Digital Commons Network^™

Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Of Qtl And Gene Expression Studies Identify Candidate Genes Associated With Aspergillus Flavus Resistance In Maize, Niranjan Baisakh, Eduardo A. Da Silva, Anjan K. Pradhan, Kanniah Rajasekaran

Faculty Publications

Aflatoxin (AF) contamination, caused by Aspergillus flavus, compromises the food safety and marketability of commodities, such as maize, cotton, peanuts, and tree nuts. Multigenic inheritance of AF resistance impedes conventional introgression of resistance traits into high-yielding commercial maize varieties. Several AF resistance-associated quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and markers have been reported from multiple biparental mapping and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in maize. However, QTLs with large confidence intervals (CI) explaining inconsistent phenotypic variance limit their use in marker-assisted selection. Meta-analysis of published QTLs can identify significant meta-QTLs (MQTLs) with a narrower CI for reliable identification of genes and linked markers …

Going With The Flow: The Supply And Demand Of Sediment Retention Ecosystem Services For The Reservoirs In Puerto Rico, R. De Jesus Crespo, M. Valladares-Castellanos, Volodymyr V. Mihunov, T. H. Douthat

Faculty Publications

Impounding surface waters in reservoirs is a major mechanism for providing water for human consumption, including potable water, hydroelectric power, and industrial uses. Building reservoirs incurs environmental and social costs, and therefore safeguarding their effectiveness and longevity is a concern of clear public interest. One factor that affects the longevity of reservoirs is sedimentation, a process exacerbated by land use conversion in upstream watershed areas. Despite the economic importance of preventing sedimentation in existing reservoirs, few consumers are aware of the natural features that provide sediment retention services and the relevance of their conservation in their daily lives. Moreover, managing …

Uniqueness Of Entire Solutions To Quasilinear Equations Of P-Laplace Type, Nguyen Cong Phuc, Igor E. Verbitsky

Faculty Publications

We prove the uniqueness property for a class of entire solutions to the equation (Formula presented) where σ is a nonnegative locally finite measure in Rⁿ, absolutely continuous with respect to the p-capacity, and div A(x, ∇u) is the A-Laplace operator, under standard growth and monotonicity assumptions of order p (1 < p < ∞) on A(x, ξ) (x, ξ ∈ Rⁿ); the model case A(x, ξ) = ξ|ξ|^p−2 corresponds to the p-Laplace operator ∆p on Rⁿ. Our main results establish uniqueness of solutions to a similar problem,(Formula presented) in the sub-natural growth case 0 < q < p − 1, where µ, σ are nonnegative locally finite measures in Rⁿ, absolutely continuous with respect to the …

Generalizing Cographs To 2-Cographs, James Oxley, Jagdeep Singh

Faculty Publications

A graph in which every connected induced subgraph has a disconnected complement is called a cograph. Such graphs are precisely the graphs that do not have the 4-vertex path as an induced subgraph. We define a 2-cograph to be a graph in which the complement of every 2-connected induced subgraph is not 2-connected. We show that, like cographs, 2-cographs can be recursively defined and are closed under induced minors. We characterize the class of non-2-cographs for which every proper induced minor is a 2-cograph. We further find the finitely many members of this class whose complements are also induced-minor-minimal non-2-cographs.

Seepage-Induced Pore Pressure Variations Beneath An Earthen Levee Measured With A Novel Seismic Tool, Daniel Locci-Lopez, Juan M. Lorenzo

Faculty Publications

Shear-wave seismic reflection velocity-versus-depth models can complement our understanding of seepage pore pressure variations beneath earthen levees at locations between geotechnical sites. The seasonal variations of water level in the Mississippi River create pore pressure changes in the adjacent hydraulically connected aquifer on the protected side of artificial levees. Time-lapse shear-wave velocity analysis or repetition of seismic acquisition over an area is a non-invasive method that can detect seasonal pore pressure variations in shallow (< 40 m) aquifers. The seismic reflection patterns during the seasonal pore pressure variations of the river show a distinctive change in the velocity semblance analysis, which is translated as a change in the average stress carried by the grain-to-grain contact, or simply the effective pressure. The seismic data show a greater variation of up to +140/−40 m/s or +700/−150 kPa in the confined aquifer zone, compared with the leaky confined aquifer zone of up to +46/−48 m/s or +140/−80 kPa. These relative effective pressure characteristics allow us to distinguish between confined and leaky aquifers and can be an optional approach for pressure prediction in floodplains along levees without the need to drill borings in the area to measure piezometric data.

