Digital Commons Network^™

Mini Worldlit: A Dataset Of Contemporary Fiction From 13 Countries, Nine Languages, And Five Continents, Andrew Piper, Mathias Iroro Orhero, David Bamman, Emrah Peksoy, Christina Han, Pallavi Rastogi, Jens Bjerring-Hansen, Sebastian Rasmussen, Hoyt Long, Roel Smeets, Itay Marienberg-Milikowsky, Alexandra Stuart, Tom Mcenaney, Mads Rosendahl Thomsen

Faculty Publications

World literature plays a key role in understanding the global diversity of human storytelling. However, datasets suitable for large-scale cross-cultural analysis remain limited. Responding to the increasing digitization of literary texts and the need for more diverse and multilingual resources, we introduce Mini Worldlit, a manually curated dataset of 1,192 works of contemporary fiction from 13 countries, representing nine languages across five continents. Mini Worldlit employs consistent cross-cultural selection criteria, overseen by scholarly experts, to ensure geographic, linguistic, and stylistic coherence. The dataset provides a foundation for future comparative studies of global literary cultures, offering a template for cross-cultural sampling. …

Can Americans’ Trust In Local News Be Trusted? The Emergence, Sources, And Implications Of The Local News Trust Advantage, Erik Peterson, Joshua P. Darr, Maxwell B. Allamong, Michael Henderson

Faculty Publications

Despite eroding consensus about credible political news sources, much of the public still trusts local media. We assess the emergence, sources, and implications of the trust advantage local news holds over national media. We argue the public now uses a news outlet's local orientation as a shortcut to assess its credibility. In survey experiments, we find unfamiliar news outlets are trusted more when they have a local cue in their name. In surveys where people evaluate digital sources covering their community, this heuristic leads the public to trust unreliable information providers that signal a local focus more than high-quality sources …

Primary Processes Of Depolymerization Of Lignin Dispersed Into Gas Phase, Marwan Y. Rezk, Mohamad Barekati-Goudarzi, Divine Nde, Dorin Boldor, Slawomir Lomnicki, Stephania Cormier, Lavrent Khachatryan

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

The primary depolymerization processes of hydrolytic lignin (HL) are examined, focusing on the formation of intermediate oligomers and bulky environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs). Fragmentation of HL was conducted in a continuous atomization (CA) fast flow reactor, where HL, dissolved in a 9:1 acetone-to-water solution, was dispersed. Results indicated that HL fragmentation occurs significantly faster in the gas phase in comparison to the literature rate of formation of major biofuel-phenolic compounds. In other words, the formation of phenolic compounds occurs at much lower rate constants being the limiting stage for lignin depolymerization. The critical role of surface associated reactions for …

Alternative Theories Of Covid-19: Social Dimensions And Information Sources, Wesley Shrum, Paige Miller, Nana Osei Asiamah, Fangyue Zou

Faculty Publications

While scientific understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic increased, conspiracy theories undermined the foundations of public health policy, making it significantly more difficult both to discuss and to implement. Popular alternative narratives include the claim that government was using restrictions to control people's behavior, and that the pandemic was caused by 5G cellular technology. We examine the extent to which alternative beliefs were associated with sociodemographic characteristics and the sources through which people acquired information during the pandemic. Our analysis uses a demographically balanced online survey of 10,022 participants from 50 US states, collected during August of 2021. Results indicate that …

Book Challenges And Censorship Attempts In Louisiana: A Case Study, Jennifer E. Steele

Faculty Publications

Book challenges and censorship have long played a significant role in the cultural and educational landscapes of the United States. In recent years, Louisiana has become a focal point in national conversations about intellectual freedom, public and school library governance, parental rights, and the political pressures surrounding children and young adult literature. This dynamic environment has led to significant debates about what materials should be accessible to young people, how libraries should be managed, and what role the state and local governments should play in determining the availability of information. The rise in book challenges across Louisiana reflects national trends …

Funny Thing About The Civil War, Noah Dubroff

Civil War Book Review

No abstract provided.

Entertaining History: The Civil War In Literature, Film, And Song, Katelyn Spencer

Civil War Book Review

No abstract provided.

