Digital Commons Network^™

Peer Evaluation As An Effective Tool To Improve Twelfth-Grade Students' Writing, Jenna R. Ebersviller

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study investigated the effects of peer evaluation on twenty-four twelfth-grade students' writing performance, attitudes, and information learned. Previous research revealed that peer evaluation improved students' writing; their experiences with peer evaluation were positive; and that through evaluating peers' writing, students were able to learn from one another. Both research groups made significant improvements from their first writing assignment, where no peer evaluation was used, to their second writing assignment, where thorough peer evaluation was used. The author concludes that the improvement in writing can be attributed to peer evaluation. Students' attitudes about peer evaluation throughout the process also improved.

Radiation Therapy And Expander-Implant Breast Reconstruction: Analysis Of Timing And Complications, Rachel Lentz

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

The optimal timing of expander-implant exchange in the setting of post mastectomy radiation remains unclear with prior reports yielding inconsistent and variable results. The purpose of this study was to characterize complications associated with the sequencing of expander-implant breast reconstruction before or after radiation therapy and to compare the outcomes between early (< 4 months) and late (>4 months) expander-implant exchange in the subset of patients who received radiation prior to exchange.

The medical records of all patients receiving post-mastectomy radiation therapy in the setting of tissue expander-implant breast reconstruction between June 2004 - June 2011 at Yale-New Haven hospital were reviewed retrospectively. Patients …

The Clean Water Act And Evolving Due Process: The Emergence Of Contemporary Enforcement Procedures, Alexandria A. Polk

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Uncertain Rights Of The Unknown Child: Federal Uniformity To Social Security Survivors Benefits For The Posthumously Conceived Child After Astrue V. Capato, Nathan Rick Allred

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Liminal Leda: A Conversation About Art, Poetry, And Vague Translations Of Sex, Molly Pistrang

English Honors Papers

My paper explores the idea that Leda has been used throughout recent history as a vehicle through which artists and poets talk non-explicitly about sex. After presenting her undetermined mythical origins in chapter one, I explore different identities assumed by Leda during the half century prior to Yeats. In chapter two, I focus on Leda as universal woman, explicit character, and one who looks. In chapter three, I move to Leda's larger roles as liminal figure and portrait, and discuss the changing role of exterior versus interior perspective. Chapter four is a detailed study on Yeats' sonnet that develops into …

Mukulabhaṭṭa's Defense Of Lakṣaṇā: How We Use Words To Mean Something Else, But Not Everything Else, Malcolm Keating

Philosophy: Faculty Publications

We frequently use single words or expressions to mean multiple things, depending upon context. I argue that a plausible model of this phenomenon, known as laks{dot below}aN{dot below}ā by Indian philosophers, emerges in the work of ninth-century Kashmiri Mukulabhat{dot below}t{dot below}a. His model of laks{dot below}aN{dot below}ā is sensitive to the lexical and syntactic requirements for sentence meaning, the interpretive unity guiding a communicative act, and the nuances of creative language use found in poetry. After outlining his model of laks{dot below}aN{dot below}ā, I show how arthāpatti, or presumption, forms the basis of both semantic and pragmatic processes in this …

Louisiana Agriculture Winter, 2013

Louisiana Agriculture

No abstract provided.

Quantum Random Walks With Multiphoton Interference And High-Order Correlation Functions, Bryan T. Gard, Robert M. Cross, Petr M. Anisimov, Hwang Lee, Jonathan P. Dowling

Faculty Publications

We show a simulation of quantum random walks (QRWs) with multiple photons using a staggered array of 50/50 beam splitters with a bank of detectors at any desired level. We discuss the multiphoton interference effects that are inherent to this setup, and introduce one, two, and threefold coincidence detection schemes. Feynman diagrams are used to intuitively explain the unique multiphoton interference effects of these QRWs. © 2013 Optical Society of America.

