Digital Commons Network^™

Using Pareto Fronts To Evaluate Polyp Detection Algorithms For Ct Colonography, Adam Huang, Jiang Li, Ronald M. Summers, Nicholas Petrick, Amy K. Hara

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

We evaluate and improve an existing curvature-based region growing algorithm for colonic polyp detection for our CT colonography (CTC) computer-aided detection (CAD) system by using Pareto fronts. The performance of a polyp detection algorithm involves two conflicting objectives, minimizing both false negative (FN) and false positive (FP) detection rates. This problem does not produce a single optimal solution but a set of solutions known as a Pareto front. Any solution in a Pareto front can only outperform other solutions in one of the two competing objectives. Using evolutionary algorithms to find the Pareto fronts for multi-objective optimization problems has been …

Validating Pareto Optimal Operation Parameters Of Polyp Detection Algorithms For Ct Colonography, Jiang Li, Adam Huang, Nicholas Petrick, Jianhua Yao, Ronald M. Summers, Maryellen L. Giger (Ed.), Nico Karssemeijer (Ed.)

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

We evaluated a Pareto front-based multi-objective evolutionary algorithm for optimizing our CT colonography (CTC) computer-aided detection (CAD) system. The system identifies colonic polyps based on curvature and volumetric based features, where a set of thresholds for these features was optimized by the evolutionary algorithm. We utilized a two-fold cross-validation (CV) method to test if the optimized thresholds can be generalized to new data sets. We performed the CV method on 133 patients; each patient had a prone and a supine scan. There were 103 colonoscopically confirmed polyps resulting in 188 positive detections in CTC reading from either the prone or …

An Analysis Of Gender Differences In Property Crime Arrest Rates, Chanika Renee Jones

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examined the relationship between employment conditions and property-crime arrest rates of working-aged individuals, using gender-specific state-level data from 1979-2001, complied from raw arrest data of the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports and the Census Bureau's annual March Current Population Survey. These data were analyzed using Ordinary Least Squares Regression. The data was disaggregated by gender and underemployment indicators such as percent unemployed, percent subunemployed, percent low wages, and percent low hours, were utilized to test the unemployment-crime relationship. Controls for race, age, and region were also included in this analysis, as they may influence the U-C relationship. The analysis …

Going With The Flow?: The Medical School Pipeline And Advising Premedical African American Students On Predominantly White Campuses, Ashley Rachelle Junek

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Over the past two decades, federal agencies and health-related professional associations have launched national movements to recruit people from populations that are underrepresented in medicine for the health professions. While this recruitment effort showed substantial results initially, recent occurrences have impeded the growth. Relevant historical events, current trends of low African American enrollment in medical school, and existing research on diverse student experiences have indicated a critical need for effective academic advising for premedical African American students attending predominantly white undergraduate institutions. Using mixed methods, this study investigated the premedical advising that is being offered to African American students on …

Effects Of The Menstrual Cycle On The Vibratory Characteristics Of The Vocal Folds, Aimee Michelle Bonnette

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to obtain preliminary data on several factors that may influence the vibratory patterns of the vocal folds in addition to the hormonal fluctuations present during the menstrual cycle. These factors included patient reports of severity of reflux symptoms, severity of premenstrual symptoms, and severity of negative vocal hygiene behaviors prior to each evaluation. Ten subjects who did not experience complaints of their voice participated in the study. Data from four subjects who were not on birth control and four on birth control were analyzed for the first cycle, which included self-perception, acoustic analysis, and …

Quantification Of Muscle Fatigue In Cerebal Palsy And Its Relationship To Impairments And Function, Noelle G. Moreau

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Three experiments were designed to explore the measurement of muscle fatigue in people with cerebral palsy (CP). The four aims were to 1) develop a feasible and reliable isokinetic protocol to assess muscle fatigue of the knee flexors and extensors in this population, 2) determine if muscle fatigue of the knee flexors and extensors in people with CP differs from subjects without a motor disorder, 3) determine whether muscle fatigue is related to functional measures of activity and participation, and 4) investigate possible contributing factors of muscle fatigue. Results show that muscle fatigue can be reliably assessed through an isokinetic …

Which Green Policy?: An Analysis Of The Relationship Between State Environmental Policy And State Economic Growth, Renée L.A. Renegar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This project examines state environmental policy and its effect upon state economic growth. State policymakers actively pursue policies intended to positively impact state economic growth. A policy area surrounded by controversy regarding its affect upon economic performance is that of environmental regulation. Prior research indicates that policymakers believe state environmental regulations influence business decisions to invest in certain areas. In this research I seek to determine whether states which deliberately enact more lax environmental regulatory standards succeed in increasing state economic growth. State economic growth is modeled as a function of environmental policy variables and range of national economic and …

