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Claudin-1 As A Novel Target Gene Induced In Obesity And Associated To Inflammation, Fibrosis, And Cell Differentiation, Pablo Fernández-García, Siri D. Taxerås, Marjorie Reyes-Farias, Lorena González, Andrea Soria-Gondek, Silvia Pellitero, Jordi Tarascó, Pau Moreno, Lauro Sumoy, Jacqueline M. Stephens, Lindsey G. Yoo, María Galán, Adriana Izquierdo, Gema Medina-Gómez, Laura Herrero, Patricia Corrales, Francesc Villarroya, Rubén Cereijo, David Sánchez-Infantes Mar 2024

Claudin-1 As A Novel Target Gene Induced In Obesity And Associated To Inflammation, Fibrosis, And Cell Differentiation, Pablo Fernández-García, Siri D. Taxerås, Marjorie Reyes-Farias, Lorena González, Andrea Soria-Gondek, Silvia Pellitero, Jordi Tarascó, Pau Moreno, Lauro Sumoy, Jacqueline M. Stephens, Lindsey G. Yoo, María Galán, Adriana Izquierdo, Gema Medina-Gómez, Laura Herrero, Patricia Corrales, Francesc Villarroya, Rubén Cereijo, David Sánchez-Infantes

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Objective: T lymphocytes from visceral and subcutaneous white adipose tissues (vWAT and sWAT, respectively) can have opposing roles in the systemic metabolic changes associated with obesity. However, few studies have focused on this subject. Claudin-1 (CLDN1) is a protein involved canonically in tight junctions and tissue paracellular permeability. We evaluated T-lymphocyte gene expression in vWAT and sWAT and in the whole adipose depots in human samples. Methods: A Clariom D-based transcriptomic analysis was performed on T lymphocytes magnetically separated from vWAT and sWAT from patients with obesity (Cohort 1; N = 11). Expression of candidate genes resulting from that analysis …


Speculating About Genocide: The Queensland Frontier 1859–1897, Mark Finnane, Jonathan Richards Mar 2024

Speculating About Genocide: The Queensland Frontier 1859–1897, Mark Finnane, Jonathan Richards

Faculty Publications

In the colonisation of Queensland, Australia it is commonly accepted that large numbers of Indigenous people were killed in the second half of the nineteenth century. Calculations of violent mortality have recently been revised radically upwards. We suggest that the methodology deployed in these new studies is unreliable, reflecting errors in counting and calculation, as well as underestimating the selection bias of the samples. We caution against projecting aggregate violent mortality where the underlying data are so imperfect and emphasise the value of more detailed local and regional studies to inform better understanding of colonisation's impact on First Peoples.


Influence Of Hesperidin On The Physico-Chemical, Microbiological And Sensory Characteristics Of Frozen Yogurt †, Roberto Cedillos, Ricardo S. Aleman, Ryan Page, Douglas W. Olson, Charles Boeneke, Witoon Prinyawiwatkul, Kayanush Aryana Mar 2024

Influence Of Hesperidin On The Physico-Chemical, Microbiological And Sensory Characteristics Of Frozen Yogurt †, Roberto Cedillos, Ricardo S. Aleman, Ryan Page, Douglas W. Olson, Charles Boeneke, Witoon Prinyawiwatkul, Kayanush Aryana

Faculty Publications

Frozen yogurts contain yogurt culture bacteria, which might impart health benefits to their consumers. Global frozen yogurt market sales are expected to grow by 4.8% by 2028, which represents an important opportunity for the industry, consumers and researchers. Polyphenols are metabolites found in plants which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and might prevent chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The objective of this study was to elucidate the effect of the polyphenol hesperidin on the physico-chemical, microbiological and sensory characteristics of frozen yogurts. Hesperidin was incorporated into frozen yogurt at three concentrations (125, 250 and 500 mg/90 …


Sustainable Sweetpotato Production In The United States: Current Status, Challenges, And Opportunities, Justin George, Gadi V.P. Reddy, Phillip A. Wadl, William Rutter, Julianna Culbreath, Pierre W. Lau, Tahir Rashid, Matthew C. Allan, Suzanne D. Johaningsmeier, Amanda M. Nelson, Ming Li Wang, Augustine Gubba, Kai Shu Ling, Yan Meng, Daniel J. Collins, Sathish K. Ponniah, Prasanna H. Gowda Mar 2024

