Digital Commons Network^™

Simulation Modeling Of A High-Throughput Oyster Cryopreservation Pathway, Sarah Bodenstein, Isabelina Nahmens, Terrence R. Tiersch

Faculty Publications

The genetic resources of oysters in Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico are threatened due to high unexplained oyster mortality. Germplasm repositories are collections of cryopreserved genetic material stored alongside associated information that are used to protect genetics resources and facilitate breeding programs in agricultural industries. Therefore, there is great need for oyster repositories. Development of repositories has been slow despite research on high-Throughput cryopreservation protocols because of logistical complexities. The goal of this study was to begin to address the gap between cryopreservation research and repository development in oyster aquaculture by modeling a cryopreservation protocol to understand and improve …

Controlling Electro-Magnetic Functionality Of Ruthenates By Heterostructure Design, Zeeshan Ali

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Perovskite oxides (ABO₃) show wide range of functionalities originating from interplay of structural, spin, charge, and orbital degrees of freedoms. The bulk perovskite structure could be controlled via conventional chemical substitution, though exploiting heterostructure engineering novel ground states could be observed which otherwise are absent in bulk. In this thesis, the interest is to explore the electro-magnetic phenomena as complex oxides are confined in heterostructures.

I first investigate electromagnetic properties of ultrathin epitaxial ruthenate: SrRuO₃ (SRO); spatially confined between SrTiO₃ (STO) i.e., STO⁵-SROⁿ-STO⁵ with n = 1- and 2-unit cells. It …

Effect Of Fine Aggregate And Pva Fiber Content On The Properties Of Metakaolin-Based Engineered Geopolymer Composites, Ruwa Abufarsakh

LSU Master's Theses

The mechanical and physical properties of novel metakaolin (MK) based Engineered Geopolymer Composites (EGCs) consisting of locally available river sand (RS) or manufactured microsilica sand (MS) reinforced with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber were studied. Plain geopolymer (GP) binder, GP mortars, and fiber-reinforced composites were also studied. Aspects of the material composition that were investigated in this study include binder composition, aggregate type, and PVA fiber content. Per the compressive strength results, GP mortars presented greater compressive strength than GP binder where the GP mortars manufactured with lower water to solids ratio exhibited greater compressive strengths. Furthermore, the incorporation of PVA …

Case Study Of The Impact Of Teacher Efficacy On Select Pk-3 School Faculty In A South Louisiana School: A Perceptual Investigation, Tara L. Alfred-Pellerin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This single case study explored the perceptions, feelings, and ideas of a select group of PK-3 certified teachers in a small, south Louisiana elementary school. As educators, perceptions and opinions often go unrecognized within the central school board and in the district. In order for teachers to be successful, it is imperative they are equipped with professional development and opportunities for collaboration in order to increase their self-efficacy to become more invested. This study focused on steps to increase self-efficacy, the importance of teacher collaboration, and professional development within an elementary school. It was grounded by theoretical frameworks of self-efficacy …

A Numerical And Machine Learning Investigation Of Water Quality In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, From Estuaries To Shelf, Yanda Ou

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this study, numerical and machine learning (ML) models are developed and adapted to investigate the water quality of the Barataria Estuary and the Louisiana-Texas (LaTex) Shelf in northern Gulf of Mexico. By using a 3-D hydrodynamic ROMS model, the salinity variability of the Barataria Estuary is found highly influenced by the Mississippi River discharges and man-made river diversion systems. The Mississippi River freshwater can intrude into the estuary through the middle and the east passes. Sensitivity tests indicate that decreases in lower estuarine salinity due to the elevated Mississippi River discharges are more apparent than the salinity increases due …

Of Language And Thought: American Political Discourse, Normative Reason, And Essentially Contested Concepts, Riley Clare Valentine

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes progressive liberalism and neoliberalism as forms of normative reason that redefine specific political concepts, which are central to American liberalism – equality, liberty, the role of the State, and the pursuit of happiness. I contend that language is an important expression of normative reason. Language is how political reason and the norms accompanying it are expressed. I move through Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Barack Obama, exploring shifts in language and interpretations of political concepts through progressive liberal and neoliberal forms of normative reason. I argue that a tension emerges between progressive liberalism and neoliberalism, and a …

