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Differences Across Racial Groups In Caregiver Ratings Of Symptoms In Children Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Cindy Terlonge Graham Jan 2011

Differences Across Racial Groups In Caregiver Ratings Of Symptoms In Children Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Cindy Terlonge Graham

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A great deal of attention from local, federal, and international communities has been focused on autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). As the prevalence of these disorders rise, researchers continue to investigate various unanswered questions. The goal of this study was to examine the differences across racial/ethnic groups in caregiver ratings of symptoms of children diagnosed with ASDs. Results from such research will help determine whether cultural background can influence the recognition of behaviors indicative of an ASD. Culturally-sensitive clinical practice stemming from the significant findings of this research project can help to reduce the age at which minority children are diagnosed. …

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Rapid Identification Of Oil Contaminated Soils Using Visible Near Infrared Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy, Somsubhra Chakraborty Jan 2011

Rapid Identification Of Oil Contaminated Soils Using Visible Near Infrared Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy, Somsubhra Chakraborty

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Initially, 46 petroleum contaminated and non-contaminated soil samples were collected and scanned using visible near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (VisNIR DRS) at three combinations of moisture content and pretreatment. The VisNIR spectra of soil samples were used to predict total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) content using partial least squares (PLS) regression and boosted regression tree (BRT) models. The field-moist intact scan proved best for predicting TPH content with a validation r2 of 0.64 and relative percent difference (RPD) of 1.70. Those 46 samples were used to calibrate a penalized spline (PS) model. Subsequently, the PS model was used to predict soil TPH …

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Catalytic Process For The Conversion Of Synthesis Gas To Ethanol For Use As An Alternative Fuel, Nitin Kumar Jan 2011

Catalytic Process For The Conversion Of Synthesis Gas To Ethanol For Use As An Alternative Fuel, Nitin Kumar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Higher alcohols are increasing as a proportion of the transportation fuel market, and can be used as neat fuels, or as blends with conventional fuels. For a number of reasons, these C2+-alcohols will be of interest in the foreseeable future. Large-scale production of higher alcohols will likely be carried out via syngas, which can be produced from a number of feedstocks, including coal, natural gas and biomass. Rhodium-based catalysts have been found to be the most active/selective for higher alcohols. However, the literature shows that the yields of C2+-alcohols that can be achieved with current catalysts, even the most active/selective, …

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The Role Of Ad-36 And Its E4orf-1 Protein In Modulating Glycemic Control, Emily Jane Dhurandhar Jan 2011

The Role Of Ad-36 And Its E4orf-1 Protein In Modulating Glycemic Control, Emily Jane Dhurandhar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Current treatment strategies for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) include a range of anti-diabetic drugs, supplemented by lifestyle modifications to reduce dietary fat intake and body fat. However, for their anti-diabetic action, most drugs recruit insulin signaling pathways, which are already impaired in T2DM. Also, compliance and success in achieving sustained improvements in diet or obesity over the long term is marginal. Therefore, an agent that improves diabetes independent of insulin signaling or lifestyle changes may be highly useful. Human adenovirus Ad36 offers such a model. Ad36 improves glycemic control in chow-fed mice or rats and attenuates diabetes and hepatic …

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Dynamic Measurements With Scanning Probe Microscopy: Surface Studies Using Nanostructured Test Platforms Of Metalloporphyrins, Nanoparticles And Amyloid Fibrils, Wilson K. Serem Jan 2011

Dynamic Measurements With Scanning Probe Microscopy: Surface Studies Using Nanostructured Test Platforms Of Metalloporphyrins, Nanoparticles And Amyloid Fibrils, Wilson K. Serem

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A hybrid imaging mode for characterization of magnetic nanomaterials has been developed, using atomic force microscopy (AFM) combined with electromagnetic sample actuation. Instead of using a coated AFM probe as a magnetic sensor; our strategy is to use a nonmagnetic probe with contact mode AFM to characterize the vibration of magnetic and superparamagnetic nanomaterials responding to the flux of an AC electromagnetic field. We refer to the hybrid imaging mode as magnetic sample modulation (MSM-AFM). An oscillating magnetic field is produced by applying an AC current to a wire coil solenoid placed under the sample stage for tuning selected parameters …

