Browsing by Author "Duncan, Susan"
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- CyberBioSecurity through Leadership-as-Practice DevelopmentKaufman, Eric K.; Adeoye, Samson; Batarseh, Feras; Brown, Anne M.; Drape, Tiffany A.; Duncan, Susan; Rutherford, Tracy; Strawn, Laura K.; Xia, Kang (2022-03-28)CyberBioSecurity is an emerging field at the interface of life sciences and digital worlds (Murch, 2018). The solution to the global cyberbiosecurity challenge is not merely technical; society needs cyberbiosecurity professionals who engage in leadership with a boundary-crossing approach that involves collective effort. Such an approach emerges from leadership-as-practice development (LaPD), characterized by its efforts to “change patterns and thinking that could transform a culture of mediocrity to one of excellence and resilience'' (Raelin, 2020, p. 2). While LaPD has been used in some professional learning contexts and it aligns with some signature pedagogies of the professions, the opportunity remains for embedding LaPD in graduate education to meet the needs of emerging fields. The objective of this proposed project is to catalyze transformative cyberbiosecurity graduate education in a way that increases cognitive integrative capability among cyberbiosecurity scientists and professionals. As noted by Pratch (2014), “leaders who possess integrative capacity are better able to assess problems and find workable solutions than those who do not” (p. 1). In this project, we intend to embedding LaPD in online graduate and train-the-trainer modules, testing various pedagogies associated with boundary-crossing graduate education. The approach will include use of collaborative leadership learning groups (CLLGs), which are “anchored in practice, bringing together learners who can identify and work together on the challenges they face collectively” (Denyer & Turnbull James, 2016, p. 269). Our specific research questions include: What signature pedagogies best support the emerging discipline of CyberBioSecurity education? To what extent do collaborative leadership learning groups (CLLGs) increase students’ cognitive integrative capability?
- Edamame Processing: What Do I Need to Know?Carneiro, Renata; Yu, Dajun; Huang, Haibo; O’Keefe, Sean F.; Duncan, Susan (Virginia Cooperative Exension, 2020-06-18)This publication covers important aspects of edamame processing in order to inform and guide growers and food processors interested in this vegetable crop.
- Effect of a New Nationally-Mandated Healthy Competitive Foods Policy on Middle School Students' Dietary IntakeMann, Georgianna Rhodes (Virginia Tech, 2016-02-11)Nearly one-third of children in the United States (U.S.) are classified as overweight or obese. Weight status in childhood and adolescence has been tied to adult obesity, which also affects more than one-third of adults in the U.S. Availability of foods and beverages can affect dietary habits, particularly in schools. Students spend most of their waking hours and consume almost half of their daily energy intake in schools. In July of 2014, competitive foods and beverages were required to meet the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards. Competitive foods and beverages are items sold outside of the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. Competitive foods include items offered à la carte, in vending machines, in school stores, and as fundraisers. The goals of this study were to: 1) examine the nutritional quality of competitive foods and beverages in vending machines and as à la carte available to students and 2) assess snack food and beverage intake by students before and after the implementation of the new standards in a sample of middle schools in rural Appalachian Virginia. Eight middle schools with higher than 50% of student eligibility for free or reduced priced lunches were included in the sample. Audits of food and beverage products sold in vending machines and à la carte were completed in the spring of 2014 and 2015. Food frequency questionnaires were completed by students in participating schools. Results showed improvements in school food offerings, though no schools were completely compliant with the new standards. The components of students' diets did not change significantly during the study period, suggesting that improved compliance may not be enough to create a dietary shift. Foods were often replaced with reformulated versions of the same products sold before the implementation of the standards. Incentives for schools to sell more nutrient-dense options such as fruits and vegetables may be helpful to create changes in student's diets. Schools may also require additional training and assistance to fully implement nutrition standards and reach full compliance. Further research is needed to understand barriers to and possible solutions for offering healthier foods and beverages to students in middle schools.
