Digital Commons Network^™

Preoptic Leptin Signaling Modulates Energy Balance Independent Of Body Temperature Regulation, Sangho Yu, Helia Cheng, Marie François, Emily Qualls-Creekmore, Clara Huesing, Yanlin He, Yanyan Jiang, Hong Gao, Yong Xu, Andrea Zsombok, Andrei V. Derbenev, Eduardo A. Nillni, David H. Burk, Christopher D. Morrison, Hans Rudolf Berthoud, Heike Münzberg

Faculty Publications

© Yu et al. The adipokine leptin acts on the brain to regulate energy balance but specific functions in many brain areas remain poorly understood. Among these, the preoptic area (POA) is well known to regulate core body temperature by controlling brown fat thermogenesis, and we have previously shown that glutamatergic, long-form leptin receptor (Lepr)-expressing neurons in the POA are stimulated by warm ambient temperature and suppress energy expenditure and food intake. Here we further investigate the role of POA leptin signaling in body weight regulation and its relationship to body temperature regulation in mice. We show that POA Lepr …

Effect Of Driver, Vehicle, And Road Related Factors On Crashes At Intersections And Non-Intersections: A Naturalistic Driving Study, Grace Naa Ashley

LSU Master's Theses

Traffic accidents in the U.S. have declined over the last two decades but continue to cost the country billions of U.S. dollars each year. Intersection accidents alone account for 23% of the 32,675 deaths that occurred by motor vehicle crashes in 2014. In light of this, the first part of this study sought to identify driver behavior and secondary tasks that influenced the occurrence of a crashes at controlled, uncontrolled and non-intersections with multiple logistic regression. The second part of the study used decision tree which applied machine learning algorithms to identify significant factors that influenced the occurrence of crashes …

Direct Determination Of Hydroxymethyl Conformations Of Plant Cell Wall Cellulose Using 1 H Polarization Transfer Solid-State Nmr, Pyae Phyo, Tuo Wang, Yu Yang, Hugh O'Neill, Mei Hong

Faculty Publications

Copyright © 2018 American Chemical Society. In contrast to the well-studied crystalline cellulose of microbial and animal origins, cellulose in plant cell walls is disordered due to its interactions with matrix polysaccharides. Plant cell wall (PCW) is an undisputed source of sustainable global energy; therefore, it is important to determine the molecular structure of PCW cellulose. The most reactive component of cellulose is the exocyclic hydroxymethyl group: when it adopts the tg conformation, it stabilizes intrachain and interchain hydrogen bonding, while gt and gg conformations destabilize the hydrogen-bonding network. So far, information about the hydroxymethyl conformation in cellulose has been …

Challenging Local Realism With Human Choices, C. Abellán, A. Acín, A. Alarcón, O. Alibart, C. K. Andersen, F. Andreoli, A. Beckert, F. A. Beduini, A. Bendersky, M. Bentivegna, P. Bierhorst, D. Burchardt, A. Cabello, J. Cariñe, S. Carrasco, G. Carvacho, D. Cavalcanti, R. Chaves, J. Cortés-Vega, A. Cuevas, A. Delgado, H. De Riedmatten, C. Eichler, P. Farrera, J. Fuenzalida, M. García-Matos, R. Garthoff, S. Gasparinetti, T. Gerrits, F. Ghafari Jouneghani, S. Glancy, E. S. Gómez, P. González

Faculty Publications

A Bell test is a randomized trial that compares experimental observations against the philosophical worldview of local realism 1, in which the properties of the physical world are independent of our observation of them and no signal travels faster than light. A Bell test requires spatially distributed entanglement, fast and high-efficiency detection and unpredictable measurement settings 2,3 . Although technology can satisfy the first two of these requirements 4-7, the use of physical devices to choose settings in a Bell test involves making assumptions about the physics that one aims to test. Bell himself noted this weakness in using physical …

Analysis Of Chromatin Interactions Of Beaf-Associated Promoters Using 4c, Shraddha Shrestha

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A high degree of chromosome compaction is needed to fit nearly 2 meters of DNA inside a human nucleus of around 10 µm diameter. Correct chromatin folding is crucial to facilitate important nuclear functions such as transcription, DNA replication and DNA repair. Nuclei contain a variety of proteins, many of which help regulate chromatin structure and function. The mechanisms by which these proteins work are diverse and complicated. Here, we study the chromatin interactions of Boundary Element Associated Factor (BEAF) associated sites to gain insight into eukaryotic genome organization. We used circular chromosome conformation capture (4C) technology to detect genome-wide …

Are We Ready For ‘School’ Abolition?: Thoughts And Practices Of Radical Imaginary In Education, David Stovall

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

No abstract provided.

