Digital Commons Network^™

Professionals: Any Room In God’S Ministry?, Andrew C. Von Maur

Faculty Publications

As Christian professionals, the activity of architects is steeped in technicalities. They are expected to work a lot of hours; leaving them no extra time for actual “ministry.” In such an environment, with hardly enough time for family or personal Bible study, can they possibly be missionaries? “Yes, we can,” says a professional in this field.

Review Of Mark Scarlata, Sabbath Rest: The Beauty Of God’S Rhythm For A Digital Age, Denis Fortin

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

My Ethical Church: What Does It Really Mean To Live An Ethical Life?, Annetta M. Gibson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Preferences Of U.S. Faculty Members Regarding The Teaching- Research Nexus, W. James Jacob

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this article is to examine research and teaching trends over the past 30 years in U.S. higher education. While some faculty lean toward teaching and others toward research, often the two areas of intersect in synergistic and complementary ways. The merit of this study is that it is a follow-up of two earlier surveys. Findings include an examination of national data from 1992, 2007, and 2018 on a few select areas of the teaching-research nexus. The 2018 data includes 1,135 faculty responses from 80 higher education institutions in the United States. The once dominant research output gap …

The Dyadic Dance During Deployment: Veteran And Partner Romantic Attachment, Warren Ponder, Jose Carbajal

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Advances In High-Resolution Radiation Detection Using 4h-Sic Epitaxial Layer Devices, Krishna C. Mandal, Joshua W. Kleppinger, Sandeep K. Chaudhuri

Faculty Publications

Advances towards achieving the goal of miniature 4H-SiC based radiation detectors for harsh environment application have been studied extensively and reviewed in this article. The miniaturized devices were developed at the University of South Carolina (UofSC) on 8 × 8 mm 4H-SiC epitaxial layer wafers with an active area of ≈11 mm². The thicknesses of the actual epitaxial layers were either 20 or 50 µm. The article reviews the investigation of defect levels in 4H-SiC epilayers and radiation detection properties of Schottky barrier devices (SBDs) fabricated in our laboratories at UofSC. Our studies led to the development of …

Implementing Policy, Systems, And Environmental Change Through Community Coalitions And Extension Partnerships To Address Obesity In Rural Louisiana, Denise Holston, Jessica Stroope, Melissa Cater, Michelle Kendall, Stephanie Broyles

Faculty Publications

Community coalitions and agents funded by the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center's Healthy Communities program implemented multilevel obesity prevention interventions in 3 rural parishes (ie, counties) with an obesity prevalence of 40% or higher. The Healthy Communities coalitions appraised local health concerns through needs assessments and community forums. On the basis of local needs and the evidence base, the coalitions identified and implemented policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) strategies and supporting education to promote healthy behavior change among residents, overcoming barriers in the process. Interventions varied by parish but included Complete Streets implementation plans, healthy retail initiatives, play space improvements, …

Introduction To Computational Thinking: A New High School Curriculum Using Codeworld, Fernando Alegre, John Underwoood, Juana Moreno

Faculty Publications

The Louisiana Department of Education partnered with the Gordon A. Cain Center at LSU to pilot a Computing High School Graduation Pathway. The first course in the pathway, Introduction to Computational Thinking (ICT), is designed to teach programming and reinforce mathematical practice skills of nine-grade students, with an emphasis on promoting higher order thinking. In 2017- 18, about 200 students and five teachers participated in the pilot, in 2018-2019 the participation increased to 400 students, and in the current 2019-2020 year about 800 students in 11 schools are involved. After describing the course content and the teacher training, we briefly …

Editorial: Deep Learning For Toxicity And Disease Prediction, Ping Gong, Chaoyang Zhang, Minjun Chen

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Changes In Globalization: How Should Ib Education Respond?, Nancy R. Buchan, Elizabeth C. Ravlin, Orgul D. Ozturk

Faculty Publications

A new phase of globalization has made the world cognizant of the job losses, inequality of gains across countries and socio-economic sectors, and climate degradation that has resulted from prior global business practices. We examine what changes international business (IB) education should consider as these patterns evolve. Non-routine analytical skills and global interpersonal skills will still be important in the changing economy. However, evidence suggests that IB education should also emphasize broader knowledge of politics, institutions, sociology, and anthropology in order to help future business leaders navigate and balance the increasingly complex requirements of both local and global stakeholder interests.

