bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An integrated modeling approach for design and optimization of ejector pumps carrying two-phase fluid
Authors:   , Almutairi Khalid Sarhan
Published: April 2021

An ejector pump uses a primary flow as a motive fluid to entrain another fluid, and can work with both incompressible flow and compressible flow, in either as a singlephase or two-phase mixture. Determining the behavior of the two-phase flow inside the ejector with different geometric parameters was the objective of this research. Three approaches were used to predict the performance and the capture the flow behavior inside it. An analytical model used the geometric parameters to calculate the loss factors for the first time and work as a basis for the two-phase flow ejectors. A fluid transportation system was built to verify analytical and numerical predictions and to explore optimum. Using a fitting parameter to capture the flow behavior inside the ejector was crucial for the accuracy of the numerical model. The fitting parameter is a new technique that uses an arbitrary fluid to match the induced air measurements numerically with the ones founded experimentally. To apply the three approaches, nine ejectors were built with different geometric parameters. The nozzle exit diameters are tested at three levels while the length mixing tube are tested at three levels as well. The results reveal that the diffuser angle of 5[degrees], the smallest nozzle exit diameter, and the longest mixing tube result on maximum efficiency and highest induced air. More investigation of two-phase ejectors is important to fully understand flow behavior and to increase efficiency. There are many improvements needed to this work in future.
Spectroscopic investigation of the effect of polyphenolic compounds on the amyloid-[beta] protein
Authors:   , Hagenhoff Brittany L.
Published: April 2021

Aggregation of the amyloid-[beta] (A[beta]) protein is associated with the development of Alzheimer's disease. A[beta] is a 39-43 residue cleavage product of the amyloid precursor protein (APP). A[beta] aggregates to produce insoluble plaques in the brain, which are composed of cross [beta]-sheet structured fibrils. Various polyphenolic compounds, both naturally occurring and synthetic, have been shown to interfere with A[beta] aggregation. To evaluate the ability of specific polyphenols to prevent A[beta] aggregation, this investigation utilized nordihydroguaiaretic acid, curcumin, rosmarinic acid, resveratrol, piceatannol, and diethylstilbestrol. These polyphenols differ in the number of ring substituents and the atom linker between the rings. The interaction of A[beta] with the polyphenolic compounds was analyzed using circular dichroism (CD) and deep ultraviolet resonance Raman (dUVRR) spectroscopies. The polyphenols diethylstilbestrol, resveratrol, and piceatannol have increasing numbers of hydroxyl substituents on their rings, having two, three, and four respectively. It was found that with increasing number of hydroxyl ring substituents, the protein remained predominantly disordered and prevented formation of [beta]-structure in the protein and aided in the destabilization of pre-formed A[beta] fibrils. Decreasing the number of hydroxyl substituents increases the likelihood of [beta]-sheet formation, prevented destabilization of pre-formed A[beta] fibrils, and induced loss of stability of the protein. The polyphenols nordihydroguaiaretic acid, curcumin, and rosmarinic acid have increasing polarity respectively in the chain linker between the phenolic rings. Each of these polyphenols have four ring substituents and have four to six atoms in their chain linker. It was found that with increasing the polarity of the linker, the protein had a greater tendency to form a [beta]-structure, however pre-formed A[beta] fibrils were destabilized efficiently by all three polyphenols. Though a nonpolar chain linker pushed fibrillar protein toward a more disordered structure initially, the final state was similar regardless of added polyphenol.
Word learning from context : relations with language ability, socioeconomic status, and executive function
Authors:   , Hill Margaret
Published: April 2021

During the school-age years, children learn most new word meanings from context rather than through deliberate vocabulary instruction. However, the actual process of word learning from context among schoolage children remains poorly understood. Prior research suggests that language ability and higher-order executive function skills such as working memory and inhibitory control of attention may aid children in acquiring new word meanings from context, but studies have not examined the effect of cognitive flexibility on word learning. In addition, although research has shown that children from families of low socioeconomic status (SES) often lag behind their peers from higher-SES backgrounds in vocabulary, there is no evidence to suggest that SES directly influences the word learning process itself. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of language ability, SES, and executive function on word learning from context among typically developing children. Fifty children of ages nine to 11 years completed a standardized measure of language ability and tasks of working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility along with a pretest to assess their understanding of 12 rare target words. Approximately one week later, the children read along with two short stories containing the target words while listening as the stories were narrated aloud by a computer. Posttest results showed that as a group, children made small but significant gains in knowledge of target word meanings from the stories. Analyses showed that both language ability and cognitive flexibility were related to gains in word knowledge, and that children tended to rely more on the stronger of these two skills if either language or cognitive flexibility was relatively weak. Children's SES backgrounds were not directly related to word knowledge gains, but results suggested that SES may influence the word learning process indirectly through an effect on children's cognitive flexibility.
Dietary nutrients implicated in the etiopathogenesis of human and animal diseases
Authors:   , Hooper Sarah E.
Published: April 2021

