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Articles 1 - 30 of 72
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Prototype Electron Phantom For Radiographic And Radiochromic Film Dosimetry, Chad Joseph Robertson
Prototype Electron Phantom For Radiographic And Radiochromic Film Dosimetry, Chad Joseph Robertson
LSU Master's Theses
Robertson, Chad Joseph, B.S. Louisiana Tech University, 2006 Master of Science, Spring Commencement, 2006 Major: Medical Physics and Health Physics Prototype Electron Phantom for Radiographic and Radiochromic Film Dosimetry Thesis directed by Professor Kenneth R. Hogstrom Pages in thesis, 133. Words in abstract, 350 ABSTRACT Purpose: The purpose of this work is to develop a solid electron beam film phantom for use with radiographic film (RGF) and radiochromic film (RCF) to measure relative dose distributions in a principal plane containing the central axis for 6¨C20MeV electron beams. It was hypothesized that relative dose distributions measured using film will agree with …
Patterns Of Habitat Suitability And Abundance Trends Of Current And Candidate Coastal Fish Species Of Concern In Louisiana, Elin Rose Sandy
Patterns Of Habitat Suitability And Abundance Trends Of Current And Candidate Coastal Fish Species Of Concern In Louisiana, Elin Rose Sandy
LSU Master's Theses
Louisiana’s estuaries and coastal waters play an important role in providing habitat for several estuarine-dependent species and also serve as a nursery for the juveniles of several other species. The current rate of land loss in Louisiana and the decline of estuarine-dependent species force us to improve our understanding of the recruitment of these species into Louisiana’s estuaries. Habitat suitabilities were developed for several fish species of concern (SOC) and other estuarine-dependent species across three environmental gradients, abundance patterns were developed for seasons, five-year intervals, and coastal study areas (CSAs). Chi-square analyses and ANOVAs were then used to test for …
Positron Autoradiography For Intravascular Vulnerable Plaque Imaging, Peter Petrek
Positron Autoradiography For Intravascular Vulnerable Plaque Imaging, Peter Petrek
LSU Master's Theses
Purpose: To develop and investigate an intravascular storage phosphor detector for imaging and detection of vulnerable coronary artery plaques. Methods: The concept of the detection of vulnerable plaques (i.e., plaques with inflammation) is based on accumulation of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) in inflammation sites. The FDG is labeled with a radioactive isotope 18F (positron source), injected to patient, and accumulated in vulnerable plaques of coronary arteries. The radiation detector is then inserted into coronary artery, records positrons from FDG accumulated in vulnerable plaque, which allows for imaging and detection of the vulnerable plaque. A prototype detector was developed and tested. The detector …
Evaluation Of Microfacies Controls On Hydrocarbon Seal Quality, Nchekwube Mbamalu
Evaluation Of Microfacies Controls On Hydrocarbon Seal Quality, Nchekwube Mbamalu
LSU Master's Theses
A microfacies based approach is proposed for the petrophysical prediction of the most effective hydrocarbon seals. Four distinct microfacies types deposited by different deep water depositional processes have been identified based on textural and mineralogical characteristics. Individual microfacies types include: 1) finely laminated, silt poor to slightly silty hemipelagic claystones; 2) faintly laminated, slightly to moderately silty distal hemiturbiditic claystones; 3) weakly laminated, moderately silty to slightly sandy intermediate hemiturbiditic mudstones; and 4) very silty and sandy proximal hemiturbiditic mudstones. Hemipelagic and distal hemiturbiditic claystones (microfacies types 1 and 2) containing well to modestly organized fabric, high total clay contents, …
The Effects Of Salinity On Nitrogen Cycling In Wetland Soils And Sediments Of The Breton Sound Estuary, La, Brett Whitfield Marks
The Effects Of Salinity On Nitrogen Cycling In Wetland Soils And Sediments Of The Breton Sound Estuary, La, Brett Whitfield Marks
LSU Master's Theses
Wetlands in the coastal zone are slowly becoming more saline under rising sea level over the long-term. However, there are a number of events in the coastal environment which lead to quick and temporary changes in the salinity of coastal marshes. Seawater driven inland from storm surge can significantly increase salinity in oligohaline wetlands over the short-term (weeks). Recent large-scale efforts to restore coastal wetlands in Louisiana have utilized Mississippi River surface water diversions to re-introduce freshwater into coastal marshes, decreasing the salinity of coastal marshes. We examined the effect of salinity changes on two important nitrogen cycling processes, potential …
