Digital Commons Network^™

Predicting Post-Procedural Complications Using Neural Networks On Mimic-Iii Data, Namratha Mohan

LSU Master's Theses

The primary focus of this paper is the creation of a Machine Learning based algorithm for the analysis of large health based data sets. Our input was extracted from MIMIC-III, a large Health Record database of more than 40,000 patients. The main question was to predict if a patient will have complications during certain specified procedures performed in the hospital. These events are denoted by the icd9 code 996 in the individuals' health record. The output of our predictive model is a binary variable which outputs the value 1 if the patient is diagnosed with the specific complication or 0 …

High-Throughput Assessment Of A Novel, Thiol-Acrylate Hydrogel For Tumor Spheroid Synthesis In A Microfluidic Device, Nathan Daniel Kersker

LSU Master's Theses

The extracellular environment plays an important role in regulating cell behavior. The mechanical, structural, and compositional properties of the extracellular matrix can determine the fate of the growing cells. Standard two-dimensional culturing in a flask fails to represent a native cellular environment. To create the native environment suitable for cells, hydrogels were previously studied. One of the most extensively studied synthetic hydrogels was a poly(ethylene glycol diacrylate) (PEGDA) hydrogel. However, the need for UV polymerization may introduce unwanted changes in cell morphology and viability. The hydrogel being proposed was a form of a thiol-acrylate hydrogel that can eliminate this problem …

Mindfulness And Teen Behavior: Teenagers' Perceptions Of Behavior That Led To Expulsion, Michelle L. Lee

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of teaching specific mindfulness techniques to teens who have difficulty functioning in the classroom, using the Mindful Schools Curricula; the course includes 18 lessons on being mindful of sound, breath, movement, thoughts, and emotions. Specifically, the study was designed to determine whether a mindfulness course would be beneficial for South Parish High School teens who are expelled. The study design was mixed methods. Participants were administered pre- and post- scientific validated survey scales that measure mindfulness characteristics as one data source. Participants’ parents were given a questionnaire to return and …

Early Speech Deterioration In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Case Study Of Newscaster Donna Britt, Emily Watkins

LSU Master's Theses

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study is to detect and track speech changes using acoustic and perceptual measures in an individual (a local newscaster) with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) using data from before her diagnosis, around the time of her diagnosis, and after her diagnosis.

Methods: Six time points, ranging from 37 months around her diagnosis, were analyzed from one speaker with ALS. Three acoustic parameters were measured: articulation rate, acoustic vowel space, and the slope of the second formant. Additionally, two experts with more than 10 years of experience perceptually analyzed the speech samples on 17 characteristics using …

Creating Coping Mechanism: An Anatomy Of A Gallery-Based Installation And Performance Work, Jamie M. Kutner

LSU Master's Theses

The project described in this paper is an exhibition of gallery-based durational performance art, and resulting three-dimensional artifacts, that was created through a tangled process of relapse and recovery from mental illness. The first section of this paper peers into the parameters of ephemeral artistic practice. I discuss the process of merging my recovery and creative practice through performance art, and then parse the discussion of the work into the categories of performer, audience, site, and time. Section II details various aspects of spectator experience through a second-person narrative tracing the crowd flow of the exhibition. I conclude with an …

A Systematic Investigation Of Condensation Heat Transfer Using Asymmetric Micro-Scale Surfaces, Emily Brown

LSU Master's Theses

Asymmetric surfaces been shown to inducing unidirectional motion in the Leidenfrost regime; however, very minimal research has been conducted to investigate whether these surface can enhance condensation through the same means. The investigation of heat transfer of ratchets in condensation is a relatively untapped area of study, specifically ratchets with superhydrophobic properties. Anticipated difficulty lies in creating surfaces features or coatings that retain the ratchets and can adequately sustain optimal wetting state of Cassie-Baxter required to improve heat transfer performance during condensation. This study serves to investigate whether ratchets are a feasible surface feature to enhance condensation heat transfer. First, …

Performance And Cost-Effectiveness Of Chip Seal And Microsurfacing In Flexible Pavements, Mohammad Zobair Ibne Bashar

