Life Sciences Commons^™

Identification, Creation, And Characterization Of Bio-Based Antifreeze Agents, Joshua Samuel Saad

Masters Theses

Ice recrystallization is a key problem leading to quality deterioration of frozen foods and biomedical materials. Molecules possessing ice recrystallization inhibition (IRI) activity can control ice crystal size after freezing, reducing the degree of freezing-induced damage. While these IRI active molecules have shown promise in maintaining the quality of frozen foods, their slow discovery, limited creation strategies, and lack of mechanistic understanding limit their hypothesis-driven design. In this work, we address these above-stated needs required for the streamlined implementation of these materials into frozen systems by the creation of a machine-learning-based IRI screening method, the development of a new IRI …

Development Of Domestic Oleochemicals For Coating Applications, Caleb M. Metzcar

Masters Theses

The overall objective of the present work is to explore new applications of soybean oil based oleochemicals. Two main applications are developed; one using soybean oil, acrylic acid, and nonthermal plasma (NTP) treatment to dye para-aramids with cationic and non-ionic pigments, the other using fatty acids to synthesize waxes with bound quaternary ammonium compounds (QAC), an antimicrobial functional group, for fruit and vegetable postharvest coating. The color strength of the dyed fabric was quantified and the effect of the dyeing on material strength was evaluated to identify the optimal treatment condition. Antimicrobial waxes have been successfully developed that some structures …

Multiphysics Modeling To Understand Microwave-Food Interactions In A Multi-Port Solid-State Microwave System., Kartik Verma

Masters Theses

Multiphysics modeling plays a crucial role in understanding the complexities of microwave-food interactions, especially in multi-port solid-state microwave systems where microwave parameters can be precisely and dynamically controlled. However, previous models using simplistic or manually measured oven geometries face challenges in accurately simulating the microwave heating process. This study first developed a robust 3-D scanning approach to capture precise geometric details of the oven cavity, incorporating them into multiphysics modeling for solid-state microwave heating. Furthermore, a quantitative validation approach was also developed to characterize modeling accuracy against experimental results. The results showed that multiphysics modeling with 3-D scanned geometry demonstrated …

Characterization Of Key Odorants In Cumberland Rosemary, Conradina Verticillata, Claire Mackenzie Gorman

Masters Theses

Conradina verticillata Jennison, commonly known as Cumberland Rosemary, is a threatened plant from the mint family Lamiaceae. This species is a flowering, perennial shrub found in only a few counties of Kentucky and Tennessee. Cumberland Rosemary possesses a unique aroma profile; however, the odorants responsible for its aroma have not been previously identified. In this study, a total of 32 odorants were identified in Cumberland Rosemary using gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Odorant flavor dilution (FD) factors were determined through the application of aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA). Seven odorants with FD factors ≥ [greater than or …

Microwave Frequency Control Algorithms For Use In A Solid-State System To Achieve Improved Heating Performance, Ran Yang

Doctoral Dissertations

Microwave is a popular food heating technique. Its unique volumetric heating principle enables fast heating while also leads to nonuniform heat distribution, where the standing wave patterns caused by the magnetron as microwave source is the main reason for the poor uniformity. Solid-state microwave generator is a promising solution to address the nonuniform heating, as it allows flexible microwaves, with frequencies in a range rather than fixed, and thereby, the varied thermal patterns by different frequencies could overcome the standing wave pattern issue. Previous studies on the frequency control strategy mainly focused on orderly shifting frequencies in range, while not …

Chemistry And Functionality Of Plant Waxes: Applications Toward Postharvest Coatings, Francisco Miguel Angel Leyva Gutierrez

Doctoral Dissertations

The cuticle of all higher-plants is covered in lipidic layers of amorphous and crystalline waxes. The chemical composition and structure of cuticular waxes impart numerous functional properties to the surfaces of plants. Moreover, plant waxes are valuable industrial products with myriad applications; the postharvest coating of agricultural commodities for preservation serves as a salient example. There is an unfulfilled need in the agricultural sector for alternative wax materials to reduce reliance on imported waxes of botanical origin. Plant waxes are inherently complex mixtures composed of n-alkanes, as well as aliphatic alcohols, aldehydes, fatty acids, ketones, esters, and derivatives thereof. …

Novel Ultraviolet Light Technologies For The Inactivation Of Murine Hepatitis Virus, A Sars-Cov-2 Surrogate, Alexia E. Angelos, Doris H. D'Souza

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Porous Food Microparticles As Carriers Of Lipophilic Bioactive Compounds To Improve Functionalities, Inseob Choi

