Inclusion Of Materials Research Articles

Числовий аналіз впливу стрічкових включень на концентрацію напружень в тонких циліндричних і конічних оболонках з прямокутними отворами

Thin-walled plate-shell structures are widely used in various branches of technology and the national economy, in particular in the aerospace industry, the oil and gas industry, power engineering, construction, etc. The continuity of such structures is often disrupted by various inhomogeneities in the form of openings, inclusions, recesses, cracks, etc., which are local stress concentrators. Reducing the concentration of the stresses that develop in the vicinity of such structural inhomogeneities is an important problem in deformable solid mechanics. In particular, a pressing problem in the design of new equipment in modern mechanical engineering is a significant reduction in material consumption and an increase in the service life of cast parts taking into account the use of new materials and technologies. Such parts are responsible for the competitiveness of new equipment for various industries. This paper presents the results of a numerical simulation and analysis of the stress and strain field of thin-walled cylindrical and truncated conical shells with rectangular openings and tape inclusions around them. The material of the inclusions has properties that differ from those of the base material of the shells. The effect of the geometrical and mechanical characteristics of the inclusions on the parameters of the stress and strain field in the vicinity of the openings was studied by varying the elastic modulus of the inclusion material and the inclusion width. For definiteness, the inclusions were assumed to be homogeneous and located in the shell plane. The stress and strain intensity distributions in the zones of local stress concentration were obtained. The numerical results for shells of both shapes were compared with the corresponding results for shells with a circular opening. The study showed that the presence of a “soft” homogeneous tape inclusion helps in reducing the stress concentration around rectangular openings by ~ (21 – 54) % depending on the width of the inclusion and its elastic modulus, both in cylindrical and in conical shells. Unlike shells with a circular opening, in this case the presence of inclusions does not cause the mechanical effect of shifting the stress concentration zone from the contour of the opening to the interface between the materials.

Colourism and indigeneity: the portrayal of Tuareg Amazighs in EFL textbooks in Algeria

ABSTRACT There are quite a few studies that adopted a critical perspective to the analysis of the narrative of standardized school textbooks and their impact in the process of ‘the interpellation of individuals as subjects’. While these studies examined narratives on racial/ethnic identity in different national contexts, both the Global North and the Global South, they all address the way mechanisms of exclusion and inclusion play out to define ‘sense of belonging’ ersus ‘otherness’. In the Maghreb region, studies that depict the representation of Amazighs in school textbooks remain scarce. Therefore, guided by Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis conceptual framework, this study focuses on the textual and visual representation of Algerian Tuareg Amazighs in the textbooks that are currently used in Algerian Middle schools. The findings suggest that the portrayal of the Tuareg Amazigh Sahrawi ethnic group is characterized by the ‘markedness’ of their blackness. This visibility affirms their ‘local Otherness’ in three different ways: deagentialization, folklorization, and disempowerment. Some pedagogical recommendations are suggested to foster inclusive and equitable language learning materials and spaces.

Peace Linguistics in the Academic Community Through the Lens of English Language Teachers: A Multiple Case Study

This qualitative multiple case study delves into the English Language Teachers’ integration and assessment of peace linguistics in various pedagogical practices, focusing on the exploration of both violent and nonviolent terminologies expressed by students in classroom setting. Data collection involved in-depth interviews with five ELTs, triangulated to two additional teachers and five students. The data were thematically analyzed, revealing five essential themes for violent and nonviolent phraseologies and terminologies expressed by students such as: Moralistic Judgement expressions, cultural and religious expressions, positive and encouraging language, promotion of peaceful communication and teamwork, and the use of courteous language. Second, it uncovers five emergent themes in the incorporation of peace linguistics: promoting inclusive and peaceful language, cultivating a culture of peace through interactive pedagogy, incorporating culturally inclusive teaching materials, sustaining peace linguistics across the subject, collaborating efforts with peer teachers or experts. Third, it highlights four essential themes in gauging success in ELTS pedagogy: assessment of peaceful efficacy, peace pedagogy feedback methods, changes in students' behavior positively, and engagement in peace awareness professional development opportunities. The cases imply both similarities and differences in how ELTs incorporate peace linguistics into their classes and gauge their success, despite encountering both violent and nonviolent expressions among students.

