Digital Commons Network^™

The Experiences Of The Elderly Transitioning From Home To The Nursing Home Setting, Brent James Munson

Theses and Dissertations

Elderly persons transitioning from home to a nursing home setting may struggle with unaddressed mental health issues. The problem addressed in this study involved a lack of evidence regarding how elderly individuals experience these transitions in living from their own perspectives. The purpose of this study was to better understand the lived experiences of elderly people who are making the transition from home to a nursing home setting.

The qualitative design utilized in the research was phenomenology. Fourteen participants were interviewed to ascertain their experiences in the transition from home to a nursing home setting. Follow-up questions were formulated and …

Optimization Of In-Vitro Tissue Culture And Transformation System For Sweet Sorghum Cultivars Using Immature Inflorescence, Logayn Abushal

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Sweet sorghum is a multi-purpose crop that can be used for human food, animal feed, and bio-fuel production. This crop is drought-tolerant and can therefore be grown in arid and semi-arid regions especially in marginal areas in Egypt. Nevertheless, production of Sweet sorghum cannot coup with the increasing demand in consumption as a food, and fuel due to a lag in scientific research regarding its genetic improvement. Therefore, genetic improvement of Sweet sorghum is innately required so that new traits of economic importance could be introduced; however, this can only be achieved through the establishment of a robust in-vitro …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Heat Therapy And Exercise Training On Vascular Function During Passive And Active Exercise, Taysom Erica Wallace

Theses and Dissertations

Recent evidence suggests that heat, a major byproduct of exercise, may be the mediator for many vascular adaptations that come from exercise. Thus, heat therapy that increases muscle temperature in a comparable way to exercise may be an advantageous alternative for enhancing cardiovascular health in individuals where treatment with exercise is either not possible or undesired. PURPOSE: Compare the effects of exercise and heat training on resistance artery function at rest and during exercise. METHODS: Thirty-five (18 female) healthy, untrained subjects completed a 6-week training program utilizing either high intensity knee extension (KE) exercise (40 min), localized heat therapy (pulsed …

Predicting Drug-Induced Liver Injury With Artificial Intelligence, Ting Li

Theses and Dissertations

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is an undesirable side effect to the liver caused by the common use of drugs, which is of great concern to the patients, physicians, the pharmaceutical industry, and government regulators. The current animal testing models do not present reliable results on the human DILI risk prediction during the preclinical phase. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find alternative methods to improve the human DILI risk prediction during the early stage of development. Utilizing the accumulated high-throughput transcriptomics profiles from L1000, we constructed an 8-layer deep neural network for human DILI prediction based on the largest …

Utilizing Isothermal Titration Calorimetry For Measuring Beta-Galactosidase Activity In Liquid Dairy Products, Eliza Anne Brock

Theses and Dissertations

This research explores Isothermal Titration Calorimetry as a method for measuring beta-galactosidase activity directly and continuously in milk, sweet whey, sweet whey permeate, acid whey, and acid whey permeate. Beta-galactosidase in various concentrations was injected into each of the liquid dairy products spiked with lactose to verify if the heat rate from the enzymatic reaction could be observed. In addition, a consistent concentration of beta-galactosidase was injected into various concentrations of lactose in the products, to observe the heat rates from the enzymatic reaction. There was exothermic activity that never returned to baseline demonstrated in milk, sweet whey, and sweet …

Pushing It To The Limit: Determining Asian Elephant (Elephas Maximus) Olfactory Sensitivity And Discrimination Through A Behavioral Choice Task, Matthew S. Rudolph

Theses and Dissertations

Elephants have shown remarkable olfactory capabilities. Their sense of smell impacts their foraging choices, behavior, and ultimately, survival. Being able to detect a target odor can allow elephants to locate specific resources, identify threats, and find receptive conspecifics. Previous studies have shown that elephants can consistently detect target odors, but have not identified the limits of this detection. Thus, to investigate the extent of elephants’ odor detection capabilities, we tested Asian elephants in a two-step odor discrimination task. First, we investigated whether elephants could detect odors at varying levels of dilution after a training procedure, and then whether they could …

Mixture Design Response Surface Methodology Analysis Of Seven Natural Bioactive Compounds To Treat Prostate Cancer, Ian Geddes Berlin

