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- Title
- Intra-household human capital measures and child and maternal health : evidence from Zambia
- Creator
- Faas, Simone Margaret
- Date
- 2020
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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Zambia has one of the highest rates of childhood stunting in the world. Traditional health production functions model that good health quality for young children is dependent on the necessary inputs of parental influences, including parental health, parental education, and household wealth. Using data from a Feed the Future survey from rural Zambia and the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index, I examine the relationship between several measures of spousal human capital and the health...
Show moreZambia has one of the highest rates of childhood stunting in the world. Traditional health production functions model that good health quality for young children is dependent on the necessary inputs of parental influences, including parental health, parental education, and household wealth. Using data from a Feed the Future survey from rural Zambia and the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index, I examine the relationship between several measures of spousal human capital and the health outcomes of young children and women of child-bearing age. I find the ability to read and write of both spouses is highly correlated with positive changes in children's and women's health outcomes. Literacy and education campaigns which target both boys and girls should be heavily emphasized among rural and disadvantaged communities in southern Africa, as men's literacy and education as well as women's literacy are both important to improving future health outcomes for children and adults.
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- Title
- The strengths and needs of Palestinian youth : perspectives of youth service providers in Bethlehem, Palestine
- Creator
- Al-Zoughbi, Lucas
- Date
- 2020
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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Background: Palestinian youth are subject to a reality predicated on political and social injustice. The extant literature tends to view these youth through a deficit lens without adequate contextualization. This study aims to address this gap by documenting Palestinian youth strengths, challenges, and root causes according to youth-service providers. Methods: We conducted interviews with youth-service providers in the Bethlehem area. Interviews were followed by a member-checking survey to...
Show moreBackground: Palestinian youth are subject to a reality predicated on political and social injustice. The extant literature tends to view these youth through a deficit lens without adequate contextualization. This study aims to address this gap by documenting Palestinian youth strengths, challenges, and root causes according to youth-service providers. Methods: We conducted interviews with youth-service providers in the Bethlehem area. Interviews were followed by a member-checking survey to improve accurate capture of their experiences. Results: Utilizing Graneheim and Lundman's (2004) pragmatic qualitative data analysis, we extracted nuanced themes that mapped onto the analytical categories. We identified five analytical categories: educational, societal, political, economic, and individual. Discussion: Our findings suggest a complex and nuanced perspective of Palestinian youth according to youth service providers in the Bethlehem area. We discuss implications for practitioners and researchers interested in youth development and well-being in the Palestinian context.
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- Title
- The role of affect in binge eating phenotypes : an examination of individual differences in emotion experience and interactions with ovarian hormones
- Creator
- Mikhail, Megan Elizabeth
- Date
- 2020
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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Ovarian hormones significantly influence dysregulated eating in females. However, most women do not develop appreciable disordered eating, suggesting that ovarian hormones may not affect all women equally. In the first study of this thesis, I examined whether individual differences in trait negative affect (NA) moderate ovarian hormone-dysregulated eating associations in 446 women who provided saliva samples for hormone measurements and ratings of NA and emotional eating daily for 45...
Show moreOvarian hormones significantly influence dysregulated eating in females. However, most women do not develop appreciable disordered eating, suggesting that ovarian hormones may not affect all women equally. In the first study of this thesis, I examined whether individual differences in trait negative affect (NA) moderate ovarian hormone-dysregulated eating associations in 446 women who provided saliva samples for hormone measurements and ratings of NA and emotional eating daily for 45 consecutive days. Women were at greatest risk for emotional eating when they had high trait NA and experienced a hormonal milieu characterized by low estradiol or high progesterone. While effects were significant in all women, the combination of high trait NA and high progesterone was particularly risky for women with a history of clinically significant binge eating episodes. These findings provide initial evidence that affective and hormonal risk interact to promote dysregulated eating, and that effects may be amplified in women with clinically significant binge eating.Low emotion differentiation (the tendency to experience vague affective states rather than discrete emotions) is associated with psychopathology marked by emotion regulation deficits and impulsive/maladaptive behavior. However, research examining associations between emotion differentiation and dysregulated eating is still nascent. In the second study, I therefore examined associations between several measures of emotion differentiation and binge eating phenotypes across a spectrum of severity.
