bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reduced-order modelling for approximated analytical calculation of linear permanent magnet machines
Authors: Guo Baocheng , Guo Rong
Published: May 2022

In this paper, we propose an order reduction method which can be applied in the approximated analytical model for linear permanent magnet machines (LPMMs). The proposed model takes the periodic boundary condition into account the Poisson and Laplace equations, hence, the analytical solution requires low harmonic orders in each subdomain. The magnetic results show that the proposed model can maintain high accuracy while taking low computational time. 2D finite element computations, as well as measurements, validate the proposed model. The proposed model in this paper can also be further applied in permanent magnet machines with high pole and slot combination, to reduce the computational time.
Development of look-ahead NURBS interpolation based on the exponential function
Authors: Nie Mingxing , Zhou Aijun
Published: May 2022

Aiming at the problem of large number of points and complex calculation of NURBS pre-interpolation, this paper puts forward a look-ahead interpolation with offline feedrate optimization. The NURBS interpolator is divided into two stages: pre-interpolation and real-time interpolation. The pre-interpolation preprocesses the curve segment by segment according to the curvature characteristics, at the same time the exponential function method is adopted during the pre-interpolation in the look-ahead module. This method makes the step increment of interpolation parameters change exponentially in the area with gentle curvature, and greatly reduces the number of pre-interpolation points, which reduces the amount of calculation and improves the real-time performance. The real-time interpolation stage adopts the bidirectional adaptive acceleration and deceleration control method to realize speed smoothing without needing to calculate the deceleration point. The simulation results show that the real-time performance of the algorithm is greatly improved.
Robot-assisted gait training in patients with Parkinson’s disease: Implications for clinical practice. A systematic review
Authors: Carmignano Simona Maria , Fundarò Cira , Bonaiuti Donatella , Calabrò Rocco Salvatore , Cassio Anna , Mazzoli Davide , Bizzarini Emiliana , Campanini Isabella , Cerulli Simona , Chisari Carmelo , Colombo Valentina , Dalise Stefania , Gazzotti Valeria , Mazzoleni Daniele , Mazzucchelli Miryam , Melegari Corrado , Merlo Andrea , Stampacchia Giulia , Boldrini Paolo , Mazzoleni Stefano , Posteraro Federico , Benanti Paolo , Castelli Enrico , Draicchio Francesco , Falabella Vincenzo , Galeri Silvia , Gimigliano Francesca , Grigioni Mauro , Mazzon Stefano , Molteni Franco , Morone Giovanni , Petrarca Maurizio , Picelli Alessandro , Senatore Michele , Turchetti Giuseppe , Andrenelli Elisa
Published: May 2022

BACKGROUND: Gait impairments are common disabling symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Among the approaches for gait rehabilitation, interest in robotic devices has grown in recent years. However, the effectiveness compared to other interventions, the optimum amount of training, the type of device, and which patients might benefit most remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a systematic review about the effects on gait of robot-assisted gait training (RAGT) in PD patients and to provide advice for clinical practice. METHODS: A search was performed on PubMed, Scopus, PEDro, Cochrane library, Web of science, and guideline databases, following PRISMA guidelines. We included English articles if they used a robotic system with details about the intervention, the parameters, and the outcome measures. We evaluated the level and quality of evidence. RESULTS: We included twenty papers out of 230 results: two systematic reviews, 9 randomized controlled trials, 4 uncontrolled studies, and 5 descriptive reports. Nine studies used an exoskeleton device and the remainders end-effector robots, with large variability in terms of subjects’ disease-related disability. CONCLUSIONS: RAGT showed benefits on gait and no adverse events were recorded. However, it does not seem superior to other interventions, except in patients with more severe symptoms and advanced disease.
Standards in social statistics: The capacity of national statistical systems to adapt to the international standards, problems, challenges
Authors: Bersales Lisa Grace S.
Published: May 2022

National statistical systems have been faced with the demand for more timely and granular social statistics. Addressing the demand is a challenge but new data sources have become available. In this context, a strong foundation in the generation of statistics is needed for national statistical systems given the availability of data sources outside of the traditional ones. Many statistical systems have gained trust by using international statistical standards and they should continue to benefit from newer standards that result from the Sustainable Development Goals requirements and the availability of newer sources of data. However, challenges persist. Focusing on those related to standards, the following are the challenges: lack of resources and technical knowledge on international standards; lack of inventory of international standards for entities within the national statistical system; lack of knowledge by line ministries on professional and technical independence and code of ethics; inadequate human and financial resources; insufficient awareness among line ministries on the importance of implementing international standards. To address the deficiency of data, especially on social sector statistics, traditional methods and tested frameworks should be augmented by new sources of information. The implementation of the Cape Town Global Action Plan for Sustainable Development (CT-GAP) is crucial in addressing the challenges. The national statistical systems of Mexico, led by the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Geografia (INEGI), and the Philippines, led by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), are examples of how developing countries address challenges to producing official statistics.
Effectiveness of the outreach of official statistics standards and guidelines, methodologies and recommendations to developing statistical systems: A discussion
Authors: Kouadio Hugues K.
Published: May 2022

