bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dialectical behavior therapy skills for borderline personality disorder features and related indices
Authors:   , Wycoff Andrea Marie
Published: September 2024

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is an empirically supported treatment for borderline personality disorder (BPD). The four components of standard outpatient DBT function together to provide comprehensive treatment for individuals with BPD. The proposed study aims to extend recent research regarding the importance of the skills component of DBT, within the context of the full treatment. Participants were outpatients enrolled in the DBT program of a university-affiliated mental health clinic. Self-reported measures of their skills use were collected weekly, and self-reported outcome measures of BPD features, problems with emotion regulation, and mindfulness were collected several times throughout the course of treatment. Multilevel models were used to examine associations between skills use and outcome measures. Results partially supported hypotheses regarding the associations between skills use and BPD features. Skills use in general predicted improvements in BPD features, mindfulness skills specifically predicted improvements in BPD features as well as improvements in affective instability and identity disturbance, and emotion regulation skills predicted improvements in emotion regulation. Despite several limitations, this study provides additional evidence on the importance of skills training with particular emphasis on the unique contributions of specific categories of skills use in DBT.
Evaluation and development of early pregnancy diagnosis in dairy cattle
Authors:   , Mayo Lauren Maurice
Published: September 2024

Early chemical pregnancy tests for use in dairy cattle are necessary to aid in reducing the costs associated with days the animal is not pregnant. Identifying non-pregnant dairy cattle sooner would allow for efficient treatments and improve decision making for culling cows from the herd. A new rapid visual pregnancy associated glycoproteins test 25 days after insemination had equal sensitivity and accuracy to existing tests. With respect to on-farm application, the slightly lower specificity reinforces the need for a second pregnancy diagnosis (either chemical test or alternative method) after the period of embryonic loss has subsided. Measurement of interferon stimulated gene 15 in milk and blood cells was successful to detect non-pregnant cows but was not robust to serve as an imperfect early pregnancy biomarker. ISG15 expression in both blood and milk somatic cells was greater for pregnant compared with non-pregnant Holstein cows. The reason for increased ISG15 expression and variability among cows is still not understood. ISG15 expression in peripheral blood leukocytes was greater for pregnant compared with non-pregnant Holstein cows. ISG15 increased in the circulation during early pregnancy and responded to a minimal dose of 10 pg/ml when blood was tested in vitro. The in vivo response to pregnancy and in vitro responses to a known dose of IFNT, however, were not correlated. Individual cow differences for ISG15 were not explained by the sensitivity of PBL to IFNT. We failed to confirm a strong correlation between day 18 ISG15 expression and day 25 PAG concentration in pregnant dairy cows and heifers. Further investigation of novel biomarkers to develop a robust chemical pregnancy test in dairy cows 18 days after insemination is still needed.
Investigation of high strain rate properties of graphene reinforced aluminum foam under varying temperature
Authors:   , Sinha Akhouri Amitanand
Published: September 2024

Closed cell aluminum foam is a unique type of lightweight metal that is able to sustain considerable deformation under a nearly constant stress known as plateau stress. Under dynamic loading, aluminum foams are good energy absorbers. However, they still suffer from low strength and therefore, it is important to enhance the strength of closed cell aluminum foams. In this investigation, aluminum foams reinforced with different graphene concentrations: 0.2, 0.4, 0.5, 0.62 wt. percent. were fabricated using a liquid metallurgy route. The compressive dynamic behavior of Al-foam reinforced with graphene has been studied over a range of strain rate ranging from 1000 s-1 to 2200 s-1 using the Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) apparatus. The mechanical response was studied at room temperature (298 K) as well as at a high temperature of 473 K and 623 K. It was observed that graphene reinforced aluminum foams are sensitive to strain rate. Mechanical properties like peak stress, plateau stress and energy absorption were examined. Among the different graphene concentrations investigated under various strain rates, 0.62 wt. percent aluminum foam showed the highest peak stress, plateau stress and energy absorption over the temperature range studied.
Evolution of environmental news and the 'coconut wireless' : a study of the communication methods and strategies of environmental nonprofits on Kau'i
Authors:   , Zickos Riccoco
Published: September 2024

