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Development And Application Of Serogroup-Independent And Serogroup-Specific Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assays For Detecting Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli, Fei Wang Jan 2011

Development And Application Of Serogroup-Independent And Serogroup-Specific Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assays For Detecting Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli, Fei Wang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), encompassing E. coli O157:H7 and non-O157 STEC, is a significant cause of foodborne illnesses and deaths in the United States and worldwide. Shiga toxins (encoded by stx) and intimin (encoded by eae) are important virulence factors for STEC strains causing infection. Although E. coli O157:H7 remains to be the single most common STEC causing disease, the clinical importance of non-O157 STEC is on the rise worldwide. And six major serogroups (O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145) accounted for over 70% of non-O157 STEC infections in the United States. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a …

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Fully Integrated Microsystem For Bacterial Genotyping, Hui-Wen Chen Jan 2011

Fully Integrated Microsystem For Bacterial Genotyping, Hui-Wen Chen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Methods for bacterial detection and identification has garnered renewed interest in recent years due to the infections they may cause and the antimicrobial resistances they can develop, the potential for bioterrorism threats and possible contamination of food/water supplies. Therefore, the rapid, specific and accurate detection of pathogens is crucial for the prevention of pathogen-related disease outbreaks and facilitating disease management as well as the containment of suspected contaminated food and/or water supplies. In this dissertation an integrated modular-based microfluidic system composed of a fluidic cartridge and a control instrument has been developed for bacterial pathogen detection. The integrated system can …

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Arbovirus Phenotype Alters Transmission Potential, Rebecca C. Christofferson Jan 2011

Arbovirus Phenotype Alters Transmission Potential, Rebecca C. Christofferson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Extrinsic and environmental factors are known to affect the transmission of arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses), including variations in the arthropod vector populations. Differences among these factors have been associated with differential transmission and are sometimes used to control the spread of an arbovirus through a vertebrate population in an effort to prevent or disrupt an outbreak. However, diversity in intrinsic viral populations, such as genetic and phenotypic variability, is not often accounted for when considering alterations in transmission. Presented in this dissertation are four experimental studies that explore the contribution of viral intrinsic factors, especially phenotypic variability, to the transmission potential …

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Crisis Management Post Hurricane Katrina: A Qualitative Study Of A Higher Education Institution's Administrators' Response To Crisis Management, Steven Lee Mccullar Jan 2011

Crisis Management Post Hurricane Katrina: A Qualitative Study Of A Higher Education Institution's Administrators' Response To Crisis Management, Steven Lee Mccullar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

From campus shootings to mass prolonged campus closures in the Gulf Coast due to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the past decade has seen an increase in high profile crises at higher education institutions. Louisiana State University was one of the institutions impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. After the experience, university administrators created an Emergency Operation Center and a new plan for how to handle campus crises. In 2008, LSU administrators had an opportunity to test their full scale plan with the landfall of Hurricane Gustav. In this study, university administrators from LSU were interviewed about their experiences …

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Demography, Paleopathology, And Health Status Of The Moche Remains In Huambacho, Peru: A Comprehensive Osteological Analysis, Emily Grace Jan 2011

Demography, Paleopathology, And Health Status Of The Moche Remains In Huambacho, Peru: A Comprehensive Osteological Analysis, Emily Grace

LSU Master's Theses

The Moche civilization, which thrived in northern Peru from AD 100-800, influenced a vast area that extended to the southernmost monumental site of Pañamarca. Huambacho, an archaeological site in the Nepeña Valley, which dates to the Early Horizon (600-200 cal BC), has yielded multiple Moche graves uncovered by the Proyecto Huambacho (2003-2004). The graves provide the first evidence of Moche presence outside of the neighboring Pañamarca monumental complex. This research entailed the osteological analysis of eleven individuals from nine Moche grave contexts at Huambacho, including the analysis of demographic features, pathology, trauma, and antemortem cultural modifications. Methodology included the visual …

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Arginine Metabolism In The Edwardsiella Ictaluri- Channel Catfish Macrophage Dynamic, Wes Arend Baumgartner Jan 2011

