Digital Commons Network^™

Block-Based Programming For Two-Armed Robots: A Comparative Study, Felipe Fronchetti, Chandler Barfield, Nico Ritschel, Gabriella Chang, Logan Schorr, Rodrigo Spinola, Reid Holmes, David C. Shepherd

Faculty Publications

Programming industrial robots is difficult and expensive. Although recent work has made substantial progress in making it accessible to a wider range of users, it is often limited to simple programs and its usability remains untested in practice. In this article, we introduce Duplo, a block-based programming environment that allows end-users to program two-armed robots and solve tasks that require coordination. Duplo positions the program for each arm side-by-side, using the spatial relationship between blocks from each program to represent parallelism in a way that end-users can easily understand. This design was proposed by previous work, but not implemented or …

Estimating Lentic Recreational Fisheries Catch And Effort Across The United States, Matthew D. Robertson, Stephen R. Midway, Holly S. Embke, Anna L. Kaz, Mitchel Lang, Craig Paukert, Nicholas A. Sievert, Lyndsie Wszola, Abigail J. Lynch

Faculty Publications

Recreational fisheries represent a socially, ecologically, and economically significant component of global fisheries. The U.S. Inland Creel and Angler Survey Catalog (CreelCat) database includes inland recreational fisheries survey data across the United States to facilitate large-scale analyses. However, because survey methods differ, a statistical method capable of integrating these surveys is necessary to assess patterns and relationships across regions. Here, we developed a hierarchical generalized linear mixed modeling approach to estimate the relationship between daily recreational fisheries catch and effort based on waterbody, socio-economic, and ecological covariates. We applied this approach to CreelCat data on lentic waterbodies and found that …

Seasonal, Spatial, And Water Level Predictors Of Angler Catch And Effort Within Texas Black Bass Reservoir Fisheries, David R. Smith, J. Warren Schlechte, Randall A. Myers, Michael A. Dance, Jacob D. Norman, Mitchell T. Nisbet

Faculty Publications

Objective: We sought to identify seasonal, spatial, and water level predictors of black bass angler catch rates and effort densities (i.e., angler-hours/ha) within Texas reservoirs. Methods: We tested for predictors of effort density and catch rate while building generalized additive models with responses derived from a long-term creel data set and explanatory variables derived from the season of the creel survey, geoposition of the reservoir, and water level data obtained from the Texas Water Development Board. Result: Season significantly affected models, with strong positive effects on catch rates during the spring and fall and strong positive effects on effort densities …

Longitudinal Profiling Of Fasting Plasma Metabolome In Response To Weight-Loss Interventions In Patients With Morbid Obesity, Mingjing Chen, Guanhong Miao, Zhiguang Huo, Hao Peng, Xiaoxiao Wen, Stephen Anton, Dachuan Zhang, Gang Hu, Ricky Brock, Phillip J. Brantley, Jinying Zhao

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

It is well recognized that patients with severe obesity exhibit remarkable heterogeneity in response to different types of weight-loss interventions. Those who undergo Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) usually exhibit more favorable glycemic outcomes than those who receive adjustable gastric banding (BAND) or intensive medical intervention (IMI). The molecular mechanisms behind these observations, however, remain largely unknown. To identify the plasma metabolites associated with differential glycemic outcomes induced by weight-loss intervention, we studied 75 patients with severe obesity (25 each in RYGB, BAND, or IMI). Using untargeted metabolomics, we repeatedly measured 364 metabolites in plasma samples at baseline and 1-year after …

Geaux Math! Ebrpss & Lsu: Differentiating Lessons With Ai, Bich Do, Judith L. F. Rhodes

Reports

Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, East Baton Rouge Parish School System (EBRPSS) and research partner Louisiana State University, Social Research and Evaluation Center (LSU SREC) conducted a pilot program entitled Geaux Math! EBRPSS & LSU: Differentiating Lessons (DI) with AI (Geaux Math!). The study examined a novel way to support differentiating math curricula, focusing on children of color and students living in poverty. DI can be a time-consuming and challenging skill to develop thoroughly. Geaux Math! targeted K-8 teachers. This study aimed to understand how implementing a generative AI tool supports teachers’ ability to plan for small …

