Louisiana State University

The activation of chalcogenoglycosides for O‐glycosylation typically involves strong electrophiles requiring low temperature. Herein, we demonstrate that visible‐light irradiation of selenoglycosides in the presence of Umemoto's reagent results in often high‐yielding O‐glycosylation. We provide evidence that this process is mediated by a novel mode of reactivity, specifically photoinduced electron transfer within a chalcogen‐bonded complex.

Are women legislators punished for not supporting women’s substantive policy interests? We test these gendered expectations. We marshal an original content analysis of cable news coverage and two survey experiments testing voters’ assessment of hypothetical legislators on the issues of abortion and equal pay. We find that voters rate both women and men legislators positively for supporting women’s issues and negatively evaluate legislators of both genders when they do not support women’s interests. We also find that women voters negatively evaluate women legislators who act against women’s interests at a greater rate than men voters. While we do not find evidence of voters holding women legislators to gendered expectations, we do find that legislators, regardless of their gender, have strategic incentives to promote women’s substantive representation. Our results suggest that voters care more about the substantive representation of women’s political interests than who supports those interests.

Generating counterfactuals through treating a variable as a function of its own past values or treating a variable as a function of other units, typically being referred to as horizontal or vertical regression, respectively, is widely used in the panel measurement of treatment effects. However, their inferences are often based on different assumptions for the data generating process. We consider unifying the underlying assumptions of the two approaches by a factor approach and compare their respective predictive power in terms of the sample configuration of the cross-section dimension N and the time dimension T.

The increasing global demand for raw materials has led to excessive waste production and environmental degradation, necessitating the adoption of Closed-Loop supply chains (CLSCs). However, current models often lack a comprehensive approach that integrates consumer preferences, carbon emission reduction strategies, and strategic collaborations among supply chain members. This study develops an optimal decision-making strategy for maximizing profitability and reducing carbon emissions in a two-period CLSC involving four key players, including manufacturer, retailer, collector, and recycler. Using a Stackelberg game-theoretic approach, we analyze seven alliance models and a baseline scenario (non-alliance) to assess their impact on economic and environmental outcomes. The results reveal that the seventh alliance, which includes all four players, achieves the highest total profit of 1830.81 units, marking a 71.16% improvement over the baseline model. Moreover, this alliance facilitates a 44.84-unit reduction in carbon emissions, demonstrating the potential for achieving both financial and sustainability benefits. The analysis also shows that strategic alliances improve cost efficiency, with a 15.3% reduction in marginal costs, and enhance supply chain resilience, reducing demand fluctuations by 12.7%. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis indicates that an increase in consumer sensitivity to carbon reduction from 0.3 to 0.9 leads to a 19.2% rise in demand for green products and a 14.8% increase in overall profit. These findings provide actionable insights for business leaders and policymakers. Companies can enhance CLSC performance through strategic alliances, dynamic pricing models, and sustainability-focused marketing campaigns. Meanwhile, policymakers can design carbon pricing policies, tax incentives, and regulatory frameworks that promote environmentally responsible business practices.

Background Recently, same-day Metabolic Surgery (MS) has gained traction, especially to reduce costs and hospital resource utilization. While shorter hospital stays are desirable, accelerated discharge could increase postoperative burden for those patients at risk. This study evaluated whether specific patient characteristics are associated with increased 30-day readmission rates and number of readmissions as a potentially identifying those less suited for same-day discharge. Methods Using the MBSAQIP (2015–2021), 960,757 cases of primary minimally invasive sleeve gastrectomy (SG), Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), and duodenal switch (DS) were included. Readmission characteristics were extracted from ancillary Participant Use Files (PUF) and linked to the main MBSAQIP data. Zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) models assessed associations between preoperative patient characteristics and readmission risk. The two-stage models analyzed odds of any 30-day readmission and calculated the relative risk (RR) of multiple readmissions. Results Several key predictors of single as well as multiple readmissions in the first 30 days following intervention were noted. Black or Hispanic race, BMI, diabetes, COPD, GERD, and therapeutic anticoagulation were associated with increased odds of readmission likelihood after MS. Black race and GERD predicted increased readmission frequency (multiple readmissions) among all readmission cases, while those aged ≥ 40 years and Hispanic race were less likely to require multiple readmissions. Conclusion This large-scale MS analysis highlights patient characteristics that should be carefully considered by MS providers during patient counseling and consideration of same-day discharge. Readmission poses significant financial, physiological, and psychological burdens emphasizing the need for careful patient evaluation and counseling, particularly for those at higher risk, to optimize patient outcomes in the context of accelerated discharge protocols.

