Digital Commons Network^™

Toward An Efficient Simulation Tool For Predicting Residual Stress In Metal Additively Manufactured Parts, Luther W. Busching, Eric M. Collins, Jacob L. Moore

Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Computational Methods with Applications in Materials Science

Metal additive manufacturing has experienced rapid growth across a variety of industries due to its ability to fabricate parts with complex, customizable geometries in a fraction of the time and material required by conventional processes. However, because metal is selectively melted and resolidified in a layer-wise deposition process, the cyclical heating and cooling induces expansion and contraction that can accumulate as residual stress within the part's microstructure. This buildup of residual stress can lead to print failures or degraded part performance, yet the mechanisms governing residual stress formation during printing remain poorly understood. Existing simulation techniques for predicting residual stress …

Developing A Fitted Cutoff Function For Mtp, Michael Wlochal, Doyl Dickel

Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Computational Methods with Applications in Materials Science

Machine learning interatomic potentials (MLIPs) bridge the gap between high-accuracy quantum mechanics and high-speed classical force fields, enabling quantum-accurate, large-scale molecular dynamics. Cutoff functions, which smoothly truncate atomic interactions beyond a specific radial neighborhood are crucial due to their local scaling and computational efficiency. However, geometric constraints and boundary discontinuities—particularly at the short- range inner cutoff can cause severe force spikes and simulation instabilities. This work investigates Moment Tensor Potentials (MTP) with different cutoff functions using a diverse benchmark suite encompassing three distinct structural phases: bec metals (Li, Mo), fcc metals (Cu, Ni), and diamond-structure semiconductors (Si, Ge) to span …

Computational Design And Synthesis Of Lanthanide Pincer Complexes For Blue-Light Emission, Eric W. Jones, Samuel D. Juarez Escamilla, Garrett Wells, Charles Edwin Webster, Thedford K. Hollis

Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Computational Methods with Applications in Materials Science

Blue OLED emitters are often called the "holy grail" of display technology because they are used to make attractive vibrant colors for lighting and devices. However, they are often unstable and susceptible to faster burnout over time when compared to compounds that produce other colors. Red, blue, and green emitters are important and necessary in a device for white light. Thus, an objective in research is producing a stable blue emitter with an extended lifetime and higher quantum yield, Lanthanides, which are metals from the f-block of the periodic table, are used for their photoelectronic properties. These properties can be …

Two Dimensional Crossover Of Cuprate Ladders, Jane Kate Williams, Rudolf T. Clay

Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Computational Methods with Applications in Materials Science

The cuprate Sr_14-x Ca_x Cu₂₄ 0₄₁ is the only known ladder cuprate superconductor, exhibiting a maximum superconducting transition temperature of approximately T_c=9 K under an applied pressure of 4.5 GPa. Prior to the onset of superconductivity, the material exhibits increasingly two-dimensional electronic behavior as inter-ladder coupling strengthens. Negative charge-transfer energies, are predicted to further enhance inter-ladder coupling, motivating the study of larger coupled-ladder systems. This work employs the Constrained Path Quantum Monte Carlo (CPQMC) algorithm to extend previous studies from two coupled ladders to larger ladder geometries. Simulations were performed for 2x8 ladders (32 …

Continuous Data Assimilation For Geophysical Flow, Amanda E. Diegel, Sehani Edirisinghe, Mary Chase Pittman

Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Computational Methods with Applications in Materials Science

We consider continuous data assimilation, a numerical method which incorporates known data, to model geophysical flow. Geophysical flow simulations are important to weather and ocean modeling, the study of climate change, modeling pollutant transport in the ocean, and many other areas. We study the barotropic vorticity model, which tracks fluid vorticity and the streamfunction, using the finite element method with continuous data assimilation. Utilizing MATLAB with the finite element C++/MATLAB toolbox FELICITY, we seek to answer whether incorporating known vorticity data, but not streamfunction data, into the numerical simulation in real time with lead to long-term accurate approximate solutions even …

Refining And Scaling Particle-Based Soil Models, Gillian Londa, Bohumir Jelinek

Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Computational Methods with Applications in Materials Science

