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2013

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The Refusal Speech Acts Of Two Generations Of Korean Women : Mother-In-Law And Daughter-In-Law In Interaction, Saem Han Jan 2013

The Refusal Speech Acts Of Two Generations Of Korean Women : Mother-In-Law And Daughter-In-Law In Interaction, Saem Han

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The aim of this study is to analyze and interpretate the refusal speech acts of two generations of Korean women: mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law. To be specific, it examines if daughters-in-law’s use of strategies were dependent on the age difference/ hierarchies and to see if there was any difference in the type of strategies used by daughters-in-law depending on whether mothers-in-law have social power or not. The data were collected from three soap operas. Compared with previous data collection methods, such as discourse completion tests or role-plays, this data collection method has advantages for a pragmatics study. The results indicated that …

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To Speak As A Human, A Modern And As An American : Blues Rhetoric In Cornel West's Prophetic Pragmatism, Raquel M. Robvais Jan 2013

To Speak As A Human, A Modern And As An American : Blues Rhetoric In Cornel West's Prophetic Pragmatism, Raquel M. Robvais

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis examines Cornel West’s description of the human condition and the works of art produced in three particular ways. First, there is being human which is a universal condition that speaks to all people and their struggles in the face of death and fallibility. Second, there is the condition of being modern, which speaks to people in a particular age in which power must be challenged with intelligence. Third, there is the idea of being American, which is to confront historical legacies of injustice through political action and agency. Rhetoric speaks to these existential crises and draws its resources …

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Technology Argument Frames : Examining The Impact Of Argumentation On The Development Of A Health Information Exchange Initiative, David Murithi Murungi Jan 2013

Technology Argument Frames : Examining The Impact Of Argumentation On The Development Of A Health Information Exchange Initiative, David Murithi Murungi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation applies the Technology Frames of Reference (TFR) theoretical lens to examine the implementation of a health information exchange (HIE) initiative in southeast USA. It extends the TFR lens by developing Toulminian argument maps to depict frame structure and employing the argument theories of Toulmin, Habermas and Perelman Olbrechts-Tyteca to help analyze the role that argumentation plays in the emergence and development of the technology frames that characterized this HIE endeavor. The argument maps developed in this dissertation helped to assess the level of argumentation within frames and to compare argumentation across frame domains. The argument maps were also …

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Examining The Differential Effects Of The Mystery Motivator Intervention Using Chosen Versus Unknown Reinforcers, Natalie Marie Robichaux Jan 2013

Examining The Differential Effects Of The Mystery Motivator Intervention Using Chosen Versus Unknown Reinforcers, Natalie Marie Robichaux

LSU Master's Theses

Disruptive classroom behaviors are among the most prevalent of childhood problems and are associated with reduced instruction time, poor academic achievement, and persistent behavior problems throughout childhood. Class-wide interventions, such as the Mystery Motivator, are an easy and time efficient way to increase the level of classroom management and remediate disruptive behavior patterns. Although the effectiveness of class-wide interventions is well documented, the literature is still inconsistent as to which type of reinforcement is more effective when using behavioral interventions. Some research suggests individuals prefer a choice in reinforcement, while other research suggests choice is just as preferred as reinforcement …

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Exploring The Learnability Of Numeric Datasets, Di Lin Jan 2013

Exploring The Learnability Of Numeric Datasets, Di Lin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

When doing classification, it has often been observed that datasets may exhibit different levels of difficulty with respect to how accurately they can be classified. That is, there are some datasets which can be classified very accurately by many classification algorithms, and there also exist some other datasets that no classifier can classify them with high accuracy. Based on this observation, we try to address the following problems: a)what are the factors that make a dataset easy or difficult to be accurately classified? b) how to use such factors to predict the difficulties of unclassified datasets? and c) how to …

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Poultry Litter Ash As A Phosphorus Source For Greenhouse Crop Production, Daniel Evan Wells Jan 2013

Poultry Litter Ash As A Phosphorus Source For Greenhouse Crop Production, Daniel Evan Wells

