Impacts Of Commercial Biopesticides On Crapemyrtle Bark Scale (Acanthococcus Lagerstroemiae) And Beneficial Insects, Giovana Matos Franco

LSU Master's Theses

The crapemyrtle bark scale (CMBS), Acanthococcus lagerstroemiae (Kuwana) (Hemiptera: Eriococcidae), is an important pest of crapemyrtles, Lagerstromia spp. (Myrtales: Lythraceae) since its damage results in an unpleasant aesthetic. Current CMBS management methods depend heavily on pesticides which impact on beneficial insects. Biopesticides show potential for pest control, host specificity, and low impact towards non-target organisms. The objectives of my thesis were to determine (1) if biopesticides are effective against CMBS infestations when applied in different seasons, and (2) their effects towards coccinellids known to attack CMBS.

To test the efficacy of selected biopesticides, treatments were delivered to potted plants or …

Larval Survival And Movement Of The Fall Armyworm And Corn Earworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) In Seed Blends Of Non-Bt And Pyramided Bt Corn: Implications For Resistance Management, Marcelo Dimase

LSU Master's Theses

A seed blend refuge has been used in the U.S. Corn Belt for Bt corn insect resistance management (IRM). The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (F.), and corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) are major target pests of Bt corn in the Americas. One major concern for the use of a seed blend refuge is that larval movement of insects among non-Bt and Bt plants could affect its efficacy for resistance management. To address this concern, field and greenhouse trials were conducted to determine 1) if seed blend refugia could provide comparable levels of susceptible S. frugiperda (aabb) as structured refugia and …

Spatial Distribution Of Lycorma Delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) Egg Masses On Tree-Of-Heaven, Black Walnut, And Siberian Elm In North America, Houping Liu, Richard J. Hartlieb, Timothy Schowalter

Faculty Publications

The spatial distribution of Lycorma delicatula (White) egg masses on three species of trees were studied in Pennsylvania. Five tree-of-heaven, five black walnut, and one Siberian elm trees were felled in early spring 2019 to sample for egg masses. Each egg mass was marked for its cardinal direction, position in the tree, height above ground, and spread from the bole. A total of 214 egg masses were found on tree-of-heaven and black walnut, with 38.3, 29.4, 22.0, and 10.3% on the north, west, south, and east quadrant, respectively. No significant difference in cardinal direction was found for either species. Equal …

Spinosad And Mixtures Of An Entomopathogenic Fungus And Pyrethrins For Control Of Sitona Lineatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) In Field Peas, Govinda Shrestha, Sindhura Mettupalli, Ramadevi Gadi, Debra A. Miller, Gadi V.P. Reddy, Fred Musser

Faculty Publications

The pea leaf weevil, Sitona lineatus L., is an important pest of field peas and faba beans in most temperate regions. As no information is currently available on efficacy of biopesticides for S. lineatus control, laboratory bioassays were performed to evaluate the impact of biopesticides (spinosad, Beauveria bassiana strain GHA, pyrethrins, B. bassiana GHA + pyrethrins, and B. bassiana GHA + azadirachtin) against adults of this pest. The concentrations used in this bioassay were 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 times the lowest labeled application rate of each product. Results were further verified in cage experiments by assessing biopesticide effects on …

Biogeography Of Biological Control: Spatial Variation In Agent-Host Interactions, Nathan Harms

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Management of plant invasions using biological control has the potential to generate spatial patterns which reflect geographic or genetic variation in invader or control agents. Despite its rarity in practice, investigations into the biogeography of interacting species (i.e., plant invader and control agent) in the context of biological control can lend insights into species distribution-abundance patterns and provide predictions for spatial variation in control success. I explored spatial variability in biological control agent-plant interactions using two wetland weed study systems with large geographic distributions: flowering rush (Butomus umbellatus L.) and alligatorweed (Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart.) Griseb). Through literature and …

The Perceptions Of Foster Care Alumni's Experiences With Four-Year Post-Secondary Institutions: A Case For Capital And Field Advantage, June M. Durio

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The focus of this study was to explore, through the lens of Pierre Bourdieu’s constructs of habitus, field, and capital, the post-secondary experiences of foster youth who transitioned out of the Louisiana foster care system. Specifically, this comparable multiple case study sought out to understand how cultural, social, and financial capital influenced the post-secondary educational outcomes of foster care alumni as compared to first-generation and continuing-generation students. Seven common themes emerged from the study: predisposing factors towards post-secondary education; values, knowledge, and skills associated with post-secondary education attainment; informal and formal social networks facilitating post-secondary support; financial resources addressing …