Wheel-soil interaction simulations are critical for evaluating the performance of off-road vehicles, construction equipment, and planetary exploration systems. The Discrete Element Method (DEM) provides a physics-based approach for modeling these interactions but requires significant computational resources, making efficient use of high-performance computing (HPC) systems essential. This project evaluates the parallel performance of the open- source YADE DEM Wheel-Soil Simulator, a simulation framework developed at Mississippi State University and based on the DEM soil model of Nakanishi et al. (2020). A benchmark simulation representing a fixed 6.3% wheel-slip condition was selected to provide a consistent basis for performance evaluation. Existing benchmark …

Dimensional Crossover And Suppression Of The Spin-Peierls State, Medha A. Fotedar, Rudolf T. Clay

Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Computational Methods with Applications in Materials Science

The Spin-Peierls (SP) transition is a classic phenomenon in low-dimensional quantum mechanics, wherein strong magnetoelastic coupling drives a structural lattice distortion, opening a spin gap and establishing a dimerized ground state. The SP transition is well understood in quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) materials. In the organic charge- transfer tetramethyltetrathiafulvalene (TMTTF)₂X salts, pressure suppresses the SP transition, giving way to antiferromagnetism and then superconductivity. Pressure is expected to increase the two-dimensional character of the material but also to introduce geometric frustration and competing magnetic fluctuations. Our central question is whether these higher-dimensional effects suppress or destroy the SP state in favor …

Modeling Rna Delivery And Release By The Charge-Shifting Polymer Te-Pdmaema, Jeseny L. Lewis, Loan Nguyen, Steven Gwaltney

Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Computational Methods with Applications in Materials Science

Charge-shifting polymers are highly effective at binding nucleic acids during transport and releasing them once inside target cells. This project investigates the chemical behavior of te-pDMAEMA, (poly[2-(dimethylamino) ethyl thiomethacrylate), and the interactions between an RNA molecule and te-pDMAEMA within a water and NaCl solution that aims to mimic the cellular environment. H2B-mcherry is an RNA sequence that codes for the mCherry fluorescent protein. Molecular dynamics simulations are the methods used to analyze and visualize the physical movements of these molecules over time through Newton's laws of motion. These tools were used for polymer building, optimizing conformers, calculating equilibrium geometries, and …

Computational Investigations In Cyclohexanol Conversion In Zeolites, Esther Edwards, John Michael Lane, James Caldwell, Neeraj Rai

Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Computational Methods with Applications in Materials Science

The acid-catalyzed conversion of cyclohexanol to cyclohexene is a vital chemical process across the pharmaceutical, polymer, and petrochemical industries. Zeolites are porous catalysts known for their shape and size selectivity, which makes them especially useful for this reaction by preventing the formation of bulkier, undesirable side products. In this work, we computationally explore the reaction mechanism by which cyclohexanol dehydrates at Bronsted acid sites within the zeolite frameworks MFI and FAU. To overcome the high computational cost of Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics (AIMD) while capturing long-timescale dynamics, we trained a Machine Learning Interatomic Potential (MUP) using data sampled from short …

Abstracts Of The 71st Annual Conference Of The Mississippi Association Of Entomologists, Nematologists, And Plant Pathologists (Maenpp)

Midsouth Entomologist

October 27 & 28, 2025

Class Struggle And The Socialist Economic Calculation Debate, Tiago Camarinha Lopes

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

The socialist economic calculation debate is often portrayed as a sharp and straightforward conflict between two opposing sides. While this characterization is valid given the ideological clash between defenders of capitalism and proponents of socialism, this paper offers a more nuanced perspective on the interaction between the main schools of economic thought involved in the debate, the Marxist and the Austrian. Drawing on the humanist approach of critical pedagogy developed by Brazilian philosopher Paulo Freire (1921–1997), the paper argues that the debate over socialist economic calculation is not only a clear expression of class struggle within economics. It also involves …

Democratic Economic Planning From And For Social Reproduction: Foundations For A Postcapitalist Research Agenda, Sophie Elias-Pinsonnault, Bengi Akbulut, Audrey Laurin-Lamothe

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

As ecological and social crises render the transformation of capitalist economic organization increasingly urgent, the resurgence of interest in democratic economic planning confronts a foundational blind spot: the systematic neglect of social reproduction. This paper argues that any genuinely needs-based planned economy must extend its scope beyond formally recognized productive activities to encompass the full spectrum of reproductive labor through which human and non-human life is sustained and regenerated. Drawing on feminist political economy and the Marxist-feminist tradition, the authors argue that meeting needs requires more than reorganizing production: it demands confronting the question of who does reproductive work, at …

