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The Role Of Bone Marrow In Siv Pathogenesis Using The Rhesus Macaque Model, Amy F. Gill

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

CD4+ memory T cells are depleted in mucosal tissues post human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection without restoration to pre-infection levels during progressive course of disease. Bone marrow (BM) as a hematopoietic organ has been investigated for hematologic and morphologic changes during HIV infection. However, BM as a primary lymphoid tissue during HIV infection has been poorly characterized. We proposed BM was also a site of CD4+ T cell depletion driven by increased apoptosis during progressive HIV disease. We chose to investigate bone marrow changes using the premier non-human primate Rhesus macaque SIV model for the …

Antimicrobial Susceptibility, Genotypic Characterization, And Molecular Detection Of Vibrio Parahaemolyticus And Vibrio Vulnificus From Louisiana Oysters, Feifei Han

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Members of the genus Vibrio are Gram-negative, halophilic bacteria that inhabit warm coastal and estuarine waters worldwide. Among pathogenic vibrios, Vibrio parahaemolyticus is the leading cause of seafood-related illnesses and Vibrio vulnificus causes the highest number of seafood-related deaths in the United States. Moreover, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the incidence of infections of the two vibrios due to the consumption of oysters has shown a sustained increase since 2001, indicating further measures are needed to prevent human Vibrio illness. In this dissertation research, a total of 622 Vibrio isolates, consisting of 252 V. parahaemolyticus …

Upland Nesting Waterfowl Population Responses To Predator Reduction In North Dakota, Matthew R. Pieron

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Population growth for mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), and presumably other upland nesting ducks, in the Prairie Pothole Region is most sensitive to nest success, and nest success is most strongly influenced by predation. I evaluated the efficacy of reducing predator populations to improve nest success and increase local breeding populations of upland nesting ducks on township-sized (93.2 km2) management units in eastern North Dakota, USA, during 2005−2008. I also examined potential territorial limitations on local population growth for mallards. Trappers annually removed an average of 245 predators per trapped site. I monitored 7,489 nests on 7 trapped and 5 nontrapped sites, …

Low Co-Cultivation Temperature At 20oc Improved Agrobacterium Tumefaciens-Mediated Transformation Of Tobacco Leaf Disks, Guiying Su

LSU Master's Theses

I investigated the effect of co-cultivation temperature and binary Ti vectors on the fresh weight yield of leaf disks of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Xanthi (nn, Smith) after Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. I concluded that the temperature at 20ºC during co-cultivation of leaf disks with A. tumefaciens was the most critical factor on the reproducible enhancement of fresh weight yield. The highest fresh weight increase and presumably transformation efficiency was achieved under the following experimental conditions: A. tumefaciens strain LBA4404 containing pLSU binary Ti vector was grown overnight at 28oC in liquid Agrobacterium medium and the concentration was adjusted to …

Examination Of The Relationship Between Academic Achievement And Traumatic Stress Following Hurricane Katrina, Audrey Baumeister

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Hurricane Katrina inflicted traumatic experiences on many children in New Orleans and the surrounding area. The literature has shown a significant relationship between Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms and lowered academic achievement in children. This longitudinal study investigated the relationships between attendance, academic achievement, and PTSD symptoms following Hurricane Katrina. Participants were 343 mother-child dyads recruited from public and private schools within Orleans Parish, Jefferson Parish, and East Baton Rouge Parish 4-7 months following Hurricane Katrina. Children completed the UCLA PTSD Reaction Index, the BASC-2 Self Report of Personality, and the Hurricane-Related Traumatic Experiences (HURTE). Mothers completed the Childhood …

A Study Of The Interactions Of Lipid Bilayers And Dendrimers Using Small Angle X-Ray Scattering And Freeze Fracture Transmission Electron Microscopy, Derek R. Dorman

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Lipids are fundamental to all life forms, a key component of cell walls, and essential to proper respiratory function. They are amphiphilic molecules and readily form bilayers. Dendrimers are designer molecules that can be tailored to provide a variety of endgroup moieties, sizes, and charges. The interaction of liposomes and dendrimers can provide information on how medicine interacts with cells and an array of unique structures can be imagined from their assembly into superstructures. Polypropylenimine tetraamine (DAB-Am) and 1-directional arborol dendrimers have been studied in different molar concentrations with 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) bilayers. One-directional arborols are amphiphilic dendrimers with a hydrophilic …