Arginine Metabolism In The Edwardsiella Ictaluri- Channel Catfish Macrophage Dynamic, Wes Arend Baumgartner

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Edwardsiella ictaluri encodes a urease operon and an arginine decarboxylase (AdiA) that are required for virulence in head kidney derived macrophages (HKDM). The urease produces ammonia in amounts sufficient to alter environmental pH from acid to neutral. A hypothetical model was proposed, involving arginine metabolism in E. ictaluri infected HKDM, focusing on bacterial urease, AdiA, a second arginine decarboxylase (SpeA), and agmatinase (SpeB). Using fluorescence based ratiometric pH determination of E. ictaluri in live HKDM, it was shown that E. ictaluri modulates HKDM phagosome pH to above six. Urease and AdiA mutants failed to up-regulate vacuole pH, while vacuole pH …

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Environmental Factors Impacting Coastal Beach Health, Kevin Michael Chenier Jan 2011

Environmental Factors Impacting Coastal Beach Health, Kevin Michael Chenier

LSU Master's Theses

The objectives of this research were to 1) determine the variability of fecal-indicator bacteria in Gulf of Mexico marine waters, 2) determine the effect of environmental variables on enterococci concentrations, 3) determine if beach sand at Holly Beach, LA was capable of acting as a reservoir for fecal-indicator bacteria, and 4) determine if a model could be developed to reduce the time it takes to issue a beach swim advisory. Fecal-indicator bacteria concentrations varied from year to year in historical data collected from a Gulf Coast beach. Afternoon fecal-indicator bacteria concentrations were consistently lower than morning concentrations, demonstrating daily variability. …

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Inhibitory Effects Of Berry Anthocyanins On Palmitic Acid- Or Lipopolysaccharide- Induced Inflammation In Human Preadipocytes, Chenfei Gao Jan 2011

Inhibitory Effects Of Berry Anthocyanins On Palmitic Acid- Or Lipopolysaccharide- Induced Inflammation In Human Preadipocytes, Chenfei Gao

LSU Master's Theses

Obesity is an inflammatory disease associated with the development and progression of chronic degenerative diseases including insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease (CVD), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and cancer. Circulating free fatty acid (FFA) are known risk factors promoting inflammation that can lead to CVD. Pre/adipocytes are known storage of low grade inflammatory biomarkers associated with obesity. However, the effects of dietary anthocyanins on inflammatory biomarkers in preadipocytes have not been reported. Berries are rich sources of naturally occurring antioxidant polyphenolics. There is increasing interest in the ability of berry anthocyanins to provide health benefits against obesity. Anthocyanins were isolated from …

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Use Of Condensed Tannins Supplementation And Inorganic Copper As Deworming Agents In Naturally Infected Ewes And Lambs, Moara De Santana Martins Jan 2011

Use Of Condensed Tannins Supplementation And Inorganic Copper As Deworming Agents In Naturally Infected Ewes And Lambs, Moara De Santana Martins

LSU Master's Theses

Sheep production is an important socioeconomic activity for the small producers and it can represent their primary income source. Gastrointestinal parasites have become the principal limiting factor for this industry around the world, especially because of the anthelmintic resistance phenomenon that has been increasing worldwide. The negligent use of anthelmintics has been reported as the main factor in the development of resistance. Among the parasites that infect sheep, H. contortus is considered the most harmful and also the parasite responsible for the fastest development of nematode resistance in small ruminants. Due to the economic impact this parasite may bring upon …

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Integrated Modular Microfluidic System For Forensic Alu Dna Typing, Samuel Kimani Njoroge Jan 2011

Integrated Modular Microfluidic System For Forensic Alu Dna Typing, Samuel Kimani Njoroge

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Driven by the numerous applications of genome-related research, fully integrated microfluidic systems have been developed that have advanced the capabilities of molecular and, in particular, genetic analyses. A brief overview on integrated microfluidic systems for DNA analysis is given in Chapter 1 followed by a report on micro-capillary electrophoresis (µCE) of Alu elements with laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection, in which the monomorphic Alu insertions on the X and Y chromosomes were utilized to detect male DNA in large female DNA background (Y: X = 1:19) without cell sorting prior to the determination. The polymorphic Alu loci with known restricted geographical …

