Digital Commons Network^™

Contrasting Latitudinal Gradients Of Body Size In Helminth Parasites And Their Hosts, Tad Dallas, Alyssa Lois M. Gehman, A. Alonso Aguirre, Sarah A. Budischak, John M. Drake, Maxwell J. Farrell, Ria Ghai, Shan Huang, Ignacio Morales-Castilla

Faculty Publications

© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Aim: We examined body size scaling relationships for two developmental life stages of parasitic helminths (egg and adult) separately in relationship to latitude (i.e. Bergmann's rule), temperature and temperature seasonality. Given that helminth eggs experience environmental conditions more directly, whereas adults live inside infected host individuals, we predict stronger environmentally driven gradients of body size for eggs than for adults. Location: Global. Time period: Present day. Major taxa studied: Parasitic helminths. Methods: We compiled egg size and adult body size data (both minimum and maximum) for 265 parasitic helminth species from the literature, …

Broad-Scale Habitat Use By Fledgling Black-Capped Vireo, Marisa T. Martinez, Ashley M. Long, Heather A. Mathewson, Michael L. Morrison

Faculty Publications

Knowledge of avian habitat associations during the postfledging stage is lacking for most songbirds, which limits the ability to develop and implement management plans that address the full life cycle of birds. The Black-capped Vireo (Vireo atricapilla; hereafter vireo) is a Neotropical migratory songbird that breeds in early to mid-successional vegetation but has been documented using late-successional vegetation. We used data collected in 2013 and 2014 to determine the spatial distribution of vireo fledglings in relation to the availability of woodland cover in central Texas. We found that woodland cover was used less often than it was available in the …

Efficacy Of A New Topical Formulation Containing Selamectin Plus Sarolaner Against Three Common Tick Species Infesting Cats In The United States, Adriano F. Vatta, David R. Young, William R. Everett, Vickie L. King, Judith A. Cherni, Marcela Von Reitzenstein, Susan J. Holzmer, Sara Chapin, Douglas Rugg

Faculty Publications

The efficacy of a single topical application of a combination product containing selamectin and sarolaner (selamectin/sarolaner; Revolution® Plus/Stronghold® Plus) was evaluated in seven laboratory studies against Ixodes scapularis (three studies), Dermacentor variabilis (two studies), or Amblyomma maculatum (two studies). In each study, cats were randomly allocated to treatment groups based on pre-treatment host-suitability tick counts. On Days -2, 5, 12, 19, 26 and 33, the cats were infested with unfed adult ticks. On Day 0, cats were treated with either a placebo (vehicle control) or with the spot-on solution at the minimum dose of 6.0 mg selamectin and 1.0 mg …

Current Status And Recommendations Toward A Virus Standard For Ballast Water, Yiseul Kim, Samuel D. Snow, Vanessa Reichel-Deland, Mostafa Maghsoodi, Gabrielle M. Langlois, Volodymyr V. Tarabara, Joan B. Rose

Faculty Publications

Ballast water contains and transfers a variety of biological and non-biological materials between biomes. This study aimed to summarize published literature on the viruses found in ballast water, to evaluate ultrafiltration and plaque assay as methods for concentrating and enumerating viruses, and to assess the efficacy of UV irradiation in the inactivation of infectious viruses in ballast water. Previous studies reported high virus concentrations in ballast tanks, ranging from 109 to 1014 viral particles/L. The ultrafiltration and plaque assay were efficient in concentrating and enumerating four types of phages: MS2, PhiX174, P22, and PP7. The UV dose (radiant fluence) necessary …

Sodium Reduction Through Salt Substitute Mixtures, Visual Cues, And Salt Level Statements, And Its Effects On Consumer Perception: A Case Of Barbecue Sauce, Jose Ramon Alonso Marenco

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of death in the USA and associated with excessive sodium (Na) intake. Thus, reducing the Na intake is vital to alleviate health concerns. One serving of the average Barbecue sauce (BBQs) may contribute around 15%-20% of the daily Na allowance (2,300 mg). No research has evaluated salt substitutes or visual cues on salty taste perception of BBQs, thus it was the aim of this research. Consumer studies followed a Balanced Incomplete Block (BIB) designs. For Study I, BBQs prototypes followed a 3-components (NaCl : KCl : Glycine) mixture design, with 38% - 87% less …

Computational Feasibility Of Simulating Whole-Organ Vascular Networks And Their Response To Injury, William Patrick Donahue

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Healthy vasculature is critical to sustaining the function of normal tissues in the human body. Radiation therapy for cancer causes injury of the vasculature of non-cancerous tissues. These changes have been associated with potentially deadly conditions such as necrosis of the brain tissue. There are currently no computational methods to study the effects of radiation vascular injury in whole-organ vasculatures because of the large number of vessels involved. The goal of this work was to test the feasibility of simulating radiation damage to whole-brain vascular networks and calculate the resulting change in blood flow. To accomplish this, we developed algorithms …