Playing Politics With Traffic Fines: Sheriff Elections And Political Cycles In Traffic Fines Revenue, Min Su, Christian Buerger

Faculty Publications

The political budget cycle theory has extensively documented how politicians manipulate policies during election years to gain an electoral advantage. This paper focuses on county sheriffs, crucial but often neglected local officials, and investigates their opportunistic political behavior during elections. Using a panel data set covering 57 California county governments over four election cycles, we find compelling evidence of traffic enforcement policy manipulation by county sheriffs during election years. Specifically, a county's per capita traffic fines revenue is 9% lower in the election than in nonelection years. The magnitude of the political cycle intensifies when an election is competitive. Our …

The Work Of An Hour: A Case Study Of Propaganda, Michael F. Russo

Faculty Publications

This research paper discusses the messaging of United States President George W. Bush and his administration regarding the U.S. led invasion of Iraq. Transcripts of presidential communications, national news programs, and public opinion polls from 2001-03 were analyzed to identify patterns in these communications. This review demonstrated techniques similar to those used in historical propaganda campaigns to sway public opinion. The introduction and repetition of key terminology from the government was followed by magnification by television news programs. These messages were broadcast despite lack of evidence of Iraq’s involvement with the 9/11 attacks or their possession of weapons of mass …

Reservoir Engineering For Co₂ Storage: Fundamental & Practical Aspects, Mehdi Zeidouni

LSU Faculty-Published Books

Bridging the gap between carbon storage theory and petroleum engineering practice.

This comprehensive guide distills nearly two decades of research and teaching into a clear, application-focused resource on geological CO2 storage modeling, carbon capture and storage modeling (CCS modeling), and CO2 reservoir modeling—all tailored specifically for petroleum engineers.

While GCS modeling has historically been driven by physics, mathematics, and hydrogeology, petroleum engineering CO2 modeling often requires a different approach. This book translates complex, multidisciplinary CO2 geological modeling techniques into a unified, petroleum engineer–friendly framework. Whether your focus is CO2 sequestration engineering, enhanced oil recovery CO2 modeling, or transitioning from oil …

Louisiana Agriculture Magazine, Winter 2025, Lsu Agcenter

Louisiana Agriculture

LSU AgCenter nutrition education programs have always aimed to support the health and well-being of Louisianans. Helping residents eat healthier, be more physically active and maintain a healthy weight are important parts of disease prevention. Building healthy, thriving communities across Louisiana can support reduced healthcare costs, improved workforce productivity and an enhanced quality of life for everyone in our state.

Lsu General Catalog 2025-2026, Louisiana State University And Agricultural And Mechanical College

LSU General Catalog

The LSU General Catalog describes all undergraduate and graduate departments and programs with degree requirements and courses offered for each one. The LSU General Catalog includes information on registration and financial aid as well as academic services offered to all students.

Louisiana Survey 2025, Lsu Reilly Center For Media & Public Affairs

Reilly Center Louisiana Surveys

The 2025 Louisiana Survey is the latest in an annual series of statewide surveys from the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs at Louisiana State University’s Manship School of Mass Communication.

Reflecting the continuing evolution of survey research, we use two approaches in this year’s survey:

1. In partnership with the research firm YouGov, we administered an online survey to a nonprobability sample of Louisiana residents who participate in the YouGov panel, selected to represent the state’s adult population geographically and demographically.
2. We use a traditional probability-sampling approach to draw landline and cell phone numbers for a live-interview …

Advances In Tropical Climatology–A Review, Flávia D.S. Moraes, Craig Ramseyer, Paul W. Miller, Jill C. Trepanier

Faculty Publications

Understanding tropical climatology is essential to comprehending the atmospheric connections between the tropics and extratropical latitudes weather and climate events. In this review paper, we emphasize the advances in key areas of tropical climatology knowledge since the end of the 20th century and offer a summary, assessment, and discussion of previously published literature. Among the key areas analyzed here, we explore the advances in tropical oceanic and atmospheric variability, such as El Niño–Southern Oscillation and the Madden-Julian Oscillation, and how those teleconnection events have helped us to better understand variabilities in tropical monsoons, tropical cyclones, and drought events. We also …

An Early Web History Of Vaccine Skeptical Digital Rhetorics, Miles C. Coleman, Will Mari

