Digital Commons Network^™

An Analysis Of The Sensory Characteristics And Microbial Constituents Of Kefir, Katherine Quay Robinson

Honors Theses

Kefir is a fermented beverage produced using sugar water or milk, kefir grains, either water kefir grains or milk kefir grains, respectively, and microbial aggregates consisting of diverse bacteria and yeasts. As kefir and fermented beverages in general are increasing in popularity, research related to optimal sensory characteristics and consumer-approval is vital. Desirable sensory characteristics for kefir beverages include low sour taste/aroma, high sweetness, carbonation, and high viscosity (Surja et al., 2019; Margareth et al., 2020). Production methods of kefir can alter sensory characteristics, but sensory characteristics are likely strongly influenced by the microbial composition of the grains/product. Thus, an …

Identification And Assessment Of Fixed Versus Growth Mindsets In Human And Anatomy Physiology Undergraduate Students, Jayanti Shukla

Honors Theses

Fixed mindsets and growth mindsets are present in individual’s attitudes, affecting their motivations to complete responsibilities or overcome challenges. In this study, we aim to identify and assess the mindsets of undergraduate students partaking in the Human Anatomy and Physiology (HAP) undergraduate course at the University of Mississippi, the gateway course being well-known for its difficulty and being described as “daunting” to many allied-health majors. By utilizing Carol Dweck’s growth mindset model, we are interested in determining whether students possess a “fixed” mindset versus a “growth” mindset, in conjunction to assessing their classroom performance correlating with that demonstrated mindset. An …

Adulting While Disabled, J Dalton Stevens

Dissertations - ALL

What adulthood goals do young disabled people set and what factors shape their goal setting and achievement? To answer these questions, I conducted 29 life history interviews with young disabled Millennials and analyzed them using an iterative grounded theory approach. My analysis is informed by social ecological theory, life course theory, and biopsychosocial models of disability to gain an understanding of how the social world shapes respondents’ movement through the transition to adulthood in the context of disability. I find that disabled Millennials pursue a diverse array of goals across personal, health, educational, economic, residential, relational, and community domains. However, …

The Biophysics Of Bacterial Collective Motion: Measuring Responses To Mechanical And Genetic Cues, Merrill Einar Asp

Dissertations - ALL

Mechanobiology is an emerging field investigating mechanical signals as a necessary component of cellular and developmental regulation. These mechanical signals play a well-established role in the differentiation of animal cells, whereby cells with identical genes specialize their function and create distinct tissues depending on the physical properties of their environment, such as shear stiffness. These differences arise from the cell’s ability to use those incoming signals to inform which genes it expresses and what molecular machinery it builds and activates. Understanding the various missing factors that cause cells with specific genes to express an emergent phenotype is termed the genotype-to-phenotype …

Manatees And Noise: Individual Exposure And Behavioral Responses To Disturbance, Julia Ribeiro Guimaraes Dombroski

Dissertations - ALL

Underwater noise from human activities can impact the behavior and physiology of aquatic animals, with potential cumulative effects on populations. To accurately estimate the population-level effects of noise disturbance, it is crucial to quantify individual exposure and investigate responses to noise disturbance. This study aims to quantify Florida manatee exposure and the individual variability of responses to anthropogenic noise. Gathering information on how much time individuals dedicate to specific behaviors is crucial to understanding species' ecology and investigating anthropogenic factors' impacts on populations. Therefore, in Chapter 1, I developed a machine-learning model that classifies movement sensor data collected from biologging …

Effectiveness Of Tadreb-B1 And 1-Feh W3 Kasp Markers In Spring And Winter Wheat Populations For Marker-Assisted Selection To Improve Drought Tolerance, Shamseldeen Eltaher, Mostafa Hashem, Asmaa A. M. Ahmed, P. Stephen Baenziger, Andreas Börner, Ahmed Sallam

