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2014

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Built Environment And Risk Of Obesity In The United States: A Multilevel Modeling Approach, Yanqing Xu Jan 2014

Built Environment And Risk Of Obesity In The United States: A Multilevel Modeling Approach, Yanqing Xu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation provides a series of exploratory analyses of the relationship between built environment and obesity by using multiple data sets and employing the state-of-art Geographic Information Systems methods. Several built environment factors including street connectivity, walkability and food environment, are for the first time measured across 48 contiguous states of the U.S., built from a fine geographic scale such as the census tract level. Based on the nationwide BRFSS data, the first study used the Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) model to analyze the obesity rates at the county level. The model results reveal that overall obesity rates are negatively …

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Particle Formation In Ambient Mass Spectrometry, Thabiso Musapelo Jan 2014

Particle Formation In Ambient Mass Spectrometry, Thabiso Musapelo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A particle sizing system was developed that couples a light scattering particle sizer with a differential mobility analyzer for particle detection and elucidation with the capability for measuring particle sizes in the range of 10 nm to 20 μm. The particle sizing system was used to investigate particle formation that is associated with several methods of atmospheric pressure ion formation used in mass spectrometry: atmospheric pressure matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) and inlet ionization. The methods for particle formation were 1) ultraviolet (UV) laser ablation, 2) infrared (IR) laser ablation, and 3) shock-generated particle formation. Particles formed by UV laser …

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“Kill That Snake": Anti-Era Women And The Battle Over The Equal Rights Amendment In Louisiana, 1972-1982, Yvonne Brown Jan 2014

“Kill That Snake": Anti-Era Women And The Battle Over The Equal Rights Amendment In Louisiana, 1972-1982, Yvonne Brown

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) ratification battle in Louisiana and the women who helped defeat it. The study emphasizes the role of anti-ERA women in the amendment’s defeat, but the views of pro-ERA women are also featured. Historical evidence shows that ERA advocates underestimated anti-ERA women. They dismissed anti-ERA women as either ignorant of their oppression or as pawns of male interests. This study challenges the idea that female ERA opponents in Louisiana behaved irrationally, worked against their own interests, or acted at the behest of men. Organized women led in opposition to the ERA in Louisiana. …

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Vocal Fold Analysis From High Speed Videoendoscopic Data, Jing Chen Jan 2014

Vocal Fold Analysis From High Speed Videoendoscopic Data, Jing Chen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

High speed videoendoscopy (HSV) of the larynx far surpasses the limits of videostroboscopy in evaluating the vocal fold vibratory behavior by providing much higher frame rate. HSV enables the visualization of vocal fold vibratory pattern within an actual glottic cycle. This very detailed infor-mation on vocal fold vibratory characteristics could provide valuable information for the assessment of vocal fold vibratory function in disordered voices and the treatments effects of the behavioral, medical and surgical treatment procedures. In this work, we aim at addressing the problem of classi-fying voice disorders with varying etiology by following four steps described shortly. Our method-ology …

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Species Composition And Spatial Ecology Of Amazonian Understory Mixed-Species Flocks In A Fragmented Landscape, Karl Mokross Jan 2014

Species Composition And Spatial Ecology Of Amazonian Understory Mixed-Species Flocks In A Fragmented Landscape, Karl Mokross

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

With the ongoing advance of the agricultural frontier in the Amazon basin, it is inevitable that heterogeneous landscapes will play a key role in conservation. These landscapes are mostly composed of patchworks of small forest fragments, secondary forests and roads. Conservation, however must take species interactions into consideration as they play a pivotal part the maintenance of several biological processes in the tropics. One of the most conspicuous interspecific interactions are seen in mixed-species flocks of birds, which in the Amazon, represent one of the best organized systems of bird aggregations. In this research, I assess how flock spatial behavior …

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Exploring The Impact Of The Common Core State Standards Implementation Through The Eyes Of Teachers', Parents', And Administrators' Beliefs And Attitudes Related To Reading Instruction, Sheryl Coglaiti Jan 2014

Exploring The Impact Of The Common Core State Standards Implementation Through The Eyes Of Teachers', Parents', And Administrators' Beliefs And Attitudes Related To Reading Instruction, Sheryl Coglaiti

