Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Creativity Assessment In School Settings Through Problem Posing Tasks, Ildikó Pelczer, Fernando Gamboa Rodríguez

The Mathematics Enthusiast

Research in math education on mathematical creativity relies on the idea that creativity is potentially within all students and it can be fostered by properly structured activities. The tasks most commonly used for its assessment are problem solving and problem posing. In our approach we use problem posing tasks to get insight into students’ creativity. Based on a qualitative analysis of the participants’ answers to the questionnaire that followed the task, we define algorithmic, combined and innovative creativity as constructs that can be put in correspondence with the types and level of knowledge involved in the problem posing task. We …

Cell And Protein-Based Sensing Systems For The Detection Of Environmentally And Physiologically Relevant Molecules, Kendrick Bruce Turner

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

The detection of small molecules in complex sample matrices such as environmental (surface and ground water, sediment, etc.) and biological (blood, serum, plasma, etc.) samples is of paramount importance for monitoring the distribution of environmental pollutants and their patterns of exposure within the population as well as diagnosing and managing diseases. Biosensors have demonstrated a singular ability to sensitively and selectively detect analytes in complex samples without the need for extensive sample preparation and pretreatment. Nature has demonstrated myriad examples of exquisite selectivity in spite of complexity and we seek to take advantage of that attribute in the development of …

Net Microbial Activity, Vegetation Dynamics, And Ecosystem Function In Created And Natural Palustrine Forested Wetlands In Southeastern Virginia, Usa, Christian A. Hauser

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Dietary Mercury Exposure On Spatial Memory Of Zebra Finches, Taeniopygia Guttata, Amanda Mae Bessler

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Synthesis And Fluorescence Studies Of Spirooxazine-Functionalized Poly(Phenylene Vinylene) Prepared Via Gilch Polymerization And Click Chemistry, Kathryn Anne Peth

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Production Of Cyclohexylene-Containing Diamines In Pursuit Of Novel Radiation Shielding Materials, Norah G. Bate

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Memory Access Patterns For Cellular Automata Using Gpgpus, James Michael Balasalle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Today's graphical processing units have hundreds of individual processing cores that can be used for general purpose computation of mathematical and scientific problems. Due to their hardware architecture, these devices are especially effective when solving problems that exhibit a high degree of spatial locality. Cellular automata use small, local neighborhoods to determine successive states of individual elements and therefore, provide an excellent opportunity for the application of general purpose GPU computing. However, the GPU presents a challenging environment because it lacks many of the features of traditional CPUs, such as automatic, on-chip caching of data. To fully realize the potential …

The Effects Of Coursecasting In International Freshman Students' Perceptions Of Marginality And Isolation, Anxiety, And English Language Oral Proficiency And Comprehension, Alberto Fernandez

CCE Theses and Dissertations

The influx of international students attending American universities has put the U.S. at the forefront of international education, generating over $14.5 billion yearly.

International students often face adjustment issues impacting their level of satisfaction with their experience. These involve oral language proficiency, as well as feelings of anxiety and isolation resulting from language deficiencies, which increase their feelings of marginality. Engaged learning, which is dependent on comprehension, is affected by the anxiety students bring to class. It is believed that coursecasts may alleviate anxiety, thus improving student engagement in learning.

A pre-experimental research design investigates whether coursecasting mitigates feelings of …

Wiki Behavior In The Workplace: Emotional Aspects Of Content Development, Deborah A. Gears

CCE Theses and Dissertations

Wikis have been found to be an easy-to-use, low-cost, and Internet-based technology useful in creating and mobilizing knowledge. Wikis hosted within firms (corporate wikis) have become a popular way for employees to share information and collaborate.

Preliminary research suggested that as few as 6% of wiki consumers contributed to the development of wiki pages. Conventional approaches argued that employees judged the costs of participating in wikis (e.g., authoring or changing material, reading messages, following an argument, and posting responses) to exceed the benefits of participating in wikis (e.g., recognition, reputation etc.) - thus many people "lurked" but did not post. …

Computer Music Composition Using Crowdsourcing And Genetic Algorithms, Jessica Faith Keup

CCE Theses and Dissertations

When genetic algorithms (GA) are used to produce music, the results are limited by a fitness bottleneck problem. To create effective music, the GA needs to be thoroughly trained by humans, but this takes extensive time and effort. Applying online collective intelligence or "crowdsourcing" to train a musical GA is one approach to solve the fitness bottleneck problem. The hypothesis was that when music was created by a GA trained by a crowdsourced group and music was created by a GA trained by a small group, the crowdsourced music would be more effective and musically sound. When a group of …

