the aggregated meta-analytic estimate is 1.7%. Females had a higher transition rate from initiation to dependence on alcohol within the first year than males. Individuals who are alcohol dependent drank more on average than newly initiated alcohol users. Once the confidence interval overlap is taken into account, there is no basis for claiming a female or a male excess in the occurrence of alcohol dependence soon after the onset of drinking when all ages are considered. The difference between the observed estimates of 1.5% and 1.9% is negligible once variances are considered. Finally, the changes made from DSM-IV to DSM-5 resulted in an increased estimate for individuals captured using the modified criteria for diagnosis. Directions for future research include different analyses on the transition estimates and using the estimates in the changes from DSM-IV to DSM-5 in a clinical setting to intervene in more alcohol disorder cases sooner, preventing serious complications and death.
Show less

Title: An exploratory analysis of next of kin data in COVID-19 deaths
Creator: Rukat, Caitlin
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Objective: This thesis aims to: 1) conduct a formative evaluation of the next of kin (NOK) interview data collected during the Michigan COVID-19 Death Investigation (MiCOVDI);2) investigate the prevalence of proxy-reported health care discrimination experienced by those that died from COVID-19 in Michigan during March 3-July 26, 2020. Methods: Decedents were eligible for inclusion in the mortality review if COVID-19 was listed as an underlying or related cause of death on the death...
Show moreObjective: This thesis aims to: 1) conduct a formative evaluation of the next of kin (NOK) interview data collected during the Michigan COVID-19 Death Investigation (MiCOVDI);2) investigate the prevalence of proxy-reported health care discrimination experienced by those that died from COVID-19 in Michigan during March 3-July 26, 2020. Methods: Decedents were eligible for inclusion in the mortality review if COVID-19 was listed as an underlying or related cause of death on the death certificate. A stratified random sample of deaths was taken and NOK interviews were conducted via telephone. The completeness of the dataset was assessed to evaluate feasibility and validity. NOK-reported discrimination in decedent’s COVID-19 testing and care was described and compared by attributes of the decedent and NOK using univariate statistics. Qualitative interview responses were used to elaborate on the NOK’s understanding of the decedent’s experience. Results: The overall prevalence of NOK-reported health care discrimination experienced by the decedent was 28% with no strong associations with decedent or NOK attributes. The majority of reported discrimination was age- (20%) or comorbidity-based (27%). The prevalence estimates of situation-specific discrimination were: doctor’s office (2%), urgent care (12%), COVID-19 testing (13%), being hospitalized (14%), and at an emergency room (18%). The overall completeness of the MiCOVDI survey was 59%. Completeness did not differ by race. Conclusion: Mortality reviews shed light on systematic issues experienced by those that passed away from COVID-19 and may inform targets that improve health equity. Examining the completeness of these data can provide insight to improve future endeavors.
Show less

Title: ENERGY TRENDS IN IRRIGATION : A METHOD FOR ESTIMATING LOCAL AND LARGE-SCALE ENERGY USE IN AGRICULTURE
Creator: McCarthy, Benjamin Michael
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Agricultural Intensification has presented various opportunities for study in the field of water use, crop trends and energy consumption. In the United States alone, 70% of water consumed is used for the agricultural sector. Whether sources from surface bodies or groundwater, the energy required to irrigate fields has changed over the last three decades. The advent of efficient irrigation systems has created new avenues for farmers to grow crops, through new planting practices, increased...
Show moreAgricultural Intensification has presented various opportunities for study in the field of water use, crop trends and energy consumption. In the United States alone, 70% of water consumed is used for the agricultural sector. Whether sources from surface bodies or groundwater, the energy required to irrigate fields has changed over the last three decades. The advent of efficient irrigation systems has created new avenues for farmers to grow crops, through new planting practices, increased water extractions and varied on-farm practices. In this thesis, I evaluate the impact that shifting technologies have had on the FEW nexus, with a strong emphasis on the Energy consumption from irrigation. In Chapter 1, I developed an energy model for Kansas, one of the states with the highest data availability for farm practices. I used a combination of state and federal datasets to estimate the impact of shifting irrigation technologies on energy consumption. The results of this study are then investigated by energy source and a life cycle assessment model is applied to understand the role of shifting energy sources on the agricultural system. For Chapter 2, I expanded my energy model to encompass the continental United States. I estimate county level aggregates of direct energy consumed for irrigation. The results are then leveraged by agricultural region, and the crop types are evaluated spatially. Understanding how energy consumption in the agricultural sector is distributed both spatially and temporally can become a key asset when determining how to improve water practices, which regions need further study, and develop spatial relationships.
Show less

