Digital Commons Network^™

Schizotypy: The Way Ahead, Eduardo Fonseca-Pedrero, Martin Debbané, Juan Francisco Rodríguez-Testal, Alex S. Cohen, Anna R. Docherty, Javier Ortuño-Sierra

Faculty Publications

Background: Empirical evidence suggests that schizotypy is a useful construct for analyzing and understanding psychotic disorders. However, several issues remain to be resolved. Method: This selective, critical review, addresses some questions and limitations, and discusses future directions of work. Results: First, we present a conceptual outline and discuss the evidence from translational and interdisciplinary studies on schizotypy. Next, we examine and discuss newer analytical and methodological approaches, including network and machine learning approaches. We also discuss newer psychometric identification approaches, such as those using biobehavioral and ambulatory assessment. Next, we review recent cross-cultural studies in schizotypy research. Finally, we identify …

Effects Of Caloric Restriction On Human Physiological, Psychological, And Behavioral Outcomes: Highlights From Calerie Phase 2, James L. Dorling, Stephan Van Vliet, Kim M. Huffman, William E. Kraus, Manjushri Bhapkar, Carl F. Pieper, Tiffany Stewart, Sai Krupa Das, Susan B. Racette, Susan B. Roberts, Eric Ravussin, Leanne M. Redman, Corby K. Martin

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Caloric restriction (CR) is a strategy that attenuates aging in multiple nonhuman species. The Comprehensive Assessment of Long-term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy (CALERIE) trials are part of a research program aiming to test the effects of CR on aging and longevity biomarkers in humans. Building on CALERIE phase 1, CALERIE phase 2 (CALERIE 2) was the largest study to date to assess sustained CR in healthy humans without obesity. In a 24-month randomized controlled trial comprising 218 participants at baseline, CALERIE 2 showed that moderate CR, 11.9% on average, induced improvements in aging-related biomarkers without adversely affecting psychological …

Effect Of An Office-Based Intervention On Visceral Adipose Tissue: The Workactive-P Randomized Controlled Trial, James L. Dorling, Christoph Höchsmann, Catrine Tudor-Locke, Robbie Beyl, Corby K. Martin

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Office-based activity reduces sedentariness, yet no randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have assessed how such activity influences visceral adipose tissue (VAT). This study examined the effect of an office-based, multicomponent activity intervention on VAT. The WorkACTIVE-P RCT enrolled sedentary office workers (body mass index: 31.4 (standard deviation (SD) 4.4) kg/m2 ) to an intervention (n = 20) or control (n = 20) group. For 3 months, the intervention group received an office-based pedal desk, further to an intervention promoting its use and increased walking. The control group maintained habitual activity. At baseline and follow-up, VAT, cardiometabolic disease risk markers, physical activity, …

Association Between Visit-To-Visit Hba1c Variability And The Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease In Patients With Type 2 Diabetes, Yun Shen, Jian Zhou, Lizheng Shi, Elizabeth Nauman, Peter T. Katzmarzyk, Eboni G. Price-Haywood, Ronald Horswell, Alessandra N. Bazzano, Somesh Nigam, Gang Hu

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Aim: To investigate the association between visit-to-visit HbA1c variability and the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with type 2 diabetes. Materials and methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of 29 260 patients with at least four HbA1c measurements obtained within 2 years of their first diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. Different HbA1c variability markers were calculated, including the standard deviation (SD), coefficient of variation (CV) and adjusted SD. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the association of these HbA1c variability markers with incident cardiovascular disease. Results: During a mean follow-up of 4.18 years, a total …

Association Of The Neighborhood Built Environment With Incident And Prevalent Depression In The Rural South, Christopher E. Anderson, Stephanie T. Broyles, Maeve E. Wallace, Lydia A. Bazzano, Jeanette Gustat

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Introduction A neighborhood’s built environment is associated with physical activity among its residents, and physical activity is associated with depression. Our study aimed to determine whether the built environment was associated with depression among residents of the rural South and whether observed associations were mediated by physical activity. Methods We selected 2,000 participants from the Bogalusa Heart Study who had a valid residential address, self-reported physical activity (minutes/week), and a complete Center for Epidemiologic Study–Depression (CES-D) scale assessment from 1 or more study visits between 1998 and 2013. We assessed the built environment with the Rural Active Living Assessment street …

Global Health Risk Factors: Physical Inactivity, Fiona Bull, Regina Guthold, Daniel J. Friedman, Peter Katzmarzyk

