Digital Commons Network^™

Impact Of Natural Cheese Composition On Proteolysis And Its Effects On Process Cheese Functionality, Natasha Scherber

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cheddar cheese is a commodity and a top-selling cheese in the United States. Enhanced flavors of cheddar cheese requires aging, which will allow proteolysis increase. Proteolysis is the most complex process that happens in cheese manufacturing and can be difficult to control because of environmental factors and compositional characteristics. The ripening process, which is the most timely and costly procedure in cheese manufacturing, can also be unpredictable when aspects, such as cheese composition, are changed. The coagulant is responsible for the first stage in proteolysis, which will produce large peptides. Small peptides are subsequentially produced during the second stage by …

Crispr/Cas9 Whole-Genome Screens Identify Genes Critical For Neutral Lipid Metabolism In Macrophages, Rifat Sultana

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lipid-laden macrophages contribute to atherosclerotic plaque formation in atherosclerosisrelated heart diseases. Thus, understanding formation and degradation of lipid would help identify therapeutic targets for the treatment of atherosclerosis. In the first chapter of this dissertation, I have explained the current understanding of cholesterol metabolism in macrophages and how mTOR could play a potential role in this process. Additionally, I have described how CRISPR/Cas9 whole-genome screens present an effective tool to identify genes regulating cholesterol metabolism including positive and negative regulators of lipid droplet formation and lipid droplet degradation. In Chapter 2, I have described the results of the CRISPR/Cas9 whole-genome …

Genome-Wide Association Mapping And Genomic Prediction For Enhancing Fhb Resistance In Hard Winter Wheat, Jinfeng Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wheat is one of the most important staple crops providing 20% of energy for 35% of the world population. Fusarium head blight (FHB), primarily caused by the fugal Fusarium graminearum Schwabe, is a damaging disease in wheat that affects global wheat production every year and causes food safety issues. The disease not only reduces the grain yield and quality but also produces mycotoxin in the diseased kernels making them unsuitable for human consumption or as livestock feeds. Breeding FHB resistant cultivar is the most effective and economical approach to managing the disease. This study combines genome-wide association study (GWAS) and …

Efficacy Of Nanomaterials And Biorationals On The Bacterial Leaf Streak Management In Wheat, Abraham Hangamaisho

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important cereal crops in the United States. Most wheat varieties are susceptible to bacterial leaf streak (BLS), a major disease caused by Xanthomonas translucens pv. undulosa (Xtpvu). BLS is challenging to manage since common chemicals do not provide adequate control. Nanomaterials and plant extracts have shown potential to provide a sustainable environmentally friendly control of animal and plant diseases. However, limited data are available on the efficacy of plant extracts and nanomaterials controlling BLS in wheat. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial activity of plant extracts and …

Genistein-Enriched Pig Gut Microbiota Library As A Potential Probiotic Consortium, Theresah Amponsah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Plant-based diets contain numerous flavonoid compounds that produce antibacterial effects and gut health improvement. Genistein is among the most abundant isoflavones present in a plant-based diet and can be found in high amounts in soy products (up to 1g Kg-1). We describe here a robust method to identify genistein tolerant and metabolizing bacteria in swine gut microbiota and to screen the strains that have antibacterial and immunestimulatory properties. Such strains could be developed as non-antibiotic alternatives to prevent enteric infections in pigs and improve gut immunity. To this end, a mini bioreactorbased system was used to enrich genistein metabolizing bacteria …

Design, Synthesis, Structure Optimization, Structure-Activity Relationship (Sar), And Biological Evaluation Of Novel And Potent Thiazolo[4,5-D]Pyrimidine Corticotropin Releasing Factor (Crf) Receptor Antagonists, Md Rabiul Islam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Disentangling The Complex Evolutionary History Of Invasive Russian Thistle: Phylogenetic Relationships, The Role Of Hybridization, And Public Engagement, Deva Raj Khanal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Invasive species are forces of environmental, economic, and social change with detrimental impacts on ecosystems, commerce, agriculture, and human health. However, we still have a poor understanding of the processes that could be driving invasive potential. Hybridization may contribute to the establishment and spread of invasive lineages, as it may enhance genetic variation and facilitate rapid adaptation. Focusing on Russian thistle (Salsola tragus s.l., family Amaranthaceae) and closely related species, my thesis aims to clarify phylogenetic relationships and investigate how hybridization has shaped the invasion dynamics of these lineages. Known as one of the fastest plant invasions in the United …