LSU Master's Theses

Chip seal and microsurfacing are pavement maintenance activities typically used in relatively low traffic roads with the aim to reduce the rate of deterioration and to defer the need for costly rehabilitation activities. Chip seal is widely used in Louisiana, and Louisiana’s $6.3 million microsurfacing program is amongst the largest microsurfacing programs in the United States. As these surface treatments seal the road surface, the effectiveness of this treatment in such a setting has been a concern in recent years by linking it to moisture damage caused by the trapped moisture underneath the pavement. Furthermore, the cost-effectiveness and optimal timing …

Parallel Tracks: Three Case Studies Of The Relationship Between Street Art And U.S. Museums In The Twenty-First Century, Erin Rolfs

LSU Master's Theses

An examination of three case studies involving U.S. museum exhibitions of street and graffiti art in the twenty-first century. This thesis covers the Brooklyn Museum of Art’s “Graffiti” show in 2006, Los Angeles’s Museum of Contemporary Art’s “Art in the Streets” in 2011, and the 2012-2015 activities of the Baton Rouge Museum of Public Art. These events offer a chronological and geographical range to provide a broad scope of investigation into the pitfalls and opportunities of museum’s exhibiting graffiti and street art. The heart of this research is not to prolong the debate about whether museums endanger their authority when …

Interactions Observed With Clomazone Plus Pendimethalin When Mixed With Postemergence Rice Herbicides, Matthew Osterholt

LSU Master's Theses

A study was conducted at the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center’s H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station (RRS) in 2017 and 2018 to evaluate whether the pre-packaged mixture of clomazone plus pendimethalin should be applied delayed preemergence (DPRE) or postemergence (POST) within a herbicide residual overlay with saflufenacil, clomazone, or quinclorac. POST applications also included penoxsulam or halosulfuron in combination with the second residual application. No differences were observed with barnyardgrass control at 14 DAT across all treatments with 92 to 98% control. At 42 DAT, barnyardgrass treated with either clomazone plus pendimethalin applied at either timingin combination with either …

An Evaluation Of Modified Bed Load Sediment Transport Equations For Enhanced Sediment Transport Quantification In Steep Mountain Streams – Case Study Little Fountain Creek, Colorado Springs, Co., James Emerson Smith Iv

LSU Master's Theses

In mountainous regions, extreme floods occur every year, placing societies and infrastructures at risk. Communities rely on local, state, and federal agencies to emplace flood structures, perform flood risk assessments, and simulate catastrophic events. While, our ability to quantify and predict the movement of sediment in streams with low gradients is well developed (Bathurst, 1987), our ability to quantify and predict the movement of sediment along steep mountain streams (SMS) has not been developed to a similar degree (Yager, 2012; Schneider, 2016). To most effectively manage mountainous watersheds and understand the risk associated with flood events, scientists must better understand …

Analysis Of Fluvial Scroll Bar Development With Surface Wave Inversion: False River, Louisiana, Blake Odom

LSU Master's Theses

The development of ridge-and-swale scroll bar topography of meandering river point bars is not well understood. We hypothesize that scroll bars formed during lateral accretion by the landward migration of transverse bars. To explore this, we relate the scroll bar topography to the internal sedimentary structure. We acquire, invert, and interpolate three pseudo-2D shear wave velocity profiles in two regions of the False River point bar, a Mississippi river oxbow lake in Pointe Coupee Parish Louisiana. Prior studies provide electrical conductivity well logs and cores as well as SH seismic reflection images along the same seismic surveys. LiDAR elevation data …

From The River To The Gulf: An Investigation Of Biogeochemical Cycling In Wetland Soils And Coastal Shelf Sediments, Katie Bowes

LSU Master's Theses

Louisiana is home to 40% of the coastal wetlands in the lower 48 states, yet accounts for 80% of the coastal wetland loss in this region. This loss is attributed to decreased sediment supply, levee alteration, sea level rise, channelization, and subsidence. The levee system in Louisiana disconnected coastal wetlands from the main stem of the Mississippi River (MSR), reducing the amount of land-building sediment that reaches coastal wetlands. This disconnection also allows a greater percentage of river discharge, including agricultural contaminants and runoff, to flow into the northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM).

