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Structural Analysis And Methionine Ehancement Of The Bean Seed Storage Protein Phaseolin., John M. Dyer

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Common beans are widely utilized as a food source, yet are limited as a complete source of protein due to low levels of methionine, an essential amino acid for humans. A protein engineering strategy was developed to increase the methionine content of phaseolin, the primary seed storage protein in common beans. The engineering strategy consists of three major parts. In the first part, a set of biophysical probes was developed to characterize the stability of wild-type and modified phaseolin proteins. I used absorbance, fluorescence emission, circular dichroism, and fluorescence polarization anisotropy to monitor phaseolin denaturation induced by urea, guanidinium chloride, …

A Criterion Validity Study Of The Schizophrenia Subscale Of The Pimra., Naomi Arffa Swiezy

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Sixty-five mildly to moderately mentally retarded adult patients from institutional and community placements in Louisiana and Texas and with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, depression, or no psychopathology were recruited. The primary goal of the study was to establish the validity of the schizophrenia subscale of the PIMRA for diagnosing schizophrenia among mentally retarded individuals. The same methods utilized to determine the validity of the schizophrenia subscale were also used to replicate the validation of the depression subscale of the PIMRA. In addition, the extent to which other PIMRA subscale scores aid in diagnosis was investigated. Assessment measures included the informant …

Strawberry Malformation And The Tarnished Plant Bug, David Thomas Handley

Doctoral Dissertations

Experiments were designed to study the malformation of strawberries, Fragaria x ananassa (Duchesne) caused by the tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois). In greenhouse experiments, duration of blossom exposure to tarnished plant bug affected the type of malformation observed. Exposure at anthesis for 48 hours was most likely to cause apical seediness, the malformation associated with tarnished plant bug. The number of nonviable achenes per fruit increased with longer feeding durations. Malformation was also affected by blossom stage. Prebloom feeding caused blossom death. Feeding at petal fall or achene separation resulted in malformations, including apical seediness. Feeding at …

Hydrodynamic Studies Of The Flow Of Fine Particles Through A Fluidized Dense Bed Of Coarse Solids, Jaideep Talukdar

Doctoral Dissertations

This study explains the hydrodynamics of a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) system, the Battelle Multi-Solids Fluidized Bed System (MSFB). It consists of a circulating fluidized bed of fine particles superimposed on a bubbling bed of coarse solids.

One way to characterize such a system is to describe the mechanism of gas-solid flow through the bed. The gas flow in systems like these is through bubbles or slugs (regions of voids containing little or no solids). Bubbles are typically characterized by their size (length or diameter), their rise velocity, and their frequency.

Another task of the initial phase of this study …

Characterization Of Biglycan And Decorin Self-Association By Analytical Ultracentrifugation, Jun Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

Biglycan and decorin are small, leucine-rich proteoglycans that bind to a variety of extracellular and membrane associated molecules, regulating their biological functions. Although self-association occurs in many proteoglycans, and is thought to be important for their biological roles, little is known about the thermodynamic properties of biglycan and decorin in terms of molecular weights, stoichiometry and association constants. We have used sedimentation analysis to examine the structures and self-association of bovine articular cartilage biglycan, its core protein and GAG chains in a variety of buffers. The monomer molecular weights were 86,600 Da for intact biglycan, 44,100 Da for the core …

Reaction Of Nickel With Soils And Goethite: Equilibrium And Kinetic Studies, Ahmed Ali Mehadi

Doctoral Dissertations

Reaction of nickel with soil B horizons under various ionic strengths, pH and temperature conditions was conducted using a batch kinetics method. The forward and reverse apparent rate constants were determined using computer simulation techniques. Thermodynamic parameters were calculated from the rate constants. Increase in soil pH and temperature increased the sorption of nickel, while increase in ionic strength decreased nickel sorption. The reactions were all spontaneous with negative standard free energies ($\Delta$G$\sp\circ$); soils having higher nickel sorption capacity were more negative. The free energy decreased with increase in pH. The enthalpy ($\Delta$H$\sp\circ$) and entropy ($\Delta$S$\sp\circ$) for the reactions were …

Studies Of Rotationally Inelastic Collisions In Argon + Hydrogen Fluoride, James J C Barrett

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation we examine rotationally inelastic collisions involving an atom plus a diatom. We concentrate specifically on the Ar + HF system. In these investigations we employ a number of theoretical methods, including classical trajectories, quantum close-coupled calculations and semiclassical methods, to examine the differential cross sections in Ar + HF. We also investigate the effects of various "sudden" approximations on the scattering dynamics and the limitations of these approximations.

