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2009

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Articles 11881 - 11910 of 11949

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Parallel Cloth Simulation Using Openmp And Cuda, Gillian David Sims Jan 2009

Parallel Cloth Simulation Using Openmp And Cuda, Gillian David Sims

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The widespread availability of parallel computing architectures has lead to research regarding algorithms and techniques that best exploit available parallelism. In addition to the CPU parallelism available; the GPU has emerged as a parallel computational device. The goal of this study was to explore the combined use of CPU and GPU parallelism by developing a hybrid parallel CPU/GPU cloth simulation application. In order to evaluate the benefits of the hybrid approach, the application was first developed in sequential CPU form, followed by a parallel CPU form. The application uses Backward Euler implicit time integration to solve the differential equations of …

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Regulation Of Adipose Tissue Metabolism By Nfkb P65 In Transgenic Mice, Tianyi Tang Jan 2009

Regulation Of Adipose Tissue Metabolism By Nfkb P65 In Transgenic Mice, Tianyi Tang

LSU Master's Theses

Inflammation has been widely reported to regulate adipocyte functions in adipose tissue. Our early study suggests that NFkB signaling pathway is activated by inflammation and involved in inhibition of insulin sensitivity in adipocytes. NFkB was found to inhibit PPARg function through several possible mechanisms in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. To test this possibility in vivo, we increased the NFkB activity in adipocytes in transgenic mice by expression of NFkB p65 subunit under the aP2 gene promoter. The phenotype study shows that the food intake, physical activity and development are similar in the two groups. The reproductivity was not different in the two …

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A Sense Of Community And Community Change: An Ethnographic Study Of A Contemporary Louisiana Juke Joint As It Compares To Historical Literature On The Subject, Kristopher Ian Debnam Jan 2009

A Sense Of Community And Community Change: An Ethnographic Study Of A Contemporary Louisiana Juke Joint As It Compares To Historical Literature On The Subject, Kristopher Ian Debnam

LSU Master's Theses

The rural juke joint is a phenomenon that has been mentioned quite frequently in literature pertaining to blues music, but has not received the amount of scholarly attention that it deserves. This social institution is an integral part of the Mississippi Delta’s cultural landscape. Over time, it has developed a dual reputation as a fun place for weekend entertainment, and also a dangerous place for sin and vice. Using qualitative methods, this thesis explores a modern-day juke joint located in Waterproof, Louisiana, a small town in the northeast part of the state. It is the goal of this research to …

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The Stereotypic Portrayal Of Women In Slasher Films: Then Versus Now, Chad Brewer Jan 2009

The Stereotypic Portrayal Of Women In Slasher Films: Then Versus Now, Chad Brewer

LSU Master's Theses

ABSTRACT In entertainment, the media often portray various social groups, including women, in certain negative ways and as having more negative qualities than other traditional social groups, such as white males. These portrayals provide viewers with ways of thinking about and acting towards members of a particular group, thus affecting communication and perception. This research seeks to analyze data on horror film stereotyping in a new way not by merely observing stereotypes of women in horror film, but by examining the content across time-periods and societal change. A textual analysis will compare 16 total films, 8 original films versus the …

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Public Opinion And The Katrina Disaster: Linking Support For Rebuilding And Perceptions Of Flood Victims In New Orleans, Vincenzo Pasquantonio Jan 2009

Public Opinion And The Katrina Disaster: Linking Support For Rebuilding And Perceptions Of Flood Victims In New Orleans, Vincenzo Pasquantonio

LSU Master's Theses

Public support for government assistance to the needy has long been the focus of scholarly attention. Some assert that the perceived race of recipients of such aid is the primary determinant influencing such support. Others cite that it is the degree of trust one has in government institutions while still others cite American notions of individualism and self-reliance versus collective responsibility. The present study analyzes public opinion regarding aid to the City of New Orleans and its inhabitants following Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent flooding of the city. Several important findings emerge from this analysis. First, it cannot be demonstrated …

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Typewriters Typing Typist: A Performance History, Sarah Kathryn Jackson Jan 2009

Typewriters Typing Typist: A Performance History, Sarah Kathryn Jackson

LSU Master's Theses

This study contributes to the ongoing exploration of the multiple ways visual and material artifacts perform. I take a look at how typewriters or rather how two representations of typewriters perform. I focus on two different images of working women, each rendered in terms of a popular female stereotype of the period. I selected the images because they bookend a period of time in which typewriters emerged to the fore as an efficient tool of reproduction in the business world. In turn, two different perspectives on the relationship between the typist and her typewriter, woman and machine, are provided. The …

