Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of Smoking Cessation On Control Of Food Intake In Postmenopausal African-American And Caucasian Women, Amanda K. Manning

LSU Master's Theses

Smoking cessation leads to greater weight gain in women than men, and older and postmenopausal women are at greater risk for weight gain than younger, premenopausal women. African-American postmenopausal women may be at the greatest risk. Weight gain after smoking cessation is primarily due to increased caloric intake. Currently, the literature regarding measurement of macronutrient intake after smoking cessation is plagued with methodological problems. The Geiselman Macronutrient Self-Selection Paradigm (MSSP) significantly and systematically varies fat across other macronutrients and the Geiselman Food Preference Questionnaire (FPQ) measures the negative feedback of satiation via pre- and postprandial hedonic ratings of foods. Fifty-five …

Disturbance Effects On Nekton Communities Of Seagrasses And Bare Substrates In Biloxi Marsh, Louisiana, Jamie Lynn Maiaro

LSU Master's Theses

With marshes deteriorating rapidly across the Louisiana coast, the role of seagrasses in sustaining fisheries has come into question. Seagrasses are known to shelter small fish from larger predators. Seagrasses also act as a foraging ground for commercially important species, including spotted seatrout. Thirty samples, fifteen from seagrass habitats and fifteen from bare substrate habitats, were collected inside Biloxi Marsh using a drop sampler in May 2005. After the passage of Hurricanes Cindy and Katrina on July 6, 2005 and August 29, 2005, respectively, the seagrasses in Biloxi Marsh were either uprooted, buried, or both. The May 2005 sites were …

Equality In The War On Terror, Neal K. Katyal

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Today, much public attention and litigation in the wake of the government's response to the September 11, 2001 attacks centers on one or another claims about the government's substantive illegality (such as claims based on the Due Process Clause). This is a mistake. Instead of focusing on the ultimate individual liberty questions, challenges should first focus on equality.

Since the terrorist attacks, the government has repeatedly singled out aliens for special disfavor. For example, the Military Commissions Act blatantly discriminates against aliens - shunting the 20 million green-card holders and 5 billion people across the planet into a different, and …

The Black Death And Its Effect On Fourteenth- And Fifteenth-Century Art, Anna Louise Desormeaux

LSU Master's Theses

In early October of 1347, ships from Caffa docked at the port of Messina in Sicily. The traders brought with them a fierce plague that swept through Europe from 1348 to 1352. This pandemic, which killed approximately half of Europe's population, came to be known as the Black Death. The fear propagated by the spread of the plague and its cyclical recurrence greatly affected the art created in Europe over the next 150 years. Accounts of victims of the plague and other contemporary documents, such as medical treatises, give modern readers a glimpse into the psyche of medieval people. These …

Moving Towards A Very Long Engagement: The Effects Of Interactivity On Prolonging Engagement With Online Movie Advertisements, Jesse T. Hoggard

LSU Master's Theses

An experiment with 421 participants aged 18-45 was conducted to measure the effects of interactivity in an online movie advertising setting, and the effects of interactivity on consumer engagement and other brand metrics. Results from a post-test survey revealed insight into participants’ perceived level of interactivity, and reflected varying levels of attitude towards ad messages, ad recall, mood, and factors in purchasing habits. Results suggested that while interactivity can sometimes hinder advertising recall rates, it can also increase positive attitudes toward the advertisement, click-through rate, intent to purchase, and mood. Practical implications and suggestions for further research are discussed.