Prairie Cordgrass Cellulose: A Sustainable Resource To Develop Biodegradable Films, Mominul Hoque

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Plastics are versatile and cost-effective materials with a wide variety of functionalities. Their non-biodegradability, however, is an environmental concern. Plastic waste accumulation in landfills and natural habitats results in health issues, mainly due to the leaching of chemicals from plastic products that further transfer to humans and wildlife. Many countries around the globe have imposed restrictions on plastic use. Despite these concerted efforts, a pressing scientific need exists to find an alternative to plastics. Cellulose from abundant agricultural biomass stands out as a viable alternative due to its robust structure, biocompatibility, biodegradability, low density, and non-toxicity. This research aims to …

A Post-Pneumonia Epizootic Evaluation Of The Rapid City, South Dakota Bighorn Sheep Herd, Amanda N. Ensrud

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pneumonia is a major factor affecting populations of free-ranging bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) across western North America. Pneumonia can occur in large-scale epizootics, during which greater than half of the population typically dies. After these epizootics, surviving ewes continue to conceive and bear lambs. However, lamb recruitment may remain low due to periodic or annual pneumonia outbreaks causing high lamb mortality rates, sometimes greater than 90%. Our study focused on the Rapid City, South Dakota bighorn sheep (BHS) herd that has recorded pneumonia-induced population decline since 2009. The first objective was to improve lamb health and survival by identifying and …

Post-Fledging Habitat Selection And Movements Of Juvenile Mallards In The Prairie Pothole Region, Cynthia E. Anchor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of North America provides critical habitat for waterfowl across life stages, but anthropogenic changes to the landscape have negatively impacted habitat quality for waterfowl. The mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is abundant and socioeconomically valuable in the PPR, as it is a preferred target species of waterfowl hunters. Extensive research has evaluated breeding ecology of mallards in the PPR, but the period between juvenile mallards fledging and migrating has rarely been studied. The post-fledging ecology of juvenile mallards is a vital consideration for comprehensive waterfowl management. Further, juvenile mallards are a significant portion of hunter harvest at …

Building A New Model Of Church-State Collaboration On Environmental Care In Ghana Based On Catholic Social Teaching And African Theological Traditions, Emmanuel Abbey-Quaye

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The care of the environment has always been considered by the Ghana Catholic Church as an important aspect of her pastoral care and evangelizing mission in Ghana. Hence, in their various teachings in communiqués and other pastoral documents from 1965 till now, the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has consistently addressed the major environmental challenges confronting Ghana such as deforestation, mining, pollution, etc., applying the principles of stewardship and care of creation, intergenerational solidarity, integral ecology, etc., to ground these teachings.

Besides, in acknowledging that neither the Catholic Church nor the Ghanaian Government alone can resolve the various ecological crises …

Understanding Snow Leopard (Panthera Uncia) Population Structure, Diet, And Human-Wildlife Dimensions Using Noninvasive Genetic Approaches, Charlotte Hacker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Snow leopards (Panthera uncia) are a large cat endemic to the mountains of Central Asia. Despite their status as a flagship species, there are numerous knowledge gaps surrounding their population status, dietary ecology, and relationship with humans. Such knowledge gaps are prohibitive for effective conservation action for the species. Snow leopards are threatened by habitat loss, decreased prey availability, retaliatory killings, and large-scale negative impacts associated with climate change. In order to help bridge these gaps, noninvasive genetic methodologies were deployed in this work across several disciplines. Population genetic metrics were garnered at local, regional, and range-wide scales, …