Hyperthyroidism is a spontaneous disease that results in an abnormal elevation of circulating concentrations of one or more thyroid hormones. Despite being the most commonly diagnosed endocrine disorder of domestic cats, the etiopathogenesis remains unknown. My dissertation research sought to investigate whether the dietary nutrients selenium, water, and taurine cause an overstimulation of the thyroid gland and alter the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis. Because feline hyperthyroidism is clinically and pathologically similar to toxic nodular goiter or Plummer's disease, one of the most common types of hyperthyroidism in humans, I sought to determine if cats are a better animal model than rats for studying dietary causes of hyperthyroidism. To my knowledge, this is the first project to conduct simultaneous animal studies where two species are assessed for suitability as animal models for a human disease and concurrently conduct hypothesis-driven research on potential dietary etiologies of a disease that affects both the domestic feline population and humans. This unique experimental design provided strong support that cats are a better animal model of toxic multinodular goiter, because we were able to establish that cats have an individual set-point for thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) which similar to humans. Additionally, we showed that there was a positive correlation with taurine consumption and circulating triiodothyronine (T3) in female rats but not male rats. Women are five to eight times more likely to suffer from a thyroid disease. Our findings indicate future research is needed to determine if supplemental taurine and consumption of high taurine diets predisposes women to thyroid gland disorders. Furthermore, in cats, consumption of water significantly altered the production of T3 and caused a 20% increase in activity level. Because consumption of canned cat food has been the only consistently identified risk factor in epidemiological studies, our results indicate future studies should focus on the relationship between water consumption and feline thyroid physiology.
Exploring the role of extended family members in relation to a chronic family stressor : explicating the association between support, standards, stress, and coping in the context of autism
Authors:   , Hays Alexie H.
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] The recent growth in autism spectrum disorder diagnoses across the United States has alerted scholars to assess the support needs of families with a child on the autism spectrum. One potential large support resource that has been deemed both supportive and unsupportive is the extended family. Much remained to be explored regarding the degree to which communication, particularly in the face of a child's developmental disability, sustains or impedes (extended) family relationships. Therefore, from the perspective of the parent with a child with autism, the current investigation explored the communicative role, including the standards being met and the level of support, of three extended family members in relation to autism. This study drew upon Family Systems Theory with special emphasis on the extended family, literature related to support and relational standards, the Communication-Based Model of Coping (Maguire 2012; 2015), and utilized mixed methods, including content analysis and structural equation modeling. Survey results revealed that parents (n = 191) of a child with autism hold their extended family to certain standards, namely, they ideally want emotional/instrumental support, openness, acceptance, empathy, and positivity. Further, the types of support that parents find the most helpful include tangible, informational, esteem, emotional, appraisal, network, avoidant, child esteem, and social presence, unlike inconsiderate and unaccommodating support. Importantly, parents in this study reported that they do not have any of their standards met in full by their three chosen extended family members. Having all standards go unmet impacts their relational satisfaction, specifically with their first most significant extended family member. Further, having some standards go unmet by their second and third most significant extended family members negatively impacts parents' problem-solving abilities and stress level, but positively impacts their reappraisal ability. Together, these findings offer three contributions: (a) a better understanding of the degree to which parents with a child with autism perceive that their extended family members are meeting their standards, (b) a clear examination of how perceived and actual standards interplay with their relational dynamics, coping ability, and stress level, (c) and a thorough understanding of the ways in which communication from extended family ranges in supportiveness to a parent raising a child with autism.
Family relationships during emerging adulthood : longitudinal course and associations with emotional and academic adjustment
Authors:   , Lindell Anna K.
Published: April 2021

