Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Intensity Modulated Bolus Electron Conformal Therapy (Im-Bect): Methods For Quality Assurance Of Prime Intensity Modulators And Evaluation Of Planned Im-Bect Dose Distributions, Andrew S. Mcguffey

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Purpose: Intensity-modulated bolus electron conformal therapy (IM-BECT) shapes homogeneous dose distributions to superficial, irregularly-shaped target volumes, avoiding nearby critical structures. This dissertation provides research useful for translating IM-BECT to the radiotherapy clinic by: (1) developing and testing a factory quality assurance (QA) method for fabricated Passive Radiotherapy Intensity Modulator for Electrons (PRIME) devices and (2) verifying an IM-BECT planning and delivery process using end-to-end tests.

Methods: The IM-BECT planning and delivery process determines beam parameters and treatment devices (cutout, bolus, PRIME device) using .decimal’s (Sanford, FL) ElectronRT (eRT) planning system; calculates dose using a pencil-beam redefinition algorithm modified for PRIME …

Reasoning The Voice: Toward A Diagnostic And Prescriptive Technique In The Teaching Of Singing, Carlos E. Santelli

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Voice pedagogy literature often draws a parallel between a doctor’s ability to diagnose illness and prescribe treatment, and a voice teacher’s ability to identify vocal obstacles and design solutions. The core of these parallel procedures lies in an ability to utilize critical reasoning skills within highly specific contexts. Medical literature describes this as “clinical reasoning” and has studied it as a learned process. Voice pedagogy literature has traditionally described this as an innate process which is solely developed through experience. This document broadly examines the ways in which medical literature has broken down clinical reasoning into specific cognitive processes and …

Design, Construction, And Testing Of Recombinant Dna-Based Vaccines For Protection Against Salmonella Enterica Subspecies Enterica Serovar Javiana, Ashley Edwards

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In the United States, Salmonella Javiana is among the top 5 most common nontyphoidal Salmonella serotypes, with a 325% increase in infection rate since 1970. Globally, nontyphoidal Salmonella leads to approximately 93.8 million illnesses and 155,000 deaths annually, with disproportionate impacts in developing countries. In the United States alone, these infections lead to over $4 billion in costs, the majority of which are attributed to those expenses incurred from mortalities. The zoonotic nature of nontyphoidal Salmonellae and their ability to survive on and within vegetation mean huge economic burden potential for various agricultural industries as well, especially since some of …

Regenerative Medicine For Tendon/Ligament Injuries: De Novo Equine Tendon/Ligament Neotissue Generation And Application, Takashi Taguchi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Tendon and ligament injuries are debilitating conditions across species. Poor regenerative capacities of these tissues limit restoration of original functions. The first study evaluated the effect of cellular administration on tendon/ligament injuries in horses using meta-analysis. The cellular administration was effective in restoring ultrasonographic echogenicity and increasing vascularity during early phase of healing. Additionally, it improved microstructural organization of healed tissue in terms of cellularity and fiber alignment. However, the study did not support its use for increasing rate of return to performance, expression/deposition of tendon-specific genes/proteins, or mechanical properties.

The findings led to the second study that engineered implantable …

Contribution Of The Microbiome On Reproductive Outcomes During Pregnancy, Kalie Beckers

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A series of translational comparative studies were performed to investigate the effects of the maternal microbiome on reproductive function and outcomes. With the launch of the human microbiome project in 2007, the next generation sequencing of microbiomes is booming. It is not only in the human medicine field, but also in veterinary species. This study specifically investigates the fecal microbiome in blood pressure high sublime 5 (BPH/5) mouse model that spontaneously develops preeclampsia (PE) and obesity. Additionally, the equine reproductive tract microbiome was explored and compared to microbiome of other host body sites. The BPH/5 mouse is a translational model …

Switch-Like Behavior Of Lysosomes And Vcp Supports Spermatocyte Health And Development In Drosophila, Tyler James Butsch

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Changes to societal norms, such as the educational, marital, and child-bearing expectations have coincided with significant increases in infertility worldwide. Surprisingly, male infertility is responsible for approximately half of all infertility cases worldwide. Thus, a better understanding of sperm development, and how it is affected by age, may permit the design and application of therapeutics to treat various cases male infertility. Here, I have found that lysosomes acidify as germ cells enter the spermatocyte stage. Once active, lysosomes turn over E-cadherin, and likely other proteins, to support plasma membrane stability. Notably, aging negatively impacts lysosome acidification, which can be reversed …

