Digital Commons Network^™

An Extract Of Artemisia Dracunculus L. Inhibits Ubiquitin-Proteasome Activity And Preserves Skeletal Muscle Mass In A Murine Model Of Diabetes, Heather Kirk-Ballard, Zhong Q. Wang, Priyanka Acharya, Xian H. Zhang, Yongmei Yu, Gail Kilroy, David Ribnicky, William T. Cefalu, Z. Elizabeth Floyd

Faculty Publications

Impaired insulin signaling is a key feature of type 2 diabetes and is associated with increased ubiquitin-proteasome-dependent protein degradation in skeletal muscle. An extract of Artemisia dracunculus L. (termed PMI5011) improves insulin action by increasing insulin signaling in skeletal muscle. We sought to determine if the effect of PMI5011 on insulin signaling extends to regulation of the ubiquitin-proteasome system. C2C12 myotubes and the KK-Ay murine model of type 2 diabetes were used to evaluate the effect of PMI5011 on steady-state levels of ubiquitylation, proteasome activity and expression of Atrogin-1 and MuRF-1, muscle-specific ubiquitin ligases that are upregulated with impaired insulin …

Faculty Senate Newsletter, February 2013, Louisiana State University And Agricultural & Mechanical College

LSU Faculty Senate Publications

Message from President: Years ago, American Airlines backgrounded its television advertisements with a hauntingly optimistic jingle featuring one phrase, “something special in the air.” Tone, whether musical or inflectional or atmospheric, is indeed something airy— something halfway between the inferred and the empirical. One of the wonders if not miracles of recent educational policy is the sudden change in tone among the campuses of the University of Louisiana System since the arrival of new, imaginative, and energetic leadership in the “UoL” System office. Nothing has changed in the budget picture and therefore not too much has happened empirically. Nevertheless, and …

Serum Γ-Glutamyltransferase And The Risk Of Heart Failure In Men And Women In Finland, Yujie Wang, Jaakko Tuomilehto, Pekka Jousilahti, Veikko Salomaa, Bin Li, Riitta Antikainen, Markku Mähönen, Peter T. Katzmarzyk, Gang Hu

Faculty Publications

Objectives: To evaluate the association of serum γ- glutamyltransferase (GGT) levels with heart failure (HF) risk in the Finnish population. Design: Prospective population-based cohort study. Setting: The present study, which is a part of FINRISK study, was carried out in Finland. Subject study cohorts included 18 353 Finnish men and 19 726 women who were 25-74 years of age and free of HF at baseline. Main outcome measures HF (636 men and 445 women) during a mean follow-up of 14.5 years. Results: Baseline measurement of different levels of serum GGT was used to predict incident HF. The multivariable-adjusted (age, sex, …

High-Throughput Two-Dimensional Root System Phenotyping Platform Facilitates Genetic Analysis Of Root Growth And Development, Randy T. Clark, Adam N. Famoso, Keyan Zhao, Jon E. Shaff, Eric J. Craft, Carlos D. Bustamante, Susan R. Mccouch, Daniel J. Aneshansley, Leon V. Kochian

Faculty Publications

High-throughput phenotyping of root systems requires a combination of specialized techniques and adaptable plant growth, root imaging and software tools. A custom phenotyping platform was designed to capture images of whole root systems, and novel software tools were developed to process and analyse these images. The platform and its components are adaptable to a wide range root phenotyping studies using diverse growth systems (hydroponics, paper pouches, gel and soil) involving several plant species, including, but not limited to, rice, maize, sorghum, tomato and Arabidopsis. The RootReader2D software tool is free and publicly available and was designed with both user-guided and …

The Intestinal Microbiota In Aged Mice Is Modulated By Dietary Resistant Starch And Correlated With Improvements In Host Responses, Sybille Tachon, June Zhou, Michael Keenan, Roy Martin, Maria L. Marco

Faculty Publications

Dietary interventions might prevent or reverse age-related declines in health through modification of the activity and composition of the intestinal microbiota. As a first step toward more comprehensive evaluations of single dietary components on healthy aging, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing was applied to determine the structure of the bacterial communities in the ceca of 20-month-old healthy mice fed energy-controlled diets containing 0, 18, or 36% type 2 resistant starch (RS) from high-amylose maize (HAM-RS2). The cecal microbiota of mice fed a diet depleted in RS and containing the readily digestible carbohydrate amylopectin were dominated by bacteria in the Firmicutes …

Nitrogen And Phosphorus Phytoplankton Growth Limitation In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, R. Eugene Turner, N N. Rabalais

