Digital Commons Network^™

Relationships Among Performance On Simulated Tasks Of Decision-Making, Positive Outcome Expectancies For Mdma, And Age Of First Mdma Use, Scott Michael Patterson

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships among 3,4-methylendioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) use patterns and beliefs, the Gambling Task, the delay discounting task, and the Adult Self-Report (ASR). Sixty-eight college students completed measures of substance use, social desirability, the MDMA Beliefs Questionnaire (MDMA-BQ), the Gambling Task, the delay discounting task, and the ASR. Contrary to predictions, participants who had used MDMA at least once did not vary from those who had never used MDMA on the Gambling Task, the delay discounting task, or the ASR. As predicted, MDMA users’ outcome expectancies for MDMA significantly differed from non-users. MDMA-BQ scales and …

Riding Out The Risks: An Ethnographic Study Of Risk Perceptions In A South Louisiana Bayou Community, Susan Camille Manning

LSU Master's Theses

This ethnographic study explores the risk perceptions of a small unincorporated coastal community in southeastern Louisiana. This community has experienced social and environmental change due to events including tropical storms and hurricanes, erosion, subsidence, oil and gas activities, development, and the impact of global seafood markets. Many global risk perception studies have focused on the perception of risk to human health and property connected with natural and technological disasters, but few have explored the issue of minorities and small at-risk communities. To explore this theoretical and methodological gap, this study uses a variety of qualitative ethnographic methods to examine a …

Identifying Asphalt Construction As A Point Source Emitter Of Volatile Organic Compounds Near The Louisiana State University Ozone Monitoring Station, Sean Jason Kice

LSU Master's Theses

The EPA has classified Baton Rouge as a non-attainment area for ozone pollution for many years. Since then Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Stations (PAMS) and other ozone monitoring stations around the metropolitan area have monitored for ozone, NOx, and more than 50 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which are considered precursors to ozone pollution. Traditionally, automobile engines and industrial plants and refineries have been blamed as major point sources for VOC emissions and the ozone pollution they cause. This research focuses on another possible point source for failing ozone levels at one of the ozone monitoring stations located on the campus of …

Long-Term Freshwater Input And Sediment Load From Three Tributaries To Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, Kangsheng Wu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Lake Pontchartrain and the drainage basin have experienced environmental degradation because of human settlement, land use and climate changes. A thorough understanding of hydrologic trends and variability associated with the changes is critical for sustainable water resources management and ecosystem restoration in the region. This study examined freshwater inflow (1940-2002) and suspended solids loadings (1978-2001) from three upper Lake Pontchartrain watersheds that contribute to the lake estuary: the Amite, Tickfaw, and Tangipahoa river watersheds. The relationships of freshwater inflow and suspended solids loadings with climate variables and population growth were investigated. Using observed daily discharge, a spatially-distributed hydrologic model (SWAT) …

Integrating Horticulture Biology And Coastal Environmental Issues Into The Middle School Science Curriculum, Kathryn Lauren Karsh

LSU Master's Theses

Louisiana is losing nearly 34 square miles of coastal land each year. Scientists predict by 2050 one-third of Louisiana’s coast land will disappear (LaCoast, 2004). Many restoration projects have begun to counteract the severe land loss. Scientists use restoration methods such as vegetative plantings, sedimentary and freshwater diversions, and hydrologic projects to prevent land loss. Coastal Roots, a school-based nursery stewardship project for upper elementary to high school students coordinated by Louisiana Sea Grant College Program and LSU AgCenter, helps students understand the land loss crisis and gives them a constructive way to help restore the damaged coastal habitats by …

The Influence Of Transdermally Administered Fentanyl On Isoflurane Requirements In Normothermic And Hypothermic Dogs, Diane Wilson

LSU Master's Theses

Intraoperative reductions in serum fentanyl levels in dogs with induced moderate hypothermia and transdermal fentanyl patches (TDF) in place has been documented. The impact of such reductions has not been evaluated nor has the anesthetic sparing effect of the TDF. Reductions in serum levels may be the result of either a decreased uptake of fentanyl from the dermal depot, or a biophase shift. The objective of this investigation was to determine whether the minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) of isoflurane was altered in the presence of TDF in normothermic and hypothermic dogs. Six mature, healthy, mixed breed dogs were anesthetized on …

Urban Yellow Fever Diffusion Patterns And The Role Of Micro-Environmental Factors In Disease Dissemination: A Temporal-Spatial Analysis Of The Memphis Epidemic Of 1878, William Brennan Arden

