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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Implementing And Managing Self Assessment Procedures, Terry Leman Armstrong Jan 2013

Implementing And Managing Self Assessment Procedures, Terry Leman Armstrong

LSU Master's Theses

This study tests the hypothesis that implementing, managing and enhancing self-assessment procedures may improve learning. One hundred and fifty seven (157) financial math students in a high school with a predominantly at-risk population were divided randomly into an experimental group (self assessment and reflection) and a control group (traditional practice work). The experimental group performed significantly better than the control group (p = 0.02). The experimental group increased their scores from an average of 5.3 out of 18 correct on the pre-test to an average of 11 out of 18 correct on the post-test. The control group increased their scores …


Using Writing Assignments In High School Geometry To Improve Students' Proof Writing Ability, Amanda Choppin Mcallister Jan 2013

Using Writing Assignments In High School Geometry To Improve Students' Proof Writing Ability, Amanda Choppin Mcallister

LSU Master's Theses

The Common Core State Standards encourage the use of writing in mathematics classrooms. This study was designed to create a template for high school teachers to use in a geometry class to improve students’ proof writing ability. The students enrolled in the class were asked to complete journal and expository writing assignments throughout the course. The assignments were scored with a rubric. To assess if growth was made in proof writing, the students were all given a test four times throughout the school year. All four tests were assessed using the same rubric. We provide evidence that the template was …


Some Effects Of Nutrient And Flooding Stress Manipulation On Coastal Louisiana Wetland Vegetation, James Stephen Ialeggio Jan 2013

Some Effects Of Nutrient And Flooding Stress Manipulation On Coastal Louisiana Wetland Vegetation, James Stephen Ialeggio

LSU Master's Theses

Freshwater diversions are a relatively recently utilized tool in wetland loss mitigation that stimulate an organic accretion response in marsh vegetation, which is based in root production and thus belowground biomass. The effectiveness of freshwater diversions in slowing marsh loss probably varies across a gradient of the factors they supply: decreased salinity, increased nutrient concentrations, and increased inundation. Flooding stress is commonly thought to be the overriding factor limiting wetland vegetation growth, however its influence may vary across salinity and nutrients. Therefore, plugs of Spartina patens were planted in four “marsh organs” consisting each of 36 sediment-filled PVC pipes of …


Predicting Potential Unconventional Production In The Tuscaloosa Marine Shale Play Using Thermal Modeling And Log Overlay Analysis, Hunter Berch Jan 2013

Predicting Potential Unconventional Production In The Tuscaloosa Marine Shale Play Using Thermal Modeling And Log Overlay Analysis, Hunter Berch

LSU Master's Theses

The Tuscaloosa Marine Shale formation (TMS) of Central Louisiana and South Mississippi was suggested as a potential hydrocarbon play with up to seven billion barrels of reserves in a 1997 study by Louisiana State University’s Basin Research Institute. The TMS is considered an unconventional resource because it is a source, reservoir, and seal. Since 1997, horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have enabled exploration and documentation of oil reserves in this play. Prior to this study, high resistivity log curves were used to predict areas of economic interest. While areas of high resistivity within the TMS are often indicative of high …


Population Ecology Of The Ribbed Mussel In Southeastern Louisiana, Aaron Jacob Honig Jan 2013

Population Ecology Of The Ribbed Mussel In Southeastern Louisiana, Aaron Jacob Honig

LSU Master's Theses

Benthic intertidal bivalves play an essential role in estuarine ecosystems by contributing to habitat provision, water filtration, and promoting productivity. As such, ecosystem level changes that impact population distributions and persistence of local bivalve populations may have large ecosystem level consequences, making it important to better understand the population distribution and ecology of native bivalve populations. Gametogenesis, recruitment, growth, mortality, size structure and density of the ribbed mussel, Geukensia demissa, were examined across a salinity gradient in southeastern Louisiana. In summer 2012, 100-m transects were placed at interior and edge marsh plots to collect data on mussel density, and vegetation …


Evaluation Of An Automated Delivery Verification System For Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy Treatments, John-Paul Grenier Jan 2013

Evaluation Of An Automated Delivery Verification System For Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy Treatments, John-Paul Grenier

