Specific Assignments Research Articles

Feature selection for label distribution learning based on neighborhood fuzzy rough sets

In recent years, label distribution learning (LDL) has gained extensive application in actual classification endeavors. Nevertheless, most LDL datasets contain superfluous features that significantly impede the efficacy of classification algorithms and prolong their execution time. In addition, existing feature selection algorithms are usually limited to a specific label assignment paradigm or ignore the overall distribution information of the label significance in LDL. To address the aforementioned issues, this study constructs a novel uncertainty model known as neighborhood fuzzy rough sets, and proposes a LDL feature selection algorithm (LDNF) for better utilization of the overall distribution information of label significance. Specifically, the fuzzy equivalence relation for samples is defined using the correlation of label distributions, and the probabilities of classifying the same category are evaluated. To exploit the overall distribution information, the definitions of the upper and lower approximations are provided with the fuzzy equivalence relation of the label distribution. The experimental results indicate that the performance of the LDNF algorithm is superior to that of five leading-edge comparative algorithms on 10 publicly available real-world datasets. Neighborhood fuzzy rough sets and their applications will be further investigated in the future.

Development of a Rubric using RubiStar

This paper discusses the development of a rubric using RubiStar, an online tool that facilitates the creation and customization of assessment rubrics for educators. The study highlights the importance of rubrics in providing clear expectations and criteria for student performance, thereby enhancing learning outcomes. By utilizing RubiStar, teachers can quickly generate rubrics tailored to specific assignments, saving time while ensuring that assessment criteria are transparent and accessible. Additionally, the paper explores how RubiStar's rubric analysis feature can assist educators in evaluating class performance, identifying areas for improvement, and refining instructional strategies. The development of a rubric using RubiStar offers a streamlined approach to creating effective assessment tools tailored to specific learning objectives. This platform not only simplifies the rubric creation process but also allows teachers to select from various templates and customize criteria based on their unique instructional needs. The user-friendly interface enables educators to modify existing templates or create new rubrics from scratch, promoting efficiency without sacrificing quality. Ultimately, this research underscores the value of integrating technology into the rubric development process to support effective teaching and learning, fostering a culture of continuous improvement in student achievement.

The EU Health Task Force, supporting preparedness and response in the European Union and globally

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic revealed shortcomings in the European Union (EU) mechanisms for managing public health threats. In 2022, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) was mandated to establish the EU Health Task Force (EUHTF) to strengthen preparedness and response at country, EU and global levels. The EUHTF is coordinated by an ECDC Permanent Capacity and relies on pools of experts including ECDC experts, ECDC fellows and European public health experts that can be mobilized for specific assignments or broad public health emergencies. Members from EU/ Economic European Area (EEA) countries, EU agencies, the European Commission, WHO and non-profit organizations advise ECDC on the EUHTF establishment. From May 2023 to April 2024, the EUHTF addressed 13 requests for support from seven EU countries and three non-EU countries. The requests were related to preparedness (e.g. after-action reviews, simulation exercises, mass gathering preparation, capacity building) and emergency response activities (e.g. risk assessment, operational research during crisis, emergency and outbreak response). The EUHTF is operational and able to mobilize expertise from ECDC, the ECDC fellowship and EU/EEA countries. The EUHTF Pool of External Experts, comprised of public health professionals across various levels and institutions of the EU/EEA, is poised to offer comprehensive and robust expertise. Through these resources, the EUHTF is collaborating with and reinforcing the work of EU institutions and other international partners in strengthening preparedness and response. The EUHTF is a new and structured EU-level approach to public health crises, ensuring tailored in-country support to EU and non-EU countries in preparedness strengthening and crisis response.

Humanitarianism’s Volunteers: The Italian Lay Missionary Movement in the Long 1960s

Abstract This essay focuses on the experiences, emotions and aspirations of lay volunteers who in the long 1960s contributed to the emergence of non-governmental humanitarianism in Italy. I argue that we cannot disconnect the analysis of relief practices from that of the relievers’ feelings and emotions, because they have moulded each other in specific historical, cultural and social contexts. Young lay volunteers who joined missionaries in the 1960s and the early 1970s received specific assignments, but performed their tasks driven by enthusiasm and frustration, commitment and distress, love for others and a sense of isolation. Their daily work sprang out of this complex entanglement. This essay analyses this by intertwining multiple sources: reports, journal articles, interviews, letters and diaries. These sources allow the reconstruction of lay volunteers’ collective experiences and reveal what they felt, thought, and imagined.

