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2007

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Luminescent Quantum Dots For Cellular Analysis, Lifang Shi Dec 2007

Luminescent Quantum Dots For Cellular Analysis, Lifang Shi

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Luminescent quantum dots have attracted great interest in recent years among biological researchers since they provide solutions to problems associated with use of organic fluorophores in cellular studies. Quantum dots show high photostability, high emission quantum yield, narrow and symmetric emission peaks and size-dependent wavelength tunability. The objective of my PhD studies was to develop CdSe/ZnS quantum dot-based probes and utilize them in cellular assays. The first phase of the work was to develop luminescent quantum dot fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) based probes for protease activity. The probes were based on FRET interactions between quantum dots that serve as …

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A Unified Measure Of Audio System Fidelity, Lawrence A. Tedesco Jr. Dec 2007

A Unified Measure Of Audio System Fidelity, Lawrence A. Tedesco Jr.

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A new technique to qualitatively measure distortion in dynamically controlled audio systems using non-stationary noise sequences is explored and compared to traditional methods based upon stationary test signals. This technique can easily be adapted to give a qualitative measure of distortion as a function of the perceived Sound Pressure Level (SPL).

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The New Orleans Police Department: Melding Police And Policy To Dramatically Reduce Crime In The City Of New Orleans, Kevin A. Unter Dec 2007

The New Orleans Police Department: Melding Police And Policy To Dramatically Reduce Crime In The City Of New Orleans, Kevin A. Unter

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In 1996, the New Orleans Police Department implemented the COMSTAT management and accountability style of policing. Within three years of that implementation, murder was cut by over fifty percent and violent crime fell by nearly the same amount; overall crime was cut by over one-third compared to just three years ago. This dissertation seeks to explore the reasons crime declined so rapidly in New Orleans post-COMSTAT implementation, compared to crime in the rest of the country. Drawing on political and criminological theories of policing as well as sociological theories, variables unique to each set of theories were identified and tested …

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Development Of Novel Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray Tandem Mass Spectrometry Approaches For The Structural Characterization Of Brevetoxins Including In Vitro Metabolites, Weiqun Wang Dec 2007

Development Of Novel Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray Tandem Mass Spectrometry Approaches For The Structural Characterization Of Brevetoxins Including In Vitro Metabolites, Weiqun Wang

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Brevetoxins are natural neurotoxins that are produced by “red tide” algae. In this study, brevetoxin-1 and brevetoxin-2 were incubated with rat liver hepatocytes and rat liver microsomes, respectively. After clean-up steps, samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry (LC-ES-MS). Two metabolites were found for brevetoxin-1: brevetoxin-1-M1 (MW 900 Da), formed by converting one double bond in the E or F ring into a diol; and brevetoxin-1-M2 (MW 884 Da), a hydrolysis product of brevetoxin-1 involving opening of the lactone ring. The incubation study of brevetoxin-2 found two metabolites. Brevetoxin-2-M1 (MW 912 Da) was elucidated by negative mode LC-MS/MS to …

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Examining Cognitive And Emotional Correlates To Proactive And Reactive Relational And Overt Aggression In A Community Sample, Ann Crapanzano Dec 2007

Examining Cognitive And Emotional Correlates To Proactive And Reactive Relational And Overt Aggression In A Community Sample, Ann Crapanzano

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study attempts to further test the importance of distinguishing between the reactive, proactive, relational, and overt forms of aggression by examining the distinct correlates to these types of aggression and test potential gender differences in these correlates. This study also attempts to tie research on aggression with research on bullying . A sample of 282, 4th through 6th graders were surveyed on instruments meant to assess the subtypes of aggression, as well as their correlates. Participants were placed in categories based on self-reports and peer ratings of whether they acted as bullies and/or whether they were victims of bullying. …

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Blood Into Milk: Poems, Ginny Kaczmarek Dec 2007

Blood Into Milk: Poems, Ginny Kaczmarek

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

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A Periodic Technique For Measuring Thermal Properties Of Thin Samples, Garrett May Dec 2007

A Periodic Technique For Measuring Thermal Properties Of Thin Samples, Garrett May

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

We present a periodic technique for measuring the thermal conductivity and diffusivity of thin samples simultaneously. In samples of this type, temperature measurements must be made across the sample faces and are therefore subject to large error due to the interface resistance between the temperature sensor and the sample. The technique uses measurements of the amplitude and phase of the periodic temperature across both a reference sample and the unknown material at several different frequencies. Modeling of the heat flow in the sample allows the simultaneous determination of the thermal parameters of the sample as well as the interface resistance. …