Time In Giorgio De Chirico's Metaphysical Paintings, Ge Chen

LSU Master's Theses

Abstract

A subtle transformation in the fundamental cognition of a generation could trigger overwhelming ripples throughout the society. Time as an essential concept went through tempestuous changes in late nineteenth-century Europe because of the revolutionary development in railway system. Art world in cross-century Europe also witnessed unprecedented upheavals. Founder of Metaphysical Painting, Giorgio de Chirico was born to that age and was renowned for his complicated opinion towards modernism. This thesis intends to present how the change in the basic perception of time permeated the society, influenced ways of production, inspired art movements, and got reflected in art works.

Railway …

Mobile Music Development Tools For Creative Coders, Daniel Stuart Holmes

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This project is a body of work that facilitates the creation of musical mobile artworks. The project includes a code toolkit that enhances and simplifies the development of mobile music iOS applications, a flexible notation system designed for mobile musical interactions, and example apps and scored compositions to demonstrate the toolkit and notation system.

The code library is designed to simplify the technical aspect of user-centered design and development with a more direct connection between concept and deliverable. This sim- plification addresses learning problems (such as motivation, self-efficacy, and self-perceived understanding) by bridging the gap between idea and functional prototype …

A Case-Study Approach To Investigate Transmission, Co-Infection, And Clinical Sequelae During Epidemics Of Dengue And Ebola Virus Disease, Jennifer Elizabeth Giovanni

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

From within their ecologic niches, zoonotic viruses emerge from animal reservoirs into the edges and centers of human habitation to exploit opportunities for unabated transmission within immunologically–naïve populations. Our understanding of where, in whom, and how these viruses emerge is under direct challenge, driving the evolution of modern infectious disease epidemiology within a rapidly-connected global community. The studies presented herein are based on analyses of both aggregate and case-level data, which, we argue, provide unique insight into the complexities of transmission, co-infection, and clinical sequelae occurring within, and arising from, epidemics of emerging zoonotic viruses. In Chapter II, we investigate …

Physiological Characterization Of Inward Rectifier Potassium (Kir) Channels In Insect Neural Systems, Rui Chen

LSU Master's Theses

A complete understanding of the physiological pathways critical for proper function of the insect nervous system is still lacking. The recent development of potent and selective small-molecule modulators of insect inward rectifier potassium channels has enabled the interrogation of the physiological role and toxicological potential of Kir channels within various insect tissue systems. Therefore, we aimed to highlight the physiological and functional role of neural Kir channels in the central nervous system, muscular system, and neuromuscular system through pharmacological and genetic manipulations. Our data provide significant evidence that Drosophila neural systems rely on the inward conductance of K+ ions for …

Hsv-1 Live-Attenuated Vaccine Strain Vc2 Confers Complete Protection In Mice Against Ocular Immunipathogenesis By The Human Clinical Strain Hsv-1 (Mckrae), Shan Krishnan Naidu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) can cause severe ocular infection and blindness. We have previously shown that the HSV-1 VC2 vaccine strain is protective in mice and guinea pigs against genital herpes infection following vaginal challenge with HSV-1 or HSV-2. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of VC2 intramuscular vaccination in mice against herpetic keratitis following ocular challenge with the lethal human clinical strain HSV-1(McKrae). VC2 vaccination in mice produced superior protection and morbidity control in comparison to its parental strain HSV-1(F). Specifically, after HSV-1(McKrae) ocular challenge, all VC2- vaccinated mice survived, while 30% of the HSV-1(F)- vaccinated and …

Antimicrobial Properties Of Different Chitosans Against Gram-Negative And Gram-Positive Foodborne Pathogens In Food Products, Nancy Katherine Rubio Zapata

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Chitosan is a polymer derived of the deacetylation of chitin that is one of the most abundant material in nature. Chitosan solutions applied as edible coatings, and dipping solutions have shown positive results in the extension of shelf life on seafood and meat products. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activities of a newly invented high molecular weight water-soluble (HMWWS) chitosan against selected Gram-negative (Salmonella Typhimurium, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio vulnificus, and Vibrio cholerae) and Gram-positive (Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus) foodborne pathogens (initial inoculation of 6.5 Log). Chitosans with …

Improving The Food Safety Of Louisiana Strawberry Industry, Jose L. Brandao Delgado

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella sp., and Listeria monocytogenes have been linked to foodborne outbreaks in produce. The most recent outbreaks in produce have been associated with irrigation water due to infiltration of well water or water run-off from contaminated sources. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) requires all irrigation water to be safe for use on produce, as a strategy to reduce foodborne illnesses. A surfactant modified zeolite (SMZ) filtration system could provide produce farmers with a sustainable low-cost system for high-quality and safe irrigation water. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of hexadecyltrimethylammonium …

