Digital Commons Network^™

Application-Specific Reliable Data Transfer In Wireless Sensor Networks, Damayanti Datta

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A wireless sensor network (WSN) is a collection of sensor nodes and base stations connected via wireless medium. It sends data collected from the nodes to the base stations for generating information. The size and low cost of the sensor nodes as well as the WSN's ability to connect without wired links are its key advantages which enable it to be deployed in hostile or inaccessible environments at low cost. However, WSNs suffer from high data loss due to the inherent weaknesses in a wireless transmission medium, transmission problems in hostile environments due to human interference, etc. and node failures …

Vascular Function, Physical Performance And Aging, Devon Dobrosielski

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This is a series of three experiments with brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (BAFMD) as the major outcome variable. The first study examined the temporal response of the brachial artery diameter following forearm occlusion in sixteen young (28±8 years) and fifteen older (85±8 years) men. Following release of the pressure cuff there is a significant reduction in brachial diameter compared to baseline, followed by a rapid increase to a PEAK. When comparing the magnitude of the decrease in diameter and the BAFMD between Young and Old, older subjects demonstrated a blunted response. A significant relation was noted between the magnitude of …

Chemical Differences Of Atherosclerotic Plaques In Native And Bypass Human Coronary Arteries And Diseased And Non-Diseased Human Aortas, Samuel Jean Washington

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT Cardiovascular disease, primarily atherosclerosis involves a number of distinct processes that are associated with plaque development. The use of differential gel electrophoresis to determine differences between proteins produced in native and bypass coronary arteries from the same heart has been studied. The analytical techniques presented in this study to characterize plaque samples include two dimensional gel electrophoresis, sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, differential gel electrophoresis, and high performance liquid chromatography. An overview of the stages involved in atherosclerosis and the theories implicated in the manifestation of atherosclerosis was presented. A design study using the Box Behnken method …

In Utero And In Vitro Sex Ratio Of Bovine Embryos And Calves Originating From The Left And Right Ovaries, Darin Alan Hylan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

An asymmetric distribution of the sexes within the left and right uterine horns has been described in multiple polytocous, laboratory species. A series of experiments were conducted to evaluate the sex ratio (% male) of calves gestated in the left and right uterine horns, as well as the sex ratio of embryos originating from the left and right ovaries of cattle. In Experiment 1, the sex ratio of calves and fetuses gestated in the left and right uterine horns was investigated. The sex ratio of calves and fetuses gestated in the right uterine horn was significantly higher compared with the …

Effects Of Capping On Biodegradation Of Organic Contaminants In Sediments, Eun Ju Lee

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Sediment capping remains an effective remediation technique for contaminated sediments due to its capability to contain contaminants and provide a sound habitat for indigenous biota. This research investigated the effect of capping on biodegradation of organic contaminants in Anacostia River sediments using both experimental and modeling techniques. 14C–Phenanthrene mineralization was monitored under various redox conditions in Anacostia River sediments. Mineralization of 14C–phenanthrene was strongly linked to sulfate reduction, which was the more energetic process than any other anaerobic condition in Anacostia sediments. Sulfate is a more promising terminal electron acceptor for intrinsic degradation in Anacostia River and other PAH contaminated …

Responses Of Respiratory System Cells In Vitro And In Vivo To Petrochemical Combustion-Derived Ultrafine Particles, Gleeson Murphy, Jr.

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Environmental contamination with airborne particles has been a human health concern for many years. Epidemiologic studies in urban communities have linked ambient particle exposure to various health effects, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and several cardiovascular disease conditions. The pathogenesis of these conditions with respect to ambient particle exposure is complex because ambient particles are complex in composition. The particles vary greatly in origin, size, surface area, and elemental composition; and a given particle type, such as those generated by petrochemical (gasoline, diesel, industrial substrate) combustion, may be coated with many other compounds, including polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). …

Isolation And Characterization Of The Siamese Family: A Novel Class Of Cell Cycle Regulators In Plants, Michelle Lynn Churchman

