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Comparative Evaluation Of Fungal Strains For The Bioprocessing Of Soybean Hulls Using Cheese Whey As Fermentation Medium, Ruchita Bhattarai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Globally, soybean is the most widely cultivated oilseed crops, and serve as the primary source of cooking oil, contributing to around 50% of global oilseed production. During the industrial processing of soybean oil, a significant amount of soybean hull (SH) is produced, which makes up about 8% of the grain yield, resulting in approximately 18–20 million tons of hulls, one of the largest by-products in the soybean industry. The hulls have limited commercial value and are primarily used as fiber additives in dairy cattle feed, but a large portion is still discarded as agricultural waste. Similarly, cheese whey (CW), a …

Impacts Of Early/Mid-Gestation Shearing On Umbilical Blood Flow And Lamb Birth Weight, Mara Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Studies outside the USA have reported that shearing pregnant ewes during mid to late gestation increases lamb birth weight. Our hypothesis was that shearing pregnant ewes on day 50 of gestation would increase umbilical blood flow (UBF), fetal size, lambing and placental weights. Twenty-eight Polypay ewes were randomly assigned to two treatments: shorn (S) and sham-shorn (Control, CON) and divided in singleton (S: n=4; CON: n=4), twins (S: n=5; CON: n=5) and triplets (S: n=5; CON: n=5). Umbilical BF and fetal and placental measurements were obtained via ultrasonography every 10 days from day 50 to 110 of gestation. Lamb birth …

Impact Of Parental Involvement On Children’S Mental Health, Syeda Tasnime Kabir

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study estimates the causal effect of parental involvement on the mental health of primary school children in Bangladesh. Using an instrumental variables strategy that leverages local parental involvement norms, I find that increased parental involvement significantly reduces cognitive and emotional difficulties. Notably, I find that the protective effect of parental involvement varies by socio-economic context, showing weaker effects for children of mothers who married at an older age and those whose fathers live outside the household, but stronger effects in joint families. Furthermore, I identify two key mechanisms underlying these effects: accommodating parenting style and improved household hygiene practices. …

Isolation And Characterization Of Rhizobia Bacteria From Midwest Soils, Jr Loya

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Symbiotic bacteria, known as rhizobia, can colonize the roots of legume plants and then convert atmospheric nitrogen into a usable form by the host through the process called biological nitrogen fixation (BNF). Many of these bacteria produce other plant-growth-promoting benefits, such as nutrient acquisition, phytohormone production, and the modification of plant stress responses. Agricultural inoculants made from these bacteria have helped reduce the need for man-made nitrogenous fertilizers, known causes of pollution and eutrophication. There are additional benefits in developing bacteria inoculants local to regional soils. The ability to survive and compete in Midwest soil and climates present an opportunity …

Food Insecurity Among University Students And The Barriers To Utilizing Food Assistance Programs During And After Hurricanes Ian And Nicole, Carvis C. Durr

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Background and objectives: Food insecurity (FI) is a pressing concern among university students in the United States. Natural disasters such as hurricanes can exacerbate this issue, particularly for low-income individuals, including university students. Although a range of campus, community, and federal food assistance programs (FAPs) are available, students often face barriers to accessing these resources. However, limited research has explored FI among university students in the context of hurricanes, particularly how students utilize FAPs and the challenges they encounter in accessing them. This dissertation aims to (1) understand the prevalence of FI among students, especially socially vulnerable groups at the …

Get In The Zone: Utilizing A Food Skills Survey To Assess The Education Needs Of A Blue Zones Project Community, Sophia Kathryn Dunlap

Theses and Dissertations

Under-resourced communities often demonstrate little to basic knowledge and skills regarding food and nutrition-related practices, such as cooking and meal planning, nutrition label reading, and gardening. This can be attributed to various factors such as education level, socioeconomic status, available education programs, and overall interest in these topics. Limited research is available discussing the current knowledge, skills, and interests of nutrition topics and healthy eating patterns within Blue Zones Project (BZP) communities. To explore this gap in the literature, a cross-sectional design was implemented via a food skills survey completed by the residents of a modest-sized college town and site …

