Digital Commons Network^™

Residual Effects Of Termiticides On Mortality Of Formosan Subterranean Termite (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) On Substrates Subjected To Flooding, Rajani Sapkota, Michael J. Stout, Gregg Henderson

Faculty Publications

© 2019 The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. Concerns on efficacies of termiticides used for soil treatment to prevent Formosan subterranean termite (Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki) infestations have prompted pest control companies to suggest that retreatments are necessary after flooding of homes. Therefore, to address concerns about the efficacy of termiticides after flooding, we designed a flooding simulation experiment in the laboratory. We used four formulated termiticides containing fipronil, imidacloprid, chlorantraniliprole, or bifenthrin as active ingredients (a.i.) and two colonies of field-collected C. formosanus for this study. Evaluations of each chemical at …

Renal Glomerular Mitochondria Function In Salt-Sensitive Hypertension, Mark Domondon, Iuliia Polina, Anna B. Nikiforova, Regina F. Sultanova, Claudia Kruger, Valeriia Y. Vasileva, Mikhail V. Fomin, Gyda C. Beeson, Anna Liisa Nieminen, Nancy Smythe, Eduardo N. Maldonado, Krisztian Stadler, Daria V. Ilatovskaya

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Salt-sensitive (SS) hypertension is accompanied with an early onset of proteinuria, which results from the loss of glomerular podocytes. Here, we hypothesized that glomerular damage in the SS hypertension occurs in part due to mitochondria dysfunction, and we used a unique model of freshly isolated glomeruli to test this hypothesis. In order to mimic SS hypertension, we used Dahl SS rats, an established animal model. Animals were fed a 0.4% NaCl (normal salt, NS) diet or challenged with a high salt (HS) 4% NaCl diet for 21 days to induce an increase in blood pressure (BP). Similar to previous studies, …

De Novo Assembly Of A High-Quality Reference Genome For The Horned Lark (Eremophila Alpestris), Nicholas A. Mason, Paulo Pulgarin, Carlos Daniel Cadena, Irby J. Lovette

Faculty Publications

Copyright © 2020 Mason et al. The Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) is a small songbird that exhibits remarkable geographic variation in appearance and habitat across an expansive distribution. While E. alpestris has been the focus of many ecological and evolutionary studies, we still lack a highly contiguous genome assembly for the Horned Lark and related taxa (Alaudidae). Here, we present CLO_EAlp_1.0, a highly contiguous assembly for E. alpestris generated from a blood sample of a wild, male bird captured in the Altiplano Cundiboyacense of Colombia. By combining short-insert and mate-pair libraries with the ALLPATHS-LG genome assembly pipeline, we generated a …

Bromodomain And Extraterminal Inhibition By Jq1 Produces Divergent Transcriptional Regulation Of Suppressors Of Cytokine Signaling Genes In Adipocytes, Paula Mota De Sá, Allison J. Richard, Jacqueline M. Stephens

Faculty Publications

© 2019 Endocrine Society 2019. All rights reserved. The Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK-STAT) signaling pathway has cell-specific functions. Suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) proteins are negative-feedback regulators of JAK-STAT signaling. STAT5 plays a significant role in adipocyte development and function, and bromodomain and extraterminal (BET) proteins may be involved in STAT5 transcriptional activity. We treated 3T3-L1 adipocytes with the BET inhibitor JQ1 and observed that growth hormone (GH)-induced expression of 2 STAT5 target genes from the SOCS family, Socs3 and Cish, were inversely regulated (increased and decreased, respectively) by BET inhibition. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analyses revealed that …

Bromodomain And Extraterminal Inhibition By Jq1 Produces Divergent Transcriptional Regulation Of Suppressors Of Cytokine Signaling Genes In Adipocytes, Paula Mota De Sá, Allison J. Richard, Jacqueline M. Stephens

Faculty Publications

© Endocrine Society 2019. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [email protected]. The Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK-STAT) signaling pathway has cell-specific functions. Suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) proteins are negative-feedback regulators of JAK-STAT signaling. STAT5 plays a significant role in adipocyte development and function, and bromodomain and extraterminal (BET) proteins may be involved in STAT5 transcriptional activity. We treated 3T3-L1 adipocytes with the BET inhibitor JQ1 and observed that growth hormone (GH)-induced expression of 2 STAT5 target genes from the SOCS family, Socs3 and Cish, were inversely regulated (increased and decreased, respectively) by BET inhibition. Chromatin …

Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carriers Are Not Required For Adipogenesis But Are Regulated By High-Fat Feeding In Brown Adipose Tissue, Jasmine A. Burrell, Allison J. Richard, William T. King, Jacqueline M. Stephens

Faculty Publications

© 2020 The Obesity Society. Objective: The objectives of this study were to assess the role of mitochondrial pyruvate carriers (MPCs) in adipocyte development in vitro and determine whether MPCs are regulated in vivo by high-fat feeding in male and female C57BL/6J mice. Methods: This study utilized small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown to assess the requirement of MPC1 for adipogenesis in the 3T3-L1 model system. Treatment with UK-5099, a potent pharmacological MPC inhibitor, was also used to assess the loss of MPC activity. Western blot analysis was performed on adipose tissue samples from mice on a low-fat diet or a high-fat …

Ncapg Dynamically Coordinates The Myogenesis Of Fetal Bovine Tissue By Adjusting Chromatin Accessibility, Xin Hu, Yishen Xing, Xing Fu, Qiyuan Yang, Ling Ren, Yahui Wang, Qian Li, Junya Li, Lupei Zhang

Faculty Publications

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. NCAPG is a subunit of condensin I that plays a crucial role in chromatin condensation during mitosis. NCAPG has been demonstrated to be associated with farm animal growth traits. However, its role in regulating myoblast differentiation is still unclear. We used myoblasts derived from fetal bovine tissue as an in vitro model and found that NCAPG was expressed during myogenic differentiation in the cytoplasm and nucleus. Silencing NCAPG prolonged the mitosis and impaired the differentiation due to increased myoblast apoptosis. After 1.5 days of differentiation, silencing NCAPG enhanced muscle-specific gene expression. …

Perinatal Maternal Antibiotic Exposure Augments Lung Injury In Offspring In Experimental Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia, Kent A. Willis, David T. Siefker, Michael M. Aziz, Catrina T. White, Naiha Mussarat, Charles K. Gomes, Amandeep Bajwa, Joseph F. Pierre, Stephania A. Cormier, Ajay J. Talati

Faculty Publications

Copyright © 2020 the American Physiological Society. During the newborn period, intestinal commensal bacteria influence pulmonary mucosal immunology via the gut-lung axis. Epidemiological studies have linked perinatal antibiotic exposure in human newborns to an increased risk for bronchopulmonary dysplasia, but whether this effect is mediated by the gut-lung axis is unknown. To explore antibiotic disruption of the newborn gut-lung axis, we studied how perinatal maternal antibiotic exposure influenced lung injury in a hyperoxia-based mouse model of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. We report that disruption of intestinal commensal colonization during the perinatal period promotes a more severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia phenotype characterized by increased …

Mice Without A Microbiome Are Partially Protected From Lung Injury By Hyperoxia, Kent A. Willis, Joseph F. Pierre, Stephania A. Cormier, Ajay J. Talati

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sleep Characteristics And Health-Related Quality Of Life In 9- To 11-Year-Old Children From 12 Countries, Qian Xiao, Jean Philippe Chaput, Timothy Olds, Mikael Fogelholm, Gang Hu, Estelle V. Lambert, Carol Maher, Jose Maia, Vincent Onywera, Olga L. Sarmiento, Martyn Standage, Mark S. Tremblay, Catrine Tudor-Locke, Peter T. Katzmarzyk

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Introduction: Previous studies have linked short sleep duration, poor sleep quality, and late sleep timing with lower health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children. However, almost all studies relied solely on self-reported sleep information, and most studies were conducted in high-income countries. To address these gaps, we studied both device-measured and self-reported sleep characteristics in relation to HRQoL in a sample of children from 12 countries that vary widely in terms of economic and human development. Methods: The study sample included 6,626 children aged 9-11 years from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Finland, India, Kenya, Portugal, South Africa, the United …

Identification Of A Pai-1-Binding Site Within An Intrinsically Disordered Region Of Vitronectin, Yuzhuo Chu, Joel C. Bucci, Cynthia B. Peterson