Title: INDIGENOUS MENTAL HEALTH : EXAMINING POPULATIONS IN TRIBAL AREAS AND NON-TRIBAL AREAS
Creator: Nash, Madeline
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: In this paper, I hypothesize that Indigenous populations in tribal areas fare better than those populations residing outside of tribal areas because of stronger social ties due to higher levels of integration and regulation. I review some of the studies that have been undertaken to measure mental health outcomes and suicide rates for the Indigenous populations in the US and Canada, paying close attention to the studies that describe differences between populations residing in tribal areas...
Show moreIn this paper, I hypothesize that Indigenous populations in tribal areas fare better than those populations residing outside of tribal areas because of stronger social ties due to higher levels of integration and regulation. I review some of the studies that have been undertaken to measure mental health outcomes and suicide rates for the Indigenous populations in the US and Canada, paying close attention to the studies that describe differences between populations residing in tribal areas compared to those who do not. I then use a panethnicity/race as a fundamental cause approach to explain why Indigenous populations have disparate mental health outcomes compared to the rest of the population, utilizing structural genocide to explain diminished integration and regulation. Pooling data from the National Drug Use and Health Survey (NSDUH), 2014-2017, I test this hypothesis controlling for sociodemographic variables. The results are mixed. On measures of serious psychological distress (SPD), my results are consistent with Park-Lees et al (2018). findings that there is no significant difference between these populations. However, there is a significant difference in serious thoughts of suicide. This contradicts Park-Lee et al. findings that though people residing in tribal areas had a lower rate than those who resided outside of tribal areas—the difference was not statistically significant using a T-test (2018). I found in my regression that after controlling for gender, age, marital status, education and income that living in tribal areas lowered one’s odd of having serious thought of suicide by over 30%.
Show less

Title: Memory-efficient emulation of physical tabular data using quadtree decomposition
Creator: Carlson, Jared
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Computationally expensive functions are sometimes replaced in simulations with an emulator that approximates the true function (e.g., equations of state, wavelength-dependent opacity, or composition-dependent materials properties). For functions that have a constrained domain of interest, this can be done by discretizing the domain and performing a local interpolation on the tabulated function values of each local domain. For these so-called tabular data methods, the method of discretizing...
Show moreComputationally expensive functions are sometimes replaced in simulations with an emulator that approximates the true function (e.g., equations of state, wavelength-dependent opacity, or composition-dependent materials properties). For functions that have a constrained domain of interest, this can be done by discretizing the domain and performing a local interpolation on the tabulated function values of each local domain. For these so-called tabular data methods, the method of discretizing the domain and mapping the input space to each subdomain can drastically influence the memory and computational costs of the emulator. This is especially true for functions that vary drastically in different regions. We present a method for domain discretization and mapping that utilizes quadtrees, which results in significant reductions in the size of the emulator with minimal increases to computational costs or loss of global accuracy. We apply our method to the electron-positron Helmholtz free energy equation of state and show over an order of magnitude reduction in memory costs for reasonable levels of numerical accuracy.
Show less

