Master of Science / Department of Computing and Information Sciences / Daniel Andresen / FNPRS program offers nutrition education all over the counties in Kansas. It is necessary to keep track of the budget expenses for the program, resources used and many other parameters involved in the program. There exist number of commodities and products in the process of educating people. Research is needed to determine which value-added products or processes are economically possible and what percentage of it is accepted by people. For these issues, it is very important to maintain this information in a database and generate reports accordingly. The aim of the project is to create a web interface for users to enter the program information regarding the various programs conducted by Family Nutrition Program. The various kinds of data include information about the budget for the program, information about the various collaborating agencies, various kinds of resources used, services provided, proposed equipment and travel funds etc. Users for this application are county agents who take the responsibility of conducting the program and managing their data. Creating a web interface provides a solution to facilitate the agents to manage their data more efficiently and to monitor their records on a day to day basis. It also aims for generating reports for Family Nutrition Program in order to keep a check over their advancements in the program. This project involves handling of various kinds of information such as FNP Proposals, Agent information, FNP Funds, Collaborating Agencies. Database maintenance is made simple thereby allowing the administrators to add as much as data possible and manage accordingly.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Grain Science and Industry / Yong-Cheng Shi / Wheat bran is high in dietary fiber. Resistant starch (RS) is considered a source of dietary fiber. Wheat bran and RS have different functional properties and may not have the same nutritional properties. This dissertation covers two areas of importance in cereal chemistry and human nutrition: wheat bran and RS. Wheat bran chemical and physical influence of nutritional components Wheat bran has become a hot topic due to positive nutritional correlations, and industrial /humanitarian needs for healthy ingredients. Evolving wheat bran into a demanded product would impact the industry in a positive way. The overall aim of this research was to understand chemical and structural composition, to provide avenues for wheat bran development as a healthy food ingredient. To achieve this goal, antioxidant properties in dry wheat milling fractions were examined, effects of wheat bran particle size on phytochemical extractability and properties were measured, and substrate fermentation was investigated. It was noted that mixed mill streams, such as mill feed, have antioxidant properties (0.78 mg FAE/g; 1.28 mg/g total antioxidant capacity; 75.21% DPPH inhibition; 278.97 [mu]mol FeSO[subscript]4/g) originating from the bran and germ fractions. Additionally, extraction of reduced particle size whole wheat bran increased measured values for several assays (185.96 [mu]g catechin/g; 36.6 [mu]g/g; 425 [mu]M TE), but did not increase volatile fatty acid production during in vitro rumen fermentation over unmilled bran. RS digestion, glycemic response and human fermentation In vitro action of enzymes on digestion of maize starches differing in amylose contents were studied. The objectives of this study were to investigate the exact role of [alpha]-amylase and amyloglucosidase in determining the digestibility of starch and to understand the mechanism of enzymatic actions on starch granules. Starch digestibility differed (30-60%) without combination of enzymes during in vitro assay. Further investigations utilized human glycemic response and fermentation with consumption of a type 3 RS without dietary fiber (AOAC method 991.43). Blood glucose response provided lower postprandial curves (glycemic index value of 21) and breath hydrogen curves displayed low incidences fermentation (40%) with consumption of the type 3 RS, due to the structure of starch and digestion by enzymatic action.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Hospitality Management and Dietetics / Elizabeth B. Barrett / Rebecca A. Gould / Equipment to store foods at proper temperatures is critical to serving safe and nutritious meals in schools yet little is known about the amount or the adequacy of refrigerated storage in school nutrition programs. The purposes of this study were to identify the types and capacity of refrigeration equipment used in schools, determine the perceived adequacy of refrigerated storage capacity to meet new meal pattern requirements, and examine differences in adequacy and capacity. A modified Delphi technique, site observations, pilot study, and electronic survey were used for data collection. School nutrition directors in the USDA/FNS Southwest Region (N=2392) served as the population. Respondents provided an inventory of refrigeration equipment for one of the schools in their district and information about perceived adequacy of refrigerated storage, barriers to purchasing refrigeration equipment, resources used to develop specifications, and practices to compensate for inadequate refrigerated storage in their program. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, independent sample t-tests, regression, and ANOVA. Over a third of directors indicated that refrigerated equipment was inadequate to meet new meal pattern requirements. Directors with more experience rated adequacy higher than directors with less experience. Milk coolers (n=212, 88.3%) and walk-in freezers (n=180, 75.0%) were the types of refrigeration equipment found most often in schools. Walk-in freezers and refrigerators provided over 95% of refrigerated storage space. The mean average cubic feet of refrigerated storage per school was 1423±1152. School enrollment is a significant predictor of refrigerated storage capacity. Refrigerated storage is a concern for school nutrition directors who reported practices to compensate for inadequate storage including maintaining low inventory and decreasing the number of items purchased. School nutrition professionals may use the results of this study to implement practices to compensate for inadequate refrigerated storage. Results cannot be generalized due to the regional nature of the survey and low response rate and possible non-response bias.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Animal Sciences and Industry / Evan C. Titgemeyer / Previous data suggest that greater amounts of postruminal protein increase small intestinal starch digestion in cattle. Duodenally and ileally cannulated steers were used in 5 studies to measure responses in small intestinal starch digestion to amino acids (AA) or casein. Flows of starch to the ileum from the diet were small. Small intestinal starch digestibility was 34.0% when raw cornstarch was continuously infused into the duodenum. Infusion of casein linearly increased (P ≤ 0.05) small intestinal starch digestibility, and small intestinal starch digestion adapted to infusion of casein in 6 d. Ethanol-soluble starch and unpolymerized glucose flowing to the ileum increased linearly (P ≤ 0.05) with increasing infusion of casein. Plasma cholecystokinin was not affected by casein infusion, but circulating levels of glucose increased linearly (P ≤ 0.05). In another study, 5 steers were fed a low-starch diet and provided continuous duodenal infusion of raw cornstarch in combination with AA or casein in order to measure response of small intestinal starch digestion. Duodenal infusion of casein increased (P ≤ 0.05) small intestinal starch digestion. When a mixture of AA with a profile similar to casein (CASAA) was infused, small intestinal starch digestion was similar (P = 0.30) to casein infusion. Infusion of only non-essential AA tended to increase (P = 0.14) small intestinal starch digestion relative to control; however, infusion of essential AA alone did not affect (P = 0.84) small intestinal starch digestion. Additionally, infusion of casein or essential AA increased ileal flows of ethanol-soluble starch, but non-essential AA alone were not different than the negative control. Duodenal infusion of Glu increased (P ≤ 0.05) small intestinal starch digestion, whereas a mixture of Phe, Trp, and Met (PTM) did not. Neither Glu nor PTM increased ileal flow of ethanol-soluble starch, but Glu and PTM provided together tended (P = 0.07) to increase ileal flows of ethanol-soluble starch. Our data suggest that Glu alone can increase small intestinal starch digestion in cattle similar to casein, but increases in small intestinal starch digestion in response to Glu are not associated with an increase in ileal flows of ethanol-soluble starch.

Master of Science / Department of Animal Sciences and Industry / Micheal J. Brouk / The study objective was to evaluate the application of supplemental rumen-protected lysine (RP Lys) to maintain milk production when reducing the crude protein levels in a lactating dairy cow diet. Twelve lactating multiparous Holstein cows, averaging 129 DIM, 50.2 kg milk yield, 3.6% fat and 2.9% true protein were randomly assigned to one of four 3x3 Latin squares. Each 14-d period had 11 d for adaptation followed by 3 d of data collection. Cows were offered one of three experimental treatment rations formulated with CPM Dairy (v3.0); Positive control (PC) — formulated to meet all nutrient requirements; Test diet (Test) — negative control diet formulated to meet nutrient requirements, except deficient in metabolizable protein (MP) (approximately 200 g/d) and first limiting in metabolizable Lys (approximately 10 g/d); and Test+RPL — same basal diet as negative control + RP-Lys to provide 14.5 g/d of MP-Lys. For Test+RPL, 45g of RP-Lys (AminoShure-L®; Balchem Corp., New Hampton, NY, containing 23.4g Lys) was top-dressed on the TMR once daily. The PC diet resulted in lower dry matter intake (P = 0.03) as compared to either the Test or Test+RPL diet. PC, Test, and Test+RPL cows averaged 42.6, 42.9, 43.6 kg/d of milk and 27.3, 28.4, 28.8 kg/d of DMI, respectively. Crude protein intake for the PC, Test, and Test+RPL diets was 4.83, 4.67, and 4.74 kg/d respectively. MUN decreased (P < 0.01) for cows on Test and Test+RPL diets as compared to PC diet (12.5, 12.5 and 14.9 mg/dL, respectively). Milk yield, milk components, milk component yields, FCM, ECM, SCM and production efficiencies (milk, ECM, SCM and FCM) did not differ (P > 0.05) among treatments. A post-study CPM Dairy evaluation using final chemical composition analyses of the feedstuffs and average production data from the animals predicted that diets supported more than 47 kg of milk and Lys was not limiting. Cows on the study produced slightly less milk, however DMI was 5-8% more than predicted by initial formulations. Formulation accuracy of the MP and Lys deficient diet may have been improved if data had been available from an initial adjustment period measuring DMI, body weight, milk yield and milk composition. It is also possible that the bioavailability of the RP Lys was not as great as thought during the diet formulation process. However, given the fact that the post-trial CPM analysis did not indicate a deficiency of Lys, it is not very likely that this impacted the results of this trial.