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Myths And Realities, Isoko Onodera Jan 2011

Myths And Realities, Isoko Onodera

LSU Master's Theses

My work explores the manifold personalities and roles of contemporary women, through depicting different female figures from western mythology. The mythic women in my paintings each have their own personalities, stories and roles to play, which are often conflicting in nature. By having my model act as a mythological character and by replacing the scenes from mythology with a contemporary setting, my paintings emphasize the universal and timeless essence of women. Each painting also utilizes the symbolic use of color to intensify the sensory experience of the viewer. The mythic figures I rendered are Proserpine, Venus, Psyche, Penelope, Artemis, and …

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Agroecological Factors Impacting Stem Borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) Dynamics In Gulf Coast Sugarcane And Rice, Julien M. Beuzelin Jan 2011

Agroecological Factors Impacting Stem Borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) Dynamics In Gulf Coast Sugarcane And Rice, Julien M. Beuzelin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Diatraea saccharalis (F.) and Eoreuma loftini (Dyar) are stem boring pests of sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) and rice (Oryza sativa L.) crops in the Gulf Coast region. Studies were conducted to determine the role of agroecological factors, including predator disruptions, alternate hosts, and crop phenological conditions, on stem borer populations.
The year after Hurricane Rita storm surge flooded sugarcane in Louisiana, a 71% reduction in the predaceous Solenopsis invicta Buren was recorded. Even with a 2.4-fold increase in the number of insecticide applications used for D. saccharalis management in flooded fields, growers still incurred higher injury.
In two field …

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An Aloha State Of Mind: Performing Hawaiian Cultural Identities, Kirsten E. Ogden Jan 2011

An Aloha State Of Mind: Performing Hawaiian Cultural Identities, Kirsten E. Ogden

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

There are many Hawaiian identities currently in effect. This dissertation explores several representative and contested Hawaiian identities, and how these identities develop through key performances, plays, and other representational practices by Hawaiians and by Locals. Due to its unique situation as one of only two U.S. states formerly with its own government, and as one of only two U.S. states not connected to the main land-mass of the United States, Hawaiian identity is complicated by multiple factors: sanitized historical constructions, sovereignty, intermingling ethnic identities, tourism, and reclaimed cultural practices. Additionally, Hawaiians as a native people hold a unique place in …

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Population Characteristics Of A White-Tailed Deer Herd In An Industrial Pine Forest Of North-Central Louisiana, John Henry Harrelson Jan 2011

Population Characteristics Of A White-Tailed Deer Herd In An Industrial Pine Forest Of North-Central Louisiana, John Henry Harrelson

LSU Master's Theses

White-tailed deer are the most important game species in Louisiana, and throughout the southeastern United States. Likewise, the forest products industry represents the most important agricultural commodity in Louisiana, and industrial landowners frequently lease their properties to sportsmen specifically for white-tailed deer hunting. I conducted research assessing survival, space use, and habitat selection of white-tailed deer on a 3885 ha industrial forest owned by Plum Creek Timber Company. I captured 61 deer in Union Parish, Louisiana in 2009-2010, radio-marked 24 females and 23 males, and ear-tagged 7 females and 6 males. Season and sex interacted to affect home range and …

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Fabrication Of Organosilane Nanostructures As Selective Sites For Surface Chemical Reactions, Kathie Lee Lusker Jan 2011

Fabrication Of Organosilane Nanostructures As Selective Sites For Surface Chemical Reactions, Kathie Lee Lusker

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Naturally self-assembled mesospheres provide a practical route for controlling the arrangement of materials on surfaces at the nanoscale. Periodic arrays of well-defined nanostructures can be produced with different nanomaterials and interpattern spacings. Results presented in this dissertation demonstrate particle lithography methods developed for fabricating arrays of organosilane nanostructures. Surfaces were designed for the selective deposition of polymers and nanoparticles to produce multicomponent nanopatterns. The approaches for surface patterning provide new directions for studying surface chemistry at the molecular-level, and have practical application for emerging photovoltaic thin film technologies. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) provides unique capabilities for molecular visualization and ultrasensitive …

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Structural And Functional Insights Of Human 5-Lipoxygenase, Nathaniel Carson Gilbert Jan 2011

