Digital Commons Network^™

Business Plan For Frugal Foodie, Connor Landry

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

An Event-History Analysis Of The Diffusion Of Permitless Concealed Carry Laws Throughout The United States, Jackson Vicknair

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Telework Conditions And Family-Supportive Supervisor Behaviors On Work- Family Outcomes, Tiffany Huynh

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Reinforcement Learning In A Quantum Network, Roy Pace

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Artemisia Dracunculus L. Ethanolic Extract And An Isolated Component, Dmc2, Ameliorate Inflammatory Signaling In Pancreatic Β-Cells Via Inhibition Of P38 Mapk, Peter Smoak, Susan J. Burke, Thomas M. Martin, Heidi M. Batdorf, Z. Elizabeth Floyd, J. Jason Collier

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Non-resolving pancreatic islet inflammation is widely viewed as a contributor to decreases in β-cell mass and function that occur in both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Therefore, strategies aimed at reducing or eliminating pathological inflammation would be useful to protect islet β-cells. Herein, we described the use of 2′,4′-dihydroxy-4-methoxydihydrochalcone (DMC2), a bioactive molecule isolated from an ethanolic extract of Artemisia dracunculus L., as a novel anti-inflammatory agent. The ethanolic extract, termed PMI 5011, reduced IL-1β-mediated NF-κB activity. DMC2 retained this ability, indicating this compound as the likely source of anti-inflammatory activity within the overall PMI 5011 extract. We further …

Nams 2021 Utian Translational Science Symposium September 2021, Washington, Dc - >Charting The Path To Health In Midlife And Beyond: The Biology And Practice Of Wellness, Nanette F. Santoro, Helen L. Coons, Samar R. El Khoudary, C. Neill Epperson, Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Hadine Joffe, Sarah H. Lindsey, Kara L. Marlatt, Patti Montella, Gloria Richard-Davis, Bonny Rockette-Wagner, Marcel E. Salive, Cynthia Stuenkel, Rebecca C. Thurston, Nancy Woods, Holly Wyatt

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Charting the Path to Health in Midlife and Beyond: The Biology and Practice of Wellness was a Translational Science Symposium held on Tuesday, September 21, 2021. Foundational psychosocial and behavioral approaches to promote healthy aging and strategies to disseminate this information were discussed. The following synopsis documents the conversation, describes the state of the science, and outlines a path forward for clinical practice. Wellness, in its broadest sense, prioritizes an orientation toward health, and an embrace of behaviors that will promote it. It involves a journey to improve and maintain physical and mental health and overall well-being to fully engage …

A Qualitative Analysis Of The Remote Food Photography Method And The Automated Self-Administered 24-Hour Dietary Assessment Tool For Assessing Children's Food Intake Reported By Parent Proxy, Traci A. Bekelman, Susan L. Johnson, Rachel I. Steinberg, Corby K. Martin, Katherine A. Sauder, Sophie Luckett-Cole, Deborah H. Glueck, Daniel S. Hsia, Dana Dabelea, P. B. Smith, K. L. Newby, D. K. Benjamin

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Background: Accuracy and participant burden are two key considerations in the selection of a dietary assessment tool for assessing children's full-day dietary intake. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify barriers experienced by parents and burden when using two technology-based measures of dietary intake to report their child's intake: the Remote Food Photography Method (RFPM) and the Automated Self-Administered 24-hour Dietary Assessment Tool (ASA24). Design: Qualitative, semistructured, focus groups were conducted with parents who served as proxy reporters of their child's dietary intake using the two different dietary assessment methods (ie, RFPM and ASA24) 1 week apart. Participants/setting: …

The Potential For Bias Across Gps-Accelerometer Combined Wear Criteria Among Adolescents, Maura M. Kepper, Amanda E. Staiano, Stephanie T. Broyles

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Physical activity has many health benefits, yet a large portion of our population is not meeting recommendations. Using accelerometry and global positioning systems (GPS) to accurately measure where people are active and to identify barriers and facilitators of activity across various settings will inform evidence-based policies and interventions to improve activity levels. Criteria for sufficient accelerometry data (e.g., number of days, minimum hours in a day) to accurately monitor free-living physical activity in adults and children have been widely studied, implemented, and reported by researchers. However, few best practice recommendations for researchers using GPS have been established. Therefore, this paper …

