Digital Commons Network^™

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

Faculty Publications

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

Lighting Energy Load Prediction Framework Using Agent-Based Simulation And Artificial Neural Network Models, Sorena Vosoughkhosravi, Seddigheh Norouziasl, Amirhosein Jafari

Faculty Publications

Lighting is responsible for 17% of the total electricity consumption in commercial buildings in the United States. Investigating the lighting energy load provides the potential for more energy-saving in commercial buildings. Nonetheless, the development of lighting load prediction models has received limited attention in extant literature. This study proposes a framework to predict the lighting schedule and load in office buildings by integrating an agent-based model into an artificial neural network model. A small office building is used as a case study to simulate lighting load based on occupancy information using an agent-based model. Then, an artificial neural network model …

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

Faculty Publications

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

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

Faculty Publications

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

Ontology For Experimentation Of Human-Building Interactions Using Virtual Reality, Chanachok Chokwitthaya, Yimin Zhu, Weizhuo Lu

Faculty Publications

Scientific experiments significantly enhance the understanding of human-building interactions in building and engineering research. Recently, conducting virtual reality (VR) experiments has gained acceptance and popularity as an approach to studying human-building interactions. However, little attention has been given to the standardization of the experimentations. Proper standardization can promote the reusability, replicability, and repeatability of VR experiments and accelerate the maturity of this emerging experimentation method. Responding to such needs, the authors proposed a virtual human-building interaction experimentation ontology (VHBIEO). It is an ontology at the domain level, extending the ontology of scientific experiments (EXPO) to standardize virtual human-building interaction experimentation. …

Impact Report, 2022-2023, Lsu Libraries

Libraries Impact Reports

No abstract provided.

“Correct Provision Can Be Made For Their Wants: The Reading Rooms Of The Santa Fe Railroad, Suzanne Stauffer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Louisiana Agriculture Magazine, Winter 2023

Louisiana Agriculture

Agricultural best management practices are measures that producers can take to reduce — or eliminate — farming byproducts that enter streams and groundwater. Many of these practices address fertilizer and irrigation management and the handling of pesticides and animal waste. LSU AgCenter research has helped establish these practices, and extension agents assist producers in implementing them.

This issue of Louisiana Agriculture highlights the best management practices for many of the state’s most production areas. Aquaculture specialists detail how crawfish farms can save money while meeting best management practices, and sugarcane experts tell how the AgCenter is developing new varieties to …

Bamboo Nanocellulose/Montmorillonite Nanosheets/Polyethyleneimine Gel Adsorbent For Methylene Blue And Cu(Ii) Removal From Aqueous Solutions, Xuelun Zhang, Feng Li, Xiyu Zhao, Jiwen Cao, Shuai Liu, You Zhang, Zihui Yuan, Xiaobo Huang, Cornelis F. De Hoop, Xiaopeng Peng, Xingyan Huang

Faculty Publications

In recent years, the scarcity of pure water resources has received a lot of attention from society because of the increasing amount of pollution from industrial waste. It is very important to use low-cost adsorbents with high-adsorption performance to reduce water pollution. In this work, a gel adsorbent with a high-adsorption performance on methylene blue (MB) and Cu(II) was prepared from bamboo nanocellulose (BCNF) (derived from waste bamboo paper) and montmorillonite nanosheet (MMTNS) cross-linked by polyethyleneimine (PEI). The resulting gel adsorbent was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS), etc. …

Design, Alpha Testing, And Beta Testing Of A 3-D Printed Open-Hardware Portable Cryopreservation Device For Aquatic Species, William M. Childress, Yue Liu, Terrence R. Tiersch

Faculty Publications

Efforts in development of germplasm repositories to preserve genetic resources of aquatic species are impeded globally by a lack of standardized, inexpensive, reproducible, and portable cryopreservation technologies. The present work demonstrates a 3-D printed standardizable freezing device that can be used with nitrogen vapor shipping dewars for on-site sperm cryopreservation for aquatic species and be distributed as open-hardware. This device could hold 22 French straws (0.25-mL or 0.5-mL) and a quick-release ring design could eject straws directly into a canister inside a dewar by pressing a button after freezing. The final prototypes produced cooling rates of 1 to 68°C/min for …

