VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Adaptive and sensory machines : active foam and swimming rheometers

Passive adaptation and sensing are exceptionally useful attributes, enabling robustness and redundancy in the design of functional machines. We see this for example in biological tissues and in hierarchical network infrastructures. In this dissertation we discuss two specific examples of fully-synthetic engineered systems that display these attributes of passive adaptation and sensing: active foam [1] and swimming rheometers [2]. First, in the context of studying the self-assembly of programmable soft matter, we discuss the response of 2D air-liquid foam to cyclical inflation and deflation of an embedded "active" bubble. Experimental and numerical results suggest that such volume oscillations can be used to train foam to achieve local structural properties, communicate long-range mechanical signals through the CW/CCW motion of vertex trajectories, and may be used to actively probe properties of the surrounding network structure. We will also discuss the statistical influence of microstructural yielding events ("T1 transitions") within the material, and the role of disorder on the mechanical response. In the next example, we will discuss how an untethered robot is capable of self-propulsion at low Reynolds number only when submerged in an elastic fluid. Based on prior theoretical results, this robot consists of two counter-rotating rotationally-symmetric objects, and propels itself in the direction of the larger "head" object. By controlling the relative rotation rate of this device while recording motility, the robot acts as rheological sensor of the surrounding elastic fluid, with remarkable sensitivity (at strain rates < 1 Hz). We will discuss our experimental discovery of a non-inertial, viscoelastic jet structure responsible for propulsion, and the specific rheological properties that can be inferred by observation of the device. Fundamentally, these examples demonstrate how adaptive and sensory machines can be used in engineering to enable exceptional redundancy and robustness in real-world environments. [1] Kroo, Laurel A., Matthew Storm Bull, and Manu Prakash. "Active Foam: The Adaptive Mechanics of 2D Air-Liquid Foam under Cyclic Inflation." arXiv preprint arXiv:2204.00937 (2022). [2] Kroo, L. A., et al. "A freely suspended robotic swimmer propelled by viscoelastic normal stresses." Journal of Fluid Mechanics 944 (2022)

Keywords: Mechanical Engineering.
Advisor: Chaudhuri Ovijit
Prakash Manu
Santiago Juan G.
Addressing data scarcity in humanitarian health and environmental justice

Modern computational approaches promise to address issues of health equity through identifying potential disparities or interventions. However, such approaches are subject to data scarcity: structurally marginalized populations tend to have poorer-quality data, and computational tools reliant on high-quality data may exacerbate existing inequities. Through examples in humanitarian, occupational, and environmental health, we examine data science approaches to circumvent data scarcity. We investigate the use of machine learning to model forced migration in humanitarian settings, microsimulation models for high-risk occupational health contexts, and systems-level public health risk estimation for an impending environmental catastrophe. Taken together, this body of work demonstrates how unconventional data sources, novel approaches, and rigorous study design can be employed to advance health equity and environmental justice in the absence of high-quality data

Keywords: Medicine. Department of Biomedical Data Science
Advisor: Rehkopf David
Chen Jonathan H.
Geldsetzer Pascal
Advances towards the development of an artificial pancreas

Type 1 diabetes is characterized by autoimmune islet beta cell destruction and insulin deficiency. Islet transplantation is a heavily targeted therapy for type 1 diabetes, as it would provide a continually replenishing source of insulin. However, current therapy requires lifelong immunosuppression. Cell encapsulation would overcome the need for immunosuppression but introduces new challenges to providing insulin release on a physiologically relevant timescale. Here, I present a novel approach for electronically actuated insulin release from encapsulated islets and beta cells, via applied pressure. I demonstrate the efficacy of this release approach for insulin bolus delivery and improved glycemic control. I also discuss the development of a line of genetically engineered beta cells to release various "peptides-of-interest" targeted for a multi-hormonal artificial pancreas. Finally, I introduce the design and characterization of a miniaturized wireless potentiostat for sensing of salivary glucose and lactate. Detection of salivary lactate could provide insight into exercise intensity and improve glycemic control for an artificial pancreas. Together, these developments overcome key limitations of current artificial pancreas designs

Keywords: Electrical Engineering.
Advisor: Poon Ada Shuk Yan
Annes Justin
Pauly John (John M.)
Advancing equity in higher education : the zone of proximal self