Refuse: Excess And Resistance In Gilded Age Print And Literature, Leah Michelle Powell

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In the late-nineteenth century, mechanization led to fears about the possible consequences of overproduction while immigration led to fears about the possible consequences of overpopulation. This dissertation examines Gilded Age texts that represent regionalized spaces in efforts to process interlinked anxieties about a surplus of people and a surplus of things. I argue that images of excess and cheapness were rhetorically powerful in efforts to both control and advocate for unassimilated and nonstandard people and places in a nation increasingly dominated by an urban commodity economy. This focus on excess often takes the form of verbal or visual imagery, but …

An Ensemble Of Lipoxygenase Structures Reveals Novel Conformations Of The Fe Coordination Sphere, Svetlana Pakhomova, William E. Boeglin, David B. Neau, Sue G. Bartlett, Alan R. Brash, Marcia E. Newcomer

Faculty Publications

© 2019 The Protein Society The regio- and stereo-specific oxygenation of polyunsaturated fatty acids is catalyzed by lipoxygenases (LOX); both Fe and Mn forms of the enzyme have been described. Structural elements of the Fe and Mn coordination spheres and the helical catalytic domain in which the metal center resides are highly conserved. However, animal, plant, and microbial LOX each have distinct features. We report five crystal structures of a LOX from the fungal plant pathogen Fusarium graminearum. This LOX displays a novel amino terminal extension that provides a wrapping domain for dimerization. Moreover, this extension appears to interfere with …

A Gradient Of Pollination Specialization In Three Species Of Bolivian Centropogon, Laura P. Lagomarsino, Nathan Muchhala

Faculty Publications

© 2019 Botanical Society of America Premise: Closely related plant species with overlapping ranges often experience competition for pollination services. Such competition can select for divergence in floral traits that attract pollinators or determine pollen placement. While most species in Centropogon (Campanulaceae: Lobelioideae) have flowers that suggest adaptation to bat or hummingbird pollination, actual pollinators are rarely documented, and a few species have a mix of traits from both pollination syndromes. We studied the pollination biology of a “mixed-syndrome” species and its co-occurring congeners to examine the relationship between floral traits and visitation patterns for Centropogon. Methods: Fieldwork at two …

The Impact Of Black Civil War Veterans In Reconstruction Era Louisiana, Sarah K. Weiss

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Siah2 Modulates Sex-Dependent Metabolic And Inflammatory Responses In Adipose Tissue To A High-Fat Diet Challenge, Sujoy Ghosh, Jessica L. Taylor, Tamra M. Mendoza, Thanh Dang, David H. Burk, Yongmei Yu, Gail Kilroy, Z. Elizabeth Floyd

Faculty Publications

© 2019 The Author(s). Background: The obesity-related risk of developing metabolic syndrome is higher in males than in females of reproductive age, likely due to estrogen-mediated reduced adipose tissue inflammation and fibrosis with hypertrophied adipocytes. Depletion of the ubiquitin ligase Siah2 reduced white adipose tissue inflammation and improved glucose metabolism in obese male mice. Siah2 is a transcriptional target of estrogen, but data is lacking about the effect of Siah2 on adipose tissue of females. We therefore evaluated the impact of Siah2 deficiency on white and brown adipose tissue in females of reproductive age. Methods: Body composition, adipose tissue morphology, …

Inflammatory Reproductive White Adipose Tissue Characterizes The Obese Preeclamptic-Like Bph/5 Mouse Prior To Pregnancy, Kelsey Olson

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Characterizing The Subcellular Localization, Activity, And Physiological Properties Of Α-Carbonic Anhydrases In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Kayla Schwartzenburg

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Synthesis, Characterization, And Evaluation Of Near-Ir Boron Dipyrromethene Bioconjugates For Labeling Of Adenocarcinomas By Selectively Targeting The Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor, Nichole E.M. Kaufman, Qianli Meng, Kaitlin E. Griffin, Sitanshu S. Singh, Achyut Dahal, Zehua Zhou, Frank R. Fronczek, J. Michael Mathis, Seetharama D. Jois, M. Graça H. Vicente

Faculty Publications

Copyright © 2019 American Chemical Society. A series of five boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) bioconjugates containing an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted pegylated LARLLT peptide and/or a glucose or biotin ethylene diamine group were synthesized, and the binding capability of the new conjugates to the extracellular domain of EGFR was investigated using molecular modeling, surface plasmon resonance, fluorescence microscopy, competitive binding assays, and animal studies. The BODIPY conjugates with a LARLLT peptide were found to bind specifically to EGFR, whereas those lacking the peptide bound weakly and nonspecifically. All BODIPY conjugates showed low cytotoxicity (IC50 > 94 μM) in HT-29 cells, both …