Philosophical Anthropology And Biblical Interpretation In John Paul Ii’S Theology Of The Body, Shawn Conoboy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the Theology of the Body, through a series of Wednesday Catecheses, John Paul II presents a magisterial understanding of the sacrament of marriage and of marriage and family ethics. At the same time, John Paul II presents a theological anthropology, which forms a basis for the magisterial teaching. His theological anthropology is developed through an exegesis of selected biblical texts, especially Genesis 1-3 and Ephesians 5, and through an application of a philosophical anthropology articulated by Karol Wojtyła. This dissertation draws the connection between the philosophical anthropology of Wojtyła, especially as it is articulated in his major works, …

Counselors Dumbfounded: Implications For Counseling Ethics, Ivan Irizarry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

How counselors should make ethical decisions frequently differs from how counselors actually make ethical decisions, which is often a non-linear process. Social Intuitionist Theory (Haidt, 2003) suggests this process entails a socially influenced intuitive judgment followed by post hoc rationale. The purpose of this study was to examine whether moral dumbfounding, which entails maintaining a moral judgment without supporting reason, occurs with practicing counselors. The results of survey data and open-ended coding showed that 58.5% of counselors were dumbfounded at least once when presented with four moral or ethical vignettes. Additional analyses exploring differences in dilemma-based vs. non-counseling vignettes, moral …

Cgrp-Driven Lateralization Of Pain Modulation By The Central Amygdala, Heather Allen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The central amygdala (CeA) is a bilateral, mid limbic brain region involved in the processing of pain and emotion. Interestingly, the left and right CeA are functionally lateralized in the context of bladder pain, with the left and right CeA having opposing effects on bladder pain-like behavior. However, the specific mechanisms driving these divergent functions are unknown. Nociceptive signals from the bladder are relayed to the CeA via projection neurons in the parabrachial nucleus (PBN) that express high levels of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). In these studies, we investigated the influence of PBN CGRP signaling in the left and right …

Connecting Human Dignity, Non-Violence, And Environment For Healthcare Ethics In Nigeria, John Mark Ogu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Connecting Human Dignity, Non-violence, and Environment in Health Care for Nigeria

By

John Mark Chinaemerem Ogu

December 2021

Dissertation supervised by Peter Ikechukwu Osuji, Ph.D.

This dissertation presents a global public health ethical approach based on social justice that connects human dignity, non-violence, and the environment in Nigeria. Recently, different places globally are witnessing uprisings and violence; some of these are linked to environmental scarcity. These are threats to global health, peace, development, and security because violence of any type or form is a global public health and security menace and an affront to human dignity. Environmental scarcity, especially …

Real-Time Monitoring Of Cell Death Progress Using Capacitance Spectroscopy, Suyang Wu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biologics, including the monoclonal antibody (mAb), has experienced rapid development in the last decade. However, the price of biologics is often prohibitively high because of the low process efficiency. Delaying the inevitable cell death improves the productivity of upstream bioprocessing, whose success relies on monitoring the cell death onset that indicates the timing for preventive actions.

This study proposes to develop a real-time monitoring model that quantifies the dying cell percentage in lab-scale bioreactors using capacitance spectroscopy. The capacitance spectroscopy contains cell death-related information due to various physical properties changes during the cell death process, e.g., cytoplasmic conductivity change. The …

The Political Act Of Writing Feminism- Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain And The Utopian Vision, Mashall Momin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Feminist Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain lived a life of seclusion and oppression like many middle-class Muslim women in colonial India during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. During this period, Rokeya used writing as a tool to fight against the oppression women faced from the patriarchal society and reimagined their gendered position in society. Rokeya wrote two novels, Sultana’s Dream and Padmarag, both set in feminist utopian societies. In these works, Rokeya expresses that the problem to the oppression of women can be traced to the purdah system or the seclusion of women, the solution is to grow …

Clean Fields, Lindsey E. Creel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Clean Fields is an exhibition consisting of 3 anthotypes and 11 drawings on paper mounted to panels. The work is part homage and part documentation of the emotionally restorative properties found in gardening. It is a contemporary view of a timeless activity. While the work references realistic content, the artistic outcomes are non-objective. Modifications in composition and scale provide variation throughout the series. The large-scale of the works and the use of economy and movement in the composition move the viewer into a meditative state.

