Digital Commons Network^™

Pharmacological Inhibition Of Lipolysis Prevents Adverse Metabolic Outcomes During Glucocorticoid Administration, Melissa A. Linden, Susan J. Burke, Humza A. Pirzadah, Tai Yu Huang, Heidi M. Batdorf, Walid K. Mohammed, Katarina A. Jones, Sujoy Ghosh, Shawn R. Campagna, J. Jason Collier, Robert C. Noland

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Objective: Glucocorticoids are one of the most commonly prescribed classes of anti-inflammatory drugs; however, chronic treatment promotes iatrogenic (drug-induced) diabetes. As part of their physiological role, glucocorticoids stimulate lipolysis to spare glucose. We hypothesized that persistent stimulation of lipolysis during glucocorticoid therapy plays a causative role in the development of iatrogenic diabetes. Methods: Male C57BL/6J mice were given 100 μg/mL corticosterone (Cort) in the drinking water for two weeks and were fed either normal chow (TekLad 8640) or the same diet supplemented with an adipose triglyceride lipase inhibitor (Atglistatin - 2 g/kg diet) to inhibit the first step of lipolysis. …

Gdf15 Mediates The Effect Of Skeletal Muscle Contraction On Glucose-Stimulated Insulin Secretion, Hui Zhang, Anny Mulya, Stephan Nieuwoudt, Bolormaa Vandanmagsar, Ruth Mcdowell, Elizabeth C. Heintz, Elizabeth R.M. Zunica, J. Jason Collier, Nadejda Bozadjieva-Kramer, Randy J. Seeley, Christopher L. Axelrod, John P. Kirwan

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Exercise is a first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes and preserves b-cell function by hitherto unknown mechanisms. We postulated that proteins fromcontracting skeletalmuscle may act as cellular signals to regulate pancreatic b-cell function. We used electric pulse stimulation (EPS) to induce contraction in C2C12myotubes and found that treatment of b-cells with EPS-conditioned medium enhanced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS). Transcriptomics and subsequent targeted validation revealed growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) as a central component of the skeletal muscle secretome. Exposure to recombinant GDF15 enhanced GSIS in cells, islets, andmice. GDF15 enhanced GSIS by upregulating the insulin secretion pathway in b-cells,whichwas abrogated …

Quality Of Farmed Shrimp (Penaeus Monodon, Fabricius, 1798 And Macrobrachium Rosenbergii, Deman, 1879) As Affected By Melanosis Inhibiting Compounds, M. Khan, J. A. Lively

Faculty Publications

A problem associated with shrimp is blackspot or melanosis and to prevent blackspot, sulfites have been used for years but come with additional health risks. Newer 4-hexylresorcinol formulations exist that allow sulfite-free shrimp, but effects on the quality of Penaeus monodon Fabricius, 1798, and Macrobrachium rosenbergii, de Man, 1879, beyond melanosis prevention are unknown. Adverse effects on the quality of the shrimp from melanosis prevention treatments would negatively offset the benefits of a sulfite-free product. In order to determine if prevention compounds (sulfite powder or 4-hexylresorcinol based compounds, Everfresh® and Xyrex® Prawnfresh™) affect quality, proximate composition and total plate count …

When Can Local Bird Detection Radars Best Complement Broad-Scale Early-Warning Forecasts Of Risk Potential For Bird–Aircraft Strikes As Part Of An Integrated Approach To Strike Mitigation?, Melanie R. Colón, Ashley M. Long

Faculty Publications

Worldwide, wildlife–aircraft strikes cost more than US$1.2 billion in aircraft damage and downtime and jeopardize the safety of aircrews, passengers, and animals. Radar has long been used to monitor flying animal movements and can be a useful tool for strike mitigation. In the USA, the Avian Hazard Advisory System (AHAS) is an early-warning system that integrates data from next-generation weather radar (NEXRAD) weather surveillance radars (WSRs) with historic bird occurrence data to quantify avian activity and forecast the relative bird risk within a ~9.3-km radius of military and civilian airfields. Bird detection radars (BDRs) with both horizontal-surveillance and vertical-scanning components …

