Digital Commons Network^™

Data-Driven Nonparametric Joint Chance-Constrained Programming For Power Systems Scheduling, Chutian Wu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is dedicated to implementing data-driven nonparametric joint chance constraints (JCC) to power system optimization problems. Power generated by renewable sources, such as solar farms, is an uncertain parameter. Several approaches solve optimization under uncertainty, including stochastic programming, robust programming, and chance-constrained programming. Uncertain parameters may not belong to any parametric class of probability functions. Thus, methods that consider such uncertainty as a random variable that fits in a known probability density function (PDF) have limitations. This study focuses on chance-constrained programming under nonparametric or data-driven distributionally robust uncertainty settings.

Studies based on chance-constrained programming usually focus on individual …

Explanation Needed: Understanding The Low Graduation Rates Of Spanish-Speaking English Learners In Southeastern Louisiana, Alice I. Garcia

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative research study used the case study method of one-on-one interviews to collect and examine the experiences of former English learners (ELs) who were unable to finish high school in southeastern Louisiana. This study aimed to identify specific factors that, using Everett Lee’s theory, pushed or pulled these ELs from school and affected their ability to graduate. The push factors that were identified included language, inadequate support, academic performance, discrimination, and lack of connection with school and culture. Pull factors that were identified included lack of prior education, immigration, poverty, pregnancy, being far from family, financially supporting family, and …

Finding Forensic Evidence In The Operating System's Graphical User Interface, Edward X. Wilson Mr.

LSU Master's Theses

A branch of cyber security known as memory forensics focuses on extracting meaningful evidence from system memory. This analysis is often referred to as volatile memory analysis, and is generally performed on memory captures acquired from target systems. Inside of a memory capture is the complete state of a system under investigation, including the contents of currently running as well as previously executed applications. Analysis of this data can reveal a significant amount of activity that occurred on a system since the last reboot. For this research, the Windows operating system is targeted. In particular, the graphical user interface component …

Contagious Animality: Species, Disease, And Metaphor In Early Modern Literature And Culture, Jeremy Cornelius

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In my dissertation, Contagious Animality: Species, Disease, and Metaphor in Early Modern Literature and Culture, I close read examples of Renaissance drama alongside their contemporary cultural texts to examine anxieties around social differences as constructed and mediated through what I call “contagious animality” in early modern English culture. Animal metaphors circulated anxieties around social differences on the early modern cultural stage in English drama where animality elicits uncertainties about identitarian constructions of difference. In this vein, I close read formal elements and their interactions with early modern culture to argue that animal metaphors transmit modes of speciating difference in …

Media Literacy In Public Education: A Mixed-Method Exploration, Jessica Wyers

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

You have to know where you are to know where you’re going. This is the approach I attempt to take to understand next steps in media literacy education and policy. Little research has been done to understand the current state of media literacy education, what is actually happening in the classrooms and education system, to better judge more intentional interventions in the future.

This dissertation explores the current issues in media literacy education in our public schools. I combine the strengths of a qualitative investigation of published public school media literacy curricula with survey data measuring the perceptions of students’ …

Visual Analytics And Modeling Of Materials Property Data, Diwas Bhattarai

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Due to significant advancements in experimental and computational techniques, materials data are abundant. To facilitate data-driven research, it calls for a system for managing and sharing data and supporting a set of tools for effective data analysis and modeling. Generally, a given material property M can be considered as a multivariate data problem. The dimensions of M are the values of the property itself, the conditions (pressure P, temperature T, and multi-component composition X) that control the concerned property, and relevant metadata I (source, date).