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI--COLUMBIA AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Catastrophic environmental news bombards us on a regular basis, yet, issues from human impact persist. Despite the number of environmental nonprofits working toward mitigating damage to the planet, problems prevail. Environmental degradation is such a complex and enormous issue; however, despite the limited resources of a few environmental nonprofits on Kaua'i, they have managed to be successful at making a local impact. Campaigns, such as banning plastic bags and halting the operations of an interisland ferry, are two examples of the many ways that Kaua'i environmental nonprofits have made a difference. And the groups have done so by largely relying on traditional communication methods and strategies, including word-of-mouth (also known as the "coconut wireless" in Hawaii), local newspaper articles and flyers pinned to bulletin boards. ... More information does not indicate a correlation to more action. It might help people recognize the problem but an audience needs concrete, easy ways to take action. Kaua'I's nonprofits struggle financially, but they've all found effective ways to deliver their messages and initiate action from the local community. The study concludes that environmental nonprofits would benefit from setting strategic social media communication goals and focusing less on spreading as much information as possible through these outlets and more on building a community and a local network though campaigns that correlate to direct action. Social media is helpful in raising awareness about the environmental nonprofits' missions but building community and making things personally beneficial to people contributes the most to direct action among citizens, especially when it's via the good, "'ole fashioned "coconut wireless."
"I saw the striped couch"
Authors:   , Franko Lisa
Published: September 2024

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] When an image is repeated enough times, it begins to leave an impression in the subconscious of our mind. Advertisers have been able to utilize this phenomenon to create brands, typically through the repetition of simplified forms and colors that begin to be associated with that brand, eventually becoming a logo that is synonymous with the brand it represents. Overtime, the logo becomes more important than the product it adorns, and the logo becomes the ideal. ... The exhibition's title "i saw the striped couch", references how we as individuals identify ourselves by the experiences we have, in the same way that we identify our personalities with the objects we choose to purchase, wear, or display in our homes. By treating the striped couch as another "must see", "must have" object, the exhibition is replicating the way products and experiences are marketed within a Capitalist society. However, there are always gaps between the advertised "ideal" and the real thing, and by creating work that hovers somewhere between these worlds, I leave viewers with the sense that seeing the striped couch may be the closest they will ever come to engaging with the product I have created.
Time, the river, and the mountain : ecology and technology in Finnegans Wake
Authors:   , Kerker Adam
Published: September 2024

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI--COLUMBIA AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] This paper broadly investigates Finnegans Wake's resonance with ecological and environmental themes. It reads the motif of recirculation in the novel as central to the author's critique of modernity. Joyce sets up an opposition between natural recirculation -- embodied by the Wakean heroes of time, the river, and the mountain -- and modernity/modernization, represented in the novel by technology and by humanity's exploitation of the natural world. Although an opposition is established between them, the Wake often harmonizes the natural world and the human one. In an age when theorists predict that we have entered a new geological epoch -- the Anthropocene, a time when humans have clearly left their stamp on the natural world in an irrevocable fashion -- the Wake's harmonizing of the natural and the human might be thought to augur the development of genres meant to interrogate our current predicament, namely climate and Anthropocene fictions.
Doxa : prayerful pots
Authors:   , Ordway Eric Alan
Published: September 2024

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] My thesis title, Doxa : Prayerful Pots, comes from ancient Greek, "Doxa" meaning "belief." This word was later used to translate the Hebrew word "glory" in Christian texts. These dual definitions appear in contemporary ideas of orthodoxy "a true belief " and "doxolog" "an expression of praise." This thesis explores connections between the process of making clay vessels on the potter's wheel and the act of prayer through the lens of the Judeo-Christian creation story of God as potter. These topics, manifested in the physical work, are based on a previous body of art historical research in philosophical and theological concepts. In this thesis, I argue that making work by hand is still relevant in contemporary society as it allows for a spiritual connection through personal reflection, the handling of the material, and the vessel as a metaphor. These themes are expressed in my vessels through simple ceramic forms, how the clay bears the marks of process and the evidence of atmospheric firing on the surface. Each vessel presents the new and old doxa: columns reach for boldness to approach the Divine, bowls long to serve, cups seek to commune, and platters embody the process of life. Doxa reminds me of a timeless truth that the glorious can be found in the mundane, the divine in the common.
Altar kulture
Authors:   , Williams Darrell
Published: September 2024