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- Title
- Barriers and facilitators to the utilization of the ACT SMART implementation toolkit in community agencies : a qualitative study
- Creator
- Sridhar, Aksheya
- Date
- 2020
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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Evidence-based practices (EBPs) have been shown to improve outcomes for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; Wong et al., 2015). Research suggests that the utilization of these practices in community settings is varied (Paynter & Keen, 2015; Pickard, Meza, Drahota, & Brikho, 2018); however, the utilization of implementation guides may bridge the gap between research and practice (Drahota et al., 2017). The Autism Community Toolkit: Systems to Measure and Adopt Research-Based...
Show moreEvidence-based practices (EBPs) have been shown to improve outcomes for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; Wong et al., 2015). Research suggests that the utilization of these practices in community settings is varied (Paynter & Keen, 2015; Pickard, Meza, Drahota, & Brikho, 2018); however, the utilization of implementation guides may bridge the gap between research and practice (Drahota et al., 2017). The Autism Community Toolkit: Systems to Measure and Adopt Research-Based Treatments (ACT SMART Toolkit; Drahota, Meza, & Martinez, 2014) is a web-based implementation toolkit developed to guide ASD implementation teams through the phases of EBP implementation in community agencies. This study examined the barriers and facilitators (collectively termed "determinants") to the utilization of this toolkit, based on the perspectives of implementation teams at six ASD community agencies. Two independent coders utilized the adapted EPIS model (Drahota et al., 2017; Moulin et al., 2019) and the Technology Acceptance Model 3 (Venkatesh & Bala, 2008), to guide thematic analyses of participant interviews. Salient determinants were identified, and analyses highlighted two themes: (a) Inner Context Determinants to use of the toolkit (e.g., funding), and (b) Innovation Determinants (e.g., facilitation teams). Finally, determinants that differed across adapted EPIS phases of the toolkit were identified. Findings highlight areas of improvement for the ACT SMART Implementation Toolkit, as well as factors to facilitate the use of this implementation guide. Additionally, findings may inform the development, refinement, and utilization of implementation guides with the aim of increasing the uptake of evidence-based practices in community agencies providing services to children with autism spectrum disorder.
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- Title
- The influence of early life undernutrition on mouse maximal treadmill running capacity in adulthood
- Creator
- Pendergrast, Logan Alan
- Date
- 2019
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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Introduction: Undernutrition during early life causes chronic disease with specific impairments to the heart and skeletal muscle. Purpose: To determine the effects of early-life undernutrition on adult exercise capacity as a result of cardiac and skeletal muscle function. Methods: Pups were undernourished during gestation (GUN) or lactation (PUN) using a cross-fostering nutritive mouse model. At postnatal day 21 (PN21), all mice were weaned and refed a control diet. At PN67, mice performed a...
Show moreIntroduction: Undernutrition during early life causes chronic disease with specific impairments to the heart and skeletal muscle. Purpose: To determine the effects of early-life undernutrition on adult exercise capacity as a result of cardiac and skeletal muscle function. Methods: Pups were undernourished during gestation (GUN) or lactation (PUN) using a cross-fostering nutritive mouse model. At postnatal day 21 (PN21), all mice were weaned and refed a control diet. At PN67, mice performed a maximal treadmill test. Echocardiography and Doppler velocity analysis was performed at PN72, following which skeletal muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) and fiber type were determined. Results: Maximal running capacity was reduced (Diet: P=0.0002) in GUN and PUN mice. Left ventricular mass (Diet: P=0.03) and posterior wall thickness during systole (Diet*Sex: P=0.03) of GUN and PUN mice was reduced, causing PUN mice to have reduced (Diet: P=0.04) stroke volume (SV). Heart Rate (HR) of GUN mice showed a trend (Diet: P=0.07) towards greater resting values than other groups. PUN mice had greater CSA of SOL fibers. PUN had a reduced (Diet: P=0.03) proportion of type-IIX fibers in the EDL and a greater (Diet: P=0.008) percentage of type-IIB fibers in the EDL. Conclusion: Gestational and Postnatal undernourishment impairs exercise capacity.