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The Use Of A Neonatal Mouse Model To Study Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections, Stephania A. Cormier, Dahui You, Srinivasa Honnegowda Dec 2010

The Use Of A Neonatal Mouse Model To Study Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections, Stephania A. Cormier, Dahui You, Srinivasa Honnegowda

Faculty Publications

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is the most significant cause of viral death in infants worldwide. The significant morbidity and mortality associated with this disease underscores the urgent need for the development of an RSV vaccine. The development of an RSV vaccine has been hampered by our limited understanding of the human host immune system, which plays a significant role in RSV pathogenesis, susceptibility and vaccine efficacy. As a result, animal models have been developed to better understand the mechanisms by which RSV causes disease. Within the past few years, a revolutionary variation on these animal models has emerged - …

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Population Forecasting Model Of Nilaparvata Lugens And Sogatella Furcifera (Homoptera: Delphacidae) Based On Markov Chain Theory, Xiang Hui Yan, Huai Liu, Jin Jun Wang, Zhi Mo Zhao, Fangneng Huang, Deng Fa Cheng Dec 2010

Population Forecasting Model Of Nilaparvata Lugens And Sogatella Furcifera (Homoptera: Delphacidae) Based On Markov Chain Theory, Xiang Hui Yan, Huai Liu, Jin Jun Wang, Zhi Mo Zhao, Fangneng Huang, Deng Fa Cheng

Faculty Publications

Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) and Sogatella furcifera (Horváth) are the two most important long-distance migratory insect pests that cause great yield losses to rice in China. Accurate long-term population forecast is needed to implement effective management strategies for these two rice pests. In this paper, a transition probability matrix of 5-yr steps of Markov chain theory was constructed based on 31-yr light-trapping data of the two pests from 1977 to 2007 in Jiangkou County, Guizhou, China. The weight of each step for the transition probability matrix was calculated according to its prediction accuracy. Insect occurrence levels in the sixth year were …

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Lines And Sines Of Primate Evolution, Miriam K. Konkel, Jerilyn A. Walker, Mark A. Batzer Nov 2010

Lines And Sines Of Primate Evolution, Miriam K. Konkel, Jerilyn A. Walker, Mark A. Batzer

Faculty Publications

The primate order is a monophyletic group thought to have diverged from the Euarchonta more than 65 mya.1 Recent paleontological and molecular evolution studies place the last common ancestor of primates even earlier (≥ 85 mya).2 More than 300 extant primate species are recognized today,3, 4 clearly emphasizing their diversity and success. Our understanding of the evolution of primates and the composition of their genomes has been revolutionized within the last decade through the increasing availability and analyses of sequenced genomes. However, several aspects of primate evolution have yet to be resolved. DNA sequencing of a wider array of primate …

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The Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Ul20 Protein And The Amino Terminus Of Glycoprotein K (Gk) Physically Interact With Gb, Vladimir N. Chouljenko, Arun V. Iyer, Sona Chowdhury, Joohyun Kim, Konstantin G. Kousoulas Sep 2010

The Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Ul20 Protein And The Amino Terminus Of Glycoprotein K (Gk) Physically Interact With Gb, Vladimir N. Chouljenko, Arun V. Iyer, Sona Chowdhury, Joohyun Kim, Konstantin G. Kousoulas

Faculty Publications

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) glycoprotein K (gK) and the UL20 protein (UL20p) are strictly required for virus-induced cell fusion, and mutations within either the gK or UL20 gene cause extensive cell fusion (syncytium formation). We have shown that gK forms a functional protein complex with UL20p, which is required for all gK and UL20p-associated functions in the HSV-1 life cycle. Recently, we showed that the amino-terminal 82 amino acids (aa) of gK (gKa) were required for the expression of the syncytial phenotype of the mutant virus gBΔ28 lacking the carboxyl-terminal 28 amino acids of gB (V. N. Chouljenko, …

