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Fecal Transplantation Does Not Transfer Either Susceptibility Or Resistance To Food Borne Listeriosis In C57bl/6 And Balb/C/By Mice, Tanya Myers-Morales, Kate M. Bussell, Sarah E. F. D'Orazio

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

The composition of the intestinal microbiota has wide reaching effects on the health of an individual, including the development of protective innate immune responses. In this report, a fecal transplantation approach was used to determine whether resistance to food borne listeriosis was dependent on the murine gut microbiota. Transplantation of BALB/c/By feces did not increase the susceptibility of C57BL/6 mice to Listeria monocytogenes infection. Likewise, transplantation of C57BL/6 fecal matter did not enhance the resistance of BALB/c/By mice. Thus, intestinal microbiota composition is not a key factor that confers either susceptibility or resistance to food borne listeriosis in mice.

Crisis Communication Strategies Used During The 2008 Chinese Milk Scandal: A Content Analysis Of Press Releases From Four Major Chinese Milk Companies, Lijie Zhou

Student Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how the press releases from the four major Chinese milk companies, namely Mengniu, Yili, the Bright Group and Sanlu responded to the 2008 Chinese milk scandal from September 8, 2008 to December 25, 2011. Four hundred and ten press releases were considered as the crisis responding announcements for the 2008 Chinese milk scandal from the four Chinese milk companies, with 55 from Sanlu, 124 from Mengniu, 106 from Yili and 125 from the Bright Group. By dividing the milk scandal into the three stages, the findings revealed that during the pre-crisis stage, the four companies displayed considerable …

Breastfeeding: An Analysis And Community-Based Curriculum For The Contemporary Central Arkansas Audience, Jennifer Susan Atkins-Gordeeva

Theses and Dissertations

Contemporary society includes many features that impede women's decision-making about infant feeding. The Central Arkansas community is particularly affected by those features. Because informed decision-making involves an acknowledgment of the risks of formula use, breastfeeding advocates must talk about risk. This curriculum offers one way to discuss risks of formula and challenges and supports within the community, to create a supportive environment for making informed decisions, and to commit to a lactation plan, inside a supportive, community-based setting.

Selenium-Regulation Of Steroid Hormone-Mediated Gene Expression In Transformed Human Prostate Epithelial Cells, David R. Nielsen, Dr. Merril Christensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in American men, with current estimates projecting 179,300 new cases and 37,000 deaths this year [1]. The development of prostate cancer may be divided into three stages: initiation, promotion, and progression. During the initiation and early promotion stages, the cancer is clinically undetectable.

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Using Behavioral Incentives To Promote Exercise Compliance In Women With Cocaine Dependence, Leila Islam

Theses and Dissertations

To date, low rates of patient compliance have made it impractical to study whether regular exercise can contribute to positive outcomes in women with substance use disorders (SUD). One robust strategy for promoting and maintaining behavior change is contingency management (CM). CM has been used successfully to reinforce drug abstinence, treatment attendance, and other pro-social behaviors. CM delivers incentives (prizes) contingent upon target behaviors, though can be expensive. To reduce costs, CM is often delivered with an escalating variable-ratio schedule, first tested by Petry and colleagues (2005). As a Stage Ib behavioral therapies development project (Rounsaville et al., 2001), the …

Mindfulness: The Holy Grail Of Design Education?, Christian Montarou

Learn X Design Conference Series

In the field of design education, the term ‘mindfulness’ has been criticised as a mystification of the creative process and derided as a ‘holy grail’ (Moore 2009). I will argue against this criticism, try to establish some general rules for the chaotic diversity of individual creativity and highlight the role of flow and mindfulness in connection with the creative act. These reflections are rooted in my own experiences teaching croquis drawing with a live model, as well as many years as a practicing artist and pedagogue. My main focus is on elucidating the relationship between context and mindfulness in a …

What's Happening: August 19, 2013, Maine Medical Center

What's Happening

No abstract provided.

2013-August-19-Diabetes Education Classes, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

No abstract provided.

