bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Study of magnetohydrodynamic effects for the richtmyer-meshkov instability
Authors:   , Black Wolfgang Justice
Published: April 2021

This work presents experimental and computational studies of the Richtmyer-Meshkov (RM) instability with Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effects. The experimental work does not consider the instability or its growth, but rather developes an atmospheric plasma jet for use in future magnetohydrodynamic experiments. The operating conditions of the torch are explored to optimize the ionized length of the plasma jet by varying the voltage-current characteristics and the gas low rates. Probe, spectral, and visual diagnostics are also developed in an effort to characterize the plasma. The probe diagnostics were unsuccessful but discussions are included to help improve the technique. The visual Mie-Scattering like technique is able to capture qualitative images of the plasma flow field and are ready for use in future hydrodynamic experiments where the qualitative growth is of interest. Simulations utilized the hydrocode FLAG, developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory, are performed on a 2D shock cylinder plasma-air interface where MHD effects work to remove vorticity from the interface and suppress RM growth. To study this magnetic field orientation, magnetic field strength, and incident Mach number are all varied in this study. It was found that the orientation of the magnetic fi eld relative to the shock wave direction causes different morphology and can effect the amount of observable RM suppression. Similarly, increasing the magnetic field strength reduces the effects of the baroclinic vorticity, responsible for RM growth, by generating strong MHD waves which carry the vorticity away from the interface quicker. Increasing the Mach number can also cause varying qualitative effects, with greater Mach numbers showing greater interfacial compression. But comparing the MHD RM to the RM instability at a single Mach number still shows suppresion of the instability. Finally a 3D cylindrical interface is simulated using the hydrocode ARES. These simulations compare the cylindrical Richtmyer-Meshkov to two cases of the MHD-RM instability; one with a parallel and one with a perpendicular magnetic fi eld of 500 Guass. As per literature, the magnetic cases exhibit suppression through decreased enstrophy, vorticity, and mixedness with respect to time in addition to the clear morphological differences.
An investigation of urban bat ecology in Baltimore, Maryland
Authors:   , Carpenter Ela Sita
Published: April 2021

In North America, bats are a taxon of concern that play an important role in insect control, and their response to urbanization varies. I wanted to discover if evaluating environmental and socioeconomic variables present in an urban landscape can help determine what bat species were present and how active these species were. Research occurred in Baltimore, Maryland, a 'shrinking' city in the eastern US, which had no prior research on the bat community. For my first project, I used active acoustic monitoring to evaluate how bat activity levels (amount of detected acoustic sequences) and the bat community varied along both a direct and indirect rural to urban gradient. Nine sites along the Gwynns Falls watershed in Baltimore County and City were used the gradient. Over 1,500 sequences (detection files) were recorded from six species and I found that the direct and indirect measures of urbanization gradient used are not a predictor of bat presence and activity. For my next project I used passive acoustic monitoring to record bat activity at 32 vacant lots within Baltimore City to determine which environmental and socioeconomic variables best predict bat species richness and activity at these small, informal, understudied urban greenspaces. Environmental and socioeconomic data was obtained using on-site measures, GIS, and US Census data. There were no predictors for overall species richness. Canopy-associated measures at both the site and neighborhood scale, streetlights, site distance from water and the urban core, residential race and income, old housing, and rental housing were all common predictors of bat species' activity levels. Species relationships with these predictors varied and some species had additional predictors, suggesting that bats use the urban landscape to different degrees. Some larger lots could potentially be managed to have vegetation structural complexity (allowing both canopy cover and open space to accommodate bat species with different traits), but many lots are too small to do this. Vacant lots closer to water and larger patches of forests have the most potential to be managed for bats.
Becoming within entangled spaces of artistic practice, an illustrated autoethnography
Authors:   , Irons Bethanie
Published: April 2021

Because of the prevalence of social media in contemporary artistic life, it is important that questions be asked and research be conducted to inform our understanding of it and to potentially enhance our relationship with it. The entanglement of more traditional artist spaces with social virtual spaces can have an impact not just on what artists make and how they self-curate, but also how, when, and where learning takes place. The possibilities and complexities of this hybrid space of artistic practice can have a real effect on the lives of creatives. As an artist living in an increasingly digitized world, the implications have extended far beyond my own studio and have impacted the quality of my interactions with others, self-efficacy, and how I learn. This autoethnography examines the impact of hybrid artistic space on the practice of others and what the main concerns are. I then investigate how these concerns are revealed in my own practice. By embedding my experience within the lives of others, I can deeply consider the impact of those concerns in relation to my community of practice. These discoveries are intended to assist in my own development as an artist, researcher, and teacher, but also to provide a more focused portrait of artistic becoming in the twenty-first century.
Vietnamese educational leaders as border crossers : Vietnam and academic and career guidance and counseling activities
Authors:   , Nguyen Thi Kieu Van
Published: April 2021