Doctoral Dissertations

Lipophilic bioactive compounds (LBCs) have been gaining attention due to their antioxidation and health-promotion properties. Although many delivery systems have been studied to encapsulate LBCs to increase stability and bioaccessibility of the LBCs, most of delivery systems lack of practicality for application in the food industry due to energy-extensive encapsulation processes and high-cost carrier materials used. Additionally, while a variety of encapsulating systems exist in nanoscale to achieve efficient encapsulation of LBCs, nanoscale systems with encapsulated LBCs may be subjected to reassessment of toxicity. In this dissertation, freeze-dried potato microparticles (FDPMs) and freeze-dried mushroom microparticles (FDMMs) were studied as carrier …

Modeling And Quality Analysis Of Radio Frequency Heating Of Low Moisture Foods, Qianyi Chen

Masters Theses

Low moisture food is usually considered as high safety food. Since its low water activity (aw < 7), this would be a strict environment for pathogen microbes to grow in the low moisture food. However, the recent outbreaks of Salmonella in low moisture foods indicated the possibility of microbiological contamination happened during the harvesting, processing or transportation of food products. Since the bad heat conduction of conventional thermal process on low moisture food, radiofrequency (RF) treatment is a promising technology to improve the heating efficiency with its volumetric heating. Nevertheless, non-uniformity heating is still a challenge in RF technology. There are two research chapters in this study. The first research chapter was to use computer modeling to understand the improvement of applied immersion fluids on the RF heating of the cornflour. The model had a good agreement with the experiment results. The modeling results showed that the soybean oil immersion could reduce the electric field distortion to get the best heating uniformity. Also, the higher sample heating rate caused by soybean oil immersion was mainly because of higher electromagnetic power absorption and lower surface heat loss. The heating efficiency of RF was improved but less study focused on the quality analysis of flour. Therefore, the second research study is to evaluate the effect of RF and extensive hot air oven processing on the quality and functionality of all-purposed flour.

Physicochemical Properties And Functionality Of Pardina Lentil, Navy Bean, Garbanzo Bean, And Split Pea Starches, Jenna Laughlin, Vermont Dia, Philipus Pangloli

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Alteration Of Potato Plastids As Platforms For Biotechnology And Synthetic Biology, Alexander C. Pfotenhauer

Doctoral Dissertations

Plastids represent a unique opportunity for plant biotechnology and synthetic biology. Their fundamental uses for photosynthesis, starch storage, and other processes can be exploited to benefit food production and other industries. In this work, we attempt to modulate these plastids in order to produce potato plants with beneficial characteristics for further use in synthetic biology. The first chapter of this dissertation involves genome-editing of the FtsZ1 gene, which is involved in plastid division. Plants were generated with large plastids and starch granules, and similar methods could be used to produce these plants without foreign DNA integration. The second chapter involves …

Anti-Inflammatory And Chemopreventive Activity Of Lunasin From Tofu Whey For The Management Of Gastrointestinal Diseases, Cindy Andrea Nieto Veloza

Doctoral Dissertations

Gastrointestinal diseases such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and colorectal cancer (CRC) are pathological conditions associated with chronic inflammation, characterized by intestinal damage, debilitating symptoms, and detrimental health consequences. The increased risk of CRC in IBD patients, and the adverse effects associated with current therapeutic strategies, point out the need for safer alternatives to reduce chronic inflammation in the bowel. Lunasin is a bioactive peptide naturally occurring in soybeans, with chemopreventive and anti-inflammatory properties demonstrated in several extra-intestinal diseases. However, to date, there is no evidence of the biological activity of lunasin on the gastrointestinal tract as a target site. …

Improving The Acidic Stability And Emulsifying Properties Of Casein Using Polysaccharides, Nan Li

Doctoral Dissertations

Caseins aggregate and precipitate at acidity near the isoelectric point of pH 4.6. As emulsifiers, the emulsifying and stabilizing properties of caseins are to be improved. Polysaccharides are commonly studied to improve the acid-stability and functional properties of caseins based on non-covalent and covalent interactions. The overall goal of this dissertation was to fabricate casein-polysaccharide nanocomplexes to improve the acid-stability of caseins, and conjugates to improve emulsifying properties of caseins. To prepare stable and translucent casein dispersions at pH 4.5, carboxylmethylcellulose (CMC), dextran sulfate (DS), and propylene glycol alginate (PGA) were studied individually to form casein-polysaccharide nanocomplexes following the pH-cycle …

Utilizing Synthetic Biology To Engineer Novel Plant Transcriptional Regulators For Precise Control Of Autoluminescent Plants, Dominique K. Reuter

