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A Landscape Planning Agenda For Global Health Security: Learning From The History Of Hiv/Aids And Pandemic Influenza, James Nguyen H. Spencer

Faculty Publications

This paper considers the role of landscape planning and design in the context of a growing need for research and policy recommendations associated with Emerging Infectious Diseases (EIDs), of which COVID-19 is the most recent. Beginning with a definition of EIDs and their origins within the context of landscape planning, the paper then argues that planning and design scholars and practitioners should begin by seeing the importance of a “global urban ecosystem” (GUE) comprised of rapidly transforming metropolitan and regional “patches” connected through “corridors” of relatively unregulated global transportation and mobility networks. It then revisits the history of the two …

Ale Beer Containing Free And Immobilized Lactobacillus Brevis, A Potential Delivery System For Probiotics, Kriza Faye Calumba, Vondel Reyes, Franklin Bonilla, Elio Villasmil, Subramaniam Sathivel

Faculty Publications

Abstract: Probiotics in ale beer may be attractive to health-conscious consumers. However, beer conditions may decrease probiotic viability. Powder produced from durian (Durio zibethinus) rind, a by-product that is currently unutilized, can be used for the immobilization of probiotics. MRS medium was incubated with Lactobacillus brevis and periodically sampled to obtain the growth curve. Ale beer with free L. brevis and cells immobilized in durian rind powder was produced and separately assessed during storage at 21 °C for 24 days. The physico-chemical parameters of both beers did not differ significantly. Durian rind powder conferred protection up to 12 days of …

Investigation Of Bovine Herpesvirus-1 Determinants Of Neuronal Infectivity In Novel Bovine Neuronal Cell Systems For Development Of A Safer Viral Vaccine Vector, Jared Rudd

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Bovine herpesvirus-1 (BoHV-1) is the causative agent of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis and a component of the bovine respiratory disease complex. BoHV-1 is a significant burden on the cattle industry in the United States causing severe respiratory disease, abortions, loss of calves (“shipping fever”). BoHV-1 belongs to the alphaherpesvirus subfamily of Herpesviridae. Alphaherpesviruses enter axons of sensory nerves and establish life-long latency in trigeminal and dorsal root ganglionic neurons after primary infection of the oronasal or genital epithelium respectively. Modified live attenuated vaccines for BoHV-1 are commercially available but are limited in their protection while retaining the ability to establish latency …

Role Of Aim2 Inflammasome In Pulmonary Host Defense Against Staphylococcus Aureus-Induced Pneumonia, Bibek Dhakal

LSU Master's Theses

Bacterial pneumonia is the leading cause of death in children under the age of five, claiming the lives of two million children each year. Staphylococcus aureus is the extracellular Gram-positive bacteria that causes necrotizing pneumonia. Moreover, the spread of antibiotic-resistant and hypervirulent strains has made treatment more challenging. Absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2) is a dsDNA-sensing cytosolic innate immune receptor that activates inflammasomes and is crucial for host defense against intracellular bacteria and DNA viruses. However, its role in extracellular bacterial pathogen-induced pneumonia is unclear. Therefore, understanding how AIM2 initiates host responses during Staphylococcus aureus is crucial for the development …

How Work From Home Has Affected The Occupant’S Well-Being In The Residential Built Environment: An International Survey Amid The Covid-19 Pandemic, Zhihong Pang, Burcin Becerik-Gerber, Simi Hoque, Zheng O’Neill, Giulia Pedrielli, Jin Wen, Teresa Wu

Faculty Publications

This paper presents the results from an international survey that investigated the impacts of the built environment on occupant well-being during the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic when most professionals were forced to work from home (WFH). The survey was comprised of 81 questions focusing on the respondent’s profiles, residences, home indoor environmental quality, health, and home working experiences. A total of 1460 responses were collected from 35 countries, and 1137 of them were considered complete for the analysis. The results suggest that home spatial layout has a significant impact on occupant well-being during WFH since home-life distractions and …

Rickettsia Conorii Survival In Thp-1 Macrophages Involves Host Lipid Droplet Alterations And Active Rickettsial Protein Production, Paige E. Allen, Robert C. Noland, Juan J. Martinez