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Recessive mutations in the SIAMESE (SIM) gene of Arabidopsis result in multicellular trichomes harboring individual nuclei with a low ploidy level, a phenotype strikingly different from that of wild-type trichomes, which are single cells with a nuclear DNA content of approximately 16-32C. These observations suggested that SIM is required to suppress mitosis as part of the switch to endoreplication in trichomes. We demonstrate that SIM encodes a novel 14kD protein that is part of a small Arabidopsis gene family comprised of four members. Homologs exist in other dicots and in monocots, although no obvious animal homologs have been identified. SIM …

Culture-Independent Identification Of Gut Bacteria In Fourth-Instar Red Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis Invicta Buren, Larvae, Albert Hon-Yu Lee

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Red imported fire ants (RIFA), Solenopsis invicta Buren, are medical, urban, and agricultural pests from South America. Fourth-instar larvae are used by the colony to digest solid food and then regurgitate it for consumption by workers and queens. Larvae are an ideal source of investigations of obligate endosymbiotic bacteria possibly involved in nutrient distributions. I attempted to first identify what bacteria species are in the guts of larvae followed by antibiotic and microscopy work to further study their roles in the ants. The composition of the bacterial community in fire ant larvae was described with culture-independent methods utilizing 16S rDNA …

The Disciples Of Light: A Way Of Seeing And The Educational Transfer Of Ideas Linking Spirituality And Art Among Southern Painters In The Hensche-Hawthorne Tradition, Barbara Naron Faulkner

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the role of artistic education in shaping artistic beliefs and personal philosophy. Its central focus is the origins of a common belief among artists that artmaking or aesthetic response to art can be a form of spiritual activity or experience leading to spiritual insight. The primary data for this study is a series of in-depth oral history interviews with seven painters who studied with Henry Hensche at The Cape School of Art in Provincetown, MA, a school of American plein air painting that is linked with Impressionism. Charles W. Hawthorne, a painter who was a protégé of …

Receptor-Mediated Calcium Entry In Retinal Amacrine Cells, Scott Michael Crousillac

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In the vertebrate retina, multiple cell types express g protein-coupled receptors linked to phospholipase C. The signaling pathway engendered by activation of this enzyme can involve Ca²⁺-permeable transient receptor potential (TRP) channels. To begin to understand the role of these channels in the retina, we undertake an immunocytochemical localization of two TRPC channel subunits, TRPC1 and TRPC4. TRPC1 expression was observed in amacrine cells and their process in the chicken retina. TRPC4 expression was much more widespread with some degree of labeling found in all layers of the retina, and was shown to be expressed in Müller glial …

Population Ecology Of Pseudacteon Tricuspis Borgmeier (Diptera: Phoridae), An Introduced Parasitoid Of The Red Imported Fire Ant Solenopsis Invicta Buren (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) In Louisiana, Donald Charles Henne

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Aspects of the population ecology of a parasitoid (Pseudacteon tricuspis) of the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) in Louisiana were studied. The spatio-temporal abundance patterns, dispersal, population spread, aggregation, direct mutual interference and functional response characteristics of this parasitoid were studied to address deficiencies in our knowledge about phorid flies, particularly Pseudacteon parasitoids. This endoparasitoid was discovered to manipulate host ant behavior in ways that benefit its own survival. Laboratory experiments to gain insights into behavioral and functional responses revealed that fly aggregations were density-dependent and interference was not significant when 1-3 females were simultaneously confined with hosts, although …

Locally Derived Nonpoint Loading Estimates For The Boeuf River/Bayou Lafourche Watershed, Emerald Purser Roider

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

There is currently a great demand for data and models that can be used to quantify nonpoint source pollutant loads from different land-use types. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) is in the process of implementing management programs for impacted water bodies based on the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) of a pollutant. Pollutants of concern include total suspended solids (TSS), nitrogen, and phosphorus. One of the key parameters in determining the TMDL of a water body is the nonpoint source pollutant load from different land-use types. To date, such load estimates in Louisiana are lacking. The primary objective …