Dynamic Model Of Ecological Factors Impacting The Gulf Of Mexico Dead Zone, Jimmie Arnold Brumfield Ii

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The industrial agriculture complex of the Mississippi River Drainage Basin has the positive effect of feeding more individuals with less land via the use of chemical nutrients, pesticides and drainage. The negative effects of the agricultural nutrient load are carried by the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. After the flood of 1927 the Flood Control Act of 1928 began changing the Mississippi River into a navigation and flood control project. While successful, the river was turned into a channel where nutrient input was discharged into the Gulf of Mexico. Nitrogen compounds discharged from the Mississippi are claimed to …

Ancestral Determination From Foramen Magnum, Stephanie Marie Crider

LSU Master's Theses

Ancestry estimation is a crucial part of the biological profile creation in forensic anthropology. Without proper classification of ancestry, other aspects of the biological profile, such as stature, can be affected. Several techniques are used by forensic anthropologists to determine ancestry of unidentified remains. Some anthropologists believe the cranium to be an excellent indicator of ancestry (Rhine 1990). The focus of this research was to determine the utility of the foramen magnum region on the cranial base as a positive indicator of ancestry. Previous studies have explored the effectiveness of using the cranial base’s occipital condyles for ancestry assignment of …

Staging Polemics: Charles Palissot, Voltaire, And The "Theatrical Event" In Eighteenth-Century France, Logan James Connors

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the exciting world of eighteenth-century French dramatic writing, performance and criticism from the point of view of the theatrical spectator. Instead of focusing on one single genre or writer, I assemble the textual creation, performance, and criticism of certain “polemical” plays into what I term a “theatrical event.” This optic provides a holistic vision of theater and an accurate view of how drama underwent noticeable change due to playwrights’ political associations, public reactions to performance, and the emerging power of the periodical press. In sum, this project differs from previous studies by focusing on the increasing rhetorical …

Highly Efficient Selection, Enumeration, Enrichment, And Molecular Profiling Of Low-Abundance Biological Cells, Udara R. Dharmasiri Rasika Dharmasiri

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

After brief overviews of low-abundance cell selection techniques in chapter 1 and circulating tumor cells in chapter 2, this dissertation initially focuses on the development of aptamer incorporated high-throughput microfluidic techniques to select rare circulation prostate cancer cells (LNCaP) directly from whole blood with subsequent quantification of these rare cells using a non-labeling approach. Then, I extended the technology to environmental samples in an effort around time, sensitivity, and portability of traditional groundwater assessment. As a model bio- pathogen, E. coli O157:H7 was chosen due to its toxicity and its adverse impact on recreational waters. Low-abundance (<100 cells mL-1) E. coli O157:H7 cells were isolated and enriched from environmental water samples using a microfluidic chip that its capture beds were covalently decorated with E.coli O157:H7 specific polyclonal antibodies. The selected cells were enumerated using RT-qPCR technique. Finally, I have integrated HTMSU with electrokinetic enrichment microfluidic unit for performance of single recombinant low-abundance CTC cell-based assay. A series of analytical processes were carried out, including immunoaffinity selection of rare CTCs, quantification of selected cells via conductivity impedance and electrophoretic enrichment of selected cells for PCR/LDR/CE interrogation for detection of low-abundance point mutations in genomic DNA.

The Effect Of Anisotropic Surface Energy On The Stability Of Micro And Nano Wires, Ping Du

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A liquid thread of radius R will break up into drops if the axial wavelength of the surface perturbation L > 2πR. If L < 2πR, the thread is stable and will remain intact. This is Rayleigh’s stability criterion based on a continuum model. We use molecular dynamics to simulate the evolution of Lennard-Jones liquid threads with equilibrium radius R = 2.3-6.6, where R has been non-dimensionalized by the distance at which the Lennard-Jones potential equals zero. We find that if R is fixed, the wavelength L is bounded by L_min and L_max. For L > L_max the thread always breaks up and stays as drops, and for L < L_min the thread remains intact. However, for L_min < L < L_max, the thread oscillates continuously among several shapes. The appearance of various shapes can be explained by the energy fluctuation of the system.