Title: Design and Evaluation of End Effectors and an Indoor Simulated Orchard Environment for Robotic Apple Harvesting
Creator: Dickinson, Nathan
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: A recently developed vacuum-based harvesting robot has shown promise in picking fruit from clusters, providing better access to tree canopies and minimizing fruit bruising. One of the main technical issues for this harvesting robot is the design of an end effector that can effectively grip the fruit for detachment. Field fruit picking studies using manual straight pull and twisting picking methods were first conducted for three varieties of apple. The critical pulling force and torque needed...
Show moreA recently developed vacuum-based harvesting robot has shown promise in picking fruit from clusters, providing better access to tree canopies and minimizing fruit bruising. One of the main technical issues for this harvesting robot is the design of an end effector that can effectively grip the fruit for detachment. Field fruit picking studies using manual straight pull and twisting picking methods were first conducted for three varieties of apple. The critical pulling force and torque needed to detach 95% of apples were determined to be 28.3 N and 0.257 N-m (equivalent suction force of 21.0 N for the current robot’s vacuum tube). Three new conformable silicone end effectors with different configurations (i.e., “Straight”, “Bellow”, and “Curved”) were designed and fabricated to provide more effective air sealing, and thus lower vacuum pressure for increased gripping force to effectively detach fruit compared to the robot’s original end effector. Laboratory and field picking performance studies with the harvesting robot showed that all three new end effectors performed significantly better than the original, non-conformable end effector. The straight end effector achieved 87% picking success rate; performing consistently better than the other two new end effectors based on multiple performance metrics, and hence should be used in further development of the robotic harvesting system. To enhance robotic harvest research, an indoor simulated orchard environment was constructed, which allows to mimic real fruit picking processes by using artificial trees embedded with specially designed tree branches and magnetic artificial stems for use with real fruit and a unique light system that can simulate different natural lighting conditions for different times of day.
Show less

Title: HERD- LEVEL VARIABLES ASSOCIATED WITH ANTIMICROBIAL USE IN THE DAIRY HERDS
Creator: Said, Fuaad
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The aim of this study was to identify variables associated with antimicrobial drug use for bovine mastitis. Intramammary tubes used for lactating cows, discarded by farm personnel, were collected in dedicated trash bins for 12 months on each of 104 herds (Michigan n = 49, Pennsylvania n = 55). Antimicrobial use was quantified using two metrics: arithmetic (number of discarded tubes) and defined daily dose (DDD) per 1,000 cow-days. Mastitis control practices, attitudes, and behaviors were also...
Show moreThe aim of this study was to identify variables associated with antimicrobial drug use for bovine mastitis. Intramammary tubes used for lactating cows, discarded by farm personnel, were collected in dedicated trash bins for 12 months on each of 104 herds (Michigan n = 49, Pennsylvania n = 55). Antimicrobial use was quantified using two metrics: arithmetic (number of discarded tubes) and defined daily dose (DDD) per 1,000 cow-days. Mastitis control practices, attitudes, and behaviors were also collected using a survey of herd owners and managers conducted during herd visits. Additionally, a human resources questionnaire survey about dairy producers/manager’s beliefs and practices regarding employee communications, training, and education was also collected for each herd. Across all herds, intramammary tube use based on arithmetic count was 4.43 tubes per1,000 cow-days and 3.52 per 1,000 cow-days based on DDD. A higher trend of antimicrobial use (5.22 tubes per 1,000 cow-days and DDD of 4.1 per 1,000 cow-days) was found in Pennsylvania than in Michigan (3.61 tubes per1000 cow-days and the DDD 2.91 per 1,000/ cow-days). Ranking of antimicrobial use showed that ceftiofur was the most frequently used antimicrobial in the study, followed by cephapirin, pirlimycin, amoxicillin, hetacillin, and cloxacillin. A majority of producers believed that they had sufficient knowledge of mastitis treatment and control, but only 23% of them had a written treatment protocol, and less than half of them (44%) reviewed animal health? History before treating infected cows. Moreover, 80% disagreed that culture of milk samples is needed to make mastitis treatment or management decisions. Multivariate models had similar results, regardless of the metric used to determine intramammary drug use; there was a positive correlation between drug use and the new subclinical mastitis rate (based on monthly DHI SCC testing) and the producer’s willingness to improve the image of the dairy products. Use of natural remedies for mastitis treatment was negatively correlated with intramammary drug use. Our results indicate that there continues to be a gap between producer practices and beliefs and best practices to reduce antimicrobial use on dairy farms. Also, intramammary drug use is highly associated with the dynamics of subclinical mastitis as measured in individual cows, and a herd average level.
Show less