Theses and Dissertations

Natural bioactive compounds have drawn the interest of many researchers worldwide in their effort to find novel treatments, including prostate cancer (PC) treatment which is estimated to be 13.1% of all new cancer cases in the U.S. in 2021. Many of these bioactive compounds have been identified from treatments in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), that often have multiple bioactive compounds present. However, in vitro studies frequently focus on the compounds in isolation, or in simple combinations of two compounds. We used mixture design response surface methodology (MDRSM) to assess changes in PC cell viability after 48 hours of treatment to …

Characterization Of Bacteriophage Targeting Bacillus Licheniformis In Milk Processes And Thermal Stability Of Bacteriophage During Htst Pasteurization, Jeremy Robert Arbon

Theses and Dissertations

An array of Bacillus licheniformis strains were isolated from a commercial powdered milk process. Bacteriophages exhibiting activity against B. licheniformis were isolated from cattle manure and effluent samples destined for a lagoon at a dairy farm. After sequencing, 8 of the 10 phages were found to be novel and genetically differentiated. Transmission electron scanning microscopy (TSEM) was performed. All bacteriophages were of the family Herelleviridae with contractile tail sheaths ranging from 80µm to 150µm and, surprisingly, survived a common fluid milk processing treatment used to inactivate vegetative cells. The survival of the phage after high temperature short time pasteurization of …

Modulation Of Effector Gene Expression In The Blood-Feeding Arthropods Cimex Lectularius Linnaeus, (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) And Aedes Albopictus Skuse, (Diptera: Culicidae), Travis C. Van Warmerdam

Theses and Dissertations

Hematophagy, or blood-feeding behavior, has independently evolved multiple times in the class Insecta and results in the transmission of vector-borne parasites, bacteria and viruses causing 17% of all infectious diseases and over 700,000 human deaths annually. One of the major challenges in studying the discrete mechanisms involved in host-response to hematophagy or the host seeking behavior of hematophagous insects, is the vast amount of signaling processes and genes that are inextricably tied to these interactions. These experiments used the clustered regularly interspersed short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas) and dsRNA knock-down technologies to examine mechanisms of immunological reactivity and host-seeking behavior. …

Inflammatory Profiles Of High Risk Cattle Exposed To Common Management Practices, Alexandra M. Pittman

Theses and Dissertations

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in beef cattle. Common management practices in addition to BRD have been shown previously to cause inflammation. The objectives of this study were: (1) characterize the inflammatory profiles as indicated by interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and haptoglobin concentrations; (2) evaluate the impact of on-arrival metaphylactic antimicrobial therapy on inflammatory profiles in high risk cattle; and (3) examine the relationship between inflammatory profile and BRD morbidity and mortality. Eighty sale barn heifers were purchased over a two-year period (n=160). At arrival, heifers were randomly assigned to either receive tulathromycin (Draxxin, …

Implementing Food Science-Based Instruction In Career Technical Education Courses, Jasmine D. Hendrix

Theses and Dissertations

Students are exposed to food concepts in agriculture-based career technical education (CTE) courses which provide a gateway for students to become more aware of food science career pathways. Professional development for Mississippi (MS) CTE teachers is needed to effectively implement food science-based instruction since there is not a food science curriculum framework adopted in MS. The objective of this study was to assess a food science professional development training for MS CTE teachers that would increase their self-perceived knowledge of food science, self-perceived ability to conduct food science skills, and their self-efficacy to implement food science-based instruction. Thirty-one teachers participated …

Seasonal Management Strategies For Tarnished Plant Bug, Lygus Lineolaris (Palisot De Beauvois), In Midsouth Cotton Production Systems, Ryan Taylor Mann

Theses and Dissertations

The tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), is considered the most economically important pest of midsouth cotton. This study was designed to understand the impact of tarnished plant bug populations in the later weeks of flowering cotton and residual effects of novaluron with subsequent applications. Experiments evaluated dynamic threshold approaches in the later flowering period of midsouth cotton, the impacts of novaluron plus subsequent applications at the 3^rd week of square, as well as residual properties in a laboratory experiment. Results suggest that a dynamic late season approach can reduce the amount of insecticide applications targeting tarnished …