Faculty Publications

© 2019 The Protein Society The serine protease inhibitor, plasminogen activator inhibitor Type-1 (PAI-1) is a metastable protein that undergoes an unusual transition to an inactive conformation with a short half-life of only 1–2 hr. Circulating PAI-1 is bound to a cofactor vitronectin, which stabilizes PAI-1 by slowing this latency conversion. A well-characterized PAI-1-binding site on vitronectin is located within the somatomedin B (SMB) domain, corresponding to the first 44 residues of the protein. Another PAI-1 recognition site has been identified with an engineered form of vitronectin lacking the SMB domain, yet retaining PAI-1 binding capacity (Schar, Blouse, Minor, Peterson. …

Mud Deposition And Diagenesis Within An Early Palaeozoic Clinothem: Power Steps Formation, Newfoundland, Canada, Kathryn C. Denommee, Dario Harazim, Samuel J. Bentley, James H. Macquaker, Stefanie Lode, Babatunde John Olanipekun

Faculty Publications

© Cambridge University Press 2019. The early Ordovician (∼385 Ma) Power Steps Formation, Newfoundland, Canada, exposes a well-preserved mudstone-dominated clinothem that serves as an excellent archive for understanding how mud has been produced, transported and converted into mudstone prior to the evolution of globally widespread, deep soil horizons. Sedimentological analysis of four sandstone and five mudstone facies, along the Ochre Cove clinothem, reveal that mud and sand were delivered by unidirectional currents and experienced episodic reworking by storm waves. Petrographic examination and X-ray diffraction from described mudstone facies reveal significant variability in the distribution of illite versus chlorite between the …

Erratum: The Extended Specimen Network: A Strategy To Enhance Us Biodiversity Collections, Promote Research And Education (Bioscience Doi: 10.1093/Biosci/Biz140, James Lendemer, Barbara Thiers, Anna K. Monfils, Jennifer Zaspel, Elizabeth R. Ellwood, Andrew Bentley, Katherine Levan, John Bates, David Jennings, Dori Contreras, Laura Lagomarsino, Paula Mabee, Linda S. Ford, Robert Guralnick, Robert E. Gropp, Marcy Revelez, Neil Cobb, Katja Seltmann, M. Catherine Aime

Faculty Publications

© 2020 The Author(s). In a recent article (doi:10.1093/biosci/biz140), in the original publication of this report, Marcy Revelez's affiliation was listed as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333. It has since been changed to correctly reflect affiliation with Museum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409-3191.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus Disease Severity Is Associated With Distinct Cd8+ T-Cell Profiles, David T. Siefker, Luan Vu, Dahui You, Andrew Mcbride, Ryleigh Taylor, Tamekia L. Jones, John Devincenzo, Stephania A. Cormier

Faculty Publications

Copyright © 2020 by the American Thoracic Society. Rationale: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes significant morbidity and mortality in infants worldwide. Although T-helper type 2 (Th2) cell pathology is implicated in severe disease, the mechanisms underlying the development of immunopathology are incompletely understood. Objectives: We aimed to identify local immune responses associated with severe RSV in infants. Our hypothesis was that disease severity would correlate with enhanced Th2 cellular responses. Methods: Nasal aspirates were collected from infants hospitalized with severe (admitted to the pediatric ICU) or moderate (maintained in the general ward) RSV disease at 5 to 9 days after …

Hot-Water Baths, Biologicals And Re-Curing Effects On Rhizopus Soft Rot During Sweetpotato Packing, R. R. Sweany, D. H. Picha, C. A. Clark

Faculty Publications

Rhizopus soft rot (RSR) caused by Rhizopus stolonifer is one of the most devastating postharvest diseases of sweetpotato. It causes greatest losses when sweetpotatoes are removed from storage, washed and packed for marketing. The disease has been managed effectively by prophylactic application of synthetic fungicides on the packing line. However, there is increasing demand for alternative management strategies that do not rely on prophylactic use of synthetic fungicides. While curing immediately after harvest is a standard industry practice, re-curing after storage is not widely practised for postharvest disease management. In this study, the use of hot-water baths, biocontrol agents and …

Experimental Forest Fragmentation Alters Amazonian Mixed-Species Flocks, Cameron L. Rutt, Karl Mokross, Michael D. Kaller, Philip C. Stouffer

