Search

The study investigates how museum and gallery buildings can be designed to give functional longevity and appeal. It considers this in terms of their design and relation to their surroundings and use in the context of changing social, cultural, political and economic factors. Post World War II the typological design and layout of these buildings was challenged; partly as a result of the influence of modernism and also as new modes of art production challenged the spaces and display modes. Financial instability and class perception have always been problematic and increased public expectations add to issues that need addressing. The study investigates how these factors have impacted on these buildings and if this has influenced their design and use. It considers the regional context of the West Midlands and also draws comparisons to other areas in England to investigate ways of addressing contemporary issues to achieve longevity of use. The study considers the historical influence of the typological developments. Examples from the West Midlands and investigation of the area’s historical background are used to identify if regional idiosyncrasies exist and if these influence a building’s longevity. This establishes their contemporary context and objectively reviews the resulting implications of appearance and function in relation to the social, cultural and economic issues that may be dominant within this region. A qualitative interview methodology and analysis is used to examine the views of a multidisciplinary group of museum and gallery users, capturing a snapshot in time of their views on the appearance, understanding and use of these buildings. This information is analysed and discussed in conjunction with the findings of the relevant literature. The comparison of the information researched raises regional and national issues associated to design and use of these buildings. Four key themes related to the longevity of use emerged; architectural design, location, economic viability and inclusivity.

Counter current chromatography (CCC) is a form of liquid liquid chromatography, which the Brunel Institute for Bioengineering (BIB) team have developed to process scale. In this thesis, its application has been successfully extended to the rapid, scalable purification of monoclonal antibodies (mAb) from mammalian cell culture, using aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) of inorganic salts and polymer. A polyethylene glycol (PEG) and sodium citrate system was found to be the most appropriate by robotic phase system selection. The search for an economical alternative to protein A HPLC is a substantial bioprocessing concern; in this work CCC has been investigated. Initial studies showed that unpredictably, despite separation from impurities being achieved, some loss in the IgG‘s ability to bind to Protein A was seen, as confirmed by Protein A BiaCore analysis. CCC machines were seen to adversely affect IgG functionality. This led to a systematic investigation of the effect of CCC phase mixing on IgG functionality in a number of different CCC instruments, allowing direct comparisons of modes of CCC (hydrodynamic and hydrostatic CCC) and their associated mixing (wave-like and cascade, respectively). The varying g forces produced within the CCC column were determined using a recently developed model to calculate g force range. The effect of interfacial tension was also studied using a custom built 'g' shaker. The optimum CCC mode was identified to be the non synchronous CCC, operated in a hydrodynamic mode but allowing bobbin to rotor speed (Pr ratio) to be controlled independently. In a normal synchronous J type centrifuge a Pr of 1 is fixed, this is where the bobbin and rotor speed are identical I.e. one bobbin rotation (where mixing occurs) to one rotor revolution (where settling occurs). Constraints were seen with this 1:1 ratio and the separation of mAb using ATPS. This work has shown with the use of the non synchronous CCC at a Pr of 0.33, mixing is reduced and rotor rotations increased. Consequently the associated g force range is decreased. Furthermore, by the extension of settling time, the clear separation of the mAb from impurities has been achieved with retention of biological activity. This thesis demonstrates the importance of settling time for ATPS in phase separation and documents the fundamental requirements for the successful separation of biologics. Purified non synchronous CCC samples have additionally undergone rigorous quality control testing at Lonza Biologics by their purification scientists. This work has ultimately showed that with optimisation, the non synchronous CCC can be used to produce biological samples that are of industry standard.

Preliminary investigation at the beginning of this research showed that informatics on point-of-care (POC) devices was limited to basic data generation and processing. This thesis is based on publications of several studies during the course of the research. The aim of the research is to model and analyse information generation and exchange in telehealth systems and to identify and analyse the capabilities of these systems in managing chronic diseases which utilise point-of-care devices. The objectives to meet the aim are as follows: (i) to review the state-of-the-art in informatics and decision support on point-of-care devices. (ii) to assess the current level of servitization of POC devices used within the home environment. (iii) to identify current models of information generation and exchange for POC devices using a telehealth perspective. (iv) to identify the capabilities of telehealth systems. (v) to evaluate key components of telehealth systems (i.e. POC devices and intermediate devices). (vi) to analyse the capabilities of telehealth systems as enablers to a healthcare policy. The literature review showed that data transfer from devices is an important part of generating information. The implication of this is that future designs of devices should have efficient ways of transferring data to minimise the errors that may be introduced through manual data entry/transfer. The full impact of a servitized model for point-of-care devices is possible within a telehealth system, since capabilities of interpreting data for the patient will be offered as a service (c.f. NHS Direct). This research helped to deduce components of telehealth systems which are important in supporting informatics and decision making for actors of the system. These included actors and devices. Telehealth systems also help facilitate the exchange of data to help decision making to be faster for all actors concerned. This research has shown that a large number of capability categories existed for the patients and health professionals. There were no capabilities related to the caregiver that had a direct impact on the patient and health professional. This was not surprising since the numbers of caregivers in current telehealth systems was low. Two types of intermediate devices were identified in telehealth systems: generic and proprietary. Patients and caregivers used both types, while health professionals only used generic devices. However, there was a higher incidence of proprietary devices used by patients. Proprietary devices possess features to support patients better thus promoting their independence in managing their chronic condition. This research developed a six-step methodology for working from government objectives to appropriate telehealth capability categories. This helped to determine objectives for which a telehealth system is suitable.

Brewer's spent grain (BSG) is a main by-product of beer manufacturing and is rich in nutrients including 15-30% protein, making it a potentially valuable protein source for human food. Current challenges of extracting protein from BSG include low yields and high manufacturing costs, but the rising trend of plant-based diets for environmental and health reasons increases BSG's appeal. This research proposes an innovative extraction process utilizing wet fractionation and enzymatic purification that targets fiber to effectively separate proteins form BSG. Additionally, the feasibility of BSG protein as a food ingredient is explored, offering a unique approach that limits harsh processing commonly used for protein extraction. The choice of the enzyme (CTec 2 and Viscozyme L), enzyme dose, and incubation time (1, 3, 6, 9, and 24 hrs) were investigated to maximize protein content and recovery and further evaluate processing effects on protein functionality. Following wet fractionation, there was a notable reduction in fiber from 48.6% in the BSG to 22.5% in the filtrate (PRF) on a dry basis. Additionally, the protein content increased from 22.8 to 40.0% from the BSG to the PRF, respectively. The coarse fiber (CF) had an average protein content of 6.30%, highlighting the effectiveness of wet fractionation in enhancing protein recovery from BSG. The optimal enzymatic treatments condition identified was using CTec 2 to degrade fiber at a dose of 6.00% (g enzyme/g solid) for 24 hours. The enzymatic fiber hydrolysis proved to be able to remove lignocellulosic biomass from BSG resulting in a defatted protein concentrate (DPC) with a high protein content (52.8%) along with a high recovery rate (63%). All treatments resulted in protein functionality similar to the two control treatments. Varying fiber hydrolysis conditions did not have a significant effect on the functional properties. Several functional properties were improved using limited hydrolysis (LH) using proteases. LH had negative impacts on foaming stability and emulsifying properties; however, it improved the solubility, foaming capacity, WHC, and OHC of the BSG protein. Potential applications for the DPC include low moisture applications such as protein bars or granola. The DPCs could also have potential use in meat alternatives due to the high WHC and OHC and the need for varying protein solubility in meat alternatives. The LH protein has greater potential in applications such as protein beverages due to the high solubility. This process presents a promising protein extraction approach from BSG, offering producers the flexibility to tailor it to their specific application needs. After obtaining the protein concentrate, additional steps like defatting or limited hydrolysis can be applied to improve the purity and functionality of the result protein. Notably, this approach contributes to sustainable food production by addressing food waste and meeting the rising demand for sustainable protein sources to support the nutritional needs of a growing global population.