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Titer-Plate Formatted Continuous Flow Thermal Reactors: Design And Performance Of A Nanoliter Reactor, Pin Chuan Chen, Daniel S. Park, Byoung Hee You, Namwon Kim, Taehyun Park, Steven A. Soper, Dimitris E. Nikitopoulos, Michael C. Murphy Aug 2010

Titer-Plate Formatted Continuous Flow Thermal Reactors: Design And Performance Of A Nanoliter Reactor, Pin Chuan Chen, Daniel S. Park, Byoung Hee You, Namwon Kim, Taehyun Park, Steven A. Soper, Dimitris E. Nikitopoulos, Michael C. Murphy

Faculty Publications

Arrays of continuous flow thermal reactors were designed, configured, and fabricated in a 96-device (12 × 8) titer-plate format with overall dimensions of 120 mm × 96 mm, with each reactor confined to a 8 mm × 8 mm footprint. To demonstrate the potential, individual 20-cycle (740 nl) and 25-cycle (990 nl) reactors were used to perform the continuous flow polymerase chain reaction (CFPCR) for amplification of DNA fragments of different lengths. Since thermal isolation of the required temperature zones was essential for optimal biochemical reactions, three finite element models, executed with ANSYS (v. 11.0, Canonsburg, PA), were used to …

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Host Behaviour And Exposure Risk In An Insect-Pathogen Interaction, Benjamin J. Parker, Bret D. Elderd, Greg Dwyer Jul 2010

Host Behaviour And Exposure Risk In An Insect-Pathogen Interaction, Benjamin J. Parker, Bret D. Elderd, Greg Dwyer

Faculty Publications

1. Studies of variability in host resistance to disease generally emphasize variability in susceptibility given exposure, neglecting the possibility that hosts may vary in behaviours that affect the risk of exposure. 2. In many insects, horizontal transmission of baculoviruses occurs when larvae consume foliage contaminated by the cadavers of virus-infected conspecific larvae; so, host behaviour may have a strong effect on the risk of infection. 3. We studied variability in the behaviour of gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) larvae, which are able to detect and avoid virus-contaminated foliage. 4. Our results show that detection ability can be affected by the family …

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Interaction Of Francisella Asiatica With Tilapia (Oreochromis Niloticus) Innate Immunity, Esteban Soto, Denise Fernandez, Ronald Thune, John P. Hawke May 2010

Interaction Of Francisella Asiatica With Tilapia (Oreochromis Niloticus) Innate Immunity, Esteban Soto, Denise Fernandez, Ronald Thune, John P. Hawke

Faculty Publications

Members of the genus Francisella are facultative intracellular bacteria that cause important diseases in a wide variety of animals worldwide, including humans and fish. Several genes that are important for intramacrophage survival have been identified, including the iglC gene, which is found in the iglABCD operon in the Francisella sp. pathogenicity island (FPI). In the present study, we examined the interaction of wild-type Francisella asiatica and a ΔiglC mutant strain with fish serum and head kidney-derived macrophages (HKDM). Both the wild-type and the mutant strains were resistant to killing by normal and heat-inactivated sera. The wild-type F. asiatica is able …

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Hurricane Katrina And The Haitian Earthquake: Appeals For Social Responsibility In Governmental Emergency Management, Shawn Lin May 2010

Hurricane Katrina And The Haitian Earthquake: Appeals For Social Responsibility In Governmental Emergency Management, Shawn Lin

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

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Symbiosis In Subterranean Termites: A Review Of Insights From Molecular Studies, Claudia Husseneder Apr 2010

Symbiosis In Subterranean Termites: A Review Of Insights From Molecular Studies, Claudia Husseneder

Faculty Publications

The symbiotic relationship of termites and their eukaryotic and prokaryotic gut microbiota is a focal point of research because of the important roles symbionts play in termite nutrition. The use of molecular methods has recently provided valuable insights into the species diversity and the roles of microorganisms in the guts of termites. This paper provides a review of the current knowledge of symbiont species inventories, genome analysis, and gene expression in the guts of subterranean termites. Particular emphasis is given to the termite genera Reticulitermes and Coptotermes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), because they contain pest species of global impact in their native …

