Digital Commons Network^™

Is There A Place For Race As A Legal Concept, Sharona Hoffman

Faculty Publications

What does "race" mean? The word "race" is omnipresent in American social, political, and legal discourse. The concept of "race" is central to contemporary debate about affirmative action, racial profiling, hate crimes, health inequities, and many other issues. Nevertheless, the best research in genetics, medicine, and the social sciences reveals that the concept of "race" is elusive and has no reliable definition.

This article argues that "race" is an unnecessary and potentially pernicious concept. As evidenced by the history of slavery, segregation, the Holocaust, and other human tragedies, the idea of "race" can perpetuate prejudices and misconceptions and serve as …

Good Enough To Use For Research, But Not Good Enough To Benefit From The Results Of That Research: Are The Clinical Hiv Vaccine Trials In Africa Unjust?, Ruqaiijah Yearby

Faculty Publications

The epidemic of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection in Sub-Saharan Africa, the region most affected by the HIV pandemic and where HIV is the leading cause of death, is reaching insurmountable proportions. In fact, out of the 36.1 million HIV infections worldwide, 25.3 million, seventy percent, are in Sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, of the more than 15,000 people who are infected with HIV every day, ninety-five percent of the cases are in populations that live in developing countries such as those located in Sub-Saharan Africa. Due to the significant number of Africans infected with HIV, many researchers and ethicists have …

Control Of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Γ2 Stability And Activity By Sumoylation, Z. Elizabeth Floyd, Jacqueline M. Stephens

Faculty Publications

Objective: To determine whether small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO)ylation of lysine 107 plays a role in regulating the activity of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ). Research Methods and Procedures: Transient expression of wild-type and K107R-PPARγ2 in the NIH 3T3 fibroblast cell line was carried out in conjunction with half-life studies, luciferase activity assays, and indirect immunofluorescence localization studies. Additional in vitro analysis was carried out using recombinant SUMOylation pathway proteins along with in vitro transcribed and translated wild-type or K107R-PPARγ2 to examine the SUMO-1 modification state of wild-type and SUMO-deficient K107R-PPARγ2. Results: While examining PPARγ2 for potential ubiquitylation sites, we identified …

Toxicity And Behavioral Effects Of Nootkatone, 1,10-Dihydronootkatone, And Tetrahydronootkatone To The Formosan Subterranean Termite (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), Sanaa A. Ibrahim, Gregg Henderson, Betty C.R. Zhu, Huixin Fei, Roger A. Laine

Faculty Publications

Toxicity and behavioral effects of nootkatone and two of its derivatives, 1,10-dihydronootkatone and tetrahydronootkatone, to Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki were investigated on workers from two different colonies by using topical application assays, repellency assays, and sand barrier assays. The acute toxicity of the nootkatones on workers from both colonies increased as the saturation of the molecule increased, but the difference was significant for only one colony. The results of the repellency assays showed a similar trend of efficiency; the threshold concentration for significant repellency was four-fold higher in nootkatone treatments (50 ppm) than in the reduced derivatives 1,10-dihydronootkatone or tetrahydronootkatone (12.5 …

Defining Terrorism As The Peacetime Equivalent Of War Crimes: Problems And Prospects, Michael P. Scharf

Faculty Publications

This article examines the proposal to define terrorism as the peacetime equivalent of war crimes in the context of answering two questions: First, why might it be useful to define terrorism by reference to the existing laws of war? And second, what are the potential negative consequences which might counsel against such an approach?

Special Issue: Native Food Production Knowledge Systems And Practices: Alternative Values And Outcomes-From The Guest Editors, Andrew Sluyter, Alfred H. Siemens

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Los Orígenes Ecológicos Y Las Consecuencias De La Ganadería En La Nueva España Durante El Siglo Xvi, Andrew Sluyter

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Degree-Day Models For Emergence And Development Of The Rice Water Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) In Southwestern Louisiana, Li Zou, Michael J. Stout, Dennis R. Ring

Faculty Publications

The rice water weevil, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel, is the most destructive insect pest of rice in the United States. Degree-day (DD) models were developed to predict the emergence date of adult rice water weevils from overwintering in the spring and to describe larval and pupal development on two varieties of rice under field conditions. The model that best described emergence of weevils from overwintering was derived from 14 yr of light trap captures. The temperature threshold for the best-fit model was 15.6°C, the start date for the model (date at which degree-day accumulation begins) was 33 d after 1 January, …

