Plasticity Characterization by Deriving Non-Linear Displacements for In-Plane Biaxial Cruciform Testing

In-plane biaxial testing using a cruciform type specimen is a useful experimental method to characterize the elasto-plastic material behavior under non-uniaxial conditions. Different stress states can be imposed to the specimen simply by varying loading ratios along two orthogonal axes. Experiments can be performed using one experimental setup and one specimen geometry. Among different control options for loading, the displacement control in each arm is a stable and consistent option to keep the static deformation rate. However, a non-linear relationship exists between the control parameter e.g., displacement, and derived quantities, e.g., stress and strain. Therefore, it is a challenge to achieve desired deformation paths in the main deformation area of the specimen. In this document, an interpolation method to systematically determine non-linear displacement paths is implemented using the finite element simulation method to produce linear stress and strain paths in the center of a cruciform specimen geometry. Interpolation is first applied to an AISI 1008 steel specimen, in which a previously interpolated linear strain path is improved with another iteration of interpolation. Interpolation is then expanded to produce displacement paths resulting in linear stress paths, having a constant stress triaxiality, for five different stress states of a SS304L cruciform specimen. The versatility of the interpolation method is displayed through the successful implementation for both strain and stress linearization as well as with two different materials and two specimen geometries

Portfolios and pedagogy : an examination of ideology and use

Portfolio use in writing studies contexts is becoming ubiquitous and, as such, portfolios are in danger of being rendered meaningless and thus require that we more fully theorize and historicize portfolios. To this end, I examine portfolios: both the standardized portfolio used for assessment purposes and the personalized portfolio used for entering the job market. I take a critical look at portfolios as a form of technology and acknowledge some of the dangers of blindly using portfolios for gaining employment in the current economic structure of fast capitalism. As educators in the writing studies fields, it is paramount that instructors have a critical awareness of the consequences of portfolio creation on students as designers, lifelong learners, and citizens of a larger society. I argue that a better understanding of the pedagogical implications for portfolio use is imperative before implementing them in the classroom, and that a social-epistemic approach provides a valuable rethinking of portfolio use for assessment purposes. Further, I argue for the notions of meditation and transformation to be added alongside collection, selection, and reflection because they enable portfolio designers and evaluators alike to thoughtfully consider new ways of meaning-making and innovation. Also important and included with meditation and transformation is the understanding that students are ideologically positioned in the educational system. For them to begin recognizing their situatedness is a step toward becoming designers of change. The portfolio can be a site for that change, and a way for them to document their own learning and ways of making meaning over a lifetime

Scalable Bayesian Non-Negative Tensor Factorization for Massive Count Data

We present a Bayesian non-negative tensor factorization model for count-valued tensor data, and develop scalable inference algorithms (both batch and online) for dealing with massive tensors. Our generative model can handle overdispersed counts as well as infer the rank of the decomposition. Moreover, leveraging a reparameterization of the Poisson distribution as a multinomial facilitates conjugacy in the model and enables simple and efficient Gibbs sampling and variational Bayes (VB) inference updates, with a computational cost that only depends on the number of nonzeros in the tensor. The model also provides a nice interpretability for the factors; in our model, each factor corresponds to a "topic". We develop a set of online inference algorithms that allow further scaling up the model to massive tensors, for which batch inference methods may be infeasible. We apply our framework on diverse real-world applications, such as \emph{multiway} topic modeling on a scientific publications database, analyzing a political science data set, and analyzing a massive household transactions data set.Comment: ECML PKDD 201

The Effects of Exercise Interventions for Patients with Venous Lower Limb Ulcers: A Systematic Review

The Effects of Exercise Interventions for Patients with Venous Lower Limb Ulcers: A Systematic Review Student Researchers: Christian San Pedro, SPT Jordan Hoffman, SPT Sabrina Mendez, SPT Mentored by: Kristen Karnish, PT, MPH, DEd, GCS, CEEAA Background: Approximately 30 million Americans are affected by vascular disease with greater numbers world wide. Chronic wound care is costly, as seen by the 1.5 billion dollars Medicare spent treating wounds in 2014. Vascular disease can predispose individuals to lower limb ulcers, chronic wounds, necrosis, and amputation. In patients with chronic wounds, exercise has been hypothesized to decrease healing times by triggering cortisol release and increasing blood flow to the tissue. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of exercise on wound healing, functional status and quality of life for patients with lower limb venous wounds. Methods: An article search was conducted between August 2020 and September 2020 and again in February 2021. Databases, PEDRO, Medline, and PubMed, were searched using the terms “Venous Ulcer” or “Venous Leg Ulcer” and “physical therapy” or “physiotherapy” or “rehabilitation” or “exercise” and “lower leg”. Articles were also obtained from forward search of included articles. Inclusion criteria included: peer reviewed articles, publication between 2015-2020, randomized controlled trials, and PEDro score ≥ 4/10. Nine articles were included based on the inclusion criteria. Articles addressed the effects of exercise on wound healing, functional outcomes, and quality of life. Results: Wound healing measures included healing rates, wound size, and PUSH scores. Wound healing rates and PUSH scores of the exercise groups showed significant improvement when compared to control groups, however ulcer size measurements between exercise and control groups were not significantly different. Functional outcome measures included: ankle ROM, strength, and gait outcome measures. Ankle ROM measurements between control and exercise groups were not significantly different overall with some outliers, while strength measurements between control and exercise groups were not significantly different. Gait measures between control and exercise groups were not significantly different at final assessment. Quality of life measures included pain scales and quality of life questionnaires. Quality of life questionnaires showed no significant differences and no trends between exercise and control groups, however pain scores showed significant improvement within intervention groups and significant difference when comparing exercise and control groups. Conclusions: Exercise is an effective adjunct intervention when treating patients with venous leg ulcers. Physical activity can aid in speeding up the healing process and can lead to better functional and quality of life outcomes. Even modest movement and activity was beneficial to aid in the rehabilitation and healing of those with venous leg ulcers, however further research is required to determine the most effective interventions to be provided by physical therapists.https://digitalcommons.misericordia.edu/research_posters2021/1009/thumbnail.jp