How to support the outreach and roll-out of standards in the developing statistical systems and what are the shortcomings in the outreach and roll-out systems? This paper aims to contribute to the debate by discussing the set of papers presented in the special Invited Paper Session of the ISI World Statistical Congress 2021 (The Hague) on the effectiveness of the outreach of official statistics standards and guidelines. I argue that the use of standards is essential to maximize the effectiveness of statistical outputs and the efficiency of the production process, however for the developing countries one should consider issues of capacity in implementation in line with the correct outreach and implementation of standards.
Applying the task-technology fit model to construct the prototype of a medical staff scheduling system
Authors: Chen Gary Yu-Hsin , Chen Ping-Shun , Tsai Tzu-Tao
Published: May 2022

BACKGROUND: Medical staff scheduling problems are complex and involve numerous constraints. OBJECTIVE: This research uses the task-technology fit (TTF) model to measure the technology characteristics of information technology (IT) systems as a reference for constructing a prototype for a medical staff scheduling system to identify function requirements and design human interfaces. METHOD: After the evaluation of the proposed scheduling system, this research excludes compatibility from the 13 technology characteristics and adds two technology characteristics for consideration: customization and scalability. RESULTS: Based on the revised technology characteristics of the TTF model, this research develops flexible scheduling functions to satisfy daily manpower requirements and allow predetermined schedules and day-off reservations for a hospital’s radiological technologists. Characterized by flexibility, customization, and scalability, the system can accommodate several algorithms to generate a better schedule that satisfies hard and soft constraints. Furthermore, the scheduler can choose the required hard and soft constraints from all constraints. The prototype of the scheduling system will be easily extended to add or modify constraints in the case of requirement or regulation changes. CONCLUSION: The results of this study provide a prototype for system developers to design a customized staff scheduling system for each medical unit.
Confronting digital folk pedagogies in Missouri educator preparation programs
Authors:   , Davis Joseph
Published: May 2022

Educational technology training in many Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) has not kept pace with the increasing digital demands of K-12 schools. A lack of state-wide educational technology competencies has resulted in curricular and instructional inconsistency among EPPs in Missouri, and inaccurate assumptions about young people, often labeled as digital natives, have made it difficult for faculty to understand their students' attitudes towards and efficacy with educational technology. This study analyzed the extent to which EPP faculty perceptions of preservice teacher educational technology use align to preservice teacher technological self-efficacy (TSE). Data collected from seven Missouri EPPs indicate several statistically significant differences between faculty perceptions and preservice teacher TSE. These findings suggest that a more accurate understanding of preservice teachers as digital natives is needed, and that in order to provide meaningful training to preservice teachers, faculty must confront their own implicit beliefs, or folk pedagogies, about how others teach and learn with technology.
An evaluation of the need for critically refined purification producedures in fluorescent carbon dot syntheses : the ramifications of the ubiquitour presence of reaction by-products on quenchometric and light harvesting applications
Authors:   , Essner Jeremy B.
Published: May 2022

Fluorescent carbon dots constitute a novel and intriguing class of nanocarbons that display unique optical properties and can be purportedly generated from virtually any carbon-containing source. For example, the thermal pyrolysis of human urine results in the formation of fluorescent nanocarbons, whose spectroscopic properties are dependent on the diet of the urine donor, a scenario potentially leading to heteroatom doping of the carbonaceous nanomaterials. Furthermore, these nanocarbons' alluring electron donor/acceptor capabilities afford their implementation as dual reducing and capping agents towards the formation of metal nanoparticle/carbon dot composites that possess a high degree of optical tunability. The ability to modulate the spectroscopic properties of both these materials holds promise for exploitation in solar energy harvesting applications as green sensitizers and plasmonic enhancers. However, these nanocarbons' distinguishing luminescent properties, whose origin continues to elude the field, has recently come under scrutiny due to the presence of highly fluorescent, molecular by-products generated in route to the target nanocarbon, resulting in the widespread misrepresentation of their emission characteristics. Thus, this detrimental issue of insufficient by-product removal and the subsequent effects on reported nanocarbon luminescence, as well as common applications, namely, quenchometric detection and photosensitizers, are addressed here, providing a path forward for arriving at a fundamental understanding of these promising nanocarbons and their true properties.
Orogeny-modified lithosphere
Authors:   , Gafeer Ashraf
Published: May 2022