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] My thesis artworks are a result of bringing disparate approaches together into a unique combination of Kustom Kulture processes and Fine Art perspectives. This unique, historically based structure forms a bridge between two very different, often polarized, worlds. I am taking processes, subject matter, and surfaces from Kustom Kulture and using them to comment on the issue I see of people looking for answers, comfort, knowledge, and truth in places that it really doesn't exist. The images I create bring imagery from Kustom Kulture, including subtle amounts of sarcasm and large amounts of appropriation, and place them on items in the fashion of traditional allegorical altarpiece imagery. The inclusion of automotive supports and mediums, along with other found objects, provides an avenue for the discussion of works that would normally exist outside of a fine art environment. Given that many people in the Kustom Kulture world place craft at a higher level of importance than concept, I have constructed my works with a mindset that I am building these pieces to be placed in a highly competitive custom car show. My works utilize the tradition of vanitas painting and altarpiece references, putting a custom interpretation on them, relying heavily on my understanding of car culture. The imagery I have chosen is meant to be a direct substitution of Kustom Kulture iconography for their traditional fine art counterpart. I attempt to embed a moral message within the imagery that I have developed from common imagery used in car customization. Through visual gags, hidden messages, and counterintuitive appropriations of historical imagery, I maintain the sarcastic tone often seen in Kustom Kulture. The techniques "filling and smoothing" and supports "hoods and body panels" I use come directly from Kustom Kulture. Ultimately, I want the works to celebrate Kustom Kulture while using its kitschy and ironic qualities to highlight concerns I have about the contemporary world. Material objects being revered, created items being placed in a position of deity, adoration of desire, are among the topics I will cover.
The dream is more than process
Authors:   , Christensen Mikkel S.
Published: September 2024

The piece is a more overt nod to my rap and rap-culture related influences. This is manifested in a number of ways, the beat-box flute throughout the mid-section of the piece, and the bass line and kick drum dancing around each other underneath among others.
Social media usage news consumption, behaviors, and online civic reasoning among Generation Z
Authors:   , Collins Lisa
Published: September 2024

The purpose of the research is to examine social media usage for news consumption, news behaviors, and online civic reasoning among Generation Z. Specifically, the study has two main purposes: 1) examine social media usage frequency for news consumption and other news behaviors (e.g., sharing, liking) via social media; and 2) examine the extent to which Gen Z uses aspects of online civic reasoning in their social media news consumption/behaviors. This was accomplished via an online survey of Gen Z college-aged students (N=187) enrolled at a private university located in the southern part of the United States.
Weak phase retrieval and phaseless reconstruction
Authors:   , Ghoreishi Dorsa
Published: September 2024

Phase retrieval and phaseless reconstruction for Hilbert space frames is a very active area of research. Recently, it was shown that these concepts are equivalent. In this thesis, we make a detailed study of a weakening of these concepts to weak phase retrieval and weak phaseless reconstruction. We will give several necessary and/or su cient conditions for frames to have these weak properties. We will prove three surprising results: (1) Weak phaseless reconstruction is equivalent to phaseless reconstruction. I.e. It was never weak; (2) Weak phase retrieval is not equivalent to weak phaseless reconstruction; (3) Weak phase retrieval requires at least 2m - 1 vectors in an m-dimensional Hilbert space. We also gives several examples illustrating the relationship between these concepts.
Methods of imaging articular cartilage under shear
Authors:   , Jacoby Charles
Published: September 2024

Characterizing both the structure of articular cartilage, and its biomechanical properties is key to gaining a full understanding of how the tissue functions. Articular cartilage is an inhomogeneous tissue with a depth dependent functional structures. This results in anisotropic depth dependent mechanical properties, which help this tissue deal with a harsh mechanical environment. Collagen fibers orientation plays an important role in the significant depth dependent functional traits of articular cartilage. Distinguishing the structural regions of articular cartilage, and relating that to the depth dependent mechanical properties of the tissue, could lead to a significant increase in our understanding of the relationship between structure and function for articular cartilage.
"Life is harder" : the perceived impact of a newspaper closure on community members
Authors:   , Matthews Nicholas Emanuel
Published: September 2024

This study presents findings from 18 in-depth interviews with residents of a recent news desert and offers a systematic qualitative investigation of the perceived impact of a newspaper's closure on community members' everyday lives and, just as important, their sense of community. This case study, using the psychological theory of sense of community as its theoretical framework, shows a noticeable negative effect on community members' sense of community, with participants missing celebrated gatherings, suffering from an increased sensation of isolation and diminished pride in the community. In addition, without newspaper reporters stationed in the county, residents function as reporters themselves, laboring to obtain information. Overall, these findings present a picture of life in Caroline County, Virginia, following the Caroline Progress' closure after 99 years of service to the county.
Development of web services in academic environment
Authors:   , Qin Yongfang
Published: September 2024