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Belief(s) and attitude(s) about education, moreover reading, can shape the way in which we respond to pressures to initiate instructional changes in schools and society. Recently, an enormous reform effort, known as the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is underway in the nation. The implementation plays a critical role in how the CCSS will be received. In light of being received, how will they impact teachers’, parents’, and administrators’ belief(s) and/or attitude(s) related to reading? According to research, there is a need to consider teachers’, parents’, and administrators’ belief(s) and/or attitude(s) about reading, which may play a role in the …

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Raptivism: The Act Of Hip Hop’S Counterpublic Sphere Forming Into A Social Movement To Seize Its Political Opportunities, Matthew C. Maddex Jan 2014

Raptivism: The Act Of Hip Hop’S Counterpublic Sphere Forming Into A Social Movement To Seize Its Political Opportunities, Matthew C. Maddex

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study explores recent attempts by the hip hop community to be recognized in the mainstream political sphere and to have its concerns acknowledged and addressed. This project examines how the scholarship of hip hop (musicology), rhetoric (counterpublic spheres), politics and social movement theory intertwine, and to demonstrate how hip hop’s community can emerge as a counterpublic sphere that could become a social movement capable of altering the current cultural and political landscape in the United States. Although hip hop as a culture consists of four major elements: breakdancing, graffiti art, deejaying, and rapping, this study focuses on rappers and …

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Long Life Electrochemical Diodes For Continuous Electrowetting, Mehdi Khodayari, Ben Hahne, Nathan B. Crane Jan 2014

Long Life Electrochemical Diodes For Continuous Electrowetting, Mehdi Khodayari, Ben Hahne, Nathan B. Crane

Faculty Publications

The rate of electrochemical reactions in some systems varies with the polarity of the overpotential on the working electrode, introducing diode-like behavior at the electrode/electrolyte interface. However, with repeated bipolar cycling, the electrochemical current damages the electrodes. We have connected electrochemical diodes in series with opposing polarities to reduce the diode current while charging a capacitive circuit. We have previously used this capacitive circuit arrangement to actuate aqueous droplets continuously using the electrowetting (EW) effect. In this study, the performance of electrochemical diodes under repeated voltage cycles is investigated. Aluminum and titanium electrodes in contact with three electrolyte solutions (0.1 …

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Damage Prediction Of Low-Rise Buildings Under Hurricane Winds, Fang Pan Jan 2014

Damage Prediction Of Low-Rise Buildings Under Hurricane Winds, Fang Pan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Low-rise buildings are defined as the buildings with a mean roof height less than the least horizontal dimension and less than 18.3 m in ASCE 7-10. They represent the majority of commercial, residential, and industrial buildings. Approximate 90% of the existing low-rise residential buildings are constructed as wood light-frame buildings that are not fully engineered and thus more vulnerable to extreme wind pressures, wind borne debris and rain water intrusion. The resulting hurricane-induced economic loss is primarily attributed to the insufficient performance of building envelope instead of the catastrophic failure of their main structural system for Category 1 to 4 …

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Alternative Teacher Certification: The Politics, The Preparation, And The Promise Of A Quality Education, Yasheka Adams Jan 2014

Alternative Teacher Certification: The Politics, The Preparation, And The Promise Of A Quality Education, Yasheka Adams

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Alternative routes to teacher certification have increasingly gained popularity since the early 1980s. This increased attention is due to added focus on teacher quality and quantity. By participating in an alternative certification program, candidates are afforded the opportunity to obtain full teacher certification in an abbreviated time period. Completers of alternative certification programs are tasked with the same responsibilities as traditionally certified teachers. A substantial number of adults are making the decision to transition into the dynamic world of teaching. There are numerous debates regarding the efficacy of alternative pathways. There is a growing body of evidence supporting the belief …

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Numerical Investigation Of Cryopreserved Zebrafish Sperm Cell Activation In Microchannels, Thomas Foster Scherr Jan 2014

Numerical Investigation Of Cryopreserved Zebrafish Sperm Cell Activation In Microchannels, Thomas Foster Scherr

