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Crop Insurance and Weather Risk: Decision Tools and the Effects of Rising Temperatures in Kentucky
No full textThis thesis investigates how rising temperatures and climate variability affect crop insurance decisions and premium rates for corn and soybean farmers in Kentucky. It introduces a new decision-support tool, the Crop Insurance Decision Maker (CIDM), which helps producers evaluate the financial trade-offs of various crop insurance products under different risk preferences. The first chapter details the tool’s development, function, and potential to improve farmer understanding of insurance options. The second chapter quantifies how +1°C and +2°C warming scenarios impact yield risk and crop insurance premium rates using 73 years of corn yield data, 51 years for soybean yield, and weather data. Results indicate that high temperatures significantly reduce average yields, increase yield variability, and raise actuarially fair premium rates. Corn experiences greater yield reductions than soybeans under warming scenarios, but soybeans show relatively larger increases in premium rates. These findings demonstrate the urgent need for climate-resilient reforms to the Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP) and highlight the value of educational tools in helping producers adapt to a changing climate
Regional Authority and Economic Interaction in the Eastern Lower Papaloapan Basin, Veracruz, Mexico
No full textThis dissertation examines various networks of interaction underlying political and economic organization through a series of three papers that investigate the Eastern Lower Papaloapan Basin (ELPB), Veracruz, Mexico. The three papers are linked through their shared concern with a reliance on models of political economies that fall short in capturing the diverse and nuanced ways individuals and groups cooperated. While my primary focus is on the Early Classic period (AD 300-600), I engaged diverse datasets that provide context from which the ELPB’s Classic period societies emerged. The first two papers present the results of technological and geochemical analyses of obsidian and ceramic artifacts collected during a regional survey conducted in the ELPB. The obsidian dataset supports the interpretation of groups in the region’s countryside holding considerable autonomy in their domestic economic pursuits through the persistence of decentralized acquisition networks based in cooperative relationships among households linked across regions. The ceramic dataset shifts the focus to interelite relationships, employing a two-tiered methodology for the compositional analysis of nonlocal ceramic wares that allowed for the identification of multiple overlapping spheres of inter- and intraregional interaction among the upper echelons of the regional hierarchy.
The final paper proposes a renewed synthesis of the ELPB’s Early Classic period, reconciling the findings of the first two papers with preexisting data from the region. This synthesis captures a significant reorganization of authority in the ELPB that resulted in a proliferation of dispersed polities taking advantage of the fracturing centralized power long commanded by the region’s ancient, most influential polity, Tres Zapotes. These new subregional capitals feature monumental architectural cores and acted as nodes of interaction distributed across the landscape where economic, religious, and administrative activities were concentrated. However, this distributed network of monumental nodes and their duplicate services acted to diffuse autocratic power in the region, instead producing political and social interdependencies among the subregional capitals and groups in the countryside. Ultimately, this dissertation significantly contributes to our understanding of Classic period regional authority and interaction in the Eastern Lower Papaloapan Basin as well as broader work in modeling intraregional politico-economic systems
The Pink Flamingo
No full textThe service industry in America is one of the few industries where employees rely on tips for the majority of their paycheck. Often, front-of-house workers are paid as little as $2.13 an hour by restaurants in the U.S. For owners, this essentially means having a free workforce. But the dynamic created by relying on tips fosters an imbalance of power between staff, management and their guests. Often leading to the exploitation of lower-level staff like issues of sexual harassment, an unsafe working environments and lack of job security. This collection of nonfiction essays was meant to be an analysis of my personal experiences in the service industry as a bartender and server, especially at a job that seemed to be the epitome of this exploitation, the Pink Flamingo. I focus on the people, often unseen, who live on a tipped wage
Zebrafish Models to Uncover Targetable Mechanisms of Self-Renewal In T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
No full textRelapsed T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (T-ALL) patients have dismal prognosis, with 5-year overall survival rates of 10% for adults and 36% for children. Relapse is attributed to the inability of chemotherapy agents to eliminate Leukemia Stem Cells (LSCs) that can repopulate the leukemia. Those cells exist with a unique genetic, transcriptomic, and metabolic profile compared to the rest of the leukemia and thus, finding targeted therapies toward this population of cells can result in disease eradication and elimination of relapse. However, investigating LSCs is challenging-particularly in T-ALL- for two reasons: 1) the lack of robust surface markers that define LSCs and 2) those cells exist at very low frequency in T-ALL mouse models and patient samples.
