Digital Commons Network^™

Problem-Solving In The Preparation Of Teachers For Agricultural Education: A Mixed Methods Study Investigating The Effect Of Metacognitive Awareness And Cognitive Ability On Students Enrolled In An Introductory Agricultural Mechanics Course, Whitney Figland

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Cognitive and metacognitive ability have been identified as a critical factor that influences individuals to successfully problem-solve. However, recent research has indicated that students do not have the necessary 21st-century skills to be successful in the workplace. This issue has been confounded by the lack of school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers’ limited knowledge regarding effectively teaching decision-making skills and the use of teaching methods that promote problem-solving. Therefore, this study sought to understand the effect that cognitive and metacognitive ability had on the problem-solving of students who are enrolled in an Introduction to Agricultural Mechanics course at Louisiana State University. …

The Impacts Of Nature-Based Sediment Restoration Practices On Coastal Wetland Soil Biogeochemistry, Jacob Z. Cheng

LSU Master's Theses

Coastal marshes provide many valuable ecosystem services. However, these wetlands are threatened worldwide, being subject to sea level rise, sediment starvation, subsidence, coastal edge erosion, etc. Many efforts are being made to counteract this wetland loss and preserve the ecosystem services. Two such methods are sediment diversion and the thin layer placement (TLP) of dredged sediment.

Sediment diversion involves reconnecting the main channel of a river body to disconnected wetlands, supplying much needed soil-building materials. However, this method affects the salinity of the waters, introducing large amounts of freshwater into the system. Salinity changes can affect marsh biogeochemistry. Most ecological …

Selective Vapor Condensation For The Synthesis And Assembly Of Spherical Colloids With A Precise Rough Patch, Kennedy A. Guillot, Philip J. Brahana, Ahmed Al Harraq, Nduka D. Ogbonna, Nicholas S. Lombardo, Jimmy Lawrence, Yaxin An, Michael G. Benton, Bhuvnesh Bharti

Faculty Publications

Patchy particles occupy an increasingly important space in soft matter research due to their ability to assemble into intricate phases and states. Being able to fine-tune the interactions among these particles is essential to understanding the principles governing the self-assembly processes. However, current fabrication techniques often yield patches that deviate chemically and physically from the native particles, impeding the identification of the driving forces behind self-assembly. To overcome this challenge, we propose a new approach to synthesizing spherical colloids with a well-defined rough patch on their surface. By treating polystyrene microspheres with vapors of a good solvent, here an acetone-water …

Quasistationary Distribution For The Invasion Model On A Complete Bipartite Graph, Clayton Allard, Iddo Ben-Ari, Shrikant Chand, Van Hovenga, Edith Lee, Julia Shapiro

Journal of Stochastic Analysis

No abstract provided.

The Homotopy Cardinality Of The Representation Category, Justin Murray

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Given a Legendrian knot in (R^3, ker(dz − ydx)) one can assign a combinatorial invariants called ruling polynomials. These invariants have been shown to recover not only a (normalized) count of augmentations but are also closely related to a categorical count of augmentations in the form of the homotopy cardinality of the augmentation category. In this article, we prove that that the homotopy cardinality of the n-dimensional represen- tation category is a multiple of the n-colored ruling polynomial. Along the way, we establish that two n-dimensional representations are equivalent in the representation category if they are “conjugate homotopic”. We also …

Surface And Bulk Properties Of Multi-Component Metal Alloys, Frank A. Mckay Iii

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

While HEAs have been studied extensively for their material properties, their potential as catalysts remains widely unexplored. To explore the feasibility of CoCrFeNi as a catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction, the results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS) experiments are compared to electrochemical experiments and theoretical calculations. XPS shows that this surface forms passive oxides with a propensity of Cr > Fe > Co, with no evidence of Ni oxidation. From comparison to calculations, it is shown that the electrochemical activity is enhanced in a partially oxidized state. The lack of Ni oxidation suggests that …

Development Of Accurate Embedded Fracture Models For Naturally Fractured Reservoirs, Harun Ur Rashid

