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Metacarpal Ratio And Its Relation To Sexual Dimorphism In Primates With Different Mating Strategies, Emilee Hart

LSU Master's Theses

The digit ratio (2D:4D) is a sexually dimorphic trait in mammalian hands that is a result of levels of prenatal androgen exposure (PNAE) during limb development. Previous studies have shown that females have a higher ratio than males and that sexual dimorphism in the ratio is greater in species with polygynous mating strategies and high levels of intermale aggression compared to monogamous species with low intermale aggression. This study used metacarpals instead of phalanges to test the hypotheses that the metacarpal ratio (2Mc:4Mc) will be higher in females than males within a species and that the ratio would be more …

Waste Management By Waste: Removal Of Acid Dyes From Wastewaters Of Textile Coloration Using Fish Scales, S M Fijul Kabir

LSU Master's Theses

Removal of hazardous acid dyes by economical process using low-cost bio-sorbents from wool industry wastewaters is of a pressing need, since it causes skin and respiratory diseases and disrupts other environmental components. Fish scales (FS), a by-product of fish industry, a type of solid waste, are usually discarded carelessly resulting in pungent odor and environmental burden. In this research, the FS of black drum (Pogonias cromis) were used for the removal of acid dyes (acid red 1 (AR1), acid blue 45 (AB45) and acid yellow 127 (AY126)) from wool industry wastewaters by absorption process with a view to …

In-Between: The Spaces Of Modernity, Elisa Fabris Valenti

LSU Master's Theses

During the past three years as a graduate student, I have experienced loneliness. Having recently emigrated from Italy, I have often asked myself why I am experiencing such hard times adjusting to a different country. My thesis explores this question. Referring to Marc Augé’s idea of non-place, I have chosen a geographical and spatial starting point to approach my work. Italian cities are built around the central piazza where social, political, and economic life revolves. In my thesis, I depict American spaces that lack specific location and create solitude within the urban corridors. Private feelings, such as loneliness, are paradoxes …

Data-Driven Computational Approach To Study Bio-Molecular Interactions, Misagh Naderi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Proteins commonly convey their functions in coordination with other proteins, small molecules and/or other biological assemblies such as sugars, lipids, DNA or RNA. Understanding the nature of these interactions is therefore central to improving our knowledge of biological systems. This body of work is a consolidation of three different computational approaches to study bio-molecular interactions: large-scale protein-ligand modeling, fragment-based cheminformatics, and computational analysis of interactions in single proteins.

The first issue that is addressed in this study is the scarcity of atomic crystal structures of protein-drug complexes. In general, a drug molecule’s affinity for multiple protein targets may causes unsolicited …

A Computational Reconstruction Of Papio Phylogeny Using Alu Insertion Polymorphisms, Vallmer E. Jordan, Jerilyn A. Walker, Thomas O. Beckstrom, Cody J. Steely, Cullen L. Mcdaniel, Corey P. St Romain, Kim C. Worley, Jane Phillips-Conroy, Clifford J. Jolly, Jeffrey Rogers, Miriam K. Konkel, Mark A. Batzer, Jeffrey Rogers, R. Alan Harris, Muthuswamy Raveendran, Yue Liu, Shwetha Murali, Tauras P. Vilgalys, Jerilyn A. Walker, Miriam K. Konkel

Faculty Publications

© 2018 The Author(s). Background: Since the completion of the human genome project, the diversity of genome sequencing data produced for non-human primates has increased exponentially. Papio baboons are well-established biological models for studying human biology and evolution. Despite substantial interest in the evolution of Papio, the systematics of these species has been widely debated, and the evolutionary history of Papio diversity is not fully understood. Alu elements are primate-specific transposable elements with a well-documented mutation/insertion mechanism and the capacity for resolving controversial phylogenetic relationships. In this study, we conducted a whole genome analysis of Alu insertion polymorphisms unique to …

Nutrition Misconceptions And Awareness Among College Students In A University Community, Shervia Singleton Taylor

