Digital Commons Network^™

Storytelling From The Margins: The Healing Narratives Of J. California Cooper, Cynthia Downing Bryant

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the therapeutic qualities of selected short stories and novels by contemporary African American woman writer, J. California Cooper. Specifically, I examine the manner in which Cooper's texts can be appreciated as "healing narratives." Healing narratives, as defined in this study, are those texts in which the author consciously creates fictitious representations of reality, while employing the concept of hope as a central and guiding factor. Those aspects of the narrative that have the ability to heal or "lay hands on" a reader vary because the effectiveness of the story depends upon how well the reader can identify …

Microsatellite Instability In Squamous Cell Carcinoma And Lichen Sclerosus Of The Vulva, Sidney Joseph Marlborough

LSU Master's Theses

The usefulness of detecting genomic instability in the form of microsatellite instability (MSI) has been examined in a number of cancers. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adjacent normal and lichen sclerosis (LS) samples were taken from patients with radical vulvectomies. Vulvar SCC samples were compared with adjacent normal samples using four oligonucleotide markers (BAT-25, BAT-26, D10S208 and D10S587) found to be informative with other carcinomas. Using polymerase chain reaction techniques, 30 vulvar SCC DNA samples were examined for MSI. BAT-26 displayed the highest level of MSI and was considered to be the most sensitive marker in studying vulvar SCC. There …

Design And Operating Strategies For Bioreactors Treating Dynamically Varying Concentrations Of Gas-Phase Volatile Organic Compounds (Vocs), Congna Li

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The dynamically varying concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in most waste gas streams present a challenge in design and operation of biofilters treating such off-gases. Studies described in this dissertation were directed toward development and experimental testing of two design modifications/operating strategies that have the potential to improve biofilter performance during unsteady-state loadings. In the first design modification studied, activated carbon was incorporated into biofilter packing media and a novel periodic operating strategy, Sequencing Batch Biofilter (SBB) operation, was tested under “normal” and various “shock” loading conditions treating methyl ethyl ketone contaminated air. Results demonstrate how the operational flexibility …

Cost Effective And Sequential Methods For Teaching Educational Paraprofessionals To Implement Behavior Management Strategies In Preschool Classrooms, Natalie Jan Slider

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the efficacy of cost effective and sequential training methods for teaching educational paraprofessionals to implement behavior management strategies in preschool classrooms. Investigation of the effects of increasingly complex and time consuming methods of training on both paraprofessional and student behaviors were evaluated. Training methods employed included written take-home manuals and summary cards, modeling videotapes, and performance feedback. Training materials included three behavior management strategies (e.g., instruction-giving, praise, and time out) that have shown to have extensive support in the empirical literature (Brophy, 1981; Budd, Riner, & Brockman, 1983; Flanagan, Adams, & Forehand, 1979; O’Dell, Krug, Patterson, & …

International Ffa School To School Linkage Program: Case Studies Of Two Familes, Bradley Allen Leger

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The National FFA Organization is an agriculturally-based youth organization in the United States which has been providing/facilitating international experiences for its members for a number of years. One of these programs is the International FFA School to School Linkage Program (SSLP), in which selected American agricultural education/FFA programs are linked with specialized secondary agricultural schools/lyceums located in one of the countries of the former Soviet Union (FSU). The program’s main mission is for American students and teachers to share ideas with their FSU counterparts about the initiation and maintenance of small-scale agricultural entrepreneurships based on the United States’ agricultural education …

Comparison Studies Of The Mechanistic Formation Of Polyhalogentaed Dibenzo-P-Dioxins And Furans From The Thermal Degradation Of 2-Bromophenol And 2-Chlorophenol, Catherine Spearing Evans

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Emissions of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) and polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PBDD/Fs) from hazardous waste incinerators, and many other sources for combustion have been considered environmentally hazardous and a major health threat. Recently, a growing number of materials containing brominated hydrocarbons, commonly used flame retardants, have been disposed in municipal and hazardous waste incinerators. This results in the increased potential for formation of PBDD/Fs and other hazardous combustion by-products. In contrast to chlorinated hydrocarbons, the reactions of brominated hydrocarbons have been studied only minimally. In fact, studies have shown that brominated phenols form higher yields of PBDD/Fs than the …

