Digital Commons Network^™

Metabolic Preconditioning Of Mammalian Cells: Mimetic Agents For Hypoxia Lack Fidelity In Promoting Phosphorylation Of Pyruvate Dehydrogenase, Apurva Borcar, Michael A. Menze, Mehmet Toner, Steven C. Hand

Faculty Publications

Induction of HIF-1α by oxygen limitation promotes increased phosphorylation and catalytic depression of mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) and an enhanced glycolytic poise in cells. Cobalt chloride and desferrioxamine are widely used as mimics for hypoxia because they increase the levels of HIF-1α. We evaluated the ability of these agents to elicit selected physiological responses to hypoxia as a means to metabolically precondition mammalian cells, but without the detrimental effects of hypoxia. We show that, while CoCl2 does increase HIF-1α in a dose-dependent manner, it unexpectedly and strikingly decreases PDH phosphorylation at E1α sites 1, 2, and 3 (Ser293, Ser 300, …

Soil Resources And Topography Shape Local Tree Community Structure In Tropical Forests, Claire A. Baldeck, Kyle E. Harms, Joseph B. Yavitt, Robert John, Benjamin L. Turner, Renato Valencia, Hugo Navarrete, Stuart J. Davies, George B. Chuyong, David Kenfack, Duncan W. Thomas, Sumedha Madawala, Nimal Gunatilleke, Savitri Gunatilleke, Sarayudh Bunyavejchewin, Somboon Kiratiprayoon, Adzmi Yaacob, Mohd N. Nur Supardi, James W. Dalling

Faculty Publications

Both habitat filtering and dispersal limitation influence the compositional structure of forest communities, but previous studies examining the relative contributions of these processes with variation partitioning have primarily used topography to represent the influence of the environment. Here, we bring together data on both topography and soil resource variation within eight large (24-50 ha) tropical forest plots, and use variation partitioning to decompose community compositional variation into fractions explained by spatial, soil resource and topographic variables. Both soil resources and topography account for significant and approximately equal variation in tree community composition (9-34% and 5-29%, respectively), and all environmental variables …

Biotechnology For Mechanisms That Counteract Salt Stress In Extremophile Species: A Genome-Based View, Ray A. Bressan, Hyeong Cheol Park, Francesco Orsini, Dong Ha Oh, Maheshi Dassanayake, Gunsu Inan, Dae Jin Yun, Hans J. Bohnert, Albino Maggio

Faculty Publications

Molecular genetics has confirmed older research and generated new insights into the ways how plants deal with adverse conditions. This body of research is now being used to interpret stress behavior of plants in new ways, and to add results from most recent genomics-based studies. The new knowledge now includes genome sequences of species that show extreme abiotic stress tolerances, which enables new strategies for applications through either molecular breeding or transgenic engineering. We will highlight some physiological features of the extremophile lifestyle, outline emerging features about halophytism based on genomics, and discuss conclusions about underlying mechanisms. © 2012 Korean …

Copper Β-Trinitrocorrolates, Manuela Stefanelli, Sara Nardis, Frank R. Fronczek, Kevin M. Smith, Roberto Paolesse

Faculty Publications

The β-nitration reaction carried out on the corrole macrocycle has been shown to be extremely regioselective, although the reduced symmetry of the macrocycle could potentially lead to a huge number of possible regioisomers. We recently reported that the careful use of AgNO2/NaNO2 as a nitrating system enabled the achievement in good yields of mono- and dinitro-derivatives on both corrole free base and its copper complex, proving to be an efficient and cost-effective method. In this work, we present a detailed study of the scope of this method using TtBuCorrH3 as a model corrole. A further increase of the oxidant pushes …

A New Foundation For The Propensity Interpretation Of Fitness, Charles H. Pence, Grant Ramsey

Faculty Publications

The propensity interpretation of fitness (PIF) is commonly taken to be subject to a set of simple counterexamples. We argue that three of the most important of these are not counterexamples to the PIF itself, but only to the traditional mathematical model of this propensity: fitness as expected number of offspring. They fail to demonstrate that a new mathematical model of the PIF could not succeed where this older model fails. We then propose a new formalization of the PIF that avoids these (and other) counterexamples. By producing a counterexample-free model of the PIF, we call into question one of …

A Path To Success? A Review Of Evolution, Development, And The Predictable Genome By David L. Stern, Hope Hollocher, Charles H. Pence, Grant Ramsey, Michelle M. Wirth

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sex, Sickness, And Slavery: Illness In The Antebellum South, Marie Jenkins Schwartz

Civil War Book Review

Exploring Antebellum Medicine

Sex, Sickness, and Slavery is more about physicians than patients. It is an intellectual history of how doctors thought about illness, race, and gender. Doctors in the era were struggling to identify themselves as men of science, modernity, and stand....

