Digital Commons Network^™

Functional And Phenotypic Evaluation Of Murine Cytomegalovirus Infection Of The Heart, Cassandra Marie Bonavita

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a ubiquitous pathogen which infects 50-90% of the world population and results in lifelong latent infection with periodic transient reactivations. In immunocompetent populations acute infection is generally asymptomatic but seropositivity is associated with many chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease. Despite 139 years of research into HCMV pathogenesis there is still no licensed vaccine and many gaps in the general knowledge of the virus. This includes the role of long term infection as it pertains to chronic diseases. In these studies, murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) was used as a model of HCMV pathogenesis in the heart. MCMV shares …

Policing Understood As A Racial Project: An Exploration Of The Role Law Enforcement Has Played In The Shaping Of Race Relations In The United States, Jahaan Chandler

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Law enforcement and minority communities have had a complicated history in the United States to say the least. The theoretical propositions used to explain the myriad of interlocking relationships between race, criminal activity, neighborhood disorder, public perceptions of crime, and law enforcement itself, have provided us with nuggets of insight that have all contributed to enhancing our understanding of crime and policing in the U.S., but none have provided an overall interpretation of this complex and often convoluted relationship. This dissertation seeks to rectify this issue by not only examining the history of law enforcement and its relation to minority …

Barbadin Potentiates Long-Term Effects Of Lorcaserin On Pomc Neurons And Weight Loss, Yang He, Hailan Liu, Na Yin, Yongjie Yang, Chunmei Wang, Meng Yu, Hesong Liu, Chen Liang, Julia Wang, Longlong Tu, Nan Zhang, Lina Wang, Yanlin He, Makoto Fukuda, Qi Wu, Zheng Sun, Qingchun Tong, Yong Xu

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Obesity is a serious global health problem because of its increasing prevalence and comorbidities, but its treatments are limited. The serotonin 2C receptor (5-HT2CR), a G-protein-coupled receptor, activates proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in the arcuate nucleus of hypothalamus (ARH) to reduce appetite and weight gain. However, several 5-HT analogs targeting this receptor, e.g., lorcaserin (Lor), suffer from diminished efficacy to reduce weight after prolonged administration. Here, we show that barbadin (Bar), a novel b-arrestin/b2-adaptin inhibitor, can prevent 5-HT2CR internalization in cells and potentiate long-term effects of Lor to reduce appetite and body weight in male mice. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that Bar …

Non-Destructive Trace Element Analysis Of Burials From Moho Cay, Belize, April Alyce Walton

LSU Master's Theses

The study of skeletal material macroscopically and microscopically can yield a plethora of information about interments’ lives. Studying bones at an elemental level can provide further details regarding dietary habits, residency, and migration patterns, which are important areas of research for Maya archaeology. Currently, research on bone composition is conducted through destructive methods, especially for archaeological bone. The use of non-destructive methods for testing bone composition such as with a portable x-ray fluorescence machine can also be suitable for the study of archaeological bone. This study has two main goals: to understand the interments' lives through strontium trace element and …

The Young Age And Plant-Based Diet Hypothesis For Low Sars-Cov-2 Infection And Covid-19 Pandemic In Sub-Saharan Africa, J N. Losso, M N. Losso, M Toc, J N. Inungu, J N. Losso

Faculty Publications

Since the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that caused the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), in December 2019, the infection has spread around the globe. Some of the risk factors include social distancing, mask wearing, hand washing with soap, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, asthma, cardiovascular disease, and dysbiosis. Evidence has shown the incidence of total infection and death rates to be lower in sub-Saharan Africa when compared with North Africa, Europe and North America and many other parts of the world. The higher the metabolic syndrome rate, the higher the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Africa has a lower …

The Cryptid Tourist Gaze: Cryptid Tourism And The Performance Of Monster-Hunting, Sara Brooke Christian

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Cryptid Tourist Gaze: Cryptid Tourism and the Performance of Monster-Hunting examines different modes of monster-hunting and argues that the ways of hunting for monsters has evolved from major expeditions to cryptid tourism. I devised an original term called the Cryptid Tourist Gaze in order to analyze these different monster-hunting modes. The Cryptid Tourist Gaze is an individual's perspective of and experience with a cryptid monster and reflects how an individual perceives and presents cryptid monsters and cryptid monster experiences.