Climate And Atlantic Sea-Level Recorded In Southwestern Spain From 6.3 To 5.2 Ma. Inferences On The Messinian Crisis In The Mediterranean, Jean Pierre Suc, Séverine Fauquette, Sophie Warny, Gonzalo Jiménez-Moreno, Damien Do Couto

Faculty Publications

The Mio-Pliocene succession of Andalusia on the Atlantic coast (Guadalquivir Basin) is known as one of the former stratotype candidate for the Andalusian Stage, proposed during the seventies as the last stage of the Miocene. Its type section is located in Carmona, east of Seville. Our investigation includes the drilling of three cored boreholes, which provide bio- and magnetic-stratigraphic data in complement to pre-existing industrial information, and a high-resolution palynological analysis (pollen grains, spores and dinoflagellate cysts). The pollen flora and its climatic quantification provide the mean to correlate the section to the oxygen isotope curve from the Montemayor-1 borehole, …

The Lagrangian Numerical Relativity Code Sphincs_Bssn_V1.0, Stephan Rosswog, Francesco Torsello, Peter Diener

Faculty Publications

We present version 1.0 of our Lagrangian numerical relativity code SPHINCS_BSSN. This code evolves the full set of Einstein equations, but contrary to other numerical relativity codes, it evolves the matter fluid via Lagrangian particles in the framework of a high-accuracy version of smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH). The major new elements introduced here are: (i) a new method to map the stress–energy tensor (known at the particles) to the spacetime mesh, based on a local regression estimate; (ii) additional measures that ensure the robust evolution of a neutron star through its collapse to a black hole; and (iii) further refinements …

Superfgd Prototype Time Resolution Studies, I. Alekseev, T. Arihara, V. Baranov, L. Bartoszek, L. Bernardi, A. Blondel, A. V. Boikov, M. Buizza-Avanzini, F. Cadoux, J. Capó, J. Cayo, J. Chakrani, P. S. Chong, A. Chvirova, M. Danilov, Y. I. Davydov, A. Dergacheva, N. Dokania, D. Douqa, O. Drapier, A. Eguchi, Y. Favre, D. Fedorova, S. Fedotov, Y. Fujii, F. Gastaldi, A. Gendotti, V. Glagolev, R. Guillaumat, K. Iwamoto, M. Jakkapu, C. Jesús-Valls, C. K. Jung

Faculty Publications

The SuperFGD detector will be a novel and important upgrade to the ND280 near detector for both the T2K and Hyper-Kamiokande projects. The main goal of the ND280 upgrade is to reduce systematic uncertainties associated with neutrino flux and cross-section modeling for future studies of neutrino oscillations using the T2K and Hyper-Kamiokande experiments. The upgraded ND280 detector will be able to perform a full exclusive reconstruction of the final state from neutrino-nucleus interactions, including measurements of low momentum protons, pions and for the first time, event-by event measurements of neutron kinematics. Precisely understanding the time resolution is critical for the …

Effects Of Anisotropy And Disorder On The Superconducting Properties Of Niobium, Mehdi Zarea, Hikaru Ueki, J. A. Sauls