The Effect Of High Fraction Of Inspired Oxygen On Human Motor Learning Processes, Zheng Wang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Human motor learning processes are fundamental for our daily activities and can be adversely affected by neurologic conditions. Motor learning largely depends on successfully integrating cognitive and motor-related sensory information. A simple, easily accessible treatment that could enhance these learning processes would be exciting and clinically impactful. In this dissertation, we explore the effect of normobaric 100% oxygen treatment (NbOxTr) during different motor learning tasks and investigate the brain oxygenation changes during the process. In the visuomotor adaptation task (VMA), when participants adapted to a visual distortion between visual feedback and hand movements, participants with NbOxTr exhibited better movement planning …

Gis Automated Delineation And Analysis Of Cancer Service Areas In The United States, Changzhen Wang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Delineating a meaningful and reliable geographic unit pertaining to cancer care is essential in examining geographic variations in cancer care for better analysis, management, and planning. Public health researchers have devoted great efforts to defining various service areas, which; however, lack scientific rigor or are unrepresentative of the highly specialized cancer care markets, and their methods have become obsolete in the era of big data and high geo-computation. This study develops the “Spatially Constrained Leiden (ScLeiden)” method, a network community detection algorithm in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and applies it to delineate a series of coherent cancer service …

Individual Differences In The Criminogenic Effects Of Discrimination: An Exploration Of The Role Of Impulse Control And Callous-Unemotional Traits, Toni Walker

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The association between perceived discrimination and engagement in criminal offending has been well studied, especially in samples of minority (predominantly Black, Hispanic, and Latinx) adolescents. Several theories have been developed (Social Schematic Theory) and adapted (General Strain Theory) in an attempt to explain how harmful, discriminatory experiences may have an effect on an individual’s behavior. There may be variability in how an individual responds to perceived discrimination, however, but the moderating role of personality characteristics has not been explored. Impulse control and callous-unemotional (CU) traits are both established predictors of offending and may also relate to the mechanisms that theories …

Visuomotor Rotation Adaptation And Workspace Manipulation: A Behavioral And Cognitive Emphasis, Reuben N. Addison

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This is a three-study dissertation in which we aimed to broaden our knowledge of the mechanisms contributing to a 45° clockwise visuomotor adaptation by including variations in workspace. We provide behavioral and in one study physiological outcomes as evidence to support our conclusions. In the first experiment, we observed the adaptation of movement parameters such as pathlength, movement time, resultant velocity, and normalized jerk across groups trained with rotated visual feedback with both the left and right hands. Workspace location and hand differentially affected movement trajectory length. The group that practiced the task with their nondominant, left hand showed larger …

Evaluation Of Hippocampal Allostatic Load-Associated Factors In Animal Models Of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Relevance To Human Ptsd, Dennis Parker Kelley

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with elevated allostatic load, nearly double the risk for metabolic syndrome, reduced hippocampal volume, and contextual memory processing deficits. Emerging evidence suggests that these stress effects may predispose individuals to the development of PTSD, and there is a known relationship between chronic stress and metabolic dysfunction. In this work, we utilized two rat models of PTSD to explore these connections. We used an acute predator odor stressor to investigate the relationship between PTSD-like behaviors and mitochondrial dysfunction in the hippocampus of rats, and we observed that conditioned place avoidance was associated with reduced mitochondrial …

African American English-Speaking Children's Judgments Of Grammaticality: Effects Of Clinical Status And Grammatical Structures, Lori Elizabeth Vaughn

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

African American English (AAE)-speaking children’s ability to judge the grammaticality of sentences was evaluated by their clinical status and grammatical structure. The study originated from a need to understand more about the tense and agreement systems of AAE speakers with specific language impairment (SLI) relative to their typically developing (TD) AAE-speaking peers. Tense and agreement forms are typically excluded from the assessment and treatment of children who speak AAE in fear of misinterpreting a dialect difference as a language disorder. As a result, limited information exists about the tense and agreement systems of AAE-speaking children.

