Effects Of Perceived Supervisor And Peer Support On Training Transfer For Frontline Registered Nurses, Carly Penn

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of perceived supervisor support as well as perceived peer support on training transfer behavior outcomes for frontline nursing staff in post-COVID 19 technology-mediated training environments.

This study was guided by the following primary research question: what effect does training delivery, perceived supervisor support, and perceived peer support have on training transfer behavior? The secondary question to further examination of these variables is: How do these factors interact to enhance or inhibit transfer in the context of nurse training?

This study sampled U.S. based registered nurses trained in COVID-19 related protocols. …

Topics In Photonic Quantum Technology: Polarization Entanglement Dynamics In Optical Fibers And Low-Light Imaging., Pratik J. Barge

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Recent advances in quantum photonics promise transformative impacts on computing, communication, sensing, and imaging. This thesis explores two areas in photonic quantum technology: polarization entanglement dynamics in optical fibers and low-light imaging. Optical fibers are the most suitable medium for photonic qubits and long-distance entanglement distribution is a critical requirement to realize quantum technologies. We study the decay of polarization-entanglement of the Bell state photons propagating through imperfect optical fibers with spatially fluctuating refractive index. Furthermore, to extend the distribution distance, we propose the use of dynamical decoupling in the optical fiber using half waveplates and show that significant improvement …

Examining Social Anxiety, Generalized Anxiety, And Major Depression’S Symptom Comorbidity In Children And Adolescents: A Longintudinal Test Of The Multiple Pathway Model, Paige Picou

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Anxiety and depressive disorders are highly prevalent in and impairing for children and adolescents and are highly comorbid. Many theories have been proposed to explain this co- occurrence, with recent models postulating multiple pathways in which specific anxiety disorders and depression may co-occur both concurrently and over time. Unfortunately, little research has evaluated these pathways longitudinally across development in a community sample. The current study tested the multiple pathway model in a sample of 9 to 12-year-old youth (Mage = 9.48, SD= 0.51) at baseline and at two-year follow-up using a subsample of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development …

Mental Practice: Practical Application In Violin And Viola Private Lessons, Natasha Sieczkowska

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation aimed to better understand how violin and viola private instructors teach Mental Practice in their studios, investigating different approaches on how to apply and teach auditory, motor, and visual imagery, score study, and auditory modeling, as well as its benefits. This research was divided into two different stages. In the first stage, the researcher conducted interviews (n = 19) and collected questionnaire responses (n = 14) from 33 upper-string instructors teaching at the pre-college and collegiate levels in the US. This research stage was based on the grounded theory approach since there was not much research …

Quiet No More: An Analysis Of Women's Protest Music, Jillian Vogel

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the multifaceted role of music in women’s protests, emphasizing how it serves as a unifying and rallying tool in the fight against inequality. By delving into the interdisciplinary realms of music theory, sound studies, and women’s and gender studies, this work highlights how women’s protest composers utilize musical texts and content to turn their music into a tool to inspire change. This dissertation investigates the musical structures and harmonic innovations in suffrage movement music, examining how suffragettes with varying musical knowledge engaged with music to further their cause. The suffragette music analyses combine text analysis, harmonic analysis, …

Riesz Particle Markov Chain Monte Carlo Methods, Xiongming Dai

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods are simulations that explore complex statistical distributions, while bypassing the cumbersome requirement of a specific analytical expression for the target. This stochastic exploration of an uncertain parameter space comes at the expense of a large number of ``burn-in'' samples, and the computational complexity leads to the curse of dimensionality. Although at the exploration level, some methods have been proposed to accelerate the convergence of the algorithm, such as tempering, Hamiltonian Monte Carlo, Rao-redwellization, and scalable methods for better performance, they cannot avoid the stochastic nature of this exploration. We develop algorithms for the energy …

Asymptotic Formula For Scattering Problems Related To Thin Metasurfaces, Zachary Jermain

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this work is to develop an asymptotic formula for the behavior of a scattered electromagnetic field in the presence of a thin metamaterial known as a metasurface. By using a carefully chosen Green’s function and the single and double layer potentials we analyze the perturbed scattering problem in the presence of the metamaterial and a background scattering problem. By using Lippman-Schwinger type representation formulas for the two fields we develop the asymptotic formula for the perturbed field. From here we prove the asymptotic formula holds up to a specific error term based on the size of the …

