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Rnai-Mediated Antiviral Immunity In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Xunyang Guo Jan 2013

Rnai-Mediated Antiviral Immunity In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Xunyang Guo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Viruses are tiny intracellular parasites that often cause devastating diseases on cellular organisms. To suppress viral infection, cellular organisms have evolved a wide spectrum of antiviral defense mechanisms. Antiviral RNA interference (RNAi) is one of the antiviral mechanisms conserved in eukaryotes. During antiviral RNAi, the destruction of invading viral RNAs is mediated by small interfering RNAs derived from the viral replication complex, in the form of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). Because of its sequence-specific nature, antiviral RNAi can also target host homologous transcripts, for instance leading to disease syndromes in plants. As a counter-defense mechanism, many viruses produce RNAi suppressors that …

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Dragged Into The Future : How Interent Communications And Media Legitimacy Facilitate Lagging Gender Norms, Skylar C. Gremillion Jan 2013

Dragged Into The Future : How Interent Communications And Media Legitimacy Facilitate Lagging Gender Norms, Skylar C. Gremillion

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Social interaction is the driving force of human society and extends far beyond one-on-one conversations – it is how we learn about the behavioral expectations, beliefs and symbols of our culture. Sometimes these beliefs and expectations are related to celebrations and events that bring cultures together. Through interaction we learn that we are expected to bring a gift to a birthday party and why we even choose to celebrate birthdays at all. Yet that same framework – which is tied to the way humans categorize each other to make interaction easier – also allows cultures to share biases about different …

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Alu Elements And Primate Genomics, Adam Trent Mclain Jan 2013

Alu Elements And Primate Genomics, Adam Trent Mclain

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Alu elements are a primate-specific non-autonomous retrotransposon of ~300 base pairs (bp). A Short INterspersed Element (SINE), Alu elements are found in high copy number in genomes across the primate radiation. Alu elements have a history of effective use as a phylogenetic marker due to the presence-absence nature of their retrotransposition, and have been implicated in the cause of a number of genetic diseases. Various subfamilies of Alu elements have gone through periods of increased activity during the history of the primate radiation, with the overwhelming majority of elements classified as genomic "fossils" which no longer propagate but can serve …

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Underwater Excavations Of Two Ancient Maya Salt Works, Paynes Creek National Park, Belize, Elizabeth Cory Sills Jan 2013

Underwater Excavations Of Two Ancient Maya Salt Works, Paynes Creek National Park, Belize, Elizabeth Cory Sills

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract Underwater excavations were conducted at an Early Classic (A.D. 300-600) and a Late Classic (A.D. 600-900) submerged ancient Maya salt works in Paynes Creek National Park, Belize. The archaeological investigations included underwater excavations, artifact analysis, marine sediment chemical testing, and source identification of obsidian—an important indicator of trade. The excavation and analysis of the salt works in Paynes Creek add a new perspective on ancient Maya craft production and the economies of other ancient civilizations. The archaeological excavations reveal activity areas associated with a substantial salt industry for distribution to the southern Maya inland inhabitants, where this biological requirement …

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Experimental And Computational Studies Of Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals (Epfrs) Formation, Lucy W. Kiruri Jan 2013

Experimental And Computational Studies Of Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals (Epfrs) Formation, Lucy W. Kiruri

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The first part of the thesis investigates the use of theoretical quantum calculations for the study of EPFRs as the initial and fundamental step in the formation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin and dibenzofuran. The computational model comprised of density functionals (B3LYP, PBE1PBE, and M06) and two types of basis set namely: LANL2DZ for all atoms and GEN (LANL2DZ for metals and aug-cc-pVDZ for non-metals). Full mechanisms of EPFRs formation over (CuO)1-8, and aluminum oxide clusters were studied. The most stable intermediates and products have been determined and compared to available experimental data. In case of (CuO)1-8 clusters, the small clusters are …

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Recovery Of Understory Bird Movement In Post-Pasture Amazonia, Luke L. Powell Jan 2013