- Optimizing Sampling Plans for Identifying Sources of Salmonella: An Example from a Multi-State Turkey Processing Plant StudyWright, David (Virginia Tech, 2011-05)Salmonellosis and listeriosis are two of the leading diseases that are involved with food borne illness outbreaks. Both organisms can persist in a poultry processing environment and contaminate finished product if programs are not in place to limit their introduction and control their spread once introduced. Most processors conduct weekly microbial environmental testing as a check of their control methods. The positive or negative results from each sampling set are indicators of the current levels of microbial contamination, but an ongoing compilation of the results can provide a wide variety of other information. An example set of data was generated from environmental samples collected in poultry processing plants in five states that were analyzed for Salmonella and Listeria species, among other pathogens. A total of 1,363 samples were analyzed for both organisms and another 66 samples were analyzed for Salmonella alone (1,429 total). Of these, 284 (19.9%) were positive for Salmonella, 264 (19.4%) were positive for Listeria spp., and 54 (4%) were positive for both organisms. The data was compiled in Microsoft Excel and the PivotTable function was used to generate summaries and analyze the data for trends. These methods can provide valuable information for optimizing an environmental sampling plan to increase efficiency at finding positive results and decrease costs.
- Quantitative texture analysis comparison of three legumesMiller, Rebekah; Duncan, Susan; Yin, Yun; Zhang, Bo; Lahne, Jacob (Frontiers, 2023-06-19)A validated texture-analysis method to evaluate product quality in frozen or cooked legumes is needed to support high-quality vegetable production but is not currently established in the literature. Peas, lima beans, and edamame were investigated in this study due to similar market use as well as growth in plant-based protein consumption in the United States. These three legumes were evaluated after three different processing treatments (blanch/freeze/thaw (BFT); BFT+microwave heat (BFT+M); BF+stove-top cooking (BF+C)), using both compression and puncture analysis following an American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) texture analysis method and moisture testing following an American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard method. Texture analysis results showed differences between legumes and processing methods. Compression analysis identified more differences between treatments within product type than puncture for both edamame and lima beans indicating compression might be more sensitive to texture changes in these products. Implementation of a standard texture method for legume vegetables for growers and producers would provide a consistent quality check to support efficient production of high-quality legumes. Due to the sensitivity obtained from the compression texture method in this work, compression should be considered for future research into a robust method to evaluate edamame and lima bean textures throughout the growing and production processes.
- Understanding the Role of Overall Appearance and Color in Consumers' Acceptability of EdamameCarneiro, Renata; Adie, Kyle; Yu, Dajun; Beverly, Mariah; Neill, Clinton L.; Zhang, Bo; Kuhar, Thomas P.; Rideout, Steven; Reiter, Mark S.; Huang, Haibo; O'Keefe, Sean; Duncan, Susan (Frontiers, 2022-04-29)Appearance properties of vegetables can affect consumers' acceptance toward them as well as purchase intent. Hence, appearance is highly associated with quality of edamame (Glycine max (L.) Merr.), a protein-rich vegetable that is experiencing increased sales in the USA. Edamame is a high-value specialty crop and its production has been promoted in Virginia and other states in the USA where the tobacco production has decreased in the last decade. To support current efforts to develop the edamame industry in the USA, consumer and color data of 10 edamame genotypes grown in Virginia were analyzed in this follow-up study to understand the role of overall appearance and color characteristics in consumers' acceptability of edamame beans. In two consecutive years, untrained adult volunteers used 9-point hedonic scales (1 = "dislike extremely", 9 = "like extremely") to evaluate appearance and overall liking of edamame samples (cooked and shelled edamame beans) and our researchers measured the reflective color of the samples with a chroma meter. In the first year, sensory panelists also completed a choice-based conjoint analysis to determine their willingness-to-pay (WTP) for dark vs. light green edamame beans in a salad. Edamame genotypes were significantly different in appearance and overall liking (p < 0.05) and the genotype R14-16195 was the most liked overall. Hedonic scores and color were significantly affected by "year" (p < 0.05), so intentional changes between years (e.g., sample preparation) should be avoided in future studies. Consumers showed higher WTP for dark green edamame beans. Additionally, green intensity (color index) and a* color coordinate were correlated to appearance liking scores (p < 0.05), which suggests color data can support breeding selection criteria and possibly predict consumer acceptability. Employing color measurement as quality control method can help improve harvest procedures, post-harvest handling, and define edamame quality standards for the USA market.
- USDA Edamame ProjectReiter, Mark S.; Rideout, Steven L.; Neill, Clinton L.; Kuhar, Thomas P.; Duncan, Susan (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2019-02-15)Discusses a research project to develop new soybean varieties suitable for mechanized production and greater consumer acceptance.