Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Reduced Dietary Crude Protein On Gaseous Pollutant Emissions From A Swine Research Building, Shule Liu

Open Access Dissertations

Swine production is a primary source of protein and fat to human society, in the meanwhile, it continuously emits undesirable pollutant gases, including ammonia (NH3), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), imposing adverse impacts on animal and human health as well as on the environment. Previous studies proved that reducing excessive dietary N was effective in mitigating NH3 emissions from pig production, but the reduction in NH3 emissions during different swine physiological stages were not reported yet as only a few studies were based on continuous monitoring in the field. Moreover, the effects of …

Plant Cell Wall Modification During Tomato Processing And Its Effects On The Physical And Rheological Properties Of End Products, Xing Fei

Open Access Dissertations

Understanding the relationship between structure and functional properties in plant-cell-wall-derived foods has become a growing interest to both academia and industry. Tomato is one of the most cultivated vegetable crops and mostly is consumed as processed products in the form of suspensions. Rheological properties of tomato product, a key functional attribute, depends on both the serum and particle phases of these products. Although recent studies have suggested that the particle phase is the dominant factor, the relationship between fundamental particle properties and the bulk rheology of the suspension is still unclear. This research systematically evaluated the contributions of soluble pectin …

Understanding Macroscale Patterns And Processes Of Invasion, Gabriela Nunez-Mir

Open Access Dissertations

The increasing rate of biological invasions and their impacts are one of the major threats in the Anthropocene. However, certain knowledge gaps remain in our understanding of patterns and processes of invasion, despite an extensive body of research dedicated to this phenomenon. Highly-debated topics in invasion ecology could benefit from a macrosystems perspective. Studies performed at the macroscale are able to capture the effect of global-level processes that drive invasions, detect patterns that transcend taxonomic and geographic boundaries, and minimize biases stemming from the specificity of studies performed at more localized scales. Here, I aim to provide novel insights into …

Mechanism Of Adipose Tissue Specific Response To Heat Stress In Pigs., Huan Qu

Open Access Dissertations

Heat stress (HS) is a major problem facing the swine industry all over the world, especially during the hot summer months. The two major reasons pigs are highly susceptible to elevated ambient temperature are that they have substantial subcutaneous fat layer that serves as a barrier against effective heat dissipation and their lack of functional sweat glands on their skin surface for evaporative heat loss. Paradoxically, HS results in increased fat deposition in pigs. However, the fundamental causes of the increased adiposity during HS are unknown. Therefore, we conducted several in vivo and in vitro experiments to elucidate the precise …

Evaluating The Effect Ofsnap-Ed On Household Food Securitystatus And Dietary Intake Of Snap-Ed-Eligible Participants In Indiana., Rebecca Lynn-Anne Rivera

Open Access Dissertations

High prevalence of food insecurity and poor diet quality characterize the US low-income population qualifyingfor the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) when compared with higher income populations. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) is a federal nutrition education program available at no cost to the income-eligible population with the goal to improve diet qualitybypromoting adherence to the DietaryGuidelines for Americans (DGA) through nutrition education while also supporting the goal of SNAP to improve food security. Limited evidence suggests that SNAP-Ed improves diet-related outcomes such as food security, intake of fruits and vegetables, and other targeted positive health behaviors over short-term …

Magnetic Resonance Imaging For The Functional Analysis Of Tissues And Biomaterials, Luyao Cai

Open Access Dissertations

Articular cartilage provides mechanical load dissipation and lubrication between joints, and additionally provides protects from abrasion. At present, there are no treatments to cure or attenuate the degradation of cartilage. Early detection and the ability to monitor the progression of osteoarthritis is important for developing effective therapies. However, few reliable imaging biomarkers exist to detect cartilage disease before advanced degeneration in the tissue. One specialized MRI technique, termed displacements under applied loading by MRI (dualMRI), was developed to measure displacements and strain in musculoskeletal tissues, hydrogels and engineered constructs. However, deformation information does not directly describe spatial distributions of tissue …

Regulation Of Intestinal Lipid Storage And Mobilization, Alicia L. Carreiro

Open Access Dissertations

Dietary fat is an energy dense nutrient that also provides essential fatty acids and aids in the absorption of fat soluble vitamins. The process of dietary fat absorption regulates the amount and rate at which dietary fat enters circulation, and can therefore contribute to diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease when it becomes dysregulated. Triacylglycerol (TAG), the major form of dietary fat, is efficiently absorbed (>95%) even when high amounts of fat are consumed. The digestive products of dietary fat are taken up by enterocytes, the absorptive cells of the small intestine, and rapidly re-synthesized into TAG. …