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Identification of misconceptions of macronutrients (carbohydrate, protein, and fat ) and awareness of ailments linked to micronutrients (potassium, fiber, Vitamin D. and food label use) based on certain demographics are vital to improving and developing long term health benefits, increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables, and decreasing healthcare cost associated with poor dietary lifestyles among non-major general biology college students at a historically black college and university located in the southern part of the United States. Misconception Identification (all groups) was determined using the pretest and posttest Nutrition Knowledge Test via Qualtrics that included two and three tiered question format …

Characterization Of The Interaction Between R. Conorii And Human Host Vitronectin In Rickettsial Pathogenesis, Abigail Inez Fish

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia are inoculated into the mammalian host during hematophagous arthropod feeding. Once in the bloodstream and during dissemination, the survival of these pathogens is dependent upon their ability to evade innate host defenses until a proper cellular target is reached. The establishment of a successful infection also relies on the ability of the bacteria to attach and invade target cells, as failure to do so results in destruction of the bacterium. Rickettsia conorii expresses an outer membrane protein, Adr1, which binds the multifunctional human glycoprotein, vitronectin, to promote resistance to complement mediated killing. Homologs of Adr1 are …

An Evaluation Of Pathophysiology And Biomechanics Of Selected Lamenesses In The Horse, Cole Barrett Sandow

LSU Master's Theses

INTRODUCTION-Laminitis and synovitis are two common causes of equine lameness. Laminitis is most often associated with hyperinsulinemia and osteoarthritis is most commonly the result of synovitis. The objective is to evaluate biomechanical and pathophysiologic events regarding laminitis and synovitis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS-The first study evaluated biomechanical effects of insulin on lamellar strength. For this experiment, lamellar explants were harvested, incubated in media only (serving as a control) or media with a high concentration of insulin for 8 hours. After incubation, structural integrity was evaluated with a mechanical testing device. Data included load to failure (N), stress to failure (MPa), elongation …

Functional Plain Yogurt Enhanced With Inulin And Aloe Vera, Janny Melissa Mendoza Mencia

LSU Master's Theses

Yogurt has been recognized as a healthy food. Nutritional value of yogurt can be increased with the addition of aloe vera juice (AVJ) and inulin. People are interested in consuming products without artificial ingredients and with high content of bioactive compounds. The aims of this study were to develop a functional plain yogurt enhanced with inulin and AVJ, to evaluate the physicochemical properties, the enumeration of Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus, inulin content, and consumer acceptability. Six treatments were evaluated at day 1, 7, 14 and 30 at 4°C. Treatments were prepared using 2% fat milk, ABY culture, 5 …

The Effects Of Metal Speciation, Content And Cluster Size In Fly Ash On Pcdd/F Formation, Xia Guan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Transition metal oxides present in waste incineration systems have the ability to catalyze the formation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) through surface mediated condensation of organic dioxin precursors. Current studies have concentrated on the catalytic effects of individual transition metal oxides, while the complex composition of fly ash introduces the possibility of synergistic or antagonistic effects between multiple, catalytically active components. In addition, there is at present hardly a quantitative link between fly ash physical properties/chemical reactivity and PCDD/Fs yield.

We have tested fly ash surrogates containing different ratios of iron (III) oxide and copper (II) oxide …

Chambres Noires, Champ De Bataille : Analyse Des Rapports Interraciaux Dans La Chambre À Coucher Dans Les Romans Comment Faire L’Amour Avec Un Nègre Sans Se Fatiguer De Dany Laferrière, La Fin D’Un Primitif De Chester Himes, African Gigolo De Simon Njami, L’Impasse De Daniel Biyaoula Et Le Film Les Princes Noirs De Saint-Germain-Des-Près De Ben Diogaye Beye, Fabienne Marie-Dominique Kanor