A Schizophrenic Scholar Out For A Stroll: Multiplicities, Becomings, Conjurings, Abraham Deleon

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

No abstract provided.

Our Academic Penalscape: Slow Work In Always Urgent Times, Erica Meiners

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

No abstract provided.

Genetic Parameters For Ewe Reproductive Performance And Peri-Parturient Fecal Egg Counts And Their Genetic Relationships With Lamb Body Weights And Fecal Egg Counts In Katahdin Sheep, David R. Notter, Lauretta Ngere, Joan M. Burke, James E. Miller, James L.M. Morgan

Faculty Publications

© The Author(s) 2018. This study estimated genetic parameters for ewe reproductive traits [number of lambs born (NLB) and weaned (NLW) per ewe lambing] and fecal egg counts (FEC) during the peri-parturient rise (PPR) for use in genetic evaluation of Katahdin sheep. Data included NLB and NLW for 23,060 lambings by 9,295 Katahdin ewes, 1,230 PPR at lambing (PPR0) for 750 ewes, 1,070 PPR at approximately 30 d postpartum (PPR30) for 611 ewes, BW at birth, weaning, and (or) post-weaning for 12,869 lambs, and FEC at weaning and (or) post-weaning for 4,676 lambs. Direct additive, permanent environmental, and residual (co)variances …

Genetic Parameters For Fecal Egg Counts And Their Relationship With Body Weights In Katahdin Lambs, L. Ngere, J. M. Burke, J. L.M. Morgan, J. E. Miller, D. R. Notter

Faculty Publications

© The Author(s) 2018. Reliance on anthelmintic drugs to control internal parasites in sheep is no longer sustainable because of the development of resistance to these drugs in parasite populations. Genetic selection may offer an alternative long-term solution, as differences in parasite resistance exist both within and among sheep breeds. However, selection for parasite resistance may have correlated effects on other production traits. The objectives of this study were to estimate genetic parameters for weaning (WFEC) and postweaning (PWFEC) fecal egg counts (FEC) and assess their relationship with birth (BWT), weaning (WWT), and postweaning (PWWT) BW in Katahdin lambs. The …

Preparation And Preliminary Characterization Of Alligator Mississippiensis Keratin-Rich Extracts, Cristian Josue Macoto Calix

LSU Master's Theses

The state of Louisiana has become the lead producer of alligator skins and meat in the United States. More than 300,000 alligators are harvested annually from farm and wild sources. Simultaneously, the industry generates thousands of pounds of waste during the processing of alligators. This waste contains valuable fibrous proteins such as keratins. This study aimed to identify keratin in keratin-rich extracts prepared from alligator backstraps. Alligator backstrap samples were collected from alligator processing facilities located in Springfield, Louisiana. The percentage of protein extracted with 2-mercaptoethanol (2BME), 2BME and dithiothreitol (DTT), DTT, or sodium metabisulfite (SMBS) was calculated. Sodium Dodecyl …

Radical Containing Combustion Derived Particulate Matter Enhance Pulmonary Th17 Inflammation Via The Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor, Sridhar Jaligama, Vivek S. Patel, Pingli Wang, Asmaa Sallam, Jeffrey Harding, Matthew Kelley, Skylar R. Mancuso, Tammy R. Dugas, Stephania A. Cormier

Faculty Publications

© 2018 The Author(s). Background: Pollutant particles containing environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) are formed during many combustion processes (e.g. thermal remediation of hazardous wastes, diesel/gasoline combustion, wood smoke, cigarette smoke, etc.). Our previous studies demonstrated that acute exposure to EPFRs results in dendritic cell maturation and Th17-biased pulmonary immune responses. Further, in a mouse model of asthma, these responses were enhanced suggesting exposure to EPFRs as a risk factor for the development and/or exacerbation of asthma. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) has been shown to play a role in the differentiation of Th17 cells. In the current study, we …

An Examination Of Preimplantation Embryos And Endometrium Developed During Induced Aluteal Cycles In The Mare, Chelsey Audra Leisinger