Faculty Publications

Vaccine hesitancy is a public health threat stoked by vaccine skeptical rhetorics that circulate via the Web. While there is a body of work that studies the digital rhetorical tactics of vaccine skeptics, most of this work focuses on the Web rhetorics of the “Web 2.0” era, leaving the “Web 1.0” era relatively understudied and, in turn, foreclosing opportunities to look back before moving forward in the current moment. In efforts to yield glimpses into the antecedents of digital culture that have shaped contemporary vaccine skeptical discourses, in this article, we draw on systematically sourced website “snapshots” of vaccine skeptical …

De María De Portugal A Isabel Clara Eugenia: Luisa Sigea Y El Diálogo De Dos Doncellas Como Speculum Reginae, Carmela V. Mattza

Faculty Publications

Este ensayo analiza las representaciones de poder y autoridad femeninas en el Renacimiento europeo, centrándose en la figura de Isabel Clara Eugenia. Propone que el Diálogo de dos doncellas (1552), escrito por Luisa Sigea en la corte de María de Portugal, anticipa un modelo de gobierno femenino que resuena en la imagen proyectada por la infanta como soberana. Se argumenta que esta obra puede interpretarse como un speculum reginae o «espejo de la reina», concebido para formar y orientar a las mujeres de la corte de los Austrias. Aunque el texto estaba dirigido originalmente a una infanta portuguesa, ofrece ideales …

Poromechanical Solution For One-Dimensional Large Strain Consolidation Of Modified Cam-Clay Soil, Sheng Li Chen, Hai Sui Yu, Younane N. Abousleiman, Christopher E. Kees

Faculty Publications

A theoretical model describing the one-dimensional large strain consolidation of the modified Cam-Clay soil is presented in this paper. The model is based on the Lagrangian formulation and is capable of featuring the variability of soil compressibility (inherently due to the direct incorporation of the specific Cam-Clay plasticity model) and permeability, as well as the impact of the overconsolidation ratio (OCR). The derivation starts from the establishment of the incremental stress–strain relations for both purely elastic and elastoplastic deformations under one-dimensional compression conditions, and thereafter the coefficients of compressibility/volume change that are essential to the consolidation analysis. The governing partial …

Physics-Informed Heterogeneous Spatiotemporal Graph Neural Network For Reservoir Simulation, Ahmed A.M.A. Abdullah

LSU Master's Theses

Reservoir simulation is the state-of-the-art method for predicting the flow of petroleum reservoir fluids in porous media. It provides an accurate and unbiased prediction of the performance of petroleum reservoirs under different operating conditions. Despite its advantages, reservoir simulation is computationally expensive; with typical full-field simulation models running for several hours. This limitation is worsened when simulating reservoirs with several equations for each cell, such as multiphysics or compositional reservoir simulation. The goal of this research is to provide a fast and accurate spatiotemporal machine-learning model that incorporates discretized governing mass balance equations for training. To achieve this, we propose …

Co2 In Flowing Freshwaters: Macro Scale Database Compilation, Addressing Ph Bias In Co2 Estimates, And Quantifying Cross-Scale Interactions, Timothy R. Toavs

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on carbon dioxide (CO₂) dynamics in flowing freshwaters, contributing to the growing body of knowledge about inland water carbon cycles. The research is structured into three main chapters, each progressing towards the objective of utilizing variability in flowing freshwaters to further understand carbon dynamics, anthropogenic land cover impacts, and potential impacts from a changing climate. Chapter one compiles a 30-year dataset of pCO₂ measurements from flowing freshwater systems across the contiguous United States. This dataset, referred to as CDFLOW, includes over 750,000 pCO₂ estimates from more than 35,000 locations. It serves …

Nipping Crime In The Bud: The Spatial Relationship Between Crime And Meeting People’S Needs, Alicia Cerquone

LSU Master's Theses

The recent high-profile killings of people by the police brought attention to police violence, and prompted activists to call for an end to police violence. Drawing from an understanding of strain theory (Merton, 1938; Farnworth & Leiber, 1989; Agnew, 1992; Agnew, 2001; Agnew, 2008) and Tucker and Cadora’s (2003) ideas of justice reinvestment, this research was designed with the belief that police funding can be better used to help people meet their basic needs of housing, healthcare, and education. This research is concerned with the spatial relationship between crime and the quality of social infrastructure, or the programs in place …

Lignin Cationization For The Removal Of Phosphates And Nitrates From Effluents Of Wastewater Treatment Plants, Fannyuy V. Kewir