Sustainable Sweetpotato Production In The United States: Current Status, Challenges, And Opportunities, Justin George, Gadi V.P. Reddy, Phillip A. Wadl, William Rutter, Julianna Culbreath, Pierre W. Lau, Tahir Rashid, Matthew C. Allan, Suzanne D. Johaningsmeier, Amanda M. Nelson, Ming Li Wang, Augustine Gubba, Kai Shu Ling, Yan Meng, Daniel J. Collins, Sathish K. Ponniah, Prasanna H. Gowda

Faculty Publications

Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas L.) is an important staple crop cultivated in over 100 countries, and the storage roots and vines provide food for humans and livestock. Sweetpotato consumption and demand for its value-added products have increased significantly in the last two decades and have led to new cultivar development, expansion in acreage, and increased demand in the United States and its export markets. Despite the known nutritional components and other health benefits, further research is needed to characterize the genetic diversity and chemical composition related to their storage root qualities, essential in developing consumer-preferred cultivars that offer host plant resistance …


Two-Pore Potassium Channel Trek-1 (K2p2.1) Regulates Nlrp3 Inflammasome Activity In Macrophages, Camille N. Immanuel, Bin Teng, Brittany E. Dong, Elizabeth M. Gordon, Charlean Luellen, Benjamin Lopez, Jeffrey Harding, Stephania A. Cormier, Elizabeth A. Fitzpatrick, Andreas Schwingshackl, Christopher M. Waters Mar 2024

Two-Pore Potassium Channel Trek-1 (K2p2.1) Regulates Nlrp3 Inflammasome Activity In Macrophages, Camille N. Immanuel, Bin Teng, Brittany E. Dong, Elizabeth M. Gordon, Charlean Luellen, Benjamin Lopez, Jeffrey Harding, Stephania A. Cormier, Elizabeth A. Fitzpatrick, Andreas Schwingshackl, Christopher M. Waters

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Because of the importance of potassium efflux in inflammasome activation, we investigated the role of the two-pore potassium (K2P) channel TREK-1 in macrophage inflammasome activity. Using primary alveolar macrophages (AMs) and bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) from wild-type (wt) and TREK-1–/– mice, we measured responses to inflammasome priming [using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)] and activation (LPS þ ATP). We measured IL-1b, caspase-1, and NLRP3 via ELISA and Western blot. A membrane-permeable potassium indicator was used to measure potassium efflux during ATP exposure, and a fluorescence-based assay was used to assess changes in membrane potential. Inflammasome activation induced by LPS þ ATP increased IL-1b …


An Island ‘Endemic’ Born Out Of Hybridization Between Introduced Lineages, Jessie F. Salter, Robb T. Brumfield, Brant C. Faircloth Mar 2024

An Island ‘Endemic’ Born Out Of Hybridization Between Introduced Lineages, Jessie F. Salter, Robb T. Brumfield, Brant C. Faircloth

Faculty Publications

Humans have profoundly impacted the distribution of plant and animal species over thousands of years. The most direct example of these effects is human-mediated movement of individuals, either through translocation of individuals within their range or through the introduction of species to new habitats. While human involvement may be suspected in species with obvious range disjunctions, it can be difficult to detect natural versus human-mediated dispersal events for populations at the edge of a species' range, and this uncertainty muddles how we understand the evolutionary history of populations and broad biogeographical patterns. Studies combining genetic data with archaeological, linguistic and …


A Pragmatic Trial Of A Family-Centered Approach To Childhood Obesity Treatment: Rationale And Study Design, Amanda E. Staiano, Alyssa M. Button, Alison Baker, Robbie Beyl, Anne Marie Conn, Angela Lima, Jeanne Lindros, Robert L. Newton, Richard I. Stein, R. Robinson Welch, Stephen Cook, Denise E. Wilfley Mar 2024