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The slave ship’s hold is the only place Black people put in chains can appropriate. There is no other place they can claim as their own since they know nothing of the New World to which they are being deported by force. A space where the memory of the native land quickly deteriorates, the hold becomes the main “home” with which the uprooted captives can identify. Therefore, it becomes a “lieu de mémoire”, a place that keeps traumatizing the descendants of people enslaved, to the point that it poisons the most intimate space of all: the bedroom. This dissertation is …

Formation Control Of Multi-Agent Systems By Using Rigid Graphs, Pengpeng Zhang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research is devoted to the decentralized formation control of multi-agent systems in two- and three-dimensional space. Rigid graph theory is used to describe the interactions between the agents, and Lyapunov theory and input-to-state stability are the main tools for designing and analyzing the stability of the proposed formation controllers. Two formation problems are addressed in this work: formation acquisition, where the goal is for the agents to form and maintain a pre-defined geometric shape; and formation maneuvering, where the agents need to acquire a formation and move cohesively as a virtual rigid body.

In the first problem, we tackle …

The Ghost You Deserve, Alicia Sarah Dennis

LSU Master's Theses

In The Ghost You Deserve, a young entrepreneur has developed the ability to artificially replicate deceased family members using the memories of their living loved ones. Spectral resurrections, as they’re called, have become status symbols among the upper middle class. These chapters follow Raj, the brilliant but flawed creator of BioSpec, juxtaposing the story of his college relationship with a young woman named Amada in 2005 with glimpses of him in the present, where he keeps a carefully constructed representation of his ex-girlfriend in a glass mansion by the sea. The novel examines campus relationship abuse and the unintended …

Scattered Feathers, Dason Sebastian Pettit

LSU Master's Theses

Scattered Feathers is the story of a ghost that lives in the imagination now: the ivory-billed woodpecker. Those that know this bird call it the God Bird or Grail Bird because of its mythic stature. This thesis is also a story about the loss and obsession that can fuel human pursuits. It is a study in observation and subsequent mythmaking, an examination of extinction and preservation. Perhaps most of all it is a chronicle of entropy and the cyclical nature of our existence. The visual work herein examines the mythos of the ivory-billed woodpecker, its once pristine environment and the …

Whole Tart Cherry Improves Disease Activity Index In Rat Model Of Dextran Sulfate Solution – Induced Ulcerative Colitis By Downregulating The Janus 1 And Janus 3 Kinases And Tnf - Alpha, Johana Alexandra Coronel

LSU Master's Theses

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a disabling inflammatory bowel disease. UC is characterized by chronic, relapsing inflammation of the colon and rectum. Current treatments such as monoclonal antibodies against TNF-α, IL-6, IL-12/p40, adhesion molecules, Janus kinases (JAK) inhibitors have side effects or lose their effects over time. Alternative approaches with fewer side effects for patients are needed. Montmorency tart cherries (Prunus cerasus) are a good source of anti-inflammatory flavonoids. We hypothesized that regular consumption whole tart cherry (TC) standardized to its major anthocyanin content, namely cyanidin-3-glucosyl-rutinoside, would be effective in reducing inflammation in UC. The aim of this research was to …

Effects Of Enhanced Efficiency Nitrogen Fertilizers On Agronomic Parameters And Loss Pathways In The Subtropical Mississippi Delta Region, Scott Michael Pensky

LSU Master's Theses

Minimizing nitrogen (N) loss is critical for improving N use efficiency (NUE) in crop production and reducing its effects on the environment. Management practices such as seasonal application timing of N fertilizers and the addition of enhanced efficiency N fertilizers (EENFs) were investigated for the high N requirement of the two most common cereal crops globally, corn (Zea mays L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), in the subtropical climate of Louisiana. Field research was established during the 2016 and 2017 seasons at the LSU Agricultural Center’s Dean Lee and Central research stations to examine the effect of different EENFs and …

Relating Diets And Food Availability To Long-Term Population Trends Of Lesser Scaup Wintering On Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, Clay Michael Stroud