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A Comparison Of Foreign News Coverage In The Mercantile And Popular Press Of The 1830s, Virgil Ian Stanford Jan 2009

A Comparison Of Foreign News Coverage In The Mercantile And Popular Press Of The 1830s, Virgil Ian Stanford

LSU Master's Theses

The rise of the American penny press in the 1830s is thought of as a crucial moment in journalism history that precipitated changes in newspapers that are still evident today. Yet, many specific characteristics of the transition from a predominantly elite mercantile and partisan press to the popular penny press remain unknown, including the changes that occurred in foreign news coverage. This study will examine four newspapers, two mercantile and two penny, printed in New York City from 1830 to 1842. It will use quantitative content analysis of five variables – frequency, length, prominence, content, and presentation style – to …

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Boxing With Shadows: Contentious Politics, Culture Jamming, And Radical Creativity In Tactical Innovation, David Matthew Iles, Iii Jan 2009

Boxing With Shadows: Contentious Politics, Culture Jamming, And Radical Creativity In Tactical Innovation, David Matthew Iles, Iii

LSU Master's Theses

Dominant theories of tactical innovation in contentious politics suggest that actors innovate in times of crisis or at the margins of familiar forms of action in order to achieve strategic advantage. I argue that these theories do not satisfactorily account for the tactical creativity of a form of contention called culture jamming. Instead, I employ a biographical theory of tactical innovation to explain their distinct repertoire of contention. This theory claims that tactics are partially explained as emanations of or congruent with the life experiences, identities, dispositions, and values of actors. Bourdieu’s field theory allows me to identify a social …

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Leaving Special Educators Behind?: An Analysis Of The No Child Behind Act And Its Impact On Special Education Teachers, Joseph Martin Abel Jan 2009

Leaving Special Educators Behind?: An Analysis Of The No Child Behind Act And Its Impact On Special Education Teachers, Joseph Martin Abel

LSU Master's Theses

From its inception in 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has been the subject of much debate among politicians, educators, researchers, and citizens. Much discussion has related to how NCLB affects students and their teachers in the classroom. This study examines NCLB’s direct impact on special education teachers in the East Baton Rouge parish school district of Louisiana by measuring different aspects of their satisfaction levels. Overall job satisfaction is measured using the Brayfield-Rothe Job Satisfaction Index (1951). Specific aspects of job satisfaction are measured using an abbreviated form of the Job Diagnostic Survey (Hackman & Oldham, 1975) …

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Power Capabilities And Similarity Of Interests: A Test Of The Power Transition Theory, Garrett Alan Heckman Jan 2009

Power Capabilities And Similarity Of Interests: A Test Of The Power Transition Theory, Garrett Alan Heckman

LSU Master's Theses

The study of major power conflict frequently focuses on the role of the distribution of capabilities. Power transition theory argues that when the dominant state in the international system is overtaken in power capabililities by a dissatisfied challenger, the likelihood of conflict increases significantly. Despite theoretical and empirical support for the power transition theory, it neglects the possibility of increasing power capabilities externally. Alliances and other third parties may enter into a conflict on one side or the other, or remain neutral. A state will necessarily consider the likely actions of other parties before choosing to initiate conflict against its …

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Comorbid Psychopathology In Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorders And Intellectual Disabilities, Santino Vincent Lovullo Jan 2009

Comorbid Psychopathology In Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorders And Intellectual Disabilities, Santino Vincent Lovullo

LSU Master's Theses

While there has been an abundance of research investigating Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in children, very little emphasis has been placed on ASD in adults, especially in regards to comorbid psychopathology. This is of great concern considering that ASD often co-occurs with intellectual disability (ID), and that both may serve as risk factors for additional psychopathology. While instruments exist that measure comorbid psychopathology in adults with ID, these scales are not targeted to the unique expression of comorbidity in adults with ID and ASD. The Autism Spectrum Disorders-Comorbidity for Adults (ASD-CA) was devised for this reason. This paper begins with …

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Religiosity And Chinese Immigrants' Marriage, Yaxin Lu Jan 2009

Religiosity And Chinese Immigrants' Marriage, Yaxin Lu

LSU Master's Theses

The existing literature on religion and family indicates that religious beliefs and practices are correlated with various aspects of marriage and family life. Chinese immigrants are an important part of the U.S. population. However, very little is known about the relationship between religion and marriage for Chinese immigrants. The purpose of the study is to examine the relationship between Christianity and marriage in Chinese immigrant families based on in-depth qualitative interviews. Sixteen highly religious Chinese Christian couples were interviewed to examine how religious faith influenced their perceptions of marriage and family life. Most of the participants in this study held …

