Charles E. Via Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
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The Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, which is ranked in the top 10 accredited civil and environmental engineering departments by the US News and World Report survey, is one of the largest programs in the United States. The Department has 46 full-time faculty, 657 undergraduate, and 400 graduate students. Civil engineers are the principal designers, constructors, operators, and caretakers of many of the constructed facilities and systems that contribute to the high quality of life enjoyed in the United States. The Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering offers educational programs in all areas of civil engineering practice.
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Browsing Charles E. Via Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering by Department "Food Science and Technology"
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- Analysis of salivary fluid and chemosensory functions in patients treated for primary malignant brain tumorsMirlohi, Susan; Duncan, Susan E.; Harmon, M.; Case, D.; Lesser, G.; Dietrich, Andrea M. (Springer, 2015-01-01)Objectives The frequency and causes of chemosensory (taste and smell) disorders in cancer patients remain under-reported. This study examined the impact of cancer therapy on taste/ smell functions and salivary constituents in brain tumor patients. Materials and methods Twenty-two newly diagnosed patients with primary malignant gliomas underwent 6 weeks of combined modality treatment (CMD) with radiation and temozolomide followed by six monthly cycles of temozolomide. Chemosensory functions were assessed at 0, 3, 6, 10, 18, and 30 weeks with paired samples of saliva collected before and after an oral rinse with ferrous-spiked water. Iron (Fe)- induced oxidative stress was measured by salivary lipid oxidation (SLO); salivary proteins, electrolytes, and metals were determined. Parallel salivary analyses were performed on 22 healthy subjects. Results Chemosensory complaints of cancer patients increased significantly during treatment (p=0.04) except at 30 weeks. Fe-induced SLO increased at 10 and 18 weeks. When compared with healthy subjects, SLO, total protein, Na, K, Cu, P, S, and Mg levels, as averaged across all times, were significantly higher (p<0.05), whereas salivary Zn, Fe, and oral pH levels were significantly lower in cancer patients (p<0.05). Neither time nor treatment had a significant impact on these salivary parameters in cancer patients. Conclusions Impact of CMT treatment on chemosensory functions can range from minimal to moderate impairment. Analysis of SLO, metals, and total protein do not provide for reliable measures of chemosensory dysfunctions over time. Clinical relevance Taste and smell functions are relevant in health and diseases; study of salivary constituents may provide clues on the causes of their dysfunctions.
- Gamma Irradiation Influences the Survival and Regrowth of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Antibiotic-Resistance Genes on Romaine LettuceDharmarha, Vaishali; Guron, Giselle K.P.; Boyer, Renee R.; Niemira, Brendan A.; Pruden, Amy; Strawn, Laura K.; Ponder, Monica A. (Frontiers, 2019-04)Contamination of romaine lettuce with human pathogens, antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) occurs during production. Post-harvest interventions are emplaced to mitigate pathogens, but could also mitigate ARB and ARGs on vegetables. The objective of this research was to determine changes to lettuce phyllosphere microbiota, inoculated ARB, and the resistome (profile of ARGs) following washing with a sanitizer, gamma irradiation, and cold storage. To simulate potential sources of pre-harvest contamination, romaine lettuce leaves were inoculated with compost slurry containing antibiotic-resistant strains of pathogenic (Escherichia coli O157:H7) and representative of spoilage bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa). Various combinations of washing with sodium hypochlorite (50 ppm free chlorine), packaging under modified atmosphere (98% nitrogen), irradiating (1.0 kGy) and storing at 4°C for 1 day versus 14 days were compared. Effects of post-harvest treatments on the resistome were profiled by shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Bacterial 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing was performed to determine changes to the phyllosphere microbiota. Survival and regrowth of inoculated ARB were evaluated by enumeration on selective media. Washing lettuce in water containing sanitizer was associated with reduced abundance of ARG classes that confer resistance to glycopeptides, b-lactams, phenicols, and sulfonamides (Wilcoxon, p < 0.05). Washing followed by irradiation resulted in a different resistome chiefly due to reductions in multidrug, triclosan, polymyxin, b-lactam, and quinolone ARG classes (Wilcoxon, p < 0.05). Irradiation followed by storage at 4°C for 14 days led to distinct changes to the b-diversity of the host bacteria of ARGs compared to 1 day after treatment (ANOSIM, R = 0.331; p = 0.003). Storage of washed and irradiated lettuce at 4°C for 14 days increased the relative abundance of Pseudomonadaceae and Carnobacteriaceae (Wilcoxon, p < 0.05), two groups whose presence correlated with detection of 10 ARG classes on the lettuce phyllosphere (p < 0.05). Irradiation resulted in a significant reduction (~3.5 log CFU/g) of inoculated strains of E. coli O157:H7 and P. aeruginosa (ANOVA, p < 0.05). Results indicate that washing, irradiation and storage of modified atmosphere packaged lettuce at 4C are effective strategies to reduce antibiotic-resistant E. coli O157:H7 and P. aeruginosa and relative abundance of various ARG classes.