Understanding Americans' Attitudes Toward Latino And Asian Immigration, Betina Cutaia Wilkinson

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this paper is to explore the determinants of Americans’ attitudes toward immigration. I develop a measure of general support for immigration based on individuals’ responses to four immigration items: (1) support for increases in (legal) immigration; (2) feeling thermometer scores for illegal immigrants; (3) support for spending on border security to prevent illegal immigration; and (4) having “controlling illegal immigration” as a foreign policy goal. These items load on a single factor and permit us to generate a global pro-immigration scale that reflects Americans’ general views toward immigration. Further, I develop a comprehensive model of immigration attitudes …

A Material/Conceptual Landscape Analysis Of The Virgin Of Guadalupe Pilgrimage Site In Mexico City, Mexico, Ramin David Zamanian

LSU Master's Theses

As geographers continue to research the interactions between physical landscapes and conceived or represented landscapes, the Virgin of Guadalupe pilgrimage site, a prominent site for Latin American Catholicism, provided an opportunity for further study in this area. Mexico City’s rapid expansion drastically changed the material landscape from rural to densely urban, especially since the early 1900s. With indigenous spirituality closely tied to the physical aspects of the landscape, especially those more related to the natural and rural elements, the onset of urbanity can potentially lead to alienation and consequently a decrease in pilgrimages and participation in worship at the site. …

Responses Of Respiratory System Cells In Vitro And In Vivo To Petrochemical Combustion-Derived Ultrafine Particles, Gleeson Murphy, Jr.

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Environmental contamination with airborne particles has been a human health concern for many years. Epidemiologic studies in urban communities have linked ambient particle exposure to various health effects, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and several cardiovascular disease conditions. The pathogenesis of these conditions with respect to ambient particle exposure is complex because ambient particles are complex in composition. The particles vary greatly in origin, size, surface area, and elemental composition; and a given particle type, such as those generated by petrochemical (gasoline, diesel, industrial substrate) combustion, may be coated with many other compounds, including polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). …

Environmental Equity In Southeast Louisiana: Oil, People, Policy, And The Geography Of Industrial Hazards, Scott Allan Hemmerling

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores issues and concepts underlying the creation of Louisiana’s rural-industrial petrochemical complex as they relate to environmental equity and industrial development’s deleterious consequences. Cumulative hazards models examine the distribution of technological hazards associated with petroleum extraction and processing and explores how this varies among different socioeconomic groups in three coastal Louisiana parishes. Considerable onshore oil extraction occurs in Jefferson Parish. Lafourche Parish is the primary land-based supply center for the majority of the offshore oil activity in the Gulf of Mexico. The refineries of Saint Bernard Parish represent the endpoint of the flow of raw product and the …

Detection Of Vibrio Vulnificus By Direct Colony Immunoblot, Reshani Nisansala Senevirathne

LSU Master's Theses

Vibrio vulnificus (Vv) is a natural occurring bacterium of world wide estuarine environments, which concentrate on filter feeding shellfish. Under cooked seafood contaminated with this pathogen is a leading cause of 95% of seafood-related, foodborne deaths. The development of a rapid, reliable and user-friendly method for Vv enumeration would help to reduce mortality rate. A direct colony immunoblot (DCI) method was developed and used as a rapid enumeration with high sensitivity and the specificity. This method was optimized using Vv agar plates incubated for 16 h at 35 °C. Colonies were transferred from incubated plates to polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes …

Relationship Between Problem Behaviors, Function, And Adaptive Skills In Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities, Noha Farrah Minshawi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The problem behaviors of self-injury, aggression, and stereotypies are among the most troubling and difficult to treat behaviors in individuals with intellectual disability (ID). One factor that has been implicated in the etiology and maintenance of problem behaviors in individuals with ID is adaptive skills deficits. However, the nature of the relationship between problem behaviors and adaptive skills deficits is not well understood. This relationship was assessed in two experiments. In Experiment 1, the researcher found an inverse, curvilinear relationship between problem behaviors (as identified by the Behavior Problems Inventory; BPI), and adaptive skills (as measured by the Vineland Adaptive …