Cultural Sensitivity and Social Well-Being in Embassy Architecture: Educational Approaches and Design Strategies

Over the past two decades, the expanding environmental and ecological crises highlight the need to broaden the concept of sustainability to encompass support for cultural sensitivity and social well-being. This study explores the role of architectural education in fostering cultural sensitivity and social well-being in embassy architecture within a framework of environment–behavior studies. It starts from the premise that the architectural values of a culture are deeply rooted in the relationship between the users, architecture, and surrounding environment. State-sponsored architectural works (e.g., embassies, consulates, cultural centers) built outside the country are viewed as symbolic representations of a nation’s diplomatic and cultural influence. These architectural typologies hold a unique potential to act as bridges for cross-cultural dialogue and foster a collective sense of global citizenship. In order to develop and assess the teaching curriculum, a specific assignment was given to master’s students of the Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade, with the aim to explore how engineering education can be adopted to motivate students toward sustainable attitudes and design solutions. While traditional diplomatic architecture emphasizes inward-facing, fortress-like design strategies, establishing physical and symbolic barriers between the embassy’s territory and the surrounding context, this research advocates for a more holistic approach oriented toward cultural sustainability, openness, and integration within an urban context. Key findings highlight creative solutions for balancing cultural representation with functional requirements while prioritizing community engagement, environmental responsibility, and user well-being. By demonstrating the two distinctive architectural strategies, this study contributes to the culturally responsive embassy design within the broader context of sustainable architectural education.

Enhancing solution structural analysis of large molecular proteins through optimal stereo array isotope labeling of aromatic amino acids

The observation of side-chain peaks of aromatic amino acids is the prerequisite for a high-resolution three-dimensional structure determination of proteins by NMR. However, it becomes difficult with increasing molecular size due to an increased transverse relaxation and the control of the relaxation pathway is needed to achieve the observation. We demonstrated that even for the large molecular size of 82 kDa Malate synthase G (MSG), the aromatic 13C-1H (CH) peaks of Tryptophan (Trp) and Phenylalanine (Phe) residues can be observed with high quality using a systematic stable isotope labeling scheme, Stereo-Array Isotope Labeling (SAIL) method. However, the sequence specific assignments of these peaks relied on the use of amino acid substitutions, employing an inefficient method that required many isotopes labeled samples. In this study, we developed novel SAIL amino acids that allow for the observation of the aromatic ring δ,ζ and the aliphatic β position peak of Phe residues. The application of TROSY-based experiment to the isolated CH moieties resulted in the successful observation of discernible and resolved CH peaks in Phe residues in MSG. In MSG, the sequence-specific assignments of the backbone and Cβ positions have already been confirmed. Therefore, using this labeling method, the δ and β position peaks of Phe residues can be clearly assigned in a sequence-specific and stereospecific manner through experiments based on intra-residue NOE. Furthermore, the NOESY experiment also allows for the acquisition of information pertaining to the conformation of Phe residues, such as the χ1 dihedral angle, providing valuable insights for the determination of accurate protein structures and in dynamic analysis. This new SAIL amino acids open an avenue to achieve a variety of NMR analysis of large molecular proteins, including a high-resolution structure determination and dynamics and interaction analysis.

Backbone assignment of CcdB_G100T toxin from E.coli in complex with the toxin binding C-terminal domain of its cognate antitoxin CcdA.

The CcdAB system expressed in the E.coli cells is a prototypical example of the bacterial toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems that ensure the survival of the bacterial population under adverse environmental conditions. The solution and crystal structures of CcdA, CcdB and of CcdB in complex with the toxin-binding C-terminal domain of CcdA have been reported. Our interest lies in the dynamics of CcdB-CcdA complex formation. Solution NMR studies have shown that CcdB_G100T, in presence of saturating concentrations of CcdA-c, a truncated C-terminal fragment of CcdA exists in equilibrium between two major populations. Sequence specific backbone resonance assignments of both equilibrium forms of the ~ 27kDa complex, have been obtained from a suite of triple resonance NMR experiments acquired on 2H, 13C, 15N enriched samples of CcdB_G100T. Analysis of 1H, 13Cα, 13Cβ secondary chemical shifts, shows that both equilibrium forms of CcdB_G100T have five beta-strands and one alpha-helix as the major secondary structural elements in the tertiary structure. The results of these studies are presented below.