A transgenic model of rag2-myc–derived T-ALL in zebrafish offers solutions to these challenges. Leukemia clones derived from this model have LSC frequency of ~10%, compared to \u3c 0.01% in mouse models, generating an excellent environment to interrogate T-ALL LSC biology and identify specific targets.
Across my thesis projects, I capitalized on zebrafish as an animal model and on FDA-approved compounds- to facilitate clinical translation to identify novel inhibitors of self-renewal in T-ALL. Through an in vivo, target-based drug screening, we identified Erlotinib as an inhibitor of Wnt/β-catenin signaling and a blocker of self-renewal in T-ALL. A subsequent phenotypic drug screening using \u3e2,500 CG1 zebrafish identified Amiloride as an inhibitor of T-ALL LSC in vivo and in vitro. Amiloride is also an inhibitor of the Sodium Hydrogen Exchanger-1 (NHE1). Importantly, NHE1 has not been previously linked to self-renewal in hematologic malignancies, presenting a novel therapeutic strategy to inhibit LSCs.
Inhibition of NHE1 through pharmacological treatment or KD studies resulted in impaired mitochondrial function and morphology. This was evident through the multi-omics profiling of KD cells. Transcriptomics and proteomics analysis identified downregulation in oxidative phosphorylation and mitochondrial biosynthesis pathways, while untargeted metabolomics revealed global metabolic reprogramming. These findings underscore the critical contribution of mitochondria to LSC biology and function.
In summary, my thesis leveraged a zebrafish T-ALL model with high LSC frequency to uncover novel regulators of self-renewal. I have integrated in vivo modeling, drug repurposing, multi-omics approaches to identify LSC specific vulnerabilities with the over-all goal of achieving durable remission for T-ALL patients
How to Eat Right and Why We Ask that Question
No full textWhat does it mean to “eat right?” The notion is, of course, culturally, historically, nationally, politically, ethnically, and class determined. For the purposes of this project, however, I am particularly interested in changing notions of what it means to “eat right” within the post-World War II to the early new millennium American context, as such notions are represented within the prescriptions of popular culture. I turn to popular culture because this is the commons of the hegemonic call to “normalcy”—this is where we all learn to imitate, aspire, or rebel against a generic American consumer-self in conformity with the biases, covert agendas, and desires of the collective cultural norms of a given historical moment. The “normal” might be something to strive toward or in many cases to resist and rebel against. The “ideal” (of those oriented toward either the “normal” or the “rebel”) may not be within the grasp of many, but these aspirational ideals always serve as powerful cultural presences
VALORIZING MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE FOR SUSTAINABLE AVIATION FUEL AND POLYHYDROXYALKANOATE BIOPLASTICS: PYROLYSIS AND MICROBIAL PATHWAYS
No full textThe escalating global burden of municipal solid waste (MSW), projected to reach 3.88 billion tons annually by 2050, calls for innovative valorization strategies to mitigate environmental impacts and promote a circular bioeconomy. This thesis investigates the conversion of MSW into two high-value products: sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) bioplastics. Chapter one presents comprehensive physicochemical characterization and pyrolysis-GC/MS analysis of MSW feedstocks. The physicochemical results reveal that densification enhances handling and storage properties, while pyrolysis-GC/MS analysis indicates that plastic-rich MSW streams produce bio-oils with favorable hydrocarbon profiles suitable for SAF production, potentially contributing to decarbonization efforts in the aviation sector. Chapter two explores microbial conversion of the pyrolytic bio-oil aqueous fraction (BAF) by Haloferax mediterranei archaea for PHA biosynthesis. Results show that low BAF concentrations (0.1%) support moderate PHA production (0.133 ± 0.04 mg/mL on Day 4), while higher concentrations highlight the need for detoxification or other strategies to mitigate the effects of inhibitory compounds. This work explores valorizing an underutilized byproduct of MSW pyrolysis to produce a biodegradable alternative to conventional plastics, whose global production is projected to exceed 1,000 million tons by 2050. By integrating thermochemical and microbial pathways, this study demonstrates MSW’s potential as an abundant, low-cost feedstock for sustainable materials and fuels, contributing actionable insights for advancing waste-to-resource innovations within circular bioeconomy frameworks
The Status of Children’s Dental Health in Rural Appalachian West Virginia
No full textIntroduction: Non-metro/rural Appalachian West Virginia (WV) residents have been stigmatized for poor oral health (OH), despite many advances.
