Digital Commons Network^™

Improved Peak Capacity For Ce Separations Of Enzyme Inhibitors With Activity-Based Detection Using Magnetic Bead Microreactors, Xiaoyan Yan, S. Douglass Gilman

Faculty Publications

A technique for separating and detecting enzyme inhibitors was developed using CE with an enzyme microreactor. The on-column enzyme microreactor was constructed using NdFeB magnet(s) to immobilize alkaline phosphatase-coated superparamagnetic beads (2.8 mm diameter) inside a capillary before the detection window. Enzyme inhibition assays were performed by injecting a plug of inhibitor into a capillary filled with the substrate, AttoPhos. Product generated in the enzyme microreactor was detected by LIF. Inhibitor zones electrophoresed through the capillary, passed through the enzyme microreactor, and were observed as negative peaks due to decreased product formation. The goal of this study was to improve …

Keynote Address: The T-Team, Michael P. Scharf

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Torture Lawyers, Michael P. Scharf

Faculty Publications

This article recounts the story about how these four individuals intentionally cut off the government's primary experts on the Geneva Conventions, the Torture Convention, and customary international law from the decision making process. In doing so, they presented a one-sided and distorted view of U.S. obligations under international law that led to a widespread government policy and practice of torture. It also reveals how a trio of important Supreme Court precedents disrupted these plans, and ultimately swung the balance back in favor of compliance with international law.

The Hispanic Atlantic's Tasajo Trail, Andrew Sluyter

Faculty Publications

Produced along the Río de la Plata during the nineteenth century, shipped to Havana, and consumed by African slaves, the salt-cured beef known as tasajo affected both of those places and, to some degree, the Atlantic world in general. Initial exploration of the tasajo trail that connected Buenos Aires and Cuba employs primary sources such as nineteenth-century descriptions and shipping records to characterize the landscapes, places, routes, and agents of the largely unexplored research territory of that anomalous commodity: one that, unlike others such as sugar, slaves not only produced but also consumed; one that underpinned more prominent, latitudinal transatlantic …

Brucella Species Survey In Polar Bears (Ursus Maritimus) Of Northern Alaska, Todd M. O'Hara, Darce Holcomb, Philip Elzer, Jessica Estepp, Quinesha Perry, Sue Hagius, Cassandra Kirk

Faculty Publications

We report on the presence of specific antibodies to Brucella spp. and Yersinia enterocolitica in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from northern Alaska (southern Beaufort Sea) during 2003-2006. Based on numerous known stressors (e.g., climate change and loss of sea ice habitat, contaminants), there is increased concern regarding the status of polar bears. Considering these changes, it is important to assess exposure to potentially pathogenic organisms and to improve understanding of transmission pathways. Brucella or specific antibodies to Brucella spp. has been reported in marine mammals. Various assays were used to elucidate the pathway or source of exposure (e.g., "marine" vs. …

Taxpayer Standing From Flast To Hein, Carl H. Esbeck

Faculty Publications

This essay plays off a critique by Professor Maya Manian of an article where I discussed the decision in Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc., 551 U.S. 587 (2007) (plurality opinion). While Professor Manian was concerned about how the result in Hein would lead to under enforcement of church-state separation, my article had utilized Hein, and more generally the law of taxpayer standing beginning with Flast v. Cohen (1968), to look beyond the question of aid to religion. Rather, I began by showing that the only cases in which the Court had announced a “generalized grievance” and thereby denied …

Foreclosure By Arbitration?, R. Wilson Freyermuth

Faculty Publications

The recession and the drastic decline in home values have combined to trigger a wave of foreclosures. Predictably, legislators, policymakers, scholars, and consumer advocates have responded with a wide range of proposals designed to protect distressed mortgagors from losing their homes.

