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LSU Doctoral Dissertations

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Comparison Of Kp And Bbm-Kp Models, Gideon Pyelshak Daspan Jan 2007

Comparison Of Kp And Bbm-Kp Models, Gideon Pyelshak Daspan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation we show that the solution of the pure initial-value problems for the KP and regularize KP equations are the same, to within the order of accuracy attributable to either, on the time scale from zero to epsilon to negative three halves power, during which nonlinear and dispersive effects may accumulate to make an order-one relative difference to the wave profiles.


Semantic Image Retrieval Using Relevance Feedback And Transaction Logs, Amin Shah-Hosseini Jan 2007

Semantic Image Retrieval Using Relevance Feedback And Transaction Logs, Amin Shah-Hosseini

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Due to the recent improvements in digital photography and storage capacity, storing large amounts of images has been made possible, and efficient means to retrieve images matching a user’s query are needed. Content-based Image Retrieval (CBIR) systems automatically extract image contents based on image features, i.e. color, texture, and shape. Relevance feedback methods are applied to CBIR to integrate users’ perceptions and reduce the gap between high-level image semantics and low-level image features. The precision of a CBIR system in retrieving semantically rich (complex) images is improved in this dissertation work by making advancements in three areas of a CBIR …


Art Informing Science Education: The Potential Contributions Of Ornithological Illustration To Ecology Education, Vanessa Hunt Jan 2006

Art Informing Science Education: The Potential Contributions Of Ornithological Illustration To Ecology Education, Vanessa Hunt

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Birds serve as an excellent group of organisms from which to introduce the study of ecology, being of inherent aesthetic interest to many otherwise uninterested in science, and are also ubiquitous in the immediate environment of many students. By extension, images of birds might serve as a valuable resource for the ecology educator, and bird artists – as a subset of ecologists - might provide useful models for expertise in ecology. This study examines the potential contributions of bird artists and bird art to education in ecology at the high school and college level. Eight contemporary bird artists were interviewed …


Econometric Essays On Specification And Estimation Of Demand Systems, Anil Kumar Sulgham Jan 2006

Econometric Essays On Specification And Estimation Of Demand Systems, Anil Kumar Sulgham

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on two research themes related to econometric estimation of linear almost ideal demand systems (LAIDS) for U.S. meats. The first theme addresses whether nonstationarity (unit-roots and cointegration) contributes to a dynamic specification of LAIDS models. The results of the effect of nonstationarity are reported in two case studies. The second theme explores the relationship between age and household size with budget shares to specify semiparametric LAIDS model. The results are reported in a third case study that compares parametric and semiparametric models estimates of price and expenditure elasticities. The first case study conducts a comparative analysis of …


Training Parents In Consequence Delivery And To Initiate School Communication Using An Electronic Home-Based Reinforcement Program To Modify Students' Classroom Behaviors, Kashunda Lynn Williams Jan 2006

Training Parents In Consequence Delivery And To Initiate School Communication Using An Electronic Home-Based Reinforcement Program To Modify Students' Classroom Behaviors, Kashunda Lynn Williams

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Existing research has shown that when parents and teachers work together, everyone benefits; students tend to earn higher grades, perform better on tests, attend school more regularly, have better behavior, and show more positive attitudes toward themselves and toward school (Canter, 2004). This study builds upon these findings by examining the effects of parent training and a parent implemented intervention (parent initiated home-school note via email) on students’ maladaptive classroom behavior and teachers’ ratings on Achenbach’s Teacher Report Form and Conner’s Ratings Scales. In addition, the effects of emailing parental performance feedback on parents’ adherence to intervention procedures (parent initiated …


Towards A Generalized Team Task Complexity Model, Ashok Darisipudi Jan 2006

Towards A Generalized Team Task Complexity Model, Ashok Darisipudi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The objective of this research was to develop and validate a generalized team task-complexity model and framework by drawing on the literature from various team and task factors grouped into three task-dimensions, which compose task-complexity space and how these affect the task-performance. A number of task typologies have been presented in the teams' literature to better define and understand the critical role of the tasks and the associated team processes. In addition, most of the research work has defined team measures as highly abstract concepts not capable of providing the quantitative comparison of team performances from various domains. This research …


Effective Inter-Organizational Information And Communication Technology Adoption In Business-To-Business Customer Interface, Sanna Maria Kallioranta Jan 2006

Effective Inter-Organizational Information And Communication Technology Adoption In Business-To-Business Customer Interface, Sanna Maria Kallioranta

