Nutrition Commons^™

Qualitative Study To Determine Quality Of Life Factors Based On Reported Efnep Sucess Stories, Megan L. Hlavacek

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

The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of how adult participants describe quality of life during or after participation in the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) at sites across the United States. The study analyzed success stories submitted by EFNEP staff and participants from sites in nine states from the years 2004 to 2010. A total of 1,057 success stories were analyzed.

The success stories were descriptions of the participants’ experiences with EFNEP. The stories were analyzed by highlighting words, phrases, and/or sentences, and creating a short one to three word codes that would best …

A Pilot Study Of The Relationship Of Calcium Intake And Frequency Of Injuries In High School Athletes, Jeffrey K. Ebert

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

Little information is available related to adolescent calcium intake and relationships with injuries they might suffer from sport participation. To determine calcium intake of high school athletes, to assess their self reported injury rates, and to examine the relationship between the two over a 12 month period of time. Participants received a questionnaire at their school and completed it anywhere they found convenient. Adolescent athletes in the Lincoln Public School system (n=43) that participated in at least one sport in the past year. Four age groups participated in the study with sixteen year olds having a significantly higher calcium intake …

Interaction Between Roughages And Corn Milling Byproducts In Finishing Cattle Diets, Joshua R. Benton

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

During ethanol production, starch is the primary nutrient fermented and the remaining byproducts are excellent sources of fiber and protein. In addition, inclusion of byproducts in finishing diets may reduce the incidence of acidosis. As a result, roughage level and quality could potentially be reduced in finishing diets containing byproducts. Three experiments were conducted to examine the effects of roughage and wet corn gluten feed (WCGF) in finishing cattle diets containing corn distillers grains plus solubles. Cattle fed finishing diets containing wet distillers grains plus solubles (WDGS) with no roughage had decreased DMI and ADG compared to cattle fed roughage. …

Regulation Of Atp Binding Cassette Transporter A1 And G1 Expression By Fatty Acids, Chai Siah Ku

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

High density lipoprotein (HDL) is an atheroprotective element which is critical in the reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) pathway to eliminate excess cholesterol from the periphery of the body. A low plasma HDL cholesterol levels indicate a higher risk of getting cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Formation and metabolism of HDL largely rely on ATP binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) and G1 (ABCG1) that are transporters to facilitate the efflux of cellular cholesterol to outside of cells. ABCA1 in the liver and small intestine is the major contributing factor for HDL formation. On the other hand, ABCA1 and ABCG1 present in macrophages contribute …

Holocarboxylase Synthetase-Dependent Biotinylation Of Histone H4, Luisa F. Rios Avila

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

Holocarboxylase synthetase (HCS) catalyzes the binding of biotin to lysine (K) residues in histones H3 and H4. Histone biotinylation marks play important roles in the repression of genes and retrotransposons. Preliminary studies suggested that K16 in histone H4 is a target for biotinylation by HCS. Here we demonstrated that H4K16bio is overrepresented in repeat regions {pericentromeric alpha satellite repeats; long terminal repeats (LTR)} compared with euchromatin promoters. H4K16bio was also enriched in the repressed interleukin-2 gene promoter. The enrichment at LTR22 and promoter 1 of the sodium-dependent multivitamin transporter (SMVT) depended on biotin supply; and was significantly lower in fibroblasts …

Food Handling Practices, Knowledge And Beliefs Of Families With Young Children Based On The Health Belief Model, Adeline Lum

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

Objective: To determine current food handling practices, knowledge and beliefs of primary food handlers with children 10 years old and the relationship between these components.

Design: Surveys were developed based on FightBac!™ concepts and the Health Belief Model (HBM) construct.

Participants: The majority of participants (n= 503) were females (67%), Caucasians (80%), aged between 30 to 49 years old (83%), had one or two children (83%), prepared meals all or most of the time (76%) and consumed meals away from home three times or less per week (66%).

