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Hydrocarbon Degradation In Louisiana's Salt And Fresh Water Marshes: Inherent Potential, Enhancement, And In-Situ Monitoring Techniques, William A. Jackson

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The ability to effectively remediate crude oil from marsh systems is important due to the coexistence of the economically important hydrocarbon industry and ecologically and economically valuable marshes. Laboratory and field studies were initiated to examine the intrinsic ability of coastal marshes to biodegrade crude oil, to determine the ability to enhance degradation using nutrient additions, and develop a superior monitoring technique. The alkane and poly aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) fractions seem to be independently degraded and these systems appear to have much greater capacity to degrade PAHs than alkanes. Nitrogen was found to be a limiting factor for both alkane …

Effects Of Predator Reduction On The Survival And Movements Of Northern Shoveler Broods, John M. Zimmer

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

I studied the effects of predator removal on survival and movements of Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) broods in the prairie pothole region of North Dakota. The study was conducted from April through August 1995. No treatment effects were found on brood survival as both 14 and 30 day survival estimates were statistically equivalent. Experimental sites had higher brood and duckling survival and produced twice as many fledglings per successful nest than control sites. Cumulative movement distance had no effect on duckling survival. While survival rates of Northern Shoveler broods and ducklings were higher than most species of prairie nesting ducks, …

A Palynological Study Of Swamp Sediments At The Poverty Point Archaeological Site, Northeastern Louisiana, Karen Thomas

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The Poverty Point site, characterized by elaborate earthworks, was occupied from about 1500 B.C. to 500 B.C. (Webb 1982). The site was the central node for a large manufacturing network at the end of the late Archaic Period. Questions of subsistence and the demise of the culture remain unanswered. This thesis employs a palynological study of a swamp in the Poverty Point archaeological site (16WC5), northeastern Louisiana. Eight cores were taken from a swamp immediately adjacent to the mounds at the site. Loss-on-ignition was done for four cores. Two cores, cores PP5 and PP7 were used for pollen analysis; core …

Solution Conformation Of De Novo Antimicrobial Peptides, Maryam Javadpour

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

De novo antimicrobial peptides were designed to help study the necessary conformational properties of biologically active peptides. One set of peptides are: (KLAKKLA)n, (KLAKLAK)n, (n=l, 2, 3), (KALKALK)3, (KLGKKLG)n, and (KAAKKAA)n (n=2,3), while the second set have phenylalanine substituted for leucine, (KFAKFAK)3 and (KFAKKFA)n, (n=3,4). These peptides were designed. to be perfectly amphipathic in helical conformations.

Circular dichroism was used to study their secondary structure in aqueous solution, sodium dodecylsulfate micelles, and phospholipid vesicles. Peptide antibacterial activity was tested against E. coli, P. aeruginosa, and S. aureus. Peptide cytotoxicity was tested against a mammalian cell line, 3T3 mouse fibroblasts. Our …

Magneto-Optical Properties Of Cubic Ferromagnetic Metals., Neeraj Arvind Mainkar

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

I present a first principles, all electron, linear combination of Gaussian orbitals calculation of a comprehensive collection of magneto-optical properties of the cubic ferromagnetic metals nickel, iron and cobalt based on density functional theory. Among the many magneto-optical effects, this is the first ab initio study of the equatorial Kerr effect for absorption in the optical as well as the X-ray region, where it is called the X-ray magnetic linear dichroism. I find that in the optical region, this effect is of the order of 2% while in the X-ray region, it is of the order of 1% for the …

Use Of Geographic Information System Technology To Assess Vulnerability To Shallow Groundwater Contamination., Brenda G. Bruner

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Geographic Information System (GIS) technology was used to develop a local scale screening procedure for assessing shallow ground water's vulnerability to nitrate contamination. The procedure was based on the spatial distribution of ten key physical and chemical properties of soils. Both flow characteristics and attenuation capabilities of soils were incorporated into the assessment. Land surface areas were classified by the GIS to show the level of vulnerability present at a site as a result of existing natural conditions. The procedure produced a Vulnerability Index (VI), and resulted in VI ranging from 4.98 to 6.72 for the study area (with ten …