Recovery Of Understory Bird Movement In Post-Pasture Amazonia, Luke L. Powell

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

I sought to understand how forest fragmentation and secondary growth affect avian movement at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP) near Manaus, Brazil. When deforested areas are abandoned, secondary forests regenerate, allowing rainforest animals to gradually recovery their ability to use formerly inhospitable habitat. My colleagues and I captured 2773 understory birds of ten foraging guilds along the edges of primary forest fragments and variable secondary forest. Age of secondary forest along edges was the most important variable driving capture rates on primary/secondary edges. Mean recovery to pre-isolation capture rates was 26 years after abandonment, but terrestrial insectivores …

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Incorporating Science-Based Approaches Into The Rapid Assessment Of Wetlands And Streams : Validation, Restoration Trajectory, And Method Development, Jacob Franklin Berkowitz Jan 2013

Incorporating Science-Based Approaches Into The Rapid Assessment Of Wetlands And Streams : Validation, Restoration Trajectory, And Method Development, Jacob Franklin Berkowitz

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Human alterations within wetlands and streams have resulted in a decrease in ecological functions and associated benefits to society. The scientific literature highlights the functional benefits provided by ecosystems including flood protection, nutrient cycling, and habitat maintenance. Additionally, legislation and regulatory policy require mitigation and restoration as compensation for declines in ecological functions. As a result, the need for practical, repeatable, and technically sound ecosystem assessment methods remains essential to natural resource management. However, few studies determine the validity of rapid assessment approaches by applying quantitative parameters, especially with respect to biogeochemical functions. We assessed biogeochemical functions applied to restored …

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Characterization Of The Effect Of Alcohol On Recombinant Proteins Derived From Mammalian Adenylyl Cyclase, Emily Qualls Creekmore Jan 2013

Characterization Of The Effect Of Alcohol On Recombinant Proteins Derived From Mammalian Adenylyl Cyclase, Emily Qualls Creekmore

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Research suggests that the cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling pathway is implicated in the development of alcoholism. Previous work in our laboratory has demonstrated that alcohol enhances the activity of adenylyl cyclase (AC) in an isoform specific manner; human type 7 AC (AC7) is most enhanced by ethanol as measured by cAMP accumulation assay in whole cells. We hypothesize that alcohol enhances AC activity by directly interacting with the protein and that alcohol effects on AC can be studied using recombinant AC expressed in bacteria. Our objectives include: 1) design and optimization of the conditions for protein expression and protein purity …

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Identification Of Genes Responsible For Maintenance Of Differentiation Capability In Dental Pulp Stem Cells, Michael B. Flanagan Jan 2013

Identification Of Genes Responsible For Maintenance Of Differentiation Capability In Dental Pulp Stem Cells, Michael B. Flanagan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Stem cells exist in various tissues, including dental follicles and dental pulps. Adult stem cells (ASC) can be isolated from patients for autologous transplantation, which eliminates the risk of immune rejection with low or no tumorigenesis. However, one of the challenges is that ASC progressively lose their differentiation ability when cultured in vitro. This prevents expansion of large quantities of high-potential stem cells for therapeutics, especially for stem cells with limited tissue source, such as dental pulp stem cells (DPSC). The goal of this study is to define possible molecular regulation causing loss of differentiation. To achieve this goal, we …

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A Genetic Study On The Virulence Mechanism Of Burkholderia Glumae And, Rice Resistance To Bacterial Panicle Blight And Sheath Blight, Hari Sharan Karki Jan 2013

A Genetic Study On The Virulence Mechanism Of Burkholderia Glumae And, Rice Resistance To Bacterial Panicle Blight And Sheath Blight, Hari Sharan Karki

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Burkholderia glumae is a rice pathogenic bacterium that causes bacterial panicle blight. Some strains of this pathogen produce dark brown pigments when grown on the casamino-acid peptone glucose (CPG) agar medium. A pigment-positive and highly virulent strain of B. glumae, 411gr-6, was randomly mutagenized with mini-Tn5gus, and the resulting mini-Tn5gus derivatives showing altered pigmentation phenotypes were screened on CPG agar plates to identify the genetic elements governing the pigmentation of B. glumae. In this study, several positive and negative regulators, for the pigmentation of B. glumae were identified. During this study, a novel two-component regulatory system (TCRS) composed of the …

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Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Glycoprotein Gm And The Membrane Associated Protein Ul11 Are Required For Virus-Induced Cell Fusion And Efficient Virus Entry, In Joong Kim Jan 2013

Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Glycoprotein Gm And The Membrane Associated Protein Ul11 Are Required For Virus-Induced Cell Fusion And Efficient Virus Entry, In Joong Kim

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

HSV-1 facilitates virus entry into cells and cell-to-cell spread by mediating fusion of the viral envelope with cellular membranes and fusion of adjacent cellular membranes. Although virus strains isolated from herpetic lesions cause limited cell fusion in cell culture, clinical herpetic lesions typically contain large syncytia, underscoring the importance of cell-to-cell fusion in virus spread in infected tissues. Certain mutations in gB, gK, UL20 and other viral genes, drastically enhance virus-induced cell fusion in vitro and in vivo. Recent work has suggested that gB is the sole fusogenic glycoprotein, which is regulated by interactions with viral glycoproteins gD, gH/gL, gK, …

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Designing A Cost Effective Microalgae Harvesting Strategy For Biodiesel Production With Electrocoagulation And Dissolved Air Flotation, Adam James Dassey Jan 2013

Designing A Cost Effective Microalgae Harvesting Strategy For Biodiesel Production With Electrocoagulation And Dissolved Air Flotation, Adam James Dassey

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Microalgal harvesting strategies for biodiesel production have been a major setback in the industry with high energy estimates of $3400/ton biomass by centrifugation. The present study utilized effective mass and energy balances to reduce these large operating costs. The energy for Stage 1 centrifugation was reduced by 82% when harvesting 28.5% of biomass at 18 L/min as opposed to 95% harvesting at 1 L/min. This strategy was further confirmed using electrocoagulation (EC) with Nannochloris and Dunaliella algae with perforated aluminum and iron electrodes at low (< 6 mg/L) metal ion concentrations. Despite 20% lower harvesting efficiencies, the iron electrodes were more energy and cost efficient with operating costs less than $0.03/L oil when flocculating and settling Nannochloris and Dunaliella cultures. Furthermore, a continuous multistage algae harvester using EC and dissolved air flotation (DAF) for Stage 1 harvesting and centrifugation for Stage 2 dewatering was designed. It was determined throughout the testing that greater EC costs for improved harvesting efficiencies were necessary to offset the large energy requirements of the DAF. The multistage system dewatered a low density (100 mg/L) Nannochloris to 20% solids for a final energy requirement of 1.536 kWh/kg algae ($138/ton). Using the data collected from this research and existing literature, a life cycle analysis was assembled to judge the sustainability of microalgal biofuels in Louisiana. High and low energy estimates for culturing (mixing, CO2, nutrients), harvesting, lipid extraction and energy conversion were compared with the current research. Scaling the EC/DAF system for a full size facility was expected to reduce the harvesting costs to 1.133 kWh/kg algae, resulting as $0.44/L oil for a culture with 20% lipids. Despite this improvement in harvesting costs, the production of algal for the sole purpose of biodiesel was not economically viable. Considering a system with a growth rate of 15 g/m2/day and lipid content of 20%, the energy inputs exceeded the outputs from biodiesel production by 36% under the most ideal conditions. However, incorporating additional revenue through wastewater treatment and biogas production from residual biomass could improve sustainability and profitability of algal biodiesel to an 18.5% energy surplus at its current state.

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Role Of Retrotransposons As A Major Source Of Intra- And Inter-Individual Epigenetic Variations In The Mammalian Genome, Muhammad Badre Ekram Jan 2013

Role Of Retrotransposons As A Major Source Of Intra- And Inter-Individual Epigenetic Variations In The Mammalian Genome, Muhammad Badre Ekram

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Transcription of retrotransposons is usually repressed by DNA methylation, but a few elements partially escape this repression mechanism. I used two approaches as my dissertation study to identify unmethylated intracisternal A-particles (IAPs) and also to understand why some of IAPs escape DNA methylation-mediated repression. Firstly, I sought to catalog the retrotransposons (LTRs and LINEs only) in the mouse genome known as ‘epialleles’ which escape the repression variably even in individuals with an identical genome sequence. Using bioinformatic approaches, 143 candidate epialleles were first identified based on their promoter activity and association with active histone modification marks. Detailed methylation analyses suggested …

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Development Of Soluble Dietary Fiber Based Nanofiber Delivery System For Alpha-Tocopherol, Juan Li Jan 2013

