2016 MU dissertations - Access restricted to UM
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Item An experimental investigation of drunk personality using self and observer reports(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2016) Winograd, Rachel; Sher, Kenneth J.[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Research has shown that drinkers' “typical drunk personalities” are different from their “typical sober personalities” on each factor of the Five-Factor Model (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness). The aim of the current study was to test if these changes can reliably be observed by trained raters during a drinking episode. Participants (N = 156) attended laboratory sessions in same-sex friend groups of 3 to 4 people (43 groups). Half of the groups were administered alcohol (target BAC = .09). Participants engaged in activities designed to elicit a range of personality expression. All sessions were recorded and multiple trained raters (M = 6.96) completed three personality measures based on the footage. Additionally, participants completed selfreports of their “typical” sober and drunk personalities two weeks prior to their sessions, as well as two short personality measures during the session. Results indicate consistent differences in personality among sober and drunk participants across measures, but the nature of the differences varied by reporter (self vs. observer). Specifically, across three scales, observers rated participants in the Alcohol condition higher in Extraversion, but similarly in most other factors (on one measure, Neuroticism was lower in the Alcohol condition). Among the two self-report measures, four and five of the factors demonstrated reliable differences, with Conscientiousness, Intellect, Neuroticism, and Agreeableness (on the pre-session retrospective measure only) reportedly decreasing with intoxication, and Extraversion increasing. These findings demonstrate that self-perceptions of sober-to drunk personality differences are more pervasive than observer-perceptions, but that alcohol-induced changes in Extraversion are robust enough to be detected across measures and reporters.Item Design, fabrication, and testing of a bioprinted nerve graft(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2016) Owens, Christopher M.; Forgacs, GaborInjuries to nerves vary in their consequences, from weakened sensation and motor function to partial or complete paralysis. In the latter case, affecting about twenty thousand Americans yearly, the injury is debilitating and results in a significant decrease in quality of life. Currently there is no effective treatment for damage to the central nervous system, in particular the spinal cord. Compared to the injuries to the central nervous system, damage in the peripheral nerves, is more common, with about sixty thousand occurrences annually. The cost of associated surgical procedures and due to loss of function is in the billions. In this thesis we present work towards the construction and testing of a fully cellular, patented nerve graft, one amongst the first of its kind. For the fabrication of the graft we are the first to employ bioprinting (either implemented through a special purpose 3D bioprinter or manually), a novel tissue engineering method rapidly gaining acceptance and utility. We first review the status of bioprinting. We then detail the fabrication process. Next we report on the testing of the graft in an in vivo animal model through electrophysiology and histology. This is followed by the introduction of a novel in vitro model, aimed at providing a fast, inexpensive and reliable method to test engineered nerve grafts. We describe our work on the optimization of the in vitro assay and then the testing of the graft using the optimized assay. We conclude with a summary of our accomplishments and make suggestions for some exciting future applications of our approach.Item Soil physical and hydraulic properties affected by topsoil thickness in switchgrass and row crop management systems /(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2016) Zaibon, Syaharudin bin, 1985-; Anderson, S. H. (Stephen H.)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Degraded claypan landscapes can be seen as a potential resource for bioenergy production. Therefore, an important decision needs to be made to determine where claypan landscapes for grain crops and perennial grasses can be planted to increase production and to minimize economic and environmental risks. The objectives of this study were (i) to evaluate the effects of reduced topsoil thickness and perennial switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) vs.a corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation on soil bulk density ([subscript p]b), saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), soil water retention, and pore size distributions; (ii) to assess the influence of topsoil thickness on water infiltration in claypan soils for row crop and switchgrass production systems; and (iii) to determine the effect of topsoil thickness on soil thermal properties for switchgrass and row crop management systems. The experiment was carried out at the Soil Productivity Assessment for Renewable Energy and Conservation (SPARC) plots at the University of Missouri South Farm Research Center. Plots were recreated in 2009 with four levels of topsoil thickness (4, 11, 22, and 36 cm) on a Mexico silt loam (Vertic Epiaqualfs). Every plot was planted with either switchgrass or a corn-soybean rotation. The first objective results showed that soil under switchgrass had 53 and 27 percent higher macroporosity (greater than 1000 [mu]m diameter) and coarse mesoporosity (60-1000 [mu]m diameter), respectively, than row crop management. This caused 73 percent greater Ksat and 11 percent higher water content at saturation than row crop management. Thicker topsoil treatments (TopC and TopD) had constantly lower ρb and greater Ksat than the shallow topsoil treatments (TopA and TopB) for all sampling depths. Results from the second objective indicated that switchgrass planted on degraded soil (shallow topsoil treatment) resulted in greater Ks (estimated saturated hydraulic conductivity), S (sorptivity), qs (quasi-steady infiltration rate) and Kfs (field-saturated