Digital Commons Network^™

Development Of The Neonatal Rat As A Model For Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Cardiorespiratory Effects Of Ethanol, Rhett Whitman Stout

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The current pathogenesis of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is unknown. Elevated endogenous ethanol production by gastrointestinal yeast has been proposed as a possible mechanism for SIDS. To investigate the role of ethanol in SIDS, three studies were undertaken. In the first study, transcutaneous blood gas technology was evaluated for repeated monitoring of arterial blood gases. The second study identified the cardiorespiratory responses to inhaled CO2 challenge in juvenile rats, to determine the age corresponding to the age range of peak incidence of SIDS in human infants. Finally, utilizing the optimized juvenile rat model, the cardiorespiratory responses to ethanol and …

So-Journeying: Creating Sacred Space In Education, Tayari Kwa Salaam

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research questions current taken-for-granted meanings given to school, education, teaching and curriculum from an African/African American perspective. This inquiry is based on my experiences as an African American woman curriculum theorist committed to the education of African American youth. Drawing on the lifework of Sojourner Truth, a nineteenth century African American woman abolitionist and human rights activist, this work seeks to explore aspects of both African/African American-centered education and curriculum theory as a means of informing understandings of school, education, teaching and curriculum. My research question is: How does Sojourner Truth inform curriculum theory? This inquiry is a self-exploration …

Program Participants' Knowledge And Perceptions Of Effectiveness Of The French Quarter Formosan Termite Program, Alan L. Morgan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine program participants’ knowledge and perceptions of the effectiveness of the French Quarter Formosan Termite Program. The management of the Formosan subterranean termite is critical to the economic well-being of not only Louisiana, but the U.S. Estimates of property damage, repairs, and control measures exceed $1 billion per year in the U.S., of which $500 million is in Louisiana and $300 million is in the New Orleans area. In 1998, the LSU Agricultural Center, a statewide agricultural research and extension campus of Louisiana State University, in cooperation with the Agricultural Research Service, began …

Studies On Rice Transformation And The Use Of Transformed Plants [Electronic Resource], Qiming Shao

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research was conducted to enhance utilization of the Liberty herbicide resistance transgene in rice. Non-lethal methods to determine the sensitivity of transgenic rice plants to hygromycin B and Liberty were developed, tested and used in this research. Four homozygous transformed plants were selected to make reciprocal crosses with their non-transformed parent cultivars Taipei 309 and Nipponbare. Their resistances to Liberty and hygromycin B were controlled by the closely linked single dominant genes bar and hpt. Some non-resistant phenotypes in the F2 populations were due to gene silencing. The bar gene in some of these plants were allelic and some …

Psychosocial Predictors Of Visceral Adiposity, Paula C. Rhode

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Psychosocial factors are thought to influence health through primarily direct physiological mechanisms or the alteration of health related behaviors. Three factors hypothesized to negatively impact health include arousal, life stress, and depressive symptomatology. One recent theorist suggests that the interaction between psychological stress and stress hormones on the neuroendocrine system may result in adverse changes to body composition, most notably the increased deposition of visceral adipose tissue (Bjorntorp, 1993). The current study prospectively examined the relationship between self-reported stressful life events, depressive symptoms and trait arousal on the deposition of visceral fat, as measured by computerized tomography (CT). Subjects were …

From Gamete Collection To Database Development: Development Of A Model Cryopreserved Germplasm Repository For Aquatic Species With Emphasis On Sturgeon, William Rittenhouse Wayman

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Development of a cryopreserved sperm repository could greatly benefit the study and recovery of endangered species. Currently, a national repository for endangered aquatic species does not exist. This dissertation addressed the development of methods for the creation of a model germplasm repository, which included methods to reduce bacterial contamination within sperm samples, verify sample identification, store sperm (refrigerated or cryopreserved), evaluate sperm quality before and after thawing, and maintain sample and broodstock information. Although these methods were developed for sturgeon, they could be adapted for any aquatic species. Accurate species identification of sperm samples is essential for an archival repository. …

Biomechanical Reconstruction Of The Appendicular Skeleton In Three North American Jurassic Sauropods, Ray Wilhite