An Analysis Of The World Shrimp Market And The Impact Of An Increasing Import Base On The Gulf Of Mexico Dockside Price, Pawan Poudel

LSU Master's Theses

As a result of increased cultured activities, the world shrimp market has been expanded significantly during the past two decades. Because the growth in world supply has exceeded that of growth in demand, the deflated world shrimp price has fallen significantly since the mid-1980s. While a large producer of shrimp (primarily in the Gulf of Mexico), the United States is also the world’s largest importer. In general, the Gulf of Mexico dockside price is determined by the world export price and, as such, the Gulf of Mexico price has fallen sharply in recent years. This study quantifies the impact on …

Genotypic Variability And Inheritance Of Iron And Zinc In Sweetpotato, Michael William Courtney

LSU Master's Theses

Sweetpotato [Ipomœa batatas (L.) Lam.] is a major subsistence crop in Sub-Saharan Africa, where iron and zinc deficiency in humans is an important health problem. A sweetpotato cultivar suited for subsistence farming, with high iron and zinc concentration, would be important in alleviating these deficiencies. The main objective of this research was to identify the extent of genetic variability of iron and zinc concentration in sweetpotato germplasm. An important subcomponent of this research was to determine the heritability of iron and zinc in sweetpotato. Protocol development studies were also conducted to aid in determining proper sampling technique. The results of …

Ecosystem Effects Of Expanding Populations Of Avicennia Germinans In A Southeastern Louisiana Spartina Alterniflora Saltmarsh, Carey Lynn Perry

LSU Master's Theses

Although the Earth may be in the early stages of the projected trends of global warming, several ecological responses to recent warming are already evident. The timing of seasonal activities of plants and animals has begun to shift, and the advancement of species poleward is occurring in several regions of the world. One unique distributional shift is the movement of Avicennia germinans (black mangrove) northward into temperate salt marshes dominated by the marsh grass, Spartina alterniflora. In Louisiana, black mangroves were historically restricted to the southernmost barrier islands and beaches; however, in recent years a noticeable expansion of Avicennia northward …

The Land - A New Topographic Study Of Home, Jacob Croft Botter

LSU Master's Theses

The photographs in my thesis sit between these two movements, leaning more towards the contemporary ideas that were generated by the New Topographic Movement. On one hand, they are similar to the traditional photographs of the landscape, in the way they depict a place of organic beauty. They present a panorama that serves as a poignant reminder of the natural world that demands our respect and appreciation for what it has to offer. At the same time, this cannon of imagery contains man, or a visual representation of man, and his efforts. My pictures are not an outsider's observation of …

Reevaluating Age In Subadult Remains In Response To Secular Changes In Skeletal Growth, Katherine Ann Blackwelder

LSU Master's Theses

The goal of forensic anthropology is the analysis and identification of human skeletal remains in a medicolegal context (Byers 2005:1-2). A forensic anthropologist can determine the age of subadult remains by various means, including dentition, centers of ossification, cranial suture closure, and epiphyseal union. Epiphyseal union is when all bones have completed their growth and fused, which happens for all bones by early adulthood. In this way, a forensic anthropologist can analyze the extent of epiphyseal union to determine the age of a deceased individual. This is done by comparing the skeletal remains to age-specific x-ray images of bones featured …

Fabrication Of Single Walled Carbon Nanotube (Sw-Cnt) Cantilevers For Chemical Sensing, Jui-Ching Hsu

LSU Master's Theses

With the discovery of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), many applications have been implemented based on their unique electronic, mechanical, chemical and optoelectronic properties. One area of applications is in gas sensors for detecting, oxygen, flammable and toxic gases. In our work, the focus is on the fabrication of carbon nanotube (CNT) cantilever sensors for integration with CMOS readout chip which offer increased sensitivity. The higher surface-to-bulk ratio enhances the property and performance of the gas sensor by nanocantilevers. In this work, we present the detection method based on the change in capacitance of the single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) cantilever. Carbon …

A Geographical Investigation Of Chagas' Disease Risk In The Community Of La Brea, Guatemala, Gerardo J. Boquin

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis will display how the use of a GIS is an important tool in understanding geographic patterns of Chagas' disease vector risk in a rural community in Guatemala. This is an important topic of investigation as Chagas' disease is the leading cause of heart failure in rural Latin America, and yet study has been limited due to a prioritization of national resources to urban diseases. Obviously this can have a severe impact on rural areas, especially if they already lack adequate health care provision. As a response to this deficiency, a collaboration between the Laboratory of Entomology and Applied …

