Physical mechanisms for delaying condensation freezing on grooved and sintered wicking surfaces

Heat pipes are passive heat transfer devices crucial for systems on spacecraft; however, they can freeze when exposed to extreme cold temperatures. The research on freezing mechanisms on wicked surfaces, such as those found in heat pipes, is limited. Surface characteristics, including surface topography, have been found to impact freezing. This work investigates freezing mechanisms on wicks during condensation freezing. Experiments were conducted in an environmental chamber at 22 °C and 60% relative humidity on three types of surfaces (i.e., plain copper, sintered heat pipe wicks, and grooved heat pipe wicks). The plain copper surface tended to freeze via ice bridging—consistent with other literature—before the grooved and sintered wicks at an average freezing time of 4.6 min with an average droplet diameter of 141.9 ± 58.1 μm at freezing. The grooved surface also froze via ice bridging but required, on average, almost double the length of time the plain copper surface took to freeze, 8.3 min with an average droplet diameter of 60.5 ± 27.9 μm at freezing. Bridges could not form between grooves, so initial freezing for each groove was stochastic. The sintered wick's surface could not propagate solely by ice bridging due to its topography, but also employed stochastic freezing and cascade freezing, which prompted more varied freezing times and an average of 10.9 min with an average droplet diameter of 97.4 ± 32.9 μm at freezing. The topography of the wicked surfaces influenced the location of droplet nucleation and, therefore, the ability for the droplet-to-droplet interaction during the freezing process

Building a Home

Michael WeschThis supplemental paper provides insight into the process of using video production (planning, filming, editing) as an access point to a local community center, Be Able Community. I build on lessons that I’ve learned throughout my time at KSU, focusing on the anthropological perspectives I’ve gained and especially those that intersect with the other disciplines I’ve studied: psychology, trauma studies. I reflect not only on how these lessons have served me during my time at K-State, but also on how I plan to carry them forward into the next phase of life

Exploring the Influence of Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Participation on Leadership and Post-Graduate Career Development

The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is comprised of student-athletes that provide insight on their experiences, influencing policies that affect rules and regulations at the institutional, conference, and national level(s). SAAC participation allows student-athletes to transfer the skills learned on the playing field into a professional setting. These skills are a foundational component for athletes’ character and moral development. Despite the proliferation of SAACs across the NCAA membership institutions, there is a dearth of empirical studies examining these committees and the outcomes they achieve. The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of SAAC participation on post-graduate career development. Using a phenomenological approach to research, semi-structured interviews and observations were conducted with eight former SAAC student-athletes to discover the impacts of their SAAC experience. Throughout the data, two major themes appeared, career preparation and future leadership preparation. Ultimately, the participants indicated that participating in SAAC translated into various leadership skills, helping this population prepare for post-graduation endeavors, and explore their self-concept beyond the athletic realm

Assessment of data on vector and host competence for Japanese encephalitis virus: A systematic review update of Oliveira et al. 2018

Japanese Encephalitis (JE) is an emerging, zoonotic disease transmitted primarily by Culex species mosquitoes (particularly Culex tritaeniorhynchus) carrying the flavivirus Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). Japanese encephalitis virus maintains its life cycle between mosquitoes and vertebrate hosts, primarily pigs and wading birds (Le Flohic et al., 2013). JE is an untreatable and incurable disease that, in humans, can result in inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) causing fever, headache, respiratory signs, gastrointestinal signs, confusion, seizures, coma, and, in some cases, death (Fischer et al., 2012; Kliegman et al., 2015). The United States (US) is considered a susceptible region with great potential for JEV introduction, given the availability of competent insect vectors, susceptible maintenance (avian) hosts, large populations of susceptible, amplifying hosts (domestic and feral pigs), intensive travel and trade activities to and from JEV-affected countries, and areas with similar climatic and environmental conditions to countries where the virus is epidemic. To investigate the risk of JEV introduction and establishment, Oliveira and colleagues performed a risk assessment (Oliveira et al., 2019) supported by a systematic review of vector and host competency for JEV (Oliveira et al., 2018). 3Although Oliveira et al. (2019) found the risk of introduction of JEV in the US through entry of infected mosquitoes via airplanes to be very high, the risk of establishment was considered negligible; yet, increases in international trade and globalization, as well as changes in climate and land use, and the recent incursion of a new JEV genotype into areas previously free from disease, as observed in Australia with the invasion and expansion of JEV (Genotype IV) in the eastern and southeastern states, warrants the need for an update of the review and risk assessment. The objective of this review is to update the systematic review (Oliveira et al., 2018) on host and vector competence of transmission of the Japanese encephalitis virus

MARS/NDRI/KSU Communications Workshop: Part 3. Dhulikhel Conference Responses Distributed to Workshop Participants

A. Day 1 – Consumers (Pages 1-8) B. Day 1 – Producers, Traders Distributors (Pages 9-26) C. Day 1 – Health Professionals (Pages 27-31) D. Day 1 – Educators, Trainers & Researchers (Pages 32-43) E. Day 1 – Policy Makers & Regulators (Pages 44-59) F. Day 2 – Communication Considerations (Pages 60-62

MARS/NDRI/KSU Communications Workshop: Part 7D. Communication Strategy, Tools, and Lessons from the Aflasafe Initiative