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Regular physical activity improves physical and mental health across all ages, and provides many social, environmental, and economic co-benefits. Physical activity includes all forms of active recreation, sports participation, cycling and walking for transportation, as well as activity undertaken at home or for work. Despite well-established benefits, one quarter of adults and three quarters of adolescents are not sufficiently active. The policy and practice of promoting physical activity integrates multidisciplinary knowledge from across clinical and social medicine, exercise science, health psychology, public health, transport, and environmental studies, to improve global health. With increasing recognition of its role in promoting better …

Nutritional Status, Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, Diet, And Lifestyle In Childhood: An Analysis Of Respiratory Diseases In Adolescence, Eduardo Rossato De Victo, Gerson Ferrari, Victor Keihan Rodrigues Matsudo, Carlos André Miranda Pires, Timóteo Leandro Araújo, Peter Todd Katzmarzyk, Dirceu Solé

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Objective: To evaluate the association between nutritional status, physical activity, sedentary behavior, diet, and lifestyle in childhood with respiratory diseases during adolescence. Methods: Prospective study conducted in Saõ Caetano do Sul, Saõ Paulo-Brazil, as part of the International Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and the Environment (ISCOLE). During childhood, indicators of lifestyle (body composition, physical activity, sedentary behavior, diet) and family environment were measured in 2012 and 2013. After five years, participants answered the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire for the diagnosis of respiratory diseases (asthma and/or rhinitis). Analyses were determined by logistic regression. Results: …

Executive Deviance As A Sociopolitical Force In Dismissals, Jeremy J. Foreman, Brian P. Soebbing, Chad S. Seifried

Faculty Publications

The seminal model of CEO dismissals utilizes four sociopolitical forces that operate together in determining whether a CEO will be dismissed. Missing from the sociopolitical forces of CEO dismissals is executive deviance. We propose the inclusion of executive deviance as the fifth sociopolitical force in CEO dismissals, which is not limited to the deviant actions of the executive, but also the executive’s subordinates. Within the comprehensive CEO dismissal framework, the effect of executive deviance on head coach dismissals in the National Football League (NFL) from the 2000–2001 to 2015–2016 season is examined using four levels of executive deviance: (a) deviance …

Beyond Weight Loss: Current Perspectives On The Impact Of Calorie Restriction On Healthspan And Lifespan, Maryam Kebbe, Joshua R. Sparks, Emily W. Flanagan, Leanne M. Redman

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Introduction: Changes to mental, physical, and physiological functions drive the complex processes underlying the variable progression of human aging. Nutritional interventions are one of the most promising non-pharmacological therapeutics to attenuate aging in humans. This narrative review aims to describe the implications of moderate and prolonged calorie restriction (CR) in healthy adults without obesity that occur beyond weight loss. Areas covered: Findings from CR studies, such as the CALERIE (Comprehensive Assessment of Long-term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy) trials, the most rigorous trials to date examining a prolonged 25% CR, are described. The main areas covered include; changes to …

Constrained Learning Of Task-Related And Spatially-Coherent Dictionaries From Task Fmri Data, Sreekrishna Ramakrishnapillai, Harris R. Lieberman, Jennifer C. Rood, Stefan M. Pasiakos, Kori Murray, Preetham Shankapal, Owen T. Carmichael

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Dictionary learning and sparse coding techniques overcome limitations of traditional voxel-level analyses of task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data by identifying broader temporal and spatial patterns of brain activity. However, prior applications of these methods to task-related fMRI data are not simultaneously optimized to find temporal patterns of activity that change in concert with changes in task conditions and spatial patterns that leverage existing neuroscience knowledge. In this study we present a new sparse dictionary learning method that uses prior knowledge of the temporal pattern of task conditions and the locations of brain regions hypothesized to be involved in …

Estrogen, Brain Structure, And Cognition In Postmenopausal Women, Christina P. Boyle, Cyrus A. Raji, Kirk I. Erickson, Oscar L. Lopez, James T. Becker, H. Michael Gach, Lewis H. Kuller, William Longstreth, Owen T. Carmichael, Brandalyn C. Riedel, Paul M. Thompson

