Life Sciences Commons^™

Effects Of Grain Sorghum Muffin On Blood Glucose And Insulin Responses In Prediabetic Men, Xuan Gu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prediabetes is a sub-health condition in the development to type 2 diabetes, which has been long overlooked. Grain sorghum contains functional starch fractions, which have been widely reported for their potential on blood glucose control and diabetes prevention. A human study with prediabetic men was conducted to investigate the effects of sorghum starch on postprandial blood glucose and insulin levels. Grain sorghum and wheat (control) muffins containing 50 g total starch were consumed by 15 prediabetic male subjects on two mornings with a 1-week washout period. Plasma samples were collected on -15 (baseline), 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, …

Veggiecation: A Novel Approach To Improve Vegetable Consumption Among School-Aged Children, Yeon Bai, Lisa Suriano, Shahla M. Wunderlich

Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Scholarship and Creative Works

Children's general preference for sweeter foods and aversion to bitter vegetables is explained partly by fear of new food and social and cultural influences. Reluctance to eat new foods is related to unfavorable facial expressions and is often learned from the child's family, social circle, and culture.1 Researchers report that the fruit and vegetable consumption of children 6–12 years of age is associated with the accessibility and availability.2 School-based interventions that combine classroom curricula, parental, and nutrition service components show the greatest promise for fruit and vegetable promotion among children.

Relationship Of Dna Methylation With Cardiovascular Fitness And Body Composition, Mihaela A. Ciulei

Honors College Theses

Global DNA Methylation (GDM), an epigenomic modification has been linked to the development of cardiovascular disease and its risk factors. Our focus was to identify potential relationships between epigenetic alterations and both cardiovascular fitness and body composition measures. Purpose: As increases in aerobic fitness have a beneficial effect on cardiovascular disease, one purpose was to determine if a relationship was evident between global DNA methylation and VO2max. A secondary purpose was to determine if the relationship extends to body composition measured via Dual X-ray Absorbtometry (DXA). Methods: Fifty-two (male n=25, female n=27) subjects provided a blood sample for DNA …

Aerobic Exercise Training Prevents Heart Failure-Induced Skeletal Muscle Atrophy By Anti-Catabolic, But Not Anabolic Actions, Rodrigo W.A. Souza, Warlen P. Piedade, Luana C. Soares, Paula A. T. Souza, Andreo F. Aguiar, Ivan Jose Vechetti Jr, Dijon H.S. Campos, Ana A. H. Fernandes, Katashi Okoshi, Robson F. Carvalho, Antonio C. Cicogna, Maeli Dal-Pai-Silva

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Heart failure (HF) is associated with cachexia and consequent exercise intolerance. Given the beneficial effects of aerobic exercise training (ET) in HF, the aim of this study was to determine if the ET performed during the transition from cardiac dysfunction to HF would alter the expression of anabolic and catabolic factors, thus preventing skeletal muscle wasting. Methods and Results: We employed ascending aortic stenosis (AS) inducing HF in Wistar male rats. Controls were sham operated animals. At 18 weeks after surgery, rats with cardiac dysfunction were randomized to 10 weeks of aerobic ET (AS-ET) or to an untrained group …

Knowledge Of And Accordance With The Academy Evidence-Based Nutrition Practice Guideline For Disorders Of Lipid Metabolism, Megan T. Metropulos, Mary B. Gregoire, Sarah J. Holland, Annabelle S. Volgman, Heather E. Rasmussen

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to determine knowledge of and accordance with practices recommended by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Guideline for Disorders of Lipid Metabolism. Knowledge and food frequency questionnaires were completed by dyslipidemic patients from an outpatient cardiology clinic (n = 51). Participants were primarily white (74.5%), obese (64.7%), female (64.7%) adults 62.0 ± 9.3 years of age. Mean Disorders of Lipid Metabolism guideline knowledge score was 53.l ± 13.4% correct. Mean accordance was 35.4 ± 13.0% correct. There were no significant associations between knowledge and accordance (r_s = 0.175, P = .219). In …

Examination Of Obesity Risk-Reduction Behaviors In Chinese Americans, Yeon Bai, Kathleen D. Bauer, Doreen Liou

Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Scholarship and Creative Works

The purpose of this survey research was to examine the psychosocial characteristics of obesity risk-reduction behaviors in Chinese Americans. Obesity risk-reduction behaviors and psychosocial variables derived from the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Health Belief Model were measured. A questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of 300 young adult Chinese Americans residing in the New York metropolitan area. Results suggest that when communicating messages to low adopters of health behaviors, promoting positive attitudes and social influences for healthful eating should be emphasized. High behavior adopters may benefit from strategies to maintain self-efficacy to enact health-related behaviors conducive to …

Reducing Obesity And Obesity-Related Diseases In Richmond, California: Understanding The Importance Of Partnerships In Community-Based Health Education, Arlette Hernandez

Master's Projects and Capstones

In the United States obesity has become a major public health issue. Over the past two decades, the prevalence of obesity has doubled in adults and children. In the city of Richmond, California, adults and children are experiencing the highest rates of obesity and obesity-related diseases in comparison to other residents of West Contra Costa County. In an effort to reduce the rates of obesity in Richmond, two non-profit organizations have partnered up to provide innovative community-based health education to combat obesity and type II diabetes.