I suggest that individuals now perform monster-hunting through documentary media consumption, festival attendance, and museum curation and visitation, which are …

Microglial Implications In Sars-Cov-2 Infection And Covid-19: Lessons From Viral Rna Neurotropism And Possible Relevance To Parkinson's Disease, Ifeoluwa O. Awogbindin, Benneth Ben-Azu, Babatunde A. Olusola, Elizabeth T. Akinluyi, Philip A. Adeniyi, T. Di Paolo, Marie-Eve Tremblay

Faculty Publications

Since December 2019, humankind has been experiencing a ravaging severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak, the second coronavirus pandemic in a decade after the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) disease in 2012. Infection with SARS-CoV-2 results in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is responsible for over 3.1 million deaths worldwide. With the emergence of a second and a third wave of infection across the globe, and the rising record of multiple reinfections and relapses, SARS-CoV-2 infection shows no sign of abating. In addition, it is now evident that SARS-CoV-2 infection presents with neurological symptoms that include early …

Using Distributed Techology To Make Music In The Time Of The Attention Economy, Tate Carson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Sounds Aware is a mobile web app that allows users to record soundwalks and share them so that other people can experience them. The creator of the soundwalk records their perceptions of the restorativeness of a specific place on the walk, these answers are then sonified for whoever experiences the walk later to hear. Sounds Aware aims to be a social app that is restorative to our attention. It does this by encouraging experience of nature and by using decentralized technology that exists outside of the attention economy.

The attention economy is discussed as a force that exists within much …

Biologically-Based Mathematical Modeling Of Tumor Vasculature And Angiogenesis Via Time-Resolved Imaging Data, David A. Hormuth, Caleb M. Phillips, Chengyue Wu, Ernesto A.B.F. Lima, Guillermo Lorenzo, Prashant K. Jha, Angela M. Jarrett, J. Tinsley Oden, Thomas E. Yankeelov

Faculty Publications

Tumor-associated vasculature is responsible for the delivery of nutrients, removal of waste, and allowing growth beyond 2–3 mm3. Additionally, the vascular network, which is changing in both space and time, fundamentally influences tumor response to both systemic and radiation therapy. Thus, a robust understanding of vascular dynamics is necessary to accurately predict tumor growth, as well as establish optimal treatment protocols to achieve optimal tumor control. Such a goal requires the intimate integration of both theory and experiment. Quantitative and time-resolved imaging methods have emerged as technologies able to visualize and characterize tumor vascular properties before and during therapy at …

Importance Of Low-Relief Nursery Habitat For Reef Fishes, Michael A. Dance, Jay R. Rooker, Richard J. Kline, Antonietta Quigg, Gregory R. Stunz, R. J.David Wells, Kirsten Lara, Jessica Lee, Bobbie Suarez

Faculty Publications

Coastal restoration projects to mitigate environmental impacts have increased global demand for sand resources. Unfortunately, these resources are often extracted from sand/shell banks on the inner continental shelf, resulting in significant alteration or loss of low-relief reefs in coastal oceans. Experimental reefs (oyster shell, limestone rubble, composite) were deployed in the western Gulf of Mexico to assess their potential value as nurseries for newly settled reef fishes. Occurrence, abundance, and species richness of juvenile fishes were significantly higher on all three types of low-relief reefs compared with unconsolidated sediment. Moreover, reefs served as nursery habitat for a range of reef …

Metabolic Effects Of Duodenojejunal Bypass Surgery In A Rat Model Of Type 1 Diabetes, R Vangoitsenhoven, R Wilson, G Sharma, S Punchai, R Vangoitsenhoven, D Froylich, A Mulya, P R. Schauer, S A. Brethauer, J P. Kirwan, N Sangwan, J M. Brown, A Aminian

Faculty Publications

Background Metabolic surgery has beneficial metabolic effects, including remission of type 2 diabetes. We hypothesized that duodenojejunal bypass (DJB) surgery can protect against development of type 1 diabetes (T1D) by enhancing regulation of cellular and molecular pathways that control glucose homeostasis. Methods BBDP/Wor rats, which are prone to develop spontaneous autoimmune T1D, underwent loop DJB (n = 15) or sham (n = 15) surgery at a median age of 41 days, before development of diabetes. At T1D diagnosis, a subcutaneous insulin pellet was implanted, oral glucose tolerance test was performed 21 days later, and tissues were collected 25 days after …

Effect Of Informed Conditions On Sensory Expectations And Actual Perceptions: A Case Of Chocolate Brownies Containing Edible-Cricket Protein, Cristhiam Gurdian, Damir Torrico, Bin Li, Georgianna Tuuri, Witoon Prinyawiwatkul

