bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
PENGGUNAAN MEDIA VIDEO TERHADAP KEBERHASILAN MENYUSUI DI KELURAHAN PACCERAKKANG
Authors: Chaerunnimah Chaerunnimah , Amir Aswita , Lestari Retno Sri , Anwar Zhulfitriana
Published: December 2023

Exclusive breast milk can reduce infant morbidity and mortality. Exclusive breastfeeding coverage based basic health research in indonesia 2018 data has only reached 37.3%. One of the factors that influences breastfeeding is the mother's success in breastfeeding. Media use influences the success of health education. The aim of this research was to determine the effect of using video media on breastfeeding success and the type of breastfeeding (completely breast milk or a combination of breast milk and formula milk). This type of research is pre-experimental with a posttest only design. In this design, the data collected is the effect of education after the intervention. Population of breastfeeding mothers in the Paccerakkang Community Health Center working area. The research sample was breastfeeding mothers with babies 0-1 months old and willing to be given breastfeeding education obtained using the purposive sampling method. The research results showed that 81.3% of mothers from the intervention group were successful and able to breastfeed their babies well and in the control group 100% of mothers were successful and able to breastfeed their babies well. The Mann Whitney test results showed p=0.105 (p>0.05). The conclusion of this study is that there is no significant difference in the success and provision of breast milk in the intervention group and the control group.
PENINGKATAN PENGETAHUAN SISWA SD TENTANG MANFAAT BUAH DAN SAYUR DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN MEDIA LEAFLET
Authors: Khairunnisa Anggun , Manjilala  , Ipa Agustian , Adam Adriyani
Published: December 2023

Children in Indonesia have a habit of consuming very low fruits and vegetables. Result of Riskesdas in 2018 shows that overall the population of age > 5 years lacked 95,5% of the fruit and vegetables. The aim of this research is to determine the effect of Leaflet media education on increasing knowledge about the benefits of consuming fruit and vegetables in primary school children. This study was a Pre-Experimental Design With One Group Pretest-Posttest Design Carried Out at the Inpres Sudiang Makassar. The samle size in this study was 97 people taken by the total sampling. Variables in the study were knowledge of primary school student before being given an intervention in the form of education through leaflet media and knowledge after intervention. The effect of variables using questionnaires was tested by using the wilcoxon test. The results showed that in SD Inpres Sudiang Makassar, the age was generally 60.8%, the class was generally 27.8%, and the gender was generally 25.8%. The father's occupation was generally private employee (29.9%), while the mother's occupation was generally a housewife (77.3%). The level of knowledge before education was generally good (85.6%), while the level of knowledge after education was generally good (100%). Statistical analysis showed a difference in nutritional knowledge before and after the provision of media leaflet education (p = 0.000). It is recommended for further research, it is expected to be able to develop educational media in accordance with the development of technology so thah it supports interest and reading interest and reading interesr for respondents.
Student’s Well-being and Academic Performance: A Mixed-Methods Research
Authors: Swargiary Khritish , Roy Kavita
Published: December 2023

This study explores the impact of a 12-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program on the well-being and academic performance of undergraduate students. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research incorporates quantitative measures, qualitative interviews, and a control group comparison to provide a comprehensive understanding of the intervention's effects. Participants in the MBSR program reported positive experiences, including significant reductions in stress, improved overall well-being, and noteworthy academic performance enhancements. Surprisingly, even the control group exhibited academic improvements, suggesting the influence of external factors. The findings underscore the potential of mindfulness interventions in promoting student well-being and academic success, while emphasizing the complexity of factors influencing outcomes. Recommendations include further research on long-term effects, comparative analyses, qualitative exploration of individual differences, and consideration of the broader university context. Implications for practice involve the integration of mindfulness programs, holistic student support initiatives, promotion of mindfulness resources, and faculty/staff training. Overall, this study contributes valuable insights to the evolving discourse on mindfulness interventions in higher education.
Water-Energy Nexus in Power Systems: A Review
Authors: Zhao Pengfei , Li Shuangqi , Shen Yichen , Gu Chenghong , Shan Lanqing , Luo Tianyi , Wang Jiaojiao , Cao Zhidong
Published: December 2023

As the world continues to transition towards cleaner and more efficient energy sources, the intricate interplay between water and energy in power systems has emerged as an essential and multifaceted relationship with profound implications for sustainable energy planning. This comprehensive exploration considers a diverse range of academic databases and synthesizes relevant research to systematically investigate the current state of knowledge on the water-energy nexus. By distilling key findings and concepts related to the water-energy nexus in power systems, this work underscores the pivotal role of water in power generation and the energy required for water treatment and distribution. Additionally, this exploration brings into focus the challenges that the water-energy nexus faces, including the far-reaching impacts of climate change and the potential of renewable energy solutions. The complex policy and regulatory frameworks that govern the water-energy nexus in power systems are also examined, highlighting the crucial need for integrated approaches in energy and water management. By identifying key areas for further research and emphasizing the urgency for innovative solutions, this exploration stresses the need to prioritize sustainable management of water and energy resources in an effective, efficient, and resilient manner.
Implicit and Explicit Modelling: Case Study of EMU (Eastern Mediterranean University) Teacher Educators’ Perceptions and Practice
Authors: Sonyel Bengi
Published: December 2023

