Digital Commons Network^™

The Roles Of Vicarious Trauma Exposure And Perceived Social Support In Codeine Syrup Misuse Among Black Men Living In Prisons, Jardin Dogan-Dixon, Shawndaya S. Thrasher, Shemeka Thorpe, Paris Wheeler, Danelle Stevens-Watkins

Faculty Publications

Using General Strain Theory, this study investigates the effects of vicarious trauma exposure and perceived social support on nonmedical codeine syrup misuse among Black incarcerated men nearing community re-entry. Data were drawn from the Helping Incarcerated Men project, a study examining mental health, substance misuse, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk behaviors among Black men living in prisons who were within 180 days of release. A total of 200 Black men self-reported demographics (i.e., age and length of incarceration after age 18), vicarious trauma exposure (e.g., ever witnessing an assault with a weapon and a sudden accidental death), perceived social …

Cultural Predictors Of Self-Esteem Among Black Women With Criminal Justice Involvement And Herpes Simplex Virus, Natalie Malone, Jardin N. Dogan-Dixon, Shemeka Thorpe, Shawndaya S. Thrasher, Paris Wheeler, Danelle Stevens-Watkins, Carrie B. Oser

Faculty Publications

Black women have disproportionately alarming HSV-2 infection rates yet receive little attention in sexual health literature. Using a strengths-based resilience framework, this study sought to determine culturally relevant protective predictors of self-esteem for Black women who are justice-involved and have HSV-2. The authors conducted secondary data analysis on data from the “Black Women in the Study of Epidemics (B-WISE) Project,” a longitudinal prospective study investigating health disparities and health services utilization among Black women with justice involvement. At baseline, N = 151 Black women with HSV-2 who were incarcerated or on probation completed survey measures assessing self-esteem, ethnic identity affirmation …

Comprehensive Structural Study Of Lanthanide(Iii) Chloride Hydrates: [Recl3·Xh2o (Re = La–Nd, Sm–Lu; X = 6, 7)], Thimira Kandabadage, Beau Legnon, Sviatoslav Baranets

Faculty Publications

A comprehensive crystallographic study is presented of the complete series of rare-earth(III) chloride hydrates. Early lanthanides form dimeric [(H2O)7RE(μCl)2RE(H2O)7]⁴⁺ binuclear complexes in which each RE atom (RE = La³⁺, Ce³⁺) is coordinated by seven H2O molecules and two bridging inner-sphere chloride ions. Di-μ-chlorido-bis[heptaaqualanthanide(III)] tetrachloride, [(H2O)7RE(μ-Cl)2RE(H2O)7]Cl4, crystallizes in the triclinic space group P1. Heavier lanthanides exhibit monomeric [RECl2(H2O)6]⁺ units where each RE atom (RE = Pr³⁺, Nd³⁺, Sm³⁺–Lu³⁺) is coordinated by six H2O molecules and two inner-sphere chloride ions. Hexaaquadichloridolanthanide(III) chlorides, [RECl2(H2O)6]Cl, adopt the monoclinic space group …

Venomcap: An Exon-Capture Probe Set For The Targeted Sequencing Of Snake Venom Genes, Scott L. Travers, Carl R. Hutter, Christopher C. Austin, Stephen C. Donnellan, Matthew D. Buehler, Christopher E. Ellison, Sara Ruane

Faculty Publications

Snake venoms are complex mixtures of toxic proteins that hold significant medical, pharmacological and evolutionary interest. To better understand the genetic diversity underlying snake venoms, we developed VenomCap, a novel exon-capture probe set targeting toxin-coding genes from a wide range of elapid snakes, with a particular focus on the ecologically diverse and medically important subfamily Hydrophiinae. We tested the capture success of VenomCap across 24 species, representing all major elapid lineages. We included snake phylogenomic probes in the VenomCap capture set, allowing us to compare capture performance between venom and phylogenomic loci and to infer elapid phylogenetic relationships. We demonstrated …

