Life Sciences Commons^™

The Impact Of A Non-Ionic Adjuvant To The Persistence Of Pesticides On Produce Surfaces, Daniel Barnes

Masters Theses

Adjuvants can enhance the performance of the pesticide active ingredients in many ways including decreasing surface tension and reducing evaporation. Understanding how adjuvants effect pesticide behavior (e.g., surface persistence) is crucial for developing effective pesticide formulations, as well as facilitating the development of effective approaches to reduce pesticide residues from the surface of fresh produce post-harvest. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of a non-ionic surfactant, Surf-Ac 910, on the persistence of two model pesticides, thiabendazole and phosmet on apple surfaces. The result shows that the addition of Surf-Ac 910 increased both the maximum wetted area …

Evaluating The Potential Of Ozone Microbubbles For Inactivation Of Tulane Virus, A Human Norovirus Surrogate, Bozhong Guan

Masters Theses

Microbubbles are small gas-filled bubbles with diameters ranging from 50 to 1 μm, and less than 200 nm are called nanobubbles. Their small sizes and large specific surface area result in a high gas dissolution rate and long lifetime in liquid. Ozone is a strong oxidant that destroys microorganisms and only produces oxygen as the final by-product in fresh water. However, due to the poor stability of aqueous ozone, critical gas waste happens during treatments which leads to a high economic loss. Microbubbles have shown promising enhancement of ozone treatment. In previous studies, ozone microbubbles exhibited excellent efficacy in the …

Impact Of Fermented And Non-Fermented Plant-Based Foods Supplementation On Gut Microbiota And Metabolites In C57bl/6j Mice, Priya Darshan Gandhi

Masters Theses

Plant-based proteins have gained popularity because of their high nutritional value and more sustainable alternative to animal-based proteins. Soybean and chickpea are two widely consumed plant-based proteins, whereas tempeh is a popular plant-based fermented whole food product that is rich in protein. With the increase in the development of plant-based food products, there is little research into how plant proteins affect gut microbiota characteristics and metabolites. Therefore, there is a need to understand the underlying mechanisms surrounding the consumption of these foods. The purpose of this study was to investigate the health benefits of soybean, chickpea, and their tempeh counterparts’ …

Sucrose Concentration And Fermentation Temperature Impact The Sensory Characteristics And Liking Of Kombucha, Gil Cohen

Masters Theses

Kombucha is a fermented tea beverage consumed for its probiotics and functional properties and has a unique sensory profile driven by the properties of tea polyphenols and fermentation products, including organic acids. Fermentation temperature and sucrose content affect the fermentation process and the production of organic acids, yet less is known about the impact on the sensory profile and consumer acceptance. Thus, we aim to examine the impact of sucrose concentration and fermentation temperature on sensory attributes and liking. For this study, kombucha tea was fermented at three different concentrations of sucrose and fermented at two temperatures for 11 days. …

Impact Of Animal Protein And Plant Protein On The Gut Microbiota And Metabolites Of C57bl/6j Mice, Levina Soetyono

Masters Theses

Plant-derived protein has gained popularity in recent years due to its health and environmental impact. Studies comparing the health benefits of animal and plant protein have mostly focused on soy as a plant protein representative due to its popularity. Demand for other protein sources such as peas and fava beans has been increasing; thus, the health impact of plant protein sources other than soy must be assessed. Evidence has shown that diet influences the gut microbiota and the metabolites in the body. Metabolites associated with amino acids are strong contributors to the metabolite distinction between dietary animal and plant foods. …

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 …

Foaming Properties Of Dilute Pea Protein Solutions, Jiani Bao

Masters Theses

Plant-derived protein such as pea protein is a promising replacement for animal protein and is becoming popular in recent years because of its high nutritional value and potential reduction of environmental footprint. However, the increasing demand for plant-derived proteins is accompanied by the increase of wastes during protein processing such as wastewater containing dilute protein content, which may raise the cost for the downstream processing. Therefore, there is an emerging need to develop novel processing strategies to reduce waste while valorizing useful ingredients. Several researchers suggest that foam fractionation technology can be a viable approach to extract and concentrate protein …

