University of Missouri

About: University of Missouri is a education organization based out in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 41427 authors who have published 83598 publications receiving 2911437 citations. The organization is also known as: Mizzou & Missouri-Columbia.

Vitamin D and skin physiology: a D-lightful story.

Abstract: Throughout evolution, exposure to sunlight and the photosynthesis of vitamin D 3 in the skin has been critically important for the evolution of land vertebrates. During exposure to sunlight, the solar UVB photons with energies 290-315 nm are absorbed by 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin and converted to previtamin D 3 . Previtamin D 3 undergoes a rapid transformation within the plasma membrane to vitamin D 3 . Excessive exposure to sunlight will not result in vitamin D intoxication because both previtamin D 3 and vitamin D 3 are photolyzed to several noncalcemic photoproducts. During the winter at latitudes above ∼35°, there is minimal, if any, previtamin D 3 production in the skin. Altitude also has a significant effect on vitamin D 3 production. At 27° N in November, very little (-0.5%) previtamin D 3 synthesis was detected in Agra (169 m) and Katmandu (1400 m). There was an -2- and 4-fold increase in previtamin D 3 production at -3400 m and at Everest base camp (5300 m), respectively. Increased skin pigmentation, application of a sunscreen, aging, and clothing have a dramatic effect on previtamin D 3 production in the skin. It is estimated that exposure in a bathing suit to 1 minimal erythemal dose (MED) is equivalent to ingesting between 10,000 and 25,000 IU of vitamin D 2 . The importance of sunlight for providing most humans with their vitamin D requirement is well documented by the seasonal variation in circulating levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D]. Vitamin D deficiency [i.e., 25(OH)D < 20 ng/ml] is common in both children and adults worldwide. Exposure to lamps that produce UVB radiation is an excellent source for producing vitamin D 3 in the skin and is especially efficacious in patients with fat malabsorption syndromes. The major cause of vitamin D deficiency globally is an underappreciation of sunlight's role in providing humans with their vitamin D 3 requirement. Very few foods naturally contain vitamin D, and those that do have a very variable vitamin D content. Recently it was observed that wild caught salmon had between 75% and 90% more vitamin D 3 compared with farmed salmon. The associations regarding increased risk of common deadly cancers, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases, and cardiovascular disease with living at higher latitudes and being prone to vitamin D deficiency should alert all health care professionals about the importance of vitamin D for overall health and well being.

Estimates of disease effects on soybean yields in the United States 2003 to 2005.

Abstract: Research must focus on management of diseases that cause extensive losses, especially when funds for research are limited. Knowledge of the losses caused by various soybean diseases is essential when prioritizing research budgets. The objective of this project was to compile estimates of soybean yields suppressed due to diseases for each soybean-producing state in the US from 2003 to 2005. The goal was to provide this information to help funding agencies and scientists prioritize research objectives and budgets. Yield suppression due to individual diseases varied among regions in the US, and the total of soybean yields suppressed due to diseases in the US varied among years. Soybean cyst nematode suppressed US soybean yield more during 2003 to 2005 than any other disease. Phytophthora root and stem rot, sudden death syndrome, and seedling diseases ranked in the top four on the list of diseases that suppressed soybean yield during these years. This is the first report of soybean yield suppression due to Asian soybean rust in the United States.

Fall Detection in Homes of Older Adults Using the Microsoft Kinect

Abstract: A method for detecting falls in the homes of older adults using the Microsoft Kinect and a two-stage fall detection system is presented. The first stage of the detection system characterizes a person's vertical state in individual depth image frames, and then segments on ground events from the vertical state time series obtained by tracking the person over time. The second stage uses an ensemble of decision trees to compute a confidence that a fall preceded on a ground event. Evaluation was conducted in the actual homes of older adults, using a combined nine years of continuous data collected in 13 apartments. The dataset includes 454 falls, 445 falls performed by trained stunt actors and nine naturally occurring resident falls. The extensive data collection allows for characterization of system performance under real-world conditions to a degree that has not been shown in other studies. Cross validation results are included for standing, sitting, and lying down positions, near (within 4 m) versus far fall locations, and occluded versus not occluded fallers. The method is compared against five state-of-the-art fall detection algorithms and significantly better results are achieved.

Resource-based theory in marketing

Abstract: The use of resource-based theory (RBT) in mar- keting research has increased by more than 500% in the past decade, which suggests its importance as a framework for explaining and predicting competitive advantages and per- formance outcomes. This article provides a comprehensive review of RBT, including a contemporary definitional foun- dation for relevant terms and assumptions and a synthesis of empirical findings from marketing literature. This multidi- mensional analysis of RBT also evaluates extant marketing research according to four perspectives: the marketing domains that use RBT, the characteristics and uses of market-based resources that differentiate it from other re- search contexts, the extension of RBT to the "marketing exchange" as a unit of analysis, and the connection of RBT to related theories. This analysis also reveals some common pitfalls associated with prior research, offers tentative guide- lines on how to improve the use of RBT in marketing, and suggests research directions to advance the theorization and empirical testing of RBT in the future.