The broad purpose of this qualitative study is three-fold. One, to gain Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) teacher educators’ views on the significance of the teaching methods of implicit and explicit modelling. Two, to ascertain aspects of practice they modelled and, three, benefits and challenges associated with using the methods.

To achieve the purpose all 11 teacher educators from the faculty were asked three broad questions via a semi-structured interview protocol. Interviews were audio recorded then transcribed. The data was analysed using content analysis and the three questions as pre-set categories.

Examples of the findings include the fact that all the participants have a favourable attitude towards both implicit and explicit modelling. All regarded modelling as important for personal and professional growth. Time is the main constraint to their use of the methods, and critical friendship based on a collaborative relationship is considered to be of central importance to their engagement with the methods.

Implications of the findings for teacher education and educators include the need to encourage open discussion, reflection, the use of the methods among teacher educators, the development of a supportive environment, and the provision of continued professional development opportunities.
The quantum origins of gravity
Authors: Robinson Vivian
Published: December 2023

A description of photon wavelength changes in a medium, such as glass, shows it has the same origins as photon wavelength changes, i.e. redshift, in matter free space. Photon trajectories are deflected by changes in electric permittivity. The radial differential of the electric permittivity of space around a massive object gives Newton’s inverse square law as a first approximation and Einstein’s variation as a second approximation. The exact solution matches known, and predicts unknown, gravity properties. Changes in the electric permittivity of space deflects photons in the same manner as gravity. How particles generate changes in electric permittivity of matter free space is given. It shows why gravity affects all photons and matter particles equally. It indicates that photon deflection by changing electric permittivity generates gravity.
The role of estrogen receptor beta DNA binding domain in mediating adipose tissue and systemic metabolic effects of exercise in ovariectomized mice
Authors:   , Clart Laura
Published: December 2023

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Estradiol protects women from various cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, a protection which is lost with menopause when estradiol levels drop. Estrogen receptor beta (ERb), one of the two major estrogen receptors in the body, acts via genomic and non-genomic signaling pathways to affect many metabolic functions, including mitochondrial biogenesis and respiration. This study explores the effect of the non-genomic pathway of ERb on adipocyte mitochondria and insulin resistance by assessing the influence of ovariectomy, a model of menopause, and exercise in mice lacking the ERb DNA-binding domain (DBD). Specifically, 21 wild-type (WT) mice and 20 ERb DBD-knockout (KO) were all fed high-fat diet, ovariectomized, and randomized into sedentary and exercise groups. The exercise groups were provided a running wheel for eight weeks. Unexpectedly, exercise increased fasting insulin and surrogate measures of insulin resistance in the KO group, and exercised KO mice showed increased gene expression of mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit 4. Importantly, uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) protein expression, a marker of adipocyte browning, increased with exercise only in the WT, indicating that the ERb DBD is required for exercise-induced browning in ovariectomized female mice. The increased insulin resistance observed in the exercised KO mice may be related to the lack of UCP1 upregulation in response to exercise, but the mechanism requires further investigation.
Exploring positive youth development and civic engagement in an environment action program : a Saint Louis Zoo case study
Authors:   , Barnason Sydney
Published: December 2023

To become thriving and contributing members of society, a vital skill for youth to learn is civic engagement behaviors. Civic engagement can manifest itself as volunteering, community engagement, or behaviors such as voting and campaigning. Recent trends show youth in the past two decades have been less civically engaged than their counterparts up to 70 years ago. Research suggests that Positive Youth Development practices in environmental action youth programs yield environmentally conscious and active adults. Furthermore, other research suggests that environmental action is one avenue in which successful civic engagement education and practice takes place. This case study turned to one youth program at the Saint Louis Zoo and examined positive youth development practices, positive youth development outcomes, and civic engagement outcomes in the context of an environmental action program. The program evaluation case study took a mixed-methods approach and involved 47 high schoolers and young adults for a survey determining the presence or absence of positive youth development outcomes. Of the alum survey respondents, 8 were interviewed, additionally, 5 youth professionals also participated in semi-structured interviews. The results of the study suggest that positive youth development practices are present in the program and that most youth experience both positive youth development and civic engagement outcomes. There was a significant difference in self-reported positive youth development and civic engagement outcomes by hours volunteered in the youth program.
Changes at treeline within the San Juan Mountains of Colorado
Authors:   , Cardinal Steven J.
Published: December 2023

