Digital Commons Network^™

The Influence Of Soil Properties On Marsh Edge Erosion, Cody Lee Johnson

LSU Master's Theses

Coastal Louisiana exhibits some of the highest rates of land conversion to open water in the world. This is most apparent in Terrebonne Bay, Barataria Bay, and Breton Sound (Couvillion et. al, 2011). The hypothesis is made that locally generated wind waves are responsible for the observed land loss. Recent research has attempted to relate the marsh edge erosion rate to wave energy flux density. Under the appropriate assumptions, this relationship is modeled reasonably well by a linear relationship between erosion rate and wave energy flux. Such a model is a valuable tool for coastal resource management. A deficiency of …

Contemporary Perspectives On Wrongful Conviction: An Introduction To The 2016 Innocence Network Conference, San Antonio, Texas, Gwen Jordan, Aliza B. Kaplan, Valena Beety, Keith A. Findley

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Innocent people have been convicted of crimes they did not commit throughout history. The exact number of wrongful convictions is unknowable. In 2014, however, the National Academy of Sciences (“NAS”) released a study of the cases of criminal defendants who were convicted and sentenced to death and concluded that 4.1% were wrongfully convicted. The researchers explained that “this is a conservative estimate of the proportion of false conviction among death sentences in the United States.” According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1,561,500 adults were incarcerated in federal prisons, state prisons, and county jails in 2014, …

Effect Of Two-Year Caloric Restriction On Bone Metabolism And Bone Mineral Density In Non-Obese Younger Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Dt Villareal, L Fontana, Sk Das, Et Al.

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Although caloric restriction (CR) could delay biologic aging in humans, it is unclear if this would occur at the cost of significant bone loss. We evaluated the effect of prolonged CR on bone metabolism and bone mineral density (BMD) in healthy younger adults. Two-hundred eighteen non-obese (body mass index [BMI] 25.1?±?1.7?kg/m(2) ), younger (age 37.9?±?7.2 years) adults were randomly assigned to 25% CR (CR group, n?=?143) or ad libitum (AL group, n?=?75) for 2 years. Main outcomes were BMD and markers of bone turnover. Other outcomes included body composition, bone-active hormones, nutrient intake, and physical activity. Body weight (-7.5?±?0.4 versus …

Geospatial Analysis Of Food Environment Demonstrates Associations With Gestational Diabetes, Mk Kahr, Ma Suter, J Ballas, Sm Monga, W Lee, M Hu, Cd Shope, A Chesnokova, L Krannich, En Griffin, J Mastrobattista, Ga Dildy, Sl Strehlow, R Ramphul, Et Al.

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of most common complications of pregnancy, with incidence rates varying by maternal age, race/ethnicity, obesity, parity, and family history. Given its increasing prevalence in recent decades, covariant environmental and sociodemographic factors may be additional determinants of GDM occurrence. OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized that environmental risk factors, in particular measures of the food environment, may be a diabetes contributor. We employed geospatial modeling in a populous US county to characterize the association of the relative availability of fast food restaurants and supermarkets to GDM. STUDY DESIGN: Utilizing a perinatal database with >4900 encoded antenatal and …

Lawyers, Power, And Strategic Expertise, Colleen F. Shanahan, Anna Carpenter, Alyx Mark

Articles, Chapters in Books and Other Contributions to Scholarly Works

This empirical study analyzes what the parties and lawyers described above experience – a party’s power, representation, and the strategic expertise they bring to a dispute. These factors clarify how representation may solve the access to justice crisis for low-income Americans. We find that a representative helps most parties most of the time, but the representation on the other side of the dispute and the representative’s strategic expertise are also significant factors for understanding representation for civil litigants. This study analyzes a database of 1,700 unemployment insurance appeals in the District of Columbia over a two-year period, the broadest and …

Obesity Management: Clinical Review And Update Of The Pharmacologic Treatment Options, Raymond A. Plodkowski, Megan E. Mcgarvey, Keith Reisinger-Kindle, Bradley Kramer, Erik Nelson, Jennifer Lee, Quang T. Nguyen

College of Osteopathic Medicine (TUN) Publications and Research

The toolbox of medications available for medical weight management is more robust than ever and includes a wide variety of mechanisms of actions and options for patients.