Master of Science / Department of Animal Sciences and Industry / Jim Nelssen / Six experiments using 3,659 nursery and finishing pigs were conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary soybean hulls and ingredient processing in corn-soybean meal or corn-soybean meal-DDGS diets on nursery and finishing performance. Experiment 1 tested increasing soybean hulls (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20%) and increasing soybean hulls decreased ADG and G:F. Experiment 2 evaluated increasing soybean hulls (0, 10, and 20%) in diets balanced or not for NE and showed reduced performance with increasing soybean hulls. Balancing for NE resulted in G:F similar to pigs fed the control. Experiments 3 and 4 evaluated increasing dietary soybean hulls in corn-soybean meal and corn-soybean meal-DDGS diets. Soybean hulls in either diet worsened G:F and improved caloric efficiency, suggesting current INRA (2004) values for soybean hulls underestimate their energy value. Experiment 5 evaluated 10 and 20% ground or unground soybean hulls in meal and pelleted diets. Caloric efficiency improved with high levels of soybean hulls. Pelleting improved ADG and eliminated negative effects on G:F with increasing soybean hulls, while grinding soybean hulls reduced performance. Experiment 6 tested increasing ground and unground soybean hulls (0, 7.5, and 15%). Increasing soybean hulls worsened G:F, carcass yield, and hot carcass weight. Grinding soybean hulls to finer particle sizes did not improve ADG and worsened G:F. Experiments 7 and 8 evaluated the replacement of corn with wheat and crystalline amino acids in nursery and finishing pig diets. Replacing 50% of corn with wheat did not affect growth performance in either nursery or finishing; however 100% replacement of corn with wheat reduced performance. In addition, feeding wheat improved carcass fat IV, while use of high levels of crystalline amino acids in wheat-based diets did not influence performance in either study. Experiment 9 evaluated the replacement of soybean meal with high-protein dried distiller’s grains with solubles and crystalline amino acids. High-protein DDGS and crystalline AA can replace 50% of the SBM in finishing diets without negatively affecting performance or carcass yield. Replacing 100% of SBM with high-protein DDGS reduced growth rate, but increasing crystalline AA levels can help mitigate negative effects on carcass yield and fat IV.

Master of Science / Department of Animal Sciences and Industry / Evan C. Titgemeyer / Seven ruminally cannulated heifers approximately 225 kg initial BW were used in a 7 × 4 Youden square design to determine the effects of different levels of limonene on ruminal Fusobacterium necrophorum populations. Treatments included: 1) control, 2) limonene at10 mg/kg diet DM, 3) limonene at 20 mg/kg diet DM, 4) limonene at 40 mg/kg diet DM, 5) limonene at 80 mg/kg diet DM, 6) CRINA-L (a blend of essential oil components) at 180 mg/kg diet DM, 7) tylosin at 12 mg/kg diet DM. Each period included 11 d with 10 d washouts between periods. Samples were collected on d 0 (before treatment initiation), 4, 7, and 10 for measuring F. necrophorum by most probable number (MPN) method using selective culture medium. Results indicate that CRINA-L (P = 0.52) and tylosin (P = 0.19) did not affect ruminal F. necrophorum populations. Limonene linearly decreased (P = 0.03) F. necrophorum populations, and the optimal dietary concentration for limonene was 40 mg/kg DM. Limonene did not affect ruminal degradation rate of lysine, NH3 concentration, or VFA profiles in ruminal fluid. Limonene was useful for reducing ruminal concentrations of F. necrophorum. It may have potential to control liver abscesses, although further research will be needed to assess the effect of limonene under feedlot conditions.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Hospitality Management and Dietetics / Junehee Kwon / The purpose of this study was to assess the food choices and consumption of soldiers and their satisfaction with current and initial military training (IMT) menu standards through a survey and analysis of food selection and consumption. Participants were recruited during lunch periods before and three weeks after implementing IMT menu standards, which are healthier than current menu standards, in an Army dining facility (DFAC). Direct observations, digital photography, and plate waste methods were used to assess soldiers’ food selection and consumption. A survey was also administered to determine soldiers’ attitudes toward health, nutrition knowledge, reported food selection and consumption behaviors, and overall satisfaction with meals served under the two menu standards. Food selection and consumption were evaluated using the Army’s Go for Green Nutrition Labeling Program and the Military Dietary Reference Intakes (MDRIs). Descriptive and inferential statistics were calculated to summarize and compare data, and to identify potential associations among variables. A total of 172 and 140 soldiers participated before and after the menu change, respectively. Soldiers’ food selection patterns were similar to the proportion of green-, yellow-, and red-labeled items offered in the DFAC under both menu standards and significantly improved