Repeat photography is a field method to study landscape change over time, yet most studies use a single pair of photographs spanning upwards of a century or more to ascertain change. In this study, I used repeat photography to study vegetation change across high-elevation environments within the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado on decadal time scales. At five photo sites, I compared present conditions to both a historical photograph (ca. 1875-1910) and one from 2002 to determine if climate-induced thresholds have impacted high-elevation forests. Results from this research suggest that (1) tree establishment is increasing at 80 percent of photo sites and (2) spruce beetle-induced mortality is evident at 60 percent of sites. To increase the temporal resolution of when the spruce beetle outbreak occurred, I used remote sensing change detection analysis for the periods 2003-2011 and 2011-2019., Given the level of change detected between 2011-2019, spruce beetle-induced mortality along upper treeline likely originated within the past eight years. Overall, results from repeat photography used in conjunction with remote sensing provide multiple lines of evidence that ecological change had a resulted from the crossing of a climate threshold over the past decade. Findings from this research suggest that hotter drought is already impacting high-elevation treeline environments in parts of the San Juan Mountains.
Self-selection of animal by-product by poultry through utilization of choice feeding
Authors:   , Carlson Liam Gregory
Published: December 2023

"The emergence of animal welfare provisions by humane societies has limited management practices. One of these provisions is the animal's freedom to express normal behavior. Animal by-product feeding to livestock and poultry is a common management practice and it is stigmatized in the public eye and some animal welfare activists. Certification processes by organizations like the Humane Farm Animal Care association are trying to remove the use of animal by-products from animal feed and move to more "vegetarian diets" due to the belief that the consumption of animal by-product is not part of the animal's normal behavior. In the United States, animal by-product is everything produced by the animal except for the dressed meat which is used for human consumption (Jayathilakan, 2011). Animal by-products have a variety of uses, in both edible and inedible forms. In the agriculture industry, all the animal is utilized to maximize profits and minimize waste. ... Choice feeding allows for animals to express normal behavior, which is important in today's societal climate where pressure to change animal welfare standards is prevalent. The freedom to express normal behavior falls under one of the Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare (Farm Animal Welfare Council). With increasing competitiveness of the poultry industry, the need to cut costs while maximizing feed efficiency and growth of the animals is a recurring theme. Use of animal by-products allows for efficient production of poultry. Use of animal by-products is a cheap and effective alternative to plant-based protein sources in the feed industry. Additionally, the importance of utilizing animal by-products is undervalued as it impacts several industries outside animal feed. Allowing poultry to choose between various feed ingredients including animal by-products should be considered an expression of normal behavior."--Introduction
Household labor and marital quality : perceived partner responsiveness as a buffer for unfair divisions of labor
Authors:   , Munk Rachel J.
Published: December 2023

Perceptions of household labor divisions as unfair are associated with lower marital quality, particularly for women. However, perceived partner responsiveness -- individuals' beliefs about their partner as caring, validating, and understanding to one's core needs and values -- might buffer against the effects of unfair divisions of labor. This study examined perceived partner responsiveness as a moderator of the association between individual's perceptions of fairness of the division of household labor and global marital quality. The sample consisted of married or cohabiting adults from the third wave (2012) of the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) study (N = 1923). Hierarchical regression analyses suggested that perceived partner responsiveness did function as a moderator, such that at higher levels of PPR, perceptions of the division of labor as unfair were associated with higher marital quality and lower marital strain. Contrary to hypotheses, results did not differ by gender. These findings suggest the importance of positive relationship processes, such as perceptions of partner responsiveness, as buffers against the negative effects of unfair divisions of labor for couples.
Vers une nouvelle colonisation : le Roman du dictateur Francophone Subsaharien et Caribeen
Authors:   , Domle Falone
Published: December 2023

