Digital Commons Network^™

Visualization Of Brown Fat Using X-Ray Dark Field Imaging, Troy D. Jacobs

LSU Master's Theses

Introduction: Obesity has become a major societal issue. Many researchers are looking for ways to combat this growing epidemic. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) might be a way to help individuals overcome the challenges associated with weight loss and maintenance of weight loss, but a better understanding of BAT and how to control and utilize it is needed. BAT differs from white adipose tissue (WAT) in that BAT is rich with mitochondria and therefore is metabolically active. BAT is a source of non-shivering thermogenesis and can be activated both by cold exposure and pharmacologically. Current methods of assessing BAT activity are …

Antimicrobial Strategies For Topical Applications, Kelsey Marie Lopez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Bacteria can thrive in diverse environments and are often harmless or beneficial. Bacteria in digestive tracts is one example of beneficial bacteria; however, bacteria can be harmful and when this type proliferates, it can cause infections within hosts. Bacterial infections are easily treated with antibiotics in most cases. However, bacteria are also capable of developing mutations which could cause them to become multi-drug resistant and eventually, “superbugs.” Therefore, the development of novel antimicrobial agents and materials capable of combating drug-resistant bacteria is necessary. Research presented in this dissertation focuses on different strategies for minimizing and preventing topical bacterial infections using …

Molecular Transducers Of Physical Activity Consortium (Motrpac): Mapping The Dynamic Responses To Exercise, James A. Sanford, Christopher D. Nogiec, Malene E. Lindholm, Joshua N. Adkins, David Amar, Surendra Dasari, Jonelle K. Drugan, Facundo M. Fernández, Facundo M. Fernández, Shlomit Radom-Aizik, Simon Schenk, Michael P. Snyder, Russell P. Tracy, Patrick Vanderboom, Scott Trappe, Martin J. Walsh, Charles R. Evans, Yafeng Li, Lyl Tomlinson, D. Lee Alekel, Iddil Bekirov, Amanda T. Boyce, Josephine Boyington, Jerome L. Fleg, Lyndon J.O. Joseph, Maren R. Laughlin, Padma Maruvada, Stephanie A. Morris, Joan A. Mcgowan, Concepcion Nierras, Vinay Pai, Charlotte Peterson, Ed Ramos, Mary C. Roary

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

The Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium aims to create a comprehensive, integrative multi-omic map of the effects of exercise across tissues in rodents and healthy people.

Reconsidering The Obstetrical Dilemma: Correlations Between Head And Pelvic Size, Kelsey Catrice Fox

LSU Master's Theses

The Obstetrical Dilemma (OD) theory has become canon in biological anthropology. The OD posits that i] dystocia results from bipedal mothers and encephalized infants, ii] contrasting selection for bipedality and obstetrics hinders locomotive efficiency, and iii] the contradicting requirement of the fetus being small enough to pass through the birth canal yet being cognitively advanced enough to cling to its mother after birth. Females, theoretically, exhibit deficient gait efficiency for the sake of successful childbirth. An obstetric advantage theory has been posited where taller individuals with a larger head size have larger pelves. If the distance between the acetabulae increases …

Mitochondrial Utilization Of Competing Fuels Is Altered In Insulin Resistant Skeletal Muscle Of Non-Obese Rats (Goto-Kakizaki), Nicola Lai, Ciarán E. Fealy, Chinna M. Kummitha, Silvia Cabras, John P. Kirwan, Charles L. Hoppel

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Aim: Insulin-resistant skeletal muscle is characterized by metabolic inflexibility with associated alterations in substrate selection, mediated by peroxisome-proliferator activated receptor δ (PPARδ). Although it is established that PPARδ contributes to the alteration of energy metabolism, it is not clear whether it plays a role in mitochondrial fuel competition. While nutrient overload may impair metabolic flexibility by fuel congestion within mitochondria, in absence of obesity defects at a mitochondrial level have not yet been excluded. We sought to determine whether reduced PPARδ content in insulin-resistant rat skeletal muscle of a non-obese rat model of T2DM (Goto-Kakizaki, GK) ameliorate the inhibitory effect …

Ketogenic Diets Alter The Gut Microbiome Resulting In Decreased Intestinal Th17 Cells, Qi Yan Ang, Margaret Alexander, John C. Newman, Yuan Tian, Jingwei Cai, Vaibhav Upadhyay, Jessie A. Turnbaugh, Eric Verdin, Kevin D. Hall, Rudolph L. Leibel, Eric Ravussin, Michael Rosenbaum, Andrew D. Patterson, Peter J. Turnbaugh