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Natural fractures play a critical role in the performance of unconventional oil, gas, and geothermal reservoirs due to their prevalent occurrence within these systems. However, modeling these fractures accurately and efficiently is still challenging. This work centers on an extensive analysis of naturally fractured systems and proposes new fracture modeling algorithms that can predict the performance of fractured tight rocks accurately and efficiently. Several researchers have explored various methodologies to accurately and efficiently model fractured reservoirs. Among the approaches that can account for each individual fracture in these reservoirs, the embedded discrete fracture model (EDFM) is one of the most …

Coherent States Of The Laguerre–Gauss Modes, M. P. Morales Rodríguez, O. S. Magaña-Loaiza, B. Perez-Garcia, L. M. Nieto Calzada, F. Marroquín Gutiérrrez, B. M. Rodríguez-Lara

Faculty Publications

Large quantum photonic systems hold promise for surpassing classical computational limits, yet their state preparation remains a challenge. We propose an alternative approach to study multiparticle dynamics by mapping the excitation mode of these systems to physical properties of the Laguerre–Gauss modes. We construct coherent states establishing a direct link between excitation number dynamics and the evolution of the Laguerre–Gauss modes. This highlights the photon transverse spatial degree of freedom as a versatile platform for testing the fundamental aspects of quantum multiparticle systems.

Investigating Gulf Coast Aquifer System: Stratigraphy Reconstruction, Inverse Modeling, And Groundwater Stress Assessment, Shuo Yang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Mississippi Embayment aquifer system (MEAS) and the Coastal Lowlands aquifer system (CLAS) provide substantial groundwater resources for human activities in the U.S. Gulf Coastal Plain. However, the overexploitation has led to groundwater depletion in the MEAS and the CLAS, threatening sustainable groundwater use. Such concern highlights the crucial need for an advanced understanding of stratigraphy and groundwater in these aquifer systems, which is essential for effective regional groundwater management. This dissertation presents a comprehensive investigation of MEAS and CLAS in the Louisiana and southwestern Mississippi region, encompassing three fundamental dimensions: stratigraphy reconstruction, groundwater modeling, and groundwater stress assessments. A …

In-Person, Hybrid, Or Remote: Exploring The Effectiveness Of Teacher Practices On Student Performance During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Ashley M. Segalla

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Schools and universities had to make unexpected changes beginning in Spring 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Spring 2021, one university in the southern region of the United States implemented hybrid teaching formats in College Algebra courses, where students attended half of the classes in-person, and the remaining half of classes were attended synchronously and remotely. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine if students’ attendance methods (virtual or in-person) impacted their academic performance in the course. Additionally, the study sought to determine how students and the instructor felt student performance was impacted by hybrid attendance. …

Reconsidering The Reliability Of Chemical Process Simulators I: Implementation Of The Murphree And Vaporization Efficiencies, Zachary Braswell, Brian F. Hanley, Holt Ragsdale

Faculty Publications

Most chemical process simulators in widespread use today allow users to apply some type of efficiency correction to individual equilibrium stages or to equilibrium stage sections in order to align the stage or section separation performance more closely to actual tray performance in the field. Some simulators even allow for the use of component efficiencies on individual stages or in stage sections. It is our contention, however, that two of the more commonly available efficiency models, the vaporization efficiency and Murphree vapor phase efficiency, have generally been implemented incorrectly. The three major conceptual inconsistencies are (1) the assumption that the …

A Characterization Of The Operator Entropy In Terms Of An Isometry Property Related To Trace Norms, Ryo Inayoshi

Journal of Stochastic Analysis

No abstract provided.

Speculating About Genocide: The Queensland Frontier 1859–1897, Mark Finnane, Jonathan Richards

Faculty Publications

In the colonisation of Queensland, Australia it is commonly accepted that large numbers of Indigenous people were killed in the second half of the nineteenth century. Calculations of violent mortality have recently been revised radically upwards. We suggest that the methodology deployed in these new studies is unreliable, reflecting errors in counting and calculation, as well as underestimating the selection bias of the samples. We caution against projecting aggregate violent mortality where the underlying data are so imperfect and emphasise the value of more detailed local and regional studies to inform better understanding of colonisation's impact on First Peoples.