The 2012 Coastal Master Plan proposed eight …

Economic Impacts Of Groundwater Salinity In Louisiana, Rajan Dhakal

LSU Master's Theses

In the United States, nearly 60 million acres of land is affected by water and soil salinity problems that pose a serious threat to the long-term economic and environmental viability of the agricultural sector. Understanding the economic impacts of soil salinity in agricultural lands is essential for planning farming practices in several salinity affected regions. This study presents a two-stage approach to assess the damage from salinity in two major aquifers in Louisiana. In the first stage, looking at the trend of rise in salt content within these aquifers, I predict the future level of salinity by assuming three different …

New Borehole Breakout Derived Stress Constraints And Their Implications For Stress Heterogeneity Near High Risk Fault Systems In The Santa Barbara Channel, Southern California, Edward Harris Pritchard

LSU Master's Theses

The Santa Barbara Channel represents the offshore portion of the Ventura Basin in Southern California. Ongoing transpression related to a regional left step in the San Andreas Fault has led to the formation of E-W trending en-echelon fault systems, with both north and south dips, which accommodate varying rates of localized shortening across the basin. Recent studies have suggested that faults within the northern region of the channel could be capable of a multisegment rupture and producing a M_w 7.7–8.1 tsunamigenic earthquake. However, dynamic rupture models producing these results have not accounted for stress heterogeneity, which is …

Carlos Puebla And The People's History Of The Cuban Revolution (1956-1980), Juan Rodríguez-Cepero

LSU Master's Theses

The Cuban Revolution was one of the most important events in 20th century Latin American history. The unlikely success of revolutionary heroes such as Fidel Castro and Ernesto “Che” Guevara inspired not only similar movements throughout the region, but an entire generation of artists and musicians. One such artist was Cuban singer-songwriter Carlos Puebla. A long-time critic of Batista and his corrupt administration, Puebla set to music the ideals that the Revolution sought to build a new Cuba upon. In a country which

most of the population was illiterate until 1961, the music of artists such as Puebla served as …

Groundwater Modeling For Mississippi River Alluvial Aquifer Of Northeastern Louisiana, Ramazan Karakullukcu

LSU Master's Theses

The Mississippi River Alluvial Aquifer (MRAA) locates in northeastern Louisiana, extending from the north border of Louisiana and Arkansas to south central Louisiana and underlies the Mississippi River Valley. The MRAA is the second most used groundwater source with about 390 million gallons per day in 2010, which accounts for 25% of all groundwater withdrawals in Louisiana. The groundwater uses are mainly for irrigation, public supply and industries. The excessive groundwater pumping and the economic importance of the MRAA have drawn attention to build a groundwater model to study future water resources management and sustainability plans. The model is the …

Hyperspectral Imaging For Characterizing Single Plasmonic Nanostructure And Single-Cell Analysis, Nishir Sanatkumar Mehta

LSU Master's Theses

Orientation of plasmonic nanostructures is an important feature in many nanoscale applications such as photovoltaics, catalyst, biosensors DNA interactions, protein detections, hotspot of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), and fluorescence resonant energy transfer (FRET) experiments. Silver nanocubes with significant spectral signatures between 400-700 nm are observed in this experimental research. Whereas study of single cells will enable the analysis of cell-to-cell variations within a heterogeneous population. These variations are important for further analysis and understanding of disease propagation, drug development, stem cell differentiation, embryos development, and how cells respond to each other and their environment. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells possess the …

Distribution And Incidence Of Mosaic And Evaluation Of Susceptibility In Louisiana's Current Sugarcane Germplasm, Jancee Rice

LSU Master's Theses

Mosaic is a viral disease of sugarcane caused primarily by Sorghum mosaic virus (SrMV) in Louisiana. Low mosaic incidence has resulted from successful breeding for resistance. However, mosaic was detected in breeding program experimental clones and a new cultivar, HoCP 09-804.Therefore, multiple research approaches were undertaken to assess the current status of mosaic in Louisiana sugarcane and prevent it from re-emerging as an important problem. Field surveys conducted during 2016-2018 of breeding program yield trials and experimental clone seed-cane increases determined disease incidence and distribution. Mosaic was detected in three of five sugarcane production areas and incidence ranged from 0 …