One of the major mantle reservoirs on Earth is the continental lithospheric mantle. Our understanding of the early continental lithosphere sometimes is limited by its subsequent complex history. Continental tracts can be involved in collisional processes that coalesce them into larger masses and obscure their original composition and structure. Depending on the intensity of collisional processes, the continental interiors can be modified by far-field stresses that lead to hot ductile belts and crustal magmatism. The lithospheric mantle according to orogenic peridotites exposed at the surface has primary (peridotites) and cumulated assemblages (pyroxenites). The relationship among the mantle assemblages is detected in subsequent mantle-derived lavas that have interacted with (e.g., plume-induced lavas) or were generated in the lithosphere (e.g., extension-induced lavas) by carrying signatures of mineralogic and isotopic changes from the time of lithosphere modification. This study examines extruded lavas surrounded by orogenic terrains and the entrained mantle assemblages (xenoliths). The first part shows that asthenospheric derived melt is feasible if the lithosphere has an irregular configuration. The second part of this study examines the temporal changes of the SCLM (sub-continental lithospheric mantle) using mantle xenoliths. New xenolith analyses from the Sahara Craton yield one of the most precise bulk-rock Re-Os isochrons yet reported in peridotitic assemblages. Yielding an exact age in SCLM primary lithology reveals a thermal adjustment event in the SCLM that was synchronized with the cessation of Pan African collisions. The last part of this study presents evidence from five different continents showing that mantle plumes or extensional stresses in the Cenozoic time can trigger or cause the melting of secondary lithologies of SCLM (Cumulate assemblages, such as pyroxenites). The young lavas convey Re-Os orogenic ages that show that SCLM modifications are syn-orogenic.
RNA structural studies : implications in HIV-1 replication and the origins of life
Authors:   , Gremminger Thomas James
Published: May 2022

Structure and function relationships are important to understand many biological processes. Biological components are not one dimensional and their structures may drive key aspects of their function. This dissertation focuses on understanding key structural elements involved in HIV-1 replication and elucidating the structure of RNA aptamers that could enhance our understanding of early life. In this dissertation we examined a key interaction in HIV-1 reverse transcription initiation, the interaction between the A-rich loop of the HIV-1 5' untranslated region (5'UTR) and the anticodon of tRNALys3. We showed that this interaction is important for viral infectivity. Using NMR structural techniques, we provided indirect evidence of this interaction and showed that it important for HIV-1 gRNA integrity. Using a combination of in vitro and cell-based assays we showed that this interaction serves to protect the HIV-1 gRNA from degradation by HIV-1 RT before reverse transcription can occur. We also examined another important host factor involved in HIV-1 replication, RNA Helicase A (RHA). RHA has been shown to be important for HIV-1 infectivity and acts as a processivity enhancement factor during reverse transcription. We showed that RHA is recruited to the virion through interactions with the primer binding site (PBS) segment of the HIV-1 5'UTR. We showed that this highly conserved region adopts a three-way junction structure that is recognized and is necessary for its recruitment. We also examined novel RNA aptamers that shift the reduction potential of bound flavin. This is a common strategy for highly reactive flavoenzymes and understanding the molecular mechanisms of flavin recognition may provide insights into early life. We were able to solve a preliminary solution structure of one of these aptamers and showed that it recognizes flavin using a scaffold of base triples. In summary, this work shows how structural features can influence biological function.
Students' view toward biology as a complex system
Authors:   , Khajeloo Mojtaba
Published: May 2022

System thinking is found to be a proper approach to address the complex problems of our modern world. However, while it is practiced in various science disciplines, it is not yet embedded proportionately into science education. In this study, through a mixed methods approach, I first examined students' system thinking skills in response to complex problems and then, in a separate study, I investigated how concept map as an assessment tool could assess and enhance students system thinking skills. My results indicated that students tend to use simple causal reasoning to argue about complex biological problems and largely draw on domino causal pattern to show the relationship among biological concepts. I also found that students' system thinking skills improved when they were prompted about complex causalities and scaffolded for making diverse causal relationships. At the end, based on the results of my studies, I developed a teaching framework for complex systems that provides instructors with guidelines on how to embed causal mechanisms and the features of complexity into their teaching practices.
Novel deep cross-domain framework for fault diagnosis or rotary machinery in prognostics and health management
Authors:   , Rezaeianjouybari Behnoush
Published: May 2022