Detection Of Benzoyl Peroxide In Flour Using Raman Spectroscopy, Yu Ho

Masters Theses

Benzoyl peroxide (BPO) is a common bleaching agent used in wheat flour. Due to its ability to damage existing nutrients in food and potential adverse effect to health, BPO have been strictly banned as a food additive in several countries and regions, such as China and Europe. However, the United States specifies that BPO is generally recognized as safe (GRAS). So, the WHO/FAO created a Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) to regulate the international BPO usage standard. According to the CAC, it is restricted at 75 mg/kg or parts per million (ppm). BPO is very unstable and easily converts to benzoic …

Analysis Of Plant And Animal Proteins Using Raman Spectroscopy, Noopur Bapardekar

Masters Theses

There has been a notable rise in the alternative protein market in the recent years which promotes an interest in the research of both animal and plant proteins to establish better structure-function relationships. Over the years many analytical tools have been used to study proteins and compare them, however Raman Spectroscopy and Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) have not been as much used for this application. SERS consolidates Raman Spectroscopy that primarily measures molecular vibrations and nanostructures that enhance the weak Raman signals. The objective of this study is to explore the capability of the Raman instrumentation in combination with …

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.

Factors Affecting Sensory Acceptance Of Thickened Liquids Used In Dysphagia Management, Allison N. Cox

Masters Theses

Between 4-16% of adults in the United States have experienced difficulty swallowing at some point during their lives. Difficulty swallowing, or clinically referred to as dysphagia, poses increased concern when drinking beverages. While no treatment is currently available, it is often recommended that liquids be thickened to improve the safety of swallowing and prevent liquids from being aspirated in the lungs. However, thickened liquids are poorly accepted by individuals with dysphagia. Taste and flavor suppression has been shown in various thickened liquid matrices, but the mechanisms for understanding these changes in perception are quite complex. Additionally, literature focused on dysphagic …

Antioxidant Synergism Between Α-Tocopherol And A High Phosphatidylserine Modified Lecithin, Harshika Arora

Masters Theses

Phospholipids, such as phosphatidylserine (PS) have been shown to work synergistically with tocopherols to extend the shelf life of oil-in-water emulsions. However, the high cost of PS prevents it from being used as a food additive. This work investigated the potential use of a high PS enzyme-modified lecithin to be used along with α-tocopherol to extend the lag phase of oil-in-water emulsions stabilized using Tween 20. Phospholipase D from Streptomyces sp. and L-serine were used to modify lecithin to increase PS concentration. Enzyme activity was optimized as a function of pH and temperature using a high PC soybean lecithin. The …

Antioxidant Combination Of High Phosphatidylserine (Ps) Lecithin With Mixed Tocopherol In Soybean Oil-In-Water Emulsion: Effect Of Ph And Salt, Princy Agnihotri

Masters Theses

Lipid oxidation is one of the major challenges faced by the food industry as it contributes to the loss of nutritional quality and loss of flavor in food products. Studies have shown that naturally occurring phospholipids like phosphatidylserine (PS) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) can regenerate oxidized tocopherols and help delay the lipid oxidation in bulk oils and oil-in-water emulsions. Since consumers desire simpler and cleaner labels, without chemically synthesized antioxidants, this research is of great interest. The combination of PS and PE with tocopherols has already been studied. However, PS was a better antioxidant in combination with tocopherols in the oil-in-water …

Fat Lowering Effects Of Fisetin In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Nikolas J. Rodriguez

Masters Theses

Fisetin, a flavanol with anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-aging properties, has shown promise for reducing fat accumulation in tissue culture and animal models. This plant sourced compound has limited studies supporting its effects on fat accumulation. Therefore, this study was completed to determine fisetin’s role in fat reduction along with its mechanism of action using Caenorhabditis elegans. C. elegans is a small roundworm with roughly 65% of its genes being conserved in humans related to disease. In this study, 100 and 200 µM fisetin has shown to reduce fat accumulation in wild-type worms. Body size, locomotion, and pumping rate were …

