Texas A&M University-Kingsville: AKM Digital Repository
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History of Hidalgo County
No full textFour centuries have elapsed since the Spanish began their exploration of the Rio de las Palmas. The territory embraced by the bounds of Hidalgo County, a part of Texas, has experienced a romantic and colorful history. Flags have come and gone, sacrificial blood has been split and became a part of the fertile soil for which it was shed, yet the pioneer settlers have succeeded in transforming a desolate chaparral into the aggressive " Magic Valley" which we have today
Attitudes towards the sea in Shakespeare's plays
No full textFor many years the sea has exerted a considerable influence in the art and literature of the world. It has been and is the inexhaustible fountain that serves as an inspiration to man of all epochs. Homer, Ussian, and many other immortal poets were inspired by it and they sang in their epics of the grandeur and beauty in Neptune's realm
A comparison of some approximate methods of harmonic analysis
No full textThe main purpose of this thesis is to compare the time required, difficulty of application and accuracy of three method analysis. Four standard curves are used whose equations are known. These are the saw tooth wave, triangular wave, square wave and semi-circular wave. Each wave is individually analyzed by four methods which are; Analytical, Graphical, Fischer-Hinnen, and brown
A history of education in Refugio County
No full textIt has been the purpose of the writer of this thesis research report to present the material contained herein in such a way that will be both historically valuable and interesting reading for those into whose hands it may come. He has endeavored to include that material which will enable readers to appreciate more fully the progress that has been made in education in Refugio County
The economic contribution of the angora goat industry in Uvalde County, Texas
No full textAngora Goats pay an outstanding part in American thought and economy. They graze by millions in our country, yet the very existence of the breed is very unknown to many. The goats are sent to the market in large numbers every year., yet few menu cards ever list Angora meat for the customers. The fabric made of their lustrous hair is worn and admired from coast to coast, yet only a few identify it, or know that it comes from mohair producing goats. Far from his native land, very striking and interesting appearance, unique in his enjoyment and utilization of what would otherwise be waste forage and browse, the Angora goat has no competitor in many respects among the profitable animals of our country. By choice a dweller of desert and brush land, clothed in the fine raiment he gave to monarchs of old, the Angora has endured, and earned a rightful place in the economy of our livestock industry
Amount of parental education compared with the child's school attendance
No full textThe subject of the child's daily attendance of school has often been discussed. The question has been asked whether the amount of education of the parents has any measurable influence upon the child's attendance. Perhaps there are many influences which affect the child's school attendance. Much of the attendance may be determined by the nature of the community and the character of the people who form patrons of the school. In some places the sentiment may not be so general
Cooperative marketing of farm products in the United States
No full textA cooperative sales association is a voluntary business organization established by its member patrons to sell farm products collectively for their direct benefit. Its immediate purpose is to obtain for its members the highest farm price; its ultimate aim is to elevate the plane of living on farms. Members, as owners, operators, and contributors of the commodities handled, are the direct beneficiaries of the saving that may be obtained. Cooperation in marketing is a business undertaking amenable to the economic forces but not to all the traditions, codes, and practices which affect private commercial enterprises
A comparative study of the academic performance of schools on year-round and traditional calendars
No full textEducational provisions enacted at the national level impact states by requiring a priority on improving the academic performance of students. Leaders in educational settings strive to implement changes that will aid in closing achievement gaps and increase academic achievement. In Texas, the academic level of performance on the reading and mathematics State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) is concerning for some schools. The concerns lead to possible studies on the time allocated to learning in schools. Texas schools operate on either year-round education calendars or traditional education calendars. Although both calendars include the same required number of instructional days and minutes, they differ on how breaks or intersessions are scheduled. Intersessions are spread throughout the year for year-round calendar schools. Schools on traditional calendars have longer scheduled breaks. The theoretical framework for this study was based on Carroll’s model of school learning which established that time is influential to the learning process. The goal of this quantitative study was to determine if differences exist on fifth grade students’ performance on reading and mathematics STAAR between schools on full-year calendars and schools on traditional 9-month calendars for years 2017, 2018, and 2019. To determine a cause-and-effect relationship between the calendar type and STAAR a quantitative quasi-experimental design was used to address the research questions. Although statistically significant differences in 5th Grade Reading and Mathematics STAAR performance between year-round calendar schools and traditional calendar schools were not found, results inform decision-making pertinent to time allocated for student learning, which is shown to impact academic achievement
