Digital Commons Network^™

Superior Colliculus Lesions Lead To Disrupted Responses To Light In Diurnal Grass Rats (Arvicanthis Niloticus), Andrew J. Gall, Alyssa M. Goodwin, Ohanes S. Khacherian, Laura B. Teal

Faculty Publications

The circadian system regulates daily rhythms of physiology and behavior. Although extraordinary advances have been made to elucidate the brain mechanisms underlying the circadian system in nocturnal species, less is known in diurnal species. Recent studies have shown that retinorecipient brain areas such as the intergeniculate leaflet (IGL) and olivary pretectal nucleus (OPT) are critical for the display of normal patterns of daily activity in diurnal grass rats (Arvicanthis niloticus). Specifically, grass rats with IGL and OPT lesions respond to light in similar ways to intact nocturnal animals. Importantly, both the IGL and OPT project to one another …

Circulating Obesity-Driven Biomarkers Are Associated With Risk Of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Two-Stage, Case-Control Study, Qinchuan Wang, Huakang Tu, Meiling Zhu, Dong Liang, Yuanqing Ye, David W. Chang, Yin Long, Xifeng Wu

Faculty Publications

Obesity is one of modifiable risk factors for clear cell renal cell cancer (ccRCC). We aim to identify the association between obesity-driven biomarkers and ccRCC risk. This is a retrospective, two-phase, case-control study involving 682 cases and 733 controls. Obesity-driven biomarkers [gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP), C-peptide, insulin, resistin, adipsin, peptide YY, pancreatic polypeptide, interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, lipocalin2, leptin, adiponectin] were measured using the Milliplex method. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the associations between biomarkers and ccRCC risk. Results revealed that GIP, C-peptide, IL-6 and TNF-α levels were consistently …

Current Understanding Of West Nile Virus Clinical Manifestations, Immune Responses, Neuroinvasion, And Immunotherapeutic Implications, Fengwei Bai, E. Ashley Thompson, Parminder J.S. Vig, A. Arturo Leis

Faculty Publications

West Nile virus (WNV) is the most common mosquito-borne virus in North America. WNV-associated neuroinvasive disease affects all ages, although elderly and immunocompromised individuals are particularly at risk. WNV neuroinvasive disease has killed over 2300 Americans since WNV entered into the United States in the New York City outbreak of 1999. Despite 20 years of intensive laboratory and clinical research, there are still no approved vaccines or antivirals available for human use. However, rapid progress has been made in both understanding the pathogenesis of WNV and treatment in clinical practices. This review summarizes our current understanding of WNV infection in …

Lsu Libraries Diversity Residency Program: Planning, Launching, And Assessing, Sigrid Kelsey, Ebony Mcdonald

Faculty Publications

The ACRL Diversity Alliance “unites academic libraries committed to increasing the hiring pipeline of qualified and talented individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.” As a member of the Alliance, LSU made the commitment to: establish a residency program for at least one individual, lasting a minimum of two years; design experiences at the local level to expand the residents’ interests and skills; serve as a resource to those institutions participating in the ACRL Diversity Alliance; provide at a minimum the same level of professional development support provided other library faculty/staff/employees; and provide a salary for the resident commensurate with …

Short Term Effects Of Hurricane Irma And Cyanobacterial Blooms On Ammonium Cycling Along A Freshwater-Estuarine Continuum In South Florida, Justyna J. Hampel, Mark J. Mccarthy, Megan H. Reed, Silvia E. Newell

Faculty Publications

Lacustrine and coastal systems are vulnerable to the increasing number and intensity of tropical storms driven by climate change. Strong winds associated with tropical storms can mobilize nutrients in sediments and alter nitrogen and phosphorus cycling, leading to amplification of preexisting conditions, such as eutrophication and cyanobacterial blooms (cyanoHABs). In 2016, Florida declared a State of Emergency within and downstream of Lake Okeechobee (LO) due to toxic cyanobacterial blooms (primarily Microcystis). The blooms originated in LO, but flood control measures released water from LO to the brackish St. Lucie Estuary (SLE). In September 2017, Hurricane Irma traversed the Florida …