Development Of Soluble Dietary Fiber Based Nanofiber Delivery System For Alpha-Tocopherol, Juan Li

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The bioactive compound vitamin E is essential for human health. It has been reported to reduce the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and aging. One of the main concerns about the availability of vitamin E is the stability, or lack thereof, associated with the processing and storage of it. Degradation could occur when vitamin E is exposed to light, temperature or oxygen, which results in the loss of efficacy. Also, the application of vitamin E is limited because of its poor solubility in aqueous media. Among the tocopherols contained in the vitamin E family, α-tocopherol (α -TOC) has the …

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Development Of Safe And Ready To Eat Frozen Oyster Products Using Microwave Steam-Venting Technology, Luis Alberto Espinoza Jan 2013

Development Of Safe And Ready To Eat Frozen Oyster Products Using Microwave Steam-Venting Technology, Luis Alberto Espinoza

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Gulf Coast region, principally Louisiana, leads the nation in oyster production. The National Marine Fisheries Service reported that 19.7 million pounds of oyster meat, valued at $62.3 million dollars were harvested from the Gulf Coast region in 2010. One of the main concerns for this industry is the health risk associated with the consumption of oysters, particularly for at-risk populations. Oysters are filter feeders. They tend to concentrate microbes present in surrounding waters, some of which can cause severe illness in susceptible humans. Among pathogens that contaminate the gastrointestinal system of oysters, Vibrio spp (especially V. parahaemolyticus and V. …

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Creating A Framework For Systems-Based Graphic Analysis And The Assessment Of College-Level Introductory Biology Textbooks, Katherine Ellen Brooks Jan 2013

Creating A Framework For Systems-Based Graphic Analysis And The Assessment Of College-Level Introductory Biology Textbooks, Katherine Ellen Brooks

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Ecological literacy in students has become an increasing concern for educators. Mounting environmental problems along with a growing amount of nature deficit disorder seen in children and adults alike provides the impetus for research in this area. Since many college biology classes are modeled around the same style and emphasis found in the textbooks used for those courses, this provided an avenue for an examination of these materials. This research involved the selection of five popular introductory, college-level biology textbooks for analysis. Three rubrics were created to assess the graphical components of the introductory and ecology chapters in each textbook. …

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The Rhetorical Strategies Of Don Quixote And Sancho Panza, David T. Tarvin Jan 2013

The Rhetorical Strategies Of Don Quixote And Sancho Panza, David T. Tarvin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the rhetorical components of the famous novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Cervantes’ novel continues to be celebrated around the world four hundred years later. His two main protagonists epitomize opposite virtues, but their love for one another, and the promise of an ínsula, creates a bond that overcomes their differences. Don Quixote, the mad knight, values lofty ideas idealized in chivalric romance. Conversely, Sancho, the simple squire, values tangible materials he can see and touch in his own life. While the two characters first appear to be contrary in nature, by the journey’s end, as …

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Oligohaline Wetland Response And Recovery Following Storm-Driven Saltwater Intrusion In Coastal Louisiana, Whitney Marie Kiehn Jan 2013

Oligohaline Wetland Response And Recovery Following Storm-Driven Saltwater Intrusion In Coastal Louisiana, Whitney Marie Kiehn

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Coastal ecosystems occupy an interface between land and ocean, making them vulnerable to a variety of natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Large, episodic disturbances (mega-disturbances) cause immediate and long-lasting changes to coastal wetland plant communities and soils by changing the environmental conditions in which they exist. Here I examined the impacts of storm-induced saltwater intrusion and post-intrusion conditions on the structure and growth of an oligohaline wetland plant community, and on wetland soil biogeochemistry and conditions during and after saltwater intrusion. In the greenhouse, a six-week saltwater intrusion reduced canopy cover and species richness. Once intrusion stress was alleviated, plant community …

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Vibrio Parahaemolyticus Interactions With Chitin In Response To Environmental Factors, Vanessa Molina Jan 2013

Vibrio Parahaemolyticus Interactions With Chitin In Response To Environmental Factors, Vanessa Molina