A Pragmatic Trial Of A Family-Centered Approach To Childhood Obesity Treatment: Rationale And Study Design, Amanda E. Staiano, Alyssa M. Button, Alison Baker, Robbie Beyl, Anne Marie Conn, Angela Lima, Jeanne Lindros, Robert L. Newton, Richard I. Stein, R. Robinson Welch, Stephen Cook, Denise E. Wilfley

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Background: Family-based behavioral treatment (FBT) is an effective intensive health behavior and lifestyle treatment for obesity reduction in children and adolescents, but families have limited access. The purpose of this randomized, pragmatic, comparative effectiveness trial was to examine changes in child relative weight in a 12-month, enhanced standard of care (eSOC) intervention combined with FBT (eSOC+FBT) vs. eSOC alone. Methods: Children aged 6 to 15 years with obesity, and their primary caregiver, were recruited from primary care clinics. Families were randomized 1:1 to eSOC, a staged approach led by the primary care provider that gradually intensified dependent on a child's …


Artifactual Orthologs And The Need For Diligent Data Exploration In Complex Phylogenomic Datasets: A Museomic Case Study From The Andean Flora, Laura A. Frost, Ana M. Bedoya, Laura P. Lagomarsino Mar 2024

Artifactual Orthologs And The Need For Diligent Data Exploration In Complex Phylogenomic Datasets: A Museomic Case Study From The Andean Flora, Laura A. Frost, Ana M. Bedoya, Laura P. Lagomarsino

Faculty Publications

The Andes mountains of western South America are a globally important biodiversity hotspot, yet there is a paucity of resolved phylogenies for plant clades from this region. Filling an important gap in our understanding of the World's richest flora, we present the first phylogeny of Freziera (Pentaphylacaceae), an Andean-centered, cloud forest radiation. Our dataset was obtained via hybrid-enriched target sequence capture of Angiosperms353 universal loci for 50 of the ca. 75 spp., obtained almost entirely from herbarium specimens. We identify high phylogenomic complexity in Freziera, including the presence of data artifacts. Via by-eye observation of gene trees, detailed examination of …


Effects Of Teosinte Flour (Dioon Mejiae) On Selected Physicochemical Characteristics And Consumer Perceptions Of Gluten-Free Cocoa Cookies Formulated With Mung Bean (Vigna Radiata) Flour, Carlos José Rivera, Ricardo S. Aleman, Jorge Ortega, Andrea Muela, Jhunior Marcia, Joan King, Witoon Prinyawiwatkul Mar 2024

Effects Of Teosinte Flour (Dioon Mejiae) On Selected Physicochemical Characteristics And Consumer Perceptions Of Gluten-Free Cocoa Cookies Formulated With Mung Bean (Vigna Radiata) Flour, Carlos José Rivera, Ricardo S. Aleman, Jorge Ortega, Andrea Muela, Jhunior Marcia, Joan King, Witoon Prinyawiwatkul

Faculty Publications

Dioon mejiae, or teosinte, is a living fossil tree discovered in Olancho, Honduras, whose seeds have a desirable nutritional profile that can provide health benefits. As a result, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of teosinte flour obtained from seeds on selected physicochemical characteristics and consumer perceptions of gluten-free cocoa cookies formulated with mung bean (Vigna radiata) flour. Gluten-free cocoa cookies were prepared with different levels of teosinte flour (0%, 70%, 80%, 90%, and 100% by weight of mung bean flour) in substitution of mung bean flour. The cookies were evaluated for texture hardness, color (L*, …


Gendered Perceptions And Socio-Economic And Spatial Determinants Of Fear Of Crime: An Empirical Analysis In Szczecin, Poland, Natalia Sypion, Arkadiusz Kołodziej, Michael Leitner, Marek Dutkowski Mar 2024

Gendered Perceptions And Socio-Economic And Spatial Determinants Of Fear Of Crime: An Empirical Analysis In Szczecin, Poland, Natalia Sypion, Arkadiusz Kołodziej, Michael Leitner, Marek Dutkowski

Faculty Publications

The study of the fear of crime phenomenon provides a socially and politically important research question. Many studies show that gender differentiates the fear of crime, which is why we examine this phenomenon in a spatial perspective. The female versus male perspective of feelings of safety in residential areas were significantly different. The research was carried out using the CAWI technique in the city of Szczecin, in Poland (n=346). The research also examined which factors influenced the fear of crime the most: darkness, socio-economic characteristics, type of violations, number of registered crimes, or the assessment of police work. The research …


