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From Pre-Clinical Efficacy To Promising Clinical Trials That Delay Type 1 Diabetes, J. Jason Collier, Daniel S. Hsia, Susan J. Burke

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Recent advancements in immunology and islet biology have unveiled remarkable prospects for the postponement of Type 1 diabetes (T1D) through the strategic modulation of the immune system. In this Perspective, we discuss the pharmaceutical strides achieved, traversing from pre-clinical validation to the execution of impactful clinical trials. We begin with the initial investigations involving cyclosporine and glucocorticoids in rodent models, such as the non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse, which guided early clinical trials. We then discuss the pre-clinical studies using suitable mouse models that eventually led to contemporary clinical trials targeting immune cell functionality and cytokine signaling pathways. Collectively, these discoveries …

Long-Term Effects Of Climate Change On Juvenile Bull Shark Migratory Patterns, Philip Matich, Jeffrey D. Plumlee, Walter Bubley, Tobey H. Curtis, J. Marcus Drymon, Lindsay L. Mullins, Oliver N. Shipley, Thomas C. Tinhan, Mark R. Fisher

Faculty Publications

Seasonal variability in environmental conditions is a strong determinant of animal migrations, but warming temperatures associated with climate change are anticipated to alter this phenomenon with unknown consequences. We used a 40-year fishery-independent survey to assess how a changing climate has altered the migration timing, duration and first-year survival of juvenile bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas). From 1982 to 2021, estuaries in the western Gulf of Mexico (Texas) experienced a mean increase of 1.55°C in autumn water temperatures, and delays in autumn cold fronts by ca. 0.5 days per year. Bull shark migrations in more northern estuaries concomitantly changed, with departures …

Why Is Religious Attendance Linked To More Anxiety In U.S. South Asians? The Mediating Role Of Congregational Neglect, Samuel Stroope, Blake Victor Kent, Anna Boonin Schachter, Alka M. Kanaya, Alexandra E. Shields

Faculty Publications

Objectives: Previous research has identified a positive association between religious attendance and anxiety in U.S. South Asians. The current study assesses the mediating role of congregational neglect as a potential mechanism explaining this association. Design: Analyses relied on data from the Study on Stress, Spirituality, and Health (SSSH) questionnaire in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) study (n = 936), the largest community-based study of health among U.S. South Asians. Analyses were conducted using path analysis and adjusted for a variety of background characteristics. Results: Results confirmed that higher levels of religious service attendance were …

Health Literacy Directed Weight Loss Intervention In Primary Care Clinics, Terry Davis, Connie Arnold, Dachuan Zhang, Corby K. Martin, Robert L. Newton, Candice Myers, Kara D. Denstel, Emily F. Mire, Christoph Höchsmann, John Apolzan, Peter T. Katzmarzyk

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Low income and low health literacy are associated with poorer health knowledge, health behaviors and poor health outcomes. The effectiveness of health literacy-directed weight loss treatment interventions in primary care clinics is lacking. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to conduct a pragmatic cluster-randomized trial (PROmoting Successful Weight Loss in Primary CarE in Louisiana ([PROPEL]) to test the effectiveness of a 24-month, patient-centered, literacy-directed obesity treatment program delivered within primary care in an underserved population. This study reports the association between health literacy and program effectiveness, examining potential correlates of weight loss related to patient adherence to the …

When Old Meets New: Two Louisiana State University Outreach Librarians Build, Work, And Learn Together To Support Collaborative Student Engagement, Alia Kempton, Mitch Fontenot

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Scintillation Light In Sbnd: Simulation, Reconstruction, And Expected Performance Of The Photon Detection System, C. Zhang, J. Zennamo, B. Zamorano, J. Yu, B. Yu, L. Yates, T. Yang, E. Yandel, S. Yadav, M. Worcester, E. Worcester, T. Wongjirad, P. Wilson, A. Wilkinson, A. White, T. Wester, H. Wei, M. Weber, L. Wan, A. Vázquez-Ramos, R. G. Van De Water, G. A. Valdiviesso, L. Tung, C. Touramanis, M. Toups, D. Totani, A. M. Szelc, T. Strauss, G. V. Stenico, M. Stancari, N. J.C. Spooner, J. Spitz, S. Söldner-Rembold