LSU Master's Theses

Most investigations that examine diffusion of disease through urban areas give relatively scant attention to the 'micro-environment.' Employing the many methods of macro-environmental analysis, most studies do not attempt to identify street-level or even residence-level temporal-spatial patterns of disease diffusion. As a result, the mechanisms that lead to diffusion on such small scales are left relatively undefined. There is no doubt that cumulatively these small-scale mechanisms contribute to the diffusion of disease over the urban environment. However, the level of contribution and the specific details of their dynamics remain unclear. This thesis investigated some of these unexplored areas by presenting …

Restoration Success Of Backfilling Canals In Coastal Louisiana Marshes, Joseph Baustian

LSU Master's Theses

The need for effective marsh restoration techniques in Louisiana is a pressing issue as the state continues to lose coastal wetlands. Returning spoil banks to canals, known as "backfilling", is an attractive restoration option because it restores marsh, prevents future wetland loss, and is cost effective. The direct conversion of marsh to canals and spoil banks accounted for over 22% of Louisiana's wetland loss from 1930 to 1990, and the indirect losses associated with canal dredging are even larger. The restoration success of 30 canals, backfilled twenty years ago, was examined in this study and compared to restoration success shortly …

Denitrification And Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Cultivated And Wetland Alluvial Soils, Sami Ullah

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Agricultural development in the Mississippi River Basin has contributed to an 3-fold increase in NO3 loading of the river. Increased NO3 loading is a primary cause of eutrophication in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Identification of best management practices (BMPs) to reduce NO3 loss and wetlands restoration to remove NO3 through denitrification are critically needed. The objectives of this research were to determine factors controlling denitrification potential of different landscape units in an agricultural watershed and quantify the effects of BMPs and organic C amendments on denitrification rates of cultivated lands and restored forested wetlands. N2O, CH4 and CO2 emissions …

Aquinas And The Knowledge Of God, Casey Edler

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis concerns the introduction of mystical knowledge into a debate about God that relies on scientific evidence. The thesis focuses in particular on the relevance of Thomas Aquinas' view of mystical experience. After first presenting Aquinas' theory of rapture as an anticipation of the beatific vision and distinguishing it from other ways of knowing God, I argue that such a theory convincingly renders mystical knowledge inadmissible into a debate about God that relies on scientific evidence, owing to one's inability to either remember or communicate such an experience. As a result, introducing mystical knowledge into the debate causes the …

Population Dynamics Of Clausocalanus Furcatus (Copepoda, Calanoida) In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Hongsheng Bi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Copepods are important components of marine ecosystems. Understanding copepod population dynamics can help interpret variations in both primary producers and higher trophic levels. Egg production, stage duration, and stage-specific mortality rates are key parameters describing copepod population dynamics. Estimation of stage-specific mortality is complicated due to a complex life history, patchiness, and sampling biases. This study was undertaken to quantify the population dynamics of the copepod Clausocalanus furcatus in the northern Gulf of Mexico and to assess the utility of available mortality estimation methods in a highly advective environment. Zooplankton samples were taken every 12h from March 18-April 6, and …

Martin Heidegger's Phenomenology And The Science Of Mind, Charles Dale Hollingsworth

LSU Master's Theses

Phenomenology and cognitive science present two very different ways of looking at mental activity. Recently, however, there have been some attempts to incorporate phenomenological insights and methods into cognitive science, drawing especially on the works of Martin Heidegger. The purpose of this thesis is to determine if a useful combination of cognitive science with Heidegger’s phenomenology is possible, and to determine the form such a combination might take. This thesis begins with a brief overview of the field of cognitive science, and of some of the problems within the field that might benefit from a phenomenological analysis. It then reviews …

Toward A Construct Validation Of The Louisiana School Analysis Model Instructional Staff Questionnaire, Nikki Bray Clark

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study assessed the construct validity of the School Analysis Model (SAM) Instructional Staff Questionnaire. Construct validation was necessary for several reasons. First, it has not been possible to obtain evidence of the latent factor structure of this key component of the School Analysis Model (SAM). A factor analysis using data collected with the questionnaire was conducted to assess and identify the underlying factor structure of the instrument. Second, there is no evidence that the constructs measured by the SAM are associated with attributes of school performance further empirical analysis was done to determine if latent constructs contained within the …

Modeling And Experimentation Of Drying Of Adipose Derived Adult Stem Cells, Surbhi Mittal

LSU Master's Theses

Development of protocols for storing desiccated cells at ambient temperatures offers tremendous economic and practical advantages over traditional storage procedures such as cryopreservation and freeze-drying. An integrated frame work of experimentation and modeling is adopted in the present work to develop procedures for storage of adult stem cells at ambient temperature. As a first step, we have measured the post-rehydration membrane integrity of two passages, Passage-0 (P0) and Passage-1 (P1), of human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs). hASCs were dried using a convective stage at three different drying rates (slow, moderate and rapid) in D-PBS with trehalose (50 mM) and glycerol …

