Digital Commons Network^™

Visuomotor Rotation Adaptation And Workspace Manipulation: A Behavioral And Cognitive Emphasis, Reuben N. Addison

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This is a three-study dissertation in which we aimed to broaden our knowledge of the mechanisms contributing to a 45° clockwise visuomotor adaptation by including variations in workspace. We provide behavioral and in one study physiological outcomes as evidence to support our conclusions. In the first experiment, we observed the adaptation of movement parameters such as pathlength, movement time, resultant velocity, and normalized jerk across groups trained with rotated visual feedback with both the left and right hands. Workspace location and hand differentially affected movement trajectory length. The group that practiced the task with their nondominant, left hand showed larger …

The Application Of Physics Informed Neural Networks To Compositional Modeling, Thelma A. Ihunde

LSU Master's Theses

Compositional modeling is essential when simulating processes involving significant changes in reservoir fluid composition. It is computationally expensive because we typically need to predict the states and properties of multicomponent fluid mixtures at several different points in space and time. To speed up this process, several researchers have used machine learning algorithms to train deep learning (DL) models on data from the rigorous phase-equilibrium (flash) calculations. However, one shortcoming of the DL models is that there is no explicit consideration for the governing physics. So, there is no guarantee that the model predictions will honor the thermodynamical constraints of phase …

Maintenance Cost Minimization Models For Offshore Wind Farms: A Systematic And Critical Review, Md Imran Hasan Tusar, Bhaba R. Sarker

Faculty Publications

Feasible and sustainable source of power is a burning question nowadays. The offshore wind farms can be a solution to power generation problem, but it is relatively more expensive. Its installation cost is more than twice of its similar size onshore counterpart. The cost that matters most is the operations and maintenance (O&M) cost. Expensive and sophisticated transfer vehicles as well as highly skilled technicians are needed to conduct O&M activities, which results in a remarkably higher O&M cost for an offshore wind farm project. Few researchers proposed some strategies that could resolve the problem nicely, although there is no …

The Design, Construction, And Testing Of A Recombinant Dna Vaccine For Brucella Abortus And Brucella Melitensis, Stephanie Lynn Korle

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Brucella spp. are a bacterium that cause brucellosis, a zoonotic disease, which is commonly seen in cattle, sheep, goats, swine, and canines. Brucellosis is a problem worldwide, although it is eradicated in some countries (Garin-Bastuji et al. 1998). The reason for designing recombinant DNA (rDNA) vaccines opposed to utilizing the live-attenuated vaccines on the market is that they cannot be given to pregnant animals without potentially causing abortion, while an rDNA vaccine should be safe for pregnant animals since it does not contain viable bacteria. Also, there are no serological tests that can accurately distinguish between an animal vaccinated …

Mindfulness And Physical Activity As Moderators Of Behavioral Inhibition Sensitivity And Psychological Distress, Edward Silber

LSU Master's Theses

Framed in Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory, the current study examined the moderating effects of mindfulness and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) on the relationship between behavioral inhibition system (BIS) sensitivity and psychological distress. Participants (N=183) were college students at a large public university in the Southeastern United States. Data were collected using an online survey with self-report questionnaires that demonstrated acceptable reliability. Data analysis utilized multiple linear regression models to test study hypotheses. Findings revealed a significant positive relationship between BIS sensitivity and psychological distress, with mindfulness and MVPA significantly moderating this association. Specifically, increased reports of mindfulness and MVPA …

An Algorithm To Bias-Correct And Transform Arctic Smap-Derived Skin Salinities Into Bulk Surface Salinities, David Trossman, Eric Bayler

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Consistent Gauge-Fixing Conditions In Polymerized Gravitational Systems, Kristina Giesel, Bao Fei Li, Parampreet Singh, Stefan Andreas Weigl