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient for all life forms, including plants, but is a limited agricultural resource whose future availability is in question. Therefore, identification of alternative forms of P fertilizers is important. Poultry litter ash (PLA), a byproduct of bioenergy production, contains high concentrations of P comparable to conventional fertilizers. Forms of P contained in PLA have been characterized as having low water solubility. Nutrient losses during containerized plant production are high due to excessive inputs of water and nutrients and low nutrient sorption capacities of common horticultural substrate components. Environmental concerns over reduced water quality intensify this …

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Academic Self-Monitoring In College Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Mindy C. Scheithauer Jan 2013

Academic Self-Monitoring In College Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Mindy C. Scheithauer

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Self-monitoring is an intervention that can result in behavior change by having individuals observe and record their own behavior. Self-monitoring has received empirical support in changing Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) related behaviors in children, but there is scarce research regarding self-monitoring with adults with ADHD. The current study implemented a self-monitoring intervention aimed at improving academic behavior and medication adherence in college students with ADHD. The self-monitoring intervention included study skills training, goal-setting, identification of individualized self-monitoring behavior, and follow-up meetings to discuss progress. The participants were asked to monitor their behavior on a daily basis using an electronic system. Compared …

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Assessing The Efficiency Of Alternative Best Management Practices To Reduce Nonpoint Source Pollution In The Broiler Production Region Of Louisiana, Bryan Gottshall Jan 2013

Assessing The Efficiency Of Alternative Best Management Practices To Reduce Nonpoint Source Pollution In The Broiler Production Region Of Louisiana, Bryan Gottshall

LSU Master's Theses

The Louisiana broiler production region is located in North Central and Northwestern Louisiana. The region consists of twelve parishes in Northwestern and North Central Louisiana. The broiler production region is a significant contributor of nonpoint source (NPS) pollution to nearby waterways. This pollution is a consequence of sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus runoff caused by agricultural production. NPS pollution is difficult to mitigate due to uncertainties in its point of origin as well as a host of other factors ranging from rainfall to topographical parameters. Best Management Practices (BMPS) have been shown to be a reliable method for reducing nonpoint source …

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Finite Element Methods For Fourth Order Variational Inequalities, Yi Zhang Jan 2013

Finite Element Methods For Fourth Order Variational Inequalities, Yi Zhang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this work we study finite element methods for fourth order variational inequalities. We begin with two model problems that lead to fourth order obstacle problems and a brief survey of finite element methods for these problems. Then we review the fundamental results including Sobolev spaces, existence and uniqueness results of variational inequalities, regularity results for biharmonic problems and fourth order obstacle problems, and finite element methods for the biharmonic problem. In Chapter 2 we also include three types of enriching operators which are useful in the convergence analysis. In Chapter 3 we study finite element methods for the displacement …

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Suspensory Filaments, Santiago Pineda Jan 2013

Suspensory Filaments, Santiago Pineda

LSU Master's Theses

The interrelationships between vision, desire, and language are the elements that drive my artistic practice. “What is seeing?” “How is seeing related to desire?” These questions are at the base of my interests. I recognize optics as a subset of perception, yet I strive to reform them into interchangeable components. My interest in optics is based on doubt. I’m not interested in optic’s correctness, clinical orientation, or current sophistication, but rather in undermining its limitations. Our culture still struggles to absorb the notion of the sentient being, one example is our acuity of vision being standardized to 20/20. Within my …

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Assessing Altruistic Behavior, Burnout, And Wellness Outcomes Of Entry Level, Live-In And Live On Residence Life Professionals, Erin Coquese Vaughn Jan 2013

Assessing Altruistic Behavior, Burnout, And Wellness Outcomes Of Entry Level, Live-In And Live On Residence Life Professionals, Erin Coquese Vaughn