Effect Of Culture Conditions On Gene Expression In Manipulated Bovine Embryos, Megan Nicole Purpera

LSU Master's Theses

Numerous studies have reported aberrant gene expression levels attributed to suboptimal in vitro culture conditions presented to embryos. Since the culture environment is a common aspect of both in vitro production (IVP) and nuclear transfer (NT), research focusing on the in vitro culture system will have the potential to improve both techniques. This study investigated the effects of different culture systems and protein sources on the developmental competence of IVP embryos measured by cleavage and blastocyst rates, cell number, and relative abundance of oct-4, nanog, connexin 43, and GLUT-1 transcripts when compared to in vivo embryos. Experiment 1 compared IVP …

Evaluating The Effect Of Two Commercial Antimicrobial Products On Salmonella Spp. In The Aquatic Habitat Of The Red-Eared Slider Turtle (Trachemys Scripta Elegans), Trevor Theadore Zachariah

LSU Master's Theses

Turtle-associated salmonellosis was recognized as a public health concern in the 1960’s, particularly due to an increase in the incidence of disease among children. In response to the public health threat, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implemented regulations in 1975 restricting the sale of turtle eggs and turtles with a carapace length less than 10.2 cm. Since that time, attempts to eliminate Salmonella from turtles using antibiotics have been unsuccessful and lead to antibiotic resistant strains of Salmonella on turtle farms. Recent work has focused on identifying non-antibiotic products to suppress or eliminate Salmonella and reverse the …

Expectation In Auditory Processing Of Environmental Sounds In People With Fluent Aphasia, Meghan Evelyn Collins

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the integrity of the nonverbal auditory system in subjects with fluent aphasia, and determine the relative preservation of the nonverbal auditory system in comparison to the lexical system. This was attempted through the task of expectation, a high level processing skill. Two groups of participants were examined: a group with fluent aphasia, and a group of non-neurologically damaged individuals. Participants were administered two nonverbal auditory conditions devoid of lexical information, a simple condition and a complex condition in which they were required to determine if the last sound heard in a sequence …

Survival, Habitat Use, And Movements Of Female Mallards Wintering In Southwestern Louisiana, Paul Thomas Link

LSU Master's Theses

Little information is available concerning survival, habitat use, and movements of mallards (Anas platyrhychos) wintering on the Gulf Coast Chenier Plain (GCCP). Quantitative data on these parameters would be useful in making effective management decisions by GCCP waterfowl managers. Accordingly, I radio-marked 135 female mallards during winters 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 in southwestern Louisiana. My estimated survival rate for both winters combined was 0.68 ± 0.06 and did not differ by female age. Hazard ratios indicated that radio-marked females were 21-24 times more likely to die during hunted time periods than during non-hunted time periods. Estimated hunting and non-hunting mortality rates …

Magnetically Induced Release Of Fluorescein Isothiocyanate (Fitc) From Polymer Nanoparticle Composites (Pncs), Michelle Urbina

LSU Master's Theses

Magnetically induced drug release can be used as a site-specific, minimally invasive pharmaceutical treatment. Its purpose is to increase the efficacy of drug therapies to diseased or damaged tissue and to decrease the amount of unnecessary damage to healthy, surrounding tissue. To prove the concept of drug release by a magnetic field, this study focused on the release of a fluorescent molecule from magnetic polymeric nanoparticle composites (PNCs) via induction of an alternating current (AC) magnetic field. Fluorescent magnetic PNCs used were 250 ?m or less in size, and were made of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) containing either the magnetic material …