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Changes to the embryonic environment that occur within the first few days of development can have significant effects on subsequent fetal development. The following studies investigate the effects of progesterone-deprivation during the early preimplantation period in the mare. The first study described embryo morphology (diameter, stage, and quality grade) collected from mares with induced aluteal cycles. The second study evaluated the effect of induced aluteal cycles on the future fertility of embryo collections as a potential method for cycle manipulation of embryo donor mares. The third study characterized embryonic and endometrial transcript expression of progesterone-mediated transcripts as well as those …

Reduced Satellite Cell Density And Myogenesis In Wagyu Compared With Angus Cattle As A Possible Explanation Of Its High Marbling, X. Fu, Q. Yang, B. Wang, J. Zhao, M. Zhu, S. M. Parish, M. Du

Faculty Publications

© The Animal Consortium 2017. Mechanisms responsible for excellent marbling in Japanese black cattle, Wagyu, remain to be established. Because both muscle cells and intramuscular adipocytes are developed from mesenchymal progenitor cells during early muscle development, we hypothesized that intramuscular progenitor cells in Wagyu cattle have attenuated myogenic capacity in favor of adipogenesis, leading to high marbling but reduced muscle growth. Biceps femoris muscle biopsy samples were obtained from both Angus (n=3) and Wagyu (n=3) cattle at 12 months of age. Compared with Angus, the density of satellite cells was much lower in Wagyu muscle (by 45.8±10%, P<0.05). Consistently, the formation of myotubes from muscle-derived progenitor cells was also lower (by 64.2±12.9%, P<0.05), but adipogenic capacity was greater in Wagyu. The average muscle fiber diameter was larger in Wagyu (by 23.9±6.8%, P=0.089) despite less muscle mass, suggesting less muscle fiber formation in Wagyu compared with Angus cattle. Because satellite cells are derived from fetal myogenic cells, the reduction in satellite cell density together with lower muscle fiber formation suggests that myogenesis was attenuated during early muscle development in Wagyu cattle. Given the shared pool of mesenchymal progenitor cells, the attenuated myogenesis likely shifts progenitor cells to adipogenesis during early development, which may contribute to high intramuscular adipocyte formation in Wagyu cattle.

Specialized Fibroblast Differentiated States Underlie Scar Formation In The Infarcted Mouse Heart, Xing Fu, Hadi Khalil, Onur Kanisicak, Justin G. Boyer, Ronald J. Vagnozzi, Bryan D. Maliken, Michelle A. Sargent, Vikram Prasad, Iñigo Valiente-Alandi, Burns C. Blaxall, Jeffery D. Molkentin

Faculty Publications

© 2018 Academic Press. All rights reserved. Fibroblasts are a dynamic cell type that achieve selective differentiated states to mediate acute wound healing and long-term tissue remodeling with scarring. With myocardial infarction injury, cardiomyocytes are replaced by secreted extracellular matrix proteins produced by proliferating and differentiating fibroblasts. Here, we employed 3 different mouse lineage-tracing models and stage-specific gene profiling to phenotypically analyze and classify resident cardiac fibroblast dynamics during myocardial infarction injury and stable scar formation. Fibroblasts were activated and highly proliferative, reaching a maximum rate within 2 to 4 days after infarction injury, at which point they expanded 3.5-fold …

Allele And Dosage Specificity Of The Peg3 Imprinted Domain, Corey L. Bretz, Wesley D. Frey, Ryoichi Teruyama, Joomyeong Kim

Faculty Publications

© 2018 Bretz 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 biological impetus for gene dosage and allele specificity of mammalian imprinted genes is not fully understood. To address this, we generated and analyzed four sets of mice from a single breeding scheme with varying allelic expression and gene dosage of the Peg3 domain. The mutants with abrogation of the two paternally expressed genes, Peg3 and Usp29, showed a significant decrease …

Health Insurance Coverage With Or Without A Nurse-Led Task Shifting Strategy For Hypertension Control: A Pragmatic Cluster Randomized Trial In Ghana, Gbenga Ogedegbe, Jacob Plange-Rhule, Joyce Gyamfi, William Chaplin, Michael Ntim, Kingsley Apusiga, Juliet Iwelunmor, Kwasi Yeboah Awudzi, Kofi Nana Quakyi, Jazmin Mogaverro, Kiran Khurshid, Bamidele Tayo, Richard Cooper