Holocene To Late Pleistocene Stratigraphy Of The Mahakam Delta, Kalimantan, Indonesia., Johan C. Sydow

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Late Pleistocene depositional cycles of the Mahakam shelf contain stratal geometries that indicate a progradational continuum, from falling stage in sea level through to initial rise. These findings contrast with popular sequence stratigraphic concepts which predict that large, rapid sea-level falls, typical of the Late Pleistocene, should result in sediment bypass of the entire shelf. The Mahakam shelf is a mixed siliciclastic-carbonate depositional setting. Extensive, thick carbonate buildups are produced by prolific green algal Halimeda bioherm accretion during transgression and highstand flooding of the shelf. The 60 by 200 km study area lies within 2$\sp\circ$ of the equator, in the …

The Biology And Ecology Of The Yellowmargined Leaf Beetle, Microtheca Ochroloma Stal, (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) On Crucifers., Abdullahi Olod Ameen

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The biology and ecology of the yellowmargined leaf beetle, Microtheca ochroloma Stal, were studied on cabbage, Brassica oleracea var capitata L., collard, B. oleracea var acephala L., mustard, B. juncea Cosson, turnip, B. rapa L., and radish, Raphanus sativus L. The life cycle of the beetle consists of an egg stage, four larval instars, prepupal, pupal and adult stages. There were no significant differences in the effect of host plant on duration of development of immature beetles (p = 0.3353). The mean duration of development from oviposition to adult emergence ranged from 26.6 d on turnip to 27.5 d on …

Immunodiagnosis Of Fasciolosis By Detection Of Coproantigen., Salma Mohamed Abdel-Rahman

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

A monoclonal antibody (MAb)-based western blot analysis (WB) was developed for detection of a 26-28 kD coproantigen in Fasciola hepatica infected cattle. Using WB the coproantigen was detected in feces from experimentally infected calves with 22 flukes or more. Using the biotin-streptavidin modification of WB, antigen was detected in the feces from experimentally-infected calves with 10 flukes or more as early as 6 weeks post-infection. The MAbs did not react with the ES of Paramphistomum sp. or Moniezia sp, but showed slight cross-reactivity with ES from F. gigantica, and there was moderate cross-reactivity with Fascioloides magna ES. Differential staining of …

Automatic Data And Computation Mapping For Distributed-Memory Machines., Isidoro Couvertier-Reyes

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Distributed memory parallel computers offer enormous computation power, scalability and flexibility. However, these machines are difficult to program and this limits their widespread use. An important characteristic of these machines is the difference in the access time for data in local versus non-local memory; non-local memory accesses are much slower than local memory accesses. This is also a characteristic of shared memory machines but to a less degree. Therefore it is essential that as far as possible, the data that needs to be accessed by a processor during the execution of the computation assigned to it reside in its local …

The Effects Of Analytic Reading Skills On Sixth Graders' Ability To Solve Mathematical Story Problems., Linda Hale Eilers

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of two levels of instructional treatment on sixth graders' ability to solve mathematical story problems. The two levels of instructional treatment were instruction in the use of graphic organizers in conjunction with specific analytic reading skills and instruction in specific analytic reading instruction alone. These were compared to the absence of either treatment. The steady decline in students' scores on measures of ability to read and solve story problems over the past decade prompted research in three sixth-grade public school classes in northeast Louisiana. The study employed an experimental/control, …

Structure And Organization In Rands' Work "...Body And Shadow...'' And An Original Composition For Violin And Orchestra., Peter Fischer

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The dissertation consists of two parts: an analysis project: "Organization and Structure in Rands' Work " ... body and shadow ... "," a work for large orchestra in two movements by Bernard Rands; and an original composition: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. The analysis of " ... body and shadow ... " is divided into five sections. Section I introduces the work. Section II discusses the distinctive opening timpani solo and overviews the form of the two movements that follow, including reductive analyses. Section II also discusses surface textures of the music, including timbre, sustained sonorities, motion in homorhythmic polyphony, …