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Forelimb and hindlimb articulation, reconstructed musculature, and function were examined in Apatosaurus, Diplodocus, and Camarasaurus. A technique was developed using a Microscribe three-dimensional digitizer to capture external morphological data for skeletal reconstruction and determination of taxonomically useful features. The appendicular musculature of Alligator mississippiensis was dissected to determine form, function, origin, and insertion of muscles to aid in reconstruction of sauropod musculature. Contrary to the literature, M. caudofemoralis longus was found to originate primarily from the lateral surfaces of the proximal chevrons instead of the bodies and transverse processes of the caudals, demonstrating that chevron morphology is indicative of the …

Progressive Fatigue Effects On Manual Lifting Factors, Anthony D'Wayne Banks

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Much evidence suggests that the cause of lower back pain (LBP) and injury is frequently related to the posture of lifting, the load, muscle fatigue, and other factors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of progressive fatigue on factors that have previously been associated with increased risk of LBP in various occupational settings, during a repetitive lifting task where freestyle lifting technique was utilized. A laboratory experiment was conducted to evaluate several fatigue analysis, electromyography amplitude, kinematic, and kinetic parameters of repetitive freestyle lifting during a 2-hour lifting period. Each of ten (10) young adult male …

Voegelin's History Of Political Ideas And The Problem Of Christian Order: A Critical Appraisal, Jeffrey Charles Herndon

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation will analyze the problem of Christian political order in light of Eric Voegelin’s History of Political Ideas. The great weakness in Voegelin, according to many critics, was his failure to deal with the historical appearance of Jesus of Nazareth and to fully examine the implications of Christianity for human beings in their political and social existence. The completed publication of the History of Political Ideas now offers the opportunity for a more complete assessment of Voegelin’s position with regard to the problem of Christian political order. The History contains his most comprehensive treatment of Christianity, in terms of …

Arm Crank Power And Hyperammonemia In Respones To L-Aspartic Acid Supplementation, William W. Edwards

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

PURPOSE: To examine the effect of L-Aspartic Acid (L-Asp) supplementation on short-term arm-crank power (i.e. W·min^-1) and exercise-induced hyperammonemia in two gender-specific investigations. METHODS: The male investigation (MALE) used nine highly-trained intercollegiate water polo players (WP) and nine moderately-trained college students (MOD); the female investigation (FEM) used 18 recreationally-trained college students. All exercised to exhaustion on two occasions following counterbalanced double-blind ingestion of 12.5g x 2 of L-Asp or placebo (P). The warm-up phase began at 25 W·min^-1 and increased in 25 W·min^-1 stages every 30 seconds (constant 100 rpm). Performance began (i.e. the subjects turned …

Characteristics Of Fat Free Yogurt As Influenced By The Incorporation Of Folic Acid, Charles August Boeneke

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Folic acid fortification is used in the prevention of neural tube defects such as spina bifida and ancencephaly, heart defects, facial clefts, urinary tract abnormalities, and limb deficiencies. Although yogurt is not a good source of folic acid, fortification could aid in prevention of above mentioned defects. Fortification of yogurt with folic acid may or may not change its physico-chemical characteristics. Fat free sugar free yogurt was manufactured using 0, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of the recommended daily allowance of 400 micrograms of folic acid. Treatments included addition of folic acid at these levels before and after pasteurization. Lemon …

A Comparison Of Life Histories And Ecological Aspects Among Snappers (Pisces: Lutjanidae), Fernando Martinez-Andrade

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

An extensive search for data on life-history and ecological variables was conducted for a representative number of the species within the family Lutjanidae. After creating different databases and standardizing all data, these variables were examined in statistical, correlation and graphic analyses. Additionally, a series of Principal Component Analyses were used to examine patterns among variables. Life-history variables included age at length zero, asymptotic length, maximum length, longevity, asymptotic weight, length at maturity, age at maturity, reproductive life span, growth rate and mortality rate. Ecological variables included latitudinal and vertical distribution, habitat selection (represented by substrate type), and spawning seasons. The …

A Performance Edition Of The Opera Kaspar Der Fagottist By Wenzel Müller (1767-1835), As Arranged For Harmonie By Georg Druschetzky (1745-1819), Susan Nita Barber