Variation And Predictors Of Gross Motor Coordination Development In Azorean Children: A Quantile Regression Approach, Sara Pereira, Flávio Bastos, Carla Santos, José Maia, Go Tani, Leah E. Robinson, Peter T. Katzmarzyk

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

We investigated the development of gross motor coordination (GMC) as well as its predictors in school-aged Azorean children. The sample included 181 children (90 girls), followed consecutively for 4 years from 6 to 9 years of age. GMC was assessed with the Körperkoordination-stest für Kinder, and predictors included body mass index, standing long jump, 50-yard dash, and shuttle run. The changes in GMC and the effects of predictors were analyzed with mean-modeling as well as quantile regression. In the latter, we considered the following three quantiles (Q): Q20, Q50, and Q80 as markers of low, median, and high GMC levels, …

A Reappraisal Of Polyploidy Events In Grasses (Poaceae) In A Rapidly Changing World, Acga Cheng, Noraikim Mohd Hanafiah, Jennifer Ann Harikrishna, Niranjan Baisakh, Muhamad Shakirin Mispan, Lim Phaik Eem

Faculty Publications

Around 80% of megaflora species became extinct at the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary. Subsequent polyploidy events drove the survival of thousands of plant species and played a significant historical role in the development of the most successful modern cereal crops. However, current and rapid global temperature change poses an urgent threat to food crops worldwide, including the world’s big three cereals: rice, wheat, and maize, which are members of the grass family, Poaceae. Some minor cereals from the same family (such as teff) have grown in popularity in recent years, but there are important knowledge gaps regarding the similarities and differences …

Mhealth Intervention For Motor Skills: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Amanda E. Staiano, Robert L. Newton, Robbie A. Beyl, Chelsea L. Kracht, Chelsea A. Hendrick, Matthew Viverito, E. Kipling Webster

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Children's motor skills are a critical foundation for physical activity. The objective was to determine the effectiveness and feasibility of a mobile app-based intervention delivered to parents to improve preschoolers’ motor skills. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial randomly assigned children to: (1) Motor Skills, including instructional lessons, peer modeling videos, behavioral scaffolding, and structured activities or 2) Free Play. Both groups received a 12-week app-based intervention informed by social cognitive theory to deliver 12 hours (12-minutes per day, 5× per week) of instruction. The children were aged 3 to 5 y; parents and children had no mobility …

Bridging The Research Gap Between Live Collections In Zoos And Preserved Collections In Natural History Museums, Sinlan Poo, Steven M. Whitfield, Alexander Shepack, Gregory J. Watkins-Colwell, Gil Nelson, Jillian Goodwin, Allison Bogisich, Patricia L.R. Brennan, Jennifer D'Agostino, Michelle S. Koo, Joseph R. Mendelson, Rebecca Snyder, Sandra Wilson, Gary P. Aronsen, Andrew C. Bentley, David C. Blackburn, Matthew R. Borths, Mariel L. Campbell, Dalia A. Conde, Joseph A. Cook, Juan D. Daza, Daniel P. Dembiec, Jonathan L. Dunnum, Catherine M. Early, Adam W. Ferguson, Amanda Greene, Robert Guralnick, Courtney Janney, Debbie Johnson, Felicia Knightly, Stephane Poulin, Luiz Rocha, Pamela S. Soltis

Faculty Publications

Zoos and natural history museums are both collections-based institutions with important missions in biodiversity research and education. Animals in zoos are a repository and living record of the world's biodiversity, whereas natural history museums are a permanent historical record of snapshots of biodiversity in time. Surprisingly, despite significant overlap in institutional missions, formal partnerships between these institution types are infrequent. Life history information, pedigrees, and medical records maintained at zoos should be seen as complementary to historical records of morphology, genetics, and distribution kept at museums. Through examining both institution types, we synthesize the benefits and challenges of cross-institutional exchanges …