Worldwide Forest Surveys Reveal Forty-Three New Species In Phytophthora Major Clade 2 With Fundamental Implications For The Evolution And Biogeography Of The Genus And Global Plant Biosecurity, T. Jung, I. Milenković, Y. Balci, J. Janoušek, T. Kudláček, Z. Nagy, B. Baharuddin, J. Bakonyi, K. D. Broders, S. O. Cacciola, T. T. Chang, N. M. Chi, T. Corcobado, A. Cravador, B. Dordević, A. Durán, M. Ferreira, C. H. Fu, L. Garcia, A. Hieno, H. H. Ho, C. Hong, M. Junaid, K. Kageyama, T. Kuswinanti, C. Maia, T. Májek, H. Masuya, G. Magnano Di San Lio, B. Mendieta-Araica, N. Nasri, L. S.S. Oliveira, A. Pane

Faculty Publications

During 25 surveys of global Phytophthora diversity, conducted between 1998 and 2020, 43 new species were detected in natural ecosystems and, occasionally, in nurseries and outplantings in Europe, Southeast and East Asia and the Americas. Based on a multigene phylogeny of nine nuclear and four mitochondrial gene regions they were assigned to five of the six known subclades, 2a-c, e and f, of Phytophthora major Clade 2 and the new subclade 2g. The evolutionary history of the Clade appears to have involved the pre-Gondwanan divergence of three extant subclades, 2c, 2e and 2f, all having disjunct natural distributions on separate …

Transformative Insights: Break Up With Salt (Buws) Program’S Short-Term Influence On Hypertension Risk Factors, Jean Pierre Enriquez, Helena Salgado, Christopher Kuetsinya, Li Hsiang Lin, Elizabeth Gollub

Faculty Publications

Break Up with Salt (BUWS) is a four-session community-based nutrition education program aimed at reducing key controllable hypertension risk factors. This pilot study utilized a pre-post survey design to assess short-term outcomes on food behaviors (including DASH diet eating patterns), physical activity, and overall well-being, in two groups of participants. The first “pilot” group (n = 25) completed a comprehensive, 16-item survey; the second “abbreviated” group (n = 27) completed a 5-item survey. The pilot group experienced improvements in whole grain (p = 0.04), sweetened beverage consumption, watching/reducing sodium (p = 0.04) and fat (p = 0.05) consumption, and time …

The Expected Behaviors Of Posterior Predictive Tests And Their Unexpected Interpretation, Luiza Guimarães Fabreti, Lyndon M. Coghill, Robert C. Thomson, Sebastian Höhna, Jeremy M. Brown

Faculty Publications

Poor fit between models of sequence or trait evolution and empirical data is known to cause biases and lead to spurious conclusions about evolutionary patterns and processes. Bayesian posterior prediction is a flexible and intuitive approach for detecting such cases of poor fit. However, the expected behavior of posterior predictive tests has never been characterized for evolutionary models, which is critical for their proper interpretation. Here, we show that the expected distribution of posterior predictive P-values is generally not uniform, in contrast to frequentist P-values used for hypothesis testing, and extreme posterior predictive P-values often provide more evidence of poor …

Predictors Of Racial Differences In Weight Loss: The Propel Trial, Robert L. Newton, Dachaun Zhang, William D. Johnson, Corby K. Martin, John W. Apolzan, Kara D. Denstel, Phillip J. Brantley, Terry C. Davis, Connie Arnold, Daniel F. Sarpong, Eboni G. Price-Haywood, Carl J. Lavie, Tina K. Thethi, Peter T. Katzmarzyk

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Objective: Studies have consistently shown that African American individuals lose less weight in response to behavioral interventions, but the mechanisms leading to this result have been understudied. Methods: Data were derived from the PROmoting Successful Weight Loss in Primary CarE in Louisiana (PROPEL) study, which was a cluster-randomized, two-arm trial conducted in primary care clinics. In the PROPEL trial, African American individuals lost less weight compared with patients who belonged to other racial groups after 24 months. In the current study, counterfactual mediation analyses among 445 patients in the intervention arm of PROPEL were used to determine which variables mediated …

Exercise-Induced Changes In Central Adiposity During An Rct: Effect Of Exercise Dose And Associations With Compensation, James L. Dorling, John W. Apolzan, Neil M. Johannsen, Diana M. Thomas, Christoph Höchsmann, Daniel S. Hsia, Corby K. Martin