Title: EMERGENT COORDINATION : ADAPTATION, OPEN-ENDEDNESS, AND COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE
Creator: Bao, Honglin
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Agent-based modeling is a widely used computational method for studying the micro-macro bridge issue by simulating the microscopic interactions and observing the macroscopic emergence. This thesis begins with the fundamental methodology of agent-based models: how agents are represented, how agents interact, and how the agent population is structured. Two vital topics, the evolution of cooperation and opinion dynamics are used to illustrate methodological innovation. For the first topic, we...
Show moreAgent-based modeling is a widely used computational method for studying the micro-macro bridge issue by simulating the microscopic interactions and observing the macroscopic emergence. This thesis begins with the fundamental methodology of agent-based models: how agents are represented, how agents interact, and how the agent population is structured. Two vital topics, the evolution of cooperation and opinion dynamics are used to illustrate methodological innovation. For the first topic, we study the equilibrium selection in a coordination game in multi-agent systems. In particular, we focus on the characteristics of agents (supervisors and subordinates versus representative agents), the interactions of agents (reinforcement learning in the games with fixed versus adaptive learning rates according to the supervision and time-varying versus supervision-guided exploration rates), the network of agents (single-layer versus multi-layer networks), and their impact on the emergent behaviors. Regarding the second topic, we examine how opinions evolve and spread in a cognitively heterogeneous agent population with sparse interactions and how the opinion dynamics co-evolve with the open-ended society's structural change. We then discuss the rich insights into collective intelligence in the two proposed models viewed from the interaction-based adaptation and open-ended network structure. We finally link collective emergent intelligence to diverse applications in the realm of computing and other scientific fields in a cross-multidisciplinary manner.
Show less

Title: A MORAL PERSPECTIVE ON GUILT APPEALS : EXAMINING THE MORAL MATCHING EFFECT
Creator: Ye, Qijia
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: As a moral emotion, guilt can serve as a mechanism in social influence. However, literature showed that the effects of guilt appeals were mixed. This indicates that scholars scarcely understand the conditions under which guilt appeals work effectively. Drawing from Moral Foundation Theory (Graham et al., 2013), this study investigated the moderating role of moral foundations in guilt appeals. I argued that the match between the transgression focus of a guilt appeal and an endorsed moral...
Show moreAs a moral emotion, guilt can serve as a mechanism in social influence. However, literature showed that the effects of guilt appeals were mixed. This indicates that scholars scarcely understand the conditions under which guilt appeals work effectively. Drawing from Moral Foundation Theory (Graham et al., 2013), this study investigated the moderating role of moral foundations in guilt appeals. I argued that the match between the transgression focus of a guilt appeal and an endorsed moral foundation would increase the intensity of perceived guilt and reduce psychological reactance, thereby leading to a more positive attitude and stronger behavioral intention. A single factorial (care/harm guilt appeal vs. purity/degradation guilt appeal vs. liberty/oppression guilt appeal vs. control message) between-subject experiment was conducted to test the moral matching effect in the context of reducing children’s consumption of sugary drinks. Results showed that care-focused guilt appeal elicited more guilt and less psychological reactance than purity-focused and liberty-focused guilt appeals. More importantly, the purity foundation mitigated the negative effect of purity-focused guilt appeal on psychological reactance, particularly on anger. The explanations for the findings, theoretical and practical implications, limitations of the study, and future research directions were discussed.
Show less

Title: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF INTEGRATED LARGE SCALE PFAS MODELING
Creator: Raschke, Anna
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been observed around the world in air, water, and soil. Recent research and monitoring studies have alluded to the widespread presence of PFAS, but most observe the impact of PFAS as a snapshot in time and space. In an effort to better understand PFAS fate and transport in the environment, computational models have been developed. For this study, we synthesized the model applications of PFAS fate and transport via water medium through surface water,...
Show morePerfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been observed around the world in air, water, and soil. Recent research and monitoring studies have alluded to the widespread presence of PFAS, but most observe the impact of PFAS as a snapshot in time and space. In an effort to better understand PFAS fate and transport in the environment, computational models have been developed. For this study, we synthesized the model applications of PFAS fate and transport via water medium through surface water, vadose zone, groundwater, streamflow, as well as their uptake and accumulation in plants and aquatic organisms. In addition, the system under this study is permeable to incoming (sources) and outgoing (sinks) PFAS compounds. Ultimately, knowledge gaps in modeling PFAS for each subsystem (e.g., surface water) area were identified. From there, a case study was performed to highlight the shortcomings of widely used models for PFAS fate and transport within a large and complex watershed. With a large number of PFAS using industries, Michigan is at the forefront of PFAS sampling. Therefore, the study area chosen was the Huron River watershed, a highly PFAS impacted watershed in Southeastern Michigan. The results showed the importance of organized monitoring studies and model improvements to better understand PFAS fate and transport in a large watershed.
Show less

