The role of the research simulator in the systems development of rotorcraft

The potential application of the research simulator to future rotorcraft systems design, development, product improvement evaluations, and safety analysis is examined. Current simulation capabilities for fixed-wing aircraft are reviewed and the requirements of a rotorcraft simulator are defined. The visual system components, vertical motion simulator, cab, and computation system for a research simulator under development are described

Social Media Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses: A Comprehensive Guide to Success and Growth

Social Media Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses: A Comprehensive Guide to Success and Growth, explores the use of social media marketing strategies for small businesses.The purpose of this study is to identify specific strategies, techniques, and best practices for successful social media marketing. Social media has become a powerful marketing tool for businesses to promote their products and services. However, small businesses face unique challenges in the marketing landscape, including limited resources and low marketing budgets. Social media provides a low-cost, highly effective way for small businesses to reach new audiences and communicate with potential customers. With the right strategies, social media can help small businesses build brand awareness, create better customer relationships, and drive sales. By examining marketing analytics from two local startups (Green Llama and Firestarter Mug), implementing dozens of strategies, analyzing research from social media experts, and providing data-proven solutions, this study will help small businesses develop and implement effective social media marketing strategies

Letter to Jean Holcomb regarding award of the Lucile Elliott Scholarship, December 31, 1991

A letter from Nancy Deel to Jean Holcomb accepting the Lucile Elliott Scholarship awarded to her

Assessing the cumulative impact of disturbance on canopy structure and chemistry in Appalachian forests

Eastern forests experience a range of disturbance events over time, from stand-replacing disturbances, such as clear cuts, to ephemeral disturbances, such as insect outbreaks. By understanding the cumulative impact of disturbances on canopy structure and chemistry, we can gain insight into management strategies, assess a variety of ecosystem services, and even contribute to a larger body of knowledge on global climate change. I transformed a series of Landsat images spanning approximately 25 years into cumulative disturbance maps covering Green Ridge State Forest and Savage River State Forest in western Maryland. Intensive field surveys collected during the summer of 2009 provided measurements of canopy N and estimates of canopy cover, understory cover, and leaf cover. I used AVIRIS imagery flown concurrently with field data collection to map canopy nitrogen across both forests. Through this project, I tested the impact of cumulative disturbance on forest canopy cover and canopy nitrogen. I found that increased values of cumulative disturbance had a measurable negative impact on forest canopy structure and canopy nitrogen. Moreover, by testing varying methods of summing cumulative disturbance, I found that past disturbances diminish over time in importance, yet still influence the current canopy structure and canopy N of a forest. Thus, my study suggests that Landsat time series data can be synthesized into cumulative metrics incorporating multiple disturbance types, which help explain important disturbance-mediated changes in ecosystem functions

Microbial succession in human rib skeletal remains and fly-human microbial transfer during decomposition

2022 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.Human decomposition is a dynamic process partially driven by the actions of microbes. It can be defined by the fresh, early decomposition, advanced decomposition, and skeletonization stages. The microbial communities that facilitate decomposition change in a predictable, clock-like manner, which can be used as a forensic tool for estimating postmortem interval. Chapter 1 introduces this concept by describing the stages of decomposition in detail and how high-throughput sequencing methods can be used with microbes to develop models for predicting postmortem interval. Chapter 1 also describes which sample types are most useful for predicting postmortem interval based on the stage of decomposition, the knowledge gaps in the field, and the steps necessary for adoption of this tool into the justice system. During fresh and early decomposition, microbial succession of the skin and soil sample types are most predictive of postmortem interval. However, after approximately the first three weeks of decomposition, the changes in the microbial communities that are used for predictions begin to slow down and the skin and soil sample types become less useful for estimating postmortem interval. Chapter 2 of this dissertation shows that microbial succession of the bone microbial decomposer communities can be used for estimating postmortem interval during the advanced and skeletonization stages of decomposition. First, the bone microbial decomposer community was characterized using 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing from six human donor subjects placed in the spring and summer seasons at the Southeast Texas Applied Forensic Science Facility. A core bone decomposer microbiome dominated by taxa within phylum Proteobacteria was discovered, as well as significant overall differences in the bone microbial community between the spring and summer seasons. These microbial community data were used to develop random forest models that predicted postmortem interval within +/- 34 days over a 1–9-month time frame of decomposition. To gain a better understanding of where the microbes in the decomposed bone were coming from, as healthy, living bone is typically sterile, SourceTracker2 was used with paired skin and soil samples taken from the same decedents. Results showed that the bone microbial decomposer community is likely sourced from the surrounding environment, particularly the skin and soil communities that occur during the advanced stage of decomposition. Chapter 3 of this dissertation focuses on the influence of the blow fly (Calliphoridae) microbiome on human cadaver microbial community assembly. In early decomposition, volatiles attract blow flies to the cadaver, which serves as a source of nutrients and a safe place to lay eggs. It is likely that during this interaction between hosts, there is a mechanical transfer of microbes that subsequently alters each of their microbial communities. While studies have shown that blow flies have their own microbiome, they were not conducted in a decomposition environment. First, Chapter 3 shows the characterization of the blow fly microbiome by organ and season in a terrestrial, human decomposition environment. This was performed by placing ten cadavers across the winter, spring, and summer seasons at the Southeast Texas Applied Forensic Science Facility, collecting the first wave of colonizing flies for each cadaver, and sequencing the 16S ribosomal RNA gene of the labellum (mouth parts), tarsi (leg parts), and oocytes. Results showed that the previously defined universal fly microbiome persists even in a decomposition environment, with notable differences still present between organs and seasons. Additionally, results from using the tool SourceTracker2 showed that the labellum and tarsi act as substantial bacterial sources of the human decomposer bacterial community, and this source contribution varies by season. In summary, this dissertation provides the first quantitative estimate of postmortem interval of terrestrially decomposed human skeletal remains using microbial abundance information. This is a significant contribution to the criminal justice system; anthropologists typically use visual evidence to provide postmortem interval estimates of skeletal remains with errors ranging from months to years, whereas our approach provides estimates with errors of approximately one month. Furthermore, this dissertation shows evidence that there is a mechanical transfer of microbes between blow flies and human cadavers during the early stage of decomposition, which provides ecological insight into human cadaver microbial community assembly