The Molecular Basis For Prostate Cancer Risk Reduction By Selenium, Josie Johnson, Dr. Merril J. Christensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in American men.1 Results from a cancer prevention trial performed by Clark et.al.2 show that selenium (Se) supplementation in male subjects reduced cancer incidence by 75%. The molecular basis for the chemopreventive effect of Se merits attention in molecular biology research. For the past six months, my research has focused on the impact of Se-supplemented medium on gene expression of transformed human prostate epithelial cells (entitled LNCaP cells) grown in culture. Through differential display methods, tumor suppressor genes or oncogenes that are either upregulated …

Separate Spheres Or Common Domestic Ground: Gender Ideology In Parenting Manuals From 1820 - 1860, Jacqueline Henke

Student Theses and Dissertations

A number of historians have described 1820-1860 as a period of rigid gender ideology, a period of two "spheres". During this time, American men were active in the capitalist marketplace of the public sphere, while American women were confined to the domestic cares of the private sphere. Since childcare is a duty of private sphere, this gender-bifurcated narrative alleged that childrearing was a responsibility which inherently devolved upon the 1820-1860 mother. While research has demonstrated support for this model, so, too, has research provided support for a conflicting model. An alternative narrative portrays nineteenth-century childrearing as common domestic ground, a …

An Educational Approach: Increasing College Freshmen's Knowledge Regarding Sexually Transmitted Infections, Jennie Mcclain

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

According to the Centers for Disease Control (2009), young adults account for only 25% o fsexually active persons in the United States, but account for 50% of the newly diagnosed cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Some young adults may not have received appropriate or credible information on sexual health by which to make knowledgeable decisions that may influence the rest of their lives. High schools are not required to offer comprehensive sex education. Therefore, some students may have received abstinence-only sex education. Risk reduction and disease prevention are important in college health. This evidenced-based practice project included the creation, …

Amino Acids And Mtor Mediate Distinct Metabolic Checkpoints In Mammalian G1 Cell Cycle, Mahesh Saqcena, Deepak Menon, Deven Patel, Suman Mukhopadhyay, Victor Chow, David A. Foster

Publications and Research

Objective In multicellular organisms, cell division is regulated by growth factors (GFs). In the absence of GFs, cells exit the cell cycle at a site in G1 referred to as the restriction point (R) and enter a state of quiescence known as G0. Additionally, nutrient availability impacts on G1 cell cycle progression. While there is a vast literature on G1 cell cycle progression, confusion remains – especially with regard to the temporal location of R relative to nutrient-mediated checkpoints. In this report, we have investigated the relationship between R and a series of metabolic cell cycle checkpoints that regulate passage …

How I Saved My Horses' Hooves: An "Old School" Cowboy Goes Natural, James Karl Dawson

Theses and Dissertations

How I Saved My Horses' Hooves: An "Old School" Cowboy Goes Natural is an essay written to persuade horse owners to choose natural hoof care over traditional shoeing. It is an argument against nailing iron shoes on the hooves of horses. My intent is to persuade horse owners to provide their horses with every means possible to allow them to shape their hooves naturally. Doing so will strengthen their hooves to the point where they will no longer need shoes. Domestic horses cannot live normal lives, therefore, they cannot grow and naturally shape their hooves unless we offer what nature …

Factors That Influence A Woman’S Choice To Breast-Feed, Emily Lippincott, Dr. Renata Forste

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Breast-feeding is the healthiest way for a mother to ensure that her newborn child gets the best nutrition possible; in addition, breast milk provides maternal antibodies to the child that are highly effective in preventing disease (2). Hence the slogan “Breast is Best” was created to encourage mothers to breastfeed their children; unfortunately, there are still a larger number of women who have resisted this message and continue to choose other methods of feeding. For instance, white women are two times more likely to breast-feed than their black counterparts, and college educated women are three times more likely to breast-feed …

Deafdigest: Gold Edition, August 18, 2013, Barry Strassler

DeafDigest Gold 2013

No abstract provided.

Deafdigest: Blue Edition, August 18, 2013, Barry Strassler

DeafDigest Blue 2013

No abstract provided.

Plasma S-Adenosylmethionine, Dnmt Polymorphisms, And Peripheral Blood Line-1 Methylation Among Healthy Chinese Adults In Singapore, Maki Inoue-Choi, Heather H. Nelson, Kim Robien, Erland Arning, Teodoro Bottiglieri, Woon-Puay Koh, Jian-Min Yuan

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

Background

Global hypomethylation of repetitive DNA sequences is believed to occur early in tumorigenesis. There is a great interest in identifying factors that contribute to global DNA hypomethylation and associated cancer risk. We tested the hypothesis that plasma S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) level alone or in combination with genetic variation in DNA methyltransferases (DNMT1, DNMT3A andDNMT3B) was associated with global DNA methylation extent at long interspersed nucleotide element-1 (LINE-1) sequences.

