Life Sciences Commons^™

St. John’S Wort And Artemisia Extracts Modulate Adipocyte Development And Function, Zhaleh Amini

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Effect Of The Trna Gene Tv(Uac)D On The Transcriptional Regulation Of The Neighboring Cis1 Gene In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Jessica Rosselot

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Ability Of Households In Southeast Louisiana Eligible For The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program To Meet The Food Recommendations Of The 2010 Dietary Guidelines For Americans, Alicia Rodriguez

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

P53-Independent Apoptosis And Autophagy As A Result Of Rnai Knockdown Of Nopp140 In Drosophila Melanogaster, Courtney Mumphrey

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Function And Mechanism Of Rrf-1 In Antiviral Rnai In C. Elegans, Amanda Lynn Callegan

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

A Tutorial Of Manual Segmentation Using The Visualization Program Avizo® As Illustrated By The Skeleton Of The Spiny Dogfish Shark, Squalus Acanthias, Mateusz A. Lapucha

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Modeling A Model Organism: The Lamprey, Petromyzon Marinus, Bradley M. Wood

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Immunophenotypic And Cytokine Characterization Of The Osteoarthritic Human Patellar Fat Pad: Comparison To Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue, Katie Marie Hamel

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Exchange Rate Volatility And Bilateral Agricultural Trade Flows: The Case Of The United States And Oecd Countries, Kashi Ram Kafle

LSU Master's Theses

The abandonment of fixed exchange rate systems has caused exchange rate movements to become a major concern for traders, policy makers and researchers. During the previous four decades of floating exchange rates, numerous studies have been conducted to determine whether exchange rate volatility affected international trade flows. Researchers have not yet reached a general consensus as to the magnitude and direction of the impact of exchange rate volatility on trade flows. This study documents the effect of exchange rate volatility and real exchange rates on bilateral agricultural exports, imports and total trade flows between the United States and OECD countries. …

Use Of Condensed Tannins Supplementation And Inorganic Copper As Deworming Agents In Naturally Infected Ewes And Lambs, Moara De Santana Martins

LSU Master's Theses

Sheep production is an important socioeconomic activity for the small producers and it can represent their primary income source. Gastrointestinal parasites have become the principal limiting factor for this industry around the world, especially because of the anthelmintic resistance phenomenon that has been increasing worldwide. The negligent use of anthelmintics has been reported as the main factor in the development of resistance. Among the parasites that infect sheep, H. contortus is considered the most harmful and also the parasite responsible for the fastest development of nematode resistance in small ruminants. Due to the economic impact this parasite may bring upon …

Intravenous Injection Of Insulin For Measuring Insulin Sensitivity In Horses: Effects Of Epinephrine, Feeding Regimen, And Supplementation With Cinnamon For Fish Oil, Lisa Rosalee Earl

LSU Master's Theses

Seven experiments were performed to assess the use of glucose responses to insulin injections as a means of estimating insulin sensitivity in horses; to compare the insulin sensitivities of normal horses vs. those displaying hyperleptinemia; and to put this method into practical application. Experiment 3.1 examined dose-responses in mares of potentially different insulin sensitivities. Recombinant human insulin was injected at doses of 8, 20, 50, and 125 mU/kg BW, as needed, to estimate the dose of insulin causing a 50% decrease in glucose concentrations (ED50). Five mares each of low leptin concentrations (LL) and low BCS, LL and high BCS, …

Development And Permeability Of Equine Blastocysts, Brittany Reshel Scott

LSU Master's Theses

Equine embryo cryopreservation is unsuccessful in larger, more easily collected, day-7 embryos. It is imperative that methods to successfully cryopreserve large equine embryos or develop reliable methods to determine embryo size before collection. Therefore the objectives for this study were to quantify the amount of tritiated glycerol that would permeate various sizes of equine embryos and to determine if circulating progesterone concentration was correlated with in utero embryo size. Mean embryo diameter (± SEM) across treatments (1.4M and 3.4M tritiated glycerol) was 696.5µm ± 108.6µm and 925.9 µm ± 214.1µm, respectively and were not different (P=0.44). The percent permeation for …

