Life Sciences Commons^™

Validation Of Thermal Destruction Of Pathogenic Bacteria In Rendered Animal Products, Mary Hayes

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This study tested enumeration techniques for high fat food matrices and determined thermal death times in rendering animal products. Standard Class O phosphate/magnesium chloride dilution buffer series (Dilution Series A) and a modified (pre-warmed to 32oC) lecithin phosphate dilution buffer series (Dilution Series B) were used to enumerate a Salmonella cocktail from both poultry and beef rendering materials. Results of this study indicate use of a modified lecithin buffer did not improve Salmonella enumeration accuracy from rendering materials. Instead, the results suggested use of xylose lysine deoxycholate agar (XLD) with either buffer system accurately enumerated Salmonella from rendering materials. The …

Studies Of Molecular Mechanisms Of Cranberry Mediated Healthspan Promotion In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Sujay Guha

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Extensive studies have demonstrated the potent ability of many nutraceuticals to alleviate the symptoms of aging and stress. We found that cranberry extract (CBE) supplementation at an optimum concentration could prolong Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) lifespan in a manner of daf-16 and osr-1 dependence. Considering that aging is a progressive degeneration of physiological functions, it is intriguing to know whether CBE consumption may delay the age-related degenerative changes in animals. Thus, we examined the effect of CBE consumption on healthspan in C. elegans populations with different ages and age-related disorders. Our results suggest that long-term CBE supplementation leads to a …

A Study Of The Frothing Capacity Of Whole Milk- 1. A Market Survey Of Conventional And Organic Milks, 2. The Effect Of Clean In Place (Cip) Cleaning Solutions, Sara Stancil

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Gourmet coffee drink consumption is on the rise (NCAUSA 2013). With most of these coffee drinks including milk and/or milk foam, an emphasis on producing quality foam is of high importance. Recent complaints have been received on the failure of milk to foam to expectations of the coffee house (Randolph & Associates 2013). Identifying the source of this failure could enable the milk industry to provide higher foam quality milk to meet the growing needs of coffee houses.

A two-part study on the frothing capacity of milk was carried out to investigate potential variations in the market place and to …

Prolactin And Isplatin Combination Treatment Inhibit Tumorspheres Formation And Tumor Growth In Mice, Eric Hingleung Lee

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Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are defined as a small population of tumor initiating cells that are responsible for the initiation, development, progression, and recurrence of cancer. The chemo and radiation resistance of CSCs remains one of the major obstacles in conventional anti-cancer therapies. One of the reasons that conventional chemotherapeutics are not effective in targeting CSCs is that CSCs are usually in a non-proliferative or dormant state. In this perspective, targeting CSCs by inducing its proliferation and differentiation and simultaneously applying chemotherapeutics may be an alternative approach. The current study investigates the effect of prolactin (PRL), a hormone intimately involved …

Three Essays Evaluating Health Impacts Of The National School Lunch Program, Janet Peckham

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This research focuses on the health impacts of participation in the National School Lunch Program, a program providing free and reduced-cost lunches for income-eligible students and minimally subsidizing lunches for income-ineligible students. In the past decade, increasing incidence of childhood obesity, particularly among low-income individuals has drawn scrutiny over the NSLP's role in the health of student-aged children.

The first chapter introduces the reader to the NSLP, providing a history of the program since its inception at the turn of the 20th century and addressing current issues in the economic literature regarding health impacts of program participation. The second chapter …

Distribution, Ecology, And Trophic Relationships Of A Colonial Waterbird: The Double-Crested Cormorant, Kate Sheehan

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The realized distribution of an organism is dependent on the environmental characteristics of the landscape, biological interactions within the communities in which it lives, and geographic barriers to dispersal. Changes in habitat can influence landscape characteristics, and consequently, the distribution of organisms within the landscape. The Double-crested Cormorant ( Phalacrocorax auritus ) is a piscivorous waterbird implicated in human-wildlife conflicts at aquaculture facilities and natural aquatic systems where they compete for resources (fish) with anglers and commercial fishing guides. Impacts of P. auritus on aquatic systems result from their consumption of fish stocks and their contamination of water and soil …