This study proposes to examine the representation of neo-colonialist governments in black Francophone novels. The dissertation examines the modes and means by which several post-independences writers depict, portray, represent and, to some extent, codify within their texts the tactics of neo-colonial governmental leaders. Most compellingly, the authorial voices here invoked avail themselves, though here in literary terms, of methods and strategies notably reminiscent of their former masters. These post independence writers depict leaders who are brutal and contemptuous of those they govern, motivated by a need for power and supremacy over their subjects, and in their quest to dominate the people, they embrace many of the same tactics, strategies, and attitudes of former colonial masters. Ultimately, then, historical reality gives way to a series of textual counterparts, each of which, in turn, brings us back, literarily, to the era of socio-political denigration that occasioned them. The authors chosen for our study come from francophone Sub-Saharan African and Caribbean countries with intensive dictatorships. Writers included come from Guyana (Damas), Haiti (Victor, Chauvet), Cameroon (Nganang, Beti), Congo (Tansi) and Senegal (Diop). Despite their different locales and time periods, all the writers included depict leaders whose unsavory behavior is modeled on the tyrannical practices prevalent in the colonial regime they replaced. Like their colonial counterparts, these neocolonialist dictators use physical force to control and silence opposition, and actively promote social divisiveness so as to maintain their own privilege and power. Because it is a type of governance based on the colonial model of brutality and repression, it leads to an endless cycle of violence and suffering. These writers seem to be offering a unified message: until formerly colonized francophone leaders liberate themselves from colonial practices and influence, independence will be an ever-elusive quest.
"If he loves me, why doesn't he post me more?" : an examination of the perceptions men and women have of Instagram's influence on romantic relationships
Authors:   , Axford Madison
Published: December 2023

Instagram has become a leader among social media platforms, garnering about 500 million users daily (Gotter, 2019; Pokrop, 2020). With this application being used frequently among users aged 18 to 29 (Pew Research Center, 2019), this study tackles how these individuals perceive Instagram to influence their romantic relationships. A qualitative approach, collecting data through 14 semi-structured interviews, allowed for recurring points of both romantic relationship satisfaction and contention to surface. Findings showed that most individuals find their current relationship satisfactory and use Instagram typically around 14 hours a week. Participants elaborated on their own perceptions and lived experiences with the application while being in a romantic relationship, explaining it brought positive and negative elements to their partnerships. Individual explanations ranged from sharing memes and videos with their partners to fights stemming from jealousy about whom their partner was following or viewing on the application. This study attempts to fill a literature gap due to most prior research being on Facebook's impact on romantic relationships, leaving this photo-sharing application out of consideration. This study focuses on individual perceptions of Instagram, to understand what kind of influence it has on romantic relationships shared by two people, and how those lived experiences, behaviors and feelings differ between two genders.
The intergenerational transmission of relationship instability : a focus on emerging adult cyclical relationships
Authors:   , Charvat Emily
Published: December 2023

The current study aims to extend prior research on the intergenerational transmission of divorce and relationship instability by examining parental relationship instability as predictors of emerging adults' own cycling behavior. Additionally, it aims to explore relationship uncertainty, divorce attitudes, and relationship effort beliefs as mediators of this relationship. Data were collected at a large mid-western university from 751 emerging adults (18-25 years old) currently in a romantic relationship. Logistic regression in an SEM framework was used to predict the likelihood that participants had ever cycled. Results show that parental cycling increased the likelihood of offspring cycling, and greater relationship uncertainty is a mechanism through which this transmission occurs. Findings from this study have implications for the literature about on-again/off-again relationships and for the educators and practitioners working with cyclical partners and/or emerging adults.
All of the doors are closed : a hermeneutic phenomenological study exploring Black gay male experiences of stigma in Black church organizing
Authors:   , Hutchins Darvelle
Published: December 2023

The African American community has become a key site of resistance to accepting same-sex relations in the United States. Scholars have suggested that this resistance is most accurately explained by Black religious affiliations and pastoral leaders at Black churches who continue to preach homonegative sermons. Within Black churches, homosexuality is perceived to be a sin. Therefore, participating in same-sex intimate relations can be incredibly challenging for Black gay men who have been the driving force for many Black Churches in expanding congregations and even raising pastoral leaders' profiles. This hermeneutic phenomenological research study took a critical approach to investigate experiences of stigma among Black gay men in Black Church organizing. I interviewed 20 Black gay men between the ages of 19 to 69, both current and former Black Church members, to understand their different perspectives. Then, I compiled and analyzed the qualitative data to form seven major themes that provided a nuanced understanding of Black gay male experiences of stigma in Black churches. These findings revealed that Black gay men in Black churches are confronted with multiple sources of stigma in a single experience. This dissertation project contributes to the field of organizational communication because the concept of stigma is theoretical and a highly communicative process. This work also centers the voices of Black gay men who have historically been silenced and oppressed due, greatly, to their racial and sexual identities.
Through a red place : poetry
Authors:   , Pelky Rebecca
Published: December 2023

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI--COLUMBIA AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] This creative manuscript is grounded in archival research, used to fuel a collection of poems based on land use in the place we now call Wisconsin. Specifically, the manuscript considers both Indigenous and immigrant experiences of place, including those of the author. Along with my critical introduction, this work is significant in that it re-centers Indigeneity as subject, as purveyor of history rather than object of history. One aspect of this, particularly in the creative work, is to consider the tensions between archival/historical documents and personal story as ways to understand place. Further, because language is integrally connected to who writes history and how stories are told, this is a bilingual text, written partially in the Mohegan language.
Improving ligament tissue scaffold with the use of genipin and gold nanoparticles
Authors:   , Bellrichard Mitch A.
Published: December 2023

