Digital Commons Network^™

Louisiana Agriculture Winter, 2009, Lsu Agcenter

Louisiana Agriculture

No abstract provided.

Louisiana Survey 2008, Lsu Reilly Center For Media & Public Affairs

Reilly Center Louisiana Surveys

The 2008 Louisiana Survey marked a definite shift, first measured in the 2007 Survey, from the intense focus on rebuilding that had characterized the state since hurricane Katrina; it also heralded some heightened optimism following the election of Governor Bobby Jindal. In addition to this optimism, the 2008 LA Survey found:

• great expectations for the future of the state under its new leadership following the election of Governor Jindal
• the strength of Louisiana business conditions amidst fears of recession
• broad support for availability of quality Pre-K education
• tax credits for parents with kids enrolled in private or religious schools
• perceptions …

Components, Volume 4 (2008), Lsu Center For Computation & Technology

Components

No abstract provided.

The "Sincere Hand And Faithful Eye" Of Marvell's Last Instructions To A Painter, Steven Minuk

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

Methods For Pollen Evaluation And Influence Of Gibberellic Acid On Potato Crossing, Roberto Fritsche Neto, Arione Da Silva Pereira, Maria Do Carmo Bassols Raseira, Giovani Olegário Da Silva, Velci Queiroz De Souza

Faculty Publications

The aims of this work were to compare evaluation methods of pollen quality and to evaluate the influence of giberellic acid (GA3) on the efficiency of crossing potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) genotypes. Both studies were carried out at Embrapa Clima Temperado headquarters, Pelotas-RS. The first study was accomplished in the Plant Breeding Laboratory, in the spring of 2003 and autumn-winter of 2004. The carmin propionic and the pollen fertility of two agar, sugar and boro media (culture medium 1 and culture medium 2) were evaluated, using five potato genotypes. The second study was carried out at greenhouse, in the autumn-winter …

Rooting Of Herbaceous Blueberry Cuttings: Influence Of The Base Incision And Indolbutiric Acid, Renato Trevisan, Rodrigo Cezar Franzon, Roberto Fritsche Neto, Rafael Da Silva Gonçalves, Emerson Dias Gonçalves, Luis Eduardo Corrêa Antunes

Faculty Publications

Blueberries (Vaccinium sp.) are species of temperate climate that, for occasion of the vegetative period, produce large amount of vegetal material that can be used in the propagation. This way, with the aim of verifying the rooting potential of different herbaceous cuttings of blueberry cultivars, with the use or not of indolbutíric acid and base injury. The work was carried out in two experiments, having tested the capacity of rooting of the following cultivars Florida, Woodard, Bluegem, Bluebele, Clímax and Briteblue. In the first experiment, cuttings of cultivars were treated with IBA (0, 2500, 5000 and 7500mg.L-1). On the second …

Selection For Components Of Tuber Appearance And Yield In Potato Seedlings, Giovani Olegario Da Silva, Arione Da S. Pereira, Velci Q. De Souza, Fernando Irajá Félix De Carvalho, Roberto Fritsche Neto

Faculty Publications

The objective of the present research was to estimate the expected gains with correlated selection for tuber yield and general appearance component traits at the seedling stage in potato. Two populations were evaluated at seedling stage (i.e. plantlets obtained from true seeds) cultivated in glasshouse in the Fall and Spring seasons of 2004. Expected gains and gains obtained from selection of genetically correlated traits were estimated in the two experiments. For some traits the expected correlated gains could be obtained at the seedling generation, being, therefore an alternative to increase selection efficiency, especially with traits of low heritability. The tuber …

Importance Of Characters In The Dissimilarity Of Potato Progenies In Early Generations, Giovani Olegário Da Silva, Arione Da Silva Pereira, Velci Queiroz De Souza, Fernando Irajá Félix De Carvalho, António Costa De Oliveira, Ivandro Bertan, Roberto Fritsche Neto