Methods

Plasma SAM level and LINE-1 DNA methylation index were measured using stored blood samples collected from 440 healthy Singaporean Chinese adults during 1994-1999. Genetic polymorphisms of …

Transforming Architecture: Engaging The Built Environment, Ryan G. Hier

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Contemporary society is transfixed by the newest piece of technology. More often than not these devices serve as commodities; eliminating a certain amount of burden from daily life. The architectural realm is no different. Building design decisions are constantly scruti­nized by their ability to perform, with respect to energy consumption and conservation. However, there is a different type of building performance worth considering: the act of transformation. Transformable architecture has the abili­ty to change structure, space, and function through physical movement of the architecture.

In an age where technology suc­ceeds in disengaging humans from interaction with each other, it can …

Local Trapping As Predator Control In Rural Alaska: Limiting Factors In Allakaket And Alatna And The Potential For Increased Community Involvement In Wildlife Management, Heidi L. Hatcher

Natural Resources

For a community to be involved in natural resources management that community must have the capacity to make management actions. The capacity for a community to be involved in natural resources management or to take management action might be dependent on a wide variety of factors, largely based upon the resource and asset base available to a community. Aerial wolf control as a wildlife management strategy in the state of Alaska is a controversial endeavor. In the rural villages of Allakaket and Alatna wolf trapping was traditionally a commonly practiced subsistence activity but local levels of wolf trapping are currently …

Freeze-Thaw Effect On Soil Microbial Activity With Biochar Application In Subarctic Soils, Sunny M. Castillo

Forest Sciences

Alaska has limited agricultural production due to extreme climatic conditions and weakly developed soils, which affect productivity. In higher latitudes, freeze-thaw cycles are common and influence soil biology and nutrient dynamics, offering a unique opportunity to investigate the use of soil amendments like biochar to enhance native biota and soil's intrinsic properties. Biochar for this study was produced from locally harvested black spruce (Picea mariana), using a fixed bed pyrolysis unit. The production of biochar was electronically controlled with temperatures kept at 550°C, and residence times manipulated by a mechanical auger, in order to yield five distinct biochar products. Chemical …

Small-Scale Variability In Benthic Food Webs In The Northeastern Chukchi Sea, Kelley Lannon Tu

Marine Biology

Benthic food web structure can differ over large scales across Arctic shelves in relation to hydrographic conditions, but little is known if such differences also may occur on smaller scales in hydrographically complex areas. The length, food sources, trophic composition, and energy distribution of benthic food webs in three study areas in the northeastern Chukchi Sea (i.e., Klondike, Burger, and Statoil, as part of the Chukchi Sea Environmental Studies Program) were compared using stable isotope analysis and bomb calorimetry. Food web length (four trophic levels), food sources, and linear models of food webs were comparable among areas. Marked differences in …

Effect Of Chopping Or Cubing Hay On Apparent Digestibility Of Nutrients When Fed To Angus, Hereford, And Charolais Steers, Rebecca Ann Willcutt

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to evaluate digestibility of cubed hay as a feedstuff for ruminants. Angus (n=6), Hereford (n=3), and Charolais (n=3; total n=12; 226 ± 21.8kg) steers, stratified by breed, were randomly assigned to 3 treatment groups: 1) hay; 2) chopped; 3) cubed. There was no difference (P > 0.05) of DMI or digestibility of DM, OM, NDF, ADF, hemicellulose, and energy among treatments. Steers consuming hay digested more CP than those consuming chopped. Steers consuming cubed digested less CP than those consuming hay or chopped. More fat was digested by steers consuming hay or chopped than by …

Bamboo Nutritional Composition, Biomass Production, And Palatability To Giant Pandas: Disturbance And Temporal Effects, Jennifer L. Parsons

Theses and Dissertations

The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) subsists on bamboo, but lacks gastrointestinal modifications for fiber digestion. Pandas display dietary selectivity for certain plant parts; however, cues for selection are unknown, and few have examined panda feeding behavior and bamboo nutrient composition simultaneously. Bamboos are clonal plants, with seasonal cycles of nutrient accumulation related to peak photosynthesis and recruitment. These cycles can be destabilized by aboveground disturbance; however, effects of disturbance on nutritional quality and sustainability of bamboo for primary consumers have not been studied. I examined 4 factors that may contribute to bamboo nutritional quality or sustainable harvest: season, ramet maturity …

Cattle Grazing Preferences, Animal Performance, And Harvest Management Effects Among Diploid And Tetraploid Cultivars Of Annual Ryegrass, Juan Kevin Quamina Solomon

