bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fabrication and characterization of micro-chip based shockwave generator for particle delivery and cell transfection
Authors:   , Korampally Madhuri
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Shock waves have potential applications in many areas such as in geology, seismological techniques, and biomedical applications. Specifically in biomedical field, shock waves can be used to permeabilize cells, allowing a wide variety of particles to penetrate the cell membrane for gene therapy or drug delivery applications. Recently, nanothermite composition consisting of fuel and oxidizer nanoparticles was shown to propagate at velocities in the same range as the heavy-metal azides including metallic azides and fulminates, however, the destructive forces associated with the later materials is not exhibited. Large range of tunability can be achieved by modifying the nanothermite compositions by adding polymers or other nanoscale energetic materials. Also, these nanothermites can be integrated with MEMS based systems owing to their low critical combustion diameters and high energy densities. The present research describes the characterization of different nanothermite composites and the fabrication of a shockwave reaction actuator incorporating MEMS based micro-devices. The actuator was specifically designed for experimenting with biological samples and testing particle delivery and transfection capability which are key aspects in gene therapy. Each actuator component was first characterized to study its effect on the shockwave generation and propagation. The actuator demonstrates the delivery of 59 to 77 kDa FITC-Dextran into chicken cardiomyocytes with cytoplasmic delivery efficiency greater than 90 %, maximum intranuclear delivery efficiency of 84 %, and cell survival rates exceeding 95 % in minimum operating pressure conditions. In addition to the superior delivery efficiencies and cell survival, the results also indicate the ability to control the level of particle delivery. Tunable nanothermite reactions enable versatile pressure generating characteristics which can extend the technology to a spectrum of molecular delivery applications.
The social complexity of woman and child valuation in rural Bangladesh
Authors:   , Schoen Roslyn Fraser
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] This dissertation is about the lives of women and girls during a period of economic and demographic change in rural Bangladesh. This bulk of this change, often referred to as economic development, occurs at the intersection of social and economic institutions at a time when agricultural modes of production are being replaced by wage labor within a globalizing labor market. The lived experiences of this change are structured by family and kinship arrangements, ideology, history, tradition, and deeply-internalized gender norms. The purpose of this research is to document via ethnographic methods several important local effects of the shift to a wage-based economic mode from the perspective of women in terms of their roles as wives, mothers, and daughters.
EFL students' response to the teacher's written feedback
Authors:   , Truong Tuan Anh
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Providing written response to students' writing has been the most widely used method for English teachers to communicate with students of English in EFL/ESL contexts. However, how the EFL students perceive, prefer, and understand the teachersï¿½ written response is by no means conclusive. Researchers, educators, teachers are also puzzled by the extent to which teachers' written response influences the students' writing progress. The current study reports the findings from a mixed methods case study with 20 undergraduate Vietnamese students from an intact advanced English writing class at an urban college in Vietnam. Various types of data were collected and examined, including 24 semi-structured interviews with eight selected participants, 80 argumentative papers written within a period of ten weeks, observations, a survey questionnaire including selected-response and open-ended items, and supplementary materials. The study was designed under the theoretical framework of Second Language Acquisition, Sociocultural Perspectives, and Composition Theories on response and error. The study's aim were twofold: (1) to demystify the EFL students' perceptions of and preferences in regard to teachers' written response, and their strategies for understanding and using the response; and (2) to explore the influence of teachersï¿½ written response on the students' writing progress. The findings both echoed and contradicted the understandings found in current L2 response literature as to how the students perceive and prefer the focuses, the forms, and the types of teachersï¿½ written response, and how the teachersï¿½ written response affects the studentsï¿½ writing progress. The findings also indicate important implications for improvement of the L2 writing curricula and the practice of proving instructional responses in the EFL/ESL contexts.
Modeling the impact of polystyrene microparticles on toxicity of phenol to Artemia
Authors:   , Lizcano Gonzalez Susana F.
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] The increasing use and availability of micro and nanoparticles for use in science, technology and daily consumer products has led to unique challenges related to understanding their toxicity and exposure pathways for proper ecological and human health risk assessments In marine environments for example, plastic pollution constitutes a threat to marine wildlife due to the potential impacts related to entanglement and ingestion of plastic debris. However, studies related to the fate and transport of plastic-based materials fragmented into micro-sizes and their interaction with other pollutants have been limited. The research purpose of this study involved an evaluation of the fate and impact of polystyrene microparticles and phenol (organic pollutant) to a marine invertebrate (Artemia, brine shrimp). The results were guided towards developing a mathematical model that could explain the toxicity of plastic microparticles and phenol to a marine organism. This model was supported by toxicology experiments of Artemia exposed to phenol and polystyrene beads. Results suggested that the presence of suspended plastic microparticles can potentially increase or decrease the apparent acute toxicity of an organic compound to a filter-feeding aquatic organism such as Artemia depending on the affinity of both particles and Artemia to phenol as well as the uptake and retention of microparticles by these organisms.