Faculty Publications

The objective of the present work was to access the implications of the use of analysis of importance of characters in the elimination of appraised characters for calculating genetic distance of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) progenies in early generations. The experiments were carried out in plastic house (seedling generation) and in the field (first clonal generations) at Embrapa Temperate Climate, Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul State in autumn 2004 and 2005. The study was demonstrated the efficiency of the analysis in importance of characters for reducing the number of characters necessary for classifying potato progenies in relation to the dissimilarity. …

Morphological, Physiological, And Anatomical Characteristics Associated With Heat Preconditioning And Heat Tolerance In Salvia Splendens, Seenivasan Natarajan, Jeff S. Kuehny

Faculty Publications

Many bedding plant cultivars struggle to survive in high temperatures during production. The objective of this research was to study how heat stress and preconditioning affects growth, physiology, and anatomy of the annual bedding plant Salvia splendens Ker Gawl. Heat preconditioning increased the quality and survival capacity of nonheat-tolerant 'Sizzler Red'. Heat-tolerant traits of 'Vista Red' were enhanced with preconditioning. The higher tolerance levels with and without heat preconditioning for 'Vista Red' suggested that cultivars with thicker, broader leaves, and higher stomatal frequency had higher light interception, gas exchange, transpirational cooling, and CO2 fixation. These plants attained a more rapid …

Development Of An Internet/Population-Based Weight Management Program For The U.S. Army, Tiffany Stewart, Sandra May, H. Raymond Allen, Gaston P. Bathalon, Guy Lavergne, Lori Sigrist, Donna Ryan, Donald A. Williamson

Faculty Publications

A significant number of Army soldiers are sufficiently overweight to exceed the maximum weight allowances defned by the Army weight control program (AR600-9). Also, the body weights of a substantial number of soldiers approach the maximum weight allowances. These soldiers should not gain additional weight if they are to meet Army weight allowances. The conventional approach to this overweight problem is assigning soldiers to remedial physical training and mandatory reflerral for nutrition counseling by a health care provider. An alternative to this conventional approach is to target the entire population of soldiers (populationbased intervention) to promote weight loss in overweight …

Environmental Influences On Adherence To Self-Management Behaviors And Glycemic Control In African American Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Brooke L. Barbera

LSU Master's Theses

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic illness effecting approximately 20.8 million individuals in the United States. Minorities are adversely affected, with age-adjusted prevalence 1.7 times higher in African Americans than Caucasians. Type 2 diabetes is significantly affected by behavioral and environmental risk factors, including the presence of co-occurring diseases (i.e., hypertension, hyperlipidemia), obesity, age, and lack of physical activity, and each of these risk factors is more prevalent among African Americans. The treatment of diabetes is largely self-managed, with patients and their families handling 95% of their own care. Adherence to the multi-component diabetic treatment regimen requires daily care, often occurring …

Estimating The Economic Impacts Of Hurricane Damage On Coastal Fishing Infrastructure, Tanza Erlambang

LSU Master's Theses

Two severe Hurricanes, Katrina and Rita, caused devastating damages in the northern Gulf of Mexico during late summer and early fall 2005. Louisiana was the most heavily impacted state, where both storms made initial landfall. The storms caused billions of dollars in damages to public and private infrastructure, with particularly strong impacts to coastal fishing businesses. Numerous assessments of coastal fisheries infrastructure damage were developed by state and federal agencies following the storms. The range of estimates varied greatly (from $275 million to $3.5 billion), because of a wide range of methods and assumptions. This study describes two alternative damage …

Examining The Effects Of Non-Intensive Therapy On Word Retrieval, Speech Intelligibility And Quality Of Life Following Intensive Therapy, Hillary Leigh Goodwin