Equine Obesity-Related Hyperleptinemia, Nan Killen Huff

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Plasma leptin concentrations in obese adult horses have been shown to vary widely, and horses tend to fit into two groups: low leptin (<10 ng/mL) and hyperleptinemic (10 to 50 ng/mL). Observations over time revealed that the hyperleptinemic condition was consistent, possibly indicating a relatively permanent underlying cause. Based on these observations, three experimental approaches were used to further study equine obesity-related hyperleptinemia. The first experiment determined the prevalence of hyperleptinemia among postpartum, lactating mares, evaluated its consequence on their re-breeding success, and investigated correlations between leptin levels in lactating and non-lactating mares. Postpartum mares (n = 198) and non-foaling mares (n = 31) were categorized based on their leptin status: normoleptinemic or hyperleptinemic. Leptin in the lactating mares averaged 4.8 ng/mL, and 11 of the 198 (13%) displayed hyperleptinemia. Leptin in the non-lactating mares averaged 7.5 ng/mL, with 9 mares (29%) displaying hyperleptinemia. Of the 198 lactating mares bred, 81% became pregnant; there was no effect of leptin status on re-breeding success. To study one possible cause for hyperleptinemia in well-fed horses, a second experiment explored polymorphism(s) within exon 2 of the equine leptin gene. The DNA from five hyperleptinemic and five normal mares of high body condition was used to analyze exon 2 of the leptin gene for polymorphisms. Based on the 10 mares tested, there was no polymorphism in exon 2 of the equine leptin gene; therefore, polymorphism is not a likely explanation for the high vs. low leptin difference. The third experiment explored the possible effects of hyperleptinemia on the endocrine and immune systems. Endotoxin was given to mares and geldings to investigate the role and/or regulation of leptin in the pro-inflammatory cytokine response. Of the endpoints measured, only platelet count differed between normal and hyperleptinemic horses. Endotoxin infusion caused the expected pro-inflammatory cytokine and endocrine responses, but leptin status was not a significant factor for any endpoint. It is concluded that hyperleptinemia in mares is not associated with polymorphism in exon 2 of the leptin gene, does not affect re-breeding rates of foaling mares, and does not alter the endotoxin-induced responses of the endocrine and immune systems.

Sturctural Studies Of Lipoxygenases: Cloning, Expression And Purification Of Lipoxygenases From Anabaena And Fusarium, Pratik Dhar

LSU Master's Theses

Lipoxygenases (LOX) are non-heme, non-sulfur, iron containing enzymes that catalyze the dioxygenation of unsaturated fatty acids. LOX enzyme is found in higher plants, some multicellular animals and some bacteria. In plants, the substrates for lipoxygenase enzymes are 18 carbon unsaturated fatty acids (linoleic and linolenic acids) while in animals, the substrate for this family of enzymes is the 20 carbon unsaturated fatty acid (arachidonic acid). The LOX enzyme from the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC7120, which produces the smallest known LOX, and the fungus Fusarium verticillioides, which produces a LOX with dual specificity and remarkably high activity, were overexpressed using …

Sensory Characteristics And Optimization Of A Low-Sodium Salt Formulation And Its Food Application, Armen Khachatryan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Excessive consumption of sodium is associated with high blood pressure in people. Reduction of sodium intake and replacement of salt with salt substitutes are an essential component of the primary prevention of hypertension. Potassium chloride is the most widely used salt substitute. However, when used in large amounts, it imparts bitterness and metallic aftertaste. Therefore, bitterness masking agents need to be used in salt substitute formulations. L-Arginine has been reported to have bitterness masking properties. No research has yet been conducted to investigate the effects of KCl and L-Arginine on the perception of saltiness and bitterness in the mixture of …

Hope For Today And Tomorrow: Identity Construction Power, And Persistence Of Community College Women Who Are First In Their Families To Attend College, Crystal Deer Lee

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation was a case study of four community college women who were first in their families to attend college. Through this study, the “first-generation” construct was analyzed in regard to its uses and limits. The researcher found the label as an identifier becomes problematic through social discourse. These results confirm London’s (1996) finding that students themselves do not necessarily find anything unique about their situations or anything in common with other students simply based on their being the first in their families to attend college. Therefore, the “first-generation” construct may be viewed primarily as a higher education versus an …

Prevention Guide: Formaldehyde In The Workplace, Nicole Goyer, Denis Bégin, Charles Beaudry, Michèle Bouchard, Gaétan Carrier, Jérôme Lavoué, Nolwenn Noisel, Michel Gérin

Guides

La recherche sur les impacts sanitaires et économiques de l’abaissement de la valeur d’exposition admissible au formaldéhyde au Québec a permis de recueillir des données sur divers aspects : l’exposition des travailleurs québécois dans plusieurs secteurs d’activité économique, les sources d’émission, les tâches à risque et les moyens de maîtrise disponibles. Il en est découlé un rapport final qui présente l’ensemble des résultats permettant de documenter les impacts.

