Role of copper in defending against bacterial infection

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Erik Ladomersky
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Infection ◽  
Host Defense ◽  
Immune Defense ◽  
Copper Proteins ◽  
University Of Missouri ◽  
Susceptibility To Infection ◽  
Essential Nutrient ◽  
The University ◽  
The Relationship

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Copper is an essential nutrient. It plays an important role in development, pigmentation, neurological function, and immune defense. Copper deficiency is known to make host's more susceptible to infection. In this work we show that two copper proteins, ATP7A and ceruloplasmin, are important for host defense against bacterial infection. Studies have shown ATP7A is responsible for increasing copper concentrations inside the phagosome. Our study sheds light on the role of Atp7a and copper in adaptive immunity, and provide a biochemical model for understanding the relationship between copper malnutrition and susceptibility to infection. Iron, another essential nutrient, is linked with copper through the actions of copper-dependent proteins which play a role in maintaining normal iron levels in the blood. One of these proteins is ceruloplasmin, a protein that is also upregulated during infection. Our study sheds light onto why this protein is necessary for host defense against Salmonella infection.

Friends in high places : two essays on the importance of corporate political connections

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Reza Houston
Keyword(s):  
Initial Public Offering ◽  
Political Connections ◽  
Target Firm ◽  
University Of Missouri ◽  
Accounting Performance ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Offering ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] This study is an examination of the relationship between political connections and the undertaking of major firm events. In our first essay, presented in Chapter 3, we examine the impact politically connected appointments have on firm acquisition behavior. Using proxy statements, we create a unique database of politically connected bidders and merger targets. We find that bidders who hire connected individuals to the board or management team are more likely to avoid merger litigation. Connected bidders make more bids after the appointment. These firms also bid on larger targets. We determine there is a positive relation between the control premium and the relative of the target's connections. Connected acquirers have superior post-merger accounting performance, particularly when they acquire a connected target firm. In the second essay, presented in Chapter 4, we examine the relationship between political connections of private firms and the initial public offering process. Using registration statement information, we create a unique database of politically connected IPO firms. We find that political connections are substitutes to high-quality underwriters and big four auditors. Politically connected firms manage earnings more highly upward than non-connected firms prior to the public offering. Politically connected firms also exhibit less underpricing than non-connected firms. Politically connected IPO firms also have superior post-IPO returns relative to non-connected IPO firms.

scholarly journals The university-industry relationship under diferent approaches: the entrepreneurial university to academic capitalism

Educação ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Evandro Coggo Cristofoletti ◽  
Milena Pavan Serafim
Keyword(s):  
Academic Capitalism ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
Entrepreneurial University ◽  
The Public ◽  
The World ◽  
Industry Relationship ◽  
The University ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
University Industry

The economic and political changes in the world, from the 1970s, changed the political education of the Public Institutions of Higher Education in the world. The direction of these changes was clear: the university approachedthe market and the company and created interaction mechanisms that did not exist. The article therefore reviews the academic literature that interprets the relationship between university and market/company from two perspectives: approaches that positively position of interactions, exposing their motivations, interests and forms of interaction, especially the notions on Knowledge Economy and Entrepreneurial University; approaches that observe this interaction critically and reflectively, exposing the problems of interaction, its negative aspects and the reflection of the true role of the public university from the perspective of Academic Capitalism.

scholarly journals Coping strategies as mediators in the relationship between test anxiety and academic achievement

Psihologija ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Genc
Keyword(s):  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Test Anxiety ◽  
Coping Mechanisms ◽  
German Studies ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Novi Sad ◽  
The University ◽  
The Given ◽  
The Relationship

In most modern societies, nearly every realm of life involves some form of evaluation of our knowledge, abilities and skills. Given the potentially significant consequences of exams, it is not surprising that they are often very stressful. This study aimed to determine the existence and nature of the relationships between level of test anxiety, coping strategies, and achieved success on a mid-term test. As well as examining the direct relations between the given variables, our primary interest was to investigate the potential mediating role of coping mechanisms between the input and output variables of the examined stressful transaction. The study was conducted on a sample of 263 students from the Psychology and German Studies Departments of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Novi Sad. According to our results, only emotion-focused coping mechanisms were statistically significant mediators in the relationship between level of test anxiety and mid-term test achievement. The results indicate that students with high test anxiety who employ predominantly emotion-focused coping strategies score lower on a pre-exam knowledge test.