During emerging adulthood (ages 18 through the mid-twenties), parents and siblings become more peripheral in daily life compared to earlier in development. While family relationship quality often improves significantly during the initial transition to emerging adulthood, less is known about how these relationships function and impact development across this period, especially for college students who may remain closer to their families due to financial need. The present study, therefore, examined longitudinal changes in parent-child and sibling relationships from the first to the fourth years of college, as well as longitudinal associations between family relationship qualities and emotional adjustment and academic/vocational adjustment. Study 1 included first- and second-born college students (between-families), while Study 2 included first-born college students and their second-born adolescent siblings (within-families). Overall, parent-child relationship quality was mostly stable across emerging adulthood, while sibling relationships experienced dynamic changes in power structure, as well as increased communication and self-disclosure. Family relationships also had positive implications for emotional and academic adjustment, but receiving high levels of financial assistance from parents was detrimental for these outcomes. Future research should further investigate the implications of parental financial assistance, and ways the family can promote healthy autonomy development for emerging adults.
Transinstitutionalization : a case study of two residential care facilities in rural midwest North America
Authors:   , Christensen Renee Desneige
Published: April 2021

Since deinstitutionalization began during the 1950's in North America, thousands of individuals with a Severe and Persistent Mental Illness were forced out of large, state run, institutions. While society may have seen deinstitutionalization as a positive direction for society, the outcome of this grand plan is obscure because the plan made no provision for new living environments for this population and funding issues prevented adequate community support services. Therefore, many individuals with a mental illness became homeless, makeshift living environments were developed without prior understanding of the specific housing needs, and funding issues prevented adequate community-based support services for this vulnerable population. In addition, current public policy prohibits a full range of activities of daily living which ensure the continued institutionalization of this population. In this qualitative case study I interviewed residents living in Residential Care Facilities (RCFs) and participants in their lives in an effort to understand the interaction between the residents and their environment. The findings from this study illuminated the daily struggles of individuals with a mental illness and the substantial effects of the interaction between the residents and their social and physical environments. The results show that the individuals living in Residential Care Facilities exhibit institutionalized behaviors and the program of deinstitutionalization was never realized for these individuals. The program of deinstitutionalization was supposed to ensure more freedom and choices for individuals with a mental illness. Instead, these individuals were transinstitutionalized as opposed to deinstitutionalized.
Magic for unlucky girls : stories
Authors:   , Balaskovits Alison A.
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Magic for Unlucky Girls: Stories is a collection of short stories that weave Western oral and literary folklore influences around women-centered narratives. The characters react in different ways to the expectations and prejudices heaped upon them in their respective worlds--some collapse under the weight of those expectations, some embrace them in perverse or tragic ways, and some rebel outright. These stories focus on feminine violence reworked through old fairy tale and folklore themes. In "Food My Father Feeds Me, Love My Husband Shows Me", a passionately carnivorous girl whose father is a butcher is married off to a vegetarian. In "Suburban Alchemy", an alchemist attempts to resurrect his dead wife while struggling with his inability to understand the needs of his preteen daughter and her obsession with a famous pop star. "Put Back Together Againâ€ features a depressed pharmacist who struggles to reconcile the medical horrors she witnesses with the appearance of a super-man who cannot be injured, all while the city she lives in is ravaged by earthquakes. "Let Down Your Long Hair and Then Yourself" tells of what happens to Rapunzel after she is married to her murderous child-groom whose only love is physical perfection, and the lengths she must go to save her daughter who is born with a crooked nose. In "Eden", a young boy befriends the town scapegoat who is whispered to have a too familiar relationship with his horses, as well as the small town ex-beauty queen, the most current in a line of ex-queens who carry shotguns out in the night.
Spatial language driven robot
Authors:   , Huo Zhiyu
Published: April 2021

This dissertation investigates the methods to enable a robot to interact with human using spatial language. A prototype system of human-robot interaction using spatial language running on an autonomous robot is proposed in the dissertation. The system includes two complementary works. One is to control the robot by human natural spatial language to find the target object to fetch it. Another work is to generate a natural spatial language description to describe a target object in the robot working environment. The first task is called spatial language grounding and the second work is named as spatial language generation. The spatial language grounding and generation are both end-to-end process which means the system will determine the output only by the natural language command from a human during the interaction and the raw perception data collected from the environment. Furniture recognizers are designed for the robot to detect the environment during the tasks. A hierarchy system is designed to translate the human spatial language to the symbolic grounding model and then to the robot actions. To reduce the ambiguity in the interaction, a human demonstration system is designed to collect the spatial concept of the human user for building the robot behavior policies under different grounding models. A language generation system trained by real human spatial language corpus is proposed to automatically edit spatial descriptions of the location of a target object. All the modules in the system are evaluated in the physical environment, and a 3D robot simulator developed on ROS and GAZEBO.
Buyers' power strategies and suppliers' compliance mechanism : case of Indian apparel export firms
Authors:   , Jaiswal Geetika
Published: April 2021