The data were archival and …

Social Marketing Campaigns To Promote Healthy Eating In Low-Income Louisiana Environments: A Mixed Methods Formative Assessment, Linda Fergus

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A healthy diet consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) is associated with reduced risk of obesity and chronic disease. Many people do not consume a healthy diet, especially those with limited resources. The purpose of this research was to study social marketing campaigns and message design factors that promote healthy eating and improved physical activity (PA) behaviors to low-income populations in Louisiana (LA) and to describe the attitudes, beliefs, and barriers of the rural, low-income LA population regarding healthy eating.

In a scoping literature review, an evidence map of publications regarding social marketing campaigns that aim to promote …

The Emergence Of The Legitimacy Of Religious Healing Knowledge In Taiwan, Wei-Cheng Chiu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation investigates how religious healing knowledge has been defined and used by scholars, physicians, and New Agers and how religious healing knowledge emerged as a legitimate area of knowledge in Taiwan. The key position of religious healing knowledge within the entanglement between religion and spirituality is also examined. After the martial law was lifted in 1987, Taiwan’s society had rapidly diversified, and its religions were at the transition point between the old and the new. Meanwhile, the new spirituality culture was introduced into Taiwan in the 1980s and got popular in the 1990s, and it inherited the trend of …

Dependability And Reliability Of The Direct Behavior Rating Classroom Management Forms, Kaitlin Angela Cassidy

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Classroom management skills are evidence-based strategies used to maintain a positive and productive learning environment. Utilizing classroom management strategies has been proven effective; however, limited tools are available for assessing such skills and further assessment of the reliability and dependability of such measures is needed. The Direct Behavior Rating – Classroom Management (DBR-CM) forms are measures for assessing classroom management and come in three forms: external rater (DBR-CM ER), self-report (DBR-CM SR), and student rater (DBR-CM ST). This study extended on the information obtained from the Cassidy (2018) study that examined the DBR-CM ER form. The study evaluated the inter-observer …

The Relationship Between Emotion Regulation And Substance Use Treatment Attrition, Melanie Ruth Roys

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Severe substance use disorders are characterized by chronic cycles of relapse; however, individuals who complete substance use treatment are less likely to experience relapse. Research has focused on trying to identify factors that predict treatment dropout to help improve treatment outcomes. Most of this research has focused on examining demographic and patient-specific factors, with little success in reliably predicting treatment attrition. There has been less focus on investigating transdiagnostic factors that span across discrete psychological diagnoses and demographics. The present study sought to determine if self-report and behavioral measures related to emotion regulation predicted inpatient substance use treatment dropout above …

Embryo Development And Reproductive Parameters Of Aluteal Cycles In Mares, Chun Kuen Mak

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Progestagen is crucial for regulating early pregnancy in most mammalian species, including the horse. This dissertation research sought to elucidate the effect of endogenous and exogenous progestagens on the early development of equine embryos and to characterize reproductive parameters in the subsequent estrus using a prostaglandin F_2α-induced hypoluteal environment, namely the aluteal pregnancy model. The first chapter reviewed the life cycle of the corpus luteum and its progesterone secretory function in mares. The existing literature supports the notion that the early developing corpus luteum is responsive to prostaglandin F_2α, and complete luteolysis or prevention of luteal …

Zein And Lignin-Based Nanoparticles As Delivery Systems: Pesticide Release And Nanoparticle Health Impact On Soybean Plants, Fallon Polette Salinas Gonzalez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research examined the effect of biodegradable, polymeric, lignin-based nanoparticles (LNPs, 113.8±3.4, negatively charged) and zein nanoparticles (ZNP, 141.6±3.9, positively charged) on soybean plant health. The LNPs were synthesized from lignin, covalently linked to poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid by emulsion evaporation. ZNPs were synthesized by nanoprecipitation. Soybeans grown hydroponically were treated with three concentrations (0.02, 0.2, and 2 mg/ml) of NPs at 28 days after germination. The effect of ZNPs and LNPs on plant health was determined through analysis of root and stem length, chlorophyll concentration, dry biomass of roots and stem, as well as carbon, nitrogen, and micronutrient absorption after 1, …

Sexually Dimorphic Oxytocin Receptor-Expressing Neurons In The Anteroventral Periventricular Nucleus Regulates Maternal Behavior, Kaustubh Sharma

