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Diving At High Altitude: O2 Transport And Utilization In The Ruddy Duck And Torrent Duck In The Andes, Kevin G. Mccracken, Graham R. Scott, Luis Alza, Andrea Astie, Ciska Bakkeren, Emil Bautista, Mariana Bulgarella, Rebecca Cheek G. Cheek, Beverly A. Chua, Neal J. Dawson, Alexis Diaz, Catherine M. Ivy, Peter B. Frappell, Cecilia Kopuchian, Sabine L. Laguë, John N. Maina, Violeta Muñoz-Fuentes, Elizabeth R. Schell, Matthew M. Smith, Ryan J. Sprenger, Pablo L. Tubaro, Elizabeth R. Schell, Matthew M. Smith, Ryan J. Sprenger, Pablo L. Tubaro, Thomas Valqui, Roy E. Weber, Daniela Wilner, Robert E. Wilson, Julia M. York, William K. Milsom

Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University

Hypoxia and cold temperatures create unique physiological challenges for high-altitude organisms that can vary depending on lifestyle. While nearly all studies of air-breathing animals at high altitude are from terrestrial species, species that breath-hold dive underwater at high altitude encounter a very different set of selective pressures influencing their phenotype. The goal of this publication is to highlight the changes in O2 transport and utilization in high-altitude diving birds relative to divers at sea level, and the extent to which these changes are qualitatively distinct from phenotypic changes in non-diving species at high altitude. For example, while high capacities for …

Louisiana Agriculture Magazine, Winter 2024, Lsu Agcenter

Louisiana Agriculture

Research at the LSU AgCenter extends well beyond the farm gate. Across 150 acres at the Hammond Research Station, experts in landscape horticulture test the best ways to grow ornamental plants and trees. In Baton Rouge, researchers study how to protect homes in the path of a hurricane. Across the state the AgCenter Healthy Communities team works to empower food pantries and improve sidewalks and other pedestrian infrastructure in rural areas.

This issue of Louisiana Agriculture focuses on these topics along with new research on soil health and high-tech delivery systems for sugarcane ripening agents. Other articles focus on the …

Another Look: American Catholics And The Quest For Equality In The Civil War Era, Jason Duncan

Civil War Book Review

Robert Emmett Curran’s masterful treatment of American Catholicism in the Civil War era is the first comprehensive history of Roman Catholics in the North and South before, during, and after the war. Curran provides an in-depth look at how the momentous developments of these decades affected the entire Catholic community, including Black and indigenous Americans. He also explores the ways that Catholics contributed to the reshaping of a nation that was testing the fundamental proposition of equality set down by its founders. Ultimately, Curran concludes, the revolution that the war touched off remained unfinished, indeed was turned backward, in no …

A Brief Moment In The Sun: Francis Cardozo And Reconstruction In South Carolina, Alexander Wing

Civil War Book Review

Neil Kinghan offers an intriguing biography of Francis Cardozo, the first African American to hold statewide office after the Civil War. As secretary of state, and later treasurer of South Carolina, Kinghan reevaluates Cardozo’s historical significance as an instrumental figure in the postwar reconstruction of the state. The primary aim of this book is to “give [Cardozo] the recognition he deserves and restore his place in African American history of the nineteenth century.” In so doing, Kinghan addresses the “still inadequate recognition of the achievements of the period and almost none of the contribution of Francis Cardozo.” The author uses …

Two Counties In Crisis: Measuring Political Change In Reconstruction Texas, Cameron Sauers

Civil War Book Review

Robert Dillard’s Two Counties in Crisis explores three decades of political culture in two divergent Texas counties. Collin County, a frontier county largely home to emigrants from other Southern states, is contrasted against Harrison County, a cotton growing county with 145 planters who each owned more than 20 enslaved peoples. Dillard claims that these counties, and Texas more broadly, did not neatly align with the political culture of the rest of the Confederacy. In a combination of political science and history, Dillard argues that a culture of backlash and resistance to federal authority defined Texas state politics in the Civil …

"To The Manor Born", Jacob N. Long

Civil War Book Review

Matthew Speiser’s To The Manor Born is bold, but bold by the attempt alone. Speiser’s history where the American Civil War never ends is a work of fiction whose high-water mark is its own synopsis. Of course, same as anything in the world of imagination, Speiser’s America could have conceivably existed.