Faculty Publications

For classical gravitational systems the lapse function and the shift vector are usually determined by imposing appropriate gauge-fixing conditions and then demanding their preservation with respect to the dynamics generated by a canonical Hamiltonian. Effective descriptions encoding quantum geometric effects motivated by loop quantum gravity for symmetry-reduced models are often captured by polymerization of connection (or related) variables in gauge-fixing conditions as well as constraints. Usually, one chooses the same form of polymerization in both cases. A pertinent question is if the dynamical stability of the effective gauge-fixing conditions under the effective dynamics generated by the polymerized canonical Hamiltonian is …

Water Circulation Driven By Cold Fronts In The Wax Lake Delta (Louisiana, Usa), Qian Zhang, Chunyan Li, Wei Huang, Jun Lin, Matthew Hiatt, Victor H. Rivera-Monroy

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Efficient Information Retrieval For Software Bug Localization, Saket Khatiwada

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Software systems are often shipped with defects. When a bug is reported, developers use the information available in the associated report to locate source code fragments that need to be modified to fix the bug. However, as software systems evolve in size and complexity, bug localization can become a tedious and time-consuming process. Contemporary bug localization tools utilize Information Retrieval (IR) methods for automated support to minimize the manual effort. IR methods exploit the textual content of bug reports to capture and rank relevant buggy source files. However, for an IR-based bug localization tool to be useful, it must achieve …

Computational Study Of The Reactions Of Heteroatomic Compounds On Ceo2, Suman Bhasker Ranganath

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The mechanisms of ambient-temperature reactions of heteroatomic compounds catalyzed by ceria (CeO₂), an archetypical reducible oxide, for enzyme mimetics, environmental protection, and chemical synthesis are investigated in this dissertation using theoretical methods. CeO₂ is modeled with thermodynamically stable low-index surfaces exposed by commonly studied ceria thin films and nano particles. To understand phosphatase-like dephosphorylation activity, stable adsorption states and surface reactions of model phosphates are examined. Binding of the central P-atom to surface lattice oxygen (O_latt) supplemented by phosphoryl O-Ce interaction is the only stable adsorption state for the un-dissociated molecule. Deprotonation of phosphate monoesters, …

Spectral Theorem Approach To The Characteristic Function Of Quantum Observables, Andreas Boukas

Journal of Stochastic Analysis

No abstract provided.

Examining Serial Position Effects In Individuals With And Without Mild Cognitive Impairment, Daniel Scott Weitzner

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Serial position effects (SPEs) have shown to be sensitive predictors of future cognitive decline (Bruno et al., 2013) and conversion from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer’s disease (AD; Egli et al., 2014), even when accounting for total learning and memory scores. However, conflicting results have been found in the literature, which may be at least partially related to the many ways in which SPEs have been calculated. The current study aimed to address the discrepancies in the literature by examining SPEs in participants with and without MCI.

86 participants (57 healthy comparison, 29 MCI) completed the California Verbal Learning …

Pemnet: A Transfer Learning-Based Modeling Approach Of High-Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Electrochemical Systems, Luis A. Briceno-Mena, José A. Romagnoli, Christopher G. Arges

Faculty Publications

Widespread adoption of high-temperature electrochemical systems such as polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs) requires models and computational tools for accurate optimization and guiding new materials for enhancing fuel cell performance and durability. While robust and better suited for extrapolation, knowledge-based modeling has limitations as it is time-consuming and requires information about the system that is not always available (e.g., material properties and interfacial behavior between different materials). Data-driven modeling, on the other hand, is easier to implement but often necessitates large datasets that could be difficult to obtain. In this contribution, knowledge-based modeling and data-driven modeling are combined by …

Electro-Acupuncture (Ea) System Having A Wearable Electro-Acupuncture Neurostimulator For Enhanced Clinical And Scientific Outcomes, And A Method, Jin-Woo Choi, Jose Aquiles Parodi Amaya, Ronald Koh