The Journey Towards Critical Self-Authorship For Native Lacrosse Athletes At Ncaa Division I Institutions., Brandon C. Joseph

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an examination of contemporary collegiate lacrosse as a symptom of settler colonialism and the experiences of Native lacrosse athletes at NCAA Division I historically white institutions. It begins with a brief historical overview of Native lacrosse and Native education through a lens of settler colonial theory and Tribal Critical Race Theory. It uses Critical Indigenous Research Methods to examine the experiences of contemporary Native collegiate lacrosse players and their journey towards critical self-authorship. The ultimate goal was to explore the extent to which Native lacrosse athletes felt they could show up as their authentic Native self in …

Translating Particulate Hexavalent Chomium-Induced Chromosome Instability, Loss Of Homologous Recombination Repair And Targeting Of Rad51 From Human Lung Fibroblasts To Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells., Idoia Meaza Isusi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Particulate hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is a well-established human lung carcinogen. RAD51, a key protein in homologous recombination repair pathway, is inhibited after prolonged exposure to Cr(VI), leading to an increase in chromosome instability after prolonged exposures in human lung fibroblasts. chromosome instability is the proposed driver of Cr(VI) carcinogenesis. Since tumors from chromate workers develop from epithelial cells, we sought to translate these findings from human bronchial fibroblasts to human bronchial epithelial cells. We hypothesized Cr(VI) inhibits RAD51 after prolonged exposure leading to an increase in chromosome instability in human bronchial epithelial cells (BEP2D). We characterized the cytotoxicity and measured …

Part-Time., Anthony Mark Piedmonte

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a creative writing project in prose covering the first 70 pages of a novel manuscript titled Part-time. Part-time will center around a 25-year-old medical school dropout starting a new job at a neighborhood golf clubhouse and gym. This coming-of-age narrative follows Danny as he struggles with his sexual identity, student debt, and job outlook after returning to the privileged community he grew up in. This sample will introduce the major characters, the clubhouse setting, and the forming relationship dynamics. By the end of these pages, readers will gain insight into how the part-time employees of the Longwood …

Charting The Unknown: Examining The Prevalence And Correlates Of Seconday Traumatic Stress In Kentucky Probation And Parole Officers., Amanda Marie Roberts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to discern the prevalence and magnitude of both exposure to traumatic events and Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS); as well as potential correlates of STS in a group of Probation and Parole officers in the state of Kentucky Department of Corrections (KY DOC). Participants (N=302) completed a written survey which asked them to indicate demographic variables (age, gender, and ethnicity), as well as several important occupational variables, namely years of experience in the KY DOC, caseload volume, prison work experience, and whether or not they are responsible for a sexual offender caseload. Participants were also …

Social Disorganization And Violent Crime Across Nonmetropolitan Areas Of Kentucky., Daniel Ray Jude

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This macro-level study examines the effects of social disorganization predictors on violent crime registered in nonmetropolitan areas of Kentucky from 2012 to 2016. The study intends to expand the line of research interested in verifying the applicability of the social disorganization theory (Shaw & McKay, 1942), including its new theoretical developments, to non-urban settings and plans to contribute to the literature willing to provide a better understanding of violent crime in rural areas. In response to Narag et al.’s (2009) call for a theoretical integration of environmental contaminants among the ecological factors that influence variations in crime, the study also …

A Remote Sensing Perspective: Mapping The Human Footprint In The Zambezi Region Of Namibia., Ariel E Weaver

