Enhancing Critical Thinking Across The Undergraduate Experience: An Exemplar From Engineering

Faculty in a large, urban school of engineering designed a longitudinal study to assess the critical thinking skills of undergraduate students as they progressed through the engineering program. The Paul-Elder critical thinking framework was used to design course assignments and develop a holistic assessment rubric. The curriculum was re-designed to include deliberate teaching of critical thinking and assessment in at least one key course for every student each year of their undergraduate curriculum. The critical thinking scores for seniors using the holistic rubric were significantly higher than their baseline critical thinking scores as freshmen (p = .004). This case-study can serve as an exemplar for other units, departments, or programs to model or replicate

Critical Thinking Development In Undergraduate Engineering Students From Freshman Through Senior Year: A 3-Cohort Longitudinal Study

Critical thinking is considered a necessary learning outcome for all college students and essential for academic and career success.  There are many challenges to developing a comprehensive approach to teaching and assessing critical thinking skills. Although the literature has many examples of the incorporation of critical thinking and assessment into courses, longitudinal studies following engineering students through their undergraduate career are lacking.  This study assessed the impact of using the Paul-Elder Critical Thinking Framework to enhance undergraduate students’ critical thinking skills with the hypothesis: There will be a significant increase in undergraduate students’ critical thinking abilities from the freshman to the senior year with the explicit and strategic incorporation of critical thinking assignments. The research question was, “How do the critical thinking skills of undergraduate engineering students change as they progress through the engineering program with the explicit and strategic incorporation of critical thinking assignments?” The study was a descriptive, longitudinal study of three engineering student cohorts as they progressed through the four year undergraduate program. The study was approved by the university’s Institutional Review Board. There was a statistically significant increase in critical thinking scores over the four years for each of the three cohorts. Integrating and evaluating critical thinking assignments into engineering curricula is possible, but a major challenge to critical thinking assessment using a holistic rubric is training engineering faculty in their use.  The results are encouraging, and participating faculty agree; but sustaining these efforts to imbed critical thinking assignments throughout the engineering college curriculum will require effort and administrative support

The Apollo spacecraft: A chronology. Volume 2: 8 November 1962 - 30 September 1964

A chronology of the Apollo spacecraft development and production program is presented. The subjects discussed are: (1) defining contractural relations, (2) developing hardware distinctions, and (3) developing software ground rules. Illustrations, drawings, and photographs are used extensively to supplement the technical writing. Descriptions of life support systems, communication equipment, propulsion systems, control devices, and spacecraft components are provided

Combinatorial structures in loops

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46265/1/209_2005_Article_BF01221880.pd

The influence of comorbidities on the treatment outcome in symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) affects mainly elderly patients. To this day, it is unclear whether comorbidities influence treatment success. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the impact of comorbidities on the treatment effectiveness in symptomatic LSS. Methods We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis and reviewed prospective or retrospective studies from Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library and CINAHL from inception to May 2020, including adult patients with LSS undergoing surgical or conservative treatment. Main outcomes were satisfaction, functional and symptoms improvement, and adverse events (AE). Proportions of outcomes within two subgroups of a comorbidity were compared with risk ratio (RR) as summary measure. Availability of ≥3 studies for the same subgroup and outcome was required for meta-analysis. Results Of 72 publications, 51 studies, mostly assessing surgery, there was no evidence reported that patients with comorbidities were less satisfied compared to patients without comorbidities (RR 1.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.77 to 1.45, 94%), but they had an increased risk for AE (RR 1.46, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.01, 72%). A limited number of studies found no influence of comorbidities on functional and symptoms improvement. Older age did not affect satisfaction, symptoms and functional improvement, and AE (age >80 years RR 1.22, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.52, 60%). Diabetes was associated with more AE (RR 1.72, 95% CI 1.19 to 2.47, 58%). Conclusion In patients with LSS and comorbidities (in particular diabetes), a higher risk for AE should be considered in the treatment decision. Older age alone was not associated with an increased risk for AE, less functional and symptoms improvement, and less treatment satisfaction

Search for active-sterile neutrino mixing using neutral-current interactions in NOvA

