Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Development Of Repressible Systems To Control Gene Expression In Vaccinia Virus, Allison Titong

Master's Theses

Two vaccinia virus (VACV) expression systems that contain elements from the lactose (lac) and the tetracycline (tet) operons of E. coli were developed to repress the expression of a reporter gene, enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP), in the presence of tet operon inducers. In the first system, lac and tet operon elements were arranged in a gene circuit, and in the presence of increasing concentrations of a lac operon inducer (isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactoside, IPTG), EGFP expression increased in a dose dependent manner and at high IPTG concentrations, expression reached the same levels as a positive control virus. Importantly, in the …

Raccoon Acclimation Towards Traps And Its Effect On Surveillance And Monitoring Of Zoonotic Diseases, Lindsay Rollend

Master's Theses

Raccoons (Procyon lotor) serve as a source of infection with various pathogens for people, most notably, rabies. Raccoons are specifically targeted for the control of rabies in the United States, primarily due to the 100% fatality rate in humans and animals. There is no cure or treatment for rabies and vaccines may be administered to people if it is administered promptly. In order to evaluate how successful trapping of raccoons is by using conventional methods, motion sensing cameras were placed on traps in order to captured raccoon behaviors. Pictures were coded based on these behaviors (around the trap but not …

A Description Of The Movement Of The Canine Pelvic Limb In Three Dimensions Using An Inverse Dynamics Method, And A Comparison Of Two Techniques To Surgically Repair A Cranial Cruciate Ligament Deficient Stifle, Jason Headrick

Doctoral Dissertations

The purposes of the dissertation were: 1) to describe three-dimensional (3D) motion of the canine pelvic limb using an inverse dynamics method, and 2) to compare these motion patterns between normal, healthy dogs and those that have had their stifles stabilized by one of two surgical methods approximately five years earlier.

Twenty-five dogs were allocated to three groups; healthy control dogs, dogs that had received the tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO), and dogs that had received the lateral fabellar suture (LFS) stabilization technique. Both surgical techniques were performed approximately five years prior on stifles with surgically induced cranial cruciate ligament …

Effects Of Respiratory Vaccination Timing And Hormonal Growth Implant On Health, Performance, And Immunity Of Newly Received Stocker Calves, Kimberly Denise Poe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Stress alters the immune system and vaccination during this time may reduce vaccine response; whereas, growth implants may shift metabolism to enhance tissue deposition in exchange for energy required for immune response during bovine respiratory disease (BRD) challenge. This study was conducted to determine the effects of pentavalent respiratory vaccination timing with or without a hormonal growth implant on arrival (d 0) on health, performance, complete blood count, and vaccine response in high&ndashrisk, newly received stocker calves during a 42&ndashd receiving period. Crossbred bull and steer calves (n = 385) were weighed (initial BW = 202 ± 4.1 kg), stratified …

Recombinant Protein Production In Bacillus Species, Isolation And Methionine Production In Methionine-Producing Microorganisms, Suwat Saengkerdsub

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Linoleic acid isomerase (LAI) is the enzyme that converts linoleic acid to conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs) which appear to be capable of lowering cancer risk and enhancing immunity. There is an interest in developing commercial processes for the production of single isomers of CLA by biotransformation of LA using microbial cells and enzymes. However, the evaluation of these strains suggest that growth and LA isomerase production levels by these anaerobes are insufficient to support economic commercial production of single CLA isomers. A better alternative is to clone the isomerase gene and to generate new production strains using recombinant technology. Bifidobacterium …

Man's Best Friend Is Trending Toward Women, Courtney M. Miller

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Estudio Histológico Del Sistema Digestivo En Diferentes Estadios De Desarrollo De La Cachama Blanca Piaractus Brachypomus, Miguel Angel Mendoza Roldan

Medicina Veterinaria

La cachama blanca (Piaractus brachypomus) es la segunda fuente de producción piscícola en Colombia, después de la tilapia roja (Oreochomis sp.) y antes de la trucha arcoíris (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Siendo una especie autóctona de alto potencial productivo interno y externo, se realizó el estudio histológico del sistema digestivo a fin de determinar las características morfohistológicas normales de la especie en los diferentes estadios de desarrollo, para lo que se tomaron especímenes heterogéneos, clasificándolos según la edad y en ella por tamaño y peso, así: Ovas embrionadas, Larvas con saco vitelino, alevinos después de reabsorción de saco vitelino, Juveniles (3-5 cm; …

Caracterización De Ectoparásitos Y Hemoparásitos En Una Población De Caninos De Áreas Rurales De Piedemonte Casanareño, Deldry Carolina Piedrahita Oliveros

