Digital Commons Network^™

Ale Beer Containing Free And Immobilized Lactobacillus Brevis, A Potential Delivery System For Probiotics, Kriza Faye Albacite Calumba

LSU Master's Theses

Probiotic products can improve gastrointestinal health and probiotics in ale beer may be attractive to health-conscious consumers. However, the alcohol in beer may decrease probiotic viability. A powder produced from durian fruit (Durio zibethinus) rind, a by-product that is currently unutilized, contains large amounts of fiber which can be used to immobilize probiotics. The objective of this study was to produce ale beer with free Lactobacillus brevis (FLB) and immobilized cells (ILB) on durian rind powder (DRP) as a potential delivery system for probiotics. L. brevis was immobilized in DRP then the morphology of FLB and ILB was …

Modeling Of Fluid Injection For Hydraulic Fracturing Initiation In Porous Rock Formations, Krishna Adhikari

LSU Master's Theses

Hydraulic fracturing has been widely opted in recent times to simulate the unconventional reservoirs and thus, has become key a subject of interest in petroleum engineering. The stress concentration around the borehole affects the breakdown pressure and fracture reopening pressure during the hydraulic fracturing treatments. Thus, the state of stress around borehole wall and its surrounding rocks due to instantaneous drilling and a fluid injection at borehole surface needs to be determined accurately to initiate the hydraulic fractures. This research intends to derive the analytical stress solution of inclined borehole subjected to time-dependent fluid injection and in-situ stress, verify the …

Natural Gas Conversion Into Value Added Chemicals Using Solid Acid Catalysts, Swarom Ravindra Kanitkar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Direct, non-oxidative conversion of natural gas to value-added chemicals has been identified as one of the grand challenges of the 21^st century. Circumventing indirect and costly reforming steps is highly sought after and solid acids can play an important role in that.

The direct conversion of methane to higher hydrocarbons and hydrogen can be catalyzed using “superacids” at < 450 °C. Reported superacid catalysts in solid, liquid, and gas phase included sulfated zirconia (SZ), HF-SbF₅, FSO₃H-SbF₅, and HBr-AlBr₃. Liquid and gas phase superacids presented difficulties in separation while the solid ones provided low yields. Here, we report a new class of Br-based solid superacids, AlBr_x/H-ZSM-5 (“ABZ-5”, …

Efficacy Of Aqueous And Gaseous Chlorine Dioxide In Reducing Salmonella, E. Coli O157:H7, And Listeria Monocytogenes On Sweet Potatoes, Strawberries, And Blueberries, Phillip Luu

LSU Master's Theses

Chlorine dioxide, a stronger oxidizing agent, is effective against a broad spectrum of microorganisms. This study evaluated the efficacy of chlorine dioxide on reducing Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes on sweet potato (aqueous ClO₂), strawberries and blueberries (gaseous ClO₂). Sweet potatoes inoculated with multi-strain cocktails of each bacterial pathogen (10⁷ CFU/cm²) were treated with 5 ppm aqueous ClO₂ or water for 10, 20, and 30 minutes. Strawberries and blueberries spot inoculated with multi-strain cocktails of each bacterial pathogen (10⁷ CFU/g) were treated with gaseous ClO₂ sachets (63 mg/l for strawberry and 30 mg/l for blueberry) …

Understanding The Potential Of Immersible Virtual Environment (Ives) For Biophilic Design, Asal Emamjomeh

LSU Master's Theses

Biophilic design, which translates literally to love of life [1], is a new and popular trend in sustainable building design. Architects are applying this style in different building types, from offices to schools to hospitals. Research that assesses mental health and cognitive benefits of biophilic design in interior environment and immersive reality is ongoing. This study intends to determine the capability of immersive virtual environment (IVE) to support building design by comparing the psychological and cognitive responses to natural elements in an interior environment (In-Situ) and IVE. Thirty-five LSU students from undergraduate and graduate levels participated in this …

Source Effects Of Health Information And Digital Health Literacy Among College Students: An Elaboration Likelihood Model Perspective, Julia Morton

