Digital Commons Network^™

Effect Of Simulated Storage And Distribution On Listeria Innocua Growth In Non-Traditional Salad Ingredients, Emma L. Sandquist

Master's Theses

The fresh-cut produce industry has seen expansive growth in recent years, to meet consumer demand ready-to-eat (RTE) salads have included the use of non-traditional ingredients. Uncommon ingredients include beet greens, kale, broccoli stalk, and Brussels sprouts, since these ingredients have not historically been consumed raw, potential food safety issues should be reassessed. Current processing technologies include produce washes that can reduce microbial levels but do not eradicate all populations. The lack of a kill step in produce processing emphasizes the need to minimize pathogen contamination during production and growth during a product’s shelf life. Listeria monocytogenes, a leading cause …

Estimating Food Waste Due To Food Safety Recalls And Investigating Ways To Minimize Negative Impacts, Mykayla Latronica

Master's Theses

For years the issue of food waste has been recognized and quantified; however, food safety issues often go unrecognized as a source of food waste. One objective of this research is to estimate quantities and monetary value of fruits and vegetables implicated in food safety recalls, and thus wasted. Using publicly available data we identified all recalls involving vegetable or fruit commodities contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, pathogenic E. coli, or Salmonella during 2015-2018. When quantities were provided, monetary value of recalled product was calculated using USDA ERS 2016 average retail prices. Although data limitations only allowed analysis of …

Evidence Of Active Reverse Faulting And A Left-Stepping San Andreas Fault (Mission Creek Strand) In The Eastern San Bernardino Mountains, Southern California, Jesse Waco

Master's Theses

This study presents a revision of mapped faults of the southern San Andreas fault, specifically the Mission Creek strand, at the latitude of northern Coachella Valley from Mission Creek to Whitewater River. Previous studies in the region indicate that as the San Andreas fault splits into the Mission Creek, Banning, and Garnet Hill strands in the Indio Hills, the Banning strand accommodates the majority of displacement across the plate boundary and forms a structurally complex zone with the Garnet Hill strand and San Gorgonio Pass fault zone, while the Mission Creek is mapped as inactive. However, a recent provenance study …

Your One Wild And Precious Life: The Prayer-Poems Of William Blake & Mary Oliver, Amanda Iacampo

Master's Theses

The poetry of illuminated printmaker William Blake is remembered long after his death and the passing of the Romantic Movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His collection, Songs of Innocence and Experience, examines individualism in celebration of the natural world and connections with God, or the divine, by using animals as subjects and metaphors for the human condition. Readers of Blake's work can see the influence of his "prayer-poems" in the works of other writers, such as the late American poet Mary Oliver, whose poetry is also rich in religious undertones. While Blake's "The Lamb" and its …

The Moderating Effect Of Self-Efficacy On The Relationship Between Telecommuting And Turnover Intentions, Samantha Mei-Li Scoppettone

Master's Theses

In recent years, telecommuting has become a popular working arrangement. While many studies have examined various outcomes of telecommuting such as turnover intentions, there is limited literature around potential moderators of the relationship of telecommuting and turnover intentions. The present study examined the relationship between telecommuting intensity and turnover intentions and explored occupational self-efficacy as a potential moderator. It was hypothesized that occupational self-efficacy would moderate the positive relationship between telecommuting intensity and turnover intentions, meaning that the relationship would be stronger for those with lower levels of occupational self-efficacy than those with higher levels of occupational self-efficacy. A total …

Andrews University Communication Under The Covid-19 Pandemic: Feedback Analysis Of International Students, Brice B. Eboule

Master's Theses

This research is an informative analysis of international students’ feedback on the Andrews University (AU) crisis communication during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Participants were 21 years or older, on student visas, living on-campus or in student communities and had attended AU for at least 2 years. The theory informing this study is situational crisis communication theory (SCCT). The SCCT argues that the severity of the crisis defines which communicational crisis strategy will be more effective in minimizing attributions and adverse press while both maintaining and enhancing the organization's credibility. The findings of this study indicated that 84 percent of …

The Effect Of Virtual Learning On Parents During Covid-19, Sheila Reeves

Master's Theses

Parents were affected in numerous ways by the sudden shut down of schools and switch to virtual learning in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of these ways included use of technology, income, race, time, mental health, family life and parent insecurities. This study investigates parents' perspectives of some ways they were affected in regards to the virtual learning of their child(ren). All parents with children enrolled at Madison Campus Elementary School were invited to participate in the study, as they had at least one year's experience with their child(ren) in virtual learning.