Improving the reliability of engineered systems is a crucial problem in many applications in various engineering fields, such as aerospace, nuclear energy, and water declination industries. This requires efficient and effective system health monitoring methods, including processing and analyzing massive machinery data to detect anomalies and performing diagnosis and prognosis. In recent years, deep learning has been a fast-growing field and has shown promising results for Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) in interpreting condition monitoring signals such as vibration, acoustic emission, and pressure due to its capacity to mine complex representations from raw data. This doctoral research provides a systematic review of state-of-the-art deep learning-based PHM frameworks, an empirical analysis on bearing fault diagnosis benchmarks, and a novel multi-source domain adaptation framework. It emphasizes the most recent trends within the field and presents the benefits and potentials of state-of-the-art deep neural networks for system health management. Besides, the limitations and challenges of the existing technologies are discussed, which leads to opportunities for future research. The empirical study of the benchmarks highlights the evaluation results of the existing models on bearing fault diagnosis benchmark datasets in terms of various performance metrics such as accuracy and training time. The result of the study is very important for comparing or testing new models. A novel multi-source domain adaptation framework for fault diagnosis of rotary machinery is also proposed, which aligns the domains in both feature-level and task-level. The proposed framework transfers the knowledge from multiple labeled source domains into a single unlabeled target domain by reducing the feature distribution discrepancy between the target domain and each source domain. Besides, the model can be easily reduced to a single-source domain adaptation problem. Also, the model can be readily updated to unsupervised domain adaptation problems in other fields such as image classification and image segmentation. Further, the proposed model is modified with a novel conditional weighting mechanism that aligns the class-conditional probability of the domains and reduces the effect of irrelevant source domain which is a critical issue in multi-source domain adaptation algorithms. The experimental verification results show the superiority of the proposed framework over state-of-the-art multi-source domain-adaptation models.
From saving face to saving lies : prioritizing the public in public relations
Authors:   , Schneider Erika Jen
Published: May 2022

Traditional crisis communication literature emphasizes how organizations can use communication to preserve their image after a negative event. From image restoration theory to the situational crisis communication theory, these frameworks aim to shift the blame attributed to an organization to reduce negative impacts on reputation. The purpose of this study is to reevaluate the focus on reputation management and probe a crisis communication framework that addresses a crisis as an opportunity to address vulnerabilities. A between-subjects experimental design study compared the effects of the BCO framework (i.e., Base Response, Corrective Action, Organizational Learning) and reputation management strategies on anger, moral outrage, organizational reputation, social amplification, and the mediating effect of organizational learning. The results yielded from comparisons reveal how the BCO response may generate less anger and moral outrage, may result in higher perceptions of organizational reputation, and lower rates of negative social amplification than reputation responses. In some circumstances, organizational learning was found to mediate the effects of the strategies on reputation. This empirical investigation offers a promising direction for an ethical approach to crisis communication that prioritizes protecting the public.
Time-dependent response of reinforced concrete elements near collapse
Authors:   , Shubaili Mohammed
Published: May 2022

Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures may experience collapse under high levels of sustained gravity load. High levels of load are possibly due to errors in design and construction, material degradation, and abnormal loading. The evolution from local damage to large-scale collapse is time-dependent, and there is a lack of knowledge of the strength and stiffness characteristics of RC members under high levels of sustained loads. This research focuses on the impact of high levels of sustained gravity loads on the time-dependent strength and stiffness characteristics of RC isolated slab column connections and RC beams. Concrete is experiences creep under compressive load, and plain concrete has experienced compressive failure at load levels of 80 percent of its short-term strength (Rusch 1960). However, the behavior of reinforced concrete members under high levels of the sustained load is not well studied, yet there have been several previous collapses of RC structures under constant gravity loads. This research investigated the time-dependent behavior of RC beams and flat-plate connections under high sustained stresses through experimental testing of shear and flexure-controlled RC beams as well as punching shear in flat-plat connections. Two beam series consisting of 4 and 6 beams were tested at concrete ages of 67 to 543 under sustained loads ranging from 82 percent to 98 percent of the short-term capacity for time periods from 24 to 52 days, with one beam failing under sustained load within 84 minutes. Ten isolated slab-column connections with reinforcement ratios of 0.64 percent and 1 percent were tested. The specimens were 0.47 scale and tested at concrete ages from 175 to 402 days at load intensities of 83 percent to 97 percent, with one specimen failing under sustained load within 21 minutes. The research found that high sustained loads can lead to eventual failure (collapse) in these systems; however, the level of load needs to be very close (~95 percent) to the short-term capacity. The research also found that sustained load increased the deflection at peak load with greater increases in specimens that were more brittle under short-term loading. The increase in deflection could allow for load redistribution in redundant structural systems. The rate of increase in deflection followed the material level behavior of concrete under creep. Steel reinforcement strains increased at a similar rate to the deflection. The increase in steel strain under constant load indicated the redistribution of forces from the concrete as it deforms under creep. However, the sharp increase in deflection due to the tertiary phase of creep occurred in a short time (~2 min), leading to little warning of impending failure.
Nonstationary Bayesian time series models with time-varying parameters and regime-switching
Authors:   , Sui Yuelei
Published: May 2022