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI--COLUMBIA AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] The rapid growth in the use of the World Wide Web (WWW) has been noted by many researchers and practitioners. Web services have become a powerful and irreplaceable tool to help us spread information and help companies to perform product promotion. Nowadays, web services are also a new tool in modern life to help people make work easier and live better. Website development is a growing aspect of Information Technology (IT) services within many organizations; however, the methodology in which website development actually takes place within organizations is still largely uncertain. Project managers and developers use methodology to guide development processes and manage projects. The methodology we chose should be efficient and effective within certain development environments. This thesis provides practical experience on web service development in an academic environment using the College of Engineering (COE) Grant Dashboard and COE Request System as examples. The COE Grant Dashboard is an ASP.NET website used to manage and statistically analyze records of research awards, expenditures, and proposals in the College of Engineering. The COE Request System is a full-stack Java workflow system which is used to submit and track all College of Engineering related requests. It replaces paper-requests by e-requests, largely speeds up the process of handling requests, and increases accuracy. These systems were developed from the beginning with no prior development. This thesis focuses on the practical methodology of building web services in the academic environment based on agile software development. Agile development offers the ability to improve software development outcomes. The results in this research show the effectiveness of the methodology after the successful development of the COE Grant Dashboard and the COE Request System. User requirement analysis, selection of programming languages and website frameworks, windows server setup, and many other items will be covered in thesis.
Quantification and characterization of the antitumoral agent taccalonolides isolated from black bat flower (tacca chantrieri) in Indonesia
Authors:   , Dwikarina Amanda
Published: September 2024

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Bat flower (Tacca chantrieri) is a widespread species that can be found in tropical regions of South East Asia. Phytochemical study reveals a class of anti-tumor compound called Taccalonolides, has been identified from the rhizome of bat flowers, T. chantrieri. As the primary source of taccalonolides, harvesting the rhizome of the plant gives a concern to the conservation of this species that is already difficult to cultivate. Finding the alternative sources to this compound can be a solution to prevent species extinction and ensure the sustainable production regime. We utilized LC-MS and LC-MS/MS for identification and quantification of Taccalonolide A and E in different plant tissues: leaves, stem, and rhizome. The concentrations of both Taccalonolide A and Taccalonolide E have been successfully determined in the three different plant tissues, leaves, stems and rhizomes collected from Indonesia and Australia. Our findings suggested that leaves and stems can be an excellent alternative source for this compound. We investigated the effect of environmental stress to the production and accumulation of taccalonolides in different plant tissues. Our study demonstrated that induced-water-stress enhance the production of Taccalonolide A and E significantly in the root and leaves of black bat flower. This study provides a solution to prevent species extinction and ensure the sustainable production of the bioactive antitumor molecules from the black bat flower (Tacca chantrieri). We also studied the bioactivity and possible mode of actions of antitumor compound, taccalonolides using the molecular genetic approach. Our findings suggested that Taccalonolide A has higher sensitivity against breast cancer cell line than normal breast cell line.
Developing and evaluating the effectiveness of a place based climate change education toolkit in Missouri
Authors:   , Khadka Akriti
Published: September 2024

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Climate change is the most serious environmental issue facing humans in modern society. It is more relevant today than ever before since a massive increase in greenhouse gas emissions is predicted to occur during the next 50 years. Since humans are major contributors to this irreversible change, there are primary two ways to respond to this threat: mitigation and adaption. Strategic action is needed, and education is key to raise public awareness and understanding of climate change impacts. Parks and protected areas are ideal locations to communicate the impacts of climate change. People regard parks as highly important and many of them have special connections with these places, thus, they are more likely to respond to impacts that they can see first-hand. According to a recent study, state park interpreters in Missouri showed interest in talking to visitors about climate change if the approach is place-based. Place-based education features local impacts that have the potential to deepen public awareness and understanding of climate change. This study developed and evaluated the effectiveness of a place-based toolkit for climate change education by using a quasi-experimental design. The study involved 38 high school students. We hypothesized that place-based education would promote student knowledge, awareness about climate change, sense of responsibility, and hope to take individual and collective actions regarding climate change as compared to the traditional teaching method. Program effectiveness was assessed using a set of pre- and post-test instruments. Results of the study suggest that carefully designed place-based climate change education can be an effective way to engage high-school students with climate change. There was a significant amount of increase in student knowledge, sense of responsibility, awareness, and hope regarding climate change after implementing the place-based education program as compared to those who were taught about this environmental issue in a traditional manner.
Utilizing radiotracer and genetic approaches to determine the regulation of sucrose export in maize leaves
Authors:   , Tran Thu Minh
Published: September 2024