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- Title
- Willingness to pay for processed grains in Dakar, Senegal : an analysis using discrete choice experiments
- Creator
- Chase-Walsh, Sarah Victoria
- Date
- 2019
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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This article studies consumer preference for processed traditional and non-traditional grains in Dakar, Senegal. While much attention has focused on substitution between traditional and nontraditional grains, less has shown how consumers make tradeoffs among processed products. Using an exit-interview method and two discrete choice experiments, I obtain marginal values of willingness to pay for processed grains. In this paper, I measure willingness to pay for domestically produced millet,...
Show moreThis article studies consumer preference for processed traditional and non-traditional grains in Dakar, Senegal. While much attention has focused on substitution between traditional and nontraditional grains, less has shown how consumers make tradeoffs among processed products. Using an exit-interview method and two discrete choice experiments, I obtain marginal values of willingness to pay for processed grains. In this paper, I measure willingness to pay for domestically produced millet, maize, rice, and sorghum. I also measure willingness to pay for a second stage processed millet product. The results of this study show that consumers are willing to pay a premium for domestically produced processed grains, both traditional and non-traditional, save sorghum. Consumers are only willing to pay a positive premium for imported rice. The results also suggest that consumers are willing to pay a premium for fresh and bulk second stage processed millet.
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- Title
- Assessing farmers' willingness to pay for quality seeds using bidding experiment mechanism : evidence from Myanmar
- Creator
- Win, Myat Thida
- Date
- 2019
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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"In most developing countries the use of quality seeds of self-pollinated crops like pulses is low because of economic and biological factors. The purpose of this study was to better understand the market potential for private sector-led seed system for two important pulse crops-chick pea and green gram in the Central Dry Zone region of Myanmar. I used the Becker-DeGroot-Marschak bidding experiment mechanism to estimate farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) for seeds with different quality...
Show more"In most developing countries the use of quality seeds of self-pollinated crops like pulses is low because of economic and biological factors. The purpose of this study was to better understand the market potential for private sector-led seed system for two important pulse crops-chick pea and green gram in the Central Dry Zone region of Myanmar. I used the Becker-DeGroot-Marschak bidding experiment mechanism to estimate farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) for seeds with different quality attributes and to assess the impact of seed packaging, branding, traceability, and labeling on farmers' WTP a premium for these quality-signaling attributes. For green gram, I also collected detailed cost data for producing seed and grain. Results indicate that providing information on the identity of the seed source, packaging, branding, traceability, and labeling had no statistically significant effect on farmers' WTP a premium for these attributes. I also found that visual inspection of seeds' physical attributes was an important determinant of farmers' WTP. Comparing the results with the cost analysis suggests that about 40% of the farmers' WTP for certified seed produced by the local seed producers and 65% of farmers' WTP for the company seed, which was perceived to be of highest quality was above the cost of seed production, which did not include storage, transport, and marketing costs. Results of this study suggest potential market demand exists for quality seed but more research is needed to better understand the cost structure and bring the total cost of producing and marketing seed below the WTP price for a large number of farmers."--Page ii.
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- Title
- Terminal stage of a dying rift
- Creator
- LaVigne, Andrew
- Date
- 2019
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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While most continental rifts progress toward rupture and eventual oceanic spreading, in certain circumstances, the rift may fail. Failed rifts provide a window into the transition from continental rifting to the formation of a passive margin, which in successful rifts is occluded by thick post rift sedimentary packages. Among the best-preserved failed rifts is the 1.1 Ga Midcontinent Rift (MCR) in North America. Within the MCR, the final stage of magmatism is preserved on Michipicoten Island....