Medicina Veterinaria

Colombia es un país tropical con hábitats favorables para el desarrollo de ectoparásitos, en zonas rurales la población de perros se mantiene libre y con poca atención veterinaria. No hay estudios en la población canina del trópico colombiano que describa adecuadamente los parásitos artrópodos y su capacidad vectorial o su potencial zoonótico probable. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo determinar la presencia y frecuencia de los ectoparásitos y hemoparásitos en perros de fincas de las áreas rurales de los municipios de Aguazul y Yopal, Casanare, usando métodos parasitológicos de detección directa. Este estudio se basó en un muestreo intencional establecido en …

Determinación De Edad Mediante Cambios En Piezas Dentales En Búfalos De Agua Bubalus Bubalis De La Hacienda Guayaquil, Tierra Alta Córdoba, Esteffanie Martínez Velásquez, Nikolai Fernández Cala

Medicina Veterinaria

Debido a la escasa información acerca del desgaste natural de los incisivos del búfalo de agua (Bubalus bubalis) surge la necesidad de realizar un estudio con el fin de establecer los cambios de las piezas dentales en las diferentes etapas del desarrollo. La presente investigación se llevó a cabo durante Noviembre de 2011 a Julio de 2012 en la hacienda Guayaquil ubicada en el municipio de Tierra alta, Córdoba, Colombia. Esta hacienda cuenta con una población de 1000 búfalos de los cuales se seleccionaron 250 animales con el fin de determinar la edad y los cambios que sufren las piezas …

Insuficiencia Pancreática Exocrina En Caninos Domésticos De Bogotá, Alejandra Escallón Azuero

Medicina Veterinaria

El páncreas exocrino cumple un papel esencial en la digestión de proteínas, carbohidratos y grasas mediante la secreción de enzimas proteolíticas, amilolíticas y lipolíticas hacia el lumen del intestino delgado. La principal causa de la disfunción del páncreas exocrino es la pérdida de masa funcional del páncreas, debido a una atrofia acinar pancreática o pancreatitis crónica. La pérdida del tejido acinar puede llevar al deterioro de la digestión por producción inadecuada de enzimas, sin embargo, la reserva funcional del páncreas es considerable y los signos de insuficiencia pancreática exocrina (IPE) no se manifiestan hasta que una gran porción de la …

Breeding Induced Endometritis In The Mare: The Local Innate Immune Response, Elizabeth Moran Woodward

Theses and Dissertations--Veterinary Science

Uterine inflammation after breeding is considered necessary for the clearance of excess semen and debris from the uterus. A subpopulation of mares fails to clear the inflammation in a timely fashion, and develops a persistent breeding induced endometritis (PBIE). Experiments were preformed to evaluate correlations of PBIE to endometrial quality and age. Mares of advanced age and poor endometrial quality had a higher incidence of PBIE. In addition, mares fluctuated in susceptibility to PBIE from one season to the next. The uterine inflammatory gene expression in susceptible and resistant mares within the first 24 hours after breeding was investigated. The …

Development And Characterization Of A Murine Model Of Rickettsia Parkeri Rickettsiosis, Britton Grasperge

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Rickettsia parkeri, a member of the spotted fever group of Rickettsia, is the agent of an emerging rickettsiosis in the southeastern United States and South America. Despite increased recognition of human cases, limited information is available regarding infection of invertebrate and vertebrate hosts for this emerging tick-borne disease. Towards development of a viable transmission model and to further characterize the pathology associated with R. parkeri infection, inbred mouse strains (A/J, Balb/C, C3H/HeJ, and C3H/HeN) were intravenously and intradermally inoculated with R. parkeri. The C3H/HeJ strain of mice were identified as the most susceptible to R. parkeri infection and were found …

Evaluation Of Plasma Sprayed Hydroxyapatite Coated Ao Cortical Screws In Equine Third Metacarpal Bone, Myra Elizabeth Durham

LSU Master's Theses

ABSTRACT Objectives - To compare the osteointegration of plasma sprayed hydroxyapatite (HA) coated and uncoated 5.5 mm cortical screws in equine third metacarpal (MC3) bones in combination with a 4.5mm broad dynamic compression plate (DCP). Study design - In vivo study. Animals – 6 Adult Thoroughbred horses. Methods – For each horse, four HA coated screws were placed unicortically through a 4.5mm broad DCP in the dorsal cortex of a randomly chosen MC3 bone, with 4 uncoated screws placed in an identical manner in the contralateral MC3 bone. All screws were tightened to a torque of 5.4 N-m. Extraction torques …

The Role Of Gylcoprotein K (Gk) In The Ocular And Neuropathogenesis Of Herpes Simplex Virus-Type 1 (Hsv-1), Andrew Timothy David