Nonstationary time series data exist in various scientic disciplines, including environmental science, biology, signal processing, econometrics, among others. Many Bayesian models have been developed to handle nonstationary time series. Some of the models characterize nonstationarity through the mean, e.g., regime-switching time series models and time-varying coefficients models, whereas other models characterize nonstationarity through modeling the variance/covariance. Models of nonstationary behavior can be viewed both in the time domain (e.g., stochastic volatility) or in the time-frequency domain. This dissertation proposes a multi-regime smooth transition stochastic volatility model based on ordered categorical variables and is illustrated using additional information in the form of covariates (e.g., trading volume). This model can handle the non-Gaussian behavior often found in return data, address the asymmetric effects of financial returns, and provide regime-specific inference. The time-varying autoregressive (TV-VAR) model is a well-established model for multivariate nonstationary time series. Nevertheless, in most cases, the large number of parameters presented by the model results in a high computational burden, ultimately limiting its usage. This dissertation proposes a computationally efficient multivariate Bayesian Circular Lattice Filter to extend the usage of the TV-VAR model to a broader class of highdimensional problems. Finally, modeling and forecasting nonstationary count time series presents many challenges. To address these challenges, this dissertation introduces a computationally efficient Poisson model with a latent Gaussian time-varying autoregressive process. The model is shown to provide effective multi-step ahead forecasts for nonstationary count time series, e.g., COVID-19 count data. The utility of each proposed method is illustrated through simulation and through case-studies.
Utilizing blockchain technology for clinical trial optimization
Authors:   , Zhuang Yan
Published: May 2022

Clinical trials are the cornerstone of treatment discovery because they provide comprehensive scientific evidence on the safety, efficacy, and optimal use of therapeutics. However, current clinical trials are facing multiple challenges such as patient recruitment, data capture, and overall management. There are various causes of patient recruitment challenges such as inefficient advertising models, complex protocols, and distant trial sites. Data inconsistency is the main challenge of the data capture process. Source data verification, a standard method used for data monitoring, is resource-intensive that can cost up to 25 percent of the total budget. The current clinical trial management system market is fragmented and lacks thorough designs with all desired features so that nearly all respondents to management systems from the annual global survey reported dissatisfaction with the current management system. Based on these challenges, disruptive technologies such as blockchain may provide feasible solutions by utilizing its unique features. Blockchain is an open-source distributed ledger technology that was first applied in the financial sector. Its features such as public audibility, data security, immutability, anonymity, and smart contracts are a good fit for the needs of many healthcare applications. However, there are several common challenges of blockchain technology so that most blockchain designs for healthcare applications are still in the early stage of implementation. This dissertation aims at optimizing clinical trials by developing multiple applications using blockchain technology to provide feasible solutions to the current challenges. We will use real-world data to conduct large-scale simulations to evaluate the feasibility and performance of proposed blockchain models for clinical trial applications.
Enhancing the mechanica and durability properties of cement mortars by using alumina nanocoating on carbon nanofibers
Authors:   , Al Qader Huda Jamal Noori
Published: May 2022

This thesis presents a comparative study on using nanocomposite of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) nanocoating on carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and bare CNFs for enhancing the cement mortars mechanical properties, durability under freeze-thaw conditions, and mitigating the drying shrinkage. Although CNFs work to bridge the cracks in cement and to improve the strength, their pristine surface is relatively inert. On the other hand, metals oxides nanomaterials have shown a remarkable surface reactivity, nevertheless, they offer less bridging role. Herein, we close the gap by combining the two parameters, the bridging, and the surface reactivity. This is done by fabricating porous Al2O3 nanocoating on carbon nanofibers denoted as, Al2O3/CNFs. The Al2O3 layer offers a certain degree of pozzolanas in a form of a nanofilm that possesses a high specific surface area of 274.3 m2/g. Several characterizations such as Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) have been conducted to study the coating, mortar's microstructure, and elements mapping. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller and Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BET-BJH) analysis was employed to detect the porosity, whereas Derivative thermal analysis- differential thermogravimetric (TGA-DTG) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) have been coupled to investigate the hydration mechanism. The Al2O3/CNFs samples with mass ratios of 0.125 percent, 0.25 percent, 0.5 percent of the cement were compared with bare CNFs with the same mass ratios of 0.125 percent, 0.25 percent, 0.5 percent, and with a plain sample as a reference. The compressive strength before and after freeze-thaw cycles of the Al2O3/CNFs-0.125 percent and CNFs-0.25 percent have shown the highest performance relative to the reference sample. The mass loss due to the freeze/thaw conditions was significantly reduced by addition of Al2O3/CNFs at different ratios comparing to composites that contain CNFs with different ratios and comparing to reference samples. The better performance was shown with the most reduction obtained for the Al2O3/CNFs-0.125 percent, Al2O3/CNFs-0.5 percent and CNFs-0.25 percent, respectively. In addition, the Al2O3/CNFs-0.125 percent and CNFs-0.25 percent have shown the least drying shrinkage. The results of this study demonstrated that the Al2O3 nanofilm along with CNFs improved the microstructure bridging, enhanced the hydration gel production, and refined the microstructure pores. All these favorable properties improved the overall mechanical properties, freeze-thaw durability, and drying shrinkage.
The effect of gene therapy on the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
Authors:   , Baker Juliette Alise
Published: May 2022