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Past research has found that 80-90 percent of IT investments do not meet corporate performance objectives, primarily due to non-technical reasons such as human and organizational aspects. When Inter-organizational Information and Communication Technology (IICT) implementation is properly managed IICT can help manage the flow of goods, services, and information between business partners in the supplier-customer dyad, thus reducing transaction costs along the entire value chain. Using the underlying Resource-Based View theoretical foundation, this research approaches effective IICT implementation capability as a holistic organizational capability that extends beyond tangible IT resources. This research investigates business outcomes of IICT adoption in the …


Structural And Forecasting Softwood Lumber Models With A Time Series Approach, Nianfu Song Jan 2006

Structural And Forecasting Softwood Lumber Models With A Time Series Approach, Nianfu Song

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The development of cointegration theories and the presence of nonstationarity in time series raised serious concerns about possible spurious estimations in forest products models. Based on the results of Hsiao (1997a, 1997b), all the virtues of two-stage least square (2SLS) hold if there are sufficient cointegration relations. Stationary null and nonstationary null unit root tests and monthly seasonal unit root tests were applied to the time series used in this dissertation. Cointegration tests with exogenous variables were performed to justify the 2SLS. A regional error correction model (ECM) with four regional lumber supply and demand equations and a U.S.-Canada supply …


A Computational Framework For The Structural Change Analysis Of 3d Volumes Of Microscopic Specimens, Madhusudhanan Balasubramanian Jan 2006

A Computational Framework For The Structural Change Analysis Of 3d Volumes Of Microscopic Specimens, Madhusudhanan Balasubramanian

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Glaucoma, commonly observed with an elevation in the intraocular pressure level (IOP), is one of the leading causes of blindness. The lamina cribrosa is a mesh-like structure that provides axonal support for the optic nerves leaving the eye. The changes in the laminar structure under IOP elevations may result in the deaths of retinal ganglion cells, leading to vision degradation and loss. We have developed a comprehensive computational framework that can assist the study of structural changes in microscopic structures such as lamina cribrosa. The optical sectioning property of a confocal microscope facilitates imaging thick microscopic specimen at various depths …


River, Tidal And Wind Interactions In A Deltaic Estuarine System, Gregg Snedden Jan 2006

River, Tidal And Wind Interactions In A Deltaic Estuarine System, Gregg Snedden

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The balance between river and marine influences is important in governing landscape sustainability in river deltas. River- and atmospherically driven sea level variability, sediment loading, and estuary-ocean exchange in the Mississippi River delta are examined in this study. Subtidal estuarine sea level variability in the Breton Sound estuary was driven by a combination of remote atmospheric forcing outside the estuary over the continental shelf and controlled river inputs through a gated diversion structure at the estuary head. The highly-frictional deltaic landscape acted as a low-pass filter to coastal fluctuations near the estuary mouth. When substantial quantities river water were discharged …


Data-Driven Fault Detection Using Trending Analysis, Min Luo Jan 2006

Data-Driven Fault Detection Using Trending Analysis, Min Luo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The objective of this research is to develop data-driven fault detection methods which do not rely on mathematical models yet are capable of detecting process malfunctions. Instead of using mathematical models for comparing performances, the methods developed rely on extensive collection of data to establish classification schemes that detect faults in new data. The research develops two different trending approaches. One uses the normal data to define a one-class classifier. The second approach uses a data mining technique, e.g. support vector machine (SVM) to define multi class classifiers. Each classifier is trained on a set of example objects. The one-class …


Classifying Quadratic Number Fields Up To Arf Equivalence, Jeonghun Kim Jan 2006

Classifying Quadratic Number Fields Up To Arf Equivalence, Jeonghun Kim

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Two number fields K and L are said to be Arf equivalent if there exists a bijection T : ­ΩK → Ω­L of places of K and of L such that KP and LTP are locally Arf equivalent for every place P ε ΩK. That is, |K*p/K*2p| = |L*TP/L*2TP|, type[( , )P] = type[( , )TP], and Arf(rP ) = Arf(rTP ) for every place P ε ΩK, where rP is the local …


Characterization Of Beta-Amyloid Peptide Aggregation And Acceleration With Non-Fibrillar Forming Peptide-Based Mediators, Nadia J. Edwin Jan 2006

Characterization Of Beta-Amyloid Peptide Aggregation And Acceleration With Non-Fibrillar Forming Peptide-Based Mediators, Nadia J. Edwin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Protein aggregation occurs under many circumstances, from the dynamic assembly of tubulin to form microtubules, the aggregation of actin into filaments, as well as plaque formation by amyloid precipitation. One important requirement in studying the mechanism of amyloid aggregation is the ability to monitor the growth kinetics over a wide range in size scales (10 nm to microns) with time that spans microseconds to seconds. Understanding the mechanisms of the aggregation may then lead to improved design of drugs to help control or suppress the aggregation process. In this dissertation, the physical characterization of the â-amyloid peptide and its interaction …