Global Gene Flow Releases Invasive Plants From Environmental Constraints On Genetic Diversity, Annabel L. Smith, Trevor R. Hodkinson, Jesus Villellas, Jane A. Catford, Anna Mária Csergő, Simone P. Blomberg, Elizabeth E. Crone, Johan Ehrlén, Maria B. Garcia, Anna Liisa Laine, Deborah A. Roach, Roberto Salguero-Gómez, Glenda M. Wardle, Dylan Z. Childs, Bret D. Elderd, Alain Finn, Sergi Munné-Bosch, Maude E.A. Baudraz, Judit Bódis, Francis Q. Brearley, Anna Bucharova, Christina M. Caruso, Richard P. Duncan, John M. Dwyer, Ben Gooden, Ronny Groenteman, Liv Norunn Hamre, Aveliina Helm, Ruth Kelly, Lauri Laanisto, Michele Lonati, Joslin L. Moore, Melanie Morales

Faculty Publications

© 2020 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. When plants establish outside their native range, their ability to adapt to the new environment is influenced by both demography and dispersal. However, the relative importance of these two factors is poorly understood. To quantify the influence of demography and dispersal on patterns of genetic diversity underlying adaptation, we used data from a globally distributed demographic research network comprising 35 native and 18 nonnative populations of Plantago lanceolata. Species-specific simulation experiments showed that dispersal would dilute demographic influences on genetic diversity at local scales. Populations in the native European range had …

Partisan Polarization On Campus Too?, Paul A. Djupe

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Test–Retest Reliability And Minimal Detectable Change Of Corticospinal Tract Integrity In Chronic Stroke, Allison F. Lewis, Makenzie Myers, Jenny Heiser, Jessica F. Baird, Jill C. Stewart

Faculty Publications

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can be used to index white matter integrity of the corticospinal tract (CST) after stroke; however, the psychometric properties of DTI‐based measures of white matter integrity are unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine test–retest reliability as determined by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and calculate minimal detectable change (MDC) of DTI‐based measures of CST integrity using three different approaches: a Cerebral Peduncle approach, a Probabilistic Tract approach, and a Tract Template approach. Eighteen participants with chronic stroke underwent DTI on the same magnetic resonance imaging scanner 4 days apart. For the Cerebral Peduncle approach, …

Cyber-Physical Security With Rf Fingerprint Classification Through Distance Measure Extensions Of Generalized Relevance Learning Vector Quantization, Trevor J. Bihl, Todd J. Paciencia, Kenneth W. Bauer Jr., Michael A. Temple

Faculty Publications

Radio frequency (RF) fingerprinting extracts fingerprint features from RF signals to protect against masquerade attacks by enabling reliable authentication of communication devices at the “serial number” level. Facilitating the reliable authentication of communication devices are machine learning (ML) algorithms which find meaningful statistical differences between measured data. The Generalized Relevance Learning Vector Quantization-Improved (GRLVQI) classifier is one ML algorithm which has shown efficacy for RF fingerprinting device discrimination. GRLVQI extends the Learning Vector Quantization (LVQ) family of “winner take all” classifiers that develop prototype vectors (PVs) which represent data. In LVQ algorithms, distances are computed between exemplars and PVs, and …

Academic Electronic Health Record Implementation: Tips For Success, Patricia K. Ravert, Kristen Whipple, Stacie Hunsaker

Faculty Publications

Many nursing programs use simulation experiences to augment or replace clinical experiences. Use of an electronic health record (EHR) in the educational setting extends the realism. A task force reviewed EHR programs, selected an EHR, and created an implementation plan with successful rollout over 2 years.