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Impaired Antiviral Activity Of Interferon Alpha Against Hepatitis C Virus 2a In Huh-7 Cells With A Defective Jak-Stat Pathway, Sidhartha Hazari, Partha K. Chandra, Bret Poat, Sibnarayan Datta, Robert F. Garry, Timothy P. Foster, Gus Kousoulas, Takaji Wakita, Srikanta Dash Mar 2010

Impaired Antiviral Activity Of Interferon Alpha Against Hepatitis C Virus 2a In Huh-7 Cells With A Defective Jak-Stat Pathway, Sidhartha Hazari, Partha K. Chandra, Bret Poat, Sibnarayan Datta, Robert F. Garry, Timothy P. Foster, Gus Kousoulas, Takaji Wakita, Srikanta Dash

Faculty Publications

Background. The sustained virological response to interferon-alpha (IFN-) in individuals infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 is only 50%, but is about 80% in patients infected with genotype 2-6 viruses. The molecular mechanisms explaining the differences in IFN- responsiveness between HCV 1 and other genotypes have not been elucidated. Results. Virus and host cellular factors contributing to IFN responsiveness were analyzed using a green fluorescence protein (GFP) based replication system of HCV 2a and Huh-7 cell clones that either possesses or lack a functional Jak-Stat pathway. The GFP gene was inserted into the C-terminal non-structural protein 5A of …

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Six Rna Viruses And Forty-One Hosts: Viral Small Rnas And Modulation Of Small Rna Repertoires In Vertebrate And Invertebrate Systems, Poornima Parameswaran, Ella Sklan, Courtney Wilkins, Trever Burgon, Melanie A. Samuel, Rui Lu, K. Mark Ansel, Vigo Heissmeyer, Shirit Einav, William Jackson, Tammy Doukas, Suman Paranjape, Charlotta Polacek, Flavia Barreto Dos Santos, Roxana Jalili, Farbod Babrzadeh, Baback Gharizadeh, Dirk Grimm, Mark Kay, Satoshi Koike, Peter Sarnow, Mostafa Ronaghi, Shou Wei Ding, Eva Harris, Marie Chow, Michael S. Diamond, Karla Kirkegaard, Jeffrey S. Glenn, Andrew Z. Fire Feb 2010

Six Rna Viruses And Forty-One Hosts: Viral Small Rnas And Modulation Of Small Rna Repertoires In Vertebrate And Invertebrate Systems, Poornima Parameswaran, Ella Sklan, Courtney Wilkins, Trever Burgon, Melanie A. Samuel, Rui Lu, K. Mark Ansel, Vigo Heissmeyer, Shirit Einav, William Jackson, Tammy Doukas, Suman Paranjape, Charlotta Polacek, Flavia Barreto Dos Santos, Roxana Jalili, Farbod Babrzadeh, Baback Gharizadeh, Dirk Grimm, Mark Kay, Satoshi Koike, Peter Sarnow, Mostafa Ronaghi, Shou Wei Ding, Eva Harris, Marie Chow, Michael S. Diamond, Karla Kirkegaard, Jeffrey S. Glenn, Andrew Z. Fire

Faculty Publications

We have used multiplexed high-throughput sequencing to characterize changes in small RNA populations that occur during viral infection in animal cells. Small RNA-based mechanisms such as RNA interference (RNAi) have been shown in plant and invertebrate systems to play a key role in host responses to viral infection. Although homologs of the key RNAi effector pathways are present in mammalian cells, and can launch an RNAi-mediated degradation of experimentally targeted mRNAs, any role for such responses in mammalian host-virus interactions remains to be characterized. Six different viruses were examined in 41 experimentally susceptible and resistant host systems. We identified virus-derived …

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Brucella Species Survey In Polar Bears (Ursus Maritimus) Of Northern Alaska, Todd M. O'Hara, Darce Holcomb, Philip Elzer, Jessica Estepp, Quinesha Perry, Sue Hagius, Cassandra Kirk Jan 2010

