Nutrition Commons^™

An Analysis On How Housing Status Influences The Gut-Brain-Axis For Populations In And Around The Skid Row Area Of Los Angeles, California, Mauricio Guzman

Pitzer Senior Theses

Over recent years, the “microbiota-gut-brain axis” (MGBA) has garnered significant attention in the scientific community. Specifically, perturbations of the MGBA via stress and dietary intake have been linked to a wide-range of diseases including gastrointestinal diseases, metabolic diseases, mood disorders, and cognitive diseases. However, most studies have been solely conducted on mice models and have yet to consider the more complex, intricate systems that impact the human body. In addition, researchers have yet to consider the populations who may be most susceptible to chronic stress and negative dietary outcomes. Drawing from the fields of medical sociology, non-invasive human biology, and …

Examining The Utility Of A Kentucky Fcs Cooperative Extension Curriculum On Community Members’ Healthy And Sustainable Diet-Related Behaviors, Catharine Pickford

Theses and Dissertations--Nutrition and Food Systems

Experts recommend individuals adopt healthy and sustainable dietary behaviors to improve human and environmental health. The objective of this study was to pilot a sustainable eating Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Cooperative Extension curriculum and evaluate the effectiveness of the lesson series by measuring participants’ changes in knowledge, perceptions, and intentions towards healthy and sustainable dietary behaviors as well as overall satisfaction with lessons. A five-lesson sustainable eating curriculum was developed with topics focused on: reducing food waste; eating more seasonal, local plant-based foods; varying protein sources; maintaining energy balance; and consuming fewer highly processed and packaged foods. To assess …

Relationships Between Behavior, Energy Metabolites, And Corticosterone In Black-Legged Kittiwake (Rissa Tridactyla) Nestlings, Sierra Pete

Master’s Theses

Birds can cope with energy-shifting challenges by redirecting energy and behavior to maintain energetic homeostasis. Nestlings allocate energy to support their rapid growth and developmental period; thus, their challenges and the subsequent energetic demands can be much different than an adult. At a baseline level, energy is constantly shifting in response to regularly occurring challenges; however, more substantial challenges can initiate the production of glucocorticoid hormones. In birds, the main glucocorticoid is corticosterone. Corticosterone is believed to aid in energy homeostasis by redirecting energy metabolite mobilization. Energy metabolites are intermediaries or end products of cellular metabolism, thus, metabolites like glucose …

Alzheimer’S Disease Genetics And Short-Chain Fatty Acid Treatment In Studies Of The Murine Gut Microbiome, Diana Zajac

Theses and Dissertations--Physiology

Elucidating the relationship of the gut microbiome in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) risk and pathogenesis is an area of intense interest. Since 60 to 80% of AD risk is related to genetics and APOE alleles represent the most impactful genetic risk factors for AD, their mechanism(s) of action are under intense scrutiny.

First, I conducted a study on APOE targeted replacement mice to investigate the impact of APOE alleles on the murine gut microbiome. The relative abundance of bacteria from the family Ruminococacceae and related genera increased with APOE2 status. The relative abundance of the class Erysipelotrichia increased with APOE4 status, …

Risk Of Low Energy Availability, Disordered Eating, And Menstrual Dysfunction In Female Collegiate Runners, Leah Louise Dambacher

All Master's Theses

Collegiate female distance runners may be at risk for low energy availability (LEA) due to increased exercise energy expenditure with or without decreased energy intake. Furthermore, this population has increased risk of disordered eating (DE), which can lead to LEA and negative health consequences, such as menstrual dysfunction (MD). Purpose: The purpose of this study was to: 1) investigate risk of LEA and DE and 2) compare DE, training volume, and weight dissatisfaction among female collegiate runners athletes at risk vs not at risk for LEA. Methods: Female runners (n = 287) who competed on an NCAA Division …

Impact Of The Washington State Covid-19 Lockdown On 5-10-Year-Ol School-Aged Children Residing In Kitties County, Peyton Rondeau

All Master's Theses

Background: The Washington State COVID-19 lockdown and subsequent school closures brought increased dependency on parents to provide nutritious meals and opportunities for physical activity for their children.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe the impacts of the Washington State COVID-19 lockdown on the dietary, physical activity, and screen time habits of children ages 5-10-years-old residing in Kittitas County.

