Digital Commons Network^™

Briquetage And Brine: Living And Working At The Classic Maya Salt Works Of Ek Way Nal, Belize, Heather Mckillop, E. Cory Sills

Faculty Publications

Systematic flotation survey and spatial analysis of artifacts at the submerged salt work of Ek Way Nal reveal evidence of a residence, salt kitchens, and additional activities. Ek Way Nal is one of 110 salt works associated with a Late to Terminal Classic (A.D. 600-900) salt industry known as the Paynes Creek Salt Works. Wooden posts that form the walls of 10 buildings are remarkably preserved in a peat bog below the sea floor providing an opportunity to examine surface artifacts in relation to buildings. Numerous salt kitchens have been located at the Paynes Creek Salt Works by evidence of …

Hearts Torn Asunder: Trauma In The Civil War’S Final Campaign In North Carolina, Jonathan M. Atkins

Civil War Book Review

In Hearts Torn Asunder: Trauma in the Civil War’s Final Campaign in North Carolina, author Earnest A. Dollar "focuses...on the war's impact on" the soldiers "and on the civilians caught between the two armies" in a "fresh look at...the war's most significant remaining theater after Appomattox" writes reviewer Jonathan M. Atkins

The Long Civil War: New Explorations Of America's Enduring Conflict, Thomas F. Curran

Civil War Book Review

Reviewer Thomas F. Curran writes that The Long Civil War: New Explorations of America’s Enduring Conflict, edited by John David Smith and Raymond Arsenault provides an “expansive spectrum of scholarship being produced” on the Civil War era “that employs a broader chronological understanding of the war.” The collected essays investigate several aspects of the Civil War era—antebellum antislaveryism, Civil War commanders and their tactics, disabled veterans and veteran suicide, historical memory of Lincoln, including that of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the historiography of slavery, and the Civil War era in film culture. The book “provides a taste” of the …

The Democratic Collapse: How Gender Politics Broke A Party And A Nation, 1856-1861, Bonnie Laughlin-Schultz

Civil War Book Review

Reviewer Bonnie Laughlin-Schultz writes that Democratic Collapse is an "engaging and succinct work," in which "Lauren N. Haumesser complicates our understanding of the unraveling of the two-party system in the 1850s, shedding new light on the coming of the Civil War through a careful examination of the gendered rhetoric of Republicans, Democrats, and, ultimately, Constitutional Unionists."

Segregation In The New South: Birmingham, Alabama, 1871 - 1901, Williamjames Hoffer

Civil War Book Review

Reviewer Williamjames Hoffer explains that Segregating the New South "is an important contribution to the history of the New South, Black America, and the origins of Jim Crow" that convincingly challenges the idea that segregation began after Reconstruction, as otherwise argued by "C. Vann Woodward and his successors."

“Knowing Which Way The Wind Was Blowing During Reconstruction”, Hans Rasmussen

Civil War Book Review

The events of Reconstruction played out within the context of an agrarian society where most people lived in rural areas, close to nature and susceptible to the fickle whims of weather and climate. A dry summer, a wet spring, a sudden flood, or an early killing frost may have put a locality’s agricultural economy out of joint for a while and spun off other political or social reverberations. Understanding how these various political, economic, social, and climactic factors played off each other to produce the volatile events of the Reconstruction era will present a challenging puzzle for historians to unravel. …

Cherokee Civil Warrior: Chief John Ross And The Struggle For Tribal Sovereignty, W. Dale Weeks

Civil War Book Review

"For the Cherokee Nation, the Civil War was more than a contest between the Union and the Confederacy. It was yet another battle in the larger struggle against multiple white governments for land and tribal sovereignty. Cherokee Civil Warrior tells the story of Chief John Ross as he led the tribe in this struggle." - University of Oklahoma Press

Cherokee Civil Warrior: Chief John Ross And The Struggle For Tribal Sovereignty, C. Joseph Genetin-Pilawa

Civil War Book Review

In Cherokee Civil Warrior, W. Dale Weeks offers several arguments about Cherokee history and United States Indian policy in the Civil War Era while seeking to reframe how scholars understand Chief John Ross’s wartime leadership.

Perspectives On The Civil War Era, K. Howell Keiser Jr.

Civil War Book Review

The book reviews and feature essay in this fall 2023 issue of the Civil War Book Review highlight the Civil War Era from the perspectives of various individuals and groups – black sailors and surgeons, women, guerillas, cavalry soldiers, Cherokee warriors, and veterans. The sectional crisis and the war to come shaped the lives of countless individuals, and no one person experienced these years from the same perspective.

