Digital Commons Network^™

Elemental Analysis Of Mangrove Unslipped Pottery From The Paynes Creek Salt Works Using A Portable Xrf Machine, Brigid Clarey

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

María Dos Prazeres As A Metaphor: A Discourse On Gender And The Spanish Nation, Paola Colmenares

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.

Patterns Of Choice Adaptation In Dynamic Risky Environments, E Konstantinidis, J L. Harman, C Gonzalez

Faculty Publications

An important aspect of making good decisions is the ability to adapt to changes in the values of available choice options, and research suggests that we are poor at changing behavior and adapting our choices successfully. The current paper contributes to clarifying the role of memory on learning and successful adaptation to changing decision environments. We test two aspects of changing decision environments: the direction of change and the type of feedback. The direction of change refers to how options become more or less rewarding compared to other options, over time. Feedback refers to whether full or partial information about …

Examining The Relationship Between Health-Related Fitness And Motor Competence In College-Aged Students, Michael Crick

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Oncostatin M Induces Lipolysis And Suppresses Insulin Response In 3t3-L1 Adipocytes, Jennifer L. Bailey, Hardy Hang, Anik Boudreau, Carrie M. Elks

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Oncostatin M (OSM) is an immune cell-derived cytokine that is upregulated in adipose tissue in obesity. Upon binding its receptor (OSMR), OSM induces the phosphorylation of the p66 subunit of Src homology 2 domain-containing transforming protein 1 (SHC1), called p66Shc, and activates the extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) pathway. Mice with adipocyte-specific OSMR deletion (OsmrFKO) are insulin resistant and exhibit adipose tissue inflammation, suggesting that intact adipocyte OSM–OSMR signaling is necessary for maintaining adipose tissue health. How OSM affects specific adipocyte functions is still unclear. Here, we examined the effects of OSM on adipocyte lipolysis. We treated 3T3-L1 adipocytes with OSM, …

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 …

State Of Ex Situ Conservation Of Landrace Groups Of 25 Major Crops, Julian Ramirez-Villegas, Colin K. Khoury, Harold A. Achicanoy, Maria Victoria Diaz, Andres C. Mendez, Chrystian C. Sosa, Zakaria Kehel, Luigi Guarino, Michael Abberton, Jorrel Aunario, Bashir Al Awar, Juan Carlos Alarcon, Ahmed Amri, Noelle L. Anglin, Vania Azevedo, Khadija Aziz, Grace Lee Capilit, Oswaldo Chavez, Dmytro Chebotarov, Denise E. Costich, Daniel G. Debouck, David Ellis, Hamidou Falalou, Albert Fiu, Michel Edmond Ghanem, Peter Giovannini, Alphonse J. Goungoulou, Badara Gueye, Amal Ibn El Hobyb, Ramni Jamnadass, Chris S. Jones, Bienvenu Kpeki, Jae Sung Lee

Faculty Publications

Crop landraces have unique local agroecological and societal functions and offer important genetic resources for plant breeding. Recognition of the value of landrace diversity and concern about its erosion on farms have led to sustained efforts to establish ex situ collections worldwide. The degree to which these efforts have succeeded in conserving landraces has not been comprehensively assessed. Here we modelled the potential distributions of eco-geographically distinguishable groups of landraces of 25 cereal, pulse and starchy root/tuber/fruit crops within their geographic regions of diversity. We then analysed the extent to which these landrace groups are represented in genebank collections, using …

Sibling Resemblances In Physical Fitness In Three Distinct Regions In Peru: The Peruvian Sibling Study On Growth And Health, Carla Santos, Alcibíades Bustamante, Olga Vasconcelos, Sara Pereira, Rui Garganta, J. Timothy Lightfoot, Go Tani, Donald Hedeker, Peter T. Katzmarzyk, José Maia

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

We estimated sibling resemblance in health-related physical fitness (PF) and examined how individual characteristics and shared natural environment accounted for sibling similarities. The sample comprised 656 sibling pairs and 102 triplets (6–15 years of age), from three geographical areas of Peru. PF components included morphological (waist circumference, sum of skinfolds), muscular (handgrip strength, standing long jump), and motor (shuttle-run). Body mass index (BMI) and somatic maturation were also assessed. In general, sibling intraclass correlations differed significantly across sib-ship types for waist circumference and handgrip strength but were the same for sum of skinfolds, standing long jump, and shuttle-run. Further, in …