Fever, Firepower, And Flood: The Transformation Of The Missouri River Bottomlands In The Dakotas 1804-2005, Robert A. Dunn

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the indigneous geography of the Missouri River Valley of the Dakotas. Since Lewis and Clark's expedition in 1804, this landscape has been transformed by two externally introduced components, reservations and reservoirs. To move the native tribes out of the way of an expanding American empire in the mid-19th century, the U.S. Government confined the tribes to territories, then to reservations, which grew smaller as each new wave of Euro-American immigration launched more land-taking by the federal government. To ensure military and political control over the tribes, the U.S. government supported the efforts of hide hunters to …

Comparing Kin And Non-Kin Foster Parents' Emotional Investment In Their Young Children, Rhonda Norwood

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In 2003, there were reports of child maltreatment affecting over 5.5 million children in the United States. As a result of this epidemic, over 500,000 children are in foster care with an estimated additional 300,000 in voluntary kin placements. Because of a shortage of foster families and resources, Child Protective Services (CPS) agencies routinely seek and give priority to family members to serve as foster families to maltreated children. There is a large body of research that demonstrates that children in kinship care are often at greater risk than those children placed in non-kin foster homes, particularly in terms of …

Factors That Influence Visual Attention And Their Effects On Safety In Driving: An Eye Movement Tracking Approach, Larry Bargola Nabatilan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Statistics show that a high percentage of road related accidents are due to factors that cause impaired driving. Since information extraction in driving is predominantly a visual task, visual distraction and its implications are therefore important safety issues. The main objective of this research is to study some of the implications of demands to human’s attention and perception and how it affects performance of tasks such as driving. Specifically, the study aims to determine the changes that occur in the visual behavior of drivers with different levels of driving experience by tracking the movement of the eye; examine the effects …

Community College Students' Plant Biodiversity Learning Experience In An Introductory Biology Course: Exploring The Value Added By Using A Cd-Rom To Develop Inquiry Lessons, Sandra M. Guzman-Rodriguez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the value added to standard textbook-based instruction of plant biodiversity by the use of the exemplary interactive CD-ROM, Conserving Earth’s Biodiversity. This CD-ROM features renowned conservation figure E.O. Wilson. The setting of the research was an introductory biology course in a rural public community college in the Deep South. Six participants were purposively selected to represent three levels of achievement and two groups, the CD-ROM group (exposed to CD-ROM in addition to the textbook) and the textbook group (only course textbook). Students experienced lecture-based, textual, virtual, and real experiences, and examined their ability to understand biodiversity-related concepts …

Performance Of The Nzi And Other Traps For Biting Flies In North America, S. Mihok, D. A. Carlson, E. S. Krafsur, L. D. Foil

Faculty Publications

The performance of Nzi traps for tabanids (Tabanus similis Macquart, T. quinquevittatus Wiedemann, Chrysops aberrans Philip, C. univittatus Macquart, C. cincticornis Walker, Hybomitra lasiophthalma (Macquart)), stable flies (Stomoxys calcitrans Linnaeus) (Diptera: Muscidae) and mosquitoes (Aedes) (Diptera: Culicidae) was investigated at various sites in Canada (Ontario, Alberta) and USA (Iowa, Florida, Louisiana). Traps made from selected fabrics, insect nettings and hand-dyed blue cotton were compared to the African design to provide practical recommendations for temperate environments. Comparisons of substituted materials showed that trap performance was optimal only when traps were made from appropriate fabrics in the colours produced by either copper …

Rapid Decay Of Tree-Community Composition In Amazonian Forest Fragments, William F. Laurance, Henrique E.M. Nascimento, Susan G. Laurance, Ana Andrade, José E.L.S. Ribeiro, Juan Pablo Giraldo, Thomas E. Lovejoy, Richard Condit, Jerome Chave, Kyle E. Harms, Sammya D'Angelo