Acute Stressors Do Not Impair Short-Term Memory Or Attention In An Aged Mouse Model Of Amyloidosis, Giuliana M. Dimarco, Breanna N. Harris, Alena V. Savonenko, Paul L. Soto

Faculty Publications

Memory impairment in Alzheimer’s disease patients is thought to be associated with the accumulation of amyloid-beta peptides and tau proteins. However, inconsistent reports of cognitive deficits in pre-clinical studies have raised questions about the link between amyloid-beta and cognitive decline. One possible explanation may be that studies reporting memory deficits often involve behavioral assessments that entail a high stress component. In contrast, in tasks without a high stress component transgenic mice do not consistently show declines in memory. The glucocorticoid cascade hypothesis of aging and the vicious cycle of stress framework suggest that stress exacerbates dementia progression by initiating a …

Betacoronaviruses Sars-Cov-2 And Hcov-Oc43 Infections In Igrov-1 Cell Line Require Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor, Meisam Yousefi, Wai Suet Lee, Wharton O.Y. Chan, Wei He, Marcus G. Mah, Cythia Lingli Yong, Joshua M. Deerain, Lijin Wang, Camille Arcinas, Biaoguo Yan, Dewei Tan, Wan Rong Sia, Akshamal M. Gamage, Jinxuan Yang, Alan Chen Yu Hsu, Shang Li, Martin Linster, Xinglou Yang, Sujoy Ghosh, Danielle E. Anderson, Gavin J.D. Smith, Chee Wah Tan, Lin Fa Wang, Yaw Shin Ooi

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

The emergence of novel betacoronaviruses has posed significant financial and human health burdens, necessitating the development of appropriate tools to combat future outbreaks. In this study, we have characterized a human cell line, IGROV-1, as a robust tool to detect, propagate, and titrate betacoronaviruses SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-OC43. IGROV-1 cells can be used for serological assays, antiviral drug testing, and isolating SARS-CoV-2 variants from patient samples. Using time-course transcriptomics, we confirmed that IGROV-1 cells exhibit a robust innate immune response upon SARS-CoV-2 infection, recapitulating the response previously observed in primary human nasal epithelial cells. We performed genome-wide CRISPR knockout genetic screens …

A Review Of The Fundamental Concepts Of Cfd For Novice Users In Building Research And Design, Soo Jeong Jo, James R. Jones

Faculty Publications

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been known as the most effective method for airflow analyses, but its complexity has been a barrier to dissemination in the building industry. Although, there have been continuous efforts to simplify the simulation process and develop more user-friendly CFD tools for novice users with reduced complexity, utilizing the tools without understanding the fundamental knowledge may bring about misleading results. The purpose of the present study is to help novice users understand the configuration process of building simulations using CFD by reviewing the fundamental concepts and proposing a framework for a simulation process in interaction with …

Adipose Tissue Expansion In Obesity, Health, And Disease, Ursula White

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

White adipose tissue (WAT) expands under physiological conditions via an increase in adipocyte size (hypertrophy) and/or number (hyperplasia; adipogenesis), and the ability of WAT to expand to accommodate energy demands is a significant determinant of metabolic health status. Obesity is associated with impaired WAT expansion and remodeling, which results in the deposition of lipids to other non-adipose organs, leading to metabolic derangements. Although increased hyperplasia has been implicated as a cornerstone in promoting healthy WAT expansion, recent developments suggest that the role of adipogenesis as a contributing factor in the transition from impaired subcutaneous WAT expansion to impaired metabolic health …

