Digital Commons Network^™

Multiphysics Modeling To Understand Microwave-Food Interactions In A Multi-Port Solid-State Microwave System., Kartik Verma

Masters Theses

Multiphysics modeling plays a crucial role in understanding the complexities of microwave-food interactions, especially in multi-port solid-state microwave systems where microwave parameters can be precisely and dynamically controlled. However, previous models using simplistic or manually measured oven geometries face challenges in accurately simulating the microwave heating process. This study first developed a robust 3-D scanning approach to capture precise geometric details of the oven cavity, incorporating them into multiphysics modeling for solid-state microwave heating. Furthermore, a quantitative validation approach was also developed to characterize modeling accuracy against experimental results. The results showed that multiphysics modeling with 3-D scanned geometry demonstrated …

Development Of Domestic Oleochemicals For Coating Applications, Caleb M. Metzcar

Masters Theses

The overall objective of the present work is to explore new applications of soybean oil based oleochemicals. Two main applications are developed; one using soybean oil, acrylic acid, and nonthermal plasma (NTP) treatment to dye para-aramids with cationic and non-ionic pigments, the other using fatty acids to synthesize waxes with bound quaternary ammonium compounds (QAC), an antimicrobial functional group, for fruit and vegetable postharvest coating. The color strength of the dyed fabric was quantified and the effect of the dyeing on material strength was evaluated to identify the optimal treatment condition. Antimicrobial waxes have been successfully developed that some structures …

Characterization Of Key Odorants In Cumberland Rosemary, Conradina Verticillata, Claire Mackenzie Gorman

Masters Theses

Conradina verticillata Jennison, commonly known as Cumberland Rosemary, is a threatened plant from the mint family Lamiaceae. This species is a flowering, perennial shrub found in only a few counties of Kentucky and Tennessee. Cumberland Rosemary possesses a unique aroma profile; however, the odorants responsible for its aroma have not been previously identified. In this study, a total of 32 odorants were identified in Cumberland Rosemary using gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Odorant flavor dilution (FD) factors were determined through the application of aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA). Seven odorants with FD factors ≥ [greater than or …

Microwave Frequency Control Algorithms For Use In A Solid-State System To Achieve Improved Heating Performance, Ran Yang

Doctoral Dissertations

Microwave is a popular food heating technique. Its unique volumetric heating principle enables fast heating while also leads to nonuniform heat distribution, where the standing wave patterns caused by the magnetron as microwave source is the main reason for the poor uniformity. Solid-state microwave generator is a promising solution to address the nonuniform heating, as it allows flexible microwaves, with frequencies in a range rather than fixed, and thereby, the varied thermal patterns by different frequencies could overcome the standing wave pattern issue. Previous studies on the frequency control strategy mainly focused on orderly shifting frequencies in range, while not …

Chemistry And Functionality Of Plant Waxes: Applications Toward Postharvest Coatings, Francisco Miguel Angel Leyva Gutierrez

Doctoral Dissertations

The cuticle of all higher-plants is covered in lipidic layers of amorphous and crystalline waxes. The chemical composition and structure of cuticular waxes impart numerous functional properties to the surfaces of plants. Moreover, plant waxes are valuable industrial products with myriad applications; the postharvest coating of agricultural commodities for preservation serves as a salient example. There is an unfulfilled need in the agricultural sector for alternative wax materials to reduce reliance on imported waxes of botanical origin. Plant waxes are inherently complex mixtures composed of n-alkanes, as well as aliphatic alcohols, aldehydes, fatty acids, ketones, esters, and derivatives thereof. …

Novel Ultraviolet Light Technologies For The Inactivation Of Murine Hepatitis Virus, A Sars-Cov-2 Surrogate, Alexia E. Angelos, Doris H. D'Souza

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Porous Food Microparticles As Carriers Of Lipophilic Bioactive Compounds To Improve Functionalities, Inseob Choi

Doctoral Dissertations

Lipophilic bioactive compounds (LBCs) have been gaining attention due to their antioxidation and health-promotion properties. Although many delivery systems have been studied to encapsulate LBCs to increase stability and bioaccessibility of the LBCs, most of delivery systems lack of practicality for application in the food industry due to energy-extensive encapsulation processes and high-cost carrier materials used. Additionally, while a variety of encapsulating systems exist in nanoscale to achieve efficient encapsulation of LBCs, nanoscale systems with encapsulated LBCs may be subjected to reassessment of toxicity. In this dissertation, freeze-dried potato microparticles (FDPMs) and freeze-dried mushroom microparticles (FDMMs) were studied as carrier …

Modeling And Quality Analysis Of Radio Frequency Heating Of Low Moisture Foods, Qianyi Chen