Application Of Peer Instruction In The High School Setting, Wiley Iverstine
Application Of Peer Instruction In The High School Setting, Wiley Iverstine
LSU Master's Theses
This study investigates whether the response component of Peer Instruction can be successfully added to my normal classroom instruction creating higher gains in student conceptual understanding of force concepts. This action research is intended to analyze this goal for possible application in any regular high school Physics classroom, using myself as a case study. The Force Concept Inventory was used as a pretest/posttest determinate of the learning gains of 85 students spread through four regular Physics classes during the 2009-10 school year. Forty-Two of these students were used as an experimental group where the response component of Peer Instruction was …
Metamorphic Rocks In The Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho, Usa: A Window Into The Precambrian Basement Of Southwest Laurentia, Kyle Michael Metz
Metamorphic Rocks In The Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho, Usa: A Window Into The Precambrian Basement Of Southwest Laurentia, Kyle Michael Metz
LSU Master's Theses
The western North American craton consists of a mosaic of Precambrian basement terranes that developed through episodes of microcontinent collision and magmatic arc accretion. Defining the extent and boundaries of these terranes is critical to deciphering the Precambrian development of Laurentia. The poorly exposed Selway terrane occurs between the Archean Wyoming province and the Neoproterozoic rifted margin of Laurentia. A rare exposure of Precambrian metamorphic rocks, the Sawtooth Metamorphic Complex (SMC), crops out over 33 km2 in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho, USA, and potentially provides a window into the deep crust of the region. Field mapping, petrographic analyses, and …
Implementation And Analysis Of A Top-K Retrieval System For Strings, Sabrina Chandrasekaran
Implementation And Analysis Of A Top-K Retrieval System For Strings, Sabrina Chandrasekaran
LSU Master's Theses
Given text which is a union of d documents of strings, D = d1, d2,...., dd, the emphasis of this thesis is to provide a practical framework to retrieve the K most relevant documents for a given pattern P, which comes as a query. This cannot be done directly, as going through every occurrence of the query pattern may prove to be expensive if the number of documents that the pattern occurs in is much more than the number of documents (K) that we require. Some advanced query functionality will be required, as compared to listing the documents that the …
Recent Advances In Glylons Science, Cornelia Rosu
Recent Advances In Glylons Science, Cornelia Rosu
LSU Master's Theses
A variety of sugar- based polyamides called glylons were synthesized by using different pathways. The sugar- units were derived from D- glucaric acid and D-galactaric acid. Glylons D-glucaric- based with pendant free hydroxyl groups showed a low solubility in organic solvents, due to hydroxyl preference to form strong intra- and intermolecular H- bonding. To minimize these interactions an acetalation reaction was performed. Monoacetalated D-glucaric-based po-lymers exhibited a better solubility in a broader range of solvents but the residual hydroxyl groups favored aggregation. Completely blocked bis-acetalated galactaric-based glylons are so-luble in a broad range of solvents including toluene/methanol mixtures. Deprotection reaction …
Delineation Of A Produced Water Plume In Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, Matthew C. Smith
Delineation Of A Produced Water Plume In Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, Matthew C. Smith
LSU Master's Theses
Three pits were excavated in the 1960’s at the Fordoche Oil Field in Lottie, Louisiana, as evaporation pits for oil well produced brines. The pits were closed and completed in the 1980’s. Previous studies indicate that produced water has leached into the subsurface within the area to the south and southeast of the pits. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) was utilized in an attempt to delineate the present location of the plume as well as test the feasibility of GPR within a clayey soil in south Louisiana. In addition to collection of GPR data, electrical conductivity logs and soil cores (including …
Multi-Scale Habitat Associations Of Shorebirds During Spring Migration In Southwestern Louisiana Rice Fields, Rachel K. Villani