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a naturally occurring chitinoclastic human pathogen that adsorbs to substrates, including chitinous copepods and oysters, as part of its ecology, a phenomenon that is important in its responses to changes in environmental factors such as temperature and salinity. Little is known about acute responses of V. parahaemolyticus when subjected to abrupt environmental changes such as those encountered during postharvest oyster treatments such as icing, exposure to mammalian host conditions, and transport via ballast water. The following in vitro studies investigated V. parahaemolyticus adsorption and gene expression as a function of substrate, temperature, and salinity as a model …

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Dissection Of Quorum-Sensing Genes In Burkholderia Glumae Reveals Non-Canonical Regulation And The New Regulatory Gene Tofm For Toxoflavin Production, Ruoxi Chen, Inderjit K. Barphagha, Hari S. Karki, Jong Hyun Ham Dec 2012

Dissection Of Quorum-Sensing Genes In Burkholderia Glumae Reveals Non-Canonical Regulation And The New Regulatory Gene Tofm For Toxoflavin Production, Ruoxi Chen, Inderjit K. Barphagha, Hari S. Karki, Jong Hyun Ham

Faculty Publications

Burkholderia glumae causes bacterial panicle blight of rice and produces major virulence factors, including toxoflavin, under the control of the quorum-sensing (QS) system mediated by the luxI homolog, tofI, and the luxR homolog, tofR. In this study, a series of markerless deletion mutants of B. glumae for tofI and tofR were generated using the suicide vector system, pKKSacB, for comprehensive characterization of the QS system of this pathogen. Consistent with the previous studies by other research groups, ΔtofI and ΔtofR strains of B. glumae did not produce toxoflavin in Luria-Bertani (LB) broth. However, these mutants produced high levels of toxoflavin …

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Genomic Impact Of Eukaryotic Transposable Elements, Irina R. Arkhipova, Mark A. Batzer, Juergen Brosius, Cédric Feschotte, John V. Moran, Jürgen Schmitz, Jerzy Jurka Dec 2012

Genomic Impact Of Eukaryotic Transposable Elements, Irina R. Arkhipova, Mark A. Batzer, Juergen Brosius, Cédric Feschotte, John V. Moran, Jürgen Schmitz, Jerzy Jurka

Faculty Publications

The third international conference on the genomic impact of eukaryotic transposable elements (TEs) was held 24 to 28 February 2012 at the Asilomar Conference Center, Pacific Grove, CA, USA. Sponsored in part by the National Institutes of Health grant 5 P41 LM006252, the goal of the conference was to bring together researchers from around the world who study the impact and mechanisms of TEs using multiple computational and experimental approaches. The meeting drew close to 170 attendees and included invited floor presentations on the biology of TEs and their genomic impact, as well as numerous talks contributed by young scientists. …

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Analysis Of Stomach And Gut Microbiomes Of The Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea Virginica) From Coastal Louisiana, Usa, Gary M. King, Craig Judd, Cheryl R. Kuske, Conor Smith Dec 2012

Analysis Of Stomach And Gut Microbiomes Of The Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea Virginica) From Coastal Louisiana, Usa, Gary M. King, Craig Judd, Cheryl R. Kuske, Conor Smith

Faculty Publications

We used high throughput pyrosequencing to characterize stomach and gut content microbiomes of Crassostrea virginica, the Easter oyster, obtained from two sites, one in Barataria Bay (Hackberry Bay) and the other in Terrebonne Bay (Lake Caillou), Louisiana, USA. Stomach microbiomes in oysters from Hackberry Bay were overwhelmingly dominated by Mollicutes most closely related to Mycoplasma; a more rich community dominated by Planctomyctes occurred in Lake Caillou oyster stomachs. Gut communities for oysters from both sites differed from stomach communities, and harbored a relatively diverse assemblage of phylotypes. Phylotypes most closely related to Shewanella and a Chloroflexi strain dominated the Lake …

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Genomic And Physiological Footprint Of The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill On Resident Marsh Fishes, Andrew Whitehead, Benjamin Dubansky, Charlotte Bodinier, Tzintzuni I. Garcia, Scott Miles, Chet Pilley, Vandana Raghunathan, Jennifer L. Roach, Nan Walker, Ronald B. Walter, Charles D. Rice, Fernando Galvez Dec 2012