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 …

Paraphyletic Relationships Revealed By Mitochondrial Dna In The Peromyscus Mexicanus Species Group (Rodentia: Cricetidae), Giovani Hernández-Canchola, Livia León-Paniagua, Jacob A. Esselstyn

Faculty Publications

Although deer mice (Peromyscus spp.) are among the most studied small mammals, their species diversity and phylogenetic relationships remain unclear. The lack of taxonomic clarity is mainly due to a conservative morphology and because some taxa are rare, have restricted distributions, or are poorly sampled. One taxon, P. mexicanus, includes southern Mexican subspecies that have not had their systematic placement tested with genetic data. We analyzed the phylogenetic relationships and genetic structure of P. mexicanus populations using sequences of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome b. We inferred that P. mexicanus is paraphyletic, with P. m. teapensis, P. m. tehuantepecus, and P. …

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 …

Improving Kernel Artifact Extraction In Linux Memory Samples Using The Slub Allocator, Daniel A. Donze

LSU Master's Theses

Memory forensics allows an investigator to analyze the volatile memory (RAM) of a computer, providing a view into the system state of the machine as it was running. Examples of items found in memory samples that are of interest to investigators are kernel data structures which can represent processes, files, and sockets. The SLUB allocator is the default small-request memory allocator for modern Linux systems. SLUB allocates “slabs”, which are contiguous sections of pre-allocated memory that are used to efficiently service allocation requests. The predecessor to SLUB, the SLAB allocator, tracked every slab it allocated, allowing extraction of allocated slabs …

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 …

Musculoskeletal Markers: A Comparison Of The Influence Of Three Biological Factors On Robusticity, Megan Greene

LSU Master's Theses

Research suggests that musculoskeletal markers (MSMs) can provide information about the lives of deceased individuals. The majority of studies focus on single factors that influence the morphology of MSMs in pre-modern societies (i.e., medieval, hunter-gatherers, preindustrial, etc.). This study analyzes MSMs of modern skeletons of 72 females and 83 males from the United States whose ages at death range from 30 to 89 to understand the relationship between various biological factors and MSM morphology. Eight MSMs (attachments of pectoralis major, deltoid, brachialis, supinator, iliopsoas, gluteus maximus, quadriceps, and soleus) were analyzed and categorized as phases zero, one, two, or three …

Sedimentation Processes In A Dredge Pit And Surrounding Environment In Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Adam M. Gartelman

LSU Master's Theses

Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority has been using dredged sand from onshore and offshore sites for barrier island restoration and beach nourishment projects. Caminada dredge pit (CDP) located on eastern Ship Shoal in inner Louisiana shelf underwent two increments in 2014 and 2016, with material used to restore Caminada Headland and nearby areas. Multiple pits in East Terrebonne borrow areas (ET) right next to CDP were then used for East Timbalier Island and other barrier islands near Terrebonne Bay. ET1, north of CDP, was dredged in 2020, and ET2, west of CDP, was dredged in 2020 and 2021 used …

Malware And Memory Forensics On M1 Macs, Charles E. Glass

LSU Master's Theses

As malware continues to evolve, infection mechanisms that can only be seen in memory are increasingly commonplace. These techniques evade traditional forensic analysis, requiring the use of memory forensics. Memory forensics allows for the recovery of historical data created by running malware, including information that it tries to hide. Memory analysis capabilities have lagged behind on Apple's new M1 architecture while the number of malicious programs only grows. To make matters worse, Apple has developed Rosetta 2, the translation layer for running x86_64 binaries on an M1 Mac. As a result, all malware compiled for Intel Macs is theoretically functional …

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 …

Data Mining And Knowledge Discovery In Chemical Processes: Effect Of Alternative Processing Techniques, Luis A. Briceno-Mena, Miriam Nnadili, Michael G. Benton, Jose A. Romagnoli