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Deep Learning Enhanced Novel Software Tool For Laryngeal Dynamics Analysis, Andreas M. Kist, Pablo Gómez, Denis Dubrovskiy, Patrick Schlegel, Melda Kunduk, Matthias Echternach, Rita Patel, Marion Semmler, Christopher Bohr, Stephan Dürr, Anne Schützenberger, Michael Döllinger

Faculty Publications

Purpose: High-speed videoendoscopy (HSV) is an emerging, but barely used, endoscopy technique in the clinic to assess and diagnose voice disorders because of the lack of dedicated software to analyze the data. HSV allows to quantify the vocal fold oscillations by segmenting the glottal area. This challenging task has been tackled by various studies; however, the proposed approaches are mostly limited and not suitable for daily clinical routine. Method: We developed a user-friendly software in C# that allows the editing, motion correction, segmentation, and quantitative analysis of HSV data. We further provide pretrained deep neural networks for fully automatic glottis …

A New Look For Tws Publications, Bret A. Collier, Paul R. Krausman, Merav Ben-David, Allison S. Cox, Anna C.S. Knipps, Jeffrey M. Levengood

Faculty Publications

The appearance of The Wildlife Society (TWS) publications (i.e., Wildlife Society Bulletin [WSB], Wildlife Monographs [WM], Journal of Wildlife Management [JWM]) has changed over the years. In 2021, a new journal design (NJD) will be implemented for TWS publications following months of discussion with Council and the journal editors. The scope of the articles and the mission of the journals will not change, but the format and layouts will be modified to simplify typesetting, assist with online reading, and provide a contemporary look for the publications of TWS.

Female Mice Are Protected From Metabolic Decline Associated With Lack Of Skeletal Muscle Hur, Allison C. Stone, Robert C. Noland, Randall L. Mynatt, Samuel E. Velasquez, David S. Bayless, Eric Ravussin, Jaycob D. Warfel

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Male mice lacking HuR in skeletal muscle (HuRm−/−) have been shown to have decreased gastrocnemius lipid oxidation and increased adiposity and insulin resistance. The same consequences have not been documented in female HuRm−/− mice. Here we examine this sexually dimorphic phenotype. HuRm−/− mice have an increased fat mass to lean mass ratio (FM/LM) relative to controls where food intake is similar. Increased body weight for male mice correlates with increased blood glucose during glucose tolerance tests (GTT), suggesting increased fat mass in male HuRm−/− mice as a driver of decreased glucose clearance. However, HuRm−/− female mice show decreased blood glucose …

Agrp Neurons Trigger Long-Term Potentiation And Facilitate Food Seeking, Chunmei Wang, Wenjun Zhou, Yang He, Tiffany Yang, Pingwen Xu, Yongjie Yang, Xing Cai, Julia Wang, Hesong Liu, Meng Yu, Chen Liang, Tingting Yang, Hailan Liu, Makoto Fukuda, Qingchun Tong, Qi Wu, Zheng Sun, Yanlin He, Yong Xu

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Sufficient feeding is essential for animals’ survival, which requires a cognitive capability to facilitate food seeking, but the neurobiological processes regulating food seeking are not fully understood. Here we show that stimulation of agouti-related peptide-expressing (AgRP) neurons triggers a long-term depression (LTD) of spontaneous excitatory post-synaptic current (sEPSC) in adjacent pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons and in most of their distant synaptic targets, including neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT). The AgRP-induced sEPCS LTD can be enhanced by fasting but blunted by satiety signals, e.g. leptin and insulin. Mice subjected to food-seeking tasks develop similar neural plasticity in AgRP-innervated …

Hepatic Nfe2l2 Is Not An Essential Mediator Of The Metabolic Phenotype Produced By Dietary Methionine Restriction, Han Fang, Kirsten P. Stone, Sujoy Ghosh, Laura A. Forney, Landon C. Sims, Leighann Vincik, Thomas W. Gettys

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

The principal sensing of dietary methionine restriction (MR) occurs in the liver, where it activates multiple transcriptional programs that mediate various biological components of the response. Hepatic Fgf21 is a key target and essential endocrine mediator of the metabolic phenotype produced by dietary MR. The transcription factor, Nfe2l2, is also activated by MR and functions in tandem with hepatic Atf4 to transactivate multiple, antioxidative components of the integrated stress response. However, it is unclear whether the transcriptional responses linked to Nfe2l2 activation by dietary MR are essential to the biological efficacy of the diet. Using mice with liver-specific deletion of …

