Life Sciences Commons^™

Rnai-Mediated Control Of Aflatoxins In Peanut: Method To Analyze Mycotoxin Production And Transgene Expression In The Peanut/Aspergillus Pathosystem, Renee S. Arias, Phat M. Dang, Victor S. Sobolev

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that 25% of the food crops in the world are contaminated with aflatoxins. That represents 100 million tons of food being destroyed or diverted to non-human consumption each year. Aflatoxins are powerful carcinogens normally accumulated by the fungi Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus in cereals, nuts, root crops and other agricultural products. Silencing of five aflatoxin-synthesis genes by RNA interference (RNAi) in peanut plants was used to control aflatoxin accumulation following inoculation with A. flavus. Previously, no method existed to analyze the effectiveness of RNAi in individual peanut transgenic events, …

Comparative Study Of The D-Values Of Salmonella Spp. And Enterococcus Faecium In Wheat Flour, Didier Dodier

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Low-moisture foods contaminated with Salmonella spp. have been implicated in several foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States. The food industry has to incorporate preventive control in their process and validate thermal processes to assure food safety. The thermal destruction of Enterococcus faecium ATTC 8459 and Salmonella spp. was determined at 3 water activity levels (0.11, 0.18 and 0.33) at 80ºC, 85ºC and 90ºC. Aerobic plates counts petrifilms were used as non-selective medium for both bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae petrifilms were used as selective medium for Salmonella spp., and peptone water modified with sodium azide as a selective medium for Enterococcus faecium …

Inactivation Of Escherichia Coli O157:H7 And Shiga Toxin Producing E. Coli (Stec) Throughout Beef Summer Sausage Production And The Use Of High Pressure Processing As An Alternative Intervention To Thermal Processing, Eric L. Oliver

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Escherichia coli O157:H7 and six additional serogroups of Shiga Toxin-producing E. coli (STEC-7) have been implicated in foodborne illness outbreaks related to fermented sausage products and are considered adulterants by the USDA-FSIS. The objective of this study was to evaluate high pressure processing (HPP) as an alternative to thermal treatment to reduce STEC-7 meeting the USDA-FSIS performance standards (5.0-log reduction). A rifampicin-resistant, non-pathogenic E. coli (surrogate) cocktail, was used in manufacturing testing. Sausages were fermented at ~42.2°C, slowly increased to 54.4°C internal temperature, cold showered, and chilled for 6 hours. Sampling occurred post-fermentation (PF; pH 5.0), internal temperature 48.9°C (I-48.9°C), …

The Human Gut Mycobiome: Pitfalls And Potentials — A Mycologist's Perspective, Mallory J. Suhr, Heather E. Hallen-Adams

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

We have entered the Age of the Microbiome, with new studies appearing constantly and whole journals devoted to the human microbiome. While bacteria outnumber other gut microbes by orders of magnitude, eukaryotes are consistently found in the human gut, and are represented primarily by the fungi. Compiling 36 studies spanning from 1917 to 2015, we found at least 267 distinct fungal taxa have been reported from the human gut, and seemingly every new study includes one or more fungi not previously described from this niche. This diversity, while impressive, is illusory. If we examine gut fungi, we will quickly observe …

Mechanisms By Which Dietary Ellagic Acid Attenuates Obesity And Obesity-Mediated Metabolic Complications, Inhae Kang

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Ellagic acid (EA) is a polyphenol found in various fruits and plants, such as berries, pomegranates, muscadine grapes, nuts and bark of oak tree. EA has been known to exhibit anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative effects in various types of cancer. However, little is known about the effects of EA on obesity. Herein, 1) the lipid-lowering role of EA was identified in primary human adipose stem cells (hASCs) and human hepatoma Huh7 cells; 2) the molecular mechanisms by which EA attenuates adipogenesis by epigenetic modification were identified; 3) the effects of EA on high fat and high sucrose-mediated obesity was …

Identification And Phylogeny Of The First T Cell Epitope Identified From A Human Gut Bacteroides Species, Maria Elisa Perez-Muñoz, Payal Joglekar, Yi-Ji Shen, Kuan Y. Chang, Daniel A. Peterson

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Host T cell reactivity toward gut bacterial epitopes has been recognized as part of disease pathogenesis. However, the specificity of T cells that recognize this vast number of epitopes has not yet been well described. After colonizing a C57BL/6J germ-free mouse with the human gut symbiotic bacteria Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, we isolated a T cell that recognized these bacteria in vitro. Using this T cell, we mapped the first known non-carbohydrate T cell epitope within the phylum Bacteroidetes. The T cell also reacted to two other additional Bacteroides species. We identified the peptide that stimulated the T cell by …