LSU Master's Theses

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to evaluate the ability of a treatment delivery verification system to detect clinically significant mechanical errors in VMAT delivery utilizing data contained within a commercial record and verify (RV) system, and to test whether the system can be used to reconstruct dose distributions that agree more closely with measured dose distributions than do the original treatment plans. Methods: VMAT treatment plans from five prostate patients, five head and neck patients, and five post-mastectomy chest wall patients treated at our clinic were selected for this study. Known mechanical errors were introduced into each plan, …


The Effect Of Teaching Biology Concepts With Animations Compared To Static Cartoons On Content Retention, Rebecca Adams Polk Jan 2013

The Effect Of Teaching Biology Concepts With Animations Compared To Static Cartoons On Content Retention, Rebecca Adams Polk

LSU Master's Theses

This study explores the effect of animations versus static cartoons on students’ content retention in a high school biology classroom. Students were pre-tested prior to the introduction of content in three units of study: cellular transport, protein synthesis, and mitosis. After instruction on the topic via PowerPoint presentations, students were randomly assigned to either the test group or experimental group for each unit. The control group was removed from the room and given a series of static cartoons with captions to view. The experimental group viewed an animation on the topic, accompanied by teacher narration, which consisted of the captions …


The Feasibility Of Using Vanadium And Nickel To Track Oil Spills In Coastal Environments, Sean Patrick Kenny Jan 2013

The Feasibility Of Using Vanadium And Nickel To Track Oil Spills In Coastal Environments, Sean Patrick Kenny

LSU Master's Theses

Crude oil has been increasing in world demand over the past century. It is known that oil is resistant to weathering processes and if spilled, can cause serious environmental damage to an area, on land or sea. A complementary approach to current methods of tracking oil and identifying spill-impacted sediments may be to measure trace metals associated with crude oil. Trace metals, such a vanadium (V) and nickel (Ni) are known to be elevated in concentration in some oil sources, but little work has been done on this topic. This research explored less expensive and time-consuming methods to track or …


Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Mass Spectrometry For Identificaiton Of Shrimp, Venkatesulu Salla Jan 2013

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

LSU Master's Theses

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


Temporal And Spatial Variations In The Subsurface Salinity Of Lake Charles, Louisiana : An Investigation Of Saline Sources, Alexandria Suding Jan 2013

Temporal And Spatial Variations In The Subsurface Salinity Of Lake Charles, Louisiana : An Investigation Of Saline Sources, Alexandria Suding

LSU Master's Theses

One of the most pressing issues facing groundwater managers is saltwater intrusion. In coastal Louisiana this issue is especially prevalent. One location that is currently threated by saltwater intrusion is the industrial area of Lake Charles, Louisiana, where three high chloride areas have been detected within the underlying Chicot aquifer. Three sand units of the Chicot aquifer are present in Lake Charles: the 200-foot (200’) sand, the 500’ sand, and the 700’ sand. Groundwater with elevated chloride concentrations was first noticed by industries in the early 1970s. An initial investigation determined that the northern and southern bodies had formed by …


A Clay Mineral Provenance Study Of The Northern Pandora Trough Continental Margin, Gulf Of Papua, Ashley Len Howell Jan 2013

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

LSU Master's Theses

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


The Effects Of Peer Instruction On Ninth Grade Students' Conceptual Understanding Of Forces And Motion, Nicole Congine Harvey Jan 2013

The Effects Of Peer Instruction On Ninth Grade Students' Conceptual Understanding Of Forces And Motion, Nicole Congine Harvey

LSU Master's Theses

Because students are often taught physics in a traditional, lecture-based classroom, the present study was undertaken to test whether the use of peer instruction, specifically concept questions embedded within a PowerPoint that allows for students to interact throughout the lecture, affects learner outcomes in a classroom setting. The outcomes from classes taught using peer instruction were compared to classes taught with traditional, lecture-based teaching strategies. Students in five different sections of a 9th grade Physical Science class were given pre-tests and post-tests to determine their learning gains on the topics of motion and forces. In the first unit of instruction, …