Masters Theses

Low moisture food is usually considered as high safety food. Since its low water activity (aw < 7), this would be a strict environment for pathogen microbes to grow in the low moisture food. However, the recent outbreaks of Salmonella in low moisture foods indicated the possibility of microbiological contamination happened during the harvesting, processing or transportation of food products. Since the bad heat conduction of conventional thermal process on low moisture food, radiofrequency (RF) treatment is a promising technology to improve the heating efficiency with its volumetric heating. Nevertheless, non-uniformity heating is still a challenge in RF technology. There are two research chapters in this study. The first research chapter was to use computer modeling to understand the improvement of applied immersion fluids on the RF heating of the cornflour. The model had a good agreement with the experiment results. The modeling results showed that the soybean oil immersion could reduce the electric field distortion to get the best heating uniformity. Also, the higher sample heating rate caused by soybean oil immersion was mainly because of higher electromagnetic power absorption and lower surface heat loss. The heating efficiency of RF was improved but less study focused on the quality analysis of flour. Therefore, the second research study is to evaluate the effect of RF and extensive hot air oven processing on the quality and functionality of all-purposed flour.

Physicochemical Properties And Functionality Of Pardina Lentil, Navy Bean, Garbanzo Bean, And Split Pea Starches, Jenna Laughlin, Vermont Dia, Philipus Pangloli

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Anti-Inflammatory And Chemopreventive Activity Of Lunasin From Tofu Whey For The Management Of Gastrointestinal Diseases, Cindy Andrea Nieto Veloza

Doctoral Dissertations

Gastrointestinal diseases such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and colorectal cancer (CRC) are pathological conditions associated with chronic inflammation, characterized by intestinal damage, debilitating symptoms, and detrimental health consequences. The increased risk of CRC in IBD patients, and the adverse effects associated with current therapeutic strategies, point out the need for safer alternatives to reduce chronic inflammation in the bowel. Lunasin is a bioactive peptide naturally occurring in soybeans, with chemopreventive and anti-inflammatory properties demonstrated in several extra-intestinal diseases. However, to date, there is no evidence of the biological activity of lunasin on the gastrointestinal tract as a target site. …

Efficacy Of A Mushroom Derived Saltiness Enhancer In Increasing Saltiness And Consumer Acceptance In Low Sodium Applications, Lindsay Jenkinson

Masters Theses

The average American consumes sodium at excessive levels resulting in a multitude of adverse health effects. To reduce these risks, it is imperative to lower consumption rates. When sodium is reduced in a product, the main effect is decreased saltiness and often corresponds with reduced consumer acceptance. In addition to addressing the issue of sodium reduction, attenuating effects such as reduced consumer acceptance is also of importance.

Consuming and perceiving food is a multimodal experience, involving tastes, smells, and trigeminal sensations to produce a singular percept of flavor. This is an example of multisensory integration. When stimuli through different sensory …

Aroma Chemistry Of Daldinia Childiae Fermentation, Andrew Jason Moore

Masters Theses

An investigation to identify odorants responsible for a pleasant woody perfume-like aroma produced in the fermentation broth of the fungus Daldinia childiae (J.D. Rogers & Y.M. Ju) was conducted. Thirty odorants were identified from 30-day old fermentations employing solvent-assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE) and aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA). Eleven odorants with flavor dilution (FD) factors ≥ 16 were quantitated using stable isotope dilution assays (SIDA), and odor activity values (OAV) determined. Odorants with the highest OAVs included guai-11-en-10-ol (woody, OAV 102689), 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, OAV 9025), sotolon (maple, OAV 458), and (2E)-non-2-enal (fatty, OAV 70). An odor-simulation model formulated …

Enteric Biopolymer Composite Coatings To Enhance The Viability Of Powdered Probiotics During Preparation, Storage, And Simulated Digestions, Anyi Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

Due to suppressed metabolisms, powdered probiotics are generally more stable and more convenient for applications than the liquid form, but much work is needed to improve viability of powdered probiotics during processing, storage, and digestions. The goal of this dissertation was to fabricate delivery systems with an enteric biopolymer coating and a core of powdered probiotic ingredients. The principle of preparing powdered probiotics was to directly mix a concentrated cell suspension with hygroscopic food ingredient powders. Amorphous spray-dried lactose (SDL) was first studied to prepared powdered Lactobacillus salivarius NRRL B-30514 in chapter 2. A smaller amount of cell suspension resulted …

Microemulsions Of Cinnamon And Orange Oils As An Antimicrobial Delivery System For Salmonella Biofilms On Stainless Steel, Jennifer Vuia-Riser

Doctoral Dissertations

Essential oils (EOs) are natural antimicrobials that can be used to develop intervention strategies to inhibit pathogens, but EOs are lipophilic. Colloidal systems, such as microemulsions, are needed for food industry applications. This dissertation focused on the development and characterization of a microemulsion composed of cinnamon oil (CO, Cinnamomum zeylanicum) and orange oil (OO, Citrus sinensis) to be used against Salmonella Enteritidis H4267 biofilms formed on stainless steel disc surfaces.

