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Examining Neotropical Primate Community Structure At Regional And Local Scales : Insights From Taxonomic And Phylogenetic Approaches, Maria Mercedes Gavilanez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Understanding mechanisms underlying distribution of biodiversity remains a central issue in ecology. I integrate ecological and phylogenetic information at multiple spatial scales to better understand neotropical primate distribution and community structure. I investigate the variation within species ranges in relation to species richness and patterns of species relatedness. Results suggest positive associations among species throughout their distributions, whereby species tend to present higher richness within their ranges than average richness for the entire taxon. However, comparing empirical distributions to a null model of range cohesion suggests mechanisms other than dispersal are setting a limit to the number of species capable …

Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Mass Spectrometry For Identificaiton Of Shrimp, Venkatesulu Salla

LSU Master's Theses

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) time of flight mass spectrometry was used to identify shrimp at the species level using commercial mass spectral fingerprint matching software (Bruker Biotyper). In the first step, a mass spectrum reference database was constructed from the analysis of six shrimp species that are commercially important in the United States: L. setiferus, F. azticus, S. brevirostris, P. robustus, P. dispar and P. platyceros. In the second step, the reference database was tested using 74 unknown shrimp samples from these six species. Correct identification was achieved for 72 of the 74 samples (97 percent): 72 samples were …

Effects Of Physicochemical Properties And Macrohabitat On The Foraging Ecology And Condition Of The Centrarchid Assemblage Of The Atchafalaya River Basin, Louisiana, Brett A. Miller

LSU Master's Theses

The Atchafalaya River Basin (ARB), Louisiana supports a diverse centrarchid assemblage, characterized by abundant populations of largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides, black crappie Pomoxis nigromaculatus, warmouth Lepomis gulosus, bluegill Lepomis macrochirus, redspotted sunfish Lepomis miniatus, longear sunfish Lepomis megalotis and redear sunfish Lepomis microlophus. This dynamic floodplain ecosystem is comprised of a mosaic of macrohabitats, including natural bayous, shallow lakes, dead-end and open pipeline canals. I conducted an extensive feeding ecology study to determine the influence of these macrohabitats on foraging activity through stomach content and stable isotope analyses. I collected 2,036 centrarchids with electrofishing efforts in the summers of 2011 …

The Effect Of Frequent Quizzing On Student Learning In A High School Physical Science Classroom, Courtney Bailey Norton

LSU Master's Theses

This research explores the effects of frequent quizzing versus no quizzing in a high school Physical Science class. The study population included two freshman level Physical Science Honors classes. The content in this study included Classifying Matter, States of Matter, Atomic Bonding, Motion and Forces and Motion. For each chapter covered one class served as a control group, getting no quizzes, and the other class served as an experimental group, getting frequent quizzes. Prior to being taught information on the 5 chapters covered in this study, a 15-question pre-test was administered to the students. The information was delivered in the …

Phase Composition Control Of Calcium Phosphate Nanoparticles For Tunable Drug Delivery Kinetics And Treatment Of Osteomyelitis. Part 2: Antibacterial And Osteoblastic Response, Vuk Uskoković, Tejal A. Dasai

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Osteomyelitis has been traditionally treated by the combination of long-term antibiotic therapies and surgical removal of diseased tissue. The multifunctional material was developed in this study with the aim to improve this therapeutic approach by: (a) enabling locally delivered and sustained release of antibiotics at a tunable rate, so as to eliminate the need for repetitive administration of systemically distributed antibiotics; and (b) controllably dissolving itself, so as to promote natural remineralization of the portion of bone lost to disease. We report hereby on the effect of the previously synthesized calcium phosphates (CAPs) with tunable solubilities and drug release time …

Laser Ablation Sample Transfer For Mass Spectrometry, Sung-Gun Park

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this research, a new ambient sampling technique for mass spectrometry was developed that uses an infrared laser to ablate materials under ambient conditions that are captured in a solvent or on a surface. An infrared optical parametric oscillator (OPO) laser system at 3 μm wavelength was focused onto samples for ablation at atmospheric pressure. The ablated materials were transferred to a solvent or surface. For off-line electrospray ionization (ESI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) analysis, the ablated material was captured in a static solvent droplet that was deposited on a MALDI target or flow-injected into a nanoelectrospray source. The …