Brucella Species Survey In Polar Bears (Ursus Maritimus) Of Northern Alaska, Todd M. O'Hara, Darce Holcomb, Philip Elzer, Jessica Estepp, Quinesha Perry, Sue Hagius, Cassandra Kirk

Faculty Publications

We report on the presence of specific antibodies to Brucella spp. and Yersinia enterocolitica in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from northern Alaska (southern Beaufort Sea) during 2003-2006. Based on numerous known stressors (e.g., climate change and loss of sea ice habitat, contaminants), there is increased concern regarding the status of polar bears. Considering these changes, it is important to assess exposure to potentially pathogenic organisms and to improve understanding of transmission pathways. Brucella or specific antibodies to Brucella spp. has been reported in marine mammals. Various assays were used to elucidate the pathway or source of exposure (e.g., "marine" vs. …

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Comparative Studies Of Innate Host Defense Mechanisms Against Virulent And Avirulent Species Of Microsporidia, Amber Lynn Mathews Jan 2010

Comparative Studies Of Innate Host Defense Mechanisms Against Virulent And Avirulent Species Of Microsporidia, Amber Lynn Mathews

LSU Master's Theses

Microsporidia are ubiquitous, obligate intracellular eukaryotes that cause chronic diarrhea and disseminated diseases in humans, especially in immunocompromised individuals. Macrophages, cellular components of the innate immune system, are believed to be the source of dissemination of this pathogen throughout the body. Little is known about the innate immune response to microsporidia. Macrophages are a source of interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-23 and play an essential role in the link between innate and adaptive immunity. The focus of this thesis is the investigation of the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling mechanisms and IL-12 and IL-23 production regulated by Toll-like receptor (TLR) …

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Association Of Esterases In Resistance To Naled And Resmethrin In The Southern House Mosquito, Culex Quinquefasciatus, Jennifer R. Gordon Jan 2010

Association Of Esterases In Resistance To Naled And Resmethrin In The Southern House Mosquito, Culex Quinquefasciatus, Jennifer R. Gordon

LSU Master's Theses

The vector-competency and its affinity for humans make C. quinquefasciatus an important target of mosquito abatement programs. Whenever such control programs are implemented, protocols to monitor frequencies and mechanisms of resistance to the insecticides used are necessary to optimize the efficacy of the management strategy and to slow development of resistance to the insecticides used. In the current study, susceptibilities to the two adulticides used by EBRMARC (naled and resmethrin) were monitored using field-collected mosquitoes and a topical and contact bioassay, respectively. My hypothesis was that esterase-mediated enhanced metabolism conferred resistance to both insecticides in populations of C. quinquefasciatus from …

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A Study Of Passalid Beetle Prokaryote And Yeast Gut Symbionts, Stephanie Rachelle Gross Jan 2010

A Study Of Passalid Beetle Prokaryote And Yeast Gut Symbionts, Stephanie Rachelle Gross

LSU Master's Theses

Scheffersomyces stipitis (=Pichia stipitis) is a xylose-fermenting and assimilating yeast (Ascomycota: Saccharomycotina) consistently isolated from the gut of Odontotaenius disjunctus (Coleoptera: Passalidae). This filamentous yeast is often attached to the wall of the posterior hindgut of the beetle by a holdfast. Gallery walls of white-rotted wood inhabited by the beetle are lined with macerated wood and frass that includes the yeast and other microbes. Previous studies have mentioned the relationship between the passalid and this yeast; however, passalid beetles also harbor a community of prokaryotes in their guts that have not been characterized. Experiments using culturing and cloning techniques and …

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Demography, Health Status, And Mortuary Rituals Of The Late Woodland Poole-Rose Ossuary, Ontario, Canada: A Study Of The Clavicles, Nicole Elizabeth Smith Jan 2010

Demography, Health Status, And Mortuary Rituals Of The Late Woodland Poole-Rose Ossuary, Ontario, Canada: A Study Of The Clavicles, Nicole Elizabeth Smith