Preference Mapping Of Whole Grain And High Fiber Products: Whole Wheat Bread And Extruded Rice And Bean Snack, Ashley J. Bernstein

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The rise of unhealthy lifestyles and diets among Americans is leading to an influx of health-conscious consumers on the search for more nutritious, health-promoting food options that match their taste preferences. The aim of this research is to determine consumer preferences and specific attributes of whole grain and high fiber products that drive acceptability through descriptive analysis and preference mapping on whole wheat breads and an extruded pinto bean and brown rice flour snack puff.

Commercial whole wheat breads, characterized by 26 appearance, aroma, flavor, and texture attributes, were separated into two distinct groups. The first group consisted of attributes …

Distillation Time As Tool For Improved Antimalarial Activity And Differential Oil Composition Of Cumin Seed Oil, Valtcho D. Zheljazkov, Archana Gawde, Charles L. Cantrell, Tess Astatkie, Vicki Schlegel

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

A steam distillation extraction kinetics experiment was conducted to estimate essential oil yield, composition, antimalarial, and antioxidant capacity of cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) seed (fruits). Furthermore, regression models were developed to predict essential oil yield and composition for a given duration of the steam distillation time (DT). Ten DT durations were tested in this study: 5, 7.5, 15, 30, 60, 120, 240, 360, 480, and 600 min. Oil yields increased with an increase in the DT. Maximum oil yield (content, 2.3 g/100 seed), was achieved at 480 min; longer DT did not increase oil yields. The concentrations of the …

Assessing The Sociocultural Impact Of Special Events In The Context Of Germanfest In Nebraska, Usa, Yanli Wang

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The present study examined the sociocultural impact of special events based on the cultural festival of GermanFest in Syracuse, Nebraska. A total of 143 (71.5%) local residents responded to the self-administered survey. The dimensions of the sociocultural impact, the important reasons for celebrating the festival, the relationship among festival stakeholders, the levels of community involvement, and the improvement of the quality of life in the community as impacts of the festival and demographic information were investigated separately.

The Festival Social Impact Attitude Scale (FSIAS) was utilized to identify the dimensions of the sociocultural impact of GermanFest. Three dimensions were identified …

Efficacy Of Galactooliosaccharide (Gos) And/Or Rhamnose-Based Synbiotics In Enhancing Ecological Performance Of Lactobacillus Reuteri In The Human Gut And Characterization Of Its Gos Metabolic System, Monchaya Rattanaprasert

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Probiotic L. reuteri has potential to produce antimicrobial compounds and secrete immunosuppressive factors. These metabolic attributes could benefit the human host by providing colonization resistance (competitive and metabolic exclusion) against enteropathogens and mitigating inflammation. As metabolically active cells are fundamental to such probiotic properties, synbiotic approaches that supply L. reuteri with a source(s) of carbon, energy, and/or external electron acceptor for cell growth in the gut environment could therefore prompt the probiotic to engage in beneficial activities. In this study, the efficacy of GOS and/or rhamnose-based synbiotic approaches in promoting colonization persistence and metabolic activity of L. reuteri was evaluated. …

Phenolic Rich Extracts Obtained From Small Red Beans In Preventing Macrophage Mediated Chronic Inflammation, Nidhi Sharma

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Small red beans, commonly called Mexican beans, are a part of the legume family, the genus Phaseolus vulgaris, i.e., dry edible beans or the common bean. In addition to being a rich source of nutrients, small red beans also contain phenolic compounds, such as flavonoids, tannins, phenolic acids, and anthocyanins that have shown a plethora of health benefits against such conditions as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. In particular, the phenolic compounds common to the red beans have been reported to protect against chronic inflammation that if left unchecked can lead to various other chronic degenerative diseases. These …

Estudios En Biodiversidad, Volumen I, Griselda Pulido-Flores, Scott Monks, Maritza López-Herrera