Multi-Scale Habitat Associations Of Shorebirds During Spring Migration In Southwestern Louisiana Rice Fields, Rachel K. Villani
LSU Master's Theses
Rice is the most common wetland crop in the world, and important for waterbirds and shorebirds worldwide, including the United States. In Louisiana, shorebirds use rice fields during spring migration, and are an important for foraging and refueling during migration. However, competing land uses and restoration projects may reduce the availability of rice fields, and impact the landscape that shorebirds use during migration. To determine how shorebirds use the landscape, I evaluated local and landscape factors affecting shorebird use of rice fields during spring migration in southwestern Louisiana. Using five habitat suitability zones (HSZs) based on rice density and canopy …
Using Inoceramid Bivalve Taphonomy As A Paleoenvironmental Indicator Across The Cenomanian/Turonian Horizon At The Pueblo, Colorado Gssp, Jacob Frederick Grosskopf
Using Inoceramid Bivalve Taphonomy As A Paleoenvironmental Indicator Across The Cenomanian/Turonian Horizon At The Pueblo, Colorado Gssp, Jacob Frederick Grosskopf
LSU Master's Theses
Recent paleoenvironmental and geochemical studies indicate that benthic conditions during Oceanic Anoxic Event II (OAE II) (93.5 Mya) in the Cretaceous Interior Seaway (CIS) were dysoxic rather than anoxic. In this thesis, dysoxic benthic conditions were tested for by observing patterns in taphonomic alteration of the calcite portions of inoceramid bivalve shells during and after OAE II. Inoceramid valves were extracted from beds that spanned OAE II at the Cenomanian/Turonian Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) in Pueblo, Colorado: beds 62 (Hartland Shale), 72 (Bridge Creek Limestone), and 115 (Bridge Creek Limestone). Degree of alteration was tallied using categorical …
Geological Analysis And Hydrodynamic Modeling Of Tropical Cyclone Influence: Northeastern Gulf Of Mexico Inner Shelf, Amy Lynn Spaziani
Geological Analysis And Hydrodynamic Modeling Of Tropical Cyclone Influence: Northeastern Gulf Of Mexico Inner Shelf, Amy Lynn Spaziani
LSU Master's Theses
The need to characterize offshore resources as borrow areas for beach restoration has initiated interest of the impact of storms to the inner continental shelf. While numerous studies have investigated the response of coastal systems to major storms, very little is known about the geological response of inner shelves to frequent and intense storms. This approach integrated a geological study with modeling of hydrodynamics during recent storms, in order to relate trends in the geological signature to physical forcing mechanisms during storms. First, waves and hydrodynamic conditions were modeled during two major recent storms that made landfall in the northeastern …
Effective Use Of Web-Based Homework In High School Physics, Elizabeth Pullig Hitt
Effective Use Of Web-Based Homework In High School Physics, Elizabeth Pullig Hitt
LSU Master's Theses
High school physics tests and web-based homework grades were analyzed to determine if web-based homework improves test grades; if the number of web assignments before a test affects the test grade; and if the length of the web assignment affects the number of students that complete the homework assignment. The test grades of students who did their homework were compared to test grades of students who did not do their homework; the assumption was that doing web-based homework improved test grades at this school during the four years studied. The homework group scored seven points higher on average than the …
Correlation Of Defaults In Complex Portfolios Using Copula Techniques, Adam Lodygowski
Correlation Of Defaults In Complex Portfolios Using Copula Techniques, Adam Lodygowski
LSU Master's Theses
This work, dealing with the correlation between subportfolios in more complex portfolios, begins with a brief survey of the necessary theoretical background. The basic statistical and probabilistic concepts are reviewed. The notion of copulas is introduced along with the fundamental theorem of Sklar. After this background a numerical procedure and code are developed for correlated defaults in multiple correlated portfolio. Further on, interesting results regarding the impact of changes in correlation on the portfolio performance are investigated in the simulations. The most valuable observations regarding the expected default ratios of two subportfolios considered jointly are presented and explained with particular …
Speciation Of Heavy Metals In Disturbed And Undisturbed Sediments From Atchafalaya Bay, Houma Navigation Canal, And Southwest Pass, Louisiana, Amanda Jo Zimmerman