Phytophthora Foliage Blight Of Garden Phlox: Phytophthora Nicotianae On Phlox Paniculata, Daniel Drechsler

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Phytophthora foliage blight of garden phlox (Phlox paniculata ) - caused by Phytophthora nicotianae - is a devastating disease that has been seen consistently in nursery production facilities in South Carolina. However, this disease has not been characterized previously. This project was composed of three separate studies, each of which followed one of the three major components of the disease triangle (i.e., the synchronous occurrence of a susceptible host and a virulent pathogen within a conducive environment) to investigate the pathogenicity of P. nicotianae on P. paniculata . In one study, the efficacies of three inoculation methodologies to cause …

Conserving The Land Of The Giants: Critical Threats To Asian Elephant Habitat In Sri Lankan Protected Areas, Christie Sampson

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Grasslands habitats are hypothesized to be a critical resource for the endangered Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) throughout its range. However, this hypothesis has not been rigorously tested. My study examined elephant habitat selection in Sri Lanka to determine the importance of grassland versus other local habitats, and how livestock abundance, fire, and the invasive plant Lantana camara affect the relative abundance of elephants within habitats. My research was conducted in two protected areas in Sri Lanka, Udawalawe National Park (UNP) and Hurulu Forest Reserve (HR). I used distance-sampling on a total of 50.8 km of dung line-transects in the four …

Development Of Liriodendron Est-Ssr Markers And Genetic Composition Of Two Liriodendron Tulipifera L. Orchards, Xinfu Zhang

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Liriodendron tulipifera L., commonly known as yellow-poplar, is a fast-growing hardwood tree species with great ecological and economic value and is native to eastern North America. Liriodendron occupies an important phylogenetic position as a basal angiosperm and has been used in studies of the evolution of flowering plants. Genomic resources, such as Expressed Sequence Taq (EST) databases and Bacterial Artificial Chromosome (BAC) libraries, have been developed for this species. However, no genetic map is available for Liriodendron, and very few molecular markers have been developed. In this study, a total of 119 informative genomic SSR markers suitable were identified for …

Managing Fusarium Wilt In Watermelon Production, Zachary Snipes

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Fusarium wilt of watermelon, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum , was first described in 1894 in South Carolina and Georgia and has become a limiting factor in watermelon production worldwide. In recent years, restriction on use of the soil fumigant methyl bromide and the recent development of more virulent races of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum has created a critical need for alternative management techniques. In 2011-2013 field experiments were designed to evaluate the efficacy of incorporating a cover crop of hairy vetch into the soil to manage Fusarium wilt. Colony-forming units (CFU) of Fusarium oxysporum were sampled …

Methane Prediction By Nutrient Profiles In Ruminal Continuous Cultures Fed An All Forage Diet Of Bermudagrass Or Annual Ryegrass, Kaylin Young

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Extensive research has been done on the effect of diet on rumen methane (CH4) production, and on developing equations to accurately predict CH4 in cattle. However, the majority of this research has been gathered from feedlot cattle or cattle fed a total mixed ration (TMR). To date, no studies have examined nutrient correlations with CH4 when feeding an all pasture diet of warm season or cool season grasses. This study included two in vitro experiments, one with a warm season forage and one with a cool season forage to see which nutrient characteristics of each forage best correlated with CH4 …

The Effects Of Altering Incubation Temperature On Broiler Chick Hatchability, Chick Quality, Sex Ratio, And Subsequent Performance Under Field Conditions, Abubaker Elmehdawi

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The aim of this dissertation was to investigate the effects of manipulating the incubation temperature during late broiler embryogenesis on hatchability, chick quality, secondary sex ratio, and grow out performance under field conditions. Four experiments were conducted at a commercial hatchery and two setters of 42,240 eggs each were used; one served as control and the other as test with the same physical environment as the control except that thermal stimulation of 0.5o C and 1o C above the optimal incubation temperature were used, in the first two experiments and last two experiments respectively, for 2 h/d from 18 to …

Influences Of Riparian Land-Uses On Habitat Use And Interspecific Competition Of Stream-Dwelling Salamanders: Evidence From Blue Ridge & Piedmont, Thilina Surasinghe