Molecular, Somatic, And Performance Characteristics Of Broilers Exhibiting Woody Breast Myopathy, And The Effects Of Dietary And Challenge Intervention Strategies, Linan Jia

Theses and Dissertations

Woody breast (WB) is a meat quality problem that has caused significant economic losses for the poultry industry. Ross × Ross 708 chicks were randomly assigned to a 3 (diet) × 2 (cocci challenge) × 2 (sex) factorial arrangement of treatments. The three diets included the control diet (corn-soybean meal basal diet), antibiotic diet (basal diet + 6.075 mg bacitracin /kg feed), and probiotic diet (basal diet + 2.2 × 108 CFU Bacillus subtilis PB6 /kg feed). Birds in the cocci challenge treatment group received 20 × the live cocci vaccine as an inoculum on d 14. Growth performance and …

The Effects Of Prior Exposure To Agriculture On College Students’ Food Purchasing Decisions, Leah E. Gann

Theses and Dissertations

This text examines the possible impacts of prior exposure to agriculture, and how this relates to college students’ food purchasing decisions. This study will assess if college students had prior exposure to agriculture before attending college, and what type of exposure this was, as well as assess how this prior exposure may alter purchasing decisions made by students who attend Mississippi State University. To collect this data, this study used a qualitative survey method to question students enrolled in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Mississippi State University and determine if there is a significant relationship between prior …

Dissection Of The Genetic Architecture Of Grain Quality In Rice, Shuai Liu

Theses and Dissertations

Rice is an important human staple food for over half of the world’s population. Amylose content (AC), gelatinization temperature (GT), grain protein content (GPC), percentage grain chalkiness (PGC), and mineral content are important parameters for evaluating rice quality, which attracts customers and breeders. Only limited genes or QTLs (OsAAP6, OsGluA2, OsASN1, Chalk5, OsHMA3, etc.) are reported regulating rice GPC, PGC, and mineral content due to the lack of genetic knowledge and molecular markers. To dissect the genetic architecture of rice grain quality regulation, genome wide association studies (GWAS) were performed using two populations …

Disease Biomarker Discovery And Fungal Metabolites Extraction Protocol Optimization Using Gcms Based Metabolomics, Chathuri Udeshika Gamlath Mohottige

Theses and Dissertations

Metabolomics is a powerful science that can be applied for the discovery of disease biomarkers, and investigation of altered metabolomes due to abiotic and biotic perturbations. This dissertation is focused on untargeted metabolomic applications to investigate fungal metabolite alterations associated with pathogenicity, fungal disease propagations, and symbiosis. This dissertation employs qualitative analysis of metabolite mixtures using HS-SPME coupled GC-MS and TMS derivatization followed by GC-MS analytical platforms. In the first study, we discovered a biomarker combination to diagnose fungal soft tissue disease in sweet potato at an early stage of disease propagation. We used an HS-SPME GC-MS untargeted metabolomics workflow …

Physiological Roles Of Selenoprotein H In Mice, Qingzhou Wang

Theses and Dissertations

Low-hierarchy selenoproteins are sensitive to selenium (Se) deficiency and are proposed to confer the protection of body Se against age- and development-related diseases. Selenoprotein H (SELENOH), a low-hierarchy selenoprotein, is greatly downregulated by both dietary Se deficiency and age. To explore physiological roles of SELENOH, Selenoh knockout mice were employed.

Segregation analyses demonstrated reduced frequencies of homozygotes and heterozygotes among the neonates of the breeding combinations of Selenoh^+/- males vs. Selenoh^+/- or Selenoh^-/- females, demonstrating essential roles of SELENOH in embryogenesis. Litter sizes from these two breeding groups were comparable with control, suggesting a role of SELENOH …

Assessing The Potential For Lightning-Induced Damage In Commercial Broiler Houses In Mississippi And Alabama, Matthew R. Rowland

Theses and Dissertations

Modern broiler houses are expensive to build, maintain, and insure. Protecting them from extreme weather events is a major concern to producers, integrators, and insurance companies. Lightning strikes can cause catastrophic fires and electrical damage and can lead to costly bird losses. A greater understanding of the impact of lightning on the commercial broiler industries of MS and AL is needed. The objectives of this research were collection of baseline resistance data for broiler houses and equipment in both states, and mapping lightning strike densities across MS and AL, evaluating annual, monthly, seasonal, and diurnal patterns. 63.5% of surveyed broiler …