This dissertation rethinks the problem of robot perception from an embodied agent's perspective: While the classic view focuses on perceiving the semantics and geometry of objects (e.g., this piece of point cloud is a fridge), our new perspective emphasizes perceiving the fluent (a condition that can change over time) that provides actionable information for enabling an agent to reason about actions an object affords as well as the potential outcomes of actions for planning in daily scenes. We address this challenging problem by understanding (i) the geometry fluent that accounts for the changes in object pose, (ii) the topology fluent that accounts for the changes in object form, and (iii) the interconnection between the geometry and topology fluent. Considering the task of chopping garlic, one needs to transform whole garlic into minced and transport them from one place to another. An agent that only recognizes geometry and semantics can hardly accomplish such a task. Therefore, a scene reconstruction framework is proposed to reconstruct a functionally equivalent and interactive scene from RGB-D data streams to afford finer-grained interactions of geometry fluent. To further understand the interactions of topology fluent, a probabilistic framework is devised to induce an attributed stochastic grammar that models the space of object form changes. This learned grammar and its probability model serve as a new indication of object status regarding topology fluent and are useful for planning downstream tasks. Finally, we study the interconnection between the geometry and topology fluent via a tool-use example where we learn the essential physical properties contributing to the effects of a tool-use event. By understanding potential actions in a scene, this dissertation aims to enable a robot to perceive the geometry and topology fluent and to plan their actions in daily scenes.

Dry peas are sustainable, healthy, and nutritious pulse crop and are excellent source of protein and complex carbohydrates as well as micronutrients. The effects of storage conditions on composition of beans and cereals have been widely reported. The information gained contributed significantly to better storage practices for these commodities. However, literature addressing the chemical composition, functionality, and physical characteristics of dry pea seeds upon storage is scarce. This study was designed to address the impact of storage conditions and varieties on the nutrient profile, functionality, and physical properties of dry pea seeds. Six different varieties of dry peas were stored for 270 days under two temperatures (21 and 40 °C) and three relative humidities (RHs; 40, 65 and 75%) in a sealed glass container. Peas were removed at 30, 60, 90, 180 and 270 days and time 0 served as the control sample to evaluate nutrient composition and functionality of pea flour and physical properties of whole seed. PCA revealed that varieties differ in physical properties and nutrient composition, but behavior of changes were similar while stored under diverse conditions. Storage of peas in the adverse conditions altered the nutrient composition and functionality of flours, starch functionality being most affected (i.e., lower final viscosity and setback viscosity; higher peak viscosity compared to control sample). With increasing days of storage, peas stored under 65% and 75% RHs at 40 °C had significant color change, i.e., green peas faded to creamy yellow and yellow peas to dark yellow suggesting browning and bleaching of the dry peas. Extended period of storage at 75% RH and 40 °C were observed to be the harshest storage conditions. The findings of this study support physical properties of dry peas can differ remarkably upon the varying storage environments and different cultivar types. Storage conditions can substantially impact nutrient profile, and functionality of dry pea flours while different pea varieties do not have significant impact on these, that can further affect food formulations important for the food industry. Based on this study, storage of pea at 55% RH or lower and 21 °C is recommended for long-term storage.

Abstract: The food industry has seen shifting trends towards the use of plant proteins due to a variety of factors including consumer´s perception of health, ethical and religious purposes, as well as environmental considerations. Pulses are good sources of proteins and other nutrients such as resistant starch, dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and polyphenols, and therefore have gained particular interest. Among the pulse family, field pea (Pisum sativum) is a widely produced legume that has high nutritional value and low allergenicity. Though a lot of research has been focused on the applications of pea protein, the effect of genotype on the protein structure and functional properties has not been clearly investigated. This research intended to fill the gap by extracting and characterizing pea proteins from seven pea genotypes, consisting of high and regular protein genotypes. After extracting the pea protein, the protein molecular structures were systematically studied such as protein compositions, amino acid profiles, secondary structure, molecular weight by an array of advanced analytical tools including SDS–PAGE, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, HPLC-Size exclusive chromatography (SE) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The protein solubility and functional properties including water and oil holding capacity, foaming and emulsifying properties and gelling capacity were compared between high and regular protein genotype. Pea protein concentrates were successfully extracted from pea grains of all 7 genotype with the protein content ranging from 76.5 % to 86.2 %. Globulins are major storage proteins in pea grains with legumin (11S) and vicilin (7S) as the major globulin fractions. It is interesting to notice that the protein extracts from different pea genotype possess a wide range of 11S/7S ratio from 1.5 to 8.7. While the high protein genotype P0540-41 and P1142-6195 show relatively low 11S/7S ratio (1.5-1.9), the other high protein line P1141-5085 demonstrated an extremely high 11S/7S ratio of 8.6 5± 0.65, which is also high when compared to regular protein containing line. In this study, it was observed that the 11S/7S ratio significantly impact the pea protein denaturation temperature. For example, protein extracts from P0540-41 and P1142-6195 with lower 11S/7S ratios had relatively lower denaturation temperatures. When analyzing nutritive value, protein concentrates from Earlystar, Greenwater and P0540-41 show higher sulfur-containing amino acids than other pea genotype, which is a known limiting essential amino acid in pea protein. The protein concentrates from Lacombe and P0540-41 have higher digestibility values of 86.3 % and 88.45 %, respectively compared to those from other pea genotype. In general, the pea protein extracts show good foaming and emulsifying properties, and their foaming stability values are especially high. Among the protein extract samples, those from Cooper and P1142-6195 had relatively low foaming capacity at all tested pHs and the lowest 11S/7S ratio as compared to other samples. It is interesting to notice that the pea protein gelling properties are influenced by the genotypesgenotypes. The protein samples from Earlystar and P0540-41 possess better gelling capacity and their gels showed significantly increased mechanical strength. Among all the pea genotype tested, the high protein line P0540-41presents a better source to generate pea protein concentrate with good overall functional properties to support food applications. This research is the first of its kind to compare not only the protein content of different pea genotype, but also the protein structure and functional properties between high protein genotype and regular protein genotype. Although, it is an initial study with few samples, the results demonstrate that high protein genotype are comparable, and in some instances, superiors to regular protein genotype in terms of protein functionality and nutritive value. This opens the possibility of breeding genotypesgenotypes in order to achieve not only high protein content, but also to target specific protein physical-chemical and functional properties for desirable industry processing and food applications.