Impact Of Obesity On Il-12 Family Gene Expression In Insulin Responsive Tissues, Heesun Nam, Bradley S. Ferguson, Jacqueline M. Stephens, Ron F. Morrison

Faculty Publications

Mounting evidence has established a role for chronic inflammation in the development of obesity-induced insulin resistance, as genetic ablation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines elevated in obesity improves insulin signaling in vitro and in vivo. Recent evidence further highlights interleukin (IL)-12 family cytokines as prospective inflammatory mediators linking obesity to insulin resistance. In this study, we present empirical evidence demonstrating that IL-12 family related genes are expressed and regulated in insulin-responsive tissues under conditions of obesity. First, we report that respective mRNAs for each of the known members of this cytokine family are expressed within detectable ranges in WAT, skeletal …

Synthesis And Biological Investigations Of A Znpc-Anticea Bioconjugate For Imaging Of Colorectal Cancer, Inder Sehgal, Hairong Li, Benson Ongarora, Daniel Devillier, M. Graça H. Vicente

Faculty Publications

Two zinc(II) phthalocyanines (ZnPcs) were conjugated with a monoclonal antibody (MAb) directed against carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), using an in situ activated carboxylic acid on the ZnPcs. The bioconjugate with the highest ZnPc/MAb ratio of 3 was investigated in vitro for its ability to target and fluorescently label human colorectal HT-29 cells. The ZnPc-CEA MAb 2 was observed to efficiently target HT-29 cells, about 37 times more than unconjugated ZnPc. Furthermore, in the presence of a 4-fold excess of unlabelled anti-CEA antibody, the fluorescence signal of 2 was reduced by ∼90% showing that the targeting is CEA-mediated. These studies further confirm …

Design, Synthesis And Characterization Of Peptidomimetic Conjugate Of Bodipy Targeting Her2 Protein Extracellular Domain, Sashikanth Banappagari, Alecia Mccall, Krystal Fontenot, M. Graca H. Vicente, Amit Gujar, Seetharama Satyanarayanajois

Faculty Publications

Among the EGFRs, HER2 is a major heterodimer partner and also has important implications in the formation of particular tumors. Interaction of HER2 protein with other EGFR proteins can be modulated by small molecule ligands and, hence, these protein-protein interactions play a key role in biochemical reactions related to control of cell growth. A peptidomimetic (compound 5-1) that binds to HER2 protein extracellular domain and inhibits protein-protein interactions of EGFRs was conjugated with BODIPY (4,4-difluoro-5,7-dimethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza- s-indacene). Conjugation of BODIPY to the peptidomimetic was investigated by different approaches. The conjugate was characterized for its ability to bind to HER2 overexpressing SKBR-3 …

Requirement Of Vesicle-Associated Membrane Protein 721 And 722 For Sustained Growth During Immune Responses In Arabidopsis., Hye Sup Yun, Mark Kwaaitaal, Naohiro Kato, Changhyun Yi, Sohyeon Park, Masa H. Sato, Paul Schulze-Lefert, Chian Kwon

Faculty Publications

Extracellular immune responses to ascomycete and oomycete pathogens in Arabidopsis are dependent on vesicle-associated secretion mediated by the SNARE proteins PEN1 syntaxin, SNAP33 and endomembrane-resident VAMP721/722. Continuous movement of functional GFP-VAMP722 to and from the plasma membrane in non-stimulated cells reflects the second proposed function of VAMP721/722 in constitutive secretion during plant growth and development. Application of the bacterium-derived elicitor flg22 stabilizes VAMP721/722 that are otherwise constitutively degraded via the 26S proteasome pathway. Depletion of VAMP721/722 levels by reducing VAMP721/722 gene dosage enhances flg22-induced seedling growth inhibition in spite of elevated VAMP721/722 abundance. We therefore propose that plants prioritize the …

Alkane Hydroxylase Gene (Alkb) Phylotype Composition And Diversity In Northern Gulf Of Mexico Bacterioplankton, Conor B. Smith, Bradley B. Tolar, James T. Hollibaugh, Gary M. King

Faculty Publications

Natural and anthropogenic activities introduce alkanes into marine systems where they are degraded by alkane hydroxylases expressed by phylogenetically diverse bacteria. Partial sequences for alkB, one of the structural genes of alkane hydroxylase, have been used to assess the composition of alkane-degrading communities, and to determine their responses to hydrocarbon inputs. We present here the first spatially extensive analysis of alkB in bacterioplankton of the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGoM), a region that experiences numerous hydrocarbon inputs. We have analyzed 401 partial alkB gene sequences amplified from genomic extracts collected during March 2010 from 17 water column samples that included …