Here we present a comprehensive database considering both experimental and computational sources …

Prospective Association Of Daily Steps With Cardiovascular Disease: A Harmonized Meta-Analysis, Amanda E. Paluch, Shivangi Bajpai, Marcel Ballin, David R. Bassett, Thomas W. Buford, Mercedes R. Carnethon, Ariel Chernofsky, Erin E. Dooley, Ulf Ekelund, Kelly R. Evenson, Deborah A. Galuska, Barbara J. Jefferis, Lingsong Kong, William E. Kraus, Martin G. Larson, I. Min Lee, Charles E. Matthews, Robert L. Newton, Anna Nordström, Peter Nordström, Priya Palta, Alpa V. Patel, Kelley Pettee Gabriel, Carl F. Pieper, Lisa Pompeii, Erika Rees-Punia, Nicole L. Spartano, Ramachandran S. Vasan, Peter H. Whincup, Shengping Yang, Janet E. Fulton

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Background: Taking fewer than the widely promoted "10 000 steps per day" has recently been associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality. The relationship of steps and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk remains poorly described. A meta-analysis examining the dose-response relationship between steps per day and CVD can help inform clinical and public health guidelines. Methods: Eight prospective studies (20 152 adults [ie, ≥18 years of age]) were included with device-measured steps and participants followed for CVD events. Studies quantified steps per day and CVD events were defined as fatal and nonfatal coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure. Cox proportional …

Sexual Dimorphism In Corallite Size And Modularity Of A Broadcast Spawning Coral, Porites Lobata, Ricardo M. Pedraza-Pohlenz, Eduardo F. Balart, J. J.Adolfo Tortolero-Langarica, Alma Paola Rodríguez-Troncoso, Michael E. Hellberg, Orión Norzagaray-López, Rafael A. Cabral-Tena, Amílcar Leví Cupul-Magaña, David A. Paz-García

Faculty Publications

Differences in selective pressures and the energetic cost of gametes in gonochoristic corals should vary with the sex of the colony, which may lead to sexual dimorphism. Coral colonies are composed of subunits (corallites) that create a complex morphological architecture. If corallite features are distinct between sexes, then the degree of coordinated change among these subunits may also vary (phenotypic modularity). This study tested for sexual dimorphism in the corallites of the reef-building coral Porites lobata, a gonochoric broadcast spawner, and compared this with previously demonstrated sexual dimorphism in its congener P. panamensis, a gonochoric brooder. Corallite area in P. …

Changing Features Of The Northern Hemisphere 500-Hpa Circumpolar Vortex, Nazla Bushra, Robert V. Rohli, Chunyan Li, Paul W. Miller, Rubayet Bin Mostafiz

Faculty Publications

The tropospheric circumpolar vortex (CPV), an important signature of processes steering the general atmospheric circulation, surrounds each pole and is linked to the surface weather conditions. The CPV can be characterized by its area and circularity ratio (Rc), which both vary temporally. This research advances previous work identifying the daily 500-hPa Northern Hemispheric CPV (NHCPV) area, Rc, and temporal trends in its centroid by examining linear trends and periodic cycles in NHCPV area and Rc (1979–2017). Results suggest that NHCPV area has increased linearly over time. However, a more representative signal of the planetary warming may be the temporally weakening …

Flood Risk Assessment For Residences At The Neighborhood Scale By Owner/Occupant Type And First-Floor Height, Ayat Al Assi, Rubayet Bin Mostafiz, Carol J. Friedland, Md Adilur Rahim, Robert V. Rohli

Faculty Publications

Evaluating flood risk is an essential component of understanding and increasing community resilience. A robust approach for quantifying flood risk in terms of average annual loss (AAL) in dollars across multiple homes is needed to provide valuable information for stakeholder decision-making. This research develops a computational framework to evaluate AAL at the neighborhood level by owner/occupant type (i.e., homeowner, landlord, and tenant) for increasing first-floor height (FFH). The AAL values were calculated here by numerically integrating loss-exceedance probability distributions to represent economic annual flood risk to the building, contents, and use. A simple case study for a census block in …