Event Horizons Are Tunable Factories Of Quantum Entanglement, Ivan Agullo, Anthony J. Brady, Dimitrios Kranas

Faculty Publications

That event horizons generate quantum correlations via the Hawking effect is well known. We argue, however, that the creation of entanglement can be modulated, as desired, by appropriately illuminating the horizon. We adapt techniques from quantum information theory to quantify the entanglement produced during the Hawking process and show that, while ambient thermal noise (e.g. cosmic microwave background radiation) degrades it, the use of squeezed inputs can boost the nonseparability between the interior and exterior regions in a controlled manner. We further apply our ideas to analog event horizons concocted in the laboratory and insist that the ability to tune …

Wave-Front Reconstruction Via Single-Pixel Homodyne Imaging, Savannah L. Cuozzo, Charris Gabaldon, Pratik J. Barge, Ziqi Niu, Hwang Lee, Lior Cohen, Irina Novikova, Eugeniy E. Mikhailov

Faculty Publications

We combine single-pixel imaging and homodyne detection to perform full object recovery (phase and amplitude). Our method does not require any prior information about the object or the illuminating fields. As a demonstration, we reconstruct the optical properties of several semi-transparent objects and find that the reconstructed complex transmission has a phase precision of 0.02 radians and a relative amplitude precision of 0.01.

Fashion Or Function: Examining Consumers' Perceived Values Of Mass-Customized Menswear Via A Content Mining Approach, Yuli Liang, Snigdha Rangineni, Chuanlan Liu

Faculty Publications

Mass customization has been used in various clothing products including T-shirts, dress shirts, jeans, sports shoes, accessories, etc. However, even though the concept of mass customization has been accepted among scholars and business practitioners, and the application of mass customization has been practiced in the fashion industry for more than two decades, the acceptance among ultimate consumers and the market of MC in the apparel industry has not taken off yet. To this end, this study intends to fill the identified gap through a content mining exploratory qualitative study using customer value theory to evaluate individual consumers' actual customization experiences. …

Size-Dependent Tensile Failure Of Epitaxial Tin/Cu/Tin Sandwich Pillar Structures: A Combined Experimentation – Atomistic Simulation Study, Xiaoman Zhang, Reza Namakian, Andrew C. Meng, Dorel Moldovan, W. J. Meng

Faculty Publications

A combined experimentation - molecular dynamics simulation study was conducted to understand tensile failure of TiN/Cu/TiN interfacial regions. Tensile loading was conducted on micro-pillar specimens fabricated from TiN/Cu/TiN thin film sandwich structures. The Cu layer and the TiN layer underneath were grown epitaxially on MgO(001) substrates, with Cu[110]//TiN[001] in the growth direction and Cu//TiN and Cu//TiN within the growth plane. The Cu layer contains numerous nanotwins with the {111} twin plane parallel to the growth direction, with 2–10 nm wide twin bands rotated in-plane by 90° in different yet symmetry-equivalent epitaxial domains. Tensile loading in-situ a scanning electron microscope measured …

Novel Texture-Based Probabilistic Object Recognition And Tracking Techniques For Food Intake Analysis And Traffic Monitoring, Robert Jacob Dibiano

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

More complex image understanding algorithms are increasingly practical in a host of emerging applications. Object tracking has value in surveillance and data farming; and object recognition has applications in surveillance, data management, and industrial automation. In this work we introduce an object recognition application in automated nutritional intake analysis and a tracking application intended for surveillance in low quality videos. Automated food recognition is useful for personal health applications as well as nutritional studies used to improve public health or inform lawmakers. We introduce a complete, end-to-end system for automated food intake measurement. Images taken by a digital camera are …

Self-Healing And Rejuvenating Materials For Asphalt Mixtures, Marwa Hassan, Max Abelardo Aguirre Deras

College of Engineering Patents

Asphalt rejuvenating fibers and asphalt rejuvenation materials for self-healing asphalt applications are provided. The asphalt rejuvenating fibers can include a shell surrounding a hollow space. The shell can include alginate salts, an emulsifier, and a plasticizer. The asphalt rejuvenation materials can include the asphalt rejuvenating, an asphalt binder, and aggregate blends.