Douze annexes constituant 12 documents autonomes, dont 10 portent sur les principaux secteurs d’activité concernés ont aussi été publiées. Pour les secteurs de la fabrication de panneaux, placages et contreplaqués, de la …

We Have All Been Here Before, John J. Pauly, William R. Burleigh, E. W. Scripps

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Le Formaldéhyde En Milieu De Travail : Guide De Prévention, Nicole Goyer, Denis Bégin, Charles Beaudry, Michèle Bouchard, Gaétan Carrier, Jérôme Lavoué, Nolwenn Noisel, Michel Gérin

Guides

La recherche sur les impacts sanitaires et économiques de l’abaissement de la valeur d’exposition admissible au formaldéhyde au Québec a permis de recueillir des données sur divers aspects : l’exposition des travailleurs québécois dans plusieurs secteurs d’activité économique, les sources d’émission, les tâches à risque et les moyens de maîtrise disponibles. Il en est découlé un rapport final qui présente l’ensemble des résultats permettant de documenter les impacts.

Douze annexes constituant 12 documents autonomes, dont 10 portent sur les principaux secteurs d’activité concernés ont aussi été publiées. Pour les secteurs de la fabrication de panneaux, placages et contreplaqués, de la …

A Description Of Lobbying As Advocacy Public Relations, Kati Tusinski Berg

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

This study defines lobbying as advocacy public relations. Data were collected from self-administered surveys of 222 registered lobbyists in Oregon. This study provides insight into a specialized group of public relations practitioners.

Practice Guide For Fiduciary (Trust) Accounting: A Guide For Accountants Who Perform Fiduciary Accounting Services, American Institute Of Certified Public Accountants. Tax Division;

Guides, Handbooks and Manuals

No abstract provided.

Life Cycle Planning : For The Cpa Practice : Practical Strategies And Forms, Martin M. Shenkman

Guides, Handbooks and Manuals

No abstract provided.

Optimizing Company Cash : A Guide For Financial Professionals, Michele Allman-Ward, A. Peter Allman-Ward

Guides, Handbooks and Manuals

No abstract provided.

Tax Practice Guides And Checklists 2007, American Institute Of Certified Public Accountants. Tax Section

Guides, Handbooks and Manuals

No abstract provided.

Copyright In An Era Of Information Overload: Toward The Privileging Of Categorizers, Frank Pasquale

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease And Fundoplication In Infants And Children, Shawn D. St Peter, G W. Holcomb Iii

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) can be one of the most distressing conditions developing at different ages in infants and children. The disease itself is a complex process along with ongoing dynamic anatomic and physiologic changes occurring during normal development. Therefore among referring physicians, considerations regarding the role of surgery for GERD in children varies widely depending on individual experiences in managing these patients. These varied opinions result in discrepancies in the operative experience with fundoplication among pediatric surgeons. It is unclear how much of the current opinions stem from published evidence, particularly with regard to the safety and efficacy of …

Pancreatic Operations In Children, An Institutional Experience And Review Of Literature, Varun Puri, Lisa Martin, Shawn D. St Peter, G W. Holcomb Iii, Daniel J. Ostlie

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Pancreatic operations are not commonly performed in the pediatric age group. Tumors, chronic pancreatitis, trauma and hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia are the main diseases leading to pancreatic resections in children. Excluding patients with acute pancreatitis and pseudocysts, over the last 5 years we have performed operations in 11 children for pancreaticoduodenal pathology. The diagnoses encountered were tumors or tumor like conditions (four), angiodysplasia (one), chronic pancreatitis (one), traumatic pancreatic transection (three), traumatic pseudocyst, and neonatal hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia (one). Operations performed were: pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) in three patients, subtotal or distal pancreatectomy in six patients, distal pancreaticojejunostomy with oversewing of the proximal pancreatic duct …

Women In Physical Education, Oral History Interview, 2007, Claudia Wasik

Oral Histories

EMU Physical Education professor Claudia Wasik sat down wth five members of the Physical Education Department from Michigan State Normal College and Eastern Michigan University for a recorded talk about their time at the university and some of the changes they witnessed. Interviewees describe their formative experiences in their hometown, the difference between the PE program at EMU with other schools, and early teaching assignments at EMU. They describe their favorite courses and activities, and the condition of the facilities used for women's athletics int he 1960s nd 1970s.

The Beginnings Of A Peace Church: Eschatology, Ethics, And Expedience In Seventh-Day Adventist Responses To The Civil War, Douglas Morgan

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

No abstract provided.