Mouse Pancreatic Peptide Hormones Probed At The Sub-Single-Islet Level: The Effects Of Acute Corticosterone Treatment, Aleksandra Antevska, Connor C. Long, Samuel D. Dupuy, J. Jason Collier, Michael D. Karlstad, Thanh D. Do

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

We combine liquid chromatography coupled with ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry to elucidate how short exposure to corticosterone (Cort) alters the output of mouse pancreatic islet hormones. The workflow enables the robust separation of mouse insulin 1 (Ins1) and insulin 2 (Ins2) and the detection of major islet hormones in a homogenate equivalent to 100-150 islet cells. We show that Ins2 has a unique structure and is degraded much faster than Ins1. Further investigation indicates that Ins2 may populate both T and R states, whereas Ins1 may not. The assemblies of Ins1’s B-chain also introduce more structural heterogeneity than Ins2. Collectively, …

Measurement Of Near-Threshold Proton Branching Ratios In 31s Important For Novae, Sudarsan Balakrishnan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Classical novae are stellar explosions that contribute to the nucleosynthesis of isotopes on the proton-rich side of the valley of stability up to ⁴⁰Ca. In ONe novae, the incompletely understood reaction rate of ³⁰P(p,γ)³¹S is known to strongly influence the production rate of several stable isotopes such as ³⁰Si, ³¹P, and ^32,33,34S. A precise measurement of this reaction rate has several potential implications towards matching astrophysical observables to the physical composition of the nova site -- the observed elemental abundance ratios of O/S and S/Al have been suggested as useful `thermometers' to gauge …

Multilayered Graphene And Methods Of Making The Same, Manas Ranjan Gartia, Ardalan Chaichi

College of Engineering Patents

The present invention relates in part to a method of fabricating graphene structures from graphene oxide by reducing the graphene oxide on a patterned substrate. The invention also relates in part to graphene structures produced using said method and electrodes and capacitors comprising said graphene structures.

Drivers Of Diatom Production And The Legacy Of Eutrophication In Two River Plume Regions Of The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Jeffrey W. Krause, Adam D. Boyette, Israel A. Marquez, Rebecca A. Pickering, Kanchan Maiti

Faculty Publications

In the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGoM), the Louisiana Shelf (LS) and Mississippi Bight (MB) subregions are influenced by eutrophication to varying degrees. Despite recognition that dissolved silicon may regulate diatom productivity in the nGoM, there is only one published data set reporting biogenic silica (bSiO2) production rates for each subregion. We report that bSiO2 production rates on the LS and MB are high and appear to be controlled by different nutrients among seasons. Despite exceptional upper trophic level biomass regionally, which suggests significant primary production by diatoms (as in other systems), gross euphotic-zone integrated bSiO2 production rates are lower …

Dissolved Organic Carbon Dynamics And Fluxes In Mississippi-Atchafalaya Deltaic System Impacted By An Extreme Flood Event And Hurricanes: A Multi-Satellite Approach Using Sentinel-2/3 And Landsat-8/9 Data, Bingqing Liu, Eurico J. D’Sa, Francesca Messina, Melissa M. Baustian, Kanchan Maiti, Victor H. Rivera-Monroy, Wei Huang, Ioannis Y. Georgiou

Faculty Publications

Transport of riverine and wetland-derived dissolved organic carbon (DOC) spanning tidal wetlands, estuaries, and continental shelf waters functionally connects terrestrial and aquatic carbon reservoirs, yet the magnitude and ecological significance of this variable and its spatiotemporal linkage remains uncertain for coastal deltaic regions, such as Mississippi River Delta Plain, which includes Mississippi (MR) and Atchafalaya (AR) rivers and estuaries with vast expanses of wetlands and coastal forests. We examined DOC dynamics and fluxes in this large river-dominated wetland-estuarine system for the period between 2019 and 2021 that included an extreme river flood event in 2019, two major hurricanes (Barry in …

A Numerical Experiment Of Cold Front Induced Circulation In Wax Lake Delta: Evaluation Of Forcing Factors, Sajjad Feizabadi, Chunyan Li, Matthew Hiatt