Limit Theorems For Weighted Stochastic Systems Of Interacting Particles, Jie Wu Jan 2006

Limit Theorems For Weighted Stochastic Systems Of Interacting Particles, Jie Wu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation is to (a) establish the weak convergence of empirical measures formed by a system of stochastic differential equations, and (b) prove a comparison result and compactness of support property for the limit measure. The stochastic system of size n has coefficients that depend on the empirical measure determined by the system. The weights for the empirical measure are determined by a further n-system of stochastic equations. There is a random choice among N types of weights. The existence and uniqueness of solutions of the interacting system, weak convergence of the empirical measures, and the identification …


Liminality In Gender, Race, And Nation In Les Quarteronnes De La Nouvelle-Orléans By Sidonie De La Houssaye, Christine Koch Harris Jan 2006

Liminality In Gender, Race, And Nation In Les Quarteronnes De La Nouvelle-Orléans By Sidonie De La Houssaye, Christine Koch Harris

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This project examines themes of race, gender, and nation in a series of four novels by nineteenth-century Louisiana author Sidonie de la Houssaye. The series, called Les Quarteronnes de la Nouvelle-Orléans (The Quadroons of New Orleans), is based on the system of plaçage. Plaçage, a system of concubinage in which white men took women of mixed racial heritage (such as “quadroons”) as mistresses, becomes a source of conflict and contradiction in the series. The author sees plaçage as a tragic necessity for some educated and morally “upright” quarteronnes. For others, those quarteronnes depicted as libidinous and avaricious, it is a …


Belowground Biomass Of Spartina Alterniflora: Seasonal Variability And Response To Nutrients, Faith Armand Darby Jan 2006

Belowground Biomass Of Spartina Alterniflora: Seasonal Variability And Response To Nutrients, Faith Armand Darby

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Spartina alterniflora is a salt marsh macrophyte found from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico which often provides the dominant plant cover. Although S. alterniflora is well known for its high aboveground productivity, fifty to ninety percent of the total plant production occurs belowground. No previous studies address the seasonal variation of belowground biomass or the response of above-and belowground biomass to nutrients at the southern limits of its U. S. range. The objectives of this study were to: 1) document the seasonal variability of its above- and belowground biomass and test for responses to various combinations of N, P, …


The Musical Journey Of Opera Singer Lenora Lafayette: A Louisiana Treasure, Kyla Dean Pitcher Jan 2006

The Musical Journey Of Opera Singer Lenora Lafayette: A Louisiana Treasure, Kyla Dean Pitcher

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Lenora Lafayette (1926-1975) was an African-American opera singer who developed her professional path while facing tremendous racial, cultural, and economic barriers. She was a Louisiana native with great vocal potential who attempted to enroll at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, but was denied admission due to segregation. Lenora attended The Juilliard School as an alternative and earned scholarships that covered her tuition for an entire year. She studied with the prestigious faculty member Dusolina Giannini and developed her talent to the degree that she was able to win a John Hay Whitney Fellowship for study abroad. She traveled to …


Spatial Diversification, Dividend Policy, And Credit Scoring In Real Estate, Darren Keith Hayunga Jan 2006

Spatial Diversification, Dividend Policy, And Credit Scoring In Real Estate, Darren Keith Hayunga

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Built on the foundation of economic principles, real estate offers many pursuits of academic discovery within the realm of finance. This dissertation examines three areas of real estate finance. In the first chapter, I use the unique real estate characteristics of heterogeneity, immobility, and localized markets to examine the spatial aspects of large-scale commercial real estate portfolios. The results demonstrate a clear need for portfolio managers to diversify properties based upon distances between properties. The second chapter examines another large-scale real estate portfolio, the real estate investment trust, which is held by investors seeking dividend income. Despite the importance of …


Self-Assembly And Its Inhibition In Bolaform Amphiphilic Dendrimers, Jirun Sun Jan 2006

Self-Assembly And Its Inhibition In Bolaform Amphiphilic Dendrimers, Jirun Sun

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Self-assembly is scientifically interesting, technologically important, and sometimes life-threatening. A striking example: Alzheimer’s disease is caused by the self-assembly of the â-amyloid fragment of amyloid precursor protein. Such natural amphiphiles normally are very expensive and complicated to isolate. Synthetic mimics that are much cheaper and easier to prepare can facilitate the development of efficient characterization methods, even as they suggest new materials science applications. Two-directional arborols are synthetic bolaform amphiphilic dendrimers. They dissolve in hot water and form reversible gels at room temperature. Bundles of fibrils, which are made by self-assembly of arborols, are found in the gels. The properties …