Renewable Energy And The Neighbors, Troy A. Rule

Faculty Publications

Small wind turbines and rooftop solar panels are a highly attractive energy option, capable of generating clean, renewable power without the need for transmission lines across vast stretches of rural land. State and federal incentive programs have made these devices increasingly affordable for landowners in recent years, generating an unprecedented level of interest in “distributed” renewable energy.Unfortunately, small wind turbines and solar panels are often far less attractive in the eyes of neighbors, who fear that the systems will erode neighborhood aesthetics and property values. Despite aggressive state and federal programs aimed at promoting renewable energy systems, land use controls …

Regulating Offensiveness: Snyder V. Phelps, Emotion, And The First Amendment, Christina E. Wells

Faculty Publications

In its upcoming term, the Court will decide in Snyder v. Phelps whether Albert Snyder can sue the Reverend Fred Phelps and other members of the Westboro Baptist Church for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress for protesting near his son’s funeral. Those arguing in favor of tort liability claim that the Phelps’ speech during a time of mourning and vulnerability is especially outrageous and injurious and that the First Amendment allows such regulation. Their arguments, however, effectively rely on the offensiveness of the Phelps’ message rather than on any external indicia of harm, such as noisy …

Unofficial Legislative History Of The Biologics Price Competition And Innovation Act 2009, An, Erika Lietzan, Krista Hessler Carver, Jeffrey Elikan

Faculty Publications

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 (BPCIA) which created a regulatory pathway for, and scheme for litigation of patent issues relating to, “biosimilar” biological products. This article discusses the history of the BPCIA and explains its provisions. Section I provides background and a history of the regulation of drugs and biological products in the United States. Section II describes the growing interest in biosimilar approval from the early 2000s through September 2006, when the legislative debate began in earnest. Section III describes the legislative and stakeholder process from …

Abolishing The Missing-Claim Rule For Judicial Cancellations, Ryan Vacca

Faculty Publications

Section 3 7 of the Lanham Act vests courts with the power to order the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to cancel trademark registrations. This power to "rectify the register" is discretionary, and since the act's enactment in 1946, courts have routinely granted cancellation requests when the trademark's invalidity was established in the trial court proceedings. However, that is not always the outcome. Some courts refuse to exercise their power to rectify the register under section 3 7 even with a proven and valid basis for cancellation.

This article examines cases where the district courts refused …

Lessons In Price Stability From The U.S. Real Estate Market Collapse, Andrea Boyack

Faculty Publications

The U.S. residential housing market collapse illustrates the consequences of ignoring risk while funding mortgage borrowing. Collateral over-valuation was a foundational piece of the crisis. Over the past few decades, secondary markets, securitization, policy and psychology increased the flow of funds into real estate. At the same time, financial market segmentation divorced risk from reward. Increased mortgage capital availability, unmitigated by proper risk allocation, led to real estate price inflation. Social trends and government policies exacerbated both the mortgage capital over-supply and the risk-valuation disconnect.

The Dodd-Frank Act inadequately addresses the underlying asset valuation problem. Federal regulation may support market …

A Primer On Child Abuse And Neglect Law, Douglas E. Abrams, Sarah H. Ramsey

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Clinical Outcomes Of Antimicrobial Lock Solutions Used In A Treatment Modality: A Retrospective Case Series Analysis, P Brandon Bookstaver, Katherine R. Gerrald, Robert R. Moran

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial lock therapy (ALT) may be considered as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI) when catheter removal is not a favorable option. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the outcomes associated with ALT as adjunctive treatment of CRBSI. METHODS: This was a 24-month retrospective case series analysis evaluating patients treated for more than 24 hours with ALT. The primary outcome was blood culture sterilization for 30 days posttherapy. The impact of ALT duration and time to initiation on central venous catheter (CVC) salvage were evaluated. Logistic regression modeled the association between ALT and sterilization rates, with a prespecified …

Traditional Knowlege: Is Perpetual Protection A Good Idea?, J. Janewa Oseitutu

Faculty Publications

Most of the international dialogue about traditional knowledge has taken place within the context of an intellectual property framework with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) as the primary facilitator of the discussion. Following more than a decade of dialogue, the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (WIPO IGC) has been given until the Fall of 2011 to come up with something concrete. Due to the intersection between traditional knowledge and intellectual property, the resulting text is likely to be a significant development for international intellectual property law.