Faculty Publications

The effects of passing atmospheric cold fronts with different orientations and moving directions on the hydrodynamics of the Wax Lake Delta (WLD) were analyzed by considering the influence of river discharge, cold front moving direction, wind magnitude, and Coriolis effect. The study employs numerical simulations using the Delft-3D model and an analytical model to explore water volume transport, water level variations, water circulation, and particle trajectories during nine cold front events. Results indicate that cold fronts cause a decrease in the average contribution of the water transport through western channels and an increase of that in central and eastern channels. …

Design And Field-Scale Demonstration Of The Buoyant-Kill Process For Restoring Integrity Of Wells With Sustained Casing Pressure, Efecan Demirci, Andrew Wojtanowicz

Faculty Publications

Sustained Casing Pressure (SCP) is the persistent casinghead pressure resulting from the well’s annular integrity loss and migration of gas above the leaking cement sheath. Downhole—intervention methods for SCP removal employ workover rigs to access and plug off the leaking annulus at depth from within the well. The inexpensive rig-less method of Buoyant Kill involves surface injection of immiscible heavy fluid at the casinghead into the well’s annulus to replace the annular fluid column above the gas-leaking cement and stop gas migration. Laboratory and pilot-size testing have shown feasibility of the method. Presented here, is a field-scale demonstration experiment conducted …

Interrelationship-Based Information Delivery Manual Development For Smart City Infrastructure Systems, Moeid Shariatfar, Yong Cheol Lee, Ahmad Mohammad Ahmad, Salim Ferwati

Faculty Publications

Smart cities are comprised of various infrastructure systems interacting with heterogeneous context information that frequently causes critical challenges in data sharing, exchange, and integration of infrastructure components. The complicated structure of the infrastructure 3D models and the unraveled relationships of their functional, operational features remain elusive, hindering their seamless interactions. To ameliorate this issue, this paper proposes an interrelationship-based model view definition approach using an urban-level ontology that improves consistent data interoperability at the urban scale. The study includes the modularization of each infrastructure data conducted based on their functionalities and the development of an ontological structure for a smart …

Floodsafehome: Evaluating Financial Benefits And Savings Of Freeboard For Improved Decision-Making In Flood Risk Mitigation, Carol J. Friedland, Yong Cheol Lee, Rubayet Bin Mostafiz, Jiyoung Lee, Shifat P. Mithila, Robert V. Rohli, Md Adilur Rahim, Ehab Gnan, Monica Teets Farris

Faculty Publications

Freeboard—elevation of a structure above the base flood elevation (BFE)—is a critical component in mitigating or avoiding flood losses. However, the unrevealed benefits and savings of freeboard installation have prevented communities from adopting this approach. To improve decision-making for residents, prospective residents, and other stakeholders in flood-vulnerable communities and enhance flood risk mitigation strategies, this study presents the methodology underlying a new webtool, FloodSafeHome, that estimates comprehensively the economic benefits and savings of freeboard installation for new construction of residential buildings. Specifically, the proposed evaluation framework has been designed to calculate monthly savings for individual buildings by assessing freeboard cost, …

Visual Literacy Unframed: Planning An Oer To Improve College-Level Visual Analysis Skills, Marty Miller

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Community-Engaged Oral History Study As A Tool For Understanding Environmental Justice Aspects Of Human Exposures To Hazardous Waste Thermal Treatment Emissions In Colfax, La, Matilda Odera, Blair Kelley, Louie Rivers, Alyanna Wilson, Jessica Tran, Khushi Patel, Brenda Vallee, Wilma Subra, Jennifer A. Cramer, Jennifer K. Irving, Margaret Reams, Jennifer Richmond-Bryant