Effects Of The Presence Of Barnyardgrass On Rice Water Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) And Rice Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) Populations On Rice, K. V. Tindall, M. J. Stout, B. J. Williams

Faculty Publications

Both the rice water weevil, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel, and rice stink bug, Oebalus pugnax (F.), are important pests of rice, Oryza sativa L., in the United States. The host ranges of both insects primarily consist of monocotyledonous plants. Previous research has shown that the rice water weevil prefers barnyardgrass, Echinochloa crus-galli Beauv., over rice for feeding and oviposition. Barnyardgrass is also a preferred host for rice stink bug. Thus, presence of barnyardgrass in rice fields may alter populations of one or both insects. Field experiments were conducted to determine how the presence of a preferred host influences rice water weevil …

Rice Water Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Population Dynamics In Louisiana, Hanwu Shang, Michael J. Stout, Zhitao Zhang, Jiaan Cheng

Faculty Publications

The rice water weevil, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel, has long been an important pest of rice in the U.S. and has recently emerged as a pest of rice in Asia. A systematic study of the life history and population dynamics of this insect was conducted during the 2002 growing season at the Louisiana State University Rice Research Station, Crowley, Acadia Parish, LA, an area where it is a particularly severe pest. By monitoring weevil populations using collections from overwintering sites, from plots of rice planted throughout the growing season, and from light traps, and by dissecting collected weevils to assess the …

Retrotransposition Of Alu Elements: How Many Sources?, Richard Cordaux, Dale J. Hedges, Mark A. Batzer

Faculty Publications

It is generally thought that only a few Alu elements are capable of retrotransposition and that these 'master' sources produce inactive copies. Here, we use a network phylogenetic approach to demonstrate that recently integrated human-specific Alu subfamilies typically contain 10-20% of secondary source elements that contributed 20-40% of all subfamily members. This multiplicity of source elements provides new insight into the remarkably successful amplification strategy of the Alu family.

Feeding Effects Of Ischnodemus Variegatus (Hemiptera: Blissidae) On Photosynthesis And Growth Of Hymenachne Amplexicaulis (Poaceae), William A. Overholt, Sharon M.L. Ewe, Rodrigo Diaz, Eric C. Morgan, Onour E. Moeri

Faculty Publications

The influence of Ischnodemus variegatus feeding on photosynthesis and growth of the invasive semi-aquatic grass, Hymenachne amplexicaulis, was investigated in field and greenhouse environments. In the field, carbon dioxide assimilation of infested plants was approximately 35% less than that of non-infested plants, and the rate of assimilation was related to I. variegatus density. The relative growth rate of infested plants in the greenhouse was 77% of that of non-infested plants, and biomass of infested plants was significantly less than for non-infested plants 79 days after infestation. The value of I. variegatus as a fortuitous biological control agent of H. amplexicaulis …

Comment On "Molecular Phylogenies Link Rates Of Evolution And Speciation" (I)., Christopher C. Witt, Robb T. Brumfield

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Porphyrin Depth In Lipid Bilayers As Determined By Iodide And Parallax Fluorescence Quenching Methods And Its Effect On Photosensitizing Efficiency, Irena Bronshtein, Michal Afri, Hana Weitman, Aryeh A. Frimer, Kevin M. Smith, Benjamin Ehrenberg

Faculty Publications

Photosensitization by porphyrins and other tetrapyrrole chromophores is used in biology and medicine to kill cells. This light-triggered generation of singlet oxygen is used to eradicate cancer cells in a process dubbed "photodynamic therapy," or PDT. Most photosensitizers are of amphiphilic character and they partition into cellular lipid membranes. The photodamage that they inflict to the host cell is mainly localized in membrane proteins. This photosensitized damage must occur in competition with the rapid diffusion of singlet oxygen through the lipid phase and its escape into the aqueous phase. In this article we show that the extent of damage can …

Separation Of Benzodiazepines Using Capillary Electrochromatography, Constantina P. Kapnissi, Isiah M. Warner