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating progressive and neurodegenerative disease. In early stages of ALS, there are known pathological changes in the structure of neuromuscular junctions (NMJ); however, all current gene therapies for ALS target the central nervous system. Evidence pointing to a "dying-back" hypothesis, where the disease begins at peripheral sensory neurons and moves to the CNS, suggests that it may instead be beneficial to target peripheral muscles, axons, and NMJs. Microtubules make up an important part of the NMJ cytoskeleton, allowing transport of important molecules and structural stability. In ALS, the microtubules are found to have critical deficits affecting microtubule-dependent transport. To address this issue, we singularly injected Stathmin1 via an AAV9 intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection at P0-P5 in a SOD1G93A ALS mouse model (both males and females). Stathmin1 (Stmn1) is a protein that depolymerizes microtubules in the cytoskeleton to allow the breakdown of "diseased" microtubules to make room for the body to build new, healthy ones. This study was designed to target the degenerative processes of skeletal muscle NMJs in ALS using an AAV9 injection of Stmn1 to upregulate this gene. We examined the effects of this treatment by assessing overall survival, limb function, swallowing function, and respiratory function. By analyzing these parameters, we concluded that the Stmn1 injection does not have a beneficial or detrimental effect on respiratory or swallowing function at the 6 week timepoint, or limb function up to 17 weeks in the SOD1G93A mouse model, but it does have a slight beneficial effect on disease onset and overall survival at the 17 week time point. These results suggest a possible explanation for the mechanisms of ALS and a potential target for treatment.
Cross-functional skills of the fashion industry professional : T-shaped person skills framework for the fashion professional
Authors:   , Leiby Nicolette Renee
Published: May 2022

The fashion industry is experiencing rapid changes due to innovative technologies, complex globalization of the supply chain, and evolving consumer behaviors. Skill needs are also evolving, and organizations require professionals to have technical expertise and the ability to adapt quickly to the fast-paced environment. Employers have noted that fashion students are not fully prepared for the workforce, and educators have pledged to prepare students for the industry's future skill needs. While technical skills are often a focus in fashion and industry training, softer skills such as adaptability and collaboration are more challenging to define with regards to the industry's needs and teaching opportunities. Those skills that are non-technical are often referred to as cross-functional skills. However, a clear definition of 'cross-functional skills' in terms of fashion worker aptitudes seems to be lacking. Establishing this definition is the first step to identifying the industry's current and future skill needs. Articles and other findings have explored fashion skill needs. However, there is a gap in the research for a theoretical framework to support the technical and cross-functional skills required of professionals to meet job expectations and organizational objectives. With the CF skill definition established, a content analysis and empirical study of skills required by the industry leads to the proposal of the T-shaped person skills framework for the fashion professional.
Component analysis of an observational learning procedure on social labeling in children with autism spectrum disorder
Authors:   , Villmer Courtney Elise
Published: May 2022

MacDonald and Ahearn (2015) produced generalized performance of observational learning (OL) using multiple exemplars. The purpose of the present study was to teach labeling of emotion picture cards to children with ASD by conducting a component analysis of the OL procedure (MacDonald & Ahearn, 2015), which included attending, imitation, delayed imitation, and discriminated consequences. Researchers used a concurrent multiple baseline across participants design to evaluate a component analysis of the effects of each component of the OL procedure. The primary dependent variable was to demonstrate increases in percentage of independent correct responding to the OL responses and correct responding to task variation that occurs during the teaching phase. The results of the study showed that two of the three participants did not require specific teaching of all components from the OL procedure before engaging in OL.
Bayesian approach for the spectrum sensing mimo-cognitive radio network with presence of the uncertainty
Authors:   , Al-Amidie Muthana Khallil
Published: May 2022