Advances In Stereoselective Glycosylation: Electron-Withdrawing Groups, Benzyne-Mediated Stereoinversion, And Visible-Light Photochemistry For 1,2-Cis O-Glycosylation, Erik Giovanni Alvarez Valenzuela

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The symbiotic relationship between humans and their microbiota is essential for health, with imbalances in the complex microbiota ecosystem linked to a variety of disorders ranging from neurodegenerative to gastrointestinal diseases. Bacteria within the human microbiota, comprising over 1000 known species, are densely and diversely coated with oligosaccharides crucial for functions like cell recognition, communication, signaling, adhesion, proliferation, and pathogenic inhibition. However, studying the structure-activity relationships of these sugars which are also secreted by bacteria is challenging due to difficulties in obtaining homogenous samples from natural sources.

Chemical synthesis offers a solution by enabling the production of well-defined oligosaccharides in …

Entanglement From Rotating Black Holes In Thermal Baths, Ivan Agullo, Anthony J. Brady, Adrià Delhom, Dimitrios Kranas

Faculty Publications

We extend previous efforts to quantify the entanglement generated in Hawking's evaporation process by including rotation and thermal environments (e.g. the cosmic microwave background). Both extensions are needed to describe real black holes in our Universe. Leveraging techniques from Gaussian quantum information, we find that the black hole's ergoregion is an active source of quantum entanglement and that thermal environments drastically degrade entanglement generation. Our predictions are suitable to be tested in the lab using analog platforms and also provide tools to assess the fate of quantum information for black holes in more generic settings.

Digital Agriculture Applications In Maize Nutrient Management And Soybean Crop Stands Assessment, Bhawana Acharya

LSU Master's Theses

High soil moisture from frequent excessive precipitation can reduce maize (Zea mays L.) yield and increase nitrogen (N) loss. Early-stage soybeans (Glycine max) are also susceptible to damage under these conditions. Traditional methods for assessing N status in maize and plant stands in soybean are labor-intensive and time-consuming. In this study, UAV remote sensing was used to assess maize N status under different N rates and excessive soil moisture. For soybeans, we compared a blob detection method with the YOLOv8 model to estimate plant density using ground images from a handheld camera. Additionally, YOLOv8 performance was evaluated …

Impacts Of Morphological Changes On Water Residence Times In River Deltas, Md. Muzahidul Islam

LSU Master's Theses

Coastal river deltas possess substantial socioeconomic and ecological importance and are expected to encounter increasing risks because of global climate change. The long-term sustainability of many deltaic systems is at risk due to a mix of natural and human-induced factors. Deltas are characterized by their continuous reconfiguration of channels and floodplains due to allogenic and autogenic processes. Sediment supply and composition, sea level rise, vegetation, river discharge, and human development may affect the morphological evolution of river deltas. The timescales and patterns of hydrological transport within a river delta are important indicators of ecological function. One such metric, the water …

Evaluation Of Dotd’S Aggregate Sources Friction Using Laboratory And Accelerated Testing, Sudhir Bharati

LSU Master's Theses

Roadway safety is of utmost importance to the state transportation agencies. One of the major factors of roadway safety that agencies have control over is pavement friction which is affected by aggregate and mixture type. The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) currently uses Polished Stone Values (PSV) obtained from the British Pendulum Device to rate its aggregates. These ratings determine the applicability of aggregates for various projects. However, the ratings are inconsistent, posing significant safety and financial risks. The first part of the thesis compares the currently adopted British Wheel Polisher-based Standard Practice for the Accelerated Polishing of …

Leveraging The Genomic Tools To Explore The Molecular Basis Of Salinity Tolerance In Rice And Soybean, Rajat Pruthi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Salinity stress significantly challenges agricultural productivity, particularly affecting major crops like rice and soybean. This research investigates the genetic basis of salt tolerance in both crops through high-resolution genetic mapping, genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and RNA-Seq analysis. In rice, we examined quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with salt tolerance at the seedling and flowering stages using a population of advanced backcrossed introgression lines (ILs). A genetic map, constructed with 14,230 polymorphic SNP markers, identified distinct QTLs and candidate genes for salt tolerance at both stages, suggesting differential genetic controls. Notable genes such as OsHAK13 and OsCYP21-4 were upregulated under salt …