Faculty Publications

Background: Poor access to care and physician shortage are major barriers to hypertension control in sub-Saharan Africa. Implementation of evidence-based systems-level strategies targeted at these barriers are lacking. We conducted a study to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of provision of health insurance coverage (HIC) alone versus a nurse-led task shifting strategy for hypertension control (TASSH) plus HIC on systolic blood pressure (SBP) reduction among patients with uncontrolled hypertension in Ghana. Methods and findings: Using a pragmatic cluster randomized trial, 32 community health centers within Ghana’s public healthcare system were randomly assigned to either HIC alone or TASSH + HIC. A …

Climate Change And An Invasive, Tropical Milkweed: An Ecological Trap For Monarch Butterflies, Matthew J. Faldyn, Mark D. Hunter, Bret D. Elderd

Faculty Publications

© 2018 by the Ecological Society of America While it is well established that climate change affects species distributions and abundances, the impacts of climate change on species interactions has not been extensively studied. This is particularly important for specialists whose interactions are tightly linked, such as between the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) and the plant genus Asclepias, on which it depends. We used open-top chambers (OTCs) to increase temperatures in experimental plots and placed either nonnative Asclepias curassavica or native A. incarnata in each plot along with monarch larvae. We found, under current climatic conditions, adult monarchs had higher …

Relics, Replication, And Reputation King Arthur, Edward I, And The Conquest Of Wales, Danielle Maurer

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Bad Bitch Barbie Craze And Beyoncé African American Women’S Bodies As Commodities In Hip-Hop Culture, Images, And Media, Crystal Lavoulle, Tisha Lewis Ellison

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

In this special issue of Taboo, the authors use Beyoncé’s album, Lemonade, to introduce the concept of the Bad Bitch Barbie, a term used to identify a woman who embraces her body while simultaneously using it as a commodity. Representing a Black body ideal in Lemonade, Beyoncé uses images of Black women’s bodies to express empowerment, boldness, and resilience as Black women struggle to live in a racist and sexist society. There has been recent interest in the ways Black women have been portrayed in current media and popular culture, and many individuals have taken the opportunity to honor Black …

How #Blackgirlmagic Cultivates Supreme Love To Heal And Save Souls That Can Heal And Save The World: An Introduction To Endarkened Feminist Epistemlogical And Ontological Evolutions Of Self Through A Critique Of Beyoncé’S Lemonade, Jeanine Staples

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Vitrification On Epigenetic Modifications And The Meiotic Spindle Of Bovine Oocytes, Emilio Jose Gutierrez-Castillo

LSU Master's Theses

While oocyte vitrification has become a common practice, it still faces some challenges such as the low survival rates after warming, probably related to cryoinjuries and cryoprotectant (CPA) toxicity. Evidence suggests that vitrification might have an effect on the patterns of some epigenetic marks including DNA methylation and histone acetylation. During fertilization and embryogenesis, key events for healthy and adequate embryo development take place, not only governed by the information contained within the DNA sequence, but also by epigenetic mechanisms.

This study was aimed at determining the effect of vitrification and CPA exposure, using a combination of ethylene glycol (EG) …

Development Of An Autodissemination Strategy For The Deployment Of Novel Control Agents Targeting The Common Malaria Mosquito, Anopheles Quadrimaculatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae), Daniel R. Swale, Zhilin Li, Jake Z. Kraft, Kristen Healy, Mei Liu, Connie M. David, Zhijun Liu, Lane D. Foil

Faculty Publications

© 2018 Swale et al. Background: The reduced efficacy of current Anopheline mosquito control methods underscores the need to develop new methods of control that exploit unique target sites and/or utilizes novel deployment methods. Autodissemination methodologies using insect growth regulators (IGRs) is growing in interest and has been shown to be effective at controlling Aedes mosquitoes in semi-field and field environments, yet little information exists for Anopheline mosquitoes. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that female-driven autodissemination of an IGR combined with a new mechanism of action insecticide (Kir channel inhibitor) could be employed to reduce Anopheline populations. Methodology: We studied …

Multiple Episodes Of Extensive Marine Anoxia Linked To Global Warming And Continental Weathering Following The Latest Permian Mass Extinction, Feifei Zhang, Stephen J. Romaniello, Thomas J. Algeo, Kimberly V. Lau, Matthew E. Clapham, Sylvain Richoz, Achim D. Herrmann, Harrison Smith, Micha Horacek, Ariel D. Anbar

