Cuju: The Ancient Chinese Game That Held an Empire Together

This paper explores how cuju, an ancient sport known as the predecessor of modern football, evolved from the Han to Song dynasties (206 BCE–1368 CE) as a unifying force in imperial China. Calling upon primary sources such as ancient cuju manuals and various art pieces suggests this sport\u27s importance went beyond a leisurely practice. Using academic journals about Chinese history and the development of cuju from different academic fields and, most notably, the FIFA museum’s online exhibit of cuju, the reason cuju had such a strong place of value in Chinese society was apparent. Beginning as a combat exercise in the Han dynasty\u27s military, cuju expanded, eventually breaking social barriers, offering moments where class divisions blurred, even allowing women, despite strict patriarchal norms, opportunities to participate, and helping imperial leaders foster unity where political systems fell short. Part of the panel: Tools of Resistance and UnityModerator: Professor William Yor

PVC biodegradation potential of native fungal strains from Mt. Hood National and Tillamook State Forests

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a toxic, degradation-resistant environmental waste product. Recent research has revealed fungal enzymatic activity capable of biodegrading plastics. As PVC infiltrates local environments, it becomes imperative to determine the adaptability of local fungi to PVC substrates. In this experiment, 100 local native fungal strains sampled from the Tillamook State and Mt. Hood National forests and one commercial strain of common oyster mushroom were investigated for their ability to colonize and digest PVC by direct isolation on 0.1% and 0.2% PVC-enriched limited growth media. Substrates for positive cultures were imaged using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to analyze potential polymeric degradation. Out of 100 strains, only the commercial Pleurotus ostreatus actively colonized PVC-enriched limited growth media, and none of the strains exhibited clearance zones consistent with recent research. FTIR data between samples and control reveal no detectable shifts between characteristic peaks at 3300, 1633, and 1033 cm-1 consistent with agarose in the limited media. Fungal biodegradation of PVC, agar, or both, is unclear from these data. Further experimentation includes the development of more homogenous PVC suspensions in growth media, liquid culture without agar, and optimization of fungal culturing and co-culturing with regards to time, heat, nutrients, pH, and other critical growth factors

Investigating Water Temperature Dynamics and Hydrologic Interactions in an Urban Stream-Lake System near Portland OR

This study investigated the factors controlling stream temperature and thermal stratification in Rock Creek and Bethany Lake, an urbanized watershed featuring an in-line irrigation pond and buried wastewater infrastructure. Previous research suggested that subsurface water flow facilitated by buried infrastructure (urban karst) might drive temperature shifts in Rock Creek during summer periods when flow from Bethany Lake ceases. From 2023 to 2024, continuous temperature and stage monitoring, combined with statistical methods, were used to evaluate seasonal temperature dynamics and their controlling factors. Results confirmed that seasonal reversals in temperature trends occurred within Rock Creek, though these may have been strongly influenced by monitoring techniques and thermal stratification. During summer periods, Bethany Lake did not flow into Rock Creek, and streamflow within Rock Creek was negligible. Solar irradiance emerged as the most influential parameter for stream warming during these periods. Unexpectedly, lake elevation had a measurable influence on Upper Rock Creek stage, suggesting hydrologic interactions that are not yet fully understood. Piezometer data indicated that variability in subsurface water elevation was correlated with fluctuations in Bethany Lake elevation, but only within the middle of the study reach. Despite this, there was no measurable fluctuation of stream temperature in relation to subsurface water elevation. This study underscores the importance of understanding interactions among anthropogenic modifications, hydrologic connectivity, and environmental controls on stream temperature, with implications for urban stream restoration and management

History in the Margins: Analysis of How the Language in U.S. History Textbooks Used in Portland Public Schools Marginalizes the History, Contributions, and Voices of People of Color

This research paper investigates the language and framework utilized in U.S. history textbooks approved by Portland Public Schools (PPS) and its implications for the representation of people of color. With specific reference to the guidelines set by the Oregon Department of Education, the study explores the extent to which these textbooks reflect the ethnic and racial identities of marginalized groups. The analysis reveals that textbooks often perpetuate narratives of progress that obscure the realities of racial injustice, employing language and structural choices that reinforce white dominance in historical narratives. Historical trends are identified in textbook narratives that prioritize white perspectives while sidelining the experiences and contributions of people of color. The analytical approach used is a Critical Race Discourse Analysis (CRDA) based framework, which combines Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) with Critical Race Theory (CRT) to critically examine excerpts from selected textbooks, focusing on how the absence, separation, judgement, and use of nominalization or passive voice surrounding the history of people of color portrays people of color and fits within broader narratives. This research underscores the need for more inclusive and accurate representations of diverse histories in educational materials to promote a more equitable learning environment

College Outcomes for Young Adults with and Without Learning Disabilities and ADHD: Formal-Disability-Programming and Informal-Disability-Supports

Inequalities by disability status in college outcomes contribute to inequalities throughout adulthood in multiple domains. As the share of students with learning disabilities and/or ADHD increases on college campuses, research is needed on how best to support these undergraduates, both through formal and informal means. We integrate the social and medical models of disability with data on nearly 17,000 young adults in the US, who typically finished high school in 2013, and find that formal-disability-programming relates negatively to college enrollment but has no apparent bearing on college persistence. Among youth with similar sociodemographic backgrounds and comparable end of high school achievement levels, youth with a learning disability or ADHD who participate in special education during high school are less likely to enroll in college than youth with a learning disability or ADHD who do not. Multiple informal-disability-supports retain a significant relationship with college enrollment and persistence, even after accounting for important potential confounders. These supports may improve college outcomes because they demonstrate the relevance of education for careers (e.g., internships), build dominant social and cultural capital (e.g., high school counselors, career services), build human capital (e.g., college exam prep, academic support for college courses), and increase accessibility (e.g., online programs)