Synergnet: A Graph Neural Network Model To Predict Anticancer Drug Synergy, Mengmeng Liu, Gopal Srivastava, J. Ramanujam, Michal Brylinski Mar 2024

Synergnet: A Graph Neural Network Model To Predict Anticancer Drug Synergy, Mengmeng Liu, Gopal Srivastava, J. Ramanujam, Michal Brylinski

Faculty Publications

Drug combination therapy shows promise in cancer treatment by addressing drug resistance, reducing toxicity, and enhancing therapeutic efficacy. However, the intricate and dynamic nature of biological systems makes identifying potential synergistic drugs a costly and time-consuming endeavor. To facilitate the development of combination therapy, techniques employing artificial intelligence have emerged as a transformative solution, providing a sophisticated avenue for advancing existing therapeutic approaches. In this study, we developed SynerGNet, a graph neural network model designed to accurately predict the synergistic effect of drug pairs against cancer cell lines. SynerGNet utilizes cancer-specific featured graphs created by integrating heterogeneous biological features into …


A Simplified Model For The Study Of Film-Boiling Droplet Motion On Microscale Ratchets, Sheldon Wang, Jeong Tae Ok, Sunggook Park, Mahmoud Elsharafi, Yu Guo Mar 2024

A Simplified Model For The Study Of Film-Boiling Droplet Motion On Microscale Ratchets, Sheldon Wang, Jeong Tae Ok, Sunggook Park, Mahmoud Elsharafi, Yu Guo

Faculty Publications

In this work, we explore a simplified model based on both analytical and computational methods for the study of film-boiling droplet motion on microscale ratchets. We consider a specific ratchet design with the length periods and depth of ratchets much smaller than the size of the droplet. We conclude based on our modeling that for the ratchet configuration considered in this paper, the conduction within the vapor film is the dominant means of heat transfer in comparison with convection and radiation. Furthermore, we demonstrate a more manageable two-dimensional model in which analytical approaches coupled with computational approaches yield reasonably accurate …


Producing Digital Reflections Of Reality Through Intercultural Filmmaking And Multisensory Engagement, Trai Thomas Feb 2024

Producing Digital Reflections Of Reality Through Intercultural Filmmaking And Multisensory Engagement, Trai Thomas

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the author’s production of three intercultural, multisensory films situated in New Orleans, encompassing elements both narrative and documentary genres. Intercultural cinema exists in a setting where people of different cultural backgrounds live together in power-inflicted spaces of diaspora, colonialism, and cultural apartheid and the development of the story is centered around exoticism, fetishization, and fascination with the other (Marks 2007, 1). Multisensory media primarily engages through visual perception and auditory input, which create cultural knowledge stored as long-term memory files in the brain (Marks 2007).


Effector-Triggered Susceptibility By The Rice Blast Fungus Magnaporthe Oryzae, Ely Oliveira-Garcia, Xia Yan, Miriam Oses-Ruiz, Samuel De Paula, Nicholas J. Talbot Feb 2024

Effector-Triggered Susceptibility By The Rice Blast Fungus Magnaporthe Oryzae, Ely Oliveira-Garcia, Xia Yan, Miriam Oses-Ruiz, Samuel De Paula, Nicholas J. Talbot

Faculty Publications

Rice blast, the most destructive disease of cultivated rice world-wide, is caused by the filamentous fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. To cause disease in plants, M. oryzae secretes a diverse range of effector proteins to suppress plant defense responses, modulate cellular processes, and support pathogen growth. Some effectors can be secreted by appressoria even before host penetration, while others accumulate in the apoplast, or enter living plant cells where they target specific plant subcellular compartments. During plant infection, the blast fungus induces the formation of a specialized plant structure known as the biotrophic interfacial complex (BIC), which appears to be crucial for …