Faculty Publications

Forest fragmentation is considered a greater threat to vertebrates than to tree communities because individual trees are typically long-lived and require only small areas for survival. Here we show that forest fragmentation provokes surprisingly rapid and profound alterations in Amazonian tree-community composition. Results were derived from a 22-year study of exceptionally diverse tree communities in 40 1-ha plots in fragmented and intact forests, which were sampled repeatedly before and after fragment isolation. Within these plots, trajectories of change in abundance were assessed for 267 genera and 1,162 tree species. Abrupt shifts in floristic composition were driven by sharply accelerated tree …

Hurricane Prediction: A Century Of Advances, Nan D. Walker, Alaric Haag, Shreekanth Balasubramanian, Robert Leben, Ivor Van Heerden, Paul Kemp, Hassan Mashriqui

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Mark Twain In Japan: The Cultural Reception Of An American Icon, Russell Reising

Civil War Book Review

American Literature in an Eastern Culture

Japanese Interpretation and Absorption of Mark Twain

Trapping Phyllophaga Spp. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) In The United States And Canada Using Sex Attractants, Paul S. Robbins, Steven R. Alm, Charles D. Armstrong, Anne L. Averill, Thomas C. Baker, Robert J. Bauernfiend, Frederick P. Baxendale, S. Kris Braman, Rick L. Brandenburg, Daniel B. Cash, Gary J. Couch, Richard S. Cowles, Robert L. Crocker, Zandra D. Delamar, Timothy G. Dittl, Sheila M. Fitzpatrick, Kathy L. Flanders, Tom Forgatsch, Timothy J. Gibb, Bruce D. Gill, Daniel O. Gilrein, Clyde S. Gorsuch, Abner M. Hammond, Patricia D. Hastings, David W. Held, Paul R. Heller, Rose T. Hiskes, James L. Holliman, William G. Hudson, Michael G. Klein, Vera L. Krischik, David J. Lee, Charles E. Linn

Faculty Publications

The sex pheromone of the scarab beetle, Phyllophaga anxia, is a blend of the methyl esters of two amino acids, L-valine and L-isoleucine. A field trapping study was conducted, deploying different blends of the two compounds at 59 locations in the United States and Canada. More than 57,000 males of 61 Phyllophaga species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) were captured and identified. Three major findings included: (1) widespread use of the two compounds [of the 147 Phyllophaga (sensu stricto) species found in the United States and Canada, males of nearly 40% were captured]; (2) in most species intraspecific male response to the …

Estradiol Interactions With Dopamine Antagonists In Mares: Prolactin Secretion And Reproductive Traits, K. K. Kelley, D. L. Thompson, W. A. Storer, P. B. Mitcham, R. M. Gilley, P. J. Burns

Faculty Publications

Two experiments studied the effects of pretreatment with estradiol benzoate before treatment with a dopamine antagonist on prolactin secretion and reproductive traits in mares during (1) the seasonal anovulatory period and (2) the normal breeding season. Experiment 1 was performed in winter with 17 mares selected for low follicular activity. Nine mares received estradiol benzoate injections every other day for a total of 10 injections; 8 mares received similar injections of vehicle. Ten days after onset of injections, all mares were placed on daily injections of sulpiride (250 mg) for 35 days or until ovulation. Plasma prolactin concentrations were higher …

Biomass Energy Resources In Louisiana (Research Information Sheet #102), Cornelis F. De Hoop, Joseph Chang, Anil Kizhakkepurakkal, Benjamin Bullock

LSU AgCenter Research Information Sheets

A description of how biomass is being used for energy in Louisiana with an emphasis on the potential for expansion in the industry.