Improved Methods For The Isolation And Characterization Of Flavobacterium Columnare, Bradley Donovan Farmer

LSU Master's Theses

Columnaris disease, caused by the bacterium Flavobacterium columnare, is an economically significant problem in many warmwater fish species. Difficulties encountered in the isolation and culture of F. columnare have been an impediment to research on the organism and the disease it causes. The goal of this study was to improve the methods for isolation, culture, identification and maintenance of F. columnare. Following the evaluation of different culture media selective cytophaga agar was determined to be the optimum isolation medium, Flavobacterum columnare growth medium proved to be the optimum culture medium, and tryptone yeast extract agar with increased moisture was best …

Effects Of Redox Potential And Ph On The Fate Of Nitroglycerin In A Surface And Aquifer Soil, Sally Yost

LSU Master's Theses

Nitroglycerin, used in propellant formulations and ignition cartridges in military weapons, has been found as a surface soil contaminant on military installations. Concerns have arisen since the fate and mobility of nitroglycerin is not understood in these natural environments. The objective of this study was to determine the fate of nitroglycerin in natural field soils. Nitroglycerin degradation was examined using a surface soil and an aquifer soil under aerobic and anaerobic conditions at three pH levels. Studies were also performed to determine the influence of a supplemental carbon source on degradation. Radiolabeled 14C-nitroglycerin was used to trace the partitioning between …

First Order Sigma-Delta Modulator Of An Oversampling Adc Design In Cmos Using Floating Gate Mosfets, Syam Prasad Sbs Kommana

LSU Master's Theses

We report a new architecture for a sigma-delta oversampling analog-to-digital converter (ADC) in which the first order modulator is realized using the floating gate MOSFETs at the input stage of an integrator and the comparator. The first order modulator is designed using an 8 MHz sampling clock frequency and implemented in a standard 1.5µm n-well CMOS process. The decimator is an off-chip sinc-filter and is programmed using the VERILOG and tested with Altera Flex EPF10K70RC240 FPGA board. The ADC gives an 8-bit resolution with a 65 kHz bandwidth.

Evaluation Of Rough Brucella Strains As Vaccines For Brucellosis And Pseudorabies In Swine, Lorraine Harrow Molin

LSU Master's Theses

Brucellosis and pseudorabies lead to abortion in pregnant sows and are perpetuated by feral swine reservoirs. A multivalent oral vaccine for these diseases would improve vaccination and eradication programs worldwide. Previous studies have shown that the rough attenuated Brucella strains RB51 and VTRS1, when administered subcutaneously to swine, stimulate host immune responses, transiently colonize tissues, and provide partial protection against virulent B. suis infection in pregnant sows. A plasmid encoding for the pseudorabies virus glycoprotein D (PRV gD) has also been added to these strains as part of this project. This study evaluates the use of these strains as oral …

The Effects Of Nutrient Enrichment On The Decomposition Of Belowground Organic Matter In A Sagittaria Lancifolia - Dominated Oligohaline Marsh, Kristen Raye Laursen

LSU Master's Theses

Wetlands improve water quality through sedimentation and the uptake of excess nutrients. As human population increases in the coastal zone, wetlands receive greater nutrient inputs. These additional nutrients may accelerate microbial activity, leading to faster decomposition rates. This decomposition could exceed belowground organic matter production, resulting in a net reduction in soil organic matter accumulation and vertical marsh accretion. The effects of nutrient enrichment on belowground organic matter decomposition in subtropical marshes have received little attention. As such, this research examined the effects of four levels of nitrogen combined with two levels of phosphorus enrichment on belowground decomposition through the …

Accelerating The Transition To A Sustainable Society, Christopher Brian Bennett

LSU Master's Theses

As human populations increase, available land and resources decrease, and we begin to better understand the impacts of human activity on the environment, a strategy for human development that meets both the needs of society and the environment is being increasingly called upon. This movement has come to be known as sustainability. While this term is prevalent in the design and planning communities, it is important that this concept be brought to the attention of the general public, whom will ultimately decide the success or failure of this scheme. The question then is how to begin implementation of sustainable practices, …

