Digital Commons Network^™

Stretching The Envelope Of Past Surface Environments: Neoproterozoic Glacial Lakes From Svalbard, Huiming Bao, Ian J. Fairchild, Peter M. Wynn, Christoph Spötl

Faculty Publications

The oxygen isotope composition of terrestrial sulfate is affected measurably by many Earth-surface processes. During the Neoproterozoic, severe "snowball" glaciations would have had an extreme impact on the biosphere and the atmosphere. Here, we report that sulfate extracted from carbonate lenses within a Neoproterozoic glacial diamictite suite from Svalbard, with an age of ∼635 million years ago, falls well outside the currently known natural range of triple oxygen isotope compositions and indicates that the atmosphere had either an exceptionally high atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration or an utterly unfamiliar oxygen cycle during deposition of the diamictites.

Salt Marshes And Eutrophication: An Unsustainable Outcome, R. Eugene Turner, B L. Howes, J M. Teal, C S. Milan, D D. Goehringer-Toner

Faculty Publications

Most plant production by emergent coastal marshes occurs belowground. This belowground production adds to the accumulation of organic matter sustaining salt marshes as sea level rises, thus preventing excessive flooding, eventual plant death, and habitat loss. The ubiquitous nutrient enrichment of coastal salt marshes stimulating aboveground plant growth may result in higher rates of inorganic matter accumulation that compensates for marsh flooding caused by sea level rise. Results from several short-term experiments, however, demonstrate that root and rhizome biomass and carbon accumulation is reduced with nutrient enrichment, suggesting that eutrophication of coastal waters may not be a compensatory counterbalance to …

Global Change And Eutrophication Of Coastal Waters, N N. Rabalais, R. Eugene Turner, R J. Diaz, D Justic, N N. Rabalais

Faculty Publications

The cumulative effects of global change, including climate change, increased population, and more intense industrialization and agri-business, will likely continue and intensify the course of eutrophication in estuarine and coastal waters. As a result, the symptoms of eutrophication, such as noxious and harmful algal blooms, reduced water quality, loss of habitat and natural resources, and severity of hypoxia (oxygen depletion) and its extent in estuaries and coastal waters will increase. Global climate changes will likely result in higher water temperatures, stronger stratification, and increased inflows of freshwater and nutrients to coastal waters in many areas of the globe. Both past …

Comments On Buzan Et Al. “Positive Relationships Between Freshwater Inflow And Oyster Abundance In Galveston Bay, Texas”, R. Eugene Turner

Faculty Publications

Buzan et al. critique Turner’s (Estuaries and Coasts 29:345–352, 2006) analysis of the relationship between freshwater inflow and oyster productivity in the Gulf of Mexico, using 16 years of fisheries-independent data for Galveston Bay. They conclude that the catch-per-unit effort (CPUE; number h−1) of marketable oysters increase 1 to 2 years after years with increased freshwater inflows, and they express concerns that water supply managers may mis-apply the results of Turner (Estuaries and Coasts 29:345–352, 2006) to justify a reduced freshwater inflow to Galveston Bay. I find no relationship between the CPUE of oyster spat or marketable oyster density and …

Disturbance Impacts On Mercury Dynamics In Northern Gulf Of Mexico Sediments, B. Liu, L.A. Schaider, R.P. Mason, M.S. Bank, N.N. Rabalais, P.W. Swarzenski, J.P. Shine, T. Holiweg, D.B. Senn

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Natural And Human-Induced Hypoxia On Coastal Benthos, L.A. Levin, W. Ekau, A.J. Gooday, F. Jorissen, J.J. Middelburg, S.W.A. Naqvi, C. Neira, N.N. Rabalais, J. Zhang