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This aim of this research project is to probe the activation process of zebrafish spermatozoa. Zebrafish are a model species for biological engineering applications, and the cryopreservation of their reproductive cells allows for inexpensive cataloging and maintenance of valuable biological material. Evaluation of cryopreservation protocols for aquatic sperm cells is typically accomplished by motility analysis after subjecting cells to a cryopreservation treatment. In zebrafish sperm cells, motility is initiated when cells come into contact with a hypo-osmotic environment. Subsequent activation analysis is currently done manually and brings with it an inherent difficulty and error. This process is slow and not …

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The Effects Of Asymmetric Micro Ratchets On Pool Boiling Performance, Lance Austin Brumfield Jan 2014

The Effects Of Asymmetric Micro Ratchets On Pool Boiling Performance, Lance Austin Brumfield

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Nucleate boiling is an attractive method for achieving high heat flux at low superheat temperatures. It is frequently used for industrial applications such as heat exchangers and is being considered to cool advanced central processing units (CPU) which produce heat fluxes on the order of 1 MW/m2 and are becoming increasingly less efficient to cool via forced conduction of air. The issue with implementing nucleate boiling as a cooling mechanism lies in the difficulty of quantifying the numerous and complex mechanisms which control the process. A comprehensive nucleate boiling model has yet to be formulated and will be required in …

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Alberto Ginastera's Twelve American Preludes : Descriptive Analysis And Performer's Guide, Alejandra Saez Jan 2014

Alberto Ginastera's Twelve American Preludes : Descriptive Analysis And Performer's Guide, Alejandra Saez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This monograph presents a detailed descriptive analysis and performer’s guide for Alberto Ginastera’s Twelve American Preludes Op.12. The author emphasizes the study of specific compositional and pianistic techniques for the performer who wishes to develop a deeper understanding of this remarkable twentieth century work. Equally important is the attempt to develop a greater appreciation of the importance and contributions of one Argentina’s greatest composers.

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Synthesis, Characterization, And Evaluation Of Novel Bodipy Dyes With Theranostic Applications, Jaime Suzanne Hayes Jan 2014

Synthesis, Characterization, And Evaluation Of Novel Bodipy Dyes With Theranostic Applications, Jaime Suzanne Hayes

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) dyes, have garnered much attention in recent decades due to their enticing photophysical properties and their bioimaging applicability. Despite the progression of this field, the development of BODIPY based anti-cancer agents and radioimaging dyes has seen little progress. The utilization of fluorescent BODIPYs as photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy, and as boron delivery agents for boron neutron capture therapy offers promise as theranostic agents. Additionally, BODIPY derivatives that absorb and emit in the near-IR regions of the electromagnetic spectrum and bear radioisotopes suitable for radioimaging techniques are of great interest. Chapter 1 is a concise overview of the …

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Addressing The Land Loss-Fish Production Paradox, Kristy A. Lewis Jan 2014

Addressing The Land Loss-Fish Production Paradox, Kristy A. Lewis

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Saltmarsh loss is occurring at high rates in Louisiana (LA), but understanding the impacts that marsh degradation has had on historical abundance of estuarine nekton in Barataria Bay, LA is lacking. I first examined the differences between fishery independent and fishery dependent data as indices of relative abundance. Previous studies used landings data to evaluate the importance of marsh habitat (e.g. distance of marsh edge and area of intertidal marsh) to fisheries production, but for most species, landings and survey data showed differing patterns of abundance through time. These findings emphasize the importance of using survey data (not landings data) …

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Shadow Banking, Financial Risk, And Regulation In China And Other Developing Countries, Steven L. Schwarcz Jan 2014

Shadow Banking, Financial Risk, And Regulation In China And Other Developing Countries, Steven L. Schwarcz

Faculty Scholarship

Shadow banking is growing rapidly in a number of developing countries, including China where it recently was estimated at around 20 trillion yuan (which is approximately a third the size of China's bank-lending market).' The shadow banking sector in these countries is typically weakly regulated, yet the growth of the sector is thought to pose risks to financial stability. Additional regulation therefore may be needed. Any such regulation, however, should attempt to strike a balance between reducing that risk and preserving shadow banking as an important channel of alternative funding to developing economies, particularly in the face of significant retrenchment …

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The New “Human Equity” Transactions, Shu-Yi Oei, Diane M. Ring Jan 2014