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Declining estrogen levels before, during, and after menopause can affect memory and risk for Alzheimer's disease. Undesirable side effects of hormone variations emphasize a role for hormone therapy (HT) where possible benefits include a delay in the onset of dementia—yet findings are inconsistent. Effects of HT may be mediated by estrogen receptors found throughout the brain. Effects may also depend on lifestyle factors, timing of use, and genetic risk. We studied the impact of self-reported HT use on brain volume in 562 elderly women (71–94 years) with mixed cognitive status while adjusting for aforementioned factors. Covariate-adjusted voxelwise linear regression analyses …

Christian Nationalism And Views Of Immigrants In The United States: Is The Relationship Stronger For The Religiously Inactive?, Samuel Stroope, Heather M. Rackin, Paul Froese

Faculty Publications

Previous research has shown that Christian nationalism is linked to nativism and immigrant animus, while religious service attendance is associated with pro-immigrant views. The findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between religious ideologies and practices when considering how religion affects politics. Using a national sample of U.S. adults, we analyze immigrant views by measuring levels of agreement or disagreement that undocumented immigrants from Mexico are “mostly dangerous criminals.” We find that Christian nationalism is inversely related to pro-immigrant views for both the religiously active and inactive. However, strongly pro-immigrant views are less likely and anti-immigrant views are more likely among …

Cross-Country Analysis Of Supply Chain Management Drivers For Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises, Santi Setyaningsih, Katalin Feketéné Czakó, Tihana Vasic, Peter Kelle

Faculty Publications

Supply Chain Management (SCM) drivers are the key factors in successful SCM strategy implementation. SMEs with limited resources need to focus on the top drivers to improve performance and competitiveness. The paper explores which driver factors have the largest importance according to the opinion of the top managers of SMEs. Two developing countries were compared which have different supply chain environments mainly due to their geographical structure. Information from top managers of 105 Hungarian and 124 Indonesian SMEs was collected using an online questionnaire. The data was analysed using statistical methods. This study is the first to rank SCM drivers …

Solopreneur Digital Ecosystems: Genesis, Lineage And Preliminary Categorization, Gabriele Piccoli, Biagio Palese, Joaquin Rodriguez

Faculty Publications

This paper traces the genesis and lineage of solopreneur digital ecosystems. These ecosystems, fostered by a digital environment that is infrastructural, combinatorial and servitized, are enabling the rise to prominence of the solopreneur. We theorize solopreneur digital ecosystems as the latest incarnation of systems beyond firm control, with digital platforms and digital marketplaces as their principal enablers. In an effort to compare them from the perspective of the solopreneur, we categorize solopreneur digital ecosystems on three dimensions: algorithmic control, commoditization, and lock-in. Our work contributes a framework that solopreneurs can use to identify ecosystems in which they can optimally invest …

Solopreneur Digital Ecosystems: Genesis, Lineage And Preliminary Categorization, Gabriele Piccoli, Biagio Palese, Joaquin Rodriguez

Faculty Publications

This paper traces the genesis and lineage of solopreneur digital ecosystems. These ecosystems, fostered by a digital environment that is infrastructural, combinatorial and servitized, are enabling the rise to prominence of the solopreneur. We theorize solopreneur digital ecosystems as the latest incarnation of systems beyond firm control, with digital platforms and digital marketplaces as their principal enablers. In an effort to compare them from the perspective of the solopreneur, we categorize solopreneur digital ecosystems on three dimensions: algorithmic control, commoditization, and lock-in. Our work contributes a framework that solopreneurs can use to identify ecosystems in which they can optimally invest …

Perceptions Of A Pragmatic Family-Centered Approach To Childhood Obesity Treatment, Betty M. Kennedy, Genevieve Davison, Lauren A. Fowler, Erika Rodriguez-Guzman, Myra L. Collins, Alison Baker, Stephen Cook, Jeanne Lindros, Denise E. Wilfley, Ava J. Zebrick, Amanda E. Staiano

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Background: Few studies have examined both parent and child preferences regarding family-based weight management programs (WMPs) delivered in primary care settings, especially among racial minority populations. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions that parents and their children/adolescents have about the components that should be included in a family-based WMP and to identify perceived preferences, benefits, and/or barriers to participation. Methods: A sample of 60 participants (30 parents and 30 children/adolescents) participated in 1 of 5 separate structured focus groups, using probing questions and the nominal group technique (NGT). Parents reported demographics for themselves and their children/adolescents. …

Fear Of Zika: Information Seeking As Cause And Consequence, James Price Dillard, Ruobing Li, Chun Yang

