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Food Identity
Get PDFFood identities are typically ascribed either based on medical or social definitions or chosen by individuals. But they can also be expressive dimensions of other identity traits such as race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, age, body size, disability, and socio-economic status, among others. What role does the law play in supporting or undermining certain food identities? This Article makes two central contributions. First, it highlights that though U.S. law recognizes food identity as an interest to be protected in certain contexts, it does so in an unsystematized way, contributing to systemic deprivation and discrimination in relation to foodways. The current legal regime often places the needs of the agri-food industry over those of eaters, especially those who are otherwise marginalized. Second, it reflects on how this inchoate law of food identity could be evaluated and reformed. There are plausible claims that some food identities may be entitled constitutional protections under equality law, freedom of religion, and fundamental rights, but they are unlikely to succeed in the current environment. The Article concludes with a skeptical reflection on the concept of food identity, arguing that in its current legal manifestation as a primarily individual and depoliticized claim for accommodation, it runs the risk of usurping and nullifying social and political claims around food.
The argument proceeds as follows. Part I uses various social science literatures to articulate what food identity is and encompasses. Part II offers a taxonomy of different forms of food discrimination against eaters and food businesses. Part III presents the heterogeneous laws and policies that purport to protect food identities. Part IV argues that in theory, some food identities could be entitled to constitutional protection under equal protection, freedom of religion, and fundamental rights doctrines. To conclude, Part V highlights the limitations of framing food inequities as an identitarian problem
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Going for Gold: Designing Climate Smart & Pest Resistant Soybeans (2024)
Get PDFGoing for Gold: Designing Climate Smart & Pest Resistant Soybeans
The 3MT (Three Minute Thesis) is a research communication competition that challenges students to communicate the significance of their projects without the use of props or industry jargon in just three minutes. The winner of the 3MT competition moves on to the Council of Southern Graduate School’s Regional Conference in March 2025.https://scholarworks.uark.edu/mtsturpc/1068/thumbnail.jp
Blackberry Growth Monitoring and Feature Quantification with Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Remote Sensing (2024)
Get PDFBlackberry Growth Monitoring and Feature Quantification with Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Remote Sensing
The 3MT (Three Minute Thesis) is a research communication competition that challenges students to communicate the significance of their projects without the use of props or industry jargon in just three minutes. The winner of the 3MT competition moves on to the Council of Southern Graduate School’s Regional Conference in March 2025.https://scholarworks.uark.edu/mtsturpc/1080/thumbnail.jp
Determination of the Internal Erosion Potential of BCSA Soil-Cement Using a Modified Hole Erosion Test System
Get PDFLevees play a fundamental role in preserving human lives and resources and are the key infrastructure protecting against flood events. In the United States, the levee system is extensive, but unfortunately many of the levees were either not engineered or have well exceeded their intended design life. This was evident after the Midwest floods of 2019, which resulted in the failure of multiple levees leading to costly losses and repairs. In addition, flood levels remained high for days at a time, making it imperative to find fast and effective repair methods. This thesis presents a study conducted at the University of Arkansas in which BCSA (belitic calcium sulfoaluminate) cement was explored as an alternative for rapidly repairing underwater and flood susceptible infrastructure due to its ability to generate high strength in a matter of hours. This research consisted of using a modified hole erosion test (HET) system, called the UARK HET, to evaluate the erodibility of BCSA soil-cement mixtures. The modified system has notable differences from the original HET system by employing a pressurized water supply and flow valve that connects to the upstream chamber, instead of the conventional elevated water tank. In addition, a camera was installed in the downstream chamber for the measurement of the hole diameter in the sample throughout the test. Tests were carried out to confirm that the camera did not affect the functionality of the system or alter the flow in any way. The results of the tests on BCSA soil-cement were compared with untreated soil and portland soil-cement. In addition, two different soils were used during the tests, one with a higher sand content than the other to determine the effects of BCSA in weaker samples against erosion. Multiple factors and mixture combinations were varied (e.g., cement content, curing time, and moisture content) to evaluate the effects. The results indicated that BCSA cement is a viable alternative to portland cement. However, BCSA requires higher water contents for its hydration, making it more susceptible to the adverse effects of clay presence, potentially impacting its erodibility performance more significantly than portland cement
Gate Driver Design in High-temperature CMOS Process for Heterogeneous Integration inside SiC Power Module
No full textThe shift toward electrification in transportation, including electric and hybrid vehicles, presents challenges for power electronic converters. Silicon Carbide (SiC) power devices are promising due to their high efficiency, temperature tolerance, and reduced losses compared to traditional silicon devices. However, their use is hindered by issues such as parasitic capacitances and gate inductances, which can lead to voltage spikes and stress on the device gate oxide, hence impacting converter reliability. Increasing gate resistance can help manage these issues, but it reduces switching speed and increases losses. Snubber circuits can mitigate switching stress but add extra components, reducing efficiency. Active gate drivers (AGDs) effectively control gate waveforms and reduce oscillations but increase circuit complexity. Improving PCB design and device packaging can help reduce signal routing issues, but it doesn\u27t address overall system volume. An effective solution is to integrate the gate driver within the power module itself, reducing parasitic inductance and potentially lowering system volume. This integration also simplifies cooling needs, enhancing the power-to-volume and power-to-weight ratios. Research is focusing on developing high-temperature gate drivers to work with SiC modules, as conventional silicon drivers