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The Efficacy Of Positive Peer Reporting Procedures For Use With Neglected-Status Students In General Education Classrooms, Lisa Libster Jan 2009

The Efficacy Of Positive Peer Reporting Procedures For Use With Neglected-Status Students In General Education Classrooms, Lisa Libster

LSU Master's Theses

Children who are neglected or rejected by their peers may require social skill interventions in order to develop the social competencies needed to establish satisfactory interpersonal relationships. One promising social skill intervention is Positive Peer Reporting, which has been shown to produce increases in positive social interaction and peer acceptance for these groups of children. As most previous investigations were conducted in residential or special education settings, further research is needed to support the use of this intervention in general education settings. Therefore, the present study examined the efficacy of Positive Peer Reporting with two neglected-status children in general education …

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The Enhancement Of Graduate Digital Forensics Education Via The Dc3 Digital Forensics Challenge, Timothy H. Lacey, Gilbert L. Peterson, Robert F. Mills Jan 2009

The Enhancement Of Graduate Digital Forensics Education Via The Dc3 Digital Forensics Challenge, Timothy H. Lacey, Gilbert L. Peterson, Robert F. Mills

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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Supporting Decision Making In A Complex World, Jonathan Tall Jan 2009

Supporting Decision Making In A Complex World, Jonathan Tall

LSU Master's Theses

Recent research has questioned whether explicit thinking is necessary or even useful for complex decision making (Gladwell, 2005; Dijksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006; Newell, Wong, Cheung, & Rakow, in press). The present research approaches this issue by examining how different types of decision support facilitate/hinder performance in a diagnostic medical task. The results from 3 experiments indicate that providing an external memory aid improves performance in complex tasks. Additional support in the form of a coding procedure improved awareness of the magnitude of drug effects, but did not improve detection of negative side effects. The results suggest that while performance is …

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Gender Differences In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders And Comorbid Psychopathology, Julie Hess Jan 2009

Gender Differences In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders And Comorbid Psychopathology, Julie Hess

LSU Master's Theses

Abstract Children and adolescents diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) frequently exhibit symptoms that are not associated with the core features of ASD. These symptoms may meet criteria for an additional diagnosis; however, accurate assessment of comorbid psychiatric conditions in ASD has been hindered by a lack of measures designed for this specific purpose. The newly constructed assessment measure, Autism Spectrum Disorders-Comorbid for Children (ASD-CC) has been developed specifically for examining comorbid psychiatric disorders in ASD. Therefore, this study set out to assess differences in the endorsement rates of psychiatric symptoms in children and adolescents diagnosed with ASD compared to …

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The Correlation Between Creativity And Burnout In Public School Classroom Teachers, Patricia Landeche Jan 2009

The Correlation Between Creativity And Burnout In Public School Classroom Teachers, Patricia Landeche

LSU Master's Theses

Landeche, Patricia, B.A., University of Southwestern Louisiana, 1960 Master of Social Work, Summer Commencement, 2009 Major: Social Work The Correlation Between Creativity and Burnout in Public School Classroom Teachers Thesis directed by Assistant Professor Elaine M. Maccio Pages in thesis 48. Words in Abstract 162. ABSTRACT Burnout of teachers in the public schools is affecting the quality of education the students are getting. Incorporating creativity into one’s life on a regular basis produces has the potential to heal both physical and emotional complaints. The hypothesis of this study is that there is a negative correlation between creativity and the intensity …

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A Social Vulnerability-Based Genetic Algorithm To Locate-Allocate Transit Bus Stops For Disaster Evacuation In New Orleans, Louisiana, Xiaojun Qin Jan 2009

A Social Vulnerability-Based Genetic Algorithm To Locate-Allocate Transit Bus Stops For Disaster Evacuation In New Orleans, Louisiana, Xiaojun Qin

LSU Master's Theses

In the face of severe disasters, some or all of the endangered residents must be evacuated to a safe place. A portion of people, due to various reasons (e.g., no available vehicle, too old to drive), will need to take public transit buses to be evacuated. However, to optimize the operation efficiency, the location of these transit pick-up stops and the allocation of the available buses to these stops should be considered seriously by the decision-makers. In the case of a large number of alternative bus stops, it is sometimes impractical to use the exhaustive (brute-force) search to solve this …

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Sediment Records Of Modern And Prehistoric Hurricane Strikes In Weeks Bay, Alabama, Yun Huang Jan 2009

Sediment Records Of Modern And Prehistoric Hurricane Strikes In Weeks Bay, Alabama, Yun Huang