A Nonlocal Model For Coupled Damage-Plasticity Incorporating Gradients Of Internal State Variables At Multiscales, Robert J. Dorgan Jan 2006

A Nonlocal Model For Coupled Damage-Plasticity Incorporating Gradients Of Internal State Variables At Multiscales, Robert J. Dorgan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The thermodynamically consistent formulation and the subsequent numerical implementation of a gradient enhanced continuum coupled damage-plasticity model as a constitutive framework to model ill-posed localization problems is presented. By the introduction of "nonlocal," gradient-enhanced measures in the plasticity potential function and yield criterion and in the damage potential function and damage criterion, the proposed model introduces microstructural characteristic material length scales which allows the size of localized zones to be predicted based on material constants, as opposed to local models where the loss of ellipticity causes the localized zones to be mesh dependent.
The gradient model proposed introduces non-linear functions …


Investigation Into The Dirhodium-Catalyzed Hydroformylation Of 1-Alkenes And Preparation Of A Novel Tetraphosphine Ligand, Alexandre R. Monteil Jan 2006

Investigation Into The Dirhodium-Catalyzed Hydroformylation Of 1-Alkenes And Preparation Of A Novel Tetraphosphine Ligand, Alexandre R. Monteil

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The reaction of the tetraphosphine ligand rac-et,ph-P4 (et,ph-P4 = PEt2CH2CH2(Ph)PCH2P(Ph)CH2CH2PEt2) with 2 equiv. of [Rh(nbd)2]+ (nbd = norbornadiene) generates [rac-Rh2(nbd)2(et,ph-P4)]2+, which is the precursor to a highly active and regioselective hydroformylation catalyst system. The “key” catalyst species generated under H2/CO pressure has been proposed to be the dihydrido complex [rac-Rh2H2(ì-CO)2(et,ph-P4)]2+, and represents one of the most dramatic example of homobimetallic …


Simulating Protein Evolution Via Thermodynamic Models, Yanlong Xu Jan 2006

Simulating Protein Evolution Via Thermodynamic Models, Yanlong Xu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Natural proteins are results of evolution and they need to maintain certain thermodynamic stabilities in order to carry out their biological functions. By simulating protein evolution based on thermodynamic rules, we could reconstruct the evolution trajectory and analyze the evolutionary dynamics of a protein population, and further understand the protein sequence-structure-function relationship. In this study, we have used both a simplified lattice model and a high-resolution atomic model to simulate protein evolution processes. With the lattice model, we have investigated general theoretical questions about how protein structural designability would affect protein evolution, particularly how it would affect protein recombination and …


Effective Bootstrapping Of Peer-To Peer Networks Over Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks, Wei Ding Jan 2006

Effective Bootstrapping Of Peer-To Peer Networks Over Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks, Wei Ding

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs) and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks are vigorous, revolutionary communication technologies in the 21st century. They lead the trend of decentralization. Decentralization will ultimately win clients over client/server model, because it gives ordinary network users more control, and stimulates their active participation. It is a determinant factor in shaping the future of networking. MANETs and P2P networks are very similar in nature. Both are dynamic, distributed. Both use multi-hop broadcast or multicast as major pattern of traffic. Both set up connection by self-organizing and maintain connection by self-healing. Embodying the slogan "networking without networks," both abandoned traditional client/server …


Distribution Dynamics Of Complex Systems, Young-Pyo Jeon Jan 2006

Distribution Dynamics Of Complex Systems, Young-Pyo Jeon

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A complex system is defined as a system with many interdependent parts having emergent self-organization; analyzing and designing such complex systems is a new challenge. A common observable structure of many complex systems is the network, which is connections among nodes, and thus inherently difficult to describe. The goal of this research is to introduce an effective methodology to describe complex systems, and thus we will construct a population balance (distribution kinetics) model based on the association-dissociation process to describe the evolution of complex systems. Networks are commonly observed structures in complex systems with interdependent parts that self-organize. How networks …


Development Of Analytical Techniques For The Analysis Of Submicron Particles And Protein Aggregates, Yohannes H. Rezenom Jan 2006

Development Of Analytical Techniques For The Analysis Of Submicron Particles And Protein Aggregates, Yohannes H. Rezenom