Structural And Functional Insights Of Human 5-Lipoxygenase, Nathaniel Carson Gilbert

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This work describes the structure of human 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) (Gilbert, Bartlett et al. 2011) and the techniques required to ascertain the structure. 5-LOX is a notoriously unstable enzyme with important biological functions. The human 5-LOX has been implicated in many disease states including asthma, atherosclerosis and cancer. Part of 5-LOX biology is the inherent instability of the enzyme, which is thought to help regulate the production of its pro-inflammatory products, the leukotrienes. Our objective was stabilizing the enzyme for in vitro studies without affecting catalytic fidelity. I was able to quantitate stabilizing and destabilizing point mutations of 5-LOX by thermal …

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Development And Validation Of Biomechanical Models To Quantify Horse Back Forces At The Walk In Three Horse Breeds, Laxmi Raghunandana Kaidapuram Jan 2011

Development And Validation Of Biomechanical Models To Quantify Horse Back Forces At The Walk In Three Horse Breeds, Laxmi Raghunandana Kaidapuram

LSU Master's Theses

Therapeutic horseback riding is a common component of physical therapy programs. Quantification of the horse back forces will provide vital information to match therapeutic riders with equine partners. To meet this medical need, a model to quantify the horse back forces from ground reaction forces was developed to test the hypothesis that the forces transferred to a static weight on the horse’s back can be predicted given horse breed and weight. Simultaneous, real time kinetic, kinematic, and back force data on a static weight were collected from 7 adult horses: 3 thoroughbreds, 3 quarter horses, and 1 paso fino. An …

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Small Footprint High Flow Rate Microdevice For Rare Target Cell Capture, Taehyun Park Jan 2011

Small Footprint High Flow Rate Microdevice For Rare Target Cell Capture, Taehyun Park

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A novel high flow rate cell capture design was introduced to overcome the limitations of the current technologies or methods for rare target cell capture. Even though the rare target cell capture using BioMEMS technology has great potential for cancer diagnosis, previous rare cell capture research could not overcome the limitations of low flow rate or low recovery rate. Rare cell research requires precise sample preparation for accurate results. A new method of preparation for a single or a precise number of target cell was introduced. Current sample preparation methods which are not suitable for rare cell research, such as …

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Aquatic Macroinvertebrate And Nekton Community Structure In A Chenier Marsh Ecosystem: Implications For Whooping Crane Prey Availability, Sung-Ryong Kang Jan 2011

Aquatic Macroinvertebrate And Nekton Community Structure In A Chenier Marsh Ecosystem: Implications For Whooping Crane Prey Availability, Sung-Ryong Kang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A suitable foraging habitat model based on prey density, biomass, and energy values in varying hydrologic conditions can provide an objective quantifiable method to assess habitat conditions for the Whooping Crane (Grus americana). Nekton and macroinvertebrates are considered the important prey sources in Whooping Crane's diet at different times. This study focuses on the understanding of habitat relationships of nekton and macroinvertebrate assemblage in the Chenier Plain to provide a foundation for the development for foraging suitability models for the reintroduced Whooping Crane. In this dissertation, in a laboratory study I experimentally examined the effect of salinity on …

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Study Of Complex Rna Function Modulated By Small Molecules: The Development Of Rna Directed Small Molecule Library And Probing The S-Adenosyl Methionine Discrimination Between On And Off Conformational States Of The Sam-I Riboswitch, Vamsi Krishna Boyapati Jan 2011

Study Of Complex Rna Function Modulated By Small Molecules: The Development Of Rna Directed Small Molecule Library And Probing The S-Adenosyl Methionine Discrimination Between On And Off Conformational States Of The Sam-I Riboswitch, Vamsi Krishna Boyapati

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

RNA recently remained unexploited and is now drawing interest as a potential drug target. The methodology and available drug libraries for RNA targeting/screening are in rudimentary stages. The interactions made by ligands with RNA can be explored for RNA based drug development. The dissertation is composed of 4 chapters. The first chapter focuses on the structural features of RNA and the attempts made to target RNA previously. The second chapter focuses on the development of a small molecule library enriched with substructures derived from RNA binding ligands. For this study a fragment-based approach (fragment based approach is detailed in chapter …