Data was collected using a …

When God Gets Angry: Towards A Theology Of Divine Wrath, Lukas Daeubler

Master's Theses

Topic

One of the most significant concerns regarding the character and love of God is God’s wrath, especially in the Old Testament. For many, it is impossible to believe in a God who punishes and kills rather than a God who shows compassion and love for all people. They neglect either the violent parts of the Bible, since they seem to contradict the image of a loving God displayed in the Gospels. This of course directly questions the integrity of God and His word. As a response, some theologians have published papers on this topic, but many Christians and denominations …

The Removal Of Sin In Second Temple Jewish Literature, Odiaka Walker

Master's Theses

Problem

This thesis explored the Second Temple literary background of the concept that Jesus appeared at the end of the ages to take away sin, in Heb 9:26. As such, the research question which guided the paper was: what did Old Testament and Intertestamental writers believe about the removal of sin at the end of the ages? The answer to this question infers other questions: who would remove sin? From where would sin be removed? How was sin defined? How would sin be removed? When would sin be removed (are there time specifications involved)?

Method

The terms ἀφαιρέω, ἀφίημι, ἀπαλείφω, …

Investigating The Function Of Carboxypeptidase O Gene Paralogs From Xenopus Tropicalis, Ritchie Saint Jean

Master's Theses

Carboxypeptidase O (CPO) is a peptidase that is a member of the A/B subfamily of the metallocarboxypeptidases. This peptidase has been found in the brush border of the intestine and has specificity toward C-terminal acidic residues. CPO has been proposed to be involved in intestinal digestion and the formation of lipid droplets. Four copies of the CPO gene are present in the Xenopus tropicalis (tropical clawed frog) genome and are noted as CPO.1, CPO.2, CPO.3, and CPO.4. Not much is known about these genes regarding their properties and functions. In my research, I sought to investigate the properties and functions …

Characterizing A Novel Cocksackievirus B3 Protease Mutant And Its Response To Polyamine Depletion, Bridget Hulsebosch

Master's Theses

Enteroviruses, including Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3), are pervasive pathogens that cause significant disease, including cardiomyopathies. Unfortunately, no treatments or vaccines are available for infected individuals. We identified the host polyamine pathway as a potential drug target, as inhibiting polyamine biosynthesis significantly reduces enterovirus replication in vitro and in vivo. Here, we show that CVB3 is sensitive to polyamine depletion through the polyamine analog diethylnorspermidine (DENSpm) which enhances polyamine catabolism through induction of polyamine acetylation. We demonstrate that CVB3 acquires resistance to DENSpm via mutation of the 2A protease, which enhances proteolytic activity in the presence of DENSpm. Resistance to DENSpm occurred …

Heteronormativity In Healthcare: Neoliberalism, Bio-Politics, And Necropolitics, Grace Avila

Master's Theses

This thesis will discuss heteronormativity in healthcare. It will take a social science and theoretical approach to acknowledge LGBTQ+ health disparities, apply theoretical approaches to why these disparities exist, and offer solutions to combat health disparities experienced by sexual and gender minorities. Neoliberalism, bio-politics, and necropolitics will be the theoretical approaches utilized to understand the basis of disparities experienced by the LGBTQ+ community. Neoliberalism will include themes of capitalism and public health policies which influence discrimination in healthcare. Bio-politics will outline how the intersection of the biological body and politics can exacerbate health disparities through the power of controlling bodies. …