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Human-induced disturbances can result in persistent influences on ecosystems, including habitat loss and biogeographical changes. Global amphibian decline, a consequence of habitat degradation, is among prime conservation concerns. To better understand causes of the amphibian crisis, investigations a multiple levels of biological organization - behavior, communities, and landscapes - is imperative. I investigated the responses of stream-associated Plethdontid salamanders of the Blue Ridge and Piedmont of the Southeastern US to historical and current land uses in the riparian zone and watershed to determine, (1) change in the community structure and mechanisms driving the change and uses operating at different spatial-temporal …

A Novel Gain Of Function Of The Irx1 And Irx2 Genes Disrupts Axis Elongation In The Araucana Rumpless Chicken, Nowlan Freese

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Caudal dysplasia describes a range of developmental disorders that affect normal development of the lumbar spinal column, sacrum and pelvis. An important goal of the congenital malformation field is to identify the genetic mechanisms leading to caudal deformities.
To identify the genetic cause(s) and subsequent molecular mechanisms I turned to an animal model, the rumpless Araucana chicken breed. Araucana fail to form vertebrae beyond the level of the hips. I performed a genome wide association study to identify candidate genomic regions associated with the rumpless phenotype, compared to tailed Araucana. A candidate region of chromosome 2 containing just two genes, …

Functionalized Nanomaterials And Their Biological Applications, Pallavi Vedantam

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Bionanomaterials have been used in drug delivery, cancer therapy and biodiagnosis of pathogens based on their size and surface functionalization. In this present work, different kinds of nanoparticles (NPs), their cellular interactions, cytotoxicity profiles, and finally role of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) in biodetection of E. coli was investigated.
Firstly, cytotoxicity profiles of commercial, laser ablation, and green synthetic NPs were studied. Induction of apoptosis in cancer cells was found to be size dependent. The plain 80 nm GNPs and AgNPs enhanced toxic effects in cancer cells when compared to 20 nm ones. Apoptotic profiles of ALB- or FBS-coated NPs were …

Development Of Hplc Methods For The Determination Of Water-Soluble Vitamins In Pharmaceuticals And Fortified Food Products, Hung Khiem Trang

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Though many HPLC methods have been developed and reported in literature for vitamin analysis for the past two decades, applying certain methods directly from literature more than often fails to reproduce the results reported due to many variables of liquid chromatography. This issue was targeted in this project through the examination of chromatographic behaviors of water-soluble vitamins in order to help the analysts better modify methods from literature or even develop new methods from scratch to fit their analytical need with the resources available (e.g., columns, detectors, etc.) in their lab.
The first part of the project investigated the chromatographic …

Biochemical Investigation Into Initiation Of Fatty Acid Synthesis In The African Trypanosomes, Sunayan Ray

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My doctoral studies focused on studying FA metabolism in the deadly protozoan parasite T. brucei. In my dissertation, I will be addressing various aspects of the regulation of TbACC, which catalyzes the first committed step in FA synthesis. In the second chapter, I hypothesized that TbACC is regulated in response to environmental lipids. I examined changes in TbACC RNA, protein, and activity in response to different levels of environmental lipids in both BF and PF cells. I also delineated the mechanisms by which TbACC expression and activity is regulated by phosphorylation in response to altered lipid environments. In the third …

Gap Junctions: Regulators Of Cellular Immunity And Parasite Manipulation In The Remarkable Tripartite Relationship Involving Insects And Genome-Integrated Polydnaviruses, Daniel Hasegawa

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Communication means everything. From vocalization to the firing of a neuron, coordination through the exchange of signals is essential to the survival of all living things. At the cellular level, communication is accomplished through the use of gap junction channels. Gap junctions are found in virtually all multicellular animals, where they play critical roles in developmental, physiological, metabolic, and even structural processes. From the maintenance of heart rhythms in humans, to the coordination of tissue regeneration in flatworms, and to the processing of visual stimuli in flies, the roles for gap junctions are diverse. However, how this diversity is accomplished …

Factors Influencing The Distribution And Structure Of Tropical Vascular Epiphyte Communities At Multiple Scales, Carrie Woods