Survival And Cause-Specific Mortality Of Male Wild Turkeys Across The Southeastern United States, Patrick H. Wightman, Erin E. Ulrey, Nicholas W. Bakner, Jay R. Cantrell, Charles R. Ruth, Emily Rushton, Cody A. Cedotal, John C. Kilgo, David J. Moscicki, Krishna Pacifici, Christopher E. Moorman, Bret A. Collier, Michael J. Chamberlain Feb 2024

Survival And Cause-Specific Mortality Of Male Wild Turkeys Across The Southeastern United States, Patrick H. Wightman, Erin E. Ulrey, Nicholas W. Bakner, Jay R. Cantrell, Charles R. Ruth, Emily Rushton, Cody A. Cedotal, John C. Kilgo, David J. Moscicki, Krishna Pacifici, Christopher E. Moorman, Bret A. Collier, Michael J. Chamberlain

Faculty Publications

Estimating survival and cause-specific mortality of male eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) is important for understanding population dynamics and implementing appropriate harvest management. To better understand age-specific estimates of annual survival and harvest rates, we captured and marked male wild turkeys with leg bands (n = 311) or bands and transmitters (n = 549) in Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina, USA, during 2014–2022. We fitted time to event models to data from radio-marked birds to estimate cause-specific mortality and annual survival. We used band recovery models incorporating both band recovery and telemetry data to further investigate harvest …


Sedimentary Processes And Instability On The Mississippi River Delta Front Near The Shipwreck Of The Ss Virginia, Nathan Figueredo, Samuel J. Bentley, Jason D. Chaytor, Kehui Xu, Navid Jafari, Ioannis Y. Georgiou, Melanie Damour, Jeffrey Duxbury, Jeffrey Obelcz, Jillian Maloney Feb 2024

Sedimentary Processes And Instability On The Mississippi River Delta Front Near The Shipwreck Of The Ss Virginia, Nathan Figueredo, Samuel J. Bentley, Jason D. Chaytor, Kehui Xu, Navid Jafari, Ioannis Y. Georgiou, Melanie Damour, Jeffrey Duxbury, Jeffrey Obelcz, Jillian Maloney

Faculty Publications

Sediment cores were collected from a mudflow lobe (80 m water depth) offshore of the Mississippi River’s Southwest Pass in 2017 to better understand the sedimentology near the lobe entraining the SS Virginia shipwreck (sunk by a German U-boat in 1942) and surrounding Mississippi River delta front. Core analyses included 210Pb/137Cs geochronology, granulometry, and X-radiography. Sediment accumulation rates (SAR) calculated from excess 210Pb activity in multicores are 0.22–0.29 cm/y at seabed depths less than 20 cm and 0.29–0.51 cm/y at depths greater than 20 cm. Accumulation rates for 137Cs have been ~0.15 to ~0.37 cm/y …


Conflict And Race In Literature & Law. The Case Of Americanah, Emanuela Ignatoiu Sora Jan 2024

Conflict And Race In Literature & Law. The Case Of Americanah, Emanuela Ignatoiu Sora

Comparative Woman

In Americanah, the 2013 novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, there is a scene when one of the characters, Laura, speaks of her Ugandan classmate who did not get along with an African-American colleague. Laura is surprised as, for her, all persons of color are similar, with no understanding for their differences in background, personal stories and experiences. The novel depicts and critiques this very categorization of race, which flattens differences, conflating groups and individuals who might share very little, if anything. For a long time, law (with its stipulations, precedents and rulings) has operated in a similar manner, disengaging …


Against Conflict, Against Occupation: Protest Songs In India And Kashmir, Mridula Sharma Jan 2024

Against Conflict, Against Occupation: Protest Songs In India And Kashmir, Mridula Sharma

Comparative Woman

The establishment of All India Progressive Writers’ Association in colonial India encouraged artists to articulate and examine social realities. Literary-cultural productions, particularly popular songs in Hindi films, in independent India continued to remain preoccupied with social conflicts such as religious bigotry and communalism. Sahir Ludhianvi’s “Yeh Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaye” (trans. “What can one gain, even if one gains this world?,” 1958 ) and “Yeh Kiska Lahu Hai, Kaun Mara” (trans. “Whose Blood Has Spilled? Who Died?,” 1961) are early examples of a lasting tide of pessimism owing to communal violence during the 1947 India-Pakistan …