Zea E-Books Collection

Este libro es el producto del trabajo colegiado que han desarrollado los profesores, investigadores, y estudiantes que conforman la Red Temática de Calidad Ambiental y Desarrollo Sustentable, a través del macroproyecto “Evaluación del impacto ambiental por actividades antropogénicas: Alternativas de mitigación”. El cual fue apoyado con recursos financieros por parte del Programa para el Desarrollo Profesional Docente (PRODEP), de la Secretaria de Educación Pública (SEP) en México. Las instituciones de educación superior y cuerpos participantes en la red temática son la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo (Uso, Manejo y Conservación de la Biodiversidad UAEHCA- 10; Ciencias Ambientales UAEH-CA-59); Universidad …

Orally Administered Extract From Prunella Vulgaris Attenuates Spontaneous Colitis In Mdr1a-/- Mice, Kelley M.K. Haarberg, Meghan J. Wymore Brand, Anne-Marie C. Overstreet, Catherine C. Hauck, Patricia A. Murphy, Jesse M. Hostetter, Amanda Ramer-Tait, Michael J. Wannemuehler

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

AIM: To investigate the ability of a Prunella vulgaris (P. vulgaris) ethanolic extract to attenuate spontaneous typhlocolitis in mdr1a^-/- mice.

METHODS: Vehicle (5% ethanol) or P. vulgaris ethanolic extract (2.4 mg/d) were administered daily by oral gavage to mdr1a^-/- or wild type FVB^WT mice from 6 wk of age up to 20 wk of age. Clinical signs of disease were noted by monitoring weight loss. Mice experiencing weight loss in excess of 15% were removed from the study. At the time mice were removed from the study, blood and colon tissue were collected for analyses that …

Resistant Starches For The Management Of Metabolic Diseases, Laure B. Bindels, Jens Walter, Amanda E. Ramer-Tait

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Purpose of review—Recent clinical trials and animal studies indicate that resistant starches (RS) may be beneficial therapeutic tools for the management of metabolic diseases. The purpose of this review is to summarize these findings and discuss the established and proposed mechanisms by which RS exert their benefits. We also examine open questions regarding how RS improve metabolism and propose future research directions for the field.

Recent findings—Data from both humans and animal models clearly support a role for RS in improving a variety of metabolic features; however, discrepancies do exist regarding specific effects. Concomitant improvements in both insulin …

Probiotics And Methods Of Obtaining Same, Jens Walter, Bob Thomas, Thomas Burkey

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

This disclosure describes novel probiotics, and also describes novel methods by which such probiotics can be obtained.

Ability Of The Gut Microbiota To Produce Pufa-Derived Bacterial Metabolites: Proof Of Concept In Germ-Free Versus Conventionalized Mice, Céline Druart, Laure B. Bindels, Robert Schmaltz, Audrey M. Neyrinck, Patrice D. Cani, Jens Walter, Amanda E. Ramer-Tait, Nathalie M. Delzenne

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Scope—The gut microbiota is able to modulate host physiology through the production of bioactive metabolites. Our recent studies suggest that changes in gut microbiota composition upon prebiotics supplementation alter tissue levels of PUFA-derived metabolites in mice. However, in vivo evidence that gut microbes produces PUFA-derived metabolites is lacking. This study aimed to decipher the contribution of gut microbes versus that of the host in PUFA-derived metabolite production.

Methods and results—To achieve this goal, we compared the proportion of PUFA-derived metabolites and the expression of fatty acid desaturases in germ-free (GF) and conventionalized (CONV) mice fed either a low …

Correlation Of Periodontal Pathogens In Concurrent Endodontic-Periodontal Diseases, Amela Lačević, Federico Foschi, Lejla Pojskić, Naris Pojskić, Kasim Bajrović, Jacques Izard

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Objectives: This study investigated the correlation between Tannerella forsythia, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans at dual sites in concurrent endodonticperiodontal diseases.

Material and methods: Samples were collected from endodontium and periodontium in cases of concurrent endodontic-periodontal diseases from thirty participants. The sensitivity and specificity of SYBR Green real-time PCR was used to identify the targeted species. Absolute number of targeted genome copies in tested samples were extrapolated from respective calibration curve.

