Digital Commons Network^™

Animal Welfare Around The World: Examining The Role The Economy Has On Animal Welfare, Olivia J. Thornton

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Whey Proteins Cross-Linked By Transglutaminase Or Glycated With Maltodextrin: Physicochemical Bases Of The Improved Heat Stability, Wan Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

Whey protein, as a byproduct in cheese manufacturing, is an ideal source for producing ready-to-drink protein beverages for different market demands, attributed to its high content of essential amino acids and versatile functionalities, bland flavor and good digestibility. Whey protein is a mixture of proteins, which can be categorized into whey protein concentrate (WPC) with a protein content of 50~80% and whey protein isolate (WPI) with a protein content higher than 90%, depending on different separation techniques. Thermal processing is required to ensure microbiological safety and quality of dairy products, leading to denaturation of whey proteins, especially at pH around …

Design And Development Of Seed Hydration Analyzing Device And Its Utilization In Studying Cereal And Legume Hydration, Vinay Kumar Mannam

Doctoral Dissertations

Cereals and legumes are important sources of vegetable-based human nutrition. Together they account for 48.6 % of protein and 8.7 % carbohydrate consumption around the world. During preparation, majority of these agricultural staples are re-hydrated to aid in their digestibility, palatability and the bio-availability of the nutrients.

Study of hydration kinetics of cereals and legumes is an important and valuable necessity for industry and academia to understand and gain insights into seed hydration characteristics. An automatic seed hydration analyzing system is developed as a solution for lack of instruments with broad capabilities to study variety of seed properties. The device …

Wood Decomposition In A Warmer World, Emily Elizabeth Austin

Doctoral Dissertations

Climatic warming is altering species distributions and ecosystem functions across the globe. Wood is an important carbon pool and the fungal communities in wood are relatively simple compared to those in soil. These factors make decomposing wood an ideal system for exploring the influence of decomposer community on the response of decomposition to warming. My research has focused on the effects of warming wood decomposition rates and wood decomposing communities. Using field and lab- based manipulative experiments and field observations I explore the influence of tree species, wood decomposition stage, geography and warming on fungal community structure and activity. In …

The Health Monitoring Of Naïve, Immunocompromised Sows In A Seasoned Facility, Sara Nash

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Development Of Novel Vaccines For Campylobacter Control In Poultry, Lindsay Ann Jones

Masters Theses

Campylobacter is the leading bacterial cause of human enteritis in developed countries. Human campylobacteriosis is commonly associated with consumption of undercooked, contaminated chicken, a natural host of Campylobacter. Thus, control of Campylobacter colonization in poultry at the farm level would reduce the risk of human exposure to this pathogen. Vaccination is an attractive intervention measure to mitigate Campylobacter in poultry. Our recent studies have demonstrated that the outer membrane proteins CmeC (an essential component of CmeABC multidrug efflux pump) and CfrA (ferric enterobactin receptor) are feasible candidates for immune intervention against Campylobacter. By targeting these two promising vaccine …

Small Scale Population Structure Of Pityopsis Ruthii And P. Graminifolia Var. Latifolia, Sarah Lynn Boggess

Masters Theses

Pityopsis graminifolia var. latifolia (Michx.) Small var. latifolia (Fern.) or narrowleaf silkgrass is an herbaceous perennial native to the southeastern United States and northern Central America. Pityopsis ruthii (Small) Small is an endangered plant endemic to the Hiwassee and Ocoee Rivers in Polk County, Tennessee. Little is known about the genetic diversity and population structure of both Pityopsis species as well as the phylogenic relationships between the species. In this study, 16 microsatellite loci were used to assess genetic diversity and population structure of 261 individuals of P. ruthii (n=167) and P. graminifolia var. latifolia (n=76). Pityopsis ruthii is …

Hydrogeology Of The Little River Animal Agriculture Environmental Research Unit And Impacts Of Dairy Operations On Groundwater, Robert Wesley Hunter