Understanding Implications Of Detection Heterogeneity In Wildlife Abundance Estimation, Jeffrey L. Laake, Bret A. Collier

Faculty Publications

Negative bias in mark-recapture abundance estimators due to heterogeneity in detection (capture) probability is a well-known problem, but we believe most biologists do not understand why heterogeneity causes bias and how bias can be reduced. We demonstrate how heterogeneity creates dependence and bias in mark-recapture approaches to abundance estimation. In comparison, heterogeneity, and hence estimator bias, is not as problematic for distance sampling and mark-resight methods because both techniques estimate detection probabilities based on a known quantity. We show how the introduction of a known number of individuals planted into a study population prior to a mark-recapture survey can reduce …

Residual-Based Error Corrector Operator To Enhance Accuracy And Reliability Of Neural Operator Surrogates Of Nonlinear Variational Boundary-Value Problems, Prashant K. Jha

Faculty Publications

This work focuses on developing methods for approximating the solution operators of a class of parametric partial differential equations via neural operators. Neural operators have several challenges, including the issue of generating appropriate training data, cost-accuracy trade-offs, and nontrivial hyperparameter tuning. The unpredictability of the accuracy of neural operators impacts their applications in downstream problems of inference, optimization, and control. A framework based on the linear variational problem that gives the correction to the prediction furnished by neural operators is considered based on earlier work in JCP 486 (2023) 112104. The operator, called Residual-based Error Corrector Operator or simply Corrector …

Response To “Commentary On ‘Guidelines For Parenteral Nutrition In Preterm Infants: The American Society For Parenteral And Enteral Nutrition’”, Daniel T. Robinson, Kara L. Calkins, Yimin Chen, M. Petrea Cober, Gustave H. Falciglia, David D. Church, Jacob Mey, Timothy Sentongo, Liam Mckeever

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Co-Designing A Community Lifestyle Intervention Program To Reduce Postpartum Weight Retention, Maureen Makama, Helen Skouteris, Lisa J. Moran, Briony Hill, Leanne M. Redman, Siew Lim

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Background: Postpartum weight retention is a major contributor to obesity in later life resulting in long-term health consequences in women. Postpartum lifestyle interventions are known to be effective in reducing postpartum weight retention and improving the overall health and wellbeing of mothers but have poor reach and engagement. This study describes the engagement of mothers with young children in the development of a theory- and evidence-based intervention to reduce postpartum weight retention. Methods: A participatory design methodology with input from a community mothers' group, literature reviews and an expert advisory group was applied. Mothers who were members of ‘Mothers of …

Embryonic Exposure To The Benzotriazole Ultraviolet Stabilizer 2-(2h-Benzotriazol-2-Yl)-4-Methylphenol Decreases Fertility Of Adult Zebrafish (Danio Rerio), Yamin Raza, Emily Mertens, Lauren Zink, Zhe Lu, Jon A. Doering, Steve Wiseman

Faculty Publications

Benzotriazole ultraviolet stabilizers (BUVSs) are emerging contaminants of concern. They are added to a variety of products, including building materials, personal care products, paints, and plastics, to prevent degradation caused by ultraviolet (UV) light. Despite widespread occurrence in aquatic environments, little is known regarding the effects of BUVSs on aquatic organisms. The aim of the present study was to characterize the effects of exposure to 2-(2H-benzotriazol-2-yl)-4-methylphenol (UV-P) on the reproductive success of zebrafish (Danio rerio) following embryonic exposure. Embryos were exposed, by use of microinjection, to UV-P at < 1.5 (control), 2.77, and 24.25 ng/g egg, and reared until sexual maturity, when reproductive performance was assessed, following which molecular and biochemical endpoints were analyzed. Exposure to UV-P did not have a significant effect on fecundity. However, there was a significant effect on fertilization success. Using UV-P-exposed males and females, fertility was decreased by 8.75% in the low treatment group and by 15.02% in the high treatment group relative to control. In a reproduction assay with UV-P-exposed males and control females, fertility was decreased by 11.47% in the high treatment group relative to the control. Embryonic exposure to UV-P might have perturbed male sex steroid synthesis as indicated by small changes in blood plasma concentrations of 17β-estradiol and 11-ketotestosterone, and small statistically nonsignificant decreases in mRNA abundances of cyp19a1a, cyp11c1, and hsd17b3. In addition, decreased transcript abundances of genes involved in spermatogenesis, such as nanos2 and dazl, were observed. Decreases in later stages of sperm development were observed, suggesting that embryonic exposure to UV-P impaired spematogenesis, resulting in decreased sperm quantity. The present study is the first to demonstrate latent effects of BUVSs, specifically on fish reproduction. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:385–397. © 2023 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