Decellularized tissue is used for a wide array of tissue injuries with tendon and ligament repair being among the most common. However, despite their frequent use there is concern over the lengthy inflammatory period and slow healing associated with allografts. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been shown to improve wound healing by decreasing inflammation and promoting cellularity and biological incorporation. The focus of this dissertation was testing the effects of AuNPs on ligament repair and assessing the use of genipin as a novel method of attaching the particles. In vitro studies were conducted to examine the ability of genipin to attach AuNPs to both unprocessed tissue and a decellularized tissue scaffold. Cell studies were conducted to observe the biocompatibility of the composite tissue. The results demonstrated successful attachment of the AuNPs and successful cell attachment and proliferation. An in vivo study was conducted using sheep to observe the effects of AuNPs on ACL repair. The experimental grafts had better histological scores and decreased inflammation in comparison to the controls.
The convergence of mastery criteria and instructional format : a systematic review
Authors:   , Kraus Samantha
Published: December 2023

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a widely accepted science in which treatment for problem behavior reduction and skill acquisition interventions has been developed for learners diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Discrete Trial Training (DTT) is an effective teaching method within ABA that presents teaching targets in a rapid instructional format until a mastery criterion is met (Smith, 2001). Clinicians and researchers select instructional format and mastery criterion when designing the DTT protocol for their clients with ASD. Modifications in the instructional format present ratios of mastered teaching targets relative to targets in acquisition. Furthermore, the specified mastery criterion demonstrates when a skill is learned to sufficiency. The interaction of teaching format and mastery criteria options may impact the efficient acquisition and maintenance of the novel skills. The purpose of this review was to systematically categorize and evaluate instructional format and mastery criteria within a discrete trial teaching procedure for learners with developmental disabilities. The review included 15 studies organized into the following categories: Mass trial, interspersed trial, and distributed trial, as well as mastery criteria. Task interspersal (75 [percent] of those that compared instructional format) and an 80 [percent] mastery criterion correct across 3 days or sessions (80 [percent] of those that compared mastery criteria) were the most commonly identified. However, there was extreme variability across studies and future research is needed to allow clinicians to form a rationale for their treatment modification selections. Clinical implications and future directions for research are discussed.
Prediction of lithium-ion battery capacity by functional monitoring data using functional principal component analysis
Authors:   , Shoriat Ullah MD
Published: December 2023

Lithium-ion batteries have been a promising energy storage technology for applications such as electronics, automobiles, and smart grids over the years. Extensive research was conducted to improve the prediction of the remaining capacity of the lithium-ion battery. A robust prediction model would improve the battery performance and reliability for forthcoming usage. To develop a data-driven capacity prediction model of lithium-ion batteries most of past studies employed capacity degradation data, yet very few tried using other performance monitoring variables such as temperature, voltage, and current data to estimate and predict the battery capacity. In this thesis, we aim to develop a data-driven model for predicting the capacity of lithium-ion battery adopting functional principal component analysis applied to functional monitoring data of temperature, voltage, and current observations collected from NASA Ames Prognostics Center of Excellence repository. The result of capacity prediction has been substantiated with past studies and obtained root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.009. The proposed data-driven approach performs well to predict the capacity employing functional performance measures over the life span of a lithium-ion battery.
The identification of novel genes involved in copper and oxygen metabolism
Authors:   , Gudekar Nikita S.
Published: December 2023

Copper (Cu) is an essential trace dietary metal which is also potentially toxic. Cells have evolved an intricate system of transporters and chaperones to carefully regulate Cu homeostasis. Cu uptake is mediated by the Cu1+-specific permease, CTR1. Cytoplasmic Cu is delivered to specific compartments via a series of metallochaperones. In the trans-Golgi network (TGN), the ATP7A or ATP7B proteins are required to pump Cu into the secretory pathway to various cuproenzymes. ATP7A also plays a protective role against Cu toxicity by trafficking to the plasma membrane to export Cu from the cell. Metallothioneins (MTs) are another type of protein that plays a protective role against Cu toxicity by sequestering excess Cu in the cytoplasm. There are four isoforms of MT in mice of which MT I and MT II are ubiquitously expressed. Our preliminary data demonstrates the essentiality of ATP7A, MTI and MTII in copper tolerance. We generated a fibroblast cell line in which Atp7a, Mt-I, and Mt-II genes were deleted (Atp7a-/Mt-), which resulted in sensitivity of these cells to sub-micromolar levels of copper. Using a genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 deletion screen, we identified a novel gene, VHL (von Hippel-Lindau), that when deleted confers Cu tolerance to Atp7a-/Mt- cells. The VHL protein is a ubiquitin-ligase responsible for the degradation of HIF transcription factors, which are the major regulators of gene expression in response to hypoxia. We show that VHL deletion confers Cu tolerance by stimulating the expression of the ATP7B copper transporter. Pharmacological inhibition of VHL-HIF1[alpha] by Roxadustat (a prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor), which is clinically used to treat anemia, conferred resistance to copper by upregulating ATP7B. Importantly, Roxadustat was found to increase hepatic ATP7B expression in vivo. These novel data identify a previously unknown link between copper homeostasis and oxygen sensing and have potential translational implications for the treatment of Wilson disease, a copper overload condition cause by insufficient expression of ATP7B.
Constructing children : one educator's dichotomy between ideology and pedagogy regarding children and achievement
Authors:   , Hairston Sarah L.
Published: December 2023