Novel foods and Genetically Engineered (GE) organisms are being developed for nutritional, industrial, and environmental applications. Dietary interventions have been used recently to mitigate methane emissions in ruminants. In this project, bioinformatics tools have been used to answer two main questions. The first question is the potential allergy risks for consumption of novel foods and GE organisms. The second question is the effects of dietary interventions on microbiome functionality related to methane production in ruminants. To answer the first question, regulatory authorities in the United States and Europe now expect an evaluation of new proteins in novel foods or genetically engineered organisms to be evaluated for possible allergy and Celiac disease (CeD) risk. Two microalgal species, a fungus, House Cricket, and GE Canola have been tested to evaluate potential IgE cross-reactivity. Whole genome sequencing, genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and immunoinformatics techniques have been used to predict potential cross-reactivity. Bioinformatics tools helped us to characterize their proteomes and critically evaluate matches to putative or proven allergens. The two microalgal species and Fusarium sp. had matches to putative allergens, which are extensively conserved in allergenic, and non-allergenic species, leading to the need for critical evaluation of the CODEX guidelines. Shrimp allergic patients may experience cross-reactions if they consume crickets. There is no reason to suspect that the GE canola would elicit allergic reactions or would induce toxic responses. In addition, we developed a sequence searchable celiac database to identify peptides and proteins for risk assessment of novel food proteins. Concerning the second question, we studied the effect of dietary nitrate and sulfate on finishing cattle performance and methane emissions. To address to question, 16S sequencing and metagenomics were used for better understanding of rumen microbiome composition and functionality. Sulfate and nitrate combination helped to reduce methane emissions, with a reduction in average daily gain, dry matter intake and gain:feed. Ruminal bacterial composition illustrated high abundance of phyla with less hydrogen production, and genera with high H2 utilization capability in fatty acids’ formation, sulfate and nitrate reduction instead of methane production. Metagenomics demonstrated a significant decrease in enzymes linked to methanogenesis in COMBO diet. Advisor: Rick Goodman

It is a common practice in dairy industries to nanofilter milk protein concentrate (MPC) to increase the solids and further drying efficiency. Increasing protein and solids in MPC increases viscosity and resist feed-flow in membrane filtration. Previous research proved that increased temperature and hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) have significantly reduced the viscosity of MPC which can potentially increase the level of solids by reducing concentration polarization during nanofiltration (NF). We utilized plate and frame filtration (PF) as an alternate method to reduce the viscosity of MPC. In first objective, we studied the application of HC or elevated temperature (50˚C) or both to concentrate MPC with 80% protein (MPC80) based on total solids (TS) using NF. Three replicates of MPC80 having 20% TS were concentrated in NF system at 22 and 50˚C. HC did not have a significant impact on average flux but increased the TS significantly. Study showed that increased temperature or its combined action with HC improves NF performance in MPC filtration. In second objective, we studied the functionality of MPC80 powder after spray drying of NF retentates from first objective. Study showed that, higher temperature NF impacted on rennet coagulation time (RCT), wetting time, and heat coagulation time of the powders. Both HC and elevated temperature did not impact on flowability and emulsion capacity whereas HC alone improved dissolution and foaming capacity of the powders. Study showed that NF temperature and HC have important impacts on the functionality of MPC80. In third objective, we studied the application of PF in MPC80 concentration at 22 and 50˚C using flat-sheet ultrafiltration membrane. Average flux, final TS, and total protein to TS ratio were increased significantly at higher temperature PF. Study showed that increased temperature improves PF performance in MPC filtration. In fourth objective, we studied the functionality of MPC powders after spray drying of feed and PF retentates from third objective. Higher temperature PF impacted on RCT, wettability and solubility but improved foaming capacity and emulsion stability of the powders. Study showed that temperature optimization is important for concentrating MPC80 in PF system to maintain its functionality.

Abstract: Consumer interest in foods with clean labels and ingredients (allergen-free, non-GMO status, recognizable ingredients, minimally processed and natural products that contain no added preservatives or additives) continues to be a major trend within the food industry. Many non-meat ingredients currently used by the meat processors to improve processing functionality are classified by Health Canada as priority allergens (soy, wheat, egg, and milk) and thus, their presence in meat products represents challenges and marketing limitations. However, given the functional properties of these ingredients, finding a replacement that meets consumer’s criteria of clean label without sacrificing functionality can be challenging. Although some of novel allergen-free ingredients may have functional attributes of interest to the food industry, there is limited research directly comparing them to competitive ingredients currently used by the meat industry. The objective of the overall research was to evaluate selected non-allergen ingredients as functional, low-cost binders as a potential replacement of current, allergenic ingredients that are largely used by meat processing industry. A series of experiments was conducted in preliminary trials to screen and select best performing non-allergen binders and establish their appropriate incorporation levels in two meat model systems. Based on initial screening results, potato starch, pea starch, medium/short rice flour and textured pea protein demonstrated the best potential for wheat crumb replacement in beef burgers, whereas hydrolysed collagen, pea starch, potato starch, and white navy bean flour were identified to have the best potential to enhance the processing characteristics of low-fat bologna. The second experimental study focused on effects of non-allergen binders on functionalities and sensory characteristics of beef burgers. Selected non-allergen plant ingredients (potato starch, pea starch, rice flour and textured pea protein) were applied into beef burgers as alternative binders at 2% and 4%. Colour and oxidative stability of raw burgers, cooking, physicochemical and sensory characteristics of cooked burgers incorporated with non-allergen binders were compared with control treatment containing 5% wheat crumb. Rice flour added at 4% improved colour stability of fresh beef burgers compared to other non-allergen treatments and was comparable to wheat crumb. Burgers processed with 4% textured pea protein delayed lipid oxidation of raw burgers over 4 days of simulated retail display (4 °C). Non-allergen binders incorporated at 4% yielded burgers with similar cooking characteristics to wheat crumb and led to significantly (p < 0.05) lower cooking loss and higher moisture retention than those formulated with 2%. Consumer sensory evaluation suggested that burgers with 4% pea starch and textured pea protein had comprehensively higher acceptability. Overall, pea starch and textured pea protein could be potentially utilized as gluten-free alternatives to wheat crumb for meat binder applications. In the third experimental study the performance of hydrolysed collagen, white navy bean flour, potato starch and pea starch in low fat reduced sodium emulsified pork bologna was evaluated. These non-allergen ingredients were compared to wheat flour and low sodium (LS) and regular salt (RS) bolognas formulated with no binders. Physicochemical and cooking properties, microstructure, and consumer acceptability were evaluated. All non-allergen binders significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced the cooking yield compared to LS control and were equivalent to wheat flour. Pea starch decreased redness of interior bologna colour. Amongst the binders tested, potato starch outperformed wheat flour for overall consumer acceptability. Microstructure analysis of potato starch bolognas showed the presence of a starch-protein network. Potato starch had the greatest potential as a substitute for wheat flour without compromising palatability in reduced sodium emulsion type sausages. In conclusion, replacing high priority allergen containing ingredients with non-allergenic alternatives is feasible and would supply the industry with alternative low-cost ingredients that provide product differentiation and address emerging consumer demand for allergen-free products.

During the last decades, non-traditional marks have found their way into trademark registers worldwide. Against this background, the time has come to take stock. Which law and practice has evolved with regard to these marks? How do trademark offices and courts address the wide variety of issues—ranging from legal-doctrinal to competition-based and cultural concerns—that are raised by the inclusion of non-traditional marks in the trademark system? Which positions have evolved in the debate on the continuous expansion of the domain of trademark protection? Which repercussions does this expansion have on other branches of intellectual property protection and the intellectual property system as a whole? Offering a fresh, critical, and interdisciplinary analysis of the questions raised by the acceptance of non-traditional marks, this book provides an insightful academic—and at the same time practical—legal and economic review of the topic. Office and court decisions from different countries and regions serve as a starting point for a comparison of existing approaches to non-traditional marks. Providing a comprehensive overview of the status quo in different jurisdictions, the essays in this book offer a cutting-edge discussion of legal problems and solutions in the field of non-traditional marks. The analysis, however, goes far beyond specific questions of trademark law and practice. It places the issue in the broader context of fundamental rights, in particular freedom of competition and freedom of expression, and explores the impact on other fields of intellectual property, such as patent, copyright, and industrial designs law.