The Lost President: A.D. Smith And The Hidden History Of Radical Democracy In Civil War America, Stephen Maizlish

Civil War Book Review

At the very outset of her deceptively titled book, Ruth Dunley admits that the subject of her biography, A.D. Smith, is a person of “secondary historical importance." Even so, she is drawn to him by the mystery involved in attempting to uncover his life story. Her journey of discovery, recounted in The Lost President, is a long and challenging one. Her persistence in pursuit of that story is impressive and unyielding. In the end, Dunley succeeds in uncovering a life dedicated to republicanism as a would-be president of Canada, a judge who declared the Fugitive Slave Law unconstitutional, and a …

Soldier Of Destiny: Slavery, Secession, And The Redemption Of Ulysses S. Grant, Joshua Waddell

Civil War Book Review

In 1854, U.S. Army Captain Ulysses S. Grant underwent a demoralizing stretch in his military career. Following his service in the Mexican American War, the Army transferred Grant to the isolated Fort Humboldt in northern California. Separated from his wife, Julia, and their two children, Grant suffered intense bouts of loneliness and occasionally turned to alcohol for reprieve. Grant’s drinking eventually bled into his work, and his superior officer forced his resignation after Grant arrived at a pay meeting hungover. He returned home in shame, and many, including his father Jesse, had lost faith in him. Few would have expected …

The Abolitionist Civil War: Immediatists And The Struggle To Transform The Union, Bonnie Laughlin-Schultz

Civil War Book Review

In The Abolitionist Civil War, Frank J. Cirillo offers a much-needed study of abolitionist activity during the Civil War. In twelve tightly chronological chapters, he highlights the ideas, interventions, and arguments of abolitionists from Secession Winter through May 1865. Cirillo focuses on ten abolitionists ranging from well-known figures William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass to lesser-known folks such as George Cheever and Stephen and Abby Kelley Foster to the Virginia outlier Moncure Conway, and he sorts them into several fluctuating camps based on how they chose to engage with Civil War politics. Ultimately, he argues that in the majority’s wartime …

War, Politics, & Change, Kennon H. Keiser Jr.

Civil War Book Review

Historians have long documented the ways in which war and politics bring about social, economic, and cultural change. Nowhere is this more evident than during the American Civil War and Reconstruction. The war devastated the South; it upended the system of chattel slavery and instigated remarkable transformations to the region’s demographics, political, and economic structures. Reconstruction emerged out of the ashes of war. This critical and hotly debated period redefined U.S. citizenship, expanded suffrage rights, and altered the relationship between the federal government and the states. Many of the lofty goals of Reconstruction, however, fell short as southern “Redeemers” regained …

A Look At Lincoln, Frank J. Williams

Civil War Book Review

The Lincoln Miracle focuses not on the iconic president but on the sophisticated tactics leading to his nomination at the Wigwam in Chicago over those fateful days. Amid today’s political environment, where the Republican party—at least regarding its higher ideals—appears dormant, Edward Achorn takes his readers back to that fateful moment in in the Civil War era, when the Republican party stood for progressive principles.

Interculturality, Creolization, And Globalization In "Ángeles Nómadas" By Minelys Sánchez, Cecily Bernard

Comparative Woman

No abstract provided.