Amplification Dynamics Of Primate Retrotransposons, Dale James Hedges

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The rapidly increasing amount of sequence data has brought about a new appreciation for the tremendous influence mobile elements have had in shaping eukaryotic genomes. Despite their ubiquity, however, the factors governing the proliferation of mobile elements—or, in some cases, the lack of proliferation—across diverse taxa remain poorly understood. Analysis of Alu activity in humans and chimpanzees since their divergence indicates a two-fold increase in human Alu activity compared to that of the chimpanzee. This human retrotransposition increase is accompanied by a roughly two-fold higher level of chimpanzee Alu diversity. We prepose a model, wherein smaller effective population sizes in …

Winter Bird Use Of The Chinese Tallow Tree In Louisiana, Michael John Baldwin

LSU Master's Theses

Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera) is a non-native invasive tree that is of particular concern in the Southeastern United States. It has become naturalized in a variety of habitats and can be found in monospecific stands. The use of tallow woodlands by overwintering birds is poorly documented. I compared use of tallow woodlands to use of bottomland hardwood forests by birds in the Mermentau River Basin, Louisiana. Species richness and evenness were greater in the bottomland hardwood sites. Three species were more abundant in tallow woodlands, six species were more common in bottomland hardwoods, and six species exhibited no difference between …

Evaluation Of Lutein And Protein In Ozone Treated Corn, Yu Wang

LSU Master's Theses

The present study was conducted to determine the influence of an ozonation process on lutein and protein in clean and contaminated corns. This study aimed (1) to determine the levels of antimutagenic compounds to aflatoxin in corn before and after ozonation; (2) to verify the antimutagenic potential of these compounds against aflatoxin using the Ames test; and (3) to evaluate proteins in the corn before and after ozonation. HPLC was used to separate and identify the lutein in corn. Nitrogen analysis and SDS-PAGE were used to analyze protein content and molecular weights in corn. Clean ozone-treated corn had a total …

"To The Latest Generation": Cold War And Post Cold War U.S. Civil War Novels In Their Social Contexts, Jeffrey Neal Smithpeters

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation argues that readings of the Civil War novels published in America since 1955 should be informed by a consciousness of the social forces at work in each author’s time. Part One consists of a study of the popular Civil War novel, 1955’s Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor; part two, 1974’s The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. Chapters One through Three explain that Kantor was especially fitted for the ideological work going on in Andersonville, then outlines the way that novel tried to contribute to the transition between World War II and the Cold War. The book attempted to aid …

Carbonate Records Of Submarine Hydrocarbon Venting: Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Matthew S. Hackworth

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Hydrocarbon seep sediments are examined from 3 sites in the Gulf of Mexico (Green Canyon Lease Blocks 232, 185, and 272) to relate the effects of gas hydrates and hydrocarbons on microbial process, pore fluid chemistry, and the processes of authigenic carbonate formation. Hydrocarbon-fueled microbial reactions result in pore fluids with lowered SO₄^2- (all consumed by –10 cm) and enrichments in H₂S, alkalinity, and DIC (up to 20 mmol, 30 meq/L, and 18 mmol/L, respectively) which promote carbonate formation. Pore fluid d¹³C_DIC (PDB) is influenced by thermogenic hydrocarbons and crude oil in GC …

Isolation, Characterization, And Expression Analysis Of [Beta]-1, 3-Glucanase Genes From Strawberry Plants, Yanlin Shi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Plant beta-1, 3-glucanases are pathogenesis-related proteins, which are implicated in plant defense responses against pathogen infection. As an initial step in understanding the roles of beta-1, 3-glucanases in the strawberry plant defense system, genome walking, and 3' and 5' RACE were performed to isolate beta-1, 3-glucanase genomic and cDNA clones. In addition, real time PCR was performed to determine the expression levels of two of the isolated beta-1, 3-glucanase genes in healthy and fungal infected plants. Two genomic clones, FaBG2-1 and FaBG2-2, and a cDNA clone, FaBG2-3, encoding three different beta-1, 3-glucanases, were isolated. FaBG2-1 was comprised of two exons …

Simulations And Experimental Analysis Of High-Aspect-Ratio Diffusive Micro-Mixers, Amit Maha

