Life Sciences Commons^™

The Use Of Informativity In The Development Of Robust Viromics-Based Examinations, Siobhan C. Watkins, Catherine Putonti

Bioinformatics Faculty Publications

Metagenomics-based studies have provided insight into many of the complex microbial communities responsible for maintaining life on this planet. Sequencing efforts often uncover novel genetic content; this is most evident for phage communities, in which upwards of 90% of all sequences exhibit no similarity to any sequence in current data repositories. For the small fraction that can be identified, the top BLAST hit is generally posited as being representative of a viral taxon present in the sample of origin. Homology-based classification, however, can be misleading as sequence repositories capture but a small fraction of phage diversity. Furthermore, lateral gene transfer …

A Review Of Neogene And Quaternary Pikes Of Southeastern Europe And A New Species From The Early Pleistocene Of Nogaisk, Ukraine, Terry C. Grande, Oleksandr M. Kovalchuk, Mark V. H. Wilson

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The fish genus Esox (Teleostei, Esocidae) has been recorded from thirty late Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene localities where forty-one bone-bearing strata are exposed in the territory of Ukraine, Russian Federation, and Republic of Moldova. From eight localities the genus is reported or described for the first time. A detailed description and morphological analysis of the currently available osteological material demonstrates the presence of four species in the studied area: (i) Esox sibiricus (late Miocene–early Pliocene); (ii) Esox moldavicus (early Pliocene–early Pleistocene); (iii) Esox nogaicus sp. nov. (early Pleistocene, Calabrian); (iv) Esox lucius (early–middle Pleistocene). The Northern Pike (Esox lucius …

Sensitizing Leukemia Stem Cells To Nf-Κb Inhibitor Treatment In Vivo By Inactivation Of Both Tnf And Il-1 Signaling, Peter W. Breslin, Jing Li, Andrew Volk, Jun Zhang, Joseph Cannova, Shaojun Dai, Caiqin Hao, Chenglong Hu, Jiewen Sun, Yan Xu, Wei Wei, Sucha Nand, Jianjun Chen, Ameet Kini, Jiang Zhu, Jiwang Zhang

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

We previously reported that autocrine TNF-α (TNF) is responsible for JNK pathway activation in a subset of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patient samples, providing a survival/proliferation signaling parallel to NF-κB in AML stem cells (LSCs). In this study, we report that most TNF-expressing AML cells (LCs) also express another pro-inflammatory cytokine, IL1β, which acts in a parallel manner. TNF was produced primarily by LSCs and leukemic progenitors (LPs), whereas IL1β was mainly produced by partially differentiated leukemic blasts (LBs). IL1β also stimulates an NF-κB-independent pro-survival and proliferation signal through activation of the JNK pathway. We determined that co-inhibition of signaling …

Deformation But Not Migration And Rotation – A Model Study On Vesicle Biomechanics In A Uniform Dc Electric Field, Hui Ye, Austen Curcuru

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Background: Biological cells migrate, deform and rotate in various types of electric fields, which have significant impact on the normal cellular physiology. To investigate electrically-induced deformation, researchers have used artificial giant vesicles that mimic the phospholipid bilayer cell membrane. Containing primarily the neutral molecule phosphatidylcholine, these vesicles deformed under evenly distributed, strong direct current (DC) electric fields. Interestingly, they did not migrate or rotate. A biophysical mechanism underlying the kinematic differences between the biological cells and the vesicles under electric stimulation has not been worked out.

Methods: We modeled the vesicle as a leaky, dielectric sphere and computed …

Vector Competence Of Aedes Sierrensis And Culex Pipiens Complex (Diptera: Culicidae) For Dirofilaria Immitis (Spirurida: Onchocercidae) In Northern California, Jeffrey Allan Kurosaka

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Dirofilaria immitis Leidy (dog heartworm) is a life-threatening parasite transmitted by mosquitoes to domestic dogs. Endemic in the eastern United States, cases have become more prevalent over the last few decades. While prevalence in California is generally low, Lake and San Joaquin Counties have reported rates comparable to the East Coast at 3.73% and 0.71%(CAPC 2017), respectively. Aedes sierrensis is thought to be responsible for transmission in California, but in some cases, it exists in inadequate quantities and temporal ranges to explain parasite activity. Based on Huang et al. (2013) and Tran (2016), bloodfeeding patterns, and other vector criteria, Culex …

Evolving Academic Culture To Meet Societal Needs, Kateryna Wowk, Larry Mckinney, Frank E. Muller-Karger, Russell Moll, Susan Avery, Elva Escobar-Briones, David Yoskowitz, Richard Mclaughlin