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Natural History Of The Pichi (Zaedyus Pichiy) In Mendoza Province, Argentina, Mariella Superina Dec 2007

Natural History Of The Pichi (Zaedyus Pichiy) In Mendoza Province, Argentina, Mariella Superina

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The pichi Zaedyus pichiy (Xenarthra, Dasypodidae) is a poorly known, diurnal armadillo inhabiting arid and semi-arid regions of Argentina and Chile that has endured substantial population declines. My objective was to elucidate different aspects of the natural history of Z. pichiy as a first step towards establishing a conservation plan. Wild and captive pichis were studied. Body temperature of wild pichis averaged 35.2±1.2 °C and was highly variable (range 32.2 – 38.3 °C). Temperature measurements of semi-captive males showed that pichis can survive energetically challenging periods by entering hibernation or daily torpor. Stomach contents of poached animals revealed that pichis …

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On The Determination Of Building Footprints From Lidar Data, Henry C. George Dec 2007

On The Determination Of Building Footprints From Lidar Data, Henry C. George

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A new approach to improve the determination of building boundaries through automatic processing of light detection and ranging (LIDAR) data is presented. The LIDAR data is processed and interpolated into a grayscale image of intensity values corresponding to height measurements. Ground measurements are separated from non-ground measurements by using a progressive morphological filter. With these measurements now distinct, further separation of non-ground measurements into building and non-building measurements is performed by growing regions with similar characteristics. These building areas are then refined, resulting in a ground plan representation of building boundaries, known as building footprints. Several algorithms are then implemented …

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Merging Identities: A Glimpse Into The World Of Albert Wicker, An African American Leader In New Orleans, 1893-1928, Melissa Lee Smith Dec 2007

Merging Identities: A Glimpse Into The World Of Albert Wicker, An African American Leader In New Orleans, 1893-1928, Melissa Lee Smith

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The life and career of Albert Wicker, Jr. (1869-1928), reflects the growth of the new urban African-American middle class in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the early years of the twentieth century. He spent his career working for advances in education while using memberships in churches, Masonic groups, insurance companies, benevolent societies, and educational leagues to achieve his personal and professional goals. The networks created by him and others along the way illustrate not only complexity of black life in New Orleans but also the growing tendency of differing ethnic groups to work together to achieve common economic, political, social objectives.

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Scenic Design For An Original Script: Dinner With The Louminauts, Jessica Diane Cook Dec 2007

Scenic Design For An Original Script: Dinner With The Louminauts, Jessica Diane Cook

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the process for the scene design for the production of Dinner with the Louminauts by Jason Cutler. The University of New Orleans produced the show in the Fall of 2006. My graduate committee chose this project for me as partial fulfillment of my Masters of Fine Arts degree. This paper will serve as a record of the process, execution, and response of the scene design for this production. The text will be accompanied by all of my research, renderings, draftings, and other supporting materials that are applicable to the design process.

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African-American Legislators Post-Katrina: Race, Representation, And Voting Rights Issues In The Louisiana House, William T. Hoston Dec 2007

African-American Legislators Post-Katrina: Race, Representation, And Voting Rights Issues In The Louisiana House, William T. Hoston

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), the number of African- Americans competing for and holding state legislative offices has increased significantly. Their growth is most notable in southern state legislatures. A growing number of studies have been devoted to African-Americans in these state legislatures. Absent from previous studies is a comprehensive analysis of African-Americans in the Louisiana state legislature. In 2007 there were a total of 32 African-American legislators. Louisiana ranks among other states with the highest number, 32, and percentage, 22, of African-American legislators. Yet, despite their relatively large presence few scholarly studies have …

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Exploring An Monolingual English - Speaking Teacher's Perceptions Of Classroom Interventions To Foster Hispanic English Language Learners' Primary Language, Alexandra Joan Herques Dec 2007

Exploring An Monolingual English - Speaking Teacher's Perceptions Of Classroom Interventions To Foster Hispanic English Language Learners' Primary Language, Alexandra Joan Herques

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Although awareness of cultural diversity is slowly occurring, the need for multicultural curricula is increasing more each day as even more ethnically and linguistically diverse students enter into United States classrooms. The education of English Language Learners is a controversial topic due to people's mixed beliefs on the amount of English and primary language instruction needed to aid students' English language development. Due to the shortage of bilingual teachers many English Language Learners in the Unites States are learning English through the regular education classroom instructed by monolingual English-speaking teachers. This case study implemented qualitative research methods in order to …

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Language Dysfunction In Traumatic Brain Injury While Controlling For Effort, Matthew T. Heinly Dec 2007

Language Dysfunction In Traumatic Brain Injury While Controlling For Effort, Matthew T. Heinly