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The Effects Of Reiki Treatment On Mental Health Professionals Who Are At Risk For Secondary Traumatic Stress, Martha P. Novoa Jan 2011

The Effects Of Reiki Treatment On Mental Health Professionals Who Are At Risk For Secondary Traumatic Stress, Martha P. Novoa

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this cross-sectional experimental study was to examine the effects of Reiki on risk level for secondary traumatic stress (STS) among mental health professionals, such as, social workers and licensed professional counselor (LPCs). The sample (N=67) was mostly composed of master social work students (MSW) (61%) from the School of Social Work at Louisiana State University (LSU), professionals social workers (34%), and LPCs (5%). Study participants were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: Reiki, placebo or control group. Dependent variables measured at pretest and posttest were: risk level for STS, anxiety, depression, somatic symptoms, anger and …

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Diversity Gradients At Geographic Scales: Effects Of Environmental Characteristics And Stochastic Diversification, Juan Sebastian Tello Jan 2011

Diversity Gradients At Geographic Scales: Effects Of Environmental Characteristics And Stochastic Diversification, Juan Sebastian Tello

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

For nearly two centuries, it has been known that biological diversity is not homogeneously distributed across the planet, and yet a general explanation for this variation remains elusive. Hundreds of studies have found that taxonomic diversity (i.e., richness) is strongly associated with characteristics of the environment. Measures of energy or climate seem to be particularly strong correlates of richness, while measures of environmental heterogeneity are typically of secondary importance. The pervasiveness of richness-environment correlations has been seen as evidence that diversity gradients result from environmental gradients. However, effects of environment on diversity may have been overestimated. In this dissertation, I …

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Asians In The American Mind: How Americans View Asian Americans Politically, Nhung Kim Nguyen Jan 2011

Asians In The American Mind: How Americans View Asian Americans Politically, Nhung Kim Nguyen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study explores how the general American public thinks about Asian Americans, who are a multiethnic, immigrant-dominated, fast-growing, and understudied group. Understanding Americans’ views toward Asians is important in light of the changing face of the American electorate, whose recent additions comprise largely of immigrants from Asia and Latin America, and the likelihood that Americans’ beliefs or thoughts about race and ethnicity will be altered beyond the black-white divide in U.S. politics. As an attempt to gain such understanding, the purpose of this study is to provide a systematic study of Americans’ attitudes toward Asians in terms of positive/negative evaluations …

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Surface Functionalization Of Crystalline Silicon Substrates, Sri Sai Vegunta Jan 2011

Surface Functionalization Of Crystalline Silicon Substrates, Sri Sai Vegunta

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this work, various chemical and electrochemical methods were demonstrated to attach application-specific organic monolayers to crystalline silicon substrates. In one study, alkyl monolayers were anodically electrografted or thermally grafted onto planar (100) silicon substrates using Grignard precursors. The results show electrografted methyl monolayers provide a stable Si-C termination, resisting oxidation on (100) surfaces for approximately 55 days in air. The alkyl termination could provide a potential alternative to defective native oxides and kinetically unstable hydride surfaces. A mechanism involving two electron transfers per grafting event was established for both the thermal and electrochemical routes. In another study, unsaturated organic …

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Birth Matters: Discourses Of Childbirth In Contemporary American Culture, Jennifer Ellis West Jan 2011

Birth Matters: Discourses Of Childbirth In Contemporary American Culture, Jennifer Ellis West

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this project, I use a rhetorical-cultural approach to examine the multiple and often-contradictory messages circulating in contemporary American culture about the event of childbirth. Though many feminist scholars have shown how professional obstetrics’ view of physiological birth shapes medical practice and women’s experiences in hospitals, few have asked what the American public is learning about birth outside of the hospital, or why that knowledge might matter. In order to fill that gap, I trace a dominant narrative that positions institutionalized biomedical knowledge and technology as the exclusive producers of health and safety for birthing women and their babies in …

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Semiconducting Polymers And Block Copolymers Prepared By Chain-Growth Living Polymerization, Jinwoo Choi Jan 2011

