Super-Resolution Stimulated X-Ray Raman Spectroscopy, Kai Li, Christian Ott, Marcus Agåker, Phay J. Ho, Gilles Doumy, Alexander Magunia, Marc Rebholz, Marc Simon, Tommaso Mazza, Alberto De Fanis, Thomas M. Baumann, Jacobo Montano, Nils Rennhack, Sergey Usenko, Yevheniy Ovcharenko, Kalyani Chordiya, Lan Cheng, Jan Erik Rubensson, Michael Meyer, Thomas Pfeifer, Mette B. Gaarde, Linda Young

Faculty Publications

Propagation of intense X-ray pulses through dense media has led to the observation of phenomena such as atomic X-ray lasing^1,2, self-induced transparency³ and stimulated X-ray Raman scattering (SXRS)⁴. SXRS has been long predicted as a means to launch and probe valence-electron wavepackets and as a building block for nonlinear X-ray spectroscopies^5,6. However, experimental observations of SXRS to date^4,7,8 have not provided spectroscopic information, and theoretical modelling has largely implemented hard-to-realize phase-coherent attosecond pulses. Here we demonstrate SXRS with spectroscopic precision, that is, detection of valence-excited states in neon with a near Fourier-limited …

Protecting Cultural Heritage In A Changing Climate: A Risk Assessment Model For Galleries, Libraries, Archives, And Museums In Florida, United States, Emily E. Fisher

LSU Master's Theses

The aim of this research is to develop a climate threat risk assessment scale for galleries, libraries, archives, and museums within the State of Florida. Current research neglects the localized impact of tropical cyclones, inland flash flooding, and exposure to SLR on cultural institutions. Tropical cyclone events bring in flooding, intense wind speeds, and power outages which affect these institutions. Tropical cyclone data from the National Hurricane Center are used to represent historical wind occurrence. Finally, flash flood warning data are used to represent the flooding likelihood in each county. Each threat is assessed individually across Florida counties. The range …

'There Is That Of God In All Of Us': Church, State, And Restrictive Abortion Policies, Kimsey J. Stewart

LSU Master's Theses

Unsafe abortion affects millions of women around the globe every year. Unsafe abortions are more likely to occur in countries with restrictive abortion policies. Yet, these policies persist, and the worldwide trend of liberalization of abortion laws is at risk of reversal. There is a disconcerting lack of research regarding what factors cause governments to enact, retain, and enforce restrictive abortion policies. This paper is an attempt to fill in such a gap. I theorize that countries in which the government has closer ties with religious organizations will have more restrictive abortion policies. My results indicate that this is likely …

Evaluation Of Diy Pest Management Strategies For The German Cockroach (Blattella Germanica) In The Presence Of Vitamin K Precursors And Synthetic Amorphous Silica, Mohamed S. Shaik

LSU Master's Theses

The German cockroach, Blattella germanica (Linnaeus) is a globally distributed indoor dwelling pest of medical concern. Insecticides are the preferred method of cockroach management due to their low cost, quick action, and availability. However, after continuous use, the development of insecticide resistance has emerged as a challenge for the pest management industry to effectively eliminate German cockroaches. Integrated pest management (IPM) is a sustainable framework which includes the use of glue board traps, vacuuming, in combination with different insecticide formulations such as sprays, gel or dust baits, and insecticide rotation has been successful for the management of German cockroaches. This …

Dose Characterization Of Galactic Cosmic Rays In The Human Brain: A Phits-Based Study With A Segmented Anatomical Phantom, Shanice N. Manning

LSU Master's Theses

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are chronically exposed to a complex space radiation environment composed of galactic cosmic rays (GCR), solar particles, and Earth's trapped radiation. These high-energy particles interact with spacecraft shielding, producing secondary particles that can penetrate inside and deposit energy in sensitive tissues. Although animal studies have been useful in assessing space radiation risks, anatomical and physiological differences limit their applicability to human anatomy especially neuroanatomy. To address this gap, we developed a computational framework to model radiation dose distribution within the human brain using Monte Carlo simulations in Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code …

Anxiety's Impact On Autism Spectrum Disorder Symtomology: An Investigation Into The Relationship Between Two Comorbities, Michaela Brown