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The present study included three traumatic brain injury (TBI) groups (good effort mild TBI, poor effort mild TBI, and good effort moderate/severe TBI) and two neurologic control groups (dementia and unilateral left hemisphere stroke). Language impairment was examined using the following measures: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III Verbal Comprehension Index and the Vocabulary, Similarities, Information, and Comprehension subtests; the Boston Naming Test; the Phonemic and Semantic cue conditions of the Controlled Oral Word Association Test; the Auditory Comprehension subtest of the Cognistat; Wide Range Achievement Test-3 Reading subtest; and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. When effort was controlled, there was a …

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Synthesis Of Novel Chiral Heterocyclic Compounds For Antibacterial Agents And Peptidomimetics, Jean-Rene Ella-Menye Dec 2007

Synthesis Of Novel Chiral Heterocyclic Compounds For Antibacterial Agents And Peptidomimetics, Jean-Rene Ella-Menye

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Small chiral molecules are very important building blocks in the synthesis of biologically active compounds. These building blocks include nitrogen and oxygen-containing heterocycles such as 2-oxazolidinones, 1,3-oxazinan-2-ones, 2-oxazolines, oxazines, morpholine and morpholinones. Because of their interesting properties, chiral heterocycles have stirred great interest in the synthetic chemist community to develop useful and efficient strategies to these molecules. In this dissertation, the design and syntheses of various heterocyclic building blocks are presented, as well as the testing of their biological activities as antibacterial. Another very interesting family of heterocycle-containing molecules are the Aeruginosins. They are a family of marine natural products …

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Microstructural Investigations Of The Layered Cathode Materials Licoo2 And Lini1/3mn1/3co1/3o2, Tanghong Yi Dec 2007

Microstructural Investigations Of The Layered Cathode Materials Licoo2 And Lini1/3mn1/3co1/3o2, Tanghong Yi

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Both LiCoO2 and LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 layered cathode materials are investigated in our studies. P3 phase of CoO2, the end member of the LixCoO2, is found in both chemically and electrochemically delithiated materials. Delithiated LixCoO2 specimens decompose into fine Co3O4 and LiCoO2 particles starting at around 200 °C. This decomposing reaction is proved by in-situ X-ray diffraction and in-situ transmission electron microscopy investigations. The structures of pristine and cycled LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 are investigated by electron diffraction. Single and polycrystalline crystals are found in this material. The partial substitution of Co by Ni and Mn in LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 opens up the possibility of different cation …

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The Hydraulic Spline: Comparisons Of Existing Surface Modeling Techniques And Development Of A Spline-Based Approach For Hydrographic And Topographic Surface Modeling, Maik Flanagin Dec 2007

The Hydraulic Spline: Comparisons Of Existing Surface Modeling Techniques And Development Of A Spline-Based Approach For Hydrographic And Topographic Surface Modeling, Maik Flanagin

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Creation of accurate and coherent surface models is vital to the effective planning and construction of flood control and hurricane protection projects. Typically, topographic surface models are synthesized from Delaunay triangulations or interpolated raster grids. Although these techniques are adequate in most general situations, they do not effectively address the specific case where topographic data is available only as cross-section and profile centerline data, such as the elevation sampling produced by traditional hydrographic surveys. The hydraulic spline algorithm was developed to generate irregular two-dimensional channel grids from hydrographic cross-sections at any desired resolution. Hydraulic spline output grids can be easily …

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Feminist Perspectives On Liberation And Exploitation: A Phenomenological Study Of Performance, Nicole D. Troxell Dec 2007

Feminist Perspectives On Liberation And Exploitation: A Phenomenological Study Of Performance, Nicole D. Troxell

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This paper describes the experiences of exploitation and liberation for neo burlesque performers using feminist theory as the context for analysis. The project had the following goals: to identify using phenomenology, the essence of new burlesque participant experiences, to analyze those experiences using feminist theories of exploitation and liberation regarding sex work, to compare burlesque to stripping, and to compare new burlesque to classic burlesque for understanding how burlesque is different today. To obtain these goals, participant observations were done of neo burlesque shows and neo burlesque performers agreed to an interview in which questions were asked that highlight their …

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Disaster Response System, Shiquan Fu Dec 2007

Disaster Response System, Shiquan Fu

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

With integration of geospatial information system into a conventional information system a basic disaster response information system is implemented. The result is a report on various useful technologies and software engineering methodologies that could be utilized to implement a preliminary system, which in turn clarifies many uncertainties and surprises that are typical of many such systems. The foundations of my project include the Unified Process of software development, the relational data models, the decision tree technique, class design principles such as the MVC pattern.