Cloning, Sequencing And Regulation Of The Rhodobacter Capsulatusheme Gene., Georgia Ineichen

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

In Rhodobacter capsulatus, a purple nonsulfur bacterium, the tetrapyrrole pathway yields four end products: siroheme, vitamin B12, heme and bacteriochlorophyll. Growth of R. capsulatus under low oxygen tension increases carbon flow through the tetrapyrrole pathway up to 100 fold. The mechanism(s) for this regulation is currently unknown. One regulatory mechanism could be transcriptional control of one or more of the genes in the common portion of the tetrapyrrole pathway. The fifth gene in the pathway, hemE, has been cloned by complementation of an Escherichia coli hemE::miniTn10 mutant. Sequence data of hemE revealed the presence of an upstream palindrome that is …

The "Sacred Harp" In The Urban North: 1970-1995., Mark David Johnson

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

In 1994 the Sacred Harp, a southern, shape-note tunebook, entered its 150th year of continuous use. First compiled in 1844 by B. F. White and E. J. King, and updated numerous times, The Sacred Harp books in the "Denson" tradition, including The Sacred Harp: 1991 Edition, are today the most popular and widely used twentieth-century revisions of any nineteenth-century tunebook. Sacred Harp singing has been a largely rural, Southern tradition and in the years between 1844 and the early 1970s several hundred separate singings were founded, many of which continue to be active. In the early 1990s the Sacred Harp …

Amorphization And Fracture In Silicon Selenium(2) Nanowires: Molecular-Dynamics Simulations On Parallel Computer Architectures., Wei Li

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The primary goal of this dissertation is to investigate the structural and mechanical properties and dynamical fracture in SiSe$\sb2$ nanowires using the molecular-dynamics (MD) simulation technique. The present work is the first study of SiSe$\sb2$ nanowires. Large-scale simulations reported in this thesis are carried out with parallel multiresolution schemes for the long-range Coulomb and the three-body covalent potentials. The multiresolution scheme reduces the computational complexity from O(N$\sp2$) to O(N). Using an effective interatomic potential containing both 2- and 3-body interactions, MD simulations are performed for SiSe$\sb2$ nanowires composed of finite (1-64) number of chains. Under small uniaxial strain, the nanowires …

Groundwater Flow With Heat And Solute Transport In Sedimentary Basins., Guichang Lin

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Numerical experiments were undertaken to understand (1) heat and fluid transport in an uplifted foreland basin where fluid flow is driven by topographic gradient, and (2) effects of expulsion of geopressured fluids on the thermodynamic system in salt basins. Thermal evolution of an uplifted foreland basin is strongly affected by thermal buffering of basement rocks. Thermal buffering by basement rocks does not permit constant heat flow along the sediment-basement contact, in contrast to many previous numerical studies. Ignoring basement effects can result in serious errors in temperature prediction, such as a false transient thermal pulse in the discharge area. Carbonaceous …

A Methodology To Assess Safety Conditions In Louisiana Agriscience Laboratories., Julio Alcibiades Melendez

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The safety conditions of the agriscience laboratories of the high schools of the State of Louisiana have not been studied extensively. This study was undertaken to develop a methodology to assess these conditions. The Southeastern region of the state was selected as the research area. Forty four high schools in this area have agriscience laboratories. Forty one of these laboratories were assessed. A Hypothesized Survey Model was made up from the background information searched. This model was validated at another school region and used to design a Research Survey Model. This RSM was face and field validated. Safety ratings were …

American Literary Environmentalism, 1637-1872., David Mazel

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The American environment is a mythic narrative that has served to mystify the social and economic relationships linking people and place. This study examines the early writing of the environment, from the 1637 Pequot War to the creation of the first national parks in the late nineteenth century. Chapter 1 draws on the work of Michel Foucault and Edward Said to theorize "literary environmentalism" as a knowledge-power formation that functions as a domestic Orientalism. Chapter 2 theorizes the narratological and psychosociological bases of environmental constructions generally before analyzing two colonial texts whose literary environmentalism is paradigmatic: John Underhill's Newes from …