Fuel Composition Influences Fire Characteristics And Understorey Hardwoods In Pine Savanna, Darin P. Ellair, William J. Platt

Faculty Publications

Fuels in the groundcover of frequently burned south-eastern pine savannas include shed leaves of trees. Flammable needles of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) potentially increase maximum fire temperatures and durations of heating, negatively affecting other trees within the groundcover. Less flammable leaves that accumulate around the bases of understorey stems of hardwood trees such as mockernut hickories (Carya alba) in the fall potentially depress maximum fire temperatures and durations of heating, enhancing post-fire recovery. We experimentally manipulated amounts of pine and hickory leaves beneath understorey hickory stems in a pine savanna, measured temperatures during prescribed fires and assessed combustion of fuels …

Temporal Patterns Of Diversification Across Global Cichlid Biodiversity (Acanthomorpha: Cichlidae)., Caleb D. Mcmahan, Prosanta Chakrabarty, John S. Sparks, W. M.Leo Smith, Matthew P. Davis

Faculty Publications

The contrasting distribution of species diversity across the major lineages of cichlids makes them an ideal group for investigating macroevolutionary processes. In this study, we investigate whether different rates of diversification may explain the disparity in species richness across cichlid lineages globally. We present the most taxonomically robust time-calibrated hypothesis of cichlid evolutionary relationships to date. We then utilize this temporal framework to investigate whether both species-rich and depauperate lineages are associated with rapid shifts in diversification rates and if exceptional species richness can be explained by clade age alone. A single significant rapid rate shift increase is detected within …

Sweetpotato Tip Rot Incidence Is Increased By Preharvest Applications Of Ethephon And Reduced By Curing, Ramón A. Arancibia, Jeffrey L. Main, Christopher A. Clark

Faculty Publications

Tip rot, or restricted end rot, is a new sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) disease/disorder in Mississippi with unknown etiology. Since pathogen isolations have been inconsistent, a relationship of this disorder with stress is proposed. This disease/disorder is manifested as a restricted lesion at or close to the proximal end of the storage root and appears after 2 to 4 weeks in storage. In many cases, the lesion necrosis expands internally. On-farm and research station studies with preharvest foliar applications of ethephon were conducted in Mississippi to determine the potential association of tip rot with ethephon-induced stress. In addition, the effects of …

Checklist Of Insects Associated With Salvinia Minima Baker In Louisiana, Usa, Katherine A. Parys, Matthew L. Gimmel, Seth J. Johnson

Faculty Publications

This study presents a list of adult insects (excluding Diptera and Lepidoptera) collected from an infestation of an invasive aquatic weed, common salvinia (Salvinia minima Baker), in southern Louisiana, USA. Insects were sampled from May - November of 2009 and 2010 using floating pitfall traps. A total of 7,933 specimens were collected, representing seven orders, 70 families, and 235 species. Species of note include three currently undescribed species of Coleoptera, one previously undescribed braconid wasp, two new state records of Curculionidae, a new state generic record for the family Limnichidae, and a new record for the United States. © 2013 …

2013 Annual Report, Louisiana Rice Research Board, Lsu Agcenter

Louisiana Rice Research Board Annual Report

No abstract provided.

Components, Volume 9 (2013), Lsu Center For Computation And Technology

Components

No abstract provided.

Infection Structure-Specific Expression Of Β-1,3-Glucan Synthase Is Essential For Pathogenicity Of Colletotrichum Graminicola And Evasion Of Β-Glucan-Triggered Immunity In Maize, Ely Oliveira-Garcia, Holger B. Deising

Faculty Publications

β -1,3-Glucan and chitin are the most prominent polysaccharides of the fungal cell wall. Covalently linked, these polymers form a scaffold that determines the form and properties of vegetative and pathogenic hyphae. While the role of chitin in plant infection is well understood, the role of β-1,3-glucan is unknown. We functionally characterized the β -1,3-glucan synthase gene GLS1 of the maize (Zea mays) pathogen Colletotrichum graminicola, employing RNA interference (RNAi), GLS1 overexpression, live-cell imaging, and aniline blue fluorochrome staining. This hemibiotroph sequentially differentiates a melanized appressorium on the cuticle and biotrophic and necrotrophic hyphae in its host. Massive β-1,3-glucan contents …