Biology, Ecology, And Management Of Redbanded Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), Olabimpe O. Okosun, Justin George, Maribel Portilla, James P. Glover, Katherine A. Parys, Gadi V.P. Reddy

Faculty Publications

The redbanded stink bug (RBSB), Piezodorus guildinii (Westwood) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is an invasive stink bug species and a polyphagous pest of cultivated crops and non-cultivated wild plants. The increase in soybean cultivation during the 1960s-1970s led to the spread of RBSB as an economic pest of soybean throughout South America, especially in Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. In the early 2000s, RBSB became an economic concern to US agriculture and is currently a key species in a stink bug complex that damages soybean in many mid-southern states. RBSB causes extensive damage to soybeans and other economically important leguminous crops by feeding …

Understanding Inequality In U.S. Farm Subsidies Using Large-Scale Administrative Data, Jisang Yu, Sunghun Lim

Faculty Publications

Using a large-scale, individual-level administrative data set for 2008–2021, we document the inequality in farm program payments across all recipients in the U.S. By examining the relationship between within-county inequality and demographic characteristics of farmers in a county, we find that there is a positive association between the share of Black operators and within-county inequality. We also provide suggestive evidence that a substantial portion of racial and gender disparities in farm payments are associated with crop production characteristics. We then utilize name information in farm payment data to infer the race and gender of individual payees. The analysis using approximately …

Feminist Phenomenology And First-Person Narrative: Understanding Gender And Social Conflict In Anna Burns’ Milkman, Sushree Routray, Rashmi Gaur Professor

Comparative Woman

In her magnum opus Milkman (2018), Anna Burns employs a subversive and artfully crafted first-person narrative, deftly exposing the arduous and tumultuous struggles encountered by individuals who dare to defy the confines of traditional gender roles. Through a relentless and unflinching narrative, the novel fearlessly confronts the harrowing manifestations of psychological torment, the insidious spectre of relentless stalking, and the manipulative machinations of gaslighting, all the while fervently interrogating the notion of a fixed and immutable gender identity. In a relentless odyssey toward self-realization, the protagonist's journey unfurls against a backdrop of traumatic events and the unyielding pressures imposed by …

Women, Animals, Food: Planetary Perspectives On The Non-(Hu)Man, Samu/Elle Striewski

Comparative Woman

The paper comparatively reads Mahasweta Devi’s Pterodactyl, Pirtha, and Puran Sahay (1995) and Margaret Atwood’s The Year of the Flood (2009) to trace the ways in which both novels show the complex intertwinement of the climate crisis with gender, class, race, subalternity, anthropocentrism, and veganism. Bringing together Gayatri C. Spivak’s notion of “planetarity” with ecofeminist philosophy and literary criticism, the article proposes a planetary ecogender reading of the two texts and their representation of the non-man, non-human, and non-subject. Building up further on Jacques Derrida’s critique of carno-phallogocentrism, the pedagogy of a relational ethics of “nurturing” is hence presented …

Memory And Myth In The Creation Of Identity: The Establishment Of The Vernal Public Library, Suzanne Marie Stauffer

Faculty Publications

Local history and lore reports that the Vernal Public Library owed its inception to a performance of Queen Esther Opera in 1907. However, the Vernal Express makes no mention of such a performance (nor can any such opera be identified), while it does record multiple other community fundraising events held to benefit the public library. One such, a unique event in public library history, occurred in 1908 when the public library association held a benefit performance of a stage version of Owen Wister’s popular Western novel, The Virginian. This documented event, however, seems to have been lost to history, as …

Renal Epithelial Mitochondria: Implications For Hypertensive Kidney Disease, Krisztian Stadler, Daria V. Ilatovskaya

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 2 U.S. adults have hypertension, and more than 1 in 7 chronic kidney disease. In fact, hypertension is the second leading cause of kidney failure in the United States; it is a complex disease characterized by, leading to, and caused by renal dysfunction. It is well-established that hypertensive renal damage is accompanied by mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress, which are differentially regulated and manifested along the nephron due to the diverse structure and functions of renal cells. This article provides a summary of the relevant knowledge of mitochondrial bioenergetics …

Mobile Intervention To Address Cannabis Use Disorder Among Black Adults: Protocol For A Randomized Controlled Trial, Pamella Nizio, Bryce Clausen, Michael S. Businelle, Natalia Ponton, Ava A. Jones, Brooke Y. Redmond, Julia D. Buckner, Ezemenari M. Obasi, Michael J. Zvolensky, Lorra Garey