This dissertation is motivated by a need in the higher education learning sciences field to understand the cultural, social, and emotional processes of student learning and development in advancing equity for students from first-generation, low-income, and marginalized backgrounds. To address this need, I develop and examine a sociocultural conceptual framework called the zone of proximal self. The zone of proximal self is the distance between a learner's current self and their possible selves which can be bridged through support from institutional figures, resources, and materials across a broad learning ecology in higher education. The structure of this dissertation paper includes the three papers followed by an integrated discussion in the conclusion. In a series of three papers, I use the zone of proximal self as a lens to study college students' interactions in postsecondary settings during the Covid-19 pandemic. In my first paper, I use mixed methods approaches to analyze survey results from 524 students at a private four-year university to explore first-generation students' experiences with institutional resources. In my second and third paper, I draw on a study of 50 students at a public four-year university who were asked to meet with a counselor or advisor throughout an academic term and share their experiences through diary entries, surveys, and an interview across a 14-week semester. Results from the first paper reveal how barriers persist for students in interacting with institutional resources; and it reveals the importance of shifting the focus from the role of student meritocracy to that of institutional structures and variability in access to interpersonal and material resources. The second and third paper highlight three pillars of effective practices from counselors and advisors — creating a brave space, validating students, and supporting students' social-emotional competencies — which are associated with higher growth in students' professional and personal goals for their possible selves. Taken together, a zone of proximal self lens illuminates how advancing equity in higher education will require humanizing notions of college student success beyond a narrow focus on academic outcomes. The findings which surfaced from an "interpersonal plane of analysis" (Rogoff, 2003) offer design implications for formal and informal learning environments in higher education to incorporate dimensions of humanizing relational practices between students and institutional figures and resources. Moving forward, this work opens up new lines of research to better theorize and assess how humanizing relational practices emerge and foster growth in the zone of proximal self for students from first-generation, low-income, and marginalized backgrounds

Keywords: Education.
Advisor: Barron Brigid
Antonio Anthony Lising
Salehi Shima 
Tsai Jeanne Ling
The African turquoise killifish, Nothobranchius furzeri, as a model for genetic regulation of suspended animation phenotypes

Suspended animation states allow animals to persist in extreme environments while also slowing or resisting the progression of molecular damage and aging hallmarks, effectively gaining free 'biological time'. The African turquoise killifish, Nothobranchius fureri, has evolved a form of suspended development to survive complete drought of its natural habitat. This state, termed diapause, is extreme even among vertebrate states of suspended animation, able to persist for months or even years. But the mechanisms underlying the evolution of extreme survival states are unknown. To understand the evolution of diapause, we performed integrative multi-omics, including gene expression, chromatin accessibility, and lipidomics, in the embryos of multiple killifish species. Additionally, we generated an embryonic CRISPR screening platform to evaluate the role of key genes and transcription factors during diapause. Our analyses reveal that diapause evolved by a very recent remodeling of regulatory elements at very ancient gene duplicates (paralogs) present in all vertebrates. Transcription factors such as REST/NRSF, FOXOs, and PPARs are central to diapause evolution. These factors are likely implicated in a unique lipid metabolism, leading to accumulation of specific triglycerides -- with very long chain fatty acids -- in diapause. Our work suggests a mechanism for the evolution of complex adaptations and offers strategies to promote long-term survival by activating suspended animation programs in other species

Keywords: Genetics.
Advisor: Brunet Anne
Baker Julie (Professor of genetics)
Jarosz Daniel
Sherlock Gavin
Against the Current in the Kingdom of God: Isaiah Berlin’s Value-Pluralism and the Teachings of Leo Tolstoy

Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997) opens one of his most famous essays, “The Hedgehog and the Fox” with a quote from the Greek poet Archilochus, “the fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.” Even if this classification may be overly simplistic, “every classification throws light on something,” and this scale can be particularly useful when discussing the central subject of Berlin’s essay on hedgehogs and foxes: Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910). Berlin posits that “Tolstoy is a fox who believed passionately in being a hedgehog,” meaning that, in his literature, Tolstoy paints pictures of life as complex, full of diversity and contradictions, and not adherent to any singular ideology or worldview. Meanwhile, in his didactic writings, particularly on the subject of history, Tolstoy seeks to explain events with a monist view; thus, Berlin believes that Tolstoy is “in constant contradiction with himself.” However, just as this classification of hedgehogs and foxes can provide insight into the nature of Tolstoy’s literary and philosophical writings, it can also be turned back upon Berlin to help one understand why Berlin may reach this conclusion about Tolstoy in the first place. This paper argues that Berlin himself is actually in the same quagmire he accuses Tolstoy of being trapped in, as he is a fox who nevertheless has a central hedgehog idea. Berlin is foxlike in rejecting the idea that a utopia can be created on earth according to one unitary set of scientific, historic, political, or even aesthetic values. This approach leads Berlin to seek many varied answers to life’s problems, but in seeking these answers, he has become so obsessed with value-pluralism that it is the one big idea he continually returns to, even if the subject in question does not demand it.