Diverse Yet Biased: Towards Mitigating Biases in Generative AI (Student Abstract)

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has garnered significant attention for its remarkable ability to generate text, images, and other forms of content. However, an inherent and increasingly concerning issue within generative AI systems is bias. These AI models often exhibit an Anglo-centric bias and tend to overlook the importance of diversity. This can be attributed to their training on extensive datasets sourced from the internet, which inevitably inherit the biases present in those data sources. Employing these datasets leads to AI-generated content that mirrors and perpetuates existing biases, encompassing various aspects such as gender, ethnic and cultural stereotypes. Addressing bias in generative AI is a complex challenge that necessitates substantial efforts. In order to tackle this issue, we propose a methodology for constructing moderately sized datasets with a social inclination. These datasets can be employed to rectify existing imbalances in datasets or to train models to generate socially inclusive material. Additionally, we present preliminary findings derived from training our model on these socially inclined datasets.

Abstract 5041: Next generation liquid biopsy reference material performance across NGS assays and platforms

Abstract Liquid biopsy testing has grown to support early disease diagnosis, therapy selection, and disease and treatment surveillance in cancer survivors. Recent advances in next generation sequencing (NGS) have enabled larger panel sizes, pan-cancer target sets, and wider ranges of genomic alterations. More inclusive analytical validation materials are needed to assess assay sensitivity, specificity, and limit of detection of all variant types to serve the expanded utility of liquid biopsy testing. Here we describe the development and multisite evaluation of expanded Seraseq® ctDNA Mutation Mix v4 reference materials. Genomic DNA from the GM24385 cell line was blended with 93 clinically relevant biosynthetic DNA variants including single nucleotide variants (SNVs), insertions and deletions (indels), structural variants (SVs), copy number variations (CNVs), and mono- and dinucleotide biomarkers for microsatellite instability (MSI). Variant allele frequency (VAF) was targeted to 0.5% and total copy number for CNVs was targeted to 2.5 and verified using the Bio-Rad QX-200 Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR) System. The DNA mix was fragmented and purified to create ctDNA-like size profiles. Wild-type (WT) material was prepared for comparison and identification of background variants. Agilent Bioanalyzer High Sensitivity DNA and TapeStation Cell-free DNA ScreenTape analyses were used to assess fragment size. The ctDNA mixes were analyzed with the Illumina TruSight™ Oncology 500 (TSO 500) ctDNA assay, the Thermo Oncomine™ Precision assay, and additional assays. All biosynthetic SNVs, indels, SVs, and CNVs in the 0.5% ctDNA mix were detected near target values. The average fragment size was about 190 bp, similar to native ctDNA. The VAFs and CNVs observed in the TSO 500 data correlated well with those that were obtained by dPCR. Variants reported by all evaluation site assays showed good concordance of VAF values. The two sites that tested the materials with TSO 500 revealed consistency in both VAF and total copies with an average CV of 16.1% and 2.5%, respectively. The sequencing performance of the reference material was similar to patient samples and showed comparable levels of background noise. The performance of the Seraseq ctDNA v4 mutation mix across NGS assays, supported by robust digital PCR data, demonstrated that these materials will allow for assessment of complex and sensitive liquid biopsy tests. Comparing data measured at different sites highlights the variability in liquid biopsy assay performance and the importance of highly multiplexed and consistent reference materials. Remnant samples are typically not an option due to limited yields from a standard blood draw, thus contrived standards are especially needed. Expanded variant content and improvements in the methods used to produce the Seraseq ctDNA Mutation Mix v4 materials will enable advancements in the blood-based NGS clinical diagnostics space. Citation Format: Dana Ruminski Lowe, Sanchita Jamindar, Yves Konigshofer, Andrew Anfora, Krystyna Nahilk, Dianren Xia, Edward S. Davis, David Merriam, Catherine Huang, Russell Garlick, Bharathi Anekella. Next generation liquid biopsy reference material performance across NGS assays and platforms [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 5041.