Methods: A researcher-developed Qualtrics survey was created and validated via the Index of Item Objective Congruence. The survey was administered to parents via Facebook, using local Kittitas County Facebook groups.

Results: Most parents identified that the Washington lockdown negatively …

I2n: Image To Nutrients, A Sensor Guided Semi-Automated Tool For Annotation Of Images For Nutrition Analysis Of Eating Episodes, Tonmoy Ghosh, Megan A Mccrory, Tyson Marden, Janine Higgins, Alex Kojo Anderson, Christabel Ampong Domfe, Wenyan Jia, Benny Lo, Gary Frost, Matilda Steiner-Asiedu, Tom Baranowski, Mingui Sun, Edward Sazonov

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Introduction: Dietary assessment is important for understanding nutritional status. Traditional methods of monitoring food intake through self-report such as diet diaries, 24-hour dietary recall, and food frequency questionnaires may be subject to errors and can be time-consuming for the user.

Methods: This paper presents a semi-automatic dietary assessment tool we developed - a desktop application called Image to Nutrients (I2N) - to process sensor-detected eating events and images captured during these eating events by a wearable sensor. I2N has the capacity to offer multiple food and nutrient databases (e.g., USDA-SR, FNDDS, USDA Global Branded Food Products Database) for annotating eating …

Small Bowel Obstruction In Postpartum Vaginal Delivery Due To Prior Abdominal Adhesions Case Report, Liubin Yang, Lydia Kao

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Intestinal obstruction rarely occurs after uncomplicated vaginal deliveries. Here, we present a case of a multiparous woman with a history of prior appendectomy presenting with generalized, nonspecific abdominal pain that was out of proportion to exam findings. Initial abdominal X-ray was nonspecific, and subsequent computed tomography (CT) abdomen showed closed small bowel obstruction requiring surgical repair. We present a case of intestinal obstruction occurring within 24 hours of uncomplicated vaginal delivery with a risk factor of a prior appendectomy surgery and the use of CT abdomen and pelvis to expedite diagnose.

Commentary: Effect Evaluation Of Sahtak Bi Sahnak, A Lebanese Secondary School-Based Nutrition Intervention: A Cluster Randomised Trial, Abu Bakkar Siddique, Andrew W Brown, Lilian Golzarri-Arroyo, David B Allison

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Curriculum Strategy To Increase College Student’S Motivation, Ability And Opportunity Resulting In Reduction In Wasted Food, Sarah D. Brunnig

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Concerns about Food Loss and Waste (FLW) have been rapidly growing worldwide as it came to be understood how the loss of about one-third of the edible food produced globally leads to environmental damage, leads to loss of about USD 1 trillion and keeps food from hungry people. Consumers in developed countries account for the largest majority of food that is wasted. College presents an excellent opportunity to reach young adults as they are developing their identity, self-efficacy and life skills. Utilizing the Motivation-Ability-Opportunity Framework, this research’s overall goal was to find a Curriculum Strategy to engage allied health students …

The Impact Of Universal Free Meals During Covid-19 On Family Life And Perspective Of School Meals In Central Washington State, Charlotte Green

All Master's Theses

This study explored the impact of the USDA COVID-19 Universal Free Meal (UFM) waivers on family life, school meal participation, and child eating habits from parents with children in Central Washington state (WA) schools. n = 119 parents/caregivers with students who were in K-12^th grade in Central WA from August 2019-February 2023 completed a 10 question electronic, and descriptive survey. The survey measured changes in participation in school lunch/breakfast pre to post COVID-19 waiver, which provided free meals for all children, and whether UFM were beneficial to families, impacted perception of school food, child’s sense of community at school …