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Very low-carbohydrate, high-fat ketogenic diets (KDs) induce a pronounced shift in metabolic fuel utilization that elevates circulating ketone bodies; however, the consequences of these compounds for host-microbiome interactions remain unknown. Here, we show that KDs alter the human and mouse gut microbiota in a manner distinct from high-fat diets (HFDs). Metagenomic and metabolomic analyses of stool samples from an 8-week inpatient study revealed marked shifts in gut microbial community structure and function during the KD. Gradient diet experiments in mice confirmed the unique impact of KDs relative to HFDs with a reproducible depletion of bifidobacteria. In vitro and in vivo …

Cooperative Policing Behaviour Regulates Reproductive Division Of Labour In A Termite, Qian Sun, Jordan D. Hampton, Austin Merchant, Kenneth F. Haynes, Xuguo Zhou

Faculty Publications

Reproductive conflicts are common in insect societies where helping castes retain reproductive potential. One of the mechanisms regulating these conflicts is policing, a coercive behaviour that reduces direct reproduction by other individuals. In eusocial Hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps), workers or the queen act aggressively towards fertile workers, or destroy their eggs. In many termite species (order Blattodea), upon the death of the primary queen and king, workers and nymphs can differentiate into neotenic reproductives and inherit the breeding position. During this process, competition among neotenics is inevitable, but how this conflict is resolved remains unclear. Here, we report a …

A Biographical Introduction Of The Korean-German Composer Isan Yun And An Analysis Of Eastern Folk Elements In His Lina Im Garten, Soyeon Seo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

This dissertation explores the work and achievements of the Korean-German composer, Isang Yun, and, specifically sets out to discuss the shared elements of traditional Korean and Eastern music and Western convention in his musical composition. By intentionally manipulating or stretching the definition of western musical forms and conventions, Yun was able to import folk traditions and culture from the East. My dissertation sheds light on some of Yun’s efforts in combining these Eastern and Western elements and thereby works to re-inscribe Yun and his unique importance as a composer of Korean descent onto the Western contemporary canon.

While tracing …

Designed And Developed Delivery Systems Containing Extracted Astaxanthin From Crawfish, Procambarus Clarkii, Using A Novel Combined Ethanol Flaxseed Oil Ultrasound Assisted Closed Extraction System And Its Anticancer Activity In Vitro, Ronson Renard Scott Sr

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Crustacean processing in Louisiana generates vast amounts of byproducts, including crawfish processing byproducts (CB), whose disposal can be problematic unless utilized alternatively. The objective of this investigation was to design and develop a delivery system (DS) containing extracted astaxanthin (AX) from CB using a novel combined ethanol flaxseed oil (FO) ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) method and evaluate its quality characteristics. Additionally, anticancer effects of AX were evaluated. Investigations consisted of three studies.

Proximate composition, oxidative stability, and antioxidant capacity of AX from CB extracted both conventionally and by UAE was determined. AX concentration conventionally extracted from CB (FOCAX) was 0.0919 mg …

In The Garden, Clare Samani

LSU Master's Theses

My work has focused largely on identity and self-expression, primarily through clothing, pattern, and color as a symbolic content. Having heavily investigated historical costume and clothing from various periods, my attention is drawn to the highly sculptural and ornamented garments of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the rococo, and the baroque. In these colorful and puffed garments, I am attracted to the similarities that I see in nature. How we adorn ourselves mimics various flowers, plants and animals in the pursuit of desire and procreation. Focusing on fabric manipulation, printmaking and sculpture, In the Garden coalesces into ambiguous sculptures that …

Fraught!, Ian Park

LSU Master's Theses

Fraught! explores the visceral feelings and dreamlike memories from my earlier years of life. Through installation, I queer space [or the environment] through the aesthetics of camp and the uncanny, subconscious influences that have steeped inside of me for many years.

Data-Driven Modeling And Prediction For Reservoir Characterization And Simulation Using Seismic And Petrophysical Data Analyses, Xu Zhou

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study explores the application of data-driven modeling and prediction in reservoir characterization and simulation using seismic and petrophysical data analyses. Different aspects of the application of data-driven modeling methods are studied, which include rock facies classification, seismic attribute analyses, petrophysical properties prediction, seismic facies segmentation, and reservoir dimension reduction.