A Clay Mineral Provenance Study Of The Northern Pandora Trough Continental Margin, Gulf Of Papua, Ashley Len Howell

LSU Master's Theses

X-ray diffraction mineralogy of western-, central-, and eastern-derived fluvial sediments within the Gulf of Papua exhibits distinct and mixed clay mineral assemblages. These mineral assemblages allow for a better understanding of how a thick muddy continental margin shelf-edge depocenter in the eastern Gulf of Papua of latest Pleistocene/early Holocene age formed, as well as connections between terrestrial sediment delivery and evolution of deep-sea deposits in this region. Modern clay mineralogy reveals a high to low gradation of illite/smectite values from the western to eastern Gulf of Papua (Slingerland et al., 2008a), which is applied to the recent past for provenance …

Effect Of Bitterness Blockers And Salt Substitutes On The Quality Of Low Sodium White Cheddar Cheese, Kennet Mariano Carabante

LSU Master's Theses

Reducing added salt in processed foods is one of the major challenges facing food industry worldwide. Salt (NaCl) replacement in a Cheddar cheese has been successfully achieved up to 25%, which qualifies it as “reduced sodium”. However, a low sodium cheddar cheese (less than 140 mg Na/ 50 g cheese) requires at least 50% of salt reduction. Bitterness is one obstacle for development of an acceptable low sodium cheddar cheese. In this study, sensory optimization of low sodium white cheddar cheese was performed. A 3-component mixture design was used: NaCl (30-60%), KCl (45-65%) and glycine (5-10%). A fixed level of …

Energy Spectra Comparisons For Matched Clinical Electron Beams On Elekta Linear Accelerators Using A Permanent Magnet Spectrometer, David Mclaughlin

LSU Master's Theses

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to use a permanent magnet electron energy spectrometer to measure and compare electron beam energy spectra from matched electron beams on Elekta radiotherapy accelerators at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center

Methods: Electron beamcollimation, X-ray background collimation, and irradiation geometry were developed to produce suitable latent images in computed radiography (CR) strips at the exit side of a 0.5-Tesla permanent magnet spectrometer.An analytical technique transformed CR strip images into energy spectra on central axis at 95-cm source-to-collimator distance.Electron energy spectra at 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 16, and 20 MeV for four accelerators, whose …

Application Of Helmholtz/Hodge Decomposition To Finite Element Methods For Two-Dimensional Maxwell's Equations, Zhe Nan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this work we apply the two-dimensional Helmholtz/Hodge decomposition to develop new finite element schemes for two-dimensional Maxwell's equations. We begin with the introduction of Maxwell's equations and a brief survey of finite element methods for Maxwell's equations. Then we review the related fundamentals in Chapter 2. In Chapter 3, we discuss the related vector function spaces and the Helmholtz/Hodge decomposition which are used in Chapter 4 and 5. The new results in this dissertation are presented in Chapter 4 and Chapter 5. In Chapter 4, we propose a new numerical approach for two-dimensional Maxwell's equations that is based on …

Reef Fish Demographics On Louisiana Artificial Reefs : The Effects Of Reef Size On Biomass Distribution And Foraging Dynamics, Kirsten A. Simonsen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Understanding the role that habitat plays in the life history of reef-associated fishes is particularly significant given the dramatic increase in the number of artificial reefs deployed in coastal ecosystems over the past 50 years. In the Gulf of Mexico, the oil and gas industry has added a significant amount of structure to the Louisiana continental shelf, creating the largest de facto artificial reef deployment area in the world. Noting their usefulness as fish habitat, the Louisiana Artificial Reef Program was established to convert decommissioned platforms into artificial reefs. However, very little quantitative information exists on how these habitats affect …

Development Of A Framework For Scaling Surfactant Enhanced Co₂ Flooding From Laboratory Scale To Field Implementation, Gbolahan I. Afonja