This paper will explore and summarize the 300-hour fieldwork the author experienced and completed …

Biosteel High Performance Sports Drink Improves Exercise Performance Following A Simulated Hockey Game, Kolten C. Abbott

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

INTRODUCTION: BioSteel High Performance Sports Drink (BioSteel) is one of the most popular sports supplements consumed by professional and amateur athletes. BioSteel Inc^® claims that consumption of BioSteel before and during exercise will result in “enhanced energy while delaying the onset of muscular and mental fatigue”. PURPOSE: Assess the efficacy of BioSteel supplementation on anaerobic and aerobic exercise performance as well as sport-specific cognition throughout exercise. METHODS: Eleven exercise-trained men completed a simulated hockey game on a cycle ergometer under two experimental conditions: BioSteel and isoenergetic placebo. Measures of exercise performance and cognition were assessed before, throughout and after …

Behavioral Feeding Problems Of Normally Developing Children Under 4 Years Of Age, Julia Stanislavskaia

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Objectives: The objectives were to identify common problematic behaviours in cases of normally-developing children under four years of age and determine whether there were associations between responsiveness to treatment and number of behaviours and visits to the clinic, as well as low body weight. Rationale: The motive for this study was to address the gaps in literature by characterizing the population, acquiring data to help establish consistent nomenclature and categorization as well as information to help design a screening tool in the future. Methods: Secondary data was collected retrospectively from 106 medical charts that fit the inclusion criteria. The data …

25-Hydroxyvitamin D, Igf-1, And Waist Circumference A Cross-Sectional Study, Damon Mccune

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose: Waist circumference has been shown to have a link to various forms of chronic disease and low levels of Vitamin D (25(OH)D) and IGF-1. The purpose of this study is to assess if there is a relationship with Vitamin D (25(OH)D) and IGF-1 levels and waist circumference.

Methods: As part of a cross-sectional correlation study, participants were males and females (n=26), ages 25-65, who were students at UNLV and/or individuals who attend local health and wellness facilities as well as attendees of classes held by the UNLV Nutrition Center. Participants reported to UNLV to review and sign informed consent …

Impact Of Portion Size Of Fruit Juice On Fruit Juice Consumption And Overall Energy Intake During A Snack In Preschoolers, Erin Margaret Norton

Masters Theses

Background: The relationship between 100% fruit juice intake and adiposity in children may be a consequence of lack of complete compensation to energy consumed from beverages. Therefore, this study investigated the impact of beverage type and beverage size on beverage and overall snack intake in preschool-aged children. Methods: Using a 2x2x2 design (between-subjects factor of order and within-subjects factors of beverage type [100% fruit juice vs. water] and beverage size [6 oz. vs. 12 oz.]), 26 children (3.9 + 0.6 years of age, 50% female, 73% white, and 88.5% non-Hispanic or Latino) completed 20-minute snack sessions on four consecutive Wednesday …

The Association Of Wellness Policy Quality And Percentage Of Obesity In Schools, Bryce M. Abbey

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

Schools possess a unique opportunity to reach a large captive audience and are becoming one of the battlegrounds for childhood obesity. To address the school environment’s role on the influence of American children’s nutritional intake and participation in physical activity, the United States (US) Federal Government adopted the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, placing an emphasis on implementation of the local school wellness policy (LSW). The purpose of this study was to examine the association between LSW and percentage of obesity in school districts within Nebraska. Aggregate district-wide body mass index (BMI) percentile data were utilized from previously collected …

Resistant Starch Type 4-Enriched Diet Lowered Blood Cholesterols And Improved Body Composition In A Double Blind Controlled Cross-Over Intervention, Sailendra N Nichenametla, Lee A. Weidauer, Howard Wey, Tianna Beare, Bonny Specker, Moul Dey

Health and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

A metabolic health crisis is evident as cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain the leading cause of mortality in the United States. Effects of resistant starch type 4 (RS4), a prebiotic fiber, in comprehensive management of metabolic syndrome (MetS) remain unknown. This study examined the effects of a blinded exchange of RS4-enriched flour (30% v/v) with regular/control flour (CF) diet on multiple MetS comorbidities. In a double blind (participants-investigators), placebo-controlled, cluster cross-over intervention (n = 86, age≥18, 2-12 week interventions, 2-week washout) in the United States, individuals were classified as having MetS (With-MetS) or not (No-MetS) following International Diabetes Federation (IDF)-criteria. RS4 …

An Examination Of An Environmental Change In Beverages Available To High School Students In Santa Maria, California On Their Consumption Behavior, Susan Eileen Klucker

Master's Theses

Hypothesis: "By an environmental change in high school vending machines, making water available, students will choose water over the sugar sweetened sodas."