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The neurohypophysial hormone oxytocin is involved in the regulation of social behaviors, including social recognition, pair bonding, and sex-specific parental behaviors in a variety of species. Oxytocin triggers these social behaviors by binding to oxytocin receptors (OXTR) in various parts of the brain. Oxytocin-induced sex-typical behavior, therefore, suggests a sexual dimorphic distribution of OXTR in the brain. In recent years, the oxytocin system in the brain received tremendous attention as a potential pharmacological target for treatment of many psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety, autism spectrum disorders, and even sex-specific psychiatric disorder like postpartum depression (PPD). An important problem and a …

Incorporation Of Lignin In Natural And Synthetic Biomaterials To Alter Mechanical And Biochemical Properties For Enhanced Wound Healing, Jorge Alfonso Belgodere

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

It is estimated that chronic, non-healing wounds affect more than 6.5 million Americans annually, with an estimated healthcare cost beyond $14 billion. Here, we attempted to create composites of natural (collagen type I or gelatin-methacrylate) or synthetic (poly(ethylene glycol) polymers incorporating a natural plant component, lignin, to combat the costs and limitations current wound healing methods face. Three-dimensional matrices of collagen type I (Col I) are widely used in tissue engineering applications for its abundance in many tissues, bioactivity with many cell types, and excellent biocompatibility. Inspired by the structural role of lignin in plant tissue, we found that sodium …

Regulation Of Mpcs And Kat8 During Adipogenesis And Nutritional Regulation, Jasmine Burrell

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Obesity is a global epidemic characterized by an expansion of adipose tissue. Adipose tissue, composed of adipocytes and a stromal vascular fraction, is an endocrine organ that regulates whole body homeostasis. Obesity leads to the dysregulation of adipocytes and is often associated with increased susceptibility to metabolic diseases such as Type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Understanding the mechanisms by which adipocyte function and development are regulated is crucial. Mitochondrial pyruvate carriers (MPCs) are transmembrane proteins that transport pyruvate from the cytosol into the mitochondrial matrix to generate acetyl CoA. Although MPCs have been studied extensively, their roles in adipocytes are …

Verbal Response Inhibition And Stuttering In Adults, Shanley Belle Treleaven

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Many adults who stutter (AWS) attempt to modify or suppress their stuttered speech daily. The ability to effectively suppress motoric behavior after initiation relies on executive functions such as inhibition – specifically verbal inhibition – a challenging task regardless of clinical status. Minimal published data are available about verbal inhibition in non-stuttering adults, and no data are available for AWS. Researchers have reported slower inhibition for AWS during manual tasks, but inconsistent relationships have been found between manual and verbal inhibition. It is often presumed that inhibition differences in AWS, if detected, would be associated with greater difficulties suppressing the …

Comparison Of High-Tech Augmentative And Alternative Communication Interfaces: Do Age And Technology Experience Matter?, Surani Gopika Nakkawita

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Previous research has demonstrated that individuals with stroke-induced aphasia can use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) when they cannot meet their communication needs using spoken language (Dietz, Weissling, Griffith, McKelvey, & Macke, 2014; Purdy & Van Dyke, 2011). Of the various interfaces found in the different AAC systems, the grid display and the visual scene display (VSD) have been used by individuals with aphasia (Hough & Johnson, 2009; Dietz et al., 2018). However, there is a scarcity of research examining the comparative usefulness of these interfaces.

This prospective study attempted to understand how neurologically healthy individuals of different ages and …

Modeling Anatomic Changes For Adaptive Radiotherapy In Locally Advanced Lung Cancer Patient Population, James Alexander Kavanaugh

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Anatomic changes occurring mid-treatment for patients undergoing radiation therapy for locally advanced lung cancer can degrade the quality of the intended treatment plan. These changes include tumor regression, geometric misalignment, and lung density changes (atelectasis and pleural effusion), and are visible on the daily 3D cone beam CT (CBCT). To maintain the intended treatment quality, adaptive radiotherapy (ART) can be employed to modify the treatment plan to account for these anatomic changes. However, the evaluation on when to adapt is currently completed manually by the treating clinicians, resulting in a subjective and inconsistent application. To address these limitations, a series …