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Hypoxia-Related Processes In The Baltic Sea, D.J. Conley, S. Bj̈Orck, E. Bonsdorff, J. Carstensen, G. Destouni, B.G. Gustafsson, S. Hietanen, M. Kortekaas, H. Kuosa, H.E.M. Meier, B. Müller-Karulis, K. Nordberg, A. Norkko, G. Nürnberg, H. Pitkänen, N.N. Rabalais, R. Rosenberg, O.P. Savchuk, C.P. Slomp, M. Voss, F. Wulff, L. Zillén

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Dead Zone Dilemma, R.J. Díaz, R. Rosenberg, N.N. Rabalais, L.A. Levin

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Historical Records Of Coastal Eutrophication-Induced Hypoxia, A.J. Gooday, F. Jorissen, L.A. Levin, J.J. Middelburg, S.W.A. Naqvi, N.N. Rabalais, M. Scranton, J. Zhang

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Gumbo Yearbook, Class Of 2009, Louisiana State University And Agricultural And Mechanical College

Gumbo Yearbook

The Gumbo yearbook chronicles the entire academic year at LSU. In words and especially photos, the Gumbo shows the people, places, and events that make each year unique. In addition to formal portraits of schools and departments, the book contains hundreds of snapshots of students with their friends and dozens of pages showcasing organizations.

The Role Of Black Barbudans In The Establishment Of Open-Range Cattle Herding In The Colonial Caribbean And South Carolina, Andrew Sluyter

Faculty Publications

Some significant problems remain in understanding the establishment of open-range cattle herding in the Caribbean and North America, especially regarding the role of blacks in that process. Research to date has identified the Greater Antilles, especially Spanish Cuba and British Jamaica, as the sole Caribbean sources of settlers who established the herding systems of, respectively, Mexico and South Carolina. Yet an open-range cattle herding system also occurred in the British Lesser Antilles, which provided many of the settlers for the South Carolina colony. Archival and field research in Antigua and Barbuda provide the basis for comprehensive reconstruction of that system’s …

Enhanced Immune Response Of Red Deer (Cervus Elaphus) To Live Rb51 Vaccine Strain Using Composite Microspheres, Angela M. Arenas-Gamboa, Thomas A. Ficht, Donald S. Davis, Philip H. Elzer, Alfredo Wong-Gonzalez, Allison C. Rice-Ficht

Faculty Publications

Brucellosis is an important zoonotic disease of nearly worldwide distribution. The occurrence of the infection in humans is largely dependent on the prevalence of brucellosis in animal reservoirs, including wildlife. The current vaccine used for cattle Brucella abortus strain RB51, has proven ineffective in protecting bison (Bison bison) and elk (Cervus nelsoni) from infection and abortion. To test possible improvements in vaccine efficacy, a novel approach of immunization was examined from April 2004 to November 2006 using alginate composite microspheres containing a nonimmunogenic, eggshell-precursor protein of the parasite Fasciola hepatica (Vitelline protein B, VpB) to deliver live vaccine strain RB51. …

Influence Of Calcium And Phosphorus Feeding On Markers Of Bone Metabolism In Transition Cows, V. R. Moreira, L. K. Zeringue, C. C. Williams, C. Leonardi, M. E. Mccormick

Faculty Publications

A study was carried out to verify the effect of Ca and P levels on production, digestibility, and serum bone metabolism biomarkers in dairy cows. Fifty-two nonlactating multiparous cows (≥3 lactations) were confined in a free-stall barn approximately 20 d before calving. A standard close-up diet was fed to cows once daily until d 2 postpartum. Cows were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 dietary treatments arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial approach averaging 0.64% Ca for high Ca (HCa), 0.46% Ca for low Ca (LCa), 0.47% P for high P (HP), and 0.38% P for low P (LP) …

Life Cycle And Larval Morphology Of Diomus Terminatus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) And Its Potential As A Biological Control Agent Of Melanaphis Sacchari (Hemiptera: Aphididae), W. Akbar, C. Carlton, T. E. Reagan