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis is an analysis of the clavicles from a pre-contact (1550 A.D. ±50 years) native ossuary burial from Ontario, Canada. The Poole-Rose ossuary clavicles were analyzed for demography, pathological processes, trauma, and cultural modifications. Demographic markers on the clavicles are derived from the minimum number of individuals (MNI) estimation, medial epiphyseal age, and sex. Pathological processes are indicated by the presence of degenerative joint disease (DJD), periosteal reactions, and lytic lesions. Trauma includes healed fractures and cuts from defleshing of the clavicles. The presence of pre-burial cut marks is an indication of cultural modifications that were likely part of …

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Point-Of-Care Immunoassay System Using Carbon Nanotube Labels, Adeyabeba Abera Jan 2010

Point-Of-Care Immunoassay System Using Carbon Nanotube Labels, Adeyabeba Abera

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this research was to develop enhanced signal detection mechanisms for immunosensing using carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The utilization of CNT labels for direct electrical measurement was implemented on lateral flow system and microfluidic integrated interdigitated array microelectrodes. These sensing mechanisms in simple and miniaturized system provided higher sensitivity and autonomous flow control for rapid detection aimed at point-of-care diagnostics. Specific functionalization protocols were carried out to chemically modify the surface of the CNTs for uniform dispersion and antibody conjugation in aqueous solution. Surfactant assisted dispersion of the CNTs was studied using PVP and PEG. Covalent conjugation of antibodies …

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Antimicrobial Susceptibility, Genotypic Characterization, And Molecular Detection Of Vibrio Parahaemolyticus And Vibrio Vulnificus From Louisiana Oysters, Feifei Han Jan 2010

Antimicrobial Susceptibility, Genotypic Characterization, And Molecular Detection Of Vibrio Parahaemolyticus And Vibrio Vulnificus From Louisiana Oysters, Feifei Han

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Members of the genus Vibrio are Gram-negative, halophilic bacteria that inhabit warm coastal and estuarine waters worldwide. Among pathogenic vibrios, Vibrio parahaemolyticus is the leading cause of seafood-related illnesses and Vibrio vulnificus causes the highest number of seafood-related deaths in the United States. Moreover, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the incidence of infections of the two vibrios due to the consumption of oysters has shown a sustained increase since 2001, indicating further measures are needed to prevent human Vibrio illness. In this dissertation research, a total of 622 Vibrio isolates, consisting of 252 V. parahaemolyticus …

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Ospc In The Pathogenesis Of Borrelia Burgdorferi, Sunita V. Seemanapalli Jan 2010

Ospc In The Pathogenesis Of Borrelia Burgdorferi, Sunita V. Seemanapalli

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Lyme disease is a multisystem disorder caused by the tick vector Borrelia burgdorferi. During its life cycle between the tick vector and the mammalian host, Borrelia up- and down-regulates the expression of its surface lipoproteins. Of its many surface lipoproteins, the Outer surface protein C (OspC) is crucial for initial mammalian infection. OspC has a common role shared with other lipoproteins of protection against host innate defences and a unique function in facilitating the dissemination of B. burgdorferi in the murine host. The structure of OspC was solved in 2001 and the lipoprotein was found to be predominantly alpha-helical with …

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The Role Of Bone Marrow In Siv Pathogenesis Using The Rhesus Macaque Model, Amy F. Gill Jan 2010

The Role Of Bone Marrow In Siv Pathogenesis Using The Rhesus Macaque Model, Amy F. Gill

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

CD4+ memory T cells are depleted in mucosal tissues post human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection without restoration to pre-infection levels during progressive course of disease. Bone marrow (BM) as a hematopoietic organ has been investigated for hematologic and morphologic changes during HIV infection. However, BM as a primary lymphoid tissue during HIV infection has been poorly characterized. We proposed BM was also a site of CD4+ T cell depletion driven by increased apoptosis during progressive HIV disease. We chose to investigate bone marrow changes using the premier non-human primate Rhesus macaque SIV model for the …

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