Faculty Publications

Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Explaining the ∼5-million-year delay in marine biotic recovery following the latest Permian mass extinction, the largest biotic crisis of the Phanerozoic, is a fundamental challenge for both geological and biological sciences. Ocean redox perturbations may have played a critical role in this delayed recovery. However, the lack of quantitative constraints on the details of Early Triassic oceanic anoxia (for example, time, duration, and extent) leaves the links between oceanic conditions and the delayed biotic recovery ambiguous. We report high-resolution U-isotope (δ238U) data from carbonates of the uppermost Permian to lowermost Middle Triassic Zal section (Iran) …

From The Water: Interpreting The Legacy Of Bayou Teche, Joni Elizabeth Emmons

LSU Master's Theses

The Bayou Teche, winding 135 miles from its origin in Port Barre to meet the Atchafalaya River in Patterson, has played an integral role in the environmental, economic, industrial, and cultural development of South Louisiana. The Teche has been called “Louisiana’s most famous bayou” and has been home to two Native American tribes, European settlers, Acadian exiles, African and Carribean slaves, and American colonists, each group contributing to the dynamic identity of the region. Current bayou conditions evidence such an exchange, bearing witness to the range of values that have shaped the bayou’s ecological and cultural context since its earliest …

Nanostructured Materials Derived From Metal-Organic Frameworks For Energy And Environmental Applications, Zhiqiang Xie

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Nowadays, energy and environmental issues have become the top priority among a series of global issues. Fossil fuels as the dominant source are depleted fast and usually lead to some environmental problems. Heavy metal pollution has posed a severe threat to environment and public health. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), as a very promising category of porous materials, have attracted more and more interest in research communities due to their extremely high surface areas, diverse nanostructures and unique properties. To meet the ever-increasing energy demand and tackle the heavy metal pollution in water, MOFs can function as ideal templates to prepare various …

Paclitaxel Enhances Oncolytic Potential Of Herpes Simplex Virus Type-1 In Cancer Cells, Misagh Naderi

LSU Master's Theses

Taxanes are spindle poisons that bind to and stabilize microtubules resulting in mitotic arrest. Herpes simplex Typ-1 (HSV-1) virions utilize the microtubular network for intracellular transport during both virus entry and virus egress from infected cells. It has been reported previously that taxanes may synergize with oncolytic herpes simplex viruses in the treatment of experimental prostate and breast tumors in mice. Other reports have indicated that taxanes may inhibit viral replication in infected cells. In this study the previously characterized Oncolytic Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 (OSVP), which was constructed in Kousoulas lab was used in conjugation with paclitaxel (taxol) …

Salvation Of Landscape: Landscape Remediation Of Desertification In China, Chenliang Ma

LSU Master's Theses

The evolution of human civilization has been accompanied by the replacement of the Earth’s natural landforms. The cities, oases and grasslands from 1000 years ago may have now been transformed into desert. Now, desertification has become a global environmental problem. Many regions and countries are facing development constraints and environmental challenges posed by desertification. Arid and semi-arid areas are extremely prone to land degradation leading to desertification. China faces the threat of a quarter of its land being degraded. Desertification is one of the most serious outcomes of land degradation. Ironically, the part of China with the most serious desertification …

Alternative Techniques For Alfaxalone Anesthesia Induction In Dogs And Cats, Angie Lagos

LSU Master's Theses

Alfaxalone is a neuroactive synthetic steroid (Brewster & Bodor, 1990) that produces anesthetic induction with dose- and speed-dependent cardiorespiratory depression in dogs and cats (Chiu et al. 2016; Warne et al., 2015). At clinical doses in unpremedicated dogs (2 mg kg^-1) and cats (5 mg kg^-1), alfaxalone induces a mild decrease in systemic vascular resistance, systemic blood pressure (Muir et al., 2009; Muir et al., 2008), apnea, hypoventilation, and hypoxemia (Muir et al. 2009; Muir et al., 2008). The cardiorespiratory side effects from alfaxalone induction could be prevented by reducing the total dose of alfaxalone necessary …

Effect Of Increasing Levels Of Monosilicic Acid On Arsenic And Phosphorus Sorption In Soil, Flávia Bastos Agostinho

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Arsenic (As) accumulation in rice (Oryza sativa) grains has increased human’s daily intake. Studies have shown that arsenite is taken up through known silicon (Si) transporters in rice. Moreover, the availability of As in soil is affected by chemically similar ligands that have high affinity to oxides surfaces, such as Si and phosphorus (P). Studies were conducted to: (I) investigate the role of elevated levels of Si on the concentration of different As fractions in soil and on As uptake by rice; (II) evaluate the effect of increasing monosilicic acidconcentrations on As sorption and kinetics in soil; and …