Keywords: Berlin, Isaiah, 1909-1997
Tolstoy, Leo, graf, 1828-1910
Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, 1770-1831
Herder, Johann Gottfried, 1744-1803
Vico, Giambattista, 1668-1744
Voĭna i mir (Prokofiev, Sergey)
Maistre, Joseph Marie, comte de, 1753-1821
Enlightenment
Counter-Enlightenment
Text
Capstone
Thesis
Student project report
AI-enabled palliative care : from algorithms to clinical deployment

Healthcare is one of the most promising application areas for Artificial Intelligence (AI) to have a positive impact on society. There has been impressive progress in predictive modeling with health data in recent literature, even matching or exceeding expert-human level performance on a variety of tasks. Yet, translating these machine learning advances into improved patient care has proven to be particularly challenging. While developing accurate and well calibrated models (i.e. the machine learning problem) is necessary to make AI-enabled healthcare applications even possible, a careful understanding and analysis of the healthcare problem is just as essential for bridging the gap between accurate predictions and improved clinical care for the patient. Acknowledging and addressing both these problems is crucial for a successful AI clinical deployment. In this work, we consider the healthcare problem of improving access to palliative care for hospitalized patients. We frame it as a machine learning problem and validate that the framing is indeed appropriate for the healthcare problem at hand by conducting a prospective analysis study involving palliative care specialists. Our technical contributions include a novel survival loss (SurvivalCRPS), evaluation metric (SurvivalAUPRC), a gradient boosting algorithm for probabilistic prediction (NGBoost), among others. We perform a cost-benefit analysis and study the impact of various factors affecting care delivery to inform the design of a clinical workflow to increase access to palliative care services of hospitalized patients. We report on our experiences in operationalizing this workflow, powered by the above algorithmic advances, at the General Medicine service line of Stanford Hospital

Advisor: Ré Christopher
Ma Tengyu
AI-mediated communication : examining agency, ownership, expertise, and roles of AI systems

AI-Mediated Communication (AI-MC) occurs when an AI system operates on behalf of an individual in communication between people. Building on literature in psychology and human-machine communication, this dissertation aimed to answer two overarching questions: 1) how do people perceive their own agency when an AI system operates on their behalf in interpersonal communication? and 2) how do people perceive the role(s) of the system under these circumstances? Through a think-aloud study, as well as an online experiment, this dissertation revealed that people strive to maintain their agency in AI-MC, and devise various strategies to do so. Additionally, perceptions of ownership over interpersonal messages are likely just as important as maintaining one's agency in AI-MC. Moreover, even though AI systems can play many roles in a communication task, people view them as social actors instead of as extensions of the self, which impacts how they attribute agency, perceive ownership over messages, and behave in human-AI interactions. Lastly, people show increased reliance on the AI system when they lack expertise, which underlies decreased feelings of agency and ownership, as well as changes in collaboration dynamics and linguistic features of a message. Taken together, this dissertation applies research on agency and human-AI interaction to the nascent study of AI-MC. The results provide insights into the effects of AI-involvement and topical expertise on people's perceptions and behaviors, as well as how they think about the roles of AI systems

Keywords: Communication.
Advisor: Hancock Jeff
Bailenson Jeremy
Naaman Mor 
Reeves Byron
al•go•rhy•thm: How Black Gender-Marginalized DJs Urge Us to Reimagine Remix Theory & Culture

When one hears the word “DJ”, typically the only role that comes to mind is that of playing music at a party. This thesis fundamentally challenges that reductive perception by describing the intensive, expansive, and critical cultural work that happens behind the scenes as well as live on the dance floor. Furthermore, the unique positionality of influential Black gender-marginalized DJs across the United States is revealed through an instrumental case study approach that utilizes narrative inquiry, autoethnography, and DJ Scholarship. At the intersection of Remix Theory, Hip-Hop Feminism, and Performance Theory, this paper finds that DJs operate eerily similar to a computer operating system psychologically - where intergenerational knowledge accumulation, the art of selection, performance pattern recognition, and adaptability to new sound technology contribute greatly to their developed skill set and progressive social influence. The complimenting creative project, Pink Party Festival, is a live event that demonstrates the DJ’s meticulous curation and community-building methodology at work with the explicit intention to honor the impact Black gender-marginalized music artists have made on Hip-Hop and DJ culture.

