Digital Commons Network^™

Nlrp6 In Gram-Positive Pneumonia And Sepsis, Laxman Ghimire

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Acute lower respiratory infections (pneumonia) and pneumonia-derived sepsis are among the leading causes of death in the world causing 7.8 million deaths annually. In this regard, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is endemic in the US and implicated for causing high mortality-associated necrotizing pneumonia and aggravating viral pneumonia with superinfection. Additionally, sepsis is the 7^th leading cause of death among newborns in the US and is responsible for more than 750,000 hospitalization cases every year. Although there is a plethora of research in both pneumonia and sepsis, the detailed pathophysiology still remains elusive. Understanding the host defense mechanism will help …

Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals: Linking Air Pollution And Poor Respiratory Health?, Peter D. Sly, Stephania A. Cormier, Slawomir Lomnicki, Jeffrey N. Harding, Keith Grimwood, Griffith University

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Reproductive Phenology And Ecology Of Wild Turkey (Meleagris Gallopavo) Across The Southeastern United States, Landon Robert Schofield

LSU Master's Theses

The primary driver of population growth and sustainability of gallinaceous birds is annual recruitment. Habitat selection by wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo spp.) during reproductive activities could influence production at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Vegetation conditions at nest sites that could drive nest success have not been clearly identified, which suggests that other factors may drive reproductive success.

Female wild turkeys maintain dominance hierarchies, which could influence how reproductively active females distribute themselves across the landscape during reproductive periods. Using high-frequency GPS data collected from reproductively active females, I analyzed nesting attempts for Eastern (n = 381), …

Effect Of Biochar Amendment On Sorption-Desorption And Dissipation Of 17Α‑Ethinylestradiol In Sandy Loam And Clay Soils, Zhuo Wei, Jim J. Wang, Amy B. Hernandez, Andrea Warren, Jong Hwan Park, Yili Meng, Syam K. Dodla, Changyoon Jeong

Faculty Publications

Animal manure application in agricultural land has caused the release of steroid estrogens in the soil environment and further movement to aquatic systems. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of biochar addition on sorption-desorption and dissipation behaviors of 17α‑ethinylestradiol (EE2) in two different textured soils. A Commerce sandy loam and a Shakey clay were selected and subjected to sterilization. Soil samples with and without sterilization were reacted with a series of EE2 solutions of different concentrations for sorption followed by desorption and quantification using HPLC-MS/MS. Long-term dissipation of EE2 in the same soils was also evaluated …

Detecting Parasite Associations Within Multi-Species Host And Parasite Communities, Tad A. Dallas, Anna Liisa Laine, Otso Ovaskainen

Faculty Publications

© 2019 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved. Understanding the role of biotic interactions in shaping natural communities is a long-standing challenge in ecology. It is particularly pertinent to parasite communities sharing the same host communities and individuals, as the interactions among parasites—both competition and facilitation—may have far-reaching implications for parasite transmission and evolution. Aggregated parasite burdens may suggest that infected host individuals are either more prone to infection, or that infection by a parasite species facilitates another, leading to a positive parasite–parasite interaction. However, parasite species may also compete for host resources, leading to the …

The Influence Of Selected Factors Impacting The Incidence And Severity Of Accidents Involving Pedestrian/Bicyclists And Motorized Vehicles In Urban Areas Of Louisiana, Randall M. Verret Jr.

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of selected demographic, environmental and infrastructure factors on the incidence and severity of traffic accidents involving a motorized vehicle and a non-motorized (pedestrian or bicyclist) individual. Identification of influential factors can aid in developing more effective countermeasures, targeted education and training programs to reduce the fatality and injury risks to vulnerable road users. A total of 9,538 crash data records involving vulnerable road users and motor vehicle drivers were utilized in this study.