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been found to be frequently comorbid with many medical and psychological disorders, one of which is anxiety disorders. Research has shown that, when anxiety is present within ASD, various areas of the child’s functioning may be impacted, such as ASD symptom severity, emotional regulation skills, adaptability, social skills and daily living skills. The current study aimed to investigate this relationship of anxiety and ASD. First, within a sample of children and adolescents with ASD, the magnitude of the correlation between specific ASD symptoms parent-reported anxiety was compared to determine if certain ASD symptoms were more …

For Us, By Us: A Digital Ethnographic Exploration Of Black Podcasts, Intimacy, & Sexual Pleasure, Dominique C. Dillard

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Sociological literature written about Black folks interprets their sexual behavior as unhealthy, risky, and non-normative. Black people are seldom acknowledged as humans, so it is not surprising to discover a discourse that does not portray them as sexual subjects. Studies examining Black sexual subjectivity through white and colorblind ideologies dominate the discussion, reproducing racist discourse historically ascribed to Black bodies. Guided by Audre Lorde’s concept of erotic as power, I document an alternative epistemology about Black sexuality. I argue the construction of Black sexuality must focus on sexual selfhood to grasp how this population conceptualizes and makes sense of their …

Retrospective Study And Predictive Modeling Of The Impact Of Social Determinants Of Health On Sepsis Outcomes, Mwembezi Aaron Nyelele

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Sepsis, a life-threatening organ failure caused by the body’s abnormal and harmful response to an infection, remains a major global and national health challenge. In the United States, it contributes significantly to hospital mortality and imposes a substantial economic burden, with billions spent annually on treatment. Early diagnosis is difficult due to the nonspecific nature of sepsis symptoms, often leading to delays in care and poorer outcomes. As the incidence and severity of sepsis rise, identifying factors that influence outcomes is increasingly critical. Emerging research has shown that Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), including economic stability, education, neighborhood and built …

Quasistatic Peridynamics, Existence Of Unique Solution In The Presence Of Damage, Nuwanthi N. Samarawickrama

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A mathematical model for damage propagation based on nonlocal potentials is developed within the framework of peridynamics. This model is applied to simulate damage evolution in cyclically loaded structures. By neglecting inertial effects, a well-posed quasistatic formulation for cyclic loading is obtained.\\ The resulting equation is expressed as a nonlocal and nonlinear integral operator that couples damage evolution to the deformation field.\\ This coupling occurs through the product of a damage factor and the derivative of a force potential. The damage factor ranges between zero and one, where one represents undamaged material and zero indicates complete damage.\\ It serves to …

A Comparative Case Study Of Mentoring Practices By National Board Certified And Non-Certified Teacher Mentors, Bethany Mcclure

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

As preservice teacher candidates engage in field experiences that shape their development of teacher identity, it is important to examine their perceptions of the mentoring process. This study explored how preservice teacher candidates construct their own knowledge about mentoring as a process, as well as explored the perceptions of mentor teachers, both National Board Certified, and non-National Board Certified, as they facilitated the learning and growth of their mentees. Many prior studies on the mentoring process exist, however, a gap in the literature that was identified and explored through this study included the impact that National Board Certified Teachers have …

A Performance Guide To Christos Hatzis’ Songs On Poems By Sappho, Maria E. Thomas

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

Christos Hatzis’ Three Songs of Poems by Sappho (1999) represents a compelling yet understudied contribution to contemporary art song repertoire. This study examines Hatzis’ settings of Sappho’s Fragments 1, 16, and 44, offering both scholarly analysis and practical performance guidance to make the cycle more accessible to singers and scholars. Through musical and textual analysis, this project reveals how Hatzis bridges ancient Greek lyric poetry with modern compositional techniques. The study demonstrates his innovative approach to word painting, rhythmic flexibility, and extended tonality, showing how these elements honor Sappho’s intimate first-person voice while creating a distinctive 20th-century art song …

Digital Forensics And Ai: Artifact Analysis And Using Ai In The Forensics Domain, Clinton Joel Walker

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Digital Forensics (DF) is a field of forensic science focusing on the acquisition, authentication, and analysis of digital evidence while maintaining integrity of that data. DF analysts use forensic tools to parse large volumes of data for investigations and depend on them for identification of pertinent digital evidence in vast amounts of data. Keeping up with innovations and ever-expanding data volumes is a constant challenge for these investigators. The prevalence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in everyday computing is rapidly expanding, with the use of Machine Learning (ML) and Large Language Models (LLM)s becoming increasingly commonplace. Innovations in technology bring new …