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 …

Louisiana Agriculture Winter, 2013

Louisiana Agriculture

No abstract provided.

Quantum Random Walks With Multiphoton Interference And High-Order Correlation Functions, Bryan T. Gard, Robert M. Cross, Petr M. Anisimov, Hwang Lee, Jonathan P. Dowling

Faculty Publications

We show a simulation of quantum random walks (QRWs) with multiple photons using a staggered array of 50/50 beam splitters with a bank of detectors at any desired level. We discuss the multiphoton interference effects that are inherent to this setup, and introduce one, two, and threefold coincidence detection schemes. Feynman diagrams are used to intuitively explain the unique multiphoton interference effects of these QRWs. © 2013 Optical Society of America.

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 …

Synthesis And Biological Investigations Of A Znpc-Anticea Bioconjugate For Imaging Of Colorectal Cancer, Inder Sehgal, Hairong Li, Benson Ongarora, Daniel Devillier, M. Graça H. Vicente

Faculty Publications

Two zinc(II) phthalocyanines (ZnPcs) were conjugated with a monoclonal antibody (MAb) directed against carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), using an in situ activated carboxylic acid on the ZnPcs. The bioconjugate with the highest ZnPc/MAb ratio of 3 was investigated in vitro for its ability to target and fluorescently label human colorectal HT-29 cells. The ZnPc-CEA MAb 2 was observed to efficiently target HT-29 cells, about 37 times more than unconjugated ZnPc. Furthermore, in the presence of a 4-fold excess of unlabelled anti-CEA antibody, the fluorescence signal of 2 was reduced by ∼90% showing that the targeting is CEA-mediated. These studies further confirm …

Design, Synthesis And Characterization Of Peptidomimetic Conjugate Of Bodipy Targeting Her2 Protein Extracellular Domain, Sashikanth Banappagari, Alecia Mccall, Krystal Fontenot, M. Graca H. Vicente, Amit Gujar, Seetharama Satyanarayanajois

Faculty Publications

Among the EGFRs, HER2 is a major heterodimer partner and also has important implications in the formation of particular tumors. Interaction of HER2 protein with other EGFR proteins can be modulated by small molecule ligands and, hence, these protein-protein interactions play a key role in biochemical reactions related to control of cell growth. A peptidomimetic (compound 5-1) that binds to HER2 protein extracellular domain and inhibits protein-protein interactions of EGFRs was conjugated with BODIPY (4,4-difluoro-5,7-dimethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza- s-indacene). Conjugation of BODIPY to the peptidomimetic was investigated by different approaches. The conjugate was characterized for its ability to bind to HER2 overexpressing SKBR-3 …

Requirement Of Vesicle-Associated Membrane Protein 721 And 722 For Sustained Growth During Immune Responses In Arabidopsis., Hye Sup Yun, Mark Kwaaitaal, Naohiro Kato, Changhyun Yi, Sohyeon Park, Masa H. Sato, Paul Schulze-Lefert, Chian Kwon

Faculty Publications

Extracellular immune responses to ascomycete and oomycete pathogens in Arabidopsis are dependent on vesicle-associated secretion mediated by the SNARE proteins PEN1 syntaxin, SNAP33 and endomembrane-resident VAMP721/722. Continuous movement of functional GFP-VAMP722 to and from the plasma membrane in non-stimulated cells reflects the second proposed function of VAMP721/722 in constitutive secretion during plant growth and development. Application of the bacterium-derived elicitor flg22 stabilizes VAMP721/722 that are otherwise constitutively degraded via the 26S proteasome pathway. Depletion of VAMP721/722 levels by reducing VAMP721/722 gene dosage enhances flg22-induced seedling growth inhibition in spite of elevated VAMP721/722 abundance. We therefore propose that plants prioritize the …

Alkane Hydroxylase Gene (Alkb) Phylotype Composition And Diversity In Northern Gulf Of Mexico Bacterioplankton, Conor B. Smith, Bradley B. Tolar, James T. Hollibaugh, Gary M. King

Faculty Publications

Natural and anthropogenic activities introduce alkanes into marine systems where they are degraded by alkane hydroxylases expressed by phylogenetically diverse bacteria. Partial sequences for alkB, one of the structural genes of alkane hydroxylase, have been used to assess the composition of alkane-degrading communities, and to determine their responses to hydrocarbon inputs. We present here the first spatially extensive analysis of alkB in bacterioplankton of the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGoM), a region that experiences numerous hydrocarbon inputs. We have analyzed 401 partial alkB gene sequences amplified from genomic extracts collected during March 2010 from 17 water column samples that included …