Automated Support For Model Selection Using Analytic Hierarchy Process, Mario Sarkis Missakian

CCE Theses and Dissertations

Providing automated support for model selection is a significant research challenge in model management. Organizations maintain vast growing repositories of analytical models, typically in the form of spreadsheets. Effective reuse of these models could result in significant cost savings and improvements in productivity. However, in practice, model reuse is severely limited by two main challenges: (1) lack of relevant information about the models maintained in the repository, and (2) lack of end user knowledge that prevents them from selecting appropriate models for a given problem solving task. This study built on the existing model management literature to address these research …

Consolidated Public Safety Dispatch Centers: Us Case Studies, Daila Shimek, Scott Winograd, Kimberly Renee Vining

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This report includes case studies of consolidated dispatch centers in the United States. Each case study includes descriptions of the governing and operating structure, consolidation process, funding and fee structure, and the successes, challenges and lessons learned by each entity. The results suggest that, although the experiences among consolidated dispatch centers varied, the elements that should contribute to a successful transition are strong leadership, communication with affected employees, ability to compromise, consistency in treatment of employees, development of standard operating procedures, stakeholder inclusion, and beginning consolidation with a clear plan that treats all participants as equal partners.

Consolidated Dispatch Center Feasibility Study: Ohio Case Studies, Daila Shimek, Scott Winograd, Kimberly Renee Vining

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This report describes the outcome of case study research of consolidated dispatch centers in the state of Ohio. Each case study includes descriptions of the governing and operating structure, consolidation process, funding and fee structure, and the successes, challenges, and lessons learned by each entity. The results suggest that while the experiences among consolidated dispatch centers varied, the elements that should contribute to a successful transition are building strong relationships, involving a center director and other stakeholders (including affected employees) in the planning process, having a willingness to compromise, providing training for dispatchers developing of standard operating procedures, and establishing …

New Gc Separation Approaches And Analysis Of Antioxidants From Rosemary (Rosmarinus Officinalis L.) And Their Stabilities By Hplc, Ying Zhang

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations

Enantiomeric separations are of great interest in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and agrochemical industries due to the different therapeutic effects of enantiomers. Because of the high efficiency, sensitivity and simplicity, chiral gas chromatography has been widely applied to separate enantiomers that are volatile and thermally stable. In this dissertation, a group of novel chiral selectors based on cyclofructans for gas chromatography is developed and their enantioselective properties are evaluated.Room temperature ionic liquids (ILs) have been used as gas chromatographic stationary phase due to their unique physical properties in achiral separations. A series of trigonal tricationic ILs are synthesized, characterized and used …

Slowing Dna Translocation In A Biological Protein Α-Hemolysin Ion Channel, R. Samanthi S. De Zoysa

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations

During the past decade, nanopore DNA sequencing has emerged as a revolutionary prospect towards a "$1000 genome" goal set by U.S. National Institute of Health. In the nanopore approach, electrophoretic movement of polynucleotide molecules through a nanopore would provide transient current blockades that are unique to each molecule. Since kilobase length DNA can be read directly without amplification or use of costly reagents such as enzymes and fluorescent tags, the nanopore approach can significantly reduce the sequencing cost. However, due to the rapid DNA translocation velocity through the nanopore, accurate detection of single nucleotide bases via the electrophoretically driven approach …

Total Synthesis Of Marine Derived Natural Products: Kealiiquinone And Ageliferin, Heather Marie Lima

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations

An intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction of vinylimidazoles has been developed and applied towards the total synthesis of benzimidazole and tetrahydrobenzimidazole natural products, namely kealiiquinone and ageliferin. A common feature of many imidazole-containing natural products including those of interest in this dissertation is the presence of a 2-amino or 2-imidazolone substituent. A novel method for achieving C2 substitutions has been developed employing chloro-containing reagents. N-Chlorosuccinimide in conjunction with a base has been used to give 2-imidazolones directly from imidazolium salts. This method was then optimized through the use of sodium hypochlorite. This chemistry provides the desired 2-imidazolones in yields ranging from 46-88% …

Bayesian Inference For Exponential Random Graph Models, Alberto Caimo, Nial Friel

Articles

Exponential random graph models are extremely difficult models to handle from a statistical viewpoint, since their normalising constant, which depends on model parameters, is available only in very trivial cases. We show how inference can be carried out in a Bayesian framework using a MCMC algorithm, which circumvents the need to calculate the normalising constants. We use a population MCMC approach which accelerates convergence and improves mixing of the Markov chain. This approach improves performance with respect to the Monte Carlo maximum likelihood method of Geyer and Thompson (1992).