Faculty Publications

SBND is the near detector of the Short-Baseline Neutrino program at Fermilab. Its location near to the Booster Neutrino Beam source and relatively large mass will allow the study of neutrino interactions on argon with unprecedented statistics. This paper describes the expected performance of the SBND photon detection system, using a simulated sample of beam neutrinos and cosmogenic particles. Its design is a dual readout concept combining a system of 120 photomultiplier tubes, used for triggering, with a system of 192 X-ARAPUCA devices, located behind the anode wire planes. Furthermore, covering the cathode plane with highly-reflective panels coated with a …

Insurance Coverage And Flood Exposure In The Gulf Of Mexico: Scale, Social Vulnerability, Urban Form, And Risk Measures, Anissa Hyde, Robert Habans, Mariam Valladares-Castellanos, Thomas Douthat

Faculty Publications

Increasing flood losses in the Gulf of Mexico related to development patterns and climate hazards pose serious threats to resilience and insurability. The purpose of this study is to understand how scale, social vulnerability, risk, and urban form relate to National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy coverage and flood exposure. Our multilevel models identify that flooding is significantly clustered by region and counties, especially shoreline counties. Our measures of risk suggest that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) special flood hazard area (SFHA) underestimates risk and exposure when compared with the Flood Factor and that there is some compensation in …

Prescribed Fire Regimes Influence Responses Of Fungal And Bacterial Communities On New Litter Substrates In A Brackish Tidal Marsh, Viet Q. Dao, Crystal N. Johnson, William J. Platt

Faculty Publications

Processes modifying newly deposited litter substrates should affect fine fuels in fire-managed tidal marsh ecosystems. Differences in chemical composition and dynamics of litter should arise from fire histories that generate pyrodiverse plant communities, tropical cyclones that deposit wrack as litter, tidal inundation that introduces and alters sediments and microbes, and interactions among these different processes. The resulting diversity and dynamics of available litter compounds should affect microbial (fungal and bacterial) communities and their roles in litter substrate dynamics and ecosystem responses over time. We experimentally examined effects of differences in litter types produced by different fire regimes and litter loads …

Analysis Of Crab X-Ray Polarization Using Deeper Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer Observations, Josephine Wong, Tsunefumi Mizuno, Niccoló Bucciantini, Roger W. Romani, Yi Jung Yang, Kuan Liu, Wei Deng, Kazuho Goya, Fei Xie, Maura Pilia, Philip Kaaret, Martin C. Weisskopf, Stefano Silvestri, C. Y. Ng, Chien Ting Chen, Iván Agudo, Lucio A. Antonelli, Matteo Bachetti, Luca Baldini, Wayne H. Baumgartner, Ronaldo Bellazzini, Stefano Bianchi, Stephen D. Bongiorno, Raffaella Bonino, Alessandro Brez, Fiamma Capitanio, Simone Castellano, Elisabetta Cavazzuti, Stefano Ciprini, Enrico Costa, Alessandra De Rosa, Ettore Del Monte, Laura Di Gesu

Faculty Publications

We present Crab X-ray polarization measurements using Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) data with a total exposure of 300 ks, three times more than the initial 2022 discovery paper. Polarization is detected in three times more pulsar phase bins, revealing an S-shaped +40° polarization angle sweep in the main pulse and >1σ departures from the OPTIMA optical polarization in both pulses, suggesting different radiation mechanisms or sites for the polarized emission at the two wavebands. Our polarization map of the inner nebula reveals a toroidal magnetic field, as seen in prior IXPE analyses. Along the southern jet, the magnetic field …

Coupling And Recoupling Coefficients For Wigner’S U(4) Supermultiplet Symmetry, Phong Dang, Jerry P. Draayer, Feng Pan, Tomáš Dytrych, Daniel Langr, David Kekejian, Kevin S. Becker, Noah Thompson