Faculty Publications

The life cycle, morphology, and potential of Diomus terminatus Say (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) to control the sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari (Zehntner) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), were examined in the laboratory. The morphologies of first and fourth instars are described and illustrated, with emphasis on characters of first instar that differ from those of later instars. Dramatic differences exist in the relative size and abundance of specialized setae between early and late instars. Field-collected late instars of D. terminatus were successfully reared to adult stage at 26°C by using M. sacchari feeding on small pieces of sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) leaves. The eggs laid on …

Diverse Elevational Diversity Gradients In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S.A., Nathan J. Sanders, Robert R. Dunn, Matthew C. Fitzpatrick, Christopher E. Carlton, Michael R. Pogue, Charles R. Parker, Theodore R. Simons

Faculty Publications

© 2010 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC. Less well studied, however, are the factors that shape elevational diversity gradients. Because many climatic factors vary systematically along elevational gradients, as they might along latitudinal gradients, elevational diversity gradients were thought to be miniature versions of latitudinal gradients (Körner, 2000). For example, Brown (1988) wrote, “Just as change of physical conditions with altitude resembles in many respects the variation with latitude, so the decreasing diversity of most organisms with increasing elevation mirrors in most respects the latitudinal gradient of species richness.” Stevens (1992) noted that, “Biologists have long recognized that elevational …

Louisiana Agriculture Winter, 2009

Louisiana Agriculture

No abstract provided.

Ambient Dose Equivalent Versus Effective Dose For Quantifying Stray Radiation Exposures To A Patient Receiving Proton Therapy For Prostate Cancer, Jonas D. Fontenot, Phillip T. Taddei, Yuanshui Zheng, Dragan Mirkovic, Wayne D. Newhauser

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the suitability of the quantity ambient dose equivalent H*(10) as a conservative estimate of effective dose E for estimating stray radiation exposures to patients receiving passively scattered proton radiotherapy for cancer of the prostate. H*(10), which is determined from fluence free-in-air, is potentially useful because it is simpler to measure or calculate because it avoids the complexities associated with phantoms or patient anatomy. However, the suitability of H*(10) as a surrogate for E has not been demonstrated for exposures to high-energy neutrons emanating from radiation treatments with proton beams. The suitability was …

Reducing Stray Radiation Dose For A Pediatric Patient Receiving Proton Craniospinal Irradiation, Phillip J. Taddei, Dragan Mirkovic, Jonas D. Fontenot, Annelise Giebeler, Yuanshui Zheng, Uwe Titt, Shiao Woo, Wayne D. Newhauser

Faculty Publications

The aim of this study was to quantify stray radiation dose from neutrons emanating from a proton treatment unit and to evaluate methods of reducing this dose for a pediatric patient undergoing craniospinal irradiation. The organ equivalent doses and effective dose from stray radiation were estimated for a 30.6-Gy treatment using Monte Carlo simulations of a passive scattering treatment unit and a patient-specific voxelized anatomy. The treatment plan was based on computed tomography images of a 10-yr-old male patient. The contribution to stray radiation was evaluated for the standard nozzle and for the same nozzle but with modest modifications to …

A Track-Repeating Algorithm For Fast Monte Carlo Dose Calculations Of Proton Radiotherapy, Pablo Yepes, Sharmalee Randeniya, Phillip J. Taddei, Wayne D. Newhauser

Faculty Publications

Monte Carlo codes are utilized for accurate dose calculations in proton radiation therapy research. While they are superior in accuracy to commonly used analytical dose calculations, they require significantly longer computation times. The aim of this work is to characterize a Monte Carlo track-repeating algorithm to increase computation speed without compromising dosimetric accuracy. The track-repeating approach reduced the CPU time required for a complete dose calculation in voxel- ized patient anatomy by more than two orders of magnitude, while on average reproducing the results from the traditional Monte Carlo approach within 4% dose difference and within 1-mm distance to agreement.