The New “Human Equity” Transactions, Shu-Yi Oei, Diane M. Ring

Faculty Scholarship

In the past year, a number of new financial transactions (such as the Fantex, Upstart and Pave transactions) have emerged that allow individuals to raise funds by offering a percentage interest in their future earnings. Unlike traditional lending arrangements, these structures essentially enable the funding provider to take a percentage of the recipient’s future return on their human capital for a specified time period, effectively getting the upside if earnings are higher and the downside risk if earnings are lower than anticipated. Such transactions represent a significant departure from traditional forms of lending and pose serious questions for the legal …

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Experimental Tests Of Intellectual Property Laws' Creativity Thresholds, Christopher Buccafusco, Zachary C. Burns, Jeanne C. Fromer, Christopher Jon Sprigman Jan 2014

Experimental Tests Of Intellectual Property Laws' Creativity Thresholds, Christopher Buccafusco, Zachary C. Burns, Jeanne C. Fromer, Christopher Jon Sprigman

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

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Influence Of Sprigging And Nitrogen Rates On 'Celebration' Bermudagrass Establishment, Matthew Turner Jan 2014

Influence Of Sprigging And Nitrogen Rates On 'Celebration' Bermudagrass Establishment, Matthew Turner

LSU Master's Theses

Bermudagrass is grown on many athletic surfaces in the southern United States because of its aesthetics, vigorous growth, and excellent wear and stress tolerances. Establishment of bermudagrass vegetatively from sprigs provides an economical propagation method for large-acreage sites. During sprig establishment, irrigation and N are often applied at high application rates and/or frequencies to accelerate plant growth for faster, denser canopy coverage. Conventional wisdom suggests high rates of N applied more frequently accelerates bermudagrass growth to shorten the establishment duration for playability or susceptibility to erosion. However, during the establishment phase, low initial plant densities, frequent irrigation application, and high …

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The Effect Of Innovation On Corporate Tax Avoidance, Peng Guo Jan 2014

The Effect Of Innovation On Corporate Tax Avoidance, Peng Guo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A large body of literature examines the determinants of corporate tax avoidance. In this paper I examine a new determinant of tax avoidance: innovation. Firms with more innovation generate more patents. Due to information asymmetry between the managers of the firm and tax authorities, firms have considerable discretion in choosing which country the patent revenue is generated in. In this study, I predict that firms with more patents will choose to attribute the revenue from those patents to countries with low tax rates. Using a relatively new data source which contains data on patents, I find evidence consistent with my …

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Efficient Indexing For Structured And Unstructured Data, Manish Madhukar Patil Jan 2014

Efficient Indexing For Structured And Unstructured Data, Manish Madhukar Patil

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The collection of digital data is growing at an exponential rate. Data originates from wide range of data sources such as text feeds, biological sequencers, internet traffic over routers, through sensors and many other sources. To mine intelligent information from these sources, users have to query the data. Indexing techniques aim to reduce the query time by preprocessing the data. Diversity of data sources in real world makes it imperative to develop application specific indexing solutions based on the data to be queried. Data can be structured i.e., relational tables or unstructured i.e., free text. Moreover, increasingly many applications need …

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Voting Rights Law And Policy In Transition, Guy-Uriel E. Charles, Luis E. Fuentes-Rohwer Jan 2014

Voting Rights Law And Policy In Transition, Guy-Uriel E. Charles, Luis E. Fuentes-Rohwer

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

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Single And Childfree! Reassessing Parental And Marital Status Discrimination, Trina Jones Jan 2014

Single And Childfree! Reassessing Parental And Marital Status Discrimination, Trina Jones

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

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Putting The Securities Laws To The Test: The Long-Standing Approach To Federal Securities Regulation Is Not Working, Elisabeth De Fontenay Jan 2014

Putting The Securities Laws To The Test: The Long-Standing Approach To Federal Securities Regulation Is Not Working, Elisabeth De Fontenay

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

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The Successes And Challenges For The European Court, Seen From The Outside, Laurence R. Helfer Jan 2014

The Successes And Challenges For The European Court, Seen From The Outside, Laurence R. Helfer

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

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Catalytic Active Site, Mechanistic And Kinetic Studies Of Dry (Co2) Reforming Of Methane Over Lanthanum Zirconate (La2zr2o7) Pyrochlores, Devendra Pakhare Jan 2014