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of the research presented in this dissertation is to develop analytical techniques for the analysis of heterogeneous mixtures of submicron particles and protein aggregates. In Chapter 2, a simple and reproducible technique for constructing perfectly aligned gaps in fused-silica capillaries has been developed for postcolumn reagent addition with capillary electrophoresis (CE) to take advantage of laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection. This technique uses laser ablation with a Nd:YAG laser to create gaps of 14.0 ¡Ó 2.2 ƒÝm. These structures have been used for reagent addition for postcolumn derivatization with LIF detection and have been tested for the separation of …


Theory Of Curvature-Dependent Disjoining Pressure And Its Application To Liquid Films, Jin Zhang Jan 2006

Theory Of Curvature-Dependent Disjoining Pressure And Its Application To Liquid Films, Jin Zhang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A liquid film of thickness h < 100 nm is subject to additional intermolecular forces, which are collectively called disjoining pressure Pi. Since Pi dominates at small film thicknesses, it determines the stability and wettability of thin films. Current theory for uniform films gives Pi = Pi(h). It becomes unbounded as h -> 0. We present a theory of curvature-dependent disjoining pressure. The new Pi depends on the curvature hxx, slope hx, and h. When this theory is implemented for Lennard-Jones liquid films, the new Pi is bounded as h -> 0. We show that this Pi captures three regimes of drop behavior (complete wetting, partial wetting, and pseudo partial wetting) without altering the signs of the long and short-range interactions. We also find that a drop with a uniform film is linearly stable, whereas a drop without a uniform film is unstable. Evaporating thin films is …


Representation Properties Of Definite Lattices In Function Fields, Jean Edouard Bureau Jan 2006

Representation Properties Of Definite Lattices In Function Fields, Jean Edouard Bureau

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This work is made of two different parts. The first contains results concerning isospectral quadratic forms, and the second is about regular quadratic forms. Two quadratic forms are said to be isospectral if they have the same representation numbers. In this work, we consider binary and ternary definite integral quadratic form defined over the polynomial ring F[t], where F is a finite field of odd characteristic. We prove that the class of such a form is determined by its representation numbers. Equivalently, we prove that there is no nonequivalent definite F[t]-lattices of rank 2 or 3 having the same theta …


An Inverse Homogenization Design Method For Stress Control In Composites, Michael Stuebner Jan 2006

An Inverse Homogenization Design Method For Stress Control In Composites, Michael Stuebner

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis addresses the problem of optimal design of microstructure in composite materials. The work involves new developments in homogenization theory and numerical analysis. A computational design method for grading the microstructure in composite materials for the control of local stress in the vicinity of stress concentrations is developed. The method is based upon new rigorous multiscale stress criteria connecting the macroscopic or homogenized stress to local stress fluctuations at the scale of the microstructure. These methods are applied to three different types of design problems. The first treats the problem of optimal distribution of fibers with circular cross section …


Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics Simulations Of Methylaluminoxane (Mao) Synthesis By Hydrolysis Of Trimethylaluminum, Lacramioara Negureanu Jan 2006

Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics Simulations Of Methylaluminoxane (Mao) Synthesis By Hydrolysis Of Trimethylaluminum, Lacramioara Negureanu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

MAO is the co-catalyst in the metallocene catalytic systems, which are widely used in single site olefin polymerization due to their high stereoselectivity. To date, the precise structure of MAO, the particular compound or compounds catalytically active in MAO, have eluded researchers. MAO, a white amorphous powder, is not a good sample for a direct spectroscopic characterization, and its NMR spectra are broad and almost featureless. Many structural models have been proposed but none are generally accepted. In the first part of this work the MAO formation mechanism was addressed. Molecular dynamics simulations at MP2 configuration interaction theory level have …


Syntheses And Biological Evaluation Of Water Soluble Carboranylporphyrins For Application In Boron Neutron Capture Therapy, Vijay Gottumukkala Jan 2006

Syntheses And Biological Evaluation Of Water Soluble Carboranylporphyrins For Application In Boron Neutron Capture Therapy, Vijay Gottumukkala

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of the research presented in this dissertation is to develop novel water soluble carboranylporphyrins that can deliver therapeutic dosage of boron specifically to tumors for application in boron neutron capture therapy. In order to accomplish this goal novel water soluble tetra(nido-carboranyl)porphyrin and the octa(nido-carboranyl)porphyrin with high boron contents are synthesized by the condensation of the carborane substituted benzaldehyde with the pyrrole under acidic conditions. These porphyrins are made water soluble by the deboronation of the closo-carboranes to afford the corresponding amphiphilic nido-carborane cages. The low cytotoxicity, high cellular uptake and intracellular localization of these carboranylporphyrins in tumor cells …