Over the last sixty years, courts and the USPTO have engaged in an ill-advised expansion of trademark subject matter. Where once only words or emblems attached to a product could serve as a trademark, today a product’s design or packaging itself may receive such protection. This expansion was and is a mistake. There may indeed be rare cases where a product’s design or packaging conveys brand-specific information and could receive protection without impairing competitor’s ability to offer substitutes. Such cases are the exception and not the rule, however. Extending the strong legal presumptions and property-like protection trademark law provides to a product’s design or packaging bases the legal rule on the exceptional case. Such an approach ensures protection for the exception but has thrown open the doors to the vast array of anticompetitive strike suits that constitute the bulk of trade dress litigation today. Courts and the USPTO have tried to reduce the costs of their mistake by recognizing a secondary meaning requirement for product design and by limiting protection for functional features. In doing so, they have attempted to design the legal rules to mimic the kind and degree of competition we would like to see in the marketplace. Unfortunately, once again, they do not see the whole picture. Trade dress plaintiffs have too much incentive to bring trade dress litigation. Whether the imitation of a product’s design or packaging produces material consumer confusion or merely competition, a trade dress plaintiff has an incentive to bring a trade dress lawsuit in order to capture the rents that a successful trade dress suit, and the resulting exclusivity in product design or packaging, offers. Trade dress plaintiffs will therefore over-enforce whatever rights we give them. Trade dress defendants, on the other hand, have too little incentive to defend their right to compete. If they prevail and establish their right to copy the pillow-shape of a shredded wheat biscuit, for example, such a victory means not just the prevailing defendant, but any would-be competitor, obtains the same right to copy. As a result, most of the benefit from a trade dress victory flows not to the prevailing defendant but to consumers in the form of lower prices. Because of these asymmetric stakes, trade dress rights will be over-enforced. To achieve the right level of protection in the marketplace, we must therefore under-define them. Courts and the USPTO should therefore correct their mistake and deny trade dress substantive protection under the Lanham Act, as Congress intended.

Primary care in the United States has shifted from a physician-centered care approach to a multidisciplinary, team-based care approach. This shift has resulted in many day-to-day changes in the care delivery process including how clinical staff collaborate; interact with patients; and use space, equipment, and various technologies. Team-based approaches, such as the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model, are demonstrating improvements in patient health outcomes. The U.S. Military Health System, one of the largest healthcare organizations in the world, has adopted the PCMH model for primary care clinics. To support this new care model, a team-based clinical module is emerging as a spatial concept that colocates the resources staff need for delivering care. Several different design configurations of team-based clinical modules exist in MHS clinics despite the organization’s emphasis on clinic standardization. The purpose of this dissertation is to understand staff perceptions concerning the environmental factors that best support team-based care in the MHS. Using a qualitative approach and a case study research strategy along with ethnographic data collection techniques, this study investigates how six team-based clinical module configurations in three different clinics influence the delivery of team-based care. Data collection included 58 semi-structured interviews with primary care providers, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and specialty care providers. Additionally, 11 hours of observations in team rooms provided insight on how the staff use space. Findings were translated into a set of design recommendations for planning team-based clinical modules aimed at improving staff workflow, functionality, and workspaces to facilitate both team collaboration and focused work. This study provides initial evidence that can directly support the MHS in updating design guidance criteria to support team-based primary care.

Annual crop farming is degrading the environment at a faster rate than it can be restored, causing soil erosion and water run-off with subsequent loss of nutrients and biodiversity. Yet, the world population currently relies on annual cereal grains to supply 40% of their calorie needs and 60% of their protein needs. The high dietary demand for cereal grains, together with the high rate of soil degradation from annual farming and growing consumer interest in sustainably-sourced food creates space in the market for a more sustainable grain. Perennial intermediate wheatgrass (IWG), Thinopryum intermedium, is a promising grain to fulfill this role, owing to its good flavor, breeding potential, and superior environmental benefits due to its extensive root system and long growing season. Understanding the storage stability of IWG and identifying ways to improve its stability will not only help incentivize farmers to plant IWG, but will also help make IWG competitive against existing grains on the market. The objectives of this study were: (1) evaluate the effect of steam treatment on antioxidant content and activity, enzyme activity, and progression of hydrolytic and oxidative rancidity in IWG compared to hard red wheat (HRW) over storage at different temperatures; (2) evaluate the effect of steam treatment of IWG grains on the functionality of its whole flour over storage at different temperatures; (3) determine the overall safety of the grains by assessing presence of chemical residues, such as pesticides and mycotoxins, heavy metals, allergens, and anti-nutrient factors. Pre-storage, compositional analysis of IWG and HRW was carried out following official AOAC and AACCI methods. Steam treatment was carried out by subjecting 30 g aliquots of IWG and HRW groats to 100°C and 95% relative humidity conditions in a proofing oven for 60 minutes. Steamed and non-steamed samples were stored at 45°C, ambient (22 ± 2°C), and 4°C at 0.43 water activity for 6 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months respectively. Samples were analyzed periodically for lipoxygenase and lipase activity, hydroxycinnamic acid content, carotenoid content, antioxidant activity, and indicators of hydrolytic and oxidative rancidity, including free fatty acids and hydroperoxides, respectively. Lipoxygenase activity pre- and post-steam treatment was analyzed using the ferrous oxidation-xylenol orange (FOX) assay, and lipase activity was determined spectrophotometrically using a copper soap assay. Hydroxycinnamic acids and carotenoids were quantified using high performance liquid chromatography. Antioxidant activity pre- and post-steam treatment was analyzed using 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging and leucomethylene blue (LMB) assays. Free fatty acids and hydroperoxides were quantified according to AOAC titration methods 940.28 and 965.33, respectively. Functionality parameters were also measured at the beginning, middle, and end of storage at each storage temperature. Rheological and mixing properties were assessed using a Farinograph® and a texture analyzer equipped with a Kieffer rig. Starch pasting properties were monitored using a MicroVisco-Amylograph®. Bread baking tests were performed according to AACCI 10-10.03 method. IWG had significantly higher protein, insoluble fiber, and fat content than HRW, along with a higher lipase activity. HRW had a relatively higher lipoxygenase activity than IWG. IWG also had significantly higher hydroxycinnamic acid and carotenoids concentrations than HRW, along with higher antioxidant activity. The steam treatment employed in the present study did not inactivate lipoxygenase and lipase. Throughout storage, lipase activity significantly decreased in non-steamed grains over ambient (22 ± 2°C) storage but otherwise was retained over accelerated (45°C) and refrigerated (4°C) storage. However, an after-ripening effect was evident in lipoxygenase activity at ambient and 45°C temperatures, with significant increases in activity over storage. Hydroxycinnamic acid content was retained throughout storage, with prolonged storage inducing increases to its content, as well as increases to antioxidant activity at higher storage temperatures. Carotenoid content decreased throughout storage in IWG and HRW, to a greater degree at higher storage temperatures, as was expected due to its high susceptibility to oxidation. Development of oxidative and hydrolytic rancidity in IWG was minimal throughout storage of groats. Although the steam treatment was not able to effective in inactivating enzymes, it demonstrated a minimal, but positive effect on antioxidant activity and content, as well as a slight inhibitory effect on hydroperoxide formation over storage. IWG demonstrated a significantly higher antioxidant content and antioxidant activity and lower hydroperoxide content than HRW throughout storage. In terms of hydrolytic rancidity, IWG showed higher lipase activity and free fatty acid concentration than HRW throughout storage. IWG showed increases to dough development time, resistance to extension, and loaf volumes over storage, denoting an increase in dough strength, although no significant increases to dough stability time were evident. IWG also had improvements to starch pasting viscosities over storage, including peak viscosity and hold viscosity, at all temperatures. The effects of steaming on functionality were temperature-dependent, with positive effects on dough development time and resistance to extension during storage at 45°C and improvements to starch pasting viscosities during storage at ambient temperature. Steaming appeared to have a negative impact on functionality at refrigerated storage temperatures. Steaming did not have an effect on bread loaf volumes of IWG over storage. Although overall functionality of IWG remained inferior to HRW throughout storage, HRW had significant decreases in several functionality parameters over storage. While steaming had a positive effect on some of these parameters (e.g. extensibility, loaf volume), it had a negative impact on others (e.g. starch pasting viscosities). Bread firmness was not significantly affected over storage in either grain. The present study was the first to evaluate the storage stability of IWG and investigate steam treatment as a mode of improving storage stability of IWG. The results of the study provide additional incentives to farmers and food manufacturers alike by highlighting IWG’s competitive storage stability. The present study demonstrated not only its high tolerance to storage but in some regards, its positive response to storage. Furthermore, this research formed the foundation for establishing a more effective method of steam treatment in a currently ongoing storage study on IWG flour.