Quantum Scalar Fields Interacting With Quantum Black Hole Asymptotic Regions, Rodolfo Gambini, Jorge Pullin

Faculty Publications

We continue our work on the study of spherically symmetric loop quantum gravity coupled to two spherically symmetric scalar fields, with one that acts as a clock. As a consequence of the presence of the latter, we can define a true Hamiltonian for the theory. In previous papers, we studied the theory for large values of the radial coordinate, i.e., far away from any black hole or star that may be present. This makes the calculations considerably more tractable. We have shown that in the asymptotic region, the theory admits a large family of quantum vacua for quantum matter fields …

Motor Competence And Body Mass Index In The Preschool Years: A Pooled Cross-Sectional Analysis Of 5545 Children From Eight Countries, Clarice Martins, Vicente Romo-Perez, E. Kipling Webster, Michael Duncan, Luís Filipe Lemos, Amanda E. Staiano, Anthony Okely, Daniele Magistro, Fabio Carlevaro, Farid Bardid, Francesca Magno, Glauber Nobre, Isaac Estevan, Jorge Mota, Ke Ning, Leah E. Robinson, Matthieu Lenoir, Minghui Quan, Nadia C. Valentini, Penny Cross, Rachel Jones, Rafael Henrique, Si Tong Chen, Yucui Diao, Paulo R. Bandeira, Lisa M. Barnett

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Background and Objective: One in five preschool children are overweight/obese, and increased weight status over time increases the risks of poorer future health. Motor skill competence may be a protective factor, giving children the ability to participate in health-enhancing physical activity. Yet, we do not know when the relationship between motor competence and weight status first emerges or whether it is evident across the body mass index (BMI) spectrum. This study examined the association between motor skill competence and BMI in a multi-country sample of 5545 preschoolers (54.36 ± 9.15 months of age; 50.5% boys) from eight countries. Methods: Quantile …

Opposing Genetic Patterns Of Range Shifting Temperate And Tropical Gastropods In An Area Undergoing Tropicalisation, Karolina M. Zarzyczny, Michael E. Hellberg, Elena B. Lugli, Moira Maclean, David A. Paz-García, Marc Rius, Ethan G. Ross, Erick X. Treviño Balandra, James Vanstone, Suzanne T. Williams, Phillip B. Fenberg

Faculty Publications

Aim: The poleward range expansion of tropical species, and range contraction of temperate species (known as tropicalisation) has mainly been studied from an ecological perspective, with little research on its genetic consequences. Here, we used distributional and genetic data to document the consequences of tropicalisation in rocky shore gastropods and assess more broadly the future implications of tropicalisation on phylogeographic patterns. Location: Nineteen sampling sites along >3000 km of the eastern Pacific rocky intertidal zone, from the tip of the Baja California Peninsula to southern California. Taxon: Temperate gastropods: Lottia conus, L. strigatella, Fissurella volcano and Tegula gallina. Tropical gastropods: …

Hamiltonian Formulation And Symplectic Split-Operator Schemes For Time-Dependent Density-Functional-Theory Equations Of Electron Dynamics In Molecules, François Mauger, Cristel Chandre, Mette B. Gaarde, Kenneth Lopata, Kenneth J. Schafer