Faculty Publications

Habitat fragmentation has been associated with myriad negative effects for forest-dependent birds in the Neotropics. However, the vast majority of negative effects have been inferred from comparisons of pre-existing fragments with separate control sites. Such comparisons confound area loss with isolation and ignore effects of patchy distributions and local habitat heterogeneity. To directly test the effects of fragmentation on Amazonian mixed-species flocks—a complex and diverse species interaction network—we observed birds before and after re-isolation of three 10-ha fragments at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project in central Amazonia. Following initial isolation in the 1980s, these fragments have been surrounded …

Rubusoside-Assisted Solubilization Of Poorly Soluble C6-Ceramide For A Pilot Pharmacokinetic Study, Jianzhong Chen, Sachin K. Khiste, Xiaomei Fu, Kartik R. Roy, Yixuan Dong, Jian Zhang, Mei Liu, Yong Yu Liu, Zhijun Liu

Faculty Publications

Although C6-Ceramide has attracted much attention as a possible tumor suppressor, the delivery of C6-Ceramide is still challenging due to its inherent hydrophobicity and insolubility. In this study we explored the use of a natural compound rubusoside (RUB) as a solubilizer to enhance the solubility of a fluorescence-labeled C6-Ceramide (NBD C6-Ceramide) and to characterize its pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution in an animal model. RUB significantly enhanced the solubility of NBD C6-Ceramide by forming nanomicelles, and efficiently delivered NBD C6-Ceramide in rats by oral and intravenous administration. RUB loaded 1.96 % of NBD C6-Ceramide in the nanomicelles and solubilized it to …

The Response Of Stomatal Conductance To Seasonal Drought In Tropical Forests, Jin Wu, Shawn P. Serbin, Kim S. Ely, Brett T. Wolfe, L. Turin Dickman, Charlotte Grossiord, Sean T. Michaletz, Adam D. Collins, Matteo Detto, Nate G. Mcdowell, S. Joseph Wright, Alistair Rogers

Faculty Publications

Stomata regulate CO2 uptake for photosynthesis and water loss through transpiration. The approaches used to represent stomatal conductance (gs) in models vary. In particular, current understanding of drivers of the variation in a key parameter in those models, the slope parameter (i.e. a measure of intrinsic plant water-use-efficiency), is still limited, particularly in the tropics. Here we collected diurnal measurements of leaf gas exchange and leaf water potential (Ψleaf), and a suite of plant traits from the upper canopy of 15 tropical trees in two contrasting Panamanian forests throughout the dry season of the 2016 El Niño. The plant traits …

Trans-Disciplinary Responses To Climate Change: Lessons From Rice-Based Systems In Asia, Jon Hellin, Jean Balié, Eleanor Fisher, Ajay Kohli, Melanie Connor, Sudhir Yadav, Virender Kumar, Timothy J. Krupnik, Bjoern Ole Sander, Joshua Cobb, Katherine Nelson, Tri Setiyono, Ranjitha Puskur, Pauline Chivenge, Martin Gummert

Faculty Publications

Climate change will continue to have a largely detrimental impact on the agricultural sector worldwide because of predicted rising temperatures, variable rainfall, and an increase in extreme weather events. Reduced crop yields will lead to higher food prices and increased hardship for low income populations, especially in urban areas. Action on climate change is one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 13) and is linked to the Paris Climate Agreement. The research challenge posed by climate change is so complex that a trans-disciplinary response is required, one that brings together researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers in networks where the lines between …

Body Composition During Pregnancy Differs By Obesity Class, Jasper Most, Abby D. Altazan, Daniel S. Hsia, Robbie A. Beyl, Leanne M. Redman

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Objective: The aim of this study is to characterize changes in body composition during pregnancy in women with obesity. Methods: Fifty-four healthy women with obesity (class 1, 30-34.9 kg/m2: n = 25; class 2, 35-39.9 kg/m2: n = 21; class 3, ≥ 40.0 kg/m2: n = 8) expecting a singleton pregnancy were studied. Body composition was measured in early pregnancy (13-16 weeks), midpregnancy (24-27 weeks), and late pregnancy (35-37 weeks) using air displacement plethysmography, stable isotopes, and skinfold thickness measurements. Fasting glucose, insulin, and leptin were measured. Results: The gain in fat-free mass was lower in the second trimester compared …