Developing agents of change : a case study on preservice teacher leaders' conceptualizations of social justice teacher leadership
Authors:   , Ali Urme Nazneen
Published: April 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate how a set of preservice teachers who have been identified as leaders in their teacher education programs conceptualize social justice teacher leadership. A collective, qualitative case study design using five preservice teachers as individual cases was used to address this study's purpose and a social justice teacher leadership conceptual framework was developed and used in data analysis. Two interviews were conducted with each case participant and resulting data were analyzed using the framework. Research findings support potential theoretical expansions of critical pedagogy, transformative learning, and the nature of taking action as a social justice teacher leader. Findings further suggest scholarship and practice should consider how democratic learning environments and servant leadership are addressed in teacher and leadership education. Reflexive practice following the completion of this project encouraged the conceptualization of an Evolved Social Justice Teacher Leadership Model. This new model points to research opportunities extending from this study. Results of this study deliver a call to action involving those who currently hold power for reform in teacher and leadership preparation and PK12 schooling contexts. School administrators must empower teachers as leaders in social justice through professional development and deliberately recruit teachers with capacities for social justice teacher leadership and from programs with such orientations. Preparation program administrators must reform their course curriculum to include the empowerment of future and inservice teacher leaders, with leadership programs holding unique responsibilities in such work. Further, future research should be longitudinal in nature, aim to develop the social justice teacher leadership framework and its new model, and investigate relationships between school administrators and social justice teacher leaders.
Modeling the spread of the 1918 Influenza pandemic in a Newfoundland community
Authors:   , Dimka Jessica Lea
Published: April 2021

Infectious disease epidemics have played and continue to play important roles in human populations. At different geographical levels, the spread of epidemics are affected by multiple demographic, social, cultural, political, economic, and other factors. Variation in these factors often produces different local or regional outcomes, so it is important for researchers to understand how individual behaviors and interactions can produce and explain larger patterns of disease spread. In small, traditional communities, important factors include settlement and household organization, daily behaviors, and relationships among residents. This research uses two computer simulation models to test the relative impact of these factors on disease spread in a small study community in Newfoundland and Labrador in the early 20th century, using data from the 1918 flu pandemic and other archival sources. In the agent-based model, which emphasizes movement to important social spaces, schoolchildren drive the size and timing of epidemics. In the social network model, which reflects important relationships among community residents, epidemics begun by adult women tend to be slower and smaller than epidemics begun by other types of individuals. These results demonstrate that, based on their roles in the community, members of different age and sex groups can strongly affect epidemic outcomes. Further, because simulation models are often used to develop or recommend public health policies or intervention strategies, the different results of the two models indicate the importance of selecting appropriate design features to ensure the best possible recommendations.
Perceptions of higher education : private good or public good?
Authors:   , Dudley John David
Published: April 2021

This study examined the perceptions representatives of southeast Missouri have towards higher education; specifically whether or not participants view higher education attainment as a private good or a public good. The researcher employed a quantitative research approach and collected data, via survey, from 400 participants currently residing in the target region. From these surveys a series of conclusions were drawn based upon demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the sample population and data examined through descriptive analyses, correlational analyses, and analysis of variance testing. The research showed that representatives of southeast Missouri perceive attainment of a Bachelor's degree or higher as more of a public good than a private good. Correlational analysis indicated that the more participants perceived higher education as public good, the more value they placed on higher education attainment. Significant differences among individual perceptions were identified based on gender, income bracket, perceived socioeconomic status when an adolescent, and education level. From these relationships a series of conclusions are drawn concerning the perceptions representatives of southeast Missouri have towards higher education.
A case study of the cognitive apprenticeship model in leadership education
Authors:   , Larsen Christopher E.