Theses and Dissertations

Incremental gains in productivity from new forages are likely to be very small in developed countries like the USA where forage research is highly advanced, thus animals must be used in determining their value. Three experiments were conducted. Experiment I evaluated grazing preference of cattle and its relationship with morphological and chemical characteristics. Treatments were two diploid cultivars ‘Marshall’ and ‘Gulf’ and two tetraploid cultivars ‘Maximus’ and ‘Nelson’ arranged in a 4 × 4 Latin square design experiment. Animal preference was based on herbage disappearance, the Chesson-Manly index, and animal grazing time. Both herbage disappearance (1400 vs. 890 kg ha-1) …

Ecology And Energetics Of Early Life Stages Of Walleye Pollock In The Eastern Bering Sea: The Role Of Spatial Variability Across Climatic Regimes, Elizabeth Calvert Siddon

Fisheries

Understanding mechanisms behind variability in early life survival of marine fishes can improve predictive capabilities for recruitment success under changing climate conditions. Ecosystem changes in response to climate variability in the eastern Bering Sea affect commercial species including walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma), which represent an ecologically important component of the ecosystem and support the largest commercial fishery in the United States. The goal of my dissertation was to better understand spatial and temporal dynamics in the ecology of early life stages of walleye pollock in the eastern Bering Sea through: (1) an examination of shifts in larval fish community composition …

The Impact Of Childhood Obesity On Levels Of Self-Esteem, Anxiety, Social Stress, Interpersonal Relationship Satisfaction, And Academic Performance Among Students In The 5th, 6th, And 7th Grades, Robika Modak Mylroie

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation study was to examine the impact of childhood obesity on levels of self-esteem, anxiety, social stress, interpersonal relationship satisfaction, and academic achievement on students in Grades 5, 6, and 7. Professional school counselors need to be aware of how childhood obesity impacts students and how they can help their students personally, socially, and academically. The present research study uses a comparative research design to determine the levels of self-esteem, anxiety, social stress, interpersonal relationship satisfaction, and academic performance among students in Grades in 5, 6, and 7 between two groups: (a) obese children and (b) …

Response Of Oxidation-Reduction Potential To Changes In Hydrology And Vegetation In An Agricultural Drainage Ditch With Weirs, Cory Shoemaker

Theses and Dissertations

Excess nutrients entering aquatic systems cause negative effects downstream. Oxidation-reduction potential (Eh) is an inexpensive proxy which can be used to define the potential nutrient reducing capacity of a system, in particular denitrification. My thesis attempts to determine effects of hydrology and vegetation manipulations on Eh in an agricultural drainage ditch with weirs using continuous automated data loggers to monitor the system. Accuracy and precision of the continuous automated data loggers was confirmed through laboratory and field testing. Effects of hydrology and vegetation on Eh were quantified during testing from May-September 2012 in east-central Mississippi. Vegetation affected Eh (t=-1.75, P=0.08, …

Serenbe, A Case Study In Agricultural Urbanism, Charles Alexander Gotherman

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the overwhelming role food plays in our everyday lives, the both new and old phenomenon of incorporating food systems into master planned communities has largely been overlooked. The in-progress community of Serenbe located just outside of Atlanta, Georgia is breaking this trend. The mixed use 1,000 acre community has already included many food and agriculture elements such as an organic farm, farmers’ market, grocery store, farm-to-table restaurants and edible landscaping - making it an exemplar case of an emerging planning strategy called Agricultural Urbanism. While many are heralding Serenbe for its strides as a community that incorporates agriculture into …

Diversity And Characteristics Of Heat-Stress Adaptation In Listeria Monocytogenes Strains, Priyanka Mahesh Jangam

Theses and Dissertations

A set of 37 strains including 13 serotypes of Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) were analyzed for heat tolerance at 60°C for 10 min and further categorized into three groups; low (strains with <2 log survival), medium (2-4 log survival), and high (4-6 log survival) heat tolerant. When Lm strains representing each group were subjected to sub-lethal heatstress at 48°C prior to 60°C, the survivals of all strains were increased by at least 5 log CFU/ml when compared to controls. Sub-lethal heat-stress at 48°C for 30-60 min increased the heat-stress resistance of Lm strains by doubling D60°C values from 1.9-4.3 to 5.0-10.4 min. When Lm cells were cooled after sublethal heat-stress at 48°C prior to 60°C treatment, such acquired heat-stress adaptation was unstable at 22°C but was found to be highly stable for up to 24 h at 4°C. These results will have potential implications in food safety risk analysis for Lm.