Digital Commons Network^™

Managing The Risks And Rewards Of Death In Eusocial Insects, Qian Sun, Kenneth F. Haynes, Xuguo Zhou

Faculty Publications

Eusocial insects frequently face death of colony members as a consequence of living in large groups where the success of the colony is not dependent on the fate of the individual. Whereas death of conspecifics commonly triggers aversion in many group-living species due to risk of pathogens, eusocial insects perform cooperative corpse management. The causes and social context of the death, as well as feeding and nesting ecology of the species, influence the way that corpses are treated. The corpse itself releases cues that dictate the colony's response. As a result, social insects exhibit behavioural responses that promote disease resistance, …

New Mouse Model Of Pulmonary Hypertension Induced By Respiratory Syncytial Virus Bronchiolitis, Dai Kimura, Jordy Saravia, Sridhar Jaligama, Isabella Mcnamara, Luan D. Vu, Ryan D. Sullivan, Salvatore Mancarella, Dahui You, Stephania A. Cormier

Faculty Publications

© 2018 American Physiological Society. All rights reserved. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) has been observed in up to 75% of infants with moderate to severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality in infants with congenital heart disease. The purpose of the present study was to establish a mouse model of PH secondary to RSV bronchiolitis that mimics the disease etiology as it occurs in infants. Neonatal mice were infected with RSV at 5 days of age and then reinfected 4 wk later. Serum-free medium was administered to age-matched mice as a control. Echocardiography and …

The Effects Of Juvenile Exposure To Sub-Lethal Concentrations Of Pesticides On The Adult Reproductive Biology Of The Male Southern House Mosquitoe, Culex Quinquefasciatus, Shiloh Dean Judd

LSU Master's Theses

Mosquitoes transmit pathogens capable of causing significant diseases, the worst of which can permanently disfigure or kill. Mosquito control efforts can be strengthened by better understanding all aspects of mosquito biology, but there is deficient information regarding sperm production in male mosquitoes. Understanding the sperm production and capacity of vector species may reveal new control strategies.

The goal of this research was to determine if larval exposure to sub-lethal concentrations, defined as killing less than half of the sample population, of pesticides negatively impacts the adult male reproductive health of the southern house mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus Say. This study quantified …

Skin Glands Of An Aquatic Salamander Vary In Size And Distribution And Release Antimicrobial Secretions Effective Against Chytrid Fungal Pathogens, Kenzie E. Pereira, Brian I. Crother, David M. Sever, Clifford L. Fontenot, John A. Pojman, Damien B. Wilburn, Sarah K. Woodley

Faculty Publications

© 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd. Amphibian skin is unique among vertebrate classes, containing a large number of multicellular exocrine glands that vary among species and have diverse functions. The secretions of skin glands contain a rich array of bioactive compounds including antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Such compounds are important for amphibian innate immune responses and may protect some species from chytridiomycosis, a lethal skin disease caused by the fungal pathogens Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal). While the bioactivity of skin secretions against Bd has been assessed for many amphibian taxa, similar studies are lacking for …

Future Research Directions In Pneumonia, Charles S. Dela Cruz, Richard G. Wunderink, David C. Christiani, Stephania A. Cormier, Kristina Crothers, Claire M. Doerschuk, Scott E. Evans, Daniel R. Goldstein, Purvesh Khatri, Lester Kobzik, Jay K. Kolls, Bruce D. Levy, Mark L. Metersky, Michael S. Niederman, Roomi Nusrat, Carlos J. Orihuela, Paula Peyrani, Alice S. Prince, Julio A. Ramírez, Karen M. Ridge, Sanjay Sethi, Benjamin T. Suratt, Jacob I. Sznajder, Ephraim L. Tsalik, Allan J. Walkey, Sachin Yende, Neil R. Aggarwal, Elisabet V. Caler, Joseph P. Mizgerd