Published: April 2021

The cognitive apprenticeship model (CAM) has been examined for more than a quarter century as an instructional model from the perspectives of instructors. However, CAM is also a learning model. Remarkably little has been offered regarding the manner by which learners experience this model, and yet such perspectives are relevant to the successful design of CAM for instruction and learning. Accordingly, this research sought to describe learner perspectives, motivations, and coping strategies through the lived experiences of students as they used CAM within an education program to develop leadership competencies. Collins, Brown, and Newman's (1987) seminal work in CAM followed the theoretical traditions of Piaget, Bandura, and Vygotsky in cognitive and social learning models. Collins et al., elaborated beyond the physical task mastery of traditional apprenticeships to discover tacit knowledge within cognitive apprenticeships by asking, "How do masters think?" That past work begs new questions: How do learners describe their experiences using CAM in education? And are learner and instructor perspectives of mastery congruent? This research developed a case study using a grounded theory technique. Four students nearing the end of a three-year leadership program participated over the duration of a weeklong leadership session. Findings discovered that (1) learners preferred to explore through non-evaluated play; (2) failure elicited greater effort only if the learner initially expected to succeed; (3) humor was a preferred learner coping strategy; and (4) the learner's emotional state influenced adherence to the cognitive model. These findings suggest four key assumptions of learner participation in CAM require further study and refinement.
It's a jungle out there : myoblasts, matrix, and MMPs.
Authors:   , Lund Dane Kiel
Published: April 2021

Extracellular Matrix: Mammalian skeletal muscle is notable for both its highly ordered biophysical structure and its regenerative capacity following trauma. Critical to both of these features is the specialized muscle extracellular matrix (ECM), comprising both the multiple concentric sheaths of connective tissue surrounding structural units from single myofibers to whole muscles and the dense interstitial matrix that occupies the space between them. ECM-dependent interactions affect all activities of the resident muscle stem cell population, the satellite cell, from the maintenance of quiescence and stem cell potential to the regulation of proliferation and differentiation. This review will focus on the role of the extracellular matrix in muscle regeneration, with a particular emphasis on regulation of satellite cell activity. Cell Invasion: The twenty-five known matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) and their endogenous inhibitors, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteases (TIMPs), mediate cell invasion through the extracellular matrix (ECM). In a comparative 3D assay, we analyzed human and mouse satellite cells' competence to invade an artificial ECM (collagen I). We identified a single MMP that: 1) is expressed by human muscle satellite cells; 2) is induced at the mRNA/protein level by adhesion to collagen I; and 3) is necessary for invasion into a collagen I matrix. Interestingly, murine satellite cells neither express this MMP, nor invade the collagen matrix. However, exogenous human MMP-14 is not sufficient to induce invasion of a collagen matrix by murine cells, emphasizing species differences.
The implementation of the migrant education policy in Missouri : a multi-level analysis
Authors:   , Piacentini Katie L.
Published: April 2021

This embedded case study, using contemporary policy implementation research as my conceptual framework to examine the interpretation and implementation of the Migrant Education Policy across four distinct policy levels, three of which are located in Missouri. The findings of this study demonstrate that policy implementers sometimes lack the will and/or the capacity to effectively implement the Migrant Education Policy in Missouri. Differing perspectives on identifying migrant students and using the MAP to determine student achievement are two areas of concern for the policy implementers. All participants suggested that migrants' social and health needs are as important as their academic needs. While engaging migrant parents is a struggle for most districts, a single district was able to involve their migrant parents more than the other districts. The findings of this study highlight gaps and discrepancies in the way the Migrant Education Policy is adapted and implemented at different policy levels, suggesting a communication breakdown or miscommunication somewhere in the implementation process. These findings also confirm the need for additional training for the different policy implementers. The information obtained could be used to improve the implementation process, thereby, improving the state, the regions, and the districts' abilities to provided equitable access to educational opportunities to migrant students in Missouri.
Phylogeography and population genomics of the American black bear (ursus americanus)
Authors:   , Puckett Emily Elizabeth
Published: April 2021

The American black bear (Ursus americanus) is one of the eight living species of Ursidae, and the only one to have speciated in North America (1.8 - 1.2 Mya). This dissertation investigates the contemporary population structure of American black bears across their range; and specifically asks how a translocation of bears affected the population genetics of individuals in the Central Interior Highlands. Black bear mitochondrial lineages began forming within the last 170 kya, whereas the eastern and western nuclear genomes diverged 67 kya. A third nuclear lineage was discovered in contemporary Alaska, which diverged from the eastern lineage 31 kya. These three lineages harbor nine genetic clusters, and potentially more in unsampled portions of the range. These nine clusters may represent evolutionary significant units for the species; however, more work would be needed before proposing taxonomic revisions. The regional population genetics of the Central Interior Highlands (Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri, USA) showed that the majority of genetic diversity in contemporary populations of the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains was introduced from Minnesota, USA and Manitoba, Canada during a translocation of bears from 1958 - 1968. Analyses also indicated that the contemporary Ozark and Ouachita populations were genetically differentiated. Additionally, bears that form a low diversity genetic cluster in Missouri were highly similar to bears from the Ozarks in genomic analyses, indicating a small founding population dispersed northwards following the reintroduction. Finally, I analyzed the accuracy and precision with which the natal location of a black bear may be identified using different inference methods and dataset compositions. While samples were estimated within 201 km of their sample site and with high precision, there was a low correlation between the state or province of sampling and that estimated. These results suggest caution when using genetic data for natal inference problems in cases for trade of wildlife products.