Race In Biological And Biomedical Research, Richard S. Cooper

Faculty Publications

The concept of race has had a significant influence on research in human biology since the early 19th century. But race was given its meaning and social impact in the political sphere and subsequently intervened in science as a foreign concept, not grounded in the dominant empiricism of modern biology. The uses of race in sciencewere therefore often disruptive and controversial; at times, science had to be retrofitted to accommodate race, and science in turn was often used to explain and justify race. This relationship was unstable in large part because race was about a phenomenon that could not be …

A Systematic Mapping Approach Of 16q12.2/Fto And Bmi In More Than 20,000 African Americans Narrows In On The Underlying Functional Variation: Results From The Population Architecture Using Genomics And Epidemiology (Page) Study, Ulrike Peters, Kari E. North, Praveen Sethupathy, Steve Buyske, Jeff Haessler, Shuo Jiao, Megan D. Fesinmeyer, Rebecca D. Jackson, Lew H. Kuller, Aleksandar Rajkovic, Unhee Lim, Iona Cheng, Fred Schumacher, Lynne Wilkens, Rongling Li, Keri Monda, Georg Ehret, Khanh Dung H. Nguyen, Richard Cooper, Cora E. Lewis, Mark Leppert, Marguerite R. Irvin, C. Charles Gu, Denise Houston, Petra Buzkova, Marylyn Ritchie, Tara C. Matise, Loic Le Marchand, Lucia A. Hindorff, Dana C. Crawford, Christopher A. Haiman, Charles Kooperberg

Faculty Publications

Genetic variants in intron 1 of the fat mass- and obesity-associated (FTO) gene have been consistently associated with body mass index (BMI) in Europeans. However, follow-up studies in African Americans (AA) have shown no support for some of the most consistently BMI-associated FTO index single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). This is most likely explained by different race-specific linkage disequilibrium (LD) patterns and lower correlation overall in AA, which provides the opportunity to fine-map this region and narrow in on the functional variant. To comprehensively explore the 16q12.2/FTO locus and to search for second independent signals in the broader region, we fine-mapped …

The Nigerian Antihypertensive Adherence Trial: A Community-Based Randomized Trial, Adebowale Adeyemo, Bamidele O. Tayo, Amy Luke, Olugbenga Ogedegbe, Ramon Durazo-Arvizu, Richard S. Cooper

Faculty Publications

Background: Research in industrialized countries has demonstrated that a key factor limiting the control of hypertension is poor patient adherence and that the most successful interventions for long-term adherence employ multiple strategies. Very little data exist on this question in low-income countries, wherein medication-taking behavior may be less well developed. Method: We conducted a treatment adherence trial of 544 patients [mean age ∼63 years, mean blood pressure (BP) ∼168/92 mmHg] with previously untreated hypertension in urban and rural Nigeria. Eligible participants were randomized to one of two arms: clinic management only, or clinic management and home visits. Both interventions included …

Chitin-Glucan Fiber Effects On Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein: A Randomized Controlled Trial, H. E. Bays, J. L. Evans, K. C. Maki, M. Evans, V. Maquet, R. Cooper, J. W. Anderson

Faculty Publications

Background/objectives: Elevated oxidized low-density lipoprotein (OxLDL) may promote inflammation, and is associated with increased risk of atherosclerotic coronary heart disease and worsening complications of diabetes mellitus. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of chitin-glucan (CG), alone and in combination with a potentially anti-inflammatory olive oil (OO) extract, for reducing OxLDL in subjects with borderline to high LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) levels. Subjects/methods: This 6-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of a novel, insoluble fiber derived from the Aspergillus niger mycelium, CG, evaluated 130 subjects free of diabetes mellitus with fasting LDL-C 3.37-4.92 mmol/l and glucose ≤6.94 mmol/l. …

Lsu General Catalog 2013-2014, Louisiana State University And Agrcultural And Mechanical College

LSU General Catalog

The LSU General Catalog describes all undergraduate and graduate departments and programs with degree requirements and courses offered for each one. The LSU General Catalog includes information on registration and financial aid as well as academic services offered to all students.

