Digital Commons Network^™

Applications For The Quasi-Atomic Orbital And Constrained Density Functional Theory Methods On Catalytic Reactions, Alvaro David Loaiza Orduz

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Selective activation of C–O, C–H, and C–C bonds underpins biomass upgrading, alkane functionalization, and CO₂ conversion. Despite their importance, the electronic factors governing catalytic performance remain incompletely understood, and many industrial processes still rely on empirical trends or material-specific observations. This dissertation addresses this gap by applying density functional theory (DFT), thermodynamic decomposition, and electronic-structure analysis to identify unifying principles of reactivity across transition-metal phosphides, vanadate oxides, copper-based electrocatalysts, and mixed IrO₂–RuO₂ layers. This work examines how charge transfer, orbital localization, and ligand-induced perturbations control reaction pathways in diverse catalytic systems. C–O bond scission in 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (MTHF) and methanol was …

Lsu General Catalog 2026-2027, Louisiana State University And Agricultural And Mechanical College

LSU General Catalog

The LSU General Catalog describes all undergraduate and graduate departments and programs with degree requirements and courses offered for each one. The LSU General Catalog includes information on registration and financial aid as well as academic services offered to all students

Wounded Soldiers, Internal Turmoil, And The American West

Civil War Book Review

No abstract provided.

Torn Asunder: Republican Crises And Civil Wars In The United States And Mexico, 1848-1867, Jesse Flecha

Civil War Book Review

No abstract provided.

Treasure And Empire In The Civil War: The Panama Route, The West And The Campaigns To Control America’S Mineral Wealth, Will Lourcey

Civil War Book Review

No abstract provided.

Restoration, Interaction And Resonance: Factors Influencing Audience Identification In Ai-Enhanced Textile And Fashion Digital Exhibitions, Yu Huang, Tianyuan Deng, Xiaofen Ji, Baichao Chen

LSU Fashion and AI x Policy Symposium

No abstract provided.

Algorithmic Reassembly And User Agency: Ugc Design Practices And Cultural-Aesthetic Production In Ai Guofeng Makeover Short Videos, Jiayu Li, Jie Chen, Honglei Zhou, Keke Ye, Chenqu Ma, Jing Song

LSU Fashion and AI x Policy Symposium

No abstract provided.

Narrative Intervention Structure: The "Semantic-Mechanical" Translation Path Of Clothing Silhouette Generation, Qianling Chen

LSU Fashion and AI x Policy Symposium

No abstract provided.

Environmental Influence On The Smart Self-Sensing 3d-Printed Concrete Column, Laraimie Reid, Khalilullah Taj, Yen-Fang Su

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

This study investigates the influence of environmental factors on the self-sensing performance of 3D-printed cementitious composites for structural health monitoring. Square 3D printed column samples containing control mortar and self-sensing cementitious composite (SSCC) were fabricated and cured, then exposed to controlled drying cycles and temperature variations from room temperature to 60°C. Under cyclic compressive loading, changes in electrical resistance were monitored to evaluate the fractional change in resistivity (FCR) and stress sensitivity. The results demonstrate that both internal moisture variation and elevated temperature significantly affect the piezoresistive sensitivity. Although resistance decreased with an increase in humidity and temperature, a better …

Relearning Language: A Meta-Analysis Of Syntactic Priming In Aphasia, Ally Miller, Willem Van Boxtel

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Background: Despite the importance of grammatical skills for participation
in daily life, treatments for sentence–level abilities in aphasia
are comparatively scarce. The psycholinguistic paradigm of syntactic
priming has recently been advanced as a potential assessment and
treatment for grammatical skills, and existing evidence on priming in
aphasia is highly promising. Nevertheless, a comprehensive analysis of
the strength of priming effects in aphasia, as well as treatment components
which might amplify these effects, has not been reported.
This meta–analysis synthesizes existing findings on syntactic priming
in aphasia, aiming to provide a comprehensive picture of priming
effects and their potential application for …

Evaluation Of Liberty® Herbicide For Zygosity Verification In Transgenic Maize (Zea Mays) Expressing The Bar Gene From Streptomyces Hygroscopicus, Isabel Hau

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Maize (Zea mays) is a major global crop cultivated for food and feed. Most commercial varieties grown in the United States contain herbicide-resistant traits to facilitate weed management. One such herbicide trait is Liberty-Link, which contains the bialaphos resistance (bar) gene from Streptomyces hygroscopicus that confers resistance to glufosinate-ammonium, the active
ingredient in Liberty herbicide. This bar gene is also widely used as a selectable marker in plant transformation. In non-transgenic plants, glufosinate-ammonium inhibits plant glutamine synthetase by acting as a glutamate analog, thereby disrupting amino acid biosynthesis and leading
to plant death. In contrast, transgenic plants expressing the bar …