Human Plasma Proteomic Profiles Indicative Of Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Jeremy M. Robbins, Bennet Peterson, Daniela Schranner, Usman A. Tahir, Theresa Rienmüller, Shuliang Deng, Michelle J. Keyes, Daniel H. Katz, Pierre M.Jean Beltran, Jacob L. Barber, Christian Baumgartner, Steven A. Carr, Sujoy Ghosh, Changyu Shen, Lori L. Jennings, Robert Ross, Mark A. Sarzynski, Claude Bouchard, Robert E. Gerszten

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) is a direct measure of human cardiorespiratory fitness and is associated with health. However, the molecular determinants of interindividual differences in baseline (intrinsic) VO2max, and of increases of VO2max in response to exercise training (ΔVO2max), are largely unknown. Here, we measure ~5,000 plasma proteins using an affinity-based platform in over 650 sedentary adults before and after a 20-week endurance-exercise intervention and identify 147 proteins and 102 proteins whose plasma levels are associated with baseline VO2max and ΔVO2max, respectively. Addition of a protein biomarker score derived from these proteins to a score based on clinical traits improves …

Oocyte Specific Lncrna Variant Rose Influences Oocyte And Embryo Development, Rajan Iyyappan, Daria Aleshkina, Linkai Zhu, Zongliang Jiang, Veronika Kinterova, Andrej Susor

Faculty Publications

Fully grown mammalian oocytes store a large amount of RNA synthesized during the transcriptionally active growth stage. A large part of the stored RNA belongs to the long non-coding class which contain either transcriptional noise or important contributors to cellular physiology. Despite the expanding number of studies related to lncRNAs, their influence on oocyte physiology remains enigmatic. We found an oocyte specific antisense, long non-coding RNA, “Rose” (lncRNA in Oocyte Specifically Expressed) expressed in two variants containing two and three non-coding exons, respectively. Rose is localized in the nucleus of transcriptionally active oocyte and in embryo with polysomal occupancy in …

Hyperpolarized Magnetic Resonance And Artificial Intelligence: Frontiers Of Imaging In Pancreatic Cancer, José S. Enriquez, Yan Chu, Shivanand Pudakalakatti, Kang Lin Hsieh, Duncan Salmon, Prasanta Dutta, Niki Zacharias Millward, Eugene Lurie, Steven Millward, Florencia Mcallister, Anirban Maitra, Subrata Sen, Ann Killary, Jian Zhang, Xiaoqian Jiang, Pratip K. Bhattacharya, Shayan Shams

Faculty Publications

Background: There is an unmet need for noninvasive imaging markers that can help identify the aggressive subtype(s) of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) at diagnosis and at an earlier time point, and evaluate the efficacy of therapy prior to tumor reduction. In the past few years, there have been two major developments with potential for a significant impact in establishing imaging biomarkers for PDAC and pancreatic cancer premalignancy: (1) hyperpolarized metabolic (HP)-magnetic resonance (MR), which increases the sensitivity of conventional MR by over 10,000-fold, enabling real-time metabolic measurements; and (2) applications of artificial intelligence (AI). Objective: Our objective of this review …

Remembrance, Nhu Ngoc Quynh Dao

LSU Master's Theses

The artwork in the collection, “Remembrance,” is a collection of three-dimensional paper toys inspired by the culture of Dong Son civilization. The study was intended as an investigation into a mysterious, once-lost kingdom that flourished in the northern delta region of Vietnam. The designs and art motifs found on bronze artifacts from Dong Son have been scrutinized, then compared with stories in Vietnamese legends to decipher their hidden message and symbolism. I collected and translated the design motifs digitally as part of the creative process before analyzing their philosophies and intentions to not only introduce the culture but also accurately …

Joseph Ducreux And The Physiognomical Millieu, Josiah Phelps

LSU Master's Theses

Joseph Ducreux was an eighteenth-century artist from Nancy, France, whose grimacing self-portraits made their way into to the Parisian Salons during the age of the French Revolution. His self-portraits showcased himself in a state of yawning, state of laughing, state of self-confidence, and state of fear. This series is believed to derive from his study of physiognomy and his knowledge of physiognomical studies by such Enlightenment scholars as Johann Kasper Lavater. It will contextualize Ducreux’s his oeuvre of self-portraits and his commercial portraits including those previously executed for the French court, with the influence of the pseudo-science of physiognomy. The …

The Stylistic Development Of Jean Despujols (1886-1965), Kelly M. Ward

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis is the first comprehensive scholarly analysis of the life and most extant works by Jean Despujols. The French and later naturalized American painter, writer, poet, philosopher, deep-thinker, and mystic was best known for his Neoclassical and academic style. This thesis briefly discusses the artist’s beginnings as a young painter at the School of Fine Arts in Bordeaux and in Paris, his sketches in the trenches of the First World War, his time at the Villa Medicis after winning the distinguished Rome Prize, and his paintings and thoughts as a philosopher and political writer throughout his life. An outstanding …