Faculty Publications

A novel procedure for evaluating Wigner coupling coefficients and Racah recoupling coefficients for U(4) in two group–subgroup chains is presented. The canonical U(4)⊃U(3)⊃U(2)⊃U(1) coupling and recoupling coefficients are applicable to any system that possesses U(4) symmetry, while the physical U(4)⊃SUS(2)⊗SUT(2) coupling coefficients are more specific to nuclear structure studies that utilize Wigner’s supermultiplet symmetry concept. The procedure that is proposed sidesteps the use of binomial coefficients and alternating sum series and consequently enables fast and accurate computation of any and all U(4)-underpinned features. The inner multiplicity of a (S, T) pair within a single U(4) irreducible representation is obtained from …

X-Ray And Multiwavelength Polarization Of Mrk 501 From 2022 To 2023, Chien Ting J. Chen, Ioannis Liodakis, Riccardo Middei, Dawoon E. Kim, Laura Di Gesu, Alessandro Di Marco, Steven R. Ehlert, Manel Errando, Michela Negro, Svetlana G. Jorstad, Alan P. Marscher, Kinwah Wu, Iván Agudo, Juri Poutanen, Tsunefumi Mizuno, Pouya M. Kouch, Elina Lindfors, George A. Borman, Tatiana S. Grishina, Evgenia N. Kopatskaya, Elena G. Larionova, Daria A. Morozova, Sergey S. Savchenko, Ivan S. Troitsky, Yulia V. Troitskaya, Andrey A. Vasilyev, Alexey V. Zhovtan, Francisco José Aceituno, Giacomo Bonnoli, Víctor Casanova, Juan Escudero, Beatriz Agís-González, César Husillos

Faculty Publications

We present multiwavelength polarization measurements of the luminous blazar Mrk 501 over a 14 month period. The 2-8 keV X-ray polarization was measured with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) with six 100 ks observations spanning from 2022 March to 2023 April. Each IXPE observation was accompanied by simultaneous X-ray data from NuSTAR, Swift/XRT, and/or XMM-Newton. Complementary optical-infrared polarization measurements were also available in the B, V, R, I, and J bands, as were radio polarization measurements from 4.85 GHz to 225.5 GHz. Among the first five IXPE observations, we did not find significant variability in the X-ray polarization degree …

Regulation Of Bacterial Virulence Genes By Pecs Family Transcription Factors, George C. Nwokocha, Arpita Ghosh, Anne Grove

Faculty Publications

Bacterial plant pathogens adjust their gene expression programs in response to environmental signals and host-derived compounds. This ensures that virulence genes or genes encoding proteins, which promote bacterial fitness in a host environment, are expressed only when needed. Such regulation is in the purview of transcription factors, many of which belong to the ubiquitous multiple antibiotic resistance regulator (MarR) protein family. PecS proteins constitute a subset of this large protein family. PecS has likely been distributed by horizontal gene transfer, along with the divergently encoded efflux pump PecM, suggesting its integration into existing gene regulatory networks. Here, we discuss the …

Comparative Transcriptomic Analyses Reveal Differences In The Responses Of Diploid And Triploid Eastern Oysters To Environmental Stress, Rujuta V Vaidya, Sarah Bodenstein, Dildorakhon Rasulova, Jerome F La Peyre, Morgan W Kelly

Faculty Publications

Triploid oysters are commonly used as the basis for production in the aquaculture of eastern oysters along the USA East and Gulf of Mexico coasts. While they are valued for their rapid growth, incidents of triploid mortality during summer months have been well documented in eastern oysters, especially at low salinity sites. We compared global transcriptomic responses of diploid and triploid oysters bred from the same three maternal source populations at two different hatcheries and outplanted to a high (annual mean salinity = 19.4 ± 6.7) and low (annual mean salinity = 9.3 ± 5.0) salinity site. Oysters were sampled …

