2019 MU theses - Access restricted to UM
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Item Imperial masculinities of the modern romance : how intellectuals used imperial rhetoric to reassert middle-class masculinity in late 19th-century Britain(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019) Duncan, J. Forrest; Kartha, Ilyana[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI SYSTEM AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] In this thesis, I argue that authors of the modern romance in late Victorian Britain used imperialism and imperial rhetoric to reassert constructions of British, middle-class masculinity. I do so by examining the life and works of three authors, each with a different relationship and proximity to the British Empire: H. Rider Haggard, H.G. Wells, and Bram Stoker. In doing so, I show that this use of imperialism was not limited to ardent imperialists, such as Haggard, Rudyard Kipling, and Joseph Conrad, but that it could be used by a broader spectrum of middle-class men, including anti-imperialists, like Wells, and imperial collaborators, like Stoker. Each of these authors, despite their vastly different political and social views, wrote stories in which a white, middle-class man was thrust into some unknown territory or wilderness in which he had to engage in conquest of a physical and sexual nature. Through an analysis of each man's non-fiction and fiction works, I demonstrate that these imperial power relations were deeply enmeshed within the very fabric of Victorian life on the domestic front and reveal how they shaped gender, race, and class in this period. Finally, I reveal how such constructions of imperial masculinity persist in the 21st century in both Britain and the United States.Item Software automation for research and training in neuroscience(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019) Wei, Qinchen; Nair, Satish S., 1960-[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI SYSTEM AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Research and training in neural science and engineering is increasingly becoming data-intensive due to the need to integrate and analyze voluminous data being generated at multiple levels including intracellular, cellular, systems, behavior and clinical levels. Effective research also requires the need to access multi-omics data archives, heterogeneous software and computing resources, and seek multi-site interdisciplinary expertise, e.g., engineering, biology and psychology. All this, together with the fact that neuroscience researchers in general lack the background in advanced software tools, makes it important to develop automated and easy to use software tools to aid in both research and teaching in neuroscience. This research proposes software automation tools at both single cell and network levels using several methods. We then use the tools to solve one of the real-world problems involving the coordination of brain waves between two cortical regions.Item Herbage accumulation, nutritive value and nitrogen dynamics of a tall fescue forage system with either nitrogen fertilization or intercropped sunn hemp(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019) Tooley, Joshua; Naumann, Harley[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI SYSTEM AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Elevated temperatures and declining precipitation during the summer results in tall fescue [Schedonorus arundinaceus (Schreb.) Dumort., nom. Cons] forage systems limiting cattle production. Multiple solutions have been explored to help relieve the stress on the system. Sunn hemp (Crotalaria Juncea L.) is an annual warm season legume that has potential to fill the production gap within tall fescue systems. The objectives of this project were to alternative solutions to increase tall fescue forage system productivity and nitrogen dynamics during the summer and fall of a tall fescue system when sunn hemp is intercropped. Results from our first experiment suggested that nitrogen fertilization resulted in the greatest forage nutritive value, herbage accumulation, and animal carrying capacity compared to intercropping sunn hemp and zero additional nitrogen system. The incorporation of sunn hemp resulted in greater forage nutritive value, herbage accumulation, and animal carrying capacity compared to an unfertilized tall fescue system, but not to the magnitude of nitrogen fertilization. Results from our second experiment suggested that intercropping sunn hemp resulted in tall fescue accumulating 25% of its nitrogen from the atmosphere. Based on our third experiment, residual nitrogen from intercropped sunn hemp resulted in limited spring regrowth in a tall fescue forage system.Item Synthesis of novel gold nanostars as surface-enhanced raman spectroscopy substrate for measurement of pesticide residues in fresh produce(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019) Sun, Lin; Lin, Mengshi, 1973-[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI SYSTEM AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Rapid detection of food contaminants using novel analytical methods in combination with nanomaterials has received much attention in recent years. This study aimed to synthesize polyhedral gold nanostars (AuNS) with multi-angled corners and develop surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) method coupled with AuNS to detect pesticide residues in juice products. AuNS are multi-branched three-dimensional metal nanostructures with rough surface features that can induce surface plasmon resonance. A facile synthesis of AuNS was achieved using a two-step method and as-prepared AuNS had much cleaner surfaces than gold nanoparticles. A Raman reporter molecule (4-aminothiophenol) was used to evaluate the performance of the SERS method, yielding fingerprint-like Raman spectra and the sensitivity of the SERS method could reach 10 [mu]g/kg. SERS coupled with AuNS was used to detect thiram residues in peach juice and the detection limit was 50 [mu]g/kg, which is 100 times more sensitive than using normal gold nanoparticles. These results demonstrate that AuNS are excellent substrates for SERS measurement, which has great potential for rapid detection of chemical contaminants in food products. This study also aimed to develop a swab method that utilized a nanocellulose-based substrate for SERS applications. The cellulose nanofiber (CNF)-based SERS wiper was developed on a quartz paper by fabricating the quartz/mixture (CNF/silver nanoparticle/AuNS) substrate. A "drop-wipe test" process was used for rapid detection of food contaminants in vegetables by SERS. A Raman probe (4-ATP) was used to evaluate the performance and the sensitivity of SERS/wiper method. The intensity of Raman scattering signals obtained from the quartz/mixture substrate was much higher than the paper/mixture substrate. A stability test was conducted and the results show that in a vacuum package, this new substrate could maintain a high SERS sensitivity for 1 month. The SERS method coupled with the quartz/mixture substrate was used to detect ferbam on kale leaves and the detection limit was 0.05 mg/kg. The measurement of one sample can be finished within a few minutes. These results demonstrate that this novel nanocellulose-based SERS wiper can be used as an excellent substrate for the rapid detection of chemical contaminants in fresh produce.Item Temperature trends of the Late Cambrian through the Middle Ordovician : implications for Ordovician climate and biodiversification(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019) Speir, Laura; MacLeod, Kenneth G., 1964-[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI SYSTEM AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] The Ordovician Period includes both the largest and longest period of sustained biodiversification--the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event (GOBE)--and the second-largest mass extinction of the Phanerozoic--the end Ordovician mass extinction. Climate change has been invoked as a contributing factor to both events. Much research has focused on the end Ordovician extinction and thus, paleotemperatures of the last 15 million years of the period are relatively well documented. Data for the Early and Middle Ordovician are much more limited. Although the number of Early to Middle Ordovician climate studies has increased over the last decade, the record of climate change leading into the GOBE is still incomplete. To begin to address this problem, I generated [delta][superscript 18] O data at three new localities and increased sampling density at a fourth. New data combined with previous records suggest that cooling occurred between the latest Cambrian and Early Ordovician, that little change occurred during the Early Ordovician, and that additional cooling occurred by the Middle Ordovician. However, temperatures remained above modern levels through the GOBE. While climate change may have played a role in the GOBE, the relatively low magnitude and relatively late timing of the cooling argue that cooling is unlikely to be the primary trigger for the event.