Geometrical description and Faddeev-Jackiw quantization of electrical networks

In lumped-element electrical circuit theory, the problem of solving Maxwell's equations in the presence of media is reduced to two sets of equations, the constitutive equations encapsulating local geometry and dynamics of a confined energy density, and the Kirchhoff equations enforcing conservation of charge and energy in a larger, topological, scale. We develop a new geometric and systematic description of the dynamics of general lumped-element electrical circuits as first order differential equations, derivable from a Lagrangian and a Rayleigh dissipation function. Through the Faddeev-Jackiw method we identify and classify the singularities that arise in the search for Hamiltonian descriptions of general networks. The core of our solution relies on the correct identification of the reduced manifold in which the circuit state is expressible, e.g., a mix of flux and charge degrees of freedom, including the presence of compact ones. We apply our fully programmable method to obtain (canonically quantizable) Hamiltonian descriptions of nonlinear and nonreciprocal circuits which would be cumbersome/singular if pure node-flux or loop-charge variables were used as a starting configuration space. We also propose a specific assignment of topology for the branch variables of energetic elements, that when used as input to the procedure gives results consistent with classical descriptions as well as with spectra of more involved quantum circuits. This work unifies diverse existent geometrical pictures of electrical network theory, and will prove useful, for instance, to automatize the computation of exact Hamiltonian descriptions of superconducting quantum chips.

Neural mechanisms of credit assignment for delayed outcomes during contingent learning.

Adaptive behavior in complex environments critically relies on the ability to appropriately link specific choices or actions to their outcomes. However, the neural mechanisms that support the ability to credit only those past choices believed to have caused the observed outcomes remain unclear. Here, we leverage multivariate pattern analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data and an adaptive learning task to shed light on the underlying neural mechanisms of such specific credit assignment. We find that the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC) and hippocampus (HC) code for the causal choice identity when credit needs to be assigned for choices that are separated from outcomes by a long delay, even when this delayed transition is punctuated by interim decisions. Further, we show when interim decisions must be made, learning is additionally supported by lateral frontopolar cortex (FPl). Our results indicate that FPl holds previous causal choices in a "pending" state until a relevant outcome is observed, and the fidelity of these representations predicts the fidelity of subsequent causal choice representations in lOFC and HC during credit assignment. Together, these results highlight the importance of the timely reinstatement of specific causes in lOFC and HC in learning choice-outcome relationships when delays and choices intervene, a critical component of real-world learning and decision making.

Structural and kinetic characterization of DUSP5 with a Di-phosphorylated tripeptide substrate from the ERK activation loop

Introduction: Dual specific phosphatases (DUSPs) are mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) regulators, which also serve as drug targets for treating various vascular diseases. Previously, we have presented mechanistic characterizations of DUSP5 and its interaction with pERK, proposing a dual active site.Methods: Herein, we characterize the interactions between the DUSP5 phosphatase domain and the pT-E-pY activation loop of ERK2, with specific active site assignments. We also report the full NMR chemical shift assignments of DUSP5 that now enable chemical shift perturbation and dynamics studies.Results and Discussion: Both phosphates of the pT-E-pY tripeptide are dephosphorylated, based on 31P NMR; but, steady state kinetic studies of the tripeptide both as a substrate and as an inhibitor indicate a preference for binding and dephosphorylation of the phospho-tyrosine before the phospho-threonine. Catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km) is 3.7 M−1S−1 for T-E-pY vs 1.3 M−1S−1 for pT-E-Y, although the diphosphorylated peptide (pT-E-pY) is a better substrate than both, with kcat/Km = 18.2 M−1S−1 . Steady state inhibition studies with the pNPP substrate yields Kis values for the peptide inhibitors of: 15.82 mM (pT-E-Y), 4.932 mM (T-E-pY), 1.672 mM (pT-E-pY). Steady state inhibition studies with pNPP substrate and with vanadate or phosphate inhibitors indicated competitive inhibition with Kis values of 0.0006122 mM (sodium vanadate) and 17.32 mM (sodium phosphate), similar to other Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases with an active site cysteine nucleophile that go through a five-coordinate high energy transition state or intermediate. Molecular dynamics (MD) studies confirm preferential binding of the diphosphorylated peptide, but with preference for binding the pY over the pT reside in the catalytic site proximal to the Cys263 nucleophile. Based on MD, the monophosphorylated peptide binds tighter if phosphorylated on the Tyr vs the Thr. And, if the starting pose of the docked diphosphorylated peptide has pT in the catalytic site, it will adjust to have the pY in the catalytic site, suggesting a dynamic shifting of the peptide orientation. 2D 1H-15N HSQC chemical shift perturbation studies confirm that DUSP5 with tripeptide bound is in a dynamic state, with extensive exchange broadening observed—especially of catalytic site residues. The availability of NMR chemical shift assignments enables additional future studies of DUSP5 binding to the ERK2 diphosphorylated activation loop.Summary: These studies indicate a preference for pY before pT binding, but with ability to bind and dephosphorylate both residues, and with a dynamic active site pocket that accommodates multiple tripeptide orientations.