LSU Master's Theses

While advertising and persuasion is a widely researched area in mass communication, the impact of health marketing on consumer behavior remains a relatively new arena. The complex health information landscape online is comprised of both public health organizations seeking to improve health behaviors as well as businesses seeking to sell their products or services. It is well documented in the communication literature that the source of information can impact the recipient in a multitude of ways. Digital health literacy is undoubtedly an essential skill for anyone interacting with health information online, spurring the question, do individuals with low and high …

Money In And Money Out: The Effects Of Race And Gender On Campaign Finance, Bertha Gabriela Vitela

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The role of campaign finance in the success of a candidate is undeniable. Research currently examines the role of race and gender as separate actors in determining how well candidates are able to fund their campaigns. This project uses an intersectional framework arguing that race and gender together combine to influence the kinds of money candidates receive as well as where and how they spend it. Using data from 2006 and 2008 Congressional election cycles, this analysis takes a first step in determining well how Black women and Latinas are able to fund campaigns for the House of Representatives. The …

A Comprehensive Assessment Of Rape Myths, Hookup Culture, And Social Structure Among Heterosexual Individuals, Timothy Thomas Reling

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation study is an examination of the relationship among rape culture, hookup culture, and social structure (i.e. regular and patterned forms of interaction over time which crystalize ideological constructs and channel behavior in specific ways). Since few efforts have examined female-on-female rape myth acceptance, I first explore collegiate perceptions of female-on-female rape to denote the influence of heteronormative discourse in guiding myths regarding survivor culpability, offender culpability, and situational contexts. Second, I develop, pilot, and validate a psychometric instrument to exclusively assess female-on-female rape myth acceptance. Finally, I comparatively assess the mediating influence of heteronormativity on the association between …

"Sir, I Cannot Entertain You": Tour Guides As Agents Of Truth And Transformation At The Whitney Plantation, Sarah Latham

LSU Master's Theses

According to the Louisiana office of tourism, one out of every nine workers in Louisiana relies on the state’s tourism industry for their wages, of which plantation tourism is a growing part (2016). This research examines the experiences of tour guides at the Whitney Plantation. How do tourists’ expectations and concepts of heritage affect the way tour guides do their jobs? What are tour guides’ experiences of being objectified by visitors? How are tour guides’ experiences shaped by race and racialized expectation? Specifically, I examined tour guides at The Whitney Plantation Museum in Wallace, Louisiana. This project drew on participant-observation …

Multi-Purposeful Water Design For Monte Sano Park In Baton Rouge, Yuta Masakane

LSU Master's Theses

Today, water-related disasters, including hurricanes, flood, and stormwater surge, are occurring more frequently than in the past due to extreme weather brought by climate change all over the world. In August 2016, Baton Rouge had a historic heavy rain which brought flood and negative economic impacts specifically on the north Baton Rouge area. To mitigate the negative impact of future flooding, in Monte Sano Park and its neighborhoods in north Baton Rouge, it would be helpful to implement green infrastructure which utilizes natural infiltration process of soils and plants to slow, store, and treat the stormwater as well as enhances …

Parents’ Perspectives Of Cultural Competence In Schools: The Initial Development Of The Culturally Competent School Community Scale, Aijah Kai Baruti Goodwin

LSU Master's Theses

Diversity in school settings is continuously changing with an increase of minority students in the United States school systems. The present study uses a phenomenological approach to gain parents’ experiences related to culturally responsive and competent practices in their child(ren)’s schools. Interviews were conducted with 10 culturally diverse parents with children in preschool and/or elementary school. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded for common themes and analyzed for the frequency and prevalence of the themes in preschool vs. elementary school settings. An analysis of the interviews revealed 6 themes related to culturally competent and responsive practices in school settings. The …

Twitter Use In Hurricane Isaac And Its Implications To Disaster Resilience, Kejin Wang

