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Vegetarian Menu Substitution Practices and Nutrition Professionals' Involvement in the Foodservice Operations of Urban Kansas Childcare Centers
Get PDFMethods: An online questionnaire was sent to 155 urban Kansas childcare centers participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Initial survey distribution occurred on March 7, 2020, and responses were collected through August 2020. Results: Representatives from (N=85) childcare centers answered the survey, resulting in a response rate of 54.8%. When asked how frequently a vegetarian alternative was offered in lieu of the standard meal, 32.9% (n=28) answered “1-2 times/week”, 3.5% (n=3) answered “three times/week”, 15.3% (n=13) answered “four-five times/week”, and 41.2% (n=35) indicated they “never provide a vegetarian alternative”. Multiple centers reported routinely serving a vegetarian meal as the main meal center wide. One in four respondents (n=21) was unsure if vegetarian meals could qualify for CACFP reimbursement. When asked to indicate the credentials of the individuals involved in their centers’ menu process and/or foodservice operations, the most frequently cited credentials were the CACFP Child Nutrition Professional (CCNP), the CACFP Management Professional (CMP), and the School Nutrition Specialist (SNS) credentials which accounted for (n=11), (n=7), and (n=5) responses respectively. Over a third of the centers (36.4%, n=31) reported that their menus were written by the owner or an operations team member, and only 5.9% (n=5) reported menus being written by a dietitian/nutritionist. Application To Child Nutrition Professionals: The majority of the centers provided a vegetarian alternative at least once a week. However, the lack of confidence surrounding CACFP reimbursement for vegetarian meals highlights an important knowledge gap. In addition, many of the centers’ menus were written by the owner or an operations team member suggesting an underutilization of the expertise nutrition professionals have to offer
Revealing community cultural wealth through counterstories: a narrative analysis of first-generation mujeres in a predominantly white-serving institution
Get PDFDoctor of EducationDepartment of Curriculum and InstructionSpencer ClarkUtilizing a Critical Race Theory foundation, a Latino Critical Race Theory focus, and a Community Cultural Wealth lens, this assets-based qualitative study examined the counterstories of four first-generation women (mujeres) attending a predominantly white-serving institution in the Midwest. The increasing number of first-generation students pursuing higher education provides an opportunity to assess systems in place for recruiting, retaining, and serving first-generation students. This study presents the need to shift from a deficit perspective when working with first-generation students to an assets-based perspective that centers and values the voices of historically-excluded students, seeing the importance of their experiential knowledge. Interviews and journal entries were used to collect counterstories that focused on the six forms of capital outlined in community cultural wealth: aspirational capital (hopes and dreams), linguistic capital (intellectual and social skills), familial capital (cultural knowledge), social capital (networks of people and community resources), navigational capital (maneuvering through social institutions), and resistant capital (knowledge and skills forged through oppositional behavior). The data collected supported the six priori themes based on the six forms of capital in community cultural wealth, additional themes identified supported the link between representation and validation of historically-excluded populations as a path towards graduation
Teaching With Data in the Social Sciences at Kansas State University: How Can K-State Libraries Support Undergraduate Instruction?
Get PDFK-State Libraries established a local research team to partner with Ithaka S+R on their multi-institutional study on teaching with data in the social sciences. The project was developed to gather information about how undergraduate instructors in the social sciences taught with and about quantitative data. The team hoped to establish baseline knowledge of faculty needs when teaching with data in order to inform our development of research data services. While this report focused on our institution, we hope the recommendations will be useful for librarians at other institutions as well.