Building A Better Batture: A Regional Recreational Enhancement Around The Morganza To The Gulf Levee, Taylor N. Fehmel

LSU Master's Theses

Twenty-five years ago, the existing flood protection levees along the Louisiana coastline were removed and construction was started by Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District on a new project called ‘Morganza to the Gulf’ or MTG. This project was undertaken to construct a new flood protection levee system around Louisiana in the communities in Terrebonne and Lafourche Parish. The MTG Levee is one of the first coastal projects in Louisiana to incorporate a risk-based analysis for a double levee system containing both local parish drainage levees and future storm surge levees of MTG. It was designed to protect approximately 250,000 people …

Picture Cued And Speech Production Cued Approaches For Speech Sound Learning, Michelyve C. Petit

LSU Master's Theses

This study examined the use of speech production cued cards, MorphoPhonic faces (MPF), and plain picture (PP) cards when seeking to remediate speech sound errors, specifically sounds / ɹ / and / s / in the word initial position. Fourteen children were provided articulation therapy at their public school using both stimulus types across four weeks. Each week, the total number of correct productions of target phoneme / s / and /ɹ/ were recorded and averaged. These results were used to graphically showcase trends in their performance with both stimulus types. The results demonstrated that MPF cards were advantageous for …

The Corridor Des Arts, Kade M. Jones

LSU Master's Theses

Arnaudville is a small rural town in south central Louisiana with a population of 1200. In 2010, the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) named Arnaudville as one of fourteen cities that were classified as a successful case study of “Creative Placemaking.” The NEA defines creative placemaking as community partnerships that use arts and culture to shape the social, environmental, and economic identity of a place. The NUNU Arts and Culture Collective, a Louisiana Cajun French non-profit arts organization centered in Arnaudville, is the main catalyst of this effort.

Members of NUNU have identified five other rural towns within close …

Assessing The Nutritional Value Of Black Soldier Fly Larvae (Hermetia Illucens) Used For Reptile Foods, Kimberly L. Boykin

LSU Master's Theses

Black soldier fly (BSF) larvae have been studied extensively in animal feed production, but there is limited research for non-production species, such as reptiles, despite their popularity as a calcium-rich feeder insect. The goals of this thesis were to determine the nutritive value of BSF larvae for a lizard species and as an ingredient in a diet formulated for snakes.

BSF larvae are deficient in fat soluble vitamins (A, D, and E). Using vitamin A as a test nutrient, several factors were identified that affect the success and consistency of gut loading. Based on the results, the following gut loading …

Đổi Mới Diy: Tactical Ruralism And Tangible Modeling In The Mekong Delta, Phillip Fernberg

LSU Master's Theses

In recent years, the integrity of the Mekong Delta has been put at risk by a combination of environmental and institutional factors. Understanding that the degradation of the Delta would have far-reaching socioeconomic implications for both Vietnam and the Indochinese Peninsula, The World Bank has responded to the situation by implementing initiatives for climate-smart planning tools and improved water management practices throughout the lower Mekong basin. Seeing the potential for tangible modeling as a participatory planning tool, the Bank has hired a team of consultants from Louisiana State University to introduce a methodology called Tangible Landscape to its climate resilience …

Determining Nutrient Recommendations For Agricultural Crops Based On Soil And Plant Tissue Analyses Between Different Analytical Laboratories, Lauren Liuzza

LSU Master's Theses

There is limited information concerning the disparities between soil and plant tissue testing laboratories. Soil and plant tissue analyses are crucial to determining nutrient applications for agricultural field crops. Accurate fertility inputs improve crop production and long-term agricultural sustainability. The over application of nutrients can potentially decrease yields and reduce profits. A study was established in 2016 at Louisiana State University at Alexandria (LSUA) in Alexandria, Louisiana to 1) assess and compare soil and plant tissue nutrient values, ratings and recommendations between research and commercial laboratories for field corn (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max), and …

Antioxidant Properties Of Pecan Shell Bioactive Components Of Different Cultivars And Extraction Methods, Cameron J. Cason

LSU Master's Theses

Pecan nuts are a highly valued but underutilized crop. Pecan production generates nearly 150 million pounds of shell by-product annually in the United States, of which approximately 6 million pounds are attributed to Louisiana. Pecan shells are a rich source of various phenolic compounds with potential antioxidant properties. The main objective of this study was to determine the effect of pecan variety and method of extraction on the phenolic content and antioxidant activity of pecan shell extracts. A total of 20 different pecan cultivars from the same orchard, under similar growing conditions were processed to obtain defatted shell powder of …

Linking Water Quality To Aedes Aegypti And Zika In Flood-Prone Neighborhoods, Rebeca De Jesus Crespo

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Plasticity, Technicity, Writing, Deborah Goldgaber

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.