Faculty Publications

Copyright © 2018 by the American Thoracic Society. Pneumonia is a complex pulmonary disease in need of new clinical approaches. Although triggered by a pathogen, pneumonia often results from dysregulations of host defense that likely precede infection. The coordinated activities of immune resistance and tissue resilience then dictate whether and how pneumonia progresses or resolves. Inadequate or inappropriate host responses lead to more severe outcomes such as acute respiratory distress syndrome and to organ dysfunction beyond the lungs and over extended time frames after pathogen clearance, some of which increase the risk for subsequent pneumonia. Improved understanding of such host …

Perils Of The Fungal Kingdom: Mycotoxins In Food And Feed, Adrianna Isobel Pribil

LSU Master's Theses

Humans and fungi have a complex relationship, especially in regards to the many fungal secondary metabolites that can be produced. When secondary metabolites are toxic to animals and humans they are defined as mycotoxins. Fungi can grow on crops pre-harvest and post-harvest, and have the potential to produce mycotoxins which occur regularly in animal feed and food for human consumption. In high doses, mycotoxins cause variety of problems that result in economic losses and extreme health issues. However, multiple mycotoxins will co-occur in nature and commonly occur in low doses. Thus chronic low daily doses of multiple mycotoxins overtime may …

Evaluation Of Oncolytic And Immunomodulatory Potential Of The Hsv-1 Live-Attenuated Vaccine Strain Vc2 In An Immunocompetent Murine Melanoma Model, Natalie Wall Fowlkes

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Melanoma accounts for 90% of skin cancer-related deaths in humans. Treatment options for metastatic melanoma in people is very limited. Melanoma is considered to be an immunogenic tumor, spurring interest in development of immunotherapies for the treatment of metastatic melanoma. Oncolytic virotherapy has been widely investigated. The first ever oncolytic virotherapy to receive FDA-approval is an HSV-1-based virus (Talimogene Laherperavec (T-Vec) or Imlygic) containing a transgene for human GM-CSF to enhance anti-tumor immune responses after injection. Durable response rate in human patients was only 16% despite impressive efficacy in anti-tumor effects in vitro and in murine tumor models. Novel viruses …

Estimating Epidemiological Parameters Of A Stochastic Differential Model Of Hiv Dynamics Using Hierarchical Bayesian Statistics, Renee Dale, Bei Bei Guo

Faculty Publications

Current estimates of the HIV epidemic indicate a decrease in the incidence of the disease in the undiagnosed subpopulation over the past 10 years. However, a lack of access to care has not been considered when modeling the population. Populations at high risk for contracting HIV are twice as likely to lack access to reliable medical care. In this paper, we consider three contributors to the HIV population dynamics: at-risk population exhaustion, lack of access to care, and usage of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) by diagnosed individuals. An extant problem in the mathematical study of this system is deriving parameter estimates …

Self-Regulation Of Emotional Responses To Zika: Spiral Of Fear, James Price Dillard, Chun Yang, Ruobing Li

Faculty Publications

Fear of infectious disease can create a variety of problems not the least of which is fear itself. An important question is how individuals attempt to manage their fear. The appearance of Zika in the U.S. presented an opportunity to examine this issue in a consequential natural context. Beginning nine days after the W.H.O. declared Zika a world health crisis, two-waves of survey data were collected from women ages 18–35 who were living in the Southern U.S. (N = 561). Most respondents (71%) used one or more emotion regulation strategies and a plurality (41%) utilized multiple strategies. Fear of Zika …

Endocannabinoid Metabolome Of Human Breast Milk, Adriana V. Gaitan Espinoza

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Human breast milk (HBM) is an extremely complex yet fascinating biofluid tailored to meet an infant’s nutritional requirements for development. Amongst the nutrients present in HBM, the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) are of high importance due to the pivotal role they play in infant cognitive and visual development, and growth. In addition, the LCPUFAs are precursors to endocannabinoids (EC) which are endogenous lipid mediators. EC exert metabolic responses including appetite and food intake regulation, and they have been identified to play a role in establishing the suckling response of the newborn that is needed to nurse. Thus, we aimed …