Overall, vulnerable road users were found to have higher incidences of impairment than motorized vehicle drivers …

Movement Ecology Of Eastern Wild Turkeys (Meleagris Gallopavo Silvestris) And Turkey Hunters On Public Land In South Carolina, Usa, Alaina Pamela Gerrits

LSU Master's Theses

Wild turkeys (Meleagris gallapavo, hereafter turkey) are the second most pursued big game species in the United States. Turkey hunting occurs primarily during spring, and on publicly-owned lands managers monitor hunter numbers and harvest to adjust hunter opportunity. Contemporary research has shown a decline in productivity and harvest of turkeys in the Eastern United States. Studies have also found that hunting activity on public lands can influence male turkey behavior, hence research detailing hunter behaviors and hunter-wild turkey interactions is needed to better inform management activities. We found turkey hunters exhibited both stationary and active behaviors while hunting …

Frequent Fire Reorganizes Fungal Communities And Slows Decomposition Across A Heterogeneous Pine Savanna Landscape, Tatiana A. Semenova-Nelsen, William J. Platt, Taylor R. Patterson, Jean Huffman, Benjamin A. Sikes

Faculty Publications

© 2019 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2019 New Phytologist Trust Pyrogenic savannas with a tree–grassland ‘matrix’ experience frequent fires (i.e. every 1–3 yr). Aboveground responses to frequent fires have been well studied, but responses of fungal litter decomposers, which directly affect fuels, remain poorly known. We hypothesized that each fire reorganizes belowground communities and slows litter decomposition, thereby influencing savanna fuel dynamics. In a pine savanna, we established patches near and away from pines that were either burned or unburned in that year. Within patches, we assessed fungal communities and microbial decomposition of newly deposited litter. Soil variables and …

Hinge Region In Dna Packaging Terminase Pul15 Of Herpes Simplex Virus: A Potential Allosteric Target For Antiviral Drugs, Lana F. Thaljeh, J. Ainsley Rothschild, Misagh Naderi, Lyndon M. Coghill, Jeremy M. Brown, Michal Brylinski

Faculty Publications

Approximately 80% of adults are infected with a member of the herpesviridae family. Herpesviruses establish life-long latent infections within neurons, which may reactivate into lytic infections due to stress or immune suppression. There are nine human herpesviruses (HHV) posing health concerns from benign conditions to life threatening encephalitis, including cancers associated with viral infections. The current treatment options for most HHV conditions mainly include several nucleoside and nucleotide analogs targeting viral DNA polymerase. Although these drugs help manage infections, their common mechanism of action may lead to the development of drug resistance, which is particularly devastating in immunocompromised patients. Therefore, …

Sympathetic Innervation Of The Interscapular Brown Adipose Tissue In Mouse, Marie François, Hayden Torres, Clara Huesing, Rui Zhang, Carson Saurage, Nathan Lee, Emily Qualls-Creekmore, Sangho Yu, Christopher D. Morrison, David Burk, Hans Rudolf Berthoud, Heike Münzberg

Faculty Publications

© 2019 The Authors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of New York Academy of Sciences. The recent discovery of significant brown fat depots in adult humans has revived discussion of exploiting brown fat thermogenesis in the control of energy balance and body weight. The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) has a key role in the activation of brown fat and functional mapping of its components will be crucial for the development of specific neuromodulation techniques. The mouse is an important species used for molecular genetic modulations, but its small size is …

Louisiana Agriculture Fall, 2019, Lsu Agcenter

Louisiana Agriculture

No abstract provided.

Lsu Research Fall 2019, Louisiana State University And Agricultural And Mechanical College

Research Magazine

LSU Research is published annually by the Office of Research & Economic Development, Louisiana State University.

Allele-Specific Enhancer Interaction At The Peg3 Imprinted Domain, Joomyeong Kim, Wesley D. Frey, Kaustubh Sharma, Subash Ghimire, Ryoichi Teruyama, Lisa Stubbs

Faculty Publications

Copyright: © 2019 Kim et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The parental allele specificity of mammalian imprinted genes has been evolutionarily well conserved, although its functional constraints and associated mechanisms are not fully understood. In the current study, we generated a mouse mutant with switched active alleles driving the switch from paternal-to-maternal expression for Peg3 and the maternal-to-paternal expression for Zim1. The expression levels of Peg3 and Zim1, but not …

A Hybrid Kinematic-Acoustic System For Automated Activity Detection Of Construction Equipment, Yong-Cheol Lee

Faculty Publications

Automatically recognizing and tracking construction equipment activities is the first step towards performance monitoring of a job site. Recognizing equipment activities helps construction managers to detect the equipment downtime/idle time in a real-time framework, estimate the productivity rate of each equipment based on its progress, and efficiently evaluate the cycle time of each activity. Thus, it leads to project cost reduction and time schedule improvement. Previous studies on this topic have been based on single sources of data (e.g., kinematic, audio, video signals) for automated activity-detection purposes. However, relying on only one source of data is not appropriate, as the …

