Digital Commons Network^™

Synthesis And Characterization Of Metal Decorated Bamboo Structured Carbon Nanotubes For Hydrogen Storage, Sean Charles Mickey

Doctoral Dissertations

"Although hydrogen has been considered as a viable alternative fuel, the storage systems used to contain the hydrogen must be improved for large scale use. A variety of conceivable storage options exist ranging from compressed gas, cryogenic liquid, chemical solid state storage, and adsorptive surfaces. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) provide a potentially viable option for hydrogen storage applications as a high surface area, lightweight media for adsorptive storage, but do not efficiently store hydrogen at ambient temperatures. Metal hydrides, on the other hand, are able to store large weight percents of hydrogen in a chemical solid state, but generally have unfavorable …

Nmr Investigations Of Biomass-To-Fuel Conversions By Hydrothermal Processes, Wenjia Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

"Biofuels have gained significant attention as the most promising alternative energy and fuel supply for the near future because of two dominant reasons: first, biofuels are environmentally friendly; and second, they afford a sustainable technology. Biofuels can be synthesized from biomass by several different processes, among which, hydrothermal conversion is considered to be more energy efficient. However, scientific efforts to improve hydrothermal biomass-to-fuel (HT-BTF) conversion efficiencies are severely limited because little is known about the salient reaction mechanisms and intermediates. This study is aimed at a better understanding of the hydrothermal biomass degradation kinetics by advanced NMR spectroscopy and, accordingly, …

Optimal Excitation Controllers, And Location And Sizing Of Energy Storage For All-Electric Ship Power System, Chuan Yan

Doctoral Dissertations

"The Navy's future all-electric ship power system is based on the integrated power system (IPS) architecture consisting of power generation, propulsion systems, hydrodynamics, and DC zonal electric distribution system (DC-ZEDS). To improve the power quality, optimal excitation systems, and optimal location and sizing of energy storage modules (ESMs) are studied. In this dissertation, clonal selection algorithm (CSA) based controller design is firstly introduced. CSA based controller design shows better exploitation ability with relatively long search time when compared to a particle swarm optimization (PSO) based design. Furthermore, 'optimal' small population PSO (SPPSO) based excitation controller is introduced. Parameter sensitivity analysis …

Effect Of Structure And Plasticizer On The Glass Transition Of Adsorbed Polymer, Boonta Hetayothin

Doctoral Dissertations

"The effect of molecular mass on adsorbed poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) on silica was determined using temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry (TMDSC). A two-component model, based on loosely-bound polymer (glass transition temperature, T_g, similar to that of bulk) and tightly-bound polymer (T_g higher than that of bulk) was used to interpret the thermograms. Similar amounts of tightly-bound polymer were found for 450 and 85 kDa PMMA (0.78 mg/m²), while the 32 kDa sample had a smaller amount (0.48mg/m²). A comparison of adsorbed PMMA, poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc), and poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) on silica was made using the same technique. The …

Computational Methods For The Discovery And Analysis Of Genes And Other Functional Dna Sequences, Cyriac Kandoth

Doctoral Dissertations

"The need for automating genome analysis is a result of the tremendous amount of genomic data. As of today, a high-throughput DNA sequencing machine can run millions of sequencing reactions in parallel, and it is becoming faster and cheaper to sequence the entire genome of an organism. Public databases containing genomic data are growing exponentially, and hence the rise in demand for intuitive automated methods of DNA analysis and subsequent gene identification. However, the complexity of gene organization makes automation a challenging task, and smart algorithm design and parallelization are necessary to perform accurate analyses in reasonable amounts of time. …

Protein Secondary Structure Prediction Using Blast And Relaxed Threshold Rule Induction From Coverings, Leong Lee

Doctoral Dissertations

"Protein structure prediction has always been an important research area in bioinformatics and biochemistry. Despite the recent breakthrough of combining multiple sequence alignment information and artificial intelligence algorithms to predict protein secondary structure, the Q₃ accuracy of various computational prediction methods rarely has exceeded 75%; this status has changed little since 2003 when Rost stated that "the currently best methods reach a level around 77% three-state per-residue accuracy." The application of artificial neural network methods to this problem is revolutionary in the sense that those techniques employ the homologues of proteins for training and prediction. In this dissertation, a different …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Conducting Polymer Nanostructures And Their Application In Sensors, Zhe-Fei Li