Imagining and improvising with theory and practice : a narrative inquiry with first grade students during reading workshop
Authors:   , Crawford Shonna R.
Published: April 2021

This paper illuminates the possibilities of thinking with poststructural theory when storying an emerging process of engaging in research with young children. The purpose of this paper is to describe processes, tensions, and imaginings while infusing poststructural theories into conversations with data (Deleuze and Guattari, 1987; Lenz Taguchi, 2010; Olsson, 2009). Currently much of early childhood literacy research (Park, 2011; Scull, Nolan and Raban, 2013; Vera, 2011) reports outcome-based findings and implications. While this research is informative, the emphasis is often on children as subjects and/or products/performances resulting from the research. In our narrative inquiry, we (first grade students, teacher, myself) worked together to explore ways students participated in a narrative inquiry about reading during reading workshop. While researching we experienced the ebb and flow-shifts and changes, tensions and challenges, joys and imaginings--of what it meant to participate in research. Thinking rhizomatically with our stories illuminated ways these shifts were initiated by lines of flight-- departures from the norm (Deleuze and Guattari, 1987; Kuby, 2013; Leander and Rowe, 2006). Lines of flight created new trajectories for our research including new ways of participating as we worked toward non-hierarchical relationships with young students. The improvisational nature of participation prompted an imaginative storying of our research through a jazz metaphor. This metaphor revealed relational improvisation with people and with materials as productive for students, teacher, and researcher as we produced our research. Ultimately our research invites practitioners and researchers to embrace teaching as an art, and learning as aesthetic experience.
Methamphetamine-induced hyperactivity and reinforcement learning in rats selectively bred for high and low voluntary running
Authors:   , Sage Andrew S.
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] The goal of the present research was to assess two lines of Wistar rats selectively bred for high (HVR) and low (LVR) voluntary wheel running, in comparison to a line of control (WT) rats. As previous research has outlined the benefits of voluntary exercise on substance abuse, this study investigated the role of possible genetic differences between rat lines on sensitivity to methamphetamine (Experiment 1), motivation to work for and self-administer methamphetamine (Experiment 2a), and learning to press a lever for a food reward (Experiment 2b). Experiment 1 investigated sensitivity to methamphetamine in HVR, LVR, and WT rats by comparing locomotor behavior after methamphetamine administration. Experiment 1 found that both HVR and LVR rats were less sensitive to the locomotor activating properties of methamphetamine compared to WT rats. Experiment 2a and 2b investigated learning to press a lever for a food pellet or an infusion of methamphetamine in HVR, LVR, and WT rats. Experiment 2a found that both HVR and LVR rats were less sensitive to the reinforcing properties of methamphetamine compared to WT rats, evidenced by their reduced lever pressing behavior. Experiment 2b found that HVR rats pressed a lever less for a food pellet compared to both LVR and WT rats, suggesting that HVR rats alone may value a food pellet as a behavioral reinforcer less than the other two rat lines. The results of this preliminary investigation suggest that exercise may be both necessary and sufficient to produce effects on drug use behaviors. One's (genetic) predisposition to engage in exercise may be independent of one's ability to benefit from exercise.
Using participatory action research to support the implementation of universal design for learning in an elementary science classroom : a case study
Authors:   , Lee Eun Ju
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] The purpose of this study was investigating an elementary teacher's implementation of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework in her science classroom through engaging in participatory action research (PAR). This study examined (1) how the teacher developed understanding UDL and how engagement in PAR contributed to it (2) how the teacher's implementation of UDL influenced non-dominant groups of students' science learning experience as well as class climate. The data sources to answer these research questions included teacher interviews, classroom observation field notes, transcripts of PAR sessions, reflections and artifacts. The findings of the study demonstrate that my participant developed knowledge of UDL over time as engaging in PAR. PAR supported her learning about UDL and how to implement it in her classroom. This study also demonstrates that the teacher's implementation of UDL allowed non-dominant groups of students' greater access to information and learning and supported the engagement of nondominant groups of students in science practices. The results demonstrate that the overall classroom climate became more inclusive as the teacher implemented the UDL framework in several ways. The findings of this study suggest that teachers' understanding of students should precede learning of the three principles of UDL. Moreover, teacher education programs should help preservice teachers attend to strengths of students with special needs as well as weaknesses especially related to academic subject areas. The results of this study reinforce the notion that teachers must be supported in translating policy into practice.