The Development, Implementation, And Evaluation Of The Hybrid-Online Hatch-Out Program, Tannah Leigh Christensen

Theses and Dissertations

In today’s society, the majority of our population lacks knowledge about agriculture and its importance. Therefore, there is a demand for agricultural programs to increase a general knowledge of agriculture. This study aimed to develop, pilot test, and evaluate the Hybrid-Online Hatch-out Program. Due to limited resources with the current Hands-on Hatch-out program, this Hybrid-Online Hatch-out Program could reach a larger population of youth and aid in educating more youth about poultry (one of the largest sectors of agriculture). The RE-AIM framework (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance) was utilized to guide the evaluation process. The program was pilot-tested in …

Positive Correlation Between A3 Subunit Of Glycinin And Firmness Of Tofu Made From Soybeans Grown In Three Locations Over Two Years, Ruiqi Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Producing desirable firmness is important in manufacturing tofu from soybeans. This study’s objective was to explore the environmental impact (location and year) on soybean chemical components and identify the correlations between chemical composition and the firmness of tofu made from soybeans planted in three locations over two years. Seventeen soybean Plant Introductions (PI) from the USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection and eight check varieties were planted in Mississippi, Virginia and Missouri in 2017 and 2018. Protein subunit composition, protein secondary structure, phytic acid content, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ content were determined. The result showed that A₃ subunit content was …

Relationship Of Winter Hair Coat Shedding Ability Of Purebred Angus Dams With Mineral Status, Apparent Forage Digestibility, Uterine Artery Hemodynamics, And Calf Growth And Development, Randy Hunter Burnett

Theses and Dissertations

Winter hair coat shedding ability in southern U.S. cattle production has previously been associated with differences in adjusted birth and weaning weights of calves from dams that shed by June or later (Gray et al., 2011; Cauble et al., 2019). This study was developed to research possible avenues of why these relationships exist with winter hair coat shedding ability. The primary objectives of the following experiments were to: 1) evaluate how mineral status relates to winter hair coat shedding ability, 2) evaluate how winter hair coat shedding ability relates to apparent digestibility of forage, 3) evaluate winter hair coat shedding …

The Effects Of Grazing Cover Crops On Animal Performance, Soil Characteristics, And Subsequent Soybean Production In East-Central Mississippi, Bronson Scott Bass

Theses and Dissertations

Integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLS) incorporate cropping systems and livestock production by grazing cover crops. With a growing awareness in recent years regarding agricultural sustainability, these systems have begun to be re-introduced into the southeastern U.S. This study evaluated cover cropping systems under grazed no-till (GNT), un-grazed no-till (UNT), and un-grazed conventional tillage (UCT) management, in Mississippi. Beef cattle (Bos spp.) performance was significantly less in the cover crop treatment of oats (Avena sativa) + crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum) + radish (Raphanus sativus; OCR) in both average daily gain (ADG; 3.03 lb hd^{-1 …}

The Effects Of Cover Crops In An Integrated Livestock/Continuous Corn Cropping System In East-Central Mississippi, Ken Randolph Waddell

Theses and Dissertations

There is growing interest within the agricultural industry on how cover crop systems affect soil health and economic productivity in integrated crop-livestock systems. This study investigated the combined effects of cover crop species; no-till and conventional till; and grazed (G) and un-grazed (UG) in a continuous corn (Zea mays) production system in east-central Mississippi. Cover crops were established in the fall of 2019 and 2020 in two separate field studies. Corn yield was not affected by grazing or tillage but was affected by cover crop species. We then compared the difference in cover crop species treatments with their respective corn …

The Efficacy Of The Low-Fodmap Diet To Alleviate Symptoms Of Irritable Bowel Syndrome In Adults: A Systematic Review, Jacqueline Nicole Rustom

Theses and Dissertations

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional bowel disorder with 6.5% worldwide prevalence that causes gas production, abdominal distension, and abdominal pain or discomfort. This systematic review describes efficacy of the Low-Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides And Polyols (FODMAP) diet (Low-FODMAP diet or LFD) to alleviate IBS symptoms using the PRISMA guidelines. Nine randomized controlled trials (RCT) and one non-RCT consecutive controlled study published between 2015 to 2019 were identified using PubMed and CENTRAL. Included studies involved adult IBS participants with symptoms of abdominal pain, constipation, and/or diarrhea. A total of 530 participants completed the interventions from the 10 studies included …