cannot withstand the high temperatures involved. In the literature, a number of module-integrated gate driver topologies built using high-temperature processes such as silicon carbide (SiC) and silicon on insulator (SOI), as well as the typical Si process, have been showcased. A high-temperature single-chip gate driver solution for power module integration and a thorough system-level evaluation are presented through this dissertation work. The unique gate driver architecture is realized on a commercial silicon-on-insulator (SOI) process that can safely operate up to 175°C, even beyond this temperature. The non-isolated gate driver architecture combines variable drive strength features and other auxiliary protection circuits into a single chip. The protection circuits include active Miller clamp, under-voltage lockout (UVLO), PWM input signal filtration, over-temperature detection, over-current detection, and soft shutdown in case of any fault detection. A detailed architecture of the module-integrable gate driver PCB accommodating this bare die gate driver is presented afterwards. The external gate driver power supply board to provide the required voltage and signal isolations to the gate driver die and their connections to the module-integrated gate driver PCB are also thoroughly outlined. To validate the functionality of this custom-built gate driver, power switch test results are methodically investigated. Towards the end, a conceptual SiC power module with flip-chip capable CMOS SiC gate drivers is presented in an effort to reduce the gate loop inductance even lower and increase the overall system reliability
Investigating the Perceived Invisibility of the Black Woman Leader in Fortune 500 Companies: Understanding Career Pathways Based on Insight and Intersectionality
Get PDFThere is a gap in the literature when examining the intersectionality of race, gender, and class. There is additional distance when evaluating the impact each intersection has on the career development of Black Women (BW) in Fortune 500 companies. The purpose of this study was to use a qualitative approach to investigate how the intersectionality of race, gender, and class impact the career advancement of BW while also identifying perceived barriers, historical patterns of career movement, and organizational efforts to support the ascension of BW in senior leadership. The Systems Theory Framework of Career Development and Intersectionality Theory were examined and applied to understand the barriers and lived experiences of BW as they strive to advance in their careers. Due to defined criteria and limited Black women who occupy senior-level roles (Director and above), participants were selected using purposeful and snowball sampling. The findings indicated that intersectionality presents barriers such as bias, stereotyping, tokenism, limited high-visibility assignments, and restricted access to mentors and sponsors, leading to career stagnation. Despite these challenges, Black women are resilient and intentional in employing various coping mechanisms such as their faith, family, networks, and advanced education to navigate their intersectional barriers. The research contributes to leaders, organizations, and the field of HRD by examining how the combination of race, gender, and class creates unique career challenges for Black women. This study should empower organizations to increase BW representation in leadership roles, consider re-skilling leaders, create career pathways based on intersectionality, and incorporate leadership behaviors and competencies within their teams to promote a more inclusive and equitable work environment. Keywords: Corporate America, Fortune 500, Black women, Senior leadership, Intersectionality, Career Development, Classis
Advancing CRISPR-Based Solutions for COVID-19 Diagnosis and Therapeutics
Get PDFSince the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a variety of diagnostic approaches, including RT-qPCR, RAPID, and LFA, have been adopted, with RT-qPCR emerging as the gold standard. However, a significant challenge in COVID-19 diagnostics is the wide range of symptoms presented by patients, necessitating early and accurate diagnosis for effective management. Although RT-qPCR is a precise molecular technique, it is not immune to false-negative results. In contrast, CRISPR-based detection methods for SARS-CoV-2 offer several advantages: they are cost-effective, time-efficient, highly sensitive, and specific, and they do not require sophisticated instruments. These methods also show promise for scalability, enabling diagnostic tests. CRISPR technology can be customized to target any genomic region of interest, making it a versatile tool with applications beyond diagnostics, including therapeutic development. The CRISPR/Cas systems provide precise gene targeting with immense potential for creating next-generation diagnostics and therapeutics. One of the key advantages of CRISPR/Cas-based therapeutics is the ability to perform multiplexing, where different sgRNAs or crRNAs can target multiple sites within the same gene, reducing the likelihood of viral escape mutants. Among the various CRISPR systems, CRISPR/Cas13 and CARVER (Cas13-assisted restriction of viral expression and readout) are particularly promising. These systems can target a broad range of single-stranded RNA viruses, making them suitable for the diagnosis and treatment of various viral diseases, including SARS-CoV-2. However, the efficacy and safety of CRISPR-based therapeutics must be thoroughly evaluated in pre-clinical and clinical settings. While CRISPR biotechnologies have not yet been fully harnessed to control the current COVID-19 pandemic, there is an optimism that the limitations of the CRISPR/Cas system can be overcome soon. This review discusses how CRISPR-based strategies can revolutionize disease diagnosis and therapeutic development, better preparing us for future viral threats
Efficient Photocatalytic Core–Shell Synthesis of Titanate Nanowire/rGO
Get PDFWide bandgap semiconductor-based photocatalysts are usually limited by their low solar energy conversion efficiency due to their limited absorption solar wavelength, their rapid surface recombination of the photogenerated electron–hole pairs, and their low charge-carrier mobility. Here, we report a novel stepwise solution synthesis for achieving a new photocatalytic core–shell consisting of a titanate nanowire/reduced graphene oxide shell (or titanate/rGO) 1D-nanocomposite. The new core–shell nanocomposite maximized the specific surface area, largely reduced the charge transfer resistance and reaction energy barrier, and significantly improved the absorption of visible light. The core–shell nanocomposites’ large on/off current ratio and rapid photo-responses boosted the photocurrent by 30.0%, the photocatalysis rate by 50.0%, and the specific surface area by 16.4% when compared with the results for the pure titanate nanowire core. Our numerical simulations support the effective charge separation on the new core–shell nanostructure, which can help further advance the novel photocatalysis