Through this work we were able to identify a new quantum feature in rotationally inelastic scattering. By studying the time evolution of transition amplitudes (rather than probabilities) we are …

The Association Properties Of Retroviral Integration Protein, Jacqueline Lei Coleman

Doctoral Dissertations

Retroviral Integration Protein (IN) has been shown to be both necessary and sufficient for the integration of reverse transcribed retroviral DNA into the host cell DNA. It has been demonstrated that self-association is required for proper function, yet little is known about the thermodynamic properties of this association. Analytical ultracentrifugation was used to determine the stoichiometries and free energies ($\Delta$G) of IN self association under various physical conditions. The best fit model of association in all glycerol-free conditions studied was a reversible monomer-dimer-tetramer. The addition of glycerol at concentrations of 8% (vol/vol) or greater significantly enhances the monomer-dimer formation so …

Essays In International Trade And The Environment: Applications Of Heckscher-Ohlin And Non-Traditional Trade Theories, Antoinette Mary James

Doctoral Dissertations

The essays in this dissertation examine the implications of a country's use of the environment for its trade patterns. The first essay provides the foundation for the empirical analysis conducted in the second essay. The first essay examines empirical research in Heckscher-Ohlin trade theory with the intent of establishing the limits of the theory and some reasons for its lack of empirical support. The essay concludes that Heckscher-Ohlin is a specialized theory of trade flows between countries with similar endowments and which are at similar stages of development. The explanation for the poor empirical performance lies in applications of the …

Worksite Health Promotion In America: The Impact Of Organizational Context On Corporate Wellness Programming., Neller Ree Simpkins

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine the factors associated with corporate wellness programming in contemporary U.S. business organizations. First, I construct an ideal-type of wellness program components in order to profile varying arrays (i.e., number and types) of health and fitness activities across corporations. Then, I detail the extent of health promotion programming in business organizations and in major corporations, using the National Survey of Worksite Health Promotion Activities and the Worksite Health Promotion Program Survey of Fortune 500 companies. The central research task of this study is to explore the factors that account for the diversity observed …

Corporate Restructuring And The Information Hypothesis: An Empirical Analysis., Steven Randal Ferraro

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the motivation behind various restructuring choices within a securities issuance context. Previous theoretical models and empirical evidence suggest that three methods of restructuring--equity carve-outs, sell-offs, and spin-offs, on average, signal favorable information about parent firms. This has been interpreted as reflecting either enhanced potential for efficiency gains, positive asymmetric information about the value of industry assets, or changes in agency costs. This dissertation presents an alternative framework by relating restructuring announcements to the effects of security issuance. Empirical tests are formulated to determine if these announcements contain valuable private information about the …

The Comparative Effects Of A Cognitive Learning Strategy And Movement Sequence Feedback During Motor Skill Acquisition., David Michael Cutton

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an active, cognitive learning strategy and movement sequence feedback on learning the tennis forehand. Three experiments were conducted which involved manipulations of cognitive learning strategies and/or augmented, movement sequence feedback (AMSF). In Experiment 1 four groups of subjects (Advance Organizer (AO) strategy, Performer Self-Cueing (PSC) strategy, and two Control groups (differentiated by background)) performed 50 trials on 5 separate days in a pretest, posttest design, separated by 3 acquisition days. Subjects who used either strategy had significantly better outcome scores than the two Control groups. The PSC group's movement …