The application of using petrophysical well logs to predict rock facies is explored using different data analytics methods including decision tree, random forest, support vector machine and neural network. Different models are trained from a set of well logs and pre-interpreted rock facies data. Among the compared methods, the random …

Spatial Production And Nomadic Subjectivities In A Buddhist Learning Space, Chau Bao Le

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Space and place are an integral part in the geographies of education, therefore, knowledge about culturally complex and ethnically diverse transnational communities could inform curricular innovations that meet the needs of individual students. This year-long ethnographic study challenged the prevailing realities that U.S. schools continue to devalue the experiences and cultural backgrounds of immigrant youth, which caused students from ethnic, cultural, racial, linguistic, and religious minority groups to feel structurally excluded and marginalized. Through examining the spatial production and nomadic subjectivities enacted over time in a transnational, diasporic space of a Buddhist temple in a U.S. southern state, the study …

A Conductor's Guide To Dale Trumbore's How To Go On, Stuart Dameron

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

How To Go On is a thirty-five minute work for a cappella choir composed by Dale Trumbore from 2015 to 2017. Since its premiere, How To Go On has been performed by notable choral ensembles including The Esoterics, the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, The Singers: Minnesota Choral Artists, and Webster University’s Chamber Singers. The work was awarded the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award in 2017.

This dissertation serves as an analysis and conductor’s guide for this work through the fulfillment of several purposes: a detailed and thorough investigation into the background and history behind the …

Insights Into Desiccation Tolerance: Properties Of Late Embryogenesis Abundant Proteins From Embryos Of Artemia Franciscana, Blase Matthew Leblanc

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

LEA proteins are a family of intrinsically disordered proteins that are expressed in various life stages of anhydrobiotic organisms and have been strongly associated with survival during water stress. The brine shrimp Artemia franciscana is the only known anhydrobiotic animal that expresses LEA proteins from Groups 1, 3, and 6. Here, I report that AfrLEA6, a novel Group 6 LEA protein, is most highly expressed in embryos during diapause and decreases throughout pre-emergence development. Notably, there is an acute drop in expression upon termination of the diapause state and the titer of AfrLEA6 during diapause is 10-fold lower than values …

Bernard Palissy: Early Career - Securing Patronage And Mimicking Nature In A Moment Of Crisis, Karissa Bailey

LSU Master's Theses

Early in 1562, France was experiencing a state of high religious tension between Protestants and Catholics that would precipitate the outbreak of the Religious Wars on March 1. A week before, Bernard Palissy, a Huguenot potter, wrote a letter to his Catholic patron from prison inBordeaux where he was being held on charges associated with an iconoclastic incident in his home city of Saintes. This letter would later be published as a dedication letter for the pamphlet Architecture et Ordonnance, which featured the description of a grotto commissioned by Anne de Montmorency, Palissy’s patron, seven years earlier. This thesis analyzes …

Yours Always, Always Yours, Emery Kate Tillman

LSU Master's Theses

The body of artwork discussed in this paper deals with the navigational process of the actualization of my own desires and needs in an intimate capacity specifically relating to my own queer identity. In this paper I will address the use of certain forms throughout the work as well as color and material choices. Yours Always, Always Yours is a thesis project produced as the final requirement of Louisiana State University’s Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art program.

Day Gone, Matthew D. Zorn

LSU Master's Theses

As an exploration of the natural world and the otherworldly, Day Gone seeks to define the relationships between disparate places. Through the use of ceramic and supporting materials, the objects serve as a portal to a terra incognita of color, texture, and language. The installation is a catalog of experiences and feelings I hold consciously or unconsciously.

Neural Stimulator, Jose A. Parodi Amaya, Edward F. Austin, Jin-Woo Choi

Pennington Biomedical Research Center Patents

Methods and apparatus are disclosed relating to the stimulating of tissue including nerve tissue based on combinations of capacitors and resistors. Application and removal of voltage to an electrical circuit is taught as part of a method of creating voltage waveforms for nerve and other tissue with such waveforms creating neural signals. The electrical circuits taught may, include a first electrical node grounded through a first resistor; a second electrical node grounded through a second resistor; a first capacitor connected to both the first electrical node and the second electrical node; a second capacitor separating the second electrical node from …