Genomic And Physiological Footprint Of The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill On Resident Marsh Fishes, Andrew Whitehead, Benjamin Dubansky, Charlotte Bodinier, Tzintzuni I. Garcia, Scott Miles, Chet Pilley, Vandana Raghunathan, Jennifer L. Roach, Nan Walker, Ronald B. Walter, Charles D. Rice, Fernando Galvez

Faculty Publications

The biological consequences of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill are unknown, especially for resident organisms. Here, we report results from a field study tracking the effects of contaminating oil across space and time in resident killifish during the first 4 mo of the spill event. Remote sensing and analytical chemistry identified exposures, which were linked to effects in fish characterized by genome expression and associated gill immunohistochemistry, despite very low concentrations of hydrocarbons remaining in water and tissues. Divergence in genome expression coincides with contaminating oil and is consistent with genome responses that are predictive of exposure to hydrocarbon-like chemicals …

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Faculty Senate Newsletter, Holiday 2012, Louisiana State University And Agricultural & Mechanical College Dec 2012

Faculty Senate Newsletter, Holiday 2012, Louisiana State University And Agricultural & Mechanical College

LSU Faculty Senate Publications

Message from President: Whatever else it may connote, the Christmas season is about hope—about illumination during the darkest days of the year. Although it now basks in the highly refracted light of infamy, having been spanked by Louisiana’s Attorney General and having drawn reproaches from SACSCOC accreditors, the LSU System has, in the past, enjoyed more than a few Star-of-Bethlehem moments. When the University of Louisiana System diluted tenure guarantees, for example, the LSU System garnered applause for its flagship-quality approach to this foundation of academic freedom; when the Southern University System lurched into financial exigency, the LSU System glimmered …

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Jak/Stat3 Signaling Promotes Somatic Cell Reprogramming By Epigenetic Regulation, Yong Tang, Yan Luo, Zongliang Jiang, Yinghong Ma, Chih Jen Lin, Chul Kim, Mark G. Carter, Tomokazu Amano, Joonghong Park, Sharon Kish, Xiuchun Tian Dec 2012

Jak/Stat3 Signaling Promotes Somatic Cell Reprogramming By Epigenetic Regulation, Yong Tang, Yan Luo, Zongliang Jiang, Yinghong Ma, Chih Jen Lin, Chul Kim, Mark G. Carter, Tomokazu Amano, Joonghong Park, Sharon Kish, Xiuchun Tian

Faculty Publications

Although leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) maintains the ground state pluripotency of mouse embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) by activating the Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Jak/Stat3) pathway, the mechanism remained unclear. Stat3 has only been shown to promote complete reprogramming of epiblast and neural stem cells and partially reprogrammed cells (pre-iPSCs). We investigated if and how Jak/Stat3 activation promotes reprogramming of terminally differentiated mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). We demonstrated that activated Stat3 not only promotes but also is essential for the pluripotency establishment of MEFs during reprogramming. We further demonstrated that during this …

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Modeling The Influence Of Peromyscus Leucopus Body Mass, Sex, And Habitat On Immature Dermacentor Variabilis Burden, Tad A. Dallas, Stephanie A. Foré, Hyun Joo Kim Dec 2012

Modeling The Influence Of Peromyscus Leucopus Body Mass, Sex, And Habitat On Immature Dermacentor Variabilis Burden, Tad A. Dallas, Stephanie A. Foré, Hyun Joo Kim

Faculty Publications

mmature (larvae and nymph) tick burden on rodents is an important determinant of adult tick population size and understanding infectious disease dynamics. The objective of this research was to build a descriptive model for immature Dermacentor variabilis burden on Peromyscus leucopus. Mice were live-trapped on two permanent grids in an old field and an early successional forest every other month between April and October, 2006-2009. Negative binomial regression was used to examine the association between immature D. variabilis burden and the host related variables of host habitat, body mass, and/or sex. The model containing all three variables had the lowest …

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Influence Of Certain Pulsed Electric Field Conditions On The Growth Of Lactobacillus Acidophilus La-K, O. Cueva, K. J. Aryana Dec 2012

Influence Of Certain Pulsed Electric Field Conditions On The Growth Of Lactobacillus Acidophilus La-K, O. Cueva, K. J. Aryana