Longitudinal Study Of Externalizing Behaviors In Latino/A Adolescents: An Examination Of Parenting And Educational Factors, Sergio B. Pereyra, Roy A. Bean, Jeremy B. Yorgason, Chien-Ti Lee, Jonathan G. Sandberg, Richard B. Miller

Faculty Publications

As the Latino/a population increases externalizing behaviors among adolescents continue to concern researchers and clinicians. National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) data were used to analyze direct and indirect effects of parenting and academic factors on externalizing behavior among Latino/a adolescents over time, using latent growth curves and structural equation modeling (SEM). Results indicated that higher levels of maternal warmth, the adolescent-teacher relationship, and academic achievement were all negatively associated with initial levels of externalizing behavior and in some cases negatively predicted the rate of change of externalizing behavior. Some predictors were also all found to be positively …

Pyrenylpyridines: Sky-Blue Emitters For Organic Light-Emitting Diodes, Thenahandi Prasanthi Deepthika De Silva, Sang Gill Youm, Isiah M. Warner

Faculty Publications

A novel sky-blue-emitting tripyrenylpyridine derivative, 2,4,6-tri(1-pyrenyl)-pyridine (2,4,6-TPP), has been synthesized using a Suzuki coupling reaction and compared with three previously reported isomeric dipyrenylpyridine (DPP) analogues (2,4-di(1 pyrenyl)pyridine (2,4-DPP), 2,6-di(1-pyrenyl)pyridine (2,6-DPP), and 3,5-di(1-pyrenyl)-pyridine (3,5-DPP)). 0 revealed by single-crystal X-ray analysis and computational simulations, all compounds possess highly twisted conformations in the solid state with interpyrene torsional angles of 42.3 degrees-57.2 degrees. These solid-state conformations and packing variations of pyrenylpyridines could be correlated to observed variations in physical characteristics such as photo/thermal stability and spectral properties, but showed only marginal influence on electrochemical properties. The novel derivative, 2,4,6-TPP, exhibited the lowest degree …

Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals: Linking Air Pollution And Poor Respiratory Health?, Peter D. Sly, Stephania A. Cormier, Slawomir Lomnicki, Jeffrey N. Harding, Keith Grimwood, Griffith University

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Direct And Indirect Measurements Of The Magnetic And Magnetocaloric Properties Of Ni0.895cr0.105mnge1.05 Melt-Spun Ribbons In High Magnetic Fields, Anil Aryal, Yuri Koshkid'ko, Igor Dubenko, C. F. Sánchez-Valdés, J. L. Sánchez Llamazares, E. Lähderanta, Sudip Pandey, Alexander Granovsky, Jacek Cwik, Shane Stadler, Naushad Ali

Faculty Publications

We report the magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of rapidly solidified Ni0.895Cr0.105MnGe1.05 melt-spun ribbons studied by both direct (adiabatic temperature change) and indirect (isothermal magnetic entropy change) methods in intermediate and high magnetic fields up to 10 T. The maximum values of the adiabatic temperature changes (ΔTad) and magnetic entropy changes (ΔSM) were found to be ∼2.6 K (µoH = 10 T) and 4.4 J kg−1 K−1 (µoΔH = 5 T), respectively, near the Curie temperature (TC). The ΔTad curves and magnetization isotherms were found to be completely reversible, which indicates the high degree of reversibility of the MCEs in this …

How Protein - Protein Interactions Contribute To Pyrenoid Formation In Chlamydomonas, Ananya Mukherjee, James V. Moroney

Faculty Publications

© The Author(s) 2019. The chloroplast pyrenoid, an important component of the CO2 concentrating mechanism of algae, is a structure composed primarily of Rubisco. In Chlamydomonas, Rubisco in the pyrenoid is held together by the linker protein EPYC1. Atkinson et al., (2019) determined the regions of the Rubisco small subunit and EPYC1 that are important for the protein-protein interaction, thus making progress towards reconstruction of a pyrenoid in higher plants. Why is a protein soluble in one organism while its homologue in another species becomes part of a liquidlike cell structure? That is the question being addressed by Atkinson et …