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to seek a deeper understanding of Vietnamese high school principals' perceptions of academic and career guidance and counseling (ACGC) activities in terms of preparing students for their future academic and career paths. Moreover, this study also sought to understand difficulties they perceived and faced in the design and implementation of ACGC activities, then explored strategies which the principals used to sustain their abilities to implement these activities. The primary data for this research mainly came from individual semi-structured interviews with 11 Vietnamese high school principals from eight urban and three suburban areas of Hanoi, Vietnam. Findings from this study showed that there were differences in the ways the principal participants in this study thought about ACGC activities, viewed challenges, and spent resources, which affected the success or the failure of ACGC activities. As a theoretical contribution, this study emphasized the significance of becoming "border crossers" or border crossing principals who are able to improve education by adopting a new educational opportunity like ACGC activities to better facilitate the academic and career development of all students. In the last chapter, the discussion of the key findings and their implications drawn from the study have the potential to benefit a variety of audiences, including Vietnamese high school principals who want to better prepare before designing and implementing the activities and Vietnamese policymakers, teachers, school staff, college leaders and faculty, parents, and interested individuals and community organizations who would like to provide support for high school students' career and academic development and to boost related educational reforms.
Leader-member exchange in education : the effects of principal and teacher dyadic relationship quality
Authors:   , Smith Robin Leight
Published: April 2021

The purpose of this qualitative research is to explore the dyadic relationship between principals and novice teachers that have decided to leave teaching as a career. The participants in this study are novice teachers that left teaching in their first to fifth year of their educational career. This research utilized Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX) as a lens to investigate if the existence of high or low LMX relationships between principal and teacher had an impact on the teacher's sense of relational trust with the principal and colleagues, self-efficacy, creativity, sense of autonomy, sense of belonging, happiness, and decision to leave teaching. The research also included generational identifiers to better understand the needs of the novice teacher and if there was an impact on their decision to leave based upon a generational gap between them and their principal.
Privacy preservation in mobile social networks
Authors:   , Steiert Douglas
Published: April 2021

In this day and age with the prevalence of smartphones, networking has evolved in an intricate and complex way. With the help of a technology-driven society, the term "social networking" was created and came to mean using media platforms such as Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter to connect and interact with friends, family, or even complete strangers. Websites are created and put online each day, with many of them possessing hidden threats that the average person does not think about. A key feature that was created for vast amount of utility was the use of location-based services, where many websites inform their users that the website will be using the users' locations to enhance the functionality. However, still far too many websites do not inform their users that they may be tracked, or to what degree. In a similar juxtaposed scenario, the evolution of these social networks has allowed countless people to share photos with others online. While this seems harmless at face-value, there may be times in which people share photos of friends or other non-consenting individuals who do not want that picture viewable to anyone at the photo owner's control. There exists a lack of privacy controls for users to precisely de fine how they wish websites to use their location information, and for how others may share images of them online. This dissertation introduces two models that help mitigate these privacy concerns for social network users. MoveWithMe is an Android and iOS application which creates decoys that move locations along with the user in a consistent and semantically secure way. REMIND is the second model that performs rich probability calculations to determine which friends in a social network may pose a risk for privacy breaches when sharing images. Both models have undergone extensive testing to demonstrate their effectiveness and efficiency.
Molecular mechanisms of enzyme dysfunction in human phosphoglucomutase-1 deficiency
Authors:   , Stiers Kyle Matthew
Published: April 2021