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The efficiency of the use of CO2 as a displacement fluid in oil recovery is hampered by the existence of an unfavorable mobility ratio that is caused by the large difference in viscosity between the injected fluid (CO2) and the reservoir fluids. This viscosity contrast results in early CO2 breakthrough, viscous fingering, gas channeling, and consequently, the inability of CO2 to effectively contact much of the reservoir and the oil it contains. Improvement of sweep efficiency and mobility control in CO2 injection require solutions to these problems. The use of surfactants and other chemical means for mobility control has been …

Economics And The Bible, Roger S. Nam

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

At its essence, economics is the study of how societies make decisions on the allocation of limited resources. Whether subsistence, capitalist, socialist, or totalitarian, each society faces complex choices regarding the distribution of goods and utilities. In making such choices, economics involves the study of the various allocation processes such as production, consumption, exchange, forecasting, scarcity, and risk. But in all of these activities, economics is observable only through human behavior. Consequently, efforts to isolate economic behavior from social spheres are heuristic at best, misleading at worst. Economic decisions reflect deeper ideological values, hierarchies, and positions of power, often revealed …

Applying Mathematical Set Theory To Statutory Construction Of Municipal Sign Laws, Ann L. Nowak

Scholarly Works

This case illustrates why municipal lawyers might want to review their high school mathematics lessons about set theory before drafting statutes. The application of set theory—particularly in the form of Venn diagrams—can help to prevent ambiguity of language in statutory construction. It is this ambiguity that gives rise to differences in interpretation, and these differences frequently lead to litigation over the meaning of a statute.

Dinitrogen Fixation In Aphotic Oxygenated Marine Environments, Eyal Rahav, Edo Bar-Zeev, Sarah Ohayon, Hila Elifantz, Natalia Belkin, Barak Herut, Margaret R. Mulholland, Iiana Berman-Frank

OES Faculty Publications

We measured N₂ fixation rates from oceanic zones that have traditionally been ignored as sources of biological N₂fixation; the aphotic, fully oxygenated, nitrate (NO¯₃)-rich, waters of the oligotrophic Levantine Basin (LB) and the Gulf of Aqaba (GA). N₂ fixation rates measured from pelagic aphotic waters to depths up to 720 m, during the mixed and stratified periods, ranged from 0.01 nmol N L^-1 d^-1 to 0.38 nmol N L^-1 d^-1. N₂ fixation rates correlated significantly with bacterial productivity and heterotrophic diazotrophs were identified from aphotic as well as …

Do Mathematics And Reading Competencies Integrated Into Career And Technical Education Courses Improve High School Student State Assessment Scores, Kristin Bowles Pierce

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A quasi experimental study tested a contextual teaching and learning (CTL) model for integrating reading and mathematics competencies through 13 introductory Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses. Volunteer CTE Lead Teachers with assistance from academic teachers, developed integrated units. The purpose of this study was to determine whether students who participated in CTE courses that integrated core mathematics and reading standards performed better on a test of mathematics and reading skills compared to students who participated in traditional, non-integrated courses. The treatment group consisted of students in the 13 introductory courses taught by the CTE Lead Teachers and the control …

High School Students In College-Level Classes: Associations Between Engagement, Achievement, And Mental Health, Rachel Anne Roth

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Student engagement is a multifaceted construct gaining increased interest within the fields of psychology and education. Current literature suggests that student engagement is linked to important student outcomes including academic achievement, psychopathology, and mental wellness; however, there is a dearth of studies that have examined all components of student engagement simultaneously as they relate to the aforementioned outcomes. Additionally, past literature has found support for a decreasing trend in student engagement across the school years, but less attention has been paid to student engagement in the high school years. Among high school students, a particular subgroup has been virtually ignored: …

Turning Water Into Wine: The Political Economy Of The Environment In Southern California's Wine Country, Jason Simms