Doctoral Dissertations

"A one-step synthesis technique has been used to fabricate sensors by growing polyaniline nanofibers and polyaniline/metal nanocomposites in the active area of an interdigitated electrode array. Polyaniline nanofiber sensors can be fabricated by irradiating an aqueous precursor solution containing aniline, HCl, a metal salt, and ammonium persulfate (APS) with a high pressure Hg lamp. The sensors are ready for operation after polymerization is complete, and no additional processing steps are necessary. These sensors showed faster and more intensity response to various organic vapors than conventional bulk polyaniline sensors due to their larger surface area. A chemisorption model and a diffusion …

Dynamic Reconfiguration And Control Of Smart Power Systems, Pinaki Mitra

Doctoral Dissertations

"To address the increasing demand and complexity, modern power systems need intelligence at almost all levels which can transform them into 'smart' power systems. The term 'smart power systems' not only refers to the terrestrial power systems with a significant penetration of distributed energy resources and energy storage such as plug-in electric vehicle parking lots (SmartParks), but also includes other isolated power systems, such as the power systems of naval electric ships. The research presented in this dissertation contributes to the dynamic reconfiguration and control of both terrestrial and ship power system with the application of computational intelligence methods.

In …

Urate Responsive Marr Homologs, Inoka Chinthana Perera

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Differential gene expression in response to internal and external stimuli is studied in detail to understand the intricate mechanisms underlying response to various environmental stressors in microorganisms. MarR family transcriptional regulators have been studied for their involvement in such mechanisms. This work elucidates the mechanism of urate-induced attenuation of DNA binding of HucR, a MarR homolog, and extends this mechanism to describe a novel subfamily of MarR homologs responsive to urate, proposing a physiological relevance of utilizing urate as a signaling molecule.

HucR (hypothetical urate regulator) binds to the shared promoter region between uricase and hucR genes. It has high …

Sorption Mechanisms Of Zinc In Different Clay Minerals And Soil Systems As Influenced By Various Natural Ligands, Mohammed Hashem Stietiya

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The bioavailability and fate of Zinc (Zn) in soils is influenced by reactions occurring at the water-mineral interface. Understanding Zn interaction with mineral surfaces is essential to the understanding of Zn fate and toxicity. In this study, adsorption experiments investigated the impact of ligands and pH on the adsorption of Zn to mineral surfaces. X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure Spectroscopy (XAFS) was used to elucidate the adsorption mechanisms of Zn to mineral surfaces as impacted by ligands. Impact of ligands on Zn adsorption was dependent on mineral type and pH of the system. XAFS analysis showed that adsorption mechanisms of Zn …

Caring Attitudes Among Child Welfare Caseworkers: Associations With Client Participation In Services, Karen Faulk

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is an association between the caring attitudes and commitment toward clients of child welfare workers and their clients’ completion of a parenting education program. This line of inquiry is intended to expand the scope of research on caring attitudes associated with child welfare workers intent to remain employed. A logical extension of identifying characteristics associated with child welfare workforce retention is to determine if those characteristics are also associated with positive client outcomes. Part of the examination of worker caring attitudes involved testing the Child Welfare Inventory (CWI), a modified …

Testing Models Of Biological Diversification: Morphological Evolution And Cladogenesis In The Neotropical Furnariidae (Aves: Passeriformes), Santiago Javier Claramunt Tammaro

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation I explored the processes that generated high species diversity in a continental adaptive radiation of passerine birds: the family Furnariidae. Although there is a vast amount of information on the microevolutionary mechanisms that generate speciation and adaptation, much less is known about the processes underlying large-scale patterns of diversity. I used new techniques that exploit information contained in phylogenetic trees to investigate the diversification process in Furnariidae at a macroevolutionary scale. First, I conducted the first quantitative study that demonstrated that the Furnariidae constitute a case of rapid diversification in both species numbers and morphology as compared …

Embyronic Nicotine Exposure And Its Impact On Spinal Neuron Development In Zebrafish, Latoya Telameca Paul