From Millionaires To Marsh Island: Origin And Development Of Wetland Conservation Efforts In Louisiana, Roan Guidry

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Wetlands are protected, managed, and restored worldwide to provide a range of ecosystem services, including (i) habitat for plants and animals, (ii) carbon storage, (iii) improving downstream water quality, and (iv) reducing flooding by river and coastal waters. When did such conservation begin, and how do early conservation efforts shape recent public policy? This thesis identifies some of the earliest recorded examples of private efforts in Louisiana and analyzes how these early efforts shaped State and Federal Government action in the realm of conservation. The earliest wetland protection efforts in Louisiana began in the 1910s to sustain continental populations of …

Analyzing And Understanding America’S Involvement In The Global War In Terror Through The Oral Histories Of Its Veterans And Other Sources, Bryce Edwards

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

From 2001 to the early 2020s, the United States and its allies have consistently engaged in political, military, counterinsurgency, and nation building operations in nations such as Afghanistan and Iraq. The efforts of this coalition first rallied to combat the threat of global terrorism after September 11th, yet it would then develop in decades-long assignment to rebuild these countries and their institutions with fundamental (and foreign) western values. This thesis intends to examine the conflict by conducting oral histories of its many veterans, to better understand their lived experience. These interviews will be supported by scholarly works from those involved …

Research On Digital Fashion Design Workflow For Traditional Patterns: A Case Study Of The Southern Song Dynasty Ruyi Camellia Pattern, Yujie Fan, Zeyu Wu, Rongrong Cui, Jia Hu

LSU Fashion and AI x Policy Symposium

No abstract provided.

Role Of Cellular Stress Responses In Innate Immune Defense Against Acute Respiratory Infections, Amit Sharma

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress sensor inositol-requiring enzyme 1α (IRE1α) is an important regulator of innate immune cells. However, its role in pulmonary innate host defenses remains poorly understood. This dissertation elucidates the dual, context-dependent role of IRE1α in host defense against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) pneumonia. We demonstrate IRE1α’s function as both a detrimental mediator of acute pathology and an essential facilitator of innate immune memory. Our work revealed that acute IRE1α activation during primary MRSA infection is detrimental. In lungs and alveolar macrophages (AMs), IRE1α is activated in response to MRSA infection. Consequently, IRE1α activation triggers a hyperinflammatory …

Elucidating The Role Of Marine Benthic Carbon In A Changing World, Cristina Schultz, Jessica Y. Luo, Damian C. Brady, Robinson W. Fulweiler, Matthew H. Long, Colleen M. Petrik, Jeremy M. Testa, Heather M. Benway, David Burdige, Marta M. Cecchetto, Isa Elegbede, Natalya Evans, Alexandra Frenzel, Kayla Gillen, Lisa C. Herbert, Heidi K. Hirsh, Gennadi Lessin, Lisa Levin, Kanchan Maiti, Sairah Malkin, Sarah L. Mincks, Stanley Nmor, Anh Pham, James Pinckney, Christophe Rabouille, Shaily Rahman, Subhadeep Rakshit, Nicholas E. Ray, Dalton K. Sasaki, Samantha A. Siedlecki, Christopher Somes, Aron Stubbins, Olivier Sulpis

Faculty Publications

The ocean plays a major role in controlling atmospheric carbon at decadal to millennial timescales, with benthic carbon representing the only geologic-scale storage of oceanic carbon. Despite its importance, detailed benthic ocean observations are limited and representation of the benthic carbon cycle in ocean and Earth system models (ESMs) is mostly empirical with little prognostic capacity, which hinders our ability to properly understand the long-term evolution of the carbon cycle and climate change-related feedbacks. The Benthic Ecosystem and Carbon Synthesis (BECS) working group, with the support of the US Ocean Carbon & Biogeochemistry Program (OCB), identified key challenges limiting our …

Cultural Synthesis In Iranian Graphic Design: A Fusion Of Tradition And Modernity, Maryam Mehrabadi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis examines Iranian graphic design as a politically embedded and semiotically charged field wherein visual form operates as a site of ideological negotiation, cultural memory, and symbolic resistance. Focusing on the works of Ghobad Shiva and Morteza Momayez, the study situates graphic design within the sociopolitical constraints of the Pahlavi monarchy and the post-1979 Islamic Republic. It argues that Iranian design practices cannot be understood outside the country’s enduring identity crisis—shaped by the unresolved tension between three coexisting cultural strata: ancient Persian heritage, Islamic civilizational identity, and Western modernity. Drawing on the work of Edward Said, the thesis also …

Drawing Disintegration: A Twice-Exceptional Individual’S Autoethnographic Inquiry Into Graphic Narrative Creation As A Tool For Processing Trauma, Natalie J. Krusemeier