Planetary Protection: An International Concern And Responsibility, Athena Coustenis, Niklas Hedman, Peter T. Doran, Omar Al Shehhi, Eleonora Ammannito, Masaki Fujimoto, Olivier Grasset, Frank Groen, Alexander G. Hayes, Vyacheslav Ilyin, K. Praveen Kumar, Caroline Emmanuelle Morisset, Christian Mustin, Karen Olsson-Francis, Jing Peng, Olga Prieto-Ballesteros, Francois Raulin, Petra Rettberg, Silvio Sinibaldi, Yohey Suzuki, Kanyan Xu, Maxim Zaitsev

Faculty Publications

Planetary protection is a set of measures agreed upon at an international level to ensure the protection of scientific investigation during space exploration. As space becomes more accessible with traditional and new actors launching complex and innovative projects that involve robotics (including sample return) and human exploration, we have the responsibility to protect the pristine environments that we explore and our own biosphere. In this sense, the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) provides the international standard for planetary protection as well as a forum for international consultation. COSPAR has formulated a Planetary Protection Policy with associated requirements for responsible space …

Multifunctional Composite With Hybrid Carbon Fiber And Carbonaceous Coconut Particle Reinforcement, Foster Feni, Maryam Jahan, Rong Zhao, Guoqiang Li, Guang Lin Zhao, Patrick F. Mensah

Faculty Publications

The utilization of multifunctional composite materials presents significant advantages in terms of system efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and miniaturization, making them highly valuable for a wide range of industrial applications. One approach to harness the multifunctionality of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) is to integrate it with a secondary material to form a hybrid composite. In our previous research, we explored the use of carbonaceous material derived from coconut shells as a sustainable alternative to inorganic fillers, aiming to enhance the out-of-plane mechanical performance of CFRP. In this study, our focus is to investigate the influence of carbonized coconut shell particles on …

Toward The Development Of Plasticity Theories For Application To Small-Scale Metal Structures, Bin Zhang, K. L. Nielsen, J. W. Hutchinson, W. J. Meng

Faculty Publications

Experiments are performed on micron-scale single-crystal prototypical structural elements experiencing combined torsion and bending to gather data on their load-carrying capacity in the range of size and strain relevant to micron-scale structures for which little data are available. The observed strengthening dependence on size for the structural elements is in general accord with trends inferred from prior tests such as indentation and pure torsion. In addition, the experiments systematically reveal the strengthening size-dependence of structural elements whose surface has been passivated by a very thin Cr coating, an effect shown to have substantial strengthening potential. A state-of-the-art strain gradient plasticity …

Machine Learning Approach For Predicting Bridge Components’ Condition Ratings, Md Manik Mia, Sabarethinam Kameshwar

Faculty Publications

Information on bridge condition rating is critical to make decisions regarding rehabilitation or replacement of bridges. Currently, bridge components’ condition ratings are evaluated manually using inspection reports. Markov chain and Petri net models are most commonly used for predicting future values of bridge parameters, however, applicability of these models for a regional or statewide portfolio of bridges may be limited. The existing data based models have low prediction accuracy. Hence, a data and machine learning based approach is presented herein for predicting the future condition values of major components—deck, superstructure and substructure—in a portfolio of bridges with an objective to …

Improving Social Media Use For Disaster Resilience: Challenges And Strategies, Nina S.N. Lam, Michelle Meyer, Margaret Reams, Seungwon Yang, Kisung Lee, Lei Zou, Volodymyr Mihunov, Kejin Wang, Ryan Kirby, Heng Cai

Faculty Publications

This paper develops a social media-disaster resilience analysis framework by categorizing types of social media use and their challenges to better understand and assess its role in disaster resilience research and management. The framework is derived primarily from several case studies of Twitter use in three hurricane events in the United States–Hurricanes Isaac, Sandy, and Harvey. The paper first outlines four major contributions of social media data for disaster resilience research and management, which include serving as an effective communication platform, providing ground truth information for emergency response and rescue operations, providing information on people’s sentiments, and allowing predictive modeling. …

Achieving Online And Scalable Information Integrity By Harnessing Social Spam Correlations, Hailu Xu, Pinchao Liu, Boyuan Guan, Qingyang Wang, Dilma Da Silva, Liting Hu