A High-Quality De Novo Genome Assembly For Clapper Rail (Rallus Crepitans), Elisa C. Elizondo, Brant C. Faircloth, Robb T. Brumfield, Subir B. Shakya, Vincenzo A. Ellis, Carl J. Schmidt, Adrienne I. Kovach, W. Gregory Shriver

Faculty Publications

The clapper rail (Rallus crepitans), of the family Rallidae, is a secretive marsh bird species that is adapted for high salinity habitats. They are very similar in appearance to the closely related king rail (R. elegans), but while king rails are limited primarily to freshwater marshes, clapper rails are highly adapted to tolerate salt marshes. Both species can be found in brackish marshes where they freely hybridize, but the distribution of their respective habitats precludes the formation of a continuous hybrid zone and secondary contact can occur repeatedly. This system, thus, provides unique opportunities to investigate the underlying mechanisms driving …

No Strong Evidence Of The Protein Leverage Hypothesis In Pregnant Women With Obesity And Their Infants, Maryam Kebbe, Jasper Most, Abby D. Altazan, Leanne M. Redman

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Objective: The goal of this study was to investigate the role of dietary protein on macronutrient and energy intake, maternal adiposity during pregnancy, and infant adiposity at birth. Methods: In 41 women with obesity, early-pregnancy (13–16 weeks) protein intake was assessed with food photography and expressed as a ratio of Estimated Average Requirements (EAR) in pregnancy for protein (0.88 g/kg/d), herein “protein balance.” Energy intake was measured by the intake-balance method, gestational weight gain as grams per week, and fat mass by a three-compartment model. Spearman correlations and linear models were computed using R version 4.1.1 (p < 0.05 considered significant). Results: Women had a mean (SD) age of 27.5 (4.8) years and a pregravid BMI of 34.4 (2.9), kg/m2, and the majority were non-White (n = 23, 56.1%). Protein balance in early pregnancy was not significantly associated with energy intake across mid and mid/late pregnancy (β = 328.7, p = 0.30 and β = 286.2, p = 0.26, respectively) or gestational weight gain (β = 117.0, p = 0.41). Protein balance was inversely associated with fat mass in early, mid, and late pregnancy (β = −10.6, p = 0.01, β = −10.4, p = 0.03, β = −10.3, p = 0.03, respectively). Protein balance did not predict infant adiposity at birth (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Low …

Cyberinet: Integrated Semi-Modular Sensors For The Computer-Augmented Clarinet, Matthew Bardin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Cyberinet is a new Augmented instrument designed to easily and intuitively provide a method of computer-enhanced performance to the Clarinetist to allow for greater control and expressiveness in a performance. A performer utilizing the Cyberinet is able to seamlessly switch between a traditional performance setting and an augmented one. Towards this, the Cyberinet is a hardware replacement for a portion of a Clarinet containing a variety of sensors embedded within the unit. These sensors collect various real time data motion data of the performer and air fow within the instrument. Additional sensors can be connected to the Cyberinet to …

The Processing Of Task-Relevant And Task-Irrelevant Information In Working Memory, Stephanie M. Saltzmann

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Researchers have aimed to better understand the capacity limits and boundaries of working memory (WM) for decades. With a growing body of literature, researchers have started to direct their focus to identifying and understanding specific processes of WM. Information enters WM and is processed differently based on bottom-up (i.e., feature-driven) and top-down (i.e., task-driven) processes. Specifically, the current dissertation aimed to better understand how task-relevant and irrelevant information is maintained, selection, and prioritized in WM. In Chapter 1, we explored how the maintenance of task-relevant information in WM impacts the maintenance of task-irrelevant information. During a hybrid search task, participants …

Defeat, Entrapment, And Suicide Desire: Analyzing The Role Of Mindfulness Using Ecological Momentary Assessment., Emma H. Moscardini

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Extant literature has indicated that the experience of defeat confers risk for experiencing conceptions of entrapment, which in turns increases one’s risk of experiencing suicidal ideation. In addition, certain cognitive processes are hypothesized to increase or decrease the likelihood of feelings of entrapment emerging when one feels defeated. One such cognitive process is mindfulness, defined as present moment awareness with an orientation of openness and acceptance. Better understanding the interplay of defeat, entrapment, mindfulness, and suicidal thinking will contribute to intervention strategies aimed at reducing the severity of suicidal thinking; however, said research should be conducted with consideration that one’s …