Title: EFFECT OF HUMAN CHORIONIC GONADOTROPIN (hCG) POST-OVULATION ON TIME TO CONCEPTUS ATTACHMENT IN LACTATING DAIRY COWS
Creator: Da Mota Santos, Alisson
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Increasing progesterone (P4) during conceptus development is crucial for establishment of pregnancy in dairy cattle. We developed a robust technique to estimate d of conceptus attachment (CA) based on daily within-cow changes in concentrations of pregnancy-specific protein B (PSPB; BioPRYN). Highest sensitivity and specificity were obtained with a 12.5% increase in addition to 2 consecutive d of continuous increases when predicting CA. We hypothesized that increasing serum P4 post-ovulation...
Show moreIncreasing progesterone (P4) during conceptus development is crucial for establishment of pregnancy in dairy cattle. We developed a robust technique to estimate d of conceptus attachment (CA) based on daily within-cow changes in concentrations of pregnancy-specific protein B (PSPB; BioPRYN). Highest sensitivity and specificity were obtained with a 12.5% increase in addition to 2 consecutive d of continuous increases when predicting CA. We hypothesized that increasing serum P4 post-ovulation would favor embryonic development and reduce time to CA in lactating dairy cows. The first objective was to determine the effects of treatment with hCG on d2, d5, and d2 and 5 post-ovulation on luteal function and serum P4. Treatment with hCG on d 2 & 5 or on d 5 increased P4 by inducing accessory CL (aCL) and increasing the volume of existing CL. On d 2, hCG increased P4 on d 5 post-ovulation. The second objective was to investigate the effects of treatment with hCG on time to CA. Treatment on d 5 reduced the percentage of cows with CA and increased time to CA. Primiparous cows benefited from ipsilateral aCL against pregnancy loss before d 100 post-AI/ovulation. Delayed time to CA was associated with pregnancy losses before d 35. The highest quartile of P4 on d 5, but not on d 19 & 20, was associated with reduced time to CA. Our hypothesis was not confirmed. Yet, early serum P4, but not late, was associated with time to conceptus attachment in multiparous dairy cows. Our findings indicated that treatment with hCG post-ovulation was not financially advantageous as treatment on d 5 or aCL induced by treatment reduced annual herd profits compared to standard reproductive programs such as Double-Ovsynch and Ovsynch.
Show less

Title: A PILOT STUDY OF WEB-BASED INFORMATION BOTTLENECK IDENTIFICATION IN AEC PROJECTS
Creator: Pandey, Nishchhal Nihal
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The success of the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) project relies heavily on the effective communication and information exchange between project team members. A prominent reason for delays and progress shortcomings in AEC project teams is information bottlenecks, defined as missing project information bits which can be due to large influx of information or inadvertent withholding of information at a particular time. Information bottlenecks both in planning and execution...
Show moreThe success of the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) project relies heavily on the effective communication and information exchange between project team members. A prominent reason for delays and progress shortcomings in AEC project teams is information bottlenecks, defined as missing project information bits which can be due to large influx of information or inadvertent withholding of information at a particular time. Information bottlenecks both in planning and execution phases of the project tend to cause schedule delays and cost overruns. Information and communication exchange patterns between project team members shed a light on the possible occurrence of information bottlenecks. Recent literature efforts have focused on use of software programming and key performance indicators (KPIs) to identify which phases of project are prone to occurrence of bottlenecks. One of the roadblocks in implementing majority of bottleneck identification techniques in AEC projects is the difficulty in execution. Some of the metrics defined are too complex and require rigorous manual calculations. Given the complexity and feasibility difficulties of the present methodologies for identification of bottleneck, this study aims to contribute to the body of knowledge by providing an adaptable tool that aims to improve the accuracy and practicality for predicting bottlenecks. Therefore, the research question this research aims to answer is “Can the usability and adaptability of information bottleneck prediction in AEC projects be improved through a web-based tool?”Expanding on Lean Construction concepts, key performance indicators (KPIs), efficiency, quantification metrics are developed to study the trends of information shared between AEC project team members. The developed model is semi-automated and reads data by importing the Microsoft Excel sheet which has all the raw project documentation data. A Python code developed by the researcher is used to extract information from the excel, create a dashboard, and publish information bottleneck calculations through a web-based tool. Statistical inferences drawn from the model are then be used to identify occurrence of project bottlenecks. The web-based platform is designed to cater the specific information exchange trends in a typical project. Providing visual representations, and explanations further ease the understanding of the root issue. Finally, through two expert interviews, the web tool is revised, and final tool is presented, and future directions of work are discussed.
Show less