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if involvement in intensive treatment would help a patient with aphasia, secondary to a cerebral vascular accident, accompanied by dysarthria, maintain skill levels during non-intensive treatment. A literature review uncovered numerous studies on intensive treatment. These studies discussed the improvements the subjects were able to make across various areas during the time of intensive treatment; however, very little research was available to indicate these subjects’ success when re-entering non-intensive treatment. This study proposed two specific questions: was the subject able to maintain word retrieval, speech intelligibility, and quality of life levels from …

Fabrication Of Micro Bumps For Micro Scale Thermal Management, Ajay Ashok Kardak

LSU Master's Theses

Cryopreservation is storage of biological systems at ultra low temperatures for a prolonged duration; such that they can be thawed and restored to the same living state. It is important to understand the behavior of cells when they are subjected to subzero temperatures. Research in this area has shown the occurrence of two main biophysical events; cellular dehydration and intracellular ice formation. Current techniques for characterizing the dehydration in cells as part of a tissue are not adequate for studying intracellular ice formation in tissues. An integrated device consisting of an array of thermal sensors (microthermocouples) and actuators (microthermoelectric coolers) …

Comprehensive Planning In Louisiana, Lynn A. Maloney-Mújica

LSU Master's Theses

This study explores the factors associated with the implementation of land use planning policies and tools among the parishes (counties) of Louisiana. There is an absence of statutory standards, strict guidelines, and other external drivers for planning in Louisiana and the extent to which local governments regulate land use varies widely among local jurisdictions. The purpose of this study is to provide an empirical model of intrinsic factors that might explain why some parishes have decided to intervene in land use by adopting a high number of planning policies and tools, and why others have failed to adopt few, if …

Comorbid Psychological Disorder In Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities And Autism Spectrum Disorders, Jessica Ann Boisjoli

LSU Master's Theses

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by deficits in three areas of functioning: communication, socialization, and restricted interests/repetitive behavior. With the rise in diagnoses of ASD in recent years, these disorders have received increasing recognition by researchers and clinicians. These efforts have largely been with young children. However, the study of ASD and comorbid disorders in adults with intellectual disability (ID) has been almost nonexistent. While there are measures available to assess comorbid disorders in people with only ID, the differences in adults with ASD and ID and adults with ID alone may also be a good deal different than …

A Trinity Of Beliefs And A Unity Of The Sacred: Modern Vodou Practices In New Orleans, Elizabeth Thomas Crocker

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis explores the ways in which Vodou is practiced in New Orleans today. Tourism has capitalized off the exotic appeal of Vodou but that does not rule out the actual practice of the religion in these public retail settings. Generations of New Orleanians have been raised in the religion and while their practices are often secret, Vodou lies beneath the surface of spaces and events going on in the city. Immigrants and converts that have been trained in Haitian Vodou have come into New Orleans, influencing and interacting with the spirituality of the Crescent City. These practices separate themselves …

Effects Of Probiotics And Yeast Culture On Rumen Development And Growth Of Dairy Calves, Jennifer Marie Laborde

LSU Master's Theses

Forty-eight calves (heifers n=20, bulls n=28) were randomly assigned one of four dietary treatments which included no additive (C); the yeast culture Saccharomyces cerevisiae (YC); the probiotics Bacillus lichenformis and Bacillus subtilis (P); and both yeast culture and probiotics (YCP). Calves were administered treatments from day 2 to 56 in starter and from day 57 to 84 in grower diets. Body weights were measured at birth and weekly thereafter until day 112 of age. Wither and hip heights were measured weekly. Feed intake, water intake, and fecal scores were recorded twice daily until day 56. Rumen fluid was collected on …

Thinking In/Of/With The Book: The Role Of The Book As The Medium For Philosophy In Deleuze, Derrida, And Smith, Scott Ziegler