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Magnetic And Transport Properties Of Oxide Thin Films, Yuanjia Hong Dec 2007

Magnetic And Transport Properties Of Oxide Thin Films, Yuanjia Hong

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation research focuses on the investigation of the transport and magnetic properties of transition metal and rare earth doped oxides, particularly SnO2 and HfO2 thin films. Cr- and Fe-doped SnO2 films were deposited on Al2O3 substrates by pulsed-laser deposition. Xray- diffraction patterns (XRD) show that the films have rutile structure and grow epitaxially along the (101) plane. The diffraction peaks of Cr-doped samples exhibit a systematic shift toward higher angles with increasing Cr concentration. This indicates that Cr dissolves in SnO2. On the other hand, there is no obvious shift of the diffraction peaks of the Fe-doped samples. The …

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Assessment Of Growth Response And Patterns Of Biomass Allocation By Panicum Hemitomon Schultes: Implications For Thick-Mat Floating Marsh Creation And Restoration, C. Ellery Mayence Dec 2007

Assessment Of Growth Response And Patterns Of Biomass Allocation By Panicum Hemitomon Schultes: Implications For Thick-Mat Floating Marsh Creation And Restoration, C. Ellery Mayence

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

I carried out several large, manipulative greenhouse and controlled-setting experiments to elucidate Panicum hemitomon growth response as influenced by environmental conditions associated with restoring thick-mat floating marsh. Initially, Panicum hemitomon growth response was assessed in conjunction with manipulated nutrient availability and hydrology. Next, I assessed Panicum hemitomon growth response in conjunction with a suite of substrate and mat or containment materials. Finally, I evaluated Panicum hemitomon growth response, as well as overall created floating marsh vegetated development, using both a multi-species planting approach and a suite of Panicum hemitomon establishment techniques. All partitions of Panicum hemitomon biomass (shoot, rhizome, and …

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Sugar Hill: Architectural, Cultural And Historic Significance Of An Early Twentieth Century African American Neighborhood In New Orleans, Louisiana, Niala Lynn Howard Dec 2007

Sugar Hill: Architectural, Cultural And Historic Significance Of An Early Twentieth Century African American Neighborhood In New Orleans, Louisiana, Niala Lynn Howard

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Across the United States, efforts are being made to document African American history and its contribution to the development of this country. At all levels of government and through individual research, attempts are being made to recognize and pay tribute to the role of the Black American. These efforts involve documenting the architectural, cultural, historical, scientific, and social contributions. In New Orleans, the Black American played a major role in the development of the city. For most of the 20th century, African Americans have been the majority of the population. However, little has been done to document their rich architectural …

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Feasibility Of The Use Of Two Spent Blast Materials As Aggregate In Hot Mix Asphalt In Louisiana Post-Katrina, Amer Kholoqui Khanfar Dec 2007

Feasibility Of The Use Of Two Spent Blast Materials As Aggregate In Hot Mix Asphalt In Louisiana Post-Katrina, Amer Kholoqui Khanfar

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Using spent abrasive blast material (ABM) in hot mix asphalt to replace part of the fine aggregates used in the production of conventional hot mix asphalt has several environmental benefits. First, onsite storage of spent ABMs negatively impact neighboring properties because the fine materials are a source of airborne debris and dust. Use of tarps as curtains only reduces this hazard. Secondly, storage piles of this waste are situated near canals, waterways and the Mississippi River. Future storms may carry these waste products into the neighboring waterways. Most importantly, these wastes are ultimately disposed of in non-hazardous landfills. Reuse of …

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Short And Long-Term Changes In The Fish Assemblages Of Bayou Lacombe, Louisiana, Jeffrey M. Van Vrancken Dec 2007

Short And Long-Term Changes In The Fish Assemblages Of Bayou Lacombe, Louisiana, Jeffrey M. Van Vrancken

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Over the past thirty-five years, anthropogenic disturbances around Bayou Lacombe have altered its fish assemblage. In 2005, the impact of Hurricane Katrina on southeast Louisiana presented me with a unique opportunity to explore the effects of a catastrophic storm on the Bayou. I explored the effects of natural and human disturbances on the Bayou's fish assemblage by electrofishing six historically sampled stations. My research goals were to determine: 1) which Bayou Lacombe fish assemblages were most resilient to the multiple effects of Hurricane Katrina, 2) if there were significant differences in the Bayou's fish assemblages over the past 35 years …

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Interactions Of The Striatal Gene Rhes With The Dopaminergic System In Rodents, Gabriel Quintero Dec 2007

Interactions Of The Striatal Gene Rhes With The Dopaminergic System In Rodents, Gabriel Quintero