Faculty Publications

We conducted 158 bioassays to determine phytoplankton growth limitation in the northern Gulf of Mexico and made the following observations. Light limitation occurred where salinity was < 20; at higher salinities, phytoplankton biomass yield became mostly limited by N or by a co-limitation of N plus P (NP). The number of N-limited bioassays was 5 times greater than the P-limited bioassays. NP synergism occurred where salinity was > 20, and represented 59% of all samples that were not light-limited. The interaction of N and P co-limitation was frequently synergistically additive, i.e. the combined effects of N and P limitation together created a greater response than the sum of either separately. The dissolved inorganic nitrogen: phosphate ratio (DIN:Pi) and various concentrations of DIN and Pi did not offer reliable chemical boundaries describing likely areas of exclusive N or P limitation in these bioassays. …

Unique Pattern Of Molt Leads To Low Intraindividual Variation In Feather Mercury Concentrations In Penguins, R.L. Brasso, B.E. Drummond, S.R. Borrett, A. Chiaradia, M.J. Polito, A.R. Rey

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Physiological Effects Of Tourism And Associated Food Provisioning In An Endangered Iguana, Charles R. Knapp, Kirsten N. Hines, Trevor T. Zachariah, Caro Perez-Heydrich, John B. Iverson, Sandra D. Buckner, Shelley C. Halach, Christine R. Lattin, L. Michael Romero

Faculty Publications

© The Author 2013. Deliberately feeding wildlife is an increasingly popular tourism-related activity despite a limited understanding of long-term impacts on the species being fed. As a result, tourist behaviours that may have adverse impacts on imperiled species have often been encouraged without the necessary evaluation or oversight. Here, we report the responses of Northern Bahamian Rock Iguanas (Cyclura cychlura) to human-visitation pressure and associated food provisioning. We compared a variety of blood chemistry parameters of iguanas subjected to supplemental feeding at popular tourist destinations with iguanas occurring on islands where supplemental feeding does not take place. We demonstrate that …

Faculty Senate Newsletter, January 2013, Louisiana State University And Agricultural & Mechanical College

LSU Faculty Senate Publications

Message from President: The wave of discussion concerning large-scale reorganization of not only higher education but also the K–12 offering that is currently crashing through the LSU campuses is nothing new. It has been surfed by all the other Systems in Louisiana. The University of Louisiana System has dropped units, acquired new institutions, and relocated the basis of tenure to allow for euphemistic “flexibility”; Southern University has allowed campuses to slip into exigency; LCTCS has embarked on an expansion program. As with all waves, the rush of talk—or propaganda—is sustained less by the material in the wave than by the …

Surgeon In Blue: Jonathan Letterman, The Civil War Doctor Who Pioneered Battlefield Care, Rea Redd

Civil War Book Review

Saving Lives On Battlefields: Jonathan Letterman’s Innovations During the Civil War

The American Civil War was fought before the medical community understood germs, which had been seen under a microscope but had yet to be named. During its first battles the wounded were left where they fe....

Integrative Annotation Of Variants From 1092 Humans: Application To Cancer Genomics, E. Khurana, Y. Fu, V. Colonna, X. J. Mu, H. M. Kang, T. Lappalainen, A. Sboner, L. Lochovsky, J. Chen, A. Harmanci, J. Das, A. Abyzov, S. Balasubramanian, K. Beal, D. Chakravarty, D. Challis, Y. Chen, D. Clarke, L. Clarke, F. Cunningham, U. S. Evani, P. Flicek, R. Fragoza, E. Garrison, R. Gibbs, Z. H. Gümüş, J. Herrero, N. Kitabayashi, Y. Kong, K. Lage, V. Liluashvili, S. M. Lipkin, D. G. Macarthur, G. Marth

Faculty Publications

Interpreting variants, especially noncoding ones, in the increasing number of personal genomes is challenging. We used patterns of polymorphisms in functionally annotated regions in 1092 humans to identify deleterious variants; then we experimentally validated candidates. We analyzed both coding and noncoding regions, with the former corroborating the latter. We found regions particularly sensitive to mutations ("ultrasensitive") and variants that are disruptive because of mechanistic effects on transcription-factor binding (that is, " motif-breakers"). We also found variants in regions with higher network centrality tend to be deleterious. Insertions and deletions followed a similar pattern to single-nucleotide variants, with some notable exceptions …

Ecological And Control Techniques For Sand Flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) Associated With Rodent Reservoirs Of Leishmaniasis, Thomas M. Mascari, Hanafi A. Hanafi, Ryan E. Jackson, Souâd Ouahabi, Btissam Ameur, Chafika Faraj, Peter J. Obenauer, Joseph W. Diclaro, Lane D. Foil