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This autoethnographic study explores the researcher’s lived experience of childhood trauma as a twice exceptional individual with an arts-based autoethnography research design, specifically in the form of graphic narrative. Grounded in Dabrowski’s Theory of Positive Disintegration (TPD), this study examines how emotional and sensory intensity, overexcitability (OE), and psychological disintegration intersect with twice-exceptional (2e) identity development and identity authenticity potential. Data sources include personal artifacts from childhood and adulthood—journals, letters, graphic narrative, documents, and photographs—alongside reflective writings and completed graphic narrative pages. Using descriptive coding and TPD’s developmental levels as analytic lenses, the study interprets the processes of disintegration and …

From Sensibility To Critical Engagement: Sympathy, Animality, And Subjecthood In Wollstonecraft’S Maria And Vindication, Yingnan Shang

Comparative Woman

This paper examines Mary Wollstonecraft’s strategic use of sentimental animal tropes alongside rationalist critique in Maria, or The Wrongs of Woman (1798) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), arguing that she mobilizes sensibility not as an end in itself, but as a pedagogical instrument within a broader project of aesthetic education—one intended to move readers from affective sympathy toward political and philosophical judgment. Focusing in particular on animal metaphors—especially in the character of Jemima, who repeatedly figures herself as a domesticated and brutalized creature—I trace how Wollstonecraft employs tropes of animality to illuminate the processes by which …

Sunburned Plankton: Ultraviolet Radiation Inhibition Of Phytoplankton Photosynthesis In The Community Earth System Model Version 2, Joshua Coupe, Nicole S. Lovenduski, Luise S. Gleason, Michael N. Levy, Kristen Krumhardt, Keith Lindsay, Charles Bardeen, Clay Tabor, Cheryl Harrison, Kenneth G. Macleod, Siddhartha Mitra, Julio Sepúlveda

Faculty Publications

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation can damage DNA and kill cells. We use laboratory and observational studies of the harmful effect of UV radiation on marine photosynthesizers to inform the implementation of a UV radiation damage function for phytoplankton photosynthesis in a modified version of the Community Earth System Model version 2 (CESM2-UVphyto). CESM2-UVphyto is capable of simulating UV inhibition of photosynthesis among modeled phytoplankton and ocean column penetration of UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C radiation. We conduct a series of simulations with CESM2-UVphyto using the Marine Biogeochemistry Library (MARBL) ecosystem model to understand the sensitivity of phytoplankton productivity to UV radiation. Results …

Lithological Modeling And Aquifer Characterization Of The Coastal Lowlands Aquifer System In Texas, Emmanuel Egyin Hayford

LSU Master's Theses

The Texas Coastal Lowlands Aquifer System (CLAS) is a crucial water resource for the Gulf Coast, serving millions through municipal, agricultural, and industrial supplies. However, its sustainability is increasingly threatened by factors such as population growth, saltwater intrusion, land subsidence, and climate change. A significant limitation is the absence of a comprehensive, data-rich, three-dimensional lithologic model that accurately represents the intricate structure and geometry of the aquifer. Existing models are overly simplistic, treating the hydrogeologic unit as laterally uniform and failing to capture its true hydrogeologic complexity. This study addresses this gap by developing the first high-resolution 3D lithologic model …

“Do Women Have To Be Naked To Get Into The Met. Museum?”: An Exploration Of Contemporary Feminist And Women’S Exhibitions And Collectives, Demi R. Dauterive

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis examines the creation and evolution of feminist art exhibitions and collectives in the United States from the early 1970s through the 2020s. These exhibitions and the work they contain are analyzed alongside each wave of feminism that ran parallel to their existence. Beginning with the 1970s and Second Wave Feminism, Chapter One explores Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro’s Womanhouse in addition to Lucy Lippard’s Twenty Six Contemporary Women Artists and the work of other smaller collectives. Chapter Two explores the DIY initiatives and subversive ideologies of Third Wave Feminism through artist groups such as the Guerrilla Girls and …

Exploring Runtime Evolution In Android: A Cross-Version Analysis And Its Implications For Memory Forensics., Babangida Bappah

LSU Master's Theses

Userland memory forensics has become a critical component of smartphone investigations and incident response, enabling the recovery of volatile evidence such as deleted messages from end-to-end encrypted apps and cryptocurrency transactions. However, these forensics tools, particularly on Android, face significant challenges in adapting to different versions and maintaining reliability over time due to the constant evolution of low-level structures critical for evidence recovery and reconstruction. Structural changes, ranging from simple offset modifications to complete architectural redesigns, pose substantial maintenance and adaptability issues for forensic tools that rely on precise structure interpretation. Thus, this paper presents the first systematic study of …