LSU Master's Theses

In this Thesis, I explore the role of the book as a medium for philosophy in Gilles Deleuze and Jacques Derrida. I begin by framing the debate in terms of the role of media in affecting the message. I then claim that while both Deleuze and Derrida must attempt to separate their own work from the traditional role of the book, they both fail to take the book itself into consideration. I claim that both Deleuze and Derrida accept the book as medium which reinforces a particular form of thought, and that their philosophies require a break from this form. …

Contemporary Art Of Iraqis And Categorical Assumptions Of Nationality: An Analysis Of The Art And Narratives Of Hana Mal Allah, Adel Abidin And Wafaa Bilal, Amanda Marie Duhon

LSU Master's Theses

Iraqi art is a field of study that has been marginalized and misrepresented by scholars and western art institutions. Since the American-led occupation of Iraq in 2003, however, scholars and curators have shown an increased amount of interest in exhibiting the works of artists from Iraq. Resulting from both the limited amount of scholarly research on their art and from a western tendency to categorize a people in terms of nationality, Iraqi artists are now being carelessly grouped into easy and inaccurate classifications. To illustrate the fallacies of this new categorical trend, this paper analyzes the art and lives of …

Phenotypic Characterization Of Canine Cranial Cruciate Ligament Associated Synoviocytes, Sunil C. Vasanjee

LSU Master's Theses

Identification of synoviocytes surrounding the canine cranial cruciate ligament (CrCL) has not been investigated. Objectives 1) Develop and validate a technique to identify and quantify normal canine CrCL associated synoviocytes. 2) Compare synoviocyte phenotype proportions surrounding normal and abnormal canine CrCLs Design In vitro experimental Animals Cranial cruciate ligaments from 4 intact female and 6 intact adult male mixed-breed dogs (objective 1) and from 8 adult female hound dogs (objective 2) Methods Objective 1) Normal CrCLs - CD18 and HSP25 epitopes were colocalized using immunohistochemistry. Sagittal sections were quantified in the proximal, middle, and distal aspects of each section. Western …

Institutional Influences Of State Legislators' Voting Behavior, Jessica Jordan Self

LSU Master's Theses

Representation of citizens by elected officials is a core principle of American democracy (Eulau et al. 1959; Key 1961). Assuming the delegate approach to representation (Pitkin 1967), state legislative districts give voters the opportunity to elect representatives that will act in accordance with their wishes in the state policy arena. The extent to which a legislator’s policy votes reflect his constituents’ preferences is often referred to as “policy responsiveness” (Eulau and Karps 1977). While the make-up of the constituency shapes legislators’ positions in policy areas, legislative voting behavior also is indirectly influenced by personal and institutional factors. Previous research has …

Experimental Study Of A Foam Flow In Horizontal Pipes: Two Flow Regimes And Its Implications, Miodrag Bogdanovic

LSU Master's Theses

Although foam has been widely used in many scientific and engineering applications, the current understanding of foam rheology in pipes is still very limited because of its complex nature. This experimental study, for the first time, investigates the flow rheology of foams in pipes by placing a special emphasis on two distinct foam flow regimes. A wide range of experimental conditions are examined in this study, which include five different surfactant formulations (Cedepal FA-406, Petrostep CG-50, Stepanform 1050, Aquet TD-600, and Ultra-Palmolive), three different surfactant concentrations (0.1, 1, and 5 wt %), two different pipe diameters (0.5 and 1 inch …

Exhibition Next: The Future Of Exhibition Design, Santanu Majumdar

LSU Master's Theses

ABSTRACT The ubiquitous presence of design guides our day-to-day actions, determining our awareness, configuring our environment, and modifying our lives. We must acknowledge the power and the opportunity of this dynamic force of design. “At the very least,” Peter Lunenfeld says, “design research saves us from reinventing the wheel. At its best, a lively research methodology can reinvigorate the passion that so often fades after designers join the profession.” Lunenfeld inspires me to consider the evolution of exhibition design. My thesis is about the future of exhibition design, enabling me to explore the changes this area of design is now …