Title: THE ROLE OF PREZYGOTIC SELF-COMPATIBILITY IN FACILITATING INTERSPECIFIC COMPATIBILITY IN SOLANUM SECTION PETOTA
Creator: Behling, William
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Domesticated potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is the fourth most important food crop worldwide and critical food security crop. The high significance of this crop coupled with high production losses place potato at a high priority for genetic improvement, especially in the face of climate change. Potato breeding is undergoing a seismic shift from a tetraploid outcrossing crop towards a F1 hybrid system using diploid inbred lines as parents. This transformation has also changed how potato...
Show moreDomesticated potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is the fourth most important food crop worldwide and critical food security crop. The high significance of this crop coupled with high production losses place potato at a high priority for genetic improvement, especially in the face of climate change. Potato breeding is undergoing a seismic shift from a tetraploid outcrossing crop towards a F1 hybrid system using diploid inbred lines as parents. This transformation has also changed how potato breeders access important traits from wild species. Pre- and post-zygotic barriers, such as self-incompatibility (SI) and endosperm failure, inhibit and complicate the use of the more valuable wild species in conventional and diploid breeding schemes. Traditionally plant breeders have employed the SC x SI rule, using self-compatibility (SC) to increase the success of interspecific crosses. In order to evaluate the potential of several different SC factors in facilitating broad interspecific compatibility: Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 knockout (KO) lines of S-RNase, HT-B and HT-B + S-RNase in S. tuberosum were evaluated along with the self-compatible species S. verrucosum, and S-locus inhibitor gene (Sli) from S. chacoense. Findings confirm the central role of S-RNase in interspecific pollination barriers and the inconsequential role of HT-B alone. Sli had no effect on interspecific barriers despite its prominent role as a source of SC. Finally, S. verrucosum styles displayed an absence of prezygotic barriers. Further analysis of the role of HT-A, as well as other mechanisms that potentially underlie the SC phenotype in S. verrucosum will further clarify the role of specific genetic factors that regulate interspecific compatibility in Solanum section Petota
Show less

Title: The Construct Development and Measurement of Contributive Justice
Creator: Scott, William Campbell
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Organizational justice has long since been considered multi-dimensional. However, the dimensionality of organizational justice has been stagnant in recent years, consisting primarily of distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informational justice. When further examining the meaning of justice and fairness in organizations, it becomes apparent that these organizational justice dimensions are not capturing an important element of justice, that being the equality of opportunity. This is an...
Show moreOrganizational justice has long since been considered multi-dimensional. However, the dimensionality of organizational justice has been stagnant in recent years, consisting primarily of distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informational justice. When further examining the meaning of justice and fairness in organizations, it becomes apparent that these organizational justice dimensions are not capturing an important element of justice, that being the equality of opportunity. This is an important absence because the opportunity to contribute in organizations will likely affect both organizational outcomes and personal outcomes outside of work. Therefore, building upon previous work, the construct of contributive justice in organizations was introduced and defined as the fairness of opportunities to contribute to core work processes. Contributive justice consists of two dimensions, the equal opportunity to engage in complex labor, and the equal opportunity to participate in decision-making processes. A measure was constructed to capture these dimensions, along with specific subdimensions. In a sample of 534 full-time employees, the results suggested that the contributive justice measure was a reliable two-factor measure that was discriminable from the other organizational justice dimensions and was positively correlated with other variables such as meaningful work, instrumental voice, inclusion, empowerment, and self-esteem. Contributive justice was also found to have incremental validity over the other organizational justice dimensions. These results suggest the importance of contributive justice as an aspect of organizational fairness and employee well-being.
Show less