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] To sustain plant growth, development, and ultimately crop yield, carbohydrates must be transported from their site of synthesis in leaves to distant parts of the plant, such as seeds or roots. Yet little is known about the genes controlling carbohydrate distribution in plants. The main goal of this dissertation is to understand an aspect of the genetic control of carbohydrate partitioning in maize. The first chapter summarizes three mechanisms by which sugars are loaded into phloem for long-distance transport and discusses the regulation of cell-to-cell transport through plasmodesmata. I also discuss the main objectives of my dissertation research in the first chapter. Chapter 2 describes my work on developing a new tool using radioactive Fluorine-18 ([18]F) labeled sucrose to visualize sugar transport in maize plants. Physiological, genetic, and biochemical evidence showed that maize SUCROSE TRANSPORTER1 (ZmSUT1) is responsible for transporting sucrose into phloem; however, mechanistic aspects of sucrose binding by maize SUT1 are not well resolved. Specific hydroxyl groups in sucrose have been showed to participate in hydrogen bonding with SUT proteins. Hence, the main question that I asked was whether 18F substitution of hydroxyl groups at various positions within sucrose impacts the binding and the transport ability of ZmSUT1 for [18]F labeled sucrose. In chapter 3, I describes a simple and inexpensive method for constructing a fully automatic controlled growth chamber that can be easily adapted in plant biology laboratories as well as classrooms. The system can be used to study plant responses to numerous abiotic and biotic stress conditions and to grow and characterize large plants, such as maize and soybean. Chapter 4 details my characterization and cloning of carbohydrate partitioning defective33 (cpd33), a recessive mutant that accumulates excess starch and soluble sugars in the mature leaves. Based on the phenotype of cpd33 mutants, and the subcellular localization of the protein, I proposed that CPD33 functions to promote sucrose export into the phloem. Chapter 5 summarizes the findings of this dissertation and presents future research directions. Appendix A is an excerpt from a published review that I coauthored on how heat stress impacts carbohydrate partitioning and phloem transport. Appendix B is taken from a paper that I coauthored, and details my work to apply the 18F labelled sucrose transport assay to study the function of another maize sucrose transporter, Sucrose transporter2. Appendix C is taken from a paper that I coauthored to examine transcriptional responses to reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in maize. Appendix D summarizes my characterization and mapping of Carbohydrate partitioning defective26 and Carbohydrate partitioning defective29.
Examining perceptual load capacity in Autism Spectrum Disorders and trait anxiety
Authors:   , Boland Kelly Minnette
Published: September 2024

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Perceptual load theory posits that there is a limited amount of information a person can perceive at any given time and information is processed automatically until reaching this capacity. Recent studies suggest that perceptual capacity may be enhanced in individuals with high trait anxiety and those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The present study sought to replicate these findings and investigate whether this perceptual phenomenon is driven by anxiety (due to the high comorbidity of these conditions) or an underlying mechanism common to both of these conditions. Using a computerized paradigm that manipulates perceptual load, the performance of 28 young adult males (ages 18-26 years old) with ASD was compared to that of 28 young adult males without ASD. Individuals in both groups also varied on their levels of trait anxiety. Results from this study indicate a relationship between anxiety and perceptual capacity such that individuals with higher anxiety perform better at higher perceptual loads than individuals with lower anxiety. These findings applied to both individuals with and without ASD. This provides evidence for a relationship between enhanced perceptual capacity and anxiety that extends to an ASD population. In addition, results indicate a relationship between ASD diagnosis and task performance, such that individuals with ASD performed worse overall than individuals without ASD regardless of perceptual load difficulty. Possible explanations for this pattern of results are discussed.
Parameterized uncertainty modeling applied to the oxygen control of neonates with lung disease
Authors:   , Belcke Stuart Richard
Published: September 2024

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Premature infants born in a hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) commonly have underdeveloped lungs which is a cause of Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS). In this instance the child must be placed on an assisted breathing apparatus. A mechanical ventilation or increased inspired oxygen assists the neonate's ability to maintain healthy blood oxygen levels. For prematurely born infants, a desired range of 85 percent-92 percent blood oxygen saturation is healthiest. Current methods of regulating blood saturation levels are through manual regulation by human interaction. A nurse in the NICU must be on hand to closely monitor vital signs of the infant and manually adjust the percentage of inspired oxygen accordingly. An automatic oxygen control system could yield higher accuracy and increased reliability and security while simultaneously reducing the workload of nurses in the NICU. Clinical data of saturation rates of neonates has been collected and parameterized into first order, frequency-based transfer functions. The parameters of the systems are: DC Gain, Time Constant, and Time Delay. Each oxygen saturation event has its own values to the parameters. Using a genetic algorithm, a lower dimension uncertainty model can be optimized to the spectrum of parameters, representing the variable range of oxygen saturation rates. The model of the transfer functions' coefficients is used to resample a set of data dependent on the original data's density. The lower dimensional parameterization and the increased sample size lowers the model uncertainty, and for which a less conservative controller can designed to robustly and accurately regulate the blood oxygen level of premature infants.
Clothianidin decomposition in Missouri wetland soils
Authors:   , Beringer Chelsey Joy
Published: September 2024

