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 …

Broken Rituals: Contending Gods And Sacred Cows In Religious Racial Reconciliation And Race Relations, Ewart E. Forde

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Race remains one of the most important determinants of a host of sociological outcomes despite claims that social characteristics such as class matter more. For example, racial inequalities are apparent in educational outcomes and regarding to asset-ownership. Perhaps the most troubling evidence of persistent racial inequities is the killing of Black people by law enforcement officials or civilians while they are engaged in such mundane activities, such as jogging in a neighborhood or selling compact discs (CDs). In the aftermath of these unnatural killings, there are often calls for racial reconciliation, faith based racial reconciliation. In times where it appears …

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 …

Maternal Hyperleptinemia Alters Placental Transcriptome And Progesterone Regulation Without Affecting Early Equine Fetal Growth, Lucinda L. Thorburn

LSU Master's Theses

While consequences of equine obesity are well defined, the extent to which persistent hyperleptinemia and accompanying leptin (Lep) resistance affect the fetal-maternal environment warrants further exploration. This study compared endocrine, fetal, placental, and uterine parameters during early pregnancy (through day 70) in mares with elevated leptin versus normal leptin (NL) concentrations. Fourteen mares were classified as either NL (n = 6; Lep 0.9 ± 0.3 ng/mL), moderate leptin (ML; n = 4; Lep 3.0 ± 0.3 ng/mL), or high leptin (HL; n = 4; Lep 5.8 ± 0.7 ng/mL) based on annual plasma leptin. Mares were artificially inseminated and induced …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

With Vim And Courage: Confederate Soldiers And The Politics Of War, Michelle N. Norello

LSU Master's Theses

The Confederate cause has captivated historians for many decades. At first glance, the Confederacy embodies a persistent effort to promote white supremacy, the planter class, and independence. While this assessment is accurate, individual Confederate soldiers possess diverse narratives that both challenge and support the labels assigned over the years. The political dimension of the Civil War opens new avenues for scholarly exploration concerning Confederate soldiers. But what insights might this offer regarding the nature of the Confederacy, civilian political engagement, and democracy? The answer to this question is complex and nonlinear. Previous research has acknowledged the numerous reasons why Confederate …

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 …

Manual For Independence: How Democratic-Republicans Used The Memory Of The Revolution To Start The War Of 1812, Chloe Pellegrin

LSU Master's Theses

In its earliest form, the memory of the American Revolution was far from pure, riddled with partisan jabs and purposeful currents of present events. This, however, has received little attention even with the rise of memory studies within professional history. Scholars have addressed the popular memory of a variety of other pivotal moments from the Civil War to both World Wars. Revolutionary memory has been studied within the contexts of later eras, but almost never in the era immediately following the end of the war. Other scholars such as Alfred Young, Margot Minardy, and Michael McDonnell have all done work …

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 …

Investigation Of Subcellular Damage And Long-Term Non-Cancerous Cardiovascular Effects Following Whole-Body Photon Irradiation, Nousha Afshari

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Current radiobiological models focus primarily on nuclear DNA damage and fail to fully explain radiation-induced noncancerous health effects. This dissertation investigates whether non-nuclear subcellular structures contribute to radiation-induced biological damage through experimental biomarker analysis and computational microdosimetry. The central hypothesis posits that whole-body photon irradiation results in subcellular non-nuclear damage, specifically increased circulating mitochondrial DNA concentrations, that correlates with radiation dose and long-term noncancerous effects such as cardiovascular disease.

Specific Aim 1 measured mitochondrial and nuclear DNA concentrations in banked blood samples from 72 Chinese rhesus macaques that previously received whole-body photon irradiation ($0-10$ Gy) from Cobalt-60 or LINAC sources. …

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 …

The Oboe Thread: Tracing The Evolution Of Viet Cuong's Compositional Voice, Devin Gilbreath

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Viet Cuong is an emerging and highly regarded American composer currently serving on the faculty at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he teaches composition, orchestration, and music theory. Cuong's academic credentials include degrees from prestigious institutions such as the Curtis Institute of Music, Princeton University, and the Peabody Conservatory of Music. Over the years, his compositional portfolio has expanded significantly, encompassing a diverse range of genres and mediums, including vocal, orchestral, wind band, and chamber music. His chamber works, in particular, stand out for their fusion of diverse genres and instrumentation. One area in which Cuong has made …

Increasing The Economic And Social Viability Of Carbon Capture Using Biomass Slurry Fracture Injection, Zachary G. Laird

LSU Master's Theses

The climate is changing. This is a fact not a statement, not a theory, and not a falsehood, this is a fact. At the current projections the world’s average temperature is expected to rise by at least 2°C from pre-industrial averages by 2050 (Emissions Pathways to 2100 - Climate Action Tracker, 2024). This temperature rise will be catastrophic for a vast number of communities. What is driving this changing climate? Humans. In particular the carbon emissions caused by human activities. As humans we consume large amounts of meat, causing the need for cattle to increase, generating large amounts …

The Interactive Effects Of Stereotype Activation And Minority Group Belonging On Identity Mobilization Tactics, Career Identity, And Leader Identity For Black Women In The Workplace, Corai E. Jackson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand when and how Black women can achieve positive identity outcomes in the workplace when they experience stereotype activation. Despite Black women's increasing presence in the workforce, they continue to face unique challenges at the intersection of race and gender, including negative stereotypes that undermine their credibility and limit career advancement opportunities. This research explored how Black women's sense of belongingness to their minority group influences their use of identity mobilization tactics when stereotypes are activated, and how these factors collectively influence their career and leader identities.