Faculty Publications

We revisit Kohn–Sham time-dependent density-functional theory (TDDFT) equations and show that they derive from a canonical Hamiltonian formalism. We use this geometric description of the TDDFT dynamics to define families of symplectic split-operator schemes that accurately and efficiently simulate the time propagation for certain classes of DFT functionals. We illustrate these with numerical simulations of the far-from-equilibrium electronic dynamics of a one-dimensional carbon chain. In these examples, we find that an optimized 4th order scheme provides a good compromise between the numerical complexity of each time step and the accuracy of the scheme. We also discuss how the Hamiltonian structure …

The Relationship Between The Saharan Air Layer, Convective Environmental Conditions, And Precipitation In Puerto Rico, P. W. Miller, C. Ramseyer

Faculty Publications

The Saharan Air Layer (SAL) is a hot, dry, and dust-laden feature that advects large concentrations of dust across the Atlantic annually to destination regions in the Americas and Caribbean. However, recent work has suggested the SAL may be a contributing factor to high-impact drought in the Caribbean basin. While the SAL's characteristic dust loadings have been the focus of much previous research, fewer efforts have holistically engaged the co-evolution of the dust plume, its associated convective environment, and resultant rainfall in Caribbean islands. This study employs a self-organizing map (SOM) classification to identify the common trans-Atlantic dust transport typologies …

Nonlinear Filtering Of Classical And Quantum Spin Systems, Sivaguru S. Sritharan, Saba Mudaliar

Journal of Stochastic Analysis

No abstract provided.

Machine-Learning-Assisted Leak Detection Using Distributed Temperature And Acoustic Sensors, Hayden Gemeinhardt, Jyotsna Sharma

Faculty Publications

Small leaks, many of which often go undetected using conventional gauges, remain an urgent problem for an aging pipeline infrastructure. This article proposes a method that allows for an automated and robust leak detection and localization system by fusing distributed acoustic sensor (DAS) and distributed temperature sensor (DTS) data for machine learning. Distributed fiber-optic sensing creates an advantage over conventional gauges by providing real-time continuous measurements along the entire length of the fiber-instrumented pipeline at a high spatiotemporal resolution and sensitivity that can detect small leaks, as well as the leak location. High sensitivity, however, can create noisy data. Thus, …

The Ecological Responses To Hydroperiod Of Wetland Plant Species Determined By Manipulated Soil Surface Elevation (Marsh Organs), Brandon Wolff

LSU Master's Theses

As sea level rise, subsidence, and abandonment of natural deltaic processes due to a highly engineered Mississippi River continue to threaten Louisiana’s coastal wetlands, the need for a system-wide understanding of natural wetland land-building and preservation processes has never been greater. A key component of any wetland is the ever-changing water environment that periodically floods and dries the marsh platforms. The flooding depth, duration, and frequency, known as the hydroperiod, along with salinity and soil fertility are key determining factors of vegetation and marsh types at a particular location. Different types of vegetation will have different growth characteristics such as …

On Lightweight Shape Memory Vitrimer Composites, Siavash Sarrafan, Guoqiang Li

Faculty Publications

Lightweight materials are highly desired in many engineering applications. A popular approach to obtain lightweight polymers is to prepare polymeric syntactic foams by dispersing hollow particles, such as hollow glass microbubbles (HGMs), in a polymer matrix. Integrating shape memory vitrimers (SMVs) in fabricating these syntactic foams enhances their appeal due to the multifunctionality of SMVs. The SMV-based syntactic foams have many potential applications, including actuators, insulators, and sandwich cores. However, there is a knowledge gap in understanding the effect of the HGM volume fraction on different material properties and behaviors. In this study, we prepared an SMV-based syntactic foam to …

Tracking Charge Migration With Frequency-Matched Strobo-Spectroscopy, Kyle A. Hamer, Aderonke S. Folorunso, Kenneth Lopata, Kenneth J. Schafer, Mette B. Gaarde, François Mauger