Apparel industry in the developing world is experiencing a boom in apparel export since the quota free trade. However, incidences of poor working conditions and labor standard violations are commonly reported. Therefore, it is important to investigate factors and mechanisms affecting apparel suppliers' compliance, particularly with the code of conduct policies that were adopted by international buyers to regulate social compliance issues in the global apparel industry. This research investigated the influence of buyers' (apparel importers from developed countries) power strategies on suppliers' (apparel manufacturers from developing countries) motivations, and its overall effect on the suppliers' compliance mechanisms in the Indian apparel industry context, which is a force to reckon with in this industry. Face-to-face interviews of 210 managers from Indian apparel export firms were conducted. Data was analyzed using a statistical procedure of structure equation modeling (SEM). Results showed that buyers' power strategies that were punitive in nature had a significant effect on suppliers' extrinsic motivation (a form of motivation that depends on punishment), while no effect on intrinsic motivation (motivation that relates to internal values of the managers). Interestingly, it was also found that the suppliers' extrinsic motivation affected both monitoring and transparency (two important components of compliance mechanisms), while intrinsic motivation affected only transparency mechanism. Overall, this study concludes that in order to develop a well-integrated code of conduct compliance mechanism, international buyers should use their powers in such a way that it may induce both extrinsic as well as intrinsic motivations. Altogether, this study highlights alternative pathways for international buyers to gain suppliers' compliance in the Indian apparel context.
Assembling comics : the house style and legacy of RAW books and graphics
Authors:   , Beineke Colin
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] The purpose of this study is to construct a narrative history of the founding and development of RAW Books and Graphics while providing a critical evaluation of the revolutionary and catalytic house style created by Francoise Mouly and Art Spiegelman through their unique handling of creative assemblage. Despite the strong informal canonization of RAW magazine which has occurred within the field of comics studies and the world of comics fandom, the publication, the publishing house which produced it, and the individuals involved in the production have largely gone unexamined. This project has worked to fill in this critical gap by placed the figures of Mouly and Spiegelman at the forefront, arguing for their position as editors-as-artists, while contextualizing the comics of RAW Books and Graphics within the historical and artistic milieu of the 1980s. This study contributes to a variety of artistic fields, and while it has developed within the specific purview of comics studies, it is in conversation with ideas from auteur-theory, art history, literary criticism, and historiography. Specifically, this project performs three critical interventions: 1) the creation of an original narrative history of one of the most significant and influential comics publishers of the contemporary period, 2) an argument for the artistic role that editors and publishers play in the creation of comics which does not privilege the conventional artist-as-auteur approach, and 3) a critical examination of the aesthetics and significance of the house style of RAW Books and Graphics.
Foreign policy during intrastate and extrastate conflict : patterns of support, retaliation, and opportunism
Authors:   , Heffington Colton P.
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] This project examines how states and international organizations (IOs) interact with rebel groups involved in civil conflict to achieve their own goals. I argue that rebel groups in other states are an increasingly important component of interstate war and that states strategically support rebels in other states to weaken their rivals while avoiding retaliation. Previous research on state sponsorship of rebels in other states has viewed state-sponsored rebels as substitutes for their sponsors' militaries. My research shows that externally-sponsored rebels are sometimes substitutes for foreign armies, but often serve as supplemental forces who fight alongside external invaders during interstate war. This approach to understanding state-rebel relationships challenges previous scholarship and provides a new pathway to understanding the function of these relationships and the process by which they take shape. In addition, this paper examines the potentially unintended consequences of cutting off external supplies to conflicting parties involved in a civil war. By examining how arms embargoes affect the fighting capacity of rebels and governments, I show that UN and EU arms embargoes tend to disproportionately damage the capacity of rebels to fight and win battles during civil war while having no discernible effect on the government's capacity to fight. Altogether, this research implies that state and IO interactions with rebel are increasingly important to our understanding of international relations. States and IOs will continue to leverage these interactions to achieve their own goals, and it is important that we continue empirical analyses of these relationships.
Development and validation of men's sexualizing behaviors of women scale
Authors:   , Malebranche Dominique A.
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Sexualization has been posited to be a part of a larger process of socialization with negative implications (APA, 2010; Ward, 2016). Recent reviews of gender-based violence and exploitation have focused on important elements that highlight the impact of the pervasive experiences of sexual objectification and sexual commodification on women and girls, but relatively limited literature has explored domains of men's sexualizing behaviors. Using the theoretical domains outlined in the APA Task Force Report on the Sexualization of Girls (APA, 2010), the present study developed and validated a measure of men's sexualizing behaviors toward women (MSBWS) on a sample of 308 adult males (ages 18-34). Using exploratory factor analysis, results indicated three-factors that defined the MSBWS: Covert, Commodified, and Overt Sexualization. Analyses also revealed the MSBWS to have high reliability for the overall scale as well as the three subscales. Evidence for construct validity was revealed in significant correlations with all criterion variables (e.g., attitudes of sexual objectification, traditional masculinity and sexual aggression) and suggest broad implications that men's sexualizing behaviors is a measurable construct. Future research may further validate the MSBWS using confirmatory factor analysis on independent samples and examine relevant variables of the possible harm of sexualizing behaviors.