Pennington Biomedical Research Center Patents

An electro-acupuncture (EA) system and method for performing EA on a patient are provided. The EA system comprises a wearable neurostimulator device, at least a first pair of electrically-conductive acupuncture needles and a system controller. The wearable neurostimulator device comprises a casing, an EA circuit mechanically coupled to the casing, and an attachment device mechanically coupled to the casing and adapted to removably secure the wearable neurostimulator device to the patient. The first pair of electrically-conductive acupuncture needles is mechanically coupled to the casing and electrically coupled to the EA circuit. The system controller is in communication with the EA …

Multi-Year Data Analysis And Genomic Selection To Improve The Efficiency Of A Rice Breeding Program, Tommaso Cerioli

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Plant breeding dramatically improved crops performances during human history and will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of agriculture. However, this activity requires large amount of time and resources. The availability of multi-year datasets and abundant DNA information enables new analyses and breeding approaches that can increase the productivity and efficiency of a breeding program. In recent years, the LSU Rice Breeding Program has implemented marker assisted selection (MAS) and genomic selection (GS) to predict performance of rice genotypes before field testing. The goal of this project was to conduct analyses and test molecular approaches to increase the …

Automated Machine Learning: A Case Study Of Genomic “Image-Based” Prediction In Maize Hybrids, Giovanni Galli, Felipe Sabadin, Rafael Massahiro Yassue, Cassia Galves, Humberto Fanelli Carvalho, Jose Crossa, Osval Antonio Montesinos-López, Roberto Fritsche-Neto

Faculty Publications

Machine learning methods such as multilayer perceptrons (MLP) and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) have emerged as promising methods for genomic prediction (GP). In this context, we assess the performance of MLP and CNN on regression and classification tasks in a case study with maize hybrids. The genomic information was provided to the MLP as a relationship matrix and to the CNN as “genomic images.” In the regression task, the machine learning models were compared along with GBLUP. Under the classification task, MLP and CNN were compared. In this case, the traits (plant height and grain yield) were discretized in such …

Spin-Nernst Effect In Time-Reversal-Invariant Topological Superconductors, Taiki Matsushita, Jiei Ando, Yusuke Masaki, Takeshi Mizushima, Satoshi Fujimoto, Ilya Vekhter

Faculty Publications

We investigate the spin-Nernst effect in time-reversal-invariant topological superconductors, and show that it provides smoking-gun evidence for helical Cooper pairs. The spin-Nernst effect stems from asymmetric, in spin space, scattering of quasiparticles at nonmagnetic impurities, and generates a transverse spin current by the temperature gradient. Both the sign and the magnitude of the effect sensitively depend on the scattering phase shift at impurity sites. Therefore the spin-Nernst effect is uniquely suitable for identifying time-reversal-invariant topological superconducting orders.

Digital Discrimination In The Sharing Economy: Evidence, Policy, And Feature Analysis, Miroslav Tushev

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Applications (apps) of the Digital Sharing Economy (DSE), such as Uber, Airbnb, and TaskRabbit, have become a main facilitator of economic growth and shared prosperity in modern-day societies. However, recent research has revealed that the participation of minority groups in DSE activities is often hindered by different forms of bias and discrimination. Evidence of such behavior has been documented across almost all domains of DSE, including ridesharing, lodging, and freelancing. However, little is known about the under- lying design decisions of DSE systems which allow certain demographics of the market to gain unfair advantage over others. To bridge this knowledge …

Prediction Of Pressure Increase During Waste Water Injection To Prevent Seismic Events, Lu Jin, Andrew K. Wojtanowicz, Jun Ge

Faculty Publications

A considerable increase of seismicity has occurred in the USA in the last decade (2009–2020) with an annual average of 345 M3+ earthquakes. Numerous field cases have shown that excessive well pressure due to a high injection rate may have triggered seismic events. This study defines conditions for inducing a seismic event by excessive injection in the well’s pressure that may cause geomechanical damage to the rock. Introduced here is an analytical model and method for predicting pressure increase during injection of produced water contaminated with oil. The model calculates time-dependent advancement of the captured oil saturation causing the well’s …

