Digital Commons Network^™

Experiments And Data Analysis For Modulated Phase Gratings In X-Rays, Sydney B. Carr

LSU Master's Theses

Purpose: Modulated Phase Grating (MPG) interferometry has been shown in theory and simulations to produce observable fringes on a clinical detector without requiring fluence absorbing analyzer. In this work, we will experimentally show that the MPG X-ray system produces observable fringes and multi-modal X-ray images.

Motivation:Nearly 1 in 8 women in the US will develop invasive breast cancer in their lifetime, accounting for approximately 40,000 deaths each year [1-2]. In order to pursue the best treatment option available, cancer itself must be adequately imaged and staged, based on size and level of metastasis, on the order of Stage I-IV. …

Roleplaying Games And Performance, Benjamin Joseph Munise

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Roleplaying Games and Performance calls to mind popular appearances of roleplaying games on stage and screen, like Stranger Things or Qui Nguyen’s popular play, She Kills Monsters. However, inquiry into the way roleplaying games appear in these titles reveals the way they have been instrumentalized to serve the ends of their respective mediums. Scholars writing about roleplaying games also tend to leap straight to analyses of video games, with many words spilled over World of Warcraft while a live site of analog performance sits before them. In this work, I address the tabletop roleplaying game as a medium with …

Remote Sensing And Artificial Intelligence-Based Modeling And Prediction Of Harmful Algal Blooms In Lake Pontchartrain, Ian Smith

LSU Master's Theses

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and particularly toxic cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs) have become a growing threat to the environment, economy, communities, and human and animal health. This is particularly true for Lake Pontchartrain. Forecasting the occurrence of cyanobacterial HABs in Lake Pontchartrain is a process that currently does not exist, as nowcasting by the NCCOS Algal Bloom Monitoring System or the similar system implemented by the U.S. EPA is currently the only method to monitor HAB production in the Lake. This thesis made this process possible by identifying antecedent environmental conditions controlling CyanoHABs, describing the conditions using NASA satellite …

Effects Of Research Dissemination Vehicle Use On Preservice Teacher Candidate Knowledge Acquisition, Allie Jenkins Boquet

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study provides information on how EBPs can be disseminated to education practitioners for the purpose of knowledge acquisition. With a well-established research-to-practice gap in the field of education, this study determined which research dissemination vehicle, practitioner journal article, informational video, or textbook chapter, allowed for the highest acquisition of knowledge for preservice teachers.

The purpose of this study was to determine how the use of three different research dissemination vehicles, 1) practitioner journal articles, 2) informational videos, and 3) textbook chapters, impacts acquisition of knowledge of the EBP, instructional feedback, when utilized by preservice teacher candidates as well as …

Learning–Assisted Constraint Filtering To Enhance Power System Optimization Performance, Fouad Hasan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Machine learning (ML) is a powerful tool that provides meaningful insights for operators to make fast and efficient decisions by analyzing data from power systems. ML techniques have great potential to assist in solving optimization problems within a shorter time frame and with less computational burden. AC optimal power flow (ACOPF), dynamic economic dispatch (D-ED), and security-constrained unit commitment (SCUC) are the three energy management optimization functions studied in this dissertation. ACOPF is solved every 5~15 minutes. Because of the nonconvex and complex nature of ACOPF, solving this problem for large systems is computationally expensive and time-consuming. Classification and regression …

Ecological Validity Of Immersive Virtual Environment Experiments On Human Thermal State And Behavioral Intentions: Experimental Protocol Factors, Girish Rentala

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Using immersive virtual environment (IVE) based experiments to investigate human thermal states and thermal adaptive behaviors during the building design phase could help identify potential comfort issues and enable designers to optimize building performance cost-effectively before the actual building construction. However, to effectively utilize IVEs to study thermal states/adaptive behaviors, it is crucial to ensure the ecological validity of IVE experiment protocols. This entails accurately representing in-situ (real) environments within IVEs and establishing comparability and generalizability of data collected under different thermal stimuli between IVE and in-situ environments. Existing thermal stimuli based IVE studies have not effectively evaluated the ecological …

Behavioral Comparison Of Fluorescent Tracer Sediment To Lightweight Polystyrene Sediment Of The Lower Mississippi River Physical Model (Lmrpm), Julia C. Mudd