The Comparative Genome Dashboard.

The Comparative Genome Dashboard is a web-based software tool for interactive exploration of the similarities and differences in gene functions between organisms. It provides a high-level graphical survey of cellular functions, and enables the user to drill down to examine subsystems of interest in greater detail. At its highest level the Comparative Dashboard contains panels for cellular systems such as biosynthesis, energy metabolism, transport, and response to stimulus. Each panel contains a set of bar graphs that plot the numbers of compounds or gene products for each organism across a set of subsystems of that panel. Users can interactively drill down to focus on subsystems of interest and see grids of compounds produced or consumed by each organism, specific GO term assignments, pathway diagrams, and links to more detailed comparison pages. For example, the dashboard enables users to compare the cofactors that a set of organisms can synthesize, the metal ions that they are able to transport, their DNA damage repair capabilities, their biofilm-formation genes, and their viral response proteins. The dashboard enables users to quickly perform comprehensive comparisons at varying levels of detail.

The Comparative Genome Dashboard.

The Comparative Genome Dashboard is a web-based software tool for interactive exploration of the similarities and differences in gene functions between organisms. It provides a high-level graphical survey of cellular functions, and enables the user to drill down to examine subsystems of interest in greater detail. At its highest level the Comparative Dashboard contains panels for cellular systems such as biosynthesis, energy metabolism, transport, and response to stimulus. Each panel contains a set of bar graphs that plot the numbers of compounds or gene products for each organism across a set of subsystems of that panel. Users can interactively drill down to focus on subsystems of interest and see grids of compounds produced or consumed by each organism, specific GO term assignments, pathway diagrams, and links to more detailed comparison pages. For example, the dashboard enables users to compare the cofactors that a set of organisms can synthesize, the metal ions that they are able to transport, their DNA damage repair capabilities, their biofilm-formation genes, and their viral response proteins. The dashboard enables users to quickly perform comprehensive comparisons at varying levels of detail.

Teaching Black Diaspora Stories with Digital Archives in the Classroom

One of the prime difficulties in the current teaching environment is educating students to make use of research skills that teach them not only how to be good historians but also how to be critical thinkers who can engage and evaluate sources. This piece focuses on the use of well-managed digital archives, which provide students with a focused set of research materials that help build a foundational point of historical inquiry. In addition to discussing the pedagogical benefits of such research, emphasis is also placed on specific assignments centered on several online databases, including “The Land Act Legacy Project Collection” of the South African History Archive (SAHA), the African Activist Archive of Michigan State University, and the “Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936 to 1938” of the Library of Congress. If these current times have taught anything, it is that digital literacy and proper research methods are essential components in understanding information during times of political and cultural change. By engaging with the stories in these digital archives, students learn about the diversity of opinions and opportunities that defined these stories of the Black diaspora throughout the twentieth century and beyond.

Promoting Theory and Practice: A Year-Long Residency Program to Better Prepare Future Educators

A challenge frequently voiced in the field of teacher preparation is the divide between theory and practice. Specifically, university coursework is often viewed as “the theory,” with classroom teaching experiences in PreK-12 settings being considered “the practice.” One Teacher Preparation Program re-designed their program to address this divide and better prepare pre-service teachers (PSTs) for their futures as educators. To do this, the re-designed program included more authentic classroom experiences through the implementation of a year-long residency model and the creation of a residency-specific course. This article details how an English methods course and residency course were designed to support PSTs as they made connections to their residency experiences. In this way, PSTs majoring in secondary English Language Arts (ELA) education were immersed within middle and secondary ELA classrooms as residents, while simultaneously engaging in rigorous university coursework, which sought to promote educational theory and practice. Specific instructional approaches and assignments are shared, along with reflections on what was learned.