Faculty Publications

Malicious web links, social rumors, fraudulent advertisements, faked comments, and biased propaganda are overwhelmingly influencing online social networks. Enabling information integrity is a hot topic in both academia and industry. Traditional social spam detection techniques rely on centralized processing, focusing only on one specific set of data sources, thereby ignoring the social spam correlations between distributed data sources. In this paper, we propose an online and scalable misinformation detection system, named Spiral, to uncover social spam by leveraging the correlations between different social data sources in geo-distributed sites. The key insight in our approach is to amplify the effectiveness of …

Feasible Delivery System Based On Poly(Lactictide-Co-Glycolide) Nanoparticles Loaded With Antimicrobial Mupirocin For Possible Wound Healing, Ludmila Košarišťanová, Tomáš Komprda, Vendula Popelková, Tatiana Fialová, Pavla Vymazalová, Carlos E. Astete

Faculty Publications

The objective of the study was to assess cytotoxicity (based on the dimethylthiazol– diphenyltetrazolium bromide cell viability assay) and antimicrobial effects of poly(lactictide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles with entrapped mupirocin (PLGA/MUP NPs) on Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains using a disk-diffusion method, cryo-scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM) and fluorescence microscopy. Based on the evaluation of the growth curve, PLGA/MUP NPs inhibited growth of the both tested strains already at a concentration of 0.29 µg/ml, and their inhibitory effect at concentrations from 0.29 to 1.17 µg/ml was comparable with free MUP using the disk-diffusion method. PLGA/MUP NPs also tended to increase the …

Genetic Characterization Of Resitance To Frogeye Leaf Spot Of Soybean, Gabriel D. Munoz Herrera

LSU Master's Theses

Cercospora sojina is the causal agent of the fungal disease frogeye leaf spot (FLS) in soybeans. Management of this disease consists of foliar application of fungicides and the use of resistant cultivars. However, fungicide resistance has been detected in C. sojina populations and characterization of host resistance genes is relatively limited. To overcome the latter obstacle, we aimed to identify novel resistance genes using quantitative image analysis of the SoyNAM population. Two image analysis workflows using ImageJ and PlantCV were optimized and implemented to increase reproducibility and reduce subjectivity. The quantitative measurements included disease severity, lesion count, and average lesion …

Light-Weight Structural Optimization Through Biomimicry, Machine Learning, And Inverse Design, Adithya Challapalli

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In load-bearing lightweight architectures, cellular materials were frequently utilized. While octahedron, tetrahedron, and octet truss lattice truss were built for lightweight architectures with stretching and flexural dominance, it can be believed that new cells could easily be designed that might perform much better than the present ones in terms of mechanical and architectural characteristics. Machine learning-based structure scouting and design improvisation for better mechanical performance is a growing field of study. Additionally, biomimicry—the science of imitating nature’s elements—offers people a wealth of resources from which to draw motivation as they work to create a better quality of life.

Here, utilizing …

Research Gaps And Opportunities In Precision Nutrition: An Nih Workshop Report, Bruce Y. Lee, José M. Ordovás, Elizabeth J. Parks, Cheryl A.M. Anderson, Albert László Barabási, Steven K. Clinton, Kayla De La Haye, Valerie B. Duffy, Paul W. Franks, Elizabeth M. Ginexi, Kristian J. Hammond, Erin C. Hanlon, Michael Hittle, Emily Ho, Abigail L. Horn, Richard S. Isaacson, Patricia L. Mabry, Susan Malone, Corby K. Martin, Josiemer Mattei, Simin Nikbin Meydani, Lorene M. Nelson, Marian L. Neuhouser, Brendan Parent, Nicolaas P. Pronk, Helen M. Roche, Suchi Saria, Frank A.J.L. Scheer, Eran Segal, Mary Ann Sevick, Tim D. Spector, Linda Van Horn, Krista A. Varady, Venkata Saroja Voruganti

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Precision nutrition is an emerging concept that aims to develop nutrition recommendations tailored to different people's circumstances and biological characteristics. Responses to dietary change and the resulting health outcomes from consuming different diets may vary significantly between people based on interactions between their genetic backgrounds, physiology, microbiome, underlying health status, behaviors, social influences, and environmental exposures. On 11-12 January 2021, the National Institutes of Health convened a workshop entitled "Precision Nutrition: Research Gaps and Opportunities" to bring together experts to discuss the issues involved in better understanding and addressing precision nutrition. The workshop proceeded in 3 parts: part I covered …

Leveraging Critical Information Literacy To Develop Social Justice-Minded Data Literacy Competencies, Ben B. Chiewphasa, Matthew L. Sisk