LSU Master's Theses

A lightweight, unexpanded polystyrene sediment with a specific gravity of 1.05 and a D10, D50 and D90 of 0.250 mm, 0.425mm, and 0.800 mm, respectively, is utilized in the Lower Mississippi River Physical Model (LMRPM) at Louisiana State University to mimic the sand transport of the Lower Mississippi River. While the black model sediment is easily visible against the stark white of the LMRPM, the relative homogeneity of the sediment particles and the opaqueness of the model channel make it difficult to closely study sediment dynamics during an experiment. For this reason, a tracer sediment that is marked with fluorescence …

Plato's Republics: A Dramatic Interpretation Of The Early Cities In Plato's "Republic", Simeon Burns

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation will demonstrate a new methodological approach to reading Plato’s Republic. I develop and apply a dramatic, dynamic hermeneutic to Book II and part of Book III in the text. This method holds that each speech is the product of a preceding agreement or disagreement between two speakers. Agreements lead to the argument’s advancement and disagreements result in a regression to a previous agreement from which to restart the exchange. The focus section is largely on the early exchange Socrates has with Adeimantus. I argue that Socrates is an unwilling participant in the famous discussion on the meaning …

The Influence Of Selected Personal And Academic Demographic Characteristics On Retention From Fourth To Fifth Semester Of Enrollment Among Traditional-Age Undergraduate Students At A Research Extensive University In The Southern Portion Of The United States, Tammy R. Millican

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

While many Americans may be questioning the value of a college degree due to rising costs, on virtually every measure of economic well-being and career attainment—from personal earnings to job satisfaction to the share employed full time—young college graduates are outperforming their peers with less education. Yet college dropout rates indicate that up to 32.9% of undergraduates do not complete their degree program, which has a financial impact on both students and the universities and colleges where they enroll (Hanson, 2022).

Historically, students who leave college before completing a baccalaureate degree are no better qualified than those with a high …

Exploring Machine Learning In Deep Foundation And Soil Classification Application, Mohammad Moontakim Shoaib

LSU Master's Theses

The applicability of several Machine Learning (ML) models was explored in this research to predict the ultimate capacity and load-settlement behavior of axially loaded single-driven piles from Cone Penetration Test (CPT) data. Additionally, a common CPT-based soil behavior type (SBT) classification system was reproduced using those ML models. Eighty static pile load tests and corresponding CPT data close to those pile locations were collected from 34 sites in Louisiana for the deep foundation application. On the other hand, 70 CPT soundings were taken in 14 different parishes across Louisiana for the soil classification application. Specifically, tree-based ML models such as …

Behavior Of Gas Influx In Riser And Considerations For Riser Gas Handling, Mahendra Kumar Kunju

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Conventional methods of managing Gas-in-Riser events are not optimal when the riser is isolated from the formation by a closed subsea blowout preventer (BOP) on rigs equipped with Mud-GasSeparator (MGS), Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD), or Riser Gas Handling (RGH) equipment. As the use of adaptive drilling processes like MPD facilitates drilling of otherwise non-drillable wells with faster corrective action, the drilling industry should include the effect of gas solubility, dispersion, bubble suspension, fluid compressibility as well as riser ballooning to avoid overestimation of riser pressure and produce more efficient well control methods. The IADC Deepwater Well Control Guideline recommends always …

Jeff Scott’S "Startin’ Sumthin’, Composed For The Monmouth Winds," Transcribed For Full Wind Band, Trevor Butts

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this project is to create a wind band transcription of a work for a chamber music ensemble by Jeff Scott. Jeff Scott creates works that he considers “Urban Classical Music”. These works are rooted in European traditions and informed by his African American culture. His music is unapologetically influenced by the cultural experiences of his diverse, urban environment upbringing.

This project is intended to contribute to the overall body of wind band literature, specifically the body of wind band literature composed by underrepresented composers. There has been a lack of representation of African American composers throughout the …

Software-Defined Networking Security Techniques And The Digital Forensics Of The Sdn Control Plane, Abdullah Alshaya

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) is an efficient networking design that decouples the network's control plane from the data plane. When compared to the traditional network architecture, the SDN architecture shares many of the same security issues. The centralized SDN controller makes it easier to control, easier to program in real-time, and more flexible, but this comes at the cost of more security risks. An attack on the control plane layer of the SDN controller is a major security concern.