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Rickettsia conorii is a Gram-negative, cytosolic intracellular bacterium that has classically been investigated in terms of endothelial cell infection. However, R. conorii and other human pathogenic Rickettsia species have evolved mechanisms to grow in various cell types, including macrophages, during mammalian infection. During infection of these phagocytes, R. conorii shifts the host cell's overall metabolism towards an anti-inflammatory M2 response, metabolically defined by an increase in host lipid metabolism and oxidative phosphorylation. Lipid metabolism has more recently been identified as a key regulator of host homeostasis through modulation of immune signalling and metabolism. Intracellular pathogens have adapted mechanisms of hijacking …

Factors Associated With Being Overweight And Obesity In People Living With Human Immunodeficiency Virus On Antiretroviral Therapy: Socioclinical, Inflammation, And Metabolic Markers, Jeanne Goupil De Bouillé, Corinne Vigouroux, Lorraine Plessis, Mathilde Ghislain, Jean Paul Teglas, Faroudy Boufassa, Cécile Goujard, Dorothée Vignes, Olivier Bouchaud, Dominique Salmon, Laurence Meyer, Sophie Abgrall, O. B., O. B., F. B., F. B., Robert Carlier, Rosemary Dray-Spira, M. G., C. G., C. G., C. G., L. P., L. P., Lucie Marchand, L. M., Ventzislava Petrov-Sanchez, Christine Rouzioux, Rémonie Seng, Rémonie Seng, Rodolphe Thiebaut, Jean Paul Viard, Jean Paul Viard, S. A.

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Background: We investigated the association between socioclinical, inflammatory, and metabolic markers and weight gain in people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Methods: Individuals from the COPANA cohort of normal weight (body mass index [BMI], 18.5-24.9 [calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) at cART initiation who achieved virological suppression (viral load, < 50 copies/mL) and maintained it through 36 months of treatment were selected. Clinical, immunovirological, and socioeconomic data and inflammation (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, CXCL10, CXCL8, interleukin 6, soluble tumor necrosis factor receptors 1 and 2, soluble CD14, and soluble CD16) and serum metabolic (glucose, insulin, lipid profile, adiponectin, and leptin) markers were assessed. Factors associated with becoming overweight (BMI, 25-29.9) or obese (BMI, ≥30) at 36 months were assessed using multivariate logistic regression models. Results: After 36 months of cART, 32 of 158 people with HIV (20%) became overweight or obese (21% female; 65% born in France and 23% born in sub-Saharan Africa; median BMI at cART initiation, 22 [interquartile range, 21-23]). After adjustment, higher BMI, originating from sub-Saharan Africa, living in a couple, and higher soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 and lower adiponectin concentrations at cART initiation were associated with becoming overweight or obese. Conclusion: Weight gain on cART is multifactorial. Special attention should be given to migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. Monocyte activation and adipocyte dysfunction at cART initiation affect weight regulation.

Exploration Of Staphylococcus Aureus Immune Inhibitory Proteins’ Structures And Investigation Of Their Effects On Monocyte And T Cell Adhesion, Jena Elizabeth Bordelon

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Investigation Of Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia Pathogenesis Of Mammalian Cells, Paige Elise Allen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Spotted fever group (SFG) Rickettsia are obligate intracellular bacteria that are transmitted by ticks during a bloodmeal to a mammalian host. Interestingly, the SFG pathogen, Rickettsia conorii, has been shown to infect and grow in macrophages with a similar efficiency as the target endothelial cell, whereas a non-human pathogenic counterpart, Rickettsia montanensis, is unable to grow within macrophages. We have since determine that this phenotype applies to other pathogenic and non-human pathogenic Rickettsia, showing a correlation with growth in macrophages and rickettsial virulence. Recently, our lab has also defined host proteins that are altered during macrophage infection with …

Particulate Matter Exposure Predicts Residence In High-Risk Areas For Community Acquired Pneumonia Among Hospitalized Children, Tonny J. Oyana, Jagila Minso, Tamekia L. Jones, Jonathan A. Mccullers, Sandra R. Arnold, Stephania A. Cormier

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Particulate matter exposure is a risk factor for lower respiratory tract infection in children. Here, we investigated the geospatial patterns of community-acquired pneumonia and the impact of PM2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 µm) on geospatial variability of pneumonia in children. We performed a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected population-based surveillance study data of community-acquired pneumonia hospitalizations among children < 18 years residing in the Memphis metropolitan area, who were enrolled in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sponsored Etiology of Pneumonia in the Community (EPIC) study from January 2010 to June 2012. The outcome measure, residence in high- and low-risk areas for community-acquired pneumonia, was determined by calculating pneumonia incidence rates and performing cluster analysis to identify areas with higher/lower than expected rates of community-acquired pneumonia for the population at risk. High PM2.5 was defined as exposure to PM2.5 concentrations greater than the mean value (>10.75 μg/m3), and low PM2.5 is defined as exposure to PM2.5 concentrations less than or equal to the mean value (≤10.75 μg/m3). We also assessed the effects of age, sex, race/ethnicity, history of wheezing, insurance type, tobacco smoke exposure, …