Semiconducting Polymers And Block Copolymers Prepared By Chain-Growth Living Polymerization, Jinwoo Choi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Organic semiconducting polymers are the unique materials that considered a basis for the next generation of electronic and optoelectronic applications. However, high device performance of semiconducting polymers strongly depends on their molecular structure and nanoscale organization. Therefore, it is an essential task to develop robust and versatile synthetic approaches to build such well-defined semiconducting polymer materials. This Ph.D. study aimed at design of state-of-the-art synthetic approaches towards organic semiconducting polymers via chain-growth living polymerization as well as development of polymer architectures which can self-organize into supramolecular nanoassemblies or allow external control of the polymer’s properties. First, we prepared a series …

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Environmental Factors Impacting Coastal Beach Health, Kevin Michael Chenier Jan 2011

Environmental Factors Impacting Coastal Beach Health, Kevin Michael Chenier

LSU Master's Theses

The objectives of this research were to 1) determine the variability of fecal-indicator bacteria in Gulf of Mexico marine waters, 2) determine the effect of environmental variables on enterococci concentrations, 3) determine if beach sand at Holly Beach, LA was capable of acting as a reservoir for fecal-indicator bacteria, and 4) determine if a model could be developed to reduce the time it takes to issue a beach swim advisory. Fecal-indicator bacteria concentrations varied from year to year in historical data collected from a Gulf Coast beach. Afternoon fecal-indicator bacteria concentrations were consistently lower than morning concentrations, demonstrating daily variability. …

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Influences Of Landscape Characteristics On The Nesting Ecology Of Female Wild Turkeys And Behavior Of Raccoons, Michael E. Byrne Jan 2011

Influences Of Landscape Characteristics On The Nesting Ecology Of Female Wild Turkeys And Behavior Of Raccoons, Michael E. Byrne

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Nest predation is the principle source of reproductive failure in many bird species. Understanding nest predation requires knowledge of interactions between landscape characteristics, and the ecology and behavior of birds and local nest predators. I studied nesting ecology and multi-scale habitat selection of female wild turkeys and the habitat selection and searching behaviors of raccoons, an important nest predator, in a bottomland hardwood forest in Louisiana. My objective was to evaluate the relationships between habitat, wild turkey nest site selection, and raccoon foraging behavior. I used first-passage time (FPT) analysis on nightly foraging tracks of raccoons during the turkey nesting …

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Functional Analysis Of Nopp140 And P5cdh1 In Drosophila Melanogaster, Fang He Jan 2011

Functional Analysis Of Nopp140 And P5cdh1 In Drosophila Melanogaster, Fang He

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Nopp140 is a nucleolar protein with several purported roles in ribosome biogenesis. To further characterize Nopp140 in Drosophila, we used FLP-FRT recombination to delete the Nopp140 gene. Genomic PCR, RT-PCR, and immuno-fluorescence microscopy confirmed the loss of Nopp140 and its products. Compared to embryos bearing the transposons used to generate the deletion, Nopp140-/- embryos displayed similar hatching rates, but resulting larvae died after 8 days, still in the second instar stage. Nucleoli were apparent in Nopp140-/- cells with no observable morphological defects, but the rRNA methyl-transferase, fibrillarin, redistributed partially to the nucleoplasm. BrU-labeling indicated that rDNA transcription is reduced overall …

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Molecular Mechanisms Of Bacillus Thuringiensis Resistance In The Sugarcane Borer, Yunlong Yang Jan 2011

Molecular Mechanisms Of Bacillus Thuringiensis Resistance In The Sugarcane Borer, Yunlong Yang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis, is a major target pest of transgenic corn expressing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) proteins in many areas of the U.S. mid-southern region. A Cry1Ab-resistant (Cry1Ab-RR) strain of D. saccharalis has been developed from a single two-parent family-line. To examine the molecular mechanisms of the Cry1Ab resistance in this insect strain, cDNAs of five types of potential candidate genes related to Bt resistance were sequenced using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and 5’ rapid amplification of cDNA end (5’ RACE). The Bt resistance candidate genes examined included three trypsins (DsTRYs), three chymotrypsins (DsCHYs), three aminopeptidases N …

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Alternative Pretreatment Of Sorghum Bagasse For Bio-Ethanol Production, Cong Chen Jan 2011

Alternative Pretreatment Of Sorghum Bagasse For Bio-Ethanol Production, Cong Chen