Faculty Publications

Benzodiazepines are often used for the treatment of epilepsy, convulsions, and many psychiatric disorders. The widespread use of this class of drugs has occasionally raised concern about recreational benzodiazepine abuse and has led to the erroneous impression that benzodiazepines have a relatively high abuse liability among recreational drug users. Therefore, the separation and identification of these compounds is of great interest. In general, the separation of benzodiazepines is performed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Recently, capillary electrochromatography, which combines the high efficiency of capillary zone electrophoresis and the high selectivity of HPLC, has gained much attention. The focus of the …

Impaired Coordination Of Nutrient Intake And Substrate Oxidation In Melanocortin-4 Receptor Knockout Mice, Diana C. Albarado, Jennifer Mcclaine, Jacqueline M. Stephens, Randall L. Mynatt, Jianping Ye, Anthony W. Bannon, William G. Richards, Andrew A. Butler

Faculty Publications

Mutations in the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) are associated with obesity. The obesity syndrome observed in humans with MC4R haploinsufficiency is similar to that observed in MC4R knockout mice: increased longitudinal growth, hyperphagia, and fasting hyperinsulinemia. For comparison with other commonly investigated models of obesity and insulin resistance, we have backcrossed Mc4r-/- mice into the C57BL/6J (B6) background. Female obese Mc4r-/- mice exhibit reduced energy expenditure and an attenuated increase in fatty acid oxidation following exposure to high fat diets compared to obese Lep ob/Lepob mice. The reduced energy expenditure and fatty acid oxidation correlates with changes in hepatic gene expression. …

High-Latitude Tertiary Migrations Of An Exclusively Tropical Clade: Evidence From Malpighiaceae, Charles C. Davis, Peter W. Fritsch, Charles D. Bell, Sarah Mathews

Faculty Publications

Explanations of tropical intercontinental disjunctions involving South America and Africa typically invoke vicariance of western Gondwanan biotas or long-distance dispersal. However, many plant groups originated and diversified well after the last direct connection between Africa and South America (ca. 105 million years before the present [mybp]), and it is unlikely that long-distance dispersal accounts for the distribution of all of these. A less commonly invoked explanation, the boreotropics hypothesis, indicates that some tropical disjunctions arose during the Tertiary via high-latitude land connections when northern forests supported tropical vegetation. Malpighiaceae are widely distributed across Africa and South America and have been …

Variation In Small Sapling Density, Understory Cover, And Resource Availability In Four Neotropical Forests, Kyle E. Harms, Jennifer S. Powers, Rebecca A. Montgomery

Faculty Publications

Even though many forest plants spend all or a significant portion of their lives in the forest understoty, few studies have compared understory composition, structure, and resource availability among forests. We used standardized transect-based methods to compare small sapling densities (10-50 cm tall), understory vegetation cover, canopy openness, and nutrient availability in non-gap portions of four lowland Neotropical forests: La Selva, Costa Rica (LS), Barro Colorado Island, Panama (BCI), Cocha Cashu, Peru (CC), and north of Manaus, Brazil (KM41). Sites differed significantly in all variables except canopy openness. LS had high palm and non-fern herb cover and low density of …

Response Of A Gall-Forming Guild (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) To Stressed And Vigorous Prairie Roses, Mark A. Williams, James T. Cronin

Faculty Publications

Two general hypotheses that describe the relationship between plant quality and host-plant preference of insect herbivores are the plant-stress and plant-vigor hypotheses. We examined the response of a gall-forming guild of insect herbivores associated with prairie rose, Rosa arkansana Porter (Rosaceae), to experimental manipulations of plant stress (addition of NaCl) and vigor (addition of nitrogen; NH4NO3). The most common members of the gall-forming guild on roses are Diplolepis ignota Osten Sacken, D. nodulosa Beutenmüller, and D. rosaefolii Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae). The repeated application of nitrogen throughout the growing season to prairie plots resulted in significantly higher plant nitrogen levels and …

The Matrix Enhances The Effectiveness Of Corridors And Stepping Stones, Kristen A. Baum, Kyle J. Haynes, Forrest P. Dillemuth, James T. Cronin