Latina/o immigrant well-being in the heartland : a path analysis of acculturation, enculturation, and perceived discrimination
Authors:   , May Sarah F.
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] A growing body of literature documents recent trends in Latina/o immigrant settlement in non-traditional communities throughout the South and Midwest. These areas present unique strengths and barriers for immigrant settlement. Drawing on Berry's (1974; 1997; 2001; 2003; 2013) model of acculturation and research on well-being outcomes associated with discrimination, the current study tested a model of immigrant well-being with a sample of 122 Latina/o immigrant participants living in the rural Midwest. Specifically, this study explored hypotheses that (1) the relationship between acculturation/enculturation and well-being (i.e. life satisfaction and psychological distress) may be mediated by discrimination experienced in settlement communities, and (2) discrimination experiences may lead to increased psychological distress, which will, in turn, result in decreased life satisfaction. Results indicated good model fit, but only partial support of hypotheses. Specifically, the model supports the hypothesized pathway between discrimination experiences and global judgments about life satisfaction, mediated by increased psychological distress. However, associations between acculturation/enculturation and perceived discrimination were non-significant. These findings echo existing research which establishes that experiences of discrimination have deleterious effects on the physical and mental health of members of oppressed groups (APA, 2006; Pascoe and Richman, 2009). Results further suggest current measures of acculturation may be insufficient to explain immigrants' complex settlement experiences. Implications for research, practice, and policy are discussed.
Radionuclide production and separation techniques for radiopharmaceutical development and nuclear waste processing
Authors:   , Phelps Timothy Eli
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] With increasing cancer incident rates and advancements in nuclear medicine, the demand for optimizing pathways to produce radionuclides or investigating new radionuclides that improve current diagnostic and therapeutic methods are crucial. In this research, the production pathways and separation of radionuclides for diagnostic imaging and/or therapeutic purposes were evaluated and developed. Diagnostic Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) imaging with 99mTc, a well-established radionuclide applied in over 80% of nuclear medicine, supports the need for a therapeutic rhenium analogue. Both 186,189Re radionuclides have favorable decay properties for therapy, but their current production routes with reactors or few facilities with high energy particles limits their routine applicability. This research evaluated the production of 186,189Re using low-mid energy protons, which are more accessible worldwide, from bombardment of W and Os targets. Developing suitable production of 186,189Re would provide a 99mTc/186,189Re diagnostic/therapeutic matched pair. In this research, the 72As/77As diagnostic/therapeutic matched pair are also of interest. A positron-emitting radionuclide with applications for Positron Emission Tomography (PET), 72As has a longer half-life than most PET radionuclides, which matches the biological half-life of slower localizing biomolecules, such as antibodies or proteins. The University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR) has demonstrated the therapeutic analogue, 77As, can be produced routinely from 76Ge targets, but the diagnostic analogue, 72As, can be made available from the decay of 72Se in the form of a 72Se/72As generator. This research evaluated the production and separation of 72Se from Ge and As targets and evaluated the integrity of 72Se/72As generators. Developing the production of 72Se and optimizing a 72Se/72As generator-based system would provide transportation of 72Se and on demand availability of 72As for PET imaging. A theranostic radionuclide with suitable decay properties for both SPECT and therapy is 105Rh, which has a favorable electronic configuration and has demonstrated high in vivo stability. Sufficient quantities of 105Rh can be produced from enriched 104Ru metal targets at MURR; however, no recycling method to recover 104Ru metal has been evaluated. In this research, a scheme to recycle and reuse 104Ru was developed for further production of 105Rh. These diagnostic/therapeutic matched pair and dual imaging/therapy radionuclides are critical for expanding the pool of available radionuclides and advancing the field of the nuclear medicine.
Contribution of the immune system and astrocytes to spinal muscular atrophy pathology
Authors:   , Khairallah Marie-Therese
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive neuromuscular disease and the leading genetic cause of infant mortality. SMA is caused by afunctional loss of the survival motor neuron-1 (SMN1) gene and the subsequent deficiency of the ubiquitously expressed survival motor neuron (SMN) protein. SMA presents by motor neuron loss and muscle atrophy, and historically was considered an autonomous disease of the a-lower motor neuron (LMN). In this work we investigated effects of low levels of SMN outside the LMNs. Specifically, we looked in the spleen to determine the impact of SMN deficiency on the spleen development and the integrity of the splenic immune cells. Additionally, we analyzed astrocytes to determine if they exhibit functional impairments that could compromise their role in supporting the survival and function of LMNs. First, we reported spleen hypoplasia in multiple SMA mouse models with alteration of the splenic architecture due to a severe reduction in the red pulp zone and relative conservation of the white pulp area. We found alterations in the relative abundance of splenic mediators of the immune response, where the resident macrophage subset was depleted starting at early pre-symptomatic time (post-natal day 2), whereas the B- and T-lymphocytes, and CD11b+ macrophages had higher frequency at the late symptomatic age (post-natal day 12). Secondly, we showed that primary astrocytes derived from the spinal cord of a SMA mouse model had compromised efficiency in their glutamate uptake capacity. Moreover, SMA spinal cords had altered expression in the level of flottilin-1, a lipid raft protein necessary for cell membrane integrity and for the function of receptors and transporters. Furthermore, we showed a higher expression of the NR2B, a subunit of the glutamate receptor NMDAR that signals mainly toward apoptosis. In summary, this work characterized new pathologies in two non-neuronal tissues in the CNS and in the periphery, demonstrated that the spleen and the immune system are likely contributing to the overall clinical pathology of SMA, and found altered mechanisms in astrocytes function that might explain their effect on LMNs in SMA.
The epistemology of group agents
Authors:   , Harris Keith (Keith Raymond)
Published: April 2021