A Continuous Adjustment: The Impact Of Covid-19 On International Graduate Students, Carla Albornoz Moraga

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

International graduate students have endured unique obstacles during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explored the experiences of eight international graduate students from various countries and academic backgrounds. The following questions guided this study: (1) What were the experiences during the 2020 school year for international students throughout COVID- 19?; (2) What were the day-to-day experiences of international graduate students during COVID- 19?, and (3) How did the international graduate students cope and adjust as they lived through a pandemic? Analysis of the data demonstrated the impact on the international graduate students’ preconceived expectations of the academic and socio-cultural experiences, as …

Physical Activity Behaviours In Adolescence: Current Evidence And Opportunities For Intervention, Esther M.F. Van Sluijs, Ulf Ekelund, Inacio Crochemore-Silva, Regina Guthold, Amy Ha, David Lubans, Adewale L. Oyeyemi, Ding Ding, Peter T. Katzmarzyk

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Young people aged 10–24 years constitute 24% of the world's population; investing in their health could yield a triple benefit—eg, today, into adulthood, and for the next generation. However, in physical activity research, this life stage is poorly understood, with the evidence dominated by research in younger adolescents (aged 10–14 years), school settings, and high-income countries. Globally, 80% of adolescents are insufficiently active, and many adolescents engage in 2 h or more daily recreational screen time. In this Series paper, we present the most up-to-date global evidence on adolescent physical activity and discuss directions for identifying potential solutions to enhance …

Informing Viral Surveillance Of Oropouche Virus: An Emerging Arbovirus, Christine E. Walsh

LSU Master's Theses

Arboviruses are viruses transmitted by hematophagous arthropod vectors. Many of these viruses pose a threat to human health. While some infections may be asymptomatic, others may produce febrile illness, or manifest in life threatening conditions. Symptomatic diagnosis of patients with generalized febrile illness can be confounded due to the various diseases that present clinically in the same manner, and a lack of available diagnostic tests. Surveillance efforts can be used to create awareness about the prevalence of neglected tropical arthropod-borne pathogens, such as Oropouche virus (OROV), and inform preparedness measures for disease outbreaks (SURVEILLANCE SENTENCE). OROV is an arbovirus and …

An Improved Earned Value Management Method Integrating Quality And Safety, Brian Briggs

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The construction industry invests significant time and money to improve quality and safety while reducing cost and schedule impacts. The industry has a sincere desire to improve construction project management methods to improve efficiency. Historically, quality and safety underperformances result from undermanaged quality control and safety activities. The cost and schedule impacts associated with poor quality work have always had an impact on construction operations. The unprecedented challenges and uncertainties of COVID-19 highlighted the need to improve the Earned Value Management (EVM) method within construction to reflect these quality and safety activities. The central goal of this dissertation is to …

Examining Intraindividual Variability As A Predictor Of Cognitive And Functional Decline In Older Adulthood, Alyssa N. De Vito

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Intraindividual variability (IIV) has recently emerged as a promising early indicator of future cognitive decline (Haynes et al., 2017). However, the literature is currently limited in that the majority of studies have only examined IIV in one cognitive domain: reaction time. Explorations into the relationship between IIV and functional status are also sparse, with only one recent study exploring this relationship (Schmitter-Edgecombe et al., 2020). The present study aimed to address gaps in the literature by examining IIV in differing cognitive domains to determine which measure(s) were the best predictors of cognitive and functional status at baseline as well as …

Covid-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Study Investigation Of A Health Science System Faculty's Adaptations To An Online (Non-Traditional) Teaching Environment For Health Professional Students, Daryl Philip Lofaso

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed method study was to explore the transition to an online educational platform for future health professional students at a southern health sciences system due to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) virus. The majority of health professional students received their education via face-to-face prior to the pandemic. The pandemic altered their traditional pedagogical method of face-to-face to online instruction. The health professional school faculty offer the best instruction in a lecture hall not on a computer screen using Zoom. This study was designed to analyze how the faculty adapted in moving to an online instructional method, …