Catalogue Of The Water Striders (Hemiptera: Gerridae) Of Mississippi, Chase G. Fry, Patricia L.S. Wooden

Midsouth Entomologist

Water striders (Hemiptera: Gerridae) are skating aquatic insects with piercing-sucking mouthparts that opportunistically feed on prey trapped by surface tension. The presence or absence of water striders and other aquatic Hemiptera in water systems may be important indicators of water quality. Despite their importance, the last aquatic Hemiptera checklist for the state was published in 1988. Since this publication, humans have altered waterways to meet their needs, and Gerridae taxonomy has continued to evolve. This study aims to create a current checklist of Gerridae, to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the species found in Mississippi before aquatic habitats are …

Data-Driven Characterization Of Counties In The Prison Industrial Complex Using Clustering Analysis, Riley N. Tuccio

Capstone Projects

This project investigates the complex relationship between counties that house prisons in the United States and the rurality associated with them. The central research question explores how both county characteristics, such as variables corresponding to cost of living and demographics of a county, and prison characteristics, such as programming available to inmates and staffing levels, differ across the census-designated rural-urban distinctions. Furthermore, the study examines whether modern data science methods can more accurately define and distinguish these characteristics, providing a nuanced understanding of the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) and its manifestation across various American communities. The motivation for this research …

Building Community Leadership Capacity Through Extension Partnerships: An Evaluation Case Study, Paul A. Hill, Lendel K. Narine

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

This evaluation study examines the effectiveness of the Leadership Dixie program in enhancing leadership capacity among participants in Washington County, Utah. As a program partner, Utah State University (USU) Extension conducted the evaluation on the program’s 25th class, comprising 27 participants (N = 27). The program, characterized by 10 monthly “Challenge Day” field tours, was evaluated using two instruments to collect data on participant learning and satisfaction levels, overall program experience, demographics, and impacts on social capital, interpersonal leadership skills, community engagement, and volunteerism. Results indicate strong positive outcomes in social capital, community engagement, and volunteerism while highlighting areas for …

Evaluating The Impact Of A Community-Based Prenatal Education Program On Maternal Knowledge And Intentions In Utah, Aaron T. Hunt, Jenna Dyckman, Kaylee Cox

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

Maternal and infant health in the U.S. has worsened, with rising rates of maternal mortality, gestational diabetes, postpartum depression, and infant mortality. Prenatal education is a proven strategy to improve outcomes, yet many expecting parents rely on unvetted information or lack access to reliable resources. To address this gap, a pilot prenatal education program was implemented through Utah State University Extension to improve knowledge, attitudes, and intentions related to breastfeeding, nutrition, mental health, and other key topics. The program consisted of 3 1-hour, evidence-based workshops incorporating lectures and interactive activities. A retrospective pre-post survey was completed by 28 pregnant participants …

Affirming Farmer Assets And Visions: Results From A Pilot Appreciative-Inquiry-Based Asset-Mapping Workshop, Andrew R. Smolski, Elisabeth Ramsey, Cathy Royal, Michael Schulman

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

Cooperative Extension Services and non-profit farm advocacy organizations assist farmers through network development and resource referrals to access information and services needed to operate resilient farms. One method for building networks and assessing existing resources is through participatory asset-mapping tools to document community strengths. In this research brief, we describe the results of a pilot study to test, evaluate, and refine an asset-mapping tool based on Appreciative Inquiry principles. Our goal in the pilot project was to assist the assembled farmers in identifying objectives for a sustainable future and understanding the existing set of resources that would empower them toward …

A Comparison Of Regional Food Systems And Food Security In Rural Mississippi And Italy, Reinhard M. Knerr, Athan M. Gregory, Anne Cafer

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

In the Mississippi (MS) Delta, more than 40% of residents are food-insecure despite predominantly agricultural land use. We hypothesized that limited social networks and non-navigable food market systems constrain MS producers, limit market viability, and hinder regional food sovereignty. This ethnography compared rural Italian and Mississippian food systems through semi-structured interviews of food producers, processors, and marketers. We described differences in social networks between groups that led to differential capacities to share capital and to overcome producer and labor constraints. We also described key differences in governmental and Extension support of local food systems. Finally, we provided suggestions for addressing …