LSU Master's Theses

The removal of phosphates and nitrates from wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents is important for preventing pollution of receiving waters. In this study, we chemically modified alkaline lignin (aLN) with quaternary ammonium groups to obtain biodegradable cationic lignin (cLN). We characterized the cLN and tested its efficacy for removing phosphates and nitrates in a lab setting and on field-collected WWTP samples. Adsorption isotherm and kinetic studies were performed in aqueous media, and the effects of several variables (contact time, pH, initial concentration, and adsorbent dose) were investigated. The Langmuir isotherm described phosphate and nitrate adsorption well, with R2 values of …

Screen Media, Obesity, And Nutrition, Amanda E. Staiano, Alyssa M. Button, Gary S. Goldfield, Thomas N. Robinson, Jorge Mota, Susan J. Woolford, Peter T. Katzmarzyk

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

This chapter provides an update on and the synthesis of the most current evidence on screen use, nutritional intake, and obesity in youth. The strongest evidence of a mechanism linking screen media use to obesity is through repeated exposures to unhealthy food marketing and excess eating while viewing screens. Evidence of the neurocognitive effects on dietary consumption via the effects of executive function, satiety, and memory is emerging. Interventions to reduce children's screen time or to incorporate screen media into improving nutrition and obesity outcomes have had mixed results. The evidence base is also limited by imprecise measurements of screen …

Digital Screen Media Use, Movement Behaviors, And Child Health, Mark S. Tremblay, Nicholas Kuzik, Stuart J.H. Biddle, Valerie Carson, Mai J.M. Chinapaw, Dorothea Dumuid, Wendy Yajun Huang, Travis J. Saunders, Amanda E. Staiano, Russell R. Pate

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

This chapter summarizes the associations between children's digital screen media use (DSMU) and their health, within the 24-h movement behavior framework (physical activities, sedentary behaviors, sleep), provides recommendations for healthy DSMU, and highlights future research directions. Key concepts include behavior displacement, combined associations, and DSMU context and content. Displacement examples include more DSMU decreasing time for healthier behaviors (e.g., physical activity or sleep) or replacing reading books and magazines with DSMU alternatives (e.g., texting, social media). How DSMU affects the relationships between various combinations of movement behaviors and children's health is largely unknown. Total DSMU is most frequently studied, but …

Nanofabrication Of Tetraphenyl Porphyrin Surface Assemblies Linked With Tin Tetrachloride: A Scanning Probe Microscopy Investigation, Quynh Do

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) and colloidal lithography methods were used to study the covalent coupling of porphyrins to surfaces. In this dissertation, experimental methods for SPM operation, techniques, and applications are described. Measurement of tip-sample interactions between a sharp tip and surface is translated into digital image data maps with x-, y-, and z-data. Colloidal lithography can be used to fabricate test platforms for AFM studies. The periodicity and arrangement of the designed nanostructures is determined by the size of the colloidal particles used for surface masks. Data processing is required to obtain images and topography information from raw AFM …

Carbon Dioxide Fluxes And The Dominant Role Of Vegetation In Recently Created And Reference Gulf Coast Marshes, A. Muench, T. Elsey-Quirk, J. R. White, R. D. Delaune

Faculty Publications

Coastal wetlands are one of the most productive ecosystems on Earth with the capacity to sequester large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2). Wetland loss due to anthropogenic and natural causes reduces the carbon (C) storage capacity and potentially releases previously fixed C in biomass and soil to the water column and atmosphere through decomposition. Coastal wetland restoration has the potential to mitigate some of the C losses depending on the balance of C fluxes. However, the role of vegetation and environmental conditions in governing rates of C accumulation in restoration sites is not well resolved. The purpose of this study …

Net Evaporation-Induced Mangrove Area Loss Across Low-Lying Caribbean Islands, Isamar M. Cortés, Jorge Lorenzo-Trueba, Andre S. Rovai, Robert R. Twilley, Mark Chopping, Temilola Fatoyinbo

Faculty Publications

Although mangroves provide many beneficial ecosystem services, such as blue carbon storage and coastal protection, they are currently under threat due to changes in climate conditions, such as prolonged drought exposure. Under drought conditions, evaporation exceeds precipitation and high soil salinities can lead to stunted growth and die-back. To quantify this interplay, we developed a database for low-lying and uninhabited mangrove islands in the Caribbean under various evaporation and precipitation regimes. We extracted physical and biological information from each island using remote sensing techniques and coupled it with a process-based model. We used this database to develop a model that …