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] "The ultimate foci of this dissertation are group belief and justified group belief. As we will see, many models of both concepts have been proposed, and it is clear in many cases that these models are not intended to capture the same phenomena. Pluralism about group belief and justified group belief, understood generally, may thus be appropriate. My aim in this dissertation is to develop accounts of the beliefs and justified beliefs of group agents, rather than diffuse collections of individuals. Ultimately, we will find that no existing models of group belief or justified group belief correctly model the attitudes held by group agents. There is much work to be done before arguing for these points. Understanding what it is for a group agent to hold a belief requires a greater understanding of group agents and their relations to their members. In this chapter, I review a series of proposals for understanding this relation. I argue that existing accounts of the relationship between group agents and their members are either incorrect or incomplete. Insights from existing approaches point toward a fuller account of the relationship between group agents and their members."--Introduction
Dee-jay drop that deadbeat : hip-hop's remix of fatherhood narratives
Authors:   , Adolph Jessie L. Sr.
Published: April 2021

This dissertation examines hip-hop fatherhood narratives from 2010-2015 influenced by drug addiction, mass incarceration, underground economies, trauma, and dysfunctional co-parenting. Explicitly, the paper explores how marginalized, urban African American dads are imagined as protectors, providers, and/or surrogates in hip-hop lyricism. Additionally, the research pays attention to hip-hop artists' depiction of identity orchestration and identity formation of black adolescents and patriarchs by utilizing David Wall's theories on identity stasis. Moreover, the dissertation critically analyzes hip-hop lyrics that reflect different concepts of maleness such as hyper-masculine, the complex cool, biblical, heroic, and hegemonic masculinities. In sum, the paper examines rap lyrics use of mimicry calling into question representative black male engagement with American patriarchy.
Narratives of the presidential nominating conventions : branding the parties and candidates
Authors:   , Bolton Joshua P.
Published: April 2021