Comparative Binding Of Cry1ab And Cry1f Bacillus Thuringiensis Toxins To Brush Border Membrane Proteins From Ostrinia Nubilalis, Ostrinia Furnacalis And Diatraea Saccharalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) Midgut Tissue, Sek Yee Tan, Bonifacio F. Cayabyab, Edwin P. Alcantara, Fangneng Huang, Kanglai He, Kenneth W. Nickerson, Blair D. Siegfried

Faculty Publications

The European (Ostrinia nubilalis Hübner) and Asian corn borers (Ostrinia furnacalis Guenée) are closely related and display similar sensitivity to Cry1 toxins. In this study, we compared the binding patterns of Cry1Ab and Cry1F toxins between both Ostrinia spp., as well as the expression of putative cadherinand aminopeptidase-N (APN)-like protein receptors. Additionally, cDNA sequences of these putative toxin receptors from both Ostrinia species were compared. Ligand blots for both species indicated a similar binding pattern for Cry1Ab with the strongest immunoreactive band at 260 kDa in both species. In addition, similar expression of the putative cadherin- and APN-like protein receptors …

Staffan Müller-Wille And Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, A Cultural History Of Heredity, Charles H. Pence

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Conservation Status Of The World's Reptiles, Monika Böhm, Ben Collen, Jonathan E.M. Baillie, Philip Bowles, Janice Chanson, Neil Cox, Geoffrey Hammerson, Michael Hoffmann, Suzanne R. Livingstone, Mala Ram, Anders G.J. Rhodin, Simon N. Stuart, Peter Paul Van Dijk, Bruce E. Young, Leticia E. Afuang, Aram Aghasyan, Andrés García, César Aguilar, Rastko Ajtic, Ferdi Akarsu, Laura R.V. Alencar, Allen Allison, Natalia Ananjeva, Steve Anderson, Claes Andrén, Daniel Ariano-Sánchez, Juan Camilo Arredondo, Mark Auliya, Christopher C. Austin, Aziz Avci, Patrick J. Baker, André F. Barreto-Lima, César L. Barrio-Amorós, Dhruvayothi Basu

Faculty Publications

Effective and targeted conservation action requires detailed information about species, their distribution, systematics and ecology as well as the distribution of threat processes which affect them. Knowledge of reptilian diversity remains surprisingly disparate, and innovative means of gaining rapid insight into the status of reptiles are needed in order to highlight urgent conservation cases and inform environmental policy with appropriate biodiversity information in a timely manner. We present the first ever global analysis of extinction risk in reptiles, based on a random representative sample of 1500 species (16% of all currently known species). To our knowledge, our results provide the …

Multiple Envelope Stress Response Pathways Are Activated In An Escherichia Coli Strain With Mutations In Two Members Of The Deda Membrane Protein Family, Rakesh Sikdar, Angelica R. Simmons, William T. Doerrler

Faculty Publications

We have reported that simultaneous deletion of two Escherichia coli genes, yqjA and yghB, encoding related and conserved inner membrane proteins belonging to the DedA protein family results in a number of intriguing phenotypes, including temperature sensitivity at 42°C, altered membrane lipid composition, and cell division defects. We sought to characterize these and other phenotypes in an effort to establish a function for this protein family in E. coli. Here, using reporter assays, we show that the major envelope stress response pathways Cpx, Psp, Bae, and Rcs are activated in strain BC202 (W3110; yqjA yghB) at the permissive growth temperature …

New Functions For The Ancient Deda Membrane Protein Family, William T. Doerrler, Rakesh Sikdar, Sujeet Kumar, Lisa A. Boughner

Faculty Publications

The DedA protein family is a highly conserved and ancient family of membrane proteins with representatives in most sequenced genomes, including those of bacteria, archaea, and eukarya. The functions of the DedA family proteins remain obscure. However, recent genetic approaches have revealed important roles for certain bacterial DedA family members in membrane homeostasis. Bacterial DedA family mutants display such intriguing phenotypes as cell division defects, temperature sensitivity, altered membrane lipid composition, elevated envelope-related stress responses, and loss of proton motive force. The DedA family is also essential in at least two species of bacteria: Borrelia burgdorferi and Escherichia coli. Here, …