Environmental problems have exacerbated the challenges of food production. Soil erosion, run-off from irrigation, and greenhouse gas emissions have significantly impacted the ecosystem through their cumulative effects over decades. As the population increases, these aforementioned problems will grow in scale and scope. Thus, it is important to address these concerns by investigating sustainable solutions and conducting research on new approaches to food supply. Specifically, the development of perennial crops for food use would have environmental benefits such as reduced soil and water erosion. Further, the usage of perennial crops for food applications would provide alternatives to the current and ever diminishing food supply, provide incentives to farmers for planting these crops, and address consumers’ growing interest in sustainable food systems. One of several perennial crops available for potential food use is intermediate wheatgrass (IWG) (Thinopyrum intermedium). Little is known about the chemical and functional characteristics of IWG. Therefore, the overall objective of this work was to characterize the chemical and functional properties of IWG grains from multiple breeding lines for food applications, namely bread baking. Sixteen IWG experimental lines along with one bulk IWG sample and two wheat controls (Arapahoe and commercial hard red wheat) were analyzed for proximate composition following standard methodologies. Dietary fiber, total starch content, and percent damaged starch were determined using Megazyme kits. Amylose/amylopectin ratio and their molecular weight distribution were determined using size exclusion chromatography. Gluten forming proteins profile and molecular distribution were determined using gel electrophoresis and size exclusion chromatography. Dough rheology was assessed using a farinograph and a texture analyzer equipped with a Kieffer rig, while starch pasting properties were monitored using a rapid visco analyzer. Bread baking tests were performed following the AACCI 10-10.03 method. Compared to wheat controls, IWG samples had higher protein, dietary fiber, and ash contents, yet were lower in starch content and deficient in high molecular weight glutenins (HMWG), important protein components responsible for dough strength and elasticity. Specifically, wheat controls had more high molecular weight polymeric proteins (HMWPP), while IWG samples had more albumins and globulins. The ratios of amylose to amylopectin among the IWG samples and the wheat controls were similar. However, percent damaged starch was higher in the wheat controls than in IWG samples. On the other hand, the soluble to insoluble dietary fiber ratio was higher in wheat controls than in IWG samples. Dough rheology data showed that IWG dough was weaker than that of the controls. Farinograph and Kieffer data demonstrated that doughs made from wheat controls were more stable, more resistant to extension, and more extensible than doughs made from IWG samples. In terms of starch pasting properties, wheat controls had higher peak, hold, and final viscosities than the IWG samples, indicating the superiority of wheat controls over IWG samples as viscosity builders. The starch pasting properties data illustrated the samples’ behavior upon heating and cooling treatments, which are important characteristics to consider when evaluating IWG for commercial applications. Even though IWG had similar specific volumes to one of the wheat controls (hard red wheat), both wheat controls had a higher rising capability due to the wheat’s gluten network forming ability. Deficiency in HMWG and high fiber content of IWG samples, contributed to the poor gluten network and consequently inferior baking quality. Overall, results of this work suggest that IWG has a superior nutritional profile as compared to wheat, but poses challenges for baked products that require dough rising properties. Further studies on IWG, such as investigating the effect of conditioners on enhancing protein functionality, determining the effect of fiber on dough development, effect of blending with wheat, and exploring other food applications would enhance its potential utilization as a food crop. This research and future efforts will support breeders in their current screening and future breeding efforts for the development of IWG lines suitable for food applications.

Increasing consumer demand for dietary protein coupled with the need for functional proteins is driving the growth of the soy protein market. However, the expanded use of soy protein is limited by its distinction as one of the “Big 8” food allergens. Thus, there exists a need for a functional, hypoallergenic soy protein ingredient. Previous protein modification approaches have demonstrated varying levels of success in producing a functional, hypoallergenic protein ingredient, with limitations including feasibility, consumer acceptability, loss of functionality, and residual immunoreactivity. A potential solution is to combine two controlled modification approaches, limited enzymatic hydrolysis with partial Maillard-induced glycation. We hypothesize that optimization of limited enzymatic hydrolysis and Maillard-induced glycation conditions will reduce the allergenicity of soy protein, while maintaining its functionality. Thus, the objectives of this study were twofold: (1) to optimize limited enzymatic hydrolysis and partial Maillard-induced glycation conditions to produce a hypoallergenic soy protein, and (2) to determine the effect of limited and targeted hydrolysis and further glycation on protein functionality. Limited (< 8%), targeted hydrolysis was achieved using alcalase, pepsin, and an alcalase/pepsin combination to produce, respectively, ASPH, PSPH, and AP_SPH samples with degrees of hydrolysis (% DH) ranging from 3.8 – 6.8%. Two levels of glycation were achieved, with 68 – 75% remaining free amines, for the mild condition and 55 – 68% for the advanced condition. Changes in immunoreactivity was monitored following qualitative, western blot, and quantitative, ELISA immunoassays, utilizing sera from seven individual with high levels (>3.5 kU/L) of soy protein specific IgE. A significantly higher overall L*a*b* color difference and visible browning confirmed that the advanced condition, compared to the mild condition, had propagated to the final stages of the Maillard reaction. To avoid browning, loss in nutritional quality, and formation of advanced glycation endproducts (AGE) associated with the final stages of the Maillard reaction, the mild glycation conditions were selected for functionality testing. The solubility, emulsification capacity (EC), emulsification activity index (EAI), emulsion stability (ES), gel strength, and water holding capacity (WHC) were tested for soy protein isolate (SPI) and hydrolysate (SPH) samples, as well as the glycated samples and glycation controls. Pepsin targeted the hydrolysis of glycinin, and alcalase targeted the hydrolysis of β-conglycinin. Limited enzymatic hydrolysis significantly reduced immunoreactivity, with reductions in immunoreactivity ranging from 20 – 75%, depending on the enzyme used and the variability among the sera tested. Maillard-induced glycation predominately modified the subunits of β-conglycinin, while having a variable effect on immunoreactivity. In some cases, the negative effect of glycation was due to partial denaturation (unfolding), which exposed epitopes originally hidden in interior of the protein. The solubility, at neutral pH and a 2.5% protein concentration, of SPH samples (66 – 68% protein solubility) decreased in comparison, to that of SPI (96% protein solubility). The effect of limited enzymatic hydrolysis and partial Maillard-induced glycation on emulsification and gelling properties was highly variable with factors such as enzyme choice, % DH, peptide profile, and extent and location of glycation influencing the observed results. For example, while hydrolysis reduced the ES and increased EAI, glycation improved the ES and had an opposite effect on EAI. Similarly, both modifications reduced gel strength of soy protein, while the WHC of PSPH and AP_SPH was improved upon glycation. Overall, this study demonstrated that limited enzymatic hydrolysis and partial Maillard-induced glycation, under specific conditions require further optimization to successfully reduce immunoreactivity (> 90% reduction to claim a hypoallergenic product) and improve functionality. Results highlighted the importance to consider and target individual variability in the immunoreactivity with the various modified proteins, when optimizing conditions to produce a hypoallergenic product. Additional research to optimize modification conditions and to understand the structural impact of these modifications on the protein structure is needed to achieve the goal of developing a hypoallergenic, functional soy protein ingredient.