Human phosphoglucomutase-1 (PGM1) belongs to the [alpha]-D-phosphohexomutase superfamily, an ancient lineage of enzymes critical for carbohydrate metabolism. PGM1 catalyzes the interconversion of glucose-1-phosphate and glucose-6-phosphate, acting as the pivot between energy storage and utilization. Recently, PGM1 has been implicated as the monogenic cause of an inherited metabolic disease in humans, called PGM1 deficiency. The disease presents with highly variable phenotype in patients and is difficult to diagnose. Furthermore, genotype-phenotype relationships remain unclear-even in siblings with the same missense variants, no obvious correlation exists. PGM1 deficiency is a unique research opportunity due to the lack of clear rationale for varying effects of missense variants, availability of patient data, favorable in vitro behavior of recombinantly expressed PGM1, and the limited number of structural studies characterizing individual missense variants. In this work we have characterized multiple molecular mechanisms of disease through X-ray crystallography and biochemistry. Thus, this work provides a foundation for physicians to make much more accurate prognostic decisions when advising patients, identifies variants with possible therapeutic interventions, and informs us of key dynamics and structural features required for proper functioning of human PGM1.
Dual path electromechanical transmission for off-highway vehicles
Authors:   , Al-Mudhafar Mohammed Hameed
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Hydraulic motors have been used in off-highway vehicle transmission systems. Recently, many industrial manufacturers have adopted electrical motors to provide propulsion for off-highway vehicles such as excavation machines and dozers. In this work, a comprehensive comparison is presented on the differences between a hydraulic motor and a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM). An efficiency map, moment of inertia, and energy consumption, as well as dynamic behavior are used to present specific information about the two motors. Efficiency maps indicate that PMSMs are more efficient than hydraulic motors. The moment of inertia study gives an idea about the size difference between the two motors where it shows that the hydraulic motor is much smaller than the PMSM, even though they both have the same output torque. A load analysis was conducted to determine the dynamic behavior of the two motors, measuring each motor's response to the test loads and how much energy each motor consumes. This dissertation presents a new transmission system design by replacing all hydraulic components in a dual path hydrostatic transmission with electric components. The hydraulic motors are replaced with the PMSMs, and two pumps are replaced with one generator. Since all the components are now electric, the new design is called a dual path electromechanical transmission. The results showed that the new design with electromechanical can do the same task with less energy consumption and higher efficiency.
Three essays on China's housing market, monetary policy and macroeconomy
Authors:   , Jia Yifeng
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] This dissertation studies China's housing market and macroeconomic activity with a strong focus on the role of monetary policy behind the markets. The first two chapters concentrate on the house price dynamics in China. Chapter 1 examines the in influence of monetary policy on China's housing price fluctuation by estimating a VAR model with China's aggregated house price data from 1998Q1 to 2015Q4. The monetary policy shock is identify ed by the sign restriction approach following Uhlig (2005), with the identification assumptions extended to three common policy instruments utilized by the central bank of China: interest rate, required reserve ratio and M2. The results suggest a negative impact of a contractionary monetary policy shock on the house price, and M2 tends to be the most effective monetary instruments in terms of policy transmission. The framework is also extended to examine the link between China's 2008 government economic stimulus plan and the subsequent house price appreciation. The obtained evidence suggests that the economic stimulus props up the house price, but its contribution to the post-2008 house price appreciation is not as prominent as indicated by other relevant studies. However, this discrepancy may be explained by the heterogeneous effects of the stimulus policy on local housing markets across China
Examining cultural specificity of the learning experiences questionaire with women in STEM
Authors:   , Falk Nikki Alexandra
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] The application of Bandura's (1977, 1986) self-efficacy theory to study women's career self-efficacy (Betz and Hackett, 1981) has provided an excellent theoretical framework for increasing persistence of underrepresented students in STEM; however, more research is needed to examine the self-efficacy learning experiences of women and students of color (Betz, 2007; Fouad and Santana, 2017). Research examining access to STEM learning experiences has shown gender and racial/ethnic differences, warranting further research (Klassen, 2004; Usher and Pajares, 2006). Several scales have been developed to measure these learning experiences (Schaub, 2004), and researchers have noted the potential for culturally specific scale and item adjustments (Williams and Subich, 2006). Using an "inside-out" multicultural framework (Hall et al., 2016), the current mixed-methods study examined the culturally specific learning experiences of women in STEM. Results from a qualitative study of 4 focus groups informed scale and item adaptions of the Realistic and Investigative LEQ scales (Schaub, 2004). Exploratory factor analyses on the revised scales using a participant sample of 130 women in STEM revealed a four-factor structure for the Realistic (Verbal Persuasion/Modeling, Negative Emotional Experiences, Positive Emotional Experiences, Performance Accomplishments) and Investigative scale (Math and Science Coursework, Culturally Salient Verbal Persuasion/Modeling, Negative Emotional/Persuasion Experiences, Math and Science Application).
Do teacher ratings of their principals influence their own evaluation scores? : an examination of classroom observation scores from the network for educator effectiveness
Authors:   , Jensen Kurtis Charles
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] For decades, scholars have actively researched various aspects of employee performance evaluations. Cohen and Goldhaber (2016) have called for more research on factors impacting teacher evaluation scores while emphasizing the importance of principals recognizing their potential biases as they implement high-stakes evaluation policies. The current study adds to performance appraisal literature by examining supervisor bias based on the supervisor-employee relationship. Specifically, the study examined if school principals were biased in their evaluations of teachers based on principal-teacher relationship. Utilizing a quantitative research design, the present study examined teacher survey and classroom observation data collected from The Network for Educator Effectiveness (NEE), a comprehensive teacher evaluation program developed at the University of Missouri. The teacher survey measured the teacher's perceptions of their principals' ability to promote a positive and professional culture, serving as a proxy for the principal-teacher relationship. The researcher applied the principles of the theory of reciprocity which argues that the supervisor's perception of the relationship was mutual to the employee's (Uhl-Bien and Maslyn, 2002). Teachers' perceptions of their principal and their evaluation scores were significantly correlated, raising the possibility of relationship bias in teacher evaluation scores.
Three essays on phosphorus runoff and water quality
Authors:   , Lee Seungyub
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Water pollution caused by nutrients, and the resulting eutrophication, have increased over time. This water pollution is increasingly caused by non-point source pollution, both nutrients and erosion. Controlling non-point pollution is important for water quality. However, non-point source pollution is not easy to track and control. In this case, management efforts can be solutions for these environmental issues in both urban and agricultural areas. In this dissertation, I focus on phosphorous (P) fertilizer because P is the limiting nutrient in freshwater systems. If we can reduce P runoff from urban and agricultural non-point sources, water quality can be improved. ... By analyzing national water quality and political economy data and by investigating a national survey of soybean producers, this dissertation found implications to increase adoption of environmentally friendly policies and practices. Solving this problem will require efforts to limit both residential and agricultural nonpoint source pollution. The results could be helpful policy makers to target specific regions to initiate environmental policies and extension efforts for designing educational programs to increase adoption rate as well as environmental quality.
The use of electronic feedback to strengthen teacher intervention beliefs, knowledge, attitudes and intentions
Authors:   , Copeland Christa Beverly Diana
Published: April 2021