Can A Little Representation Be A Dangerous Thing?, Colleen F. Shanahan, Anna E. Carpenter, Alyx Mark

Articles, Chapters in Books and Other Contributions to Scholarly Works

Access to justice interventions that provide a little representation, including nonlawyer representation and various forms of limited legal services, may be valuable solutions for low- and middle-income Americans. However, a thoughtful approach to improving access to justice efforts should recognize that a little representation may have risks. In particular, one potential risk of a little representation is that while it provides assistance with a discrete legal need in a specific moment, the nature of the assistance is incompatible with challenging the law. As a result, individual litigants do not have the benefit of legal challenges in their own cases, and …

Federal Anti-Sanctuary Law: A Failed Approach To Immigration And A Poor Substitute For Real Reform, Elizabeth Mccormick

Articles, Chapters in Books and Other Contributions to Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Fiduciary Political Theory: A Critique, Ethan Leib, Stephen Galoob

Articles, Chapters in Books and Other Contributions to Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

The Uncoordinated Public Domain, Robert Spoo

Articles, Chapters in Books and Other Contributions to Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Why Is Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation Difficult To Prevent And Treat: Potential Roles Of Unrecognized Magnesium Deficiency And Release Of Ceramide And Platelet-Activating Factor, Burton M. Altura, Nilank C. Shah, Gatha J. Shah, Jose Luis Perez-Albela, Bella T. Altura

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (Middletown) Publications and Research

Heart failure is a major cause of morbidity and mortality whose costs impose staggering health-care costs and often lengthy hospitalizations. Post-operative atrial fibrillation (POAF) represents a leading cause for heart failure, particularly after cardiac and lung surgeries. Although PAOF is a common cardiac arrhythmia, it is impossible to predict. As the worldwide population is aging, the incidence and prevalence of PAOF is growing. Identifying mechanisms for PAOF is attracting a considerable amount of research with no agreement on the mechanism(s). Our research on the heart and cardiovascular system, over the past 50-plus years, leads us to believe that major causes …

Thermoelectric Properties Of Novel Layered Transition-Metal Compounds, Zhenyu Diao

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is designed to search for new good thermoelectric materials. Considering that both the low dimensionality and high spin entropy are in favor of thermoelectric performance, we focused on several layered transition-metal compounds including Bi2Sr2Co2O9-δ, Sr3(Ru1-xMnx)2O7, BaMn2Sb2 and Ba2Mn3Sb2O2. By investigating their structural, electrical and thermal transport, and magnetic properties, we discuss the relationship between structure, thermoelectric, and magnetic properties in these materials. For Bi2Sr2Co2O9-δ, both single crystal and thin film forms were studied. Among all films, the film grown 675 ℃ has the best power factor (S2/ρ, where S is Seebeck coefficient and ρ is electrical resistivity), which …

The Counter-Clerks Of Justice Scalia, Ian Samuel

Articles by Maurer Faculty

“So, what are you going to do when you’re done here?”

That’s what he asked me first. I had just sat down in his chambers, on a big, overstuffed leather couch. It was a day in early April, and I’d spent my last few minutes sitting across the street in a park, shuffling through the index cards I’d been using for weeks to prepare. The cards were organized by topic, each with a few bullet points to remind me of what the man across from me thought about every subject on which he’d had an opinion over the last quarter-century. …

Structure And Functional Potential Of Microbial Communities In Subglacial Lake Whillans And At The Ross Ice Shelf Grounding Zone, West Antarctica, Amanda Marie Achberger

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The abundance of liquid water found beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) is thought to provide a suitable habitat for microbial life. However, the thick ice sheet has posed a significant obstacle to accessing this isolated system and as a consequence, little data exists to infer ecosystem processes occurring beneath ice sheets. To address this deficit, data generated through 16S rRNA (genes and molecules) and metagenomic sequencing was used to evaluate the diversity and potential metabolic function of communities inhabiting Subglacial Lake Whillans (SLW) and the ocean basin into which it discharges (Whillans Ice Stream grounding zone; WIS-GZ). The analysis …

Development Of A Biosensor System To Detect Bacteria In Food Systems, Luis Alonso Alfaro Sanabria