Hinge Region In Dna Packaging Terminase Pul15 Of Herpes Simplex Virus: A Potential Allosteric Target For Antiviral Drugs, Lana F. Thaljeh, J. Ainsley Rothschild, Misagh Naderi, Lyndon M. Coghill

Faculty Publications

Approximately 80% of adults are infected with a member of the herpesviridae family. Herpesviruses establish life-long latent infections within neurons, which may reactivate into lytic infections due to stress or immune suppression. There are nine human herpesviruses (HHV) posing health concerns from benign conditions to life threatening encephalitis, including cancers associated with viral infections. The current treatment options for most HHV conditions mainly include several nucleoside and nucleotide analogs targeting viral DNA polymerase. Although these drugs help manage infections, their common mechanism of action may lead to the development of drug resistance, which is particularly devastating in immunocompromised patients. Therefore, …

Intensive Livestock Production Causing Antibiotic Pollution In The Yinma River Of Northeast China, Hanyu Ju, Sijia Li, Y. Jun Xu, Guangxin Zhang, Jiquan Zhang

Faculty Publications

Antibiotics are increasingly used in livestock production in rural China, raising concerns over pollution and health risk in countryside waterways. The Yinma River Basin in China's far northeast is an agriculture-dominated area mixed with a densely populated province capitol city, providing a suitable area for investigating the influence of a typical land use mix in Northeast China on riverine antibiotic levels and transport. In this study, we sampled water along the Yinma River from upstream to downstream in a wet and a dry season and analyzed the samples for two popularly used antibiotics, ciprofloxacin (CIP) and norfloxacin (NOR). The goal …

On-Site Capabilities Of A Mobile Laboratory For Aquatic Germplasm Cryopreservation, William M. Childress, Brian Bosworth, Edward Chesney, Ronald B. Walter, Terrence R. Tiersch

Faculty Publications

The cryopreservation of genetic material can be an important tool for researchers and others involved with imperiled fishes, wild fisheries, aquaculture, and biomedical research. The standardization and reliable collection of diverse, high-quality samples are persistent challenges to the successful cryopreservation of aquatic species. The overall goal of this study was to work with different user groups, cryopreserving sperm on-site at their facilities to evaluate the uses and challenges of a mobile laboratory with high-throughput and quality control capabilities comparable to those of a specialized central facility. The objectives were to demonstrate the collection and cryopreservation of sperm from (1) large-bodied …

Postbreeding Habitat Use By Golden-Cheeked Warblers (Setophaga Chrysoparia), Melanie R. Colón, Mark R. Hutchinson, Ashley M. Long, Gary Voelker, Michael L. Morrison

Faculty Publications

The period following breeding but prior to migration is an important, though understudied, component of the avian annual life cycle. We quantified habitat use by endangered Golden-cheeked Warblers (Setophaga chrysoparia) during the postbreeding period in Golden-cheeked Warbler breeding habitat (i.e., oak-juniper [Quercus-Juniperus] woodlands) predominated by Texas oak (Quercus buckleyi) or post oak (Q. stellata), as well as in immediately adjacent oak woodland, oak savanna, and riparian vegetation not usually associated with breeding activity for this species. Most (87%) of the Golden-cheeked Warblers we detected were in oak-juniper woodlands, especially in Texas oak sites, but we also detected warblers in each …

Effect Of Bark Application With Beauveria Bassiana And Permethrin Insecticide On The Walnut Twig Beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) In Black Walnut Bolts, Albert E. Mayfield, Jennifer Juzwik, Jamison Scholer, John D. Vandenberg, Adam Taylor, Timothy Schowalter

Faculty Publications

Formulations of entomopathogenic (insect-killing) fungi represent alternatives to synthetic insecticides in the management of forest and shade tree insects. We evaluated bark spray applications of the entomopathogen Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae) strain GHA (BotaniGardES), permethrin insecticide (Astro), and water (control) on colonization of black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) (Fagales: Juglandaceae) bolts by the walnut twig beetle (Pityophthorus juglandis Blackman) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), vector of the fungus that causes thousand cankers disease. Treated bolts were baited with a P. juglandis aggregation pheromone lure and deployed in infested walnut trees. Bark application of permethrin prevented P. juglandis colonization of the phloem. …

Seeing It For Wearing It: Autoethnography As Black Feminist Methodology, Layla D. Brown-Vincent

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

No abstract provided.