Faculty Publications

We report results for the superconducting transition temperature and anisotropic energy gap for pure niobium based on Eliashberg’s equations and electron and phonon band structures computed from density functional theory. The electronic band structure is used to construct the Fermi surface and calculate the Fermi velocity at each point on the Fermi surface. The phonon bands are in excellent agreement with inelastic neutron scattering data. The corresponding phonon density of states and electron–phonon coupling define the electron–phonon spectral function, α²F(p, p′; ω), and the corresponding electron–phonon pairing interaction, which is the basis for computing the superconducting properties. The …

Non-Fermi Liquid Behavior In The Three-Dimensional Hubbard Model, Samuel Kellar, Ka Ming Tam, Juana Moreno

Faculty Publications

We present a numerical study on the non-Fermi liquid behavior of a three-dimensional strongly correlated system. The Hubbard model in a simple cubic lattice is simulated by the dynamical cluster approximation; in particular, the quasi-particle weight is calculated at finite dopings for a range of temperatures. By fitting the quasi-particle weight to the marginal Fermi liquid form at finite doping near the putative quantum critical point, we find evidence of a separatrix between Fermi liquid and non-Fermi liquid regions. Our results suggest that a marginal Fermi liquid and possibly a quantum critical point exist in the non-symmetry broken solution of …

The Link Between Marine Thermal Discharges And Nemopilema Nomurai Blooms Around Nuclear Power Plants, Jiawei Wu, Jie Kong, Edward A. Laws, Xin Liu, Changyun Wang, Jixin Chen, Mianrun Chen, Qingzhen Yao, Yantao Wang, Yu Zhen, Chaolun Li, Bangqin Huang

Faculty Publications

Recent research has shown that jellyfish blooms occur more frequently near nuclear power plants (NPPs), and a relationship between thermal discharges from the NPPs and the blooms has been hypothesized. There is, however, no direct evidence that links the thermal discharges with jellyfish blooms. In this study, we conducted 3 cruises (pre-bloom, bloom, and post-bloom) during July to September 2017 in the area surrounding the largest NPP in northern China. The water temperature near the cooling water outfall rose by 2 °C. Although we found no significant impact on phytoplankton abundance or community composition near the outfall, a broader analysis …

Parental Engagement And Implementation Fidelity In A Mhealth Motor Skills Intervention For Young Children, Amanda E. Staiano, Sanjoy Saha, Robbie A. Beyl, Chelsea L. Kracht, Robert L. Newton, E. Kipling Webster

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Introduction: Mobile apps (i.e. mHealth) provide unprecedented opportunity for widespread dissemination of health behavior programs. However, for programs directed towards young children, parental engagement may explain differing results of mHealth programs. Within the context of an app-based fundamental motor skill (FMS) intervention that improved children’s motor skills (PLAY), this paper examines parents’ fidelity to the intervention and the extent to which fidelity was related to children’s motor skill improvements. Methods: In the PLAY trial, 72 children aged 3–5 years were randomized for their parents to access a Motor Skills app or Free Play app for a 12-week intervention. The Motor …

Phylogenomics Of Trans-Andean Tetras Of The Genus Hyphessobrycon Durbin 1908 (Stethaprioninae: Characidae) And Colonization Patterns Of Middle America, Diego J. Elías, Caleb D. Mcmahan, Fernando Alda, Carlos García-Alzate, Pamela B. Hart, Prosanta Chakrabarty

Faculty Publications

Hyphessobrycon is one of the most species rich and widely distributed genera in the family Characidae, with more than 160 species ranging from Veracruz, Mexico to Mar Chiquita Lagoon in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The majority of Hyphessobrycon diversity shows a cis- Andean distribution; only nine species are trans-Andean including H. compressus (Meek 1908). It is well established that Hyphessobrycon is not monophyletic but it has been suggested that natural groups can be identified within the larger Hyphessobrycon species group. In this study, we tested the monophyly of trans-Andean species of Hyphessobrycon and investigated the placement of H. compressus. We inferred …

An Interior Maximum Norm Error Estimate For The Symmetric Interior Penalty Method On Planar Polygonal Domains, Susanne C. Brenner, Li Yeng Sung

Faculty Publications

We establish an interior maximum norm error estimate for the symmetric interior penalty method on planar polygonal domains.