Macroevolution Of The Plant–Hummingbird Pollination System, Elisa Barreto, Mannfred M.A. Boehm, Ezgi Ogutcen, Stefan Abrahamczyk, Michael Kessler, Jordi Bascompte, Agnes S. Dellinger, Carolina Bello, D. Matthias Dehling, François Duchenne, Miriam Kaehler, Laura P. Lagomarsino, Lúcia G. Lohmann, María A. Maglianesi, Hélène Morlon, Nathan Muchhala, Juan Francisco Ornelas, Mathieu Perret, Nelson R. Salinas, Stacey D. Smith, Jana C. Vamosi, Isabela G. Varassin, Catherine H. Graham

Faculty Publications

Plant–hummingbird interactions are considered a classic example of coevolution, a process in which mutually dependent species influence each other's evolution. Plants depend on hummingbirds for pollination, whereas hummingbirds rely on nectar for food. As a step towards understanding coevolution, this review focuses on the macroevolutionary consequences of plant–hummingbird interactions, a relatively underexplored area in the current literature. We synthesize prior studies, illustrating the origins and dynamics of hummingbird pollination across different angiosperm clades previously pollinated by insects (mostly bees), bats, and passerine birds. In some cases, the crown age of hummingbirds pre-dates the plants they pollinate. In other cases, plant …

Louisiana Agriculture Magazine, Fall 2024

Louisiana Agriculture

Questions drive the science behind the LSU AgCenter. Researcher Erin Oberhaus wanted to find data to help educate Louisiana horse owners about the use of an important medication, and a water quality specialist wondered if noneconomic bodies of water, which include agricultural ponds, might help people generate electricity. The research projects that grew from their questions are detailed in this issue of Louisiana Agriculture.

Also in this issue, scientists share the results from important soybean studies, and the AgCenter farm to school team shares success stories from school gardens across the state.

Research is at the core of the LSU …

Fall 2024 Catalog, Lsu Press

LSU Press Seasonal Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Bipolar Membrane Capacitive Deionization For The Selective Capture Of Lithium Ions From Brines And Conversion To Lithium Hydroxide, Tanmay Kulkarni, Aliya Muhammad I. Al Dhamen, Xiaoliu Zhang, Chan Wen Chiu, Hanrui Zhang, Feifei Shi, Revati Kumar, Christopher G. Arges

Faculty Publications

Meeting the increasing demand for lithium in vehicle electrification and renewable energy storage requires innovations in lithium-ion (Li⁺) separations. Traditional solar evaporation methods for lithium recovery are slow and consume tremendous volumes of water and secondary chemicals (acids and bases). This study introduces a bipolar membrane capacitive deionization (BPM-CDI) unit for direct lithium extraction and LiOH production without the external addition of acids and bases. Utilizing de-lithiated lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) coated carbon cloth electrodes, the BPM-CDI unit demonstrates selective Li⁺ capture over competing ions. Molecular dynamics simulations and H-cell experiments elucidate pH inversion mechanisms during Li⁺ release, …

Spatiotemporal Climatology Of Georgia Tropical Cyclones And Associated Rainfall, Reilly Corkran, Jill Trepanier, Vincent Brown

Faculty Publications

Tropical cyclones (TCs), often characterized by high wind speeds and heavy rainfall, cause widespread devastation, affecting millions of people and leading to economic losses worldwide. TC-specific research in Georgia is scarce, likely due to the minimal geographical extent of its coast and the infrequency of direct landfalls. Research on Georgia TCs does not account for storms that make landfall in other southeastern states (e.g., Florida) and continue north, northeast, or northwest into Georgia. This study used the North Atlantic Basin hurricane database (HURDAT2) to quantify the spatiotemporal patterns of direct and indirect landfalling of Georgia tropical cyclones (>16 ms−1) …

Scene Classification Of Remote Sensing Image Based On Multi-Path Reconfigurable Neural Network, Wenyi Hu, Chunjie Lan, Tian Chen, Shan Liu, Lirong Yin, Lei Wang