With superior functional properties, especially emulsification properties, high nutritional value, and excellent physiological benefits, sodium caseinate has been widely used in the formulation of many food and beverage products. However, the major drawback of the expanded utilization of sodium caseinate is its allergenicity. Therefore, in order to prevent a decrease in the market value of casein ingredients, different protein modification techniques have been explored to reduce the allergenicity of casein. Extensive enzymatic hydrolysis (> 25% DH) can reduce the allergenicity of a protein. However, this technique is detrimental to both flavor and functionality. Limited enzymatic hydrolysis, on the other hand, can maintain the functionality, but may only reduce the immunoreactivity to a certain extent. Another protein modification technique that may reduce the allergenicity of proteins is Maillard-induced glycation. Glycation, however, should be properly controlled to prevent the formation of mutagenic compounds and brown pigments with adverse effects on functionality, digestibility, and bioactivity. It was hypothesized that combining the two mechanisms, proteolysis and Maillard glycation, under controlled and mild conditions, will have a dual effect on reducing allergenicity by altering potential epitopes, while maintaining nutritional quality, bioactivity and functionality. Thus, the objectives of this study were twofold: (1) Determine the effect of several proteolysis conditions and Maillard-induced glycation conditions on the allergenicity of sodium caseinate. (2) Determine the effect of the dual modification approach on the bioactivity and emulsification properties of sodium caseinate. Sodium caseinate isolate (SCI) was hydrolyzed using three enzymes separately, alcalase, neutrase and trypsin, following the pH-stat method, while maintaining limited degree of hydrolysis (DH 3.6-17 %). Different enzyme hydrolysis conditions, including enzyme to substrate ratio, incubation temperature, pH, and time were investigated. The sodium caseinate hydrolysate (SCH) with the highest emulsifying properties (emulsification capacity, stability and activity) and ACE-inhibitory activity was tested for remaining allergenicity. The same SCH was further glycated with maltodextrins at 60°C, water activity (aw) of 0.49, 0.63, or 0.79, and a 2:1 ratio of protein to maltodextrin over a period of 24-120 h. Sodium caseinate isolate was also glycated to determine the effect of glcation alone on modifying emulsification properties and allergenicity. Loss in free amine groups along with the formation of Amadori compounds and browning were monitored. Flouresence compound formation was monitored to determine progression of the reaction into intermediate stages before formation of brown pigments. Urea-PAGE gel was utilized to confirm the glycation formation. Select glycated samples were tested for allergenicity, emulsifying properties, and ACE-inhibitory bioactivity. ELISA was performed to determine the immunoreactivity of the samples using sera from five allergenic donors following ELISA. Trypsin was better than Alcalase and Neutrase in producing hydrolysates that retained emulsification properties. This might be due to trypsin’s narrow and unique specificity, where large molecular weight peptides with better amphiphilic properties were generated compared to those generated by Alcalase and Neutrase. Limited hydrolysis (5% DH) resulted in pronounced ACE inhibitory activity and reduced immunoreactivity (6%-45%). Differences in the reduced immunoreactivity were attributed to the sensitivity of sera used and the variation in milk-protein-specific IgE among the different sera that could react with the epitopes present in casein proteins samples and newly generated epitopes upon hydrolysis. Among all the glycation conditions studied, optimum conditions for the desired objectives were determined to be 96 h of incubation at 0.63 aw, in a 2:1 ratio of casein protein to maltodextrin, due to a moderate Amadori compounds formation, as noted by adsorbace at 304 nm, limited % amino group blockage (9.7%), minimal progression to intermediate stages, as noted by % fluorescence intensity, and limited progression to advances stages of the Maillard reaction, as noted by minimal browning measured at 420 nm. No significant (P < 0.05) effect on ACE inhibitory activity, emulsification properties and immunoreactivity was observed post glycation at at 0.63 aw. This is likely due to insufficient Amadori compounds formation and the interference from free maltodextrin and unadsorbed intact sodium caseinate, which can destabilize the emulsion through depletion flocculation. Results from this work, for the first time, provided valuable insights into the effect of proteolysis conditions and Maillard-induced glycation conditions on the allergenicity, emulsification properties, and ACE-inhibitory activity of sodium caseinate. Combining two different protein modification techniques under controlled and mild conditions could maintain the emulsification properties and ACE-inhibitory activity, but had no dual effect on reduction of immunoreactivity. Therefore, further optimization of glycation conditions needs to be conducted for the development of hypoallergenic casein ingredient with acceptable functionality and bioactivity.

Head rice yields (HRYs), kernel discoloration, and functional properties are three hallmarks of rice quality, and can be impacted after harvest by storage conditions. This study evaluated impacts on rice quality due to controlled storage at moisture contents (MCs), temperatures, and storage durations that may be incurred during Mid-South rice farming practices. Three hybrid, long-grain cultivars, harvested in Arkansas in 2014 and 2015, were stored in rough rice form at 4 MCs (12.5%, 16%, 19%, and 21%), and 5 temperatures (10°C, 15°C, 20°C, 27°C, and 40°C), for 16 weeks, with samples taken every 2 weeks. After drying and milling, HRYs, discoloration, and viscosity parameters were analyzed. All storage conditions maintained HRY for at least 12 weeks, but storage for 16 weeks at 21% MC and 27-40°C in 2014 led to large reductions in HRY; these samples also contained tremendous visible fungal growth. Discoloration, measured with an image analysis system calibrated for this study, was minimized by storage at 10-15°C and at MCs ≤19% for up to 16 weeks. Discoloration in samples stored at 20-40°C varied by cultivar and by year, with a unique pattern observed at 27°C and 21% MC in 2014. Storage at 10-15°C limited increases in peak viscosity during storage, but minimum breakdown and maximum setback were observed after 16 weeks of storage at 21% MC and 10°C. At 20-27°C, peak and final viscosities and breakdown initially increased over the storage duration, then leveled off after 8-12 weeks. At 40°C, peak viscosity and breakdown increased at first, then declined after 2-6 weeks, especially with increasing storage MCs. Final viscosities increased steadily with storage at 40°C, therefore setback increased substantially after 2-4 weeks. The results of this study support the implementation of grain cooling for HRY and color quality preservation, identify the conditions that may promote discoloration in natural-air bin dryers, and suggest maximum temperatures and storage durations for aging hybrid, long-grain rice.

Back pain is a major health problem in the Western World impacting on individuals, their families and the whole society. Back pain causes significant economic costs due to health expenses and absenteeism from work. Most cases of back pain respond well to treatments and are resolved within weeks. However, some individuals do not respond well to medical treatments and experience persistent back pain that becomes chronic in nature. Chronic back pain is characterised by its duration and its poor response to medical interventions. The literature researched indicated that in most cases the experience of chronic back pain is heavily influenced by psychosocial factors, which impact on individuals more than the original injury or disease. There is limited literature in relation to biopsychosocial factors and treatment up-take. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of biopsychosocial factors in the experience of chronic back pain. It was hypothesised that biopsychosocial factors would have an impact on the number of treatments received and the level of disability reported. A total of 201 adult participants (men and women) completed a battery of questionnaires that collected demographic information, psychological distress, social support, pain levels and disability scores. The findings indicated that psychosocial factors had a greater impact on the number of treatment sessions and reported disability than level and/or duration of pain. Education level was the strongest marker for both hypotheses with tertiary educated participants reporting significantly higher numbers of treatment sessions and lower disability scores. The findings of this study supported the Biopsychosocial Model of Health and the Theory of Social Causation. In addition, the findings supported previous research that advocated that a diagnosis of chronic back pain is a unique condition different from acute or temporary pain. Furthermore, the findings supported the creation of new diagnostic and measurement tools for chronic back that include psychological and social measures in addition to biological indicators. Finally, the findings offered renewed backing for interdisciplinary approaches to the treatment of chronic back pain in light to its multifaceted nature.

