Digital Commons Network^™

Reading The Man: A Portrait Of Robert E. Lee Through His Private Letters, Caroline E. Janney

Civil War Book Review

Another Look at Robert E. Lee

The Effect Of Chromium Propionate On Growth Performance And Carcass Traits In Broilers, A. R. Jackson, S. Powell, S. Johnston, J. L. Shelton, T. D. Bidner, F. R. Valdez, L. L. Southern

Faculty Publications

Chromium has been considered by many nutritionists as an essential nutrient for animals and humans. Research on the use of Cr from organic sources in poultry is limited. Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of dietary addition of 0, 200, 400, or 800 ppb Cr as chromium propionate on growth performance and carcass traits in 0- to 42- or 0- to 49-d-old broilers. The results of these experiments indicate that Cr as chromium propionate improved feed efficiency in the later phases of growth and decreased mortality in one experiment but not another. Also, chromium propionate supplementation had no …

Rocking The Vote: An Analysis Of What Makes The Millennial Generation Vote And The Correlation Of Civic Engagement To Empathy, Gabrielle Michelle Martinez

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

2-(3-Methyl-2-Nitrophenyl)-4,5-Dihydro-1,3-Oxazole, Dongwei Lei, Huibin Yang, Bin Li, Zhuo Kang

Faculty Publications

In the title compound, C10H10N2O3, an inter-mediate in the synthesis of anthranilamide insecticides, all the non-H atoms except the nitro-group O atom lie on a crystallographic mirror plane. The H atoms of the methyl group are disordered over two sets of sites with equal occupancies. In the crystal structure, C - H⋯N links lead to chains of mol-ecules propagating in [100].

The Civil War As A Theological Crisis, Peter A. Huff

Civil War Book Review

The Civil War's Impact on Faith and Religion

Host-Pathogen Interactions, Insect Outbreaks, And Natural Selection For Disease Resistance, Bret D. Elderd, Jonathan Dushoff, Greg Dwyer

Faculty Publications

The theory of insect population dynamics has shown that heterogeneity in natural-enemy attack rates is strongly stabilizing. We tested the usefulness of this theory for outbreaking insects, many of which are attacked by infectious pathogens. We measured heterogeneity among gypsy moth larvae in their risk of infection with a nucleopolyhedrovirus, which is effectively heterogeneity in the pathogen's attack rate. Our data show that heterogeneity in infection risk in this insect is so high that it leads to a stable equilibrium in the models, which is inconsistent with the outbreaks seen in North American gypsy moth populations. Our data further suggest …

Centers For Oceans And Human Health: Contributions To An Emerging Discipline, Edward A. Laws, Lora E. Fleming, John J. Stegeman

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Impacts Of Climate Variability And Future Climate Change On Harmful Algal Blooms And Human Health, Stephanie K. Moore, Vera L. Trainer, Nathan J. Mantua, Micaela S. Parker, Edward A. Laws, Lorraine C. Backer, Lora E. Fleming

Faculty Publications

Anthropogenically-derived increases in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations have been implicated in recent climate change, and are projected to substantially impact the climate on a global scale in the future. For marine and freshwater systems, increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases are expected to increase surface temperatures, lower pH, and cause changes to vertical mixing, upwelling, precipitation, and evaporation patterns. The potential consequences of these changes for harmful algal blooms (HABs) have received relatively little attention and are not well understood. Given the apparent increase in HABs around the world and the potential for greater problems as a result of climate change …

Identification Of A Functionally Essential Amino Acid For Arabidopsis Cyclic Nucleotide Gated Ion Channels Using The Chimeric Atcngc11/12 Gene, Joyce Baxter, Wolfgang Moeder, William Urquhart, Dea Shahinas, Kimberley Chin, Dinesh Christendat, Hong Gu Kang, Magdalena Angelova, Naohiro Kato, Keiko Yoshioka