- Microbiota and Antibiotic Resistome of Lettuce Leaves and Radishes Grown in Soils Receiving Manure-Based Amendments Derived From Antibiotic-Treated CowsFogler, Kendall; Guron, Giselle K.P.; Wind, Lauren L.; Keenum, Ishi M.; Hession, W. Cully; Krometis, Leigh-Anne H.; Strawn, Laura K.; Pruden, Amy; Ponder, Monica A. (Frontiers, 2019-04-10)Cattle are commonly administered antibiotics, resulting in excretion of antibiotics, antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). The aim of this study was to determine if the use of dairy manure collected during antibiotic administration influences the bacterial microbiota of lettuce and radishes, including carriage of ARB and ARGs, when applied as a soil amendment and if composting mitigates the effects. Lettuce and radishes were grown in field-plots amended with raw manure from antibiotic-treated (cephapirin, pirlimycin) cows, composted manure from antibiotic-treated cows, composted manure from antibiotic-free cows, or an inorganic chemical fertilizer (control; 12 plots, n = 3). Surficial vegetable bacteria and antibiotic resistomes (i.e., total ARGs) were characterized using heterotrophic plate counts (HPCs) on antibiotic-containing media, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and shot-gun metagenomics. The different manure and compost amendments did not result in significant changes to the surficial vegetable bacteria at the phylum level; however, some minor changes at the class and family level were observed. Beta-diversities of the ARGs detected by shotgun metagenomic sequencing were distinctly different between vegetable type (R = 0.30, p = 0.04), with small separations between the resistomes associated with amendment type in unrarefied analysis (R = 0.27, p = 0.02), but not rarefied analysis, of the data. Network analysis highlighted that multi-drug ARG classes commonly co-occurred with plasmid-associated genes and could be a driver of co-and cross-selection of ARGs in the different conditions. Carriage of sul1 and tet(W) ARGs on vegetables quantified by qPCR were strong indicators of manure-based amendment relative to chemical fertilizer, with some reduction incurred via composting (p < 0.05). Also, increased HPCs resistant/tolerant to clindamycin, a class of antibiotics administered to cattle, were on lettuce grown in biological soil amendments relative to chemical fertilizer (p < 0.05). This study demonstrates that amending soil with rawmanure collected fromdairy cows during antibiotic administration may affect the composition of microbiota and resistomes associated with vegetable surfaces. Composting may be an important strategy to reduce some ARGs on fresh produce, but differences in the resistomes of lettuce and radishes suggest the extent of soil contact should be considered.
- Recalcitrant dissolved organic nitrogen formation in thermal hydrolysis pretreatment of municipal sludgeZhang, Dian; Feng, Yiming; Huang, Haibo; Khunjar, Wendell; Wang, Zhi-Wu (2020-05)Thermal hydrolysis pretreatment (THP) has been considered as an advanced approach to enhance the performance of anaerobic digestion treating municipal sludge. However, several drawbacks were also identified with THP including the formation of brown and ultraviolet-quenching compounds that contain recalcitrant dissolved organic nitrogen (rDON). Melanoidins produced from the Maillard reaction between reducing sugar and amino group have been regarded as a representative of such compounds. This review presented the state-of-the-art understanding of the mechanism of melanoidin formation derived from the research of sludge THP, food processing, and model Maillard reaction systems. Special attentions were paid to factors affecting melanoidin formation and their implications to the control of rDON in the sludge THP process. These factors include reactant availability, heating temperature and time, pH, and the presence of metallic ions. It was concluded that efforts need to be focused on elucidating the extent of the Maillard reaction in sludge THP. This paper aims to provide a mechanistic recommendation on the research and control of the THP-resulted rDON in municipal wastewater treatment plants.