Scholarworks

ScholarWorks is an open access repository for the capture of the intellectual work of Montana State University (MSU) in support of its teaching, research and service missions. MSU ScholarWorks is a central point of discovery for accessing, collecting, sharing, preserving, and distributing knowledge to the Montana State University community and the world.

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Scholarship & Research

Recent Submissions

Sensory and behavioral responses of braconid parasitoids to changes in volatile emissions induced by wheat stem sawfly (Hymenoptera: Cephidae) larval feeding in winter wheat and smooth brome
(Oxford University Press, 2025-01) Strand, Jackson R.; Perez Moya, Oscar G.; Peterson, Robert K. D.; Sterling, Tracy M.; Weaver, David K.
The wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus Norton, is a major pest of cultivated wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and other cereals in North America. The native congeneric parasitoids Bracon cephi (Gahan) and B. lissogaster Muesebeck are important biocontrol agents and play a crucial role in managing wheat stem sawfly outbreaks and damage. Smooth brome grass (Bromus inermis Leyss) has been found to be an effective wheat stem sawfly sink and parasitoid source when grown in areas neighboring wheat fields in Montana. To better understand the ecology of the system, we investigated both the wheat stem sawfly-induced volatile organic compounds produced by smooth brome and winter wheat, and the electrophysiological and behavioral response of B. cephi and B. lissogaster to the collected volatiles via coupled electroantennography and gas chromatography-flame ionization detection. Volatile concentration analysis indicated significantly increased production of (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, and (E)-2-hexenal in wheat stem sawfly-infested smooth brome, and elevated production of 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one in infested smooth brome and winter wheat when compared to their uninfested counterparts. Both B. cephi and B. lissogaster exhibited significant electrophysiological and behavioral response to (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, and hexahydrofarnesyl acetone. Our results provide important evidence supporting habitat management recommendations that will enhance the effectiveness of biological control, contributing to more sustainable agricultural practices and the preservation of vital ecological functions.
Testing convolutional neural network based deep learning systems: a statistical metamorphic approach
(PeerJ, 2025-01) Rehman, Faqeer ur; Izurieta, Clemente
Machine learning technology spans many areas and today plays a significant role in addressing a wide range of problems in critical domains, i.e., healthcare, autonomous driving, finance, manufacturing, cybersecurity, etc. Metamorphic testing (MT) is considered a simple but very powerful approach in testing such computationally complex systems for which either an oracle is not available or is available but difficult to apply. Conventional metamorphic testing techniques have certain limitations in verifying deep learning-based models (i.e., convolutional neural networks (CNNs)) that have a stochastic nature (because of randomly initializing the network weights) in their training. In this article, we attempt to address this problem by using a statistical metamorphic testing (SMT) technique that does not require software testers to worry about fixing the random seeds (to get deterministic results) to verify the metamorphic relations (MRs). We propose seven MRs combined with different statistical methods to statistically verify whether the program under test adheres to the relation(s) specified in the MR(s). We further use mutation testing techniques to show the usefulness of the proposed approach in the healthcare space and test two CNN-based deep learning models (used for pneumonia detection among patients). The empirical results show that our proposed approach uncovers 85.71% of the implementation faults in the classifiers under test (CUT). Furthermore, we also propose an MRs minimization algorithm for the CUT, thus saving computational costs and organizational testing resources.
Agroecological importance of smooth brome in managing wheat stem sawfly (Hymenoptera: Cephidae) via associated braconid parasitoids
(Oxford University Press, 2024-10) Strand, Jackson R.; Peterson, Robert K. D.; Sterling, Tracy M.; Weaver, David K.
Wheat stem sawfly (WSS), Cephus cinctus Norton (Hymenoptera: Cephidae), is a major pest of cereal crops throughout the Northern Great Plains of North America. Native parasitoids, Bracon cephi (Gahan) and B. lissogaster Muesebeck (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), play a key role in suppressing WSS populations and limiting associated damage. Smooth brome grass (Bromus inermis Leyss.) serves as a potential trap reservoir for WSS when grown in areas surrounding wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) fields in Montana. Its unique biology allows it to support high WSS infestation while promoting significant larval mortality throughout the growing season. Late-season WSS survivors can then serve as hosts for WSS parasitoids. Our study investigated smooth brome as a host refuge for WSS parasitoids. We measured WSS larval infestation and survival rate inside smooth brome grown within WSS-inclusion cages, finding a maximum infestation of 66.5% and an end-of-year WSS survival of 5.7%. In addition, we collected stems from sites in central and north-central Montana to measure the WSS infestation and parasitoid prevalence in wheat and adjacent smooth brome. WSS infestation was high in both Big Sandy (64.5% smooth brome, 65.7% adjacent wheat) and Moccasin, MT (50.6%, 38.6%). Year-end WSS larval mortality was 43.6% greater in smooth brome compared to adjacent wheat at both field sites, but both hosted similar numbers of WSS parasitoids. This research underscores the importance of smooth brome in providing a sustainable host refuge for WSS parasitoids and highlights its significant role in supporting the economics of wheat cultivation.
A Scoping Literature Review on Parent Interactions with Teachers and School Environments at the Middle Leve
(MDPI AG, 2024-12) Pennington, Sarah E.; Tang, Judy H.; Divoll, Kent; Correll, Pamela
This scoping literature review explores parent interactions with teachers and school environments at the middle level, particularly how parents and teachers perceive middle school environments and parent–teacher relationships, the strategies that schools use to foster parent–teacher collaboration, and the impacts of these interactions on students. The research team identified 14 peer-reviewed studies from 2015 to 2024 that focused on parent interactions with teachers and school environments at the middle level, including parent and teacher perceptions of school environments and parent–teacher relationships and collaborations. The findings revealed a common disconnect between how parents and teachers view school environments, but also showed that intentional, structured communication can help to bridge these gaps. The review also highlights that research on strategies to enhance parent–teacher partnerships is limited and context-specific. Based on this review of the literature, more research is needed on how home–school relationships benefit diverse middle school communities and how collaboration can support student success, particularly during the critical middle school years.
A Systematic Review of Literature on Student Voice and Agency in Middle Grade Contexts
(MDPI AG, 2024-10) Schaefer, Mary Beth; Pennington, Sarah E.; Divoll, Kent; Tang, Judy H.
This systematic review analyzes the research literature on student voice and agency in the middle grades, focusing on middle-level schools, culture, and learning environments. The idea of student voice and agency was taken up as collaborative decision-making and/or student feedback on issues related to school and pedagogy. After a comprehensive search for peer-reviewed research (2015–2024), an article review framework was developed to determine how, where, and why student voices and agency were engaged in the middle grades. Three themes characterized the research literature: (1) passive student voice and agency: researcher-driven studies to gain understanding; (2) active student voice and agency: partnering with students to improve their learning experiences; and (3) activating the inner voice and agency: helping students to reflect on their own learning. The research on student voice and agency provided information that directly and indirectly benefited students. The literature related to passive student voice and agency tended to be indirect, while active student voice and agency and activating students’ inner voice and agency tended to provide tangible and observable student benefits. While the studies were responsive to different aspects of young adolescent development and included foci on students’ social/emotional development and identity, other areas were lacking—including culturally responsive teaching, international perspectives, and sense of self/peer perceptions.