Historically speaking, educational discourse and practices tend to objectify children through biological and psychological units of analysis. These socially accepted assumptions have created regimes of truth (Foucault, 1977) that construct children as lacking ontology; a premise that guides educational policy and practice. These discourses become problematic since they shape the way educators view and treat children and, in turn, their experiences. Working toward a (re)imagining of schooling and the construction of children within education, this inquiry sought to make visible the discontinuities within discourses that have situated children within schooling. In so doing, this inquiry focused on one elementary art educator's thinking and construction of "children" through the lens of academic achievement and its resulting pedagogical practices. I chose to work from a poststructural paradigm engaging in thinking with theory (Jackson and Mazzei, 2012, 2018) approach using Foucauldian concepts. With respect to qualitative research, I constructed "permeable" boundaries around the field of inquiry, the participants, and data through the iterative process of thinking with literature, data, and theory. This inquiry disrupts the assumed inevitability of hierarchical structures and truth regimes that produces a binarized either/or. Instead, this inquiry implies that power/knowledge is relational allowing space to (re)construct ways in which to view and interact with children within the current structures of public education inviting a yes/and approach whether in practice or research.
Anisotropic shock response of 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB)
Authors:   , Zhao Puhan
Published: December 2023

The thermo-mechanical response of shock-induced pore collapse has been studied using non-reactive all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) and Eulerian continuum simulations for the molecular crystal 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB). Three crystal orientations, bracketed by the limiting cases with respect to the crystal structure anisotropy in TATB, are considered in the MD simulations, while an isotropic constitutive model is used for the continuum simulations. Simulations with three impact speeds from 0.5 km s[superscript -1] to 2.0 km s[superscript -1] are investigated. Results from MD and continuum simulations are in agreement in terms of shock wave speeds, temperature distributions, and pore-collapse mechanisms. However, differences arise for other quantities that are also important in hotspot ignition and growth, for example, the skewness of high-temperature distributions and the local temperature field around the post-collapse hotspot, indicating the urgent need to incorporate anisotropic crystal plasticity and strength models into the continuum descriptions. The deformation mechanisms of TATB crystals in the shock-induced pore collapse MD simulations were studied using Strain Functional Analysis. This new approach maps discrete quantities from atomistic simulations onto continuous fields via a Gaussian kernel, from which a unique and complete set of rotationally invariant Strain Functional Descriptors (SFD) is obtained from the high-order central moments of local configurations, expressed in a Solid Harmonics polynomial basis by SO(3) decomposition. Coupled with unsupervised machine learning techniques, the SFD successfully identifies and distinguishes the deformations presented in the MD simulations of shock-compressed TATB crystals. It enables automated detection of disordered structures in the system and can be readily applied to materials with any symmetry class.
Human behavior understanding and intention prediction
Authors:   , Sun Hao
Published: December 2023

Human motion, behaviors, and intention are governed by human perception, reasoning, common-sense rules, social conventions, and interactions with others and the surrounding environment. Humans can effectively predict short-term body motion, behaviors, and intention of others and respond accordingly. The ability for a machine to learn, analyze, and predict human motion, behaviors, and intentions in complex environments is highly valuable with a wide range of applications in social robots, intelligent systems, smart manufacturing, autonomous driving, and smart homes. In this thesis, we propose to address the above research question by focusing on three important problems: human pose estimation, temporal action localization and informatics, human motion trajectory and intention prediction. Specifically, in the first part of our work, we aim to develop an automatic system to track human pose, monitor and evaluate worker's efficiency for smart workforce management based on human body pose estimation and temporal activity localization. We have developed a deep learning based method to accurately detect human body joints and track human motion. We use the generative adversarial networks (GANs) for adversarial training to better learn human pose and body configurations, especially in highly cluttered environments. In the second step, we have formulated the automated worker efficiency analysis into a temporal action localization problem in which the action video performed by the worker is matched against a reference video performed by a teacher using dynamic time warping. In the second part of our work, we have developed a new idea, called reciprocal learning, based on the following important observation: the human trajectory is not only forward predictable, but also backward predictable. Both forward and backward trajectories follow the same social norms and obey the same physical constraints with the only difference in their time directions. Based on this unique property, we design and couple two networks, forward and backward prediction networks, satisfying the reciprocal constraint, which allows them to be jointly learned. Based on this constraint, we borrow the concept of adversarial attacks of deep neural networks, which iteratively modifies the input of the network to match the given or forced network output, and develop a new method for network prediction, called reciprocal attack for matched prediction. It further improves the prediction accuracy. In the third part of our work, we have observed that human's future trajectory is not only affected by other pedestrians but also impacted by the surrounding objects in the scene. We propose a novel hierarchical framework based on a recurrent sequence-to-sequence architecture to model both human-human and human-scene interactions. Our experimental results on benchmark datasets demonstrate that our new method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods for human trajectory prediction.
User experience and robustness in social virtual reality applications
Authors:   , Valluripally Samaikya
Published: December 2023