Faculty Publications

Background:Leishmaniasis remains a global health problem because of the substantial holes that remain in our understanding of sand fly ecology and the failure of traditional vector control methods. The specific larval food source is unknown for all but a few sand fly species, and this is particularly true for the vectors of Leishmania parasites. We provide methods and materials that could be used to understand, and ultimately break, the transmission cycle of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis.Methods and Findings:We demonstrated in laboratory studies that analysis of the stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes found naturally in plant and animal tissues was highly effective …

Louisiana Agriculture Winter, 2013

Louisiana Agriculture

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Obesity On Il-12 Family Gene Expression In Insulin Responsive Tissues, Heesun Nam, Bradley S. Ferguson, Jacqueline M. Stephens, Ron F. Morrison

Faculty Publications

Mounting evidence has established a role for chronic inflammation in the development of obesity-induced insulin resistance, as genetic ablation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines elevated in obesity improves insulin signaling in vitro and in vivo. Recent evidence further highlights interleukin (IL)-12 family cytokines as prospective inflammatory mediators linking obesity to insulin resistance. In this study, we present empirical evidence demonstrating that IL-12 family related genes are expressed and regulated in insulin-responsive tissues under conditions of obesity. First, we report that respective mRNAs for each of the known members of this cytokine family are expressed within detectable ranges in WAT, skeletal …

Infection Structure-Specific Expression Of Β-1,3-Glucan Synthase Is Essential For Pathogenicity Of Colletotrichum Graminicola And Evasion Of Β-Glucan-Triggered Immunity In Maize, Ely Oliveira-Garcia, Holger B. Deising

Faculty Publications

β -1,3-Glucan and chitin are the most prominent polysaccharides of the fungal cell wall. Covalently linked, these polymers form a scaffold that determines the form and properties of vegetative and pathogenic hyphae. While the role of chitin in plant infection is well understood, the role of β-1,3-glucan is unknown. We functionally characterized the β -1,3-glucan synthase gene GLS1 of the maize (Zea mays) pathogen Colletotrichum graminicola, employing RNA interference (RNAi), GLS1 overexpression, live-cell imaging, and aniline blue fluorochrome staining. This hemibiotroph sequentially differentiates a melanized appressorium on the cuticle and biotrophic and necrotrophic hyphae in its host. Massive β-1,3-glucan contents …

Chitin-Glucan Fiber Effects On Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein: A Randomized Controlled Trial, H. E. Bays, J. L. Evans, K. C. Maki, M. Evans, V. Maquet, R. Cooper, J. W. Anderson

Faculty Publications

Background/objectives: Elevated oxidized low-density lipoprotein (OxLDL) may promote inflammation, and is associated with increased risk of atherosclerotic coronary heart disease and worsening complications of diabetes mellitus. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of chitin-glucan (CG), alone and in combination with a potentially anti-inflammatory olive oil (OO) extract, for reducing OxLDL in subjects with borderline to high LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) levels. Subjects/methods: This 6-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of a novel, insoluble fiber derived from the Aspergillus niger mycelium, CG, evaluated 130 subjects free of diabetes mellitus with fasting LDL-C 3.37-4.92 mmol/l and glucose ≤6.94 mmol/l. …

Categorical Analysis Of The Impact Of Aerobic And Resistance Exercise Training, Alone And In Combination, On Cardiorespiratory Fitness Levels In Patients With Type 2 Diabetes, Neil M. Johannsen, Damon L. Swift, Carl J. Lavie, Conrad P. Earnest, Steven N. Blair, Timothy S. Church

Faculty Publications

Objective-Low cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), especially in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Age-predicted, sex-stratified, and maximal MET cut points have been developed to determine the risk of CVD events and mortality in low CRF categories. We examined the proportion of Health Benefits of Aerobic and Resistance Training in IndividualsWith Type 2 Diabetes (HART-D) participants above these cut points before and after 9 months of aerobic training (AT), resistance training (RT), or a combination of both (ATRT). RESEARCH DESIGNANDMETHODSdParticipants from the HART-D study (n = 196) who were randomly assigned to exercise training …

Genetic Control Of Traits Associated With Phosphorus Use Efficiency In Maize By Reml/Blup, Júlio César Dovale, Roberto Fritsche-Neto