We also simulate the evolution of Lennard-Jones nanowires with equilibrium radius R = 1.57, 2.58, 3.59, and 4.60 by molecular dynamics. The wires …

Fabrication Of Receptor-Modified Microfluidic Surfaces For Applications In Glycoprotein Screening, Jennifer Macalindong De Guzman

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Glycoproteins have long been identified to have a profound association with human pathological processes, and they are much sought after as potential biomarkers to aid in the early diagnosis and clinical prognosis of cancers and diseases. There is currently high demand for high-throughput and low–limit–of–detection techniques that can afford profiling of the glycoproteome. Micro-total analysis systems (µTAS) based on microfluidics have the potential to fulfill these requirements, but in order to reduce the complexity of the protein pool, the µTAS devices must contain a pre-isolation and enrichment component. The research project undertaken here involved derivatization of microfluidic …

Positron Autoradiography For Intravascular Vulnerable Plaque Imaging, Peter Petrek

LSU Master's Theses

Purpose: To develop and investigate an intravascular storage phosphor detector for imaging and detection of vulnerable coronary artery plaques. Methods: The concept of the detection of vulnerable plaques (i.e., plaques with inflammation) is based on accumulation of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) in inflammation sites. The FDG is labeled with a radioactive isotope 18F (positron source), injected to patient, and accumulated in vulnerable plaques of coronary arteries. The radiation detector is then inserted into coronary artery, records positrons from FDG accumulated in vulnerable plaque, which allows for imaging and detection of the vulnerable plaque. A prototype detector was developed and tested. The detector …

Revitalizing The Suburban Dream: Disaster, Displacement And Resilience In Eastern Orleans Parish, Meredith Morgan Feike

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Hurricane Katrina tested the disaster resiliency of communities throughout the city of New Orleans. More than four years after breaches in levees led to the flooding of one hundred forty square miles of the Crescent City, some residents are still struggling to reclaim their neighborhoods one block at a time. Eastern Orleans Parish is a portion of the local landscape whose long-term sustainability remains uncertain. Rebuilding is extremely slow with only a fraction of residents returning to the area. Development in New Orleans East began after World War II as a result of urban sprawl. Many New Orleanians desired a …

Reliability And Validity Study Of The Motiviation For Fear (Motif) Survey, Marie S. Nebel-Schwalm

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The aim of this study was to determine psychometric properties of a newly created, 24-item functional measure of fear and anxiety for typically-developing adults (the Motivation for Fear; MOTIF). Participants initially included 1,277 college students ranging in age from 18-35. Participants were asked to complete the MOTIF, the Questions About Behavioral Function (QABF), the Sensation Seeking Scale- Form V, and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS). Analyses were conducted on those scoring above a minimum threshold on a well-normed measure of anxiety (the DASS). An exploratory factory analysis, using scree plot and parallel analysis, as well as oblique rotation was …

Diatom Stratigraphy Defining Ice Sheet Grounding Chronology, Ross Sea, Antarctica, Juan Manuel Chow

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Evidence of Antarctic ice sheet behavior and paleoenvironment is often approached from proxy records because there is a dearth of direct records from Antarctica itself. The studies presented here seek to augment our knowledge of translations of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet’s (WAIS) marine termination based on direct biostratigraphic evidence. Diatom analyses were conducted from two areas of Ross Sea, Antarctica. In the first study, diatoms were used to constrain the age of diamictons from five seismic units in the Eastern Basin and thus expand our knowledge of WAIS behavior during the Southern Hemisphere Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). All five …

Reading Out Of Doors: How Nature Becomes Text And Vice-Versa, Richmond Minor Eustis

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The tensions between city and country, the artificial and the natural, the real and the fake are at the heart of attempts to render nature in writing. In many such texts, nature—especially wilderness—is the realm of the real, authentic, and pure, while the city is the realm of the artificial and corrupt. This placement of value in nature, members of the critical theory camp tend to counter, is misguided. Any effort to render nature in text is by its “nature” artificial—far more about human values embedded in language itself than about some extra-textual world. With an approach derived from theorists …