Faculty Publications

Background: African American or Black (hereafter referred to as Black) adults who use cannabis use it more frequently and are more likely to meet criteria for cannabis use disorder (CUD) than both White and Hispanic or Latin individuals. Black adults may be more apt to use cannabis to cope with distress, which constitutes a false safety behavior (FSB; a behavior designed to reduce psychological distress in the short term). Although FSB engagement can perpetuate the cycle of high rates of CUD among Black individuals, limited work has applied an FSB elimination treatment approach to Black adults with CUD, and no …

Rationale And Challenges For A New Instrument For Remote Measurement Of Negative Symptoms, David Gordon Daniel, Alex S. Cohen, Philip D. Harvey, Dawn I. Velligan, William Z. Potter, William P. Horan, Raeanne C. Moore, Stephen R. Marder

Faculty Publications

There is a broad consensus that the commonly used clinician-administered rating scales for assessment of negative symptoms share significant limitations, including (1) reliance upon accurate self-report and recall from the patient and caregiver; (2) potential for sampling bias and thus being unrepresentative of daily-life experiences; (3) subjectivity of the symptom scoring process and limited sensitivity to change. These limitations led a work group from the International Society of CNS Clinical Trials and Methodology (ISCTM) to initiate the development of a multimodal negative symptom instrument. Experts from academia and industry reviewed the current methods of assessing the domains of negative symptoms …

Insights Into Properties Of Biomass Energy Pellets Made From Mixtures Of Woody And Non-Woody Biomass: A Meta-Analysis, Rajitha Lakshan Rupasinghe, Priyan Perera, Rangika Bandara, Hiran Amarasekera, Richard Vlosky

Faculty Publications

There is a widespread global shift toward renewable energy sources, where the emphasis is on enhancing the utilization of renewable energy due to the rising costs associated with fossil fuels. In this light, biomass pellets made from woody and non-woody biomass and blends have gained increased attention. Extensive research has been conducted globally to enhance the quality of biomass pellets and to explore the potential to combine woody biomass with other non-woody forms of biomass in biomass pellet production. The heterogeneity of the raw materials used and resulting properties of the biomass pellets have led to the establishment of internationally …

Strategic Environmental Consumer Segmentation: An Exploratory Case Study In Slovakia, Hana Maťová, Miroslava Oravcová Triznová, Vladislav Kaputa, Erika Loučanová, Richard P. Vlosky

Faculty Publications

The desire to live in a healthy “green” environment is becoming increasingly important to global populations. The term “green” is overused, confusing, and inconsistently used among and between consumers, corporate enterprises, environmental groups, government entities, and other segments globally. Research studies suggest that defining and applying the term “green” to behaviors and decision-making is constantly changing, further complicating the study of corporate and consumer environmental responsibility. In this study, we focus on the consumer. Not all consumers behave the same or have the same beliefs and perceptions regarding what is environmentally “green.” As such, we segmented consumers in Slovakia into …

Webster Parish Library, 1929-1935 : A Rosenwald Demonstration Library, Suzanne Marie Stauffer

Faculty Publications

In 1929 the Julius Rosenwald Fund instituted its County Demonstration Library program of matching grants to promote public library service to Blacks in the South. By the end of the program, total circulation in the demonstration counties averaged 5.2 per capita, with circulation among Blacks more than twice what it had been the previous year. One such segregated library system was established in Webster Parish Louisiana with the support of the State Library Commission. The central white library and eight branches opened on October 4, 1929. The central Black library and four branches opened a short time later. The Library …

Environmental Friendly Applications Of Ground Tire Rubber (Gtr) In Producing Concrete, Zahid Hossain, Ashraf Elsayed, Abu Sayed Mohammad Akid

Publications

Millions of waste automobile tires are generated yearly, an ever-growing issue for solid waste management authorities in Arkansas. Using waste tires as fuel generates toxic gases or dumping them in landfills is not sustainable. Hence, it is crucial to minimize the issues of managing and disposing of waste tires and incorporate them into concrete as construction material. This study aimed to investigate the fresh, mechanical, and durability properties of concrete incorporating waste ground tire rubber (GTR) as a replacement for sand and micronized rubber powder (MRP) as a replacement for cement. A total of eight concrete mixtures were prepared using …