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Nicotine, a drug of abuse, has been shown to have deleterious outcomes on nervous system development in vertebrates. Using zebrafish behavior as a diagnostic tool, we aimed to understand the effects of embryonic nicotine exposure on spinal neuron development. We initially quantified nicotine incorporation into zebrafish embryos. We found that only a fraction of the waterborne concentration of nicotine was incorporated into embryos. Also, when embryos were exposed to epibatidine and ABT 418, potent alpha 4/beta 2 nAChRs agonists, the embryos exhibited a robust swim-like behavioral response similar to that of nicotine. We then performed immunohistochemistry utilizing the mAB290 antibody …

Evolution Of Yy1, Yy2, Rex1 And Dna-Binding Motifs In Vertebrate Genomes, Christopher Don Faulk

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Transcription factors are important for many aspects of gene regulation in eukaryotes. YY1 (Yin-Yang 1) is a particularly interesting example of a highly conserved zinc-finger transcription factor, involved in transcriptional activation, repression, initiation, and in chromatin modification. YY1 is ubiquitously expressed in mammals, and its binding sites are found in ~10% of human genes as well as in repetitive elements. It is a targeting protein of the Polycomb complex and is involved in mammalian genomic imprinting. First, we explored the evolutionary history of YY1 using 62 species and formation of its paralogs, YY2 and REX1, which are found in mammals, …

Characterization Of Quantitative Traits Using Association Genetics Tetraploid And Genetic Linkage Mapping In Diploid Cotton (Gossypium Spp.), Ashok Badigannavar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Cotton (Gossypium spp.) is the most extensively used natural fiber in the textile industry. Understanding the genetic diversity, population structure and marker trait associations are of great importance in marker assisted selection. Microsatellite, AFLP and TRAP markers were used to construct a linkage map with 94 F2 diploid individuals derived from a cross between G. arboreum x G. herbaceum. A total of 606 polymorphic markers gave rise to 37 linkage groups covering a total of 1109cM with an average distance of 7.92cM between each loci. Discriminant analysis identified three markers each for petal color and seed fuzziness, and four markers …

Part I: Syntheses, Characterizations, And Investigations Of Molecular Micelles And Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquids For Protein Separations In Electrophoresis Part Ii: Investigating The Mentoring Canon Through Exploration Of Thirty Years Of Mentoring By An Exemplar, Monica R. Sylvain

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The research reported in this dissertation is presented in two parts. The first part is the Syntheses, Characterizations, and Investigations of Molecular Micelles and Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquids for Protein Separations in Electrophoresis, and the second part is a case study entitled Investigating the Mentoring Canon through Exploration of Thirty Years of Mentoring by an Exemplar. Protein separations in the gel electrophoretic format are ubiquitous analyses used on a daily basis throughout biochemistry, analytical chemistry, and biotechnology. The goal of the research reported in the first part of this dissertation is to synthesize and characterize molecular micelles and ether-functionalized imidazolium-based ionic …

In Vivo And In Vitro Pathogenesis Of Francisella Asiatica In Tilapia Nilotica (Oreochromis Niloticus), Esteban Soto

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Francisella asiatica is a Gram negative, facultative intracellular pathogen that causes fish francisellosis. In this project, homologues to the F. tularensis iglABCD genes were found present in F. asiatica. As few as 23 F. asiatica bacteria injected in the peritoneum were found capable of causing mortalities in tilapia nilotica (Oreochromis niloticus), and even fewer were enough to cause pathological changes. We examined the in vivo and in vitro interaction of F. asiatica wild type (WT) and a ÄiglC strain with tilapia and tilapia head kidney derived macrophages (HKDM). The ÄiglC was found to be attenuated following intraperitoneal and immersion challenges …

Assessing The Influence Of Coronary Heart Disease Knowledge, Perception Of Personal Risk, And Delay Discounting Of Future Health On Diet And Physical Activity, Kimberly Bosworth Blake

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Although modifiable risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) can be favorably impacted by healthful diet and physical activity, health care providers face a population that generally exhibits unhealthy eating habits and sedentary lifestyles. Identifying strategies to improve the effectiveness of health care provider guidance is urgently needed to reduce CHD risk. The objective of this series of studies was to determine the association between CHD knowledge, perceived risk, and delay discounting and diet and physical activity (PA) levels in adults. The research design was cross-sectional and the methods included an online survey to obtain information regarding CHD knowledge, perceived …

Three Essays On The Role Of Amenities As An Economic Development Strategy, Junpyo Hong