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Understanding the factors that determine species distributions is a central question in ecology. Niche-based theories stress the importance of environmental heterogeneity in influencing species distributions while neutral-based theories emphasize the effects of dispersal limitation. The relative importance of these factors in influencing species distributions may depend on spatial scale - deterministic factors may be more important at small spatial scales where fine-scale habitat factors become more relevant and stochastic factors may be more important at larger spatial scales where dispersal limitation becomes more relevant. I examined the influence of deterministic and stochastic factors on the distribution and structure of vascular …

Role Of Phosphoinositide-Based Signaling In Virulence In Entamoeba Histolytica, Amrita Koushik

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Entamoeba histolytica is an intestinal protozoan parasite and is the causative agent of amoebiasis. Upon entering the human host, cellular processes such as adhesion, phagocytosis, motility and secretion play a vital role in its propagation and pathogenicity. In other systems, each of these cellular processes is preceded by activation of signal transduction pathways, which often involve membrane phosphoinositides such as phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P₂). Little is known about phosphoinositide signaling in E. histolytica pathogenicity. In this study, we demonstrated that PI(4,5)P₂ is localized to cholesterol-rich microdomains, lipid rafts, of the E. histolytica membrane and to the trailing edge …

Antibacterial Effects Of Proteases On Different Strains Of Escherichia Coli And Listeria Monocytogenes, Hanan Eshamah

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Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes are pathogens that have received special attention by federal agencies, food safety researchers and food industries due to their economic and human health impact. To reduce the presence of these pathogens, alternative interventions have been studied. However, increasing consumer's demand for natural ingredients has made the investigations of effectiveness of natural antimicrobials necessary. In this study, in vitro antimicrobial activity of bromelain and papain against E. coli JM109 and L. monocytogenes was investigated. Furthermore, actinidin and papain were evaluated to reduce populations of L. monocytogenes strain and three mixed strains of E. coli O157:H7 …

Ecology And Management Of Stink Bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) In Southeastern Farmscapes, Grant Pilkay

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A three-year study (2009-2011) was conducted to examine the spatial and temporal dynamics of stink bugs in three commercial farmscapes in South Carolina and Georgia. Crops included wheat, Triticum aestivum (L.), corn, Zea mays (L.), soybean, Glycine max (L.), cotton, Gossypium hirsutum (L.), and peanuts, Arachis hypogaea (L.). Farmscapes were sampled weekly using whole-plant examinations for corn, with all other crops sampled using sweep nets. The predominant pest species of phytophagous stink bugs were the brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say), the green stink bug, Chinavia hilaris (Say), and the southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.). Chi-square tests indicated …

Development And Testing The Validity And Reliability Of Items And Scales To Assess Physical Activity Behavior Of Adults In The Expanded Food And Nutrition Education Program, Tarana Khan

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Given the rising prevalence of obesity and other chronic diseases in the United States, the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) includes physical activity as a core educational component along with diet quality, food safety, food resource management and food security. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, research supports that participation in regular physical activity helps people maintain a healthy weight and prevent excess weight gain. When combined with reduced calorie intake, physical activity may aid weight loss and the maintenance of weight loss.
Two evaluation instruments are used in EFNEP nationwide. Nutritional intake is measured by a …

Comparing Mechanical Mastication, Herbicide Application, And Prescribed Fire Within An Established Longleaf Pine (Pinus Palustris Mill.) Ecosystem, Brett Moule

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Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) forests once dominated the landscape throughout the Southeast and much of its success could be attributed to ecological disturbances such as fire. However, the use of fire as a management tool may be at risk due to a growing human population, negative impacts resulting from smoke production, and the imposition of restrictive federal and state laws, policies, and standards. This study was designed to determine whether alternative silviculture treatments such as herbicide or mechanical mastication can be used as surrogates to prescribed fire. We applied three commonly used silviculture treatments (prescribed burning, mechanical mastication, …

Behavior And Control Of The Bed Bug, Cimex Lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae), Margaret Lehnert

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The recent resurgence of bed bugs has led to an explosion of bed bug research influenced by the applied needs of pest management professionals. I assessed the needs of pest management professionals who deal with bed bugs in South Carolina. Bed bugs were reported in 28 of 46 counties in South Carolina. Previous samples of bed bug populations have displayed a 1:1 sex-ratio suggesting females do not use aggregations and harborages to hide from males and traumatic insemination, which can be harmful to females. Aggregations are biased in composition, suggesting that females are able to hide from males within harborages. …