Transitioning In A Time Of Crisis: Understanding The Impact Students’ Prior Online Learning Experiences Have On Online Course Achievement, Clayton F. Benton

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This quantitative study examines the impact that selected academic and personal demographic characteristics had on the successful completion of online coursework during the Covid-19 pandemic. Focused on a high-research university in the Southeastern United States during the Fall of 2020, this research looked the potential influence that prior online learning experiences had on students’ abilities to transition to the online modality during a time of crisis.

Data for this study was retrieved from institutional sources and the sample consisted of 5,739 second-year students at the institution. After describing the sample and population, exploratory regressions were conducted to establish models for …

Impact Of Horizontal Resolution (Submesoscale Permitting Vs. Mesoscale Resolving) On Ocean Dynamic Features In The South China Sea, Renhao Wu, Liqun Jia, Chunyan Li, Yu Liu, Bo Han, Dake Chen

Faculty Publications

Model resolution is a key factor that impacts the model bias in simulating ocean dynamics. How would model resolution influence model bias is an important question. In this study, we set up two sets of experiments with identical settings except the grid resolution, one with a minimum spacing of 2 km, referred to as the submesoscale permitting (SP) model, and the other with a minimum spacing of 6 km, referred to as the mesoscale resolving (MR) model, to investigate the impact of horizontal resolution on simulated dynamic features in the South China Sea. Results show that the SP outperforms the …

Single-Screen Bark Particle Separation Can Be Used To Engineer Stratified Substrate Systems, Jeb S. Fields, Kristopher S. Criscione, Ashley Edwards

Faculty Publications

Substrate stratification is an emerging substrate management strategy involving layering multiple substrate materials within a single container to modify physiochemical characteristics of the substrate system. Specifically, stratifying allows growers and researchers to rearrange the air–water balance within a container to modify hydraulic characteristics. Moreover, fertilizer can be incorporated into just the upper strata to reduce leaching. Research to date has shown benefits associated with resource efficiency, production timing, and weed control. With the associated benefits for substrate stratification, interested growers will need pragmatic solutions for onsite trials. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify a cost-effective solution for …

Fall Facts, 2022, Louisiana State University

Fall Facts

No abstract provided.

Fall 2022 Catalog, Lsu Press

LSU Press Seasonal Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Permeable Curbs For Storm Water Pollution, Aldo Hernandez, Drew Johnson, Marcio Giacomoni

Data

One of the problems that increased urbanization poses is storm water pollution. Several control measures exist that are used to treat and reduce pollution in our waterways, one of those being permeable concretes; but these have not been widely adopted. The goal of this project was to develop a permeable curb apparatus that could be used in retrofitting conventional streets. The permeable curb is comprised of a permeable concrete mix with a perforated pipe running through its center, this allows for water to filter through the porous concrete and continue downstream through the perforated pipe which would eventually lead to …

Coupled Situational Awareness System To Improve Transportation Infrastructure Performance During Extreme Events, Hatim Sharif, Samer Dessouky, Md Jobair Bin Alam, Raghava Kommalapati, Hongbo Du Ph.D

Data

The dense road networks and numerous low water crossings throughout Texas may be contributing to the higher recurrence rates of floods that pose a danger to vehicles. A timely issue that should be addressed by researchers is the compounding of disaster. Flooding can be combined with other life-threatening occurrences such as power loss and interruptions of health and emergency services. During these events, rescue requests from the stranded communities overwhelm the emergency response facilities; impassable roadways and the paucity of reliable information on the affected areas and their accessibility hamper emergency response operations, causing several detours and delays that put …