Assessing space use, resource selection, and crop damage of wild pigs in an agricultural landscape
No full textWild pigs (Sus scrofa) are an invasive ungulate first introduced to North America in the 1500s. The species causes billions of dollars in damage to agriculture in the USA annually. Understanding how crop availability influences wild pig behaviors and selection could enable more efficient methods to estimate crop yield loss due to wild pigs. My objectives were to 1) quantify movements, space use, and resource selection of wild pigs in an agricultural landscape in relation to growth stages of corn; 2) assess pig damage to corn using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs); and 3) calculate harvest yield loss of corn due to pig damage. For the first objective, I monitored hourly movements of adult wild pigs using GPS collars during the 2019 and 2020 growing seasons (Feb–Sept) in Delta County, Texas, USA. I quantified movements and home ranges, and estimated selection of land cover types during 5 primary growth stages: preplanting, establishment, vegetative, blister–milk, and dent–mature using conditional logistic regression models. For the second and third objectives, I used UAVs to monitor corn fields at different growth stages in an agricultural matrix in Delta County Texas, USA during 2019–2020. I conducted 36 UAV missions and successfully classified pig damage in 28 orthomosaics by manually digitizing and using fully automated machine learning. I compared estimates of damage from UAV imagery to those derived from ground-based survey transects. Finally, I compared damaged areas of fields to real-time harvest yield maps to determine yield loss costs. Overall, males had larger home ranges and movement steps. Space use and selection of corn increased during the latter growth stages for both males and females. All UAV images had >80% overall accuracy, showing the capabilities and applications of UAVS in the detection and quantification of pig damage through different growth stages. The UAV imagery supported data from GPS collars in that selection for corn and damage to the crop occurred in latter growth stages. I observed pig damage in up to 9.2% of the field, corresponding to a mean loss of 3,416 kg of corn/ha, at a cost to producers of 48.24 per ha of pig damage. My study provides information on the spatial ecology of wild pigs and demonstrates that information from UAV imagery and harvest yields can quantify loss due to pig damage. The results of this study have implications for the timing and spatial location of management strategies aimed at alleviating crop damage and enable an estimation of the cost-benefit ratio of management actions
Simulation comparisons and economic consideration of Citrus waste by fast pyrolysis
No full textAcross the world, citrus production yields 50% product and 50 % waste from approximately 100 to 120 million tons of citrus consumed annually worldwide.[5] Most of this biomass waste include peels, pulp, membrane residue, and seeds and ends up in municipal landfills after the juicing process is completed. The Rio Red Grapefruit is the most abundant variety of grapefruit grown in the lower Texas valley by the Texas Citrus Exchange facility, located in Mission, TX, USA. It is coveted for its abundant yield and sweet juice. To minimize grapefruit peel waste, the facility partially dries the peels, dips them in molasses, and produces a feedstock that acts as a filler for cattle with a low percentage of protein. There is an urgent need to reduce carbon emissions in today’s political climate, which creates an opportunity to further investigate the chemical properties and applications of this biomass. Recent research conducted at Texas A&M Kingsville has presented evidence of optimized value-added chemicals conducted via fast pyrolysis. The characterization of grapefruit peel waste has approximately half as much carbon and forty times as much oxygen as elemental crude oil, respectively. Hence, this presents an opportunity for analyzing and isolating oxygen-rich value-added chemicals. Using a CDS Analytical 5200 Series Pyroprobe with an Agilent 6890 GC, researchers’ empirically optimized values for phenols and furans, which are both valued-added and used as precursor materials with industrial and pharmaceutical applications. The primary goal of this research was to utilize the above mentioned optimized experimental parameters, simulate a biorefinery in Aspen Plus and SuperPro Designer, and create a profitability analysis for future biorefinery applications. It was found that more experimentation needs to be conducted in order to create a tailored stoichiometric equation specifically for Rio Red Grapefruit waste. A more accurate understanding of the chemical makeup of Rio Red Grapefruit will help in developing a better model that simulates compounds of interest more accurately. Initial economic assessment shows that citrus waste pyrolysis has a potential to be profitable with development of a more accurate and tailored numerical model