The Sec Spanish Consortium: Foundations For Linguistic Gratuity And Language Documentation Among Latinx Populations In New Destination Communities Of The U.S. South, Stephen Fafulas, Chad Howe, Rafael Orozco, Alicia Cipria, Erin O’Rourke, Nina Moreno, Matthew J. Van Hoose

Faculty Publications

Latinx populations in the USA have grown steadily in recent decades, with significant increases taking place in “new destination communities” of the U.S. South. The focus of our paper is to highlight opportunities for working with these populations, including traditional sociolinguistic ethnographies and community-engaged research. We highlight an initiative named “The SEC Spanish Consortium” which is an interinstitutional collaboration centered on scholarship and service involving Latinx populations in new destination communities of the U.S. South. We show that ongoing and future scholarly work in the U.S. South can act as a mechanism for documenting these emerging Latinx communities while simultaneously …

Prediction Of Individual Weight Loss Using Supervised Learning: Findings From The CalerieTm 2 Study, Christina Glasbrenner, Christoph Höchsmann, Carl F. Pieper, Paulina Wasserfurth, James L. Dorling, Corby K. Martin, Leanne M. Redman, Karsten Koehler

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Background: Predicting individual weight loss (WL) responses to lifestyle interventions is challenging but might help practitioners and clinicians select the most promising approach for each individual. Objective: The primary aim of this study was to develop machine learning (ML) models to predict individual WL responses using only variables known before starting the intervention. In addition, we used ML to identify pre-intervention variables influencing the individual WL response. Methods: We used 12-mo data from the comprehensive assessment of long-term effects of reducing intake of energy (CALERIETM) phase 2 study, which aimed to analyze the long-term effects of caloric restriction on human …

Research Gaps And Priorities For Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (Qmra), Kerry A. Hamilton, Joanna Ciol Harrison, Jade Mitchell, Mark Weir, Marc Verhougstraete, Charles N. Haas, A. Pouyan Nejadhashemi, Julie Libarkin, Tiong Gim Aw, Kyle Bibby, Aaron Bivins, Joe Brown, Kara Dean, Gwyneth Dunbar, Joseph N.S. Eisenberg, Monica Emelko, Daniel Gerrity, Patrick L. Gurian, Emma Hartnett, Michael Jahne, Rachael M. Jones, Timothy R. Julian, Hongwan Li, Yanbin Li, Jacqueline Mac Donald Gibson, Gertjan Medema, J. Scott Meschke, Alexis Mraz, Heather Murphy, David Oryang, Emmanuel De Graft Johnson Owusu-Ansah, Emily Pasek, Abani K. Pradhan

Faculty Publications

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic highlighted the need for more rapid and routine application of modeling approaches such as quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) for protecting public health. QMRA is a transdisciplinary science dedicated to understanding, predicting, and mitigating infectious disease risks. To better equip QMRA researchers to inform policy and public health management, an Advances in Research for QMRA workshop was held to synthesize a path forward for QMRA research. We summarize insights from 41 QMRA researchers and experts to clarify the role of QMRA in risk analysis by (1) identifying key research needs, (2) highlighting emerging applications of …

Do #Blm At The Plantation: A Study Of Plantation Tourism After The Racial Reckoning Of 2020, Denetria N. Lee

LSU Master's Theses

Following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, the widespread public protest of racial injustice created a groundswell that prompted corporate and media responses, so much so that by the end of the summer of 2020, it seemed as if "Black Lives Mattered" everywhere and to everyone. Public response incentivized subsequent corporate response in financial pledges and other commitments to racial justice initiatives until 2020, which became known as the year that America confronted racism or the racial reckoning of 2020. While the public demanded acknowledgment of the many forms of contemporary racial …