Faculty Publications

Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) processing involves the application of pulses of electricity, for less than one second to fluid products placed between two electrodes. Lactobacillus acidophilus is an important probiotic bacterium used for the production of fermented dairy foods. The objective was to study the influence of electric pulse period, electric field strength, and electric pulse width on the growth of Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-K. Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-K, suspended in sterile peptone water was treated using an OSU-4 PEF processor. The treatments were pulse periods of 10,000, 20,000 and 30,000 μs electric field strength of 5, 15 and 25 kV/cm, and …

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A Shell-Neutral Modeling Approach Yields Sustainable Oyster Harvest Estimates: A Retrospective Analysis Of The Louisiana State Primary Seed Grounds, Thomas M. Soniat, John M. Klinck, Eric N. Powell, Nathan Cooper, Mahdi Abdelguerfi, Eileen E. Hofmann, Janak Dahal, Shengru Tu, John Finigan, Benjamin S. Eberline, Jerome F.La Peyre, Megan K.La Peyre, Fareed Qaddoura Dec 2012

A Shell-Neutral Modeling Approach Yields Sustainable Oyster Harvest Estimates: A Retrospective Analysis Of The Louisiana State Primary Seed Grounds, Thomas M. Soniat, John M. Klinck, Eric N. Powell, Nathan Cooper, Mahdi Abdelguerfi, Eileen E. Hofmann, Janak Dahal, Shengru Tu, John Finigan, Benjamin S. Eberline, Jerome F.La Peyre, Megan K.La Peyre, Fareed Qaddoura

Faculty Publications

A numerical model is presented that defines a sustainability criterion as no net loss of shell, and calculates a sustainable harvest of seed (<75 >mm) and sack or market oysters (≥75 mm). Stock assessments of the Primary State Seed Grounds conducted east of the Mississippi from 2009 to 2011 show a general trend toward decreasing abundance of sack and seed oysters. Retrospective simulations provide estimates of annual sustainable harvests. Comparisons of simulated sustainable harvests with actual harvests show a trend toward unsustainable harvests toward the end of the time series. Stock assessments combined with shell-neutral models can be used to …

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Persistence Of The Efficacy Of Copper Oxide Wire Particles Against Haemonchus Contortus In Grazing South African Goats, A. F. Vatta, P. J. Waller, J. B. Githiori, G. F. Medley Nov 2012

Persistence Of The Efficacy Of Copper Oxide Wire Particles Against Haemonchus Contortus In Grazing South African Goats, A. F. Vatta, P. J. Waller, J. B. Githiori, G. F. Medley

Faculty Publications

A study was conducted to examine the duration of anthelmintic effect of copper oxide wire particles (COWP) in grazing goats, as data for the persistence of efficacy of COWP in this host species is limited. Forty-eight indigenous male goats were infected naturally by grazing them on Haemonchus contortus-infected pasture. When the faecal egg count (FEC) in the goats was 3179 ± 540 eggs per gram of faeces (mean ± standard error), half the animals were treated with 4. g COWP (day 0; mean live weight = 25.5 ± 0.8. kg). Eight treated (COWP) and eight non-treated (CONTROL) goats were removed …

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A Phylogenomic Approach To Vertebrate Phylogeny Supports A Turtle-Archosaur Affinity And A Possible Paraphyletic Lissamphibia, Jonathan J. Fong, Jeremy M. Brown, Matthew K. Fujita, Bastien Boussau Nov 2012

A Phylogenomic Approach To Vertebrate Phylogeny Supports A Turtle-Archosaur Affinity And A Possible Paraphyletic Lissamphibia, Jonathan J. Fong, Jeremy M. Brown, Matthew K. Fujita, Bastien Boussau

Faculty Publications

In resolving the vertebrate tree of life, two fundamental questions remain: 1) what is the phylogenetic position of turtles within amniotes, and 2) what are the relationships between the three major lissamphibian (extant amphibian) groups? These relationships have historically been difficult to resolve, with five different hypotheses proposed for turtle placement, and four proposed branching patterns within Lissamphibia. We compiled a large cDNA/EST dataset for vertebrates (75 genes for 129 taxa) to address these outstanding questions. Gene-specific phylogenetic analyses revealed a great deal of variation in preferred topology, resulting in topologically ambiguous conclusions from the combined dataset. Due to consistent …

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