Communications And 'Forestructures' At The Geological Intersection Of Caves And Subsurface Water Flow: Hermeneutics And Parochialism, Lee J. Florea, H. L. Vacher

Geology Faculty Publications

The direction of cave and karst science throughout its history has been partly determined by communication—or, more commonly, the lack of communication—between non-scientist cavers and non-caving physical geologists writing about karst. Within each community, advancement of ‘cave awareness’ occurred through a hermeneutic circle in which ‘forestructures’ guided progress. One result was regionalism of speleo-genetic theories developed within karst science because of the weight of evidence placed upon local or regional observations. Many speleogenetic theories of the mid-1900s suffer from this parochialism, failing to take into account findings from karst of different geologic settings. During the past half-century, the accumulated worldwide …

Insulin Based Analogs Hlvealylv And Lvealylv To Inhibit The Formation Of Amyloid Fibrils In Beta Cells, Balakrishna Kurva

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Human islet amyloid polypetide (hIAPP) is a 37 amino acid peptide, co-secreted along with insulin in the islets of Langerhans of pancreatic beta cells. Aggregation of hIAPP fibrils is believed to be toxic to beta cells and responsible for beta cell dysfunction and death associated with type 2 diabetes. Insulin has been found to act against the actions of hIAPP. The internal sequence of insulin, HLVEALYLV, recognizes and binds the 10-19 region of hIAPP. Since insulin reportedly blocks the formation of amyloid fibers, insulin analogs may protect cell membranes from damage. In an effort to study this effect, truncated analogs …

On-Trap Derivatization Of Short-Chain Fatty Acids, Mace Mattieson

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

It has recently been hypothesized that gastrointestinal microbiota modulate immune response by the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). There is a need for rapid, selective analytical methodology capable of trace analysis of SCFAs in complex biological matrices. Previous studies by others using multibed-sorbent traps, solid phase microextraction (SPME), and on-fiber derivatization with SPME showed that it is possible to achieve low limits of detection (LODs) for the gas chromatographic (GC) headspace analysis of SCFAs. The goal of this project was to achieve on-trap derivatization of SCFAs by incorporating a derivatizing agent onto a sorbent trap. Preconcentration and derivatization of …

Insulin Based Inhibitors Of Human Islet Amyloid Polypeptide (Hiapp) And Their Effect On Aggregation Of Hiapp In The Treatment Of Type Ii Diabetes, Ranadheer R. Pesaru

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Human islet amyloid polypeptide protein (hIAPP) is secreted by the pancreas along with insulin and is assumed to play a role in pathological development of type II diabetes. It has 37 amino acids in its sequence. Amyloid is formed due to misfolding of the protein, which is cytotoxic to beta cells in the pancreas of type II diabetic patients. The presence of amyloid deposits is also a characteristic feature of a number of other diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Since insulin has been reported to interact with hIAPP and block amyloid formation, fragments of insulin were synthesized and …

Characterizing The Oligomeric Structure And Catalytic Activity Of The Dihydroorotase And Aspartate Transcarbamoylase From The Bacterium, Bacillus Anthracis, Reshma Kankanala

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Bacteremia refers to bacterial presence in the blood. Bacterial proliferation in the blood requires that the organism adapt its metabolism to available nutrients. Nucleotide precursors that could be used are present at low levels in the blood, and thus the invading bacteria must rely on de novo nucleotide biosynthesis for survival. The dihydroorotase domain is a key enzyme in pyrimidine biosynthesis and a promising drug target. The genes encoding the dihydroorotase (DHOase) and aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase) of Bacillus anthracis (B. anthracis) were cloned for expression in Escherichia coli (E. coli). The proteins were purified by affinity …

Scaffolding With Video Prior To Sophomore Physics Lab: The Addition And Resolution Of Vectors, David J. Sitar

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Estimating Greenhouse Gas Emissions In Louisiana At The Parish Scale, Quang Tran

LSU Master's Theses

The estimation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals from the atmosphere at the county scale is an interest to many local decision makers and scientists looking to plan, track, mitigate, or reduce concentrations at the local or regional level. This thesis presents a new approach in downscaling state-level emissions to contiguous county levels using the state of Louisiana as an example. Here, we applied the volume- preserving principle in an attempt to improve existing methods and fully characterize accurate GHG emissions at the county (i.e., parish) level. All six “Kyoto” GHG emissions related to sources and sectors were assessed …