Journal of Critical Digital Librarianship

Librarians who interact with data in different contexts can come together in a community of practice – leveraging each other's perspectives to collectively engage with critical librarianship and reimagine social justice-related learning outcomes for information and data literacy programming. Specifically, this paper explores the overlapping goals of different critical literacies (such as critical information literacy and QuantCrit), showcasing that synergies exist between social justice-oriented librarians with distinctive roles and responsibilities. By leveraging a community of practice as a vehicle for continuing education in inclusive pedagogy, librarians can empower their patrons, students, and colleagues to challenge and act upon surrounding data …

Toward Ethical And Inclusive Descriptive Practices, Shira Peltzman, Kelly Besser

Journal of Critical Digital Librarianship

This case study describes the context which galvanized our Collection Management unit at UCLA Library Special Collections to collectively craft a descriptive practices statement within a study group focused on an anti-oppressive approach to discovery and access. This paper discusses the planning and design of the study group, our direct engagement at meetings, collaborative iteration, and liberatory pedagogical strategies that enabled the statement’s publication, and its impact within our department, library, and beyond. This work speaks to radical descriptive change and provides a potential path for the development of ethical and inclusive descriptive practices at other institutions.

Evaluating The Viscoelastic Properties Of Alligator Skin Gelatin, Alligel, Compared To Mammalian And Fish Gelatins, Sarah E. Jimenez

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Extensive Morphological And Behavioural Diversity Among Fourteen New And Seven Described Species In Phytophthora Clade 10 And Its Evolutionary Implications, T. Jung, I. Milenković, T. Corcobado, T. Májek, J. Janoušek, T. Kudláček, M. Tomšovský, Z. Nagy, A. Durán, M. Tarigan, E. Sanfuentes Von Stowasser, R. Singh, M. Ferreira, J. F. Webber, B. Scanu, N. M. Chi, P. Q. Thu, M. Junaid, A. Rosmana, B. Baharuddin, T. Kuswinanti, N. Nasri, K. Kageyama, A. Hieno, H. Masuya, S. Uematsu, J. Oliva, M. Redondo, C. Maia, I. Matsiakh, V. Kramarets, R. O’Hanlon, Tomić

Faculty Publications

During extensive surveys of global Phytophthora diversity 14 new species detected in natural ecosystems in Chile, Indonesia, USA (Louisiana), Sweden, Ukraine and Vietnam were assigned to Phytophthora major Clade 10 based on a multigene phylogeny of nine nuclear and three mitochondrial gene regions. Clade 10 now comprises three subclades. Subclades 10a and 10b contain species with nonpapillate sporangia, a range of breeding systems and a mainly soil-and waterborne lifestyle. These include the previously described P. afrocarpa, P. gallica and P. intercalaris and eight of the new species: P. ludoviciana, P. procera, P. pseudogallica, P. scandinavica, P. subarctica, P. tenuimura, P. …

Direct And Indirect Effects Of Planting Density, Nitrogenous Fertilizer And Host Plant Resistance On Rice Herbivores And Their Natural Enemies, Finbarr G. Horgan, Eduardo Crisol-Martínez, Alexander M. Stuart, James M. Villegas, Ainara Peñalver-Cruz, Enrique A. Mundaca, Marivic O. Perez, Carmencita C. Bernal, Maria Liberty P. Almazan, Angelee F. Ramal

Faculty Publications

In rice ecosystems, seeding densities can be adjusted to compensate for lower nitrogen levels that reduce GHG emissions, or to increase farm profitability. However, density-induced changes to plant anatomy could affect herbivore-rice interactions, and alter arthropod community dynamics. We conducted an experiment that varied transplanting density (low or high), nitrogenous fertilizer (0, 60 or 150 kg added ha−1) and rice variety (resistant or susceptible to phloem-feeding insects) over two rice-growing seasons. Yields per plot increased with added nitrogen, but were not affected by variety or transplanting density. Planthopper and leafhopper densities were lower on resistant rice and in high-density field …

A Derived Honey Bee Stock Confers Resistance To Varroa Destructor And Associated Viral Transmission, Thomas A. O’Shea-Wheller, Frank D. Rinkevich, Robert G. Danka, Michael Simone-Finstrom, Philip G. Tokarz, Kristen B. Healy