after the intervention (p<0.001). Soldiers consumed 886 kcal (38.6% from total fat and 11.2% from saturated fat) and 1784 mg of sodium before the menu change. Three weeks after the change, all figures improved (705 kcals, 31% of kcals from total and 9% from saturated fat, and 1339 mg of sodium) (p<0.01). Overall satisfaction and meal acceptability before and after the intervention were not different, and “food appeal” ratings actually improved. With the exception of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, attitudes toward health were significantly associated with all reported food behaviors (p<0.01) but not with actual behaviors (p>0.05). Nutrition knowledge significantly influenced some but not all aspects related to attitudes toward health. Perceived hunger levels were positively associated with intakes of calories, protein, total fat, sodium, and cholesterol (p<0.05). Findings suggest that implementing the IMT menu standards in non-trainee Army DFACs is feasible and has the potential to improve the overall healthfulness of soldiers’ food selection and consumption.

Master of Science / Department of Human Nutrition / Tandalayo Kidd / Objective: The aims of this study were to test the effectiveness of a 15-month intervention in reducing sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption among college students and to assess fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity habits and their relationship to SSB consumption in order to improve health outcomes. Design: Randomized, controlled study. Participants: One hundred and fifty-six college students (18-24 y) from a Midwestern university, primarily female (72%), white (89%) and freshmen (51%). Intervention: Participants were randomized to control and intervention groups. Participants in the control group received no information on healthful behaviors. The intervention occurred in two stages: 1) Participants received three stage-tailored messages on healthful behaviors weekly for 10 weeks; 2) After the 3-month physical assessment, participants received 3 stage-tailored messages monthly and one email encouraging them to visit the portal page. Main Outcome Measure(s): Stages of Change for physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake; self-reported physical activity scores, self-reported fruit and vegetable intake and SSB consumption habits. Analysis: Changes in SSB consumption patterns were determined using generalized linear mixed models and linear regression models tested associations between fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity and SSB consumption. Linear mixed models were used to explore relationship between stage of change and fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity. Results: The 15-month intervention did not significantly reduce SSB consumption in the intervention group (p > 0.05). Participants recorded low fruit and vegetable intake and moderate physical activity scores. Conclusions and Implications: The high SSB consumption and low fruit and vegetable intake observed could increase students’ risk for weight gain and obesity-related conditions. Thus, college campuses can help student maintain physical activity behavior while helping them to improve their eating habits.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Human Nutrition / Mark D. Haub / Background: Dietary fiber has been shown to help improve several metabolic disorders including obesity and type II diabetes. However, the mechanism by which this occurs is poorly understood. Purpose: This study was designed to compare the effects of energy restriction and dietary fiber and subsequent production of short chain fatty acids on body composition, biomarkers of health, and hepatic and myocellular expression of key regulators of lipid metabolism Methods: Crossbred gilts (n=17) were randomly assigned to either a control (CON), high fiber (HF) or energy restricted (ER) diet for 42 days. Gilts on the CON and HF diets were fed ad libitum. The ER Gilts were pair fed HF gilts and matched for body weight gain. Blood samples were collected and glucose, insulin, triglycerides, non-esterified fatty acids and short chain fatty acids (SCFA) concentrations were measured. Liver and muscle tissue were biopsied and expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gama (PGC-1α) and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT1) were determined via RT-PCR. Results: HF gilts had significantly higher plasma TG and lower NEFA concentrations when compared to the CON and ER. The HF diet elicited a significant increase in all plasma SCFA concentrations. No differences in fold change of myocyte CPT1 and PGC-1α mRNA expression were found while they tended to be lower in hepatic samples of the HF gilts. HF gilts also had a lower (P < 0.05) back fat thickness when compared to the ER even though energy intakes were similar. Minimal changes were observed in fasting glucose and insulin as a result of diet. Conclusions: Gilts consuming a diet high in dietary fiber (DF) significantly altered their plasma lipid profiles independently to that of energy restriction and body weight and appears to be a result of plasma SCFA concentration. DF and/or SCFA appear to have minimal affects on CPT1 and PGC-1α in the liver and muscle of gilts.