Computer vision has made significant progress in locating and recognizing objects in recent decades. However, beyond the scope of this “what is where” challenge, it lacks the abilities to understand scenes characterizing human visual experience. Comparing with human vision, what is missing in current computer vision? One answer is that human vision is not only for pattern recognition, but also supports a rich set of commonsense reasoning about object function, scene physics, social intentions etc..I build systems for real world applications and simultaneously pursuing a long-term goal of devising a unified framework that can make sense of an images and a scene by reasoning about the functional and physical mechanisms of objects in a 3D world. By bridging advances spanning fields of stochastic learning, computer vision, cognitive science, my research tackles following challenges: (i) What is the visual representation? I develop stochastic grammar models to characterize spatiotemporal structures of visual scenes and events. The analogy of human natural language lays a foundation for representing both visual structure and abstract knowledge. I pose the scene understanding problem as parsing an image into a hierarchical structure of visual entities using the Stochastic Scene Grammar (SSG). With a set of production rules, the grammar enforces both structural regularity and flexibility of visual entities. Therefore, the algorithm is able to handle enormous number of configurations and large geometric variations for both indoor scenes and outdoor scenes. (ii) How to reason about the commonsense knowledge? I augment the commonsense knowledge about functionality, physical stability to the grammatical representation. The bottom-up and top-down inference algorithms are designed for finding a most plausible interpretation of visual stimuli. Functionality refers to the property of an object or scene, especially man-made ones, which has a practical use for which it was designed, and it's deeper than geometry and appearance and thus is a more invariant concept for scene understanding. We present a Stochastic Scene Grammar (SSG) as a hierarchical compositional representation which integrates functionality, geometry and appearance in a hierarchy. This represents a different philosophy that views vision tasks from the perspective of agents, that is, agents (humans, animals and robots) should perceive objects and scenes by reasoning their plausible functions. Physical stability assumption assumes objects in the static scene should be stable with respect to the gravity field. In other words, if any object is not stable on its own, it must be either grouped with neighbors or fixed to its supporting base. We pursue a physically stable scene understanding, namely ``a parse tree", by inferring object stability in the physical world. The assumption is applicable to general scene categories thus poses powerful constraints for physically plausible scene interpretation and understanding.(iii) How to acquire commonsense knowledge? I performed three case studies to acquire different kinds of commonsense knowledges: I teach the computer to learn affordance from observing human actions; to learn tool-use from single one-shot demonstration; and to infer containing relations by physical simulation without explicit training process. They provided some interesting perspectives on how to acquire and exploit commonsense knowledge. In general, the more prediction or simulation is performed, the less training data is needed. As a result, the acquired commonsense knowledge is more generalizable to new situations.Such sophisticated understanding of 3D scenes enables computer vision to reason, predict, interact with the 3D environment, as well as hold intelligent dialogues beyond visible spectrum.

Participants viewed an object with two functional sides (e.g., toothbrush: bristles interact with other objects such as toothpaste; handle allows for interaction between participant andobject). The reference object (e.g., toothbrush) was presented with one located object (e.g., toothpaste) at six different locations, and participants completed a sentence-picture verificationtask (e.g., responding yes/no to “the toothpaste is above the toothbrush”). Previous research by Carlson et al. (2006), suggested facilitation for located objects on the side that allows forinteraction between two objects, which they theorized was moderated by attention. Tucker and Ellis (1998), using a bimanual response, found facilitation for the handle side of the object. Thecurrent study used a vocal response, a bimanual response, and a spatial distractor task to determine the role of cognitive resources in these facilitation effects; however, little-to-noevidence of each facilitation effect was found.

The objectives of this research were to produce whey protein concentrate (WPC) with modified functionality using exopolysaccharides (BPS) producing cultures and utilize modified WPC to replace egg whites in cake. Two different BPS-producing cultures, Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris (JFR) and Streptococcus thermophilus (DP), producing BPS 1 and BPS2 respectively, were used in this study. One BPS-nonproducing commercial cheese culture (DYS 850) was used as control. Whey powder was utilized in this study to eliminate variations from fresh whey. Cultures grown overnight in reconstituted WPC (10 % w/w) were added directly or after overnight cooling (cooled BPS), at 2 % to reconstituted whey (6 % w/w). This gave a level of BPS similar to that found in whey from cheese made with BPS-producing cultures. Whey was then HTST pasteurized at 75 °C for 35 sec and ultrafiltered five times. Ultrafiltered whey (retentate) was spray dried at inlet and outlet air temperatures of 200 °C and 90 °C respectively to obtain WPC. In general the protein solubility of all WPC was higher at pH 7 than at pH 3. Whey protein concentrate containing BPS2 without cooling, WPC containing cooled BPS 1 and WPC containing cooled BPS2 exhibited higher protein solubility (p < 0. 05) as compared to WPC containing no EPS. Also, WPC containing EPS showed lower protein denaturation (p < 0. 05) than that with no E~S. Emulsifying ability of WPC containing EPS was higher (p < 0. 05) than that in control. Addition of EPS to WPC significantly enhanced (p < 0. 05) its· gelling ability. Foam overrun and hydrophobicity of WPC were not affected by addition of EPS. Different types of EPS used in this study modified WPC functionality to varying extents. Functionality of the WPC powders produced was tested in cake making. Control cakes were prepared using egg white powder. Specific gravity ahd viscosity of cake batter did not change when one third of the egg whites powder was replaced with WPC containing EPS. Higher levels of replacement with WPC deteriorated cake batter quality. In conclusion, data obtained from this study shows that EPS modifies WPC functionality. The extent of modification depends upon the type of EPS. Cooling of the fermentate containing EPS prior to its addition to whey further improved the functional properties of the resulting WPC. Further studies will be directed towards understanding the effect of EPS structure and their interaction with whey protein on WPC functionality.

Abstract: In this study, the deamidation is involved to modify the structure of barley proteins in terms of prolamin and glutelin in order to improve the functional properties of protein. A wide range of deamidation degrees (0.1% to 45%) were prepared using alkaline method. The results suggested that the optimal deamidation degree of barley prolamin is around 2.4-4.7%, where the solubility, emulsifying and foaming properties of prolamin were significantly improved at both acidic and neutral pHs. The optimal deamidation degree for glutelin is around 2.2 to 5.6%, where deamidated glutelin demonstrated markedly improved solubility at both acidic and neutral pHs. Glutelin performed strong tendency to form aggregates with spherical shape and very large molecular weight. These aggregates are important in stabilizing the emulsions at a broad range of deamidation degree (5.6-43%). These results suggest that barley protein would be an excellent candidate to develop as an emulsifying and foaming ingredient.

Abstract: Mechanically separated turkey meat (MSTM) is one of the cheapest sources of protein; however its use for production of further-processed poultry products is limited due to undesirable composition. pH-shifting extraction was applied to overcome the problems associated with MSTM. In the first study the effect of acid pH-shifting extraction with the aid of citric acid and calcium ions on lipids and heme pigments removal from MSTM was investigated. The maximum removal of total, neutral and polar lipids was achieved with addition of 4, 6 and 2 mmol/L of citric acid, respectively. Addition of 6 or 8 mmol/L of citric acid was the most efficient for total heme pigments removal. In the second and third studies chemical, functional and rheological properties of proteins isolated from MSTM were investigated as influenced by different (2.5, 3.5, 10.5 and 11.5) extraction pH. Gel-forming ability was found the highest for pH 3.5 extracted protein.