Anoctamin 4 Channel Currents Activate Glucose-Inhibited Neurons In The Mouse Ventromedial Hypothalamus During Hypoglycemia, Longlong Tu, Jonathan C. Bean, Yang He, Hailan Liu, Meng Yu, Hesong Liu, Nan Zhang, Na Yin, Junying Han, Nikolas A. Scarcelli, Kristine M. Conde, Mengjie Wang, Yongxiang Li, Bing Feng, Peiyu Gao, Zhao Lin Cai, Makoto Fukuda, Mingshan Xue, Qingchun Tong, Yongjie Yang, Lan Liao, Jianming Xu, Chunmei Wang, Yanlin He, Yong Xu

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Glucose is the basic fuel essential for maintenance of viability and functionality of all cells. However, some neurons —namely, glucose-inhibited (GI) neurons — paradoxically increase their firing activity in low-glucose conditions and decrease that activity in high-glucose conditions. The ionic mechanisms mediating electric responses of GI neurons to glucose fluctuations remain unclear. Here, we showed that currents mediated by the anoctamin 4 (Ano4) channel are only detected in GI neurons in the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH) and are functionally required for their activation in response to low glucose. Genetic disruption of the Ano4 gene in VMH neurons reduced blood glucose …

Evaluating Vaccine Management Strategies For Edwardsiella Ictaluri Infections In Zebrafish (Danio Rerio), Brandy Malbrough

LSU Master's Theses

Aquaculture is a globally important industry that faces significant challenges due to infectious diseases, which can result in substantial financial losses. In 2011, a new strain of Edwardsiella ictaluri emerged as a major pathogen affecting zebrafish in the ornamental fish industry, leading to high mortality rates and posing a severe threat to the sector. Vaccines provide potential benefits for disease prevention in aquaculture, particularly live-attenuated vaccines (LAVs), which induce strong host immune responses. Bacterial attenuation for vaccine development has evolved from serial passage to more targeted genetic modification techniques. However, regulatory constraints limit the availability of licensed LAVs for aquaculture. …

An Observed Increase In Cardiovascular And Respiratory-Disease Related Hospitalizations And Mortality In An Area Surrounding A Hazardous Waste Thermal Treatment Plant, Liana Isabelle Dela Torre Baconguis

LSU Master's Theses

Particulate matter (PM) pollution is highly correlated with respiratory and cardiovascular disease incidence. The generation of oxidative stress is a major way by which PM can damage the body. Environmentally persistent free radical-containing PM are generated by combustion processes and are capable of exerting increased damage on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems due to their ability to remain stable and regenerate reactive oxygen species for up to five years. Clean Harbors, LLC operates a thermal treatment plant near the city of Colfax, LA in Central Louisiana. Its regular open burning of explosives causes disturbances to the community, such as loud …

Nutrient Content And Bioactive Compounds In Ornamental Type Sweetpotatoes, Sandeep Kaur Sran

LSU Master's Theses

Abstract

The leaf and root composition of different cultivars of ornamental sweetpotatoes (‘Blackie’, ‘Kakura’, ‘Manihi’, ‘Makatea’, ‘Tahiti’ and ‘Tatakoto’) were analyzed, and the impact of various factors on the levels of nutrients, vitamins, antioxidants, phenolic compounds, sugars, and organic acids in these sweetpotato cultivars were determined. The principal macronutrients found in sweetpotato foliage and roots were nitrogen (N), potassium (K), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), and sulfur (S). Nitrogen was the most abundant macronutrient among all cultivars in sweetpotato foliage, whereas potassium was the most abundant macronutrient in sweetpotato roots. The principal micronutrients found in foliage and roots were …

Integrating Behavioral Research Findings With A Liberal Arts Paradigm, Jonathan Peterson