Variability Of Eddy Heat Fluxes Over The Northwestern Gulf Of Mexico., Varis Ransibrahmanakul

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Eddy heat flux variability over the Louisiana-Texas shelf was investigated using satellite-derived surface velocity and temperature data between October 1993 and October 1994. Assuming the product of sea water density and specific heat is relatively constant, velocity-temperature covariance reflects eddy heat flux (the fluctuating part of the 1 x 1 degree, 90 day mean heat flux). Available velocity and temperature fields, however, are not synchronous. Temperature "observations" at velocity positions were optimally estimated using the Gauss Markoff Theorem. The error-estimate is comparable to the error resulting from the application of the widely accepted SST correction algorithm. The trend that instantaneous …

A School For Utopia: Marietta Johnson And The Organic Idea., Janet Ruie Mcgrath

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This history, written from a feminist perspective, uses historical materials which trace unusual social and educational experiments in Fairhope, Alabama, in the early twentieth century. The early development of the utopian Fairhope community, founded by E. B. Gaston and a group of like-minded midwestern social reformers, is reviewed. Gaston's resolve to alleviate the worst inequities of monopolistic capitalism through practicing the single tax principles of Henry George is placed in historical context. Both the social experiment and its ideologically complementary Organic School are situated within the period known as the progressive era which followed closely upon the industrial revolution. The …

Breeding Ecology Of Songbirds In Bottomland Hardwood Forests Of Louisiana., Keith Ouchley

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

I examined productivity, survivorship and nest-site habitat characteristics of small terrestrial landbirds breeding in bottomland hardwood forest study sites in Louisiana. Bottomland hardwood forests are the dominate ecosystem of riverine floodplains in the southeastern United States, and these forests support a diverse bird community. Over 80 percent of this forest type has been lost, primarily due to agricultural clearing, and the relative abundance of many bird species that breed in these forests has also declined. The outcomes of 790 nests of 33 species were determined. For most species, productivity was greater in large forest tracts than in small tracts. Predation …

An Introduction To The Songs Of Miriam Gideon (B. 1906)., W. Loraine Sims

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

American composer Miriam Gideon (b. 1906) has earned a place as a prominent exponent of American art song through her contribution of high quality works for the genre. This study deals with ten songs chosen to represent her piano/vocal solo songs which span her compositional life from 1937-1987. Individual studies of each song have been approached from a performer's vantage point, as prepared for a Lecture/Recital. The songs are: Lockung (1937), Vergiftet sind meine Lieder (1937), She Weeps Over Rahoon (1939), Gone in Good Sooth You Are (SONNETS FROM "FATAL INTERVIEW, 1952), Epitaph for a Wag in Mauchline (EPITAPHS FROM …

Neighborhood Characteristics And Crime Specific Victimization Rates: A Sociological Analysis., Esther Celeste Jones

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation examines the influence of ecological, institutional, and cultural variables on neighborhood victimization rates of assault, burglary, and robbery in 30 urban neighborhoods. Ordinary least square regression analysis is sued to determine which variables are most predictives of these rates. Based on social disorganization theory, social control theory, and subculture of violence theory, an integrated model is developed. The integrated model includes elements of all three theoretical orientations, clearly indicating that crime is not unidimensional, and that different variables are predictive of specific types of crime at the neighborhood level. It was found that assault and robbery were best …

Image Analysis Quantification Of Decondensation Of Bovine Spermatozoa And Pcr Amplification Of A Y Chromosome Specific Sequence., Hilde Christina Steinholt

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The first objective of this research was to develop a decondensation treatment for bovine spermatozoal DNA that worked consistently across bulls and breeds. The second objective was to use the decondensed DNA for polymerase chain reaction analysis of levels of Y-bearing spermatozoa in different ejaculates and in sex sorted spermatozoa. Decondensation of spermatozoa with dithiothreitol and potassium hydroxide was compatible with in vitro amplification and did not inhibit amplification. The polymerase chain reaction and image analysis were used to differentiate between proportions of Y spermatozoa by measuring fluorescent intensities of electrophoresed, polymerase chain reaction-amplified DNA. There were differences in intensities …