Speciation Of Heavy Metals In Disturbed And Undisturbed Sediments From Atchafalaya Bay, Houma Navigation Canal, And Southwest Pass, Louisiana, Amanda Jo Zimmerman
LSU Master's Theses
In coastal Louisiana it is common to use dredge spoil to build marshland that has been lost due to a variety of factors. Under various conditions such as deposition in a drained oxygenated environment, metals in the spoil can become more bioavailable posing a threat to the ecosystem. This study compares metal availability in natural and dredged sediments to determine what changes occur in nature. Forty four samples from three locations, Atchafalaya Delta, Houma Navigation Canal, and Southwest Pass, were analyzed for 13 common elements with known or potentially harmful health effects; Al, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, …
Spatial Variations Of Salinity, Temperature And Pressure On The Flank Of A Salt Dome, Offshore Louisiana: Implications For Mechanisms Of Fluid Flow, Andrew Kevin Steen
Spatial Variations Of Salinity, Temperature And Pressure On The Flank Of A Salt Dome, Offshore Louisiana: Implications For Mechanisms Of Fluid Flow, Andrew Kevin Steen
LSU Master's Theses
Salt dome dissolution in the Gulf of Mexico sedimentary basin is a primary cause for elevated pore water salinities in the subsurface. Temperature, pressure, salinity, lithology and fluid density are parameters often used to identify preferential conduits and driving forces for fluid migration. These parameters were calculated using 20 wireline logs covering 40 km² on the south flank of a salt dome on the continental shelf, offshore Louisiana. 3-D seismic has been utilized to determine location of faults, to aid in sand correlation, and to provide a structural overview of the dome. Vertical and lateral variations in lithology, salinity, temperature, …
Geothermal Resource Assessment Of The Gueydan Salt Dome And The Adjacent Southeast Gueydan Field, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, Taylor Austin Gray
Geothermal Resource Assessment Of The Gueydan Salt Dome And The Adjacent Southeast Gueydan Field, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, Taylor Austin Gray
LSU Master's Theses
The fluids heated by the high thermal conductivity and vertical geometry of salt domes in South Louisiana have the potential to be an economic source of geothermal energy. The Gueydan dome is a piercement salt diapir in Southwest Louisiana lying along the Vermilion and Acadia Parish border. Isotherms indicate a thermal anomaly at the crest of the dome with formation temperatures of 62 ˚C recorded at 1346 m, which is too cold for a geothermal prospect. The shallowest salt encountered is at a depth of 1475 m, and the surrounding strata are Cenozoic sand and clay deposits. Previous geothermal assessments …
The Influences Of Microbial Diversity On Carbonate Geochemistry Across A Transition From Fresh To Saline Water In The Edwards Aquifer, Texas, Cassie Jo Gray
The Influences Of Microbial Diversity On Carbonate Geochemistry Across A Transition From Fresh To Saline Water In The Edwards Aquifer, Texas, Cassie Jo Gray
LSU Master's Theses
Microbially-mediated karstification through the production of metabolic byproducts has been well-documented in cave environments, but less is known about deep karstic settings. This research aimed to distinguish between microbial and geochemical influences on carbonate dissolution in the Edwards Aquifer, a prolific karst aquifer in central Texas, specifically from a transect of six wells across a transition from fresh to saline water in New Braunfels. For the first time, a portion of the aquifer’s bacterial diversity was examined from molecular 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses, which revealed that Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, and Betaproteobacteria dominated the aquifer, with rare Bacteroidetes, Nitrospirae, and Firmicutes …
Is A Student's Conceptual Knowledge Affected By Their Vocabulary Instruction?, Daniel C. Cox
Is A Student's Conceptual Knowledge Affected By Their Vocabulary Instruction?, Daniel C. Cox
LSU Master's Theses
The following paper explores the possible relationship between the manner in which a student is taught vocabulary in a high school physics classroom and the ability of those students to correctly answer physics conceptual questions. Two high school physics classes taught by the same teacher (eight or nine students in one and seventeen in the other) received identical instruction throughout multiple units with the exception of vocabulary instruction. Differences were observed in the students’ ability to correctly answer conceptual questions in only one topic, heat. The students did not get better at answering a question concerning a phase change or …