Show moreWhile most continental rifts progress toward rupture and eventual oceanic spreading, in certain circumstances, the rift may fail. Failed rifts provide a window into the transition from continental rifting to the formation of a passive margin, which in successful rifts is occluded by thick post rift sedimentary packages. Among the best-preserved failed rifts is the 1.1 Ga Midcontinent Rift (MCR) in North America. Within the MCR, the final stage of magmatism is preserved on Michipicoten Island. Here I present a geochemical and isotopic study of the Michipicoten Island Formation to probe conditions in the crust and mantle during the final stage. My results show that the volcanic units on Michipicoten Island have undergone magma mixing between rhyolitic and basaltic magma, dominating magmatic processes within the crust. During previous eruptive periods in the MCR, during which this observation has been made, the rhyolitic endmember has been interpreted to have experienced significant contribution from the Achaean crust based on profoundly unradiogenic Nd values. In contrast, the Michipicoten Island Formation exhibits some of the most radiogenic Ndi values in the MCR, indicating that the source of evolved melts in the MCR changes from melting of existing Archean crust to juvenile material. The isotopic data from Michipicoten Island also shows that the depleted mantle is the single largest contributor of any geochemical reservoir. In the absence of a strong thermal plume component, melting of the depleted mantle requires decompression. The Michipicoten Island Formation was erupted during the geophysically-defined post-rift phase. My results require plate thinning to have continued during this late stage, with the implication that plate deformation persisted even though the crustal structure may not have recorded this deformation.
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- Title
- AN INVESTIGATION OF INEFFECTIVE ALLY BEHAVIORS
- Creator
- Collier, Lauren A.
- Date
- 2019
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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Previous investigations of allyship more broadly make the assumption that allies are unilaterally helpful. Through conducting three survey studies, I aimed to (1) examine the effects of effective and ineffective ally behavior on psychological outcomes for members of marginalized groups, (2) examine the perceptions marginalized group members had of effective and ineffective allies, (3) determine whether there were specific ally motivations that predict effective and ineffective allyship...
Show morePrevious investigations of allyship more broadly make the assumption that allies are unilaterally helpful. Through conducting three survey studies, I aimed to (1) examine the effects of effective and ineffective ally behavior on psychological outcomes for members of marginalized groups, (2) examine the perceptions marginalized group members had of effective and ineffective allies, (3) determine whether there were specific ally motivations that predict effective and ineffective allyship behavior and (4) determine whether there were specific individual differences that predict effective ally behavior. The results revealed that ineffective ally behavior was negatively related to psychological safety and positive affect and positively related to anxiety and negative affect for marginalized group members. An inverse set of relationships was revealed for effective ally behaviors. In addition, internal motivation to respond without prejudice and social dominance orientation emerged as robust predictors of ally behavior. Specifically, internal motivation to respond without prejudice was negatively related to ineffective ally behaviors while social dominance orientation was positively related. These variables exhibited an inverse relationship with effective ally behavior. Implications, limitations and future directions are discussed.
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- Title
- Antimicrobial and biodegradable food packaging films with chitosan-based N-halamine structures to prevent contamination by drug susceptible and resistant strains of Salmonella typhimurium
- Creator
- Thekkudan Novi, Vinni
- Date
- 2019
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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Contamination of food samples with antibiotic resistant Salmonella Typhimurium has become a cause for concern due to difficulty in treating infections caused by this pathogen. In one approach, chitosan/PVA-based N-halamine (CPN) film was developed and tested for its efficacy in inactivating drug susceptible and ampicillin resistant Salmonella Typhimurium strains. The CPN film significantly (100%) inactivated the growth of both strains during the antimicrobial sandwich assay when tested for...