Effects Of Varying Spring Hollow Tine Aerification Size And Timing On Bentgrass Greens, Lewis Hubbard Jr

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The desire to maintain optimal turfgrass and surface properties often leads turfgrass managers to minimize impact from cultural practices like hollow tine aerification (HTA). Comprehensive research is essential to developing aerification programs which allow optimal use of turfgrass surfaces without sacrificing overall turf health.
A two-year field experiment was conducted on a 14-year-old U.S. Golf Association (USGA)-specified Crenshaw creeping bentgrass [Agrostis stolonifera L. var palustris (Huds.)] research putting green in Clemson, SC, to evaluate the effects of varying spring HTA size and timing on turfgrass, surface, organic matter (OM), and soil properties.
Spring HTA treatments included 1.2-cm i.d. tines spaced …

Production Of Biodiesel-Like Components By The Type I Methanotroph Methylomonas Methanica, Megan Diane Burdette

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Bacteria that utilize methane as a sole source of carbon and energy are referred to as methanotrophs. Industrial uses of these types of organisms include the production of poly-hydroxybutyrate as well as the degradation of some chlorinated hydrocarbons that are considered pollutants in the environment. Methanotrophs also play an important role in methane cycling in the environment. Methane gas has the ability to trap 20 times more heat than carbon dioxide, which makes it a potent greenhouse gas. A defining characteristic of methanotrophs is the production of extensive intracytoplasmic membranes composed of lipids that are 16 or 18 carbons in …

Individual Behavioral Variation Of Juvenile Spiny Lobster (Panulirus Argus) Denning Behaviors And The Role It Plays In Shelter Competition During Habitat Loss, Katherine Heldt

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Variation in juvenile spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) aggressive and gregarious behaviors may play an important role in structuring population level interactions. Since aggressive and gregarious behaviors were not repeatable and were found to be highly correlated with size, these behaviors were found to be largely driven by a combination of behavioral plasticity and ontogeny. Although larger individuals were found to be the most aggressive and least gregarious individuals, often occupying crevice shelters by themselves, they did not exclude smaller, less aggressive lobsters from crevice shelters. Surprisingly, in shelter limited situations, small, less aggressive individuals were more likely to use dens …

Genetic And Environmental Determinants In The Evolution Of Alternative Mating Strategies In The Sailfin Molly, Poecilia Latipinna (Poeciliidae: Poecilia: Mollienesia), Elizabeth Lange

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Understanding the genetic and environmental factors responsible for differences in size, morphology and behavior can aid in determining how alternative male mating strategies evolve in natural populations. One important environmental factor is nutrition, as it underlies growth of both body size and morphological traits that are linked to alternative mating strategies in many animals. In sailfin mollies, Poecilia latipinna , male size is fixed at maturity, highly variable within populations and correlated with dorsal fin morphology and expression of alternative male mating behaviors. Large males with exaggerated dorsal fins use courtship behavior while small males with reduced dorsal fins use …

Glufosinate Tolerance Of Widestrike And Liberty-Link Cotton Varieties And The Recoverability Of Upland Cotton Following Terminal Removal, Jason Sweeney

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Sweeney, Jason Allen. Glufosinate Tolerance of WideStrike¨ and LibertyLink¨ Cotton Varieties and the Recoverability of Cotton Following Terminal Removal. (Under the direction of Dr. Michael A. Jones).
To evaluate the effects of topical application of glufosinate (Liberty 280SL, 24.5% glufosinate-ammonium salt) on cotton varieties with WideStrike¨ and LibertyLink¨ technologies, two field experiments were conducted in 2011 and 2012 at the Pee Dee Research and Education Center (PDREC) in Florence, SC. In the first experiment, five WideStrike¨ cotton varieties (Phytogen [PHY] 367WRF, PHY 375WRF, PHY 440W, PHY 499WRF, and PHY 565WRF) and three LibertyLink¨ cotton varieties (FiberMax [FM] 1773LLB2, FM 1845LLB2, …