First, centralized design and the existence of a single point of failure in the control plane compromise the accessibility and availability of …

Angular Correlations In The Β Decay Of B 8: First Tensor-Current Limits From A Mirror-Nucleus Pair, A. T. Gallant, N. D. Scielzo, G. Savard, J. A. Clark, M. Brodeur, F. Buchinger, D. P. Burdette, M. T. Burkey, S. Caldwell, J. E. Crawford, A. Czeszumska, C. M. Deibel, J. Greene, D. Heslop, T. Y. Hirsh, A. F. Levand, B. Longfellow, G. E. Morgan, P. Mueller, R. Orford, S. Padgett, N. Paul, A. Pérez Galván, A. Reimer, R. Segel, K. S. Sharma, K. Siegl, L. Varriano, B. J. Zabransky

Faculty Publications

We present the first measurement of the α-β-ν angular correlation in the Gamow-Teller β+ decay of B8. This was accomplished using the Beta-decay Paul Trap, expanding on our previous work on the β- decay of Li8. The B8 result is consistent with the V-A electroweak interaction of the standard model and, on its own, provides a limit on the exotic right-handed tensor current relative to the axial-vector current of |CT/CA|2< 0.013 at the 95.5% confidence level. This represents the first high-precision angular correlation measurements in mirror decays and was made possible through the use of an ion trap. By combining this B8 result with our previous Li8 results, we demonstrate a new pathway for increased precision in searches for exotic currents.

Don't Forget Me: A Discussion On Social Memory And Commemoration, Anfernee Murray

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis examines the relationship between social memory and social identity development among groups who share contested interpretations of their shared social memory. With social memories being a collaborative process that requires consensus and compromise, there arises conflict when groups are divided in deciding on what event of their shared history is relevant to remember - for it is these memories that influence and shape how a group identifies itself.

For Black Americans, this contention arises in the conversations surrounding the difficult and traumatic histories of their enslaved ancestors by the ancestors of their white counterparts. This is further complicated …

Modelling Illiquid Stocks Using Quantum Stochastic Calculus: Asymptotic Methods, Will Hicks

Journal of Stochastic Analysis

No abstract provided.

Development Of Cost-Effective Restriping Strategies For Thermoplastic Pavement Markings Used In Hot And Humid Climate, Elise Mansour

LSU Master's Theses

Because of the limited highway state budget, most transportation agencies restripe their thermoplastic pavement markings based on a fixed schedule or based on visual inspection. However, these restriping strategies might be questionable in terms of efficiency and cost. Some studies have developed degradation models to predict the retroreflectivity of thermoplastic markings based on key variables. Yet, most of the developed models had low prediction accuracy (R² as low as 0.1) and sometimes was not reported, which placed little confidence in their use. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the field performance and develop cost-effective restriping strategies …

Nucleotide-Driven Molecular Sensing Of Monkeypox Virus Through Hierarchical Self-Assembly Of 2d Hafnium Disulfide Nanoplatelets And Gold Nanospheres, Parikshit Moitra, Maria Iftesum, David Skrodzki, Priyanka Paul, Elnaz Sheikh, Jennifer Lynn Gray, Ketan Dighe, Zach Sheffield, Manas Ranjan Gartia, Dipanjan Pan

Faculty Publications

Liquid interfaces facilitate the organization of nanometer-scale biomaterials with plasmonic properties suitable for molecular diagnostics. Using hierarchical assemblage of 2D hafnium disulfide nanoplatelets and zero-dimensional spherical gold nanoparticles, the design of a multifunctional material is reported. When the target analyte is present, the nanocomposites’ self-assembling pattern changes, altering their plasmonic response. Using monkeypox virus (MPXV) as an example, the findings reveal that adding genomic DNA to the nanocomposite surface increases the agglomeration between gold nanoparticles and decreases the π-stacking distance between hafnium disulfide nanoplatelets. Further, this self-assembled nanomaterial is found to have minimal cross-reactivity toward other pathogens and a limit …