Climate Change Impacts On Asset Management Of Texas Concrete Bridges, Muhammad Ali, Jiannan Cai, Ao Du

Publications

This study investigates the interplay of climate-induced deterioration factors impacting concrete bridges in Texas, focusing on chloride and carbonation-induced corrosion. It integrates Fick’s second law to model chloride diffusion and employs empirical equations to predict corrosion initiation and severe crack damage. Sensitivity studies across representative Texas cities (Houston, Dallas, and Amarillo) shows varying deterioration risks due to climate change. Results highlight chloride-induced corrosion as more prominent, particularly affecting coastal bridges in Houston, while carbonation corrosion is negligible due to favorable concrete cover. Condition rating mapping simulations incorporating crack width effects, traffic impact, and maintenance interventions are calibrated against recorded National …

Local Social Capital, Disaster Housing Damage, And Mental Health: Insights From Hurricane Harvey, Ethan J. Raker, Kevin T. Smiley

Faculty Publications

Community-level social capital has been theorized to shape mental health, particularly in disaster contexts, but methodological complexities hamper prior studies. Pairing zip-code-level data on social capital from Opportunity Insights with repeated cross-sectional health survey data before and after Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas, we examine how local social capital moderated the mental health consequences of disaster housing damage. We first document null associations between local social capital and residents’ mental health before the disaster. Next, we fit models predicting psychological distress and poor mental health days, revealing that local levels of economic connectedness and rates of volunteering offset adverse mental …

Pause For Reflection: Musings From The Editorial Team, Rajashi Ghosh, Stefanos Nachmias, David Mcguire, Ague Mae Manongsong, Alene Montgomery

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Characterization Of Rhizosphere Microbial Diversity And Selection Of Plant-Growth-Promoting Bacteria At The Flowering And Fruiting Stages Of Rapeseed, Mengjiao Wang, Haiyan Sun, Zhimin Xu

Faculty Publications

Plant rhizosphere microorganisms play an important role in modulating plant growth and productivity. This study aimed to elucidate the diversity of rhizosphere microorganisms at the flowering and fruiting stages of rapeseed (Brassica napus). Microbial communities in rhizosphere soils were analyzed via high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA for bacteria and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) DNA regions for fungi. A total of 401 species of bacteria and 49 species of fungi in the rhizosphere soil samples were found in three different samples. The composition and diversity of rhizosphere microbial communities were significantly different at different stages of rapeseed growth. Plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) …

Challenges And Opportunities In Sustainability Reporting: A Focus On Small And Medium Enterprises (Smes), Santi Setyaningsih, Rosita Widjojo, Peter Kelle

Faculty Publications

The purpose of the study was to observe how Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) struggle to develop the sustainability reports that are today important and required by consumers. The rationale is that the sustainability report is influenced by governance practices, social responsibility, and environmental impact. The research successfully summarizes the barriers from 37 influential sustainability report papers by employing a thorough systematic literature review. It was based on 6 well-known databases with the limitation of exclusion criteria such as 11 years of research (2012–2023), used English, and more than 4 pages articles. According to the findings of this literature review …

The Role Of Magnetar Transient Activity In Time-Domain And Multimessenger Astronomy, Michela Negro, George Younes, Zorawar Wadiasingh, Eric Burns, Aaron Trigg, Matthew Baring

Faculty Publications

Time-domain and multimessenger astronomy (TDAMM) involves the study of transient and time-variable phenomena across various wavelengths and messengers. The Astro2020 Decadal Survey has identified TDAMM as the top priority for NASA in this decade, emphasizing its crucial role in advancing our understanding of the universe and driving new discoveries in astrophysics. The TDAMM community has come together to provide further guidance to funding agencies, aiming to define a clear path toward optimizing scientific returns in this research domain. This encompasses not only astronomy but also fundamental physics, offering insights into properties of gravity, the formation of heavy elements, the equation …