Show moreContamination of food samples with antibiotic resistant Salmonella Typhimurium has become a cause for concern due to difficulty in treating infections caused by this pathogen. In one approach, chitosan/PVA-based N-halamine (CPN) film was developed and tested for its efficacy in inactivating drug susceptible and ampicillin resistant Salmonella Typhimurium strains. The CPN film significantly (100%) inactivated the growth of both strains during the antimicrobial sandwich assay when tested for five days since film preparation, while the CH/PVA films showed around one log reduction (p<0.05). CPN films reduced the drug resistant strain's growth on cheddar cheese slices by 5-6 logs at 25°C and 3-4 logs at 4°C when packaged and stored over a period of five days unlike CH/PVA films that did not show significant reduction. The second approach involves the synthesis of a stronger chitosan N-halamine-based coating on plasma treated polycaprolactone film (CH-NX/PCL film). The FTIR peaks obtained for chitosan coated PCL film (CH/PCL) showed characteristic peaks of both PCL and chitosan, specifically at 1720 cm-1 and 3354 cm-1, respectively. The tensile strength of the PCL was higher, while the Young's modulus value was higher for CH/PCL. CH/PCL film showed better barrier against water and oxygen compared to PCL. The antimicrobial efficacy of the CH-NX/PCL film was 100% against both strains of Salmonella Typhimurium when compared to PCL and CH/PCL, indicating that this fabricated film has promising applications in food safety.
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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
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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
- Attitudes toward sexual harassment : a cross-cultural comparison of three student populations
- Creator
- Liu, Yang (Graduate of Michigan State University)
- Date
- 2020
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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With the help of social movements and media coverage, people are increasingly aware of the scope and harm of sexual harassment. To help both the public and the academia better understand the issue, this current study aims to examine the effects of neutralization techniques on attitude toward sexual harassment. Using an original dataset of 2,150 college students in both China and the U.S., the present research finds sex to be the most important factor in predicting people's tolerance of sexual...
Show moreWith the help of social movements and media coverage, people are increasingly aware of the scope and harm of sexual harassment. To help both the public and the academia better understand the issue, this current study aims to examine the effects of neutralization techniques on attitude toward sexual harassment. Using an original dataset of 2,150 college students in both China and the U.S., the present research finds sex to be the most important factor in predicting people's tolerance of sexual harassment behaviors. Student internationality also shows evident effect, where Chinese international students hold significantly higher level of acceptance of sexual harassment behaviors compared to all others. Further analyses suggest that some techniques of neutralization, such as denial of victim and appeal to higher loyalties, hold significant influences on people's attitudes toward sexual harassment behaviors, and can be more closely associated with sexual harassment than other techniques. However, whether one has participated in relevant training programs does not significantly change how much they think sexual harassment is socially acceptable. Practical implications, study limitations, and future directions are discussed.
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- Title
- Ambient air pollution and its association with olfaction in U.S. women
- Creator
- Purdy, Frank Daniel
- Date
- 2020
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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Olfaction impairment (OI) is an often underreported, common sensory deficit that can lead to a host of adverse health conditions, quality of life issues, and is a predictor of 5-year mortality. Environmental exposures, including very fine particulate matter (PM2.5), are believed to be a potential risk factor in the loss of smell but previous research into this association has been limited. We therefore collaborated with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences' Sister Study,...
Show moreOlfaction impairment (OI) is an often underreported, common sensory deficit that can lead to a host of adverse health conditions, quality of life issues, and is a predictor of 5-year mortality. Environmental exposures, including very fine particulate matter (PM2.5), are believed to be a potential risk factor in the loss of smell but previous research into this association has been limited. We therefore collaborated with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences' Sister Study, which had been originally designed to examine the relationship between environmental exposures and cancer, to test a large sub-sample (n=4020) of their population in order to identify participants with olfaction impairment. Our multivariable logistic regression analysis found that those in the highest exposure group were more likely to suffer from olfaction impairment when compared to those in the lowest exposure group, with an OR = 1.55 (95% CI: 1.40, 1.72) after adjusting for all relevant confounders. Results were similar for all instances of PM2.5 yearly average measurements. Further quantile regression analyses showed that the greatest effect of ambient air pollutants on olfaction was for those whose smell tests fell below the 42nd quantile, indicating that PM2.5 may exacerbate OI rather than instigate it. We conclude that higher levels of PM2.5 were associated with olfaction impairment and that the effect may have been greater for those with an already declining sense of smell.