A Focus Group Study Among Insufficiently Physically Active African American Adults Regarding Technology-Delivered Team-Based Gamification For Physical Activity Promotion, Courtney M. Monroe, Kristen Zosel, Melissa Stansbury, Nicholas Younginer, Rachel E. Davis, Gareth Dutton, Robert L. Newton, Bo Cai, Delia Smith West Jan 2024

A Focus Group Study Among Insufficiently Physically Active African American Adults Regarding Technology-Delivered Team-Based Gamification For Physical Activity Promotion, Courtney M. Monroe, Kristen Zosel, Melissa Stansbury, Nicholas Younginer, Rachel E. Davis, Gareth Dutton, Robert L. Newton, Bo Cai, Delia Smith West

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Background: Gamification represents a promising approach for facilitating positive social interactions among groups of individuals and is increasingly being leveraged in physical activity (PA) interventions to promote enhanced intervention engagement and PA outcomes. Although African American (AA) adults experience disparities associated with health conditions that can be ameliorated with increased PA, little is known about how best to culturally target PA gamification strategies for this population. The purpose of this study was to gather perspectives from AA adults residing in the Southeast United States and subsequently identify themes to help inform the cultural adaptation of an existing electronic and mobile …


Power Grid Resiliency Enhancement Against Flood-Induced Hazards, Mohadese Movahednia Jan 2024

Power Grid Resiliency Enhancement Against Flood-Induced Hazards, Mohadese Movahednia

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Natural disasters, such as floods, may damage power system assets and lead to widespread and long outages. The impact of flood can be alleviated by preventive actions such as installing tiger dams around power substations before the flood. In this regard, it is imperative that critical substations are identified in terms of the connected load and imposed costs to the system. This study presents a resource allocation approach for protecting power substations against flood events a day ahead of the event. First, the required information for the model is extracted. Flood probability distribution functions are used to generate several flood …


In Search Of The Armorial Aesthetic: The Counter-Reform Of Ariano Suassuna And The Compositional Techniques In Clovis Pereira’S Suite Macambira, Wagner De Oliveira Duarte Jan 2024

In Search Of The Armorial Aesthetic: The Counter-Reform Of Ariano Suassuna And The Compositional Techniques In Clovis Pereira’S Suite Macambira, Wagner De Oliveira Duarte

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, in the wake of the Week of Modern Art in São Paulo in 1922, Brazil grappled with defining its national identity, distinct from European influences. While eminent figures such as Villa-Lobos, Camargo Guarnieri, and Francisco Mignone provided foundational narratives in this quest, the Armorial movement emerged as a unique and emblematic response to these nationalistic aspirations.

Originating from the creative vision of Ariano Suassuna, the Armorial movement, though often perceived as a regional initiative, epitomized a broader endeavor to represent Brazil's diverse cultural tapestry. Central to understanding this movement is the work …


Incubating Education: The Lived Experiences Of Louisiana Elementary And Middle School Teachers When Piloting A 4-H Stem School Enrichment Curriculum, Crystal Rose Ahrens Jan 2024

Incubating Education: The Lived Experiences Of Louisiana Elementary And Middle School Teachers When Piloting A 4-H Stem School Enrichment Curriculum, Crystal Rose Ahrens

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study addressed a deficiency in the agricultural literacy of the U.S. population by focusing on the challenges that core subject teachers face when integrating agriculture into their curriculum. Using a phenomenological research approach, this investigation explored the lived experiences of Louisiana teachers who piloted a 4-H STEM curriculum, focusing on the growth in agricultural literacy of the teachers while instructing third and eighth-grade students on the agricultural-based and STEM-focused topic of embryology. Employing a transcendental phenomenological approach, I acknowledged my biases through reflexivity and adhered to ethical considerations, including informed consent and confidentiality. Key findings emerged through four themes …


Death, Dreaming, And Diaspora: Achieving Orientation Through Afro-Spirituality, Liz Johnston, Jaime Elizabeth Johnston Jan 2024

Death, Dreaming, And Diaspora: Achieving Orientation Through Afro-Spirituality, Liz Johnston, Jaime Elizabeth Johnston