Oyster hatcheries are vital for off-bottom oyster farming; however, farmers in Gulf states of the USA have experienced challenges with access to hatcheries and seed availability. Hatcheries are responsible for rearing multiple life stages of juvenile oysters as well as providing sufficient microalgae to feed oysters. This study aimed to increase hatchery production and efficiency by using industrial engineering tools to evaluate microalgae culturing processes. This study also aimed to demonstrate how industrial engineering methodologies can improve efficiency, with findings from one hatchery applicable to other facilities using similar approaches. The major microalgae production processes conducted at the Michael C. Voisin Oyster Hatchery in Louisiana, USA, are outlined. Simulation models that represented typical workdays (combinations of the different processes) were constructed. These models analyzed time, personnel, and equipment requirements to assess resource efficiency. Recommendations for improving hatchery operations were then evaluated based on the findings. The first modification balanced workloads by pairing operators, allowing them to complete tasks more quickly and start other hatchery activities earlier. The second modification analyzed historical algae production data, revealing that overly extended culture periods were limiting hatchery productivity. The third modification found that implementing bioreactors could enhance overall production capacity, though further cost and equipment downtime analysis was necessary. Future research could evaluate all major hatchery activities (i.e., spawning, larval rearing) using simulation modeling to understand system-wide time, personnel, and equipment requirements. Applying industrial engineering to oyster hatchery management can enhance production efficiency and guide the development of new commercial hatcheries, increasing seed availability for the industry.

In the northern Gulf of Mexico, eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica inhabit areas with mean annual salinities from ~5 to >40 psu. They differ in salinity tolerance in a pattern consistent with their local salinity range, but the mechanisms responsible are mostly unknown. The physiological rates of 4 F1 populations (from the highest to lowest salinity estuaries: Packery Channel [PC], Aransas Bay, Calcasieu Lake, Vermilion Bay [VB]) were compared under combinations of 4 salinities (6, 12, 24, and 36 psu) and 2 temperatures (25 and 32°C). Clearance rate (CR) and oxygen consumption rate (OCR) were first measured in all populations at all salinities at 25°C (Expt 1). CR, absorption efficiency %, OCR, ammonia excretion rate, and scope for growth (SFG) were then measured in populations from the highest (PC) and lowest (VB) salinity estuaries at 25°C (Expt 2) and 32°C (Expt 3). In Expt 1, CRs were greatest at 24 psu for the 3 populations from the higher-medium salinity estuaries but extended to 12 and 24 psu for the population from the lowest salinity estuary. In Expt 2, CR and SFG tended to be greater for VB at 6 psu, but were greater for PC at 24 and 36 psu. SFG became negative at 6 psu for PC and at 36 psu for VB. At 32°C, SFG was negative or low in both populations, overriding the effects of salinity on oyster physiology. At 25°C, salinity impacted all physiological rates, and oysters showed variations in their physiological profiles consistent with their local salinity range.

Artificial hard substrates such as shipwrecks and large debris can impact biodiversity, especially in the deep sea where hard substrate is limited. A potential complex interplay occurs where wrecks provide surfaces for recruitment of epibenthic organisms and structured habitat for mobile invertebrates and fish but may also inhibit successional processes due to the presence of oil and other toxins. Here, we examined the interplay of these dynamics using remotely operated vehicle (ROV) surveys of the wrecks of the oil rig Deepwater Horizon , the SS ‘Robert E. Lee,’ and the USS ‘Peterson.’ Megafauna were identified to the lowest possible taxonomic unit using the high-definition video captured by ROV. Comparisons of the 3 wrecks revealed communities with unique compositions, but that did not vary significantly in total abundance, density, richness, evenness, or diversity. Furthermore, while species identities varied between wreck sites, the functional roles they fulfilled based on motility, tiering, and feeding mode largely did not. We posit wreck age, depth, and the presence of oil as potentially interacting factors influencing the assembly of these artificial hard substrate communities. As industrial activities continue to introduce more artificial substrates into the deep sea, our findings suggest that these structures may not support the diverse, thriving ecosystems typically expected, which has important implications for deep-sea restoration and conservation efforts focused on enhancing biodiversity through artificial habitats.