Spectral Breast Ct : Effect Of Adaptive Filtration On Ct Numbers, Ct Noise, And Ct Dose, Justin Silkwood Jan 2013

Spectral Breast Ct : Effect Of Adaptive Filtration On Ct Numbers, Ct Noise, And Ct Dose, Justin Silkwood

LSU Master's Theses

Purpose: Adaptive filtration facilitates spectral breast CT by decreasing count rate and dynamic range requirements of photon counting detectors. This project investigated the effect of adaptive filtration on beam hardening, CT numbers, noise, and dose in dedicated breast CT. Methods: Adaptive filters were simulated to provide a flat fluence at the detector surface when used with a 14 cm breast phantom at 120 kVp. Beam hardening with each filter type was measured against increasing x-ray beam half-fan angle.. Breast CT images were simulated with and without an adaptive filter in the beam at multiple tube voltages. CT number, noise, and …


Controls On The Composition Of Saline Formation Waters From Coastal And Offshore Louisiana, Marielle Elaine Ausburn Jan 2013

Controls On The Composition Of Saline Formation Waters From Coastal And Offshore Louisiana, Marielle Elaine Ausburn

LSU Master's Theses

Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source that can contribute to the U.S. energy mix. As such, new technologies are being explored for lower temperature systems which would open new areas for exploration in Louisiana. Unlike concepts proposed in the early 1980s, in which heat would have been extracted at the land surface from produced overpressured waters, methods currently being proposed would involve engineered down-hole heat exchangers with zero-mass-fluid withdrawal. A re-examination has been made of the controls on the composition of formation waters in south central and offshore Louisiana in the context of providing insight into water-rock reactions that …


Statistical Classification Problems In Assessment Of Teachers, Xuan Wang Jan 2013

Statistical Classification Problems In Assessment Of Teachers, Xuan Wang

LSU Master's Theses

Classification and regression trees form an important and indispensable tool in data analysis and classification problems. Class trees are described in detail with examples. The method is applied to a data set pertaining to evaluation of teachers. In addition, two other classification methods, bagging and AdaBoost are explained. These methods improve existing classifiers to nearly optimal classifiers.


Fraction Proficiency And The Number Line, Jeanne Elizabeth Bass Jan 2013

Fraction Proficiency And The Number Line, Jeanne Elizabeth Bass

LSU Master's Theses

The Common Core State Standards place special emphasis on developing fraction proficiency and the use of the number line, especially in grades three through five, whereas the previously mandated “Louisiana Comprehensive Curriculum” put lower priority on fractions and gave little attention to the number line as a model for fractions. The present study was performed in several 6th-grade math classrooms in rural Louisiana. We piloted fraction proficiency tests that were intended to check basic vocabulary and student access to various fraction models, as expected in the Common Core. Some strong error patterns were observed. They might be related to difference …


Community Resilience To Coastal Hazards : An Analysis Of Two Geographical Scales In Louisiana, Chi Li Jan 2013

Community Resilience To Coastal Hazards : An Analysis Of Two Geographical Scales In Louisiana, Chi Li

LSU Master's Theses

Quantifying resilience is difficulties due to the different definitions of resilience, the interchangeable uses with two other terms “vulnerability” and “adaptability”, as well as the lack of consensus on what indicators should be selected to quantifying resilience. This thesis research studied the community resilience in Louisiana by applying the Resilience Inference Measurement (RIM) model at two geographic levels: county level and zip code level. The RIM model accesses resilience by using three dimensions (exposure, damage, and recovery) and two abilities (vulnerability and adaptability). The types of coastal hazards included in this study were: coastal, flooding, hurricane/tropical storm, tornado, and severe …


Inductivley Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy Analysis Of Heavy Metal Concentrations In Gulf Menhaden (Brevoortia Patronus) Populations In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico From 2011 To 2012, Hannah Paula Rockett Jan 2013

Inductivley Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy Analysis Of Heavy Metal Concentrations In Gulf Menhaden (Brevoortia Patronus) Populations In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico From 2011 To 2012, Hannah Paula Rockett