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- Title
- Team error management training : the role of monitoring, backing up behavior, planning, and psychological safety in team training and team adaptive performance
- Creator
- Gray, Robert (Graduate of Michigan State University)
- Date
- 2019
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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While many studies and meta-analyses have examined error management training at the individual level, this study is the first to apply these principles at the team level. Specifically, the study explores the relationships between error management and team learning perceptions, team communication, and team psychological safety, respectively, and their effect on team adaptive performance. Ninety-seven teams of three members were trained. Results show a positive impact on adaptive team...
Show moreWhile many studies and meta-analyses have examined error management training at the individual level, this study is the first to apply these principles at the team level. Specifically, the study explores the relationships between error management and team learning perceptions, team communication, and team psychological safety, respectively, and their effect on team adaptive performance. Ninety-seven teams of three members were trained. Results show a positive impact on adaptive team efficiency, as well as increased team psychological safety and perceptions of team learning related to errors. Applied and theoretical implications are discussed.
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- Title
- An English needs analysis of Chinese automotive engineers
- Creator
- Fedewa, Kevin Daniel
- Date
- 2019
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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In order to maintain a competitive edge in a quickly changing industry, automotive companies in China partner with local and international universities to provide continuous training for their engineers. This case study presents an English needs analysis of Chinese automotive engineers who participate in a professional development program offered by a partner US university. Through interviews, surveys, and observation of key stakeholders, this study identified the language skills that the...
Show moreIn order to maintain a competitive edge in a quickly changing industry, automotive companies in China partner with local and international universities to provide continuous training for their engineers. This case study presents an English needs analysis of Chinese automotive engineers who participate in a professional development program offered by a partner US university. Through interviews, surveys, and observation of key stakeholders, this study identified the language skills that the stakeholders perceived to be important and difficult and the English tasks that the engineers faced during their six months of graduate coursework, six months of internship, and in their jobs. Findings showed that listening and speaking were perceived as most difficult and important. Identified academic tasks included writing reports, participating in group discussion, listening to lectures, and giving presentations. Internship and work related tasks included discussing technical issues, writing emails and reports, giving introductions, and shadowing a mentor. Considering these needs, recommendations are presented for revisions to the curriculum of the English for Specific Purposes course which is provided to the cohorts of engineers in this study.
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- Title
- The use of waste from orange juicing for food packaging applications
- Creator
- Fehlberg, Jack Alan
- Date
- 2019
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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Utilization of orange juicing waste (OP) as a filler material within a polymer matrix can add value to this agricultural waste and reduce dependency on non-renewable resources. This study aims to study the impact of OP filler's physical characteristics including size, loading, and retention or removal of zest on the properties of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and to produce LLDPE/OP films by blown-film extrusion. LLDPE/OP sheets with zest exhibited decreased thermal stability,...
Show moreUtilization of orange juicing waste (OP) as a filler material within a polymer matrix can add value to this agricultural waste and reduce dependency on non-renewable resources. This study aims to study the impact of OP filler's physical characteristics including size, loading, and retention or removal of zest on the properties of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and to produce LLDPE/OP films by blown-film extrusion. LLDPE/OP sheets with zest exhibited decreased thermal stability, larger OP agglomerates, worsened dispersion, and darker yellower colors and can act as UV- and light-absorbers. Larger OP particles increased air bubble formation, decreased mechanical properties, worsen dispersion, and produced darker yellower composites. Higher OP loadings resulted in LLDPE/OP composite sheets that have darker yellower color, decreased mechanical properties, and increased the size of OP agglomerates, as well as improved distribution and worsened dispersion. LLDPE/OP sheets that had properties most like neat LLDPE were sheets containing OP without zest and smaller particles sizes. This OP was used to determine maximum OP loading for LLDPE/OP films produced by blown-film extrusion. The LLDPE/OP films were subject to a sensory similarity triangle test and a comparison of package acceptance when different OP loading was used. This study found no difference in sensory qualities of bread when packaged in LLDPE/OP to neat LLDPE films. OP loading did not influence consumer perceptions of overall liking, appearance, surface roughness, color, or smell when LLDPE/OP films with 5 and 11.5% OP loadings were compared. This study demonstrates that OP waste can be converted and physically modified into a usable filler for plastic films for food packaging applications without altering the quality of the food product.
