Characterization of Genotypes and Phenotypes of Antibiotic Resistance in Enterobacteriaceae Isolates from Retail Meat Products

Application of Polyacrylamide to Enhance Silt Fence Performance Jeyarathan Arjunan, Sandeep Yeri, Dr. Ellen W. Stevens, Dr. Bill J. Barfield, and Dr. Khaled A.M. Gasem Department of Chemical Engineering Oklahoma State University Presentation Subject Area: Physical Sciences & Technology Conventional barrier methods of erosion control, in particular silt fence, have demonstrated poor performance at trapping clays and fine silts due to inadequate detention time for settling. Trapping efficiency can be improved by flocculation of clays into larger particles with higher settling velocities. Studies have shown that clay flocculation can be induced by anionic polyacrylamides (PAM) in conjunction with divalent cations. Although anionic PAM is available commercially with different charge densities and molecular weights, the flocculation characteristics of a given anionic PAM are not the same for all soils. The purpose of this study is to investigate the flocculation characteristics of three anionic PAMs on four different soil types. Jar test experiments were conducted to treat the sediment with PAM and divalent cations. Flocculation efficiency, suspended solid concentration (SSC), particle size distribution, and floc size of the treated samples were determined with the experimental protocol developed. Specifically, a factorial design was implemented to determine the best (a) PAM type and concentration, and (b) calcium ion concentration that will produce larger flocs with high settling velocity, for each type of soil considered in this study. Sediment concentration ranging from 25,000 to 200,000 ppm was considered. Field testing will be conducted to identify the most effective means of incorporating the PAM with the silt fence installation. Characterization of Genotypes and Phenotypes of Antibiotic Resistance in Enterobacteriaceae Isolates from Retail Meat Products David Belanger, Heather Belanger, Shin Hee Kim, and Chang-i Wei Department of Nutritional Science Oklahoma State University Presentation Subject Area: Biological Sciences The extensive use of antibiotics in medical and agricultural practices has resulted in widespread horizontal transfer of mobile genetic elements carrying resistance genes between bacterial species. Emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria is of particular concern because of their potential for widespread dissemination and acquisition of additional resistance genetic elements. In this study, the genotypes and phenotypes of antibiotic-resistant Enterobacteriaceae isolated from retail meat products were characterized. Tested species included Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pnuemoniae, and Proteus mirabilis. Antibioticresistant bacteria were examined by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion test. The types of antibiotic resistance genes were determined by polymerase chain reaction assay and DNA sequencing. In general, these bacteria showed resistance to ampicillin, tetracycline, and gentamycin, and kanamycin. These multidrug-resistant bacteria possess class 1 integrons. The gene cassettes located in the class 1 integrons were aadA1 (1.0 kb) as well as aadB and aadA2 (1.6 kb), which confer resistance to streptomycin. Since all the tested bacteria showed resistance to ampicillin, we inferred the presence of β-lactamase genes in the isolates. Salmonella, E. coli, and P. mirabilis contained blaTEM, whereas K. pneumoniae isolate contained blaSHV. Plasmids containing class 1 integrons were able to be transferred from Salmonella isolate into E. coli by conjugation, indicating that conjugal transfer could contribute to the dissemination of antibiotic-resistance genes between the Enterobacteriaceae species. Sensor based monitoring of surface quality in grinding process Yatin Bhamare, and Kannan Sripathy Department of Industrial Engineering Oklahoma State University Presentation Subject Area: Physical Sciences & Technology Grinding process is extensively used for realizing submicron surface finish on parts and work pieces. Significant research has been undertaken to study the salient mechanisms in grinding operations as well as to measure and predict surface roughness and integrity, and other quality attributes like dimensional accuracy, tool condition, and chatter detection using sensors. Forces, power, vibration, and acoustic emission sensors are being used to monitor the grinding process. A void still exists in the models developed for practical monitoring. Analytical models that are developed to date cannot be applied for online prediction, due to their reliance on parameters which are not readily obtainable. We believe that this gap can be overcome by deriving models that relate the relevant process mechanisms with the measured sensor data. Towards this end we have created a two degree of freedom model along the lines developed by R.A. Thompson (1986). We used a nonlinear forcing function that captures the effect of vibrations on undeformed chip characteristics and workpiece deformation in surface grinding process. This model was implemented using Matlab’s Simulink. The simulation outputs were compared with vibration signals from experiments. The experiments were conducted on a Proth PSGS 3060BH surface grinding machine. The machine was instrumented with three accelerometers