4/20 Cannabis Use Is Greater Than Other High-Risk Events: Identification Of Psychosocial Factors Related To 4/20 Use, Katherine Walukevich-Dienst, Julia D. Buckner

Faculty Publications

Cannabis is the most commonly used federally illicit drug, yet little research has identified risk factors for high-risk use. Although April 20 (“4/20”) has been identified as a day on which cannabis users use more cannabis than they typically do, it remains unknown whether 4/20 is a high-risk event for greater use than other heavy use days (e.g., other holidays) and whether use on 4/20 is related to greater use-related problems. Such information has important implications for event-specific prevention efforts. Thus, the present study tested whether 4/20 is associated with greater cannabis use than other high-risk cannabis use events (e.g., …

Bioalcohol Production From Acidogenic Products Via A Two-Step Process: A Case Study Of Butyric Acid To Butanol, Seong Heon Cho, Juyeon Kim, Jeehoon Han, Daewon Lee, Hyung Ju Kim, Yong Tae Kim, Xun Cheng, Ye Xu, Jechan Lee, Eilhann E. Kwon

Faculty Publications

This article presents the full study (lab-scale experimental study and large-scale techno-economic analysis) results of a two-step catalytic process for the conversion of organic waste–derived butyric acid to butanol. The two-step process consists of the (1) esterification of butyric acid to methyl butyrate and (2) hydrogenolysis of this methyl butyrate to butanol. The first reaction, esterification of butyric acid, was optimized using carbon-based catalysts. The production of butanol from methyl butyrate via hydrogenolysis was investigated using bimetallic Pt–Co catalysts. The hydrogenolysis of methyl butyrate on these catalysts under optimal conditions of 250 °C, 5 MPa H2, and a feed/catalyst weight …

Vibration Attenuation In High-Rise Buildings To Achieve System-Level Performance Under Multiple Hazards, Suvash Chapain, Aly Mousaad Aly

Faculty Publications

Rapid population growth and economic development in urban areas have greatly increased the potential of exposure to multiple hazards that may cause damage and business interruption in civil engineering structures, such as high-rise buildings. To alleviate these issues, fluid viscous dampers are employed under both wind and earthquake loads. The optimum number and location of dampers are selected based on modal drifts, and targeted values of response. Displacement, acceleration, inter-story drift ratio, shear force, and base bending moment are considered along with other concise set of system-level performance criteria that are easily understood by decision-makers and/or stakeholders of diverse technical …

Observation Of Τ−→Π−ΝΤE+E− And Search For Τ−→Π−Ντμ+Μ−, Y. Jin, H. Aihara, D. Epifanov, I. Adachi, S. Ai. Said, D. M. Asner, V. Aulchenko, T. Aulchenko, T. Aushev, R. Ayad, V. Babu, I. Badhrees, S. Bahinipati, V. Bansal, P. Behera, M. Berger, V. Bhardwaj, T. Bilka, J. Biswal, Milind Purohit, Et. Al.

Faculty Publications

We present the first measurements of branching fractions of rare tau-lepton decays, τ−→π−ντℓ+ℓ− (ℓ=e or μ), using a data sample corresponding to 562 fb⁻¹ collected at a center-of-mass energy of 10.58 GeV with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e⁺e⁻collider. The τ−→π⁻ν_τe⁺e⁻ decay is observed for the first time with 7.0σ significance. The partial branching fraction determined by the structure-dependent mechanisms mediated by either a vector or an axial-vector current for the mass region M_πee > 1.05 GeV=c² is measured to be B(τ⁻ → π …

Dysbiosis-Associated Enteric Glial Cell Immune-Activation And Redox Imbalance Modulate Tight Junction Protein Expression In Gulf War Illness Pathology, Diana Kimono, Sutapa Sarkar, Muayad Albadrani, Ratanesh K. Seth, Dipro Bose, Ayan Mondal, Yuxi Li, Amar N. Kar, Mitzi Nagarkatti, Prakash Nagarkatti, Kimberly Sullivan, Patricia Janulewicz, Stephen Lasley, Ronnie Horner, Nancy Klimas, Saurabh Chatterjee