90snet:, Seth Richard

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Glutamic-Oxaloacetic Transaminase 2 (Got2) Reverse Reaction Could Act As A Possible Relief Valve For Mitochondrial Substrate Overload Induced By Glucocorticoids, Humza Pirzadah

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Us Agricultural University Students' Mental Well-Being And Resilience During The First Wave Of Covid-19: Discordant Expectations And Experiences Across Genders, Mariah D. Ehmke, Bhagyashree Katare, Kristin Kiesel, Jason S. Bergtold, Jerrod M. Penn, Kathryn A. Boys

Faculty Publications

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic's first wave led to declining mental health and life satisfaction outcomes for college students, especially women. While women in undergraduate agricultural programs outperformed men academically prior to and during the pandemic, the achievement may have come at personal cost, especially for those women with fewer personal and environmental resiliency resources. Our research objective was to expand on personal, social, and environmental factors linked with lower mental health and life satisfaction scores for students in agriculture during the pandemic. We measured the influence of such factors across gender-based mental health and life satisfaction outcomes. Our …

A Comparison Of Hay And Fish Emulsion-Infused Water As Oviposition Attractants For The Cdc Gravid Trap, Timothy D. Mcnamara, Kristen Healy

Faculty Publications

Multiple oviposition attractants are used for Culex (Diptera: Culicidae) mosquito surveillance in the CDC Gravid Trap, including hay and fish emulsion-infused water. Despite the use of both in the United States, no research has compared their attractiveness. We conducted trapping throughout Louisiana to assess the attractiveness of hay and fish emulsion-infused water in various habitat types and climates. Our results indicate that fish emulsion-infused water attracts more mosquitoes overall, more Culex quinquefasciatus (Say, 1823), and a wider diversity of mosquitoes than hay-infused water. This trend was maintained, regardless of habitat type or climate.

Implementation Of A Longitudinal Critical Care Fellowship Ultrasound Curriculum, Allison C. Young, Christine Butts, Bennett P. Deboisblanc, Richard S. Tejedor, Stephen P. Kantrow, Matthew R. Lammi

Faculty Publications

Background: The use of point-of-care ultrasound as a diagnostic and interventional tool is rapidly becoming standard of care in critical care medicine; a standardized training curriculum is needed to ensure provider proficiency. Objective: This study aimed to describe a longitudinal critical care ultrasound (CCUS) curriculum in a pulmonary critical care medicine (PCCM) fellowship training program. It evaluated the curriculum’s impact on fellows’ knowledge, skills, and self-reported confidence and retention of these attributes. Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study of a longitudinal CCUS training program within a single PCCM fellowship training program. Knowledge, skills, and confidence of 22 fellows were …

Validity Of Four Commercially Available Metabolic Carts For Assessing Resting Metabolic Rate And Respiratory Exchange Ratio In Non-Ventilated Humans, J. M.A. Alcantara, J. E. Galgani, L. Jurado-Fasoli, M. Dote-Montero, E. Merchan-Ramirez, E. Ravussin, J. R. Ruiz, G. Sanchez-Delgado

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Background & aims: The validity of most commercially available metabolic cart is mostly unknown. Thus, we aimed to determine the accuracy, precision, within-subject reproducibility, and concordance of RMR and RER measured by four commercially available metabolic carts [Cosmed Q-NRG, Vyaire Vyntus CPX, Maastricht Instruments Omnical, and Medgraphics Ultima CardiO2]. Further, we studied whether a previously proposed simulation-based post-calorimetric calibration of cart readouts [individual calibration control evaluation (ICcE)] modify the RMR and RER reproducibility and concordance. Methods: Three experiments simulating different RMR and RER by controlled pure gas (N2 and CO2) infusions were conducted on 5 non-consecutive days. Moreover, 30-min methanol …

The Counterbalancing Effects Of Energy Expenditure On Body Weight Regulation: Orexigenic Versus Energy-Consuming Mechanisms, Paolo Piaggi, Alessio Basolo, Corby K. Martin, Leanne M. Redman, Susanne B. Votruba, Jonathan Krakoff

