7141 research outputs found
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Alternatives to Incarceration: Reducing Recidivism Among Nonviolent Offenders Through Post-Incarceration Resources
No full textRecidivism is looked upon as a relapse into prior criminal behavior that is measured by a former offender’s rearrest, reconviction or return to prison with or without a new sentence during a three-year period following their initial release. The recidivism rate focus on nonviolent offenders in Tennessee which will reflect what offenders perceive will help to deter them from reoffending as well as reintegrate them into society; and also, if age, number of times incarcerated, marital status, educational attainment, and employment history influence offender’s opinions about recidivism. Research indicates that substance abuse impacts recidivism and current rehabilitation programs are ineffective, so change must be implemented to help decrease recidivism among nonviolent offenders. This research addresses why nonviolent offenders recidivate, risk factors, drug courts, state relationships and probation supervision versus incarceration. In order to address the offender’s attitudes regarding the research question, a survey is used, which can be found in Appendix B. The goal of this research is to raise awareness of post incarcerated resources (treatment and support services) that could help reduce recidivism rates in Tennessee. Female offenders were more likely to disagree with the survey questions whereas male offenders were more in agreement. Further research would be to use a larger and more diverse sample size to make generalizations about the larger nonviolent offender population of males and females
Development of Behavior-Based Control Systems for Autonomous Vehicle Navigation in Urban Environment
No full textIn this research, we developed new motion planning system for autonomous vehicles navigationin real-time, capable to maneuver around moving and stationary objects and avoid hitting pedestrian. The developed system consisted of three components 1) pedestrian\u27s trajectories prediction using generalized regression neural network, 2) safe zone navigation controller using fuzzy logic, and 3) Adaptive model predictive controller. Following the system engineering approach, the proposed system was composed into two subsystems: Perception subsystem, and Planning and Control subsystem. All subsystems were developed, verified, then integrated, tested, and validated in this dissertation. To evaluate the proposed system, different driving scenarios were conducted, including different vehicle speeds, different pedestrian\u27s speeds, and directions. The simulation results showed the system’s ability to predict the pedestrian’s trajectories, and the ability to maneuver the vehicle and avoid collision while maintaining a safe distance and speed
Sustainable Management of Phytophthora Root Rot and Ambrosia Beetles under Stress Conditions
No full textPhytophthora root and ambrosia beetles were the important disease and pests of flowering dogwoods in the United States. In this study, different fungicides, biofungicides, host plant defense inducers, and fertilizers were used to manage Phytophthora root rot in different flooding durations, application methods, and time interval applications. Similarly, different fungicides and host plant defense inducers were compared for their efficacy against Phytophthora root rot in drought conditions in the greenhouse. Selective fungicides, insecticides, and crop protectants along with their different combinations were also tested for the integrated management of Phytophthora root rot and ambrosia beetle attacks in nursery container production system under flooding conditions. The fungicides Empress Intrinsic, Pageant Intrinsic, Segovis, and Subdue MAXX, applied as preventative and curative treatments, were able to suppress the disease severity compared to the inoculated control in all 1-, 3-, and 7-day flooding durations. Similarly, all fungicides and host plant defense inducers applied preventative or curative, were able to suppress the Phytophthora disease significantly, except Orkestra Intrinsic. However, net photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, and leaf moisture potential were significantly greater in seedlings treated with Subdue MAXX, Signature Xtra, and Empress Intrinsic in preventative or curative application trials. For the integrated management of Phytophthora root rot and ambrosia beetle attacks, the combination treatment of Subdue MAXX and Permethrin was significantly more effective compared to the Phytophthora-inoculated control treatment. The results of this study can be useful for ornamental growers to combat Phytophthora root rot and ambrosia beetle in trees under abiotic stress conditions
Dynamics and Controls of Nitrous Oxide Emission in Bioenergy Croplands
No full textN2O is the third important long-lived greenhouse gas and croplands are considered biogeochemical hotspots. Excessive use of N fertilizers is an important factor. The emissions and crop productivity are strongly influenced by extremes in precipitation. The dynamics of N2O are determined by processes of nitrification and denitrification, therefore soil microbial community plays a major role. In this study, we evaluated the impacts of biochar application, N fertilization, and precipitation change on soil N2O flux. We hypothesized application of biochar reduces the emission depending on certain properties, application of N fertilization alters the soil microbial composition and abundance, and background precipitation has impacts on the responses of crop yield and N2O emission. We evaluated meta-analyses on the effects of biochar application on soil N2O emissions and proposed a grand mean response ratio to estimate an overall effect and the impacts of different properties. We then simulated corn yield and N2O emission using the DNDC model based on a long-term precipitation dataset and manipulated precipitation treatments. To quantify the impact of nitrogen application on microbial community, DNA extraction with paired end sequencing was performed. The results showed that biochar application reduced soil N2O emission by 38.8% in general. Grain yield increased with an increased precipitation until an optimal amount and decreased with decreasing precipitation. While drought conditions resulted in a decrease in the emission of soil N2O, high intensity precipitation enhanced it. Different ecosystems respond differently to N fertilization and such changes in the ecosystem affect microbial composition and abundance