Faculty Publications

About 14% of veterans who suffer from Gulf war illness (GWI) complain of some form of gastrointestinal disorder but with no significant markers of clinical pathology. Our previous studies have shown that exposure to GW chemicals resulted in altered microbiome which was associated with damage associated molecular pattern (DAMP) release followed by neuro and gastrointestinal inflammation with loss of gut barrier integrity. Enteric glial cells (EGC) are emerging as important regulators of the gastrointestinal tract and have been observed to change to a reactive phenotype in several functional gastrointestinal disorders such as IBS and IBD. This study is aimed at …

First Measurement Of Neutrino Oscillation Parameters Using Neutrinos And Antineutrinos By Nova, M. A. Acero, P. Adamson, L. Aliaga, T. Alion, V. Allakhverdian, S. Altakarli, N. Anfimov, A. Antoshkin, A. Aurisano, A. Back, C. Backhouse, M. Baird, N. Balashov, P. Baldi, B. A. Bambah, S. Bashar, K. Bays, S. Bending, R. Bernstein, V. Bhatnagar, Roberto Petti, Et. Al.

Faculty Publications

The NOvA experiment has seen a 4.4σ signal of ⊽ _e appearance in a 2 GeV⊽_μ beam at a distance of 810 km. Using 12.33×10²⁰ protons on target delivered to the Fermilab NuMI neutrino beamline, the experiment recorded 27 ⊽_μ→⊽_e candidates with a background of 10.3 and 102⊽_μ→⊽_μ candidates. This new antineutrino data are combined with neutrino data to measure the parameters |Δm ² ₃₂ | = 2.48 ^+0.11 _-0.06 x 10 ^-3 eV² / c⁴ and sin² θ₂₃ in the ranges …

Parasitic Microbiome Project: Grand Challenges, Nolwenn M. Dheilly, Joaquín Martínez Martínez, Karyna Rosario, Paul J. Brindley, Raina N. Fichorava, Jonathan Z. Kaye, Kevin D. Kohl, Laura J. Knoll, Julius Lukeš, Susan L. Perkins, Robert Poulin, Lynn Schriml, Luke R. Thompson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Short- And Intermediate-Range Structure And Dynamics Of Fe-Ni-C Liquid Under Compression, Jianwei Wang

Faculty Publications

Properties of liquid Fe alloys under high-pressure conditions are crucial for understanding the composition, thermal state, and dynamics of Earth's core. Experiments on such liquids, however, are often performed under pressures far below those of the outer core, necessitating long extrapolations of experimental results to core conditions. Such estimates can be complicated by light elements possibly forming pressure-dependent molecular clusters that can significantly affect the physical properties of liquids as core conditions are approached. First-principles molecular dynamics simulations were employed to compute the properties of an Fe-Ni-C liquid with a composition of Fe3.7Ni0.37C at 1673 K and pressures from 0 …

Short- And Intermediate-Range Structure And Dynamics Of Fe-Ni-C Liquid Under Compression, Jianwei Wang

Faculty Publications

Properties of liquid Fe alloys under high-pressure conditions are crucial for understanding the composition, thermal state, and dynamics of Earth's core. Experiments on such liquids, however, are often performed under pressures far below those of the outer core, necessitating long extrapolations of experimental results to core conditions. Such estimates can be complicated by light elements possibly forming pressure-dependent molecular clusters that can significantly affect the physical properties of liquids as core conditions are approached. First-principles molecular dynamics simulations were employed to compute the properties of an Fe-Ni-C liquid with a composition of Fe3.7Ni0.37C at 1673 K and pressures from 0 …

Ethylene And Phloem Signals Are Involved In The Regulation Of Responses To Fe And P Deficiencies In Roots Of Strategy I Plants, Carlos Lucena, Rafael Porras, María J. García, Esteban Alcántara, Rafael Pérez-Vicente, Ángel M. Zamarreño, Eva Bacaicoa, José M. García-Mina, Aaron P. Smith, Francisco J. Romera