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This document contains a score of the opera transcription for Harmonie that has been compiled from a manuscript collection currently in the holdings of the Helikon Castle Museum Library in Keszthely, Hungary (H KE 0/117) and arranged by Georg Druschetzky, Bohemian-born oboist and regimental drummer, who spent the major portion of his career working in the small geographical area of Bratislava, Vienna and Budapest. The most significant portion of this collection is extracted from Müller's opera Kaspar der Fagottist. This constitutes the last 15 arias found in Druschetzky's arranged collection of 42 Arias mentioned previously. Included is a presentation of …

Analytical Study On Flood Induced Seepage Under River Levees, Senda Ozkan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A common and potentially dangerous phenomenon associated with flooding is seepage under levees and the formation of sand boils. Seepage flow due to hydrostatic head gradients of floods may cause deformation of pervious layers leading to heave, piping and sand boils. Underseepage may also cause irreversible changes in the characteristics of the porous medium. A series of independent flood events may have cumulative effects on pervious layers causing sand boils to grow. Current underseepage analyses for levees are based on steady-state flow. Transient seepage flow due to rapid changes in river head may contribute to cumulative effects and cause critical …

Immunological, Hematological, And Serum Biochemical Effects Of High Level Dietary Fish Oil And Vitamin E Supplementation In The Dog, Casey J. Leblanc

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Inflammation is a component of the innate immune response. However, severe or prolonged inflammation can be detrimental. Dietary n-3 fatty acid supplementation has proven clinical benefits in chronic inflammatory diseases, most likely due to reduced synthesis of inflammatory mediators and inhibition of lymphocyte proliferation and function. The purposes of this study were to characterize alterations in inflammatory mediator production, and lymphocyte proliferation, in dogs fed a diet consisting of 0.65% n-3 fatty acids (DMB) with an n-6:n-3 fatty acid ratio of 3.4:1. Fifteen dogs were randomly assigned to one of three dietary groups for twelve weeks. Group Sunflower oil received …

Bioavailability And Bioaccumulation Of Sediment-Associated, Desorption-Resistant Fraction Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Contaminants, Xiaoxia Lu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study is directed toward identifying and characterizing the bioavailability of both reversibly sorbed and desorption-resistant fraction of hydrophobic organic contaminants in natural biologically active sediments and the corresponding consequences to prediction, control and regulation of these contaminants. The focus is on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with particular emphasis on phenanthrene and benzo[a]pyrene. A quantity of well-characterized and extensively desorbed sediments was prepared by desorbing the lab-inoculated sediment with an isopropanol and electrolyte solution. This procedure was proved to be a very effective method to prepare sediments containing contaminants largely limited to a desorption-resistant compartment. Accumulation of contaminants in the …

Proportional Assessment Of X And Y Chromosome-Bearing Spermatozoa In Bull And Boar Ejaculates Using Conventional And Real-Time Pcr Techniques, Julius Braden Paul

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Considerable variation in the percentage of Y-chromosome bearing spermatozoa (%Y-CBS) between ejaculates in the same male has been reported. Collection regime has been speculated to influence the degree of variation in %Y-CBS in bull ejaculates (Chandler et al., 1998). Experiments were designed to evaluate the effects of two collection regimes on %Y-CBS. Conventional PCR combined with gel electrophoresis and image analysis was employed to determine %Y-CBS in ejaculates from two bulls collected on 7-day intervals and two bulls on 21-day intervals. Real-time PCR technology was used to quantify %Y-CBS in the same ejaculates. Boar ejaculates were also analyzed with both …

Role Of Endothelin In The Pathogenesis Of Acute Laminitis In Horses, Ashley Michelle Stokes

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Acute laminitis is a severely debilitating disease of the laminae of the equine digit; however, the mechanism(s) of pathogenesis have yet to be fully elucidated. In physiologic states, the endothelium synthesizes substances, such as nitric oxide (NO; vasodilator) and endothelin-1 (ET-1; profound vasoconstrictor), which play a crucial role in vasomotor regulation. The overall hypothesis is that the initiating factor in the onset of acute laminitis is a disruption in the balance between NO and ET-1, which leads to digital vasoconstriction and subsequent laminar ischemic necrosis. In vitro studies with digital vessels from healthy horses and horses with naturally-acquired laminitis determined …