Horizon Scanning For Potentially Invasive Non-Native Marine Species To Inform Trans-Boundary Conservation Management – Example Of The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Kathryn A. O’Shaughnessy, Lorenzo Vilizzi, Wesley Daniel, Monica E. Mcgarrity, Hanna Bauer, Leslie Hartman, Stephen Geiger, Paul Sammarco, Steve Kolian, Scott Porter, Jessica Dutton, Matthew R. Mcclure, Michael Norberg, Alex Fogg, Timothy J. Lyons, Justin Procopio, Lauren Bantista, Wayne Bennett, Mary Wicksten, David Reeves, Julie Lively, Elizabeth Robinson, Jorge Brenner, Joseph Goy, Ashley Morgan-Olvera, Anna L.E. Yunnie, Gordon H. Copp

Faculty Publications

Prevention of non-native species introductions and establishment is essential to avoid adverse impacts of invasive species in marine environments. To identify potential new invasive species and inform non-native species management options for the northern Gulf of Mexico (Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas), 138 marine species were risk screened for current and future climate conditions using the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit. Species were risk-ranked as low, medium, high, and very high risk based on separate (calibrated) thresholds for fishes, tunicates, and inverte-brates. In the basic screening, 15 fishes, two tunicates, and 26 invertebrates were classified as high or very high risk …

Mapping High Marsh And Salt Pannes/Flats Along The Northern Gulf Of Mexico Coast, Nicholas M. Enwright, Wyatt C. Cheney, Kristine O. Evans, Hana R. Thurman, Mark S. Woodrey, Auriel M.V. Fournier, Jena A. Moon, Heather E. Levy, James A. Cox, Peter J. Kappes, John A. Nyman, Jonathan L. Pitchford

Faculty Publications

Coastal wetlands are predicted to undergo extensive transformation due to climate and land use change. Baseline maps of coastal wetlands can be used to help assess changes. Found in the upper portion of the estuarine zone, high marsh and salt pannes/flats provide ecosystem goods and services and are particularly important to fish and wildlife. We developed the first map of high marsh and salt pannes/flats along the northern Gulf of Mexico using regional models that included spectral indices related to greenness and wetness from optical satellite imagery, elevation data, irregularly flooded wetland probability information, and synthetic aperture radar backscatter. We …

Core Issues, Case Studies, And The Need For Expanded Legacy African American Genomics, Fatimah Jackson, Carter Clinton, Jennifer Caldwell

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Introduction: Genomic studies of Legacy African Americans have a tangled and convoluted history in western science. In this review paper, core issues affecting African American genomic studies are addressed and two case studies, the New York African Burial Ground and the Gullah Geechee peoples, are presented to highlight the current status of genomic research among Africa Americans. Methods: To investigate our target population’s core issues, a metadatabase derived from 22 publicly accessible databases were reviewed, evaluated, and synthesized to identify the core bioethical issues prevalent during the centuries of the African American presence in North America. The sequence of metadatabase …

Rbp4-Gal4, A Germline Driver That Activates In Meiosis, Reveals Functions For Vcp In Spermatid Development, Tyler J. Butsch, Alyssa E. Johnson, K. Adam Bohnert

Faculty Publications

Valosin-containing protein (VCP) is a versatile and ubiquitously expressed AAA+ ATPase that regulates multiple stages of Drosophila spermatogenesis. While VCP has documented roles in mitotic spermatogonia and meiotic spermatocytes, it is also highly expressed in post-meiotic spermatids, suggesting potential late-stage developmental functions as well. However, tools to assess late-stage activities of pleiotropic spermatogenesis genes such as VCP are lacking. Available germline-specific Gal4 drivers activate in stem cells or spermatogonia; consequently, knocking down VCP using one of these drivers disrupts or blocks early germ-cell development, precluding analysis of VCP in later stages. A Gal4 driver that activates later in development, such …

Identification Of Oral Therapeutics Using An Ai Platform Against The Virus Responsible For Covid-19, Sars-Cov-2, Adam Bess, Frej Berglind, Supratik Mukhopadhyay, Michal Brylinski, Chris Alvin, Fanan Fattah, Kishor M. Wasan