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The development of biosensors may assist for the on-site detection of foodborne pathogens. The overall goal of this study was to develop a biosensor system for detecting Listeria innocua (non-pathogenic surrogate bacteria used as a model for pathogenic Listeria monocytogenes) in food systems. The study was divided into three main parts: (1) development of a sample collection and interface system for Listeria innocua from food samples, (2) development of a sample concentration system for the collected bacteria prior detection, and (3) development of a detection system based on a carbon nanotube potentiometric biosensor for a quantitative detection of Listeria innocua. …

The Multidimensional Bullying Victimization Scale: Development And Validation, Shannon Marie Harbin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

One in three middle and high school students are victims of bullying (National Educational Association, 2012). The prevalence of bullying has increased over the past 10 years by approximately 25% (Nation Center of Education Statistics, 2013) and is now considered a public health concern. Published measures of bullying lack breadth and/or psychometric support. The present study created a psychometrically sound measure assessing bully victimization in adolescents. This measure examines three dimensions of bullying: direct, indirect, and evaluative. Items were generated based on information collected from student focus groups, as well as previously published measures and themes within recently published literature. …

Characterization Of Xylella Fastidiosa In Rabbiteye Blueberry, Mary Helen Ferguson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Xylella fastidiosa colonizes the xylem of a wide range of plants and causes symptoms in many of them. It was of interest to determine how widespread X. fastidiosa was and what its potential impact might be in rabbiteye blueberry. X. fastidiosa was detected from two of 17 Louisiana orchards from which samples were collected. A yield study was conducted at one of these orchards, and mean yields of X. fastidiosa-positive plants were 55% and 62% less than those of X. fastidiosa-negative plants in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Average berry weight was also lower in X. fastidiosa-positive plants. However, plants that …

Design, Synthesis And Biological Applications Of Polypeptoids And Boron Dipyrromethenes, Sunting Xuan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The dissertation is about the design, synthesis and biological applications of polypeptoids and boron dipyrromethenes (BODIPYs). The dissertation is divided into seven chapters reporting various aspects of the background to my field of study and the results obtained during my PhD program. Chapter 1 is a concise overview of the fundamental concepts of polypeptoids and hydrogels, as well as their recent developments on synthetic strategies, property investigations, and biological applications in different fields. Chapter 2 presents the design, synthesis and potential application as tissue engineering scaffold of thermoreversible ABC polypeptoid hydrogels. A series of ABC copolypeptoids were synthesized and their …

Eastern Oyster Physiological Responses To Acute And Chronic Exposure To Suspended Sediments, Stephanie Bernasconi

LSU Master's Theses

Louisiana estuaries provide habitat for some of the most productive population of the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica in the Gulf of Mexico. Coastal alterations, including changes in river flow of the Mississippi River, sediment diversions, and climate change, are likely to impact areas supporting oyster production. Although oysters in Louisiana already experience periods of high total suspended sediment, these coastal alterations may increase duration, frequency, and concentration of high suspended sediment concentrations over oyster grounds, which could have significantly impact oyster physiology and production by affecting basic physiological functions of oysters. In this study, we measured effects of acute (1 …

Control, Care, And Stress: Parenting's Effect On Child Internalizing Symptoms, Maysa Kaskas

LSU Master's Theses

Theoretical models of childhood psychopathology suggest that the parent-child relationship serves an influential role in the development and maintenance of internalizing disorders such as anxiety and depression. However, there is a great deal of inconsistency in the research literature on the predictive power of parenting variables such as parental control and parental care. Furthermore, these parenting variables are often poorly defined and inconsistently operationalized across studies, hampering interpretation of results and limiting conclusions on the strength of the effect. Additionally, few studies have examined the role of parenting with careful attention to moderators. In order to investigate these problems, 189 …

Policies Of Loss: Coastal Erosion And The Struggle To Save Louisiana's Wetlands, Rebecca B. Costa

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Since the 1930s, Louisiana has lost approximately 1,800 square miles of land due to the subsidence of the state’s coastal wetlands. By the early 1970s, public officials and private citizens were starting to become aware of the crisis on the coast, and a broad agreement developed among state and federal representatives that action was needed to address the problem. Over the course of nearly forty years, policymakers in Louisiana and Washington, D.C., implemented a series of laws and regulations meant to protect vulnerable ecosystems like the state’s wetlands. In the 1980s, officials also started crafting policies to help restore Louisiana’s …