Making Digital Connections: Extension Educators’ Perceptions And Use Of Qr Codes, Kobina D. Fanyinkah, Jefferson D. Miller, Casandra Cox, Will Doss

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

While Extension educators recognize the potential of digital tools for outreach, there are still barriers to adoption, effective implementation, and acceptance. The goal of this study was to evaluate Extension educators’ perceptions concerning quick-reponse (QR) codes in outreach activities, including their effectiveness, integration, and barriers faced when using them. The study used a qualitative approach in the form of semi-structured interviews of twelve Extension professionals purposely sampled from the Ozark region of the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Participants perceived the effective use of the technology to be related to their target clients’ age and technological proficiency. Additionally, Extension professionals reported …

Financial Wisdom Across Political Identities: Exploring Insights From A Convenience Sample Of Participants During The Global Pandemic, Miguel Quiñones, Virginia Zuiker, Yiting Li, Hanna Yu

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a global economic crisis that magnified financial hardships and revealed how political affiliation shapes financial behavior. This study examined how U.S. residents with differing political orientations navigated financial uncertainty, drawing on open-ended survey responses collected in fall 2020. Results show both commonalities and nuanced differences across political lines. Across groups, participants emphasized saving for emergencies, living within their means, seeking financial support, and building skills to increase income—underscoring the universality of core financial principles during crises. However, distinctions also emerged: Republican participants more frequently emphasized self-sufficiency, often seeking additional jobs or withdrawing from retirement funds; Independents …

Perspectives Of Scholars, Families, And Advisors On 360-Degree Video Technology In Graduate Education, Oluwatobi A. Mogbojuri, Bridget A. Walsh, Matthew Aguirre

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

This study explored the experiences of scholars in creating and sharing 360-degree videos, as well as the perspectives of families and advisors who viewed the videos. Focus groups and individual interviews were conducted online using a videoconferencing platform. Perspectives from 20 participants (15 scholars, three advisors, and two family members) were analyzed using thematic analysis. Three primary themes were identified: (1) barriers to 360-degree video use, (2) perspective shifts and limited change, and (3) storytelling and scholar visibility. Findings suggest that 360-degree video technology may be an innovative tool for enhancing recruitment and retention, especially for historically marginalized groups, through …

Lasting Memories: Effects Of Previous Healthcare Experiences On Young Adults’ Pain Tolerance, Emily Goldstein Sigman, Sherwood Burns-Nader

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

This cross-sectional study investigated the connections between previous healthcare experiences, young adults’ pain tolerance, and healthcare fear and anxiety. Prior healthcare experiences, current fear of medical procedures, and pain tolerance were reported by 257 young adults via a survey. Structural equation modeling revealed that increased numbers of previous healthcare experiences were associated with higher pain tolerance and decreased fear and anxiety towards healthcare procedures in young adulthood. Conversely, individuals with fewer previous healthcare experiences exhibited lower pain tolerance and heightened fear and anxiety towards medical procedures as young adults. These findings suggest that the relationship between previous healthcare experiences and …

A Scoping Review Of Sycophancy In Large Language Models: Operational And Theoretical Recognition, Kallen Zhou, Manning Littlejohn, Isabella Garrard

Endeavors: Mississippi State Undergraduate Research Journal

As large language models (LLMs) usage grows across different domains, sycophancy, the tendency for output to align with users, is increasingly being recognized as a primary issue arising from applying LLMs into critical areas. Current research has provided a variety of theoretical definitions, mitigation techniques, and quantification for sycophancy. However, there is little to no consistency across different papers. This scoping review seeks to connect different works on LLM sycophancy by identifying themes in theoretical definitions, measurement methods, and inducement techniques of sycophancy. By analyzing 26 papers (preprints, conference proceedings, and journal articles) from arXiv, ACL Anthology, and Scopus, this …

Near-Infrared Spectroscopy For Monitoring Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection In Experimentally Challenged Calves, Erin Blanchard, Jelena Muncan, Grace Beddingfield, Cassandra Barber, Florencia Meyer, Santiago Cornejo, Merrilee Thoresen, Amelia Woolums, Carrie Vance