Faculty Publications

The ectoparasite Varroa destructor is the greatest threat to managed honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies globally. Despite significant efforts, novel treatments to control the mite and its vectored pathogens have shown limited efficacy, as the host remains naïve. A prospective solution lies in the development of Varroa-resistant honey bee stocks, but a paucity of rigorous selection data restricts widespread adoption. Here, we characterise the parasite and viral dynamics of a Varroa-resistant honey bee stock, designated ‘Pol-line’, using a large-scale longitudinal study. Results demonstrate markedly reduced Varroa levels in this stock, diminished titres of three major viruses (DWV-A, DWV-B, and CBPV), …

Ecry1gb.1ig, A Novel Chimeric Cry Protein With High Efficacy Against Multiple Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera Frugiperda) Strains Resistant To Different Gm Traits, Hyunsook Chae, Zhimou Wen, Travis Hootman, Jo Himes, Qianqian Duan, Joel Mcmath, Jesse Ditillo, Richard Sessler, Jared Conville, Ying Niu, Phillip Matthews, Fabricio Francischini, Fangneng Huang, Matthew Bramlett

Faculty Publications

Spodoptera frugiperda (fall armyworm, FAW) is one of the most devastating insect pests to corn and soybean production in the Americas and is rapidly expanding its range worldwide. It is known to be hard to control either by chemical insecticide applications or by GM. Although the use of GM traits can be an effective way to control this pest, it is very rare to find native insecticidal proteins that provide the necessary level of FAW control in crop fields where FAW pressure and damage are high. Insecticidal Cry proteins sourced from Bacillus thuringiensis have been heavily utilized in the development …

Politics & Marriage: The Generational Gap In Marriage Priorities And Political Ambition Among Black Women In Politics, Torri A. Jackson

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Expression Of The Preadipocyte Marker Zfp423 Is Dysregulated Between Well-Differentiated And Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma, Thanh N. Dang, Rafael P. Tiongco, Loren M. Brown, Jessica L. Taylor, John M. Lyons, Frank H. Lau, Z. Elizabeth Floyd

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Background: Well-differentiated and dedifferentiated liposarcomas are rare soft tissue tumors originating in adipose tissue that share genetic abnormalities but have significantly different metastatic potential. Dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLPS) is highly aggressive and has an overall 5-year survival rate of 30% as compared to 90% for well-differentiated liposarcoma (WDLPS). This discrepancy may be connected to their potential to form adipocytes, where WDLPS is adipogenic but DDLPS is adipogenic-impaired. Normal adipogenesis requires Zinc Finger Protein 423 (ZFP423), a transcriptional coregulator of Perixosome Proliferator Activated Receptor gamma (PPARG2) mRNA expression that defines committed preadipocytes. Expression of ZFP423 in preadipocytes is promoted by Seven-In-Absentia Homolog …

Correlates Of The Physical Activity Decline During Childhood, Sara Pereira, Ana Carolina Reyes, Raquel Chaves, Carla Santos, Olga Vasconcelos, G. O. Tani, Peter T. Katzmarzyk, Adam Baxter-Jones, José Maia

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Purpose This study aimed to describe longitudinal trends in children's moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and to investigate associations with individual, familial, and school characteristics. Methods A sample of 341 Portuguese children age 5-10 yr (173 girls) from six age cohorts was followed over 3 yr using a mixed-longitudinal design. Physical activity, body mass index (BMI), gross motor coordination, and musculoskeletal fitness were assessed annually. Information on socioeconomic status and school characteristics was collected and analyzed with mixed models. Results MVPA shows a similar declining trend in both sexes, but on average, boys exceeded the World Health Organization recommendations of 60 …

Characterization Of A Stress-Enhanced Promoter From The Grass Halophyte, Spartina Alterniflora L., Sonali Sengupta, Necla Pehlivan, Venkata Mangu, Kanniah Rajasekaran, Niranjan Baisakh

Faculty Publications

Stress-inducible promoters are vital for the desirable expression of genes, especially transcription factors, which could otherwise compromise growth and development when constitutively overexpressed in plants. Here, we report on the characterization of the promoter region of a stress-responsive gene SaAsr1 from monocot halophyte cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora). Several cis-acting elements, such as ABRE (ABA-responsive element), DRE-CRT (dehydration responsive-element/C-Repeat), LTRE (low temperature-responsive element), ERE (ethylene-responsive element), LRE (light-responsive element), etc. contributed at varying degrees to salt-, drought- and ABA-enhanced expression of gusA reporter gene in Arabidopsis thaliana under the full-length promoter, pAsr11875 and its deletion derivatives with an assortment of cis-regulatory motifs. …