Fecal Findings: Investigating Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake Diet Using Dna Metabarcoding, Alyssa Swinehart

Masters Theses

Characterizing the diet of imperiled species using minimally invasive methods is crucial to understanding their conservation requirements. DNA metabarcoding methods have been used to characterize the diet primarily in mammalian systems, while reptiles are heavily underrepresented in this literature. Here, we apply a DNA metabarcoding approach to study the diet of the eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus); a Federally Threatened snake found throughout the Great Lakes Region. Eighty-three fecal samples collected across 10 different massasauga populations located in Michigan were sequenced. We use universal metazoan primers and develop a host-specific oligonucleotide blocker to uncover the full potential diet …

Effects Of Berberine On Development In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Zhuojia Qian

Masters Theses

Berberine is an isoquinoline alkaloid found in some plants and has many bioactivities including anti-microbial, lipid- and glucose-lowering, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, etc. However, there is limited knowledge about berberine’s effects on development and locomotive activity. Herein, in vivo studies were conducted to determine these effects of berberine using Caenorhabditis elegans as an in vivo model. Treatment of berberine at 50 μM starting at L1 stage significantly retarded the growth rate of nematodes, and reduced the length, width and moving speed of worms by 19%, 12% and 29%, respectively, compared to the control. In addition, triglycerides (TG) and protein content in worms …

Effect Of Jackfruit-Derived Extract Consumption On Colitis-Associated Colon Tumorigenesis In Mice, Jingwen Lin

Masters Theses

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and the fourth most common cause of cancer-related death in the world. The global burden of colorectal cancer is also expected to increase by 60%, to over 2.2 million new cases and 1.1 million annual deaths, by the year 2030. Jackfruit is known for its packed nutrition including many antioxidants: vitamin C, carotenoids and flavanones. It has also been used in traditional medicine due to its potential protection against many chronic diseases. However, there is limited research studying the potential effect of jackfruit on colorectal cancer. Here, we used a well-established AOM/DSS …

New England’S Underutilized Seafood Species: Defining And Exploring Marketplace Potential In A Changing Climate, Amanda Davis

Masters Theses

New England’s seafood industry has been searching for opportunities to diversify their landings and build resilience as it faces socio-economic challenges from a changing climate. Developing markets for underutilized species is one way the New England community could help their seafood industry build resilience. This thesis identified New England’s underutilized fish species and explored their marketplace potential by examining their availability in a changing climate, current availability to consumers, and consumers’ responses. In Chapter I, I account how New England’s seafood preferences have changed over time. In Chapter II, I identify New England’s seven underutilized seafood species: 1) Acadian redfish …

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 …

Dietary Oligosaccharides Modulate Bifidobacterial Production Of The Neurotransmitter Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid, Michelle Rozycki

Masters Theses

Bifidobacteria are the predominant members of the infant gut, colonize adults to a lesser extent, and are recognized as beneficial microbes. Various bifidobacterial species produce ��-aminobutryic acid (GABA), the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system. It is postulated that in order to produce GABA, the bifidobacterial genome must contain the gadB and gadC genes which encode a glutamate decarboxylase and a glutamate/GABA antiporter, respectively. Once exported by GadC, GABA is absorbed and transported systemically throughout the host. We hypothesize that specific dietary oligosaccharides will modulate bifidobacterial production of GABA due to varying intracellular concentrations of glutamate. To …

Anti-Inflammatory Effect Of Red Seaweed Extracts, Yingying Yang

Masters Theses

Red seaweeds are reported to represent the largest group of algae, with more species accounted for than the combination of brown and green seaweeds. Due to the high amount of polysaccharides in red seaweeds, they are mainly utilized for commercial agar and carrageenan production in industry. However, increasing studies indicate other valuable compounds such as lipids and polyphenols could be potential utilized for multiple human needs (e.g., drug development) (1, 2). With increasing studies demonstrating the potential health benefits of seaweed components, two red seaweed species commonly consumed in Asia, hong qı´ lı´n c a`i (HQL), Eucheuma sp and zhe` …