LSU Master's Theses

This paper explores the role of behavioral research in understanding the complexity and relevance of creativity. A brief history of the liberal arts and its current application is followed by a discussion of the importance of variability in generating novel and diverse responses, challenging the notion that creativity is solely a product of innate talent. The effects of reinforcement on variability, and how it relates to a complex relationship between reinforcement and the probability of variable responding leads to a discussion of how the combination of previously trained behaviors can lead to creative problem-solving, emphasizing the role of combinatory behavior …

Morphological And Molecular Characterization Of The Olfactory System In The Formosan Subterranean Termite, Paula Castillo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus, is a eusocial insect species. Its members live in colonies consisting of reproductive (queen and king) and non-reproductive individuals (workers and soldiers). Olfaction is an essential sense for the social life of many insects. However, in termites, little is known about how olfactory cues are perceived in the peripheral sensory system (antennae) and processed in the central nervous system (brain) to elicit different behavioral responses across castes. In this study, we investigated the olfactory system in all castes (soldiers, workers, and reproductive alates), from the antennal and brain morphology to the antennal gene …

Predicted Structure And Functional Roles Of Alphaherpesvirus Tegument Protein Ul37 In Virion Morphogenesis And Innate Immunity, Therese Marie Collantes

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Several members of the Family Herpesviridae are clinically significant pathogens, affecting humans and a wide range of animals. Alphaherpesviruses infect epithelial cells at the primary site of infection and subsequently invade adjacent sensory neurons. Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) is an economically important disease caused by bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1), which belongs to the subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae, genus Varicellovirus. To date, vaccination is the only preventive measure against IBR. Understanding determinants of herpesvirus replication and innate immune regulation is important to help further develop vaccines that are efficacious and incapable of establishing latency in the host nervous system. The alphaherpesvirus …

The Role Of Metallothioneins In Copper Homeostasis In Arabidopsis, Matthew Vandal

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Copper (Cu) is a transition metal that is an essential nutrient for plants and is required for a number of critical processes. Therefore, proper homeostasis of copper is vital for plant life and must be tightly regulated. Metallothioneins are small molecular weight proteins, rich in cysteine residues and have the capability of binding to several different transition metals such as copper. Cu induces the expression of MTs, therefore they are believed to be involved in Cu transport, however their true functions have yet to be resolved. T-DNA insertions were identified in four Arabidopsis MT genes expressed in vegetative tissues, and …

Neural Mechanisms Of Resiliency And Susceptibility After Repeated Social Defeat, Christy R. Wayne

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Social defeat is a powerful experience leading to drastic changes in physiology and behavior, many of which are negative. For example, repeated social defeat in vertebrates results in reduced reproductive success, sickness, and behavioral abnormalities that threaten individual survival and species persistence. However, little is known about what neural mechanisms are involved in determining whether an individual is resilient or susceptible to repeated social defeat stress. I used a resident-intruder experiment in the African cichlid fish, Astatotilapia burtoni, to create and investigate the behavior and neural correlates of these two opposing groups. Resilient fish used both searching and freezing behaviors …

Sportsman's Paradox: Conservationism And Social Progress In Modern Louisiana, Jacob T. Gautreaux

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Over the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, sportsmen increasingly identified Louisiana as a destined paradise due to the abundant flora and fauna. Confirmed in the legendary visits of Theodore Roosevelt in the early 1900s, the conception soon served a dual purpose as individuals like the Tabasco Sauce patriarch, E. A. McIlhenny, coopted the visualization as a lure for business investment into the nascent industrial interests within the coastal region of the state. However, it should be noted that in the 1930s and beyond, cultural conservationists like McIlhenny and Caroline Dormon preserved elements of under-documented cultures throughout the state, although usually …

Advancements In Middle School Agricultural Education: An Examination Of Emerging Trends And Exemplary Programs, Jacob P. Englin

LSU Master's Theses

Recent trends in agricultural education have demonstrated that the number of middle school programs and students has been increasing. Despite this, middle school agricultural education students, teachers, and programs often have been considered to be underserved. For example, teachers at this level have expressed that they often lacked the training and resources to meet the needs of this diverse learning population. Even so, middle school agricultural education teachers have continued to provide quality learning experiences for their students. In response, this investigation’s purpose was to examine current trends of middle school agricultural education and the quality of learning conducted by …