Louisiana Survey 2009, Lsu Reilly Center For Media & Public Affairs

Reilly Center Louisiana Surveys

The 2009 Louisiana Survey demonstrated a continued decline in resident confidence in the economic prospects of the state. In addition to measuring concerns and opinions about the budget shortfall and tax situation in the state, the 2009 Survey focused on:

• attitudes towards higher education, especially in light of state budget cuts
• attitudes towards the benefits and availability of quality Pre-K education
• opinions on creationism as a subject to be taught in public schools
• perceptions of the outlook for personal finances
• perceptions of state and national business conditions
• effectiveness of LA government in attracting and encouraging businesses
• healthcare
• tax increases and …

Sos1 And Halophytism., Dong Ha Oh, Ali Zahir, Dae Jin Yun, Ray A. Bressan, Hans J. Bohnert

Faculty Publications

Much is already known about the function and functioning of the three genes that make up the SOS (Salt-Overly-Sensitive) pathway in plants, but recent studies indicate that the linkage between external increases in salinity and stress protection provided by genes SOS1, SOS2 and SOS3 is more complex than previously appreciated. It has recently been shown that the engineered reduced expression of the sodium/proton antiporter SOS1 affected several pathways indicating a role for SOS1 that exceeds its known function as an antiporter. Interference with expression of SOS1, characterized as a sodium/proton antiporter in the halophyte Thellungiella salsuginea converted Thellungiella into an …

Phylogenetic Relationships Among Seed Plants: Persistent Questions And The Limits Of Molecular Data, Sarah Mathews

Faculty Publications

Trees inferred from DNA sequence data provide only limited insight into the phylogeny of seed plants because the living lineages (cycads, Ginkgo, conifers, gnetophytes, and angiosperms) represent fewer than half of the major lineages that have been detected in the fossil record. Nevertheless, phylogenetic trees of living seed plants inferred from sequence data can provide a test of relationships inferred in analyses that include fossils. So far, however, significant uncertainty persists because nucleotide data support several conflicting hypotheses. It is likely that improved sampling of gymnosperm diversity in nucleotide data sets will help alleviate some of the analytical issues encountered …

Adipose Tissue Collagen Vi In Obesity, Magdalena Pasarica, Barbara Gowronska-Kozak, David Burk, Isabel Remedios, David Hymel, Jeff Gimble, Eric Ravussin, George A. Bray, Steven R. Smith

Faculty Publications

Objectives: Basic science studies show that the extracellular matrix of adipose tissue, mainly represented by collagen VI, is dysfunctional in obesity and contributes to the development of the metabolic syndrome. We hypothesized in humans that increased collagen VI α3-subunit (COL6A3) mRNAis associated with adipose tissue macrophage chemotaxis and inflammation and that weight gain is accompanied by changes in the expression of COL6A3. Research Design and Methods: Adipose tissue biopsies were obtained from a cross-sectional study (n = 109), an overfeeding study (n = 9), and a pioglitazone treatment study (n = 14). Adipose tissue gene expression was measured by quantitative …

Community-Wide Assessment Of Gpcr Structure Modelling And Ligand Docking: Gpcr Dock 2008, Mayako Michino, Enrique Abola, Charles L. Brooks, J. Scott Dixon, John Moult, Raymond C. Stevens, Arthur Olson, Wiktor Jurkowski, Arne Elofsson, Slawomir Filipek, Irina Pogozheva, Andrei Lomize, Bernard Maigret, Jeremy Horst, Ambrish Roy, Brady Bernard, Shyamala Iyer, Yang Zhang, Ram Samudrala, Osman Ugur Sezerman, Gregory V. Nikiforovich, Christina M. Taylor, Stefano Costanzi, Y. Vorobjev, N. Bakulina, V. Solovyev, Kazuhiko Kanou, Daisuke Takaya, Genki Terashi, Mayuko Takeda-Shitaka, Hideaki Umeyama, William A. Goddard, Youyong Li, Soo Kyung Kim