Seasonal Occurrence Of Phyllophaga Species And Biological Studies Of Phyllophage Ephilida (Say) On Sweet Potato, Ipomoea Batatas (L) Lam, In Louisiana, Aboubacar Diagne

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The biology of Phyllophaga ephilida (Say) was studied in Louisiana with both laboratory and field experiments from 1998 through 2003. The seasonal occurrence of common adult Phyllophaga species in sweet potato growing areas was surveyed with blacklight traps. P. ephilida and P. crinita (Burmeister) were the most common species at all locations. The attractiveness of seven methyl esters of L-isoleucine and L-valine blends to P. ephilida males was evaluated in sweet potato fields in 1999 and 2000. The 100% methyl ester of L-isoleucine was significantly more attractive than all other blend ratios that were tested. The life cycle of P. …

Photo-Control Of Dna Oligonucleotides With Cage Compounds, Bilal Ghosn

LSU Master's Theses

Many biochemical processes in which DNA and other nucleic acids participate are central to functions in both living cells and in molecular biology assays. While many compounds have been used to regulate the activity of DNA, these strategies are limited to the aqueous-based diffusion of the activator to the target DNA molecule. An improvement to the induction of DNA bioactivity is to move to a light-based modulation. This research demonstrates a light-based technique using a photo-cleavable cage compound to transiently inactivate DNA hybridization. Function can be restored with exposure to near-UV light, allowing for temporal control of DNA oligonucleotide (ODN) …

African American Women Administrators In Higher Education: Exploring The Challenges And Experiences At Louisiana Public Colleges And Universities, Germaine Monquenette Becks-Moody

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study explores the challenges that African American women administrators experience as professionals in public institutions of higher education and the strategies they employ to cope with the resulting conflicts. It uses Black Feminism and the five dimensions as a framework for understanding the challenges and experiences. The five dimensions that characterize Black Feminist Thought are: 1) core themes of a Black woman's standpoint; 2) variation of responses to core themes; 3) interdependence of experience and consciousness; 4) consciousness and the struggle for a self-defined standpoint; and 5) interdependence of thought and action. Interviews and participant observations were conducted with …

Perceptions Of A Chilly Climate: Differences In Traditional And Non-Traditional Majors For Women, Ladonna K. Morris

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine how perceptions of a chilly climate differ between students in traditionally female-dominated majors versus traditionally male-dominated majors, and how these perceptions relate to students' intentions to persist or pursue higher education in their chosen field. Participants were 403 students attending a community college in the southern United States, including students majoring in information technology (IT), engineering, education, and nursing. Participants completed the 28-item Perceived Chilly Climate Scale (PCCS) and other informational items.

The primary research question asked: To what extent can scores on the five subscales of the PCCS be explained …

Paravertebral Nerve Block For Pain Management Of Nissen Fundoplication Surgery, Shelly M. Brock

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Providing comfort is a fundamental nursing responsibility. Unrelieved postoperative pain has adverse physiologic and psychologic effects that contribute to prolonged hospital admissions and significant discomfort to patients. Opioids are standard methods of postoperative analgesia for many surgical procedures. Unfortunately, the use of opioids is associated with side effects such as nausea and vomiting, urinary retention, ileus and respiratory depression. These side effects, with the added problem of inadequate pain control, result in patient dissatisfaction with surgical procedures.

Paravertebral nerve block (PVB) is a regional anesthetic technique that has been shown to result in opioid sparing in many procedures including breast …

Development Of Dynamic Travel Demand Models For Hurricane Evacuation, Haoqiang Fu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Little attention has been given to estimating dynamic travel demand in transportation planning in the past. However, when factors influencing travel are changing significantly over time – such as with an approaching hurricane - dynamic demand and the resulting variation in traffic flow on the network become important. In this study, dynamic travel demand models for hurricane evacuation were developed with two methodologies: survival analysis and sequential choice model. Using survival analysis, the time before evacuation from a pending hurricane is modeled with those that do not evacuate considered as censored observations. A Cox proportional hazards regression model with time-dependent …

Isolation And Characterization Of Carbonic Anhydrase From Ostertagia Ostertagi, Andrew Allan Derosa