LSU Master's Theses

Lake Pontchartrain provides wintering habitat for a continentally-significant proportion of lesser scaup (Aythya affinis). Mid-winter aerial surveys indicate dramatic variation in annual scaup abundance (0–1,194,907), though the mechanisms driving fluctuations have not been previously investigated. In response to natural and anthropogenic disturbances, species composition, abundance, and size structure of benthic invertebrate populations in Lake Pontchartrain exhibit drastic variability among years. Given that wintering scaup feed primarily on mollusks, environmental disturbances have the potential to influence scaup dynamics on the estuary by altering the benthic community. To diagnose trophic linkages and variation in scaup abundance, we collected ducks (n=60) …

Breaking Conventions: Ohrr, A Transcriptional Regulator From Burkholderia Thailandensis, Anuja Rajiv Pande

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Organic peroxides (OPs) are highly toxic oxidants. They directly react with cellular macromolecules rendering them inactive. Soil bacteria live in an oxidative environment rich in OPs from plant exudates and other xenobiotic compounds. Bacteria also face a burst of organic peroxides (lipid peroxides) in the macrophages during host invasion. Prokaryotes sense oxidative changes in environment and modulate their gene expression as an adaptive response for survival. MarR (multiple antibiotic resistance regulators) proteins enable bacteria to respond to such stress. Resistance to organic oxidants has been hypothesized to help bacteria survive in presence of disinfectants. This increases nosocomial infection rate.

Bacteria …

Jews And The Sources Of Religious Freedom In Early Pennsylvania, Jonathon Derek Awtrey

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Historians’ traditional narrative regarding religious freedom in the colonial period and early republic focuses on Protestants and sometimes Catholics to the exclusion of other religious groups; the literature also emphasizes the legal dimensions of freedom at the expense of its cultural manifestations. This study, conversely, demonstrates that Jews, the only white non-Christian minority group in early Pennsylvania, experienced freedom far differently than its legality can adequately explain. Jews, moreover, reshaped religious freedom to include religious groups beyond Protestant Christians alone. But such grassroots transformations were neither quick nor easy. Like most of the Anglo-American world, William Penn’s “Holy Experiment” excluded …

Linguistic Political Ecology With The Ngäbe Indigenous People Of Panama, Ginés A. Sánchez Arias

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Indigenous communities from all corners of the globe live in uncertain times. From the vantage point of their “remote" lands, they undergo some of globalization’s most harmful externalities. Their homes become increasingly harder to maintain as extractive industries, development schemes, clandestine land grabs, and national bureaucracies encroach creating new colonial lands. First by assimilation, and then integration, these processes systematically undermine indigenous culture and autonomy. In place of such destructive coloniality, indigenous societies shelter unique ecological and linguistic knowledge that continues to serve their progress. This research applies lessons learned from studying with Ngäbe communities of western Panama, towards a …

Effects Of Dimethyl Sulfoxide And Glycerol Based Vitrification Protocols On Zona Pellucida Hardening In Mature Bovine Oocytes, Kaci Denise Rogers

LSU Master's Theses

Zona pellucida hardening is a natural process that occurs after oocyte fertilization to prevent polyspermic fertilization and to protect embryonic development. Pre-fertilization hardening of the zona pellucida however, decreases fertilization rates. Cryoprotectants have also been shown to negatively affect fertilization rates, one possible mechanism of which being through zona hardening. This experiment was conducted to determine the effect of different cryoprotectants on hardening of the zona pellucida using fresh mature bovine oocytes and vitrified mature bovine oocytes. Oocytes were post-slaughter from mixed breed cows. After collection, oocytes were randomly assigned to three cryoprotectant treatment groups: dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), glycerol or …

Evaluation Of Controlled-Release Nitrogen And Potassium Fertilizer In Louisiana Sugarcane Production, Samuel Kwakye