located respectively at the wheel spindle, and along the horizontal(X) and Vertical (Z) directions on the work table. The vibrations were captured using a LABVIEW interface and were analyzed off-line. Surface roughness was measured using by Phase II SRG1000 profilometer at three settings of in-feed. Features extracted from vibrations data were used to predict surface roughness under various levels of degradation of the wheel and different in-feed values. The results show that the simulation model correctly captures the frequency characteristics. It seems capable of predicting all dominant frequencies in the vibration data. More pertinently our analysis show that the features extracted from sensor data based on the model can improve the predictability of surface roughness values by 22%. Such predictability can help in reducing operating costs in a grinding operation by minimizing wastage and rework. Acknowledgement: Guidance provided by Dr. Satish Bukkapatnam and Dr. R Komanduri for this work is deeply appreciated. Predictors of Persistence in an Honors College Kay Celeste Campbell Department of Educational Psychology Oklahoma State University Presentation Subject Area: Education Records of 304 students at Oklahoma State University were studied to evaluate potential predictors of their persistence in the Honors College. Using multiple regression, a linear model was constructed that predicted a significant amount of variance in the number of honors hours completed during the first two years of college. The cumulative college grade point average emerged as the strongest predictor for the entire group, with ACT score (a negative relationship with the criterion) and academic college within the university as other significant predictors. When analyzed separately by gender, however, differences were seen. The ACT score remained a significant predictor only for females (still maintaining a negative relationship with Honors College persistence). The Role of Culture to Employee Service Quality Gina Fe Causin Department of Hotel and Restaurant Administration Oklahoma State University Presentation Subject Area: Social Sciences International tourism and international tourists call for a well defined combination of global, national and local cultures, of globally and locally valid service qualities (Weiermair, 2000). In order to create and market internationally appealing tourism products, to achieve competitive advantages and to sustain competitiveness against global or transnational tourism firms, a number of tourism and hospitality management know-how gaps have to be specified and corrective management measures must be undertaken. The study will review and discuss the topic of customer satisfaction and its application to the hospitality and tourism industries. It will define the concept and analyze its importance to services in general and the hospitality/tourism services in particular. In addition, the study determines whether job satisfaction, service quality and culture could influence customer satisfaction in the hospitality or tourism industry (Weiermair, 2000). Calculation of Coupling Strength Between Whispering-Gallery Modes in a Dual Microsphere System Elijah Dale, Michael J. Humphrey, A. T. Rosenberger, and D. K. Bandy Department of Physics Oklahoma State University Presentation Subject Area: Physical Sciences & Technology Coupled-mode theory is used to numerically calculate the coupling coefficients between transverse electric modes of various polar and radial order within a dual fused-silica microsphere system. The results of these calculations suggest that the overall coupling coefficients are largely independent of the relative radii of the coupled microspheres. Furthermore, within these calculations it is found that coupling is strongly dependent on spatial field overlap between modes of different polar order while strongly dependent on phase matching between modes of different radial order. The results of these calculations are in good agreement with experimental results. A Model for Radiative Transfer in the Atmosphere of Mars in the 200-900nm Range Shubhada Deo, R. Kalchgruber, and B.Mayer Department of Physics Oklahoma State University Presentation Subject Area: Physical Sciences & Technology One question of Mars-exploration is the climatic history of this intriguing planet. In this context, efforts are made to create a miniature dating device for in situ luminescence dating of Martian sediments. In luminescence dating the time elapsed since deposition of a sediment layer is determined from the radiationdose accumulated in minerals since the last bleaching event, and the dose rate due to naturally occurring radiation. During sunlight exposure sediments are mainly bleached by the part of the solar spectrum ranging from 200-900nm. Solar resetting under terrestrial conditions has been extensively investigated. For the spectral irradiance at the surface of Mars, however, no measured data exist. Therefore a software package called libRadtran was used for radiative transfer calculations from 200-900 nm. Factors like the vertical atmospheric profile, absorption due to CO2, O2, O3, H2O and dust particles (Rayleigh scattering) in the Martian atmosphere were considered. Role of the Phytotoxin Coronatine in Pathogenesis of Pseudomonas Syringae pv. Tomato DC3000 in Edible Brassicas Sarita Elizabeth, and Carol L. Bender Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology Oklahoma State University Presentation Subject Area: Biological Sciences Coronatine (COR) is a non-host specific, chlorosis-inducing toxin produced by several pathovars of P. syringae and is considered a virulence factor on certain hosts. P. syringae pv. tomato strain DC3000 has been recently sequenced and hence is a model organism for investigating plant-microbe interactions. The pathogen causes significant loss on edible Brassica spp. Hence, it is important to investigate the role of coronatine in the pathogenesis of Pst DC3000 on commercially important Brassica spp. such as collard and turnip. These hosts were inoculated with defined mutants of DC3000 that were defective in CFA, CMA and/or COR production and were monitored for symptoms, colonization, chlorophyll and anthocyanin content. Our results suggest that COR is required for symptom development in both hosts and for multiplication of DC3000 in turnip. RNA blot analysis conducted with PR1 indicated that coronatine may function to suppress salicylic acid-mediated defenses in turnip. Furthermore, analysis of LOX (lipoxygenase) expression in RNA blots suggested that Pst DC3000 could promote the expression of JA response genes in both collard and turnip. CORI1, which encodes the chlorophyllase gene, was expressed in collard as well as turnip leaves inoculated with the wild type DC3000 strain. Our results suggest that COR has different effects in these two host plants. First-Principles Optical Cross-Sections for Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Shelly Elizondo, Shagoto Nandi, and J.W. Mintmire Department of Physics Oklahoma State University Presentation Subject Area: Physical Sciences & Technology Using a first-principles local-density functional (LDF) method, theoretical calculations for the optical absorption properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are carried out, taking into account the effect of polarization. The optical cross-sections for a large array of nanotubes, ranging from (n,m) = (5,4) to (15,7) are calculated using an Ehrenreich-Cohen formalism. We use 512 evenly spaced points in the onedimensional Brillouin zone (-π < κ ≤ π) and a C(7s, 3p) Gaussian basis set. Polarizations both parallel and transverse to the helical axis are investigated. Previous theoretical work revealed that the optical response for polarizations parallel to the nanotube axis differ from the optical response for polarizations transverse to the nanotube axis. [1] Our current motivation is influenced by experimental work in which polarized spectroscopy of aligned SWNTs is investigated [2] as well as interests in the mapping of specific nanotube structures to spectral data [3,4]. Future work involves implementing time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) to account for dynamic polarizabilities. This work was supported by the ONR, the DoD HPCMO CHSSI program, and the NSF Oklahoma EPSCoR NanoNet, NSF REU, and NSF IGERT programs at OSU. 1. J.W. Mintmire, C.T. White, Synthetic Metals 77, 231 (1996). 2. J. Hwang, H.H. Gommans, A. Ugawa, H. Tashiro, R. Haggenmueller, K.I. Winey, J.E. Fischer, D.B. Tanner, and A.G. Rinzler, Phys. Rev. B 62, 13310 (2000). 3. S.M. Bachilo, M.S. Strano, C.Kittrell, R.H. Hauge, R.E. Smalley, R.B. Weisman, Science 298, 2361 (2002). 4. S.M. Bachilo, L. Balzano, J.E. Herrera, F. Pompeo, D.E. Resasco, and R.B. Weisman, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 125, 11186 (2003). Identification and Functional Characterization of a Novel Bovine Host Defense Peptide Grace Hale, Yanjing Xiao, and Guolong Zhang Department of Animal Science Oklahoma State University Presentation Subject Area: Biomedical Sciences One common characteristic of the innate immunity of many organisms is the production of antimicrobial peptides, a group of small amino-acid based molecules that are among the first line of defense against pathogenic microbes. Among many such host defense peptides are the cathelicidins, so named because of their conserved N-terminal cathelin-like prosequences, which are in turn followed by highly variable mature sequences at the C-terminus. These diversified cathelicidins have been shown to exhibit potent antimicrobial activity against a broad spectrum of pathogens with potential for becoming a new class of novel antimicrobials. Based on the highly conserved cathelin prosequence, a novel cathelicidin, which was termed Bovine Cathelicidin-8 (BCATH8), was identified by computational homology search through the genomic sequence database in the GenBank. The gene for BCATH8 consists of four exons separated by three introns, and the encoded unique mature peptide sequence at the C-terminus is 36 amino acids long. This peptide was chemically synthesized and shown to kill a wide range of bacteria, including the gram-positive Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus, as well as the gram-negative Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella typhimurium at micromolar concentrations, while at the same time maintaining low levels of cytolytic activity. Further testing and modification of this peptide may lead to the development of novel antiinfectives with little chance of bacterial resistance. Contribution of Glycolysis and Glyceroneogenesis to the Synthesis of Triglycerides in Adipocytes Masakazu Hamada, Umezu S., Arrese E.L., and Soulages J.L. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Oklahoma State University Presentation Subject Area: Biological Sciences Adipose tissue stores most of the fat (triglyceride) of the human body. The metabolism of triglyceride (TG) is very active and a continuous breakdown and re-synthesis of TG takes place in adipose tissue. The balance between synthesis and degradation of TG determines whether at a given point the tissue looses TG (as fatty acids released into circulation) or accumulates TG. A minor imbalance between the rates of degradation and synthesis of TG appears to be a major factor in the development of diabetes type II. Because an excessive release of fatty acids to circulation is characteristic of diabetes type II the study of the regulation of the resynthesis of TG is essential to the understanding of the development of diabetes. Glycerol 3-phosphate (G3P) is a required metabolite for the synthesis of TG in adipose tissue. G3P can only be produced through the metabolism of glucose and or through gluconeogenesis. In order to understand the regulation of the synthesis of TG we have carried out studies to assess the contribution of gluconeogenesis and glycolysis to the synthesis of the glycerol backbone of TG in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. These studies where carried out under the effect of insulin (low rate of TG degradation) or isoproterenol (high rate of TG degradation) using the two possible (radiolabeled) precursors of glycerol, glucose and lactate. Our studies indicated that, contrarily to the current belief, glycolysis is the major route for the synthesis of the glycerol backbone of TG. This result suggests that alterations in the glycolytic pathway of adipose tissue could be responsible for the development of diabetes type-II. Effects of Marital and Maternal Status on Perceived Work Productivity of Women Pamela Harjo and Kathleen M. Donovan, Ph.D., Department of Psychology University of Central Oklahoma, McNair Scholars Program Presentation Subject Area: Social Sciences Research suggests that there are stereotypes and negative attitudes toward pregnant women in the workforce. This study examined how college students (65 females and 16 males) from a Midwestern university perceive women in the workforce based on their marital (single versus pregnant) status. Both their current and future job performance scores actually increase during pregnancy, which is similar to other research findings (Gueutal et. a., 1995). However, in contrast, performance scores for future job performance suggests that single women (pregnant of not) have the highest job performance ratings, which is opposite current job performance. This implies that being pregnant increase job performance, but after pregnancy job performance decreases. Future job ratings are highest for those who are single and not pregnant. These results have implications for all employees of women who become pregnant while working. Screening for Virulence Mutants of Pseudomonas Syringae pv. Tomato DC3000 Using a High-Throughput Technique Sarah Harley, Tamding Wangdi, and Carol L. Bender Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology Oklahoma State University Presentation Subject Area: Biological Sciences P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst DC3000) is a gram negative plant pathogen that causes bacterial speck of tomato. Pst DC3000 has become a model strain for investigating plant’microbe interactions, largely because of its genetic tractability, pathogenicity on Arabidopsis, and the availability of its genomic sequence. The current study addresses the application of a seedling assay for the screening of Pst DC3000 virulence mutants from a library of a random Tn5 insertion mutants. The effectiveness of the seedling assay was tested by comparing its results with those obtained by foliar inoculation of tomato plants. Furthermore, tomato seedlings infected with Pst DC3000 carrying transcriptional fusion of selected genes to the GUS reporter gene yielded expression results that are consistent with those obtained from foliar inoculation of 3-4 week old tomato plants. The use of a seedling assay for virulence and gene expression has several advantages over whole plant assays including a shorter growth and incubation period, ease of inoculation and handling, more replications and larger samples per assay. The Consistency of the ZF System Ali Hassan Department of Computer Science Oklahoma State University Presentation Subject Area: Physical Sciences & Technology This work is intended to focus on the consistency of the set theory, which is the foundation of the Modern Mathematics. The foundation of the set theory is the ZF system, or sometimes referred to as ZFC system. The ZF system will be challenged against consistency. An evidence will be presented to show the system inconsistent. More over, the work will suggest the ZF system to be self contradictory. A solution for one of the most important unsolved problems in that system, named the Continuum Problem, will be proposed. A suggestion for future work will be stated clearly. Effect of Spatial Architecture on Cellular Colonization Yan Huang, Mbonda Siewe, and Sundararajan V. Madihally Department of Chemical Engineering Oklahoma State University Presentation Subject Area: Biomedical Sciences Effect of spatial architecture on cellular colonization Yan Huang, Mbonda Siewe, Sundararajan V. Madihally, PhD* School of Chemical Engineering, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078