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Due to the advances in DNA markers, kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) markers could accelerate breeding programs and genetically improve drought tolerance. Two previously reported KASP markers, TaDreb-B1 and 1-FEH w3, were investigated in this study for the markerassisted selection (MAS) of drought tolerance. Two highly diverse spring and winter wheat populations were genotyped using these two KASP markers. The same populations were evaluated for drought tolerance at seedling (drought stress) and reproductive (normal and drought stress) growth stages. The single-marker analysis revealed a high significant association between the target allele of 1-FEH w3 and drought susceptibility in the spring …

It Is What It Is... Enduring The Never-Ending: The Lived Experiences Of Parenting Adult Children With Developmental/Intellectual Disabilities, Siri Gurunam Kaur Khalsa

Nursing ETDs

The parental home is the principal place of residence for adults with developmental disabilities/ intellectual disabilities (DD/ID) (Heller et al., 2007). More than 75% of the adult population with DD/ID living in the U.S. continue to have their basic needs provided by their parents (Williamson & Perkins, 2014). This is based on the estimated statistic that 1.0 to 1.58% of the U.S. adult population has a developmental disability (Anderson et al., 2019; Fox et al., 2015). About 2.9 million adults with DD/ID live with a parent of 55 years (Byun et al., 2006), with more than 25% of these parents …

The Effects Of Color On Flavor, Tiffany S. Yoo

Honors Capstones

Color and its relation to flavor, is a complex cognitive phenomenon that researchers today are still trying to decipher. The present literature review is an examination of the history of color, process of color perception, the effects of additional factors such as saturation, the exploration of senses that may potentially contribute to perception itself, and the different modern theories suggested. The purpose of this project was to review, revise, and narrow down which theories can be deemed as accurate in terms of the amount of support addressed by modern literature. While a clear-cut answer was not concluded, three potential theories …

The Effect Of Shrub Cover On Conifer Water-Use Patterns, Growth, And Response To Climate Change In The Southern Sierra Nevada, Marissa Goodwin

Biology ETDs

As wildfires increase in size and severity, large areas of forest are undergoing substantial increases in shrub cover. In forests where water is the limiting resource, the partitioning of soil water between shrubs and trees may determine how shrubs affect tree growth and water-stress. We analyzed the δ²H and δ¹⁸O values of xylem water for two conifer species (Abies concolor and Pinus jeffreyi) and two shrub species (Arctostaphylos patula and Ceanothus cordulatus) to assess how shrub cover affects the water-uptake patterns of conifers in the southern Sierra Nevada. We found that growing …

Contributions To Causal Inference In Observational Studies, Jenny Park, Daniel F. Heitjan, Christy Boling Turer

Statistical Science Theses and Dissertations

The electronic health record (EHR) is a digital version of the patient chart. All clinically relevant patient information can be accessed from the EHR by professionals involved in the patient’s care. For researchers, the EHR is a rich, convenient source for data to address a vast range of medical research questions.

In observational studies with EHR data, it is common to define the treatment/exposure status as a binary indicator reflecting whether patient was documented to receive a particular medication or procedure. The outcome can be any type of information on patient status documented in the EHR after the treatment has …

The Effect Of Sleep Chronotype On Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Kimberly C. Bennett

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Purpose: To examine the effect of sleep chronotype and sleep quality on one’s ability to perform a maximal treadmill test in the morning and evening.

Methods: 13 individuals [age = 20.08 ± 1.04 yr] completed three graded exercise tests (GXT) on a treadmill. The familiarization test was done first at any time of day. The experimental trials were labeled as the “morning GXT” and the “evening GXT”. Experimental tests, completed in random order, were performed 7-14 days following the familiarization test between 7:00 and 9:00 am for the morning GXT and between 6:00 and 8:00 pm for the …

Comparing Calculated And Perceived Energy Needs In Collegiate Student-Athletes, Lyndsey T. Reed

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate NCAA student-athletes' level of knowledge related to their energy needs. The participants were 75—42 male and 33 female—NCAA Division I student-athletes enrolled at the University of Mississippi (UM) from a variety of sports. In-person data collection took place at UM Athletics facilities by sports registered dietitians during team talks. The names of the athletes were used to find their pre-existing calculated energy, resting metabolic rate (RMR) and total energy expenditure (TEE) using the Nelson equation and the appropriate activity factor. Questionnaire and RMR/TEE data were analyzed and compared to assess knowledge related …

Spring Commencement: May 13, 2023, University Of North Dakota

UND Commencement Programs

UND Spring Commencement program from May 13, 2023.