LSU Master's Theses

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp) production is an integral part of Louisiana's economy. Proper fertilizer management, particularly nitrogen (N) and potassium (K), optimizes sugarcane production. An experiment was established in 2015 at the LSU AgCenter Sugar Research Station in St. Gabriel, Louisiana to: (1) assess the effect of N and K fertilizer sources on sugarcane yield and quality parameters, and (2) monitor the changes in inorganic N and K levels in the soil at different sugarcane growth stages. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design on a Sharkey clay soil and complete randomized design on a Commerce …

Integrating Horticulture Therapy In A Juvenile Detention Center Using Raised Bed Gardening And Exploratory Substrate Research, Stephanie Rene Gravois

LSU Master's Theses

Bagged media products are readily available at garden retails. However, most need to be amended or have supplemental topsoil combined for use in raised beds. Three media mixes were evaluated for the growth and yields of lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower. Two tested media were commercially available purchased products and the third was developed at Louisiana State University Agriculture Center (LSU AgCenter) specially designed for raised bed vegetable production. The LSU AgCenter medium produced greater yield and plant growth in all three crops (p ≤ 0.05) as compared to the commercially available media. The commercial products without additional amendments were found …

Exploring Alternative Giant Salvinia (Salvinia Molesta D.S. Mitchell) Management Strategies, Bradley T. Sartain

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Dense infestations of the free-floating aquatic fern giant salvinia (Salvinia molesta D.S. Mitchell) have been expanding across the southeastern United States for over two decades. Although herbicide programs have provided relief to giant salvinia infested areas, morphology and growth characteristics make management difficult. A series of mesocosm trials were conducted to explore alternative management strategies for giant salvinia. Evaluation of non-registered aquatic herbicides showed that rates of sulfometuron and metsulfuron controlled giant salvinia and provided a 98 to 100% biomass reduction. An outdoor mesocosm trial evaluated potential glyphosate resistance in giant salvinia in select water bodies throughout Louisiana. Differences …

Louisiana Agriculture Spring, 2018, Lsu Agcenter

Louisiana Agriculture

No abstract provided.

Global Environmental Change Effects On Plant Community Composition Trajectories Depend Upon Management Legacies, Michael P. Perring, Markus Bernhardt-Römermann, Lander Baeten, Gabriele Midolo, Haben Blondeel, Leen Depauw, Dries Landuyt, Sybryn L. Maes, Emiel De Lombaerde, Maria Mercedes Carón, Mark Vellend, Jörg Brunet, Markéta Chudomelová, Guillaume Decocq, Martin Diekmann, Thomas Dirnböck, Inken Dörfler, Tomasz Durak, Pieter De Frenne, Frank S. Gilliam, Radim Hédl, Thilo Heinken, Patrick Hommel, Bogdan Jaroszewicz, Keith J. Kirby, Martin Kopecký, Jonathan Lenoir, Daijiang Li, František Máliš, Fraser J.G. Mitchell, Tobias Naaf, Miles Newman, Petr Petřík

Faculty Publications

© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd The contemporary state of functional traits and species richness in plant communities depends on legacy effects of past disturbances. Whether temporal responses of community properties to current environmental changes are altered by such legacies is, however, unknown. We expect global environmental changes to interact with land-use legacies given different community trajectories initiated by prior management, and subsequent responses to altered resources and conditions. We tested this expectation for species richness and functional traits using 1814 survey-resurvey plot pairs of understorey communities from 40 European temperate forest datasets, syntheses of management transitions since the …

Antimicrobial Spice Cinnamon At Low Concentrations Has No Effect On The Counts Of Lactococcus Lactis R 604, But At High Concentrations Lowered Its Counts, Madison Hannan

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Gastrointestinal Helminth Prevalence In Lesser Scaup (Aythya Affinis) Wintering On Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, Usa, Sydney Cottingham

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Phylogenetic Similarities Among Bacteria Isolated From Songbirds, Rachel Croy

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Book Proposal: Evangeline: A Murder On The Cajun Prairie, Jordan Lahaye

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.