Adoption Trend Of Climate-Resilient Rice Varieties In Bangladesh, Swati Nayak, Muhammad Ashraful Habib, Kuntal Das, Saidul Islam, Sk Mosharaf Hossain, Biswajit Karmakar, Roberto Fritsche Neto, Sankalp Bhosale, Hans Bhardwaj, Sudhanshu Singh, Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, Vikas Kumar Singh, Ajay Kohli, Uma S. Singh, Lutful Hassan

Faculty Publications

Rice is a major crop in Bangladesh that supports both food security and livelihoods. However, a need remains for improved productivity and adaptation to the risks associated with climate change. To accomplish this, the increased adoption of climate-resilient and high-yielding rice varieties can be beneficial. Therefore, we conducted a study in Bangladesh over three consecutive years: 2016, 2017, and 2018. The scope of the study included the major cropping season (wet), Aman. The yield advantages of climate-resilient rice varieties were evaluated and compared with those of the varieties popular with farmers. We included new stress-tolerant varieties, such as submergencetolerant rice …

Delineation Of Cancer Service Areas Anchored By Major Cancer Centers In The United States, Changzhen Wang, Fahui Wang, Tracy Onega

Faculty Publications

Defining a reliable geographic unit pertaining to cancer care is essential in its assessment, planning, and management. This study aims to delineate and characterize the cancer service areas (CSA) accounting for the presence of major cancer centers in the United States. We used the Medicare enrollment and claims from January 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015 to build a spatial network from patients with cancer to cancer care facilities that provided inpatient and outpatient care of cancer-directed surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. After excluding those without clinical care or outside of the United States, we identified 94 NCI-designated and other academic …

An Integrated Network Representation Of Multiple Cancer-Specific Data For Graph-Based Machine Learning, L M. Pu, M Singha, H C. Wu, C Busch, L M. Pu, M Brylinski

Faculty Publications

Genomic profiles of cancer cells provide valuable information on genetic alterations in cancer. Several recent studies employed these data to predict the response of cancer cell lines to drug treatment. Nonetheless, due to the multifactorial phenotypes and intricate mechanisms of cancer, the accurate prediction of the effect of pharmacotherapy on a specific cell line based on the genetic information alone is problematic. Emphasizing on the system-level complexity of cancer, we devised a procedure to integrate multiple heterogeneous data, including biological networks, genomics, inhibitor profiling, and gene-disease associations, into a unified graph structure. In order to construct compact, yet information-rich cancer-specific …

Quantitative Analysis Of The Maximum Rate And Minimum Duration For A 200 Km Stepwise Retreat Of The Bindschadler Ice Stream At ~11.5 Cal Kyr Bp, Matthew E Kratochvil

LSU Master's Theses

Small-scale morainal ridges on the middle continental shelf of the Whales Deep Basin partly record the rapid opening of a 200-km grounding line embayment slightly after ~11.5 cal kyr BP. The overlapping pattern of backstepped moraines indicates that the grounding line oscillated back and forth during the retreat. Published sediment fluxes were combined with new sediment volume mapping of the moraines to infer the rates at which the grounding line retreated. The analyses indicate that the rates of grounding line retreat on the eastern flank of the embayment ranged from ~490 m a^-1 to 1,300 m a^-1. …

Music Making And Learning At A School For The Visually Impaired: A Case Study, Jacob A. Peterson

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this case study was to investigate the learning environment and the teaching methodologies of teachers at a state school for the visually impaired. Data collection included interviews and observations with field notes with two teachers at LSVI (one music and one non-music teacher) and an interview with a member of the administration. The semi-structured interviews and observations took place in three phases: 1) preliminary interviews in which the participants answered questions about goals for their classrooms, background information, common strategies/methods/tools that they have at their disposal, 2) observations of a class/classes with each of the teachers, 3) …

Machine Learning-Based Bridge Load Posting Prediction, Sai Naga Sasi Aditya Bandaru