Results: No statistical difference was found in the number of detected endodontic-periodontal pathogens between the endodontium and periodontium. The Pearson test …

Simulation And Validation Of Radio Frequency Heating Of Shell Eggs, Soon Kiat Lau

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Finite element models were developed with the purpose of finding an optimal radio frequency (RF) heating setup for pasteurizing shell eggs. Material properties of the yolk, albumen, and shell were measured and fitted into equations that were used as inputs for the model. When the egg was heated by itself, heating tend to be focused at the air cell to result in a “coagulation ring.” The focused heating near the air cell of the egg prevented satisfactory pasteurization of the egg, but deeper analysis of the simulation results offered a new perspective on how non-uniform RF heating could occur in …

Influence Of Native And Processed Cereal Grain Fibers On Gut Health, Junyi Yang

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Cereal fibers that can be metabolized by gut microbiota have been shown to promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut. Increased consumption of cereal fibers may improve host / gut microbiota interactions in obesity and other metabolic diseases by normalizing gut dysbiosis. The present dissertation describes four research projects to assess the impact of cereal dietary fibers on gut microbiota and host metabolism. In the first study, we determined the treatment temperatures for production of soluble, non-digestible, feruloylated oligo- and polysaccharides (FOPS) from maize bran and wheat bran, and determined the fermentation properties of partially purified FOPS from …

Container Vegetable Gardening, Terri James, David Lott

Nebraska Extension: Faculty and Staff Publications

If well-managed, vegetables grown in containers can provide high-quality produce in a small space.

Container vegetable gardening is a wonderful option for people who have limited space, impaired physical mobility, or conditions that interfere with in-ground gardening, such as poor garden soil. It also can help avoid problems with soilborne diseases and nematode pests that can exist in the soil in traditional, in-ground gardens. People who do not have access to a garden space, or simply do not want to grow a full-scale garden, may choose container vegetable gardening to provide them with enjoyment and produce. Containers are available in …

Dietary Microrna Database (Dmd): An Archive Database And Analytic Tool For Food-Borne Micrornas, Kevin Chiang, Jiang Shu, Janos Zempleni, Juan Cui

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

With the advent of high throughput technology, a huge amount of microRNA information has been added to the growing body of knowledge for non-coding RNAs. Here we present the Dietary MicroRNA Databases (DMD), the first repository for archiving and analyzing the published and novel microRNAs discovered in dietary resources. Currently there are fifteen types of dietary species, such as apple, grape, cow milk, and cow fat, included in the database originating from 9 plant and 5 animal species. Annotation for each entry, a mature microRNA indexed as DM0000*, covers information of the mature sequences, genome locations, hairpin structures of parental …

Fungi Inhabiting The Healthy Human Gastrointestinal Tract: A Diverse And Dynamic Community, Heather E. Hallen-Adams, Stephen D. Kachman, Jaehyoung Kim, Ryan Legge, Inés Martínez

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Fungal DNA was selectively amplified, and the ITS region sequenced, from fecal samples taken from 45 healthy human volunteers at one (21 volunteers) or two (24 volunteers) time points. Seventy-two operational taxonomic units, representing two phyla and ten classes of fungi, were recovered. Candida yeasts, notably C. tropicalis (present in 51 samples), and yeasts in the Dipodascaceae (39 samples), dominated, while 38 OTUs were detected in a single sample each. Fungi included known human symbionts (Candida, Cryptococcus, Malassezia and Trichosporon spp.), common airborne fungi (Cladosporium sp.) and fungi known to be associated with food ( …

A Prototype On-Line Aotf Hyperspectral Image Acquisition System For Tenderness Assessment Of Beef Carcasses, Govindarajan Konda Naganathan, Kim Cluff, Ashok Samal, Chris Calkins, David D. Jones, Carol Lorenzen, Jeyamkondan Subbiah

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

A prototype on-line acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF)-based hyperspectral image acquisition system (λ = 450– 900 nm) was developed for tenderness assessment of beef carcasses. Hyperspectral images of ribeye muscle on stationary hanging beef carcasses (n = 338) at 2-day postmortem were acquired in commercial beef slaughter or packing plants. After image acquisition, a strip steak was cut from each carcass, vacuum packaged, aged for 14 days, cooked, and slice shear force tenderness scores were collected by an independent lab. Beef hyperspectral images were mosaicked together and principal component (PC) analysis was conducted to reduce the spectral dimension. Six different textural …

Multiphysics Modeling To Enhance Understanding Of Microwave Heating Of Food In Domestic Ovens, Jiajia Chen

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations and Theses

Nonuniform heating is the biggest issue in the microwave heating of prepared meals. Multiphysics based models are promising tools to improve microwave heating uniformity by properly designing the food product. However, limited availability of accurate temperature-dependent material properties, inadequate model prediction accuracy, and high computational power and complexity in model development are three gaps that greatly limited the application of these models in the food industry.