Faculty Publications

We used the chimeric Arabidopsis cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channel AtCNGC11/12 to conduct a structure-function study of plant cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels (CNGCs). AtCNGC11/12 induces multiple pathogen resistance responses in the Arabidopsis mutant constitutive expresser of PR genes 22 (cpr22). A genetic screen for mutants that suppress cpr22-conferred phenotypes identified an intragenic mutant, #73, which has a glutamate to lysine substitution (E519K) at the beginning of the eighth β-sheet of the cyclic nucleotide-binding domain in AtCNGC11/12. The #73 mutant is morphologically identical to wild-type plants and has lost cpr22-related phenotypes including spontaneous cell death and enhanced pathogen resistance. Heterologous expression analysis …

Central Blockade Of Oxytocin Receptors During Mid-Late Gestation Reduces Amplitude Of Slow Afterhyperpolarization In Supraoptic Oxytocin Neurons, R. Teruyama, D. L. Lipschitz, L. Wang, G. R. Ramoz, W. R. Crowley, S. L. Bealer, W. E. Armstrong

Faculty Publications

The neurohypophysial hormone oxytocin (OT), synthesized in magnocellular paraventricular (PVN) and supraoptic (SON) nuclei, is well known for its effects in lactation. Our previous studies showed that central OT receptor (OTR) binding is increased during gestation and that blockade of central OTRs, specifically during mid-late gestation, causes a delay in OT release during suckling and reduces weight gain in pups, suggesting decreased milk delivery. In the present study, we tested whether central OTR blockade during late gestation disrupts the gestation-related plasticity in intrinsic membrane properties. Whole cell current-clamp recordings were performed in OT neurons from pregnant rats (19-22 days in …

Effects Of M-Tyrosine On Feeding And Survival Of Formosan Subterranean Termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), Bal K. Gautam, Gregg Henderson

Faculty Publications

Amino acids are important to all animal life. Termites rely mainly on microorganisms to retrieve these nitrogen sources from their food. One naturally occurring amino acid, m-tyrosine, has been reported to be toxic to bacteria and weeds. Its direct effects on termite survival are unknown however. Both no-choice and choice bioassays using five different doses of m-tyrosine were conducted to determine the feeding response and survival of Formosan subterranean termites, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), in the laboratory. In no-choice tests, although all doses of m-tyrosine tested reduced filter paper consumption, only the highest dose tested (0.05 M) had significantly …

Dietary Resistant Starch Upregulates Total Glp-1 And Pyy In A Sustained Day-Long Manner Through Fermentation In Rodents, June Zhou, Roy J. Martin, Richard T. Tulley, Anne M. Raggio, Kathleen L. Mccutcheon, Li Shen, Samuel Colby Danna, Sasmita Tripathy, Maren Hegsted, Michael J. Keenan

Faculty Publications

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and peptide YY (PYY) are anti-diabetes/obesity hormones ecreted from the gut after meal ingestion. We have shown that dietary-resistant starch (RS) increased GLP-1 and PYY secretion, but he mechanism remains unknown. RS is a fermentable fiber that lowers the glycemic index of the diet and liberates short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) through fermentation in the gut. This study investigates the two possible mechanisms by which RS stimulates GLP-1 and PYY secretion: the effect of a meal or glycemic index, and the effect of fermentation. Because GLP-1 and PYY secretions are stimulated by nutrient availability in the gut, the …

Numerical Simulation Of Local Temperature Distortions During Ice Nucleation Of Cells In Suspension, D. Kandra, R. V. Devireddy

Faculty Publications

Knowledge of intercellular ice formation in cells embedded in an extra-cellular suspension is essential for effective design of freezing protocols. The presence of cell membrane causes super-cooling of the intra-cellular region, which nucleates at much lower temperatures than the surrounding extra-cellular space and is accompanied by the exothermic release of the latent heat. This is a dynamic process and causes thermal distortions in and around the cell where nucleation occurs. In the present study, an attempt has been made to numerically determine the magnitude of thermal distortion (ΔT) and the time (dt) it takes for this distortion to damp out …