Narratives Of Vietnamese Teachers: Exploring Existential Givens Of Freedom, Meaning, And Isolation, Huy D. Nguyen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Drawing on Yalom’s framework of existential givens, this study explores how Vietnamese teachers experience existential freedom, existential isolation, and life meaningfulness. The notion of experience serves as the conceptual and interpretive foundation through which participants articulate these existential dimensions. Three participants were selected, and data were collected from online journal entries, vignette responses, and semi-structured interviews. Methodologically, it adopts intuitive inquiry as both conceptual lens and analytic process, integrating multiple modes of knowing and embodied understanding to explore how teachers imagine, experience, and interpret their work. To deepen interpretation, narrative structuring was incorporated to reveal the emotional and relational textures …

Establishing A Framework Of Best Management Practices For Sustainable Water Quality: Integration Of Technology And Remote Sensing, Mason L. Marcantel

LSU Master's Theses

Water quality security is a complex management issue that is constantly challenged by factors of seasonal variability in climate change, urban population growth, and agricultural intensification. These factors warrant the need for innovative technological adaptations to management practices that integrate remote monitoring, predictive modeling, and sustainable resource utilization. This study establishes a framework for sustainable water quality practices through the integration of remote sensing technology for urban wastewater treatment and agricultural irrigation systems. This dual-site research study explores seasonal water quality dynamics and technological interventions to create a more proactive approach to water quality security.

In the first study, water …

Detection Of Sweet Potato Feathery Mottle Virus Infection Via Remote Hyperspectral Imaging, Clayton Blake

LSU Master's Theses

In sweetpotato, global production exceeds 90 million tons annually, yet yields are threatened by numerous pathogens, including the potyvirus sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV). Virus infections can reduce yields by 25–40%, but surveillance is hampered by asymptomatic infections and the labor-intensive nature of detection. Hyperspectral imaging (HSI), combined with machine learning (ML), offers a promising pathway to scalable, non-destructive detection; however, studies focused on virus infection in sweetpotato remain limited.

This study demonstrates the feasibility of ML-enabled HSI for SPFMV detection under greenhouse conditions via a curated spectral library of two commercial cultivars, 'Beauregard' and 'Orleans', and the biological …

Bomba E: Tradition And Eclecticism In Selected Choral Works Of Ángel "Cucco" Peña, Luis F. Gonzalez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This monograph presents a musical analysis of three choral works by Puerto Rican composer Ángel “Cucco” Peña: Negra Majestad, Bomba E, and Aleluya Criollo. Although Peña is widely recognized for his contributions to popular music and production, these pieces highlight a lesser-known side of his creative output in the choral realm. Each work draws from traditional Puerto Rican genres—bomba, plena, and aguinaldo—while incorporating modern compositional techniques that reflect Peña’s eclectic style and his engagement with both popular and classical traditions.

The study situates these pieces within their historical and cultural contexts, particularly the African diaspora’s …

Effects Of Hydrological Connectivity On Created Marsh Sustainability, Katie Swann

LSU Master's Theses

While efforts are being made to curb the high rate of coastal land loss in Louisiana, and even to restore ecosystem services and functions, it is generally accepted that restoration of these areas and functions is not a one-to-one value. It may take decadal time scales to reach efficient functional processing of nutrients and carbon storage rates, which may never reach true capacity comparable to similar naturally-organized systems. Although it is imperative to preserve these areas, restoration of ecosystem services and biogeochemical processes of coastal wetlands are preferable to future without action scenarios. Effectively directing the use of the limited …

A Test Of The Abundant-Center Hypothesis For Stream Fishes, Matthew L.W. Zink, Brandon K. Peoples, Julian D. Olden, Lily M. Thompson, William K. Annis, Stephen R. Midway

Faculty Publications

The abundant-center hypothesis (ACH) provides a conceptual model for predicting range-wide distributions of species abundance, suggesting that abundance peaks in the center of the geographic range and declines towards range edges. Empirical studies testing the ACH and its subsequent derivations predominantly occurred in terrestrial systems and reported mixed support. Moreover, none of these models consider the possibility of multiple geographic areas of elevated abundance (which we refer to as ‘abundant cores'). Naturally dispersal limited species may exhibit multiple abundant cores, requiring refinement of the ACH. We used fish species abundances from 29 206 community monitoring surveys and weighted geospatial kernel …

How The Inter-Nucleon Force Shapes Emergent Collectivity And Imparts Uncertainties In Ab Initio Nuclear Observables, Kevin Becker

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The importance of collective motion in atomic nuclei has been well-established for many decades. Even before the advent of the nuclear shell model and its much-needed answers to surprising empirical phenomena, collectivity and surface deformation have played a vital role in broadening our knowledge. Reconciling the collective and single-particle camps into a unified description required tremendous strides in the application of group theory and advances in high-performance supercomputing, and thanks to these efforts the symmetry-adapted no-core shell model, or SA-NCSM, has developed into a reliable model for the study of deformed light and medium-mass nuclei. State-of-the-art calculations reveal remarkably simple …