Digital Commons Network^™

Splitter Theorems For 3- And 4-Regular Graphs, Jinko Kanno

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Let g be a class of graphs and ≤ be a graph containment relation. A splitter theorem for g under ≤ is a result that claims the existence of a set O of graph operations such that if G and H are in g and H≤G with G≠H, then there is a decreasing sequence of graphs from G to H, say G=G₀≥G₁≥G₂...G_t=H, all intermediate graphs are in g, and each G_i can be obtained from G_i-1 by applying a single …

Solid-Phase Dna Sequencing Reactions Performed In Micro-Capillary Reactors And Solid-Phase Reversible Immobilization In Microfluidic Chips For Purification Of Dye-Labeled Dna Sequencing Fragments, Yichuan Xu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The research presented in this dissertation involves micro-capillary reactors for solid phase DNA sequencing, the identification of dye terminator sequencing fragments with time-resolved methods, and purification of dye-labeled DNA fragments using solid- phase reversible immobilization in microfluidic chips. Solid-phase micro-reactors have been prepared for DNA sequencing applications using slab gel electrophoresis. A PCR product was immobilized to the interior wall of a fused-silica capillary tube via a biotin-streptavidin linkage. Solid-phase sequencing was carried out in micro-capillary reactors using a four-lane, single color dye primer chemistry strategy. The read length was found to be 589 bases. The complementary DNA fragments generated …

Clay Landfill Liners Subject To Variable Interfacial Redox And Ph Conditions-Heavy Metal And Clay Interactions, Ping Zhou

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Municipal landfill leachate contains high levels of metal species, including Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb generating competitive interactions between these metal species and the landfill clay liner materials. Characterization of the clay fraction, physical and chemical characteristics of landfill clay liner materials, the competitive interaction of metal species with clay liner materials, the kinetic modeling of metal species transport in clay liner, and the effect of cyclic interfacial redox potential on the structural changes to the clay liner and leachate metal transport were investigated in this study. The clay liner materials studied included Na-bentonite, kaolinite and Amite soil (sandy silty …

Book Embeddings Of Graphs, Robin Leigh Blankenship

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

We use a structural theorem of Robertson and Seymour to show that for every minor-closed class of graphs, other than the class of all graphs, there is a number k such that every member of the class can be embedded in a book with k pages. Book embeddings of graphs with relation to surfaces, vertex extensions, clique-sums and r-rings are combined into a single book embedding of a graph in the minor-closed class. The effects of subdividing a complete graph and a complete bipartite graph with respect to book thickness are studied. We prove that if n ≥ 3, …

Perceptions Of Stereotypes In Hispanic Children's Literature, Nancy Gomez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study attempted to determine the accurateness of the representation of the Hispanic culture in children’s books. I interviewed ten people: five non-Hispanic and five Hispanic, and I found that the Hispanic people do not seem to pay as much attention to physical features as non-Hispanic people do. However, they were concerned about the portrayal of the Hispanic culture in traditional ways: the traditional roles of women, the traditional dress, the architecture of the houses and the portrayal of the Hispanic people living in rural areas and being extremely poor. It appears that from the timeline covered by the books, …

Control Of Transport Dynamics In Overlay Networks, Qishi Wu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Transport control is an important factor in the performance of Internet protocols, particularly in the next generation network applications involving computational steering, interactive visualization, instrument control, and transfer of large data sets. The widely deployed Transport Control Protocol is inadequate for these tasks due to its performance drawbacks. The purpose of this dissertation is to conduct a rigorous analytical study on the design and performance of transport protocols, and systematically develop a new class of protocols to overcome the limitations of current methods. Various sources of randomness exist in network performance measurements due to the stochastic nature of network traffic. …

Solute Transport In A Porous Medium: A Mass-Conserving Solution For The Convection-Dispersion Equation In A Finite Domain, William Golz

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation considers the proper mathematical description for the physical problem of a miscible solute undergoing longitudinal convective-dispersive transport with constant production, first-order decay, and equilibrium sorption in a porous medium. Initial and input concentrations may be any continuously differentiable functions and the mathematical system is articulated for a finite domain. This domain yields a mass balance which requires Robin (i.e., third-type) boundaries, which describe a continuous flux but a discontinuous resident-concentration. The discontinuity in the resident concentration at the outflow boundary yields an underdetermined system when the exit concentration is not experimentally measured. This is resolved by defining the …

Fractal Compression And Analysis On Remotely Sensed Imagery, Ke Xiao

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Remote sensing images contain huge amount of geographical information and reflect the complexity of geographical features and spatial structures. As the means of observing and describing geographical phenomena, the rapid development of remote sensing has provided an enormous amount of geographical information. The massive information is very useful in a variety of applications but the sheer bulk of this information has increased beyond what can be analyzed and used efficiently and effectively. This uneven increase in the technologies of gathering and analyzing information has created difficulties in its storage, transfer, and processing. Fractal geometry provides a means of describing and …