Dual Functional Carbon Quantum Dots: Novel Tools for DNA Delivery in Bacterial Transformation and as Antimicrobial Agents Against Gram-Negative Bacteria
No full textSuccessful delivery of plasmid DNA into bacterial cells is fundamental in recombinant DNA technology. Natural transformation in bacteria is limited due to the repulsive forces between negatively charged DNA and bacterial membrane. Most common DNA delivery systems in bacteria includes artificial transformation through heat shock and electroporation. These methods rely on preparation of competent cells which are either time consuming or rely on sophisticated instruments. Similarly, multi-drug resistance in bacteria is a major public health concern. Apart from their ability to deliver DNA into the cells, carbon dots are gaining popularity as a new source of antimicrobial agents due to their ability to inhibit the microbial growth and their non-toxicity to different mammalian cells. Here we are reporting the synthesis of carbon dots (CDs) using Citric acid and Beta-Alanine, their use in DNA delivery and as antimicrobial agent in a diverse species of gram-negative bacteria. CDs were fabricated using microwave assisted synthesis. Plasmids carrying RFP as a reporter gene and ampicillin resistance gene were used as selectable markers in bacterial transformation. Our findings indicate that CDs can be used successfully in delivery of foreign DNA of 10kb size into E. coli. Also, antibacterial activity of these CDs was studied using well-diffusion method and minimal inhibitory concentration was determined by incubating bacteria with different concentration of CDs ranging from 0.5 to 10 mg/mL for 20 hrs. Our finding indicates that these CDs can be considered as an effective alternative to common antibiotics. We also demonstrated that the antimicrobial properties of these CDs are dependent on the incubation time and bacterial species where some species can be inhibited in a shorter time than others. With minimum of 5 hours incubation time, P. carotovorum and P. aeruginosa strains were the most sensitive species whereas E. coli and S. enterica strains were the most resistant bacteria requiring over 16 hours of incubation with CDs
Factors Influencing Risk Management Decisions and Risk Balancing: A Case from Small Farmers in Tennessee
No full textLimited operational and financial resources challenge the viability of small farms and businesses. Adoption of appropriate risk management strategies remains an important decision for the viability of small farms. This study uses survey data from 100 small farms of Tennessee and studies factors influencing the adoption of various risk management strategies using multivariate probit models. Results suggest that the adoption decisions of various risk management strategies are closely interlinked.Depending on the strategies, they can be complementary or competitive, which suggests that adopting one may enhance or limit the other’s adoption. This study finds that the factors such as farm operator’s age, education, farm household income, land holdings, government incentives (payments), smartphones, and farmers’ continuation plans significantly influence the strategic decisions of adopting risk management strategies.Additionally, using various forms of generalized linear models, we assessed the determinants of the level of debt finance, saving finance, and debt to equity balancing. Our findings show that business risk (BR) is significantly associated with the extent of debt use, savings use, and debt-to-equity balance decisions of small farm households. Results indicate that small farm households of Tennessee show distinct risk balancing and financing behavior. Moreover, results indicate that the demographic and household characteristics and factors such as land acreage, adoption of agritourism, an existing continuation plan, credit constraints, and computer use significantly influence the financing decisions of small farm households in Tennessee
Fabrication of Active Food Packaging Materials Using Natural Polymers by Electrospray for Shelf-Life Extension of Cherry Tomatoes
No full textActive packaging materials fabricated using natural polymers is increasing in recent years. Electrohydrodynamic processing has drawn attention in active food packaging due to its potential in fabricating materials with advanced structural and functional properties. These materials have the significant capability in enhancing food’s quality, safety, and shelf-life extension. Through electrospray, capsules can be generated to encapsulate bioactive compounds for active packaging applications. Our research utilized plant polysaccharides (starch, yellow mustard mucilage) and bioactive compounds (thymol, carvacrol) to fabricate active packaging materials using electrospray. We hypothesized that the synergistic interactions between yellow mustard mucilage and potato starch could modify the releasing performance of bioactive compounds in encapsulated particles, thus be used to extend shelf life of fresh produce. The resultant materials were used for antimicrobial active packaging as the polymer matrix assisted in controlling the release behavior of bioactive compounds. Our study optimized the emulsion’s formulation based on evaluating the viscosity, surface tension, and conductivity of the emulsion fluid before subjecting to fabricate the uniform non-porous nanostructures using electrospray. The generated capsules’ morphological property, encapsulation efficiency, molecular interaction of matrix materials and matrix-core, antimicrobial property, and the release kinetics of bioactives using mathematical models were explored. Further, the capsules’ application on shelf-life extension towards color, texture, and weight-loss behavior of cherry tomatoes were investigated. The results highly recommended that the combination of natural polymers is a promising approach in fabricating nano- or micro bioactive particles in food packaging applications