Impact Of Nutritional Knowledge On Student Purchase Intention Of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, Mary Claire Ford

Honors Theses

The college years are a critical time in an individual’s life in which dietary habits are developed and will likely carry on for years to come. Mississippi has been ranked highly in health issues such as obesity for years; dietary decisions are one factor that can influence a person’s obesity risk. Therefore, it is imperative that changes be made to dietary decisions at a young age. With the proper adjustments made, preventable issues such as obesity can be avoided. Thus, research investigating how nutritional information affects college students’ purchase intention at the University of Mississippi is warranted. In this study, …

Teachers Perceptions, Practices, And Needs Toward Inclusion In Physical Education, Adriana E. Lucero

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

Central Tasks of Learning to Teach provided the theoretical framework for the first study involving one in-service elementary physical educator teaching integrated classes while reflecting on three major stages of the teacher’s career, (1) the preservice, (2) the induction, and (3) the continuing professional development periods. Data revealed the following four themes: (a) authentic field experiences in immersive environments; (b) practice teaching in integrated settings enhanced self-confidence; (c) comprehensive and in-depth knowledge of students; and (d) disposition toward support when teaching and professional work outside of the teaching space. The Situated Expectancy-Value Theory provided the theoretical underpinning to our second …

Study Of A Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite Using A Biobased Polyurethane As A Thermosetting Resin, Teddy Mageto

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer composites (CFRP) have garnered increasing interest in recent years especially in the aerospace and automobile industries where they are gradually replacing metals as structural materials. This is owing to their light weight, high strength, high modulus, and excellent strength-to-weight ratio. Polymers are typically used as thermosetting resins in these composites. However, the synthesis of polymers currently is conducted via petrochemical processes which leads to adverse effects on the environment. To this end, in this work a biobased Polyurethane (PU) was used as a thermosetting resin in a CFRP. The biobased PU was synthesized by the reaction …

A Historical Examination Of Native American And European Agroforestry, Reed Bryant

Bryant University Undergraduate Journal

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), “Agroforestry is the intentional integration of trees and shrubs into crop and animal farming systems to create environmental, economic, and social benefits. It has been practiced in the United States and around the world for centuries.” However, for many practitioners in the past, agroforestry was not simply an “integration of trees and shrubs into animal farming systems,” nor was it simply a means to produce foodstuffs. For them, agroforestry defined a way of life where trees were fixtures in the landscape which bore many life-giving gifts: fruits and nuts to eat, …

A Rapid Review Of The Literature: Cardiovascular Disease Preventive Practices And Rural Black Women, Modjadji M. Choshi, Maria Devalpine

Virginia Journal of Public Health

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among Black/African American women. Rural Black women have the highest CVD prevalence and are more likely to have modifiable risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity than any other race. Accessible evidence-based culture-appropriate self-care programs for risk reduction and CVD prevention can address these disparities. This rapid review aims to provide a comprehensive collection of such programs. Methods. Searches were performed in PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, Psychinfo-Embase, and Scopus for studies reporting CVD prevention programs for rural Black women. Three articles met the inclusion criteria, with …

Sow Temperature Probe Design, Javier Flores

American Journal of Rising Scholar Activities

With temperatures increasing steadily throughout the last century, the swine production industry is beginning to confront an increasingly urgent dilemma. Ambient barn temperatures are now regularly exceeding ideal conditions for optimal milk production, as well as maximum litter size. Temperatures that exceed these conditions can lead to heat stress among sows, which can ultimately lead to death. With sows usually being housed in larger group settings, keeping track of an individual sow’s temperature has never been harder. The focus of this project is efficiently tracking the internal vaginal temperature of a sow. A prototype probe was developed and consists of …

Program (Pdf), Department Of Obstetrics & Gynecology

Dept. of Obstetrics & Gynecology Resident Research Day

The 35th Annual LSU School of Medicine Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology Resident Research Day was held on Friday, May 12, 2023 at the Human Development Center (HDC).