Nutrition Implications In Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (Heds)/Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (Hsd), Lauren Steiner

Theses and Dissertations

Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) and hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD) are a poorly recognized and under researched group of genetic connective tissue disorders that have widespread impacts on the human body, including gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. The role of dietary and supplemental interventions in GI symptom control in this patient population has not been researched. This study used an exploratory survey to collect data on diets and supplements that the patient population has used to combat GI symptoms. The low histamine, gluten free, dairy free, anti-inflammatory, and intermittent fasting diets, as well as magnesium, probiotic, coenzyme Q10, vitamin C, vitamin B12, and …

Survey-Weighted Ordinal Modeling Of Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease Severity Through Social Determinants Of Health, Jaylene Viveros Cruz

Selected Full-Text Master Theses 2021-

Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is a condition that describes the spectrum of disease and liver injury attributed to the consumption of alcohol. ALD diagnosis is heavily dependent on alcohol use, making it challenging to test for, as alcohol use is often self-reported, and early-stage ALD can present asymptomatically. This study aims to explore how social determinants of health associated with alcohol use behaviors predict ALD-related liver stress risk. MEC participants included in the two two-year cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 2014-2014 and 2015-2016, were assigned liver stress labels based on clinical thresholds for ALD diagnosis. …

Characterization Of Methodological Variability In Compound Specific Isotope Analysis Of Amino Acids (Csia-Aa), Audreyana Brown-Nash

Open Access Dissertations

The use of isotopes in the natural sciences stems from the principle that chemical reactions predictably alter the isotopic composition of a given sample. Recent advances in compound specific isotope analysis of amino acids (CSIA-AA) have paved the way for studies of increasingly complex ecological relationships, including the identification and characterization of organismal physiology, consumer-resource linkages, biogeochemical cycling, and movement ecology. The analytical power of CSIA-AA has caused an exponential increase in the number of application-based studies since its inception in the 1990s. With the technique constantly evolving to accommodate new research goals, it is important to understand how variation …

Research Report: Cold-Hardy Hydrangeas For Landscape And Cut Flowers, Rebecca G. Sideman, Kaitlyn Orde, Ella Lukacz, Cathy Neal

Faculty Publications

This research report describes the performance of several cold-hard “panicle” (H. paniculata), “smooth” (H. arborescens), and “oakleaf” (H. quercifolia) hydrangea as landscape plants and for cut flower production in Durham, NH. We established a replicated planting of sixteen newer hydrangea cultivars at Woodman Farm in summer 2020. Preliminary data from these young shrubs indicates that there are wide differences in flower production, stem quality, flowering time and duration, and postharvest floral quality – among other traits.

Motivation And Well-Being: A Study Of Wvu Extension Volunteers, Amber Renae Goff

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Volunteers are the heart of the land-grant outreach model. They bring education and resources to communities across West Virginia. Volunteers have been relied upon in many aspects of Extension programming and current budget conditions have reduced the level of staffing within WVU Extension. There may be an increased demand for volunteers to help with programming. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between motivation and the perceived level of well-being within the WVU Extension volunteer programs. The study yielded 464 responses from a descriptive survey. Based on the results, WVU Extension volunteers are motivated based on their …

Unravelling The Ecological Trade-Offs In Behavioural And Physiological Sexual Traits, Alicia Eveson

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Animals experience temporally and spatially heterogeneous environments throughout their lives. Therefore, individuals that are able to plastically adjust their behaviour to the current environment, are able to maximise their fitness. These behavioural adjustments are particularly important where there are trade-offs between investment in different life-history traits. Trade-offs between reproduction and survival have been widely documented, in addition to a body of evidence for trade-offs between mating related traits. How an individual adjusts their mating behaviour in response to their social and biotic environments are important aspects of selection. Changes in the social environment, including sex ratio or population density changes, …

Development Of Welfare Assessment Strategies For Indonesian Zoos, Yonathan Yonathan