To fill in the gaps, firstly, we developed a multitemperature calibration protocol to measure temperature-dependent dielectric properties (dielectric constant and loss factor). The temperature-dependent dielectric and thermal (thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity) properties …

Viability Of Lactobacillus Acidophilus Dds 1-10 Encapsulated With An Alginate-Starch Matrix, Liya Mo

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

L. acidophilus DDS1-10 was encapsulated using an alginate, potato starch and type 4 resistant starch (RS4) matrix. The wall material was optimized by varying levels of alginate (1.6 to 4.4%), while maintaining potato starch and RS4 ratio fixed at 2, and the total solid content at 5%. Particles were prepared using an emulsion and an extrusion method. Particles obtained from the emulsion method were smaller with a non-uniform distribution in size while those obtained by the extrusion method were bigger and uniform in size. The emulsion method did not seem to offer protection to the probiotic cells against pH, bile …

Effects Of Blanching On Color, Texture And Sodium Chloride Content During Storage Time Of Frozen Vegetable Soybean Modeling For Commercial Scale, Pimsiree Suwan

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Vegetable soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] are a green stage of soybeans, which have become increasingly popular among health-conscious Americans as an alternative low-fat and heart-healthy food. Vegetable soybeans (VSB) are also an excellent source of protein and fiber. However, the vast majority of the VSB consumed are imported, as they are not extensively grown and processed in the United States. The situation results in short supply and limited processing information.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of water blanching (at 86, 92, 98 °C for 1m30s, 2m, 2m30s) and steam blanching (at 86, 92, …

The Influence Of The Bovine Fecal Microbiota On The Shedding Of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli (Stec) By Beef Cattle, Nirosh D. Aluthge

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

During the past three decades, Shiga toxin-producing E.coli (STEC) have emerged as an important food safety concern. Although initially E. coli O157 was the main focus, recent outbreaks and resulting investigations have shown that certain non-O157 STEC are as much a threat to food safety as their O157 counterparts. To the beef industry, STEC have been of particular concern due to the frequent association of beef and beef products as vehicles of STEC infection. As a result, along with E. coli O157, six non-O157 STEC serogroups (known as the ‘big six’) are now regulated as adulterants in certain raw beef …

Transport Of Bovine Milk Exosomes By Human Colon Carcinoma Caco-2 Cells And Rat Small Intestinal Iec-6 Cells, Tovah Wolf

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

We have reported that microRNAs (miRNAs, miRs) in bovine milk regulate human genes. In milk, many miRNAs are encapsulated in exosomes, thereby conferring protection against degradation and a pathway for intestinal transport of miRNAs. We hypothesized that the uptake of bovine exosomes in human intestinal colon carcinoma Caco-2 cells and rat primary small intestinal IEC-6 cells is mediated by endocytosis. Transport studies were carried out using fluorophore-labeled exosomes purified from bovine milk. The transport of bovine exosomes exhibited saturation kinetics at 37°C (K_m= 55.5±48.6 µg/200 µL, V_max= 0.083±0.057 ng exosomal protein x 81,750 cells⁻¹ x …

Characterization And Investigation Of Fungi Inhabiting The Gastrointestinal Tract Of Healthy And Diseased Humans, Mallory J. Suhr

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Gastrointestinal microbiome studies have failed to include fungi in total community analyses. As a result, their diversity and function in the gut is poorly understood. Recent work has begun to uncover the role intestinal fungi play in diet, immune system development, interactions with other microorganisms in the gut, and pathogenesis of diseases. Advances in sequencing technologies allow for the ability to profile the fungal gut microbiome (“mycobiome”) in healthy and diseased states. This thesis explores the mycobiome in 1) healthy humans with a vegetarian diet and 2) pediatric small bowel transplant recipients that develop fungal bloodstream infections.

The gut mycobiome …

Corn Characterization And Development Of A Convenient Laboratory Scale Alkaline Cooking Process, Shreya N. Sahasrabudhe

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nixtamalized (alkaline cooked) corn (Zea mays L.) products are increasing in popularity due to their affordable cost, ease of production, and the diversity of products that can be made using similar unit operations. The nixtamal produced after alkaline cooking depends on the processing parameters used during cooking and steeping, as well as the physicochemical properties of the corn hybrids used. Processors incur high costs in narrowing down hybrids suitable for a given process, or they must be able to adjust cooking conditions to obtain the desired end-product characteristics. Improper processing generates large quantities of waste. Researchers have developed small …