Masters Theses

Plant transcription factors provide an opportunity for precise control of gene regulation at the transcriptional level. This research focuses on the validation and optimization of the Q-system, a novel plant transcriptional regulator capable of multigene activation and suppression. The ultimate goal of these developments is for the utilization of transcriptional regulation to develop inducible, luminescent plants. To highlight the developments necessary for this achievement, this research examines the history and current state of autoluminescent plants, to determine how the convergence of the Q-system and fungal luminescence system could generate inducible autoluminescent plants. These inducible, autoluminescent plants could be utilized to …

A Modular Cloning Toolbox For Chloroplast Metabolic Engineering, Alexander C. Pfotenhauer

Masters Theses

Plant synthetic biology is a rapidly evolving field with new tools constantly emerging to drive innovation. Of particular interest is the application of synthetic biology to chloroplast biotechnology to generate plants capable of producing new metabolites, vaccines, biofuels, and high-value chemicals. Progress made in the assembly of large DNA molecules, composing multiple transcriptional units, has significantly aided in the ability to rapidly construct novel vectors for genetic engineering. In particular, Golden Gate assembly has provided a facile molecular tool for standardized assembly of synthetic genetic elements into larger DNA constructs. In this work a complete modular chloroplast cloning system (MoChlo) …

Volume 17, Number 1 (Spring/Summer 2021), Ut Institute Of Agriculture

Tennessee Land, Life and Science Magazine

Issue Highlights:

• The four pillars of the Institute of Agriculture
• Alumna forges partnership amid Waldo Canyon fire
• Fishery biologists revive a river

Efficacy Of A Mushroom Derived Saltiness Enhancer In Increasing Saltiness And Consumer Acceptance In Low Sodium Applications, Lindsay Jenkinson

Masters Theses

The average American consumes sodium at excessive levels resulting in a multitude of adverse health effects. To reduce these risks, it is imperative to lower consumption rates. When sodium is reduced in a product, the main effect is decreased saltiness and often corresponds with reduced consumer acceptance. In addition to addressing the issue of sodium reduction, attenuating effects such as reduced consumer acceptance is also of importance.

Consuming and perceiving food is a multimodal experience, involving tastes, smells, and trigeminal sensations to produce a singular percept of flavor. This is an example of multisensory integration. When stimuli through different sensory …

Aroma Chemistry Of Daldinia Childiae Fermentation, Andrew Jason Moore

Masters Theses

An investigation to identify odorants responsible for a pleasant woody perfume-like aroma produced in the fermentation broth of the fungus Daldinia childiae (J.D. Rogers & Y.M. Ju) was conducted. Thirty odorants were identified from 30-day old fermentations employing solvent-assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE) and aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA). Eleven odorants with flavor dilution (FD) factors ≥ 16 were quantitated using stable isotope dilution assays (SIDA), and odor activity values (OAV) determined. Odorants with the highest OAVs included guai-11-en-10-ol (woody, OAV 102689), 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, OAV 9025), sotolon (maple, OAV 458), and (2E)-non-2-enal (fatty, OAV 70). An odor-simulation model formulated …

Enteric Biopolymer Composite Coatings To Enhance The Viability Of Powdered Probiotics During Preparation, Storage, And Simulated Digestions, Anyi Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

Due to suppressed metabolisms, powdered probiotics are generally more stable and more convenient for applications than the liquid form, but much work is needed to improve viability of powdered probiotics during processing, storage, and digestions. The goal of this dissertation was to fabricate delivery systems with an enteric biopolymer coating and a core of powdered probiotic ingredients. The principle of preparing powdered probiotics was to directly mix a concentrated cell suspension with hygroscopic food ingredient powders. Amorphous spray-dried lactose (SDL) was first studied to prepared powdered Lactobacillus salivarius NRRL B-30514 in chapter 2. A smaller amount of cell suspension resulted …

Microemulsions Of Cinnamon And Orange Oils As An Antimicrobial Delivery System For Salmonella Biofilms On Stainless Steel, Jennifer Vuia-Riser

Doctoral Dissertations

Essential oils (EOs) are natural antimicrobials that can be used to develop intervention strategies to inhibit pathogens, but EOs are lipophilic. Colloidal systems, such as microemulsions, are needed for food industry applications. This dissertation focused on the development and characterization of a microemulsion composed of cinnamon oil (CO, Cinnamomum zeylanicum) and orange oil (OO, Citrus sinensis) to be used against Salmonella Enteritidis H4267 biofilms formed on stainless steel disc surfaces.

