Mississippi State University

About: Mississippi State University is a education organization based out in Starkville, Mississippi, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Catfish. The organization has 14115 authors who have published 28594 publications receiving 700030 citations. The organization is also known as: The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science & Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science.

Extraction of Lipids from Municipal Wastewater Plant Microorganisms for Production of Biodiesel

Abstract: Municipal wastewater treatment plants in the USA produce over 6.2 × 106 t of dried sewage sludge every year. This microorganism-rich sludge is often landfilled or used as fertilizer. Recent restrictions on the use of sewage sludge, however, have resulted in increased disposal problems. Extraction of lipids from sludge yields an untapped source of cheap feedstock for biodiesel production. Solvents used for extraction in this study include n-hexane, methanol, acetone, and supercritical CO2. The gravimetric yield of oil was low for nonpolar solvents, but use of polar solvents gave a considerably increased yield; however, the percentage of saponifiable material was less. Extraction of lipids with a mixture of n-hexane, methanol, and acetone gave the largest conversion to biodiesel compared with other solvent systems, 4.41% based on total dry weight of sludge. In situ transesterification of dried sludge resulted in a yield of 6.23%. If a 10% dry weight yield of fatty acid methyl esters is assumed, the amount of biodiesel available for production in the USA is 1.4 × 106 m3/year. Outfitting 50% of municipal wastewater plants for lipid extraction and transesterification could result in enough biodiesel production to replace 0.5% of the national petroleum diesel demand (0.7 × 106 m3).

Fluid interaction for information visualization

Abstract: Despite typically receiving little emphasis in visualization research, interaction in visualization is the catalyst for the user's dialogue with the data, and, ultimately, the user's actual understanding and insight into these data. There are many possible reasons for this skewed balance between the visual and interactive aspects of a visualization. One reason is that interaction is an intangible concept that is difficult to design, quantify, and evaluate. Unlike for visual design, there are few examples that show visualization practitioners and researchers how to design the interaction for a new visualization in the best manner. In this article, we attempt to address this issue by collecting examples of visualizations with 'best-in-class' interaction and using them to extract practical design guidelines for future designers and researchers. We call this concept fluid interaction, and we propose an operational definition in terms of the direct manipulation and embodied interaction paradigms, the psychological concept of 'flow', and Norman's gulfs of execution and evaluation.

Viewing Family Firm Behavior and Governance Through the Lens of Agency and Stewardship Theories

Abstract: Agency and stewardship theories are prominent perspectives to examine myriad issues within family firms. Although considered opposing theories, both address the same phenomena: the individual-level...

The impact of customer‐to‐customer interactions in a high personal contact service setting

Abstract: Purpose – To empirically examine the development and influence that customer‐to‐customer interactions (CCI) have in a high personal contact setting.Design/methodology/approach – Using responses from patrons of different hair salons, the role that salon atmospherics had on the formation of CCI was assessed. Then, the relative influence of CCI on satisfaction with the firm, loyalty to the firm and firm word‐of‐mouth, in a model of service outcomes, was examined.Findings – Results indicate that atmospherics do influence CCI, which in turn is a strong predictor of loyalty to the firm and positive word‐of‐mouth.Research limitations/implications – Care should be taken when generalizing these findings to other service settings. It should be noted that all female respondents were generally more educated and had higher incomes than the general population.Practical implications – This study suggests that positive perceptions of atmospherics will lead to positive CCI effects. If managers determine that they would li...