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Enslavement, colonization, and the systems that uphold racial injustice were and still are a series of new, unfathomable, and challenging experiences that prompt individuals within the diaspora to seek orientation. How does a human cope with centuries of attempts at the systematic destruction of their humanity, culture, and identity? How can they reclaim that identity, especially when so much of it seems lost? I address these questions by utilizing texts from the expansive body of work regarding ethnographic-historical-religious studies on Afro-spiritual practices to better analyze instances in literature in the ongoing practice of diasporic orientation. In this project, I argue …


The Relationship Between The Saharan Air Layer, Convective Environmental Conditions, And Precipitation In Puerto Rico, P. W. Miller, C. Ramseyer Jan 2024

The Relationship Between The Saharan Air Layer, Convective Environmental Conditions, And Precipitation In Puerto Rico, P. W. Miller, C. Ramseyer

Faculty Publications

The Saharan Air Layer (SAL) is a hot, dry, and dust-laden feature that advects large concentrations of dust across the Atlantic annually to destination regions in the Americas and Caribbean. However, recent work has suggested the SAL may be a contributing factor to high-impact drought in the Caribbean basin. While the SAL's characteristic dust loadings have been the focus of much previous research, fewer efforts have holistically engaged the co-evolution of the dust plume, its associated convective environment, and resultant rainfall in Caribbean islands. This study employs a self-organizing map (SOM) classification to identify the common trans-Atlantic dust transport typologies …


Time, Place, & Purpose: The Performance Of Creole Identity In Louisiana, Rachel N. Aker Jan 2024

Time, Place, & Purpose: The Performance Of Creole Identity In Louisiana, Rachel N. Aker

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Though much of the early development of Louisiana Creole culture can be found in New Orleans, the culture spread and continued to grow throughout the rest of South Louisiana in both similar and different ways. Expanding beyond Joseph Roach’s treatment of Creole cultural performances in New Orleans in Cities of the Dead (1996) and journeying across land and water, this project identifies more Creole cultural performance as they emerge across place and time. I present Louisiana and the Gulf South as a kind of inland archipelago, with the currents of culture-creation moving in and around distinct community enclaves. The flow …


On Lightweight Shape Memory Vitrimer Composites, Siavash Sarrafan, Guoqiang Li Jan 2024

On Lightweight Shape Memory Vitrimer Composites, Siavash Sarrafan, Guoqiang Li

Faculty Publications

Lightweight materials are highly desired in many engineering applications. A popular approach to obtain lightweight polymers is to prepare polymeric syntactic foams by dispersing hollow particles, such as hollow glass microbubbles (HGMs), in a polymer matrix. Integrating shape memory vitrimers (SMVs) in fabricating these syntactic foams enhances their appeal due to the multifunctionality of SMVs. The SMV-based syntactic foams have many potential applications, including actuators, insulators, and sandwich cores. However, there is a knowledge gap in understanding the effect of the HGM volume fraction on different material properties and behaviors. In this study, we prepared an SMV-based syntactic foam to …


Soil Improvement Using Fungal Mycelium Of Trichoderma Virens And Construction Techniques Of Mud Dauber, Park Joon Soo Jan 2024

Soil Improvement Using Fungal Mycelium Of Trichoderma Virens And Construction Techniques Of Mud Dauber, Park Joon Soo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Traditional ground improvement techniques involve high energy consumption and expensive and invasive earthworks. To develop sustainable ground improvement techniques, extensive research has explored biological processes and strategies. This dissertation identifies two organisms, fungal mycelium and mud dauber wasp, as sources of utilization and inspiration for the development of sustainable soil improvement techniques.