Faculty Publications

© Copyright © 2019 Lucena, Porras, García, Alcántara, Pérez-Vicente, Zamarreño, Bacaicoa, García-Mina, Smith and Romera. Iron (Fe) and phosphorus (P) are two essential mineral nutrients whose acquisition by plants presents important environmental and economic implications. Both elements are abundant in most soils but scarcely available to plants. To prevent Fe or P deficiency dicot plants initiate morphological and physiological responses in their roots aimed to specifically acquire these elements. The existence of common signals in Fe and P deficiency pathways suggests the signaling factors must act in conjunction with distinct nutrient-specific signals in order to confer tolerance to each deficiency. …

Effect Of Biochar Amendment On Sorption-Desorption And Dissipation Of 17Α‑Ethinylestradiol In Sandy Loam And Clay Soils, Zhuo Wei, Jim J. Wang, Amy B. Hernandez, Andrea Warren, Jong Hwan Park, Yili Meng, Syam K. Dodla, Changyoon Jeong

Faculty Publications

Animal manure application in agricultural land has caused the release of steroid estrogens in the soil environment and further movement to aquatic systems. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of biochar addition on sorption-desorption and dissipation behaviors of 17α‑ethinylestradiol (EE2) in two different textured soils. A Commerce sandy loam and a Shakey clay were selected and subjected to sterilization. Soil samples with and without sterilization were reacted with a series of EE2 solutions of different concentrations for sorption followed by desorption and quantification using HPLC-MS/MS. Long-term dissipation of EE2 in the same soils was also evaluated …

Toward A Temporal Theory Of Faultlines And Subgroup Entrenchment, Alyson Meister, Sherry Thatcher, Jieun Park, Mark Maltarich

Faculty Publications

A wealth of scholarship shows that faultlines drive important outcomes for groups. However, despite mounting calls for incorporating time in the group literature, our understanding of faultlines is bound by assumptions that constrain our ability to incorporate the crucial role of time as it relates to faultlines and their effects. Drawing together guidance for exploring temporal phenomena, with the faultline and group literatures, we embark on an understanding of the temporal nature of faultlines. We distinguish faultlines from specific subgroup configurations by introducing the concept of subgroup entrenchment – the agreement among group members about the existence and composition of …

Exploring Ways To Support Preservice Teachers' Use Of Udl In Planning And Instruction, K. Alisa Lowrey, Audra Classen, Anne Sylvest

Faculty Publications

There is limited research documenting current efforts to support preservice teachers to use the universal design for learning (UDL) framework in authentic teaching experiences. To increase knowledge on the effects of preparing preservice teachers to incorporate the UDL framework, researchers examined the effects a UDL professional development seminar that was delivered during the student teaching phase had on eight teacher candidates during their K–12 placement. Using a concurrent triangulation mixed-method design, researchers examined lesson plans, video footage of teaching, teacher candidate reflections on their teaching sample, and university supervisor measures of the same sample before and after the UDL seminar. …

Does Time Spent Using Social Media Impact Mental Health?: An Eight Year Longitudinal Study, Sarah M. Coyne, Adam A. Rogers, Jessica D. Zurcher, Laura Stockdale, Mccall Booth

Faculty Publications

Many studies have found a link between time spent using social media and mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety. However, the existing research is plagued by cross-sectional research and lacks analytic techniques examining individual change over time. The current research involves an 8-year longitudinal study examining the association between time spent using social media and depression and anxiety at the intra-individual level. Participants included 500 adolescents who completed once-yearly questionnaires between the ages of 13 and 20. Results revealed that increased time spent on social media was not associated with increased mental health issues across development when examined …

Reliability Of The American Community Survey Estimates Of Risk-Adjusted Readmission Rankings For Hospitals Before And After Peer Group Stratification, Nathaniel Bell, Ana Lòpez-De Fede, Bo Cai

Faculty Publications

Importance Since the transition to the American Community Survey, data uncertainty has complicated its use for policy making and research, despite the ongoing need to identify disparities in health care outcomes. The US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ new, stratified payment adjustment method for its Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program may be able to reduce the reliance on data linkages to socioeconomic survey estimates.

Objective To determine whether there are differences in the reliability of socioeconomically risk-adjusted hospital readmission rates among hospitals that serve a disproportionate share of low-income populations after stratifying hospitals into peer group–based classification groups.