LSU Master's Theses

Disaster Resilience is the capacity of a community to ‘bounce back’ from disastrous events. Most studies rely on traditional data such as census data to study community resilience. With the advent of social media era, the new data source gives us an opportunity to explore the application of Twitter data to better understand disaster resilience. A research question is: does Twitter use correlate with disaster resilience? In other words, will communities with more Twitter users be more resilient to disasters, presumably because they are more likely to be better informed? The underlying issue is that if there are social and …

The New British Christianity Of C.S. Lewis, Thomas Kemp

LSU Master's Theses

The emergence of C.S. Lewis as a popular author known for Christian content during the second half of the twentieth century provides an ideal case study for the transformation of religiosity within Britain. As religious behavior shifted from institutional adherence to private experience, Lewis became a ‘popular theologian’ who represented Christianity both for Christians – who looked to him for spiritual inspiration– and for non-Christians – who treated his views as representative of contemporary Christianity. By analyzing the reception, representation, and use of Lewis (his figure and his work) throughout the twentieth-century and into the twenty-first, it becomes clear that …

Monumental Discourse: Elite And Grassroots Disputes Over White Supremacist Monuments In New Orleans, Jude Bumgardner

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis explores elite and grassroots discourse concerning disputes over monument removal in New Orleans, Louisiana. By means of participant observation, narrative ethnography, and critical discourse analysis, I ground this study of political and academic arguments about Confederate monuments in the context of grassroots concerns regarding white supremacist symbols to inquire about how these divergent discourses relate to inequality in New Orleans. Ultimately, I argue that what is most at stake in each case studied here is speakers’ control over the “public mind” via their control over dominant narratives (van Dijk 1993a, 44-45). In order to preserve their power, each …

Modeling Crowd Feedback In The Mobile App Market, Grant S. Williams

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Mobile application (app) stores, such as Google Play and the Apple App Store, have recently emerged as a new model of online distribution platform. These stores have expanded in size in the past five years to host millions of apps, offering end-users of mobile software virtually unlimited options to choose from. In such a competitive market, no app is too big to fail. In fact, recent evidence has shown that most apps lose their users within the first 90 days after initial release. Therefore, app developers have to remain up-to-date with their end-users’ needs in order to survive. Staying close …

Disentangling The Role Of Future Orientation And Callous-Unemotional Traits In The Prediction Of Offending In Justice-Involved Youth, Toni Walker

LSU Master's Theses

Future Orientation and callous-unemotional (CU) traits are well established predictors of future offending. A more positive outlook on one’s future goals seems to protect youth from engaging in antisocial behavior, whereas elevated CU traits predict more severe and persistent forms of delinquency. The relationship between CU traits and other aspects of psychopathy, such as grandiose self-worth, is not consistent with a pessimistic outlook towards the future. This study explored the associations among these variables in a sample of male first-time juvenile offenders (N = 1,216). Results indicated that future orientation predicted delinquency over a 5-year follow-up period, and this …

Developing The 21st Century Musician: A Case Study Of Applied Tuba And Euphonium Studio Models At American Universities, Chasse Benjamin Duplantis

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Musicians navigate an ever-changing career landscape that requires a strong set of ancillary skills in addition to their assumed musical mastery. A successful 21^stcentury career, musical or beyond, demands versatility and command of skills that may include communication, innovation, adaptability, and higher order thinking skills. This document explores the applied professor’s role in introducing the aforementioned elements as well as musical versatility, critical thinking, and skills in collaboration, pedagogy, research, entrepreneurship, and business. Finally, it will examine how or even if the combination of these skills affects student success. The reader will find interviews with successful tuba and …

Health Information Seeking As A Coping Strategy To Reduce The Stress Of Informal Caregivers Of Individuals With Alzheimer’S Disease And Other Forms Of Dementia, Nia Francis Mason

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study explored the relationship between information seeking and the perceived stress levels of informal Alzheimer’s and dementia caregivers. An additional component was added to determine whether health literacy and emotional state moderated the relationship.