Coupled Situational Awareness System To Improve Transportation Infrastructure Performance During Extreme Events, Hatim Sharif, Samer Dessouky, Md Jobair Bin Alam, Raghava Kommalapati, Hongbo Du Ph.D

Publications

The dense road networks and numerous low water crossings throughout Texas may be contributing to the higher recurrence rates of floods that pose a danger to vehicles. A timely issue that should be addressed by researchers is the compounding of disaster. Flooding can be combined with other life-threatening occurrences such as power loss and interruptions of health and emergency services. During these events, rescue requests from the stranded communities overwhelm the emergency response facilities; impassable roadways and the paucity of reliable information on the affected areas and their accessibility hamper emergency response operations, causing several detours and delays that put …

F22rs Sgb No. 17 (Megsa Website), Colin Raby, Adam Dohrenwend, Terry Geraldsen

Student Senate Enrolled Legislation

To allocate $1,500 from the Student Government Contingency Account to fund the renovation and optimization of the Mechanical Engineering Graduate repository

Louisiana Agriculture Fall, 2022

Louisiana Agriculture

Livestock industries contribute $2.5 billion to the state’s economy, and beef cattle production is one of the most important sectors of the state’s agricultural enterprise. LSU AgCenter researchers study how to improve cattle production at research stations across the state. AgCenter Extension agents in every parish connect producers with their findings.

In this issue of Louisiana Agriculture magazine, livestock agents and research faculty describe the many programs they have developed to educate cattle producers and help 4-H’ers raise and show animals. Producers discuss what they have learned from Master Cattleman classes, and writer V. Todd Miller details how some cattle …

Variability Of Carbon Export In The Lower Mississippi River During An Extreme Cold And Warm Year, Lee Potter, Y. Jun Xu

Faculty Publications

The Mississippi River (MR) discharges on average 474 km3 of water annually into the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) with a large quantity of carbon, playing a vital role in the ecosystem’s food chain and water quality. In this study, we analyzed exports of dissolved inorganic (DIC) and organic carbon (DOC) from January 2021 to December 2021, during which the contiguous United States experienced one of the coldest winters as well as the hottest summer on record. Bi-weekly in situ river measurements and water sampling were conducted in the lower MR at Baton Rouge in Louisiana, USA, approximately 368 km …

Microhabitat And Landscape Drivers Of Richness And Abundance Of Freshwater Mussels (Unionida: Unionidae) In A Coastal Plain River, Corinne T. Bird, Michael D. Kaller, Tiffany E. Pasco, William E. Kelso

Faculty Publications

Although rivers support significant unionid mussel (Unionida: Unionidae) diversity, Gulf of Mexico tributary rivers have been subject to changes in water quality and habitat due to altered watershed land use. We quantified mussel species richness and relative abundance and environmental factors in small tributary streams of the Pearl River, Mississippi-Louisiana. Freshwater mussel and habitat surveys were conducted at 27 stream sampling sites over two summers (9 sites revisited), and coverage of seven land use categories and seven geological categories above each reach were calculated. Mussels were patchily distributed (53% of sites sampled yielded mussels) and typically not abundant (only 26% …

A 3-D Printed Vitrification Device Integrated With French Straws, Nolan J. Tiersch, Jacqueline Paulsen, Yue Liu, Terrence R. Tiersch

Faculty Publications

The goal of this work was to develop prototypes of open-hardware vitrification devices for sperm cryopreservation that can be integrated with existing straw platforms. The open-hardware Vitrification Device for French Straws (VD-FS) is low-cost, customizable, 3-D printable, standardized, and allows long-term sample storage and identification. The feasibility was shown for vitrifying and storing samples with multiple configurations. The results can be improved by design alternation and evaluation of various vitrification solutions. This is the first complete open-hardware vitrification device that can be integrated with existing French-straw storage systems, providing a foundation for future community-level modifications and improvements.