Faculty Publications

Conservation strategies often call for the utilization of corridors and/or stepping stones to promote dispersal among fragmented populations. However, the extent to which these strategies increase connectivity for an organism may depend not only on the corridors and stepping stones themselves, but also on the composition of the surrounding matrix. Using an herbivore-host-plant system consisting of the planthopper Prokelisia crocea and its sole host plant, prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata), we show that the effectiveness of corridors and stepping stones for promoting planthopper dispersal among patches depended strongly on the intervening matrix habitat. In a low-resistance matrix (one that facilitates high …

A Genome Scan Among Nigerians Linking Resting Energy Expenditure To Chromosome 16, Xiaodong Wu, Amy Luke, Richard S. Cooper, Xiaofeng Zhu, Donghui Kan, Bamidele O. Tayo, Adebowale Adeyemo

Faculty Publications

Energy requirements at rest account for 50% to 75% of total energy expenditure. Interindividual variation in resting energy expenditure (REE) has been studied for potential links to obesity and hypertension. REE is a modestly heritable trait, and yet virtually nothing is known about the genetic factors that might influence the familial patterns. The objectives of this study were to identify the genomic regions showing genetic linkage to REE variation in a Nigerian population. For linkage analysis across the genome, three hundred seventy-seven microsatellite markers were typed on DNA from 995 individuals in 153 families. A genome scan was performed using …

Positional Identification Of Hypertension Susceptibility Genes On Chromosome 2, Ruth Ann Barkley, Aravinda Chakravarti, Richard S. Cooper, R. Curtis Ellison, Steven C. Hunt, Michael A. Province, Stephen T. Turner, Alan B. Weder, Eric Boerwinkle

Faculty Publications

Chromosome 2 has been consistently identified as a genomic region with genetic linkage evidence suggesting that one or more loci contributes to blood pressure and hypertension status. As with all complex disease traits, following-up linkage evidence to identify the underlying susceptibility gene(s) is an arduous yet biologically and clinically important task. Using combined positional candidate gene methods, the Family Blood Pressure Program (FBPP) has concentrated efforts in narrowing a large region of chromosome 2, demonstrating evidence for linkage in several populations, and identifying underlying candidate hypertension susceptibility gene(s). Initial informatics efforts identified the boundaries of the region and the known …

Influence Of Drought Stress On Sweetpotato Resistance To Sweetpotato Weevil, Cylas Formicarius (Coleoptera: Apoinidae), And Storage Root Chemistry, Lixin Mao, Louis E. Jett, Richard N. Story, Abner M. Hammond, Joseph K. Peterson, Don R. Labonte

Faculty Publications

The effect of drought stress on the resistance of sweetpotato roots to sweetpotato weevil (SPW), Cylas formicarius (Fab.), was studied in 1997 and 1998 in two genotypes ("Beauregard" and "Excel") with different SPW susceptibility. Storage roots produced under drought or normal conditions were tested for adult feeding, oviposition, larval survival and pupal weight in the laboratory under no-choice and free-choice test conditions. The levels of sweetpotato resin glycoside and caffeic acid in the periderm tissue of the roots were also determined. Drought-stressed roots received significantly more SPW eggs under no-choice and free-choice conditions and more feeding punctures under free-choice conditions …

Mediation Of Host Selection And Oviposition Behavior In The Diamondback Moth Plutella Xylostella And Its Predator Chrysoperla Carnea By Chemical Cues From Cole Crops, G. V.P. Reddy, E. Tabone, M. T. Smith

Faculty Publications

Host plant-mediated orientation and oviposition by diamondback moth (DBM) Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae) and its predator Chrysoperla carnea Stephens (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) were studied in response to four different brassica host plants: cabbage, (Brassica oleracea L. subsp. capitata), cauliflower (B. oleracea L. subsp. botrytis), kohlrabi (B. oleracea L. subsp. gongylodes), and broccoli (B. oleracea L. subsp. italica). Results from laboratory wind tunnel studies indicated that orientation of female DBM and C. carnea females towards cabbage and cauliflower was significantly greater than towards either broccoli or kohlrabi plants. However, DBM and C. carnea males did not orient towards any of the …

Emission Of Plutella Xylostella-Induced Compounds From Cabbages Grown At Elevated Co2 And Orientation Behavior Of The Natural Enemies, Terhi Vuorinen, Anne Marja Nerg, M. A. Ibrahim, G. V.P. Reddy, Jarmo K. Holopainen