Developing countries have long advocated …

Neuropoietin Activates Stat3 Independent Of Lifr Activation In Adipocytes, Ursula A. White, Jacqueline M. Stephens

Faculty Publications

Neuropoietin (NP) is a member of the gp130 cytokine family that is closely related to cardiotrophin-1(CT-1) and shares functional and structural features with other family members, including ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) and cardiotrophin-like cytokine (CLC). Studies have shown that NPcan play a role in the development of the nervous system, as well as affect adipogenesis and fat cell function. However, the signaling mechanisms utilized by NP in adipocytes have not been examined. In our present studies, we demonstrate that NP-induced activation of STAT3 tyrosine phosphorylation is independent of leukemia inhibitory factor receptor (LIFR) phosphorylation and degradation. Although it is widely …

Nuclear Actin-Related Proteins At The Core Of Epigenetic Control, Richard B. Meagher, Muthugapatti K. Kandasamy, Aaron P. Smith, Elizabeth C. Mckinney

Faculty Publications

Nuclear Actin-Related Proteins (ARPs) and actin combine as heterodimers to bind a large helicase subunit and form a core complex essential to the assembly and function of most chromatin remodeling and modifying machines. They are the most common shared subunits of these large and diverse assemblies in eukaryotes. We recently argued that most nuclear ARPs evolved directly from actin prior to the divergence of the eukaryotic kingdoms and did not evolve from pre-existing ARPs.2 Arabidopsis plants defective in nuclear ARP4, ARP5, ARP6 or ARP7 have extreme developmental phenotypes. Our recent publication demonstrates that ARP5-defective plants are not only dwarfed and …

Targeted Gene Replacement By Homologous Recombination In Drosophila Stimulates Production Of Second-Site Mutations, Swarnava Roy, Craig M. Hart

Faculty Publications

Gene replacement by homologous recombination is a powerful technique for generating mutations in Drosophila. While using this technique for the BEAF gene, we encountered non-targeted lethal mutations on the target chromosome that complicated the analysis of the BEAF mutations until they were discovered and removed by meiotic recombination. Subsequent experiments indicated that the gene-targeting method leads to a modest but significant three-fold increase in the rate of production of non-targeted lethal mutations. It is important to be aware of this phenomenon when using this method. © 2010 Landes Bioscience.

Endoreplication Controls Cell Fate Maintenance, Jonathan Bramsiepe, Katja Wester, Christina Weinl, Farshad Roodbarkelari, Remmy Kasili, John C. Larkin, Martin Hülskamp, Arp Schnittger

Faculty Publications

Cell-fate specification is typically thought to precede and determine cell-cycle regulation during differentiation. Here we show that endoreplication, also known as endoreduplication, a specialized cell-cycle variant often associated with cell differentiation but also frequently occurring in malignant cells, plays a role in maintaining cell fate. For our study we have used Arabidopsis trichomes as a model system and have manipulated endoreplication levels via mutants of cell-cycle regulators and overexpression of cell-cycle inhibitors under a trichome-specific promoter. Strikingly, a reduction of endoreplication resulted in reduced trichome numbers and caused trichomes to lose their identity. Live observations of young Arabidopsis leaves revealed …

Pr10 Expression In Maize And Its Effect On Host Resistance Against Aspergillus Flavus Infection And Aflatoxin Production, Zhi Yuan Chen, Robert L. Brown, Kenneth E. Damann, Thomas E. Cleveland