Fuel Composition Influences Fire Characteristics And Understorey Hardwoods In Pine Savanna, Darin P. Ellair, William J. Platt

Faculty Publications

Fuels in the groundcover of frequently burned south-eastern pine savannas include shed leaves of trees. Flammable needles of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) potentially increase maximum fire temperatures and durations of heating, negatively affecting other trees within the groundcover. Less flammable leaves that accumulate around the bases of understorey stems of hardwood trees such as mockernut hickories (Carya alba) in the fall potentially depress maximum fire temperatures and durations of heating, enhancing post-fire recovery. We experimentally manipulated amounts of pine and hickory leaves beneath understorey hickory stems in a pine savanna, measured temperatures during prescribed fires and assessed combustion of fuels …

Temporal Patterns Of Diversification Across Global Cichlid Biodiversity (Acanthomorpha: Cichlidae)., Caleb D. Mcmahan, Prosanta Chakrabarty, John S. Sparks, W. M.Leo Smith, Matthew P. Davis

Faculty Publications

The contrasting distribution of species diversity across the major lineages of cichlids makes them an ideal group for investigating macroevolutionary processes. In this study, we investigate whether different rates of diversification may explain the disparity in species richness across cichlid lineages globally. We present the most taxonomically robust time-calibrated hypothesis of cichlid evolutionary relationships to date. We then utilize this temporal framework to investigate whether both species-rich and depauperate lineages are associated with rapid shifts in diversification rates and if exceptional species richness can be explained by clade age alone. A single significant rapid rate shift increase is detected within …

Sweetpotato Tip Rot Incidence Is Increased By Preharvest Applications Of Ethephon And Reduced By Curing, Ramón A. Arancibia, Jeffrey L. Main, Christopher A. Clark

Faculty Publications

Tip rot, or restricted end rot, is a new sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) disease/disorder in Mississippi with unknown etiology. Since pathogen isolations have been inconsistent, a relationship of this disorder with stress is proposed. This disease/disorder is manifested as a restricted lesion at or close to the proximal end of the storage root and appears after 2 to 4 weeks in storage. In many cases, the lesion necrosis expands internally. On-farm and research station studies with preharvest foliar applications of ethephon were conducted in Mississippi to determine the potential association of tip rot with ethephon-induced stress. In addition, the effects of …

Checklist Of Insects Associated With Salvinia Minima Baker In Louisiana, Usa, Katherine A. Parys, Matthew L. Gimmel, Seth J. Johnson

Faculty Publications

This study presents a list of adult insects (excluding Diptera and Lepidoptera) collected from an infestation of an invasive aquatic weed, common salvinia (Salvinia minima Baker), in southern Louisiana, USA. Insects were sampled from May - November of 2009 and 2010 using floating pitfall traps. A total of 7,933 specimens were collected, representing seven orders, 70 families, and 235 species. Species of note include three currently undescribed species of Coleoptera, one previously undescribed braconid wasp, two new state records of Curculionidae, a new state generic record for the family Limnichidae, and a new record for the United States. © 2013 …

2013 Annual Report, Louisiana Rice Research Board, Lsu Agcenter

Louisiana Rice Research Board Annual Report

No abstract provided.

Components, Volume 9 (2013), Lsu Center For Computation And Technology

Components

No abstract provided.

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 …

Race In Biological And Biomedical Research, Richard S. Cooper

Faculty Publications

The concept of race has had a significant influence on research in human biology since the early 19th century. But race was given its meaning and social impact in the political sphere and subsequently intervened in science as a foreign concept, not grounded in the dominant empiricism of modern biology. The uses of race in sciencewere therefore often disruptive and controversial; at times, science had to be retrofitted to accommodate race, and science in turn was often used to explain and justify race. This relationship was unstable in large part because race was about a phenomenon that could not be …

A Systematic Mapping Approach Of 16q12.2/Fto And Bmi In More Than 20,000 African Americans Narrows In On The Underlying Functional Variation: Results From The Population Architecture Using Genomics And Epidemiology (Page) Study, Ulrike Peters, Kari E. North, Praveen Sethupathy, Steve Buyske, Jeff Haessler, Shuo Jiao, Megan D. Fesinmeyer, Rebecca D. Jackson, Lew H. Kuller, Aleksandar Rajkovic, Unhee Lim, Iona Cheng, Fred Schumacher, Lynne Wilkens, Rongling Li, Keri Monda, Georg Ehret, Khanh Dung H. Nguyen, Richard Cooper, Cora E. Lewis, Mark Leppert, Marguerite R. Irvin, C. Charles Gu, Denise Houston, Petra Buzkova, Marylyn Ritchie, Tara C. Matise, Loic Le Marchand, Lucia A. Hindorff, Dana C. Crawford, Christopher A. Haiman, Charles Kooperberg