Microstructure reconstruction of 2D/3D random materials via diffusion-based deep generative models

Microstructure reconstruction serves as a crucial foundation for establishing process–structure–property (PSP) relationship in material design. Confronting the limitations of variational autoencoder and generative adversarial network within generative models, this study adopted the denoising diffusion probabilistic model (DDPM) to learn the probability distribution of high-dimensional raw data and successfully reconstructed the microstructures of various composite materials, such as inclusion materials, spinodal decomposition materials, chessboard materials, fractal noise materials, and so on. The quality of generated microstructure was evaluated using quantitative measures like spatial correlation functions and Fourier descriptor. On this basis, this study also achieved the regulation of microstructure randomness and the generation of gradient materials through continuous interpolation in latent space using denoising diffusion implicit model (DDIM). Furthermore, the two-dimensional microstructure reconstruction was extended to three-dimensional framework and integrated permeability as a feature encoding embedding. This enables the conditional generation of three-dimensional microstructures for random porous materials within a defined permeability range. The permeabilities of these generated microstructures were further validated through the application of the lattice Boltzmann method. The above methods provide new ideas and references for material reverse design.

Being big in the big tent: Is fat social justice part of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts on college campuses in the United States?

ABSTRACT Fat social justice and fat liberation movements share language, symbols, and strategies with many other movements striving to fight discrimination and stigma, such as movements centered on race, gender, sexuality, and disability. These communities should be natural partners with fat activists in striving for intersectional liberation and in fighting existing structures of privilege. It is less clear, however, the degree to which fat activism and activists are welcome in spaces explicitly constructed to address comprehensive approaches to social justice. To address this question, we examine a setting specifically built to address issues of privilege, oppression, and discrimination: diversity, equity, and inclusion organizations at US colleges and universities. We compile a data set of diversity, equity, and inclusion offices at 200 four-year colleges and universities in the US, with stratified samples to ensure inclusion across regions of the US, a broad variety of educational settings from large Research 1 institutions to small liberal arts colleges, and a subset of historically black colleges and universities. We examine whether and to what degree issues of fat social justice and liberation are included in university diversity and inclusion offices, websites, and materials. Findings show fat people, their experiences, and fat social justice issues are generally excluded in DEI spaces. We provide potential explanations for this exclusion and outline possible steps forward for those interested in fat social justice.

On Local Stability Loss of Modified Composites with Whiskerized Fibers

This article examines the critical compressive stresses required for a modified fiber composite to remain straight while the fibers within it bend. It was assumed that the modified composite consists of three phases: fiber, whiskerized interfacial layer, and matrix. An example of a composite material made up of carbon fibers, a whiskerized layer of carbon nanotubes with an epoxy matrix, and an epoxy matrix was considered. Its physical parameters affecting the critical compressive stresses were assessed, and methods for determining them were proposed. The effective properties of the inclusion and binder composite material were identified using the Voigt and Reis methods. Similarly, the effective properties of the interfacial whiskerized layer were analyzed by the three-phase method. The influence of fiber wavelength and phase shift, which define the destruction of the composite material, on the critical compressive stress value was explored. The wavelengths at which the composite material is destroyed were found. The effect of the volume content of the modified inclusion on the minimum critical compressive stress value was shown. The results for the modified composites were compared with those for the classical composites with a similar volume content of inclusions.

Effect of shock impedance of mesoscale inclusions on the shock-to-detonation transition in liquid nitromethane

Two-dimensional, meso-resolved numerical simulations are performed to investigate the effect of shock impedance of mesoscale inclusions on the shock-to-detonation transition (SDT) in liquid nitromethane (NM). The shock-induced initiation behaviors resulting from the cases with NM mixed with randomly distributed, 100-μm-sized air-filled cavities, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), silica, aluminum (Al), and beryllium (Be) particles with various shock impedances are examined. In this paper, hundreds of inclusions are explicitly resolved in the simulation using a diffuse-interface approach to treat two immiscible fluids. Without using any empirically calibrated, phenomenological models, the reaction rate in the simulations only depends on the temperature of liquid NM. The sensitizing effect of different inclusion materials can be rank-ordered from the weakest to the strongest as PMMA → silica → air → Al → Be in the hot-spot-driven regime of SDT. Air-filled cavities have a more significant sensitizing effect than silica particles, which is in agreement with the experimental finding. For different solid-phase inclusions, hot spots are formed by Mach reflection upon the interaction between the incident shock wave and the particle. The sensitizing effect increases roughly with the shock impedance of the inclusion material. More details of the hot-spot formation process for each solid-phase inclusion material are revealed via zoom-in simulations of a shock passing over a single particle.