A previous version of this work had been made available in September 2021
Genomic tools for exploiting germplasm resources to improve grain attributes in sorghum: A case of Ethiopian sorghum germplasm collection
Get PDFDoctor of PhilosophyDepartment of AgronomyTesfaye T. TessoSorghum is a primary source of diet for millions of people living in the semi-arid regions of Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Due to its immense resilience, sorghum stands as the crop of choice in the face of climate change that has already been causing widespread crop failures. However, the low nutritional quality of sorghum has negatively impacted its use and marketability relative to other cereals. Given the vast untapped germplasm resources for the species, opportunities exist to exploit beneficial alleles that may be of value to tackle challenges related to sorghum production and utilization. The current work is focused on exploring germplasm resources from one of the most significant sources of diversity, Ethiopia, to lay the scientific basis for genetic improvement of sorghum nutritional traits with emphasis on protein and the role of grain physicochemical attributes on adaptation behavior of the species. The work is presented in four chapters. The first chapter deals with a review of background information on the nutritional attributes of cereals emphasizing on challenges and opportunities for improving protein content; the second part investigates the pattern of adaptation of sorghum across Ethiopia’s diverse agroecology in view of bioclimatic factors vis-a-vis grain physicochemical attributes and genomic profile; the third chapter explores the power of genomics for mining germplasm resources in gene banks; the last chapter focuses on the impact of grain pre-treatment on bio-availability of proteins from a fermented sorghum food product.
In the second chapter, after the background review, the hypothesis that environmental factors shape sorghum grain attributes was tested using more than 1500 Ethiopian landraces. We utilized phenotype-environment and genome-environment associations to support the thesis. The phenotype-environment association supports the hypothesis that tannin presence, grain weight, kernel hardness, and panicle compactness are all associated with historic precipitation gradient. The correlation pattern revealed by principal component analysis fits the expectation that grain attributes that favor grain-related diseases, such as compact panicles, were mainly concentrated in drier areas. In contrast, traits like tannin presence and loose panicle dominate high precipitation areas. Moreover, landraces from low rainfall regions were susceptible to grain mold suggesting the need to incorporate resistance when materials from dry regions are used as breeding parent for developing varieties for high precipitation areas. Genome-environment association also revealed the importance of polyphenols for the adaptation of sorghum. Moreover, the genomic loci attributed to historical population structure were correlated with precipitation and temperature gradients. The study suggests that sorghum improvement endeavors targeting grain attributes should also consider the climatic condition of the target environments. Likewise, germplasm originating from high precipitation areas may be utilized as donors of resistance genes to various grain diseases
The third section investigates the potential of genomic selection (GS) in germplasm improvement. The study utilized grain-related and phenological data from Ethiopian sorghum core collection. Low to moderate prediction and validation accuracies were observed for the traits and increasing training size increased prediction accuracy. The focused identification of germplasm sampling (FIGS) approach, which had been proved successful in increasing the success rate in identifying rare alleles from large germplasm collections, was also evaluated for its complementarity with GS. Grain weight was utilized as a proxy for assessing the approach. Sampling using the FIGS-based approach changed population parameters relative to the base population. Genomic prediction on a reference population sampled using FIGS based approach had smaller validation accuracy and selection differential than randomly reconstituted reference populations. Modifying the FIGS sampling strategy by incorporating a few individuals from the opposite end of the FIGS predicted environment improved the overall performance of the system.
The last chapter investigated the importance of pre-processing method to improve protein digestibility, a critical constraint in sorghum. This was conducted using four preprocessing methods on four selected varieties of sorghum varying in grain quality attributes. The result showed significant pre-processing and variety interaction effects in protein digestibility of fermented and cooked sorghum food samples, implying that varietal selection should target a specific pre-processing method. Sprouting, one of the pre-treatment methods studied, improved overall grain protein digestibility. Genotypes with inherently improved protein content and in-vitro protein digestibility when subjected to appropriate milling and pre-processing treatment can significantly enhance protein availability from fermented sorghum foods.