scholarly journals Whole genome comparisons of Staphylococcus agnetis isolates from cattle and chickens

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulkarim Shwani ◽  
Pamela R. F. Adkins ◽  
Nnamdi S. Ekesi ◽  
Adnan Alrubaye ◽  
Michael J. Calcutt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Phylogenetic Trees ◽  
University Of Missouri ◽  
Commercial Broiler ◽  
Chicken Isolate ◽  
Broiler Farm ◽  
Molecular Relationships ◽  
The University ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Genome Comparisons

AbstractS. agnetis has been previously associated with subclinical or clinically mild cases of mastitis in dairy cattle and is one of several Staphylococcal species that have been isolated from the bone and blood of lame broilers. We were the first to report that S. agnetis could be obtained frequently from bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis (BCO) lesions of lame broilers. Further, we showed that a particular isolate of S. agnetis, chicken isolate 908, can induce lameness in over 50% of exposed chickens, far exceeding normal BCO incidences in broiler operations. We have previously reported the assembly and annotation of the genome of isolate 908. To better understand the relationship between dairy cattle and broiler isolates, we assembled 11 additional genomes for S. agnetis isolates, including an additional chicken BCO strain, and ten isolates from milk, mammary gland secretions or udder skin, from the collection at the University of Missouri. To trace phylogenetic relationships, we constructed phylogenetic trees based on multi-locus sequence typing, and Genome-to-Genome Distance Comparisons. Chicken isolate 908 clustered with two of the cattle isolates along with three isolates from chickens in Denmark and an isolate of S. agnetis we isolated from a BCO lesion on a commercial broiler farm in Arkansas. We used a number of BLAST tools to compare the chicken isolates to those from cattle and identified 98 coding sequences distinguishing isolate 908 from the cattle isolates. None of the identified genes explain the differences in host or tissue tropism. These analyses are critical to understanding how Staphylococci colonize and infect different hosts and potentially how they can transition to alternative niches (bone vs dermis).ImportanceStaphylococcus agnetis has been recently recognized as associated with disease in dairy cattle and meat type chickens. The infections appear to be limited in cattle and systemic in broilers. This report details the molecular relationships between cattle and chicken isolates in order to understand how this recently recognized species infects different hosts with different disease manifestations. The data show the chicken and cattle isolates are very closely related but the chicken isolates all cluster together suggesting a single jump from cattle to chickens.

Challenge stressors, hindrance stressors, and psychological strain : the role of appraisals and goal orientations

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Timothy R. Moake
Keyword(s):  
Goal Orientation ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Goal Orientations ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Psychological Strain ◽  
University Of Missouri ◽  
Transactional Theory ◽  
Learning Goal Orientation ◽  
The University

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] The challenge-hindrance stressor framework suggests that most workers experience challenge stressors positively and hindrance stressors negatively. However, research has shown that both types of stressors are positively related to psychological strain, a negative outcome. Using the transactional theory of stress, I examined whether and how individuals' appraisals of challenge and hindrance stressors and their goal orientations influence the positive relationships between both types of stressors and psychological strain. I surveyed 278 full-time employees from various occupations twice over a two-week span. My findings revealed that despite challenge stressors' positive conceptualization, individuals appraise them negatively as constraints. Additionally, I found that constraint appraisals are one mechanism that influences the positive relationship between challenge stressors and psychological strain. Lastly, my results also indicated that individuals with a stronger learning goal orientation are more likely to appraise both types of stressors as opportunities and individuals with a stronger performance-avoid goal orientation are more likely to appraise both types of stressors as constraints.

Toward a virtue account of science

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jacob Warren Wright
Keyword(s):  
Contemporary Literature ◽  
Laws Of Nature ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Knowledge Model ◽  
University Of Missouri ◽  
Scientific Goal ◽  
Zero Force Evolutionary Law ◽  
The University ◽  
The Relationship