Purifying Selection In The Toll-Like Receptors Of Song Sparrows Melospiza Melodia, Martha J. Nelson-Flower, Ryan R. Germain, Elizabeth A. Macdougall-Shackleton, Sabrina S. Taylor, Peter Arcese

Faculty Publications

Variation in immune gene sequences is known to influence resistance to infectious diseases and parasites, and hence survival and mate choice, across animal taxa. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) comprise one essential gene family in the vertebrate innate immune system and recognize evolutionarily conserved structures from all major microorganism classes. However, the causes and consequences of TLR variation in passerine birds remain largely unexplored. We examined 7 TLR genes in song sparrows (Melospiza melodia), a species that is studied across North America. We then examined sequences from 4 unduplicated TLRs (TLR1LB, TLR3, TLR4, and TLR15) from birds in 2 parts of the …

Visualization And Quantification Of Cancer-Associated Enzymes With Fluorescent Small-Molecule Substrate Probes, Zhenhua Shen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Fluorescence imaging can be used both as a tool to diagnose diseases and guide treatment in clinical settings, and as a technique to monitor dynamic events or biological species in basic research. Therefore, there is a great need for the development of a multitude of fluorescent probes that can be incorporated with fluorescence imaging techniques to track and report endogenous enzymes with high specificity and selectivity. In contrast to always-on and targeted always-on fluorescent probes that continually emit light, activity-based substrate probes either emit low numbers of photons or are completely quenched. They can be converted to highly fluorescent reporters …

Evaluation Of Microbial Safety And Quality Of Louisiana Strawberries After Flooding, Shifa Shiraz

LSU Master's Theses

Rainfall and flooding have impacted the strawberry industry in Louisiana. Floodwater is an ideal medium for microbiological growth and may cause contamination of soil, agricultural water, and fresh produce with foodborne pathogens. This research aimed to evaluate the microbial safety and quality of strawberries after flooding. Three strains of generic Escherichia coli were used to establish a baseline population of approximately 10⁶ CFU/L (high contamination) and 10² CFU/L (low contamination) in floodwater. Five raised beds were filled with water to simulate a flooding event. Simulated floodwater was mixed with cow manure and spiked with generic E. coli then …

Role Of Neutrophils In The Modulation Of Host Responses To Human Respiratory Pneumovirus Infection, Nagarjuna Reddy Cheemarla

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Neutrophils are the most abundant leukocytes (50% to 70%) in humans and are the first immune cell population recruited to the sites of infection. They are known to act as the first line of innate immune defense against invading pathogens, and more recently, to playing a crucial role in orchestrating adaptive immune responses. The role of neutrophils in the respiratory viral infections till date remains unclear and controversial. Previous studies demonstrated both beneficial as well as pathogenic role for neutrophils in respiratory viral infections, especially influenza.

Previous findings reported an early and high influx of neutrophils into the airways early …

4,7-Diaminoisoindoline-1,3-Dione, Krishna Kumar Gnanasekaran, Mario Rivera, Richard A. Bunce

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Paclitaxel Enhances Oncolytic Potential Of Herpes Simplex Virus Type-1 In Cancer Cells, Misagh Naderi

LSU Master's Theses

Taxanes are spindle poisons that bind to and stabilize microtubules resulting in mitotic arrest. Herpes simplex Typ-1 (HSV-1) virions utilize the microtubular network for intracellular transport during both virus entry and virus egress from infected cells. It has been reported previously that taxanes may synergize with oncolytic herpes simplex viruses in the treatment of experimental prostate and breast tumors in mice. Other reports have indicated that taxanes may inhibit viral replication in infected cells. In this study the previously characterized Oncolytic Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 (OSVP), which was constructed in Kousoulas lab was used in conjugation with paclitaxel (taxol) …

Nutrition Misconceptions And Awareness Among College Students In A University Community, Shervia Singleton Taylor