Assessment Of The Phosphorus Index For Louisiana, William Lucas Felicien

LSU Master's Theses

A phosphorus index is a semi-quantitative to qualitative model for assessing the potential for loss of soil and fertilizer phosphorus (P) to ground and surface water, therefore,eutrophication risk. The concept of a P Index is recent and popular, with most states having developed a P Index that is either a simplification or extension the original 1993 concept. The Louisiana P Index assigns ratings for P loss potential depending on soil properties, topography and land use. These ratings are intended to guide P fertilizer (including animal waste materials) application so as to preserve water quality. This project has examined measured loss …

The Use Of A Chiral Fluorescent Resorcinarene For The Enantiomeric Recognition Of Amino Acids, Gerald I. Richard

LSU Master's Theses

The spectroscopic properties of a chiral boronic acid based resorcinarene macrocycle employed for chiral analysis were investigated. Specifically, the emission and excitation characteristics of tetraarylboronate resorcinarene macrocycle (TBRM) and its quantum yield were evaluated. The chiral selector TBRM was investigated as a chiral reagent for the enantiomeric discrimination of amino acids using steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy. Chiral recognition of amino acids in the presence of the macrocycle was based on diastereomeric complexes. Results demonstrated that TBRM had better chiral discrimination ability for lysine as compared to the other amino acids. Partial-least-squares regression modeling (PLS-1) of spectral data for macrocycle-lysine host-guest complexes …

Reproductive And Metabolic Effects Of Recombinant Equine Leptin On Seasonally Anovulatory Mares, Pamela Boliew Mitcham

LSU Master's Theses

Mares of poor body condition have low plasma leptin concentrations, while obese mares have the highest concentrations. Leptin is a primary signal of body condition to the brain in other species; therefore, low leptin concentrations in thin mares could contribute to their extended anovulatory period in winter compared to obese mares. The current experiment was designed to determine whether recombinant equine leptin, administered to seasonally anovulatory mares, would induce ovarian activity and ovulation in the winter. Leptin effects on metabolism were also studied. Beginning January 7, leptin-treated mares (n = 9) received daily i.m. injections of 10 mg recombinant equine …

The Effects Of Various Feed Additives On Growth Performance Of Nursery Pigs, Jennifer Tucker

LSU Master's Theses

The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of various feed additives on growth performance of nursery pigs. An experiment was conducted in which pigs were fed a conventional Phase 1 diet containing: 1) no salmon protein hydrolysate (SPH) or spray-dried porcine plasma (SDPP); 2-3) 1.5% SPH or SDPP; 4-5) 3.0% SPH or SDPP; or 6) 1.5% SPH and 1.5% SDPP. The results of this experiment showed growth performance was unaffected by source or level of protein during any growth phase. Overall gain:feed was greater (P = 0.08) for pigs fed the 1.5% level of protein than for …

Traversing Landscapes Of Converging Worlds, Michael G. Williams

LSU Master's Theses

Traversing landscapes is a body of work that translates my experiences of outdoor travels in the unique and remote places in Louisiana. These experiences are transformed into semi-organic constructions that are derived from forms and materials present in the natural landscape and the forms and materials used to navigate these environments. The materials used exemplify the contrasts and also the connections that exist on the ever-converging paths of mankind and nature. Though the struggle in the relationship between man and nature has always existed though time. It is at present, our time now, that we can see the greatest contrast …

Reclaiming Martyrdom: Augustine's Reconstruction Of Martyrdom In Late Antique North Africa, Collin S. Garbarino

LSU Master's Theses

The cult of martyrs existed throughout the Mediterranean world in late antiquity, but local communities venerated the martyrs in their own ways and for their own reasons. During the fourth and fifth centuries, two factions of Christianity existed in North Africa. Catholicism and Donatism competed for the souls of North African Christians, and this competition influenced the development of the cult of martyrs in that region. The sermons on the martyrs by Augustine of Hippo (354-430) illuminate the milieu of North African Christianity's cult of martyrs and demonstrate that Augustine viewed "possessing" the martyrs as a key component in overcoming …