Feature decoupling and regeneration towards wifi-based human activity recognition

Gesture recognition using WiFi is vital for human–computer interaction, smart homes, smart spaces, and elderly care. WiFi signals are non-stationary, sensitive to the environment, and traditional pattern recognition-based HAR methods incur exorbitant training and deployment costs due to their reliance on the quality and quantity of training data. While there has been extensive research on enhancing HAR techniques, the efficiency of the system is still limited by the scarcity of training data and identity-action feature coupling. This research focuses on attaining gesture recognition across multiple users with a limited number of samples. Our findings show that the conventional data augmentation methods are incapable of facilitating the system in attaining sample diversity. As a result, we propose a training-free augmentation strategy as a means to provide adequate training data. Unlike the conventional data enhancement approach, this scheme aims to develop data processing methods that differentiate between various samples in practical applications. Consequently, it enhances data pertinent to specific HAR assignments effectively. To effectively extract action features in WiFi samples, an unsupervised cross-user domain sample generation (CUDSG) model is proposed. This model generates virtual gesture samples for new user domains by decoupling and recombining gesture and identity features. This extends the sensing boundary of the system to new user domains without requiring a significant number of users to participate. Model performance was evaluated using various classifiers, such as SVM, KNN and CNN. The results demonstrate a significant improvement in average classification accuracy from 57.3% to 98.4%. This indicates that CUDSG is a highly effective tool for enhancing the performance of existing gesture recognition techniques.

Identification and health risk evaluation of soil contaminated by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at shale gas extraction sites based on positive matrix factorization

The impact of shale gas extraction on surrounding environmental media remains unclear. In this study, the current state of contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are high-frequency contaminants of shale gas, was investigated in the soil surrounding emerging shale gas development sites. The source analysis of PAHs was conducted in the soils of shale gas extraction sites using positive matrix factorization (PMF). The health risk assessment (HRA) was calculated for ingestion, dermal contact, and inhalation exposures, and the priority sources of PAHs in the soil were jointly identified by PMF and HRA to refine the contribution level of different individual PAHs to the carcinogenic risk. The results showed that both Sichuan and Chongqing mining site soils were contaminated to different degrees. Shale gas extraction has an impact on the surrounding soil, and the highest contributing source of PAHs in the mining site soil of Sichuan was anthropogenic activity, accounting for 31.6%, whereas that in the mining site soil of Chongqing was biomass combustion and mixed automobile combustion, accounting for 35.9%. At the two mining sites in Sichuan and Chongqing, none of the three exposure pathways (ingestion, dermal contact, and inhalation) posed a carcinogenic risk to children, whereas the dermal exposure pathway posed a carcinogenic risk to adults. Health risk assessments based on specific source assignments indicate that when managing soil pollution, the control of fossil fuel combustion and vehicular emissions should be prioritized.

Thiophene-Based Ligands for Specific Assignment of Distinct Aβ Pathologies in Alzheimer's Disease.

Aggregated species of amyloid-β (Aβ) are one of the pathological hallmarks in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and ligands that selectively target different Aβ deposits are of great interest. In this study, fluorescent thiophene-based ligands have been used to illustrate the features of different types of Aβ deposits found in AD brain tissue. A dual-staining protocol based on two ligands, HS-276 and LL-1, with different photophysical and binding properties, was developed and applied on brain tissue sections from patients affected by sporadic AD or familial AD associated with the PSEN1 A431E mutation. When binding to Aβ deposits, the ligands could easily be distinguished for their different fluorescence, and distinct staining patterns were revealed for these two types of AD. In sporadic AD, HS-276 consistently labeled all immunopositive Aβ plaques, whereas LL-1 mainly stained cored and neuritic Aβ deposits. In the PSEN1 A431E cases, each ligand was binding to specific types of Aβ plaques. The ligand-labeled Aβ deposits were localized in distinct cortical layers, and a laminar staining pattern could be seen. Biochemical characterization of the Aβ aggregates in the individual layers also showed that the variation of ligand binding properties was associated with certain Aβ peptide signatures. For the PSEN1 A431E cases, it was concluded that LL-1 was binding to cotton wool plaques, whereas HS-276 mainly stained diffuse Aβ deposits. Overall, our findings showed that a combination of ligands was essential to identify distinct aggregated Aβ species associated with different forms of AD.

ChatGPT for Academic Purposes: Survey Among Undergraduate Healthcare Students in Malaysia.