Decolonizing Middle Level Literacy Instruction: A Culturally Proactive Approach to Literacy Methods (Book Review)

English teachers and educators may find it challenging to identify inclusive instructional approaches and materials that address the needs of their diverse student populations (Wright, 2019). Furthermore, teaching ideas, resources, and pedagogical approaches that value English as a Second Language (ESL) learners’ diverse linguistic and cultural assets requires classroom-level planning that might be unfamiliar to some ESL teachers. Decolonizing Middle Level Literacy Instruction: A Culturally Proactive Approach to Literacy Methods, by Michael Domínguez and Robyn Seglem, will prove useful as it provides writing and reading instruction strategies for preservice and in-service English Language Arts teachers. These strategies can help ESL teachers adapt curricular and instructional materials to the sociocultural contexts of their students, thus providing helpful information for equity and diversity in language education. [First Paragraph]

Helping students see eye to eye: Diversifying teaching of sensation and perception in higher education

ABSTRACT There is current interest in diversifying teaching curricula across many disciplines in university teaching. Sensation and perception is often considered difficult to diversify. Current challenges include diversity of the topics and teaching tools/materials, and the diversity that characterizes both the student and the teacher populations. We start by describing the diversity present in student and teacher groups, with a UK focus, and discuss how inclusive and diverse teaching materials can impact participation and engagement of broad student groups. We next consider how teaching content can be broadened by teaching on topics that consider differences between participant groups with different characteristics (including gender, ethnicity, disability and culture). Finally, we suggest resources that can be used to diversify sensation and perception teaching. We include example topics where diversity features in perception research, aimed at engaging teachers and students in the process of diversifying the teaching of sensation and perception.

Development of Pectin Particles as a Colon-Targeted Marjoram Phenolic Compound Delivery System.

Marjoram is a culinary herb that has been widely employed in folk medicine and presents a high content in phenolics. Thus, the aim of this project was to design formulations to encapsulate phenolic compounds from marjoram to allow their release in the colon. For this purpose, pectin was used as an encapsulating agent, applying two different encapsulation techniques (ionic gelation and spray-drying), followed by a CaCl2 bath. The ionic gelation technique showed a higher yield (77%) compared to spray-drying (31%), and the particles obtained were smaller (267 nm). However, the microparticles obtained by spray-drying presented a higher encapsulation efficiency (93%). Moreover, spray-dried microparticles protected a higher percentage of the encapsulated phenolics from the action of gastrointestinal pHs and enzymes. Hence, the results showed that spray-drying was a more appropriate technique than ionic gelation for the encapsulation of marjoram phenolics in order to protect them during the gastrointestinal step, facilitating their arrival in the colon. These microparticles would also be suitable for inclusion in food matrices for the development of phenolic colon delivery systems.

Enhancing Phase Transition Temperature in Novel Crown Inclusion Materials through Anion‐Substitution Engineering

AbstractHost‐guest inclusion materials serve as an ideal model for designing phase transition materials. The typical host molecule, 18‐crown‐6 (1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16‐hexaoxacyclo‐octadecane), is known for its strong coordination with amino compounds through N−H⋅⋅⋅O hydrogen‐bonding interactions, attracting the attention of numerous scientific researchers. This study presented the successful synthesis and characterization of two host‐guest inclusion materials, [(trans‐4‐aminocyclohexanol)(18‐crown‐6)][ClO4] (1) and [(trans‐4‐aminocyclohexanol)(18‐crown‐6)][BF4] (2). Both compounds 1 and 2 underwent reversible phase changes at temperatures of 312 K/305 K and 322 K/314 K, respectively. In this article, crystal structures, thermal properties, optical properties and analyses of intermolecular interactions were discussed in details. Our endeavors are believed to have made a contribution to the advancement of phase change materials.