A Geometric Trapping Approach To Global Regularity For 2d Navier-Stokes On Manifolds, Aynur Bulut, Manh Khang Huynh

Faculty Publications

In this paper, we use frequency decomposition techniques to give a direct proof of global existence and regularity for the Navier-Stokes equations on two-dimensional Riemannian manifolds without boundary. Our techniques are inspired by an approach of Mattingly and Sinai [15] which was developed in the context of periodic boundary conditions on a flat background, and which is based on a maximum principle for Fourier coefficients. The extension to general manifolds requires several new ideas, connected to the less favorable spectral localization properties in our setting. Our arguments make use of frequency projection operators, multilinear estimates that originated in the study …

Effect Of Estradiol And Predator Cues On Behavior And Brain Responses Of Captive Female House Sparrows (Passer Domesticus), Melanie G. Kimball, Courtney T. Harding, Kaitlin E. Couvillion, Keegan R. Stansberry, Tosha R. Kelly, Christine R. Lattin

Faculty Publications

The presence of predators can cause major changes in animal behavior, but how this interacts with hormonal state and brain activity is poorly understood. We gave female house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in post-molt condition an estradiol (n = 17) or empty implant (n = 16) for 1 week. Four weeks after implant removal, a time when female sparrows show large differences in neuronal activity to conspecific vs. heterospecific song, we exposed birds to either 30 min of conspecific song or predator calls, and video recorded their behavior. Females were then euthanized, and we examined neuronal activity using the expression of …

On The Usefulness Of Mock Genomes To Define Heterotic Pools, Testers, And Hybrid Predictions In Orphan Crops, Ingrid Pinheiro Machado, Júlio César Dovale, Felipe Sabadin, Roberto Fritsche-Neto

Faculty Publications

The advances in genomics in recent years have increased the accuracy and efficiency of breeding programs for many crops. Nevertheless, the adoption of genomic enhancement for several other crops essential in developing countries is still limited, especially for those that do not have a reference genome. These crops are more often called orphans. This is the first report to show how the results provided by different platforms, including the use of a simulated genome, called the mock genome, can generate in population structure and genetic diversity studies, especially when the intention is to use this information to support the formation …

Maternal Restricted- And Over- Feeding During Gestation Perturb Offspring Sperm Epigenome In Sheep, Linkai Zhu, Nicole Tillquist, Giovanna Scatolin, Rachael Gately, Mia Kawaida, Amanda Reiter, Sarah Reed, Steven Zinn, Kristen Govoni, Zongliang Jiang

Faculty Publications

In brief: Inadequate maternal nutrition during gestation can have immediate and lifelong effects on offspring. This study shows that maternal restricted - and over- nutrition during gestation do not affect semen characteristics in F1 male offspring but alters offspring sperm sncRNA profiles and DNA methylome in sheep. Abstract: There is a growing body of evidence that inadequate maternal nutrition during gestation can have immediate and lifelong effects on offspring. However, little is known about the effects of maternal nutrition during gestation on male offspring reproduction. Here, using a sheep model of maternal restricted - and over - nutrition (60 or …

Louisiana Survey 2023, Lsu Reilly Center For Media & Public Affairs

Reilly Center Louisiana Surveys

The 2023 Louisiana Survey is the twenty-first in an annual series of statewide surveys beginning in 2003 and sponsored by the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs at Louisiana State University’s Manship School of Mass Communication.