Molecular Mechanisms Of Bacillus Thuringiensis Resistance In The Sugarcane Borer, Yunlong Yang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis, is a major target pest of transgenic corn expressing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) proteins in many areas of the U.S. mid-southern region. A Cry1Ab-resistant (Cry1Ab-RR) strain of D. saccharalis has been developed from a single two-parent family-line. To examine the molecular mechanisms of the Cry1Ab resistance in this insect strain, cDNAs of five types of potential candidate genes related to Bt resistance were sequenced using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and 5’ rapid amplification of cDNA end (5’ RACE). The Bt resistance candidate genes examined included three trypsins (DsTRYs), three chymotrypsins (DsCHYs), three aminopeptidases N …

Three Essays On The Labor Allocation Decisions Of The Modern Farm Family, Jeremy Michael D'Antoni

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation is to address the role of government payments in the allocation of off-farm labor through three essays. Government payments have been a part of agriculture since 1933 and at no time has the government stated a policy objective of decreasing the agricultural labor force. Using time series data and new econometric techniques, the first essay finds agricultural policy may have an unintended impact on labor migration. Specifically, we find that government payments increased labor migration from the farm. From 1939 to 2007, increased direct government payments resulted in greater migration of labor from agriculture. The …

Physical Activity And Health-Related Quality Of Life Among Elementary Students: An Integrated Perspective, Xiangli Gu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

School physical education (PE) not only offers and promotes health-related physical activity, but also encompasses the promotion and development of perceptions of mental health (USDHHS, 2010). It has been suggested that health-related quality of life (HRQOL) can predict future health, monitor children’s psychosocial health, and identify those most at risk or in need of support at an early stage. Assessing physical activity (PA) and health-related quality of life have become major issues in pediatric public health and also serve as a major goal of Health people 2020 (USDHHS, 2010). Research including assessment of theory-based mediators of health-related outcomes is needed …

Examination Of Metabolism In Diabetic Offspring, Ryan Damion Russell

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to categorize aberrant metabolic function in diabetic offspring (FH+). This study examined metabolic flexibility (MF), and changes in fasting blood-glucose concentrations and markers of lipotoxicity with resistance training in college age FH+ and FH-. Results are significant at p = 0.05. MF testing indicate no baseline differences in RMR, VO2, REE, fat or CHO use were noted between T2D, FH+, or FH-. Passive stretching caused increased metabolism overall, however the T2D group temporarily displayed increased CHO use during passive stretching, which quickly returned to pre-stretched levels during recovery as compared with FH-. Both T2D …

The Role Of Motivation And Physical Activity In A Weight Loss Program, Ellen Kane Stevens

LSU Master's Theses

Every year thousands of overweight and obese people in the United States join weight loss programs such as Weight Watchers in an effort to become healthier and feel more attractive. Weight Watchers has increased its program focus on physical activity as a critical part of weight loss. Initiating a consistent physical activity routine, however, is generally one of the last behavior changes made by program members, despite its proven role in weight loss maintenance. Using self-determination theory as a framework, the purpose of this study was to examine how perceptions of fulfillment of three psychological needs (i.e. competence, autonomy, and …

Economics Of U.S. Government Debt Accumulation, Carlos Ignacio Garcia Jimenez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The United States of America is an indebted nation in the early years of the new millennium, changing from $469 billion in 1973 to $14 trillion in 2010, as spending is justified on the basis that it promotes GDP growth which in turn increases societal benefits. Despite the benefits of debt, its effectiveness and the transmission mechanisms of fiscal policy are still on debate. Consequently, the economic effects of U.S. government debt accumulation are studied in three empirical research articles.

The dissertation is composed of five chapters. The first chapter is an introduction wherein the problem statement, the purpose, objectives …

Spray Drying Technology For The Production And Processing Of Microencapsulated Omega-3 Fish Oil With Egg Powder, Kevin Estuardo Mis Solval

LSU Master's Theses

Protein with essential amino acids is required for recovering, repairing, and building muscles after intensive exercise. A powder produced with egg white (EW) (high quality protein) and fish oil (menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) (MO) oil or salmon oil (SO)) with high DHA and EPA content should be particularly beneficial for athletes. The objective of this study was to develop microencapsulated omega-3 fatty acids fortified EW powders. Two stable emulsions were prepared with 3.43% (MO) or (SO), 56.21% EW, and 40.36% water (E-MO-EW and E-SO-EW). An EW with water solution (without fish oil) (E-EW) was prepared as a control. Two emulsions (E-MO-EW; …

