Scholars Junction - Mississippi State University Institutional Repository
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Gravel Pit, Six Miles from Brookhaven, Mississippi
Get PDFA color illustration of the gravel pit of the Brookhaven Gravel company is featured on this postcard. The railroad tracks, shrubbery, and water holes are depicted. The title is printed along the top, left of the card and an advertisement for the company is printed on the back, touting the gravel pit as one of the largest in the world, shipping seventy-five cars per day.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/mss-lampton-images-ms-pine-belt/1368/thumbnail.jp
Stormwater Modeling in a Steep, Poorly Drained Contributing Micro-Watershed Zone of Addis Ababa
No full textUrban micro-watersheds with steep slopes and poorly draining soils generate excessive runoff and pollutant loads, posing significant management challenges. This study introduces a novel focus on a contributing zone within a 30-ha micro-watershed in Addis Ababa to assess how climate change, urbanization and their combined effects influence stormwater runoff and water quality. The Personal Computer Stormwater Management Model (PCSWMM) was employed to simulate four scenarios: baseline, climate change, urbanization, and combined impacts. The baseline model was calibrated and validated with observed storm data using the Sensitivity-Based Radio Tuning Calibration (SRTC) tool, achieving Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE)-standard deviation ratio (RSR), and Integral Square Error (ISE) values within accepted thresholds. Over a 3-h, 6,870 m3 storm, 72% became surface runoff, 18.2% infiltrated, 2% evaporated, and 6.4% remained in storage, producing a peak flow of 3.6 m3/s and localized node flooding. The climate change scenario employed an ensemble of Global Circulation Models (GCMs)—five for precipitation and seven for temperature—selected from twelve and sixteen models, respectively, based on their statistical performance. Under shared socio-economic pathway (SSP)2–4.5, 2-year return period peak flows increased to 3.8 m3/s (2024–2053) and 4.7 m3/s (2054–2083); under SSP5-8.5, they rose to 5.8 m3/s and 6.6 m3/s, respectively. An 80% imperviousness urbanization scenario increased peak flow to 4.1 m3/s. The combined scenario yielded a peak of 7.2 m3/s and a 10.3% pollutant load increase, which were (1.7%: climate change, and 7.1%: urbanization alone), highlighting urbanization as the principal driver of water quality decline. These findings highlight the need for integrated green–grey infrastructure (IGGI) and upgraded drainage systems to strengthen urban resilience. The study supports data-driven planning and advances sustainable development goals (SDGs) 6 (clean water and sanitation), 11 (sustainable cities and communities), and 13 (climate action)
Design and Optimization of Lattice-Integrated PLIF Cages Using Additive Manufacturing and Finite Element Modeling
No full textThe customization, characterization, and development of biomedical implants through additive manufacturing (AM) and finite element methods (FEM) becomes imperative to the success of surgical operations and long-term patient satisfaction. To combat stiffness mismatches and prevent stress shielding between implant and bone tissue, lattice structures can be implemented within bone implant design to reduce the effective Young’s modulus (EYM) of the implant and to promote osteointegration within bone tissue. Lattice structures are highly customizable, three dimensionally repeated patterned unit cells that can be manipulated to mimic the porous nature of bone tissues to increase implant-bone interface longevity. The study presents the design and topological optimization of diamond lattice-integrated post lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) cages, tailored for fabrication via laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF). The use of L-PBF enables the precise and reproducible fabrication of complex geometries, allowing for the creation of lattice integrated implants with controlled macroscopic porosity (MP) and mechanical properties. Conventional PLIF cages created from traditional manufacturing techniques are typically solid structures with limited porosity, which can lead to implant subsidence, screw loosening, and adjacent segment degradation. By implementing cellular lattice structures within implant design, the study aims to enhance implant MP while maintaining structural integrity, ultimately improving the implant’s biomechanical compatibility with surrounding bone tissue while addressing critical limitations of traditional PLIF cages. In addition, the approach demonstrates the limitations of the intra-lattice propagation. Within this study, six PLIF cage prototypes with varying MP, up to 79%, were computationally designed and evaluated with FEM. Models with a greater number of cellular lattice structures were the most MP and had the greatest increase in surface area when compared to a non-porous PLIF cage ii design. Preliminary computational testing demonstrated that the most MP lattice integrated cage design and a non-porous PLIF cage maintained peak von Mises stresses of 1.625 MPa and 0.0143 MPa, respectively, under physiological compressive loads. Each of these values were well below the yield strength of Ti-6Al-4V, confirming mechanical viability
Empowering patients with health insights: Development and utilization of knowledge graphs for comprehensive patient medical journey mapping and analytics
No full textHealthcare advancements require advanced solutions to process and understand complex patient data. This dissertation outlines a detailed framework for mapping patient journeys with knowledge graphs (KGs), which begins by analyzing existing Patient-Centric Knowledge Graphs (PCKGs) literature to identify current research gaps in the representation and analysis of patient journeys. Our research proposes solutions to these gaps through three main contributions. First, we introduce the Patient Journey Ontology (PJO), which enables systematic encoding of patient encounters, diagnoses, treatments, and outcomes into a semantic knowledge structure designed for interoperability. The construction of patient journey knowledge graphs (PJKGs) is based on this foundational ontology. Building upon this ontology, we present an innovative framework to construct PJKGs automatically through Large Language Models (LLMs) that convert clinical dialogues into structured knowledge representations that potentially allow tracking of patients’ entire medical journeys. Furthermore, we propose the Dynamic Feature and Temporal Similarity (DFTS) framework, a hybrid approach that combines feature-based and temporal-based KG similarity methods with dynamic weighting mechanisms. Unlike traditional machine learning approaches that require large datasets, DFTS is designed to work effectively with limited healthcare data while maintaining scalability for growing datasets. A case study on chronic disease management demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed framework through its ability to identify patients with similar medical journeys. The findings of this dissertation demonstrate the potential of structured knowledge representation and analysis to enhance healthcare decision-making support systems while also advancing patient-focused care strategies. By providing a comprehensive framework for mapping, constructing, and analyzing patient journeys, this work establishes a foundation for more effective and personalized healthcare delivery