Evaluation Of Ultraviolet (Uv-C) Light Treatment For Microbial Inactivation In Agricultural Waters With Different Levels Of Turbidity, Achyut Adhikari, Katheryn J. Parraga Estrada, Vijay S. Chhetri, Marlene Janes, Kathryn Fontenot, John C. Beaulieu

Faculty Publications

Produce growers using surface or well water to irrigate their crops may require an appropriate water treatment system in place to meet the water quality standard imposed by FSMA Produce Safety Rule. This study evaluated the potential of using ultraviolet (UV-C) treatment in reducing the microbial population in agricultural water. Waters with turbidity levels ranging from 10.93 to 23.32 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU) were prepared by mixing pond water and well water. The waters were inoculated with a cocktail of generic Escherichia coli (ATCC 23716, 25922, and 11775) and then treated with UV-C light (20–60 mJ/cm2). All tested doses of …

Plumage Patterns: Ecological Functions, Evolutionary Origins, And Advances In Quantification, Nicholas A. Mason, Rauri C.K. Bowie

Faculty Publications

Birds exhibit remarkable variation in plumage patterns, both within individual feathers and among plumage patches. Differences in the size, shape, and location of pigments and structural colors comprise important visual signals involved in mate choice, social signaling, camouflage, and many other functions. While ornithologists have studied plumage patterns for centuries, recent technological advances in digital image acquisition and processing have transformed pattern quantification methods, enabling comprehensive, detailed datasets of pattern phenotypes that were heretofore inaccessible. In this review, we synthesize recent and classic studies of plumage patterns at different evolutionary and organismal scales and discuss the various roles that plumage …

Fine Structure Of Viral Dsdna Encapsidation, Shawn Walker, Javier Arsuaga, Lindsey Hiltner, M. Carme Calderer, Mariel Vázquez

Faculty Publications

Unraveling the mechanisms of packing of DNA inside viral capsids is of fundamental importance to understanding the spread of viruses. It could also help develop new applications to targeted drug delivery devices for a large range of therapies. In this article, we present a robust, predictive mathematical model and its numerical implementation to aid the study and design of bacteriophage viruses for application purposes. Exploiting the analogies between the columnar hexagonal chromonic phases of encapsidated viral DNA and chromonic aggregates formed by plank-shaped molecular compounds, we develop a first-principles effective mechanical model of DNA packing in a viral capsid. The …

Pattern Of Regional White Matter Hyperintensity Volume In Mild Cognitive Impairment Subtypes And Associations With Decline In Daily Functioning, Katherine J. Bangen, Kelsey R. Thomas, Alexandra J. Weigand, Danielle L. Sanchez, Lisa Delano-Wood, Emily C. Edmonds, Owen T. Carmichael, Christopher G. Schwarz, Adam M. Brickman, Mark W. Bondi

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

White matter hyperintensities (WMHs), a marker of small-vessel cerebrovascular disease, increase risk for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Less is known about whether regional WMHs distinguish MCI subtypes and predict decline in everyday functioning. About 618 Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative participants (301 cognitively normal [CN]; 232 amnestic MCI [aMCI]; 85 nonamnestic MCI [naMCI]) underwent neuropsychological testing, MRI, and assessment of everyday functioning. aMCI participants showed greater temporal (p = 0.002) and occipital WMHs (p = 0.030) relative to CN whereas naMCI participants had greater frontal (p = 0.045), temporal (p = 0.003), parietal (p = 0.018), and occipital (p < 0.001) WMH compared with CN. Relative to those with aMCI, individuals with naMCI showed greater occipital WMH (p = 0.013). Greater WMH in temporal (p = 0.001) and occipital regions (p = 0.006) was associated with faster decline in everyday functioning across the sample. Temporal lobe WMHs were disproportionately associated with accelerated functional decline among naMCI (p = 0.045). Regional WMH volumes vary across cognitive groups and predict functional decline. Cerebrovascular markers may help identify individuals at risk for decline and distinguish subtypes of cognitive impairment.