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Objective: Weight change is a dynamic function of whole-body energy balance resulting from the interplay between energy intake and energy expenditure (EE). Recent reports have provided evidence for the existence of a causal effect of EE on energy intake, suggesting that increased EE may drive overeating, thereby promoting future weight gain. This study investigated the relationships between ad libitum energy intake and 24-hour EE (24-h EE) in sedentary conditions versus long-term, free-living weight change using a mediation analysis framework. Methods: Native American individuals (n = 61, body fat by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry: 39.7% [SD 9.5%]) were admitted to the clinical …

Assessing Influenza Vaccination Coverage And Predictors In Persons Living With Hiv/Aids In Louisiana, June 2002-June 2013, Patrick Maloney, Ariane Rung, Stephanie Broyles, John Couk, Edward Peters, Susanne Straif-Bourgeois

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Background. Despite the burden of disease and increased risk of influenza-associated morbidity and mortality among PLWHA, influenza vaccination has been understudied in this population. Methods. We built an 11-year cohort of HIV-infected adults from medical records of PLWHA seeking care within the Louisiana State University medical system from June 2002-June 2013. Influenza vaccination uptake among PLWHA was calculated overall and for each medical facility for each influenza season. Linear regression was used to assess influenza vaccination uptake over time, both overall and by facility. Data were restricted to the final influenza season (2012-13) to assess predictors of PLWHA vaccination. Individuals …

Correction To: Optimal Location For Renewable Gas Production And Distribution Facilities: Resource Planning And Management (Bioenergy Research, (2022), 15, 1, (650-666), 10.1007/S12155-021-10278-0), Bhaba R. Sarker, Bingqing Wu, Krishna P. Paudel

Faculty Publications

In the "A Numerical Illustration" section, the mathematical expression in matrix format were mistakenly presented. The correct form are as follows.

Viscosity Of Fe-Ni-C Liquids Up To Core Pressures And Implications For Dynamics Of Planetary Cores, Feng Zhu, Xiaojing Lai, Jianwei Wang, Quentin Williams, Jiachao Liu, Yoshio Kono, Bin Chen

Faculty Publications

The viscosity of iron alloy liquids is the key for the core dynamo and core-mantle differentiation of terrestrial bodies. Here we measured the viscosity of Fe-Ni-C liquids up to 7 GPa using the floating sphere viscometry method and up to 330 GPa using first-principles calculations. We found a viscosity increase at ∼3–5 GPa, coincident with a structural transition in the liquids. After the transition, the viscosity reaches ∼14–27 mPa·s, a factor of 2–4 higher than that of Fe and Fe-S liquids. Our computational results from 5 to 330 GPa also indicate a high viscosity of the Fe-Ni-C liquids. For a …

Secar: A Recoil Separator For Nuclear Astrophysics, Pelagia Tsintari, Ruchi Garg, Georg Berg, Jeff Blackmon, Kelly Chipps, Manoel Couder, Catherine Deibel, Nikolaos Dimitrakopoulos, Uwe Greife, Ashley Hood, Rahul Jain, Caleb Marshall, Zach Meisel, Sara Miskovich, Fernando Montes, Georgios Perdikakis, Thomas Ruland, Hendrik Schatz, Kiana Setoodehnia, Michael Smith, Louis Wagner

Faculty Publications

Proton- and alpha-capture reactions on unstable proton-rich nuclei power astrophysical explosions like novae and X-ray bursts. Direct measurements of these reactions are crucial for understanding the mechanisms behind these explosions and the nucleosynthesis at such sites. The recoil mass separator, SECAR (SEparator for CApture Reactions) at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) and the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), has been designed with the required sensitivity to study (p,γ) and (α,γ) reactions, directly at astrophysical energies in inverse kinematics, with radioactive beams of masses up to about A = 65. The complete SECAR system, including two Wien Filters for …