A cognitive radio technique has the ability to learn. This system not only can observe the surrounding environment, adapt to environmental conditions, but also efficiently use the radio spectrum. This technique allows the secondary users (SUs) to employ the primary users (PUs) spectrum during the band is not being utilized by the user. Cognitive radio has three main steps: sensing of the spectrum, deciding and acting. In the spectrum sensing technique, the channel occupancy is determined with a spectrum sensing approach to detect unused spectrum. In the decision process, sensing results are evaluated and the decision process is then obtained based on these results. In the final process which is called the acting process, the scholar determines how to adjust the parameters of transmission to achieve great performance for the cognitive radio network.
Effect of temperature on the mechanical behavior of the cnt reinforced epoxy
Authors:   , Anvari Ali
Published: May 2022

In this thesis, the effect of temperature on the mechanical behavior of CNT reinforced epoxy has been investigated. The first step for this research will be to produce SWCNT - epoxy and MWCNT - epoxy in the lab in the forms of plates with 0.5, 1, and 1.5 wt. percent of CNT concentrations. After the plates are ready, the next step was to put the plates in thermal chamber to perform thermal cycling tests. Each thermal cycle would be to heat the plates from room temperature to 0.85Tg which is 85 percent of the epoxy glass transition temperature (Tg). The glass transition temperature of the epoxy was determined in the lab using DSC. For measuring the mechanical behavior of the plates, shear - beam test and tensile test were used. The process would be to measure the mechanical properties of the plates at 0 cycles (as fabricated) and after 1500 and 3000 exposure to the mentioned thermal cycles. The short beam test and tensile test can measure the interlaminar shear strength and tensile strength of the plates, respectively. Based on these data, the model for changing the interlaminar shear strength and tensile strength of the plates with increasing the thermal cycles can be developed. Furthermore, in this research, the tensile strength, ultimate strain, and Modulus of Elasticity of epoxy, and carbon nanotube reinforced epoxy while they are exposed to different thermal cycling environments are obtained.Thermal cycling environments can exist in many conditions such as in earth orbit for satellites which rotate around the earth and pass through the sun illumination and earth's shadow, and for airplanes which fly in different altitudes with different temperatures. Carbon nanotube reinforced epoxy is one of the nano - composite materials which have been broadly used in many applications such as aerospace, automotive, electronics, and other industries. The reason for using this material as a promising nano ��� composite in many industries, is its mechanical properties such as high strength, stiffness, and flexibility. al in this experiment is to fabricate the nano ��� composite and expose it to different thermal cycle numbers to monitor the changes in tensile strength, ultimate strain, modulus of elasticity, and shear strength. For this purpose, tension and short ��� beam tests were applied. Using the results obtained with this experiment, the mechanical behavior of nano ��� composites with different carbon nanotube concentrations are analyzed and discussed. Furthermore, based on this analysis, conclusions are included in the conclusions section
The adsorption of environmental pollutants in gas and aqueous media utilizing nano-scale materials
Authors:   , Bays Nathan R
Published: May 2022

In this body of work, the synthesis and characterization of several nanoporous materials have been described, as well as the application of these materials towards environmentally positive means. Largely, this work involves porous carbon materials produced from the amino acid L-histidine, a porous carbon precursor high in nitrogen and oxygen. Although pyrolysis of this precursor alone produces a non-porous foam, the introduction of any of a number of activating agents is shown here to produce a variety of amorphous and highly porous carbon materials. While applications of these materials have a very wide range, in this body of work the adsorption of pollutants is emphasized. Among the aqueous pollutants, both textile dyes and pharmaceuticals were investigated for their abilities to be taken up by these porous carbon materials. Individually, many of the porous carbons were capable of the uptake of noteworthy quantities of various pollutants. Yet, a broader finding in this work was that it appears the ���' of properties on a porous carbon is required to target each different adsorbate; no single property is universally linked to higher capacities. Apart from aqueous pollutants, the adsorption of CO2 was thoroughly investigated on many porous carbons. Given their high nitrogen content, it was expected that these materials would do well for CO2 uptake. And indeed, it was found that several histidinederived porous carbons were capable of noteworthy capacities, such as 8.30 and 5.57 mmol g-1. Through investigation of the porous carbon textural and chemical properties, these capacities are ascribed to a mixture of physisorption and chemisorption processes. Finally, the adsorption of CO2 was investigated on an amine-coated porous silica. With the purpose of making such nano-scale materials more feasible, immobilization inside a bacterial cellulose framework is investigated. Ultimately, it was found that after finetuning the loading process, a functional hybrid material can be made that successfully immobilizes the adsorbent material without sacrificing the capture abilities.
A case study of rural north missouri teacher perceptions of the missouri model evaluation system and the network for educator effectiveness: impact on practice
Authors:   , Hoyt Eric Matthew
Published: May 2022