Purpose: The aims of this study were to examine current OH in children in WV, as compared to children in the greater United States (U.S.), and secondarily in subgroup non-metro/rural comparisons.
Methods: This observational study involved the U.S. National Survey of Children’s Health 2022–2023 data from parents/guardians who were asked about their child’s previous 12-month OH. Rao-Scott Chi-square and logistic regression analyses were used.
Results: Nationally, the mean age was 9.7 years; for WV children, it was 9.9 years. Nationally, 12.4% of children lived in non-metro/rural areas; in WV, 36.5% of children lived in non-metro/rural areas. Children from WV were similar or had slightly more positive outcomes of being more likely to see a dentist, have a dental prophylaxis, have a professional fluoride treatment, have sealant placement, and to have both preventive dental and medical care, as compared to children in the rest of the nation. Among non-metro/rural children, WV children were more likely to see a dentist and have ≥1 preventive dental visit(s), dental prophylaxis, oral hygiene instructions, fluoride, sealant(s), and to have both preventive dental and medical care.
Implications: Children living in WV have similar or slightly better OH than children living in the U.S. overall. Similarly, children living in non-metro/rural WV have similar or slightly better OH than children living in non-metro/rural U.S. These positive results are often obscured by the previous health history in rural WV. Overall, there remains a need to continue to improve OH, particularly in improving the number of children who have preventive dental care
Who Reconstitutes the Chemotherapy? The Educational and Practice Needs of Oncology Pharmacists in West Africa: A Call for Multidisciplinary Team Approach in Oncology Care.
No full textPURPOSE: Oncology pharmacists (OPs) play a crucial role in cancer care, treatment, survivorship, and multidisciplinary teams (MDTs). OPs have specialized training in designing, administering, monitoring, and modifying oncology chemotherapy; managing adverse events; and evaluating clinical trials and investigational drugs. Yet, the state of OP has remained largely unknown in the clinical oncology workforce of the West African region. Therefore, this study aimed to understand who reconstitutes chemotherapy and to explain the OP educational and practice needs, challenges, and solutions in Nigeria.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using a concurrent embedded mixed method design, 35 OPs completed a questionnaire, and 12 others responded to a semistructured interview. The data were then subjected to inductive thematic and descriptive analyses.
RESULTS: The findings showed that 54% of the OPs were responsible for chemotherapy reconstitution, and only 60% of the oncology centers had a biosafety cabinet. 91% of OPs were practicing; however, only 54% were trained in OP, and none of the OPs were board-certified. Most of the OPs spent time weekly on reconstitution, administrative duties, teaching, and training; only 3% spent on oncology clinical trials and conferences and 8% on noninterventional research. We identified four themes: (1) Some OPs are not reconstituting chemotherapy: A Call for MDT, (2) For OP, No Training is Enough, (3) Board Certification will give OPs Recognition, and (4) Introduction of OP Course in Universities.
CONCLUSION: To improve patient treatment outcomes, training on chemotherapy reconstitution should be prioritized, integration of OPs into MDTs, and the safe handling of chemotherapy in centers should be mandated in the region. The West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists should be supported in expanding its curriculum and introducing OP fellowships
The Greatness of a Nation: How United States v. Stevens Continues to Rubber Stamp Animal Cruelty
No full textAnimal cruelty has long been an issue in American law. Even before the colonies became Free and Independent States, early laws prohibited the abuse of any bruite [sic] Creature usually kept for man\u27s use. Today, such prohibitions have stretched even further. Federal law protects laboratory animals, livestock, pets, and wildlife to varying degrees. Federal prosecutorial bodies have increasingly been taking animal cruelty more seriously. And state laws often protect animals to an even greater extent than their federal counterparts. These animal welfare successes, however, routinely fall short due to reporting and enforcement issues--issues made worse by the U.S. Supreme Court\u27s ruling in United States v. Stevens, which struck down a federal statute criminalizing certain depictions of animal cruelty