Faculty Publications

Several plant species defend themselves indirectly from herbivores by producing herbivore-induced volatile compounds that attract the natural enemies of herbivores. Here we tested the effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 (720 μmol mol-1) concentration on this indirect defense, physiological properties, and constitutive and induced emissions of white cabbage (Brassica oleracea ssp. capitata, cvs Lennox and Rinda). We monitored the orientation behavior of the generalist predator Podisus maculiventris (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) and the specialist parasitoid Cotesia plutellae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) to plants damaged by Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) in the Y-tube olfactometer. Elevated CO2 levels did not affect stomatal densities but reduced specific leaf …

Silicon Enhances The Accumulation Of Diterpenoid Phytoalexins In Rice: A Potential Mechanism For Blast Resistance, Fabrício Á Rodrigues, David J. Mcnally, Lawrence E. Datnoff, Jeffrey B. Jones, Caroline Labbé, Nicole Benhamou, James G. Menzies, Richard R. Bélanger

Faculty Publications

Although several reports underscore the importance of silicon (Si) in controlling Magnaporthe grisea on rice, no study has associated this beneficial effect with specific mechanisms of host defense responses against this fungal attack. In this study, however, we provide evidence that higher levels of momilactone phytoalexins were found in leaf extracts from plants inoculated with M. grisea and amended with silicon (Si+) than in leaf extracts from inoculated plants not amended with silicon (Si-) or noninoculated Si+ and Si- plants. On this basis, the more efficient stimulation of the terpenoid pathway in Si+ plants and, consequently, the increase in the …

Field And Laboratory Performance Of Novel Insecticides Against Armyworms (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), D. R. Cook, B. R. Leonard, J. Gore

Faculty Publications

Beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hübner), and fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), are occasional pests of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum (L.), and soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merrill. These insects can be difficult to control due to insecticide resistance and larval behavior on plants. The objectives of these studies were to determine the efficacy of selected insecticides against native infestations of beet armyworm in cotton and soybean and to generate baseline dose-mortality responses for beet armyworm and fall armyworm adults to indoxacarb and pyridalyl in the adult vial test. Indoxacarb, pyridalyl, spinosad, methoxyfenozide, and emamectin benzoate controlled beet armyworm infestations up …

Injury To Preflowering And Flowering Cotton By Brown Stink Bug And Southern Green Stink Bug, M. M. Willrich, B. R. Leonard, J. Temple

Faculty Publications

The impact of brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say), and southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.), injury was evaluated on preflowering and flowering cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., plants in no-choice tests. Vegetative stage cotton seedlings and reproductive structures, including flower buds (square) and bolls, were infested with adults and/or nymphs of both species. There were no significant differences in height, height to node ratio, square retention, and flower initiation for cotton seedlings or plants with a match-head square between southern green stink bug adult- or brown stink bug adult-infested and noninfested treatments. Abscission for individual large squares (precandle) and …

Is Anyone To Blame For Pollution?, Aaron Lercher

Faculty Publications

By making use of a distinction between "making something happen" and "allowing it to happen," a polluting act can be defined as making something happen with widely scattered externalized costs. Not all polluting acts are blameworthy, but we can investigate which polluting acts are sufficiently badly performed as to be blameworthy. This definition of polluting act permits us to justify the belief we often have that behavior concerning pollution may be blameworthy, even when we do not know whether the behavior caused harm.

Population Genetic Structure Of The Prairie Skink (Eumeces Septentrionalis): Nested Clade Analysis Of Post Pleistocene Populations, Gregory S. Fuerst, Christopher C. Austin

Faculty Publications

We sequenced two regions of the mitochondrial genome, ND4 and d-loop, from 64 Eumeces septentrionales to assess intra- and interspecific population differentiation. We constructed haplotype genealogies for nine Eumeces septentrionalis septentrionalis populations in previously glaciated regions and used nested clade analysis to examine the role of vicariance and dispersal in shaping the population structure of E. s. septentrionalis in the northern part of its range following Pleistocene paleoclimatological events. In addition, we used DNA sequence data to compare populations of the northern subspecies (E. s. septentrionalis) with the southern subspecies (Eumeces septentrionalis obtusirostris) to determine whether specific level differentiation is …