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Animal welfare assessment is a core element of zoo management, helping zoos achieve positive welfare state for their animals. Welfare should be assessed regularly to evaluate, monitor, and improve the standards of care. The research on welfare assessment and its development process increased after the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) launched the 2023 Animal Welfare Goals, which include mandatory welfare assessment process for national and regional zoo associations. In Indonesia, many zoos don’t have their own welfare assessment and find it difficult to adapt generic tools due to variation in husbandry, resources, and facilities. This project aims to …

Effects Of Host-Derived Probiotics On The Growth Performance And Health Of Tilapia And Carp, Sherilyn Abarra

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

To address the need for well-characterised probiotic strains for tilapia and carp aquaculture, this study investigated the isolation, characterisation, and application of host-derived candidate probiotics from Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and mirror carp (Cyprinus carpio), and their influence on growth, feed utilisation, intestinal integrity and microbiome, and mucosal health of the host.A total of 263 intestinal bacterial isolates were screened in vitro for antagonism against Aeromonas hydrophila and Streptococcus iniae. The top 31 isolates with inhibitory effects underwent screening against three further fish pathogens and were assessed for haemolytic activity and extracellular enzyme production in …

Metabolic And Kinetic Impacts Of The Auxiliary Energy Source In Model Chemolithoheterotrophic Bacteria, Caleb Yarnley

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Chemolithoheterotrophy describes a type of microbial metabolism by which organisms oxidise an inorganic electron donor to supplement the generation of an electrochemical gradient. This results in higher overall growth yields and maximum specific growth rates as the organism does not need to generate as many reducing equivalents to fuel the respiratory chain and can instead redirect that material into anabolic reactions to generate more biomass. Many aspects of this metabolism remain poorly understood due to the difficulty in observing genuine chemolithoheterotrophy, with significant increases in the maximum specific growth yield (YMAX) and maximum specific growth rate (µMAX) seen in continuous …

Evaluating The Efficacy Of Brewers’ Yeast-Derived Functional Feed Additives In Mitigating Soybean Meal-Induced Enteritis In Atlantic Salmon, Taofik Adeiza Momoh

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Aquaculture continues to expand as a vital contributor to global food security, yet this growth introduces new challenges including the need to replace fishmeal with plant-based ingredients without compromising intestinal health. In Atlantic salmon aquaculture, one of the main constraints to plant protein inclusion is soybean meal-induced enteritis (SBMIE), a diet-related inflammatory condition that impairs mucosal function. Meanwhile, the use of functional feed additives such as those derived from brewers’ yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) have emerged as a promising strategy to mitigate such diet-induced pathologies and support immune regulation. This thesis investigates the efficacy of structurally distinct brewers’ yeast-derived additives, including …

Considering Behaviour In Genetic Sampling – A Case Study With Grey Seals, Kathryn Wiltshire

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Genetic variations are increasingly linked to intra-specific behavioural variations. Advancing our knowledge of behavioural genetics could make screening populations for genetic polymorphisms associated with behavioural variations possible. Genetic-behaviour links have been increasingly discovered in terrestrial mammals, but there are few comparable studies in marine mammals. Developing efficient and cost-effective genetic sampling techniques is essential to allow more studies on behavioural genetics in lesser researched marine mammals. This study explores the potential of a sampling technique, still in its infancy in marine mammal studies, that has potential to cause minimal stress to the animals. Buccal swabs were tested in a group …

An Assessment Of The Dietary Bioavailability Of Tio2 And Inorganically Carbon-Based Nanomaterials In Rainbow Trout, Using The Ex Vivo Gut Sac Technique And A In Chemico Digestibility Assay, Craig Mchardy

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Abstract. Craig McHardyAn assessment of the dietary bioavailability of TiO2 and inorganically carbon-based nanomaterials in rainbow trout, using the ex vivo gut sac technique and a in chemico digestibility assay.Carbon based engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are an emerging contaminant within modern society, as such their environmental risk assessment is of high importance. Testing for their persistence, toxicity and bioaccumulation potential is important for regulatory bodies to fully understand the hazard posed. To date, data on the bioaccumulation potential of these ENMs is lacking, especially within fish. A tiered approach to bioaccumulation testing has been posed in which precursory tests such as …