A Statistical, Data-Driven Assessment Of Climate Extremes And Trends For The Continental U.S., Xinbo Huang

LSU Master's Theses

Climate extremes are meteorological events that can have significant impacts on human and natural systems. Weather hazards, such as heat waves, drought, heavy thunderstorms, floods, hurricanes, occur frequently, and are a threat to human lives and property. Climate data observations spanning over 100 years are an important asset in understanding climate extremes and trends. This research uses daily climate data observations from more than 3000 climate stations in the continental U.S. to assess the climate trends and extremes, including temperature, precipitation, and snowfall. The climate data measurement sites were grouped by climate divisions and each climate division was statistically assessed …

Treatment Of Pasireotide Lar-Associated Hyperglycemia In A Patient With Acromegaly, Cheryl Rosenfeld

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (Middletown) Publications and Research

Objective: Hyperglycemia was noted in pasireotide long-acting release (PAS LAR}-treated patients with acromegaly during clinical trials. We describe a clinical approach to hyperglycemia in a patient with acromegaly and diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2) during PAS LAR initiation and treatment.

Methods: Clinical response to PAS LAR, including self­ monitored blood glucose (SMBG) levels, HbA1c, IGF-1, and adverse effects, was reported. Case Presentation: A 44-year-old male was referred for consultation in 2007 owing to uncontrolled DM2 despite maximum metformin (MET) dose. Testing led to a biochemical diagnosis of acromegaly. An 8-mm pituitary adenoma was seen on MRI. Transsphenoidal pituitary adenoma …

Resonant Inductive Coupling As A Potential Means For Wireless Power Transfer To Printed Spiral Coil, Mohammad Haerinia, Ebrahim S. Afjei

Electrical Engineering Student Publications

This paper proposes an inductive coupled wireless power transfer system that analyses the relationship between induced voltage and distance of resonating inductance in a printed circuit spiral coils. The resonant frequency produced by the circuit model of the proposed receiving and transmitting coils are analysed by simulation and laboratory experiment. The outcome of the two results are compared to verify the validity of the proposed inductive coupling system. Experimental measurements are consistent with simulations over a range of frequencies spanning the resonance.

Diversity And Felicity: Hobbes's Science Of Human Flourishing, Ericka L. Tucker

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Spiritual Violence, Gender, And Sexuality: Implications For Seeking And Dwelling Among Some Catholic Women And Lgbt Catholics, Theresa W. Tobin

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Seekers And Dwellers: Some Critical Reflections On Charles Taylor’S Account Of Identity, James B. South

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Construct Validity Of The Behavioral Rating Inventory Of Executive Function (Brief): Comparing Variance Associated With Common Method Versus Similar Constructs, Lauren K. Hoefling

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) is a teacher and parent questionnaire designed to measure executive functioning (EF). Due to the role of EF in ADHD, the BRIEF is often used in assessment of ADHD. The purpose of the current study was to explore the convergence and divergence of the BRIEF with a performance-based measure of EF, behavior rating scales, an observational measure of child behavior during testing, and longer-term academic outcomes. The current study used archival data representing 105 children referred to an ADHD evaluation clinic. It was hypothesized that the BRIEF would be significantly correlated with …

Improvisational Unionism, Michael M. Oswalt

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Recent fights for a $15-an-hour minimum wage at Walmart and in the fast-food industry have interested academics, captivated the press, and energized the public. For good reason. The campaigns upend conventional wisdom about what unions do (help workers win collective bargaining rights) and why they do it (build the membership). Scattered flash strikes for seemingly impossible or idiosyncratic goals on no obvious timeline have shattered that mold. Though much has already been said about these developments, scholarship has yet to provide a rigorous theoretical frame to categorize and explain the new form of activism. This Article argues that improvisation — …

Left Behind: The Dying Principle Of Family Reunification Under Immigration Law, Anita Maddali

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

A key underpinning of modern U.S. immigration law is family reunification, but in practice it can privilege certain families and certain members within families. Drawing on legislative history, this Article examines the origins and objectives of the principle of family reunification in immigration law and relies on legal scholarship and sociological and anthropological research to reveal how contemporary immigration law and policy has diluted the principle for many families — particularly those who do not fit the dominant nuclear family model, those classified as unskilled, and families from oversubscribed countries — and members within families. It explores the ways in …