Development, Validation, And Testing Of A Self-Assessment Tool To Measure Beliefs, Attitudes And Food Safety Behaviors In Healthcare Foodservice Operations, Kathryn Toups Fakier

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Immunocompromised patients are often prescribed a neutropenic diet to reduce the intake of harmful microbial content. However research suggests it does not improve clinical outcomes when compared to a regular diet, is inconsistently defined and prescribed, and may even have adverse effects on a patient’s nutritional status and quality of life. To reflect evidenced-based practice, the Food and Drug Administration has suggested focusing on safe food handling practices rather than outdated dietary restrictions to reduce health risks. However, many healthcare institutions are reluctant to shift focus as it affects a high-risk patient population vulnerable to contracting a foodborne illness. In …

Factors Protecting Against A Decline In Physical Activity During The Covid-19 Pandemic, S. Nicole Fearnbach, Emily W. Flanagan, Christoph Höchsmann, Robbie A. Beyl, Abby D. Altazan, Corby K. Martin, Leanne M. Redman

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Purpose The spread of COVID-19 and the associated stay-At-home orders and shutdowns of gyms and fitness centers have drastically influenced health behaviors leading to widespread reductions in physical activity (PA). The recent Call to Action from the American College of Sports Medicine has promoted "innovative strategies to promote PA during the COVID-19 pandemic."We aimed to identify individual-level factors that protected against declines in PA levels amid the COVID-19 restrictions. Methods We used the Pennington Biomedical COVID-19 Health Behaviors Survey for our analyses and used mixed-effect linear and generalized linear models to estimate the effects of individual-level factors on changes in …

Functional And Phenotypic Evaluation Of Murine Cytomegalovirus Infection Of The Heart, Cassandra Marie Bonavita

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a ubiquitous pathogen which infects 50-90% of the world population and results in lifelong latent infection with periodic transient reactivations. In immunocompetent populations acute infection is generally asymptomatic but seropositivity is associated with many chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease. Despite 139 years of research into HCMV pathogenesis there is still no licensed vaccine and many gaps in the general knowledge of the virus. This includes the role of long term infection as it pertains to chronic diseases. In these studies, murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) was used as a model of HCMV pathogenesis in the heart. MCMV shares …

Microglial Implications In Sars-Cov-2 Infection And Covid-19: Lessons From Viral Rna Neurotropism And Possible Relevance To Parkinson's Disease, Ifeoluwa O. Awogbindin, Benneth Ben-Azu, Babatunde A. Olusola, Elizabeth T. Akinluyi, Philip A. Adeniyi, T. Di Paolo, Marie-Eve Tremblay

Faculty Publications

Since December 2019, humankind has been experiencing a ravaging severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak, the second coronavirus pandemic in a decade after the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) disease in 2012. Infection with SARS-CoV-2 results in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is responsible for over 3.1 million deaths worldwide. With the emergence of a second and a third wave of infection across the globe, and the rising record of multiple reinfections and relapses, SARS-CoV-2 infection shows no sign of abating. In addition, it is now evident that SARS-CoV-2 infection presents with neurological symptoms that include early …

Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19): The Value Of Chest Radiography For Patients Greater Than Age 50 Years At An Earlier Timepoint Of Symptoms Compared With Younger Patients, Mae Igi, Molly Lieux, Joe Park, Catherine Batte, Bradley Spieler

Faculty Publications

Background: A relative paucity of data exists regarding chest radiography (CXR) in diagnosis of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) compared to computed tomography. We address the use of a strict pattern of CXR findings for COVID-19 diagnosis, specifically during early onset of symptoms with respect to patient age.

Methods: We performed a retrospective study of patients under investigation for COVID-19 who presented to the emergency department during the COVID-19 outbreak of 2020 and had CXR within 1 week of symptoms. Only reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-positive patients were included. Two board-certified radiologists, blinded to RT-PCR results, assessed 60 CXRs in consensus …

Association Between Bitter Taste Receptor Phenotype And Clinical Outcomes Among Patients With Covid-19, Henry P. Barham, Mohamed A. Taha, Stephanie T. Broyles, Megan M. Stevenson, Brittany A. Zito, Christian A. Hall

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

IMPORTANCE Bitter taste receptors (T2Rs) have been implicated in sinonasal innate immunity, and genetic variation conferred by allelic variants in T2R genes is associated with variation in upper respiratory tract pathogen susceptibility, symptoms, and outcomes. Bitter taste receptor phenotype appears to be associated with the clinical course and symptom duration of SARS-CoV-2 infection. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the association between T2R phenotype and patient clinical course after infection with SARS-CoV-2. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A prospective cohort study was performed from July 1 through September 30, 2020, at a tertiary outpatient clinical practice and inpatient hospital in the United States among …