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines questions of water sustainability in contexts of wine production and state-led neoliberal development in the Temecula Valley, southern California, where wine tourism is at present being harnessed as an engine of economic growth. Natural and anthropogenic forces, such as global climate change, desertification, urban development, and the marketization and commodification of natural resources, affect the distribution and availability of water throughout the globe. As a result, the use of water, and associated political and environmental processes and consequences, in the production of global commodities, including wheat, citrus, and coffee, recently have come under increased scrutiny. Given wine's …

Synthesis And Properties Of Polymer Nanocomposites With Tunable Electromagnetic Response, Kristen Lee Stojak

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Multifunctional polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) are attractive for the design of tunable RF and microwave components such as flexible electronics, attenuators, and antennas due to cost-effectiveness and durability of polymeric matrices. In this work, three separate PNCs were synthesized. Magnetite (Fe3O4) and cobalt ferrite (CFO) nanoparticles, synthesized by thermal decomposition, were used as PNC fillers. Polymers used in this work were a commercial polymer provided by the Rogers Corporation (RP) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). PNCs in this thesis consist of Fe3O4 in RP, CFO in RP, and Fe3O4 in PVDF. Characterization techniques for determining morphology of the nanoparticles, and their resulting …

Investigations For Utilizing Pteropods As Bioindicators Of Environmental Change Along The Western Antarctic Peninsula, Paul Mark Suprenand

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pteropods are holoplanktonic gastropod molluscs found globally. Although species diversity is greater at lower latitudes, species abundance is greater at temperate and polar latitudes. Declines in pteropod populations have not only been correlated to declines of their major predators, but pteropods have also been used as bioindicators of global environmental changes such as ocean acidification. With high latitude abundances, pteropods provide significant sustenance for species such as the Atlantic salmon in the Atlantic Ocean and Pleuragramma antarcticum in the Southern Ocean. Because pteropods eat phytoplankton and other pteropods, factors that affect pteropod abundance influence many trophic levels. This dissertation explores …

Flexible Urban Water Distribution Systems, Seneshaw Amare Tsegaye

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With increasing global change pressures such as urbanization and climate change, cities of the future will experience difficulties in efficiently managing scarcer and less reliable water resources. However, projections of future global change pressures are plagued with uncertainties. This increases the difficulty in developing urban water systems that are adaptable to future uncertainty.

A major component of an urban water system is the distribution system, which constitutes approximately 80-85% of the total cost of the water supply system (Swamee and Sharma, 2008). Traditionally, water distribution systems (WDS) are designed using deterministic assumptions of main model input variables such as water …

Boolean Partition Algebras, Joseph Anthony Van Name

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A Boolean partition algebra is a pair $(B,F)$ where $B$ is a Boolean

algebra and $F$ is a filter on the semilattice of partitions of $B$ where $\bigcup F=B\setminus\{0\}$. In this dissertation, we shall investigate the algebraic theory of Boolean partition algebras and their connection with uniform spaces. In particular, we shall show that the category of complete non-Archimedean uniform spaces

is equivalent to a subcategory of the category of Boolean partition algebras, and notions such as supercompleteness

of non-Archimedean uniform spaces can be formulated in terms of Boolean partition algebras.

Computational Approaches For Structure Based Drug Design And Protein Structure-Function Prediction, Sai Lakshmana Kumar Vankayala

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation thesis consists of a series of chapters that are interwoven by solving interesting biological problems, employing various computational methodologies. These techniques provide meaningful physical insights to promote the scientific fields of interest. Focus of chapter 1 concerns, the importance of computational tools like docking studies in advancing structure based drug design processes. This chapter also addresses the prime concerns like scoring functions, sampling algorithms and flexible docking studies that hamper the docking successes. Information about the different kinds of flexible dockings in terms of accuracy, time limitations and success studies are presented. Later the importance of Induced fit …

Affective Components Perceived To Be Important In Today's Global Society From A Cross-Cultural Perspective, Helena H. Wallenberg-Lerner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Global competencies, with differences in terminology by various researchers, had been frequently investigated, primarily from an American-biased perspective. Little or no defining research existed that identified requisite, universally agreed upon global competencies, or identified what affective components were perceived to be important cross culturally.