Title: Depression Detection in Social Media via Differential Text Embedding
Creator: alfadhli, Norah
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Deep learning models have shown promising results for depression detection using social media data (i.e., Twitter), but the difficulties of maintaining explainability and few-shot adaptation of models for new problems remain an open challenge. Another challenging aspect of the problem of depression detection in social media is the fact that the number of instances belonging to the depressed class are in a minority when compared to the number of instances belonging to the non-depressed class....
Show moreDeep learning models have shown promising results for depression detection using social media data (i.e., Twitter), but the difficulties of maintaining explainability and few-shot adaptation of models for new problems remain an open challenge. Another challenging aspect of the problem of depression detection in social media is the fact that the number of instances belonging to the depressed class are in a minority when compared to the number of instances belonging to the non-depressed class. This, especially, makes it harder for supervised machine learning algorithms to learn and predict depressed class instances.In this study, we proposed a simple solution to this problem by generating \textit{differential embeddings} using the Sentence BERT transformer architecture. More specifically, we proposed a few-shot model that can leverage state-of-the-art (SOTA) representation learning techniques and used it in supervised and unsupervised tasks. We constructed a small set of dysfunctional thought patterns in the embedding space, i.e., a set of clinically-backed depression symptoms. We then used SBERT embedding vectors to measure the similarities between different tweets and anchor points as a distance in the vector space, or fed them directly into the machine learning model. We assessed the capability of our approach on two different datasets. We trained supervised and unsupervised models using different approaches that were derived from Sentence-BERT and the anchor points. Results show that the proposed solution improved SBERT in both supervised and unsupervised tasks.
Show less

Title: Filling in the Gaps : Modeling the Role of Groundwater in Lake Erie’s Nutrient Budget
Creator: Lanier, Alexis Ann
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Lake Erie is a hotspot for large harmful algal blooms, which damage human health, degrade natural habitats, and impair industries reliant on the lake. The Maumee River watershed, the largest in the Great Lakes, often acts as a major driver for these blooms, as it is the largest contributor of nutrients to the lake, mainly attributed to intense agricultural activity. Consequently, surficial transport of phosphorus and nitrogen within the Maumee River watershed has been extensively studied....
Show moreLake Erie is a hotspot for large harmful algal blooms, which damage human health, degrade natural habitats, and impair industries reliant on the lake. The Maumee River watershed, the largest in the Great Lakes, often acts as a major driver for these blooms, as it is the largest contributor of nutrients to the lake, mainly attributed to intense agricultural activity. Consequently, surficial transport of phosphorus and nitrogen within the Maumee River watershed has been extensively studied. However, there has been very little research into the role of groundwater here, especially groundwater modeling studies. Here, I evaluate the literature that has explored nutrient transport to Lake Erie, with a focus on the Maumee River watershed, and examine groundwater nutrient transport. This knowledge will inform nutrient management decisions, especially those regarding future and legacy nutrient loads. In Chapter 1, I review the current state of literature on hydrologic nutrient modeling in the Lake Erie Basin. I highlight common themes in the literature and detail prominent gaps. Specifically, I focus on the role of groundwater in nutrient modeling studies within the Maumee River watershed and recommend future directions for research. In Chapter 2, I create a spatially explicit, process-based groundwater model of the Maumee River watershed. This model allows me to quantify the contributions of groundwater in the context of total basin loading. I then quantify the role of legacy nutrient accumulation by reducing input loads in a projected future scenario. This research completes the nutrient budget by highlighting ‘hidden’ groundwater nutrient loads and informs the timescale of subsurface nutrient management.
Show less