Towards high speed high sensitivity optical coherence tomography for in vivo functional imaging
Authors:   , Zhang Miao
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique that has been widely used in clinics and industrial fields. This dissertation, making use of several emerging techniques, works on improving the imaging speed and sensitivity of current OCT systems so that it will be more powerful in imaging biological tissues, live animals and human patients. Dual-band Fourier domain OCT (FD-OCT) has the potential to provide high quality images that can differentiate different types of tissues. However, previous dual-band FD-OCT systems could not give correct information due to inherited limitations in imaging system setup, sample properties and theory. Our new imaging system overcomes these limitations by using unique hardware and software design. In our imaging system, different false signals are suppressed and the signal attenuation due to samples are compensated using proposed algorithms that derived from theoretical analysis. A video card is used to process data in an ultrahigh speed. With high imaging speed we are able to imaging live animals despite the movement of subjects. The high speed also makes it possible to display the imaging volume interactively in 3D. The image quality and information contained in the images are improved. We further developed an OCT imaging system using a special kind of optical beam called finite energy Airy beam. Compared to OCT system using traditional optical beams, Airy beam OCT has the potential to view a much longer range and view deeper inside the biological tissue.
Development and validation of a work mattering scale (WMS)
Authors:   , Jung Ae-Kyung
Published: April 2021

Many people desire work that matters to others and society. However, there is no existing, psychometrically sound scale that measures work mattering with two dimensions, societal mattering and interpersonal mattering. This study reports the development and validation of the Work Mattering Scale. Phase I utilized a review of the scholarly literature, in-depth interviews, and expert feedback to formulate 45 items. In phase II, with a sample of 299 working adults in the United States, exploratory factor analyses were employed and produced a two-factor model with 10 items. In phase III, with another sample of 251 working adults, confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test the initial structure specified in phase II. In phase IV, the construct validity was examined by correlations and factor analysis among the total and subscale scores with measures of psychological wellbeing, vocational behaviors and affect, and positive and negative affectivity. In phase V, 4-week test-retest reliability was calculated. Results provided support for the reliability and validity of the Work Mattering Scale. Implications for use in research, practice, and organizations are discussed. "
You are not an impostor : mediating impostor phenomenon feelings in graduate students through literacy interventions
Authors:   , Cisco Jonathan
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Impostor phenomenon, which refers to an overwhelming feeling of being an intellectual fraud, affects highly capable individuals in a number of creative fields, including graduate education. This convergent, mixedmethods project had two purposes: (1) to identify the ways in which graduate students struggle with impostor phenomenon feelings; and (2) to determine if four literacy-based workshops would reduce impostor feelings in the graduate student participants. Grounded in literacy theory and pedagogy, these four interventions identified impostor phenomenon (Intervention I), explored disciplinary and academic literacy strategies (Intervention II), and taught graduate students how to read academic journal articles (Intervention III) and write literature reviews (Intervention IV). Both quantitative and qualitative data indicated that the literacy-based interventions were successful in increasing the participants' perceived success in their graduate programs and decreasing impostor phenomenon feelings. This project argues for a similar series of interventions to be implemented across graduate programs in order to reduce the significant consequences of impostor phenomenon in graduate students and to ameliorate the fiscal costs of graduate student attrition.