Can plants remember drought? Emerging evidence suggests that prior stress exposure leaves an epigenetic imprint, reprogramming plants for enhanced resilience. However, the stability and functional relevance of drought memory remain unresolved. This review synthesizes recent advances in epigenetic modifications, transcriptional reprogramming, and metabolic priming, critically assessing their roles in plant stress adaptation. DNA methylation dynamically reshapes chromatin landscapes, yet its transient nature questions its long-term inheritance. Histone modifications, particularly H3K9ac and H2Bub1, may encode stress signatures, enabling rapid transcriptional responses, whereas small RNAs fine-tune chromatin states to reinforce memory. Beyond epigenetics, physiological priming, including osmotic adjustments, antioxidant defenses, and hormonal crosstalk, introduces further complexity, yet its evolutionary advantage remains unclear. Root system plasticity may enhance drought resilience, but its metabolic trade-offs and epigenetic underpinnings are largely unexplored. A critical challenge is disentangling stable adaptive mechanisms from transient acclimatory shifts. We propose a framework for evaluating drought memory across temporal and generational scales and highlight the potential of precision genome editing to establish causality. By integrating multi-omics, gene editing, and field-based validation, this review aims to unlock the molecular blueprint of drought memory. Understanding these mechanisms is key to engineering climate-resilient crops, ensuring global food security in an era of increasing environmental uncertainty.

There is growing evidence that poor sleep contributes to increased alcohol use and related impairment among college students (DeMartini & Fucito, 2014), with heavy drinking exacerbating these effects. Efforts to reduce this impact via online personalized feedback interventions (PFIs) have had limited success, and there is a dearth of research on attempts to simultaneously address these concerns among college students using brief, web-based interventions. The present study assessed intervention efficacy in addition to the impact of sleep disturbance on alcohol outcomes using a novel, brief, online PFI for sleep problems among college students who drink heavily. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three interventions: PFI-Alcohol (n = 66), PFI-Alcohol-Sleep (n = 64), or assessment-only control (n = 66). Alcohol use, related impairment, and sleep problems decreased from baseline to 1-month follow-up under all conditions. However, participants under the control condition endorsed greater alcohol use during follow-up compared with intervention conditions. Notably, baseline insomnia symptoms predicted follow-up alcohol problems (but not use) when accounting for variance attributable to baseline negative affect, condition, and sex. More work is needed to examine the impact of brief online PFIs that concurrently target alcohol use and sleep problems among college students to determine its impact on reducing related-problems in this population. Results highlight the need for further investigation of the incorporation of sleep components within online alcohol PFIs to reduce heavy drinking and sleep problems among college students.

Persistence of wild species in human‐altered environments is difficult, in part because challenges to fitness are complex when multiple environmental changes occur simultaneously, which is common in the Anthropocene. This complexity is difficult to conceptualize because the nature of environmental change is often highly context specific. A mechanism‐guided approach may help to shape intuition and predictions about complexity; fitness challenges posed by co‐occurring stressors with similar mechanisms of action may be less severe than for those with different mechanisms of action. We approach these considerations within the context of ecotoxicology because this field is built upon a rich mechanistic foundation. We hypothesized that evolved resistance to one class of common toxicants would afford resilience to the fitness impacts of another class of common toxicants that shares mechanisms of toxicity. Fundulus killifish populations in urban estuaries have repeatedly evolved resistance to persistent organic pollutants including PCBs. Since PCBs and some of the toxicants that constitute crude oil (e.g., high molecular weight PAHs) exert toxicity through perturbation of AHR signaling, we predicted that PCB‐resistant populations would also be resilient to crude oil toxicity. Common garden comparative oil exposure experiments, including killifish populations with different exposure histories, showed that most killifish populations were sensitive to fitness impacts (reproduction and development) caused by oil exposure, but that fish from the PCB‐resistant population were insensitive. Population differences in toxic outcomes were not compatible with random‐neutral expectations. Transcriptomics revealed that the molecular mechanisms that contributed to population variation in PAH resilience were shared with those that contribute to evolved variation in PCB resilience. We conclude that the fitness challenge posed by environmental pollutants is effectively reduced when those chemicals share mechanisms that affect fitness. Mechanistic considerations may help to scale predictions regarding the fitness challenges posed by stressors that may co‐occur in human‐altered environments.