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Neonicotinoids are a class of pesticides that have been prevalently used in agriculture since the 1990s. Globally, most neonicotinoid application ([about]60 percent) is delivered via seed or soil treatment. Studies have shown that [about]5 percent of the neonicotinoid coating is taken up by the plant while the remaining [about]95 percent is left behind in soil, soil water, or becomes drift (<1 percent). Neonicotinoids can persist in agricultural soils for extended periods of time; however, they also have a high leaching potential into ground and surface waters. Many studies have found negative effects associated with neonicotinoids and non-target taxa, including aquatic invertebrate, pollinating species, and insectivorous birds. Clothianidin (CTN) degradation and sorption were evaluated to assess the potential for wetland soils to mitigate potential environmental risks associated with neonicotinoids. Solid-to-solution partition coefficients (K[d]values) were determined via a single-point sorption experiment, and sorption isotherm experiments were conducted using the two most contrasting soils. Clothianidin degradation was determined under oxic and anoxic conditions over the course of 60 days. Clothianidin degradation data were fit to zero-order and first-order kinetic decay models to determine CTN half-life ([t0.5])values. Sorption results indicated that CTN sorption to wetland soil is relatively weak (average K[d] = 3.58 L kg-]); thus, CTN has potential to be mobile within wetland soils. However, anoxic and oxic incubation results showed that anoxic conditions significantly increased CTN degradation in wetland soils (anoxic average [t0.5]=27.2 days; oxic average [t0.5]= 149.1 days). A significant negative correlation existed between anoxic half-life values and organic carbon content (r[2]=0.782; p=0.046). Greater CTN degradation rates in wetland soils under anoxic conditions suggests that managing wetlands to facilitate anoxic conditions could help mitigate CTN presence in the environment and reduce exposure to non-target organisms.
Vessels of humility
Authors:   , Pearson Anthony
Published: September 2024

My ceramic work is influenced by historical pottery and the vast barren Southwestern landscape. It consists of wheel thrown and hand formed pots such as jars, boxes and vases. These vessels become a vehicle for conversation and embody the essence of humility. I make work with a mindset of accepting the irregularities in the work. By roughly scraping the surfaces to create textures, I produce multiple irregularities, making the objects more relatable to the viewer. This work personifies and acknowledges humility and brings importance to the act of being. Through my making, I attempt to carry this modest feeling into my vessels. I am creating individual pieces to be viewed and experienced one by one. I choose to concentrate on using simple methods throughout my whole process. Through this aesthetic, I capture my vision and the humble tone I want to convey.
Dynamic framing processes between an organization and its audience : an examination of the Equifax cybersecurity crisis
Authors:   , Kight Lauren Olivia
Published: September 2024

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI--COLUMBIA AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] During a crisis, public relations professionals not only need to decide how they will frame a crisis with specific messaging, but also need to be prepared to adjust that messaging depending on the public's reaction. For the purposes of this research, a crisis is defined as a dynamic process that involves an evolving conversation between organization and its audience. Due to the gap in current research on this topic, this study will examine how an organization framed and reframed messaging and how their audience accepted/rejected and interpreted those frames during a crisis. Through a qualitative framing analysis of public relations communications, social media, and blogs, this study will examine the 2017 Equifax cybersecurity incident and identify critical moments to explore the interaction between the organization and its audience.
Representation of Hispanic culture in Delta's Sky magazine
Authors:   , Allen Jenna
Published: September 2024