Faculty Publications

We present frequency-matched strobo-spectroscopy (FMSS) of charge migration (CM) in bromobutadiyne, simulated with time-dependent density functional theory. CM + FMSS is a pump-probe scheme that uses a frequency-matched high harmonic generation (HHG)-driving laser as an independent probe step, following the creation of a localized hole on the bromine atom that induces CM dynamics. We show that the delay-dependent harmonic yield tracks the phase of the CM dynamics through its sensitivity to the amount of electron density on the bromine end of the molecule. FMSS takes advantage of the intrinsic attosecond time resolution of the HHG process in which different harmonics …

Machine Learning-Based Soybean Yield Prediction And Optimizing Lidar-Mounted Uav Efficiency, Leticia Santos

LSU Master's Theses

The first chapter of this thesis explores the predictive capabilities of random forests algorithm on datasets obtained from field plot experiments on crop management systems in soybean. Furthermore, the chapter presents a complementary analysis of model performance according to dataset sizes and two techniques on how to impute and deal with missing data. Random forests are being compared with standard statistical techniques such as linear regression on a well-structured, information-rich agronomic experiment. The key findings of this chapter includes the best hyperparameters adjustment and the identification of the dataset threshold for optimal algorithms performance. The second chapter has a research …

Scenario Setup And Forcing Data For Impact Model Evaluation And Impact Attribution Within The Third Round Of The Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (Isimip3a), Katja Frieler, Jan Volkholz, Stefan Lange, Jacob Schewe, Matthias Mengel, María Del Rocío Rivas López, Christian Otto, Christopher P.O. Reyer, Dirk Nikolaus Karger, Johanna T. Malle, Simon Treu, Christoph Menz, Julia L. Blanchard, Cheryl S. Harrison, Colleen M. Petrik, Tyler D. Eddy, Kelly Ortega-Cisneros, Camilla Novaglio, Yannick Rousseau, Reg A. Watson, Charles Stock, Xiao Liu, Ryan Heneghan, Derek Tittensor, Olivier Maury, Matthias Büchner, Thomas Vogt, Tingting Wang, Fubao Sun, Inga J. Sauer, Johannes Koch, Inne Vanderkelen, Jonas Jägermeyr

Faculty Publications

This paper describes the rationale and the protocol of the first component of the third simulation round of the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP3a, http://www.isimip.org, last access: 2 November 2023) and the associated set of climate-related and direct human forcing data (CRF and DHF, respectively). The observation-based climate-related forcings for the first time include high-resolution observational climate forcings derived by orographic downscaling, monthly to hourly coastal water levels, and wind fields associated with historical tropical cyclones. The DHFs include land use patterns, population densities, information about water and agricultural management, and fishing intensities. The ISIMIP3a impact model simulations driven …

Correction: Effect Of Mississippi River Discharge Plume On Temporal And Spatial Variability Of Toxic Cyanobacteria In An Oligohaline Estuary (Hydrobiologia, (2024), 851, 1, (87-103), 10.1007/S10750-023-05322-3), Callie Snow, Sibel Bargu, Courtney Nicole Hammond, Matthew Hiatt, John R. White

Faculty Publications

The above-mentioned publication contains an erroneous calculation of flushing times using Eq. 1 in the paper. In the published version, we report flushing times as follows: “According to Eq. 1, flushing times associated with the BCS openings were 45 and 54 days for the first and second openings in 2019, respectively.” In the Discussion section, flushing time is erroneously reported as 51 days. These errors arose from a mistake in calculating the tidal prism of Lake Pontchartrain. In the published version, a data entry mistake in a spreadsheet formula led to 6 km² being used for the area of …

A Scalogram-Based Cnn Approach For Audio Classification In Construction Sites, Michele Scarpiniti, Raffaele Parisi, Yong Cheol Lee

Faculty Publications

The automatic monitoring of activities in construction sites through the proper use of acoustic signals is a recent field of research that is currently in continuous evolution. In particular, the use of techniques based on Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) working on the spectrogram of the signal or its mel-scale variants was demonstrated to be quite successful. Nevertheless, the spectrogram has some limitations, which are due to the intrinsic trade-off between temporal and spectral resolutions. In order to overcome these limitations, in this paper, we propose employing the scalogramas a proper time–frequency representation of the audio signal. The scalogram is defined …