Provenance And Origin Of Holocene Beach Ridge And Modern Beach Sands From The Costa De Nayarit, Western Mexico, Ruben Abe Cisneros

LSU Master's Theses

The Costa de Nayarit in western Mexico is a classic modern example of the progradation of a coastline in a wave-dominated depositional environment. Throughout the Pleistocene, sediments have been brought to the Costa De Nayarit via three major river systems, the Rio Grande de Santiago, the Rio San Pedro and the Rio Acaponeta. These river systems obtain their sediments from two distinctly different volcanic provinces within central Mexico, the Sierra Madre Occidental (SMO), a volcanic province characterized by its predominance of felsic volcanism (rhyolites) and pyroclastic flows (welded ash flow tuff and ignimbrite), and the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB), which …

Small And Medium Enterprise Agricultural Producers And Forest Landowners Attitudes And Perceptions Towards New Bio-Based Paths To Prosperity: A Pilot Study In Louisiana And Mississippi, Roger D. Smithhart

LSU Master's Theses

Energy producers, developers, legislators, policy makers, and the public are searching for alternative energy sources to alleviate energy demands and dependency on fossil fuels. Of the renewable energy sources, biomass from forestry, crop, and animal residues offer a clean and sustainable solution to help mitigate climate issues and stabilize energy needs. However, most forests and farms in the U.S. are privately owned. It’s important to understand forest landowners’, agricultural producers’, and poultry producers’ attitudes and perceptions towards management activities intended for producing bio-based products. Three surveys were conducted tailored for each group. We surveyed 3,500 small to medium forest landowners …

Geomicrobiology Of Louisiana Coastal Marshes Before And After The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Chang Liu

LSU Master's Theses

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico not only impacted open ocean and shoreline geochemical and ecological environments, but it served to promote research of microbial ecosystems in poorly studied habitats, such as Louisiana marshes. Sediment and water samples from four main marshes in southern Louisiana were collected in May 2010 (pre-oil), September 2010 (oiled), and June 2011 (post-oil). Sites near the Mississippi River had exceptionally low salinity in the immediate months following the oil spill due to freshwater diversion efforts; salinity increased by an order of magnitude one year later. Microbial diversity was evaluated from …

Fraction Proficiency In Gifted Middle School Students, Lauren Alissa Lejeune

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis presents a program to develop fraction proficiency in gifted students who have skipped grades. The program was piloted with 31 gifted and advanced students in grades 6 and 7, and qualitative data on their performance is presented. Also presented here is a test of fraction proficiency that was developed to determine the level that students achieved at the end of the pilot program. The results of this test are presented and analyzed. The net contribution of this work is to present a starting point for a set of catch-up lessons on operations with fractions and to present a …

Spatiotemporal Responses Of Macroinvertebraes To Timber Harvesting In Low-Gradient Headwater Streams Of Central Louisiana, Derrick Klimesh

LSU Master's Theses

Macroinvertebrates are reflective of their nearby environment and are popularly used to detect changes in water quality. In this thesis research, macroinvertebrates were collected to investigate aquatic effects of timber harvesting operations with and without the use of best management practices (BMPs) in a forested, low-gradient, subtropical watershed in central Louisiana. Habitat assessments, physicochemical and hydrologic measurements, and macroinvertebrate sampling were conducted nine times from 2006 to 2010 during the spring and late summer, at 13 site locations ranging from plot level to watershed outlet. Timber harvesting occurred in September of 2007. A total of 86,183 macroinvertebrates were identified from …

Fate Of Mississippi River Diverted Nitrate On Vegetated And Non-Vegetated Coastal Marshes Of Breton Sound Estuary, Christine M. Vanzomeren

LSU Master's Theses

The Caernarvon Diversion meters Mississippi River water into coastal marshes of Breton Sound. Elevated levels of nitrogen in river water have sparked concerns that nutrient loading may affect marsh resilience and belowground biomass, as evidence from several marsh fertilization studies. These concerns resulted from observation that fresh and brackish Breton Sound marshes suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Katrina. The goal of this study is to determine the fate of nitrate (the dominant inorganic nitrogen form in the Mississippi River) in Breton Sound Estuary marshes. We hypothesized that most nitrate would be removed by denitrification and that nitrate loading would not …