Stretching the Dollar: Exploring the Lived Experiences, Multiple Identities, and Class Politics of Poor and Working-Class Women at the University of Kentucky

In the climate of prioritizing retention and pressure to move an increasingly diverse undergraduate population towards degree, it is critical that educational research consider the multiple, overlapping identities of students and how that influences their experiences on campus. The number of low-income students entering four-year institutions is growing each year, including at the University of Kentucky. This study aims to extend our understanding of social class beyond the material and focus on the affective dimensions of class including language, comportment, and leisure activities in an effort to better understand how poor and working-class women contend with the constraints they encounter in the academy. I conducted twelve in-depth interviews with current undergraduate women at the University of Kentucky that self-identify as poor or working-class in order to answer questions regarding navigating the obstacles of college life, the complexities of multiple identities, and the balance between home and college. Utilizing an intersectional theoretical and analytical framework provided the opportunity to focus on the ways in which their overlapping identities as white, poor/working, class, and rural women fostered multiple forms of oppression and simultaneous instances of privilege. Their experiences of possibility are examined from an asset model in order to highlight agency and power in their class belonging and communities. This work culminates in a series of recommendations for educators and administrators to utilize on campuses in order to nurture poor and working-class women’s experiences on campus and dismantle middle-class norms

A Phenomenological Study of the Influence of Student-Centered Learners on Traditional Teacher-Centered Faculty in Medical Education

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover the challenges for traditionally teacher-centered medical faculty incorporating student-centered learning at the Pharmacy College. The theory guiding this study is Kolb\u27s theory on experiential learning, as it shows how individual experiences provide insight into areas of challenges, especially in teaching methods. This study aims to answer the question of how traditional teacher-centered faculty incorporate student-centered learning experiences to ensure the end result for students in the medical education curriculum. This study includes 12 full-time faculty at a single rural graduate-level degree medical school. The medical institution of a rural graduate-level medical degree institution is the setting for this study. The study utilizes semi-structured individual interviews, document analysis, and questionnaires to perform data collection. The analysis follows Moustakas\u27s approach to transcendental phenomenological studies, guiding the study through steps to ensure the end result provides quality results. The study revealed insight into the lived experiences of practicing faculty within medical education with the following themes: incorporating student-centered learning, challenges in transition, benefits of student-centered learning, and preparation strategies. The study showed a significant amount of medical education faculty incorporate student-centered learning. It also demonstrated that time is a significant factor in this style of teaching. Though this study focused on faculty interpretations, the data collected can show relevance to how students are affected by the time constraint of student-centered learning

Ron Rash’s Serena: A Novel (2008): Dramatizing the Industrial Logging of the Appalachian Forest, and the Continuing Debate Between Laissez Faire Capitalists and Proponents of Government

In this thesis, the author gives a summary of Ron Rash’s 2008 novel, Serena, and discusses the history behind the novel and the time period that the novel was set in. This thesis discusses the socioeconomic struggles of the Gilded Age, and the role of government intervention in the economy and everyday life during the Reformation Era under Theodore Roosevelt, and the implementation of the National Park Service. The thesis goes on to mention why the Smoky Mountain National Park is especially important, for its natural uniqueness and the important precedent the formation of the park represents in the history of the United States of America. Notable historical figures are also addressed, such as, Horace Kephart, Horace Albright, George Masa, and Gifford Pinchot