Anti-Unionism And The Chicago Teachers Union, Paul Stromberg

Master's Theses

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is one of the most influential political organizations in Illinois. Like other political organizations, the CTU influences policy through activism, advocacy, and endorsements. Unlike most political organizations, however, the CTU's 20,000 members are responsible for carrying out policy decisions through their roles as teachers, paraprofessionals, and clinicians in Chicago Public Schools (CPS). In response to this influence, anti-unionists have become increasingly adept at criticizing the CTU, using anti-union rhetoric to malign unionized teachers. Simultaneously, anti-unionists have utilized anti-union litigation to disable teacher unions, stripping them of guaranteed protections. Assisted by conflict theory, this study examines …

Exposing The Effects Of Reaction Cavity In Solid-Phase Reaction Kinetics, Michael Carr

Master's Theses

Reactivity of molecular solids is governed by topochemical considerations, where minimizedmolecular movement dictates both product identity and kinetics. This Thesis explores the central role reaction cavity plays in the topochemical principle by using the highly varied cavities formed by the different facets of a tetracene crystal. The relative rates for ten different reaction cavities were measured via energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy for the reaction of tetracene with vapors of maleic anhydride. Variance in cavities resulted in Diels-Alder reaction rates that differed by as much as a factor of 2.6. Effects were understood via molecular dynamic simulations which modeled the approach …

Options For Low-Cost Manufacturing And Safer Cell Therapies, Melis Keceli

Master's Theses

The proposed work aims to overcome the economical and feasibility-related limitations of the chimeric antigen receptor therapies by developing an artificial cell signaling pathway whose design transforms K562 cells into in vivo living vectors to synthesize therapeutic proteins upon engaging diseased cells in the treatment of ovarian cancer. There are various advantages of using K562 cells throughout this process. First, Food and Drug Administration approves the reinfusion of K562 cells into patients’ bodies. Second, K562 cells are more affordable than T lymphocytes, and finally, these cells can be easily manipulated with any desired genetic material and can keep the expression …

Greywater Systems, Greywater Quality Parameters, And Impacts On Soil Characteristics In Santa Clara County, California, Sara Khosrowshahi Asl

Master's Theses

Many communities worldwide are facing water shortages and droughts, stressing the critical need for water conservation. Following the longest recent drought cycle in California (2011–2017), local water companies are prioritizing the development of unconventional water sources, such as laundry-to-landscape greywater, which is a low-tech method to reuse water. This study describes the characteristics and performance of installed greywater systems in San José, California, including the systems’ conformance with California plumbing codes and landscape plants irrigated by the systems. Over three-quarters of the greywater systems conformed to the California Plumbing Code, and nearly 60% of the landscapes were drought-tolerant. Samples of …

Of The Wide-Eyed In Uncertain Times: The Education Of Girls During The Third Reich, Ingmar D. Clausing

Master's Theses

The aim of this thesis is to describe how both the state school system and the Hitler Youth educated girls during the Third Reich. Conventional theories have suggested a number of ideological suppositions regarding the overall curricular emphasis, but this study contends that such simplistic determinations do not capture the full spread of the educational experience. This thesis asks if girls in Nazi Germany were truly just indoctrinated or if schooling had legitimate academic purposes. Based on actual textbooks that were studied by girls for every subject area, at different grade levels, and in different types of schools, as well …

Examining Organizational Factors And Their Impact On Older Adults In Life Plan Communities, Ajla Basic

Master's Theses

Aging in America continues to reveal multi-faceted concerns for both the industry and retirees; insufficient retirement savings, loneliness, and a high influx of older adults entering the retirement scene. It is expected that by 2030, 18% of the nation's population, the baby boomers, will have turned 65 (Cohn & Taylor, 2010). This demographic reality has led to increased research seeking answers to questions which emerge about the retirement age population. The Age Well Study is a longitudinal study looking at the impact of residing in a Life Plan Community. The data is collected through self-report measures by residents in the …

Plasmodium Tlap-2 Is A Microtubule-Associated Protein With Microtubule Stabilization Properties, Grifin Berge

