Development of an online food safety training and pilot study for employees of university farms and school gardens

Two one-hour on farm food safety online module were developed to inform k-12 students and university farm workers on food safety hazards associated with production and harvesting of fresh produce. Module content was developed through a review of the current Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) Program, current research available, and updated regulations in produce food safety. Quizzes for students and a user manual were created for facilitators and instructors to support the online modules. After developing the course materials, a pilot study was conducted at two k-12 school districts in Iowa, two land grant universities, with a six member expert steering committee panel to test the knowledge gained through the two developed curriculum. The six member expert steering committee along with three other facilitators completed an online survey consisting of open-ended questions to determine the effectiveness of the online module and the supporting materials available on the inclusive webpage. The hypothesis of this research is that the online curriculum and supportive material will be beneficial to both demographics, and increase in knowledge will be observed after viewing developed material. Students and university survey results indicate that the online module will significantly increase the knowledge of students and university workers related to hazards associated with produce food safety (P\u3c0.05). The topics, graphics, design, length, and webpage were appropriate for the age group. Additionally, the resource guide and quizzes were perceived as helpful and will be useful to increase the knowledge and confidence of the training facilitators (P\u3c0.05). The group indicated that specific graphic and content material changes should be made within the module. This online module is a first step toward educating youth about food safety in the garden. Knowledge on hazard prevention can reduce the risk of produce contamination and decrease produce outbreaks from occurring in school gardens

WordCruncher: A Digital Research and Teaching Assistant

For humanities research or teaching projects, we each pick tools from our digital toolboxes. If we have few tools, our projects may be limited or take longer. When we become familiar with other tools, we may get ideas for other projects and learn how to do projects faster and better. WordCruncher is a free digital toolkit with tools to help you search, study, analyze, download, create, and share eBooks or corpora. For example, you can add searchable notes, highlight text, do advanced searches, see search keywords in context, and find collocates or n-grams in WordCruncher books that may include formatted multilingual text, images, tags, hyperlinks, dictionaries, and lemma lists. Other apps and online resources may lack helpful tools, tags, markup, formatting, speed, or data. One linguist used online data to create a 700 million-word WordCruncher corpus. He said, “I couldn\u27t have done a lot of my research with what is out there.” For many years, our team has helped BYU faculty, research assistants, and students use WordCruncher tools to answer research questions and enhance student learning. We often help convert digital materials into a WordCruncher book or corpus designed to facilitate a project. This presentation will be a quick overview of several projects that illustrate how faculty and students have used WordCrunchertools and data

Computational Modeling of Gas Adsorption, Separation, and Reactivity within Coordinatively Unsaturated Metal-Organic Framework Materials

University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation.March 2015. Major: Chemistry. Advisor: Laura Gagliardi. 1 computer file (PDF); xix, 238 pages.In this work, computational methodologies are used to investigate the behavior of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) that are of potential utility in gas separation ap- plications. MOFs are three-dimensional porous materials that are desirable due to their high porosity and internal surface area. Given the myriad of possible framework topologies, computational tools are necessary in order to aid and complement experimental efforts. The focus of this dissertation is specifically coordinatively unsaturated MOFs, a subclass of MOFs for which there are additional computational challenges in treating the exposed metal site. The collection of studies presented here are grouped into four categories: force field parameterization, gas reactivity within MOFs, nature of adsorbate-MOF bonding, and multireference treatment of metal-metal bonds. Ab initio force fields are parameterized for various MOF-gas interactions, where the the NonEmpirical Modeling (NEMO) philosophy is adopted. Wave-Function Theory (WFT) is used for the calculation of the reference energies of the intermolecular terms. Moller-Plesset Perturbation Theory to 2nd order (MP2) and Complete-Active Space Perturbation Theory to 2nd order (CASPT2) are applied for closed-shell and open-shell cases, respectively. These derived force fields are utilized in Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations for the MOF + adsorbate systems. Results from GCMC simulations include adsorption isotherms, Henry coefficients, and isosteric heats of adsorption that are compared with the available experimental data, demonstrating the predictive capabilities of this computational procedure. A reaction mechanism between CO2 and amines grafted within the pores of a MOF is proposed based on DFT results, and both DFT and CASPT2 results are utilized to elucidate the nature of a reactive Fe-Oxo intermediate at the exposed Fe site in the MOF. Coupled Cluster (CC), MP2, CASPT2, and DFT are all used to rationalize adsorbate-MOF bonding trends, and the Extended-Transition State Natural Orbitals for Chemical Valence (ETS-NOCV) is used as a comparative tool. Complete-Active Space Self-Consistent Field (CASSCF) and CASPT2 are used for the studies of metal-metal multiple bonded species, and compared with results from DFT

Correction: CO2 induced phase transitions in diamine-appended metal-organic frameworks.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1039/C5SC01828E.]