We report results from the first search for sterile neutrinos mixing with active neutrinos through a reduction in the rate of neutral-current interactions over a baseline of 810 km between the NOvA detectors. Analyzing a 14-kton detector equivalent exposure of 6.05×10^(20) protons-on-target in the NuMI beam at Fermilab, we observe 95 neutral-current candidates at the Far Detector compared with 83.5 ± 9.7(stat) ± 9.4(syst) events predicted assuming mixing only occurs between active neutrino species. No evidence for ν_μ→ν_s transitions is found. Interpreting these results within a 3+1 model, we place constraints on the mixing angles θ_(24) < 20.8° and θ_(34_ < 31.2° at the 90% C.L. for 0.05  eV^2 ≤ Δm^2_(41) ≤ 0.5  eV2, the range of mass splittings that produce no significant oscillations over the Near Detector baseline

A NMR-Based Carbon-Type Analysis of Diesel Fuel Blends From Various Sources

In collaboration with participants of the Coordinating Research Council (CRC) Advanced Vehicle/Fuels/Lubricants (AVFL) Committee, and project AVFL-19, the characteristics of fuels from advanced and renewable sources were compared to commercial diesel fuels. The main objective of this study was to highlight similarities and differences among the fuel types, i.e. ULSD, renewables, and alternative fuels, and among fuels within the different fuel types. This report summarizes the carbon-type analysis from 1H and 13C{1H} nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) of 14 diesel fuel samples. The diesel fuel samples come from diverse sources and include four commercial ultra-low sulfur diesel fuels (ULSD), one gas-to-liquid diesel fuel (GTL), six renewable diesel fuels (RD), two shale oil-derived diesel fuels, and one oil sands-derived diesel fuel. Overall, the fuels examined fall into two groups. The two shale oil-derived samples and the oil-sand-derived sample closely resemble the four commercial ultra-low sulfur diesels, with SO1 and SO2 most closely matched with ULSD1, ULSD2, and ULSD4, and OS1 most closely matched with ULSD3. As might be expected, the renewable diesel fuels, with the exception of RD3, do not resemble the ULSD fuels because of their very low aromatic content, but more closely resemble the gas-to-liquid sample (GTL) in this respect. RD3 is significantly different from the other renewable diesel fuels in that the aromatic content more closely resembles the ULSD fuels. Fused-ring aromatics are readily observable in the ULSD, SO, and OS samples, as well as RD3, and are noticeably absent in the remaining RD and GTL fuels. Finally, ULSD3 differs from the other ULSD fuels by having a significantly lower aromatic carbon content and higher cycloparaffinic carbon content. In addition to providing important comparative compositional information regarding the various diesel fuels, this report also provides important information about the capabilities of NMR spectroscopy for the detailed characterization and comparison of fuels and fuel blends

Constraints on Oscillation Parameters from ν_e Appearance and ν_μ Disappearance in NOvA

Results are reported from an improved measurement of ν_μ→ν_e transitions by the NOvA experiment. Using an exposure equivalent to 6.05×10^(20) protons on target, 33 ν_e candidates are observed with a background of 8.2±0.8 (syst.). Combined with the latest NOvA ν_μ disappearance data and external constraints from reactor experiments on sin^2 2θ_(13), the hypothesis of inverted mass hierarchy with θ_(23) in the lower octant is disfavored at greater than 93% C.L. for all values of δ_(CP)

Reduced viscosity Barley β-Glucan versus placebo: a randomized controlled trial of the effects on insulin sensitivity for individuals at risk for diabetes mellitus

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Prior studies suggest soluble fibers may favorably affect glucose/insulin metabolism.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This prospective, randomized, placebo controlled, double blind, parallel group trial evaluated 50 generally healthy subjects without prior diagnosis of diabetes mellitus (44 completers), who were administered beverages containing placebo (control), lower dose (3 g/d), or higher dose (6 g/d) reduced viscosity barley β-glucan (BBG) extract. Subjects (68% women) mean age 56 years, Body Mass Index (BMI) 32 kg/m²and baseline fasting plasma glucose 102 mg/dl were instructed to follow a weight-maintaining Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) diet and consumed three 11 oz study beverages daily with meals for 12 weeks. The four primary study endpoint measures were plasma glucose and insulin [each fasting and post-Oral Glucose Tolerance Testing (OGTT)].</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared to placebo, administration of 3 g/d BBG over 12 weeks significantly reduced glucose incremental Area Under the Curve (iAUC) measures during OGTT and 6 g/d BBG over 12 weeks significantly reduced fasting insulin as well as the related homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Beverages were generally well tolerated with no serious adverse experiences and no significant differences between groups for adverse experiences. Per protocol instruction, subjects maintained body weight.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These findings suggest 6 g/d BBG consumed in a beverage over 12 weeks may improve insulin sensitivity among hyperglycemic individuals with no prior diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, and who experience no change in body weight.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01375803<a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00820807"/>.</p