Hierarchical scheduling and uniform access programming frameworks for hetergeneous CPU-GPU computing clusters
Authors:   , Sajjapongse Kittisak
Published: April 2021

The advance of the GPU hardware architecture has made GPUs attractive devices for general- purpose computing. Modern GPUs are equipped with an increasing number of cores, a flexible memory hierarchy, and a large memory capacity. While the computational power of modern GPU devices has allowed their introduction in high-performance computing (HPC) clusters and the efficient processing of ever larger workloads, existing software components for HPC clusters still offer basic support for hardware heterogeneity and often cause performance limitations in the presence of GPU devices. In particular, two kinds of limitations are associated with these software components: runtime support and programmability. We found that these limitations are due to the fact that existing software frameworks for heterogeneous clusters treat GPUs as dedicated coprocessor devices. In this dissertation, we propose two software frameworks for addressing the performance and hardware underutilization issues found in heterogeneous CPU-GPU clusters as well as increasing their programmability. Our frameworks provide a uniform view of compute resources and treat CPUs and GPUs equally as first-class resources, allowing efficient management of heterogeneous compute resources. First, we propose a hierarchical scheduling framework consisting of a node-level runtime and a cluster-level scheduler that provides abstraction of heterogeneous compute resources at different granularities. This hierarchical framework targets existing applications and does not require their modification. In the node-level runtime, we identify and design mechanisms, such as virtual GPUs, GPU virtual memory, dynamic load balancing and pre-emption, which are necessary to support efficient sharing and load balancing schemes for GPUs within a compute node. In the cluster-level scheduler, we introduce mechanisms to abstract compute nodes and perform load balancing in concert with the node-level runtime. Our hierarchical scheduling framework allows supporting different load balancing policies and does not require additional inputs (such as profiling information) from users. Second, we propose a programming framework based on a novel memory and execution model. Our memory model hides disjoint addressing spaces (corresponding to different CPUs, GPUs and compute nodes) and provides a view of a single virtual memory space that can be accessed by all compute resources in a heterogeneous cluster. Our execution model provides uniform access to compute resources and allows our framework to treat all CPUs and GPUs equally and to access data in the virtual memory space.
Exercise, FGF21, and PGC-1 : roles in hepatic metabolism
Authors:   , Fletcher Justin Andrew
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] The liver is instrumental in maintaining euglycemia during times of fasting and exercise, and in-turn exercise is a stimulus that challenges the liver and results in hepatic mitochondrial adaptations. Mechanisms responsible for these improvements in mitochondrial function are not currently known. Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), a powerful metabolic regulator, is one potential mechanism responsible for exercise- induced hepatic mitochondrial adaptations. Previous studies show that FGF21 modulates hepatic fatty acid oxidation (FAO), gluconeogenesis, ketogenesis, and TCA cycle flux, in addition to gene transcription of proteins important to these processes. The purpose of the first objective in the current study was to examine whether FGF21 is necessary for exercise to induce hepatic mitochondrial adaptations in mice. A second objective was to determine if PGC--1? is responsible for the upregulation of genes important to metabolic processes in response to FGF21 signaling. We mechanistically assessed the necessity of FGF21 for exercise-induced hepatic mitochondrial adaptations by providing wild-type and FGF21 knockout mice with running wheels for 8 weeks to promote physical activity. A major finding in the current study is that the FGF21KO mice experience a hepatic fatty acid oxidation deficit compared to the wild-type group and that 8 weeks of voluntary wheel running normalized FAO in the FGF21KO mice. The role of PGC-1[alpha] in FGF21 regulation of gene transcription was also assessed by continuously administering FGF21 (1 mg/kg), or saline into wild-type or liver specific PGC--1[alpha] heterozygous mice (LPGC--1[alpha]) for 4 weeks. It was found that female mice did not express a phenotype effect; however, in male mice hepatic FAO was significantly blunted in the LPGC-1[alpha] mice, yet FGF21 administration was able to elevate FAO regardless in both genotypes. Collectively, this data suggests that FGF21 is necessary for the expression and content of certain genes or proteins, but that VWR is able to circumvent the absence of FGF21 and normalize hepatic FAO. Furthermore, a reduction in hepatic PGC-1[alpha] does not appear to influence the ability of FGF21 to regulate hepatic FAO.
The moderating role of social support on the relationship of maternal stress and infants birth weight of pregnant smokers : a secondary data analysis
Authors:   , Sriumporn Sirinat
Published: April 2021

Low birth weight (LBW) infants face serious health problems. Maternal psychosocial stress may predict LBW outcomes, but the relationship is not consistent. Other factors such as social support and smoking have been studied as contributors to infant birth weight. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between maternal perceived psychosocial stress and infant birth weight among rural pregnant smokers, and to identify whether social supports from partner and other people are protective factors of infant birth weight. This secondary analysis used data from a randomized controlled trial of a social support intervention for poor rural pregnant smokers. The findings show that although pregnant women in this study perceived higher stress level at the beginning of study, they were less likely to deliver lower birth weight offspring and social support from other people plays an important buffering role in this relationship. These results can inform the efforts of health-care providers, advanced nurse practitioners, and researchers to develop potential interventions that may help pregnant smokers reducing stress through increasing social support and may allow for better pregnancy outcomes.