Faculty Publications

Land image recognition and classification and land environment detection are important research fields in remote sensing applications. Because of the diversity and complexity of different tasks of land environment recognition and classification, it is difficult for researchers to use a single model to achieve the best performance in scene classification of multiple remote sensing land images. Therefore, to determine which model is the best for the current recognition classification tasks, it is often necessary to select and experiment with many different models. However, finding the optimal model is accompanied by an increase in trial-and-error costs and is a waste of …

Machine Learning For Automated Classification Of Lung Collagen In A Urethane-Induced Lung Injury Mouse Model, Khalid Hamad Alnafisah, Amit Ranjan, Sushant P. Sahu, Jianhua Chen, Sarah Mohammad Alhejji, Alexandra Noël, Manas Ranjan Gartia, Supratik Mukhopadhyay

Faculty Publications

Dysregulation of lung tissue collagen level plays a vital role in understanding how lung diseases progress. However, traditional scoring methods rely on manual histopathological examination introducing subjectivity and inconsistency into the assessment process. These methods are further hampered by inter-observer variability, lack of quantification, and their time-consuming nature. To mitigate these drawbacks, we propose a machine learning-driven framework for automated scoring of lung collagen content. Our study begins with the collection of a lung slide image dataset from adult female mice using second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy. In our proposed approach, first, we manually extracted features based on the 46 …

Sustainability Of Asphalt Mixtures Containing 50% Rap And Recycling Agents, Ibrahim Elnaml, Louay N. Mohammad, Gaylon Baumgardner, Samuel Cooper, Samuel Cooper

Faculty Publications

The substitution of virgin asphalt binder with reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) has environmental and economic merits, however, cracking susceptibility arises due to the aged asphalt binder within RAP. The objectives of this study are to (1) enhance the cracking resistance of asphalt mixtures containing 50% RAP utilizing recycling agents (RAs) derived from six petroleum-based and bio-based materials, (2) conduct an environmental impact assessment (represented by global warming potential “GWP”) for high-RAP mixtures including RAs, and (3) estimate the cost effectiveness of including high-RAP content in asphalt mixtures. Based on the RAP asphalt binder performance grade (PG), base asphalt binder PG, …

Prevailing Issues And Actions In Urban Best Practices Across Latin America And The Caribbean, Fabio Capra-Ribeiro

Faculty Publications

This research examines urban best practices (BPs) across Latin America and the Caribbean to illuminate the prevalent issues and actions associated with these locally implemented initiatives. An analysis of 45 BPs from the UN-Habitat repository was conducted using both quantitative and qualitative methods, organized into three phases. The first phase focused on collecting data such as BP sources, countries of origin, and years of implementation. The second phase identified common problems and actions within the BPs. The third phase involved a cross-sectional analysis to identify significant patterns and trends. The study found that many BPs originated from the Dubai International …

Errata: The Product Of Distributions And Stochastic Differential Equations Arising From Powers Of Infinite Dimensional Brownian Motions, Un Cig Ji, Hui-Hsiung Kuo, Hara-Yuko Mimachi, Kimiaki Saito

Journal of Stochastic Analysis

No abstract provided.

Formation And Microwave Losses Of Hydrides In Superconducting Niobium Thin Films Resulting From Fluoride Chemical Processing, Carlos G. Torres-Castanedo, Dominic P. Goronzy, Thang Pham, Anthony Mcfadden, Nicholas Materise, Paul Masih Das, Matthew Cheng, Dmitry Lebedev, Stephanie M. Ribet, Mitchell J. Walker, David A. Garcia-Wetten, Cameron J. Kopas, Jayss Marshall, Ella Lachman, Nikolay Zhelev, James A. Sauls, Joshua Y. Mutus, Corey Rae H. Mcrae, Vinayak P. Dravid, Michael J. Bedzyk, Mark C. Hersam

Faculty Publications

Superconducting niobium (Nb) thin films have recently attracted significant attention due to their utility for quantum information technologies. In the processing of Nb thin films, fluoride-based chemical etchants are commonly used to remove surface oxides that are known to affect superconducting quantum devices adversely. However, these same etchants can also introduce hydrogen to form Nb hydrides, potentially negatively impacting microwave loss performance. Here, comprehensive materials characterization of Nb hydrides formed in Nb thin films as a function of fluoride chemical treatments is presented. In particular, secondary-ion mass spectrometry, X-ray scattering, and transmission electron microscopy reveal the spatial distribution and phase …