Filamentous fungi can form a root-like interconnected complex network known as fungal mycelium. Fungal mycelium can extend through soil pores and secrete hydrophobic compounds, binding soil particles and increasing soil water repellency. This dissertation conducted experimental studies to investigate the effects of fungal mycelium on hydraulic and mechanical …


Charting The Scorched Trails: A Comparative Analysis Of Roadway Damage From Historical Megafires To The Unprecedented 2020 Labor Day Wildfires On The Usa West Coast, Kevin Christiansen, Ayat Al Assi, Rubayet Bin Mostafiz, Robert V. Rohli Jan 2024

Charting The Scorched Trails: A Comparative Analysis Of Roadway Damage From Historical Megafires To The Unprecedented 2020 Labor Day Wildfires On The Usa West Coast, Kevin Christiansen, Ayat Al Assi, Rubayet Bin Mostafiz, Robert V. Rohli

Faculty Publications

Roadways in the US states of Washington (WA), Oregon (OR), and California (CA) incurred extraordinary damage during the 2020 Labor Day wildfires. However, the cost and risk of these fires have not been placed in a historical perspective. This study examines the damage to roadways affected by the 2020 Labor Day wildfires in relation to the history of megafires in WA (1902–2023), OR (1845– 2023), and CA (1889–2023) using carefully selected data sets gathered from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), and California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). A method for classifying road damage from …


Identifying And Filling Critical Knowledge Gaps Can Optimize Financial Viability Of Blue Carbon Projects In Tidal Wetlands, Tim J.B. Carruthers, S. Beaux Jones, Megan K. Terrell, Jonathan F. Scheibly, Brendan J. Player, Valerie A. Black, Justin R. Ehrenwerth, Patrick D. Biber, Rod M. Connolly, Steve Crooks, Jason P. Curole, Kelly M. Darnell, Alyssa M. Dausman, Allison L. Dejong, Shawn M. Doyle, Christopher R. Esposito, Daniel A. Friess, James W. Fourqurean, Ioannis Y. Georgiou, Gabriel D. Grimsditch, Songjie He, Eva R. Hillmann, Guerry O. Holm, Jennifer Howard, Hoonshin Jung, Stacy D. Jupiter, Erin Kiskaddon, Ken W. Krauss, Paul S. Lavery, Bingqing Liu, Catherine E. Lovelock, Sarah K. Mack, Peter I. Macreadie Jan 2024

Identifying And Filling Critical Knowledge Gaps Can Optimize Financial Viability Of Blue Carbon Projects In Tidal Wetlands, Tim J.B. Carruthers, S. Beaux Jones, Megan K. Terrell, Jonathan F. Scheibly, Brendan J. Player, Valerie A. Black, Justin R. Ehrenwerth, Patrick D. Biber, Rod M. Connolly, Steve Crooks, Jason P. Curole, Kelly M. Darnell, Alyssa M. Dausman, Allison L. Dejong, Shawn M. Doyle, Christopher R. Esposito, Daniel A. Friess, James W. Fourqurean, Ioannis Y. Georgiou, Gabriel D. Grimsditch, Songjie He, Eva R. Hillmann, Guerry O. Holm, Jennifer Howard, Hoonshin Jung, Stacy D. Jupiter, Erin Kiskaddon, Ken W. Krauss, Paul S. Lavery, Bingqing Liu, Catherine E. Lovelock, Sarah K. Mack, Peter I. Macreadie

Faculty Publications

One of the world’s largest “blue carbon” ecosystems, Louisiana’s tidal wetlands on the US Gulf of Mexico coast, is rapidly being lost. Louisiana’s strong legal, regulatory, and monitoring framework, developed for one of the world’s largest tidal wetland systems, provides an opportunity for a programmatic approach to blue carbon accreditation to support restoration of these ecologically and economically important tidal wetlands. Louisiana’s coastal wetlands span ∼1.4 million ha and accumulate 5.5–7.3 Tg yr−1 of blue carbon (organic carbon), ∼6%–8% of tidal marsh blue carbon accumulation globally. Louisiana has a favorable governance framework to advance blue carbon accreditation, due to …


Fascism: A Reading List With Notes, Michael F. Russo Jan 2024

Fascism: A Reading List With Notes, Michael F. Russo

Faculty Publications

Today, Fascism is on the rise around the world including, dismayingly, in the United States of America, threatening the rule of law, which is the basis of democracy. In the U. S. Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican nominee for president, has declared himself the standard bearer for authoritarian rule. If he wins, it is likely the United States will cease to be a democracy. If democracy is to survive, it is essential that citizens understand fascism, how it comes into existence, and what it does once it has taken root is essential. That is the reason for this reading list.