Microfluidic Isolation Of Tumor Cells Or Other Rare Cells From Whole Blood Or Other Liquids, Steve A. Soper, Michael C. Murphy, June Feng Schneider, Robin L. Mccarley, Andre A. Adams

College of Science Patents

Microdevices are disclosed to efficiently, accurately, and rapidly isolate and enumerate rare cells, such as circulating tumor cells, from liquids such as whole blood. The system employs multiple parallel meandering channels having a width on the order of 1-2 cell diameters. The microdevices can be produced at low-cost, may readily be automated, and in many instances may be used without pre-processing of the sample. They may be used to isolate and enumerate rare cells, including for example the detection and diagnosis of cancers, cancer staging, or evaluating the effectiveness of a therapeutic intervention, or detecting pathogenic bacteria. The device may …

The Role Of Chromatin State Transitions In Modulating Early Phosphate-Deficiency Response Genes In Plants, Maryam Foroozani

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Phosphorus (P) is an essential plant macronutrient vital to fundamental metabolic processes. Plant-available P is low in most soils, making it a frequent limiter of growth. Declining P reserves for fertilizer production exasperates this agricultural challenge. Plants modulate complex responses to fluctuating P levels via global transcriptional regulatory networks. Although chromatin structure plays a substantial role in controlling gene expression, the chromatin-level mechanisms involved in regulating P homeostasis have not been determined.

In this work, I used chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) combined with next-generation DNA sequencing (ChIP-seq) to map the distribution of H3K4me3 in rice (Oryza sativa L.) during both …

Silicon Fertilization In Rice And Wheat: Dynamics With Trace Elements And Effect Of Silicate Slag Granular Size On The Release Pattern Of Monosilicic Acid In Soil, Wooiklee S. Paye

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Studies were conducted to evaluate the impact of silicon (Si) fertilization on the uptake of harmful trace elements in Louisiana rice production system, and document the effect of silicate slag granular size on its ability to supply Si in wheat. The influence of silicate slag and lime on the uptake and translocation of harmful trace elements in rice grain was determined. Results showed that both slag and lime had similar effects on pH at five of the nine sites investigated. Soil Si was significantly (P <0.001) increased with application of silicate slag at all sites. Lime and silicate slag had no effect on the concentration of trace elements in soil. However, increasing Si rates were negatively correlated with arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) concentration in rice grain. The release pattern of monosilicic acid (H₄SiO₄) from wollastonite and silicate slag was compared in a wheat greenhouse …

Structural Properties And Cellular Expression Of Afrlea6, A Group 6 Late Embryogenesis Abundant Protein From Embryos Of Artemia Franciscana, Blase M. Leblanc, Mike T. Le, Brett Janis, Michael A. Menze, Steven C. Hand

Faculty Publications

© 2019, Cell Stress Society International. Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins are intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) commonly found in anhydrobiotic organisms and are frequently correlated with desiccation tolerance. Herein we report new findings on AfrLEA6, a novel group 6 LEA protein from embryos of Artemia franciscana. Assessment of secondary structure in aqueous and dried states with circular dichroism (CD) reveals 89% random coil in the aqueous state, thus supporting classification of AfrLEA6 as an IDP. Removal of water from the protein by drying or exposure to trifluoroethanol (a chemical de-solvating agent) promotes a large gain in secondary structure of AfrLEA6, …

Eifiso4g Augments The Synthesis Of Specific Plant Proteins Involved In Normal Chloroplast Function, Andrew D. Lellis, Ryan M. Patrick, Laura K. Mayberry, Argelia Lorence, Zachary C. Campbell, Johnna L. Roose, Laurie K. Frankel, Terry M. Bricker, Hanjo A. Hellmann, Roderick W. Mayberry, Ana Solis Zavala, Grace S. Choy, Dennis C. Wylie, Mustafa Abdul-Moheeth, Adeeb Masood, Amy G. Prater, Hailey E. Van Hoorn, Nicola A. Cole, Karen S. Browning

Faculty Publications

Copyright © 2019 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved. The plant-specific translation initiation complex eIFiso4F is encoded by three genes in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana)-genes encoding the cap binding protein eIFiso4E (eifiso4e) and two isoforms of the large subunit scaffolding protein eIFiso4G (i4g1 and i4g2). To quantitate phenotypic changes, a phenomics platform was used to grow wild-type and mutant plants (i4g1, i4g2, i4e, i4g1 × i4g2, and i4g1 × i4g2 × i4e [i4f]) under various light conditions. Mutants lacking both eIFiso4G isoforms showed the most obvious phenotypic differences from the wild type. Two-dimensional differential gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry …

Development Of Germplasm Repositories To Assist Conservation Of Endangered Fishes: Examples From Small-Bodied Livebearing Fishes, Yue Liu, Harvey Blackburn, Sabrina S. Taylor, Terrence R. Tiersch

Faculty Publications

Germplasm repositories are a necessary tool for comprehensive conservation programs to fully preserve valuable genetic resources of imperiled animals. Cryopreserved germplasm can be used in the future to produce live young for integration into other conservation projects, such as habitat restoration, captive breeding, and translocations; thus compensating for genetic losses or negative changes that would otherwise be permanent. Although hundreds of cryopreservation protocols for various aquatic species have been published, there are great difficulties in moving such research forward into applied conservation projects. Successful freezing of sperm in laboratories for research does not guarantee successful management and incorporation of genetic …

Precision Exercise Medicine: Understanding Exercise Response Variability, Robert Ross, Bret H. Goodpaster, Lauren G. Koch, Mark A. Sarzynski, Wendy M. Kohrt, Neil M. Johannsen, James S. Skinner, Alex Castro, Brian A. Irving, Robert C. Noland, Lauren M. Sparks, Guillaume Spielmann, Andrew G. Day, Werner Pitsch, William G. Hopkins, Claude Bouchard

Faculty Publications

There is evidence from human twin and family studies as well as mouse and rat selection experiments that there are considerable interindividual differences in the response of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and other cardiometabolic traits to a given exercise programme dose. We developed this consensus statement on exercise response variability following a symposium dedicated to this topic. There is strong evidence from both animal and human studies that exercise training doses lead to variable responses. A genetic component contributes to exercise training response variability. In this consensus statement, we (1) briefly review the literature on exercise response variability and the various …

Additive And Heterozygous (Dis)Advantage Gwas Models Reveal Candidate Genes Involved In The Genotypic Variation Of Maize Hybrids To Azospirillum Brasilense, Miriam Suzane Vidotti, Danilo Hottis Lyra, Júlia Silva Morosini, Ítalo Stefanine Correia Granato, Maria Carolina Quecine, João Lúcio De Azevedo, Roberto Fritsche-Neto

Faculty Publications

Maize genotypes can show different responsiveness to inoculation with Azospirillum brasilense and an intriguing issue is which genes of the plant are involved in the recognition and growth promotion by these Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria (PGPB). We conducted Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) using additive and heterozygous (dis)advantage models to find candidate genes for root and shoot traits under nitrogen (N) stress and N stress plus A. brasilense. A total of 52,215 Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers were used for GWAS analyses. For the six root traits with significant inoculation effect, the GWAS analyses revealed 25 significant SNPs for the N stress …

Generation Of An Oncolytic Adenovirus Targeting The Cxcr4 And Cxcr7 Chemokine Receptors In Breast Cancer, Samia Melissa O'Bryan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in women under 60 and the second most diagnosed cancer in women over 60. While treatments for localized breast cancer are quite successful with high survival rates at 99%, advanced breast cancer remains hard to treat with a nearly 75% decrease in survival. Current treatments are inefficient at treating advanced stages of breast cancer, and thus, new therapies are sorely needed to address the complexity of advanced stage breast cancer. The ideal therapy would be capable of systemic administration, targets cancer cells and spares normal tissue. Oncolytic adenovirus is an ideal therapeutic vector …

Occurrence Of Aflatoxin And Zearalenone In Concentrate Feeds And Milk Contamination With Aflatoxin M1 And Bacterial Pathogens In Malawi, Chunala Alexico Njombwa

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Multiple studies were conducted in Malawi to: 1) evaluate knowledge and perception of dairy farmers towards molds, mycotoxins and associated adverse effects; 2) evaluate dairy farmers’ knowledge and perception on milk contamination, proper milk handling practices and adverse health effects associated with raw milk consumption; 3) determine levels of aflatoxins and zearalenone (ZEN) in concentrate feedstuffs; 4) assess prevalence and levels of aflatoxin M₁(AFM₁) in raw milk, dietary exposure and estimate HCC risks to children and adults; 5) assess Salmonella and E. colicontamination in raw and processed milk from selected small scale farms and major …