This research study answered the following questions:

1. What affective components are perceived to be important from a cross-cultural perspective?

2. Are there differences in these perceptions of affective components from a cross-cultural perspective?

The purpose of the study was to explore the extent to which individuals in different GeoCultural regions view and identify affective components …

Assessing Hurricane Preparedness Among Residential Staff At Louisiana State University: A Case Study On Hurricane Isaac, Ashley Marie Weatherall

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Studying hurricane preparedness among the Resident Assistants (RAs) and Residence Life Coordinators (RLCs) at Louisiana State University (LSU) is imperative to assure that the university housing staff is fully equipped when faced with an oncoming threat. This study seeks to fill a gap in research by investigating the influences of preparedness on student housing employees. A survey was developed and the measures were found to be coherent and internally reliable through the use of factor analysis. Based on theory and previous literature, a linear regression model was developed that quantified the relationship between the independent variable of preparedness and general …

Becoming A Teacher In Multiple Voices: An Exploration Of Teacher Identity Formation Among Teachers Of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Mary E. Wilt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the formation of teacher identity among four teachers of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and my own by examining our perspectives, influences, and experiences at different points in our careers and determining the similarities and differences that exist in our professional and educational experiences. This study focused on how teacher identity is defined within the field of education, the current literature on teacher identity formation, and the importance of understanding the formation of teacher identity among teachers of children with autism, as well as how my own teacher identity has been …

Environmental Implications Of Pavements: A Life Cycle View, Bin Yu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Environmental aspect of pavement, unlike its economic counterpart, is seldom considered in the theoretical study and field practices. As a highly energy and material intensive infrastructure, pavement has great potential to contribute to the environment protection, which, in root, depends on the in-depth understanding of the environmental impacts, holistically and specifically. A life cycle assessment (LCA) model is used to fulfill the goal.

This research firstly carried out extensive literature review of LCA studies on pavement to identify the major research gaps, including: incompleteness of the methodology, controversy of the functional unit, and unawareness of feedstock energy of asphalt, etc. …

Statistical Topics Applied To Pressure And Temperature Readings In The Gulf Of Mexico, Malena Kathleen Allison

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The field of statistical research in weather allows for the application of old and new methods, some of which may describe relationships between certain variables better such as temperatures and pressure. The objective of this study was to apply a variety of traditional and novel statistical methods to analyze data from the National Data Buoy Center, which records among other variables barometric pressure, atmospheric temperature, water temperature and dew point temperature. The analysis included attempts to better describe and model the data as well as to make estimations for certain variables. The following statistical methods were utilized: linear regression, non-response …

Exploring Local Food System Practices And Perceptions: Insights From Florida's Snap-Authorized Farmers' Markets, Leslie Babiak

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite heightened interest in creating local food systems that enhance health of ecologies, economies, and all members of communities, the public space of farmers' markets is far less than inherently equitable. This is particularly concerning given America's unprecedented crisis of food hardship and related disease, which disproportionately affects lower income populations. This research addresses the social justice implications of SNAP (food stamp) operations for locally oriented food systems. Pioneering practices of three of Florida's SNAP-authorized farmers' markets, and the attitudes and behaviors of one-hundred-seventy-six market patrons, were explored through customer surveys, market manager interviews, and environmental assessments. Qualitative and quantitative …

Teachers' Beliefs, Knowledge, And Implementation Of Disciplinary Literacy Pedagogy In Three Advanced Placement United States History Classrooms, Stephanie Bennett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this inquiry, I investigated three Advanced Placement United State History teachers' beliefs, knowledge, and implementation of disciplinary literacy pedagogy in their Advanced Placement United States History (APUSH) classrooms. My interest in disciplinary literacy evolved from my own experiences as a high school social studies teacher and middle school intensive reading teacher. With the implementation of the Common Core State Standards, whose emphasis is, in part, on discipline-specific literacy, across the United States in 2014-2015, I recognize the need for research relevant to discipline-specific practices in the classroom. I want to contribute further to the understandings of disciplinary literacy pedagogy. …