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The current study investigated the relationship between burnout, wellness, and altruistic motivation of entry level, live in and live on residence life staff. The literature review consists of empirical research for each construct presented (burnout, wellness, and altruism). The study sampled utilized were live-in and live on full time, entry level residence life personnel employed at predominately white public and private institutions in the southeastern part of the United States. Multiple regression analysis was used answer specific research questions. Results confirmed that there was no relationship existed between constructs; however findings do suggest burnout of residence life staff. Results are …

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An Ecological Analysis Of Us County-Level Suicide Rates : An Application Of Spatial Patterning Models, Chantel Dufrene Chauvin Jan 2013

An Ecological Analysis Of Us County-Level Suicide Rates : An Application Of Spatial Patterning Models, Chantel Dufrene Chauvin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Suicide has been studied sociologically since the late 19th century when theorists like Durkheim ([1897] 1951) found that the spatial patterning of suicides was not random. Looking beyond psychological troubles, suicide studies began to address the social factors that affected suicide rates. Building on the work of early scholars, contemporary studies mainly focus on variations in levels of social integration variables within communities to explain the nature of suicide rates. Many of these contemporary studies, however, only consider one type of social integration, like religion, and how variations in participation affect the suicide rate. To date, no study simultaneously considers …

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Effects Of Predator Reduction On Nest Success Of Upland Nesting Ducks In Low-Grassland Density Landscapes In Eastern North Dakota, Michael Buxton Jan 2013

Effects Of Predator Reduction On Nest Success Of Upland Nesting Ducks In Low-Grassland Density Landscapes In Eastern North Dakota, Michael Buxton

LSU Master's Theses

Nest success of upland nesting ducks is the primary driver of duck population growth in the Prairie Pothole Region. Nest success is greatly influenced by nest predation and the amount of available nesting cover on the landscape. The decline in acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in this region has negatively impacted the amount of available nesting cover, making nesting cover sparse and confined to small patches where predation rates are potentially elevated. I evaluated the efficacy of seasonal predator reduction on increasing nest success on low-grassland density (>10% grassland cover), 93 km2 landscapes in two different …

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The Effect Of Real-Time Pitch Tracking And Correction On High School Instrumentalists' Tuning Accuracy, Kathryn Elizabeth Strickland Jan 2013

The Effect Of Real-Time Pitch Tracking And Correction On High School Instrumentalists' Tuning Accuracy, Kathryn Elizabeth Strickland

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The main purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of pitch tracking and correction (auto-tuning) on the intonation performed by high school clarinet (n = 30) and trumpet (n = 30) players with at least three years of experience in the large ensemble setting. Participants (N = 60) were assigned to one of three treatment groups, each differentiated by means of intonation evaluation. An aural group (n = 20) used Real Time Pitch Tracking and Correction (RTPTC) software; a visual group (n = 20) used an electronic tuner; and a control group (n = 20) “played in-tune to …

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Heterogeneous Volumetric Data Mapping And Its Medical Applications, Huanhuan Xu Jan 2013

Heterogeneous Volumetric Data Mapping And Its Medical Applications, Huanhuan Xu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

With the advance of data acquisition techniques, massive solid geometries are being collected routinely in scientific tasks, these complex and unstructured data need to be effectively correlated for various processing and analysis. Volumetric mapping solves bijective low-distortion correspondence between/among 3D geometric data, and can serve as an important preprocessing step in many tasks in compute-aided design and analysis, industrial manufacturing, medical image analysis, to name a few. This dissertation studied two important volumetric mapping problems: the mapping of heterogeneous volumes (with nonuniform inner structures/layers) and the mapping of sequential dynamic volumes. To effectively handle heterogeneous volumes, first, we studied the …

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Development Of Watershed-Based Modeling Approach To Pollution Source Identification, Yangbin Tong Jan 2013

Development Of Watershed-Based Modeling Approach To Pollution Source Identification, Yangbin Tong

LSU Master's Theses

Identification of unknown pollution sources is essential to environmental protection and emergency response. A review of recent publications in source identification revealed that there are very limited numbers of research in modeling methods for rivers. What’s more, the majority of these attempts were to find the source strength and release time, while only a few of them discussed how to identify source locations. Comparisons of these works indicated that a combination of biological, mathematical and geographical method could effectively identify unknown source area(s), which was a more practical trial in a watershed. This thesis presents a watershed-based modeling approach to …