The present study examined the efficacy and usefulness of an electronically delivered feedback intervention on overall teacher perceptions of classroom-based behavior interventions, implementation behavior and intentions. Participants consisted of 95, full and part-time elementary and secondary teachers across 13, public K-12 educational institutions in Missouri. Following an initial assessment, teachers were randomized to either a feedback intervention condition or control condition (i.e., business-as-usual). Findings indicated that teachers who received the intervention, which consisted of an emailed individualized feedback profile and access to a website with electronic resources, reported significantly increased self-efficacy and perceptions of evidence-based interventions at the 2-month follow-up, compared to teachers assigned to the control condition. Despite the lack of statistical significance across the other measured variables, effect sizes comparable to existing feedback and motivational interviewing literature, were found. Additionally, of the teachers who received the intervention, the majority provided positive feedback about its usefulness and feasibility, and reported being willing to recommend the use of the intervention to others. Limitations and future directions regarding the use of electronically-based teacher supports to enhance classroom behavior management, are discussed.
Dis/embodied leadership : intersections of leadership and social class
Authors:   , Halliwell Michael R.
Published: April 2021

One weakness with the discursive leadership to date is the failure to explore ways in which material conditions also shape leadership (Fairhurst, 2009). Further, Dougherty (2011) argued that discursive constructionism without a consideration of material conditions is middle class privilege. By privileging the discursive over the material, discursive leadership could be reproducing social inequalities, which relates to issues of social class. The purpose of this dissertation is to understand how leadership and social class become mutually constructed through the interplay between discourse and materiality. The concepts of text work and body work are used to understand how social class is linked with the types of work an individual does. Similar to white-collar/blue-collar distinctions, text work refers to jobs that emphasize the use of communication, and body work refers to jobs that emphasize more physical labor (Dougherty, 2011). A thematic narrative analysis was applied to stories about leadership that were told during interviews with a total of 21 participants (10 body workers and 11 text workers), and observations added context and thick description to participants' narratives about leadership. The theory of Language Convergence/Meaning Divergence provided a lens for understanding how meanings for leadership diverge based on different material experiences in day-to-day work. Findings indicate that discursive and material conditions of work interact to construct different meanings for leadership. Text workers emphasized communication in their constructions of leadership, while body workers constructed leadership more as an embodied practice. Additionally, compared to text workers, body workers demonstrated a more nuanced understanding of leadership that integrated a concern for discursive processes in addition to emphasizing material conditions.
Plastic and evolved morphological responses of the hind limb skeleton to mechanical loading in mice
Authors:   , Smolinsky Amanda
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Skeletal morphology is determined by a combination of genetic background and phenotypic plasticity induced by mechanical loading. The changes in limb bone morphology associated with locomotor activity through ontogeny and over evolutionary time can provide insight into the mechanisms of adaptation in locomotor systems. Here, a mouse model is used to explore the effects of mechanical loading and locomotor selection on skeletal morphology and phenotypic plasticity. The source of loading (muscular, ground reaction, or combined forces) was found to differentially affect the pattern and rate of mineral apposition at the mid-diaphysis of the femur, and the femoral cross-sectional morphology produced by running locomotion appears to be most influenced by muscular forces. Loading environment also differentially altered the gross shapes of the hind limb bones, and a blending of the influence of ground reaction and muscular forces was observed in the bones of running mice. Finally, artificial selection for increased voluntary running distance resulted in evolved changes in skeletal morphology and the plastic response of bone to mechanical loading. The results suggest regional sensitivity of skeleton to morphological change and inform our understanding of the plastic and evolutionary lability of the skeleton.
Functional recovery of the microcirculation during skeletal muscle regeneration
Authors:   , Fernando Charmain Angela
Published: April 2021