LSU Master's Theses

1600 (12%) of Louisiana's 13,000 bridges that allow the passage of people, goods, and services are load posted, meaning they are deemed incapable of securely carrying all legal loads. A machine learning framework for estimating the number of load-posted bridges within a regional bridge portfolio would be extremely valuable in the future for allocating essential resources during long-term planning. A framework of this type is necessary since a significant proportion of the bridges are load posted. Furthermore, deterioration due to aging and future increases in legal loads can compound this situation. In this setting, there is a lack of data-driven …

Machine Learning-Based Bridge Load Posting Prediction, Sai Naga Sasi Aditya Bandaru

LSU Master's Theses

1600 (12%) of Louisiana's 13,000 bridges that allow the passage of people, goods, and services are load posted, meaning they are deemed incapable of securely carrying all legal loads. A machine learning framework for estimating the number of load-posted bridges within a regional bridge portfolio would be extremely valuable in the future for allocating essential resources during long-term planning. A framework of this type is necessary since a significant proportion of the bridges are load posted. Furthermore, deterioration due to aging and future increases in legal loads can compound this situation. In this setting, there is a lack of data-driven …

Preventing Brand Activism From Backfiring: How The Use Of An Ingroup Model Can Limit The Negative Effects Of One-Time Csr History, Cole C. Dunnam

LSU Master's Theses

Brands are beginning to engage in corporate social advocacy (CSA) with social movements to form deeper connections with their audience, but not all are successful. This thesis asks why a brand’s target audience considers some CSA campaigns as more authentic than others. In Study I, I use Twitter data to conduct an exploratory analysis that applies existing research to two extreme CSA cases: Nike’s Emmy-winning “Dream Crazy” campaign starring Colin Kaepernick and Pepsi’s unsuccessful “Live for Now– Moments” campaign starring Kendall Jenner. Pepsi failed despite its history of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. I suggest that group identity theory impacts …

Reading And Understanding: A Defense Of Heideggerian Hermeneutics And Philogy, Phillip M. Gandy

LSU Master's Theses

This paper addresses methodologies espoused by the hermeneutic tradition begun under Martin Heidegger. I argue for the methodologies of Philology, Destruktion and the use of poetic language in order to understand and communicate fundamental truths about Dasein. I demonstrate that these methods provide us, hermeneutically, with a closer and more precise understanding than simple communication in common speech.

Storytelling As Design Methodology: Reclaiming Little Manila's Urban Landscape Identity, Alyssa M. Gill

LSU Master's Theses

My thesis explores how landscape design can improve its methods of reclaiming lost cultural stories in the urban landscape, using the example of the Filipino American neighborhood known as Little Manila in Stockton, California. Through interpreting both stories and narratives that surround the neighborhood, I propose a basis for landscape design inspiration that focuses on oral history and lived experience. Using this understanding I propose to design a landscape within in the Little Manila Historic Site that celebrates the community’s history while providing public space for continued community use.

My work focuses on the area of Downtown Stockton that earned …

Cross-Issue Agenda Setting From Racism To Immigration: Spreading Activation Or Group Threat?, Martina Santia

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Little research to date offers evidence for the “cross-issue agenda setting effect,” that is transfer of salience from media coverage of racism to perceived importance of immigration. Laboratory experiments afford the opportunity to facilitate causal inference in determining whether this cross-issue effect is due to a cognitive mechanism of spreading activation (as conventionally assumed in agenda setting research) or to a cumulative, affective process driven by perceived threat to a certain identity group. Observational data, on the other hand, allow to externally validate the experimental results beyond the constrained settings typical of laboratory experimentation.

This dissertation combines the strengths of …

A Case Study Of Protecting Bridges Against Overheight Vehicles, Aly Mousaad Aly, Marc Hoffmann

Faculty Publications

Most transportation departments have recognized and developed procedures to address the ever-increasing weights of trucks traveling on bridges in service today. Transportation agencies also recognize the issues with overheight vehicles’ collisions with bridges, but few stakeholders have definitive countermeasures. Bridges are becoming more vulnerable to collisions from overheight vehicles. The exact response under lateral impact force is difficult to predict. In this paper, nonlinear impact analysis shows that the degree of deformation recorded through the modeling of the unprotected vehicle-girder model provides realistic results compared to the observation from the US-61 bridge overheight vehicle impact. The predicted displacements are 0.229 …