Drought Stress And Preharvest Aflatoxin Contamination In Agricultural Commodity: Genetics, Genomics And Proteomics, Baozhu Guo, Zhi Yuan Chen, R. Dewey Lee, Brian T. Scully

Faculty Publications

Throughout the world, aflatoxin contamination is considered one of the most serious food safety issues concerning health. Chronic problems with preharvest aflatoxin contamination occur in the southern US, and are particularly troublesome in corn, peanut, cottonseed, and tree nuts. Drought stress is a major factor to contribute to preharvest aflatoxin contamination. Recent studies have demonstrated higher concentration of defense or stress-related proteins in corn kernels of resistant genotypes compared with susceptible genotypes, suggesting that preharvest field condition (drought or not drought) influences gene expression differently in different genotypes resulting in different levels of "end products": PR(pathogenesis-related) proteins in the mature …

A Covalent Linker Allows For Membrane Targeting Of An Oxylipin Biosynthetic Complex, Nathaniel C. Gilbert, Marc Niebuhr, Hiro Tsuruta, Tee Bordelon, Oswin Ridderbusch, Adam Dassey, Alan R. Brash, Sue G. Bartlett, Marcia E. Newcomer

Faculty Publications

A naturally occurring bifunctional protein from Plexaura homomalla links sequential catalytic activities in an oxylipin biosynthetic pathway. The C-terminal lipoxygenase (LOX) portion of the molecule catalyzes the transformation of arachidonic acid (AA) to the corresponding 8R-hydroperoxide, and the N-terminal allene oxide synthase (AOS) domain promotes the conversion of the hydroperoxide intermediate to the product allene oxide (AO). Small-angle X-ray scattering data indicate that in the absence of a covalent linkage the two catalytic domains that transform AA to AO associate to form a complex that recapitulates the structure of the bifunctional protein. The SAXS data also support a model for …

Toll-Like Receptor 2 Recognition Of The Microsporidia Encephalitozoon Spp. Induces Nuclear Translocation Of Nf-Κb And Subsequent Inflammatory Responses, Jeffrey Fischer, Colby Suire, Hollie Hale-Donze

Faculty Publications

Microsporidia are obligate intracellular parasites that are ubiquitous in nature and have been recognized as causing an important emerging disease among immunocompromised individuals. Limited knowledge exists about the immune response against these organisms, and virtually nothing is known about the receptors involved in host recognition. Toll-like receptors (TLR) are pattern recognition receptors that bind to specific molecules found on pathogens and signal a variety of inflammatory responses. In this study, we show that both Encephalitozoon cuniculi and Encephalitozoon intestinalis are preferentially recognized by TLR2 and not by TLR4 in primary human macrophages. This is the first demonstration of host receptor …

Jamaican Nightshade (Solanum Jamaicense): A Threat To Florida's Hammocks, Rodrigo Diaz, William A. Overholt, Kenneth Langeland

Faculty Publications

Jamaican nightshade is a prickly, perennial, invasive shrub in central and southern peninsular Florida. It was first seen in Florida in 1930 near St. Cloud, and has since been reported at several other locations in the state. Jamaican nightshade is primarily found in wooded habitats, where it can quickly become dominant in the understory, but it also occasionally grows in isolated patches in the open. Although the distribution of Jamaican nightshade does not appear to be rapidly expanding in Florida, land mangers should be made aware of the potential of this weed to establish at new sites, and initiate control …

Louisiana Agriculture Fall, 2008, Lsu Agcenter

Louisiana Agriculture

No abstract provided.