Catalytic Active Site, Mechanistic And Kinetic Studies Of Dry (Co2) Reforming Of Methane Over Lanthanum Zirconate (La2zr2o7) Pyrochlores, Devendra Pakhare

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Dry (CO2) reforming of CH4 (DRM) produces commercially important synthesis gas (H2 and CO) with H2/CO ≤ 1, which can be used for synthesis of higher alkanes and oxygenates. DRM is highly endothermic and requires temperatures as high as 800°C-1000°C to attain high equilibrium conversions. A major problem associated with DRM is catalyst deactivation due to carbon deposition. Thus it is imperative that the catalyst used for DRM must resist deactivation due to sintering and carbon deposition. DRM is well studied in the literature over various catalysts, however, there is no literature, except the Ashcroft (1993) article, for DRM over …

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A Historical And Theoretical Look At The Percussion Ensemble Work 'October Mountain' By Alan Hovhaness, Joe Willie Moore Iii Jan 2014

A Historical And Theoretical Look At The Percussion Ensemble Work 'October Mountain' By Alan Hovhaness, Joe Willie Moore Iii

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

October Mountain (1942) is one of the standard early works written for the percussion ensemble. There has, however been little examination of the work theoretically. The primary focus of this document is to study the composer, Alan Hovhaness, the compositional structure of the piece, and to provide a guide for performance as well as a historical and theoretical reference for performers, conductors, and pedagogues in the field of percussion. My research included Hovhaness’s life, his compositional styles, and the influence of cultural identity on his compositions. This required the study of compositional techniques used by Hovhaness, particularly in his percussion …

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North American Lyme Borreliae: New Distributions And An Insight Into Borrelia Bissettii Infection, Immune Response And Transmission In A Murine Model, Brian Francis Leydet Jr Jan 2014

North American Lyme Borreliae: New Distributions And An Insight Into Borrelia Bissettii Infection, Immune Response And Transmission In A Murine Model, Brian Francis Leydet Jr

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Lyme borreliosis is an emergent threat to human health. It is estimated that 300,000 cases of Lyme disease are diagnosed annually in the United States. In recent years, non-traditional areas are starting to report more and more cases. While much research has gone into the tick and bacteria responsible for the disease, frequently new Borrelia species are being described and implicated in human illness. These species often go unstudied, and their threat to human health is not known. In the hopes of closing knowledge gaps on Lyme borreliosis in the US, we surveyed a non-endemic state, Louisiana, for Lyme Borrelia …

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Utilization Of Carbon Nanofibers Grown On Glass Microballoons (Nmbs) In Point-Of-Care Diagnostic Devices, Emmanuel Gikunoo Jan 2014

Utilization Of Carbon Nanofibers Grown On Glass Microballoons (Nmbs) In Point-Of-Care Diagnostic Devices, Emmanuel Gikunoo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The use of point-of-care (POC) diagnostic systems holds great promise for the early detection of various diseases. However, detection limits for commercially available POC systems have not been able to meet the lower cutoffs offered by the specialized laboratory testing methods. Research into the use of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) grown on glass microballoons in POC devices was studied. The growth of several millions of the CNFs on each microballoon (NMBs) presented a large surface area with high probability of capturing minute concentrations of biospecies. Functionalization of the NMBs with the carboxyl group needed for biospecies conjugation was achieved by air …

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The Evolutionary Dynamics Of Transcription Factors, Operators, And Their Target Genes Across Prokaryotes, Marc Del Grande Jan 2014

The Evolutionary Dynamics Of Transcription Factors, Operators, And Their Target Genes Across Prokaryotes, Marc Del Grande

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In prokaryotes, transcriptional regulation commonly involves a transcription factor (TF) binding to a particular conserved sequence of nucleotides (operator). Binding elicits a transcriptional response, either activation or repression. The evolution of gene regulation has been identified as a primary driver of species diversity, making it an important area of research. This work examined the dynamics of the interactions between TFs and operators, and TFs and their primary target genes in attempt to assess the rapid evolution of transcriptional regulatory networks (TRNs) across a diverse set of prokaryotes. Using software packages, operator sequences from Escherichia coli K12 were compared to every …

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