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Given today's complex societal challenges, academia should work better with government, industry and others in offering innovative solutions that benefit our society, economy and environment. Researchers across disciplines must work together and with decision-makers to understand how science can have better on-The-ground impacts toward longer-Term, resilient societal outcomes. This includes, for example, by working with end-users in problem formation and throughout research projects to ensure decision-making needs are being met, and by linking physical science to additional fields like economics, risk communication or psychology. However, persistent barriers to collaborating across disciplines and with external decision-makers remain. Despite decades of studies …

Clinical Consultations And Investigations Before And After Discontinuation Of Endocrine Therapy In Women With Primary Breast Cancer, Derrick Lopez, Anna Kemp-Casey, Christobel Saunders, Elizabeth Roughead, Frances Boyle, Max Bulsara, David Preen

Health Sciences Papers and Journal Articles

Objective: Although clinical trials recommend that women with hormone-dependent primary breast cancer remain on endocrine therapy for at least 5 years, up to 60% discontinue treatment early. We determined whether these women had consulted with clinicians or had investigations for cancer recurrence or metastasis around the time they discontinued endocrine therapy, and whether clinical contact continued after discontinuation.

Methods: We performed case-control and cohort studies of women from the 45 and Up Study who were diagnosed with invasive primary breast cancer between January 2003 and December 2008, and who had ≥12 months of anastrozole, exemestane, letrozole or tamoxifen subsequently dispensed. …

Health Economics Of Targeted Intraoperative Radiotherapy (Targit-Iort) For Early Breast Cancer: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis In The United Kingdom, Anil Vaidya, Param Vaidya, Brigitte Both, Chris Brew-Graves, Max Bulsara, Jayant S. Vaidya

Health Sciences Papers and Journal Articles

Objective: The clinical effectiveness of targeted intraoperative radiotherapy (TARGIT-IORT) has been confirmed in the randomised TARGIT-A (targeted intraoperative radiotherapy-alone) trial to be similar to a several weeks’ course of whole-breast external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT) in patients with early breast cancer. This study aims to determine the cost effectiveness of TARGIT-IORT to inform policy decisions about its wider implementation. Setting TARGIT-A randomised clinical trial (ISRCTN34086741) which compared TARGIT with traditional EBRT and found similar breast cancer control, particularly when TARGIT was given simultaneously with lumpectomy.

Methods: Cost-utility analysis using decision analytic modelling by a Markov model. A cost-effectiveness Markov model was …

Neuromuscular Training Improves Lower Extremity Biomechanics Associated With Knee Injury During Landing In 11-13 Year Old Female Netball Athletes, A Hopper, E Haff, C Joyce, R Lloyd, G Haff

Health Sciences Papers and Journal Articles

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a neuromuscular training (NMT) program on lower-extremity biomechanics in youth female netball athletes. The hypothesis was that significant improvements would be found in landing biomechanics of the lower-extremities, commonly associated with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, following NMT. Twenty-three athletes (age = 12.2 ± 0.9 years; height = 1.63 ± 0.08m; mass = 51.8 ± 8.5 kg) completed two testing sessions separated by 7-weeks and were randomly assigned to either a experimental or control group. Thirteen athletes underwent 6-weeks of NMT, while the remaining 10 served as controls and …

Tumour-Infiltrating Regulatory T Cell Density Before Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy For Rectal Cancer Does Not Predict Treatment Response, Melanie J. Mccoy, Chris Hemmings, Chidozie C. Anyaegbu, Stephanie J. Austin, Tracey F. Lee-Pullen, Timothy J. Miller, Max K. Bulsara, Nikolajs Zeps, Anna K. Nowak, Richard A. Lake, Cameron F. Platell

Health Sciences Papers and Journal Articles

Neoadjuvant (preoperative) chemoradiotherapy (CRT) decreases the risk of rectal cancer recurrence and reduces tumour volume prior to surgery. However, response to CRT varies considerably between individuals and factors associated with response are poorly understood. Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) inhibit anti-tumour immunity and may limit any response to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. We have previously reported that a low density of Tregs in the tumour stroma following neoadjuvant CRT for rectal cancer is associated with improved tumour regression. Here we have examined the association between Treg density in pre-treatment diagnostic biopsy specimens and treatment response, in this same patient cohort. We …

Satellite Observation Of Particulate Organic Carbon Dynamics On The Louisiana Continental Shelf, Chengfeng Le, John C. Lehrter, Chuanmin Hu, Hugh Macintyre, Marcus W. Beck