In 1983 the National Commission for Excellence in Education investigated claimed that U.S. schools were failing to adequately educate children. The Commission identified many inconsistencies nationwide in areas of access, teacher standards, learning standards, and accountability. This investigation led to an evolution of legislation such as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, which have had their own unique impacts on the educational system in the United States. Common to each legislation is the need for teacher evaluation and accountability. The process of evaluating teachers has evolved to a norm in the profession, pairing educational leaders and educators in a collaborative environment, collaborating to discuss strategies for growth. Missouri requires teachers to be evaluated to monitor effectiveness using a set of principles created by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and approved by the legislature. Little knowledge in Missouri concerns the implementation of these principles and its growth model, especially among rural school districts. This qualitative study will use interviews and focus groups to gather perceptions from rural practitioners regarding two commonly used evaluation tools in the State of Missouri. Qualitative data will be coded and disseminated to reveal teacher perceptions about the effectiveness of each tool when considering its impact on work in the classroom.
Enhancing privacy and security within social networks
Authors:   , Morris Joshua Dennis
Published: May 2022

The introduction of online social networking has allowed people across the world to share information with each other. It has risen to be one of the most popular forms of internet usage where almost everyone has created one or multiple types of social network accounts. Along with its great benefits has come many concerns though, mainly that the overabundance of information has created a plethora of privacy issues for not only the users of online social networks, but also for the company hosting the specific social network. Due to the wide range of privacy concerns associated with online social networks, it is incredibly difficult to tackle all the current possible concerns. In this thesis, we propose works to tackle two privacy issues associated with online social networks. These two privacy issues are: the friend search engine, and image content. Firstly we will introduce a new sub-graph approach to the friend search engine that removes the ability of attackers to gain more information of your friend list than your privacy settings allow. Secondly we will introduce a new privacy setting that allows users to define locations they do not wish their face to be seen in images. If an image is posted with their face in such a location, they will be privatized through facial replacement so that they are unrecognizable. The overall efficiency of these works will be tested so that their enhanced privacy does not cause usability issues if they are adopted by a social network site. These works allow users to remain more private while using social media and also help users to remain confident that their privacy is kept safe. These improvements not only help strengthen the privacy of users, but also help social network sites retain users that are more wary of privacy breaches online.
Near infrared fluorescent sensors for selective glucose recognition
Authors:   , Sepasizangabadi Hamidreza
Published: May 2022

With diabetes becoming a major health concern worldwide, it is growing clear that novel technologies are needed to monitor blood glucose in a manner that is continuous, real-time, and long-term --all while alleviating the burden of pain on the patient. Current meters commonly used for glucose are invasive in nature and require blood samples to offer intermittent readings on blood glucose levels. Despite extensive research on developing minimally invasive or non-invasive ways to monitor blood glucose levels, this objective has remained elusive. Previous attempts in providing a minimally invasive sensor for in vivo blood glucose detection via fluorescence spectroscopy have offered excellent information on how to design and develop a glucose recognition motif while at the same time suffer from a number of limitations such as poor water solubility, stability, and impractical spectroscopic features for in vivo sensing. To realize a viable sensor for long term in vivo monitoring of blood glucose, near IR pH probes based on cyanine fluorophores were designed and synthesized. These probes provided insight into practicality of cyaninebased near IR sensors for use in vivo and served as a starting point to achieve the ultimate goal of glucose recognition. By uniting the methodology for near IR pH sensing and the required architecture for glucose recognition, several NIR glucose sensors based on cyanine platforms were designed, synthesized, and tested.
Social networks of friendship in the writings of early medieval english women
Authors:   , Songstad Nicole
Published: May 2022

Communities of women is a topic in Early Medieval English Studies that has largely been overlooked unless it's researched and discussed in the context of men, marriage, and religion. One obstacle that has prevented scholarship from researching and discussing communities of women outside of patriarchal and religious contexts is the continued focus on male-authored texts. Even though scholarship has progressed towards more feminist readings of the corpus, there is still a problem of which primary sources scholars choose to use as the focus of their feminist arguments. Female-composed texts of this period are often overlooked, are used as references for larger arguments about male-authored texts, or are discussed within male-centered contexts even if those arguments have a feminist lens. On the path to discovering women's perspectives in the corpus, I found that a majority of the sources composed by women were historical documents. These documents include wills and correspondence composed by women and lawsuit records that document the actions of women and their perspectives. These historical documents exhibit rhetorical features that express women's value of social networking, drive to maintain social networks, and desire to form new networks with other women. The main argument presented in this dissertation contends that early medieval English women formed social networks, in some cases friendships, with other women in order to maintain productive networks of women that yielded preservation of their properties and assets, emotional communion with one another, and protection of their persons.