Family Impact On Substance Use And Sexual Risk Behavior In Sexual Minority Hispanic Adolescents, Manuel A. Ocasio

Open Access Dissertations

Sexual minorities represent a diverse group and are characterized by having a sexual identity, attraction or behavior that differs from the majority (i.e., exclusively heterosexual). HIV risk behaviors, in particular substance use, among Hispanic youth and sexual minorities have been well documented, yet little is known about these behaviors in sexual minority Hispanic adolescents (SMHA) specifically. Limited understanding of the mechanisms driving these risk behaviors during adolescence has resulted in a lack of evidence-based interventions targeting these risk behaviors in SMHA. Family relationships have consistently shown to significantly impact these behaviors in both sexual minorities and Hispanic adolescents alike. For …

The Archer's Guide To Viola Playing, Lauren Emily Miller

Open Access Dissertations

Performance related musculoskeletal disorders are common in musicians. Studies show relatively high numbers of these disorders among violinists and violists. These disorders can occur because violin and viola players often do not make movement, coordination, injury prevention, and tension redistribution their foundational priority. String players often allow the visual and auditory aspects of practice and performance to become their top priority. Musicians are constantly in motion, but they rarely describe what they do using movement vocabulary or as a movement sport. Unfortunately, movement vocabulary is typically reserved solely for enhancing stage presence, reducing pain or repairing an injury. Archery is …

Pulsed Infrared Radiation For Stimulation Of Vestibular System In Vivo: Evoked Eye Movements, Weitao Jiang

Open Access Dissertations

Vestibular dysfunction and balance disorders significantly impact the quality of life of patients. To assist patients with bilateral vestibulopathies and in cases where current forms of treatment are not effective, there is a need to develop neural prosthesis. In some cases, although the vestibular system could not sense the input balance signals, a significant numbers of nerve cells remain to respond to electrical stimulation(Jensen 1983). So developing a electrode based vestibular prosthesis becomes a practical solution. Vestibular prosthesis has been researched over the past decades, and vestibular function restoration is partly realized in animals such as chinchilla(Santina, Migliaccio et al. …

Exploring The Role Of A Novel Device In Weight Loss Outcomes And Behaviors, Jacqueline Ann Beatty

Open Access Dissertations

Obesity is a serious public health problem. There is a need for scalable weight loss interventions that can help people lose weight and decrease their risk of obesity related chronic disease development. Self-monitoring is a key component of successful weight loss. The Eat Less, Move More (ELMM) device is wrist-worn, and is capable of counting bites by detection of a wrist-roll motion that is specific to eating. The device can also measure seconds between bites, as a proxy to eating rate (ER) measurement, as well as the number of steps taken by the user. The aim of this body of …

Value Chain Improvements In Small-Scale Fisheries: Case Studies From West Africa, Kristine Beran

Open Access Dissertations

Seafood is one of the most traded food commodities in the world by value. Small-scale fisheries contribute significantly to the global production and supply of seafood. Yet, many small-scale fisheries in developing countries fail to maximize value of seafood products due to post-harvest loss, production, distribution, and marketing challenges. The purpose of this study is to examine how post-harvest innovations might address some of these challenges, whom they benefit along the fisheries value chain, and factors that influence adoption of innovations through two case studies in West Africa.

A multi-methods approach was used to collect extensive quantitative and qualitative data …

Increasing Critical Thinking In Personal Decision Making- A Contextual Framework For College Students, Jade A. White

Open Access Dissertations

Statement of the Problem: The need for agricultural science students to graduate from institutions of higher education with strong critical thinking skills is expressed by both educators and employers to respond to the need for strong problem-solving, decision making, and analytic skills in the 21st century. To prepare students for the changing workforce evidence-based instructional practices, such as problem-based learning, need to be implemented into college courses to increase critical thinking skills. However, there are many barriers associated with implementing these teaching practices such as time barriers, large classes, and the challenge of measuring outputs related to critical thinking. …