Faculty Publications

This study examined the relationship between information seeking and fear during the Zika-induced global health crisis. A longitudinal survey of women in the Southern U.S. (N = 306) was conducted in 2016, beginning just days after the World Health Organization declared Zika a global crisis. The data showed that time 1 fear stimulated information seeking at time 2 and that time 2 information seeking caused fear at time 3. This pattern held regardless of whether participants were pregnant or planning to become pregnant (high personal relevance) versus neither (low personal relevance). The findings are at odds with most theories of …

Lincoln’S Jewish Spy: The Life And Times Of Issachar Zacharie, Meg Groeling

Civil War Book Review

Lawrence Abel's book, Lincoln's Jewish Spy, is an "enjoyable read, artfully presenting this eccentric Victorian gentleman in his odd natural habitat, among the feet of the famous."

The Moral Project Of Childhood: Motherhood, Material Life, And Early Children’S Consumer Culture, Paul B. Ringel

Civil War Book Review

"Perhaps Cook’s most important accomplishment in this book is discarding the perception of a “pre-capitalist” childhood overtaken by rampant commercialism during the nineteenth century. As he notes, the idea of commerce and consumerism acting as a toxic force in childhood is far more common in the literature of the 1980s than it ever was in writings of the 1800s. Such a dichotomy made little sense to nineteenth-century White and prosperous mothers who were focused on teaching their offspring how to engage with goods and money in a manner that would reflect a genteel level of “taste.” Thus, he argues that …

Editorial, Jeffery Hardin Hobson

Civil War Book Review

"This issue of the Civil War Book Review is cohered around the often-intersecting phenomena of domesticity and religion in the Civil War era. Although historians have abandoned the notion that the nineteenth-century domestic sphere was hermetically cordoned from the public, the books reviewed herein demonstrate that studying the home as a distinct space remains an enlightening endeavor, even as the featured authors expand our understanding of what constituted the domestic sphere. The books reviewed in this issue also reinforce our understanding of religion’s significance to nineteenth-century Americans’ lives and identities. The authors further elucidate the ways in which Christianity helped …

Clothing Consumption During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Evidence From Mining Tweets, C A. Liu, S B. Xia, C M. Lang

Faculty Publications

Understanding how consumers have shifted in clothing consumption in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic is critical for fashion clothing brands and businesses to identify what value means to consumers to locate growth opportunities. This exploratory study intends to provide a picture of consumers' clothing consumption evolution while going through the pandemic crisis. We take a viewpoint that integrates the perspectives of life status changes and stress coping to examine consumers' responses to clothing consumption during the COVID-19 global pandemic. A total of 68,511 relevant tweets were collected from January 1, 2020, through September 31, 2020. Sentiment and content …

Marine Vehicles Localization Using Grid Cells For Path Integration, Ignacio Carlucho, Manuel F. Bailey, Mariano De Paula, Corina Barbalata

Faculty Publications

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are platforms used for research and exploration of marine environments. However, these types of vehicles face many challenges that hinder their widespread use in the industry. One of the main limitations is obtaining accurate position estimation, due to the lack of GPS signal underwater. This estimation is usually done with Kalman filters. However, new developments in the neuroscience field have shed light on the mechanisms by which mammals are able to obtain a reliable estimation of their current position based on external and internal motion cues. A new type of neuron, called Grid cells, has been …

Experiential Statistics: A Case Study In Favor Of Using Project-Based Learning To Advance Preliminary Statistics Content Knowledge In The Algebra I And Geometry Classroom, Trey Michael Earle

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Preparing secondary students for college entrance requirements and the expectations of the job market, a market which is actively seeking the employees who are most qualified to take on jobs that require data analysis skills, is becoming increasingly important. Federal, state, and local education administrators and personnel must rewrite many of the general education curricula to incorporate data organization, collection, manipulation, application, and analysis in order to better prepare students for the expectations of college entrance and an ever-changing employment market. From a purely pedagogical standpoint, while traditional educational structure has been commonplace for decades in the United States, projects …

Perceived Vulnerability To Covid-19 Infection From Event Attendance: Results From Louisiana, Usa, Two Weeks Preceding The National Emergency Declaration, Ran Li, Bingcheng Yang, Jerrod Penn, Bailey Houghtaling, Juan Chen, Witoon Prinyawiwatkul, Brian E. Roe, Danyi Qi

Faculty Publications

Background: Individual perceptions of personal and national threats posed by COVID-19 shaped initial response to the pandemic. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in residents' awareness about COVID-19 and to characterize those who were more aware and responsive during the early stages of the pandemic in Louisiana.