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Invisible Architecture: Underwater Excavation Of Site 77, Paynes Creek National Park, Belize, Tekla Chantae Rudie Jan 2013

Invisible Architecture: Underwater Excavation Of Site 77, Paynes Creek National Park, Belize, Tekla Chantae Rudie

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis presents research concerning invisible architecture and its importance to Maya archaeology. Maya architecture, mechanisms for the disappearance of sites, and strategies for their discovery are briefly discussed. Several examples of sites with invisible architecture are then put forth, including Santa Rita Corozal, where research has determined that as much as 50% of structures at the site may be invisible. Background on previous work at the Punta Ycacos salt works in Paynes Creek National Park is presented, followed by detailed description of recent excavations at Site 77. The site consists of preserved wooden posts in the sea floor and …

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Psychological Behavior Analysis Using Advanced Signal Processing Techniques For Fmri Data, Charisma Dionne Edwards Jan 2013

Psychological Behavior Analysis Using Advanced Signal Processing Techniques For Fmri Data, Charisma Dionne Edwards

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Psychological analysis related to voluntary reciprocal trust games were obtained using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) hyperscanning for 44 pairs of strangers throughout 36 trust games (TG) and 16 control games (CG). Hidden Markov models (HMMs) are proposed to train and classify the fMRI data acquired from these brain regions and extract the essential features of the initial decision of the first player to trust or not trust the second player. These results are evaluated using the different versions of the multifold cross-validation technique and compared to other speech data and other advanced signal processing techniques including linear classification, support …

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The Ring Theory And The Representation Theory Of Quantum Schubert Cells, Joel Benjamin Geiger Jan 2013

The Ring Theory And The Representation Theory Of Quantum Schubert Cells, Joel Benjamin Geiger

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In recent years the quantum Schubert cell algebras, introduced by Lusztig and De Concini--Kac, and Procesi, have garnered much interest as this versatile class of objects are furtive testing grounds for noncommutative algebraic geometry. We unify the two main approaches to analyzing the structure of the torus-invariant prime spectra of quantum Schubert cell algebras, a ring theoretic one via Cauchon's deleting derivations and a representation theoretic characterization of Yakimov via Demazure modules. As a result one can combine the strengths of the two approaches. In unifying the theories, we resolve two questions of Cauchon and Mériaux, one of which involves …

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Mathematical And Computer-Based Models For Optimizing Microwave Heating Processes Of Frozen Oysters, Jie Zhang Jan 2013

Mathematical And Computer-Based Models For Optimizing Microwave Heating Processes Of Frozen Oysters, Jie Zhang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Consumers with full-time jobs prefer microwavable-frozen-meals for convenience when lack time to cook. Microwaves do not require a medium for heat transfer and provide quick heating even in low thermal conductivity foods, which does not occur in conventional heating. The main problem in utilizing microwave-heating for cooking is the non-uniform temperature distribution in foods which may result in insufficient lethality of microorganisms in some part. This non-uniformity can be due to a number of factors including composition and geometry of food. The objectives of this study were to develop a mathematical-model based on Maxwell¡¯s equations for predicting the temperature distribution …

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Characterization, Prevalence, And Risk Factors Of Spontaneous And Experimental Atherosclerosis And Vascular Imaging In Psittaciformes, Hugues Beaufrère Jan 2013

Characterization, Prevalence, And Risk Factors Of Spontaneous And Experimental Atherosclerosis And Vascular Imaging In Psittaciformes, Hugues Beaufrère