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a DNA virus that is a ubiquitous pathogen of humans. The hallmark of the HSV-lifecycle is infection of a mucosal surface with spread to sensory neurons where the virus establishes a latent infection with periodic recurrences for the life of the host. The most common course of symptomatic disease with HSV-1 is the typical mucocutaneous lesion that is self-limiting. HSV-1 can also cause acute encephalitis and ocular pathology on reactivation. Both of these manifestations of the disease have severe consequences. Although ocular infection is less frequent, the extensive prevalence of HSV makes it …

Role Of Herpes Simplex Type I Glycoproteins In Entry And Cell-Cell Fusion, Sona Chowdhury

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Herpes simplex virus type I (HSV-1) is a neurotropic virus that infects primarily mucocutaneous epithelial cells and nervous tissue. Membrane fusion is an important aspect of the HSV-1 lifecycle, that occurs during viral entry (virus-cell fusion), viral spread (cell-to-cell fusion), as well as, during virion morphogenesis (assembly and egress). These membrane fusion steps involve complex interactions between multiple viral glycoproteins and cellular receptors. HSV-1 glycoprotein B (gB) is necessary but not sufficient for membrane fusion events. Despite the fact, that the majority of known hypermorphic mutations which cause extensive virus-induced cell fusion occur within glycoprotein K (gK); yet the role …

Role Of Intraocular Leptospira Infections In The Pathogenesis Of Equine Recurrent Uveitis In The Southern United States, Florence Polle

LSU Master's Theses

To investigate the role of intraocular leptospiral infections in horses with Equine Recurrent Uveitis (ERU), ocular fluid samples were collected from donated and client-owned horses with a history and ocular findings consistent with chronic ERU. Additionally, eyes were harvested from horses with normal ophthalmic examinations as a control group. Blood samples were obtained for Leptospira serology using microscopic agglutination test (MAT). Aqueous and vitreous humor samples were aseptically obtained and submitted for aerobic culture and Leptospira culture, PCR and MAT. Twenty-one control horses (40 eyes) and 31 ERU horses (46 eyes) were available for study. Serology results were available for …

The Transmission Dynamics Of Equine Herpesvirus Type 1 (Ehv-1) Infection In Outbreaks Characterized Predominately By Neurologic Or Respiratory Illness, Barry Jay Meade

Theses and Dissertations--Veterinary Science

Formalized epidemiological field investigations were conducted to compare and contrast the transmission dynamics of EHV-1 neurological disease among horses stabled at Churchill Downs Racetrack, Louisville, Kentucky and of EHV-1 respiratory illness among horses stabled in the student barn at Murray State University. Differences were assessed by means of statistical and mathematical modeling techniques applied to survey and biological data collected over the course of the respective disease events.

Regression methods applied to survey data enabled the construction of a statistical model to predict a date of onset of illness for horses within each equine cohort. Comparisons of the epidemic curves …

Development Of Molecular Diagnostic Assays For Equine Respiratory Viruses And Analysis Of The Role Of Equine Arteritis Virus Envelope Proteins In The Early Events Of Virus Entry, Zhengchun Lu

Theses and Dissertations--Veterinary Science

There is an urgent need for detection of viral respiratory pathogens to identify the causal agent(s) involved and to prevent the spread of related diseases. The first part of this dissertation focuses on development, optimization and validation of Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) assays for the detection of several common equine viral pathogens: equine arteritis virus (EAV), equine influenza virus and equine rhinitis viruses A and B. Emphasis of the second part of this dissertation is on studying the role of EAV envelope proteins in virus attachment and entry. Using an infectious cDNA clone of EAV and reverse …

Ingestion Of Endophyte-Infected Tall Fescue Seed Induces Peripheral Vasoconstriction But Does Not Affect Cyclicity In Non-Pregnant Mares, And A Population Of Biogenic Amine Receptors Relative To Vasoconstriction Is Identified, Daniel Andrew Hestad

Theses and Dissertations--Veterinary Science

Three experiments were conducted to explore the effect of fescue toxicosis on vasoconstriction and various parameters of the estrous cycle. In the experiment of Chapter 3, a 2x2 crossover experimental design with repeated measures was implemented to test whether the ingestion of endophyte-infected tall fescue seed would alter blood hormone concentrations of prolactin, progesterone, and estradiol, interovulatory intervals, and corpus luteum blood flow. Also, Doppler ultrasonography was used to assess whether palmar artery and palmar vein lumen diameter, area, circumference, and resistivity index could be altered by the ingestion of endophyte-infected tall fescue seed. Ingestion of endophyte-infected tall fescue seed …

Essential Role Of Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 In Gram-Negative Bacterial Pneumonia, Gayathriy Balamayooran