LSU Master's Theses

The majority of the world’s energy needs are currently met through the use of fossil fuels. The possible depletion of fossil fuel resources and environmental concerns has prompted the search for alternative renewable and environmentally friendly energy resources. The goal of this research was to develop a microwave-assisted dilute ammonia pretreatment technology for the conversion of sweet sorghum into ethanol. Conversion of biomass into ethanol requires a pretreatment step to open up the structure and decouple the cellulose, and hemicellulose and lignin in the biomass. In the first study, sorghum bagasse was pretreated with 28% ammonium hydroxide, and water at …

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An Evaluation Of Post-Katrina Emergency Preparedness Strategies In Hospitals On The U.S. Gulf Of Mexico Coastline, Holly Houk Cullen Jan 2011

An Evaluation Of Post-Katrina Emergency Preparedness Strategies In Hospitals On The U.S. Gulf Of Mexico Coastline, Holly Houk Cullen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Recent tragedies are causing hospitals to more intensively review their strategies and broaden their approach to emergency preparation. The Gulf Coast storms of 2005 and 2008 and other catastrophic events nationwide have illustrated the central role hospitals can and should play in a community’s disaster recovery infrastructure. Given the unpredictability of the world today, with the possibility of a mass casualty crisis constantly threatening, there is an urgent need to seek and achieve higher levels of readiness. If a hospital organization is not investing in emergency preparedness on a continuous basis, that facility and its community are placed at higher …

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Ecology And Systematics Of Coleoptera In Woody Debris Of Eastern North American Forests, Michael Leslie Ferro Jan 2011

Ecology And Systematics Of Coleoptera In Woody Debris Of Eastern North American Forests, Michael Leslie Ferro

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Dead wood is a largely unexplored reservoir of taxonomic diversity and its ecology is poorly known despite its use as fuel and its roles in the carbon cycle and healthy ecosystems. During this research 15 new species of dead wood associated rove beetles (Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae) in the genus Sonoma Casey were discovered and described. Sonoma tolulae (LeConte) was redescribed. Taxonomic issues obfuscated the identity of another dead wood associate, Thoracophorus costalis (Erichson) (Staphylinidae: Osoriinae). Examination of holotypes resulted in the discovery of two nomenclatural synonyms: T. longicollis Motschulsky, and T. fletcheri Wendeler. An inexpensive emergence chamber used to collect insects …

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Stories Of The Proterozoic Earth: Paleoproterozoic Chuanlinggou Arcitarchs And Neoproterozoic ¹⁷O-Depleted Barite, Yongbo Peng Jan 2011

Stories Of The Proterozoic Earth: Paleoproterozoic Chuanlinggou Arcitarchs And Neoproterozoic ¹⁷O-Depleted Barite, Yongbo Peng

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two independent topics, both critical to understanding Earth history during the Proterozoic Eon. (1) Paleoproterozoic Chuanlinggou Acritarchs: The eukaryotic affinity of acritarchs from the Chuanlinggou Formation has been questioned because of lack of indisputable morphological evidence. In this study, Chuanlinggou acritarchs were examined by jointly using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. In most cases, an ovoidal group of acritarchs represents a half-vesicle following a complete longitudinal rupture, which is a morphological model different from a whole envelope with medial splits, as proposed by earlier studies. This ovoidal group displays a bipolar morphology, …

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Revision And Reclassification Of The Genera Of Phalacridae (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea), Matthew Gimmel Jan 2011

Revision And Reclassification Of The Genera Of Phalacridae (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea), Matthew Gimmel

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The family Phalacridae is monographed at the genus level using modern phylogenetic and classification methods. A morphological matrix of 106 characters and 2063 base pairs of aligned 18S rDNA sequence data were analyzed both separately and in a concatenated matrix, using maximum parsimony, Bayesian methods, and maximum likelihood. The phylogenetic hypotheses were used to construct a new subfamilial classification for the family. I recognize eight subfamilies, including two described as new: Biophytinae Guillebeau 1894, Eustilbinae Guillebeau 1892, Ochrolitinae Guillebeau 1894, Olibrinae Guillebeau 1892, Olibroporinae, subfam. nov., Olibrosominae, subfam. nov., Phaenocephalinae Matthews 1899, Phalacrinae Guillebeau 1892. Twenty-eight new generic synonymies are …

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