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Atherosclerosis is a degenerative and inflammatory vascular disease characterized by the accumulation of inflammatory cells, lipids, calcium, and formation of large fibrofatty lesions within the intima of arteries resulting in the disorganization of the arterial wall and stenosis of the lumen. Despite the importance of atherosclerosis in psittacine cardiology, there are few pathologic, clinical, and experimental investigations in psittaciformes. In order to expand the knowledge on psittacine atherosclerosis and provide fundamental observational information for future research, a series of studies was conducted on psittaciformes: 1) psittacine atherosclerotic lesions were characterized and categorized based on histopathology, histochemistry, transmission (TEM), and scanning …

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A Study Of The Temporal And Spatial Distribution Of Ichthyoplankton And Post-Larval Penaeids Recruiting Into A Louisiana Tidal Pass, Matthew John Kupchik Jan 2013

A Study Of The Temporal And Spatial Distribution Of Ichthyoplankton And Post-Larval Penaeids Recruiting Into A Louisiana Tidal Pass, Matthew John Kupchik

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation attempts to better understand astronomical, meteorological, and oceanographic forcing of offshore-spawned, estuarine-dependent species from continental shelf to estuarine waters through tidal passes. The vertical distribution of zoo-/ichthyoplankton within the inner continental shelf from the Louisiana Offshore Oil Platform monitoring project (1978-1995) provided an important offshore end member for the estuarine recruitment study, and is potentially useful in predicting vulnerabilities to past and future oil spills. The role that atmospheric cold front passages may have on densities and movement of zoo-/ichthyoplankton recruiting through the Bayou Tartellan tidal pass, Louisiana, were analyzed using a Generalized Additive Model. The pre-frontal phase, …

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Fluorescent Materials For Chemical Sensing, Brian Gerard Imsick Jan 2013

Fluorescent Materials For Chemical Sensing, Brian Gerard Imsick

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Materials incorporating fluorescent π-electron conjugated molecular species for sensing and imaging are advantageous over other detection or identification methods such as colorimetric reporters. Fluorescent materials offer easy recognition of binding events due to the highly sensitive nature of fluorescence techniques down to the single molecule level. The properties of fluorescent molecules allow for rapid attenuation of observable readout due to the facile transport of excited state energy via both inter- and intramolecular pathways. This dissertation primarily focused on the development and study of a general platform for ratiometric fluorescent chemosensing using surface-immobilized oligomers, as well as in depth explorations of …

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Constructing Geographic Areas For Homicide Research : A Case Study Of New Orleans, Lawrence Keenan Robert Jan 2013

Constructing Geographic Areas For Homicide Research : A Case Study Of New Orleans, Lawrence Keenan Robert

LSU Master's Theses

Because homicides are rare events, criminologists must often deal with the Small Population Problem, which creates unreliable homicide rates based on arbitrarily delineated census tracts of low population. These rates lead to violations in several assumptions required in statistical analysis. This study proposes the Regionally Constrained Agglomerative Clustering and Partitioning (REDCAP) method to mitigate the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem and solve the Small Population Problem by constructing new, larger regions with sufficient minimum populations for homicide rate calculation. This method is used for a case study of New Orleans, Louisiana, to test the relationship between concentrated disadvantage and homicide. Ordinary …

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Evolutionary Assembly Of The Neotropical Montane Avifauna, Andres M. Cuervo Jan 2013

Evolutionary Assembly Of The Neotropical Montane Avifauna, Andres M. Cuervo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Three fundamental processes are thought to underlie biodiversity patterns: speciation, dispersal, and extinction. Biodiversity patterns in species-rich tropical mountains vary along horizontal (barriers), and vertical (elevation) dimensions. In this dissertation, I set out to explore the interplay between historical and ecological mechanisms hypothesized to shape diversification of Neotropical cloud forest birds. In the second chapter, I conducted comparative analyses using species-specific ecological traits, and 3,175 mtDNA sequences collected across the range of 45 co-distributed birds. First, I found that niche breadth, dispersal ability, and clade age influence lineage diversity (population differentiation). In particular, species that are old, poor dispersers, and …

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Language Of Exclusion: A Mixed Method Evaluation Of Text Complexity On Comprehension Within Selected U.S. Government Food Assistance Application Materials, Leah Katherine Saal Jan 2013

