Meningococcal meningitis is a burden in the African meningitis belt. Before 2010, Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A (N. meningitidis A) was the predominant pathogen causing deathly epidemics. MenAfriVac® vaccine protects against N. meningitidis A. It was introduced in 2010 into highest meningitis risk health districts. There was limited data on the effects of MenAfriVac®, mainly on the degree of relationship between N. meningitidis A and the MenAfriVac® immunization. The social ecological model was used as a theoretical framework for this study. The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess the effectiveness of MenAfriVac® from 2010 to 2017 in 21 out of 26 countries of the African meningitis belt. The four research questions contributed to establishing the effects of MenAfriVac®. An interrupted time series design and nonprobability sampling were used. Secondary data were retrieved from World Health Organization database. The binomial negative regression and Pearson’s Chi-Square tests were used. The study found that after the MenAfriVac® introduction there were 39% decline of incidence rate of the meningitis suspected cases (IRR 0.61, 95% CI 0.48 – 0.79, p < .001), a high degree of relationship between N. meningitidis A and MenAfriVac® immunization (χ2 (1) = 11039.49, p = 0.000, Phi = 0.657, P=0.000), 99% decline of the risk of N. meningitidis A (RR 0.01, 95% CI 0.08-0.013), and 99.6% decline of risk of epidemic due to N. meningitidis A (RR 0.004, 95% CI 0.001-0.016). The study demonstrated that high MenAfriVac® coverage and enhanced surveillance are pivotal to reduce the meningitis burden. Results will be used to inform policy and public health practice to reduce the meningitis cases and improve quality of live in the community.

The aim of the work was to analyze the erosion and runoff conditions in the cadastral area of Ketkovice in the district of Brno. The work focuses mainly on the outflow and erosion situation, the survey of terrain, the proposal of measures with a focus on alternation of crop belt rotation and the Spatial Plan of the municipality in terms of the runoff conditions. The first part of the diploma thesis is focused on the analyze the erosion and runoff conditions. The second part is focused on creating suitable shapes of alternation of crop belt rotation in combination with grass cover and creating a suitable grass line stripe, which will allow us to drain water and increase the amount of infiltration. My work is concentrated on how to apply these measures in the right way. Each of the methods was described and the individual results of the calculations were compared with each other, and subsequently the most suitable method for the given locality was developed. I´ve determined the erosion using the Wismeier-Smith equation in the ArcGIS As far as possible, it would be appropriate to use the most effective proposals for erosion protection using suitable erosion protective means. One of the possibilities is an area measure in combination with a line measure.

This study examines the relationship between transportation infrastructure and social well-being in the United States South, especially in the Black Belt. Specifically, this study focuses on the impact of airport accessibility and improvements on social well-being within the community capital framework in which built capital and political capital acted as a foundational basis for the broader concept of positive community capital. The results indicated that many cumulative disadvantages exist in the Black Belt of the southern United States. The research found that a higher level of airport accessibility is associated with a lower level of poverty and higher levels of health outcomes and net migration. The research further found that having a college and university in a community is associated with higher high school graduation rates, lower poverty rates, and lower unemployment rates. This research has important implications for addressing the cumulative disadvantages and isolation in the Black Belt.

This research presents the results of a bee survey (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in remnants of the Mississippi Black Belt Prairie, a unique physiographical region that is a threatened community covering 14,141 square kilometers in both Mississippi and Alabama. Sampling was performed with sweep nets and Malaise traps. A total of 151 visits were made to several prairie remnant areas during the years 1999 – 2001 with 92 Malaise trap samples. Historical bee collection data from these prairies were incorporated into this survey. A total of 6,140 specimens resulting in 107 species, 51 new state records and eight disjunct species were collected within five bee families: Colletidae, Andrenidae, Halictidae, Megachilidae and Apidae. The most abundant species belonged to the Halictidae. The most common floral families visited were Asteraceae and Fabaceae. The addition of the species in this survey brings the state list of bees to at least 204.