Faculty Publications

This study investigates environmental justice (EJ) themes related to siting a hazardous waste thermal treatment facility near a low-income community of color. We investigated effects of living near a hazardous waste thermal treatment facility through three EJ aspects: recognitional, procedural, and distributive justice. The study involved the collection of oral history interviews from residents of Colfax, a town in Grant Parish, Louisiana, that hosts an open burn/open detonation hazardous waste thermal treatment facility. The facility processes materials such as munitions, theme park waste, and contaminated soils from Superfund sites, and it increased its volume drastically in 2014. Residents reported adverse …

Recent Insights Into The Molecular Mechanisms Of Simultaneous Fatty Acid Oxidation And Synthesis In Brown Adipocytes, Ji Suk Chang

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Brown adipocytes is a specialized fat cell that dissipates nutrient-derived chemical energy in the form of heat, instead of ATP synthesis. This unique feature provides a marked capacity for brown adipocyte mitochondria to oxidize substrates independent of ADP availability. Upon cold exposure, brown adipocytes preferentially oxidize free fatty acids (FFA) liberated from triacylglycerol (TAG) in lipid droplets to support thermogenesis. In addition, brown adipocytes take up large amounts of circulating glucose, concurrently increasing glycolysis and de novo FA synthesis from glucose. Given that FA oxidation and glucose-derived FA synthesis are two antagonistic mitochondrial processes in the same cell, it has …

The Role Of Fmri In Drug Development: An Update, Owen Carmichael

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the brain is a technology that holds great potential for increasing the efficiency of drug development for the central nervous system (CNS). In preclinical studies and both early- and late-phase human trials, fMRI has the potential to improve cross-species translation of drug effects, help to de-risk compounds early in development, and contribute to the portfolio of evidence for a compound’s efficacy and mechanism of action. However, to date, the utilization of fMRI in the CNS drug development process has been limited. The purpose of this chapter is to explore this mismatch between potential and …

Aberrant Lipid Accumulation In The Mouse Visceral Yolk Sac Resulting From Maternal Diabetes And Obesity, Man Zhang, J. Michael Salbaum, Sydney Jones, David Burk, Claudia Kappen

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Maternal diabetes and obesity in pregnancy are well-known risk factors for structural birth defects, including neural tube defects and congenital heart defects. Progeny from affected pregnancies are also predisposed to developing cardiometabolic disease in later life. Based upon in vitro embryo cultures of rat embryos, it was postulated that nutrient uptake by the yolk sac is deficient in diabetic pregnancies. In contrast, using two independent mouse models of maternal diabetes, and a high-fat diet-feeding model of maternal obesity, we observed excessive lipid accumulation at 8.5 days in the yolk sac. The numbers as well as sizes of intracellular lipid droplets …

Factors Influencing Nutritional Intake And Interests In Educational Content Of Athletes And Sport Professionals Toward The Development Of A Clinician-Supported Mobile App To Combat Relative Energy Deficiency In Sport: Formative Research And A Description Of App Functions, Jacob T. Mey, Christine A. Karpinski, Shengping Yang, Joseph D. Madere, Tavis Piattoly, Ronnie Harper, John P. Kirwan

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Background: Relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) as a consequence of athlete malnutrition remains a prominent issue. However, it remains underrecognized, in part due to the perceived outward health of athletes. The Eat2Win app was designed to combat RED-S and athlete malnutrition by providing education, behavior modification, and direct communication with expert sports dietitians to athletes and sport professionals (professionals who work with athletes, eg, sport coaches and athletic trainers). Objective: The purpose of this formative research was to gain critical insight on motivators and barriers to optimal nutritional intake from both the athletes’ and sport professionals’ perspectives. Additionally, since …

Joint Estimation Of Neural Events And Hemodynamic Response Functions From Task Fmri Via Convolutional Neural Networks, Kai Cheng Chuang, Sreekrishna Ramakrishnapillai, Krystal Kirby, Arend W.A. Van Gemmert, Lydia Bazzano, Owen T. Carmichael