Analysis: Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (rho) …

Assessing Dietary Intake, Eating And Exercise Attitudes And Fitness Levels In College-Aged Students, Katie J. James

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

BACKGROUND The transition from high school to college can be a stressful lifestyle change for young adults. During this transition students develop a variety of health attitudes and behaviors that may have a negative impact on their overall wellbeing. OBJECTIVE To determine the correlation of BMI to dietary intake, fitness level and eating and exercise attitudes of college students. SETTING Participants completed an eating and exercise attitude survey, 2-day diet recall, and preformed three fitness tests at a Midwestern University through their Campus Recreational Center. PARTICIPANTS 772 students between the ages of 18-25 from a Midwestern University between the years …

Modulation Of Lipid Metabolism By Phytosterol Stearates And Black Raspberry Seed Oils, Mark Mckinley Ash

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

Naturally occurring compounds and lifestyle modifications as combination and mono-therapy are increasingly used for dyslipidemia. Specficially, phytosterols and fatty acids have demonstrated an ability to modulate cholesterol and triglyceride metabolism in different fashions. In two separate studies, the lipid-lowering effects of black raspberry seed oil and three different phytosterol stearates were examined in order to elucidate the effects of these dietary components and the factors influencing their therapeutic actions.

The first study examined high cholesterol diets supplemented with crude and refined black raspberry seed oils, coconut oil or soybean oil. The crude and refined raspberry seed oil (RSO) treatments significantly …

Nutrition-Related Practices And Attitudes Of Kansas Skipped-Generation(S) Caregivers And Their Grandchildren, Mary Meck Higgins, Bethany J. Murray

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Despite growing numbers, the nutrition practices and attitudes of skipped-generation(s) kinship caregivers regarding feeding the dependent children in their care have not been examined. In this qualitative study, transcriptions of semi-structured interviews with 19 female and four male skipped-generation(s) Kansas caregivers (ages 47 to 80, 92% non-Hispanic whites, 83% female, 78% grandparents and 22% great-aunt or great-grandparent caregivers; caring for a range of one to four children, ages three to 18, for an average of nine years) were content analyzed for how their nutrition-related practices and attitudes had changed since parenting the first time. Sub-themes regarding practices included: being more …

Liver Injury In Acute Fatty Liver Of Pregnancy: Possible Link To Placental Mitochondrial Dysfunction And Oxidative Stress, Sathish Kumar Natarajan, Kavitha R. Thangaraj, C. E. Eapen, Anup Ramachandran, Ashis Mukhopadhya, Mathews Mathai, Lakshmi Seshadri, Abraham Peedikayil, Banumathi Ramakrishna, Kunnissery A. Balasubramanian

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP) is a rare disorder which is fatal if not recognized and treated early. Delivery of the feto-placental unit results in dramatic improvement in maternal liver function, suggesting a role for the placenta. However, the mechanisms by which defects in the fetus or placenta lead to maternal liver damage are not well understood and form the focus of this study. Placenta and serum were obtained at delivery from patients with AFLP, and placental mitochondria and peroxisomes were isolated. Placental mitochondrial function, oxidative stress, and fatty acid composition as well asserumantioxidants, oxidativeandnitrosative stress markers,andfatty acid analysis …

Predicting Successful Aging In A Population-Based Sample Of Georgia Centenarians, Jonathan Arnold, Jianliang Dai, Lusine Nahapetyan, Ankit Arte, Mary Ann Johnson, Dorothy Hausman, Willard L. Rodgers, Robert Hensley, Peter Martin, Maurice Macdonald, Adam Davey, Ilene C. Siegler, S. Michal Jazwinski, Leonard W. Poon

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Used a population-based sample (Georgia Centenarian Study, GCS), to determine proportions of centenarians reaching 100 years as (1) survivors (43%) of chronic diseases first experienced between 0–80 years of age, (2) delayers (36%) with chronic diseases first experienced between 80–98 years of age, or (3) escapers (17%) with chronic diseases only at 98 years of age or older. Diseases fall into two morbidity profiles of 11 chronic diseases; one including cardiovascular disease, cancer, anemia, and osteoporosis, and another including dementia. Centenarians at risk for cancer in their lifetime tended to be escapers (73%), while those at risk for cardiovascular disease …