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] This dissertation argues for a virtue account of science in which foundational scientific goals are achieved by scientists' employment of virtuous tools and practices. Chapter 1 discusses contemporary literature on the nature and success of biology, especially the realism/antirealism debate within biology. This chapter also provides background into the debate surrounding explanation and understanding. Chapter 2 challenges the idea that successful biology requires appeals to laws of nature by arguing that some foundational scientific goals best realized by unlawful tools and practices. This result provides a criterion for determining whether a discipline is more scientific than another another; disciplines are more or less scientific to the extent that they are able to achieve foundational scientific goals. Chapter 3 examines a test case for the result in Chapter 2 by analyzing McShea and Brandon's [2010] Zero Force Evolutionary Law (ZFEL). I show that the ZFEL's failure as a law does not impact its usefulness to scientists, who are able to use the ZFEL to achieve a number of important, foundational goals. Chapter 4 provides a strategy for determining foundational scientific goals by examining the debate surrounding the relationship between understanding and explanation. By analyzing Khalifa's [2013a] Explanatory Knowledge Model of Understanding, I demonstrate that understanding is not a species of explanation and is thus a foundational scientific goal. It is a goal that scientists aim at, has intrinsic benefit, and is not reducible to other scientific goals. Finally, Chapter 5 presents an outline of the virtue account. On this account, science is successful to the extent it regularly achieves foundational scientific goals. Science does so by employing virtuous tools and practices--those tools and practices that regularly allow for the achievement of foundational goals. The chapter concludes by examining several benefits of this view and considering future avenues for research.

Faculty Are Not Employees

2018 ◽  
pp. 60-71
Author(s):  
Holden Thorp ◽  
Buck Goldstein
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Academic Freedom ◽  
Shared Governance ◽  
Tenured Faculty ◽  
The Public ◽  
The University ◽  
The Relationship

The role of faculty forms the heart of the university in terms of its scholarship, patient care, and teaching. It is important that the university and the faculty rededicate themselves to outstanding teaching; the erosion of teaching by tenured faculty is contributing to the strain in the relationship with the public. Tenure, academic freedom, and shared governance are all indispensable concepts in the functioning of a great university that are mysterious to those outside the academy. Communicating the importance of these concepts is a critical need for higher education.

Who Controls Whom?

2015 ◽  
pp. 173-186
Author(s):  
Ainurul Rosli ◽  
Peter Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Full Understanding ◽  
Boundary Spanner ◽  
Enterprise Network ◽  
The University ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
University Industry

This chapter looks into the importance of having a clear identity of a boundary spanner in determining the role of the partners in a university-industry knowledge transfer programme. It highlights issues around the relationship between the business and the graduate as the boundary spanner, where the university's level of control differs between two programmes: Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) and Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise Network (KEEN) programme. The four case studies illustrate interesting points since the university is the employer for the KTPs associate and the business is the employer for the KEEN associate, whilst successful KTP and KEEN projects rely on a full understanding of the role of the graduate within the business.

The role of executive functions in academic performance and behaviour of university students

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 444-455
Author(s):  
Carlos Ramos-Galarza ◽  
Pamela Acosta-Rodas ◽  
Mónica Bolaños-Pasquel ◽  
Nancy Lepe-Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
University Students ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Measurement Instruments ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Proportional Relationship ◽  
The University ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is fourfold: first, to analyse the relationship between executive functions and academic performance; second, to identify the level of prediction executive functions have on academic performance; third, to determine the correlation between executive functions and academic performance; and fourth, to compare executive functions based on the level of academic performance. Design/methodology/approach The sample composed of 175 university students aged between 18 and 36 years (M=21.49, SD=3.22). The EFECO scale, the average student grade and a scale based on the diagnostic criteria for ADHD were used as measurement instruments. Findings Difficulties in executive functions: Difficulties in working memory (r=−0.30, p=<0.01) and difficulties in conscious supervision of behaviour (r=−0.29, p⩽0.01) have an inversely proportional relationship to academic performance (the greater the deficit of executive functions, the lower the academic performance). The regression analysis showed that executive functions explain 31 per cent of the variance of academic performance (χ2(25)=43.81, p <0.001). The study found that there is a relationship between all the executive functions and students’ behaviour in a medium to large magnitude. Research limitations/implications A limitation of this study was the size of the sample as it is not representative of the country. Nevertheless, the correlation among the variables studied here has the necessary magnitude for the proposed correlations to be found. Nonetheless, it is necessary that we perform a study with a larger number of participants in order to achieve adequate extrapolation of the results. Practical implications Data found in this study suggest that low academic performance of university students is related to a lower functionality of their executive functions. Originality/value The originality of the research lies in relating specific concepts of neuropsychology to explain the academic performance of university students. The research findings allow us to project new studies to improve the executive functions for the benefit of the university student.

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