LSU Master's Theses

In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, released 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, creating the largest marine oil spill in the history of the U.S. petroleum industry. Trace metals, including those from crude oil, were dispersed in the water column and bound to suspended particulates. As obligate filter-feeding omnivores and a predominate fishery in the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) are susceptible to trace metal accumulation. Samples of menhaden were collected at two locations in coastal Louisiana, Grand Isle (GI) and Vermillion Bay (VB), with VB serving as the non-impacted DWH oil …


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 …


Effects Of Physicochemical Properties And Macrohabitat On The Foraging Ecology And Condition Of The Centrarchid Assemblage Of The Atchafalaya River Basin, Louisiana, Brett A. Miller Jan 2013

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

LSU Master's Theses

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


Uncertainty Quantification Of Film Cooling Effectiveness In Gas Turbines, Hessam Babaee Jan 2013

Uncertainty Quantification Of Film Cooling Effectiveness In Gas Turbines, Hessam Babaee

LSU Master's Theses

In this study the effect of uncertainty of velocity ratio on jet in crossflow and particual- rly film cooling performance is studied. Direct numerical simulations have been combined with a stochastic collocation approach where the parametric space is discretized using Multi-Element general Polynomial Chaos (ME-gPC) method. Velocity ratio serves as a bifurcation parameter in a jet in a crossflow and the dynamical system is shown to have several bifurcations. As a result of the bifurcations, the target functional is observed to have low-regularity with respect to the paramteric space. In that sense, ME-gPC is particularly effective in discretizing the parametric …


Metamorphic And Geochemical Signatures Of Calc-Silicate Gneisses From The Sawtooth Metamorphic Complex, Idaho, Usa : Implications For Crustal Evolution In Western North America, Isis Fukai Jan 2013

Metamorphic And Geochemical Signatures Of Calc-Silicate Gneisses From The Sawtooth Metamorphic Complex, Idaho, Usa : Implications For Crustal Evolution In Western North America, Isis Fukai

LSU Master's Theses

The Sawtooth Metamorphic Complex (SMC) of central Idaho contains exposures of metasupracrustal rocks that may provide constraints on Precambrian crustal evolution in northwestern United States. Petrographic textures, whole-rock geochemistry, and thermobarmetry of SMC calc-silicate gneisses, collected at high-resolution, record multiple stages of crustal development, including: contiguous deposition of a sandstone-to-shale sequence derived from post-Archean continental sediments, metamorphism during two medium-high-grade thermal events (M1, M2), and two distinct episodes of deformation (D1, D2). Whole-rock concentrations of Cr (23.97-76.43 ± 3.0 ppm), Ni (6.82-33.10 ± 3.5 ppm), Th (2.11-12.04 ± 1.6 ppm), Sc (3.81-11.53 ± 1.6 ppm), and Zr (322-658 ± 3.9 …


Using Formative Assessment To Enhance Student Performance On Geometric Proof Writing, Benjamin Hargrave Jan 2013

Using Formative Assessment To Enhance Student Performance On Geometric Proof Writing, Benjamin Hargrave

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this research is to uncover best practices to create competent proof writers. Studies have shown the best setting to do this is in the high school geometry classroom. Throughout a yearlong study of geometry, students were exposed to theorems and their demonstrations. Despite constant exposure, students were still unable to produce their own proof of propositions. The questions then became how can an educator provide critical feedback that encourages student reasoning and develops logical argumentation skills? With the goal in mind, twenty-five students enrolled in a geometry course at Baton Rouge High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana …


Monitoring The Survival Of Hatchery-Produced Spat And Larvae On Louisiana Public Oyster Reefs, Erin R. Leonhardt Jan 2013

Monitoring The Survival Of Hatchery-Produced Spat And Larvae On Louisiana Public Oyster Reefs, Erin R. Leonhardt

LSU Master's Theses

Alternative or supplemental management activities may be necessary to restore and enhance oyster production on Louisiana public oyster reefs. The production of wild oysters is variable due to anthropogenic and environmental factors that affect recruitment, growth and survival. The availability and structure of cultch material for larval recruitment and survival is particularly important to maintain oyster production. Beginning in 2011, the Sea Grant Oyster Hatchery on Grand Isle, LA and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) collaborated to test the survival of hatchery-produced spat and hatchery-produced larvae deployed on public oyster grounds and cultch plant sites. In 2011, …