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- Title
- Postmortem microbiome computational methods and applications
- Creator
- Kaszubinski, Sierra Frances
- Date
- 2020
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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Microbial communities have potential evidential utility for forensic applications. However, bioinformatic analysis of high-throughput sequencing data varies widely among laboratories and can potentially affect downstream forensic analyses and data interpretations. To illustrate the importance of standardizing methodology, we compared analyses of postmortem microbiome samples using several bioinformatic pipelines, while varying minimum library size or the minimum number of sequences per sample...
Show moreMicrobial communities have potential evidential utility for forensic applications. However, bioinformatic analysis of high-throughput sequencing data varies widely among laboratories and can potentially affect downstream forensic analyses and data interpretations. To illustrate the importance of standardizing methodology, we compared analyses of postmortem microbiome samples using several bioinformatic pipelines, while varying minimum library size or the minimum number of sequences per sample, and sample size. Using the same input sequence data, we found that pipeline significantly affected the microbial communities. Increasing minimum library size and sample size increased the number of low abundant and infrequent taxa detected. Our results show that bioinformatic pipeline and parameter choice significantly affect the resulting microbial communities, which is important for forensic applications. One such forensic application is the potential postmortem reflection of manner of death (MOD) and cause of death (COD). Microbial community metrics have linked the postmortem microbiome with antemortem health status. To further explore this association, we demonstrated that postmortem microbiomes could differentiate beta-dispersion among M/COD, especially for cardiovascular disease and drug-related deaths. Beta-dispersion associated with M/COD has potential forensic utility to aid certifiers of death by providing additional evidence for death determination. Additional supplemental files including tables of raw data and additional statistical tests are available in supplemental files online, denoted in the text as table 'S'.
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- Title
- An automated 3D pose estimation system for sow health monitoring
- Creator
- Yik, Steven
- Date
- 2020
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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Pork ranks as one of the most consumed meats globally, presenting both a challenge and an opportunity to both improve the care of swineherds and to increase efficiency of production. Conditions such as lameness and poor body composition impair productivity and animal welfare, while current assessment methods are subjective and labor-intensive, resulting in slower production and ambiguous quality classifications. Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) proposes using technology to monitor animals,...
Show morePork ranks as one of the most consumed meats globally, presenting both a challenge and an opportunity to both improve the care of swineherds and to increase efficiency of production. Conditions such as lameness and poor body composition impair productivity and animal welfare, while current assessment methods are subjective and labor-intensive, resulting in slower production and ambiguous quality classifications. Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) proposes using technology to monitor animals, assess health, and apply data-driven interventions to increase welfare and produce higher quality products. For sows, body shape and motion characteristics provide important health indicators that could be assessed automatically through appropriate PLF sensors and techniques.This thesis developed a sow PLF health assessment device using artificial intelligence, including both a hardware system and a novel training algorithm. First, a data collection device, the SIMKit, was built using modern dense depth sensors, which can reveal detailed shape characteristics of a sow. Second, a new annotation method called, Transfer Labeling was developed, enabling the semi-automated annotation of a large dataset of sow depth images. This dataset was used to train a convolutional neural network (CNN) to detect and track pig poses. Results show that Transfer Labeling produces annotations with sub-centimeter accuracy with much-reduced human effort. It is anticipated that this will lead to much-improved sow health monitoring.