The Impact Of Whole-Plant Instruction Preservice Elementary Teachers' Understanding Of Plant Science Principles, Christine Collins Hypolite

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine how an inquiry-based, whole-plant instructional strategy would affect preservice elementary teachers’ understanding of plant science principles. This study probed: what preservice teachers know about plant biology concepts before and after instruction, their views of the interrelatedness of plant parts and the environment, how growing a plant affects preservice teachers’ understanding, and which types of activity-rich plant themes studies, if any, affect preservice elementary teachers’ understandings. The participants in the study were enrolled in two elementary science methods class sections at a state university. Each group was administered a preinstructional test at the …

The Effect On Water Quality Of Riverine Input Into Coastal Wetlands, Robert Raymond Lane

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on impact on water quality of two freshwater diversions, the Bonnet Carre Spillway and the Caernarvon freshwater diversion, as well as the Atchafalaya River Estuarine Complex. As water passed through the Bonnet Carre Spillway, there were reductions in total suspended sediment concentrations of 82-83%, in nitrite+nitrate of 28-42%, in total nitrogen (TN) of 26-30%, and in total phosphorus (TP) of 50-59%. The Si:N ratio generally increased and the N:P ratio decreased from the river to the plume edge in Lake Pontchartrain. At the Caernarvon diversion, there were reductions in concentrations of dissolved inorganic Si, N, and P …

Analyzing The Impact Of Changing Software Requirements: A Traceability-Based Methodology, James Steven O'Neal

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Software undergoes change at all stages of the software development process. Changing requirements represent risks to the success and completion of a project. It is critical for project management to determine the impact of requirement changes in order to control the change process. We present a requirements traceability based impact analysis methodology to predictively evaluate requirement changes for software development projects. Trace-based Impact Analysis Methodology (TIAM) is a methodology utilizing the trace information, along with attributes of the work products and traces, to define a requirement change impact metric for determining the severity of a requirement change. We define the …

Level Of Essentialness Of A Node In Flowcharts And Its Application To Program Testing, Osman Kandara

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Program testing is important to develop bug free software. A common form of program testing involves selecting test cases which execute (cover) a given set W of statements in the program. In regression testing, W typically forms a small subset of the program. It is often possible to find an alternate small set W so that execution of W' implies execution of W. We develop concepts and algorithms for finding W' as small as possible with the condition that the statements in W' are "close" to those in W in terms of program structure. These concepts generalize the notion of …

The Impact Of A Life-Application Learning Instructional Program On Struggling Readers At The Middle School Level, Angelle Rae Stringer

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This eight-week descriptive study examined the impact of the incorporation of a Life-Application Learning Methods Program on struggling middle school readers. Two questions were explored: 1) How did incorporating life–application learning into the middle school curriculum impact reading motivation?, and 2) How did incorporating life-application learning in the middle school curriculum impact the reading levels? Participants in the study were eight eighth-grade students considered to be struggling readers Qualitative methods were used for this study utilizing responses from a survey, two inventories, student journals, and researcher observations. Data gathered suggested that students are more likely to become motivated and engaged …

Gravitational Radiation Detectability Of Supernova 1987a'S Remnant Fully Matched Filter For Double Resonant Gravitational Detector, Giovanni Santostasi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Part I There is some observational evidence of the presence of a pulsating light source in the remnant of the supernova (SN) 1987A [1]. This source is considered to be a rotating neutron star. Fourier analysis of the light intensity of this source reveals a main narrow frequency peak and side bands that are understood as a modulation of the main sinusoidal signal. A particular model of the neutron star invokes a precessing object to explain the modulation. From the Fourier spectrum of the source and changes in the frequency value, we can determine important parameters of the spinning neutron …

The Kauffman Bracket Skein Module Of The Quaternionic Manifold, John Michael Harris

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this work, we study the structure of the Kauffman bracket skein module of the quaternionic manifold over the field of rational functions. We begin with a brief survey of manifolds whose Kauffman bracket skein modules are known, and proceed in Chapter 2 by recalling the facts from Temperley-Lieb recoupling theory that we use in the proofs. In Chapter 3, using recoupling theory and with Mathematica's assistance, we index an infinite presentation of the skein module, and conjecture that it is five-dimensional. In Chapter 4, using a new set of relations, we prove that the skein module is indeed spanned …

Wood Laminated Composite Poles, Cheng Piao

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Wood composite poles are new engineered products with polygonal shapes and bonded with synthetic resins. The poles have multiple advantages over the solid wood poles and are a promising solid pole substitute in power transmission, telecommunication, and cable TV services. The use of composite poles may reduce the cost both in materials and manipulation, and facilitate installation and treatment. It is necessary to evaluate the factors that affect their properties and construct theoretical and analytical models to analyze these properties. Experiments were conducted to investigate strip thickness and number of strips’ (NOS) effects on the flexural properties and shear stress …