Energetic And Environmental Constraints On The Community Structure Of Benthic Microbial Mats In Lake Fryxell, Antarctica, Megan L. Dillon, Ian Hawes, Anne D. Jungblut, Tyler J. Mackey, Jonathan A. Eisen, Peter T. Doran, Dawn Y. Sumner

Faculty Publications

© 2020 FEMS 2020. Ecological communities are regulated by the flow of energy through environments. Energy flow is typically limited by access to photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and oxygen concentration (O2). The microbial mats growing on the bottom of Lake Fryxell, Antarctica, have well-defined environmental gradients in PAR and (O2). We analyzed the metagenomes of layers from these microbial mats to test the extent to which access to oxygen and light controls community structure. We found variation in the diversity and relative abundances of Archaea, Bacteria and Eukaryotes across three (O2) and PAR conditions: high (O2) and maximum PAR, variable …

Highly Active Cationic Cobalt(Ii) Hydroformylation Catalysts, Drew M. Hood, Ryan A. Johnson, Alex E. Carpenter, Jarod M. Younker, David J. Vinyard, George G. Stanley

Faculty Publications

© 2020 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved. The cobalt complexes HCo(CO)4 and HCo(CO)3(PR3) were the original industrial catalysts used for the hydroformylation of alkenes through reaction with hydrogen and carbon monoxide to produce aldehydes. More recent and expensive rhodium-phosphine catalysts are hundreds of times more active and operate under considerably lower pressures. Cationic cobalt(II) bisphosphine hydrido-carbonyl catalysts that are far more active than traditional neutral cobalt(I) catalysts and approach rhodium catalysts in activity are reported here. These catalysts have low linear-to-branched (L:B) regioselectivity for simple linear alkenes. However, owing to their high alkene isomerization activity …

Synthesis And Preliminary Ex Vivo Testing Of Sirna Targeting Tcrb: A Proposed Therapy For The Treatment Of Autoimmunity, Nicholas J. Magazine

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

Background:

As of 2018, the United States National Institutes of Health estimate that over half a billion people worldwide are affected by autoimmune disorders. Though these conditions are prevalent, treatment options remain relatively poor, relying primarily on various forms of immunosuppression which carry potentially severe side effects and often lose effectiveness overtime. Given this, new forms of therapy are needed. We propose small-interfering RNA (siRNA) for hypervariable regions of the T-cell receptor β-chain gene (TCRb) as a highly targeted, novel means of therapy for the treatment of autoimmune disorders.

Objectives:

To develop methods to produce siRNA targeting …

Soil Health On A Small-Scale Sustainable Vegetable Farm In South Louisiana, Allison Guidroz

LSU Master's Theses

One of the biggest challenges facing the world today is the need to provide nutritious food to an ever-growing population in a way that does not compromise the ecosystem services of the soil that are necessary for life. The evidence for widespread degradation of the soil has been a major contributor in the increased interest in soil health. Most of the research in soil health has focused on field crops, which has led to a gap in the research of soil health on vegetable cropping systems. This objective of this study was to analyze the health of the soil on …

Evaluation Of Space Use And Movement By Wild Turkey (Meleagris Gallopavo) During Extreme Climatic Disturbances And Annual Phenological States, David J. Moscicki

LSU Master's Theses

Space use is driven by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors across space and time. Meaning a species demography and habitat requirements may vary across landscapes. Recent studies on wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo spp., hereafter turkey) have shown both direct and indirect demographic impacts of climatically driven events on turkey populations. Similarly, there is an abundance of information documenting turkey demographic parameters and space use, but few studies have addressed breeding phenology in great detail. We evaluated the impact on space use and movement patterns of Eastern wild turkeys (M. g. silvestris; n = 20) and Rio Grande wild …

Experimental And Computational Tools For Single Cell Analysis In Cancer Diagnostics, Manibarathi Vaithiyanathan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Substantial evidence shows that cellular heterogeneity commonly exists within an isogenic or clonal population. Whether in isolation or caused through a combination of the above events, cellular heterogeneity can dramatically influence cellular decision making and cell fate, however, this can be masked by the average response from a population. One approach to solve this issue is to analyze a population at the individual cell level. The goal of this work is to develop high-throughput experimental and computational platforms to screen and quantify single cancer cells for specific intracellular enzyme activities. An interdisciplinary approach was taken to 1) better understand the …