Using a 2 × 2 between-groups …

A Transcendental Phenomenology: Exploring The College Choice Process Of Black Undergraduate Students Who Transfer From Predominantly White Institutions To Historically Black Colleges And Universities, Heather Oliver Freeman

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Researchers have studied college students and the college choice process extensively in the higher education realm of academia. Often, college choice is explored from a lens of the traditional high school student approaching the initial college choice decision. Furthermore, higher education is an expansive topic that not only includes public and private institutions, two- and four-year institutions, but also predominantly White institutions (PWIs) and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the college choice process and transfer experiences of undergraduate Black students who transfer from a PWI to an HBCU. This …

Elucidation Of A Role In Biofilm Production For The Tyrosine Catabolism Pathway In Vibrio Cholerae And Analysis Of Reversible Phase Variation In Vibrio Vulnificus, Aheli S. Mukerji

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Biofilms produced by the cholera pathogen Vibrio cholerae not only enhance its ability to survive in the environment but also allow pathogenic success of the bacterium. This organism also undergoes phase variation, switching between smooth and rugose colonial phenotypes, the latter forming much more vibrio polysaccharide (VPS) resulting in more robust biofilms and subsequently having an increased level of persistence. In a previous study, many genes were found to be upregulated in the transition from the smooth to the rugose phenotype. Here, several of these upregulated genes were investigated for their potential role in biofilm production, and an additional gene, …

Magnetic Field Enabled Assembly And Propulsion Of Colloidal Particles In A Magnetic Medium, Hashir M. Gauri

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Colloidal particles are nano/micro meter-sized particles dispersed in a fluid medium and serve as diverse building blocks for assembling complex structures. The ease of tunability of the shape, size, and interparticle interactions of colloidal particles facilitates their assembly into rich structures and phases that mirror the assembly process of atomic systems. Often regarded as "big atoms" colloidal particles provide an ideal model system for investigating complex phenomena in condensed matter, such as crystallization and nucleation. While the assembly of colloids under thermodynamic equilibrium has been extensively studied, recent interest has shifted toward exploring colloids in non-equilibrium conditions to create dynamic …

Energy Equity In The Built Environment: Analyzing Building Energy Consumption For American Low-Income Households, Sorena Vosoughkhosravi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The built environment consumes a significant amount of energy in the United States, with outdated and inefficient affordable housing increasing financial pressure on low-income households (LIHs) who face high energy burdens. This research aims to assess the energy performance of American households, focusing on LIHs, to promote energy justice by providing data-driven insights and models for energy efficiency improvements. More specifically, this research aims to (1) create a large-scale national residential building energy dataset by integrating the American Housing Survey and the Residential Energy Consumption Survey using machine learning techniques; (2) analyze and model American household occupancy profiles by leveraging …

Anion Exchange Membrane Durability For Electrochemical Co2 Reduction In Membrane Electrode Assembly Cells, Soundarzo Tasnim

LSU Master's Theses

The electrochemical reduction of CO₂ using membrane electrode assembly (MEA) cells has emerged as a promising approach for carbon capture and conversion into valuable products. This study investigates the degradation mechanisms of anion exchange membranes (AEMs) in CO₂ reduction applications, focusing on Sustainion X37-50, PiperION, and FAA-3-50. The research analyzes the impact of chemical and mechanical degradation on membrane performance, highlighting key stability challenges in long-term operation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were employed to monitor functional group stability and ionic conductivity loss over extended operation. The results indicate that hydroxide-induced degradation leads to nucleophilic …

Global Database For Naturally Occurring Radionuclides Associated With Offshore Oil And Gas Production, Ziran Wei, Songjie He, Stephanie Sharuga, Kanchan Maiti

Faculty Publications

This study compiles a comprehensive dataset on the occurrence, distribution, and potential impacts of Naturally Occurring Radionuclides (NORMs) near offshore oil and gas platforms. It encompasses data, including activities (Bq/l) and exposure levels (Msv), derived from various environmental matrices. A particular emphasis is placed on petroleum products and waste, such as produced water, scales, and sludges. The dataset contributes to a better understanding of the distribution of NORM wastes in marine environments, informs future radiological safety standards, contributes to the formulation of regulatory policies, and facilitates the design of mitigation strategies. The information—literature and data from five continents over the …