"Airbnb Go Home:" Tourism Frictions And Short-Term Rentals In New Orleans, Madeline R. Fussell

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis examines the concerns and conflicts around short-term rental (STR) properties in New Orleans neighborhoods. Using data from collected from critical discourse analysis, semi-structured interviews and social media posts, this paper analyzes the ways the city of New Orleans, residents of the city, STR hosts, and platforms like Airbnb discuss issues of safety, displacement, rising costs of living, as well as responsible STR practices. To understand the complexities of the issues people, have with short-term rental properties, this project approaches STRs from a housing and gentrification lens to understand the role these properties play within in the daily atmospheres …

Power Structures, Michael A. Whitehead

LSU Master's Theses

Power Structures is a series of drawings and prints inspired by my fixation with the intricate utilitarian architecture and dystopian atmosphere of Louisiana’s petrochemical corridor. The architectural forms within this body of work juxtapose components of disparate industrial sites to form ruinous monuments to power and progress. The Power Structures are composites of photographs, technical drawings, and memories I have made in my time studying Cancer Alley. I introduce machined aircraft components, gate valves, and various fasteners into the architectural forms of petrochemical plants as elements of misdirection, blurring the line between reality and memory, fact and fabrication.

[Thoughts On] The Painter & The Act Of Painting, Samantha Rosado

LSU Master's Theses

In the satirical manifesto that accompanies my work, humor, and sarcasm play an important role in understanding the narrator’s tone. The information included is both factual and imagined, pulled from stories and experiences of a group of painters. My hope is to help aspiring painters develop their own rules and philosophies based on what they learn through the canon of art history. As a writer I aim to motivate those who feel under-represented in the world of fine art and craft to reject feelings of inadequacy. As an artist I make with the intention of being vulnerable and honest.

Neverending Loop, Joseph Nivens

LSU Master's Theses

The intention of NeverEnding Loop is to depict the trauma of queer adolescense contrasted by the shadow of the closet that follows LGBTQ+ children into adulthood. The reality for queer people is that coming out is a process that never ends and a task that can create a lonely existence for those that are different from the norm. The artwork aims to convey the very real and confusing struggle of finding your identity as a queer person existing in a heterosexual world.

NeverEnding Loop explores loops and cycles in short animations, sculptural forms with repeating imagery, and mixed media forms …

Characterizing Receptive Vocabulary Knowledge In Minimally Verbal Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Allison Menting

LSU Master's Theses

Background: Delayed or impaired language skills are common characteristics of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Currently, there is little research examining the receptive language profile in children with ASD, and even less is known about children with ASD who are minimally verbal. The current study aimed to characterize the receptive vocabulary profile of minimally verbal children with ASD and to examine whether this profile differs from their typically developing peers. Methods: Participants included 31 minimally verbal children with ASD, aged 60-118 months, who were reported to produce between 0-10 words, 124 typical developing toddlers, aged 9-14 months, who were …

Penguins Past And Present: Trace Elements, Stable Isotopes, And Population Dynamics In Antarctic And Sub-Antarctic Penguins And Seals, Allyson K. Kristan

LSU Master's Theses

Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic are remote regions where the impacts from climate change and anthropogenic activities are increasingly apparent. Previous studies show that the Antarctic is warming and has been affected by anthropogenic contaminants. Marine predators such as penguins and seals are commonly used in these regions as sentinels of ecosystem health as predator tissues can be used as non-invasive proxies of diet, population trends, and contaminant exposure. This thesis includes two separate studies which investigate the influence of climate change and human activity on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic ecosystems. First, Adelie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) eggshell samples were collected …

Villa-Lobos’S Segunda Sonata-Fantasia For Violin And Piano: An Analysis And Performance Guide, Maira Braga Cabral

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study focuses on Villa-Lobos’s Segunda Sonata-Fantasia for Violin and Piano, written between 1913 and 1914. A brief biography of Villa-Lobos until 1915 provides the context of the period during which he composed the piece. Next, Villa-Lobos’s main influences are presented, a list that includes European nineteenth-century aesthetics, Impressionism, Brazilian popular music, Wagner’s motivic treatment, and Brazilian indigenous music. Next, the main compositional devices used by the composer are discussed, providing examples from the Segunda Sonata-Fantasia and from other pieces by Villa-Lobos. A structural analysis of the piece is presented, focusing on the form, thematic approach, and harmonic processes.

The …