Characterizing The Functional Role And Regulated Assembly Of Protein Polymers Mind And Ftsa During Escherichia Coli Cell Division, Joseph Jake Conti

Open Access Dissertations

It is an immense undertaking for any organism, including a bacterium, to self-replicate. Accurate and rapid division is essential for bacteria to proliferate and produce progeny, especially in environments where there is competition for resources. The nucleoid, the region of the cell that contains the DNA, harbors the genetic information required to achieve robust division, but it is the assembly of the cell division machinery, collectively referred to as the divisome, that produces and coordinates the mechanical force necessary to divide a cell. The hallmark of prokaryotic cell division is the formation of a protein super-structure, called the Z-ring, which …

Neonatal Readmission In Term Infants: Maternal, Infant, Provider And Institutional Factors, Angelita M. Hensman

Open Access Dissertations

Hospital readmissions are a patient safety and quality concern. Readmission rates in term-born infants in the past decade have been < 1.3% in the United States and < 8% globally. Most readmissions have been for jaundice/hyperbilirubinemia. Changes in exclusive breastfeeding rates, healthcare/institutional policies and demographics may have influenced the rate of neonatal readmission. Most literature on term-born neonatal readmission (within 28 days of birth) is conflicting and outdated. This study aimed to quantify the risk of maternal, infant, provider and institutional factors associated with neonatal readmission to the birth hospital in healthy term infants. Secondary aims estimated the incidence of neonatal readmission and characterized birth length of stay (in hours), readmission diagnosis, birth weight loss > 7% and breastfeeding quality ([LATCH score] ≤ 6). A nested case-control study (N=390) was conducted at a Level III hospital in the Northeastern United States. There were 11, 958 infants delivered between January 1, 2016 through May 8, 2017. A cohort of in-state domicile, healthy term (370/7 - 416/7 weeks gestation) infants (n = 5,940) admitted directly to the well-baby nursery were identified. Cases (n =130) were infants from the cohort readmitted within 28 days of …

Effect Of A Technology-Integrated, Nutrition Education Program On Low-Income Youths’ Dietary Intake, Kate Balestracci

Open Access Dissertations

Childhood obesity is an important public health problem as it relates to several chronic diseases and continues to be high, particularly among low-socioeconomic (SES) and racial and ethnic minority populations. In 2011-2014, 25.0% of Hispanic 6-11-year-old school-aged children were considered to be obese or extremely obese, followed by 21.4% of non-Hispanic black children and 13.6% of non-Hispanic white children. When compared to higher-SES children of the same ethnicity and race, low-SES Hispanic, white, and black children were 2.7, 1.9 and 3.2 times more likely to be obese, respectively. Contributing to the obesity epidemic among children is the excess consumption of …

Eastern Oyster Larval Transcriptomes In Response To Probiotic And Pathogenic Bacteria, Tejashree Modak

Open Access Dissertations

Oysters are described as keystone species serving an important ecological role. As filter-feeders they help in maintaining water quality. Oyster reefs provide refuge and support to different organisms. The eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, native to the East Coast of United States and Gulf of Mexico is a part of the rapidly growing aquaculture industry. Aquaculture production depends on a healthy and constant supply of oyster larvae that are provided by hatcheries. Several hatcheries on the east coast that provide C. virginica seed to oyster farms face significant losses owing to Vibrio infections causing massive larval mortalities. Use of antibiotics …

Effects Of Probiotics On The Aquaculture Performance Of Cobia (Rachycentron Canadum) And Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus Albacares), Juan Felipe Sierra De La Rosa

Open Access Dissertations

Effects of probiotics pulse-supplementation on cobia were assessed over two experimental trials carried out with larval and juvenile stages using a commercial blend of Bacillus subtilis, B. lincheniformis, B. magaterium, and Brevibacillus laterosporus. The first trial evaluated the effects of probiotic-enriched live feeds (7x106 and 10x106 colony-forming units (CFU) L-1 for rotifers and Artemia sp., respectively) on the growth and survival of fingerlings during a commercial larval rearing run. The second trial assessed the effects of probiotics supplementation in dry feeds (109 CFU kg-1) on the survival, growth, feed conversion ratio (FCR), ammonia excretion of cobia juveniles (58 g to …

Post-Operative Cardiometabolic Effects Of A Behavioral Intervention In Patents Undergoing Partial Meniscectomy, Craig Patrick Flanagan