Spatial Ecology Of Gray Foxes On A Longleaf Pine Forest And The Surrounding Landscape In Southwestern Georgia, Danielle Lolene Temple

LSU Master's Theses

In the southeastern United States, industrial agriculture dominates the landscape, and much of the native land cover is in decline. Longleaf pine forests were once a dominant ecosystem in this region, but have largely disappeared. However, little research has been conducted on how this loss affects wildlife, especially mammalian predators. With increasing restoration efforts for longleaf pine it is important to assess the impact on species that inhabit those landscapes. Gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) are native to the Southeast, but are adaptable to a wide range of habitats. Therefore, during 2002-2006 I studied a population of gray foxes on land …

The Role Of Hermes Et.Al. In Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses: A Production Thesis In Acting, Reuben Mitchell

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis follows the experience of Reuben Mitchell in his portrayal of the characters Bacchus, Poseidon, Vertumnus, and Hermes in the play "Metamorphoses". It consists of observations on the characters, character analysis, a daily record of the rehearsal process, an overview of the process of developing each of the above mentioned characters, ground plans of the stage layout, a review of the play in Baton Rouge’s local newspaper The Advocate and thoughts/conclusions on the discoveries made during the experience of the play. All quotations are from the text of Mary Zimmerman’s "Metamorphoses".

Hurricane Modeling In Gis: An Investigation Of Threshold Storm Events Affecting Special Medical Needs Populations In Coastal Louisiana, Kathryn Emily Streva

LSU Master's Theses

Recent hurricane events in coastal Louisiana have emphasized the severe vulnerability of medical special needs (MSN) patients during flood disasters. MSN populations may be comprised of hospital, nursing home or hospice patients; the physically or mentally disabled; medically-dependent individuals requiring life-sustaining equipment or medicines; and frail elderly. Over 150 hospital and nursing home fatalities resulted from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. More than four hundred elderly over the age of seventy perished. Chronic diseases and mental health illness were among the top conditions reported in field hospitals, emergency rooms and shelters immediately following the storm. Louisiana MSN facilities and residences …

News Narratives And Television News Editing, Keren Esther Henderson

LSU Master's Theses

This study seeks to understand how and why television news editors impose meanings onto news packages through montage editing. Through a qualitative content analysis and in-depth interviews, this study will advance the notably few past narrative editing studies by investigating the norms and routines of television news editors. While other researchers recognize the significance of studying montage editing in television news, this is the first study to clarify the relationship between montage techniques and the creation of television news narratives.

A Return To Civilian Leadership: New Orleans 1865-1866, Arthur Wendel Stout

LSU Master's Theses

In the aftermath of the Civil War, southern cities such as New Orleans had to reconstitute local civilian government under extremely difficult circumstances. Different aspects of their physical infrastructure had been worn down and required revitalization. Sudden changes in the size and demographics of the population made social cohesion and provision of services more difficult and complicated. A depressed economy limited the financial resources available to government and business to confront the needs of growth. These recovery problems were common to all areas of the South, but in New Orleans they were greatly exacerbated by the city’s unusually high population …

An Evolutionary Approach To Vaccine Strain Selection: Ancestral And Consensus Hiv -1 Envelope Immunogens., Denise L. Monti

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Grassroots Policy Prescription: A Case Study In Light Pollution And Night Sky Preservation And Natural Resource Policy Making, Brandi L. Smith

All ETDs from UAB

The grassroots path to public policy is characterized by citizen pressure on policy makers to produce desired change and has been especially successful in the realm of natural resources. It has proven successful in the obtainment of various local and state level policy to control light pollution in the United States. Light pollution, defined as misdirected, obtrusive, or unwanted man-made outdoor lighting is a modern phenomenon that, among other effects, is resulting in the rapid loss of visible starscape throughout the world. Independent grassroots-initiated policies have sprung up around the globe in attempt to control light pollution. The present thesis …