LSU Master's Theses

Passive (diffusional) mixing has been used in designing high-aspect-ratio micro-mixers for the purpose of performing the Liagase Detection Reaction (LDR). A simple model was used to design such mixers optimized for pressure drop or time required to deliver a prescribed volume of mixture. The types of mixers considered are simple, cheap, and durable and can perform over a broad range of volumetric flow rates at reasonably modest pressure drops. The fluids typically have a very low diffusion coefficient of=1.2x10^10m^2/s, and thus diffusional mixing can only be effective in high-aspect-ratio micro-channels. A realizable aspect ratio of 6 has been considered initially …

Annual Review Of The World Pheasant Association 2004/2005, World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Reports and Other Materials

Chairman of Trustees' report, Dick Potts

Treasurer's report and accounts, Ian Hoggarth

Conservation activities in 2004/2005, Philip J. K. McGowan

WPA around the world: Highlights from the chapters

Grouse Specialist Group report, Ilse Storch

Megapode Specialist Group report, Rene Dekker Darryl N. Jones, and Gillian C. Baker

Partridge, Quail and Francolin Specialist Group report, John P. Carroll

Pheasant Specialist Group report, Peter J. Garson

Species Survey 2004, Philip J. K. McGowan

Re-introduction of Green Peafowl into Peninsular Malaysia, Gary Robbins and John Corder

Ten years of WPA:s South Asian Field Office, Rahul Kaul

Range expansion of grey francolin in the …

European Conference, Cynhadledd Ceiliog Y Rhos = 3rd International Black Grouse Conference (Llys Fasi Agricultural College, Ruthin, North Wales: March 20-25, 2005): Conference Review

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Conference Proceedings

The Countryside Council for Wales: The 2005 Black Grouse Conference, Roger Lovegrove

Spatially explicit modelling of black grouse (Tetrao tetrix L.) habitat quality evolution induced by green alder (Alnus alnobetula (Ehrh.) C. Koch) expansion on abandoned meadows in the northern French Alps, Samuel Decout, Philippe Delcros, and Jean-Jacques Brun

Factors affecting black grouse numbers: An overview of the part of predators [Short note], M. Loneux, Karl-Heinz Kolb, J.-C. Ruwet, and P. Poncin

Modelling the influence of climate on black grouse population dynamics in Lüneburger Heide (North Germany), Michèle Loneux, Manfred Lütkepohl, Jann Wübbenhorst, and James K. Lindsey

Modelling …

La Fragilitat Del Paisatge, Sharon G. Feldman

Latin American, Latino and Iberian Studies Faculty Publications

Dins de la galáxia teatral formada per estrelles de grans i petites dimensions que és l'escena catalana contemporània, Josep M. Benet i Jornet (Barcelona, 1940) és com un cometa; no un d'aquells estels fugaços que apareix en una de les seves obres més reeixides (Fugaç, 1992), sinó com un cometa la trajectória creativa del qual ha estat marcada per un procés constant d'evolució i renovació estètiques, un cometa que ha deixat una lluïssor indeleble, que li ha permès d'omplir el buit entre generacions. Es podria afirmar que Benet i Jornet és el dramaturg en vida més eminent i …

The Photographer's Wife: Emmet Gowin's Photographs Of Edith, Mikell Waters Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Exemplified in the oeuvres of photographers Alfred Stieglitz, Harry Callahan, Lee Friedlander, and Emmet Gowin, the photographer's wife is a distinctive subject in twentieth-century American fine-art photography that fuses the domains of public and private life through the conflation of art and marriage. The transgressive nature of this juncture can be located in a confluence of gazes - the artist's, the subject's, and the viewer's - that are embroiled in constructing subjectivities. The phrase "photographer's wife" underscores an assumed imbalance of power reflecting a binary of active/passive, artist/model, and husband/wife. It is this study's contention that the complexity of the …

Book Review, Lakshman D. Guruswamy

Publications

No abstract provided.

Sustainable Energy: A Preliminary Framework, Lakshman Guruswamy

Publications

No abstract provided.

Indigenous Peoples' Rights To Water Under International Norms, David H. Getches

Publications

In this article, Dean Getches examines the nature of international law as it relates to indigenous water rights and evaluates the kinds of claims that native peoples might assert when they are deprived of access to water. Around the world, indigenous peoples have experienced depletion or pollution of their traditional water sources caused by the uses made by dominant, non-native societies. As a result, native peoples' ability to perform water-dependent vocations like farming and fishing, and to perpetuate cultures and spiritual practices requiring water is limited. While a few countries recognize water rights of indigenous peoples in their domestic laws, …

International Environmental Law: 2005 Annual Report, Vail T. Thorne, Lakshman Guruswamy, Kevin L. Doran

Publications

No abstract provided.

Energy, Environment & Sustainable Development, Lakshman D. Guruswamy

Publications

No abstract provided.