The effect of reform-based science teaching on SES-associated achievement gap on Pisa 2006 : a comparative study of the United States and Taiwan
Authors:   , Tang Nai-En
Published: April 2021

The goal of this study is to examine how reform-based science teaching has been implemented and whether reform-based science teaching has promoted education equity through being available and beneficial for students from different socioeconomic status (SES) family backgrounds in the U.S. and Taiwan. No existing study used large-scale assessment to investigate the implementation and outcomes of the science reform movement in the U.S. and Taiwan. This study was developed to fill this gap using the Program of International Student Assessment (PISA) 2006 data including 5,611 students in the United States and 5995 students in Taiwan. A Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was used to classify students into different science learning subgroups to understand how broadly reform-based science learning has been implemented in classrooms. The results showed that students in the U.S. had more opportunity to learn science through the reform-based learning activities than students in Taiwan. Latent Class Regression (LCR) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were used for examining the availability of reform-based science teaching in both countries. The results showed that in the U.S., higher SES students had more opportunity to learn science reform-based learning activities. On the other hand, students' SES had no association with reform-based science learning in Taiwan. Regression Mixture Modeling and SEM were used to examine whether there was an association between reform-based science teaching and SES-associated achievement gaps. The results found no evidence to support the claim that reform-based science teaching helps to minimize SES-associated achievement gaps in both countries.
Grain yield and greenhouse gas emissions from organic and conventional cropping systems on claypan soil landscapes
Authors:   , Boardman Dara Lynn
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] With increasing world populations, farmers must become more efficient at producing food, fiber and fuel while reducing negative environmental impacts. The first objective of this study was to determine the effects of tillage, cover crops, and compost rate on organic grain crop production, greenhouse gas (GHG) flux, and soil N content. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) of this organic management study were much lower than what others have reported, attributed to drought conditions and the use of compost. Across all crops, TNCC and TCC out-yielded NTCC, primarily due to increased germination in tilled systems and decreased weed pressure. The 1x and 1.5x compost treatments out-yielded the 0x and the 0.5x. The second objective of this study was to determine the GHG flux of fertilizer treatment within landscape positions of corn and switchgrass cropping systems. In 2014, switchgrass CO2 flux was approximately two times greater than corn. Corn N2O flux was almost 6 times greater than switchgrass. Synthetic fertilizer resulted in 2.5-8 times greater N2O flux than the other fertilizer treatments. The summit emitted at least 1.5 times greater GWP than the other landscape positions and synthetic fertilizer emitted about twice the GWP than other fertilizer treatments. In conjunction with this GHG research, an independent study was conducted to determine the effect of depth to claypan (DTC) on corn and switchgrass water use efficiency (WUE) and crop N recovery efficiency (REN). In dry years on depositional soils switchgrass had greater WUE and REN than corn. This research showed that in organic management systems, grain production generates low GHG emissions, NTCC yields less than tillage treatments, and at least 1x of compost is necessary to maintain yields. This research showed switchgrass to emit less N2O and be more efficient with water and N than corn. This could improve the productivity of marginal soils, such as found in Missouri, while providing a renewable fuel that emits less life-cycle GHG to meet the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
Localization mechanisms of small plant-dwelling insects
Authors:   , Gibson Jeremy S.
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Movement is the basis of animal ecology, and understanding the causes and consequences of animal movement is a major goal of ecological research. Movement decisions involve an integrated process of sensory input and behavioral output. While environmental cues are important cues, social cues also likely influence movement decisions. For terrestrial insects, social cues in the form of substrate or plant-borne vibrations are extremely important. Here we investigate how vibratory communication or cues influence the movement behavior of two different terrestrial insect species: thornbug treehoppers (Umbonia crassicornis) and periodical cicadas (genus Magicicada). Thornbug males home in on a receptive female by use of duetting, during which a walking male and a stationary female signal in alternation. By describing the search paths of males we were able to identify key components of female responses, as changed by the plant, which influence male searching behavior. In periodical cicadas, millions of nymphs leave their borrows within a few days of each other to start their above ground life as adults. At present soil temperature is the only cue that has been investigated to explain emergence synchrony, but we collected data from the field for two broods (brood I and II) and emergence synchrony was best predicted be soil temperature plus the presence of social cues.