Masters Theses

This thesis describes the development of an integrated hydrogeologic/hydrologic site assessment and groundwater/surface water quality monitoring program at the University of Tennessee – Little River Dairy Farm, located near Townsend, TN. Hydrologic/hydrogeologic investigations of streams and groundwater at the site have been underway for more than 5 years, and these are expected to provide background data for assessing impacts of dairy wastes. The lower half of the ~180 ha site consists of low-relief fields used for row crops, which are underlain by 4 – 9 m of alluvial deposits on top of black shale or limestone that include sinkhole features. …

Demonstration Of A Targeted Proteome Characterization Approach For Examining Specific Metabolic Pathways In Complex Bacterial Systems, Adam Justin Martin

Masters Theses

Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) is a powerful tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) tool frequently implemented in proteomic studies to provide targeted analysis of proteins and peptides. The selectivity that MRM delivers is so strong that it provides the quadrupole mass spectrometers (QQQ), on which it is commonly employed, with pertinence to proteomic studies that they would otherwise lack for their relatively low resolution. Additionally, this increased level of selectivity is sufficient enough to supplant complicated fractionation techniques, additional dimensions of chromatography, and 24 hour long MS/MS experiments in simplistic biological samples. But there is a deficiency of evidence to determine the …

Environmental Constraints On Cyanomyophage Abundance In The Subtropical Pacific Ocean, Tiana Maria Pimentel

Masters Theses

Viruses are abundant in the world’s oceans and are thought to be important participants in marine biogeochemical cycling. Of these viruses, cyanophages are considered especially important because they infect and lyse cyanobacteria, which are some of the main primary producers in marine environments. Cyanophages are thought to influence the abundance and diversity of cyanobacterial populations and impart significant mortality, thereby affecting primary productivity and microbial community structure. Despite their ecological relevance, little is known about how environmental factors shape cyanophage abundance and diversity over large temporal and spatial scales. To address this gap in knowledge, seawater samples were collected during …

Bovine Mammary Interleukin-8 Receptor Expression And Genetic Association With Streptococcus Uberis Based Mastitis., Lydia Jean Siebert

Masters Theses

Mastitis is an economically distressing disease in the dairy industry. Bacterial pathogens enter the gland and encounter cell types that release immune mediators including interleukin (IL)-8. IL-8 has two membrane bound receptors: CXCR1 and CXCR2. CXCR1 and CXCR2 are expressed on neutrophils and other cell types in other species but their expression is unknown in the bovine mammary gland. To test this, mammary tissue samples from six Holstein dairy cows were subject to dual immunofluorescence with bovine specific CXCR1 and CXCR2 antibodies and cell type markers. CXCR1 was expressed on alveolar epithelial cells, fibroblasts, and leukocytes. CXCR2 expression was identified …

Practitioner Rankings Of Entry-Level Competencies For Public Health Nutrition, Courtney Teal Schand

Masters Theses

Background: The Association of Graduate Programs in Public Health Nutrition’s graduate competencies were updated and refined by an expert panel and a survey of Public Health Nutrition (PHN) academicians, which resulted in 58 proposed competencies in five domains, Food and Nutrition Science, Advocacy, Research and Evaluation, Communication and Cultural Competency, and Management and Leadership.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were 1) to determine if differences existed in calculated domain scores of practitioner rankings of essentiality for the PHN graduate competencies by demographic variables of interest (current position, years of experience, education, and/or intent to retire); 2) to determine the …

The Performance Of Bacterial Phytosensing Transgenic Tobacco Under Field Conditions, Michael Harrison Fethe

Masters Theses

Currently the platforms for wide-area detection of environmental contamination are limited. Therefore, there is interest in developing new platforms, especially for use in crop plants to detect and report the presence of biotic and abiotic stress agents. A biosensor uses a biological organism or substrate to detect the presence of an elicitor (i.e., heavy metal, TNT, or bacteria). The foundational groundwork to create biosensors in transgenic plants exists. The creation of bacterial phytosensing transgenic tobacco containing an orange fluorescent protein (OFP) reporter driven by synthetic pathogen-inducible promoters provides a fluorescent signal when infected with phytopathogens for earlier detection in the …