In conclusion, understanding the adaptation history and the target end-user application is crucial for improving sorghum grain quality and nutritional traits. The information generated on the grain attributes and the genomic selection pipeline for the FIGS approach has promising potential to accelerate the development of nutritionally improved and locally adapted varieties
The Potential Impact of Entomology on Large Animal Veterinary Practice in Texas
Get PDFKristin MichelOn March 23, 2020, I began an internship with Circle T Veterinary Services, which is a mobile veterinary service based in Sandia, Texas. From March to August, I traveled with Dr. Tobin Pennington to farms and ranches across South Texas conducting large animal farm calls. Dr. Pennington is the sole owner and practitioner of Circle T Veterinary Services, which he opened in 2012. It is a 100% mobile service, operating completely out of Dr. Pennington’s truck. Circle T covers a large part of South Texas, with clients residing as north as Oakville, west to Cotulla, east to Rockport, and as south as McAllen. A typical day working at Circle T Veterinary Services starts early in the morning, depending on how far we need to travel to make it to the first call. There is routine work to be completed, such as palpating and deworming cows, castrating calves, vaccinating horses, equine dental floats, and more. I have been able to witness a wide variety of illness and injuries, like broken legs, horses with nasopharyngeal cicatrix syndrome, bovine fetal extractions and fetotomy, and corneal ulcers. Emergencies, such as equine colic or lacerations occur often and must be treated quickly. In one day, we may travel hundreds of miles across South Texas. In this paper, I examine the interconnections between veterinary medicine and another interest of mine, entomology. As a student in the Entomology Minor curriculum at Kansas State University, I have taken great interest in the study of insects and their effects on agriculture, ecosystems, and disease transmission. I wanted to explore the effects of arthropods on veterinary medicine because I plan on pursuing a DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) degree in the future. Below, I took experiences from my internship and researched them further, creating an in-depth look at the interactions between entomology and veterinary practice. I included a case study that I observed during my internship, which piqued my interest in West Nile Encephalomyelitis. The remainder of this paper then focuses on prevention strategies for several vector-borne diseases and emerging threats to the cattle industry. This analysis demonstrates my passion for entomolog
The Association Between Childhood Trauma and Social Anxiety among Adults
Get PDFKirmser Undergraduate Research Award - Group category, grand prizeJung Sim JunThe purpose of this proposal is to study the relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences and social anxiety in adulthood. The relationship is expected to be positive, meaning that experiencing any form of childhood trauma will result in high levels of social anxiety in adulthood. Using a cross-sectional research design, 200 participants between the ages of 21 and 30 will be invited to complete a self-administered survey that will assess what specific adverse experiences in childhood correlate with social anxiety in adulthood. The independent variable, exposure to trauma, will be compared to the dependent variable, social anxiety experienced as an adult using both the Childhood Traumatic Events Scale and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale. This research would help mental health professionals gain a better understanding of the impact of childhood trauma on social functioning, coping skills, and behavior in adulthood
The Potential Impact of Entomology on Large Animal Veterinary Practice in Texas
Get PDFOn March 23, 2020, I began an internship with Circle T Veterinary Services, which is a mobile veterinary service based in Sandia, Texas. From March to August, I traveled with Dr. Tobin Pennington to farms and ranches across South Texas conducting large animal farm calls. Dr. Pennington is the sole owner and practitioner of Circle T Veterinary Services, which he opened in 2012. It is a 100% mobile service, operating completely out of Dr. Pennington’s truck. Circle T covers a large part of South Texas, with clients residing as north as Oakville, west to Cotulla, east to Rockport, and as south as McAllen.
A typical day working at Circle T Veterinary Services starts early in the morning, depending on how far we need to travel to make it to the first call. There is routine work to be completed, such as palpating and deworming cows, castrating calves, vaccinating horses, equine dental floats, and more. I have been able to witness a wide variety of illness and injuries, like broken legs, horses with nasopharyngeal cicatrix syndrome, bovine fetal extractions and fetotomy, and corneal ulcers. Emergencies, such as equine colic or lacerations occur often and must be treated quickly. In one day, we may travel hundreds of miles across South Texas.
In this paper, I examine the interconnections between veterinary medicine and another interest of mine, entomology. As a student in the Entomology Minor curriculum at Kansas State University, I have taken great interest in the study of insects and their effects on agriculture, ecosystems, and disease transmission. I wanted to explore the effects of arthropods on veterinary medicine because I plan on pursuing a DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) degree in the future. Below, I took experiences from my internship and researched them further, creating an in-depth look at the interactions between entomology and veterinary practice. I included a case study that I observed during my internship, which piqued my interest in West Nile Encephalomyelitis. The remainder of this paper then focuses on prevention strategies for several vector-borne diseases and emerging threats to the cattle industry. This analysis demonstrates my passion for entomology and veterinary medicine and my interest in the synergies between these two fields of study.