Redefining The Art Songs Of Maude Valérie White, Sarah C. Rees

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Maude Valérie White (1866-1937) was an English composer during the Victorian Era. Her main output was in the genre of art song, of which she wrote more than two hundred during her life. Her music was very popular at the height of her career around 1880-1890, but fell out of favor with the general public in line with the general reaction against Victorian art and ideals. This written document focuses on the life of Maude Valérie White contextualized within the ideals of Victorian womanhood. It will explore the development of her musical style through eight song analyses: The Devout Lover, …

Learning Problems Related To Stochastic Differential Equations, Jinpu Zhou

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Stochastic differential equations (SDEs) are essential for modeling systems influenced by both deterministic dynamics and random fluctuations, with applications in a wide variety of disciplines. This thesis develops a Bayesian framework for nonparametric learning in SDEs, addressing key challenges in inference, particularly when dealing with complex systems and incomplete data. The thesis begins by establishing a theoretical foundation in optimization over Hilbert spaces, including a generalized representer theorem to address infinite-dimensional optimization problems encountered in nonparametric inference. Building on this, we introduce a Bayesian framework with shrinkage priors to learn drift functions from high-frequency data. Bayesian approach incorporates low-cost sparse …

Digital Agriculture Approaches: Uav-Based N Monitoring And Machine Learning For Maize Yield Prediction, And N Response Assessment Across Rice Varieties, Rejina Adhikari

LSU Master's Theses

Sustainable agriculture is essential for addressing global challenges such as food security, environmental degradation, and climate change while ensuring high productivity and resource conservation. Precision agriculture technologies, like UAV-based remote sensing and advanced sensors, offer tools to monitor real-time crop health, soil conditions, and nutrient levels, aiding in informed decision-making and resource optimization. In this research, field trials were conducted in maize and rice to assess the effectiveness of NDRE (Normalized Difference Red Edge) obtained from UAV-based remote sensing for nitrogen management. For maize, the study demonstrated that NDRE accurately assessed nitrogen levels during critical growth stages, with yields ranging …

The Structure, Oxidation States, And Energetics Of Co Nanoparticles On Ceo2(111): An Stm And Dft Study, Md Saeedur Rahman, Nishan Paudyal, Linze Du Hill, Jing Zhou, Ye Xu

Faculty Publications

Co nanoparticles (NPs) dispersed on ceria have been widely studied as active catalytic materials for many industrially relevant reactions. The detailed nature of such particles and the factors affecting their interaction with ceria remain to be better understood. In this study, a very low coverage (∼0.02 ML) of Co is deposited on a model CeO2(111) thin-film surface and is examined using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The Co NPs that nucleate on terrace sites grow with coverage in this range to a maximum size of ca. 40 Co atoms, with an average diameter and height of …

Improving Rice Yield Using Sensor Based Nitrogen Application And Best Management Practices (Bmps) In Rice-Soybean And Rice-Crawfish Rotational Systems, Charles Darnall

LSU Master's Theses

Sustainable rice farming requires effective nutrient management and conservation practices to maintain high yields and minimize environmental impact. Implementing best management practices (BMPs) promotes lower fertilizer application rates, increased N use efficiency, improves soil health, and water quality. Demonstration fields established in two different rotational cropping systems (rice-soybean and rice-crawfish) in Kaplan, LA in 2023. In each rotation system, the benefits of BMPs (sensor based mid-season N management and cover cropping) compared to farmer’s practice (FP) were evaluated using yield, yield components, soil and water quality as metrics. The rice-soybean fields in 2023 and 2024 were both planted with PVL03 …

Cp Decomposition Initialization Schemes For Speeding-Up Of Convolutional Neural Networks, Mollee M. Swift

LSU Master's Theses

While machine learning and convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are making strides, a persistent effort remains to optimize classification techniques and target redundancies from a large number of parameters naturally present in CNNs. While CNNs have become more accessible across machine learning, the aim is to make their use optimal for central processing unit (CPU) schemes with varying degrees of computational power. Tensor decomposition methods, specifically canonical polyadic (CP) decomposition, look to reduce parameters by compressing specific layers in a CNN. However, they have certain inconsistencies, and their full potential remains untouched as decomposition research is endless, with many facets one …