Towards Leveraging Social Media Data For Fostering Collaborations Among Non-Profits, Monazil Chowdhury

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Nonprofit organizations serve a crucial role in tackling a wide range of significant social, environmental, and economic issues. But it is often hard to get a clear picture of their work because their information is spread out and it is difficult to see how they are collaborating. To address this issue we developed a web-based tool to collect scattered data—from a variety of sources, such as the IRS, social media, and the Census, into one easy-to-use resource. The tool begins by taking IRS records and geocoding each nonprofit’s physical address With its coordinates. It then retrieves census tract information from …

The Design And Effect Of Continuum Robot Compliance On Locomotion, Parsa Molaei

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Continuum robots, due to their compliant structures and ability to navigate through constrained environments, offer significant advantages in applications requiring safe physical interaction and dexterous motion. However, challenges related to limited structural stiffness, payload capacity, and precise control remain open problems in the field. This dissertation presents novel contributions aimed at addressing these limitations through two main actuation units of continuum robots: tendon-driven continuum robots (TDCRs) and concentric tube robots (CTRs). In the first part, we focus on methods to improve the stability and modify the stiffness of the TDCR. A tendon decoupling strategy is introduced for planar TDCRs. The …

A Systems Engineering Approach To Improve Alarm Management And Nurse Mental Workload, Benjamin D. Elmore

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Alarm fatigue has been a consistent problem nurses have experienced for decades. The effects of excessive nuisance alarms leads to adverse effects such as desensitization, missed alarms, frustration, and increased risk to patient safety. Other research has provided explanations on alarm fatigue causes and developed solutions for reducing nuisance alarms or minimizing effects, but few have examined the problem from a sociotechnical systems perspective. This study applied the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) framework to define, design, and test an alarm management intervention compatible with a Progressive Care Unit (PCU)’s sociotechnical subsystems. The SEIPS application is unique from …

Anion Exchange Membrane Transport And Accelerated Testing Methods For Co2 Electrolyzers With Cu-Based Electrocatalyst, John C. Hendershot

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Electrocatalytic carbon dioxide (CO₂) reduction to C₂₊ products holds promise for low carbon intensity fuels, chemicals, and food; however, durability challenges, particularly bicarbonate (HCO₃^-)and carbonate (CO₃^2-) salt precipitation, hinder their commercialization. This report considers water (H₂O) and ion transport properties of conventional anion exchange membranes (AEMs) in zero-gap membrane electrode assembly (MEA) configurations using Cu electrocatalysts. Transport characterization includes H₂O diffusion, permeability, potassium (K⁺) diffusion, and transference numbers using three commercial AEMs, including piperidinium-based (Versogen), quaternary ammonium-based (Fumasep), and imidazolium-based (Dioxide Materials) membranes. Accelerated lifetime …

Soft Hexapod Robot With Tendon-Driven Continuum Legs For Internal Infrastructure Inspection, Setayesh Yavari

LSU Master's Theses

The need for robotic systems capable of operating in confined, hazardous, or complex environments has driven interest in soft and legged platforms for industrial inspection and structural integrity assessment. This thesis presents the design and fabrication of a tentacle-like, soft-legged hexapod robot, which uses six cable-stiffened, pre-curved, tendon-driven continuum robot (TDCR) legs. These biologically inspired legs are designed to offer a balance between compliance and control, enabling the robot to navigate unstructured terrains and potentially grasp cylindrical structures such as pipes. The design phase involved the development and comparison of multiple leg geometries using CAD modeling and finite element analysis …

Effects Of Staphylococcal Superantigen-Like Protein 11 (Ssl11) On The Host Immune Response During Lung Infection, Sajani Ghaju

LSU Master's Theses

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is an opportunistic pathogen that produces numerous immune evasion molecules that target various components of the host immune defense to cause infection. One of these is a family of virulence factors, Staphylococcal superantigen-like proteins (SSLs) with 14 members that exhibit host immune-evasion functions. SSL11 has been reported to inhibit neutrophil migration, preventing its recruitment to sites of infection. However, its role in vivo and effect on neutrophil phagocytosis have not been known. This thesis focuses on studying the effect of recombinant SSL11 protein in an in vivo S. aureus-induced pneumonia model and in vitro …