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Joint decomposition of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) time series into time courses of neural activity events and hemodynamic response functions (HRF) can enable new insights into functional connectivity, task activation, and neurovascular coupling in health and disease. Current methods for this problem handle time series of either temporally isolated events or extended blocks of continuous events but not both; and they constrain the HRF to one specific functional form. We propose to use an autoencoder and a convolutional neural network (CNN) to overcome these challenges. The autoencoder uses convolutional neural networks to reconstruct the fMRI time series while estimating …

S.W. Griffith: A Suitable Case For Indictment?, Mark Finnane, Jonathan Richards

Faculty Publications

In his 2021 book ‘Truth-Telling: History, Sovereignty and the Uluru Statement’, Henry Reynolds called for an inquiry into the historical record of Samuel Walker Griffith, Federation ‘father’ and first Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia. Reynolds’ iconoclasm targeted a historical figure whose name is memorialised in a Riverina town, a Canberra suburb and a Queensland university. Reynolds charged that Griffith was morally and politically responsible for the violence carried out by an agency of the Queensland government, the Native Police. This historically grounded allegation relates to Griffith's pre-Federation Queensland political career, 1874–93, when he served intermittently as Premier, …

Evaluation Of Fumigant And Non-Fumigant Nematicides For Management Of Rotylenchulus Reniformis On Sweetpotato, Tristan T. Watson, Caleb S. Hamm, J. Cole Gregorie

Faculty Publications

Reniform nematode (Rotylenchulus reniformis) is a major pest of sweetpotato in many production regions in Southern United States. Applying soil fumigants and non-fumigant nematicides are the primary management strategies available to growers. This study compared the relative efficacy of nematicides (1,3-dichloropropene, fluopyram, oxamyl, fluazaindolizine, aldicarb, Majestene, and fluensulfone) for management of reniform nematode on sweetpotato. Fumigating soil with 1,3-dichloropropene consistently reduced soil population densities of reniform nematode at the time of planting in both trial years (31 - 36% reduction relative to the untreated control); however, the duration of suppression varied greatly by growing season. A similar trend was observed …

Factors That Predict Weight Loss Success Differ By Diet Intervention Type, Jordan Losavio, Michael J. Keenan, Elizabeth A. Gollub, Heidi J. Silver

Faculty Publications

Background: Many types of diet intervention can achieve negative energy balance and successful weight loss in persons with obesity. However, within any dietary strategy, there is large inter-individual variation in the weight loss response. The aim of this study is to determine factors that predict weight loss success for diet interventions that vary by macronutrient and caloric composition. Methods: Participants with BMI 30.0 to 49.9 kg/m2 self-selected one of three diet intervention trials for weight loss: low carbohydrate (LOW CHO), low fat (LOW FAT), or low calorie (LOW KCAL). Multivariable regression models were developed to determine the significance of predictor …

Ophiclypeus, A New Genus Of Cardiochilinae Ashmead (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) From The Oriental Region With Descriptions Of Three New Species, Ilgoo Kang, Mostafa Ghafouri Moghaddam, Michael J. Sharkey, Donald L.J. Quicke, Buntika A. Butcher, Christopher E. Carlton

Faculty Publications

A new genus of the braconid subfamily Cardiochilinae, Ophiclypeus gen. nov., is described and illustrated based on three new species: O. chiangmaiensis Kang, sp. nov. type species (type locality: Chiang Mai, Thailand), O. dvaravati Ghafouri Moghaddam, Quicke & Butcher, sp. nov. (type locality: Saraburi, Thailand), and O. junyani Kang, sp. nov. (type locality: Dalin, Taiwan). We provide morphological diagnostic characters to separate the new genus from other cardiochiline genera. A modified key couplet (couplet 5) and a new key couplet (couplet 16) are provided with detailed imag-es for Dangerfield’s key to the world cardiochiline genera to facilitate recognition of Ophiclypeus …