Precision Prognostics For Cardiovascular Disease In Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Abrar Ahmad, Lee Ling Lim, Mario Luca Morieri, Claudia Ha Ting Tam, Feifei Cheng, Tinashe Chikowore, Monika Dudenhöffer-Pfeifer, Hugo Fitipaldi, Chuiguo Huang, Sarah Kanbour, Sudipa Sarkar, Robert Wilhelm Koivula, Ayesha A. Motala, Sok Cin Tye, Gechang Yu, Yingchai Zhang, Michele Provenzano, Diana Sherifali, Russell J. De Souza, Russell J. De Souza, Deirdre Kay Tobias, Paul W. Franks, Stephen S. Rich, Robert Wagner, Tina Vilsbøll, Kimberly K. Vesco, Miriam S. Udler, Tiinamaija Tuomi, Arianne Sweeting, Emily K. Sims, Jennifer L. Sherr, Robert K. Semple, Rebecca M. Reynolds, Maria J. Redondo

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Background: Precision medicine has the potential to improve cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk prediction in individuals with Type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies to identify potentially novel prognostic factors that may improve CVD risk prediction in T2D. Out of 9380 studies identified, 416 studies met inclusion criteria. Outcomes were reported for 321 biomarker studies, 48 genetic marker studies, and 47 risk score/model studies. Results: Out of all evaluated biomarkers, only 13 showed improvement in prediction performance. Results of pooled meta-analyses, non-pooled analyses, and assessments of improvement in prediction performance and risk of …

Resilient, Environment Tolerant And Biocompatible Electroluminescent Devices With Enhanced Luminance Based On Compliant And Self-Adhesive Electrodes, Ya Lu, Yuanyuan Chen, Haoyu Sun, Fang Deng, Changtong Mei, Xinwu Xu, Qinglin Wu, Huining Xiao, Yiying Yue, Jingquan Han

Faculty Publications

Electroluminescent (EL) devices are of great significance for expanding the application range of optoelectronics. However, the realization of EL devices with environment-tolerance, stretchability, mechanical cycling stability, self-adhesion, biocompatibility, and high dielectric constant still remains a challenge. Herein, a type of EL device with enhanced comprehensive performances composing of a chlorinated barium titanate/phosphor/polydimethylsiloxane (Cl-BT/phosphor/PDMS) luminescent layer sandwiched between two silver nanowire-cellulose nanocrystal with II crystalline allomorph/Triton X-100 modified polydimethylsiloxane (AgNW-CNC II/TX-PDMS) electrodes fabricated through a full solution-processing strategy is proposed. Environmentally-friendly CNC II with high transmittance acts as an antioxidant, dispersant and film-former for AgNWs. The hydrophilic modification of TX to …

Covid, Elite Rhetoric, And Americans’ Attitudes Toward U.S. Trade Practices With China, Dmitriy Nurullayev, Ping Xu, James Garand

Faculty Publications

Objectives: In this article, we consider how the COVID-19 pandemic and evaluations of Donald Trump combined to influence Americans' attitudes toward U.S. trade practices with China. We suggest that psychological factors—such as confirmation bias and transfer of grievances—influence how individuals evaluate the costs and benefits of trade. Specifically, we argue that the severity of the pandemic (reflected by both cumulative deaths and news coverage of the pandemic) and the rhetoric of (then) President Trump came together to influence Americans’ attitudes toward trade with China. Methods: To assess the COVID effect, the Trump effect, and their interaction effect on trade opinion, …

Early Life Energy Balance: The Development Of Infant Energy Expenditure And Intake In The Context Of Obesity, Emily W. Flanagan, Leanne M. Redman

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Purpose of Review: This review aims to provide a summary of the current knowledge on measurement tools and most recent evidence for prenatal and postnatal modulators of energy balance in young infants. Recent Findings: The prevention of pediatric obesity depends upon curating the perfect imbalance of energy intake to energy expenditure, taking into consideration the energy needs for healthy growth. We summarize the recent evidence for the programming of fetal and infant metabolism influenced by maternal preconception health, prenatal metabolic milieu, and physical activity behaviors. In the early postnatal environment, caregiver feeding behaviors shape the extent of energy imbalance through …