Elementary Science Teachers' Experiences: A Case Study On The Use Of Science+Cyber Curriculum, Laurie Salvail

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The field of science education in the United States has undergone a major reform since 2015. A little more than twelve years ago, work began on constructing a framework for elementary, middle, and high school science education. This framework emphasized the shift from science being merely a memorization of facts to experiences that include science and engineering practices applied through crosscutting concepts and focused on core ideas in the field of science. With new standards teachers also have to overcome a) not having adequate time available to devote to science instruction b) lack of updated instructional materials aligned to the …

The Role Of Sexual Network Core Groups In Disease Epidemics, Jason Janeaux

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) remain an economic and social burden, non-discriminately affecting sexually active individuals worldwide. The unique transmission of STIs is dependent upon host and pathogen life histories, as well as the underlying network structure of the host population. Within a population there is a group of individuals, the core group, that maintains STI presence and helps sustain ongoing transmission both within the core group and in the surrounding population. While the presence of these core groups is well documented, the criteria for inclusion into a sexual core group is not. In this dissertation, I explore common factors that …

The Moderating Effect Of Leadership Style On The Relationship Between Perceptions Of Organizational Justice And The Performance Appraisal Satisfaction Of Sport Employees, Jeffrey S. White

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is an examination of how leadership style influences the relationship between sport employee perceptions of organizational justice and their satisfaction with performance appraisals. Sport employees are integral to the sport ecosystem, contributing to the physical, mental, and professional development of athletes, the operational success.

Focusing on these crucial constructs, the purpose of this study is to examine the moderating effect of leadership style on the relationship between organizational justice and performance appraisal satisfaction among sport employees. This quantitative empirical research utilizes PLS-SEM and multiple regression analysis with an aim to confirm the relationship between organizational justice and PAS …

Revisionary Taxonomy Within The Acmaeoderini, Joel Dubois

LSU Master's Theses

The jewel beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) are the 8th largest family of beetles and fill various important ecological roles including decomposers, pollinators, and leaf miners. The cosmopolitan buprestid tribe Acmaeoderini is extremely diverse, with more than 700 species across 14 genera. Historically, the acmaederines from Afro-Eurasia have received thorough morphological treatment and nearly all species from these areas have been separated into various genus and subgenus groupings. Contrastingly, past studies in the Americas have been mostly restricted to alpha-level taxonomic descriptions, and only a very small percentage of species are placed into any formal group. The aim of this study was …

Unpacking Influence: Dissecting Engagement Drivers And Dynamics For Effective Influencer Marketing Strategies, Nichole W. Santee

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Despite influencer marketing's growing significance, brands face challenges in identifying the most effective influencers for their campaigns. This dissertation addresses a gap in influencer marketing engagement literature, focusing on the determinants of consumer engagement in social media interactions.

The impact of specific characteristics found within the proposed influencer marketing sender-receiver communication model on eight behavioral social media engagement metrics is analyzed through a non-traditional content analysis of 218 Instagram influencers utilizing AI analytics platforms. Results reveal several characteristics that significantly affect behavioral engagement, while others have conflicting effects, highlighting the complex nature of the IM industry. Eight hierarchical regressions showed …

Investigations And Characterization Of Loud Transient Noise In Advanced Ligo Detectors, Shania Nichols

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In the era of gravitational wave (GW) astronomy, the detection of cosmic events such as black hole and neutron star mergers has become routine due to the Advanced LIGO (aLIGO) detectors. However, the sensitivity of these detectors also makes them susceptible to loud transient noise, which can obscure GW signals. This thesis investigates loud transient noise with a Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) greater than 100, focusing particularly on the most extreme transients with SNR exceeding 1000.