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The “human footprint” can be used as a general proxy to estimate human activities across the landscape. The human footprint in the Zambezi Region of Namibia is critically important for regional management of conservation efforts and land use planning. The land covers in the Zambezi Region are characteristically difficult to separate spectrally, due to a highly heterogeneous savanna landscape. Object Based Image Analysis (OBIA) and Random Forest (RF) methods are notable for their ability to improve classification accuracies of remotely sensed imagery. In this study, I investigate the extent of the human footprint in the Zambezi Region of Namibia, using …

Visualizing Anhydrobiosis: Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation, Membraneless Organelles, And Cellular Reorganization., Clinton J. Belott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Water is an integral and necessary component of life. It is then, exceedingly remarkable that some species are capable of surviving virtually complete water loss for extended periods of time. Several decades of intense research into anhydrobiosis, or life without water, have given significant insights into the molecular mechanisms governing this phenomenon. Anhydrobiosis-related intrinsically disordered (ARID) proteins have been demonstrated to be critically important for desiccation tolerance in many anhydrobiotic species and exhibit a considerably wide range of protective properties that include membrane stabilization, reinforcing bioglass formation, and protein stabilization. This dissertation begins with cellular dielectrophoresis suggesting that two ARID …

Q-Griffithsin Interactions And Utility For The Prevention And Treatment Of Mucosal Infections., Henry Nabeta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Griffithsin (GRFT) is a carbohydrate binding agent (lectin) that was originally identified in the red alga Griffithsia sp. Q-Griffithsin (Q-GRFT) is an oxidation stable analog of GRFT. GRFT has demonstrated inhibitory activity against HIV-1, Coronaviruses, Hepatitis C, influenza and Ebola viruses. The broad-spectrum activity suggests the potential utility of this lectin in a wide range of viral infections. However, the lectin’s activity in mucosal infections has not been extensively studied. Using in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo assays, we have demonstrated that Q-GRFT maintains the ability to bind glycosylated ligands following incubation in murine, macaque and human rectal …

An Exploration Of Afrocentric Features At A Black Homeschool Collective., Tytianna Nikia Maria Wells

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the development and benefits of familial relationships as the primary feature of Afrocentricity at Black Scholars Academy (BSA), a Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) through 12th-grade Black homeschool collective in the United States. This qualitative study draws upon Afrocentricity as a theoretical framework to analyze and interpret data collected from classroom observations, individual interviews with current and former teachers and students, and textual artifacts between July and November 2019. Familial relationships—an African time orientation, a personalized learning plan, OurStory, and Rising Meeting—are present in BSA. Familial relationships helped students develop cultural pride, agency, self-determination, independence, liberation through education, and a …

Effects Of Chemosensory Experience And Context On Consummatory Behaviors., Saphira M. Chiu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Eating food generates associations between odors and tastes (i.e., flavor) that guide future choices. Experience with an odor-taste mixture links an odor with a taste’s quality and hedonic value, resulting in a preference for an odor paired with a palatable taste over an odor paired with an unpalatable taste. However, experience with a neutral stimulus (i.e., latent inhibition) or environment (i.e., context) can influence the formation of conditioned associations. Here, I used a two-bottle brief-access task to determine whether rats display an innate preference between unpaired odors (isoamyl acetate and benzaldehyde), how preexposure to the unpaired odors impacts mixture-dependent consummatory …

Theoretical Investigation Of The Co-C Bond Activation In Methylcobalamin And Adenosylcobalamin-Dependent Systems: Mechanistic Insights., Arghya Pratim Ghosh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The vitamin B₁₂ derivates, otherwise known as cobalamin (Cbl), are ubiquitous organometallic cofactors. The biologically active forms of Cbl, such as methylcobalamin (MeCbl) and adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl), act as cofactors in different physiological reactions for both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. A crucial aspect of the Cbl-mediated systems is the activation of the organometallic Co-C bond that plays a critical role in its catalytic activity. One of the most remarkable features of this Co-C bond is its unusual activation in AdoCbl-dependent enzymatic reactions, where a trillion-fold rate acceleration of the Co-C bond cleavage is observed inside the enzyme compared to the isolated …