Restored Freshwater Flow And Estuarine Benthic Communities In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico: Research Trends And Future Needs, Jillian C. Tupitza, Cassandra N. Glaspie

Faculty Publications

Restoring river connectivity to rebuild and sustain land is a promising restoration strategy in coastal areas experiencing rapid land loss, such as the Mississippi river delta. Results of these large-scale hydrologic changes are preliminary, and there exists limited empirical evidence regarding how benthic communities will respond, specifically in Barataria Bay and Breton Sound in southeast Louisiana. In this review, the body of existing research in this geographic region pertaining to the drivers of benthic community response that are related to restored freshwater flow and sediment deposition is examined. Overall trends include (1) potential displacement of some species down-estuary due to …

Critical Collapse Of A Scalar Field In Semiclassical Loop Quantum Gravity, Florencia Benítez, Rodolfo Gambini, Luis Lehner, Steve Liebling, Jorge Pullin

Faculty Publications

We study the collapse in spherical symmetry of a massless scalar field minimally coupled to gravity using the semiclassical equations that are expected from loop quantum gravity. We find the critical behavior of the mass as a function of the parameters of the initial data similar to that found by Choptuik in classical general relativity for a large set of initial data and values of the polymerization parameter. Contrary to wide expectations for quantum gravity, our semiclassical field equations have an exact scale invariance, as do the classical field equations. As one would then expect, we numerically find that the …

Attosecond Pulse Shaping Using A Seeded Free-Electron Laser, Praveen Kumar Maroju, Cesare Grazioli, Michele Di Fraia, Matteo Moioli, Dominik Ertel, Hamed Ahmadi, Oksana Plekan, Paola Finetti, Enrico Allaria, Luca Giannessi, Giovanni De Ninno, Carlo Spezzani, Giuseppe Penco, Simone Spampinati, Alexander Demidovich, Miltcho B. Danailov, Roberto Borghes, George Kourousias, Carlos Eduardo Sanches Dos Reis, Fulvio Billé, Alberto A. Lutman, Richard J. Squibb, Raimund Feifel, Paolo Carpeggiani, Maurizio Reduzzi, Tommaso Mazza, Michael Meyer, Samuel Bengtsson, Neven Ibrakovic, Emma Rose Simpson, Johan Mauritsson, Tamás Csizmadia, Mathieu Dumergue

Faculty Publications

Attosecond pulses are central to the investigation of valence- and core-electron dynamics on their natural timescales1–3. The reproducible generation and characterization of attosecond waveforms has been demonstrated so far only through the process of high-order harmonic generation4–7. Several methods for shaping attosecond waveforms have been proposed, including the use of metallic filters8,9, multilayer mirrors10 and manipulation of the driving field11. However, none of these approaches allows the flexible manipulation of the temporal characteristics of the attosecond waveforms, and they suffer from the low conversion efficiency of the high-order harmonic generation process. Free-electron lasers, by contrast, deliver femtosecond, extreme-ultraviolet and X-ray …

Analysis Of Identification Method For Bacterial Species And Antibiotic Resistance Genes Using Optical Data From Dna Oligomers, Ryan L. Wood, Tanner Jensen, Cindi Wadsworth, Mark Clement, Prashant Nagpal, William G. Pitt

Faculty Publications

Bacterial antibiotic resistance is becoming a significant health threat, and rapid identification of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is essential to save lives and reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance. This paper analyzes the ability of machine learning algorithms (MLAs) to process data from a novel spectroscopic diagnostic device to identify antibiotic-resistant genes and bacterial species by comparison to available bacterial DNA sequences. Simulation results show that the algorithms attain from 92% accuracy (for genes) up to 99% accuracy (for species). This novel approach identifies genes and species by optically reading the percentage of A, C, G, T bases in 1000s of short …

Analysis Of Identification Method For Bacterial Species And Antibiotic Resistance Genes Using Optical Data From Dna Oligomers, Ryan L. Wood, Tanner Jensen, Cindi Wadsworth, Mark Clement, Prashant Nagpal, William G. Pitt

Faculty Publications

Bacterial antibiotic resistance is becoming a significant health threat, and rapid identification of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is essential to save lives and reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance. This paper analyzes the ability of machine learning algorithms (MLAs) to process data from a novel spectroscopic diagnostic device to identify antibiotic-resistant genes and bacterial species by comparison to available bacterial DNA sequences. Simulation results show that the algorithms attain from 92% accuracy (for genes) up to 99% accuracy (for species). This novel approach identifies genes and species by optically reading the percentage of A, C, G, T bases in 1000s of short …

Icope A Multi-Level, Cluster Randomized, 36-Month, Parallel-Group Study To Assess The Efficacy Of Hiv Disclosure Intervention In Hiv Parental Disclosure Among Parents Living With Hiv In China, Xiaoming Li Ph.D., Shan Qiao Ph.D., Yuejiao Zhou

Faculty Publications

Objectives: Parents living with HIV who disclose their HIV status to their children could benefit from the parental HIV disclosure. However, it is also very challenging because of persistent stigma and discrimination against HIV. This report describes the study design and protocol of the “Interactive Communication with Openness, Passion, and Empowerment (iCOPE)” randomized controlled trial aimed at assisting parents living with HIV in conducting culturally and developmentally appropriate disclosure to their uninfected children in China through trainings among both parents living with HIV and healthcare providers.