Toward A Global Microscopic Theory For Nuclear Structure: Mean Field Plus Random Phase Approximation Vs. Shell Model, Ionel Stetcu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Our understanding of nuclear structure is built upon mean-field theories such as Hartree-Fock and time-dependent Hartree-Fock. The small-amplitude limit of the latter is the random phase approximation (RPA), which is widely used to model giant resonances in nuclei. Despite this popularity, RPA has been mostly validated against toy models; tests against complex models are scarce in the literature. We perform a thorough test of the RPA against full 0hw shell model (SM) calculations, including in our investigation binding energies, scalar ground-state observables, for which we develop a new method, and transition strengths. We allow deformed Hartree-Fock solutions and compare results …

Progressive Fatigue Effects On Manual Lifting Factors, Anthony D'Wayne Banks

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Much evidence suggests that the cause of lower back pain (LBP) and injury is frequently related to the posture of lifting, the load, muscle fatigue, and other factors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of progressive fatigue on factors that have previously been associated with increased risk of LBP in various occupational settings, during a repetitive lifting task where freestyle lifting technique was utilized. A laboratory experiment was conducted to evaluate several fatigue analysis, electromyography amplitude, kinematic, and kinetic parameters of repetitive freestyle lifting during a 2-hour lifting period. Each of ten (10) young adult male …

Parallel Molecular Dynamics Simulations Of Dynamics Of Oxidation And Reactive Wetting In Metal/Ceramic Systems, Gurcan Aral

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Oxidation of a flat aluminum (111) surface and the reactive wetting of the aluminum (Al) droplet on a flat alumina (α-Al₂O₃) surface are investigated by using parallel molecular-dynamics simulations with dynamic charge transfer among atoms on a microscopic length scale. The interatomic potential, based on the formalism of Streitz and Mintmire, allows atoms to vary their charges dynamically between anions and cations, when atoms move and their local environment is altered. We investigate the oxidation thickness as a function of time and the oxygen density which is 10-40 times that of the normal state (1 atm …

Translating "Hebrew" Into "Greek": The Discursive Hermeneutics Of Emmanuel Levinas's Talmudic Readings, Matthew Wayne Guy

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines Emmanuel Levinas’s Talmudic readings and the hermeneutics employed to translate the Talmud into modern language. Levinas claims to be translating “Hebrew” into “Greek” by rendering into a universal, philosophical language (“Greek”) the ethical structure of subjectivity (“Hebrew”) within the Talmud. Since they investigate the structure of subjectivity, extensive use of his philosophical works and the influential works of others are used to analyze his Talmudic readings. Chapter One places Levinas’s project against the background of the Talmud, Judaic tradition, and projects like Rudolf Bultmann’s New Testament readings and Thorleif Boman’s comparative study of Greek and Hebrew. A …

Language, Identity And The Achievement Gap: Comparing Experiences Of African-American Students In A French Immersion And A Regular Education Context, Michelle Georgette Haj-Broussard

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Black/White Achievement gap has been a persistent problem in education. Previous research attributed this gap to students' culture (Jenks & Phillips, 1998; Ogbu, 1995a.b) or teachers' expectancy (Rist, 1970). Post-colonial literature suggests that this research itself is oppressive, and that learning is negotiating the "spaces" between students and teachers (Ellsworth, 1997); creating a hybrid "mestiza" space (Anzaldúa, 1987). The openness of immersion to diversity, and its subsequent educational benefits for African-American students (Caldas & Boudreaux, 1999) conforms to this post-colonial perspective. This mixed-methodology study examined both academic achievement and the experiences of Louisiana fourth grade students/teachers in both the …

Dynamic Modeling And Parameter Estimation For An Ethlyene-Propylene-Diene Polymerization Process, Rujun Li

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

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A general dynamic model for continuous EPDM polymerization in which crosslinking and gel formation are attributable to reactions between pendant double bonds has been developed. A pseudo-kinetic rate constant method is introduced to construct a moment model for a pseudo-homopolymer that approximates the behavior of the actual terpolymer under long chain and quasi-steady state assumptions. The pseudo-homopolymer model is then used as the basis for application of the numerical fractionation method. The proposed dynamic model is capable of predicting polydispersities and molecular weight distributions near the gel point with as few as eleven generations, and in the …

Biomechanical Reconstruction Of The Appendicular Skeleton In Three North American Jurassic Sauropods, Ray Wilhite