Celebrating Wetland Foodways: Joining Ecosystems & Cultures On The Louisiana Gulf Coast, Deborah La Rue

LSU Master's Theses

Coastal Louisiana is bountiful in cultural and ecological diversity. Spotted with thriving estuaries, meandering bayous and swamps, and rippling grasses of coastal marshes, these wetland ecosystems sequester carbon, purify floodwaters, and buffer against storm surge. Historically, southern wetland landscapes have offered refuge to people of many folk and ethnic traditions escaping violence and oppression. Until the mid-twentieth century, the people living in present-day Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes enjoyed relative isolation from the rest of America, constructing cultural practices that emphasized attachment to wetland plants, animals, and ecosystem dynamics.

Today, changing environmental conditions and high rates of relative sea level rise …

Outcomes Of Building Parasocial Relationships Betweens Brands And Consumers On Social Media, Emily Ritchart

LSU Master's Theses

Social media has fundamentally changed the way brands can communicate and interact with their consumers. By using a survey that asks participants to answer questions about a brand they follow on social media, this study explores the influence of different social media strategies on parasocial relationships and other positive outcomes for brands. Findings show that popular social media strategies of personalized messages, user-generated content, and use conversational/human tone can be used to predict higher levels of PSRs. Furthermore, these results show that brands who build PSRs with consumers can predict high levels of positive brand outcomes including higher positive trust, …

The Role Of Child Life Specialists In Transitioning Patients With Sickle Cell Disease From Pediatric Care To Adult Management, Amanda Ochiltree

LSU Master's Theses

The transitional period when adolescents and young adults (AYA) no longer see pediatric specialists or pediatricians and transfer their care to adult health care providers is important for all but can be especially complex for AYAs with sickle cell disease (SCD). Disease-specific education, patient and family resources, and psychosocial care are important during the transitional period from adolescence to adulthood. Certified Child Life Specialists (CCLSs) are trained to provide developmentally appropriate preparation and education, psychosocial support, encouragement of emotional expression, and the opportunity to form trusting relationships with the medical care team (Romito et al., 2021). CCLSs work with the …

Exploring Cognitive Associations Of Athletes’ Activism Through Social Issue Primes: A Convergent Analysis, Anthony Ciaramella

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Contemporary athletes are using their platforms to discuss more social activism issues than ever before. This dissertation examines how attitudes and perceptions of activist athletes may differ based on the social activism issues they advocate for. Further, how different social activism issues may prime individuals to associate different gender and racial stereotypes to the athletes involved. To accomplish this goal, a mixed methods convergent approach was used to explore how certain social activism issues and athletes’ level of activism involvement alter perceptions of the issues and the athletes themselves. This approach combines findings from study 1, in-depth interviews with sports …

Students With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities And Their Educational Pathways After High School: Transitional Planning And Access To Postsecondary Institutions, Shondra Antoinette White

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This phenomenological study aimed to address the growing number of students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) that aspire to attend a postsecondary institution. These students must be placed on a pathway in high school with this end goal. Educators should ensure that goals are met through transition planning, collaborative planning with parents, agency collaboration, and college access opportunities. This study details the perspectives, procedures, and resources concerning IDD students with postsecondary goals to attend a college or university. An area of focus for the study includes the perspectives of school administrators, teachers, and counselors that serve students with IDD, …

Intra-Articular Buprenorphine In Horses, Gabriel Castro-Cuellar Dr

LSU Master's Theses

Opioid drugs have the potential of provide local analgesia in inflamed joints. To date, morphine is the only opioid that has been tested for intra-articular (IA) administration in horses. Having an alternative drug, other than morphine, could widen the therapeutic options, particularly in cases of drug shortages or inaccessibility to specific drugs. The work presented in this dissertation reports the cytotoxic effects of buprenorphine on cultured equine chondrocytes, and the pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and analgesic effects, of IA administered buprenorphine in horses with experimentally induced synovitis.

To evaluate the potential cytotoxic effects on equine cartilage, chondrocytes were obtained from normal equine …