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Identification of misconceptions of macronutrients (carbohydrate, protein, and fat ) and awareness of ailments linked to micronutrients (potassium, fiber, Vitamin D. and food label use) based on certain demographics are vital to improving and developing long term health benefits, increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables, and decreasing healthcare cost associated with poor dietary lifestyles among non-major general biology college students at a historically black college and university located in the southern part of the United States. Misconception Identification (all groups) was determined using the pretest and posttest Nutrition Knowledge Test via Qualtrics that included two and three tiered question format …

Characterization Of The Interaction Between R. Conorii And Human Host Vitronectin In Rickettsial Pathogenesis, Abigail Inez Fish

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia are inoculated into the mammalian host during hematophagous arthropod feeding. Once in the bloodstream and during dissemination, the survival of these pathogens is dependent upon their ability to evade innate host defenses until a proper cellular target is reached. The establishment of a successful infection also relies on the ability of the bacteria to attach and invade target cells, as failure to do so results in destruction of the bacterium. Rickettsia conorii expresses an outer membrane protein, Adr1, which binds the multifunctional human glycoprotein, vitronectin, to promote resistance to complement mediated killing. Homologs of Adr1 are …

Phylogenetic Similarities Among Bacteria Isolated From Songbirds, Rachel Croy

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Infection Kinetics Of Rickettsia Asemboensis And Interaction With Rickettsia Felis Within The Cat Flea (Ctenocephalides Felis), Sabrina Magdalena Camille Valdes

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Young Alu Elements In The Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri) Lineage For Use As Species-Indicative Molecular Markers, Michael W. Denham

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Role Of Mucin 19 In The Respiratory Tract, Kaitlin Mcbride

LSU Master's Theses

Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a negative sense, single stranded RNA virus belonging to the Pneumoviridae family, and represents an important pathogen that causes severe respiratory disease worldwide. There is currently no vaccine against HMPV, so it is important to study the aspects of the immune response induced by HMPV. Because infiltration of mucus is a hallmark of HMPV infection, it is warranted to study the role of mucus in the disease process. Mucin proteins make up the major component of mucus and can be found within the airway and lungs. Previous work from our laboratory demonstrated a high upregulation of …

Characteristics Associated With Improvements In Health Among Community Mental Health Clients With Thought Disorders Receiving Co-Located Primary Care Services, Mary Elizabeth Heintz

LSU Master's Theses

Individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) are disproportionately impacted by preventable physical health conditions, which put them at risk for premature mortality. Integrated primary and behavioral health care (PBHC) programs have demonstrated promise in treating comorbid physical and mental health conditions, common to individuals diagnosed with SMI. The current study focused on individuals with thought disorders (i.e., schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and brief psychotic disorder), as those diagnosed are more likely to be retained in care. Treatment retention is especially important, as adherence slows down the progression of psychiatric symptoms and physical health diseases. Extant research has focused on evaluation of …

Characterizing The Physiological Role Of Inward Rectifier Potassium (Kir) Channels In Tick Salivary Gland Function, Zhilin Li

LSU Master's Theses

The tick salivary gland is a critical tissue that enables blood feeding, maintenance of the ionic gradients, and facilitates pathogen transmission. Therefore, the broad objective of this investigation was to leverage pharmacological approaches to investigate the role of potassium ion channels to salivary gland function of Amblyomma americanum in an effort to identify a tractable target site for therapeutic development.

Data collected in Chapter 2 clearly illustrated that the A. americanum salivary gland is reliant upon inward rectifier potassium (Kir) channels for fluid secretion, which was similar to previous work performed by our laboratory on Drosophila salivary gland. Therefore, the …

Transmission Potential Of Rickettsia Felis Through Cutaneous Inoculation Of Infectious Flea Feces, Kelsey Porter Legendre

LSU Master's Theses

Rickettsia felis, the causative agent of flea-borne spotted fever, is an emerging pathogen of the transitional group Rickettsiae and an important cause of febrile illness in Africa. Since the organism’s original discovery in the early 1990s, much research has been directed towards elucidating transmission mechanisms within the believed primary host and reservoir, the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis). However, while a growing number of human cases are being reported throughout the world, a definitive transmission mechanism from arthropod host to vertebrate host resulting in clinical disease has not been found. Several possible mechanisms, including bite of infected arthropods …