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Particulate organic carbon (POC) plays an important role in coastal carbon cycling and the formation of hypoxia. Yet, coastal POC dynamics are often poorly understood due to a lack of long-term POC observations and the complexity of coastal hydrodynamic and biogeochemical processes that influence POC sources and sinks. Using field observations and satellite ocean color products, we developed a new multiple regression algorithm to estimate POC on the Louisiana Continental Shelf (LCS) from satellite observations. The algorithm had reliable performance with mean relative error (MRE) of ∼40% and root mean square error (RMSE) of ∼50% for MODIS and SeaWiFS images …

Land Adjacency Effects On Modis Aqua Top-Of-Atmosphere Radiance In The Shortwave Infrared: Statistical Assessment And Correction, Lian Feng, Chuanmin Hu

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Satellite measurements of coastal or inland waters near land/water interfaces suffer from land adjacency effects (LAEs), particularly in the short-wave infrared (SWIR) wavelengths. Here a statistical method was developed to quantify the LAEs as the ratio of top-of-atmosphere (TOA) total radiance (L_t, W m⁻² µm⁻¹ sr⁻¹) between near-shore pixels and LAE-free offshore pixels (>12 pixels away from land). The calculations were conducted using MODIS Aqua images between 2003 and 2012 over the Madagascar Island, with results showing the dependency of LAEs on different environmental and observational factors. The LAEs decrease dramatically with increasing …

Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 Is A Novel Protein Sensor In Pregnancy, Elizabeth Frost Sutton

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The twenty-first century has experienced a shift in cause of death worldwide from communicable diseases to noncommunicable diseases. Interestingly, many of these implicated chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, have been shown to be programmed in the womb. As first posited by the Barker Hypothesis, adverse exposures in utero can increase an individual’s risk for chronic disease later in life. Therefore, pregnancy is an opportune time for intervention to improve the health of future generations. Studies of exposures known to negatively impact infant health, e.g. states of overnutrition (obesity, diabetes, excess gestational weight gain) and undernutrition (starvation, …

Exploring Social Indicators Of Situational Interest In Physical Education And Activity Classes: Integration Of Interest And Self-Determination Theories, Joseph Opiri Otundo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

It is clearly documented that physically active lifestyles result in numerous health benefits. Unfortunately, a majority of individuals do not meet recommended physical activity (PA) guidelines. Physical education (PE) courses provide avenues for students to increase PA. Teachers and public health officials identify the importance of student motivation constructs such as interest in promoting PA behaviors and other healthy life habits. The purposes of this dissertation were to advance the measurement of situational interest by investigating social indicators derived from self-determination theory (SDT), and to test a theoretical model that integrates interest theory and SDT. Two quantitative studies were designed …

Evolutionary History Of A Large-Genome Salamander Across Five Disjunct Regions Of The Southeastern United States, Catherine Elizabeth Newman

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The southeastern United States has a dynamic geologic history. Mountain range uplift, sea level fluctuations, and river basin evolution have shaped species geographic distributions in the region. My dissertation objectively identifies amphibian species with highly fragmented distributions in the Southeast (Chapter 2) and examines the phylogeographic history of one of those species, Plethodon serratus. This salamander species has a widely disjunct range across five regions: the Appalachians, the Ozarks, the Ouachitas, and two allopatric sites in Louisiana. Analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear loci (Chapter 3) showed that P. serratus is comprised of multiple genetic lineages, and the five regions are …

Evaluation Of A Role For Prolactin In The Recrudescense Of Ovarian Activity In Seasonally Anovulatory Mares, Erin Lea Oberhaus

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A series of experiments studied the possible role for prolactin in the spring-time recrudescence of ovarian activity in mares. The first experiment was based on cabergoline administration to seasonally anovulatory mares to prevent the seasonal rise in endogenous plasma prolactin to assess whether reduced prolactin altered onset of ovarian activity or first ovulation. Although prolactin concentrations were reduced, basal prolactin concentrations recovered from suppression by the time of the next injection (10 days later), even though low-dose sulpiride stimulation of prolactin was still suppressed by 85%. The subsequent experiment tested whether season affected the duration and degree of suppression produced …

Epigenetic Profiling Of Mammalian Retrotransposons, Arundhati Bakshi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Over evolutionary time, mammalian genomes have accumulated a large number of retrotransposons, making up about half of the genome in any given species. These retrotransposons are typically repressed by epigenetic mechanisms, one of the main ones being DNA methylation. It is well known that improper DNA methylation of retrotransposons can have unwanted consequences on nearby gene expression, and hypomethylation of retrotransposons has been frequently observed in various cancers. Nevertheless, it has been notoriously difficult to study retrotransposon loci individually due to the highly repetitive nature of their sequences. To address this issue, we have developed a novel protocol termed HT-TREBS …