Design, Setting, …

Accumulation Over Evolutionary Time As A Major Cause Of Biodiversity Hotspots In Conifers, Mekala Sundaram, Michael J. Donoghue, Aljos Farjon, Denis Filer, Sarah Mathews, Walter Jetz, Andrew B. Leslie

Faculty Publications

© 2019 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved. Biodiversity hotspots are important for understanding how areas of high species richness form, but disentangling the processes that produce them is difficult. We combine geographical ranges, phylogenetic relationships and trait data for 606 conifer species in order to explore the mechanisms underlying richness hotspot formation. We identify eight richness hotspots that overlap known centres of plant endemism and diversity, and find that conifer richness hotspots occur in mountainous areas within broader regions of long-term climate stability. Conifer hotspots are not unique in their species composition, traits or phylogenetic …

Detecting Parasite Associations Within Multi-Species Host And Parasite Communities, Tad A. Dallas, Anna Liisa Laine, Otso Ovaskainen

Faculty Publications

© 2019 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved. Understanding the role of biotic interactions in shaping natural communities is a long-standing challenge in ecology. It is particularly pertinent to parasite communities sharing the same host communities and individuals, as the interactions among parasites—both competition and facilitation—may have far-reaching implications for parasite transmission and evolution. Aggregated parasite burdens may suggest that infected host individuals are either more prone to infection, or that infection by a parasite species facilitates another, leading to a positive parasite–parasite interaction. However, parasite species may also compete for host resources, leading to the …

Enabling Stakeholder Decision-Making With Earth Observation And Modeling Data Using Tethys Platform, E. James Nelson, Sarva T. Pulla, Mir A. Matin, Kiran Shakya, Norm Jones, Daniel P. Ames, W. Lee Ellenburg, Kel N. Markert, Cédric H. David, Benjamin F. Zaitchik, Patrick Gatlin, Riley Hales

Faculty Publications

Tethys Platform is an open source framework for developing web-based applications for Earth Observation data. Our experience shows that Tethys significantly lowers the barrier for cloud-based app development, simplifies the process of accessing scalable distributed cloud computing resources and leverages additional software for data and computationally intensive modeling. The Tethys software development kit allows users to create web apps for visualizing, analyzing, and modeling Earth Observation data. Tethys platform provides a collaborative environment for scientists to develop and deploy several Earth Observation web applications across multiple Tethys portals. We work in partnership with leading regional organizations world-wide to help developing …

Ligaos Is A Fast Li-Ion Conductor: A First-Principles Prediction, Xueling Lei, Wenjun Wu, Bo Xu, Chuying Ouyang, Kevin Huang

Faculty Publications

Solid Li-ion conducting electrolytes are highly sought for all solid-state Li-batteries, which are considered the next-generation safe batteries. Here a systematic computational study on the intrinsic transport properties of lithium gallium oxysulfide, LiGaOS (S. G. Pmc21), as a potential solid-state Li-ion electrolyte have been reported. The phonon dispersion spectrum analysis indicates that LiGaOS crystal structure is dynamically stable. The energy band structure and density of states calculations suggest that LiGaOS is an insulator with a wide indirect band gap of ∼5.44 eV. The CI-NEB calculations reveal that the “kick-off” collective migration via Li-interstitials is the dominant conduction mechanism …

Characterizing Cdk8/19 Inhibitors Through A Nfκb-Dependent Cell-Based Assay, Jng Li, Donald C. Porter, Eugenia Broude, Igor Roninson, Mengqian Chen

Faculty Publications

Cell-based assays for CDK8/19 inhibition are not easily defined, since there are no known cellular functions unique to these kinases. To solve this problem, we generated derivatives of 293 cells with CRISPR knockout of one or both of CDK8 and CDK19. Double knockout (dKO) of CDK8 and CDK19 together (but not individually) decreased the induction of transcription by NFκB (a CDK8/19-potentiated transcription factor) and abrogated the effect of CDK8/19 inhibitors on such induction. We generated wild type (WT) and dKO cell lines expressing luciferase from an NFκB-dependent promoter. Inhibitors selective for CDK8/19 over other CDKs decreased TNFα-induced luciferase expression in …