Supplemental Material for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Antiracism Statements by Clinical Psychological Science Programs: A Mixed Methods Analysis of Public Commitments

Supplemental Material for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Antiracism Statements by Clinical Psychological Science Programs: A Mixed Methods Analysis of Public Commitments

Integration of Gender Equality Values Through Innovative Development of Interactive E-Modules in Social Studies Subject

Amidst the necessity for inclusive educational materials, this study endeavors to develop an E-Module that seamlessly integrates Gender Equality Values into the junior high school Social Studies curriculum.. The research product is an electronic module built using software and undergoes evaluation by experts, alongside feedback from teachers and students. Employing a Research and Development (R&D) approach, following the ADDIE model, the e-learning module undergoes a validation process. This validation process involves two subject matter experts: one specializing in gender studies and another in history, along with a media expert and a Social Studies teacher. The results of the validation indicate the high validity of the Interactive E-Module, with all involved parties providing strong validation scores. On average, expert and teacher assessments resulted in a validity score of 94.7%. Each party consistently achieved an average of 90% for both content and E-Module design. These results underscore the e-learning module's suitability for use, making it a highly recommended resource for Social Studies teachers at the junior high school level.

PLANNING OF MANIPULATIVE MATERIALS IN THE CONTEXT OF LESSON STUDY IN CONTINUOUS TEACHER TRAINING FOR INCLUSIVE MATHEMATICAL LITERACY

With the goal of exploring aspects of planning based on Lesson Study methodology to fit into the stages of developing, aligning, or adapting, and applying manipulative materials for inclusive mathematical literacy, we offer a continuous training for teachers. We propose a workflow that provides, at each stage of planning, theoretical foundations related to the curricula and the specific subjects of mathematics, as well as practical guidelines for the moments of planning and adaptation of manipulative materials with the help of a specialist in special education. From the results, we report on the work developed by two groups, respectively dealing with the concepts of fractions and number construction, targeting Early Years and Early Childhood Education students. We understand that the workflow provided participating teachers with autonomy and confidence, culminating in the elaboration, alignment, and adaptation of potentially inclusive manipulative materials that were used by the entire class, a characteristic we consider essential in materials with this focus. Teachers were provided with new knowledge about mathematical content, curriculum, and ways of approaching the classroom that can lead to improvements in teaching and learning in their future professional practice.

Queering interventions: Improving pre-service teachers’ knowledge and awareness of LGBTQI+ inclusive practice

LGBTQIA+ is an acronym that stands for ‘lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer/questioning, asexual and other diverse sexualities and genders’. In Australia, LGBTQIA+ people still experience extensive discrimination within the education system, a recent report highlighting that most Australian LGBT students felt unsafe in secondary school. LGBTQIA+ youth in Australia have significantly higher rates of anxiety, mental health conditions and suicide attempts when compared to the general population. At the same time, pre-service teacher training in Australia is not consistent in providing information and support to prospective educators in LGBTQIA+ inclusive practice and curricula development. This paper explores the initial results of a multi-phase, ongoing project designed to assist pre-service teachers in developing their awareness and understanding of LGBTQIA+ inclusive practice. Utilizing Participatory Action Research (PAR), co-creation and the Design Justice Principles (DJP), the research group sought stakeholder feedback from both pre-service teachers, LGBTQIA+ identified educators and LGBTQIA+ allies to design and deliver LGBTQIA+ inclusive training and resources. Data was collected from pre-service teacher’s survey responses to a professional learning workshop on LGBTQIA+ inclusive practice, revealing high value in understanding inclusive language and discussions of gender diversity and desire for earlier inclusion of these topics in teaching degrees. This was followed by a co-creation phase, resulting in the development of a queering curriculum resource site, followed by a focus group with lived experience stakeholders. This latter phase of the project drew upon insider perspectives to help refine the co-designed resources to make them more intersectional, inclusive, and relevant. The resulting analysis highlights the link between our research and the DJP, while emphasizing the importance of ‘listening to the voices from within’ by establishing meaningful, ongoing stakeholder engagement in the development and delivery of inclusive education resources and materials.