Improving Agricultural Workers Food Safety Knowledge through an Online Curriculum

Abstract A one-hour online food safety curriculum was developed to inform university farm workers on food safety hazards associated with production and harvesting of fresh produce. The farm curriculum consists of five sections (food safety importance, pre-harvest hazards, post-harvest hazards, personal hygiene, and regulations). Engagement activities and a user manual were developed to support the curriculum. Curriculum content was validated by an expert panel and a convenience panel of farm workers. The developed curriculum was piloted at two land grant universities (n=50). Multiple-choice quizzes were used to assess knowledge changes in each of the sections. Results indicated significant knowledge gains at both universities for all sections except the personal hygiene section. This pilot study provides evidence that an online format is effective in improving food safety knowledge. Because knowledge is a prerequisite for behavior, this curriculum can assist with mitigating food safety risk on university and other research farms. Keywords: Food Safety Education, University Farms, Pilot Study, Online Trainin

MnNiO3 revisited with modern theoretical and experimental methods

MnNiO3 is a strongly correlated transition metal oxide that has recently been investigated theoretically for its potential application as an oxygen-evolution photocatalyst. However, there is no experimental report on critical quantities such as the band gap or bulk modulus. Recent theoretical predictions with standard functionals such as LDA+U and HSE show large discrepancies in the band gaps (about 1.23 eV), depending on the nature of the functional used. Hence there is clearly a need for an accurate quantitative prediction of the band gap to gauge its utility as a photocatalyst. In this work, we present a diffusion quantum Monte Carlo study of the bulk properties of MnNiO3 and revisit the synthesis and experimental properties of the compound. We predict quasiparticle band gaps of 2.0(5) eV and 3.8(6) eV for the majority and minority spin channels, respectively, and an equilibrium volume of 92.8 Å3, which compares well to the experimental value of 94.4 Å3. A bulk modulus of 217 GPa is predicted for MnNiO3. We rationalize the difficulty for the formation of ordered ilmenite-type structure with specific sites for Ni and Mn to be potentially due to the formation of antisite defects that form during synthesis, which ultimately affects the physical properties of MnNiO3

3-Oxo-18α-olean-28,13β-olide

The title terpene, C30H46O3, is a 28,13β-lactone of oleanolic acid prepared with bis­muth trifluoro­methane­sulfonate (OTf), Bi(OTf)3·xH2O. All rings are trans-fused. The X-ray study shows the inversion of the orientation of 18-H in the lactonization reaction. A quantum chemical ab-initio Roothaan Hartree–Fock calculation of the equilibrium geometry of the isolated mol­ecule gives values for bond lengths and valency angles in close agreement with experimental values. The calculation also reproduces the observed mol­ecular conformation, with puckering parameters that agree well with those determined from the crystallographic study

Ab-initio Carbon Capture in Open-Site Metal Organic Frameworks

During the formation of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), metal centres can coordinate with the intended organic linkers, but also with solvent molecules. In this case, subsequent activation by removal of the solvent molecules creates unsaturated ‘open’ metal sites known to have a strong affinity for CO2 molecules, but their interactions are still poorly understood. Common force fields typically underestimate by as much as two orders of magnitude the adsorption of CO2 in open-site Mg-MOF-74, which has emerged as a promising MOF for CO2 capture. Here we present a systematic procedure to generate force fields using high-level quantum chemical calculations. Monte Carlo simulations based on an ab initio force field generated for CO2 in Mg-MOF-74 shed some light on the interpretation of thermodynamic data from flue gas in this material. The force field describes accurately the chemistry of the open metal sites, and is transferable to other structures. This approach may serve in molecular simulations in general and in the study of fluid–solid interactions

Fermentation and purification strategies for the production of betulinic acid and its lupane-type precursors in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Microbial production of plant derived, biologically active compounds has the potential to provide economic and ecologic alternatives to existing low productive, plant-based processes. Current production of the pharmacologically active cyclic triterpenoid betulinic acid is realized by extraction from the bark of plane tree or birch. Here, we reengineered the reported betulinic acid pathway into Saccharomyces cerevisiae and used this novel strain to develop efficient fermentation and product purification methods. Fed-batch cultivations with ethanol excess, using either an ethanol-pulse feed or controlling a constant ethanol concentration in the fermentation medium, significantly enhanced production of betulinic acid and its triterpenoid precursors. The beneficial effect of excess ethanol was further exploited in nitrogen-limited resting cell fermentations, yielding betulinic acid concentrations of 182mg/L, and total triterpenoid concentrations of 854mg/L, the highest concentrations reported so far. Purification of lupane-type triterpenoids with high selectivity and yield was achieved by solid-liquid extraction without prior cell disruption using polar aprotic solvents such as acetone or ethyl acetate and subsequent precipitation with strong acids. This study highlights the potential of microbial production of plant derived triterpenoids in S. cerevisiae by combining metabolic and process engineering