‘Food For Life’: Looking Beyond The Horizon, Charles A. Francis, John W. Doran

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Our real challenge appears to be anticipating what the major challenges and constraints will be to food production and distribution a decade or more into the future. This could be called ‘Beyond the Horizon’ thinking. Today there is little disagreement over the massive depletion on a global scale of two essential inputs to agriculture: fossil fuels and fresh water. We also recognize that phosphorus is found in concentrated form in only a few deposits in nature, and that agriculture is rapidly using this limited resource and dispersing it through harvested products and soil loss from fields in forms that make …

Combined Therapy Of Dietary Fish Oil And Stearoyl-Coa Desaturase 1 Inhibition Prevents The Metabolic Syndrome And Atherosclerosis, J. Mark Brown, Soonkyu Chung, Janet K. Sawyer, Chiara Degirolamo, Heather M. Alger, Tam M. Nguyen, Xuewei Zhu, My-Ngan Duong, Amanda L. Brown, Caleb Lord, Ramesh Shah, Matthew A. Davis, Kathryn Kelley, Martha D. Wilson, Jennifer Madenspacher, Michael B. Fessler, John S. Parks, Lawrence L. Rudel

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background—Stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1) is a critical regulator of energy metabolism and inflammation. We have previously reported that inhibition of SCD1 in hyperlipidemic mice fed a saturated fatty acid (SFA)-enriched diet prevented development of the metabolic syndrome, yet surprisingly promoted severe atherosclerosis. In this study we tested whether dietary fish oil supplementation could prevent the accelerated atherosclerosis caused by SCD1 inhibition.

Methods and Results—LDLr^-/-, ApoB^100/100 mice were fed diets enriched in saturated fat or fish oil in conjunction with antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) treatment to inhibit SCD1. As previously reported, in SFA-fed mice, SCD1 inhibition dramatically protected against …

Targeted Deletion Of Hepatocyte Abca1 Leads To Very Low Density Lipoprotein Triglyceride Overproduction And Low Density Lipoprotein Hypercatabolism, Soonkyu Chung, Jenelle M. Timmins, Myngan Duong, Chiara Degirolamo, Shunxing Rong, Janet K. Sawyer, Roshni R. Singaraja, Michael R. Hayden, Nobuyo Maeda, Lawrence L. Rudel, Gregory S. Shelness, John S. Parks

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Loss of ABCA1 activity in Tangier disease (TD) is associated with abnormal apoB lipoprotein (Lp) metabolism in addition to the complete absence of high density lipoprotein (HDL). We used hepatocyte-specific ABCA1 knock-out (HSKO) mice to test the hypothesis that hepatic ABCA1 plays dual roles in regulating Lp metabolism and nascent HDL formation. HSKO mice recapitulated the TD lipid phenotype with postprandial hypertriglyceridemia, markedly decreased LDL, and near absence of HDL. Triglyceride (TG) secretion was 2-fold higher in HSKO compared with wild type mice, primarily due to secretion of larger TG-enriched VLDL secondary to reduced hepatic phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling. HSKO mice …

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors And Associations With Indicators Of Body Fat, Diet, And Physical Activity In U.S. Children Ages 6-11, Melissa A. Masters

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

Research was conducted to determine the prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors in U.S. children ages 6-11 and associations with body fat, diet, and physical activity. Data for 685 children ages 6-11 was obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). NHANES data was examined to determine the prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors in these children, the impact of indicators of body fat on cardiovascular disease risk factors, the association between cardiovascular disease risk factors and dietary components, and the relationship between physical activity and cardiovascular disease risk factors among U.S. children. Children were also evaluated for …