Faculty Publications

Maize (Zea mays L.) is a major crop susceptible to Aspergillus flavus infection and subsequent contamination with aflatoxins, the potent carcinogenic secondary metabolites of the fungus. Protein profiles of maize genotypes resistant and susceptible to A. flavus infection and/or aflatoxin contamination have been compared, and several resistance-associated proteins have been found, including a pathogenesis-related protein 10 (PR10). In this study, RNA interference (RNAi) gene silencing technology was employed to further investigate the importance of PR10. An RNAi gene silencing vector was constructed and introduced into immature Hi II maize embryos through both bombardment and Agrobacterium infection procedures. PR10 expression was …

Silicon Fertilization Affects Growth Of Hybrid Phalaenopsis Orchid Liners, Wagner A. Vendrame, Aaron J. Palmateer, Ania Pinares, Kimberly A. Moore, Lawrence E. Datnoff

Faculty Publications

Experiments were conducted during two different time periods to determine if hybrid phalaenopsis orchid (Phalaenopsis spp.) liners accumulate silicon (Si) and if this element can affect liner growth. A total of 800 liners were evaluated and Si fertilization was performed by applying potassium silicate (KSiO3) as a drench with three treatments (0.5%, 1.0%, and 2.0% v/v) and a control (water, no Si fertilization). The application of KSiO3 affected overall growth of phalaenopsis orchid liners, where Si content of the plant ranged from 0.5% to 1.7%. Overall, Si applied at 0.5% and 1.0% increased fresh weight and dry weight (DW) and …

Performance Of Sweetpotato Foundation Seed After Incorporation Into Commercial Operations In Louisiana, Christopher A. Clark, Tara P. Smith, Donald M. Ferrin, Arthur Q. Villordon

Faculty Publications

Because sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) is vegetatively propagated, viruses andmutations can accumulate readily, which can lead to cultivar decline. Sweetpotato foundation seed programs in the United States maintain the integrity of commercial seed stock by providing virus-tested (VT) foundation seed to commercial producers. A surveywas conducted in Louisiana from 2007 to 2009 to examine the performance and quality of the foundation seed after it had been integrated into commercial sweetpotato operations. G1 seed [grown 1 year after virus therapy in the foundation seed production field at the Sweet Potato Research Station, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center (LSU AgCenter), at Chase, LA] …

Association Of Common Dna Sequence Variants At 33 Genetic Loci With Blood Lipids In Individuals Of African Ancestry From Jamaica, R. Gupta, K. Ejebe, J. Butler, G. Lettre, H. Lyon, C. Guiducci, R. Wilks, F. Bennett, T. Forrester, B. Tayo, K. Musunuru, J. Hirschhorn, S. Kathiresan, R. S. Cooper, C. A. Mckenzie

Faculty Publications

The relevance of loci associated with blood lipids recently identified in European populations in individuals of African ancestry is unknown. We tested association between lipid traits and 36 previously described single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 1,466 individuals of African ancestry from Spanish Town, Jamaica. For the same allele and effect direction as observed in individuals of European ancestry, SNPs at three loci (1p13, 2p21, and 19p13) showed statistically significant association (p < 0.05) with LDL, two loci (11q12 and 20q13) showed association with HDL cholesterol, and two loci (11q12 and 2p24) showed association with triglycerides. The most significant association was between a SNP at 1p13 and LDL cholesterol (p = 4.6 × 10-8). This SNP is in a linkage disequilibrium region containing four genes (CELSR2, PSRC1, MYBPHL, and SORT1) and was recently shown to relate to risk for myocardial infarction. Overall, the results of this study suggest that much of the genetic variation which influences blood lipids is shared across ethnic groups. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.

Darwinian Populations And Natural Selection, Grant Ramsey, Hope Hollocher, Agustín Fuentes, Charles H. Pence, Edwin Siu

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Highly Cited Articles In Library And Information Science: An Analysis Of Content And Authorship Trends, Kelly D. Blessinger, Paul Hrycaj

Faculty Publications

Thirty-two highly cited articles that were influential to scholarly communication in library and information science (LIS) in the latter part of the twentieth century are identified and examined. Journal distributions, major subject themes, and authorship characteristics of these articles are discussed and compared to the majority of scholarly articles published in LIS during the same time period.