Impact Of Dietary Functional Yeast Additives On Growth Performance And Health Of Selected Key Aquaculture Species, Sheu Odu-Onikosi

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The aquaculture industry has witnessed remarkable growth in recent decades underscoring its crucial role in global food security. However, this rapid expansion brings challenges, including the need to meet growing fish demand while minimising environmental impacts and managing disease prevalence. Functional feed additives (FFAs) have emerged as sustainable solutions to enhance fish health and performance. Among these, yeast-derived additives have garnered significant attention for their nutritional benefits and proven ability to promote growth and strengthen immune responses in fish.This study evaluates the effects of dietary brewer's yeast-derived additives on fish using a range of in-depth analyses, such as growth performance, …

Broiler Breeders Today: Feather Development And Nutrition, Justina Caldas

Proceedings of the Arkansas Nutrition Conference

The broiler industry in the US has observed a consistent decline in fertility and hatchability, particularly the past 5 years. There are numerous managerial and nutritional approaches to optimize the pullet and subsequent mature broiler breeder, and these proceedings focus on feathering. Moreover, these proceedings examine the quantity and quality of broiler breeder plumage as affected by both pullet and hen nutrition.

Improving The Completeness Of Food Composition Databases Using Predictive Analysis., Carla Arenhart

ICT

This study investigates the use of machine learning regression models to impute missing micronutrient values in Food Composition Databases (FCDBs), focusing on the FAO/INFOODS dataset. A cascading prediction methodology leverages nutrient interdependencies to systematically estimate missing values. Four models—Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Gradient Boosting Machines (GBM), and Deep Neural Networks (DNN)—were evaluated using MAE, MSE, RMSE, and R². RF and GBM achieved the highest predictive accuracy for protein, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium, demonstrating that ML-based predictive analytics can provide a more reliable alternative to traditional imputation methods. These findings support improved dietary assessments, nutritional research, and data-driven …

Towards Developing Glut2 Specific Probes For Biochemical And Biomedical Applications, Abdelrahman Ismail

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Facilitated Glucose transporters (GLUTs) are membrane proteins responsible for the uptake of simple sugars and other structurally similar metabolites in all mammalian cells. One of the hallmarks of cancer is dysfunctional sugar metabolism, known as the Warburg effect, and one of the manifestations of that effect is abnormal GLUT expression. There are 14 known GLUT proteins with different expression patterns in different tissues, and tumors tend to express certain GLUTs that are not present in surrounding healthy tissue. Therefore, selective targeting of GLUTs presents a potentially powerful tool for diagnostics and treatment of cancer and other diseases. This has been …

Microbial Inactivation And Spray Drying For The Recovery Of Single-Cell Protein From Chemically Deconstructed Polyethylene Terephthalate, Reeba Elizabeth Reji

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is one of the most widely used polymers in plastics packaging. However, the increasing demand for PET has created challenges in waste disposal. Previous research has shown that PET can be deconstructed using ammonium hydroxide (CDPET). Microorganisms capable of utilizing the product as a sole carbon source can be converted to single-cell protein (SCP). A custom microbial inactivation unit was developed to ensure the safety and stability of generated SCP. Our study evaluated the effect of exposure time (45–60 minutes) at 140 °C with the goal of maximizing microbial inactivation. Our findings suggest that microbial inactivation can …

Community Diversity And Makeup Affect The Capacity For Bioconversion Of Chemically Deconstructed Pet Plastic Waste Into Biomass, Hunter Stoddard

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Plastic waste management is an issue worldwide, particularly for locations with challenging logistics, such as remote locations, those impacted by natural disasters, and regions with armed conflict. These locations also struggle with food logistics and malnutrition. It is possible to tackle both issues by combining chemical deconstruction to depolymerize plastic waste with microbial conversion of the liquid product into biomass that can be used as an edible protein powder. The focus of this work is on the bioconversion of products from the chemical deconstruction of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) using ammonium hydroxide. Microbial communities have previously been shown to utilize the …