This document highlights a case study analysis of vendor-provided refill data for forty-five beverage vending machines at two campus sites in one high school district in 2003 and 2004. The innovative study and publicized negotiated soda contract of a 50:50 (healthy to unhealthy) beverage ratio stipulation became the “Win-Win-WEAN” compromise, in which exposure to healthier beverage options for students might prove to provide the same income opportunity for the school district.

An overview of the political …

The Effect Of Nutrition On The Microbiome In Pregnant Women And The Use Of Micronutrient Supplemented Probiotic Yogurt To Improve Outcomes, Megan Kathleen Enos

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The aims of this study were to characterize the gut, oral, and vaginal microbiotas of pregnant women with varying nutritional status and to determine if daily supplementation with probiotic yogurt containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 and ground Moringa leaves, would ‘normalize’ the microbiota and improve pregnancy outcomes. For the latter, a clinical study was performed in Mwanza, Tanzania, in which consumption of yogurt for 88 ± 31 days, starting from the second trimester, did not result in excess weight gain, altered pregnancy outcomes or increased blood nutrient levels compared to an under-nourished group not taking the yogurt. Ingestion of the probiotic …

Transgenesis In Animal Agriculture: Addressing Animal Health And Welfare Concerns, Michael Greger

Michael Greger, MD, FACLM

The US Food and Drug Administration’s final Guidance for Industry on the regulation of transgenesis in animal agriculture has paved the way for the commercialization of genetically engineered (GE) farm animals. The production-related diseases associated with extant breeding technologies are reviewed, as well as the predictable welfare consequences of continued emphasis on prolificacy at the potential expense of physical fitness. Areas in which biotechnology could be used to improve the welfare of animals while maintaining profitability are explored along with regulatory schema to improve agency integration in GE animal oversight.

The Independent Association Between Diet Quality And Body Composition, Clemens Drenowatz, Robin Shook, Gregory A. Hand, James R. Hebert, Steven N. Blair

Robin Shook

Excess body weight is associated with an imbalance between energy expenditure and dietary intake but evidence on the association between diet quality and body composition remains equivocal. Rather than relying on differences in diet quality between overweight/obese and normal weight adults, this study examined the association between the Healthy Eating Index 2010 (HEI-2010) and body fatness on a continuous scale, independent of physical activity (PA). Further the association between components of the HEI-2010 and risk for overweight/obesity was explored. 407 adults (27.6 6 3.7 years) provided at least two 24-hour diet recalls over a period of 14 days, which were …

Exercise And Diet Program For The College Student, Brooks Briel

Senior Theses

Oftentimes college students can be seen going to the gym with simply no direction in exercise or nutrition. They go through the motions of exercising, but have no real understanding of what they are doing. These students may see some progress, but plateau early and find it discouraging to continue to workout. The goal of this project was to create a personal diet and exercise program that could be used by the average college student to improve their physical fitness levels. The exercise program attempts to improve body composition, cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility. This is done …

Characterizing And Improving The Oral Sensations And Preference Of Polyphenol-Rich Aronia Berry Juice, Jeeha Park

Honors Scholar Theses

Background: Aronia berries (chokeberries) have very high levels of health-promoting polyphenols yet cause "choking" sensations due to bitterness and astringency. We aimed to describe oral sensations and palatability of aronia juice by variations in harvest time and oral sensory phenotype. Sensory blocking combinations were tested to improve juice acceptability. Methods: Ripe aronia berries were harvested at 7 time points and juiced for oral sampling by 50 adults who underwent bitter taste phenotyping. The adults reported quality intensities of prototypical tastes, foods, and aronia juices. Ethyl butyrate (10ppm) and/or sucrose (0.15 and 0.3M) were added to prototypical oral stimuli and aronia …

Books And Bruschetta: An Investigation Of The College Students’ Diet, Corie Lee Adamucci

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This project identifies the main issues seen in the dietary habits of college-aged young adults through a comprehensive literature review of studies on the topic. Roughly half of the research articles were obtained through Dr. Tanya Horacek, an associate professor in SU’s Department of Public Health, Food Studies, and Nutrition, who has done research on the college diet and factors that affect the college diet. Other studies were obtained via scholarly journals including, but not limited to the Journal of American College Health, the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, and the Journal of Exercise Physiology. Major problems in college …