Determining The Influence Of Imidacloprid And Glufosinate Ammonium On The Population Dynamics Of Twospotted Spider Mite Populations In Louisiana Cotton, Sebe Anthony Brown

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Twospotted spider mites, Tetranychus urticae, is an important agricultural pest of many field crops worldwide. This study investigated the impacts of imidacloprid seed treatments on populations of twospotted spider mites while also investigating if exogenous applications of jasmonic acid can offset any hormone modulating effects caused by seed treatments. Imidacloprid seed treatments significantly increased cumulative adult mite days in 2013 but not 2015 or 2016 in the field. Applications of 10 millimolar jasmonic acid did not reduce mite severity or injury in all field trials. Imidacloprid seed treatments significantly increased all spider mite life stages in the laboratory while applications …

Structure-Based Prediction Of Protein-Protein Interaction Networks Across Proteomes, Surabhi Maheshwari

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) orchestrate virtually all cellular processes, therefore, their exhaustive exploration is essential for the comprehensive understanding of cellular networks. Significant efforts have been devoted to expand the coverage of the proteome-wide interaction space at molecular level. A number of experimental techniques have been developed to discover PPIs, however these approaches have some limitations such as the high costs and long times of experiments, noisy data sets, and often high false positive rate and inter-study discrepancies. Given experimental limitations, computational methods are increasingly becoming important for detection and structural characterization of PPIs. In that regard, we have developed a …

Activity Of Benzobicyclon Herbicide In Common Louisiana Rice Production Practices, Benjamin M. Mcknight

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A study was conducted at the LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station (RRS) to evaluate benzobicyclon herbicide application timing on water-seeded rice. Benzobicyclon was applied at seven different timings, at 246 g ai ha-1 in a water-seeded rice production system. Benzobicyclon controlled ducksalad above 90% when applied into the pinpoint flood. Barnyardgrass control was greater than 90% from applications made on pegging rice and immediately following pinpoint flood establishment. At 49 days after treatment (DAT), yellow nutsedge control exceeded 90% following benzobicyclon treatment with a pegging rice or pinpoint flood timing. Ducksalad control was greater than 90% following …

The Effects Of Aerobic Exercise And Lipolytic Stimulation On Skeletal Muscle And Adipose Expression Of Perilipin 3 (Plin3) In Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes And Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Jeffrey Daniel Covington

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Ectopic lipid accumulation in skeletal muscle is linked with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Neutral lipid is stored as lipid droplets, which are coated by lipid droplet coat proteins. One important class of these proteins are the perilipins. Little research has focused on perilipin 3 (PLIN3) and coatomer gtp-ases, theorized to be involved in PLIN3 directed lipid oxidation. Under lipolytic stimulation with epinephrine or palmitate, forskolin, and ionomysin (PFI), primary human myotubes taken from health non-T2D donors showed increased protein content levels of PLIN3. Concordantly, following endurance exercise in non-T2D males—an experimental paradigm shown to increase lipolysis—levels of …

Functional And Structural Analyses Of A Bacterial Antifreeze Protein, Chen Wang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are a class of ice binding proteins (IBPs) that are expressed by different cold-adapted organisms to increase their freezing tolerance. AFPs have two major properties: thermal hysteresis and ice recrystallization inhibition. Here we report the functional and structural analyses of a bacterial AFP, IBPv. IBPv was originally secreted by a bacterium recovered from a deep glacial ice core drilled at Vostok Station, Antarctica. Our study showed that the recombinant protein rIBPv exhibited a thermal hysteresis of 2°C at concentrations higher than 50 µM, effectively inhibited ice recrystallization, and enhanced bacterial viability during freeze-thaw cycling. Circular dichroism scans …

Lignocellulosic Syrup Production From Energy Cane Bagasse And Fumaric Acid Fermentation, Fang Deng

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Lignocellulosic syrup from dilute ammonia pretreated energy cane bagasse is a promising fermentable sugar feedstock that can improve the logistics associated with long-distance transportation, long-time storage, and year-round supply of lignocellulosic biomass to processing industries. However, non-sugar compounds such as organic acids, furans and phenolic compounds formed during pretreatment can have negative effects on downstream processes such as fermentation. This dissertation focused on addressing challenges associated with the bioconversion of energy cane bagasse to syrup and its fermentation to fumaric acid. The first goal (Chapter 2) was to evaluate the removal of non-sugar compounds with minimal sugar losses from dilute …

Three Essays On Consumption Behavior, Credit, And Labor Supply Of Farm Households In Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence From Uganda, Seydina Ousmane Sene