An Investigation On The Resilience Of Long Short-Term Memory Deep Neural Networks, Christopher Vasquez

LSU Master's Theses

In a world of continuously advancing technology, the reliance on these technologies continues to increase. Recently, transformer networks [22] have been implemented through various projects such as ChatGPT. These networks are extremely computationally demanding and require cutting-edge hardware to explore. However, with the growing increase and popularity of these neural networks, a question of reliability and resilience comes about, especially as the dependency and research on these networks grow. Given the computational demand of transformer networks, we investigate the resilience of the weights and biases of the predecessor of these networks, i.e. the Long Short-Term (LSTM) neural network, through four …

Optimization Of The Self-Healing Efficiency Of Bacterial Concrete Using Impregnation Of Three Different Precursors Into Lightweight Aggregate, Omar Omar

LSU Master's Theses

Concrete is the most broadly used construction material; thus, developing sustainable concrete is essential to decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from concrete production. Implementation of self-healing concrete technologies is a promising approach to enhance the durability and sustainability of the transportation infrastructure. Among these technologies, bacterial concrete has the potential to seal microcracks through microbial induced calcite precipitation (MICP). Bacterial protection is essential to ensure the viability of this technology due to concrete’s harsh environment. Additionally, the success of this technology depends on the presence of an adequate mineral precursor compound and nutrient for the bacteria. As such, the main …

Quantification Of How Mechanical Ventilation Influences The Airborne Infection Risk Of Covid-19 And Hvac Energy Consumption In Office Buildings, Zhihong Pang, Xing Lu, Zheng O’Neill

Faculty Publications

This paper presents an EnergyPlus-based parametric analysis to investigate the infection risk of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) under different mechanical ventilation scenarios for a typical medium-sized office building in various climate zones. A Wells-Riley (WR) based Gammaitoni-Nucci (GN) model was employed to quantitatively calculate the airborne infection risk. The selected parameters for the parametric analysis include the climate zone, outdoor air fraction, fraction of infectors, quanta generation rate, and exposure time. The loss and deposition of particles are not considered. The results suggest that the COVID-19 infection risk varies significantly with climate and season under different outdoor air fraction scenarios …

The Intersectionality Of Race And Gender And Its Relationship To School Belonging And Student Mental Health, Kennedi Boatner

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Differential Expression Analysis Of Dorsal And Ventral Retinas Of The Four-Eyed Fish Anableps Anableps, Andrea Matus

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Stakeholder Perceptions About Incorporating Externalities And Vulnerability Into Benefit–Cost Analysis Tools For Watershed Flood Risk Mitigation, Thomas H. Douthat, Fahmida Akhter, Rachelle Sanderson, Jerrod Penn

Faculty Publications

Multi-scalar climate hazards in watersheds and growing consideration regarding equity call for innovation in how agencies evaluate and prioritize mitigation and adaptation projects. Benefit–Cost Analysis (BCA) is one approach that is increasingly being applied to decision-making (i.e., FEMA BCA toolkit), but that has not been applied to watershed and equity-based flood management initiatives. This paper addresses this topic and presents a case study evaluating projects for watershed flood and climate mitigation projects by the Louisiana Watershed Initiative (Louisiana, USA). Through semi-structured interviews with stakeholders and practitioners, we found that BCA tool design must be embedded in the program and policy …

Mathematics Library News, Aaron Lercher

Faculty Publications

Mathematics Library News is an LSU Libraries newsletter for members of the Mathematics and Experimental Statistics Departments, published roughly once each semester.

Effect Of Exercise Training On Insulin-Stimulated Glucose Disposal: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Of Randomized Controlled Trials, Candida J. Rebello, Dachuan Zhang, John P. Kirwan, Adam C. Lowe, Carlante J. Emerson, Chelsea L. Kracht, Lori C. Steib, Frank L. Greenway, William D. Johnson, Justin C. Brown

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Background and objective: The effect of exercise training on whole-body insulin sensitivity has not been systematically summarized. We aimed to summarize the data from randomized controlled trials evaluating the effect of exercise training on insulin action, in adults. Subjects: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL databases were searched until January 2021. Randomized controlled trials lasting ≥4 weeks, including adults, and evaluating the effect of exercise on insulin-stimulated glucose disposal measured using the hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp, were included. Methods: Three reviewers extracted summary data from published trials. The primary outcome was insulin-stimulated glucose disposal. Standardized weighted mean differences (SMD) in glucose disposal between …