Reflecting the continuing evolution of survey research, we used two approaches for this year’s survey. First, we used our traditional probability-sampling approach to draw landline and cell phone numbers for a live-interview telephone survey. Second, in partnership with the research firm YouGov, we administered an online survey to a nonprobability sample of Louisiana residents who participate in the YouGov panel. We use statistical …

Part I — Introduction: Social Physics And The Vespace Project, Jeffrey M. Leichman, Ben Samuel

Faculty Publications

This article introduces the VESPACE project, an international, multi-disciplinary digital humanities initiative to build a computer-mediated playable simulation—a video game—of the eighteenth-century Paris Fair theatre. As part of this project, a weeklong postgraduate workshop was convened by the authors in May 2020 to develop protocols and procedures for coding literary and historical data for the Ensemble social physics engine that will govern behaviour of non-player characters (NPCs) in the interactive model. This article lays out the history and theory of social physics, the potential impacts of this project on historiographic practice, and the methodology and outcomes of the workshop week. …

Reconsidering The Good Of Improving Accountability, Roy L. Heidelberg

Faculty Publications

Among the rhetorical pleas that follow most instances of public dissatisfaction is the call for more or better accountability. Accountability is a lauded notion, a “golden concept” that is considered widely as critical to the success of democratic government. Such pleas, I will argue, are misplaced. Rather than starting from the premise of accountability as an idea that no one can be against, I consider the possibility that accountability undermines the very notion it ostensibly promotes: self-government. The concept of accountability in modern political theory is tied more closely to the emergence of an impersonal administrative state than it is …

Between Black Mothers And Daughters: A Critical Intergenerational Duoethnography On The Silence Of Health Disparities And Hope Of Loud Healing, Asha S. Winfield, Hope Hickerson, Deshara C. Doub, Ann R. Winfield, Brigitte Mcphatter

Faculty Publications

Introduction: Black American women's health outcomes have been altered by a number of factors. Those factors include social determinants of health, lack of culturally competent healthcare providers, and generations of medical racism leading to prolonged pain, delayed care, and sometimes, untimely deaths. Methods: This original research article centers Southern Black women's lived experiences through family storytelling. We explored generations of health narratives in regard to age, region, and at times, their own acts of silence. Building from theorizing on loud healing, two Black daughters turned the mic on for their mothers by engaging in a critical intergenerational double duoethnography to …

Prep On Tiktok: Benefits, Barriers, And Possibilities, Joseph Schwartz, Josh Grimm, Cameron Jamison

Faculty Publications

HIV remains a serious problem in the U.S. particularly for men who have sex with men. PrEP is an intervention that can dramatically decrease the risk of HIV infection. Because rates of PrEP adoption have been lower than anticipated, researchers have called for new tactics for promoting PrEP. For this reason, we analyzed PrEP messaging on TikTok. In an analysis guided by the Health Belief Model, we found that discussions of PrEP benefits and barriers were most common on TikTok. Severity and susceptibility were least common. We distilled these findings into suggestions for promoting PrEP adoption.

Investigating Consumer Values Of Secondhand Fashion Consumption In The Mass Market Vs. Luxury Market: A Text-Mining Approach, H. M.Rakib Ul Hasan, Chunmin Lang, Sibei Xia

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this research is to investigate consumer values of secondhand fashion (SHF) consumption from online platforms in both the mass market and luxury market. The luxury SHF business is closely related to the business of SHF mass market. A cross-market value analysis would provide better insights to understand consumers’ motivations to purchase secondhand fashion products. Three mass-market SHF companies and three luxury SHF companies were selected as sample companies based on their revenues in the U.S. market. Consumers’ comments and reviews from a third-party business review site, trustpilot.com, were collected using the web-scraping technique. Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) …

Monitoring Of Wave, Current, And Sediment Dynamics Along The Chincoteague Living Shoreline, Virginia, Hongqing Wang, Qin Chen, Nan Wang, William D. Capurso, Lukasz M. Niemoczynski, Ling Zhu, Gregg A. Snedden, Kevin S. Holcomb, Bowdoin W. Lusk, Carol A. Wilson, Sean R. Cornell

Faculty Publications

Nature-based features, also called living shorelines, are increasingly applied in coastal protection and restoration. However, the processes and mechanisms (feedbacks and interactions) of wave attenuation, current velocity change, and sediment deposition and erosion along the living shoreline remain unclear, thus limiting the adaptive management of living shoreline restoration projects for coastal shoreline resilience under future storm conditions. In this study, wave, current, and sediment dynamics along the Little Toms Cove living shoreline, Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia, a low wave energy environment, were investigated during a 2-month winter period in 2019 to examine the effects of living shoreline structures on …