Open Access Dissertations

Patients recovering from orthopedic surgery experience reduced physical activity, increasing future risk for cardiometabolic disease and weight gain. A post-operative wellness consultation, with exercise and nutrition components, may modify the behavior of orthopedic patients to mitigate the detrimental effects of inactivity following surgery and the associated adverse health effects. PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of a nutrition and exercise consultation on post-operative physical activity, serum metabolic markers, body composition, knee function, pain, and quality of life. METHODS: Twelve partial meniscectomy patients were randomly assigned to control (CON) or post-surgical consultation (PSC) and evaluated 1 week (1W) and 6 weeks (6W) …

Role Of An Upwelled Coastal Area In Northeastern Colombia In The Distribution, Population Dynamics And Genetic Diversity Of The Migratory Habitat-Shifting Chelonia Mydas, Catalina Vasquez Carrillo

Open Access Dissertations

The Caribbean is generally an oligotrophic sea; however, in the southern portion between Venezuela and Colombia, a yearly, moderate, coastal upwelling fuels a very productive marine ecosystem, the Southern Caribbean Upwelling System. Extensive submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) ecosystems are found in the Colombian side of the system, by La Guajira peninsula. SAV ecosystems constitute key habitat for multiple marine fauna species, specially at juvenile/larval stages. La Guajira’s SAV unique, upwelled ecosystems are hypothesized as important foraging and developmental habitat for the endangered, migratory sea turtle Chelonia mydas. The complex habitat-shifting behavior and very long-lasting juvenile stage traits of the species …

Shear-Induced Aggregation And Ordering Of Amylopectin Dispersion Affected By Hydrocolloids, Fang Fang

Open Access Dissertations

Amylopectin is a naturally highly-branched biomacromolecule. Amylopectin molecules with re-ordered structure have high viscosity and viscoelastic properties that may have potentially good nutritional functions such as providing long-lasting energy to the human body and delaying stomach empty among other properties. However, the amylopectin molecular re-ordering process under static conditions normally takes much longer time than amylose to achieve a desired and relatively stable structure. A simple but novel approach consisting in applying a constant shear rate of 20 s-1 at a temperature of 5oC for 24 hours was proposed in this study to accelerate the re-ordering process of gelatinized waxy …

Endocrine Disrupting Effects Of Halogenated Chemicals On Fish, Amy Elizabeth Godfrey

Open Access Dissertations

Halogenated chemicals are commonly used in a variety of everyday products such as cookware, electronics, furniture and baby products. Some of these chemicals have been found to negatively affect development and endocrine disruption. Therefore, there is a need for the development of next generation replacements that are less toxic; however, more studies need to be conducted to ensure their safety. The main objective of this dissertation was to assess the endocrine disrupting potential of halogenated and next generation chemicals, singly and in mixtures, in fish. We tested three well studied halogens, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), tris (1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCPP) and tetrabromobisphenal …

Skeletal Biomechanics And Response To Mechanical Load: A Comparative Approach In The Mouse And Chukar Partridge, Kari A. Verner

Open Access Dissertations

Dynamic mechanical loading plays an important role in regulating bone geometry and strength. A healthy skeleton adapts to the bone tissue strain profile and magnitude of loads it experiences on a daily basis in order to maintain reasonable safety factors. In skeletal diseases, such as osteoporosis, a bone’s ability to adapt and maintain structural integrity in response to increased mechanical strains is apparently impaired, which allows skeletal resorption to progress unabated and could eventually lead to mechanical failure. In order to develop better treatments for bone wasting diseases, it is important to understand the mechanobiology of how the healthy skeleton …

Fish Consumption And Accessibility And The Implications For Household Nutrition And Food Security In Ghana And Tanzania, Akua Sakyiabea Akuffo

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation empirically investigates aquaculture adoption on food security, fish demand and fish accessibility in Ghana and Tanzania. There are three separate chapters, each discussing a specific issue relating to food security and fish consumption. Data for chapters two and three are from the round 6 of the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS6) while chapter four uses the Household Budget Survey (HBS) for Tanzania.