Study Of Rheology And Flow Behavior Of Magneto-Rheological Fluids Under The Influence Of A Magnetic Field And Its Potential Applications For Drilling And Completion Operations, John Edwin Estrada Giraldo

LSU Master's Theses

The use of magnetorheological fluids (MRF) is presented as an alternative to overcome some of the problems encountered in the drilling and completion of a well. The magnetorheological fluids can modify their rheological properties instantaneously under the influence of a magnetic field. In this thesis, MRF consist of a base fluid, magnetizable particles and a polymer that supports the particles. The magnetizable particles align in the direction of the magnetic field, thus modifying the rheology of the mixture. Because of this characteristic, the use of this fluid can have advantages in controlling fluid losses while drilling in narrow operating windows, …

Longitudinal Study Of The Attitudes And Behaviors Of Environmental Education Program Participants., Kasie R. Dugas

LSU Master's Theses

The goal of this longitudinal study was to measure the attitudes and behaviors of participants of the Marsh Maneuvers program over the course of the last 25 years. The goal of the Marsh Maneuvers program is to educate students into becoming environmentally literate adults. Environmental literacy is considered herein to be people possessing knowledge about and positive attitudes and behaviors towards the environment. Although students learn basic science and environmental knowledge in the classroom, true environmental literacy is believed to require more hands-on understanding of the material. To evaluate the effectiveness of the program, the following three objectives were completed. …

Integrating Pile Setup In The Lrfd Design Of Driven Piles In Louisiana, Kelsey E. Herrington

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this research study is to evaluate the incorporation of pile setup into driven pile foundation designs in Louisiana. Pile setup is the time-dependent increase in bearing capacity of a driven pile. This phenomenon is widely recognized but is not widely incorporated into foundation designs. Setup primarily occurs in clayey soils which are abundant in Louisiana. After foundation piles are driven, their capacity can significantly increase over a period of time. An empirical formula developed to predict this increase in capacity was evaluated using pile load tests within Louisiana. The setup parameter “A” in the selected formula was …

Political #Tweet-Talkin': How Reporters And Politicians Use Twitter In State Government, Jennifer Korth

LSU Master's Theses

Political and media institutions have a dynamic relationship at both the national and state level. Over time, their relationship has changed as a result of technological advances. Twitter has become a powerful communication tool for both politicians and media professionals and has changed the way these two groups correspond with one another and with constituents. Little research has been conducted on state-level political and media institutions’ use of Twitter and this two-project piece aims to fill this void. Project 1 identifies the extent to which journalists covered United States governors’ tweets in 2017. Generally, very few tweets per governor were …

Dispersing And Depositing Mose2 Onto Metal, Insulating, And Semiconducting Substrates Via Voltage-Controlled Deposition Technique, Kalyan Chakravarthy Byrisetty

LSU Master's Theses

In today’s world, consumer electronics are getting smaller than ever. These reductions in size are preceded by advancements in electronic materials engineering and related fields. The need for materials that have various properties and are suitable for applications also necessitated research on different materials. Growing research in the applications of graphene led the way to the discovery of materials that have similar properties to graphene. In this way, the transition metal di-chalcogenides (TMDCs) came into use for electrical engineering. Techniques are required to put TMDCs into application, however here we are going to explain the vital focus of our research …

Synergistic Effects Of Temperature And Salinity On The Gene Expression And Physiology Of Crassostrea Virginica, Hollis Jones

LSU Master's Theses

Crassostrea virginica, the eastern oyster, forms reefs that provide critical services and benefits to the resiliency of the surrounding ecosystem. Changes in environmental conditions, including salinity and temperature, can dramatically alter the services oysters provide by affecting their population dynamics. Climate warming may further exacerbate the effects of salinity changes as precipitation events increase in frequency, intensity, and duration. Temperature and salinity independently and synergistically influence gene expression and physiology in marine organisms. We used comparative transcriptomics, physiology, and a field assessment experiment to investigate whether Louisianan oyster are changing their phenotypes to cope with increased temperature and salinity …