Early Preclinical Studies Of Ergosterol Peroxide And Biological Evaluation Of Its Derivatives, Taotao Ling, Luz V. Arroyo-Cruz, William R. Smither, Emily K. Seighman, Michelle M. Martínez-Montemayor, Fatima Rivas

Faculty Publications

Ganoderma lucidum is a medicinal mushroom that produces various pharmacological compounds, including triterpenoids. A major bioactive component of G. lucidum is ergosterol peroxide (EP), which is attributed to its anticancer effects. The current study focuses on the in vitro ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination), in vivo efficacy and toxicity of EP, and the synthesis of new EP derivatives to improve aqueous solubility. It was found that EP is metabolically stable in liver microsomes and plasma. In vivo studies showed that EP inhibits tumor growth in murine cancer models, and it is well tolerated by mice. The maximum tolerated dose …

The Past And Future Of The Fisheries And Marine Ecosystem Model Intercomparison Project, Camilla Novaglio, Andrea Bryndum-Buchholz, Derek P. Tittensor, Tyler D. Eddy, Heike K. Lotze, Cheryl S. Harrison, Ryan F. Heneghan, Olivier Maury, Kelly Ortega-Cisneros, Colleen M. Petrik, Kelsey E. Roberts, Julia L. Blanchard

Faculty Publications

Climate change is increasingly affecting the world's ocean ecosystems, necessitating urgent guidance on adaptation strategies to limit or prevent catastrophic impacts. The Fisheries and Marine Ecosystem Model Intercomparison Project (FishMIP) is a network and framework that provides standardised ensemble projections of the impacts of climate change and fisheries on ocean life and the benefits that it provides to people. Since its official launch in 2013 as a small, self-organized project within the larger Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project, the FishMIP community has grown substantially and contributed to key international policy processes, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment …

Clarification Of Our Response To “The Importance Of Diversity In Obesity Articles”, Michelle Cardel, Matthew M. Clark, Thomas A. Wadden, Leanne M. Redman, Michael Jensen

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Proximal Sensor Characterization Of Haitian Agricultural Soils: A Case Study In The Central Plateau, Reginald Cean, Marcelo Mancini, Sérgio Henrique Godinho Silva, Noura Bakr, Somsubhra Chakraborty, Bin Li, Autumn Acree, Lúcia Helena Cunha Dos Anjos, Nilton Curi, David C. Weindorf

Faculty Publications

Optimized agronomic production is vital to life and livelihood in Haiti. As such, rapid, low-cost soil characterization may inform specific decision making for improved crop production. Ahead of a larger soil characterization campaign (120,000 points) in Eastern Haiti, this study evaluated the use of two proximal sensors (portable X-ray fluorescence – pXRF; NixPro color sensor) at farms of Association Zanmi Agrikol (AZA) for soil characterization and evaluation of spatial variability of soil properties. Analysis of 166 surface soil samples (0–5 cm) collected in three different areas revealed that similar inter-elemental associations reported in other countries remain applicable in Haiti; weak, …

Review Of Book Of George, Michael F. Russo

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Energetics Of A World-Tour Female Road Cyclist During A Multistage Race (Tour De France Femmes), Jose L. Areta, Emily Meehan, Georgie Howe, Leanne M. Redman

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Despite the increased popularity of female elite road cycling, research to inform the fueling requirements of these endurance athletes is lacking. In this case study, we report for the first time the energetics of a female world-tour cyclist competing in the 2023 Tour de France Femmes, an 8-day race of the Union Cycliste Internationale. The 29-year-old athlete presented with oligomenorrhea and low T3 before the race. Total daily energy expenditure assessed with the doubly labeled water technique was 7,572 kcal/day (∼4.3 physical activity levels), among the highest reported in the literature to date for a female. Crank-based mean maximal power …