The Effects Of Self-Assessment On Student Learning Of Mathematics, Daniel James Hotard
The Effects Of Self-Assessment On Student Learning Of Mathematics, Daniel James Hotard
LSU Master's Theses
Self-assessment can be defined as students judging their own work, based on evidence and explicit criteria, for the purpose of improving future performance. Many researchers agree that implementation of student self-assessment in the classroom is an important tool for improving academic performance and self-efficacy. In this thesis, I investigated the effects of student self-assessment on learning gains of 81 alternative high school Algebra I students. This study took place over the course of two units of instruction. Classes were divided into two groups. One group of students utilized rubrics to self-assess their own work for the first unit, while the …
Robotics As A Means Of Increasing Student Achievement In Middle School Science, Ingrid Lorelei Jomento-Cruz
Robotics As A Means Of Increasing Student Achievement In Middle School Science, Ingrid Lorelei Jomento-Cruz
LSU Master's Theses
This study reports on the effectiveness of a Robotics engineering curriculum in increasing the middle school students‘ achievement in science and math. Specifically, it aimed to find out if the students taking the robotics class performed significantly higher in science and math than a control group. The research examined and compared the scores in a pre and posttest and the normalized learning gains of students taking robotics in addition to their regular science and math versus those who are taking science and math only. Although this study showed that there is no significant difference in the science achievement scores of …
Geothermal Energy Potential Of South Bossier Parish, Louisiana, John Adam D'Aquin
Geothermal Energy Potential Of South Bossier Parish, Louisiana, John Adam D'Aquin
LSU Master's Theses
Northwestern Louisiana sits atop a geothermal anomaly that stretches across Eastern Texas and into Southern Arkansas. Geothermal gradients are observed in this area that are greater than the Gulf Coast average of 22-26oC/km. South Bossier Parish, in particular, could be an ideal location for economic production of electricity by conventional geothermal or enhanced geothermal projects due to ideal geothermal production temperatures of 120-180oC at a relatively shallow depth of approximately 3-5 km. A localized geothermal of 35oC/km gradient was determined using bottom-hole temperatures (BHTs) from 147 wells. At approximately 3.2 km depth, temperatures of approximately 130oC within the geopressured sands …
Seventh-Grade Curriculum In Probability (A Guide For Teachers), David Nganga Njenga
Seventh-Grade Curriculum In Probability (A Guide For Teachers), David Nganga Njenga
LSU Master's Theses
A review of the literature indicates that teachers try to make connections between experimental and theoretical probabilities while teaching their students, but these connections are often not very clear. This greatly increases misconceptions students have about probability. This thesis presents a treatment of teaching probability that is geared for seventh grade and intended to minimize the misconceptions that both teachers and students may have. We present a concise mathematical exposition of finite probability models as well as collection of examples and activities, so as to help teachers and students organize their thinking and minimize misconceptions. The various examples and activities …
Public Perception Of Wildfire Risk And Prescribed Burning In The Wildland/Urban Interface Of The Louisiana Florida Parishes, Charlotte Ann Gerald
Public Perception Of Wildfire Risk And Prescribed Burning In The Wildland/Urban Interface Of The Louisiana Florida Parishes, Charlotte Ann Gerald
LSU Master's Theses
Wildfire has been suppressed in the nation’s forests for over a hundred years. The accumulation of forest fuels over time has created an urgent need to reduce fuel loads to prevent catastrophic wildfires from occurring, not only in our wildlands, but also in our Wildland/Urban Interfaces (WUI’s). The residents who live within the WUI are particularly vulnerable to extreme wildfire events. As cities become more densely populated, increasing numbers of people are moving beyond the suburbs into the WUI. A complex matrix of structures and forested land, developing communities, and impinging forests exists within the WUI. This study utilized a …
Status Of Wintering Grassland Birds In A Post-Hurricane, Salvage-Logged Forest, Matthew Edward Brooks
Status Of Wintering Grassland Birds In A Post-Hurricane, Salvage-Logged Forest, Matthew Edward Brooks
LSU Master's Theses