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Context: Exercise can decrease central adiposity, but the effect of exercise dose and the relationship between central adiposity and exercise-induced compensation is unclear. Objective: Test the effect of exercise dose on central adiposity change and the association between central adiposity and exercise-induced weight compensation. Methods: In this ancillary analysis of a 6-month randomized controlled trial, 170 participants with overweight or obesity (mean ± SD body mass index: 31.5 ± 4.7 kg/m2) were randomized to a control group or exercise groups that reflected exercise recommendations for health (8 kcal/kg/ week [KKW]) or weight loss and weight maintenance (20 KKW). Waist circumference …

Searches For Baryon Number Violation In Neutrino Experiments: A White Paper, P. S.B. Dev, L. W. Koerner, S. Saad, S. Antusch, M. Askins, K. S. Babu, J. L. Barrow, J. Chakrabortty, A. De Gouvêa, Z. Djurcic, S. Girmohanta, I. Gogoladze, M. C. Goodman, A. Higuera, D. Kalra, G. Karagiorgi, E. Kearns, V. A. Kudryavtsev, T. Kutter, M. Malinský, D. A. Martinez Caicedo, R. N. Mohapatra, P. Nath, S. Nussinov, J. P. Ochoa-Ricoux, V. Pec, A. Rafique, J. Rodriguez Rondon, R. Shrock, H. W. Sobel, T. Stokes, M. Strait, R. Svoboda

Faculty Publications

Baryon number conservation is not guaranteed by any fundamental symmetry within the standard model, and therefore has been a subject of experimental and theoretical scrutiny for decades. So far, no evidence for baryon number violation has been observed. Large underground detectors have long been used for both neutrino detection and searches for baryon number violating processes. The next generation of large neutrino detectors will seek to improve upon the limits set by past and current experiments and will cover a range of lifetimes predicted by several Grand Unified Theories. In this White Paper, we summarize theoretical motivations and experimental aspects …

A Simplified Model For The Study Of Film-Boiling Droplet Motion On Microscale Ratchets, Sheldon Wang, Jeong Tae Ok, Sunggook Park, Mahmoud Elsharafi, Yu Guo

Faculty Publications

In this work, we explore a simplified model based on both analytical and computational methods for the study of film-boiling droplet motion on microscale ratchets. We consider a specific ratchet design with the length periods and depth of ratchets much smaller than the size of the droplet. We conclude based on our modeling that for the ratchet configuration considered in this paper, the conduction within the vapor film is the dominant means of heat transfer in comparison with convection and radiation. Furthermore, we demonstrate a more manageable two-dimensional model in which analytical approaches coupled with computational approaches yield reasonably accurate …

New Features Of Laboratory-Generated Epfrs From 1,2-Dichlorobenzene (Dcb) And 2-Monochlorophenol (Mcp), Lavrent Khachatryan, Marwan Y. Rezk, Divine Nde, Farhana Hasan, Slawomir Lomnicki, Dorin Boldor, Robert Cook, Phillip Sprunger, Randall Hall, Stephania Cormier

Faculty Publications

The present research is primarily focused on investigating the characteristics of environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) generated from commonly recognized aromatic precursors, namely, 1,2-dichlorobenzene (DCB) and 2-monochlorophenol (MCP), within controlled laboratory conditions at a temperature of 230 °C, termed as DCB230 and MCP230 EPFRs, respectively. An intriguing observation has emerged during the creation of EPFRs from MCP and DCB utilizing a catalyst 5% CuO/SiO2, which was prepared through various methods. A previously proposed mechanism, advanced by Dellinger and colleagues (a conventional model), postulated a positive correlation between the degree of hydroxylation on the catalyst’s surface (higher hydroxylated, HH and less …

Heavy-Element Production In A Compact Object Merger Observed By Jwst, Andrew J. Levan, Benjamin P. Gompertz, Om Sharan Salafia, Mattia Bulla, Eric Burns, Kenta Hotokezaka, Luca Izzo, Gavin P. Lamb, Daniele B. Malesani, Samantha R. Oates, Maria Edvige Ravasio, Alicia Rouco Escorial, Benjamin Schneider, Nikhil Sarin, Steve Schulze, Nial R. Tanvir, Kendall Ackley, Gemma Anderson, Gabriel B. Brammer, Lise Christensen, Vikram S. Dhillon, Phil A. Evans, Michael Fausnaugh, Wen Fai Fong, Andrew S. Fruchter, Chris Fryer, Johan P.U. Fynbo, Nicola Gaspari, Kasper E. Heintz, Jens Hjorth, Jamie A. Kennea, Mark R. Kennedy, Tanmoy Laskar