Faculty Publications

Purpose: This study introduces a sophisticated computational pipeline, eVir, designed for the discovery of antiviral drugs based on their interactions within the human protein network. There is a pressing need for cost-effective therapeutics for infectious diseases (e.g., COVID-19), particularly in resource-limited countries. Therefore, our team devised an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system to explore repurposing opportunities for currently used oral therapies. The eVir system operates by identifying pharmaceutical compounds that mirror the effects of antiviral peptides (AVPs)—fragments of human proteins known to interfere with fundamental phases of the viral life cycle: entry, fusion, and replication. eVir extrapolates the probable antiviral efficacy …

Multi-Shell Dmri Estimation From Single-Shell Data Via Deep Learning, Reagan Dugan, Owen Carmichael

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) data acquired with multiple diffusion gradient directions and multiple b-values (“multi-shell” data) enables compartmental modeling of brain tissues as well as enhanced estimation of white matter fiber orientations via the orientation distribution function (ODF). However, multi-shell dMRI acquisitions are time consuming, expensive and difficult in certain clinical populations. We present a method to estimate high b-value volumes from low b-value volumes via deep learning. A 3-dimensional U-NET architecture is trained from multi-shell dMRI training data to synthesize a high b-value volume from a diffusion gradient direction, given a low b-value volume from that same gradient …

Brain Effective Connectivity And Functional Connectivity As Markers Of Lifespan Vascular Exposures In Middle-Aged Adults: The Bogalusa Heart Study, Kai Cheng Chuang, Sreekrishna Ramakrishnapillai, Kaitlyn Madden, Julia St Amant, Kevin Mcklveen, Kathryn Gwizdala, Ramasudhakar Dhullipudi, Lydia Bazzano, Owen Carmichael

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Introduction: Effective connectivity (EC), the causal influence that functional activity in a source brain location exerts over functional activity in a target brain location, has the potential to provide different information about brain network dynamics than functional connectivity (FC), which quantifies activity synchrony between locations. However, head-to-head comparisons between EC and FC from either task-based or resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) data are rare, especially in terms of how they associate with salient aspects of brain health. Methods: In this study, 100 cognitively-healthy participants in the Bogalusa Heart Study aged 54.2 ± 4.3years completed Stroop task-based fMRI, resting-state fMRI. EC and …

Wooing “Willing Dupes”: The Bush Administration’S Use Of Emotional Language In The Drive Toward War With Iraq, Michael F. Russo

Faculty Publications

The publicly available texts of the George W. Bush administration from September 11, 2001, to March 19, 2003, as presented in The Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, were analyzed for word frequency and the words themselves analyzed for emotional weight using the NRC Emotion Intensity Lexicon. Transcripts of six television news agencies (ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX, and PBS) were also analyzed for word frequency to determine the extent to which these agencies may have repeated and consequently amplified the rhetoric of the administration. Public opinion polling for this same period was examined in an …

Black:White Health Inequalities, Genes Versus Environment—A New Chapter?, Richard Cooper

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Biochemical Alterations In The Follicular Fluid Of Bovine Peri-Ovulatory Follicles And Their Association With Final Oocyte Maturation, Noof Abdulrahman Alrabiah, Constantine A. Simintiras, Alexander C.O. Evans, Patrick Lonergan, Trudee Fair

Faculty Publications

Follicular fluid (FF), a product of vascular transudate and granulosa and thecal cell secretions, is the milieu that has evolved to support oocyte growth and maturation which plays a central role in oocyte quality determination. Therefore, a suboptimal FF composition may be reflected in compromised oocyte progression through maturation, fertilization, or embryo development. To date, the composition of bovine FF remains understudied. To address this, we comprehensively characterized the metabolomic constituency of bovine FF in the period during which the oocyte undergoes meiotic maturation. More specifically, FF from pre (-24 h) and peri (-2 h)-ovulatory follicles was profiled by high-throughput …

Optimization Of Lycopene Extraction From Tomato Pomace And Effect Of Extract On Oxidative Stability Of Peanut Oil, Dinh Thi Tran, Lan Thi Hoang Nguyen, Cuong Ngoc Nguyen, Maarten L.A.T.M. Hertog, Bart Nicolaï, David Picha