Exploring The Efficacy Of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagal Nerve Stimulation On Post-Stroke Aphasia: A Single-Subject Design Study, Aswathy Anakkathil Pradeep

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Background: Anomia or word-retrieval difficulty is a common long-term language impairment for individuals with post-stroke aphasia. Several behavioral interventions like semantic feature analysis (SFA) have shown positive results in naming outcomes, but continue to face difficulty in generalizing the treatment effects to untreated items. With recent advancements in technology, researchers are developing newer neuromodulation devices that aim at promoting neuroplasticity and neural reorganization in post-stroke individuals. Transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a relatively new technology that aims at stimulating the auricular branch of the vagal nerve to promote neuroplasticity. Studies have shown taVNS to potentially facilitate positive improvements …

Evaluating Viability, Developmental Competence, And Chromatin Configurations Of Cryopreserved Equine Oocytes, Tricia Adams

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Assisted reproduction technology and the use of specialized laboratories have increased in the horse breeding industry over the last decade. This expansion has highlighted the inability to routinely cryopreserve oocytes and preserve female genetics. Oocyte vitrification, a cryopreservation process, continues to be characterized as an experimental procedure in horses. The goal of this dissertation was to evaluate the viability, developmental competence, and nuclear structures of cryopreserved equine oocytes to illuminate potential areas of improvement in the vitrification process. Oocytes were collected from abattoir derived ovaries and exposed to either varying lengths of in vitro maturation (IVM) or pretreated with a …

Evaluating Laser Tracking For The Improvement Of Quality Control Methods Of Precast Concrete, Blake A. Barbay

LSU Master's Theses

Current quality control (QC) methods of precast concrete are outdated and present challenges of human error and lengthy inspections. Current research into modernizing QC practices revolves around the implementation of laser scanners, with less focus on the possibility of using laser trackers. The aim of this study is to evaluate the implementation of laser trackers into the QC process of precast concrete by comparing time, accuracy, and cost to the traditional method of using a tape measure. The time studies and accuracy tests were performed in the pre- and post-pour of the precast concrete process at a precast concrete plant …

The Role Of Siamese In G2 Checkpoint Regulation In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Martha A. Schwall

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Cyclin-cyclin dependent kinase (Cyclin-CDK) pairs regulate progression through the checkpoints of the cell cycle. They bind with some specificity and must be bound to for their regulative properties to be active. The presence of cyclin-CDKs is conserved throughout eukaryotes, while differences in specifics exist between yeast, animals, and plants. In Arabidopsis, SIAMESE (SIM) is a CDK inhibitor that restricts progression through mitosis. Overexpression of SIM is required for endoreplication in Arabidopsis trichomes, and overexpression of SIM results in increased endoreplication in leaf epidermal cells. SIM is expressed at high levels in the root elongation zone, where it plays a …

The Identity Of A Gymnast: How Health, Wellbeing, And Injury Become Embodied In The Identity Of Collegiate Gymnasts, Skyler M. Yakes

LSU Master's Theses

Gymnastics scholarship has traditionally focused on the physicality of the sport and what the body can and cannot do. This research expands upon gymnastics scholarship by exploring the individual experiences and histories of college gymnasts in the United States through a series of interviews. The goals of this research are to better understand the gymnastics experience and to explore health and wellbeing in gymnastics as it pertains to the formation of a gymnast’s identity. A combined approach using medical anthropology and anthropology of sport serves as a guiding framework for analyzing interview data. Definitions of health and wellbeing change between …

Stress On The Brain: An Investigation Into The Impact Of Stress On Learning, Memory, And Metamemory Processes, Felicia M. Chaisson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