LSU Master's Theses

This study aims to find modern and prehistoric hurricane records in sediment from marsh and swamp forest surrounding Weeks. Hurricane Ivan made landfall in this area at category 3 intensity in 2004. Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Frederic also seriously affected this region in 2005 and 1979, respectively. Seventy two cores were taken from marshes, swamps, and bay bottom. The cores, taken from baymouth marsh, contain a prominent Ivan sand layer, and possibly a prominent Frederic sand layer as well. For those cores taken from the marshes and swamps around the eastern, western, and northern Weeks Bay, there is no distinct …

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United States Propaganda In Iran: 1951-1953, Hakimeh Saghaye-Biria Jan 2009

United States Propaganda In Iran: 1951-1953, Hakimeh Saghaye-Biria

LSU Master's Theses

Using Jowett and O’Donnell’s system of propaganda analysis, the present case study concentrates on America’s dominant propaganda messages, techniques, and media channels used in Iran during the time period between 1951 and 1953. The chosen period is of historical significance since it entails the Iranian nationalization of oil crisis and the 1953 coup against the government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq. The coup was the first CIA-sponsored covert operation against a foreign government and served as a model for subsequent operations elsewhere. An examination of the official correspondence of the major U.S. actors involved, as documented in the tenth volume …

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Public Opinion And Policy Liberalism In Louisiana: Does Political Trust Have An Effect?, Susan Quinn Lemieux Jan 2009

Public Opinion And Policy Liberalism In Louisiana: Does Political Trust Have An Effect?, Susan Quinn Lemieux

LSU Master's Theses

Representative democracy is based on the principle that government should be responsive to citizen wishes; thus government policy should reflect those wishes. Research on public opinion supports this (Erikson, Wright, and McIver 1987). While many scholars agree that public opinion affects policy outcomes, they disagree as to which aspect of public opinion policy outcomes emerge. Hetherington (2005) argues political trust explains policy liberalism. Using national-level data he demonstrates that decreased support for progressive policy results from decreased trust in government. Moreover, he finds that trust affects support for spending only when individuals are asked to sacrifice their self-interests and when …

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Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Content Of Breast Milk From Women With And Without Gestational Diabetes Mellitus, Julissa Marisel Salguero Jan 2009

Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Content Of Breast Milk From Women With And Without Gestational Diabetes Mellitus, Julissa Marisel Salguero

LSU Master's Theses

Reduced insulin sensitivity and abnormal nutrient metabolism in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) may compromise polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content of breast milk. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate and compare PUFA milk composition of women with and without GDM. Breast milk collections were performed in GDM (n=6) and controls (n=12) at weeks 2, 6, 10 and 12 postpartum using a hospital grade breast pump. Estimated dietary intake of PUFA and use of prenatal supplements containing DHA (PS/DHA) was determined by 24-hour dietary recalls conducted after each milk collection. Based on these preliminary data, milk docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; …

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Tnf-Alpha Inhibition Of Adiponectin Expression By Targeting Ppar-Gamma And C/Ebp In Adipocytes, Yanning Wang Jan 2009

Tnf-Alpha Inhibition Of Adiponectin Expression By Targeting Ppar-Gamma And C/Ebp In Adipocytes, Yanning Wang

LSU Master's Theses

Chronic inflammation is involved in the adipose tissue dysfunction through regulation of endocrine and storage function of adipocytes. As a representative proinflammatory cytokine, TNF-α was reported to inhibit expression of adiponectin. However, the mechanism of inhibition remains to be identified. Here, we provide experimental evidence that TNF-α inhibits adiponectin at both transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. In three animal models (aP2-P65, ob/ob and high fat diets-fed mice), an increase in TNF-α expression was associated with a decrease in adiponectin expression. In 3T3-L1 adipocytes, TNF-α inhibition of adiponectin was observed at mRNA and protein levels. Luciferase reporter assay and mRNA stability tests …

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Dance Dance Attribution: Exploring The Relationship Between Dance And Attractiveness In Intial Perceptions, Kellie St.Cyr Jan 2009

Dance Dance Attribution: Exploring The Relationship Between Dance And Attractiveness In Intial Perceptions, Kellie St.Cyr

LSU Master's Theses

The current study examines the relationship between attractiveness and dance. By viewing dance as a form of social competence and self-presentation, the study attempts to place dance, a previously understudied area within, the context of communication research. Through the lens of implicit personality theory and the attractiveness stereotype, the paper examines the effects of physical attractiveness on perceived dance ability as well as the effects of dance ability on physical, social, and task attractiveness.