Methods: A total of 791 parents living with HIV with children aged between 6 …

Search For Rare Or Forbidden Decays Of The D0 Meson, J. P. Lees, V. Poireau, V. Tisserand, E. Grauges, A. Palano, G. Eigen, D. N. Brown, Yu. G. Kolomensky, M. Fritsch, H. Koch, T. Schroeder, R. Cheaib, C. Hearty, T. S. Mattison, J. A. Mckenna, R. Y. So, V. E. Blinov, A. R. Buzykaev, V. P. Druzhinin, Milind Purohit

Faculty Publications

We present a search for nine lepton-number-violating and three lepton-flavor-violating neutral charm decays of the type D⁰ → h'−h⁻ℓ'⁺ℓ⁺ and D0→h'⁻h⁺ℓ'^±ℓ^∓, where h and h⁰ represent a K or π meson and ℓ and ℓ′ an electron or muon. The analysis is based on 468 fb⁻¹ of e⁺e⁻ annihilation data collected at or close to the ϒ(4S) resonance with the BABAR detector at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. No significant signal is observed for any of the twelve modes, …

Phase 2 Study Of Vismodegib, A Hedgehog Inhibitor, Combined With Gemcitabine And Nab-Paclitaxel In Patients With Untreated Metastatic Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma, Ana De Jesus-Acosta, Elizabeth A. Sugar, Peter J. O’Dwyer, Ramesh K. Ramanathan, Daniel D. Von Hoff, Zeshaan Rasheed, Lei Zheng, Asma Begum, Robert Anders, Anirban Maitra, Florencia Mcallister, N. V. Rajeshkumar, Shinichi Yabuuchi, Roeland F. De Wilde, Bhavina Batukbhai, Ismet Sahin, Daniel A. Laheru

Faculty Publications

Background: The Hedgehog (Hh) signalling pathway is overexpressed in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA). Preclinical studies have shown that Hh inhibitors reduce pancreatic cancer stem cells (pCSC), stroma and Hh signalling. Methods: Patients with previously untreated metastatic PDA were treated with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel. Vismodegib was added starting on the second cycle. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) as compared with historical controls. Tumour biopsies to assess pCSC, stroma and Hh signalling were obtained before treatment and after cycle 1 (gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel) or after cycle 2 (gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel plus vismodegib). Results: Seventy-one patients were enrolled. Median PFS and …

Quantum Fluctuating Geometries And The Information Paradox Ii, Rodrigo Eyheralde, Rodolfo Gambini, Jorge Pullin

Faculty Publications

In a previous paper we discussed corrections to Hawking radiation from a collapsing shell due to quantum fluctuations of the shell and the resulting horizon. For the computation of the quantum corrections we used several approximations. In this paper we take into account effects that were neglected in the previous one. We find important corrections including non-thermal contributions to the radiation at high frequencies and a frequency dependent time scale at which the emission of thermal radiation of frequency w cuts off. Such scale tends to infinity in the limit of a classical shell. The fact that one has almost …

Infrastucture And General Purpose Technologies: A Technology Flow Framework, Brett Frischmann, Christiaan Hogendorn

Faculty Publications

Studies of economic growth often refer to “general purpose technology” (GPT), “infrastructure,” and “openness” as keys to improving productivity. Some GPTs, like railroads and the Internet, ft common notions of infrastructure and spawn debates about openness, such as network neutrality. Other GPTs, like the steam engine and the computer, seem to be in a different group that is more modular and open by nature. Big data, artificial intelligence, and various emerging smart technological assemblages have been described both as GPTs and infrastructure. We present a technology flow framework that clarifies when a GPT is implemented through infrastructure, provides a basis …