Oocyte Production In The Early Postpartum Cow, Oscar Perez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The postpartum period has been the focus of numerous studies; however, there is no information available relating to oocyte production in early postpartum cows. Ovaries of early postpartum cows were stimulated with FSH to produce follicular development and oocytes. The objectives of these studies were: (1) to evaluate the use of FSH for oocyte production in early postpartum beef cows, (2) to evaluate follicular response and oocyte quality of beef cows treated with FSH shortly after calving, (3) to evaluate FSH for oocyte production in early postpartum dairy cows, (4) to evaluate responses of FSH-treated, early postpartum beef cows in …

Phylogeny Of Acridocarpus-Brachylophon (Malpighiaceae): Implications For Tertiary Tropical Floras And Afroasian Biogeography, Charles C. Davis, Charles D. Bell, Peter W. Fritsch, Sarah Mathews

Faculty Publications

A major tenet of African Tertiary biogeography posits that lowland rainforest dominated much of Africa in the late Cretaceous and was replaced by xeric vegetation as a response to continental uplift and consequent widespread aridification beginning in the late Paleogene. The aridification of Africa is thought to have been a major factor in the extinction of many African humid-tropical lineages, and in the present-day disparity of species diversity between Africa and other tropical regions. This primarily geologically based model can be tested with independent phylogenetic evidence from widespread African plant groups containing both humid- and xeric-adapted species. We estimated the …

Nitrogen Loading Into An Urban Estuary: Lake Pontchartrain (Louisiana, U.S.A.), R. Eugene Turner, Q. Dortch, Dubravko Justic, Erick M. Swenson

Faculty Publications

We constructed a nitrogen loading budget for the Lake Pontchartrain watershed located north of New Orleans, Louisiana (U.S.A.). Water quality measurements, discharge estimates, and literature values were used to establish the annual and seasonal variations in loading rates for total nitrogen and nitrate. The relatively stable annual loadings (million kg N) are about 10× that of the pre-settlement nitrogen loading, and come from atmosphere (1.3), the watershed (7.8), pumped urban runoff from New Orleans (1.0), and leakage through the Bonnet Carré flood control structure (0.5–0.9). Relatively minor additional amounts come from nitrogen fixation in the Lake. Occasional openings of the …

Infection Outcome And Cytokine Gene Expression In Brugia Pahangi-Infected Gerbils (Meriones Unguiculatus) Sensitized With Brucella Abortus, Sharon R. Chirgwin, Philip H. Elzer, Sharon U. Coleman, Jena M. Nowling, Sue D. Hagius, Matthew D. Edmonds, Thomas R. Klei

Faculty Publications

Filarial infections have been associated with the development of a strongly polarized Th2 host immune response and a severe impairment of mitogen-driven proliferation and type 1 cytokine production in mice and humans. The role of this polarization in the development of the broad spectra of clinical manifestations of lymphatic filariasis is still unknown. Recently, data gathered from humans as well as from immunocompromised mouse models suggest that filariasis elicits a complex host immune response involving both Th1 and Th2 components. However, responses of a similar nature have not been reported in immunologically intact permissive models of Brugia infection. Brucella abortus-killed …

Strong Founder Effect In Drosophila Pseudoobscura Colonizing New Zealand From North America, J. Reiland, S. Hodge, Mohamed A.F. Noor

Faculty Publications

The North American native species Drosophila pseudoobscura was first identified in New Zealand in the last few decades. Here, we have studied the genetic consequences of its spread across the Pacific Ocean. Using 10 microsatellites that are highly variable in North American populations, we found that the New Zealand population has substantially fewer alleles, a much lower average heterozygosity, and significantly different allele frequencies at these loci. We have discussed the relative sensitivity of these parameters for detecting the founding event. X-linked loci were more strongly differentiated between continents than autosomal loci, as reflected by larger changes in allele frequencies …

Histone Methyltransferase Activity Of A Drosophila Polycomb Group Repressor Complex, Jürg Müller, Craig M. Hart, Nicole J. Francis, Marcus L. Vargas, Aditya Sengupta, Brigitte Wild, Ellen L. Miller, Michael B. O'Connor, Robert E. Kingston, Jeffrey A. Simon

Faculty Publications

Polycomb group (PcG) proteins maintain transcriptional repression during development, likely by creating repressive chromatin states. The Extra Sex Combs (ESC) and Enhancer of Zeste [E(Z)] proteins are partners in an essential PcG complex, but its full composition and biochemical activities are not known. A SET domain in E(Z) suggests this complex might methylate histones. We purified an ESC-E(Z) complex from Drosophila embryos and found four major subunits: ESC, E(Z), NURF-55, and the PcG repressor, SU(Z)12. A recombinant complex reconstituted from these four subunits methylates lysine-27 of histone H3. Mutations in the E(Z) SET domain disrupt methyltransferase activity in vitro and …