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- Title
- Optimizing revitalization planning and design guidelines for a shrinking city, Flint, MI
- Creator
- Yang, Shu (Graduate of Michigan State University)
- Date
- 2020
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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Land vacancy is a persistent issue in most urban places in the United States, yet few case studies show how vacant lots are used in practice and the functions they serve in local communities. The purpose of this study is to optimize revitalization planning through an analysis of vacant land redevelopment alternatives and provide a design guideline for the Durant-Tuuri-Mott (DTM) Target Area in the shrinking city of Flint, MI. This study develops design modules in three development scenarios...
Show moreLand vacancy is a persistent issue in most urban places in the United States, yet few case studies show how vacant lots are used in practice and the functions they serve in local communities. The purpose of this study is to optimize revitalization planning through an analysis of vacant land redevelopment alternatives and provide a design guideline for the Durant-Tuuri-Mott (DTM) Target Area in the shrinking city of Flint, MI. This study develops design modules in three development scenarios based on their implementation level: 100%, 75%, and 50% development scenarios, which fit different budgets and considers the local context to adopt different design modules. To generate a comprehensive master plan with a balanced distribution of modules, the study also analyzes the surrounding cultural, natural, and built environments and conducts community participant process by collecting residents and stakeholders' opinions. By utilizing landscape performance metrics to quantify the environmental, social, and economic benefits, this study identifies an ideal optimized development scenario with a comprehensive master plan for the reuse and redevelopment of vacant lots across DTM neighborhoods and analyzes the benefits of each redevelopment scenario. Furthermore, this study provides a flexible design method for balancing objectives in vacant land redevelopment, which can be applied in other shrinking cities as well.
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- Title
- Colostrum supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids may decrease oxidative stress but does not improve growth in calves
- Creator
- Opgenorth, Julie
- Date
- 2019
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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"Our objective was to determine if supplementing colostrum with oils rich in omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 FA) would give calves a health and performance advantage in early life. Three experiments encompassed this objective. The first utilized 16 Holstein calves (n = 16; 8 bulls and 8 heifers). Control calves (CON) received no supplement in colostrum whereas calves with treatment (FFE) received 60 mL 1:1 ratio fish and flaxseed oil with 200 mg vitamin E in the first feeding of colostrum. FFE...
Show more"Our objective was to determine if supplementing colostrum with oils rich in omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 FA) would give calves a health and performance advantage in early life. Three experiments encompassed this objective. The first utilized 16 Holstein calves (n = 16; 8 bulls and 8 heifers). Control calves (CON) received no supplement in colostrum whereas calves with treatment (FFE) received 60 mL 1:1 ratio fish and flaxseed oil with 200 mg vitamin E in the first feeding of colostrum. FFE elevated plasma N-3 FA and decreased oxidant status index (OSi) during week one. 24 Holstein calves (n = 24; 12 bulls and 12 heifers) were studied in the second experiment with the main objective of analyzing the dose response of our colostrum supplement. Treatments included CON and fish and flaxseed oil in amounts of 30, 60, and 120 mL supplemented to colostrum (FF30, FF60, and FF120, respectively). FF treatments increased n-3 FA and some n-3 FA-derived oxylipids but failed to reduce OSi. The third experiment aimed to observe health and growth of supplemented calves (n = 180; all heifers) to determine if molecular changes observed in previous experiments could have biologically relevant effects on early life performance. The three treatments were CON, FF (60 mL 1:1 fish and flaxseed oil), and FFE (60 mL 1:1 fish and flaxseed oil with 200 mg vitamin E). We found that FF and FFE did not alter health or growth. In conclusion, though n-3 FA supplemented in colostrum was a viable strategy to enhance n-3 FA content in plasma during wk 1 of life and decrease indicators of oxidative stress, a one-time dose in colostrum did not improve calf health or growth in early life."--Page ii.
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