Language Of Exclusion: A Mixed Method Evaluation Of Text Complexity On Comprehension Within Selected U.S. Government Food Assistance Application Materials, Leah Katherine Saal

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

After over 60 years of plain writing advocacy calling for government agencies to increase the clarity of official communication, the Plain Writing Act (PWA) of 2010 codified the incorporation of plain language in any federal government document for pubic use. However, no extensive evaluation of government food assistance applications has been completed by an independent evaluator since the PWA’s passage. The objective of this exploratory sequential mixed methods research is to examine selected federal government food assistance applications (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Application (SNAP) for Assistance and Free and Reduced Price School Meals Family Application). The study seeks to explore …

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Spatial Variations In Salinity And Temperature Around The Bay Marchand Salt Dome, Offshore Louisiana, Laurie Richards Jan 2013

Spatial Variations In Salinity And Temperature Around The Bay Marchand Salt Dome, Offshore Louisiana, Laurie Richards

LSU Master's Theses

The Bay Marchand field is located about 60 miles south of New Orleans, Louisiana on the continental shelf. The structurally complex field has produced over 960 MMBOE as of 2012 (http://www.eplweb.com), with many of these hydrocarbons being trapped against the massive salt dome and associated faulting present in the area. A study by Bruno and Hanor (2003) documented the presence of a high salinity plume off the southeast flank of the dome that had less saline and less dense pore water below it. The purpose of this study was to investigate the spatial variations in pore water salinity and temperature …

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Hydraulic Fracturing And Water Use In Dallas, Texas, Sarah Yates Jan 2013

Hydraulic Fracturing And Water Use In Dallas, Texas, Sarah Yates

LSU Master's Theses

Dallas, Texas is located in North Texas and sits above the eastern portion of the Barnett Shale natural gas formation. Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”, was introduced to the region as a means to access previously inaccessible natural gas within the formation. This fracking concerns many because it requires large amounts of fresh water, an average of over 4 million gallons per well within Dallas Water Utilities’ service area. This thesis examines whether water use for fracking will have a negative effect on the water supply for the city of Dallas and its wholesale water customer cities. The water is typically …

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Role Of Retrotransposons As A Major Source Of Intra- And Inter-Individual Epigenetic Variations In The Mammalian Genome, Muhammad Badre Ekram Jan 2013

Role Of Retrotransposons As A Major Source Of Intra- And Inter-Individual Epigenetic Variations In The Mammalian Genome, Muhammad Badre Ekram

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Transcription of retrotransposons is usually repressed by DNA methylation, but a few elements partially escape this repression mechanism. I used two approaches as my dissertation study to identify unmethylated intracisternal A-particles (IAPs) and also to understand why some of IAPs escape DNA methylation-mediated repression. Firstly, I sought to catalog the retrotransposons (LTRs and LINEs only) in the mouse genome known as ‘epialleles’ which escape the repression variably even in individuals with an identical genome sequence. Using bioinformatic approaches, 143 candidate epialleles were first identified based on their promoter activity and association with active histone modification marks. Detailed methylation analyses suggested …

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Treatment Integrity Failures Matched To Behavioral Function, Joanna Elizabeth Lomas Mevers Jan 2013

Treatment Integrity Failures Matched To Behavioral Function, Joanna Elizabeth Lomas Mevers

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Prior research on treatment integrity has focused on either the lack of measurement of the independent variable (Peterson, Homer & Wonderlich, 1982; Gresham, Gansle & Noel, 1993; Wheeler, Baggett, Fox & Blevins, 2006; McIntyre, Gresham, DiGennaro & Reed, 2007; Sanetti, Gritter & Dobey, 2011) or on methods to increase overall levels of treatment integrity(Witt, Noell, LaFleur & Mortenson, 1997; Noell, Witt, Gilbertson, Ranier & Freeland,1997; Noell et al., 2005). Yet little research has been devoted to understanding the effectiveness of common interventions when those interventions are implemented with less than perfect integrity. The current investigation evaluated the effectiveness of using …

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