Faculty Publications

Genetic variants in intron 1 of the fat mass- and obesity-associated (FTO) gene have been consistently associated with body mass index (BMI) in Europeans. However, follow-up studies in African Americans (AA) have shown no support for some of the most consistently BMI-associated FTO index single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). This is most likely explained by different race-specific linkage disequilibrium (LD) patterns and lower correlation overall in AA, which provides the opportunity to fine-map this region and narrow in on the functional variant. To comprehensively explore the 16q12.2/FTO locus and to search for second independent signals in the broader region, we fine-mapped …

The Nigerian Antihypertensive Adherence Trial: A Community-Based Randomized Trial, Adebowale Adeyemo, Bamidele O. Tayo, Amy Luke, Olugbenga Ogedegbe, Ramon Durazo-Arvizu, Richard S. Cooper

Faculty Publications

Background: Research in industrialized countries has demonstrated that a key factor limiting the control of hypertension is poor patient adherence and that the most successful interventions for long-term adherence employ multiple strategies. Very little data exist on this question in low-income countries, wherein medication-taking behavior may be less well developed. Method: We conducted a treatment adherence trial of 544 patients [mean age ∼63 years, mean blood pressure (BP) ∼168/92 mmHg] with previously untreated hypertension in urban and rural Nigeria. Eligible participants were randomized to one of two arms: clinic management only, or clinic management and home visits. Both interventions included …

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. …

Lsu General Catalog 2013-2014, Louisiana State University And Agrcultural And Mechanical College

LSU General Catalog

The LSU General Catalog describes all undergraduate and graduate departments and programs with degree requirements and courses offered for each one. The LSU General Catalog includes information on registration and financial aid as well as academic services offered to all students.

Comparative Binding Of Cry1ab And Cry1f Bacillus Thuringiensis Toxins To Brush Border Membrane Proteins From Ostrinia Nubilalis, Ostrinia Furnacalis And Diatraea Saccharalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) Midgut Tissue, Sek Yee Tan, Bonifacio F. Cayabyab, Edwin P. Alcantara, Fangneng Huang, Kanglai He, Kenneth W. Nickerson, Blair D. Siegfried

Faculty Publications

The European (Ostrinia nubilalis Hübner) and Asian corn borers (Ostrinia furnacalis Guenée) are closely related and display similar sensitivity to Cry1 toxins. In this study, we compared the binding patterns of Cry1Ab and Cry1F toxins between both Ostrinia spp., as well as the expression of putative cadherinand aminopeptidase-N (APN)-like protein receptors. Additionally, cDNA sequences of these putative toxin receptors from both Ostrinia species were compared. Ligand blots for both species indicated a similar binding pattern for Cry1Ab with the strongest immunoreactive band at 260 kDa in both species. In addition, similar expression of the putative cadherin- and APN-like protein receptors …

Staffan Müller-Wille And Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, A Cultural History Of Heredity, Charles H. Pence

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Conservation Status Of The World's Reptiles, Monika Böhm, Ben Collen, Jonathan E.M. Baillie, Philip Bowles, Janice Chanson, Neil Cox, Geoffrey Hammerson, Michael Hoffmann, Suzanne R. Livingstone, Mala Ram, Anders G.J. Rhodin, Simon N. Stuart, Peter Paul Van Dijk, Bruce E. Young, Leticia E. Afuang, Aram Aghasyan, Andrés García, César Aguilar, Rastko Ajtic, Ferdi Akarsu, Laura R.V. Alencar, Allen Allison, Natalia Ananjeva, Steve Anderson, Claes Andrén, Daniel Ariano-Sánchez, Juan Camilo Arredondo, Mark Auliya, Christopher C. Austin, Aziz Avci, Patrick J. Baker, André F. Barreto-Lima, César L. Barrio-Amorós, Dhruvayothi Basu

Faculty Publications

Effective and targeted conservation action requires detailed information about species, their distribution, systematics and ecology as well as the distribution of threat processes which affect them. Knowledge of reptilian diversity remains surprisingly disparate, and innovative means of gaining rapid insight into the status of reptiles are needed in order to highlight urgent conservation cases and inform environmental policy with appropriate biodiversity information in a timely manner. We present the first ever global analysis of extinction risk in reptiles, based on a random representative sample of 1500 species (16% of all currently known species). To our knowledge, our results provide the …