The Teaching Experiences of Black Women Faculty in Educator Preparation Providers Licensure Programs at Predominantly White Institutions
No full textUnderstanding the experiences that Black women faculty encounter in instructional spaces of Educator Preparation Providers licensure programs (hereafter referred to as EPPs) at predominantly White institutions are important for institutional change and reform to occur. In spaces of EPPs, Black women faculty are forced to cope and deal with racialized issues such as feelings of social isolation, a lack of inclusion, acts of microaggression from students, disrespectful acts, and students challenging their knowledge and credentials. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how Black women faculty narrate their teaching experiences in EPPs at PWIs. The use of Collins’ (1986, 2009) Black Feminist Thought, complimented by Crenshaw’s concept of Intersectionality (1991, 2017) were used to guide the data collection and analysis processes for the study. In this study, Black women faculty shared stories regarding ways that their identities, ways of knowing, and ability to navigate racist and sexist spaces vary from faculty of other races and genders. Data were collected using the Demographic Intake Questionnaire, the autoethnographic interview, a narrative semi-structured interview, and a follow-up member checking session. I identified four themes from the data analysis process: 1) gender and race, 2) whiteness as the standard, 3) challenging experiences for Black women faculty, and 4) countermeasures. These themes indicated that Black women faculty experience unique challenges in instructional spaces of EPPs on their quest to prepare teacher candidates for racially diverse student populations. Institutional leaders can use the findings to develop a plan to counteract the levels of racial oppression and white ideologies that permeate systems and structures of PWIs
Post secondary teaching toolkit: A concise resource to highlight effective pedagogical strategies for post-secondary instructors
No full textThis project seeks to provide teaching support for post-secondary instructors, especially at the community college level, by creating an instructional toolkit that highlights a selection of evidence-based teaching strategies intended to increase student engagement, learning, and achievement. This toolkit includes evidence-based instructional strategies tailored to support post-secondary instructors of any experience level. It highlights research-proven student-centered engagement and instructional techniques such as cooperative learning, inquiry-based learning, project-based learning, problem-based learning, and student interaction in online learning environments. Within the project, the various instructional and engagement techniques are linked together using the Constructivist Learning Theory theoretical framework, highlighting the importance of firsthand, discovery-based learning and instructional activities, which will be highlighted in the instructional resource. Furthermore, this project highlights and synthesizes relevant studies and research regarding post-secondary instruction, student success and retention, and post-secondary professional development
Developing an optimized site selection model for Eastern Cottonwood in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley
No full textDemand for bioenergy has renewed interest and opportunities for short rotation woody crop (SRWC) systems. In the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV), specific attention is on the conversion of marginal agricultural sites using eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides).Therefore, analysis is needed to determine the feasibility of afforestation within the region. This study identifies marginal agricultural lands using random forest regression methods and uses process-based Physiological Processes Predicting Growth (3PG) model to determine biomass productivity of these marginal sites. This thesis discusses the following findings: 1. A review of marginal land identified along with key identification features 2. the results of eight 3PG biomass simulations across two parameter sets and four planting densities, and 3. the results of a economic analysis that compares the stumpage value of pulp and bioenergy product outcomes. These findings will provide a detailed understanding of the SRWC afforestation potential in the LMAV
Influence of horizontal grid spacing on numerical weather prediction simulations of clear air turbulence
No full textThe focus of this research was to analyze the influence of horizontal grid spacing on numerical simulations of kinetic and thermal forced clear air turbulence (CAT) by quantifying uncertainty using a resolution ensemble. Previous studies indicated that microscale (\u3c1km) spatial resolutions are necessary to resolve turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) with low uncertainty. Six case studies of moderate or greater CAT, from pilot reports, were simulated at six horizontal grid spacings including 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32km using the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) Model. Results showed that grid spacing does influence the magnitude of uncertainty; however, the relationship between the grid spacings varied with the type of CAT being simulated and the addition of the cumulus parameterization scheme for grid spacings greater than 4km. Overall, higher precision was found between convective resolutions (1-4km), indicating that microscale resolutions are not necessary to precisely simulate TKE for CAT forecasts
Exploring Sexual Dimorphism in a Drosophila melanogaster model of Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 1
No full textNeurodegenerative diseases affect over 36 million people and are characterized by loss of motor control, neuronal degradation, and behavioral changes. The most common of these diseases exhibit sexually dimorphic effects. In this study, Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1) was modeled in the Drosophila central nervous system using the yeast hybrid UAS/GAL4 system. Locomotor activity and clock gene expression was monitored for male and female SCA1 and control flies. Clock genes such as per, tim, Clk, and cyc were monitored over a 24-hour period using qRT-PCR, and distinct sexual dimorphism was detected in locomotor activity and in gene expression for SCA1 flies. Biomarkers of oxidative stress and glial phagocyte receptor expression also revealed significant sexual dimorphism in SCA1 flies. In summary, the results indicate that male SCA1 flies show a significant deviance from normal sleep patterns, down-regulation in expression of the two core clock genes per and tim at peak expression time and enhanced oxidative stress biomarkers with increased expression of glial phagocyte receptors compared to females