Other Tomorrows: Postcoloniality, Science Fiction And India, Suparno Banerjee

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation I argue that science fiction as a genre intervenes in the history-oriented discourse of postcolonial Anglophone Indian literature and refocuses attention on the nation’s future—its position in global politics, its shifting religious and social values, its rapid industrialization, the clash between orthodoxy and modernity, and ultimately the dream of a multicultural nation. Anglophone Indian science fiction also indicates India’s movement away from a nation trying to negotiate the stigma of colonialism to a nation emerging as a new world power. Thus, this genre reconstructs the Indian identity not only in the domestic sphere, but also in a …

Inhibition Of Cholesterol Synthesis By Policosanol, Subhashis Banerjee

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Cholesterol is an essential component of the cell, but excessive blood levels are a major risk factor for the development of atherosclerotic plaques that can lead to heart disease and stroke, the foremost cause of premature death in Western societies. Policosanol, a mixture of very long chain alcohols derived from sugarcane, has gained considerable attention among the public as safe and effective means to reduce blood cholesterol levels, a belief based on some early clinical studies. My research investigates one possible mechanism by which policosanol might decrease blood cholesterol levels: the inhibition of cholesterol synthesis in the liver. Previous studies …

Modeling And Simulation For Shape Memory Polymer Based Self-Healing Syntactic Foam, Wei Xu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Syntactic foams, renowned for their low density and high mechanical properties, are enjoying continuing growth in various civilian and military sectors. However, like laminated composites, foam cored structures are vulnerable to impact damages and suffering from inabilities in repairing macro-scale cracks. A self-healing mechanism for structural damage is genuinely desired. A recent development in self-healing structural damage is a two-step close then heal (CTH) scheme proposed by Li and Nettles [1] and elucidated by Li and Uppu [2], by mimicking the self-healing process of human skin. This concept has been further demonstrated in Nji and Li’s work [3] that a …

Oxidation Of Reduced Sulfur Compounds: A Triple-Oxygen-Isotope Perspective, Issaku E. Kohl

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Earth’s geochemical evolution is recorded in the rocks that compose its lithosphere. Specifically, sulfate minerals have been identified as being repositories of information concerning the past hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere. This is due to the non-labile nature of SO42- and its ability to store a record of the oxidative reactions and oxygen sources involved in its formation. Microbial dissimilatory sulfate reduction (MDSR) and sulfide oxidation cause oxygen from H2O and O2 to be trapped to varying degrees in ambient, dissolved SO42-. In order to better interpret the H2O and O2 signals in SO42-, we must deepen our understanding of …

“Everyday Symbols For Mediation” Conflict And Cooperation Over The Management Of Cultural And Natural Resources Within The Big South Fork National River And Recreation Area, Carol Jo Evans

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Utilizing quantitative and qualitative methods, this in-depth ethnographic study of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (BSFNRRA) examines social conflict and resistance stemming from competing values, definitions, and concerns over the management of cultural and natural resources within the region. The timing of this project is fortuitous for the National Park Service (NPS) has completed the creation of a ten year General Management Plan. Thus, we are provided with an opportunity to study and analyze the policy and methodology that park officials are required to follow in creating a management plan and eliciting public participation.

The first …

Modeling And Multiresolution Characterization Of Micro/Nano Surface For Novel Tailored Nanostructures, Rajib Mukherjee

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Nanofabrication is state of the art technology. Various chemical, mechanical, biochemical and semiconductor products have characteristics controlled by the nanostructures of the surface and interphase. Surface microscopic imaging is generally used to capture different surface features. By properly analyzing the surface image, valuable information regarding manufacturing process and product performance can be extracted. While microscopy measurements can offer very accurate qualitative information about surface features, for many applications, it is critical to obtain a quantitative description of the surface morphology. Various statistical features can be used to characterize the surface in quantitative way. Such an analysis can be done by …

Injury-Induced Hand Dominance Transfer, Kathleen E. Yancosek

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Hand dominance is the preferential use of one hand over the other for motor tasks. 90% of people are right-hand dominant, and the majority of injuries (acute and cumulative trauma) occur to the dominant limb, creating a double-impact injury whereby a person is left in a functional state of single-handedness and must rely on the less-dexterous, non-dominant hand. When loss of dominant hand function is permanent, a forced shift of dominance is termed injury-induced hand dominance transfer (I-IHDT).