The Keynote Speaker was Erin Teeter Carey, MD, MSCR.
8 oral presentations were included.

Session Moderators
Session 1 - Obstetrics : Sarah Buzhardt, MD and Tabitha Quebedeaux, MD, PhD
Session 2 - Office Practice : Stacey Scheib, MD and La’Nasha Tanner, MD
Session 3 - Gynecology : Tara Castellano, MD and Neelima Sukhavasi, MD

Browse the attached program for schedule and abstracts.

Community Information Needs And Services Through Public Libraries In The Rice Bowl Of Bengal's : Problems And Proposals, Kousik Samanta, Subhas Chandra Majhi

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Agricultural development in Rice Bowl is faced with new challenges and opportunities on food, nutrition, population and environment fronts. Public Libraries of Purba Bardhaman play a vital role to face these challenges by providing quick access to information. The Public libraries are conscious of improving the conditions through Community Information Centre (CIC) for fully utilizing information age technologies to collect, organize, and disseminate all types of information needed by the users they serve. Public libraries' primary responsibilities include granting access to and safeguarding recorded knowledge for later use. In addition, they are in charge of disseminating necessary information to the …

Book Review Of Beyond Provincialism: Promoting Global Competencies In Teacher And Educator Preparation, David Sandles

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

With an increased emphasis on intercultural and global competence, teacher preparation programs around the world are stridently searching for growth opportunities for students in these areas. An important resource to this discussion is Beyond Provincialism: Promoting Global Competencies in Teacher and Educator Preparation, which supplies readers with scholarly, pragmatic approaches to developing students’ knowledge quotients with salient ideas that revolve around food insecurity, school improvement, communities of practice, mathematics education, internationalization of the curriculum, place-based education, and distance learning. Expertly linking these global issues to the United Nation’s Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs), the authors seek to educate educator preparation …

A Lifestyle Modification Intervention In Hispanic Adolescents With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Brianne Miller

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

U.S. population studies have confirmed that the Hispanic population has the highest prevalence and the worst prognosis for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (Katz et al., 2021). The purpose of this evidence-based practice project was to implement a multicomponent, lifestyle modification intervention in Hispanic pediatric primary care patients to combat the disease process and sequela of NAFLD. The PICOT question for this project was: In Hispanic adolescents aged 10-21 with obesity and NAFLD (P), what is the effect of a multicomponent, lifestyle modification intervention (I), on alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (O), over a 12-week time period (T)? A comprehensive literature search …

Improving Advance Directive Documentation In A Primary Care Clinic In The Midwest, Teresa Hagedorn

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Project

An Abstract of the Scholarly Project by

Teresa Gayle Hagedorn

Advance care planning (ACP) is a continuous communication process linking patients, family members, caregivers, and healthcare providers. Personal values, life goals, and preferences regarding future medical care are significant to every person as we will inevitably reach the end of life. Advance directives (ADs) promote patient autonomy and provide legal documentation of a patient’s wishes for future care. According to the National Institute of Health (2018), only 1 in 3 adults in the United States have a documented AD in their electronic medical records (EMR). This quality improvement project aimed …

Development And Validation Protocol For An Instrument To Measure Household Water Insecurity Across Cultures And Ecologies: The Household Water Insecurity Experiences (Hwise) Scale, Sera L. Young, Shalean M. Collins, Godfred O. Boateng, Torsten B. Neilands, Zeina Jamaluddine, Joshua D. Miller, Alexander A. Brewis, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., Wendy E. Jepson, Hugo Melgar-Quiñonez, Roseanna C. Schuster, Justin B. Stoler, Amber Wuitch, Hwise Research Coordination Network

Faculty Publications

Introduction A wide range of water-related problems contribute to the global burden of disease. Despite the many plausible consequences for health and well-being, there is no validated tool to measure individual- or household-level water insecurity equivalently across varying cultural and ecological settings. Accordingly, we are developing the Household Water Insecurity Experiences (HWISE) Scale to measure household-level water insecurity in multiple contexts.