F02rs Sgb No. 10 (Block & Bridle), Heltz, Busada

Student Senate Enrolled Legislation

A BILL

To appropriate one thousand four-hundred and eight ($1,348) dollars to the block & bridle club to defray the cost of putting on the all student rodeo in the John M. Parker Coliseum november 7-9, 2002

Mammalian Retroelements, Prescott L. Deininger, Mark A. Batzer

Faculty Publications

The eukaryotic genome has undergone a series of epidemics of amplification of mobile elements that have resulted in most eukaryotic genomes containing much more of this 'junk' DNA than actual coding DNA. The majority of these elements utilize an RNA intermediate and are termed retroelements. Most of these retroelements appear to amplify in evolutionary waves that insert in the genome and then gradually diverge. In humans, almost half of the genome is recognizably derived from retroelements, with the two elements that are currently actively amplifying, L1 and Alu, making up about 25% of the genome and contributing extensively to disease. …

Identification Of A Streptolysin S-Associated Gene Cluster And Its Role In The Pathogenesis Of Streptococcus Iniae Disease, Jeffrey D. Fuller, Alvin C. Camus, Carla L. Duncan, Victor Nizet, Darrin J. Bast, Ronald L. Thune, Donald E. Low, Joyce C.S. De Azavedo

Faculty Publications

Streptococcus iniae causes meningoencephalitis and death in cultured fish species and soft-tissue infection in humans. We recently reported that S. iniae is responsible for local tissue necrosis and bacteremia in a murine subcutaneous infection model. The ability to cause bacteremia in this model is associated with a genetic profile unique to strains responsible for disease in fish and humans (J. D. Fuller, D. J. Bast, V. Nizet, D. E. Low, and J. C. S. de Azavedo, Infect. Immun. 69:1994-2000, 2001). S. iniae produces a cytolysin that confers a hemolytic phenotype on blood agar media. In this study, we characterized the …

Louisiana Agriculture Fall, 2002, Lsu Agcenter

Louisiana Agriculture

No abstract provided.

Heca, A Member Of A Class Of Adhesins Produced By Diverse Pathogenic Bacteria, Contributes To The Attachment, Aggregation, Epidermal Cell Killing, And Virulence Phenotypes Of Erwinia Chrysanthemi Ec16 On Nicotiana Clevelandii Seedlings, Clemencia M. Rojas, Jong Hyun Ham, Wen Ling Deng, Jeff J. Doyle, Alan Collmer

Faculty Publications

Erwinia chrysanthemi is representative of a broad class of bacterial pathogens that are capable of inducing necrosis in plants. The E. chrysanthemi EC16 hecA gene predicts a 3,850-aa member of the Bordetella pertussis filamentous hemagglutinin family of adhesins. A hecA::Tn7 mutant was reduced in virulence on Nicotiana clevelandii seedlings after inoculation without wounding. Epifluorescence and confocal laser-scanning microscopy observations of hecA and wild-type cells expressing the green fluorescent protein revealed that the mutant is reduced in its ability to attach and then form aggregates on leaves and to cause an aggregate-associated killing of epidermal cells. Cell killing also depended on …

Comparative Proteome Analysis Of Brucella Melitensis Vaccine Strain Rev 1 And A Virulent Strain, 16m, Michel Eschenbrenner, Mary Ann Wagner, Troy A. Horn, Jo Ann Kraycer, Cesar V. Mujer, Sue Hagius, Philip Elzer, Vito G. Delvecchio

Faculty Publications

The genus Brucella consists of bacterial pathogens that cause brucellosis, a major zoonotic disease characterized by undulant fever and neurological disorders in humans. Among the different Brucella species, Brucella melitensis is considered the most virulent. Despite successful use in animals, the vaccine strains remain infectious for humans. To understand the mechanism of virulence in B. melitensis, the proteome of vaccine strain Rev 1 was analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and compared to that of virulent strain 16M. The two strains were grown under identical laboratory conditions. Computer-assisted analysis of the two B. melitensis proteomes revealed proteins expressed in either 16M …