"Goodbye, Mamma. I'M Off To Yokohama": The Office Of War Information And Tin Pan Alley In World War Ii., Kathleen Ellen Rahtz Smith

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The quest for the Great American War Song of World War II occupied the American music industry for most of the war years. But, to the amazement of the United States government's Office of War Information and the music industry, the songwriters of the era could not create a martial tune that had a lasting impact on the American public. Prior to World War II there had always been a song or songs readily identifiable with past conflicts. Following Pearl Harbor, Tin Pan Alley rushed to write the Great American War Song; however, to the bemusement of the music industry, …

Children's Relative Influence In Purchase Decision-Making: A Multi-Theoretical Approach., Laura Ann Willis Williams

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Sociological changes in the American family have positioned children to wield greater power in family purchase decisions. Although past descriptive research has confirmed that children are an important source of power in the household, this research has not explored the conceptual justification for the observed patterns of children's relative influence. To fill this gap in the family decision-making literature, this research develops a multi-theoretical conceptual model to explain children's relative influence in a purchase context. Social power theory, resource theory, social exchange theory, and social comparison theory were the conceptual frameworks for this research. Six studies were conducted, including a …

The Role Of Seed Banks, Disturbance, And Sea Level Rise In Determining The Plant Community Structure Of Oligohaline Coastal Marshes., Andrew Hamilton Baldwin

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Coastal wetlands worldwide are threatened by sea level rise, which is expected to affect the growth and survival of wetland vegetation by increasing water level and salinity. While the effects of salinity and inundation on adult vegetation of oligohaline marshes have been widely studied, the species composition of the seed bank and its response to elevated salinity and water level have not been examined. Additionally, the role of disturbances of different intensities in structuring marsh plant communities and possible interactions between disturbance and rising sea level have received little attention. Disturbances in coastal marshes include nonlethal disturbances such as fire …

An Attempt To Classify The Production And Regulation Of Cyclooxygenase-2 During Ovulation And Luteolysis., James Robert Broussard

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

A series of experiments were designed to determine the cyclooxygenase (COX) isoform responsible for prostaglandin release during ovulation and luteolysis. Initially, a reliable, serum-free culture system was developed to produce large numbers of bovine granulosa cells originally harvested from the small antral follicles of abattoir ovaries. This method allowed adequate numbers of cells to be obtained for the subsequent study involving cyclooxygenase regulation. In a second experiment, bovine granulosa cells from small antral follicles were isolated and cultured as in the first experiment for 6 days. Granulosa cells were then exposed to medium alone or medium containing arachidonic acid (10 …

Nitrogen Accumulation By Rice., Arthur Bufogle Jr

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Consumption of rice is worldwide, and the rice-eating population is expanding rapidly. Breeding high yielding varieties has helped increase rice production. However, effective management practices have also been useful, and will probably become more vital as breeding efforts approach the genetic limits of the rice plant. Nitrogen (N) management is particularly important in reducing N losses and increasing grain yield. The objectives of this study were (1) to determine the amount of N accumulation by rice at different stages of plant development, (2) to determine if differences in N accumulation exist between rice varieties, and (3) to determine if differences …

Satisfaction With Health Care: A Predictor Of Hemodialysis Patient Compliance., Pamela Gay Davis

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Several studies in general medical populations have demonstrated the positive relation between satisfaction with health care and compliance with treatment recommendations. Overall, the compliance literature suggests that the behavior of the health care provider can influence patient compliance and the resulting health outcome. However, the relation between patient satisfaction and compliance with the hemodialysis regimen has not been examined. Because of this populations' frequent and extensive interaction with the dialysis staff, exploration of the effects of satisfaction with these relationships and the care provided on patient compliance appears to be an important health care issue. This study evaluated the ability …