Skeletal muscle has a remarkable capacity to regenerate following injury, and although muscle regeneration has been studied extensively, little is known about the recovery of the skeletal muscle microcirculation during regeneration. To determine the restoration of blood flow regulation during skeletal muscle regeneration, this dissertation explored the recovery of vasomotor responses to physiological agonists and of functional vasodilation in response to muscle contraction. A novel injury model in the mouse gluteus maximus muscle was developed to study the microcirculation in vivo using intravital microscopy at welldefined time points (5, 10, 21 and 35 days) post injury compared to uninjured Control muscles. Studies encompassed feed arteries and the principal branches (1st, 2nd and 3rd order) of arteriolar networks comprising the resistance vasculature. Vasomotor responses to agonists and active force developed by muscle fibers recovered by 21d, however functional vasodilation required [about]35d to recover. This research provides novel insight into when and to what extent blood flow regulation is restored during skeletal muscle regeneration and provides novel perspective towards developing therapeutic strategies for restoring skeletal muscle function during recovery from injury.
The efects of psychological ownership on loyal customers' perceptions : applying brand tourism effect and conspicuous consumption to luxury hotel marketing
Authors:   , Lee Seung Hwan
Published: April 2021

This study aims to examine the conflict between loyal customers and non-loyal customers in the luxury hotel environment. This research mainly applied the concept of brand tourism effect and employed a 2 (two types of non-loyal customers: brand immigrants and brand tourists) x 2 (areas divided by psychological ownership: lounge vs. restaurant) mixed experimental design on the dependent variables (i.e., emotions, infringement, attitude, brand image, and switching intention) and 934 participants were recruited from nationwide online panels. To investigate loyal customers' different brand perceptions from non-loyal customers, MANOVA was performed and to examine the relationship among infringement, attitude, brand image, and switching intention, PLSSEM was conducted. The result revealed that loyal customers negatively perceive brand immigrants and positively perceive brand tourists. Loyal customers perceive higher levels of infringement and switching intention when they view brand immigrants, while loyal customers perceive positive attitude and brand image when they view brand tourists. Psychological ownership, which divided the background into lounge and restaurant, is also found to play a moderating role in loyal customers' perceptions of brand tourists and brand immigrants on infringement, attitude, and switching intention. In addition, for brand immigrants, infringement is positively related to switching intention, and attitude and brand image are negatively linked with switching intention, while for brand tourists, infringement is the only variable that has a positive influence on switching intention. In sum, the current study demonstrated that loyal customers perceive brand differently depending on the types of customers (i.e., brand tourists and brand immigrants) and two types of backgrounds (i.e., lounge and restaurant). Finally, the theoretical and empirical contributions of the present study are discussed.
Pretargeted cancer radioimmunotherapy and radioimaging using antibodies and antibody fragments
Authors:   , Shah Manankumar
Published: April 2021

