Past, Present, Future: Times of Change for Continuing Education Units in Higher Education Institutions

This is a qualitative multiple case study that analyzes and compares the purpose, roles, and drivers of change for continuing education divisions in public, four-year, post baccalaureate, comprehensive higher education institutions in the United States. The research stems from a historical standpoint. This study also examined processes carried out by continuing education leadership to demonstrate quality and accountability to their higher education institutions. This investigation focuses on the distinctive drivers that have triggered and influenced changes in continuing education units within higher education institutions. The findings from this study illuminated areas in need of development and enhancement of continuing education units. The findings also supported the creation of standards and policies for continuing education divisions in higher education. This study contributed to overcome the dearth of empirical and theoretical studies on the role and mission of continuing education units

Morphological aspects of seedling establishment in four temperate region Phorandendron spp.

Four species of Phoradendron were examined for seedling morphology: P. bolleanum subsp. densum (on Juniperus), P. californicum (on Prosopis), P. juniperinum subsp. juniperinum (on Juniperus, P. villosum subsp. villosum (on Quercus). The main species used in the study was P. juniperinum, using the other species for comparison. The initial shoot(s) of P. juniperinum may develop from the epicotyl of the developing seedling, from adventitious buds which arise from a cushion of tissue, termed the haustorial cushion, formed beneath the holdfast, or from both positions. When shoots arise only from adventitious buds the original seedling remains attached in a lateral position, often persisting for a number of years, giving the false impression of an autoparasite establishing itself near the base of the plant. In P. bolleanum and P. villosum, initial shoots arise from the epicotyl although adventitious shoots may also develop, particularly in P. bolleanum. In contrast, P. californicum shoots are entirely adventitious in origin, and the initial seedling can frequently be seen near the center of the cluster of adventitious shoots. Cotyledons of all species in the study were found to be persistent and possess a distinctive tip probably resulting from the site of attachment to the endosperm. These distinctive, persistent cotyledons and other clearly identified morphological features, allow to readily distinguish between plumular and adventitious shoots

Digitalization of Battery Manufacturing: Current Status, Challenges, and Opportunities

As the world races to respond to the diverse and expanding demands for electrochemical energy storage solutions, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) remain the most advanced technology in the battery ecosystem. Even as unprecedented demand for state-of-the-art batteries drives gigascale production around the world, there are increasing calls for next-generation batteries that are safer, more affordable, and energy-dense. These trends motivate the intense pursuit of battery manufacturing processes that are cost effective, scalable, and sustainable. The digital transformation of battery manufacturing plants can help meet these needs. This review provides a detailed discussion of the current and near-term developments for the digitalization of the battery cell manufacturing chain and presents future perspectives in this field. Current modelling approaches are reviewed, and a discussion is presented on how these elements can be combined with data acquisition instruments and communication protocols in a framework for building a digital twin of the battery manufacturing chain. The challenges and emerging techniques provided here is expected to give scientists and engineers from both industry and academia a guide toward more intelligent and interconnected battery manufacturing processes in the future

Entwicklung mineralogischer Proxies in Permafrostablagerungen (Böden, tiefere Sedimente) während pleistozäner Klimaschwankungen

Klimabedingte Veränderungen werden insbesondere für die arktischen Regionen mit ihren riesigen Dauerfrostgebieten prognostiziert. Dabei wirken sich die aktuellen Temperaturerhöhungen auf viele Bereiche innerhalb der Kryosphäre aus und beeinflussen auch pedogene und biogeochemische Prozesse in Permafrost-beeinflussten Landschaften, die sich in den Böden und Ablagerungen widerspiegeln und als charakteristische Merkmale dieser Schwankungen gedeutet werden können. Das Pleistozän ist gekennzeichnet durch den Wechsel mehrerer Interglaziale, Glaziale sowie in letzteren auftretende Interstadiale und stellt somit ein repräsentatives Klima-Archiv dar. Im Boden enthaltene Minerale reagieren auf extrem kalte Bedingungen, indem sie ihre Oberflächenstrukturen verändern oder sich aufgrund von Frostverwitterung anreichern. Sobald sich die Klimabedingungen ändern und es wärmer wird, kommt es zu Umwandlungen oder zur Lösung von mineralischen Komponenten. So können unterschiedliche Verteilungen verschiedenartiger Eisenoxide sowie charakteristische Oberflächenstrukturen von Quarzkörnern signifikante Hinweise auf die klimatischen Bedingungen zum Zeitpunkt der Pedogenese geben. Durch den Abgleich verschiedener mineralogisch-bodenkundlicher Analyseverfahren von pleistozänem Bodenmaterial aus der sibirischen Republik Sacha (Jakutien) mit holozänen Referenzwerten aus Permafrostböden sollen Proxies ermittelt werden, die den Verlauf der Umwelt- und Klimaänderungen anzeigen. Erste Befunde zur Mineralzusammensetzung und deren Erscheinungsformen sowie zur Oxidverteilung für sibirische Permafrostablagerungen werden vorgestellt

AF4-UV-MALS-ICP-MS/MS, spICP-MS, and STEM-EDX for the Characterization of Metal-Containing Nanoparticles in Gas Condensates from Petroleum Hydrocarbon Samples

Dr. Andrea Raab (University of Aberdeen, U.K.) is thanked for her advice on ICP-MS, which has helped to achieve this work. D.R. thanks Johnson Matthey, U.K. for the provided studentship; special thanks go to Colin Baptist, Lucy Barrass, Matt Lunn, Stefano Martinuzzi, Katie Smart and Bradley Waldron for the fruitful discussions and support; as well as Emily Brooke for her help with the STEM-EDX analyses. K.N. acknowledges the support provided by the University of Aberdeen through the Elphinstone scholarship. Authors also gratefully acknowledge Postnova Analytics UK for the loan of the AF4 system together with training, support and advice on the technique. Special thanks go to Dr. Bassem Sabagh for his help.Peer reviewedPostprin

Pragmatic controlled clinical trials in primary care: the struggle between external and internal validity

BACKGROUND: Controlled clinical trials of health care interventions are either explanatory or pragmatic. Explanatory trials test whether an intervention is efficacious; that is, whether it can have a beneficial effect in an ideal situation. Pragmatic trials measure effectiveness; they measure the degree of beneficial effect in real clinical practice. In pragmatic trials, a balance between external validity (generalizability of the results) and internal validity (reliability or accuracy of the results) needs to be achieved. The explanatory trial seeks to maximize the internal validity by assuring rigorous control of all variables other than the intervention. The pragmatic trial seeks to maximize external validity to ensure that the results can be generalized. However the danger of pragmatic trials is that internal validity may be overly compromised in the effort to ensure generalizability. We are conducting two pragmatic randomized controlled trials on interventions in the management of hypertension in primary care. We describe the design of the trials and the steps taken to deal with the competing demands of external and internal validity. DISCUSSION: External validity is maximized by having few exclusion criteria and by allowing flexibility in the interpretation of the intervention and in management decisions. Internal validity is maximized by decreasing contamination bias through cluster randomization, and decreasing observer and assessment bias, in these non-blinded trials, through baseline data collection prior to randomization, automating the outcomes assessment with 24 hour ambulatory blood pressure monitors, and blinding the data analysis. SUMMARY: Clinical trials conducted in community practices present investigators with difficult methodological choices related to maintaining a balance between internal validity (reliability of the results) and external validity (generalizability). The attempt to achieve methodological purity can result in clinically meaningless results, while attempting to achieve full generalizability can result in invalid and unreliable results. Achieving a creative tension between the two is crucial