Methods: In response to the mounting threat of COVID-19, we added questions to an ongoing food preference study held at Louisiana State University from March 3rd through March 12th, 2020. We asked how likely it was that the spread of the coronavirus will cause a national public health crisis …

Reinforcement Learning Approach For Inspect/Correct Tasks, Hoda Nasereddin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this research, we focus on the application of reinforcement learning (RL) in automated agent tasks involving considerable target variability (i.e., characterized by stochastic distributions); in particular, learning of inspect/correct tasks. Examples include automated identification & correction of rivet failures in airplane maintenance procedures, and automated cleaning of surgical instruments in a hospital sterilization processing department. The location of defects and the corrective action to be taken for each varies from task episode. What needs to be learned are optimal stochastic strategies rather than optimization of any one single defect type and location. RL has been widely applied in robotics …

Mixed Messages: Reading Contemporary U.S. Literature Of Biracial Girlhood, Candice Nicole Hale

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The tragic mulatta character is no longer an accurate representation of biracial female characters in literature. This dissertation considers the vast history of the tragic mulatto genre and its tragic and mired representations of biracial women and how they are often portrayed in literature. Within a historical, legal, and political analysis, I highlight the ways perceptions, attitudes, and representations about biracial individuals have changed, so those same shifts should change in the literature. Because of the bourgeoning field of Critical Mixed Race Studies (CMRS), both scholars and authors are recasting and rewriting the narratives and discourses of mixed-race in the …

Strengthening Spatial Reasoning: Elucidating The Attentional And Neural Mechanisms Associated With Mental Rotation Skill Development, Katherine C. Moen, Melissa R. Beck, Stephanie M. Saltzmann, Tovah M. Cowan, Lauryn M. Burleigh, Leslie G. Butler, Jagannathan Ramanujam, Alex S. Cohen, Steven G. Greening

Faculty Publications

© 2020, The Author(s). Spatial reasoning is a critical skill in many everyday tasks and in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. The current study examined how training on mental rotation (a spatial reasoning task) impacts the completeness of an encoded representation and the ability to rotate the representation. We used a multisession, multimethod design with an active control group to determine how mental rotation ability impacts performance for a trained stimulus category and an untrained stimulus category. Participants in the experimental group (n = 18) showed greater improvement than the active control group (n = 18) on the mental …

Calorie Restriction For Enhanced Longevity: The Role Of Novel Dietary Strategies In The Present Obesogenic Environment, James L. Dorling, Corby K. Martin, Leanne M. Redman

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Calorie restriction (CR) is a potent modulator of longevity in multiple species. A growing body of evidence shows that sustained periods of CR without malnutrition improves risk factors involved in the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and neurological disorders in humans. Innovative dietary strategies such as intermittent fasting and protein restriction have recently emerged as alternative approaches that improve markers of aging. Some of these newer strategies might provide benefits for healthy aging with little to no CR and therefore, compared to traditional CR, may be easier to follow. Further to providing an update of CR studies …

Women Leaders And Policy Compliance During A Public Health Crisis, Nichole M. Bauer, Jeong Hyun Kim, Yesola Kweon

Faculty Publications

How does the gender of a political leader affect policy compliance of the public during a public health crisis? State and national leaders have taken a variety of policy measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, with varying levels of success. While many female leaders have been credited with containing the spread of COVID-19, often through implementing strict policy measures, there is little understanding of how individuals respond to public health policy recommendations made by female and male leaders. This article investigates whether citizens are more willing to comply with strict policy recommendations about a public health issue when those recommendations …

Computer-Based And Paper-And-Pencil Tests: A Study In Calculus For Stem Majors, Lawrence Smolinsky, Brian D. Marx, Gestur Olafsson, Yanxia A. Ma

Faculty Publications

Computer-based testing is an expanding use of technology offering advantages to teachers and students. We studied Calculus II classes for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors using different testing modes. Three sections with 324 students employed: paper-and-pencil testing, computer-based testing, and both. Computer tests gave immediate feedback and allowed multiple submissions and pooling. Paper-and-pencil tests (PPTs) required work and explanation allowing inspection of high cognitive demand tasks. Each test mode used the strength of its method. Students were given the same lecture by the same instructor on the same day and the same homework assignments and due dates. The design …