Cryopreservation Of Hydractinia Symbiolongicarpus Sperm To Support Community-Based Repository Development For Preservation Of Genetic Resources, Aidan L. Huene, Jack C. Koch, Lucía Arregui, Yue Liu, Matthew L. Nicotra, Virginia M. Weis, Terrence R. Tiersch

Faculty Publications

Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus is an emerging model organism in which cutting-edge genomic tools and resources are being developed for use in a growing number of research fields. One limitation of this model system is the lack of long-term storage for genetic resources. The goal of this study was to establish a generalizable cryopreservation approach for Hydractinia that would support future repository development for other cnidarian species. Specific objectives were to: (1) characterize basic parameters related to sperm quality; (2) develop a generalizable approach for sperm collection; (3) assess the feasibility of in vitro fertilization (IVF) with sperm after refrigerated storage; (4) …

Profiling Of Shelter Campers, Their Attitudes, And Perceptions Towards Environmental Impacts Of Campsite Use And Management: Evidence From National Parks Of Sri Lanka, Priyan Perera, Shashini Tara Mallikage, David Newsome, Richard Vlosky

Faculty Publications

There is a dearth of research describing the campsite user segment and in assessing camp-site users’ perceptions of the bio-physical impacts of campsite use in Sri Lanka. Using a structured questionnaire, we evaluated campsite user characteristics, visitor motivations, behaviors, and how visitor experience is affected by visible biophysical impacts at campsites. Based on underlying visitor motivations derived through a Factor Analysis and Cluster Analysis, we identified three distinct segments of campsite users: Eco-tourists, Prestige seekers, and Adventure seekers. Results indicate that the overall cleanliness of the campsite is an important attribute that affects the visitor experience. The Ecotourist segment reported …

Social Influences On Physical Activity For Establishing Criteria Leading To Exercise Persistence, Ensela Mema, Everett S. Spain, Corby K. Martin, James O. Hill, R. Drew Sayer, Howard D. Mcinvale, Lee A. Evans, Nicholas H. Gist, Alexander D. Borowsky, Diana M. Thomas

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Despite well-documented health benefits from exercise, a study on national trends in achieving the recommended minutes of physical activity guidelines has not improved since the guidelines were published in 2008. Peer interactions have been identified as a critical factor for increasing a population’s physical activity. The objective of this study is for establishing criteria for social influences on physical activity for establishing criteria that lead to exercise persistence. A system of differential equations was developed that projects exercise trends over time. The system includes both social and non-social influences that impact changes in physical activity habits and establishes quantitative conditions …

Antimicrobial Resistant Bacteria In Shrimp And Shrimp Farms Of Bangladesh, Murshida Khan, Sulav Indra Paul, Md Mahbubur Rahman, Julie Anderson Lively

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of pathogenic bacteria, specifically Escherichia coli and Salmonella and Vibrio species, and their antimicrobial resistance in shrimp aquaculture facilities of Bagerhat (Bangladesh). Sediment samples were collected from both Penaeus monodon and Macrobrachium rosenbergii farms and shrimp samples from the Macrobrachium rosenbergii facility. The abovementioned bacteria were not found, but five Enterobacterales (Proteus penneri, Proteus alimentorum, Morganella morganii, Enterobacter hormaechei subsp. xiangfangensis and Plesiomonas shigelloides) were detected. This is the first documented case of Enterobacter hormaechei subsp. xiangfangensis in a shrimp farm. Nine antibiotics—ampicillin, gentamicin, chloramphenicol, oxytetracycline, nitrofurantoin, levofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, azithromycin, …

Event-Triggered Control Of Robotic Fish With Reduced Communication Rate, Wenyu Zuo, Animesh Chakravarthy, Michael Malisoff, Zheng Chen

Faculty Publications

Underwater robots often need to communicate with external localization sensors. The low bandwidth in such communications is one of the bottlenecks in achieving accurate tracking control. Toward this end, we adopt a novel periodic event-triggered control (PETC) which allows a robotic fish to reduce its communication load in tracking a desired heading angle with position feedback from an external sensor. To design the PETC, a linear state-space model is derived from a nonlinear dynamic model of the robotic fish with a small perturbation assumption. The PETC consists of an observer, state-feedback controller, integrator, event-trigger rule, and predictor. The observer and …