Message Framing And Interactivity In Direct-To-Consumer Internet Advertisements: Visual And Textual Cues On Web Sites For Prescription Medications, Brooke Alayne Harrington

LSU Master's Theses

Americans’ adoption of the Internet has spawned the increased usage of this medium for direct-to-consumer advertising by pharmaceutical manufacturers, despite the widespread controversy over the ethics of the practice, the educational value of direct-to-consumer advertising, and the ultimate cost of the practices to the public. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates the industry’s advertising within traditional media, the agency does not yet impose standards for direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medications on the Internet. This content analysis of the visual and textual cues of 100 direct-to-consumer Web sites for prescription medications identifies the unexpected strong presence of gain frames …

Databasing The Disappeared And Deceased: A Review Of The Resources Available In Missing And Unidentified Persons Cases, Erin Mcmenamin

LSU Master's Theses

When an individual goes missing or an unidentified body is found, many resources are available to assist in resolving the case. These resources are operated and contributed to by a wide variety of entities including state, county, and local law enforcement agencies, coroners, medical examiners, forensic anthropologists and odontologists, military personnel, nonprofit organizations, volunteers, and concerned citizens among others. Currently, our nation does not have a single, fully operational, centralized database that is solely dedicated to finding missing persons and identifying the bodies of Jane and John Does. The existing resources for missing and unidentified persons cases are almost innumerable …

A House Performs, Lisa Flanagan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study analyses and performs a series of histories about a semi-abandoned Victorian house located in downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I engage Gregory Ulmer’s inter-discursive and inter-subjective process of historiography, the mystory, as a way of viewing and doing research. Mystory allows for research through diverse perspectives of professional, popular and personal discourses, which activates the pleasures and problems of knowledge production by urging invention and creative expression. Significance is discovered in less determined, more localized, ways of knowing that avoid fixing the house in terms of predetermined “historic” values. Material culture and archives like the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps …

A Structural Equation Modeling Approach To Factors That Contribute To The Impact Mymathlab Has On Commitment And Integration Of Technology, Mitzi (Maritza) Pamela Trahan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Learning with educational technology in higher education is rapidly increasing and shows promise of providing cost effective instructional delivery to a wide audience. Information technology scholars have begun to explore multiple antecedent variables leading to successful learning with technology. Yet, the ideal conditions or barriers have not been fully explored. The current study attempted to link certain personality characteristics and technology acceptance constructs within a nomological network that could predict factors that might influence student integration and commitment to educational technology. Data were gathered using a survey collection approach at a large southern Research I university. Students are required to …

Bioanalytical Methods For Studies Of Homocysteine And Novel Cardiovascular Disease Indicators, Arther T. Gates

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the development of analytical methods for studies of CVD biomarkers and related biomolecular indicators. Initially, spectroscopic studies were conducted to investigate the chemical reactivity of homocysteine (Hcy), an independent CVD risk factor and serological biomarker. Consequently, we proposed an alternate theory for in vivo Hcy clearance based on spontaneous pyridoxal tetrahydrothiazine (PT) formation from Hcy and pyridoxal. The validity of PT-assisted Hcy clearance was further evaluated by use of capillary electrophoretic methods, which allowed rapid monitoring of protein oligomerization in PT-protein reaction mixtures. The results of these studies suggest that PT formation is a plausible mechanism for …

Latino Representation In U.S. Legislatures: Interests, Behavior, And Influence, Stella M. Rouse

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Despite the growth of Latinos in the general population and in legislatures, their impact on the political process has received little scholarly attention. In this project, I present a theoretical framework of Latino legislative behavior that draws upon two important concepts of representation- descriptive and substantive- to better understand how ethnicity influences legislative activity and whether it is dependent on such factors as institutional context, legislative composition, and constituency characteristics. The project is unique in its comprehensive analysis of the legislative process and in its mixed methodological approach which includes both quantitative and qualitative elements. The analysis involves five parts: …