First, the antimicrobial activity of CO and OO against S. Enteritidis H4267, either used in combination or in a microemulsion system, was determined. CO had a greater antimicrobial …

Developing A Hands-On Food Science Curriculum With Bilingual Elementary-Aged Hispanic Heritage Students, Jaime Leia Ragos

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Transcriptomic Analysis Of Salmonella Enterica Newport Adaptive Response To Oxidative Antimicrobials, Dara Melanie Smith

Masters Theses

Agricultural water systems are a known potential source for contamination of fresh produce with foodborne pathogens including Listeria monocytogenes, pathogenic Escherichia coli, as well as Salmonella enterica strains. To reduce this associated risk, antimicrobials such as hypochlorite compounds and peroxyracetic acid (PAA) have been utilized as in-line irrigation disinfectants and as post-harvest treatments. These treatments are considered effective and commonly used; however, pathogenic microbes like Salmonella have the ability to adapt to many environmental conditions. Adaptive response to environmental factors like oxidative conditions, contributes to transfer, attachment, and resilience of Salmonella on surfaces. Through RNA sequencing and analysis …

Bg-4, A Bioactive Peptide From Momordica Charantia, Promotes Apoptosis In Ovarian Cancer Cells, Ashley D. Bloom

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

A Transcriptomic Analysis Of Salmonella Enterica Newport In Planta And After Postharvest Sanitization, Laurel Lynn Dunn

Doctoral Dissertations

The consumption of fresh produce is increasingly linked to incidence of foodborne illness. Pathogens including Salmonella enterica, Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli, and Listeria monocytogenes are exposed to produce crops through direct human or animal contact, contaminated agricultural water, bioaerosols, run-off, and improperly treated compost. S. enterica has demonstrated exceptional tolerance to the stresses encountered in the environment, on plant tissue, and from postharvest antimicrobial mitigation strategies. Understanding the transcriptomic mechanisms S. enterica employs to survive these hazards is integral for the development of more effective preventive controls and post-harvest steps to prevent the pathogen from infecting consumers.

Effect Of Ultrasonication On The Physicochemical Properties Of Sorghum Kafirin And Evaluation Of Its Anti-Inflammatory Properties In Vitro, Andrew Cullen Sullivan

Masters Theses

Sorghum is one of the hardiest, most drought resistent cereal grains known to exist, providing the bulk of nutritional content for many semi-arid regions and developing countries throughout Africa and southwestern Asia. It contains dense nutritional value, but due to inhibition factors within the grain, much of these nutrients are indigestible. Access to these nutrients, which have shown to contain high contents of bioactive molecules linked to the decrease of prevalence of chronic disease, must then be facilitated before consumption. In sorghum, these molecules could include complex carbohydrates, proteins and polyphenols. The overall objective of this study was to determine …

The Effect Of Retronasal Odor Adaptation On Flavor Perception, Addison Atchley

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Ultra-Sonication Process On Digestibility Of Kafirin In Sorghum, Sarah F. Beazley

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Protein, Methionine, And Cysteine Upregulation In Phaseolus Vulgaris ‘Black Turtle Bean’ Seeds Through Sulfur Fertilization At V2 And R2 Stages Of Growth, Hannah Paige Barry

Masters Theses

The purpose of this research was to increase protein, methionine, and cysteine content in Phaseolus vulgaris L., common bean in relation to the inhibitory compound tannin. Previous research has shown that sulfur fertilization increases total protein, methionine and cysteine content in various crops, but always in tandem with inhibitory compound increases. If successful, the resulting bean seed will have a better nutrient profile for malnourished populations around the world.

Granular gypsum was applied at 0 kg S ha^-1 [kilograms of sulfur per hectare], 10 kg S ha^-1, 20 kg S ha^-1, 40 kg S ha …

Comparative Chemical Characterization Of Lunasin-Enriched Preparations And Modifications Of The Inflammasomes In Vitro, Samuel James Price

Masters Theses

Soybean (Glycine max) is one of the most cultivated crops in the world providing the population with large amounts of protein and oil. In addition to its nutritional composition, soybean also contains biologically active compounds with potential health-promoting properties. The presence of these bioactives may be responsible for the lower incidence of chronic diseases in populations that consume a significant portion of soybeans in their diet. One group of soybeanderived bioactives are bioactive peptides and proteins including lunasin, Bowman-Birk inhibitor (BBI) and Kunitz-type trypsin inhibitor (KTI). The overall objective of this research was to develop a method of …