Proton Branching Ratios In 22 Mg For X-Ray Bursts, S. H. Kim, K. Y. Chae, D. W. Bardayan, J. C. Blackmon, K. A. Chipps, R. Hatarik, K. L. Jones, M. J. Kim, R. L. Kozub, J. F. Liang, C. Matei, B. H. Moazen, C. D. Nesaraja, P. D. O’Malley, S. D. Pain, M. S. Smith

Faculty Publications

Decay protons from ²² Mg energy levels populated through a previously reported ²⁴ Mg(p, t) ²² Mg transfer reaction (Chae et al. in Phys Rev C 79:055804, 2009) have been analyzed for proton branching ratios as a follow-up analysis. The measurement was performed at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility of Oak Ridge National Laboratory by utilizing 41-MeV proton beams and ²⁴ Mg solid targets. Decay protons and reaction tritons were simultaneously detected with a silicon detector array. By investigating the ²⁴ Mg(p, t) ²² Mg*(p) ²¹ Na channels, the proton branching ratios of five ²² Mg excited states were …

Grandma And Hxmt Observations Of Grb 221009a: The Standard Luminosity Afterglow Of A Hyperluminous Gamma-Ray Burst—In Gedenken An David Alexander Kann, D. A. Kann, S. Agayeva, V. Aivazyan, S. Alishov, C. M. Andrade, S. Antier, A. Baransky, P. Bendjoya, Z. Benkhaldoun, S. Beradze, D. Berezin, M. Boër, E. Broens, S. Brunier, M. Bulla, O. Burkhonov, E. Burns, Y. Chen, Y. P. Chen, M. Conti, M. W. Coughlin, W. W. Cui, F. Daigne, B. Delaveau, H. A.R. Devillepoix, T. Dietrich, D. Dornic, F. Dubois, J. G. Ducoin, E. Durand, P. A. Duverne, H. B. Eggenstein, S. Ehgamberdiev

Faculty Publications

Object GRB 221009A is the brightest gamma-ray burst (GRB) detected in more than 50 yr of study. In this paper, we present observations in the X-ray and optical domains obtained by the GRANDMA Collaboration and the Insight Collaboration. We study the optical afterglow with empirical fitting using the GRANDMA+HXMT-LE data sets augmented with data from the literature up to 60 days. We then model numerically using a Bayesian approach, and we find that the GRB afterglow, extinguished by a large dust column, is most likely behind a combination of a large Milky Way dust column and moderate low-metallicity dust in …

Study On The Thermospheric Density Distribution Pattern During Geomagnetic Activity, Lirong Yin, Lei Wang, Lijun Ge, Jiawei Tian, Zhengtong Yin, Mingzhe Liu, Wenfeng Zheng

Faculty Publications

The atmospheric density of the thermosphere is a fundamental parameter for spacecraft launch and orbit control. Under magnetic storm conditions, the thermospheric atmospheric density experiences significant fluctuations, which have a negative impact on spacecraft control. Exploring thermospheric density during geomagnetic storms can help to mitigate the effects of such events. Research on the inversion of accelerometer measurements for different satellites and the variations of atmospheric density under extreme conditions is still in its infancy. In this paper, the distribution of atmospheric density during three geomagnetic storms is investigated from the inversion results of the Swarm-C accelerometer. Three major geomagnetic storms …

Online Luxury Resale Platforms And Customer Experiences: A Text Mining Analysis Of Online Reviews, Chuanlan Liu, Sibei Xia, Chunmin Lang

Faculty Publications

There are long-standing arguments that challenge the resale business as a circular fashion model. Considering the whole fashion industry and market, luxury resale is still quite small. To scale the industry, it is critical to attract more consumers to embrace fashion resale and circular fashion. However, many of the customers most likely to embrace resale might have already opted into the market, indicating that online or in-store resale businesses are competing for a limited pool of customers. As a result, it is challenging for the industry to scale. Therefore, it is imperative to understand how consumers engage with luxury resale …