Master's Theses

Microtubules facilitate major cellular and morphological changes in eukaryotic cells, including the protozoan parasite Plasmodium. Microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs), only very few of which have been characterized in the malaria parasite, regulate the highly dynamic microtubules. Thioredoxin-like associated protein 2 (TLAP2) is a MAP unique to the phylum apicomplexa, which in addition to Plasmodium includes the important human pathogen Toxoplasma. Here we report on the cloning and microtubule-binding activity of TLAP2 of the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei (PbTLAP2). PbTLAP2 is coded by a single exon gene and consists of 598 amino acids. The protein contains a putative C-terminal microtubule-binding domain. …

Why Is Race A Risk Factor For Infants Born With Birth Defects?: Deconstructing The Biological Basis Of Race In Maternal-Fetal Medicine Through The Lens Of Reproductive Justice, Amrita Bhagia

Master's Theses

Several studies have shown that marginalized populations, especially those of non-white race/ethnicity, have an increased risk of having infants born with severe birth defects. Existing hypotheses from the scientific literature on the topic of birth defects have primarily suggested that these trends may be the result of differential genetic susceptibilities within certain racial groups, a theory that reifies the (currently disproven) biological basis of race. Through this thesis, I argue that the myth of the biological basis of race continues to exist within maternal-fetal medicine today, where it is used to further the narrative that the bodies of women of …

Chga-Depleted Urothelial Amp And Immune Response During Urinary Tract Infection, Theadora Jane Ceccarelli

Master's Theses

Women are 8 times more likely than men to experience a urinary tract infection (UTI) with up to 60% of women reporting a UTI in their lifetime. This significant healthcare burden is caused by the infection of uropathogenic Escherichia coli in the urinary tract. At this time, treatment is limited to antibiotic therapy, which is challenged by antibiotic-resistance. These factors make UTIs an NIH priority and are motivation for our research.CgA is a protein of the granin family co-released with catecholamines from neuroendocrine cells throughout the body. Pro-hormone convertases post-translationally cleave CgA into peptides, like catestatin, which can have antimicrobial …

Population-Matched Transcriptome Prediction Increases Discovery And Replication Rate In Twas, Elyse Geoffroy

Master's Theses

Most genome-wide and transcriptome-wide association studies (GWAS, TWAS) focus on European populations; however, these results cannot always be accurately applied to non-European populations due to differences in genetic architecture. Using summary statistics from GWAS in the Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) study, which comprises ~50,000 Hispanic/Latinos, African Americans, Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Native Americans, we perform transcriptome-wide association studies to determine gene-trait associations. Initially, we compared results using two transcriptome prediction models derived from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) populations: the African American (AFA) model and the Hispanic/Latino (HIS) model. We identified 141 unique genome-wide significant trait-associated …

The Identification Of Lxr-Dependent Pathways In The Dorsal Root Ganglia In Models Of Obesity, Nadia Elshareif

Master's Theses

Peripheral Neuropathy is characterized as injury to the peripheral nervous system. In terms of sensory neuropathy, metabolic syndrome is involved in chronic inflammation and ER stress pathways induced by lipid overload, leading to the structural and physiological damage of afferent sensory nerves. To protect the cell from lipid-induced ER stress, Liver X Receptors (LXRs) are sterol-activated nuclear transcription factors that are of particular interest due to its role in the regulation of lipid homeostasis, membrane phospholipids, and inflammation in metabolic tissues. Their role in the peripheral nervous system remains to be elucidated. LPCAT3, regulated by LXRs, has been shown to …

Function Of Mllt3 In Liver Metabolism, Grace Ann Hammack

Master's Theses

The chromatin regulator MLLT3 recognizes target genes through the YEATS domain that identifies post-translationally modified histones, with preference for crotonyl and acetyl marks, and recruits different multiprotein effector complexes through its C-terminal domain to target genes. To study the role of MLLT3 in gene regulation, the Zeleznik-Le and Hemenway labs developed Mllt3 whole-body knockout (Mllt3;Rosa26-CreERT2) mice. These mice have a hematopoietic stem cell phenotype and an unexpected obesity and hepatic steatosis phenotype. It was unknown whether these phenotypes were from liver intrinsic effects or influenced by other parts of the body. To study this fatty liver phenotype further, Mllt3;Alb-Cre were …

The Utilization And Optimization Of Omics Trait Prediction Models Within And Across Diverse Populations, Ashley Mulford