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Crop Coefficients For Cotton In Northeastern Louisiana, Sean Allen Hribal Jan 2009

Crop Coefficients For Cotton In Northeastern Louisiana, Sean Allen Hribal

LSU Master's Theses

Daily crop coefficients (Kc) were determined for irrigated cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) at the Louisiana State University (LSU) AgCenter Northeast Research Station near St. Joseph, Louisiana, in 2007. Kc values were calculated using daily crop evapotranspiration (ETc), which was measured using paired weighing lysimeters, and daily reference evapotranspiration (ETo), which was calculated using the Standardized Reference Evapotranspiration Equation (SREE) for a short crop. Meteorological data for input into the SREE were obtained from a nearby Louisiana Agriclimatic Information System (LAIS) weather station and an on-site portable weather station. Averaged Kc values were 0.15, 0.64, and 1.39 for the initial (day …

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Forever New Orleans?: A Look Back And Beyond, Blair Alexis Broussard Jan 2009

Forever New Orleans?: A Look Back And Beyond, Blair Alexis Broussard

LSU Master's Theses

Natural disasters such as hurricanes can be cataclysmic for any city. This is especially true for cities that rely on tourism as an economic driving force. The inevitability of these disasters, even with extensive planning, contain variables for which cities cannot be prepared. Such was the case with Hurricane Katrina, which hit New Orleans in 2005. After the hurricane made landfall on August 29, 2005, New Orleans, the state of Louisiana and federal government officials faced a daunting task of recovering from the terrible natural catastrophe. Tourism was one of the hardest hit industries for New Orleans and the state …

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Infant Communicative Behaviors And Maternal Responsiveness, Chinwe Laura Onwujuba Jan 2009

Infant Communicative Behaviors And Maternal Responsiveness, Chinwe Laura Onwujuba

LSU Master's Theses

This study is an examination of infant communication and maternal responsivity in order to determine the impact of training on mother-infant communicative interaction. A sample of three mothers and their infants were observed during 10 minute free play sessions before and after a training intervention. The focus of the training was the principles of parenting contained in the Right-from-Birth: A Parenting Series (Grace & Lindsey, 2003) training. A multiple baseline design was used to measure maternal responsiveness to infant communication. Positive and negative maternal responses, as well as the rate of infant communication were also measured. Results showed an increase …

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Teaching Level-1 Braille Reading Skills Within A Stimulus Equivalence Paradigm To Children With Progressive Visual Impairments, Karen Ann Toussaint Jan 2009

Teaching Level-1 Braille Reading Skills Within A Stimulus Equivalence Paradigm To Children With Progressive Visual Impairments, Karen Ann Toussaint

LSU Master's Theses

Degenerative visual impairments refer to conditions that result in the progressive loss of vision; several of these conditions have their onset during childhood. Nearly 3% of the school-aged population will experience vision loss that will require specialized support, yet there has been little attempt to systematically evaluate braille-instruction programs. The current study evaluated an instructive procedure for teaching early braille-reading skills with four school-aged children with degenerative visual impairments. Following a series of pretests, braille instruction involved providing a sample braille letter and teaching the selection of the corresponding printed text letter from a comparison array. Concomitant with increases in …

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Relationship Of Maternal Serum Fatty Acids And Body Mass Index, Emily Fontenot Gilbert Jan 2009

Relationship Of Maternal Serum Fatty Acids And Body Mass Index, Emily Fontenot Gilbert

LSU Master's Theses

Maternal supply of nutrients is critical for the developing fetus during all stages of gestation. The altered lipid metabolism that is often seen in pregnancies complicated by obesity and insulin resistance may negatively impact maternal supply to the fetus. More women are entering pregnancy overweight or obese and recently body mass index (BMI) has been found to be a positive predictor for decreased maternal plasma phospholipid concentrations of the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) docosahexanoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA). These nutrients play important roles in early development and their availability is critical to fetal growth and development. The …

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A Taphonomic Model Of Concealment: Decomposition And The Postmortem Interval (Pmi) In A 55-Gallon Barrel, Lauren Rebecca Pharr Jan 2009

A Taphonomic Model Of Concealment: Decomposition And The Postmortem Interval (Pmi) In A 55-Gallon Barrel, Lauren Rebecca Pharr

LSU Master's Theses

Three 80-pound pigs used as human models were sealed inside 55-gallon black metal drums to monitor the rates and stages of decomposition of concealed, child-sized remains. Visual assessments of the anaerobic decomposition processes in each of the drums for Pigs A and B were possible through a Lexan window installed on each drums’ lid. The third pig—Pig C—was placed inside a drum with four one-half-inch holes permitting insect access and oriented in north, south, east, and west positions around the drum’s upper perimeter. Visual assessments of Pig C were made by lifting the drum’s lid; these assessments revealed that the …

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