On The Long Duration Of Till Sheet Construction : A Reassessment Of How Quaternary Grounding Line Translations Relate To Near-Surface Seismic-Stratigraphy Of Eastern Ross Sea, Antarctica, Sydney Grace Bowles Jan 2013

On The Long Duration Of Till Sheet Construction : A Reassessment Of How Quaternary Grounding Line Translations Relate To Near-Surface Seismic-Stratigraphy Of Eastern Ross Sea, Antarctica, Sydney Grace Bowles

LSU Master's Theses

Previously acquired seismic surveys provide strong evidence that the post-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) deposited a back-stepping succession of seismically-resolved grounding zone wedges (GZWs) in eastern Ross Sea. However, the chronology of WAIS retreat is debated. The conventional view is that three GZWs (Red, Brown, and Gray Units) were deposited since the LGM. An alternative view, based on recent radiocarbon dates, is that the youngest GZW (the Gray Unit) was deposited during the LGM. If correct, then the older GZWs (Red and Brown Units) were deposited prior to LGM. A recent study (Bart …


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 …


Renewable Energy Across The 50 United States And Related Factors, Cynthia Brit Christenson Jan 2013

Renewable Energy Across The 50 United States And Related Factors, Cynthia Brit Christenson

LSU Master's Theses

Renewable energy production replaces diminishing non-renewable energy sources including fossil fuels. Major sources of renewable energy include biofuels, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar thermal and photovoltaic, wind, wood, and biomass. Greater use of renewable energy sources can fill gaps in energy as non-renewable sources are depleted, provide more energy independence at a state and national level, and help address climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from combustion of fossil fuels. The research objectives of this thesis are two-fold. First, which U.S. states are leaders in renewable energy production? Second, what factors may account for variation among U.S. states in levels of …


Bayesian Inference Application To Burglary Detection, Ishan Singh Bhale Jan 2013

Bayesian Inference Application To Burglary Detection, Ishan Singh Bhale

LSU Master's Theses

Real time motion tracking is very important for video analytics. But very little research has been done in identifying the top-level plans behind the atomic activities evident in various surveillance footages [61]. Surveillance videos can contain high level plans in the form of complex activities [61]. These complex activities are usually a combination of various articulated activities like breaking windshield, digging, and non-articulated activities like walking, running. We have developed a Bayesian framework for recognizing complex activities like burglary. This framework (belief network) is based on an expectation propagation algorithm [8] for approximate Bayesian inference. We provide experimental results showing …


Detection Of Interesting Traffic Accident Patterns By Association Rule Mining, Harisha Donepudi Jan 2013

Detection Of Interesting Traffic Accident Patterns By Association Rule Mining, Harisha Donepudi

LSU Master's Theses

In recent years, the accident rate related to traffic is high. Analyzing the crash data and extracting useful information from it can help in taking respective measures to decrease this rate or prevent the crash from happening. Related research has been done in the past which involved proposing various measures and algorithms to obtain interesting crash patterns from the crash records. The main problem is that large numbers of patterns were produced and vast number of these patterns would be obvious or not interesting. A deeper analysis of the data is required in order to get the interesting patterns. In …


Quantification Of Total And Oil-Degrading Bacteria In Louisiana Marsh Sediment Following The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Using Cultivation And Real-Time Pcr Assays, Kristopher Nolan Ackoury Jan 2013

Quantification Of Total And Oil-Degrading Bacteria In Louisiana Marsh Sediment Following The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Using Cultivation And Real-Time Pcr Assays, Kristopher Nolan Ackoury

LSU Master's Theses

Although the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill on the bacterial communities in several Gulf of Mexico habitats have been described, little if any research has been published evaluating the impacts of the spill on bacterial populations in the most severely oiled salt marsh soils of Barataria Bay, Louisiana. The aim of this study was to define the effects of the spill on the total and oil-degrading bacterial communities in these marshes. Using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and traditional cultivation methods bacterial communities from contaminated marsh soils were examined thirteen, twenty-two, and twenty-nine months after the initial oiling …