North American grassland birds have been declining at an alarming rate. Winter habitat for grassland species in the southeastern U.S. generally occurs within forests subject to management. I studied wintering grassland bird communities in De Soto National Forest in southern Mississippi. My objectives were to: 1) Assess bird communities and vegetation structure in upland forest stands that were salvage-logged following Hurricane Katrina, in stands managed for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (Picoides borealis, RCW), and in stands containing bogs; and 2) Determine the extent of the association between vegetation and occurrence of the common wintering grassland birds. I conducted bird and vegetation surveys …
Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of Cooperative Learning Structures In Improving Students' Performance, Jonah Njenga
Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of Cooperative Learning Structures In Improving Students' Performance, Jonah Njenga
LSU Master's Theses
In a desperate attempt to improve high school classroom performances, recently, schools have begun to move towards incorporating cooperative learning strategies into their classrooms. Generally, cooperative learning strategies can be described as the use of small groups to encourage learners work together and accomplish shared goals and subsequently maximize theirs and others’ potential. In an attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of this strategy on classroom learning, this study compares the gains in means of scores between a group taught using cooperative learning strategies and another group taught using non-cooperative learning strategies. Fifty-three students taking Algebra I were given a pretest …
Miocene Fluctuations Of The West Antarctic Ice Sheet And The Influence Of Meltwater On The Ross Sea Outer Continental Shelf: Seismic-Stratigraphic Based Interpretations, Sean Francis Kerrin
Miocene Fluctuations Of The West Antarctic Ice Sheet And The Influence Of Meltwater On The Ross Sea Outer Continental Shelf: Seismic-Stratigraphic Based Interpretations, Sean Francis Kerrin
LSU Master's Theses
The changing extents of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) and the manifestation of meltwater discharge on the outer shelf during the Miocene were deduced using seismic stratigraphy and seismic facies interpretations. Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Leg 28 drill sites were used for chronologic constraints of the outer continental shelf (OCS) seismic stratigraphy to establish correlations to coeval strata at the inner shelf SMS-ANDRIL drill site. The evidence indicates that grounded ice sheets periodically existed on the OCS during the early and middle Miocene and in section inferred to have been deposited in the late-Miocene. Large-scale grounding events occurred …
Predicting First Year Seedling Survival From Quality Distributions Of Bareroot Seedlings And Microsites, Puskar Nath Khanal
Predicting First Year Seedling Survival From Quality Distributions Of Bareroot Seedlings And Microsites, Puskar Nath Khanal
LSU Master's Theses
Seeding survival has been a continuing problem since the start of the commercial pine plantation in 1950s. The first-year survival of bare-root loblolly pine seedlings at intensively prepared sites in Louisiana has reached a survival plateau of 75 to 85 % with an average of almost 80 %. The major hypothesis of this research was that the survival plateau is a function of the interaction between the frequency distribution of seedling quality and the frequency distribution of microsite quality. This study examined bare-root seedlings and microsite variation, and analyzed the possible options to increase the first-year seedling survival. The study …
Investigating The Ironwood Tree (Casuarina Equisetifolia) Decline On Guam Using Applied Multinomial Modeling, Karl Anthony Schlub
Investigating The Ironwood Tree (Casuarina Equisetifolia) Decline On Guam Using Applied Multinomial Modeling, Karl Anthony Schlub
LSU Master's Theses
The ironwood tree (Casuarina equisetifolia), a protector of coastlines of the sub-tropical and tropical Western Pacific, is in decline on the island of Guam where aggressive data collection and efforts to mitigate the problem are underway. For each sampled tree the level of decline was measured on an ordinal scale consisting of five categories ranging from healthy to near dead. Several predictors were also measured including tree diameter, fire damage, typhoon damage, presence or absence of termites, presence or absence of basidiocarps, and various geographical or cultural factors. The five decline response levels can be viewed as categories of a …