Comparing The Accuracy Of Close-Range Photogrammetry To Microct Scanning Via Surface Deviation Analysis Of 3d Digital Models Of Hominin Molars, Margaret J. Furtner

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to assess whether close-range photogrammetry is a viable alternative to microCT scanning for the construction of 3D models of isolated teeth. Photogrammetric scanning is more cost-effective and less time-consuming than CT scanning, and in paleoanthropological contexts eliminates the possibility of exposing fossils to doses of radiation that affect ESR dating. Samples of fossil (Homo naledi), archaeological, and contemporary human molars were scanned via microCT scanning and close-range photogrammetric scanning. The photogrammetric scans included 96 digital images per tooth which were used to construct a 3D triangular mesh. The resulting models of the tooth crowns …

The Effects Of Oral And Venereal Transmission Of Deformed Wing Virus On Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera) Queen And Colony Health, Sarah Lang

LSU Master's Theses

Honey bees are important pollinators necessary for the production of many foods. Managed honey bee colonies have been experiencing high levels of colony loss over the last decade due to a combination of different factors. Parasites, pathogens, and queen failure are repeatedly reported as major causes for colony loss, but there is little research exploring the relationship between honey bee viruses and queens. Deformed wing virus, a major honey bee virus, has a worldwide distribution, is extremely prevalent, and can infect all castes and life stages. Honey bee queens can be infected with the virus through multiple transmission routes …

Applications Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles For Conducting Mesocarnivore And Breeding Waterfowl Surveys In Southern Manitoba, Jacob Bushaw

LSU Master's Theses

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are becoming an increasingly important tool for wildlife surveys and equipping UAVs with thermal imaging cameras could make these surveys even more effective. In my thesis I examined the feasibility of using a UAV equipped with a thermal imaging camera to conduct mesocarnivore surveys, search for duck nests built over water, and conduct duck brood surveys in southern Manitoba.

For my first objective, I conducted nighttime mesocarnivore surveys with the UAV and thermal camera. I used a modified point-count survey from six waypoints and surveyed 29.5 ha in each replicate. I conducted a total of 200 …

Schnittke, Gubaidulina, And Pärt: Religion And Spirituality During The Late Thaw And Early Perestroika, Aleksandra Drozzina

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The dissertation explores the music of three major Soviet composers—Alfred Schnittke, Sofia Gubaidulina, and Arvo Pärt—against the backdrop of the ever-changing Soviet rule (after Stalin’s death in 1953). I reevaluate the composers’ religious and spiritual beliefs expressed in their works during the 1970s–1980s. Three works are presented as case studies and analyzed in-depth: Schnittke’s Concerto for Choir (1984–85), Gubaidulina’s Sieben Worte (1982), and Pärt’s Stabat Mater (1985). Although under Nikita Khrushchev’s rule (1953–64), governmental censorship began to slowly loosen, this particular group of composers continued to experience a considerable degree of oppression and censorship from the Soviet government until and …

Influence Of Health Beneficial Monk Fruit Sweetener On Microbial And Physicochemical Characteristics Of Camel Milk Yogurt, Alina Buchilina

LSU Master's Theses

Camel milk contains all the essential nutrients found in cow’s milk and has potentially health beneficial compounds such as anti-carcinogenic, anti-hypertensive, anti-inflammatory, and insulin and insulin-like substances. Camel milk has been reported as a treatment for diseases such as diabetes and autism. Camel milk favorably alters gut microbiota to a higher abundance of bifidobacteria.