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The first event in the infection process of Ostertagia ostertagi in cattle is the process of exsheathment. Before trichostrongylid nematodes can transition from a free-living infective stage larva (L₃) on pasture to a parasitic existence within the ruminant host, it must first undergo exsheathment. Exsheathment is the process whereby the L₂ cuticle retained from the previous molt is cast from the L₃. Exsheathment enables the developmental transition from a free-living stage on pasture to a parasitic existence in the bovine host. For those species with a predilection site in the abomasum, such as O. ostertagi, …

Louisiana State University Nasalance Protocol Standardization, Kathryn Ruth Kendrick

LSU Master's Theses

It was the purpose of this study to obtain nasalance values using the Nasometer and a resonance evaluation created at the Louisiana State University (LSU) Speech and Hearing Clinic. The Nasometer was used to measure the amount of nasal acoustic energy in the speech of 40 normal young adults during sustained vowel production, consonant vowel reduplications, and connected speech using the Rainbow Passage. Means and standard deviations are presented for the individual speech tasks and according to gender. Nasalance values for the sustained vowels were significantly higher for the high front vowel /i/ than any other vowel, and the lowest …

The Section 5 Power After Tennessee V. Lane, William D. Araiza

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Renewing A Great Profession, Aicpa Chairman’S Inaugural Address, Robert L. Bunting

Guides, Handbooks and Manuals

No abstract provided.

Fraud Detection In A Gaas Audit;Fraud Detection In A Gaas Audit: Sas No. 99 Implementation Guide;, Michael J. Ramos, Lori West

Guides, Handbooks and Manuals

No abstract provided.

Cpa's Guide To Medical, Dental And Other Healthcare Practices;, Lucy R. Carter, Sara S. Lankford

Guides, Handbooks and Manuals

CD-ROM files converted to PDF and included after main text

Managing Risk In The New Economy, American Institute Of Certified Public Accountants (Aicpa), Canadian Institute Of Chartered Accountants

Guides, Handbooks and Manuals

No abstract provided.

Valuation Of Privately-Held-Company Equity Securities Issued As Compensation; Aicpa Audit And Accounting Practice Aid Series, American Institute Of Certified Public Accountants

Guides, Handbooks and Manuals

No abstract provided.

Aicpa Work/Life And Women's Initiatives 2004 Research: A Decade Of Changes In The Accounting Profession: Workforce Trends And Human Capital Practices, American Institute Of Certified Public Accountants. Work/Life And Women's Initiatives Executive Committee

Guides, Handbooks and Manuals

No abstract provided.

Insights: An Exploration Of Experiences With Schizophrenia And Schizoaffective Disorder, Leslie D. St. Jacques

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This qualitative study explores the experiences of nine people with diagnoses of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, living in the area of Guelph, Ontario. The stigma and poor prognosis traditionally attached to schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder rage on. The profound disruption caused by the symptoms of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder and the social repercussions of receiving these diagnoses, contribute to the individual's disconnection from family and community. Major alterations in the person's social roles and sense of self follow. Stigma and discrimination compound the injury to self-esteem to the extent that a person internalizes them. Yet, however grim the situation appears, …

Agency Costs In International Human Rights, David H. Moore

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Étude Des Facteurs Environnementaux Et Physiologiques Contribuant À La Variabilité Biologique : Caractérisation De La Relation « Exposition - Indicateur Biologique D'Exposition » Pour Le N-Hexane, Geneviève Hamelin, Robert Tardif, Ginette Truchon

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Jusqu'à tout récemment, l'American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) recommandait d'utiliser la mesure de la 2,5-hexanedione (2,5-HD) totale (2,5-HD libre + autres conjugués glucuronides) comme indicateur biologique de l'exposition (IBE) au n-hexane (n-HEX). En 2001, l’ACGIH a cependant proposé de recourir plutôt à la mesure de la 2,5-HD libre uniquement et la valeur du nouvel indicateur serait de 3.5 µmol/L. Le choix de cette mesure se justifie puisque la 2,5-HD libre est le métabolite responsable des effets neurotoxiques associés à l'exposition au n-HEX. De plus, la mesure de la 2,5-HD libre permet une meilleure discrimination entre individus exposés et …