Taking (Birth) Control: Empowerment Through Contraceptive Education, Meghan Saas

LSU Master's Theses

TAKING (birth) CONTROL is a body of work that educates women on their options for contraceptives, and empowers them to claim their right to choose if—and when—to have a child. Utilizing graphic design and letterpress printing processes, I created a visual system consisting of carefully honed typographic, color, and graphic styles. The bulk of the materials make up an educational toolkit for use at Delta Clinic of Baton Rouge, one of only three remaining abortion providers in Louisiana. Delta Clinic was in need of comprehensive and affordable materials for their patients on the subject of contraception. The toolkit consists of …

Non-Parametric Classification Of Time Series Using Permutation Ordinal Statistics, Aldo Duarte Vera Tudela

LSU Master's Theses

The present thesis explores some approaches to classify time series without prior statistical information using the concept of permutation entropy. Motivated by the results from a previous published and relevant work that set similarity relationships between EEG time series, a reproduction of the proposed approach was performed giving negative results. The failure to reproduce those results led to the conclusion that the approach of building statistics from permutation patterns have to be complemented with another metric in order to be used for classification purposes. The concept of Total Variation Distance (TVD) was then used to develop three algorithms to classify …

The Use Of Systematic Distractions To Increase Sustained Attention In School-Aged Children With Attention Problems, Emma Larson

LSU Master's Theses

With the growing prevalence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children (DSM-5, 2013), it has been established that the ability of these children to sustain attention is marked with difficulty (Barkley, 2006). Prior research has addressed the need to increase sustained attention in children with ADHD, however, not all of the promising methods take into consideration that children with ADHD have difficulty ignoring distractions (Rapport et al., 2009). This is problematic because the typical classroom environment is filled with distractions. The current study attempted to fill this research gap by training participants to sustain attention while systematically introducing distractions …

Liquid Jet Penetration And Breakup In A Free Supersonic Gas Jet, Hansen Jones

LSU Master's Theses

In the testing of today’s rocket engines, both on large scale vertical test stands and smaller subscale horizontal component testing stands, it is extremely important to be able to accurately quantify and mitigate the thermal and acoustic loads the engines will generate on test stand infrastructure. Due to the large number of parameters that must be considered for many cases, development of a multi-phase computational code is under way to properly analyze and design water spray cooling systems used at NASA’s Stennis Space Center (SSC) and across other NASA centers. As such, a small-scale experiment has been conducted at Louisiana …

Computational Aerodynamics And Anatomical Characterization Of Laryngotracheal Stenosis In Children, William Poynot

LSU Master's Theses

Laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS) is a health condition in which an obstruction in the upper trachea can cause breathing difficulties and increased incidence of infection, among other symptoms. Occurring most commonly due to intubation in infants, LTS often requires corrective surgery. Currently, clinical methods of assessing the blockage region are simplistic and subjective, and it is challenging to determine the most effective surgical strategy for any given patient. In the present work, a comprehensive methodology is proposed for characterizing the stenosis region both in terms of its anatomical parameters and its corresponding aerodynamic properties. The combination of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) …

Coupled Chemical Pre-Oxidation And Aerobic Bioremediation Of Buried Mc252 Oil Across A Headlands Beach Profile, Olivia Bramlet

LSU Master's Theses

The release of MC252 crude oil following the Deepwater Horizon event has emphasized the need to investigate factors controlling the extent of contamination degradation in coastal environments. Dam structures created on Fourchon Beach, LA established conditions for PAH and n-alkane accumulation and burial along a vertical profile that persists today due to the anaerobic, often anoxic, and hypersaline conditions of the groundwater. The ability to remove the oxygen limitation present on in situ aerobic biodegradation of buried petroleum-based hydrocarbons in this environment was investigated through the coupled process of chemical oxidation and enhanced bioremediation using a proprietary formulation of activated …