Computational Methods For The Analysis Of Primate Mobile Elements, Richard Cordaux, Shurjo K. Sen, Miriam K. Konkel, Mark A. Batzer

Faculty Publications

Transposable elements (TE), defined as discrete pieces of DNA that can move from one site to another site in genomes, represent significant components of eukaryotic genomes, including primates. Comparative genome-wide analyses have revealed the considerable structural and functional impact of TE families on primate genomes. Insights into these questions have come in part from the development of computational methods that allow detailed and reliable identification, annotation, and evolutionary analyses of the many TE families that populate primate genomes. Here, we present an overview of these computational methods and describe efficient data mining strategies for providing a comprehensive picture of TE …

Laboratory Methods For The Analysis Of Primate Mobile Elements, David A. Ray, Kyudong Han, Jerilyn A. Walker, Mark A. Batzer

Faculty Publications

Mobile elements represent a unique and powerful set of tools for understanding the variation in a genome. Methods exist not only to utilize the polymorphisms among and within taxa to various ends but also to investigate the mechanism through which mobilization occurs. The number of methods to accomplish these ends is ever growing. Here, we present several protocols designed to assay mobile element-based variation within and among individual genomes. © 2010 Springer Science + Business Media, LLC.

Coastal Roots: Connecting Students With Sustainability In Mississippi And Louisiana, Christine E.H. Coker, Gary Bachman, Chris Boyd, Pamela B. Blanchard, Ed Bush, Mengmeng Gu

Faculty Publications

The Coastal Roots School Seedling Nursery Program for Habitat Restoration was initiated by Louisiana State University in 2000 in cooperation with Louisiana Sea Grant. The program enhances learning areas such as plant growth, wetland issues, conservation, and hands-on habitat restoration, and includes the installation of a small container nursery for the production of coastal plants in schoolyards. The program was adopted by Mississippi State University's Coastal Research and Extension Center in 2008. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the program as well as Mississippi's plans to adapt the Louisiana model to demonstrate teaching by example …

Development Of A Novel Aluminum Tolerance Phenotyping Platform Used For Comparisons Of Cereal Aluminum Tolerance And Investigations Into Rice Aluminum Tolerance Mechanisms, Adam N. Famoso, Randy T. Clark, Jon E. Shaff, Eric Craft, Susan R. Mccouch, Leon V. Kochian

Faculty Publications

The genetic and physiological mechanisms of aluminum (Al) tolerance have been well studied in certain cereal crops, and Al tolerance genes have been identified in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and wheat (Triticum aestivum). Rice (Oryza sativa) has been reported to be highly Al tolerant; however, a direct comparison of rice and other cereals has not been reported, and the mechanisms of rice Al tolerance are poorly understood. To facilitate Al tolerance phenotyping in rice, a high-throughput imaging system and root quantification computer program was developed, permitting quantification of the entire root system, rather than just the longest root. Additionally, a novel …

Resting Energy Expenditure Changes With Weight Loss: Racial Differences, Xuewen Wang, Tongjian You, Leon Lenchik, Barbara J. Nicklas

Faculty Publications

It is controversial whether weight loss reduces resting energy expenditure (REE) to a different magnitude in black and white women. This study was to determine whether changes in REE with weight loss were different between black and white postmenopausal women, and whether changes in body composition (including regional lean and fat mass) were associated with REE changes within each race. Black (n= 26) and white (n= 65) women (age= 58.2±5.4 years, 25< BMI< 40 kg·m⁻²) completed a 20-week weight loss intervention. Body weight, lean and fat mass (total body, limb and trunk) via dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, and REE via indirect …