The study involved conducting qualitative interviews followed by collecting survey data to answer the following research questions: 1) What motivating factors lead informal AD caregivers to seek out information? How do their information needs change? Why do informal caregivers choose to utilize certain resources more than others? Is there a correlation between information seeking and resulting stress levels? Does health literacy moderate the association between …

Blueberry Pectin-Anthocyanin Binding Kinetics And Stability Under In Vitro Digestion, Jee Won Koh

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Blueberry pectins were sequentially extracted from highbush blueberry powder and precipitated in alcohol to obtain water soluble fraction (WSF) and chelator soluble fraction (CSF). WSF was high methoxyl pectin (degree of esterification: 53), rich in in neutral sugars (40 mol%), and had less negative charge (-21 mV) whereas CSF was low methoxyl pectin (degree of esterification: 21), rich in uronic acids (92 mol%), and had lower negative charge ( -26 mV).

The stability of blueberry pectin-anthocyanin complex was investigated under simulated in vitro digestion. Binding of blueberry pectins with three anthocyanin standards (malvidin-3-glucoside; M3G, cyanidin-3-glucoside; C3G, and delphinidin-3-glucoside; D3G) and …

The Rhetoric Of Sickle Cell Anemia, Raquel Mcfarland Robvais

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

My dissertation examines the rhetorical treatment of sickle cell anemia as synecdoche, representing a preoccupation with racialized discourses of disease and the affective registers manifested in public life. From its inception SCA has taken on cultural meanings to satisfy ideological arguments about the nature of black bodies.

It has been appropriated to create “categories of difference and belonging” (Schramm et al). I examine how SCA is gathered by rhetors to serve varying ideological purposes and cultural communities. It is utilized to invite different readings that conceptualize the black body as an object of scientific experimentation, as an agent for resistance …

Fragments And Flânerie: Modernity, Cosmopolitanism, And The Art Of Wandering, Charla Allyn Hughes

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation argues that wandering, whether across cities (flânerie) or across geographic regions and countries (travel), is a process of not only finding meaning but also one of confronting alienation and dislocation, conditions of the fragmentariness of modern life, which is signified by transnationalism, media, technology, and consumerism. This examination of flânerie, travel, and cosmopolitanism investigates three women writers’ representations of navigating an alienating, fragmented world—or, more simply, of the search for a sense of home and/or belonging. Transatlantic writers Mary McCarthy, Elizabeth Bishop, and Zadie Smith not only consider specific places and suspended in-betweens but also …

Novel Media: Global Contemporary Fiction In The Digital Age, Mary Catherine Pappalardo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Novel Media argues that contemporary literature—particularly the novel form—is best decoded in terms of the new media forms that have proliferated since the dawn of the internet. Perhaps no other development has so dramatically shaped contemporary life than the ubiquity of the internet, internet-capable devices, and the myriad social networks that have blossomed within. Fiction is no different; the social media forms that dominate our lives online have also, I argue, rewired the way novels work in the twenty-first century. As such, a new reading practice is required that attends to these seismic changes to the novelistic terrain. The project …

The Sons Of Emmett Till: Addressing Black Male Masculinity In Urban High Schools In New Orleans, Michael J. Seaberry

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores how Black boys in New Orleans’ urban high schools develop, define, and do masculinity. Beginning with a narrative literature review, this study provides themes common among the six peer-reviewed articles that are specifically written on the subject of Black boys’ masculinity in urban high schools in the United States. Analyzed using Critical Race Theory, the themes discussed in these six articles were used to formulate interview questions for 10 Black male students in New Orleans high schools. The empirical portion of this study found that Black boys in New Orleans urban high schools develop masculinity at birth, …

Fate Of Selected Pollutants Of Concern On Particulate Matter (Pm) Surface, Ajit Ghimire

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research focuses on the environmental fate of particle associated pollutants such as Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs), Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), and Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals (EPFRs) with a special emphasis on their transformation due to interaction with a matrix or co-pollutants. It encompasses two approaches to the stated problems: analysis of samples collected in the environment and laboratory simulation of the molecular transformations.