Bias In Population Growth Rate Estimation: Sparse Data, Partial Life Cycle Analysis And Jensen's Inequality, Jason S. Grear, Bret D. Elderd

Faculty Publications

Demographic matrix models have become an integral part of population viability analysis for threatened and endangered species, but their use is often limited by data availability. A common solution to this problem is to assume constant annual rates within a multi-year stage. Partial life cycle analysis (PLC), which incorporates only juvenile and adult stages, is a noteworthy example of this approach because it has been described in the literature as a reliable approximation of age-structured populations. However, we predict from Jensen's Inequality that the required lumping of age classes leads to over- or underestimation of population fitness when survival rates …

Combustion Byproducts And Their Health Effects: Summary Of The 10 Th International Congress, Barry Dellinger, Antonio D'Alessio, Andrea D'Anna, Anna Ciajolo, Brian Gullett, Heather Henry, Mel Keener, Jo Ann Lighty, Slawomir Lomnicki, Donald Lucas, Günter Oberdörster, Demetrio Pitea, William Suk, Adel Sarofim, Kirk R. Smith, Tobias Stoeger, Paige Tolbert, Ron Wyzga, Ralf Zimmermann

Faculty Publications

The 10th International Congress on Combustion Byproducts and their Health Effects was held in Ischia, Italy, from June 17-20, 2007. It is sponsored by the US NIEHS, NSF, Coalition for Responsible Waste Incineration (CRWI), and Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The congress focused on: the origin, characterization, and health impacts of combustion-generated fine and ultrafine particles; emissions of mercury and dioxins, and the development/application of novel analytical/diagnostic tools. The consensus of the discussion was that particle-associated organics, metals, and persistent free radicals (PFRs) produced by combustion sources are the likely source of the observed health impacts of airborne PM rather …

Newly Discovered Sister Lineage Sheds Light On Early Ant Evolution, Christian Rabeling, Jeremy M. Brown, Manfred Verhaagh

Faculty Publications

Ants are the world's most conspicuous and important eusocial insects and their diversity, abundance, and extreme behavioral specializations make them a model system for several disciplines within the biological sciences. Here, we report the discovery of a new ant that appears to represent the sister lineage to all extant ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). The phylogenetic position of this cryptic predator from the soils of the Amazon rainforest was inferred from several nuclear genes, sequenced from a single leg. Martialis heureka (gen. et sp. nov.) also constitutes the sole representative of a new, morphologically distinct subfamily of ants, the Martialinae (subfam. nov.). …

Rotational Grazing Adoption In Cattle Production Under A Cost-Share Agreement: Does Uncertainty Have A Role In Conservation Technology Adoption?, Seon Ae Kim, Jeffrey M. Gillespie, Krishna P. Paudel

Faculty Publications

Rotational grazing has been promoted as a best management practice with environmental benefits and associated higher revenue. Its adoption rate has been relatively low. This study investigates the role of uncertainty in the adoption of rotational grazing with a cost-share by cattle producers. Mail survey results indicate that 63-71 per cent of cattle producers are uncertain about adoption with a government cost-share. The study suggests that the possibility of uncertainty should be considered in cases where willingness-to-pay is elicited in the context of adoption of technology. © Journal compilation © 2008 Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society Inc. and Blackwell …

Control Of Neuronal Persistent Activity By Voltage-Dependent Dendritic Properties., Idoux E, Eugène D, Chambaz A, Magnani C, White Ja, Moore Le

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Diffusion Models For Animals In Complex Landscapes: Incorporating Heterogeneity Among Substrates, Individuals And Edge Behaviours, John D. Reeve, James T. Cronin, Kyle J. Haynes

Faculty Publications

1. Animals move commonly through a variety of landscape elements and edges in search of food, mates and other resources. We developed a diffusion model for the movement of an insect herbivore, the planthopper Prokelisia crocea, that inhabits a landscape composed of patches of its host plant, prairie cordgrass Spartina pectinata, embedded in a matrix of mudflat or smooth brome Bromus inermis. 2. We used mark-release-resight experiments to quantify planthopper movements within cordgrass-brome and cordgrass-mudflat arenas. A diffusion model was then fitted that included varying diffusion rates for cordgrass and matrix, edge behaviour in the form of a biased random …

The Border Between Them: Violence And Reconciliation On The Kansas-Missouri Line, Lorien Foote