As part of the largest minority group in the U.S., Hispanic people play an increasingly significant role in media consumption. Prior studies have investigated this key demographic's consumption of advertising, but research about editorial content targeting this key demographic is lacking. To fill this gap, this study examined the representation of Hispanic culture in the articles and photos that compose the Spanish section, Despegando, of Delta Air Lines' Sky magazine from 2014 to 2019. The content was examined for the presence of five stereotypes realized in prior research: family, soccer, ethnic pride, experience with discrimination, and spirituality. The study found that all five stereotypes were discussed in the articles, but the results did not provide conclusive evidence to establish that the text in Despegando reinforced stereotypes. However, the minimal amount of photos that depicted stereotypes suggested that the photos do not reinforce them. The most frequently addressed stereotype in the text was family, whereas the most prevalent stereotype in the photos varied between ethnic pride, religion, and family. Further, it was shown that Despegando's inclusion of stereotyperelated content rose and fell over the past 6 years, suggesting that its content hasn't been influenced greatly based political changes and sentiments.
Artificial intelligence enabled automatic traffic monitoring system
Authors:   , Mandal Vishal
Published: September 2024

The rapid advancement in the field of machine learning and high-performance computing have highly augmented the scope of video-based traffic monitoring systems. In this study, an automatic traffic monitoring system is proposed that deploys several state-of-the-art deep learning algorithms based on the nature of traffic operation. Taking advantage of a large database of annotated video surveillance data, deep learning-based models are trained to track congestion, detect traffic anomalies and tabulate vehicle counts. To monitor traffic queues, this study implements a Mask region-based convolutional neural network (Mask R-CNN) that predicts congestion using pixel-level segmentation masks on classified regions of interest. Similarly, the model was used to accurately extract traffic queue-related information from infrastructure mounted video cameras. The use of infrastructure-mounted CCTV cameras for traffic anomaly detection and verification is further explored. Initially, a convolutional neural network model based on you only look once (YOLO), a popular deep learning framework for object detection and classification is deployed. The following identification model, together with a multi-object tracking system (based on intersection over union -- IOU) is used to search for and scrutinize various traffic scenes for possible anomalies. Likewise, several experiments were conducted to fine-tune the system's robustness in different environmental and traffic conditions. Some of the techniques such as bounding box suppression and adaptive thresholding were used to reduce false alarm rates and refine the robustness of the methodology developed. At each stage of our developments, a comparative analysis is conducted to evaluate the strengths and limitations of the proposed approach. Likewise, IOU tracker coupled with YOLO was used to automatically count the number of vehicles whose accuracy was later compared with a manual counting technique from CCTV video feeds. Overall, the proposed system is evaluated based on F1 and S3 performance metrics. The outcome of this study could be seamlessly integrated into traffic system such as smart traffic surveillance system, traffic volume estimation system, smart work zone management systems, etc.
Automated conflation framework for integrating transportation big datasets
Authors:   , Choubey Neetu
Published: September 2024

The constant merging of the data, commonly known as Conflation, from various sources, has been a vital part for any phase of development, be it planning, governing the existing system or to study the effects of any intervention in the system. Conflation allows enriching the existing data by integrating information through numerous sources available out there. This process becomes unusually critical because of the complexities these diverse data bring along such as, distinct accuracies with which data has been collected, projections, diverse nomenclature adaption, etc., and hence demands special attention. Although conflation has always been a topic of interest among researchers, this area has witnessed a significant enthusiasm recently due to current advancements in the data collection methods. Even though with this escalation in interest, the developed methods didn't justify the expansions field of data collections has made. Contemporary conflation algorithms still lack an efficient automated technique; most of the existing system demands some sort of human involvement for the analysis to achieve higher accuracy. Through this work, an effort has been made to establish a fully automated process to conflate the road segments of Missouri state from two big data sources. Taking the traditional conflation a step further, this study has also focused on enriching the road segments with traffic information like delay, volume, route safety, etc., by conflating with available traffic data and crash data. The accuracy of the conflation rate achieved through this algorithm was 80-95 percent for the different data sources. The final conflated layer gives detailed information about road networks coupled with traffic parameters like delay, travel time, route safety, travel time reliability, etc.
Texan City magazine health news : a content analysis
Authors:   , Wendlandt Catherine
Published: September 2024

City magazines have a powerful role in convincing readers to take proactive health measures, however they rarely take advantage of their capacity to set their communities' public agendas. This study considered the health content in five city magazines in Texas: Austin Monthly, D Magazine, Fort Worth, Texas Magazine, Houstonia, and San Antonio Magazine. Using agenda building, agenda-setting, and second-level agenda-setting, this research quantitatively analyzed 169 health articles published in 2018 on the five magazines' websites for how the publications presented health news. The core findings of this research included: the overall agenda was actionable health, the city magazines were more than three times more likely to cite an indirect source than a human, and that salient story elements promoted the historical status quo of city magazines and not the health agenda or health literacy. The most prevalent story topic was nutrition/fitness, occurring in the majority of the articles. The core of my research was to question whether these publications were publishing health content that reflected their cities' health profiles. While some magazines, such as Houstonia and Fort Worth, Texas Magazine did better than others, all of the city magazines could improve.
Information and communication technologies : applications and benefits for second language acquisition
Authors:   , Da Silva Santos Diogenes
Published: September 2024