The June 24, 2022 Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization represented a seismic shift in abortion policy in the United States. Since then, state courts have begun playing an integral role in expanding or restricting abortion access in their jurisdictions. What do these cases look like and how does the public respond to court decisions that are pro- or anti-abortion? We collect original data on state court abortion cases post- Dobbs and field two survey experiments pre- and post- Dobbs to investigate these questions. We find state courts have expanded their scope in abortion policy and that pro-abortion court decisions are consistently popular. Anti-abortion court decisions, however, are increasingly unpopular. Our paper suggests that state courts are a new vital venue for abortion policymaking and that the public is growing frustrated with the countermajoritarian tendencies of courts.

Glitches are non-Gaussian noise transients originating from environmental and instrumental sources that contaminate data from gravitational wave detectors. Some glitches can even mimic gravitational wave signals from compact object mergers, which are the primary targets of terrestrial observatories. In this study, we present a method to analyze noise transients from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory observatories using Q-transform information combined with t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding. We implement classification techniques, examine the influence of parameters on glitch classification, and conduct a week-long daily analysis to track outlier transients over time.

Objective Edwardsiella ictaluri, the causative agent of enteric septicemia of catfish, causes substantial economic losses to Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus producers in the United States. This study evaluates three E. ictaluri strains, each carrying a markerless deletion mutation in a type III or type VI secretion system gene, as candidates for a live attenuated vaccine against enteric septicemia of catfish in Channel Catfish. Replication in Channel Catfish cells, in vivo invasion and persistence, virulence, and the ability to provide single-dose protection against a wild-type E. ictaluri strain were evaluated for each mutant. Methods In this study, three isogenic mutants were constructed that introduced deletions in esrC, eseG, and evpC. EsrC is a T3SS-encoded protein that regulates expression of multiple virulence genes, including the T3SS effector EseG and the T6SS structural protein EvpC. Each mutant strain was evaluated for its ability to replicate in Channel Catfish ovary cells and head-kidney-derived macrophage cells. Channel Catfish were also challenged with the mutant strains to evaluate if mutation affected invasion, colonization, or persistence within the head kidney, attenuated mortalities in Channel Catfish, or induced protection against disease following subsequent wild-type E. ictaluri exposure. Results Each mutant maintained the ability to replicate within head-kidney-derived macrophage cells and Channel Catfish ovary cells, as well as invade and colonize the head kidney. Although able to replicate intracellularly and successfully colonize catfish tissue, all three mutants were significantly attenuated in their ability to persist in tissues and cause mortality. A single immersion in mutant strains 28 d prior to exposure to wild-type E. ictaluri resulted in significantly lower mortality than fish immersed in sterile broth, with relative percent survival ranging from 95% to 100%. Conclusions The findings demonstrate the potential for the development of live attenuated E. ictaluri vaccine strains through the targeted mutation of one or more E. ictaluri T3SS and T6SS genes.

Artificial reefs provide critical habitat for fish in areas lacking benthic structure, yet our understanding of how artificial reefs function and develop is limited. Here, changes in fish community assemblages were monitored using baited remote underwater video (BRUV) surveys before and after a new artificial reef was deployed in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Movement of red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) and gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus) between nearby oil and gas platforms (n = 3) and the new artificial reef was examined using acoustic telemetry, and residency was calculated for fish associated with both structure types. Fish community development at the artificial reef site was slow despite close proximity to existing habitat, and fish communities at the artificial reef site did not differ from control sites (unconsolidated substrate) one year after reef deployment. Residency of red snapper and gray snapper at the artificial reef was surprisingly low, with most tagged fish emigrating rapidly, and no tagged fishes from the surrounding platforms were detected moving to the artificial reef during the initial eight months following artificial reef deployment. While residency was much higher at the platforms, a major hurricane (Hurricane Ida) passed directly over the sites and led to large numbers of tagged fishes emigrating from the study area. Results highlight an artificial reef with limited fish community development and low residency after one year despite close proximity to existing habitats. Considering the presence of seasonal benthic hypoxia in this region, findings suggest that artificial reefs with limited vertical relief may offer sub‐optimal habitat for reef fish in comparison with the substantial vertical relief offered by standing platforms, reducing the potential benefits to reef fish. Given the rapid decommissioning of oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico, this study has significant implications for rigs‐to‐reefs programs as well as artificial reef siting and design.