Evidence Of Pathogen-Induced Immunogenetic Selection Across The Large Geographic Range Of A Wild Seabird, Hila Levy, Stephen R. Fiddaman, Julianna A. Vianna, Daly Noll, Gemma Clucas, Jasmine K. H. Sidhu, Michael J. Polito, Charles A. Bost, Richard A. Phillips, Sarah Crofts, Gary D. Miller, Pierre Pistorius, Francesco Bonnadonna, Celine Le Bohec, Andres Barbosa, Phil Trathan, Andrea Raya Rey, Laurent A. F. Frantz, Tom Hart, Adrian L. Smith

Faculty Publications

Over evolutionary time, pathogen challenge shapes the immunepheno type of the host to better respond to an incipient threat. The extent and direction of this selection pressure depend on the local pathogen composition, which is in turn determined by biotic and abiotic features of the environment. However, little is known about adaptation to local pathogen threats in wild animals. The Gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) is a species complex that lends itself to the study of immune adaptation because of its circumpolar distribution over a large latitudinal range, with little or no admixture between ''different clades. Inthis study, we examine the …

Effects Of A Tropical Cyclone On Salt Marsh Insect Communities And Post-Cyclone Reassembly Processes, Xuan Chen, Benjamin J. Adams, William J. Platt, Linda M. Hooper-Bùi

Faculty Publications

© 2020 The Authors. Ecography published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Nordic Society Oikos Concepts regarding effects of recurrent natural disturbances and subsequent responses of communities are central to ecology and conservation biology. Tropical cyclones constitute major disturbances producing direct effects (damage, mortality) in many coastal communities worldwide. Subsequent reassembly involves changes in composition and abundance for which the underlying mechanisms (deterministic and stochastic processes) are still not clear, especially for mobile organisms. We examined tropical cyclone-induced changes in composition and reassembly of entire insect communities in 16 Louisiana coastal salt marshes before and after Hurricane …

Altered Gut Microbiota In Infants Is Associated With Respiratory Syncytial Virus Disease Severity, Jeffrey N. Harding, David Siefker, Luan Vu, Dahui You, John Devincenzo, J. F. Pierre, Stephania A. Cormier

Faculty Publications

© 2020 The Author(s). Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the number one cause of lower respiratory tract infections in infants. There are still no vaccines or specific antiviral therapies against RSV, mainly due to the inadequate understanding of RSV pathogenesis. Recent data suggest a role for gut microbiota community structure in determining RSV disease severity. Our objective was to determine the gut microbial profile associated with severe RSV patients, which could be used to help identify at-risk patients and develop therapeutically protective microbial assemblages that may stimulate immuno-protection. Results: We enrolled 95 infants from Le Bonheur during the 2014 …

A Simple Index To Quantify And Compare The Magnitude Of Intraspecific Geographic Plumage Colour Variation In Typical Antbirds (Aves: Passeriformes: Thamnophilidae), R S. Marcondes, R T. Brumfield

Faculty Publications

Intraspecific geographic phenotypic variation is a crucial theme in evolutionary biology. Comparing its magnitude across species can provide insights into its ecological and genetic correlates. Here, we developed an index, which we dub the V index, to quantify intraspecific plumage colour variation in typical antbirds (Thamnophilidae), a family which has long interested ornithologists due to a high prevalence of intraspecific variation. The V index is based on a bivariate colour space defined by brightness and redness. Its value for each species equals the mean area occupied by each of its subspecies in that colour space, divided by the area of …

Solid-State Nmr Of Plant And Fungal Cell Walls: A Critical Review, Wancheng Zhao, Liyanage D. Fernando, Alex Kirui, Fabien Deligey, Tuo Wang

Faculty Publications

© 2020 Elsevier Inc. The cell walls of plants and microbes are a central source for bio-renewable energy and the major targets of antibiotics and antifungal agents. It is highly challenging to determine the molecular structure of complex carbohydrates, protein and lignin, and their supramolecular assembly in intact cell walls. This article selectively highlights the recent breakthroughs that employ 13C/15N solid-state NMR techniques to elucidate the architecture of fungal cell walls in Aspergillus fumigatus and the primary and secondary cell walls in a large variety of plant species such as Arabidopsis, Brachypodium, maize, and spruce. Built upon these pioneering studies, …

Underwater Noise Impairs Social Communication During Aggressive And Reproductive Encounters, Julie M. Butler, Karen P. Maruska