*This manuscript is the product of the undergraduate class BIOL 497: Honors Project, which was taugh
Laser-induced electron diffraction of the ultrafast umbrella motion in ammonia
Get PDFVisualizing molecular transformations in real-time requires a structural retrieval method with Ångström spatial and femtosecond temporal atomic resolution. Imaging of hydrogen-containing molecules additionally requires an imaging method sensitive to the atomic positions of hydrogen nuclei, with most methods possessing relatively low sensitivity to hydrogen scattering. Laser-induced electron diffraction (LIED) is a table-top technique that can image ultrafast structural changes of gas-phase polyatomic molecules with sub-Ångström and femtosecond spatiotemporal resolution together with relatively high sensitivity to hydrogen scattering. Here, we image the umbrella motion of an isolated ammonia molecule (NH3) following its strong-field ionization. Upon ionization of a neutral ammonia molecule, the ammonia cation (NH3+) undergoes an ultrafast geometrical transformation from a pyramidal (ΦHNH=107°) to planar (ΦHNH=120°) structure in approximately 8 femtoseconds. Using LIED, we retrieve a near-planar (ΦHNH=117 ± 5°) field-dressed NH3+ molecular structure 7.8−9.8 femtoseconds after ionization. Our measured field-dressed NH3+ structure is in excellent agreement with our calculated equilibrium field-dressed structure using quantum chemical ab initio calculations
Time-resolved relaxation and fragmentation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons investigated in the ultrafast XUV-IR regime
Get PDFPolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) play an important role in interstellar chemistry and are subject to high energy photons that can induce excitation, ionization, and fragmentation. Previous studies have demonstrated electronic relaxation of parent PAH monocations over 10–100 femtoseconds as a result of beyond-Born-Oppenheimer coupling between the electronic and nuclear dynamics. Here, we investigate three PAH molecules: fluorene, phenanthrene, and pyrene, using ultrafast XUV and IR laser pulses. Simultaneous measurements of the ion yields, ion momenta, and electron momenta as a function of laser pulse delay allow a detailed insight into the various molecular processes. We report relaxation times for the electronically excited PAH*, PAH+* and PAH2+* states, and show the time-dependent conversion between fragmentation pathways. Additionally, using recoil-frame covariance analysis between ion images, we demonstrate that the dissociation of the PAH2+ ions favors reaction pathways involving two-body breakup and/or loss of neutral fragments totaling an even number of carbon atoms
COMMUNITY HEALTH EDUCATION IN RILEY COUNTY
Get PDFMaster of Public HealthPublic Health Interdepartmental ProgramRichard R. RosenkranzChronic diseases are on the rise in the American population and as such, the top killers have shifted from nonpreventable diseases to those that are preventable. Many of these diseases could be prevented through better diets and food choices (Slawson, Fitzgerald, & Morgan, 2013). Local health departments, health educators, and extension offices play a major role in this prevention through providing education, resources, and support for building healthier habits in families. These resources can be a leading force in making changes toward healthier families, which can help reduce the number of youths, and consequently adults, who develop obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and other chronic diseases (Ogagata & Hayes, 214).
Chronic disease prevention, primarily through better nutrition and better diets, was the public health issue that was the main focus of my time at Lafene Health Center and the Riley County Extension Office. While at Lafene I worked with the Health Promotion office, whose purpose is to provide leadership in health maintenance promotion, and disease and illness prevention for Kansas State University students, staff, faculty and surrounding community members. The primary focus of my projects were to provide healthy eating tips, tricks, and education that is feasible with college students’ busy schedule, limited resources, and tight budget. This information was handed out at various health promotion events on campus. While at the Riley County Extension Office I planned and executed a healthy eating course for families, as well as a freezer meals class for community members. The healthy families course consisted of four one-hour classes that provided families with tools and resources to facilitate dialog, planning, and activities that would assist in developing healthier eating habits for the entire family. Due to unforeseeable circumstances, half of the courses had to be canceled but an increase in vegetable consumption was still reported among participants. At both locations, addressing the different socio-ecological barriers faced by the intended audiences increased the likelihood that participants would make healthier changes to their diets