We begin by analyzing the impact of loud transient noise on the binary neutron star (BNS) range of aLIGO detectors across observation runs O2, O3, …

27-Hydroxycholesterol Acts On Estrogen Receptor Α Expressed By Pomc Neurons In The Arcuate Nucleus To Modulate Feeding Behavior, Hui Ye, Xiaohua Yang, Bing Feng, Pei Luo, Valeria C.Torres Irizarry, Leslie Carrillo-Sáenz, Meng Yu, Yongjie Yang, Benjamin P. Eappen, Marcos David Munoz, Nirali Patel, Sarah Schaul, Lucas Ibrahimi, Penghua Lai, Xinyue Qi, Yuliang Zhou, Maya Kota, Devin Dixit, Madeline Mun, Chong Wee Liew, Yuwei Jiang, Chunmei Wang, Yanlin He, Pingwen Xu

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Oxysterols are metabolites of cholesterol that regulate cholesterol homeostasis. Among these, the most abundant oxysterol is 27-hydroxycholesterol (27HC), which can cross the blood-brain barrier. Because 27HC functions as an endogenous selective estrogen receptor modulator, we hypothesize that 27HC binds to the estrogen receptor α (ERα) in the brain to regulate energy balance. Supporting this view, we found that delivering 27HC to the brain reduced food intake and activated proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (POMCARH) in an ERα-dependent manner. In addition, we observed that inhibiting brain ERα, deleting ERα in POMC neurons, or chemogenetic inhibition of …

An International Multidisciplinary Consensus On Pediatric Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease, Le Zhang, Mortada El-Shabrawi, Louise A. Baur, Christopher D. Byrne, Giovanni Targher, Mohit Kehar, Gilda Porta, Way Seah Lee, Sander Lefere, Serap Turan, Anna Alisi, Ram Weiss, Maria Felicia Faienza, Ambika Ashraf, Shikha S. Sundaram, Anshu Srivastava, Ruth De Bruyne, Yunkoo Kang, Flora Bacopoulou, Yong Hai Zhou, Andy Darma, Monica Lupsor-Platon, Masahide Hamaguchi, Anoop Misra, Nahum Méndez-Sánchez, Nicholas Beng Hui Ng, Claude Marcus, Amanda E. Staiano, Nadia Waheed, Saleh A. Alqahtani, Cosimo Giannini, Ponsiano Ocama, Mindie H. Nguyen, Maria Teresa Arias-Loste

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is highly prevalent in children and adolescents, particularly those with obesity. NAFLD is considered a hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome due to its close associations with abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, and atherogenic dyslipidemia. Experts have proposed an alternative terminology, metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), to better reflect its pathophysiology. This study aimed to develop consensus statements and recommendations for pediatric MAFLD through collaboration among international experts. Methods: A group of 65 experts from 35 countries and six continents, including pediatricians, hepatologists, and endocrinologists, participated in a consensus development process. The process encompassed …

Higher Order Operator Splitting Schemes With Complex Coefficients And Applications, Arun Banjara

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation is to apply the concept of Lie generators for linear semigroups induced by nonlinear flows, originally developed by J. R. Dorroh and J. W. Neuberger in the 1990’s [15], to approximate solutions of initial value problems like

x′(t) = F(x(t)), x(0) = x₀, (1)

where F = (F₁,··· ,F_N), and F_i : R^N ⊃ Ω -> R^N. The method, sometimes referred to as ``Bernard Koopman’s Global Linearization Method,” traces its origins back to the works of Sophus Lie in the 1890’s [30], Gerhard Kowalewski in …

Asmrtistry In Immersive Sound: Investigating The Effectiveness Of Immersive Sound Technologies In Eliciting Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, Scott D. Nelson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Despite a wide array of immersive sound technologies available to digital media creators who specialize in making audio-visual content that aims to elicit Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR), only a few sound reproduction modalities are widely used: mono/stereo and binaural recording. To date, nearly all research studying ASMR, a bio-sensory phenomenon wherein people feel brain tingles triggered by calming audio-visual cues, has been content to carry out ASMR studies entirely with stereo and binaural sound reproduction methods. Therefore, it stands to reason that more understanding about how diverse immersive sound modalities like wave field synthesis, or three-dimensional spatial audio for …

Performance Assessment Of Aboveground Storage Tanks During Flood Events, Md Manik Mia

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research addressed the performance of aboveground storage tanks (ASTs) and connected pipelines during floods. ASTs, integral to the oil and gas industry, store hazardous materials like crude oil and chemicals. Positioned near coastal regions, especially the hurricane-prone Gulf Coast, these areas are vulnerable to natural hazards such as floods and hurricanes. This vulnerability can lead to potential environmental and economic disasters, as seen with past hurricanes.
The primary objectives were to investigate AST bottom plate failure mechanisms under flood conditions, assess material failure in tank shells and bottom plates using finite element models, examine the behavior of connected pipelines, …