Evaluation Of Salvinia Weevil Establishment, Dispersal, And Environmental Pressures Impacting The Giant Salvinia Biological Control Program, Korey Danielle Pham

LSU Master's Theses

Giant salvinia (Salvinia molesta Mitchell), an invasive free-floating aquatic fern, invaded the Toledo-Bend reservoir along the Texas-Louisiana border in the 1990s. The rapid spread threatens critical ecosystems, economies, and cultural services by altering water quality, and impacting fishing, hunting, and navigation. To combat this issue, the LSU AgCenter has been rearing and distributing the salvinia weevil (Cyrtobagous salviniae Calder and Sands), which has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing giant salvinia populations within a matter of months to a few years. The first study assessed the impact of propagule pressure on salvinia weevil effectiveness in outdoor mesocosms and revealed that …

Susceptibility Of Spodoptera Frugiperda Populations In The Southern Region Of The U.S. To Common Bt Proteins And Performance Of A Dual-Gene Resistant Helicoverpa Zea Strain On Common Pyramided Bt Corn Traits, Tiago H. Da Silva

LSU Master's Theses

The fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) and corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea) are two polyphagous pests that, in the Americas, are targeted by transgenic corn and cotton expressing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) proteins. A previous study during 2011-2013 demonstrated practical resistance to Cry1F corn in S. frugiperda in the southeastern seaboard of the U.S., while resistance of H. zea to Bt corn and cotton containing cry1A and cry2A genes has widely occurred in the U.S. The first objective of this study was to investigate the current susceptibility status to four Bt proteins commonly expressed in Bt corn plants, including …

Evaluation Of A Nutritional Calming Supplement For Stress Management In Beef Cattle, Randall Mallette

LSU Master's Theses

Two studies were conducted to determine the efficacy of two formulations of a nutritional calming product, Placid 1.0 and Placid 2.0, at keeping beef cattle in a calm state when exposed to environmental factors that put them into an excited state. In the pilot study, nine crossbred beef heifers were orally drenched daily for three days with 60 mL of their respective treatments, pen scores and exit scores were recorded, and blood was collected for cortisol analysis. There were no treatment effects for either treatment on any of the measured behavioral parameters or serum cortisol concentrations.

The products were …

Molecular Identification Of Oomycete Species Associated With Woody Plants In Louisiana And Survey Of Oomycete Species Associated With Live Oak Trees Planted On The Louisiana State University Campus, Hamilton Crockett

LSU Master's Theses

Three Oomycetes genera, Phytophthora, Phytopythium and Pythium, contain many important plant pathogens. Historically, Phytophthora infestans, responsible for the great Irish potato famine, and Phytophthora ramorum, causal agent of sudden oak death disease, are the two better-known high impact pathogens. The LSU AgCenter Plant Diagnostic Center (PDC) has been isolating putative Phytophthora and related species from combined root and soil samples collected from various woody ornamentals and trees for over a decade. In August of 2016, Louisiana received torrential rains, which resulted in historic flooding in several southern parishes. During subsequent years, the PDC staff isolated a …

Year-Round Weather Alters Nest-Provisioning Rates In A Migratory Owl, Eliza D. Stein, Stephen R. Midway, Brian D. Linkhart

Faculty Publications

As global temperatures and precipitation become more extreme, habitat specialists are at particular risk of being pushed past their environmental tolerance limits. Flammulated Owls (Psiloscops flammeolus) are small migratory owls that breed in temperate conifer forests of western North America. Their highly specialized nesting and foraging requirements make them indicators of ecosystem health. Using 17 years of nest observations, we investigated how annual weather patterns affected Flammulated Owl nesting and foraging behaviors during the breeding season. We used generalized linear models with a changepoint parameter to evaluate nest provisioning and nestling growth rates in years of extreme temperature and precipitation. …

Evidence For Two Soybean Looper Strains In The United States With Limited Capacity For Cross-Hybridization, Rodney N. Nagoshi, Jeffrey A. Davis, Robert L. Meagher, Fred R. Musser, Graham P. Head, Hector Portillo, Henry Teran