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The largest structural trend of the major lithotectonic boundaries in the Grenville Province is located in Ontario where all lithotectonic belts are deflected around Georgian Bay, termed the Big Bend. The thesis will explore some questions related to the formation of this structural feature such as; how the geometry of Grenville aged thrusting contributed to the Big Bend and what conditions led to the formation of the pre-Grenvillian Central Metasedimentary Belt whose geometrical shape may have controlled the development of the Big Bend. First, the geometrical properties of the major lithotectonic boundaries are explored using a three-dimensional model in SketchUp. SketchUp was designed to visualize three-dimensional 1:1 scale real-world structures in Cartesian space. By utilizing refined isotope and geologic surface boundaries accompanied with seismic surveys a three-dimensional tectonic framework of the SW Grenville Province has been constructed. The three-dimensional model of the Grenville Front, Allochthon Boundary Thrust and Central Metasedimentary Belt boundary provides a visual understanding of how the thrust geometry was superimposed from the top-down, eventually producing the Big Bend. Second, 60 new Nd isotope analyses are presented for plutonic orthogneisses from the Central Metasedimentary Belt (CMB), Grenville Province. The CMB has been identified as a back-arc aulacogen with blocks of rifted crustal basement (>1.35GaTDM) in a juvenile matrix of lavas, intrusions and supracrustal sequences (1.35GaTDM). The Grimsthorpe domain is located in the center of the CMB in Ontario and contains large batholiths that exhibit older crustal formation ages known as the Weslemkoon and Elzevir batholiths. The presented Nd isotope analyses identify domains with older crustal formation ages separated by thin salients with younger crustal formation ages inside the Weslemkoon batholith. The intricate geometry of the isotope boundaries within the Weslemkoon batholith suggest that the Laurentian crustal basement was incorporated in the rift and later broken-up by rift related transtension. Continental rift and rifted-arc settings of the Danakil Depression and Gulf of California are explored as modern analogues along with rifted continental fragments known as the Danakil block and Isla Tiburon respectively. Last, the Queensborough mafic-ultramafic complex (QC) is reviewed. The QC is located at the southern end of the Elzevir batholith. The QC was interpreted as a back-arc ophiolite based on REE ratios and MORB normalized spidergrams which were argued to be comparable to modern back-arc basalts. Upon review of the published major and trace element ratios there is a mantle component that is problematical to explain with a back-arc tectonic scenario. The geochemistry suggests that the QC could be partially derived from a mantle plume. The current tectonic models contend this part of Laurentia formed only from subduction related magmatism but based on the trace element data a plume may have been involved as well. The evidence presented supports the identification of the CMB as a failed continental rift and that the failed continental rift created an embayment in Laurentia which governed ductile deformation during Grenvillian orogenic events leading to the formation of the Big Bend. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Rubber V-belt Continuously Variable Transmissions (CVT's) are commonplace in the Baja SAE collegiate design competition, and are also used widely in the power sports industry. These transmissions offer benefits of simplicity in mechanical design, consisting of only two pulleys, and are easy to use. While most teams in the competition use commercially available designs, custom designs are becoming more common, and the Baja team at Virginia Tech has used custom CVT's since the 2014 season. The design of these CVT's has relied heavily on trial and error, requiring significant adjustments to be made during the testing phase. In addition, only qualitative information is known for the relationship between efficiency and design parameters, such as sheave angle. The goal of this thesis is to create an improved V-belt model that may be used as a design tool. This model provides quantitative information about efficiency that can be used to make more informed design decisions. The belt model also provides insight into the magnitude and relationship between the axial forces in the pulleys. This can be used to create an initial design that is more accurate, and possibly reduce the time required for tuning. A CVT dynamometer was constructed to validate the analytical results for efficiency, and this will also serve as a tuning tool for future Baja teams at Virginia Tech. This thesis will advance the state of the custom CVT design and testing process at Virginia Tech, and hopefully lead to improved results at competition in the future. / Master of Science / Baja SAE is an annual collegiate competition where students design and build an off-road vehicle. Many teams choose to use Continuously Variable Transmissions (CVT’s) in order to maximize the efficiency of the vehicle’s transmission. By continually shifting ratios, CVT’s allow internal combustion engines to always run at peak performance. There are several types of CVT’s, but the most common one used in Baja SAE and the power sports industry is a rubber V-belt design that is controlled mechanically with springs and flyweights. While these devices are used extensively, the underlying dynamics are not well-documented in literature. The Baja team at Virginia Tech builds a custom CVT every year for the vehicle, but the success of the design relies heavily on tuning through trial and error. A better understanding of the dynamics of the belt will result in better initial designs, and will help to reduce the amount of tuning required for the success of the design. This thesis offers an improved dynamic model for a CVT belt, and validates the results of this model through testing on a custom-built dynamometer. This model is also able to predict the efficiency of the transmission, and these results may be used to influence design decisions by predicting their effects on performance. The results of this research will improve the design process for a rubber V-belt CVT and hopefully lead to improved results at competition for the Baja team at Virginia Tech.