Faculty Publications

The improvement phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) allows to reach satisfactory yields with lower costs. A breeding strategy for PUE is to increase its components, the phosphorus acquisiton efficiency (PAE) and phosphorus utilization efficiency (PUtE). Thus, this study aimed to identify: i) the relative importance of the components of PUE, in high and low phosphorus; ii)the relationship of root system length and shoot dry mass (SDM) with PUE and its components and; iii) the genetic control of traits associated with the PUE. Forty-one hybrid combinations were evaluated in two experimental environments representing contrasting conditions of availability of phosphorus: low (LP) and …

Relationship Between Heterosis And Genetic Divergence For Phosphorus Use Efficiency And Its Components In Tropical Maize, Débora Santos Caixeta, Roberto Fritsche-Neto, Lorena Guimarães Batista, Humberto Fanelli Carvalho, Júlio César Dovale, Éder Cristian Malta De Lanes, Glauco Vieira Miranda

Faculty Publications

The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between heterosis and genetic divergence for phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) in tropical maize. It was used two groups of genitors, each consisting of seven lines, contrasting with each other in the nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency. It was obtained 41 hybrid combinations between these groups, which were evaluated in low phosphorus. Randomized complete block design with two replications was used. For obtaining the components of variance and the breeding values were used REML/BLUP method. In the genotyping of the parental lines were used 80 microsatellite markers. Through the correlation between …

Nitrogen Uptake And Utilization Efficiency And Enzymatic Activity In Maize Genotypes, Lucimar Rodrigues De Oliveira, Glauco Vieira Miranda, Rodrigo Oliveira Delima, Roberto Fritsche-Neto, João Carlos Cardoso Galvão

Faculty Publications

The aim of this study was to investigate the employment of components of the nitrogen efficiency use (NUE), and of the activities of the nitrate reductase and glutamine synthetase enzymes in the selection of nitrogen use efficient maize genotypes of maize. Ten maize genotypes at V4 stage were evaluated under high and low N. The experiment consisted of a 2 × 10 factorial (two levels of N and ten maize genotypes), in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. The following traits were evaluated: N uptake efficiency (NUpE), N utilizationefficiency (NUtE) and N use efficiency (NUE), and activities of …

Genetic Responses Of Traits Relationship To Components Of Nitrogen And Phosphorus Use Efficiency In Maize, Júlio César Dovale, Ciro Maia, Roberto Fritsche-Neto, Glauco Vieira Miranda, Paulo Cezar Cavatte

Faculty Publications

This study had three objectives: i) to observe maize inbred lines response to nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) acquisition as well as their utilization efficiencies and traits of root morphology in contrasting levels of these nutrients, ii) to study the relationship between root morphology and nutrient use efficiencies for both nutrients, and iii) to identify contrasting parents with components N and P use efficiency for an inheritance study. We evaluated 15 inbred lines in two experiments conducted in contrasting conditions of N and P. We evaluated the shoot, root traits and nutritional efficiencies and observed the genetic variability for most …

Insulin Receptor-Independent Upregulation Of Cellular Glucose Uptake, R. Krishnapuram, H. Kirk-Ballard, E. J. Dhurandhar, O. Dubuisson, V. Messier, R. Rabasa-Lhoret, V. Hegde, S. Aggarwal, N. V. Dhurandhar

Faculty Publications

Background:Cellular glucose uptake can be enhanced by upregulating Ras signaling in either insulin-dependent or -independent manner. In presence of insulin and intact insulin signaling, Ras has a negligible role in glucose uptake. Conversely, when insulin signaling is impaired in obesity or diabetes, the insulin-independent Ras pathway may be valuable for enhancing glucose disposal. We previously reported that Ad36, a human adenovirus, enhances cellular glucose uptake by upregulating the Ras/Glut4 pathway. Here, we investigated if Ad36-upregulated Ras via the insulin-independent pathway, to enhance glucose uptake. Furthermore, uncontrolled upregulation of Ras is linked with oncogenic cell transformation, if the tumor-suppressor gene p53 …

Ethanol Production Potential Of Sweet Sorghum Assessed Using Forage Fiber Analysis Procedures, Kun Jun Han, William D. Pitman, Misook Kim, Donal F. Day, Montgomery W. Alison, Michael E. Mccormick, Giovanna Aita

Faculty Publications

Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is widely recognized as a highly promising biomass energy crop with particular potential to complement sugarcane production in diversified cropping systems. Agronomic assessments have led to identification of four cultivars well suited for such sugarcane-based production systems in southern Louisiana. Sweet sorghum biofuel production systems are currently being developed, and research producing large sample numbers requiring ethanol yield assessment is anticipated. Fiber analysis approaches developed for forage evaluation appear to be useful for screening such large numbers of samples for relative ethanol yield. Chemical composition, forage fiber characteristics, digestibility, and ethanol production of sweet …