After the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, both parties altered the manner in which the party nominees were chosen. This change resulted in a shift for the conventions away from choosing the party nominee to setting the nominee and party up for the coming campaign. This study investigates the way various speeches play a role in branding the parties and their nominee. By analyzing the prime time speeches for both the Republican and Democratic Parties from 1972-2016, this study found the role each genre of address played in crafting the party brand. Notably, the analysis discovered the keynote address has three subgenres (former primary opponent, former or outgoing president, and party member representing a key constituency) with each serving a different role when utilized. Primary opponents promote party unity, former or outgoing presidents discuss their legacy to indicate the nominee is the heir to that legacy, and representatives of key constituencies attack the opposition while promoting party ideals. Spousal addresses focus on promoting a family narrative. Vice Presidential Nominees focus their branding efforts on attacking the opposition. Presidential nominees discuss a leadership narrative and policy branding. The nature of the election also impacts the party branding. An incumbent president or vice president usually has the incumbent party branding themselves as proven leaders while their opposition brand themselves as the party of change. Open elections have involved the parties battling over a qualified insider against a political outsider offering change. Finally, the Democratic Party has been less stable over the years than the Republicans in their branding. Democrats have shifted from the center to more liberal multiple times in an effort to meet the perceived desires of the American voter.
A thousand TV shows : applying a rhizomatic lens to television genres
Authors:   , Brock Nettie
Published: April 2021

One frequent technique for studying television is through genre. However, with the complex television environment of the 21st century, many genre studies do not adequately account for how generic television programs intersect other generic traits. This study probes how genre works within complex television narratives and proposes a new way of thinking about genre. Through Deleuze and Guattari's (1987) theory of the rhizome, I will suggest an interconnected understanding of genre characteristics. The television landscape is a complex, dynamic structure; the assortment of programs and the traits of those programs differ greatly from one moment to the next. Therefore, this study will propose a meta-theory that enables studying this landscape. The theory of the generic rhizome challenges simplistic readings of television texts; opens texts up to endless possible interpretations and insights; and it flattens cultural hierarchies. In two studies, which look at sitcoms and Westerns, I tease out this theory and study television shows in a way that mines, rather than flattens, the complexity of the medium.
Sisterhood as strategy : the collaborations of American women artists in the gilded age
Authors:   , Malone Kelsey Frady
Published: April 2021

This dissertation employs four case studies--illustrator Alice Barber Stephens in Philadelphia; Louisville-born sculptor Enid Yandell; photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston in Washington, D.C.; and the Newcomb College Pottery in New Orleans--to show how individual women artists from a variety of media utilized collaborative strategies to advance their professional careers. These strategies included mentoring, teaching, and sharing commissions with one another; establishing art organizations; sharing studio and living spaces; organizing and participating in all-female art exhibitions; and starting businesses to market their work. At a historical moment when expectations and ideas towards gender roles and feminine performance were shifting, these women artists negotiated these changes as well as those of a fine art world that was redefining itself in an increasingly consumer-based culture that challenged traditional definitions of the "professional" artist. "Sisterhood as Strategy" intersects with important work in the fields of American History, Women's and Gender Studies, and Art History. It bridges a gap between broad, cultural histories of women's artistic production and more focused scholarly studies on women's labor and organized womanhood. Indeed, this dissertation brings more specificity to these areas by focusing on particular artists who were highly acclaimed during their lifetime but who have since fallen through the cracks of the art historical canon and by attending to the wide array of genres and media that all artists, men and women, worked with during the era: illustration, photography, public sculpture, and the decorative arts. By analyzing the art produced as a result of collaboration; the artists' letters, photographs, and personal papers; and contemporary mass media, particularly art journals and popular ladies' magazines, this dissertation recovers the voices of artists who served as professional role models and creates a far more diverse picture of the people and art forms that constituted early modern American visual culture.
Resistance to the dominant economic discourses : making sense of the economy from a working-class neighborhood
Authors:   , Carrillo Arnal Anna
Published: April 2021

This study explores the way that working-class people contest dominant economic discourses and how they develop alternative explanations for their economic situation. Based on qualitative interviews, participant observation, and archival research in an urban working-class neighborhood of Spain, findings are that the workers do not reproduce dominant economic discourses because there is an alternative economic discourse that has gained importance in the community. This alternative discourse, with a clear Marxist base, stands for workers' rights and the welfare state, rejects cuts on the budget for social services, and blames the national elites for the current economic crisis. The dissertation analyzes the three historical processes that produced this alternative discourse, (1) the neighborhood movement for the improvement of the living conditions in the community, (2) the resistance against the Franco dictatorship, and (3) the workers' struggle to achieve labor and social rights through the organized labor movement. Findings also reveal how the members of the community are socialized into this alternative discourse and how the discourse is used in the everyday life of the community to contest dominant economic discourses. The findings demonstrate that the very pro-worker economic discourse that allows workers to contest mainstream economic discourses constitutes a major element of demobilization of the community. Finally, the paper also provides important insights on the socializing role of neighborhood organizations and workers' unions and political parties, as well as an analysis of how Spanish urban workers understand social stratification.
Bayesian hierarchical modeling of colorectal and breast cancer data in Missouri
Authors:   , Du Jiang
Published: April 2021