While acute anxiety or stress has been shown to enhance certain cognitive functions, such as memory for emotionally salient stimuli, its effects on memory for emotionally neutral information remain ambiguous. Successful memory encoding and retrieval often involve control processes—both self-initiated and directed—that dictate organization during learning. Previous research indicates that these processes facilitate the contextual binding and organization of information. However, multi-domain evidence suggests that stress during encoding may be disrupted due to changes in neural mechanisms at play. This dissertation explores how stress impairs cognitive control, identifies potential underlying neural correlates, and examines broader metacognitive influences. Chapter 1 begins …

Advancing Heteroanionicity In Zintl Phases: Crystal Structures, Thermoelectric And Magnetic Properties Of Two Quaternary Semiconducting Arsenide Oxides, Eu8zn2as6o And Eu14zn5as12o, Mohd Ishtiyak, Spencer R. Watts, Bhushan Thipe, Frank Womack, Philip Adams, Xiaojian Bai, David P. Young, Svilen Bobev, Sviatoslav Baranets

Faculty Publications

Two novel quaternary oxyarsenides, Eu8Zn2As6O and Eu14Zn5As12O, were synthesized through metal flux reactions, and their crystal structures were established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods. Eu8Zn2As6O crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pbca, featuring polyanionic ribbons composed of corner-shared triangular [ZnAs3] units, running along the [100] direction. The structure of Eu14Zn5As12O crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2/m and its anionic substructure can be described as an infinite “ribbonlike” chain comprised of [ZnAs3] trigonal-planar units, although the structural complexity here is greater and also amplified by disorder on multiple crystallographic positions. In both structures, the O^2- anion occupies an octahedral …

Modern Lakeshore Processes And Historic Lake And Glacial Changes In Taylor Valley, Antarctica, Michael Stanley Stone

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Taylor Valley, which opens to the Ross Sea, is one of several ice-free valleys comprising the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. The valley is home to several close-basin, perennially ice-covered lakes, whose lake levels largely reflect a balance between meltwater inputs and lake ice ablation; both being driven by climate. A dynamic environment exists where the lake ice covers meet the lakeshore, with the ice grounding to the substrate throughout the cold and dark of winter, and melting to form a perimeter of thin-to-no ice around the lake during the summer. These marginal freeze-thaw regions are known as moats. Here, physical, …

Multiscale & Multiphysics Model Of Damage In Lithium-Ion Batteries, Edris Akbari

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The demand for safer and more reliable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in electric vehicles has increased significantly, especially in addressing mechanical failures like internal short circuits (ISCs), which can lead to thermal runaway. This research investigates the mechanical behavior and damage mechanisms in lithium-ion pouch cells through a multiscale and multiphysics approach, focusing on Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (NMC) and Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries.

The study involved quasi-static and dynamic mechanical tests, including indentation and high-speed penetration, to evaluate stress-strain responses and fracture behaviors. Anisotropic mechanical properties were measured for individual battery components (anode, cathode, separator, and shell) using …

Martial Spirits And Marital Rites: Assessing Rousseau's Critique Of Commerce's Devaluation Of The Military And The Family, Jacob A. Harvey

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation will investigate Rousseau’s critique of how commercial society devalues soldiers and families and the responses provided by defenders of commerce. I will examine Rousseau’s corpus to demonstrate how Rousseau viewed commerce as a threat to both the responsibilities that men in a political community must be willing to fight and die for their country, as commercial societies intensify the hedonistic risk-averse calculations within members of the community. I will also show how Rousseau’s concerns towards commerce extended to the family, inhibiting the joys that can come with being part of a family and inhibiting citizens' willingness to have …

Analyzing The Catfish And Trout Competitiveness Trends And Potential Trade Within The Us And Global Aquaculture Industry: A Gravity Model Approach, Diana Marisol Amaya Discua