Over the last few decades, antibodies have become the mainstay of cancer diagnosis and therapeutics. In traditional radioimmunotherapy (RIT), tumor targeting antibodies are directly conjugated with radioisotopes and depending on the radionuclides's properties, the direct labeled antibodies can be used for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. However, one of the major challenges of using radiolabeled antibodies for therapy is their long serum half-lives. It generally takes 5-7 days for antibodies to achieve maximum tumor binding. This slow blood clearance results in high normal tissue irradiation and a poor therapeutic index. This is exemplified by the fact that to date, only two radiolabeled antibodies have been approved by the FDA for radioimmunotherapy of cancer. â€¦ Thomsen-Friedenreich (TF) is a disaccharide (Galactose [beta]1-3 N-acetylgalactosamine) antigen, which is present on about [about]90% of carcinomas. The TF expression on the tumor cell is correlated with poor prognosis and tumor propagation. TF antigen is also involved in cell to cell adhesion and metastasis, making it a very good target for cancer imaging and therapy. Using phage display technology, TF binding scFv fragments were selected from the McCafferty antibody library. The selected scFv clones were characterized in vitro for their TF specificity and cell binding properties by ELISA and flow-cytometry assay. The selected TF specific clone (9C-scFv) was radiolabeled with [99m]Tc by directly conjugating [99m]Tc to the C-terminal 6x His-tag. The [99m]Tc-labeled 9C-scFv was injected in mice bearing MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer xenografts. The SPECT/CT images, acquired 4 hours post injection, revealed a moderate tumor uptake of radiolabeled scFvs with significant accumulation in the liver and kidneys. The phage display derived single-chain scFv fragments against the TF antigen demonstrated potential for development as an imaging agent but requires more work to achieve favorable pharmacokinetics.
Student perception of the impact of financial aid on student career preparation activities that improve career readiness
Authors:   , Lambert Lea Anne
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Students continue to go to college to seek additional education and see that it will lead to a higher income throughout their life. Students often use student financial aid and work to pay for their education. Employers identify that students do not have the skills needed to succeed in the job market. This study found that non-tradition students and females have significantly more debt than traditional students and male students. The study also found that non-traditional students are less likely to participate in career building activities outside of the classroom. It also found that students are worried about their financial future, and they would like to participate in more career-building activities, but financial constraints can impact their ability to do so.
Dangerous weapons : arms transfer, interstate conflict, and dependence
Authors:   , Dharia Saumil P.
Published: April 2021

This study is an attempt to contribute to the international security literature by illuminating why countries bolster their own security by acquiring weapons from other countries, how these acquisitions affect their propensity to initiate interstate conflict, and what policies do they adopt so as to prevent overdependence on external suppliers. I begin by demonstrating that arms transfer literature is overly focused on the suppliers' perspective. Therefore, I clarify the motivations that drive a country to import weapons. Next, I tie these motivations with the likelihood of a country taking aggressive action against its neighbor and empirically this proposition. Subsequently, I compare arms transfer with alliances which is known in the literature as a substitute to arming. I find that arms imports do increase both 'opportunity' and 'willingness' of recipients to initiate a militarized interstate dispute but that alliances in the presence of arms imports do not have any significant effect. Finally, I use case studies of India and China to illustrate on two divergent paths to mitigating the effects of overreliance on overseas arms suppliers. In the course of this investigation I uncover the economic, political, bureaucratic, ideological, and foreign policy that drive countries' arms importing behavior. The study aims to provide a more complete picture of the worldwide arms trade by highlighting the recipients' perspective which was thus far missing from the literature.
Synthesis and reactivity of low-valent uranium and neptunium complexes
Authors:   , Myers Alexander J.
Published: April 2021