Sweetness is one of the most desirable tastes in people’s diet; however, the surplus consumption of sugar has a negative effect on human health. Monk fruit sweetener is a natural zero caloric sweetener with many health beneficial properties, namely, prevention of asthma, prevention of oxidation, liver …

How Cypress Tress Become Mangroves: An Analysis Of The Works Of Amitav Ghosh And Climate Change, Alyssa D. Dobson

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Advances In The Neurophysiology Of Magnocellular Neuroendocrine Cells, Jeffrey G. Tasker, Masha Prager-Khoutorsky, Ryoichi Teruyama, José R. Lemos, William E. Amstrong

Faculty Publications

© 2020 British Society for Neuroendocrinology Hypothalamic magnocellular neuroendocrine cells have unique electrical properties and a remarkable capacity for morphological and synaptic plasticity. Their large somatic size, their relatively uniform and dense clustering in the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei, and their large axon terminals in the neurohypophysis make them an attractive target for direct electrophysiological interrogation. Here, we provide a brief review of significant recent findings in the neuroplasticity and neurophysiological properties of these neurones that were presented at the symposium “Electrophysiology of Magnocellular Neurons” during the 13th World Congress on Neurohypophysial Hormones in Ein Gedi, Israel in April 2019. …

A One-Shot Learning Framework For Assessment Of Fibrillar Collagen From Second Harmonic Generation Images Of An Infarcted Myocardium, Qun Liu, Supratik Mukhopadhyay, Maria Ximena Bastidas Rodriguez, Xing Fu, Sushant Sahu, David Burk, Manas Gartia

Faculty Publications

© 2020 IEEE. Myocardial infarction (MI) is a scientific term that refers to heart attack. In this study, we infer highly relevant second harmonic generation (SHG) cues from collagen fibers exhibiting highly non-centrosymmetric assembly together with two-photon excited cellular autofluorescence in infarcted mouse heart to quantitatively probe fibrosis, especially targeted at an early stage after MI. We present a robust one-shot machine learning algorithm that enables determination of 2D assembly of collagen with high spatial resolution along with its structural arrangement in heart tissues post - MI with spectral specificity and sensitivity. Detection, evaluation, and precise quantification of fibrosis extent …

Systematics, Biogeography, And Diversification Of Scytalopus Tapaculos (Rhinocryptidae), An Enigmatic Radiation Of Neotropical Montane Birds, Carlos Daniel Cadena, Andrés M. Cuervo, Laura N. Céspedes, Gustavo A. Bravo, Niels Krabbe, Thomas S. Schulenberg, Graham E. Derryberry, Luis Fabio Silveira, Elizabeth P. Derryberry, Robb T. Brumfield, Jon Fjeldså

Faculty Publications

Copyright © American Ornithological Society 2020. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: [email protected]. We studied the phylogeny, biogeography, and diversification of suboscine passerines in the genus Scytalopus (Rhinocryptidae), a widespread, species-rich, and taxonomically challenging group of Neotropical birds. We analyzed nuclear (exons, regions flanking ultraconserved elements) and mitochondrial (ND2) DNA sequence data for a taxonomically and geographically comprehensive sample of specimens collected from Costa Rica to Patagonia and Brazil. We found that Scytalopus is a monophyletic group sister to Eugralla and consists of 3 main clades roughly distributed in (1) the Southern Andes, (2) eastern Brazil, and (3) the Tropical …

Louisiana Agriculture Spring, 2020, Lsu Agcenter

Louisiana Agriculture

No abstract provided.

Central- Spring 2020, Lsu Agcenter

Horticulture Hints

No abstract provided.

Exploring Possible Lifespan-Extending Effects Of Botanical Extracts, Hayden Guidry

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Review Of Racial Disparities: Healthcare, Health Outcomes, And Outreach Programs, Lauren Bagneris

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Spring 2020 Catalog, Lsu Press

LSU Press Seasonal Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Efficacy Of Entomopathogenic Nematodes Against The Sugarbeet Wireworm, Limonius Californicus (Mannerheim) (Coleoptera: Elateridae), Ramandeep Kaur Sandhi, David Shapiro-Ilan, Anamika Sharma, Gadi V.P. Reddy

Faculty Publications

Wireworms, the larval stage of click beetles (Coleoptera: Elateridae), are economically important soil-dwelling pests that attack many field crops worldwide. Wireworms have become a serious threat to spring wheat in the Northern Great Plains because of lack of effective control measures, creating a need for alternative control methods such as biological control with entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs). A laboratory bioassay was used to test ten EPN strains and identify infective EPN strains against the sugarbeet wireworm, Limonius californicus (Mannerheim) (Coleoptera: Elateridae). Steinernema carpocapsae (Weiser) (All and Cxrd strains) and S. riobrave Cabanillas, Poinar, and Raulston (355 and 7–12 strains) killed 60–70% …