The Comparison Of Functional And Physical Properties Of Commercial Pulse Proteins To Soy Protein, Kai Kai Ma

Masters Theses

There has been growing interest in the utilization of plant-derived proteins as functional ingredients in many food and beverage applications because they are perceived as being more sustainable, healthy, and ethical than animal-derived proteins by many consumers. Traditionally, soy proteins have been the most widely employed plant protein in the food industry. However, a number of alternative plant-based protein sources have recently become available, with pulse proteins being one of the most popular. In this study, the physicochemical properties and functional attributes of various commercially available pulse protein isolates were compared with those of soy protein isolate to evaluate their …

Development Of Headspace Analysis Of Living And Postharvest Fresh Produce Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (Sers), Xinyi Du

Masters Theses

The increasing market demand for fresh produce promotes a keen interest in developing a rapid, sensitive and reliable method for monitoring plant health and determining the shelf-life of postharvest produce. The objective of this study is to explore the capability of Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) in these applications. SERS integrates Raman spectroscopy which measures molecular vibrations and nanotechnology which enhances the weak Raman signals. Herein, we developed two SERS methods based on a surface detection approach using nanoparticles solution and a headspace detection approach using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) fibers, to detect biochemical changes during postharvest storage of arugula leaves. Compared …

Green Coffee Bean Extract Reduces Fat Accumulation In Drosophila Melanogaster, Lynnea Young

Masters Theses

With obesity on the rise, there has been great interest in identifying functional foods that can alter metabolism to mitigate obesity. One nutraceutical that has gained attention is green coffee bean extract (GCBE), sourced from raw coffee beans. Research has shown that it has a variety of biological effects including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and regulation of lipid and glucose metabolism. It has been reported that the main polyphenolic compound in GCBE, chlorogenic acid (CGA), is likely responsible for these effects. However, GCBE had not yet been studied in Drosophila melanogaster, the fruit fly. Drosophila are a noted model organism …

Utilization Of Emulsion Chemistries For Delivery And Antiviral Application Of Carvacrol, Hao-Yuan Hsu

Masters Theses

Human norovirus (HuNoVs) are the most common enteric pathogen around the world that cause ~50% of foodborne illness of disease outbreaks annually. HuNoVs are the member of the Caliciviridae family, which consist of small (38 nm), unenveloped, single stranded RNA (ssRNA) viruses. Norovirus are divided into 5 genogroup (GI, GII, GIII, GIV, GV, GVI and GVII). The GI, GII, and GIV cause human illness, in addition, GII.4 genotype cause the most human disease. Due to HuNoVs are difficult cultured in vitro, the cultivable HuNoVs surrogates have been widely studied. Recently, some studies have been conducted with HuNoVs surrogates, for …

Application Of Flow Cytometry As Novel Technology In Studying Lipid Oxidation In Oil-In-Water Emulsions, Peilong Li

Masters Theses

The body of literature on the impact of emulsion particle size on oxidation rates is unclear. This could be because emulsions are typically polydisperse and the oxidation rate of individual droplets is impossible to discern. Flow cytometry is a technique for studying individual cells and their subpopulations using fluorescence technologies. It is possible that individual emulsion droplets could also be characterized by flow cytometry as a novel approach for studying lipid oxidation. Typical emulsion droplets are too small to be visualized by flow cytometer, so emulsions were prepared to have droplets > 2 μm; weighting agent and xanthan gum were added …

The Efficacy Of Atp Monitoring Devices At Measuring Organic Matter On Postharvest Surfaces, Kristin Lane

Masters Theses

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), specifically the Produce Safety Rule (PSR), requires growers to clean and sanitize food-contact surfaces to protect against produce contamination. The ATP monitoring device is a potential sanitation tool to monitor the efficacy of an on-farm cleaning and sanitation program that could help growers meet regulatory expectations mandated by PSR. The ATP device uses bioluminescence to detect all ATP (found in bacteria and produce matter cells) from a swabbed surface. Little work has been done to test the efficacy of these tools under postharvest conditions. The present study evaluated ATP measurement for postharvest surface cleanliness …