The Virtual Kitchen Challenge: Psychometric Validation In Cognitively Healthy And Impaired Older Adults, Ross M. Divers

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Decline in everyday functioning is core diagnostic criteria for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. While historically, MCI was considered a stage of generally persevered everyday functioning, it is now widely accepted that subtle though clinically meaningful changes in everyday function can be observed and are predictive of increased risk of future decline and conversion to dementia. Despite this, self and informant report questionnaires of everyday function largely fail to capture this subtle decline in those with MCI, while performance-based measures that may be able to capture this decline are rarely administered clinically due to their laborious administration. Performance-based measures …

Quantitative Boundary Doubling Estimates For Elliptic Equations, Jack Dalberg

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

We present an approach for obtaining quantitative boundary doubling inequalities for elliptic equations with Neumann boundary conditions. Carleman estimates are used to prove three-ball inequalities, which are then used to prove quantitative doubling inequalities, with bootstrapping from the interior to the boundary. This approach is illustrated by its application to the Laplace eigenvalue problem with homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions, where sharp doubling inequalities are recovered.

When then consider a equation with non homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions. By following the approach, we are able to obtain potentially sharp results. Finally, we are able to get an improvement on previously obtained results …

Revalidation Of The Child Routines Questionnaire: Preschool, Christian Olivia Ledet

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The implementation of consistent, structured routines is considered a positive parenting practice that enhances child development and is a protective factor for developing externalizing behavior problems, particularly for preschool-age children as they learn to regulate their behavior. In recent years, electronic media consumption has increased among children of all ages, and excessive use is related to negative outcomes for children. Thus, a measure assessing routines of preschool children with items related to electronic media routines is important to further understand how routines affect children’s emotional and behavioral regulation and their interactions with their parents. The purpose of the current study …

Gain Threshold Optimization Using Fano Resonance, Alina Oktiabrskaia

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The study of resonances in electromagnetics plays a critical role in the design of optical systems. This dissertation investigates the interaction between resonance and gain in optical structures to establish a universal principle for achieving ultra-low-threshold lasing. Through the analysis of geometric symmetries, material properties, and coupling mechanisms, this research develops prototype structures applicable to a wide range of optical and electromagnetic systems. A range of models is considered, starting from a simple onedimensional string-resonator system (based on the model of H. Lamb), then advancing to two- and three-dimensional waveguide models, and culminating with a realistic high-contrast model in open …

Distinguishing Primary And Secondary Anomalous Self-Experience Using Momentary Variability, Michael D. Masucci

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Schizophrenia is associated with significant decreases in functioning and costly psychiatric hospitalization. However, it is frequently misdiagnosed due to phenotypic overlap with other disorders, and misdiagnosis can contribute to its functional and economic cost. Schizotypy and psychosis risk syndrome frameworks have been used to predict who will eventually develop schizophrenic psychosis, but accurate prediction caps at about 30% for individuals who are identified as “at risk” by these frameworks. Anomalous Self Experience (ASE), an alternative framework for understanding psychosis risk developed by phenomenological psychiatry, proposes that identifying fundamental alterations to sense of self are specific to schizophrenia and distinguish those …

Low Temperature Methane Coupling With Co And Co2, A K M Kazi F.M. Aurnob

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Methane is the smallest hydrocarbon and the most abundant component in natural gas. Despite its availability, its chemical utilization has remained limited due to the challenges associated with direct methane activation and conversion. Most of the methane oxidation and oxidative carbonylation reactions in literature have been carried out at high-pressure using batch reactors or at ambient pressure using flow reactors. While batch reactors have been shown to have higher product yields, they are limited in their capability to provide real-time kinetic insights and comprehensive mechanistic understanding of the reactions involved due to the long residence time. This limits rationalization of …

Precision Spectral Measurements Of Chromium And Titanium From 10 To 250  Gev/N And Sub-Iron To Iron Ratio With The Calorimetric Electron Telescope On The International Space Station, O. Adriani, Y. Akaike, K. Asano, Y. Asaoka, E. Berti, P. Betti, G. Bigongiari, W. R. Binns, M. Bongi, P. Brogi, A. Bruno, N. Cannady, G. Castellini, C. Checchia, M. L. Cherry, G. Collazuol, G. A. De Nolfo, K. Ebisawa, A. W. Ficklin, H. Fuke, S. Gonzi, T. G. Guzik, T. Hams, K. Hibino, M. Ichimura, M. H. Israel, K. Kasahara, J. Kataoka, R. Kataoka, Y. Katayose, C. Kato, N. Kawanaka, Y. Kawakubo