Learning Infused Quantum-Classical Distributed Optimization Technique For Power Generation Scheduling, Reza Mahroo, Amin Kargarian

Faculty Publications

The advent of quantum computing can potentially revolutionize how complex problems are solved. This article proposes a two-loop quantum-classical solution algorithm for generation scheduling by infusing quantum computing, machine learning, and distributed optimization. The aim is to facilitate employing noisy near-term quantum machines with a limited number of qubits to solve practical power system optimization problems, such as generation scheduling. The outer loop is a three-block quantum alternating direction method of multipliers (QADMM) algorithm that decomposes the generation scheduling problem into three subproblems, including one quadratically unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) and two non-QUBOs. The inner loop is a trainable quantum …

Machine Learning Approach For Predicting Bridge Components’ Condition Ratings, Md Manik Mia, Sabarethinam Kameshwar

Faculty Publications

Information on bridge condition rating is critical to make decisions regarding rehabilitation or replacement of bridges. Currently, bridge components’ condition ratings are evaluated manually using inspection reports. Markov chain and Petri net models are most commonly used for predicting future values of bridge parameters, however, applicability of these models for a regional or statewide portfolio of bridges may be limited. The existing data based models have low prediction accuracy. Hence, a data and machine learning based approach is presented herein for predicting the future condition values of major components—deck, superstructure and substructure—in a portfolio of bridges with an objective to …

Improving Social Media Use For Disaster Resilience: Challenges And Strategies, Nina S.N. Lam, Michelle Meyer, Margaret Reams, Seungwon Yang, Kisung Lee, Lei Zou, Volodymyr Mihunov, Kejin Wang, Ryan Kirby, Heng Cai

Faculty Publications

This paper develops a social media-disaster resilience analysis framework by categorizing types of social media use and their challenges to better understand and assess its role in disaster resilience research and management. The framework is derived primarily from several case studies of Twitter use in three hurricane events in the United States–Hurricanes Isaac, Sandy, and Harvey. The paper first outlines four major contributions of social media data for disaster resilience research and management, which include serving as an effective communication platform, providing ground truth information for emergency response and rescue operations, providing information on people’s sentiments, and allowing predictive modeling. …

Achieving Online And Scalable Information Integrity By Harnessing Social Spam Correlations, Hailu Xu, Pinchao Liu, Boyuan Guan, Qingyang Wang, Dilma Da Silva, Liting Hu

Faculty Publications

Malicious web links, social rumors, fraudulent advertisements, faked comments, and biased propaganda are overwhelmingly influencing online social networks. Enabling information integrity is a hot topic in both academia and industry. Traditional social spam detection techniques rely on centralized processing, focusing only on one specific set of data sources, thereby ignoring the social spam correlations between distributed data sources. In this paper, we propose an online and scalable misinformation detection system, named Spiral, to uncover social spam by leveraging the correlations between different social data sources in geo-distributed sites. The key insight in our approach is to amplify the effectiveness of …

Historical Global And Regional Spatiotemporal Patterns In Daily Temperature, Md Adilur Rahim, Robert V. Rohli, Rubayet Bin Mostafiz, Nazla Bushra, Carol J. Friedland

Faculty Publications

The abrupt increase in surface air temperature over the last few decades has received abundant scholarly and popular attention. However, less attention has focused on the specific nature of the warming spatially and seasonally, using high-resolution reanalysis output based on historical temperature observations. This research uses the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Reanalysis Version 5 (ERA5) output to identify spatiotemporal features of daily mean surface air temperature, defined both as the mean of the maximum and minimum temperatures over the calendar day (“meanmaxmin”) and as the mean of the 24 hourly observations per day (“meanhourly”), across the terrestrial …