Cloud-based applications that rely on emerging technologies such as social virtual reality are increasingly being deployed at high-scale in e.g., remote-learning, public safety, and healthcare. These applications increasingly need mechanisms to maintain robustness and immersive user experience as a joint consideration to minimize disruption in service availability due to cyber attacks/faults. Specifically, effective modeling and real-time adaptation approaches need to be investigated to ensure that the application functionality is resilient and does not induce undesired cybersickness levels. In this thesis, we investigate a novel 'DevSecOps' paradigm to jointly tune both the robustness and immersive performance factors in social virtual reality application design/operations. We characterize robustness factors considering Security, Privacy and Safety (SPS), and immersive performance factors considering Quality of Application, Quality of Service, and Quality of Experience (3Q). We achieve "harmonized security and performance by design" via modeling the SPS and 3Q factors in cloud-hosted applications using attack-fault trees (AFT) and an accurate quantitative analysis via formal verification techniques i.e., statistical model checking (SMC). We develop a real-time adaptive control capability to manage SPS/3Q issues affecting a critical anomaly event that induces undesired cybersickness. This control capability features a novel dynamic rule-based approach for closed-loop decision making augmented by a knowledge base for the SPS/3Q issues of individual and/or combination events. Correspondingly, we collect threat intelligence on application and network based cyber-attacks that disrupt immersiveness, and develop a multi-label K-NN classifier as well as statistical analysis techniques for critical anomaly event detection. We validate the effectiveness of our solution approach in a real-time cloud testbed featuring vSocial, a social virtual reality based learning environment that supports delivery of Social Competence Intervention (SCI) curriculum for youth. Based on our experiment findings, we show that our solution approach enables: (i) identification of the most vulnerable components that impact user immersive experience to formally conduct risk assessment, (ii) dynamic decision making for controlling SPS/3Q issues inducing undesirable cybersickness levels via quantitative metrics of user feedback and effective anomaly detection, and (iii) rule-based policies following the NIST SP 800-160 principles and cloud-hosting recommendations for a more secure, privacy-preserving, and robust cloud-based application configuration with satisfactory immersive user experience.
Using (microchannel) electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to detect bacterial activities
Authors:   , Yang Yongqiang
Published: December 2023

Even though rapid detection of molecular methods has been used in bacterial detection, (automated) liquid culture methods are still the "Gold Standard" for the detection of living bacteria, especially in cases where there may be similar dead bacteria also present in the sample. However, the current liquid culture methods rely on the effects of bacterial metabolism (changes in O2/CO2 levels, pH, etc.) to bring about measurable changes to the suspension. Hence, for slow-growing microorganisms like M. tuberculosis (Mtb), they take a long time (up to 6 weeks) to yield results. To cut the time to positivity, we applied the detection concept of "detection by death" and using our high sensitivity microchannel Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (m-EIS) method to detect bacteria in various samples rapidly. Viable bacterial cells can be killed in a few hours with very high doses of cidal drugs. m-EIS relies on the fact that high-frequency AC fields cause transient charge-accumulation at live cells' intact membranes. Cell-death in the microchannel causes charges to no-longer be accumulated, and the bulk capacitance of the microchannel will decrease. By picking up this change, we can rapidly detect viable bacterial cells in a testing sample. For viable TB bacteria detection, we use synthetic sputum with gram-positive bacteria, gram-negative bacteria, and M. tuberculosis H37ra. After decontamination (kill all non-TB bacteria), we are able to discern decreases in bulk-capacitance for suspensions containing ~500 CFU/ml of Mtb cells (but not for ~50 CFU/ml). Thus, our turnaround-time (~4 hours) and limit-of-detection ([less than]500 CFU/ml) are comparable to those of GeneXpertTM. Using our m-EIS method, we can also detect Lactic Acid Bacterial (LAB) contamination for ethanol fermentation with a low concentration of 5000 CFU/ml in less than 3 hours. Our detection of limit for LAB has a three-order reduction than the HPLC method, but with a similar detection time. Aside from investigating the bacterial activities in the solution, we also observed the biofilm formation on the electrodes. We have observed that the interfacial capacitance also increases in proportion to the number of cells in the biofilm matrixes. In the future, we believe that we could also record cell death within biofilm using our method, and so researchers will be able to use it to screen new anti-biofilm material and drug rapidly.
Polynomial system identification modeling and adaptive model predictive control of arterial oxygen saturation in premature infants
Authors:   , Dutton Richard H.
Published: December 2023