Faculty Publications

Lycopene, the pigment principally responsible for the red colour of tomatoes, is well-known for its strong antioxidant property and substantial health benefits. In this study, the optimal combination of factors for lycopene extraction from tomato pomace was identified using response surface methodology. The best practically feasible results maximising both lycopene yield and antioxidant activity of the extract were obtained by applying a ratio of ethyl acetate to tomato waste of 35:1 (v/w), at a temperature of 55°C for 100 min of extraction. The extract was then added to the peanut oil to evaluate its oxidative stability during 60 days of …

Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Of Qtl And Gene Expression Studies Identify Candidate Genes Associated With Aspergillus Flavus Resistance In Maize, Niranjan Baisakh, Eduardo A. Da Silva, Anjan K. Pradhan, Kanniah Rajasekaran

Faculty Publications

Aflatoxin (AF) contamination, caused by Aspergillus flavus, compromises the food safety and marketability of commodities, such as maize, cotton, peanuts, and tree nuts. Multigenic inheritance of AF resistance impedes conventional introgression of resistance traits into high-yielding commercial maize varieties. Several AF resistance-associated quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and markers have been reported from multiple biparental mapping and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in maize. However, QTLs with large confidence intervals (CI) explaining inconsistent phenotypic variance limit their use in marker-assisted selection. Meta-analysis of published QTLs can identify significant meta-QTLs (MQTLs) with a narrower CI for reliable identification of genes and linked markers …

The Inheritance Of Energy And The Evolution Of Unsustainability, Brian Snyder

Faculty Publications

Across contemporary and historical human groups, there is variation in how cultures interact with the environment and this variation is inherited through culture. Some human-environment relationships maximize group fitness relative to other relationships. Thus, there is heritable, fitness-associated variation in human-environment interactions and so human-environment interactions may be understood to be an evolved trait. However, one fitness-maximizing human-environment relationship could be unsustainable resource extraction. Anthroecological theory proposes that human cultures and genotypes have been selected for unsustainability, although several mechanisms have been proposed for how this selection may have worked. Here, I extend anthroecological theory and argue that energy inheritances …

Charting The Course To Advance Dei In The Ocean Sciences A Case Study, Christopher F. D’Elia, Katherine Falls, Sibel Bargu, Linda Hooper-Bùi

Faculty Publications

The Louisiana State University College of the Coast & Environment (LSU CC&E) developed a multi-faceted strategic initiative to increase its diversity, equity, and inclusion. Elements of this initiative began one-by-one over the last decade and were aggregated into a comprehensive implementation plan—the 2020 CC&E Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Action Plan. Based on best practices in the “physical sciences” (i.e., geosciences, including oceanography), the plan aims to augment recruitment and retention using limited resources and personnel. The long-range goal is to increase the number of PhD graduates from underrepresented groups by employing strategies that start at the 6–12th grade level. The …

Simulating Grain Shape Effects And Damage In Granular Media Using Peridem, Debdeep Bhattacharya, Robert P. Lipton

Faculty Publications

We provide a numerical platform for the analysis of particle shape and topology effect on the macroscopic behavior of granular media. We work within a discrete element method (DEM) framework and apply a peridynamic model for deformable particles accounting for deformation and damage of individual particles. To accommodate arbitrary particle shapes including nonconvex ones as well as particle topology, an efficient method is developed to keep intraparticle peridynamic interaction within particle boundaries. Particle contact with the rigid boundary wall is computed analytically to improve accuracy. To speed up simulations with particles of different shapes and sizes the initial configuration is …

Local Observer For Parameters And For State Variables Of Nonlinear Systems, Frederic Mazenc, Michael Malisoff

Faculty Publications

We provide new observer designs to simultaneously identify parameters and states of systems whose nonlinearities have order two near the origin, which include cubic terms arising in the study of jump phenomena, process control, and bistable models of aerospace systems. This yields local exponential convergence of the state estimation error to zero, basin of attraction estimates, and fixed time parameter identification. We illustrate our result using Duffing's equation, whose cubic term puts it outside the scope of prior methods.