Hydrogen Adsorption On Ordered And Disordered Pt-Fe And Pt-Co Alloys, Andrew Okafor, William A. Shelton, Ye Xu

Faculty Publications

The bulk properties and surface chemical reactivity of compositionally disordered Pt-Fe and Pt-Co alloys in the fcc A1 phase have been investigated theoretically in comparison to the ordered alloys of the same compositions. The results are analyzed together with our previously reported findings for Pt-Ni. Nonlinear variation is observed in lattice constant, d band center, magnetic moment, and hydrogen adsorption energy across the composition range (0-100 atomic % of Pt, xPt). The Pt 5d states are strongly perturbed by the 3d states of the base metals, leading to notable density of states above the Fermi level and residual magnetic moments …

Empowering Capacitive Devices: Harnessing Transfer Learning For Enhanced Data-Driven Optimization, Teslim Olayiwola, Revati Kumar, Jose A. Romagnoli

Faculty Publications

Developing data-driven models has found successful applications in engineering tasks, such as material design, process modeling, and process monitoring. In capacitive devices like deionization and supercapacitors, there exists potential for applying this data-driven machine learning (ML) model in optimizing its potential use in energy-efficient separations or energy generation. However, these models are faced with limited datasets, and even in large quantities, the datasets are incomplete, limiting their potential use for successful data-driven modeling. Here, the success of transfer learning in resolving the challenges with limited datasets was exploited. A two-step data-driven ML modeling framework named ImputeNet involving training with ML-imputed …

Development And Operationalizing Of The Learning Experience Design Process To Create Integrated Stem Interventions, Vanessa Begat

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Globally, the demand for people prepared to enter Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) careers is increasing. To help fill this demand, many formal and informal STEM educational interventions have been implemented in the K-12 domain. However, due to the lack of a clearly defined framework for documenting the nature and scope of the intervention (National Research Council, 2014), the interventions vary greatly in their success, sustainability, and replicability. This research is grounded in Educational Design Research and uses the principle of Learning Experience Design (LXD) to develop a framework for thoughtfully designing and documenting a STEM intervention. This framework …

Assessing Team Performance And Cohesion Of Isolated Multicultural Teams Using Digital Escape Rooms, Susannah J. Aronson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

History has shown that when multicultural teams are together for long periods of time, conflict can occur. When put in an isolated environment, these conflicts can become dangerous. This study looked at physically isolated multicultural teams through the lens of systems engineering and if a publicly available escape room video game could measure the team’s individual level team performance and cohesion. The author also evaluated the relationship between these success measures, cultural intelligence, and fusion collaboration. Results showed the escape room video game was a reliable and valid instrument to measure individual level team performance and cohesion. The validity correlation …

Design Of Long-Distance Entanglement Distribution Protocols For Quantum Networks, Stav Haldar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Future quantum technologies such as quantum communication, quantum sensing, and distributed quantum computation, will rely on networks of shared entanglement between spatially separated nodes. Distributing entanglement between these nodes, especially over long distances, currently remains a challenge, due to limitations resulting from the fragility of quantum systems, such as photon losses, non-ideal measurements, and quantum memories with short coherence times. In the absence of full-scale fault-tolerant quantum error correction, which can in principle overcome these limitations, we should understand the extent to which we can circumvent these limitations. In this work, we provide improved protocols and policies for entanglement distribution …

High-Resolution Groundwater Modeling For Understanding Sparta-Memphis Aquifer Condition, Rafin Hasan

LSU Master's Theses

The Sparta-Memphis aquifer is one of the major sources of domestic and industrial water supplies in the Mississippi Embayment region. However, besides altering the natural direction of flow, several serious complications such as elevated chloride concentration, significant water level decline, large cones of depression, and land subsidence have arisen from excessive groundwater consumption. To better understand the Sparta-Memphis aquifer condition, a high-resolution groundwater flow model for the Sparta-Memphis aquifer was developed in this study to assess groundwater availability and analyze aquifer responses to future groundwater withdrawal scenarios. For the development of the groundwater flow model, firstly about 3,700 electrical log …