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is a non‐profit institution that generates agricultural innovations to meet Africa’s most pressing challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and natural resource degradation. Working with various partners across sub‐Saharan Africa, we improve livelihoods, enhance food and nutrition security, increase employment, and preserve natural resource integrity

A greenhouse study on ground beetle movement and predation rate based on habitat type

Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) are important in agro-ecosystems as generalist predators of invertebrate pests and weed seeds. However, less is known about ground beetles’ cross-over and predation rates between crop fields and grass habitats. This project seeks to identify how ground beetles move between agricultural crops and perennial grass habitats and what ground beetle predation rates are like in these habitats. We created greenhouse environments that mimic these habitats using corn, soybean, and a grass-perennial plant mix. We made planted trays of monocultures and pairwise mixtures of each plant type (6 treatments in total). Ground beetles were collected in grass habitats, marked with paint markers for identification purposes, and released at the center of each plant tray. Pitfalls were placed in a grid pattern throughout the cages for ground beetle recapture data. Their locations were determined using a labeled coordinate system for each pitfall. Pitfall locations were recorded twice a day over a 2-week period. To assess predation rates, moth egg cards were placed at eight locations in each tray for a 48-hour period and the number of removed eggs was counted. We hypothesize that ground beetle movement and foraging will be higher in the grass monoculture when compared to the corn and soybean monoculture. For the mixed plant trays, we expect the ground beetles to have higher predation rates and cross over into the grass habitats. Results from this study will give information on ground beetle movement and predation activity between agricultural crops and perennial grass habitats and can be useful for cultural control practices, such as prairie strips and diversified plantings, for pest management in agricultural systems

Impact of Covid-19 on Foodservice Operations Within Urban Kansas Childcare Centers

Methods: Three COVID-19-related questions were added to an online survey of Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) participating childcare centers located throughout Kansas. Responses were collected from July through August, 2020. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis of open-ended responses were used to identify common concerns. Results: Seventy-nine of the 138 childcare centers invited to complete the COVID-19-related questions responded (57.2% participation rate). The majority (n = 56, 70.1%) reported decreased enrollment, whereas a small number (n = 9, 11.4%) reported an increase. Approximately two-thirds of the centers (n = 49, 62.0%) reported foodservice operation modifications owing to COVID-19-related challenges. Three overarching themes were discovered within the centers’ responses: a) procurement challenges including decreased availability and increased cost of foods, b) changes in meal service including shifting to disposable tableware and ceasing family-style meal service, and c) menu and production changes in response to enrollment changes and product availability issues. Application to Child Nutrition Professionals: Future consideration for CACFP participants include shifting to more shelf-stable foods when faced with food availability issues and utilizing more cost-effective food purchasing options, which might be attained through group purchasing organizations. Well-developed emergency plans such as emergency menus should include plans for procurement challenges. Resources and training to increase understanding and knowledge of CACFP meal pattern guidelines may make menu changes based on availability easier or less challenging. Best practice guidelines, such as family-style meals, may have to take health and safety measures into consideration. As centers continue to experience COVID-19-related issues and plan for a “return to normal”, child nutrition professionals can fulfill an important role in helping centers adapt their foodservice operations to meet the challenge

Simulating water flow in Hydrus 1D coupled with volumetric water content from electromagnetic induction-based model

Master of ScienceDepartment of Civil EngineeringWeston KoehnStacey E. Tucker-KuleszaUnderstanding groundwater flow dynamics is vital for a number of applications which includes water budget modeling, crop modeling and to understand long term soil water interactions. One of the challenges in simulating water flow in HYDRUS 1D model is the initial condition at which the model is analyzed. This thesis proposes a coupled HYDRUS 1D and Electromagnetic Induction (EMI) based Volumetric Water Content (VWC) prediction model to simulate accurate water flow. The main objective of this thesis is to calibrate, evaluate, and forecast the movement of water in Hydrus-1D coupled with a multifrequency EMI sensor. To achieve the intended objectives, an EMI based prediction model was developed to predict VWC from the Apparent Electrical Conductivity (ECa) of an EMI sensor. ECa surveys were conducted and VWC was obtained using a Time domain Reflectometer (TDR) sensor in a field located south of Manhattan, Kansas. The TDR sensors were calibrated to the site and correlation between ECa and VWC was studied. Five different Regression models which include linear, logarithmic, power, exponential and 2nd order Quadratic models were developed, and their performance analyzed. Regression models for relative and absolute changes were also studied along with a nonlinear Waxman-Smits model. Mean Absolute Error (MAE) was used to select the best model amongst the 17 models. The logarithmic model was found to be the best model to predict VWC from EMI sensors as it had the least MAE of 1.46% amongst all the models. The developed EMI based VWC prediction model was used to predict VWC and was used as an initial condition in HYDRUS 1D. Atmospheric conditions and free drainage condition was used as boundary conditions to predict VWC for later dates which were then compared with the VWC obtained from the EMI based model. The HYDRUS 1D model had a good level of correlation with the EMI based model and the MAE was found to be 1.49% indicating the potential to use a coupled HYDRUS 1D and EMI based model to predict future groundwater flow in near surface soil