Title: Detection and Characterization of Rolling Contact Fatigue types of defects using Surface Acoustic Waves
Creator: Vu, Alex Tian
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Rolling Contact Fatigue or Damage (RCF/RCD) is the surface and near-surface damage thatoccurs on the rail head and wheel treads of rail cars. The damage in the rail head due to progressive cyclic loading from the contact between the wheel and the rail head can lead to formations of small cracks that can ultimately grow and join up to form a flake that falls loose, leaving behind a cavity in the running surface of the rail or turn downward to a limited depth forming a fatigue crack commonly...
Show moreRolling Contact Fatigue or Damage (RCF/RCD) is the surface and near-surface damage thatoccurs on the rail head and wheel treads of rail cars. The damage in the rail head due to progressive cyclic loading from the contact between the wheel and the rail head can lead to formations of small cracks that can ultimately grow and join up to form a flake that falls loose, leaving behind a cavity in the running surface of the rail or turn downward to a limited depth forming a fatigue crack commonly referred to as head checks and gauge corner cracks. Quantifying RCF/RCD crack depths and density in rails is important for all the railroad authority and industries to manage their grinding programs effectively and efficiently. Detecting RCF/RCD can be challenging due to the size of the cracks, which typically starts out at 2 −10μm and progressively can grow up to depths of 3mm to 5mm. It becomes impossible to characterize these early stage RCF cracks without physically destroying the sample to get to the area of interest. To gain a better understanding, the cracks that are formed from RCF/RCD can be simplified into four different types: (I) vertical/normal, (II) oblique, (III) branched, and (IV ) clustered cracks. Methods that can accurately detect and characterize these cracks non-destructively have been of high interest for the rail community. This work focuses on utilizing Surface Acoustic Waves (SAWs) for detection and characterization of RCF/RCD defects through numerical simulations the using finite element method (FEM). A transient, elastodynamics wave propagation model was used to simulate SAW propagation. Parameters such as the transmission (Tc), reflection (Rc), scattered (Ps), and time of flight(TOF) were extracted from the model and quantified to build relationships for understanding the mode conversion and interaction phenomena. The different type of defects that were modeled in FE included vertical, oblique, and branched defects. First, SAW interaction with a set of vertical, oblique and branched RCF defects were studied by quantifying Tc. The Tc values exhibit duality at certain crack angles, which makes it challenging to accurately characterize oblique RCF/RCD type of defects. Experiments have been done to validate vertical and oblique defects: the results also exhibit a duality in Tc for the oblique defects. To understand branched crack morphology, the complex crack geometry can be simplified into a series of varying angled elastic wedges, which is part of a classical problem within elastodynamics. Finally, SAW interaction with clustered cracks for two sets of densely packed RCF/RCD type of defects: a uniform cluster and a non-uniform cluster to further develop characterization techniques using Tc/Rc relationships and through signal processing methods. The impact of this work is to provide a proof of concept that the presented numerical results can be validated through experiments and become field implemented.
Show less

Title: COMPARING WATER QUALITY VALUATION ACROSS PROBABILITY AND NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLES
Creator: Sandstrom, Kaitlynn
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: This thesis compares the results of a stated preference survey administered to three samples: one non-probability sample and two non-probability samples. The probability sample is an address-based sample from the USPS postal delivery file, while the two non-probability samples are from the opt-in panels, MTurk and Qualtrics. The survey used a single binary referendum contingent valuation question with respondents voting on a water quality change at a cost to their household. To understand...
Show moreThis thesis compares the results of a stated preference survey administered to three samples: one non-probability sample and two non-probability samples. The probability sample is an address-based sample from the USPS postal delivery file, while the two non-probability samples are from the opt-in panels, MTurk and Qualtrics. The survey used a single binary referendum contingent valuation question with respondents voting on a water quality change at a cost to their household. To understand differences in economic values across samples, we compared results of logit models that relate the referendum vote to cost and each water quality index. Several tests reveal differences across samples. First, almost all parameters were significantly different across samples except for water clarity. Second, we compared marginal willingness to pay (MWTP). However, many of the MWTP estimates for individual water quality indices were not significantly different across the three sources. Third, we calculated total WTP (TWTP) for a range of non-marginal changes. The MTurk values were always significantly greater than the address sample at the 1% level, and the Qualtrics values were significantly greater than the address sample for changes up to about a 20% improvement. In summary, we find that the non-probability methods generate different valuation results than the probability-based sample, especially in terms of TWTP.
Show less

MSU Libraries

Digital Repository

Enabled Filters

Pages

Pages

MSU Libraries

Digital Repository

You are here

Search results

Pages

Pages