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Forelimb and hindlimb articulation, reconstructed musculature, and function were examined in Apatosaurus, Diplodocus, and Camarasaurus. A technique was developed using a Microscribe three-dimensional digitizer to capture external morphological data for skeletal reconstruction and determination of taxonomically useful features. The appendicular musculature of Alligator mississippiensis was dissected to determine form, function, origin, and insertion of muscles to aid in reconstruction of sauropod musculature. Contrary to the literature, M. caudofemoralis longus was found to originate primarily from the lateral surfaces of the proximal chevrons instead of the bodies and transverse processes of the caudals, demonstrating that chevron morphology is indicative of the …

Molecular-Dynamics Simulations Of Self-Assembled Monolayers (Sam) On Parallel Computers, Satyavani Vemparala

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the properties of self-assembled monolayers, particularly alkanethiols and Poly (ethylene glycol) terminated alkanethiols. These simulations are based on realistic interatomic potentials and require scalable and portable multiresolution algorithms implemented on parallel computers. Large-scale molecular dynamics simulations of self-assembled alkanethiol monolayer systems have been carried out using an all-atom model involving a million atoms to investigate their structural properties as a function of temperature, lattice spacing and molecular chain-length. Results show that the alkanethiol chains tilt from the surface normal by a collective angle of 25o along next-nearest neighbor direction at 300K. At …

A Comparison Of Life Histories And Ecological Aspects Among Snappers (Pisces: Lutjanidae), Fernando Martinez-Andrade

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

An extensive search for data on life-history and ecological variables was conducted for a representative number of the species within the family Lutjanidae. After creating different databases and standardizing all data, these variables were examined in statistical, correlation and graphic analyses. Additionally, a series of Principal Component Analyses were used to examine patterns among variables. Life-history variables included age at length zero, asymptotic length, maximum length, longevity, asymptotic weight, length at maturity, age at maturity, reproductive life span, growth rate and mortality rate. Ecological variables included latitudinal and vertical distribution, habitat selection (represented by substrate type), and spawning seasons. The …

Where Have All The Flowers Gone?: A Modular Systems Perspective Of It Infrastructure Design And Productivity, Pratim Datta

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Assessing value of IT infrastructure investments has been both difficult and ambiguous. This research develops and tests a conceptual framework to understand the productivity process. A lagged and recursive framework is used to trace the relationship between IT infrastructure investments, infrastructure design, and organizational productivity along with contingencies of IT management and the environment. A major contribution of this study is the use of the systems perspective to disaggregate the concepts of IT infrastructure and productivity into collectively exhaustive types. Findings reveal that IT investments do not significant affect productivity but do so when used to develop an IT infrastructure …

Analytical Study On Flood Induced Seepage Under River Levees, Senda Ozkan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A common and potentially dangerous phenomenon associated with flooding is seepage under levees and the formation of sand boils. Seepage flow due to hydrostatic head gradients of floods may cause deformation of pervious layers leading to heave, piping and sand boils. Underseepage may also cause irreversible changes in the characteristics of the porous medium. A series of independent flood events may have cumulative effects on pervious layers causing sand boils to grow. Current underseepage analyses for levees are based on steady-state flow. Transient seepage flow due to rapid changes in river head may contribute to cumulative effects and cause critical …

The Transcendental Eigenvalue Problem And Its Application In System Identification, Kumar Vikram Singh

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

An accurate mathematical model is needed to solve direct and inverse problems related to engineering analysis and design. Inverse problems of identifying the physical parameters of a non-uniform continuous system based on the spectral data are still unsolved. Traditional methods, for the system identification purpose, describe the continuous structure by a certain discrete model. In dynamic analysis, finite element or finite difference approximation methods are frequently used and they lead to an algebraic eigenvalue problem. The characteristic equation associated with the algebraic eigenvalue problem is a polynomial. Whereas, the spectral characteristic of a continuous system is represented by certain transcendental …

Design And Synthesis Of Constrained Dipeptide Units For Use As Β-Sheet Promoters, Umut Oguz

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The study of factors promoting beta-sheet formation has recently gained interest due to the suspected involvement of beta-sheets in brain degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD) and bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Understanding beta-sheet formation and the factors that stabilize beta-sheet structure may serve as a basis for future drug design. The extended structure of a beta-sheet can be stabilized by constrained amino acid analogs that are pre-organized to adopt the extended conformation. In this dissertation using innovative synthetic organic chemistry methods, two dipeptide units are designed and synthesized that are constrained to form the extended conformation and …

Rotary Kiln Incineration Of Hazardous Wastes: Pilot-Scale Studies At Louisiana State University, John Sutherland Earle

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Studies of incineration of surrogates for hazardous wastes are conducted in the pilot-scale rotary kiln incinerator (RKI) at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The purpose of the research is to investigate methods of treating and destroying hazardous wastes in a cost-effective and environmentally sound way. The objective is to provide process data that will contribute to increased knowledge for RKI design and operation. The LSU facility is a College of Engineering Combustion Laboratory that is unique in its large size as a university laboratory. It is equipped with individual instruments for analysis of O₂, CO, …