Faculty Publications

The noctuid moth soybean looper (SBL), Chrysodeixis includens (Walker) is an economically important pest of soybeans (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) in the southeastern United States. It has characteristics that are of particular concern for pest mitigation that include a broad host range, the capacity for annual long-distance flight, and resistance in some populations to important pesticides such as pyrethroids and chitin synthesis inhibitor. The biology of SBL in the United States resembles that of the fellow noctuid fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), a major pest of corn and several other crops. FAW exhibits a population structure in that …

Louisiana Agriculture Magazine, Summer 2023

Louisiana Agriculture

Rice, alligators and sugarcane are quintessential Louisiana products, and LSU AgCenter researchers and extension agents devote themselves to helping the producers who grow them. Economists are finding ways to improve the market for alligators while specialists focus on innovation in the sugar industry and creating new varieties of rice.

AgCenter researchers also have an eye on the natural world. They are protecting the roseau cane that thrives on the coast and the ironwood trees of Guam. All these efforts are detailed in this issue of Louisiana Agriculture magazine.

Clathrin-Mediated Endocytosis Facilitates The Internalization Of Magnaporthe Oryzae Effectors Into Rice Cells, Ely Oliveira-Garcia, Tej Man Tamang, Jungeun Park, Melinda Dalby, Magdalena Martin-Urdiroz, Clara Rodriguez Herrero, An Hong Vu, Sunghun Park, Nicholas J. Talbot, Barbara Valent

Faculty Publications

Fungi and oomycetes deliver effectors into living plant cells to suppress defenses and control plant processes needed for infection. Little is known about the mechanism by which these pathogens translocate effector proteins across the plasma membrane into the plant cytoplasm. The blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae secretes cytoplasmic effectors into a specialized biotrophic interfacial complex (BIC) before translocation. Here, we show that cytoplasmic effectors within BICs are packaged into punctate membranous effector compartments that are occasionally observed in the host cytoplasm. Live cell imaging with fluorescently labeled proteins in rice (Oryza sativa) showed that these effector puncta colocalize with the plant …

A Modified-Herringbone Micromixer For Assessing Zebrafish Sperm (Mags), Jorge A. Belgodere, Mustafa Alam, Valentino E. Browning, Jason Eades, Jack North, Julie A. Armand, Yue Liu, Terrence R. Tiersch, W. Todd Monroe

Faculty Publications

Sperm motility analysis of aquatic model species is important yet challenging due to the small sample volume, the necessity to activate with water, and the short duration of motility. To achieve standardization of sperm activation, microfluidic mixers have shown improved reproducibility over activation by hand, but challenges remain in optimizing and simplifying the use of these microdevices for greater adoption. The device described herein incorporates a novel micromixer geometry that aligns two sperm inlet streams with modified herringbone structures that split and recombine the sample at a 1:6 dilution with water to achieve rapid and consistent initiation of motility. The …

Obesogens And Obesity: State-Of-The-Science And Future Directions Summary From A Healthy Environment And Endocrine Disruptors Strategies Workshop, Jerrold J. Heindel, Jessica A. Alvarez, Ella Atlas, Matthew C. Cave, Vaia Lida Chatzi, David Collier, Barbara Corkey, Douglas Fischer, Michael I. Goran, Sarah Howard, Scott Kahan, Matthias Kayhoe, Suneil Koliwad, Catherine M. Kotz, Michele La Merrill, Tim Lobstein, Carey Lumeng, David S. Ludwig, Robert H. Lustig, Pete Myers, Angel Nadal, Leonardo Trasande, Leanne M. Redman, Matthew S. Rodeheffer, Robert M. Sargis, Jacqueline M. Stephens, Thomas R. Ziegler, Bruce Blumberg

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

On September 7 and 8, 2022, Healthy Environment and Endocrine Disruptors Strategies, an Environmental Health Sciences program, convened a scientific workshop of relevant stakeholders involved in obesity, toxicology, or obesogen research to review the state of the science regarding the role of obesogenic chemicals that might be contributing to the obesity pandemic. The workshop's objectives were to examine the evidence supporting the hypothesis that obesogens contribute to the etiology of human obesity; to discuss opportunities for improved understanding, acceptance, and dissemination of obesogens as contributors to the obesity pandemic; and to consider the need for future research and potential mitigation …