The Inverse Association Between Prebiotic Consumption And Depression Status In American Adult Females, But Not The Greater Population Or In Males: Nhanes 2015-2018, Cassandra L. Boyd

Master's Theses

It is unknown if a relationship exists between prebiotic intake and depression status. Using 2015-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey cycles data, adult American estimated mean daily prebiotic intake across demographic groups, gender, and depression status were reported. Additionally, the 10 highest prebiotic content Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies foods were identified. Adults (≥ 18 years) with adequate sleep and at least one day of dietary recall data were included. Participants with excessive alcohol intake, BMI ≤ 18, BMI ≥ 30, or current depression medication use were excluded. The confounding variables were inadequate sleep, unemployment, and age. …

Addition Of Apple Pomace To Feeding Substrate On Growth, Development, And Survival Rates Of Yellow Mealworms (Tenebrio Molitor) And Characterization Of Their Proteins Extracted By A Ph-Shift Process, Michelle Duvall

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The weight changes, survival/mortality rates, and proximate compositions of Tenebrio molitor (yellow mealworm) larvae whose diets were supplemented with apple pomace were analyzed after a 4-week feeding study to examine the nutritional quality of the insects for use as a future potential food source. Going forward, the terms “mealworm(s)”, "yellow mealworm(s)”, “T. molitor” will be used interchangeably and will always refer to the same species. The mealworm larvae were randomly divided into two groups: in addition to standard worm chow, one group was given 15 g/week of non-nutritive water-storing polymer crystals and the other was given apple pomace …

Food Fan Academy: Boosting Informal Educators Abilities To Use Food As A Teaching Tool, Kelly Furr

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Introduction: Food, fitness, and nutrition (FAN) professional development (PD) for informal educators can serve to impact science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics, and medicine (STEAM+M) learning environments. Using food as a teaching tool in shaping the development of informal educators and education of students offers a unique opportunity for the acquisition of scientific knowledge and essential skills. The purpose of this study was to develop a Food FAN Academy for informal educators and evaluate the effectiveness of the PD. Methods: Case study method was utilized for the research study and the Food FAN Academy PD was a two-hour session designed in …

Effectiveness Of The Catch (Coordinated Approach To Child’S Health) Rainbow Program In Elementary Schools For Change In Fruit And Vegetable Intake, Ashley M. Valinskas

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Background: There is currently a lack of nutrition education programs that effectively increase fruit and vegetable (FV) intake among children. Not meeting the recommendations for fruits and vegetables increases the risk for poor academic achievement, obesity, and chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, asthma, and more. Nutrition, cooking, and gardening lessons individually and together have shown to increase fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption in school-aged children.Methods: Two-Hundred Twenty-five 4th and 5th graders participated in six cooking and six gardening lessons between September 2021 and May 2022 at Genoa Elementary school. Each nutrition education session was 25-minutes long, …

Site-Specific Analysis Of The Incidence Rate Of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia Coli Infection Elucidates An Association With Childhood Stunting, Wasting, And Being Underweight: A Secondary Analysis Of The Mal-Ed Birth Cohort, Ahshanul Haque, Sabiha Nasrin, Parag Palit, Rina Das, Barbie Zaman Wahid, Amran Gazi, Mustafa Mahfuz, Abu Syed Golam Faruque, Tahmeed Ahmed

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Asymptomatic infection by fecal enteropathogens is a major contributor to childhood malnutrition. Here, we investigated the incidence rate of asymptomatic infection by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) and assessed its association with childhood stunting, wasting, and being underweight among children under 2 years of age. The Malnutrition and Enteric Disease birth cohort study included 1,715 children who were followed from birth to 24 months of age from eight distinct geographic locations including Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Peru, Tanzania, Pakistan, Nepal, and South Africa. The TaqMan array card assay was used to determine the presence of ETEC in the nondiarrheal stool samples collected …

Contents, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Dean, Jean-Francois Meullenet

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Faculty Editor, Beth Kegley

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Featured Faculty Mentor/Student Team, Gisela Erf, Alessandro Rocchi

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.