The Art Of Amphibian Conservation: Linking In-Situ And Ex-Situ Populations Of Endangered Species Through Genome Banking, Isabella Joann Burger

Theses and Dissertations

Limited breeding success in captive breeding programs has necessitated the development of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) to preserve and increase genetic variation and population numbers of both captive and wild amphibian groups. ART has been shown to be successful in numerous anuran species, and current studies focus on the application of ART in ex-situ populations. The focus of this project is to show that linking in-situ and ex-situ amphibian populations through sperm cryopreservation, genome banking, and in-vitro fertilization is possible, with the goal of increasing gene diversity throughout groups in order to produce self-sustaining, wild populations in the future. Specific …

Urban-Rural Differences In Lifespan Variation In The United States, Benjamin H. Walker

Theses and Dissertations

Since the mid-1980s, mortality rate improvements in urban areas have outpaced those in rural areas, leading to substantial urban-rural disparities in mortality. Research on urban-rural mortality disparities has focused exclusively on differences in mortality between urban and rural areas and has not examined differences in the amount of inequality in the length of life within these areas. Lifespan variation is an important dimension of health inequality that complements traditional metrics of mortality (i.e., mortality rates and life expectancy) by indicating the amount of inequality of lifespans within a population. This dissertation provides several contributions to our understanding of urban-rural differences …

Macronutrient Intake: A Multi-Sport Study Of Female Division I Collegiate Athletes, Ffion Price

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Macronutrients play a critical role within collegiate athletes’ performance and health, with carbohydrates providing most of the energy needs for most athletes. There is little research examining the macronutrient intake of healthy collegiate female athletes across sports. The aim of the present study was to compare macronutrient intakes of female collegiate athletes within different sports and compare their intakes to recommendations. Methods: An observational study was conducted to determine whether a sample of female collegiate athletes (n=26) consumed the IOC nutritional recommendations. Sports included within the study were soccer, basketball, volleyball, and cross-country. Athletes were asked to complete a …

Investigating The Influence Of Available Drinking Water On Wildlife In Utah's West Desert, Danielle K. Finlayson

Theses and Dissertations

The availability of water is a limiting resource for many wildlife species in arid and semi- arid environments. Free water is essential for critical life stages for numerous species, including migration, reproduction, survival, and habitat selection. Riparian areas in the desert occur relatively infrequently, but support a disproportionally large percentage of plant and wildlife species found in arid environments. Our study covered two aspects of water use in the west desert of Utah. The first was assessing the impacts of nonnative ungulates (specifically feral horses and cattle) on natural springs, and how they influenced water quality, vegetation, and wildlife diversity …

Increasing Total Lipid Content In Pennycress ( Thlaspi Arvense L. ) Utilizing Crispr-Cas9 And Transgenic Approaches, Damiano Marchiafava

Theses and Dissertations

Thlaspi arvense (pennycress) is a member of the Brassicaceae family currently under development as an oilseed winter cash cover crop for the U.S. Midwest. Planted in the fall at the time of corn or soybean harvest, pennycress establishes vegetative leaves before going dormant for the winter. Pennycress plants then flower in early spring and mature in mid May to early June in time for seed harvest followed by planting soybeans or corn. Hence, pennycress along with corn and soybeans can constitute e.g. a corn-pennycress-soybean rotation resulting in the production of three crops in two years. The winter annual life cycle …

Saprotrophy Among Endophytic Fungi, Emily Marissa Weatherhead

Theses and Dissertations

Endophytic fungi have been found in every terrestrial plant investigated thus far. They can receive nutritional benefits from their host tissues. Two major modes of nutrition for endophytic fungi include biotrophy and saprotrophy. In chapter 1, I set out to determine whether endophytic fungi isolated from Quercus gambelii in Utah, USA were capable of saprotrophy and, if some were, how much variation in saprotrophic ability exists among them. Because saprotrophy requires moisture and, in Utah, moisture is largely unavailable outside winter and early spring, in chapter 2 I set out to determine if any of our isolated endophytic fungi were …