Data on cancer in the United States is collected through cancer registries. The Missouri Cancer Registry and Research Center (MCR-ARC) maintains a statewide cancer surveillance system and participate in research in support of the prevention of cancer and the reduction of the cancer burden among Missouri residents. We applied Bayesian hierarchical models to colorectal cancer (CRC) and breast cancer related data collected by the MCR-ARC. In the first project, CRC incidence and mortality rates in Missouri were studied with emphasis on different groups of people categorized by age, gender and county at diagnosis. The incidence and mortality data were aggregated into different spatial regions due to data confidential requirements, which was identified as a misaligned-region problem in multivariate disease mapping literature. The Marginally and Conditionally CAR models were built to address the problem. Later on, colorectal cancer screening (CRCS) prevalences were analyzed due to its importance to the early detection of CRC. We applied small area estimation techniques to produce county-level CRCS prevalences from the state-level Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data. The last two projects focused on breast cancer related data. One is about breast cancer survival analysis in Missouri with emphasis on detecting the spatial variation of survival time among counties in Missouri, after accounting for the differences in demographic and cancer stages. The other one is studying the disparities of breast cancer treatment delay with respect to patient's race, age, stage of cancer, county at diagnosis and year of diagnosis.
A video self modeling intervention to modify aggressive behaviors in students with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disabilities
Authors:   , Sadler Kate M.
Published: April 2021

This study evaluated the efficacy of a video self-modeling and functional behavior assessment intervention on a traditionally under-represented population. Students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Intellectual Disabilities (ID) are prone to higher rates of aggressive behavior that can be resistant to treatment. Under the frameworks of Behaviorism and Social Cognitive Theory an intervention was developed to decrease aggressive behaviors and increase self-regulated behavior. A multiple baseline design across stimulus conditions with inter-subject replication was conducted to explore the effects of the intervention. Data was collected on both the rate of aggressive behaviors and the use of a replacement behavior which fostered socially appropriate self-regulation. The data indicate that both participants demonstrated a decrease in aggressive behavior immediately following intervention across all stimulus conditions. Data collected on the replacement behavior indicated a change from baseline to intervention but results differed across participants.
Analysis of content and pedagogical content knowledge in secondary mathematics teachers' preparation programs : perceptions of novice teachers, cooperating teachers, and university professors
Authors:   , Dorsey Angela
Published: April 2021

Previous research focused on characteristics of effective teachers, teacher recruitment or new pathways to teaching (Ball and Forzani, 2009; Ronfeldt et. al., 2014). However, there is a gap in the research regarding the best path to prepare secondary math teachers. Universities create a customized path of preparation based on their beliefs within the scope of a set of standards given by organizations such as the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics or National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. Further research supports the necessity for both content and pedagogical knowledge (Ball, 2000; Graham and Fennell, 2001; NCATE, 2010; Thames and Ball, 2010). Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative case study pursues to increase the research by uncovering perceptions of secondary math teacher preparation with the standards, content knowledge, and content pedagogical knowledge. The study included two universities? programs to gain awareness as to the interpretations of novice teachers, cooperating teachers, and University professors of the pre-service training program used to prepare future secondary mathematics educators. The findings suggest: while only the Mathematics Education Professor at both Universities were the only study participants to have a vast knowledge of the standards it did not seem to impede on the overall preparation of the novice teacher. Novice and Cooperating teachers lacked the vision for the purpose and value of upper level math classes required for the degree. Both Novice and Cooperating Teachers wanted an increase in opportunities for real-world content pedagogical situations along with differentiation, co-teaching, and Special Education. Novice teachers acknowledged the need for relationships with University professors and peers in their path toward preparation. Lastly, Mathematics Education Professors stated value in making connections between courses and research to high school math. Furthermore, the finding suggest for teacher preparation program: to prepare secondary math teachers for the current culture of mathematics education, content and pedagogical courses should not be separated and a push to increase program enrollment should be a priority.