Endeavors: Mississippi State Undergraduate Research Journal

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is a multifactorial disease complex that causes significant economic loss in the cattle industry. Bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV), one of the primary viruses included in BRD, primarily targets the lower respiratory tract and causes a wide variety of subclinical and clinical signs. Current diagnosis techniques require off-site laboratory testing, creating delays that allow BRSV to spread through herds and highlighting the need for rapid diagnostic methods. The objective of the study was to evaluate near-infrared spectroscopy as a diagnostic tool for BRSV detection across varying infection severities. Twenty-two Holstein bull calves were reared in research …

Front Matter: Cover Page, Letter From The Editors, And Editorial Board, Endeavors Journal

Endeavors: Mississippi State Undergraduate Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Resourcefulness, Ingenuity, And Community Strengths In Meeting Rural Youth Mental Health Needs: A Multiple Case Study, Aaron Leo, Jessie Tobin, Paul Guay, Kristen Campbell Wilcox

The Rural Educator

This study investigated how 133 educators in six rural schools experience and address youth mental health challenges and the adaptations they use to meet students’ needs. Interview and focus group data were examined through the lens of rural community wealth to draw attention to the ways educators support their students and the resources on which they draw in their efforts. Findings illustrate that rural educators shift to providing as many services to students as possible on their school campuses; increase the capacity of staff members to address students’ mental health through targeted professional development and training; and integrate social-emotional learning …

Bullying Prevalence And Persistence In Rural And Urban Settings, Eric Landers, Juliann Sergi Mcbrayer, Monika Krah, Meredith A. Rausch

The Rural Educator

Bullying is a serious issue in schools, affecting students’ physical health, academic performance, and mental well-being. It involves repeated, intentional aggression—physical, verbal, social, or online—that creates a power imbalance between the bully and the victim. Over time, it can lead to depression, low self-esteem, substance abuse, and even criminal behavior. Bullying varies by environment. Urban schools may see more peer aggression due to social instability, while rural schools face challenges like social isolation and unique power dynamics. Rural students face higher and more persistent bullying and repeated incidents at a higher rate than their urban peers. A growing concern is …

Challenges And Opportunities In Rural Education: The Case Of La Araucanía, Chile, Katerin Arias-Ortega, Viviana Villarroel

The Rural Educator

The article reports on the challenges that rural education has been facing in La Araucanía, Chile, from the perspective of Mapuche parents. The study’s methodology was qualitative and involved Mapuche families who sent their children to rural, single-teacher schools located in an Indigenous context. The findings indicate that Mapuche mothers perceive the education that their children receive in rural schools to be of lower academic quality. Furthermore, they acknowledge that rural education receives less economic support than education in urban settings, which creates a disadvantage for Indigenous and peasant children. This disparity limits their ability to acquire the same resources …

Segmented Inner Skull Cavities Of Eothoracosaurus Mississippiensis (Msu 3293), Amy Moe-Hoffman, Renee Clary

Research Data

Dunn-Seiler Museum specimen data:

• Catalog Number: DSM/MSU#3293 HOLOTYPE 
  
• Geographic Locality: Oktibbeha County, MS Rock Hill vicinity 
  
• Geologic Locality: Ripley Formation 
  
• Age: Cretaceous (Maastrichtian)   

Specimen includes Cranium, Mandible, loose teeth, and post-cranial elements.  

1. CT Scan description: The specimen MSU 3293 was scanned at the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine using a GE LightSpeed VCT (GE Healthcare, Chicago, Illinois, USA; www.gehealthcare.com ) on May 4th 2022, with scan energies of 120kV and 200mA. This produced 1593 images with a slice thickness of 625µm. 
2. 3D models: 3D models of segmented inner skull cavities based on segrmetation of the CT scanned …

Oxidized Lipids Are Inflammatory Danger Signals. The Hydrolytic Enzyme Carboxylesterase 1 Regulates Their Metabolic Fate, Thereby Shaping Macrophage Phenotype., Oluwabori Adekanye

Theses and Dissertations

Macrophages originate from hematopoietic progenitors they are immune cells, part of innate immunity. They patrol tissues to identify damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) and pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) from microorganisms. Macrophage pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) detect these signals, and respond by secreting lipid mediators, cytokines, and chemokines, thereby initiating the inflammatory response. Carboxylesterases (CES) belong to the α/β-hydrolase fold family of proteins and catalyze the hydrolysis of ester-containing substrates into alcohols and carboxylic acids. CES1 is one of the six CES identified in the human genome. They are localized in the endoplasmic reticulum lumen and cytosol of cells, primarily expressed in …