Heat Inactivation Kinetics Of Tulane Virus And Aichi Virus, Sukriti Ailavadi

Masters Theses

Human noroviruses (HNoVs) and Aichi virus (AiV) causes significant number of gastrointestinal diseases worldwide. Tulane virus (TV), a cultivable HNoV surrogate, is used to determine control measures against HNoV. The objectives of this study were to determine the heat inactivation kinetics of TV and AiV in cell-culture media and TV in spinach using the first-order and Weibull models. TV and AiV in cell-culture media at ~7 log PFU/ml in 2-ml glass vials were heated at 50-58°C [degree Celsius] up to 10 min in a circulating water-bath. Surviving infectious viruses were enumerated by standard plaque assays using confluent host cells in …

Switchgrass Extractives Have Potential As A Value-Added Antimicrobial Against Plant Pathogens And Foodborne Pathogens, Alexander Ian Bruce

Masters Theses

Panicum virgatum (switchgrass), a perennial grass native to North America, is a leading biomass feedstock candidate for the manufacture of cellulosic ethanol. Switchgrass is considered a viable option for biofuel production due to its cheap production cost and ability to grow on marginal land. Biofuel derived from switchgrass has been shown to be very energy efficient, producing 540% more renewable energy versus nonrenewable energy expended. Switchgrass-derived biofuel is also estimated to have greenhouse gas emissions that are 94% lower than emissions from gasoline (Schmer et al 2008). Biofuels are created through biochemical processes that utilize various enzymes and microorganisms for …

Identification Of Potential Bacterial Surrogates For Validation Of Thermal Inactivation Processes Of Hepatitis A Virus, Marcel Schmidt

Masters Theses

Thermal treatment is a method for inactivating pathogens in a wide range of food products. Recent studies have shown that hepatitis A virus (HAV) has a D_72°C [D72 degree celcius] of 0.9 min in buffer which is greater than vegetative bacterial pathogens. Common surrogates, such as Listeria innocua, are not resistant enough to be used as surrogates for HAV, thus, new surrogates need to be identified. The purpose of this study was to compare the thermal inactivation kinetics (D- and z-values) of Staphylococcus carnosus in different foods and different incubation temperatures to identify a potential surrogate for HAV. …

Combinations Of Multiple Natural Antimicrobials With Different Mechanisms As An Approach To Control Listeria Monocytogenes, Savannah Grace Hawkins

Masters Theses

To improve food safety and shelflife requires the use of preservation processes, such as physical (heat, refrigeration) or chemical (antimicrobial addition) processes. Regulatory approved synthetic food antimicrobials (preservatives) have some uses but are very limited in their spectrum of activity. Thus, alternatives are needed to conventional chemical antimicrobials. One method is to use naturally occurring antimicrobials, especially those found in spices and herbs, essential oils (EO) and essential oil components (EOC). EOs have been shown to have antimicrobial activity but the activity is highly variable. Finding a combination of EOs, EOCs, or other natural antimicrobials that act synergistically would allow …

Structuring Solid/Oil/Water Emulsions To Deliver Water-Soluble Bioactive Food Ingredients, Yun Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

Numerous delivery systems are studied for lipophilic bioactive compounds, but much work is needed for bioactive food ingredients soluble or dispersible in water. The overall hypothesis of this dissertation is that structured solid/oil/water (S/O/W) emulsions can be used to encapsulate water-soluble/dispersible ingredients to retain their release during processing and storage and control their release during simulated digestions. The encapsulation principle is to prepare spray-dried powder of water-soluble/dispersible compounds as the solid core that is coated by an oil layer emulsified by food biopolymers. The oil layer isolates the compounds from the continuous aqueous phase in emulsions to prevent the release, …

The Food Industry’S Perception Of Economically Motivated Adulteration And Related Risk Factors, Lindsay Colleen Murphy

Masters Theses

The United States of America has numerous safeguards in place to protect our food supply, including federal regulations and the food and beverage industry’s dedication to food safety. One of the issues that the food and beverage industry continuously battles is the prevalence of intentional adulteration. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) specifically addresses intentional adulteration and its sub-category of economically motivated adulteration (EMA) by requiring all facilities that supply food to the US to assess the vulnerabilities within their operation in order to prevent events that could cause public harm. The purposes of this study are threefold: (1) to …

High Intensity Ultrasound Assisted Extraction Of Oak Compounds For Accelerated Aging Of Wines And Whiskies, Lindsay Elizabeth Rogerson

Masters Theses

Aging of wines and whiskies in oak barrels is a timely and expensive process which could be reduced by acceleration. The purpose of this study is to identify if the use of high intensity ultrasound (HIUS) assisted extraction as an alternative, accelerated aging method could be utilized in the production of an oak extract to be used in wine and whiskies. HIUS will also be compared to reflux and room-temperature control extraction treatments as other accelerated aging methods. Secondary objectives of this study were to compare the heat treatment of charred and toasted staves donated by an anonymous donor, their …