Faculty Publications

Data mining and knowledge discovery (DMKD) focuses on extracting useful information from data. In the chemical process industry, tasks such as process monitoring, fault detection, process control, optimization, etc., can be achieved using DMKD. However, the selection of the appropriate method for each step in the DMKD process, namely data cleaning, sampling, scaling, dimensionality reduction (DR), clustering, clustering analysis and data visualization to obtain meaningful insights is far from trivial. In this contribution, a computational environment (FastMan) is introduced and used to illustrate how method selection affects DMKD in chemical process data. Two case studies, using data from a simulated …

The Use Of Non-Immersive Virtual Reality As A Functional Rehabilitation Tool For Older Adults With Cognitive Decline, Ross M. Divers

LSU Master's Theses

There is currently no cure for age-related cognitive decline or dementia and current pharmacologic interventions have had limited success at improving daily functioning. Consequently, older adults who experience cognitive decline require assistance with daily activities, which can be quite expensive and lead to caregiver burden. Repeated performance of everyday tasks has been shown to improve performance but requires supervision and direction by another person. The present study evaluated a low-cost computer training program that will use non-immersive virtual reality to enable participants with dementia or cognitive decline to independently practice meaningful everyday activities (e.g., meal preparation). Participants (N= 8) with …

Use Of Rhythm Video Games As A Tool For Rhythmic Listening In Elementary School Music Students, Jennifer Webber

LSU Master's Theses

This posttest-only control group study sought to examine how rhythm video games, through the use of the rhythm game Rhythm Heaven, affect the rhythmic skills of elementary music students, in order to determine if rhythm video games are acceptable supplementary materials for aiding beginning music students in learning rhythm. Research questions were 1) Are participants who receive the rhythm game treatment able to reproduce rhythms more accurately than participants who do not do not receive the treatment? 2) Can participants who play a rhythm game more accurately imitate longer rhythms than those who do not play a rhythm game? 3) …

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, …

A Performance Practice Guide For :Only.Just.Almost.Never For Solo Vibraphone By Jay Alan Yim, Dustin Ray Haigler

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

Currently, there exists little scholarship on Dr. Jay Alan Yim’s percussion music, and none exists for :only.just.almost.never for solo vibraphone. Establishing a performance practice guide will allow future percussionists a glimpse into the compositional process of Yim and allow them to expand their repertoire to include this challenging music. The purpose of this project is to create a comprehensive performance practice guide for :only.just.almost.never for solo vibraphone by Jay Alan Yim.

Resources Required

This project relies mainly on the score of :only.just.almost.never for solo vibraphone. I have also conducted multiple interviews with Yim regarding his compositional process, sketches, and …

Louisiana Certified Child Life Specialists’ Perspective On The Effects Of Covid-19 On Child Life Services, Abby Johnson

LSU Master's Theses

The medical field has faced challenges throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, significantly changing the ways hospitals function and healthcare professionals serve patients and families. Healthcare professionals, specifically Certified Child Life Specialists (CCLSs), have continuously adapted their roles, programs, and services to ensure they adhere to the ever-changing infection control policies and mitigation efforts put in place by government officials and institutions. CCLSs provide pediatric patients and their families with interventions, hospital normalization, and opportunities to engage in play, contributing to pediatric patients’ healing environment during hospitalization. This study focuses on pediatric healthcare in the state of Louisiana, gaining insight from CCLSs’ …

Longitudinal Analysis Of Inflammation In Response To Perceived And Physiological Stress In Collegiate Female Athletes, Erin Gunther

LSU Master's Theses

The current study aimed to characterize the impact of psychological stress throughout the inaugural year of the COVID-19 pandemic on the biomarkers of stress (sIgA, cortisol, and DHEA/cortisol ratio) in (n=39) elite level collegiate female athletes. This study also looked at inflammatory and immune function effects of COVID-19 and how it relates to psychological health by use of blood plasma cytokines (IL-10, Il-1ra, TNF-a). Previous research has proven salivary biomarkers to be good indicators of psychological health, as well as blood plasma cytokines to relate to inflammatory/immune function. The data from this study was provided through salivary and blood plasma …