Human Impact Overwhelms Long-Term Climate Control Of Fire In The Yangtze River Basin Since 3.0 Ka Bp, Wenqiang Pei, Shiming Wan, Peter D. Clift, Jiang Dong, Xiting Liu, Jian Lu, Yang Tan, Xuefa Shi, Anchun Li

Faculty Publications

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd A high-resolution fire history in the Yangtze River Basin over the past 7.0 ka BP is reconstructed based on the proxy of black carbon of sediment core ECMZ on the continental shelf of the East China Sea in order to reveal the interactions among fire, climate, vegetation and human activity on a regional scale. A comparison of fire activity with climatic and vegetation proxies suggests that changes in fire activity prior to 3.0 ka BP on both millennial- and centennial-timescales were closely related to variations in temperature and precipitation, with more fire during warm and humid …

Defining Parental Resistance: The Social Determinants Of Measles Vaccine Hesitancy, Michael C. Goates, M. Lelinneth B. Novilla, Mallory Showalter, L. Kirsten Novilla, Russell Doria, Michael Dang, Tyler Leffler, Katelyn Aldridge

Faculty Publications

The increase in vaccine-preventable disease (VPD) outbreaks has caused great alarm to the public health community. In recent years, VPD outbreaks have occurred across the globe in both developed and developing countries. Particularly troubling has been the resurgence of diseases formerly eradicated through years of concerted vaccination and other public health campaigns. Higher vaccination exemption rates have been implicated in the resurgence of VPDs. This is particularly evident in the United States where measles outbreaks reached 1,250 individual cases in 2019 alone, the most confirmed cases since 1992. Central to the discussion about measles resurgence is a better understanding of …

Model Sensitivity To Topographic Uncertainty In Meso- And Microtidal Marshes, Karim Alizad, Stephen C. Medeiros, Madeline R. Foster-Martinez, Scott C. Hagen

Faculty Publications

Light detection and ranging (Lidar) derived digital elevation models are widely used in modeling coastal marsh systems. However, the topographic error in these models can affect simulations of marsh coverage and characteristics. We investigated the relevance and impact of this error in micro- and mesotidal systems. Lidar-derived and RTK-adjusted topography were each used in a dynamic marsh model, and the resulting marsh coverages were examined. For two microtidal sites (Apalachicola, FL, USA, and Grand Bay, MS, USA) using solely lidar-derived topography, the model produced Cohen Kappa values of 0.1 for both estuaries when compared with National Wetland Inventory data indicating …

Cysteine Dioxygenase Enzyme Activity And Gene Expression In The Dimorphic Pathogenic Fungus Histoplasma Capsulatum Is In Both The Mold And Yeast Morphotypes And Exhibits Substantial Strain Variation, Melissa Adams, Glen Shearer

Faculty Publications

In the dimorphism (mold/yeast) Histoplasma capsulatum (Hc) literature are reports that yeast (the so-called pathogenic form) uniquely expresses a cysteine dioxygenase (CDO, approx. 10,500 dal) activity which the mold morphotype (the so-called saprophytic soil form) does not express (C.F., Kumar et al., Biochem 22, 762, 1983). This yeast-specific CDO activity is postulated to play a critical role in the mold-to-yeast shift. A number of years ago, our lab isolated the gene encoding the Hc cysteine dioxygenase (CDO1, Genbank accession AY804144) and noted significant expression in the mold morphotype of several Histoplasma strains and also determined that the predicted protein would …

Respiration By The Opportunistic Spionid Polychaete Streblospio Gynobranchiata During Adjustment To And Recovery From Moderate Hypoxia, Alyssa D. Bennett, Chet F. Rakocinski

Faculty Publications

Understanding the capacity of estuarine organisms to acclimate to stressful conditions provides insights into how communities cope within fluctuating environments. The opportunistic spionid polychaete, Streblospio gynobranchiata Rice and Levin, 1998, regularly experiences intermittent moderate hypoxia within shallow sedimentary habitats. To better understand fine-scale adjustments by this opportunistic species to short-term moderate hypoxia, the aerobic respiration response of three size classes was examined over a 12 h period and after 24 h of exposure to moderate hypoxia (i.e., 20% air saturation) at 25 °C. In addition, the capacity to resume standard respiration was examined over a 12 h period following a …