Methods and analysis After domain specification and item development, items were assessed for both content and face validity. Retained items are being asked in surveys in 28 sites globally in which water-related problems have been reported (eg, shortages, excess …

Investigating Students’ Career-Readiness In The Agricultural Sciences: A Phenomenological Case Study, Jean A. Parrella, Holli R. Leggette, Theresa P. Murphrey, Christi Esquivel, Anna Bates

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

The agricultural industry lacks qualified workers, suggesting students may not participate in opportunities that effectively develop their employability skills. We used a phenomenological case study approach to investigate Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences students’ career-readiness and factors influencing career-readiness. We conducted interviews with 19 juniors and seniors. Open coding procedures revealed five emergent themes—Career Advice-Seeking Behavior,Employability Skills Development, Network Establishment, Relevant Experiences, and Personal Growth. Findings indicate that students do not take advantage of University resources to help them with career preparation. Findings also revealed a lack of employability skills development, especially relating to …

Contribution Of Calcium And Vitamin D Supplementation To Nutrient Adequacy Status In Peri- And Postmenopausal Women, Joseph Drossman

Honors Scholar Theses

Adequate calcium and vitamin D intake is necessary for proper bone health in peri- and postmenopausal women. The current study aimed to investigate the effects of calcium and vitamin D supplementation on calcium and vitamin D intakes and adequacy levels in peri- and postmenopausal women. To evaluate this, the current study utilized baseline food records and demographic data from forty-six peri- and early postmenopausal women collected from a 3-arm, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial which aimed to evaluate the effects of blackcurrant supplementation on prevention of bone loss in peri- and postmenopausal women. Significant differences in the data were determined …

Characterization Of Cellular Senescence In Long-Lived Birds And Mammals, Joshua Shirazi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Cellular senescence is characterized by a permanent exit from the cell cycle and the maintenance of a very active secretome termed the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). The accumulation of senescent cells has been associated with several age-related diseases, including cancer, atherosclerosis, osteoarthritis, pulmonary fibrosis, and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. For the past two decades, cellular senescence has been intensively studied, but exclusively on laboratory rodents and human cell lines. However, our understandings about cellular senescence in other species are extremely limited. This study aimed to characterize the SASP of long-lived and short-lived species using newly developed cutting-edge proteomic …

21st Century Political Agronomy: Between Collapse And Apocalypse In The Capitalist World System, Harrison Raskin

Honors Scholar Theses

Examinations of the causal chain between ecological impacts and food shortages reveal significant impending global disturbances. This paper draws a causal link between ecological impacts and low food productivity which will lead to food insecurity and economic crises in the near term. Further, this paper argues that food insecurity may lead to the collapse of the capitalist world system. This threat is contrasted with “business as usual” climate models which, rather than depicting the collapse of the capitalist world system, depict its persistence throughout the collapse of the world ecology.

Evaluating Equity: Examining Inclusionary Practices From Educational Organizations To Improve The Education Experience Of Lgbtqia+ Students, Jillian G. Torrento

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This qualitative study explored the ways in which education policy and practices within public schools are addressing the needs of minoritized populations with a particular focus on LGBTQIA+ students. This study first employed a document analysis to investigate the federal, state, and district-level equity practices that are mandated or elective in addressing the needs of marginalized populations and LGBTQIA+ students. Secondly, a critical discourse analysis was conducted to examine the specific language, word choices, and symbols found within the public documents that signify equitable practices pertaining to minoritized student populations and the LGBTQIA+ community. Ultimately, the goal of this study …