Identifying Patterns In Avian Plasma Metabolites For Use In Comparing Between-Site Differences In Habitat Quality, Katherine A. Brouwer

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Habitat loss and degradation are especially important considerations for migratory songbirds, since they depend on a variety of distinct habitats within different life phases (such as breeding, wintering, and migration) that are widely dispersed across a spatial scale. Additionally, abundance of migratory songbirds has been in severe decline, making habitat maintenance and recovery of particular interest as a research avenue. Identifying high quality habitats across a bird’s annual range is therefore of increasing importance and represents fundamental information for guiding management decision making. Free-floating metabolites found in blood are frequently used to determine short-term mass changes in birds and have …

A Virus Of The Mind: The Neurological Impact Of Neonatal Herpes Simplex Virus Infection, Abigail Jeanne Dutton

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

The ability of herpes simplex virus (HSV) to establish lifelong latency in sensory neurons makes it one of the most pervasive viruses worldwide. Although most HSV infections are asymptomatic or cause limited cutaneous symptoms, some give rise to serious central nervous system (CNS) manifestations. Both primary HSV infection and subsequent reactivation events can cause viral replication and spread within the brain, ultimately leading to pathologic inflammation and direct CNS damage. In addition to fulminant presentations of HSV encephalitis, subclinical HSV CNS infections have been implicated in neurodevelopmental, cognitive, and neurodegenerative impairment. To model the lifelong effects of subclinical HSV infection, …

A Vicious Cycle: An Intersectional Analysis Of Black Women’S Legal And Socio-Economic Vulnerability In The Hiv/Aids Epidemic, Summer Bell

Emory International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Congolese Refugee Narratives Of Belonging, Grief, And Cultural Continuity In Appalachia, Kayla Davis

Theses and Dissertations

This research examines the communicative challenges that Congolese refugees face after resettlement, particularly as they strive to reconstruct a sense of belonging in the United States that reflects their experiences in either their home country or secondary countries where they endured protracted displacement in refugee camps. Narrative qualitative research methods were used to conduct interviews with five Congolese refugees in Appalachia. Through qualitative thematic and lexical analysis derived from the interviews, the study reveals patterns of linguistic isolation, community continuity, and emotional displacement. A key finding is that participants often conceptualize community not as a geographic entity, but as an …

Behavioral Response Of House Flies (Diptera: Muscidae) To 3 Bittering Agents, Panchalie B. Gunathunga, Bethia H. King, Christopher J. Geden

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

House flies, Musca domestica L., are pests at livestock facilities. House fly numbers are controlled mainly by manure management and chemical controls, like use of toxic baits. Some toxic baits contain denatonium benzoate as a bittering agent, to avoid poisoning of children. House fly behavioral response to denatonium benzoate was examined, using 2 different diluents, sucrose solution or orange juice. Response of flies to quinine and sucrose octaacetate, 2 other bittering agents, was also examined in sucrose. Sucrose is the sweetener in commercially available toxic house fly baits. The proboscis extension response of both male and female flies was significantly …

"You Sure Feel Like You're Alone, Kind Of Flailing Away Out There": Family Caregiver Perspectives Of Caring For An Individual With Glioblastoma Multiforme, Christy Muasher-Kerwin, Abby Baumbach, Yujun Liu, M. Courtney Hughes

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Objectives

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer. Family caregivers of individuals with GBM must navigate a wide range of their care recipients’ physical, cognitive, and psychosocial deficits to provide effective care, which is both mentally and physically demanding. This study aimed to investigate the perspectives of family caregivers of GBM patients about the barriers and challenges they encounter when providing care to their care recipients. Methods

Nineteen current and former family caregivers for individuals with GBM participated in semi-structured interviews from October 2023 through January 2024. We conducted interviews virtually and used applied …