"Can’T Touch This": Empowering Children With Severe Food Allergy In The Residential Camp Setting 2014, Alexsandra Dubin

Master's Theses

The purpose of this project was to create an empowerment program for children with severe food allergy (SFA) in a residential camp setting. Despite recent advancements in research, there is no cure for SFA, thus there is a need for programs to help children manage their allergies and cope with the ramifications of their condition. Quality of life is a major concern for children with SFA, as the constant fear of exposure to an allergen can lead to high levels of anxiety. This is particularly noteworthy because, barring exposure to an allergen, these children are otherwise healthy and symptom free. …

Physical Activity And Nutritional Behavior Of Overweight College Students Trying To Lose Weight 2014, Santino Vallejos M.S.

Master's Theses

Although there are numerous benefits to increased physical activity and proper dietary behaviors, the decreased participation in physical activity and poor dietary behaviors has emerged as a significant problem within the college student population. The focus of this research study was to identify the relationship between physical activity and dietary behavior to weight loss behaviors within an undergraduate student sample of a small, comprehensive northeastern university. College-aged students (age range: 17 to 27 years old) completed the American College Health Association’s (ACHA) National College Health Assessment II (NCHA) during the years 2009 and 2012. According to the results, there were …

The Effects Of A High-Protein Diet On Obesity And Other Risk Factors Associated With Cardiovascular Disease, Daniel L. Phillips

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Healthy Lifestyle Choices On Smoking Behavior Among College Students Who Smoke Cigarettes, Mitchell Jenkins

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the impact certain healthy lifestyle choices had on smoking behavior among college students who smoke cigarettes. Even with continued reduction in prevalence, cigarette smoking is still the leading cause of preventable death in America. With that in mind, it is important to continue to identify factors that relate to decreased tobacco usage. Secondary data from the American College Health Association's bi-yearly National College Health Assessment was used for this study. This assessment/survey encompasses college students' habits, behaviors, and perceptions regarding prevalent health topics. The sample for this study consisted of 14,515 college students who identified themselves as …

Combined Metagenomic And Phenomic Approaches Identify A Novel Salt Tolerance Gene From The Human Gut Microbiome, Eamon Culligan, Julian R. Marchesi, Colin Hill, Roy D. Sleator

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

In the current study, a number of salt-tolerant clones previously isolated from a human gut metagenomic library were screened using Phenotype MicroArray (PM) technology to assess their functional capacity. PM's can be used to study gene function, pathogenicity, metabolic capacity and identify drug targets using a series of specialized microtitre plate assays, where each well of the microtitre plate contains a different set of conditions and tests a different phenotype. Cellular respiration is monitored colorimetrically by the reduction of a tetrazolium dye. One clone, SMG 9, was found to be positive for utilization/transport of L-carnitine (a well-characterized osmoprotectant) in the …

Erratum To ‘‘Associations Of Cardiorespiratory Fitness And Fatness With Metabolic Syndrome In Rural Women With Prehypertension’’, Patricia A. Hageman, Carol H. Pullen, Melody Hertzog, Linda Boeckner, Susan Noble Walker

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

In the original paper, the authors discovered a computer coding error that resulted in 33 of the women’s ages being incorrectly recorded. All analyses were repeated for this paper using the corrected age dataset, as all our logistic regression analyses in the published paper were adjusted for age.The repeated analyses, using the corrected dataset, lead to minor changes that needed to be reported to the results in the published paper. These corrections did not change the conclusion of the published paper.The authors apologize for any inconvenience.

Tpn Collaborative: Improving Network Wide Parenteral Nutrition Care, Christina Christianson Rd, Cnsc, Ldn, Anthony Buonanno Md, Mba

Clinical Nutrition Service

No abstract provided.

No Patient Left Behind, Courtney Bloom Rd, Ldn, Melissa Faura Rd, Ldn, Ann Flickinger Ms, Rd, Ldn, Karen A. Yerger Rd, Ldn

Clinical Nutrition Service

No abstract provided.

Teach-Back For Inpatient Nutrition Education: Mission Possible, Melissa Faura Rd, Ldn, Ann Flickinger Ms, Rd, Ldn, Katherine Lyle Ms, Rd, Ldn

Clinical Nutrition Service

No abstract provided.

Calculating Value- Added Services Of The Registered Dietitian, Melissa Faura Rd, Ldn, Ann Flickinger Ms, Rd, Ldn, Kathleen Hanuschak Rd, Ldn, Krysta Miller Rd, Ldn, Renee Selby Rd, Cnsc, Ldn

Clinical Nutrition Service

No abstract provided.