Antimicrobial Activity Of Essential Oils And Their Components Against Lactic Acid Bacteria, Laurel Dunn Gann

Masters Theses

Efficacy of plant essential oils against spoilage lactic acid bacteria was examined using two different study methods with the goal of determining minimum inhibitory (MIC) and minimum lethal concentrations (MLC) of the essential oils. The initial study included the incorporation of the essential oils, or their major constituents, into agar to allow uniform dispersion of the substance throughout an agar surface. Individual cultures of nine lactic acid bacteria species (Pediococcus acidilactici, Pediococcus damnosus, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus fructivorans, Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus buchneri, Lactobacillus plantarum, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, and Leuconostoc citrovorum) were spot …

Aqueous Extracts Of Hibiscus Sabdariffa As Antimicrobials In Foods, Kristen Liane Higginbotham

Masters Theses

Hibiscus sabdariffa L. is a tropical shrub species cultivated in multiple countries and is mainly produced for its red calyces that are used for a tea beverage. Aqueous, lyophilized extracts of Hibiscus were examined for their chemical composition and antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli O157:H7, Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Listeria monocytogenes.

Lyophilized, dialyzed extracts of commercially aquired calyces were examined in microbiological medium and milk at various fat levels for antimicrobial activity against E. coli O157:H7 and S.aureus. Extracts were either filtered or autoclaved to sterilize and tested in microbiological medium. Autoclaved extracts were more effective …

Producers Willingness To Adopt A Prescribed Grazing System East Of The 100th Meridian, Caroline Elizabeth Holt

Masters Theses

With the climate change concerns facing the United States, the contributions of the beef industry to greenhouse gasses are difficult to overlook. The agriculture industry is estimated to be the largest producer of methane emissions in the United States, and within agriculture, livestock are the largest contributor with cattle producing 73 percent of the methane emissions from all livestock (Johnson and Johnson 1995).

This thesis focuses on factors influencing beef cattle producers’ east of the 100th meridian interest in adopting prescribed grazing; including how a government cost share system could enhance adoption. Information was obtained for the study through a …

Maximizing Lignin Yield Using Experimental Design Analyzing The Impact Of Solvent Composition And Feedstock Particle Size On The Organosolv Process In The Presence Of Feedstock Contamination, Hagen Maraun

Masters Theses

The depletion of fossil feedstock and the unfavorable environmental effects accompanying by its exploitation are the driving forces in the process of transitioning to renewable feedstock as the primary resource. Similar to petrorefineries, a new modern biorefinery would use biomass to produce a variety of different chemical products and transportation fuels. Lignin, a potential low-cost, high volume output process stream derived from lignocellulosic biomass is currently being researched to better support the economics of the future biorefinery. In this study, experimental design was used to determine the optimal level for each process factor in an organosolv fractionation process that targets …

Population Dynamics Of The Louisiana Black Bear In The Upper Atchafalaya River Basin, Kaitlin Christine O'Connell

Masters Theses

The Louisiana black bear (Ursus americanus luteolus) is listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act as a result of habitat loss and human-related mortality. Two of the 3 sub-populations must be viable for delisting to occur. I collected hair samples from 2010 to 2012 in a DNA mark-recapture study to augment data collected from 2007 to 2009 in the Upper Atchafalaya River Basin (UARB) to estimate abundance (N), growth rate (λ), and apparent survival rates (φ) to ultimately be used in a population viability analysis. In addition, I evaluated the effects of the opening of the …

Manipulating Lipolysis To Reduce Fatness And Improve Carcass Composition In Commercial Broilers, Rodney Barnett Ray