Exploring Predictors Of Older Adults' Performance On A Novel Driving Simulator Task, John Philip Bernstein

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

On a per-mile driven basis, older adults are at increased risk of being involved in an automobile accident. The development and implementation of driving assessment tools is necessary to inform decisions about driving reduction and cessation. Driving simulators are one method of assessing driving performance and safety, however many simulators are cost-prohibitive for most researchers and clinicians. Additionally, while driving performance has been previously explored with respect to clinical populations (e.g., Alzheimer’s Disease), less work has evaluated this topic in a cognitively healthy sample. The present study sought to determine whether a novel, cost-effective driving simulator (Assetto Corsa (AC)) might …

Anatomical Organization And Distinction Of The Sympathetic Inputs To Interscapular Brown Adipose Tissue And Inguinal White Adipose Tissue In The Mouse, Clara Jane Huesing

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Adipose tissue is a dynamic endocrine organ that contains both the problem and the solution to discovering new therapies for individuals with obesity. Excessive adipose tissue disrupts energy balance and causes a host of comorbidities like insulin resistance and hypertension. On the other hand, adipose tissue is essential for life. During periods of energy demand, sympathetic nerve activity in brown and white adipose tissue stimulates thermogenesis and lipolysis; both of which decrease body weight and improve metabolic health. Therefore, comprehensive insight into the organization of sympathetic innervation and how it communicates with adipocytes is critical in order to utilize its …

Edwardsiella Ictaluri Is Capable Of Persisting In Channel Catfish By Evading Host T Cell And Cell Death Responses, Elizabeth Watts Griggs

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Edwardsiella ictaluri is a gram-negative bacterium of the family Enterobacteriaceae that infects and causes enteric septicemia (ESC) of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), a fatal disease costing the catfish industry millions of dollars in losses each year. Edwardsiella. ictaluri is capable of replicating in catfish head-kidney-derived-macrophages (HKDM), and like many other gram-negative bacteria, E. ictaluri encodes a Type III Secretion System (T3SS) that is required for virulence and intracellular replication. In the case of E. ictaluri, the T3SS translocates effectors from the Edwardsiella containing vacuole (ECV) through the bacterial cell wall and the vacuolar membrane directly to the …

Neuromotor Control Of The Hand During Smartphone Manipulation, Prasanna Kumar Acharya

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary focus of this dissertation was to understand the motor control strategy used by our neuromuscular system for the multi-layered motor tasks involved during smartphone manipulation. To understand this control strategy, we recorded the kinematics and multi-muscle activation pattern of the right limb during smartphone manipulation, including grasping with/out tapping, movement conditions (MCOND), and arm heights.

In the first study (chapter 2), we examined the neuromuscular control strategy of the upper limb during grasping with/out tapping executed with a smartphone by evaluating muscle-activation patterns of the upper limb during different movement conditions (MCOND). There was a change in muscle …

Characterizing Middle School Students’ Physical Literacy: A Sequential Mixed Methods Study, Yang Liu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation study was (a) to characterize middle school students’ levels of physical literacy (PL) and PL domains by gender, grade, socioeconomic status (SES), weight status, race, and ethnicity; and (b) to capture PL trajectory change as a result of receiving a theory-informed pedagogical workshop. Participants (N = 350) in sixth and seventh grades were recruited from a public middle school located in a southeastern U.S. state. These students completed the second version of the Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy (CAPL-2). A subsample (n = 49) received a pedagogical workshop (four sessions over eight weeks), …

Towards Optimizing Quality Assurance Outcomes Of Knowledge-Based Radiation Therapy Treatment Plans Using Machine Learning, Phillip Douglas Hardenbergh Wall

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Knowledge-based planning (KBP) techniques have been shown to provide improvements in plan quality, consistency, and efficiency for advanced radiation therapies such as volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT). While the potential clinical benefits of KBP methods are generally well known, comparatively less is understood regarding the impact of using these systems on resulting plan complexity and pre-treatment quality assurance (QA) measurements, especially for in-house KBP systems. Therefore, the overarching purpose of this work was to assess QA implications with using an in-house KBP system and explore data-driven methods for mitigating increased plan complexity and QA error rates without compromising dosimetric plan …