This paper aims to show how the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can help students achieve a higher degree of proficiency in a second language (SL), using these resources autonomously. Furthermore, I analyze in a systematic manner what the benefits obtained by undergraduate and graduate students, who made regular use of ICT were, as well as the issues related to learning a SL within the university context and out of it, with the help of these software/applications. The aim of this paper is to highlight the importance of the use of ICTs in the academic field because it analyses how students of a SL use free resources available online to increase the proficiency of their language skills, and how they can use them with other resources also covered here, for the purpose of improving the four skills present in the language acquisition process: speaking, listening, reading and writing. The methodology of this study was developed through a survey and data analysis; the data was used to determine which ICTs students utilize, as well as the language improvements noticed by them. This paper also analyses which ICTs students opt to use when studying on their own, that is, when they are on their way to becoming autonomous. Towards the end of this paper, it was verified that the use of these applications resulted in higher proficiency, especially in speaking and listening skills, and made the participants feel more confident using the SL; not only in its formal context but also recognizing its variants with native speakers.
Transmission of teen pregnancy attitutdes between mothers and adolscent daughters
Authors:   , Leaf Rebecca
Published: September 2024

Mothers have a significant influence in transmitting sexuality-related attitudes to their daughters. Although, mothers may influence her older and younger daughters differently. Including more than one child from the family was important for analyzing birth order as a moderator on mothers' attitude transmission. However, little is known about how maternal attitudes towards teen pregnancy influence her adolescent daughters' teen pregnancy attitudes or how mothers' influence is moderated by birth order and maternal acceptance. I examined how mothers' attitudes toward teen pregnancy were associated with her daughters' attitudes toward teen pregnancy the following year (controlling for daughters' own attitudes at Time 1; T1) (N = 36 triads). Using multilevel modeling, I found that mothers' attitudes were more significantly related to her older, but not younger, daughters' attitudes. Further, I found that mothers' attitudes were significantly related to her older daughters' teen pregnancy attitudes only under conditions of low maternal acceptance. These associations were dependent on the context of the mother- daughter relationship and birth order.
Evaluating pig performance, carcass merit and processed pork quality when chestnuts and acorns are fed to Duroc-influenced pig genetics during late finishing
Authors:   , Burdick Katelyn
Published: September 2024

The objective of this study was to determine effects of feeding chestnuts and acorns on growth performance, carcass quality and further processed products of Duroc/Duroc crossbred finishing barrows. Barrows (n = 30) were individually housed in pens, blocked by body weight and randomly assigned to one of three treatments: control (n = 10), inclusion of acorns at 15 percent of the diet (n = 7), inclusion of chestnuts at 15 percent of the diet (n = 13). Pigs were fed ad libitum for 28 d prior to harvest. Feed refusal and individual pig weights were collected every 7 d to determine growth performance. Following harvest, carcass quality was determined by objective color, fat composition and marbling scores. Fat samples were removed from four fat depots (backfat, seam, jowl, kidney and pelvic) and analyzed for fatty acid composition. Sample chops were analyzed for fatty acid composition, moisture and fat content. Bellies were processed into bacon slabs and analyzed for slice quality, fatty acid composition, moisture and fat content. Carcass characteristics, particle size and bacon quality were analyzed using GLM procedure of SAS. Growth performance and fatty acid composition were analyzed using MIXED procedure of SAS. Significance was determined at P-value < 0.05. Dietary treatments did not impact (P > 0.05) growth performance, carcass characteristics or carcass quality. Moreover, feeding acorns tended to similar concentrations (P = 0.079) of oleic acid (18:1n9c) and linoleic acid (18:2n6c) when compared to the control diet. However, feeding diets containing chestnuts tended to greater proportions (P = 0.079) of oleic acid and lower proportions (P = 0.079) of linoleic acid when compared to the control and acorn treatments. Acorns tended to increase (P < 0.0001) the total concentration of omega-6 fatty acids (n-6) when compared to chestnut diets, but no differences (P > 0.05) were observed between acorn and control diets. Inclusion of acorns and chestnuts did not negatively impact carcass characteristics, carcass quality or bacon quality, nevertheless, including acorns and chestnuts tended to alter oleic acid (18:1n9c), linoleic acid (18:2n6c) and total n-6 fatty acids.