Conservation, Comparative Genomics and Species Delimitation of the Reindeer Lichens (\u3ci\u3eCladonia\u3c/i\u3e)

The genus Cladonia represents one of the most speciose genera of lichenized fungi, with more than 500 known species encompassing a diverse array of morphologies and habits. These lichens form keystone species in many habitats, serving a variety of ecological roles. However, despite being among of the more well studied lichens, there is much still unknown or under-studied about them. As is the case with most lichen study systems, phylogenetic study has been limited to a small number of partial loci, while adoption of next-generation sequence methods has been slow. As a consequence, there are still knowledge gaps in Cladonia phylogenetics and comparative genomics. The limited application of molecular data has also left most species, even iconic and well-known taxa such as C. rangiferina, without an effective re-assessment of species boundaries with molecular data. Like all lichens, Cladonia species are also understudied in terms of conservation, with only a handful of the speciose genus assessed with IUCN Red List guidelines. In this dissertation, I take steps in addressing some of these current shortcomings over five studies; i) I review and analyze the application of traditional sequence data and the adoption of next-generation sequence data in lichens since 2000, ii) I conduct a population survey and IUCN Red List assessment for a geographically restricted and overlooked species, C. submitis, listing the species as Endangered (EN), iii) I sequence and assemble the mitochondrial genomes of multiple Cladonia species and examine the mitochondrial genome architecture and diversity of homing endonuclease genes within and among species in the genus, iv) I assess the evolutionary relationships and species boundaries of three morphologically similar and partly co-occurring species, C. rangiferina, C. oricola and C. stygia, and v) I investigate the delimitation between widely disjunct populations of C. submitis, describe the population in east Asia as C. miyabii sp. nov., and assess the species as Vulnerable (VU) under IUCN guidelines. These studies generated a wealth of assembled mitochondrial genomes and other molecular data for Cladonia, provided the first intraspecific comparison of lichen mitochondrial genomes and homing endonuclease genes, established molecular support for multiple distinct species including one new to science, and contributed to a steadily growing body of conservation assessments, of which lichens are desperately in need

Measures for explainable AI: Explanation goodness, user satisfaction, mental models, curiosity, trust, and human-AI performance

If a user is presented an AI system that portends to explain how it works, how do we know whether the explanation works and the user has achieved a pragmatic understanding of the AI? This question entails some key concepts of measurement such as explanation goodness and trust. We present methods for enabling developers and researchers to: (1) Assess the a priori goodness of explanations, (2) Assess users\u27 satisfaction with explanations, (3) Reveal user\u27s mental model of an AI system, (4) Assess user\u27s curiosity or need for explanations, (5) Assess whether the user\u27s trust and reliance on the AI are appropriate, and finally, (6) Assess how the human-XAI work system performs. The methods we present derive from our integration of extensive research literatures and our own psychometric evaluations. We point to the previous research that led to the measurement scales which we aggregated and tailored specifically for the XAI context. Scales are presented in sufficient detail to enable their use by XAI researchers. For Mental Model assessment and Work System Performance, XAI researchers have choices. We point to a number of methods, expressed in terms of methods\u27 strengths and weaknesses, and pertinent measurement issues

The Effects of Circumferential Supracrestal Fiberotomy (CSF) on Bone and Gingival Tissues in Beagles

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine whether performing a circumferential supracrestal fiberotomy (CSF) decreases the amount of surrounding dentoalveolar bone, and to evaluate the reorganization and healing of supracrestal gingival fibers following CSF. Methods: Using a split-mouth design, CSF was performed on 2 maxillary teeth of 7 beagle dogs. The control side received no CSF. After either 2 or 4 weeks of healing, μCT was used to evaluate the quality and maturity of the dentoalveolar bone using bone density, bone volume, and trabecular thickness and number. Histologic analyses were performed to evaluate bone remodeling and healing of gingival fibers. Results: μCT showed a significantly decreased (9%) bone volume fraction in the coronal bone sections of the experimental teeth. There was no significant difference in bone quantity apical to the crestal bone. TRAP staining showed an increase in TRAP activity along the surfaces of the crest of the alveolar bone, as well as in the lamina dura at two weeks. After four weeks, the TRAP activity had decreased to control levels. H&E and picro-sirius red stains demonstrated that the supracrestal gingival fibers were reattached but disorganized 2 weeks and 4 weeks after CSF. There was no difference in the fiber organization after 2 or 4 weeks. Conclusions: The bone demineralization and remodeling associated with CSF is limited to the area immediately adjacent to the CSF. The demineralization event is transient, lasting less than 4 weeks. The supracrestal gingival fibers reattach, but are still disorganized at 2 weeks and 4 weeks following CSF