The second chapter of this dissertation applies the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) approach in logit and probit frameworks to a cross section of 4,011 Ghanaian households, to analyze how fish farming is associated with household food …

Wheat-Hessian Fly Interactions: Fitness Costs And Phenotypic Characterizations, Verónica A. Campos Medina

Open Access Dissertations

The Hessian fly-wheat relationship and its genetic tractability offer us a good system to address different questions that can help to improve not only the strategies used to control this pest, but also our understanding of the insect-plant relationship. Thus, taking advantage of these features in this study I examined the fitness cost of the loss of function of a virulence gene and I made a phenotypic characterization of this insect-host relationship. First, this thesis has an introductory part, chapter one, presenting background information about the Hessian fly-wheat interaction. Chapter two explores an allele competition approach to detect fitness costs …

Effects Of Calcium Hydroxide Treated Corn Stover Inclusion As A Partial Forage Replacement In Diets For Lactating Dairy Cows, Brittany Casperson

Open Access Dissertations

There is a large quantity of harvestable corn stover available in the United States. Due to the high maturity at harvest and subsequent low digestibility, the use of corn stover as a livestock feedstuff is limited. Several treatment and processing strategies have been explored in order to increase yield of fermentable sugars and lessen the limitation of corn stover as a feedstuff. Alkaline pretreatment has been applied to enhance the digestibility of low quality feeds, improve the feeding value, and permit use in livestock rations. The central hypothesis of this dissertation is that calcium hydroxide treatment would improve the feeding …

Effects Of Acute Aerobic Exercise On Whole Genome Nucleosome Maps, Transcriptomics And Acylcamitine Metabolomics In Skeletal Muscle Of Lean Vs Overweight/Obese Men, Prasad P. Devarshi

Open Access Dissertations

Skeletal muscle mitochondrial dysfunction, evidenced by incomplete beta oxidation and accumulation of fatty acid intermediates in the form of long and medium chain acylcarnitines, may contribute to ectopic lipid deposition and insulin resistance during high fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity. Anterograde and retrograde communication play a role in nucleo-mitochondrial crosstalk that determines skeletal muscle mitochondrial adaptations, specifically alterations in mitochondrial number and function in relation to obesity and insulin resistance. High fat diet (HFD) feeding affects the expression of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial genes (NEMGs) nuclear receptor factor 1 (NRF-1), 2 (NRF-2) and peroxisome proliferator receptor gamma coactivator 1 alpha (PGC-1α) thereby, playing …

Ambient Ionization Mass Spectrometry For Metabolomics And Reaction Acceleration, Caitlin E. Falcone

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation discusses two interlocking topics: metabolomics by ambient ionization mass spectrometry and reaction acceleration. Ambient ionization mass spectrometry, a fast technique with minimal sample preparation, was used for rapid screening of metabolites. Leaf spray mass spectrometry was proven as a rapid molecular diagnostic tool for emerald ash borer infestation. Leaf spray mass spectrometry was performed on 23 different ash trees to determine that the mass spectra profiles of healthy and infested ash tree leaflets. The discriminator ions of healthy and EAB-infested ash trees were based on principal component analysis and the chemical identities of the discriminator ions were determined …

Thermal Perches As Cooling Devices For Reducing Heat Stress In Caged Laying Hens, Jiaying Hu

Open Access Dissertations

Heat stress (HS) is one of the most detrimental environmental stressors that affect poultry. Many egg companies are located in tropical and subtropical areas where HS is a year round problem. Global climate change is causing more hot days and frequent unexpected heat waves. Animal health and welfare status are greatly compromised under high ambient temperatures. In laying hens, HS negatively affects livability, egg production, shell quality, and the internal quality of eggs. Induced molting, used to rejuvenate flocks, is a common managerial practice that extends the productive life of egg laying flocks. Molting brings the flock into a second …

Hyperspectral Image Reconstruction From Rgb Data And Its Biomedical Applications, Tae Hoon Kim

Open Access Dissertations

Noninvasive label-free hyperspectral imaging of physiological changes in biological systems has been extensively used as invaluable tools in a variety of research areas, including medical and biological applications. However, conventional approach requires a critical, yet bulky, expensive, and slow optical component (i.e. a mechanical filter wheel, an imaging spectrograph, or a liquid crystal tunable filter) for capturing full spectral information. Therefore, this component limits development of compact, rapid, and cost-effective systems. In this respect, we propose to explore a possibility of spectrometerless (or spectrometer-free) hyperspectral imaging to map out detailed spatial distributions of biochemical absorption compounds or pigments, which are …