Creating Possibilities: The Ethelind Pope Brown Collection: An Overview of who may have Illustrated America’s Oldest Naturalist Paintings

This thesis investigates the Ethelind Pope Brown Collection at the University of South Carolina, a rare assembly of hand-illustrated naturalist artworks depicting an assortment of flora and fauna from the eighteenth century. Despite its artistic and educational value, the creator of the collection remains unidentified. Through close textual and visual analysis, archival research, and comparative stylistic study, this project explores several potential authorship theories while providing background to the necessity of evolving science that facilitated its creation

Signifying Improvement: Reform Symbols as Discursive Practice in School Improvement Plans

School Improvement Plans (SIPs) have been shown to be generally of poor quality and written more as acts of compliance than efforts at genuine reform. This raises the question: if SIPs are ineffective at improving schools, what is their larger purpose? In this conceptual paper, we argue that SIPs are discursive sites where schools can signal their adherence to ostensibly proven and acceptable models of reform. They do so through the use of reform symbols, discursive markers that signal legitimized organizational change through the adoption of accepted modes of improvement. We illustrate this concept by showing how a variety of SIPs use reform symbols that point to the work of no-excuses Charter Management Organizations. Such organizations, emblems of an era of accountability and narrow models of school improvement, are used as symbols of legitimacy that help schools secure their survival without engaging in the difficult work of change. The examples we use show clearly how reform symbols might take a variety of forms, appearing as important signifiers in a range of policy artifacts across the landscape of school improvement. We further argue that such reform symbols reduce the complexities of educational change, thus reinforcing an ideological field that constructs underperformance as normative and “school improvement” as both urgent and possible

Prediction-Powered Inference for Clinical Trials

Prediction-powered inference (PPI) [1] and its subsequent development called PPI++ [2] provide a novel approach to standard statistical estimation leveraging machine learning systems to enhance unlabeled data with predictions. We use this paradigm in clinical trials. The predictions are provided by disease progression models, providing prognostic scores for all the participants as a function of baseline covariates. The proposed method would empower clinical trials by providing untreated digital twins of the treated patients while remaining statistically valid. The potential implications of this new estimator of the treatment effect in a two-arm randomized clinical trial (RCT) are manifold. First, it leads to an overall reduction of the sample size required to reach the same power as a standard RCT. Secondly, it advocates for an imbalance of controls and treated patients, requiring fewer controls to achieve the same power. Finally, this technique directly transfers any disease prediction model trained on large cohorts to practical and scientifically valid use. In this paper, we demonstrate the theoretical properties of this estimator and illustrate them through simulations. We show that it is asymptotically unbiased for the Average Treatment Effect and derive an explicit formula for its variance. An application to an Alzheimer\u27s disease clinical trial showcases the potential to reduce the sample size

Association between Arsenic and other heavy metal exposures through drinking water and food with lung function and respiratory symptoms: A cross-sectional study

Impaired lung function is a major health concern, particularly in children, as it increases the risk of chronic respiratory diseases and long-term morbidity. Environmental exposure to heavy metals (HMs) such as arsenic, lead, cadmium, and manganese has been associated with reduced lung function and respiratory symptoms. However, findings vary by exposure context and population, with limited research in pediatric populations and few studies evaluating the combined effects of multiple HMs. These exposures disproportionally affect marginalized rural communities, especially in low and middle-income countries with mining activities. This cross-sectional study investigated the association between exposure to As and other HMs through drinking water and food with lung function and respiratory symptoms in children from Tumbes, Peru—a region where the primary freshwater source, the Puyango-Tumbes River, is polluted with HMs, likely due to upstream mining. We recruited 399 children aged 4-17 years from 14 villages in Tumbes in 2023. Hair samples were analyzed for HM levels using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and lung function was assessed by spirometry and analyzed as percent predicted forced vital capacity (ppFVC) and categorized into lung function patterns. Respiratory symptoms indicative of asthma and allergic rhinitis were evaluated using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire. After adjusting for confounders, higher hair arsenic levels were significantly associated with nasal symptoms suggestive of allergic rhinitis (adjusted odds ratio: 1.59; 95% CI 1.32, 1.90). A non-significant inverse association was found between hair arsenic and ppFVC. Quantile-based G-computation assessing HM mixtures also showed a non-significant inverse association with ppFVC, with arsenic contributing the most to the negative effect. These findings suggest that while arsenic exposure may be linked to allergic rhinitis, its impact on lung function in this population remains inconclusive

Environmental Stability of the Simulated Forest Immersion Therapy (SFIT) Intervention

Background: Shinrin-yoku, forest bathing, has been shown to improve the pain experience in arthritis patients and the immune system in normal healthy patients. Yet, a simulated forest immersion therapy (SFIT) experience has not been tested in these two populations and specifically not in cancer patients. If SFIT complementary therapy in these two populations progresses, the intervention environment as designed needs to be tested. The purpose of this paper is to describe the SFIT setting and test the stability of the interventional environment. Methods: To operationalize SFIT, a protocol of dose delivery was designed and measured. Ambient and surface room temperatures, relative humidity, ambient ultrafine particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds, specifically terpenes, were measured prior to terpene dose delivery, every 15 min for 1 h, ending with the conclusion of terpene delivery. Results: There were nearly imperceptible differences within session means for ambient and surface room temperatures, relative humidity, ambient ultrafine particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds showing no practical significance. Room temperature and surface temperature were moderately correlated, as expected. Conclusions: The intervention room environment for the diffusion of terpenes remained stable throughout two studies. The next steps proposal to employ SFIT in the home setting is warranted, with precautions