Master's Theses

Most cancer chemotherapeutic agents are ineffective in a subset of patients; thus, it is important to consider the role of genetic variation in drug response. Lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) derived from 1000 Genomes Project populations of diverse ancestries are a useful model for determining how genetic factors impact variation in cytotoxicity. In our study, LCLs from three 1000 Genomes Project populations of diverse ancestries were previously treated with increasing concentrations of eight chemotherapeutic drugs and cell growth inhibition was measured at each dose with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) or area under the dose-response curve (AUC) as our phenotype for each …

Assessing The Role Of The Interaction Between Polyamines And Heparan Sulfate In Coxsackievirus B3 Viral Infection, Oreoluwa Omoba

Master's Theses

Non-polioenteroviruses are highly infectious viruses that typically cause mild asymptomatic cases but can cause severe disease such as aseptic meningitis and dilated cardiomyopathy. Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) is a member of this group and is prevalent in the United States and Eastern Asia. Viruses like CVB3 rely on the host cell for many molecules in order to replicate. One such set of molecules is the polyamines. Polyamines are small, positively charged molecules that play a role in a multitude of cellular processes including RNA/DNA stabilization, gene expression, translation, and regulating membrane fluidity. Previous studies have shown CVB3 relies on polyamines for …

Elucidating Regulatory Connections Between The Second Messenger Cyclic-Di-Gmp With Biofilm And Motility Phenotypes Of Vibrio Fischeri, Ali Razvi

Master's Theses

The symbiosis between the gram-negative marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri and its host Euprymna Scolopes occurs when the bacteria reaches and colonizes the light organ. This pathway to colonization begins in the outer marine environment and finishes within the deep crypts of the light organ, with states of biofilm formation and dispersal in between. This switch between biofilm formation to dispersal is important as the bacteria transitions from the surface on the light organ into a pore leading to the interior of the light organ. This dispersal is regulated by LAP system which is dependent on the second messenger c-di-GMP. Through …

Characterization Of Alcohol-Mediated Promotion Of Breast Cancer Stem Cells, Mckenna Below

Master's Theses

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in women globally, and one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in her life. Alcohol consumption has been linked to increase breast cancer risk and increased risk of tumor recurrence. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of modifiable lifestyle factors such as alcohol consumption will help to lower these risks and design more effective therapeutic approaches. Estrogen Receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer comprises approximately 70% of all breast cancers, and these tumors are effectively targeted by endocrine therapy in the form of estrogen deprivation with aromatase inhibitors, …

Beta-Adrenergic Receptor Mediated Transcriptional Dysregulation In Hematopoeitc Stem And Progenitor Cells Leads To Bone Marrow Erythroid Suppresion In Multiple Myeloma Patients - Ex Vivo Investigations, Vimal Ravi Subramaniam

Master's Theses

The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) regulates our body’s involuntary response to stress or harm. Once activated, it releases hormones and neurotransmitters known as catecholamines throughout the body to mediate its recovery. The catecholamines bind to adrenergic receptors located on various cells in a process designated as adrenergic signaling to elicit this response. This process is not always to our benefit. Adverse symptoms such as anemia can result due to adrenergic signaling. Our laboratory previously showed that burn injury triggers adrenergic receptor stimulation resulting in anemia induced by diminished erythropoiesis. The development of anemia in these studies was found to be …

Advancing Our Understanding Of Mechanosensitive Microtubule Acetylation In Neurons, Margaret Earl Utgaard

Master's Theses

Stiffness is a signaling cue in the brain, and neuronal response to stiffness impacts development, injury and disease. Mechanotransduction is the process of cells interpreting and converting mechanical cues to biochemical signals. Tubulin acetylation increases microtubule stability and could be mechanosensitive. The impact of stiffness on tubulin acetylation and role of septins is the focus of this project.It was hypothesized that stiffer surfaces would increase tubulin acetylation. SH-SY5Y cells were plated on varying stiffness and the ratio of acetylated to alpha tubulin was measured using immunocytochemistry. This study found SH-SY5Y cells had the highest acetylation on hard surfaces. SH-SY5Y cells …