Faculty Publications

Recent breakthroughs in the determination of the crystal structures of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have provided new opportunities for structure-based drug design strategies targeting this protein family. With the aim of evaluating the current status of GPCR structure prediction and ligand docking, a community-wide, blind prediction assessment - GPCR Dock 2008 - was conducted in coordination with the publication of the crystal structure of the human adenosine A2Areceptor bound to the ligand ZM241385. Twenty-nine groups submitted 206 structural models before the release of the experimental structure, which were evaluated for the accuracy of the ligand binding mode and the overall …

Differential Gene Expression Of Resistant And Susceptible Sweetpotato Plants After Infection With The Causal Agents Of Sweet Potato Virus Disease, Cecilia E. Mcgregor, Douglas W. Miano, Don R. Labonte, Mary Hoy, Chris A. Clark, Guilherme J.M. Rosa

Faculty Publications

Sweet potato virus disease (SPVD) is one of the most devastating diseases affecting sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas), an important food crop in developing countries. SPVD develops when sweetpotato plants are dually infected with sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV) and sweet potato chlorotic stunt virus (SPCSV). To better understand the synergistic interaction between these viruses, global gene expression was previously studied in the susceptible cultivar Beauregard. In the current study, global gene expression between SPVD-affected plants and virus-tested control plants (VT) were compared in 'Beauregard' (Bx) and resistant 'NASPOT 1' (Nas) sweetpotato cultivars at 5, 9, 13, and 17 days post …

Components, Volume 5 (2009), Lsu Center For Computation & Technology

Components

No abstract provided.

Reaction Of Potato Cultivars To Streptomyces Scabies, Causal Agent Of Deep Common Scab, Ivan Herman Fischer, Ana Paula Matoso Teixeira, Leonardo Toffano, Ely Oliveira Garcia

Faculty Publications

This work aimed to characterize the isolates of Streptomyces, responsible for deep common scab symptoms in potato, according to morphological and physiological criteria; to evaluate the resistance of potato cultivars to the disease and the aggressiveness of bacterium isolates. The Streptomyces isolates presented gray coloration on yeast extract and malt medium and spiral spore chains, produced on aerial hyphae. Production of melanina occurred in tirosine-agar medium and the utilization of eight recommended carbon sources. These properties correspond to the S. scabies species. Healthy potato seeds of six cultivars were planted in substratum infested with six isolates of S. scabies separately, …

Stabilization In A Two-Species Chemostat With Monod Growth Functions, Frédéric Mazenc, Michael Malisoff, Jérôme Harmand

Faculty Publications

We design feedback controllers for two species chemostats so that an equilibrium with arbitrary prescribed positive species concentrations becomes globally asymptotically stable. We use a new global explicit strict Lyapunov function construction, which allows us to quantify the effects of disturbances using the input-to-state stability paradigm.We assume that only a linear combination of the species concentrations is known. We illustrate our approach using a numerical example. © 2009, IEEE. All rights reserved.

Burke's Reflections On The Revolution In France Cross-Channel Representations, Norbert Col

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

Sperm Cryopreservation Of A Live-Bearing Fish, Xiphophorus Couchianus: Male-To-Male Variation In Post-Thaw Motility And Production Of F1 Hybrid Offspring, Huiping Yang, Leona Hazlewood, Ronald B. Walter, Terrence R. Tiersch

Faculty Publications

Fishes of the genus Xiphophorus are well-studied biomedical research models, and some species, such as X. couchianus, are currently listed as endangered in the wild. Sperm cryopreservation in these live-bearing fishes has begun recently. Thus far, live young have been produced with cryopreserved sperm only in one species (Xiphophorus helleri). In this study, the goal was to develop a practical protocol for sperm cryopreservation of Xiphophorus couchianus, and to produce live young with cryopreserved sperm. Sperm were collected by crushing of testis in Hanks' balanced salt solution at an osmolality of 500 mOsmol/kg (HBSS500), and were cryopreserved with 14% glycerol …