Комп’ютерне моделювання впливу кільцевих включень на концентрацію напружень в тонких циліндричних і конічних оболонках з круговими отворами

Shell structures are used in various industries, such the aerospace industry, the oil and gas industry, power engineering, mechanical engineering, construction, etc. Due to their design or manufacturing features, their integrity may be disrupted by the presence of various openings, around which local stresses develop. Finding ways to reduce stress concentrations around openings is an important problem in deformable solid mechanics. This paper presents the results of a computer simulation and a finite-element analysis of the stress and strain field of thin-walled cylindrical and truncated conical shells with circular openings in the presence of annular inclusions around them made of a material whose properties differ from the main material of the shells. The effect of the elastic modulus of an inclusion and its geometric parameters on the stress and strain concentration in the vicinity of the openings was studied. Several inclusion materials and inclusion widths were considered. An annular inclusion made of a homogeneous material and located in the shell plane was considered. Stress and strain intensity distributions in the local stress concentration zones were calculated. A comparative analysis of the results obtained for cylindrical and conical shells was carried out. The study showed that the presence of a “soft” homogeneous annular inclusion makes it possible to reduce the stress concentration around the opening by ~13–35% depending on the inclusion width and elastic modulus both for a cylindrical and a conical shell. Certain combinations of the geometric and mechanical parameters of the inclusion give rise to a “mechanical” effect, which consists in shifting the stress concentration zone from the opening edge to the inclusion – shell material interface. For conical shells, due to their geometric features, a “conical” effect occurs: the stresses increase not only in the vicinity of the opening-weakened zone, but also near the cone basis.

Engaging communities to inform the development of a diverse cohort of cancer survivors: formative research for the eat move sleep study (EMOVES)

BackgroundThere are more than 18 million cancer survivors in the United States. Yet, survivors of color remain under-represented in cancer survivorship research (Saltzman et al. in Contemp Clin Trials Commun 29:100986, 2022; Pang et al. in J Clin Oncol 34:3992–3999, 2016; Lythgoe et al. in Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 24:1208–1211, 2021). Our long-term goal is to enroll and follow a cohort of historically under-represented cancer survivors, to better understand modifiable risk factors that influence clinical and quality of life outcomes in these populations. Towards that goal, we describe herein how we applied community-based participatory research approaches to develop inclusive study materials for enrolling such a cohort.MethodsWe implemented community engagement strategies to inform and enhance the study website and recruitment materials for this cohort including: hiring a dedicated engagement coordinator/community health educator as a member of our team; working with the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center Office of Community Engagement (OCE) and Community Advisory Board members; presenting our educational, research, and study recruitment materials at community events; and establishing a community advisory group specifically for the study (4 individuals). In parallel with these efforts, 20 semi-structured user testing interviews were conducted with diverse cancer survivors to inform the look, feel, and usability of the study website.ResultsEngagement with community members was a powerful and important approach for this study’s development. Feedback was solicited and used to inform decisions regarding the study name (eat move sleep, EMOVES), logo, study website content and imagery, and recruitment materials. Based on community feedback, we developed additional educational materials on healthy groceries and portion size in multiple languages and created a study video.ConclusionsIncluding an engagement coordinator as a permanent team member, partnering with the institutional community outreach and engagement resources (i.e., OCE), and allocating dedicated time and financial support for cultivating relationships with stakeholders outside the university were critical to the development of the study website and materials. Our community guided strategies will be tested as we conduct enrollment through community advisor networks and via the state cancer registry.

Evaluating How a School-Based Skin Cancer Prevention Program Can Change Behavior Among North Carolina Highschoolers.

The incidence of skin cancer has risen steadily over recent decades. Childhood and adolescent sun exposure remains a critical risk factor in skin cancer development, making education of high schoolers imperative for promoting sun-safe behaviors. Medical students in North Carolina recognized this need and designed a skin cancer education program focused on portraying skin cancer in individuals with all Fitzpatrick skin phototypes. Eighty-seven students completed the pre-survey, and 84 completed the post-session survey. In the post-survey, 88% of students listed actionable behavioral changes they plan to make following the presentation. Following an educational session, students were able to demonstrate their new knowledge and provide meaningful behavioral changes. This program navigated challenges posed by COVID-19 and addressed the need for more inclusive skin cancer educational material.