Synthesis, Characterization, And Assessment Of Cationic Polypeptoids Toward Gene Delivery And Development Of Air Stable N-Substituted N-Thiocarboxyanhydrides, Jessica Michelle Simpson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Peptoids are a class of peptidomimetic polymers, which have attracted much attention over the years. Due to their structural similarity to peptides, this group of polymers affords good biocompatibility making them of interest for biomedical applications. This dissertation is largely about the design, synthesis, and characterization of cationic polypeptoids for biological applications, particularly nonviral gene delivery. The dissertation will also cover the development, characterization, and polymerization behavior of a new, air stable N-thiocarboxyanhydride (NTA) monomer.

Introducing functionality, such as small biomolecules and organic compounds can provide distinctive properties to the polymers. Chapter 1 introduces gene therapy and concepts pertinent …

Evolution Of Alu Elements In The Saimiri And Papio Lineages Of Primates, Jasmine Nicole Brown Baker

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Alu elements are approximately 300 base pair (bp) primate specific non- autonomous retrotransposons. Alu elements, a short interspersed element (SINE), account for high copy numbers in all primate genomes. Numerous Alu element subfamilies have undergone varying degrees of activity and amplification within primates. Identification of these subfamilies has proved to be very informative in elucidating phylogenies and as phylogenomic markers. Squirrel monkeys, genus Saimiri, are one of the most well-known neotropical primates and the second most commonly used laboratory monkey. Squirrel monkey species diverged approximately 1.5 million years ago and are native to South America. Despite being well-known, there …

Ethnicity, Climate, And House Types As Mortality Factors In The New Orleans' 1878 Yellow Fever Outbreak, Gabriele Richardson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The following study is first a demonstration that even incomplete health data from 1878 New Orleans’ yellow fever outbreak can be used with modern epidemiological methods and achieve useful and revealing results. Accordingly, this research examines three possible associations between New Orleans’ population exposed to yellow fever and the environment they lived in, using 4,755 yellow fever cases, derived from the New Orleans Board of Health report, Cemetery Burial records, Hospital, Asylum, and prison registers, and New Orleans obituaries. The first relationship addresses the vulnerability to yellow fever for people born in Italy, France, Great Britain, and the German Empire, …

5-Lipoxygenase (5-Lox)-5-Lipoxygenase Activating Protein (Flap)-Nanodisc Complex: A Model For The 5-Lox-Flap Interaction, Erin Elizabeth Schexnaydre

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Leukotrienes (LT) are lipid mediators of the inflammatory response that play important roles in diseases such as asthma and atherosclerosis. Leukotriene A4 (LTA₄) is synthesized from arachidonic acid (AA) by 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) with the help of 5-lipoxygenase activating protein (FLAP), a trimeric nuclear transmembrane protein. Exactly how 5-LOX and FLAP interact is not well understood, however FLAP is essential for the production of leukotrienes in vivo. I used nanodiscs (NDs), engineered membrane systems, as a tool to study the 5-LOX-FLAP interaction. FLAP was incorporated into NDs with a phospholipid composition to mimic of the nuclear membrane. Structural features …

Characterizing The Phylogenetic Specialism-Generalism Spectrum Of Mammal Parasites, A. W. Park, M. J. Farrell, J. P. Schmidt, S. Huang, T. A. Dallas, P. Pappalardo, J. M. Drake, P. R. Stephens, R. Poulin, C. L. Nunn, T. J. Davies

Faculty Publications

© 2018 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved. The distribution of parasites across mammalian hosts is complex and represents a differential ability or opportunity to infect different host species. Here, we take a macroecological approach to investigate factors influencing why some parasites show a tendency to infect species widely distributed in the host phylogeny (phylogenetic generalism) while others infect only closely related hosts. Using a database on over 1400 parasite species that have been documented to infect up to 69 terrestrialmammal host species,we characterize the phylogenetic generalism of parasites using standard effect sizes for three metrics: …