Faculty Publications

© 2020 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour Human-generated noise pollution is of global concern, as designated by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2011, Burden of disease from environmental noise: Quantification of healthy life years lost in Europe. https://www.who.int/quantifying_ehimpacts/publications/e94888/en/). Increases in shipping, sonar use, pile driving, and more have all contributed to a rise in ambient underwater sound levels. Unfortunately, continuous low-intensity sounds, like shipping noise, are pervasive in shallow-shore environments where many social species live and correspond to the frequency ranges at which many fishes produce and detect acoustic stimuli. Noise has the potential to alter the …

Vitamin D Actions In Neurons Require The Pi3k Pathway For Both Enhancing Insulin Signaling And Rapid Depolarizing Effects, Silvania Da Silva Teixeira, Keisha Harrison, Munachismo Uzodike, Kimal Rajapakshe, Cristian Coarfa, Yanlin He, Yong Xu, Stephanie Sisley

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Despite correlations between low vitamin D levels and diabetes incidence/severity, supplementation with vitamin D has not been widely effective in improving glucose parameters. This may be due to a lack of knowledge regarding how low vitamin D levels physiologically affect glucose homeostasis. We have previously shown that the brain may be a critical area for vitamin D-mediated action on peripheral glucose levels. However, the mechanisms for how vitamin D acts in the brain are unknown. We utilized a multimodal approach to determine the mechanisms by which vitamin D may act in the brain. We first performed an unbiased search (RNA-sequencing) …

Identification Of Qtls For Resistance To Fusarium Head Blight Using A Doubled Haploid Population Derived From Southeastern United States Soft Red Winter Wheat Varieties Ags 2060 And Ags 2035, Alejandro Castro Aviles, Stephen Alan Harrison, Kelly Joseph Arceneaux, Gina Brown-Guidera, Richard Esten Mason, Niranjan Baisakh

Faculty Publications

Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused primarily by the fungus Fusarium graminearum, is one of the most damaging diseases of wheat, causing significant loss of yield and quality worldwide. Warm and wet conditions during flowering, a lack of resistant wheat varieties, and high inoculum pressure from corn stubble contribute to frequent FHB epidemics in the southern United States. The soft red winter wheat variety AGS 2060 is moderately susceptible (as opposed to susceptible) to FHB and regularly found in pedigrees of resistant breeding lines. AGS 2060 does not carry any known resistance genes or quantitative trait loci (QTL). A QTL mapping …

Exploring Effects Of Background Music In A Serious Game On Attention By Means Of Eeg Signals In Children, Fettah Kiran

LSU Master's Theses

Music and Serious Games are separately useful alternative therapy methods for helping people with a cognitive disorder, including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The goal of this thesis is to explore the effect of background music on children with and without ADHD. In this study, a simple Tetris game is designed with Beethoven, Mozart music, and no-music. There are different brainwave techniques for recording; among others, the electroencephalography (EEG) allows for the most efficient use of BCI. We recorded the EEG brain signals of the regular and ADHD subjects who played the Tetris we designed according to our protocol that …

Spatial Synchrony Is Related To Environmental Change In Finnish Moth Communities: Synchrony And Environmental Change, Tad A. Dallas, Laura H. Antão, Juha Pöyry, Reima Leinonen, Otso Ovaskainen

Faculty Publications

© 2020 The Author(s). Spatially distinct pairs of sites may have similarly fluctuating population dynamics across large geographical distances, a phenomenon called spatial synchrony. However, species rarely exist in isolation, but rather as members of interactive communities, linked with other communities through dispersal (i.e. a metacommunity). Using data on Finnish moth communities sampled across 65 sites for 20 years, we examine the complex synchronous/anti-synchronous relationships among sites using the geography of synchrony framework. We relate site-level synchrony to mean and temporal variation in climatic data, finding that colder and drier sites-and those with the most drastic temperature increases-are important for …

The Evolution Of Bivalve Shell Matrix Proteins, Mark Ira Duhon Ii

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the molecular underpinnings surrounding the evolution of the biomineralized shells of marine bivalves. Bivalve molluscs synthesize remarkably complex shells from calcium carbonate and an organic matrix of proteins secreted from the dorsal edge of the mantle. Molecular analyses of shell matrix proteins (SMPs) have suggested high rates of gene turnover despite the conserved nature of the shell itself. Here, I used proteomic and transcriptomic data to identify the SMPs and other biomineralization proteins from seven bivalve species that diverged 3-513 Mya. Contrary to previous studies that identified only a few shared biomineralization transcripts across the Bivalvia, …