Utilizing Near-Infrared Spectroscopy To Detect Sodium Tripolyphosphate In Treated Penaeus Aztecus And Setiferus Shrimp, Alisa Marlene Todd

LSU Master's Theses

Applying sodium tripolyphosphate to shrimp may cause excess water absorption and has become a major concern to phosphate producers, the consumer and regulatory agencies, such as, the United States Food and Drug Administration. The objective of this study was to examine Near Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy as a nondestructive and rapid method of detecting shrimp treated with sodium tripolyphosphate solutions of varying concentrations and treatment times. Wild caught Penaeus setiferus and aztecus Louisiana gulf coast shrimp were submerged in distilled water, 2.5% sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP), and 5% sodium tripolyphosphate solutions for 30, 60, 120, 240, 480, 960, 1920 minute time intervals. …

Optimizing The Feeding Time For Low Crude Protein, Amino Acid-Supplemented Diets For Broilers, Stephen T. Treese

LSU Master's Theses

The objectives of this research were to determine whether delaying the feeding of a diet with reduced crude protein, supplemented with L-Lysine, for several days post-hatching, would result in improved growth performance of broiler chicks and determine an optimal time to feed such a diet to the chick. All experiments were conducted in brooder batteries from 0- to 14- or 18- days (d) post-hatching. Treatments contained a minimum of 6 replicate pens with at least 6 broilers per pen. Two experiments were conducted to determine whether delaying the feeding of a corn-soybean meal (SBM) diet with reduced CP for either …

Influence Of Low Sonication Intensities At Different Temperatures On Acid Tolerance, Bile Tolerance, Protease Activity And Growth Of Yogurt Culture Bacteria Lactobacillus Delbrueckii Ssp. Bulgaricus And Streptococcus Salivarius Ssp. Thermophilus, Marvin L. Moncada Reyes

LSU Master's Theses

Streptococcus salivarius ssp. thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus are dairy cultures widely used in the dairy industry. Low sonication intensity condition is a non-destructive technique that uses sound waves to cause cavitation in aqueous solutions and may improve the permeability of membranes, speed up the transfer of substrates and promote cellular growth and propagation. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of low sonication intensities at different temperatures on acid tolerance, bile tolerance, protease activity and growth of the two dairy cultures. The cultures were freshly thawed and suspended in 0.1% peptone water and 18 ml …

Optimization Of Heat-Stable Protein Extraction In Recalcitrant Spartina Alterniflora, Yi Wang

LSU Master's Theses

Orthodox and recalcitrant seeds exhibit differential tolerance to water loss. Recalcitrant seeds are not able to tolerate desiccation and die when dried, while the orthodox seeds can be stored dry without losing viability for years. Spartina is a good model to study recalcitrance, because unlike most other recalcitrance studies, which contain only a recalcitrant species, this system has both recalcitrant S. alterniflora and orthodox species, S. pectinata and S. spartinae, as close-related physiological comparators. Lack of protective proteins, e.g. late embryogenesis abundant proteins (LEAs), has been proposed to be the cause of recalcitrant seed death. A common feature of these …

Effects Of Resistant Starch In Milk Replacer On Health And Performance In Neonatal Holstein Heifer Calves, Bethany Leann Fisher

LSU Master's Theses

Forty-two female Holstein calves were assigned to one of three treatments at d 2 of age to study the effects of adding resistant starch (RS) to the milk replacer on health and performance. Treatments were control (0g RS), 4g RS, or 8g RS mixed into the reconstituted milk replacer. Calves were housed in individual calf hutches and fed milk replacer once daily until d 42 of age. Water and an 18% crude protein calf starter were offered ad libitum beginning d 3 throughout the duration of the 56 d trial. Calves remained in their hutches until d 56 of age …

Advanced Management Of The Mexican Rice Borer (Eoreuma Loftini) In Sugarcane, Blake Emerson Wilson