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Consumption patterns, credit, and labor supply are determinants of human welfare, and also indicators of a country's economic progress, poverty, and inequalities. In this study, I review many of the stylized facts regarding consumption behaviors, credit, and the decision to engage in off-farm labor supply. I also put the life cycle model into an empirical model and perform testing. This is done in a three-essay format with a focus on the country of Uganda. In the first essay, I test whether farm households’ consumption behavior is consistent with an optimization process predicted by economic theory. In essay II, I evaluate …

Organizational Misconduct Within The National Collegiate Athletic Association, Khirey Bennie Walker

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Prior research on organizational misconduct within intercollegiate athletics focuses on the penalties administered by the NCAA and types of violations committed by member institutions, rather than the engagement of misconduct and the role of the NCAA as a social-control agent. Consequently, the purpose of this dissertation is to analyze the relationship between social-control agents and potential wrongdoers (i.e., organizations), in addition to how the relationship affects the evolving line separating right from wrong. A three-paper multiple method examination has been conducted, including a historical analysis of NCAA enforcement, a qualitative framing analysis on the detailing of NCAA major infractions to …

The Immediate And Extended Effect Of Diet And Exercise On Metabolic Flexibility, Timothy Allerton

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Metabolic inflexibility is an emerging physiological marker indicative of metabolic dysfunction and associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity. Exercise is a potent stimulus to improve metabolic health, however, not much is known about the acute effects of exercise on metabolic flexibility (METFLEX). The purpose of this dissertation was study the time-course of diet and exercise and its effects on METFLEX. Three studies were conducted to investigate molecular and clinical aspects of diet and exercise and how these stimuli may alter the metabolic response to fuel. The first study was conducted on obesity-prone, Osborne-Mendel (OM) and obesity-resistant S5B/Pl (S5B) …

Patterns Of Diversification In A Neotropical Radiation Of Birds (Aves: Furnariidae), Glenn F. Seeholzer

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Ecology and the role of natural selection in lineage diversification has been a central topic in evolutionary biology since Darwin. At the macroevolutionary scale, this idea is embodied in the ecological theory of adaptive radiation, which posits that rapid diversification is driven by ecological adaptive radiation in which speciation is coupled with niche divergence. Within species, the theory of ecological speciation proposes that local adaptation drives speciation by reducing gene flow among populations occupying different environments either by directly reducing migration or by reducing the fitness of migrants. Much progress has been made testing these predictions in a multitude of …

Examining The Impact Of Participating In A Nutrition-Education And Culinary Skills-Building Program On Intrinsic Motivation To Prepare Healthy Foods And Diet Quality In High School Adolescents, Derek Charles Miketinas

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The objective of these studies was to develop a questionnaire that could measure the psychosocial constructs identified by the Self Determination Theory (SDT) as they relate to adolescents’ food preparation attitudes and their learning environment. The questionnaire included items that measured intrinsic motivation (IM), perceived competence (PC), relatedness, autonomy, and autonomy support. These studies explored the questionnaire’s validity, reliability, and ability to measure construct changes. The Adolescent Motivation to Cook Questionnaire (AMCQ) was developed in the first study to measure high school students’ IM and PC to prepare healthy foods, and their relatedness, autonomy and autonomy support within the classroom. …

Epigenetic Response Of Imprinted Domains During Carcinogenesis, Corey Lane Bretz

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The first part of this work induced T-cell lymphoma in mice by employing a breeding scheme involving mouse strains expressing the KrasG12D oncoprotein and mice expressing cyclic recombinase from the mouse mammary tumor virus promoter. Imprinted domains were then systematically surveyed for DNA methylation changes during tumor progression using combined bisulfite restriction analysis and next-generation-bisulfite-sequencing. Hyper-or hypomethylation was detected at the imprinting control regions (ICRs) of the Dlk1, Peg10, Peg3, Grb10 and Gnas domains. These DNA methylation changes at ICRs were more prevalent and consistent than those observed at the promoter regions of well-known tumor suppressors, such as Mgmt, Fhit …

Microbial Distributions And Survival In The Troposphere And Stratosphere, Noelle Celeste Bryan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Although bioaerosols in the lower altitudes of the atmosphere have been extensively studied, little is known about the distribution and nature of microorganisms at altitudes above the Earth’s surface. To examine the vertical distribution of microorganisms in the atmosphere, a helium balloon payload system was developed to sample bioaerosols at stratospheric altitudes of up to 38 km, where temperature, air pressure, relative humidity, and ultraviolet-C (UV-C) radiation conditions are similar to the surface of Mars. Bioaerosol concentrations between 3 and 29 km were similar to each other, ~three-fold lower than those in the convective boundary layer (CBL; 0-3 km; 1 …