Civil War Book Review

Border War

Inchoate Cd8+ T Cell Responses In Neonatal Mice Permit Influenza-Induced Persistent Pulmonary Dysfunction, Dahui You, Michael Ripple, Shrilatha Balakrishna, Dana Troxclair, Dane Sandquist, Liren Ding, Terry A. Ahlert, Stephania A. Cormier

Faculty Publications

Influenza infection remains a significant cause of pulmonary morbidity and mortality worldwide, with the highest hospitalization and mortality rates occurring in infants and elder adults. The mechanisms inducing this considerable morbidity and mortality are largely unknown. To address this question, we established a neonatal mouse model of influenza infection to test the hypothesis that the immaturity of the neonatal immune system is responsible for the severe pulmonary disease observed in infants. Seven-day-old mice were infected with influenza A virus (H1N1) and allowed to mature. As adults, these mice showed enhanced airway hyperreactivity, chronic pulmonary inflammation, and diffuse emphysematous-type lesions in …

Wtse, An Avre-Family Type Iii Effector Protein Of Pantoea Stewartii Subsp. Stewartii, Causes Cell Death In Non-Host Plants, Jong Hyun Ham, Doris Majerczak, Sophie Ewert, Mysore Venkatarau Sreerekha, David Mackey, David Coplin

Faculty Publications

Pantoea stewartii subsp. stewartii (Pnss) causes Stewart's bacterial wilt of sweet corn and leaf blight of maize. The pathogenicity of Pnss depends on synthesis of extracellular polysaccharide and an Hrp type III secretion system. WtsE, a type III secreted effector protein, is essential for the virulence of Pnss on corn. It belongs to the AvrE family of effectors, which includes DspA/E from Erwinia amylovora and AvrE1 from Pseudomonas syringae. Previously, WtsE was shown to cause disease-associated cell death in its host plant, sweet corn. Here, we examine the biological activity of WtsE in several non-host plants. WtsE induced cell death …

Diagnoses For Leiognathus Lacepède 1802, Equula Cuvier 1815, Equulites Fowler 1904, Eubleekeria Fowler 1904, And A New Ponyfish Genus (Teleostei: Leiognathidae), Prosanta Chakrabarty, John S. Sparks

Faculty Publications

Recent phylogenetic work on ponyfishes has delimited and revealed the interrelationships of major leiognathid clades. To begin to recognize a monophyletic taxonomy for Leiognathidae we diagnose, delimit, and describe a number of ponyfish genera to reflect our current knowledge of their phylogenetic history. Equula Cuvier, 1815, is resurrected from synonymy with Leiognathus Lacepède, 1802, and comprises E. fasciata and E longispinis. Members of Equula, the sister group to all other members of Leiognathidae, are large-bodied ponyfishes characterized by conspicuous round yellow blotches on the flank. The genus Leiognathus Lacepède, 1802, the sister group to the remaining members of Leiognathidae less …

Estimating Species Trees Using Multiple-Allele Dna Sequence Data, Liang Liu, Dennis K. Pearl, Robb T. Brumfield, Scott V. Edwards

Faculty Publications

Several techniques, such as concatenation and consensus methods, are available for combining data from multiple loci to produce a single statement of phylogenetic relationships. However, when multiple alleles are sampled from individual species, it becomes more challenging to estimate relationships at the level of species, either because concatenation becomes inappropriate due to conflicts among individual gene trees, or because the species from which multiple alleles have been sampled may not form monophyletic groups in the estimated tree. We propose a Bayesian hierarchical model to reconstruct species trees from multiple-allele, multilocus sequence data, building on a recently proposed method for estimating …

An Update Of The Field Guide To Louisiana Soil Classification (Bulletin #889), David C. Weindorf

LSU AgCenter Bulletins

This field guide represents an update of work by Amacher et al. (1989), the original idea of which started with Dr. Bob Miller. The guide provides researchers and others interested in soils with a concise key to the classification of soils throughout Louisiana along with information on geology, climate, vegetation, etc.