Chapter 1 reports the synthesis and characterization of U(IV) and Np(IV) selenium bis(phenolate) complexes. The reaction of the U(IV) complex with half an equivalent of p-benzoquinone results in the formation of a U(V)--U(V) species with a bridging reduced quinone. This represents a rare example of high-valent uranium chemistry as well as a rare example of a neptunium aryloxide complex. In Chapters 2 and 3 the synthesis and characterization of a rare U(III) hydrocarbyl complex, U[[eta]4-Me2NC(H)C6H5]3, and the first structurally characterized transuranic hydrocarbyl complex, Np[[eta]4-Me2NC(H)C6H5]3, complex, has been generated with four equivalents of the K[Me2NC(H)C6H5] ligand. In the analogous Th(IV) reaction, C-H bond activation of a methyl group of one dimethylamine was observed yielding Th[[eta]4-Me2NC(H)C6H5]2[[eta]5-(CH2)MeNC(H)C6H5] with a dianionic DMBA ligand. The utility of these complexes as starting materials has been analyzed using a bulky dithiocarboxylate ligand to yield tetravalent actinide species for U and Th but Np maintains the trivalent oxidation state. Chapter 4 describes the on-going synthesis and reactivity of Np(OAr)3 (Ar = 2,6-di-tert-butylphenoxide) utilizing Np[[eta]4-Me2NC(H)C6H5]3 as a Np(III) starting material. The coordination and oxidation chemistry is explored with [nBu4N]N3, (C6H5CO)2O2 and Ph2S2 resulting in a bridged Np(III)/Np(III) azide complex with an outer sphere nBu4N and Np(IV) species, respectively.
Personalist dictators and the choice of military intervention in civil conflicts
Authors:   , Boersner H. Adriana M.
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Are all personalist dictators equally prone to intervene in civil conflicts? The current bulk of work on authoritarianism and international relations shows that personalist autocrats are more prone to be hawkish in foreign policy when compared, for example, to military dictators. What is missing, however, is a better understanding as to whether different personalist dictators behave similarly to one another in world politics. In this study, I argue that not all personalist dictators behave in the same way on military intervention due to the interaction between their personality traits and the military capabilities available to them. Drawing on an original dataset on personalist dictators' personality traits, I employ leadership trait analysis - using 386,510 words of text and 1,580 documents from twenty dictators in the period between 1990 and 2009. I find that personality traits do indeed matter for leaders' choices to intervene militarily abroad. Specifically, I show that dictators' level of sensitivity to advice and information (conceptual complexity) in interaction with military capabilities is a significant factor shaping whether they send weapons or deploy troops into a civil conflict abroad. I illustrate my findings and the mechanisms with one case study: Hugo Chavez and his decision to support the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia -FARC).
The use of metaheuristics for feature selection and the derivation of diagnostic rules
Authors:   , Stevens Jordan
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] This dissertation includes four chapters that discuss 1) the history of metaheuristics, 2) the development of a genetic algorithm for feature selection, 3) the development of a genetic algorithm for deriving psychiatric diagnoses and 4) a demonstration of deriving shortened diagnostic rules for alcohol use disorder that optimally agree with the DSM-5. The first chapter offers an overview of novel developments in the metaheuristics literature, along with suggestions for future developments. The second and third chapters of this dissertation 1) propose new algorithms that can handle search spaces that are not accessible by current algorithms and 2) examine each component of the proposed algorithms to identify subordinate heuristics that are essential for the success of the algorithm. The final chapter utilizes information obtained from the previous two chapters to assess the performance of an algorithm for deriving diagnostic rules in a supervised learning context.
Docosahexaenoic acid and lipid peroxidation products : insights from studies with microglial cells and mouse brain
Authors:   , Yang Bo
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Oxidative stress is known to play an important role in neurodegenerative diseases. Microglia are the primary innate immune cells in the central nervous system. Using BV-2 microglial cells, we first tested the effects of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and its peroxidation products on LPS-stimulated inflammatory responses involving the NF-_B pathway, as well as its ability to upregulate the Nrf2/ARE/HO-1 antioxidant response pathway. Results indicated the ability for DHA and 4-HHE to suppress LPS-induced NO, ROS and p-cPLA2, and the responses for 4-HHE were 10-fold more sensitive as compared to DHA. The neuroprotective effects of DHA are enhanced with botanical polyphenols. Low concentrations of quercetin and DHA can more effectively enhance the expression of Nrf2 and HO-1, and suppress LPS-induced NO, p-cPLA2, and ROS, as compared to DHA or quercetin alone.
Applications of ancestry estimation in cattle population genetics
Authors:   , Crum Tamar
Published: April 2021

Accounting for ancestry and cryptic population structure is important in population genetic data analysis. The estimation of ancestry can help elucidate the effects of admixture or stratification on allele and genotype frequencies caused by population substructure. Human population genetics has examined these issues in detail and has developed models which incorporate ancestry effects in the estimation of population susceptibilities to disease risk in association analyses, as well as for the interpretation of genotype disease risks in admixed individuals for use in personalized medicine. In livestock, allele frequencies frequently differ between breeds and these breeds frequently also differ for phenotypes of interest. If these population differences are not accounted for in the analysis, the differences in allele frequencies due to population structure can lead to erroneous associations of loci with phenotypes. The effects of domestication and breed formation in shaping the cattle genome along with the rampant use of crossbreeding to form admixed individuals in the modern beef cattle industry provides an opportunity to evaluate the impacts of breed differences on association analyses of economically relevant traits such as the conversion of feed to weight gain and disease susceptibility. Here, we review the methods used for ancestry estimation and the impacts of ancestry prediction in human population genetic analyses and opportunities for use of these techniques in cattle, and more generally in livestock populations. The incorporation of accurate genomic-based predictions of breed composition could fine-tune the resolution of mapping studies targeting the identification of causal loci for livestock species.
Forage production and diversification for climate-smart tropical and temperate silvopastures
Authors:   , Dibala Ryan H.
Published: April 2021