Keywords: Remix Theory
Remix Culture
Sampling
African Americans in popular culture
Black Feminist Thought
Hip-hop feminism
Performance Theory
Hip-hop (Music)
Hip-hop culture
Sound > Recording and reproducing > Digital techniques
Black Gender-Marginalized
Audio essay
Music festivals
Mixed materials
Sound
Text
Sound recording
Thesis
All the lenses : large-scale hierarchical inference of the hubble constant from strong gravitational lenses with Bayesian deep learning

Unprecedented volumes of data from upcoming sky surveys will yield precise constraints on parameters governing the evolution history of the Universe. One that has received particular attention over the past decade is the Hubble constant (H0) describing the expansion rate of the Universe. This thesis focuses on measuring H0 from an astrophysical phenomenon called strong gravitational lensing. The Vera Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will increase the sample size of strong lenses from ~100 to ~100,000. This creates an opportunity to obtain the most precise measurement of H0 to date. Fully realizing the potential of LSST data entails rapidly extracting cosmological information from the images, tables, and time series associated with these lenses. My research has focused on developing analysis techniques using Bayesian deep learning, which combines the efficiency of deep learning with principled uncertainty quantification. The techniques promise to automate the analysis of tens of thousands of strong lensing systems in a robust manner. They constitute core methodology that can combine information from all the LSST lenses -- with varying types and signal-to-noise ratios -- into a large-scale hierarchical inference of H0

Keywords: Physics.
Advisor: Roodman Aaron J. (Aaron Jay)
Burchat P. (Patricia)
Kahn Steven M. (Steven Michael)
Allegations: The Proto-Public Sphere and the Figure of the Female Accused (1550-1640)

"Allegations" charts how accused female characters across a number of early modern texts convene and organize relations among the English legal system, the emerging realm of popular print, and the proto-public sphere. Because these systems in their existing state largely fail to serve the women accused, the women instead refashion these established channels and summon their own assemblies in hopes of vindicating themselves. This assembled court of public opinion thus has the opportunity to override and modify the initial judgements that the existing channels of power hand down. The printed realm and the popular engagement it facilitates come to offer a counterweight to traditional arrangements, and the accused who reimagine the legal sphere through print lead the way towards more participatory elements in literature.

Keywords: female juries
English literature > Early modern
English prose literature > Early modern
English drama > Early modern and Elizabethan
Beware the Cat
The Roaring Girl
Dekker, Thomas, ca. 1572-1632
Middleton, Thomas, Sir, 1586-1666
The Women's Sharpe Revenge
Law
cheap and popular print
Pamphlets
Baldwin, William, approximately 1518-1563?
Habermas, Jürgen
Public sphere
Text
Thesis
Advisor: Yu Esther
Owens Tom
Altered appetites : food and metaphor in early modern England

Beginning in the sixteenth century, European tastes were confronted with several cataclysmic upheavals. A market flooded with unfamiliar foodstuffs—sugar, potatoes, tobacco, and more—altered diets and scrambled the semiotics of food and identity. Increased encounters with peoples and resources across the Atlantic led to strange fears and destructive hungers, while the Protestant Reformation turned the eucharist into a contested site of consumption. As Robert Burton cautions in The Anatomy of Melancholy, food or drink could unmake a person: "thus they many times wilfully pervert the good temperature of their bodies, " he writes of gluttons, "stifle their wits, strangle nature, and degenerate into beasts." In other words, be warned: you are what you eat. In my dissertation, I suggest that appetite is an important concept for early modern writers, defining how the self relates to others within a social sphere and within a material world. The appetites I study in each chapter shift and alter depending on the demands of each literary context, but always there remains a kernel of contradiction between anticipation and satiation: reading both defers and incites appetite, both for pleasure and for disgust

Advisor: Greene Roland
Orgel Stephen
Parker Patricia
An Opportunity to Rectify History: China's 2014 Outline for the Semiconductor Industry

This thesis seeks to understand the process over the period 2010–14 that led to the issuing of one of China’s most important and consequential techno-nationalist industrial policies, the “Outline for Advancing the Development of the National Semiconductor Industry” (“the 2014 Outline”). It is motivated by the observation that in 2013–14, Beijing’s articulation of the importance of its domestic semiconductor capabilities emphasised the industry’s centrality to information security and national security more prominently than the preceding years. This shift towards “hard techno-nationalism” coincided with a set of developments that changed Beijing’s assessments of China’s strategic circumstances. The documentary evidence suggests that Beijing’s concerns about American containment of China’s rise, anxiety about the new dimensions of information security, aggravated by the Snowden revelations of June 2013, and perception that China’s “period of strategic opportunity” to develop its national power was narrowing all motivated China’s leaders to take urgent and major action to develop China’s core technological capabilities in a short period of time. The urgency visible in the documents and speeches from this time reflect the Party’s narrative that China’s weakness and national humiliation were intimately linked to its failure to exploit periods of opportunity to develop its technological capabilities. The genesis of the 2014 Outline, therefore, must be understood as the final attempt to rectify a history of failures.

Keywords:  Stanford Global Studies
Semiconductors
High technology industries > Government policy
History
Political science
Communist parties
China
Text
Thesis
Advisor: Miller Alice Lyman