LSU Master's Theses

Insecticide, greenhouse and varietal resistance experiments were conducted in Texas to develop management tactics for the Mexican rice borer, Eoreuma loftini (Dyar), sugarcane. A 3-treatment, large plot aerial application study was set up in 5 commercial sugarcane fields (35-84 acres) to evaluate the utilization of pheromone traps to improve chemical control strategies for E. loftini during 2009 and 2010 growing seasons. A threshold of 20-25 moths/trap/wk was used as an indicator to initiate monitoring for E. loftini larval infestations. Larval infestations were directly related to the no. of moths/trap/wk (R2=0.71). Reductions in borer injury and adult emergence (60% and 40% …

A Molecular Genetic Study On The Tofl/Tofr Quorum-Sensing System Of Burkholderia Glumae: The Major Pathogen That Causes Bacterial Panicle Blight Of Rice, Ruoxi Chen

LSU Master's Theses

Burkholderia glumae is the major causal agent of an economically important rice disease, bacterial panicle blight (BPB). The known virulence factors of B. glumae share the TofI/TofR quorum sensing system as their regulator. tofI and tofR genes encode the N-acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) synthase for the B. glumae quorum sensing signals, N-octanoyl homoserine lactone (C8-HSL) and N-hexanoyl homoserine lactone (C6-HSL), and the receptor for AHL, respectively. To better understand the relationship between quorum sensing and known virulence factors (toxoflavin, flagella and lipase), as well as, putative virulence factors (i.e. extracellular polysaccharide), mutagenetic and phenotypic analyses were applied to this study. …

Inhibitory Effects Of Berry Anthocyanins On Palmitic Acid- Or Lipopolysaccharide- Induced Inflammation In Human Preadipocytes, Chenfei Gao

LSU Master's Theses

Obesity is an inflammatory disease associated with the development and progression of chronic degenerative diseases including insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease (CVD), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and cancer. Circulating free fatty acid (FFA) are known risk factors promoting inflammation that can lead to CVD. Pre/adipocytes are known storage of low grade inflammatory biomarkers associated with obesity. However, the effects of dietary anthocyanins on inflammatory biomarkers in preadipocytes have not been reported. Berries are rich sources of naturally occurring antioxidant polyphenolics. There is increasing interest in the ability of berry anthocyanins to provide health benefits against obesity. Anthocyanins were isolated from …

Production And Processing Of A Functional Yogurt Fortified With Microencapsulated Omega-3 And Vitamin E, Jose Daniel Estrada Andino

LSU Master's Theses

Market and nutritional values of fermented milks can be enhanced by adding microencapsulated polyunsaturated fish oil and vitamin E. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) lower the risk of heart disease and vitamin E is an important lipophilic antioxidant that protects cell membranes from oxidation. This study aimed to develop functional yogurts YMSO and YMMO fortified with á-tocopherol and microencapsulated salmon oil (MSO) or microencapsulated menhaden oil (MMO), respectively and to evaluate their physicochemical properties during 1-mo of storage. Stable emulsions were prepared with 7% red salmon oil (SO) or menhaden oil (MO), 22% arabic gum, 11% maltodextrin, 0.83% á-tocopherol and 59.17% …

Inhibitory Activity Of Ginger Oil Against Breast Cancer Cells, Namrata Karki

LSU Master's Theses

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer related mortality in women. The estimated new cases and death for 2010 in the US for females were 207,090 and 39,840 and for men were 1,970 and 390 respectively. Breast cancer cells contain cancer stem cells (CSCs), which represent less than 5% of the total cancer cell population, but accounts for continuous proliferation and growth. Breast cancer is highly metastatic and can spread to various parts of the body. Signaling through cell surface markers, including CD44/CD24/ALDH1 in breast cancer, pro-survival factors, including Hsp90 and other client proteins, angiogenic biomarkers and telomerase activity …

Development And Application Of Serogroup-Independent And Serogroup-Specific Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assays For Detecting Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli, Fei Wang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), encompassing E. coli O157:H7 and non-O157 STEC, is a significant cause of foodborne illnesses and deaths in the United States and worldwide. Shiga toxins (encoded by stx) and intimin (encoded by eae) are important virulence factors for STEC strains causing infection. Although E. coli O157:H7 remains to be the single most common STEC causing disease, the clinical importance of non-O157 STEC is on the rise worldwide. And six major serogroups (O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145) accounted for over 70% of non-O157 STEC infections in the United States. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a …