Faculty Publications

The mergers of binary compact objects such as neutron stars and black holes are of central interest to several areas of astrophysics, including as the progenitors of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs)¹, sources of high-frequency gravitational waves (GWs)² and likely production sites for heavy-element nucleosynthesis by means of rapid neutron capture (the r-process)³. Here we present observations of the exceptionally bright GRB 230307A. We show that GRB 230307A belongs to the class of long-duration GRBs associated with compact object mergers^4–6 and contains a kilonova similar to AT2017gfo, associated with the GW merger GW170817 (refs. ^7–12). …

Two Non–*–Isomorphic *–Lie Algebra Structures On Sl(2,R) And Their Physical Origins, Luigi Accardi, Irina Ya. ArefʹEva, Yungang Lu, Igorʹ VasilʹEvich Volovich

Journal of Stochastic Analysis

No abstract provided.

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 …

Dynamic Volunteer Engagement And Impactful Educational Outreach Taking Us Into The Next 50 Years Of The Extension Master Gardener Program, Heather Kirk-Ballard, Kristine M. Lang, Esther Mcginnis, Kerry Smith, Lucy Bradley

Faculty Publications

According to the 2021 Extension Master Gardener (EMG) National Summary, the EMG Volunteer Program had an estimated 84,700 volunteers throughout the United States. These volunteers helped communities garden and grow food, provided opportunities to engage in activities that improved physical and mental health, and worked on projects that addressed environmental issues. In total, these programs contributed 3.1 million hours of education to local communities and $88 million dollars in value to the public. However, the COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges for the program, with many states implementing reduced requirements and increased flexibility for volunteers. The workshop “Dynamic Volunteer Engagement and Impactful …

Decay Of Multi-Point Correlation Functions In Zd, Rui Han, Fan Yang

Faculty Publications

We prove multi-point correlation bounds in Z^d for arbitrary d≥1 with symmetrized distances, answering open questions proposed by Sims–Warzel (Commun Math Phys 347(3):903–931, 2016) and Aza–Bru–Siqueira Pedra (Commun Math Phys 360(2):715–726, 2018). As applications, we prove multi-point correlation bounds for the Ising model on Z^d, and multi-point dynamical localization in expectation for uniformly localized disordered systems, which provides the first examples of this conjectured phenomenon by Bravyi–König (Commun Math Phys 316(3):641–692, 2012).

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 …

Mapping Crown Rust Resistance In The Oat Diploid Accession Pi 258731 (Avena Strigosa), Rawnaq N. Chowdhury, Tyler Gordon, Md Ali Babar, Stephen A. Harrison, Shahryar F. Kianian, Kathy Esvelt Klos

Faculty Publications

Oat crown rust, caused by Puccinia coronata Corda f. sp. avenae Eriks. (Pca), is a major biotic impediment to global oat production. Crown rust resistance has been described in oat diploid species A. strigosa accession PI 258731 and resistance from this accession has been successfully introgressed into hexaploid A. sativa germplasm. The current study focuses on 1) mapping the location of QTL containing resistance and evaluating the number of quantitative trait loci (QTL) conditioning resistance in PI 258731; 2) understanding the relationship between the original genomic location in A. strigosa and the location of the introgression in the A. sativa …

Covariant Anyons Via Mackey Machinery, Radhakrishnan Balu

Journal of Stochastic Analysis

No abstract provided.

Auslander-Reiten Triangles On A Bounded Derived Category Of Constructible Complexes, Vishnu Prasad Sivaprasad

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, concepts from homological algebra are used to study the existence of Auslander-Reiten triangles.

Auslander-Reiten triangles are closely related to representable functors, and the main theorem characterizes the existence of representable functors in a specific bounded derived category of constructible complexes.

Under certain boundedness conditions, a specific bounded derived category is shown to have Auslander-Reiten triangles.