hydraulic conductivity) values than with row crop management for both 2014 and 2015 measurement years. Results for selected mean frequencies of 24-hour USDA-NRCS Type II storms showed that switchgrass increased estimated water infiltration, reduced estimated runoff, and decreased estimated time from water ponding to end of ponding compared with row crop management. The results of the third objective revealed that the switchgrass treatment had significantly higher SOC (soil organic carbon), greater [superscript 0] (water content) and lower [superscript p]b than the row crop treatment which resulted in decreased [lambda] (thermal conductivity) and D (thermal diffusivity) as well as increased Cv (volumetric heat capacity). The shallow topsoil thickness had greater thermal properties ([superscript lambda], D and Cv) than deep topsoil thickness due to higher concentration of smectitic clay in the surface soil horizon. Results of these studies imply that establishment of switchgrass on degraded land can improve soil physical, hydraulic and thermal properties and may enhance the productivity of degraded claypan soils, while supplying biofuel feedstocks.Item Type 2 diabetic bone fragility : the effects of a high-fat, -cholesterol, and -sucrose diet, exercise, and caloric restriction /(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2016) Ortinau, Laura, 1985-; Hinton, Pamela S.[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] As the prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) continues to increases, new comorbidities associated with the condition as discovered. A recently recognized comorbidity of T2D is an ~1.7-fold increased risk of fracture. To date the underlying mechanisms responsible for the deterioration in bone quality have not been fully elucidated. A current mechanism of interest is the regulation of mesenchymal stem cell differentiation. Specifically, if T2D suppresses osteoblastogenesis is due to an impairment in Wnt/ß-catenin signaling resulting in a reduction in the expression of runtrelated transcription factor 2 (Runx2). In this work we used the Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rat, to determine that a high-fat, -sucrose, -cholesterol (HFC) diet did not detrimentally impact bone outcomes, and that the development of obesity/T2D negatively impacted serum bone turnover markers and trabecular microarchitecture. From a clinical perspective, these data are relevant because we have shown that an imbalance in energy intake, resulting in the development of obesity/T2D has a negative impact on bone outcomes independent of the macronutrient composition of the diet. An additional area of focus of this work was determining if the beneficial effects of EX on bone health in the OLETF rat were due to an improvement in metabolic health or the unique effects of exercise. Because EX interventions improve metabolic health, a weight-matched control is necessary to differentiate the effects of improved metabolic health from additional beneficial effects of EX (i.e., mechanical loading, endocrine/paracrine changes). From this study were able to determine that EX or CR generally improved bone outcomes, EX treatment resulted in several unique benefits including an increase in femora periosteal expansion, mass accumulation, and increased whole-bone stiffness. EX or CR prevented the marked increase in bone resorption observed in obese, T2D OLETF rats, and either EX or CR reduced circulating OC. Likewise, EX or CR increased tissue-level bone strength and stiffness, but EX had a greater positive effect on tissue-level strength. Thus, it appears that the skeletal benefits of EX result from both improved metabolic health and exercise-specific effects. Few studies have investigated the effects of exercise on bone health after insulin resistance and/or T2D is already present. Determining if EX (initiated after the onset of insulin resistances) is an effective strategy for combating T2D-associated bone fragility is highly relevant from a clinical treatment perspective because treatment of T2D often occurs after the onset of insulin resistance/T2D. EX or CR treatment initiated after the onset of insulin resistance improved metabolic health, and in general improved bone health. However, EX elicited additional benefits to bone outcomes. Specifically, EX or CR preserved trabecular bone volume and structure, while cortical whole-bone and tissuelevel strength were only improved with EX in OLETF rats. These improvements in bone health by EX were associated with an increase in expression of the osteoblastogenic transcription factor Runx2 and a reduction in the adipogenic transcription factor PPAR?. These findings are clinically relevant because in humans treatment occurs after the onset of insulin resistance or T2D. Our data suggest that EX is not only an effective treatment for T2D, but EX has a greater beneficial effect on bone health than CR given similar improvements in glucose control.Item British women novelists and the review periodical, 1790-1820 /(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2016) Peiser, Megan; Karian, Stephen E.; Looser, Devoney, 1967-[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Between 1790 and 1820, women published more novels than men -- unlike any period before or after. It is remarkable that women assumed dominant authorship of the novel just as it began to gain attention as a literary genre, especially considering the cultural status of women in eighteenth-century Britain. My dissertation combines qualitative and quantitative methodology to uncover the contemporary critical response to this unique moment in literary history. Literary historians continually trivialize the quality of these novels by women, and ignore contemporaneous critical conversation recognizing women's dominance of novel writing during this period. Using a database that I have built that catalogs the reviews of novels from The Critical Review and The Monthly Review, and close readings of reviews and prefaces, I trace Reviews' and writers' conversation about the female authorship of the novel. My project identifies the Reviews' role in shaping our modern literary canon, its influence on germinal novelists like Jane Austen, and provides data on the Reviews' lasting influence on the novel as a genre.