Masters Theses

Betaine has been studied as an osmolyte and methyl group donor for many species. Recent studies have found that betaine is able to increase muscle mass and reduce adiposity in meat type broilers birds. In experiment one, eight-hundred Cobb 500 broiler chicks were supplemented with betaine at 0.6 g/kg and 1.2g/kg. Birds had access to feed and water for ad libitum consumption for forty-two, forty-four, and forty-nine days. Birds and feed were weighed weekly. Carcass parameters (dress weight, breast percentage, and leg percentage) were taken at slaughter on days forty- two and forty-nine. Blood was taken at day forty-four to …

Population Demographics And Genetic Structure Of Black Bears In Coastal Louisiana, Jesse Charles Troxler

Masters Theses

The range and abundance of the Louisiana black bear (Ursus americanus luteolus) were greatly diminished during the 20th century. This subspecies was reduced to 3 small, isolated subpopulations in Louisiana as bottomland hardwood habitat was converted to agriculture. These bears were listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1992 and a recovery plan was published in 1995. Recovery requires estimates of population parameters to evaluate current population status and future viability. I conducted a mark-recapture study from 2010 to 2012 to estimate demographic parameters of the coastal population of Louisiana black bears. Because inbreeding …

Inhibition Of Spoilage Yeasts Using Spice Essential Oils And Their Components, Audra Ann Wallis

Masters Theses

Clove bud, cinnamon bark, and thyme oil, along with their components cinnamaldehyde, cinnamic acid, eugenol, carvacrol, and thymol, are widely acknowledged to have antimicrobial properties against bacteria. However, less is know about the inhibitory properties of essential oil components against spoilage yeasts. In this study a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for these essential oils and components was determined using an agar dilution assay for Torulaspora delbrueckii, Candida krusei, Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Zygosaccharomyces bailii. The efficacy of essential oil components eugenol, carvacrol, cinnamaldehyde and thymol then were evaluated in a model salad dressing. The MIC against all yeasts for cinnamaldehyde and …

Plasmodium Suppresses T Cell Responses To Heterologous Infections By Impairing T Cell Activation, Chelsi Elizabeth White

Masters Theses

Malaria is a devastating disease caused by parasites of the genus Plasmodium. Plasmodium falciparum, which is responsible for most malaria related fatalities, suppresses host immune responses during heterologous coinfections or following vaccination. However the mechanisms responsible for this defect are not well defined. The mechanism and to what extent this immunosuppression is occurring was investigated. This study demonstrates that both dendritic cell and T cell activation are impaired following a Plasmodium infection, ultimately altering the adaptive T cell response to secondary infections. T cell suppression is evident early on following a secondary infection and continues throughout the peak of parasitemia. …

Forage And Biomass Dual-Purpose Harvest System Using Native Warm-Season Grasses, David Weston Mcintosh

Masters Theses

There has been increasing interest in utilizing native warm-season grasses (NWSGs), especially switchgrass, as a biomass feedstock for cellulosic ethanol production. Millions of hectares of crop and pasture in the mid-South are forecast to potentially be planted with switchgrass for biomass feedstock production. This could have a substantial impact on the region’s cattle industry, reducing forage production hectares. This study was conducted to determine the effect of early season harvest timing on forage and biomass of NWSGs designed for use in cellulosic ethanol production. The over-all hypothesis was to determine if an early forage harvest can be included in a …

Body Size Variation In Two Adjacent Populations Of Black Kingsnakes (Lampropeltis Nigra) In East Tennessee, Jesse Weber, Joshua Ennen

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

From Loop To Strand: Characterization Of The Conformation And Dynamics Of The Human Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 Reactive Center, Tihami Qureshi

Doctoral Dissertations

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), with its cofactor vitronectin (VN), controls the rate of plasmin-mediated fibrin breakdown in blood clots by inhibiting tissue-plasminogen activator (tPA) and urokinase-plasminogen activator (uPA). The activity of PAI-1 is attributed to its reactive center loop (RCL), which is solvent-exposed in an active conformation, but inserts as an additional strand into its central β [beta]-sheet during transition to a latent state and during inhibition. VN slows the latency transition, and the rate at which PAI-1 inhibits the plasminogen activators (PAs) also differs. However, the steps during the latency transition, mechanism of VN stabilization, and basis for inhibitory …