Investigating Antiviral Rnai Pathways In Caenorhabditis Elegans Through The Context Of The Nsl Complex And Its Subunits Sumv-1, Mys-2, And Ogt-1, Alexandre Van Biersel

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Generating Transgenic Animals To Understand The Role Of The Huckebein (Hkb) Transcription Factor In Positioning Tissue Invagination, Samantha Leigh Vercher

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Correlation Between Leaf Morphology And Environmental Niche In The Eucentropogonid Subclade Of Species-Rich Neotropical Bellflowers (Campanulaceae), Ayah Ibrahim

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Of The Proline Biosynthesis Pathway In Response To Osmotic Stress In Tigriopus Californicus, Yasmeen Kawji

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Racial Differences In Body Composition And Cardiometabolic Risk During The Menopause Transition: A Prospective, Observational Cohort Study, Kara L. Marlatt, Leanne M. Redman, Robbie A. Beyl, Steve R. Smith, Catherine M. Champagne, Fanchao Yi, Jennifer C. Lovejoy

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Background: Obesity disproportionately affects more women than men. The loss of ovarian function during the menopause transition coincides with weight gain, increases in abdominal adiposity, and impaired metabolic health. Racial differences in obesity prevalence that results from the menopause transition are not well understood. Objective: The purpose of the study was to assess longitudinal changes in body composition and cardiometabolic risk among black and white women during the menopausal transition. Study Design: In a secondary analysis of a prospective, observational cohort study (the Healthy Transitions study), 161 women ≥43 years old with a body mass index of 20–40 kg/m2 and …

Psychological And Behavioral Determinants Of Weight Loss: A Need For Research To Determine Causation, Corby K. Martin, Eric Ravussin

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Assessing Field-Scale Variability Of Soil Hydraulic Conductivity At And Near Saturation, Xi Zhang, Ole Wendroth, Christopher Matocha, Junfeng Zhu, Javier Reyes

Faculty Publications

Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) is a crucial hydraulic property for assessing soil water dynamics. Understanding the spatial variability of Ks in a field is important for site-specific resource management. However, direct measurement of hydraulic conductivity K as a function of soil water pressure head h [K(h)] is time consuming and laborious. Alternatively, pedotransfer functions (PTFs) have been developed to predict Ks indirectly based on more easily measurable soil properties. Although PTFs have been used for decades, their validity for estimating the field-scale spatial variability of Ks remains unclear. The objectives of this study were to characterize the spatial pattern of …

Circulating Lysophosphatidylcholines In Early Pregnancy And Risk Of Gestational Diabetes In Chinese Women, Jinnan Liu, Jing Li, Sainan Li, Junhong Leng, Weiqin Li, Wen Yang, Xiaoxu Huo, Liwei Chen, Ronald C.W. Ma, Gang Hu, Zhongze Fang, Xilin Yang

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Objectives: This study aimed to explore associations of lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs) in early pregnancy with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and whether LPCs mediated the associations of bile acids with GDM risk or had interactive effects with bile acids on GDM risk. Design: We conducted a 1:1 nested case-control study (n = 486) from a large prospective pregnant women cohort in urban Tianjin, China. Blood samples were collected at their first antenatal care visit (median at 10th gestational week). LPCs were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Conditional binary logistic regression and restricted cubic spline analysis were used to identify cutoff …

Lipids And Ketones Dominate Metabolism At The Expense Of Glucose Control In Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: A Hyperglycaemic Clamp And Metabolomics Study, Jacob T. Mey, Adithya Hari, Christopher L. Axelrod, Ciarán E. Fealy, Melissa L. Erickson, John P. Kirwan, Raed A. Dweik, Gustavo A. Heresi

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Individuals with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) display reduced oral glucose tolerance. This may involve defects in pancreatic function or insulin sensitivity but this hypothesis has not been tested; moreover, fasting nutrient metabolism remains poorly described in PAH. Thus, we aimed to characterise fasting nutrient metabolism and investigated the metabolic response to hyperglycaemia in PAH. 12 participants (six PAH, six controls) were administered a hyperglycaemic clamp, while 52 (21 PAH, 31 controls) underwent plasma metabolomic analysis. Glucose, insulin, C-peptide, free fatty acids and acylcarnitines were assessed from the clamp. Plasma metabolomics was conducted on fasting plasma samples. The clamp verified …