Siamese, A Plant-Specific Cell Cycle Regulator, Controls Endoreplication Onset In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Michelle L. Churchman, Matthew L. Brown, Naohiro Kato, Viktor Kirik, Martin Hülskamp, Dirk Inzé, Lieven De Veylder, Jason D. Walker, Ui Zheng, David G. Oppenheimer, Taylor Gwin, Jason Churchman, John C. Larkin

Faculty Publications

Recessive mutations in the SIAMESE (SIM) gene of Arabidopsis thaliana result in multicellular trichomes harboring individual nuclei with a low ploidy level, a phenotype strikingly different from that of wild-type trichomes, which are single cells with a nuclear DNA content of ∼16C to 32C. These observations suggested that SIM is required to suppress mitosis as part of the switch to endoreplication in trichomes. Here, we demonstrate that SIM encodes a nuclear-localized 14-kD protein containing a cyclin binding motif and a motif found in ICK/KRP (for interactors of Cdc2 kinase/Kip-related protein) cell cycle inhibitor proteins. Accordingly, SIM was found to associate …

Spatial Confidentiality And Gis: Re-Engineering Mortality Locations From Published Maps About Hurricane Katrina, Andrew J. Curtis, Jacqueline W. Mills, Michael Leitner

Faculty Publications

Background: Geographic Information System (GIS) can provide valuable insight into patterns of human activity. Online spatial display applications, such as Google Earth, can democratise this information by disseminating it to the general public. Although this is a generally positive advance for society, there is a legitimate concern involving the disclosure of confidential information through spatial display. Although guidelines exist for aggregated data, little has been written concerning the display of point level information. The concern is that a map containing points representing cases of cancer or an infectious disease, could be re-engineered back to identify an actual residence. This is …

Liberty Of Ecological Conscience, Aaron Lercher

Faculty Publications

Our concern for nonhuman nature can be justified in terms of a human right to liberty of ecological conscience. This right is analogous to the right to religious liberty, and is equally worthy of recognition as that fundamental liberty. The liberty of ecological conscience, like religious liberty, is a negative right against interference. Each ecological conscience supports a claim to protection of the parts of nonhuman nature that are current or potential sites of its active pursuit of natural value. If we acknowledge the fallibility of each conscience in its pursuit of genuine natural value, a policy of indefinitely extensive …

F06rs Sgr No. 3 (Cristina Hnatyshyn), Dubois, Mizell, Robertson

Student Senate Enrolled Legislation

A RESOLUTION

to express the sincere and heartfelt condolences of the College of Agriculture of the Louisiana State University to the family of animal, dairy and poultry sciences freshman Cristina Hnatyshyn upon her death.

Louisiana Agriculture Fall, 2006, Lsu Agcenter

Louisiana Agriculture

No abstract provided.

Post-Thaw Amendment Of Cryopreserved Sperm For Use In Artificial Insemination Of A Viviparous Fish, The Green Swordtail Xiphophorus Helleri, Qiaoxiang Dong, Changjiang Huang, Terrence R. Tiersch

Faculty Publications

Sperm cryopreservation protocols have been developed for live-bearers such as the green swordtail Xiphophorus helleri and the platyfish Xiphophorus couchianus. Despite the high post-thaw motility (∼ 75%) obtained in both species, the requirements of sperm storage within the female reproductive tract coupled with the process of internal fertilization place functional demands upon cryopreserved sperm samples far beyond those of oviparous species. The purpose of this study was to facilitate the artificial insemination process with cryopreserved sperm of X. helleri through evaluation of parameters related to sperm quality after thawing. Specifically, this study evaluated the effects on motility for fresh and …

Tc-99m Pyrophosphate Imaging Of Poloxamer-Treated Electroporated Skeletal Muscle In An In Vivo Rat Model, Kenneth L. Matthews, John N. Aarsvold, Robert A. Mintzer, Chin Tu Chen, Raphael C. Lee

Faculty Publications

Objective: This study investigates whether 99mTc pyrophosphate (PYP) imaging provides a quantitative non-invasive assessment of the extent of electroporation injury, and of the effect of poloxamer in vivo on electroporated skeletal muscle. Methods: High-voltage electrical shock was used to produce electroporation injury in an anesthetized rat's hind limb. In each experiment, the injured limb was treated intravenously by either poloxamer-188, dextran, or saline, and subsequently imaged with 99mTc PYP. The radiotracer's temporal behavior among the experimental groups was compared using curve fitting of time-activity curves from the dynamic image data. Results: The washout kinetics of 99mTc PYP changed in proportion …