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Mice that are incapable of expressing the small G protein Rhes have been generated and have shown to have abnormalities in behaviors mediated by the striatum, a region in which Rhes is highly expressed. Moreover, conditions that result in dopamine supersensitivity and a breakdown in D1/D2 synergism in rodents, consistently decrease rhes mRNA in striatum. Thus, Rhes may play have relevance in dopamine signal modulation. For evaluating the role of Rhes in anxiety, stereotypy and basal motor activity, adult male and female wild-type (WT) mice, Rhes knockout (KO) mice, and mice heterozygous for the KO and WT alleles (Het) were …

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Sandra Day O'Connor: Moderate Or Something More?, Patricia Arceneaux Dec 2007

Sandra Day O'Connor: Moderate Or Something More?, Patricia Arceneaux

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In 2006 an historic era of the Supreme Court came to a close with the retirement of its first female justice, Sandra Day O'Connor. This paper attempts to expand judicial behavior scholarship by examining O'Connor's policy preferences for possible ideological change during her twenty-five year tenure on the Court. Average liberalism scores for her overall and civil rights/civil liberties issue area votes show an increase in liberalism over time. The researcher employs time series cross section analysis with panel corrected standard errors to determine factors responsible for this increase. Issue change, interagreement with the other justices, changes in Court membership, …

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Magneto-Optical Study Of Cobalt Ferrite Nanoparticles, Byron L. Scott Dec 2007

Magneto-Optical Study Of Cobalt Ferrite Nanoparticles, Byron L. Scott

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A magneto-optical study of CoxFe1-xFe2O4 nanoparticles is presented, with cobalt molar ratio 0.x.1. The ferrite nanoparticles were produced using a generic wet-chemical synthesis procedure. Stoichiometric amounts of Fe2+, Fe3+ and Co2+ salts are dissolved in a non-aqueous polar medium (diethylene glycol). A coprecipitation reaction with sodium hydroxide produces ferrite nanoparticles with average diameter of 6 nm. The nanoparticles can be stabilized by tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide in water, or, alternatively, the nanoparticles can be treated with a hydrophobic capping ligand with a carboxylic acid or amine head group and suspended in a non-polar organic solvent. As a complete structural analysis of …

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Characterization Of Enzymes Involved In Bilin Attachment To Allophycocyanin In The Cyanobacterium Synechococcus Sp. Pcc 7002, Shervonda Williams Dec 2007

Characterization Of Enzymes Involved In Bilin Attachment To Allophycocyanin In The Cyanobacterium Synechococcus Sp. Pcc 7002, Shervonda Williams

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research is to identify and characterize enzymes involved in bilin attachment to the phycobiliprotein allophycocyanin in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002. Candidates for lyases responsible for attachment of phycocyanobilin to allophycocyanin are two cpeS-like genes termed cpcS and cpcU, and one cpeT-like gene termed cpcT. In vitro bilin attachment reactions were conducted in the presence of the recombinant substrate apo-allophycocyanin (HT-ApcAB). Size exclusion HPLC showed that CpcS and HT-CpcU form a 1:1 heterodimeric complex and that HT-ApcAB is present as a monomer (áâ). Absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy illustrated that both CpcS and HT-CpcU were required …

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Executive Dysfunction Following Traumatic Brain Injury And Factors Related To Impairment, Jonathan Ord Dec 2007

Executive Dysfunction Following Traumatic Brain Injury And Factors Related To Impairment, Jonathan Ord

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Deficits in executive function are commonly reported following Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and are important for establishing functional impairments. Understanding the nature of executive dysfunction following TBI is often complicated by secondary factors that can impact measured ability. This study sought to clarify the persistent effects of TBI on executive function, as measured by the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), while accounting for effort given during testing, as measured by the Portland Digit Recognition Test. Results suggested a dose-response relationship between TBI severity and subsequent WCST deficits. Mild TBI patients who provided good effort during testing showed no observable differences …

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When Decision Meets Estimation: Theory And Applications, Ming Yang Dec 2007

When Decision Meets Estimation: Theory And Applications, Ming Yang

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In many practical problems, both decision and estimation are involved. This dissertation intends to study the relationship between decision and estimation in these problems, so that more accurate inference methods can be developed. Hybrid estimation is an important formulation that deals with state estimation and model structure identification simultaneously. Multiple-model (MM) methods are the most widelyused tool for hybrid estimation. A novel approach to predict the Internet end-to-end delay using MM methods is proposed. Based on preliminary analysis of the collected end-to-end delay data, we propose an off-line model set design procedure using vector quantization (VQ) and short-term time series …

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