The PBDE studies relied on the ambient air Particulate Matter (PM) samples collected from Bangkok, Thailand. Results showed the presence of various PBDE homologs from tri- to hepta-PBDEs on both PM_2.5and Total Suspended Particle (TSP) …

Insights Into The Collaborative Process Between Electronic Music Composers And Commissioning Saxophonists, Taylor Barbay Assad

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This monograph gives information about the collaborative process that takes place between commissioning saxophonists and composers of electronic music. It focuses specifically on music for solo performers and works for electronics, either with prerecorded tape or live electronics. The core of this paper centers on interviews conducted with composers of works for saxophone and electronics and professional saxophonists about the nature of their collaborations on new music for solo saxophone and electronics. The composers and performers selected had previously worked together on preparing and premiering a piece. Questions were developed for interviews of the composers and performers. The questions were …

Identification And Characterization Of Novel Transporters Involved In The Co2 Concentrating Mechanism Of Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii, Ananya Mukherjee

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii possesses a CO₂ concentrating mechanism (CCM) which helps in successful acclimation to low CO₂ conditions. One of the main aspects of the CCM is bringing in inorganic carbon (Ci) into the cell as bicarbonate using Ci transporters. Current models of the CCM postulate that a series of ion transporters bring HCO₃^- from outside the cell to the thylakoid lumen where the carbonic anhydrase, CAH3, dehydrates accumulated HCO₃^- to CO₂, raising the CO₂ concentration for Rubisco. Previously, HCO₃^- transporters have been identified at both the …

Experimental And Numerical Study Of Dynamic Water Control In Naturally Fractured Reservoirs, Younes Ahmed Alblooshi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Excessive water production problem is more troubling in naturally fractured reservoirs (NFR) than matrix-only deposits. In NFR, fluid flow through fracture conduits substantially differs from that in the rock matrix. Development of fractured hydrocarbon reservoirs require good understanding of fluid flow in the network of fractures. In NFR with bottom-water drive, mitigation of excessive water is always a challenge.

This dissertation presents an experimental and numerical study of dynamic water control in fractured basements using downhole water sink (DWS) well technology. A DWS well is a dual-completed well with the top completion used for oil production from payzone and a …

Improving Coupled Enzyme Assays With Capillary Electrophoresis, Thu Hoai Nguyen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this project is to address limitations of coupled enzyme assays using capillary electrophoresis (CE). In some enzyme assays, it is ineffective to directly detect products and substrates spectroscopically (absorption or fluorescence). Coupling the enzyme-catalyzed reaction of interest with another enzyme-catalyzed reaction allows for indirect detection of product formation or substrate depletion for the target enzyme. While conventional coupled enzyme assays are facile for kinetic measurements, they can be problematic for inhibition screening due to spectral and inhibitor interferences. To address these limitations of coupled assays, CE has been used to develop enzyme assays for acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase …

Multiple Voices In The Poetry Of Transculturation: Reading Contemporary Ex-Phonic Poetry Through Muwaššah: Ryoko Sekiguchi, Etel Adnan, And Suheir Hammad, Thana Al-Shakhs

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research is a comparative study that compares two types of multicultural poetry: contemporary poetry written by non-native speakers and the Andalusian medieval genre of muwaššah. In spite of the cultural and temporal gap between the two periods, the poets apply similar strategies to represent multicultural voices, for example integrating foreign expressions. I argue that multicultural poetics break the rules of classical writing and use oral expressions that are more flexible to include different languages and cultural references. This study focuses on oral techniques that offer an appropriate style to express multiplicity.

This thesis is divided into four chapters. …

Use Of A Behavioral Health Framework To Assess Perceptions Of Hurricane Evacuation Support Services In New Orleans, Louisiana, Aubry Kyle

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation presents research conducted during the hurricane seasons of 2017 and 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The research’s purpose was to assess citizen perceptions of evacuation support services offered during mandatory evacuation events. A prospective quantitative survey and qualitative, open-ended, semi-structured interview assessed perceptions. Both research methods were designed and assessed using the constructs of the Health Belief Model, a public health model created to assess perceived barriers, benefits, risks, severity, self-efficacy, and cues to action regarding health programming. Quantitative research yielded 211 surveys, representing opinions of New Orleans residents within 1-km Euclidian distance of an evacuation pick-up marker. …