Drivers of Sustainable Agriculture in a Southern State

This Master’s Thesis establishes what motivates a group of Mississippi farmers to participate in sustainable agriculture instead of industrial agriculture. A database of sustainable farmers was constructed in collaboration with the Gaining Ground Sustainability Institute of Mississippi. This research project used social network analysis with 28 farmers and participant observation and semi-structured interviewing with a purposively selected sample of 14 farmers. This project also explores the sustainable agricultural practices of participants. A map of the social network of sustainable agriculturalists in Mississippi is presented and shows that some farmers are well connected, some moderately connected, and others are isolated. As well, grounded qualitative analysis of interviews identified 4 primary motivations among participants: economic, health, self-sufficiency and anti-government. Overall this project found that motivations are numerous, social networks are weak but growing, and diverse demographics are turning to a sustainable model for agriculture in Mississippi

Bi-rads guide to the non-specialist : understanding the breast specialist's jargon

According to the American Cancer Society, approximately one in eight women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime. This is why breast cancer screening has become so important and why it is being given so much attention by healthcare planners. A standardised and evidence- based protocol for breast cancer screening and breast cancer management is needed to optimise treatment outcomes. This has been the driving force behind the development of BI-RADS, which stands for Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System. In the past, the medical jargon used for describing imaging findings on mammograms, was highly non-standardised and was influenced by personal preference. This often led to miscommunication and sometimes even mismanagement due to misinterpretation of communicated results. These factors led to efforts that started in the late 1980s aimed at standardising mammographic terminology and reporting. In 1993, the first edition of the BI-RADS lexicon was issued by the American College of Radiology.peer-reviewe

Analyzing Symmetry of Stream Valleys to Characterize Possible Neogene Uplift in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina

Recent work has suggested that parts of the Appalachian Mountains were uplifted during the Neogene, based on stream knickpoint analysis (Gallen et al., 2013; Miller et al., 2013). Analysis of the symmetry of valleys has the potential to indicate tectonic activity by determining migration trends of channels. Tectonic quiescence promotes lateral migration of stream bends. This creates asymmetrical bend valleys with shallow point bars and steep cut banks. Uplift promotes downcutting over lateral migration, producing symmetrical stream valleys. Using LIDAR data and ArcMap software, I quantified the symmetry of stream valleys in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina. I calculated the symmetry of valleys by dividing the right valley slope by the left valley slope to form ratios ranging from 0 to 1, with 1 indicative of a symmetrical valley. Where the right slope exceeded the left slope, I inverted the ratio to avoid numbers greater than 1. I measured slope ratios across the Broad, Cullasaja, French Broad, Linville, New, Pigeon, Toe, and Tuckasegee Rivers. To separate similar symmetry values between areas of gentle and steep topography, I multiplied the symmetry value by the average of the right and left slopes. The resultant values were then combined with a knickpoint propagation model to project areas of equilibrating streams and relict topography. Active landscapes were projected across most of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina, excluding the French Broad river valley, which was either unaffected by Neogene activity or equilibrated in the distant past. These conclusions agree with hypothesized locations of active landscapes, in addition to projecting new potential locations of rejuvenation.Bachelor of Scienc

Behind the Lens: A Visual Exploration of Epistemological Commitments in HCI Research on the Home

   In this pictorial, we propose an alternative approach to investigating human-computer interaction (HCI) researchers’ epistemological commitments in research on the home. While researchers’ commitments can be discussed through textual aspects of their research, in this pictorial we conduct a pattern analysis of visual elements as a productive way to further inquire into such kinds of commitments. By analyzing visual elements from 121 works in HCI research on the home, we identify seven types of observers, which can be associated with epistemological commitments in research. We also propose two new complementary observers: the absent observer and the protagonist observer

The Structural Organization of Photosystem II Polypeptides.

The structural organization of Photosystem II polypeptides has been investigated using the protein crosslinking reagent 1-ethyl-3-(dimethyl-aminopropyl)-carbodiimide (EDC), and a library of mono- and polyclonal antibodies. The first phase of this research was to generate the antibody probes against specific PS II polypeptides. A murine monoclonal antibody, FQC3, was characterized. It recognized the D2 protein of Spinacia oleracea L. The second phase of this research utilized antibodies against D1, D2, CPa-1, CPa-2, Cyt b\sb{559}, 33 kDa manganese stabilizing protein (MSP), 24 kDa extrinsic protein, and the 17 kDa extrinsic protein to identify PS II subunits crosslinked by EDC. Several intra-complex crosslinked products were identified. One crosslinked species at 110 kDa (called XL) was identified by two different antibodies and is composed of CPa-1 and the extrinsic 33 kDa MSP. The third phase of this research characterized XL. This was of particular interest considering both CPa-1 and the 33 kDa MSP are required for maximal O\sb2-evolving rates. EDC modified PS II membranes evolve normal rates of O\sb2. An increase in EDC concentration results in increased retention of the O\sb2-evolving rate by CaCl\sb2 washed EDC modified PS II membranes. XL (the crosslinked species between CPa-1 and the 33 kDa MSP) was isolated. Chemical and proteolytic cleavage techniques were used to identify peptide fragments of CPa-1 and the 33 kDA MSP involved in crosslinkage. CNBr generated fragments from XL were identified at 50 kDa and 25 kDa. N-terminal sequence analysis of the 50 kDa species indicated that the 15.7 kDa C-terminal CNBr fragment of CPa-1 is unequivocally crosslinked to the 33 kDa MSP. Additional N-terminal sequence analysis of the 25 kDa species strongly suggests that the 15.7 kDa C-terminal CNBr fragment of CPa-1 is crosslinked to the 7 kDa N-terminal CNBr fragment of the 33 kDa MSP. The large extrinsic loop of the apoprotein of CPa-1 thus appears to anchor the extrinsic 33 kDa MSP of the O\sb2-evolving complex to the thylakoid membrane through charge pair interactions. By helping elucidate the nature of the non-covalent interactions among PS II proteins, these results provide a more integrated view of the structural and functional organization of PS II polypeptides

A Short Guide To Material Speculation: Actual Artifacts For Critical Inquiry

Speculative and fictional approaches have long been implemented in human-computer interaction and design techniques through scenarios, prototypes, forecasting, and envisionments. Recently, speculative and critical design approaches have reflectively explored and questioned possible, and preferable futures in HCI research. We propose a complementary concept – material speculation – that utilizes actual and situated design artifacts in the everyday as a site of critical inquiry. We see the literary theory of possible worlds and the related concept of the counterfactual as informative to this work. We briefly present three examples of interaction design artifacts that can be viewed as material speculations.&nbsp