First, the antimicrobial activity of CO and OO against S. Enteritidis H4267, either used in combination or in a microemulsion system, was determined. CO had a greater antimicrobial …

Volume 16, Number 1 (Spring/Summer 2020), Ut Institute Of Agriculture

Tennessee Land, Life and Science Magazine

Issue Highlights:

• The four pillars of the Institute of Agriculture
• Alumna forges partnership amid Waldo Canyon fire
• Fishery biologists revive a river

Volume 16, Number 2 (Fall/Winter 2020), Ut Institute Of Agriculture

Tennessee Land, Life and Science Magazine

Issue Highlights:

• The four pillars of the Institute of Agriculture
• Alumna forges partnership amid Waldo Canyon fire
• Fishery biologists revive a river

Volume 15, Number 1 (Spring/Summer 2019), Ut Institute Of Agriculture

Tennessee Land, Life and Science Magazine

Issue Highlights:

• The four pillars of the Institute of Agriculture
• Alumna forges partnership amid Waldo Canyon fire
• Fishery biologists revive a river

Developing A Hands-On Food Science Curriculum With Bilingual, Elementary-Aged, Hispanic Heritage Students, Jaime Leia Ragos

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

In the United States alone there are over 48 million cases of foodborne illness, with most of these cases deriving from food cooked in the home (Young 2016). Many themes have been assessed such as confidence, knowledge, habits, taste in food preferences, and societal/social influences (Young 2016). However, when food safety curricula are targeted toward younger populations, including young adults and children, attitudes and behavior change (Mullan 2018 and Young 2016). As there is a lack in home economics education in today’s current curriculum, students and their families may not know food safety behaviors (Finch 2005; Young 2016). It has …

Developing A Hands-On Food Science Curriculum With Bilingual Elementary-Aged Hispanic Heritage Students, Jaime Leia Ragos

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Volume 15, Number 2 (Fall/Winter 2019), Ut Institute Of Agriculture

Tennessee Land, Life and Science Magazine

Issue Highlights:

• The four pillars of the Institute of Agriculture
• Alumna forges partnership amid Waldo Canyon fire
• Fishery biologists revive a river

Volume 14, Number 1 (Spring/Summer 2018), Ut Institute Of Agriculture

Tennessee Land, Life and Science Magazine

Issue Highlights:

• The four pillars of the Institute of Agriculture
• Alumna forges partnership amid Waldo Canyon fire
• Fishery biologists revive a river

Impact Of Ultrasonication On Physicochemical Properties And Digestibility Of Sorghum Starch, Zhihong Wang

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

Sorghum, a highly nutritious grain, is usually not considered as a main staple in many families because it is not as easy to be digested as other grains such as rice or maize. But recent studies of ultrasonication shed a light on potential utilization of this world’s fifth important cereal other than being raw material source of biofuel or liquor. This experiment was meant to compare the differences between unsonicated and sonicated sorghum starch in terms of their physical chemical properties and digestion ability. Despite their similarities in shapes under microscopes and their thermal properties, but sonicated sorghum starch was …

Bg-4, A Bioactive Peptide From Momordica Charantia, Promotes Apoptosis In Ovarian Cancer Cells, Ashley D. Bloom

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

Momordica charantia is a perennial plant with reported health benefits. Food-derived molecules, like the novel peptide BG-4 found in Momordica charantia, have been shown to have anticancer properties by promoting apoptosis in colon cancer cells. Ovarian cancer (OVCA) is the deadliest form of all gynecological cancers. The high fatality rate of OVCA is due to late presentation of the disease, cancer persistence, and recurrence in patients. The objective of this study was to determine the ability of BG-4 to cause cytotoxicity to ovarian cancer cells (A27801AP and COV318) and determine the mechanism involved by measuring proteins associated with apoptosis. …

Transcriptomic Analysis Of Salmonella Enterica Newport Adaptive Response To Oxidative Antimicrobials, Dara Melanie Smith

Masters Theses

Agricultural water systems are a known potential source for contamination of fresh produce with foodborne pathogens including Listeria monocytogenes, pathogenic Escherichia coli, as well as Salmonella enterica strains. To reduce this associated risk, antimicrobials such as hypochlorite compounds and peroxyracetic acid (PAA) have been utilized as in-line irrigation disinfectants and as post-harvest treatments. These treatments are considered effective and commonly used; however, pathogenic microbes like Salmonella have the ability to adapt to many environmental conditions. Adaptive response to environmental factors like oxidative conditions, contributes to transfer, attachment, and resilience of Salmonella on surfaces. Through RNA sequencing and analysis …