The exploitation of organic compounds as key materials in the nanotechnology field is a growing science that is always demanding creation of new materials with specific functions in mind. A synthetic route that allows for “tuning” of the functional groups of a product is an important part in designing a material for a specific purpose. Using the well-known Sonogashira cross-coupling reaction, three new tetrabenzo[18]cyclyne macrocycles and six new trimer precursors were successfully synthesized with a focus on creating a donor-bridge-acceptor material for study. Characterization of these materials were done using 1HNMR, 13CNMR, mass spectrometry, UV/VIS spectrophotometry, and/or fluorescence. This fundamental study is a start in exploring tunable materials for potential use in the nanotechnology field (i.e. electronic devices, light-harvesting systems, etc.).

The goal of this thesis work was the computational simulation of the evolution of populations of lattice-model and off-lattice model protein sequences to study (a) proteins as a general class of molecules, (b) how selective pressures, constrained by the existence and accessibility of properties under selection and affected by various mutational processes, result in the properties of modern sequences, and (c) the accuracy of sequence reconstruction algorithms. While the application of simple protein models towards most of these ends is not new, their easily controllable nature provides customizable approaches towards the many unique challenges imposed by the complexity inherent in biological systems, and the many previous uses has demonstrated their appropriateness. The model used for the majority of this thesis work included several novel features: exhaustive enumeration of all possible protein structures for a thermodynamic simulation of protein folding (involving all twenty common amino acids), a ligand-binding model for the study of selection for functionality, and a function relating binding probability to fitness based on Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Work presented in this thesis has covered a variety of topics. The study of how population evolution on the vast, multi-dimensional space of protein sequences can affect the distribution of three-dimensional structures revealed that historical accidents can greatly effect on subsequent evolution, and that the influence of pressures for functionality may be limited compared to the pressure for stability. Work examining the reasons why the majority of proteins are only marginal stable in a compact structure has underscored the importance of the distribution of properties across this sequence space on the properties that evolve, namely that a limited repertoire of highly stable sequences is sufficient explanation for the prevalence of marginal stability, and that adaptationist explanations regarding functionality are not required. Work examining the fitness effects of mutation and recombination of protein sequences has shown that even conservative homologous protein recombination can provide an evolutionary advantage to populations. Finally, evolution simulations performed using much larger, off-lattice proteins to generate known phylogenies have led to the discovery that Bayesian methods of phylogenetic reconstruction may be most accurate at estimating properties of extinct protein sequences.

This thesis reports the isolation of both the interpenetrated [Zn4O(TPDC)3•(DEF)(H2O)5 (IRMOF-15)] and non-interpenetrated [Zn4O(TPDC)3•(DEF) 17(H2O)2 (IRMOF-16)] forms of identical frameworks, demonstrating for the first time that interpenetration can be avoided even when it is topologically allowed. Additionally, a second series of frameworks, MOF-69A-C [Zn3(BPDC)2(OH)2•(DEF) 2(H2O)2 (MOF-69A), Zn3(OH)2(2,6-NDC) 2•(DEF)2(H2O)2 (MOF-69B), and Zn3(OH)2(BDC)2•(DEF)2(H 2O)2 (MOF-69C)] was synthesized. The unique aspect of these frameworks is the presence of rod building units that result in an underlying framework topology that forbids interpenetration, regardless of linker length. Rod building units were also identified in MOFs-71-73 [Co(BDC)(DMF) (MOF-71), Mn1.5(BDC)1.5(DEF) (MOF-72), Cd3(1,3-BDC) 4•(Me2NH2)2 (MOF-73)]. Coupled with MOF-69A-C, MOFs-71-73 prompted consideration of new design strategies for the construction of stable, porous MOFs based on rod building units. Sorption studies indicate that MOF-72 is a microporous material, proving that rod-based MOF assemblies can indeed be highly stable. This thesis also presents a study that relates SBU dimension to pH of reaction and shows specifically that the dimension of the SBU can increase with increasing pH. The description of Zn3(1,4-BDC)4•(DEF) 2(Et2NH2)2(Et2NH)1.5 (MOF-144) is detailed in these studies. In addition, this thesis uses knowledge of SBU formation to design MOFs with functionalized links: Zn 3(TCPP)(H2O)2(DEF)2•(DEF) 11(H2O)11 (MOF-122) is the first microporous MOF that contains a porphyrin linker and Zn4O(C26H 18O4)3•(DEF)14(H2O) 13.5 (IRMOF-17) is one of the first examples of a designed homochiral 3-D MOF. Finally, inelastic neutron scattering spectroscopy of hydrogen sorbed Zn4O(C8H4O4)3 (MOF-5) was used to identify the interactions between the adsorbed hydrogen molecules and the framework. It was found that favorable interactions exist between the adsorbed hydrogen and both the framework zinc atoms and the 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate linkers (C8H4O4). Moreover, it was shown that the linkers contain several hydrogen binding sites. It was then shown that Zn4O(C12H6O4)3 (IRMOF-8), which has a larger naphthalene linker, has quadruple the hydrogen uptake of MOF-5 (2.0 wt. %) at room temperature and 10 bar.

Boneless cured pork was produced from combinations of pale, soft, and exudative (PSE) and red, firm, and non-exudative (RFN) semimembranosus muscle differing in amount of modified food starch (MFS), sodium caseinate (SC), and soy protein concentrate (SPC). Response Surface Methodology was utilized to determine the effects of these adjuncts on water holding capacity, color, and texture. Both RFN pork and PSE pork were selected based on visual color for the following five treatments for processing: 100 % PSE, 75% PSE +25 % RFN, 50 % PSE+ 50 % RFN, 25 % PSE +75 % RFN, and 100 % RFN. Fifteen ingredient combinations for each PSE and RFN treatment combination yielded 75 treatments per replication. Three replications of each treatment were completed. Chemical composition and color of raw materials also were measured and used as covariates to determine their effect on the above-mentioned responses. Utilization of SC decreased (p

Group Technology (GT) has traditionally been a manufacturing philosophy in which parts are identified and grouped together to take advantage of their similarities in manufacturing and design. Similar parts are arranged into part families. In case of manufacturing, since each family possesses similar manufacturing characteristics, therefore the processing of each member of a family is similar. However, in case of design, Group Technology's use has been limited to standardization of parts and design retrieval only. For example, a designer faced with the task of developing a new part can use the design-retrieval system to determine if a similar part is already in existence. A simple change in an existing part would be much less time consuming than designing from scratch. But this does not contribute to the designing of innovative new products in any way. However, the advent of modern concept of functional reasoning in design provides a great opportunity for exploitation of GT classification techniques. The idea behind designing a product as per functionality is that, once the designer has been able to identify the intended function, he/she can expand it into sub-functions and subsequently map those sub-functions with components capable of fulfilling them. This thesis intends to fill the vast existing gap between functional requirements (sub-functions) and actual embodiments (workparts) which satisfy those functions. It enhances the GT classification of various parts on the basis of their functional applications. The classification provides the designers an important resource for selecting various parts of a product during the initial design phase. It expands the scope and utility of GT part coding and makes it more sensitive. Thus the benefits which accrue from this classification include: providing a design database, significant reduction in design time and effort, providing innovative design solutions, allowing maximum design freedom, avoiding design duplication and encouraging standards to develop. The classification is merged with the existing GT coding systems and hence retains the advantages of a conventional GT code. The underlying concepts, development and application of the new system have been discussed in detail during the course of the thesis.