Faculty Publications

The Calorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET), in operation on the International Space Station since 2015, collected a large sample of cosmic-ray (CR) iron and sub-iron events over a wide energy interval. In this Letter, we report an update of our previous measurement of the iron flux and we present-for the first time-a high statistics measurement of the spectra of two sub-iron elements Cr and Ti in the energy interval from 10 to 250  GeV/n. The analyses are based on 8 years of data. Differently from older generations of cosmic-ray instruments which, in most cases, could not resolve individual sub-iron elements, CALET …

Host Plant Resistance To Stink Bugs In Commercial Soybean Varieties, Cristofer Martinez

LSU Master's Theses

Soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr. (Fabales: Fabaceae), is a major crop in Louisiana, where stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) are economically important pests that reduce seed quality and yield. Among them, the redbanded stink bug, Piezodorus guildinii (Westwood), is considered the most damaging species in the southern U.S. soybean system. Recently, Euschistus quadrator (Rolston), historically a minor pest, has increased in abundance and now dominates the brown stink bug complex in Louisiana soybean fields. While P. guildinii has been widely studied, little is known about E. quadrator.

Given the increasing pest complexity, sustainable management strategies are needed to target …

Ergonomic And Biomechanical Assessment Of Vertical Ladder Climbing For Exoskeleton Integration In Construction Tasks, Ehsan Shourangiz

LSU Master's Theses

Active exoskeletons are increasingly utilized in physically demanding industries such as construction and manufacturing to reduce strain and lower the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, supporting worker safety and long-term health. However, most existing systems are designed for repetitive tasks like lifting or prolonged standing, with limited consideration for dynamic activities such as vertical ladder climbing. Ladder climbing is common and physically demanding in industrial environments, often required to access elevated areas like scaffolding, tanks, or rooftops. Since exoskeletons are intended to remain worn throughout multiple tasks, requiring workers to remove and re-don the device during ladder climbing would reduce …

Autism And Down Syndrome: An Examination Of The Baby And Infant Screen For Autism Traits In Toddlers With Down Syndrome, Celeste Tevis

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Current research suggests that children with Down Syndrome (DS) are at an increased risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to the general population. Detecting ASD early in children with DS is crucial to providing access to additional treatment services and supports that may be necessary. Despite a critical need to identify ASD as early as possible, diagnoses of ASD are often delayed in individuals with DS. It can be especially difficult for clinicians to differentiate between symptoms attributed to intellectual developmental disorder (IDD), a primary feature of DS, and possible ASD symptoms. Only two research studies have evaluated the …

The Search For Magnetar Giant Flares In Archival Gamma-Ray Burst Data To Constrain Their Rates And Energetics, Aaron Trigg

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Magnetar giant flares are rare, extremely bright bursts of gamma-rays from highly magnetized neutron stars. These events are difficult to identify because, at extragalactic distances, they can appear similar to other astrophysical phenomena. Only a handful have been confidently identified to date, limiting our understanding of their origin and physical properties. This dissertation focuses on expanding the sample of known events and enabling a more detailed characterization of their observational features. We report on two newly identified examples, GRB 180128A and GRB 231115A, that are consistent with a magnetar origin based on their spectral properties and association with nearby star-forming …

Effects Of Seasonality On The Experiences Of Employees In Minor League Sports, Amanda Barefoot

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The temporal rhythms of sport organizations, driven by recurring cycles of in-season and off-season activity, create a unique organizational context that shapes decision-making, leadership behavior, and the experiences of employees. While seasonality is widely recognized in operational planning and revenue forecasting, its implications for organizational behavior in sport management remain underexplored. This three-paper dissertation examines seasonality as a temporal force influencing sport organizations at conceptual, strategic, and affective levels.

The first paper develops a sport-specific taxonomy of seasonality by synthesizing literature from econometrics, tourism, and organizational theory. It distinguishes between natural, internally institutionalized, and externally institutionalized seasonal influences, offering a …