The impact of generative artificial intelligence-based Chatbotson medical education, particularly in Southeast Asia, is understudied regarding healthcare students' perceptions of its academic utility. Sociodemographic profiles and educational strategies influence prospective healthcare practitioners' attitudes toward AI tools. This study aimed to assess healthcare university students' knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding ChatGPT for academic purposes. It explored chatbot usage frequency, purposes, satisfaction levels, and associations between age, gender, and ChatGPT variables. Four hundred forty-three undergraduate students at a Malaysian tertiary healthcare institute participated, revealing varying awareness levels of ChatGPT's academic utility. Despite concerns about accuracy, ethics, and dependency, participants generally held positive attitudes toward ChatGPT in academics. Multiple logistic regression highlighted associations between demographics, knowledge, attitude, and academic ChatGPT use. MBBS students were significantly more likely to use ChatGPT for academics than BDS and FIS students. Final-year students exhibited the highest likelihood of academic ChatGPT use. Higher knowledge and positive attitudes correlated with increased academic usage. Most users (45.8%) employed ChatGPT to aid specific assignment sections while completing most work independently. Some did not use it (41.1%), while others heavily relied on it (9.3%). Users also employed it for various purposes, from generating questions to understanding concepts. Thematic analysis of responses showed students' concerns about data accuracy, plagiarism, ethical issues, and dependency on ChatGPT for academic tasks. This study aids in creating guidelines for implementing GAI chatbots in healthcare education, emphasizing benefits, and risks, and informing AI developers and educators about ChatGPT's potential in academia.

Normalization of direct citations for clustering in publication-level networks: evaluation of six approaches

AbstractClustering of publication networks is an efficient way to obtain classifications of large collections of research publications. Such classifications can be used to, e.g., detect research topics, normalize citation relations, or explore the publication output of a unit. Citation networks can be created using a variety of approaches. Best practices to obtain classifications using clustering have been investigated, in particular the performance of different publication-publication relatedness measures. However, evaluation of different approaches to normalization of citation relations have not been explored to the same extent. In this paper, we evaluate five approaches to normalization of direct citation relations with respect to clustering solution quality in four data sets. A sixth approach is evaluated using no normalization. To assess the quality of clustering solutions, we use three measures. (1) We compare the clustering solution to the reference lists of a set of publications using the Adjusted Rand Index. (2) Using the Silhouette width measure, we quantity to which extent the publications have relations to other clusters than the one they have been assigned to. (3) We propose a measure that captures publications that have probably been inaccurately assigned. The results clearly show that normalization is preferred over unnormalized direct citation relations. Furthermore, the results indicate that the fractional normalization approach, which can be considered the standard approach, causes specific inaccurate assignments, which we intend to address in this paper. The geometric normalization approach has a similar performance as the fractional approach regarding Adjusted Rand Index and Silhouette width but leads to fewer inaccurate assignments at moderate to high granularity levels. We therefore believe that the geometric approach may be preferred over the fractional approach.

A lifelong worker in the field of public education: on the 150th birthday anniversary of P. O. Afanasyev

The paper describes the life path of the prominent scholar Pyotr Onisimovich Afanasyev. P. O. Afanasyev developed a methodology for teaching the native language in elementary school originated by F. I. Buslaev and K. D. Ushinsky. In his works, he also gave a detailed description of the basic concepts of methodology as a science froma historical perspective. The scientist designed a course in Russian language teaching methodology for vocational and higher educational institutions, prepared textbooks and study aids of various types which have gone through many editions.P. O. Afanasyev contributed enormously to training teachers taking professional development courses. The paper presents the methodologist’s main works and outlines his pedagogical views and ideas. Among these ideas are adopt ingthe activity approach to learning, using active forms of class organisation, paying attention to students’ oral speech development, and increasing students’ general cultural level through teaching Russian. The study focuses on the issues of students’ speech culture and speaking skills enhancement, which are reflected in almost all methodological writings of P. O. Afanasyev. The article also provides examples of specific assignments and best practices. The research relied on the analysis of scientific, teaching and learning, reference, and popular science materials, as well as the search and descriptive methods. The article concludes that P. O. Afanasyev contributed significantly to the development of Russian language teaching methodology in primary and secondary school. He also promoted the development of the system ofteaching the Russian language to non-Russian students. The paper highlights the enduring value of the scientist’s ideas, his approaches to teaching Russian. Many of them remain in demand under modern conditions as well.