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Acute gram-negative bacterial infections are a leading cause of mortality among the nosocomial infections. Increasing numbers of immunosuppressed individuals and growing numbers of antibiotic resistant strains make antibiotic treatment difficult. Neutrophils are the first cells recruited to the site of infection and are critical players in the host defense against gram-negative bacterial pneumonia. Therefore, identification of targets that boost neutrophil-associated host defense in the lung is essential in designing better therapies to control pulmonary infections. Production of chemokines is an important step for neutrophil recruitment. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) is a chemokine that is important for monocyte and T-lymphocyte influx. …

The Effects Of Iodixanol Present During Equine Semen Cryopreservation, David Paul Beehan

LSU Master's Theses

The objectives of this study were to determine what effects iodixanol would have on total and progressive motility, plasma membrane integrity (viability), acrosome integrity and DNA structure when present during cryopreservation of equine spermatozoa,. We hypothesized that the addition of iodixanol would improve post-thaw values for measured parameters. Ejaculates from six stallions were collected, centrifuged at 900 x g for ten minutes to remove supernatant, and suspended to 200 x 106 cells/ml with 0%, 2.5% and 5% iodixanol in an egg-yolk based extender and cryopreserved. Before and after cryopreservation sperm motility was assessed by computer assisted semen analysis, and samples …

Structural And Molecular Pathology Of The Atrium In Boxer Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy, Jorge Luis Vila

LSU Master's Theses

Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (AC), also known as arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), is a disease characterized by fatty or fibro-fatty myocardial replacement, predominantly in the right ventricle and to a lower extent the left ventricle. It is recognized as a disease affecting the cardiac intercalated disc. Clinically, it is associated with ventricular arrhythmias, although atrial arrhythmias and atrial histopathological changes characteristic of AC have occasionally been reported. The full extent of atrial involvement in AC has not been investigated. Therefore, we aimed to apply histopathology, immunochemical detection, immunolocalization and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques to characterize the distribution of desmosomal and …

Koutango: Under Reported Arboviral Disease In West Africa, Jaime Matias De Araujo Lobo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) are among the most common agents of human febrile illnesses worldwide. As crucially important emerging pathogens, they have caused multiple, notable epidemics of human disease and unnoticed epizootics over recent decades. Despite the public health relevance, very little is known about the geographic distribution of the agents and vectors, relative impact, and risk factors associated to the arboviral infection in many regions of the world and in the tropics in particular. Presented in this dissertation is an experimental study that explores the serology screening of serum samples from 151 patients whom were diagnosed with undifferentiated febrile illness …

Immunization Of West Nile Recombinant Envelope Domain Iii With Equine Cd40 Ligand Protein Vaccine Induced Specific Immune Response In Rabbits And Horses, Shiliang Anthony Liu

LSU Master's Theses

West Nile virus (WNV) is one of several flaviruses known to infect mammalian species, including humans. There were 15,257 horse cases reported in 2002 and 1,086 in 2006 in United States. Recently, significant increases in equine and human cases have been reported in United States. Domain III of the WNV envelope protein binds to cellular receptors, and induces a significant portion of the neutralizing antibody response against the virus. CD40 Ligand (CD40L, CD154) enhances productive interactions between T cells and APC and has been shown to function as a potential adjuvant. In this study, we constructed and expressed a fusion …

Isolation And Characterization Of Adult Progenitor Cells From Healthy And Laminitic Hoof Tissue, Vanessa Pinto

LSU Master's Theses

Laminitis is an often fatal condition in horses with few available and only moderately effective treatment options. Separation of laminar dermis and epidermis lead to rotation or ventral deviation of the third phalanx inside the hoof capsule. Despite being a modified skin, equine laminar tissue does not completely return to normal after laminitis. The hypothesis tested was that adult progenitor cells in the equine laminar tissue are irreversibly damaged by laminitis. A method to harvest and culture cells in vitro from the equine lamina was established; and progenitor cells from unaffected and laminitic hooves were characterized and compared. Laminar tissue …

The Toxicity Of Acetaminophen, Caffeine And Carbendazim In Earthworms (Eisenia Fetida), Matthew M. Bulman

Masters Theses

There has been a need for the assessment of ground water contamination risk on terrestrial organisms. One terrestrial organism, Eisenia fetida, was chosen as a test species and exposed to three common pharmaceutical and/or pesticide related contaminants: acetaminophen (CAS#103-90-2), caffeine (CAS#58-08-2) and carbendazim (CAS#10605-21-7), respectively. Levels of contamination varied from grams per liter to micrograms per liter (ppb) using distilled water as the solvent. Eisenia fetida was examined through a 28 day range/index toxicity test. A Benchmark Dose (BMD) dichotomous probit analysis, using a 95% confidence interval, was calculated for all three contaminants. All three contaminants were found to have …