Conservation payments to reduce tropical deforestation and degradation : evidence from the Ecuadorian Andes to the Amazon basin
Authors:   , Mohebalian Phillip
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Payment for Environmental Services (PES) are market-based policy instruments. Which compensate private resource managers financially for the environmental services their forests provide. As forest PES policies are increasingly implemented; further research is needed to quantify their environmental benefits and to strategize their improved efficiency. This dissertation evaluates PES policy outcomes from a quantitative analysis within the specific case study of Ecuador's Socio Bosque Program (Span.: Programa Socio Bosque-PSB). The PSB is a national forest PES program instituted in 2008. The dissertation aims to bridge the gap in knowledge regarding the role of PES policies in preventing deforestation and forest degradation. It approaches this aim by presenting methods which integrate and analyze data in a way which progresses the science of conservation policy evaluation. Ultimately, the insights provided advance the science of conservation policy thereby preventing the needless degradation and loss of forest ecosystems. The specific objectives of the overall dissertation are to: (1) better understand the relationship between variations in the structure PES contracts and forest owner enrollment, and (2) go beyond measuring the effect of conservation payments in preventing deforestation to estimate their effect in preventing forest degradation.
Posttranscriptional gene regulation of CD4+ T cell cytokine expression by the RNA binding protein HuR
Authors:   , Techasintana Patsharaporn
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Posttranscriptional gene regulation by RNA-binding proteins such as HuR fine tunes gene expression in T cells leading to powerful effects on immune responses. HuR can stabilize target mRNAs and/or promote translation by interacting with their 3-UTR AUrich elements. We discovered that the interaction of HuR with the Il2ra (CD25) mRNA transcript is required for its optimal translation. Conditional HuR knockout (KO) in CD4+ T cells resulted in loss of IL-2 homeostasis and defects in Th2 cytokine production. In an allergic airway inflammatory model, OVA-challenged HuR KO mice had decreased lung cellular infiltration, eosinophilia and IL-13. These results demonstrate that HuR plays a pivotal role in maintaining normal IL-2 homeostasis, augmenting Th2 differentiation and promoting allergic airway inflammation.
No crown without the cross : the formation, existence, and disappearance of the Catholic Stage Guild of Ireland
Authors:   , Cahill Lauren Alexandra Iben
Published: April 2021

[ACCCSS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] In December 1948, an article by Seamus Brady in The Manitoba Ensign claimed, "[The Catholic Stage Guild of Ireland] has branches in every city in Ireland, as well as in Britain, America and Australia." Its presence, according to Brady's article, was overwhelming. And yet by the 1970s, the Guild mysteriously seemed to disappear altogether from Irish society. This popularity and disappearance formulated my dissertation's primary research question: how did the life of the Catholic Stage Guild of Ireland (its birth, success, and disappearance) reflect twentieth century Irish Catholicism and its relationship with the nation? This question encouraged numerous subsidiary questions including: how was the Guild as popular as Brady claims? And if it indeed was as Brady claims, then why did it extinguish? This dissertation seeks to uncover whether the Catholic Stage Guild of Ireland's seemingly short, but powerful years emulating the status and movements of Irish Catholicism in the twentieth century The Catholic Stage Guild of Ireland dramatically depicted the heartaches and successes of the Irish Catholics. Created by firm Catholics during a time in which the religion was celebrated, then altered, then slandered, the Catholic Stage Guild offers insight into individual attitudes concerning the state of the country and its primary religion. A study of the Catholic Stage Guild (which until now has not been conducted) will not only examine the history and purpose of this group of Catholic artists, but also falls in the foreground against the backdrop of twentieth century Ireland and provides insight into the movements of Irish Catholicism and nationalism during this time. Ultimately, this dissertation provides a historical context for Catholics to understand the relationship between Irish Catholicism, Irish nationalism and Irish theatre in the twentieth century, as well as provides non-Catholics with a sense of the importance of a Catholic Stage Guild in a time consumed by religious conflict.
Genetic linkage of multiple modifications in the pig - WITHDRAWN
Authors:   , Beaton Benjamin Paul
Published: April 2021

Genetic engineering facilitates heritable modification of target genomes. Modifications can be site-specific or random. Though inefficient, homologous recombination allows for precise genome modification. Random integration can be very efficient, but lacks the opportunity to control the orientation and location of the introduced DNA. Thus, an efficient method for site-specific integration into a predetermined location would have utility. The ability to precisely modify the genome has and will continue to have profound effects in the fields of agriculture and human medicine. The current protocols used are effective, but additional enhancements in the efficiencies are desirable. In particular, any added efficiency to modify the genomes in livestock species will have a profound impact. This is due in large part to the expenses related to husbandry of large animals in comparison to that of small animals. The aim of this dissertation was to develop an efficient system(s) to precisely modify the pig genome and to develop a system(s) that would link multiple modifications, both a gene knockout and additional transgenes. There were three main topics that were evaluated: 1) Phic31 recombinase-mediated gene stacking in pigs, 2) the effect of donor DNA length in nuclease-mediated gene targeting, and 3) CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene stacking and gene targeting.