The automation of the regulation of the fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) in neonatal mechanical ventilation to treat respiratory distress syndrome has proven challenging due to competing objectives: maintaining arterial oxygen saturation levels (SpO2) while simultaneously not inducing complications such as retrolental fibroplasia. Historically, models of the dynamics of the neonatal respiratory system were first order transfer function approximations. This work used higher order polynomial system identification methods with the model structures of autoregressive with exogenous inputs (ARX) and Box-Jenkins (BJ) models to investigate possible improved modeling of the dynamic relationship between the FiO2, Heart Rate (HR), and Respiratory Rate (RR) to the SpO2. Through a parameter sweep of different of polynomial orders and sampling delays, 3,456 ARX models and 13,176 BJ models were created, with four being selected for comparison based upon modeling performance metrics. From these best performing models, it was concluded that the FiO2 relationship to SpO2 could still be adequately approximated by a first order transfer function model with delay. The disturbance HR, RR, and the unmodeled dynamics did require higher order approximations. It was also shown that selecting a model based off the Akaike's Information Criterion was preferred in picking a model from a collection of identified models. With a singular winning model from the four best performing models, an adaptive model predictive controller (AMPC) was designed to adhere to clinical best practices to regulate the SpO2. Through a recursive polynomial model estimator (RPME), an ARX approximation of the unknown model's dynamics for the FiO2, HR, and RR relationship to the SpO2 could be used to update the internal model of the AMPC. Through this online model estimation, the AMPC could successfully feedforward reject the HR and RR disturbances improving the simulated time within the SpO2 target limits, 67.8 percent of simulation time, to a baseline PI controller's 56.6 percent, in periodic desaturation simulations.
ANALISIS KEBIJAKAN IMPLEMENTASI KURIKULUM MERDEKA DI SD NEGERI 028 PEMATANG REBA, RENGAT BARAT INDRAGIRI HULU
Authors: Ayu Citra
Published: December 2023

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan implementasi kebijakan yang mendeskripsikan tentang implementasi kebijakan Kurikulum Merdeka di SD Negeri 028 Pematang Reba, Rengat Barat, Indragiri Hulu berdasarkan Kepmendikbudristek No.56/M/2022. Jenis penelitian ini adalah penelitian kualitatif Penentuan subyek penelitian dilakukan dengan menggunakan teknik purposive. Sumber data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah sumber data primer dan sumber data sekunder. Teknik pengumpulan data yang dilakukan adalah observasi, wawancara dan dokumentasi. Utuk menguji keabsahan hasil penelitian maka dilakukan teknik pemeriksaan data berdasarkan empat kriteria yaitu Derajat Kepercayaan (Credibility), Transferabilitas (Transferability), Kebergantungan (Dependability), dan Kepastian (Confirmability). Berdasarkan hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa:  Proses Komunikasi Kebijakan Implementasi Kurikulum Merdeka di SD Negeri 028 Pematang Reba, Rengat Barat, Indragiri Hulu sudah dilakukan melalui sosialisasi dalam bentuk pelatihan, diklat, dan workshop. Namun volume atau porsi pelatihan harus lebih ditingkatkan. Kejelasan informasi tentang kebijakan Kurikulum Merdeka harus disampaikan ke sasaran.  Sosialisasi kurikulum Merdeka  harus secara rutin dilaksanakan karena masih rendahnya pemahaman guru dan warga tentang Kurikulum Merdeka; Kesiapan Sumber daya dalam implementasi kebijakan Kurikulum Merdeka di SD Negeri 028 Pematang Reba, Rengat Barat, Indragiri Hulu cukup memadai; pemahaman mengenai capaian pembelajaran, alur tujuan pembelajaran, modul ajar dan proyek penguatan profil pelajar pancasila, perlu ditingkatkan lagi melalui pelatihan; implementasi kebijakan kurikulum merdeka di  SD Negeri 028 Pematang Reba, Rengat Barat, Indragiri Hulu, sudah berjalan baik dalam hal koordinasi internal pelaksanaan kebijakan.