Good Genes From Asia-Contributions And Opportunities Of Asian Origin Crops To U.S. Horticulture: An Introduction To The Workshop, Yan Chen, Jayesh B. Samtani

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Does Altitude Moderate The Impact Of Lithium On Suicide? A Spatial Analysis Of Austria, Marco Helbich, Victor Blüml, Michael Leitner, Nestor D. Kapusta

Faculty Publications

Suicide, the tenth leading cause of death worldwide, is a complex phenomenon. Models aiming to explain the interaction of ambient variables such as socioeconomic factors, lithium content of drinking water and altitude are poorly developed. While controlling for several risk factors, this research bridges two different, but complementary research lines by investigating statistically the relationship on suicide mortality between lithium levels in drinking water in response to altitude above sea level. Besides regression models with main effects, a multiplicative interaction model between lithium and altitude has been developed providing estimates at the district-level for Austria where spatial autocorrelation was accounted …

Differential Effect Of 14 Free Fatty Acids In The Expression Of Inflammation Biomarkers On Human Coronary Arterial Cells, Adriana Soto Rodriguez Gil

LSU Master's Theses

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the US, and circulating free fatty acids (FFAs) are known risk factors associated with cardiovascular inflammation. The influence of 14 dietary FFAs (including saturated, mono-, poly-unsaturated and trans), on the expression of inflammatory markers in human coronary arterial smooth muscle (HACSM) and endothelial (HCAEC) cells using a cell culture model was investigated. HACSM and HCAEC cell cultures were incubated with 200 μM of each FFA for 8 or 24 h respectively at 37 °C in a 5% CO2 humidified incubator. Inflammatory biomarkers were assessed by ELISA or Western Blot in the …

Exploration Of Comorbid Psychopathology Symptoms In Infants And Toddlers With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Matthew Jason Konst

LSU Master's Theses

One area of research in the field of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) involves efforts to better understand symptom manifestation at earlier points in an individual’s life. Researchers have consistently emphasized the importance of early intervention for children with an ASD, but the determination of the most efficacious treatment approach is often established on a case-by-case basis by taking into consideration an individual’s specific needs. The need for such individualized treatment approaches is accentuated by the high prevalence of comorbid psychopathology within the ASD population. The study of comorbid disorders among young children with ASDs has been hindered by a lack …

Influence Of Soil Nutrients On Reproduction And Pathogenicity Of Rotylenchulus Reniformis On Cotton, Herath Mudiyanselage Manjula Thaminda Kularathna

LSU Master's Theses

Among the variety of pathogens of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), nematodes play a major role in reducing yield. Across the U.S. cotton belt, millions of dollars are lost annually due to nematode infestation. In the Mid-South and Southeast United States, root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) and reniform nematode (Rotylenchulus reniformis) are responsible for the highest percentage of damage. Crop rotation and nematicides are currently the most commonly used management strategies for nematode management. Soil fertility, which has a direct effect on plant growth, is also known to influence disease severity. Therefore, soil fertility would be an additional factor to consider for management …

An Analysis Of The Prevalence Of The West Nile Virus In Relation To Health Resilience Along The Gulf Of Mexico, Lillian Patricia Mata

LSU Master's Theses

As the Earth’s climate changes, coastal communities are increasingly vulnerable to the natural hazards that are driven by these processes, particularly in regards to the health of these communities. It has been shown that disease patterns can change in response to our environment, putting the health resilience of communities at risk. This study looks at the relationship between natural exposure and traditional resilience index variables in the context of the spread of West Nile Virus along the Gulf of Mexico. Through analysis of 534 counties, the West Nile Virus for 2001-2012 was analyzed as an incidence and incidence rate at …

Effects Of Different Weaning Management Strategies On Preconditioning Performance, Haptoglobin Serum Levels, Feedlot Morbidity, And Carcass Characteristics, Jake Everitt Anderson

LSU Master's Theses

Weaning, one of the first major stressors encountered by the calf, has a negative effect on the immune system and increases the likelihood of infection of novel pathogens such as those that cause bovine respiratory disease. Fenceline contact at weaning has been shown to reduce the stress on the calf during the time following maternal separation. Preconditioning programs have been shown to reduce feedlot morbidity and mortality. Combining these two management practices could reduce the length of time calves need to be held in a preconditioning program. A multi-year study was conducted to evaluate if fenceline weaning will allow for …