Outsourcing Core Skills Into Non-Equity Alliance Networks, Kerry Mclellan

Digitized Theses

Firms are outsourcing functions previously considered core competitive competencies. For example, many U.S. banks have contracted out their Information Technology (IT) functions. These relationships have taken the form of non-equity alliances. The thesis investigated: Why would firms outsource a core skill? Was this a sound strategic decision or one primarily motivated by immediate economic gain? Does this decision lead to the creation of sustainable competitive advantage and greater economic rents, or does it ultimately signal a surrendering of strategic sovereignty? In essence, does the accepted theory of competitive behaviour in bi-lateral market relationships apply to these non-equity alliances and the …

Unemployment Cycles: Aggregate Disturbances And Sectoral Shifts, Jing Lu

Digitized Theses

This thesis consists of three essays, all of which examine the relative importance of aggregate disturbances and sectoral shifts in the explanation of unemployment cycles.;Chapter 1 of the thesis uses a search-theoretical framework to analyze a multi-sector economy in which labor productivity is subject to aggregate and sectoral shocks. After a critical review of the existing literature in this area and questioning the previous methods of shock decomposition into aggregate disturbance and sectoral shift components, this paper develops a new method for partitioning the effects of these two shocks on unemployment. It is argued that the mean and the dispersion …

Essays On Money, Banking, And Contracts, Siu Cheong Fung

Digitized Theses

In the first chapter, a computable equilibrium business cycle model is constructed to study the effects of inflation and taxation on the allocation of capital and time between the market sector and the home sector. In the model, individuals derive utility from the consumption of market goods and services, which are produced by combining business capital and market time, and from the consumption of home goods and services, which are produced by using household capital and nonmarket time. Money is incorporated into the model using a cash-in-advance constraint which applies to the purchase of market consumption goods. The model economy …

Essays In International Finance And Macroeconomics, Wai-Ming Ho

Digitized Theses

This thesis consists of three essays in international finance and macroeconomics to study the link between money and economic activity.;The first essay, entitled "Liquidity, Exchange Rates, and Business Cycles," presents a two-country, two-good, two-currency model to study the role of liquidity effects in exchange rate determination and the international transmission of economic fluctuations. The monetary authority's injections of cash are funneled into the economy through financial markets. The asymmetry of economic agents' access to the newly injected cash induces liquidity effects. The model provides an exchange rate equation which is different from the simple purchasing-power-parity law of exchange rate determination. …

Visual Interactive Linear Programming: The Concept, An Example And An Empirical Assessment Of Its Value In Supporting Managerial Decision-Making, Arshad Ahmad Taseen

Digitized Theses

Decision support systems (DSS) and visual interactive (VI) modelling emerged during the 1970s at roughly the same time (Sprague and Watson, 1989), (Belton, 1991). Both ideas seem to have been driven more by advances in computer technology and increasing management demands than any theory. There are both similarities and differences between them. DSS often use some visual and interactive features (see Turban and Carlson, 1989), but seldom refer to them in terms of a VI model. On the other hand, a VI model is almost always built to support decision-making, and is often referred to as a DSS. Both have …

Fertility And Economic Growth, Jie Zhang

Digitized Theses

The thesis comprises three chapters which model fertility and economic growth simultaneously in overlapping generations frameworks.;Chapter 1 focuses on the relation between fertility and wage rates and examines the effects on fertility and growth of subsidies for education and for the cost of rearing children by assuming that agents care about the consumption and number of children. Without education, this model reconciles two conflicting results about the relationship between fertility and wage rates: while Malthus and others predict a positive relation, Barro and Becker find a negative relation. With education, the positive relation between fertility and wage rates can no …

Bid/Ask Spreads And The Costs Of Making Markets, Douglas Alasdair Turnbull

Digitized Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to test the received explanations of the determinants of bid/ask spreads for common equity securities. This thesis employs trade-to-trade data for twenty-four securities listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) over the period from August, 1988 through December, 1992. The literature is extended by simultaneously modelling the cost components (inventory, asymmetric information, fixed, and search costs) and volatility of realized bid/ask spreads using an exponential autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (EARCH) framework. Because certain small trades on the TSE are auto-filled, registered traders do not always make a decision on trade involvement--some trades are non-discretionary. The …