Two studies were conducted to compare the efficacy of two behavioral prompts in increasing safety-belt use. Two approaches were used in both studies. The first approach involved showing a sign with the message, "Please Buckle Up, I Care" to unbuckled drivers leaving a parking lot; the second involved displaying the nationwide slogan "Click it or Ticket" (CioT). Participants were 1,822 unbuckled drivers exiting two student parking lots of a large university. Research assistants identified an unbuckled driver, flashed one of two signs, and recorded whether the driver buckled after the prompt, as well as the driver's facial reactions and hand gestures. Of the unbuckled drivers, 34% buckled following the Flash-for-Life (FfL) prompt, and 26% with the CioT prompt (p < .05). Drivers gave significantly more positive facial expressions and hand gestures following FfL vs. CioT prompt (p < .05). The second study used a variation of the procedures in Study I and implemented the intervention at a large department store. Driver age was measured with the previous driver variables. Participants were 1,990 unbuckled drivers exiting a parking lot. Results showed no significant differences in terms of compliance to signs (20.8% for FfL and 20.4% for CioT, p's > .05). Significant differences in hand gestures, facial expressions and ages were detected as a function of compliance, regardless of sign (all p's < .001). Specifically, drivers who complied with either prompt were more likely to be younger, and present positive hand gestures and facial expressions. Implications and future directions are discussed. / Master of Science

This study represents a collaborative effort among university academics and community stakeholders. Virginia Tech's (VT) Center for Applied Behavior Systems (CABS) teamed up with student groups following the death of a fellow student to create The A.R.K. Project. This multiple-component intervention study specifically targeted students on the VT campus, in an attempt to increase driver safety-belt use. Observations on VT students' safety-belt use and other safety-related behaviors (i.e., turn-signal use and cell-phone use) were made during pre-intervention, intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up study phases and compared with observations made on drivers in two non-equivalent control groups (VT faculty/staff and Radford University (RU) students). Evaluation of the project revealed no meaningful changes in daily percentages of VT student safety-belt use, when compared to that of non-equivalent control groups. Percentages by phase did vary in the hypothesized direction for VT students. Percentages by phase varied in similar ways for VT faculty/staff, suggesting the student-targeted intervention, over-all, was not responsible for the observed changes. However, one inter-personal intervention component, the Buckle-Up Flashcards prompt was associated with a particularly successful rate of compliance. Thirty percent of un-buckled drivers complied with this inter-personal response. Because VT student safety-belt use did not change as a function of the intervention, it was irrelevant to investigate response generalization to other safety-related behaviors. Instead, the author focused on covariation between safety-belt use, turn-signal use, and cell-phone use. Buckled drivers were significantly more likely to indicate turns with a turn signal and were significantly less likely to use cell phones. Other additional findings of epidemiologic importance were that safety-belt use was significantly more likely among VT faculty/staff than VT students and safety-belt use was significantly more likely among VT faculty/staff and VT student females than among VT faculty/staff and VT student males. Interpretations of these findings and directions for future research are discussed. / Master of Science

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