Louisiana State University

About: Louisiana State University is a education organization based out in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 40206 authors who have published 76587 publications receiving 2566076 citations. The organization is also known as: LSU & Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College.

Supercapacitors from Activated Carbon Derived from Banana Fibers

Abstract: Carbon materials were synthesized from banana fibers by treating the fibers with pore-forming substances such as ZnCl2 and KOH with an intention to improve the surface area and their electrochemical performance as electrical double-layer capacitor electrodes. The performance of these materials was studied in a neutral electrolyte for the first time. There has been a substantive increase in the specific surface area of the treated carbon material because of the effective pore generations. The structural and surface properties of the prepared carbon materials were studied using scanning electron microscopy and N2 adsorption/desorption studies. The surface area of the 10% ZnCl2 treated sample was found to be 1097 m2/g. The electrochemical properties of untreated and porogen treated carbons were evaluated by using cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge−discharge studies, and the specific capacitance as high as 74 F/g in 1 M Na2SO4 neutral electrolyte was obtained for 10% ZnCl2 treated carbon as determine...

Sodium-coupled neutral amino acid (System N/A) transporters of the SLC38 gene family

Abstract: The sodium-coupled neutral amino acid transporters (SNAT) of the SLC38 gene family resemble the classically-described System A and System N transport activities in terms of their functional properties and patterns of regulation. Transport of small, aliphatic amino acids by System A subtypes (SNAT1, SNAT2, and SNAT4) is rheogenic and pH sensitive. The System N subtypes SNAT3 and SNAT5 also countertransport H(+), which may be key to their operation in reverse, and have narrower substrate profiles than do the System A subtypes. Glutamine emerges as a favored substrate throughout the family, except for SNAT4. The SLC38 transporters undoubtedly play many physiological roles including the transfer of glutamine from astrocyte to neuron in the CNS, ammonia detoxification and gluconeogenesis in the liver, and the renal response to acidosis. Probing their regulation has revealed additional roles, and recent work has considered SLC38 transporters as therapeutic targets in neoplasia.

Cortical dopaminergic involvement in cocaine reinforcement

Abstract: Neuronal systems involved in the initiation of cocaine reinforcement were investigated by identifying brain sites where direct application of the drug was reinforcing. This was accomplished by allowing rats to self-administer picomolar concentrations of cocaine into discrete brain regions. The medial prefrontal cortex supported self-administration, while the nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area did not. Self-administration could be attenuated by including equimolar concentrations of the dopaminergic D2-receptor antagonist sulpiride in the microinjection system. These results imply that cocaine reinforcement is mediated in part through a direct action on mesocortical dopaminergic receptors.

Disparate rates of molecular evolution in cospeciating hosts and parasites

Abstract: DNA sequences for the gene encoding mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I in a group of rodents (pocket gophers) and their ectoparasites (chewing lice) provide evidence for cospeciation and reveal different rates of molecular evolution in the hosts and their parasites. The overall rate of nucleotide substitution (both silent and replacement changes) is approximately three times higher in lice, and the rate of synonymous substitution (based on analysis of fourfold degenerate sites) is approximately an order of magnitude greater in lice. The difference in synonymous substitution rate between lice and gophers correlates with a difference of similar magnitude in generation times.