Evaluation Of Food Safety Practices At Louisiana Summer Feeding Sites And Food Safety Communication Via Social Media During Crises, Peyton E. Haynes

LSU Master's Theses

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) provided children under the age of 18 in low-income areas 145 million free meals in 2018 through summer feeding sites. Food safety issues arise for Louisiana feeding sites due to time-temperature controlled foods served, weather patterns in Louisiana, seasonal staff and short operation time, and lack of equipment. The purpose of this study was to assess food safety practices at Louisiana feeding sites through observational study with intention to compare food practices at institutional and noninstitutional sites. A rubric following USDA food safety guidelines based on categories: hot holding, …

Parasite Prevalence In Marsh Rice Rats (Oryzomys Palustris) On Sites Affected By The 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Layni Leblanc

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Synchrony Of Pathogen Events, Tivon Eugene

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Changes In Drug Susceptibility And Population Genetic Structure In Haemonchus Contortus Following Worm Replacement As A Means To Reverse The Impact Of Multiple-Anthelmintic Resistance On A Sheep Farm, Melissa M. George, Adriano F. Vatta, Sue B. Howell, Bob E. Storey, Ciaran J. Mccoy, Adrian J. Wolstenholme, Elizabeth M. Redman, John S. Gilleard, Ray M. Kaplan

Faculty Publications

A population of Haemonchus contortus that was highly resistant to benzimidazoles and avermectin/milbemycins with a subpopulation that was resistant to levamisole, was replaced with a susceptible laboratory isolate of H. contortus in a flock of sheep. The anthelmintic susceptibility and population genetics of the newly established population were evaluated for 3.5 years using in vivo, in vitro, and molecular methods. Successful replacement of the resistant population with a susceptible population was confirmed using phenotypic and genotypic measurements; larval development assay indicated full anthelmintic susceptibility; albendazole treatment yielded 98.7% fecal egg count reduction; pyrosequence genotyping of single nucleotide polymorphisms in positions …

Hybrid Modeling And Prediction Of Oyster Norovirus Outbreaks, Shima Shamkhali Chenar, Zhiqiang Deng

Faculty Publications

This paper presents a hybrid model for predicting oyster norovirus outbreaks by combining the Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) methods and using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite remote-sensing data. Specifically, 10 years (2007-2016) of cloud-free MODIS Aqua data for water leaving reflectance and environmental data were extracted from the center of each oyster harvest area. Then, the PCA was utilized to compress the size of the MODIS Aqua data. An ANN model was trained using the first 4 years of the data from 2007 to 2010 and validated using the additional 6 years of …

The Benefits And Barriers To Receiving Medication-Assisted Treatment Inside And Outside Of Prison And Its Implications For Louisiana, Jennifer Johnson

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Modeling Cumulative Risk During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Psychosocial And Socioeconomic Factors For Older Minority Adults, James F. Osborne Iv

LSU Master's Theses

Continued response to the sum consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has disparately affected the physical and mental health of older minority adults in the United States. SARS-CoV-2 created an acute epidemiological crisis of public health coinciding with a chronic pandemic of accentuated psychosocial stress. Biological and socio-economic risk of morbidity and mortality follow a demographic gradient of subjectively constructed social status that disproportionally threatens older adults and minority racial/ethnic communities. Pathways to increased socio-economic and psychosocial vulnerability are multifactorial and complex. Factors of race, socio-economic status, gender, and age, each contribute to individualized profiles of vulnerability to risk exposure.

The …

Using The Seventh Rib Length And Depth Measurements As A Method To Estimate Ancestry And Sex In Adults, Alexandria M. Amaki

LSU Master's Theses

This study tested the correlation of dimensions of the left seventh rib (L7) to ancestry and sex in adult humans. The first hypothesis, based on Bergmann’s theory, is that Black (African-American) individuals will have smaller L7 dimensions than White individuals (Americans of primarily European descent). The second hypothesis is that males, due to sexual dimorphism, will have larger ribs than females. 299 individuals from the Hamann-Todd Skeletal Collection were used in the study, approximately evenly distributed among sex and ancestry groups. Five variables were examined, including three measurements (length, width, and width point), and two calculations (area and ratio). A …