LSU Master's Theses

The United States is one of the major seafood product importers in the world. Despite the increases in global seafood and aquaculture consumption over the past decades, there is limited information on the trade dynamics of this sector. To address this gap, this study uses an augmented gravity model to evaluate the factors that have influenced catfish and trout imports into the United States. The analysis was conducted using the Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PPML) estimator to address issues of heteroskedasticity, autocorrelation, and zero trade flows. The results highlight the importance of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and exchange rates in …

A Look Inside: A Multiple-Case Study Of Schools That Specialize In Dyslexia, Mitzi Berryhill

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Dyslexia is a reading disability that heavily affects a student’s phonological processing and ability to decode. Because of the high prevalence of dyslexia, it is important that educators understand dyslexia. By looking inside three specialized schools, this research study sought to understand how students with dyslexia can be supported in an educational setting.

This qualitative, multiple-case research analyzed three specialized schools through questionnaires, interviews, observations, and curriculum and instructional materials. Understanding how a community of practice at each school was envisioned offered much insight into the unique supports in each school as well as similar themes that were found across …

Advancing Data-Driven Disaster Debris Characterization And Quantification, Jasmine Bekkaye

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Natural hazards generate tremendous amounts of debris that negatively impact communities and overwhelm waste management infrastructure. The challenge in disaster debris planning and management stems from inconsistent and scarce post-disaster debris quantity data due to the chaotic nature of recovery operations. This leads to a limited understanding of key factors influencing disaster debris generation across hazards and regions, hindering the accuracy and efficiency of modeling. With the increasing availability of comprehensive post-disaster waste datasets, the capacity to understand debris generation is expanding. This dissertation aims to fill knowledge gaps on disaster debris generation as follows: (1) investigate existing technologies for …

Examination Of Musical Sophistication And Working Memory Correlates In High School Students, Abby South

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between musical engagement and cognitive ability in high school students. While musicians’ brains have long been of interest to those who study experience-dependent neuroplasticity, a lack of adolescent data grossly limits our understanding of the relationship between music training and observed neuroplastic changes in the brain. Advances in psychometric testing and brain imaging reveal relationships among musical expertise, changes in brain function, structure, and connectivity, and enhanced cognitive ability, but categorical groupings of dichotomously defined musicians and non-musicians prevent nuanced understanding of these complex relationships. In this study, 83 …

Effect Of Electronegativity On Environmentally Persistent Free Radical (Epfr) Formation, Persistence, And Toxicity On Transition Metal Oxides, Syed Monjur Ahmed

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) are a group of emerging environmental pollutants. Owing to their resonance structures, EPFRs have significantly higher lifetimes than typical free radicals, and can induce the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) known to cause pulmonary and cardiovascular dysfunction. EPFRs form by the adsorption of organic precursors on a transition metal oxide (TMO) surface and exhibit enough stability to cause negative health and environmental effects. While aromatic and substituted aromatic precursors form EPFRs on TMO surface at elevated temperatures and numerous substituted organics are ubiquitous in various industrial processes and household products, studies have largely overlooked …

Rootzone Soil Moisture Dynamics Using Terrestrial Water-Energy Coupling, Vinit Sehgal, Binayak P. Mohanty, Rolf H. Reichle

Faculty Publications

A lack of high-density rootzone soil moisture (θRZ) observations limits the estimation of continental-scale, space-time contiguous θRZ dynamics. We derive a proxy of daily θRZ dynamics — active rootzone degree of saturation (SRZ) — by recursive low-pass (LP) filtering of surface soil moisture (θS) within a terrestrial water-energy coupling (WEC) framework. We estimate the LP filter parameters and WEC thresholds for the piecewise-linear coupling between SRZ and evaporative fraction (EF) at remote sensing and field scale over the Contiguous U.S. We use θS from the Soil Moisture Active-Passive (SMAP) satellite and 218 in-situ stations, with EF from the Moderate Resolution …