Military service members injured in combat operation may face I-IHDT following mutilating injuries (crush, avulsion, burn and blast wounds) that result in …

The Effect Of War On Art: The Work Of Mark Rothko, Elizabeth Leigh Doland

LSU Master's Theses

My goal for this thesis was to adequately illustrate the effect war can have on art and artists. I chose to single out one particular artist who lived and worked during a time of war and explore his life and work. My choice of artist was not random: I chose an individual who was particularly concerned about his external environment, and was active in the political and social issues of the time. My subject is Mark Rothko, a Russian-Jewish artist who immigrated from Russia as a boy and spent his life in the hotspot of artistic inspiration, New York City. …

Study Of Host-Fungus Interactions Between Soybean And Phakopsora Pachyrhizi Using Proteomics, Sunjung Park

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Asian soybean rust, caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi, is an emerging disease in the continental U. S. and resistant commercial varieties have not been reported. In an effort to understand the interactions during rust infection of soybean, protein profile changes were examined over a 14-day period in soybean leaves of one susceptible commercial line (Pioneer 93M60) with or without soybean rust inoculation using proteomics in this study. Forty protein spots differentially expressed after rust inoculation were identified and fourteen of them were recovered and sequenced. These included proteins involved in plant defense, stress, metabolism, and other biological processes. During the time-course …

In Vivo And In Vitro Pathogenesis Of Francisella Asiatica In Tilapia Nilotica (Oreochromis Niloticus), Esteban Soto

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Francisella asiatica is a Gram negative, facultative intracellular pathogen that causes fish francisellosis. In this project, homologues to the F. tularensis iglABCD genes were found present in F. asiatica. As few as 23 F. asiatica bacteria injected in the peritoneum were found capable of causing mortalities in tilapia nilotica (Oreochromis niloticus), and even fewer were enough to cause pathological changes. We examined the in vivo and in vitro interaction of F. asiatica wild type (WT) and a ÄiglC strain with tilapia and tilapia head kidney derived macrophages (HKDM). The ÄiglC was found to be attenuated following intraperitoneal and immersion challenges …

Writing About The South "In Her Own Way": Gender And Region In The Work Of Southern Women Playwrights, Casey Kayser

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines how identity—gender, race, sexuality, regional affiliation—intersects with considerations of the dramatic genre, commercial and critical factors in the American theatre, and understandings about the American South to complicate how contemporary southern women playwrights represent region. In light of the always-already "performative" nature of the South, and geographical, commercial, and ideological factors that set the South in opposition to the North, southern women playwrights face additional difficulties in navigating issues of authenticity and simulacra, the universal versus the specific, ideas about southern "backwardness" versus northern sophistication, and audience participation in fetishizing or distancing the South. Using drama as …

A Taxometric Analysis Of Autism Spectrum Disorders In Toddlers, Jessica Ann Boisjoli

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders that are generally first diagnosed in childhood. With the advances in technology to identify this group of disorders, children are being identified at younger and younger ages. Early identification of ASD is critical due to the beneficial effects of early intensive behavioral interventions. While children are being diagnosed with the disorder at very high rates, etiology and definitions of the disorders are still being investigated. Great variability exists with regard to symptoms between individuals. Additionally, less is known about symptom expression in individuals without ASD and symptoms of ASD occurring …

Landscape Patterns Of Community Structure, Biomass And Net Primary Productivity Of Mangrove Forests In The Florida Coastal Everglades As A Function Of Resource, Regulators, Hydroperiod, And Hurricane Distrubance, Edward Castaneda

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Spatial and temporal patterns of mangrove vegetation in the Florida Coastal Everglades (FCE) reflect a major interplay of resources, regulators and hydroperiod gradients. I investigated landscape patterns of community structure, biomass and NPP of mangroves along two FCE estuaries: Shark River and Taylor River. I also evaluated whether pulsing events such as Hurricane Wilma are significant to soil nutrient inventories and vertical accretion of mangroves in FCE. There was a higher forest structural complexity of mangroves in Shark River relative to Taylor River. The biomass root:shoot ratio was 17 times higher in Taylor River relative to Shark River, indicating that …