Registration Of ‘Ho 13-739’ Sugarcane, James R. Todd, Anna L. Hale, Yong Bao Pan, Thomas L. Tew, William H. White, Edwis O. Dufrene, Michael P. Grisham, Jeff Hoy, Hannah J. Penn, Blake Wilson, Albert Orgeron, Herman Waguespack, Michael Pontif, Kenneth A. Gravois, Windell R. Jackson, Michael J. Duet, Cory Landry, David L. Verdun

Faculty Publications

‘Ho 13-739’ (Reg. no. CV-214, PI 703499) sugarcane (a Saccharum spp. complex polyploid) was selected and evaluated by scientists at the USDA-ARS in Houma, LA, in cooperation with the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center and the American Sugar Cane League, Inc. It was released to growers in Louisiana in 2020. Results from evaluations in plant-cane and first- and second-ratoon crops at 13 field locations revealed that sucrose content and stalk weight of Ho 13-739 were significantly greater than ‘L 01-299’ in every crop and across the crop cycle. Sucrose yield was not significantly different than L 01-299 for all crops …

Soybean Planting Dates And Maturity Groups: Maximizing Yield Potential And Decreasing Risk In Louisiana, David Moseley, Andre Reis, Thanos Gentimis, Priscila Campos, Josh Copes, Melanie Netterville, Peters Egbedi, Dustin Harrell, Manoch Kongchum, Ronnie Levy, Boyd Padgett, Samuel Soignier, Derek Scroggs, Jason Sanders, Joe Pankey, Katarzyna Fic

Faculty Publications

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] producers in Louisiana began shifting to an early soybean production system (ESPS) in the early 2000s by planting earlier maturing varieties in April and May. Although this shift in planting practices has been supported by research elsewhere beginning in the mid-1990s, there is minimum data focusing on the ESPS across Louisiana. The overall objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of planting date, maturity group (MG), and their combination across a comprehensive set of yield environments in the state of Louisiana to determine the combination of optimum planting date and MG for soybean …

Treatment Comparisons In Adaptive Platform Trials Adjusting For Temporal Drift, Beibei Guo, Li Wang, Ying Yuan

Faculty Publications

An adaptive platform trial (APT) is a multi-arm trial in the context of a single disease where treatment arms are allowed to enter or leave the trial based on some decision rule. If a treatment enters the trial later than the control arm, there exist nonconcurrent controls who were not randomized between the two arms under comparison. As APTs typically take long periods of time to conduct, temporal drift may occur, which requires the treatment comparisons to be adjusted for this temporal change. Under the causal inference framework, we propose two approaches for treatment comparisons in APTs that account for …

Louisiana Agriculture Magazine, Winter 2024, Lsu Agcenter

Louisiana Agriculture

Research at the LSU AgCenter extends well beyond the farm gate. Across 150 acres at the Hammond Research Station, experts in landscape horticulture test the best ways to grow ornamental plants and trees. In Baton Rouge, researchers study how to protect homes in the path of a hurricane. Across the state the AgCenter Healthy Communities team works to empower food pantries and improve sidewalks and other pedestrian infrastructure in rural areas.

This issue of Louisiana Agriculture focuses on these topics along with new research on soil health and high-tech delivery systems for sugarcane ripening agents. Other articles focus on the …

Captivity’S Collections: Science, Natural History, And The British Transatlantic Slave Trade, Kennon H. Keiser Jr.

Civil War Book Review

Grounded in extensive archival research on both sides of the Atlantic, Captivity's Collections mines scientific treatises, slaving companies' records, naturalists' correspondence, and museum catalogs to recover in rich detail the scope of the slave trade's collecting operations. The book reveals the scientific and natural historical profit derived from these activities and the crucial role of specimens gathered along the routes of the slave trade on emerging ideas in natural history.

Final Resting Places: Reflections On The Meaning Of Civil War Graves, Paul Ashdown

Civil War Book Review

In Final Resting Places, some of the most accomplished historians of our time reflect on the importance of the Confederate and Union cemeteries that eventually emerged and explore how monuments to the fallen have become cultural flashpoints in our struggle to come to terms with the war's root causes and legacy.