Climate change creates much uncertainty for the future of animal agriculture, particularly due to an increase in 07 droughts that result in the loss of range productivity. Silvopasture, the intentional integration of livestock, trees, and pasture on the same unit of land, is a promising option to diversify forage resources, compensate for losses caused by droughts during the 07 forage gap, and in some cases, even increase agricultural production while maximizing conservation benefits. We examined three distinct silvopastures, two in the country of Panama and one in the state of Missouri, to better understand how the integration of woody perennial trees and shrubs affects forage productivity, availability, and nutritional value, particularly during the driest months. In Panama, we studied both recently established and mature silvopastures with the objective of assessing soil physical and chemical properties, plant water availability, and pasture dry matter production in different successional stages. In the mature silvopasture, we found that annual grass accumulation was greatest in open pastures, but was highest in silvopastures with moderately-spaced trees (~500 trees ha-1) early in the dry season. In the recently established silvopasture, the simultaneous growth of grasses, trees, and fertilizer shrubs resulted in significant increases in soil fertility and marginally significant increases in grass production in plots that included the shrub Leucaena leucocephala. Further, cumulative forage production in plots with shrubs provided on average 9.66% more forage than plots without shrubs during the dry season. In Missouri, we assessed the feasibility of integrating the potential alternative forage shrub red mulberry (Morus rubra L.) into the understory of an existing silvopasture and found that seedling survival, growth, leaf productivity, and nutritive value could be optimized at an overstory planting density of ~123 trees ha-1. High leaf mineral content and low fiber fractions during the late 07 forage slump suggest that this species could serve as an effective supplemental forage to livestock in multi-strata silvopastures during drought conditions. Results of all three studies confirm that silvopasture has both competitive and facilitative influences on forage production, and that facilitative factors may be more prevalent during extreme drought.
Analysis of factors that affect pseudotyping in retroviruses
Authors:   , Song Yul Eum
Published: April 2021

Retroviral vectors can efficiently pseudotype with various envelope glycoproteins; however, the molecular mechanism of glycoprotein acquisition process is not completely understood even with their native Env proteins. Understanding this mechanism would aid development of a safe and efficient retroviral gene therapy vector and in finding an antiviral therapeutic target. Various factors were reported to affect the glycoprotein acquisition process. Protein-protein interactions and protein-lipid interactions were reported between viral proteins or cellular factors. In the studies outlined here, we examined three factors that affect retroviral pseudotyping: the HIV-1 accessory protein Vpu, the Env cytoplasmic tail, and cell line-specific host factors. Vpu has been identified to negatively affect Env protein from gibbon ape leukemia virus (GaLV) in a similar way that it down-modulates native targets, CD4 and BST-2/tetherin. We take advantage of a novel CRISPR-Cas9 technique to present here that [beta]TrCP is a necessary host factor for Vpu to target GaLV Env, CD4, and BST-2/tetherin. The role and structure of Env cytoplasmic tails are largely unknown among retroviral proteins. We present that specific sequences in a gammaretroviral cytoplasmic tail affect fusogenicity in a virus-specific way. It suggests that the lipid environment differs between viruses and that these differences affect fusion of Env. Finally, we present that the cell line specific assembly defect of murine leukemia virus (MLV) particles in HeLa cells. The budding defect of MLV from HeLa cells is restored by fusion with 293FT cells, suggesting that an unknown necessary host factor is deficient in HeLa cells.
Expectancy, perceived benefit and perceived cost of new technology : scale development in the context of Chinese textile and apparel firm mangers
Authors:   , Wang Baolu
Published: April 2021

The textile and apparel industry have been fundamentally changed due to technology development. However, developing countries are falling behind for adopting new technologies, such as China. To explore factors that may influence motivation to adopt new technology, firm managers' expectancy, perceived benefit and perceived cost of new technology were addressed in this study. However, future literation examination suggested a lack of proper and relevant scales to measure such concepts. Thus, to clearly and effectively understand factors that may influence Chinese TandA firm managers' motivation to adopt new technology, this study was designed to develop scales that measure firm managers' expectancy, perceived benefit and perceived cost of new technology adoption. The psychometric method of item response theory was used as the data collection and analysis paradigm for the research. After item generation, item bank development, and psychometric evaluation by 599 Chinese textile and apparel firm managers, valid and reliable scales of firm managers' expectancy, perceived benefit and perceived cost of new technology were built. The three scales provide a holistic view of firm managers' concerns in the decide-making process of new technology adoption, which would help research Chinese TandA firm managers' motivation to adopt new technology and guide textile and apparel industry upgrades in China.