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

It is well known that an amenity is a key driving engine to regional economic growth. However, the site-specific nature of an amenity can characterize them as public goods. Due to this characteristic, local governments have difficulty optimally supplying amenities. This dissertation tries to find relationships between an amenity and economic growth. Three empirical papers comprise the original research in this dissertation. The findings of the meta-analysis in the first essay suggest little methodological diversity exists among researchers linking amenities to economic growth., I do find that employment growth is more likely related to man-made amenities even in research on …

Comprehensive Tobacco Control Policy Regimes And Population Health: Assessing Causal Loops, Stephanie J. Frisbee

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Tobacco products remain among the most controversial consumer products of all time: cigarettes are the only legal product that, when used as intended, are lethal. The global and individual burden attributable to the primary use of tobacco, or secondary or tertiary exposure to cigarette smoke, whether measured by morbidity, mortality, or economic costs, is substantial. With the combined efforts of scientific research, public health and policy advocates, the image and use of tobacco products has undergone profound change. However, while much has been achieved regarding the attitudinal, behavioral, and policy changes needed to diminish the individual, social, and economic costs …

Burden Of Care And Health -Related Quality Of Life Among Caregivers Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Rahul Khanna

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Caring for a child with autism is a challenging experience for parents, who also have to assume the role of a caregiver. Several studies have documented the occurrence of negative outcomes among caregivers of children with autism. Autism has been shown to affect every aspect of caregivers' lives, whether it is their mental health, physical health, financial health, or social health. The purpose of this study was to gather in-depth information about the impact of autism on primary caregivers. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used for this purpose. As part of the project, three studies were conducted. Data …

Traditionalism And Temporal Variance In Predictors Of Gendered Homicide, 1970-2000, Julia Maria D'Antonio-Del Rio

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

During the second half of the 20th century, changes in gender relations and equality have led to substantial shifts in many aspects of American life. As one feature of society, the relationship between social structure and crime has also changed with the shift from traditional to nontraditional views of gendered interaction. In particular, what were once thought to be invariant structural predictors of homicide may, in fact, have varying explanatory power over time; in particular, measurements of disadvantage and population structure may not equally affect men and women between 1970 and 2000. Therefore, the present study posits a transformation in …

The Spread Of The Parthenogenetic Marbled Crayfish, Marmorkrebs (Procambarus Sp.), In The North American Pet Trade, Zen Faulkes

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

The parthenogenetic marbled crayfish Marmorkrebs was discovered in the pet trade in Europe in the 1990s. Since then, its distribution through the pet trade has spread from Europe to other continents, including North America. North American pet owners were surveyed online with the aims of trying to track when Marmorkrebs entered the North American pet trade, the ways in which it spread through the pet trade, and how widely distributed Marmorkrebs are throughout the continent. Marmorkrebs have been in the North American pet trade since at least 2004, with the number of people increasing every year. While many Marmorkrebs are …

Exercise-Induced Alterations In Melanocortin Receptor Expression And Inflammation, Tara Michelle Henagan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Inflammatory cytokines play a significant role in the pathogenesis of obesity-related diseases and have been implicated as integral factors in both early and late phases of atherosclerosis. Lifestyle modifications such as increasing physical activity and making dietary changes to induce weight loss are part of the primary prescription for the treatment of metabolic syndrome. Additionally, physical activity has been implicated as a potentially effective regimen for the control of inflammation, yet little is known about the anti-inflammatory mechanistic alterations induced by physical activity.

Exercise training causes acute changes in inflammation immediately post exercise, evidenced by upregulation of inflammatory cytokines and …

Wear Of Enamel Antagonist Against Ceramic Restorative Materials, Taneet Ghuman

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Potential Chemical Defenses Against Diatom Fouling In Macroalgae From The Antarctic Peninsula: Insights From Bioassay Guided Fractionation, Hamel P. Sevak

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Investigation Of Schizophrenia Using Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy And Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Meredith A. Reid

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Debunking The Myth Of Victorian Medievalism In George Eliot's Adam Bede, Patricia A. Rippetoe

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Correlation Of Bone Density Using Histomophometric And Cone Beam Computed Tomographic Analysis, Curry H. Leavitt

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Unleashing The Power Of Nonprofit Enterprise: The History And Economics Of Nonprofit Enterprise And How Equity Capital Can Multiply Its Impact, Kevin A. Hodgkins

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.