This study investigates the viability of substituting the NDG with the dynamic cone penetrometer (DCP) for quality assurance processes in embankment and base course test procedures, specifically on lightweight aggregate (LWA). Limited studies investigate the utilization of DCP on LWA. DCP benefits consist of millimeter precision, decreased safety concerns, decreased training demands, and the absence of stringent federal regulations or licensing requirements. The DCP also moves toward a performance-based specification for acceptance versus density, a material-based specification. Specifications for accepting soil layers using the DCP have been established previously. This study is a follow-up investigation that builds upon previous research and focuses on LWA. The blend of laboratory and fieldwork was conducted on two LW fill materials. 5-lb and 17.6-lb DCPs were compared, a key finding. A 5-lb hammer for shallow depths, with a minimum blow count of six for 6-inch depths, and a minimum blow count of 16 for a 10-inch layer recommended.

This paper examines the travel behaviors of hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) patients in Nanchang City in central China. Based on the HFMD patients’ hospital visitation data from the Center of Disease Control (CDC) of Nanchang in 2018, a spatial network of patient-to-hospital trip flows is constructed. A Geographic Information Systems (GIS) automated network community detection method, termed ‘ScLeiden’, is utilized to delineate the study area into six hospital service areas (HSAs) to represent distinctive health care markets. Patients’ travel patterns across these HSAs are compared to highlight the geographic disparity. In two HSAs anchored by major hospitals in the regions, the volume of patients increased up to a travel range and then declined, and thus formed a single peak in the trip volume distribution curve across travel time. Each of the remaining four HSAs exhibited two or more peaks in their trip volume distribution curves. The patterns reflected the split choices of patients for the largest Children Hospital in the region, the second-tier county hospital, or others, which were likely to be stratified by their economic affordability, transportation means, and possible health literacy. The study provides valuable insights into the delineation of HSAs and the unique patients’ travel behaviors in China.

This paper reviews the current state of high‐resolution remotely sensed soil moisture (SM) and evapotranspiration (ET) products and modeling, and the coupling relationship between SM and ET. SM downscaling approaches for satellite passive microwave products leverage advances in artificial intelligence and high‐resolution remote sensing using visible, near‐infrared, thermal‐infrared, and synthetic aperture radar sensors. Remotely sensed ET continues to advance in spatiotemporal resolutions from MODIS to ECOSTRESS to Hydrosat and beyond. These advances enable a new understanding of bio‐geo‐physical controls and coupled feedback mechanisms between SM and ET reflecting the land cover and land use at field scale (3–30 m, daily). Still, the state‐of‐the‐science products have their challenges and limitations, which we detail across data, retrieval algorithms, and applications. We describe the roles of these data in advancing 10 application areas: drought assessment, food security, precision agriculture, soil salinization, wildfire modeling, dust monitoring, flood forecasting, urban water, energy, and ecosystem management, ecohydrology, and biodiversity conservation. We discuss that future scientific advancement should focus on developing open‐access, high‐resolution (3–30 m), sub‐daily SM and ET products, enabling the evaluation of hydrological processes at finer scales and revolutionizing the societal applications in data‐limited regions of the world, especially the Global South for socio‐economic development.

Understanding the drivers of diversification is a central goal in evolutionary biology but can be challenging when lineages radiate quickly and/or hybridize frequently. Cichlids in the tribe Lamprologini, an exceptionally diverse clade found in the Congo basin, exemplify these issues: their evolutionary history has been difficult to untangle with previous datasets, particularly with regard to river-dwelling lineages in the genus Lamprologus. This clade notably includes the only known blind and depigmented cichlid, L. lethops. Here, we reconstructed the evolutionary, population, and biogeographic history of a Lamprologus clade from the Congo River by leveraging genomic data and sampling over 50 lamprologine species from the entire Lake Tanganyika radiation. This study provides the most comprehensive species-level coverage to date of the riverine taxa within this lacustrine-origin clade. We found that in the mid-late Pliocene, two lineages of Lake Tanganyika lamprologines independently colonized the Congo River, where they subsequently hybridized and diversified, forming the current monophyletic group of riverine Lamprologus. Our estimates for divergence time and introgression align with the region's geological history and suggest rapid speciation in Lamprologus species from the Congo River marked by rapids-driven vicariance and water level fluctuations, and repeated episodes of secondary contact and reticulation. As a result of our analyses, we propose the taxonomic restriction of the genus Lamprologus to Congo River taxa only. The complex evolutionary history of this group—characterized by introgressive hybridization followed by a rapid series of isolation and reconnection—illustrates the multifaceted dynamics of speciation that have shaped the rich biodiversity of this region. [African cichlids; Congo River; diversification; hybridization; Lamprologini; phylogenomics; UCEs; ultraconserved elements]