"Every Day, We Have The Opportunity To Make A Difference": Ncaa Division I Female Head Coaches' Experiences Of Care, Susannah Kaye Knust

Doctoral Dissertations

According to sport psychology literature, care is an important part of the coach-athlete relationship (e.g., Jowett & Poczwardowski, 2007; LaVoi, 2004; Poczwardowski, 1997; Wylleman, 2000). However, a systematic study of “exemplar” caring coaches is lacking. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to interview 12 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I head female coaches of female teams who were identified by others as “exemplar” carers. A semi-structured interview guide was developed using a modified version of Gilligan and colleagues’ (1989) Listening Guide. An adaptation of Hatch’s (2002) political analysis was used to identify major themes found in the transcribed …

Development And Integration Of Informatic Tools For Qualitative And Quantitative Characterization Of Proteomic Datasets Generated By Tandem Mass Spectrometry, Rachel Michelle Adams

Doctoral Dissertations

Shotgun proteomic experiments provide qualitative and quantitative analytical information from biological samples ranging in complexity from simple bacterial isolates to higher eukaryotes such as plants and humans and even to communities of microbial organisms. Improvements to instrument performance, sample preparation, and informatic tools are increasing the scope and volume of data that can be analyzed by mass spectrometry (MS). To accommodate for these advances, it is becoming increasingly essential to choose and/or create tools that can not only scale well but also those that make more informed decisions using additional features within the data. Incorporating novel and existing tools into …

Genetic And Ecological Characterization Of Indigoidine Production By Phaeobacter Sp. Strain Y4i, William Nathan Cude

Doctoral Dissertations

The Roseobacter clade is a widely distributed, abundant, and biogeochemically active lineage of marine alpha-proteobacteria. Members of the Roseobacter lineage are prolific surface colonizers in marine coastal environments, and antimicrobial secondary metabolite production has been hypothesized to provide a competitive advantage in colonization. In this work, Phaeobacter sp. strain Y4I was found to produce the water soluble, blue pigment indigoidine via a nonribosomal peptide synthase-based biosynthetic pathway encoded by a novel series of genetically linked genes, termed igiBCDFE. Comparison of wildtype, non-pigmented, and hyper-pigmented Y4I insertional mutants demonstrated a perfect correlation between indigoidine production and the inhibition of Vibrio …

Ecology And Physiology Of Aerobic Aromatic Catabolism In Roseobacters, Christopher Adam Gulvik

Doctoral Dissertations

Roseobacters are an abundant and trophically versatile lineage of marine bacteria that are especially dominant in coastal salt marshes. Central to understanding of how members of the Roseobacter clade contribute to biogeochemical cycling in the world’s oceans is how these bacteria physiologically respond to mixtures of usable growth substrates present in their environmental niches. A prior study provided evidence that bacterioplankton transcripts most closely related to the Roseobacter Sagitulla stellata E-37 are among the most abundant in coastal systems for biogeochemically significant processes of N, P, and S cycling. Thus, this strain was used throughout this dissertation as an environmentally …

Hybridization As A Stimulus For Adaptation To A Novel Environment, Dylan Robert Dittrich-Reed

Doctoral Dissertations

Understanding processes contributing to the origin of novelty, including ecological transitions in resource or habitat use, is fundamental to evolutionary biology. Early geneticists speculated about the sudden appearance of new species via special macromutations, epitomized by Goldschmidt’s infamous “hopeful monster”. Transgressive segregation during hybridization is a more plausible mechanism for producing “monstrous” phenotypes beyond the range of parental populations. Transgressive hybrid phenotypes can be products of epistatic interactions or additive effects of multiple recombined loci. However, the importance of hybridization in the origin of novelty is contested because we do not know how often hybridization enhances the probability of an …